Hey guys, so here's the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Les Mis or the characters
When Eponine awoke, she was alone in a hospital room. The room was filled with the light of day, which shone into the room through the large window in the room. Eponine wasn't sure how long she had been out for, or how she came to be in the hospital. Then it all came back to her, crashing over her and sitting heavily on her heart. The barricade... getting shot at again and again... Marius... the National Guardsmen... Oh, God! Marius! She tried to get up, but a hand gently pushed her back down. She looked up to see an elderly nurse standing there.
"Just relax, dearie." the nurse soothed. "Everything's alright, you're going to be just fine."
"Marius!" Eponine gasped. "Les Amis de l'ABC... the barricade... What happened to them? Please, please can you tell me?" The nurse shifted uneasily. "Please, tell me... I need to know."
"The barricade fell. All of the students are dead, and so is the little boy that hung around them."
"Oh God... Gavroche, my brother..." tears fell from Eponine's eyes, for her brother and for her friends that had fallen with the barricade, fighting for freedom, fighting for the tomorrow that would never come. Their fighting was done now, but it had been in vain. Nothing had changed, nothing would change. France wasn't free, nor were her people, the same people that had abandoned the revolutionaries, that had not risen.
"And the one that brought you here, he's..."
"Yes?"
"He's been sentenced to the guillotine."
Eponine's world went black.
...
When Eponine awoke for the second time, night had fallen and the nurse was still by her side.
"How are you feeling?" the nurse asked her. Eponine ignored her question.
"When?" she choked out. "When is his sentence to be carried out?" The nurse sighed.
"Tomorrow at sundown."
Eponine barely held back a sob.
"We have to save him!"
"I don't think we can..."
"We have to try! I... I can't lose him... He's all I have..."
"I don't know that you're well enough, it's only been a week since–"
"I have to try! Please, just help me get out of the hospital. That's all I ask of you, please!" Eponine begged her, so much desperation in her voice. She couldn't lose Marius. She loved him with all of her being, he was the only redeeming part of her life. Without him, she would be lost, all alone in the world. She needed him. He was her everything. The nurse could see how much this meant to her and she felt pity for the girl. She knew it was unlikely that anything could be done about his sentence. He would more than likely die the next day. He was considered a 'traitor' to the country and the monarchy. It was a crime that was never taken lightly. The nurse was fairly certain that if Eponine tried to stop his execution, she would probably witness him die and then she would probably be killed as well, just for trying to stop the execution from taking place. And still, knowing this, she found it hard to refuse the girl. "Please..." Eponine repeated, her voice soft and pleading. "I'll do anything... I can't let him die... I love him..."
"Fine. I'll help you get out of the hospital." the nurse gave in. Eponine's face lit up briefly with hope. There was still a chance to save Marius. There was also a good chance that she would watch him die, but she tried not to think of that.
...
The next day seemed to come too quickly, or so thought the nurse. She had talked to some of the doctors and it was agreed that they couldn't keep Eponine there if she was determined to leave. The nurse just hoped that she would be alright, but she had a bad feeling about all of this. She decided it best to keep clear of the guillotine and leave everything to fate.
Eponine stood, though very shakily, in front of the guillotine with the rest of the crowd. It made her feel sick to think that some people found enjoyment in watching these things. She said a quiet prayer–something she hadn't done in a long time–and then waited, hoping she would be able to stop this. She couldn't just let Marius die, she had to do something.
She had failed to notice the number of people wearing cockades.
Marius was dragged up. He looked terrible. They clearly hadn't fed him at all, or, if they had, they'd given him very little as he had lost quite a bit of weight. He looked like he hadn't slept. He'd probably been worrying about exactly what was happening at that moment. But, even in his darkest despair, he had managed to content himself with thougts of Eponine. Thinking of her made it all bearable. It made it okay that he was going to be executed because his execution meant that she would live and that was all that mattered to him. He needed her to live. She would grieve at first, but that would pass and she would move on. Wouldn't she? She'd forget all about him and maybe even fall in love with someone else. She would be happy again, someday. These were the things that Marius told himself to make it easier. He didn't want to die, of course not! But he would for Eponine, just as she had nearly done for him.
Marius didn't bother to look at the crowd. If he had, he would have seen Eponine; he would have seen the hundreds of people waiting for just the right moment...
He barely heard his charges being read out. It sounded as if the executioner's voice came from underwater. Nothing seemed real. Just a couple weeks ago, he'd been so deeply in love with Cosette, he'd talked enthusiastically with his friends, and everything felt like it would turn out right. That was all gone. Everything had changed now. He loved Eponine, with all his heart. He loved her more passionately and selflessly than he had ever loved anything. His friends... well, they were all dead and everything, no matter what outcome his mind came up with, seemed like it would end wrong.
Marius felt himself be shoved to his knees and his head was forced onto the guillotine.
"No!" a voice screamed from the crowd. That voice... Marius would know that voice anywhere. He raised his eyes to see Eponine forcing her way to the front of the crowd. No... No, she couldn't be there. He didn't want her to see this...