AN: Work and exams kicked me in the butt, followed by bouts of extreme tiredness and, yes, laziness. I'm so terribly sorry at how late this is. It makes me really sad. I really lost my way on this chapter and that made me hesitate to post, but I want you to have this anyway.
Capslock warning for this first section here.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE: Jailbreak (Part II)
"So, what exactly is the plan for causing chaos?" Joly seems almost afraid to ask.
"Well, we still have all these wonderful potions Eponine left us to wreak havoc with," Feuilly says, swinging his bag around and pulling out a small burlap bag, which Courfeyrac immediately snatches with a manic smile.
After digging around a little inside, he pulls out a potion with a murky mustard colour. "Perfect. You all might want to plug your ears."
Jehan watches with interest as Courfeyrac uncorks it and downs it in one single gulp, his face wrinkling in distaste.
"BLARG THIS TASTES AWFUL," Courfeyrac exclaims at an ungodly level of loudness. Jehan clamps his hands over his ears and kicks Courfeyrac in the shins. Registering his mistake, Courfeyrac offers a quieter "OOPS," by way of apology.
"ANYWAYS," he begins again, the loudness of his voice quite possibly shaking the very foundation of the castle in the process. "THE GOLDEN ROOSTER HAS LEFT THE ROOST. I REPEAT THE GOLDEN ROOSTER HAS LEFT TH-" Courfeyrac is cut off again as Jehan kicks his other shin. Courfeyrac clears his throat and starts again, giving Marius and Grantaire the cue they need to make haste towards the same back entrance they met their friends at so they can meet up with Enjolras and the others: "OPERATION TRUE LOVE IS NOW IN EFFECT." He looks to Jehan for approval, and Jehan nods, gesturing with his elbows for Courf to go on.
"AS FOR EVERYONE ELSE, WE HAVE DISCOVERED A DISTURBING AMOUNT OF DANGEROUS ASPECTS IN THE CASTLE. PLAGUE RATS, FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS AND ASSORTED ACTS OF WITCHCRAFT HAVE BEEN SPOTTED IN THE HALLWAYS. WE SUGGEST AN IMMEDIATE EVACUATION WHILE WE SORT OUT THE PROBLEM. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. THIS HAS BEEN A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEM-" Jehan frees one hand to clamp it over Courfeyrac's mouth, which Courfeyrac proceeds to plant a kiss on, licking the palm slightly. Jehan jerks his hand away and makes a face.
Feuilly, his fingers still in his ears, asks, "Where are we going to get all those things from?"
Courfeyrac goes to answer, but Jehan stomps on his foot and, after pulling another potion from the sack, hands it to Courfeyrac, who gulps it down. "I don't know. I was hoping the magic bag would hold the answers."
Jehan rolls his eyes. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't involve potions that can change us into fire-breathing dragons, Courfeyrac."
"Hmmm. That plan's been crossed off the list, then." Courfeyrac makes a checking motion in the air, then appears thoughtful. "Do you think anyone believed me, though?"
Bossuet, who is pawing through the assortment of bottles in the bag extremely carefully, smiles at them all. "You know, I don't think the plan is a wreck just yet. Here's what we're going to do ..."
Marius and Grantaire exchange glances as Courfeyrac's announcement comes through loud and clear.
"Time to use the bathroom!" Grantaire announces, grabbing Marius' arm. The two of them proceed to make a beeline down the hall, much to the guards' confusion.
"Fire-breathing dragons?" Marius repeats in bewilderment. "He's not going to burn down the castle, is he?"
"He's your friend, not mine." Grantaire shrugs.
They're running down the steps to the ground floor when the whole entire castle actually starts to shake. "He's going to blow up the castle," Marius complains. "I have to live here, you know. Just because Courfeyrac has a nice fancy place on the countryside."
"He's not going to blow it up, we're still in it," Grantaire says, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Enjolras would want to demolish it eventually. It's a sign of the monarchy and all that."
The castle stills suddenly, and then all Marius can hear is the loud roaring sounds coming from ... well, he's not quite sure where they're coming from, but dragon noises in the castle is certainly not a good thing. "Where did he even get a dragon from?"
"Your friend, not mine," Grantaire repeats.
Bossuet is cupping his hands around his mouth as he makes loud growling sounds, running down the steps in front of them. Joly is trailing behind him, a pair of handkerchiefs tucked into both his ears as he tries to avoid Courfeyrac, who is dousing a bunch of miniature unicorns with potion and clapping his hands with glee as they trot off, leaving rainbow trails behind them.
"Never mind," Jehan says idly to himself, his fingers still stuffed in his ears. "This is fun."
Enjolras and Combeferre encounter Grantaire and Marius one hallway away from the door to freedom. Grantaire gives his leader a mock salute in greeting, prompting a soft smile from Enjolras. "I heard you've been quite busy in my absence," he says, as the four of them fall into a jog.
"I have," Grantaire's voice sounds like a cross between proud and embarrassed. "I did what I thought you would want to be done. I - I'm sorry if it wasn't-"
"It was. You did more than fine. You did a great job." Enjolras places a brief hand on his shoulder. "So let's do this, now. Together."
People are pouring out of the castle, much to Combeferre's general amazement. Some appear only mildly panicked, while others looks on the brink of losing their sanity, one woman in particular ranting about dragons in the castle. "They believed that?"
"The power of Courfeyrac's charm is not something to be underestimated," Marius mumbles. "I've seen it first hand." Combeferre watches Grantaire contemplate asking before evidently deciding either that it's not pertinent or that he doesn't want to know. From what little he now knows of the Baron's son, Combeferre does not doubt that Marius' statement is true.
"I wouldn't exactly call that announcement full of charm," Grantaire notes sarcastically, "but I think people generally tend to react that way to the mention of plague rats -" A rainbow unicorn comes sailing out the window. "- or unicorns, for that matter."
Marius goes to reply when Enjolras bursts into a mini rant. "How are we supposed to reach them in time? We certainly do not have time to reach one before nightfall, let alone both of them," Enjolras says frustratedly, looking about two seconds from burning a hole into the sky with the sheer intensity of his gaze.
Combeferre puts a calming hand on his back. "Courfeyrac left us a gift, on that count. A little help from Cosette, even though she's not here. Just get on your horse."
Enjolras tries to shake the tension out in his shoulders as Grantaire leads him over to where their horses are tethered. He swings his leg over and pulls himself onto the saddle. "How are we going to accomplish this?"
"Marius and I will go to Cosette's tower, and you and Grantaire will similarly go to Eponine's. If you find it empty you come find us, and we will do the same," Combeferre says.
"What if they are not at either of tower and we miss each other passing back?" Grantaire asks.
"We'll ride towards where we first met as a last resort for meeting place," Enjolras says grimly.
For a moment he imagines Eponine being held captive, not as some damsel in tears over her peril, but fighting back every inch of the way to get back to him, just as he'll fight to get to her. He imagines her plotting her escape at this very moment, brave and reckless in her determination. He's looking forward to seeing her fight as much as he is looking forward to coming to her aid. Her aid, not her rescue, because Eponine does not need saving, not when she lived in her tower and certainly not now. But he will be there for her because it's what they both need from each other; strength and courage drawn from fiery, charged glances and witty exchanges of words.
As soon as they are united once more, Enjolras is sure that there will be nothing to stop the two of them from becoming an unstoppable force, travelling across the world, making it better, brighter, and eventually settling, perhaps, to make a tiny corner of this world their own.
Combeferre places a hand on Enjolras' horse. "Are you alright?" he asks, a concerned look passing over his features.
Grantaire coughs slightly. "If you want Combeferre to come with you instead, Enjolras, I understand." He offers a tiny half-smile, his eyes dropping to the floor.
"No," Enjolras shakes himself from his stupor. "I want you to come with me, Grantaire. I was just lost in thought for a moment. Let us leave and waste no more time here."
Reaching upwards with a medium-sized bottle, Combeferre applies a few drops to a carrot and feeds it to the horse. "Get a good grip on the reins, and do not let go not matter what."
There is only time for Enjolras to open his mouth to ask why before his surroundings turn into a large blur, Grantaire holding on for his life in front of him as he tries to steer their steed in a generally correct direction.
AN: I'm slowly working my brain back into the headspace for this story, so I hope to have a new chapter done relatively soon! We're working towards an ending, finallyyyyy. I'm very very happy. I'm also working on a new E/E story, so once this is done I hope to have the first chapter or so of that up. It's going to be a sort of superpowers AU heavily inspired by the TV show Heroes. It's going to have intrigue and super awesome plot stuff. ;)