An Ordinary Morning
Hi, this is my first attempt at a Hunchback of Notre Dame fanfic, so please be kind and review (if I get no reviews, I do not post more. that's that.) Okay, now for the summary. You know how everyone assumes that the gypsy man in the boat with Quasi's mother was his father...yeah, I don't think he was. I mean gypsy man with dark hair and eyes + gypsy woman with dark hair and eyes white child with red hair and blue eyes. That does not add up to me, so this is MY take on Quasi's parents' past. Hope you all enjoy, and I really really hope you review because I've not had good luck with reviews lately. But anyway, enjoy please!! And if you don't, tell me so I can fix it. Thank you:)
The sun awoke on the horizon, welcoming a new dawn, as was its habit most mornings. Its rays reached across the landscape of Paris, a woman's gentle fingers extending their warmth. House to house, street to street, tree to tree, she arrived to awaken her children, the ever reliable, ever warm and loving mother.
Higher and higher she climbed, brighter and brighter she shone, her fingers caressing her children, her warmth and light waking them from slumber. As she rose into the sky, only one child remained which she had not greeted with light. Her tardiness was not due to lack of love for this particular son; on the contrary, it was so that her light could shine the brightest for him.
This son needed not the sun's light to awaken. No, he was always awake long before she was; such is the purpose of roosters, larks, and most other birds, his purpose, as it had been since childhood, was to assist the mother sun in the waking the rest of her children. And just as the nightingale will forever sing with the moon, the bell ringer faithfully rang his bells at the sun's first light. Such is his fate and choice. Such is his pain and pleasure.
His father, the Holy Spirit. His mother, the sun. His sisters, the bells. The only family he would ever know.
This bell ringer, whose name is known by all in Paris through either acquaintance or rumors, began his day this way by habit. The first twenty years of his life, this had been an escape. Now it was duty; a duty to the aforementioned family, and to the people of Paris who had welcomed him into their world nearly a year ago.
His newfound freedom, which allowed him to leave the bell tower without fear, was rarely acted upon. Despite protests from his friends, Quasimodo, as he will henceforth be referred, refused to join his gypsy brethren in the Court of Miracles or get his own place outside the cathedral.
How could he ever leave the only home he ever knew, where he could be closest to the Father? How could he leave his beloved sisters without anyone to care for them? How could he neglect his duty to his mother, the sun? Never would he abandon his only family.
Such was his thoughts on this ordinary morning. They were interspersed with thoughts of the visit he expected that day, from his friends, whose names had also been spread throughout Paris. Yes, local celebrities they had become: Esmeralda, Phoebus, and…
"Quasi?" a female voice broke him from his thoughts.
Esmeralda. The voice belonged to the woman he had loved, and who was now married to his best friend. They had been married in the Court of Miracles not even a month ago, with Quasimodo as Phoebus' best man. Never would Quasi tell the woman he loved and would always love how severely she had broken his heart. Forever he would be sincerely happy for his friends, hiding the pain he felt whenever they were together.
"Quasi?!" the voice called again, much louder and persistent this time. Broken from thought once again, Quasimodo ran to the stairs of the belfry, and responded this time.
"I'm here, Esmeralda! I-I'm up here." He shouted back, as he descended the steps.
As he reached the bottom of the stairs where Esmeralda and Phoebus were, he opened his arms for the embrace he had come to cherish every morning. No words were exchanged as he gently hugged Esmeralda and not-so-gently shook Phoebus' hand and slapped him on the back: Although he loved them both, Quasi had to have some way to cope with the heartache he felt because Esmeralda chose to love Phoebus over him, and he figured that a bit of good-natured revenge was the perfect way to vent.
"Uh…it's good to see you, Quasi," Phoebus half-spoke, half-groaned as he massaged his injured hand. "Where were you? Esmeralda's been calling you for about five minutes straight."
With a hint of apology and guilt in his voice, the bell ringer merely stated, "I was thinking."
"Really, what were you thinking about that so occupied your mind?" Esmeralda teased, as the climbed back into the belfry to converse in private.
Quasimodo wasn't sure what to tell her. Would she find it foolish that he had been thinking such things about family and love? What would a guy like him need to think of such things for?
"Um…well, I was thinking about all sorts of things…" Quasi said, trying to tiptoe around the subject without actually lying in church, "By the way, how's married life been treating you guys so far?"
Esmeralda and Phoebus exchanged coy glances, clasped each other's hand, and softly giggled. Quasi had to struggle not to roll his eyes at their childish behavior, all the while wishing he could share the moments with a loved one that caused them to act in such a way.
"That great, huh?" Quasi stated with a hint of bitterness in his voice, well-hidden behind a façade of cheerfulness. Although he really was happy for them, he resented the moments when they shamelessly flaunted their love in front of him.
"Well, it's been wonderful, as we've told you before, but…" Esmeralda looked to Phoebus again with the same loving look as she said, "…there's some big news we have to tell you."
Hoping he wouldn't regret it, Quasimodo urged her to continue, "Well, what is it?"
"Well…" Phoebus and Esmeralda stated in semi-unison, "…we might as well come out and say it…"
Leaving him in utter suspense, they waited a few moments until he looked as if he would burst with anticipation.
"We're pregnant."
Never had Quasimodo felt such mixed emotions. First came the happiness, of course, for his friends who were starting their family; then came the sadness, which he felt for the exact same reason. Esmeralda and Phoebus were now officially going to be a family, their love and happiness fortified by the coming of a child, and Quasimodo was never so ashamed. His friends deserved such happiness, and here he was, jealous and bitter that their joy so increasingly exceeded his own; jealous that his friends had now family and love, while he had neither. What kind of friend felt such emotions? Well, the least he could do was to hide those undesired feelings and portray the more positive, expected ones.
"That's wonderful!!" he shouted as he scooped Esmeralda up in an embrace, and subsequently embraced Phoebus.
The rest of the conversation that morning basically consisted of questions and answers about the pregnancy, and before the trio knew it, the morning went with Quasimodo's bitter feelings. Now that the news had sunk in, he couldn't have been happier.
Noon came and went before Quasimodo was aware that he was late to ring the bells. When he realized his tardiness, he practically flew to the ropes, ringing the bells with more fervor than usual, as a way of apology to the many citizens of Paris who relied on his bells as their medieval alarm clock.
As he performed his bell ringer duties, Esmeralda and Phoebus descended from the belfry, unable to stand the volume of the bells. As they descended, an unfamiliar face appeared at the top of the steps into the bell tower. The face was that of a fairly attractive man, wringing a piece of cloth in his hand which Phoebus presumed to be a handkerchief.
"Can we help you?" Phoebus asked the stranger in French. The man seemed disconcerted by the presence of Phoebus, having not yet noticed Esmeralda.
"Uh…can you help me?" the man stated in a thick British accent.
Before the man could speak further, he became aware of Esmeralda's presence. A shadow quickly passed over his eyes as he first noticed her appearance, but was hastily replaced by a smile and "Hello, love."
When neither of his audience replied with more than a blank stare, he continued much more slowly.
"Uh…Parlez-vous l'ainglas?"
Both Phoebus and Esmeralda shook their heads.
"Latin?"
No.
"Italian?"
No.
The poor man looked positively discouraged by this point, realizing that he would have a very difficult time conversing with these people.
"Oh…bloody he-" he began until he remembered that he was in a Church. Crossing himself, he continued mumbling, presumably to himself.
"Of course my brother's son had to be in France. French, the ONLY language I don't know!!" The man groaned, as Phoebus and Esmeralda looked on him in horror.
"Well, I suppose I should have learned some French before coming to France, but…" He turned toward Phoebus, "…what kind of man knows neither English nor Latin, honestly?!"
"Maybe Charles…" he considered something for a while, then decided against it.
"Um…un homme…Quasimodo...?" The man struggled to remember the French he had slept through during his schooling…he had never cared for the language. He pointed to the ground, unable to remember the French word for "here."
Before Esmeralda or Phoebus could even think of a response, a familiar voice came from the top of the belfry stairs.
"I-I'm Quasimodo," he stated in perfect English.
The man looked up at Quasimodo…and did a double-take. Never had he met such an…unusual-looking man. He forced his shock off, climbing the stairs to meet the man he had been searching for.
"Well, well, finally a man who speaks English in this blasted country…" Quasimodo's eyes widened at the man's profanity in his beloved Notre Dame. The stranger rolled his eyes and crossed himself once again, silently cursing his…cursing problem.
"Well, anyway, it is quite a pleasure to finally meet you," the man gushed as he fervently shook the hand of the man in front of him, "You cannot know how much I've heard about you, lately."
Quasimodo allowed his hand to be shaken as he analyzed the jovial man before him. The man had very dark hair and eyes, but his skin was as pale as Quasimodo's own. He was slightly shorter than Phoebus, but a good deal taller than Quasi.
"Um…if you don't mind me asking…what are you here for?" Quasimodo did not know if he could trust this man, and wasn't very comfortable striking up small talk with a stranger.
"Oh, of course…well, this is mostly a matter of duty…which I have only half fulfilled." He let go of Quasimodo's hands and brought his hands to Quasi's shoulders, "And I need you, my boy, in order to fulfill the rest."
"What do you mean, sir?" Quasimodo backed away, disconcerted by the man's physical contact.
The man closed his eyes and sighed, "Maybe we should sit down for this."
From the man's tone, Quasimodo could tell he was right. Whatever he had to say was either bad news, or exceptionally good news.
They went to sit on the steps, as Esmeralda and Phoebus continued to stare in bewilderment, having been all but forgotten for the moment.
"Alright, where do I start?" The man asked himself as he sat to reveal his purpose to Quasi, looking down and wringing his hands. Looking up into Quasimodo's eyes, he continued…
"My name is Walter Auckland. I am thirty-two years of age, and I come from London, England. The reason I am here concerns my mother's dying request, which of course I cannot deny." He once again placed a hand on Quasimodo's right shoulder. Unlike the first time, Quasi made no resistance, putting his focus solely on the man's words, not his actions.
"This also concerns my older brother and…his son." Walter Auckland seemed to hesitate as Quasi's expression became more intrigued.
"Please go on," Quasimodo urged as the lull between words became too much to bear.
"Yes…well, you see my brother, Charles, was locked away in prison about twenty or twenty-one years ago…how old are you?"
Quasimodo was definitely not ready for such a change in subject and had no idea what it had to do with anything, but politely answered anyway, "Twenty-one."
"Ah…okay, twenty-one years then. Twenty-one years ago he was locked away, and when my father died, my mother went to release him. Surprisingly, he refused to see her, therefore refused to be released. Now, at the time, I found it quite foolish that he would not be released by mother, but after hearing the dreadful story she told on her death bed…I can hardly blame him." Walter paused briefly and shook his head before continuing, "Anyway, her dying wish was twofold. First, I was to release my brother from prison at all costs…which I did a couple of days ago. I expected him to be difficult, as he had been with mother, but even if he was going to be, he was much too weak to put up much argument. So, I have him with me now. I told the Archdeacon about the situation, and I think he's now praying with your fa…" Walter caught himself before slipping up, and continued despite the astonished look on Quasimodo's face. Quasi couldn't help but hope that he had heard right.
"Ahem…anyway, now for the second part of the promise…right before Charles was sent to prison, it was said that he and his wife had a son…and my mother asked me to reunite my brother with that child…" Walter paused as Quasimodo's hand went to his mouth in shock, his eyes widening.
"We had a very difficult time finding y- the child. We were in England, and all we knew was that he lived in France and was…an odd boy."
A tear began to run down Quasi's face as he braced himself for what was to be said next...had his prayers been answered after all these years?
"Um…I see you already know that the child was…you…" Walter grasped both of Quasimodo's hands as he uttered the fateful words.
"My brother…is your father…" He winced as Quasi gripped his hand much tighter. Quasimodo didn't notice; his head was turned toward Esmeralda and Phoebus, who although had no idea what was being said, could see the look of shock and happiness plastered on Quasimodo's face.
Quasimodo turned back towards Walter, his uncle, as he concluded his statement.
"…Your father is downstairs with the Archdeacon…and I'm sure he would love to meet you at last."
Love it? Hate it? Want more of it? Please Review and I will post the next chapter very very soon:)