31/7/13

Hey again. Finally here it is the next chapter of If This Is My Apollo's Wish! Sorry I have been on holiday and as most of you will know my aunt died last week and her funeral is on Friday. So I may be writing I may not!

Chapter 7
Enjolras woke to thudding above his head. The floorboards were only weak above him, strong enough to keep him confined, but thin enough as so he could hear everything that was going on around him. The noise that snapped him out of his period of unconsciousness, sleep was too nice a word for it, was the slamming of a door and a chorus of stomping footsteps. Enjolras had been there two weeks now and he had almost given up on any hope of being rescued by his friends. If there was anyone looking then they would have found him by now; surely Grantaire's brothers were top of the list of people that wanted to kidnap him. Enjolras sighed in despair; it was bad he could even come up with a list. The footsteps continued to thump until he heard a door swing open. "You bastards!" one of the newcomers exclaimed. "I thought I said leave him alone and what do you do? Kidnap him!" he screamed. Enjolras knew they were talking about him, but who was his unlikely rescuer?

"Sorry boss," Louis replied, with unnecessary emphasis on the "boss." "But we don't want to take orders from you anymore; your boy is easy picking," he snarled in reply. Enjolras frowned. "Your boy..." Why would someone here have claim over him? But his head was swimming; it was hard enough to keep track of the conversation. He couldn't be thinking this puzzle through as well.

"I'll kill you," the first voice hissed furiously.
"Calm down Nic," another voice soothed and Enjolras perked up. It was Nicolas, his Grantaire, not one of the horrid ones. He cursed himself for not recognising the voice of his loved one; Louis must have hit him on the head harder than he thought. His head began to spin again as the Grantaire family feud raged on.

"I will not calm down!" Grantaire screamed, storming forwards. All Enjolras' thoughts were on Grantaire, he sent a frantic prayer out that Grantaire wouldn't get hurt and they would both get out of here safely. The door swung open and instinctively, Enjolras cowered in the corner. He knew it was weak but sometimes self-preservation called for you to look weak.

"Hey, it's okay Ricard," a soft female voice soothed, holding him in her arms. "It's Marie. Do you remember me, sweetheart?" she asked with a soft smile. Of course he remembered Marie, she had been a maid in his step father's household since he was around twelve and he moved in. When he was fourteen and before he realised he was homosexual, he housed a secret little crush in the petit blonde. Enjolras nodded with a small smile, "Now Erin is going to get you out of here while the rest of us deal with those three. Please go," Marie begged and despite wanting to stay and help Nicolas, Enjolras agreed. Her face disappeared and was soon replace by a girl who was the exact replica of Grantaire as a female.

"Okay Ricard. You're going to need to stand up for me," she soothed as he heard Marie's footsteps echoing away. Enjolras nodded; he wasn't an invalid, he could stand up perfectly well... He was just slightly out of practice, that was all. It took a few minutes to get to his feet and a few more to cross the room but by the time they were faced with climbing the saris, his dizziness had vanished and he could walk unaided. The brothers had not done any serious damage to his body but he was still weak from the lack of food and movement. They slowly climbed the stairs while Erin was trying to distract him from the unsettling noises coming from above but the worry for the youngest Grantaire boy was evident on his face. They managed to slide out as a three on three war was tearing apart the house. Marie and the other Grantaire on Nicolas' side were holding back Francis and Fredrick as Louis was getting his face thoroughly beaten in by Nicolas. He was like a man possessed as he pinned Louis down with unbelievable strength for a short and stubby man. Erin pulled him out the door hurriedly as Fredrick wrestled his way out of Marie's grasp and ran towards the fleeing duo. They ran as fast through the streets as fast as Enjolras could manage until the painted signs on the roads turned from blue to red. Enjolras had no idea what that meant but it seemed to comfort Erin as they slowed to a walk and Enjolras could finally catch his breath.

However, it wasn't long before footsteps ricocheted off the close walls; but this time Erin didn't run. She stood firm, pulling Enjolras behind her to protect him. Usually Enjolras would protest and step away, determined that he did not need protecting. But he didn't know what was coming and Erin did; that put him at a disadvantage, Enjolras hated being at a disadvantage. The footsteps drew closer and slowed to a jog. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the little nursemaid Grantaire," a malicious voice laughed from the shadows.

"Not now Parnasse," Erin snarled. "Just let us through," she almost begged. Enjolras tensed, he knew where they were; they had run out of St-Germain des Pres, Grantaire territory into Montparnasse district, Patron Minette territory. He didn't know which was worse.

"Aw darling," Montparnasse cooed and stroked her cheek. "You should speak better to your fiancé," he chuckled, forcefully kissing her. Erin tolerated his rough play with her.

"I said not now, 'Parnasse," she snapped, pushing him away. "We just want to pass through. She pushed Enjolras away, towards the back streets. But as soon as Erin stood touching him, Babet was behind and had him tightly in his grasp. No matter how much he kicked and struggled to larger man would not release his hold; Enjolras was trapped, again. Montparnasse prowled past Erin to examine his catch,

"Well, well, if it isn't the revolutionary," he chuckled.

"Don't you dare touch him," Erin hissed, pulling on his coat.

"What would you do about it?" he chuckled, turning to face Erin once more. "What would you do if we stripped him down, took all his belongings, killed him and threw him into the Seine? You cannot do anything Mademoiselle Grantaire, you are mine," he growled and nipped her neck. Erin squeezed her eyes shut and reluctantly submitted.

"And what is this?" another familiar voice shouted from the shadows. Eponine stepped out and confronted her ex-lover. "While Papa is away I am in charge. Let them both go," she growled.

"We are just doing our jobs, Eppy darling," Montparnasse taunted as he moved away from Erin, much to Enjolras' relief. He dreaded to think of such a sweet girl with a man such as Montparnasse.

"These boys are under my protection. Let him go!" she snarled and the other members backed away, dropping Enjolras limply to the floor. At seeing his entourage falter, Montparnasse backed away; "I will get my fun Eponine," he huffed and the Minette disappeared, leaving Eponine and her back up along with the trespassers. Eponine sunk to her knees next to Enjolras and helped his weak body up with a sigh. "What happened, Erin?" Eponine asked the other girl.

"Louis and the twins held him captive to get to Nicolas. We rescued him and I ran while Nic and Henri fought them off," Erin explained and Eponine's fists tightened.

"No one hurts Nic," she growled. They had been close when they were young; when Eponine moved to Paris and into the Montparnasse district, her parents beat her and so did his. They met when Grantaire was hiding from his brothers and Eponine was running from her father. They sat and played in the sand with them each on their own side of the boundary. From then on, they met every time one of them was hurt and comforted each other. She was like a sister to him and he was a brother to her; and she would not let him get hurt. "Take the boys," she said to Erin and gestured to the two young boys. "Get Nicolas and Henri out of there safe. I'll take Enjolras to safe ground," she stated and Erin nodded solemnly. After planting a soft kiss on Enjolras' head she was gone and Enjolras' was fading. "Come on Enj; let's get you to the Musain. You'll be safe there," she smiled, helping him to his feet slowly. Enjolras nodded weakly but the adrenaline was wearing off quickly and the world was fading round the edges. Grantaire would be safe soon and he was going home. Maybe everything would turn out alright in the end. It never stayed that way though.