Chapter 7
Three Years Later
"Thief!" Clopin looked over to see a woman pointing and screaming at him just as he was walking past her fruit stand. Clopin was confused. 'How had she seen me?'
"Clopin, Run!" Clopin turned and watched in fear as two large guards grabbed his father. "Now!" He yelled. Clopin looked over to see four more guards coming from his left, two more at his right almost close enough to him to reach him. But before they managed to grab onto him he dodged out of the way. He tried to run to his father to rescue him but was knocked to the ground by one of the guards. "What are you doing Clopin? Run!" Clopin looked up at his father with tears in his eyes. There was a dead guard lying not far from him. He closed his eyes as he realized that his father would take the blame for him. 'It shouldn't be like this.' Clopin thought to himself. 'That should be me those guards have.' He once again heard his father yelling at him to run as the guard that had knocked him down reached down to grab him. He then twisted out of the way spinning up onto his hands and jumping off the ground to land a few feet away.
Taking one last look at his father, Clopin did as he was told. He ran.
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Clopin pulled the cloak farther over his head to conceal his face as he made his way through the small crowd. He could hear the sound of drums beating coming from somewhere near a makeshift stage just in front of the Notre Dame. Frollo was standing at the edge reading off of a scroll of paper, but Clopin wasn't paying attention to him. He was watching two guards tie his father to a large post that was in the middle of the stage. He made his way closer to the stage hoping that his father would see him. Hoping that he could at least silently apologise for what was happening. Not that it made any difference. 'He must hate me for this.' Though just as the thought occurred to him Vernon caught site of him. He didn't look in the least bit afraid. If anything, he looked relieved. Relieved that Clopin had gotten away. That he would be alright.
Tears ran down Clopin's cheeks as Frollo walked up to Vernon and said something that no one else could hear. Vernon looked at Frollo with anger and shook his head. Frollo turned back to the crowd.
"The Gypsy Vernon refuses to recant." He said taking the torch from the executioner. "His sentence." He paused as if purposely trying to make the situation all that more dramatic. "Death." Clopin watched as Frollo made his way to his father. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his mother standing behind him. She watched Clopin sadly before pulling his head to her shoulder as she did when he was a child. Clopin heard the sound of the fire start, heard the sound of his father coughing from the smoke, but he refused to look up. His father had always told him that he was strong. That he could get through anything. That he would never run. But from this…. He ran.
