Chapter 6: Be Our Guest
The sun shone brightly on the majestic royal castle, its mighty spires reached towards the heavens, grasping at the great ball of light that had become the kingdom's symbol. Numerous guards walked around the palace, protecting it from all intruders. All intruders except for the three moving across the roof, that is.
Quasimodo and the Stabbington brothers rushed across the roof of the castle, hopping from point to point with a grace that betrayed their physiques. Eventually, they came to a stop near the center of the palace, at the edge of a skylight. Looking through it, they saw a large room below. It was mostly a long hallway, with a group of guards stationed before a pedestal. Upon the pedestal, sitting directly below the skylight, was a tiara made of silver and decorated with dozens of gem stones.
"Alright, Quasimodo," Drake said as he looked over his shoulder at Quasi, "This is it. You're up."
Quasi gulped slightly before nodding in affirmation. Fletcher pulled a length of rope from his belt and tied one end around Quasi's stomach, before handing part of the other end to Drake. Quasi then gingerly opened up the skylight before turning back to the two men. They gave him a thumbs up before bracing themselves. Nodding, the hunchback climbed through the window and let go, letting the two other men carefully lower him down.
There were about a dozen guards protecting the tiara, all facing the door leading into the room. Quasi began to sweat as the men lowered him down, trying his best not to make a sound. Soon enough, he had been lowered far enough that he could reach the tiara. Slowly, he reached out with one of his large hands and picked it up, placing it in his satchel. Letting out a small sigh of relief, he moved to start climbing back up the rope.
Suddenly, he felt a tickle in the back of his nose. He desperately tried to contain it, but it kept growing and growing. Before he could do anything, he let out a large sneeze that echoed across the stone walls of the building. Immediately, all the guards turned around, looking at the hunchback with surprised looks on their faces.
"Um," Quasi mumbled, his eyes wide with surprise and fear, "Hay fever."
The guards and the hunchback stared at each other for a few moments long before they all burst into action. The hunchback quickly began climbing back up the rope as the guards ran around, trying to figure out what to do.
"Come on, come on," Drake said as he and Fletch hauled Quasi up to the roof. Once he was up, the three men hurried along the rooftops, jumping from building to building until they managed to reach the cobblestone street below. Running at full sprint, they moved through the streets, until they reached a large bridge that connected the island city to the mainland.
As they ran, they were observed from a street higher up on the hillside by Frollo and Phoebus. Looking down at the fleeing figures, he let out an annoyed sigh.
"Damn you, you stupid boy," he growled before turning to Phoebus behind him, "Phoebus, take the guards, retrieve the crown and arrest the hunchback."
"What of the other two? I think they were the Stabbington brothers." Phoebus asked, though in his mind, he was regretting having let Quasi go before.
"Arrest them if you can, but I care little if you capture them alive. Just get the crown and the hunchback. Whatever the cost," Frollo ordered.
"Yes sir," Phoebus said with a nod, before signaling his men and taking off after the thieves. Frollo watched them go, shaking his head as he did.
"You should have stayed inside, Quasimodo," he said with an annoyed tone.
Later
Quasimodo leaned against a tree, desperately trying to catch his breath. Looking around, he tried to see where the Stabbington's had gone, having lost sight of them when they escaped into the forest. Looking around, he tried to find them. After a few moments, he heard their voices floating through the brush. He moved towards them, but paused when he heard them talk.
"Where's the hunchback?" Fletch asked, "Damn it, I knew we shouldn't have let him carry the crown."
"Relax," Drake said, "We'll find him. He has no one else besides us now anyway."
"You're right," Fletch relented, "So what are we going to do with him?"
"We'll get rid of him," Drake replied, "It's not like we need him anymore."
"Alright, so just slit his throat and leave him for the birds?" Fletch asked.
"Yeah, that will do," Drake said with a laugh.
Quasi felt a chill run down his spine at their words. Fear gripped his heart as he put his back against a tree. As he mind raced, his fear was replaced with frustration. He had allowed himself to be tricked. Again. He felt so stupid. Now he truly had nowhere to go. As the brothers had said, he was alone.
The sound of approaching hoof beats brought Quasi back to reality. Looking through the foliage, he saw a group of guards quickly riding through the forest towards them. His eyes widening in fright, Quasi quickly spun around and took off through the brush.
"Run!" he shouted as he burst into the clearing where the Stabbington brothers were, "Run!"
The brothers watched him run past in confusion, before they heard the sounds of approaching horses as well. Not bothering to turn around, they quickly ran off in the direction Quasi had run.
They raced through the brush of the forest, pushing branches aside and leaping over rocks and roots. Turning around a bend, they came to a stop as they found they had run into a small canyon. They were boxed in on three sides by ten foot walls of rock.
"Quasimodo!" Drake shouted in a panicked voice, "Can you climb up there and pull us up?"
Quasi nodded before he quickly hopped up onto the rock wall. With amazing grace and skill, he quickly pulled himself up the side, reaching the top in seconds. The brothers quickly ran up to the wall, one hoisting the other onto his shoulders.
"Alright, now pull me up!" Drake said, reaching out to Quasimodo. Quasimodo moved to take his hand when he stopped, his eyes narrowing.
"Slit my throat and leave me for the birds, huh?" he asked, standing up and glaring down at them.
"What?" Drake asked.
"I hope you enjoy your jail cell," Quasi sneered, before turning and running away. The brothers watched him leave with shocked expressions which were quickly replaced with ones of rage.
"QUASIMODO!" Drake bellowed, shaking his fist in the air.
Quasi allowed a small smile of satisfaction to cross his face as he raced through the woods. After a few moments, he stumbled onto a rough beaten path. The sound of approaching horses caught his attention as a group of guards on horses burst into view. Giving a cry of fear, he turned and took off down the path away from them.
"There's the hunchback!" Phoebus shouted, pointing him out, "And he has the crown! After him! Don't let him escape!"
The guards nodded in agreement as they sped their horses onwards. Quasi let out a cry of fright before he quickly darted off the path. Running through the brush, he saw a thick tangle of trees and roots up ahead. Running towards it, he dove through an opening. Looking back, he saw as the guards tried to follow him, their horses became stuck. All that is, except Maximus, who leapt over part of the tangle and continued chasing after him.
"We have him now, Maximus!" Phoebus called, patting the side of his horse in encouragement.
Quasi looked around wildly, trying to find a way to escape. Seeing a low hanging branch, he reached out for it as he ran past. As he grabbed it, Quasi's momentum sent him swinging upwards and around the branch. As he swung around, he crashed into Phoebus as he passed underneath, knocking him from Maximus's back. Looking around in surprise, Quasi noticed he now had control of Maximus. Smiling in excitement, he grabbed the reins and snapped them to speed the horse onwards as the road turned and began to run along the side of a cliff.
Instead, the horse ground to a halt, jostling Quasi forward. It quickly turned around, glaring at Quasi.
"Um, hi," Quasi said, giving Maximus a wave. The horse merely glared in return, before biting at him. Quasi let out a shot of surprise before hopping off. As he tried to run away, the horse bit the satchel hanging from his shoulders. Whirling around, Quasi tugged on the satchel, fear in his eyes as he saw Phoebus racing towards them.
Giving a sharp tug, he pulled the satchel from Maximus's teeth, but lost grip on it himself. The bag flew through the air before being snagged on a tree branch that hung over the cliff. Quasi glanced over at Phoebus and Maximus as they met his gaze, before they all looked back to the bag. They each took off at the same time, running for the branch.
Quasi reached it first, hopping onto the branch. Maximus quickly followed, the force of his weight hitting the branch causing it to shake. Quasi let out a cry of surprise as he slipped from the branch, quickly grabbing it and bear-hugging it from below. Maximus snorted in irritation as he looked down at Quasi, before he began stamping his feet against the branch, trying to stomp of Quasi's hands and force him to fall. Quasi avoided the assault narrowly, shimmying along the branch to avoid the attacks. At this moment, Phoebus leapt onto the branch as well, swinging from one of the off -shooting branches towards the bag.
As soon as he grabbed the bag though, there was a loud, ominous crack. Phoebus and Quasi looked at each other in fear before there was another crack and the branch broke away, plummeting down the cliff side, carrying the three with it. They looked at each other in surprise before all three let out a cry of mortal terror.
As the branch fell, it hit an outcropping of rock and snapped half, sending the three flying into the air. Squirming in the air, Quasi fell into a tree on the ground below. He let out a few grunts of pain as he snapped through the branches, before coming to a rest on a branch a few feet above the ground.
Quasi groaned as he pulled himself up onto the branch. Looking around, he saw his bag snagged in a branch a few inches from him. He quickly grabbed it before he prepared to hop down. As he was about to, he heard people moving about below him. Freezing, he waited. A few moments later, Phoebus limped into view, Maximus trailing behind him.
"He's around here somewhere, Maximus," Phoebus commented as he hopped up onto the horse's back, "Let's sniff him out."
The horse immediately brought his nose to the ground, and began sniffing, trying to pick up Quasi's trail. After sniffing around for a bit, the horse wandered off into some brush, out of sight.
Quasi carefully dropped out of the tree, landing softly on the ground below. He quickly swung his bag back over his shoulder before backing up against a nearby rock wall, trying to think of what to do. Sliding along the wall, his hands touched a curtain of vines hanging along it. Only there was no rock behind them. Moving the vines, he saw they were covering the entrance to a cave. Hearing hoof beats approaching, he quickly ducked into the cave. Pressing against the wall, he saw the silhouettes of Phoebus and Maximus riding by.
Glancing towards the other end of the cave, he saw a light. Giving one last look to the cave entrance, he turned away and made his way toward the light. Turning a corner, he found that the cave was actually a tunnel. The tunnel opened up before him, leading to a small valley completely surrounded by rock walls. What caught Quasi's attention though, was the lone tower standing at the middle of the valley.
"Maybe someone lives there," Quasi mused, before an excited look crossed his face "Maybe they'll let me stay!"
Quasi's smile fell as one of his hands went to his deformed face. Looking back up at the tower, a determined look crossed his face.
"I have to try," he said firmly as he made his way to the tower. Reaching it, he quickly walked around its base, but found no signs of an entrance. Looking up at the window, he shrugged before grasping one of the stones and starting his climb. With skill gained from a lifetime of practice, Quasi easily scaled the tower, reaching the windowsill within minutes. Effortlessly pulling himself up, he hopped through the window and looked around.
If there was one thing Quasi was sure of, it was that this tower was not abandoned, judging by the well-kept furniture and the clean floors and walls. What truly caught Quasi's attention though, was the paintings that covered every inch of wall space in the room. Looking around, Quasi was fascinated by the pictures, all depicting various scenes done in a multitude of colors.
"This is amazing," Quasi whispered to himself as he stepped further into the room, "I wonder who-"
Quasi was interrupted as he felt something hard slam against the back of his head with a resounding clang. His world went black before he even collapsed to the floor, a pained look crossing his features. As he fell, Rapunzel was revealed, standing behind him with a frying pan raised. As she saw him fall, she leapt away with a frightened squeal and hid behind a chair. After a moment, she peeked over at Quasi's unconscious form. She timidly walked over to him, before gently prodding his head with her frying pan.
Getting no reaction, she glanced at Pascal, who was sitting on the floor a few feet away. The chameleon could only shrug in reply. Turning back to Quasi, she moved his head to the side with her frying pan, allowing her a better look at him. She turned back to Pascal, looking for further advice. The chameleon signaled to check for pointy teeth by pantomiming fangs with his hands and running a dark shade of red. Using the handle of her pan, she moved Quasi's lip, revealing his teeth, which were decidedly not sharp.
Pulling her pan back, she looked at Quasi for a few moments. Reaching down with the pan again, she moved a few strands of hair from his face, letting her see it fully. She spent a few moments studying Quasi's features, seemingly entranced by him. Suddenly, Quasi's eye shot open, causing Rapunzel to shriek and bash him on the head again, knocking him out a second time.
Thinking quickly, Rapunzel wrapped her hair around Quasi, before pulling him over to her wardrobe. After struggling with his dead weight for a few minutes, she was eventually able to haphazardly force him inside and closed the door. She then quickly dragged over a chair and jammed it against the wardrobe door, jamming it shut.
"Ok, ok, ok," she said to herself, pointing her frying pan at the wardrobe as she backed away, "I got a person in my closet."
As she said that, a thought occurred to her.
"I have a person in my closet!" she exclaimed with a laugh, before twirling her pan around cockily, "To weak to handle myself out there, huh Mother? Well, tell that to my frying pan."
She laughed as she spun it again, hitting herself on the head accidentally. As she rubbed her head in pain, she glanced down at her feet where Quasi's bag lay open. Reaching down, she pulled out the tiara and held it up to her face to examine it. She looked at it with a puzzled expression, before putting it on her arm, thinking it was a bracelet. Looking at Pascal, the chameleon shook his head. Turning back to the mirror, she slowly raised the tiara up and placed it upon her head. A look of wonder crossed her face as she stared at her reflection.
"Rapunzel!" her mother's voice called, snapping her out of her trance, "Let down your hair!"
Rapunzel quickly sprang into action, rushing over to a pot and putting the tiara and the bag inside before rushing over to the window.
"One moment, Mother," she yelled as she lowered her hair down.
"I have a big surprise!" her mother called as she grabbed Rapunzel's hair.
"Uh, I do too!" Rapunzel called back as she began to pull her mother up.
"Oh, I bet my surprise is bigger!" her mother shouted as she was pulled up.
"I seriously doubt it," Rapunzel whispered to herself as she glanced at the wardrobe where Quasi was hidden.
"I brought back parsnips," her mother said as she stepped inside, "I'm going to make hazelnut soup for dinner, your favorite. Surprise!"
"Well, Mother, there's something I want to tell you," Rapunzel stated as she pulled her hair up.
"Oh, Rapunzel," her mother sighed as she hung up her cloak and put down her basket, "You know I hate leaving you after a fight, especially when I've done nothing wrong."
"Ok, I've been thinking a lot about what you said earlier," Rapunzel began.
"I hope you're not still talking about the stars," her mother warned.
"Floating lights," Rapunzel corrected, "And yes, I'm leading up to that."
"Because I really thought we had dropped that issue, sweetheart," her mother continued.
"No mother, I'm just saying, you think I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there," Rapunzel said.
"Oh darling, I know you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there," her mother stated.
"If you just…" Rapunzel began, moving towards the wardrobe.
"Rapunzel, we're done talking about this," her mother said harshly.
"Trust me," Rapunzel continued.
"Rapunzel," her mother said, trying to interrupt her.
"I know what I'm-" Rapunzel pressed on.
"Rapunzel!" her mother shouted.
"Oh come on!" Rapunzel said as she reached for the door to the wardrobe.
"Enough with the lights, Rapunzel!" her mother screamed, "You are not leaving this tower ever!"
Rapunzel stared at her mother, shocked at her outburst while she slowly pulled her hand away from the wardrobe doors.
"Great," her mother sighed as she slumped into a chair, resting her head in her hand, "Now I'm the bad guy."
Rapunzel glanced sadly at the wardrobe, before looking up at the painting she had done above the fireplace. As she did, a thought occurred to her, one that troubled her.
"All I was going to say, Mother, is that I know what I want for my birthday now," she said nervously.
"And what is that?" her mother asked.
"New paint," she said, rubbing her arm, "That paint made from the white shells you once brought me."
"Well that is a very long trip, Rapunzel," her mother explained, "Almost three days' time."
"I just thought it was a better idea then stars," Rapunzel said with a sigh.
Her mother sighed as a smile crossed her face and she stood from her chair, walking over to Rapunzel.
"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" her mother asked.
"I know I'm safe as long as I'm here," Rapunzel replied, hugging her mother.
Rapunzel quickly packed her mother some food in her basket as she put her cloak back on.
"I'll be back in three days' time," her mother said, "I love you very much, dear."
"I love you more," Rapunzel replied.
"I love you most," her mother finished before she lowered herself down on her daughter's hair and was gone.
Turning back to the wardrobe, Rapunzel quickly grabbed her frying pan and slowly removed the chair from the door. Taking a deep breathe, she grabbed her hair, before whipping it at the door and wrapping it around its handle. She quickly pulled it open and readied herself. There was a moment where nothing happened before Quasi fell out flat on his face, still unconscious. Rapunzel looked at him cautiously as a thought formed in her head.
Blackness completely surrounded Quasi as he floated in oblivion. Suddenly, he felt a warm, sticky feeling in his ear and he woke with a cry of surprise. Looking around, he found he was now in the center of the room tied to a chair. All of the windows except a hatch in the roof had been closed, casting most of the room in shadow. Looking around with a confused look, he glanced down at the bonds holding him to the chair.
They weren't like any rope he had ever seen. They were soft and a light yellowish brown color. He also noticed that it seemed his bonds were actually made of one continuous piece of the material. Following it with his eyes, he saw it ran from his feet into the shadows. Squinting, he could see it made its way up the wall and into the rafters. Following it further, he saw it spun around the rafters before coming to a stop. Seeing where it stopped made Quasi's heart freeze up in surprise, as there was a figure in the shadows watching him. Seeing the material lead to the figure also made Quasi realize something.
"Is this…hair?" he questioned, talking more to himself then the figure.
"Stuggling…Struggling is pointless!" Rapunzel called from her spot in the rafters, trying to hide her fear.
Rapunzel moved through the shadows towards him. With a grace that rivaled Quasi's own, Rapunzel jumped through the rafters before swinging to the ground in front of him.
"I know why you're here," she said, "And I'm not…afraid of you!"
"What?" Quasi asked confused.
She cautiously stepped into the light, revealing herself to Quasi. Quasi sucked in a surprised breathe as he looked at her. She was easily the prettiest girl he had ever seen. His mind went back to Esmeralda, but she couldn't compare to the girl in front of him. Something about her just took his breath away.
"Who are you?" she asked eyeing Quasi warily, "and how did you find me?
Quasi didn't answer, still taken aback by her.
"I said who are you?" she asked again, an edge to her voice as she raised the frying pan, "and how did you find me?"
"Oh!" Quasi said, snapping back to reality, "I-I'm Quasimodo."
"Quasimodo?" she asked, raising a questioning eyebrow, "Well who else knows my location, Quasimodo."
"Um…no one?" he replied.
"Then how did you find me?" she demanded.
"Find you?" Quasi asked, confused, "I just came in here to hide."
"A likely story!" she accused, "I know you came here to steal my hair!"
The room went quite as Quasi stared at her in confusion.
"Your….hair?" he asked after a moment.
"Yes…my hair," she replied, seeming to deflate as her bravado left her.
The room went quite again as the girl looked away from him, her cheeks colored red in embarrassment as she fiddled with her frying pan nervously.
"So you're not here to steal my hair?" she asked, glancing at him. Quasi slowly shook his head. She quickly turned around, picking up Pascal as he scurried over to her.
"What do you think?" she asked, "I think he might be telling the truth. I mean, he doesn't have fangs, and what else choice do I have."
Pascal squeaked in agreement.
"I guess you really were trying to hide," she mumbled as she turned back around, more to herself then Quasi, "That explains that thing you had I guess."
"The crown!" Quasi exclaimed, "I completely forgot about it!"
"Well good luck finding it," the girl mocked her bravado returning as she crossed her arms and sneered at him, "I've hidden it where you'll never find it."
In response to her boasting, Quasi's eyes began to drift over the room. They quickly fell on a pot sitting a few feet away.
"Is it in the pot?" Quasi guessed out of curiosity. The girl's eyes widened in surprise before she quickly raised the pan and brought it down on Quasi's head. There was a loud clang and Quasi fell unconscious again. The next thing he knew, he felt the same wet stickiness in his ear as before and he awoke with a start.
"Now, you will never find it," she declared, crossing her arms and giving him a smug look as Pascal scurried off his shoulder.
"Um, alright?" he replied confused.
"Alright?" she repeated, confused as well, "Don't you want it back?"
"Not really," Quasi replied with a sigh.
"Why not?" the girl asked, her bravery replaced with concern.
"I'm ashamed that I have it," Quasi admitted.
"Why?" the girl continued to ask, folding her legs beneath her and sitting down, looking up at him with an earnest expression.
"I stole it," Quasi admitted.
The girl let out a gasp as she covered her mouth in surprise.
"I didn't do it out of greed or anything like that," Quasi explained.
"Then why did you do it?" the girl asked.
"Well you see…" he paused as he looked at the girl, "I don't know your name."
"It's Rapunzel," she answered.
"Rapunzel," Quasi repeated, smiling, "I like it."
"Thanks," she replies, blushing lightly, "So why did you do it?"
"Well, for a long time, I stayed in the bell towers of the city's cathedral," Quasi explained.
"Really?" Rapunzel spoke up, immediately interested, "For how long?"
"Most of my life really," Quasi replied with a shrug.
"I've been in this tower my whole life!" Rapunzel exclaimed, jumping to her feet excitedly, "Did your parents tell you to?"
"My master said it was for my own protection," Quasi explained, surprised by Rapunzel's excitement.
"My mother says the same thing!" Rapunzel shouted, "And what do you mean by master? You mean your father? He must have said something different though right? What did he tell you?"
"He told me…the people would treat me badly because of how I look," Quasi answered, looking away from her.
"How you look?" Rapunzel questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"Um, yeah," Quasi replied, confused, "Can't you tell?"
"Well, you're the first guy I've ever seen," Rapunzel admitted with a shrug, "I mean I figured you were different, but I didn't think you were that different. Not enough for people to be mean to you."
"Well, it turns out he was right," Quasi continues sadly.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Rapunzel says with sympathy.
"Thank you," Quasi replied honestly, "That's what led me here. I was mad at the people. They mocked me, tied me up, threw food at me. I was just so angry that when these two thieves, the Stabbington brothers, offered to help me get back at the kingdom, and I agreed."
"And that's why you stole the crown," Rapunzel finished understanding.
"Yeah. I was so stupid. They were just using me," Quasi said, shaking his head in disgust.
"And then you come here, and I knock you out and tie you up and accuse you of things, oh I'm so sorry!" Rapunzel shouted as she hopped to her feet and quickly began untying him from the chair. Soon enough he was completely free, though he remained in the seat.
"It's not your fault, Rapunzel," Quasi reassured her, "I did break into your home."
"Still, it sounds like you've had it pretty rough, and I would hate to think I made it worse," she explained.
"So why were you hiding the crown from me anyway?" Quasi inquired.
"I was going to try to use it to…get you to do something for me," Rapunzel admitted.
"What's that?" Quasi asked.
Rapunzel quickly turned and walking over to the fireplace. Hopping up onto the mantel, she moved a painting that was hanging there, revealing a mural of her observing what looked like lanterns in the night sky.
"Tomorrow night, on my birthday, these lights will appear in the sky," she explained, before looking at him hopefully, "Do you know what they are?"
"Yeah, those are the lanterns they release in honor of the Lost Princess. I always had a great view of them from the cathedral," Quasi explained.
"Lanterns! I knew they weren't stars. Can you take me to them!" Rapunzel asked, hopping down from the mantel and rushing up to Quasimodo, a hopeful expression on her face.
"I'd like to help," Quasi admitted, before a sad look crossed his face, "But I'm not exactly welcome in the kingdom anymore."
"What if we took the crown back?" Rapunzel offered, "If you bring it back and explain what happened, about the two thieves, I'm sure they'll forgive you!"
Quasi thought about it for a moment before his face fell.
"No, it wouldn't work," Quasi said, shaking his head.
"What!" Rapunzel exclaimed, "Why not!"
"You haven't been out there, Rapunzel," Quasi explained, "You haven't seen what I've seen."
"It can't be that bad," Rapunzel pleaded.
"The world is cruel," Quasi sung softly, as he stood up "The world is wicked. There's not a friend that I have in that whole city."
"You can't lose hope like that," Rapunzel said, wringing her hands together nervously, "I don't hate you."
"I am deformed," Quasi continued, walking over to her mirror.
"You're misinformed," Rapunzel sung in response, walking up behind him.
"And I am ugly," Quasi ignored her, touching his face as he looked in the mirror.
"That's not what I see," Rapunzel argued.
"And these are crimes for which the world takes little pity," Quasi growled at her, anger on his face which quickly dissolved into sadness, "You do not comprehend!"
Rapunzel stared at him for a few seconds, surprise on her face at his outburst. Quasi sighed sadly as he turned to face her. She kneeled down to look him in the eyes before putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry that people didn't except you," Rapunzel said, "I've only known you for a little while and even I can tell you didn't deserve what's happen to you."
Quasi smiled at her before he realized how close they were. He looked into her pretty green eyes for a few moments before blushing and turning away. Rapunzel looked at him with confusion before shrugging it off.
"It couldn't have been that bad though," Rapunzel argued, looking at him with pleading eyes, "I just…I just need to know what it's like to be out there. I have to see those lights. Haven't you ever had a dream?"
"To go outside was my dream," Quasi explained as he turned away from her, causing Rapunzel's face to fall as she realized her argument wouldn't work.
"Was it worth it?" she asked quietly, looking at her hands in her lap.
"Was what worth it?" Quasi replied, turning to face her with a confused expression.
"Was everything you went through worth following your dream?" Rapunzel asked him, looking up at him.
Quasi was shocked into silence.
"…Yes," Quasi whispered after a few moments, his mind flashing back to when he was standing in front of the crowd, hearing them cheering his name.
"Then you understand that I have to experience it. Just for a day or two," Rapunzel said, taking his hands in hers, "I can't stay locked up here in my mother's sanctuary. Not without experiencing it."
"Sanctuary," Quasi whispered to himself, thinking of what Frollo had told him.
"Safe behind those windows and those parapets of stone," he sung as he looked down at his and Rapunzel's hands, "Gazing at the people down below."
"All my life I watched them as I hid up there alone," he continued as he looked into her eyes, "Hungry for the histories they'd show me."
"All my life, I memorized their faces. Knowing them as they would never know me," he sang as he walked up to her main window and opened it, "All my life, I wondered how'd it feel to pass a day, not above them, but part of them!"
"And out there, living in the sun!" Rapunzel joined in, startling Quasi as she ran up to the window, leaning against it, "Give me one day out there, all I ask is one, to hold forever."
"Out there, where they all live unaware," Quasi sung as he gestured out towards the forest beyond the tower, "What I gave"
"What I'd dare" Rapunzel sang back, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Just to live one day out there!" they sung together, facing each other.
"Out there among the millers and the weavers and their wives," Quasi sung as he leapt into the rafters of the tower, climbing towards the roof with Rapunzel hot on his tail, her golden hair streaming behind them both, "Through the roofs and gables I could see them."
"Every day they shout and scold and go about their lives, heedless of the gift it is to be them!" Quasi sung, as he reached the top and open another hatch to let light in.
"If I was in their skin, I'd treasure every instant out there!" Rapunzel sang as Quasi climbed through the hatch onto the roof, before reaching in and pulling her up with him.
"Strolling with a friend," Quasi sang as he walked around the roof, Rapunzel by his side, "Taste the morning out there, like ordinary men. Who freely walk about there."
"Just one day and then I swear I'll be content with my share," Rapunzel sung as she led Quasi over to the edge of the roof, before flinging her arms out and standing on the edge. Acting on instinct, Quasi reached out and grabbed her waist, holding her steady.
"Won't resent!" Rapunzel sung as a breeze picked up, causing her hair to flow behind her.
"Won't despair!" Quasi sung as well, a smile crossing his face.
"Old and bent, we won't care!" The sung together, "We'll have speeent one daaay out THEEEEEEEEERE!"
Rapunzel laughed as she felt the breeze stirring around her before she leaned back, allowing Quasi to pull her in.
"So you'll do it then?" Rapunzel asked him hopefully, "You'll take me to see the lights."
"Yes," Quasi said with a smile, "I'll do it. You deserve to see the world out there as much as I do."
"THANKYOU!" Rapunzel exclaimed, leaping at Quasi and pulling him into a hug, nearly knocking them both off the roof, "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"
A blush crossed Quasi's features as she hugged him, before a smile nearly split his face as he returned her hug.
"Well what are we waiting for!" Rapunzel exclaimed as she stopped hugging Quasi and began pulling him back towards the hatch, "Let's get going! There's no time to waste!"
A/N: So this was a long chapter. Even though I used most of what I wrote for the original concept I posted before starting the actual story in this chapter, all the stuff I added took up a lot of time to write. I hope you guys liked the first meeting between Rapunzel and Quasi, it was fun to write. I especially liked doing the song, which is my personal favorite one from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. I thought it worked well as a duet between the two. So tell me what you guys thought about this chapter! Please Review!