"All great and precious things are lonely."
- John Steinbeck, East of Eden
Seventeen years pass. Seventeen years, and the world that once was has changed. Starting with the first things.
The Sun Kingdom still is lit up in a blinding light every sunrise and set. The windows still gleam and the waters still crash on the castle's shore day in and day out. The people, however, are noticeably less happy. Frowns and flinches are more common than smiles and friendly "hellos". The people of the Sun Kingdom have had to shift their life for the worst, as sad as it is.
The King Javert raises both kingdoms the best he can, leaving his finest in charge when he is away at the other. It's strenuous though, and his hair is graying faster than it should. He worries, over a kingdom that is full of unhappy folk and no heir to his name. His worries grow as the rumors of a rebellion grow louder. He's spent the past decade of his life looking for the ex-King Valjean, who's at the lead of every whisper.
"Rumor says he leads a group to revolution."
"King Valjean means to take the Sun Kingdom back."
"Enjolras, the rouge, leads the group they say."
"Who's they?"
"Everyone."
King Javert does not like these rumors. They irk him to and endless degree and he's fuming by the end of them. He's ready to call treason on anyone who dates utters the old king's name. His people shrink when he stalks by, but he does not dare give them a glance.
His people, much like his reign, grow weaker.
!&!
The thing about rumors, is that they are so very often true.
A small village-esque area had came to be quite a few miles off the path that now led from the Shaded Kingdom to the Sun Kingdom. It lay deep within the woods, past the Dim Light's River and into a clearing. It was small, built to accommodate only those who felt the need to fix the kingdoms that once were.
The village mostly consisted of a small population, one dedicated to the Revolution of the People of the Sun Kingdom. The most, were young children who had been made orphans by the overtake of Javert. The had ran to the clearing, finding it in the middle of their haste to run. Stray adults had wandered to them over the years, runaways hoping to find a kingdom far away from the dreaded Shaded or Sun Kingdom. They found revolution, and often, they wept tears of joy.
A herd of young boys, made orphans by the Overtake, spearheaded the Village for revolution. They held meetings, screamed injustice, infiltrated the system of King Javert's, and made plans for justice.
The leader, is a stunning young man named Enjolras. Baked skin and sweeping brown hair. His family had burned in the midst of the Overtake, and Enjolras had been reborn into passion. hollered freedom and gave speeches that swooned the small population. He was a marvelous man, and Jean Valjean's most secure person in the revolution.
Valjean, the ex-king, had aged over the years. He had laid his grief to the bottom of his heart, for his sweet Euphraise and departed Fantine, and wore a smile for his faithful people. He kissed their hands and claimed that yes, his kingdom would be reclaimed. For seventeen years he yelled that yes, his kingdom would be reclaimed.
Feuilly had grown as well, older and sitting patiently at Valjean's side. He picked up the the art of paper: making fans and lamps for the town he now called home. He could paint and curve it as easily as air. He loves it, and spends most of his nights making presents instead of profit, because the smile a small child makes lightens his heart more than a heavy wallet.
Often, Feuilly takes walks with Valjean around the village. They talk small, but sometimes Feuilly gets a glimpse into the cracks broken of his beloved King's heart. One time, during the beginning of fall and the end of summer, when the trees were dying colours of green with brown holes, Valjean clutched his heart and whispered, "I mourn dear boy, too much. It hurts."
Feuilly had taken him to his home, and prayed, "Let my King get some rest."
Valjean had heard him though, and whispered to the boy, "I am still not King."
!&!
Marius's life, had changed dramatically.
At the beginning of spring one year, when Marius is twenty, his grandfather grows ill and passes away. His grandfather's last words are, "Make sure to continue to Pontmercy line. Marry that girl I picked out. She'll bare you a good son."
Marius cries at his grandfather's side, but later, when the aftermath has set in and the body is in the ground in the family grave- the boy's feelings fleet. He becomes more drawn away, more curious, and less concerned.
It occurs to him how little he knows about his life. His grandfather had told him, through years of questions and wonders, his mother had left after he was born and his father followed shortly after. That his father had left because a child such as Marius was "awfully treacherous" to take care of. His grandfather had been a charitable, taking him in and bringing him up in the darkness of the Shaded Kingdom. Marius's life had been sculpted to the Pontmercy name, yelled at and etched to stand taller and speak better. Marius did his best to make his grandfather proud, but now his grandfather was dead, and there was a matter of the house.
His Grandfather's possessions we're meant to be sorted. Papers from years of life that Marius had never been told about. The girl his Grandfather had "picked out", a lady named Gwendolyn, had offered to help him with the mess, but Marius shushed her away from his side, not very attached to the brunette with large brown eyes and painted red lips.
He lounges about by himself in his Grandfather's study. Picking up papers and putting them in piles. This is his work stuff, his livelihood, his personal letters. The letters stop Marius and he sits down. Most are boring; discussing with the mayor of some past affairs, whether be over the issues of his home or his family.
There is one letter, all the way at the bottom that is singed on one side. Marius picks it up, his fingers lightly tracing the crisp side of the letter. He flips it over, and in large, curvy letters it read, "To: Marius". His eyes widen and he quickly goes to opening the letter.
The letter itself is barely burnt and the handwriting is neat. Marius buries his wonder for how a letter addressed to him became slightly singed and buried deep within his Grandfather's thing, to focus on the handwriting.
"Dear My Darling Marius,
I fear this is the last letter I will ever send you. I've sent so many the past year, and I believe your grandfather shows you known. I desperately hope he keeps them, hides them away from you, and one day you will find them all, and you will read them. I pray for that, my dear son.
I have tried everything in my power to convince King Javert that you belong with me, my son. He is an unwavering man though, and insists you belong under the care of your Grandfather. I'm sorry my son, I should have done better to make sure to stay in the kingdom with you. I have since my banishment, travelled to the Sun Kingdom and, oh sweet Marius, how you're heart would light up here. I wish I could see you, dazzling in the sun with your freckles. My boy, how the rays make me miss you. Seeing the King Valjean with his own daughter is enough to break my heart. Oh Marius, how I miss you.
I'm afraid my darling Marius, that I have grown very exhausted from my heartbreak. I'm quite afraid I don't know how to go on. I'm very tired Marius. Very tired. I do not know how to wake up, knowing that I will never see you become the proud boy I know you to be. I'm sorry my boy, I don't know how to wait to see if I will ever know you again.
I love you, my dear, sweet Marius.
Forever,
Your Father"
Marius's eyes are large, and his hands are shaking. He reads the letter once. Twice. Another time. Again. He reads the promises of love and the caring nicknames, and Marius is suddenly crying, throwing the letter to the ground and ripping through his Grandfather's things. He's looking for more letters. Boxes of letters addressed to Marius or My Son or My Darling because he was promised more letters. More words of love and explanation of all the lies whirling around in his head. He throws boxes to the ground and ruffles through odd ended envelopes and screams more than once.
An hour passes, maybe two, before Marius's mind finally gets to him.
The letters are burnt, his mind tells him. Gone forever in ash. For whatever reason, your Grandfather could not bring himself to burn this one. But the letters are gone. And you've lived a life of lies.
!&!
The thing of Marius, by the end of a harsh spring, is that he's run away from the Shaded Kingdom.
It took him a week to come to the conclusion. He asked about of his father, but people shook their heads. Gwendolyn grows tired of him and his incessant need to be away from her, and thus tells him, "Either you get over yourself and marry me, or I will move on to a new courter." And so, Marius comes to the conclusion, that he hates the place he lives.
The Sun Kingdom is not what it was when his father lived there, Marius knows that much. But he does wish to be out of the dark of the world, past the gates and trees and towards a brighter light. So, he runs towards North. The Shaded Kingdom is West, the Sun Kingdom is East, South is the sea. North seems logical.
His trip lasts, by himself, three days. On the third day, he comes to the realization that he has but one loaf of bread left and three coins to his name. He is lost in the woods, deep within the North, and no skills to find his own food.
In the midst of his inner turmoil, on how to prolong the death that is inevitable, he hears a rustle behind him. Of leaves crunchy and sticks breaking, and he turns around. His eyes widen for a moment, but before he can register anything, he is slammed into and toppled over on the ground. He sits up quickly, sure that a guard from the Shaded Kingdom has found him after a wild hunt to retrieve the last Pontmercy. He stares up, into the face of a boy no older than himself, with puffy cheeks and curly brown hair. The boy quickly puts a hand to his belt, and Marius can see the holster for a sword. He's going to be killed.
The boy says, in a light and casual tone, "Good day sir. My isn't the sun cold today?" There's an air of tricking curiosity in his voice, and Marius is quick to pick up the tone that says, "This is a code."
Marius puts his hands up, and tries to plead with the boy. "Please sir. I don't know what you're asking, if you're asking for a code. I'm no spy nor rouge. I ran away, and I wish to not die here." The brown eyes on the boy light up and Marius prays to be spared.
"A runaway? My, it's been awhile since someone's run this way." The boy completely lets go of his belt and extends a friendly hand. "My name is Courfeyrac, and you look like you haven't ate in a day, maybe two?"
"I only have a few pieces of bread left," Marius replies, grabbing the hand and allowing to be pulled up. "I've been sparring it."
"Where are you running off to?"
Marius shakes his head in reply.
The boys eyes grow warm, and a smile graces his features. Marius feels like a child under the boy's stare, and shifts nervously. Suddenly the boy's hand flies out again and he holds it promptly. "My name is Courfeyrac! Just Courfeyrac, if you please."
Marius blinks and shakes Courfeyrac's hand nervously. "I'm Marius-" He stops short, the word Pontmercy stopping and falling back down his throat and slamming into his stomach. He aches, and chokes out, "Marius. Just... Marius."
"Marius," Courfeyrac says carefully, giving a suspicious eye. When Marius nods, he shrugs off the look and says. "Alright then, Marius. Luckily for you, I'm a terribly nice person, and in the midst of you dilema, will take you to my home, just over the way here. A bit off to East, but mostly North. It's only a half a days more travel. We'll be there before night. Come along. Oh," Courfeyrac stops and turns to face the boy, still a friendly smile upon his face. "Out of pure and lovely curiosity, what are your opinions of the King Javert? I'm mildly interested, I wish to not offend you."
Marius thinks, of the letter and the legal agreements, of how King Javert had let his Grandfather take him. Banished his father. How he had torn apart poor Marius's life with no cause, no hesitation, nothing. How the King's cold hands had ripped Marius's father away, far away. And Marius's heart clenches and the drop in his stomach weighs more, and through gritted teeth he says, "I despise the man."
And Courfeyrac smiles.
!&!
Courfeyrac takes him to a small village Marius is sure he would have missed on his own. It's quaint and close together and there are no trees to hide the sky. It's dusk, and the sun is just setting over the tops of trees and the houses that are built and for the first time, Marius feels like he can fully see the sun. He's lived in the realms of the Shaded Kingdom for so long, he's never taken the time to look to the sunrise and set. He stares at the sky, where the blue fades darker and lighter and mixes with hues of purple, pink, orange, yellow. The shades blend and bleed- one falling into the next with little ease. Marius is hypnotized by the scene, and he almost cries a bit.
When he looks away, a long few moments later, he sees Courfeyrac looking away, clearly intending to give him privacy with the setting. Marius is grateful and smiles at the boy with curly brown, who nods in reply before continuing to lead him along. They come to the front building, where a small booth sits, and inside has a man sitting, leaning against the counter and drinking from a flask.
"Mornin' Courf," the man says with a husky voice. Courfeyrac frowns and crosses his arms and pouts. The man with an off-shade of pale eyes rolls them before saying, "right, right- sorry. My isn't the sun cold today?"
"The sun is never cold; merely hidden," Courfeyrac responds happily and the boy in the booth rolls his eyes again. He suddenly catches view of Marius, who had been cowering behind Courfeyrac, and raises an eyebrow to the freckled boy. He gestures for Courfeyrac to respond, who steps out of the way and smiles. "Ah yes! This is a new boy, Marius. Lost and afraid in the woods, so I brought him back home. Marius, meet Grantaire." Marius nods.
"Enjolras will ring your neck," Grantaire says to Courfeyrac instead. "You know how he feels about you bringing in strays."
"Oh please. He can very quickly get over it. Speaking of our fearless leader, where is he?"
"Off in the bar, talking up a storm again. The invasion is just a few months away." Grantaire looks to Marius, lifting an eyebrow and says, "You're awfully quiet, boy."
"You can't be much older than me?" Marius says instinctively, because while the man with shaggy black hair has old, tired eyes-his entire being suggests a younger body.
"Who knows?" The man shrugs then takes a drink out of his flask. "You better take him to Apollo. You're lucky Marius, you'll see Courfeyrac get chewed out royally."
"Oh, pish," Courfeyrac chuckles, before nodding for Marius to follow. "Although," he whispers when they're away from the booth. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did. Enjolras doesn't much like new people. Or any people, now that I think about it."
!&!
Enjolras, openly, doesn't like Marius too much. It takes a lot of convincing from Courfeyrac to let him stay, and much interrogating to prove Marius isn't a spy for the Shaded Kingdom. When they ask why he left, he simply says he was tired of their ways. He never tells them his last name is "Pontmercy" and they never ask.
The boys, who call themselves "le Amis", are a creative bunch of people who range in and out of a spectrum. Their personalities all spiral in different directions that somehow correlate into each other easily, an entire system of differences that flow together. Marius spends many times trying to slowly fit himself into this system.
It's hard, because he's shy and never had to make friends. Friends flocked to him because of the name Pontmercy; now he's sure they would leave if he mentioned it. He now has to talk about interests he's unsure of and politics he's not as engulfed in as everyone else.
Courfeyrac is the nicest, and let's Marius sleep in his apartment on a spare bed. Grantaire likes to tease him, all good heartedly because he also buys the freckled boy a drink when he's done. There's a few others who don't seem to mind him, but he still feels lopsided and Courfeyrac genuinely tries to include Marius in conversations he can't manage to form opinions about.
King Valjean meets him on the day of his arrival, right after Enjolras has pulled Courfeyrac aside to "talk with him". The King is old, but very nice and with a fragile smile.
"Hello, you're new," he says and sits next to Marius at the table. "Not a spy, I assume. Lost or a runaway?"
Marius smiles and nods. "The second one," he answers.
"Ah, yes. You'll fit in just fine here."
"Will I?" Marius had asked himself, but the King had heard and patted his shoulder.
"Not at first, I know. No one fits in at first. Give it time, all things find a place."
Marius smiles, and the King Valjean returns the gesture. He's soon pulled away by a man named Feuilly, and Marius is left alone again at the table. He stares at the table, with splinted wood and cracks, and prays the table won't break. And prays he won't, either.
!&!
Cosette is older now. A teenager, with large green eyes and a heart shaped face. Her skin is pale, a result of years spent inside. Most days, she spends in front of her mirror, inspecting every inch of her simple face. Eyelashes that are long, eyebrows that thin, teeth that glowing, lips that are light. Her nose is flat and boring. She looks at herself everyday, and everyday, she sees nothing special.
She has spent the past years of her life cooped inside a tower. She has never left-too dangerous, her parents tell her. She has stayed up inside a tower her whole life, and in the meantime, her hair has grown.
Her mother and father, two beings who mean to protect her, had taught her at a young age the power her hair holds. They taught her the song, a lullabye they had sang to her. They told her they once lived in a village, and that when she was born people rejoiced her. When they found of her hair's powers though, they had made to steal young Cosette, and cut her hair. That was why, behind her neck, she had a tiny stub of dark brown hair. Once it had been cut, the colour from it had drained and the hair had altogether stopped growing. Whenever she dare to ask her parents to leave the tower, just for a bit, they would pull on this stump of hair and remind her that the outside world was bad. She would agree, and go back to her room.
She mostly lives by herself. Sometimes her parents stay with her, but they often have other things to do. She's old enough to cook and scared enough to never leave, so they don't mind her being alone. She has three other siblings; an older sister named Eponine, a younger sister named Azelma, and a younger brother named Gavroche. (Eponine had once mentioned the life of two other brothers, but they had died in childbirth and Cosette decided to never ask.) Her siblings do not visit her often though-in fact she hasn't seen Gavroche since he was a baby. They all stay on the ground, in the world of bad people and mean intentions.
Her days are spent boring, tedious, and insane. She's taught herself to cook and paint and read and still, she runs out of things to think. Her brain creates people, stories, and words, and she wishes on stars for someone to come find her, someone to make the days go by quicker.
The only people who come though are her mother and father, and she throws down her hair and pulls them up, one at time.
"Morning Mother, morning Father," she says and let's her mother hug her.
"Good morning, Colette," her father says absently, and Cosette pretends to not feel the sting in her heart.
"Oi, you dope, it's Cosette. You named her for christ sake," her mother defends, but her father has stopped listening and went to the kitchen to eat some cookies Cosette had made the day before.
Cosette looks at her parents. Her mother is dark skinned, with dark blonde hair that's graying today. It curls all around her and is decorated with trinkets and dead flowers. Her eyes are tiny and brown, and her teeth are crooked and yellow. She has an upturned nose and bushy eyebrows, and Cosette stretches to say their lips look the same. Her father is tall and lean, with grayed red hair and small dark blue eyes. His eyebrows are bushy too, and his teeth have a large gap in the front and Cosette stretches to say their noses are similar. They look nothing like her, and this is why she spends her days staring at herself in the mirror.
They don't beat around the bush, and in a minute her mother is asking, "Cosette, won't you sing for Mother? I'm feeling awfully tired."
She nods, and goes to sit on a stool, closely to a chair that her Mother perches herself on. She grabs a hairbrush from a table and waits as Cosette begins to sing.
Cosette's voice is quiet, gentle. A bare hum in her throat and the word's ring beautifully. It flies out of her throat, to the windows, and soars out, away from her. When she finishes and looks to her mother, her eyes are larger, her hair is lighter, her teeth are whiter. Cosette still looks nothing like her, and she sighs.
"Thank you darling," she kisses the girl on the forehead, sloppy and Cosette appreciates it, but feels her heart sag.
"Mother," she says. "How is Eponine? I haven't seen her in a long time."
"'Ponine?" her Father answers instead. "Oh, the brat ran off again. She'll be back soon enough, but we haven't seen her in a week or so. Azelma says she went off with some student brat."
Cosette's heart stutters in jealousy. Eponine has spent most of her life running from their family. The first time she did, she tried to take Cosette with her. Her parents found them, whipped them, and their Father had said to Eponine, "You cannot take her away from us! You can run away you dog, but don't you dare take away Cosette!" Eponine had cried and ran away, only to be back a week later.
Now, Cosette wonders how long Eponine will stay away. The longest she's ever left is a month, and although Cosette is terribly jealous, she wonders if this time Eponine will stay away and be happy. Because to Cosette, Eponine always seems terribly sad.
Eponine doesn't seem to like Cosette most times, glaring and rolling her eyes, but Cosette like Eponine's company best of all, because Eponine doesn't use her hair.
"Maybe I could help find her?" Cosette whispers, playing with a loose thread in her dress.
It's a quick motion, one second her Mother is dotting and lovely, the next she has that short bit of brown hair wrapped around her fingers and pulling Cosette to stand up. "You are not to leave! Don't you dare bring this up again Cosette!"
Cosette nods, tears blurring her eyes. Her mother gives a final jerk, before letting go and walking to the window to leave.
Her father approaches, and lays a hand on her shoulder. "Understand Coquette, we just don't want people to hurt you. Men out there? Much scarier than you'd probably think." He laughs, gives a lighter tug to that hateful brown piece of hair. It's meant to be playful, but it's sore and she cries a little to herself. She let's them down from her tower. They don't say when they'll return, or if anyone will come to visit her. As far as she knows, this is the last time she'll see them.
!&!
Back at her mirror, she stares at herself. Her eyes are young, her face is pure, and her hair is the shade of the sun. Behind her, she can see the sun setting, through the reflection of the mirror and out the window. She sees trees, and birds flying far away. Farther away than she will ever be. She cries again.
!&!
A/N: Hello! I hope you're liking the story thus far! If you'd like to know about future updates, the occasional sneak peak, and me making excuses as I try to explain why the next chapter is taking so long, you can follow me on tumblr with the blog named: theonewhowrites. Icon credit to poninefauchelevent on tumblr. Isn't it beautiful? Ugh. I love it.