Chapter 5

~Ines~

I gazed down through the trapdoor where I'd hid just a few days before. Nothing out of the ordinary, nuns milling about. Sometimes I'd even see Peggy rushing around, at least I liked to think it was her. Hard to tell from so high up. I narrowed my gaze onto a dark blob. One of Ward's men. They were still here.

I rolled my eyes and shut the door. I sat for a moment, my frustration brewing in my stomach. Claiming sanctuary had been a desperate attempt for safety. It was beginning to look like all it really did was delay the inevitable.

The memory of Ward's wrath flooded my mind. All the 'creative' ways he could kill a person. I'd witnessed only a few. I shuddered. Ward was a prideful man, should you bruise his ego…there was a hefty price to pay. I'd done far more than just bruise it.

Dwelling on this wasn't helping anything. I took a deep breath and stood up. I stepped from around the statue and entered the main area. Quasi straddled a bench, he was hard at work carving into a hunk of wood. The skeletal remains of what may have been a piece of furniture scattered around him.

I plopped down into a seat by him. He was so focused on his carving he barely seemed to notice. I glanced over his shoulder and peered at his work. He was halfway through what appeared to be a fleur de lis design. Celtic inspired knots framed it, a perfect marriage between French and Gaelic art.

"That's looking great." I complimented him.

"Thanks." He mumbled. His brow was furrowed in concentration.

His hand groped for a tool. He stopped what he was doing and glanced around him. "Have you seen my fine chisel?" He asked.

"Uh this one?" I asked, holding up a tool.

"No, that's too thick, a really small one, for fine details." He continued on his search.

I turned to look again. "Never mind, here it is." He resumed his carving.

I picked up one of the finished pieces and marveled at his craftsmanship. "You're really good at this."

Quasimodo paused and glanced at the wood. "It's alright." He pointed to a spot. "I rushed it too much here."

"It looks just as good as the rest." I held it closer to my face.

"No see." He swung his leg around so he was sitting on his bench normally. "See how rough and calloused the wood is here." He ran his finger along the edge. "That didn't need to be that way.. I was impatient.

I ran my finger where he did. He was right, it wasn't quite as smooth as the rest of the design. "Well I still think it's incredible."I smiled reassuringly at him.

Quasi met my gaze and then quickly cast his eyes downward. He'd been doing that a lot. In fact, he hasn't really looked at me since the first day. When we spoke his gaze was always at the ground, or looking elsewhere. It was something I was used too I guess, my scarring wasn't pretty and people often couldn't bare to look at me. Still though, I had thought that he might be different. He might understand or something. It was silly, but for whatever reason it stung every time his gaze flinched away from mine.

"What all have you made?" I asked, standing up from my seat and gazing around the belltower.

He stood up too. "Well…I mostly do repairs. Mainly on the bells, but sometimes on their hardware. He gestured to the bronze behemoths above us. There's molten lead tucked away back here. He pointed to a door.

"Oh yeah! I spotted that yesterday." I paused. "The handle's hot, which makes sense now."

"I keep it locked for safety."

"Safety?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Well." He wrung his hands together nervously. "Sometimes the youth groups come up here. Dares and games y'know. I don't want any of them falling in."

"Dares?"

"Oh it's just silly kid stuff. " He waved a hand dismissively. "They have their scary stories and made up legends. They have one going around that I'm a witches beast. Should I see them, I'll have a witch come take them away." He chuckled.

"Oh Quasi."

"No no it's alright. They dare each other to come up here and try to spot me. Just harmless fun." He assured me.

"It's not harmless." I retorted. "It's at your expense."

"Ines, I know what I look like. It's ok. I've…I've dealt with far worse." His voice was pinched, defeated almost.

"Well still. I'm sorry for it." I reached my hand out to set it on his arm but stopped short. I thought of his flinching gaze, and returned my hand to my side. I know what I look like too. My gaze focused on a shelf behind him.

I cocked my head to the side and walked over to it. A small metal bell sat on the crowded shelf. It was scuffed up and a bit rough around the edges. But otherwise a perfect replica of the big ones.

"Did you make this?" I asked, holding it up.

His eyes widened. "I haven't thought of that one in a while." He held his hand out for it. I placed it in his palm. "I made this years ago. I was maybe 16?" His thumb traced the outside of it. "A bit rough, definitely not my best work…but not bad."

"I think it's great." I gazed at the dinghy little bell. "It just needs a little polish and it'll be right as rain."

Quasi held it out to me. "You can keep it if you like."

"Oh that's ok, I don't-"

"No really." He held it out more. "It's yours."

I took it from him. "Thank you." I gazed down at my little bell fondly. I was so engaged with my bell that I very nearly missed the way Quasi was looking at me. I glanced up and met his eyes.

For a moment his gaze looked warm and endearing. Then his eyes were once more to the ground.

"I-I should go ring the bells. He peered outside at the sun's position. "It's nearly time for evening mass." He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a box of beeswax. "Don't forget."

"I know. Put some in my ears." I accepted the wax from him and started packing it in. The bells were terribly loud, so loud they could easily deafen a person.

I watched him climb the beams and rafters to get to his chosen bell. This one was huge, Quasi looked tiny beside it. He grabbed a rope and then using all his body weight and strength he pulled.

An odd feeling came over me as I held my little bell and watched the bellringer master the monstrous gong above us. It lifted him off his feet as the rope swung upwards, his arms and leg muscles bulged as he heaved the rope down. I felt as though I was holding my breath watching him repeat this.

To say I was perplexed with myself would be an understatement. Quasi finished ringing his bell and stepped back. His chest heaving from exertion. I don't know what it was, but for whatever reason. He fascinated me.

~Quasimodo~

The sun set rapidly. Ines and I watched the evening mass from the trap door. Father Jean's voice echoed through the halls, the psalms rang beautifully. The notes bouncing off the acoustics. You could hardly hear the words but the melodies were there. I snuck a glance at Ines. Her brow was furrowed. No doubt trying to puzzle together what was being said.

The last amen was spoken and everyone rose from their seats to head for home.

"Did you get any of that?" Ines asked, standing up.

"A few words here and there." I shrugged.

"I didn't get anything." She admitted.

"That's alright. I've been listening in for 25 years and I barely got anything." I glanced at her with a small smile. Her eyes met mine and I quickly dropped my gaze. I approached the pot of stew boiling over the fire. I gave it a stir and gave a nod of approval. "Hungry?" I asked.

"I am always hungry." She joked.

I chuckled and spooned a portion into a bowl for her. I glanced at her figure next to me. I'd noticed the first day that she was quite small. Maybe too small. I spooned some more into the bowl before handing it to her.

I spooned some for myself before grabbing a bottle of wine and sitting down beside her. I handed her a glass and gave her a generous pour before topping mine off.

We sat for a few moments, eating in silence. I busied my head with tasks for tomorrow. What needed maintenance, repairs, or just a good polish. Anything to keep my thoughts from turning to the woman sitting next to me, her blonde hair, the way her green eyes shined.

"Would you like to play?" Ines's voice startled me out of my thinking.

"Hm?"

"A drinking game? Do you wanna play one?" She gestured to the bottle of wine. "It's been a tense couple of days…and I don't know. Maybe we could break the ice with some fun for a bit? Forget some worries."

I glanced at the wine. "I've….I've never played one." I admitted sheepishly.

"Really?"

"Never had the opportunity." I shrugged.

"Well…it's time we change that." She stood up and sat on the bench beside me. I hoped the fire would hide my flushed face.

"This game is called drink or no drink." She grabbed the bottle and topped off our glasses. "We each take turns expressing something about each other that we believe to be true. Drink if it's right, no drink if it's wrong."

"Seems simple enough." I mused.

"That's the key to a good drinking game. Can't very well do anything too complicated once you're sloshed." She joked.

"Fair enough." I nodded.

"All right… I'll ask first." She straddled the bench and gazed at me. My heart beat erratically waiting for her question. "Your favorite color is…green."

I met her gaze perplexed before taking a drink. "How did you know that?"

"It's all you wear." She teased.

I looked down at my tunic. "Ah yea."

She laughed. It was the first time I'd heard her do so. Its music filled the belltower, bouncing off the bells as it traveled upwards. My heart skipped a beat.

"Alright your turn. Ask me something." She held her glass closer to her.

I thought of all I wanted to ask her. I peeked at her expectant gaze, always reverting my gaze back to the floor or somewhere else. Where was she from? How did she get scarred? How long had she been on the run? Who were Ion and Gordon? Why was Ward after her?

"Your favorite color is….red?" I asked weakly. Best to keep it simple for now.

"Sorry Quas, no drink." She shrugged.

"Well what is it then?" I asked.

She paused for a moment. "Blue."

"Ah."

"My turn." She sat forward again. "You love the fall."

"Nah, more of a winter guy myself." I admitted.

"Damn." She cringed. "Sorry I forgot we're in a church."

I laughed. "We just had evening mass?"

"I know." She chuckled. "I've been hanging out with too many criminals."

"Ok ok ok." I snickered. "My turn. You like the sunset over the sunrise."

She took a big swig. "You got me, I hate waking up early."

"Really?"

"Ugh yeah, much rather sleep in.

"I love an early morning."

"Aha so you like the sunrise over the sunset?"

I took a drink.

"Aye!" She clapped. "I got ya."

"I basically gave you that one." I teased.

She made a face at me.

"Alright, your favorite season is fall." I could feel the wine starting to take effect. I was feeling a small buzz, my body felt more relaxed. I felt good.

She groaned and took a drink. "You got it."

"Really? Autumn?" I asked.

"What's so weird about that?" She asked.

"Well…I don't know if I'd call it weird. I guessed fall on a whim. Don't you only get a few weeks of decent weather before everything gets muddy?" I asked.

"Well sure but those few weeks are stunning. The crisp fall air, the leaves changing their color. The pumpkins…" She trailed off.

"I suppose pumpkins are fun to look at." I relented.

"What? No, I mean yes they are fun to see, but it's more the food." She corrected.

"Food?"

"Pies, cookies, bread, cake… all delicious."

"Huh." I raised my brow in mild surprise. I hadn't realized a pumpkin could be so versatile.

"Besides you're one to talk, you don't get any decent weather with winter."

I furrowed my brow. "What's wrong with winter?"

"What isn't wrong with winter?"

I chuckled. "I just like the way the snow covers the city. It looks…magical." I answered. "Especially when the snow falls at night. I can sit out there by the railing and watch it fall." I pointed outside. "It's quiet and peaceful, somehow makes the belltower feel…like the coziest place in Paris." I glanced around the place. Hard to see it that way now with all the clutter strewn about. I kept the place clean but I didn't keep it tidy.

She laughed heartily at me. "Alright, maybe if I spent a winter warm and cozy up here. "She gestured to the tower. "Maybe then I'd like it too."

I laughed in response. I snuck a look at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her green eyes sparkling. She was staring into the fire with a smile playing at her lips. She was stunning.

"Your favorite flower is…a snowdrop." She continued the game.

"Well…I don't know."

"Oh you can't get out of it that easily." She chortled.

"Well..I haven't seen many flowers. I don't know what's my favorite." I admitted.

"Haven't you been to a garden before?" She asked, her tone less playful.

"I've only left this cathedral 3 times…5 years ago, and it wasn't to look at flowers." I responded.

"Oh."

It was quiet again. I'd ruined the fun we were having. I could kick myself for being so stupid. She was laughing and enjoying herself, and I was too. But no I had to open my big mouth and-

"Well..When this is all said and done. I'll take you to a meadow. We'll figure out what your favorite flower is." She smiled kindly at me.

I could hardly speak. "I'd like that."

"In the meantime." She swirled her wine around. "We still have a game to get drunk too."

"Well before we do…could you tell me your favorite flower? I don't know enough to do a very good guess." I blushed.

"Calla Lily." She answered, smiling fondly at me. No one had ever smiled at me like that before.

She had to be hearing my heart beating erratically. "I don't know what those look like.."

"I'll show you them as well." She promised. "As soon as everything with Ward is worked out." Her expression faltered.

"Why is he so.." I paused to find the right word. My vocabulary leaving me with each sip of wine.

"Horrible?" Ines guessed. "Rude, diabolical." She continued, her eyes shining mischievously.

"Persistent."

"Ahh." She swirled her wine before drinking it deeply, draining the whole glass. She pulled her lips from it and set it on the bench. "We're gonna need more wine first I think."

I filled her glass and sat the bottle down.

She held the glass and paused for a bit thinking hard. "I promise I will tell you Quasi. I just- I…" She struggled to find the words.

"We can speak another time." I rescued her. She smiled at me gratefully. "It's my turn anyway I believe."

I paused to think of a question. I was feeling more bold with this buzz going on. "You're secretly a very good singer."

She laughed dryly. "Very good is being a bit too kind. I can carry a tune, but it's not all that pleasant."

"Bless it all." I grunted.

"Bless it all?" She laughed.

"I was raised in a church." I explained.

"No I know, it's just- it's very sweet is all." She chuckled. "Alright my turn. Uhhhh…You dream of leaving this place." Her eyes settled on me.

I felt myself go a bit rigid before taking a drink.

Silence for a moment. "Why don't you?" She asked.

"The last time I left this tower." I absentmindedly rubbed at the scars on my shoulder. "It didn't go well."

"You don't have to stay in the city you could-"

"NO..no… I-I can't." Images of the last time I ventured out flooded my mind. The jeering, and then the ropes… and then the coiled whip. "I-I don't belong out there."

"I don't believe that."

"I know what I am Ines." My voice had risen a touch. She gazed at me stubbornly.

"And what is that?"

"You know…"

"No. No I don't."

I sighed in defeat. "A monster, a beast, a demon…pick your favorite. You know it, I know it. Everyone out there certainly knows it." I gestured outside. "It's ok, I've accepted this.

"You aren't," She argued. "I've seen monsters, beasts and demons.." She paused. "I don't see one now.

"The rest of the world would say differently."

"Well then damn the world." She raised her chin defiantly.

"You shouldn't say things like that." I glanced her way.

"Why not? The world turned its back on you, and you're supposed to just stay tucked away for its comfort?" She stood up and sipped at her wine. "You have just as much right as anyone else t-to go out into the world!" Her speech was slurred, and her arms waved around illustrating the passion in her voice. " To see every splendor, every whimsy, every…every…" Her voice trailed off. "…My words may have left me a glass of wine ago."

I laughed heartily. "Maybe we should cork the bottle?" I offered.

"No!." She raised her hand to stop me. "For God's sakes man. Anything but that!"

We both laughed at that.

"It is a promise now though." She flopped back onto the bench.

I gave her a confused look.

"To take you out of here. I've gotten pretty good at prison break." Though the last bit was more of a joke, I could tell she meant what she said. "Once I get this Ward thing figured out that is." Her posture deflated at that.

I glanced at her slumped figure. She ran high and low. One minute full of vigor and the next defeat. I glanced at the wine and smiled softly. "You don't break promises, to the best of your ability." I asked her.

"Huh? Oh." She grabbed her glass and took a drink. "Almost forgot we were playing."

"Sorry."

"Nah don't be." Her gaze was on the floor. "I try my best to keep my word…but I've failed a few times. Mostly when it comes to the boys."

"Ion and Gordon?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Are they your…brothers?"

"Well not technically. I think of them as my little brothers. They were hoisted onto me by Ward when we were part of his crew." She wrinkled her nose. "I was the only girl in the group and he assumed that made me the best to teach the boys the ropes of thievery."

"So you're their mentor?"

"Yeah. I taught them how to defend themselves, hunt, fish, trap, pickpocket..the works."

"So….were you good at teaching them?"

"Well…yes. But that's besides the point." She waved her hand dismissively. "Moving on…" She peered at me. "You're secretly an excellent singer."

"That's hardly fair, I asked you that!" I jeered.

"Quasi, This game barely has rules." She teased.

"Alright alright." I paused, my face heating up. "I've been told that I have a…decent voice."

She lit up. "You have to sing now!" She gushed.

"Oh no no I-I'm not uh." I couldn't find an excuse.

She scooched closer to me. "I haven't heard a song in so long! C'mon just sing a song from your psalm book or whatever."

My face was on fire now as her arm brushed against mine. "I-I..w-well I dont-" I could feel her eyes on me. "More wine?" I held up the bottle.

She burst out laughing. "Sure, top me off." She held up her glass for me and I filled it meekly. She took a generous gulp. "It's alright Quasi, I'm only teasing."

I breathed out in relief.

"I would like to hear you sing someday though." She continued.

"We keep playing games like this." I lifted my glass. "I think I can work up the courage to do so."

Our eyes met for a moment. Her green eyes shone in the firelight. I hadn't seen a forest but surely their color matched its hue. I reverted my gaze habitually. "Y'know…you never told me what your secret talent was."

~Ines~

For a moment everything stood still, our eyes met. His blue eyes glistened in the light of the fire. It was the first time he'd looked at me since that first day. Then he flinched from my gaze. I was quite a few glasses of wine deep into the evening, so it wasn't possible to hide the hurt anymore.

"Y'know…you never told me what your secret talent was."

I kept my gaze on the fire. "Oh…I didn't, did I?" He probably hated how close I was to him. What had I been thinking? I scooched away from him. "Sewing."

"Sewing?"

"Yeah…funny huh? I just like it. Calms me down a bit…helps me think."

"I guess I didn't see that coming." He admitted.

"You aren't the first to say so." I responded. The game had gotten a bit off track, but I was feeling drunk enough to ask the question that'd been burning in my head for the past few days. I squared my gaze to his and once more his eyes flinched from mine. "You find me hideous." I spoke matter of factly.

His jaw dropped. "What? N-No of course I don't…I mean..I" He bumbled on.

"Every time you look at me you flinch away." I confronted him. "I know what that means Quasi…I just." My shoulders slumped. "I thought maybe..." My voice trailed off. I wasn't sure how to finish that sentence.

There was silence for a while. I shouldn't have said those things. Should have just continued on. Who cares what he thinks anyways. I'm leaving soon and I only just met him. He isn't really anything to me. I didn't need to do all this.

"Ines." His voice came out soft. "I don't think you're hideous in any way." He continued.

"Then why?" I turned to face him. This time his gaze didn't shift from mine. At least not immediately.

"M-my master…Frollo. He saw eye contact as disrespect." He furrowed his brow. I could tell this wasn't easy for him to say. "Frollo made it clear from the time I was born until his death that I was below him, I wasn't to speak unless spoken to, I was to serve him when he visited, and I wasn't to meet his gaze." He paused for a moment. "Punishments for disobedience were…severe."

I gazed at him horrified. "Oh Quasi I am so sorry." I breathed.

"Its not just you, I struggle to make eye contact with everyone." He continued. "Esmeralda, Phoebus, father Jean….I've tried to fix it but…Frollo's training was all I'd known for 20 years. His voice is still in my head." Quasi's gaze was firmly on the floor.

My heart ached for the poor hunchback. How could a man who hadn't known kindness for most of his life, be as good as he was?

I scooched close to him. His gaze darted from me to the ground. I reached my hand and cupped his chin, lifting his gaze to mine.

His wide blue eyes met my green once again. His face was flushed and his lips parted in surprise.

"See not so bad." I breathed. I removed my hand from his chin and smiled softly.

There was silence for a bit. "Your master was what we criminals like to call a sonuvabitch." I joked.

He blinked a couple times before chuckling. "Probably shouldn't say that here."

"Ah yeah house of god and all." I waved my hand.

He laughed, his voice echoing up through the tower. He had a lovely laugh. When his eyes opened they locked onto mine and this time…they didn't flinch away.