I wanted to do something lighter compared to Lucid Dream: Until Dawn, so don't expect this be as intense. Also, I am trying something different with this story. I've done song lyrics and described what was happening in music videos in the Light and Shadow series, but not a full on Disney musical number. I tried to make it as clear and organized as I could so you know when there's singing and when there's dialogue.

Did you know in the 1400s there was a garment called a houppelande? It was an outer garment worn by men over their tunic and hose and women wore it over their dresses known as kirtles. It was made out of expensive fabrics such as silk, brocade, and velvet and often quite a lot of it. It fully covered the wearer and could possibly trail behind them. The sleeves were gigantic, hanging down to the floor in some cases. Sometimes the garment was trimmed in fur or had some other kind of decoration at the hems. It was a display of one's wealth; the more extravagant the clothing was, the wealthier the person.

In the latter half of the century, women still wore houppelandes, but the look of them had changed. The sleeves were much more fitted, the waistlines were high, and they had deep v-necklines to allow the women's kirtle to peek through to add a dimension of layering and another way to show off more clothing. While still a lot of fabric, it was an elegant look for women.

Women also wore a headdress of some kind to further display their wealth such as a hennin. Hennins came in several different styles and they could have a veil pinned to them as well. Remember those illustrations of princesses in your storybooks that had the massive cone-shaped hats with the fabric hanging from them? That was one version of a hennin. The lower class women weren't allowed to wear hennins. Gotta love sumptuary laws.

Now you're probably wondering why I am telling you this and there is a good reason.

I was wearing one right now!

I stood in the middle of a small room where the walls were mirrors. I was dressed in a heavy black houppelande trimmed in white fur, a wide sapphire blue belt around my waist and a matching blue kirtle peeking out of the neckline. I was wearing a gold necklace with a pendant of blue stones and several gold rings, some with blue stones and others with crystals. I had on a headdress that looked like a flower pot called a truncated hennin in black. A strip of black velvet called a fillet went around my head and helped to keep the hennin sitting in its place. It had a little loop that laid on my brow. A blue veil was pinned to the hennin and draped down to my shoulders. I was also wearing a wool cloak with gold fasteners.

As was the way when a woman wore a hennin, my hair was completely tucked up in it, but going by my eyebrows, I had black hair. My skin was alabaster pale and my eyes were sapphire blue. I pretty much looked like a high-class lady from the late fifteenth century.

My reflection disappeared from all the mirrors except for the one in front of me. That reflection began to fade somewhat as words appeared on the mirror.

RULES APPLY AS ALWAYS. KEEP THE STORY ON TRACK. ENJOY YOUR DISNEY VACATION.

Vacation? Yes!

I had been wanting a Disney vacation for a while now and especially after the last lucid dream mess I was in.

It was a simple enough goal to obtain. As long as I didn't make any plot changes to wherever I was going, all would be well.

The words on the mirror glowed and melded together to form a gold blob. It then shot out of the mirror and into my hands. The blob then reshaped itself into a black velvet pouch on a string. I opened it to find several gold and silver coins and a small book about the size of a pocket Bible. The Good Book was written in gold on its leather cover. I opened it to the first page and found the same words that were on the mirror. The remaining pages were blank. I tied the string around my belt so I wouldn't lose the pouch.

My surroundings changed and I was standing in the middle of a street in a brightly colored town from the Middle Ages. A large bell tolled and I could hear an orchestra and choir start playing the opening of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This was great since I knew most of the songs for this movie.

I began to walk down the street. I stumbled a little at first. I realized that in addition to wearing fine leather shoes, I was also wearing something called patterns, which were basically wooden flip-flops that slide over the shoes to keep the mud off them. It took me a few steps before I was confident in strolling down the street.

People were just starting their day and were coming out of their homes. I gathered a lot of looks from my appearance and a few children stopped and pointed at me. I smiled and continued on.

"Morning in Paris, the city awakes
"To the bells of Notre Dame."

Oh, good, I could actually sing. It would be a travesty of I couldn't sing in a Disney musical. I mean, I wasn't Idina Menzel, but I was decent.

"The fisherman fishes, the baker-man bakes
"To the bells of Notre Dame
"To the big bells as loud as the thunder
"To the little bells soft as a psalm
"And some say the soul of the city's the toll of the bells
"The bells of Notre Dame."

The music faded from my ears.

I looked around. I was nowhere near Notre Dame where Clopin told the story of Quasimodo. It was then that a thought occurred to me: was it possible that this wasn't going to strictly be the Disney movie version and that there would be elements of the play version I went to see based on both the Disney version and the original book? Either way I needed to get to the cathedral.

The walk to Notre Dame was long. Apparently I hadn't appeared anywhere close to it and navigating the streets of Paris was difficult because I didn't know where I was going. I saw a few colorful gypsies along the way. They looked my way, or more specifically, my purse's way. As discreetly as I could, I repositioned the purse on my belt so my hand was over top of it.

As I was walking, I had an idea. My book told me to keep the story on track, but it said nothing about not using my ability as a dreamer to manipulate things around me. Disney movies tended to ignore time and space, something I could easily exploit. All I had to do was imagine myself in front of Notre Dame. I closed my eyes and pictured the wagon, Clopin, and the children he was performing for. When I opened my eyes, I was standing across the street from Clopin's wagon.

I decided I wanted to be a little closer and began to cross the street. As I did, someone walked in front of me and we almost crashed into each other. I quickly stopped and pulled back and the other person just kept walking. It was a girl wearing a light blue dress with her brown hair pulled back and her nose stuck in a book as she walked.

"Really?" I hissed. I shook my head and turned my attention back to Clopin's wagon and his puppet show.

Clopin was wearing his yellow and purple outfit with the bells attached, his purple hat with the yellow feather, and his purple mask.

The bells began to chime again, softly this time, like it was just the echoes from the earlier ringing.

"Listen," Clopin addressed his young audience. "They're beautiful, no? So many colors of sound. So many changing moods. Because you know, they don't ring all by themselves."

Clopin reached behind him and brought out his Clopin puppet.

"They don't?" asked Puppet Clopin in falsetto.

"No, silly boy," replied Clopin. He pulled back the side curtain to look at the towers of Notre Dame. "Up there, high, high in the dark bell tower, lives the mysterious bell ringer. Who is this creature?"

"Who?" asked Puppet Clopin.

"What is he?"

"What?"

"How did he come to be there?"

"How?"

Clopin gave the puppet a smack with wood switch. "Hush!"

The children laughed and the puppet rubbed its "abused" head. I had to smile a little.

"Clopin will tell you. It is a tale, a tale of a man and a monster."

The wagon disappeared and everything darkened. It was night and it was snowing and I was looking at the river. I realized I was a silent observer of the events twenty years ago.

"Dark was the night when our tale was begun
"On the docks near Notre Dame," sang Clopin.

A small boat drifted on the water with a few people on it. A baby was crying loudly in a woman's arms.

"Shut it up, will you?" said a man.

"We'll be spotted!" hissed another.

"Hush, little one," the woman tried to soothe.

"Four frightened gypsies slid silently under
"The docks near Notre Dame."

The boat was pushed ashore and the boatman held out his hand to the passengers. "Four gilders for safe passage into Paris."

An arrow lodged itself in his pole.

"But a trap had been laid for the gypsies
"And they gazed up in fear and alarm
"At a figure whose clutches were iron as much as the bells."

"Judge Claude Frollo!" gasped one of the men.

"The bells of Notre Dame."

"Kyrie Eleison," the choir sang.

"Judge Claude Frollo longed to rid the world of vice and sin," Clopin continued to sing.

"Kyrie Eleison!"

"And he saw corruption everywhere except within."

Frollo was looking down at the group from his horse as soldiers put the men in irons. "Bring these gypsy vermin to the Palace of Justice."

One soldier grabbed the woman. The baby in her arms had gone quiet moments ago. "You there! What are you hiding?"

"Stolen goods no doubt," Frollo said. "Take them from her."

A clap of thunder made me jump.

"She ran!" Clopin's voice sounded like a whisper on the tail of the thunder.

The gypsy woman went running through the streets of Paris with Frollo galloping after her. She used her small size to hop railings and duck into alleys where Frollo's horse couldn't fit. The entire time I could hear the choir singing.

"Dies irae (Dies irae)
"Dies illa (dies illa)
"Solvet saeclum in favilla
"Teste David cum Sibylla
"Quantus tremor est futurus
"Quando Judex est venturus."

The woman ran up to Notre Dame and banged on the door. "Sanctuary! Please give us sanctuary!" she pleaded. Seeing that Frollo was charging up to her, she ran from the door to see if she could find another way in. She didn't get far before Frollo caught up to her and grabbed the bundle from her arms. When she didn't let go, he kicked her.

Let me tell you something: in the movie, you don't hear her skull hit the stone steps. It was a horrible sound that made me flinch and turn away. There was no blood, but that didn't matter.

"A baby?" I heard Frollo say. Looking in his direction, I saw him pull back the blanket and gasp. "A monster!"

He covered the baby quickly and looked around. Seeing a well, it gave him an idea.

The choir sang part of "Hellfire" and it was so loud in my ears.

Frollo urged his horse over to the well and held the baby over it, preparing to drop him.

"Stop!"

"Cried the Archdeacon!" narrated Clopin.

Frollo turned to the older man dressed in a white robe and red cloak.

"This is an unholy demon," said Frollo. "I'm sending it back to Hell where it belongs."

"See there the innocent blood you have spilt
"On the steps of Notre Dame," sang the Archdeacon, holding the body of the woman.

"I'm guiltless. She ran, I pursued," Frollo stated plainly.

"Now you would add this child's blood to your guilt
"On the steps of Notre Dame."

"My conscious is clear!" Frollo argued.

"You can lie to yourself and your minions," the Archdeacon countered.
"You can claim that you haven't a qualm
"But you never can run from
"Nor hide what you've done from the eyes
"The very eyes of Notre Dame."

Frollo stared at the statues of the saints and the Virgin Mary as they all stared back at him accusingly. It was an eerie thing.

"And for one time in his life of power and control," Clopin's voice cut in.

"Kyrie Eleison!"

"Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul."

"What must I do?" Frollo asked the Archdeacon.

The Archdeacon stood up and began to carry the body of the woman to the cathedral. "Care for the child and raise him as your own."

"What?" snarled Frollo. "I'm to be saddle with this misshapen . . . Very well, but let him live with you in your church."

"Live here?" the Archdeacon asked. "Where?"

"Anywhere." Frollo looked up at the towers of Notre Dame. "Just so he's kept locked away where no one else can see. The bell tower perhaps. And who knows, our Lord works in mysterious ways. Even this foul creature may yet prove one day to be of use to me."

The scene disappeared and Clopin wrapped himself in a length of purple fabric. "And Frollo gave the child a cruel name. A name that means 'half-formed': Quasimodo." He revealed a puppet of Frollo holding a baby. He then ducked down for his audience to see the backdrop of the bell tower behind him.

"Now here is a riddle to guess if you can
"Sing the bells of Notre Dame."

The puppet made its way up to the first level of bell tower and was switched out for two representing Frollo and a young Quasimodo.

"Who is the monster and who is the man?"

The next level was just a young Quasimodo and the final level was an adult Quasimodo. Now at the top of the bell tower, the adult puppet began to ring the little prop bell. After two small rings, the real bells of Notre Dame began to ring and the choir started sing with Clopin.

"Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells,
"Bells, bells, bells, bells!
"Bells of Notre Dame!"

I closed my eyes and listened to the choir and the bells. This vacation just kicked off in a way that only Disney could do. When the music ended, I opened my eyes. The children were clapping and Clopin and his puppet were taking their bows. I smiled.

I watched Clopin send the children on their way and thought it was time to move on myself. I started over to the front of the cathedral. Behind me, I heard the jingling of little bells that let me know a certain gypsy was walking up to me.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle!" Clopin skipped in front of me and brought me to a stop.

"Good morning to you, too. Clopin, wasn't it?"

Clopin grinned. "You really were listening. It's not often I have adults who don't have children come to my puppet shows."

"I just stopped to listen," I said. "I liked it very much. You have a way with words."

"Well, it's nice to see someone who appreciates a good story!" Clopin whipped off his hat and gave a deep bow. "Clopin Trouillefou, storyteller and gypsy, happy to be of service to a lovely lady on this fine morning."

I giggled.

Clopin straightened up and replaced his hat. "And who, may I ask, are you, fair lady?"

Rats, I hadn't thought up a name for myself!

"And what makes you think I'll give it to you?" I asked coyly, stalling as I tried to think up a good name. Harriet? Bernadette? Helene? Lorraine? Marie? Odette? Yvonne? Simone? Renee? Rose? Blanche – definitely not!

"Oh?" drawled Clopin, invading my personal space. "Are you afraid of what a gypsy could do with your name?"

"Hardly," I replied. "Gypsies don't scare me."

I kept eye contact with Clopin as a felt something lightly brush against my waist where my purse was.

"Really?" Clopin asked. "Then perhaps I will see you at the festival?"

"There's going to be a lot of people there. Chances are we might not see each other."

Clopin laughed and took a step back. "I think everyone is going to see the master of ceremonies – me." He gestured to himself.

I giggled. "Still doesn't mean you'll see me."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find you in a crowd, petite saphir," said Clopin.

"Saphir?" I repeated.

"With those eyes and the blue in your fine clothes, you remind me of sapphires," Clopin explained. "Although, the jewel doesn't do you justice."

"Monsieur, I do believe you are trying to flirt with me," I said.

"Trying? I thought I was succeeding," Clopin countered with a grin.

"I can think of another thing you are trying but failing at, too."

"And what's that?"

I held out my hand. "My purse, please."

Clopin sputtered, offended. I maintained my stare and continued to hold my hand out. He finally gave in with a dramatic sigh and produced my purse.

"Clever girl," he commented.

I took my purse from him. "Now if you excuse me."

Clopin stepped aside and bowed, gesturing to the road ahead of me. "By your leave, petite saphir."

"Thank you."

I continued on my way and entered Notre Dame.

Let me know what you think about this chapter. I would like feedback, especially on the song lyrics and what all is happening during the song.