Justice is Swift But Vengeance is Sweeter (A Judge Frollo Fanfiction)

Sweet Tea and Bitter Words

(Next chapter, see if you can find the character reference from my Servant of Judge Frollo story! Heh, heh, heh. ;3)  

Frollo brought Nikolas to his home, settling him in the parlor as they were brought a cup of tea and a few maps of Paris. Then he'd begun to map out their routes and possible plans.

"First of all, these aren't entirely thoughtless creatures; their leader is cunning and sly. He has escaped me before and goes by the name Clopin. Dressed as a jester he is a large target since if you take out the king, the horde will fall into anarchy. Then..." Suddenly Nikolas spoke up, finding he was strangely curious about all this.

"If you don't mind me asking, could you explain why you and all of France seem to hate these people?" Frollo paused, looking up at him slowly, eyes burning with inner fire.

"Why? Why? I'll explain this simple matter to you, gypsies are travelers and live outside the normal boundaries of our own precious world of civilization. They are barely even civilized, the women wearing scanty dresses while the men run about in rags, all dancing and singing the night away. But how do they get their bread? They steal it, or steal money to buy it with. This is a race of robbers and thieves that threaten to tear down the economy of Paris because if the my civilians are robbed they cannot pay for food, they cannot buy products or produce products without money and basically the economy crashes all thanks to a group of rats who weren't even born here. They are the enemy, they are the child stealers, throat slitters, money snatchers, plague ridden rats that do not deserve to pollute the world with their sins! That is why they must be wiped out, and if that is done the world shall be cleansed of a sin that had plagued it for decades. Do you comprehend the situation that my precious Paris is in?" Frollo said coldly. Nikolas gave a small nod before whispering.

"Goodness, I'd heard of gypsies causing problems but, I never thought it would be so severe. How do you know they bring plague?" Frollo stiffened, glancing away.

"Personal experience" he hissed, before taking a long sip of tea. Nikolas did not prod any more upon that topic; instead he stood up, glancing at the map of Paris' winding streets and long roads.

"Now, you've told me about this Clopin, what do we do to stop him? Arrest him?" Frollo sneered.

"Perhaps, but he will have to be executed after capture for all his crimes. But the method of execution will have to be painful, torture perhaps, but I prefer a good burning at the stake. It does give the other vermin a warning. Not like they heed it though. But yes, Clopin is one of the enemies you must be wary about. Also, I've been searching Paris for a secret hideout used by the gypsies which goes by the name," He chuckled darkly, "The Court of Miracles. It is their nest and wiping out the nest will leave them without a home and easier to roundup. Don't you agree?" Nikolas nodded, looking over the streets, knowing that memorizing them would be a matter of life or death.

"So you've lived here all your life and you don't know where this mysterious Court of Miracles is?" Nikolas inquired, faintly amused. However when he earned a seething hot glare from the Frenchman he put his hands up in surrender. "Just a thought, so how do you propose we find this place?" Frollo finished his tea and studied the map.

"It would be easy to just send guards to follow gypsies to their hideout, but it would be too easy, they'd see it coming. We could capture some and torture it out of them. But we wouldn't be able to tell if they were lying or not." Nikolas ran a hand though his hair,

"Maybe we could use a gypsy, capture them and pretend they got away before following them with a small team that would contact a large team once it is found." Frollo was surprised, it was a good idea honestly, not like he'd ever admit it aloud, but it might work. However he quickly found flaws.

"But if they know their escape was a hoax they might lead us into an ambush. They are armed too Nikolas, we want a capture, not a bloodbath. Also, the contacting would take too long; a small team would be overwhelmed by their numbers." Nikolas sighed and sat down.

"Well, maybe things will be clearer in the morning." Frollo stared into the fire, quiet before speaking softly.

"I shall harbor you for the night but at dawn you must find your own quarters elsewhere." Nikolas nearly choked on his tea.

"What?" Frollo gave him a cool, challenging stare.

"I am not here to be you're friendly host Nikolas, we are to work together, that does not imply we must live together as well." Nikolas growled under his breath but stared back.

"Fine, I shall take whatever I can get. Are we calling it a night then or shall we ponder more useless ideas over strong wine instead of tea?" Frollo frowned.

"Very rude for a guest, are all Greeks like this?" Nikolas stood suddenly, anger burning in his own eyes.

"Do not insult those who live in other places Monsieur Frollo, France is not a continent, it is merely a country in a much larger world. So do not think your land is better than all the rest." He growled. They were face to face, both glaring the other right in the eye even though Frollo was a bit taller. However they broke their angry staring contest as a servant came in, bowing low,

"The guest room has been prepared master," She said softly, golden curls bouncing around her pale face. Frollo gave a swift nod, giving Nikolas a cold look of disgust.

"Thank you Marie, you shall lead Nikolas to his chambers for the evening." Marie curtsied and gestured for Nikolas to follow. But Nikolas did not leave at once; he turned to Frollo who had begun rolling up the maps.

"One day you will come to realize that not everything wonderful comes from France, many lovely things come from the world and you can see them all, if you open your blind eyes." Frollo raised an eyebrow and waved a hand, a sign of dismissal. But Nikolas knew, no matter how angry he was, he was under this man's roof for the night and he could not just stand here and insult him. And Frollo knew it too. So with tight fists Nikolas turned and walked to bed, leaving Frollo to himself, smirking.

"Lovely things outside of France, hah, what an amusing little insult. A shame it is just a lie."