SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE!
I wrote this chapter, then I thought I posted it...so I deleted it. It took me like a week to realise, and then I had to muster the energy from somewhere, in the middle of a flu (my third this winter, pfft, I live in Ireland, it was going to have to happen sometime) to rewrite.
So, again, sorry! Since it's been so long, here's a little recap. Marius and Éponine were talking, he was getting confused about his feelings for Cosette and Éponine, Cosette kissed him, and he thought it was Éponine. We finished with him asking himself why he thought it was. Enjolras and Joly were still standing there all awkardly in the doorway, overhearing the conversation and seeing the kiss.
Enjoy!
...
Enjolras cleared his throat, trying to think of a way to get out of the situation.
"Um, well, Joly, I was going to go help..I was going to...I was going to do something, want to help me with it?"
Joly nodded eagerly and they both left the room, with one last, sympathetic glance at Éponine.
"Oh, Marius! I didn't know if you were dead or alive, I was so worried!" fussed Cosette, placing light kisses left, right and centre all over Marius.
"Well, I'm alive," chuckled Marius, weakly, unsure how to respond.
"I can see that, Marius! Oh, I love you, never leave me again, you silly boy!"
Marius nodded slightly, unable to move his head too much, because Cosette's was still hovering so close.
"I don't have to go to England anymore! Don't ask me why, for I've no idea, but that's great, isn't it? We can be together! We can be married within the week, if we so wish!"
At this, Éponine felt a stab of pain, unlike the one's inflicted by the National Guard's gun, yet just as painful, yet as heartbreaking.
"Oh, that's great, my dearest Cosette!" Marius grinned, standing up and scooping Cosette into his arms, kissing her forehead.
"We'll be back soon, Éponine! I must go ask her father's permission to get married!"
Marius didn't feel as excited saying these words as he would have thought a few days prior. The idea of Cosette staying in France certainly delighted him, yet not as much as he would have thought.
Surely, these are just moments of madness? Éponine nearly died, of course his feelings for her have...increased? Is that the word?
Ignoring the grimace on his best friend's face, Marius left the room with Cosette in his arms. His last thought as he left Éponine behind 'When this pain medicine wears off, I'll be back to my normal thinking.'
...
Ten minutes or so later, Phillie came in to visit Éponine.
To Éponine, that short while on her own felt more like hours.
"Dear, I've a dress here, my grand-daughter grew out of it, and my daughter sent it up," she grinned.
"Go on, Éponine dear, try it on!" She passed Éponine the pale pink dress, smiling all the while.
Éponine quickly changed, not caring that Phillie was there. After all, she had bathed her before.
"Oh, it's lovely, Phillie!" Éponine gushed, feeling the soft fabric, smoothing it out.
"Give us a twirl, dear!"
Éponine did so happily.
"Oh, dear, dear, there are a few holes in it. Do you know how to sew?"
"No, Phillie," Éponine confessed, looking down at her hands, suddenly shy. "I can't do much, Phillie. I can't cook or clean or-"
"And that's what I'm here for, dear," Phillie smiled assuringly. "I'll help you, and teach you all those things. We'll start with sewing, I'll go get my sewing kit, dear."
Éponine sat down on her bed. She completely forgot Marius and Cosette during those short few minutes with Phillie. It was impossible to frown, or worry, or cry when Phillie was near.
The woman in mention soon appeared again, armed with a large basket of needles, thread and materials.
After a while, Éponine had sewn up a few small holes, and was rather proud of herself.
"Phillie?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Can...Can I ask you a question?"
"Anything,"
"What's your daughter like?"
Phillie laughed. "Well, she's a character. Her name is Chessa, but me and the boys just call her Essie."
"Is she married?"
"Oh yes, some Monsieur Duval. She has three children. A girl of fifteen, an eleven year old girl and an eight year old boy. They live far away from here, in a peaceful, isolated town. My daughter is a crazy, crazy woman. Very hyper, her poor husband," she laughed.
Éponine giggled. "And your sons?"
"Oh, they live far away also. I chased them all out years ago, didn't like the way things in Paris were going, best to get them before all this happened, isn't it?"
Éponine nodded. "You were one of the smart ones, Phillie."
"Not too sure about smart, dear," Phillie grinned. "But thank you. Have you finished?"
Éponine held up the holes that she had been assigned to sew.
"Oui, Phillie!"
"You know, Éonine...If you really wanted, you could sew on a few ribbons or buttons or frills," she grinned.
"Oh, yes please!" she laughed.
"I'll show you on this little scrap of material here, how to do nice stitches, sew on ribbons, and you can do them on your dress, is that alright?"
Éponine nodded happily, grinning widely, for the first time in a while.
...
After a few hours of practicing on scraps of material, Éponine took to her dress. She emerged from her room wearing her pale pink dress, only now with pale blue ribbons around the cuffs and neck, light blue and white buttons down the back, and a white lace material sewn over the top half of her dress, and around the button. To anyone who had seen the dress before, it was unrecognisable, and Éponine was beaming with pride.
She found Joly and Marius in the kitchen over dinner.
"Éponine, I'm not sure you should be up and walki-"
"Oh, hush, Monsieur Joly, I'm fine," she laughed.
"You should probably listen to the doctor, 'Ponine,"
"I said I was okay, Monsieur," she added, slightly harsher than she had to Joly. Just because Éponine loved Marius, doesn't mean she was going to let it slide if her paraded his love and impending marriage in front of her face.
"Ah, Éponine!" Phillie came in. "Oh, well done, dear! You've done brilliantly. Are you sure you've never sewn?"
"Oui, Phillie,"
"Well then, that is just excellent sewing, dear!" she exclaimed.
"What, you mean you made that dress?" chimed in Marius, in disbelief.
"No, silly boy," Phillie hit him over the head. He was a regular at Enjolras' apartment, and in Phillie's opinion, a bit dopier than the rest of the students. "She added to it! Nobody can learn to sew a dress in one day."
"Even I knew that," chuckled Joly. "Is that the one you showed me Essie sent up, Phillie?"
She nodded. "Didn't Éponine do well?"
"Yes. And you say you've never sewn before, Éponine?"
"No, Monsieur," she laughed nervously.
"Well, at the rate you're going, we could have a seamstress by Monday! But, of course, you can't engage in strenuous activites, please don't strain yourself, your injuries are-"
"Oh, give it a rest, Joly," chuckled Marius. "Well done, 'Ponine."
Try as she might to be mad at him, Éponine couldn't find it in him to stay angry when he smiled at her like that.
"Thank you, Monsieur," she smiled, but she felt very weak all of a sudden.
"Sit down and fill up a plate, will you, dear?" encouraged Phillie.
"I'm not feeling well, Phillie," she whispered.
"Oh, if you just eat dear, I'm sure you'll be back to normal in no time!"
She nodded and moved to a chair, but her knees gave out from under her, and she collapsed.
Marius jumped down beside her and shook her slightly. She started to cough up blood, wincing and curling around her stomach.
"Joly, do something!" ordered Marius.
Joly sat down beside her, and started checking her injuries.
Phillie's worried eyes...Marius' frantic expression...Joly's concetrated face...
Those were the last things Éponine saw before the black.
...
To apologise for the long wait, I give you a cliffy!
Doesn't make sense, does it?
Ah well, I promise I'll try to update faster! Really sorry, I almost didn't realise it wasn't up!
As usual, names mean something in this story. Chessa = at peace. Duval = Of the valley. This is because Phillie sent her family away from Paris, before things could get worse and they would lose their posessions, jobs, incomes. So they all live little lives in the countryside, away from Paris, and that's where the valley thing comes from. And 'at peace' is because, obviously, Phillie has made sure Essie and her brothers are at peace, away from Paris.
Leave us love!
Go raibh maith agat,
Ó Niamh Ní Luachra x