Even The Darkest Night Will End

Chapter Seven: The Next Day

The light of early sunrise coming in through the one small window awoke Éponine with a start. She was caught in the restraint of strong arms, and her weary eyes stared up at the angelic face of a sleeping Enjolras. Éponine smiled and pressed her cheek back against his chest, wishing desperately that she could stay there forever. No one had ever cared enough about her to keep her safe and comfort her. Even lying in the arms of Marius as she fell unconscious felt wrong to her because she constantly put herself in danger for him. With Enjolras, she felt sincerely cared for and protected. Just little things, like asking her if he was hurting her at the barricades and helping her read the list were kindnesses Éponine hardly knew of. Nevertheless, she was deeply conflicted inside. Éponine had chased after Marius all of her miserable life and did so much to earn his love. Now she was slowly realizing that Marius gave her nothing in return. He asked her to risk the back of her father's hand to get to another woman and for what, a meager hug? And Éponine takes a bullet for Marius and is given the love he owed her all along in what could've been her dying moments.

It was all becoming clearer.

Éponine Thénardier was finally letting go of Marius Pontmercy.

Of course, she still felt terrible that he was gone, but he could've gotten away because the list said missing, not dead.

She prayed that he would be put in good hands, whether it be the kind old man and Cosette or The Lord.

Éponine now looked up at the golden head of this new man, who reminded her vaguely of little Gavroche, and saw her future. Éponine thought maybe she was falling too fast, but it just seemed so right to her.

Soon, her eyes fell back upon the rest of the sleeping men in front of her as some of them stirred.

Éponine quickly came to her senses and knew she had to go back to her own bed because she was sure, as far as Enjolras was concerned, nothing had happened last night. The list remained unread, and she and him had slept alone.

As learned from the days of selling herself, Éponine slid out of his grasp without so much as a rustle and scampered back to her cot. From a distance, she watched Enjolras continue to sleep soundly, as it calmed her to know that there is somebody that cares about her.

Soon, the remains of les Amis de l'ABC began to awaken and chatter amongst themselves. They all looked awfully unsettled and jittery, and had grim expressions of negative anticipation.

Even Enjolras, who had already read the list, seemed extremely nervous for his friends.

Combeferre rose reluctantly and took the list in his hands shakily.

"Is everyone awake?" He asked, which earned a nod from Enjolras.

"Very well then....the piece of paper in my hands has the names of 16 dead, 6 fleed, 3 indefinitely dead or missing." Said Combeferre, choking every time he uttered the word "dead".

He began to go down the list of the fleed first, then the missing, and finally the deceased.

When Marius' name was spoken, Éponine clenched her teeth as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, but was too weary to weep heavily, and tried to see him in a better place. As she looked to Enjolras, he mouthed a small "I'm sorry" and gave her a slight smile as his eyes welled up too. The crying of the Amis seemed endless as the list went on, and those comforting their comrades were barely strong enough to deny the sadness their own tears.

But when Gavroche's name was announced on the list of the dead, even Feuilly, Grantaire, and Combeferre sobbed like children as they recalled the traumatizing sight of blood-red bulletholes in Gavroche's faded blue jacket. The death of such a young, happy little boy was too much for anyone in the room to take, especially Courfeyrac. He wept bitterly into his knees which were pulled up close to his chest and shook violently. His friends came to comfort him, but the poor boy couldn't calm down. Éponine knew Courfeyrac from several occasions when she'd ask him how her brother was doing, and he would reply happily with high praise about Gav's cleverness. He was like the kind, loving father Gavroche never had and Éponine was so grateful to have him. How could she sit there and let him cry so? She walked over to Courfeyrac and took his hand in hers. He glanced up at her and squeezed Éponine's palm.

"Your brother", he said said with a trembling voice, "was the bravest person I've ever known 'Ponine. You should be so proud."

Éponine lost it and crying replied, "Monsieur, you were like a father to him. He loved you more than anything and I thank you for taking such good care of him."

"I couldn't have asked for a better friend, it was an honor to be with him. Just know, he loved you too."

In all her mourning, this talk with Courfeyrac gave her some brief closure with the death of her brother. The exchange was, yes, very heavy upon Éponine's heart, but also gave her the sense that she did all she could for Gavroche and wasn't at all to blame for his death.

After the depressing affair was over, and the men had no more tears left to cry, everyone down in that small room was left at the mercy of endless boredom. Luckily, Éponine had remembered a multitude of makeshift games from the early days of her parents' unemployment, such as checkers with the bricks on the floor as a board and stained vs. non-stained wine corks as pieces and ball games with bundles of rags. The men gladly accepted Éponine into their circles and tried their best to make her feel like a friend, which slowly but surely allowed her to have a little bit of well-needed fun. In no time, 'Ponine from the streets became a favorite among the Amis.

Enjolras watched from afar as Éponine practically pulled things to do out of thin air. He was intrigued by her resourcefulness and the way she could take almost anything and find some way to have fun with it. Simple household items, that Enjolras had once overlooked in his wealthy upbringing were endless sources of enjoyment in her eyes. He also found that behind her troubled past and broken smile, she had an extremely witty, fun-loving side. With each game, he could see Éponine smiling more than he ever had.

And it wasn't the common smirk he had found upon the faces of many different ladies that had wooed him, no. It was a burst of genuine happiness and even though her teeth weren't the cleanest and her cheeks still bore several scars, Éponine's smile was beautiful.

Her dimples, the flawless curvature of her pink lips, and the glint of rare jubilance in her eyes were a combination in the likes of which Enjolras had never seen in anyone.

The joy in her expression was impossible for him to ignore, and it almost made him forget about the tragedy at the barricades, for Éponine made him remember what he was fighting for.

The planning, the protests, the barricades, and the unending list of sacrifices Enjolras and his men made were so that they could rally the people to overthrow the crown and establish a new government that would care for the poor.

If Enjolras had his way, there would be a democracy in which all people could contribute to the decision-making of their country. The rich and poor would unite to abolish poverty and establish a strong middle class where the impoverished could make a living, and good people, such as Éponine, would maybe even smile again.

From that moment on, Enjolras desired nothing more than to do everything he could to keep that radiant smile upon the perfect face of dear Éponine.

However, his yearning wasn't enough to keep the color from draining her face and her lips from twisting into a terrified frown when the sound of the door opening and people walking into the shop was heard from upstairs.