Summary: Victoire doesnt like sleeping alone
"Again?" Marius muttered sleepily, being awoken late one night by the cries of one of his daughters.
"Sounds like it" Cosette replied, also being awoken. "I'll go see to her" she said sleepily, getting up and out of the bed.
"She has to learn Cosette, you can't keep running to her every time she cries" Marius said, turning over in the bed.
He didn't mean to sound unfeeling, it's just that Marius thought they were done with being awoken by cries in the night a long time ago, you see it wasn't one of their babies crying, it was eight year old Victoire in the room next door who was the one disturbing their sleep.
"She's only a child Marius" Cosette said, tying a dressing gown around herself. She knew she could have just left her to settle herself back to sleep and she would be just fine, but if there was one sound Cosette just couldn't bear it was the sound of her children crying so she just had to go to her.
"I know" He said, "I'm sorry, don't be too long or I'll miss you" Marius said, falling back to sleep again
Cosette took the lamp from beside the bed, and made her way to the door. "I'll settle her and come back to bed, I promise".
It had only been three weeks since Victoire had been given the small bedroom next to her parents room. She used to share with her older sister Isabel, but since she had turned thirteen she had started demanding her own space and so to appease her the girls were separated, not that Victoire was happy about it. The poor little girl had always been scared of the dark and she had seemed to be suffering from nightmares ever since the move, although there was a part of Cosette that was beginning to think the girl was just looking for attention, not that the child ever lacked for it, she was beloved by both her parents and her siblings in equal measure. Perhaps it was because she was the baby in the family that made Cosette want to coddle her more than her other children which is why whenever she heard her crying her first instincts were to go to her.
When she opened her daughters bedroom door there was little Victoire sitting up in the dark, crying in her bed, the lamp on the bedside table hadn't been lit and Cosette was glad she'd brought her own lamp as there was little moonlight outside that night.
"Ssssh now little one" Cosette whispered "I'm here" she said, walking toward the bed and sitting down on it. The little girl crawled into her mothers arms and let her stroke her hair softly, she seemed to immediately calm down due to the presence of her mother.
"Whatever is the matter?" Cosette said, gently rubbing Victoire on the back, soothing her like a baby.
"I had a nightmare" the little girl said meekly, rubbing tears from her eyes "And I'm scared of the dark maman".
"Why didn't you light your lamp?" she said, motioning towards the lamp beside her daughters bed.
"I forgot" The child said
"You forgot?" Cosette asked, reading between the lines of her daughters behaviour".
The little girl nodded against her mothers body, snuggling in closer to her as if she didn't want to let go.
"Sweetheart…did you really have a nightmare or do you just not want to be on your own?" Cosette asked, knowing the girls behaviour better than anyone else, a mothers instinct so to speak.
"I…I had a nightmare" Victoire repeated.
"Alright little one, I believe you" Cosette said, kissing the top of the childs head. "Here, lie down with me, everything's alright now". She said softly, lying down on the bed with Victoire who cuddled up with her mother contentedly.
"Why don't you tell me about your bad dreams? You might feel better after you do" Cosette said, stroking her daughters soft hair. She had lovely long blonde hair just like herself and she loved to run her fingers through it.
"I get scared when I'm alone maman" Victoire admitted, "I keep dreaming that I'm lost and you aren't there. I call for you and I call for papa but nobody ever comes. Sometimes I'm in a wood and it's dark and cold, I'm so scared mama, I keep calling for you but you don't come for me and I'm alone. I don't want to be alone mama.
"Ssssh, my poor little girl, I'm here" Cosette whispered. The image her child had presented had painful memories for Cosette, as she could remember being lost in a wood as a child and it was terrifying, it made her want to hold her child even closer to her and show her that she had nothing to fear and that she was safe.
"I'm so sorry little one" Cosette said soothingly. "It's just a dream, dreams can't hurt you. You'll never have to fear being alone I promise. Sometimes you just have to tell your bad dreams to go away and never forget that me, papa and everyone in this house love you. You're a very lucky little girl Victoire; you have all these older brothers and sisters who will take care of you and you'll be loved and cared for your entire life. There's nothing to fear anymore I promise, and if you ever need me I'll be here. You're my baby girl and I love you more than anything".
"I love you too maman" Victoire said sleepily, drifting off to a peaceful sleep now that her mother was with her.
"You sleep sweetheart, I'll be right here" Cosette whispered to her, forgetting that she promised Marius she'd come back to bed once Victoire was settled.
The next morning Marius awoke to find his wife wasn't there beside him and he knew exactly where she would be. He wasn't angry; he just liked waking up with his wife next to him and when she wasn't there it made him unhappy.
Still, he didn't blame little Victoire for having nightmares, if she needed Cosette more than he did he would gladly give her up for his daughter for he loved that little girl with all his heart, which was why he couldn't help but smile when he walked into Victoires room that morning to see his two angels asleep on the bed.
He knelt down beside the two of them and gently woke his daughter by stroking her cheek with his fingers. She stirred, and smiled when she saw her father at her bedside.
"Good morning" he said as quietly as he could, but Cosette had also awoken now.
"Good morning papa" the child said sweetly.
"Marius?" Cosette said sleepily before remembering who'd bed she was in "Oh, I'm sorry. I broke my promise".
"Think nothing of it my love" Marius told her with a smile before turning his attention back to his daughter. "Now…will you be taking my wife to bed every night or should I just move in here as well?" he said, tickling her on her tummy.
The little girl giggled and smiled at her father. "No papa, I think I can be brave now, as long as…..well, as long as I know you and maman are close by then I think I can tell my bad dreams to go away"
"That's wonderful" Marius said to her. "I knew you could be a brave girl. Now where's my good morning kiss?" he said with a wide smile. "That goes for both of you in fact; I can't start my day until I get a kiss from all my girls".
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