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.
Whoa…I didn't really expect to take this long to update on my fanfic. You see, I've been studying for midterms until my face looked like this:
And also drumroll MY FANFIC GOT ACCEPTED TO PHOENIXSONG! does snoopy dance …wow…I have no life…
Well, here's my updated fanfic. It's not finished yet…I think it may need about a chapter or two. Either way, keep checking up for updates. I'm working on the 21st chapter right now!
Chapter #20
After running for nearly two miles, Clopin and Diamanta rested under a large oak tree far from harm's way. To match their moods, it was beginning to rain.
"Oh, just great!" Diamanta complained, taking notice to the weather. "We're soaking wet, we're wanted in most of Paris, and we have nowhere to go!"
"Don't forget to mention that it's raining," Clopin said with a small smile as he sat down and leaned against the thick trunk of the tree. Diamanta sat next to him, her head resting on his shoulder.
"What are we going to do?" Clopin thought for a moment.
"We could go back to the Court of Miracles."
"Gautier's found our hideaway, remember?" Diamanta said without much thought. Clopin stroked his beard for a moment.
"We could sneak to Belgium."
"You're king. You can't just leave your people. They're counting on you for their survival. If it wasn't for you we probably wouldn't even have this Court of Miracles." They both sighed.
"We could pray," Clopin said with a smile. Diamanta nearly jumped up.
"That's it!" Clopin raised an eyebrow at her.
"Pray?"
"We'll claim sanctuary at Notre Dame! That's how your story goes, doesn't it? A gypsy is running from the authorities and claims sanctuary."
"Yes, right before she's killed and has her only child given to Frollo."
"But it kept Esmeralda alive, didn't it? She claimed sanctuary, and she was safe." Diamanta stood up. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to Notre Dame. Are you coming or not?"
"Dia, you'll get killed."
"I'll also get killed if I just stay here." Clopin sighed and tried to compromise.
"Tomorrow, okay? We'll go the first thing tomorrow morning. As soon as the sun comes up we'll leave."
"Go to sleep now and wake up with twenty of Gautier's men surrounding us the next morning? No thank you." Clopin gave Diamanta a long, exaggerated sigh.
"Fine. We'll leave for Notre Dame as soon as night falls. That way we won't be seen as easily." Diamanta nodded in approval before taking her hair and wringing it out from the rainwater. It wasn't until then when Clopin notice how breathtakingly beautiful Diamanta was in the rain, water trickling down every nook and cranny of her perfectly formed face. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"Kiss her!" the puppet, which had been silent for a while now, screeched excitedly, clapping its tiny hands together as if this were nothing more than a romance movie. Diamanta threw her head back and laughed the airy, carefree laugh which Clopin admired so much.
"Puppet!" Clopin exclaimed in a mock-embarrassed voice, adding to the joke.
"You know you lllooooovvveeeee her!" the puppet said, emphasizing the word in a childlike manner. To Clopin's surprise, Diamanta leaned in and kissed him.
For the first time in his life, he was completely lost for words. Even in his most embarrassing moments he was able to come up with some sort of quick retort within a few seconds. But this was different. At this point Clopin knew what love meant, and he knew he felt it strongly for Diamanta. As his mother used to say, love has no words. He simply smiled and leaned back against the large tree trunk, Diamanta coming to his side.
"The sun is setting," Diamanta asked. "We'd better get going." With that she stood up, pulling Clopin along with her.
To their surprise, the trip to Notre Dame wasn't as difficult as expected. Though they had to rush through dark alleyways and behind buildings, it wasn't so bad. Quickly they rushed inside the doors of the vast church to see a horrifying surprise: Judge Thomas Gautier with twenty of his men. Clopin hid behind one of the gigantic pillars and pulled Diamanta close to him.
"What is he doing here? In the house of God?" Diamanta hissed to Clopin. He put a finger to her lips.
"Silence," he whispered as the two listened to the judge.
"I know she's in here. Search for her everywhere and bring her to me alive. As for her lover, be sure to let me see his face before his death," Gautier instructed.
"Stop!" cried a voice which clearly belonged to someone of authority. "You must recognize the sanctity of the church! I shall have no one arrested here!"
"I understand the sanctity of the church, but I also recognize that our Lord punishes all those entwined with the cold world of crime and evil."
"Clearly, if any evil enters this church, it has come to confess." The two heard Gautier growl and leave, slamming the door behind him. Slowly Clopin inched away from the pillar, Diamanta still in his arms. The archdeacon looked at them and smiled warmly.
"Ah, so you are the ones they speak of."
"But—" Diamanta began.
"Yes, I know. You're innocent. I could never possibly believe Judge Thomas Gautier for a moment. Remember, my children, that not all leaders are good." Clopin and Diamanta nodded. "What brings you to God's glorious home?"
"You see, Archdeacon, we didn't actually come here to pray," Clopin explained.
"Oh?"
"As you may know, we are wanted by Gautier, and this was our only place of refuge."
"I understand," the Archdeacon said with a nod and a smile. "Ever since our dear Quasimodo departed from Notre Dame to be Paris' famed craftsman, the church has been quite empty. You are welcome to stay as long as you need to." With that, he showed them how to get up to their living quarters.
Diamanta easily respected the archdeacon. He was a kind soul with no intention of taking advantage of anyone, especially since he was able to get away with many things. What surprised Diamanta the most about the archdeacon was that he never appeared to have any of the desires the other men had. Not once did he look at her, nor any other woman, with lustful eyes. No matter how many attractive women crossed his path, he always treated him with the same respect as he did men.
Now that she was going to live in the cathedral, she decided to search it. It was an amazing place. Stained glass of angels and saints she had never heard of before were set across the walls, while people who have sinned various times dropped to their knees, begging for forgiveness.
"I beg of you, Maria, to forgive me," a familiar voice prayed. Diamanta spun around, and sure enough, her very own father was on his knees praying. She quickly hid behind a column and spied on him.
"I should have never set eyes upon the gypsy scum Cecile. Look what I have done! Not only have I married her, but I have sinned by having a child by her. A child who has gone to her pitiful roots and now dances on the streets like a common whore. I tried to strip her of her innocence by Gautier. After all, when she left, she was the last bit of innocence I had. But she still lives. I have done your work, Maria, of ridding this world of her disgusting gypsy mother. But there's just something about Diamanta…something about her that I just can't murder. Please, let another do the deed of removing Diamanta of this world so she can burn in the flames of the next," he said. A small river of tears trickled down her face before running up to the bedroom the hunchback once lived in.
"What's wrong?" Clopin asked once he saw her.
"I saw my father," she whimpered.
"Uh-oh."
"He wants me dead. He prayed for someone to kill me." She wailed into Clopin's chest once he wrapped his arms around her. "He..he prayed for me to burn in hell!" Clopin stroked his hands through her soft hair.
"Not everyone is born into a loving family, Dia."
"Without any family, no one loves me! All of Paris is against me!"
"I love you." Diamanta pulled away and looked at him with watery eyes.
"I know. I love you too," she said quietly. Though she said these words before, they had never meant as much as they did now.
"Sometimes," he said, "the hardest part is to let go."
"But Clopin, I've always thought Papa would forget about the anger and love me."
"I know it's hard to realize it, Dia. But you have to let go. There is no need to dwell on an impossible dream."
"No," she said in barely a whisper, "I can't…"
"Maybe not now, but in the very near future you will learn to accept your father's feelings about this. He led her to the bed, where they lay together with his arms wrapped around her. Slowly, but surely, she fell asleep.
---
Diamanta woke up alone on the bed.
"Clopin?" she called. There was no answer. "Oh no," she whispered. At full speed, she rushed downstairs, nearly running into the archdeacon. "Did you see Clopin anywhere?" she asked.
"Should I have?"
"I can't find him! I woke up and he was gone!" As if on cue, the front doors flew open, revealing Gautier, his men, and a very wounded Clopin.
"I found a certain gypsy rat out in the streets today. Supposedly he wanted to tell the other gypsies where he was so they would not worry," Gautier said in a cruel, satisfied tone.
"No," Diamanta whispered.
"He wished to see you before his death. It will be a spectacular sight, no?" Gautier smiled wickedly, revealing several yellow, rotting teeth. "The hanging shall be held tomorrow at sunset!" Clopin looked up at Diamanta through the eye that wasn't swollen shut.
"I love you," was the last thing Clopin said before being whisked away to Paris' darkest jail cell. Pushing past the archdeacon, Diamanta ran up to her bedroom to cry her eyes out.
She woke up early the next morning while the sun was still rising.
"A visitor has come to see you," a familiar warm voice said. Diamanta looked up from her tear-stained pillow to see the archdeacon holding a glass of water and some bread for her, Esmeralda at his side. After setting the light breakfast on the bedside table, he left, leaving the two women in the room alone.
"How did you find me?" Diamanta asked.
"Word has it that Clopin was found leaving Notre Dame in search for a few gypsies." Diamanta nibbled on the edge of a slice of bread.
"I appreciate you coming here to comfort me," she said quietly. Esmeralda raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not here to comfort you. I'm here to ask for help." Diamanta looked up from her food.
"With what?"
"Dia, I think I may know how to save Clopin's life."