Author's Notes: This won't be a long fanfic, but I am enjoying writing it seeing how Hagi would be as a child. I have done just a little research on some points, so I guess I am doting on it a bit. Teehee. The title means: My Love, Paris in French.

Chapter 2: Mon Amour, Paris.

Hagi woke up with a fright, sweat dripping down his face as he panted. His eyes adjusted quickly to the moonlight seeing the familiar camp he had stayed at for the last week. His eyes surveyed the bodies to see if anyone had woken up, but no one was glanced down at the sleeping Kezia. His heart fluttered as he sighed in happiness. He had spent almost every waking moment with her for the past week. She showed him all the wonders of Paris including the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Louvre Palace; they even discovered some new ones together.

He learned in this short time that she had lost her parents about a year ago. They were accused of stealing, caught and then beaten to death by the guards. After the terrible incident, she was taken in by her aunt and her family. They weren't really close with her parents, so they only brought her in to help them earn more money. She worked hard to live up to their expectations of her, but she seemed to fail them at every turn. Her cousins were the worst to her; they were much older and were ready to start families of their own. They loved to pick on her and make fun of her. They enjoyed teasing her that she was now an orphan with no family of her own. They would call her childish even when she asked for a drink of water. They only left her scraps of food and gave her left over clothing. Even with all of these problems, she had a smile plastered on her face. She would go out of her way to make others happy, even those that were mean to her.

Hagi got up from his bed and slowly tiptoed through the camp, being careful not to make a sound. He hopped over the last person landing in silence. Air filled is lungs with the sweet smell of water. He ventured over to the street light that was illuminating the road. Their camp was very close to the river; sometimes he would spend the night staring into the deep black abyss. Crouching near the canal, he spotted a frog and reached out to it. The frog jumped towards him and then bounded away disappearing into the void that was the river. It was then Hagi heard the footsteps approaching. Hagi rushed to his feet and clung to a nearby tree, which was close to the street, as he squinted into the darkness. In the obscurity, there hobbled a decrepit old man in a faded black robe holding a tattered book in his left hand. Hagi stepped out into the light from the lamp. The elderly man came to a stop.

"My child, what are you doing out at this hour?" His soft voice faltered. Hagi's eyes shifted down the alley to where they had made camp at. The man glanced for a moment and realized what Hagi was. "Ahh, my child, do not worry I will not tell a soul. By chance, is there anything you need?" Hagi shook his head. "If you need anything just come and find me." The feeble man held out a small torn piece of paper.

Hagi hesitantly took it and nodded at the man who had already vanished into the darkness. He could still hear the sound of his footsteps fading away as he gazed at the tiny paper. The paper had the street name of a place near the edge of town. The writing included a landmark and a brief one word description "church." He peered into the night before giving a fleeting look back at camp as he faded into the shadows.

Hagi spent a great amount of time drifting through corridors and alleyways attempting to locate the concealed building written on the page. By the time he eventually happened upon the dilapidated looking residence, it was getting closer to sunrise. The structure appeared to have not have received proper care in a long while. Ivy clung to its brick-like structure, as rust bred on the metal. He stared at the torn sheet for a moment assessing if this was the right location. It was indeed correct.

Hagi snuck over to peer through the window. There were many candles lighting up the home. He could make out six figures shuffling around in the dim light. Five of the figures were women covered from head to toe in a black garment, but around their faces and shoulders, they wore something that resembled a white hood. It was an odd sort of attire to wear; it wasn't normal everyday clothing or a unique performance outfit, it was closer to what people wore when they buried the dead.

At the head of the table, sat the man he had seen earlier in the streets. They were all sitting down to eat. What a strange hour to eat, though it was getting close to dawn. He wondered why they were up so early. The food on the table wasn't much but it was a lot more than Hagi had ever seen at a dinner table.

As Hagi was gawking at the food, one of the nuns had noticed him and rose from her seat. At this, he started to back away. As he turned to leave, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Young man. Wait." The nun gutturally beckoned. Hagi glanced over his shoulder. She could sense he wasn't going to stay. "Here, at least take this." She turned around and pulled out a cloth bag. Hagi tentatively twirled around. He reached out for the bag as he cautiously ambled towards her. As he neared the doorway, a smile caressed her fragile cheeks. He could see that she was an older lady; her face was obscured by wrinkles and her teeth misaligned and tarnished from old age, but her grin and the tender glow on her face was uplifting. Hagi then snatched the bag from her hand and darted back to the barely lit streets of Paris.

When he arrived at camp, he bent over panting. He had made it back without being chased by anyone, being yelled at or accused of any crime. It must not have been stolen goods. It really must have just been a gift. He stopped panting and looked at the sack. But who would give a gift to a 'gyspy'? He wondered.

The sun was hitting the horizon now. Its rays reached out to the sky telling the moon and the stars that it was time for them to rest. Its light crept along the outskirts of the town, first giving light to the farmers and their fields, then reaching over the trees and into the city. He noticed as he glanced at came that Kezia was no longer sleeping. In fact, Hagi couldn't see her started to quickly search the nearby alleys, shrubbery, and streets for her.

"Hagi," she whispered from by the river. He spun around to find her now under the once empty street light. "Where did you go? I couldn't find you." There was a dash of worry in her voice, but her face remained somber.

Hagi remained silent. He didn't like making her worry or seeing her brow wrinkle up with confusion. He strolled over to her and took her hand. A bit of shock and embarrassment brushed over her features before returning to normal. He placed in her hand the bag the nun had given him. Kezia looked at him questioningly before inspecting it. She crouched down under the street lamp placing the cloth on the ground. She untied the bow at the top as Hagi peered over her shoulder, to reveal a plethora of food. It contained a few loaves of bread, a couple of apples, a bunch of grapes, along with a block of cheese. Their eyes widen in excitement and hunger.

"Wow, Hagi, where did you get this from?" She asked curiously before her face turned sour. "You stole them, didn't you?" She started to tie up the bag. "I can't believe you, Hagi! How could you resort to stealing? I know we are all hungry but we aren't that type of people." Hagi was shaking his head as he held up his hands while she spun to face him. She shoved the bag at him. "You need to return this right away to where you got it from."

"But I didn't steal it!" Hagi yelped as his voice broke. "A kind old lady gave it to me. She lives here." He searched his pockets for the piece of paper containing the directions and address to the church. When he found it, he thrust it at her proving his innocence. She inspected the paper before believing his story. She gently held out the paper and he placed it back into his pocket.

"A man offered to help if I needed anything. When I went there, they offered me some food. They know what we are Kezia and yet they still gave us food!" Hagi's eyes twinkled with happiness and Kezia couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, fine." She huffed, but Hagi just kept smiling at her. "We should wake up everyone now and let them know." Hagi nodded in agreement as some of the troop had already started to wake.

When they did Hagi explained about his adventure and how they gave him some food. He was sure to add in that he did not steal it. Everyone had gathered around the lovely cloth sack as he untied it exposing the food for all to see. There were many gasps and yells of excitement.

"Oh, this is wonderful!" One of them cried out.

"What glorious food!" Exclaimed another.

"But shouldn't his family have the pick of the food?" The old storyteller wheezed sternly. The others around her nodded in agreement deciding it was for the best. The bag was handed over to Hagi's father. He stared down at the appetizing food, uncertain of what to do. His mother seemed to be disoriented by this auspicious endowment. Hagi stepped forward and started handing out a loaf of bread to each family, along with an apple, a few grapes and some cheese. His parents' hearts melted. They were astounded by his generosity. How their son, who had nothing most of his life, could give so freely and willingly to all those around him. At that moment, they were truly proud of their little boy.

Kezia knew that with so many in her aunt's family and being given food last, she would not get much at all but she still sat down patiently waiting for her portion of food. Hagi knew this all too well.

"Kezia." Her head popped up from its dreary position when he spoke. "You can eat with my family." She quickly glanced at his parents who nodded in agreement. Her face lit up like a freshly struck match. She dashed over and received a fourth of a loaf of bread, a few bites of their apple, a couple of grapes, and a slice of cheese. Hagi could see she was in heaven and all he could do was smile.