Part Two: Chapter Four

A few days after Libertè's birthday, Courfeyrac and Giselle invited Enjolras, Eponine, and the children over to their wing of the manor for dinner. They all walked over together, and Courfeyrac met them at the door. Once they were in the wing, Gavroche ran off to find Henri, and Enjolras, who had been holding Jolie, sat the little girl down, and she went to find Brigette. Eponine went to the kitchen where Giselle was, and Libertè stayed with her father, who was talking with Courfeyrac. A short bit later, Giselle and Eponine emerged from the kitchen with food in hand. They sat the food on the dining table, and Giselle called the children to dinner.

Once everyone was seated at the table, Giselle grabbed Courfeyrac's hand and spoke, "We're very happy you could join us for dinner. We have some news we'd like to share."

Suddenly, Brigette, who was bouncing in her seat, interrupted, "Mama is going to have a baby!"

Everyone, including Courfeyrac and Giselle, was shocked, and they all looked at Brigette. Then they looked between Courfeyrac and Giselle, waiting for confirmation.

Courfeyrac gestured to Brigette and smiled, "There you have it. That's our news!"

Everyone burst into laughter and a series of 'congratulations.' The night carried on with merry conversation.

0000

The week went by rapidly and soon, it was the day before Libertè started classes at the university. After dinner that evening, the Rousseau's began their routine that took place on most nights. After dinner was over, they all sat around and talked together or sometimes the younger kids played. They spent family time together. Then, once it was time for the little ones to get ready for bed, Eponine took them to get their baths while Enjolras and Libertè went to his study. Once they were clean and dressed for bed, they would run to tell their father and sister goodnight. After Eponine made sure Gavroche and Jolie were in bed, she joined Enjolras and Libertè in the study. Sometimes they would talk, and sometimes they would read. Tonight, they were doing a little of both. Enjolras sat on the couch reading while Eponine sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder and scanning the pages of the book he was holding. Libertè sat in an armchair reading as well, her legs tucked up under her.

Enjolras abruptly laid his book down and spoke, "You start at the university tomorrow. Are you excited?"

Libertè nodded, "Yes, I'm very excited."

"Are you nervous at all?" Eponine asked.

"A little, but I know everything will be fine."

Enjolras glanced up at the clock, "It's getting late."

"I should probably go to bed, then. I have a big day tomorrow," Libertè smiled.

She told her parents goodnight and went to her room to attempt to get some sleep.

0000

The next morning, Libertè got up earlier than usual. She was filled with excitement about the day ahead, so she decided to go ahead and get ready. She dressed in the royal blue dress Courfeyrac and Giselle had given her. She tied her hair back with the matching ribbon and left the cockade pinned to the collar of the dress. Libertè decided that she would make breakfast for her family since she was up before everyone else. She made her way quietly through the house and was surprised to find her father sitting at the small table in the kitchen, sipping a cup of coffee. He looked up from his steaming mug when she came into the room.

"You're up early," Enjolras said.

"So are you," she replied.

Enjolras watched as she began to prepare breakfast.

"Too excited to sleep?" he asked.

She nodded, "What about you?"

"Worried."

She spun to face him, "About me starting classes?"

"Yes."

"Everything is going to be fine. You don't need to worry."

"I know, but I am your father. It's my job to worry. I'll always worry about you, and Gavroche, and Jolie, no matter what others tell me. You should've seen me on your first day of school. According to your mother, I was a humorous sight, apparently."

Libertè laughed, and then turned back to her cooking.

"I'm sure you were," she grinned.

Not too much later, Eponine joined them, and then so did Gavroche and Jolie. Libertè served them all the breakfast she's made and hastily ate hers.

"I've got to go," she said, jumping up from her seat.

She kissed her mother and father on the cheek and told her siblings goodbye before heading towards the door.

"Good luck, Libby," Enjolras called.

She gave them a big smile before heading out the door and towards the university.

0000

Libertè stepped into her first class a little early, but discovered that most of the other classmates were already there and all of them were men. They were all carrying on their own conversations, but several of them turned at looked at her quizzically when she walked further into the room. She ignored the stares and found an empty seat next to a young man who wasn't talking to anyone. The other men continued to stare at her with confused looks on their faces, some of them whispering to each other about her, but she continued to ignore them. She could feel the eyes of the boy next to her watching her closely. The other men soon lost interest and went back to their conversations, probably assuming she was lost. When Libertè reached into her satchel and pulled out her journal and fountain pen, the young man next to her cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, mademoiselle, but are you aware that this is a politics class?" he spoke.

She looked at him sharply.

"Yes, I am quite aware that this is a politics class, Monsieur."

To make a point, Libertè reached back into her satchel and pulled out her textbook for the class and sat it on the desk in front of her.

"I am a politics student," she said pointedly.

The boy looked a little taken aback. Libertè wasn't sure if it was because of her response or just the fact that she was a young woman in a class full of men. As they stared at each other in silence, Libertè took note of his features for the first time. He had black, straight, short hair. His eyes were grey and kind. He was average sized, not too tall and not too short. The look of shock on his face slowly faded and was replaced with a welcome smile.

"My apologies, mademoiselle. Welcome to the class. My name is Gabriel Moreau," he said, holding his hand out to her.

"I'm Libertè," she introduced, shaking his hand.

She chose not to tell him her last name just yet. She most definitely wasn't embarrassed or ashamed by her family name, but she'd learned that when meeting new people, it made finding good friends difficult when the first thing they knew about her was that she was the president's daughter. Before either person could say anything else, the professor entered the room, commanding attention.

"Welcome to class and another year at the university. You may call me Professor Durand. Now, let's introduce ourselves, shall we?" the older man said.

Libertè realized that her identity would be known very soon because when the others introduced themselves, they stood and gave their first and last names. Soon it was her turn because Gabriel had just finished introducing himself and had sat back down.

"Mademoiselle?" Professor Durand spoke, gesturing to her.

She stood slowly and noticed that most of the men were pretending to ignore her. She knew they wouldn't be ignoring her for long.

"My name is Libertè Rousseau," she introduced.

Suddenly, all eyes were on her.

"Ah, President Rousseau's daughter. I'm glad you could join us Mademoiselle Rousseau," the professor said.

A blush crept onto Libertè's cheeks, which was rare, and she nodded politely to him before sitting again. All the men were looking at her, astonished. Durand cleared his throat to regain their attention, and the introductions continued. She could feel Gabriel's eyes on her again. Soon, Professor Durand began teaching, and Libertè became completely focused on his lecture and her own notes.

0000

When the lecture was over, Gabriel spoke before Libertè could pack up her things and leave.

"The president's daughter, huh? I didn't see that one coming."

Libertè didn't respond, but merely began putting her books back in her satchel.

"It was nice to meet you, Monsieur," she said, standing to leave.

"Mademoiselle, wait. I'm assuming this is your first year at the university. This is my second. I thought you might like someone to show you around campus. I mean, if you would like that."

She knew she could find her way around the campus just fine without his help, but there was a chance that he might be a good friend. Of course, she wasn't interested in him romantically. She was focused on becoming a politician right now and didn't need anything getting in the way of that. But she could use a good friend.

She smiled at him," That'd be nice, Monsieur. Thank you."

"Please, call me Gabriel."

"Alright, Gabriel. Then you must call me Libertè."

Gabriel smiled at her, "OK Libertè, what is your class schedule?"

She listed off her schedule and when she was done, Gabriel smirked.

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"We are in all the same classes together," he said.

"Oh. It will be nice to have a friendly face, then."

He nodded, and they walked to their next class together.

0000

Libertè's classes were over before her siblings were out of school, and the house seemed empty when she got home. She realized her mother was out running errands because she couldn't find her.

"Papa?" she called, walking through the manor.

"In the study, Libby," she heard him call.

When she entered the study, she saw him smiling at her, sitting at his desk.

"Well? How was it?" he asked.

"It was wonderful!" she exclaimed, flopping down in a chair across from the desk.

"Tell me all about it," he smiled.

As she began telling him, he turned back to his work, but she knew he was listening. They'd had many conversations that way.

"Well, I was the only woman in all of my classes, and that got me some interesting looks. I thought the stares were interesting enough, but when they found out who I was, the looks got funnier. You should've seen them. It was really quite humorous..."

She continued to tell her father about her day, and he listened intently.

"And I think I've made a friend. He's very kind," she said.

That one word, he, made Enjolras look up from his work. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"He?"

"Yes, he. His name is Gabriel Moreau, and he was very nice to me."

Libertè saw the expression on her father's face and knew what he was thinking.

"Oh, stop! He's just a friend. I don't need a relationship right now. My studies are much more important. I don't have time for love."

Enjolras breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that no matter what she claimed, the day would come when she would meet someone. He had once claimed that he would never fall in love, but then Eponine came along. Someone would come along and change Libertè's world too. Enjolras just wasn't quite ready for that yet.

"Anyway, Gabriel is very nice. We are in all the same classes together. He showed me around campus since it's his second year at the university."

"I'm glad you've made a friend," he said.

She continued to talk about her first day and the university, and once Eponine came home, she told her mother everything as well.

Enjolras smiled, glad that everything seemed to be going smoothly for his daughter so far.

Author's Note: Hello readers! I am much happier with this chapter than the last couple of chapters. What do you guys think of Libertè's personality? What are your thoughts on Gabriel Moreau? I'd really love if you would review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Your reviews always give me encouragement. The more encouragement I get, the faster I can write a new chapter! So, please review! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, followed, or read this story. It means a lot!

~loislane16