Because this is the tenth chapter, I'm going to give you a short preview of the prequel I'm writing, to be titled A Tale of Devoted Vigilance. It's not as fancy as the title suggests. Here's the preview!

The wind picked up, much to the young Gypsy King's dismay. He lost his balance and soon found himself hanging upside-down on the gargoyle, much like a sloth on a tree branch.

"Yes," Clopin hissed excitedly as he let his hands go and hung by his knees. "You know I love a challenge!" he said to the cathedral as his hat fell off his head and down to Paris. "Let's play 'Try to Retrieve Clopin's Hat'."

Looking up—down—he scrutinized the side of the building for other gargoyles. He saw one, but it was too far down.

Clopin grinned. "This is going to be too easy."

Like Hornets Protecting Their Hive
Ten

-+-ND-+-

"You're not very smart, are you?" Semmary muttered under her breath, hugging her knees to her chest. She was sitting outside her caravan with Clopin, listening to her parents fighting.

Clopin frowned and pursed his lips. "That may be," he nodded. "But I'm telling you as a friend that you probably should tell them to stop fighting. If it's hurting you that much—"

"Listen," Semmary interrupted, standing up and walking away from Clopin. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but whatever you tell me, it's not going to work, I assure you." She gathered her thoughts. "My parents have been fighting since I was born. You don't know what that's like to see your dad come home from whatever he's doing behind your back, and walk up to your mom…and hit her. And not just once; over and over again. When you're six years old…." She unexpectedly burst into tears. "God, when you're six years old, you see that and think your father's a monster. You think you were spawned from some sort of demon…even when you weren't. It hurts every day to remember that…."

Clopin watched her sadly.

Semmary continued. "I can't sum up the courage to say anything to him, because I'm constantly afraid that he'll hit me." She crossed her shaking arms. "I just wanted them to be at peace with each other. I want them to stop hurting me. My mother is much stronger than that, I know she is." Her voice dropped several notches. "He's taking away the sanctuary I had in my own home."

There was a scream from inside Semmary's caravan, and both her and Clopin rushed to the window to look inside.

"NO!" Semmary screamed, sprinting to the door and throwing it open. "DAD!!"

Her father backed up against the wall, looking at what he'd done in horror. Clopin ran in and immediately went into defensive mode.

"Go back!" he told Semmary. "Go back, now!"

"NO!" Semmary shouted at him. "NO! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, DAD!" She lunged forward, but Clopin held her back.

He backed her up against a wall and looked over his shoulder at Semmary's father. "How could you?" he asked under his breath.

Bartholomé wiped his eyes, turning very pale. "I…I…."

"HE KILLED HER!!" Semmary screamed at the top of her lungs, tears running swiftly down her face. She struggled to get free of Clopin's grasp. "HE KILLED MY MOTHER!" She sobbed. "He killed her…!"

"Get OUT, Semmary!!" Clopin countered, trying to push her out of the caravan. His own eyes were watering. "I don't want you to see this!!"

Semmary fell to her knees, her face in her hands. She could barely breathe, she was crying so hard. Clopin fell to his knees as well, right beside her. He took the twelve-year-old in his arms and held her tightly, stroking her hair. "Veuillez avoir la pitié, Seigneur," he whispered. "Soulagez cet enfant de douleur…."

Semmary cried into his chest, trying with all her might to erase the vision she saw in her head….

"Get me out," she whispered to Clopin, who immediately picked her up and exited the caravan, throwing her father a disgusted look as he slammed the door shut with his foot.

"I hope you rot in Hell," he murmured to the other man.

+-+ND+-+

"Clopin?"

He was snapped out of his reverie and found himself looking directly into Semmary's eyes. They were bright now, but he remembered how empty they appeared after her mother's death. It was as if they were two completely different set of eyes.

"Are you alright?"

Clopin blinked for a few seconds, then rubbed his own eyes. "Yes. I'm fine." He looked at her and smiled. "How are you?"

Semmary shrugged. "I could be better…though I can't remember a time when I wasn't."

Clopin smiled sadly. "How about when you weren't pregnant?"

"That's a good answer," Semmary pointed out.

Don't tell me my French is wrong! I already know that! Ha, I used one of those Free Online Translators...cheap. I also know the word 'Dad' wasn't used. Who cares?!