Chapter 1,

The small raven-haired boy sat in the small carriage as it moved slowly over the cobblestone streets of England. He stared blankly out the window through the layer of water that trickled down due to the rain at the dark, cloud covered, night sky. The boy sighed as he rested his arm down on the small ledge by the window, resting his head in his hand.

"Clopin, stop that. Sit up straight." The boy, Clopin, looked over at his father. He shook his head slightly and moved away from the window so that he was sitting properly in his seat. "That's my boy." His father smiled. Though Clopin was still young, four at the oldest, he held many of his father's features. Same deep black hair, same dark eyes and there was a slight hint in the jaw line, though he was still too young to say for sure. The only difference being the tone of Clopin's skin. Where his fathers skin was pale and fine, Clopin's was dark and tanned courtesy of his mother.

"Father, Where are we going so late?" Clopin asked. His father sighed.

"I've already told you Clopin." Clopin looked to his mother, who sat in front of him in the carriage.

"Oh Tarrell. Just tell him again my dear. He's young. He doesn't understand these matters." Tarrell sighed.

"Clopin…" He paused and sighed again. "There is a man that just arrived in town, by the name of Claude Frollo. We're going to meet him."

"Why?" Tarrell sighed again. He loved his son to bits, but when it came down to the boys nagging…

"I'm going to speak to him about a small matter."

"What is it?" He asked. His father turned to him looking slightly annoyed and very angry.

"Now you sit down and be quiet for the rest of the trip. I don't want to hear another word out of you!" Clopin moved over slightly in fear that his father might hit him. His father turned from him and was about to say something but before he could say anything the carriage came to an abrupt halt. Tarrell looked confused.

"We shouldn't be there yet. Why have we stopped?" He stood up as best he could in the low ceiling carriage and made his way to the door. Clopin was about to speak but Tarrell held out his hand to silence him.

Clopin watched as his father walked out of the carriage and close the door behind him. Clopin and his mother sat in the carriage in silence waiting for Tarrell to return. All of a sudden a scream tore through the air. Clopin's eyes widened at the sound of his father's voice. His mother jumped up quickly and ushered him under the seat he had been sitting on, hiding him from view.

"Stay down little one." Clopin nodded. The seat hid him from view but there was a crack large enough for him to see out into the carriage. He watched in horror as the door of the carriage was ripped open and a man came in dragging his mother out. Soon after another man came into the carriage and began digging around. After a few moments of searching the carriage the man was about to leave. Clopin let out a small sigh of relief. As soon as the sound escaped he regretted it. The man paused and looked at the seat before ripping the top of it off. Clopin screamed as the man pulled him roughly from his hiding place and dragged him outside.

"Hey, look what I found." The man laughed. Clopin saw that his mother and father had been tied up. His father's lip was bleeding and there was a large bruise already forming on his left eye. Clopin struggled against the man's grip but it was no use. "What do we do with him?" One of the other men came up to Clopin and laughed as he grabbed onto Clopin's chin turning his face as if to examine it. He then pulled Clopin's jacket and shirt off, Clopin fighting the whole time.

"He's a little on the scrawny side." The man said. "Don't they feed you boy?" The man asked. Clopin didn't answer, he just struggled against the man's hold. "He's feisty. We'll take him with us. Sell him." The other two men laughed at Clopin's screams as he was dragged away from his parents.

"Clopin!" His mother cried out as she watched in horror as her only son was dragged away from her. Tarrell watched blankly unable to do anything. He just regretted that his last words to his son had been in anger.