Chapter 2:The Festival of Fools
We had been dancing as we usually did, Francis on the lookout and Jacque playing a flute while Djoli (Esmeralda's pet goat) hopped around us.
A mother and child passed us, the elder scolding the younger and telling them to stay away, lest we rob them blind.
I rolled my eyes. I swear. Two little, annoying morons do one stupid thing and condemn us all.
A few seconds later, a man showed up. He was blond, with a blond beard, a long blue cloak that covered him from the neck down, and he was leading a white horse behind him, tossing away a map. He had to be at least thirty. Then he saw Esmeralda. His face turned dreamy and a small grin pulled the corner of his mouth up.
My sister gave him a smirk, her emerald eyes dancing with mischief and patted her tambourine.
And that's when Francis whistled.
We made a beeline for the ally way, leaving Djoli to get the hat full of coins. They spilled and he baaed a complaint. We both ran back to pick them up when the guards suddenly blocked out the sunlight. We slowly stood up with the hat full of the coins that fell out.
There was a taller guard with a mustache and a shorter guard with big lips. He was kind of gross.
The tall one spoke first. "Where'd you get the money, gypsies?" he gave our title with venom.
"For your information we earned it," Esmeralda retorted.
"Gypsies don't earn money." He rolled his eyes.
"Yeah they steal it!" the short, rather fat guard claimed.
"You'd know a lot about stealing wouldn't you?" I asked venomously.
"Trouble makers eh?" the tall one tried to take the hat away from Esmeralda and she fought against him so he settled for grabbing my right arm.
"maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down." The fat one tried to grab my left arm and I kicked him away. Djoli rammed the tall one in the stomach so he released my arm (he had been holding me rather hard on my bruises from the week before) and we ran. Esmeralda and I hid in one of the alleys and watched as the blond man pulled his horse in front of the two guards. They fell over, the tall one in just the right spot.
The blond man glanced around his horse and seemed to come to a decision. "Achilles sit."
He did so obediently, like a dog.
"Woah!"
"Oh, dear, I am sorry! Naughty horse, naughty!" he lightly scolded his horse, a grin toying with his mouth. "He's just impossible, I can't take him anywhere." The blond leaned on his horse and we took the opportunity to run again. We came to a crowded street and we split sides. It was then that the two guards came pushing through the crowd, shouting to make way for the captain.
Wait. Captain? Captain of the guard? I looked around to find something to stand on to get a better look. I nearly fell off the crate I had found when I saw the blond man following the two guards, dressed in gold armor.
"Get down from there!" I hopped down, catching a glimpse of the captain stooping down. A few moments later, I came back up to Esmeralda who was watching after said captain.
"What happened?"
"He gave us more money…"
"Oh…" with that, we left and went to find our other two partners to dance a little more before the time for our show came.
A little over twenty minutes later Clopin arrived and pulled my sister and me under his arms, pulling us away from the street and towards the tent where we would get ready.
"Mes amours! Where have you been? The festival is about to begin!"
Esmeralda only grinned and ducked out of his hold.
"Well I guess you'd better get going shouldn't you?" I said, grinning as well.
His touch almost made me shiver. His clothes were colorful, purple and yellow, and he wore his favorite hat-wide brimmed with a large yellow feather. And today, he wore a purple mask with gold trim.
"Don't be late!" he let go and pranced off.
I rolled my eyes and we ducked into the tent as the singing started. "I swear, he does much more of that and people will begin to talk…"
"He's Clopin. I don't think people even dare talk about him."
"And?" we started to change out of our regular clothes. "I think the captain may like you Es."
"What makes you say that?"
We were separated by a curtain so she couldn't see my eye roll or when I stuck out my tongue. "Did you see the look he gave you?" I squirmed, uncomfortable as I remembered the look in his eyes.
She didn't have time to answer. A large form rolled through the tent and pulled the curtain down, tangling itself in it.
We both whipped around to see what had happened.
"Hey! Are you alright?" she tied her robe before kneeling down in front of the figure.
I didn't need to see his face to know who it was.
Esmeralda pulled the hood off of Quasimodo's head and I choked.
He didn't see me so I hid, trying not to cry or pass out. What was he doing out here?
"Asperity are you alright?"
I looked back at her. I hadn't even heard him leave. "Yes. Yes I'm fine." We hung the curtain back up and changed into our costumes. Esmeralda was red satin with pink frills, mine was a pale blue with green.
I was up first so we had to hurry as she put my head piece on and smoothed kohl on my eyes. I made sure that my earrings were in place and that my hair wouldn't get caught in anything. "Let me borrow your tambourine."
She handed it to me and I left the tent getting to the stage just in time for me to trade places with Clopin as he threw the tiny explosive powder capsules down. I felt him kiss my cheek fleetingly as he left and I was stunned for a short moment.
I recovered quickly and began the sultry dance that I had been practicing for the past week, seducing the crowd with my eyes. Dropping the tambourine, I continued to dance, pulling out a purple scarf with gold stars and moons. I pranced over to Frollo's tent where he sat on his makeshift throne, climbed up in front of him, and pulled his face towards me with the scarf. His skin was pale white and his eyes like the little glass beads of a crow. I made to kiss his nose but slapped his ridiculous hat down over his face instead. Vile creature.
I knew he was angry at me as I pranced away, and I could definitely see it when I turned back to tease him. The scarf was clenched in his fist. Even as I cartwheeled once back and landed in a split, winking at my little brother, I could tell he just about hated me.
Athelstan shied away, knowing then that I had caught him. I continued to call him his name given to him by my mother, rather than the name Frollo had given him.
Once I got up, I did a few more turns and then took a guards spear, staking it in the stage. With that, I used my momentum to spin around the spear, ending at the bottom, nodding my head once to signify the end, with my arm and leg formed in a "v".
Clopin leapt onstage and bowed once before taking my hand in his black gloved one and helping me stand up. He then spun me once more and bowed along with me. In another cloud of smoke, Esmeralda and I traded places.
She should have gone first, for I would not have pulled Athelstan to the stage. I suppose fate has a cruel way of making things work in its favor, doesn't it?
