Only Been Pretending

Chapter One ~ The Shadow

Chapter One ~ The Shadow

                Eponine Thènardier sat on the front steps of the Gorbeau house where she lived with her parents and sister Azelma, watching the passing people and picking at her fingernails. She was seventeen years old, and her sister was fifteen, but they’d already experienced and seen more than most people. However, what they’d experienced wasn’t necessarily good. In fact, their lives hadn’t been “good” since they were very young. Now their lives were pretty awful. Her father was a thief who had a gang called the Patron-Minette, and everyone knew to be afraid of them. Her mother was quite good at thievery as well. Eponine’s clothes were tattered and thin, revealing patches of skin. Her tan colored skin was even darker due to the dirt that was caked into her pores. Her dark hair was a complete tangled mess with dirt matted into it as well. Her caramel eyes that once sparkled were now dull because of the life she’d lived. Her waist was unnaturally tiny, and her bones protruded from under her skin. This thinness was caused by her lack of meals. She and Azelma rarely got a proper meal, and they lived off scraps of stale bread or whatever else they could find. Her body was covered in dark, splotchy bruises and cuts mostly caused by her father or the man who thought he was her lover, Montparnasse. Despite the bruises and frailness, she was incredibly tough. She had strength. She’d learned to protect herself very well living in the slums of Paris. Azelma was treated the same way as Eponine most of the time but sometimes less harshly because she did what their father asked without defiance. Eponine knew her father was a despicable human being, and she loathed him, but Azelma adored him. She did whatever he asked, no matter how dirty the deed. Azelma looked up to him and never disobeyed. It disgusted Eponine. Although she did work for her father, some of the things he wanted her to do didn’t sit well with her. Therefore, she rebelled and fought against him, something that almost always ended with her getting a good beating. Eponine had a brother as well named Gavroche, but he’d left home at a very young age after getting fed up with being treated poorly.

                Eponine’s life hadn’t always been this way. When she was a young girl, her parents owned an inn in Montfermeil. Life was good there. She and Azelma were pampered and spoiled. Eponine actually liked her father back then because it was before she’d figured out who he truly was. She and Azelma played with dolls and dressed in pretty dresses. Their lives first started to change when the little girl named Cosette came to live with them. Eponine was seven, Azelma was five, and Gavroche was just a baby when the little girl showed up with her mother at the inn one day, and her mother asked if Cosette could stay with them. The woman left the little girl with the Thènardiers, promising to send money and come back as soon as she had enough money to find somewhere to go. Eponine and Azelma first thought Cosette was going to be a playmate, but they quickly learned that she was there to work. Eponine’s parents treated Cosette like a slave while they treated their own children like royalty. Only following their parents’ example, Eponine and Azelma treated Cosette badly as well.

                Everything really started to spiral out of control when the kind gentleman came to take Cosette away. He informed the Thènardiers that Cosette’s mother had died, and she’d left Cosette in his care. The man paid the Thènardiers for their troubles and took the girl away. After Cosette was gone, the Thènardiers needed a replacement to do all the chores, and Eponine and Azelma became the replacements. Their parents worked them ruthlessly. They rarely got food, and they never got to play. If they didn’t do their chores correctly or in a timely fashion, their parents would beat them. Eponine would always stand up for Azelma and take her beatings for her, which always increased her father’s anger, but Eponine didn’t care. She had resolved to always take care of her little sister even if her parents didn’t. Eponine also had to care for Gavroche. She was basically a mother to him since his real mother didn’t act like one. She did everything she could to protect her siblings, and when Gavroche got older, she took his beatings too. Sometimes her father would still beat them anyway, but Eponine would do what she could to prevent the abuse. Her father started to drink which made him more violent. He started to get involved in more crimes. This made her mother more agitated, and with everything else combined, things at home got worse for Eponine, Azelma, and Gavroche. Slowly, the money stopped coming in as customers no longer came to the inn. With no money, they were in danger of losing everything. Eventually, they did lose the inn and were forced to move. They ended up in Paris, living in the Gorbeau Tenement. Shortly after arriving in Paris, Gavroche left to take to the streets. He was only six then, and it broke Eponine’s heart. That had been four years prior, and she rarely saw the now ten year old Gavroche. As they settled into Paris, Thènardier got mixed into evil crowds and started his gang. That was how Eponine met the pit viper Montparnasse because he was a part of the Patron-Minette. Not only was he a member, but he was one of the most vicious. He was well-trained with a blade and served as the gang’s assassin. If he had not given in to a life of crime, he could have been a handsome young man with his blonde hair and bright, green eyes. At first, Eponine thought she and Montparnasse might be friends because he was around her age, but she found out that he had other intentions. He was quite taken with Eponine. When they got older, Montparnasse took advantage of Eponine more than once, and he made it clear that she would be his one day. She feared that it would actually happen. She feared that for the right price, her father would let Montparnasse drag her off to be his little wife. After all, her father wasn’t too concerned about her personal dignity because he already let the gang do what they pleased with her for a small price. Currently, she avoided Montparnasse as much as she could, but it was very hard when he was always around.

                The only good thing that came out of Paris was Marius Pontmercy. He was a young student a little older than Eponine that lived in Eponine’s building. After he moved in, he and Eponine became good friends. He was so kind to her despite her family or the fact that she was a gamine. Even though he lived in the slums of Paris, she knew he had an extremely wealthy grandfather. He had come to live in the Gorbeau house after he had an argument with his grandfather. Marius was the first person to ever be truly kind and friendly with Eponine, so naturally she fell for him. She even might say that she was in love with him. He was involved with a group of revolutionary students who called themselves Les Amis l’ABC. As much as she cared for him and as close as they’d gotten, he still saw her as nothing more than a friend. Eponine hoped that would change one day, but she wasn’t sure if it ever would.

                Now here she was, sitting on the front steps of her building, dangerously thin and pitiful looking, pining after a man who barely noticed her, and hoping she would make it through the day without acquiring any more bruises. Her mind wandered to Marius, picturing his handsome face. He had light brown hair and happy, green eyes. Freckles were spread across his nose. He was somewhat tall and lean, and his smile made Eponine’s heart flutter. She knew he would be coming home from the university soon, so she began to smooth out her skirts and run her fingers through her hair. She knew it wouldn’t do any good because her skirt was tattered beyond repair and her hair was too matted to be helped without a good bath, but she did it anyway. When she saw him appear down the street walking her way, she smiled.

                “Eponine!” he exclaimed as he reached her.

                “Monsieur,” she smiled.

                He rolled his eyes, “I thought I told you not to call me that a long time ago. As I’ve said a million times before, call me Marius.”

                “Hmm, I think I like Monsieur better,” she giggled.

                He sighed, “Why are you sitting out on the front steps?”

                “Just getting some fresh air. Still plotting to overthrow the government, Monsieur?” she asked with a coy smile.

                Marius let out a loud laugh, “Yes, I suppose. Speaking of which, the Amis are holding a meeting tonight. Won’t you come with me, ‘Ponine?”

                Her heart leapt at the invitation to accompany him. Suddenly, she heard the booming voice of her father call her name and her heart sank. She glanced back toward the door, then back at Marius, her smile gone.

                “I, um-” she stammered.

                Marius looked at her with sympathy and understanding. He knew what her home life was like, and he knew that if she didn’t go to her father, she’d be beaten. He definitely didn’t want that.

                He held up a hand to her, keeping her from having to answer, “I understand. There will be another meeting next week. Maybe you can join me then.”

                She gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes as she stood.

                “I should be going,” she muttered.

                “Of course. Stay safe, ‘Ponine,” he said.

                She nodded at him before stepping into the house, clenching her jaw to prepare herself for whatever comment her father was about to spew out of his mouth.

Author’s Note: Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Only Been Pretending. I know this chapter was all Eponine, but the next will be all Enjolras and the Amis. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy! Feel free to leave comments!

~broadwaybabe16