A fire within

Mulan AU. Eponine disguises as a man so she can join the army in Gavroche's place. She soon develops a crush on the general. Enjolras/Eponine, Eponine/Grantaire FRIENDSHIP

I was ill when I wrote this (just a heads up)

As usual, this is just a trial chapter to see if anyone is actually interested in this kind of story. I think it might have been done before, but I can't find anything so I decided to write this.

Also, English is not my fist language, so, if there are any mistakes/grammar errors, I apologise.

"You can't send Gavroche you utter lunatic!" Eponine scolded, yelling across the room, her eyes wide with rage. "He's thirteen for god's sake!" The room was dim, the only light being the tiny flame that bloomed from the tip of the melting candle. Eponine let out a sigh as her father lolled his head back against the concrete wall, not really giving a damn.

Thenardier grumbled and tilted his chair back to an unstable angle. "It's not a choice Eponine." He slurred, lazily. Eponine crossed her arms over her chest, leaning over the table-top to look her father dead in the eye.

"You're just too much of a coward to face the army yourself, so you're sending Gavroche in your place. You're pathetic!" Eponine spat. Her words were as cold as ice but her voice was burning like fire. Gavroche tiptoed into the room and nocked his fist against the cold wooden surface of the door. Eponine swivelled on her heals to face her brother.

"Hey, sis, it's okay. I'm fine with bein' a soldier. Might be fun." Gavroche gave a nonchalant shrug and half-smiled. Gavroche was the type of kid who knew how to look after himself. He also knew how to hide his emotions and keep to himself. "I'm not a little kid anymore Eponine. I can take care of myself, you know." Eponine frowned. Thenardier gave a mocking shrug and watched as Eponine stormed out of the room, feeling frustrated and stressed out.

…

Grantaire and Eponine sat outside the barn, resting on a messy bundle of hay that lay unattended outside Eponine's old barn-house. Eponine held herself up on her scabbed elbows, looking out at the setting sun, the sky turning a beautiful orange colour with a fade-out shade of red. Grantaire lie on his back, his hands linked at the back of his neck as he stared up at the sky. "When are you leaving?" Eponine asked.

Grantaire was joining the army, since his father died when he was two. It was stated that from every family, one male must sacrifice themselves for their country and join the army to fight against the invaders. "Leavin' tomorrow mornin'." He replied half-heartedly, kicking his mud-stained boots against the ground.

"You'll look after Gav' like you said, right?" she said, turning her head to face the man. Grantaire tilted his head back and took a deep breath. Eponine assumed that was a yes. She looked back up at the sky. The sun had almost completely disappeared. The night was about to begin…the darkest night in the history of nights. "…Gavroche should have to go…he's just going to get killed…this is ridiculous." Eponine exclaimed. Grantaire hummed, only half paying attention to what Eponine was saying. In his mind, he was already dead. "If girls were allowed to join the army, I'd take his place."

Grantaire chuckled. "Yeah right." He said over sarcastically. "A girl wouldn't last five minutes out there." Eponine narrowed her eyes and wacked Grantaire on the shoulder with the back of her hand like you would if you were trying to kill a fly.

Eponine thought for a moment. If there was some way she could become a man to take Gav's place in the army, then she would…but that's impossible…or is it? Eponine's eyes widened. "'Taire!" she exclaimed, grabbing at his arm and giving it an intense squeeze. "I just had the most insane idea! See, when I was a kid, I used to dress kind of tom-boyish and everyone thought I was a guy. What if-"

"No!" Grantaire screamed a little too loudly, cutting her off mid-sentence. He sat himself up straight. "No-no-no-no-no, you are not posing as a guy to join the fucking army! That's breaking the law Eponine!" he said, almost pulling his own hair out with his fist.

Eponine grinned. "Hey, if I don't get caught, then what's the big deal? I'm probably going to die anyway."

"Eponine…if the soldiers find out that you're a girl, they'll have your head!" Eponine shrugged at that.

"I'm probably going to die anyway…what's the big deal?" Grantaire face-palmed himself. Bloody hell. "Come on R, I need to do this for Gavroche…I never really fit in with the girls anyway." Eponine shot him a cheeky wink and shot up to her feet. Grantaire shook his head, disbelievingly.

"This girl is going to be the death of me."

"Come on, you need to help me with a couple of things."

…

Enjolras pushed the sturdy wooden door open with his right arm. It obediently swung open as he walked into the room. He stood in the meeting hall which was a tall wooden building, painted gold and red with a clean white marble floor. In the middle of the wide hall sat a large table about the length of three grown men lying on their backs. On the left side of the table stood Inspector Javert in his silver army suit and on the right side of the table stood General Valjean, who dressed in armour of gold and red, and his daughter who wore a pink dress made from rare silk with flowers drawn from the hip down to the ankle.

As Valjean approached him, Enjolras bowed his head in respect to his teacher. "You summoned me, Captain?" Valjean nodded and walked back over to the large table. Enjolras slowly followed behind him. He soon came to realise that the table held a blue battle plan on its surface that stretched all the way across the top.

"I trust you heard of the invasion?" Valjean questioned. Enjolras nodded his head slightly. "Well, the Inspector and I have decided on our battle scheme. You see, as we speak, young men from around the country are being gathered up to fight this invasion. Now, I am going to be leading my men down to the West so we can fight of the enemy. Whilst we're doing that, I want you, and Inspector Javert, to train the new recruits for battle."

Enjolras took a step back. "Y-you want me to train them?" Valjean nodded slightly. "Sir, I'm honoured, but, I'm just a soldier myself. I've never lead an army before."

Valjean chuckled under his breath. "My boy, if your father could do it, you can too. It's in your blood. I wouldn't have given you the position if I doubted you." Enjolras nodded slightly. "Oh, and, you also have the duty of taking my daughter to the South with you. I didn't want her to go with me to battle. I hope that's not too much of a burden." Enjolras quirked an eyebrow and glanced at the youthful young lady who was playing with a lock of her own hair.

"…It's…no burden sir." Enjolras said, lying though his teeth.

"Inspector Javert will be with you throughout. He will review your progress and report back to me." Valjean said with a smile.