Eponine, perfectly aware that she was being severely scrutinized by nearly everyone in the room, suddenly lost any appetite she may have had that evening and set down her fork, staring at the food in front of her while others stared at her herself. There was a time in her life where she would have sold her soul to have the food in front of her, but she could simply not eat while being observed like an animal in a zoo. The old man and aging woman, Marius' grandfather and spinster aunt she had been told, seemed to be paying the most attention to her, watching her as if she was some strange oddity. In addition, she could also feel the eyes of Marius and Cosette watching her, their gazes quickly falling to the attention of other things whenever her brown eyes flitted upwards to meet theirs. The only person in the room who didn't appear to be staring at her intently was the man seated next to her, his green eyes fixed boredly on the food in front of him. It was evident that, by paying him even the slightest glance, he was completely unhappy with the current situation, his stony, heartless sight occasionally finding its way to the young baron seated across from him.
Eponine would not have minded the four pairs of eyes fixed on her so much if the entire room hadn't been the essence of gloom. She had never known Marius to where anything but mourning black, but now the rest of his family was wearing it, as well. The color suited his lovely features well, and his aunt seemed perfectly accustomed to the gloomy shade, a sad woman by nature, but neither Cosette nor her grandfather-in-law seemed to look well in it. Focusing on Cosette, she decided to herself greatly that putting the lacy and feminine swan in such a dark color was a shame. She was pretty now with her magnificent eyes and her yellow hair, but she would seem even more beautiful in silk or satin dresses of blue or pink. What Eponine didn't know was that, after the death of Cosette's adoptive father, Marius had demanded that his entire family wear mourning black in honor of that great and humble man who had touched them each in a separate way.
Sighing and sending a sorrowful gaze to the ceiling above her head, it seemed to Eponine that even the chandelier above her head seemed to be frowning, its lights dimmed so that it cast only a weak light over the dining room table below it.
"Why are you all staring at me?" Eponine finally asked the room, finding courage to speak after long minutes of painful silence, looking at each person around her in turn with a curious expression upon her face.
Making an unamused face, the grandfather looked at her openly before saying, his voice clear with intentional inconsideration, "You just look so-"
"Different." Marius finished for him, likewise setting his silverware down on the table in a signal that he had finished eating. "But you look as if you're much more healthier the last time I saw you. It's good that you've gained weight. It's not good to be as thin as you were."
She murmured a thanks to the boy who had formerly been the owner of her love, her eyes dropping to her stomach where the slightest bump was beginning to show beneath her gown. Javert had been right in the prediction that neither Marius nor his family knew of their marriage, and his boyish mind was still probably far away from jumping to the conclusion of a pregnancy. It seemed to Eponine, however, that Cosette suspected she was with child. There could be no other explanation for the small frown the pretty girl had first given upon seeing Eponine, her eyes slipping to the sight of the barely perceptible mass of her abdomen. Upon seeing the the girl's reaction to this, Eponine had given her a small smile, willing her face not to burn as she imagined what these people thought she was.
Glancing up at Cosette, she felt a strain in the air between them both. Marius had surely told his beloved wife that she had led him to her side, and of the dark, insufferable place they had both struggled to survive in, but Eponine could not help but wonder if she remembered anything of the inn at Montfermeil. Did she remember the torments? The tortures? The names, the beatings, the innumerable, deplorable, and constant suffering that had been forced upon her for the mere amusement of others. With a slight and inexplicable shiver in her seat, Eponine did. She would not be surprised if the Lark hated her.
"Eponine?" Cosette said aloud, her voice high and flawless, smiling when the girl seated across from her looked up into her face as a signal that she was listening. "I was wondering if you would mind speaking alone for a moment?" She asked, her smile permitting the room to see her fine white teeth all arranged in a symmetrical row. "Just about womanly matters, of course." She added when she saw Eponine hesitate, and, a moment later, the other girl nodded and rose from our seat.
As Cosette closed the door of some nicely furnished side room behind her, Eponine sat down on a little velvet settee, feeling a wave of terror wash over her like a deep, heavy, and deadly wave. Why would this fine lady want to speak with her in private? Would she question her about her pregnancy? Did she perhaps know of her marriage to the Inspector? At the next possible reason her frantic mind formulated, she felt her stomach sink. Did Cosette know of Eponine's once driving love for her husband? Even worse, did she still think she was in love with Marius?
To Eponine, the beautiful woman in front of her seemed to have sprouted wings since their childhood, whereas hers had been ripped from her back.
"Do you remember me? From Montfermeil?" She said suddenly, before the pretty woman had a chance to question her on any of these topics. "We were children then, you, me, and my sister, Azelma. I remember, a man came and took you away one Christmas and we never saw you again." Leaning her head backwards to stare at the high, clean ceiling, Eponine's lips curled upwards into a small, sad smile, envisioning the time that was barely more than a year ago where she had wanted nothing in the world but to see Marius' smile, to hear his soft voice speaking ambitious words to a musky room, to feel the infatuous sensation he inspired within her as a girl. But, to her, all those days seemed a millennium ago, nothing more but dreams and fantasies she could barely recall, dreams and fantasies she didn't want to recall. Not with Javert's proud, quiet self still prowling somewhere within her friend's house. "Sometimes," She whispered, her eyes closing so that Cosette saw the lavender circles smeared across her lids like a thick and sorrowful paint. "I wished he had taken me away, too. But I suppose I didn't deserve it. You, you were innocent. You deserved nothing of what we put you through. But you seem so well now. I'm pleased."
Cosette listened intently to her ramblings, her crystalline blue eyes bent and almost frightened, as if she was listening to the mutters of a mad woman. Taking a deep breath to restore her calm, the young woman sat down beside Eponine on the plush settee, taking the woman's hand in hers and smiling at her gently.
"I remember. A little bit." She replied, her smooth, bird song voice instantly making Eponine sigh peacefully. Though she could not name it, there was something about the Lark that put her at ease, like the sound of a well learned musician or the way the usually filthy city shined after a heavy rain. There were no sharp notes and no ugly smells in the world when Cosette was near. She should be the mother, not me, Eponine retorted to herself, absentmindedly placing a solitary hand over her stomach where she almost felt the child growing within her. "But children will be children, of course." She continued, smiling tenderly. "Anything that was said and done is all in the past. There's no use dwelling on it when we could be perfectly happy thinking of other things." She said thoughtfully, placing a hand over Eponine's, accidently making the other woman jump before settling into the strange peace Cosette brought her fragile life. "There's no use dwelling on past wrongs when we could be such good friends. Besides, from what Marius has told me, while I was living a comfortable, charmed life with people who loved me, you had to fend for yourself all alone on the streets. I can't imagine what you've seen."
"Friends?" Eponine asked aloud, her eyes blinking open with surprise as her back straightened, both her and Cosette's hand falling from her abdomen. "I've never had many friends. Just Marius if I could count him. And my sister, and the servant woman who works in Javert's home."
"I've never had many friends either." She said with a slight shake of the head and a small, almost sorrowful laugh. "But you can certainly add me to that list if I have permission to add you to mine. It seems we are both in need of more company, and what better company but that of friends?" She asked softly, wrapping her black clothed arms around Eponine's neck and, unable to notice the discomfort she produced upon the other girl by embracing her, held her to her person tightly. "After all, we are almost like sisters, in a strange way."
"Of course." Eponine murmured, dragging herself away from Cosette's arms. "Of course, Sister." She added, likewise gracing Cosette with a gentle, tentative embrace.
Behind them, a curt knock sounded at the door, and both woman looked up to see the rest of the party enter the room, excluding only Marius' aunt who had retired to her room to read her gospels. As her husband sat down, Cosette immediately moved to sit beside him, curling her fingers into his, and smiling at him with devoted fondness in her face. This simple gesture would have impaled Eponine before, but now she only felt slightly nervous as Javert sat beside her, closer to her than he usually sat when with company. She had hoped before coming here that Marius and Cosette would already be quite aware of her and the Inspector's marriage, but now it was quite clear that they didn't have the slightest clue. She was sure, however, that they must think her his mistress, or kept woman, or some other thing she wouldn't stand to be called. In her mind's eye, she imagined both of their reactions to the information that had been withheld from them for this long. Cosette, she was sure, would be hugely uncomfortable, but would still act pleased. She could not foretell Marius' response. He was too cryptic for Eponine to read.
"On to business then, hmm?" Said the old man, taking the seat beside his grandson and lounging over his chair peacefully.
"Business?" Javert asked him, quietly, his steely eyes sending more than a hint of unease into the room. "What business could we possibly have together?"
"Well, you see, Eponine, Monsieur Inspector, when my father fought in Waterloo, he was injured gravely. After the battle ended, a man by the name of Thenardier saved his life by dragging him away from Britain's forces. At the time, my father had nothing to give him to thank with, so he vowed to the man that he would find him again one day and repay his debt. Eponine," Marius paused, taking her hand and clasping his own hands around her cold fingers. "My father never found that man who saved his life. He died before he had a chance to pay his debt, and now his debt is mine. I don't have the smallest inkling of energy to waste on your father, nor do I have the intention of associating myself with his kind. But you, Eponine, you are certainly welcome into my life. In fact, to repay my debt, you must start living with Cosette and I at once." He claimed, smiling at her, and she began to feel the blood drain from her face. She was not and had never been the kind of person to receive joy from breaking others' illusions. "There is no need, Monsieur Inspector, to continue looking after her. I assure you she will be quite safe and happy here with my family and I."
Marius smiled genuinely at her, and Eponine found her hands withdrawing from his. Her gaze focused on her fingers clenched tightly into the green fabric of her skirt, and, beside her, a disturbing noise filled the air, making each person who heard it pause, an inexplicable chill running through their spine. Even Eponine found the noise disconcerting; after all, she could count on the fingers of one hand how many times she had heard her husband laugh. Her eyes slipped to her right to look at his face, and she was not surprised to find that he had one hand placed over his mouth to stifle the rare sound, this strange portrayal of amusement so dark and devoid of any warmth that it instantly sent a dreary air into the room.
"You cannot possibly expect me to relinquish my hold of her." Javert told the deluded young man and his family after he had executed his laughing, curling one arm around his wife's waist with dominance. "Especially not now that she's carrying my child." He finished, his lips curved upwards into an expression that was half grin and half sneer that exposed his strangely sharp canine teeth. He snickered again and everyone in the room, even Eponine, found their gaze falling to the floor to avoid the chance of their eyes meeting his.
In shock, Marius stared at her, and Eponine likened his disbelieving form to that of a deer in front of a hunter, knowing that it must escape but still unable to make its long, spindly legs move through a deep, terrible, all consuming fear rendering them incapable of preserving their life. She grimaced somewhat guiltily at him. She knew now that it would have been better to tell her old friend of her relation with the Inspector herself, long before Javert had had the chance to force the information over his head.
"Child?" He asked them both, the ridiculousness of the situation lowering the dynamic of his voice to something barely more than a whisper. Marius' handsome, porcelain face was flushed slightly, though Eponine could not decipher whether it was through rage or embarrassment. "You're carrying. . . his child? Impossible, 'Ponine." He continued, his voice getting louder until Cosette clenched his arm slightly in an attempt to calm him. "You're the last person to ever do anything of the sort without being-"
"You never were never very attentive to small details." Eponine interrupted his startled rant to preserve her good name, raising her hand slightly and twisting the wedding ring on her finger so that Marius could easily see the stone that glinted there. "We've been married almost four months now, he and I. I'm happy, I think."
"You think?" Cosette asked her, twining her fingers through her husbands in an effort to calm him further.
"Well, I've never really been happy before. But I think this is what it feels like. Surely this must be what it feels like?" She murmured to herself, dreamily, allowing her hand to rest against her husbands forearm.
Marius sat in silence, staring at her numbly. His grandfather sat on one side of him, and his wife on the other. He was wedged between two people who adored him endlessly, two people who practically worshiped the ground he walked on. He had never been without love or friendship in his life. His father, though Marius had never met him, had adored him greatly, even though his son barely acknowledged his existence. Even when he had been exiled from his home for belief in the wrong kinds of politics Marius had only spent a few hours in the cruel, outside world before he had met Courfeyrac and then the other students of the Les Amis whom he had found a niche with. And not soon after he had fallen in love with Cosette.
But Marius now realized that some people, Eponine included, were not so fortunate. His heart had been bleeding since he learned of his late father, since his dearest friends had all been massacred in a futile attempt to change the world, since Jean Valjean had died. Now his heart bled for Eponine, as well. He looked back on all of his conversations with her with a somewhat horrified clarification. How had he not noticed in all those poverty filled minutes the terrible, fathomless misery that had possessed her for every waking moment? Why had he done nothing to ease her pain? Why had he left her to suffer the way she had?
Because he had been stupid, a voice hissed in his ear. And he had been blind. And he had been selfish.
Marius was silent.
Looking distantly at Eponine and Javert, his sudden panic softened slightly. Her husband was proud, arrogant, and cruel to most. Marius had once pitied wolfish the man who he knew of well for sure knowledge that he had never been and would never be loved. But now his mind had changed. There was something about the two seated in front of him that swayed his former pity. There was something strange and ethereal in the air that separated Javert from his wife and Eponine from her husband. They were not seated as close to each other as most people in love did, but he could tell by just looking at them that they shared a bond that could not be named or spoken of aloud. It was almost as if the two shared a single soul, or if the souls they had been given at birth had been merged into one.
"If you are both happy," He said, quietly, leaning down to rest his head against his hand. "Then I am happy. What else does life need but love, music, and happiness?"
"I don't see why your approval would be important to us anyways." Javert said, frowning at the handsome young man. "You claim you are friends with my wife, but I'm sure you're oblivious to the fact that she saved both mine and my subordinate's life, that she was shot, that she spent weeks in the hospital while recovering. You didn't know of your friend's whereabouts, you were ignorant to the fact that she was exiled from her home, you failed to learn of her marriage. I can't fathom why you would ever think your opinions worthy of her. Your ignorance is utterly path-"
"Arcturus." Eponine said once, warning him against further reprimendations, her voice cold and commanding while her eyes were alive with angry flame. Obeying her demands somewhat sullenly, Marius and Cosette watched as Javert leaned backwards in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring openly at the pretty, boyish baron without a trace of a single qualm. Eponine gritted her teeth and bit back a retort she was ready to throw at him, narrowing her eyes at his childish monologue and deciding that it would not look good if the two argued in front of others.
"But how on earth did you ever come together? A poor girl and a police officer! It's the most ridiculous match I've ever heard of." The grandfather spoke up in the midst of an uncomfortable silence, leaning backwards and frowning at them both. "You're both so dissimilar you couldn't possibly maintain a healthy marriage."
"Oh, how perfectly right you are." Javert told the man, his words poisoned with intolerable sarcasm. "It is not as if she adores me and I adore her. We'll just have to annul the marriage, my dear." He told Eponine, matching the old man's frown so that the scars on his face were illuminated by the steady fire in the corner. "We are incredibly pleased with each other." He said, quietly. "She is the only person I have ever cared for in my entire life and that is the way it will remain."
"And you have a child on the way, too." Cosette added, trying to ease the growing irritation building in the room, her pretty cheeks soft and rosy, eager to relieve the growing tension in the room. "You must be so excited."
"Excited, nervous. I suppose they're both the same thing anyways." Eponine explained, gripping Javert's arm slightly in a command to not tell him the possible outcome of her pregnancy. When the hand he had wrapped around her waist moved slightly, his thumb pressing into her back, she knew he understood. Those facts would remain private. "It was a surprise for both of us."
"Surprises are good, though." Cosette said. "Sometimes the things that bring us the most happiness are the things we would never expect."