A/N: I wrote this since I kind of wanted to take a different path. I've only seen a few prompts similar to this one and I plan to make this very much my own.
Disclamer: Nope I don't own les mis I'm sure whoever does would be able to use indents.
Eponine lay on the wet cobblestones of the streets of paris tears streaming down her face. Her life was in shambles. She loved is and she knew that he didn't love her, but there was at least hope. That was, there was hope until his eyes met with Cosettes' earlier that day and the two fell in love. Eponine knew that Marius would never love her now. She simply couldn't compete with the beauty that Cosette held. Oh how the two of them had changed. Cosette had become a beautiful young lady of repute, and what had Eponine become? She had become a street gamine, stealing to earn her keep.
What made it all worse was that Eponine felt used. The minute he lost sight of Cosette, Marius had asked Eponine to go find her for him. She couldn't say no. He was blind to her anyways. All Eponine really wanted was for Marius to be happy. Making Marius happy was one of the hardest things she had ever done. It felt like her heart was being ripped in half. If Eponine didn't take him to Cosette then he would be unhappy, which would make Eponine unhappy as well. If she took Marius to Cosette then he would be happy, but Eponine would never have a chance with him.
Of course Eponine had made Marius happy. Eponine alwas put Marius' happiness above her own, still it hurt to watch the two as they sang to eachother through the gate. " Every word he says is a dagger in me." Eponine had sung softly her eyes trained on the couple. Eponine had had her fair share of beatings. Her father, and mother for that matter, had had many nights where they were drunk. Eponine would never let them lay a hand on her little brother Gavroche. Eponine hadn't let them lay a hand on Azelma either, but her sister had died a few years ago out on the streets. They had never found the body, but her sister had never come home, one could assume she was dead.
While the madly in love Marius and Cosette had sung their hearts out to eachother in the little garden, a gang had begun to approach. Eponine listening to the notes of the couples singing mingled together did not notice the gang until they were nearly on top of her location. Eponine had stoop up hastily nearly careening into one of the men. " who's this hussy" one of the men had asked. Upon further examination the man was in fact Eponines' father Thenardier. " it's your brat Eponine" one of the men in the gang. Eponine stood her ground her red rimmed eyes trained on the ground. " go home 'Ponine" her father said "we're enough here without you".
Realization hit Eponine, they were going to rob Cosettte. What would Marius think? He would think that she had them rob his beloved house. What if Marius got hurt? Eponine knew that she couldn't let that happen, she stealed herself for what she was about to do "I know this house, I tell you there's nothing here for you. Just the old man and the girl. They live ordinary lives." She said quickly trying to stop the gang they were taking none of it. Eponine was simply told to go home.
" I'm gonna scream! I'm gonna warn them here!" Eponine shouted trying to make her point clear. " One little scream and you'll regret it for a year!" Her fathe shouted at her. Eponine kept her ground, but inside she was terrified. She knew that her father meant what he said, but then she thought of Marius and that was all she needed. Even if he loved another she could still protect him, keep him happy. Eponine oppened her mouth and let out a loud scream. Her father told the men to run and hide it was all a blur and next thing she knew her father had her pushed flat against a wall.
" I told you you'd regret it" her father growled pushing her into an alleyway. Her father pulled out a rag stuffing it into her mouth." So no one will hear your screams." He said flashing her a wicked smile. Her father suddenly swung his fist into her gut. Eponine crumpled to the ground a muffled scream of pain emitting from her throat. Her father looked down at her his eyes flashing cruely. He landed several kicks to her gut before she culed up. He continued to kick her in the back and dangerously close to her neck.
Eponine was pulled up by the collar of her jacket and thrust backwards against an alley. Her father spat on her before removing a rusty knife from his belt. Eponines' eyes flashed with fear, this would surely be the end of her. Her father drew two shallow gashes from her shoulder down her upper arm stopping just barely above her elbow. He took the knife and dug it into her thigh giving it a hard twist before drawing it out of her leg. Her father pushed her towards the ground, but Eponine never felt herself hit it for she had blacked out.
When next she woke Eponine found Montpanasse on top of her. She winced and looked up at him. He smiled and pressed his hand hard against her leg and she let out a shrill scream muffled by the rag that was still in her mouth. When she next awoke Eponine was alone in the alley her body littered with bruises and wounds. She let out a soft moan of pain as she tried to shift. She had ended up in an alleyway with less dignity then she had had before if that was possible.
Eponine closed her eyes letting tears slip down her face. This must be fates' way of punishing me for what I did to Cosette when we were young. Look how things have changed for the both of us. Eponine thought sullenly. She felt quite light headed for all the blood that she had probably lost from her wounds. Although they were not bleeding profusely anymore, they were still slowly oozing blood.
There was the sound of the quick clop of horses hooves hitting the cobblestones and the bouncing of a carriage. Eponine lay near the entrance of an alleyway on Rue Plumet. The cariage was probably just some rich person coming back from some fancy party. The lives of the rich were so very different from the lives of the likes of Eponine. Eponine supported the revolution that the students were planning, but she knew that it would fail the way that it was. There was no way it could succeed for the students talked down to the people not to them, for that reason she knew that they would never support it. The sound of the clicking horse hooves suddenly stopped, but a few yards away from the entrance of the alley. The door of the carriage was slammed. Eponine let out a slight whimper, the sound of the door had sent splitting pain through her skull. There was the sound of fast even footsteps approaching her location.
Eponine felt the sudden urge to flee as the footsteps neared he location. The thing was, she had neither the strength or the will to flee. If this person killed her, they killed her. Eponines' life was already in ruins what did she care. The footsteps stopped only a foot or so from her location. Eponine could see the nice shoes and skirt of a respectable lady. The figure let out a light femenine cough and shifted its weight. After a few moments the figure knelt down looking at Eponine. Eponine flinched as ethe eyes of the woman kneeling next to her fell on Eponines' face.
The woman murmured something that Eponine could barely hear and then stood up. " Charles get over here" said the woman her tone stern like she was giving an order. Eponine heard the heavy footsteps of a man as he too approached her location. " please take this child and put her on the empty seat of the carriage." Said the woman. Eponine felt the mans arms under her as he began to lift her, but suddenly there was a sharp pain in her leg and Eponine passed out.
Eponine faded in and out of conciousness, she was aware that she was on a carriage but she could not stay awake long enough to ask. When Eponine regained full conciousness she was lying alone on a bed in a room painted in light green. Looking down at herself Eponine saw that she was wearing a nice white linen nightgown. Eponine tried to sit up only to feel excruciating pain through her shoulders. There was soon the sound of footsteps outside her door. Eponine watched the door as a lady dressed very nicely walked into the room. She looked down at eponine and smiled. " I see you have chosen to reenter the land of the concious" she said a slight smile on her face. Eponine nodded not knowing what else to do. " I hope that your not in too much pain" the woman said " when we found you you were in quite a state. I suppose you don't want to talk about it in any case."
Eponine cleared her throat before speaking in a raspy voice " how long have I been out?" The woman smiled " about two days my dear. Some of us thought that you would never wake up." Eponine looked up at her her eyes wide she knew the baricades were to go up. All her friends could already be dead. She knew she couldn't ask for then she would give away her involvement in the revolution.
" what exactly am I doing here?" Eponine asked the woman for she could come up with no reason as to why she might be in this nice room in such a nice bed. The woman considered her for a few moments it seemed like she was thinking of a way to say what she wanted. " I found you on the street wounded" the woman said " you seemed to be in bad shape" Eponine didn't understand why the woman would care about her well being, she doubted Marius the only person to this point who had ever been nice to her would even do this much for her. " Why did you save me? I'm not anyone of any concequence" the woman considered Eponine for a few moments. " why do you say that?" The woman asked calmly. " I am just a lowly street rat" Eponine said despair in her voice. Not even Marius loved me. The woman smiled " I think you have more worth then you know." Eponine smiled a little. She lay there for a few moments before she realized her father would be expecting her home. Eponine shifted and felt a sharp pain stab through her thigh she sat up anyway. " I really must leave. I'll be expected home and I don't wish to face my-" Eponine didn't want to tell the woman about her father she had almost let it slip.
The woman gently pushed Eponine back onto the bed " you are in no state to be up and about young miss" she said putting her hands on her hips. " now I wanted to ask you something, and it may seem more than a little off hand, but my husband and I were wondering if you might stay with us for a while." Eponines' face lit up. She may have finally found an honest profession. Eponine had never had an honest profession she stayed on the streets or with her parents and her parents expected her to help with their schemes.
" you mean you would let me stay as a maid? Or a housekeeper of sorts?" Eponine asked thinking that this was too good to be true. The woman looked at her for a few moments before saying what she wanted " I was thinking more like a daughter of sorts. You see I've always wanted a child, but could never have one. My husband and I moved out into the country. I wrote my friends about Seventeen years ago saying that I had a child. They never came to visit so it didn't matter that I didn't have a child. I never thought we would come back to Paris, I thought we would live out the rest of our lives in the country. We unexpectedly had to come back to Paris. I didn't know what I was going to do. I thought that maybe I could say that my daughter was abroad but that would only work for so long and it could be easily foiled by a too bored housewife. The answer to my problems came with you. Our carriage stopped for I thought that we had reached the location of our new home. I stepped out of the carriage and I heard you whimper. When I investigated I found you, and what a stroke of luck that was. You were the answer to my prayers. I had you taken into our carriage, a stroke of luck for you too I suppose for you seemed very near death. So what do you think young miss? Oh! I'm Colette Esperante by the way." The woman said all of this in a fairly quick manner as if she expected Eponine to cut her off at any second.
Eponine regarded Colette for a few moments. She thought that she should help this woman for it was not charity in its most direct form at the very least. Eponine did want a better life for herself. By now all her friends were surely dead for the baricade was to arise the night after Marius met Cosette. None of Eponines' old life was really intact anymore. She could certainly go without seeing her horrid parents again. " I suppose I'll have to take you up on your offer then" Eponine said carefully watching Colettes' features. Colettes' eyes lit up " you really will? Oh thats wonderful...er... I believe I never asked you your name." She said a small frown on her face. " My name is Eponine" Eponine said quickly not wanting to make her new mother to be upset.
" Oh what a lovely name" Colette exclaimed " Now you should get some rest and let your wounds heal. I'll be back in a little while with some broth for you" Colette said before leaving the room the room her skirts swishing as she left. Eponine sighed thinking about the new life she was about to begin.