Dawn Over the Seine

Chapter 7

Sunlight was what awoke Eponine. She sat straight up in bed and let out a cry of pain. Her hands went straight to her head, wincing at the sudden pounding of it. Eponine also noticed that her abdomen was throbbing. It was in that moment that Eponine realized that she wasn't in her own bed. She looked around frantically, taking in her surroundings.

She was in a small bedroom which contained the bed in which she was laying in, a plain dresser with a matching bedside table. There was an oval mirror next to the dresser. Nothing sat on the dresser except for a stack of papers. There was a stack of files and folders on the bedside table and also a lamp. It wasn't a very warm room. It seemed unused.

Eponine remembered that she had no idea where she was and she began to somewhat panic. Eponine pulled the covers off of her and swung her feet out of the bed, causing a shooting pain to tear through her body. Stifling a cry, Eponine stood up and leaned against the nearest wall so she would not fall. She slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting with her knees brought up to her chest.

"I-Is anybody here?" Eponine slowly closed her eyes and began to shake. "Someone p-please..." Wrapping her arms around herself, Eponine tried not to focus on her pain. She focused on a figure in her mind, standing before her. She had dreamed of the figure before. It was always standing on the bridge where she would watch the sunrise. But, Eponine never was able to see the face that belonged to the tall figure. She would always try to remember any details about the figure but nothing would come to her. Focusing on this helped Eponine remain calm and also made her forget that she had no clue to where she was.

As she looked into her thoughts, Eponine didn't notice the Inspector walk into the bedroom. He looked over at Eponine and scowled. It was a surprise she hadn't passed out again. Javert just let out a sigh and walked over to the girl. He nudged her leg with his foot and Eponine opened her eyes quickly. She looked up at him and a flash of fear passed over her eyes.

The Inspector cleared his throat then began to speak. "I'm sure you're wondering why you're at my flat."

Eponine's eyes widened. "Hold the fuck up," she said. The comment caused Javert's scowl to deepen. "You took me to where you live...? This is your bedroom?"

"Yes. I had to take you somewhere safe. I didn't know where else to take you and I couldn't certainly take you back to your house." As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Eponine burst into laughter. Javert looked at the girl with a confused look. "What? What's so funny?" Eponine just laughed harder. "Stop laughing!" Wiping away a tear, Eponine's laughter diminished into chuckles.

"Sorry. It's just... My father would kill to know where you live so he could slaughter you or something. And now I'm sitting on your bedroom floor in pain. Ow. I really hurt." Eponine groaned. "I need to lie down." Gathering up all her strength, Eponine pressed herself against the wall that she was leaning against and pushed herself up. Sliding up, Eponine was able to stand up straight. "Can I lay down on the bed..?"

Javert nodded his approval and Eponine nodded back. Eponine slowly made her way towards the bed, wincing with every step. She could feel her ribs aching and her legs shaking. She was almost to the-

With a yelp, Eponine's legs gave out and she fell towards the ground. But she didn't make contact with the floor for Javert had reacted fast enough and scooped Eponine up. Eponine stared up at Javert with pure awe. "That... That was amazing..." Javert for once in his life was breathless as he looked back down at Eponine.

Javert carried Eponine to the bed and laid her down without ever breaking eye contact. Eponine was curious to what was going through the Inspector's mind. But she was certain that she had felt some sort of spark. Something had passed between her and Javert. She suddenly needed him to be with her. But that was just her mind playing tricks on her. There was no way that Eponine could have those sorts of feelings for Javert. Could she?

No. She was a Thenardier and he was Inspector Javert. There was no way that she could fall in love with him. Eponine broke the eye contact by looking down at her hands. Javert was taken aback but shook it off.

"Do you need any pain killers?" he quickly asked. Eponine nodded sheepishly. Javert opened a drawer in the night stand and pulled out a bottle of pills. "Can you take them dry?"

"Yes." Javert shook out two of the pills and gave them to Eponine who swallowed them quickly. Javert closed the bottle, set it back in the drawer, and then walked towards the bedroom door.

"If you need anything else, mademoiselle, I will be in the living room down the hall." Eponine lay down and settled her head down on the pillow. Javert walked out of the bedroom without looking back at Eponine and made his way towards the living room. But Eponine calling out made him stop.

"Eponine. My name is Eponine, Inspector. Call me by my name."

"Mademoiselle, I think that it would be better if I call you by the formal way."

"I don't believe in the formal ways. This is the 21st century. Not 1800 something. So I think that you should call me Eponine." Javert didn't respond, but Eponine knew he wouldn't. She smiled to herself as her eyelids grew heavy with sleep from the pills. "Oh Javert..."