A/N: HAPPY EASTER! Go eat lots of candy now. I did…
"Enjolras, who is that?" Cosette asked as she too spotted Colin approaching. Colin sported a large grin on his face and a stack of paper in his hand that he was waving about. He was his normal cheerful self, and he seemed to have a bounce in his step.
"That is a boy we were acquainted with briefly the other day; he supports my revolution and he gave his word that he would try and rally some of the rich people who disagreed with my ideas," Enjolras explained, but his answer did not please Marius and Cosette.
"Enjolras, what is wrong with you my friend? You are in the beautiful city of Provence with Eponine, and you are still focused on your bloody revolution? Take your head out of the clouds for a moment and smell the fresh air around you! Are you physically and mentally unable to take a break from planning and rallying?" Marius reprimanded. Enjolras looked quite offended.
"Since our return to Provence, I have only focused on the revolution for part of one day, and that was when I was visiting old friends and trying to muster them for the revolution! Yet, they didn't seem to be swayed at all, and that is why Colin is trying to help us," Enjolras said, but Marius still didn't seem to be pleased with his friend. But this was a big deal for Enjolras, normally it seemed to him that he spent almost every waking second plotting and planning, and now he was taking a bigger break than he ever had before.
"Good day, Colin!" Enjolras said happily as the excited boy approached. Colin nodded at Enjolras and kissed all of the present mademoiselle's hands, just as a true gentleman should do. Cosette and Clara found Colin's boyish charms absolutely adorable, and he blushed as they complimented him.
"I do not believe I have met you before," Colin said referring to Marius, Cosette, and Clara. After brief they finished introducing themselves, Colin began to unfold the paper he had been holding.
"This is absolutely amazing!" Colin exclaimed happily showing Enjolras and Eponine the paper, but it meant nothing to the pair who just stared at it blankly.
"All I see is a page full of scribbles… Are those signatures?" Enjolras asked taking a closer look. Colin nodded his head so quickly and enthusiastically that Eponine was sure that it would fall right off. Suddenly, Enjolras' eyes seemed to widen in realization and he began to count the signatures.
"What? What did I miss?" Eponine asked, still quite confused. Colin took the liberty to explain the situation to her.
"Yesterday, I told my friends that Albaric here had come to visit and he brought word confirming the revolution that we had been so excited about. I repeated his speech to my friends, and I tried to recount the horrors that Eponine had faced. And I told them that most importantly, in the midst of all the hate and fighting that will soon arise, you will find love. The center of this revolution is the love between a gamine and a leader! He loves her so much that he is fighting for a new world for his Eponine to live in happily without fear. And Enjolras does not only fight for his Eponine, but for all the other people like her who suffer day by day on the streets!" Colin said fervently. Eponine thought in that moment, Colin resembled Enjolras greatly. She was still confused as how that related to the signatures, so she motioned for him to continue speaking.
"When I was done speaking, I explained to my friends how they will be able to help, and they said that they would do what it takes to bring about this 'new world.' I wanted it to be official, so I made them take a pledge and then sign their name on the paper here. I made them hold up two fingers and say 'France before pants!'" Colin laughed. Enjolras seemed stunned, but Eponine, Marius, Cosette, and Clara were thrown into a fit of laughter.
"Those signatures represent all the people who took the oath? You have already managed to gain that many supporters in such little time?" Eponine said in awe, all her laughter seemed to reside immediately as she surveyed the paper.
"Maybe I should let Colin be the leader of the revolution," Enjolras chuckled. Colin took that as a great compliment even though Enjolras was joking. It still made him inflate with pride, for Enjolras had immediately become his role model even after knowing him for merely a day.
"Today my friends and I are going to try and talk some sense into the uncooperative men that you used to call your friends. If we can't inspire them, we will move on and try and rally some other people," Colin said loyally.
Colin finally bid goodbye saying that he needed to leave already, and Enjolras took a moment to let what Colin had said sink it. Colin had mentioned yesterday that they were fighting out of love, but Enjolras hadn't really processed that. Was he really fighting out of love? He had never thought of it that way before, in fact he had assumed the opposite: he thought his hatred of the king had been fueling his argument, but he realized that wasn't true anymore. Hate will only take you so far, but love can make a person do the impossible, and Enjolras was indeed a man in love. This new world that he fought for, it was for his Eponine and everyone who had to suffer like her.
"He seemed like a nice fellow," Marius stated after Colin had left. Everyone agreed with him because honestly, it was impossible not to love Colin.
"Would you two wish to accompany us for lunch? We are going to the little café just around the corner," Enjolras suggested. Marius and Cosette looked at each and eagerly nodded their heads in a 'yes.'
"We would love to come and join you!" Marius said happily. When everyone began to walk towards the café, he held Enjolras back. "I apologize for what I said earlier about you focusing on the revolution too much. I take it back, especially after Colin said that you were doing it out of love."
Enjolras nodded solemnly as the two joined the girls in their short walk to the café.
It was nighttime before Eponine, Enjolras, and Clara returned to the Enjolras Manor. Smiles were present on all of their lips as they replayed the fun events of the day. After lunch, they had visited a local vineyard where Eponine was surprised to learn that Enjolras was an adept artist. He brought a sketchpad and some paints, and Eponine allowed him to paint her sitting in the vineyard. Marius, Cosette, and Clara attempted to draw as well, but Cosette's painting was the only one that resembled a human.
After they had left the vineyard, they sampled some of the fine wine that Provence had to offer. Eponine wished that Grantaire had been there for that part of the evening, but he probably would have drunk the entire supply.
After the wine tasting, they went out to get a slice of cake to celebrate Cosette and Marius' and Clara's engagement. The cake had tasted absolutely amazing, so they bought another to take home for later.
Eponine had never had a more eventful and fun day in her entire life, and she had certainly never eaten so much delicious food. Eponine secretly wished that it had been just her and Enjolras, but she did enjoy the company of Clara, Cosette, and Marius.
Too soon it had seemed, they had to depart and they were home again. Aunt Agnes greeted them cheerfully, but their hearts all seemed to stop when Jacques made his appearance. His face was absolutely livid.
"Come, I shall talk to you three in the parlor. And wife, go send for Grantaire; I would like for him to be there as well," Jacques said angrily. Surprisingly, his anger seemed to be directed at Clara, and he grabbed her wrist as he dragged her to the parlor, Enjolras and Eponine following behind. The two silently exchanged looks of confusion and fear before Jacques roughly shoved Clara into the parlor.
"I always thought that Albaric was the disappointment in this family, but I was absolutely shocked to discover that I am ashamed of you too, Clara!" Jacques spat with hate in his eyes. Clara looked horrified as she tried to think of what had happened to make her uncle so angry.
"I forbid you to marry Grantaire," he said through gritted teeth. His cold eyes were staring so intently at Clara that Eponine thought she might catch on fire. Clara, on the other hand, looked as though she were about to cry. So that was the cause of his anger; a wedding.
"You cannot forbid me to marry him, uncle! I love that man more than anything in this entire world, and you cannot take my world away from me! Grantaire is everything, and I simply will not be able to live without him!" Clara said on the verge of tears. Jacques looked at Clara pitifully.
"Your whining is not very becoming. What happened to the proper lady that you once were? You are not going to be marrying Grantaire; he is a drunk and he is too involved in the revolution. I already have one rebel in my family, and I do not want another one!" Jacques shouted as Grantaire made his appearance.
"What is happening?" he asked in confusion when he saw Clara's tear streaked face. He immediately ran up to her to embrace her as he glared at Jacques.
"Just moments before those three returned to the house, Agnes mentioned something to me about 'wedding plans.' Now, I assumed it was Eponine and Albaric's wedding so I wasn't too pleased. However, I would accept their wedding for I don't care too much about what happens to Albaric and what he chooses do with his life anymore now that I have learned that he is a revolutionist, but when I mentioned this to Agnes she said I had gotten it all wrong. It was Clara and Grantaire who were engaged. Imagine my horror; my precious girl getting married to a drunk rebel. It just won't do," Jacques said icily.
"You're not my father and you do not have the authority to say such things!" Clara shouted angrily through her tears.
That longing was back in Eponine's heart when Jacques had just assumed it was her and Enjolras' wedding. Eponine could feel herself staring sadly at Clara's ring. Eponine knew that it hadn't been too long since she and Enjolras declared their love, but it was true love. Enjolras and herself were the most loyal people that Eponine had ever known, and she knew they would always be there for each other.
"I am going to marry this woman; we do not need your blessing nor your consent," Grantaire spat back with just as much venom in his voice. Clara was sobbing into his arms; she had always been somewhat of a wimp.
"Yes, Clara, I may not be your father, but your father would say the same thing and you know it! I'll bet he is turning in his grave at this moment because of your ridiculous engagement!" Jacques shouted ignoring Grantaire.
"Never put words in my father's mouth. He wasn't the best man to ever exist, granted, and I know Albaric despised him for his greediness, but he did believe in true love. And I know for a fact that he would want his daughter to be happy, even if her husband was part of the revolution," Clara cried.
"I do not care what your father would have wanted, he's dead now and I don't want you to get married to this man!" Jacques said pointing at Grantaire. Eponine and Enjolras began to feel quite awkward and unnecessary standing there, but they didn't dare move. Jacques smells fear.
"I am going to run away and you will never see me again, uncle. I hate you, and I will be with Grantaire!" Clara sobbed, and Grantaire wrapped his arms around his fiancé even tighter
"F-fine. I see that no matter what I say, you will end up marrying this man. Run away with him, for all I care. But beware; after you two have been married I hope never to see your face again!" Jacques shouted. "You can stay here until Eponine and Albaric leave, but then you must go with them."
Clara let out one last sob before Grantaire led her away from her uncle, shooting him a harsh glare on their way out. Enjolras felt sad for his sister, and he would do everything he could to defend her.
"Uncle that was harsh! Let her marry who she wants without grief," Enjolras shouted at his uncle. Enjolras had known that his uncle was a bad person, but he never thought he would try to force his own niece from marrying who she wants.
"That Grantaire is a bad influence!" Jacques shouted back bellowing his hands like a madman. Enjolras squinted furiously at his uncle in reply.
"I do not know if anyone bothered to tell you, but he is one of my best friends as well as my flat mate. He gets on my nerves sometimes, he can get on everyone nerves, but he is a good man at heart. He knows how to have fun, and I am sure he will be very loyal and dedicated to Clara. He does drink a lot, but ever since Clara has been around I noticed his habit has gotten better! Clara loves him, why can you not?" Enjolras demanded fiercely.
"Just go," Jacques said in a deadly quiet whisper. The whisper in his voice was somehow more terrifying than his shouting, and Enjolras did not want to test his patience.
"Come on, Eponine," Enjolras said quickly grabbing her hand and leading her out of the room. He observed her face and noticed she looked quite sad.
"What's wrong?" Enjolras asked her softly, all the anger in his eyes had been flushed out.
"I just wish that your uncle would approve of all of us. He is the kind of cruel man that makes me sick, and we are stuck in a house with him. Today was a nice distraction though," Eponine said with a smile ghosting her lips. Enjolras looked as though he remembered something, and he took a piece of paper out from the inside of his jacket.
"Here is the painting I drew of you," he said handing it to Eponine. She took the painting in her hands and admired its beauty once more. Eponine had been so in shock the first time she had seen the painting that she hadn't really grasped the details. But now, she could see how much detail Enjolras had put in down to the bugs flying in the air and the dimples on Eponine's cheeks.
"This is truly an exquisite piece of work. If I had any money I would buy it with a thousand francs!" Eponine exclaimed. Enjolras chuckled and squeezed her hand.
"I doubt it would ever be worth that much, but we can keep on dreaming," he laughed as Eponine kept admiring the painting.
Eponine turned over the drawing to see Enjolras had written four words on the back:
My love, my Patria
A/N: Yikes! I think with every chapter I write, I begin to hate Jacques even more than I did. But I really like Colin, and he kind of reminds me of Colin Creevey from Harry Potter, just bigger.