Clopin Trouillefou, being a silly child at heart always became excited when bath time arrived. Since he was a boy he loved splashing around and pretending to be a trader on a big ship. His love for bath time only increased after he adopted Esmeralda because she also loved the splashing about and frolicking. Clopin seemingly flew strait out of his clothes which landed in a heap on the floor. No wonder he was always losing things. He made a mad dash for the crude wooden tub and dove into it with a splash which tuned the entire mud floor into a small lake. He zipped around the tub, which he had outgrown a long time ago, and got good and wet. He set his "silly boy" in a little wooden pirate ship and saluted him. Then he raised his hands up above him and sat up halfway before slamming them into the water and creating a gigantic hurricane. The puppet and the boat both went sailing into the wall and Clopin burst into giggles. It was not long before he realized that he was no the only one laughing. He distinctly heard Esmeralda had been peeking at him through a hole in the door. She walked into the room and stood in front of the tub. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Nothing. Just making a hurricane for Silly Boy. He loves to go sailing every so often, don't you, Silly Boy?" he responded. "No way!" shouted Silly Boy. Clopin rolled his eyes. Esmeralda smirked and turned to leave. Suddenly, a burst of water hit her in the back and she stood in shock for a moment before twirling around and placing her hands on her hips. "Are you challenging me?" she laughed. Clopin replied by splashing her once more and laughing at the mess he created. With this Esmeralda sat beside the tub and began splashing back. The two of them splashed and laughed and screamed.
"You can't win this time!"
"No! I am going to get you! *SPLASH!* I got you, I got you!"
"Nobody beats me!"
The noise could be heard from all over the Court of Miracles.
At this time, Phoebus, was trying to rebuild a portion of one of the small houses but lost his concentration as result of the noise. He threw down his hammer and stomped to Clopin's door. As he put up his hand to knock he had to wipe a smile off of his face. He did think the childish noise coming out of a full grown man and a 17-year old girl was quite humorous. Phoebus opened the door and Esmeralda and Clopin both stood strait up. It was a comical sight to see. Esmeralda's hair was in a heap over her face and her dress was sopping wet and appeared to weigh 100 pounds. He hands dripped water and she wrung out her skirts all over the floor. Clopin was standing in the tub with only the warm water covering his thin frame, soaked completely, naked and shivering with intense excitement over his game. Water poured down him and made a sound similar to water running out of a faucet. Phoebus crossed his arms and attempted to frown even though the sight made him want to burst into laughter.
"What are you doing in here? Everyone in this place can hear you keeping them awake," he scolded. "Oh, Phoebus, we didn't know we were so loud. We've played this game since I was a child and it can get out of hand sometimes," Esmeralda explained. As she finished her excuse Clopin kicked a bucket load of water at Esmeralda, lifted up his arms like a small boy and shouted "I WIN!" Esmeralda laughed as she lunged at him, knocking him back into the water. She sat on the young man and splashed the cool water all over his face as he screamed and laughed. "No! I Win!" she laughed. Phoebus rolled his eyes. "This is why I never plan on having children. I already have 2 children to take care of," he laughed as he walked out the door. Esmeralda got up and followed him and Clopin burst into an all out giggle fit while holding his puppet against his chest. The young girl looked back and smiled. She knew that Clopin did not think the way that other men thought. He had given up most of his life taking care of her, and she was overjoyed to be taking care of him now.