Layla the gypsy girl

16- Where The Stars are

Layla's climb didn't start off easy. She nearly died on several occasions, when her hand slipped. At one point she realised that if she fell from here, it would be certain death. Which did nothing to soothe her anxious mind.
Notre Dame was one of the tallest buildings in Paris, and one that Layla admired greatly. But she never thought that one day she would be scalling the side of the building.
The higher she got, the more the people below her looked like tiny ants. She had seen lots of things come flying off the roof, but none that were thrown in her direction. Layla prayed that Quasimodo could keep Frollo and his men at bay.

When she was nearly at the top, she heard hundreds of screams from the front of the building. She angled her body, so that she could see the battle, to find out why everyone was screaming.
Once she had moved it was clear why everyone had begun to panic. Molten lava had began to spew from some of the gargoyles at the top of Notre Dame. Spilling onto the people below.
Layla was shocked at how far Quasi would go to protect Esmeralda. It wasn't just Frollo and his men down there. Layla's friends, and fellow gypsies were down there, fighting on Quasi's side.
She closed her eyes, and prayed that Clopin and Djali had made it out O.K. When she opened her eyes, she saw hundreds of people, move like a flock, as far away from the cathedral as possible.
The lava had landed on the ground and had even began to fill up the river Seine. Shaking the destruction from her mind, Layla focused on climbing.

Just as she was a few metres from the top, her foot slipped on a piece of loose stone. Layla lost her grip, and began to fall from the cathedral. She closed her eyes, waiting for the death that waited for her at the bottom.
Suddenly something grabbed her arm, stopping her fall. Layla's eyes snapped open, and she saw three gargoyles come to life, and pull her inside the cathedral.
Once her feet were on solid ground, Layla began to back against the wall, as she tried to distance herself from the strange things in front of her.
They looked like some of the other statues around the cathedral, but these ones seemed to be alive. Two of them looked like men, one was short and fat, while the other was tall. The third gargoyle looked like a female, and she had a kind, smiling face.

"What? No thank you?" Quizzed the short fat one named Hugo.
"Be quiet you. We probably frightened her" scolded the female named Laverne.
"How are you talking?" Questioned Layla.
"It's a long story. And I don't remember most of it" admitted the tall male, who's name was Victor.
"Right. O.K... Thank you for saving me" said Layla quietly.
"You're welcome deary" replied Laverne.
"Do you know where Esmeralda is?" Layla asked.
The gargoyles faces fell as they pointed to a nearby staircase. Layla looked at their sad faces and ran towards the stairs, to find Esmeralda. Refusing to believe that she was dead.

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I got the chapter title name from the song The Age of the Cathedrals, from the musical; Notre Dame de Paris. Where that line is used a lot in that particular song.