My first actual OC story! Oh boy, oh boy! This is something that I've stored on my laptop for a while because I was too scared to post it. But a wise person once told me that a story shouldn't be posted until you are scared crapless toclick that publish button. Oh well! Here it is and I hope my OC doesn't come across as a Mary Sue. Now for the warnings…
WARNING, ATHOUGH THIS STORY WILL NOT DEPICT GRAPHIC MATERIAL, IT WILL TOUCH UPON ISSUES SUCH AS SEXISM, RELIGION, VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND DOMESTIC ABUSE. CONSIDER THIS YOUR WARNING FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS!
White snowflakes fell from the heavens, covering Paris in a layer of white. Winter had come. For most the chilly weather and the depressing dark was considered unwarranted. However, despite the darkness, there was some good to this cold season; Christmas was upon Paris.
For Quasimodo, he actually enjoyed winter. The night was at its most beautiful; stars twinkled in the night sky as snowflakes slowly fell from the heavens. He had for once a chance to go outside Notre Dame, to explore the outside world. Master was almost nowhere near the cathedral during this season as he would always be busy in the Palace of Justice, much to the joy of Quasimodo. The hunchback sat near the window, gazing upon the starry sky. He was covered in blankets and cloaks. It was not the smartest decision to sit so close to the window during this time of year, but he could not help himself. The beauty of the winter was hard to ignore.
"Quasi dear, you're going to be sick." Laverne hopped over to the hunchback. "There's fire in the fireplace, so why don't you go downstairs and get some warmth?" she tugged the man with the blankets.
"Are you daydreaming? Did you find a Christmas sweetheart?" Hugo eagerly hopped over to Laverne and Quasimodo.
"Hugo!" Laverne scolded the other gargoyle. The two stone figures bickered back and forth for a short while.
"Aaaaah no. I just like looking at the snowfall. It's soothing." The hunchback replied as he wrapped himself further with the blankets.
Suddenly a loud creaking could be heard from the cathedral's doors. Quasimodo thought little of it, though a sinking feeling emerged in his stomach. Master had likely returned home and with that, came the end of his freedom.
"Guess who's home." Hugo snorted, to which Quasimodo only nodded to. He had hoped to see go outside to the Christmas market tomorrow. His spirit felt crushed.
He expected his master to come upstairs and tutor him again as he withdrew himself from the window. But no one ever came. After a while, Quasimodo grew worried. Had something happened? Hugo lightened up, realizing that maybe Frollo had not returned yet.
He hurried downstairs, grabbing a candle on his way as he ran. As Quasimodo quickly descended to the main floor, he saw no one. There were no sounds except the blazing fire in the fireplace. Yet there was clearly signs of life. The door was open, and a single trail of wet footprints led to the back. Quasimodo grew wary; he could not tell whether or not these were Frollo's footprints, but he was knew that the judge would never walk alone in Paris in the middle of the night.
But what worried the hunchback the most was another trail, following the wet steps. A trail of blood. Quickly, he followed the trail, growing uneasy by the minute.
Quasimodo stopped as he heard a low throaty coughing. It was dark, and the hunchback was more unnerved. He slowed his pace, clutching the candle in his hand. However, a dim light from a lantern could be seen, highlighting the figure of a person resting against a wall. Feeling his heart beat faster, Quasimodo closed in on the person, stretching his arm to see the visitor.
The light revealed a young woman, resting against the wall as her eyes were closed. She had long, dirty blonde hair, tousled, filtered and wet from the snow. Her clothes were completely ruined; they were dripping wet and ragged, barely holding together. There were bloodstains on her shirt, surrounding a grim wound. It looked very bad.
Quasimodo turned around as he ventured for some water and a cloth, taking the candle with him, as he walked he lighted some candlesticks on the way. Soon it was not neccisary for Quasimodo to hold the candle and he put it away in a lightless stick.
He returned with a bowl of icy water, collected from the well and a piece of old cloth. As he returned to the woman, he noticed something different. The stranger was gone. The only sign of her presence was a bloodstain on the wall.
A hand suddenly grabbed Quasimodo's arm, twisting it behind his back. The hunchback cringed as he was forced to bow. "What do you want?" a light voice hissed. "Who sent you?" it continued as the grip on Quasimodo's arm tightened.
"I-I won't hurt you!"
"How can I trust you?"
"I would never do that! Not to my guests!" Quasimodo grunted, his arm was at its limit. Releasing her grip, the woman stepped back. She held a hand on her wound, narrowing her brown eyes in a deep frown as she remained silent. The hunchback felt the pain from his arm pleasantly wither away.
"How do I know, you speak the truth? You could just as well have followed me."
"I did not. I've been here the entire time!" Quasimodo breathed out. "My clothes are dry!"
"How can I be sure that you aren't someone who pretends to be kind only to kill others and eat their flesh or something? You surely look like it!"
Growing more aggravated, Quasimodo frowned. "I'm not a saint. But ask yourself this, how many people you have heard that have died in Notre Dame!"
"This is Notre Dame?" The woman asked, still suspicious. Quasimodo nodded in response as he tried to convey an assuring smile.
Realizing the hunchback was speaking the truth, the woman's expression softened up. She sighed lightly before falling to her knees as she bent over, wrapping her arms around her stomach in pain. She coughed loudly. Quickly, Quasimodo rushed to her aid, helping her back on her feet.
"We better take care of that wound." Quasimodo said, as he walked with the wounded woman, who shrugged a bit by the hunchback's gesture.
Laying the woman down, Quasimodo cleansed the wound, ignoring how close it was to her upper torso. As he cleansed the wound, he noticed the many bruises and scars over the woman's skin. He proceeded as carefully as he could, making sure to remember everything Esmeralda taught him while the woman lay wordlessly on the bed, her deep brown eyes never leaving Quasimodo's. She seemed unfazed by how much Quasimodo could see of her body. Afterwards, the hunchback found some clean clothes, leaving them on a chair and returned to the woman.
"…Thank you." She finally said, her expressions had softened up from a frown to a wary stare. Quasimodo nodded "I'm glad, I could help." The woman watched Quasimodo's hands as they covered him with the warm blanket.
"Just say if there's anything I can help with."
The blonde sat motionless at first before she spoke. "Tell me, can I ask for your name?" she tried to sit but grunted as her wound began to sting.
"Quasimodo." The hunchback said, smiling lightly. He made way for the door, so the woman could get dressed in peace.
"…Noelle." Her light voice suddenly said, lowly like a whisper.
"What?" Quasimodo turned around.
"My name is Noelle." The blonde said, tugging herself with the blanket from the bed as she looked at Quasimodo.
"That's such a nice name." Quasimodo said in amazement, to which Noelle looked puzzled by the hunchback's comment. "It's not, it-it's… thank you." She looked away, flustered as her cheeks reddened.
A sudden growl came from underneath the grey blanket as Noelle looked even more embarrassed. Her eyes flickered at the hunchback, alarmed. Quasimodo, surprised stood up and fetched the bowl and the bloodied cloth. "I'll go get you something to eat." He said, walking out the door.
He put the bowl away and cleansed the cloth for blood, before heading to the food storage. There was still much mystery to Noelle, which left Quasimodo curious. He was no doctor, but he knew the wound was too wide to be a stab wound from a sword or a dagger. And it certainly wasn't caused by burns either. If he should try to describe the wound, it looked like something done out of spite; like torture. But why?
Finding some bread, Quasimodo returned to his guest. When he opened the door, he saw Noelle sitting on the bed. The blonde rested her head against the wall with the blanket around her it appeared that she was wearing the new clothes as the chair stood empty. She opened her brown eyes briefly before closing them again.
"Please don't scare me like that." She breathed out, her voice light but tired. Quasimodo handed her the food, giving a little smile as he did so. "I apologize." He said. The blonde stared at the bread for a couple of seconds before she proceeded to bite massive chunks of the bread, eating like a ferocious animal. Either she was incredibly hungry, or she had never learned proper etiquette. Either way, Quasimodo had no ill will towards her in any way; sure, she had taken a jab at his appearance but if his theory held any water, it could simply be because she was hurt and frightened.
"Am I your only guest?" Noelle asked, after she was done eating, breadcrumbs smeared over her face. "Can everyone just walk in here?"
It was a bit of tough question for Quasimodo to answer "Yes, you are the only one here. Normally when people arrive, I never greet them. Ma-Frollo is usually the one who does that. I'm always in the tower, ringing the bells." It was hard to not sound melancholic as he spoke the sad truth.
Noelle frowned. "Frollo? Claude Frollo? The Judge?"
Quasimodo nodded. "So, you've heard of him."
The blonde looked away for a bit, seemingly deep in thought before turning to Quasimodo again. "…You're very kind. The world has treated you unfairly, it seems. I… apologize for my harsh words in regard to your appearance."
"But can you blame them? I'm a… I'm not like them." Quasimodo lowered his head as he closed his eyes.
"No… you are kinder than most. Not many people in the world have those qualities." Noelle reassured, yet her expression still filled with apathy although Quasimodo got the feeling that it was hinted at those who hurt her.
"Thank you for the food, by the way." She nodded his head before laying down again. "I'd like to stay here for the night, if it is not too much to ask for?"
"No, of course not." Quasimodo smiled. "The cathedral is open to anyone. Anytime."
Quasimodo left the room and quickly ascended the stairs to the bells. Once he was in the bellower, he sat down and took a deep breath as the gargoyles hopped over to him. They all had big grins on their faces.
"Oh man, she's a keeper, isn't she? I mean, if you can look past the mistrust and all." Hugo winked and nudged Quasimodo with his elbow.
"How could that possibly be? One look at me and nothing matters in the end."
"But she did look at you, right? And she even called you a nice guy!" Victor said with much enthusiasm.
Laverne patted the Hunchback, grabbing his chin in the process. "But Quasi, dear. It doesn't hurt to try. I know you are afraid. Love can be a tough game to play but you will never know what it feels like if you don't take a change. Why don't you take her to the Christmas market tomorrow?"
"I… suppose you're right…"
The next morning, Quasimodo woke up before the break of dawn. He climbed to the bells of the cathedral and proceeded to ring them, signaling the awakening of Paris. He climbed down the ropes and headed towards the staircase when he was suddenly met with dark, brown eyes staring at him from the darkness. The flickering of the candle revealed her presence.
"Noelle! I-good morning." Quasimodo gasped in surprise as the blonde came closer to him.
"Good morning." Noelle briefly nodded before she headed to the balcony, looking over the still sleeping city. "What an impressive view. I figured you were the one who rung the bells."
"Well, I've been doing this all my life. Oh, uhm, how is your wound?"
"Better." The blonde nodded. She gave him a meek smile before examining the gargoyle statues. They appeared fascinating to her as she played with the horns. For once, she looked pleased with life and it left a small fuzzy feeling brewing within the Hunchback. Moreover, it peaked Quasimodo's interest about how she had ended up like this.
"Can I ask… what happened?"
"It is a long story that I'd rather not tell. But I appreciate your concerns." The blonde pulled away from the gargoyles. Could she see them too? She gently placed a hand on her stomach, close to the wound as she seemingly drifted away in her thoughts.
"Aaah, no problem. You can stay in the cathedral as long as you need to."
"Thank you…"
Soon, signs of life could be heard from the streets of Paris as people prepared for another day. The white layer of snow over Paris soon faded into a dark mix of brown and black coats, buzzing with life and excitement for the upcoming season.
"It seems that master will not be returning until after Christmas… That leaves me with lots of time and not much to do so… I was think of going the Christmas market today. Would you care to join me?"