Me: And here's Chapter 3.
Zero: Seems pretty good.
Me: I hope so.
Azryl: Just a question. How long will this story be?
Me: Good question. I guess until the plot of the movie ends. It should be a little bit yet. Also one thing I want to say now. There will be only TWO songs I put in their entirety. Those will be "Hellfire" and Azryl's rehash of "Hellfire".
Azryl: I'm doing a rehash?
Me: Basically you alter the lyrics to taunt Frollo.
Azryl: Sounds good to me.
Rendan: I'll handle the disclaimer. Honestly, who cares if I'm not a part of the story? Azard doesn't own The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Those rights belong to Disney. The only things he owns are the changes to the plot he's made and the Demon himself.
Me: Thanks Rendan. Now, as always, read and enjoy!
Chapter 3: Festival of Fools
Azryl wandered through the crowd in front of the cathedral, watching several people throw on masks, obviously getting ready to perform. People on stilts, some with pots on their heads, some guys keeping bones in their mouths, there was no shortage of oddities here. Azryl didn't mind at all, he was used to these kinds of things. He attended the festival every year since he was seven, even if Frollo wasn't aware of it. He loved the oddities of the festival and the over the top performances only made him laugh at how hard these people tried.
'And Frollo said they don't do any work,' Azryl thought as he watched the people prepare the square. 'If they don't do any work then what the hell are they doing now? Moron.' He walked past a weird man with black hair wearing a jester outfit who seemed to eye him curiously. Azryl walked around a tent and vanished into the crowd.
"I knew Azryl would come again this year," came a voice from behind the jester causing him to jump in shock.
"Silv!" The jester yelled.
"Now, now, Clopin, during the festival it's Fool," Silv admonished. "After all, we don't want Frollo arresting anyone today do we?"
"No," Clopin responded. "Who was that young man?"
"Azryl, the 'Demon of Notre Dame'."
"What's he doing here?"
"I don't know," Silv admitted. "Probably just here to be entertained."
"I shouldn't be too surprised, considering he does this nearly every year. Do you think he'd be a decent candidate for 'King of Fools'?" Clopin asked.
"If he enters I don't see why not," Silv replied.
"Are you sure that's wise, though? Frollo is here after all, he could hurt the boy."
"I don't know about that," Silv began. "I heard he's strong enough to take on a few guards."
"And who exactly did you hear that from, Fool?"
"The 'Demon' himself," Silv replied. Clopin grinned. "If he's strong enough to ring the bells of Notre Dame I highly doubt he wouldn't be able to handle a few guards."
"Think he could take you on?"
"No. He's strong but has no skill. I figure I'll keep an eye on him. Maybe I'll get an opening to Frollo through today's events if everything goes well."
"We have a new dancer this year. It's going to be her first year and I'd like you to keep an eye on her too."
"Easily done. What's her name?"
"Esmeralda." Silv grinned and let out a small chuckle.
"I believe I've already met her. Long black hair, stunning figure, earring on her left ear, dazzling emerald eyes and a hell of a dancer?"
"That's her." Silv let out a small chuckle.
"This is going to be an interesting day to say the least." Clopin looked around but Silv had vanished just as suddenly as he'd appeared.
'He's good at that at least,' Clopin thought before finishing his preparations. Once they were done he took his place among the performers. The celebration reached epic proportions quickly, which wasn't a surprise considering everyone, well... everyone except Frollo, loved the festival. Clopin kept an eye out for the supposed 'Demon' to keep an extra eye on him.
Silv was effective but his attention was split between three sources and no doubt would need even the slightest amount of aid. Azryl was seen running through the crowds trying to get a good viewing point but was tripped and fell into a certain someone's tent. A certain gypsy's tent. He fell over a stool inside and accidentally pulled down a curtain revealing a very naked Esmeralda.
"Hey!" She shouted as she quickly covered herself with a robe.
"Sorry sorry!" Azryl stammered out as he covered his eyes. Esmeralda tied her robe together and looked down at him.
"Are you okay?" She asked as she reached down to help him.
"No! No!" Azryl tried to protest to no avail. Esmeralda removed the hooded part of his cloak and revealed his face.
"See? No harm done," she said. Azryl was beyond stunned. She wasn't revolted nor did she even flinch at seeing his face. Her goat that was with her was another story as he flinched in shock but the gypsy surprised him. "Are you here to enter the competition?"
"M-maybe," Azryl stuttered. "I'd considered it."
"You should," Esmeralda encouraged, "but try to be a little more careful." She led him to the exit of the tent and allowed him to leave which he did without a conflict. "By the way," Azryl turned toward her when she spoke to see her wink at him, "great mask." Azryl's face took on a dreamlike expression before it shattered when his brain processed what she said.
'Mask?' Azryl thought with no small amount of shock. 'How did she–?' He couldn't finish his thought as Clopin pulled him away and began to swing him around in an odd dance. Unbeknownst to Azryl, for the moment anyway, Frollo arrived in his booth with Phoebus not far behind. He sat in his booth and had four guards surrounding him in the booth. Azryl eventually broke away and found a relaxing spot near the stage where he could catch his breath. He glanced around and saw Frollo watching the events with a bored expression on his face.
"Foolish people," Frollo droned. "They use this one day of the year to give in to all of their vices. They have no decency."
'I can think of another person with no decency,' Azryl thought having barely picked up on Frollo's statement.
"Come one, come all!" Clopin shouted, effectively getting the attention of the entire crowd. "Hurry, hurry, here's your chance. See the mystery and romance. Come one, come all! See the finest girl in France, make an entrance to entrance. Dance la Esmeralda... Dance!" He slammed what appeared to be a small smoke pellet into the ground and vanished, leaving Esmeralda in his place. She wore what looked like a tiara in her hair and wore a silky red dress.
'Unholy hell!' Azryl screamed in thought. 'If that wasn't the single sexiest thing I've ever seen I'm Frollo's illegitimate son!' He shuddered at that thought. 'Good thing I know the facts of that!' Frollo's eyes widened as he took in the beauty in front of him. He was shocked, to be sure, but how so was another matter entirely. She began a sensual and exotic dance that turned more than a few heads.
"Look at that disgusting display," Frollo said as he tried to seem disgusted.
"Yes sir!" Phoebus enthusiastically replied as he lifted the visor on his helmet slightly. Esmeralda continued dancing and to end it, she grabbed a spear and twirled on it, ending in a provocative pose. Needless to say the crowd cheered loudly. Without missing a beat, Clopin continued.
"Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for. Here it is, you know exactly what's in store. Now's the time we laugh until our sides get sore. Now's the time we crown the King of Fools! We all remember last year's King?" An ugly individual arrived being carried on a mock throne and let out a belch. "So make a face that's horrible and frightening. Make a face as gruesome as a gargoyle's wing." Azryl chuckled as he could have sworn he heard Hugo protest at that last comment. "For the face that's ugliest will be the King of Fool's! Why?"
"Topsy Turvy!" The crowd shouted in a joyous uproar.
"Ugly folks, forget your shyness!" Clopin continued. As he did, Esmeralda reached into the crowd and pulled Azryl up, making him drop his cloak in the process. She lined him up at the end of a line with about another ten people who were wearing masks. "You could soon be called 'Your Highness'! Put your foulest features on display! Be the king of Topsy Turvy Day!"
One by one, the masks were ripped off and the people themselves thrown off the stage by the goat to a booing crowd. At least, that's how it was until they got to Azryl. The goat recoiled from him as Esmeralda attempted and failed to remove his face before gasping.
"That's no mask!" Shouted someone from the crowd.
"It's his face!" A female exclaimed.
"He's hideous!" Called another one.
"It's the bell ringer from Notre Dame!" A man yelled. Frollo's features betrayed a look of shock as he opened his mouth in a gasp. Azryl looked at Frollo before rolling his eyes.
'How exactly couldn't he recognize me from before?' Azryl asked only in thought. 'Hugo was right, with his age and eyes it is a miracle he recognizes anything!'
"Now ladies and gentlemen, don't panic," Clopin reassured everyone. "We asked for the ugliest face in all of Paris and here he is! Azryl the Demon of Notre Dame!" Clopin placed a jester-like crown on Azryl's head. The crowd rushed the stage before lifting Azryl in their arms before raising him up and walking toward the mock throne. In one swift motion the previous 'King' was relinquished of his throne and Azryl was thrown in. He glanced over to Frollo to see the judge glaring at him. Azryl merely responded with a certain one fingered salute.
"He's going to be punished for this," Frollo muttered just under his breath. "Of that much, he can be sure of."
"Want me to stop the festivities?" Phoebus asked, though he really didn't want to. He was enjoying the festival as much as the people were.
"Don't bother, Captain. He's going to learn a very painful lesson soon. I want to see his face when it happens." Azryl walked up to a small scaffold and was given a small scepter and an elegant, kingly cloak.
"It's the day we do the things that we deplore, on the other three hundred and sixty-four! Once a year we love to drop in, where the beer is never stoppin', for the chance to pop some popinjay, and pick a king who'll put the 'top' in, Topsy Turvy! Topsy Turvy! Mad and crazy, upsy-daisy Topsy Turvy Day!" Clopin finally finished to the cheers of the entire crowd save one mad and grumpy judge.
Azryl was relishing in the festivities and enjoying himself, much to the chagrin of Frollo. He made a small sweeping motion of his hand as if signaling something. A guard noticed the motion and nodded.
"You think he's ugly now?" A guard asked as he tossed a tomato up and down in his hand. "Watch this." He wound up and launched the tomato straight toward Azryl. Azryl, as if on instinct, reared back and caught the tomato with his free hand just before it hit him.
'Not skilled my foot!' Thought Clopin. Azryl looked straight in the direction the tomato came from and saw the thrower, a now bewildered guard. He took a bite out of it before spitting whatever residue remained out.
"Ugh!" He gagged. "Nasty!" He spit into the tomato and launched it back into the guards face, hitting the guard with the side that was bitten. "Rotten bastard." Someone launched a rope at the 'King' that nearly wrapped around his neck. Azryl quickly caught the rope in his hand before yanking the thrower, still holding onto the rope, to the scaffold where he quickly bound the man and wagged his finger like a mother scolding her child for humiliation. It worked quite well.
Another rope flew from the crowd and managed to catch Azryl's left wrist. The thrower and a few others started to pull, hoping to bring Azryl to the ground. Not willing to give in without a fight, Azryl yanked his arm back so quickly everyone holding that rope was thrown off the rope and landed in some dirty water. Frollo was fuming.
"Don't you dare stop anything, Captain, unless I tell you to," Frollo ordered. A few more ropes wrapped around Azryl's wrists as people from both sides began to pull as hard as they could muster. Azryl dropped to one knee before pushing off the ground as hard as he could, sending anyone holding the ropes to the floor.
"Stop this!" Cried a female voice. Everyone turned their heads to see Esmeralda calling everything to an end. She walked up to the slightly bound teen and started to take the ropes off of his wrists.
"You! Gypsy girl, get down from there at once!" Frollo called.
"I will your honor, just as soon as I help this poor boy," Esmeralda stated.
'Boy? She's no older than me,' Azryl thought as he pulled the last few ropes off his left wrist. 'At least she doesn't think I'm a monster.'
"I forbid it!" Frollo shouted. Esmeralda reached for a concealed dagger on her leg and slit the remaining ropes off Azryl's right wrist with a great amount of skill. "How dare you defy me?"
"You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people!" Esmeralda called.
"Don't let him get to you," Azryl said, shocking everyone, Frollo included. "The man doesn't know how to treat anyone well, let alone an entire group of people."
"Azryl! Don't push your luck!" Frollo shouted angrily.
"What luck would that be? The luck I had was great until you ruined it! You don't think I saw what you did? I wonder how just you really are!" Esmeralda couldn't believe what she was witnessing. The same boy she saw before was shy and timid and suddenly he became confident and strong.
'Seems he was hiding behind a mask after all,' she mused. "He's right! You speak of justice yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help!"
"Silence!" Frollo demanded.
"Justice!" The two on the scaffolding cried at the same time, shocking both of them in the process. Azryl glanced away with a bit of a blush on his face.
"Mark my words, Gypsy, Azryl, you will both pay for this insolence," Frollo growled out. Azryl reached for the faux crown on his head and removed it before placing a hand on Esmeralda's shoulder.
"I don't mean to be rude," he began, "but I think you crowned the wrong fool." Esmeralda smirked and happily took the crown from his hands.
"I think you're right," Esmeralda stated as she turned to Frollo. "The only fool I see here, is you!" She launched the crown with all her might, making it land right at Frollo's feet. Her pet goat blew raspberry at the stunned judge.
"Captain Phoebus, arrest those two!" Frollo ordered. Phoebus snapped his fingers and pointed at the two with a throwing motion. The guards followed and surrounded the two on the scaffolding. Esmeralda started counting the heads.
"Okay let's see. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen... so there's fifteen of you and two of us. What're we supposed to do?" Esmeralda ended in mock worry. Suddenly a puff of smoke appeared revealing a certain silver haired individual standing between the two.
"Silv!" Frollo shouted. "I should have known you'd be here." Silv gave Frollo a wicked glare before turning to Azryl and nodding.
"Esmeralda," Azryl began whispering, having learned her name from Clopin's introduction, "Silv is going to give us some cover. Run as soon as the smoke comes up." She nodded in response and waited. Silv raised his hand in the air and slammed it into the ground, creating a large explosion of smoke. When it cleared seconds later, the three were nowhere in sight.
"Witchcraft," Frollo stated, horrified at what he witnessed.
"Oh boys!" Esmeralda's voice called. "Over here!" She was hiding her face among some masks. Two guards rushed her but she managed to evade them by leaping off the gallows and into the crowd that carried her away. The guards tried the same thing only to hit the ground hard when the people moved out of the way. Next, Esmeralda had four others coming at her side to which she managed to stop by using a cage that had an old man in it. She ran atop the cage keeping its momentum up only to jump as soon as the cage hit a bump. While she landed on her feet, the cage landed on four other guards, releasing the man inside in the process.
"I'm free! I'm free!" The man happily shouted until he tripped and was trapped in the stockade. "Dang it!" Esmeralda was on the run again as the other four guards from before were on her tail. She rushed past a man on stilts who reared back and kicked each guard where no man likes to be kicked at once. The guards' screams reached a high alto before falling back to the ground. A guard on horseback tried to catch the gypsy girl next but was quickly dealt with when she pulled down the long pants of one of the stilted men and he ended up slingshotted across the square.
His helmet fell off his head and landed on Esmeralda's. She looked to see three more guards on horseback coming toward her. She nonchalantly took the helmet off her head and whirled it at them, successfully hitting all three off their horses before almost taking Phoebus' head off. The lucky Captain managed to duck just in time to save his head.
"What a woman!" Phoebus exclaimed.
"I think I'm in love," came a voice next to him. Phoebus turned his head to see Silv watching the events unfold. He turned his head to the captain. "By the way, you lose." Silv leapt off Phoebus's horse before rushing after the gypsy girl. One guard had managed to slip behind her and almost managed to grab her if not for the fist that hit his jaw that sent him into the ground. "You're pretty good at this."
"And where have you been?" Esmeralda asked.
"Around," was the response. "Follow me!" Silv bolted in a direction and Esmeralda followed.
"I thought you said you weren't a gypsy," she said.
"I'm not but that doesn't mean I didn't learn some of their tricks," Silv replied. They came to a crossroad of sorts in the crowd. "You go left and I'll go right. Trust me, they won't follow you." She nodded and the two split up. Silv jumped onto a post close by. "Hey morons! Who do you want more? A gypsy girl or the Silver Sword?" The guards almost immediately started to converge on his location, completely forgetting about Esmeralda in the process. Silv leapt from head to head until he had a clear shot at Frollo.
He swiped one of the helmets off of a guard and flung it full force at Frollo, fully intent on removing the judge's head from his shoulders. A halberd suddenly appeared from the shadows and smacked the helmet down before it got close to Frollo. Silv growled and rushed off the second he landed. Once he got to a good enough spot, he slammed his hand into the ground again and vanished in the resulting explosion of smoke. As everything died down, Frollo approached his guards.
"I want Silv and that gypsy girl found!" He ordered.
"What about the 'Demon' boy, sir?" The guard questioned.
"Don't bother," Frollo said. "He has no doubt claimed sanctuary in the cathedral by now. It's pointless to pursue him." The guards split up and began searching. Phoebus, however, became curious as he saw a cloaked figure with a goat's tail slip into the cathedral unnoticed. Saying nothing, he followed.
Zero: Damn. Silv is something of a badass himself.
Azryl: I can't believe he almost killed Frollo.
Zero: I can. I'm just wondering what stopped him from doing it earlier.
Azryl: Well... four guards in the booth with him. Chances are one of them would see him and kill him.
Rendan: I guess, though I was wondering why he didn't help you, Azy, when those people were basically trying to tie you down.
Me: Hey! Stop discussing the story while the people can read it!
All Three: Sorry.
Me: Don't worry about it. Anyway, I think that'll do it for this chapter. Be good and be safe everyone! I'm outta here!