Her body is perfect. THE TRAPEZE Is eighty feet above the ground.

LORELEI

, 22, beautiful, arcs through the air, her fingers catching the bar, swinging down, arcing out. From where he is, he can see everything. The Hunchback is happy.

KENT, ENGLAND - 1851

EXT. THE FAIRGROUND It’s a cool, gray morning. The circus is setting up; animal s are led here and there, dancers stretch, clowns practice... The Hunchback, 20, sits outside, looking through a rip in the tent, watching Lorelei practice on the trapeze inside. He is dirty; pathologically so. He we ars old clown c lothes, the colo rs worn and fad ed. His sl ouched p osture and mess y, overlong hair are offset by bright, intelligent eyes. The Hunchback notices that one of the ropes attached to the trapeze is wearing thin. He grimaces, thinking.. WE WATCH THE HUNCHBACK GO ABOUT HIS DAY: He works around the grounds, helping to set up the circus, as well as te nding to th e mi nor a ches and pains of t he ci rcus crew; they treat him like garbage, but seem to trust his judgment. We witness him steal a bottle of ink, and, in between the grunt labor, he very carefully begins to draw out an intricate diagram. IN A PUP TENT The Hunchback is examining

NATHANIEL