Just a side note; Lavender's injured knee will play a HUGE role in the story.
"Clopin…" I whispered softly, my eyes huge.
The man's face was barely shown in the dim light but I could see the surprise gleam in his eyes. It was very clear that he was surprised and wondered how an outsider knew his name, knew the king's name. It took all my strength not to show any signs of fear.
The man behind me, the Gypsy man held onto my arm tighter. For sure there would be bruises on my forearms tomorrow. How would I explain it to Claude? That thought made my heart stop for a second; would I even get back to him? I felt sick and dizzy, I had the overwhelming urge to gag and throw up. But if I hadn't thrown up back in the filth covered dungeons and in the sewer water, I was determined not to lose my food simply at the thought of not being found.
Still…
"What did you say, little girl?" The King's voice was soft, attempting to lure me into a false sense of security. It would have worked but I could hear the small trace of curiosity and rage behind his tone. That was one of the many ways Frollo would speak, not to me, but to others.
I hesitated, wincing from the pain both in my knee and arms. "If you tell your 'loyal subject' to release me, I'll explain myself." My voice shook a little at the end despite my attempt to sound strong, to sound brave.
There was a moment of hesitation, of nothing actually. Then I felt the pain lessen and the grip disappear. Faintly I wondered how the man behind me could have seen the King's sign if I hadn't seen it. I could barely see the man's face!
As soon as I was released, the King shoved me into a wall in a gentle way. I winced, praying it wasn't a skeleton wall. "Explain, now." He ordered.
Yup, he was a true King.
My voice shook out of my control when I answered, "M-My name is Lavender Black, daughter of Lilac Hellrose. M-My father…my father told me, Arthur Black, told me to come here for the King. The King of Gypsies, Clopin I mean." Okay, so this wasn't helping my case at all. I wasn't evens sure if he understood me so far. "He told me that my mother, Lilac, made you swear that you'd take care of me if they were injured. If I was ever alone in the world…" These words I spoke hit me hard, realization following them, "You'd take care of me."
I was alone…My mother was no longer with me and my father was near death in the dungeon of my fiancé. I was only ten years old, this couldn't be happening! And to make it worse, I had run after a bunch of filthy Gypsies, away from Frollo. That meant if I died, he wouldn't know.
"…Lilac, you say? Come girl; let's see if you're being truthful." He sounded thoughtful, lost for a moment.
Suddenly he was dragging me along down the tunnel. I gasped, unable to stop from exclaiming at the sudden sharp pain shooting through my leg. "My knee!" I cried out, making him stop for a second. "My knee is injured, please slow down." I felt ready to cry like a two year old.
Lucky for me, he did as I asked. Our pace slowed down and there was only a soft throb of pain in my knee. I could have slapped myself; I had left the cane back there! It was probably under all that disgusting water…Frollo would snap and snarl when I got back.
…If I got back…
There was a light at the end of the tunnel and I couldn't help but smile. It sounded like Death itself; going towards the light at the end of the tunnel. Such a classy line but full of irony for a Gypsy's place of sanctuary.
When they got into the light, I let out a gasp of awe. There were all sorts of colors in the air. They were tents, I noted as several kids ran in them. Glancing to my left, I tensed up to see the gallows. I forced myself to swallow down my own vomit, my own fear and worry.
Suddenly Clopin grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him. He was quite handsome, I decided. He had a big nose but his eyes danced with amusement. I loved his hair too…
"Purple eyes…you are Lilac's daughter." He whispered with amazement. "What happened to your family that forced you to venture down here, Lavender?"
Judge Claude Frollo stepped out of the Notre Dame church. The stairs looked longer than they were to the poor tired judge. After climbing up and down several flights of stairs, however, even the little ones seemed huge.
He had just spent the last few minutes; actually it was more like half an hour, talking to the 'monster' up in the bell towers. Quasimodo was his name and he was just a few years older than Lavender. Frollo gave a tired and somewhat embarrassed sigh. What was meant to be a short lesson on alphabets and numbers turned into a very…odd conversation about sins. Particularly, at his age especially, the sins of the flesh.
"I'll never have to have that conversation with Lavender…She'll learn in time…" He smiled to himself mentally, rubbing his temples with his right ringed hand while walking downstairs. The sky, he noted, had grown a dark blue. Was it going to rain?
If so, he needed to get Lavender inside before her dress got ruined. That made him glance around the market. Because of the up-coming weather, no one was there. They had all packed up or gone inside.
He saw no one, not even Lavender.
With a slight bit of panic rushing through his veins, he walked around a few houses and asked if they had seen a small black haired purple eyed girl. He'd have to get his soldiers to…
"Oh yes, I saw her! Pretty little thing, strange though. She followed that puppet master towards the West." An old man spoke up, sitting from his chair in the living room of the fifth house. With a nod, he quickly walked, nearly ran, to the West.
There were several places she could be; a house, the graveyard, a small playground…It had to be the graveyard, he reasoned. She had gone there with her father the night he stole her. The word 'stole' made his blood freeze; what if someone took her?
What if she had run after the man, whoever he was and for whatever reason, and was kidnapped? She could have gotten lost and a stranger, a Gypsy even, could have beckoned her to their home. What if she was dead? What if she had been raped? What if she was lying in a gutter…
Frollo forced himself not to think such cruel cold things. As he stormed back to his Palace to order his soldiers around, he felt a cold dread run down his spine. Something was wrong, he was sure. He could feel it in the air.
Next chapter: Lavender goes back to the Palace…or does she? Will Paris be burned to the ground? Clopin's reaction and such. Review!
