A/N - Yay reviewers! The lack of reviewers was what inspired me to re-post
and edit the story. So, to actually /have/ reviewers this time is a good
thing.
La Pamplemousse - The coolest story ever? Wow. *is honored* Now I feel special. In a good way.
Wierd Kitty - Actually, they're not too different. I think the chapter spacing might be, though.
Elyse3 - Good point. You will notice that "Parody" no longer appears as a . . . um . . . darn I can't remember the word. Anyway, it doesn't claim to be a parody anymore.
Eponine Enjolras - Die Lizzie die! Here's your explanation.
Disclaimer - I don't own the LM characters you recognize, but I do own the band of gypsies (or gipsies, as Hugo would say) and Bobette. Cos she's all from here *points to head*
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The girl who had just locked the door smiled to herself, thinking what a fine job she had done. She looked down at the outfit she was wearing - a long black dress with an extremely large amount of lace at the top. She was not used to dressing like a rich girl. Fingering the large curls in her hair, she thought that her sister's life was not so bad after all. If only she had been the girl that the Thénardiers had not turned out of the house.
She remembered, even as young as she had been at the time, how the woman had complained to the man that two grungy little mouths to feed were just too many. And there was the fact that she could not tell the "brats" apart. She finally wrote their mother that one had died of fever and kicked one out. Of course, the child kicked out had been Bobette.
Bobette had been found by a band of gypsies who had raised her from that early age and treated her like something of a freak. They had seen her identical sister and believed that this was the work of the devil. They raised her on the belief that one of the girls had no right to live, often insinuating that that sister was Cosette.
Of course, Bobette had no desire to kill her sister. She only wanted Cosette to have as little as she did. She remembered that one day the gypsies had traveled to Paris and performed in the streets that afternoon. When they had danced all day and not earned a sou they returned to their camp. Bobette had risen that night to the sound of many people trying unsuccessfully to move about the camp silently. Suddenly a man's head poked into her tent. She could not clearly see his face, but she heard him say something in a strange and twisted French she had never heard before.
He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out of the tent. Other men were standing about, their faces slightly illuminated in the flickering light of their torches. Bobette's captor shouted something, and, to her horror, the men began to light the tents with their torches. Bobette saw many gruesome things that night that she had no desire to remember.
The man dragged her away from the scene after a bit, followed by several other shadowy figures. They stopped in a dark corner. Bobette's captor said something else to her in that unintelligible language. Seeing that she did not understand, he pushed her disgustedly towards a younger man. This man laughed and spoke in plain French. "He wanted to know why a girl like you was living with gypsies."
Relieved at having found someone she understood, Bobette explained the whole story. At the mention of Thénardier the young man's face brightened. After clarifying that she had indeed lived with the Thénardiers, he suddenly announced that this must be the Lark.
The young man introduced himself as Montparnasse. His companions were Gueulemer, Babet, Claquesous, and Brujon. Abruptly, Montparnasse grabbed her arm again and set off walking. In a few moments they were outside a sewer grate. Brujon said something in that ridiculous language and the gate swung open, revealing an older man wearing a very large beard. He conversed with the others for a while, and finally looked at Bobette. He stepped even closer, and suddenly he seemed to have realized who she was. Laughing, he told the others a long tale in that odd language. He stared at Bobette for a while, then spoke in recognizable French.
"I saw the Lark about a month before the June insurrection. She lives with an old man - the same man who came to the tavern years ago and took her from us for nothing. She was extremely rich and happy, and even worse, my former neighbor, an airy fool called Marius, had been seen by some of my men watching her at Luxembourg. I hear that they were married not so long ago. The Lark has everything she ever could have wanted." Bobette simmered with jealousy.
She had joined the robbers from that day forward. They taught her their language, argot, taught her the tricks of the trade, and introduced her to other bandits. She was commonly called "the Hawk." It seemed to be a joke with Thénardier, who called her sister "the Lark." Even as Bobette became a known villain, she felt in her heart a burning desire for revenge on her sister.
She had recently attempted to employ Thénardier's daughter, Azelma, to find Cosette. The younger girl had laughed in her face and said that she knew where the Lark was already. Bobette had watched the house for a long time, waiting for the right moment to strike. The opportunity had come when Cosette had wandered out of the house alone that afternoon. Bobette had knocked her cold, traded clothes with her, bound and gagged her, pushed her into a corner somewhere, and used her own money to visit a barber who might fix her hair like her sister's. She had not realized that only ten minutes had passed when she returned to the house. And here she stood in Cosette's clothes, in Cosette's house, having just locked Cosette's husband in the cellar.
The Baron Marius Pontmercy's pounding on the cellar door awoke her from her satisfied reverie. She had come this far, but what was she to do now?
La Pamplemousse - The coolest story ever? Wow. *is honored* Now I feel special. In a good way.
Wierd Kitty - Actually, they're not too different. I think the chapter spacing might be, though.
Elyse3 - Good point. You will notice that "Parody" no longer appears as a . . . um . . . darn I can't remember the word. Anyway, it doesn't claim to be a parody anymore.
Eponine Enjolras - Die Lizzie die! Here's your explanation.
Disclaimer - I don't own the LM characters you recognize, but I do own the band of gypsies (or gipsies, as Hugo would say) and Bobette. Cos she's all from here *points to head*
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The girl who had just locked the door smiled to herself, thinking what a fine job she had done. She looked down at the outfit she was wearing - a long black dress with an extremely large amount of lace at the top. She was not used to dressing like a rich girl. Fingering the large curls in her hair, she thought that her sister's life was not so bad after all. If only she had been the girl that the Thénardiers had not turned out of the house.
She remembered, even as young as she had been at the time, how the woman had complained to the man that two grungy little mouths to feed were just too many. And there was the fact that she could not tell the "brats" apart. She finally wrote their mother that one had died of fever and kicked one out. Of course, the child kicked out had been Bobette.
Bobette had been found by a band of gypsies who had raised her from that early age and treated her like something of a freak. They had seen her identical sister and believed that this was the work of the devil. They raised her on the belief that one of the girls had no right to live, often insinuating that that sister was Cosette.
Of course, Bobette had no desire to kill her sister. She only wanted Cosette to have as little as she did. She remembered that one day the gypsies had traveled to Paris and performed in the streets that afternoon. When they had danced all day and not earned a sou they returned to their camp. Bobette had risen that night to the sound of many people trying unsuccessfully to move about the camp silently. Suddenly a man's head poked into her tent. She could not clearly see his face, but she heard him say something in a strange and twisted French she had never heard before.
He grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out of the tent. Other men were standing about, their faces slightly illuminated in the flickering light of their torches. Bobette's captor shouted something, and, to her horror, the men began to light the tents with their torches. Bobette saw many gruesome things that night that she had no desire to remember.
The man dragged her away from the scene after a bit, followed by several other shadowy figures. They stopped in a dark corner. Bobette's captor said something else to her in that unintelligible language. Seeing that she did not understand, he pushed her disgustedly towards a younger man. This man laughed and spoke in plain French. "He wanted to know why a girl like you was living with gypsies."
Relieved at having found someone she understood, Bobette explained the whole story. At the mention of Thénardier the young man's face brightened. After clarifying that she had indeed lived with the Thénardiers, he suddenly announced that this must be the Lark.
The young man introduced himself as Montparnasse. His companions were Gueulemer, Babet, Claquesous, and Brujon. Abruptly, Montparnasse grabbed her arm again and set off walking. In a few moments they were outside a sewer grate. Brujon said something in that ridiculous language and the gate swung open, revealing an older man wearing a very large beard. He conversed with the others for a while, and finally looked at Bobette. He stepped even closer, and suddenly he seemed to have realized who she was. Laughing, he told the others a long tale in that odd language. He stared at Bobette for a while, then spoke in recognizable French.
"I saw the Lark about a month before the June insurrection. She lives with an old man - the same man who came to the tavern years ago and took her from us for nothing. She was extremely rich and happy, and even worse, my former neighbor, an airy fool called Marius, had been seen by some of my men watching her at Luxembourg. I hear that they were married not so long ago. The Lark has everything she ever could have wanted." Bobette simmered with jealousy.
She had joined the robbers from that day forward. They taught her their language, argot, taught her the tricks of the trade, and introduced her to other bandits. She was commonly called "the Hawk." It seemed to be a joke with Thénardier, who called her sister "the Lark." Even as Bobette became a known villain, she felt in her heart a burning desire for revenge on her sister.
She had recently attempted to employ Thénardier's daughter, Azelma, to find Cosette. The younger girl had laughed in her face and said that she knew where the Lark was already. Bobette had watched the house for a long time, waiting for the right moment to strike. The opportunity had come when Cosette had wandered out of the house alone that afternoon. Bobette had knocked her cold, traded clothes with her, bound and gagged her, pushed her into a corner somewhere, and used her own money to visit a barber who might fix her hair like her sister's. She had not realized that only ten minutes had passed when she returned to the house. And here she stood in Cosette's clothes, in Cosette's house, having just locked Cosette's husband in the cellar.
The Baron Marius Pontmercy's pounding on the cellar door awoke her from her satisfied reverie. She had come this far, but what was she to do now?