After they gathered together again, Rumple, Belle and Rose followed the jester to the next show. Rose was eager to tell her parents of the nice strange man she met and the creepy old guy, but she decided to wait until after the next show. They still had plenty of time for everything. A large crowd had gathered around the stage. They took a seat on the second row of benches per Rose's request. She didn't want to miss a thing. A red smoke cloud exploded onstage and revealed the odd jester.
"Welcome, welcome welcome! I do hope you have all enjoyed our fair, especially the little ones. Speaking of, we have a birthday girl among us and she is our guest of honor! Where is our little birthday princess?" Rose smiled and stood up excitedly.
"Here I am!" The jester smiled as he saw her.
"There she is! Come on up, my dear!" She looked up at Rumple.
"Can I, Papa?" Like he would ever deny her what she wanted.
"Of course, sweetheart. Go ahead." She smiled even wider and made her way to the stage.
"Here she is! This is Rose and she is five-years-old today!" The crowd cheered and applauded. Two men appeared from either side of the stage. One draped a purple robe on her shoulders, the other gave her a golden staff. Rumple had never seen his daughter so happy. She was enjoying herself being at the fair and surrounded by people helping to celebrate her birthday. She was born for this. She was meant to live life as a princess. She was supposed to be loved and adored by an entire kingdom. Her birthday was supposed to be celebrated with a huge ball every year. This was the closest she would get to any of that life. If only her mother...
"Rumple?" He was pulled from his thoughts by Belle's voice. "Are you alright? You seem distressed."
"Nothing, my dear. Just...lost in thought." She was still skeptical, but she decided to let it go for now. It wasn't the time nor the place to have a discussion like that. They returned their attention to their daughter on the stage. Two other men carried something large with a red cover over it to the stage.
"And since you wear the Crown of Honor, you must also have your throne! You shall have the best seat for the show!" Clopin removed the cover and revealed a teal throne with gold designs and armrests. He held out a hand to her and she took it. He led her to the throne and she sat on the cushioned seat. It took her a moment to get comfortable.
"I love it!" The crowd cheered again. Rose felt like a princess. She wondered if that was what it was like.
"Fantastic, my dear! And now, with your permission, we shall start the main show!" She raised her staff and swung it in a circle.
"On with it, jester!" A few chuckles could be heard throughout the crowd. Clopin turned his attention to the crowd.
"Oh, you laugh now, but you won't when you see what we have in store. I warn anyone with a weak heart to leave at this moment, for what you are about to see shall terrify, shock, and amaze you. This beast was found many years ago when it was just a babe. Years later and he is even more terrifying and gruesome. He is scary enough to give even the Dark One nightmares." Rumple huffed at that comment.
"I seriously doubt that." Belle elbowed him.
"Behave." He rolled his eyes and continued to listen to the jester.
"But do not fret. We have him tamed and his soul cleansed with the help of Lord Claude Frollo, the gentleman over here with the black robe." They noticed Frollo standing of to the side of the stage. Rose and Belle both shuddered at the sight of him. While Belle thought of him as merely unsettling, Rose found him just plain scary. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the beast of Notre Dame, Quasimodo!"
The curtain opened and revealed Quasimodo with two men who were holding onto the ropes around his neck and wrists. The entire audience gasped at the sight of him. Even Rumple was surprised by the sight of the man. He even felt a tinge of pity for him. He was obviously human, but his features were beastly, so people treat him as one. He could relate the to poor man.
"Though he is tame, we keep him restrained for reassurance." Rose's heart broke at the sight. She saw the same nice man she met in the tent, but he had a bruise on the side of his face. One of his arm hung looser than usual like his shoulder was popped out of its socket. He was limping on his left ankle. The man had been beaten since she last saw him. She figured it was the man in the black robe. A random voice from the crowd was heard.
"BEAST? MORE LIKE A FREAK OF NATURE!" The crowd exploded with laughter, with the exception of Rumple and Belle. They found nothing funny about the situation. Rose didn't laugh either. They were being mean and hurtful towards him. She saw his head lower and his eyes close. This was his life. It's all he's ever known, yet it still pains him every time. To make matters worse, the jester jumped up and landed on his hunch with a hand stand. She could see the pain in Quasi's face. He was struggling just to stand. She couldn't take it anymore as she rose from her throne.
"STOP!" The crowd was suddenly quiet. They were shocked at the loud voice that erupted from the small child. Belle grabbed Rumple's arm.
"Rumple..."
"Wait a moment." Rose walked over to Clopin, who was still on Quasi's hunch.
"Get off! You're hurting him!"
"I..."
"GET OFF!" He jumped down immediately. Never had he been intimidated by a child. Even the men holding the ropes released them and backed away. Quasi's eyes met Rose's. She reached to untie his restraints when a voice interrupted her.
"Young lady, do not touch the beast!" She saw Frollo climb the stairs to the stage. "He is a monster and he's dangerous."
"He's not a monster! You are!" The crowd gasped.
"How dare you..."
"You hurt him! You hurt his face and his arm and his leg!"
"I discipline him. Something your parents obviously don't do with you." That struck a nerve for Rumple. Belle sensed his anger and tension and squeezed his arm.
"Don't. It won't solve anything." Before he could respond, Rose spoke again.
"Don't talk about my mama and papa!" She took her staff and swung at him. Not paying attention to where she was swinging, she hit him in his crotch. He doubled over and fell to the ground. Every man in the audience felt his pain, including Rumple.
"That could not have been pleasant." Ignoring him, Rose returned to Quasi and untie his ropes. He looked at her with gratitude and tenderness.
"No one has...ever stood up for me like that. Thank you, my Esmeralda."
"No one should be made fun of." She noticed the large bruise of the side of his face. She reached out to touch it, but he flinched away from her.
"Please. Don't."
"I won't hurt you." She laid her hand gently over his bruise and slid down to his cheek. Even through the slight pain, he felt tenderness in her touch. All his life, he had been treated horrible. His master beat him and told him he was an abomination on a daily basis. The rest of the fair ignored him and did everything to avoid him. Rose was the first one to ever see him as a person and not a monster. The crowd looked on at the scene. Rumple couldn't help but feel proud of his daughter. She truly had a gift of seeing people for who they truly are. She was able to see the man behind the monster with him and now she could with Quasimodo. Quasi leaned into her soft touch.
"I will never understand how you aren't afraid of me." She smiled sweetly at him.
"It's easy. But it's a secret." He chuckled at her and she was happy to see him smile. She had finally made her first friend. He was unusual, but still a friend. Quasi noticed something odd.
"Your...Your necklace." She looked down and saw her necklace was glowing. Before she could wonder why, she felt a tingling going up her arms. She moved her hand from Quasi's face and examined them. She could feel the tingling move to her hands to her fingertips. She didn't know how to feel. She didn't know what was happening. Then, a stream of pink sparkles emerge from her fingers and circled Quasi. The crowd watched in amazement. Rumple and Belle watched in curiosity. The sparkles surrounded him and he felt odd. Rose noticed the bruise from his face shrinking until it disappeared. His arm went back to it's original place and his ankle was fixed. The sparkles then disappeared. Quasi noticed he wasn't in pain anymore. He looked down at her. "You healed me."
"I did?" He smiled.
"Yes. You're magic." Frollo was able to regain his posture.
"She must be a witch." Before Rumple to do anything, Quasi stood in front of Rose in defense.
"She is not a witch. She is kind and merciful unlike you. My whole life you told me the world was a dark, cruel place. But now I see the only thing dark and cruel about it are people like you! You abused me and called me an abomination since the day I was born! I would've been better off with the Dark One!" Rumple scoffed.
"It's like I'm not even here." Belle rolled her eyes at him.
"You're not, Rupert."
"Ah, that's right. The Glamour Spell." They continued to watch the scene on stage unfold. Frollo kept himself composed.
"Clearly the witch has gotten into your head. Cast her evil spell on you. You don't know what you're thinking." Rose picked up her staff again and walked in front of Quasi.
"Hey! I'm not a witch!" She swung her staff and purposely hit him harder in the crouch. He fell over again in pain. She stood over him. "And Quasi is nice! He's not a abamation."
"Abomination."
"That too! And if he was raised by the Dark One, he would be like me because I was!" Rose suddenly realized her mistake too late. She slapped her hand over her mouth. The crowd was in shock. Rumple and Belle looked at each other in panic. They never thought Rose would tell anyone, let alone the entire fair. Frollo was able to bring himself to his feet.
"The daughter of the Dark One! She must be pure evil! No one would dare lie of it!" Rose raised her hands in defense.
"No! I'm not evil! I didn't mean to..." Someone in the crowd stood up.
"If she's the Dark One's daughter, who's to say she won't kill us?!" Another person stood.
"GET HER!" The crowd was whipped into a frenzy. Men made their way to the stage while the women led their children away. Rumple and Belle tried to make it through the commotion. Before anyone got to her, Quasi grabbed Rose and put her on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on as he climbed up the tent. He then jumped from tent to tent to get away from the crowd. Quasi was very agile despite his physical attributes. He was able to make it to the trees of the forest, the crowd following them. Rumple and Belle were left at the stage. He then cursed himself, then turned to Belle.
"You see, Belle? This is why I never let her leave the castle! I knew something like this would happen! I kept her there to keep her safe!"
"I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen. I just wanted her to have a good birthday."
"And now my daughter is as much as a pariah as I am!"
"We don't have time to argue about this, Rumple! We need to find them and bring her home!" Frollo finally stood on the stage.
"You! You are the Dark One!" He turned to the cleric.
"And you are a dead man." With a flick of his wrist, Frollo's neck snapped and he fell dead on the stage.
"Rumple..."
"You can nag at me later, dearie. For now, I want my daughter back."