So, here's the next installment of 'Lovely Lady.' Enjoy!
Lovely Lady – Part Two
Eponine was running – but to what or to whom, she could not say. The sights of Paris passed by in a blur as her feet pounded the pavement. A glance behind showed that she was being pursued by none other than Montparnasse, one of her father's seedier 'associates'. He had always fancied himself in love with her; at the very least, he desired her body, but Eponine had vowed that no one would have her but Marius. And so she ran.
She eventually found herself in front of Cosette's former home, trapped on all sides by stone walls with nowhere to go. Turning to face her would-be attacker, she was startled to discover Montparnasse clutching Marius to his chest, a knife held to his throat. Eponine felt her own eyes widen in terror at the sight of her beloved in danger, and she swore that she would thank God on her knees if both she and Marius survived this.
"Let him go," Eponine demanded of Montparnasse, trying desperately to avoid looking at Marius, who appeared resigned to his fate.
"Not unless you give me something in return," Montparnasse taunted her, both of them knowing full well what the price for Marius' release would be.
Marius knew, too, apparently, for he immediately spoke up: "Don't do it, 'Ponine!"
"Quiet, you!" snarled Montparnasse, his grip on Marius' waist tightening and the knife flashing dangerously in the moonlight.
"I'll give you what you want, 'Parnasse," said Eponine, standing straight even in the face of her impending shame. "Just let him go."
Montparnasse roughly shoved Marius away, causing the young man to stumble even as Eponine stepped forward to embrace her fate. Marius moved to intercept her, but Montparnasse, who had anticipated the other man's actions, made a slashing motion with the knife, intending to stab Marius in the side, a painful wound that he would slowly bleed to death from. Eponine, though, not seeing that Marius had enough room to avoid the knife's trajectory, stepped calmly between the two and took the knife straight in her stomach.
Eponine dropped to the ground, Marius barely catching her in time to soften the blow as Montparnasse seemed to fade into oblivion. It was now only Marius and Eponine, alone together.
"Why'd you do that, 'Ponine?" asked Marius, trying desperately to staunch the flow of blood with his hands.
"Couldn't… stand by… and watch you… get hurt," Eponine panted, every breath costing her precious seconds.
"And the alternative is better?" asked Marius, incredulous. "Me, watching you bleed out at my feet?"
"Don't you fret, Monsieur Marius," said Eponine, smiling softly up at him as she strained to cradle his cheek in one of her trembling hands. "Without me, your world will keep on turning."
"Unlikely," Marius scoffed. "I can't imagine a world without you, 'Ponine. I love you."
Eponine lay shuddering in Marius' arms as she struggled to draw breath. Though she was cold and her sight rapidly fading, she kept her eyes fixed on Marius. So long had she dreamed of this moment, and she wouldn't leave him now, not yet.
"I love you, too, my Marius," she whispered in reply to his declaration. "I always have." With that, her eyes slowly drifted shut as she entered eternal slumber.
" 'Ponine? No, 'Ponine!" Marius exclaimed, rocking her body back and forth in his lap and peppering kisses across her face. " 'Ponine, 'Ponine – wake up!"
"Wake up, Eponine! 'Ponine!"
Eponine was abruptly jostled from sleep by someone shaking her shoulder rather insistently. Her eyes shot open and she surged upright. Her stomach was in knots, as though her intestines were fighting some kind of internal battle. Feeling nauseous, Eponine leaned over the side of the bed and was promptly sick all over the floor. She felt someone press up against her back – Marius, her mind helpfully informed her – holding back her hair and rubbing her shoulder blades in an effort to comfort her.
Her stomach still heaving, Eponine collapsed, trembling, back onto the mattress. Her dream had been overwhelming, to say the least, and she could feel the sweat rapidly cooling on her body, her borrowed nightgown sticking to her skin. Only then did she realize that she had actually thrown up on Marius' floor. She was a guest, imposing on his hospitality, and she had been unspeakably rude.
Remaining on her stomach, but pulling up her nightgown so that her backside was bare, she spoke softly, her voice slightly muffled by the sheets her head was buried in: "I'm ready for my punishment, sir."
Marius stared at Eponine in shock for the longest time. Although he had seen her back when he had helped her to bathe, she had avoided showing him her lower half – and for good reason! Her buttocks and upper thighs were littered with scars, many of which overlapped one another to form a gruesome crisscross pattern that told a tale of numerous cases of abuse. What had happened that would make her think he could ever bring himself beat her, and as punishment no less?
" 'Ponine…" he whimpered, a sob catching in his throat. He bent over her, carefully lowering her nightgown back over her mutilated body and turning her onto her back. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut; her hands formed fists, her nails digging into her palms in an effort to brace herself for the blows to come and to prevent herself from crying out. She wanted Marius to think her brave, after all. When Marius cupped her face in his hands, though, she couldn't help but flinch violently away; despite the tenderness of his actions, she had been expecting a blow rather than an embrace. " 'Ponine, look at me," Marius whispered, his words unmistakably an order.
Daring to meet his gaze, Eponine watched as Marius stood back and, making sure that her eyes were trained on him, removed his belt. Pressing the buckle securely against his palm and doubling the strip of leather in his hand as though prepared to strike her, Marius held it up for Eponine's examination. She trembled at the sight, her eyes closing again, unbidden, as she waited for the first blow to fall.
"Look at me!" Marius demanded imperiously, and Eponine was unable to disobey. Although frightened, she opened her eyes and watched in amazement as Marius threw his belt away into the corner of the room, not even watching to see where it landed. He approached the bed cautiously, and Eponine soon realized that he was trembling. Lowering his body onto the mattress while being sure to maintain a respectful distance from Eponine until she invited him closer Marius closed his eyes and took several steadying breaths before eventually opening his mouth to speak again.
"Never, ever will I hurt you in such a way, Eponine," he whispered, the intensity of his voice sending shivers down the young girl's spine. "I will never punish you for whatever you think you did or have done or will do. What could make you think that I ever would?"
Eponine remained silent for several moments in an attempt to gather her thoughts as she wondered how much to reveal of her past to Marius, knowing as she did that he was in love with her.
"I've always had a hard life," she said at last. "My father sold my innocence away years ago. I made the best of my lot in life for a time. After the revolution, though, there was nothing left but to sell my body for whatever I could. I'd never learned a trade. How could I get a job and earn money honestly? Who would hire me? I began to sleep around until recently, when one of my customers tied me down and beat me within an inch of my life. It was weeks before I could function normally again. It wasn't the first time I'd been beaten, but it was the most extreme case. Since then, I've expected little else from the men of my acquaintance… even you, I'm ashamed to say, Monsieur."
"No, 'Ponine, don't be ashamed," Marius implored her. "After all, what reason do you have to trust me when we've been separated for so many years? How are you to know whether or not I'm like the very men that have abused you?" Carefully wrapping his arms around her slight frame, Marius guided Eponine to rest her head on his shoulder even as he briskly rubbed his hands up and down her arms, attempting to share body heat so that his 'Ponine would stop trembling, though he was unsure whether she did so because she was truly cold or because of something else. Fear of him, perhaps? God, he hoped not.
"Will you stay here, 'Ponine?" he eventually asked to break the silence. "Let me take care of you and atone for past mistakes."
"What mistakes could you have possibly made, Monsieur?" asked Eponine bemusedly, as, in her eyes, Marius could do no wrong.
"I took you for granted for so long," Marius whispered brokenly, turning to kiss the top of Eponine's head. "I didn't do near enough to save you from your parents' machinations—"
"You're here now; that's all that matters," said Eponine to interrupt Marius' self-deprecating diatribe. Turning to face him fully, even though that meant leaving the safety of his warm strong arms, she spoke seriously to him. "You said earlier that you're in love with me and have been so for ages. It's time to be honest. I've been in love with you for years, too. I never said anything because I thought you could never return my affections – me, the uneducated street rat. You're a gentleman; according to society, we should never have met. Even back when my parents loved me, I knew that I would never have the best life, not like you, who've been afforded every luxury because of who you are. I never had the same opportunities, not that I've ever begrudged you your wealth. I've always loved you regardless of our differences, just as you've always treated me as an actual person regardless of my social standing—"
"That's never been important, nor should it be in matters of the heart," said Marius firmly.
The pair fell into silence again, broken only by Eponine asking, "Where do we go from here?"
"You're going to rest and take the time to properly heal," Marius replied. "I think the reason you were sick earlier was because you had too much to eat too soon. I'm no doctor, but I'd guess that you haven't been eating regularly and I don't think it's healthy to gorge the way you did. Although I suppose that's partly my fault; I gave you my share of the stew because I figured you needed more than I."
"Oh, Marius – you shouldn't have," Eponine exclaimed, even as she leaned closer to him and tentatively wrapped her arms around his waist. Marius shifted so that they would both be more comfortable and returned Eponine's embrace.
"What's done is done," he said. "Tomorrow I'll take you to see a doctor and make sure that you're otherwise healthy." He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "Eponine, I realize that you've been through a lot in these past few years, much of which I probably wouldn't understand or be able to relate to. But what I have gathered is that you're used to taking orders. As much as I'd like to give you full control of our relationship, we have to be realistic. I think you'd be overwhelmed and unable to handle the responsibility. So we'll progress slowly. I'll ask you before trying something new, and you tell me if you're uncomfortable or would prefer to wait. I'm not one of your customers, 'Ponine. I won't ask you to do something you're not ready for; I'm not a monster. I want this – us – to last, and I'm willing to wait however long is necessary."
Eponine felt her shoulders drop as she relaxed and released a breath she hadn't even been aware that she was holding. Marius, of course, didn't fail to notice the tension draining from her body, and congratulated himself on doing something right where his long-time best friend and now lover was concerned.
"Thank you, Marius," whispered Eponine, for once addressing him without the honorific before his name. "I didn't even realize that I was worried about serving you until just now. It's honestly a relief to hear that you don't expect much from me right away. Truth be told, I'm not sure how adequately I could perform in my present state. Before tonight, I can't remember the last time I ate, much less when I had a decent night's rest. And as for my mutilated body, after being passed from man to man for so long, I'm not sure I'm ready to be seen in such a vulnerable state again. It's not that I don't trust you – my trust in you is implicit – I trust you with my life. It's more the idea of opening myself up like that. My encounters of the past few years have been strictly sexual in nature; no feelings whatsoever. I haven't felt in so long that I'm not sure if I can anymore."
"I'm here when you're ready," Marius assured her. "I'll always be here, 'Ponine."
"I know," Eponine smiled as her head dropped on Marius' shoulder. "Can we go back to bed now? I'm tired."
"Of course, love," said Marius, pressing his lips to Eponine's temple before reaching over to turn down the covers and helping Eponine in. This time he slid under the covers alongside her, his arms wrapped loosely around her waist. "Sleep," he whispered, stroking her hair. "Tomorrow's a brand new day, another beginning for both of us."
Eponine fell asleep with a smile on her face, Marius following not far behind.