Éponine examined her reflection in the mirror, in the two weeks since her arrival Cosette had been loaning her dresses. Now she was wearing a brand new dress, at first Éponine had refused the gift, saying that they were being much too kind, but now she had accepted it.
"About ready Éponine?" Cosette asked as she passed by the room. Since both the gamine and Marius had received injuries on the barricade they had both been barred from doing any strenuous activities.
Or as Éponine called it, "not allowed to do anything fun." She had gotten very restless being cooped up in the house, now she had the chance to get out and she was going to take it.

"I am ready whenever you are…" Éponine replied, she had been working desperately to improve her speech as well.

"Well come along then! After all you were desperate to get out weren't you?" Cosette laughed softly.

The group had decided to enjoy the Luxembourg Gardens. Cosette's father (although somewhat reluctantly and after much convincing) let her go without him because of the company of Marius and Éponine.

Éponine was standing at the edge of a small pond with a flat stone in her hand. A few feet away Cosette was twining flowers together while Marius was leaning against a tree reading aloud from one of his books. Éponine looked away sadly, although her relationship with Cosette was improving she still had some feelings for Marius. Taking the stone in her hand she aimed it and skipped the stone across the pond's glassy surface.

"That was very impressive, Mademoiselle," a voice spoke to Éponine, "a trifle unladylike, but impressive nonetheless…"

"Who's you to tell me what ain't proper?" Éponine cut the voice off fiercely and she turned around finding herself face to face with a young man, who had bright blue eyes and sandy colored hair.

Éponine asked incredulously, "Who are you?" she tried to compose herself once more.

"Sorry to have disturbed you, Mademoiselle, I am Daniel Lestat." He held his hand out to her.

Éponine took his hand in greeting, "I'm Éponine Thénardier."

For a moment they both were silent, Daniel bent over and picked up a stone and attempted to skip it. It barely skipped once before sinking to the murky bottom of the pond.
Éponine giggled. "That was pitiful, 'ere let me show you." She picked up a stone. "You gotta make sure it's nice and flat, that way it'll skip…"

She showed the young man her stone. "When you throw it make sure it's level with your waist…" She angled her arm. "then you throw it." The rocked skipped a good distance across the pond, dusting off her hands Éponine smiled. "See?"

Daniel picked up another rock and turned it over in his hand, "I think I've got it…" Copying Éponine's movements he threw the stone, it skipped nearly as far as Éponine's had.
"Well done Monsieur…" Éponine nodded, "fast learner."

"Or a good student…" Daniel smiled, "I'm a student at the university here, studying law." He picked up another stone, "I hope to take the bar soon…"

Éponine felt a knot in her chest at the mention of him studying law, "I used to know students at the university… A lot of them studied law…"

"They used to go to the university?" Daniel asked turning the stone over in his hand, "Did they already pass their exams?" He made a note of Éponine's use of the past tense.
Éponine swayed on her feet nervously and rubbed at her arms, "I… I'd rather not talk about it." She glanced up briefly to see a dark look on Daniel's face as well.

In fact, Daniel knew how she felt- he had returned home for his youngest sister's birthday before the fighting broke out, then was forced to stay on his parent's orders. It was there he had heard about the deaths of his friends that had fought on the barricade. He knew that had he been in Paris he would have fought, and perhaps died alongside them. Taking the stone that was still clutched in his hand he threw it once more, he looked to see Éponine smiling a little bit.
"You're getting better at it…" She commented.

"You are an excellent teacher, Mademoiselle." Daniel returned to his happier nature, and Éponine blushed and bit her lip, never had such a man taken an interest in her, and to flatter her so?
"Well it's not that great of a skill…" She shrugged.

Marius had put down his book and looked up to see Éponine chatting amiably with a young man.
"Well, it seems 'Ponine has attracted someone's attention." He nodded toward the gamine who was laughing.

Daniel looked at the couple who had been trying to watch them inconspicuously.
"Friends of yours?" he laughed.

Éponine glanced over his shoulder, looking away as she felt embarrassed and tried to ignore them.
"Yes… You see we finally were able to get out for a little while today… The three of us…" She knew that she had no need to mention her injuries or of how she had received them.
Daniel looked at Marius. "Funny… He looks familiar, did he go to the University too?"

"Oh yes he went to University, we used to live next door to each other but then…" Éponine stopped before she could say anymore.

"You seem to have quiet the story to tell… Why do you keep stopping?" Daniel asked a tad confused.

"I… I…" Éponine was at a loss for words, she couldn't just tell him about her life as a gamine who stole and was forced to sell herself for a living. Taking a deep breath she replied, "Well it was very nice meeting you Monsieur Lestat-"

"Call me Daniel." He interrupted.
"Daniel… But I'm afraid I must be going now…" Éponine quickly walked away not sure what else she could do. Things like this never happened to her before, so she made her way over to where Marius and Cosette were, unaware that Daniel was not too far behind her.
When she was about to sit beside Cosette and Marius, Daniel spoke up. "Mademoiselle, I think you dropped this?" He held out a handkerchief.

"No I didn't…" said Éponine flustered as she hadn't a handkerchief to carry… She could just barely make out the monogram containing Daniel's initials.

Daniel could see her eying the handkerchief he sighed. "Alright, I have been caught…"
"I'm sorry for intruding upon your conversation like this but I was having a most intriguing conversation with your friend here." He put the handkerchief back into his pocket and looked towards Éponine.

Her face flushed scarlet and she bit her lip, out of the corner of her eye she could see Marius making a poor attempt to suppress his laughter, Éponine glared at him.

"I'm Daniel, Daniel Lestat." He introduced himself to Marius and Cosette. "Well, would you like to join us for now?" Cosette offered. Éponine was about to protest but knew it would be a worthless attempt.

"It would be my pleasure, Mademoiselle…" Daniel stopped.
"Cosette." she finished for him with a smile. Daniel then looked to Marius, "I'm Marius Pontmercy." The two young men shook hands.

"Pontmercy… I thought you seemed familiar…" Daniel sat down amongst them.
"Really?" Marius asked, intrigued.

"I must have seen you around the university I suppose…. Definitely heard your name before on more than one occasion…" Daniel replied.

"Well I'm afraid I have never heard yours before." Marius smiled.
Daniel turned towards Éponine. "Well, Mademoiselle? Are you going to sit down?"

Éponine looked around, she hadn't really taken notice to the fact that she was still standing and with a sigh she lowered herself down.
"For being so talkative before you sure have become quiet…" Daniel mused, Éponine just picked a couple of clovers that had grown nearby.

Daniel leaned over to her. "I'm sorry if I have made you uncomfortable, Mademoiselle…"
Éponine shook her head but still didn't say anything, part of her wanted to stop him and this whole "mademoiselle" business. She may look like a lady but she did not feel like it on the inside.
"It's alright, monsieur." She answered him quietly.

Daniel's smile brightened. "Wonderful…"
Then the clock chimed, announcing the time and Cosette sighed.
"I'm sorry but we best be off… My Papa will wonder where we have all disappeared to."

"Well, Au voir to you three," Daniel nodded to them before getting up to leave. "I hope to see you again soon…"
He once again looked to Éponine. "Thank you for your company earlier." Daniel then walked along the path and out of sight.

"'Ponine are you alright?" Marius looked to his friend. "You seemed so happy before…"

"It's nothin'… Really…" She replied and with that the three of them left the park and started their journey back to Rue Plumet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was almost dark by the time Daniel reached his flat on Rue de Richelieu. When he got inside he picked up some matches he kept on a nearby table, from there he lit a single candle that sat on top. Looking around he realized just how empty his flat was and how alone he felt. His flat mate and good friend Joseph de Reuilly had been killed on the barricades, it was upon his return from Marseilles that Daniel had come to identify the body of his friend.

He lit the stove that was in the corner of his flat to provide a touch more warmth and light, but even after doing so there was a certain darkness that seemed to linger in the room. Shrugging off his coat he draped it over the back of a chair, and then loosened his cravat. Sinking into the chair he picked up the book on Rousseau he had been reading and attempted to focus. He could not, shutting the book he put it away and walked over to the window, staring out into the night sky and down to the darkened street below.

Shaking his head he replayed today's events in his mind, specifically the shameless flirting with Éponine. Of course he hadn't really meant anything of it, but her reaction was rather humorous. It seemed odd, she was not unattractive and yet she seemed like she was not used to that sort of attention.

What really struck him were her eyes, dark brown, nothing special… But they seemed like they had seen an entire lifetime… Éponine could not have been more then seventeen years old. She also seemed very guarded; he had never seen a girl that was so secretive before. Trying not to think about it he backed away from the window, instead he decided to work on the essay that was due at the end of the week. It would be better to start on it now before it got to be too late.

~~

Upon her return to Rue Plumet Éponine did not speak about young Daniel Lestat, neither did Cosette nor Marius. This did not bother the former gamine, one bit, even though he was quite handsome she found him bothersome, and somewhat nosy. Or at least that's what she told herself to believe, "needs ta' no all about me…" she grumbled that night as she readied for bed. She was looking at her reflection again, this time in nothing but her chemise. Daniel had thought that he was speaking to a lady, possibly even a bourgeois one…

Éponine knew better, looking at her body made that almost painfully clear. Underneath her dress not only did she hide the scar from a bullet that almost took her life, there were others as well. Ones from men who had paid her father to have their way with her, ones from Montparnasse's beloved knife, others from her father's countless beatings. Most of them had healed over time and were hardly even visible, but Éponine could see them. Deep purple bruises up and down her arms, angry wounds that would drip scarlet onto her skin. She could still see all of them within her mind's eye. She wasn't a lady, good food and pretty dresses could never change how she felt about herself… Dirty, disgusting… Now it was too late for anything to be changed, nothing had the chance of being changed anymore. The reason she had loved Marius is because he was so kind to her, he knew all about her life and yet he didn't shy away. He still treated her well, like a good friend, he cared…

These thoughts brought hot tears to her eyes, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Walking over to the wardrobe she pulled out a dressing gown, even if she could better her life she really couldn't be more than a filthy street rat. That was her life, her destiny, a terrible cruel fate, she knew that now. Even though her life had improved over these short weeks, she couldn't continue her stay on Rue Plumet forever… And after Cosette and Marius married? Then what would she do? She had to get out on her own, make a good honest living.