Chapter 70: The Stairs

Quasimodo met Elaine for their usual breakfast after he rang the bells.

"It's a beautiful morning!" Elaine observed. "We should go for a walk today!"

"I'd love that!" Quasimodo agreed.

The sun was rising brightly, signaling a day of excellent weather. Quasimodo was glad to be able to walk the streets and enjoy it, unlike in the past.

"It's really nice," He commented. "being able to go outside. I can't believe I missed that for so long."

"I can't imagine." Elaine said in disbelief. "I wish you hadn't been kept here all that time."

"So do I. But I'm just happy things have changed."

Thinking about Quasimodo's life spent in the belltower made Elaine curious, particularly about the future.

"Hey, Quasi," Elaine started. "Do you think you'll always live here?"

Quasimodo looked at his companion blankly.

"I... Always took that as given." He confessed.

Having lived in the belltower for his whole life, it was hard to imagine living anywhere else. For long enough, Quasimodo had believed he'd always be stuck here, as Frollo had told him. But even without that bondage, the thought of moving out of this place had never crossed his mind. The belltower was a natural part of life for Quasimodo. So natural that living anywhere else didn't seem like a possibility.

"Well, if you could live anywhere, where would that be?" Elaine asked.

Quasimodo thought about it. There were some nice things about life in the belltower, but it was far from ideal. He remembered a fantasy he'd had growing up, one of a life outside, surrounded by people. He'd imagined a normal life: A house, a job, a wife. Perhaps it wasn't realistic, but it was a nice thought.

"I guess I'd like to be out there, with everyone else." Quasimodo replied. "But I don't think that's possible."

"Why not?" Elaine asked.

"People don't like me much..."

"They will if they get to know you! They'd have to adjust if you were their neighbor."

"Maybe. But it's not like I could afford a house."

"You could always build one."

"Well, I guess so. But what if..."

Quasimodo stopped as he realized where this conversation was going.

"I'm running out of excuses, aren't I?" He asked.

Elaine nodded.

"What about this scares you so much?" She inquired.

Quasimodo sighed.

"It's just that I grew up hearing that the worst thing I could do was leave this tower. I know better now, and I'm happy to go out there, but... Actually LIVING out there? It just feels wrong. And dangerous..."

Elaine looked at the bell ringer with sympathy.

"You know there are people who would do anything to help you, right?"

Quasimodo nodded.

He picked up his wooden carving of himself and looked at it conflictingly, eventually placing it by a house he'd just constructed in his model Paris.

"Esmeralda once said..." Quasimodo started. "...that carvings like mine could make someone a lot of money."

"She's right." Elaine commented. "People would definitely pay for those."

"I suppose... If I moved out I could start a woodwork shop."

Elaine smiled.

"That would be amazing!"

Quasimodo slightly blushed.

He rather liked the idea of being a professional woodcarver, and Elaine's faith in him was inspiring. Moving out was still an intimidating thought, but it was one he was willing to further consider.

Esmeralda woke with the sunrise.

The first thing she was aware of was that Claude was still with her. They'd fallen asleep together, just as they had many nights before.

Esmeralda hugged his body as firmly as she could in her weakened state. It was so comfortable to be in bed with him. Too comfortable. Esmeralda couldn't get over how sweet this felt, being close to Claude. To her husband...

She forced herself to let go of him and slip out of his arms. It occurred to her that the pain of the previous night had significantly lowered, and she didn't feel as weak as before. That in mind, Esmeralda dared to climb out of bed.

Her feet touched the floor with a shiver. Esmeralda felt the bitterness of the cold morning air against her bare legs. Still, she moved toward the window and looked outside, where she could see the sun coming up with a powerful glow.

"Esmeralda?"

Claude's voice came just before his movement. He quickly wandered over to where Esmeralda stood, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Good morning." Esmeralda said without taking her eyes off the sunrise.

"Are you alright?" Claude asked.

"Better than I was." Esmeralda replied. "I think I'm ready to walk around."

Claude walked with her around the palace after she got dressed. Her pace was slow, and she occasionally winced in pain, but Esmeralda was happy to be able to move a little. Claude kept his arm around her for stability, which she appreciated.

"Thanks for being there last night." Esmeralda told Claude gratefully.

"Thank you for letting me." Claude returned.

They said little else that morning. Nothing else needed to be said.

Claude was with Esmeralda until fatigue got ahold of her, at which point he picked her up and carried her back to bed. He watched over her while she drifted off, not daring to leave until she was peacefully sleeping.

Quasimodo was excited to practice reading again. He was becoming good at it, and Claude thoroughly praised his progress. Quasimodo was glad to be encouraged. He realized this was his first memory of Claude teaching him something without saying anything harsh.

After the reading lesson, they started to talk about the day's activities. Quasimodo reported that he'd been happily chatting with Elaine and they'd gone for a walk. He didn't share the fact that he was rethinking his living situation, however. It seemed best not to bring that up until he'd thought about it more. He did ask about Esmeralda, to which Claude replied that she was getting better and finally felt well enough to walk a little. Quasimodo was glad to hear that. He debated asking about the status of Esmeralda and Claude's relationship, but decided not to at this time. Things were too pleasant right now for awkward topics to be brought up.

Claude felt satisfied when he took the stairs out of the belltower. He'd had a perfectly pleasant afternoon with his son.

Son? Was that a word he was allowed to use? It was correct by technicality, since Claude had adopted Quasimodo. But it felt wrong. Claude didn't feel that he had any right to think of himself as Quasimodo's father when he'd been responsible for the deaths of the boy's parents and raised him with precious little love. Even if Quasimodo recognized the relationship as a parent-child one, Claude didn't know if Quasimodo truly thought of him as his father.

Just as Claude was getting lost in thought about that, he was interrupted by a frightening sight. Someone was sprawled over at the bottom of the stairs: A small, red-haired figure. Claude recognized the person as Elaine and quickly knelt by her.

She appeared to be asleep. But why here?

"Elaine?" Claude said worriedly, laying a hand on her arm.

Elaine's eyes slowly opened, then widened in surprise.

"Oh!" She muttered, quickly sitting up. "I was taking a break. I only meant to sit here for a minute. I can't believe I fell asleep!"

"This can't be a comfortable place to sleep." Claude observed. "You must be quite tired."

"I really am." Elaine confirmed. "I haven't been sleeping very well."

"Why is that?"

"Um... Nightmares."

Claude recalled hearing from Jean that Elaine had nightmares about her kidnapping. He immediately empathized.

"Ah. That is an experience I... unfortunately understand."

Claude was glad that Elaine already knew about his past, so he wouldn't need to explain.

Elaine realized that this could be an opportunity. She'd been reluctant to talk to anyone about this struggle, but talking about it with someone who could understand wouldn't be too hard.

"Could I tell you a little about it?" Elaine requested. "I'm so frustrated and... I don't know if anyone else would understand."

Claude was slightly surprised. He wasn't very accustomed to having people confide in him. Esmeralda had been the only person to do so, thus far. But of course he wouldn't refuse. Elaine deserved someone to listen to her.

"Tell me anything you want." Claude encouraged, sitting down next to her.

Elaine sighed.

"It's getting annoying." She shared. "I keep dreaming about the time I was kidnapped. And right when I think the nightmares have stopped, I get another one. I don't know how to stop it. And I feel so childish! I feel too old to wake up crying over bad dreams..."

"You know that's not true," Claude said reassuringly. "don't you?"

"I know." Elaine admitted. "But I still feel stupid..."

Claude reached an arm around Elaine.

"I know what you mean." He shared. "I couldn't tell you how pathetic I always felt after nightmares. But they're a natural thing to suffer after a horrible experience."

Elaine barely nodded.

She looked up at Claude with curiosity.

"Did... Did yours ever stop?" She asked hesitantly.

Claude frowned.

"They stopped for many years." He replied. "But since it all started again... I don't believe it has fully stopped yet."

Although it had now been some time since Claude last recalled experiencing a nightmare, he didn't think the struggle was quite over.

"How do you manage it?" Elaine asked.

Claude thought fondly of Esmeralda, remembering the times when he'd fallen asleep in her arms after waking up in a panic.

"Esmeralda has been helpful." He answered. "She's been there to comfort me on difficult nights. Having someone to make you feel safe... It makes quite a difference."

Elaine listened interestedly. She finally smiled.

"I see why you love her." She remarked.

Claude chuckled.

"There is something very special about her." He admitted.

Elaine looked down at the floor.

"I guess I just can't get over how scary it was." She shared, returning to the main topic. "I didn't know what would happen when they took me. After they tied me up, they kept talking about what they would do to me if they weren't paid... Then you showed up and... Well, you know what happened. It was all so terrifying... Up until that night, I always thought I was brave."

"What in the world are you saying?" Claude asked. "You are brave!"

"Why do you think that?"

"For starters, you discovered every horrible thing I did in the past and had the nerve to question me about it. That was brave. And some people faint at the sight of scars and gore, but you were the one who helped me clean up after Esmeralda was stabbed. And don't let me forget Quasimodo. Do you realize how few people would be willing to go into the belltower alone and introduce themselves to him? Not many would, but you did."

Elaine stared at Claude silently.

"I never thought of it that way..." She mumbled. "Especially Quasimodo... I never thought there was anything scary about him."

"Most people do." Claude said sadly. "They shouldn't, but they do. They're afraid of what is unusual and different. They're cowardly. But you're not. You don't let appearances stop you from seeing people for who they are. You're kind. You're brave."

Elaine thought about Quasimodo's story of being attacked at the festival. Perhaps people really were that cowardly. It was an infuriating thought.

"Well," Elaine said with increased energy. "I'd just like to give a piece of my mind to anyone who doesn't like him! Quasimodo is a wonderful person! He's so fun to be with, and his woodwork is so amazing, and I like his face! I really do! I love it when he smiles, and I think he's so... so... sweet..."

Elaine stumbled over her words as she realized the tone of what she was saying. She noticed Claude looking at her strangely and froze.

Claude's expression said that he wanted to ask, but couldn't bring himself to. So, Elaine volunteered the information.

"I... I think I love him..." She managed.

Claude was amazed. He suddenly realized how stupid he'd been by never even considering the possibility of this. It should have been obvious from the way Elaine so eagerly spent her available hours with Quasimodo.

"Is Quasimodo... Aware of that?" Claude finally asked.

Elaine shook her head sadly.

"Well," Claude started decisively. "I hope he becomes aware of it. And I hope he feels the same way."

Elaine looked up in surprise.

"You... Approve?"

Claude smiled.

"Of course I approve! I think the two of you would be excellent for each other."

Elaine smiled widely.

"Really?"

"Absolutely. I'm sure he would agree."

"I'm not sure... I know how he felt about Esmeralda."

"Oh, yes. Well, he does understand how she feels. I think he only needs some time to feel better about it."

Elaine nodded.

"By the way," She started. "How did it go with Esmeralda?"

Claude frowned.

"It seems I am not able to mend the situation at this moment." He replied.

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you two can work things out."

"I hope so too."

Reminded of Esmeralda, Claude decided it was time to get back to her.

"I should be going." He announced. "Was this conversation helpful?"

"Yes." Elaine replied. "It really was."

Claude stood up.

"I hope you see the end of those nightmares." He said encouragingly.

"I hope the same for you." Elaine returned. "And... I'm really sorry about what happened to make you have those dreams."

Claude looked at her quietly, slightly stunned by the indirect mention of the horror he'd been through.

"I'm not saying I pity you!" Elaine quickly clarified, standing up. "But... I care."

Elaine's appearance was deceiving. She was so small, hardly taller than Quasimodo, and her freckled face looked so innocent. Innocent and naive. But she was more than that. She was insightful. She knew what Claude needed to hear, and he was grateful for that.

"Thank you." Claude responded, managing an appreciative smile.