Chapter 8: Topsy-turvy Day
A/N: Okay, it may be a bit Mary-Sue that Emelia can sing but this is a freaking DISNEY MOVIE! Everyone can sing in Disney movies! Onto the madness…P.S. In the song, Clopin sings the underlined parts with Emelia!
Early that morning, Emelia woke up in Esmeralda's tent with Emily next to her. After stroking back her sleeping daughter's hair from her forehead, she sat up and looked around to see Esmeralda absent. She was probably out on the streets of Paris dancing for money. Emelia stood to her feet, pulled a robe on, and went to bathe for the day.
In the Court of Miracles, there was this bathing hole for the gypsies that had warm water naturally. Most of the time, women used it because they had their cycles and they didn't like being dirty. Seeing as no one was around, Emelia took off her clothes and got into the warm water. It seemed all the stress she felt had been washed away as soon as she got in. The water seemed to rid her of the tight muscles in her shoulders.
Taking a breath, Emelia dunked her head underwater and got it wet so she could put shampoo in her hair. She used this special shampoo that one of the gypsy women made to give her hair a luxurious shine to it. It smelled very nice compared to all the other soaps she used in the past. She finally dunked her head under and rinsed her hair clean. After cleaning herself, she stood to grab the towel she left near the edge of the water hole.
"Emelia, I…" she heard Clopin's voice from behind her and she turned to see him standing there with a bright flush suffusing his face.
"G-get out!" she shouted, covering herself immediately.
Clopin blinked and finally regained his conscious enough to say, "S-sorry," he stammered, running out of the bathing pool.
Emelia's cheeks were bright red as she walked towards the direction of Esmeralda's tent. As expected, the gypsy girl was sitting on the bed playing with Emily, who was laughing blissfully. Esmeralda studied Emelia's expression and started laughing but tried unsuccessfully to hide it.
"What happened to you?" she asked, patting Emelia on the shoulder.
"C-Clopin saw me in the bath," Emelia answered faintly. "He saw me naked…"
Esmeralda let out a loud throaty laugh as she grasped her sides to stop herself from falling over. "H-he s-saw y-you n-naked…" she broke off laughing some more, prompting Emily to laugh and clap her hands joyfully.
In spite of herself, Emelia began laughing too, feeling tears rush down her cheeks because she was laughing so hard. It had been a while since she laughed like that and it felt good. The three laughed merrily like a song being sung to the sky.
…
The people of town crowded the church and began singing the silly song of the Feast of Fools.
"Come one, come all!
Leave your loops and milking stools
Coop the hens and pen the mules
Come one, come all!
Close the churches and the schools
It's the day for breaking rules
Come and join the feast of ..."
Clopin appeared from under the cloaked people and sang out loud for all to hear.
"Fools!"
The gypsy let out a laugh as the crowd began dancing merrily and singing along.
"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!"
Letting all caution go to the wind, Emelia and Clopin began dancing together merrily as a cloaked person kept trying to hide from the people. Clopin kept tailing him and making fun of him.
"Topsy turvy!" shouted the crowd, dancing.
"Everything is upsy-daisy," sang Clopin.
"Topsy turvy!"
"Ev'ryone is acting crazy
Dross is gold and weeds are a bouquet
That's the way on Topsy Turvy Day!"
The crowd danced to the merry music and Clopin spun and pirouetted with his fiancé.
All:
Topsy Turvy!
Clopin and Crowd:
Beat the drums and blow the trumpets
All:
Topsy Turvy!
Clopin and Crowd:
Join the bums and thieves and strumpets
Streaming in from Chartres to Calais
Clopin:
Scurvy knaves are extra scurvy
On the sixth of "Januervy"
Clopin and Crowd:
All because it's Topy Turvy Day!
Clopin:
Come one, come all!
Hurry, hurry, here's your chance
See the myst'ry and romance
Come one, come all
See the finest girl in France
Make an entrance to entrance
Dance la Esmeralda
Dance!
Clopin disappeared in a cloud of smoke and in his place was Esmeralda in a beautiful red dress, dancing seductively with her tambourine. She spun, pirouetted, and moved her hips in a carefree way as she danced for Frollo, who looked absolutely awed at the girl's boldness. Finally, she did a somersault and the splits before spinning on a spear and winking at the crowd. Her dance was done and Clopin came out with Emelia at his side.
"Now, everybody," announced Clopin, "the peace le résistance!"
"Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for
Here it is, you know exactly what's in store
Now's the time we laugh until our sides get sore
Now's the time we crown the King of Fools!
So make a face that's horrible and frightening
Make a face as gruesome as a gargoyle's wing
For the face that's ugliest will be the King of Fools!
Why?"
Crowd:
"Topsy turvy!"
Clopin:
"Ugly folk, forget your shyness"
The person in the cloak got pulled on stage by Esmeralda and he stood with the other "ugly" people.
Crowd:
"Topsy turvy!"
Clopin:
"You could soon be called Your Highness!"
Crowd:
"Put your foulest features on display
Be the king of Topsy Turvy Day!"
All the other "ugly" people weren't ugly enough to be the king of Topsy turvy so when Esmeralda made it to the cloaked man she tried to pull at his face but it wouldn't come off like a mask. She let out a gasp at the revelation and backed up a bit.
"It's no mask," someone from the crowd yelled. "It's his face! He's hideous!"
"It's the bell ringer of Notre Dame!" someone else shouted.
Looking on the verge of tears, the deformed man put his hands to his face to hide his ugliness but Clopin came to his rescue.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "don't panic. We asked for the ugliest face in all of Paris and here it is! Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame!"
The crowd rushed towards Quasimodo and placed him in the throne for the king of fools as Clopin began singing and leading the town.
Clopin:
"Ev'rybody!"
Crowd:
"Once a year we throw a party here in town,"
Clopin:
"Hail to the king!"
Crowd:
"Once a year we turn all Paris upside down,"
Clopin:
"Oh, what a king!"
Crowd:
"Once a year, the ugliest will wear a crown,"
Clopin:
"Girls, give a kiss!"
Crowd:
"Once a year on Topsy Turvy Day!"
Clopin:
"We've never had a king like this,"
Clopin and Crowd:
"And it's the day we do the things that we deplore
On the other three hundred and sixty-four
Once a year we love to drop in
Where the beer is never stoppin
For the chance to pop some popinjay
And pick a king who'll put the "top" in
Topsy Turvy Day!
Mad and crazy, upsy-daisy, Topsy Turvy Day!"
After the song ended, Quasimodo was standing on a spinning platform and he smiled out to the crowd with a crown on his head. The crowd cheered for him until someone threw a tomato at him. Suddenly, everyone found this funny and decided to torture the poor boy. Emelia rushed out to the crowd and tried to get up on the platform but was overwhelmed. Someone tied the poor boy down and spun him around on the platform. He called out for his master's help but no one came to his aid.
Tears welled up in Emelia's eyes as she finally made her way through the crowd and got up on the platform. The crowd hushed when both Emelia and Esmeralda stood on the platform and stared at the boy compassionately. Esmeralda removed her wrap and wiped the boy's face clean from the vegetables thrown at him.
"Don't be afraid," whispered Esmeralda to the cowering boy. "I'm sorry, this wasn't supposed to happen."
Emelia stroked the boy's auburn hair gently and gave him a gentle smile.
"You, gypsy girls!" shouted her uncle's imperial voice, causing both girls to turn and look. "Get down at once!"
"Yes, Your Honor," said Esmeralda, re-wrapping her wrap, "just as soon as we help this poor creature!"
"I forbid it!" declared Frollo, glaring at them.
Esmeralda pulled out her dagger and cut Quasimodo free, defying Frollo indefinitely.
"How dare you defy me," growled Frollo, pointing at them.
"You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people!" shouted Esmeralda. "You speak of justice yet you're cruel to those most in need of your help!"
"Silence!" shouted Frollo in return.
"Justice!" retorted Esmeralda, holding up her fist in defiance.
Finally, both women turned and pulled Quasimodo to his feet.
"Mark my words, gypsies," said Frollo, "you will pay for this insolence!"
"Then it appears we have crowned the wrong fool," proclaimed Esmeralda, bowing mockingly. "The only fool I see is you!" She took the crown of Quasimodo's head and tossed it over to Frollo's feet.
"Captain Phoebus," he said to the golden soldier next to him, "arrest them!"
Phoebus narrowed his eyes as he snapped his fingers to the guards.
"Let's see," said Esmeralda as the soldiers surrounded them, "one, two, three, four, five…okay, so there's ten of you and there's two of us. What are we poor girls going to do?" She pretended to cry and then both of them disappeared in a puff of smoke.
…
Before Emelia could run to help Esmeralda, she was pulled away by Clopin. She looked back and saw his usually humorous expression grave and angry. Impetuously he grabbed her in a hug and held her tightly.
"We have to do something," she whispered to Clopin, referring to Esmeralda.
"Wait," he replied, holding her by the shoulders so she couldn't run off.
She tried to struggle free but he wrapped his arms around her upper torso and held her tightly.
"It's my uncle," she gasped, seeing her uncle staring right at her. "I need to confront him now. Clopin, your arms please."
Loathingly, he released her and she walked over to her uncle in her gaudy gypsy clothes with a glare on her face.
"So," she said rudely, "why didn't you tell me you were hunting gypsies? I found out that they're extremely kind and generous creatures."
"It's all in their twisted gypsy curse, my dear," he said cruelly. "Just like that infuriating gypsy girl." He pointed to Esmeralda, who was fighting off the guards. "She cast a curse on you, dear."
Emelia frowned. "That's not true, uncle," she said angrily. "I've come to truly like them. They're not demons! They're just human beings trying to get by like us!"
Frollo looked angrier than she had ever seen him. "I'll save you, my dear," he said, grabbing her by the wrist. "Now, come with me so I can get you blessed."
"No," she cried, struggling to get away but he was stronger. "Let go of me!"
Before Frollo could respond, Clopin appeared out of nowhere, pulled Emelia behind him, and held his dagger out threateningly with his dark eyes glowing with anger.
"Release my fiancé, you monster," he growled. "If you so much as touch a hair on her head, I will kill you."
"Clopin, please," she said, touching him on the chest. "He's my uncle."
It was the pleading look in her eyes that made him back off. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her tenderly, backing off.
"Fiance!" thundered Frollo, glaring at them. "My niece, beautiful and virgin, being wed to a gypsy! I won't will it, Emelia Allen! Not while I live!" His stone eyes were full of anger and irritation.
Clopin held Emelia protectively as he glared at Frollo angrily. "Stay away from her, you evil son of a bitch!" he growled again. "Leave her be!"
When Emelia tried to run off with Clopin, her uncle grabbed her by the wrist and said in her ear, "If you marry that gypsy scum, I will kill that gypsy girl."
Emelia trembled and she ran off to get to her fiancé, for once truly afraid of her uncle.
…
After returning to the Court of Miracles, Emelia went to her tent and began praying for safety and Quasimodo, the poor deformed boy.
"We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise…"
…
Clopin sat in his tent, thinking back to that poor hunchback with a heavy heart. He could have stopped the crowd from abusing that poor boy but would they have listened? A prayer from his heart escaped his lips and he began singing in fervor.
"We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise…"
…
Tears rolled down Emelia's face as she prayed even more.
"When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not
This is not our home
Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise…"
Emelia laid down on her bed and held her daughter close to her. She had missed her daughter because she left her at a gypsy's tent so she could attend the Feast of Fools. Now she was home.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Finally, I've updated! I hope you enjoy it! R&R!
