A/N: So I really like writing Les Mis fanfics... this came to mind while talking with a friend. And just for all of you idiots who don't actually know (myself was once included), Eponine IS the Thenardier's daughter in canon. ("Even his daughter does her share...") Enjoy!
"Welcome, Monsieur!"
Eponine slid into place behind the wall. She bumped into another figure.
Cosette. Eponine pushed her away.
She watched the innkeeper she called Papa sit the man down, trying to absorb all that she could about what her Mama and Papa did.
She noticed how her mother dropped her kerchief, and when the man picked it up, her mother took something out of his pocket so quickly Eponine almost missed it.
She noticed how quickly her parents emptied the pockets of the coat they rid the man of.
Eponine noticed all of their tricks.
She noticed Cosette watching too.
So Eponine turned and hit her as hard as she could, and once she ran away, Eponine turned back around.
Later on, her father had her around the corner as he collected dues from a couple.
"Any lice?"
They put down a coin.
"Mice or vermin?"
They put down another coin.
"Any pox?"
Another.
The innkeeper kept asking, and they kept paying. When they finally left, Eponine stared in wonder at the little gold pile.
The next night she tried herself.
She walked by a man and pretended to trip, purposefully dropping her doll.
The man stood up, bent over and as he did, she quickly snatched his wallet and hid it behind her back as he handed her the doll.
She thanked him and skipped away, careful not to let him see what she had taken.
Eponine turned out to be a natural at that sort of thing.
Once she practiced on her parents.
They never found out.
Another night, her parents noticed her pickpocketing another man, using the same trip-and-drop-the-doll technique she had first used.
Her parents were pleased and had her keep doing what she had been doing.
Ten years passed with Eponine causing distractions, pickpocketing, looting.
Her parents would bribe her, chide her, and try and trick her.
But she was a little too clever for all of that.
A/N: Reviews are always welcome!