Apologies for the delay in this series, but I've been pretty occupied with my Hogwarts Mystery one and now have some downtime. Like my previous Disney Academy series, these next few chapters will be concluding the individual stories of each featured princess. Hopefully, you've enjoyed my fanfic thus far and look forward to seeing how I plan to resolve these.

Chapter 25: Sanctuary

After leaving Phoebus in the care of Quasimodo, Esmeralda and Djali made their way to the Court of Miracles where the Romani lived. An underground dwelling near the city's catacombs, it was accessible through a hidden door beneath one of the tombs in a cemetery near the river. But what made it particularly famous was any ailment could be cured there, whether someone was crippled or blind. For this reason, the city had proposed to make the Court of Miracles a tourist spot though Romani strongly objected to it as they considered the place significant to their cultural heritage. Thus, the Court of Miracles didn't have to abide by the same laws as the rest of the city so things like gambling and public executions were allowed.

Yet several hours after Esmeralda came back to the Court of Miracles, Djali came into her private dwelling bleating his head off. So she followed the white goat, and saw that there was a large commotion in the main courtyard. Particularly, at the hanging platform where Clopin stood with two prisoners. It was Phoebus and Quasimodo, who were tied up, gagged, had their necks placed in the nooses.

"Clopin!" Esmeralda shouted. "Don't kill them!"

This caused Clopin to halt as he was about to use a lever to open the trap doors beneath the prisoners on the platform.

"What are these two boys being accused of?" Esmeralda demanded.

"My friends and I caught them snooping around the catacombs, so we assumed they were spies for Frollo," Clopin explained, looking guilty.

"But they're not spies," Esmeralda insisted as she untied the gags from Phoebus and Quasimodo's mouths. "Phoebus is the Hall Monitor who tried to save that family who got burned in their house by Frollo's men, and Quasimodo helped me escape Disney Academy when I stayed at the Clock Tower after school hours."

"Oh, well, why didn't you say so?" Clopin questioned.

"I did say so!" Phoebus snapped. "Quasimodo and I came here to warn you guys that Frollo is planning to attack the Court of Miracles tonight."

Clopin folded his arms. "And where are you getting this information?"

"Frollo told me himself," Quasimodo spoke up, wearing the same black cloak he wore at the Festival of Fools. "He guessed that I had let Esmeralda escape, and then left telling me that he was coming here with a company of men."

"This sounds like a ruse to me," Clopin responded.

"Well, whatever it is, we should leave in case Quasimodo's right," Esmeralda declared.

So the people in the courtyard ran off to pack up their things and head out of the catacombs. However, they didn't get very far before several armed men showed up with guns. Thus, Esmeralda Quasimodo Phoebus and Clopin were cornered as Frollo entered the courtyard.

"Ah, the Court of Miracles," Frollo said as he looked around the cluster of buildings with colorful tapestries hanging from them. "Such a beautiful place, except for the rats who inhabit it. Luckily, I know just the thing to exterminate them."

"You can't do this!" Phoebus said, glaring at Frollo. "This place is a Romani cultural heritage site, so you're trespassing on their land. Plus, you can't kill an entire group of people let alone students at an academy you work at!"

"But here you are trespassing yourself," Frollo pointed out. "And you still need to be punished for disobeying me."

Then Phoebus was gagged and taken away.

"Poor Quasimodo," Frollo remarked. "I had hoped you would take to heart what I said about Gypsies not being able to love, but you decided to get mixed up in this anyway."

"So, your warning was pointless…because you would've attacked these people regardless if you told me or not," Quasimodo realized.

"Exactly, but since you continue to be troublesome you'll have to be punished too." Frollo then nodded to two men. "Take this boy back to the Clock Tower, and make sure he stays there."

Once Quasimodo was dragged away, Esmeralda was the only one left.

"As for you, Witch, your long absence from Disney Academy has forced them to consider expelling you," Frollo stated. "And the authorities want to find you for confirmation of my accusations of your witchcraft. Fortunately, I know a way to make these two problems go away."

Esmeralda chose not to say anything as Frollo took out a match and the scarf she gave him at the Festival of Fools.

Grinning maliciously, Frollo said, "The choice is simple: choose me, or the fire…"

Instinctively, Esmeralda spat at Frollo's face. Frowning, Frollo burned the scarf with his lighter and ordered two other men to take Esmeralda away.

###

At the base of the Clock Tower in Disney Academy's main courtyard, Esmeralda was tied to a pole with a pile of logs at her feet. Nearby, several Romani including Phoebus were held in metal cages that looked like they were stolen from the city zoo. Meanwhile, the school's gates were guarded by Frollo's men who were standing off against the police with loaded guns. Then Frollo picked up the lighter he used earlier to light the logs, which made Esmeralda not only choke from the smoke but also struggle against the ropes that bound her. However, the smoke made her pass out.

What happened afterwards felt like a dream, as Esmeralda later woke up inside the Clock Tower with Quasimodo holding a knife and Frollo cowering at his feet. Then when Quasimodo saw she was awake, he carried her out of the Clock Tower and onto the roof. Unfortunately, Frollo followed them and stopped Quasimodo.

"Why must you do this, Quasimodo?" Frollo demanded. "You would rather die risking your life for some Gypsy girl, just as your mother died trying to save you…"

This made Quasimodo blink. "What?"

In the process, Quasimodo accidentally dropped Esmeralda who almost fell off the roof but was able to grab the edge at the last minute. A few seconds later, Quasimodo's body came tumbling down but Esmeralda managed to catch him. Then Frollo appeared above them holding the knife from earlier above his head as he stepped onto one of the roof's gargoyle heads.

"Now I shall cast both of you into the fiery pit below!" Frollo shouted.

Just then, the gargoyle head crumbled underneath him and Frollo fell into the bonfire below that was still burning. At the same time, Esmeralda couldn't hold Quasimodo's hand any longer and let go. But to her surprise, Phoebus managed to catch him. So Esmeralda got back inside the Clock Tower and went down the stairs till she found Phoebus and Quasimodo, who were both fine. The three of them said nothing as Quasimodo picked up Esmeralda and Phoebus' hands before bringing them together. Esmeralda then kissed Phoebus, and watch Quasimodo leave the Clock Tower just as the dawn came over the city as the police managed to arrest Frollo's men and were releasing the Romani from their cages.

End of Chapter 25