Chapter 72: The Request
The morning was passing by. Elaine was unusually late to the belltower, which made Quasimodo concerned. He nearly went to look for her before she suddenly came rushing up the stairs, out of breath.
"Good morning!" Elaine greeted anxiously.
"Are you alright?" Quasimodo asked. "I was starting to worry."
"Oh, I'm fine." Elaine assured. "I just overslept."
Quasimodo was surprised. It wasn't like Elaine to oversleep. For years she'd been keeping to a schedule, waking up early in the morning. It had been necessary when she'd lived at the convent, and it was still necessary now that she had things to do around the church.
"Did you have a bad night?" Quasimodo asked.
"What do you mean?" Elaine questioned.
"I'm just wondering why you slept in. You don't normally do that."
Elaine looked down timidly.
"To tell the truth... I've been having a lot of nightmares."
Quasimodo was startled to learn this. How long had Elaine been having nightmares? It seemed like something he should be aware of. It was something he wanted to be aware of, at least. He wanted to be there for Elaine when she was dealing with anything difficult.
"Really?" Quasimodo asked. "How bad is it?"
Elaine shrugged.
"I haven't been having very restful nights." She replied. "Sometimes I fall asleep during the day. But this morning I didn't even wake up on time."
"It must be pretty bad, then." Quasimodo guessed.
Elaine nodded.
"Do you... Want to talk about it?" Quasimodo invited.
After considering it for a moment, Elaine decided it could only help to talk about this. Quasimodo had already shared his whole life with her, so there was no reason she shouldn't be able to share anything with him.
"I think I do want to talk about it." She replied.
Over breakfast, Elaine spoke of the terror of her kidnapping. Quasimodo quickly understood why she was having nightmares, and assured her that nothing about this was strange, that he would probably also have nightmares after such a frightening experience. He offered to help however he could, even if that meant Elaine had to wake him up in the middle of the night so he could help her calm down.
Elaine was reminded of why she loved this man. It was rare to find someone this caring and attentive. Quasimodo would be a good husband, if he ever got married. Elaine hoped that someday he would want to marry her.
"'Indeed, by God,' said Gawain, 'you graciously speak; but force finds no favor among the folks where I live, and there is no gift that is not given gladly and freely. I am at your call and command to kiss when you please. You may receive as you desire, or stop me since this is your place.' Then down the lady bent, and sweetly kissed his face. Much speech they both then spent on life, from grief to grace."
Claude read the book poetically, just as it was meant to be read. Esmeralda was enjoying the story. She listened with her eyes closed, focusing fully on the sound of Claude's deep and enchanting voice. They were sitting on the stairs outside the Palace of Justice, relaxing in the late morning sunlight.
They'd been for a brief walk before this. Esmeralda was still in pain and regaining her energy, but she was determined to get out as much as possible. Even after returning from the stroll, she'd chosen to stay outside, since sitting in the sun felt freer than sitting inside.
Esmeralda opened her eyes when Claude stopped reading.
"I'm confused." She shared.
"What about?" Claude asked, closing the book.
"Gawain is awfully unashamed of this thing with Bertilak's wife, even though he seems to respect the man."
"Do you want to know my opinion or the literary reason?"
"Both."
"Well, the literary reason is that Gawain is experiencing a knightly dilemma. While he owes his respect to the lord of the castle, it would be considered quite rude for him to reject a lady's advances. He won't go as far as to make love to her, because a knight must be chaste, but he still will not refuse a kiss."
Esmeralda was fascinated by the concept of a knight's obligations, but she was just as curious about Claude's view of things.
"And your opinion is?" She asked.
"That Gawain is a moderate fool." Claude smirked.
Esmeralda chuckled.
They were starting to act like friends again, which was a relief. They hadn't forgotten about their last difficult conversation, but they chose not to think of it now. There was no sense in focusing on depressing things, especially not while Esmeralda was healing.
Thankfully, her recovery seemed to be going well. Claude was glad to see her dressed and somewhat mobile, and in reasonably good spirits. He did his best to maintain that status quo.
"I think this has been rather a nice morning." Claude commented.
Esmeralda nodded in agreement.
Her eyes wandered off in the peaceful setting, taking in the brightness of the sky. No clouds were present, only a vast blue sheet. It was beautiful, that bright shade of blue. It gave Esmeralda a curious thought.
"Claude," She started. "I just realized I never asked your favorite color. What is it?"
It occurred to Claude that he'd never thought of a color as his favorite. He'd never thought about this because no one had ever asked him which color was his favorite. He thought about it for a moment, coming to a conclusion when Esmeralda's skirt caught his eye.
"Purple." Claude replied.
Esmeralda's eyes darted to his.
"Purple?" She asked in disbelief.
"It's an enchanting color." Claude explained. "It reminds me of twilight skies."
He realized Esmeralda was speechless.
"What?" Claude asked. "Is there something wrong with purple?"
"It's just that..." Esmeralda murmured. "...Purple is my favorite too."
Claude smiled.
"I never would have guessed." He said sarcastically.
Esmeralda chuckled. Claude was glad to see her in a good mood. He would have liked to continue this conversation, but there were things he needed to take care of today.
"It's about time for me to stop by the cathedral." He informed.
"Send my love to Quasimodo." Esmeralda requested. "Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel well enough to go with you."
Claude did hope that Esmeralda would feel well enough the next day, but it was for the best that he went alone today. He had more than the cathedral on his mind.
"Thank you for meeting me here on such short notice."
"Of course, Sir. But why here?"
"I need to have this conversation a safe distance from Esmeralda, and from everyone else for the matter."
Claude stood with the Captain of the guard by the river. It was a fairly secluded place, no people in sight. That was the way it needed to be.
"I'll be taking a journey soon." Claude shared. "No one is to know about this."
"A journey?" The Captain questioned. "Where are you going?"
Claude briefly explained the situation, which the Captain was thoroughly surprised by.
"You're planning to do this alone?" The soldier asked.
"Correct." Claude replied.
"Travelling alone is dangerous," The Captain reminded. "even for peasants. It's even more dangerous for an important man like you. I should go with you, Sir."
Claude was aware of the danger. But while bringing the Captain with him was tempting, he had good reasons not to.
"You can't." Claude insisted. "No one else will keep the guard in check while I'm gone. Your supervision of the men is vital."
"There must be someone else you can bring, then. There must be someone you can trust enough."
Claude considered his options. Who did he trust who could manage a quest like this? If he were to bring someone on this journey, it would have to be someone who could ride a horse and use a sword, and someone who actually cared about the goal of this mission.
One individual came to mind, but Claude wasn't certain that this person would agree to his request.
Still, he knocked on that person's door that same afternoon. Claude was immediately met with a strange look when the door opened, but that didn't deter him from making his announcement.
"I need your help, Phoebus."
Thanks for sticking with me this far! I sure didn't think I'd be making this story longer than twenty chapters or so, but there was way too much to include for it to end that soon! I hope y'all enjoy this up to the end! We're getting there!