God Help the Outcasts: A Disney Crossover Fanfic

Chapter Twenty-Three: Monster or Man

We're dead. No one can help us now. Drizella sat grasping the bars of the cage, exhausted, her eyes heavy from a long night of weeping. "Why did I ever leave home? At least I was safe there..." She rested her head against the bars, glancing up at Clopin, who was peering intently up at the bell tower. He sighed and joined her on the floor of the cage.

"Part of me wishes you were safe and sound. But another part says you were meant to come here." He grasped her hand tightly. "Better to die a rose than live a long life thinking you are a weed."

She sniffed and looked at him.

"How can you be so brave all the time?"

He didn't respond for a moment.

"I am not," he said finally. She looked at him in amazement. "I simply do what needs to be done. Fear rises within me much more often than you might think, my rose. But it accomplishes nothing." He smiled at her. "Love accomplishes much more." She smiled back and then glanced up with him at the belltower. "I only hope Quasimodo can find the courage to love in spite of his fears," he sighed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "He is truly our only hope."

Who is the monster, and who is the man? Drizella, filled with a strange motivation, crossed herself for the first time in years and bowed her head.

O Lord, help him not to give in to the monster. Help him to be a man.

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Nakoma made the sign of the cross and stood, drying her eyes with her sleeve. God will provide. I know He will.

"What did you pray for?" She glanced over at Phoebus, who stood wearily against the side of the cage.

"That God's will be done," she replied. Phoebus raised his eyebrows.

"Well, let's hope His will includes getting us out of here," he said. Nakoma smiled.

"Nothing happens without a purpose. Not even this. God is still in control."

Phoebus pushed away from the side of the cage, gesturing to the stake where servants were piling wood and kindling high around Esmeralda's feet.

"What purpose is there in this? Does God approve of the killing of innocents?" Nakoma's eyes filled with tears.

"Of course not. We cannot see or understand now what God may have meant by all of this. But perhaps it is meant to teach a lesson. We will never know in full until we reach eternity."

Phoebus scoffed and turned away, staring up at the belltower.

"Well, I, for one, hope something triggers that bellringer," he growled.

Perhaps something will, Nakoma thought, and that something can only be one thing: love without fear.

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Drizella could not hear what Frollo was whispering to Esmeralda, but the look in his eyes, one of hunger, was one she recognized. Don't do it, Esmeralda, she thought, her stomach turning. Whatever he wants with you, don't give in!

"It seems he is offering her a rather unsavory deal," Clopin spat.

"He truly is a monster," Drizella whispered with a shudder.

As they watched, Esmeralda summoned up the strength to spit right into Frollo's face. Gasps went up from the crowd as Frollo wiped his face on his sleeve with a snarl and turned to address the crowd once more.