Hey guys- authors note here. I know Eponine is supposed to be dead, but because I created a sort of alternate universe here with Marius not going to the barricade, some things changed. Javert would have died anyway- he would have been shot by the students, because Valjean would not have saved him. However, Eponine may or may not have gone to the barricades, depending on how depressed she was feeling that night. And so I decided to write her return.


Thenardier walked down the street, his two daughters trailing behind him like smoke behind a fire. Destruction, then it's aftermath. Sometimes the smoke caused more damage than the actual fire. But sometimes not.

"What's this?" he asked snidely, eyeing the white carriages riding down the avenue.

"Looks like a wedding," Azelma remarked. "Let's follow the carriages, so we can see the bride!"

Eponine rolled her eyes. Azelma could never completely hide her desire to be a bourgeoisie, a girl with silk dresses and pretty hairbrushes. Eponine was better at it.

But still, they followed. Thenardier trailed behind. They followed the carriages and reached the church. On a sign outside, these words were written in curly hand: "Celebrate the wedding of Monsieur Marius Pontmercy and Mademouselle Cosette Fauchelevent."

Eponine stepped back, dizzy for a second, hitting the man behind her. "'Scuse," she whispered, and closed her eyes. So it really was over then. As if it had even started.

"We don't know them," Azelma said loudly, abashedly.

But her father was shaking his head. "Cosette.... not a common name. It has to be her!"

Eponine looked at him curiously. What was he planning?

Just then, she saw the crowd in front of the church part. Through it came none other than Marius Pontmercy, looking straight ahead at the church doors, as though nothing could distract him from the coming event. Eponine knew bitterly that nothing could distract him- he loved Cosette as he had never loved her, Eponine. She didn't want him to see her here, like this. A handsome, lucky man like him shouldn't see the likes of her on his wedding day. So she stepped easily into the crowd, hidden from his view and lost among the onlookers.

"It's him!" Thenardier spat. "No!" he cried. Eponine looked at him in worry- if he went after Cosette, he would go after Marius. "He knows too much... this has to be stopped."

"Father, you can't stop the wedding," she said anxiously. "Someone in there will recognize you."

"Not like that, silly girl- never mind," he said, grabbing Azelma by the arm and dragging his daughters out of the crowd. "Come. We're leaving."

But just before they left the scene of the wedding, the other carriage opened its doors. Though Eponine knew it would only hurt more, she looked anyway. There was Cosette, looking beautiful and angelic, as she always did. Well, not always. Eponine smiled despicably, knowing that once, Cosette had not been so beautiful.


Three Weeks Later

Cosette was wandering through the dark forest, looking behind tree after tree. Somehow she knew that behind one of them was something wonderful, and behind another was something terrible. As she passed more and more vacant hiding places, her sense of foreboding increased exponentially. She began to fear that the wonderful thing wasn't there at all, and she was alone in the cold. She shivered, and then she was beneath the dining room table, teeth chattering as she sat chewing on a chicken bone. The dog next to her was growling for her to give up her measly dinner. She crawled out from underneath the table, and suddenly a man's face was glaring at her, reaching for her...! Suddenly, she was back in the forest, the ropes cutting into her wrists again, the man's breath vile and hot against her face-

She jerked awake, sweat covering her body and her heart beating fast. She wiped the tears from her cheeks anxiously. It's only a dream, she thought. She couldn't make sense of the images- they were just confusing frightening fantasies her mind made up, giving her nightmares. The more she thought of them, the more the dreams slipped away, until she couldn't remember any of the details anymore.

Comforted, she looked about the bedroom. By the light of the fireplace, she could see bits and pieces of the decor. The chair next to the hearth, the bookshelf in the corner. The open door, leading to the hallway, black and cavernous in the night.

Wait- what? Why was the door open? She was almost positive they'd closed it the night before.

Scanning the room for something else that was amiss, her heart lept in fear. There was absolutely, undeniably, the shadow of a man reflected against the window. Her heart, which had only just calmed, was now thumping in her chest. Trying to be as quiet as she could, she turned over and faced Marius, still sleeping.

As slowly as she could so as to not disturb the blankets and make a rustle, she shook his shoulder. As soon as his eyes fluttered open, she put her hand against his lips. Then she looked over at the window.

Following her eyes, Marius saw the intruder.

Instantly he sat up.

No! she wanted to cry, but didn't know why. Would they be more protected if they just acted like they were asleep? It seemed silly, but she still remembered what he papa had told her: you're always safe in your bed, Cosette. Suddenly it didn't seem so safe anymore.

"Who's there?" Marius said aloud, reaching for one of the silver candlesticks sitting on the bedside table next to him. They'd taken them from her father's house after he left on his journey, just as he had requested Cosette to do. Marius was grateful for them now. They were heavy- could easily knock a man out.

Marius rose from the bed, motioning for Cosette to stay put.

The man faced him, but did not utter a word. He was large and looked vaguely familiar to Marius, who could not place him.

"Don't move," the man growled at Marius, who ran at him anyway. The man grabbed Marius by the forearms and, twisting, threw him to the ground in the other direction, so that now he stood between Marius and Cosette. The man looked down at Marius, and from the shadow cast by the window, Cosette could see he was holding a knife.

Blinking tears from her eyes, she tried to block the panic from overtaking her. She could not think if she was panicking this way. She watched Marius kick blindly and come in connection with the man's shins, but knew it was no use. She hated to, but she turned her eyes away, searching in the darkness and trying to be as quiet as possible. Finally her hand came in contact with her desired object. Cool silver touched her hand, and she sighed in relief. The other candlestick, sitting on the bedside table to her left,was exactly what she needed.

Glad her feet were bare, she crept as silently as possible, glad that Marius did not see her. He would look at her, or acknowledge her in some way, and ruin her only chance. Luckily she made it close enough to him without the man seeing her. And, as quickly as she could so she would not lose her nerve, she raised the candlestick over her head. Marius eyes caught the glint of the silver, and they widened just before the candlestick came in contact with the man's head, knocking him out cold. He fell to the ground, dropping his knife. It scittered across the floor and was hidden somewhere beneath the bed.

Her heart was pounding- she'd never injured someone before. It had never even occured to her. Now she worried that she'd done something terrible.

She looked at Marius in fear, who smiled.

"Cosette... that was..." he couldn't finish, just shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you did that!"

She shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "I just hit someone in the head! I knocked him out! I-"

"You saved our lives!" he cried, drawing her into an embrace and laughing out loud in relief. She relaxed a little, letting out a nervous laugh. "Come, Cosette- let's go downstairs and finish this," he said. "We'll... call the police."

"Please don't let them talk to me," she begged.

"I'll try," he said, not knowing whether or not he could keep his promise.

They went downstairs, now only quiet so as not to wake the rest of the house. Marius put a chair in front of the bedroom door, locking it closed so the man could not get out when he came to. They crept into the kitchen, and were going to enter the servants quarters to rouse Basque when Marius saw something stir out in the garden. Something in the bushes caught his eye. Craning his neck to see out the window, he saw motion again.

"Shh," he said, reaching for Cosette and making her stop moving. There it was again- someone was definitely moving in the garden

Just like that, he heard a lock click from the back door- the other direction. Someone was coming inside.

Cosette gasped, looking at Marius with wide eyes- he hated this. There was nothing he could do to help her- there was someone at the back door, someone in the garden- who knew how many others there were? Cosette was scared, and he hated knowing he couldn't make her feel better.

"Come this way," he said, reaching for her hand and leading towards the front door. Quietly, he found her cloak and his coat, and kicked her shoes towards her. In their dressing gowns, they weren't exactly adequately dressed to go out in December, but did it matter? Not at this moment. Survival was more important than propriety. He thought fleetingly of his grandfather and aunt asleep upstairs, but something told him they were in no danger. He looked at Cosette and dreaded the feeling that came through him, the feeling that she was the one they were after. What interest did these brutal man have in his gentle wife? He only shivered, imagining.

Just then, the knob on the front door jiggled right in front of them. Cosette jumped, squealing quietly and covering her mouth with her hand. Thank God it was locked, but the glass on the door wouldn't hold long. They couldn't go out that way any longer.

Without missing another moment, Marius grabbed Cosette's hand and led her away from the door, towards a room with an open window. Hopefully they could climb through and get out that way.

As they turned towards the first floor hallway, he looked down it carefully. A man was creeping at the end of the hallway, this one tall and thin and bald. Marius' stomach filled with fear- they were being herded into the center of the house.

"Come this way!" a voice whispered. He turned, and didn't see anyone.

"There!" Cosette whispered, pointing. He saw the thin figure of a girl motioning towards them, almost hidden in the darkness, and he followed. As he got closer, he realized it was Eponine Thenardier. He hadn't spoken to her in months. She used to sit in the rue Plumet during his visits to Cosette's house at night. Ever since the incident- the one with her father- she hadn't returned.

He instinctively took a step back, drawing Cosette behind him protectively.

"Don't be a fool!" Eponine whispered in her crackly voice. "Come with me, or you'll both be dead by the end of the night."

Marius gave a short shake of his head. "I know what your father did to her," he said angrily. "Why should I trust you?"

"You should know I despise my father. He's a selfish pig. Come with me now, or it'll be too late."

"Go, Marius!" Cosette cried, tears streaming down her face. He had to make a decision, but Cosette's desperation made it for him. They had one chance.

"Let's go," he said, and followed Eponine out the backdoor, through their deserted garden, and out onto the streets of Paris.