Chapter XXV ~ The Huntsman

 When night would fall, as though it was clockwork, the horsemen would ride with the women while the Dwarfs would ride with the swans by day, to make this voyage as brisk as possible ever since the attack in the crystal mines. Odette, adorned in her cloak, was carried by Quasimodo’s mount as he rode Fidele along as he held her, taught, as the galloping did not leave any room for rest at this rate while the world was transforming around the Knighthood. Alongside Claude Frollo who knew the path by heart, the men did not sway away from his guidance, his mighty black sheet of a steed remarkably stood out amidst the white snow storm. Odette dared to look behind her at her sisters who rode with among the knights, with the Dwarfs taking to the sides of the group upon their bucks. She locked eyes with Ida and then with Eleonor. Eleonor herself nodded curtly at her with a confidence that spread back to her. 

Covered in wools to work against the unnatural cold - with their best efforts - Odette shut her eyes, feeling Quasimodo’s form against her back, her hand making sure the Diamond laid firm on her skin under the wool. She could feel a pulse in the jewel. Tender, shrill and something else about it that felt guarded - asleep. It was her father’s soul at rest… At rest and alive, she knew this. A tear fell from her eye that chilled on her cheek and flew off during the ride.

“We will ride through until first light, Quasimodo!” Frollo bellowed over his shoulder toward his son who was riding close beside him, each blinded by the striking snow. “We cannot be idle, we cannot be ignorant should her next attack have a different focal point.”

“Yes, father!” Quasimodo affirmed as he felt her grip the arm he held her with. He was deeply tuned in to what the next assault from the enemy would be as the world right now was proving a sort of desperate wrath.

“I feel a certainty, Quasi…” Odette whispered, so softly that the storm took her voice. “We cannot stop now.”

“Never -“ he promised her. “As long as our hearts beat~”

“My father is alive - he is held - and we are still together — that’s all the comfort I need. Just as she said to me…” she told him as the galloping stayed firm through the snow. “We are held. I almost fell for it, for her damn lie. She wants soulless trophies in her halls…”

With no doubt, as expected by her beloved, there came a shadow through the trees that kept a distance behind, on the back of a stolen horse. He pounded through the thickness of the piling snow with just as much vigor as the Parisians and the Miners of the Seventh Fall. The Hunter himself, leather booted and bound in thick furs, shrunk down on the back of his horse followed the trail before it would get covered in the blizzard. Even as the knighthood kept it together and close amidst the brave Dwarfs numbers herding them fairly enough, black beasts scored through the snow with nasty precision. The wolves.

Frollo caught a shred of their black coats through the rush of the impending snow striking the sides of his face. Right then, he took center before barking at his son.

“Quasimodo! Remain at center - Lieutenant take the right end, and Antoine, take the left flank! All Maidens at center!”

Quasimodo did not even need to look for himself, and so he obeyed the order with question, pulling Fidele inward into the center of the horseman as a score of the men surrounded him and Odette. The other riders with the other maidens followed suit to protect them all with their own lives. Odette’s eyes widened when she saw black sheets dash passed the men’s horses at their hooves, along the snow path and gasped. Her bright brown eyes hardened that this was another assault. 

The first of the beasts chose to snap at Frollo’s horse first - Snow. In grand irritation at the mere action, Snow stomped down at the wolf’s snout, making it trip off and roll, getting trampled over by those behind. Grumpy gave a yelp at Doc who then snapped a finger at the rest of the five, the bucks spread out as a means to keep the wolves distracted.

The bucks dispersed, distracting a fine number of black wolves with them as they leaped over the hills beside the main path. Several of the shadows bolted after the Dwarfs who bravely split up in order to take out these ones as quickly as possible. The one that tailed after Grumpy was met with a terrible strike from his pick, causing the black body to flip downward and burst into a pile of obsidian stones, littering and blackening the snow. 

Grumpy’s eyes widened greatly with the realization that these beasts were conjured. They were simply meant to enstill more fear than do actual damage to their lives. Nonetheless, he snickered before kicking his buck to a faster pace. This was just another ruse.

“Doc! Bashful! Hit ‘em with all y’got! They’ll scatter like flies!” he yelled at his brothers, who got the idea right off. 

Odette, as much as she tried to keep her head bowed low — down over the Diamond — she could not help but having to listen to her fellow maidens and the Seven separate for the good of their formation. Quasimodo yelped at Fidele who galloped harder behind Claude as the archers did their part of shooting off the pack, noticing that they were exploding into piles of rocks into the snow, staining the paths with their ilk. Quasimodo’s face was a storm as he locked his gaze back to the soldiers defending them.

“She’s losing focus -“ Odette heard his feather light voice. “… she’s herding us.”

Frollo was listening hard on that frail note as he as well had noticed the frailty of the pack, and they were easily dispatched. “Not on this night -“ he vowed with a hidden rage as he reered his horse towards a new direction. However, there was something the men did not see in time. As Frollo turned to lead them on, a great black tendril seemed to shoot out through the snow to try and snatch their horse’s hooves. Odette defied her old self — her old response — by gazing down at the faded string of yarn about her wrist that had remained with her through out the entire voyage. Even as it was thinning, she fully knew what it meant, now that she remembered. She held her hand to her heart beneath the wools while the chase was pressing on. As soon as she saw this blackness snake out of the ground, she shuttered.

Frollo’s horse reered high in alarm and flew aside, to dodge the tendril that was truly a thorned bramble as thick as the widest oak, as it twisted high to bind around the hovering trees. Odette heard Quasimodo gasp out when one of Fidele’s hind legs got snatched up by one of these, which shot through the heart of their formation. Eleonor yelled at them, but it was far too late. As soon as another slithered out to startle the other men, Fidele fell causing Quasimodo to follow the motion, clutching Odette before she struck the ground and rolled. Odette gasped out at the sudden collision with the ground and she pushed herself up to see the stampede of horses dash passed them in a fray. Fidele’s wail was what alerted her, as she looked forward to see the poor pony bound as if being dragged deeper into the snow. She gave a nearly tearful cry at the sight of Quasimodo’s poor loyal mount be tormented, as the other Maidens cried out for her. While she was still on the ground, even as she tried to kneel herself up. As Quasimodo had come in a flash to cover her with his own body, neither of them noticed that the diamond glowed bright beneath the wool. 

Odette stared, wide eyed and focused at the growing tendril directly in front of her, noticing a burn form on the bark from the mere light of the Diamond. Eleonor looked back and growled under her breath, the very moment Quasimodo and Odette had vanished, and forced herself to fall off of her protector’s horse, landing in the snow with a rough roll. Not caring if she was hurt from the self inflicted fall, Eleonor broke into a dash to the lovers, even when Dorothea cried out her name. 

“Odette, stand! My love, stand!” Quasimodo ordered, alarming Odette when he had to grip her arms to get her up. He had a grip on her wrist as he tore his dagger from his belt as the thorns began to grow increasingly fast, overtaking the previous path they were taking.

“QUASIMODO! ODETTE!” Frollo roared in a snapped rage when he saw the tendrils completely surround the couple. “… you dare take them, you hellbound wretch —“ he swore under his breath as he resorted to the unique pouch on his belt, that held the single flame of Seafire that he seldom had to wield until this moment.

“The light burned it - Quasi!” Odette told him, as she remained obedient and observant, gripping his tunic. Yet even as she could hear the cries of her flock. “The Diamond!” she remarked as she had an idea.

Quasimodo got too close to one of these brambles and blood was drawn when he scraped his arm along it. He winced tight before herding Odette to stay directly against his back as they stayed dead center. Fidele was kicking, as hard as he could to free himself, being pulled too deep before a pickaxe landed squarely into the bramble that was tied around his body. Grumpy and the rest of the Dwarfs attacked this single one, with acute viciousness. Faer who had been hidden through out this dash had hidden behind one of the untouched trees, unsure of what he should do. Reformed back into a gnome, he pinned against the bark, hyperventilating. 

Odette had to yank the brooch off from around her neck only moments after her realization. Discarding the gold to the snow, she took the diamond itself into her hands as it grew hot to the touch. She gazed into it, spying the familiarity at its heart - a bedroom… Dad… her thoughts rang when it was all coming down on her, as to why she was given this jewel entirely. It was a bridge. 

She drew in a breath, and exhaled out sharply before she held the diamond out at one of the brambles, and at the touch of it, the black wood began to burn with a sizzle. After a moment of pressing it against their prison, the brambles began to part. Quasimodo watched in alarm and realization before they both had to sheild their eyes from the Diamond’s sunlight sharp glare…

“Quasimodo - this is our chance~!” she struggled before he took her side and the two began to run right through the trap as it recoiled in anguish.

During this one blessed moment, a shrill flame had sliced through a reaching thorned arm of one of the branches, by Frollo’s hand. Igniting his sword with the Grecian flame, he was able to retain most of his brave soldiers. Only several had fallen from the assault, however there was no recollection of the Woodsman and his Swan. The Dwarfs regather themselves after losing their bucks to the panic of the moment, watch on in horror as these wild flames ignite the dark plants with each terrible swipe of his blade. Eleonor, who had ran out into the wilds had found herself at a crossroads, as it seemed the brambles had tangled the sides of the path, binding the tall trees like snakes. The entire landscape had been transformed by them and there was no sign of Quasimodo, his horse, or Odette. They have been scattered…

“ODETTE!” Eleonor cried out with hot tears escaping her eyes. 

One one side, the flock was divided, on the other the Knighthood laid idle… The Magistrate and the Dwarfs were trapped on one side… The lovers were not found. Ida scrambled, falling into the snow as she tried to walk through the chill, trying to follow Eleonor who was now kneeling knee deep in the snow… A pierce of starlight peeked through the clouds, signaling that dawn was still a ways off.

*

Within the limits of the Good Fairy’s boundaries back in the enchanted Rayan home, they witness a change in the resting man as he rose his arm to rest beside his head as his brow furrowed deeply for a second. He gave a tenderly shaken sigh before turned his head away from them, facing the window. Dawn would be soon… Fauna gasped as she ran a hand over Richard’s temple. The key was glowing lightly, neither cold or hot now…

“He knows…” Flora spoke, darkened. “… he was a part of that moment. We’ve only just begun, ladies.”

“Look, she’s traveling through… They made it out!” Merryweather alerted.

*

The burning brambles, as soon as they were cut down at a certain point, a pile of dirt was thrown over them, each with care so not to spread to the living trees they choked. Claude Frollo was gasping out as his rage needed just as much care and time in order to level himself, madly eyeing the men who gathered around him. At that, his knees buckled when he saw complete disarray to his formation, followed by the deaths of a few that laid sprawled on the path beyond their sights. Of course, as they were regrouping, Faer was shivering as if he had gotten trapped amidst it all, a small bird in the middle of the path, covered in dirt. Frollo’s maddened gaze sorrowed when he saw the Robin. With care and ease, he swept the bird up into his palm.

“Faer, what is to become of this? Where is my son - where is Odette?”

The shivering bird could only look up at him with heartbreak, as the truth was that he had hidden, not sure what strength he had to endure such an impossible battle. In a sense, he felt immense guilt. He felt Frollo’s thin thumb brush over his feathers as he slowly looked over towards his remaining men. His mournful inquiry was not answered right away as the thorns had done their work. It was while they were gathering was when Quasimodo was the first one to raise his head up from cover. Odette slowly looked up from beneath her arm as they were lain behind a strayed log that was slightly armed against the piling winter.

Within her grasp, she held the precious Diamond as they each emerged to see the damage done to the forest. Besides the truth that they were all alone because of them. 

Quasimodo stayed arched, knelt down on one knee as she was blanketed by his cloak as she worked to catch her breath after that rush. The quiet often meant a lingering doom. Their friends, the Parisians, they were gone. Odette pulled her eyes from the overbearing thorns and kept her attention on Quasimodo’s whose arm was bleeding from the assault. She grasped his hand and rose up with him with sharp gasp when she saw the price of protecting her. He shook his head at her when she began to tear a piece of her cloak off to help him. Spotting her shock at his decision, Quasimodo shook his head.

“It’s fine, ‘ette, keep yours on~” he told her. “It’s flesh, it’s only flesh…” he reassured. She held him by his arms as she grasped the Diamond firm as if it would fly away.

“It was more than that when we flew off of Fidele,” she spoke into the wind. “They tore us apart~ just as I began to know the truth again…”

“This is her pattern, Odette.” Quasimodo remarked, choked, his eyes squinted as his hair whipped about. “… she knows and she’s afraid. The Diamond burnt the brambles —“

“I saw a reflection in it. It only proves that whatever she threw at me in that vision was just for scare…” she spoke as she looked down at it. There was nothing now but the light was relentless and pulsing in her palm. Quasimodo snatched his pouch as he studied the stone with sharp interest. Trustful and confident, she handed the stone to him to place inside it to keep its light from drawing attention. After that, he drew her near as he gazed to the canopy for any sign of the stars, but the storm was biting.

“I know your true name, I know you had a life before this one… All I ask of you is that do you remember it?” he whispered into her ear as they took cover again.

“Brown eyes, stories, a closet…” she uttered. “The smell of coffee and books…” she went on, shivering. “A-A story about a bear…” she sniffled as she brought her hood over her head. Quasimodo tore his bracer off in order to tend to his wound after a drop of blood hit the snow. 

“I was a toddler teacher…” she ended it on that note, reeling at how much she was being forced to forget, falling into the trance of the trophy. It was all plotted out.

“Our greatest triumphs are often the smallest things…” Quasimodo spoke to her as he managed his cut.

“I’m not afraid anymore. She touched him with her curse, years ago… that damned green light tried to take him. The same that we see in the water each morning. As long as he sleeps, we’ll somehow find a way, when all this is over…”

Within the very heart of Germania where the entire venture had begun, that ruby star stone that sat pinned atop the brass mirror frame began to crack, ever so slightly.

“It’s not a sleep —“ Quasimodo acknowledged. “As you said, he is being held ~ by her starlight. He is waiting for you.” he continued as her eyes rose up to meet his. He swept her hair from her face. “… which makes this storm a mere ditch in the way. We’re to make a path to that end of the valley… Our friends have been fractured ~” he noted as he eyed the distant wall of thorns which had forced them to move on. At this, he took her firm by the hand before they both shared a new kiss amidst the rage of the world. “I’ll carry you to that door, do you understand me?”

Her resolve cracked as she showed him a watery smile, yet she nodded to him. Together, they began to tread, knowing there had to be more after those thorns had torn the fellowship apart with such ease. Unseen by them, hidden by one of the thickest of the grand trees, the cold hearted assassin remained pinned against as he watched the lovers continue their trek. He held a single weapon, being that of a crooked dagger with a single phial within the handle. He made sure it was sound in its holster. The land was changing and the dawn was coming short… Swift, after abandoning his horse, he slipped on foot keeping his still track he was sent for. However, his face read of deep pain even as he swatted the snow from his face as he ran through. 

Do as I please. 

Sink that blade into his flesh -

Their Vow shall be Shattered.

Fidele was still quite alive from the battle, despite previously being dragged into the earth by those thorns, frantically galloped through the white world. He was just as separated from the knighthood as much as the lovers were, and he was determined. His hind hoof was scratched by the attack yet it was not broken. The Huntsman, Humbert, was the very first one to spot the fleeing pony. 

“She is only a woman… She is just a girl… please…” he tried to pull his will out from this needle sharp shadow.

Curse him.

Do it.

He shall be Punished.

They all will Be.

His green eyes flashed as he gazed up, eyeing the pony alone before he sauntered out from behind the tree, toward the poor beast as he counted his hoof in the snow. Slow, he took out a roll of rope and rolled it out. 

*

Meanwhile, as this horror was happening within the sounds of this intense magical blizzard, Grumpy struck his pick down into a bit of rock as he climbed up onto its peak to oversee the path amidst black thorns. Doc rose up with him as Happy took behind… Dopey was curling down as he was trying to shield his face from the relentless strikes of wind and ice, yet he tried to look up at his brothers trying to locate those missing. 

“We cannot lose them!” Happy cried out, his spirit snapping like the crack of a whip. 

“Not now, not ever — we are so close!” Bashful wept out from behind him.

“We knew as soon as Mondfall was left behind, we had to be certain she would strike - The mines were merely a test!”

“The Diamond will bring us to them… It has to…” Sneezy deeply trembled. 

“Keep fur-firm eyes, men. We can’t stay here, either. Master Frollo, I can see them on the other side!” Doc called out.

“Don’t be hasty though, them brambles travel like snakes… The bucks will find their way, but we gotta foot it for now.” Grumpy told the lot of them, sharply swinging his pick into the tree in order to climb passed the brambles. The rest of them followed, post haste, in order to remain by Frollo’s side. The sooner that reunite, the fate of the lovers rest within the light of the Diamond and they all had to stay together. 

As much as the lovers were as they tore through, passing by the freezing black thorns along the way to try to reconnect with any of the men. Odette found Quasimodo keep an eternal hold on her arm, to keep her as close to him as possible. Having lost Fidele, the awful thought of the initial possibility of further loss was a chilling thought he himself had to keep away from. The woman he was devoted to ~ directly beside him ~ did not deserve this torture. She did not deserve to have her loves taken away, once more. This hostile war was igniting a wrath far more vicious than Maleficent’s insatiable desire for power over their lives. Beginning at the base with a father, was the lowest she would ever sink. Separating them from the Knighthood was a mere sign of a desperation they had seldom had to endure, from his own experience. The fact that he loved her so much — what that entailed was everything about her ~ her life, her desires and memory ~ was his current life’s work, to even deny her offer to cover his bleeding arm. Even as they were trapped within the storm, the Diamond glimmered through the white as they tread through. Quasimodo was able to use it as a lamp of sorts as he held it high. Odette pressed against him as he tried to peer through the snow with his better eye.

“I have you, love ~ I have you.” she heard him, even as she had her head bowed low, beneath the hood, her sole trust was in him. Meanwhile, her thoughts focused on the Diamond’s thrum of light as it guided them through.

A shot of memory struck her, of her old love for softness and warmth within the confines of a closet. A voice right outside of the door, telling her stories. That was where it all began~ and their enemy was trying to tear this away from her. “I have all of you,” she whispered to herself, feeling her fear leak away with the chilling wind. “Foolish of me to even think of taking it all too seriously… Sprinted into a ballroom, of all things…” she shook her head, rising her gaze.

“It was never foolish of you, as we were all pulled under the same trick by her hand,” Quasimodo’s cool tone swept in. “… if that little parlor trick didn’t work, this trial is only her being worried.”

“If this means she’s worried then, we’re really in trouble…” Odette swallowed as she kept the nickname ‘Cass’ in mind, and in secret, although their own minds were tricked and yet never read. Maleficent did not know the truth of her old life, only that she was from the modern realm. 

Quasimodo gripped a part of the bark of a nearby tree and guided her into tree bow, where it was sheltered and dry from the storm. The crystal sapphire of the light peered into it, to see if it was occupied. For their sakes, it was hallow. He urged her to enter in first as he looked over his shoulder, above and out, to make sure they were not followed before coming inside after her. The light illuminated the space which prompted her to take in a deep sigh as soon as she settled in the corner, finding natural solace in the space itself. Odette still had her wit as Quasimodo neared her. Without a single word, she took his hand - a motion that warred with his desire to keep watch. Naturally, Quasimodo sat beside her as she took the bracer off. 

“It touched you…” she soon spoke, as she took the wool from her own boot to tend to the clotting blood that stuck about his strong arm. Quasimoodo stilled, not before he softened his eyes at her as she dabbed the cut.

“A grander wound it would be to me if you were touched by it,” he uttered as she worked with delicacy. She recounted his tone of calling her his love rather than the swan she had become. She was trapped between two names, wisened up to the fact that the gifted diamond was a window, a connection. She gazed up at him as he tucked the Diamond back into his pouch. Her spirit was at a sort of peace, even with all this chaos in constant chase. The space was all dark now, hiding their forms as they stayed dry with each other alone for warmth. “Am I hurting you?” she asked, amidst the darkness, against the wailing of the wind.

“… hardly.” was his soft reply. “I have done worse to myself on a good day.” his voice held a smile in it. That granted a lovely little chuckle from her.

“You know, being under a spell the whole while, for two years… even before I fell into this land, life was so mundane. My mind is clear now, and I can’t be more sorry about just being a listener, so far.” she spoke in a more solid tone, and less of the lost swan that floated with a flock for two years. He combed a few strong fingers through her hair, to tuck it back behind her ear.

She closed her eyes at the gesture, fully realizing that she had been guided and prophesied to gather this fellowship since the very beginning, by being found by Happy firstly, back in that forest in Germania. They had shared their love, their vow and her heart was truly beginning to believe in it. She never felt so safe with this one man. As a little girl she had to learn that there were good people in life. Richard was the base, the very foundation of who she was… The one who brought her out into the world after her starting years of observing from windows. She kept herself pure as she grew up in that humdrum of a world, and yet she tried to create safety for others children while she was at it. Odette was still reeling in the disbelief of the mental fog she was thrown into for so long…

“… so I’ve been told that you are a carpenter.” she began, trying to gain a good grounding after the initial stunning of this fight.

“Oh, you have heard?” he smiled, his own way of cracking a dry joke. She smiled, already knowing it was his way. She continued tending to his arm. “It so happens that we both come from small beginnings,”

“… yes, I was just a child teacher, if you like to know.”

“-  very much.” he enlightened.

“Days would start with the utmost chaos, depending on the mood of those mornings in particular.” she began as she took out the carving he made of her, softly running her fingers over it. “After a morning of waking, I enter to loudness and hungry cries. In need of a voice to soothe them, to reassure them that they’re all right. I never thought much of it some days, but as those kids grew and went on to other bigger rooms, they were finding themselves.”

“Life tends to be that of constant noise -“ he began, as his gaze went off from her to the white haze of the outside world. “… I found myself looking out into the world, from high. Funny how we’re both imaginative people, quiet and observant.”

“It’s what caught Rich’s eye,” she sighed, rubbing the wood to her cheek. “The only girl who hid by choice. He showed me a way out, but… the world is so cruel.”

“It is…” Quasimodo deeply agreed when he knew she landed on the fact that his isolation was entirely forced. She relaxed her arms down as she now sat aside against him now.

“Someone like you, all on his own… How you became so strong.” she murmered. He could feel her voice thrum against his body.

“As strong as one must be, in the realm of judgement at the time…” He softened once more. “… as you, it seemed that you protected your heart when you had to be so young.”

“It’s a strange memory. I remember someone being loud and throwing something.” she told him a fresh secret even though the actual memory was naturally distant to her. Yet it was a path that led to a good person, there and here. At his hum, a deep change in the white of the storm outside had caught their attention that drew Quasimodo’s focus and the hold onto the handle of his dagger. Odette’s breath seethed through her nose as she worked to remain silent. A shadow had passed where they were. Her heart began to beat quicker even if she held that bird-like grace to stay still, a habit learned from these fresh two years. She knew he was going to decide on the risk of scouting out. 

Feeling him lift to stand, she clenched her eyes and her jaw as she grasped his hand for a moment. Quasimodo’s breath hitched, even as he knelt low to her, he tightened his hand around hers, a great heat around her her cold skin. With that, he took the pouch from his belt and placed it into her hand.

“Once I am out, stay in this hallow.” he told her, taking the role of a lover, a defender… a husband. “I know you are not alone, as you know. No matter what you hear out there, do not look for me… You need to look for my father. Do you understand, love?”

“I do, beyond anything.” her voice shivered. She gripped the pouch, feeling the solid light within it. “… and I also understand that you are just as precious to me, as this stone, all of us… I understand that in some way, you will return, Quasimodo.”

She could see his aquamarine eyes shimmer in the bleakness of the hallow. In this moment, he lowered to her and she rose a hand, stroking his hair back before kissing him. She gave multiples over his cheek to his neck, stroking over his warted eye that became wet with tears. Even in the darkness, she knew him.

“I love you…” she whispered.

“… as I love you.”

The horrid moment came when he pulled away, she kept hold on his sleeve, to his whole arm and hand until hers slipped out. She had to watch his form pass through into the snow as he gazed back at her one last time before he jogged out, disappearing into the white chill of the storm. 

A single moment after that felt like an eternity, of just staring out before she rested her head high, staring up into the tree. After a minute of thought, she looked down at the pouch, knowing its light would bring undesirable attention to her, so she tied the pouch to her own sash. She could feel the warmth of the Diamond underneath the fabric. She knew her father was listening, somehow, through the magic. As a prayer, she pressed the Diamond to her lips, knowing dawn would come, she would become a swan again, even in this change of weather and world… As long as she reunited with her flock, the dwarfs, especially Frollo, they would all somehow be together again. She needed to wait, a little longer…