Chat took the stairs in twos as he ran from the one person in the world who he was scared the most to see at that point.
"Wait!" Marinette cried as she climbed those same stairs as quickly as she could, "I want to talk to you!"
Chat reached the top landing and nearly collided with Duusu.
"What are you doing? Stop running!" she cried as she tried to slow him down.
"She might catch up!" Chat panted as he struggled out of Duusu's grip. Her hands lost their grip on the fabric of his shirt and he went down hard on the ground.
"I just wanted to tell you that I am really sorry about today!" Marinette panted as she reached the landing. She looked up to see Chat sprawled in a heap on the ground, grumbling, and a few odd statues near the top of the stairs. Her eyes focused solely on Chat as he stood up, this time, she really looked at him.
She watched as Chat's tail flicked agitatedly as he untangled his feet from some ropes. His ears laid back on his head as he hissed at the materials to get off of him. That's when she was able to really look at his face. His eyes shone a brilliant green, encircled by blackened skin, almost like a mask. His hands were hidden behind large black leather gloves. His clothes were frayed, but seemed sturdy. His hair was a shining golden color, like the sun on a summer day.
"I-I-I wh-what, uh… n-no! You shouldn't be here!" Chat stumbled helplessly.
Marinette stood a good distance away, but refused to leave, "Please let me apologize for earlier today?"
"Wh-wh- No!"
"No?" Marinette repeated, slightly hurt.
"I'm the one who should apologize," Chat shouted as he circled her nervously.
"You?" Marinette questioned as she followed his path, "But I'm the one who pulled you onto that stage! I'm the one who revealed you in front of everyone! It's all my fault you were…"
"I deserved it," Chat hid behind a pillar, refusing to make eye contact.
"No you don't!" Chat jumped back when he saw Marinette holding onto the other side of the pillar. Her bright blue eyes were filled with a strong emotion he did not understand. "No one deserves that kind of treatment!"
"No, you don't understand," Chat defended, "Master told me never to go down there! And he was right! He was only trying to protect me from the people who would see me for what I am!"
Marinette paused, she watched as Chat ran a gloved hand through his hair as he sighed. "What are you?" she asked quietly.
Chat stood tall, raising either arm as if to present himself to her, "I'm a monster."
Marinette bit her lip, but sat down on a pile of wood and looked at him. Chat took that as a signal to elaborate.
"I was cursed. When I was cursed, I don't know. My mother, she," he let out a deep breath, "She was a witch. She cursed me at some point in hopes of me being taken away and killed. Master found me and saved me before anyone could kill me. He said the witch killed herself when she found out I was still alive. The very thought of me being in this world and being connected to her was to devastating." Chat sat on the floor opposite of Marinette, his face was extremely sad. "That's why I should never have gone out there today. If Judge Papillion is ever found out to be tied to me in any way…" Chat held his knees and hid his face from her.
"He'd be proud," Marinette finished for him.
"What?" Chat questioned, looking up at her. Marinette was no longer sitting before him, but had found his model of the town.
"He'd be proud," she repeated, holding up the figure of the baker, "He'd want to show you off to the world. You are so observant. Look at this model you have made! And you are careful and delicate. No knife I have ever seen is able to carve these details so well, surely your sharp claws that I got to see earlier did this fantastic work. You are kind hearted; no man in all of Paris can say such nice things about that man. You are obviously patient and forgiving. I would have burned this whole thing to the ground after what they did to you." Marinette turned back toward the cat creature with a smile on her face, "You are no monster."
Chat blushed at the compliment, "But look at me!" He held out his hands as if they bore testament to his fate.
Marinette took his right hand in her own and examined it, "Well, I have read hundreds of palms," she hummed as she looked closely at the lines on his hands, "so let's see what we've got." She continued to hum to herself as she traced the lines with her index finger, causing Chat's skin to practically melt at the touch, "long lifeline, shy, hmm," she frowned, "do you have something I can write on and with?"
Chat leapt to his feet and gathered the supplies more enthusiastically than he cared to admit to. Marinette took his hand and traced around it, then added lines to the palm.
"You see," Marinette explained as she drew the lines, "This line here, is the lifeline. It is long in your case, indicating that you will have a long life. Here is the line that shows your personality, it is not as defined as other lines, showing your shyness," Chat blushed again, pulling his hands closer to his stomach, "But if you were truly a monster or other sort of wicked being," she drew a sharp and jagged line across the top of the palm below the fingers, "you would have a line like this." She put the pen she wrote with down and took Chat's hand again, "I don't see any line like that on you."
Chat's eyes widened as he looked at his hand in awe. The smile that spread across his face made her heart melt with joy.
She then laid her hand next to the paper. "Tell me what you see."
Chat looked down at her palm, careful not to touch it, "I see a line like mine, but it fades away a lot sooner than mine does."
"Some say that that means I simply have a short lifespan. Camille, another Gypsy I know, says that it means my lifespan is destined to return in an unexpected way."
"What does that mean?" Chat asked as he looked up at her face.
"I'm guessing it means I will get to come back in another life," she smiled.
Chat smiled back before looking at her palm, "This line is curled up back toward your pinkie. What does that mean about your personality?"
"It means I am a happy person, it goes up like a smile," she made an upward curve motion in front of her mouth, smiling as she did so, "I am a positive person."
Chat's smile grew wider before looking back at her open palm. He honestly had no idea what else to look for.
"Do you see any?" Marinette asked, pulling his attention away again.
"What?"
"Monster lines?" she clarified.
Chat looked from the chart back to her palm and back once more, "No. But you are very kind, not like other gypsies."
Marinette frowned, "You cannot judge someone by what their profession is. And you should not judge people by what they look like. I have found more monster lines in people who are not gypsies than people who are."
Chat looked up in surprise, "You have? How can that be? Master says that-"
"Judge Papillion is just a man," Marinette shouted, "and he has blinded you from the truth!"
Chat looked up at her in a way that made her heart sink.
"But he is the only one who cares for me," Chat whispered, looking away.
Marinette reached out and placed her hand on Chat's cheek. She turned his face toward hers, the tears in her eyes stung. "Even the most wicked people can do kind things."
Chat lowered his head from her hand, silent.
Marinette sighed before standing to look out toward the sunset. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to upset you. If you don't mind, I would like to stay here in the tower with you."
"What?" Chat looked up, he thought that after her outburst she would leave him alone just as Papillion would. He thought he had made her angry.
"I've been given Sanctuary here," Marinette smiled sadly at him, "Though the sooner I can leave, the better. Poor Tikki can't live here for long. She likes to travel."
Chat noticed the little red dog sitting near the statues. For a moment he thought that she was engaged in some sort of silent conversation with his statue friends. "I'll set up a place for you," he said as he stood.
As the sun set, Chat collected some blankets and pillows to create a comfortable bed for her. He climbed the arches and beams to hang curtains around her space. When the sun set he lit some candles and went to find Marinette.
He found her outside on the top of the church. She and her dog were gazing at the stars as he climbed to meet them.
"It's beautiful up here," Marinette commented as he joined her.
"Twenty years I've been up here and I never get tired of seeing it," Chat smiled as he looked skyward.
"You can't be much older than I am," Marinette laughed.
"I've been here since I was a baby," Chat hummed as he laid on his back.
Marinette stared at him, "You have been up in this tower since infancy? Who nursed you? Who cared for you? A baby needs constant attention!"
Chat sat up again and looked at her, "I don't really know. He said that the Archdeacon was the only other person who knew about me."
"How in the world did you survive?"
Chat held his tongue, he didn't want to say the for as long as he can remember the statues of Notre Dame came to life and cared for him.
"So you're telling me that Papillion spent hundreds of hours in this tower with you caring for you? That can't be possible!"
Chat shrugged, "I guess he really didn't want me to die."
Marinette stared at him to the point that he got very uncomfortable.
"It's late, I think we should go to sleep now. Besides," he began to descend toward the window below, "I want you to meet the bells in the morning sun!"
"Meet the bells?" Marinette scoffed as she followed him.
Marinette held Tikki close that night as her mind raced with the possibilities of what may happen to her now within the stone walls of Notre Dame.
Chat sat on by a window as he worked a small piece of wood in his hands.
"She's nice," Duusu commented as she sat quietly next to him.
"Shh!" Chat hushed, "Don't let her hear you."
"Why not?" Duusu giggled, "She has seen quite a lot today. I'm sure living statues wouldn't scare her one bit."
"You don't know that," Chat scolded as he continued to whittle the wood.
Duusu only smiled before walking back to his bed. She fluffed some pillows and pulled the blankets back. She looked down on the bed as her mind replayed precious memories, memories she held dear. She remembered when Chat was first placed in the tower. Plagg and Trixx had sat around the little bundle, utterly baffled as to how to keep the child alive through the night. When she had seen them, she took total responsibility for him. She made sure he was safe, warm, and fed from that day on.
And every day she would watch Papillion from the shadows. He would come up with a bottle of cream and a wash bin as a means to appease Archdeacon Fu below. He would begrudgingly care for Chat and then leave him alone once more.
Archdeacon Fu, when he had time, would come up and talk to Chat. He would sit and play with him, talk with him, and make sure he was dressed well enough.
When he would leave, she, Trixx, and Plagg would take over. They would continue to play and care for him. From the moment he could fully understand, they began to teach him. He read books, he memorized poetry and passages of Scripture, he was especially good with his hands. He had been taught how to use his hands almost constantly by the three. They seemed to be the only thing he could touch without leaving any lasting damage. He worked hard, and learned how to ring the bells with ease. He had watched the bellringer before him pull the ropes with equal amounts of care and power. By the age of twelve, he was able to pull the ropes of the bells with that same ease.
He was a very good child, but there were times when he would become angry, frustrated, or sad. At these times, he would seem to lose himself. He would sit crouched on the floor, head in his hands, breathing heavily. If upset any further, he would lose himself completely. It seemed as though whatever curse was placed on him was tied directly to his anger. When provoked enough, he would grow long, black hair all around his body. His claws would destroy anything he touched. His teeth would become incredibly sharp. He was practically a ferocious lion, lurking in the shadows of the tower.
The only way to bring him back seemed to be remorse. The first time he got that angry was when he revealed to Papillion that the statues talked to him. The judge was furious with him and said he was a fool for coming up with such a ridiculous idea. Chat was utterly dumbfounded. Papillion said that he would not feed Chat for three days, as punishment for such lies.
By the end of the second day, Chat was so hungry and so angry that he fell into the rage. He slammed his body against the large stone pillars, which held fast against the force. Two pillars still had cracks along their sides from the impact of his body against them. But the most damaging effect of this rage was one of the bells.
Chat had ran up to it and began to hit it furiously with his fists. The bell simply buckled under the pressure of his rage. What was left behind was a large, mangled piece of metal hanging from a rope.
Duusu had to hold him down as Chat began to cry bitterly, coming to his senses. The bells were like his family, each with a name. This bell was small, and very precious to Chat. He had named it Little Sister, and often talked to it as if it were his actual sister. When he realized what he had done during his rage, his heart broke.
From that time on, the only way to come out of his rage was by reminding him of Little Sister and her fate.
Duusu's memories were interrupted by Chat's voice.
"I'll be going to bed now," he said softly as he climbed into the bed. "Good night."
Duusu looked over at Chat and then over to the curtains where Marinette was aleep, "Good night children. Sleep well."