Colour of Desire {Enjonine}

Chapter 1

*Enjolras POV*

I carried the little madame all the way to Café Musain. She had fallen unconscious a few minutes prior and I honestly thought that she had died. She was losing blood quickly, leaving a trail of red in the snow as we walked.

As I entered the room, Marius ran over to me and led me to an empty table, where my good friend Joly started helping her. I walked over to Gavroche and Marius who were sitting at a nearby table.

"What happened Marius?" I asked, as I sat beside him.

"I don't know. I went for a walk with her and Gavroche and then she disappeared. We heard her scream and found her in an alley way all beaten up." He replied.

"But who would do this to her?" Grantaire asked.

"Probably some drunk fool." Someone piped up.

"I'd bet anything it was my Papa. He's always hurting us, especially Eponine." Gavroche said.

"But surely he wouldn't do that to her. She's as good as dead." Marius said.

"Wait, Eponine? That's Eponine Thenardier?" Grantaire asked.

"Nonsense. The Thenardier girl is much stronger than this one. There's no way this is Eponine." Someone called.

"It is Eponine and she's the strongest woman I know. This isn't the first time she's been beaten, it's just the worst. Usually Papa isn't that cruel." Gavroche said.

"Well spoken, Gav." Courfeyrac said.

We heard a cry come from the table where Eponine was lying and Marius ran over to her.

"It's okay. I was just cleaning her open wounds. The alcohol stings a bit." Joly called to us.

"Sounds like a mass murder." Grantaire muttered.

I walked over to the table and stood next to Marius and Gavroche. Joly was still bandaging Eponines leg. Her cuts had been cleaned but there was still a few ugly bruises covering her arms and neck, as well as plenty of dirt and grime.

"Enjolras. Can you please take that cloth and press it against her head to try and cool her down a bit." Joly said, without looking up from what he was doing.

I took the cloth and, as ordered, held it up against her head. She was boiling hot, despite the fact that she had just been dumped in the snow.

"Marius. You're going to be late for your Christmas party." Gavroche said. He nodded in reply.

"I want to make sure Eponine is alright before I go." He replied, just as Joly stood up straight again.

"There we go. She should be okay but she'll need plenty of rest. She won't be able to walk around much for at least a week." Joly said to us.

"But Papa will work her to death. Or he'll send her away with Montparnasse. She can't go home!" Gavroche protested. He himself barely ever stepped foot in the inn. He didn't like it much, not that I could blame him.

"Well I would offer for her to stay with me but my grandpére hates the poor. I would never be allowed. He'd probably send her straight to prison." Marius said sadly.

"And I wouldn't let her stay her at Café Musain. Some drunk would probably sneak in on her one evening." Joly said, putting on his gloves.

"She could stay with me." I blurted. They both looked at me, giving me a weird look.

"I mean, I have a couple of spare rooms that she could use and Gavroche can come too. She would be much better off at my house than anywhere else." I continued.

"Well if you're willing to have her, I suppose it would be okay." Marius agreed, wrapping an old shawl around her bare shoulders.

"Would you like to come too, Gavroche? I'm sure you'd like to stay with your sister." I asked.

"Course I'll come. Let's get a move on. Marius don't forget about your party." Gavroche said, as he ran towards the door.

"Thanks for reminding me Gavroche. I'll call in tomorrow Enjolras, to check up on her." Marius said. He cast one more glance at his injured friend, before he walked out the door.

I picked Eponine up and made sure the shawl was covering her arms, before I walked over to where Gavroche was standing by the door.

"Thanks for letting us stay with you Enjolras. I'm sure "Ponine will be happy too when she wakes up." Gavroche said, as we began to walk to my home.

My parents had bought me a house when I first moved to Paris. It was much too big for just me but my parents had promised me that I would find myself a wife when I moved here. 

That was over two years ago and not one person had found a spot in my heart. Most women I met loved my money, or hated the revolution.

I mostly used the Master bedroom, the kitchen and the study. Eponine would definitely have enough room and so would Gavroche. I could probably fit the entire population of Paris in the house with no difficultly.

We finally reached the large house and I took out my key, unlocking the big oak doors. I lived in a rich area, where the households were all loyal to the king. It seemed hypocritical of me to live in such luxuries, when I was trying so hard to fight for a fair government for the people.

"Gavroche, if you run down that corridor there's two doors on the left hand side. Go through the first one and there's a living room. Just stay in there for a few minutes while I put Eponine in her room." I told the child.

"Which side is left?" He asked. I pointed and he ran down the corridor. I walked up the big staircase and down one of the hallways, stopping at one of the guests rooms. It was next door to mine and Gavroche could sleep in the room across the way.

I walked into the bedroom and laid Eponine on the bed. The room was a light shade of purple with dark wooden floor boards. There was a queen sized bed up against one wall and on the other was a shelf of books and a writing desk. There was also large windows that took up most of one wall, looking out over the street below.

I quickly rang for my maid, Camille, to come up stairs. While I waited for her, I removed the shawl from Eponines shoulders and pulled the shutters closed.

"You rang, Monsiour?" Camille said, entering the room behind me.

"Oh yes. Camille, this Madame Eponine. She is my guest. She and her brother Gavroche will be staying with us here for a while. Could I trouble you to maybe wash and clothe her?" I said politely.

"Of course sir. I think I have a spare night dress somewhere that Madame Eponine may borrow." She replied, before walking out the door.

I made sure that Eponine was comfortable, before I walked down stairs to where Gavroche was in the living room.

I walked in and saw him asleep on the couch. I sighed and picked him up, bringing him upstairs to his own  room.

I lay him down on the bed and removed his little jacket before walking quietly out of the room and into my own room. I needed to write a report about the meeting earlier today, but I was much too distracted to do so.

I stayed awake for half the night, staring out of the window watching the snow fall down. It wasn't until three AM when I finally fell back on my bed to sleep.