| The Two Rivals By Sonja Chapter 3 The next morning, Quasimodo woke up very early. He was restless. He thought about Madellaine�Would they meet that day? What did the girl actually think about him? No, she was not a girl but a woman�What was he thinking about? He looked at Ad�le, who was sleeping her arm around Christine. Ad�le was beautiful - actually, more beautiful than Madellaine - but she seemed to have devoted herself to the little one�The young man was confused; there had to be something wrong with his thoughts. Was he too happy about having found his child again? He pressed his cheek to Christine�s back and reached his hand to smooth down Ad�le�s hair. He loved both of them, but�Madellaine�s face returned to his mind, and he felt something that no one but Ad�le had made him feel before. What would it be like to embrace Madellaine? Did she have any experience with men? He was ashamed: it was obvious that Madellaine was a very innocent girl, and he, Quasimodo, had always treated women with respect. Ad�le, in turn, had shown him her love for many years - even the loss of Christine hadn�t completely destroyed their love for each other. Love�If he loved Ad�le, what was this he felt for Madellaine? He quivered, for he remembered what Esmeralda had told him...No, this couldn�t be true�Depressed, he turned his back on Ad�le and Christine, hiding his face. A while later, Christine woke up, squeezed her father and started to jump up and down on the bed. Quasimodo laughed. The child�s merriment awakened Ad�le as well, and she smiled happily at the bellringer. Soon, however, she noticed Quasi was embarrassed by something. "Is everything all right with you?" The young man sighed and took Christine in his arms. "Today, you�ll meet Esmeralda and her son Zephyr," he said. "How old is Zephyr?" Christine asked. "Six," told Quasimodo, "he last saw you when you were a baby." Right then, the door of the dwelling was opened, and Zephyr rushed in, shouting: "Hey, Quasi and Ad�le!" Then, he noticed the little girl. "Who are you?" "She is our little one, Christine." Ad�le embraced her daughter. At the moment, Esmeralda followed her son to the door. "CHRISTINE! Good morning, Ad�le and Quasi�Come, Zephyr!" Christine looked at the beautiful Gypsy woman, dazzled. Ad�le noticed Quasi was blushing and turning away. She patted his shoulder. Zephyr rushed out, the dancer followed him, and little Christine ran after them. "Esmeralda, Esmeralda!" The bellringer sighed. "I could never tell her," he said quietly. "Tell what? To Esmeralda? What is it?" Ad�le exclaimed. "Maybe you could tell me first?" "I shouldn�t�I don�t want to offend you�" "Offend? Little Quasi, I don�t understand what you mean by talking like that! Is it that�Madellaine?" She turned pale. "If you have intentions towards her, could you please tell me everything?" Quasimodo lowered his head. "Ad�le�I wish I could explain this. I�m not the sort of a man who has �intentions�, you should know me well enough to be sure of that�Up to now, at least, I haven�t thought about �intentions�." He was startled by his own thoughts. "Well�I think I should go to Notre Dame now, to ring the bells." "Are you going to meet her today?" Ad�le asked. "Ad�le, if I meet her we�ll need to be by ourselves," said the young man, "we learned to know each other only yesterday�" "Quasimodo, you have a child, and it�s not suitable for you to be after a new woman only a day after you got your daughter back! Not to mention it�s the same woman who was responsible for us losing Christine!" "Who said I�m after her?" Quasi was embarrassed. "I don�t even know if she is coming to meet me today. Besides, she was NOT responsible to Christine being kidnapped, remember!" "She is what she is�but why did you get embarrassed in Esme�s company?" asked Ad�le. "I meant I couldn�t tell Madellaine what I was thinking about," sighed Quasimodo, "but Esmeralda has a similar experience�" Ad�le was startled. She looked hard in Quasi�s eyes, and her mind was filled with contradictory feelings. Was Quasi suddenly interested in physical pleasure? She should have felt triumphant because her beloved didn�t feel for her assumpted rival the same way as for her, but she admitted to herself she was disappointed. Quasi was her ideal man who had always thought both with his head and heart - who had regarded love as something great and deep - and now, he was thinking about betraying the woman he had loved after having known the other woman only for one day! "Quasi dear, I�m disappointed in you," she said sadly. "You know I wouldn�t refuse if you needed a woman�Besides, I would never have imagined that sleeping with anyone would be more important to you than your own child!" "Ad�le, I�m ashamed of my thoughts and don�t even quite understand them," exclaimed Quasimodo, "I know Madellaine is a stranger, and it�s obvious she would be frightened if I talked to her about such things, for she seems to be equally inexperienced with the world as I was seven years ago�and I�m sorry I talk to you like this, but I need someone for a confidante - but you can be absolutely sure about one thing: my feelings for Madellaine don�t have anything to do with Christine, for the love between father and child is completely different from that between a man and a woman." "Love!" snapped Ad�le. "How dare you come to tell me you love another woman! But I shouldn�t have said that about Christine." "I said I love Christine! You have completely devoted yourself to her�" "You�you dare say that after I�ve just said I wouldn�t refuse to satisfy you!" screamed Ad�le. "Don�t you know it�s a matter of honour for a Gypsy woman to take care of her home and children? Now I really see you care nothing for Christine whatsoever!" Then Quasimodo grasped her shoulders and shouted: "If Christine hears those words I�ll never forgive you! It�s despicable to get our child mixed up in our disagreement! Let it alone as you don�t even know what I meant: Since you love Christine more than anything, you should understand I love her, too!" "Please, forgive me, dear�I really am not completely myself right now, it seems." Ad�le hugged him. "Nor am I," admitted the young man, "what should I do? But please, DON�T say that I should completely forget her, because you and I have NOT returned together!" Ad�le sighed sadly. "I asked you to return to me�I understand you need freedom - and I�m not the right person to advise you in this. But still, I would have thought you are more interested in the woman herself than the physical pleasure she can give you!" "I hope I could think about the woman herself," noted Quasimodo. "If the woman is not me, I don�t want to hear more," Ad�le said coldly. "How would you have felt if Esmeralda had come to tell you how much she dreamt of Phoebus?" Quasimodo was ashamed. "You are right - I�ve been tactless and foolish. I�ll do my best to solve this problem. All I know for sure is that I do feel something for Madellaine." "But you promised to remain faithful to me, and the Day of Love is tomorrow!" reminded Ad�le. "That�s why I�ll need to find out the truth about her feelings and mine as soon as possible," said Quasi, "for if she likes me I can�t ignore that." "Do you think I�m ready to step aside if a girl whom you met only yesterday is in love with you?" snapped Ad�le. "I said we are not really together anymore," remarked the bellringer, "but I�m not asking you to step aside - all I ask is that you won�t harass Madellaine, for you are and will always be the mother of my child, and I almost think I still even love you." "Well, go then," said Ad�le, "but don�t come to kiss Madellaine in front of me!" "I promise that, definitely," assured Quasimodo, patting her. A while later, Esmeralda was dancing in the Cathedral Square with a group of admiring children around her. One of them was Christine. Suddenly, Quasi approached them and shouted anxiously: "Esmeralda! Esmeralda, you gotta help me!" The Gypsy girl stopped her dancing and handed the tambourine to Christine. "Quasi, what�s wrong?" "I think I�m sick," the bellringer looked restless, "I feel awful - and then wonderful - and then wonderfully awful - and�and�awfully wonderful!" Esmeralda�s eyes flashed. Quasi was in love again! Ad�le would be carried away with joy! The bellringer continued: "I can�t eat, I can�t sleep!" "I see," smiled the dancer, "and it hurts to breathe, but you don�t care?" "Yes, exactly! What will I do?" "Well, you�ll have to tell her how you feel." Esmeralda patted him. "But - I�I cannot�What would she say?" Esmeralda was amazed. Why would Quasi have a problem with telling Ad�le he loved her? She looked warmly at her friend. "Sorry�I can�t help you in this one - you�ll have to find out yourself." The young man hesitated, and Esmeralda smiled: "Hey, you are ready!" Quasi was more embarrassed than ever. Ready! What had he said the previous morning? And how ashamed Esme would be for him if she found out the truth about his feelings! During the discussion, Zephyr had joined them, and now, Phoebus followed him. He had bad news. "That circus is responsible for the string of robberies!" "What?" exclaimed his wife, and Zephyr who was juggling with his balls, assured: "I like the circus, Papa! I�m going to join�" Phoebus was annoyed. "Absolutely not! Those people�" "Those people? How can you lump people together like that?" Esmeralda snapped. "But the Gypsies weren�t guilty of crimes like these circus people," remarked Phoebus, "at least, they were not thieves!" Quasimodo knew he was thinking about Christine. "Madellaine�s not. She is different!" he assured. But the Captain didn�t hide his suspicions. "Well, maybe - and maybe she�s just using you to get something else." Quasimodo was offended. "You don�t think she�d be interested in me - just for me?" Esmeralda was startled. Madellaine! Good Lord, was it she Quasi was in love with? True, she herself had also fallen in love in three days and was now married to that very man - but she had never before been in love, unlike Quasi, nor had her baby been stolen from her�The bellringer was behaving queerly! Phoebus was equally amazed. "Oh, of course she could�yes, anyone could - but look at the facts!" Why was Quasi so fascinated with Madellaine, as it was indisputable Ad�le still loved him? Quasi snapped: "Find some, then I will!" He turned his back to leave, Esmeralda and Zephyr followed him, and even Djali kicked a juggling ball on Phoebus�s forehead, bleated angrily and ran away. At the same time, Madellaine was in her tent practicing tight-rope walking. She was much more confident than before, for she was thinking about Quasimodo. She was sure she was in love with him. If only that Ad�le didn�t stand in her way! And if only Sarousch hadn�t told her to help him steal the bell�No, she wasn�t bound to agree to the theft! She also thought about Christine and hoped she was happy with her own relatives. It didn�t take long before Sarousch stepped in the tent. He looked scornfully at the girl. "What are you doing now, my little cabbage?" "Practicing," said Madellaine a bit insecurely. "Why strain yourself?" mocked the ringmaster, "oh, did you find out where the monster keeps his bell, trinket?" Madellaine got annoyed. No one had the right to talk like that about Christine�s father and the man she was in love with! For the very first time, she defied her guardian determinedly: "He is not a monster, and I am not your trinket!" Sarousch snapped: "I mean to have that bell!" Now, Madellaine had her opportunity. "I want nothing more to do with your thefts!" "Oh, really? And how would you survive out there? On your looks?" Sarousch was full of disdain. Madellaine assured: "Quasimodo sees something you don�t." "Oh, does he?" Sarousch pretended to be amazed. "Well, what if he was to have an unfortunate accident?" Madellaine was so frightened she fell down from her tight-rope. Sarousch continued: "If I have to go out there with my men and do it the hard way, the hunchback may get hurt!" "No! You can�t!" exclaimed Madellaine, depressed, "please�" Sarousch lifted her face up. "If you want him alive, then lure the bellringer away while I steal La Fid�le. Lead him out of harm�s way!" He left the tent, followed by his faithful henchmen. In despair, Madellaine looked at the wooden doll Quasi had given her. She had no choice - she was bound to save the man she loved! The ringmaster, in turn, returned to his caravan to admire his reflection and the stolen jewellery. After a while, he was startled as Captain Phoebus arrived to interrogate him. He was conviced that there were at least some stolen goods in the caravan, and he did good job in searching for them although Sarousch tried to divert his attention by showing him the portraits he had of himself. However, the Captain happened to find a lovely necklace, showed it to him and noted: "My investigation leads me here." For a minute, Sarousch was irresolute, but then, he had a shrewd idea. He started to moan and accuse himself of having taken Madellaine into his care. The Captain got vigilant. He had been right - Madellaine was a thief! He knew this would be a disappointment for Quasi, but he had to do his responsibility. So, he thanked the ringmaster and left the caravan. Meanwhile, Quasimodo was in the belltower deliberating what to do. He should confess to Madellaine what his feelings were really like�What would she think? She liked him in an innocent and naive way - how could he just embrace her and then say: "I�m sorry, Madellaine, but Ad�le is my love"? For Heaven�s sake, that was out of the question! It would be better if he never more met the girl�but she had loved Christine like a mother! Irresolutely, the young man came down from the tower. He wanted to act like a honourable man, but Madellaine was irresistible�The only proper thing he could do was to ask Madellaine to be his partner for the feast of the next day. At the door of the Cathedral, he saw the girl; she had come to fetch him, depressed by Sarousch�s menace. "Madellaine!" he exclaimed, "I want to talk with you." She grasped his hand. "Um�let�s go for a walk!" Ad�le had returned to the city and found Christine, Zephyr and Djali. Those four approached Notre Dame only a moment after Quasi had joined Madellaine. To his delight, Zephyr spotted Sarousch and some of his comrades and rushed after them. "Zephyr! Come back!" Ad�le shouted, but Zephyr had decided to join the circus, so he didn�t listen to her. Ad�le saw that the ringmaster stopped to write his autograph on one of Zephyr�s balls, after which he indifferently continued his trail. Zephyr and the goat ran after them. Ad�le spotted Phoebus accompanied by some guards, took Christine in her arms and dashed towards them, yelling: "Guards! The man who stole my child is there, going to Notre Dame! Capture him, quickly!" Phoebus turned Achilles round. "Actually, we are searching for Madellaine�" "Waste no time! You must capture the miserable kidnapper!" The soldiers plunged behind Sarousch and his companions, but when they came at the door the men were already inside. Christine exclaimed: "They went to take the bell!" "Darling, what are you talking about?" Ad�le asked. "Sarousch said to Madellaine he wanted to take La Fid�le!" explained the little one. "Good heavens!" exclaimed Phoebus. "If she is telling the truth I was right about Madellaine! But what can we do now? The Cathedral is a sanctuary, so we can�t arrest those men although they are guilty of kidnapping and most likely are trying to steal from the church." "You must stay here, so they�ll get caught at once when they come out," noted Ad�le. "What about that woman? She is suspected of several thefts," remarked one of the guards. "Madellaine is not a thief!" said Christine, but the soldiers didn�t have time to listen to her. Phoebus ordered one half of the group to stay at the doors of the church, whereas he and the other half returned to search for Madellaine. "Ad�le, you�d best stay here," he said, "but don�t go inside, for if Sarousch sees Christine he may try to take her back." Meanwhile, Quasimodo and Madellaine were walking on a bridge. The girl was embarrassed and depressed. She was bound to tell Quasi the truth about Sarousch�s plan. It was clear the young man would be angry and despise her, but it was out of the question she would hide the truth again now that she knew Quasi and was in love with him! She was ready to leave Sarousch and to spend the rest of her life with Quasimodo - but first, she should tell him the truth�and that Ad�le� Quasi, in turn, was searching for the right words for his confession. He couldn�t say he loved Madellaine, but he could ask if she cared for him and would like to join him at the festival. What about Ad�le? Only then did he realise that he was going to betray the woman who loved him�He had made himself believe he was free to fall in love again because Ad�le had left him, but she had undeniably displayed to him her love. Besides, he would treat Madellaine wrongly if he started an affair with her only because of passion! "There�s something I need to know�", he started, and simultaneously, Madellaine said: "There�s something you need to know�" Quasi laughed, but then he got serious and asked hesitantly: "Madellaine, you know�the festival�s tomorrow, and - and I thought that�I mean we could�you know�go?" He handed her a yellow tulip. Madellaine sighed and refused to take the flower. "Quasi�I�m not the person you think I am," she was ashamed, "but I want to be more than anything." What on earth did she mean by that? "Madellaine, tell me the truth," urged the bellringer. At that very moment, Zephyr rushed inside Notre Dame - he wanted to meet Sarousch. It was just time for the afternoon hour of prayer, and the soldiers couldn�t prevent him from joining the townspeople going to pray. Zephyr climbed to the belltower just in time to see Sarousch and his comrades pulling La Fid�le down from its place and to hear the ringmaster reading his trick spell. La Fid�le disappeared under the tower floor, and Zephyr exclaimed anxiously: "Oh! They stole it! Dad was right!" He rushed after the thieves, and the faithful Djali followed him. Right after that, the sound of a bell reached Quasimodo�s ears - the gargoyles wanted to warn him. Madellaine was trying to make her confession, but the young man grasped her hand and started to run towards the Cathedral. At the moment, the archdeacon hastened out of the church, shouting: "La Fid�le! It�s gone! The bell has been stolen!" Little Christine who was standing by the church wall with her mother burst into tears. Phoebus exclaimed: "Sarousch! How could I have been such a fool!" Quasi was startled: "Sarousch?" The Captain ordered his guards to seal up the whole city. "They won�t get far with a bell that size." Quasi turned to Madellaine, shocked. "Did you know about this?" The girl was alarmed. "I�I wanted to tell you, I tried!" Disappointment and shame made the bellringer get furious. He had admired Madellaine and believed he could learn to love her if she really was interested in him - but she had sought his company just to help Sarousch steal his favourite bell�not to mention that three years before, she had taken his child away! "You used me!" he shouted at the girl. "�Which one is La Fid�le?� �Let�s go for a walk� - you never cared about me!" "No! That is not true!" assured Madellaine. Quasimodo turned his back on her and said to the Captain: "You were right!" "Quasi, I�m sorry," answered Phoebus and added to his soldiers: "Take her away!" The guards captured Madellaine, and in despair, she still tried to appeal to the bellringer: "No! No, Quasi, please, just let me explain! Look at me! Quasimodo, just look at me!" But Quasimodo walked to Notre Dame, closed the door and burst into tears. Climbing up the tower steps, he tore the tulip peddles off. Then, suddenly, he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder, turned round and saw Ad�le and Christine, whose face was still wet with tears. "They took our bell," cried Christine, putting her arms round Daddy. Quasimodo patted her and looked at Ad�le, full of guilt. "I should have understood I would get punished for my passion for her! Had I only remained faithful to you this wouldn�t have happened!" Deep in her mind, Ad�le was delighted: she had a chance to get her Quasi back. Now, however, she needed to comfort and forgive him. She embraced him, whispering: "She is not worth your affection - but now, we need to find some way to catch the thieves!" At the moment, all three heard the gargoyles call for help. They hastened up to the tower and released Hugo, Victor and Laverne from their trap under one of the bells. Agitated, the gargoyles explained them that Zephyr had gone after Sarousch. Unhesitantly, Quasi, Ad�le and Christine plunged out of the tower and down throughout the walls. In the square, they met Esmeralda who was amazed at seeing them together. "The circus has disappeared!" she exclaimed. "Obviously, Zephyr has left after Sarousch," Quasimodo told her. "NO! What if he stole him just like he did to Christine?!" screamed the dancer. They started to search for the boy everywhere, but they didn�t find any sign of him. Meanwhile, the soldiers who were securing the city were irresolute because the circus had disappeared leaving no trace. Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Ad�le and Christine hastened to the Palace of Justice, where Phoebus was keeping guard over the arrested Madellaine. He kept calm when hearing his son had disappeared. "I�ve got men all over the city. We�ll find him!" Christine ran at the door of the dungeon. "Why are you in jail, Madellaine?" "Because she is a thief, Christine," said Phoebus. "No, she isn�t! Sarousch took the bell!" "But Madellaine helped him to take it," snapped Ad�le. "I didn�t do that of my own accord," Madellaine dared say, "he forced me, and now, I can help you to save little Zephyr." "Why should we believe you?" snapped Quasimodo, trying to avoid looking at her. "Quasi, I brought Christine back to you!" reminded Madellaine. "And then you tried to take my beloved!" remarked Ad�le, chillingly. "Ad�le, it�s not the right moment for jealousy now," said Esmeralda, "Our son has disappeared, and we must do everything we can to get him back." These words encouraged Madellaine to speak. She told them Sarousch had probably used a trick similar to the disappearing elephant. "There was always a tunnel under the stage. He�s taken the bell underground." "The catacombs! He can be using the catacombs!" exclaimed Esmeralda. But Phoebus didn�t trust the prisoner. "She can be saying exactly what Sarousch wants her to�" Esmeralda got annoyed. "Listen to me! Your son�s life is at stake. Maybe you should look again - like you did with me." Ad�le was surprised. What did Esmeralda mean by that? She remembered Phoebus had never really hesitated with marrying her friend - on the contrary, in fact, it had been the vagabond community that had tried to prevent their marriage. Ad�le turned to the bellringer and saw him look at Madellaine�The expression in Quasimodo�s eyes proved to her he still dreamed of that girl. Ad�le glanced at the Captain who was deliberating his wife�s words. Finally, he opened the door of the dungeon, tied Madellaine�s hands and said impatiently: "All right, but she�s coming along as a prisoner." Ad�le glanced maliciously at Madellaine, who, in turn, looked sadly at Quasimodo. The bellringer said: "Ad�le, you�d best take Christine to the Court of Miracles." "I will. Let�s go, we have to hurry," said the woman. "No, you and Christine will go first," said Phoebus, "we have more important things to think about than your quarrel with Madellaine." "But it�s my fault Zephyr is gone - I let him rush after Sarousch although I knew better than anyone that man is a kidnapper." "You couldn�t know he was going to steal La Fid�le,"comforted Esmeralda. "I should have guessed that," Ad�le noted, "for Sarousch tried to steal it already three years ago - and because he failed in that he took Christine!" She got tears in her eyes. "Good Lord! You are right!" exclaimed the Captain. "All the more reason for us to search for and punish him!" "And you have to go to the Court immediately," said Quasi, "Christine must never more go near Sarousch, and we must above all take care of her security." Go to Chapter 4 Back to Fanfic Back to Index |