A/N: Sorry this took so long to update it took two days to write going back and forth between the script and this. Special thanks to Queen O' Randomness for all her lovely reviews. Um all character's other than Rose are copyright to Disney Enterprises. Topsy Turvey lyrics belong to Disney as well as some dialogue. Enjoy and no French words in this one.
I hadn't realized it but people had been setting up for this festival all day. Many tents with bright colors filled the square. People were dressed in whimsical outfits and they carried around large props.
I couldn't find Clopin anywhere, or any gypsies for that matter. I was completely surrounded by bustling city folk.
I turned when I felt a small tug on the bottom of my skirt. A little girl with blond hair and teary eyes looked up at me, I recognized her as the girl from the puppet theater.
"I can't find my mommy," She said sniffling.
I bent down and wiped a tear from her eye. "Stay with me and we'll look for her okay?"
She nodded and a stood up grabbing the little girl's hand and wove my way through the crowd. I tried to keep an eye out for Clopin as well.
"What does your mother look like?" I asked peering over the numerous heads.
"She's tall."
I sighed. Leave it to a kid to be the obvious one.
"And she has brown hair."
No there's something I can work with, I thought looking around for as many women with brown hair I could find. When I spotted a tall woman with brown hair looking around like she had lost something, I could have sworn it was her mother. Nope I was wrong, but we did find her mother, or rather, she found us.
"Gypsy what are you doing with my child?!" said and angry woman grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around so fast I almost fell.
"Mommy!" cried the little girl hugging her mother around the waist.
"I was... I-I-I.. was just trying-," I nervously tried getting the words out, but I just kept babbling. I hadn't been yelled at for a long time, and to be honest it frightened me. Not only was it because I didn't know anyone here but because this single person could put me in jail.
"She was just trying to help this poor girl find her mother," said the familiar voice of Clopin from behind me. His hand rested on my shoulder. The mother stared at us, taken aback, before looking down at her daughter.
"Is this true?" she asked her stroking her hair.
"Yes mama, she was helping me look for you, she's a kind person," said the little girl glancing back at me smiling. The mother looked up at me, smiling in apology.
"Then I give you my thanks, hope to see you at the festival," and with that she nodded and they walked off together
"She's right you know," said Clopin, leaning more of his wait on my shoulder.
"About?" I said turning around and flicking his hand off my shoulder.
"You are a very kind person," said Clopin folding his arms over his chest. "Esmeralda told me about your heroism."
"Well, I couldn't just leave her and it wasn't like it was out of the way," I said denying his compliment.
"Well, I better be off, duty calls," said Clopin turning to leave but this time I grabbed his arm before he disappeared.
"Clopin, wait, I don't like wandering the streets alone, let me go with you?" I asked and he turned to me.
He shook his head and laughed. "One bad encounter and your scared?" he chuckled.
"I'm not scared!" I protested. "I'm just nervous, and wouldn't you want a pretty girl by your side?" I said rubbing my shoulder against his chest. He laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
"Fine then follow along, but you have to promise to stay in the audience when the festival begins, I want you to see the show," he said winking
"Alright promise," I said following Clopin into the construction of the festival.
"So what exactly happens at the Festival of Fools," I asked looking around at all the hustle and bustle.
"It's the one day we do the things that we deplore on the other three-hundred and sixty-four," he explained. "Its when all of Paris turns upside down, backwards, and inside out for the day."
"Right," I said going along with it.
"The biggest event is the crowning of the King of Fools, Esmeralda will be dancing," he said climbing onto a giant platform and looking it over before reaching out a hand to help me up. He pointed to a gloomy black carriage placed on the left of the platform.
"That's where Judge Claude Frollo watched the Festival every year. He's the one who orders the soldiers against us.
"Note to self, stay out of Frollo's way," I said and got yet another chuckle from Clopin.
"I need to go, stay near and don't get into trouble, Frollo should be here soon."
I nodded and lept off the platform. I conjoined myself into the crowd and waited impatiently for the Festival to start. It was then out of the corner of my eye I saw a figure whiz by the corner of my eye. As I looked up I saw a man in a green tunic and brown trousers fly past the Notre Dame on a rope. a large lump protruding from his backside. He was the hunchback from Clopin's story. I gasped when I heard the crowd begin to chant. A group of people in dark hoods began walking down the streets. Quasimodo had landed right in the center of them.
"Come one, come all,
Leave you're looms and milking stools
Coop the hens and pen the mules!
Come one, come all,
Close the churches and the schools!
Today's the day for breaking rules!
Come and join the feast of-,"
"FOOLS!" exclaimed Clopin sliding out from between the legs of one of the men in robes. Quasimodo back up, frightened by the looks of it. Clopin came over and spun him around before jumping on a pole.
"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
Once again it's Topsy Turvy Day
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 happily running around chasing the bell ringer, who was trying to avoid Clopin, while other people enjoyed themselves to their extent. It almost looked like Clopin was purposely trying to sing to Quasimodo. There were so many thing happening at once I didn't know where to look. I noticed the bellringer fall into an orange tent after being 'can-canned' into another. Of course Clopin was part of it.
The crowd sang just as loud as ever.
"Topsy Turvy!"
"Beat the drums and blow the trumpets," sang Clopin
"Topsy Turvy!"
"Join the bums and thieves and strumpets
Streaming in from Chartres to Calais
Scurvy knaves are extra scurvy
On the sixth of 'Januervy'
All because it's Topy Turvy Day!"
While the crowd sang I noticed a man, obviously Frollo, enter his carriage. Clopin noticed to because he ran right up to him placing a hand on Frollo's chest.
"Come one, come all
Hurry, hurry, here's your chance
See the myst'ry and romance," as he said this he nudged Frollo with his elbow before skipping of and returning to Quasimodo.
"Come one, come all
See the finest girl in France
Make an entrance to entrance
Dance la Esmeralda," Clopin had jumped up onto the platform and held his hand high above his head.
"Dance!" And Clopin through his fist down and dissolved into a puff of red smoke. In his place was Esmeralda, wearing a sultry red dress.
She danced around a bit before leaping towards Frollo and wrapping a purple scarf with a moon and star pattern on i, around his neck. She leaned into kiss his nose but danced away at the last second. She did a back wards cartwheel and jumped forward landing in a splits position. She got back up, grabbing a spear from one of the soldiers in the audience. She jabbed it into the wooden platform and spun around on it before landing backwards with her foot in the air and one arms stretched out. She nodded indicating she was done with her dance. The crowd erupted into applause. Clopin had joined her back onstage and began to sing again.
"Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for
Here it is, you know exactly whats in store
Now's the time we laugh until our sides get sore
Now's the time we crown the King of Fools!" Clopin pointed in the direction of a man sitting awkwardly in a sort of boxed in thrown.
"You all remember last years king?"
The man in the thrown belched loudly and I scrunched up my nose in disgust.
"So make a face that's horrible and frightening
Make a face as gruesome as a gargoyles wing
For the face that's ugliest will be the king of fools! WHY?"
The crowd joined in with Clopin.
"Topsy Turvy!"
"Ugly folks forget your shyness."
"Topsy Turvey!"
"You can soon be called you highness
Put your foulest features on display
Be the king on Topsy Turvey day!" Clopin and Esmeralda began pulling contestants on stage. I saw Esmeralda help Quasimodo onstage. I worked my way through to the front. Esmeralda had worked her way down the line and reached Quasimodo. I went to say something in protest but it was too late. Esmeralda reached to grab of his 'mask' but was shocked to see that what she saw before her was not the trickery of costume, but the reality of skin.
"That's no mask, that's his face!" yelled a person in the crowd.
"He hideous!" exclaimed another.
"He's the bell ringer from Notre Dame!" I saw Frollo's eyes flicker with fury and outrage.
"Ladies and Gentleman, don't panic, we asked for the ugliest face in Paris and here he is, Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame!" cried Clopin, trying to keep things festive. It worked the crowd began to sing again and Quasimodo was placed onto of the thrown. A crown and scepter we given to him, officially making him the King of Fools.
"Quasimodo was placed on a pedastoole and the crowd cheered his name. Frollo, wasn't as joyful. he glowered and clenched his fists so hard his knuckles began to turn white.
"You think he's ugly now, watch this!" said a guard to my right. He threw a rotten tomato right and Quasimodo's face.
Shocked Quasimodo, wipes the juices from the right side of his cheek.
"No that's ugly!"
Soon other people began to throw items of food at him. Soon he was tide down with rope, as people still kept throwing food at him.
"Master, help me!" cried Quasimodo. I felt a sickening twinge of guilt twist in my chest.
I turned to the awful soldier beside me.
"Hey buddy," I said catching his attention. He turned to me and I hit him square in the nose, sending him backwards into his pal, knocking them both out completely. I some people gasp in shock. I turned myself towards the stage. Esmeralda had walked up there, in her now normal attire, and held a cloth to the poor hunchback's face.
"I'm sorry," she muttered. "This wasn't supposed to have happened."
Esmeralda bent down and wiped his face clean, long enough for Frollo to get out of his chair and point a long, lanky finger in her direction.
"You! Gypsy girl! Get down at once!" yelled Frollo ferociously.
"Yes, your honour. Just as soon as I free this poor creature."
"I forbid it!"
Esmeralda glared at Frollo and defiantly pulled a knife from a sheath tucked under her skirt and cut the poor hunchback free.
"How dare you defy me!" said Frollo menacingly
"You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people. You speak of justice, yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help." protested Esmeralda, now clenching her fists in fury.
"Silence!" cried Frollo shaking his finger.
"Justice!" cried Esmeralda throwing her fist in the air.
Frollo lowered his finger and glared at her with as much evil he could muster.
"Mark my words, gypsy. You will pay for this insolence."
"Then it appears we have crowned the wrong fool," Esmeralda retorted picking up the floppy jester crown. "The only fool I see, is you!" she shouted and threw the crown in Frollo's direction.
"Captain Pheobus, arrest her!" yelled Frollo and the man from earlier, who just happened to be the Captain of the Guard, snapped his fingers and motioned for the soldiers to capture her. She counted out ten of them and began to cry into a handkerchief before disappearing into and explosion of smoke.
"Witchcraft!" I heard Frollo say, and I turned around panicking. Where was she. If Frollo thought her little act of illusion was witchcraft, she would be killed. Witchcraft was blasphemous and it was against the law.
"Boys, over here," said Esmeralda mockingly. Her head was in a pile of food.
Suddenly felt two hands grab me around the waist and pull me out of the crowd. I almost screamed, but a I caught the site of a gloved hand and I knew it ws Clopin pulling me along.
"Come, Esmeralda can take care of herself. The other gypsies have returned home, and we must do the same!" said Clopin now pulling me by the hand.
"Clopin, slow down I can't run that fast!" I said almost tripping on a loose stone.
"You MUST!" said Clopin, running even faster than before. I tried my hardest to keep up but my lungs hadn't had this much excitement since I was little. I was out of shape and getting a wicked cramp in my stomach.
I groaned as the stabbing pain grew stronger. Clopin looked back and notice my expression. He slowed a bit.
"Rose, please! Guards will be on the rampage we have to get back. We'll be caught, or worse lead them to the Court of Miracles!" said Clopin pleadingly. I gripped my side and nodded. I could handle a bit of pain.
We ran the entire way to the Court of Miracles. My lungs on the verge of collapsing when we reached the cemetery. Clopin opened the tomb and I stepped inside. I had to hold onto the wall for support, but the steps were wet and slippery and I lost my balance, slipping and falling headfirst into the dark water below me.
"Rose?" asked Clopin as he heard the splash and then I heard him call my name more frantically. I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I turned my head slowly.
"Ow," I said as a pain shot through my skull and my vision went black.