"You've chosen a magnificent prison… but it is a prison none the less. You take one step outside of this cathedral and you're ours!"

Frollo slammed the door shut and Esmerelda wasn't ashamed to admit that she panicked, racing to the large door and peeking through the gap only to hear guards saying "Surround the cathedral, the gypsy boy is not to escape."

Slamming the door shut, she fell to the ground, resting her back against the door as Djali cautiously made his way over. "Don't worry…" she whispered to her, "… if Frollo thinks he can keep us in here, he's wrong!"

"Don't act rashly my child…" the Archdeacon began, lighting the candles for the evening mass, "… you created… quite a stir this afternoon. It would be unwise to make Frollo or Sarousch even angrier."

Esmerelda scowled, "You saw that they were doing to those two! Letting the crowd treat them like this… I thought that if just one person could stand up to them then- " She sighed wearily and shook her head, "What do they have against people who are different anyway?"

"You can't right all the wrongs of the world…"

"Well nobody out there is going to help, that's for sure!"

The Archdeacon smile warmly at her, "Well, maybe someone in here can?" He wandered away as they reached a statue of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.

Esmerelda sighed and began to pray.

"I don't know if you can hear me…or if you're even there. I don't know if you'll listen to a humble prayer…they tell me that I'm just an outcast. I shouldn't speak to you. Still I see your face and wonder…were you once an outcast too?"

She sighed and moved away from the statue, "God help the outcasts, hungry from birth. Show them the mercy, they don't find on Earth. God help my people, we look to you still. God help the outcasts, or nobody will."

She sat by the pews and listened to others within the cathedral pray. Some asked for wealth, some for fame, some for glory and others for love that they could physically hold in their hands. Esmerelda sighed again, "I ask or nothing, I can get by. But I know so many less lucky than I. Please help my people, the poor and down-trod. I thought we all were, the children of God."

There was silence for a few seconds before someone yelled out.

"You! What are you doing down here?!" Haven't you caused enough trouble already?!"

Esmerelda spun around in the direction of where the man was pointing and she just managed to catch a glimpse of the girl from the stage running towards the stairs, knocking over a candlestick in haste.

"Hey, wait!" She called out, following the blonde girl, "Hey, I just want to talk to you!"

….

Quasimodo frowned at the sight of the girl following Madellaine… the same girl from the Festival.

Dropping down from the rafters in front of his friend, he cut her off, "Why are you running?" he asked in confusion.

"I-I-I- "

"There you are!" Esmerelda cried out, huffing slightly, "I thought I'd lost you!"

Madellaine glanced around, only to see that Quasimodo had disappeared once again.

Traitor.

"I-I-I-I need to get going and, I-I-I have chores to do! It was nice to see you again and- " Madellaine felt like her heart was going to pop out of her chest as she started to back away

"Please wait!" Esmerelda begged, as she followed Madellaine into the living area "I just wanted to say sorry about what happened to your friend! I promise, I had no idea who he was and I would never have pulled him onto- "She paused in shock when they reached the bell tower, taking in the miniature village, the glass ornaments, "Wow…. What is this place?"

"This… this is where my friend lives." Madellaine couldn't help but glance up to the rafters, knowing that Quasimodo was probably watching.

"And… did he make all of these?"

Madellaine nodded in pride, "Broken glass is easy to find if you know where to look… aren't they amazing? He won't listen to me when I tell him that they are, but- " She cut herself off, aware that she was babbling.

"They really, really are." Esmerelda either didn't notice the babbling, or didn't care as she bent down to examine the mock-town a little closer, "If I could do all this, you wouldn't find me dancing on the streets for coins."

"But… you're a wonderful dancer."

Esmerelda flushed in delight at the compliment, "Well, it does keep bread on the table." Her eyes then focused on the two figures covered by the cloth, however, before she could have a closer look, Madellaine darted forwards.

"No, wait! He's not finished with them… he's very private about things like that."

Esmerelda stared at her for a few moments, before a soft smile appeared on her face. "He's very lucky to have someone like you."

They stared at each other for a few tense moments, before Esmerelda nervously cleared her throat. "And… he's lucky to have all this room to himself."

"Well…" Madellaine shrugged, "… It's not just him. There's the gargoyles and the bells of course… I can introduce you to them if you like?"

"Would your friend mind?"

There was a sharp knock on one of the beams up above, the sound echoing throughout the room. Madellaine smiled at the use of their special code, "No, he doesn't mind."

Gesturing for Esmerelda to follow her (ignoring how the goat shoved one last wooden sheep into his mouth), Madellaine raced up some stairs.

"I never knew there were so many!" Esmerelda gasped in amazement.

"There's little Sophia…and then Jeanne-Marie, Anne-Marie, Louise-Marie. Triplets, you know." Madellaine could still remember how excited she was as a little girl, first meeting all these bells.

"And who's this?" Esmerelda asked, staring up at the largest bell in the tower.

"Big Marie."

Esmerelda grinned as she ducked inside the bell, "HELLLLOOOOOO!" she yelled, chuckling as the sound echoed all around her.

And then she heard Madellaine giggling from outside.

"What?"

"Sorry…" the blonde-haired woman giggled, "… It-it looks like you're wearing a giant hat!" The beautiful giggling stopped, as Madellaine sighed, "But… that sounds really silly huh?"

"No, no, no!" Esmerelda was quick to reassure her, "I've never thought about it like that!" She then started to laugh, with Madellaine joining in.

"Y-yeah! It's a brass beret! A two-ton topper!" As she laughed, Madellaine managed to catch Quasimodo's eyes, flushing at the knowing look in his eyes. "A-Anyway.." she cleared her throat, "… would you like to see more?"

"Yes please!" Esmerelda moved to follow her again, up the stairs to where the entrance to the roof was.

"Good, because I've saved the best until last."

Opening the door, the pair made their way over to the edge, where Esmerelda gasped in shock and amazement, "Wow…" The sun was just above the horizon as it slowly set, the red, oranges and purples seemingly haven been painted on the sky. The buildings all seemed so different in this light, simply shadows in the distance, "… I bet the King himself doesn't have a view like this. I could stay up here forever."

"You could you know…"

Esmerelda sighed wearily, "No, I can't…"

"But you have sanctuary!"

"But not freedom…gypsies don't do so well inside stone walls." Esmerelda mimicked, altering her voice to sound like the old man.

"But you're not like other gypsies… they're evil."

Esmerelda frowned, turning back to her, "Who told you that?"

"Frollo… and my Master, Sarousch."

"Sarousch? The guy who runs the circus?" Esmerelda frowned, "But he's so… creepy! How could a man like that raise someone like you?"

Madellaine looked away, "He's not that bad… I tried to steal from him when I was a little girl. He could've called the guards on me, but he took me in instead. Raised me as his assistant… I owe him my life. It's not like I'm smart enough to do anything else.

"Who told you that. Sarousch?"

When Madellaine hesitated, Esmerelda gave her a reassuring smile, before reaching out to grab her hand, "Relax…" she whispered, gently pulling the other woman closer, "…I'm just going to read your palm." She stared at it for a few moments, umming and aahing, before gently running her fingers over her palm, "Okay, so you've got a long love line… that's good. This one, means that you're shy. Strange though."

"… What is?"

"I don't see any stupid lines… in fact, this line means that you're very creative."

Madellaine gently pulled her hand away and stared at it in shock, just as Esmerelda held out her own palm. "How about me. Do you think I have an evil line?"

"No!" Madellaine shook her head desperately, "No, you're good and kind and- "

"- And a gypsy… and maybe Frollo and Sarousch are wrong about the both of us."

When Esmerelda turned her attention back to the horizon, Madellaine couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for her. She was used to spending long hours up here… she wasn't. "Wait here." She whispered, running back inside, "Quasi? Quasimodo?"

When he dropped down behind her, she took his hands, "I need your help… we need your help."

…..

"Climb down?!" Esmerelda stared at the pair of them, "Are you sure?"

Quasimodo nodded, "I will carry you and Mady. I know I can do it."

"… Okay."

Madellaine climbed onto Quasi's back and Esmerelda clinging onto his neck, Djali in her arms, Quasimodo took a deep breath. This could actually be a lot trickier than he expected. "Don't be afraid okay?"

"I'm not scared."

Still carrying them, Quasi jumped off the side of the cathedral, using his spare hand to grab one of the gargoyles.

"Now, I'm scared!"

"The trick is not to look down!" Madellaine had her eyes squeezed shut as Quasi hopped onto the gargoyles down below.

"Have you two done this before?!"

"Not with two people."

From there, things went smoothly until they reached the tiled roof, where Esmerelda giggled nervously and patted Quasimodo on the shoulder, "Wow, you're quite the acrobat!"

"Thank yo-WOAH!"

The tiling underneath them broke and they all found themselves sliding down the roof at speed, all yelling in alarm. Thankfully, when they reached the end of the roof, Quasimodo was able to grab a hold of another gargoyle as the tile flew off into the distance, distracting the officers below.

Once the path was clear, the group were able to drop down to one of the statues.

"I hope you weren't scared." Madellaine whispered, shrinking back into the shadows to avoid being seen.

"Not a bit, right Djali?"

Djali didn't agree.

"I-I won't ever forget you."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Esmerelda leaned in and took her hand, "Come with me, leave this place… both of you!"

Madellaine shook her head, "I-I can't! I can't just abandon Sarousch like that!"

Quasimodo nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll come and see you!"

"Here? But Frollo and Sarousch and- "

"I'll come after sunset!"

"B-But, I need to train for the shows, and I'm not always here and- "

Madellaine was suddenly cut off when gentle lips pressed against her own. "Whatever's good for you…" she whispered when they broke apart, watching as Esmerelda removed something from around her neck and gave it to her.

"This is for whenever either of you need sanctuary. Remember, when you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand."

Before Madellaine could say anything, there was a sudden kerfuffle from further up the street and Quasimodo tensed.

"You need to go. Soldiers!"

Esmerelda nodded, kissing Madellaine on the cheek one last time, before leaping down and running off into the distance as the other two made their way back up to the bell tower.

However, just as they reached the top, Madellaine yelped as someone grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"Sorry, I'm looking for Esmerelda?"