"And this is-?" Frollo asked wearily.

"Pocahontas." The prisoner said bravely, struggling slightly against the men who held her.

"You are not authorized to speak out of turn." Frollo hissed, his cold grey eyes boring into Pocahontas' warm dark ones.

"And you have no authorization over me." She said boldly.

The courtroom grew silent as Frollo fidgeted uncomfortably in his throne-like chair. However, his unease was only temporary, because when he spoke, it was with the cold iron his reputation was built on.

"You are in Paris and therefore under my legislation." He said nonchalantly. "You have been arrested on suspicion of fraternizing with thieving gypsies. Now, either you tell me how to find them and rid Paris of them once and for all or I shall have to use other means to extract the information from you."

"You might as well kill me." Pocahontas said, her voice frighteningly calm. "I will not betray my friends."

Frollo waved his hand dismissively at her.

"Very well, take her below." He ordered. He rubbed his eyes before addressing his new Captain of the Guard, a blonde soldier named Phoebus.

"Are there any other miscreants to deal with today?" he asked. Phoebus shook his head.

"None, sir." He said robotically. Frollo smiled.

"Good. I'm afraid I have an appointment with the bell ringers, so I won't be able to stick around. Do me a favor and see to it that this Native American girl gives us the information. We can't proceed without it."

"Yes, sir."

Frollo nodded in satisfaction before leaving the courtroom.

It was time to pay Jim and Quasimodo a visit.

Jim paced the room, dodging nimbly around the statue of Aphrodite. As he spoke, Quasimodo hurriedly set the table, anxious for his master's return.

"Okay, I've hidden her up in the beams near the bells, he shouldn't be able to see her from down here and he's got no reason to climb up there—"

"I don't know if he could even if he wanted to." Quasimodo said hesitantly. "That's what he's got us for."

"Right." Jim nodded.

"I've already dried up any water that we tracked in here." Jim continued. "There's absolutely no reason that he should know that I took you to market today."

"That was really risky." Quasimodo said, smiling. "If we don't get caught, you'll still take me to the Festival of Fools, right?"

Jim stopped and looked at Quasimodo.

"Of course." He said slowly. "I made a promise, didn't I?"

Quasimodo nodded and then froze when he heard footsteps on the stairwell.

"And what are we whispering about?" Frollo asked, eyebrows raised. Jim and Quasimodo both shrugged non-committedly.

"I see." Frollo said softly. "Mr. Hawkins, please put a shirt on, you are not an animal."

Ariel peeked down at the boys and this new—and much older—human. She did not like his features much; everything about him was sharp and slender and jagged. He spoke in cruel tones and his smile felt unstable and insincere. She adjusted Jim's shirt around her uncomfortably. This was the only shirt that he had—that she knew of anyway—and she didn't want to have to take it off. It was the only thing giving her any sense of comfort at the moment.

"It's way too hot to be bothered with a shirt." Jim said nonchalantly.

"I will excuse it this time, Mr. Hawkins." Frollo said. "But I expect you to be clothed in the proper attire on my next visit. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Jim said, waving him off. "I'll be sure to do that."

Jim sat down next to Quasimodo and dropped some grapes heavily onto his plate. Ariel blinked and squinted at this strange food. They had nothing like it back home. She edged closer to the edge of the beam as the men below her ate in virtual silence. She had made it to a corner beam before they spoke again

"It is time to review your alphabet." Frollo said, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. Jim rolled his eyes, but Quasimodo grinned.

"A?"

"Absolved!" Quasimodo said eagerly.

"Anal." Jim muttered under his breath. Quasimodo shot him a warning glance, but it seemed that Frollo had not heard him.

"B?"

"Blasphemy!" Quasimodo said. He looked at Jim, waiting for his answer, but Jim remained silent. Ariel was practically pulling her hair out. Some of these words were foreign to her and she felt stupid for not understanding them.

"C?"

Quasimodo hesitated. He knew this, he had to! What could C stand for? He couldn't believe he'd forgotten; he'd been working so hard…

"Cock." Jim said, smiling crookedly.

Frollo spit out his wine.

"How dare you speak such filth in the house of God!" Frollo spat.

"Ah, he won't mind, he's never here anyways." Jim replied. "Besides, it's just the name of a rooster. Calm down."

"Jim!" Quasimodo gasped.

"You little heathen!" Frollo cursed, jumping to his feet. "He is in everything and He is everywhere! How dare you defile Him!"

"If he is everywhere, then he would have kept you from killing my mother." Jim growled. Ariel bit her lip. She had had no idea that Jim had lost a mother too.

There was a taut silence that seemed to stretch on for years and years. Finally, Frollo turned to Quasimodo and smiled kindly.

"I'm glad that you have been taking your studies seriously, Quasimodo." He said. "But I'm afraid I am going to have to leave a little earlier than planned."

"I understand, Master." Quasimodo said, bowing his head.

"You've got to be kidding me." Jim mumbled. He stood up and climbed up into the rafters.

Frollo sighed and shook his head.

"Until tomorrow, then."

Once Frollo had left, Quasimodo climbed into the rafters after Jim, dodging the bells as he did so.

He found him sitting on a beam next to Ariel, their legs dangling over the ledge. To Quasimodo's surprise, neither of them was talking to each other. Hell, they weren't even looking at each other.

"What did I miss?" he asked cautiously, sitting next to Jim.

"Nothing." Jim shrugged. "I just sat down."

Ariel tugged on Jim's rattail gently. Quasimodo suddenly became aware of the fact that she was wearing one of Jim's older shirts and nothing else. He looked away quickly.

"What?" Jim asked, sounding mildly annoyed. His demeanor changed however, when Ariel mouthed something at him. He nodded and stood carefully on the beam, before reaching out for Ariel's hand.

"What are you two doing?" Quasimodo asked, sending a quick glance back at them.

"She's afraid of heights and can't get down." Jim answered. "And would you stop acting so shy, she's covered."

"Why isn't she wearing one of those dresses you stole for her?"

"Because she just woke up and didn't want to sleep in them."

"Okay, well—hey, wait!" Quasimodo cried out, finally turning back around. Jim was holding Ariel bridal-style now and was edging his way further down the beam.

"What?" Jim snapped, carefully avoiding a knot in the wood. Ariel's arms tightened around his neck.

"She had your pants on before!"

"Yeah well, I needed them. Can't go meeting Frollo in my jollies, right?"

"Why not? You ran through Paris in your jollies." Quasi mumbled.

Jim ignored him, choosing instead to put Ariel gently back on her feet. She looked at him, puzzled.

"I can't climb down carrying you like this." Jim said. "You're going to have to get on my back."

Ariel nodded, but once Jim turned around, she bit her lip.

Don't look down. She thought. Don't do it.

She clambered onto his back clumsily, clutching at him fiercely. His skin felt surprisingly soft beneath her arms and she felt herself calm down marginally.

"It would help if you wouldn't cut off my circulation." Jim said. He felt Ariel loosen her grip a little.

"That's better." He said in what he hoped was an encouraging manner.

Jim wrapped his arms and legs around a nearby beam and began to slowly—and rather painfully—make his way to the floor. Grinning, Quasimodo swung easily around Jim, sticking his tongue out at Jim as he did so. Jim could feel Ariel's silent laughter on his back as he finally touched the ground.