Chapter 6
~Ines~
The night continued on. We had stopped playing the drinking game a while ago, it had fulfilled its job in breaking our ice.
"Wait wait wait." I put my hand up to stop him. "Say that again."
Perplexed, Quasi responded. "A as in abomination?"
"All the A words in the world and you pick abomination?" Our voices had gotten a bit loud, his face was red from wine, and I'm sure mine matched.
"Wait, hold on." Quasi stood up from his seat. He wobbled on his feet and I put my hand on his arm to steady him.
"You ok Buddy?" I snickered.
He waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine! I feel s-s-super." He slurred. He straightened his posture and cleared his throat. "The ABC's master Frollo."
"Let's hear 'em then!" I clapped.
"A: Abomination, B: Blasphemy, C: Contrition, D: Damnation…"
"Boo! Damnation boo!" I teased.
He gave me a playful look. "Please save all comments for the end."
I laughed in response.
"E: eternal damnation, that one's tricky." He gave me a pointed look. "F is not for festival, it is for forgiveness. Master was not thrilled with that slip up." He whispered the last part to me. "G: godless, H: heathen, I: iniquity, J: Judas, K: karma, L: Lucifer, M: Monstrous, N: not…uh..not attractive.."
"Oh come on, that's a cop out."
Quasi waved at me dismissively. "O: oppressor, P: pestiferous. Q:questionable. R: righteous, S:sin. T: torment, U: unholy, V: vile, W: wicked, X: xenophobe, Y: yearn, and finally, Z: zeitgeist." He finished and bowed.
I clapped enthusiastically. "I don't know what half those words mean."
He burst into laughter. "Neither do I!"
We both cackled, and thanks to the wine, laughter came easily. "What was that?" I asked in between fits of laughter.
"That is how Frollo taught me the alphabet." He explained, still chuckling.
"That?!" My eyes widened in disbelief. "Could he have made it any darker?"
Quasi sat beside me once more. "I don't think so, everything was doom and gloom with that man." He sipped his glass.
We sat for a moment, nursing our wine glasses and giggling softly.
"Can I ask something kind of…personal?" Quasi broke the silence.
"May as well." I gestured around. "You are housing me after all."
"How did you get your…scarring?" He asked tentatively.
I glanced at his way. "It's not a very pretty story."
"You don't have to tell it, forget i said any-"
"No..no I'll tell you." I cut him off. It had been so long since I'd thought of that night.
"My mom was a gifted healer. She came from Denmark, she wanted to learn what other countries knew about healing. Bring it back to her village, you know." I paused as her face filled my memory. She and I looked so alike. She was a bit taller, and her eyes were brown, and she obviously hadn't had my scarring, but otherwise…I was her clone.
"We stayed too long at the wrong village, plague had ravaged it and well…tensions were high." I ran a hand through my hair. "My mother and I have very unusually colored hair for the area. My mom was also very pretty and her healing methods were considered strange to this village. It didn't take long for them to accuse her of witchcraft." Flashes of sneering faces lit up in my memory. "I begged her to leave, but she wanted to help them so badly. One night…they ambushed our campsite and they took us." I paused. "I was 12. Mom and I had to stand trial, we were found guilty of course. Me as well for looking identical to her, and for being witch spawn. They tied us to separate pyres, facing each other. My mother begged for them to release me but they doused me in liquor anyways. They lit me first." My throat closed as I remembered the roar of fire around me…and then the pain.
"Ines.." I glanced at quasi. His eyes held nothing but compassion. "I can't imagine."
"The church is what saved me. They intervened, saying it wasn't allowed, I was a child after all." My voice cracked. "But mom…She…" I couldn't speak anymore. My eyes burned with repressed tears and my throat felt hot.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I glanced and saw Quasi, his eyes shining with tears of his own…for me? I allowed a single tear to fall down my cheek.
"Anyway." I wiped it away quickly. "Mom didn't make it…and I had to begin the healing process for these." I gestured to my scarring.
"I've burned myself accidentally a few times, and my god…healing was horrible. I can't imagine the pain healing from a burn as large as yours." His gaze rested on my scarred hand.
"Those next 3 months were agony." I shuddered. "The lady who cared for me was kind though. She did her best, and despite it all, I survived." Repressed memories of my torturous healing process invaded my head.
"You're strong." He stated simply.
It took me a moment to respond. "Not really, I begged for death daily." I admitted hesitantly.
"Yet here you are." His gaze was warm.
"Here I am." I answered.
Silence shrouded us. My eyes burned with sleepiness, alcohol had a way of knocking me out cold.
"I should head to bed." He broke the quiet.
"Hold on." I stood with him. "We gotta drink some water before heading out for the night."
"…Why?" He swayed on his feet, mostly from the alcohol but I had no doubts he was as tired as I was.
"Don't want to be too hungover tomorrow. Hydration is the best preventative."
"Did your mom teach you that?" He asked.
"…well yes, but it's kind of common knowledge." I answered. "Alcohol dehydrates you, sooo water helps."
"I've never had a hangover." He murmured. I handed him a goblet of water.
"Drink all of this, and we can continue that trend." I ordered. I took a goblet of my own and gulped it back. I could feel its coolness spread throughout my body, I hadn't realized how thirsty I was.
"Am I allowed to sleep now doctor?" He teased tipping his gobblet over to show how empty it was.
I bumped his shoulder with mine which nearly pushed him over. "Whoa there." I grabbed his arm and led him back to his cot. "You do not hold your drink well." I teased.
"Are you kidding? I'm fine! I could climb up those rafters and ring some bells." He joked his speech was slurred.
I helped him into bed. "Yeah sure you could."
As soon as his head hit his pillow he was out. Softly snoring away. I gazed at him fondly. Tonight was the most fun I'd had in so long. Maybe since Willow and I had been close. My thoughts turned to her. silhouetted by the campfire, red flames framing her body. She danced in its glow, her dark hair crackling like dying embers.
I shook my head and once more gazed at Quasimodo. He reminded me of her, he was kind and gentle, thoughtful and giving in all ways. He was naive to some things but not nearly as naive as she was. Hopefully that meant he'd live longer.
I headed for my bedroll tucked away in the corner. The woman who healed me…nanny. She'd told me something. I'd asked her why she was helping me, especially with the danger that brought to her.
"Because you should always be the good you wish to see in the world, and if you can't always be the good, you should at least strive to protect it." She had answered.
Ion…Gordon…Willow…and now Quasimodo. They were good. Willow may be gone but the others weren't. I will never be good again, that ship has sailed. But I could protect them. I will protect them no matter what.
I was running, the mist clung to me like burdock. I had a firm grasp on Willow's hand, I was so fast I was practically dragging her behind me.
"Ines…Ines please!" She begged.
I slid to a stop. "We have to keep moving, Ward doesn't let anyone leave that easily, they're after us I-" My breath caught in my throat.
Willow was bent over, hands on her knees. She was breathing heavily, a slight wheeze in her voice. My blood ran cold when she looked up at me. Blood streamed from her nose and a line of red had appeared in her waterline.
"Willow?" I gasped as a crimson tear ran down her cheek. I rushed to her side. "We have to get to Gordon…he knows the most about healing. He can fix this!"
"Ines, Gordon's a child." She coughed and viscous blood spewed to the ground.
"We have to move, I can't carry you." My heart raced but I practically dragged her forward.
"He gave me wine Ines." Her voice was shaky. "I didn't think he'd do this…not to me."
"Shhh." I gazed around desperately. "The boys should be here." I hissed.
A branch snapping alerted me to their arrival. "Gordon!"
He rushed to our side and gazed down at Willow.
"Heal her Gordon." Willow fell to her knees, her breath coming out ragged.
His gaze met mine. "Ines…I-"
"HEAL HER." I snapped.
"He can't!" Ion snapped back.
"I'm only 17 Ines…" Gordon whispered.
"No..nononono." I whimpered as Willow fell to her back.
"Ines." She gasped.
I pulled her into my arms. "You're gonna be ok Willow."
"He said he loved me Ines…"
"I know." My voice broke. Not Willow, please god not Willow.
"I just wanted to go home." She sobbed. Her body convulsed as a coughing fit overtook her.
The front of her blue dress was stained red with blood, I could feel its warmth on me as well.
"I'm sorry." I wept pulling her tighter. I brushed damp hair back from her face. Her eyes were wild with fear, and her skin was so pale.
"I-I need." She could barely talk. "M-my m-mom."
"I'll find her Willow. I'll find her for you." She looked relieved for a moment and then another coughing fit.
"Y-you…you were right." She gasped. "Should've never left home."
I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. "Please Will."
She gazed up at the stars above us, her eyes widened in terror, and then the light left them.
My heart shattered. I inhaled sharply. "Willow?" I shook her. "No..nonono please."
Her head turned to the side, a single stream of blood trickling down her chin.
"Wil-will…n…I…" I couldn't speak, I mumbled deftly. I pulled her close, the shock giving way to earth shattering sorrow. The scream that erupted from me could have split the ground beneath me. A mangled cry of terrible anguish.
And then I woke up.
~Gordon~
I gazed up at the stone ceiling above me. I had a foot kicked out the side of the cot. I tapped deftly at the ground, counting the stones above me as I did.
"56, 57, 58…" I murmured beneath my breath. We'd been locked in a cell at the palace of justice for a few days now. Meals were brought to us, and we had plenty of water and actual beds to sleep in. Not a bad gig if I'm being honest.
"He was supposed to come today right?" Ion asked from his cot opposite mine.
"He said he'd be back in 2 days, it's been 2 days." I assured him. I glanced over at my friend. He sat hunched on his cot, his face tense. I knew that expression all too well. "Relax, he'll be here."
"How are you so sure?" He grunted.
"I'm not, but he has to come back eventually." I shrugged.
Ion stood up and paced the room. "I should've known better than to trust a guard." He hissed. "Did he have to lock us in a cell? We haven't done anything wrong."
"Well I mean…We have." I raised a brow at him. "This might just be karma."
Ion glared at me. "Thanks Gordon, feeling much better."
"Hey, this was your idea, remember?" I sat up and gave him a pointed glare.
"Yeah, yeah I got it." He waved his hand at me before resuming his pacing.
The worst part about this place was the boredom, but given the past few weeks we've had…I've had…I'll take the boredom. I deftly put my hand to my missing left eye. Phoebus had given me a scrap piece of fabric to use as an eyepatch. I no longer needed to keep it bandaged. It had mostly healed at this point, the skin was just tender and fragile still. The eyepatch wouldn't cover the whole grizzly mark. A deep trench cut up through my eyebrow and down my cheek. It was definitely gonna scar, but hey…bright side, I'd kinda match Ines.
The sound of footsteps coming our way had me on my feet and Ion halting his pacing. It didn't take long for Phoebus to appear. His golden hair bouncy as ever, and his matching armor polished and sparkling. What a prick.
"Where the hell have you been?" Ion grunted, his arms crossed.
"I have other duties besides babysitting you two, y'know." Phoebus grunted. He pulled out a ring of keys and approached our door, unlocking it with a quick turn. Phoebus and a few of his guardsmen entered our cell. I stood up from my cot and moved to stand beside Ion. We hadn't been treated badly by any of these men, but I was hard wired to be distrustful of guards.
There was silence for a moment, Phoebus looked to be thinking hard on something. With a breath of defeat he fixed his gaze on us.
"I'm gonna need you boys to trust me." He said tersely.
I exchanged a glance with Ion. "With what?" I asked.
The guards revealed lengths of rope and two burlap bags…head sized burlap bags.
Ion reeled back in disgust. "You're gonna tie us up?!" He hissed.
"It's necessary. We are moving you to one of our safe houses." Phoebus explained. "This is a precaution. You two were in league with these guys, We don't really want the location of one of our safe houses leaked."
"We won't tell." I glanced at Phoebus but I could tell by his stony gaze that this was gonna happen.
"Besides, we have a few of Ward's men here. If they see you two coming with us willingly…well that might hurt your reputation." A smile played at Phoebus's lips..
I hadn't considered that. I glanced at Ion. His face was scrunched up, deep in thought. I knew he was trying to find an argument but was coming up with nothing.
Ion sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine."
I glanced from the soldiers to Ion. "Seriously?" I hissed.
"They have a point." Ion grunted.
The men approached up and Ion offered them his hands.
"It'll be alright big guy." Ion reassured me.
I glanced at the men and then held my hands to them in defeat.
Our hands were bound in front of us, the guardsmen didn't make them tight but they weren't loose either. I glanced around me once before the burlap was placed over my head and all I knew was the textured bag.
"We'll lead you both outside and into a carriage, the carriage will take us to the safe house." Phoebus explained. "I'll be escorting you there, so you don't need to worry."
Ion and I scoffed simultaneously but moved along when we felt the rope's tension pulling us forward.
Ion was ahead of me, that I knew. Everything else was unsure. I heard jeering and mocking sounds as we moved along, no doubt from other prisoners. I didn't recognize any of the voices, maybe a good thing.
"Some stairs up ahead." The guard pulling me along warned me. "Step up now."
I did as he told and moved up the staircase. When we got here they put us in one of the lower floors, Phoebus didn't want the other prisoners to see us. I was sort of grateful for that, the guy had sort of a good head on his shoulders. I wasn't gonna tell him that though.
The sack brightened up and the unmistakable scent of fresh air hit me and I breathed it in gratefully. I could hear the grunting of horses and the bustle of Paris around me.
"Feel along here and climb in." The guard ordered.
Using my hands I deftly felt around and clambered into the carriage. One of those prison transfer carriages, made of cold metal. Not cushy like the rich folks move around in.
"Gordon?" Ion called.
"I'm here." I responded. I groped around with my Bound hands until I grabbed hold of what had to have been Ion's shirt. I plopped down beside him.
"Sorry." He muttered.
"For what?" I asked.
"Getting us into this."
"Nah."
"Seriously Gordy…I don't know what I was thinking."
"You were trusting your gut. I trust it too. I think this might work out." I elbowed him playfully.
"No.. I mean…when Ines sent us away. I was the one who insisted we follow her. Keep an eye on her." His voice was pinched.
"I would have suggested it as well. We were on the same page."
"We should have just let her go."
"No. We did the right thing."
"But…your eye.."
"Ines needed us, and we needed her. We're family Ion." I Answered simply.
Ion was silent for a bit. And then I felt his forehead press into my shoulder.
Despite it all, I smiled and relaxed against the wall of the bouncing cart.
—-
~Ion~
I sat heavily in the chair. The sack was removed from my head. Gordon sat beside me. Our hands were placed on the table. I eyed my bindings and then raised a brow at Phoebus. Phoebus unsheathed his knife and cut our bindings.
"Finally." I grumbled rubbing my wrists.
"Thanks." Gordon mumbled, mirroring my movements. "So this is the safe house?"
I glanced around me. It was small though bigger than our place in the city. This one had a bedroom separated from the main house by more than just a curtain.
"We've been using it to help Romani refugees through the city." Phoebus explained his expression dour.
"Romani people usually have their own caravans. Why would they need a safe house?" I asked.
"Let's just say…Many of Paris's citizens aren't fond of Roma people." Phoebus answered. "And public opinion is only getting worse."
"Why would the Romani people trust you?" Gordon asked. "You're a soldier."
Phoebus looked ready to retaliate but his gaze whipped towards the window. A huge smile erupted across his face. He rushed for the door and opened it to reveal a woman.
"I have help." Phoebus gestured to the mystery girl.
She was tall, maybe 5'9". She was clearly Romani, she wore brightly colored clothes and golden jewelry. Her hair was a deep raven black, it rippled around her like waves in a storm. Her emerald gaze settled on us and I was taken aback. She was beautiful, Maybe the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.
"This is Esmeralda. My wife." Phoebus wrapped his arm around her.
"Sorry about him." She shot a glare at Phoebus. "I tried to talk him out of the bindings and sacks."
"It made the most sense." Phoebus retorted.
She rolled her eyes but she had a smile on her lips.
"You're married to him?" I asked in disbelief pointing at Phoebus. "HIM?"
"Hey!" Phoebus snapped.
"No offense."
"How is that not offensive?" He grumbled, turning to Esmeralda.
She laughed and kissed him deeply.
I exchanged a look with Gordon.
Esmeralda took a seat across from me. "I've been helping my-" She eyed me up and down. "Or I guess…our people out of this godforsaken city." She'd caught on that I was Romani too. "Phoebus filled me in on you two and your friends' situation at Notre Dame."
Phoebus sat in the remaining chair and his gaze shifted from lovesick husband, to stern guard. "I figured Es would be an excellent help on our predicament."
"Why?" Gordon asked.
Esmeralda and Phoebus exchanged a look. "Let's just say…I've escaped Notre Dame under similar circumstances." Esmeralda answered.
Phoebus chuckled dryly.
"Really? How did you do it then?" Gordon leaned forward fully invested.
"I climbed down." She answered.
"Climb?" I glanced at her. "You don't look like much of a climber."
Phoebus glared at me. "She had some help."
Esmeralda continued on. "That won't work this time though. This Ward guy has his goons all over the place."
"We need to know why he's so invested." Phoebus turned to us. "What happened between you lot."
I sat for a moment, gathering my thoughts. "Ward has a saying he lives by. An eye for an eye. Kinda biblical I know." I paused. "This is what his gang goes by. About a year ago, Ward decided it was time for mine and Gordon's first mission. We'd be tagging along on a heist at some duke or count's grand estate. We didn't see Ines before we left."
"Which we knew was strange." Gordon interjected. "But we went along anyway."
"That night Ines sliced open our tent and told us we had to leave. " I paused.
"We didn't question her. We just followed her." Gordon continued.
"Turns out our first heist was to be our last. Ward had always been angered by our loyalty to Ines. She trained us."
"And she took care of us, she treated us like one of the crew when no one else did." Gordon stated.
"He'd always been cruel and callous to us. He'd warned us that our loyalties had to be to him and him alone or we'd pay the price. We didn't take him seriously. We didn't think he'd send us into a heist as cannon fodder. But that was his plan for us. The reason we hadn't seen Ines is because she'd fought against him on this. He tied her up and left her behind."
"Ines is scrappy though." Gordon beamed. "She escaped and came after us."
"We were spotted escaping though. We moved into the trees, hoping to escape them through the branches but Ward sent his best climber, Godfrey, after us. Ines fought him off but in doing so he fell. He fell from too high." My voice caught.
"He died on impact." Gordon finished.
"So Ward is after you because he wants Ines to die for killing Godfrey?" Phoebus asked.
"Sort of. There's more." I continued. "We traveled together for a few months. We seperated for a bit."
"Separated?" Esmeralda cut in. "That doesn't sound right."
"Ines had a friend back when we were with Ward's crew. Willow, she was Ward's girl. Some rich girl, she read some books about adventure and romance and wanted to experience it for herself." Gordon sighed. "We tried to warn her about Ward but she wouldn't listen. She trained with us for a bit, but she was just not good at any of our survival training."
"She was great for a distraction though. She had an excellent singing voice. " I shrugged. "Not much else though."
"After we left we found out that she refused to help Ines escape, trusting Ward over Ines and basically throwing her to the wolves. Ines was furious with her." Gordon paused.
"Yet when we got a letter a few months later begging for Ines to help her escape Ward and get home…Ines dropped everything to go save her." I sighed. "Ward found out though and poisoned her wine. By the time we got to her it was too late and she died in Ines's arms."
"Ines sent us away from her." Gordon said. "She thought that she was cursed or something."
"The people she loves die. She wanted to protect us." I answered the question I could tell Esmeralda wanted to ask. "We knew she needed us so we tailed her. We made sure to stay a good enough distance behind her. We didn't have to be too sneaky though, she was dead on her feet. Barely noticed anything."
"We think she wanted to die." Gordon murmured.
I glanced at Gordon. This next part was hard.
"Is that the end of it?" Phoebus asked.
"No." Gordon answered. His voice was hoarse.
"One night…Wards men caught up with us. We thought with Ines a shadow of her former self, she'd be found. They found us first. They knew if they…tortured us she'd come." My voice was pinched as I explained. I lifted up my shirt to reveal a dozen jagged scars. "They started with me. They held me down and cut me over and over again."
"I begged them to stop. And so they did." Gordon cut in. "They focused on me and… they took my eye."
"My god." Es whispered.
"That's when Ines showed up. She threw her knife at the man who took Gordons…." I couldn't finish that sentence. "It sliced through his skull and killed him instantly. This distracted the guy holding me enough for me to gain the upper hand. She killed the man holding Gordon…and I killed the man holding me."
"I don't remember much of what came next." Gordon sighed.
"We got you to Paris, and then spent the next couple weeks treating you. We tried to pickpocket enough to get you medicine and food at the Feast of Fools, and you know the rest." I glanced at Phoebus.
Esmeralda and Phoebus sat silently for a moment.
"So he wants to kill her and 3 others?" Es asked.
"An eye for an eye." I chuckled dryly.
"Problem is, there's only 3 of us. And Ward wants to kill 4 people." Gordon chimed in.
"We have no idea who he'll choose for the fourth eye." I shrugged.
"We better get you all out of here before he settles on a random citizen." Phoebus grumbled. He glanced at Esmeralda. "She's in the belltower right."
"There's no doubt that Quasi's protecting her." She answered.
"Quasi?" Gordon asked.
"Quasimodo the bellringer of Notre Dame." She responded.
"How do you know he's helping her?" I asked.
Esmeralda chuckled. "He has a history."
"I'm guessing he's who helped you climb down Notre Dame?" Gordon asked.
"You'd be right." She answered.
"Do you know if there are any secret ways out? The catacombs maybe?" I asked.
"Nothing like that I'm afraid." Phoebus answered. "Climbing down is all we have, and we've established that that's not an option."
"Good thing Frollo didn't have that kind of manpower. Who knows what we would've done." Esmeralda scoffed.
"He was many things, but being charismatic was not one of them." Phoebus grunted. "This Ward guy sounds like he's good at getting people to follow him."
Gordon and I nodded in response.
"Ines would be out by now if there were a secret exit. We were just hoping it was so well hidden, even she couldn't find it." Gordon sighed sadly.
"So how do we get her out?" I asked.
There was silence for a while.
"I need to sleep on this." Phoebus grumbled. "Would probably help to check in with Quasi and Ines." He glanced at Esmeralda.
"I'm visiting him tomorrow morning." Esmeralda piped in.
"Visiting?" I asked.
"He's my best friend." She shrugged. "I visit him regularly. So this works out perfectly."
"I'll come with you tomorrow." Phoebus continued.
"You have to tell her we're safe." Gordon demanded. "She's gotta be worried."
"Will she even believe me?" Phoebus asked.
Gordon deflated. "Probably not."
I glanced at Esmeralda's hoop earring and groped for my own earring. I pulled the plug off and slipped it out. I handed the stud to Phoebus. "Give her this. She'll believe you."
Phoebus nodded and pocketed the earring. He stood up from the table and Esmeralda mirrored him. "We should be off, sun's coming down."
They both walked to the front door. She slipped her hand through the crook of Phoebus's arm.
"Thank you both. This insight into Ward's mind, and your shared history has helped." Esmeralda smiled at us.
"Don't leave this house, I'll have a guard watching the door. I'll know if you try to escape." Phoebus stated sternly.
"Yeah yeah." I rolled my eyes.
"You're feeding us. Why would we leave?" Gordon joked.
They turned to leave "Hey! You bring that earring back to me." I demanded.
Phoebus rolled his eyes and he and Esmeralda stepped through the threshold and out the door.
"I'm serious! I want it back when you're done with it!" I called after them. The door slammed in my face.
"What a prick." Gordon grumbled.
"Oh such a prick!" I agreed.
Our eyes met and then we both burst into laughter.