Prompt: She reached out in the darkness, and her hand met something wet. And sticky.
If there was one thing Eponine Thenardier knew better than anyone else, it was darkness. Her life was simply made up of darkness. Her family were dark, her thoughts were dark, and her life was dark. She felt trapped in the darkness that surrounded her, dragging her down into its deepest pits no matter what she did to try and escape it. No matter how hard she fought to move towards the light, her life wouldn't allow her to go there.
There were things that she had done that she wasn't proud of, and there were even worse things that she had witnessed and done nothing to stop them. If she were to die right now she knew where she would end up. There was a special place in hell for people like her and the people she associated with, and it seemed like she would end up there sooner than she had ever imagined.
It had happened quickly before she could even react. Everything was going so well, it was easy. She'd been watching the house for the past month, she knew the routine of the couple that lived there. She knew they worked during the day and every Friday they dressed up and went out in their posh car, wearing their posh dresses with their posh money… and it wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that they got more than she would ever have. It wasn't fair that whilst she struggled to find just one meal every day that they got to drink champagne and sit eating caviar. It wasn't fair that they wore diamonds around their neck and she wore dirt as if it was an extra layer of skin. Life wasn't fair to Eponine Thenarider.
So when she had broken into the house, hoping to teach them a lesson she hadn't expected anyone to come home. She'd been running half an hour late after her Father got in one of them moods and it had taken a good ten minutes to tell Parnasse that no, she really didn't want to 'do him in the kitchen', as he so eloquently put it, and so by the time she arrived there she'd missed them leaving. Their car wasn't in the driveway, and the curtains were drawn, so she could only assume they had already left.
The lock was easy enough to pick using the hairgrip that she always kept tucked in her hair just behind her ear for occasions like these. The house was almost silent as she carefully stepped out into the corridor. She knew she should head straight upstairs and raid the jewellery box, maybe pick up one of the laptops and any money she found but she couldn't help herself. She wanted to see how they lived. She'd dreamed of living in a place just like this when she was a kid. With the crystal chandeliers and the portraits that covered almost every wall. Ornaments were lined up perfectly on every surface and the bookcases were filled from head to toe with books.
She bit her lip as she wandered through each of the rooms, staring around in awe at the painted murals that coated the ceilings before she finally made it to the stairs. She walked up them quietly, ignoring the nervous feeling that was growing in her stomach, bringing bile to her throat with each step. Soon it would be over and she would be out of here. Soon the adrenaline would kick in and she'd be on top of the world but something felt off… she could feel it in her very bones, humming away as it tried to stop her and she knew that she should. Her brain was screaming at her to stop. This was wrong, they hadn't done anything to her, she should leave here but she didn't turn back. She was too close now…
She made her way down the corridor, heading for the room that she assumed must have been the bedroom, or at least the one that was occupied. She'd already passed five doors by the time she reached the one she wanted. Late at night she'd watched as the last light was turned off, the glow radiating out of the window that lit this room.
She took a deep breath before pushing the door open. Its hinges creaked in the silence as she slowly stepped inside, pausing as she let her eyes adjust to the darkness. After a few moments, she finally took a step forward, feeling her way along the wall and around the furniture.
With the small slither of light that broke in through the curtains, she was able to find the dresser that stood opposite the bed. She slowly opened it, her eyes widening as the jewels glittered in the moonlight. She ran her fingers over the delicate stones before picking one up and examining it. With a small smile, she nimbly opened the clasp and fastened it around her neck before turning on the lamp beside the bed and examining it in the mirror.
The red stone looked perfect against her tanned skin, hanging from its silver chain. She smiled to herself as she looked at it, for a moment allowing herself to believe that she could truly one day own something like this for her own before she reluctantly took it off and tucked it into her pocket.
She returned to the box, picking out a few more of the necklaces, and a couple of the rings and added them to her stash before she quietly closed the box. If she was lucky they wouldn't notice they were gone until it was too late and she had sold them on. There were so many pieces of jewellery in that little box, she doubted that the owner even remembered what she owned.
She flicked off the lamp as she headed to the door before she froze. A key turned in the lock downstairs before the door slammed open and a quiet giggle sounded through the house. She held her breath as she backed herself up against the wall, her heart drumming against her chest. They weren't normally back this early, they were normally gone all night.
She listened as a tap was ran downstairs before heals clattered against the marble floor below her. She looked towards the French window at the other side of the room before frowning. She could climb out the window… but she wasn't sure what was on the outside of the house. It could be a straight drop down into the garden and she was almost certain that there were rose bushes down there somewhere.
"Shit," she hissed as she stepped closer to the door, rocking on her heels as she glanced around. If Montparnasse was here he would have already have come up with a plan, but it probably would have involved violence and although Montparnasse was hardly muscly, she was nowhere near as strong as he was and she couldn't take out the man that owned this house on her own. She didn't have a weapon either… She could use the lamp to hit him over the head, but there was definitely a woman down there with him as well and she'd ring the police… "Fuck, fuck, fuck…"
She swallowed hard as she heard the footsteps making their way up the stairs, the tipsy giggle of the woman ringing in the air again. She bit her lip as she got ready to run, her body trembling in anticipation. She quickly pulled her hood up, hiding her face from view as she waited for them to enter the room. They were taking their time, though. She could have sworn more than five minutes had passed as she waited, but it was probably less.
Finally, the door opened and the light was turned on as the man stumbled into the room with a woman in his arms, a woman that was obviously not his wife. He'd already began to unbutton his shirt when he spotted the figure behind the door and with a quick shove, he'd pushed the woman away from him, sending her stumbling towards the bed as she giggled.
Eponine bolted out of the door, not caring to make sure that the jewellery wouldn't fall out of her pocket as she ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time as footsteps rung out behind her, following her down the staircase.
She stumbled down the last couple of steps as she looked around wildly, lost in the maze of rooms before she threw herself forward in the direction she was certain the front door was in. She lunged across the living room, jumping over the sofa as she headed for the door on the other side of the room. She threw it open before she froze, staring at the office on the other side. She spun around on the spot, finding herself facing the man as he stood on the other side of the sofa.
He scowled at her as he grabbed for his phone, taking a step to the side. She mirrored him cautiously, glancing towards the door as he smirked. "Don't even try it. I'm ringing the police," he told her.
She bit her lip as she ignored him before throwing herself forward but before she could get around the sofa he had lunged at her, grabbing her by the waist as he tackled her to the floor. She struggled under his weight, thrashing her body as she tried to throw him off. He grabbed for her hood and she quickly turned her head away, trying to stop him from revealing her face.
He managed to get hold of the flimsy material after only a couple of attempts and yanked it roughly away, his eyes widening in surprise as he stared down at the girl beneath him. "Thought you were going to be some little punk," he scoffed. "You're just a little girl."
"I'm not a little girl," she spat at him in disgust.
He scowled as he wiped the saliva from him face as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and shoved her face to the side before she could attempt to do so again. With his free hand he began dialling a number on his phone whilst she wriggled beneath him.
"Victor?" The woman called from the top of the stairs cautiously, her voice slightly slurred from the alcohol she had consumed earlier in the evening. "Victor, is everything alright?"
"Stay out the damn way, I'm dealing with something," he yelled back to her.
Eponine smirked as she managed to get one of her legs free from beneath him as he scowled impatiently at his phone, retyping the number again with his stubby fingers. She waited a moment to make sure he was truly distracted before she pulled her knee up and kneed him hard in the groin. With a surprised gasp, he let go of her hair and grasped at where she had kneed him and before he could even react, she had managed to slither out from beneath him.
He grabbed for her ankle as she made it to her feet and she was out of the room before he could even follow her. It only took her a few moments to find the front door, passing the stunned woman that now stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking around frantically.
As she bolted through the garden she could already hear the man shouting at the woman behind them to call the police and she was out of the gate as the door slammed shut behind her pursuer. She sprinted down the road, taking a moment to glance behind her to see if he was still following as she ran. He was a good few meters behind her, still struggling to keep up as he gritted his teeth in pain. She'd kneed him hard enough to cause at least a bruise, and in that area it was surely going to be painful.
She smirked as she forced her legs to move faster, the adrenaline finally kicking in as she laughed to herself. She'd done it, she'd broke in and burgled them all by herself and she couldn't wait to rub in Montparnasses face. Now all she had to do was loose this idiot and she'd be sorted, but that wouldn't take much. She knew just the place to go and it wasn't all that far from here.
"Someone stop her!" The man yelled from behind her as he came to a stop, he held onto his knees as he panted, trying to catch his breath as the girl continued to sprint away from the scene, heading into the distance.
She glanced back at him with a triumphant smirk as she threw herself across the road and she was almost there, her foot just inches from the footpath when she finally turned her head away from her victim just in time to see the two large globes of light hit her.
Everything went dark as her feet left the ground before she was hit by a cold wall of air. She was flying, flying so high… Soaring through the air, so far in the darkness. Perhaps she had grown wings or turned into a bird, maybe even an angel… This was it, and this was how she was going to die. It wasn't exactly how she had expected to go, she'd expected one of her dads schemes to go wrong and she'd just become another statistic. Another victim of gang culture, stabbed outside her own house…
Too soon was falling, her body plummeting away from her salvation, away from the white clouds and pearly gates that imaged in her head as her wings failed her and she could hear the screech of tires as she landed with a thud. Her breath left her as she hit the ground, pain running through her entire body as she laid there.
She tried to breath, she tried to stay awake but there was just darkness and pain, and the horrible ringing in her ears. She let herself be sucked in by the cold, blanketed by the nothingness that now consumed her. This was more like how she expected death to be. She couldn't believe in a man in the sky watching over her, a man in the sky that allowed her to live in poverty. Who let her siblings go hungry and allowed her to feel pain most days of her life. She couldn't believe in a man who let her suffer for her entire life. If this was who God was, then surely her Father was that God. He was the one controlled her suffering.
All too soon someone was waking her from her slumber, jabbing at her painful ribs. She gasped, her breath rackling in her chest as she tried to push the hands away but her limbs were heavy and her eyes refused to open and allow her to see her tormenters face.
"Ferre! Ferre, I think she's awake," someone called from beside her head, their voice too loud for her liking. She groaned as she tried to turn her face away but before she could there was a hand on either side of her face, holding her head still. "Don't do that, you might have a neck injury."
"There seems to be a few broken bones… Her ribs definitely are but some of these injuries look old… Damn it, where's the ambulance?" A new voice, she assumed belonged to 'Ferre' interrupted.
"Shit… She just ran across the road, I couldn't stop! I didn't know she was going to do that!" The first voice replied, worry thick in his tone as his hands trembled against her skin.
"Enjolras, this wasn't your fault. You reacted as fast as you could. I can't find any ID on her, is she awake?" Ferre asked him.
"Hey… Hey, are you awake?" Enjolras asked, bringing his face closer to hers. She hummed in reply as she felt his breath warm against her skin, chasing away the cold that had taken hold of her. "What's your name?"
"Why, you going to take me out?" She breathed with a small smile.
"I… what?" She could hear the frown in his voice. "I think she's delusional…"
She winced as she felt a hand brush against her arm before it began pushing the hair out of her face. It was rougher than the first hand, callused and… used. The first pair of hands that still held onto her face were softer, albeit colder and felt as if they had never done a single days work in their life.
"She definitely banged her head. There's a wound back here by the cerebellum," Ferre commented as he gently began to probe at her head. She winced again as his fingers grazed over the wound. "Sorry…"
"Eponine…" She breathed after a few moments, gritting her teeth in pain as the numbness that had surrounded her body began to slowly drift away and the adrenaline left her system. "I'm… Eponine…"
"It's nice to meet you, Eponine," Ferre commented. "I can see the ambulance now, it'll be here in a few moments. They're going to take you to the hospital, is there anyone you need me to ring? We couldn't find a phone on you…"
"No," she frowned, trying to shake her head. The blonde held onto her tighter, his fingers digging into her cheeks. "No one…"
"Okay," Ferre smiled faintly.
The ambulances siren cut through the silence as it finally reached them and suddenly she was less warm as one of the men left her side. She grunted quietly, tensing as she listened to the thud of bags hitting the floor before more voices began to talk, her brain not quite keeping up with them as more hands began to prod at her. She hissed in pain as she tried to pull away but the hands around her face only held her in place.
Somewhere in the distance she could hear the hum of Ferres voice, mixing with two other voices that were still foreign to her. She shivered as something was pulled away from her, and it was only then that she realised that one of them had draped a jacket over her.
Suddenly there were two new hands near her face and she quickly reached out, ignoring the pain that ripped through her body as she reached through the darkness, and her hand met something that was wet. And sticky. It took her a moment until she realised that it was blood, her blood which coated the strangers hand on her cheek. "Don't go…" She wheezed, curling her fingers around his.
She felt the fingers beneath her own tense before they finally relaxed and enveloped her own in his as fresh hands held her head in place and something cold and hard was fastened around her neck. It didn't take long until she was fastened to a board, holding her in place and securing her limbs. She was lifted into the air again, this time instead of flying though, she glided in the hands of the paramedics until she was finally placed down and the warmth of a blanket was draped over her, the man holding her hand never letting go.
She sighed contently, ignoring the throbbing of pain and the voices telling her to stay awake as she finally gave into her darkness, letting it greet her with open arms and hug her into its embrace.
What felt like only minutes, turned out to be more. She had been unconscious for over a week, and during that time she had been sent for numerous scans and tests. She was healing perfectly, there was no permanent damage apart from a few broken bones and a couple of cuts that would certainly leave scars. No one in the hospital knew her surname, she was simply Eponine, the girl that got hit by a car.
The police had come and gone, checking in on her plenty of times. In the crash, or during the run, the jewellery had fallen from her pocket and the man she had burgled had apparently decided not to tell the police after observing the crash. He told them that what he had thought was a burglar had simply been the neighbours kid messing around outside.
It took her all of her energy to finally open her eyes and say goodbye to the comfort and safety of her mind. The warmth was nice, despite the ache of her bones but she knew she had to wake eventually and face whatever was a head of her.
When she finally did, she was greeted by a pair of brown bespectacled eyes staring at her, only inches away from her. She jumped in surprise, pressing herself back against the pillow as the Doctor laughed lightly. "Sorry, I was just checking if you were awake. I'm Doctor Combeferre, you were in a serious accident. Do you remember what happened?"
She blinked up at him in surprise, glancing him over. Combeferre… the name sounded familiar but she couldn't place it. She'd never met a Combeferre before… or was he… He couldn't be. He was cuter than she had imaged he would be… From the closeness of his face she could make out the light scattering of freckles that covered his face, framed by light brown hair… "You saved me," she breathed.
He broke out in a grin before he motioned to a man behind him and for the first time, she noticed the blonde man who also stood in the room with them. "And this is Enjolras."
"I believe you asked if I was going to take you out," the man commented as he moved towards them, stopping beside the Doctor. "I do believe it might make up for your injuries."
She smirked as she closed her eyes, humming contently. "It'd be a start…"