Soli Deo Gloria
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Beauty and the Beast. I'm finally updating! Don't worry, little story, I didn't abandon you! BatB is coming out in 3D and my sister got BatB Enchanted Christmas on Christmas, and so, yeah, all is right in the world.
The crowd of people was thick and hard to get through, but Belle was able to navigate through the crowds while having her arm crushed by Gaston's grip. The two walked on into the crowd, and Belle smiled excitedly, gazing all about her. The people in their getup were all a-giddy, all ready for the fun to begin.
Belle could spot Notre Dame's tall, bell towers, and was pleased to see that the doors weren't that far away. Maybe they could have a peek inside before the festival started.
"Gaston?" Belle let her arm slip out of his to grasp her book, which was being jarred out of her elbow from the crowd.
Gaston looked down at her and said, "Yes, Belle?"
"Do you think that we could go see the cathedral before the festival starts? It'll only take a minute-" Belle said excitedly, but Gaston quickly cut her off.
"Belle, Belle," he said slowly in his suave voice, "it's about to start and we'll miss everything!" He reached his arm out and wrapped his arm around Belle's shoulders, to her slight shock, and drew her close to him as he continued, "We'll go see the colorful windows afterwards."
Belle sighed softly to herself and said, "Alright then."
Gaston looked down at her again and said in a cheerful tone of voice, "Cheer up, Belle!" His arm swept across the crowd, "It'll be fun!"
"Okay," Belle said slowly. Suddenly the crowd around them quieted, only a few voices could be heard anxiously chatting away like gossips. Out of an alleyway came a procession. The men in the procession were wearing black robes with black hoods, covering their faces and causing a rather sober air to sweep the crowd. Belle craned her neck over the people in front of her and her ears perked up as the people started to sing together, "Come one, come all! Leave your loops and milking stools, coop the hens and pen the mules, come one, come all! Close the churches and the stools, it's the day for breaking rules, come and join the feast of...
All of a sudden, out from behind the men's black robes came a spindly man, dressed in a ridiculous outfit with colors of pink, yellow and blue. He cried out excitedly as confetti flew out amongst the crowd, "Fools!" Several flags from the poles that the now smiling black-robed men had been holding fell into the wind.
Gaston grinned like a mad man as the crowd started to dance excitedly. Belle watched uncertainly, looking from one person to the other. This was her first Feast of Fools; the people in her town found it to be too much for the country folk to have their own. Belle could see why.
The man who Belle later found out was named Clopin danced about, grabbed a man's arm and twirled about, singing, "Once a year, we throw a party here in town, once a year we turn all Paris upside down! Ev'ry man's a king and ev'ry king's a clown!" At those lyrics, a man dressed like a king from a stack of cards did a hand spring, turning his clothes into that of a clown. Belle couldn't help but cover her mouth with one of her hands to stifle her laughter.
"Once again, it's Topsy Turvy Day!" Clopin managed to acquire a pair of scissors, and snipped the string off of a bunch of balloons that the same man he had twirled with were holding. Belle's face turned thoughtful as she saw the hooded man run. He seemed like he was trying to hide from something or someone, but why?
"It's the day the devil in us gets released! It's the day we mock the prig and shock the priest! Ev'rything is topsy turvy at the Feast of Fools!" Clopin sang as he managed to chase the hooded man into a puppet stage, in which he hit the man with a little wooden club that his puppet was holding.
"Topsy turvy!" the crowd shouted. Gaston looked down at Belle, who was speechless and was merely watching everything in amazement, including the dogs walking the humans on leaches.
"Sing along, Belle!" Gaston cried, wrapping an arm around her as Clopin yelled, "Ev'rything is upsy-daisy!"
Belle smiled and joined Gaston in singing, "Topsy turvy!" Gaston pulled Belle closer to avoid men who were walking around with huge masks on their heads, only they were more like pillow cases with pencil markings on them.
Clopin danced excitedly, "Ev'ryone is acting crazy, dross is gold and weeds are a bouquet, that's the way on Topsy Turvy Day!"
Belle held onto her book as tightly as she could as the crowd danced about, "Topsy turvy!" A man in a lobster's costume proudly walked down the square, pushing a wheelbarrow with a pot inside. In the pot sat a man in a chef's hat, and both of the costumed men were grinning wildly.
Confetti flew through the air, collecting on Belle'e hair and dress. She really couldn't understand how it stayed on her when she was being jostled about by the jolly crowd.
"Beat the horns and blow the trumpets!" Clopin shouted, pointing to a small stage where a trio of unamused looking musicians played the music that the people sang to.
"Topsy turvy!" Belle couldn't help but gasp when a few men dressed up in red outfits with huge white heads with comical expressions painted on popped their white heads. Gaston heard her and said, "Scared, Belle?" He wrapped his arm all the tighter around her, "I'll protect you."
Belle was a bit uncomfortable by him doing that and she managed to slip out of his grip as she yelled above the noise, "I'm fine."
"Join the bums and thieves and strumpets, streaming in from Chartes to Calais," the crowd sang, Clopin's voice the highest as in from the same alley that the dark hooded figures had come came a prisoner's carriage. After the carriage came soldiers on thick horses, and at the head was Captain Phoebus, looking far less lost than he had been. Belle smiled as he passed by.
"Scurvy knaves are extra scurvy on the sixth of Januervy," Clopin sang, and the entire crowd, including Belle, who was trying to catch the Captain's eye and had nearly blocked out the singing but she was quickly reminded to at least hum along by an elbow from Gaston, "All because of Topsy Turvy Day!"
The Captain didn't notice her though, which she thought was alright since this was a thick crowd and it wasn't even like he was looking for her. He scanned the crowd and pointed, causing the soldiers behind him to fan out through the crowd. Belle's face screwed into a look of concern. Why was he sending out soldiers? Were they looking for somebody?
Suddenly it hit her; were they looking for the hooded man who seemed to be trying to hide from everyone? She looked over the crowd, looking for anything to give her clues, but all she could see were the crazy people dancing in couples all over the square.
Clopin clapped his hands together and sang, "Come one, come all!" Belle managed to see him approach a man who seemed very important. He wore a black, flowing robe and a regal purple and black hat. The way that Clopin sang about romance and mystery made the man very angry looking.
Belle leaned over to Gaston, who was looking very amused, "Who's that?"
"That's the Judge, of course, EVERYONE knows that, Belle!" Gaston said. Belle frowned. Just because she asked a question didn't mean that she needed a snarky answer.
"Come one! Come all! See the finest girl in France, make an entrance to entrance!" Clopin bellowed excitedly as he leaped onto the stage.
Gaston smiled and grabbed Belle's arm, making her gasp as she nearly dropped her book. He practically dragged her to the edge of the stage, for his pulling made it very hard for the teen to find her footing to walk. Once at his desired spot, Gaston let go of her arm, causing her to flail around for a moment before balancing.
"Gaston!" Belle gasped. The man instantly turned and shushed her gruffly before turning back to the stage. Belle folded her arms with a huff and watched Clopin yell to the crowd, "Dance la Esmeralda, DANCE!" He had something clutched in his fist, and he now threw it to the ground and suddenly, in a whiff of pink smoke disappeared from the stage and was replaced by a young woman with black hair in a red dress.
The woman twirled around a scarf, making many of the men in the crowd wolf whistle. Belle, her arms still folded, looked closely and recognized the woman to be one of the gypsies playing music in the street today. She glanced over at Gaston, who was cheering wildly at her dancing, and yelled over the crowd, "Gaston, I thought you said gypsies were thieves and not like other people!"
"I was wrong about one of them," Gaston said before he cheered yet again at the woman's dancing. Belle couldn't help but smile to herself. Gaston had a weird view on things.
Her eyes followed the woman as she dancing lightly over to the Judge, who was looking disgusted. The gypsy sat on his lap while wrapping the scarf around his neck. With a devious smile, she gave the Judge a peck on the nose and promptly pushed his hat over his eyes. Many of the crowd laughed, including Belle, who thought that the Judge's expression was priceless.
The gypsy leapt over to her stage and flounced her skirts. With a twinkle in her eye, she quickly did cartwheels and finished with a split, making the men of the crowd go wild.
Everyone watched as she quickly seized one of the soldiers' spears and plunged it into the stage. Holding on tightly, she spun around the pole, finishing with a toss of her hair and a nod to the crowd.
Everyone went wild and Clopin managed to get on the stage while the men in the crowd threw coins of approval onto the stage. Belle watched with a smirk as Gaston threw one in too, which actually earned him a wink from the gypsy.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Clopin called over the hubbub, "the piece de resistance!" The crowd cheered as Clopin sang, "Here is it, the moment we've been waiting for, here it is, you know exactly what's in store!" The men in the crowd nodded eagerly. Belle looked thoughtful as she tried to figure out what was happening.
"Now's the time we laugh until our sides get sore, now's the time we crown the King of Fools!" Clopin announced. He pointed out into the crowd and shouted, "You all remember last year's king?" The crowd turned to see a man in a yellow outfit with a jester's hat. He sat on a small litter and promptly belched.
"So make a face that's horrible and frightening, make a face as gruesome as a gargoyle's wing, for the face that's ugliest will be the King of Fools!" Clopin explained as he helped funny looking men all dressed up in weird outfits onto the stage. "Why?"
"Topsy turvy!" The crowd cheered. Belle started to get the concept of this and her face screwed into that of disgust. Go and choose a person who looked the ugliest their 'king'? She looked over to Gaston and said, "This is wrong!"
"What's wrong, Belle?" Gaston said in a voice as if he couldn't care what her problem was at the moment.
"Gaston! They're putting people on display for public humiliation!" Belle exclaimed, pointing to the growing assortment of candidates.
"Belle, Belle, Belle, it's all in good fun and laughs!" Gaston laughed, lightly hitting her on the arm, "it's all for fun!"
Belle sighed and watched as the singing ceased and the judging began. The gypsy went to the beginning of the line and yanked off the first man's floppy mask. The peasant made his face into that of a fish, covering his upper lip with his lower. The crowd, including Gaston, booed, and the man was knocked off the stage by a goat into a puddle of mud. Belle cringed as one by one, the men built into a pile.
The gypsy came to the last man, who Belle suddenly realized was the man wearing a hood. She could tell by his hair that stood out. The gypsy tried to yank off his mask, but the whole crowd gasped, especially Belle, when they all realized that he wasn't wearing a mask. The hideous mask that everyone had thought he had been wearing was his actual face.
The people were all horrified.
"Oh no!"
"He's hideous!"
"It's the bell ringer of Notre Dame!"
Everyone was vastly unsettled and nervous, causing Clopin to leap on stage and say, "Ladies and gentlemen, don't panic! We asked for the ugliest face in Paris, and here he is! Quasimodo." Out of thin air, Clopin presented the fool's crown, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame!"
Belle watched, horrified. What a horrid name! Just because he had a little deformity didn't mean that they had to call him that! She looked around, only to be pushed and shoved by the people who were going to see their new 'king'.
Men joined together and carried Quasimodo, who was plainly surprised and somewhat pleased, on their shoulders. Belle backed away as Clopin grabbed a pole from a clown with stilts and used it as a walking stick and he and the other people started to sing, "Ev'rybody! Once a year we throw a party here in town! Once a year, we turn all of Paris upside down!" Last year's king was thrown out of the litter and was replaced by Quasimodo.
The crowd continued to sing as Belle suddenly realized that Gaston wasn't beside her. He was the only person she knew in Paris, and she didn't want to be alone here among all these people. She tried to call over their voices, trying to find the man but was swept away with the crowd. Her feet fumbled as she found herself being pushed toward another stage.
Suddenly someone caught her arm, and then another her other. She gasped as her book smacked into the dirty street. Before she could reach down to try to save it, the people holding her hands pulled her into the dance with everyone else. She realized that they were all dancing in circles around the stage, acting like complete and utter lunatics.
"Gaston!" she yelled, trying to keep her voice above everyone. She only succeeded in hearing a small, "Yes?" She craned her neck to see Gaston on the opposite side of the circle, joining hands with a redhead and brunette and with a grin on his face.
She groaned to herself. He wasn't going to be much of a help getting out of this situation.
On top of the stage, she could see Clopin giving Quasimodo a scepter to go along with his cape. The feast leader sang loudly as confetti flew through the air even more thickly, "And pick a king who'll put the "top" in Topsy Turvy Day! Mad and crazy, upsy-daisy, Topsy Turvy Day!"
Once the song stopped, all the people let go of one another's hands and cheered. They started to chant "Quasimodo!" as loud as they could, throwing daisies and such at him in praise. Belle promptly wiped her hands on her dress and bent down to look for her book.
Crawling on her hands and knees amongst the great amount of legs, Belle wiped a bit of hair out of her face and looked up to see her book laying on the ground. She hastily scooped it up and stood. Her hands softly caressed the volume, her face twisted into that of horror.
The once smooth leather skeleton was cracked and wet, probably from the beer that these people had been drinking. The cover and the back had been battered and bruised from countless people stepping on it. A small tear formed at the sight of the G in Grimm, for it was there no more.
Sighing softly, Belle looked through the crowd and spotted Gaston, who while still looking manly and brawny, was abandoned by his dance partners. She picked up her skirts with one hand and weaved through the crowd until coming upon Gaston.
"Gaston, Gaston," was all that Belle was able to get out, for immediately Gaston shushed her and said, "Did you see that, Belle?"
Belle looked at him, confused. "See what?"
Gaston pointed to the stage. Belle looked first at him and then slowly followed his gaze. Her hand flew to her mouth at seeing the King of Fools covered in rotten tomato.
But it only got worst.
Another soldier (for it was the soldiers that were supposed to be protecting the people of France who were doing the assaulting), threw another tomato, and in a few seconds the entire squad had found something to throw at him.
The crowd who had first gasped now started to laugh, making Belle want to scream. How could people be so horrible?
Belle stood, shocked and mouth gaping for a moment before turning to see Gaston laughing like he had just heard the funniest joke.
Her face blew up into a pink visage of rage as she yelled at him, "Gaston! How can you laugh!"
"Because it's funny, Belle!" Gaston explained.
"It's NOT FUNNY! Gaston, you've got to do something!" Belle cried, pointing at the man on the stage. It only got even more worst when the peasants started to throw ropes on their 'king'. Her breathing started to quicken as a rope fell around his neck, the peasant on the other end practically starting to choke him.
Belle turned back to Gaston and pleaded, "Gaston, do something!"
He pretended not to hear her.
Other peasants threw rope at the man, making him yell and with one mighty swoop, he pulled all the ropes out of their owners' hands, ripping his shirt and causing the people in the crowd to gasp and laugh.
The men with the ropes decided to do this hands on. They leapt onto his back and start to tie him up, their hands moving as fast as possible.
"Gaston!" Belle cried, now close to tears.
Once the men were done, they stood up, satisfied, and with a mighty heave, brought the turntable that Quasimodo was tied to to a spin. They laughed and jeered as people from the crowd started to threw rotten food at him.
Belle watched in horror when she noticed a tomato that was launched at him was being thrown from near her. She turned, stricken, to see Gaston wiping his hands on his shirt.
Her brown eyes grew larger and the hand not clutching the book clenched into a fist. The tears in her eyes threatened to fall as she cried, "Gaston, why are being so mean to a person like that?"
Gaston smirked, "He isn't like you or I, Belle. His feelings don't matter at all."
"Yes, yes they do, Gaston. Everyone has feelings, and if you just stopped and thought about that, maybe I'd like you more!" Belle cried.
Gaston straightened, "You mean you LIKE me?"
Belle really didn't know the answer to that question. She wasn't able to give much thought to it, for suddenly a quiet gasp swept the crowd. Gaston and Belle turned to watch the gypsy woman slowly walk onto the stage. Her steps were slow, yet meaningful as she approached the bound man.
She unwrapped the purple cloth around her skirt and used it gently to wipe some of the tomato off of his face. Belle watched spellbound, as the Judge who had been sitting silent in his chair now rose and shouted angrily, "You, gypsy girl, get down at once!"
The gypsy girl stood straight up as she responded in a polite voice, "Yes, your honor. Just as soon as I free this poor creature."
The Judge's face turned even more angry as he shouted in return, "I forbid it!"
The gypsy girl looked at him with a quick look of hate as she withdrew a dagger from where it had been hidden in a band on her leg. With one mighty move, she sliced the ropes binding him. Belle gasped, somewhat amazed that of all people to do that would be as Gaston put it, "thieves and people not like us." Of course they weren't like other people; they cared more about a stranger than anyone else did.
The Judge was non-too-pleased. "How dare you defy ME!"
The gypsy swirled around to face the Judge in the eye as she cried, "You mistreat this boy the same way you mistreat my people! You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those in need of your help!"
"SILENCE!" the Judge roared, his voice echoing in Belle's ears.
"JUSTICE!" the gypsy yelled back, raising her hand high in the air, raising gasps and looks of shock from the crowd. Belle was amazed; Gaston looked somewhat mad.
The gypsy helped the hunchback up as the Judge pointed a finger at her, "Mark my words, gypsy. You will pay for this insolence!"
The gypsy smiled as she bowed slightly. She said smoothly, yet tartly, "Then, it appears we crowned the wrong fool." She seized the jester's hat from Quasimodo's head as she yelled, "The only fool I see is YOU!" and with that, she threw the hat, which landed right by the Judge's seat.
Belle was smiling as she watched the gypsy, but the smile disappeared as she saw the Judge say something to Captain Phoebus, who had taken his spot by the Judge. The Captain nodded and snapped his fingers, signaling his soldiers to fall in on the stage where the gypsy stood.
Belle heard the gypsy count silently to herself. The gypsy nodded slightly and pulled out a handkerchief and started to cry. Belle was sure that this would not end well.
Sorry for the long wait and for the cliffhanger, though you all know what happens to Esmeralda (she is definitely one of my favorite Disney characters. She's kind and brave and she stands up for what's right and she's friends with Quasi, who's one of my favorites too, and so it's a bit disheartening typing about how people are so cruel to him).
Hopefully it wasn't TOO THoND and too little BatB. I hope you liked it and please review! :)