Chapter Ten
A/N: Thank you to Guest, MissFiyerabaMeponineSherlock and Alex-samsprout for reviewing the last chapter.
When Éponine awoke in the morning, she blinked away the sunlight, pulling the threadbare blanket up above her head to try and stop the blinding warmth from continuing the pain it had begun to cause in her head. When she had arrived at the home her friend, Montparnasse, had made for himself, she had hoped that distancing herself from Marius would make the pain of him having chosen Cosette more bearable, but if anything, the absence of him in her life was making it far worse.
'I can't bear to see him with the lark, because it breaks my heart each time they look at each other.' she thought, tears surfacing in her eyes for just a moment, before she blinked them back, not willing to appear weak, even when her only witness was the celeste coloured sky peeking through the gaps in the roof. 'But I can't be apart from him, because it's breaking my heart even more to think that he might forget me if I'm gone. How can I live like this?'
There was a decision to be made, she knew that much, as to whether she would return to Paris or move away from the capital, as she had been planning to do originally. She could not stand the idea of being apart from Marius for such a space of time as she would be, but neither did she think that she could put up with seeing the man every day, watching him marry and live his life with a woman that was not her, watching him raise children that would be just as much Cosette as they would be him, and knowing that that would never be her, because she would never compare.
Unbidden by the young woman, a tear slipped slowly down her cheek, and though she was immediately frustrated by her weakness, Éponine found that she did not have the strength to make herself wipe it away. Instead, she merely stared out of the dirtied window, looking out towards the world that lay beyond. Close to the window, she could see the suburban beauty of Paris, with its lights still vaguely twinkling in the distance. This was the only home that she had known for the past decade, and despite the fact that most of this time was spent on the streets, the city still held a place in her heart, and always would. But far beyond the urban splendour of the capital city of France, there lay hills and fields and grass for miles around. If she travelled to that place, she could make some money to purchase a little cottage, and could live off the land for the rest of her life. She could have freedom. She could start again. But she would be alone.
'I don't know if I can do it.' she sighed, wondering how she could have considered doing so. 'Everything I know is in Paris. I know that I can't see my mother again, but I still have Gavroche. I haven't seen him since the fight at the barricade, and he must still need me now. And then there's Marius. Ever since I have met him, he has been there for me. I can't just leave him now, not when he still needs me.'
As she had concentrated on finding Marius at the time, her objective and the blinding pain in her side her only thoughts, Éponine had not seen the body of her poor younger brother lying alongside his fellow fighters. In her mind, he was still wandering the streets, helpless and alone, and that image encouraged her even further to return to the place she called home.
Having made her final decision, and deciding that she would not allow herself to try and change her mind, the young woman stood from the position where she had slept, on a few sacks filled with old rags on the floor, determined to tell her friend of her plans and return to the city before she had a chance to think about what she was doing.
Slowly, Éponine pushed open the door, not bothering to knock, that led to the living area, which was also the place where Montparnasse slept. Actually, the young woman was convinced that he slept in the room that she had slept in that night, but that he had given up his bed for her sake. He had always been a good friend and she was truly grateful for his help.
"'Parnasse?" she questioned quietly, shaking the figure lain on the floor gently by the shoulder to wake him. Immediately, the dark haired man shot upright, pushing his friend to the floor, where her head collided sharply with the wooden surface. For a moment, her vision swam, bright lights dancing before her eyes, and then the world went black.
The young woman came to a minute later, if that, to the image of Montparnasse stood above her, a frown on his face that was thick with worry. The moment he saw her awake, he smiled, and helped her into a sitting position.
"'Ponine, I am so sorry." the man began, but his friend held up a hand to stop his speech, not needing to hear any apologies from him. After all those years as a member of the Patron Minette, he had become accustomed to attacking on sight, acting first and thinking of the consequences after. It was of little wonder that she had fallen when she had woken him so suddenly.
"It doesn't matter." she told him quickly, before moving swiftly onto the point that she had wished to tell him. "The thing is, 'Parnasse… I know that I said I couldn't watch Marius go off and marry that silly little fool Cosette, but… I'm not sure that I could go without seeing him either, and the thought of seeing him married to the lark… it's better than the thought of never seeing him at all."
"You're going back to Paris." Montparnasse summarised for her, and the brunette nodded her head in response. "And I'm coming with you."
"What?" Éponine questioned her friend, sure that she had not heard correctly. After all, the convict had left the city for the same reason that she had, to escape the life they would be leaving behind, and his past seemed all the more dangerous to return to, yet he was willing to do so, for her sake.
"If this Marius steps out of line, then you'll need me. I won't leave you alone, 'Ponine, not again." he told her, and the woman knew him well enough to know that he would not be dissuaded.
And so the pair set off together, preparing to return to the lives they had left behind.
A/N: Please review!