Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunchback of Notre Dame or anything to do with it. However, I do own Diamanta Devereux, her father, Oliver, Cecile Devereux, Madame Doreen,and Judge Thomas Gautier.

Note: No, the story isn't finished. I, too, am a Clopin fan and refuse to finish the story with such a terrible ending as I have in this piece of it. I don't know how many chapters there will be, but there'll be enough for the story to make all Clopin fans fulfilled.

Chapter #6

7 years later

Diamanta's heartbeat quickened as she was shoved below the trapdoor. She had rehearsed this several times before, but the real thing caused her stomach to twist in several unthinkable positions. This was, after all, her first time as the star in the Feast of Fools. Roughly a year ago Esmeralda fell in love with a young soldier, Phoebus, and no longer lived with the gypsies, but with him in a small home near the wagon where Clopin would tell children stories.

She pulled upward on the turquoise silk that was tightly wrapped around her chest. Even though it was near impossible for it to fall off, she was as self-conscious as ever. She flattened out her flowing emerald skirt and straitened the small gold tiara Esmeralda gave to her as a parting gift.

"See the finest girl in France," Clopin sang. Diamanta began to shake. "Make an entrance to entrance." Her body began to sweat profusely. "Dance La Diamanta, DANCE!" Suddenly the trapdoor opened and Clopin fell through. They greeted each other with a warm smile and immediately after he hoisted her up onto the stage where she was enveloped in pink smoke. The smoke quickly dissolved, revealing the gasping crowd. Diamanta repeated the same dance she had recited for the last few weeks. She stared into the eyes of every audience member she saw, captivating every man. Except one.

A graying man glared at her from the front row. He seemed so familiar yet so distant. The way his lips curled into a miserable frown and his cold, hazel eyes were so recognizable, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Suddenly it hit her. Papa, she thought. She gasped in horror, but quickly covered her emotion up by distracting the crowd with a flirtatious swing of her hips. Her father did not find this seductive in any way and smiled with cruel satisfaction that his daughter remembered him. Diamanta suddenly realized how exposed she was and felt rather uncomfortable that her father stood in the audience with all the other men who watched her every motion.

She pushed all her emotions to the side and fixed her eyes upon Judge Claude Frollo's replacement, Judge Thomas Gautier. He was, as well, a cruel man. He tolerated gypsies only because he feared what would become of him if he followed in Frollo's footsteps. He sat in his seat, his throne, and pretended not to be allured by her. Diamanta could see this easily by the way he grabbed the arms of his seat so intensely and how he appeared to look everywhere except at her. Even at the young age of sixteen, she had realized every man she saw had urges, no matter how "holy" they appeared to be.

Should I do the same thing Esmeralda did last year? Should I force him to look into my eyes? Diamanta toyed with a few ideas. She eventually came up with a decision and in one fluid motion, she found herself sitting on the arm of the chair leaning closer to him. With two fingers she guided his face to hers. They sat together for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. Just as she planned, Diamanta pulled away when they got too close and smiled childishly. Unfortunately for her, Gautier planned something as well. He kicked the leg of the chair just before she could jump off the chair and the whole canopy fell over them. Diamanta, however, didn't realize Gautier had done this on purpose.

"My deepest apologies," Diamanta began. "It's only part of my act, sir, to play with the minds of others. If I knew it was a reaction to kick something, I wouldn't have—" Gautier appeared behind her and wrapped his hand around her waist. "What are you—" Gautier cupped his hand to her mouth and whispered into her ear. "A single word of this to anyone and all of Paris will be burning yet again. Now stay quiet so I can finish quickly." He took his hand from her mouth and caressed her arm.

"Please no," Diamanta whimpered. Gautier threw her to the ground.

"You brought this on yourself, you know," he said as he kneeled down.

"It was an act, only an act," Diamanta said, her voice shaking from trying to keep back tears. With two fingers he slowly stroked her thigh.

"Now for my half," a low voice growled. Diamanta looked up to see her father staring at the both of them, his hand outstretched.

"Papa!" she cried out in relief. "Papa, help me!" To her utter horror, Gautier pulled a small bag of coins out of his pocket and dropped into her father's open hand.

"Now leave us. I want to be alone," Gautier said.

"Papa! Papa, what are you doing? It's me, Diamanta, your daughter!"

"I am aware of that," he said in his unchanged cruel voice. "You were the only innocence I had, and when you left, you took my innocence away. You were my last shred of purity, and you ran away from me. Now your innocence leaves you." With that he left. Gautier began to lower himself onto her.

"Please don't do this to me. I'm only sixteen," she whimpered.

"You shouldn't have been dancing on stage, then. It is your own doing that brought you here." He sniffed her neck and lowered his face toward hers. Diamanta closed her eyes. Suddenly a large amount of weight fell over her.

"Don't touch her," a familiar voice hissed. She opened her eyes to see Clopin wrestling Gautier off of her. Once he was pulled off her, Clopin grabbed her by the arm and lead her out of the fallen canopy.

"He tried to…he wanted to…" Diamanta stuttered.

"I know what he tried to do. You're alright now," Clopin said coolly as he put an arm around her. "Let us go back to the Court of Miracles. Today has been troubling enough."

That night Gautier dreamed he sat at a wooden table with the ghost of Judge Claude Frollo. For a moment they sat in silence, Frollo picking at the grapes on his plate. Eventually Frollo spoke.

"So," he began, "why have you summoned me here?" Gautier cleared his throat.

"I have committed a horrible sin."

"What might that sin be?" Frollo asked in an almost gentle voice.

"Are you familiar with the gypsy Cecile?" Frollo smiled in a way that made Gautier feel very uncomfortable.

"Cecile was a rather beautiful young woman. She fled from the gypsy rats once she came to her senses, I believe.

"Yes, that's true."

"What does she have to do with a sin? She died several years ago. Several people claim she committed suicide. Her poor husband wept for hours over her death."

"She had a daughter, Judge Claude Frollo. Her name is Diamanta. You see, Cecile really didn't commit suicide. Her husband murdered her and he abused his daughter until she was near death. She ran from his home and found refuge with the gypsies."

"A rather unwise choice," Frollo interrupted. "I would have chosen death." Gautier continued.

"Diamanta is sixteen now, and she's even more beautiful than her mother." Frollo's eyes lit up once he heard this. "I've seen her dance in the streets and she amazed me. I couldn't stop thinking about her. Every time I would let my mind wonder, she would find her way into my thoughts."

"Did you want her?" Frollo asked.

"Did I want her to do what?" Gautier said with a confused expression across his face.

"Oh, don't even try to act like a holy man around me. You know exactly what I am talking about. Let me ask you again. Did you want her?"

"Well, she's only sixteen. It's confusing how to explain it. It's just the way the sun catches in her chestnut hair—"

"Is blazing in you out of all control," Frollo finished.

"Yes! It's like fire."

"Hellfire," Frollo corrected.

"This fire in my skin," Gautier continued. "This burning desire—"

"Is turning you to sin," Frollo said as he leaned back in his seat and popped a grape in his mouth.

"It's not my fault!" Gautier exclaimed.

"You're not to blame," Frollo agreed. "It is the gypsy girl, the witch who set this flame."

"It's not my fault if in God's plan He made the Devil so much stronger than a man."

"Don't let this siren cast her spell, don't let her fire sear your flesh and bone," Frollo exclaimed suddenly.

"What shall I do, then?"

"Destroy Diamanta and let her taste the fires of hell, or else let her be yours and yours alone."

"No! Well yes, it could be a reason to burn her, but her father would have to burn as well."

"Why is that?" Frollo questioned.

"He gave me a chance at her."

"What, exactly, happened between you and Diamanta?" Frollo said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I stumbled upon her father, and we had a few drinks. I told her about the gypsy girl and he told me he was her father. Supposedly her mother was also the star of the Feast of Fools and she too played with the minds of men, flirting with every one of them. He knew she would do that as well, so for a few silver coins he told me a way to trap her alone with me." Gautier continued the story of how the canopy collapsed above them.

"Did you—" Frollo began, his eyes wide.

"No. A gypsy man pulled me off of her, and before I could get up they were gone. Perhaps this is a sign that I should just stop wanting her. There is no meaning in wanting someone you can't have," Gautier said in a reasonable voice. Frollo suddenly laughed in a way that sent chills up Gautier's spine.

"Who do you think you are fooling? The gypsy witches know how to pry themselves into the minds of innocent men like you! You'll never stop thinking about her, and until you are completely in her power you will always think of her!"

"I am not like you, I know how to control my emotions," Gautier said coolly. Frollo raised an eyebrow.

"We shall see about that. However, I assure you that your passion will last a lifetime."

With that, Judge Thomas Gautier awoke.