"The Princess Of Notre Dame." Chapter 2: Sir William Wallace And Captain Murron MacClannough.
(Note: Okay. So in this chapter, we finally get to see William (Esmeralda) and Murron (Phoebus), the other two main characters (and our main couple) of the story! Yay! :D But I'm also including some of William's friends (Hamish, Stephen, Campbell and Robert) in this fanfic, too, not just his army of Scots, him and Murron. They're just minor characters. Sadly, Princess Isabelle, Longshanks and Prince Edward II (the other "Braveheart" characters) will not be in this fanfic. Sorry. :( By the way, this fanfic took me about five years to make. I was having trouble deciding who would be Quasimodo and Frollo. I knew that Esmeralda, Phoebus, Clopin, the gargoyles and the Archdeacon were going to be played by William (Esmeralda), Murron (Phoebus), Glinda (Clopin), Terk (Hugo), Isabelle (Victor), Rafiki (Laverne) and Gandalf (the Archdeacon) until I finally decided to have Rapunzel and Gothel play Quasimodo and Frollo. Oh, and there will also be some references to the "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame" novel and musical in this fanfic. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter.)
Disclaimer:
I do not own The Hunchback Of Notre Dame or any of the fandoms that will be in this story. No copyright infringement intended. All copyrights are reserved and therefore belong to their respectful owners. This is just for entertainment purposes only. I am not making any money off of this.
Notes:
Italics = Thoughts, singing and flashbacks.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the streets of Paris was a twenty-four year old woman named Murron MacClannough, who was on her way to the Palace of Justice after returning home from the war to serve as Gothel's new Captain of the Guard.
Murron had brunette hair (which was in a ponytail, though sometimes she'd have her hair down) and hazel eyes.
She wore a silver breastplate with shoulder pads, gauntlets, greaves and shoes that matched the color of her breastplate. Underneath her breastplate was a white undershirt. On her back was a white shield with a blue and white flag engraved on it, which was a diagonal cross, defacing a blue field and had a white saltire. The flag itself was an indication that she was from Scotland.
After hearing stories from her father about how he served in the war against the English, she wanted to follow in his footsteps, even though her family warned her that it was too dangerous. Luckily, she made it out alive. Bless her heart.
Of course, she was sad that she had to leave her family behind in Scotland, but promised that she'd come back to visit someday.
But right now, she had to find the Palace of Justice to meet Gothel and tend to her duties as Captain of the Guard. Unfortunately for Murron, she had no luck in finding the Palace of Justice, so she figured that she'd keep on looking before nightfall.
Murron sighed in exasperation, wanting to give up on her search. But she didn't want to keep Gothel waiting, even though she claimed that she was a patient woman.
"You leave town for a couple years and they change everything," Murron grumbled to her lion companion, Nala, who Murron knew since she was a cub.
Nala was a slender cream-colored lioness with turquoise eyes and a brown nose. Both the insides of her ears and the small tuft of fur on her tail were tan.
Then, two guards passed by Murron and Nala.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, I'm looking for the Palace of Justice, would you–" Murron tried getting the guards' attention, but they ignored her.
"I guess not," Murron sighed in disappointment, "Come on, Nala."
As Murron continued her journey to the Palace of Justice, she came across a group of men. Curious, Murron decided to get a better look and walked closer to them. One of them stood at the center speaking to them. Murron assumed that the man (who was twenty-nine years old) was the leader of the group.
He had long, wavy auburn hair, which was in braids at the sides, scars on his face (one above his left eye, the other next to his right) and beautiful blue eyes. He wore a brown shirt, covered by a brown chain buckled armor, with a tartan cloth strapped over his left shoulder, kilt and brown shoes with green stockings. To Murron, the man was quite handsome. He'd make all the girls swoon over him.
Sitting next to the man was a dog with dark brown colored ears and brown eyes. Most of her body was beige, with a tan muzzle and belly. Her tail was docked and short and she wore a light blue collar with a gold diamond-shaped necklace. Her name was Lady.
Murron watched as the man continued his speech.
"We've come to Paris as free men, and free men we are. What will we do with that freedom? Will we fight?" he asked his men.
"Fight? Against that? No! We will run, and we will live," another man said.
"Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live, at least a while," the leader replied.
Then, the leader said something that Murron would never forget.
"And dying in your beds, many years from now… would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here, and tell our enemies… that they may take our lives, but they'll never take… OUR FREEDOM?! Alba ga brath!"
The man cheered for the leader and chanted, "Wallace! Wallace! Wallace!"
The man now known as Wallace looked at Murron and smiled at her, which made her smile back and throw coins at him.
A child was about to run up to Wallace and his men, but was held back by her mother.
"Stay away, child. They're rebels. They'll steal us blind."
Murron rolled her eyes and ignored the mother's comment and continued staring at Wallace.
He then walked up to an old man. Murron was unsure if this man was Wallace's father, grandfather, uncle or friend. He had long, white hair which was braided, blue eyes and also wore the same clothing as Wallace.
"Well done, William," the old man smiled at him, "That was a great speech, my boy. Your father would have been so proud of you."
"Thank you, Campbell," William nodded and then frowned, "I miss him."
"I know. We miss him, too," Campbell replied.
"Anyway," William snapped back to reality and said, "I'll see you at the festival."
"Right," Campbell agreed.
Then, a thought crossed Murron's mind. The man that stood before her was not named Wallace. His name… was William Wallace. Sir William Wallace.
Murron, like many others, heard about William Wallace and his fights against the English. Sadly, Murron and William never fought together. But she learned about his victories at Stirling, York and Bannockburn, but his loss at Falkirk. She always wanted to meet him someday and to thank him for everything he's done for Scotland. Now, her dream came true.
"William!" a voice called out. His name was Hamish, another one of William's friends (who's known William since childhood) and Campbell's son. He had long brown hair, which matched the color of his beard and blue eyes. Like William and Campbell, his hair was also in braids.
William gasped when he saw two guards coming to take him and his friends away.
"Run!" Campbell cried.
But before Hamish and Campbell could escape, two more guards grabbed them, while one of them snatched a brown bag that William had, which had money in it. The two guards that got William were named Patchy and Sideburns, who were known as the Stabbington Brothers.
They were twins that had muscular bodies, fair skin, red hair, light blue eyes, big eyebrows, big noses and big jaws. Their haircuts were almost similar (their fringes were combed in different directions). They had dark rings underneath their eyes, and scars underneath their mouths.
Patchy wore a dark, sleeveless shirt similar to his brother, but also wore a long-sleeved shirt underneath. He had round ears and an eye patch on his left eye (hence his name), and a scar underneath it.
Sideburns had a slightly curved scar on the right side of his face. He wore a sleeveless green shirt. His weapon was a large sword on his back. Also, his ears were edgier than Patchy's and had sideburns on his face, hence his name.
"Alright, Scot, where'd you get the money?" Patchy inquired, which William tried to take the bag back from him.
'For your information, I earned it! Now let my friends go!" William demanded.
"Rebels don't earn money," Patchy mocked.
"They steal it," Sideburns corrected.
"Oh, and I suppose you know a lot about stealing?" William scoffed, "Tell me, gentlemen. When was the last time my men and I stole from you?"
Patchy and Sideburns exchanged glances and laughed at William's remark.
"Well, well, looks like we've got ourselves a troublemaker, Sideburns," Patchy chuckled.
"Yeah! Maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down, punk!" Sideburns agreed.
Luckily, William got out of Sideburns' grasp and took the hat back from them.
After letting go of the guards, Campbell turned to William.
"It's alright, William. We've got this. Just go. We'll catch up to you," said Campbell, which William nodded while Lady growled at Sideburns, bit his leg and followed William who ran off with the money.
"Come back here, Scot!" Patchy yelled as he and Sideburns tried chasing William, only to be blocked by Murron and Nala and fall to the ground. During all this, Campbell and Hamish ran off to find William.
"Nala, sit," Murron ordered as Nala did what she was told and sat on Patchy.
"Oh! Dear, I'm sorry!" Murron smirked and pretended to scold Nala, "Naughty lion, naughty! She's just impossible. Really, I can't take her anywhere."
William smiled at Murron and ran off to find Campbell and Hamish.
"Get this thing off me!" Patchy pleaded.
"I'll teach you a lesson, peasant," Sideburns growled as he pulled out a dagger.
Luckily, Murron pulled out her sword and pointed it at Sideburns.
"You were saying, Lieutenant?" she asked with a smirk, which took Sideburns by surprise.
"Oh! C-c-c-Captain!" Sideburns cried as he accidentally hit his head with his dagger and saluted Murron, "At your service, ma'am!"
Murron knelt down next to Patchy and put her sword next to him.
"I know you have a lot on your mind right now, gentlemen, but can you please take me to the Palace of Justice?"
While Murron followed Patchy and Sideburns to the Palace of Justice, she noticed a cloaked figure sitting on the ground. Next to the cloaked figure were some coins and a brown bag. Murron smiled at this as she took the coins, threw it into the bag and walked away.
After Murron left, the cloaked figure removed their hood, who turned out to be William in disguise. As he saw Murron leave, a puzzled look appeared on his face.
"Who was that girl? Why did she help me?" William wondered while Lady titled her head in confusion.
Meanwhile, Murron finally made it to the Palace of Justice.
The Palace of Justice was a judicial center and courthouse, which was located on the Ile de la Cite. It contained the Court of Appeal of Paris and was France's highest court for ordinary cases, the Court of Cassation. It was built on the site of the former royal palace of Saint Louis, of which the Sainte Chapelle remained. The Palace of Justice almost looked like a castle, which like Notre Dame also had high towers.
Murron was amazed by the sight and of how tall it was. Her stomach was tied in knots. What if she failed her duty as Gothel's Captain of the Guard? Then this trip to Paris would have been all for nothing. She silently prayed that she would not disappoint Gothel.
So Murron took a deep breath and headed inside.
When she got inside, she found herself in the prison where she heard the sound of someone being whipped.
"Stop," a voice said.
"Milady?" another voice said.
"Ease up, wait between lashes," Gothel spoke, "Otherwise the old sting will dull him to the new."
"Yes, Milady," the torturer said. His name was Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. He had fair skin and a light dusting of freckles across his nose, auburn hair, sideburns and green eyes. He wore navy blue trousers, black boots, a magenta cravat blue shirt, indigo vest, black epaulets, gold aiguillette, and a light gray and black blazer with patterns.
Sensing Murron's presence, Gothel turned around to face her.
"Ah, so this is the gallant Captain Murron MacClannough, home from the wars," said Gothel as she walked up to Murron, "I've heard so much about you. I am Mother Gothel, the Mistress of Justice."
"Reporting for duty as ordered, Milady," Murron bowed.
"Your service record precedes you, Murron," Gothel told her as she circled around her, "I expect nothing but the best from a war heroine of your caliber."
"And you shall have it, Milady. I guarantee it," Murron replied.
"Yes. You know, my last Captain of the Guard was um… Well, let's just say that he was a bit of a disappointment to me," Gothel stated with a smirk as Hans whipped the last Captain of the Guard, causing Murron to flinch at his scream.
"Well, no matter. I suppose you'll whip my men into shape. In fact, you're the first female Captain of the Guard I've ever had," Gothel continued, snapping Murron back to reality, "I'm looking forward to your progress."
"Why, thank you," Murron nodded, "I'm very honored, Milady."
"Follow me," Gothel commanded as the two women walked to the balcony, "You've come to Paris in her darkest hour, Captain. It will take a firm hand to save the weak-minded from being so easily misled."
"Misled, Milady?" Murron inquired.
"Look, Captain. Scottish rebels," Gothel pointed to the town square where the Scottish rebels were.
While Gothel was talking to Murron, she saw a man with auburn hair amongst the Scottish rebels and a dog right beside him. A small smile formed on Murron's lips when she realized that it was William (with Lady), the same man who she saved earlier. She watched as he was making one of his speeches while the crowd watched him and gave him money.
"The rebels live outside of the normal order," Gothel's words snapped Murron back to reality, "Their heathen ways inflame the peoples' lowest instincts."
Gothel turned to Murron, glared at her and made a fist.
"...And they must… be… stopped."
Murron's eyes widened at her words. Why would Gothel do such a thing to these poor rebels? What "heathen ways" was she talking about?
"I was summoned from the wars, to capture a group of rebels who've done nothing wrong?" Murron asked as she looked at the square again, "All I see are some innocent men having fun."
"Ah, the real war, Captain, is what you see before you," Gothel corrected.
"For eighteen years, I have been taking care of the rebels…," said Gothel as she saw some ants on a stone slate in the rail and crushed them as she finished her sentence, "one… by… one."
"And yet, for all my success," Gothel took the stone slate off the rail, revealing more ants, "they have thrived. I believe they have a safe haven within the walls of this very city. A nest, if you will."
Gothel smirked at Murron.
"They call it, "The Court Of Miracles.""
"And what are we going to do about it, Milady?" Murron questioned.
Instead of answering Murron's question, Gothel slammed the slate back on the rail, crushing the ants along with it.
"Oh, I see," Murron understood, "You make your point quite vividly, Milady."
"You know, I like you, Captain," Gothel smiled, "Shall we?"
However, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of cheering.
"Oh, duty calls," Gothel groaned and looked at Murron, "Have you ever attended a peasant festival, Captain?"
"Not recently, Milady," Murron replied.
"Then this should be quite an education for you. Come along," said Gothel as the two women headed off to the Feast of Fools.
(Note: In case you're wondering, yes, I used the freedom speech from "Braveheart" when William (Esmeralda) and Murron (Phoebus) meet for the first time in this fanfic. I kind of changed the wording a bit to make it match the fanfic, since "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame" does take place in France. Now, I know that William is not at the Battle of Bannockburn because (*SPOILER ALERT!*) obviously he was executed way before that battle took place. However, let's just say in this fanfic, he won at the Battle of Bannockburn. Also, in this fanfic, the Battle Of Stirling takes place two years before the events of the story, and the Battles Of Falkirk and Bannockburn takes place a year before the events of the story, hence why I said that Murron is twenty-four years old and William is twenty-nine years old. So Murron is six years older than Rapunzel and William is eleven years older than Rapunzel (who's eighteen). Also, Murron is alive during William's battles, although like the chapter says, she did not meet him at the time until now. I read somewhere on the "Braveheart" Wiki that Murron was born in 1275, five years younger than William. Don't worry. You'll see some more interactions between William and Murron (and his interactions with Rapunzel and Gothel, too) later on. So, the next chapter will be the Feast of Fools (a.k.a. "Topsy Turvy") and when Rapunzel and William finally meet! Yay! :D Stay tuned!)