Just to clear up a few things with my current readers, I have fixed the plot error in the previous chapter. Also, this story takes place after Valjean had taken Cosette away from the Thénardiers. Updates might not be frequent since I am very busy lately, please be patient with me.

Chapter 3

Marius resisted against his grandfather's grip as the old man straighten Marius' coat and tucked the collar. It wasn't that he minded dressing at his best, but his grandfather's manner was quite unusual. He was clueless to why his grandfather insisted on him dressing so well. Perhaps he would be having important guests over today, but even then it was as if his grandfather wanted him to appear more pleasant than himself.

"I will not lose you too, not like I lost my daughter." He could hear his grandfather mumble.

Once M. Gillenormand finished fixing Marius' coat, he walked off to the door where his guests awaited outside. A middle aged man stepped inside with his daughter clinging to his hand tightly. Her eyes wandered around the room until they met his, and then her face lit up as if she had instantly taken by his appearance. In return he smiled back, but this was a friendly smile not like the adoring smile she held.

"Good evening, M. Gillenormand." Thénardier greeted, "This is my daughter Eponine."

Gillenormand gave a quick glance and returned his glance to Thénardier, "She's lovely, this here is my grandson Marius."

Eponine curtsied while trying all her might to suppress a tiny giggle that threatened to escape her lips. Though her father had warned her not to act out of place, she found his demands difficult to follow since she so easily found her mind wandering back and forth into some sort of fairytale she had played out the night before. Finally she returned to reality, and took a nervous step forward.

"How do you do, Monsieur Marius?" She asked.

"I am doing fine, and you?" He asked.

"I am very excited." She admitted, and almost accidentally admitted that she had been excited for quite some time now.

His face flushed and he responded, "Are you excited to meet me?"

"Yes, but I am also excited to be in such a huge city, it is much more enjoyable than the place I live." She responded.

Nervously Marius shifted his weight. Even now he could feel his grandfather's piercing eyes on him. Normally he would wander off upstairs, but he assumed that his grandfather wished for him to socialize with the girl before him. Still he wanted to escape his grandfather's gaze, and decided to do the next best thing.

"Would you like to look around Mademoiselle?" He asked.

"I would love to." She replied, and with those words she followed him as if she were a devoted puppy dog.

She twisted the blue ribbon on her dress nervously as she followed Marius through the hallway. It was evident that the girl was already forming some sort of attachment to him. Though he found it odd, Marius was not agitated by her behavior in the least.

I will not lose you too, not like I lost my daughter.

For a moment, Marius pondered his grandfather's words; what could they possibly mean? His mother, she had died before he even had the chance to know her, but what about his father? The father that apparently had abandoned him; maybe there was more to his father's absence than what his grandfather had been telling him. Aside from that, what did this girl have to do with anything? Marius glanced behind his shoulder only for her to smile up at him. Daringly she trotted over to his side.

"Where are we going?" Eponine asked.

"Did I not mention that I would show you around?" He asked.

"You did, but I would hardly call this showing me around." Eponine commented, for the most part all they had done was wander aimlessly around the mansion.

"If you really must know, that was an excuse." Marius stated.

"An excuse for what?" Eponine prodded.

"I wanted to escape my grandfather's watchful eyes. I was assuming that you too wanted to escape your father's gaze." Marius replied simply.

"Well maybe just a little, but it is not as if I wanted him to leave me alone. It's just that he puts so much pressure on me. On our way here he constantly pestered me about being on my best behavior." Eponine rambled.

Then he stopped to face her and said, "That is exactly how my grandfather was. This morning he insisted that I look my very best, and even tried to straighten my clothes for me. If my grandfather acted similar to your father, do you think those two could be up to something?"

"I am not sure. I doubt that though. They do not even know each other that well." Eponine responded quickly. Though she hardly knew anything about her father's plan, she still knew enough that could get her and her father into a lot of trouble if Marius caught on.

"If they are plotting something, do you think it has anything to do with us?" Marius asked.

"I do not think they are plotting anything at all. I think that you are questioning everything to much, but maybe that is just me. Besides that, what exactly would they be planning to do with us? If either of them is planning anything, surely it would have something to do with other things." She said, and then tried to change the subject, "Say is there anything to do around here? I'm really bored."

He ignored her question and said, "I am going to see what those two are up too."

She frowned at him and said, "I don't think that we should be listening into their conversations without permission. I am not sure about you, but I know my father would be very angry with me if he found out."

"Maybe you're right," Marius replied, already picturing his grandfather's reaction if he were caught. "That doesn't mean that I am just going to let this go though. I have an odd feeling about this."

"Just relax a bit." She said, her voice was almost soothing, "I am sure that you are just assuming things."

Then the two began to wander around once more, but this time Eponine felt a small tinge of guilt. Unlike Marius, she knew that her father was indeed up to no good.

"Marius," She called to him.

"Yes," He replied.

"What if they are plotting something?" She asked.

"Are you saying that you are starting to suspect something too?" Marius asked her.

"Well maybe a little bit." She wasn't sure why she answered the way she did, but alas she had anyways. Then all of a sudden she began to wonder what exactly her father's plan was, and if it was actually in her best interest. Could it be that her father would even hurt her to get whatever it was that he was after?

Even Marius could see that she was afraid and decided to say, "If your father is up to no good, I doubt that he would hurt you in the process."

She nodded and said, "I wasn't afraid of that, just scared a little bit is all."

As much as he wanted to eavesdrop on Thénardier and his grandfather, Marius decided against it. "You said you were bored a moment ago, is there anything you would like to do?"

"Anything is fine right now." She replied.

"Then follow me," He said, and with that the two had pushed aside whatever fears lay inside them.

Well, I'm not quite sure what people will think of this chapter. I've tried my best, and this was the best solution I could come up with. Thank you for your patience and as always reviews are welcome.