| �Second Chances�
By Christy Chapter 14 The next morning, Quasimodo awoke to the feeling of hard pressure against his body. He vaguely wondered when his bed had become so uncomfortable before a chill in the air informed him that he wasn�t in his bed. He wasn�t even in anything that resembled a bed. As his consciousness gradually returned, sore bones reminded him that he was lying on the wooden floor, which in turn reminded him of what happened last night. He fumbled to his feet, both anxious and hesitant to find out how Minerva was. She could still be asleep, and if that were the case he really should not disturb her, he thought. Or perhaps she was awake, but not yet ready to talk, in which case he should leave her alone instead of pressuring her to speak to him. Or perhaps she was dead. That thought made the bell-ringer more nauseous than he had ever thought himself capable. Something began rising up his throat, even though he had eaten nothing the night before. He slapped his hand over his mouth, lest something would come out of it. Several seconds passed of Quasimodo willing whatever it was to stay inside him. After he was certain that he was all right, Quasimodo looked over at the bed in which Minerva still lay, unsure if he possessed the courage to approach her. Several minutes seemed to pass with him thinking nothing before his ears caught a soft, feminine moan. The sound, though rough and raspy, was beautiful to the man�s ears, telling him that the woman he loved still retained life for now. He ran over to the bed, finding Minerva still stretched out as she had been the night before, her eyes open and once more staring at the ceiling, but this time, they conveyed awareness of her surroundings - with the sound of Quasimodo�s footsteps approaching, her pupils moved to the side, facing the man who loved her. The edges of her mouth seemed to be trying to pull her lips into a smile, but some invisible barrier was preventing them from doing so. Her breath was quick, but without desperate struggle for air. �Quasi...� she murmured. �Minerva, I�m here,� Quasimodo said quickly, unintentionally grabbing her hand. The sound of his voice apparently broke the barriers that prevented Minerva from smiling. Her mouth curved upward for a tiny second before relaxing once again. �Quasi...� she repeated, like that was the only word she was capable of saying. Part of Quasimodo simply wanted to dive on top of her body, but the rest of him quickly restrained that part. His focus went to the sensation in his hand - her soft fingers weaving between his. �Quasi...� Minerva whispered again. �Yes...yes...� Quasimodo gasped. �You�ll be all right, Minerva. I�m taking care of you.� Her smile faded, as if she were only now remembering what had occurred the night before. Her breath climbed in intensity until she seemed to be gasping for air. Tiny squeaks of voice escaped her open mouth. �Minerva?� Quasimodo whispered. Tears were forming at the edges of Minerva�s eyes, quietly streaming towards her ears, which were still adorned with silver earrings. Her chapped lips scrunched, as if struggling to conceal the sobs that were trying to escape. Quasimodo squeezed her hand until it felt like her bones were about to break. �Minerva...what happened yesterday? Why were they after you?� The woman sniffed loudly. �I...I...Quasi...you don�t...� �I don�t what?� Quasimodo said with a sudden amount of volume in his voice. She sniffed again, tears continuing to flow. �I�m...I�m not who you think I am...� �You�re not really Phoebus�s sister?� Minerva sighed heavily. �No, I am his sister...but if he knew...he�d wish I weren�t...� The bellringer put his large hand on her forehead, which was sticky from her sweat. �Don�t talk like that,� he whispered. �You don�t know me...� she said in a horrified whisper. �No one does...� �Then tell me,� Quasimodo said loudly. A large sob burst out of Minerva�s mouth, her wet face now reflecting the sunlight. �I can�t...I can�t...� Her eyes wrinkled shut, as if she just now became aware of the physical pain engulfing her. A long hiss of sucked in breath flew between her lips. Quasimodo stroked her forehead as if attempting to wipe away the sweat. �You can, Minerva...you can...� His thumb dipped down to brush away the tears that seemed to be endlessly streaming out of her eyes. �You can...you can...I�m here, Minerva...I�m here for you...� Quite unexpectedly, Minerva�s eyes scrunched shut, wrinkling her lids. Her teeth ground beneath her chapped lips, brining a horrible rough sound to Quasimodo�s ears. The grinding grew louder, as if she were determined to break her teeth apart. Quasimodo felt his ears wanting to close, a silent voice screaming make it stop, make it stop, make it stop. �It was ten years ago...� a voice whispered in a tone nearly indistinguishable from silence - perhaps the only reason Quasimodo noticed it was that it ceased the grinding. �What was?� he asked softly. Minerva once more winced in pain. �The beginning of it all...� Quasimodo�s teeth sank into his lips until he tasted blood. Minerva closed her eyes, as if telling darkness her story was easier than telling Quasimodo. �You and Phoebus and everyone else think that I ran away ten years ago to escape a forced marriage. That....that�s only a tiny part of it...� Quasimodo held his breath, fearful that any sign of his existence would prevent her from telling the story. �Ten years ago...� Minerva began, her eyes remaining closed, �...Mother wanted me to get married. I was eighteen - rapidly aging in her eyes. So she started sending me suitors...and I refused every one. She thought I was being my stubborn self, but what she didn�t know was that...I had fallen in love with someone else.� Quasimodo suddenly felt like he was about to collapse on the hard floor, the air being sucked out of him as if he had been punched in the stomach. �I supposed I have more in common with my twin than I thought,� Minerva continued, oblivious to the bell-ringer�s torment. �Like him, I loved...a gypsy.� Quasimodo closed his eyes, the image of a handsome gypsy man invading his head. �Frederich...� Minerva said with an almost dreamy tone. �He was a street musician who played for his sister Brigetta while she danced. I�d see him every day when I went into the streets to buy things.� Her lips struggled into a near-smile. �He was so handsome...� Handsome. The word Quasimodo hated over all others. His fingers ached to clench into fists - he grasped the edge of the mattress in order to prevent himself from doing so. �I don�t know what possessed me to start talking to him...but once I did...everything happened so fast.� Minerva gave a long sigh. �But my mother...I knew I couldn�t tell her - you know what she did to Phoebus and all. And then...and then...� Her breath grew so fast that Quasimodo wondered if there was something more wrong with her. It seemed to take at least a minute for her to speak again. �Mother...she forced me...forced me to marry a nobleman. I-I don�t know if she suspected anything or if she was just growing impatient...� Quasimodo felt like he was about to faint. �I...I married...but I didn�t stop seeing Frederich. He started taking me to the Court of Miracles...yes, he trusted me that much. But there...there...w-we gave up on our future...we traded our future for a few nights of pleasure...� Her every word seemed to pierce Quasimodo�s soul with a knife sharper than the one that stabbed her. Married...in love...pleasure... �I...I became pregnant...� Minerva continued, her voice breaking up with tiny sobs, �...a-and I had never slept with my husband. I couldn�t stay, not with the child I was going to bear - my husband would know it wasn�t his...� A child. Minerva was the mother of someone else�s child. Minerva was not a virgin. Quasimodo vaguely pinched his leg, some tiny part of him hoping this was a dream. This couldn�t be happening again. �So we...we ran away together. We planned to go with Brigitta to Frederich�s birthplace...Germany.� Minerva remained unaware of the bell-ringer�s pain even though he was now shaking. �But then...then my husband found out about us, and he came after us...� Her voice faded away once again, her head sinking into the pillow. For a second Quasimodo thought she had fainted, but then her crusty eyelids slowly separated. �We killed him...� she said in the vaguest whisper. Quasimodo�s ears numbed as if the bells had sounded too close to them. �Wh-what?� Minerva�s red eyes stared up at him. �W-we killed him. We thought it was the only way to preserve our future - but that was what destroyed it. Frollo...came after us.� This was a dream. It had to be. Minerva couldn�t be a murderer. His Minerva couldn�t be a murderer. �But....but it didn�t end there....my....my Frederich and I....the law....� �What?� Quasimodo whispered, gripping her wrist so tightly that her hand turned white. �Frollo....he came after us....and Frederich....� She sniffed loudly, tears racing out of her eyes. � "Frederich....couldn�t bear the possibility of me hanging....he....h-he....turned himself over to Frollo....telling me and Brigetta to rush to Germany where we would be safe.� Her voice shook violently - Quasimodo could barely make out what she was saying. �F-F-Frollo hanged him....he hanged my Frederich....� Quasimodo swallowed several times in rapid succession, his hands shaking uncontrollably. His nostrils took in several tiny inhales, his mind unable to grasp on to any thought for more than a second. �Brigetta and I left...� she mumbled. �We honored his last wish...� �W-w-what...what happened to your baby?� Minerva sniffed again. �I-I...I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. H-he was so wonderful - my little Frederich - but God cursed me once again. My baby took ill and died when he was less than a month old.� She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her pale face towards her ears. Without any conscious decision from his mind, Quasimodo felt his body inching away from her. Though he knew he should be weeping for the woman he loved, the exhaustion of his soul prevented him from weeping, prevented him from speaking, prevented him from doing anything except moving further and further away. Chapter 15 Back to Fanfic Back to Index |