Author's note: Based on the song Once Upon a December from Anastasia. Hope you like it! Read and review!
December 24th, 1837
The sound of horse hooves clopping on the pavement echoed through the silent night of the city. No one was out at midnight, and that was the way she remembered it. It had been five years since Eponine had been back to Paris. Five years since she had step foot in the bustling city she use to call home. Five years since the accident occurred.
She didn't know why she wanted to go back, but something in her gut told her to come back. A piece of her memory was missing it seemed.
She looked out the window, playing with the heart shaped charm on her necklace. A light drizzle of snow, which almost never happened in Paris, was coming down softly.
"Can you believe it? Snow in Paris!" Her in a distant memory giggled.
"It's a miracle." Came a voice that Eponine always heard, but didn't know who it belonged to.
She felt a hand rest on her knee. She looked from the window to the concerned face of her husband, Bernard.
"My dear, are you alright?"
Eponine smiled in reassurance.
"Oui, my love. I'm alright."
Eponine, although couldn't remember things before her accident, did remember Bernard. He was a doctor who cared for her when she had her concussion.
The day after the accident, he came to check up on her.
"I see you are recovering well." Doctor Bernard Poulain told her.
Eponine tried to sit up in bed, but she felt dizzy.
"Where am I?" she asked.
"You're in the hospital! You had a nasty fall and hit your head on the pavement. Don't worry, though! You've pulled through! What's your name?"
Eponine tried to think, but like a heavy fog, she couldn't navigate her way through her mind to find it.
"Drawing a blank? Don't worry! That's normal in a concussion. Maybe it's on your pretty necklace you're wearing."
Eponine looked at the piece of jewelry around her neck.
It was silver with a light pink heart charm connected to it. On the charm engraved in cursive were the words:
To Eponine: Our Song
"Eponine? That's a very pretty name. Do you know who gave that to you? Bernard asked.
Eponine thought hard, but nothing came.
"Don't hurt yourself! It's alright! It will come to you in time." he smiled.
Eponine smiled back, feeling quite giddy.
Doctor Bernard Poulain was warm and gentle towards her, and the two instantly fell in love during her time in the hospital.
After two months of being together, Eponine and her doctor got married. They moved to La Rochelle and not too long after, they welcomed their first and only son, Max.
Max was an odd looking boy, having curly blond hair and blue eyes while his parents both had brown hair and eyes.
"I'm sure there is someone in our family who had blond hair. My mother had blue eyes, so Max has his grandmother's eyes." Bernard commented.
Eponine giggled and kissed her husband.
As Max grew up, Eponine began to see something in her son that seemed to trigger small bits of her memory.
"Paris is beautiful in winter, isn't it" Eponine asked.
"It's only beautiful because you are with me, my love." the man in her memory told.
The two of them kissed in the drizzle of snow. Oh how she didn't want it to end.
"Maman?" Max asked, breaking the beautiful moment in Eponine's mind.
"Oui, mon beau?" she asked, looking at her handsome son.
"Who are you talking to?"
Eponine was shocked at that statement. Was she talking to that voice? Has she always been doing that? How long?
Eponine tried to wipe those thoughts from her head.
She smiled at her son.
"My imaginary friend! Did you know my friend likes tickles?"
"I like tickles too!" Max exclaimed.
"I know you do! And here's a big one!"
She began to tickle his belly, making the little boy squeal with giggles.
Seeing her boy smile usually helped Eponine forget what she thought, but not for long.
As the years passed, Eponine began to be bothered by those memories of a man she couldn't remember. She must've had a close relationship with him, because she couldn't make love to her darling husband, much less kiss him, without seeing Eponine's mystery man in place of Bernard.
At night, Eponine would have the same two recurring dreams.
One was her and her mysterious man in what looked like a cafe, with its brown wooden walls and barely lit candles.
The man was giving her an egg shaped palm sized box.
"Oh! It's beautiful! The greens and blues and golds! Oh, there are even little bears painted on it!"
"Here. Watch this." the man pulled out a key the shape of a heart and wound the box up.
The box opened and began to play a gorgeous melody.
"It's our song!" she exclaimed.
The man put out his hand.
"I believe I owe you a Christmas dance."
Eponine set the box down and took her place in his arms.
"Never forget this moment, my love." the man whispered in her ear.
"I will never forget this moment, and I will never forget you."Eponine whispered back.
The two of them shared a kiss.
The other dream she had wasn't as nice as her first one.
She was standing next to what looked like a pile of garbage, with men climbing over it.
They were wearing some strange uniform, point guns at other men without uniforms and shooting them.
Suddenly, one uniformed man pointed a gun at her.
"EPONINE!" she heard her mystery man cry, and pushed her out of the way.
Eponine fell to the ground, but before she made impact, her mystery man fell backwards.
He was shot.
Eponine would scream every time this dream would play in her mind, waking Bernard and little Max.
"Eponine, dear! Shhhh! It's okay! It's only a dream!" Bernard comforted her.
Poor Bernard began to get concerned. There was someone in his wife's memory who was tormenting her. He did everything in his power to distract her from these memories. He took her on holidays, invited her friends often, and even took her and Max to work but to no avail.
He wanted those memories gone. Whoever it was who was in Eponine's mind would come back to find her, and he couldn't lose her.
Then, a week before Christmas, the words he hoped to never hear came out of Eponine's mouth.
"I have to go back to Paris. I need to know who I'm trying to remember."
Max, who was five now, pulled on his mother's dress.
"Can I come?"
Eponine smiled and picked up her son.
"Of course! I would never leave you!"
Bernard reluctantly agreed, and the three of them began to pack for the long haul.
It was about twelve-thirty when Eponine, Bernard, and Max settled in an inn for the night.
As Eponine put Max to bed, Bernard asked, "Do you know who you are looking for?"
Eponine looked at her husband.
"The one who gave me this." she tugged on her necklace.
Bernard hesitated his words, but asked, "When you remember, could we go back to the life we had before?"
Eponine walked over to her husband and kissed him.
"Of course."
December 25th, 1837
"Is this the place you saw in your dream?" Bernard asked Eponine as the stood out in front of a crumbling old cafe. The word Musain was faded on the building, but not illegible.
Eponine looked at the building. Shadows of people flooding the cafe were vaguely coming back into her memory. The cafe seemed to turn back to the way she remembered it, new, clean, and well kept. A gust of wind brushed past her still form.
"Maman?" Max asked, pulling on her dress.
Eponine looked down at her big boy and smiled.
"Oui, my love?"
"I hear someone calling for you."
Eponine looked to her husband with concern.
"Do you hear…?"
Eponine! Came the man's voice.
Eponine drew her attention to the doorway, where the spirit of her mystery man stood.
Come on! I have something for you!
Eponine, almost in a hypnotized fashion, began to follow the spirit into the cafe.
Bernard ran to catch his wife.
"Eponine! Wait!"
The interior of the cafe, just like the exterior, was crumbling. Broken bottles littered the floor. Pieces of the ceiling were crashing down to the moldy floor.
Something about this place caused her mind to break through the fog in her memory, but only a little bit. Max, who had followed Eponine inside, began running around the building.
"No, Max! Be careful!" Bernard exclaimed with concern.
Eponine touched the walls of the cafe, her fingers having a surge of electricity which slightly triggered her memory.".
"The wall use to have posters of revolution. It had many works from Voltaire and Robespierre pinned to them."
In a corner of the room, Max was looking at something.
Pick it up, Max. said the voice to the little boy.
He obliged and took what looked like an egg shaped box into his hand.
Bernard grabbed his son by the waist and picked him up.
"What did I say, Max?" he demanded.
Max showed his father the box, all covered in dust and dirt.
"Look, papa!"
Bernard put his son down and took the box away from his hands. He examined it with such care, for it seemed quite fragile. How it managed to not break, Bernard didn't know.
"It's a music box." Bernard concluded.
This caught Eponine's attention. She walked over to her husband and son to see the item they found.
She took the box into her hands and examined it. The fog in her memory was starting to clear away.
"It's beautiful." she whispered.
"I think it's broken. I don't think we can even open it." Bernard told.
Eponine continued to examine it, until she noticed a groove on the side.
Eponine's realized it was for a key. Above the groove was a small tile in the shape of a heart. Her necklace felt cold on her chest. She took the necklace off her neck, and put the heart charm into the groove. She twisted it like a key, and slowly the box opened.
A gorgeous melody began to play.
Bernard, dumbfounded by the sight, hesitated his words.
"H-how did you do that? Eponine?"
Eponine didn't hear him. She was so mesmerized by the beautiful sound.
Almost unconsciously, she began to sing along with the melody.
Dancing bears,
Painted wings,
Things I almost remember,
And a song someone sings,
Once upon a December.
Someone holds me safe and warm,
Horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully across my memory
All of a sudden, the room seemed to transform from a crumbling building to a refurbished, just like new cafe, with posters plastered all over the walls. Men, who Eponine began to remember as Les Amis de l'ABC, took women into their arms and swung around the room. Bright colored clothing filled the cafe, as well as the aroma of cinnamon and peppermint. Eponine began to dance around, feeling the memories flowing back in her mind.
Suddenly, she felt strong arms wound around her waist, which felt so familiar to her. She felt a head lightly touching the side of her cheek, which made her feel giddy and gay.
She swayed with the figure and continued to sing.
Someone holds me safe and warm,
Horses prance through a silver storm,
Figures dancing gracefully across my memory.
Far away,
Long ago,
Glowing dim as an ember,
Things my heart used to know,
Things it yearns to remember
She turned around to face the figure who danced with her. It was her mystery man, but now she began to remember who he was.
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December
"Enjolras." she whispered.
Enjolras smiled.
"I thought I told you not to forget this moment."
Eponine began to cry, hating herself to have forgotten the love of her life.
"I'm so sorry, 'jolras! I'm so sorry!" she sobbed, hugging his torso.
"Everything is coming back to you now?" he asked in a gentle manner.
"Yes! I remember how we first met! It was at one of your meetings! You told me to bugger off, but I refused!" she sobbed-giggled.
"I swear, you were stubborn! No matter how many times I told to leave, you would overrule my words by asking me questions about my family, my work, and my love life." Enjolras chuckled.
"I remember when you invited me to the opera. Don Giovanni I believe we saw. I remember when you put your coat around my shoulders when the theatre got cold. I remember you holding my hand when I began to cry, comforting me during those intense scenes. In our opera box we shared our first kiss." Eponine smiled into Enjolras's chest.
"How about the time we got caught in Coufeyrac's closet?" he asked.
"Oh God!" Eponine laughed. "I remember you couldn't get your trousers off, so when Courf kicked us out, you tripped and fell on the floor! It wasn't until a few months later when we properly made love the night before…"
The memory of Enjolras getting shot played in her mind.
"You died." she whispered.
She felt Enjolras wrap her arms around her tightly.
"'Ponine." he cooed.
"I got you killed! I am so sorry!" she sobbed.
"No you didn't! Don't say that! Eponine, you did no such thing! I wanted you to live! You had so much to live for! Max needs his mother."
Eponine looked at Enjolras and realized he had a very similar resemblance to…
"Max. He's your son." Eponine gasped.
"I had your son."
Enjolras grinned in a sad sort of way.
"I'm surprised you chose the name Max. Was he named after Maximilien Robespierre?" he asked.
Eponine nodded, tears streaming down her eyes.
"Yes! One of the men you always quoted in your meetings!"
Enjolras smiled.
"I have no doubt that Max will be just like his namesake when he grows up."
"Oh, Enjorlas! I wish you would be with us! Max needs his father!"
Enjolras cupped Eponine's cheek.
"He already has one. Bernard. Your husband."
Eponine inclined to his touch, never wanting this moment to end.
"No. He needs you. I need you." she whimpered.
"Eponine, you need to let me go."
Eponine was in shock.
"No! I can't! Not when I finally got my memory back! Not when I finally remember you!"
Enjolras looked at her with the utmost compassion.
"I don't want to be a burden in your life. You have Bernard and Max. They make you happy, and I don't want to interfere with your happiness."
Eponine began to cry hysterically.
"But you are my happiness! I love you, and I will always love you!"
"Please, Eponine. Let me go."
Eponine gave him a huge hug, knowing that she was going to lose him again.
"If you won't do this for me, do it for Max. Do it for our son."
Eponine sobbed in his chest and hesitantly said, "For our son."
Enjolras moved her head so she could look into his eyes.
"I love you." he said in the most loving way.
"I love you too, Enjolras." she sniffed, and reached to kiss him.
Their lips made contact, blossoming pure love between them.
"Maman!" Max called to his mother, pulling at her dress.
Eponine snapped out of the moment she didn't want to end.
She looked at her son, who now as she saw him, looked just like his father. His real father.
She bent down and picked him up in her arms and kissed his cheek.
"Oui, my love?" she asked.
"Who were you talking to?"
Eponine smiled at her son. As much as she didn't want to lie to Max, she made a promise to Enjolras.
"No one, my little one."
Eponine looked to Bernard and gave him a smile.
"Come, my husband. Let's go home."
Bernard beamed at his wife, and the three of them left the crumbling cafe and Eponine's past behind.
Once Upon a December