Chapter 3: One Jump
The guards slowly approached the entangled Quasi, under the watchful eye of the king. The crowd had become hushed as other guards moved them back. Dark clouds crawled across the sky, promising a rain storm. Phoebus slowly rode up to the platform on his horse, watching the men as well. Quasi looked at the ground in front of him, fighting the stinging feeling of tears in his eyes.
The guards pulled out knives and began cutting the ropes holding him, slowly letting him free. As his arms were released, Quasi brought his hand in front of him and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, still staring at the ground. Slowly, he lifted his head to look at the crowd. The crowd stared back at him, looking at him with a mixture of emotions. Fear. Pity. Shame. Anger. Disgust. It was the last one that made him curl his hands into fists and grit his teeth. His eyes drifted over to Frollo, who glared back at him.
'You are deformed,' Frollo's words echoed in his head, 'And you are ugly. And these are crimes for which the world shows little pity.'
Quasi was so deep in thought that he didn't notice one of the guards step up beside him until the man had grabbed him by the hair with one of his gloved hands.
"On your feet freak," the guard growled as Quasi grabbed at his hands in pain while the bigger man pulled him upright on his knees.
"Sergeant!" Phoebus barked with a warning tone.
"You see them looking at you?" the guard growled into Quasi's ear, "They know what you are, same as I do. A freak. An ugly, misshapen freak."
"Let him go, sergeant!" Phoebus shouted as he rode closer.
"You might get to walk now because the king took pity on you," the soldier continued, "but he won't always be there to protect your worthless hide."
"That's an order, soldier!" Phoebus yelled as he drew his sword.
"What do you think about that, freak?" the soldier asked mockingly as he gave Quasi's hair another tug.
Quasi felt white hot anger burn his stomach before it began to course through his veins like boiling lava. Growling he grabbed onto the guard's wrist and began to squeeze, catching the man off guard with his strength. The man let out a cry of pain as Quasi squeezed, forcing him to fall to one knee as he released Quasi's hair. Standing up, he turned to face the guard, glaring at him, before pulling his free hand back and punching the guard hard in the face, shattering his nose and sending him falling to the ground in pain.
The other guards looked at their comrade in shock, before turning to glare at Quasi.
"Leave me alone!" Quasi shouted as he backed away from the guards, knowing he couldn't win this fight.
"Stay where you are men!" Phoebus commanded, but the soldiers kept moving closer to Quasi.
"Damn!" he swore as he hopped off his horse and raced towards the stairs of the platform. Before he got up them though, Clopin jumped on stage and threw himself into one of the guards, knocking the man into another guard and sending both falling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
"Run!" he shouted at Quasi before jumping off of the platform and running into the crowd before the angry guards could grab him.
Turning around, Quasi turned and ran for the stage, leaping off of it and landing on the ground with a thud. He sprinted for the crowd as two guards moved in on him. One moved to tackle him, but Quasi leapt into the air, clearing the man easily. As the other guard stepped in front of him, Quasi landed before sliding to the ground. He passed partially through the guard's legs, grabbing them as he passed and tripping the man. As the man fell to the ground, Quasi hopped to his feet and rushed into the crowd, which separated to let him pass.
"Did you see that?" one of the Stabbington brothers asked as they watched from the crowd.
"Yeah," the other agreed, "That hunchback can move."
As Quasi burst through the crowd, a group of soldiers moved to intercept him. Looking around, he saw a cart full of hay sitting, the shafts resting against the ground, under a flower pot hanging from the roof of a nearby building. Running over to it, Quasi hopped up onto the wagon, and raced to its upright side before leaping off. As he did, his weight caused the cart to tilt to its over side, sending the shafts into the air, where they hit two guards who were chasing Quasi on the bottom of their chins and knocking them on their backs.
As Quasi flew through the air, he grabbed the flower pot, the chain it was attached to holding him in the air and redirecting his momentum, swinging him over the heads of the approaching guards. The chain groaned under Quasi's weight before snapping, sending him falling to the ground with a cry of surprise. Quasi rolled as he hit the ground while the flower pot smashed onto a guard's head, knocking him flat as dirt was sent flying.
Quasi quickly rolled to his feet, sparing a glance behind him. Seeing the guards giving chase, he ran forward through the crowd, ducking around people as they scrambled to get out of the way. Seeing a large keg of ale sitting on its side nearby, he ran over to it before hopping over it. Landing on the other side, he turned around and gave the keg a kick, sending it rolling across the ground towards the guards. One soldier was caught off guard and fell over the keg, falling hard on his back. Another tried to jump over it and tripped. As the keg continued, it hit an uneven stone in the street, causing it to burst and send ale spilling across the street. As the guards gave chase, a few slipped in the ale, sending them falling the ground.
Rain began to fall as more guards gave chase. Running away from them, Quasi ducked into one of the many tents. As the guards followed him, Quasi knocked out the central support of the tent before diving out of it as it collapsed, entangling the soldiers. Rolling back to his feet, Quasi raced towards one of the buildings, even more guards in hot pursuit. He ran towards a stone wall which a few boxes were stacked against. Hopping up on the boxes, Quasi quickly climbed to the top one before leaping up and grabbing part of the wall. With a grace that belayed his size, he climbed up the wall and hopped onto the roof, leaving the guards behind.
"Don't just stand there, you slacked jaw idiots!" Frollo shouted as he got up from his chair and walked to the edge of the stage, "Pursue and capture him!"
At his order, the soldiers sprang back into action, following the way Quasi had gone on the ground.
"Minister, is this all really necessary?" the king asked.
"The hunchback assaulted my men, your highness," Frollo explained.
"After they had abused him," the queen argued, glaring at Frollo.
"She has a point, Minister," the king stated with a nod, "I want the men who caused this reprimanded."
The queen smiled at her husband.
"But I also want the hunchback arrested," the king continued.
"What!" the queen exclaimed, "Henri! He did nothing wrong!"
"He assaulted the guards, Susanne!" the king retorted, turning to face her.
"I will see to it myself, my liege," Phoebus said as he rode up and bowed.
"You do that captain," the king said with a nod, "but I warn you now, if any more harm comes to this creature while he is brought it, there will be severe consequences. For all involved."
Frollo straightened up as the king's gaze fell on him before the larger man turned away, summoning the royal guard to he and his wife's side.
"I don't like your minister of justice," the queen commented, "He seems so cold."
"His job is not to be liked, Susanne," the king replied as they walked away towards their carriage, "His job is to see justice done."
"So why does he need you to step in to actually deliver it?" the queen asked, her ire rising, "He didn't do anything to stop his men from abusing that poor man who hadn't done anything wrong."
"Frollo may not have everyone's best interest at heart, but he's kept our kingdom safe for years," the king argued.
"And when did safety become an excuse for abuse of power, Henri?" the queen asked before turning from him in a huff and climbing into their carriage. The king sighed before climbing in as well and shutting the door.
Meanwhile
Quasi ran across the rooftops, his footing dangerous due to the rain pouring from above him. Leaping over a gap between the buildings, he almost lost his footing a fell, forcing him to pause for a moment. Looking down at the ground below, he saw the guards still chasing him, their heavy boots splashing through the puddles. He had to find a place to hide.
Climbing down into an alleyway, he hid behind a set of boxes as a group of guards ran past.
"I'll check down this alley!" he heard a voice shout, recognizing it as the captain of the guard. He began to panic as he heard hoofbeats approaching. Looking around, he backed further into the alleyway as he tried to find a place to hide, looking around in fear. Suddenly, a door opened into the alleyway and he felt a hand grab the back of his tunic and pull him inside. Looking around, he saw he was inside some kind of store room, illuminated only by the grey light filtering through the boards from outside. Looking behind him, he saw Esmeralda, now dressed in a white and purple dress with her hair held back by a pink ribbon.
She held up a finger to her lips to get him to stay quiet, to which he nodded slowly. They listened as the hoofbeats came closer before stopping, followed by the sound of boots hitting the ground. They heard the boots slowly approaching, clomping through the mud and stone. Eventually, they came to a stop right in front of the door they were hiding behind. Quasi let out a gasp, but was stifled as Esmeralda covered his mouth with her hand. Her grip on him tightened as the footsteps stopped right in front of the door. They heard the sound of a sword being drawn followed by silence. There were a few tense moments when the only sounds Quasi could hear were the sound of the rain outside and his own heartbeat. Suddenly, the door was flung open and Quasi found himself looking down the length of Phoebus' sword. Phoebus stared at the two of them, raining falling on his head and sword, running down his blade and dripping off the point. He eyed them carefully, trying to decide what to do.
"Sir!" a guard called from out of view, "Did you find anything?"
Phoebus continued to stare at the two, both of them looking back at him with pleading eyes.
"Sir?" the soldier asked again.
"Nothing!" Phoebus quickly shouted back, "There's nothing here. Move on soldier!"
"Yes, sir!" the soldier replied.
As the other man walked away, Phoebus spared the two another glance for a few moments before he sheathed his sword and slowly closed the door. It wasn't until Quasi heard Phoebus mount his horse and ride away that he released the breath he didn't realize he was holding.
"Thank you," Quasi said as he turned to look at her.
"You're welcome," she replied, smiling down at her.
"You're Esmeralda, right?" Quasi asked.
"Yep and you're Quasimodo," she replied as Quasi nodded.
"Why do you think he let us go?" Quasi asked as he stood up, before turning and helping Esmeralda up as well.
"I'm not sure," she replied, "I guess some of them have compassion after all."
"Thank you again for helping me," Quasi thanked her.
"Don't mention it," Esmeralda replied with a smile, "us outcasts have to stick together, right?"
"I guess so," Quasi replied, returning her smile.
"I take it you don't have a place to stay though?" she asked.
Quasi shook his head slowly, a sad look crossing his face.
"I can't go back to the church, not now," he said.
"I can't really help you here," Esmeralda admitted, "But if you can get out of a city, we can get you a place to stay."
"Where's that?" he asked.
"There's an old inn, just off the Royal Highway. It's called the Snuggly Duckling. That's where we'll be," she explained, "You'll be safe there."
"Thank you," Quasi said honestly.
"Don't thank me yet," she replied, as she got up and moved for the door, "You have to get out of the city first."
"Where are you going?" Quasi asked her.
"We'll be harder to catch if we split up," she explained as she opened the door, "Keep safe Quasimodo."
"You too, Esmeralda," he replied before quickly adding, "My friends call me Quasi, by the way."
"Then I'll see you around, Quasi," she replied with a smile, before running into the alley and disappearing.
Quasi waited a few more moments before venturing out as well. The rain poured down on him as he looked around. Hopping up onto a wall, he crawled up it and onto the roof. Looking around, he spotted a bell tower rising up off a building. Sneaking over to it, he climbed the tower and hopped into the belfry. Looking around, he found it entirely empty except for the large brass bell hanging in the middle.
Crawling into a corner, Quasi rolled up into a ball. Looking out one of the windows, he could see Englise Soliel sitting off in the distance. Sighing, he closed his eyes and covered his face with his arms, trying to get some sleep after such a harrowing day.
A/N: Quick chapter which starts the main divergence from the Huncheback storyline. Also decided I couldn't just call the king and queen by their title the whole story so I gave them names. I figured the name Henri and Susanne blended French and English enough to work for both settings. Hope you guys liked it! Please review! Later True Believers!