Chapter 36: Threats and Invitations:
"I seriously can't wait for the Halloween party!" Victoria said as she and Gitane were folding the clean laundry up in Avery's belltower. It had been quite a day for the French kids and gargoyles: Hubert, Victoria, and Lawrence have been polishing the school bells almost all day, making their stones quite dirty and in need of anti-moss spray. Avery, being the bellringer of Auradon Prep, had to go in circles between ringing the end or beginning of classes, receive carrier pigeons with notes of his classes and exchange them with his due homework assignments.
The toughest, however, went to Charles and Gabriel. Ever since the siren accident, Charles had been overwhelmed with forecasting his UNHOLY GAZETTE and dealing with the constant supporters who dramatically pitied him for his near-death. Gabriel had it rough for both keeping the pressuring crowds away from his best friend and dealing with Jay, Carlos, and Xaos taunting him for actually being a geek even though Evie tried to defend his nature.
Gitane still couldn't go over the fact that Penna De Mort had created a siren to look just like the Gypsy Princess in order to fatally seduce Charles. She loved Charles very much and she knew he reciprocated those feelings. But just thinking of how he nearly died because of those feelings…And the only thing that brought him back to his senses was something that reminded him of his father…
"Gitane?" Victoria's voice cut her away from her thoughts. "Are you OK?"
"UH?" Gitane then realized that she had accidently put some clean shirts back in the wooden washing basin full of water and soap (Avery did things old-fashioned in order to avoid increasing the bill his parents paid for his tuition). "I'm sorry…I guess I got distracted."
"Thinking about Siren-You nearly stealing your boyfriend?" the gargoyle guessed as she created a neat pile of pants. "I don't blame you. I nearly got rusty about the idea of that barbaric witch wanting to see his blood shed on Auradonian grounds."
"That's Penna De Mort for you," a voice said. The gypsy and the gargoyle's eyes turned towards the door, seeing it slightly opened and Gabriel's head popping out. "Victoria, Avery needs you to help Hubert set up the table…"
"Knowing that buffoon, he's going to turn dinner into a battlefield!" Victoria exclaimed and stomped out of the laundry room, making bumping sounds as she left. "I'll teach that ruffian some manners!"
"Is she always like this?" Gabriel asked Gitane as soon as Victoria was out of their hearing sight.
"Only with Hubert," Gitane said as she squeezed a wet shirt in order to get the water removed. "Their fathers, Victor and Hugo, bicker almost every single day."
"Must be a miracle that Avery can stand them." Gabriel grabbed some clean clothes and folded them. Gitane was surprised to see how neatly he folded them without leaving a single wrinkle.
"Since when do you read and fold laundry like this?" Gitane blurted out. Gaston's barely lifted his eyes in surprise.
"I used to help my mom with the chores and read with her during my free time whenever my dad wasn't around. He tried to raise me in the belief that men had to be athletic and superior over their wives. And he didn't like to keep any books in the house. Not even my schoolbooks. So my mom and I had to create a secret library where we'd keep our books, and whenever Dad left the house, we'd take out a few books and read them."
"That's interesting."
"I even had to flunk Devilish Literature class in order to avoid getting criticized by him. Mark my words, I hated doing that. Devilish Literature was one of my favorite classes back in Dragon Hall. Honestly, if my dad wasn't such a jerk, I think I would have gone to a path as an author."
"Well, why don't you? After all, you're in Auradon now. Gaston's not here anymore to tell you what to do or how to behave. If writing is one of your passions, then go for it!"
Gabriel looked a bit hesitant, which made Gitane question herself if whether or not she just gave him good advice. "I'll…consider it," he said quietly. He grabbed a pile of clothes and began making his way towards the door. "I'll bring these to Avery's room. See you at dinner."
The Gypsy Princess watched as he left. A sigh escaped her lips and her eyes wandered over the water in the basin, staring at her reflection.
"Why did their lives have to go all wrong on the Isle?" she asked. At first, the reflection said nothing until, suddenly, it began to change, and Gitane did not see her reflection at all but the image of Penna De Mort, glaring malevolently at her.
"Well if it isn't my siren's model," Penna chuckled at the horrified Gitane, who wanted to badly to believe this was just an illusion but couldn't due to the fact that the witch's voice was causing ripples on the tranquil water.
"You seriously have a lot of guts to barge in like this uninvited," Gitane growled. "Get out!"
"Hasn't your father ever taught you to watch your tongue when you speak to powerful sorcerers?" Penna asked, highly amused by the spunk that Clopin's daughter was giving her. "Believe me, mine had." She grimaced at the mention of Voldemort as if she was displeased about it for some reason.
"You have ten seconds to tell me what you want, you witch!" Gitane pointed at the image in the basin. The gypsy thought that she would really offend Penna De Mort, but instead the latter laughed as if she had heard a funny joke, leaving Gitane dumbfounded.
"You seriously have strong feelings for that dark gypsy hybrid! Quite amusing…and repulsive, if you want my personal opinion. But since you're mentioning it, I could do a little exchange with you: one small errand in exchange to never lay a finger on Charles Frollo for the rest of his life."
"How in hell can I trust that you'll keep your word?" Gitane frowned skeptically. "You aren't exactly one trusting snake."
"Glad you mentioned it!" Penna's image showed the witch lifting a dagger and pointing the blade just above the chest. Then, to Gitane's shock, Penna used the dagger to trace an X on her skin, causing teal bluish colored blood to come out and literally stain the basin's water in teal blue. "Through the cross I made on my flesh, I vow on the River Styx that I'll keep my end of the deal. And believe me, Trouillefou, I NEVER go back on my words."
The Gypsy Princess was horrified of what she just did: she just made a bargain with the villainess who tried to kill Charlesy about three days ago and swore on the River Styx, which made a deal seriously taken. Gitane knew that by swearing on the River Styx, she had to keep her end of the bargain. Even though it meant that Charles' life was at stake…
"What do you want from me?" To answer Gitane's question, Penna snapped her fingers and caused an object to pop out of the water. Gitane picked it up and found herself looking at a gypsy dream talisman, which gypsies used to catch unwanted dreams. It looked a lot like those her father kept in their caravan and used whenever his daughter was having nightmares, but the central embroidery looked awfully a lot like the waning crescent and dragon that were part of Charles' mark of villainy.
"One of Tradaria's special dream talisman," Penna said. "At midnight, when everyone is asleep, put that talisman in the middle of the dorm halls. It will locate the most common area of the activities of a dream-hopper who bothers more than your grey-haired gypsy boyfriend. Once the talisman has tracked the magic, it will teleport back to me and you won't have to worry your little head anymore about Charles being killed. That is, unless you choose to break your end of the deal…"
Once she was done speaking, her image disappeared, leaving Gitane to look at her reflection.
"What have I done?" she asked herself.
Meanwhile, in Avery's dinning room
"Well, now that you've worked on your differences," Avery told Victoria and Hubert, "the table looks great."
"Thanks," the gargoyle said in unison.
"Here comes the soup!" Charles warned. Avery and the gargoyles made way for Frollo's son to bring the silver soup tureen and place it on the table. Once that was done, Charles removed the ladle, releasing a wind of delicious soup scent.
"Mmh!" Avery said, licking his lips. "Lawrence's onion soup smells très bon, as usual."
Charles put the ladle back on the tureen. "He's also got pig roast coming up and…" He stopped talking when some ringing was heard coming from Avery's Ipad.
"Dang! It's my dad calling me on Skype!" Avery said nervously as he grabbed his Ipad. No doubt about it, Quasimodo's Skype profile picture was seen on the screen.
"What's wrong? You don't like talking to your dad?" Charles said.
"Uh, Charles? Let's just I didn't tell about…"
Charles' face then looked upset. "Don't tell me. You didn't tell him that Frollo's son was your friend?"
"Yes."
"Just answer," Hubert urged on. "Maybe he's only calling you to say hello."
Avery sighed and used a finger to slide the screen. A video appeared, with the infamous Hunchback of Notre Dame in his living room, looking sternly at his son.
"Hi Papa," Avery tried to sound natural. "Isn't it kind of late for you?"
"I had to ring the midnight bells," Quasimodo replied. "Avery, why haven't you told me that Frollo's son was in Auradon?"
Hubert and Victoria glanced at one another nervously. Realizing that he was being the target of the man his father had tormented for two decades, Charles began backing towards the door.
"How did you know that?" Avery asked his son.
"Clopin made a show, bragging on how his daughter managed to reform Frollo's son and recently rescued him from a siren with the power of love."
"Technically she saved him at 90%," Hubert cut in. "The other 10% was when the siren inadvertently reminded him of Frollo."
Charles was both getting closer to the door and on the verge of having his brain boiled.
"Look, Papa, it's not what you think…" Avery began.
"Avery, do you know what Frollo did to everyone in Paris? To your aunt Esmeralda? To your grandmother?"
"I know, Papa. But Charles isn't like that. I mean, the first time I met him, he had actual scars on his back. The poor kid looked like he'd barely been fed for most of his life."
"I'm still complaining of the amount of blood that we had to clean up," Victoria said.
"Shut up," Hubert said, leading to a bickering between the two gargoyles.
"Just like their parents," Quasimodo chuckled as if he hadn't been upset before. As much as Avery defending him touched him, Charles couldn't help but feel like he should leave. He managed to silently reach the door and grab the knob.
"Charles? Where are you going?" Avery's voice caught him by surprise. Charles turned to see everyone, including Quasimodo on the Ipad screen, staring at him. Seeing the blue eyes of the hunchback looking at him suddenly made him feel very uncomfortable. As for Quasimodo, he was rather stunned to actually see Frollo's son in the same room as his son and the gargoyles.
"Uh…Bonjour, Mr. Quasimodo?" Charles said sheepishly, his hand making a small wave.
"HOLY HUMP!" Quasimodo exclaimed. "How in Heaven's name did Frollo raise him? He's even frailer than Victoria! And she had an hourglass figure." A flattered Victoria put herself in a diva pose, prompting a disgusted Hubert to make a 'gag me' face.
"Well, I have been eating only bread and water back on the Isle," Charles said quietly. "You know…minister diet, from what…he said. But I have been eating a lot!"
"Excuse moi?" Avery asked surprised. You're barely 5 feet and 3.5 inches tall and you weigh like what? 110 pounds?"
"114, actually."
"Who cares, pal?" Hubert said, pinching Charles' cheek and pulling it. "Your skin's literally coming off your bones?"
"Dinner hasn't started yet and you already want me to be sick?" Charles asked sarcastically. "I've already been in the infirmary twice since my stay in Auradon Prep."
"Twice?" Quasimodo's voice exclaimed. "I can't believe you had it worse than me! And you're Frollo's biological son, to crown it all! We'll, I do hope you're feeling comfortable at Auradon Prep, Charles." This kind of sent a weird sensation to Charles' spine: this was the first time during the entire conversation that Quasimodo had called him by his first name and not by the name 'Frollo's son'.
"Thank you, Mr. Quasimodo. The people at Auradon Prep have been quite nice to me. And Avery, Gitane, Hubert, Victoria, and Lawrence have been awfully nice to me."
"I just had an idea." Quasimodo went back to his son. "Avery, why don't you invite Charles to come with the rest of you back to Paris for the Christmas?"
"SAY WHAT?" all the kids in the room said.
"Ooh! Paris!" Charles clapped his hands excitedly. "The Louvre! The Champs Élysées! La Seine! Notre- Dame! And the FESTIVAL OF FOOLS!"
"Gee, it's hard to believe that one's born evil when the kid from the same guy who hated the Festival of Fools actually likes that holiday," Hubert said sarcastically while Charles grabbed Avery by the legs and hugged on them tightly while he pleaded.
"Please, Avery! I always wanted to go to Paris!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Avery said as he tried to pull Charles away. "Hold your bells, Charles. I can tell you want to go to Paris very much, but you know it's full of people who aren't exactly big fans of your dad."
"Don't be absurd, Avery," Quasimodo said on the Ipad. "I'm sure everyone will soon know that Charles Frollo is actually is a sweet little fellow. It might not be easy at first, but it will happen. After all, that's what it was like for me."
"Papa, the main difference is that you helped save a city while Charles' dad nearly burned a half of it…"
"So? You befriended him despite our families' history and defended him when I nearly treated him as his father's son earlier. What makes one city different than a hunchback bellringer's son?"
The question hit Avery pretty hard. Quasimodo always used that question whenever his son was inadvertently calling himself better than anyone he looked down from the belltower of Notre Dame, reminding him that he didn't raise his son to take pride in their family's heroic and famous status. Even though they were famous, Quasimodo preferred to have a modest and modern apartment build in the belltower where he and Madeleine moved in after their marriage and raised their son Avery, who wasn't a hunchback nor had he an ugly face like his father but had some back issues and a somewhat poor eyesight that made him wear contact lenses. In other words, Quasimodo's point was that Avery was practically as normal as the rest of the children in Paris despite his reputation.
Avery gave a look at his friends. Hubert and Victoria were giving him 'go for it' looks while Charles gave him maroon puppy eyes, begging him to say yes.
"Well, I suppose we could talk about it with the Headmistress," Avery said.
"Good." Quasimodo said. "Well, I'd better go check on the bells. It was nice talking to you kids and it was a pleasure to meet you, Charles. Hopefully I'll see you all on the Christmas break!" And to that, the Hunchback of Notre Dame hung up.
"Yay! I might go to Paris!" Charles squealed in delight as he hugged Avery. "I got to go tell Lawrence and Gitane!" He then ran out of the dinning room in order to tell the others.
"Well, at least you made him happy," Victoria said cheerfully as she patted her stoned hand on Avery's shoulder. "He hasn't smiled a lot since the siren accident."
That fact seemed to comfort Avery as he smiled at her and Hubert. He grabbed them into a big group hug: "I sure did."