The weather was perfect for a walk along the Seine's northern banks. Quasi and Madellaine walked in silence for a while as Quasi allowed Madellaine to simply be at peace for a few minutes. But she didn't seem to be relaxing. She kept glancing nervously back in the direction of Notre Dame.
Finally, Quasi took her hand and clasped it firmly, but gently. "It's okay," he said. "Sarousch isn't going to bother us. If he does...I know the captain of the guard."
That only served to alarm Madellaine. "You do?" she yelped, pulling away.
"It's okay, Madellaine!" Quasi assured her, holding up his hands. "We only want to help you. If what we've been told about Sarousch is true...I just...don't want you to get hurt. Especially if...you've been hurt already. Trust me, I know what it's like."
"How?" Madellaine said. Her voice was small, but she enunciated the word. "How can you know what it's like? You grew up in a place where...no one can just...take you...and..." She rubbed her arms.
Quasi cautiously approached. "Just because slavery is illegal here doesn't mean it's gone," he explained. "And there are always going to be people who break the law to treat other people as less than human. As property. See...I had this...guardian. He raised me as penance for causing my mother's death. But...he treated me like some kind of pet or servant. I was just property to him. He exploited me to hurt my friends. And...even after he died, it still took me a long time to break out of that...that mentality that he trained me to have. I was free, but I didn't know what to do with that freedom. It was scary at first. If it weren't for my friends...my family...they were the key, you know? They were with me the whole way." He ventured to reach for her hand again. "And we...I...just want to be there for you too. If you need freedom."
Tears welled in Madellaine's eyes as she let Quasi grasp her hand. She looked at him. "Quasi...I..."
Suddenly, they heard a bell coming from the direction of Notre Dame.
"The emergency bell!" Quasi cried. "Something's happened! I have to get back!" He turned and loped as fast as he could in the direction of the cathedral.
"Quasimodo, wait!" Madellaine cried, hurrying after him. "I-it could be dangerous!"
Quasi couldn't catch what she said as his own heart was pounding in his ears. As the two crossed the Seine onto the island on which Notre Dame sat, they very nearly ran into Phoebus and Achilles.
"Whoa!" Phoebus commanded his stallion. "Quasi? What's going on at Notre Dame?"
"I don't know!" Quasi panted. "I was taking a walk with Madellaine, and..."
"Madellaine?" Phoebus said with a glare that he turned on the girl. "You're working for Sarousch!"
"Phoebus," Quasi pleaded. "She doesn't want to. I told her we could help her."
Phoebus hummed in thought as he scrutinized the girl. "Then she needs to help us help her, and that starts by telling us about Sarousch. Is there any chance that whatever emergency is happening at Notre Dame involves him at all?"
A debate raged in Madellaine's mind and gut as she glanced between Quasi and the captain. Finally, she said, "Yes. Sarousch wants to steal La Fidele."
"What?" cried Quasi, eyes going wide.
"What could he possibly want with a bell made for the pope?" Phoebus demanded.
"He's trying to frame your friend," Madellaine replied. "The one called Clopin. That...scary jester who challenged him last night."
"Frame him?" Quasi said. "Why, because he outlawed something that never should've been happening to little kids in the first place?"
"It's not just him," Phoebus said. "By now, all of Paris knows that Clopin is the leader of our Roma. If Sarousch can get the pope—and, by extension, the king—turned against Clopin..."
"The king will have an excuse to run them out of France," Quasi finished. He paled as a thought struck him. "Where they'll no longer be protected from slavers like Sarousch! But...the Parisians know Clopin better than that! Would they allow him to be blamed without any evidence?"
"I don't know, Quasi," Phoebus said. "You know how fickle a crowd can be. You've got firsthand experience with that. We've got to get to the cathedral. Come on!" He spurred Achilles on in the direction of Notre Dame.
Though it wasn't far, he still arrived there well before Quasi and Madellaine. When the other two caught up, they saw that a crowd had gathered. Among them were Phoebus' men—including those he'd sent to meet the bell maker. Sure enough, they were consoling Joseph of Mur Rouge, a little man who cried about his masterpiece being taken before he'd even had the opportunity to see it again. Phoebus had dismounted and was trying to get information from those who had beaten him there. Everyone clamored, most people offering opinions and speculations about events they had not witnessed.
"Everyone quiet!" Phoebus shouted. He turned to his lieutenant. "Now, tell me again, what's going on?"
"Sir!" the lieutenant replied with a sharp salute. "The Archdeacon has been attacked and assaulted with a bladed weapon, and the bell to be dedicated to the pope has disappeared from the tower."
There were gasps, and some people began wailing for the Archdeacon. Several civilians crossed themselves and murmured prayers for their priest.
"And is the Archdeacon alive?" Phoebus asked. "If so, is he conscious and able to be questioned?"
"He yet lives, sir, but he's unconscious. He's lost a lot of blood. The surgeon is doing his best, but he can't say for sure if the Archdeacon will pull through."
"No," Quasi murmured. He turned to Madellaine. "Did you know about this?" he demanded angrily. "Did you know Sarousch was going to attack the Archdeacon?"
"Quasi, I swear..."
"He's never hurt anyone!" Quasi continued. "He should've just been left out of this!"
"I didn't know!" Madellaine defended. "I promise you, I didn't! Sarousch only told me he was after the bell!"
"I want to see whoever did this pay!" Joseph cried. The crowd shouted their agreement.
"Citizens, calm yourselves!" Phoebus called. "We have a person of interest whom we will be pursuing immediately! The attacker and thief will be brought to justice!"
"Justice begins with the evidence," a new voice called. Another captain exited the cathedral, holding a red-tinged object that glittered in the afternoon light. "The attacker left his weapon at the scene!"
Phoebus' brow furrowed as he recognized the other officer, a notorious bigot who usually served on the palace grounds. "Captain Andre! What are you doing in my district?"
"I was patrolling nearby and I made it here before you, Captain," the other officer replied. He held the weapon aloft. "Does anyone know who could own a dagger like this?"
Phoebus knew from the hilt exactly whose dagger it was. "It's a stolen dagger," he said. "A man named Sarousch took it from its rightful owner. That much was reported to me last night."
"The owner is terribly irresponsible and is an accessory to attempted murder," Captain Andre snarled.
"That's ridiculous!" Phoebus shot back.
"Whose dagger is this, Captain Phoebus?" Andre pressed.
"The rightful owner is not the attacker!"
"Whose! Is! It?!"
Phoebus huffed. But he had to give the answer. "It belongs to one Clopin Trouillefou, but as I said, he reported to me that it had been stolen by Sarousch and his circus!"
The crowd murmured their surprise.
Andre gave a predatory smile. "The Gypsy leader?"
"Romani," Phoebus corrected.
"Isn't he your father-in-law?"
"Well...yes and no. He raised Esmeralda, but he's her cousin, so..."
"So he represents a conflict of interest," Andre said. "Which means this case is not, in fact, under your jurisdiction, and thus it falls to me, the next ranking officer."
"That's not how this is going to work!" Phoebus snapped. "I'm still captain of the guard, and I—"
"Are emotionally compromised. You know the rules, Phoebus. I'm bringing Trouillefou in for questioning." Andre whistled for his horse and mounted. "If you like, you can investigate the hoof prints in the bell tower loft. It seems our local jester and his circus friend use livestock to help them do their dirty work. Typical Gypsies."
"Hoof prints?" Phoebus questioned. But before he could get an answer, Andre kicked his horse into a gallop and took off for the Romani quarter.
"Aaarrrgh! Stubborn idiot!" Phoebus cried, gripping his hair in frustration. He turned to Quasi. "Quasi, I need you to go inspect these hoof prints Andre was talking about. I need to try and beat Andre to the Court so I can hopefully warn Clopin. And guards?"
Several of his guards snapped to attention. Phoebus pointed at Madellaine. "Arrest this woman."
"What?" Madellaine cried. She turned to Quasi as Phoebus' men moved to restrain and bind her. "Quasi, I promise you I didn't know Sarousch was going to attack the Archdeacon! Please, you have to tell them!"
Quasi remained silent.
"You're still an accessory to theft," Phoebus said. "Thanks to your Sarousch, we may have a war on our hands." He walked over to where Achilles waited and mounted up. "I'll see you back here, Quasi," he said before taking off for the Court.
"Quasi," Madellaine said desperately, tears running down her face. "Please!"
Quasi swallowed. "Sarousch tried to kill one of my friends, he's trying to get my cousin killed, and he's a threat to my family and my people," he said. "And...you still helped him with all of that. If you cooperate with Phoebus, you might not go to jail, but...my family comes first. I have to go upstairs."
The hunchback turned on his heel and practically stormed into the church, trying very hard to ignore Madellaine's cries as she called his name repeatedly.
Once in the bell tower, Quasimodo searched for the hoof prints Andre had mentioned. He easily found them near his workbench. There were only a few, but he'd know them anywhere. "Djali?" His heart sank. Djali never went anywhere without Esme or Zephyr. And if Esme had been here, she would've found a way to let Quasi know, which could only mean one thing.
"Sarousch must have Zephyr!"
"Any sign of him, Clopin?"
The Romani leader shook his head ruefully in response to Esmeralda's query. He had every adult who could be spared searching the Court, but there was no sign of the boy or the goat. "We have to head toward the cathedral," he said. "That boy must've gone looking for the circus."
"Please don't say that," Esmeralda begged. "The last thing I want to think about is my baby getting anywhere near that monster!"
"It's the only other place I can think of that he would've gone." Clopin turned and called for his second. "Xavier?"
"Right here, Clo," the man responded, jogging up.
"We're taking this search into town," Clopin told him. "Make sure everyone who goes is armed. Leave a contingent behind to guard the women and children."
"You're not making me stay!" Esme said firmly.
Clopin gave her a wry grin. "Wouldn't dream of it, cherie. But take a knife at the very least." He turned back to Xavier. "Please grab my scythe if you would."
"You bet," Xavier said, turning to carry out his orders.
As Clopin's men gathered with assorted weapons for the march into town, they heard hoof beats clattering on the cobblestones. They looked down the street in alarm as a group of soldiers rode toward them. Their leader, clad in a captain's uniform, pulled his horse to a stop in front of the gathered Roma.
"Which one of you is Clopin Trouillefou?" the man demanded.
Clopin immediately snapped out an arm to shut down even the slightest hint of a murmur from someone who might otherwise claim his name in order to spare him. "No one is to do my job for me!" he said firmly. "I am still the Gypsy King!" He looked up at the captain. "I'm the one called Clopin. What do you want?"
The captain grinned and nodded to two of his men, who moved in with shackles to flank the Rom. "Clopin Trouillefou, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of the Archdeacon and the theft of a bell intended for his holiness the pope. You will be brought to the Palace of Justice for questioning. I suggest you cooperate."
Gasps of shock rippled through the crowd.
"What?" Esmeralda cried. "You have no proof! If anyone would've gone after the Archdeacon, it would've been that Sarousch!"
Captain Andre produced the dagger. "This was found at the scene of the crime! Do you recognize it, Gypsy?" He held it low for Clopin to inspect.
Clopin struggled in the grip of the two guards who held him. He snorted derisively at the captain. "I reported that dagger stolen to the captain of the guard last night," he said. "The man you want is called Sarousch. Why waste your time with me?"
"Captain Phoebus is no longer in charge of this case due to a conflict of interest," Andre sneered. "This is what happens when a Frenchman of a noble house debases himself with Gypsies."
Clopin gave the man his most hateful glare, teeth bared and all, causing the captain to shift in his seat. He was pleased to see that he had unsettled Andre, even if it was only in the slightest.
"You wanna see 'debased,' look at the men who willingly associate with people like you," Esmeralda growled at the captain.
"Hold your tongue, woman!" Andre snapped. "Men, secure the Gypsy leader." As his men clapped shackles around Clopin's wrists, Andre smirked at him. "I don't suppose you know a good lawyer," he said mockingly.
"Actually," Clopin said with a smirk of his own, "I do. Well, in training. But I'm not unprepared."
Andre was about to respond to that when he heard a shout and more hoof beats. Phoebus pulled Achilles to a halt.
"Phoebus!" Esme cried rushing forward. "Zephyr's disappeared, and this man is trying to arrest Clopin for something he obviously didn't do!"
"What?" Phoebus cried. "Zephyr's gone? When? How?"
"He snuck out of his room and ran off with Djali. We've been searching for him, but we think he's headed for Notre Dame!"
"He's with Djali, you said?" Something clicked in Phoebus' brain. He pulled Achilles up to Andre. "The hoof prints in the loft! What animal did they belong to?"
Andre shook his head. "Some small, cloven-hoofed beast," he said. "What's that have to do with anything?"
"My son and his pet goat are missing, and Sarousch is known to kidnap children!" Phoebus snapped. "He could be in Sarousch's possession right now! Do you really think that if Clopin had anything to do with attacking the Archdeacon and stealing a bell that he would've put my son in danger? You yourself already pointed out that he's basically my wife's father. That makes him Zephyr's grandfather! I dare you to accuse this man of endangering the life of his own grandchild just because he's Romani!"
Andre silently fumed. He hated to admit it, but Phoebus was right. Of all the things he believed he could accuse the Roma of, Andre was sure he wouldn't be able to justify accusing them of harming their own children. He nodded to his guards. "Release the Gypsy, but keep him close. There's still a history between him and this...Sarousch...and we'll need all the information we can get."
"That we can supply," Phoebus said, sighing with relief.
Clopin was freed from his shackles, and Esme ran to embrace him.
Xavier joined the group at that moment. "Clopin," he called, tossing the leader his scythe. "What happened? I was gone for maybe two minutes!"
Clopin deftly caught his weapon. "Never mind," he said. "We have a slaver to catch and a boy to rescue. Let's go, men! Phoebus, please keep your captain buddy on a short leash."
"No problem," Phoebus replied, casting a wary glance at Andre.
Now organized, well armed and much greater in number than anticipated, the Roma and the king's guard turned down the road toward Notre Dame.
AN: Clopin references his title of Gypsy King here in a nod to a separate piece I wrote, called, "the Scapegoat King." I touched on this title ever so briefly a few chapters back. In summary, it's a ruse. Clopin was given the title as a means to act as a decoy and protect the Court of Miracles. It's intended for low-ranking Roma who can be spared, so that if one of them is imprisoned or killed outright by government authorities believing they've captured the Romani leader, the rest of the tribe is little worse off. But for Clopin, it was his first title and job in the tribe, and he got so used to being the scapegoat that he never let the title pass to someone else-though he has never been able to keep people from assuming it anyway.
An alternate interpretation of the title is simply, "gentleman of the Roma," indicating an individual of good standing who, despite having little authority, offers to be a liaison between his people and non-Roma authorities. In Romani, the term used for, "ladies and gentlemen," literally translates to, "queens and kings." So all gentlemen among the Roma are colloquially kings. This is the justification Clopin's loyal followers often use to take up the role of "Gypsy King" to divert attention from both the tribe and from Clopin when dealing with hostile factions. Again, Clopin does not like it when they do this. And Sarousch knows that. He was banking on it. And then Zephyr got in the way and spoiled everything.
As for Andre, he is not the captain of the guard because Phoebus still held that job at the time King Charles ascended the throne. Andre was the personal lieutenant of the then-prince, and was promoted to captain when Charles was crowned. Which absolutely creates conflict between him and Phoebus. They're not big fans of one another, and Andre really wants Phoebus' job.
