Chapter Sixteen

A/N: Thank you to CrimsoCrescendo, Alex-samsprout, Child Stew-Barks and MissFiyerabaMeponineSherlock for reviewing the last chapter.

It had taken just a swipe of the stolen Guardsman's blade to cut Éponine free of the rope, and then she lay cold and pale in Marius' arms. Droplets of water were streaming down the young woman's face, though from whose tears it could not be said. 'Perhaps it is from no one's tears at all.' Marius thought to himself, as he saw the raindrops begin to bounce from the cobbles.

The crowd had dispersed now, not wanting to catch a chill in the chilly weather and even the Guardsmen and gaolers had left him alone with 'Ponine. Their work was done now- the girl was dead- and so they had left him to mourn.

It seemed a cruel irony that the rain had begun to fall now, when Éponine's eyes had closed before she could see it. Marius was reminded vividly of the song they had sang together, as she died for the first time at the barricade, when she whispered her love for him before she faded like light after a candle has been blown out. 'Well, now the candle is out forever, and even a flood of rainwater could not wash the pain from my heart.'

It seemed that only when she was still could Marius truly appreciate the girl's beauty. Her chestnut hair, her wondrous smile, the vivacious glint of her eyes... it was difficult to know that he would never see those things again, to know how empty his life would be without them.

'I left it too late.' the student realised, holding Éponine closer to his chest. 'I left it too late to tell her how I feel and now I'll never have the chance. She told me that she loved me and she wished for so long for me to feel the same way. Now, she's died before knowing that I do. I truly do.'

The pain in his heart was almost too much to bear, an agony so intense Marius felt he was being ripped apart from inside of his chest. Tears were burning down his cheek, mixing with the raindrops until he was soaked through his skin. He was glad of the temperamental weather in a way, for it reflected his pain. If the sun had been shining, he felt he would have screamed.

"I'm sorry, 'Ponine." Marius sighed, his voice shaking in time with his sobs. "I am so sorry. I should have come sooner. I should have saved you. Instead, I let you down again. I always let you down."

As if in answer, the raindrops fell even harder, tiny daggers of ice piercing his skin, pain on the exterior to combat the pain in his heart. Marius allowed his head to fall back on his neck, and stared up towards the sky. The raindrops fell in his mouth, in his eyes, but he remained staring at the heavens for a long time. He had never really been a religious man, believing more in the explanations science and logic answered to those age-old questions, but even he now appealed to God, to return his 'Ponine to him.

"It was my fault." he whispered to the clouds above him. "She suffered needlessly and took to the gallows when she had committed no crime. She should not have died, Lord, so I ask you now... please give her back to me."

For a moment, stillness fell over all, and then something incredible happened. The clouds parted, revealing the shining sun above him and the rainfall slowed to a patter, then stopped entirely. Marius stared quizically up at the sky. 'Can it be that someone has heard me?' he wondered, then shook his head. 'It was a coincidental change in the weather, nothing more. It is not as if I have witnessed a miracle.'

Then Marius looked down and felt the breath leave his body. He blinked once, twice, thrice; his eyes were not deceiving him. There, slowly pulling herself to sit upright, was 'Ponine.

"Marius?" she whispered hoarsely, rubbing her throat, which must have pained her furiously after her ordeal.

"Oh, 'Ponine." Marius whispered in return, cupping both her cheeks with his palms. "Oh, my darling 'Ponine."

"But... the gallows..." she continued, ignoring her pain. "I remember... the trapdoor dropped... I was..."

Tears swam in Éponine's eyes and she choked back a sob. Here sat Marius beside her, caressing her cheek with the pad of his thumb; she did not want for him to think her another weak, feeble woman, like his precious Cosette.

"Oh, 'Ponine, don't cry." Marius instructed her softly and Éponine wished she could find the strength to obey him. However, when he brushed her tears away, the girl allowed herself to melt into her old friend's arms, clutching onto him as if he was all that kept her safe in this world. "You're safe now, 'Ponine. You've been so brave. Don't cry."

The pair sat locked in their embrace for a long time afterwards, each clinging onto the other, like the puddles they were in the midst of had become a raging river and they would only remain buoyant when together. However, eventually they were forced to move apart, although their hands intertwined, as if to ensure that their friend was still by their side.

Blinking the residual tears from her eyes, Éponine stared up at the sky. A smile crept onto her face as she caught sight of the arch of colour cutting through the faint blue of the sky.

"My mum told me once that rainbows meant something good had come, to take away all the bad from the world." the young woman told Marius. For a moment, she wore a far-away expression, as if she was lost in a daydream, but soon enough she had returned to reality and her smile became the smile of a person who had lost their dreams to the pain of life. "I'm not sure I believe her anymore, though."

"I don't know." Marius sighed, resting his free hand on Éponine's shoulder. "Perhaps she was right."

Then, without warning, Marius leant forward and pressed his lips to hers.

A/N: Sorry for doing that to you! Please review!