We're dead. No one can help us now. Drizella sat grasping the bars of the cage, exhausted, her eyes heavy from a long night of weeping. "Why did I ever leave home? At least I was safe there..." She rested her head against the bars, glancing up at Clopin, who was peering intently up at the bell tower. He sighed and joined her on the floor of the cage.
"Part of me wishes you were safe and sound. But another part says you were meant to come here." He grasped her hand tightly. "Better to die a rose than live a long life thinking you are a weed."
She sniffed and looked at him.
"How can you be so brave all the time?"
He didn't respond for a moment.
"I am not," he said finally. She looked at him in amazement. "I simply do what needs to be done. Fear rises within me much more often than you might think, my rose. But it accomplishes nothing." He smiled at her. "Love accomplishes much more." She smiled back and then glanced up with him at the belltower. "I only hope Quasimodo can find the courage to love in spite of his fears," he sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "He is truly our only hope."
Who is the monster, and who is the man? Drizella, filled with a strange motivation, crossed herself for the first time in years and bowed her head.
O Lord, help him not to give in to the monster. Help him to be a man.
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Nakoma made the sign of the cross and stood, drying her eyes with her sleeve. God will provide. I know He will.
"What did you pray for?" She glanced over at Phoebus, who stood wearily against the side of the cage.
"That God's will be done," she replied. Phoebus raised his eyebrows.
"Well, let's hope His will includes getting us out of here," he said. Nakoma smiled.
"Nothing happens without a purpose. Not even this. God is still in control."
Phoebus pushed away from the side of the cage, gesturing to the stake where servants were piling wood and kindling high around Esmeralda's feet.
"What purpose is there in this? Does God approve of the killing of innocents?" Nakoma's eyes filled with tears.
"Of course not. We cannot see or understand now what God may have meant by all of this. But perhaps it is meant to teach a lesson. We will never know in full until we reach eternity."
Phoebus scoffed and turned away, staring up at the belltower.
"Well, I, for one, hope something triggers that bellringer," he growled.
Perhaps something will, Nakoma thought, and that something can only be one thing: love without fear.
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Drizella could not hear what Frollo was whispering to Esmeralda, but the look in his eyes, one of hunger, was one she recognized. Don't do it, Esmeralda, she thought, her stomach turning. Whatever he wants with you, don't give in!
"It seems he is offering her a rather unsavory deal," Clopin spat.
"He truly is a monster," Drizella whispered with a shudder.
As they watched, Esmeralda summoned up the strength to spit right into Frollo's face. Gasps went up from the crowd as Frollo wiped his face on his sleeve with a snarl and turned to address the crowd once more.
"The gypsy Esmeralda has refused to recant," he cried.
"Refused to recant...what nonsense!" a woman in their cage said. "Refused to sell her soul is more like it!"
Several of the others gave words of agreement.
"She's always been the bravest among us," Clopin whispered, and looking up, Drizella saw his eyes glisten with moisture. "I...I am not quite sure how we will manage without her." Drizella didn't reply, squeezing his hand tighter. We won't have to manage without her, she thought, trying to quell the piercing fear in her heart as she remembered their fate was the same as hers. We're going with her.
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Quasi's head hung low. His arms hung in chains and his eyelids hung heavily over his eyes. He's going to burn her, he thought, but the panic he felt for Esmeralda's safety could not overcome the dark despair that had rendered his limbs useless and his heart a block of ice.
"Come on, Quasi!" Hugo demanded, biting the chains fiercely. "Snap out of it!"
"Your friends are down there!" Victor added.
Quasi shook his head.
"It's all my fault."
"You gotta break these chains!" said Laverne, pulling at them in vain.
"I can't," Quasi muttered angrily. "I've tried. What difference would it make?"
"But you can't let Frollo win!" Victor retorted.
"He already has," Quasi said, hanging his head again.
"So, you're giving up?" Hugo said in disbelief. "That's it?"
Laverne hopped in front of him and closed one eye, pointing a finger at him.
"These chains aren't what's holding you back, Quasimodo," she scolded.
Her words struck a nerve. I know they're not! He thought. I'm just a big coward! Good for nothing!
"Leave me alone," he snapped. The gargoyles all stared at him in shock.
"Okay," said Hugo in defeat as he hopped away. "Okay, Quasi, we'll leave you alone."
"After all," said Victor, "we're only made of stone." He and Hugo resumed their inanimate stone shape.
"We just thought maybe you were made of something stronger," Laverne said sadly as she, too, turned to stone.
Quasi's eyes welled with tears. He looked down where Esmeralda was tied to the stake, her white gown contrasting with the darkness all around. She's innocent. She's brave, innocent, good. So is Nakoma. They remind me of...heaven's light. He began to sob. They came to me seeking sanctuary. I let them down. I can't let them die. I can't...I don't know what I can do, but I have to try.
He pulled at the chains, straining and grunting, and the stone floor began to vibrate beneath him. The ace of hearts. Nakoma. Esmeralda. Love. Heaven's light. Heaven's light.
"It is my shameful duty," cried Frollo below, "to send this poor girl back where she belongs!" He touched the pyre with the torch in his hands, and flames began to sear through the wood. Esmeralda coughed, the smoke already swirling around her face.
"No!" He pulled harder, with all his strength, his heart ready to burst with panic and fury. The bells began to ring behind him, as if encouraging him. He remembered ringing the bells for them, sitting under the bell with Nakoma, her confession...the way she'd tenderly put the two torn halves of the ace of hearts back together... I have to fight for it. Heaven's light. If I can't...if I don't... hellfire.... He heard the stone above him cracking as he gave one final, agonizing tug, tearing the stone pillars that bound him out of their place. I'm free, he thought, tossing aside his chains. And now I must bring them to freedom...to sanctuary. He picked up a rope lying at his feet and ran to the edge of the cathedral. And this time, I won't let them down.
—————————————————————————
Nakoma's gaze was fixed on Esmeralda, her heart pounding with panic. She's going to die... she thought. Her throat constricted painfully. We all are. Murmurs suddenly broke out among the gypsies in the carts. "Look!" Phoebus pointed out into the fog, where Nakoma could see a large figure swinging through the smoke and soot on a rope. Her heart beat wildly with hope.
"Quasi!" Landing squarely on the stage with a look of savage fierceness, Quasi tore away the ropes binding Esmeralda to the pyre. Soldiers began crawling up onto the pyre, but Quasi ripped the stake from its burning foundation and brandished it at the soldiers, sending them running. Then, unbelievably, he grabbed the rope and swung away to the cathedral with Esmeralda lying over his shoulders.
"Yes!" she cried, tears of joy streaming down her face. As she and Phoebus and the other gypsies watched in awe, he ran up the side of the cathedral and stopped, the stained glass window behind him shining like a halo as he lifted Esmeralda high in the air.
"Sanctuary! Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" Quasimodo cried, and the crowd and all the gypsies cheered wildly. Nakoma almost hugged Phoebus in her glee.
"Love won!" she cried. "Didn't I tell you? God provides!"
Phoebus scoffed, but he couldn't hide his own joy.
"I never doubted him for a second," he said.