Claude's plan was never set into motion like he had hoped. Christine had gotten word that Stephan was hot on their trail, and needed to lay low, which meant staying inside and not leaving the house for anything.

After two weeks of having to put up with being stuck in the same house as her, Claude decided he'd had enough.

"Change your clothes," he said, poking his head into Christine's studio. "We're going out."

She stood up from the stool she was sitting on, making her way to him. "What about Stephan? He's still out there."

"It's been weeks," Claude argued. "Clearly he's either given up, or is literally just waiting for us to make our presence known. and I highly doubt it's the latter. Now get dressed, we're going out." He turned to leave, rolling up his dark blue dress shirt sleeves. "Oh," he said, turning back to look at her. "Don't forget to find a scarf to cover your hair up."

Christine nodded and brushed past him, going into her room. Claude stayed behind, walking into the studio and looking at her work.

There were paintings of beautiful scenes filled with fields and forests. None of her works had people in them. They were just filled with nature, the details impeccably accurate. Claude felt his breath get taken away as he gazed upon one one particular painting.

It had a dark setting, the only color having been painted as a light source for the dark shadows that were cast by the dark, cool colors. It looked like the doors to the Palace of Justice, a dark shadow hanging over it, parts of it illuminated by moonlight. He saw a dark figure standing on the steps of the building, shrouded in black clothing. Upon further inspection, the figure looked like-

"Hey! That's not finished!" Christine quickly covered the canvas up with a sheet.

"Where have you seen that building?" Frollo asked. He noticed she wore a red shirt that came off her shoulders, dark pants, and dark boots. She had covered her hair with a red scarf.

"I dunno," she answered, shrugging. "I keep having dreams about it."

"No matter," Frollo said. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, walking out of the studio and making his way to the front of the house. Christine had nodded and followed him.

When they exited the house, her eyes were wide as they walked, looking for anyone suspicious.

Meanwhile, Frollo tried to keep himself collected. Seeing his home town as it was now, made his stomach feel sick. They walked through the town square, passing numerous shops where people's homes used to be. He led them to the Palace of Justice, and Christine gasped, rushing to the large doors and putting her hands on the wood.

Frollo noticed that it was now a tourist site, and his heart ached. He motioned for her to walk in when she looked at him with large, pleading eyes. He watched as she darted in, and he sighed, rubbing a hand across his face and trudging in behind her.

He noticed as he entered his former home, that almost nothing had changed. The large entrance had some posters on the wall to promote other events in town, but otherwise, nearly everything had been left as it was. Frollo walked through the palace, trailing numbly behind Christine, who was awestruck by the state of the building as well.

They toured the palace, and when they came upon the living quarters, I sign stopped them, reading that it was prohibited to go any further.

"Dang." Christine said in a playful tone. Frollo peered at her with a confused look on his face, watching her as she stepped past the sign.

"I've mysteriously lost the ability to read," she said sarcastically, shrugging. "Come on."

The pair made their way through the various rooms, Frollo explaining everything between when the building was made to who used to occupy the rooms. They reached one room at the end of the hall, and Frollo didn't want to go in. He stopped walking, pausing in front of the room door.

"What's wrong, Claude?" Christine asked, her hand ready to push the large door open.

"That's my room," he said, his face blank. I mustn't show her weakness. She'll corrupt me.

"Come now Claude," she said, holding her hand out. "You can do this. It's only been a few months for you."

"It was over six hundred years for them," he argued. He sighed. "Fine," he said, narrowly looking at the young woman. He motioned for her to open the door.

They walked into the large room and Frollo was hit with the stale air of his room. His large fireplace was cleaned and the cross was newly polished. The windows were closed, and the minister could see the little flecks of dust floating in the sunlight. He felt saddened, knowing that there was no one that worried for him after he disappeared.

"You slept here?" Christine asked. "There's no bed."

"No silly girl," he said tersely, though no malice or anger was laced in his voice. "That door," he pointed to a smaller door the fireplace. "That's where I slept."

Christine opened the door and saw a smaller study room with a small bed at the opposite end of the room. Claude stood behind her and noticed that nothing had been changed in his room. The pair gazed at the room and its contents for a few more moments before they decided to leave.

In the process of turning around to leave, Christine bumped into Frollo, and he was acutely aware of where she touched him, his skin burning under his clothes as if he were on fire.

They left the Palace of Justice, Christine walking happily in front of the glowering man. When they stepped into the lively square, Claude noticed a parade of sorts happening. There were dancers, people in masks, men playing drums and flutes and guitars, and children running around rambunctiously.

Oh Lord, please, not a festival.

Claude was thrown out of his frantic praying by Christine who said something about being found, and she held on to his collar, her face oddly close to his.

Before Claude could say anything, Christine put her lips on his and held onto him like he was a savior.

/AN: OMG sorry for the late delay in this. I lost all of my saved docs on this story, so I had to go back and figure out where I was taking it without my notes. So here is a long chapter for you! What do you think will happen? Seriously, I really want to know what you guys think. I'm getting to the big plot part, so stay tuned. I'm so excited!