The picturesque little café was almost empty, save for the young revolutionaries that spent their afternoons dreaming about freedom and equality. Madame Houcheloup, the owner of the café, and her daughter, Musichetta, were already sweeping and stacking chairs when the bourgeoisie brunette appeared at the entrance.
Both Musichetta and Madame Houcheloup froze, looking at her with a glint of admiration in their eyes. Éponine, the brunette, was a beautiful lady. Her soft, pleasant features, her simplicity and her grace draw everyone's attention momentarily and, although she was used to all the attention, she would blush and look away.
"Bonne nuit mesdames, do you know Marius Pontmercy?" she asked respectfully, not daring to move from the entrance without being invited to do so.
They looked at each other for a moment, trying to find a face that belonged to that face in the vault of their memories. Suddenly, Musichetta smiled kindly, signaling Éponine to the second floor. But before anyone could say anything, Éponine's hazel eyes met the freckled face she had missed so much. Her heart was about to explode in her chest when she realized his green eyes were watery and his face, a sad frown. In his hand, he held the letter she had written to him two weeks ago.
Marius, who had reread that letter about a three dozen times in the past few days and had forgotten to answer it, was invaded by melancholy. Once again, the man he worked for hadn't paid him on time and he didn't have enough money to eat. After a day of having to work, study and debate with Les Amis de L'ABC, he was about to pass out. Knowing he wouldn't be able to pay back to his friends, he didn't even bother in borrowing money.
To Enjolras' dismay, he left the meeting in the middle of the debates, excusing himself by saying he didn't feel well. As he crossed the café, he spotted some ringlets of that auburn-brown hair he knew so well. Éponine had quietly taken a seat at a darkish corner, waiting to see if he recognized her. She smiled as he almost ran towards her, hugging her just to know whether it was real or an illusion caused by hunger.
"Sister! What are you doing here?" he asked while kissing her forehead and hugging her once again.
They hadn't seen each other for about a year, which was the amount of time that Marius had been living alone, without the help of his grandfather or the certainty of ever seeing them again. After realizing the lies his grandfather had told them, Éponine wanted to leave with her brother, but he managed to convince her not to jump to uncertainty. Having her in his arms once again, hugging her and knowing she was fine, he realized that leaving her was the right decision; he couldn't imagine the state in which Éponine would be if he had to support both of them.
"Oh God...Marius! I missed you so much!" she said, tears pooling in her eyes. Marius was thinner, which made him look fragile and helpless. She knew, from years of being his only friend and the constant correspondence they had been sharing, that he was too proud to accept any sort of help from anybody.
"Éponine, my dear sister, how did you find me?" he wouldn't let go, hugging her even tighter.
"Let's discuss this over dinner," she answered.
"Dinner..." he savored the word as though it was actual food. In an impulse, he even licked his lips softly, trying to remember the day before, when he last ate a decent dinner. He frowned once again as he realized this, feeling completely miserable.
"I can't invite you to dinner. I'm sorry sister; I'm not the great lawyer I promised you I would be...just yet. Right now, I survive by translating texts and that mounts to very little," he said.
"Brother, I came here to invite you to have dinner with me," she answered decidedly, seating down once again. Marius knew what she was trying to do, she had offered to help him in various letters but he had kindly refused. Now she came here, offering to him something he couldn't say no to. He sighed and sat down.
...
Having both a hot plate of soup in front of them, along with bread and some wine, Éponine started talking as Marius devoured everything in front of him. Eventually, he'd say a word or too, but it wasn't until he finished with both his plate and Éponine's (without even noticing it) that they had a proper conversation. Éponine smiled as she saw Marius' face gaining some color.
"So, how did you find me?" he asked her.
"I guess first I need to tell you something else," she said in a rather darkish tone of voice.
"Sister, please, I don't want to fight with you...don't try to convince me to go back to Gillenormand's," he said contemptuously.
"I'm not going to ask you that!" she exclaimed.
"Very well then...I'm listening to you."
"One day, I was out with our nana, Simone, down the streets. We saw two kids, about eleven years old, at the Luxembourg Park, they were all ragged and starved and tried to eat the food that's thrown to the birds. This broke my heart in so many ways Marius, that we approached to them to help them. We took them to Gillenormand's and kept them hidden for two months, until we decided what to do with them," she said.
Marius couldn't believe his sister had sneaked to little children to Gillenormand's house, especially with strict Aunt Gillenormand constantly spying on everyone's whereabouts and cousin Theodule's coming and going at his leisure, which was pretty much most of the time.
"We realized they weren't the only gamins in Paris, less the only orphans. That's why we rented a house in the slums of Saint Michel. We took Lauren and Marcus there and everyday we would visit them, bring them clothing and food. Soon, the house became very concurred. Kids of all ages come and go. Most of them stay at the house, others just go to eat and get some new clothing every once in a while. One of them brought me here to you."
He thought for a second and found himself quite troubled when he realized he didn't know personally any gamin, much less a child.
"Marius...Aunt Gillenormand is making grandfather all paranoiac. She tells him I lie to him, that I go out with Simone and come home late...I guess she's just missing a few more conversations behind the door to find out what we do. Grandfather's opting to stay at home most days or coming home very early, demanding me to accompany him. I don't have enough time for the kids anymore and that breaks my heart," she said.
All of a sudden, the room was filled with people. The meeting of Les Amis was over and everyone, most of them drunk, headed home. They all saw how their friend was talking to a lady. This made Enjolras really mad, since Marius excused himself by saying he was sick and now he was all smiles with that bourgeoisie, giving his back to Patria.
"Look, Marius has a girl tonight!" Grantaire exclaimed, everyone laughed.
"Who's the lovely lady over here?" Courfeyrac, as gallant as ever, asked as he approached to her.
"I dare to say you're Monsieur Courfeyrac," she said, recalling every detail of Marius' letters as she stood up, "am I right?"
"You are," he answered, "but I find myself in disadvantage, for I don't even know your name. Although, I must say, it's necessarily pretty, as it needs to match with yourself."
Marius felt a rush of blood traveling to his head at full speed, seeing his best friend flirt with his sitter wasn't a pleasant sight. He cleared his throat.
"Courfeyrac...and everyone, I introduce you to Éponine. She's my...sister," he said awkwardly, leaving everyone openmouthed.
"You...have a sister?" Courfeyrac asked.
"You have a family?" Grantaire snorted, making everyone laugh.
Enjolras saw the girl curiously, not knowing what to feel when she posed her beautiful eyes on him and then looked away, under the weight of his god-like features.
"Why don't you ask them for help?" Marius whispered in her ear.
"I don't even know them Marius..." she answered, also in a whisper.
"Gentlemen, one last thing before my sister leaves...she needs a favor from you," Marius said. Everyone nodded except Enjolras, who sighed; his friends just needed to see a skirt to lose their heads. He even tried to imagine the kind of favor this bourgeoisie was going to ask them...but couldn't find anything that could possibly link this group of rebellious men to her.
"I'm the owner of a house that helps orphan children, urchins in the slum of Saint Michel. The thing is that for personal reasons I cannot go each day to visit the kids as I did before, and I really need some help with that. Money is not the problem...I just need people," she said.
Everyone was quiet afterwards. Enjolras was severely impressed by the girl and yet he couldn't even recall her name to compliment her bravery. One thing was sure: he was seeing her with a different light. He had forgotten the self-imposed barrier between him and the bourgeoisies and saw how beautiful a kind heart can make a person.
"How can we help you?" Jehan finally asked.
"I'll give you the address of the house. I'll be there at four and I can show you what to do," she answered as Madame Houcheloup handed her a bad quality paper and a pen.
"Mademoiselle, excuse me...Musichetta and I heard the conversation and were wondering if we could also help you?" she asked in a low whisper. Éponine smiled and nodded.
"Everyone is welcomed to help," she answered as she copied the address.
She handed it to Marius, who promised to share it. Then, Les Amis started to leave, as it was late and they were all tired.
"I'm also leaving," she said when the only people left in the room where Enjolras, Marius, Madame Houcheloup, Musichetta and herself. Both men and women looked at her as though she was joking.
"You're can't be serious 'Ponine, you're not leaving alone!" Marius said as he saw her put on a coat.
"I've been walking through the slums on my own for months now Marius...this is a much more pleasant neighborhood and I guess I can arrive home safely," she simply answered and went to pay their dinner.
Marius looked at Enjolras with pleading eyes. "We cannot let her leave alone Enjolras, please," he said. Enjolras sighed in response.
"I'm sorry, Miss Éponine, but we cannot let you leave this place alone at this hour. It's dangerous even for us that live here," he said with a gesture serious that didn't invite to discussion.
"Marius, where do you live?" she asked him.
"Nearby," he simply answered, not wanting to give her the address.
"And you, Monsieur?"
"Here...in this very same café, on the rooms of the upper floor," he answered.
"See? What's the point in walking to the other side of the city?" she asked them.
"Tranquility is priceless," Enjolras answered.
"Tranquility is also achieved through physical rest," she answered but found that, as she was leaving, both men walked loyally behind her.
"Éponine, if grandfather has you so controlled, how did you manage to come here?" Marius asked her.
"Grandfather went to sleep early today and Aunt Gillenormand was entertained by Cousin Theodule, who came in today from the countryside," she answered just before turning her eyes.
"Rough family relations?" Enjolras asked, not wanting to listen to a conversation he couldn't be part of.
"Well...pretty much, that's why Marius left on the first place. I wanted to leave too...but Marius made me stay, I'm sure I would be a burden for him," she answered frankly.
Marius looked away and Enjolras was visibly surprised by Éponine's remark. He thought for a while. He hadn't dared to say this to anybody, but he had also escaped from a bourgeois family who wanted to control him, arrange a marriage for him, and make him study something that "worked" for them. Now he was the leader of a revolution against his own kind, studied something that worked for himself and was married to Patria. If he understood Éponine's remark correctly, Marius was much more like him than what he thought. Enjolras even felt bad for underestimating the poor man.
"Don't say that Éponine, you are not and wouldn't be a burden," Marius said after a while...but there was no response.
Once they arrived to the back gates of the Gillenormand household, Enjolras saw, both in awe and disgust, that it was not very unlike his own house. Éponine turned towards them and said goodbye, with a reverence to Enjolras and with a hug to Marius.
As he was heading home besides Enjolras, he felt the distinct weight of coins in his pocket. He smiled, remembering that his sister was the most skillful person he had ever known, mentally thanking her for not making him have to ask her for help.
Enjolras started talking to Marius about different things, finding that they indeed had a lot in common. That night, Marius, who was elated with the fact of a reunion with his sister, found a best friend.
I promise shorter chapters :) Hope you like it..