Present 4
Paris was frozen in fear. Apart from soldiers searching homes or taking in new prisoners, the streets were devoid of the life they previously had. The first few weeks into Frollo's reign of terror brought much loss to the entire population. Early on, the safe house owners learned that they were not the only ones willing to shelter gypsies in their homes. However, the inexperience of these brave and generous people made them easy targets. Frollo picked off these makeshift hideaways quickly, often arresting everyone in the house, including children, and burning the buildings on his way out. Other citizens hid in their homes, only emerging when absolutely necessary.
The inexperienced were not the only ones who fell to Frollo. Jamal was the first in the circle to be arrested. Though he was in the circle for a long time, longer than any other current member, his generosity outweighed his practicality. His home was not big enough to accommodate the number of people he took in and so they were harder to hide. His children were forced to hastily relocate their people before Frollo came to their doors. Two of them were able to do this successfully, but the third, while able to get his people out in time, was arrested when Frollo's soldiers found gypsy artifacts hidden in his home. Slowly but surely, others began to fall.
Second only to the Court, the Janvier Inn was the safest place in the city. It was built by Noelle's great grandfather who included several hidden features in its design. Though it's debatable whether her great grandfather had noble intentions in mind when building the inn, her grandfather certainly did. The story went that, as a child, Noelle's grandfather helped a gypsy boy hide from a particularly cruel guard. Their friendship started that day and the gypsy boy eventually grew up to be called King of the Gypsies. Noelle's through his closest friend about the hardships the gypsies faced. He decided to help them by hiding unfairly persecuted gypsies. From there, the circle was born.
At present, the inn was filled with gypsies. Every room, including Pascal's and her father's old rooms, held at least one family. She'd even given up her own room, instead sleeping on the mattress in her office. It was a safety precaution as well. If someone came to the door at night, she'd be the first one to know who was there. During the day, she kept her common room open to keep a look of normalcy, even though she almost never had customers. The gypsies stayed in their rooms during this time in case she did. She closed at supper time and they could move more freely, though still quietly, through the inn.
Noelle was upstairs checking on everyone when Gerard caught her in the hall. Each safe house had a sort of spokesperson whose job was to keep the other gypsies calm and deal more directly with owners of the safe house. At the inn, it was Gerard. "Noelle, do you have any idea what's going on out there?" He whispered. Even when no one else was in the inn, they were careful to keep quiet.
"You mean apart from half the city burning?" she whispered back. They all had to know about that. The smoke was so think, one could taste it without having to step outside.
"I'm serious."
"So am I," she replied crossing her arms. "I've told you all everything I know. I don't have any more news. There's no one on the streets to even ask right now."
"Are you saying there's nothing today at all?"
"Not so far."
Gerard sighed and glanced at doors around them. "I need to tell them something," he pleaded. "They're scared, Noelle. All of this waiting around is killing them."
Noelle shook her head in dismay. She couldn't imagine how knowing exactly which lives were being destroyed that particular day could possibly bring anyone any comfort. "Well, news isn't going to make them feel any better," she replied hurriedly and began to turn away.
"Wait." Without thinking, he grabbed her by the arms. In a brief moment of panic, she pushed him away.
"Don't do that. You know I hate that," she snapped still in a hushed tone.
"I'm sorry," he apologized genuinely. He was there the night she and Clopin escaped the kidnappers. He knew why she hated being grabbed. "I didn't mean anything by it."
Noelle sighed and looked down at her feet, ashamed of her short outburst. "I know you didn't. It's alright. We're all jumpy."
The bell above the front door clanged, startling both into silence.
"I'll be down in a moment," Noelle called down the stairs. She turned back to Gerard who, she realized, was waiting for a plan. "Just remind everyone to keep quiet."
She hurried down the stairs to see Faye waiting by her front desk. The wrench on her heart loosened just a little when she saw her cousin.
"Noelle," Faye said softly as she opened her arms.
"Faye," Noelle answered reciprocating her sweet cousin's hug. She pulled back, but still held Faye's hands gently. "Have you brought news? Apparently it's all anyone wants around here."
"Nothing good, I'm afraid," Faye answered, pulling away completely.
"What? On a beautiful day like today?" Noelle gestured towards the window where the orange-stained sky showed through the cracks in the shutters.
The corner of Faye's lips tugged upward, but the rest of her face remained solemn. "I just left the children with Beatrice," she said, referring to her youngest sister. "She didn't take in any gypsies, so I hope they'll be safe there."
"Why? What are you talking about?"
Tears gathered in Faye's eyes as she spoke. "Some of Leonard's brothers have been discovered."
"Even the blacksmith's shop?"
"Marius…" the tears spilled over now.
"What about Marius?" Noelle put one hand on Faye's shoulder and lifted her chin with the other.
"Marius is dead," Faye replied, wrapping her arms around Noelle. "When the soldiers came for him, he and some of the gypsies at his shop fought back. Frollo ordered their execution on the spot."
"No…" She whispered as she patted her cousin's back. She'd never been fond of Marius, but he was still a brave man who risked his life to protect these people. Now he was as dead as justice in this city. "Faye, I'm so sorry."
"We think we'll be next," she sobbed into Noelle's shoulder. "We're trying to move the gypsies as quickly as we can, but there's no telling when Frollo will be at our door."
"Where are the gypsies going to go?"
Faye straightened up and wiped her tears. "Some of them are going to try to make it back to the Court. Leonard's trying to find a place for the others, but…"
"They can come here. I've still got…" Noelle stopped to think of any other place she had to put people. She supposed she could share her space in her office, but it was too close to the common room. It would be too risky.
"No, you've already got more than enough hidden here," Faye said firmly. "Jamal was found out because he took on more than he could handle. When I took those people into my home, it became my job to protect them. I am the owner of my safe house and I am prepared to go down with it, just as you are prepared to go down with this place."
"Faye, if you really think they'll come for you, you should hide here."
"I can't do that," Faye gasped. "Leonard is still there. I can't leave him to deal with the soldiers on his own."
Noelle put her hands on Faye's shoulders protectively. "If he knew there was a chance you could save yourself, he'd want you to take it."
"Maybe, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did." Faye drew herself up. "When we married, we made a promise to always stand together. He loves me as much as I love him. I can't let him take the fall for both of us. Just think what you would do for…"
The bell over the door clanged again and both women turned to see who was coming in. They both immediately tensed when they saw it was a small group of soldiers. The group consisted of two lieutenants and the new captain of the guard. Noelle somewhat knew the lieutenants simply through living in the city. The older one, Piers, was coincidentally the same soldier who, as a young, new recruit, searched her room when she was a child. The other, Brice, was about her age and was known to be severe in his work at "keeping the peace" as an attempt to impress Frollo and get ahead. The new captain was a stranger to her, however, as she'd only ever seen him at the feast of fools. She knew his name was Phoebus and that he was some sort of war hero, but not much else.
"Come on, it's about time we bought our new captain a drink," Brice said, throwing his arm around the captain.
"It's really quite alright," the captain said uncomfortably, shrugging off Brice's arm.
Noelle quickly turned Faye's back to the soldiers in order to hide her cousin's tearful eyes. "Um… so anyway that book you wanted to borrow in upstairs in my room. You can go up and get it if you want."
Faye quickly dried her tears and put on a chipper voice. "Oh sure. I'll be right back." Faye hurried up the steps, knowing what she was really meant to do. Noelle was confident Faye understood that she needed to warn all of the gypsies about the soldiers in the common room.
"We'll just get a serving girl and… wait, where's all of the serving girls?" Piers asked, sitting down at a table.
"Not here," Noelle answered curtly.
"Well why not?"
"I haven't had customers," she explained as she crossed the room to their table. "It makes no sense to pay them if they don't have work to do."
"Well, we'll just have some food and…"
"No food."
"What do you mean no food?" Brice snapped.
"I don't have any work for the cook either."
"I've seen smoke coming from your chimney," Piers pointed out. "You've been cooking."
"I have to feed myself, don't I?" Noelle answered, crossing her arms. "There's not enough for you." How can you tell it's from my chimney anyway? She thought bitterly, remembering how many homes and businesses Frollo set alight in the last few weeks.
"How can you have an inn with no drinks and no food?" Piers asked.
"Traditionally, inns house travelers," Noelle explained impatiently. "I can't get any guests with the roads blocked off. No travelers, no guests. No guests, no reason to have cooks and serving girls."
"So you're saying you don't have any drinks for us?"
A bump sounded from upstairs, silencing everyone in the room.
"What was that?" Brice asked suspiciously.
"Must have been Faye," she dismissed quickly. "Anyway, you can still have drinks. I just don't have serving girls. Ale?"
"Ale would be great, thank you," the captain said.
They heard Faye's light footsteps as she hurried down the stairs, carrying a book. "I've got your book," she said once she reached the bottom.
"Was that you up there?" Noelle asked, going over to her cousin.
"Oh, yes, I'm so clumsy. I dropped the book. Well, I can see you're busy and I'm all set, so I will see you soon." Faye leaned in to quickly hug Noelle goodbye. "Don't worry about me," she whispered. "Stay safe."
"You as well," Noelle whispered back.
"Can you believe they're related?" Piers snickered as Faye walked out the door.
Noelle ignored this and hurried to the kitchen to get the ale. She filled the steins fast, put them on a tray, and carried them back out to the soldiers' table. They'd evidently been talking about her cousin.
"Eh, too bad she's off limits," Piers grumbled. "She's been married for years. Kids too. Her looks aren't going to last forever."
"Bet she's a wreck under that skirt," Brice added with a sneer.
"Men, that's enough," commanded the captain, who, by the look on his face, was already irritated with his comrades.
Noelle stepped beside the captain's seat and carefully set a stein down in front of him. "Captain," she acknowledged respectfully, deciding it couldn't hurt to suck up a little to Frollo's second in command. The fact that he was the only one who apparently wasn't busy degrading Faye inched him a bit into her favor as well. She unceremoniously plunked the other two steins in front of the lieutenants started to walk away
"What about us?" Brice protested. "You should show us the same respect."
Like you showed my cousin? She mumbled something that sounded like "lieutenants" and went over to the front desk. She set the tray down and started going over her books, but kept an eye and an ear on the soldiers.
"Forget that shrew," Piers huffed, taking a drink from his stein.
"It's no wonder she never married," Brice added. "Who'd want a salty wife like that?"
"You, if memory serves."
"I wanted a piece of the inn, not her."
Piers let out a chuckle. "She turned you down flat, either way."
"Not her, her father," Brice corrected. "Said I was only interested in getting my hands on the inn."
"You were."
"That's not the point," Brice snapped. "Anyway, I never even got the chance to woo her. I guarantee she'd be much more pleasant if I had her. She'd know who was boss."
Piers rolled his eyes. "You just keep telling yourself that."
"One thing's for sure, no one's come calling in a long while," Brice said, mockingly. "Bet she's got cobwebs between her legs."
As her anger rose, Noelle's grip unconsciously tightened, snapping her quill in half.
The captain scowled and drummed his fingers on the table. "You know, it is unwise to insult the proprietor of an establishment."
"Her, especially," Piers said, turning to his captain. "She's got this rule, see. If you get too handsy with her serving girls, she chases you off with a fire poker."
"Impressive," the captain replied with a smirk.
"Not us," Brice said proudly. "No one touches us. That's the great thing about working in this city, Captain. Frollo's guards have it made here."
"But of course, you uphold your honor regardless," the captain replied snidely.
"Of course," Brice dismissed, seemingly oblivious to his captains disapproval. "More ale," he called to Noelle.
Begrudgingly, Noelle went back to the kitchen and returned carrying a tray with three full steins on it. "Just so you know, this your last round," she said, passing out the steins.
"What?" Piers exclaimed slamming his empty stein on the table.
"I can't have you drinking all of my ale," Noelle replied, giving them a cold glare. "Who knows when I'll be able to refill my supply?"
"That's the second snide comment you've made about the blockades," Brice noted with a suspicious bent to his voice.
"I can't say it's been good for business," Noelle argued, not backing down.
"Then you should be more than happy to serve us all the ale we want," Piers said, beginning to down his ale.
"It almost seems like you're trying to get rid of us." Brice got up moved around the table toward her. "I wonder why that is."
"Well, it certainly can't have anything to do with your cobweb comment," she snapped as he got into her face.
Piers left out a laugh into his stein. "I thought she heard that."
Brice ignored his partner's ridicule and eyed Noelle suspiciously. "You know, I'm sure I've seen gypsies leaving here before. You let them drink here, before the recent cleansing, of course."
"They paid."
"And if they were to pay you to let them hide out here?"
"All the King's riches wouldn't be enough to make me do something that stupid," she scoffed.
Brice grinned. "So you wouldn't mind if we had a little look around."
Her heart stopped. "Absolutely not," she commanded. She couldn't let them out of the common room. She needed to think of an excuse quick. Her eyes flickered to Piers and she had it. "Not after last time."
Brice was unsatisfied. "Last time? If you aren't hiding something…"
Noelle ignored him and turned to Piers. "I believe you were there the last time," she said, speaking directly to the older guard. "You came into my room and tore it apart, do you remember?
Piers had to pause and think for a moment. "Oh yeah, come to think of it," he said, realization dawning on him. "You were just a little thing back then."
Noelle nodded. "And what did you find?"
"Nothing," Piers said, getting back to his drink.
"Exactly. You and the rest of the guards tore apart the inn and found nothing. At least back then, the inn was full and the guests helped put their rooms back together. I'm afraid I'm not up to the task all by myself. It'd be a waste of your time and mine."
Piers sighed and looked pleadingly at his partner. "Come one, Brice. I don't want to have to tear up this whole place. We're off duty."
Brice frowned and turned toward his captain. "Well, if you're too lazy maybe the Captain and I can…"
"No." The captain slammed his stein down, the clang reverberating around the room. His firm, demanding tone startled everyone at the table.
"What?" Brice stammered out.
"As he said, we're off duty," the captain explained more calmly. "We've had a long shift and I want to finish my drink in peace."
"But…"
"Sit down, Brice. That's an order."
Brice slumped down into a seat and glowered at both Noelle and his captain. Noelle, for her part, knew this was not the end of it. Instead of going back to her work at her desk, she picked up a rag and pretended to wipe down the banister. She kept and keen eye on the soldiers as they finished their drinks. No one was going to get up the stairs without going through her and she wasn't about to let anyone pass.
The soldiers finished their drinks soon enough. Piers and the captain put their money on the table and headed toward the door. Brice, however, hung back. He slunk up behind Noelle where she was still wiping away imaginary dust. He grabbed her arms and her heart immediately started pounding. She froze completely in an effort to keep herself from panicking and trying to throw the guard off of her. She knew if she tried, he'd claim she was assaulting a guard and arrest her. "I know you're hiding something," he hissed in her ear. "Frollo will hear of your insolence. I'll be back tonight with more than enough men to tear your inn apart. Believe me, we will find your secret."
"Brice," the captain called from the door. "We're leaving."
Brice scowled at his captain, but backed off. The captain and Piers turned and walked out the door. Brice flashed Noelle a sinister grin, then headed for toward the exit as well.
Noelle took a few breaths to try to slow her beating heart, but they came out as frantic panting instead. "You didn't pay," she managed to call at the door, hurriedly throwing her stern façade over her words. Brice paused at the door just long enough to take out a few coppers and toss them behind him. The coins rolled around feebly before clambering pathetically to the floor. The bell clanged and the door slammed shut.
As soon as she was alone, she felt her knees go weak and she leaned on the banister for support. Her stomach was twisted in a knot and her heart felt as though it might beat out of her chest. Her mind raced, trying to calculate some way out. The inn had hidden doors and cabinets which people could hide in while the search went on, but that wasn't enough. She had more people than she had hiding places and Brice threatened to tear her inn apart anyway. For four generations the inn kept its secret and, to her knowledge, they never had to turn anyone away. Now, it might finally be exposed.
Collecting herself the best she could, she stumbled up the stairs. Action had to be taken immediately if there was to hope for anyone. She knocked on Gerard's door harder than she meant to. After a moment she realized that he would think she was a soldier, so she called to him. "Gerard, it's me."
He opened the door and immediately saw her frazzled expression. "Noelle, what' wrong?" His heart clenched in preparation as he knew what she was about to say.
"The soldiers are gone, but they're going to come back," she told him, her heart sinking fast.
The color immediately went out of his face. "What?"
"They suspected there were gypsies her, so they're going to tell Frollo and come back with enough soldiers to search the inn. They'll tear it apart. Those were his exact words."
Gerard closed his eyes and leaned against the door frame. "Oh God…"
"You all need to leave. It isn't safe here anymore."
Gerard straightened up and rubbed his eyes impatiently. "Will they be back before nightfall?"
"I don't know," Noelle answered. In her mind, she analyzed what Brice said and what he might plan to do. "The soldier who threatened me was off duty and he said he'd be back tonight. He'll probably want to be a part of the search, so they might not come until after the evening shift change."
"Then, we might be able to make it to court at twilight during the shift change," Gerard answered after some thought. "It's our best chance."
Noelle nodded gravely. "It might be our only chance."
