Author's Note: I've always wondered what happened to Fantine's necklace after she sold it. I wrote this almost four years ago to answer my question. Please read and review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Les Miserables the musical or book. Lyrics used in the story are the property of Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg.
In the dark night of winter, two women stood in an alley filled with crates and debris. Whispering, hushed voices nearly lost to the wind, the light of a solitary street light reflected off a tiny piece of gold in the one woman's shaking hand.
"Come here my dear," a middle-aged woman, wrinkled from years on the streets, demanded. "Let's see this trinket you wear. Ahh, this bagatelle…" The woman's beady eyes lit up, and her hunched back seemed to straighten.
"Madame, I'll sell it to you!" a desperate Fantine replied.
Looking at the necklace thoughtfully, the woman replied, "I'll give you four."
"That wouldn't pay for the chain!"
"I'll give you five- you're far too eager to sell." She paused. "It's up to you."
"It's all I have," Fantine pleaded.
"That's not my fault." Fantine sould have known that the woman would have no sympathy.
"Please, make it ten!" she begged once more.
"No more than five. My dear, we all must stay alive."
As if I haven't learned that… Fantine screamed back in her head. This was not what life was supposed to be.
She took one last look at the golden locket, a gift from an admirer in her younger years. Her name was engraved on the back in elegant cursive letters- Fantine Jeanette Monteleone. Small flowers, also engraved, were on the back. Inside was her portrait. The girlish grin, the light in her eyes, all of which had disappeared since she'd arrived in this town.
Running her fingers over the chain, she handed it to the woman. Fantine pocketed the money and ran back into the night, holding back tears at the loss of her precious memory of youth.
Thirty Years Later
Sophie Laurent sat on a street corner. She hunched over a makeshift table, carefully constructed of cartons and bricks. It was winter in Montrieul-Sur-Mer. Her hands were numb and red. Surrounded by necklaces, simply displayed against the cheap wood, she kept a close eye on them. One thing she'd learned from the street was not to trust anybody.
The people on the street- everyone from the bourgeoisie to the homeless- back up suddenly, clearing a path. What the hell's goin' on here? she asked herself. Sophie leaned over her table to see.
Monsieur Le Mayor- formerly known as the Baron Marius Pontmercy- was walking down the street with his wife, the Baroness Cosette Pontmercy, and their two children Darien and Clarice. Sophie stood behind her makeshift table out of respect. The Baron was a good mayor. He gave help to the many poor in the decrepit town. Rumors had spread once that he'd been part of the Revolution of 1932, but Sophie had her doubts.
He reminded her of a kind mayor, one she heard of from her grandmother during her childhood, Monsieur Madelaine.
The mayor nodded at her as he passed, and his wife smiled. They kept walking, trailed dutifully by Clarice. Darien passed by, paused In his steps, then came back to the table. Around them, the streets had gone back to normal, the people returning to their business.
"My sister's birthday is next week," the young man stated. "I want to buy a new dog, my father said I have to pay for it myself. My mum says I have to buy a gift for her though. What's the nicest you got?"
Collecting herself, Sophie pointed out two. One was silver, with Chinese jade. The other was a golden locket. "The gold is the better of the two, if your sister doesn't mind that someone else's name is one it. The jade is an antique."
Darien picked up both and examined them carefully. He clearly had an eye for value. Sophie watched him carefully. Just because he was rich didn't mean he wouldn't steal her necklaces. Neither noticed that the baroness had returned.
"Darien Pontmercy! What are you doing?" the older woman seemed annoyed at her son. Clearly, she wished to reach her destination.
"Just showin' him some of my necklaces, Baroness," Sophie answered respectfully.
"Mama, which one should I buy for Clarice?"
"Really, darling," the baroness sighed. "Couldn't you spend a bit more on your sister? I pointed that doll out to you last week that she wanted…"
"Ma'am, the jade is antique, and the gold is real!"
Darien shoved the necklaces in his mother's face. Sophie heard a small gasp from the baroness. "Marius! Come here!" she shouted in a most unladylike manner.
The mayor rushed to his wife's side, a look of concern on his face. Clarice followed behind, her short legs working twice as hard to keep up with her father.
The family watched as the baroness gingerly fingered the golden locket. "This… this was my mother's. See, it has her name. That's her name! My God, I didn't know that it was still in this town. My father told me, she sold it… she sold it years ago. She couldn't afford to pay for my keep at the Sergeant of Waterloo. Good lord, that inn's been closed for near twenty-five years now."
Sophie watched the scene, unsure of what to do. Did this woman think she'd stolen it? Well I didn't!, she thought. It wasn't her fault that her mother and grandmother couldn't sell a necklace with another woman's name on it.
"How did you get this?" the baroness asked her.
"My grandmum bought it ma'am. She passed it to my mother, and then to me. We've been trying to sell it for years."
"I'll give you two hundred francs for this." The baroness didn't wait for her response, placing the money on the table.
"Thank you," Sophie whispered. The older woman nodded.
Pocketing the money, Sophie quickly grabbed the rest of her necklaces and ran off to hide the money from potential robbers.
Cosette watched the girl as she left, tears streaming down her face.