It was early fall in Paris and the trees on the outskirts of the city were changing. Thirteen year old Claude marveled at the vivid colors on one particular tree's branches spread above him as he laid beneath it.

Orange, yellow and deep red leaves fell to the ground around his head and landed delicately on his chest and legs. These sort of days were what he longed for; yet...they were far too brief.

He breathed in the forthcoming chill and released it softly, while his sorrowful gaze wondered past the gnarled, dry branches above, toward the clear blue sky. The sun had already made it's way well past the afternoon and was falling fast into early evening. Sunny days, even though blustering, were getting shorter day by day.

Mass was beginning very soon and he knew he had to get back.

His father made it clear that he would not allow Claude to have these private moments alone if he were to be late for any important convocations. His father's rare willingness to compromise was almost too good to be true and because of this incentive, Claude didn't want to disappoint him.

It was harder than he thought to leave this inviting spot, but after a long moment of stalling, he managed to lift his upper body lazily upon his elbows as a crisp breeze blew through his black hair. His eyes slowly opened to a pink and orange Autumn sunset.

All of it seemed to rejuvenate his fondness for the season. It was as if the element had developed fingers that affectionately fanned his bangs, urging him to stay.

In addition to this, there had been many birds collecting on the nude branches above him. No doubt making an early roost for the night.

They tweeted away happily. Moving from one baring tree to another. Some flying away to a far off destination in which he could only imagine how beautiful those far off places were.

Claude envied them the most out of all roaming creatures.

He envied their freedom He envied they're ability to just pick up and leave when things got bad. He envied that they had no one to answer to, no one to berate them and no one to...hurt them.

If only I had wings. He mused. I would fly away forever.

He looked down at his lap dispirited as the pipe dream dissipated and was replaced by the infliction of his stolid reality.

He finally rose to this feet, brushed bits of dead leaves from his modest outfit and haltingly made his way towards the entrance to the city. But stopped in the archway facing the massive main path straight ahead.

Claude learned long ago to steer clear of it. Sure, it was the quickest way to the square, but his bullies, as well as his father frequented often. Because of this, he was getting quite used to maneuvering through the winding back alleyways. He had gotten lost a few times, but he never gave up on a challenge. Besides, he figured it was wise to know every avenue of Paris and it was better than the alternative.

So once he spotted a side street to his right, he took it without hesitation.

He noticed that the sun was falling beyond the high buildings with more speed, which prompted him to pick up his pace. No way was he jeopardizing his free time alone. But despite this, he still aloud himself to take in the sights around him.

It seemed as if there were no other souls to be seen this time of day. He pondered if it had anything to do with the colder evenings that kept customers from venturing this far too late. Not to mention that the citizens of Paris were growing more and more uneasy about thievery this far out of the city.

No wonder gypsies inhabited these areas. He told himself as he turned down a more narrowed passage. It is indeed more quiet and more hidden…He observed.

Most of the Gypsy population inhabited these off shoots of the city. You could tell by the obvious disrepair. The more you left the center of the square, the more you saw the neglect.

His father's words were set back in his mind. Recalling him blaming the Gypsy people for the degradation of the area. His aunt's voice drowned it out straight away. She referred to these areas as "The Revolutionary ghetto" and a recollected conversation between them just that last Summer resurfaced.

...For them, the outer fringes of the city are the safest. It is the closest to the cities limits and it's easier to escape any authority. Not many Parisians wonder that far out anymore and because of this, the standard of living is lower. No one within the center of town dare make changes in a slum they are frightened to enter. That has to do with the kings decrees, rather than the people residing there.

In fact, I've heard rumors of political change being made recently.

Rumors? Political change?

Yes...I've heard that the king is going to appoint an actual official he deems fit to handle the uptick of crimes going on all around the city.

An Official?

I guess the old way is getting to be too tedious. Usually it has been your father that everyone goes to. He has been the one that the kings men listen to.

Well...him and Simon Belrose.

Filimor's father?

They have been co-conspirators as long as I can remember.

The fact of the matter is, whom ever the king picks will have the power to make all the decisions without his immediate involvement. I'm sure there will be a higher expectation to whom ever he chooses...

Claude was brought back to the matter at hand when a few shop keepers could be heard closing up their respected shops a ways down off the other branches of the cross streets. They drew his attention until a faint sound tugged at Claude's left ear and it made him stop his slow meandering long enough to cock his head and try to make out where the sound was coming from. His eyes darted from one side of the alley to the other, as he took a few more careful, soft steps forward.

The unidentified sound got louder and eventually he could clearly make out what it was.

It was a woman...It was a woman...in pain?

He stopped once again and held his breath long enough to make out a male's lower tone that weaved into her cries.

It sounded like he was hurting her...

Alarm bells went off in his head. He panicked on what to do, he knew he had to do something. But, before he could even consider his next move, his father's disappointment flashed in his head. It was all eventually pushed out however, as more and more scenarios of a dead, helpless woman lying on the floor, bleeding out flashed behind his eyes. He knew he couldn't morally live with himself if he decided to leave a person in distress. He thought with conjecture that surely his father would understand this circumstance.

More louder moans and cries could easily be heard through a closed and shrouded window sat to the right of an archway to the left. The struggling was no doubt coming from the room on the other side and there was no doubt now, there were definitely two people on the other side.

The concern for his father vanished and he swallowed nervously as he slowly crept through the high archway down the tight canal. At first it only looked as if it was a dead end. But as he ventured down farther, he came upon a U-turn that rounded a wall to reveal a closed door.

Claude could see that the wood of the door was not kept up. The top and bottom of the door did not match the frame. The edges were uneven and the planks had several holes leading into the room. Soft light poured out through all the openings from what he assumed was the window he saw inside.

There was movement inside. Along with the unnerving sounds, he could see shadows along the bottom of the broken planks. They grew longer, stretching from under the door. Almost reaching his feet in the small besmirched space.

Claude stepped forward, letting the unknown's shadows blanket him completely. He felt safer in the darkness as he moved forward to peek into one of the holes that was level to his height.

Maybe if I scope out the area...

The voice in his head froze of any comprehensible thought as his eyes took in the scene before him.

At first he didn't...couldn't believe what was happening.

The surreal moment was almost hard to fathom.

His eyes locked onto her immediately. Traveling down to notice her firm buttocks resting at the edge of a low table in the corner of the room. The trunk of her upper half was slightly concealed by a mysterious male. But, her body was rotated enough to take in her dark breasts as they bounced freely from the force delivered in between her long, tanned legs.

Claude's eyes went wide as he swore the space between her thighs broadened. Granting the man even more access to her lower, unseen portion.

She cried out in another bout of pure pleasure.

Claude released an uneven breath, but caught himself before he lost himself completely. The erotic gyrations of her hips were almost hypnotizing. It took all he had to tear away from her to try to make out the mysterious man. But there was no denying that the man was not Romani. His pale buttocks was directly in Claude's sight.

His fascination kept taking over any stable thought as the man's back arched to deliver one thrust after another into her. Their moans matched one another in a symphony of human debauchery.

He was all the way inside her...He reveled to himself as another moan from the gypsy made his depths tickle and his adolescent hood grow hard from under his hose.

He took hold of himself, but mostly out of surprise rather than of want. He was getting too greedy however, too enthralled in the scene to notice any one approaching from behind.

Until...

"Well well. What do we have here?" Claude froze as he heard the voice of his school bully Marcel Thayer behind him. Claude turned only half way to see the smirk on Marcel's face in his peripheral. Claude eventually turned fully to glare straight in the eyes of his long time enemy. In an attempt at trying his best to draw his attention away from his now softening erection.

He didn't know if Marcel noticed it, but he presumed that he knew what Claude was peeping in on.

"He's right here sir. I found him!" Marcel howled down the opposite hall before glancing back at Claude with an obnoxious proud snicker.

Claude scowled as his blood boiled until one word stopped it cold in his veins.

Sir? Anger turned to fear instantly, even before his father rounded the corner in a rush. He paused long enough to lock eyes with his son, identifying him with an unreadable stone face. Claude ducked in defense when his father hurtled in his direction. To Claude's surprise however, his father passed him in a furious rage towards the door. He tore through it enough to tear the flimsy thing off it's hinges.

Once the door was wide open, Claude was momentarily caught off guard by the gypsy's shriek. He followed her agile movements as she plunged towards her clothes that were littered along the dirt floor. She paused long enough to scope out any possible exits, but her only way out was blocked by him. To his stunned surprise, he couldn't budge, he was paralyzed at the sight of her. She knew he was there, even though she refused to make eye contact with him. Her movements reminded him of a caged animal. She fidgeted with her clothes and backed herself against the opposite wall, while she scrambled to cover up her naked body.

"Have you lost your senses boy?!"

His father's bellowing tone made him tear his longing gaze from the gypsy woman to his father shaking the shoulders of a person he definitely recognized and Claude's jaw dropped.

"Filimor Belrose." He whispered low in complete disbelief.

Filimor said nothing, frowned and turned his chin up at Claude's father. His rebellious attitude toward the whole thing was unusual at best. No one ever dared look at his father with such defiance and Claude wasn't sure if he should be in solidarity with his older classmate bully or revel in his quandary.

It was a nice change of pace to see someone, other than himself being confronted by his father though. He smiled to himself and basked in the very rare moment. But, to Claude's annoyance his father let go of the seventeen year old and spoke more calmly to him.

"What will your family do if...?" He trailed off, leaned into him and went to a whisper. "Your name is respected in the church and right now, your father can not have scandal."

Claude leaned in to hear him better, but backed away when his father turned to face him.

He said nothing, but the targeted look he made towards Claude made him wish he had never found this place. Wished he had never saw such sin. Rather, he wished we was in fact on time to the cathedral, finding a place in a pew among many others.

To get lost in the crowd.

To disappear.

Suddenly Claude saw something change in his father's features. It was a look of horror. That was the only word Claude could describe it and before anyone knew it, his father turned to the gypsy in fury in full realization that she had been in full view of his son the whole time. Even though the damage had been done way before that point.

The gypsy yelped and shrunk down further to the floor, bending her knees to her chest, folding her arms at an attempt to shield her head and face. In the process, she absentmindedly released the clothes she wrapped tightly around herself. Her nude body was once again exposed to Claude's adolescent eyes.

This inflamed his father's contempt even more as he pulled her up by her hair and flung the young woman toward the door. She lost her footing and ended up face first on the ground in the middle of the doorway. Claude backed into the wall as she landed at his feet.

A twinge of remorse and regret hit his heart at his actions.

It's not that I find her unclean...my father might see...He told himself as he tried to talk himself out of the guilt.

He continued to stare. Noting how defined her beautiful, tanned naked shoulder blades were, as they aided her arms to a sitting position.

She noticed Claude's innocent leering and locked eyes with him for the first time that evening. He didn't know how to react. One on spectrum of his reality he had his aunt, always reassuring him that these people were at a disadvantage against the white populace and then there was his father.

Claude's eyes never flitted from hers, but her sorrowful, luminescent eyes switched to a resentful glint and before Claude could react she spat at him before his father entered the foyer with a now dressed Filimor Belrose.

His father kicked at the gypsy, prodding her to stand.

"Get to your feet harlot!" He roared. His voice booming against the small walls around the crowded space.

The woman tried to fight this time. Tried to work her small arm out of his grip but was foiled at the strength of his father's hold. He flung her further down the corridor and stumbled into two armed guards waiting at the entrance to the circled canal.

No doubt Marcel alerted them. Claude snuffed.

The guards took a firm hold of each arm as his father approached her. She squirmed in fear as he looked her up and down with a sneer. He grabbing her dirty face and pulling her to him.

"Dirt is fitting on a filthy, ungodly whore such as yourself." She jerked her teared streaked face out of his hand in contempt.

"Take her away!"

The guards briskly pulled her out of site. Her body now slumped in defeat. The last thing Claude saw was her toes dragging through the dirt and out of sight.

His father took a handkerchief from his pocket and vehemently rubbed at his hand that touched the gypsy's skin. He then turned his attention to his son and Claude knew what was in store. He knew there would be no good explanation. Especially after Marcel having the upper advantage of finding his father first.

Who knows what tall tale he had spun. He thought with animosity.

Now, if he tried to explain himself, he would just end up looking like someone trying to escape his own confession. Which in turn would be double punishment. Just by that knowledge alone, he decided to keep his mouth shut and move to the exit as fast as he could. All the while feeling his father's eyes burn a hole in him and feeling his looming presence behind him as he made his way to the alley.

His earlier self loathing disappeared however when he saw the scene around him.

The once quiet, empty streets were now flooded with law enforcement. More guardsmen had infiltrated the near by shops and homes.

A line up of many more gypsies and their sympathizers was forming. All shackled to each other in a line. A couple of hooded wagons were brought in to no doubt transport the accused to the city for sentencing. Claude looked along the line to try to find Filimor, but failed to find him in the line up.

Surely he would to be sentenced like rest of the lot. He thought.

This confused Claude, but before he could analyze it further, his father's command broke him from the dismal sight.

"Take my horse."

"...But what abo...?"

"My horse..." He spoke low and baleful with his jaw clenched shut, "...now!"

Claude just stared at his father with disbelief with his face full of dismay and reluctantly headed toward his horse and mounted with expert ease.

"Make your way to my office chambers. I do expect to see you there!"

With this dejection, Claude only stared straight forward, only listened to his father's words, refusing to acknowledge his presents below. The shadows masking his lifeless, tired eyes.

"...Don't make any more stops. You hear?"

Bitterly and without answering, Claude kicked the sides of his steed, the horse bucked and neighed loudly before moving at a running speed.

In his haste Claude swore he heard his father call out his name. But soon, all sounds was blurred under the pounding of hooves against cobblestone and dirt.

He didn't even notice the tears streaking his cheeks until the cold air stung at his wet skin.

No doubt this act of disrespect would not be forsaken and it would most certainly be added to the tally of punishments awaiting him.

So why did it even matter? He thought to himself inconsolably while the world bled around him with gaining speed.

AN: I am SOOOOOOOO sorry this took so long to post! In between being an annoying perfectionist and life getting in the way, I have no idea how I managed to get this chapter done! But I did it and I'm seeing it through until the end. Thank you all for being so patient with me and I appreciate all your kind words. I also appreciate all the ones that take the time to read my stuff. You are all awesome beyond belief! 3