Here is chapter 4, by Little-miss-laughs-alot
The story that Gavroche is telling Eponine is from Jude the Wordsmith's story, "The Taste of Inspectors". Go and check it out! It's HIlARIOUS!
DISCLAIMER- I don't own Les Mis! I don't own Gavroche's story either!
The next morning, Amelie Marque rapped lightly on the spare room door. It was early and she didn't expect anyone else to be awake, but to her surprise, she heard two voices bidding her to come in. She opened the door and smiled; Eponine was propped up on pillows, and Gavroche was sitting cross-legged by her legs.
"Bonjour, Madame!" the siblings chorused.
"Bonjour! How are you this morning, Mademoiselle?"
"I'm fine." Amelie knew she wasn't, but didn't push the subject. "And please, call me Eponine."
"As you wish. I'll be out as soon as I stoke the fire, and I believe that Marius will be here as soon as he awakes." The children nodded and continued their conversation.
"Well? What happened next?" Eponine demanded of her little brother. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, and paused for dramatic effect.
"We-ell, at that point, Javert and Enjolras were looking at me like i was insane, so I started pacing around him, talking about how I wondered if inspectors are saltier than regular people!" Both of the siblings were dying of laughter, Gavroche remembering and Eponine picturing the look on the men's faces.
"You didn't!" Eponine laughed, even though she had no doubt that he, in fact, did!
"You know I did!" Suddenly, his face grew thoughtful. "Do you think inspectors are salty?" Eponine poked him with her foot, causing him to turn to her, making them both start laughing again.
Amelie was the only one who heard the knock on the door, so she opened it for Marius. He smiled at the sight the two made, walking over to the kindly woman, "It's very nice to see them together again."
"Whatever do you mean, Monsieur?" It had appeared to Amelie that the two were as close as siblings could be.
"They don't see each other very often, I'll explain later." Marius said before adding, glancing at the laughing pair. "What was the joke?"
Mme. Marque smiled, "I'm not completely sure, but Monsieur Gavroche said something about inspectors being saltier than regular people?" To her surprise, Marius burst out laughing, startling Eponine and Gavroche.
"Marius!" Eponine's face lit up, causing the redheaded housekeeper to smile knowingly.
The young student kneeled by the girl's bed. "How are you, 'Ponine?" She smiled at the nickname. "And don't you dare say, fine." He added as an afterthought. Amelie chuckled.
"Better than last night, but not great." Eponine answered truthfully, shifting as she did so, causing a small gasp to escape her lips as she raised a hand to her bandaged chest.
"Do you need anything?" When she shook her head, "Are you sure?"
"I'll be fine, Marius. It just, twinges a bit." Mme. Marque quietly left, heading into the kitchen to make breakfast, giving the trio some privacy to talk.
As she bustled around in the kitchen, lighting the stove to put the water on to boil, she had time to think. She knew that Eponine was in love with Marius; it was obvious to her, even though she had just met the girl. Marius would hopefully come 'round, but it might take a while. She just hoped he would soon be rid of his infatuation with the other girl, Cossette, was it? By nature, Amelie Marque was a very motherly person; she cared for everyone, and she had quickly taken a liking to the dark haired girl in the spare room, and her brother.
The little boy, Gavroche, obviously cared deeply for his older sister, but Marius' words came to mind, "They don't see each other very often," came to mind.
What would cause two such close siblings not to see each other very often? Then Amelie remembered their surname; Thenardier. That explained Marius' words. The Thenardiers weren't exactly known for their kindness, and Amelie wouldn't put it past them to throw a child onto the streets because of a shortage of money. A voice interrupted her musings, and she looked around for the source.
"Mme. Marque," She located Gavroche in the doorway. "Yes?"
"Well, the doctor said we had to keep her wound clean." He looked up at her with imploring eyes, "But I think it would be better if you did it, neither me or Marius is good with that kinda stuff." Amelie smiled at the boy, "Of course, Gavroche. I'll take good care of your sister."
"Merci." The little boy scampered off, humming a tune that she had never heard. The redhead shook her head; Gavroche couldn't be more than ten. A boy that age should only have to worry about what game they wanted to play, not when they would be able to find their next meal. Unfortunately, many youngsters were finding themselves as adults far too quickly.
Amelie sighed and took out the bandages she had prepared the previous night, and grabbed some other supplies. Luckily she knew how to keep a wound clean; she had three sons. When they were young, they would get into the worst scrapes, but she rarely had to call the doctor. Her own mother had taught her well.
"Alright garçons, time for you to leave." The boys stood reluctantly, but saw the washtub she was carrying and left. "How are you?"
Eponine looked up, "I'm alright." She shifted uncomfortably and amended slightly, "Better than yesterday, not great though."
"Hmm," Amelie said, watching the girl carefully. "Well, the doctor said to keep your wound clean, and that can't happen if the rest of you is dirty." She set down the washtub. "Now, I know you don't like accepting help, I can tell already, but you're going to need to." She went on without waiting for a response, as was her fashion, "Can you sit up?"
Eponine looked slightly startled, but uncomfortably sat up. Amelie made sure the door had been closed and went over to the girl and sat her up a bit more help her up. The redhead helped Eponine over to the washtub and undid her dress. Soon the brunette was sitting back in the warm water, the older woman washing her hair gently. Eponine relaxed a bit, enjoying the care that she hadn't had since she was a little girl, weeks of dirt and grime coming off of her.
Amelie was preoccupied with her thoughts too. When she had helped Eponine into the tub, she realized just how small the girl was. All of her ribs were showing, she was covered in dirt, and her hair was tangled and matted. Blood was present among the rest, unsurprising with what had happened to her. Amelie's brow wrinkled; she wasn't a genius, but it didn't take one to know where the injured girl had been.
"I always wanted a daughter, you know." Eponine was startled out of her thoughts by the woman's voice. "I love my sons, but it isn't really the same, is it?" Eponine didn't know what to say, so she stayed quiet. "Do you have any other siblings? Besides Gavroche?"
Eponine was quiet for a moment. "Yes, my younger sister, Azelma, ran away quite a while ago. I had two other brothers, but I don't know what happened to them." She didn't know why she was revealing this to the older woman, but something told Eponine she could be trusted. Amelie smiled, something that had nothing to do with the information revealed to her, but by the fact that the girl seemed to almost trust her. She wasn't quite there yet, but it was a start.