Only Been Pretending

Chapter Twenty Three - Cellmate

Chapter Twenty Three

          Enjolras had tried his hardest to keep up with the hours, and he was pretty sure that Eponine was already on her way to America. If he was correct, they would land in New York in roughly two months. It had only been two days, and Enjolras missed Eponine greatly. He wanted to hold her in his arms, kiss her, and tell her how much he loved her. He wanted nothing more than to be on that ship with her. Enjolras actually wished his execution date was sooner, because he couldn’t take the agonizing feeling of being separated from Eponine for good. He knew Grantaire would stand true to his promise, and with her marriage papers, she’d be okay. That didn’t stop him from worrying sick and feeling extremely helpless because he wasn’t with her. Eponine was most definitely capable of taking care of herself, but he still wanted to be with her. He wanted to protect her. Enjolras got up and began to pace in his tiny cell. He was going crazy.

0000

          About a week into his prison stay, Enjolras was lying on his cot when guards burst into his cell and re-shackled his wrists.

          “Where are we going?” he asked, completely startled.

          They didn’t answer, only placing a blindfold over his eyes, which Enjolras thought to be completely unnecessary. After what felt like forever, they finally stopped walking. The shackles were removed, the blindfold was ripped from his face, and he was shoved roughly into a new cell. The push made him tumble onto his hands and knees, forcing him to feel the slimy texture of the cobblestones. The cell was pitch dark, and as he collected himself from the ground, he tried to survey the space, his eyes adjusting too slowly. He could tell the cell was at least as twice as large as the first.

          “Who’s this?” a voice asked from one of the darkest corners.

          The man slinked out from the shadows, but Enjolras’s eyes still hadn’t adjusted so he couldn’t make out his facial features. His voice did sound familiar though.

          “’Ponine’s lover is in prison?”

          Finally, Enjolras could see the very familiar man.

          “Montparnasse?” Enjolras questioned, “What are you doing in here? I thought you told Eponine you were trying to turn your life around.”

          Montparnasse sat down on one of the cots, and Enjolras followed suit, sitting on the other.

          He sighed, “I am, but I’m not going to change overnight. We all make mistakes, don’t we? I slipped up, and they caught me stealing. They’re letting me out of here in two weeks. So why exactly is ‘Ponine’s ‘knight in shining armor’ my new cellmate?”

          “I suppose the rebellion finally caught up with me. They arrested me a week ago for treason. My execution date is set for the anniversary of the rebellion,” Enjolras answered, the words leaving a bad taste on his tongue.

          Both men were silent for a while before Enjolras took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair.

          He began to speak again, “I miss her so much. I can’t help but think that there must have been something I could have done to prevent this. Eponine is on her way to America with the others so they can be safe. I feel like if I had just done something differently, I would be on that ship right now with my wife and everything would be okay.”

          Montparnasse jerked his head up to look at Enjolras questioningly, “Wait, wife? You married ‘Ponine?”

          Enjolras nodded, “About three weeks ago.”

          “I just never saw ‘Ponine as the marriage type,” Montparnasse smirked.

          “Yes, well neither was I, but people change.”

          After a moment, Montparnasse let out a wry laugh.

          “You know, I could have been a revolutionary like all of you. Why, if I hadn’t been so wrapped up in Thènardier’s gang, I would have been fighting right there with you on that barricade. This country needs more people like that.”

          “I’m actually glad you didn’t fight with us. Odds are you’d be dead right now if you had,” Enjolras said, but the other man ignored him.

          “You and I, we look a lot alike. My hair’s just a bit shorter, and I have green eyes instead of blue ones. In a different universe, our lives might have been switched. I could have been the fearless, revolutionary leader, and you would have been the filthy, thieving street rat. That would have been interesting,” Montparnasse mused.

          Enjolras shook his head, deciding to humor the man. What else did he have to do?

          “Yes, it would have been,” he agreed.

          Then, he lied down on his cot and rolled over. He closed his eyes, hoping his dreams would be filled with Eponine.

0000

          A day or two later, Enjolras and Montparnasse were both reclining on their cots. They didn’t really have anything better to do. Suddenly, Montparnasse sat straight up, a look of sheer genius on his face.

          “I’ve got it!” he exclaimed.

          “What?”

          “I’ve been thinking about the conversation we had the other day. Contrary to popular belief, I do have a heart. You deserve to be with Eponine. More importantly, Eponine deserves a happy ending,” Montparnasse smiled.

0000

          Two weeks later, it was time for Montparnasse’s release. A guard appeared at the cell.

          “Montparnasse, let’s go,” the guard barked.

          The man stepped forward, and the guard let him out of the cell. He gave one last parting glance to his old cellmate. However, the man being led out of the prison didn’t have green eyes, but sparkling blue.

Author’s Note: Well…thoughts?