Oh, goodness. I don't even know how to begin…

Sorry? No, no…

I was really bu—no.

I'm…sorry? Already tried that.

Um…I hope you all…can…try really hard to forgive me for waiting this long and keeping you all bored. There!…Kind of. Please don't throw knives and commemorative jester hats at me! (Ducks)

And enjoy!

The air under the cloak was stuffy, but Giselle could care less about that. A few more steps, and they'd be inside, out of the pouring rain and sight of the soldiers madly roaming the streets. For a second, she almost didn't mind the goat being on her head, either. Almost.

The thick wooden door shut firmly behind them, and Giselle clawed her way out to fresh air. "Well, we're back inside…" Although we could have taken refuge inside one of the shops…She desperately hoped Hannah was okay. She wasn't the fastest runner, but there were other nearby hiding places, right...? You'd BETTER not die on me!

The gypsy girl seemed seemed captivated by the church's beauty as they walked further. Choir voices echoed throughout the building. Giselle wondered if Quasimodo had already gotten all the way upstairs yet—she hadn't seen him since the spinning platform. So angry, she'd climbed up there not to defy the uptight, old judge but to help her new, close friend. Sure, there'd been situations like this at her school; but never this bad, and never towards someone she cared about as much as she'd grown to care about him.

Pulled out of her thoughts, Giselle stared at the other girl's face as it took on a strange expression. She was confused at first, before she heard a footstep on the ground behind them—a heavy one. Turning, gasping, she was grateful the gypsy was one step ahead of her, already pulling the guard's sword from its sheath and fairly throwing him onto the ground in front of them.

"You." As if it the word were a fatal illness.

"Easy, easy…I just shaved this morning."

"Oh, really? Well, you missed a spot." He backed up, still lying on the polished checkered tiles, as Giselle studied his face. Huh. He's not too bad looking…pretty handsome. Still, if he's arresting us, I should probably help the gypsy.

"All right, all right, just calm down. Just give me a chance to apologize."

"For what?" She asked suspiciously.

Before Giselle could think of a way to assist, Esmeralda was sprawled on the ground, the guard having reclaimed his sword. "That, for example."

"You sneaky son of a—"

"Ah, ah, ah! We're in a church," he corrected her.

"Then why'd you bring your sword?!" Giselle retorted.

He momentarily shifted his glance up to her. "Because I'm not sure what gypsies-lovely as they are-" his eyes traveled back to Esmeralda. "are capable of."

Giselle forced her eyes from his face to his cloak. …Heh. Perfect.

"Are you always this charming, or am I just lucky?" The other girl had found a candlestaff and was using it to fight back. Discreetly, Giselle snuck around, outside of the man's line of vision, Djali her only witness. She'd overheard the goat's name on the way in, but she ignored him now, grabbing the hem of the guard's cloak.

"...That's hitting a little below the belt, don't you think?"

"No, this is!"

Giselle threw the cloak over his head as the other girl went in for a well aimed attack. Flustered, the guard struggled to untangle himself from the blue fabric as the girl put down the staff. She sent Giselle a momentary approving look before shoving him up against a pillar.

"...Touché," he mumbled beneath the cloak, not bothering to fight her grip. "Permit me—I'm—I'm Phoebus. It means…sun god." The other three shared an amused look, Giselle fighting a laugh, before turning their attention back to the hooded head. "And you ladies?"

"Is this an interrogation?"

"You don't exactly look like you're in the position to be questioning us."

"It's called an introduction, and I'd be very grateful for the chance to breathe normally again. Thanks."

"You're not arresting us?" she checked.

"Not as long as you're in here. I can't."

Another round of exchanged glances, all but Djali's more neutral, and the gypsy finally released Phoebus, allowing him to right his cloak and attempt to recover his remaining dignity. They should have crowned him the King of Fools, Giselle mused. At least he'd make a handsome drunkard, unlike the other guy from last year.

"You're not at all like the other soldiers…"

"Thank you."

"But then…why are you here?" Giselle asked, still suspicious of anyone associated with Frollo. She knew the guards were his cohorts, and that made them villains… two of them had consistently attacked them every day since their arrival. However, this one didn't seem to have too much of a threatening aura about him.

"Yes, if you're not going to arrest us, what do you want?"

"I'd settle for your name," he said more quietly, his gaze fixed on the gypsy.

"…Esmeralda."

"It's beautiful." Djali and Giselle looked at each other with bewilderment and a little disgust. "Much better than Phoebus, anyway."

What is she doing? What's gotten into her?! Giselle thought, steaming. These are the men who just tried to have us killed and she's—!

"Good work, captain! Now, arrest her!" Frollo and his other guards came storming into Notre Dame, to everyone's surprise.

Djali darted behind Emseralda and Giselle took a step backwards. She stared wide-eyed at Phoebus, horrified at the title. "Captain?!"

"Claim sanctuary!" Phoebus whispered to Esmeralda. When she glared back, he turned to Giselle. "Claim sanctuary—say it!"

Esmeralda growled, "You tricked us."

"I knew all soldiers were the same around here," Giselle added in what she attempted to be a menacing tone. They'd taken Hannah-or chased her somewhere-and this one had been wily enough to try to trick them. But why?

"I'm waiting, captain!"

"…I'm sorry, sir. They claim sanctuary…there's nothing I can do."

Huh…Maybe…he…wasn't tricking us…?

Frollo's voice again cut off her thoughts. "Then drag them outside and—"

"Frollo! You will not touch them!"

Despite days in the church, this was the first up-close encounter Giselle had had with the archdeacon. He protectively put an arm on Esmeralda's shoulder. "Don't worry," he said to both of them. "Minister Frollo learned years ago to respect the sanctity of the church."

Frollo's sneer could have curdled milk. Without a word, he turned on his heel and motioned his soldiers away. The archdeacon proceeded, more accommodatingly, to escort Phoebus out as well.

"Yeah! Go archdeacon!"

Esme smirked at her, Phoebus' call of, "All right, all right, I'm going!" Causing Giselle to smile back. The moment only lasted for…well, a moment, before Esme gasped in pain. Left arm twisted behind her back, tall, black-cloaked figure looming behind her—Giselle barely had a moment to stare before pain shot up her right arm as well. If she moved, she knew it would hurt ten times worse, so she stilled, glancing fearfully up at the old face of Claude Frollo.

"You both think you've outwitted me," he snarled under his breath. "But I'm a patient man, and gypsies don't do well inside stone walls." Their meager struggles were fruitless. Giselle watched in horror as Frollo buried his nose in Esmeralda's hair.

"What are you doing?!" She cried.

His attention stayed fixated on the gypsy girl. "I was just imagining a rope around that beautiful neck."

She finally pushed him away, releasing his hold on Giselle, too. "I know what you were imagining!"

"Such a clever witch," he immediately countered. Such a clever witch. So typical of your kind, to twist the truth to cloud the mind with unholy thoughts."

LIAR! He was the one feeling her up! To her mild relief, Claude proceeded to make his way out, not lingering around to threaten or touch her.

"Well, no matter. You've chosen a magnificent prison, but it is a prison nonetheless. Set one foot outside, and you're mine!"

The door slammed shut, sealing out the sunlight and any hopes of leaving that way. Esmeralda looked around, quickly finding another door, and pulled it open. Giselle almost ran outside into the rain in hopes of finding her friend, until she caught sight of the soldiers assembled in the street. The only one on a horse spoke: "Frollo's orders: post a guard at every door."

SLAM!

The gypsy girl sank to the ground as Djali joined them. Giselle felt like giving up, too—there was no way out without confronting a guard, and she wasn't keen on doing that again. They were ugly and mean, and if they all worked for that pervert, Frollo, she wanted nothing to do with them ever again. Even that stuck-up, half-friendly Phoebus. Besides, who knew if Hannah or any of the attending gypsies were safe?

"Don't worry." Esme spoke resolutely, catching her and Djali's attention. "If Frollo thinks he can keep us here, he's wrong."

"What about the others outside?" Giselle asked worriedly.

"We'll find them. I don't know how, but we WILL escape this place and find your friend and the others."

Fifteen minutes of fruitless searching and waiting left us cold, in the rain, and no safer than we'd been to begin with.

"It's late," Clopin frowned, looking around. "We have to make it back to the Court. The darker it gets, the more guards Frollo will send out, especially tonight." He spotted a metal gutter on the side of an adjacent building and effortlessly scaled his way to the top.

"We're not going back for them?!" I exclaimed. That had been part of my plan if nothing showed up.

"…The judge posted guards everywhere," came his reply. "I can see the two who chased us from here; they're back at the church." Clopin slid down the pole and looked right at me. "We won't be helping them by running back in there and getting captured."

I tried to ignore how shy his direct gaze made me. My worry for Giselle and Esme overpowered my timidity at the moment. I protested, "But what if they're still out there?!"

"They'll either find a place to hide or rendezvous back at the Court. Now, we really should go."

It was then his meaning hit me. Go. To the Court. US. Plural us. "…You want ME to come?" Well, that was quick. In the movie, the non-gypsy characters took the first three-fourths of the film get to the hideout.

"You can either come with me, or you can stay here until the night watchmen come around." A small smile crossed his lips. "I wouldn't recommend the latter, nor would I subject mademoiselle to such a thing."

I sighed with relief and jogged to catch up. "I think I'm gonna come with you…" A few silent moments of walking passed before another thought hit me- I had forgotten to thank him for saving me from those guards in the chaos of the chase and searching. I stared at the ground, willing myself to be courageous enough to speak to him again (hey, talking to a major Disney character who isn't as openly friendly as Quasimodo is nerve-racking, okay?) "…Thank you for saving me."

He seemed to come out of whatever thoughts he'd been having and looked down at me. "Only returning a favor," he replied. His amiable tone assured me he didn't just see me as a bothersome peasant he was obligated to bring along. "Besides, Marius has been one of our…closest friends in the guard for many years."

I offered a silent prayer for Giselle's and Esmeralda's safety, and together Clopin and I traversed alleys as the sun sank. Before long, we managed to strike up a friendly conversation. I learned briefly about Clopin's past growing up with the other gypsies, and I gave him as much of my story as I could without hinting at the time difference. I told him my friend and I weren't allowed to give anyone extensive information out, which was true because we'd agreed to keep quiet about it as a safety precaution. I think he understood that, being in hiding himself. My concern for Giselle and Esmeralda was allayed somewhat by talking with the gypsy king, and I soon found myself almost perfectly at ease with him. Clopin seemed to loosen up, too; he laughed occasionally and told anecdotes about his friends in the Court.

We made pretty good time through Paris, and approached a familiar graveyard by the time dusk was falling over the now-distant towers of Notre Dame. Clopin pulled aside the coffin lid and we descended into a damp, cold tunnel. There was only darkness until a flare of orange illuminated his face, and I caught myself thinking again for a second how handsome he looked. He handed me another torch and led the way down the corridor as I continued telling him about Giselle's and I's past two days. When I got to the part about her begging to go shopping, my incredulous tone elicited another laugh from him.

"She certainly didn't waste time enjoying the bounties of Paris, did she?"

"No," I smirked. "And she made sure I paid for every cent of it, too."

"Oh. Well, at least someone paid for it. Most of the people I know would stuff their pockets and walk out without a second glance."

"…And you?" I asked, genuinely curious.

He was silent a moment. "With my family, my job, and my position, I haven't needed to steal. So I haven't."

"That's good." This is, after all, a good quality.

"But I know a good number of women who…" He looked around the corner of the tunnel, his expression growing suspicious. "…never…stop shopping…hm. That's weird."

I waited for an explanation for about ten seconds, then asked, "What is it?"

"I think…wait here." Before I could protest, Clopin had darted around the corner and out of sight.

Great, I cringed. That's GREAT. I held my torch up, trying to illuminate the shadows around me. Something darted by my feet in the sewer water, and I gasped, stepping back. Just a rat, Hannah. It's a RAT. Chill out… Seconds passed slowly. At what I judged to be a full minute, but what was probably less, I chanced a look around the corner, hoping not to get spontaneously ambushed or attacked by a swarm of bats.

…Nothing. That was all there was in the adjoining tunnel, besides a stack of skeleton heads and water. No bats. No rats. No Clopin.

I walked slowly, carefully down the passageway. "…Clopin?" I whispered softly, not daring to shout. No response. Well, at least this wasn't boring…I sighed frusteratedly. "Clopin?"

Another rat ran by, and I yelped, picking up my pace. I thought I saw something flash behind me- another torch? No. There was no one. Would you get a hold of yourself?! I thought angrily, stomping down the tunnel. I became determined to let nothing, animal or human, scare me. I was brave enough to be in a Disney movie. I was NOT the clichéd damsel in distress, dang it! I was brave! "CLOPIN!"

I pretty much had a heart attack as something moved next to me. I screamed, reeling backwards, realizing it was a skeleton head. Gasping for breath, I crashed onto the stony, wet floor. It took me a few seconds to register the fact that the heads had been gypsy costumes in the movie, that this skeleton had a body…that this skeleton was NOT a skeleton but in fact a human being, and that said human being was now laughing his head off, the voice all too familiar. I sighed, my heart slowing considerably, and managed to stand as Clopin removed the mask from his face. "That was great!" He grinned. "You were COMPLETELY terrified!" He continued laughing so hard he had to put one hand on the wall to steady himself.

"…Yeah," I somehow smirked, blushing slightly. "Well…that was a little low for a first-time visitor, don't you think?"

"I'm sorry," he wiped a tear from his eye, still beaming like a little boy. "I couldn't resist. It's always fun to pull one over on new people!"

"I'll say," I rolled my eyes, shaking my skirt to get the water out, very unsuccessfully, I might add. Admittedly…it had been pretty funny. You know, after my heart had started back up. "…Now are we going to see the Court?"

Clopin looked at me, his laughter giving way to mock annoyance. He grabbed his torch from behind the skeletons and stalked onwards. "Come on, then, you insufferable Parisian!"

I giggled and followed, no longer as wary of the black, dank tunnels. Concern for Giselle and Esmeralda's well being loomed in the back of my mind, but present excitement for what I was about to see overpowered it. I just hoped the Court was more lifelike than it had been in the movie.

I'm really sorry for the delay…I've been focusing on other stories but I know there is a great number of people who really wanted an update on this one. I apologize again and I'll try to make the interims between chapters much, much, MUCH shorter. Thanks for everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows my stories! I appreciate feedback!