Chapter Twenty-One
Cosette arrived at her father's apartment just before noon and seemed very excited.
"Are you ready to pick out your wedding dress?"
"I'm not ready to be scrutinized by the seamstress, but I suppose it's the price I must pay," Eponine sighed.
"Oh, you'll be fine. Now, let's go pick up Antoinette."
They walked briskly to Enjolras's apartment. Cosette was much more excited than Eponine, but Eponine had to admit that she was a slight bit excited. After all, she always thought that a wedding where she was the bride would never be more than a dream. When they got there, Antoinette answered the door since Enjolras was gone to class. The three began to slowly make their way to the same dress shop where Cosette had purchased Eponine's bridesmaids dress.
"Who all will be attending the wedding?" Antoinette asked.
"Well, it will be you, Cosette and Marius, Courfeyrac, and Jean Valjean. We are also inviting Marius's grandfather, but we don't know if he'll come. I guess that's it. It will be a very small wedding."
"Oh, I see. Eponine, forgive me if this is not my place to ask, but what about your parents?"
"Oh, my parents, well," Eponine stumbled, looking for the right words, "To put it rather plainly Madame, my parents are wicked people whom I loathe. They are innkeepers who steal and kill for whatever they please. They cared nothing for me unless I was making them money. They kicked my brother out when he was a young child, and it didn't bother them one bit that he died fighting at the barricade with Enjolras. I haven't seen them in a year, and they haven't cared enough to look for me. I'm sorry if that was harsh," Eponine said, her cheeks growing hot.
Cosette watched, a bit taken aback by Eponine's rant. To Eponine's surprise, Antoinette reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder lovingly.
"No, I'm sorry. You deserved better."
Eponine smiled weakly, "Thank you."
Finally, they reached the dress shop, and Eponine took a deep breath before entering. Now came the daunting task of designing her wedding dress.
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Eponine took a huge sigh of relief. She was done designing her wedding dress, and she was very happy with it. It was very simple, but it fit her personality very well. The dress was made of an elegant lace. The neckline cut straight across, exposing the tops of her shoulders, and then turned into lace sleeves that stopped at her wrists. It fit snugly in the bodice, making her look even tinier in the waist, but it flared out slightly at the hips. The dress barely grazed the floor, and there was no train because Eponine didn't want anything extravagant. The dress would be ready in a week before the wedding. Now, Eponine lounged at the front of the dress shop, waiting contently on Cosette and Antoinette, who were getting new dresses for the occasion as well.
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The two finally decided on their dresses, and they started heading back to Enjolras's apartment. Eponine was much more excited about the wedding now that the dress fitting was over. When they reached Enjolras's apartment, Eponine turned to Cosette.
"I think I'm going to stay for a bit. You don't have to wait to walk home with me."
"OK, I'll go ahead and go home. I've got some things I need to do, and Marius will be expecting me."
"Thank you for coming. Goodbye Cosette."
"Goodbye, Eponine! Good bye, Antoinette," Cosette called as she walked away.
They went inside the apartment, and Enjolras was home from his classes, but was writing something at his desk.
He looked up at them and spoke, "How did it go?"
"It went well," Eponine smiled.
"Your dress is going to be beautiful, dear. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go rest," Antoinette said before retiring to the bedroom.
Enjolras got up and walked over to Eponine, holding her tightly. She sunk into him, and he rested his chin on the top of her head.
"So the fitting wasn't too horrible for you?" he smirked.
Eponine laughed, "No, it wasn't that bad. I'm actually a little more excited about everything now. I mean the standing up in front of a church part."
"That's good."
He let go of her and walked back over to the desk. Eponine followed him and settled onto the couch. Enjolras became reabsorbed in his work, and she watched him as he wrote tediously.
"You should wear your red coat."
"Pardon?"
"You should wear your red coat for the wedding."
He turned and looked at her quizzically, an eyebrow raised.
"Where did that idea come from?"
"Well, it's your personality. You'd be much more comfortable in your coat instead of a stiff black one."
"I see your point. If you want me to, I'll wear my red coat," he smiled.
He worked for a little bit longer on his assignment, and then settled in on the couch beside Eponine. It was the longest time they'd gotten to spend with each other in a while. They spent as much time together as they could, but eventually Eponine had to return to Valjean's apartment. Enjolras walked her back, taking the long way there.
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It had been a few days since Eponine had gone dress shopping, and unfortunately she hadn't seen Enjolras since then. The wedding was three weeks away, and excitement was building in Eponine. She had always been incredibly excited about becoming Madame Rousseau, but she was having a hard time looking forward to standing in front of a church with eyes watching her. Even though it was only a few of their closest friends, it still made her nervous. The worries were slowly fading though, as she knew that she would do her best to block everyone out and focus only on Enjolras.
She finished getting ready in the apartment and got ready to leave. Valjean had left early to spend the day with Marius and Cosette, leaving Eponine to run her many errands by herself. Just before she was about to leave, there was a knock at the door. She opened it and stood there shocked at the sight of the one person she never wanted to see again. Her father stood there at Jean Valjean's door. She tried to shut the door, but he put his hand on it, pushing it back open.
"Well, well, well, looked what I found," he smiled an evil smile.
A lump formed in Eponine's throat, and she set her jaw hard, trying to hide her fear.
"What do you want?" she spat.
"I came to see what I could get out of that old ex-con, but I found my runaway brat of a daughter instead. It's my lucky day. You've got work to do at the inn."
"I wouldn't come back to that inn if it was my last hope," she yelled, pointing a finger at her father.
It was then that he noticed the small emerald ring on her finger. He reached out and grabbed her hand. Eponine tried to pull away, but it was too late.
"What's this? The girl's got herself a lover," he snarled.
She snatched her hand away.
"Stop it," she said, her cheeks hot.
"What's his name?"
She stared at him indignantly, refusing to answer his question. Eponine's head snapped back as her father's hand struck across her cheek, causing it to sting like it was on fire.
"Tell me his name!" he demanded.
She closed her eyes and sighed, her heart sinking.
"Enjolras," she muttered.
"Oh, the Enjolras? The rebellion leader?"
Thenardier let out a twisted cackle.
"Now, I suggest you come with me. Unless you want me to find your precious little Enjolras and make sure his body is never found."
Eponine panicked, "No, I'll go! Can I get my things?"
"Make it quick," he growled.
Thenardier waited outside as Eponine grabbed two of her dresses, not wanted to take much because she knew it would only get sold or ruined. She quickly scribbled a note and left it on the table so Jean Valjean would find it. She shakily slipped the engagement ring off her finger and left it lying on the note. Eponine wiped a tear from her eye, trying to hold herself together. She left silently with her father, wondering if she would ever see Enjolras again.
Author's Note: Will Eponine and Enjolras be reunited? What do you guys think? Please review!
I finally got a chance to update. This week's been pretty busy, but I did get to go to an AWESOME Elton John concert! This story will be ending soon, and I'll be asking for my readers' help with something very soon as well. But, I'm working on a sequel, and it should be up shortly after I finish this one. Thank you so much for your support and thank you for reading!
~loislane16