His Angel

Chapter 12 - The Search

"Attention!"

In the early hours of the morning, the sky darkened by storm grey clouds, Frollo's carriage pulled up and stopped in front of a line of soldiers. Phoebus was there as well and awaiting orders.

"Morning, sir." Phoebus greeted as Frollo stepped out, though he looked awful and merely groaned in response as he held his head. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I had a little trouble with the fireplace."

"I see... Your orders, sir?"

His face hardened and he sternly replied, "Find the gypsy boy."

...

A troop of soldiers kicked down the door the baker's place, ransacking his home. They threw over shelves and tables and chairs until they eventually found a hidden trap door on the floor. They swung it open to reveal a group of gypsies hidden underneath.

The gypsies were lined up outside in chains, Frollo looking down at them from atop his horse, holding out a handful of silver coins as he explained, "Ten pieces of silver for the gypsy, Esmeraldo."

However, none of them were willing to talk.

"Lock them up!"

...

The soldiers pushed a brightly coloured carriage into the river, causing the gypsies inside to scramble to the surface for air. They were promptly arrested, made to line up like those before, dripping wet with anger coating their expressions.

Frollo once again held out a handful of silver coins. "Twenty pieces of silver for the gypsy, Esmeraldo!"

But no one budged once again.

"Take them away!"

As the gypsies were led away, Phoebus could only watch on in disgust and anger. He wasn't pleased with the treatment of these people nor their unlawful arrests.

...

The soldiers surrounded the miller's house and searched through it like mad men. Frollo's desperate and unyielding search had not gone unnoticed and a crowd formed around the mill, watching on with worried gazes.

"We found this gypsy talisman on your property. Have you been harbouring gypsies?" Frollo interrogated the poor miller, who was down on his knees in plea.

"Our home is always open to the weary traveller. Have mercy, my lord."

"I am placing you and your family under house arrest until I get to the bottom of this. If what you say is true and you are innocent, then you have nothing to fear."

"But we are innocent, I assure you!" The miller continued to protest, helplessly following after Frollo as he stepped outside. "We know nothing of these gypsies!"

Frollo merely snarled, slamming the door in the miller's face and barring it with one of his men's spears, trapping the miller and his family inside.

What happened next would never be forgotten as he then turned to Phoebus, a scary look in his eyes as he simply ordered, "Burn it."

"What?" Phoebus, as well as all those within the crowd, gasped out.

"Until it smoulders. These people are traitors and must be made examples of." Frollo declared as he handed a torch to the glaring captain.

"With all due respect, sir, I was not trained to murder the innocent."

"But you were trained to follow orders."

Phoebus shook his head, no longer standing for Frollo's insane orders. He glared right into Frollo's evil eyes before dousing the torch in a barrel of water.

"Insolent coward." Frollo growled, grabbing another torch and lighting the mill himself.

Everyone watched on in horror and disbelief as the flames quickly spread over the whole structure, with the screams of the miller and his family sounding from within. Without a moment's hesitation, Phoebus dove through the window and into the burning mill. He soon kicked down the door, both children in his arms as he and the two other adults rushed outside, just as the mill collapsed under the intensity of the fire.

The miller thanked Phoebus, his wife crying with joy as they each scooped up a child and hurried away from all the chaos. The happy moment didn't last as Phoebus was struck from behind and fell to the ground, two soldiers restraining him as Frollo, from atop his horse, gazed hatefully down at him.

"The sentence for insubordination is death. Such a pity. You threw away a promising career." Frollo stated with disappointment.

Phoebus simply glared back up at him as he retorted, "Consider it my highest honour, sir."

A guard raised his sword, ready to execute Phoebus, when Esmeraldo stepped in. He had been in his usual old man disguise, having watched everything that had unfolded. And, as much as he disliked Phoebus for flirting with (Y/N), he was not about to watch a good man die.

Thinking fast, he used a slingshot to throw a rock at Frollo's horse, making the horse buck and sent Frollo flying off. Phoebus took the opportunity to punch the guards holding him down before swiftly mounting the horse as it made a mad dash away from the area.

"Get him!" Frollo demanded. "And don't hit my horse!"

As Phoebus approached the bridge, a shower of arrows descended upon him. One managed to pierce through his armour and into his shoulder. He hissed in pain, grabbing at his wound as he slipped off the horse and fell straight into the river below.

Soldiers ran onto the bridge, shooting a few arrows into the water, where they assumed Phoebus had fallen, when Frollo stopped them.

"Don't waste your arrows. Let the traitor rot in his watery grave! Find the boy! If you have to burn the city to the ground, so be it!"

They all rushed off to follow his new orders, unaware of Esmeraldo slipping down the hill towards the river, out of view from any prying eyes. He trudged through the water and dove down, coming up after a moment with an unconscious Phoebus in his arms. He pulled him out of the water and began to swim to the other side.

...

Paris was set ablaze. The once beautiful city, that had been full of life and wonder, was now burning, with dreadful black clouds of smoke filling the sky.

As Frollo, with no shame, assembled back with his guards, one reported, "Sir! We've looked everywhere and still no sign of the gypsy boy."

This did not please Frollo, making him furrow his brows in anger and question as he mumbled to himself, "I had the entire cathedral surrounded, guards at every door. There was no way he could have escaped. Unless..."

Frollo slowly gazed up at the bell tower, just as the bells began to chime, and he knew in that moment where his answers laid.