New kind of victory.

[etcircenses]

Who| Everyone on the District Tours.
What| The Celebration dinners for all the Districts.
Where| Specified in thread.
When| The second night they are there.
Warnings/Notes| Find your district below. Leave any questions here. And please add any needed warning into your subject line when appropriate.

Comments

[saisamour]

Marius just sat there paralysed, staring at her in uncertainty and disbelief until he felt the light weight on his chest. That seemed to snap him back to his senses, and he grabbed at Eponine's wrist, jerking her hand away from his shirt. He stared at her as if he could not believe she had the gall to seduce him, and maybe that was true; maybe underneath the layer of shock and confusion, he was thoroughly disgusted by her advances.

"This is why you led me here?" He tried to keep his voice from shaking in outrage but it did anyway. His grip on her wrist tightened, unknowingly, enough to hurt.

[gardienne]

"Monsieur -" Eponine tried to yank her hand away from Marius' grip, thoroughly frightened by his tone.

"Let me go! Let me GO! Let me go or I shall scream."

She couldn't believe she said it, and she clapped her hand over her mouth as soon as the words were said. How had it gone wrong? Why was he so angry? She tried pleading, begging him again.

"Monsieur... Monsieur, do not be angry with me. Please, do not be angry. Please. Only..."

She couldn't finish. Her voice caught in her throat and she choked. She just - she wanted him so much. SO much. He had been the one light in her terrible life for so long - just once. One kiss. One loving embrace.

"I can be as much a lady as her. You know i'm clever. I can learn."

She blinked, hard, to get rid of the tears threatening to fall.

[saisamour]

Marius seemed as shocked as she was after her outburst, with his jaw dropped slightly while his eyes flitted to her face, to the wrist turning red from his grasp, to the door that he so wished to sprint towards, to run and escape and force himself to forget this ever happened, just like he had become so accustomed to.

But her pleading caused him to return his glance to her, and he felt a pang of pity for the girl before him. He did not know what to say. He could write to Cosette until his wellspring of words had been wrung dry, but when it came to anyone else he never knew what to say.

"Forgive me. I did not mean to." He sounded almost remorseful, staring at the unmade sheets. A beat passed between them before he got to his feet, still not daring to look at her face. "This was a mistake."

[gardienne]

"You're leaving?" She started towards him, leaning across the bed with her arm outstretched, as if to pull him back.

"Monsieur, do not. Please, please do not leave me. Please -"

She shook her head, before lowering her head to the bed so she didn't have to look any more. She didn't want him to see her crying, and she was crying in earnest now.

[saisamour]

Marius's lips parted and he made a move to approach Eponine, but stopped abruptly and dropped his raised hand back to his side. His mouth snapped shut, because the desire to say something was not aligned with his ability to express it vocally. So he shifted his weight from one foot to another, uneasily, and it took a few more seconds before he actually spoke again.

"I cannot stay here any longer." What would Cosette think, after all? He did not want to hurt his wife. Yet he also did not want to leave Eponine without reassurance.

How did it all come to this, anyhow?

"But... But you will have my word that I will not speak of this to anyone."

[gardienne]

"Say what you want. I don't care. They all know what I am anyway."

Her reply was muffled by the mattress she was speaking into - for she dared not lift her head. She still cried, angry, embarrassed sad tears even as she spoke.

"Just... go away. Please, Monsieur. Please, leave me."

[saisamour]

Truthfully, Marius wanted to say something more—she was too sad, too pitiful like this, that sympathy nagged at him to comfort her in some way—but words, once again, had failed him. He nodded, even if he knew Eponine could not possibly witness that gesture, and took another step back. "I-If that is what you wish."

He turned and traipsed in the direction of the door. Once he had turned the knob and was halfway out of the room, he stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

"Eponine, I had read your present to me." Perhaps it was the wrong thing to utter. Perhaps there never will be a right thing to say. But he thought of expressing it, nonetheless, because it was a simple gratitude that he owed her. "It was beautiful. Thank you."

And with that, he stepped outside, the door closing behind him with a gentle click.