I am not a fan of the sequel to The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I think what bothered me the most is that it really could have been something great. The first film depicted a man who was constantly told that he was ugly and a monster; now there's a woman who is constantly told that she the only good thing about her is her beauty. Madellaine was clearly afraid of Sarousch. Why? What had he done in the past? What was her upbringing like? That is what compelled me to write this story.
"Miss? Miss?"
Madellaine unleashed a rattling breath. She knew that a circus performer was addressing her, and she suddenly became wary. One had already unnecessarily reported her to Sarousch. Would the others? The tears on her face gleamed in the firelight, and she was terrified of what else Sarousch might do to her. What would he say to her if he saw her crying there in the dirt? People usually looked ugly when they cried. Madellaine already knew that she looked pitiful: red-faced, sniveling and gulping for air. Madellaine tried brushing away the tears and wiped her runny nose, but her hands were so sore that she could barely move her fingers. "Don't tell Sarousch. He won't like it if I look ugly." There was mud on her pretty new dress. "I made my clothes dirty too."
"I'm not going to tell."
She looked up then. A masked man was standing before her. He was the one who played the stringed instrument. But he wasn't a man, Madellaine now realized. He was a boy because he had a boy's voice. He was as tall as a man, even taller than Sarousch.
"I can help you, Miss." He extended his hand, waiting until she nodded before gently taking hold of her arm to lift her up. The masked boy led her to a colorfully painted wagon, guiding her to the steps where he began to scramble about, first lighting a small fire underneath a cooking pot and then scrambling up and down the creaking steps. Madellaine could hear the clanging of pots and pans as the boy searched for something inside the wagon. He soon emerged, holding a clay bottle and murmuring to himself. "Calendula… Good for wounds."
He cleaned her welts with soap and hot water, and Madeline began to cry at the sight of her injuries, which bothered her far more than the stinging pain.
"Look up at the sky," the masked boy ordered. "The stars are lovely, aren't they?"
Madeline raised her head and looked up at the twinkling lights. She sensed that the boy was trying to distract her.
"They look like tiny diamonds," she said quietly.
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if the stars could fall from the sky?" The boy asked musingly. Madellaine decided that she liked the sound of his voice and she wondered if he could also sing.
"I have never seen a shooting star," she said.
"I'm not talking about shooting stars. I'm talking about all the stars falling to the ground."
"That can't happen." Madellaine winced a bit when the boy dabbed at one of the welts.
"Don't look down," he soothed. "Don't look down."
Her eyes flicked back up at the night sky where hundreds of stars still gleamed. "The stars won't fall to the earth, will they?" She did not know why the thought of a starless sky troubled her so much.
The masked boy laughed. "Sometimes it helps to imagine things differently. It makes life bearable. Imagine waking up and finding tiny little stars on the grass. You could gather them up like acorns and then you would be richer than the king of France." Madellaine heard the ripping of cloth and felt strands of material being wrapped around her arms. "What would you do with such riches?"
Madellaine did not answer. Instead, she asked, "How old are you?"
"I'm eleven."
"Why do you have your own wagon?" Madellaine doubted that any of the other children had a wagon. They probably slept in a pile like a litter of puppies. She wondered where she was going to sleep that night but pushed that thought away.
"I'm just a valuable member of the circus."
"Why the mask?"
He chuckled humorlessly. "Well…. Sarousch doesn't like ugly people." There was a second of silence. "I'm guessing you want to see my face?"
"No," Madellaine answered, a little too quickly.
"Scared?"
She shook her head. "I'm afraid of saying something stupid and hurting your feelings." Madellaine did not like this conversation because she did not want her new friend to be ugly. She continued with the game of make-believe. "If the stars are diamonds, then what is the moon?"
"A great big pearl," he answered.
Madellaine sniffed and gave a tiny smile. "And the sun is a giant gold coin." She began to think about coins and pearls and stars that where really diamonds. The smile left her face. "I don't want the stars to fall from the sky," she declared with a shake of her head. "The night would be scary without the stars. Besides, stars are for everyone. I don't want to take them away, even if they are diamonds." Madellaine realized that the boy had finished bandaging her arms. "What's your name?"
"Zachael."
Before Madellaine could thank him and introduce herself properly, a slinking movement caught her eye. Sarousch was there. "It is time for bed. We leave early tomorrow." He sneered at her, and his eyes fell on her bandaged arms. Madellaine shamefully lowered her eyes. "I see that my burnt maestro has tended to your wounds. How very kind of him."
"I'm not your burned maestro," Zachael said back defiantly. "Leave us alone."
Sarousch smiled. "The attitude will get you nowhere. You'd be wise to remember that, boy."
Madellaine, scared, reached out a bandaged hand to grip her friend's arm. She softly tugged on his sleeve, silently warning him not to anger Sarousch or else he might do to him what he had done to her. But
Zachael went on to say, "You don't want to hit me. Remember what happened last time you hit me? Your star performer was to sore to play music and therefore could not earn coins for your greedy little pockets." His voice was unafraid, and Madellaine gasped at his boldness.
"Mark my words, boy, you will one day regret displaying such disrespect." Sarousch glared at Madellaine. "You. Bed." He pointed to the blanket thrown carelessly in front of the campfire. "There."
"Yes, sir." Madellaine obediently shuffled away. Sarousch watched her with a triumphant smirk and retired to his own wagon.