Éponine's life had been extremely uneventful these past two months. Every day she found that she was losing Marius bit by bit to a woman she hadn't even met, but all she knew about her was that her name was Esmeralda Fauchelevent and she had each of the boys from the Les Amis wrapped around her pinkie fingers. Was she jealous? Éponine decided to herself in the beginning that she didn't have the right to be jealous of the mademoiselle, since Marius was never hers to begin with in the first place, nor were any of the other Les Amis; she wasn't even close to the rest of them like she was with Marius.

She gazed solemnly at the small cottage that sat in front of her.

Why on earth had she decided that she'd take Marius' request to check up on Esmeralda without question? Maybe because he had flashed her the smile she loved so dearly that she couldn't help but say yes. At the same time, she was curious, curious as to who this mysterious mademoiselle was and how she managed to capture the hearts of each and every single one of the Les Amis in less than a week.

The garden was small, yet at the same time it overflowed with wildlife. Butterflies seemed to perch on the large array of flowers that were spread across the lawn while vines of ivy tangled up the wall of the house. Éponine had found out the location of Esmeralda's small home from the charming Combeferre, although he did give her an odd look when she asked, he didn't question her and gave her the address. Éponine inched closer to the house, walking up to the black iron gates and cast her eyes through the shrubbery to get a closer look at the open window of a downstairs room. That was when her eyes caught her.

Éponine's eyes snagged onto the lithe-slim figure that lay relaxed on the edge of the window sill. It was a beautiful young mademoiselle, no doubt the infamous Esmeralda that Marius couldn't seem to shut up about. The young mademoiselle's black hair cascaded down her shoulders in tumbles as it laid untied on her head. Her olive tanned skin seemed to glow under the moonlight as the moon shone high above her. The rosy lips of the woman were parted in song, as she sang a sweet lullaby that echoed through the warm evening air.

"Mmmm mmmm,

So, this is love mmmm,

So, this is love,

So, this is what makes life divine,

I'm all aglow,

Mmmm,

And now I know,

The key to all heaven is mine,

My heart as wings mmmm,

And I can fly,

I'll touch every star in the sky,

So, this is the miracle,

That I've been dreaming of,

Mmmm,

MmmMm,

C'est ça l'amour…"

Éponine was stunned. She now knew one of the reasons why the lads were so taken with this woman, were it not for her beauty it would definitely be for her voice! Or was there more to her than Éponine saw?

"Esmeralda!"

Éponine ducked on instinct and watched carefully from the other side of the garden wall. Her eyes watched how Esmeralda jerked out of song and clumsily climb off the window frame as an older, more elderly man came into view of the window.

"What are you doing on the window?" the angry tone was definite in the man's voice as he spoke to Esmeralda.

Esmeralda's reply was too quiet and muffled for Éponine to properly hear what she said, so she continued to gaze on through the iron gates, entranced with the pair's interaction.

She watched the man gaze out through the garden, his eyes searching with a troubled expression marring his face. He looked like a man he would've been handsome in his youth, but time had been harsh for one could see the lines of exhaustion and pain pressed into his face. He quickly grabbed the windows and slammed them shut with a loud bang that seemed to echo harshly through the garden.

Éponine finally turned away from her view of the small cottage, she was hoping to finally gain understanding of Marius' deep infatuation with the young woman before her by this visit, but it seemed it only made her heart cry in pain even more.

A loud scuffle along the ground behind her caught her ear, so she spun round and ended up facing the familiar gangly figure of her father and his "friends" at the other end of the ally.

"Who is this hussy?!"

The angry thick tone of her father seemed to grate against her ears and she heard the deafening footsteps draw closer to her.

"It's your brat 'Ponine, don't you know your own kid?" replied one of the other men. "What's she hangin' about here?"

"Éponine get on home you're not needed in this." Éponine spun with her father as he circled around her menacingly. "We're enough here without you."

"What is your business at this house?" Her eyes were wide, pleading for information.

"Whatsit tooya?" the snarky remark fell from one of the other men that stood by her father's side.

"I know this house, I tell you." She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. "There's nothing here for you! Just the old man and the girl; they live ordinary lives."

Monsieur Thénardier took a menacing step closer to his daughter, causing her to shrink back in fear.

"Don't interfere. You've got some gall!" Éponine's eyes darted nervously to the men that surrounded her. "Take care, young miss for you've got a lot to say."

She backed away quickly, panic filling her desperate eyes.

"I'm gonna scream! I'm gonna warn them here!"

"One little scream and you'll regret it for a year!" Monsieur Thénardier's voice echoed through the hollow ally ominously as the threat seemed to settle in the pit of Éponine's stomach.

Her scream cut through the night air, piercing its way through quiet neighbourhood.

Monsieur Thénardier and his entourage cringed at the crying sound of Éponine's scream.

"You wait, my girl! You'll rue this night!" Monsieur Thénardier stormed towards Éponine, making her feet scramble across the cobblestones behind her. "I'll make you scream!"

Having enough of the nonsense that managed to spit its way out of her father's mouth, Éponine spat at his face spitefully; hitting him right in the eye. However, before she knew it she was sent tumbling to the floor while she clutched her bruising cheek.

"It's the police!"

Esmeralda laid in her soft bed, bedsheets pooling around her. Something was egging her mind like an unwanted nudge to the side, was she forgetting something? She had been so caught up with her father earlier this evening she had abandoned everything else that was occupying her mind. She searched through the aisles of the library that were her brain, looking through each section to try and give her a clue to what she had forgotten.

She came upon an aisle, an aisle that was filled with bright red books with gold linings on the spines. Each book had their own title, their own memory.

She had come upon her section dedicated to Enjolras.

Yes, the young dashing rebel had his own section dedicated in her vast library that was her mind, but she couldn't help it! Her thoughts were filled with his presence almost every day, she had to store them somewhere. Esmeralda ran her fingers along the red spines of the books that contained multiple memories of her time with the Les Amis so far; memories of Enjolras.

Red was his colour,

And his colour only.

When Esmeralda thought of the colour red, she thought of him.

The colour red was so versatile. On the one hand it was the colour for passion, desire and love, yet on the other it was the colour of anger, fire and blood. Just like the colour red, Enjolras had two different sides to him; he could be charming, brilliant and youthful, yet at the same time he was capable of being terrible.

Esmeralda's mind ran through all the meetings she had attended so far-

Wait…

Meetings?

Esmeralda gasped as she tumbled off her bed in a flurry; she had forgotten tonight's meeting! She had even promised Enjolras the day before she would specifically make sure to attend this one on time. She flew towards her wardrobe, raking through her multiple dresses to find one simple enough that she could simply slip on and be out the door in seconds. However, the piercing scream and multiple shouts that he ears caught made her pause.

Where had that come from? Outside?

Just as she was about to open her window to curiously investigate the street, her bedroom door burst open, revealing a very dishevelled-looking Papa; his eyes wide with anxiety. Esmeralda quickly hid the dress she held in her hand behind her back, hoping her father hadn't noticed it and turned to face him properly.

"Esmeralda, we're going to our apartment in Rue de l'Homme armé. It's going to be safer there." Esmeralda's jaw slackened, and her eyes widened in shock as she took her father's words in. "Then I'm going to arrange our safe passage to England."

"…No." She whispered in disbelief.

She couldn't leave now! She hadn't even said goodbye to her friends; to Enjolras! They were expecting her tonight, how could she just up and leave them with the revolution so close?

"Hurry Esmeralda, prepare to leave." Her Papa was breathless as he spoke, with his eyes darting around the room nervously. "Say no more. Tonight, we'll away!"

She staggered closer to her Papa, her eyes wide and pleading as her hands reached out to hold him.

"No, please, Papa, we can't! Why now of all times?!"

"Hurry Esmeralda!"

She felt the breath in her lungs leave her as her father gripped her by the arms and shook her roughly, as if he was trying to knock some sense into her.

"It's time to close another door and live another day." Papa finally released her from his vice grip and she stumbled clumsily, grabbing onto her dressing table for support. "Get dressed, we're leaving now!"

"No please!"

But her pleads were useless, Valjean had already stormed out of the door and had whisked up to his own bedroom and started packing his necessities.

She didn't want to close this door! She wanted to live in the present; in a time where she could laugh and tease with her friends; in a time where she could be swept off her feet by a golden-haired angel that understood every fibre of her being. She wasn't ready to say goodbye to all this just yet. She rubbed her hands on her face, trying to wipe the frustration away. What could she do? She hadn't spoken to any of the Les Amis all day except for her brief encounter with Marius earlier in the day! Her only option was to leave a letter, no matter how scruffy or short it was it was better than nothing. She grabbed the nearest sheet of paper and her pen and scribbled her situation and circumstances as quickly as possible. A few of the lads knew where she lived, she only hoped that they cared enough about her to check up on her for all the absences that would occur in her leave. She penned the letter to Enjolras, hoping that he'd be the one to intercept this letter and quickly signed it with a kiss; her lipstick shade – so that he knew it was her and not someone who was imitating her. She quickly unclasped the necklace around her neck, for the first time in 10 years she had taken it off, because she knew she was going to be coming back for it. She lowered the necklace into the envelope before sealing it tightly with the wax from her candle.

She rushed into the garden, butterflies floating around her as she lodged her scruffy letter into a holding into one of the crooks of the side of the iron gate. She rushed back inside, hoping the flurry of her nightgown wouldn't catch her Papa's eye from his bedroom window.

She could only hope that someone would find that letter now, for hope was all she had left.