Eponine took a deep breath and settled her bag on her shoulder. She hated herself for this, stealing from Monsiour Marius. She despised and loathed herself. But if she didn't her and her brother and sister would starve.
It wasn't as if she were to go directly into his house, oh heavens no! She would simply take some apples from his apple tree (which were plentyful now in the autumn) which, in her opinion, wasn't technicaly stealing, yet a gnawing feeling continued to eat away at her stomach.
She climbed the fence and rested herself upon the top of his shed. She was malnourished and weak, so this was a prying task. She lay there, panting, for what felt like an eternity. She would jump at the slightest noise. She didn't want to get on Monsiour Marius's bad side, no no, she loved him to much. but this needed to be done, everyone knew Monsiour Marius and Monsiour Courfeyrac grew the best apples in Paris. And the Thenardier children would have nothing but the best.
She finally gathered her strength and began to pick apples, but only the ones that hadn't been ripped apart by the ravaging fall wind. Sone were small, some were a tad bitten by bugs, and some were shriveled but still young and tasted sweet beyond compare.
To grab a final apple, Eponine stepped onto the ledge on the shed. It rose up about 3 feet and stretched out about 5 feet. Bu it wasn't enough to reach the last apple. Eponine tried, though, only to loose her footing on the ledge and tumble into Monsiour Marius's backyard, where he was outside tending to his plants.
"Eponine!" He cried, and rushed to help her. "What were you doing on my shed?"
Eponine stood and straightened herself. Crimson was visible beneath the dirt covering her pale skin. "I was collecting apples for 'Zelma and Gavroche, Monsiour." She said apologetically.
"Eponine, if you needed food, why didn't you just ask me?" He said sincerely.
"I didn't want to put you out of your way, Monsiour."
Marius sighed and placed a hand upon Eponine's bony shoulder.
"Eponine, from now on, take as many apples as you like." He smiled. She lifted her head to meet his, then hugged him warmly.
"Merci, Monsiour." Then she climbed back to the top of the shed and peered into her bag. It wasn't even halfway full.