"But you didn't see him! He's just...I didn't know what to say!"

"You say what I told you to say!" Sarousch barked. "I don't care if he looks like the devil himself! I gave you a mission, and you're to carry it out! You seem to forget that I saved you from a life on the streets, even after you stole from me. You're in debt to me, and are to do as I say. I own you."

Madellaine withered under his glare. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I'll try again."

"That's better," Sarousch said. "You'll try again tomorrow, before the show. We've got the captain of the guard sniffing around tonight, and you're liable to run right into him and give the whole plan away."

"I don't even know the whole plan," Madellaine pointed out. "Why am I even supposed to find out about a bell for the pope?"

"Ah, that," Sarousch said with a grin. "Well, remember my warning about one Clopin Trouillefou? He was always quite the troublemaker, putting our whole community at risk, but he always avoided justice or any sort of discipline from our elders. And when that bell disappears the day before the pope's arrival and all the evidence points back to Trouillefou, he won't be able to escape any longer. He'll have to face the music." He chuckled as he quietly added to himself, "And then I'll have my pick of merchandise, as it were, for trading outside of France. Perhaps even within France. I do have that one client..."

"I don't understand," Madellaine said. "What did this Clopin person do to you?"

"Why, he drove me out of Paris, my dear. My hometown! All because I made a simple request for the hand of an eligible young maiden that he was entirely too possessive of. There's a bit more to it than that, but it's not for you to worry your pretty little head about tonight. To bed, then, trinket! If I have any need of you tonight, I'll send for you."

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Madellaine from his quarters. She quickly rushed to the tent where she slept and curled up in her own bed roll, hoping she'd be allowed to stay there the whole night. As she drifted off, her thoughts wandered back to the shy bell ringer with the misshapen face. She hadn't meant to run off like that. She hoped she would be able to find the right words when she saw him again.

Elsewhere, others had thoughts weighing heavily on their own minds. Quasimodo lay awake in his bell tower loft, turning the events of the day over in his head. He kept thinking about the girl called Madellaine and wondering if there was any possible way to convince her to talk to him again.

In the Romani quarter, Phoebus and Esmeralda whispered to each other in the dark of their bedroom, confessing their anxieties about Sarousch and what Clopin had told them about him so far. They were unaware of Zephyr listening in, trying to find out what was so dangerous about the circus ringmaster. Djali sat with him behind the door, kindly choosing not to reveal the boy's presence.

Meanwhile, Clopin sat in his favorite thinking spot, the roof of the house he occupied with his family. Below him, his own descendants peacefully slept, as of yet unaware of just how dangerous the return of the exiled Sarousch was to them. But they trusted him to protect them. All the Roma did. That was his job. That had been his job since he'd discovered the underground refuge that had become the Court of Miracles. Keeping danger away from his community by acting as a decoy had been his first major role in the tribe. He had even been given a misleading title, the King of Gypsies, to facilitate his role. But that title was only good for use with the gadjes, like Claude Frollo. It was useless against Sarousch. If Clopin wanted to keep Sarousch from harming the community, he would have to go to him personally. Which he already knew was what Sarousch wanted. He didn't know precisely why, but he knew it wasn't to make amends.

That feeling of dread that had been haunting Clopin for a while now settled like a rock in his stomach. He ran a gloved hand through his hair, focusing on controlling his breathing before it escalated into hyperventilation. Every instinct was telling him to stay as far away from Sarousch as possible. But his sense of duty to his people asserted itself. Whatever harm Sarousch brought would have to go through Clopin first before it could even touch the community. That was how it had always been, and it had not changed with Frollo's demise. Clopin insisted on it. He had driven Sarousch out, and he alone would face the consequences. Not his family, and not his tribe. A good Rom baro stood by his decisions, especially when they were made for the right reasons.

It took until the wee hours of the morning before Clopin felt tired enough to try going to bed. He only had marginal success.

The next day, Quasi finished his morning obligations as quickly as possible, then headed straight for the Romani quarter where Esmeralda and Phoebus lived. He knocked on the door and called out to Esmeralda.

"Esme! Are you home? I need your help with something!"

Esme opened the door. "Quasi? What brings you here? Quick, come in! Clopin still has us all on lockdown." She ushered him inside and latched the door.

"Lockdown? Quasi repeated. "What for? Is it the circus?"

Esmeralda nodded. "Sarousch," she said. "Clopin believes he's using the circus as a front to get close to potential victims."

"But why? Slavery is illegal here."

"That's why Sarousch needs to pretend he's just a harmless entertainer. Phoebus has told me that just because slavery is illegal in France doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It's not gone, it's just underground."

Quasi shuddered. "If there's one thing Frollo was right about, it's that the world can be a really cruel and wicked place. Because of people like him. And Sarousch."

"Don't make me agree with Frollo," Esme teased. She sighed. "I wish we could just forget about him. But then stuff like this happens, and it just brings back those bad memories. Anyway, enough about Frollo. Why did you come over?"

Quasi fidgeted with his hands. "Well...I met this...girl...yesterday, and now...my stomach is doing flip-flops, I can't sleep, I'm all dizzy, and..."

Esme smiled. "And yet you don't care?"

"Yeah! It's like...all the symptoms of being sick, but I like it? It's ridiculous, I know."

"It's called euphoria," Esme said with a laugh. "The treatment starts with telling her how you feel."

"That's what I need help with. She didn't say where she lived. Just that she liked the bells. She...she actually came up into the bell tower to hear them. I was hoping you could help me find her?"

Esme sighed. "That's a problem, Quasi. Clopin's very strict about the lockdown. No child can even set foot outside without adult supervision, and the rest of us are being strongly discouraged from going out unless it's absolutely essential. And under no circumstances are we to go anywhere near the circus. Which means Notre Dame is off limits to us too. And yet...the circus performance this evening is your best bet for finding her. I'm afraid you're kind of on your own with this one."

Quasi's face fell. "Well...I live where they're performing, so...I guess I can keep an eye out from the tower. Like I always do."

Esme put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Quasi. I wish I could help more. When this all blows over, we'll find this girl."

"Uncle Quasi!"

"Hey, Zephyr!"

Quasi spread his arms for the little boy to run into, scooping him into an embrace. After a brief hug, Zephyr looked up.

"My birthday's tomorrow, and Uncle Clopin says I can't go anywhere!" he whined. "No one can! Not until the circus leaves! And I wanna go to the circus, but I can't do that either, and no one will tell me why!"

"We just want to make sure it's safe, pal," Quasi said, ruffling Zephyr's hair. "Clopin says that the leader of the circus is very dangerous and is doing some illegal things."

"Circuses aren't illegal!"

"Yeah, but..." Quasi sighed. "It's pretty complicated right now, Zeph. But we think this Sarousch guy might be using the circus to kidnap people."

Zephyr's eyes went wide. "That's crazy! What kind of people would do that?"

"Bad people," Quasi said simply. "There are a lot of them in the world. And that's why we have good people like your papa to protect us."

Zephyr pouted for a moment. "But you're still coming over tomorrow, right? We can still have my party."

"Of course I will," Quasi promised. "And I'll get your papa to help me bring your birthday present over."

"It's big?" Zephyr said, his face lighting up.

"Well, big enough that I can't carry it all by myself," Quasi hinted.

"Yes!"

Quasi laughed at the boy's enthusiasm. "Well, I should get home. I have stuff to get done."

"But I will absolutely see you tomorrow, right? You promise, right?"

"I absolutely promise. Wild circuses couldn't keep me away."

Esme laughed in spite of herself. She hugged Quasi. "Stay safe," she admonished. "And if you do run into that girl again, tell her to stay safe too."

"I will," Quasi promised.

As he left the house and started back toward home, he spied Clopin, sitting near the boundary of the neighborhood. He was holding a scythe and running a sharpening stone across the blade. Quasi shuddered. He hadn't noticed Clopin using the farm implement in the battle for Notre Dame, but he'd heard all about it afterward, and how efficient the Romani leader was with it. He approached the brooding man.

"H-how are things going today?" he asked cautiously. The jester was not one to tangle with when he was in a bad mood.

Clopin turned and gave him a wide grin. "Quasimodo! Decided to brave the outside world even with a perfectly valid excuse to avoid people, did you?" His grin faded as quickly as it had appeared. "I wish you hadn't."

"I was just...visiting Esme. After yesterday...I just wanted to see that she's doing okay. She told me you don't want anyone leaving if they don't have to."

Clopin studied his weapon. "You have questions, non?"

"Well, if you're okay with answering a few. Like...who exactly is Sarousch? Why did he come back now? Frollo's been gone for years. What's he really planning? What are you planning?"

Clopin was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "I'll make you a deal. This evening, I plan to confront Sarousch. Find out more about why he returned when he did. Once I've done that, I'll tell you, Esme and Phoebus the whole story."

"That...doesn't sound like it'll be a very happy story."

"Ah, but every good story has its darker moments. If stories were only ever happy, where would the inspiration be?"

Quasi shrugged. "That's a good point, I guess."

Clopin stood and threw an arm around Quasi's shoulders. "This isn't for you to worry about, my friend. I've got things under control for the moment."

"Well...just let me know if you need help with anything. You know I'll be more than happy to help protect the Court. Phoebus will too. You...you don't have to do all this alone."

"Never said I was," Clopin replied. "But I have responsibilities, and I won't leave them to someone else. I'll take help, but I'm not stepping back. Now, if only I could make Esme understand that."

"Whatever you have to do next, we've got your back," Quasi said.

Clopin chuckled. "I've no doubt. Now, you'd best get home. Sarousch could be on the hunt. You'll see me this evening." He patted Quasi on the back as he released the younger man.

Quasi smiled and headed toward Notre Dame, waving as he went.

Madellaine gathered her courage as she walked past the statues that lined the western facade of Notre Dame. They seemed a little less judgmental today, and almost seemed to be bidding her to come in and stay. Once inside, she felt engulfed by the same sense of peace and security she'd felt the day before. But the feeling was quickly replaced by the knowledge that she was there on a mission that she could not fail. She started toward the staircase that led to the bell tower.

"Can I help you find something, my child?"

Madellaine startled and spun around. She saw an old priest with more ornate robes than average. He had to be the Archdeacon.

"I-I'm sorry, father, I was just...I was looking for the bell ringer. I met him yesterday, and I wanted to...talk to him again."

"I'm afraid he's stepped out," the Archdeacon said. "I don't believe he was expecting company. You're free to wait for him here, if you like."

"Oh." Madellaine's face fell. "That's alright, father. I'll just...come back later."

The Archdeacon gave her a kind smile. "You're welcome here anytime, my child."

Madellaine made her way outside—only to bump right into the one person she was looking for.

"Sorry! So sorry!" they both cried simultaneously, before pausing to recognize one another.

"Madellaine!" Quasi's face lit up with glee. "I-I wasn't expecting you!"

"Oh! Quasimodo! It was Quasimodo, right?"

Quasi nodded.

Madellaine blushed. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I'm just...really awkward around people, and...sometimes...I just don't know what to say."

Quasi put a hand to his face. "It's okay. I get it. I'm not...well, I'm not the easiest person to look at. Besides, you're a lot braver than I am. I'd never work up the courage to go looking for a total stranger in their bell tower. You must really like bells."

"Oh, of course!" Madellaine said, plastering a smile on her face. "Um...do you think...I could see them?"

Quasi grinned and took her hand to lead her inside. "This way. I'll introduce you to everyone. I know I shouldn't play favorites, but I kind of have a soft spot for La Fidele. Just wait until you meet her!"

The hunchback was on cloud nine as he practically skipped toward the tower staircase. This had been a lot easier than he could've ever anticipated.

Madellaine, however, felt nothing but guilt. This was going to be a lot easier than she wanted it to be.

AN: According to the research I've done, Rom baro is a title commonly used for the head of a Romani tribe. It appears to be at least somewhat universal, not limited to one specific group. Most of the research I incorporate will apply primarily to eastern Roma, specifically from Romania. In my head canon, Clopin's tribe is comprised primarily of eastern Roma who escaped slavery, with some Sinti influence, including in Clopin's own family line. The modern Manouches group has not yet had time to develop at this point, as the Roma have only been in France for about half a century or so. Clopin has no memory of slavery, but he's heard more than enough about it to know he wants nothing to do with it. Hence his paranoia.