[Private] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (AdAstra)

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee barely saw the hand rise before she felt an immense pain in the side of her face, and the taste of irony blood that overwhelmed her mouth for a moment. It took her a few moments to get over the initial pain, realizing what just happened, she shuffled back on the floor to get away from him so quickly she found herself against the wall. Her chest was rising up and down rapidly, and silent tears were escaping her eyes purely because it hurt and she was scared he would do it again.

It was then her mother's words and actions one faithful night before she died came back to her in an instant,
"Promise me you’ll look after yourself, and you won’t let anyone harm you, or do anything to you if you’re not ready”, Colette took her daughters face in her hands, “Promise me Aimee”.
“I promise”.

She had promised not to let anyone hurt her. Aimee had let down her mother. Still crying, and still in shock she stared up at Frollo in disbelief of what he had just did. She wondered if there was any remorse inside of him, she doubted it heavily. If she had been standing, she would of collapsed by now. She felt so weak, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to support herself.

[AdAstrα]

As he stared at her, Frollo felt an overwhelming urge to hit Aimee again, but he did not. Instead, he remained quite still, his heart still pounding with a rage that had not yet stopped rising inside him. The ungrateful little bastard! Never before had he felt such hatred towards his sister's offspring. Nothing but a heathen, doomed to spend her afterlife in hell like the rest of the scum on the streets...why had he even bothered? He was not sure now that she could ever see the error of her ways and grow up to be a decent citizen of Paris. Perhaps she was a lost cause after all. Just like her mother and their filthy gypsy friends...

Without a word, he walked out the door, locking it behind him as he did so. Tomorrow he would have to decide what to do next, for this could not continue. But for now, he needed to be alone.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee waited. Frollo was just staring at her and she felt so uneasy. She felt as though he was going to kill her. "If looks could kill", she thought. Only her own labored but fast breathing could be heard, choked with tears. As soon as he left she started sobbing for real. Not caring whether she was being loud or not. She heard another click of the door, had he locked her in? Forcing herself to her feet Aimee rushed to the door. She pulled on the handle, and too her dismay the door wouldn't budge.

Instead, she sat up against the door, wondering what she did to deserve all of this. Her mind turned to the fact that Frollo was her uncle. How could her mother be related to someone like that? Burying her face in her hands, she wondered what he was going to do. She hadn't forgotten about what she had seen in the dungeons. Would he actually kill her? Aimee was panicking now, but in ways, she thought of it as a good thing. She'd be with her mother and father, and out of this hell hole. The night passed, and Aimee found herself nodding off occasionally, but woken up just by her own thoughts.

[AdAstrα]

After an equally sleepless night, Frollo awoke to the sound of trumpets and delighted screams. Groaning, he once again remembered what day it was, and got out of bed somewhat reluctantly. Estelle had somehow managed to neatly fold his clothes some time during the early morning; an attempt to apologize for yesterday's carelessness, no doubt, and one he did not fully accept. While he got dressed he quickly gazed out the window, but as usual the Parisians attending the festival avoided this building like the plague. He saw no one, although the cheers and excited voices were becoming increasingly loud.

Once he finished, he went down the hallway to Aimee's room. Without knocking, he unlocked the door and stepped in. He was not at all surprised to find her still sitting on the floor.

"Get ready. We're leaving in half an hour." He said, pretending not to notice her bruised face.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee withheld a groan, Frollo's voice was loud to her. She expected everything to be loud to her this morning, her eyes were heavy and red from crying. She let out a silent, tired yawn. She rubbed her eyes gently, to avoid the dark bruise across the left side of her face. It only just occurred to her that he said they'd be leaving. Where were they going? Ah, she remembered. It was the Feast of Fools today. She didn't even question why he had changed his mind, for she knew already. He didn't trust her on her own anymore, even with Estelle. That meant being with him almost all the time. Aimee let out a violent sigh as she staggered to her feet.

Then again, getting out was a positive thing. She walked over to her wardrobe and browsed through the clothes. She gave a slight smile, some of them reminded her of what her mother used to wear. Glancing over to Frollo, whom for some reason didn't feel too scared of him at the moment in time. For she thought to herself during that whatever he could do was going to be awful, so she might as well stick up for herself. She pulled out a new dress and hung it up on the door of the wardrobe.
"Now, if you don't mind", she said, glaring a little, telling him to get out in a less rude way.

[AdAstrα]

Frollo was almost reluctant to leave her alone, and it was only after he had looked around and made sure there was no way she could possibly get out of there, or get up to anything else for that matter, that he left the room. Waiting in the hallway outside, he was suddenly slightly shocked at his overprotectiveness; of course the room was safe. There was no need to go as far as even watching her while she got dressed. For God's sake....

He looked up as Estelle swiftly walked past, her face badly bruised. Avoiding his gaze, she rushed upstairs to her little hideaway in the loft without saying a word.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee gave him a sharp confused look before watching him leave. She could almost sense he was outside so she hastily got changed. Fixing her dress and looking into the mirror. It was only then she saw her face, she grimaced, the bruise was a dark purple. No way of hiding it. She brushed her hair gently to get out the knots. She took great pride in her hair. When she had finished, she remembered something. Opening the very bottom draw, she stretched out her hand and grasped something that had been put in the back of it.

Taking it out, she smiled. It was her silver necklace. Given to her by her mother. Frollo hadn't seen it before, but what did that matter. She treasured it. Looking in the mirror again, she felt satisfied. Amiee liked to look nice, even though it rarely mattered to her. She made sure the bed was made before she opened the door, it would be less work for Estelle whom she hadn't seen yet. She opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind her, not saying a word. She didn't even acknowledge Frollo. She felt determined not to let him get to her, she was weak last night. Too weak. She didn't like that feeling.

[AdAstrα]

"Let's go." Frollo said impassively, quickly eyeing her from head to toe just to make sure she looked decent. He liked what he saw, and therefore pointed towards the hall, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. The sooner they got to the Festival, the sooner they could leave. In his hurry to get outside, he did not notice the silver necklace around his nieces neck, resting so delicately against her collar bones.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee was too tired for all this rushing around, but she did notice Frollo eyeing her. She wasn't sure whether he was just looking at her outfit or more. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise in fear, no, she was just over-thinking it. She frowned to herself and thought, "At least he hasn't noticed the necklace". When they did get outside, a cold January breeze hit her, but the sun was shining.

That was how she liked her mornings. It made her a little happier, and she could feel her lips curl into a smile. She was outside again. She could hear crowds in the distance, cheering and laughter. Not even the fact Frollo was beside her made Aimee less happy at that point. After two weeks stuck in only a few rooms, this was heaven.

[AdAstrα]

Frollo took notice of Aimee's delight at finally being allowed out of the Palace, but chose not to acknowledge it with more than a simple frown. "And you will stay close to me at all times." He said, "That is the one condition on which I bring you with me today. Have I made myself clear?"