The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2: A Different Story

Chapter 2

     2 days earlier . . .
    
     The view had been this beautiful for more than twenty-six years. Zephyr loved it just as much as Quasimoto did.
     "Its so PREEEEEEEEEEEEETTY!" Quasimoto laughed. Babysitting Zephyr was always fun, but Quasimoto was still exceedingly worried that Zephyr would fall off the railing if he leaned over too far.
     "I know it is, but I would feel better if you stayed a little farther back-"
     Zephyr pulled an adorable "mean" face, his bright green eyes glinting with defiance. He portrayed a lot of emotion for a six-year-old.
     "Are you challenging my AUTHORTIES?!" Quasi played along and turned his nose up towards the sky.
     "Perhaps I am, oh great one. But I must also ask you a question."
     Zephyr eyed him suspiciously. "Ask away," he replied.
     "Are you ready to be TICKLED?" Zephyr tried to run away, smile on his face, but Quasimoto scooped him up with one arm. Zephyr continued giggling while protesting helplessly.
     "No, no that tickles!" Quasimoto laughed and put Zephyr back down.
     "That's what you get!" Quasimoto grinned. Zephyr calmed down for a moment before tapping Quasimoto on the shoulder and sprinting to the other side of the balcony.
     "Come and GET ME!" Zephyr challenged. Quasimoto shook his head and jogged after him. Enjoyable as it was, it got exhausting looking after the little ball of energy.
     As Quasimoto rounded the corner, he found Zephyr had become distracted by the view over the railing. Quasimoto snuck up behind him and tapped Zephyr on the shoulder.
     "Got you!" Quasimoto exclaimed. When Zephyr didn't even move, Quasimoto knew something was up.
     Down in the square below, voices were raised and trouble was brewing. A mob had formed outside the church, surrounding a single man in the middle of it all. Quasi couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but one thing was for certain; no matter how much he wanted to stop what was happening, Quasimoto couldn't leave Zephyr behind in the bell tower by himself, and he certainly wasn't taking Zephyr into the middle of a riot.
     Quasimoto vividly remebered the first time he had gone outside the cathedral to experience the feast of fools firsthand. It had been one of the highest and lowest points of his life, and he understood perfectly well what it was like to be surrounded by an angry mob.
     "To the palace of justice!" One woman cried. A group of burly men followed suite, aggressively snatching the man's arms and legs as if they were trying to pull them off. The crowd surged towards the opposite side of the city, voices shouting unintelligibly, and all Quasi could do was sit there and watch.
     Quasimoto was about to turn Zephyr away from the horror when a stronger, louder voice stopped the crowd in its tracks.
     "STOP! In the name of the church, stop!" The crowd halted in silence.
     And there was Phoebus, the noble captain of the guard, with a small company of soldiers to back him up.
     "Hi Daddy!" Zephyr yelled, and Quasimoto realized it was probably time to remove Zephyr from the picture. He was still a bit too young to understand the particulars of what exactly Phoebus did, and Quasimoto just had to help if there was trouble.
     "Okay, Zephyr, let's go, now," he said, gingerly lifting up the child and treading carefully down the stairs.
     "I can walk! I'm a big boy," Zephyr pouted.
     "I know, but I don't want you to fall down the stairs. We're moving pretty fast," Quasimoto explained.
     "Oh."
     Then there was silence. For about thirty seconds.
     "Uhh, Uncle Quasi? Where are we going?" Zephyr, with his incredibly short attention span, had already grown tired of being carried down the stairs.
     "I have to do something, but you can't come with."
     "So can I play?"
     Quasimoto didn't bother to answer, they were almost to the bottom of the stairs. Quasimoto scanned the bottom floor of the cathedral, and in a few moments, he found who he was looking for. Quasi put Zephyr down and called out.
     "Archdeacon!" The old man turned and paused as he was lighting the candles.
     "Yes, my child?" The archdeacon looked slightly confused by Zephyr, who was now singing a little nonsense song to himself.
     Quasimoto spoke as quickly as he could. "There's trouble in the square, could you please watch this child while I help deal with it?"
     The arch deacon smiled, nodding. "It is kind of you to help. I would do it myself, but these old bones wouldn't stand a chance in an angry crowd. Besides, someone has to stay behind and make sure no one threatens the sanctity of the church. Surely you known of that very well," he laughed softly. The archdeacon looked down at Zephyr and spoke. "Would you like to help me light the rest of the candles?"
     Zephyr blinked, stroking his imaginary beard like he'd seen his father do. "Can we play hide and seek while we do that?"
     The arch deacon laughed and Quasimoto knew that Zephyr was in good hands. Quasi had a lot of things to worry about, at least Zephyr's safety wasn't one of them.
     Quasimoto opened the doors, and suddenly every eye on the square rested on him.