[Private] The Hunchback of Notre Dame (AdAstra)

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee stared at Frollo for a few seconds after he spoke. She was on a high and even the fact she had to stay with him didn't get to her. She nodded, she understood quite clearly. It wasn't going to be a promise but she didn't want to disobey him directly again, not after last night. The two climbed into his rather peculiar carriage. Aimee immediately took a disliking to it. It was small for a start, so that meant being too close for comfort to Frollo, and it had no windows. Sighing, she just took her mind of it and thought about the Feast of Fools. She thought of seeing the gypsies again, but she was oblivious to the fact almost all of them knew who she was, and judged her because of it.

[AdAstrα]

Frollo did not particularly enjoy the carriage ride either. Having Aimee so close made him feel a little uneasy, mostly because of her resemblance with his long lost sister, whose guts he hated now more than ever; but there was more to it than that....something he could not quite explain. A sense of relief came over him as she looked at him and nodded, however; for he could tell that she had understood, and was going to obey this time around. Good! he thought, glancing at her discreetly while she was lost in her own thoughts, The last thing I need is for her to make a scene...

The carriage soon stopped, and thus they both made their way outside; stepping out into the mishmash of colours, sounds and movement that was the Feast of Fools. Frollo gazed at his niece once again and was almost slightly amused by her reaction; there was no mistaking the delight in her eyes as she looked around.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee was having a moment of sheer delight. Seeing and hearing everything around her made her feel part of something again. When she had lost her friends within the gypsy community, and later on her family, she had lost all she lived for. Although...she could help but notice the looks the gypsies gave Frollo. And...the looks they gave her. Wait, what had she done wrong? Suddenly feeling a little down, she just looked around.

Her head turned towards the clatter of hooves behind the carriage. It was then Aimee noticed soldiers had been following it. Her eyes were drawn to one soilder in particular. It was Phoebus. A grin was quickly open her face as she looked at him, hoping he'd notice her. She had forgotten about her battered and bruised face at that point, but not about Frollo. She didn't want to wave, just in case Frollo guessed there was something up.

[AdAstrα]

Captain Phoebus remained seated on his horse, looking around in fascination. Seeing Amy, he returned her smile quickly, carefully making sure that Frollo did not see it. "Good morning, sir." he said as Frollo approached, "How erm...how are things going?

"Depending how you look at it....not too well." Frollo replied, his face carrying an expression of utter disgust as he gazed at the crowd bouncing past, singing and shouting. "But things will look up soon, I am sure." he added with a little smirk, for it occurred to him that if his vision was realised, there would not be a Feast of Fools next year. Or the year after that...

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee couldn't help but wonder what Frollo meant. She had seen that smirk before, she didn't like it. She rolled her eyes, whatever he was thinking, it wasn't good. Her mind drifted to a few days ago when she had last saw Quasi. She doubted Frollo would let her take him food on her own anymore. She was very fond of him, and she decided to become friends with him the first day they met a couple of weeks ago. He was excited for the Feast of Fools, and Aimee wondered if he'd be attending. She doubted it though, Frollo was horrible to him. Telling him that he was a monster.

Aimee had regretted not sticking up for him, but when she did, Quasi told her not to. He knew it would get her into trouble. Sighing, she diverted her attention to the crowd. Everyone looked so happy. Especially the families. Family. She didn't know what that word meant anymore. Frollo was family, yet he never felt like it. Her mother and father were family, but they were gone.

The young girl scowled at herself for thinking about it, she was meant to be happy today, she was outside, at a festival, things were finally looking up. "Things are already looking up, wherever the gypsies are, there's excitement. No doubt about that", she thought aloud, grinning, staring at the crowds and how they were appreciating the gypsies today, not realizing she had actually said it.

[AdAstrα]

Frollo swiftly turned around, giving Aimee a look of extreme disapproval, for in his opinion she had just blurted out something extremely inappropriate. Just when he was about to tell her off, however, he caught a glimpse of Clopin, the infamous gypsy leader, make his way to the stage in the center of the square. This meant that it was time for him to sit down, and therefore he said nothing about it. "You will stay here, where I can see you." He said coldly, before following Phoebus and the soldiers to the stage.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

It was when Frollo gave her 'that' look she knew she had said it aloud. She was expecting a rant from him, but there wasn't one. Even his cold, harsh voice didn't stop her grin as he walked off. Her eyes went from him, to Phoebus. She guessed he had been assigned by Frollo for something, and wondered how he was doing. Frollo seemed to like him, but Aimee had a different sort of liking. She never forgot an act of kindness, and he had gotten her out of more trouble.

Leaning back on a wall, she looked to the stage. She saw whom she expected would be the leader of the gypsies in this area. Things were about to start for real. Aimee smiled. She moved forward, still in Frollo's site to get closer to the stage. Not looking where she was going, she bumped into someone. When she turned to see if the person was ok, she saw a girl a little smaller than her, not much younger than her either. She was undoubtedly a gypsy, "Oh, I'm sorry! Wasn't looking where I was going...", she said, "Are you alright?".

[AdAstrα]

Roseriya automatically responded with an ever so rushed "I'm fine!", picking up the basket which she had dropped and almost getting ready to move out of the way when, suddenly overcome with curiousity, she looked up at the girl before her, analysing her as always when she happened to encounter someone she didn't know.

The two of them were close in age, that much was clear; even though Roseriya for a number of reasons was rather below average size for a fourteen-something year old. They were worlds apart, however, when it came to appearance and ultimately; lifestyles. Gazing at her dress and the pretty silver necklace, Roseriya was, in fact, surprised that someone of her class would speak to a simple gypsy girl with such kindness, or even attend the Festival in the first place. Her experience of upper class people was admittedly rather limited, for she had a tendency to avoid them whenever possible; still sensitive to their judgemental frowns and harsh words. This girl, however, appeared to be different. The compassion in her blue eyes seemed genuine, and therefore, so did her rather obvious concern at having bumped into someone with such force. This calmed the young gypsy somewhat, and she immediately felt a tad more confident.

"I..I really am fine. It wasn't just your fault, I should've paid more attention. There are so many distractions here; I always get a little confused by it all." she added, smiling.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee was relieved the girl was ok, she was ever so small and Aimee was scared she had hurt her. The fact she was talking to a gypsy was making her grin happily. She realized she might seem too over-excited, so she calmed herself down.
"I'm glad your ok", she said with a kind gentle smile. "And I know right? First time I've been to a festival of this size actually...". She remembered the festivals the gypsies and her family used to celebrate, there weren't too many of them in their community, so a big festival like this was a pleasant surprise for Amiee.

The young girl was so caught up in the fact she was talking to a gypsy, she almost forgot Frollo might be able to see her. She frowned a little, and looked up to glance at him. He was talking to some other soilders. She felt a tad bit worried, for she knew he wouldn't approve. She turned her attention back to the girl in front of her. Smiling again, she said, "I'm Aimee...well, Aimee Maria, but I don't care too much about the middle name".

[AdAstrα]

Roseriya raised her eyebrows as Aimee shared this first bit of information with her, but she wasn't all that surprised; seeing as she had literally just reached the conclusion that higher class people were definitely a rare sight at the Feast of Fools. "Really?" She said, smiling, "I bet this whole thing looks a bit strange to you, then. It did to me, the first time I ever went."

Actually, Roseriya's first memory of the Feast of Fools had not been a happy one at all, in fact the experience had terrified her beyond belief. But this was not something she wanted to share with just anybody; even thinking about it still made her shudder. She was older now, and she knew to remain calm even when caught up in the sea of people shouting and dancing; but at the age of ten, she had panicked. The initial plan had been to steal enough money to buy a decent meal...but the large crowd had intimidated her more than she could have ever predicted, and thus she had left empty-handed, ending up with nothing but mouldy bread for supper. Of course, since she had been taken in by the gypsies at the Court of Miracles, she had never needed to steal, or beg for that matter. There was always someone willing to share what little they had to help someone needy, and that selflessness had saved her life many times by now.

She thought of all this as she gazed at the girl, with her fancy dress and silver necklace. How much she would give to be in her shoes....wealthy and dressed all proper. Her own worn-out dress, with the faded blue flower print, looked pathetic in comparison; so did her dirty boots that were at least four sizes too big. It was only then that she truly paid attention to the horrific bruise on the girl's face, a most ordinary bruise to some, but Roseriya's trained eye immediately detected a certain indication of violence.

Shuddering, she tried her hardest not to let any of this show. Instead she smiled again as she heard her name. Aimee Maria. It sounded familiar, but she could not quite place it anywhere. Still, she was almost certain that she had heard it before.

"Nice to meet you, Aimee." she said, running her fingers though her long, dark hair, "I'm Roseriya."