Or Else Let Her Be Mine And Mine Alone

A Wonderful End

It was an unusually sunny day, but she was in no mood to be happy about that. The cold, black bars of the Palace of Justice's gate stared emptily at her, not unlike the dungeon door she was once caged behind. She took a glance at the grand building behind her- the Palace standing like a beautifully crafted tomb burying hellish prisons underneath. Who knew how many of her people spent their last breaths there, what they had been put through by the likes of Claude Frollo and King Louis. After all, she wasn't the first of her kind to be sentenced with no guilt of hers.

Blood throbbed in her veins with fury, for she knew exactly how her father must've been feeling when he was taken to the place she was at now. The coincidence, or rather irony, of her almost sharing the same fate wasn't lost on her. If only her predecessors had dealt with their prejudices, how wonderful things could be! She may've led a better life; one with parents and love and no Frollo. The built-up frustration made her want to scream. Biting the inside of her cheek, she tried gathering herself. Why couldn't her mother understand?

'What has been learned since birth cannot be broken by a few months of love...Put your feelings aside and think- can he choose you over Frollo?'

What pained was that she knew the answer to the last question was no. There was no certainty on whether Quasimodo loved her, let alone that he did it more than his adoptive father. She had done no such thing to deserve it. He had saved her life and yet been ungratefully rebuffed by her because he couldn't fetch Phoebus. He battled a mob for her when she fled with Gringoire. Even now, she had been rude and dismissive of him until recently. Her friendliness was always followed by sudden anger. And how she scared him that day...he must've been confused. Was she any better than Frollo?

His nature was to devote himself to anyone showing him a speck of kindness. Her mother was right- Frollo was a parent to him, no matter how horrendous. Nothing could compare to the love of a parent, and who understood it better than Esmeralda?

--

The bell-ringer's difficult night ended in sweet slumber. With Jacqueline's shadow shielding him from the sun, his consciousness could make out nothing about the waking world except a voice calling out to him. His favorite voice in the world, in fact. He smiled inside, relishing its sound till his eyes opened a bit, and the sunlight nearly blinded him. He hurriedly got up.

Esmeralda was near the stairs, frowning. 'Is everything fine? You were nowhere to be found in the tower, so I searched and found you sleeping beneath the bell.'

'Ah...' he gave a foolish grin, trying to appear unfazed. 'I was working till late, and I probably slept. Esmeralda, what time is it, if you don't mind?'

'Nine, I believe.'

'Nine! God, I missed my duties!' he jumped, running towards the bells. 'I've never missed a toll in my life- '

'It's fine, I don't think anyone would've minded it. Both the archdeacon and your master are away,' she said. He stopped. 'Oh... yes, I suppose you're right.' Coming back, he saw that she seemed gloomier than usual. Her gaze didn't meet his as she stated, 'He is returning tomorrow.'

Realization wiped his grin. Of course, how could he forget that tomorrow was a Sunday? One week to his master's departure?

She groaned, 'I forgot to bring the flowers.'

'Flowers?' he said, stunned.

'Yes, I'd bought a bunch of daises to gift you. But I forgot to take them while coming.'

He barely concealed his happiness. 'But you didn't need to! I'm blessed from meeting you every day,' he uttered, then paused. His master's return meant that he would come to visit him like before. This was-