clears throat awkwardly
Well, I suppose I don't have to tell you how long it's been. I just got sick of this story. I'm still sick of it, but I remember that I promised to finish it and I still promise to finish it.
This chapter has actually been written since early December and I never got around to posting it. It actually isn't even beta read.
Unfortunately, I have major writers block and I work 32 hours a week and when I'm not working, I'm absorbed in my new obsession. I will still finish it.
Everything that comes from here on in is going to be abrupt and it won't take many more chapters to finish it. I hope the ending doesn't ruin the story for you. I'm sure it won't but I still fear that.
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Chapter Seven: Four and a Half Minutes for a Drink
The next two weeks traveled by like a flash. The dynamic in Clopin and Persephone's friendship had shifted once more. They had started to become more serious. One was almost never without the other. The only occasions when they were apart were at night and when they were working.
Persephone laughed at Clopin's antics with his puppet and fell back on her bed. Clopin hit his tiny twin hard on the top of his small head. "You are so abusive to you're little inanimate object, Clopin!" She scolded before falling into a fit of laughter.
Glared at her and put his hands on his hips. "I take personal offence to that, chérie! J'aime Clopin Junior!" Clopin flopped down next to Persephone on the bed and leaned in close to her only to be cut off by a knock at the door. Persephone looked indifferent as she stood to answer the door and Clopin looked quite put out.
Persephone opened the door. "Esmeralda," she said politely. She and the other woman were openly polite to each other but not much more. They had nothing in common, except for Clopin. "May I help you?" She asked as Clopin walked up and peered over her head.
"I need to talk to you," Esmeralda said to Clopin as she twisted her hands behind her back. "It's very important," she added as she looked at Clopin's uninterested expression.
Clopin rolled his eyes and walked back to get his hat. "Fine," he said as he walked out the door, kissing Persephone's cheek quickly before following Esmeralda.
Esmeralda led him to a dark corner of the Court. The two kept an uncomfortable silence between them as they walked. Never before had the two of them had such a problem. Usually, when put together Clopin and Esmeralda couldn't shut up.
"Well," Clopin prompted as he leaned casually against a wall. "What was so important you had to drag me clear across the Court?" He tapped his belled toe without patience as he waited.
Esmeralda looked down at the ground and kicked it with her bare foot. "Well, I went out with Phoebus tonight." Clopin scoffed and crossed his arms. "Clopin, please," Esmeralda pleaded. "He asked me to marry him, and I said yes."
"You what!" Clopin exclaimed, a red flush beginning to show over the dark skin of his cheeks. "Esmeralda, he's a tool! He's a Captain of the Guard!"
"Is this whole thing because he's not a gypsy?" Esmeralda asked testily. "Because I'd just like to point out that your precious little Persephone is no more a gypsy than Phoebus."
Clopin glared at Esmeralda. "Persephone's not going to arrest us and throw us in the stocks!" Clopin argued. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Esmeralda, look at what he's done to us. You and I use to be closer than most brothers and sisters. Believe me, oldest of seven children. Ever since you started hanging around Sun Ray it's been nothing but fighting."
"Clopin, that's not Phoebus's fault." Esmeralda countered with a firm shake of her head. "It's yours." She said furiously before turning on her heel and walking away.
Clopin watched as she stalked away and grunted. Why couldn't she see that he was only trying to protect her?
"You've really done it now, big brother." Clopin glanced at his younger brother, Dimitri and sighed. "And to think, all those years wasted trying to get her accepted into the family, only to have it be taken away by some solider." Dimitri pulled an apple out from behind him and took a bite.
"What do you want, Tri?" Clopin asked exasperatedly. Dimitri was the middle child, fourth born into his family of seven brothers. He was the black sheep of the family and was always manipulating people. In Clopin's eyes, Dimitri only reinforced the stereotypes that people thought gypsies were.
"I need nothing, Cloppy." Dimitri replied with a glare. "I was merely walking by, minding my own business when I heard raised voices." He paused, smirked and took another bite. "Next time, find somewhere a little more private to be a bastard." He said with his mouth full.
"Excusez-moi? Dimitri, you don't know anything about what we were fighting about." Clopin argued.
"If you really think that the Court doesn't know about your little… falling out, then you are not only a fool, but you have become blind. I blame the little British girl." He looked off in thought and nodded. "Yes, everything was going wonderfully before she showed up."
"Persephone?"
"Are you in love with any other little British girls?" Dimitri asked scathingly. "If so, where are you meeting them? Are they really as uptight as they seem? I always thought I could get one to-"
"I'm not in love with her," Clopin said firmly. "We are good friends, nothing more. You do know what a friend is don't you?"
"I am well aware, even if they are a waste of my precious time." Dimitri glared at his older brother. "And if you really want to try and convince me that you aren't in love with her, it's a waste of yours."
"Pourquoi?" Clopin asked as he crossed his arms.
"You seem to forget that I am your brother-"
"It's easy when you act the way you do," Clopin cut in.
"And I know when you lie," he continued as if not hearing a word. "With my strong observational skills, it's rather easy to infer that you do love her. You are always hanging around her. I'd watch that if I were you, it's kind of clingy, by the way. Clopin, if you can't see the way you act around her, then you really are as blind as you seem. And I thought in The Court of Miracles, the blind could see!" He said in a singsong tone. With one last smirk, Dimitri gave Clopin a mocking bow and sauntered away.
Clopin glared at the back of his brother's back. It bothered him that his brother could see what he wanted to conceal. He would have preferred it if no one ever found out.
Clopin, still fuming about his confrontations with both Esmeralda and his brother, stalked over to Persephone's wagon. He opened the door and slammed it behind him, causing a loud bang.
"The Sun God's done it again!" Clopin exclaimed as he stood in the middle of the room.
"Apollo?" Persephone asked confused.
"Phoebus."
"Oh." Persephone looked at him annoyed. "What did Captain Phoebus do this time?" She asked half-heartedly as she sat up on her bed. She looked up at him, bored.
"He asked her to marry him," Clopin said sullenly. He looked to Persephone for support only to be shocked by a loud squeal.
"Are you serious? I love weddings! Do you think that they'll let me help? I've been to millions!" She ranted excitedly as she rose to her knees. "And here I thought they were just a big waste of my time. Thanks mum! I don't know about white-"
"You were ready to go across the continent just to get away from a wedding!" Clopin exclaimed exasperatedly.
"That was my wedding," Persephone said as she waved a hand. "That's completely different."
Clopin stared at her for a moment before sighing. "You're supposed to be on my side." Clopin complained loudly.
"I'm not into taking sides, love." Persephone said. "It's been forever since I've been to a good wedding. Besides! They're getting married! That's obvious love. Anyone willing to take the big jump has to be in love."
Clopin crossed his arms. "Or they have to believe they're in love." He attempted to reason.
Persephone shot off the bed and over to Clopin. She grabbed both his arms and shook him. "They are in love, Clopin, whether you accept it or not!"
"He doesn't love her!" Clopin said as he stepped back, breaking away from her.
"What do you even know about love Clopin!" Persephone yelled.
"I love you!" Clopin shouted back at her, before his dark eyes widened to almost comically.
Persephone looked at him for several long moments. "That's different," she said with a wave of her hand. "You love me as a friend."
Clopin shook his head and rocked back on the balls of his feet. "No, I don't."
Persephone stared at him before she walked over to her bag and picked it up.
"Where are you going?" Clopin asked her as he moved to block the door.
"I can't do this right now," Persephone said. She put her large bag on and stood across from Clopin. "Move."
"Non, not until we talk about this." Clopin said as he spread his legs and crossed his arms.
"Move!" Persephone shouted. Her brown eyes darkened to brown as she glared at him. "Now," she added dangerously through her teeth.
Clopin and Persephone stared at each other. Clopin sighed and stepped away from the door. Persephone gave him one last glance before running out the door.
"You, Clopin, are an idiot." Clopin scolded himself.
This wasn't the way that Clopin had wanted to tell her. He imagined sometime after he had picked her up from work. Maybe Quasimodo would ring the bells and the sun would disappear. No, the sun would sparkle on the water. He would tell her on the bridge. Or under the bridge. Somewhere overly romantic and girly so she could see that he would swallow his manliness for her. Isn't that want all women wanted?
Clopin moved over to the bed and made himself comfortable. He would be there when she got back. He would sweep her to him and say something incredibly witty. Maybe romantic. This time, he wouldn't let her leave.
"She just needs some time to herself," Clopin told himself as he threw his hat onto the floor and slipped off his shoes. He settled his head on the pillow and blew out the candle by the bed. The element of surprise, when she walked threw the door; he would jump on her and make her listen.
"A suitable plan," Clopin congratulated himself with a yawn. "She won't know what hit her." Clopin's head tilted the side as his heavy eyelids fell shut.
---
Clopin's eyes cracked open and he groaned. "Yet another failed plan," he muttered angrily to himself as he shot up and pulled on his shoes. He looked around the room. It didn't look as if she had come back in the night.
He grabbed his hat and hurried out the door. He quickly shrugged off Rosa's questions with promises of talking later. He hurried through the twists and turns of the sewers. He broke threw the underground and squinted at the glaring sunlight.
With a deep breath, Clopin gathered his courage and ran through the grave markings. He could defend his people and ward off solders without even batting an eyelash, but telling a girl he had a crush on her? It was too much for his inner fourteen year-old to take.
Clopin swung around, swiped off his hat and bowed to a group of giggling girls before he turned back around. He was met with the calculating stare of Persephone and the amused and cruel smirk of Phoebus.
With a roll of her eyes, Persephone brushed past Clopin and into the Pub. Clopin didn't even spare Phoebus another look. He spotted Persephone on the other side of the room. She was fastening her apron around her waist and began to make her rounds.
Clopin made three long strides and pulled her off to the side. "We need to talk." He informed her.
"You need to talk, I need to work." Persephone said coldly as she yanked her arm back and swerved around him.
Clopin groaned as he followed her. He waited patiently off to the side as she took an elderly couple's order in a much to cheery voice. Clopin followed her as she made her way to the bar and began to get the couple's drinks in order.
Persephone turned around and met the dark eyes of Clopin. "What do you want?" She asked him desperately.
"I want to talk. That's it." Clopin looked at her. "Give me five minutes of your time and let me explain." Clopin bargained. Persephone nodded her head slowly and walked around the bar.
Clopin led her to an empty table and pulled out a chair for her. He hurried around the other side of the table and sat down, not wanting to waste a moment.
Persephone waved a hand, as if telling him to get on with it. Knowing her, that was probably what she was thinking. He watched as she smoothed out her blue dress and peered at him.
"I didn't mean to tell you like that," Clopin apologized. "I know it was rather sudden and unexpected." Persephone snorted at that and crossed her arms. "It's true, though." Clopin said with a shrug.
"What's true?" Persephone said unemotionally. Clopin sighed; he knew she was testing him now.
"That I love you." Clopin said sullenly.
"Great, I'm glad that loving me makes you so happy." Persephone said sarcastically.
"Well it would if you could just accept it!" Clopin exclaimed.
"Whoa, no one said I didn't accept it!" Persephone said loudly. She sighed and folded her hands on the table. "I just… don't know what to do about it."
Clopin looked down at the table. He knew what he wanted to hear, but knowing Persephone, that was never going to happen. She didn't often talk about her feelings and he was sure it wasn't going to start with something as big as love.
He really hoped she wasn't going to say what he thought she would say, which was that she didn't feel the same way. Maybe there could be a happy medium. Maybe she could just like him and want to give it a shot.
His head shot up at the sound of Persephone sighing. "I've never really been in this position before. I mean, it's not as if I find you truly repulsive or anything."
"Great, thanks. That's just what a guy wants to hear." Clopin said sarcastically.
"Sorry, again, never done this before. Cut me a break." Persephone requested.
"And you think I've done this before?" Clopin asked humorlessly. "As you so tactfully pointed out last night, I've never been in love."
"But you've been around the block a few times." Persephone pointed out.
"So have you!" Clopin retorted.
"I'm sure your blocks are bigger than mine." Persephone said with a small smirk.
"That as it may be, I have no idea how to handle this just the same as you." Clopin said apologetically.
"Right," Persephone said as she fell silent. She knew she was attracted, a feeling she had no luck suppressing. She knew that she had fun with him, even when they weren't doing anything. "Well, I suppose that we could always give it a shot, see where it goes." She said as she began to fix her hair.
Clopin looked at her in shock before he beamed at her. "You are entirely to British for your own good." Persephone looked at him offended. Clopin let out a laugh as he leaned over the table. Persephone looked up at him as he leaned towards her.
"This is going to end badly," she whispered, her warm breath hitting his face.
"I know," Clopin smiled at her before capturing her lips. Both of his hands were supporting him on the table, he raised one and put it to her face, entwining the tips of his fingers in her hair. Persephone's hands lingered in mid air as kissed him back.
"Do you mind? We ordered well over four and a half minutes ago!" The old man yelled from across the Pub.
Persephone pulled back with a laugh. "I have to get back to work." Persephone said regretfully as she stood up. Clopin smiled at her and jumped up on the table.
"The I shall see you in a matter of hours, chérie!" Clopin said as he held his hand out. Persephone smiled and placed her hand in his. Clopin bowed down and placed a kiss on top of her hand. "Au revoir, ma chérie!" He said joyfully. He did a big hop and pranced through the Pub, shaking several people's hands on the way. "By the way, when I get back make sure you have Champaign ready. It seems like an appropriate occasion!" He said before sweeping out of the Pub and running right into Phoebus.
"I assume it want well then," Phoebus said as he backed up, allowing Clopin enough room to pass. Phoebus reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Here, it's a wedding invitation."
Clopin looked down at the invitation and back at Phoebus. "Why was Persephone with you this morning?" Clopin asked as he crossed his arms.
"She needed a place to stay," Phoebus shrugged. "I let her stay in my guest room. Word to the wise, don't keep Esmeralda and Persephone in the same room for an extended period of time, unless you want to catch a cold."
Clopin narrowed his eyes and took the invitation. "I'll come," he said slowly as he looked over the paper. He looked back at Phoebus. "And I offer my congratulations." Clopin said as he held out his hand.
Phoebus offered a small smile and shook Clopin's hand. "Thanks you very much, Clopin. You-You don't know how happy this will make Esmeralda."
"I think I do," Clopin gave Phoebus a half smile as he stepped around him. "Besides, Esme can only be mad at me for so long. I remember one time when I beat up one of her boyfriends. You got off easy."
"I'm sure," Phoebus said amused. "I'll remember to watch my back."
"You better," Clopin said as he waved a finger. "Because I'll be watching you!"
"I hope you don't think I want to be your friend now," Phoebus said as he crossed his arms.
"And I certainly hope you don't think that I approve of you, Capt'in!" Clopin said with a mock salute before doing a flip backwards and pranced down the cobblestone street. He bowed to a middle-aged woman before swinging her around in a sort of dance and continuing on his way.
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