The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Heaven's Light

A Free Man

After that awful night, that lost one was not found. Dawn came and that little form disappeared without a trace. She kept to the sides of the buildings, trying not to grab any unwanted attention. She wanted to follow the sound of those bells. In her poor heart, she had a sense that they were hunting for her. She was never going back.

With the city on the edge, there were predators planning to cross into outskirts of Paris. Black horses with these murderers mounted upon them, tore through the plain farmlands, heading toward Paris. There was only one flaw in the plan; all the entrances to the city was guarded by the King's most trusted men. Captain Pheobus tried to keep the city safe since Frollo's downfall, under the King's order. It had been that way since France's throne was threatened by the pirates the year before and a tragic disappearance made everything worse.

The King's daughter was stolen in the night, by a witch, they near believed. It was planned so it seemed that she disappeared into thin air. It happened on the night after she was born to the ailing Queen and the King, Louis 14th. A baby princess with hair of brown and hazel eyes and her birth was a celebration to be remembered forever. She was deemed Aurora Marie de Versailles, the Princess and pride of France. On that day, it all seemed that everything was fine. Everything was perfect, but it all didn't last.

There was a search set after for the poor infant, but there was no trace. Forever lost.

All that madness was outside Paris's borders, making it a safe haven for most runners and gypsies.

Unfortunately, this band of pirates had come to a peasants' home for a search of a stolen treasure. They gathered round with their arrows aimed as the head of their troop patiently knocked at the door.

An innocent face opened the door and he was greeted by a dagger to the throat.

"We were just passing by...." chuckled the brute captain, Dracon, with a beastly grin. "but we would like to know if you have any daughters in your household."

The poor peasent man shook his head in terror.

"N-No! No!" he cried, fervently, trying to slam the door, but the brute, Dracon visciously shoved the man to the floor.

"SEARCH 'EM!!" he bellowed at his band and they ran into the old home, breaking through.

The worst that they had done was to snag two extremely young girls from the back and dragged them before Dracon.

"They be the only ones, sir!" one of the brutes informed.

Those two precious angels turned out to not be the girl they were there for.

"Bloody -" Dracon hissed. "Kill 'em, then. Kill 'em all." he plainly sighed as he headed out the door.

The pirates obeyed and drew out their arrows to end the poor lives before there came an outcry from outside. Pheobus and his soldiers charged at the cottage, completely outnumbering the them all. Most of them tried to hold them off by shooting their arrows, killing three of the bold soldiers instantly. Pheobus took to the front, kicking Achilles hard with his sword withdrawn. With one swipe of that sword, he injured four men at once, sending those still around fleeing. Knowing that they were completely outnumbered, Dracon and his remaining few mounted their steeds and charged off at full speed. Ten pirates were killed in this attempt and, fortunately, for the peasants who were attacked, were safe and sound.

Captain Pheobus kept a sharp eye on them as they fled across the plains. The innocent were in terrible jeapardy now, also he knew what they were searching for. The heir to France's thrown was lost and was considered dead already, so why would they be searching every home they can find? One thing was for certain; the heir was alive. A young soldier, no younger than eighteen rode his horse beside him, spying the fleeing enemy.

"What's your choice of action?" the boy asked, eagerly. "Pheobus -"

"It's best if you call me sir, young man. Trust me, it'll get you places." Captain Pheobus said, turning Achilles back toward the cottage.

The soldier in training silenced himself, turning his steed in turn to follow his sire. Johnathan Kristoff became the Captain of the guard's trusted ward for four months already. He was a downright troublemaker, picking pockets and looting gypsy's street pay and Pheobus gave the lad a sporting chance as his ward, his second in command. He spared the lad the death sentence and took him in for John had no home. Once in a while the boy would go a little over his head in certain situations, similar to the present.

"Here, son. I have a chore for you." Pheobus then said in a bit of worried tone, taking out a scroll out from his armor. "Go and take this to the Court of Miracles. Esmeralda will meet you there." Pheobus stated, handing a small scroll of parchment to Johnathan.

"But, Captain, what about the ranks?"

"My business is not your concern. There will be no more questioning my authority and that will be the last time you'll ever do so, is that clear?" Pheobus lightly scorned and young John shrunk back into his more mature self.

"Yes, Captain!" he saluted.

"Good, good. Make sure she gets that message. I'm trusting you. I know you can do it." the Captain sighed, kicking Achilles into a quick gallop, leaving his ward to go by himself back to Paris.

Sighing in mere disappointment, John rode off toward Paris as fast as he could. He wanted to join the ranks, but the Captain always made him do parchment deliveries.

Sadly, the farmlands surrounding were in grave danger by the new threat. From the rooftops of the great cathedral, the flames of burning homes could be easily seen by Paris' most mysterious misfit. The morn had not come yet and the young bell ringer was up all the way on top of the left tower watching the devastation from afar with worry and determination. Life had not changed much, despite no longer being under scrutiny of a pair of cruel, lying eyes. For twenty years, the foul-hearted Claude Frollo hid him away like an animal. A monster. He was a monster. Quasimodo still near believed that, since he used to be reminded of it on a daily basis. All alone with his thoughts the sun finally decided to show her light. Quasi drew in a content sigh and gracefully swept down into the bell tower upon the greatest of all the bells, Big Marie.

Now the stakes had run high because of these awful attacks on the farms, Quasimodo was responsible of telling the city of how safe it was by ringing Big Marie a certain number of times each dawn. Being drawn to the sun's highlight of the city below, he drew in another breath and heaved down upon the pull rope of Big Marie. The great copper iron bell made her first swing with the aid of her guardian, to and fro, slowly and heavily. Her great tong vibrated the wood shafts and the stone walls just to wake the dozing town of Paris. As Quasi pulled and raised, pulled and raised, a full flush of dreaded memories went through his mind.

"All my life, you have told me that the world is a dark, cruel place. But now I see that the only thing dark and cruel about it is people like you!"

At the moment, he held Frollo's knife in his hand. If he hadn't been in that correct state of mind he would have become as much of a monster as Frollo was. Oddly enough, that was something the young bell ringer would never regret.

Relieved to finally have the sun shining after days and days of pouring rain, Quasimodo allowed his spirit to shine by how his vast bells brought the day to the Parisians. The bells were one thing, he, though was another. Despite his generous nature, Quasi was still under suspicion of what took place within these walls. Some towns people believed he was hideous as ever, but others saw his true colors, especially Esmeralda and the guard. Dangerous times had returned and there was no blame to the city's suspicion. The kingdom was in shambles. Pirates raided the nations one by one. Only Paris stood out so far. All the shy, brave bell ringer could do now was to have the town well aware by ringing the bells every day and night. He may had been an outsider, but he was more than he used to be. A free man.