Chapter 26:
Reluctant to leave Phoebus, Esmeralda lingered at his bedside, gazing fondly down at his sleeping face. Once again, he was peaceful in his slumber, as he had been when she left him sleeping in his chair.
Whatever dark memories shadowed his dreams, they did not seem to trouble him, now.
Djali's frantic bleating startled Esmeralda out of her peaceful reverie, and her head whipped around to see what had frightened her.
Pierre peered out the window, and she saw his knees wobble.
She lingered a moment longer before she acknowledged that she had to rise, and left Phoebus's side. Far below them, she could see Frollo's distinctive hat as he calmly exited a carriage and walked to the door.
Panic buzzed hot and furious through her skull, and she looked from Djali and Pierre to Phoebus, knowing even then that Frollo would most likely trade them all for her. If given the choice, would she let him take her to save the rest?
She shuddered with the horror of even contemplating the possibility.
"Quick!" Quasimodo had grabbed her by the arm, and she was glad to have something to release her from her crescendo of panic. "Frollo will take the North Tower steps so he can reach us, but you have to take the South Tower steps and pass him! Ask the deacons to show you out, you have to hurry!"
He was pushing her along, but it was Pierre and Djali running out without waiting for further instructions.
She could not leave yet! Not when she knew Phoebus was still lying out in the open! She turned to Quasimodo, who had the grace not to keep pushing her when she was trying to speak. "Be careful, my friend," she said, clasping Quasimodo's hand in both of hers. It was warm, and riddled with calluses, not to mention larger than her head, but it was gentle instead of harsh. "I need you to promise me that you won't let anything happen to him."
He gave her a wide-eyed gaze as his mouth hung open, and paused before finally bowing his head and promising that he would.
The sense of urgency returned just as soon as she had thanked him. Would a prayer for safety count more inside a church? She hoped so, because she didn't dare speak it louder than a whisper.
Pierre began to complain about his feet, and Esmeralda had to give him a sharp look over her shoulder.
"If you, with your shoes, keep complaining about your feet, I will push you down these stairs!" she hissed at him.
At the foot of the stairs, they ran across the Archdeacon, and skidded to a halt. They stood before him like a pair of misbehaving children, and awaited a scolding which did not come.
"We have to get you out," the Archdeacon whispered, and cast a shifty glance through the church. "There is little I can do without losing my position, but there are more people praying here than usual… a blessing of a kind," he scratched at his brow.
"Holy father, how will we survive?" Pierre whispered.
"There are some monks here who are going to circumambulate the church with me and spread incense and prayers… I've convinced two of them to let you use their spare robes… we have to hurry! You can leave by the door they take when they leave, and none will be the wiser."
Pierre and Esmeralda shared a glance in amazement at the very idea that they would be able to hide among monks and priests.
"I-I… have a question…" Pierre cleared his throat. "Could we stay in the monastery until it's safe to go? I mean… rather, that we should wait until Frollo stops searching for Esmeralda?"
The Archdeacon was still ushering them along, but as he reached the monks and took spare robes from them, then hurried them into the robes.
"A woman cannot stay among monks," he said at last, while Esmeralda maneuvered Djali onto her shoulder and let her be the face which protruded from the monk's robe.
"But... not even for a little while?" Pierre asked.
"What about sanctuary?"
"The monks cannot have a woman in their midst," the Archdeacon said in gentle grimness.
"You should stay with them, Pierre," Esmeralda said. "You're in danger among us, and you don't even look like us. If you just left, and blended in with the monks, you would never be in danger."
From under Djali's chin, Esmeralda saw him ponder it.
"But what about you?"
"I think the more allies we have outside, the easier it'll be to find escape routes like this," she replied. "I got you into this mess, but it isn't your fight. Do you want to be hanged or burned along with—"
"That is a very good point! I'm sure you'll move more quickly without me… and I did help you to rescue your sun god…"
She rushed forward and gave him a swift hug, short enough that it would not appear unseemly from one monk to another. "I pray you will have a better chance to help again, but now we have to escape."
He returned the hug, gently and gingerly. He had no words, for once, and it gave Esmeralda a moment more to think.
As the procession began to move through the church, she hung close to the Archdeacon and asked, "If someone were someone upstairs who needed medical care, he'd be able to help."
The Archdeacon smiled softly, and shook his head while the incense began to swing back and forth before him. "I lost the ability to walk up those stairs long ago, and I do not think it wise to let someone else hear of your friend… For now, child, just be assured that your friend is in the hands of God."
The prayers which began then were unfamiliar to Esmeralda, they were not in any language she was aware of… however not understanding the words helped her to better concentrate on the earnest ardor they were spoken in.
She imparted the fears in her own heart to the prayer, hoping that even though she didn't know the words, God would understand this as her reaching out to him.
Too soon, the procession reached a door, and she was led out with the other monks. They passed a swarm of soldiers while Esmeralda's heart raced. Every moment, she fretted that she would be seen and recognized as an imposter, but they passed unhindered.
So that she could not implicate the monks, she slipped away when she was sure they would not see, leaving their robe with them, and scurried home.