As a tiny announcement, I wanted to say that I an now signed up to be a beta-reader. I'd love to read any of your stories.. and stuff.. PM me with any questions!
Disclaimer: Nothing is mine. All goes to rightful owners.
Thénardier flicked the light dusting of snow off his shoulder, signaling for Brujon and Montparnasse to get a move on. "We don't got all day to find the girl! Hurry up, you gits."
The bear of a man, Brujon, tip-toed away from the alley the three were hiding in; Montparnasse, always the slick one, slid out, following M. Thénardier. The latter was bent on getting his daughter back; she'd been gone for the better part of half a year. It wasn't that he missed her.. and it wasn't for sentimental purposes; no.. Thénardier wanted his daughter back for one reason: profit.
"I'm excited to see your lass, T'nardier," Montparnasse whispered.
Thénardier threw a glance over his shoulder. "Why's that?"
'Parnasse shrugged. "I've always had a soft spot for 'er."
Thénardier chuckled. "Well, after runnin' away from me like this, you can do what you like with her."
"Gladly," 'Parnasse grimaced.
Eponine pulled a sock on, relishing in the warmth it brought. She looked over her shoulder at Enjolras, who had finally fallen asleep. She brushed her hand over his forehead.
"Ma chéri, tu as perdu moi une seule fois, mais je promets tu n'vas pas encore.*"
Enjolras convinced Eponine to at least let him sleep by her side the night before, if only for warmth. To get her to agree, Enjolras nearly had to grovel, but Eponine wasn't sure she could control herself; luckily, she had. Running a hand through her dark hair, Eponine moved to the stairs silently, on a hunt for food. She'd been told by Grantaire that Maria had saved something for her when Feuilly celebrated his birthday; Eponine hoped it was cake; cake was her favorite. As was her habit, Eponine began to talk to herself as she looked through the oversized cabinet. Now, though, she sometimes made little comments to the child inside her.
"Little one," she whispered (for that was what she called the baby), "I hope you enjoy cake because I have just found the mother-load." Eponine giggled like a schoolgirl as she pulled out a large hunk of cake. It wasn't old, which was the best part.
Feuilly's birthday must have been just yesterday, Eponine thought, licking her finger. I can't eat this all at once; I have to save it. She perched herself up on the counter and pulled the plate of cake into her lap, digging in slowly with a small fork. She closed her eyes in bliss, unaware of the three men who just sauntered into the room.
"'Ponine," she heard a gruff voice say.
The plate of chocolate cake dropped to the floor as she hopped down; it broke into two clean pieces and the stray cats that stayed in the back helped themselves to the mess of goodness splattered on the floor. Normally Eponine would have groaned and stamped her foot, but her mind had gone blank. Wrinkling her nose, Eponine pushed herself up to the counter, so her father couldn't see the small forming bump.
"Papa," she whispered, eyes wide. She hoped the crash didn't awake Enjolras.
Thénardier walked forward slowly, an old burlap bag in hand; it was empty. "I'm 'ere for two things, deary," he said flatly; her father was always flat nowadays.
"What would those be?" she asked calmly.
"Would you shut up so I can finish?" Thénardier's eyes flashed with anger. "God, you're worse than your mother!" he took a breath to calm himself. "Now.. I'm 'ere for food, money, and most importantly, you."
Eponine looked over her father's shoulder at Montparnasse. At one point, she had figured she would marry the handsome young man. It always seemed that way, at least. Her father and mother both saw 'Parnasse to be a saint with a knife. Eponine, on the other hand, saw him to be a snake with nice teeth. Eponine was silent for a moment, considering her answer. She was, too, surprised her father didn't say anything while she was silent.
"Okay," she nodded.
Thénardier blinked in surprise. "O-okay?! Yer just gonna let us waltz in 'ere and take you away with money, too?!" Thénardier looked over his shoulder at the two men behind him, his face brandishing a brilliant smile of yellow. "Well, God is good! Fill this up then, girl!" he threw the bag onto the counter, shoving his hand into the bottom to show it was good and empty.
Eponine, still oddly calm, remained where she was. "Okay," she repeated.
Brujon chimed in for once. "You just said that."
Montparnasse groaned and elbowed the bear. "Shut up, dunderbolt." he turned to Eponine, his once love. "What do ya mean?"
"Okay," Eponine repeated.
Montparnasse clenched his fist and ground his teeth together. As beautiful as she was, Eponine was a pain in his ass. "Damn it, Eponine! What do you mean by that?!" he struggled not to yell.
"I mean, all right. You can have food.. money.. whatever; I don't care. But, you can't have me, Papa." Eponine faced her father, eyes blank.
"Why's that then?" Thénardier wasn't the least bit worried; he would have Eponine, be in no doubt.
"Because I have a real home here," she nodded again, more reassuring herself.
"A home, eh?" Thénardier flared his nostrils.
"Yes, and a real family. One who loves me." Eponine smiled faintly at the thought of Enjolras, asleep upstairs; of Joly, her dearest friend; of Grantaire, the man she admired most (some of the time); of Marius, the one who still made her want to cry.
Thénardier scoffed loudly. "We're- I'm your family, sweet'eart!"
"No. You're really not." Eponine shook her head and let go of the counter, picking up the plate pieces from the ground. "This is the first time you've looked for me since I've left.. and before I left, you hardly even looked at me. Papa, you," she lowered her voice. "You know what you did way before I left."
Thénardier groaned. "You don't gotta bring that up."
"Oh, but I do." Eponine sighed. "A real father wouldn't do that."
Montparnasse walked up to Thénardier. "Boss, you said when we found her, I could do whatever.. so, can I?"
Thénardier thought for a moment, staring at his daughter. Maybe she was right.. Maybe he wasn't her father anymore. The thought hit somewhere inside and cut like a knife. Thénardier wanted to be a good parent; all right, maybe when Eponine was first born he wanted to be, but it wasn't his main concern now. At one point, though! He glanced at the lad beside him. 'Parnasse would surely do something to hurt Eponine; he always did. Thénardier looked at Eponine's wide eyes again and sighed.
"Hand me whatever food you got, girl. Go!"
Eponine figured her plan worked; she was nearly right. She rushed and filled the bag to the top. She would explain it all to Maria at a later date. When her father and his goons didn't leave right away, she cocked an eyebrow. "Well," she said.
"Well," Thénardier motioned to Montparnasse. "Go ahead."
Eponine's eyes grew. "What.."
"Go ahead; a promise is a promise."
Eponine shook her head. "No! Papa, please! He was the one.. the one who-"
Thénardier turned his back. 'Parnasse slid forward like the snake he was and pulled out his small knife. "I was the one who what, little girl? Say it."
Eponine shook her head, cornering herself against the wall. Why was it that when she got of out a life-or-death situation, she was right back in one? She thought of screaming to wake Enjolras, but she didn't want him to see her give up.
"Please," Eponine pleaded, more to her father than the man before her. "You can't."
"Why?" Thénardier whispered; Montparnasse stopped advancing.
"Because.." she had to; she had to. "I'm with child." Eponine bit her lip. Then it happened, what she knew would happen. The stinging blow that sent her to the ground.
"You whore," Montparnasse's voice seethed with disgust.
Eponine scrambled to her feet. "Father?"
Thénardier turned around and wrinkled his nose; Eponine had gotten that habit from him. "Pregnant, then?"
Eponine nodded. "Yes."
"Who's?"
Should she say? Would he hurt him? Eponine decided to, for the first time in a long time, trust her father to not do anything rash. "His name is.." it was best she didn't say his name. "He's upstairs."
Thénardier glanced at the staircase. He wanted to slash the boy's throat. Now Eponine would never make him more money. Blast! He reached for the dagger in his coat and he heard Eponine gasp.
"No!"
Thénardier stared at his daughter long and hard; he slid his dagger back into his coat and signaled for his men to leave the building. "Eponine," he began, looking at the floor. "I.."
Eponine frowned. She'd never seen him so... so.. soft. "What?"
"Good luck." he jerked the burlap sack over his shoulder and left the building quickly.
A pair of feet padded down the stairs seconds after he left. Enjolras rubbed his tired eyes. "Eponine," he asked. "Who was that?"
"No one." Eponine stared out the door.
Little did she know, it would be the last time she saw any of her family.
*My darling, you have lost me once, but I promise you will not again.
I'm currently in French 2, so I felt like adding some francais in this chapter. This chapter was a little odd, I know, but I liked it for the sole reason that we got to see some of Thénardier and Eponine's relationship. I wanted to add, like, some father/daughter stuff, because he can't hate her that much. Also, I'm feeling a little brain-dead. Review, please!
~Jessie