Paris were used to people going missing these days. No one liked to talk about the evil man who had taken over, using the mayor and the police as puppets, but they all knew about it. Hawkmoth ruled with an iron fist, and no one was willing to stand up to him. After all he was a mystery figure, no one could be sure who he really was, and if he heard them on the street plotting something, they'd disappear too. Men in vans would come in the night. Akumas ready to whisk people away never to be seen again. no one knew who was behind this, and no one wanted to risk angering them and vanishing too, so they stayed quiet about it.
Just recently though, there had been raids on these vans before they got to the dungeons. A bunch of masked and hooded teenagers were breaking people free and releasing them back to their lives. No one knew for sure who they were under their animal disguises. There had been a blog dedicated to finding out who these unsung heroes were but that had suddenly fallen silent not very long after starting. Everyone just assumed whoever was running it had been taken by the akumas. Not that that made much sense to the blogs only true fan, Adrien. he thought whoever was controlling the akumas would want to know who was fighting against them in order to find and catch them, but his father disagreed. Or rather, told him not to bother with such trivial matters and focus on whatever they were doing at the time…

Adrien Agreste's father, Gabriel, had been protective of him since he was young and this gave him a reason to be more so. He wasn't allowed outside of the nine-foot fence around their manor. Not even his one friend Chloe Bourgeois was allowed in anymore. Given that her father was the puppet mayor she was protected, but that didn't mean Adrien was. If she told her father Adrien had said something, anything that might attract the wrong kind of attention, Mayor Andre wouldn't listen to reason. Gabriel couldn't risk his son and only heir to be taken by the akumas. Instead of letting him out to make friends, he brought him a black cat with emerald eyes to match his own and a strange love of cheese. The smellier the better. Sometimes, when Adrien was lonely enough (which was all the time) he pretended that Plagg could talk, just to have someone who would listen to him.

"I'm bored Plagg!" The blonde-haired boy complained to his cat one morning as he sat in the grass of the garden shut off from the outside world. "I don't want to be stuck in here, all alone!"

Plagg mewled indignantly. He didn't like to be forgotten. Adrien sighed as he reached up to scratch his cat's head affectionately. His green collar with a little golden bell jingled as he did.

"I know, I'm not alone. But what I mean is I want something different... I want..."

"You want what?" Plagg asked, innocently, in Adrien's mind.

Adrien sighed, "I have often dreamed of some far-off place, where there's a crowd of people waiting to welcome me like a hero...

somewhere that feels like... this is where I'm meant to be!"

"How can you find that place if you're not allowed to leave?" Plagg asked.

"Exactly," Adrien groaned. "I'll find some way to leave and go there someday. If I can be strong, if I can will myself to go on each mile, I can find the place where I belong."

Plagg tilted his head and mewled softly. Adrien sighed. He knew it sounded impossible. Gabriel wouldn't even let him out of the house, how was he supposed to find somewhere where he felt he actually belonged?

"It'll be an unknown road to find my fate, but if it'll lead me to someone who'll welcome me with open arms, it'll be worth the wait. I won't lose hope, I don't care how far! I can go the distance

if it means I get a hero's welcome somewhere I'm actually wanted!" Adrien glanced back towards the house, to the large stain glass butterfly window near the roof. His father's shadow moved on the other side. He didn't feel wanted here.

Plagg headbutted him to get his attention again. "Have you tried wishing on a star?"

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like I'm four years old?"

"Oh come on Adrien! It's worth a shot. It doesn't matter who you are when you wish upon a star, anything your heart desires-"

"That's an urban legend Plagg!"

"Legends are lessons, they ring with truths."

Adrien blinked at him slowly, trying to come up with an answer to this was more difficult than he was expecting so he batted a hand. "Carry on."

"When you have a dream no request is too difficult. Fate is kind. If it's something you want for, really want, fate will step in and see you through. There's no harm in wishing on a star," Plagg explained quietly.

Adrien sighed. It was worth a shot. He looked up into the crystal clear blue sky, and could only see one star to wish on. Well the sun was the strongest thing in the galaxy, why not wish on it? Adrien closed his eyes tightly and wished with all his might for a friend to help him out of this trap. He allowed one green eye to slither open first, desperately hoping, by some miraculous event, someone was here to save him.
Nothing.
His garden was empty.
Feeling foolish and frustrated, Adrien shoved himself to his feet. Plagg mewled, watching him eagerly. Adrien glared at the nine-foot fence trapping him in. This fence had always trapped him in. It was the only thing between him and the potential for everything he wanted. He hated it. Full of anger, Adrien kicked the fence with such force that a wooden plank shook. Adrien and Plagg both snapped up sharply as it did.

"Did you see that Plagg?" Adrien gasped.

Plagg took a step forward, curiously. Adrien took that as encouragement. He stepped forward, she shoved the plank again. It creaked. His eyebrows rose as he smiled. He shook it harder. Slowly, as he continued to batter the fence around it, the plank began to slip free of its trappings. Adrien took a step back, sweeping Plagg into his arms for his own safety, as the plank went tumbling down into the garden, dragging down the one beside it too.
Crash!
Plagg yowled in shock and leapt out of Adrien's arms urgently. He froze, holding his breath. Any second now he expected his keeper, Natalie, to come dashing down the garden path to drag him away from the new gaping hole in the fence. But she didn't... As soon as he realised she wasn't coming he breathed again. This hole was big enough for him to slip through and finally explore the city he'd lived excluded from for so long. Adrien glanced up at the sun on awe. Maybe there was something to be said about wishing.

"STOP! HALT! COME BACK HERE!"

Rodger, the cop, was a familiar voice to Adrien. He found pleasure in yelling at people. At least Adrien thought he did, because since Hawkmoth took over, he'd been yelling more and using his whistle less. It was the yelling that Adrien could always hear despite the fence. You can block out the city's sights, but you can't block out the city's sounds. Now through, Adrien had a window to see the world through.

"Move! Move, move, move, move, move!"

This was an unfamiliar voice. Urgent and young and female. Curiosity got the better of Adrien. He peered around the edge of the gap in his fence, hoping to see either the owner of the voice, or who she was yelling at.

A girl came screaming around the corner onto the street. She crashed into a bin, throwing it across the road, and kept running like she hadn't noticed. He couldn't see her face from beneath her hood, but she wore a black tank top hidden behind a short black hoodie, lined with red, with ladybug spots down the sleeves, along the hood, and along her bulky belt that held up her black trousers. Her trainers were red and black and perfect for running in. Running straight past Adrian without a glance. Hot on her heels was another girl in yellow and black.
She dashed past the bin, skidding to turn and follow the first girl. Her shirt was white behind her hoodie, white was black up to her middle, then suddenly became yellow across her sleeves and chest, even though her shoulders were black, and her hood yellow again. Her yellow trousers had black stripes down the edges.
Then came a bright girl with a pale-yellow shirt behind an orange hoodie with pointed fox ears on the hood, orange baggy trousers, orange converse with paw beans on the soles, and a too long belt that trailed behind her like a tail. She leapt gracefully over the bin and landed as if she never left the ground. All three girls were gone in a flash and Adrien just saw their colours as they dashed past.
Then came the boy.
He was dressed up in green, with lighter green and yellow hexagons across his zipped-up hoodie, his hood low enough to flap across his camouflage baseball cap, which in turn tapped on his turtle shell glasses. His green trousers were covered in pockets and his green backpack bounced against his back as he ran. He threw a glance over his shoulder as he went and tripped straight over the bin. As he tried to clamber to his feet he let out a cry of pain. He'd hurt his ankle in the fall. He glanced back urgently and tried to limp away as quickly as he could.

"COME BACK HERE!"

Rodger was closing in. Adrien's heart beat harder. Maybe this was the sun answering his wish. Without thinking, he leaned through the gap in the fence, grabbed the boy, and dragged him through to safety. Misreading the situation - understandably given he'd just been dragged off the street by a stranger, and everyone in Paris could potentially be Hawkmoth - the boy grabbed Adrien by his collar and slammed him against the fence. Adrien gasped to find himself pinned viciously against his fence with a hand over his mouth. Even injured this boy was impressively strong. Adrien could see now that he had a deep green eye mask tied around his head like one of those Ninja turtles. He found himself wondering if the girls had too. No doubt their colours would match their outfits.
The cop's footsteps came closer. The boy's grip got tighter. His soft caramel eyes were fixed on the gap in the fence.
Adrien's hands felt clammy as he heard the footsteps pause, no doubt close to the hole in the fence. There was a crackling on the radio on his belt. Adrien's chest ached as he found himself unable to breath... A blue uniform stepped into view through the gap. The boy pressed flat against Adrien, as if he weren't there. A scream burned in Adrien's throat.

This was a mistake.
This was dangerous.
This was going to end badly.

Plagg was hissing at the boy. He'd doubled in size with all his fluff on end. The boy barely registered the hissing, spitting, cat at his feet.
But Rodger did.

"What's wrong with this mangy mog?" He wondered aloud.

When he reached down to see what was wrong with him, Plagg yowled and swiped at the chubby hand aimed at him. Rodger cried in pain. Three thin red lines appeared on his arm, blood drops pearling at the openings.
Adrien squealed nervously and the hand over his mouth pressed harder. His lungs felt fit to burst, but he couldn't breathe through fear. Everything felt silent but them and this cop. Everything fell away but them and this trap.
There was no escape if he came through that gap...

Suddenly the radio crackled again. Louder this time. Close enough to make Adrien jump. "Queen Bee's been spotted heading south, team B to head south, team A tail the fox east, team C, we've lost sight of Ladybug."

The cop cursed. He set off jogging down the path again. They stayed still as statues until his footsteps faded. The green boy stepped back and took his hand away. Adrien crumbled to the floor, gasping for air. Plagg trotted up to him to sit between him and the green boy, still hissing protectively. The boy limped further into the garden and hissed in pain.

"That was too close. Ladybug'll kill me when she finds out!" He hissed.

Adrien had a million questions but was still gasping for air to ease the burning in his lungs. His knees were jelly and he had no idea who the hell this was, but he was fairly certain that he wasn't the answer to his wish.

"Oh hell, dude, are you ok?"

Adrien looked up to see him staring down at him in mild concern. Adrien glared at him as he coughed repeatedly from being shoved roughly against a fence for what felt like an hour. The boy knelt down near him.

"I'm sorry dude, I didn't mean to hurt you. Do you want a drink or something?" He asked urgently.

He held out a bottle of water from his rucksack. Adrien snatched it with both hands and gulped like a hamster.

"Damn. I'm sorry. I thought I was gonna get caught! You saved me you know," He said, with a slight smirk.

Adrien shoved him back urgently. "You almost killed me!"

He blinked in surprised. "Oh wow, I did? Sorry man!"

"Sorry?" Adrien scoffed. He almost killed him, and he thought sorry - sorry - was going to cut it.

"Yeah dude, sorry man. Too much adrenaline. Speaking of I have to ride that pain killer home before my foot drops off."

He started limping back towards the hole in the fence and Adrien began to fear that maybe, just maybe, he was the answer to his wishes and he was getting away.

"Wait- who are you?!" Adrien demanded.

The boy laid a hand on the fence for support and turned to frown at him in confusion. He straightened up to make himself look stronger. "What'd you mean who am I? I'm Carapace!"

Adrien wrinkled his nose, "Who?!"

Carapace raised an eyebrow that vanished into the shadow of his baseball cap. "You really don't know?"

Adrien shook his head, innocently. Carapace smirked. It was strange to find someone who hadn't heard of them or their campaign already by now, and yet here he was. Someone who could see him, in his turtle outfit, and not know or understand who he was. Carapace smirked.

"I'll tell you what, it's too long to explain now. Come to this address-" he paused to scribble an address on Adrien's wrist with a pen from one of his many pockets before continuing, "tomorrow morning, dressed as a cat - got that? A cat - and I'll explain everything."

Adrien's jaw dropped a little and he wasn't sure entirely what was happening, or why, but he was more wrapped up with, "A cat? How am I supposed to-"

"Look at me. I'm an injured turtle with no time to explain! Just dress as a cat and come here tomorrow," Carapace said.

"But-"

"Till tomorrow whiskers!"

Adrien tried to stop him, but his mind was jumbled full of questions that he wanted answers to, so he couldn't find a way to articulate them before he was too far away to hear. Adrien stared at the now empty gap in the fence. He licked his lips nervously as he glanced back up at his father's shadows.

"Plagg? I think I've made a mistake."

...

Nathalie found the gap in the fence and decided that this was a cry for freedom that could not go unpunished. She marched Adrien up to his father's study and left him outside to stew for twenty minutes before his father beckoned him inside. His office was dull and dark and full of butterflies. A window shaped as a large purple butterfly lit the room with lilac light, with a spotlight around his desk. Portraits of Adrien and his family lined the room, shaded by the darkness of the edges, and shelves full of books gathered dust against the walls. The intimidating room was long, and the closer he came to the desk the more intimidating it felt. Adrien hated it up here. His father was staring through the window out over the city.

"F-father? Nathalie sent me," Adrien said, anxiously.

"Yes. About the hole in the fence," Gabriel curled the words on his tongue with disdain. "You want to go outside."

Adrien curled back in on himself like a fearful hedgehog, staring down as if there was something interesting on his shoe. "It's just that-"

Gabriel sighed and took his seat, still yet to look at his son, "I always knew this day was coming. I knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest. One day you can. Today is not that day."

"But-" Adrien began, quietly.

"One way or another something will go wrong. Akumas, thugs, those vigilante street fighters! There are diseases and kidnappers out there. On your own, you won't survive," Gabriel said, so firmly that it silenced Adrien immediately. Adrien shifted uncomfortable. He felt himself sinking lower under his father's disappointment. Gabriel lifted his pen and pulled forward some paperwork to sign. "Say your mantra."

"Oh but Father-" Adrien whined.

His father slammed his hand on the desk and made Adrien jump. Gabriel's voice lowered dangerously. "Say. Your. Mantra."

Adrien bowed his head, and quietly repeated the same mantra that had been drilled into him since as long as he could remember. "The world is cruel and wicked. In this whole city our only friends, the only people I can trust, are Nathalie and you."

"Precisely," Gabriel eased mildly, and leaned back in his chair. "How can I protect you, son, unless you stay in here? Always in here?"

Adrien wrapped an arm around his stomach nervously and whispered, "I just wanna go outside for a day papa... just one..."

Gabriel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, making his glasses rise. "You don't understand. You're too young."

Adrien sighed heavily, and his shoulders sagged heavily. Gabriel rolled his eyes in the shadows. He stood up, edged around he desk, and laid a hand on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien felt the warmth of the touch run thick and sweet through his veins, like honey. He raised his head to meet his father's gaze. After all, his father was all he had, and it had been a long time since he made any real contact. Gabriel still looked stern, and his voice didn't change from its intimidating firmness, even mildly.

"Out there they will hate and scorn and jeer at you. Stay in here. Grateful to me. Do as I say. Obey

me. Stay in here. Safe behind these windows and walls of stone, where no akuma can find or take you. Do you understand Adrien?"

Adrien was desperate to keep arguing. He still wanted his freedom for one day, just one... One day wasn't a big risk. But his father worried. And he wasn't a man to argue with. Especially when he was using that tone. Adrien didn't want to worry him anymore. He didn't want to be a disappointment. Instead he bowed his head and sighed.

"Yes father."

Almost immediately Gabriel raised his hand from Adrien's shoulder, and wiped it on his pocket handkerchief. Adrien glanced at the portrait of his mother hanging on the wall where the most light gathered in the room, like a spotlight. Inside his chest his heart ached.

Adrien had been in the city once before, for a celebration that took over the entire city. It was a carnival of colour, and a festival of fools, with red white and blue confetti, balloons and bunting everywhere he could see. Music filled the air and screams of laughter were the lyrics. Adrien danced until his feet ached, and ate until he threw up blue icing, and screamed until his voice vanished. When he was exhausted and thrilled, and full of the joys of life, his mother scooped him up into her arms, and cradled him close. She was warm and soft and smelt like candyfloss. She carried him all the way back to the mansion, as he gazed around, taking in everything he could before his heavy eyelids got the best of him.
No one worried about anyone taking her away. No one worried about Hawkmoth ruining the day. No one worried about anything. It was a wonderful day. One Adrien wished he could remember more of.
When his father found out he was furious. Adrien woke up in the dead of night to hear his parents screaming at one another. It was so long ago now but he could still hear the door slam downstairs. He could still see his mother storm down the garden path from his bedroom window. He could still see her slip through the gates that he could never manage to open.
He just never saw her come back.
Or at all after that.

Adrien's heart was like an anchor weighing him down. He didn't want to leave his father. He didn't want him to be alone. But he was so desperate for another breath of the freedom his mother had shown him, that he could feel his lungs burning for it.

"Adrien?" Gabriel said, calmly.

Adrien turned back and blinked in surprise. "Yes father?"

His father picked up his pen again and returned to his paper work. "Are you still here?"

"Y-yes father."

"Then don't be."

Without another word, Adrien hung his head, and dragged his feet out of the door obediently. He wandered slowly back to his room, and Plagg came trotting up the stairs to wind his way around Adrien's feet. Adrien glanced down at him, and spotted Nathalie at the bottom of the stairs. Their eyes met for one, tentative moment. Then she moved on like she didn't care that she'd gotten him into trouble again. Adrien groaned at the back of his throat in frustration. He shoved open his bedroom door and slammed it shut behind him, narrowly avoiding Plagg's tail.

"Watch it!" The cat howled.

"Sorry," Adrien muttered.

He stomped to the other side of the room to rest his head on the bars that crossed his window. Gazing out, he could just about see the people down below him over the edge of the fence. All these years he'd gotten used to watching them from here, as he hid away alone, hungry for their company. Any company. None of them would ever know him though. Not all the while he stayed here.

"All my life I've wondered how it'd feel to spend a day, just a day, not above them, but as part of them. outside of these fences, out there in the sun! What I'd give for just one day to treasure every moment out there by the Seine! Just... just one day..." hot angry tears welled in the edges of his eyes.

Plagg hopped up onto the computer char beside him. "Then take it."

"I can't Plagg! I'll never make it past Nathalie," Adrien sighed.

"You could if you tried. Wake up early, really early, crack of dawn early, before she arrives, and sneak out dressed as a cat," Plagg said, pointedly.

"I don't even have a cat outfit," Adrien argued.

"Use your clothes," Plagg shrugged.

"That won't make me look like a cat!"

"He didn't look much like a turtle!"

Once again Adrien cried out in frustration. If his mother was still around they could go out together, but his father would never allow him to go alone. But dressing up as a cat, pretending to be one of those kids running down the street, no one would know who he really was. No one would know it was the first time he got to go out properly. It wasn't like anyone out there would care.
No one but the akumas anyway...
He wanted to go outside by any means possible. The only possible way to escape was through dress up. It could be fun. It would be freedom. Rare as that was, it wasn't something he wanted to miss. Plagg pawed at him gently.

"What was that guy's name, Chat Blanc? Look some photos up online for some ideas. I'll bet you can be better than him," he purred.

Adrien frowned. "But-"

Plagg didn't let him finish. He sounded too logical. "What harm can a look do?"

It took a while to click through all the images to find one of his full outfit but when Adrien did, he felt even less certain about what to do. The hoodie was similar to the bees. It was black from his collar to his torso, with thick white strips fading in along his sides beneath his arms, and in triangles across his shoulders. The white stretched up to his hood, with pointy cat ears on top. Between his hood, white eye mask, and white scarf covering his face, there was evidence of black hair with purples streaks of dye that matched his electric purple eyes. A long white scarf was tied around his waist like a belt, but trailed down like a tail, like that fox girls. His boots though, they were the kind of bulky ninety's boots that were becoming popular again, and apart from their soles and laces which were black, were bleach white. Adrien had never seen that guy before, but from the look of the others around them, he appeared to be their leader.

"This is a bad idea Plagg," Adrien whined, pushing his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, you don't have that many white clothes. Why don't you wear black?! You can be Chat Noir! Then if Chat Blanc comes back you're not stepping on anyone's toe beans," Plagg chuckled.

"That's not what I meant," Adrien sighed.

"Adrien. This'll work. Just for one day. A day to treasure forever," Plagg said, calmly, and seriously.

Adrien ran his hand through his hair again and sighed, "Dad'll kill me."

"Purrhaps," Plagg shrugged, his tail flicking slowly. "Or purrhaps you'll find someone who'll make it all worth it. How can you expect to find someone who loves you if you don't go looking for one?"

Adrien glanced at him for a moment, and then back to the computer in front of him. Even Chat Blanc stood there with his hand out, as if he were offering him the chance himself. And he was their leader. Everything he needed to get everything he wanted was right in front of him.

"All I have to do... is find that outfit... in black?" Adrien wrinkled his nose.

"That's it! And you've got a full walk in wardrobe of clothes, we can find something!" Plagg beamed.

"Let's look then," Adrien grinned.

"That's the spirit! Come on!" Plagg leapt off of the desk and trotted over to the walk-in wardrobe.

Adrien followed him quickly. Both of them started trotting as the excitement built up inside. This was a great escape! All they had to do was build a costume. This could be fun! He pulled open the sliding door and found the long narrow room crammed full of shirts hanging on railings, and jackets hung behind them. Hats were on pegs in the middle, opposite racks of shoes, which sat beneath cupboards. Adrien flicked on the lights which illuminated the room and a stage room mirror lined by lightbulbs. One look at this wardrobe and you'd realise how much Adrien had. How much he'd lose by leaving. But Adrien didn't know any of that, he just knew one thing.
He needed out.

"What'd you think of this shirt, it's close enough to his right?" Adrien asked Plagg uncertainly.

"Sure," Plagg shrugged from where he was curled up on top of an old pair of cowboy boots. Adrien had long since outgrown.

"What'd you mean by sure? Good sure or close enough sure or -"

"Adrien, I'm a cat, I have no idea."

Adrien was pulling his hair in so much confusion that it was getting more and more unkempt by the minute. He tore through the amount of clothes he had, throwing everything black put of his wardrobe and into his main room. Everything black went in, carpeting his floor like someone had split a can of paint on it. After a while he couldn't even find Plagg. He separated the clothes into piles. Everything that was too fancy - the blazers, the suits, the waistcoats - were thrown aside. Anything that didn't fit anymore - shoes he hadn't worn since he was three, moth eaten jackets, a shirt covered in paint - was thrown aside too. That's when he decided he really needed to clean out his wardrobe, but that could wait. Right now he was on a mission.

"Does this shirt match Plagg?" Adrien asked uncertainly.

"Yes," Plagg yawned.

"Are you just saying that so I let you sleep again?" Adrien asked.

"Yes," Plagg yawned again.

"Alright, go back to sleep, I can deal with this alone," Adrien promised.

"Good," Plagg nestled his chin back on his paws.

Adrien picked up a random black shirt, and the first black jacket that came to hand. Working this way, just grabbing and layering black on black, he ended up looking like a ninja. Every time he readjusted his outfit, it didn't look much better. Eventually he ended up with a black hoodie, black jeans, black converse, and nothing remotely cat like at all. Especially not Chat Blanc like. But it was too late. If he waited any longer, Nathalie would arrive and stop him.
Adrien's chest was hollow apart from his vibrating heart, his legs were numb, and his mind was racing. Everything in him screamed that this was a mistake and there was no way he could get away with this. To prevent his sweating smudging the address on his arm, he scribbled it down on a note pad and tore out the page. He paused to scratch Plagg behind the ear.

"Wish me luck buddy," he whispered.

Plagg, in a deep cat nap, purred softly. Adrien smiled affectionately. Not bringing this ball of warm fur was going to be tough since he didn't want to leave him, but Adrien didn't know the streets. It'd be safer for Plagg to stay here.
Besides, it'd only be one day, right?

Adrien edged out towards the garden. It was so early the sky was still caught somewhere between black and blue, and the sun was yet to rise. The early morning chill ruffled his still messy hair. He breathed it in carefully. The last breath of captivity...
Adrien crept quickly and quietly across the garden. There was nothing catlike about this. He was just running, with very little subtly, and a drum thundering in his chest. Suddenly he stopped dead and stared at the gap in the fence...

This was crazy right? Running away from the safety of his mansion, from his father's love, for a day in a city he didn't know?

The longer he stood here, the more his mind told him how ridiculous this was... Everything he was risking, it wasn't worth it... His father would be furious. Nathalie would treat him with contempt. She wasn't exactly the most caring person most of the time, but when she was mad at him...
No this was insane.
He couldn't just leave!
Adrien took a step back. His knees were buckling, and his stomach was crammed so full of butterflies that he felt like throwing up.

DONG. DONG. DONG.

The distant sound of cathedral bells shook through Adrien. Carried on the same wind that ruffled his hair and took his breath, the sweet sound filled his ears.

First, the vibration of each bell mounts straight upwards, pure and, so to speak, isolated from the others, into the splendid morning sky; then, little by little, as they swell they melt together, mingle, are lost in each other, and amalgamate in a magnificent concert. It is no longer anything but a mass of sonorous vibrations incessantly sent forth from the numerous belfries; floats, undulates, bounds, whirls over the city, and prolongs far beyond the horizon the deafening circle of its oscillations. Nevertheless, this sea of harmony is not a chaos; great and profound as it is, it has not lost its transparency; you behold the windings of each group of notes which escapes from the belfries

If Adrien had ever been permitted to read Victor Hugo, he may have felt a kinship with poor Quasimodo in the towers of Notre Dame. Perhaps, on some level, he did feel it, for those bells drew him forward. Those bells silenced the doubt in his head, filling him instead with curiosity and awe. Adrien reached the gap in the fence and rested a damp palm on the wood. He glanced back up at the butterfly window above him. This early his father wouldn't be there yet. Adrien still had time if he left now.
He took a deep breath of the cold, captive air. Then he yanked up his hood, and slipped through the fence, onto the street beyond.