Chapter Nineteen

A/N: Thank you to clarinetlvr811 and MissFiyerabaMeponineWholock for reviewing the last chapter.

Marius stared in horror at the lifeless body crumpled at his feet. The pool of blood around Cosette's head had stained the wall behind her a deep crimson, ruining the picturesque illusion of the garden. For the smallest moment he had wondered if he could run away and whoever found her later might think she had died of some ailment, but the stain would prove judgement untrue in a heartbeat. Or, more appropriately, a lack of one.

'I cannot run from this,' Marius thought, his feet suddenly fused to the ground as if they had been nailed there. His head was spinning violently, as the whole world seemed to race in circles around him. Marius staggered forward, stroking his fingers across the stonework and wincing when they came away stained with red. 'Our arguing was loud in the end and surely someone will have alerted the nearest constable. They will be here any moment. There is no time to run.'

Then a thought crossed his mind, a terrible memory of the noose and the jeering crowd and dear 'Ponine's body swinging as her life was slowly taken from her. She was hanged for stealing a noblewoman's jewels, or so they thought. 'If she would be punished so harshly for such a crime, then my life is forfeit now, for certain.'

It was not that Marius feared death, although he supposed it was in one's instincts to fear it slightly. But 'Ponine would be left to fend for herself, and while she was perfectly capable of doing so, many years in her father's gang having provided ample training, he hated the thought of her returning to that life after she had spent so much time and sacrifice to get away from it. And with a heavy heart, Marius was reminded once again that, in his fury and his folly, he had taken his dearest friend's heart in his hands and broken it in two.

'I cannot leave her alone, not now.' Marius suddenly thought, remembering their kiss and all the declarations that came after it. 'I told her I loved her, I swore I would protect her. I can do neither of those if I am dead. They will kill me if they track me down, but they will kill me regardless if I am found here. It makes no difference, so I may as well try.'

With one final scathing look at the corpse of his once beloved, Marius took off at a run, his feet pounding the pavement at such a force that they began to ache after only a few moments. It was difficult to find his way in the dark, a problem he would have hoped the police would share, although he doubted that they would carry out their search in as ill-prepared a manner as his escape.

He stumbled forwards through the darkness, tripping over his own feet in his haste, his determination reinforced as he heard the shriek of the police whistles. He turned this way and that, never carrying on a straight path for longer than he had to, hoping that perhaps he could confuse his followers enough that they would lose track of him. Instead, all he lost track of was himself, for he had taken so many turnings that he no longer knew where he was.

The pounding footsteps of the policemen grew ever louder as he flipped his head in every direction, almost as loud as the pounding of his own heartbeat in his ears. The fear was almost dizzying now, to the extent that it almost prevented him spotting the slight gap between two nearby buildings. It was not quite wide enough to escape through, but could give him somewhere to hide for just long enough for the officers to lose his trail; that is, if they did not see right through him.

Marius leaned his head against the wall, partly to conceal himself further and partly because the blood pulsing in his head threatened to bring him to the ground if he did not do so. If the police found him he would surely not be able to run without collapsing.

The relief seemed to palpitate through the air as the police passed by him, their footsteps fading until they could no longer be heard. It was so dumbfounding for him, this sudden feeling of safety, that the student waited half a dozen minutes before he set off on his way, navigating through the dark and winding streets to reach a small apartment, where 'Ponine had been hiding away as she recovered.

It took all of Marius' willpower not to slam the door closed and push a chest up against it, once he had finally gotten through the door. He was terrified that the police would come for him, break down the door and bundle him away in front of his dearest friend, and after her experiences with such men it was the last thing the young man would have wanted her to see. But for some reason, his fear of 'Ponine's reaction was stronger still, and he settled instead for jolting the bolt across after the key was turned.

Running footsteps made Marius' heart skip a beat, until he realised that they were coming from the next room. Sure enough, 'Ponine appeared, throwing her arms around him within a moment of being close enough. Marius brought his arms tightly around her in return, placing a soft kiss to the messy curls on top of her head. 'All I was trying to do was protect 'Ponine.' he told himself, trying to push away his guilt. 'Any consequences for me are more than worth the risk, as long as she stays safe.'

"Marius, I was so worried about you." Éponine cried, burying her head into his shoulder. Her legs were shaking beneath her, the effort of keeping herself upright clearly too much for her still-weak body to take, and Marius rested a hand beneath each of her forearms to support her. 'Ponine rolled her eyes a little at Marius' protectiveness, casting her eyes down at the hands holding her wrists. The smile fell from her face. Confused at her reaction, the young man followed her gaze. He caught sight of the brownish crusting stains that had transferred onto the sleeves of her dress.

'I could lie to her.' Marius thought for a moment, but dismissed the thought almost instantly. His beloved's trust had been betrayed so many times that he could not bear to be the cause of more pain to her. Besides, she was not a fool. While Marius had been raised in a grand house, 'Ponine had grown up on the streets.

She knew enough to recognise blood.

A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long, especially on that big a cliffhanger, but I promise the next update will be a lot quicker. Please review!