Suddenly a dark spot on the child's scalp caught her eye. Intrigued, Nefaltia brushed back a lock of hair to reveal a small birthmark. The size of a coin, the pigmented flesh resembled a half moon with a little star beside it.
"Quasi! Quasimodo, wake up. I need to show you something!"
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the hunchback hauled himself into a sitting position. The bleary image of Nefaltia slowly fading into view.
"What is it?" he yawned.
Not bothering to answer, Nefaltia dragged the drowsy bellringer to Anatefka and showed him the birthmark.
"So? I've seen people with marks like that before."
"Its not that" Nefaltia huffed. "My sister's baby girl had the same mark in the exact same place!"
There was a heavy silence in the tower as Nefaltia let the revelation sink in.
"So what your saying is... This child is your niece?"
By now, Nefaltia had sank to her knees. Tears silently streamed down her cheeks in rivers. How could she have missed such a distinguishing spot? Even when she cut Anatefka's hair, the birthmark escaped her.
Could it be?
"Nefaltia" Quasimodo spoke up "What happened between you and your sister?"
For the first time in years. Nefaltia forced herself to talk about the past.
"I wasn't born a gypsy" Nefaltia began. "My sister Sabine and I are Turkish. My father was a spice and textile trader from Istanbul."
Quasimodo's eyes widened.
Frollo had as much hate for the Turks as he did for gypsies. Many times the bellringer was privy to his master's rants against "the Godless invaders".
"They are nothing but debauched heathens!" The minister would bellow. "I have it on the highest authority that their Sultan likes nothing better then wallow in a den of vice and depravity. Harems, Quasimodo! They are the devil's brothels!"
Frollo spoke with such conviction. In his youth, Quasimodo knew nothing but to believe his guardian's words. But in the end, master had been wrong about so many things.
Nefaltia and Sabine were the only children of Mehmed Amere. His wife had died of fever some years ago, leaving him with two daughters to raise. Though the family pushed him to remarry, Mehmed never took another wife.
The Amere patriarch was a kind and doting father, who valued his girls as much as any son. But the tranquil family came under turmoil when Sabine revealed a troubling condition."My sister was ravaged by an intruder" Nefaltia shuddered. "When it was discovered she was with child, the family wanted nothing to do with her. She was a disgrace in their eyes."
No one felt more pain then Mehmet. It wasn't just that his daughter's purity was destroyed, but that she was scorned for a crime she was a victim of.
"We decided it was best to leave Turkey for a while. My father secured a vessel and we set off on a trade expedition. It would be the last one we ever did."
The Amere's made several stops along their journey. For the first time, Sabine and Nefaltia saw what lay beyond the Turkish shores. In the past, Mehmed would leave his daughters with family when he went along the long journeys.
Along the way they bartered and traded in the Greek Islands, in Egypt, and in Sicily. Soon the humble Turkish vessel was well stocked with Persian cumin, sage, mustards, fennel, and saffron.
"We had gotten more than enough supplies to sell in Europe. But then... Something went wrong."
Something certainly had. Angry clouds gathered in the sky, creating a mighty storm. What had once been a tranquil plane of blue was now a roiling cauldron. And the ship was caught right in the crossfire.
While the storm raged outside, the Amere's huddled in their tiny cabin. But even inside the ship the sisters still felt the sea's fury.
"I never felt more sick in my life" said Nefaltia. "But Sabine had it the worst. I had to get her some air."
Poor Sabine lay heavily against the wall. Her newborn daughter too weak to cry. It took every ounce of strength for Nefaltia to raise her suffering sibling to her feet.
Once outside the sisters and the infant were bombarded by the maelstrom. The ship's mast swayed precariously in the gales, while the wooden deck was awash in rain.
Nefaltia struggled to hold back even more tears as she remembered what came next.
"This wave just came out of nowhere. I tried to hold onto Sabine, but we were washed overboard. I don't remember much of what happened next. Only that I regained consciousness on a French shore. Alone."
"But how did you get to Paris?" asked Quasimodo
"I got picked up by a gypsy caravan. They told me all about the Court of Miracles, so I decided to settle there with them."
As Nefaltia sat brimming with turbulent memories, a sad smile found its way to her henna-colored lips.
"I just cant believe it. Out of all the children in the world... This little beast is part of my sister."