A young man ducked under a low door frame and entered the dark, dusky atmosphere of an inn that his employer was known to frequent. Walking to the darkest corner and making out the form of Monsieur Thenardier with his back against the wall.
" 'Parnasse, did you get the girl?" He slurred, obviously drunk. Montparnasse, for this was the aforesaid young man, shook his head and sat on the edge of a seat across the table from the other man.
"She got away." He answered smoothly.
"Wha' do you mean, 'she got away'?" Thenardier growled, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. Montparnasse thought fast.
"Brujon had a hold of her, but she wriggled away and before I could do anything there were three men on top of me, I barely got away and Brujon got shot. Served 'im right, letting her go." He told his boss with conviction.
"She'll be watched now, I wager. It'll be a feat to get 'er when she's got eyes on 'er." Thenardier mused to himself. Montparnasse sat back and waited for the new plan to formulate in the masters' head.
"I got it, 'ere's what we'll do," The older man leaned forward and gestured for Montparnasse to do the same.
As he left the building and crossed the street, he saw Eponine Thenardier striding towards the inn, fire in her eyes. She was probably upset about the near kidnapping of her little friend. Well, she should be prepared to be outraged after they implemented their new plan. And it was indeed a brilliant plan, one Montparnasse was proud to be a part of. They'd all be rich within the month.
A short time later Danielle woke to the sound of rain on a roof and Rauls' voice.
"Danielle! Oh, thank God!" She heard footsteps cross the room and suddenly he was there, embracing her, "That boy that brought you here told me everything." But then he let her go and looked at her angrily, "You were engaging in improper acts." He accused; apparently this took precedence over being happy she was safe. She sighed and nodded. There was still so much for her to work out in her mind and she really didn't want to have this conversation.
"I'm sorry, Raul, really. But I can't just do nothing." She whispered, sitting up. Looking around, she realized she was in their house, quite far from the Cafe Musain. How on Earth did I get here, she wondered skeptically.
"Exactly." Raul sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingertips, "I wrote to the Lady Baybridge for advice a fortnight ago. She said you ought to get married and I quite agree. Danielle," He looked at her sincerely, "I do it all for you." She was confused. Whatever did he do for her? "But," He continued on a brighter note, "Christine and I are engaged! I understand I've been at the Opera quite a bit lately, but there were matters to be attended to. It'll all be resolved soon." He was being enigmatic, and seemed more enthusiastic over these 'matters' than his own engagement.
Light footsteps echoed down the hall and Cosette ran through the door, straight to Danielle and hugged her with all the force she could muster.
"Oh, I was so worried for you! When I heard all that happened I came straight here; I hope you don't mind." Then she pulled away and held her friend at arms length, giving her a long-suffering look, "Danielle, your my only friend, whatever did you do that for? I could have had to find a new one, and do you know how difficult that is these days?" And both girls erupted into giggles.
"I'm so glad you're here, Cosette," Danielle glanced around the room to see her brother had gone and lowered her voice, "Raul told me I should marry and I haven't the heart to tell him I never shall." She sighed deeply as though it were a great problem.
"We neither of us shall. We will just have to join a convent together." Cosette replied, smiling.
"My dear friend, there is so much you must learn. A convent would never accept us together. We would cause mayhem and havoc." She joked, "Actually, would you like to go to Church with me today?" She preferred going to pray alone, but had learned that Cosette also did, so they both simply acted as though the other wasn't there. It was a wonderful system.
"Of course!" Cosette agreed heartily, "You're safe now, but someone should accompany you. We don't want anything like that to happen again." She spoke motherly, as Danielle giggled at her.
"Very well. Do I have your permission to change into something less dirty, My lady?" She stood and went out the door.
"If you must!" Cosette's voice called magnanimously. Danielle went to her upstairs room and sat on the bed. It was Enjolras. He had come for her; he had saved her for no apparent reason. The more she thought about it - and she thought about it quite a bit - the more she was certain he had already been in the street when she screamed, not upstairs in the Cafe like he should have been. The timing wasn't right. But why would he be outside? It made no sense, and Danielle didn't like it when things made no sense. She stood and changed quickly into a lavender colored day dress, then went back downstairs to meet Cosette.
Although it was raining, both girls agreed that rain was terribly pleasant and romantic, and walked with umbrellas. The umbrellas' were quickly given to the first wet beggar Danielle saw, and so did not provide them with the protection they had originally planned. Thankfully, the Church was not far ahead. Once they arrived, they separated; Cosette to the main chapel and Danielle to a separate room with an altar, which she kneeled before and clasped her hands.
"God," She whispered in the silence, "Thank you. Thank you for my deliverance and for keeping me safe. Even if it was Monsieur Enjolras to do it. So many people will know who I am now, or at least will be guessing. It frightens me; I don't know what to do. Give me strength for what is to come. Thank you." She stayed there while, enjoying the quiet and solitude for awhile longer. She never felt more at peace than when she was in this place, the Saint-Medard. It wasn't as large or ornate as Notre Dame; in fact it was rather small and homely. But the stained glass depictions and stone statues were beautiful to Danielle. She stood and walked out, before rushing back in and kneeling once more, "And thank you, so much, for my friend Cosette. Amen." Then she went back out and waited for the other girl near the courtyard, under cover. The rain was coming down in torrents, knocking petals off flowers and creating puddles in pathways. Cosette came out of the chapel and ran to her.
"The weather is terrible, Danielle!" She cried. But Danielle was thinking of something else. Something that had just occurred to her. She looked to Cosette with a shocked expression.
"I have to thank him." She said sorrowfully.
"Who do you have to thank?" Cosette looked at her askance.
"The boy who kept me from being kidnapped." She replied.
"Well, you kept him from being killed, so I think your debt has been repaid." Cosette joked, but then noticed a stricken expression on Danielles' face. "What is it?"
"I shot somebody! Oh, Cosette, I might've killed a man! And I didn't even think of it until now. Oh dear." She wrung her hands, "Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear."
"Let's get you home; I'm sure everything's fine. Don't worry." She consoled and led Danielle from the Church. They would be completely drenched when they returned home, but neither of them payed much attention to that. They also didn't pay much attention when a fiacre stopped beside them and a man jumped out to usher them inside, holding his umbrella out to them until they were in.
"You girls shouldn't be out in the rain." Monsieur Fauchelevent chided gently.
"Yes, papa. I'm sorry." Cosette apologized sincerely.
"You needn't worry yourself, my dear. Let's just get you both home and warmed by the fire." He said kindly. Danielle nodded, but felt she couldn't do much else. Monsieur Fauchelevent seemed to notice her silence, but spoke naught of it. He knew that people not always needed to speak, sometimes things must be thought of to oneself. Cosette told her father about Danielles' entire ordeal and Monsieur Fauchelevent didn't even seem surprised.
"It's dangerous out there." He told Danielle, "Do you really do the things my daughter says? Dress like them, feed them, befriend them?" He asked intently. She nodded once more. Curiously, he looked shocked at this affirmation and looked to her with a new fondness. And yet, he hadn't even batted an eyelash when Cosette informed him of Danielles' shooting the man. The rest of their journey was silent; each in their own turbulent thoughts.
Once Danielle had returned home and thanked Cosette and her father, and gave Alain and Annette the night off of working, the days events seemed to envelope her. She sank into a kitchen chair near the stove and stared into a vast nothingness. It was supposed to be such a lovely day and instead, she had been insulted, nearly abducted, shot somebody, and, most frightening, been told she should marry. It was nearly too much for a genteel girl such as herself to bear. Then there was the matter of being exposed. Jehan, Raul, and Eponine all knew who she was; both of who she was. Eponine was the only one who knew what she was before the she had been attacked. Someone had to have told those thugs about her. She couldn't believe Eponine would do that to her, she was trustworthy. She had to be. But what other explanation was there?
And she was afraid. Afraid of the unknown, of what would happen. The ABC society was plotting some sort of rebellion, Raul was sure to make it known that she had engaged in unsavory acts - in the eyes of the aristocracy, at least - and the police could come at any time, demanding she answer for shooting and possibly killing someone. It was most certainly a punishable offense. She fully expected to be punished, not only by the law, but but by the aristocracy. She had committed a cardinal sin in their books, associating with the peasants. Perhaps she wouldn't be welcome or invited to any high class social events for as long as any of them could remember and, try as she might not to, she did care. She liked the beautiful clothes and courtly manners of the bourgeois. She had been in the world of fashion all her life; it was a part of her and she didn't want to let it go.
Realizing that it was quite late, Danielle stood and made her way upstairs and into her warm bed. It had been a long day and she needed the peace and rest that only sleep could bring.
A/N: So, if you've noticed I haven't explained anybody's appearance it's because I don't want to. I mean, you probably already have someone in your head for Eponine, Enjolras, Cosette, etc, etc. It would just ruin it if I said it was Ramin or Aaron supposed to be Enjolras when you thought the opposite!
I know this chapter was kinda boring, but her emotions and reactions to what had happened needed to be shown before I moved on. So, whaddya think?
lorely Crow and Steph: Thank you so super much for your reviews! Because, honestly, it really motivates me to keep writing. :) I'm glad you like it and I hope that you keep reading!