Paris Will Break Your Heart

Chapter 1: Sanctuary and a Falsely Named Palace

I own only the characters Tadeo and Renaud, who we will meet later on. Also, I'm thinking I showed up pretty late to this party, but I wanted to post it anyways.

"Clopin!" The urgency of the voice, rather then the volume was what woke him. When he opened his eyes, he found a slight, shaking figure had jumped into his bunk with him.

He knew who it was, though his heart did give an involuntary kick at being awakened so suddenly. And he realized quite quickly that he would have much rather been allowed to sleep. The night's revelries had lasted late into the night. It could only have been
a few hours since he'd dragged himself to bed. The hangover had already begun. Clopin didn't usually regret drinking during one of the late night parties the gypsies tended to have quite often in the Court. It made everything that much more fun. Now, it made everything that much more difficult.

However, Esme was worth moving about during a hangover for. Anyone else, he would have booted out with a few choice curses, blaming them rather then the vast amount of liquor he'd consumed that night for his pounding headache. Not Esme. Because she was crying, hiding under the covers and clinging to him.

Under normal circumstances, he might have scooped the girl up and flipped her upside down to provoke a laugh from her. But when he tossed the covers off her head, Esmerelda looked so distressed, all Clopin could think to do was gather her into his arms as if she were still that six year old petit fille that had scraped her knee dancing in the dusty streets.

"What's happened, cherie?" He asked gently, splitting headache momentarily forgotten. Pulling out Puppet, he waved him around her face, rising his voice to a comical falsetto. "What's making our Esme cry? Tell me and I will go punish them!"

She sniffed brokenly, pushing Puppet away with one hand. "They've got Tadeo." She clung to his tunic, moments away from bursting into a fit of tears. "The Palace of Justice!"

Clopin launched himself off the bed, Esmerelda still in his arms as if she weighed less then a baby goat. The movement sent unpleasant spikes of pain through his pounding head, and he swayed unsteadily for a moment before he set her down and wasted precious seconds finding and pulling on his battered hat and floppy curly toed shoes in the dark. Puppet had dropped to the group, and Clopin didn't even bother picking him back up.

Esme took his gloved hand in hers and tugged him after her out of the trailer.

Together, they raced through the the Court of Miracles and out into the cool night air.

The fresh air helped ease his aching head, but he was immeasurably grateful the sky above was still dark, unwilling to subject his eyes to any unwanted light.

His reaction, he knew, was a knee-jerk one. But it was the same reaction he'd had every time someone came to the Court with such news. Granted, there was not always anything he could do about it. But he was always willing to try. Even if it was Tadeo. That troublemaker probably deserved what was coming to him. Nonetheless, he was a gypsy after all. And Esme would not forgive him unless he at least tried to free the boy.

"What were you and Tadeo doing out so late in the night?" Clopin asked as they ran past closed shops and homes, raising his eyebrows playfully at her.

As expected, the girl ducked her head and refused to answer the question. Embarrassment radiated from her demenor.

He'd noticed that both the girl and her current love interest had been absent during the night. Clopin had decided not to worry. He knew Esme could take care of herself, and surely the boy would do nothing foolish as long as she was present. Evidently he'd been wrong in that assumption.