Chapter 4

~Ion~

Slipping through the crowd was easy. I'd done it hundreds of times before and this time I had probably the best distraction ever. A man on stilts moved over head and the crowd oohed and Ah' d. I smirked and felt my fat pockets. Gordon would get his medicine, and hey, maybe I could get a hot meal.

Two quick whistles sounded in the near distance. My blood ran cold and I subtly lifted my gaze towards it. I could just make out Ines's silvery hair and… Ward. My heart sank and I quickly eyed the nearest bridge. Fortunately I was on the opposite side from Ines so there weren't any guards posted by me yet. I gave one last glance back. Ines was dashing for Notre Dame, Ward and a fleet of guards hot on her heels.

"I'm sorry." I breathed before moving to the bridge. Gordon needed me. Still…my heart hurt as I left my friend and mentor to her fate.

I had never been so grateful to be Romani. The Feast of Fools seemed to be run by Romani folk. Nobody glanced my way as I headed for our hideout. It was nice to not have to keep on high alert lest I lead an enemy straight to us.

*Slam*

The door sounded behind me and I began emptying my pockets.

"Ion? Ines?" Gordon grumbled sitting up from his bed.

"Just me buddy." I answered before taking stock of what I'd nabbed.

"Where's Ines?" He asked.

I paused for a moment searching for the words. "She's…" my face fell and I met his gaze.

"No." He breathed.

"She's ok. She's in Notre Dame. I think …she was able to claim sanctuary." I reassured him.

"I TOLD YOU! I told both of you!" He hissed, his eye blazed into mine. It was nice to see he could give such a look even with one eye.

"I know Gordy." I soothed.

"You just left her there?!" He grunted.

"What else could I do Gordon?" I defended myself. "This was the plan! She whistled twice. There wasn't anything I could do. And I-" I paused.

Gordon's gaze softened.

"…You need me more than she does." I finished.

Gordon sighed and slumped forward. "You're right… I know you're right."

I sat beside him. We lingered a few moments in silence. Our situation weighing on us. Where do we go from here? Ines was our mentor, she always knew what to do next. We hadn't been on our own yet. Not really anyway. She'd tried to send us out on our own after Willow died. She'd been so devastated, foolishly she thought she was cursed, that everyone she cared about was doomed to die. Obviously she wasn't in a good headspace, so Gordon and I had followed her from a distance. We knew she'd need us, unfortunately we ended up needing her first.

"What are we gonna do?" Gordon finally broke the silence.

"We've been in tough scrapes before. We'll figure something out." I reassured him.

Gordon raised an eyebrow at me. It looked a bit grotesque with his bandage.

"Alright maybe not tougher than this…but Ines trained us well. We can do this. We just have to think." I continued.

Gordon chuckled. "You kinda sound like her." His voice had no mirth.

"Yeah yeah." I patted his back before standing back up. It wasn't the first time someone had made the comparison. I was often teased back when we were still a part of Ward's crew for being Ines's star pupil. It bothered me when I was younger, It bothers me less now.

—

For the next week I kept an eye on Notre Dame. Gordon joined me here and there but I managed to keep him home as often as I could. Ward had a man posted everywhere. The man had the whole cathedral locked down. The captain of the guard was regularly making appearances as well. Likely he didn't trust Ward and his men, valid assessment. Between guardsmen and ward's men…the place was a prison.

*boom*

I glanced up from my coffee at Gordon.

"Earthquake?" Gordon guessed weakly.

*boom*

"I don't think so." I grumbled getting off my chair and rushing outside.

*boom*

My head snapped towards the sound…The cathedral! I climbed a gutter onto the rooftops and could just barely make out Notre Dame's entrance. A scurrying of people laid at her feet like ants.

*BOOM*

The doors burst open and the ants swarmed inside. My heart beat wildly.

"They broke in didn't they?!" Gordon called up. My expression was the only answer he needed. "We have to get there!" Gordon hissed, breaking into a run.

I slid down the gutter and sprinted after him.

I grabbed Gordon's arm and pulled him back into the alley. We had made it to Notre Dame. The front door was reduced to mere splinters, a large heavy beam stabbed into the heart of it.

"We need a plan." I ushered him to the side.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Stealth it?"

Gordon smirked. "Stealth it." He agreed. He put out his hand and I slapped his forearm. He pulled me off my feet into a chest bump and to finish it off we waggled our fingers at each other.

"Good to have you back buddy." I beamed at him.

"Good to be back." He smiled back before flinging his hood up.

We approached the cathedral, our hoods up, and our eyes down. I turned to head through the hole in the door when a hand grabbed my shoulder and whipped me around.

"No visitors today." A guard grunted spinning me away from the door.

"We've come to pray." Gordon stated.

"Come tomorrow. Church is closed."

"But we-" Gordon started to argue but I held my hand up.

"Let me level with ya, our friend is in there and we wanna help her, this may be our best shot and-"

"Don't care. Strict orders, no one in, no one out." He grumbled.

I narrowed my eyes at the guardsman. His gaze was flat, expressionless.

Just then the door behind us burst open and dozens of Ward's men poured out in shackles.

"A siege on our most holy building. That's more than a night in a cell fellas." The captain strode out, his gold armor looked to be freshly polished, his blonde hair tidy and combed. He had a smug grin plastered to his face and his brown eyes gleamed with delight.

"Do you see Ward?" Gordon whispered.

I scanned the crowd but didn't see him. I barely recognized the men in front of me, must have been new recruits. Canon fodder for Ward. I shook my head, my gaze focusing on the captain.

"I'm getting an idea buddy." I glanced back at Gordon. "You're gonna have to trust me though."

"Of course. Wait…why?" Gordon narrowed his eyes on me.

I was already on the move. "Caplain!" I called out to the captain of the guard. He had retreated to his fellow guards. He turned towards me, his brow furrowed. I stuck my hand out towards him. "My name's Ion."

He glanced at my hand and then back at me. He warily took my hand and gave it a firm shake. "Phoebus." He grunted.

"This is Gordon." I gestured behind me.

"Uh hello." Gordon responded.

"I have a proposition for you." I continued.

Phoebus's guards chuckled around him. "Oh yeah? What might that be?"

"We can help you get rid of Ward and his goons. Which in turn, will get that girl out of your cathedral and out of the city."

Now Phoebus was laughing. "What could you possibly do to help us?"

"We've known Ward for a long time." I explained.

"We used to be part of his crew." Gordon chimed in.

"Uh yeah…" I made a face at Gordon. "But we aren't anymore, and Ines is our mentor. We know Ward and we know Ines. With our know-how and your manpower…surely we can figure something out?" I finished.

The men weren't laughing anymore. Phoebus gazed at us thoughtfully. "What happened to his eye?" He gestured to Gordon.

Gordons screams ran through my head as the memory of that night flashed into my brain. His hand covering his face, blood running between his fingers. My own body carved up.

I met Phoebus's gaze. "Ward."

There was silence for a moment. Then Phoebus nodded his head. "Very well." He put his hand out to shake on it. I went to take it and he pulled his hand back. "One condition, you all leave my city when this is done and over with." He grunted.

I glanced back at Gordon and then in unison, we nodded.

He reached out and shook my hand. "Well then, follow me boys. To the palace of Justice. We have some planning to do." He glanced back at us. "But first, a meal I think."

~Ines~

The belltower cleaned up nicely. It wasn't quite what it had been but it was good enough. I glanced back at Quasimodo, his form was busy with the last few details. I took a few steps outside and glanced over the railing, I could vaguely make out blobs of ruffians in the plaza below. Phoebus had no doubt arrested whom he could. The rest though…

I made a face and turned to face the tower. I took a moment to appreciate it. Quasi had quite the cozy loft, dozens of bronze bells dangled from the rafters. Light poured in from the eaves, the way it bounced off the polished surfaces of the bells lit up the tower with a warm light. The loft was humble but cozy. Baubles and old statues decorated it, bits of cloth hung for partitioning rooms. Directly before me lay a fire pit. Pots and pans hung on the wall closest to it, as well as a butcher's block and a rack of simple spices. The largest jar held Rosemary.

I walked up to it and picked up the jar.

"It's…it's my favorite." He answered the question I didn't need to speak.

I glanced at him. "It's a good one." I remarked, setting the jar down. "You've got a nice place here Quasi."

"Oh..it's not- I mean, it's fine." He paused. "I mean to say, thank you."

"I should be thanking you." I sighed. "I didn't know they'd destroy your home."

"It's not the first time." He chuckled dryly. "I'd wager it's not the last either."

"Still."

"What'll you do now?" Quasimodo asked.

"I glanced over the balcony at the dinghy dots. "I'm not sure. A couple of Wards guys have claimed sanctuary. They technically can't do anything in Notre Dame but." I shrugged. "Ward and his goons don't ever follow rules." I furrowed my brow. "That being said…I can definitely take a couple guys. Just not y'know all of em at once."

"What? You're going downstairs?"

"We can both agree that I've caused you enough trouble." I gestured to the tower.

"Ines." He paused. "If you wanted to…I mean…you could stay." His eyes met mine. There was an earnestness in his gaze, he was being sincere. Non transactional.

I felt myself taken aback. "You'd really let me stay? I've only been here an hour and I've already made a mess of your home."

"No, those thugs made a mess of my home." He grimaced as though he was seeing them now. "You are innocent."

I stepped towards the bellringer. "The thing is." I took another step. "What if…I wasn't innocent?" I asked.

There was a long pause. Quasi's blue eyes searched my green. "I'll take that chance." He spoke confidently.

That surprised me. Truthfully I did want to stay in the belltower, it seemed like the safest place. I glanced at his muscled forearms. I thought back to the way he moved the solid stone statue. I could protect myself but having someone like him as backup was still a comforting thought. Still, how could he so plainly put any trust in me? He didn't strike me as a fool and yet…

"Why?" I asked bluntly.

"Why what?"

"Why are you helping me? I'm grateful…but what do you want out of it?" I crossed my arms.

"Want?" His eyes widened in horror. "Nothing! Nothing at all."

"Nobody is that generous." I scoffed.

"It's not about that." He paused. "You…you are." His face was strained, like he was trying to find the right words. "Intriguing."

"Intriguing?"

"Yes." He answered simply.

I thought about that for a bit. I wagered he didn't leave his belltower much, if at all. My sudden intrusion was probably the most exciting thing to happen to him in a long time.

I held my hand out. He gazed at it perplexed and then back at me.

"Shake on it?" My eyes pointed at my hand.

He reached forward to take my hand. I pulled it back. "Disclaimer, This could all go very badly…painful death badly."

Quasi gave me a pointed look and grasped my hand. His hand enveloped my own, his skin was calloused and rough. He held my hand gently yet gave it a firm shake. My eyes met his again, this time his eyes darted away from my look.

"Well…I warned ya." I pulled my hand back.

Quasi chuckled.

"What?" I asked.

"You're a bit theatrical aren't you?"

"What? No." I scoffed. He chuckled in response. I gave a small smile. "Fine, maybe a bit."

He turned and headed to continue his cleaning.

"Hey Quasi." I called after him.

He stopped and looked over his shoulder at me.

"Thanks."