"Good day, Madame. Hello 'Ponine!" Courfeyrac called out making his way thru the morning crowd, Gavroche sitting atop his shoulders waving his hands happily.
Madame Laurice, the old woman Eponine was working for, smiled warmly at the boys and greeted them with a gentle voice. She was quite fond of the two. "And what brings you two here so early?" Eponine, who was busy fixing things under the table, now peeped out and gave the boys a smile.
"Bonjour Madame!" Gavroche, having gotten down Courfeyrac's shoulder took Madame's hand and placed a little kiss. "Just 'ere to see your lovely face," he finished.
"Oh my little man." She laughed in response. "You flatter me so." Eponine and Courfeyrac laughed at their exchange.
"Just madame's, Vroche?" Eponine pouted. "What about me?"
"Oh, that's for Courf here." Gavroche mumbled, earning a raised brow from Madame Laurice, and a slight blush from Courfeyrac. Eponine cocked her head to the side, not quite sure of what she heard. He then added with a clearer note, "I'm just 'ere to tell you that he'll be taking me about today. So there's no need to worry your pretty little head."
"And where, pray tell, will you boys be?"
"I'm taking him to the café again today. We'll be spending most of the morning there. Then this afternoon we will be by the Notre Dame." Courfeyrac spoke up.
"Another one of those? I tell you, your cause is admirable but surely it will put you boys in trouble." Madame said gravely.
"Just promise me you both will stay safe." Eponine sighed.
"You should come see us later 'Ponine!" Gavroche piped up.
"You should!" Courfeyrac added. "Grantaire has been asking for you. I think he may not be quite over with the draw you ended up with weeks ago."
Eponine smiled at the memory. "Perhaps I'll drop by."
After a few more exchanges, and a couple of apples later, the boys said their goodbyes. Now alone, Madame Laurice turned to Eponine, "What do you think about this revolution they are planning out? Such young boys."
"The people deserve change for the better, no doubt. But, I fear that their efforts might be in vain." Eponine replied, shaking her head. "They don't even know what it feels like to live in poverty, how do they expect the people to relate to them?"
Later that day, as Eponine started to clean up as the hour of closing neared, a familiar man came about, "How much for this bunch of grapes? And I'd very much like an hour of your day." Eponine turned, a smile quickly appearing on her face.
"'Parnasse! what brings you here?"
"I was in the neighborhood, and I realized I haven't seen you in so long."
"Well I'm about to close shop. Give me a few minutes?"
When Eponine finished, Montparnasse offered his arm as they walked away from the market place. "Where to?" he asked.
"Well, we could make our way to Notre Dame. I've promised Gavroche I'd be there." She replied, putting her hand around his arm. He looked at her hand and noticed the bracelet with blue beads that she wore. He touched his fingers to it, a distant look on his face that Eponine did not miss.
The bracelet was Azelma's. She had asked for it to be given to Eponine before she died. Eponine wore it as a reminder of her and of their childhood. She offered Montparnasse a small smile, squeezing his arm. He was just as close to Azelma as he was to Eponine, losing her pained him as much as it did her own sister and Gavroche.
They talked as they made their way to the rally. Seeing each other hasn't been a frequent thing these days. She was busy living an honest life, while he still preferred moving through the shadows. She was telling him about Grantaire and how she has managed to match his bottles and skills at chess, when Montparnasse stopped in his tracks making her halt her steps and speech at the same time.
They have reached the rally, a sea of people bigger than she'd expected gathered around a make-shift podium where she could see three figures. She scanned the crowd to look for Gavroche, seeing as he was again on top of Courfeyrac's shoulder a few meters away from the podium and just a few steps away from the crowd, she pulled her companion to their direction.
Up the podium were three of Courfeyrac's friends: Marius, Combeferre, and Enjolras. It was Combeferre speaking at the moment. Marius and Enjolras stood a bit behind him, discussing some things in whisper. And just then a cheer erupted from the crowd, "Egalité pour tous!" Enjolras and Marius paused, distracted and pleased by the outburst, and have returned their attention to the crowd.
It was then that Enjolras caught a familiar sight. Moving through the crowd, two figures: a small woman with long wavy hair and a man... well dressed, same build... "Could it be? Could it be him?" He thought, his brows knitted together, his eyes squinting to see better. He felt like seeing a ghost in daylight. He was about to jump of the podium, when a hand grabbed his shoulder. It was Marius, he was pulling him to the other direction. It was only then that he noticed the crowd beginning to break apart. It finally dawned on him, the police were coming.
Down among the crowd, as Eponine and Montparnasse made their way to Gavroche, the people started becoming restless. Montparnasse stopped, raised his eyes well above the rest and cocked his head to the left. Eponine felt him tense beside her, and without another second, she felt his hand pulling at her arm, barely hearing his voice saying "the police are coming. we have to flee, now!" She wanted to get Gavroche, but she could see him running hand in hand with Courfeyrac; the little boy leading the man to escape.
They moved fast, Montparnasse leading the way. His sole focus was to get them out of here. He was still a wanted man. Eponine on the other hand had her eyes darting around, trying to make out which direction Gavroche and Courfeyrac has gone to, and to make sure they were indeed out. Instead of finding them again, she had caught sight of one of the men who lead the rally just minutes ago. For a second there, they held each other's gaze. His eyes were intense, inquiring with a hint of confusion in them. Eponine couldn't figure out why as she snapped back from her thoughts as Montparnasse was gaining speed, pulling them both out of the crowd and into the smaller streets.
They didn't stop running until they were a good distance away. The man now trying to catch his breath rested his weight on the wall. Eponine, who was standing a few steps away trying to even out her breathing, was lost in her thoughts. "The look on his face... He seemed so troubled, but why me?" A dozen of questions plagued her mind. She couldn't fathom why a man such as him would look at her like that. He looked so confident, and strong as he stood atop the podium earlier, but then when their eyes met, he looked scared, panicked, confused. She could hear her heart pounding, was it because of the running or because of that encounter? She decided it was both. She couldn't shake it, the look on his face, the guilt and shock so clear in his features.
"'Ponine? Are you quite alright?" Montparnasse said, taking her away from her thoughts.
"Yes. Im fine." She blinked twice, as if seeing him for the first time again. "I'm sorry, I just got a bit distracted."
"Listen, I have to go. I cannot be seen out as I am sure the police are still roaming the streets looking for those men." He said, his eyes not resting on Eponine, but frantically looking around."You'd be better of without me for now. I trust you'll be fine on your own?"
Eponine nodded. They both know she'd be perfectly capable of staying out of trouble. He has taught her well, and she was smart enough to see the signs as they came. "Do you still have the blade I gave you?" He asked, looking her in the eye.
She rested her hand on the her upper right thigh, feeling the strap and the blade beneath her skirt. "Always." She replied. He plants a gentle kiss on her forehead and turned away, speaking just enough to be heard, "keep safe."
Just before the shadows consumed his figure she called back, "Stay safe."
I'm not quite sure how im doing... is it good? bad? confusing? Would love to hear/read from you guys. feedback would be highly appreciated. Please and Thank you.
