Chapter Twenty-Five

Clopin struggled relentlessly with the guards, trying his best to get back to Hermione. He wasn't going to go without a fight. He needed to get back to her, he needed to protect her! It took four soldiers to subdue him long enough to get him outside and throw him inside one of the many metal cages with a few of his friends.

Growling at the soldiers as they locked the door, Clopin gave it a good, hard kick before he looked around for a way out. Grumbling when he found none, he slumped down and took a few deep breaths, trying to focus himself enough to keep fighting.

But, was there a point? Clopin had done all he could, and it just wasn't enough. Frollo had already won, so why keep trying? He sighed heavily. He knew he would keep trying as long as Hermione continued to breathe. The second she ceased to live, so would he. A part of him hoped that he would be next after her, so he wouldn't have to feel the same pain his father did, when his mother died, for long.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he was met with Bartley and Duke staring down at him in sympathy. Tensing his jaw, his posture remained sagged in defeat even as he stood up. He couldn't see any way out of this. He couldn't see any trap door, any spare keys or even a friend disguised as a guard. Even if they could somehow escape, there was nowhere for them to run, now that the Court of Miracles had finally been exposed for all to see. Rubbing his face, he forced himself up when he heard the crowd call out for Frollo to end this madness.

Clasping two of the bars in his hands, he held on tightly as he could only watch in horror as Hermione was led up the wooden steps towards the pyre. Shaking in anger, he pointedly ignored the tears that streamed down his face. Bartley never let up his grip on his shoulder, offering silent support. Grateful that his friends had his back, Clopin couldn't stop growling as Frollo ranted on about how Hermione was an unholy demon. He would give anything and everything he had just to punch that man in the face, even if it was just the once. Clopin paused for a minute when he heard his wife shout out.

"What is it with you fuckers not spotting my wedding ring?!"

Frowning, he realised that Frollo must have said something that indicated he didn't know she was married. Growling, he spat out a curse on the man. The second he lit the fire, Clopin knew it was too late.

He knew that Hermione didn't want him to see this, she had tried to get a promise out of him after all. However, he couldn't take his eyes away from his wife as she coughed harshly, the black smoke seeping into her lungs. He could see she was weakening, unable to hold herself up properly. Watching such a strong woman lose a fight against the smoke was the hardest thing Clopin had ever had to do. The love of his life was losing the battle to live, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"If this is how my father felt when my mother died then I can finally put the rumours to rest." He saw Bartley turn to look at Duke from the corner of his eye, responding to his morbid whisper.

"How so?"

Clopin turned to look him dead in the eye.

"He jumped."

Turning back his gaze towards the fire, Clopin felt his anger storm inside him. He was not going to go quietly. He began to shout, curse and throw as many insults at Frollo and the soldiers as he could, sparking the same reaction from his people. He couldn't do anything physically whilst locked in the cage, but he would be damned if he didn't curse them all to the deepest depths of hell.

He fell silent when the sound of the bells ringing caught his attention. Glancing up, he spotted that Quasimodo had been able to free himself from the chains that had kept him trapped. The stone pillars crumbled as they fought against him. The hunchback then launched himself off the edge, using a rope to lower himself down and fly over the crowd. The second he landed next to Hermione, Clopin felt hope rise within him. He just might be able to save Hermione.

As Quasimodo grabbed a tight hold of Hermione, Clopin watched, grinning from ear to ear, as the hunchback knocked away some soldiers and made his way back up the Cathedral, taking Hermione to safety. Right when he reached the top, he held Hermione above his head and shouted out to the crowd.

"SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY! SANCTUARY!"

With each shout, a deafening cheer echoed throughout the square. Clopin was sure his voice was hoarse with all the shouting but he found he had little care for it. He was going to get justice for Hermione and his people. One way, or another. Clopin grinned when he saw Quasimodo throw a large beam of wood off the edge, gutted it missed some of the soldiers though. His attention was grabbed when the ex-captain, Phoebus, managed to break out of his own cage and climb up on top of it.

"Citizens of Paris! Frollo has persecuted our people, ransacked our city! Now, he has declared war on Notre Dame herself! Will we allow it?!"

"NO!"

As loathe as he was to admit it, Clopin had very little choice; the man knew what he was doing. The ex-soldier was able to whip the crowd up into a frenzy, turning them all on Frollo. Grinning wickedly as the doors of the cages were opened by the very people who used to look down on him, Clopin dove straight into the fight. With a fierce punch to a soldier's face, he couldn't help but chuckle at how amazing it felt to finally fight back. Perhaps he should have listened to Hermione when she said someone had to fight back.

Taking out his dagger from his boot, Clopin paused for only a moment, remembering how he felt when receiving it from Hermione, whilst grateful that the guards hadn't found it. She had worked so hard to earn the money to buy it when he had simply used the gold from the Gringotts vault. Admittedly, he had felt bad but he knew that was just how Hermione worked. Grinning down at the dagger, Clopin was quick to put it to some good use.

Following his fellow gypsies, Clopin made his way towards the church. Despite being on the other side of the square, he fought with everything he had, in order to get to Hermione quickly. He was going after his wife if it killed him.

Well, perhaps not something quite so dramatic as that. Since he was fairly certain Hermione could, and would, find a way to resurrect him just to kill him herself if he did something as stupid as that. However, he was finding it difficult to get across the cobbled streets. Whenever he was able to take one guard down, another two replaced him.

Groaning loudly, Clopin continued to force his way through the mob. He would smirk and cheer, along with the others, whenever Quasimodo threw something off the top of the church. Although, Clopin would be the first to admit that he damn near had a heart attack when fire began to pour down from the church. Exchanging terrified glances, he and his two friends made a mental note not to piss off the hunchback.

He, Duke and Bartley tended to fight together, making sure that their backs were always covered. It was like a well-rehearsed play. They were comfortable enough with each other to know that neither would allow any foe get close enough to the others. However, it was when they were only halfway through the square when a woman shouted desperately for him. Confused, he turned to glance at the person who had shouted.

"Clopin! Come quick! It's Kezia!"

Eye wide in worry, the trio of gypsy men ducked and dived through the chaos to follow the gypsy woman. She darted through the chaos and brought them before the older woman. Whilst he was thankful that she was nowhere near the actual fighting, Clopin couldn't help but frown at the sight of her. Kezia was really pale and hardly able to move. She was lying on a wooden cart, angled just so that it looked as though she was sat down but reclined. Concerned at how weak she looked, he knelt before her and took her hand.

"Kezia, what happened?' He turned to the others. 'Cover our backs, alert me to anything happening."

He received a nod from them as they moved before giving Kezia his complete attention. She slowly patted his hand as she struggled to breathe properly.

"Old age, mon garcon. It was bound to catch up to me sooner or later!' Kezia coughed a bit before she could speak. 'Tell me, how is she?"

Clopin bit his lip, not wanting to lie to the woman but not wanting to tell her the fact that they had absolutely no idea how Hermione was. No one had seen her since Quasimodo had rescued her and taken her up into the church. Kezia wiggled her finger slightly, gesturing for him to move closer to her. Since she was struggling to breathe, he had no doubt that she was struggling to speak as well. Leaning his ear closer to her mouth, he was shocked speechless by her words.

"How is Hermione?"

Clopin felt his heart stop as he slowly turned his gaze towards her. He couldn't really take in her sly smirk since he was too busy trying to reboot his brain. Kezia looked incredibly proud of herself, she had managed to shock him good and proper. Opening his mouth a few times, no words came out. Kezia chuckled hoarsely at the sight, her voice had a raspy edge to it now.

"Your mother wasn't the only sorcière in the Court, mon Roi. Neither was your wife. I have a few tricks of my own up my sleeve!"

Clopin was dumbstruck as she sent him a cheeky wink. He had no idea that Kezia was a witch, otherwise he would have introduced Hermione to her immediately. Whispering now, since their friends were still so close.

"How long have you known, aînée?" She tilted her head thoughtfully. Clopin could hear the sounds of fighting loud and clear but he didn't even flinch, the woman before him had his complete attention. She needed him a lot more than the men fighting did. Clopin refused to leave her side until she told him to.

"Ever since I met her, Clopin. I knew what she was immediately. However, I must admit, I had to be sneaky in finding out her real name."

Breathing out a small laugh, Clopin shook his head at the woman as he grinned.

"You should have said something, Kezia. It would have meant a lot to her to have a friend who knew about her magic." The older woman just shook her head.

"Non, there was no reason to. She had you. However, there is something I need you to know. Before it is too late."

Clopin's smile fell off his face as he leant closer to her after she erupted into a long coughing fit. Gently taking her hand, Clopin knew that the older woman didn't have much longer. It was going to break Hermione's heart. Kezia's death was going to break everyone's hearts, his own included. Willing the tears from his eyes, he blinked repeatedly to clear them when they refused to budge. Kezia smiled softly at him.

"When you two have little ones, write a letter to my niece, Jeta, she's the headmistress of the wizarding school here in Paris. Hermione will know how to contact her. Treat her well, Clopin."

Clopin slowly nodded, memorizing her words. A loud shout snapped his gaze towards Notre Dame.

"UP THERE!"

Clopin slowly looked up and could have sworn his blood ran cold. Blinking, he could only watch as Quasimodo swung himself and Hermione from gargoyle to gargoyle as Frollo attacked them with a sword. Breathing in a shaky breath, Clopin shook his head.

"Sweet Maria, I really hope she doesn't expect me to catch her from that height."

Kezia let out a small chuckle before coughing loudly again. He moved to gently pat her on the back, hoping it would help at least a little bit. As much as he really wanted to keep his eye on Hermione, Kezia needed him right now. The older woman patted his hand as she cleared her throat, a warm smile on her face.

"It's alright, Clopin. It's my time. I would like to say how proud I am of you.' Clopin could hardly see through all the tears that had gathered in his eyes. He tightened his grip on her hand. 'I'm proud of everyone in the Court. But, you've conquered your fears and finally married, mon garcon. I couldn't be prouder. Now, go. Go after her."

Clopin was about to nod when he saw the life leave her eyes and her hand dropped in his. Barely biting back a sob, he squeezed and patted her hands before placing them gently on her lap. Wiping his eyes before standing up, he let out a long sigh. He had hoped to get everyone out of there safely. He supposed there was just no way to go against time, he should have known that by now with Hermione. Turning to the woman who had brought them to Kezia, noticing the tears rolling down her cheeks as well, he smiled softly at her before giving her a quick hug of comfort.

"Please, can you stay with her, mon cher?' He glanced at his two friends. 'We need to get back to the fighting."

The woman nodded and sat down next to Kezia's body. Another shuddering breath and Clopin spun on his heel, towards Notre Dame. The two men beside him were carefully removing their tears but, just like Clopin's, they roamed free. He was almost certain that they would never stop.

Arriving at the outskirts of the fight, Clopin turned to Duke. Knowing how close Selina was to the older woman, he believed that Duke was more than likely the best person to tell her of Kezia's passing. Just like he would be the one to tell Hermione, when he eventually found her.

"You had better let Selina know before anyone else tells her."

Duke simply nodded and dove into the fight, trying to search for his fiancée whilst he was at it. Turning his gaze back up to Notre Dame, his heart was in his throat when he saw Hermione holding on to Quasimodo for dear life, whilst Frollo was standing on a gargoyle, sword raised to attack her.

Inhaling sharply, Clopin had never felt so useless. He hadn't been able to do anything whilst Frollo lit the pyre and there was nothing he could do to protect Hermione now. Fists clenched so tightly he was shaking, Clopin was about to take off in a run when he saw Frollo fall off the gargoyle and straight into the fire. He felt as though it was poetic justice for Frollo to be burned by the same fire he tried to condemn others to. He couldn't breathe a sigh of relief though as Hermione had lost her grip on Quasimodo. He, and everyone else, could hear her scream from where he was stood.

"NO!"

Luckily for Quasimodo, someone was able to catch him from the cathedral. Clopin couldn't see who it was but was thankful to them nevertheless. After all, it turned out that Quasimodo was a good friend to Hermione after all. Whoever saved a friend of Hermione's... well, they couldn't be too bad. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Clopin turned to Bartley with a small grin.

"Shall we, mon amie?"

Bartley gave him a wicked grin back and nodded. The soldiers hadn't realised that Frollo had fallen just yet. Deciding to make the most of it, the two men delivered blow after blow on as many soldiers as they could find. Getting payback for all the shit they had been put through because of Frollo and the soldiers. Just as they were almost beginning to have fun, the soldiers dropped their weapons. Practically pouting, Clopin shrugged his shoulders at Bartley.

"What can we do?' He turned his gaze to Notre Dame. 'I have to go."

"Yes, you do. However, Clopin.' Clopin had taken a step but paused when he heard his friend. Bartley had a knowing grin on his face. 'It's a sin to shag your wife inside Notre Dame!"

Clopin rolled his eyes and turned once more to run when Bartley called him back once again.

"For fuck sake, man! What is it now?" Bartley looked at his King in amusement before shrugging.

"You should know that it was the ex-captain who flirted with your wife when she healed him from the arrow."

Clopin's eye twitched. Why did his friend think that moment in time was the best time to tell him something like that? As tempted as he was to hit the man he called his friend, Clopin decided against it... for the time being. He did make a mental note to punch the ex-soldier though.

Clopin took off in a sprint across the square. He dashed passed many gypsies, towns people and soldiers. He mentally sent up a thank you to Maria for watching over his people. He was glad to see they were all alright. Well, almost all of them. Shaking his head, he focused on his task. To find his wife.

Bursting through the doors of the cathedral, Clopin took off in a run up the closest set of stairs to his left, ignoring the Archdeacon as he tried to find out what happened. As though he knew himself. He had never really been inside the church all that much, other than when he was with Hermione, so he couldn't be certain he was going the right way. Perhaps he should have spoken to the Archdeacon after all. Unsure as to where the hell he was going, he called out for her.

"Esmeralda!?"

Running further and further up the steps, he continued to call out to her. Mentally praying that she was actually alright and that nothing had happened to her.

"ESMERALDA?!"