Révolution du Cœur – Fleeting Moments
Enjolras felt his jaw drop at the sight before him.
Melodie had flown across the room and was currently being hugged by Hyacinthe Louis de Quelen.
The Archbishop of Paris.
The Archbishop of Paris was hugging Melodie and patting her back.
Enjolras shook his head slowly as though trying to dispel the insanity of the image before him.
"You're not dreaming you know." A quiet voice said from his left. He turned to see Fabien smirking at him, his warm brown eyes dancing with amusement.
"Are you certain?"
Fabien laughed and slapped him on the back before going back to his teary-eyed wife's side. Enjolras turned back in time to see Melodie tugging the archbishop and the accompanying priest over toward him.
"Enjolras, may I present his Eminence, Hyacinthe Louis de Quelen and Father Bertrand Henri de Blanc."
Enjolras kept his face neutral and bowed to the priests. The Archbishop and his fellow priest smiled warmly at him. Quelen held out a hand and Enjolras gave it a firm shake while sending out a questioning .glace to Melodie. She merely smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Archbishop, Father Blanc, may I introduce Alexandre Denis Enjolras. My Capitaine and … friend." Enjolras fought down the flash of desire at the sight of Melodie's charming blush.
"It is a pleasure to meet you young man. I can see already that Melodie has been in good hands."
"Eminence, Father. An honor, I assure you." He murmured while throwing Melodie a wary glance. She smiled at him and winked at the pair of priests.
"His Eminence and Father Blanc have been providing me a safe haven since the death of our parents." She nodded toward Arielle, who smiled sadly.
"Meaning what precisely?"
The question was avoided as the butler rang a small silver bell, signaling dinner was ready. Enjolras fell into step beside Melodie and helped her into her chair before sitting down beside her. Father Blanc sat beside Arielle while Archbishop Quelen and Fabien took their seats at the heads of the table. When the soup had been served and the servants had retreated, Enjolras voiced his question again. The Archbishop dabbed his napkin at the corner of his mouth and smiled.
"Melodie came to Notre Dame after from being separated from dear Arielle. We were happy to house her before she went to live with your friend Jehan."
Enjolras felt Melodie flinch beside him. He reached out and caught her hand. He tried rubbing it soothingly and it seemed to work as her breathing evened out. Everyone remained quiet until she looked up and sent them a wane smile. Enjolras breathed a sigh of relief and gave her hand one last squeeze.
"Forgive me. I assure you I'm well, you just caught me off guard."
Quelen smiled gently at and nodded. He turned his attention to Enjolras once more.
"So what comes next for you, young man? Melodie of course has family and some rather … powerful friends, but from what I understand you are alone in this world. How will you survive when their Majesties' decision comes?"
"Enjolras and I are staying together."
Melodie's voice was heated and her eyes were glowing. Father Blanc looked taken aback, but Quelen was smiling ruefully.
"Is that so? You really believe your charming sister and her adoring husband are going to let you live your life with a man who is not your husband?"
Melodie darted a quick glance at Enjolras, before leaning forward to look Quelen in the eye.
"My life is my own, Archbishop. My life, my choices. No one, not Arielle, not Fabien, not Enjolras, not even you will tell me where and with whom I will be."
She sat back and crossed her arms while eyeing the archbishop archly.
Enjolras was filled with the sudden desire to both kiss her senseless for her loyalty and the urge to shake her for her apparent disregard for her own reputation and safety. He knew what the archbishop had been angling at. He wanted Melodie to realize that she had been given back the life that had been taken away from her so harshly.
But Melodie had apparently made her choice and Enjolras couldn't say he was sorry.
In truth, he was rather … giddy.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Melodie was fuming. She had a deep respect and affection for Archbishop Quelen, but this over protective streak was igniting her temper to no end.
The man was sitting back in his chair smiling benignly at her, one eyebrow raised at her heated statement.
"There is one man who you will have to listen to."
Melodie snorted and cocked her head to the side.
"Oh? Who would that be?" Quelen rolled his eyes at her breezy tone and sat forward again.
"Their Majesties. Le roi et la reine de France."
Melodie felt her face twist into a grimace. He was right, she had forgotten that her life was currently in the hands of those she had failed to unseat. Not a dilemma to be taken lightly, but surely something could be done …
"But for now, you are safe." Quelen continued. "You still have a little over a week till you must meet with them, so I'm sure someone as bright as you will come up with some solution."
Melodie couldn't help grinning saucily at him.
"Too right you are."
The Archbishop let out a belly deep laugh and sat back to sip his wine. Melodie looked to her sister who had a fist pressed to her lips. At first it seemed that she was holding back anger, but the unrestrained mirth in her eyes belied that.
Fabien as well seemed to be restraining his chuckles. However, Enjolras was eyeing the Archbishop carefully. She had seen that look before. The half hooded gaze, the slow swirling of wine in his glass, and the faint tapping of his foot next to hers all indicated that Enjolras was plotting and strategizing.
"I know that look." She said to him. He looked sideways at her and subtlety nodded at her before turning his gaze back to the Archbishop.
"You have obviously been in contact with the King or at least someone close to him if you know how full our hour glass is."
The Archbishop motioned for more wine to be poured. He cradled his glass as he studied Enjolras's face. Melodie did the same, curious how this battle between two equally strong willed men would play out. Enjolras seemed relaxed but she could feel the tapping of his foot speeding up and ever so slightly, a muscle has begun to twitch in his cheek. Eventually the Archbishop nodded to him.
"Yes, I heard the King's confession just the other day. He is quite torn in all honesty." He turned his gaze toward her. "He knows what Marée did. The Queen made sure of it, bless her soul. He truly does not wish to harm you further, but the law is the law. Some sort of action must be taken and you two are the only ones left to even be punished. He is still uncertain what to do."
Enjolras nodded and rubbed his eyes. She had never seen him so weary before. She softly caught his descending hand and held it firmly with her own. He looked her in the eye and they silently confirmed that no matter what the King decided, they would stay together.
Quelen cleared his throat and they looked back at him. His eyes were extremely gentle and she saw in them the same care her father had once bestowed upon her. She fought down the tears that threatened to well up and cast him a tremulous smile.
"With your permission, I would like to act as a go between yourselves and their Majesties."
"We would be most grateful." Enjolras answered quietly. The Archbishop looked at her, awaiting her own confirmation. She could only nod.
"Well then, I do believe it is time for the main course!" Arielle's exclamation caused a ripple of laughter around the table and little by little, the tension eased. By dessert, an excellent custard tart, Enjolras and Fabien were chatting animatedly while she, the Archbishop, Father Blanc, and Arielle were sharing humorous church stories.
The time came for the Archbishop and Father Blanc to leave. As they made their way toward the door, Melodie watched the Archbishop halt Enjolras. She slowed her steps hoping to hear their conversation.
"I am asking you privately to put your trust in me. I have only your best interests at heart."
Enjolras was silent for a moment before nodding.
"I know. I have not forgotten that it was you who told the King, 'Sire, God protect the crown of the king, for many royal crowns too have been shattered.'"
The Archbishop clapped him on the back and turned to see her lurking nearby.
"Still an eavesdropper then, my dear?"
Melodie smiled slightly at him as she went to stand at Enjolras's side.
"Old habits die hard I suppose."
"Then let us pray your habit of surviving does not." He turned to Arielle and Fabien who had been watching the exchange with great interest.
"I expect the two of you to get these two to Mass on Sunday."
And with that, the two men swept from the house and out into the rain.
She blinked a couple of times before looking around at the other. Fabien was shaking his head and Arielle was yawning.
"Perhaps we should all retire for the night." Enjolras murmured at her side.
"Agreed. Come wife, you're dead on your feet." Arielle and Fabien made their way upstairs, with Enjolras and Melodie trailing behind. They all parted ways in the corridor, with soft goodnights.
Once in her room and in her night rail, Melodie sat on her bed unable to sleep. The night had been a strange one. Such a mixture of emotions. One thing was certain though, no one was going to let her or Enjolras forget that they stood on the brink of disaster.
The time for dreaming was done and they had to begin planning for the worst.
A knock sounded on her door and thinking it was her sister, she called for entrance.
Instead, Enjolras slipped inside, clad in only a loose shirt and breeches. Melodie felt her cheeks flush, realizing she was only in her thin nightrail but she refused to reach for her wrapper. Instead she drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin against them.
"You can't sleep either then?" She asked him quietly.
He sat next to her and leaned back on his elbows. He looked younger then, watching her like that.
"No. Why can't you?"
"I asked you first." He smiled and raised an eyebrow.
"Actually no you didn't. You asked me if I couldn't sleep, which I answered."
She gave in to temptation and stuck her tongue out at him. He chuckled quietly and continued to stare at her. She sighed and rubbed her temples.
"I keep thinking that we need to start preparing for the worst. There is every possible chance we'll be sent to the executioner and I'll be damned if I let them snuff us out for doing what was right for France."
"So we'll escape before that can happen. I attended the Academy for a reason, but learned about the layouts of the prisons at the same time. I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out should we get there."
He continued to lounge on her bed, looking for all the world like some golden hero from her sister's ridiculous romance novels.
"Well aren't you the confident one." She grouched. He grinned at her.
"So why can't you sleep?" She asked. His eyes darkened and he sat up. Moving closer to her, he reached for her hand. He studied it for a minute, not speaking, just tracing her knuckles with his thumb.
"You should me a great amount of care and loyalty tonight." He didn't raise his head as he spoke. Melodie held her breath waiting for him to continue. He looked up at her suddenly and she had to fight back a gasp as his hand came up to cradle her jaw. She hadn't realized how close he was until now.
"I couldn't sleep because I've been wanting to thank you for that." He whispered.
In the next moment he was kissing her. It was the merest brush of lips, no more than a flutter of a butterfly's wing, but it shocked her core and made her want to spin in dizzy circles.
And then his lips left hers but only by a breath.
"Thank you Melodie. Sleep well." His whisper stirred the tendrils of her hair and then he was up and slipping back out into the hall.
Her body gave way and she fell back on top of the covers. As Morpheus came to claim her, she pressed fingers to her lips and smiled.
