"Cosette!" Eponine called as she ran to the two of them, slightly shoving Marius out of the way. Marius was confused for a moment, until the pieces fit.

"Eponine? You were supposed to only deliver the letter!" He said.

"Cosette is a determined lady, monsieur." Eponine whispered. Cosette smiled weakly at them.

"How bad are the wounds?" Eponine asked. Marius pointed at her stomach and hand, which were severely damaged, and Eponine was shocked at how Cosette was still conscious

"We need to get her to Monsieur Joly right away!" Eponine said, urging Marius to carry Cosette.

"It's no use, I won't be able to make it." Cosette replied faintly as he was about to pick her up. Marius became distressed, looking about as if there was some unknown answer on the barricade to save her.

"We have to do something, anything!" Marius weeped. Cosette slowly rose her hand to Marius's cheek and stroked it.

"Don't fret, my dear Marius. You either, Eponine." Cosette murmured quietly. Eponine began to hold back tears.

"I am so sorry… I am sorry for how I treated you, I'm sorry for blaming you, I'm sorry for bringing you here only to let you be killed-" she began, only to be cut off by Cosette shushing her.

"It's okay. I forgive you, I'm glad I finally got to be at peace with you." Cosette said, her eyelids slowly closing.

"You can't go yet!" Marius cried softly.

"We are supposed to marry and live happily, it can't end like this."

"I love you Marius. I love you so much more than I can describe right now. For when I saw you at Luxembourg, I knew you were the one." Cosette told him with a delicate smile. She weakly turned to Eponine, who had streaks of tears trailing down her cheeks, and grabbed her hand.

"Please take care of Marius when I'm gone. And tell my father I love him, and that I am sorry." Cosette said. Eponine nodded, choking back her sobs. Cosette let go of Eponine's hands and face neither of them in particular.

"Do not weep for me, for I will be at the castle on the cloud. Do you remember me singing that silly song, Eponine?" Cosette croaked out. Eponine nodded, wiping the tears off with her jacket. Cosette smiled frailly.

"I do believe it's there, though. Perhaps my mother too..."

Cosette let her eyelids flutter close. For a moment it appeared she had parted, but she suddenly opened her eyes once more and said softly,

"You know, Marius. I did truly love you." And with that, she expired…

Marius placed a soft kiss on her slowly numbing lips and wept more. Eponine sobbed into her hands; she had never expected to care so much about Cosette, but she did. And now Cosette was gone. Two men, Joly and Bossuet, came by and assisted Marius with putting her over by the rest of the dead. Eponine sat upon the stones of the barricade, silent and miserable. She was now realizing the harsh reality of revolution. She collected herself enough to stop sobbing, but she could not get herself to stand up and do anything. She was to mourn for now, and she would be damned if she did otherwise.

"Excuse me." a voice said from behind. She turned back and looked up to see none other than Enjolras, the leader of the students. She wiped some of her tears and stood up.

"What is it, monsieur?" she asked quietly.

"I just came to ask if you knew that she was a woman. Woman should not be on the battlefield." Enjolras stated. Eponine balled up her fists and glared.

"She may of been a woman, but she was so much stronger than most of the men I know. Besides, what's it to you? Preaching all your equality and such, why exclude the women?" She barked.

"To keep them safe. As a young boy, you should know how fragile mothers and sisters can be." He responded simply. Eponine slightly disassociated then, memories of her dead mother and frail sister flooding her mind, only to be brought back to reality moments later.

"Are you okay? You've turned white, Felix." Enjolras expressed with concern.

"Well why don't you worry about keeping the men safe while you are at-" Eponine began, snapping at him, only then being interrupted by Marius.

"Eponine, what in god's name were you thinking bringing her here?" Marius hissed in a hushed voice. His voice just above a whisper as he was out of breath after having run her from where he laid Cosette's corpse. Enjolras's eyes widened in surprise.

"Eponine?" he muttered weakly. That's how he recognized the boy- girl. She was Marius's shadow. If you saw Marius you might be lucky to catch a glimpse upon her. People first assumed it was an infatuation on her part, but it was actually a request from her father to trail him which later turned into an infatuation. The complexities of love know no bounds.

"Marius, not now." Eponine pleaded, masking her annoyance with Enjolras.

"Yes, Marius." Enjolras assented, "I need to speak to Eponine." She rolled her eyes as Marius walked away sullenly.

"What is it you want?" she asked.

"I want you to leave the barricade for your own safety." Enjolras commanded, standing his ground. Eponine scoffed at him and shook her head.

"Excuse me, monsieur. While I must admit, I came here to see to Marius; but now I am here to fight for the cause." she told him. A lie, she planned to come here to die with Marius, so that they may live on in heaven, if she went there that is. Enjolras took a dominant stance.

"Why should I believe you?" He asked, finally getting over the idea that women could not fight.

"Because the cause you fight for speaks to me. You talk about the poverty and the terribleness of gamines and urchins. Well I have lived that life, and so did seeing the rebels fighting for this, gives me hope. You can't just fight for us without letting us fight for ourselves too." She explained.

"Please, I beg of you monsieur." Eponine pleaded, "Let me fight."

Enjolras looked at her face which was covered with soot and grime. But he peered past that, and saw the passion in her eyes. Something gave her hope, and the flames he saw were just like the ones he saw in his own reflection. He sighed and pushed his hair back.

"If you can keep your cover up as a boy, for your own safety, and conduct yourself in a respectful manner; I do not see why you should not be able to stay and fight." Enjolras affirmed. A grin slowly spread upon her face and she nodded.

"Yes, monsieur. Thank you." she exclaimed.

"Do not call me monsieur, please. Citizen is preferred with the strides towards equality we are taking." he requested.

"Alright mon- Citizen." she corrected herself. He nodded and made his way towards a group of men goofing off to berate them. She then let go of her smile and sat down in a stillness she knew would not last long. Eponine stared blankly into space and touched the earth beneath her. She was still was processing Cosette's death. A young girl was gone too soon from this wretched world.

"Eponine, what made you come here? And with Cosette of all people?" Marius whispered harshly.

"I'm sorry." she said. Her voice was scarce, as if hardly in her own body. Marius' brow furrowed, his face molded into an expression of anger.

"You were only to deliver the letter! Why did you allow her to come with you? Why did you come back at all?" he said, trying to hold back his loud outbursts.

"I don't know, monsieur. I am sorry" Eponine began, only to have Marius interrupt her with a groan of anguish.

"Why didn't you think thoroughly about this? You basically lead her to her death!" he shouted. Eponine shook as he berated her, tears started forming at her eyes as she held back her sobs.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" he asked.

"I came here to die, I didn't mean for her-" she started.

"Enough, Marius. You are upsetting this boy." a voice spoke. He had mousy brown hair and round spectacles. His voice was soft but stern as he attempted to get Marius to back off. Marius clenched his fists and gritted his teeth but stormed off. Eponine sat in a heap, still trying not to cry. The man kneeled down by her and took a scrap of cloth out of his pocket and wiped away her tears.

"Hello, I'm Combeferre. Enjolras told me your situation so you don't need to worry about that." he told her calmly. She nodded, trying to maintain eye contact.

"Marius probably didn't mean any of that. He is just upset because Colette-"

"Cosette, her name was Cosette." Eponine interrupted.

"My apologies. But he is upset because of her death. And even if he did have actual malicious intent, you didn't deserve it."

"But I definitely did, monsieur Combeferre. I didn't protest her coming here, I showed her the way. I could of stopped her." Eponine argued. Combeferre shook his head.

"Marius seems to have surrounded himself with strong-willed women. Cosette would of found another way here if you hadn't brought her. And did Marius himself ask you to leave so you would not die? He couldn't stop either of you." he told her in a soothing manner. She nodded along.

"Enjolras said if it makes you feel more safe, that you can share quarters with Gavroche, Me, Courfeyrac, and himself. We would of found a safe place for you to reside by yourself or with other women, but unfortunately it is crowded and the women are safe in their homes so there are no women's' quarters." he explained. She nodded and whispered a small thank you.

Eponine watched Combeferre walk off to join the other men whom were on break, they drank to forget about the upcoming battles if only for a few minutes. Eponine looked on at these men, some of whom she recognized quite well from seeing them about Paris and preaching their bohemian ideals. There was one with long flowing hair, a poet if her memory did not fail her; he seemed whimsical at this time, taking small swigs of the ale passed about and smiling every so often at the others as he wrote down words. Another man, the fan-maker who always sat close to the churches as he sold his fans; he seemed solemn at this time, but occasionally his mouth would turn up into the slightest of smirks. As well as a bald man who found himself in troublesome situations and a burly man who seemed to have a big heart. She found herself easy among these men, which was abnormal as when she had typically been around big groups of men she would be on guard. Then again, these men were nothing like the Patron Minette. Eponine sat near and let herself relax for once, allowing herself a small moment of peace for the sake of her own well being, and in respect of Cosette. Enjolras looked on from afar, fixated on Eponine.