[Private] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (AdAstra)

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee gave Quasi a grateful smile, gripping his hand back,
"Thank you, and I-I'm ok", she murmured as she almost collapsed on the chair. The young girl noticed something was up with him. He seemed on edge. "Are you ok Quasi? I mean...after today. I tried to help you, I really did I-". She knew she'd go off into a rant about how she should of helped him, it didn't look like Quasi needed that. "Frollo just-...you know how it is".

Sighing, she propped her arm up on the table and lent her head against it, looking at Quasimodo for an answer, and just generally thinking to herself. Now that Phoebus was gone, and they're had been no word from Roseriya and Esmeralda, what was she meant to do? She could go back on the streets again...but people knew who she was now. Aimee knew that spending a life in hiding would be awful for her. Her mind raked through possibilities until it just went back to everyone who she has lost.

[AdAstrα]

Quasimodo looked at Aimee again. "I....yes, I'm fine." he began slowly, struggling to keep his voice steady, "I..it was my own fault. Frollo told me not to go out there and I...I did. I should've...listened to him..."

The next second, there was a loud screeching noise as the door opened and a hooded figure entered the Tower. He looked up, apprehensive, but as the voice called out to him, he recognised it instantly. "Quasimodo?"

It was Esmeralda.

"Esmeralda!" he exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief as he hugged her, "You're all right! I knew you'd come back!"

She beamed at him, her emerald green eyes sparkling. "You've done so much for me already, my friend." she began, "But I have to ask your help one more time."

Quasimodo nodded. "Yes, anything." he said.

Two other gypsies appeared in the doorway, carrying between them a man, who at first appeared to be dead. Watching him closely, however, one could see that he was breathing despite the deep wound so close to his heart, which appeared to be bleeding heavily.

"This is Phoebus." Esmeralda said, "He's wounded, and a fugitive like me. He can't go on much longer. I knew he'd be safe here. Please, can you hide him?"

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee was about to give Quasimodo comfort, she knew it wasn't really Quasi's fault. They were interrupted however, as the door opened. At first, she felt like getting up and running away, in case it was Frollo. But there was a call of a voice she recognized and she smiled. Esmeralda. When the two hugged she gave a grin, she knew Quasi must like her. Seemed everyone did.

She was about to go and say hello when three men appeared. Aimee's eyes widened in relief, shock, and utter panic when she saw it was Phoebus. Despite her worry for him, her face cracked into a beaming smile and tears of relief were glazing her eyes. Aimee leapt over to him and began to talk at the speed of light, asking what had happened, how bad he was etc. The two other gypsies laid him down on a blanket up where Quasimodo usually slept and Aimee went to his side. She gripped his hand tightly, hoping he would wake up.

"Come on Phoebus", she whispered. "I should of never believed Frollo had killed you". Aimee had a white cloth tucked up her sleeve, she usually carried one anyway. She began to fold it up and when it was thick enough, she began to hold it against his wound. Pushing down firmly but as gently as she could. Aimee wanted to stop the blood. As she was whispering things to him she forget about her surroundings, the people she was with. "Wake up, please, you've got to wake up".

[AdAstrα]

Esmeralda smiled as she saw how happy Aimee was to see Phoebus. "Frollo was going to have him executed for disobeying him." she explained, "I tried to stop it, which succeeded, but an arrow hit him and he fell into the river. I managed to save him just in time."

Quasimodo immediately glanced at her. "Does he...does Frollo know? That you saved him?" he asked, worried.

"No." she replied, beaming reassuringly at him, "No, he didn't see me. He has no idea that Phoebus survived." The sparkle in her eyes then went out, however, and she looked away. "He's searching for me." she added, "None of this will stop until he has me in his custody. I should have just revealed myself, I can't stand the thought of all these people losing their homes because of...well, because of me. Perhaps I should just..."

"No." Quasimodo said sharply, taking her hand, "Don't think about it! He'll give up eventually. I know he will. I..." he paused. "I wish I could do more to help."

Just then, a loud moan made them both jump; for Phoebus was now stirring. Opening his eyes, he looked around bewilderedly, as if he had just awoken from a long slumber.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee was listening to Esmeralda's words from afar. She began to wonder whether he had noticed she was gone. He probably had by now. She tried not to get worried, but being caught and taken back would be the end of her world. A loud moan snapped her out of her thoughts, and she glanced down at Phoebus. He had awoken. The teenager beamed, eyes teaming with tears of relief.

"Phoebus?", she said gently. Taking his hand. "You remember what happened?". Her other hand was still pressing down on his wound. "Try not to move too much". Aimee had never heard her tone be more caring before. She hadn't spoke this gently since she was saying goodbye to her mother. She sighed and turned around to face the others for a moment.

"When I first met Frollo, he didn't seem to bad. Strict, yes, but not cruel. Then I met Quasi and slowly things became clear. He's become worse and-". She looked at Esmeralda. "I saw it in his eyes". She shuddered. "I don't think he's going to give up just yet".

[AdAstrα]

Phoebus gazed up at Aimee, still looking extremely confused. "I...wait a second, where am I? Am I in the.....oooouch!" he exclaimed as he attempted to sit up. Leaning back against the pillow again, he groaned as the pain increased in strength, making it difficult to breathe normally. "What's happened to me? Did someone run me through with a sword or something?" he asked, closing his eyes.

"You got hit by an arrow." Esmeralda said softly, kneeling down beside Aimee, "It's a deep wound, you're incredibly lucky to not have died from it."

Phoebus looked up again. "Esmeralda? Hang on...why are you two here?" he said as gazed from her to Aimee, frowning, "You shouldn't be....what if Frollo...gosh, why is my hair all wet?"

"Phoebus.." Esmeralda began slowly, "You fell into the river as you got hit. I went in after you. Now please be still, you need to rest." She turned to Aimee as Phoebus merely stared at her in awe, apparently speechless. "The wound needs stitches, it's too deep to heal on its own. Do you know how to do that?" she asked the teenager.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee wanted to explain to Phoebus why she was there, and explain all the reasons, but she knew now she should be focusing on him. She did, before Esmeralda started talking again looked down at Phoebus for a moment and said in a hushed voice,
"I'll tell you later".

When Esmeralda looked to her, she just looked into those green eyes. Whenever she did look at Esmeralda she admired her eyes. Aimee could do stitches, maybe not the best in the world, but she was able. She thought back to all those times when she'd got a little too close to the criminals out on the streets, either after food or money.

Some of her wounds still hadn't healed properly. Her own blue eyes met Esmeralda's green ones when Aimee had stopped thinking, "Yeah, I do. I haven't got a needle or anything on me though". She took her cloth away from the wound, for it was soaked through with blood. The wound was pretty bad, worse than what she had ever had. But it was stitchable, Aimee would be able to do it.

[AdAstrα]

Esmeralda immediately opened the small leather bag she had carried with her, and when she drew back her hand from inside it moments later, there was a needle and a relatively short piece of soft, fine thread on her palm. "Here, take this." she said, handing this equipment to Aimee, "It isn't much, but it'll have to do for now. As long as the bleeding stops, he's losing a lot of blood."
She turned to Quasimodo. "Quasi, could you bring me that bottle I put over there? We'll need it to clean the wound."
Quasimodo quickly grabbed the bottle of wine and handed it over, watching intently; eager to help in whatever way he could.

"Great, I could use a drink." Phoebus said jokingly, smiling as Esmeralda opened it and examined its contents.
She gazed at him, tempted to smile back but finding little reason to do so, given how serious the situation still was. Pouring some of the strong liquid directly into the wound, however, she had to fight an urge to grab hold of the soldier's hand as his eyes widenened in shock from the unexpected pain. "There." she said reassuringly, "Now it should be clean."
She then stood up and walked over to Quasimodo again, letting herself be pulled into another gentle embrace.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee smiled at Esmeralda, holding the needle and thread carefully.
"Thank you", she murmured, to busy watching what she would do next. The wine to clean the wound. As she watched the gypsy pour it into the wound, she grimaced at Phoebus' expression. He looked like he was in so much pain. The teenager wet her lips, for they had gotten dry before leaning back over Phoebus to look at the wound again.

She threaded the thread through the needle and got into a better position. She glanced up at the soilder, smiling a little in reassurance. "So tell me, how exactly did you disobey Frollo?". She was speaking quietly, she wanted Phoebus to speak to her to take his mind off the pain. Aimee stopped her hands from shaking to begin sewing the wound. Neat little stitches that would usually take a while to do, but she had learnt how to do them a good while ago.

"I bet you did something brave. Standing up to Frollo is a hard thing to do. I think we've all learnt that", Aimee continued, glancing at Esmeralda and Quasi only for a moment. She smiled again, it was more of a cheeky smile though, one she hadn't given anyone since that one time her Dad's friend's came over to France with boys her age, and all the older gypsy girls she was friend's with went mad. "It seems Quasi likes Esmeralda eh?". She continued stitching carefully, wanting to get it right so it would come undone easily.

[AdAstrα]

Phoebus took a deep breath as he felt the needle pierce his skin, but the wine had somehow made the wound feel numb rather than painful and thus, it did not hurt as much as expected. He looked up at Aimee as she spoke to him, just gazing into her blue eyes for a few moments.

"It's a long story....no actually, it isn't." he said, smiling. "He wanted me to kill innocent people, and I refused. Somehow that didn't impress him too much. I wouldn't call it brave, you know. I was just doing what everyone else should've done."

Glancing at Esmeralda and Quasimodo, he raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, they seem to have become good friends."
He then turned back to Aimee again, beaming at her. "You're doing a good job there. I can hardly feel a thing. In fact..." he paused for a while, once again lost in the depths of her remarkably blue eyes. He had never in his life seen anything so beautiful; so beautiful and yet, somehow, so fragile. Like a delicate springflower. "I feel incredibly relaxed right now." he finally added, stroking her cheek gently.