Sorry about the longer wait for this chapter, I needed to sort my idea out and begin to work out where all of these ideas were going to lead too. The drama is coming…
I hope you enjoy this
Even though he had lost the race, Gavroche had a big smile plastered on his face. He could see the girl standing at the base of the elephant, smiling at him as he came to a stop. "Beat ya Gavroche, I thought you could ran faster than that" She smiled straightening her hat. "I thought you were the fastest gamin on the streets"
"The fastest boy, I ain't ever seen a girl run so fast" Gavroche replied. "You gonna tell me your name? You know mine". He had never met a girl like this before. As much as Leola and Annabelle liked to try and join in with the running around and chasing through the market, they couldn't keep up. They liked their dresses and their beautiful hair ribbons. It appeared that this little girl wanted to be treated like one of the boys, all rough and ready. But she was pretty too. Her dark brown, almost red, hair was mostly hidden by her news boy's cap, with thin curls falling across her forehead and into her large dark eyes. She was slim, with the boys clothing being too big for her.
"I have always been fast" She smiled. "My name's Camille"
"Pretty name, pretty girl" Gavroche smiled standing beside her and leaning back against the elephant.
Camille laughed a real loud laugh unlike the little giggles of the other little girls, a laugh that showed that she truly found him funny rather than a giggle that meant that she was embarrassed by his compliment. She had seen him around many times, chasing after the students with his waving blonde hair flying around his face as he ran. "No one called be pretty before?" She smiled "But I hear you have a following of young girls who hang on your every word".
"I look after them, they are part of my gang, and I'm the oldest" Gavroche smiled.
"Can I be part of your gang?" She asked. "I could help you be the leader, second in command"
"Every leader needs a second in command" Gavroche said "Enjolras has two"
"Ah yes, you and your student friends" Camille smiled "And there's that too, if you go off to fight, I'll control the gang while you are away"
"Alright Camille, you've got yourself a deal" Gavroche said taking her hand. "Come on"
…
"Aren't you coming to the market Gavroche?" Leola asked the following morning as she wrapped her shawl around herself.
"No, got a rally" He replied pulling his hat down over his curls
"Can we come?" Annabelle asked, fussing around as she tried to tie her ribbon into her hair
"You all 'eard Enjolras the last time, you better stay away" Gavroche said climbing down from his place at the top of the elephant. He saw Camille sitting at the second level, her blanket bed untouched. He paused on the ladder as he watched the other children head out of the statue, footsteps heading in the direction of the crowded market. "Good morning Camille, didn't you stay last night?" He said sitting on the edge of her level with his feet dangling down.
"I often go out at night, sleep ain't the thing for me" She smiled, wiping her eyes and stuffing her hair up under her cap. "What are these rally things?"
"Speeches to get people interested in the revolution" Gavroche replied, a cheeky smile spreading across his lips "If you go out at night, you must be good at sneaking around and hiding?"
She nodded. "Hiding is what I do best"
"Enjolras doesn't like children, other than me of course, being at the rallies, but if we hide you can come too" Gavroche smiled looking at her. "It's exciting, if you want to come"
Camille nodded "Oui" She said. "Come on we can hide". With a smile, she took his hand as they climbed down from the statue.
Gavroche knew that he shouldn't take her to the rally. After the last time he took Annabelle and Leola to the square to see his friends, Enjolras had not been happy that he had been getting the ideas of revolution into the heads of other children. It had taken enough of Courfeyrac's convincing for Enjolras to allow Gavroche to attend the meetings and become their little messenger. He also had Combeferre's words going round in his head; the doctor thought he was far too young to be like this with little girls. He liked the other girls, but he was really taking a liking to Camille and he wanted to show her what he did. He didn't care what the students thought.
They ran hand in hand to the square and quickly hid in the crowd. They could see Enjolras and Courfeyrac on the stage, Combeferre and Marius to the side handing out pamphlets. Gavroche didn't see the issue with other children being at the rally, the poor people of the slum were there and many children were hanging around their parents. Was Enjolras worried about those children wanting to join the fight? There was no harm in Camille being there, even if she did start to believe in what they were fighting for, he wasn't going to let her come to the barricades.
"So you believe in this equality for all" Camille asked. "That the rich should see that the poor are dying at their feet"
"Oui" Gavroche nodded. "We live in the slums; we've seen what it is like. We have seen that someone could be there one day and dead the next day, we all want to see that end"
Camille nodded, looking to the ground for a moment before looking back at him. "You must be brave to want to fight"
"The students have been teaching me for a couple of years now, I learn their beliefs and learn their bravery" Gavroche said standing tall and puffing his chest out. "I want to be like them, show these national guardsmen that think that they own the country what little people can do"
"I can see why you are the leader of the elephant gang" Camille smiled looking around the crowd. Everyone was poor there except for the students. She had to admit to herself that it felt good to see the rich willing to fight for the poor. She had been poor for as long as she remembered, living in the slums with her family. "You are very brave and very true; there are not a lot of people like you and these students around"
Gavroche smiled holding her hand and leading her through the crowd, hoping not to be seen. He picked up a pamphlet that had fallen to the crowd and passed it to her. "Vive la Revolution" he smiled.
"Vive la Revolution" Camille repeated stuffing the paper into her pocket.
"Gavroche" came a voice from behind them, a voice that belonged to a certain young man
The two children turned still hand and hand, to face the person which the voice belonged too. Enjolras. Standing tall above the two small children, the leader of the student's group wore his signature scowl. "I thought I told you not to bring children to my rallies, Gavroche"
"Camille wanted to come, just to see what I do" Gavroche replied, talking strong to the man he saw as an idol. "There are lots of children here with their parents, what is the harm in all of us believing the same thing?"
"These children here will be safe; I won't see them attempt to climb a barricade. I would not be surprised to see you at the barricade, and I wouldn't be surprised if you brought other children there" Enjolras said looking at the small boy. "It is only for Courfeyrac that I allow you to attend the meetings, I do not want to see you bringing any more children to these rallies, and do you understand?"
"I understand" Gavroche replied rolling his eyes. "And so what if I come to the barricades, I won't let my friends come. Camille will at the elephant with everyone else"
"I don't want children at the barricades, you are a messenger not a fighter Gavroche" Enjolras said strongly "I don't want to speak another word of it, take your friend away please"
"He says he wants to fight" Camille said stepping up "I think he's brave, like you students"
"No matter how brave he thinks he is, no child will be at the barricades" Enjolras said "That is final"
"If this is more arguments about being at the barricades…" Combeferre started as he walked to the leader and the children. "Another young lady Gavroche, really"
"This is Camille, she's new around town. She's my second in command" Gavroche said with a smile. "Enjolras says I can't bring her here though, show her what I do"
"He's right" Combeferre nodded. "We have had this discussion before Gavroche"
"I know, I know, you like to tell me what to do" Gavroche said kicking a stone across the ground.
Enjolras rolled his eyes. "Some tone you've got there"
He shrugged his shoulder, taking Camille's hand and beginning to walk away with her. He had his girls, and he didn't care what the Amis told him to do about it. The three younger girls liked to follow him around, and Camille appeared to reach his level. They were his girls and he could be with them if he wanted too. He would protect them; he didn't need the amis to protect him. He wasn't doing anything wrong.
And there we go… Is Gavroche starting to develop a bit of an attitude?
Please review and let me know what you thought