Cosette went to her own room and started sewing, muttering as she went. Her father came in, watching her work. "So, I guess your conversation didn't go well."
"How could you tell, Papa?" Cosette asked, pausing to untangle a knot.
"You mutter when something's bothering you," Valjean replied. "What happened?"
"I don't know what to do, Papa," Cosette sighed, "I talk to her and she doesn't listen. It's like talking to a Brick sometimes. And I never know what to say to her, it's like I freeze up when she asks a question and I end up sending back a fiery retort."
"Well, then, pretend I'm Eponine," Valjean said, clearing his throat, then began talking in an exaggeratedly high voice, "I don't want to get married! I want to remain on my own and let my hair flow in the wind, firing arrows into the sunset!" With the added feminine mannerisms that Eponine would never in her life be caught using, Cosette laughed.
"Eponine's much prettier, but okay, I'll go with it," she said with a sigh. "Eponine, all your life, I've been trying to get you ready for this. I know I would have a bit of fear if I had to get married, but I'm not the princess, I'm only the daughter of your legal guardian, and I would eventually enjoy it. But you can't run away from the fact that you are the princess, and your kingdom needs you. If only you knew how much I care about you and love you. Maybe then you would listen to me."
Down in the horse stable, Eponine was talking to her horse, Bishop, as she cleaned his area. "Call off the gathering! It's like a party, and you invited the guests, you can just tell them that the princess is not ready, and may never be ready, so that's that, good day, we expect your declarations of war in the morning." She looked down at a pile of manure and sighed. "I just don't want my life to be over. I want to be free, I don't want to hurt you, but it's my life, Cosette! If you knew how much I actually care about you, maybe one day you might listen to me."
Bishop whinnied and pushed his tail in her face, and she stared at him. "This can't happen, Bishop. I won't let it happen. They can't make me."
YOU ARE READING
Brave: A Les Mis AU
Fiksi PenggemarAfter being abandoned by her mother at a very young age, Eponine Thenardier and her siblings were taken in by Jean Valjean, who ruled her kingdom until she became of age. Her friendship with Valjean's daughter, Cosette, is put to the test when her f...
