Hey everyone! I recently rediscovered the wonderful world of HoND and really wanted to get in on the action. I re-read the book and re-watched both Disney movies, and absolutely loved them both. But there was one thing that bothered me about both. Clopin either dies or ends up alone. That didn't seem fair to me, because he was always my favorite obscure character. I think he deserves more than the sadistic twisted personality they put on him, as we see in the Disney movies how good he can be. Therefore, I am writing a Disney based story that comes after the second movie. I hope you all enjoy it!
The morning was incredibly warm for a November morning, and everyone was taking advantage of the sun's begrudging appearance. The men of the city were up earlier than usual, out to do their jobs with more vigor than had been seen in quite some time. Even the bells rang earlier than usual, their ringer up at a ridiculously early hour as well.
However, not everyone was excited for such a fantastically lovely morning. Jet black eyes opened blearily as he was prodded awake by a pair of small hands.
"Clopin. Clopin. CLOPIN! Wake UP!" the voice of a child screeched in his ear, and he tried to wave it off and roll back over. Alas, his endeavors to ward off the little tyrant were in vain.
"Clooooooopin! Wake up immediately, we want to hear a story," a small voice whined. This puzzled the Gypsy King's already muddled-with-sleep mind. What the hell did these kids take me for; their own personal entertainer? Wait a moment, how on earth did someone get into the Court Of Miracles? He thought, worried that his hiding place had been exposed. Suddenly, Clopin sat straight up, giving his head a rush of vertigo, and he groaned and held his aching head in his hands. Damn Phoebus and his offer to buy Clopin a drink the night before. Or two.
The ex-captain had been lonely when Esmeralda had been busy helping some children to dance, so the King had very graciously offered to shirk his duties and spend some quality "man time" with his newest Court member, providing he paid for the drinks. Phoebus had agreed, as he had a stable job—damn him—and could pay for such entertainment.
When the rush of blood left his head, Clopin opened his eyes once again and was immediately confused as to where he was. It was very bright, so he knew he wasn't in the catacombs. And it was very brightly colored. Oh, right…He had forgotten he slept in his little wagon he entertained out of to get away from Esmeralda's scathing looks for letting Phoebus get a little too tipsy the night before. Better to face a night of cold than be in the same room as his fiery-tempered cousin.
Small hands poked his side again, and he looked down, surprised to see little Louisa looking at him with an adorable expression of child-like indignation at his ignoring her. He immediately smiled, hoping he hadn't really offended the little girl, as she was one of his favorite (and best) customers.
"Sorry, little one. I didn't realize where I was. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," he said, tapping the little girl on the nose playfully.
"For a whole five minutes!" she shrieked in laughter, jumping on him like a horse. He picked her up on his back and carried her back outside, where he was surprised to see people already about on their daily routines.
A group of children had been milling around the wagon, hoping Louisa could wake the Gypsy King so they could get on with their day. Clopin let Louisa down and went to get his puppets. "What story would you like me to tell today?" he asked them as he sorted all the puppets into piles by story.
Several requests went up, and since they couldn't agree, he decided to pick a brand new play he had been working on over the last couple of weeks. His friend through Esmeralda, Quasimodo, had recently found a girl who liked him as much as he liked her. They had been courting for some time now, and were planning on getting married in Notre-Dame in a few weeks. He hadn't thought any girl would ever get past the unfortunate features on the hunchback, but he was glad Madellaine had. He likened the girl to a younger sister, and was proud of her for overlooking what so many people couldn't. After all he had been through, Quasimodo deserved someone like her, though Clopin would never say that out loud.
He liked to tease the bell ringer mercilessly unless Esmeralda, Phoebus, or Madellaine were around. He'd even told him that this year's Festival of Fools crown would be fitted just for him, enjoying his look of terrified horror. When the hunchback spilled the beans on him, Madellaine had glared at and scolded him, Phoebus had frowned disapprovingly, and Esmeralda had socked him right in the eye. (He'd told the children he'd gotten the black eye it in a tavern fight).
As he told the story of Quasimodo's new lover, the kids sat dumbly, listening intently. A woman wandered over to the caravan and watched while she held what looked to be her daughter in her arms. She had dull reddish-brown hair and brown eyes to match. She smiled as he caught her eye, and he smiled warily back. She sat down with the other children and the baby drooled as it watched the colorful puppets. The children suddenly broke into applause when Madellaine and Quasi themselves walked into the same area where the wagon was. The questions immediately started up.
"Are you in love?"
"Are you getting married?"
"Are you ever afraid of him?"
Madellaine looked surprised, and the poor man beside her looked downright spooked by the kids. Clopin grinned and skipped over to the pair, leaning in to hug Madellaine. "I was just telling your story of whirlwind romance to the children," seeing Quasi's discomfort, he said mischievously, "Don't worry, Quasi, I left the…romantic details…out of it." Quasimodo's face went about twelve different shades of red, until he matched his fiery hair to a 't'.
Unaware of this, Madellaine recovered and said to the children, "Yes, we are very much in love, yes we are going to get married, and no I am never afraid of him." She looked up at Quasimodo and smiled softly, as he got a stupid grin on his face at her words. He was still blushing a little.
Rolling his eyes, Clopin laughed, "Alright, alright, enough of this mushy love nonsense. It's making me sick to my stomach. And for Maria's sake, Quasi, wipe that ridiculous smile off your face." At the mention of it, the hunchback's face went an even deeper red. Madellaine immediately came to his defense.
"You know, Clopin, if you got yourself a wife—or if you even could—you'd understand the feeling," she smirked at his indignant look of shock.
"I'll have you know that I could get any girl I wanted, but I don't care to because most women are annoying and don't know a good man when they see one," he retorted haughtily. Louisa looked up at him with tears leaking down her face and he immediately softened.
"Oh, come now, Louisa, let's not ruin your pretty face with tears. Of course I didn't mean all girls, just annoying snots that think they're better than all of us."
Her face immediately brightened and he realized with a mental kick to himself that they were crocodile tears. He immediately put her down with a huff.
"Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have a King's duties to fulfill and I can't be bothered with the lot of you until tomorrow. Now shoo!" he started pushing Quasimodo back towards the direction they came and Madellaine chuckled and followed. The woman he had forgotten about moved away with the baby and the kids finally dispersed. He was left to his own musings on what the spit-fire fiancé of Quasi had said.
I could too get a girl! Maybe it is time to settle down. If I wanted. But I don't. Women are much too obnoxious and I have an entire people to look after. Especially now that—
But he was ripped from his internal monologue as suddenly shouts came a short ways away. Speak of the devil.
Quickly leaping over the counter of the caravan, he sprinted at full speed, dodging passing people nimbly as he ran through the streets of Paris. He got to the source of the sound; a group of the new prince of Paris's guards were trying to round up a group of his gypsy friends to bother them and get them to leave the square.
Clopin grimaced. The new prince, rightfully named Albain (for he had the fairest complexion anyone had ever seen) hated gypsies almost as much as Judge Claude Frollo had. Luckily, it hadn't escalated into a massacre like it had before, but the guards still persecuted them when they were bored.
It appeared the gypises were holding their own in the shouting match until a huge guard picked up one of the boys by the collar. Clopin felt anger building and stalked forward silently until he was behind the guard. He tapped the guard on the shoulder and when he turned around, punched him in the jaw.
Clopin could feel the bones in his fist shatter, but it did its job. The oaf stumbled back and fell on his rear, landing in a pile of muddy water. For a split second, pain was the only thing Clopin could register, but instinct took over rapidly. He ran after the others, the guards hot in his trail. He leaped over carts and dodged pedestrians as the guards followed closely behind him. He wasn't able to shake them, and it was grating on his already frayed nerves. Deciding to end this game, he jumped towards the ledge of the rooftop closest to him, and hung on when his foot slipped. The pain in his left hand made it impossible to hang on with it, so he was stuck there, dangling like a fool, with no options. Just peachy…
The guards found him like that, and they laughed mockingly at his plight. Though he was too high up to reach, the King of Gypsies knew it was only a matter of time before they got smart and figured out a way to get him down. Then, who knows what would happen to him.
He tried to stay calm, really he did, but the sounds of them jeering at him ticked him off. He swung agilely down, doing a signature flip, and landed before their surprised forms. Holding his injured hand near his face for protection, he beckoned with his other hand for them to see who wanted to try and get in a lucky punch. One of them stepped cockily forward, but he was immediately decked by Clopin's good hand. The others realized they would have to gang up on him to get the advantage and that they did.
Soon, Clopin realized that things were going to get very ugly very fast. One had pinned his arms behind him—his broken hand screaming in protest—and the others were raining blows down on him. He tried to struggle free, but all he could do was cringe while they beat him mercilessly.
Through his struggling mind was the thought that this must have been what Quasimodo felt like at the Feast of Fools. Well, if he ever got out of here alive, he vowed, he would immediately apologize to Quasi for the incident many years ago. Blood was streaming down his face and his vision blurred.
A good punch to the temple was enough to knock Clopin out, and the guards left him by the garbage to die of blood loss. All in all, not a good thing for the King.
The last thing he registered as he struggled in and out of consciousness was a woman's voice telling him that it was okay. He wondered briefly if Maria had come for him, and with that, he drifted off into sleep.
Read and Review my friends! Reviews are like oxygen, reviews are a many splendored thing, reviews lift us up where we belong, all you need are reviews….oh wait. That's love. XD
