It had only been a month. Not that much time had passed since the revolution, since the deaths of practically everyone he loved, since he met and married the love of his life.
One morning he went downstairs when he noticed something on the floor next to the main entrance. He picked it up; it was a note with his name on it. "Go to the café tonight. Make sure you are alone." He folded the note and stuck it in his jacket pocket.
Later that night he looked over towards Cosette who was sleeping soundly. He reached over to her, lightly kissing her on top of her head before getting out of bed, getting dressed, and heading out. Ever since the revolution he hated going to the café because of all the guilt and bad memories he felt there, but he figured that this would be important, so he wanted to go, see what this person wanted, and go home, hopefully before Cosette woke up.
He didn't have to wait long though when he heard the sound of someone entering the room. He looked up to see a figure dressed entirely in black with a white mask that covered most of the face. Marius stood up and addressed the figure. "I take it that you sent me this note?" The figure simply motioned for Marius to follow.
He was lead to a secret passageway in the wall, which led through secret tunnels in the sewer system. They arrived at a gate, in which the figure unlocked it and let Marius through before locking it behind them. Marius looked around in confusion, for surrounding him was an underground lair of sorts. He turned around to face the figure. "Who are you and why have you brought me here?" The figure motioned him to follow again, leading him to a covered mirror. The figure lifted the sheet off the mirror, causing Marius to go into a state of terror. Standing before him was a life-size model of himself wearing a groom's suit. Marius couldn't help but pass out in shock.
He didn't know how long he was asleep, but he awoke on a mattress on the floor. He looked down, noticing that he was now wearing the suit the model was wearing. He got up, trying to find a way out. As he looked around, he noticed the figure standing in the distance. It was now apparent that she was female, wearing a white lace wedding gown and still wearing her mask. He approached her, only this time with a growing sense of anger and frustration. "Who are you and what do you want with…" The bride cut him off, pulling Marius into a passionate kiss. As they were kissing Marius grabbed a hold of her mask and pulled it off. As soon as he saw the face of the bride, he couldn't help but feel a sense of horror and confusion. "Eponine?"
"Marius," she replied in a low voice.
"But I don't understand. You died. I was there!"
"I faked my own death. I fired the gun shot before climbing the barricade."
"But the blood…"
"A mixture I made with mud, water, and red paint that I spread onto myself before seeing you."
"So you've been alive this whole time?" She nodded. "But why fake your own death?"
"Because there was no point in living anymore as long as you loved Cosette instead of me. I knew as long as you loved her, you wouldn't care whether I lived or died. And as long as I didn't have your love, I had nothing left to live for, since you were the only thing that ever made me happy in my life. Why didn't you ever love me? Why is it that when I tried to show my love for you, you mistook it as simply friendship while all Cosette had to do was look at you for you to fall for her? It's because I'm not pretty, is it? Or I'm not rich enough? You didn't want the shame of being with someone who was ugly and poor, did you?"
"Eponine, don't say that. I always had strong feelings for you and cared for you. It's just that I always saw you as more of a sister. I'm sorry."
"Pity comes to late." She pulled out a ring from her pocket, grabbed Marius's hand, pulled his wedding ring off, and slipped her ring onto his finger, forcing him to look at her. "Turn around and face your fate. An eternity of this before your eyes," she pointed to herself.
"Eponine you can't do this. I'm already married to Cosette."
"Forget about her! We'll run away from here and start a new life happily together where we could forget all about Cosette and the revolution. It will just be you and me, like it's supposed to be."
"You're mad! If you think that I didn't want you before, what makes you think that by doing this I would want you now?"
"Aha! So you admit to not wanting me before! But now that we're together, I will do everything in my power to never let you go, so we could spend every day in each other's company."
Marius continued to stare at her as if she were insane when a noise in the distance caught their attention. "Wait, I think my dear, we have a guest." Suddenly Cosette appeared from the shadows towards the gate. "Mamselle, this is indeed and unparallel delight. I had rather hoped that you would come, and now my wish comes true, you have truly made my night."
"Free him! Do what you like only free him! Have you no pity?"
"Your lover makes a passionate plea."
"Cosette don't do this!"
"I love him! Does that mean nothing? I love him! Show some compassion!"
"The world showed no compassion to me!"
"What are you talking about? Your parents spoiled you as I child. I saw the whole thing!"
"Yes, but ever since you left everything went to hell. The inn went under and we barely had enough money to prevent us from living on the street."
"Marius, Marius, let me see him!"
"Be my guest, Cosette." Right when Eponine unlocked the gate and let Cosette in, she ran into Marius's arms. Eponine couldn't help but feel a throbbing pain in her heart by what she saw. It wasn't seeing Marius and Cosette together that hurt her because she had seen that before, but the image of the two of them cowering in fear together from her was what hurt, looking at her as if she were some kind of bloodthirsty monster.
Eponine locked the gate. "Cosette I bid you welcome. Did you think that I would harm him? Why should I make him pay for the sins which are yours?" All of a sudden she pulled out a lasso and tightened the noose around her neck, pulling her away from Marius. "Order your fine horses now! Raise up the hand to the level of your eyes! Nothing can save you now except perhaps Marius!" Eponine tied the rope to a hook on the ceiling and turned towards Marius. "Start a new life with me! Buy her freedom with your love! Refuse me and you send your lover to her death! This is the choice! This is the point of no return!"
"The tears I might have shed for your dark fate," Marius began quietly, "grow cold and turned to tears of hate!"
"Marius forgive me, please forgive me. I did it all for you and all for nothing!"
"Farewell my fallen neighbor and false friend."
"Too late for turning back, too late for prayers and useless pity. Past all hopes of cries of help, no point in fighting. For either way you choose you cannot win!"
Meanwhile Cosette overlapped. "Say you love me and my life is over! Either way you choose she has to win!"
"So do you end your days with me? Or do you send her to her grave?"
"Why make him lie to you to save me?"
"Past the point of no return…"
"For pity's sake Marius, say no!"
"The final threshold…"
"Don't throw your life away for my sake!"
"Her life is now the prize which you must earn!"
"I fought so hard to free you."
"You've passed the point of no return."
"Eponine, you deceived me. I gave my mind blindly."
After a few moments of silence, Eponine angrily approached Marius. "You try my patience," she said in a low voice. "Make your choice."
There was another silence. Marius looked back and forth between the two girls. "Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known? God gave me courage to show you, you are not alone!" Marius then pulled Eponine into a deep, passionate kiss, one that was more passionate than the one she gave him. Cosette felt sick and horrified, her neck tied to a rope while watching her husband kiss her psychotic foster sister.
When they finally pulled away, Marius couldn't help but tear up just a little bit. He looked at Eponine, whose face was red with uncontrollable tears. She staggered away, took a candle off a candlestick, and approached Cosette. She couldn't help but coil away in fear, afraid that Eponine was going to kill her so she could take off with her husband. But to her surprise, Eponine caught the rope on fire, loosening the noose around her neck and letting her go. But before she could run to Marius, Eponine grabbed her wrist, causing her to look up in fear. "Take him, forget me, forget all of this." She let her go. "Leave me alone, forget all you've seen." Eponine unlocked and opened the gate. "Go now, swear to me never to tell the secret you know of the angel in hell." Cosette grabbed Marius's hand and they ran out together. "Go now! Go now and leave me!"
Once she was alone, Eponine fell onto her knees beside a music box of a monkey with symbols on a barrel organ. She wound it up. "Masquerade," she sang along. "Paper faces on parade. Masquerade, hide your face so the world will never find you." She looked up and saw that she was no longer alone. Standing before her was Marius. Looking up at him, she finally said the three simple words that she had always wanted to tell him. "Marius, I love you."
Marius bent down beside her, took off the ring she had given him, kissed her forehead, and stood back up, taking off without a word. To make the pain worse, she heard Cosette starting to sing in the distance. "A heart full of love…"
"He was never mine to loose."
"No fear, no regret. My man, my Marius Pontmercy."
"Why regret what could not be?"
"Cosette, Cosette…"
"These are words he'll never say. Not to me, not to me, not for me. His heart full of love, he will never feel this way."