This story takes place about 3 months before the 2nd part of Les Mis happened and some of the facts have been bent. Just saying. Enjoy
CHAP 1
Marie
Marie walked along the muddy street, her dress dragging in the dirt. She didn't really care; it made her feel more like everyone else in Paris. The street was lit by lamps and the tall buildings around her loomed over her making her feel intimidated and small. She reached the turning that led to the apartment she lived in. The street was narrow and the building loomed over her all the more here. At the door of her apartment she saw that there were already two people crouching in the shadows. The girl she had seen before muddy, crying, with ripped clothing hanging on her slender frame. She was staring up at the window of an apartment as if there was nothing else in the world to live for. This was a normal sight now, strange at first, but as she had grown used to the ways of Paris it seemed just another strange thing that had happened in the last month. Tonight, however, there was a boy, crouching behind the dustbin clutching a small book and a small dirty canvas, which he was busy painting on. His eyes were on the girl, staring as if he had never seen a woman before, though his hands were busy. A painter she thought, pausing at the corner.
She looked up and saw there was indeed a light on in the apartment next to hers. A shadow in the window blocked the light, but she guessed what was happening. A student lived there and the light at that house hardly turned off. The boy would pace his room all night making it hard for her to sleep. Marie didn't know much about him except that he studied law and was involved in the revolution.
It was this window that the girl was staring at. Marie had never talked to her, but had guessed she had come from the slums due to her ragged clothing. The way she stared at that window crying, made Marie think that she must love the student to obsession or hated him so much that she would kill had she the chance. Funny how love and hate are so often confused, she thought. The girl's eyes were not hard or full of hate if you looked carefully, so she guessed it was love that kept her there, crying all through the night. The girl pulled her old trench coat tight around herself and sat on the cold floor. Marie couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
She approached the building and saw the girl and boy close up; both were definitely not from here. They did not notice her but continued to stare. It took them some time to see her standing alone on the steps, but when they did they both frantically attempted to hide. She walked over to the girl and crouched next to her, she looked so afraid. Marie knew she should send her away and the boy too but she couldn't. Instead she asked the girl to join her for dinner, what a stupid thing to do; ask a gamin for dinner. This thought didn't stop her from asking the boy up too. When she approached him and asked him he just looked completely confused, he couldn't speak French. She tried the only other language she knew, English, her native tongue. To her surprise he smiled and nodded. He was English. Marie was happy too; she had met not one other who spoke English since she arrived. When he stood she saw that he was short and in the light his face was handsome, his looks were also not French, but more English. He had fair hair and pale skin, his clothes looked as if they had been bought not long ago, but gone through a lot since. He looked up at her; his pale blue eyes met her dark ones. He said plainly "thank you".
Marie smiled, but did not reply. She turned to see the girl standing behind her. She was cold; her lips blue and skin pale. Marie stood and led the unlikely pair to the door. She could feel the reluctant drag of their feet behind her, why was she doing this, neither wanted to come. She wondered why she had not pretended not to see them and leave them, as she knew they would have wanted.
They climbed the stairs, Marie lifting her skirt. She knew why she had brought the poor boy and girl in the moment she looked out the small window at the top of the stair well. Outside two tall men stood in blue uniform, one with bushy side burns. A smile spread across her face. She turned to the girl. "What is your name?" she asked in French as she opened the door.
The girl replied slowly, her voice uncertain "Eponine" she murmured.
Marie turned to the boy and asked the same question but in English, she found him staring at the girl. Despite this, his response was clearer than Eponine's, "Terence" he said calmly. His eyes never left the girl. All the way up the next flight of stairs and along the corridor his eyes never moved from her.
The girl however became twitchy as they passed the student's door and a silly smile grew on her face. Marie now knew that her assumption had been correct. From the student's room came the normal sounds of restlessness. She heard a soft sigh from Eponine, "Marius".
She unlocked the door to her small apartment and walked in, ushering her guests to sit down. They did so rather slowly and awkwardly, obviously not used to polite society. Marie crossed to the window and looked down, below she saw all of Paris stretching out before her. She remembered when she had first arrived how she had thought it went on forever.
Marie had moved to Paris a month ago from the growing French settlement of New Orleans, where she had lived on the streets with her sister Roxy. She wondered how Roxy was doing on her own, being only 19. Roxy had been very good about her leaving and had only asked for Marie to write regularly. And she had obliged. She had earned enough money in New Orleans, before arrival to buy a small apartment in the top of one of the large buildings. It only had two rooms but for one it was fine. Ever since she arrived she had looked for a job, but it seemed they were even more elusive here than in New Orleans.
She looked down, the police were still there, and she waved at them. They looked up and waved back. She looked around at Paris; it was a beautiful city, in some parts anyway. Her apartment was in an unremarkable neighborhood, mostly students lived there. It was a little close to the slums of San Michele though.
This thought made her remember her guests and she quickly turned to see them sitting in an awkward silence. She sat down with them and tried to start a conversation which was a little hard seeing as she had to say everything twice. "Hello, umm something to drink?" she asked. They both nodded. She crossed the room to the counter and poured them both some wine. When she returned to the table they were looking at each other. Marie sat and gave them both the drinks. They held them carefully as if they were gold, not small cups filled with cheap wine. "Why were you here?" she asked them both trying to sound kindly and not nosy.
"Err, I was err," Eponine stumbled, obviously a little embarrassed, "...hoping to meet Monsieur Marius."
Marie smiled "is that the student next door?" she asked. Eponine nodded and stared at the wall. She saw Terence frantically leafing though his book, which she saw to be a French-English dictionary. She smiled; it was time to start up the fortune-telling business again. She turned back to Eponine and said with a soft smile "that could be arranged."