The carriage inched along slowly over the cobble stone street as they made their way towards the Palace of Justice. A young woman no older then eighteen or nineteen stared out the small window in wonder at the people who live in Paris. She was French of course, born into a well off family and raised in the country far from the crowds. She was very intrigued by the brightly dressed people who played crude looking interments and danced for coins.
A scoffing sound caught her attention and she looked away from the entertainers to look at her bitter faced care taker. The older women leand over and yanked the curtains shut.
"Why Mi'Lady you chose to come to this place is beyond me… Gypsy's… Nothing but street filth that will rob you blind and still our children. Murderers , Thieves and Tramps." The girl just shrugged her shoulder and blinked her large green doe like eyes at the older women.
"I am here to experience things outside of home… And I am also here to seek spiritual guidance… And there is no better place to look then Notre Dame, naturally I would have to come to p-"
"I know, I know Mi'Lady Rosa you have to come to Paris to do so… But are you sure that is all?.. I think you are trying to run away from your ar-" The Rosa raised her hand up to silence her care taker.
"Please Emilia don't mention that to me… I do not wish for my mood to be spoiled." Emilia fell silent and bowed her head in apology. Rosa fell silent as well and sat back. After a while the loud, deep, pure sound of Notre Dames bells rung overhead and she guessed that they were in front of the great cathedral. Looking over at Emilia she saw that the older woman was asleep and she took the chance to pull back the curtains ever so slightly to look outside. People were everywhere but what caught her eye was a brightly colored caravan that was surrounded by children who watched intently at a puppet show that was being put on. The carriage had come to a halt do to the traffic and they were close enough for her to see and hear.
"It's Romeo and Juliet…" She breathed. The story was her favorite though the tale was a sad one. She giggled whenever a odd little puppet would jump in and interrupt only to be hit with a stick. The story teller ended the story at the part where Juliet was supposed to drink the tonic that would make her seem dead. The kids groaned in disappointment but still put coins in the story teller's floppy blue hat. Rosa quickly fished a few coins from her little bag and looked back out the curtain.
"Excuse me Monsieur!" She called the story teller. He wore a brightly colored jesters outfit with a pink mask. She saw him look up.
Clopin had wrapped up his story a little early today but he was going to finish it tomorrow. He was putting his puppets away when a sweet yet shy voice called out to him. He looked up and looked around at the crowed before he noticed a stalled carriage with a delicate hand hanging out the small window holding a few coins out to him. He looked around before climbing out of his caravan through the window and placed his now empty hat back on his head. He was weary of the carriage but kept his overly joyful façade present as he practically danced toward her.
"For you Monsieur…" He heard again her sweet sounding voice and he swept his hat off and she placed the coins in. He smiled and bowed to her in a very low dip.
"Ahhh thank you Manqué… But you didn't see the whole thing oui? Why give me such a generous donation?" He said standing from his bow.
"You made the children very happy… That is good enough for me." She said.
Surprised, Clopin stood strait and stared into the small opening of the curtains and almost lost his composure at the sight of a single deep green eye staring back at him. The rest of the young lady's face was hidden so he couldn't see what she looked like. He couldn't help but compare her eyes to that of pure dark emeralds.
"Thank you Moi Ange … Will you come again tomorrow to see the rest oui?" He watched the single eye become sad.
"Non… I am afraid not… My care taker will never allow me to come and see." The voice was sad now. Clopin frowned and tilted his head a little to the side as he looked at her.
"And why not madmozel?" He heard her clear her throat.
"You are Romani oui?.. A Gypsy?" Clopin understood now. "I am so sorry is I have offended you… My famille doesn't like Gypsy's… Non do moi servents…"
"Non chere… It is understandable… But where do you stand then?" Clopin asked and the emerald eye blinked at him.
"I think everyone deserves a chance…" She said and the the carriage gave a sudden jerk and it moved forward, leaving Clopin to stand there to stand there with the coins that were given to him and the leaving him to think about her eye, her voice, and her words
Rosa sat back once more, a little sad that her conversation was cut short. She didn't even get to ask the story tellers name. But she could still see his eyes looking at her as the talked. They reminded her of a pair of Black Birds searching for any sign of danger. Despite his jovial appearance he had obviously been very serious about what is happening around him.
She sighed and brushed a strand of loose dark brown hair over her shoulder. She shifted the dark fabric of her black dress and then settled for a quick nap. Her carriage continued to inch forward toward the Palace of Justice.