Sorry that this chapter isn't all that great. It's really more of a filler.

Chapter 9

Eponine leaned against a wall, clutching her cap tightly in her hands, her long hair falling down her back and over her shoulders. She was struggling to regain control of her breathing.

She wondered if she had killed Montparnasse. Probably not, she figured; her father and the rest of his gang would try their best to fix him up. All she had succeeded in doing was escaping and making all of them, particularly her father and 'Parnasse, angry. Very angry. She wasn't sure which of them she should fear more, but she didn't fancy a run-in with either of them any time soon, or any time at all, for that matter.

She looked up at the sky. It was still very dark, but she knew it would soon become light. She wondered how the students were spending what was quite possibly their last night. She stepped away from the wall and began walking down the street, towards the alley she had been in before. She knew that it was a decent place to sleep, and she would certainly need some if she was going to fight with the students.

She was halfway down the alley when she spotted what looked like a familiar figure leaning against a wall, weeping quietly.

It was a girl, and a very scrawny one at that, with long, tangled blonde hair that was rather dirty. Eponine felt her blood run cold as she felt the faintest bit of recognition. It couldn't be…

"Azelma?" she asked softly, and the girl raised her head. Eponine gasped as she recognized her sister, and took a few steps forward and knelt in front of her. "Oh, Azelma, are you all right?"

"Eponine?" Eponine nodded as her sister recognized her.

"Yes, it's me. Oh, what happened to you?" she asked, pulling her sister into a hug.

"I had no choice, 'Ponine, I had to sell myself. It was the only way to earn enough money to stay alive."

"I'm so sorry 'Zelma. I should have been there to protect you and save you from that…"

"Don't blame yourself, 'Ponine," Azelma replied, tears running down her face. "We both know that no matter what, it would have had to happen eventually…" Azelma looked at her sister, and saw blood on her clothes. "Eponine, what happened to you? There's blood…"

"Don't worry, Azelma, it's not mine," Eponine replied, her mind flashing back to the look of pain and horror that had been on Montparnasse's face when she had stabbed him.

"Then who-"

"Montparnasse."

Azelma's eyes widened. "Did you-"

"He's not dead, I might be if he ever catches hold of me again," Eponine said with a grimace. "Assuming that I last through tomorrow, that is."

"Eponine, you can't be serious, are you actually planning to-"

"Yes, Azelma, I'm joining the students," Eponine answered her sister before Azelma could even finish the question.

"But, why?"

"They're my friends. And besides, now that I've escaped from father, I may as well do something worthwhile before he and his gang find me and kill me, which we both know will happen," Eponine replied with a smile that was half-forced.

Azelma smiled at her sister. "I suppose you're right, but 'Ponine, please promise me that you will be careful."

Eponine nodded. "Don't worry, Azelma. Now that we've found each other again, I will do everything I can to get out alive, just so that we can see each other and talk again, even if only for a little while."

Azelma nodded, and stood, as did Eponine. The two sisters looked at each other for a moment before hugging again.

"It's so good to see you again," Eponine whispered. Azelma nodded before they separated.

"I should go," Azelma whispered. "They'll be expecting me back…" She didn't have to finish the sentence for Eponine to understand before nodding.

"Take care of yourself, 'Zelma," she said as Azelma began to walk away.

"You too, 'Ponine. I love you," Azelma told her sister as she turned to leave.

"I love you too," Eponine whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. I should have protected her from this fate. I never wanted this life for her. That should be me, not her. Not Azelma… She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing logically that there was nothing that she could have done. Besides, she had to worry about keeping herself alive through the night and the next day, which she couldn't do if she kept focussing on Azelma. She owed it to her sister to get out alive so they could see each other again, like she had promised.

She soon found a place that was somewhat sheltered and lay down, wrapping her coat tightly around her and using her cap as a pillow, and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Enjolras grimaced as he walked around his flat. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stop thinking about Eponine. She had seemed very upset when he had met her earlier that night, and he was afraid that she would do something rash and get herself hurt.

Furthermore, he was concerned about why he was caring so much about her. He didn't even know the girl very well. Really, all he knew about her was that she was followed Marius around like a lovesick, lost little puppy, she was Gavroche's older sister, her father forced her to whore herself for money, she frequently had bruises, Joly thought of her as a little sister, and many others amongst Les Amis enjoyed her company.

She was also resourceful, witty, was capable of putting Grantaire in his place, and, he had to admit to himself, really quite pretty. But that was all. He had had perhaps five actual conversations with her, and only one hadn't ended with her being furious with him, although it had been made awkward by Grantaire's drunken comments.

He sighed, and shook his head. He had to get the girl off his mind. She wasn't that important to him, anyway. He barely knew her, so why should he care so much, even if half the time he was around her he felt a fluttery feeling in his stomach, which, he grudgingly admitted to himself, was the way Marius claimed to feel when around Cosette.

Could he be starting to fall for the Thenardier girl? No, not possible. Patria was his one love. Eponine was just a girl who was a good representation of what he was fighting for. Nothing more.

He hoped.

I sincerely hope you didn't think that this chapter was as bad as I thought it was. I just really wanted to put in a reunion between Eponine and Azelma, and have one more update before starting with the revolution.

Anyway, you probably all don't care much about my life, so long story short: Until I stop being mad at the government or find a way to control my anger enough to write decently, not sure how often I'll be updating. And exams are gonna be a problem for the next two weeks too... Don't expect a ton of updates.