CHAPTER TWO
The Jardin d'Eden, so nicknamed by the customers who frequent there because to them it is some kind of heavenly paradise. St. Michel's answer for the docks in Monfermeil, the Jardin d'Eden was where any lonely man would go to warm his bed for a couple of hours. And now Eponine would be the one doing the warming.
She inhaled a deep and shaky breath before she entered, watching as the women around her downgraded themselves for the men that came to visit. She took a place slightly away from the centre of the park. It was a large place, with a bandstand in the centre and a small stream slightly further down the hill from where she was sat. Had it not been the home of all of the prostitutes in St. Michel it surely would have been a beautiful place.
As she sat pondering over this, many men sauntered past her, looking her up and down. She refused to make eye contact with any of them knowing that if she did so they would seek what she did not want to give.
After a while a man finally came and sat down next to her. She closed her eyes as he said "Hello" and prayed that he would leave.
"So, how much do you charge?" The man asked suddenly. Eponine's eyes widened as she stared up at the man. She had not even considered a price and she was unsure of what was a common price among the ladies.
"One crown." She guessed, searching the man's face for any sign that she had made a bad decision.
"One crown? For you? You're not worth one whole crown!" The man spat at her, laughing slightly. The sound made Eponine shiver.
"That is my price Monsieur. Are you willing to pay it?" She asked, raising her chin slightly.
The man slowly shook his head, a foul smile plastered on his features. He was a handsome man; not on the same level as Marius or Enjolras, but he was not bad looking. Eponine guessed from the boyish looks that he still held that he was somewhere in his twenties, perhaps nearing his thirties. Her gaze drifted down to the wedding ring on his left hand.
Suddenly he lunged at her, his actions reminding her to an extent of her father. He pushed her over onto the grass, falling atop of her, that same wicked smile still on his face.
"I am certainly not willing to pay that price. So I shall just take what I want." He spat at her, before pressing a rough kiss to her neck, pulling her skirts up with one hand and undoing his belt with the other.
"Please Monsieur! Please, get off me! Leave me alone! Please don't!" Eponine pleaded with the man, tears welling in her eyes as she pushed and struggled, doing her best to push the man off her. But he was stronger.
"The more you struggle, the more this will hurt." The man simply replied. Eponine squeezed her eyes closed, awaiting what she was sure was to come, tears spilling from her eyes.
And then suddenly the heat from the man was gone and there were no more hands roaming her body freely. She dared to open one eye in time to see someone throw a punch at the man causing him to fall to the ground, clutching his nose.
"Do you think it is your right to rape women?" The person doing the punching asked. The voice sounded familiar to Eponine but she couldn't quite put her finger on it, and as the man stood in the shadows she was unable to put a face to the voice.
"She was offering it! That's why she's here!" The other man spat, clutching his now broken nose.
"She said no!" The person doing the punching kicked the man in the stomach. "Which means that, despite the reason she may be here, she did not want to sleep with you!" Another kick. The man on the ground tried to stand and run but the person kicked him was relentless in his beating. "The more you struggle, the more this will hurt." The person kicking him spat back the man's own words. One more kick and the man was out cold, not dead, just unconscious.
That was when the person doing the punching turned to Eponine, striding into the light that streamed from the bandstand. She first saw a head of blonde curls that sat loosely on the man's head. She then noticed the man's piercing, icy blue eyes that seemed to stare straight into her soul. And then the famous red jacket caught her attention. Enjolras.
"Eponine?" He asked slowly, trying to put the pieces together in his head when he saw her. He looked puzzled, the first time Eponine had seem him confused. "What are you doing here?" He asked, cocking his head to the side slightly as his held out his hand and helped Eponine up from the ground.
"I was - I was - " She gestured towards the man, and then towards the bandstand where multiple ladies where showing their wares. " - working." She whispered finally, closing her eyes in disgust.
"You mean you're a - " Enjolras began, eyes widening slightly, and Eponine nodded. His features firmed once more and he turned on his heal, motioning for her to follow him. "Come, Eponine. I'll walk you home."
Eponine's eyes widened at the thought of heading home. "No, please Monsieur. If I arrive home without a penny my father will be furious. I would rather just stay here." She replied.
Enjolras stopped in his tracks, turning to look at the gamine ahead of him. She had always intrigued him. She was Marius' shadow and he had seen her around the cafe multiple times, though he had never spoken to her before that day; he had more important things to take care of.
He thought for a moment, trying to think of a way around the situation. He knew of Eponine's father - who didn't - and knew the sort of man he was. Enjolras did not want to put Eponine in danger by sending her home, yet he couldn't leave her in the Jardin d'Eden any longer; no one deserved that, especially not Marius' best friend. My God, she could only be seventeen years old! No, he would not leave her there.
"If you will not allow me to take you home, perhaps you would consider coming to my apartment. There is a bed there, and enough food to fill your belly." He asked.
"Thank you, Monsieur. But if I did that, when I arrived home tomorrow morning I would recieve quite the lashing." Eponine whispered.
"In that case, I shall walk you home in the morning. I will explain to your father that I was your customer from the night before, and I wanted to pay him directly." Enjolras suggested. With a doubtful look on her rough features, Eponine finally agreed, and allowed Enjolras to begin walking her to his apartment.
"Monsieur?" Eponine asked, when they were nearing the Cafe Musain which was situated just a stone's throw away from Enjolras' apartment.
"Mm?" This was the first time the two had actually spoken on their walk.
"Why were you at the Jardin d'Eden?" Eponine asked.
"Well - I was - I mean to say - I was - " Enjolras stammered, turning a bright red colour. Eponine stared up at him. She had observed the man beside her for years and had never assumed he would do anything like that. She always seemed uninterested in women.
"You were visiting the ladies?" Eponine laughed.
Enjolras sighed, thinking hard about his answer. "I may be married to the cause, Eponine." He began slowly, shooting her a sideways glance so as to observe her reaction. "But I still have needs."
Eponine couldn't contain her laughter any longer, and threw her head back, laughing out loud. She just could not imagine Enjolras with a woman, it seemed like a foreign concept.
"Why are you laughing?" Enjolras asked, his blush disappearing slightly as he looked at her, his head cocked slightly and a confused look on his face.
Eponine's laughed died out as she wiped away a tear from her eye. "It's nothing Monsieur." She said, as he pushed open the door to his apartment.
Enjolras' apartment was small and cozy. Everything was in one room, with the kitchen and living room on a lower level to the bedroom, which had three steps leading up to a raised foundation on which sat his bed. In one corner was an old oak desk which had papers strewn across it, and book perched precariously on the edges. Besides the desk, the apartment seemed relatively tidy, although Eponine had never imagined Enjolras to be the messy type. He like everything to be perfect and exact, with everything in it's rightful place, and that was something that had transferred to his domestic life as well as the revolution.
Eponine was in awe. She had never seen something as wonderful as Enjolras' apartment. Her home was nowhere near as nice, with her parents and siblings all living in a room half the size.
"It's not much." He stated slowly, moving into the living room to move some books from the couched seating onto the desk.
Eponine moved forward and ran her finger along the spines of the books in the bookcase. She tilted her head to read the titles, but having not recieved any education she found it useless. She could feel Enjolras' eyes trained on her as she made her way around the room, examining everything she could find.
"It's wonderful." She said slowly, turning around to Enjolras with a beam. She found that he too had a slight smile on his marble features.
"I'm glad you like it." Enjolras stated, turning his back to her and heading towards his bed. "You can sleep here tonight, and I'll sleep on the couch."
"No, Monsieur! I couldn't steal your own bed from you, I wouldn't dare!" Eponine gasped, frowning slightly.
"Eponine, you have been through a lot tonight. You need a good nights rest. Please." He gestured his hand towards the bed, and she slowly made her way over, sitting down on the edge of the bed and sighing. She looked up into his eyes, a firm and determined look on his face, and nodded slowly, knowing that she was too tired and fragile to argue and would therefore likely lose. She slid under the covers, watching as Enjolras made his way towards the couch, removing his jacket and waist coat, blowing out the only candle giving off any light and lying down on the soft fabric.
"Good night, Monsieur. And thank you." Eponine called out in the darkness.
"Good night, Eponine."