Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights and stuff go to The Walt Disney Company, Victor Hugo and the BBC. I make no profit from this and... Well, you know the rest.
"Yes, yes. I know you think I've been alone too long but it's better this way! This way I'm not putting anyone in any danger."
A loud bang came from the console, signifying she didn't agree. Then without warning she dropped out of the Time Vortex and made to land.
"Hey! What are you doing?" He shrieked, clinging desperately at the railings.
The unmistakable sound of the old girl landing and materialising broke through the otherwise silent console room. The monitor swung around to where the Doctor stood and displayed only:
Planet: Earth
Location: Paris, France.
Year: 1482 AD
Then the monitor is swung away from him and the doors open of their own accord, a sign that she is angry with him and wants him to leave for a while.
He did as he was told and walked away from the controls, down the steps and out the door which slammed on him the second he was out.
The early morning heat took his breath away. Of all the places on earth, France was somewhere he tended not to visit. From it's very early history France had a bad habit of mistreating it's poor and downtrodden. Of course she would lock him out here. 1400's just fantastic. How did she expect him to spend the hours if not days she remained in her tantrum? She certainly wasn't going to get him to back down that way. Nope, not a chance.
While he had been internally monologuing, his feet had been padding along the cobbled streets aimlessly. He had come to a wide street bustling with children and their mothers. The smell of fresh baking was heavy in the air.
"Mama, while you shop can I go listen to Clopin's stories?" A little girl asked her mother, already pulling away from her in the direction of the puppet stall.
"Oui, but do not give him anything Annabelle." She told her daughter.
"Mama I have nothing to give." She giggled and ran off.
With some interest, the Doctor looked in the direction of the puppet stall the girl had run towards. Nothing better to do, I suppose. he thought and walked in the same direction. He thought over the exchange between the two. Particularly the way the mother looked disapprovingly in the direction of Clopin's stall. The only good reason she would have to look so disgusted with a working Parisian was if they weren't in fact a Parisian. Clopin must be a Romani, or as far as many in this era would call them a gypsy. The Doctor snorted at this blatant racism. The little girl however didn't seem to understand why her mother disliked the puppeteer, that much was evident in the way she told her mother that she couldn't give what she didn't have.
He stayed to the back of the small gathering of mostly children who clamoured at the front of the stall. Inside stood a man dressed head to toe in bright colours and a collar with bells on it. His purple hat held a yellow feather and he wore a purple mask over his eyes. Already he seemed more interesting than anyone else the Doctor was going to meet while he was stuck here.
"Morning in Paris, the city awakes to the bells of Notre Dame." He sang, "The Fisherman fishes, the Bakerman bakes to the bells of Notre Dame. To the big bells as loud as the thunder! To the little bells as soft as the Psalm."
He had the children enraptured, they were now sat on the ground staring up at him in awe. The Doctor drew a little closer and smiled when Clopin caught his eye, he received in return a wink and a smile.
"Some people say the soul of the city's in the toll of the bells, the bells of Notre Dame. Listen, they're beautiful non? So many colours of sounds, so many changing moods, because you know they do not ring all by themselves." At this, Clopin produced a puppet which looked just like a miniature version of him and, with a high pitched squeak, he voiced the puppet.
'They don't?' "No, silly boy. Up there, high in the dark bell tower lives the mysterious bell ringer. Who is this creature?" 'Who?' "What is he?" 'What?' "How did he come to be there?" 'How?'
With a pat to the puppet's head, he silenced it. This got a laugh from the children and even the Doctor grinned at that.
"Hush! And Clopin will tell you. It is a tale, a tale of a man and a monster."
A few children gasped at this and where Clopin's singing had become simply speaking, he began to sing once again. "Dark was the night when our tale was begun. On the docks near Notre Dame, four frightened gypsies slid silently under the docks near Notre Dame, but a trap had been laid for the gypsies and they gazed up in fear and alarm at a figure whose clutches were iron as much as the bells. The bells of Notre Dame. Judge Claude Frollo longed to purge the world of vice and sin and he saw corruption everywhere except within.
'Bring these gypsy vermin to the Palace of Justice.' Clopin said, obviously imitating this Judge Frollo before he changed his tone to a gruff one in personation of a guard.
'You there, what are you hiding?'
'Stolen goods no doubt. Take them from her.'
Then he sounded like himself again, "She ran! But Frollo pursued, she lost him for moments when she leapt over a gate that Frollo's horse could not. The alleyway she ran through lead to Notre Dame.
'Sanctuary, please give us sanctuary.' She yelled and pleaded but it was too late, Frollo had caught her and they struggled on the steps of Notre Dame as he tried to take from her, the baby she held. She lost her balance and fell."
The Doctor was sure that this story was not entirely fictional and he could feel a very strong hatred building in his gut for whoever this Frollo character was supposed to represent, if not the man himself.
"When he looked upon the baby and saw his deformities he declared it a monster and went to drown him in the well near the steps of Notre Dame but before he could… 'Stop!' cried the Archdeacon
'This is an unholy demon, I am sending it back to hell where it belongs.'
'See there the innocent blood you have spilt on the steps of Notre Dame.'
'I am guiltless. She ran, I pursued.'
'Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt on the steps of Notre Dame.'
'My conscience is clear!'
'You can lie to yourself and to your minions. You can claim that you haven't a qualm but you never can run from nor hide what you've done from the eyes, the very eyes of Notre Dame!'
"And for one time in his life of power and control, Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul."
'What must I do?'
'Care for the child and raise it as your own.'
'What?! Am I to be saddled with this misshapen… Very well, but let him live with you in your church.'
'Live here? Where?'
'Anywhere. Just so he's kept locked away where no one else can see. The bell tower perhaps? And who knows? Our Lord works in mysterious ways, even this foul creature may yet prove one day to be of use to me.'
"And Frollo gave the child a cruel name. A name that means half-formed, Quasimodo. Now here is a riddle to guess if you can sing the bells of Notre Dame. Who is the monster and who is the man? Sing the bells, bells, bells. bells, bells of Notre Dame!"
His story ended there and the children ran off to find their parents. The Doctor moved forward to speak with him as Clopin stepped out of his stall to stretch his legs.
"Quite a tale, don't you worry you might frighten the children?" The Doctor chuckled.
"Non monsieur, the children have quite active imaginations of their own. My stories do not scare them, I know for they return each morning to hear them again. Of course, if my stories scare them it is no concern of mine, they are not my children." Clopin laughed and straightened up to look at the Doctor, " I notice you enjoyed it too. It is not often I get adults coming to listen to my performance."
"Then they are most certainly missing out." He smiled, "My name's the Doctor."
"Ah but Doctor who?" Clopin joked, "I am Clopin."
"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Clopin."
"And I yours, Doctor."
The Doctor was about to offer a hand for Clopin to shake when a scream and the clattering of hoofs startled them both. Without a seconds hesitation they both ran to the source of the scream.
A guard on a horse had slain two people and judging from the way Clopin dropped to their sides they must have been Romani too. The people in the street were frozen to the spots they stood on. The Doctor knelt with Clopin at their side. Clopin was holding the hand of a young woman and not even three feet from her lay a little boy. This is wrong he thought. Clopin said something the Doctor couldn't hear before he stood and snarled at the guards. One of the guards advanced on Clopin and drew his sword but before he could hurt him, the Doctor drew himself to his full height and put himself between Clopin and the sword, "I'm afraid you will have to go through me first." And he spread his arms out wide. Partly to cover Clopin and partly to invite the sword. It stopped millimetres from his heart.
"Now tell me how you dare draw your sword on this man! What is his crime? Nothing. What was theirs? Nothing also, I bet my life." He divided his attention between both guards, "People like you have no right to be given any sort of power!" He growled.
The guards both put away their swords in the sheaths. They knew it would not do to kill this man in full view of the public and judging by his clothes he was no gypsy. Judge Frollo may turn a blind eye when they slay the odd gypsy but neither wished to face him if he found they had killed a civilian. "Watch who you choose to protect sir, this filthy gypsy would just as soon rob you blind." One said as they both rode off.
The people who had watched on in shock began to busy themselves in pretending they had not been there or seen anything and moved away. Not one person offered to help as Clopin looked from the woman to the boy.
"I am sorry Clopin."
"Non. Apologies are pointless. This happens so often that we are, unfortunately, used to it but it never gets easier." He said sadly and gathered up the woman's body. The Doctor moved to pick up the boy before Clopin could.
"But sadness is appropriate. There was likely no need for this. Sadder still than their murder, I believe, is how resigned you are to this common outcome."
"We can hide and it is far less often than it used to be but when the guards decide they feel like spilling my people's blood, someone is bound to catch it. No matter how fast or far we run."
xXx
They carried the bodies through the streets and people stepped aside to avoid them.
"What were their names?" The Doctor asked after a while.
"Pierre and Christine." He sighed, "Undertakers will not take gypsies so we are forced to bury our own."
The Doctor nodded, how awful it must be to be turned away even by those supposed to provide safe passage into the next life.
Eventually they came to a graveyard.
"Unfortunately Doctor, I can not allow you to come any further with me." Clopin told him and took Pierre's body from him. "Our safety is my concern. Though you have saved my life today, I can not be certain that you are not a spy of Frollo's sent to find our haven."
At first the Doctor was hurt but then he understood.
"Be safe, Monsieur Clopin." He nodded and turned back the way they had come.
xXx
It was late afternoon when he next saw Clopin but he didn't approach him as he was not alone. He was accompanied by a woman with such raven hair that it made her green eyes shine but they were clouded with a tinge of sadness.
The Tardis still wouldn't let him in even as he told of how he had saved a man's life.
"C'mon old girl! I saved him, surely that must at least make you proud of me? Enough so to let me in?"
Alas she was stubborn so he gave in and began to wander the streets.
Leaving Clopin and his friend to themselves, the Doctor wandered the streets for some time. It must have been nearing the evening because the bells began to toll and this reminded the Doctor of Clopin's tale. In his curiosity he began to head towards Notre Dame, you couldn't miss it for it's bell towers seemed to reach towards the heavens themselves. In his daydream he barely paid attention to his surroundings until a familiar voice pulled him from his reverie. He turned to see Clopin and his friend and, smiling, he walked towards the pair.
"Good evening mon ami!" Clopin greeted him.
Before the Doctor could even greet him back, Clopin's companion strode forward and spoke, "So you are the man who stood between my friend and a sword this morning? Thank you Doctor." She smiled and hugged him quickly.
"I- No need to thank me. I wasn't going to let the guards kill a man simply grieving for his friends."
"And where were you going so entranced?" Clopin interrupted.
"Oh, I heard the bells and remembered your story. It's no work of fiction is it?" The Doctor asked.
"Non, it is as true as you are standing there." Clopin replied.
"Were you going to go see him?" His friend asked.
"I don't honestly know…"
The Doctor felt a small tug on his trousers and looked down to see a goat who bleated at him now he had the man's attention. The Doctor knelt down to scratch behind the goat's ear. "Hey there little fella."
"Djali! Leave him be." She chuckled and moved to pick the goat up.
"It's okay miss…?"
"Esmeralda." She supplied
"Beautiful." He said and rose to his feet.
"Would you like to take a walk with us?"
The Doctor looked from her to Clopin, to be sure he wasn't intruding on anything. When he smiled and nodded, the Doctor fell into step with the two as they walked in the direction of Notre Dame.
When they reached the imposing structure, the Doctor simply stared up in awe at it.
"You are most certainly not from Paris, are you Monsieur?" Clopin laughed.
"Hmm? No. No, I'm not." He replied absent-mindedly.
"If I might ask, where are you from?" Esmeralda asked and took the Doctor's hand gently.
"Oh, my home is a place so far from here. So far and so unwelcoming now."
Esmeralda looked at him sadly. "So you travel now?"
"Yes. Never really found anywhere worth settling in. I suppose you could say my soul is very restless."
Taking the lead, Esmeralda started forward. "Let's go inside."
While the Doctor took in every stained glass window and admired each statue carved from stone, Esmeralda and Clopin held back and chatted quietly. When they all stepped outside again there was a chill in the air and night was fast approaching.
"Do you have somewhere to shelter for the night?" Esmeralda enquired.
The Doctor opened his mouth to answer in the affirmative but closed it again and shook his head when he remembered how the Tardis was still in a bad mood with him. As he wondered where he would spend the night he sat down upon the steps.
Behind him Esmeralda nudged Clopin who furrowed his brow initially then, as realisation dawned he shook his head. While she understood her friend's hesitancy she also felt a sadness for the Doctor.
"He saved your life!" She whispered to Clopin.
"And he may yet be a spy of Frollo's sent to find the Court of Miracles!" Clopin argued.
"I doubt Frollo is clever enough to imagine up such a scheme or he would have tried it years ago."
"Clever, perhaps not. Devious enough though, I have no doubt and what does it matter that he has not thought of it before? He may have thought of it now!"
"If Djali trusts him then I do too." She huffed and crossed her arms.
"Fine."
The Doctor, who had been lost in his thoughts, heard none of this exchange.
"Come, mon ami." Clopin said and helped the other up. "It will be dark soon and it is already getting cold."
Once he stood, the Doctor looked at Clopin confusion etched on his face. "Where are we going now?"
xXx
They were once again in the graveyard when Clopin stepped in front of the Doctor and held out a hand, to stop him too. "Let me be clear here, Doctor, if you do turn out to be a spy then you will not live to see the dawn of a new day."
This shocked the Doctor. "How can I be a spy? I do not even know where we are going. Nor did I know either of you before today."
"Clopin, he has no idea. Do you not trust my judgement?" Esmeralda said.
Clopin seemed to flinch at that and pressed his lips into a fine line before walking on ahead.
"Don't be offended by what he said, he just feels responsible for the safety of our people. He would never forgive himself if something bad should happen to them under his watch." Esmeralda reassured the Doctor gently.
As they approached a tomb, Clopin and Esmeralda looked around to discern if they had been followed. When they were at last certain, they slid off the top of the tomb to reveal a set of stone steps. Clopin being the last down, closed the tomb over once more and the three were plunged into darkness.
As if from nowhere, Esmeralda produced a torch and lit it. As they made their way down, the Doctor was silent and when they finally came to the bottom of the steps he could see tents and light and people.
"What is this place?" He asked in amazement.
"This, Doctor, is the Court of Miracles!" Clopin said with a sweeping gesture of his arms and in a way that the Doctor came to think second nature to the man. Clearly, showmanship was in his blood and the pride in his face was something akin to a King looking out to his Kingdom.
Hello! So, this is my first story on here but I have been writing for as long as I can remember. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this crossover and please let me know what you think as all comments are welcome!
So, I want to apologise if anyone in this comes across as out of character and I also want to make it known now that I do have a couple pairing ideas but I can't decide so if you want to suggest one I'll take them into consideration.
Last but not least, I'm more than happy to continue this story but first I need to know if anyone actually wants to read more. In essence, chapter 2 will most likely be written but if I don't get a whole lot of interest it'll likely not be posted.
So thank you and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!