I woke to see a blurry figure hovering above me. It had a worried frown and a triangular hat…and a silk cloth fell on my cheek. A ribbon? As my vision came back, I saw the figure was covered in purple and black. "Lavender!" I heard it snap, shaking my shoulders with a gentle yet stern grip. The voice sounded familiar…Who was it though?
"Claude…" I whispered, grinning up at a very relieved looking husband. He hugged me and I winced, a little surprised at how strong he was. Little Aimée hugged my arm and I smiled. Suddenly I remembered what had just happened.
Looking up at Clopin and Kara, I muttered a small word of appreciation to Claude who helped me stand. "…So…I'm a product of…of rape? My parents were never in love?"
Clopin shook his head. "He could have been lying, Lav. I'm positive your parents were in love, there is no doubt about it. And as for the rape…I don't…He could just be saying that because that makes him feel better about his actions." Still, a look of despair and self-pity stuck to my face.
He hugged me tightly, obviously thinking of my mother and her attitude to find any clues if this story was real or not. This was my guardian from a young age, the man who cared for me even though the first few months we met I was nothing but a brat, this was the person who loved me dearly and wanted me to be happy and at peace.
"Uh, excuse me. We found the barn. No one was there." A guard strolled in, glancing at me and Frollo with a nervous twitch. I sighed and grabbed my husband's hand to keep him from going over the edge and killing someone. Clopin held his wife and son, watching how we would react.
"…Alright…get the others to stand at the Palace's entrance and don't let any shabby looking man in." Frollo said in an air of exhaustion. We all glanced at each other. With a relieved nod, the guard took off as if a lion was chasing him.
Raising an eyebrow while giving him a dull glare, I poked his shoulder with my index finger. "Are you feeling alright? Usually you go off the handle when stuff like that happens. Perhaps you should rest, husband."
Frollo rolled his eyes and replied in a light voice, "I'm going to bite that finger if you do not quit it." That got me to stop real fast. He turned to face my gypsy friends. "Kara, you and…Clopin and Joseph may stay here tonight. We can't risk letting Tetherman capture any of you…again."
Kara and I looked at each other, then at Clopin, then at Claude. "Honey, are you sure you're feeling well?" I questioned while resting the back of my hand on his forehead.
He gave me an annoyed glare. "Yes, Lavender, why?"
Before my red eyed friend and I could reply, Clopin stepped into the conversation, "Because you called me by my name." There was light teasing in his voice but before he could carry on, Kara stomped on his foot.
This was definitely going to be an interesting night.
Hours that led to darkness of the city of Paris was usually romantic. Couples, married or not, would sit outside and stare at the sky as stars slowly appeared from their hiding place.
Joseph and Aimée were running around, placing hide-and-seek in the west wing. Kara and Clopin were sitting on the balcony of the guest room, whispering to each other. Probably about their unborn baby.
Claude and I sat near an open window, drinking wine. We had little to say out loud but spoke so much in silence. Suddenly I had an idea.
Running over to Clopin's room, I whispered something to Kara and we all took off to the living room. Kara was snickering, silently agreeing with my plan. When all four adults sat comfortably in a chair near the window over looking Paris, our husbands questioned, "What are you two planning?"
This only earned a giggle or two from us. "Let's play a game." I said delicately. Kara was taking out two bottles and pouring them in several small glasses.
"This game is called Truth or Drink. We go around asking anyone a question, any question at all; if we suspect they might be lying, then you have to ask them if they are. If you're wrong, you drink a random glass. If you catch them in a lie, then they drink. And…oh, let us show you!" The Queen of Gypsies said. Since she was pregnant, this meant she probably was planning on telling truth all the time so she wouldn't have to drink as much.
"Lavender, how did you meet Claude after you lived with Clopin?" She asked excitedly.
My face fell; damn it, why did she ask that?! Looking as bashful as possible, I looked at my feet and mumbled, "…I was watching Clopin perform a puppet show and I got caught by a guard…I had snuck out of the Court of Miracles so Clopin didn't realize I was taken to Claude."
She studied me for a long time. The two men were grinning at my story, obviously truly knowing what happened. "Liar!" She exclaimed. "You twitched!"
Rolling my eyes, I smiled, "Okay, so you got me this time." Grabbing a small glass, I gulped the drink down and coughed, my throat feeling as though it were on fire. "Wh-whiskey?! You brought whiskey?!" I cried out, slightly shocked.
Instead of waiting for his wife to answer, Clopin spoke up. "My turn. Hm…Lav, what did you first think of me when we first met?"
"What, you mean in the catacombs?"
"Yes."
Smirking, I answered, "My first thoughts were… 'Ahhh, It's a skeleton!! Oh wait, never mind it's just the guy who's here to capture me.'"
Clopin laughed aloud, the sound of it echoing. Since Kara and Frollo didn't know much of how we met, it was more of a private joke. "Okay, my turn. Kara, where did you and Clopin first make love?"
The King of Gypsies turned a dark red while the Queen giggled. "In the Court of Miracles after our wedding of course!" Even though she was smiling shyly, her eyes flickered away for a second.
"Liar!"
"Damn!" She cursed, drinking what looked like wine. "My turn. Claude! Where did you and Lavender first make love?" Ah, revenge was sweet apparently.
Frollo cleared his throat, his cheeks turning light pink. "…On the beach." He murmured softly.
Kara let out a shrieking giggle while Clopin gagged. "On the beach?! What common sense do you hold, Lavender?!" He snapped at me. I looked away, feeling my cheeks turn dark red.
His wife giggled. "Come now, Clopin, remember where we first…"
He looked away, "Alright, alright! Who's next?"
Frollo thought for a moment, overlooking us all. "Hm…Clopin, explain what happened the first night Lavender came to live with you."
Clopin and I exchanged nervous glances. In a slow voice, obviously choosing his words carefully, he answered, "After her father was erm…hanged, she fell asleep in my tent while I went off to help someone. Uh…the next morning, she tried to escape and er…"
"Liar!" Frollo cried out, mistaking the Kings hesitation for speaking carefully as lying.
"N-no, actually, he's…telling the truth." I looked away. Frollo downed a glass of whiskey.
"Kara, what…" Clopin started before the doors bursts open. Little Aimée and Joseph ran inside screaming. We all winced at how their cries for their mothers echoed sharply.
Picking up Aimée, I glanced at Kara who held Joseph's hand, unable to pick him up as well. Clopin stood and held him while he went off talking at lightning speed. Frollo came up next to me and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, sweetie?" He asked his crying daughter.
She pointed at the guards and said, "Monsters!"
Raising an eyebrow, I looked over at the two sheepish looking guards and glared. (The two who tried stealing Esmeralda's money.) Speaking in a very uncharacteristic cold tone, I handed Aimée to her father and pointed at them. "You two, come here now!" Everyone stopped crying and talking, watching me.
"Why does my daughter say you two are monsters?" I questioned, crossing my arms.
"Uh…because she's…lying?" The fat one said. Without realizing it, my rage took control and I slapped him.
"Don't you dare say my innocent child is lying. I know very well about you two baboons, you two are monsters! Explain what she really meant, now!"
The one with the mustache answered, "…The boy and her ran out of the room laughing and we…scared them by waving our swords around and covering our faces."
Silence.
The silence was so thick and long that it almost hurt.
Another two guards walked in, waiting instructions. "Take these two to the dungeons and keep them locked up until we say otherwise." I ordered through gritted teeth.
When the "monster" guards were taken away, I looked over at Aimée and Joseph. Smiling, I said, "I think your fathers will tuck you into bed while your mothers clean up a bit."
Frollo and Clopin obeyed me, a little shocked at my coldness. Kara didn't say anything as we cleared the glasses but I knew she was wondering about my order.
When everyone got in their rooms, I dragged Frollo into our bed and sighed. "We'll let those idiots go in a few days." I murmured sleepy. He simply chuckled.
"You sounded like me back there."
"…Well no one messes with my daughter and claims they were lying." He just chuckled again.
Yeah, random parts thrown in there. Anyway, review please!