I told you so.

Disclaimer: I owneth not. Also, I don't own the title. It belongs to Anthony Trollope; it's a wonderful book of his, which was also adapted into a wonderful miniseries. I highly recommend it.

The Way We Live Now
-Tales of NDCSH-

7

In the quiet gloom, he heard footsteps, and the jangling of keys, and then the guard said, "Mr. Frollo, visitor."

Frollo sighed. He could tell by the man's tone who had come to see him, but refusing to go was not an option.

The guard unlocked the door, handcuffing him briefly, and lead him to a room of small booths divided in two by a pane of bullet-proof glass. He was seated on a stool in one of the middle stalls. On the other side of the glass was a monstrous sight, but one with which he was well acquainted.

Quasimodo looked subtly different. He seemed to hold himself a little straighter, and the expression upon that twisted mask was calm.

Frollo looked down his nose at the boy, willing him to flinch. He did not.

"What do you want?" demanded Frollo.

"You know," said Quasimodo, calmly, "speaking to me civilly would probably help your case for parole."

The mongrel had a point, but Frollo was unwilling to admit it. "What do you want?" he repeated.

Quasimodo took a breath, as if preparing himself for an explosion, and winced slightly. "To ask about my mother."

Frollo fought to keep his face impassive, fought the sudden and unfulfillable urge to attack the boy, to destroy the traces of her gone wrong that were hidden in his face. "What," he hissed, though it suddenly felt painful to speak, "makes you think you have any right to speak to me about her?"

Quasimodo smiled, sadly, and for an instant Frollo could see her very clearly in the quirk of his mouth. Then it disappeared, behind that twisted jaw and that horrible tumerous brow. "I thought not," Quasimodo murmured, and then he stood, turning his back on Frollo as he limped away. "Goodbye, sir."


Man, I hate writing from Frollo's prespective. I'm very picky about his bits because he's such an intense character and I tend to second-guess myself hugely.

Well, anyway, please R&R. The Frollo-fans probably hate me now, because I keep altering and abusing the character.

-Mostly Harmless