Hello readers :) Welcome to any newcomers, I hope you enjoy this story as it progresses! To my old and faithful readers, I am so sorry for just leaving you with one chapter for two years. It's horrible, I know, but hopefully my author's note was explanation enough so I hope you can forgive me for that. I appreciate you sticking with this story - I cannot thank you enough. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. More to come soon :)

Chapter 2: No Longer Home

Julianne woke up with a pounding in her head. She groaned and sat up slowly. She looked down and saw that she was still wearing her gypsy costume. She smiled slightly at that. She then thought of Sasha. Her eyes widened a little and she shakily stood up. She brushed the dirt off her skirt before she looked around to see where she was. She was in some kind of alley and noticed that there was a street beside her. She walked towards the light and gasped when she reached it. She had never seen anything so beautiful. People were bustling about the beautiful shops, trying to buy food and clothes while their little ones ran around and were having fun. She smiled. She turned around and stopped. There in front of her was the Notre Dame. She slowly walked towards it, feeling like she needed to be there but she didn't need to go inside. She had just reached the steps when she heard joyful laughing. She looked around to her left and saw a very colourful caravan and gasped.

'It couldn't be. No way. It's impossible.' She thought to herself. She walked to the caravan and saw that there was a little girl who was trying to see past the other children but she was far too small. Julianne felt sorry for her and picked her up gently. She placed the girl on her hip and the little girl smiled and giggled. They then both turned their attention to the caravan and Julianne almost gasped again. There, with a puppet on his hand, was the brilliant Clopin. Julianne just about melted.

'I actually can't believe this. How the hell can I be in the Hunchback of Notre Dame? That's crazy!' She was trying to figure everything out but soon forgot about it when Clopin began to sing.

"Morning in Paris, the city awakes

To the bells of Notre Dame

The fisherman fishes, the baker man bakes

To the bells of Notre Dame

To the big bells as loud as the thunder

To the little bells soft as a psalm

And some say the soul of the city's

The toll of the bells

The bells of Notre Dame."

Julianne smiled and whispered along with the words of the song. She then watched as Clopin leaned toward the children and spoke to them.

"Listen, they're beautiful, non? So many colours of sound, so many changing moods. Because you know, they don't ring all by themselves." Clopin then brought out a mini puppet version of himself and Julianne laughed a little.

"They don't?"

No, silly boy. Up there, high, high in the dark bell tower lives the mysterious bell ringer. Who is this creature?"

"Who?" The puppet asked.

"What is he? "

"What?"

"How did he come to be there?"

"How?" Clopin hit the puppet on the head and Julianne and the children laughed.

"Hush, and Clopin will tell you. It is a tale, a tale of a man and a monster." Clopin then began to sing again. Julianne watched on in awe as she saw him sing different notes and dance about in his little caravan.

"Now here is a riddle to guess if you can

Sing the bells of Notre Dame

Who is the monster and who is the man?

Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells

Bells, bells, bells, bells

Bells of Notre Dame."

Julianne smiled as the children cheered for Clopin and his performance. He gave them a bow and a few of the children threw him some coins. He collected them and the children soon went on their way to find their parents. Julianne let the little girl down from her hip and the little girl smiled at her before running off to find her parents. Julianne turned and watched as Clopin packed up his caravan.

'Maybe I should compliment him. It was an amazing show after all. Besides, I always wanted to know what it was like to talk with him.' Julianne took a deep shaky breath and walked towards him before her nerves could stop her. She cleared her throat a little and Clopin turned around and smiled greatly at her. She automatically smiled back.

"That was an amazing show. You're very talented." Julianne complimented. Clopin grinned.

"Merci, mademoiselle. It is nice to know that children are not the only ones who enjoy my work." Clopin answered. Julianne smiled.

"The children love you." She observed. Clopin smiled and chuckled.

"They come around here every day while their parents are away taking care of business." He explained. Julianne nodded. She noticed the little Clopin puppet on the stage and giggled a little. She looked at Clopin.

"May I?" She asked. Clopin looked to see what she was looking at and nodded, smiling. Julianne gently picked up the puppet and smiled. "Did you make this?" Clopin nodded.

"I make all my puppets."

"These are amazing." While Julianne was admiring Clopin's puppet, Clopin took a good look at her. She was beautiful. He noticed that she had red hair which was a rare thing in Paris. He knew some gypsies that lived in the Court of Miracles that had red hair but none of them were as beautiful as this woman in front of him and they weren't born in France. Her hair was in loose curls down her back and she had the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. He finally noticed that she was wearing gypsy clothes. He smiled at that. He snapped out of it and watched as Julianne gently placed the puppet back down on the stage. She smiled at him.

"I have a question for you, mademoiselle. I hope that you do not find it offensive." He said. Julianne shook her head.

"No, it's fine. Ask away."

"Would you happen to be a gypsy, by any chance? I just assumed with your clothing that you may be." Julianne thought about it. She decided that it wouldn't be a bad thing to be a gypsy. Well, it didn't seem like a bad thing in her eyes. She smiled at Clopin.

"Yes, I am. Unfortunately, I have just arrived here and I obviously have nowhere to go." Clopin grinned.

"Why, my dear! You shall live with me!" He exclaimed. Julianne's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Oh, no, I couldn't. I just met you and I would hate to be such a burden-"

"My dear, you would not be a burden at all! You are a fellow gypsy and we look after our own." Julianne smiled. She was finally going to be able to see the Court of Miracles!

"Thank you." Clopin smiled. "I'm sorry to sound really forward, but what is your name?" Clopin laughed.

"I am Clopin Trouillefou and I am at your service, mademoiselle." Julianne blushed as he took her hand gently and kissed it. "May I know your name, mademoiselle?"

"Julianne Brown." She answered. Clopin smiled.

"That is a beautiful name. Alright, Miss Brown, if you will follow me, I will take you to your haven." Julianne laughed a little, knowing that he was talking about the Court of Miracles. They began walking away from Notre Dame. She knew this film off by heart and could quote pretty much every line and sing every song. She knew that if Sasha was here, she would- Julianne gasped. Clopin stopped walking and pulled the caravan to a stop. "What is it, ma chérie?"

"It's my friend. I don't know what happened to her." Clopin nodded.

"Would you like to go look for her?" He asked. Julianne bit her lip.

"I'm not sure. She has always been able to look after herself, until she gets drunk. I usually have to take care of her when that happens." Clopin laughed a little.

"It sounds like your friend knows how to have fun." Julianne laughed a little. "Is she also a gypsy?" They had begun to walk again. Julianne shrugged at his question.

"I don't really know to be fair. Judging by her clothes, no, she wouldn't be. She would be of a higher role, if you know what I mean. She doesn't hate me or anything because of what I wear." Julianne rubbed her head. "This is all so complicated." She then lifted her head and gasped. She took Clopin's hand and dragged him to an ally. Clopin looked at her confused.

"What is it?" Julianne pointed around the corner. Clopin moved his head and tilted his head in confusion. "I don't see anything, ma chérie." Julianne sighed.

"Do you see a girl with a red and black dress with a really ugly looking old guy?" Julianne knew that it was Frollo but she couldn't say anything as she had to act new to the area, so therefore she had to act like she knew no-one. Clopin looked at the two and then gasped.

"Oh, no, ma chérie." Julianne looked at him.

"What is it?" She asked, feigning confusion.

"Is that your friend with that man?" Julianne nodded. "The man that is with her is Judge Claude Frollo. He is a cruel man. He hates gypsies with such a passion and he tries to arrest us or kill us for the smallest things that we do." Julianne gasped.

"That's terrible! We didn't do anything, though! Why does he hate us?"

"He thinks we're vermin, ma chérie. He thinks that we should be in hell." He informed her. Julianne put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh, Clopin. I'm so sorry!" She cried. Clopin smiled sadly.

"No worries, ma chérie. I've learned to deal with the loss." He murmured. Julianne smiled sadly at him.

"You're a brave man, Clopin. I know that I wouldn't be able to do it." Clopin smiled at her and then turned his head to look around the corner. He noticed that Julianne's friend was now alone. He turned to face Julianne.

"Your friend is now alone." Julianne looked to see if he was right and he was. She then moved forward and hid behind another corner, careful not to be seen by any guards or Frollo himself. She then looked around her before she shouted for Sasha. The girl turned her head and saw nothing. She shrugged and walked away. Julianne groaned and sighed. Clopin gently took a hold of her hand. "I know a way that will catch us up with her." Julianne smiled her thanks and nodded. Clopin left his caravan in the shadows and then led the way. They walked through different streets and Julianne was getting confused. They had finally come to a stop and Julianne saw that Sasha was now walking towards them. She then whistled and saw that Sasha had stopped. Julianne giggled a little.

"This is actually so much fun." Clopin chuckled. Julianne poked her head from around the corner and looked directly at Sasha. "Sasha!" She whispered. Sasha's head snapped up and she saw Julianne. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly headed towards Julianne. When she got around the corner, she tackled Julianne and hugged her.

"Julianne! I thought something happened to you! I saw you disappear through the T.V and I think the same thing happened to me when-"Julianne cleared her throat. Sasha stopped talking and smiled. "Sorry. I'm babbling on." Julianne laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, you are." She said with a laugh. Julianne looked at Clopin. "Clopin, this is my friend, Sasha. Sasha, this is Clopin." Clopin kissed Sasha's hand and Sasha smiled shyly.

"It is nice to meet you, mademoiselle."

"It's nice to meet you, too." Clopin looked over at Julianne.

"Ma chérie, I must return and take my caravan back. I will come back for you."

"Honestly, I'll be fine, Clopin. I'm used to roughing it and I'll find somewhere to stay for the night."

"Nonsense! I shall return to collect you." Julianne blushed and nodded, knowing that she wouldn't be able to win the argument.

"Thank you, Clopin." He kissed her cheek before walking away through the twisting streets. Julianne sighed and turned to face Sasha, who looked at her with a grin.

"You so like him!" Sasha squealed. Julianne blushed.

"I just met him, Sasha! Let it go!" She insisted. Sasha grinned knowingly. Julianne groaned. "You aren't gonna let this go, are you?"

"Nope!" Sasha exclaimed. Julianne sighed. "Now that I remember, why the hell are you hiding in an alleyway?"

"I thought it was obvious." Sasha shook her head. "It's because I'm dressed as a gypsy. We're still in our Halloween costumes. I'll automatically be classed as a gypsy and I'll be hated against. You, on the other hand, are wearing a dress that shows that you're in a high social class. So, you're technically more superior to me." Sasha shook her head.

"That's wrong." She protested. Julianne shrugged.

"I know, but that's how things were back then." Julianne then remembered about Frollo. "Do you remember the guy that you were speaking to?" Sasha blushed and nodded.

"Yeah. He's so dreamy." She said with a sigh. Julianne's mouth hung open. "What?"

"Have you seen this film?!" Sasha rolled her eyes and nodded. "That's Frollo! He's the evil guy!" Sasha blinked at her then grinned.

"WOW! Really? He's much better looking in person!"

"Sasha, he's bad news." Sasha crossed her arms and Julianne knew that she was pissed.

"You can't tell me what to do, Julianne! He's a sweet man!" She shouted.

"Who is trying to kill innocent people for things that they haven't done!" Julianne finished. Sasha stubbornly shook her head.

"No, he's not. He's trying to get rid of dirty people who crowd the streets." Julianne's mouth hung open.

"So does that include me then because I'm a gypsy?" Sasha scoffed.

"You're not a gypsy. Just because you're dressed like one doesn't mean you have to act like one or be one." Julianne shook her head disbelievingly.

"Wow, Sasha. I didn't think you could hit that low, but you did. Talk to me when you've sorted out your priorities." With that said, Julianne turned on her heel and walked away with tears streaming down her face. She turned a corner and bumped into someone.

"Sorry." She mumbled, wiping her face. She felt a hand tilt her head up. She looked up and saw Clopin looking at her with a worrying face.

"What's wrong, ma chérie?" He asked, concern colouring his voice. Julianne shook her head.

"It's nothing. Sasha… she…" She sighed. "I really don't want to talk about it." Clopin nodded. He put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her. She smiled sadly at him. "Thank you." Clopin smiled and nodded.

"My pleasure, ma chérie. Now, I shall take you to where you will live from now on." He announced happily. Julianne giggled a little and nodded. Clopin held out his hand and she took it, ready for whatever was going to come her way.

~O~O~O~O~O Hunchback of Notre Dame ~O~O~O~O~O

Another chapter to add to the story! I hope you all enjoyed it :) Read and review!

Aisha x