Cindy looked around the little room before unpacking her mattress and laying it on the floor. It wasn't really a room; it was more like a corner especially reserved for them in the bell tower. The only light came from the candles that each girl held.

"Well, it's not as cosy as home, but it'll do," commented Jasmine, anchoring her candle to the floor with a little bit of wax. "I suppose we should be used to less that Palace-conditions, what with all the traveling we do. I shall go to sleep and dream of rolling hills of sand."

"And the scorpions and beetles and flies?" grinned Ariel.

"You get used to it," Jasmine yawned, and pulling her blanket out, settled down for the night. "What about you? What will you dream of tonight?"

"My dear Eric and Sebastian and Flounder," Ariel answered, eyes going dreamy.

Snow fingered a plait made from seven different coloured ribbons. "I shall dream of my boys."

"I think I shall dream of our palace," whispered Aurora sleepily.

"What about you, Belle?" asked Cindy, turning to face her. "What will you dream about tonight?"

Belle was silent for a while. "Father," she said finally. "I shall dream of father, and pray that he actually makes something that works."

Cindy smiled as the younger girl closed her eyes. Getting up, she blew out each candle, leaving her own till last. Blowing that out too, the girls were shrouded in darkness.

"See you in two months, Char," she whispered, and closed her eyes.


Morning came sooner than the girls thought it would. Ariel was the first to wake, and she made so much noise that she woke everyone else.

"Ariel, what in heaven's name has possessed you?" exclaimed Cindy as she watched the girl trip over her now-empty bag and land face-down on the floor.

"I need water! I feel so dry!" Ariel groaned, heaving herself up.

Jasmine hunted through her own bag and produced a flask. "Here, help yourself."

Coming up to see how they were, the Archdeacon called out "Are you girls awake? Are you decent?"

"Yes," they chorused.

The old man entered the room and looked around. Aurora was brushing her hair, and Cindy was just putting her's up. Ariel was wetting her face with water from a flask, Jasmine was staring at a glass bottle of sand, and Snow was humming softly as she folded her cloak and put it in her bag. And Belle was watching everything from her mattress with a quiet air.

Jasmine stood up, and the Archdeacon's eyes widened. Jasmine saw his look and was confused, but then realised that he was amazed at what she was wearing.

"Oh, I'm sorry, monsieur. This is the way we dress, where I come from."

The Archdeacon collected himself and smiled. "Of course. Please forgive me for staring."

Cindy sighed. "Jasmine, didn't I tell you to put a dress on?"

"It's in my bag."

"Well, put it on. You don't want to scandalise the Parisians, do you?"

"I will leave you, then," said the old man hurriedly, and quit the room, chuckling as he heard Jasmine mutter "Some of them look like they need a good scandalising."


A few minutes later, the girls- Jasmine now dressed in a sensible purple dress and hating every moment of it- decided to explore their new home.

The first things they saw were the bells. The early morning sun, reflecting off them, illuminated the whole tower.

They walked around, each of them silent, for they all had no words to describe the beauty of those bells.

Pretty soon, though, they were arrested by the sound of someone humming. Following the sound, they came upon a person sitting at a table. This table was covered with models; models of Notre Dame, houses, people, all crafted with great precision. The person was slouched over, painting another little model.

"Er... hello?" Cindy started.

At the sound of her voice, the person jumped, spilling paint, and fell off his chair. Cindy started forward to help him up, but he leaned away from her hand and got up by himself.

Snow and Ariel gasped. The man hadn't been slouching; he had a hunched back and bowed legs; and his face...

He had a lump hanging over one eye, and his nose was sort of squashed into his face. His hair was red and spiked up from the top of his head. All in all, he had an extremely awkward appearance.

Evidently expecting the girls to scream and run, he covered his face with his hands and started backing away.

"Wait a minute." Cindy's tone was kind. "Who are you?"

The man stopped. "I...I'm the bell-ringer." His voice came out muffled from behind his fingers.

"Oh, of course. We heard the bells when we arrived yesterday. They really are beautiful."

"Th...Thank you."

The silence stretched out, then:

"What happened to his face?" Ariel whispered loudly to Snow. Snow just giggled nervously.

"Ariel! How could you be so rude?" Jasmine exclaimed.

Cindy was fuming. "Apologise to him. Now."

Ariel stepped forward, eyes on the ground, face red with mortification.

"Please forgive me. I was rude. I'm sorry."

He shook his head at the girls. "I'm used t...to it." Then, to Ariel, "I was born th...this way. I...I'm s...sorry if I f...frightened you."

"Oh, I'm not scared. At least, not anymore."

The man started to back away again. "I...I th...think I'll go now."

"Wait."

Everyone turned to look at Belle. She came forward and gently pulled away his hands. "You don't need to hide from us."

The others nodded agreement. Belle continued to stare into his face, captivated by his eyes. They were like green gems, shining in the light.

"What's your name?" she asked softly.

"Qu...Quasimodo."

Something changed in Belle's face then. She stood up, eyes sparkling with anger, lips pinched. "Who called you that?"

"My master, Judge Frollo."

"Why, Belle? What does it mean?" Cindy looked puzzled.

"It's Latin. It means... it means half-formed." Belle's voice was shaking.

"Oh." The girls gazed upon Quasimodo with pity.

"Girls?"

They turned to see the Archdeacon with a basket. He gave a small smile.

"I see you've met Quasimodo. I was going to introduce him to you, but it seems you beat me to it." He looked at the bell-ringer. "My boy, these girls will be staying here for a few months. They've come for Le Jour d'Amore." He then proceeded to introduce each of them.

When Belle's turn came, a small smile seemed to grace Quasimodo's lips, and his gaze lingered on the brunette longer than the others. The Archdeacon noticed this, but chose to say nothing.

"I've brought you girls breakfast," he continued, giving the basket to Snow. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Paris."