A/N- Joyeux Noel, mes amis! This is the best I could do for a Christmiz fic... at the moment... Muahahaha! Ahem. Anyway...
Obsetress- Wow! No one pointed out my mistake in grammar! It shoulda been Nouvel Ami... but I'm just stupid like that. Yeah, weird ficlet ideas attack me at odd times.
AmZ- I thank you for your well-informed review! -bows a la Ben Stein-
Elyse3- Look at all the twitching eyes! Muahahahaha! Ahem. Yes, the space time continuum was made to be distorted.
nebulia- Yay, someone else who sees the odd similarities between our friendly neighborhood opera ghost and the ever-intriguing Claquesous! Cyber cookie for seeing that...
ArgentineRose- Why, thank you! And cyber cookie for getting the Claquesousness. Verra nice, m'dear. Hehe... dotty... what a cool word.
Mlle Verity- Thank you muchly! Hehe, I think you're the only one whose eyes didn't twitch, although apparently it was only due to exhaustion... I'm so proud.
H. Sibelus- Hm... bowings there... I usually do it seperately, just cos it doesn't sound right slurred. As for In Your Embrace At Last, that shall be my next update, je le jure aux etoiles.
fell4adeadguy- Thank you for your multiple reviews!
TheSanityStealingPenguinQueen- Voila. Have I ever told you how much I like your username?
Cosette perched on the crossbar under the table and took up her knitting. The sooner she finished this sock, the sooner she could go to bed and the sooner tomorrow would come. Her tongue slipped out of her mouth as she concentrated on getting the needle through the tight loops she had made earlier.
Madame was sitting in front of the fire, Eponine and Azelma on her knees. She was telling them an enchanting story, and Cosette found herself listening in.
"And then he comes to every house and leaves a present in the good girls' shoes, while the bad girls get nothing. Then on Christmas day the good girls find their presents and can play for the rest of the day, while the bad girls must work as punishment."
"Am I a good girl, Maman?" Eponine asked, smiling to show off her missing tooth.
Madame nodded. "You are both very good girls."
In listening, Cosette had ceased knitting. The yarn and needles lay unmoving in her lap, and her face was turned toward the fireside. Madame glanced in her direction, then scowled pointedly at the idle needles. Cosette quickly began to work again.
When Madame had turned back to her girls, Cosette ventured to look at them again, then out the window at the night sky. It was dark. She was glad she had finished her chores so that she might stay in the warm tavern for the rest of this night.
She gave a little start. Had she done all her chores? Madame had moved her girls off her lap and was walking toward the cooking pot on the stove. Cosette began to chew on the inside of her cheek. Was there enough water? Oh, please, she said silently, let Madame sit down with Ponine and Zelma again! Don't let her…
But the Thénardiess had taken a glass and attempted to fill it from the tap. It was only half-full when the trickle of water became a slow drip, and Madame said, "Bother, we're out of water."
Cosette held her breath and silently begged her to say nothing else. It was Monsieur who saved the little girl.
"Don't worry, that'll be enough," he said.
Cosette wanted to kiss the horrible man's feet, but she remained under the table, her knitting neglected in the fear of the moment. She sighed, inaudibly, of course, and returned to her work. Men came into the tavern, and she listened as they commented on how terribly dark it was this night. Every new remark made her thin hands shake.
"My horse hasn't been watered!" a voice cried.
Cosette, in panic, dropped her knitting as Madame said, "Indeed it has."
"I tell you it hasn't, mistress."
The child's mind began to fly. She saw the fearsome blackness outside and came out from under the table. "But he has, monsieur!" she piped up, her thin voice shaking in terror. "I took him water myself, a whole bucketful, and I talked to him."
"No higher than my knee and lies like a trooper!" the man growled.
He continued to speak, but Cosette did not hear. Lies! Bad little girls told lies, and bad little girls did not receive a present in the morning! How she wanted that kind man Madame had spoken of to come and give her… anything. A doll, a sou, something she could play with! Something more than her little lead sword…
It was too late to tell the truth now, Cosette decided, glancing again at the darkness outside. The man had finished speaking, and Cosette said, "All the same, he has."
"Look, there's not much in watering a horse, is there? Why not just do it?"
Anticipating Madame's agreement with his demand, Cosette scrambled back under the table and crouched by the crossbar, her heart slamming against her chest.
Madame's cruel face appeared at the other end of the table, and she hissed, "Come out of there, you!"
Cosette obeyed.
"Now, Miss-good-for-nothing, go and water that horse!"
"But Madame," she said feebly, "there's no water left…"
"Then go and get some," the Thénardiess snarled, throwing open the door to the street.
Cosette went and got the bucket, then took the fifteen-sou piece Madame gave her for the baker. When she reached the door, Cosette stopped.
Perhaps the good man from Madame's story would come now, and take her away! He would come shining through the dark, lifting the bucket out of her hands and saying, Don't worry, child, I am here! Then they would go away together, and live as fancily as they pleased, and she would have so many dolls that other girls would come from all over France to be her friend, and even Ponine and Zelma would like her!
"Get a move on," Madame shouted, and Cosette returned to the present. The good man was too late, she thought sadly as the pulled the door of the tavern closed. Perhaps he would not come.
And then she saw it – the lady! The grand, splendid lady beckoned her from the window of the stall across the street. Cosette, hardly daring to breathe, crept over and gazed at the beautiful doll. Her bucket dropped to the ground, and she thought again of the good man who would come for her tomorrow. He would give her a dress almost as beautiful as the lady's, and he would save her!
But she had lied! She had lied to the man about his horse! The good man wouldn't be able to come for her unless she was a good girl, and a liar was not a good girl. The image of the lady blurred, and Cosette reached up to wipe away a tear.
"Why, you slut! Haven't you started yet? What do you think you're doing standing there? Just you wait – I'm coming after you!"
It was Madame! Cosette took the heavy bucket up in her arms and ran, her wooden clogs sliding against her feet. It was terribly cold, and the frosty air burned in her chest, so Cosette had to slow down before long. She dragged the heavy bucket along the frightful path, stopping to rest every few moments and catch her breath.
The woods were fearsome at this time of night. Cosette knew that things were watching her right now, waiting to eat her if they saw she was scared, so she made a show of bravery, whispering to herself and keeping her head held high. Still she did not look to either side, for she did not want to see the things waiting for her.
At last she reached the well. As she filled the bucket she heard the tiny plop of something falling into the water, and her heart skipped a beat as she imagined another thing waiting to jump out and bite her. The bucket was filled and she found that she was exhausted from the effort of lifting the enormous thing, so she sat down in the grass and carefully did not look at the woods around her.
A huge, terrible star was in the sky. It was almost red, and she could imagine the devil standing on it and watching her. In her mind, he looked a lot like Monsieur. She shivered as a chill breeze rustled through the bare trees.
The girl was seized with a wave of panic, and she did not know what to do. She clamped her eyes shut and counted aloud, as high as she could, then started over again at one. Her hands were cold.
At last Cosette got to her feet and lifted the immense bucket, walked a few paces, but had to rest. She continued to move this way, making very little progress. It would take too long to get back to the tavern, and Madame would beat her. She knew that she needed help, but no one would ever help her. Even the good man from the story would not, for she was a liar. The good man did not come to liars.
But she remembered someone she had heard of that was even stronger than the good man was, and who always promised to help you, even if you lied and were a bad girl. She didn't know what he looked like, but Cosette was sure he would come if she called him.
"Oh, God help me!" she cried. "Please, dear God!"
And suddenly a hand lifted the bucket. Cosette looked up and saw that a tall, tall man had taken the bucket from her and was carrying it with ease. She did not know for certain, but she thought that perhaps God had come to help her after all.