Chapter Three: The Gypsies

Captain Drew arrived in Paris with his blue Skrill dragon, Spitfire, as he checked his map. He wore golden armor with a blue cloak over it.

"Yeash." Drew muttered. "I leave town for a few decades, and they change everything."

Two guards suddenly walked past.

"Excuse me, gentlemen" Drew said. "I'm looking for the Palace of Justice would you…?" They walked on. "I guess not."

Drew walked to a corner and saw a girl of his own age of 17 playing a tambourine as a white Night Fury danced along as a woman and her child past her.

"Stay way child!" The woman said. "They're gypsies. They'll steal us blind."

Drew didn't see any problem with performing for a living, so he tossed three gold coins into a hat on the ground and looked up at the girl and smiled at her beauty as she smiled back.

Suddenly, a man on a wall whistled, and girl prepared to rush off as the white Night Fury dropped most of the money and did an odd dragon-like "Sqwua!"

The girl tried to pick up the coins when the two guards appeared. Drew could then see that one had blond hair beard that fell to his knees and the other had a huge brown beard with brown hair that goes to his shoulders.

"Alright Gypsy, where'd ya get the money?" The man with brown hair asked.

"For your information, I earned it." The girl said coldly.

"Gypsies don't earn money." The brown haired man said.

"They steal it." The man with blond hair added.

"You'd know a lot about stealing." The girl countered as the guards grabbed both of her arms.

"Trouble maker!" The blond haired man said.

She held onto the hat and kicked the man in the chin, so that he let go as the blond haired man continued to hold on.

"Maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down." He said.

The white Night Fury then whack her tail at the blond haired man, and headbutted the brown haired man in the stomach, and the girl climbed on the Night Fury and rushed off.

"Come back here, Gypsy!" The brown-haired man called out as Drew pulled Spitfire in front of them to block their path, and the blond haired man groaned as he hit the horse hard and fell behind him.

"Spitfire, sit." Drew said, and Spitfire did so.

"Oh!" The blond haired man screamed. It must have hurt having that much of something on him.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry." Drew said with a smirk as everyone around laughed. "Naughty dragon. Naughty. He's just impossible. Really, I can't take him anywhere."

"Get this thing off me." The blond haired man groaned.

"I'll teach you a lesson, peasant!" The brown haired man said as he pulled out a dagger, but Drew pulled out his sword in retaliation.

"You were saying, Lieutenant?" Drew asked with a smirk.

"Oh!" The brown haired man asked nervously. "Captain Drew! Lieutenant Mulch at your service sir, and the guy your dragon's sitting on is Lieutenant Bucket."

"I know you have a lot on your mind right now." Drew said as he put his sword next to Bucket's face. "But the palace of justice?"

Bucket and Mulch then went ahead of Drew and Spitfire to clear a path, and Drew noticed four gold coins on the ground and what appeared to be a beggar sitting against a wall with a very familiar hat. Drew smiled and put the coins into it.

()()()()()

Iris pulled down the hood as Twilight hid. She had never met a soldier who gave her money.

"Spitfire, heel." Drew said as his dragon snorted at the old Greek reference.

()()()()()

Drew arrived at the palace of justice as he heard someone being whipped.

"Stop." The judge, Alvin, Drew's superior officer, said.

"Sir?" A man with a brown beard and a monocle asked. He was holding a whip.

"Ease up." Alvin said. "Wait between lashes, or else the last sting will darken to the new."

"Yes sir." The man said as he went back inside with a dark grin as Alvin turned around.

"Ah, here's our gallant Captain Drew. Home from the wars." Alvin said with a smile.

"Reporting for duty as ordered, sir." Drew said as he stood stock still.

"Your service record precedes you, Drew." Alvin said. "I expect nothing but the best from a war hero of your caliber."

"And you shall have it sir." Drew said. "I guarantee it."

"Yes." Alvin said with a smile. "You know, my last captain of the guards was… A bit of a disappointment." A loud wail came from the room. "No matter, I'm sure you'll whip my men into shape."

"Thank you." Drew said as he tried to shut off his emotions, but that wail had seemed too well timed to be coincidence. "Tremendous honor sir."

"You've come to Paris in her darkest hour, Captain." Alvin said. "It will take a firm hand to save the weak minded from being so easily misled."

"Misled, sir?" Drew asked.

"Look Captain." Alvin said as he pointed at several people gathering in the market places. "Gypsies. The gypsies live outside the normal order. Their heathen ways enflame the people's lowest instincts, and they must be stopped."

"I was summoned from the wars to capture fortune tellers and palm readers?" Drew asked skeptically. He didn't even believe in that stuff, but it seemed a bit extreme to lock people up for doing it.

"The real war Captain is what you see before you." Alvin stated plainly. "For 15 years I've been taking care of the Gypsies, one by one." Alvin then squished a few spiders as he talked that were on a piece of stone. "And yet, for all my success, they flourish." Alvin then pulled the stone out to reveal a whole nest of spiders scurrying under the stone Alvin held and on the area it used to be. "I believe they have a safe haven right within the walls of this very city. A nest if you will. They call it the… Court of Miracles."

"What are we going to do about it, sir?" Drew asked. Alvin then smashed the rock back down, killing all the spiders there. "Well that was a vivid way of making your point."

"You know, I like you Captain." Alvin said. "Shall we?"

Suddenly, from the town square, a loud cheer rose up.

"Urgh." Alvin groaned. "Duty calls. Have you ever been to a peasant festival, Captain?"

"Not recently, sir." Drew said.

"Then this should be quite educational for you." Alvin went on. "Come along."

Chaos dose not own The Hunchback of Notre Dame or HTTYD but she owns Iris and Twilight the Snow Fury, Hikari belongs to WingBladeWeaver1357, and Drew belongs to RedDiEnd.