Sorry for taking so long to update! I was having tests on school. In this chapter, we'll learn more about Anita's past. I hope you like it. Sorry for any English mistakes, and please, review!


"Ana Rivera… It seems a Spanish name" Esmeralda commented.

"Yes. I am Spanish." Anita explained. "I… I'm sorry if I came here without permission, I was just looking for the Court of the Miracles and… and suddenly I just fell on a stair, and as I couldn't go back, I came down."

"Please, don't apologize. You have done nothing wrong" Clopin said.

"The entrance is a stone that turns down. You must have stepped on it by accident. So, you were looking for the Court of the Miracles?" Esmeralda asked.

"Y-yes… My father told me to come here and ask for help… I know this will sound strange, but some… circumstances forced my father to leave me some weeks ago and… I had to come to Paris alone… My father gave me this" she said, getting the woven band and showing it to Clopin and Esmeralda, "and told me to follow the map to find the entrance to the Court of the Miracles. I was hoping the gypsies would let me stay. But when I arrived in Paris, yesterday afternoon, I heard two men saying that the entrance to the Court had been changed."

"I understand…" said Clopin, examining the woven band. "You said some circumstances forced your father to leave you… Could you explain it better?"

"Yes, I could, but… Well, it's a long story."

"We can talk in my tent. Esmeralda, please, come too." Clopin said, walking towards a red and yellow tent.

When the three of them were inside the tent, Clopin said: "Please, sit down, you both." The two girls sat on some cushions, and Esmeralda said to Anita: "Now, dear, you can tell us your story. How did you end up alone in Paris, looking for the Court of the Miracles?"

Anita sighed, and said: "To tell you my story, I have to tell you first the story of my parents. I'll try to be… as short as I can." She took a deep breath, and started.

"My father was born in Spain, and he is a gypsy. He grew up traveling around Europe, and even some parts of Asia and Africa. He earns his money by selling things he gets in far away lands, like fans, pots, clothes, jewels, everything.

"My mother was born in England, and she was from a wealthy family. My father travelled to England once, and then he met my mother, when she went to his cart to buy some Chinese fans. She started to go there almost everyday, and though he was just a gypsy and she was a rich woman, they fell in love with each other. My mother loved my father very much, so she ran away with him, and they went to Spain.

"But my mother's family had promised her to another man. His name is Philip Bolder. When he knew my mother had ran away with another man, he was very angry, of course. But it wasn't just that. He was completely mad. He started to persecute my parents, wherever they went. He wanted to kill them, or at least my father, I guess. I never understood exactly why he was so obsessed with the idea of killing my father. I don't know if he was in love with my mother, or if he just wanted to 'save his honor', as some people say.

"Well, my parents traveled around the world with a group of more or less twenty gypsies. At first, they didn't trust my mother, because she came from a wealth family, but after some time they accepted her, and she became one of them. She learned how to dance, and she danced on the streets to earn money. My parents were very happy, although they were not really married and poor.

"When I was born, Philip Bolder grew even more obsessive, and wanted to kill me too. But my parents protected me. We moved from the place where we were when we heard that Philip Bolder was coming. The other gypsies of the group always agreed to move with us, because my father was a respected man of the group and they didn't want anything bad to happen to him.

"One day, we went to Africa. We visited many countries, and when we arrived in Nigeria, my mother was very ill. We didn't know what her illness was, or what to do to make her feel better, so we started to travel back to Spain. But when we arrived in Morocco, my mother died."

Anita paused for a moment, and looked down. Esmeralda and Clopin remained silent, and after some seconds Anita continued:

"We took her body back to Spain, and buried her in Seville. I was twelve years old when she died. My father was very sad with her death, more than he showed me, but he did everything he could to make me happy. We were able to live happily together, even without my mother.

"But things were getting more difficult for us. When Philip Bolder knew that my mother was dead, he grew completely mad. I think it was because he still had hopes of killing my father – and me as well – and forcing my mother to marry him. He persecuted us even more than before.

"A year ago, my father and I left the group. He thought it would be better for everyone. He didn't want to put all the other gypsies in danger anymore, and it would be easier for us to travel alone, calling less attention.

"About a month ago, Philip Bolder almost caught us. My father and I were on the road, going to Brussels – we were in Belgium –, and he suddenly appeared with his men, all them riding horses. It was the second time in my life I saw him; the first had been when I was six years old, and he almost caught us that time, too. My parents always did their best to avoid him, but he reached the group in the middle of the night. We all fought him, and for our lucky it seemed he and his men had been traveling for days without resting, and we were able to run away.

"But the second time was more serious. It was my father and I against a lot of armed men who wanted to kill us. We fought them for some minutes, only trying to avoid their attacks, and when we got the chance we ran to a forest right beside the road, and hid there. Philip Bolder and his men came behind us, of course, but it was dark and the forest was enormous; we escaped from him and, as soon as we could, we went back to the road and quickly arrived to Brussels.

"My father decided it was too dangerous for us to go on traveling together, as Philip Bolder was so close. He wanted to stay with me and protect me, but he thought I would be safer if I did not go with him. So he told me to go to Paris, and gave me the woven band to find the Court of the Miracles. He received the band as a gift from the gypsies when he came to Paris and stayed at the Court. He told me to stay here until he can come."

Anita didn't like having to share her story and her sadness, something she was used to keep hidden in her heart, with two people she barely knew, but yet it somehow made her feel lighter. For a moment, nobody said anything, and Anita started to feel uncomfortable. So she decided to add a last part:

"I arrived in Paris yesterday afternoon, and when I heard the entrance to the Court had been changed, I started to look for help. I saw you" she looked at Esmeralda "dancing in the street, and…" she hesitated a little. How could she say she hadn't spoken to Esmeralda because she was shy? No, she thought, they will laugh at me. "I was going to speak to you, but those guards appeared, and I had to run away."

"I saw you and the guards" Esmeralda said. "When they shouted 'You, gypsy girl!', I even thought they were talking to me, this happens a lot of times. But then I saw they were talking to you. When they started to run after you, I even wanted to help, but you and the guards disappeared. I was very worried about you, I even told Clopin about what happened. I am sorry for all the suffering you've been through."

"Me too" Clopin said, looking at her with sad eyes. Anita immediately felt that uncomfortable sensation, and this time it wasn't shyness. She knew that Clopin and Esmeralda were pitying her, and if there was something she, a proud Spanish girl, couldn't bear, it was pity. She quickly explained:

"Please, don't misinterpret me. I know that my story makes you think I had a lot of suffering in my life, but that's not true. Not for a single moment I thought I was an unhappy child. My life was always full of happiness, and my only sad moments were those two when I met Philip Bolder. I'm not an unhappy person, and I have never been. I only had some… problems, but everyone has problems, and if I just stopped and cried every time something doesn't go according to the plan, I wouldn't do anything else in my life." Anita realized she had already spoken enough, and stopped.

"That's very nice of you to think like that, Anita. You have my respect and, of course, my permission to stay here for as long as you wish" Clopin said. Anita sighed in relief.

"You must be hungry. And tired" Esmeralda said.

"In fact, I have eaten already. I'm just tired."

"Then you must rest. You can sleep in my tent tonight" Esmeralda said, and took Anita's hand. "Good night, Clopin. I think we all deserve some hours of rest."

"Good night for you both" Clopin answered.

Esmeralda led Anita through the colorful tents, and people were whispering about the new girl in the Court. But Anita was so distracted admiring the place that she didn't notice.

The two girls entered a green and purple tent. Inside, there was a bed with yellow sheets, a chest, where Anita supposed Esmeralda put her clothes in, a big mirror, a little table on the floor with a crystal ball on it, and some cushions around the table.

"You can sleep on the cushions. It's very comfortable, I promise" Esmeralda said, knowing that Anita wouldn't accept if she offered her bed.

"Thank you, Esmeralda. For everything" Anita tried to show her gratitude, and even smiled a little, despite her shyness.

"You are welcome, Anita. I hope you are happy while you stay at the Court of the Miracles. If there is anything you need help with, you can talk to me."

For a moment they remained in silent, both changing on their nightgowns – Anita had one in her bag – , and, while Anita put away her dress, she couldn't help but ask:

"Esmeralda… May I ask who was Judge Claude Frollo?"

Esmeralda seemed a little surprised, and asked: "Where did you hear about Frollo?"

"The same men who I heard talking about the Court of the Miracles yesterday said something about this Frollo and that the gypsies were afraid of him, but that now he is dead."

"It's a long story" Esmeralda said, and when they realized she had just repeated Anita's speech, both laughed. Anita didn't usually laugh with people she had just met, but she did that time. And she liked it! It was something new for her, and she was starting to like this new life.

"Well, I'll tell you" Esmeralda said, still laughing. "Everything started many months ago, at the Feast of Fools…"


Anita woke up. She had no idea of what time it was, but she couldn't sleep anymore. She remembered the story Esmeralda had told her last night. What a fantastic story! She wished she could meet the bell ringer of Notre Dame. Esmeralda had said he was a very nice person. Anita looked around, and saw Esmeralda combing her hair in front of the mirror. She was already dressed.

"Good morning" Esmeralda said.

"Good morning" Anita answered. "What time is it?"

"About eight o'clock, I think. I need to go out now, to earn some money. You know, the food just doesn't come walking to our tables" Esmeralda joked.

"I see. Can I go out too? I want to make some money as well" Anita asked.

"Of course, dear! What do you do to earn money?"

"I dance. My mother taught me."

"How nice! Do you dance with the tambourine?"

"No, no, I don't even know how to hold a tambourine. I dance with the castanets."

"With what?"

"The castanets. Have you never heard about it?" Esmeralda shook her head. "It's a Spanish instrument." Anita looked in her bag and got her castanets. She adjusted one of the castanets to her hand, and played it. Esmeralda was amazed.

"What a beautiful sound! I had never heard something like that! I'm sure you can do a wonderful dance with this instrument!" Esmeralda said.

Anita put her white shirt, black corset and blue skirt on – she liked her blue-green dress, but her favorite outfit was definitely this one. When she was ready, with her hair tied up with the purple ribbon, she and Esmeralda went out of the tent.

People were going out of the Court, walking and talking. Anita looked down, to avoid the inquisitive eyes of the people around her.

Esmeralda led her through the dark passages, until they arrived to the stair, and waited for their turn to go out – to call less attention, the gypsies didn't get out of the Court all together.

"I know a place that's good for dancing. Lots of people go there" Esmeralda said, after they finally got out. They walked through the streets until they arrived to the place Esmeralda had talked about. Esmeralda noticed Anita nervousness, and said:

"I can go first, if you want. You can sit and watch, and when I finish, you dance."

Anita nodded and smiled, grateful. Esmeralda started her dance, and people gathered around to watch and throw coins at the hat she had placed on the floor. Anita was impressed – Esmeralda's dance seemed to hypnotize everyone who watched it. When she finished, everyone clapped. Esmeralda went to Anita and said: "Now it's your turn, Anita. Good luck!"

Anita gulped, and stood up. No matter how many times she danced on the streets, she always felt nervous before she started. She adjusted her castanets to her hands, took a deep breath, and started. She tried to remember her mother, who was one of the most gracious dancers she had ever seen – just as good as Esmeralda – and tried to put her feelings on her dance. Soon, she forgot where she was and what she was doing, and danced with all of her soul. For the people who watched, she seemed to be dancing in a world of her own. Anita closed her eyes, moved her hands around her head, and made a kind of song with the noise of her castanets.

After some minutes of dancing, that seemed to last just a second, she jumped to the side, making noise with her shoes, and finished her dance with her left hand upon her head and her right hand on her waist. The crowd cheered, and she made a bow, her face red both of blushing and of the effort she had just made. While the crowd dispersed, she walked to Esmeralda.

"So, how it was?" she asked.

"How it was? Anita, your dance is wonderful! I've never seen anything like that! You HAVE to teach me to dance like that!"

"Of course, if you teach me how to dance with the tambourine!"

"We have a deal" Esmeralda said, and both laughed. They started to count the money they had earned.

"There's enough for some bread. And it reminds me we didn't eat anything this morning."

They went to the bakery, bought some bread, and ate it together. The rest of the day was spent on dancing, eating fruits and running from the guards. During the day, Anita got to know Esmeralda better and she was happy that she was making a new friend. Perhaps, after all, living in Paris without her father wouldn't be that bad.