HoND chapter 9

"You! Gypsy girl!"

Katherine looked back and saw that her master had stood up and was looking positively livid with anger. "Get down at once!" he ordered. Esmeralda looked at him and said "Yes your honor. Just as soon as free this poor creature." But Frollo wasn't a man who was willing to compromise with someone who he thought was beneath him.

"I forbid it!"

Katherine looked back at Esmeralda who gave Frollo an angry glare and proceeded to cut Quasimodo free, shocking everyone in the crowd. Frollo who commanded respect growled, "How DARE you defy me?!" Katherine was starting to get scared because she had never seen her master this angry before. But Esmeralda looked just as angry and yelled back "You mistreat this poor boy the same way you mistreat my people! You speak of justice and yet you are cruel to those most in need of your help!"

Katherine knew that Esmeralda was right about this but what could she do?

"SILENCE!"

"JUSTICE!"

Everyone in the crowd, Katherine included, was shocked that she would speak so out of turn, and in front of the Minister of Justice no less. Katherine looked back at her master and saw that his eyes were narrowed in complete fury. He looked Esmeralda directly in the eyes and vowed "Mark my words, gypsy. You will pay for this insolence!" But Esmeralda only continued to anger him further.

"Then it appears we have crowned the wrong king," she said while mock-bowing to him. "The only fool I see...is you!"

She took the crown from Quasimodo's sad head and threw to the ground near Frollo's feet. Even her pet goat stuck it's tongue out while the townspeople started to laugh at him. That finally did it. Frollo turned to the captain of the guard, who was called Phoebus, and order him to arrest Esmeralda. Pretty soon, about ten guards on horses surrounded the platform and it looked like she wasn't about escape so easily. She even looked like she was about to cry. But when she blew her nose, a cloud of smoke appeared and she disappeared.

Everyone was surprised and impressed. But Katherine's master had a different opinion. He was convinced that this simple trick was an act of witchcraft. The guards were completely dumbfounded about her sudden disappearance until a voice came from the distance. Everyone turned and saw that Esmeralda and her goat were on the gallows pretending to hide in a basket of strange looking dolls. Two guards climbed up to try and catch her but she was two fast and fell into the crowd of people who passed her away while she waved to them. They tried to do the same, but they ended up falling to the ground.

In a few moments, all of the soldiers in the guard were made complete fools of. Even Katherine's master was humiliated when two soldiers accidentally destroyed the tent he was sitting in. She wondered if he was alright but she was more interested in where Esmeralda was. Everyone looked back to the top of the stage and she wrapped a red curtain around herself and the goat. When one of the stilt-walkers removed the curtain, she was gone!

The sky had turned dark with storm clouds which would have been a perfect ending to a not a very fun Festival of Fools this year. Frollo had finally dug himself from the ruined tent and turned to Quasimodo with a look of complete anger. Katherine looked back at Quasimodo who looked down in shame. Her master got onto his horse and rode up to captain of the guard and ordered coldly "Find her Captain. I want her alive." All of the soldiers separated and rudely shoved the crowd aside.

Katherine could only watch as her master rode up to the miserable hunchback and stared him down with a look of complete anger and disgust. Quasimodo couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He looked away and sadly whispered, "I'm sorry master... I will never disobey you again..." Katherine overheard this and was overcome with sadness when she saw poor Quasimodo walking back to the cathedral with people from the crowd whispering just loud enough for him to hear and make him feel worse before he retreated inside.