Over the next week, both Clara and AJ snuck out of the palace and went into the city, handing out as much as they could to the poor.

  Now, five days before her birthday, Clara sneaked out once again, AJ, of course, with her.

 "I'm just going to go to the Floral shop to get some flowers for my father's grave. I'll meet up with you again!" AJ said, after they had finished handing out food and a bit of money. 

   "Sure! I'm just going to wander around, don't worry." Clara waved before continuing around the streets.

   She could hear and see people yelling and shouting for other people to come and buy their wares, other people running around in a hurry, and others standing in small groups chatting and gossiping, some even arguing.

  As she continued walking, she noticed a large crowd up ahead. 'What in all of Paris is going on?' She thought. She wondered if it was another child caught stealing or something.

Curious, she went nearer and nearer until she was swallowed up by the crowds. 

  " - the king has done nothing to help this drowning country! He throws lavish balls nearly every week, spending bags and bags of money, while the people are starving and most without a roof over their heads. If things are to change, the king has to go!" A voice shouted.

   Clara suddenly gasped as she realised what was going. It was a rally... to get rid of the monarchy. Her father! 

   As much as her common sense told her to walk away, she couldn't. The voice held her spell-bound, as if compelling her to stay.

  "We have mouths and voices and we need to use them!" The voice continued.

  Clara took in the sight around her. There were men handing out leaflets to the crowd as two men stood on a platform, one of them shouting out his speech. Again, she gasped.

   It was the blonde man in the red jacket!

   'He's a revolutionary?!' Clara was shocked, accepting a leaflet from a lady around her age.

 "- fight back! Rise and save the country and the people!" He shouted.

   Cheers rose up from the crowd. 

  Clara could see that the man had great skills for public speeches. He had the crowd stirred up, he was able to make her stay when she should have walked away, considering she was a princess and that he spoke against her father.

   "Vive La France!" A familiar voice of a child yelled.

  "Gavroche?" Clara said under her breath.

  "Vive La France! Vive La France!" The crowd took up the new cry.

Suddenly, whistles and the sound of hoofbeats on cobblestones were heard.

  "It's the police!" Someone cried.

  Both the men on the platform and the men handing out leaflets stopped what they were doing and looked up. 

   "Come back in two days! We'll meet here again!" The message was passed around to the crowd. "Vive La France!"

  Fearing for their lives and safety, everyone started pushing and shoving to get away from the police. A warning shot was fired into the air by the police and people screamed.

   Clara, startled, was trapped. She suddenly panicked, fearing she would trip and get trampled.

  She suddenly felt someone grab her arm and pull her away from the chaos of feet and hooves, into an alleyway and from there, back streets. 

  Clara stumbled as she tried to keep up, keeping her eyes on the ground to watch her footing. 

 Soon, she and her rescuer stopped in a pretty quiet street. There were people around, but it wasn't very busy, unlike the street they just escaped from.

   Her rescuer let go of her arm, breathing heavily.

 Out of breath, Clara continued looking down at the ground as she tried to get air back in her lungs. When she was done, she looked up and all words of thanks were lost. 

  It was him. The man who she bumped into. The man she followed out of curiosity and who saved her from the revolting man. And more importantly, it was the man who was giving the speech a few minutes ago.

   "Why is it, that I seem to be saving you all the time?" The man asked, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation as he recognised her.

  "I'm sorry! I was just... trapped." Clara apologised, "Thank you, though, very much for saving me. I could have been killed if you hadn't pulled me away." She added.

  The man sighed, "Yes, you could have. And you're welcome, I guess." 

 "You were the one giving the speech?" Clara asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

  "Yes, I am." The man nodded, his eyes lighting up at the mention of the rally.

  "Do you normally get interrupted by the police?" She asked.

  "Most of the time, but other times we've been lucky." He said.

 "I realised too late that," Looking down at her hands in embarrassment, "I never thanked you properly for the other time you rescued me. So, thank you." Clara looked back up.

  "You're welcome. I have a feeling you don't get out much... A word of advice, be careful were you go. Some of these streets and alleyways contain dangerous people." The man said.

   "Yes, my friend AJ said that when I told her about it. It was my second time out, so I had no idea." Clara explained.

  His eyes flooded with recognition at the name but it was gone before she could question it.

 "So, you were listening." He stated.

 "Yes, I was. You have a great talent for speaking, monsieur. I compliment you on that. You also have a way with words. I believe some people say that words are mightier than the sword." Clara said, smiling slightly. 

  "Merci, mademoiselle," The man nodded, "So, what do you think, about the king?" He asked suddenly.

   Clara panicked slightly, but she calmed down in order to answer him. "Well..." She started, thinking, "You are right. The king is doing nothing to help the people and the country. And I've seen it. Children resulting into stealing to survive, the poor having nothing to call their own except for the rags on their back. They are starving, freezing, and have nowhere to call home except the cold and wet stones of the streets." She replied, truthfully giving her thoughts on the matter, pushing aside her conscience about who she was.

    The man nodded, his face still unreadable, but his eyes showed that he was slightly impressed by her views.

   "All too true, I'm afraid mademoiselle," He agreed, "I've seen it, and  my friends and I do what we can to help." 

   "I take it your friends are the other men who were giving out these leaflets?" Clara guessed.

   "Correct." The man nodded.

  "I'll have to read this. Did you write it out?" Clara asked.

   "You are a good guesser, mademoiselle. Yes, I wrote some of it, then I had a couple of my friends and my sister go over it and edit it." He said. 

  "You're sister is a," Here, Clara lowered her voice to make sure that no one heard, "revolutionary as well, I take it?" 

   "Yes, she is. She's around your age, I guess. One of my biggest supporters." The man smirked slightly at the mention of his sister before his face fell back into it's unreadable expression.

    "That must be very nice then." Clara smiled.

   He nodded. He opened his mouth to say something when the sound of running footsteps interrupted them. 

   "There you are! Thank goodness I found you! We've all made it, thankfully. No one injured! Come on, we're waiting on you." A lady came up.

  "Oh, right! I'm just coming." The man nodded at the girl before turning back to look at Clara, "Pardon me, mademoiselle, but I have to go. It has been nice to talk with you. Au revoir." He bowed his head before he ran off in the direction the lady came from.

   The lady looked at her curiously. "You must have either said something or done something that my brother stood around and talked to you." She said, "Not to be rude or harsh, it's just that... he doesn't take notice of women at all. And the only women he speaks more than a few words to is me, our mother and a friend of mine." 

   "Oh! No offence taken at all. I had a feeling that he's not one that fools around." Clara laughed lightly, "Well, we only got talking because he pulled me away from the chaos back where the rally was, and rescued me."

  "Oh! Are you all right? Are you hurt? I know a doctor if you need one." The lady asked, concern flooding her eyes.

   "Oh no! No, I'm fine! Thank you so much, but I'm fine, really." Clara assured her.

   "Oh, that's good. I had to make sure because, well, my brother can be quite oblivious to ask things like that." The lady laughed.

   "Well, thanks for asking anyway! And please thank your brother again for me for rescuing me." Clara smiled.

   "Of course!" The lady nodded, "I will, and no bother at all!  Can you find your way to wherever you need to go?" 

   "Yes, I think I can. I had better go, I've got a friend waiting for me and she's going to be wondering what on earth happened to me!" Clara waved as she started to head off, "Au revoir!" 

   "Au revoir!" The lady called back, waving before she took off in the direction her brother had gone.

  Clara found AJ again eventually. She was looking around frantically.

   "AJ!" Clara called out, running over to her friend.

 "Clara! Oh thank goodness I found you! Where in all of Paris have you been? I was wondering what on earth happened to you." AJ gasped.

   "Sorry, I umm... I came across a rally and then the police came so it was chaotic, then I got rescued, and would you believe it was the same man I told you about that rescued me before?" Clara explained in a rush.

   "Oh.... wait, a rally?!" AJ's eyes widened, "I'm so sorry! I should have warned you about those." 

   "It's fine! Really, I actually enjoyed it, and... I agree with what he was saying." Clara chuckled slightly.

   "You're now a revolutionary supporter?" AJ whispered in order not to get heard.

  "Yes... yes I guess I am." Clara nodded slowly, "Come on, we best get back."

~|---|~*~|---|~ 

   Here's the next chapter!! Hope you all enjoyed it and I'll see you all in the next one!! 😊😊😊 

  Claire xxx ⚜