"Don't get too far ahead, Zephyr!"

Quasi couldn't help but laugh as the boy skipped through the streets, waving and calling out greetings to everyone he passed. He had a ball under one arm and was all too eager to get to the nearest park, which wasn't too far from the town square in front of Notre Dame. Quasi was thankful their trip to the market hadn't taken long; Zephyr seemed especially easily distracted today.

Zephyr dashed back to Quasi. "Come on, Uncle Quasi, it's the perfect day for the park!" He grabbed Quasi's hand, who took advantage of it by holding tight and pulling Zephyr back a bit.

"Hey, bud, you're starting to wear me out," Quasi confessed. "Remember what I told you about what my back does?"

"Uh, it...makes you tired somehow?"

"Uh huh," Quasi nodded. "My back makes my chest smaller, so my lungs don't have as much room to get big when I breathe, so I run out of breath faster."

"Oh yeah. Sorry."

"It's okay. Let's stick together on the way to the park though, okay?"

"Yep!"

Zephyr still couldn't help but put a skip into his walk. He then added a little hum. And the little hum became a little song.

"You and me together we'll be

Forever you'll see

We two can be good company

You and me

Yes, together we two

Together, that's you

Forever with me

We'll always be good company

You and me

Yes, together we'll be"

"Where did you learn that?" Quasi asked.

Zephyr shrugged. "I dunno. I made some of it up."

"I like it. Can you teach me?"

"Yeah!"

The rest of the trip to the park was spent singing their little buddy ditty back and forth until Quasi had memorized it.

When they arrived at the park, they found it to be quite a bit more crowded than Quasi would've liked. People were murmuring among themselves. Zephyr pushed through the crowd to see what was going on.

"Oh, wow! Uncle Quasi, come here! There's somebody coming, and they've got tumblers!"

Quasi apologetically squeezed through the crowd to catch up to Zephyr. He saw what the boy and the rest of the crowd were excited about. It was a colorful caravan. Each wagon was decorated with a banner advertising a circus, and jugglers and tumblers went ahead of the caravan, performing their acts and tossing toys and treats to the children.

The lead wagon came to a halt, and the crowd quieted as it seemed to be empty. A puff of smoke later, and a tall figure in a silken cloak and ornate mask appeared before them. He had dark hair and brown skin, and a facial structure that suggested he was Romani. What of his face Quasi could see, that is.

"Madames and messieurs," the man greeted with a dramatic bow. "I thank you for welcoming our humble little circus to your beautiful city. I am Sarousch the magnificent; storyteller, ringmaster and magician." He accented the last of his titles with colorful flashes and small toys that seemed to appear out of nowhere. "And here with me today is my beautiful assistant, the lady Madellaine!"

A box appeared, and Sarousch swung the door open, revealing...nothing. A couple more tries yielded the same result.

"Where is she?" an audience member called.

Sarousch was seething. But he quickly collected himself and turned to the crowd. "Why, she is waiting to meet all of you tomorrow evening, in the square of Notre Dame! Come to the show and be charmed, dazzled and amazed! I cannot wait to see you all at Cirque du Sarousch!"

More sleight of hand produced colorful balls, flowers and paper butterflies for the children to catch, and with a puff of colorful smoke, Sarousch and most of his party were gone.

"Wow, that was so cool, Uncle Quasi!" Zephyr shouted as he tried and ultimately failed to hang onto the armful of goodies he'd collected. "Can we go to the circus show tomorrow? Please? Can we can we can we?"

"Well, that's totally up to your parents," Quasi pointed out. "But if they say yes, I'd love to take you."

Zephyr pumped a fist.

On the outskirts of town, the old graveyard lay abandoned, no longer used even for burials. It had served to hide the main entry to the portion of the old catacombs that the Roma had initially used as the Court of Miracles. Clopin had found it and selected it as a decent hiding place, and it had served the Roma well for over 20 years, before Frollo uncovered it. But after Frollo's demise, the Roma were able to emerge and live above ground among the French Parisians. It had been a few years since Clopin had returned to the graveyard with purpose. He strode confidently through the tombstones, on high alert, hand on his dagger. He silently cursed himself for not at least going home for his trusty scythe before coming here. He knew full well that Sarousch was not returning for a social call. The man was almost certainly out for blood. That and human cargo.

Clopin made his way to the crypt of the old crusader, which had served as the front door, so to speak, to the Court. Sure enough, there were wagon tracks. The dirt near the crypt looked freshly disturbed, as if someone had intentionally dug a hole and then filled it back in. But before Clopin could investigate further, he heard a noise and drew his dagger, ready for a fight.

"It's just us," came a voice, and a figure emerged from behind a tall headstone, flanked by a few other people.

Clopin relaxed and sheathed the dagger. "Xavier," he said. "Any sign of Sarousch?"

"We're pretty sure he went straight into Paris," Xavier replied.

"He left some sort of message, I think," Clopin said, turning his attention to the spot that had been dug. He knelt to uncover the hole and, to his surprise, plucked out...a hatchet?

Xavier came over to inspect the object. "What does that mean?"

"It means he's pretending he wants to make nice," Clopin said. "I don't buy it for a minute." He tapped the butt of the hatchet head against his chin in contemplation. "But two can play this game. Alright, he wants to meet me under a flag of truce, that's what we'll do. For now." He stood. "Keep the Court in lockdown for the time being. Sarousch is a complete traitor. All our reports tell us he targets our people—especially our children—to make them slaves. No one is to deal with him except me and those I specifically choose to help."

Xavier nodded. "Back to the Court, then?"

"Yes, and make certain no child so much as sets foot outside their house or wagon without a parent or guardian. I'm going to find La Esmeralda."

Orders received, Xavier took his group back home, while Clopin headed for Notre Dame. He knew Zephyr was with Quasimodo for the day, and as the cathedral was between him and where Esme taught dance anyway, it would give him peace of mind to simply stop at the church and make sure the boy was safe indoors.

"A hush falls over the crowd as Madellaine begins her graceful trek."

Sarousch's assistant balanced on the slack line she'd set up, trying to work up the courage to take more than just half a step. She wobbled in place and ultimately stumbled off the line. She collected herself and stepped back up.

"And where were you today, trinket?"

Madellaine fell off the line and landed in the dirt. She looked up sheepishly at Sarousch. "I-I just...I wanted to practice."

"Practice what? Falling on your face? Dear child, what have I told you? You're useless for anything I don't make you useful for." He leaned in close. "And it also seems you've become useless at following instructions. You know how much I hate it when you simply run off like that."

Madellaine shrank under his gaze. "I'm sorry," she responded dully. "I'll obey from now on."

"Good," Sarousch said, straightening. "Now, come along, dear, we have plans to discuss in my tent."

Madellaine followed the magician. Once they arrived in the tent that served as Sarousch's office and quarters, Madellaine stood quietly in the doorway while Sarousch set to preening himself in front of the multitude of mirrors he kept. He pulled his toupee off of his head and handed it to a minion, who switched it out for a new, fresher toupee and sent the old off for brushing and freshening. While Sarousch preened, he laid out his plan for his assistant.

"Now, you said you'd like to do something different, and I have just the task for you. First, I want you to go to Notre Dame and find the bell ringer. Get to know him. Put him at ease. Make him believe you're a friend. And then get him to show you the bells. There's one very special bell there that is being dedicated to the pope in just three days. That bell is our target. You will report back to me and tell me exactly where it is.

"Now, listen, this bit is very important. You are to avoid the Roma—that is, the Gypsies—here in town. Especially one they call Clopin Trouillefou. He's a con artist, a cutthroat and a thief—worse than you, even, trinket."

Madellaine shrank a bit at being reminded of the sin that had put her in this place of servitude to Sarousch.

"Trouillefou is completely untrustworthy," Sarousch continued. "He's a hypocrite who defies a rich history of tradition for his own purposes. He hangs people for fun. Frankly, he's completely unhinged. Neither he nor his associates are to be treated with anything less than suspicion and contempt. Should you encounter him, report to me immediately so that I can keep an eye on him." His preening finished, Sarousch strode over and stroked Madellaine's cheek with a finger. "I would just hate to see you stolen away by a dangerous rogue like him, my dear."

Madellaine involuntarily shuddered at his touch. Sarousch smirked, taking her shiver to mean she feared the man he had vilified for her.

"Now, off you go, before the evening mass. But be sure to be back by supper, or I'll have to send someone to fetch you, and you know how much I hate that."

Madellaine nodded mutely, then turned to leave.

Quasi and Zephyr were having a blast kicking their ball around in the park.

"Pass it, pass it!" Zephyr called.

Quasi gave the ball his best kick and sent it flying over the little boy's head.

"Hey, no fair, Uncle Quasi!" Zephyr cried with a pout.

"Sorry, Zeph," Quasi said with a shrug. "I didn't mean to kick it that hard."

Zephyr laughed and turned to run after the ball. But before he could reach it, a horse came skidding to a halt in front of him. It was Achilles.

"Papa?" Zephyr said, looking up in surprise.

Phoebus leaped off his horse and scooped his son up. "Zephyr, thank goodness! Listen, we need to head home right now."

"Is something wrong?" Quasi asked as he rushed over. "Is it Esmeralda? Is she sick? Hurt?"

Phoebus shook his head. "No, we're all fine, Quasi. But Clopin alerted me to a...problem...that's currently on its way into town."

"There's no problem, Papa," Zephyr assured him. "It's just the cir—"

"Ah, Phoebus!" a voice called. The group turned to see Clopin running up. "You've got Zephyr, then?"

"What's going on, Clopin?" Quasi asked.

Clopin opened his mouth to respond, but Zephyr, still annoyed at having been interrupted, shouted, "Can we go to the circus tomorrow?"

"Circus?" Phoebus asked.

"Yeah, Quasi said he'd take me if you and Mama said yes! There's jugglers an' tumblers an' candy..."

"Circus..." Clopin said, stroking his goatee. "Whose circus?"

"A man named Sarousch," Quasimodo said. "They just arrived today. They want to set up in the square beneath Notre Dame."

Phoebus and Clopin exchanged a look. Then Phoebus said, "Quasi, would you mind taking Zephyr to Esmeralda and getting them both home, please?"

"I'll take him," Clopin volunteered. "I need to speak with Esme anyway."

Zephyr was insistent on getting his question answered. "Can we go tomorrow, Papa? Please?"

"Absolutely not," Phoebus said. "I'm going to be doing an investigation on that circus. Quasi, I suggest you head home too. This...Sarousch sounds like a real piece of work."

"Very dangerous," Clopin said with a nod.

"But Papa!" Zephyr whined.

"No buts," Phoebus said firmly. "Now, you go with your Uncle Clopin to find your mama, and then go home with her and do exactly what she tells you."

The captain handed the still complaining boy over to Clopin. Zephyr began to squirm and escalate into a tantrum, so Clopin shifted him under one arm.

Quasi decided to intervene. "Hey, Zeph, I know it's hard, but your papa's just a little worried about this Sarousch guy, and he wants to make sure he's safe to be around."

"He's with a circus," Zephyr protested. "Why isn't he safe?"

"Well...not everyone who looks safe actually is," Quasi explained. "Just like not everyone who looks like...well, a monster...actually is." He pointed at his face for emphasis.

Zephyr stopped struggling. "You're not a monster, Uncle Quasi."

"No, but people sometimes say I look like one. The point is, what people look like isn't always the same as what they are truly like on the inside. Just like La Fidele. She looks kind of plain, but it's not about her looks. Same with this Sarousch guy. He may look okay, but it's not about what he looks like. It's about what he truly is. And your papa needs to find out before he says it's safe for you to go to the circus. Okay?"

Zephyr sighed in defeat. "Okay, Uncle Quasi."

Phoebus mouthed a, "thank you," at Quasi, who smiled in return.

Clopin shifted Zephyr back into a seated position in the crook of his arm. "Alright, let's go interrupt your mama at work and see if we can avoid having a tambourine thrown at our heads for our effort."

Zephyr giggled as Clopin carried him off.

Quasi turned to Phoebus. "So what's this all about?" he asked.

"It's a bit complicated," Phoebus said. "I don't know all the details. Clopin's only told me so much. But apparently Sarousch is an excommunicated Rom who's taken up slave trading and has possibly returned to settle some old score with our Roma."

"Slave trading?" Quasi said, eyes wide.

"Yes, and it doesn't sound like he respects French law in that regard. Which is why I'm going to investigate his circus."

Quasi nodded. "I'll head home like you suggested, but please keep me up to date?"

"Of course, Quasi," Phoebus promised before returning to his mount and riding off, leaving Quasi to trudge home alone with his thoughts.

AN: I don't speak French, but while Sarousch' circus in the film was called Cirque de Sarousch, I can't help but think that's wrong due to the existence of Cirque du Soleil. Maybe it's a gendered thing? If you're fluent in French or at least well versed in French grammar, please leave a comment letting me know if I was right to change de to du.