A/N: Now we have caught up with the film. This takes place right before Quasi leaves to join the festival (so he's around 20 years old), and there are no gargoyles, sorry. Then the story follows Thomas a bit (he's 19), and basically covers what is happening to Thomas while the movie is taking place. Since we've all seen the movie before (I hope) I don't feel the need to go through everything that Quasi does during this time. Yeah.
Also, I kind of borrowed a scene from the movie. Don't kill me there really wasn't any other way to work this in. Sorry.
Chapter Ten
Four Years Later
The Festival of Fools. For many years Quasi had watched the festival from his tower, longing to see and experience it for himself. But he had never had the courage to actually leave his bell tower and join the populous.
He always felt guilty whenever he would have these moments of self doubt. He never forgot his promise to Thomas to not let Frollo keep him locked away forever, but ever since Thomas left the little bit of self-confidence he had built up had slowly deteriorated until there wasn't much left. He still shied away from normal people, and Frollo still continued to terrify him to his core.
Lucie's words had remained with him; "You know, no one would want to stay cooped up here forever." Quasi had thought of them more and more over the years, and as the days and weeks and months slipped by him, they had become more and more applicable.
The morning of festival had started like any other ordinary day. He had risen early and rung in the new day, then headed outside to the balcony to check on the little bird that had recently hatched. Its mother had constructed a nest for her children inside the open mouth of a gargoyle, and the rest of the babies had since left the nest, leaving one little bird behind. Quasi had been keeping an eye on it, and had been trying to talk it into flying for some time now.
"Good morning," he murmured to the bird. The bird chirped back, and Quasi smiled. "Is today the day, are you ready to fly?"
For a moment, Quasi could have sworn that the bird's chirp sounded sad. "You sure? Good day to try. Why, if-if I picked a day to fly, this would be it! The Festival of Fools!" As he talked, he gingerly lifted the little bird out of his nest, and showed him the square where people were setting up for the festivities. "It'll be fun, with jugglers, an-and music and dancing!"
The baby bird, as if sensing Quasi's excitement, started flapping its wings until it was flying in place. Quasi chuckled and withdrew his hand, allowing the bird to fly excitedly on its own. When the baby landed back in Quasi's hand, it caught sight of a flock of birds and started chirping happily. Quasi smiled.
"Go on," he said quietly. "No one wants to stay cooped up here forever."
As the little bird flew away, he suddenly thought of Lucie. He suddenly remembered what Thomas had called her all the time, his petit oiseau. Little bird.
Quasi made up his mind right then and there. He was going to go down there, today. He was going to keep his promise to Thomas and honor Lucie's memory and not let Frollo stop him from being normal.
What if I get caught? He thought anxiously. Then he remembered Thomas' words to him the day that he left; "What are you waiting for? A perfect world where everyone will accept you without question?"
Thomas was right, he couldn't wait around for a perfect world that would never be. He would do it, he would go down there no matter the consequences.
Besides, it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission, right?
!i!i!
Thomas Lamont had settled into country life quite quickly. Now, at age nineteen, he had been working his father's trade, only carving on the side for extra money. They lived far enough away from Paris that he had never been able to visit, although many of his friends did. Pierre, his best friend, went nearly every month to sell wool and buy extra supplies, but Thomas had never had the chance to accompany him. Sometimes he would ask Pierre if he had ever run into a deformed man while in town, but Pierre would only look at him strangely and answer no.
Thomas still missed Quasi, even if the pain was getting smaller and more distant. When he had told his parents the story of how he had met the misshapen bell ringer, they were shocked and a little hurt that they had never been told. But as the years past, they slowly forgot about Thomas' friend, and Quasi quickly became a distant memory in their eyes.
But Thomas never forgot. He would think of his friend sometimes, and wonder where he was and if he had ever left his tower and Frollo's control. According to the news coming from Paris, the Judge was cracking down hard on the gypsy population. The news was quite disturbing, and spoke of terrible grievances against the gypsies. Thomas was troubled by the news, and feared for his friend, but there was really nothing he could do.
Meanwhile, he had met someone. Her name was Marie and Thomas thought that she was the most gorgeous thing in the world. She was beautiful and intelligent and witty and never failed to make Thomas smile with her humorous comebacks. And the strangest thing about her, Thomas thought, was that she cared for him as well.
It was in these moments that Thomas missed Lucie, his petit oiseau. He always missed her when autumn came again, and sometimes he would wake up from a dream with her in it, alive and well, and would shut himself away for hours until he would later emerge with red rimmed eyes. Marie would comfort him in those times, and Thomas was eternally grateful.
The months passed and soon Thomas and Marie were married. It was a simple wedding, but to Thomas and Marie it couldn't have been any better.
Meanwhile, more stories about the atrocities in Paris filtered through to Thomas' town; stories about the Judge's obsession with a certain gypsy girl, and the disastrous and fiery results. But no matter how much Thomas worried, he couldn't leave his now pregnant wife to go to Paris to see his friend. It was too dangerous at the moment.
So he was forced to wait it out, and hope and pray that his friend was alright.