His Angel

Chapter 9 - Not A Monster

"Oh! I bet the king himself doesn't have a view like this. I could stay up here forever." Esmeraldo stated, basking in the sunset's warm glow.

"I know what you mean." (Y/N) stated as she stared out at the city, her (E/C) eyes seeming to sparkle at the sight before her. "It's just so pretty up here."

Esmeraldo turned to face her, admiring how the light delicately touched her cheeks and how, even now, she looked exactly like an angel. 

"So beautiful..." He muttered, his eyes not daring to leave her.

"You could stay here, you know." Quasimodo blurted, making Esmeraldo tear his gaze away and smile sadly at the excited young man.

"No, I couldn't."

"Oh, but you have sanctuary!" (Y/N) excitedly reminded him.

"But not freedom." He turned away from the siblings as he sourly crossed his arms, remembering that he was basically trapped here as he quoted. "Gypsies don't do well inside stone walls."

"But y-y-you're not like other gypsies. They're...evil." Quasimodo stated.

"Who told you that?"

"Our master, Frollo. He raised us."

Esmeraldo looked at the siblings in disbelief but not missing the guilty look crossing over (Y/N)'s expression as she lowered her head in shame. "How could such a cruel man have raised someone like you two?"

"Cruel? Oh, no. He saved my life and gave (Y/N) a place here in the church." Quasimodo explained as they all sat down on one of the tiled roofs. "He took us in when no one else would. I am a monster, you know."

"He told you that?"

"It's not true!" (Y/N) suddenly exclaimed, a few tears escaping from the corners of her eyes. Her outburst had startled both men as she looked at her brother despairingly. "You are not a monster!"

"(Y/N), look at me."

Esmeraldo quickly stepped in, before an argument could break out, holding out his hand to Quasimodo. "Give me your hand."

"Why?"

"Just let me see." Esmeraldo smiled as he took Quasimodo's hand in his. 

He began tracing over his large palm, making (Y/N) look over Esmeraldo's shoulder curiously. He smirked at her innocent expression before looking back over at Quasimodo's palm, pasting a quizzical, hard-thinking expression on his face.

"Hmm, a long life line." He pointed down on his hand. "Oh, and this one means you're shy. Hmm. Well, that's funny..."

"What?" Both siblings enquired.

"I don't see any."

"Any what?" Quasimodo asked.

"Monster lines." Esmeraldo concluded, gazing sincerely into the young man's blue eyes. "Not a single one."

"Wow, you can see all that in his palm?" (Y/N) innocently asked while her brother looked at his hand in amazement.

Esmeraldo smirked as he swiped some hair out of his face and back behind his head scarf. "Of course I can."

"Can you do mine too?"

He smiled as he gently took her hand in his own, making an immediate blush appear on her face as he too traced over the lines of her palm.

"It says here that you are very kind. Oh, and this means that you'll have a fulfilling life."

"What does this mean?" She questioned, pointing to one of the lines on her hand.