Chapter Three

A/N: Thanks to my terrific reviewers, Christine Eponine, Thespian24601, Eponine Jondrette (twice), MariusxEponine3, NanLikesEmmie-Bear, PhantomFandom and A Pink Beast.

Éponine had frozen in utter terror, at the voice so clear that had sounded from behind her. Her worst fear had come true. He had found her.

Swallowing her fear, the girl turned, wincing as she saw, to her horror, that her mind had not been playing tricks on her. The voice had belonged to the most frightening figure in her life.

"Hello, Father." Éponine greeted the man, her words laced with a poisonous bitter tone.

"Don't give me that, girl." Thénardier all but growled, his gang members shifting a little behind him. It was the first time that Éponine had noticed them, and her heart sank further as she saw that her father was flanked by Brujon, Babet and Claquesous. Montparnasse must have been out on a robbing mission at the tavern, as he so often was. The younger Thénardier was even more downhearted when she saw that the man was not present. Beside her mother, 'Parnasse was the only one who would ever stick up for her.

The brunette was brought away from her thoughts when a solid blow struck her face, sending her reeling into the door she had just closed.

"Think you're too good for us now, do you, my sweet?" Thénardier asked, the last two words dripping with sarcasm. When she did not answer, he delivered another blow. "Answer me!"

"That wouldn't be difficult." Éponine mumbled, retaining the courage to say whatever she wished to, but not to say it clearly. Nonetheless, after years of being a thief, Thénardier's ears were sharp, and he heard every word of it.

"Care to say that again?" the man growled, grasping his daughter by the hair and holding the matted locks so tightly that the girl was lifted to the tips of her toes to avoid hanging in the air. Even through the terrible situation she was in, she was not afraid.

"I said… that wouldn't be difficult." she repeated, with much more force behind her voice. Her reward was another sharp blow to the face as her father released her hair, sending Éponine sprawling down onto the floor, screaming out in agony as her wounds collided with the splintering floorboards. Unfortunately for the girl, the worst was yet to come.

"Ooh… someone's gone all high class on us, fellas." Thénardier cackled, turning to his gang members as he did so, to see that all three had expression mirroring his own, before bending down to the floor, stroking Éponine's hair away from her face with a tenderness so false it was almost sickening. The young woman knew from experience that things would only go downhill from here. "You know, my pet, you used to be able to handle a touch of pain. It seems I need to teach you again."

The girl could not help but let out a whimper. Thénardier had always believed in teaching his children to deal with the world by experience, and Éponine, as the eldest, had always taken the brunt of the violence he had shown them, for the sake of Gavroche, at least.

"Let's see if we can knock some sense back into you, girl, shall we?" the man whispered, his lips an inch from his ear, something that infuriated his daughter, who hated the idea that he was so able to control her while doing so little. Once again, it was only to get worse.

Instantaneously, the four men advanced on her, pushing and pulling her around the landing. Éponine could feel the bruises forming on her skin from the very first blow, as solid fists collided with bone and leather boots with her blood drenched stomach. She bit her lips as tears flowed from her eyes, not wanting to give the men the satisfaction of knowing they had won.

The beatings lasted for a full four minutes before a cry came from the doorway of the opposite apartment, ceasing the gang's attacks at last. By this point, the brunette was sure that she was close to death, and could hardly believe her luck at being saved.

"Larone!" came the exclamation, one amazingly familiar to both Thénardier's. "What are you doing?! Leave her alone!"

"Give me one reason why!" the man responded, seething at the fact that he had been interrupted on a 'job', even if the interruption was by the only person he still held dear.

"Because she's your daughter." the woman replied, stepping forward and throwing herself to the ground in front of Éponine, shielding the girl with her body. "And she's mine, as well."

"Adrienne, just get out of the way." Thénardier requested of his wife, his tone softening at once from the love he still felt for the blonde. "I don't want to hurt you."

"But you are hurting me! Don't you understand? Every time you hit my daughter, kick her, yell at her, hurt her at all, you are hurting me. And you've been doing that for years. You just didn't know." Though the amount of love she felt was equal, if not more than her husband's, the bitterness in Madame Thénardier's tone was unmistakable. Luck seemed to be on Éponine's side upon her mother's arrival, as Thénardier had stopped in his tracks. This was an opportunity neither woman was willing to let pass her by.

"Thank you. 'Ponine, sweetheart, I need you to get out of here. Get out, and don't come back." Tears were welling in the blonde's eyes as she embraced her daughter, mindful of the injuries she had obtained. It was that moment when the girl realised she would never see her mother again. True, her father was very patient with his wife, but if he lost the main source of his income, he may well lash out on her.

Harsh as it may have seemed, Éponine had no time at all to consider her mother, as she was near dead on her feet. As she reached the street, she could feel that her wounds had reopened and were bleeding profusely, soaking her shirt in a matter of seconds. She had hardly a moment to turn the next corner before she collapsed, crying out, in a deserted alleyway.

The world was spinning, she could hardly see and everything was starting to fade away. There was only one clear thought remaining in her head. Marius.

Along with the thought, there came a tune, one that seemed to have been sung so long ago, yet it was only a week at most. The first time she had ever confessed her love to Marius, and the first time he had ever confessed his love in return… to Cosette.

In my life, there's been no one like him anywhere,
He is all I hold dear,
Find me now, find me here.

And with those words, the world drifted away into darkness.

A/N: Thank you for reading, and please review, as always.