“ Wakey, wakey, ma cherie!”
Eponine opened her eyes to the sight of an enlarged image of Grantaire. She rubbed her eyes, and sat up on the couch.
“ Grantaire? Where am I?” Eponine yawned, not paying attention to the crowd of men surrounding her.
“ Slept well, Mademoiselle Eponine?” Combeferre laughed, with a pipe between his lips.
Eponine’s eyes widened when she saw over half the Les Amis’ eyes are staring at her. At once, she sprung up and suddenly remembered why was she here. Memories of Marius and Cosette immediately sent daggers into her heart, her father’s slap reminded her of her throbbing cheek, and the marble man revealing his soft side to her.
“ I should... go.” Eponine walked passed the Les Amis, keeping her down. Swiftly, she made her way back to the door, leaving the embarrassing scene behind her. As she grabbed onto the door knob, the door swung open, making Eponine fall forward. She closed her eyes, expecting to fall onto the hard ground. She fell. On something hard. But it didn’t hurt at all. She felt fabric underneath her face, and a faint sound of heart beats. She looked up: it was Monsieur Enjolras.
“ Monsieur Enjolras, I’m so sorry!” Eponine apologized, dusting the grime his shirt with her boney hand. The Les Amis looked at them with wide mischevious smiles on their faces, a mixture of gasps and chuckles filling the air. Enjolras’ body stiffened, his eyebrows knitted together.
“ Enjolras! So you found yourself a girlfriend?” Courfeyrac, a fellow amis teased.
“ No, Eponine and I are nothing more than friends.” One of Enjolras’ best talents was hiding his feelings. So far, no woman had ever made him fall head over heels in love with them.
No one had ever made his eyes water. He was truly a man of marble, stiff, cold and expressionless.
Eponine glanced at Enjolras, and excused herself. Along the way out the cafe ( finally!), a lovelorn Marius Pontmercy approached Eponine with another love letter in his hand.
“ Let me guess, for Cosette?” Eponine looked at the letter, as the wound in her heart deepened.
“ Yes! Please, ‘Ponine, can you give it to her? I have classes later on and I can’t spend time with her today.”
“ Sure, Marius.” Eponine put the letter into her pocket, and walked down the streets until she reached Rue Plumet 7.
“ There goes nothing”, she sighed, sliding the letter between the bars of the gate that guarded the Fauchelevents from the outside world... and the law.
Eponine took the time to observe the mansion in front of her. Vines and flowers grew on the old solid walls, and the garden almost looked like it was cut out of a fairytale picture book, consisting white pillars and flowers filled the air with a magnificent scent.
Memories flashed through Eponine’s mind. She remembered when her family owned an inn, where she had 3 full meals a day and new clothes to wear. She remembered when her father used to call her his princess, and would take her for walks at the park. She remembered when the grizette Fantine dropped off her daughter Cosette, and the Thenardiers made her their slave. She remembered when she used to call Cosette “Alouette”. She remembered when a mysterious man paid and took Cosette away from their inn. Now Cosette has everything. Including Marius. Eponine laughed a hysterical laugh, how ironic, she thought.
Just then, Cosette came out of the glamorous mansion dressed in traveling clothes, looking rather flustered. Quickly she snatched the letter from the gate and replaced it with another, and made her way back to the mansion. Eponine heard the door shut, and made her way out of the shadows and back to the gate. She took the letter and unfolded it, and read:
