A/N: Wow guys, what a great response! I love hearing your views and opinions. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Thanks to fairygron, RainWillMakeTheFlowersGrow, PotterforPrimeMinister, and AnneMarie24601. Sabrina, your review made my day! Thanks so much! Elena3579, I hope you like what I do, but I guess you'll have to stick around to see what happens ;) And of course, thanks to the most wonderful Sasha Snape for everything! I have it on good authority that Tresors was just updated, so go check that out too!

Apollo

He always watched and never participated. At least, that is how his friends viewed him. The Marble Man, Apollo, is what they called him. Many of them wondered if he was so cold inside that he could not possibly want for the love of a woman. Others wondered if he was even attracted to women at all. He was the only one who knew the truth about himself, and even then that truth was a biased one. He knew (or believed) that he would only ever have love for his motherland country, Patria. But in the deepest, darkest recesses of his soul he knew that Patria was only a figment of his imagination. He talked about France as if it was a person, but he knew that a country could not give him the same pleasurable company as a friend or lover.

Enjolras sighed as he heard a crash from the main floor of the Café Musain, followed by Grantaire's drunken cursing. Enjolras heard footsteps and turned towards the staircase to see if anyone was coming to get him. Madam Huchloup would always come to him if Grantaire's drunken escapades became too much for her to handle, but she did not appear at the top of the staircase. Instead, he heard the calm, soothing voice of Jehan Prouvaire wafting up from downstairs as he attempted to reason with Grantaire. Enjolras decided to stay on the upper floor of the café, leaving Jehan to his work. If Enjolras was the god of war and prophecy, then Jehan was the god of patience, as his ability to deal with Grantaire was seemingly endless.

Rather than dwell upon what one of his closest friends had done to Madam Huchloup's café, Enjolras turned back to the open window of the café and looked out into the Parisian landscape. Twilight was approaching, and he could spot the young couples emerging from their homes or from various shops to enjoy the moonlight and the cooler air. This happened every night: Enjolras would watch the happy couples of Paris strolling in the moonlight. One could not tell what class they were or how much money they had, only that they were in love and happy with their lives. He sighed and, for a moment, allowed his thoughts to wonder. "So many times out there I've watched a happy pair strolling together in the night. From so high up they seem to have no worries, no cares at all but the person at their side. If only…No! Gabriel Enjolras, do not think that way. You have dedicated yourself to Patria; any other emotional connection would slow your plans for a brighter future. Do not stray from the path that God has put you on," he told himself firmly. It did not matter to him that Patria could not shower him with love and affection as so many of Les Amis' mistresses did. It did not matter that he could not have an intelligent conversation with France as he could with a woman. His soul, however lonely it may have been, did not matter because there were so many poor people on the streets who were selling their souls for a measly crust of bread. He refused to let anything, especially a biological desire, deter him from his goal of a New France.

However, he could not help the tiniest of jealousies that coursed through him as he watched the people below him. Various groupings of people: lovers, families, friends; they were all meeting up on the streets, talking and laughing. The sounds of their merriment carried up to him, and he could not help his subconscious desire to have what those people had. He wanted to be carefree; to have a life, and to share that life with someone as passionate about equality as he was.

He started from his thoughts as a hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Mon ami, you are too serious." He watched as Combeferre settled into the seat beside him.

"One of us has to be, 'Ferre. Too many of the men do not take our cause seriously enough."

Combeferre shook his head and laughed. "I suppose you're talking about Marius and Grantaire?"

Enjolras sighed. "Among others. Many of the men seem too consumed by trivial pursuits rather than bettering society."

"Well, we all can't be made of marble like you, Apollo." Enjolras turned to see an extremely drunk Grantaire being assisted up the stairs by little Jehan. Grantaire was chuckling to himself at his own comment as Jehan deposited him in one of the chairs. "Some of us need the love of a pretty woman to get us through the day." Grantaire continued.

"That's enough out of you, wine-cask." Enjolras retorted as the other men came upstairs and stationed themselves around the room. Just like that, their meeting commenced. The next hour and a half contained speeches about inequality, rallying cheers from the various men, and three inappropriate comments from Grantaire. The meeting came to an abrupt end when Marius wandered in, looking very much like a crazed man.

Enjolras sighed and stepped down from his podium. "Marius, you're late!" he barked, fed up with his best friend's tardiness.

"What is wrong, Marius? You look pale and your pupils are dilated." Joly approached him and felt his forehead. Not sensing a fever, and praying that whatever disease Marius had picked up was not catching, Joly stepped back to the bar and retrieved a mug for Grantaire, who was standing next to him. Marius continued to stare off into space, not even registering his surroundings. "Marius, you look as if you've seen a ghost!"

Enjolras, quickly tiring of the proceedings, went to stand next to Combeferre, who was standing at the long table that served as their desk for planning speeches and rallies. However, he did stand close by, so as to hear why Marius had been late.

"Here Marius, have some wine and tell us why you could not attend Apollo's precious meeting." Grantaire pushed a mug of wine into Marius' hand and sat across the table from him.

Marius accepted the wine and took a sip before launching into his tale. "Joly, you say I look as if I've seen a ghost. I am not sure what I have seen, for she was there one moment and gone the next. She may as well have been a ghost. I wasn't able to speak to her, and she had this ethereal beauty to her that made her seem…otherworldly."

Grantaire let loose a booming laugh. "So Marius has found a girl, eh? I am aghast, mon ami; I have never heard you speak like this before." Grantaire looked towards Enjolras, who had turned towards them slightly in order to hear what they were saying. Grantaire pointed his index finger towards him. "Here's Apollo speaking of battles against the government, and Marius begins acting like he's been struck by Cupid's misguided arrow! It's better than Don Juan; it's better than an Opera!"

Enjolras shook his head in derision. This is what he had meant before, when he was speaking to Combeferre. Even Marius, his closest companion since childhood, could not fully commit to the cause due to his wandering tendencies. He listened for a moment as Marius described the nameless girl with the "beautiful blond hair" and the "eyes as clear as the blue sky" until he had had enough.

Enjolras marched over to their table and straddled the chair that, for some reason, was sitting backwards against the table. "This is not the time to lose focus, mes amis. This is the time to decide who we are, and who history will remember us as. Do we want to be remembered as men who fought valiantly or as rich little boys playing a war game? Do we fight for the right to a night at the Opera, or do we fight for the downtrodden people who have lost faith in the country that birthed them?"

Enjolras continued speaking about how he could feel the times changed, and did not notice Grantaire's eyes upon him. No one knew why Grantaire lost himself at the bottom of a bottle, nor did they know why he believed in Enjolras so much. The only thing Grantaire had told his friends was that Enjolras reminded him of someone from his past, someone that he believed in fully, someone whom he had lost as a child.

"Has anyone asked themselves what price they might pay for a New France?" Enjolras asked. "If anyone is unwilling to pay that price, then I implore you to leave now. The time to rise is coming, and I will not have an uncommitted brother among our ranks."

Enjolras kicked up from his seat and moved to rejoin Combeferre in discussing their plans when he felt a hand on his elbow. "Enjolras, if only you knew what love feels like, then perhaps you could understand," Marius looked at him beseechingly. "When I saw my beloved, I was left in a state of breathless delight. My entire world changed when I locked eyes with her. She completely changed my perspective in one glance."

Enjolras used Marius' hand as leverage to pull him in closer so that the other men would not be able to hear. "Marius, we have been the closest of companions since childhood. But neither of us are children anymore. I do not doubt that you believe you have fallen in love with this girl that you have not spoken to, but I implore you to see reason. You have committed yourself to a higher cause!" Enjolras whispered as Grantaire began singing a drinking song, successfully covering their conversation.

"I know, mon ami, but—"

"No Marius, I do not want to hear about your lonely soul! There are higher goals in life to strive towards than the love of a woman!" Enjolras interrupted desperately, unsure if he was attempting to convince himself or Marius. "Our lives do not matter in the grand scheme of things. Only the greater good matters." With that, Enjolras wrenched away from Marius in time to see a girl dressed in rags come to the top of the staircase and stare around. Enjolras recognized her and was tempted to go to her and thank her for saving them from time in prison for their 'traitorous rally'. However, Marius beat him to her. The pair conversed for a brief moment before Marius turned and locked eyes with him. Enjolras automatically knew that his friend was going to see his nameless love, and blinked slowly at him. Marius misread his disappointment as permission and ran down the stairs. The girl in rags followed quickly after.

"Oh well," Enjolras thought. "I'm sure I can thank her some other time."

"Thank you, Eponine!" Eponine counted this as the twenty-third time Marius had thanked her in the ten minutes since they had left the café.

"I already told you that there were no thanks necessary, Monsieur Marius. I'm glad to be able to help," Eponine replied as she guided him through one of Paris' quieter sectors.

"Eponine, I have never felt this way before in my life. She is like an angel, though the angels would be jealous of her voice and beauty. She is like the Sun, causing everything in the universe to revolve around her. Eponine, I feel as though my life had not started before today. Everything I have done has led me to this moment, and everything I had planned to do no longer has consequence in comparison to her!"

The first thought that came to Eponine's mind was how on Earth Marius knew what Cosette's voice sounded like, seeing as they had not spoken to each other yet. The second was to ponder how much a heart could break before it would turn to dust and just…stop working. Marius had been the only person in her life to actually see her. Not see through her, not see her for her economic worth, not see her for her body, but actually see her as a human being. He was the rarity she needed to convince herself that her life still mattered. Eponine believed that, if God had placed this young man in her life, her life still had meaning. "If only he wanted to be mine, the way I am his," Eponine thought.

Eponine was startled as Marius cut off his rambling to grab her up into a tight hug and swing her around. "Oh 'Ponine, you're the friend who has brought me to my sanctuary! Thanks to you I can find my beloved and become whole once again."

Eponine laughed at his exuberance as she directed him through the city. Soon enough she came to the iron gates of Number 55 Rue Plumet. She whispered to Marius that she would be waiting around the corner to guide him back, but was promptly ignored as the blond Lark approached the gates.

Eponine couldn't help but compare herself to Cosette. Whereas Eponine was dressed in a raggedy black dress, Cosette was wearing a pretty cotton frock with a silk robe overtop to keep out the chill. Eponine noticed that Cosette's hair was long, blond and flowing. She moved her hand to her own dark hair, feeling the knots and burrs from years of mistreatment. Cosette's skin was as pale as a porcelain doll, while Eponine's skin had been darkened by years out in the sun and accumulated dirt. Eponine remembered the times when she had been the one to wear the pretty dresses and have the long, flowing hair that her mother would comb every night until it shone, while Cosette had worn the rags and had the dirty skin and hair.

Eponine listened as Marius introduced himself and pledged his love for Cosette. Eponine couldn't help but roll her eyes as her heart shattered. The man she had been chasing throughout the years had fallen so hard and so fast for the girl from her past that Eponine herself had not stood a chance. Eponine couldn't help but wonder whether the same God who had placed Marius in her life as a salvation was now punishing her for her past mistreatment of Cosette. She briefly remembered one of Marius' friends (Combeferre, she believed) expressing the idea of "cosmic justice"; every past sin or misdeed would eventually effect the one who performed it. He had also called it a word that began with a 'k' but Eponine could not remember what it was. Eponine resolved that Marius falling in love with Cosette must be a punishment for her abusing Cosette when they were children. Eponine had lost everything throughout her life: a loving papa and mother, money, food, clothing, a home. And now God was taking away the one thing that kept her sane. Eponine slouched against the wall behind her and attempted to pull away from reality as she always did, but was unable to escape into her fantasy world because Marius wasn't waiting for her there. He was less than a few feet away, speaking to Cosette about his life and her life, and how they would be together always.

"I'm sorry," Eponine whispered to the Heavens, hoping God could hear her and give her Marius back. Her head began to throb and tears began pushing at her eyelids as she felt her throat constrict. "I'm sorry; please don't take him away from me! I'll make it up to her, I promise!"

Eponine wiped her eyes with her grimy dress as she heard a different voice call for Cosette.

"I'm coming, Papa," Cosette called. Eponine heard Cosette and Marius kiss through the iron bars and shakily stood, knowing she could not show Marius that the events she had witnessed had ruined her. She fell back against the wall again as he breezed past her without a second glance, smiling as he smelt a dainty white handkerchief. Eponine let out a gasping sob as she felt her fantasy world leave her for good. She knew in that instant that she could no longer return to the nights of happily fantasizing about herself and Marius being happily married while living in her hellish life. Eponine felt reality closing in on her, and start to suffocate her. Breathing erratically, Eponine buried her head into her dress as she attempted to ward off her personal demons. She was startled from her thoughts when she heard a boot crunch in the silence of the night. She looked up hopefully, believing it to be Marius returning for her, but was disappointed to see Montparnasse's lanky figure approaching her. She wiped her eyes hurriedly, not wanting to show weakness in front of him, and stood to greet him, trembling fragilely as she did.

He clumsily wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. She could taste the alcohol on his breath, and desperately attempted to imagine Marius in his place, but found herself unforgivingly tied to reality. Imagining Marius during all of her 'meetings' with 'Parnasse had helped her endure them; now that she could not escape from reality, she felt as if she was being violated.

Eponine quickly disengaged from him and pulled a smile, albeit a feeble one, onto her face. "Montparnasse, what are you doing here? Isn't this further out of the way than you would usually pillage and plunder innocent people?" Eponine attempted to sound cordial, but even to herself she sounded false and weak.

Luckily Montparnasse was drunk enough not to notice. "This is the house of that man from the square this morning. We're gonna do it; he looks to be the type that has plenty stored away. Apparently he paid a pretty penny for that slave girl you and your family used to keep around. We're gonna see what else he's got to give us."

Eponine recoiled in shock, but within an instant a serenity like she had never known before washed over her. She had asked God to give her Marius back if she made it up to Cosette. This was the way she could do it. If she were able to persuade Patron-Minette not to rob Cosette's house, then perhaps she could have Monsieur Marius back. Perhaps he would love her then.

"This is where the old man lives. Nobody really knows him, so nobody will believe his story if he says he were robbed!" a deeper, harsher voice barked. Eponine turned to see her father, along with several other members of Patron-Minette approaching. "I'm gonna get 'im to give me what he shoulda given me eight years ago when he borrowed what's-her-face…Colette." Thénardier looked over at Eponine and Montparnasse, squinting his eyes at her. "Who's this hussy?"

"It's your brat Eponine; don't you know your own kid?" Babet replied, his beady eyes rapidly shifting between her and 'Parnasse quickly. "Why's she hangin' about, 'Parnasse? We got enough for this one!"

"Eponine, go home!" Thénardier ordered. "We don't need you on this one."

Eponine took a deep breath, gathering her courage for what she was about to do. "I know this place, Papa. The man who lives here lives an ordinary life; there's nothing here to make a profit off of. It's just him and his daughter."

"Don't interfere, Eponine." Thénardier growled menacingly. "I told you to go home!"

"You going soft on us, 'Ponine?" Montparnasse whispered in her ear, causing her to jerk away from him, right into her father's arms.

"You've got some gall, 'Ponine. You've got a lot of explaining to do. Were you staking this house out as your own mark? Trying to strike out on your own? It won't happen, girl," Thénardier lowered his head to whisper in her ear. "I own you. And don't you ever forget it."

Eponine shuddered. She knew the consequences of disobeying her father, and had the welts and scars to prove it. Eponine remained unafraid because she believed this to be the only way to regain her fantasy. "I'll scream! I'll warn them! I won't let you hurt this family!"

"You let one squeak outta that mouth o' yours and you'll regret it for a year!" Thénardier replied.

Eponine backed away from all of them and found her back against the metal gates. Picturing Marius smiling with his arms around her, Eponine gathered her breath and let out an ear-piercing shriek that could raise the dead.

"Make for the sewers!" Thénardier ordered as all the men but Montparnasse took off. "You wait, my girl, I'll make you wish you had never done that." In retort Eponine spat in his face. Her father slowly wiped the spittle off his brow before backhanding her. Eponine hit the ground hard. He bent down low so that she could hear him. "You wanted to scream, I'll give you a reason to scream," he nodded at Montparnasse. "Finish her and meet us back at the rooms. And don't get caught!" Thénardier ran off into the night, leaving his oldest daughter to fend for herself.

Montparnasse quickly took her father's spot, crouched and leaning over her. Eponine whimpered as her vision flickered and she felt as though she was going to vomit. "Don't worry, 'Ponine. I ain't gonna kill ya. But if I ever see you around the streets again, I'll make sure you regret it," he said forebodingly. Eponine faintly hoped that he would just leave her there as he stood to leave, but found this not to be the case as she watched his big, black boot coming towards her face. She remembered Marius, and how all this was worth it, as everything faded to black.

A/N: Whew! That was an adventure, wasn't it? I hope you guys liked my portrayal of Enjolras, and I really hope you guys will like the next chapter, which is where the real fun begins. Please read and review!