The Deacons daughter

Chapter 4

An Awkward Situation

The screen shifts to the palace of justice, the sounds of whips cracking against something echo through the air.
It shifts to inside facing a door, Phoebus opening it to Frollo in the corridor of a dungeon.
Frollo holds his hand up causing the punisher to come out of the room, the whipping noise stopping.

"Stop" Frollo commands. "Sir?" The punisher walks in confusion. "Ease up. Wait between lashes. Otherwise the old sting will dull him to the new." Frollo explains with a sadistic smile. The punisher smiles in glee "Yes, sir." He responds before heading back into the room with a smirk.
"Ah, so this is the gallant Captain's Phoebus, home from the wars." Frollo greets, coming closer to him.

"Reporting for duty, as ordered, sir." Phoebus responds, standing with both his arms behind him, covered by his cape. Frollo circles him like a predator would for its prey, continuing to talk. "Your service record precedes you, Phoebus. I expect nothing but the best from a war hero of your caliber." He stops circling him, choosing to stand slightly in front of him. "And you shall have it, sir. I guarantee it." Frollo smiles in satisfaction "Yes. You know, my last captain of the guard was a bit of a disappointment to me." He frowns, a whip cracking is heard, a man crying in pain causing Frollo to smile while Phoebus looks back and forth with a look of bewilderment.

"Well, no matter. I'm sure you'll whip my men into shape." He joked, walking away with a smile with Phoebus following behind him with a confident step, but nervousness was apparent in his face. "Uh, thank you. It's a grea- Tre- uh, tremendous honor, sir." He stuttered.

The screen shifts to them in one of the halls with glassless windows.

"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." Frollo tells him as they walk. "Misled, sir?" Phoebus questions. Frollo motions to the city below "look, captain. Gypsies. The gypsies live outside the normal order."

The screen shifts to Esmeraldo and Damica dancing on one of the streets, trying to get more money to be able to feed themselves.

"There evil ways inflamed the people's lowest instincts. And they must be stopped." This specific sentence causes Frollo to think of Mira. He then turns towards Phoebus with a scowl, clenching his fist tightly at the mere thought of a gypsy tainting Mira.

Phoebus looks at him in shock and annoyance "I was summoned from the wars to capture fortune tellers and palm readers?" Phoebus looks at Frollo unimpressed as Frollo waves a finger at him "Eh, the real war, captain, is what you see before you." He motions back down to the two Gypsy's dancing, a crowd now around them.
"For 20 years, I have been taking care of the gypsies," he pauses as he sees three ants on the ledge, he smashes them one by one as he talks "One…by.… One"

"And yet, for all my success, they have thrived." He then lifts up the stone, showing a colony of ants below it. "I believe they have a safe haven within the walls of this very city. A nest, if you will. They call it the court of miracles." He chuckled in amusement.
"What are we going to do about it, sir?" Phoebus questions. Frollo smirks before smashing the stone down on top of the colony of ants, killing all of them.
Phoebus narrows his eyes "you make your point quite vividly, sir."

"You know, I like you, captain. Shall we?" He asks, putting his hand on Phoebus's shoulder while Phoebus looked at him with narrow eyes. A cheer from below draws their attention. "Oh, duty calls. Have you ever attended a peasant festival, captain?" He asks, frowning from the thought of going to said Festival.
"Not recently, sir." He answers him.
"Then this should be quite an education for you. Come along." He calls to him as he walks away, Phoebus doing as he says with an unsure look on his face.