" I just wanna be myself " (A Hunchback Of Notre Dame fanstory)

Chapter 10

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS HEAVY SWEARING, CHILD ABUSE/ASSAULT, MENTIONS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE, MENTIONS OF MISGENDERING/TRANSPHOBIA, A SLIGHT MENTION OF DEADNAMES, AND THERE IS ALSO A SLUR USED AGAINST DISABLED PEOPLE USED, PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN WARNING! IF ANY OF THESE TRIGGER YOU, PLEASE AVOID THIS CHAPTER!! YOU CAN SKIP IT AND READ THE NEXT/PREVIOUS CHAPTER!!!


A whole year had passed since Quasimodo and Esmeralda had decided that them and their kids were gonna move to the U.S.A, and that day was getting closer and closer everyday, and they had mostly packed everything, except their children's things, but they'd get to it very shortly. And also since then, The quadruplets have all turned 9, and Edgar had turned 5!

As of now, Edgar and his siblings were all playing a game of dodgeball outside. Of course, as he was used to, he was sitting in the red wagon that Jade and Charlotte owned. While Micheal and Felix kept trying to hit each other with the rubber balls they were chucking at themselves and their other siblings.

" Over here! Over here! " Jade exclaimed, waving her arms around, trying to catch Micheal's attention " Come at me! I'm tough! " She then crouched a little and opened her arms, excitedly waiting for her turn to try to pummel her siblings with the rubber ball.

" I don't know Jade! You can't beat me! " Micheal remarked as he threw the rubber ball in the air and caught it once again " I'm pretty good at this game! I know how to beat anybody in dodgeball! You're gonna have to go to the hospital after i'm done beating you up at this game! You ain't got nothing on me! " Of course, Micheal was acting all snarky, he usually did whenever he was playing with his siblings, whether it would be physical games, board games, or even video games.

Jade rolled her eyes " Hey Edgar! " She called out to her little sibling, who was moving himself by using an old broom by pushing the ground underneath him, thus moving the wagon he was sitting in " You wanna play with us? " Edgar looked over at his older siblings and shook his head. He wasn't that interested in playing right now, he just wanted to collect any rock that he could get his hands on.

That's when Charlotte felt her mood change from happy and excited to fearful and afraid. She began to slowly look around, wondering if anybody was watching her or her siblings. She could feel the eyes of someone watching her, but she just couldn't tell where they were coming from or who they belonged to. Being caught in her thoughts made her block out her siblings calling her name and shouting for her to catch the ball, and she ended up getting struck with the ball on the arm, which made her look over at Jade, the one who threw the ball at her, before she went back to looking around.

" Yo Charlotte! " Micheal yelled out " Why you acting like a prairie dog? You look absolutely terrified! " He made his way over to his sibling, waving his hand in front of her eyes, trying to catch her attention " you okay? " Micheal was now starting to get worried, as Charlotte just kept looking around, completely ignoring him. Then, he too started to feel the atmosphere change, as he too looked around for a quick moment " Someone's watching us... I can feel it. "

Charlotte then turned around completely, and lo and behold, none other than Madellaine herself was approaching the children. Along with her scummy husband, Phœbus, and their bratty and entitled child Zephyr. The family were all approaching them and the siblings knew almost instantly that they had to go back inside and to get away from these people. The siblings all began to pick up their toys and all began carrying them back to Notre Dame.

" Someone get Edgar! We don't want that golden retriever look-a-like to even try to get close to us! Or else i'm gonna get violent! " Felix exclaimed as he carried the rubber ball underneath his arm. Jade and Micheal nodded as they went over to where Edgar was. He was by a small pond where he was picking up small rocks and pebbles and placing them in a small bag he had.

" Hey, le frère! Let's go! " Jade and Micheal yelled out in unison. Jade walked over and grabbed the handle of the wagon that Edgar was sitting in and pulled it away from the small pond. This made Edgar a bit upset, as he reached out and grabbed one last stone as his older sibling pulled the wagon behind her.

" Oh hello there! " Madellaine yelled out " You're forgetting about someone! " She then gently ushered Zephyr as she practically told her child to go off and to try and talk to the other kids. That's when Felix noticed that Madellaine was holding the hand of another child. None of the kids had seen this other child before, and the child wasn't a baby or a newborn or anything of the sort. This child was probably the same age as Edgar, if not then maybe a year younger at best.

This new child that Madellaine held in her arms seemed to be a little girl. She had long, wavy blonde hair, bright brown eyes, freckles all over her face, cheeks, and arms. She was wearing a white dress that had lace and ribbon all over, black mary jane shoes, white knee-high socks, and her hair was tied into white ribbons. Her expression was very uncomfortable, as if she didn't want to even be there, or even be in Madellaine's arms, as she was struggling to wiggle away, to no avail. Madellaine then put the child down and pushed her so she could catch up to Zephyr, who was still running over to the other kids.

" Any of you guys see a little girl last time we saw these snowballs? " Charlotte asked, looking over at her other siblings, who all shook their heads " She seems new. But i already don't trust her if THOSE two snowballs are her parents. " Felix nodded, he then noticed that Madellaine had a somewhat large and swollen stomach, which he pointed out to his other siblings as he pointed directly at Madellaine's stomach " Is she fat? " Felix asked, which caused Micheal to gently smack him on the shoulder " Ow! Dude! Really? " Micheal furrowed his eyebrows at his younger sibling, crossing his arms " There's a baby in there! " he exclaimed. Felix just stood there in silence and in absolute shock.

" Lets just get out of here " Jade sighed as she struggled to keep pulling the wagon. The other siblings looked at each other in agreement as they continued to walk away. That's when Zephyr grabbed Charlotte's hair and tugged on it violently, causing her to let out a loud screech, catching the attention of her siblings as they all turned around, appalled at what they were looking at. Edgar didn't like what this kid was doing. Not. One. Bit.

Edgar struggled for a quick moment but he got out of the wagon. His limp leg made it so he wobbled slightly, but that didn't stop him from running over to Zephyr and smacking the literal hell out of his face. Repeatedly too. His siblings just stood there in shock, yet, they were all smiling as they saw their younger brother smack the ever-loving hell out of Zephyr, who was now screaming and crying for his parents, who obviously came running to their ' precious baby's ' cries for help.

Phœbus practically shoved Edgar off of Zephyr and instantly began screaming at him, while Madellaine was holding Zephyr, who wasn't even crying! Instead, he was just sitting in his mom's arms with a smirk on his face, as if he wanted this to happen. " What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why would you attack my child?! Are you sick in the head?! " Phœbus sounded like he was shouting at an adult, and not a 5 year old disabled child.

Felix went into flight or fight mode as he contemplated on either going to help his younger sibling, or to go get his parents. His mind felt like is was going 1000 miles an hour, he felt his heart racing and he began to sweat. This kid looked so panic, you'd think he was about to pass out. Then, he and his siblings heard the sound of approaching footsteps, they all turned around and saw their parent's beelining towards them.

Esmeralda was absolutely livid. She grabbed the back of Phœbus's neck and yanked him away from Edgar, who was curled up in the fetal position, crying and shaking like a leaf. She yanked Phœbus up so she was making direct eye contact with him, her eyebrows furrowed and she was panting heavily " If i ever see you around my children again, you're gonna be buried six feet under and dancing with the worms! " She snarled as she then shoved Phœbus, making him fall flat onto his rear.

Phœbus simply smirked as he stood back up " Oh Esmeralda, Mon plaisir quotidien~ You used to lust over me all the time when you were 14 years old! Now look at you, shoving me away  and threatening me! All for what? This Dégénéré imbécile? Really? " Esmeralda crossed her arms as she stood there and just listened to this grown man going off at her. She was absolutely done with whatever other bullshit Phœbus was gonna pull out of his ass.

Quasimodo was busy with trying to comfort Edgar and getting the other 4 children inside, but at the same time, he wanted to watch his spouse just absolutely destroy Phœbus with just a few sentences.

" je m'en fou! " Esmeralda spat out " Laisse-moi tranquille, Phœbus! t'es un salaud, Tu commence m'enmerder! " She then turned her attention to Madellaine, who was still holding Zephyr in her arms while her younger child was yanking on her skirt, as if she was trying to drag her away. " And you! " Esmeralda spat out, pointing directly at Madellaine, who was trying to act all innocent " Ta mere suce des bites en enfer! "

" Maman! Please, let's go! " The little girl cried out, she was clearly uncomfortable with everything going on " I wanna go home! Papa! Maman! I wanna go home! " This child was on the verge of tears when Phœbus walked over to his child, and boy oh boy was he flamming mad, anyone could plainly see it. He then picked up this little girl and held her in the air as he began yelling at her now " You! Tu me gonfles! " His loud booming voice almost instantaneously made the little girl cry as tears streaked down her cheeks.

Esmeralda felt herself fill with rage at what she saw, oh how she wanted to attack Madellaine and her dumbfuck of a husband. That's when she felt her stomach churn as sudden wave of nausea overcame her. She tried her best to hide it, but Quasimodo instantly could tell that his spouse wasn't feeling too well, as he took her hand in his and gestured to Notre dame, saying that it was time to go back home without verbally saying it. But just as Esmeralda was getting ready to go back with her spouse and children, Madellaine spoke, and what she said caught Esmeralda and Quasimodo off guard.

" T'es débile? " Madellaine asked Edgar, who clearly didn't understand what that word even meant. However, Quasimodo and Esmeralda knew what this woman had just said and they were both absolutely livid. Madellaine on the other hand was just standing there, her lips curled into a smirk, one arm holding Zephyr, the other resting on her pregnant belly.

" Va te faire foutre! Va te faire foutre! Va te fai- " Just before Esmeralda could finish screaming at Madellaine, her stomach churned again and again, and this time, she ended up gagging a little, but that was nothing compared her then proceeding to vomit everything she had eaten that day all over Madellaine and Zephyr, covering them in disgusting stomach acid and half digested food.

Everyone was silent, nobody knew what to do or say. Quasimodo and Edgar were trying their best to not laugh at what they just saw, but Quasimodo took this moment of silence to be able to get his spouse and children away from the now vomit covered Madellaine and her absolutely insane family. As they were running away, they somewhat overheard Madellaine's daughter telling her mom how stupid she was and how they should've just left.

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" Maman? Are you okay? " Felix asked, looking over at his parent, whom was laying in bed, a damp rag on her forehead, and an empty trashcan next to the bed.

" Ugh, Maman just feels sick, i must've eaten something bad or i could've gotten food poisoning. Whatever it is, it's something that makes you throw up " Esmeralda responded as she massaged her temples, squeezing her eyes closed.

Felix frowned as he gave his parent a gentle side-hug before he left his parent's bedroom and went to his bedroom, where Micheal and Jade were, playing video games on their GameCube. Jade waved at Felix who nodded back " Hey, did you hear what that raw piece of chicken called us today? " Jade asked, resting her head in her palms. Of course, Felix was a bit confused as he looked at his sibling, wondering what she meant exactly.

Micheal looked over at Felix " She said that you weren't a real boy, that you would, in her own words ' would be a girl forever ' " He did air quotes as he said this " Her haystack husband said the same thing about Jade, but about how she'll never be a real girl, and would be... what was it again? He said ' You'd be a boy forever, not a girl! ' " Jade rolled her eyes and made a fake gagging noise.

" But... I am a boy, and Jade is a girl! " Felix exclaimed, trying to wrap it around his 9 year old brain " My name is Felix, and i am a handsome boy! " He crossed his arms, clearly unhappy with what these people had said about him and his sister.

Jade shook her head " And i'm a beautiful girl! My name is Jade Amethyst Carbonneau! MY name isn't Jacques! It's Jade! " She pointed up to the ceiling. Micheal and Felix clapped quietly, agreeing with what their sibling was saying. That's when Jade noticed Quasimodo standing in the doorway " Hi Papa! " She exclaimed as she waved at her parent.

Quasimodo made his way over to his kids and sat down next to them, with Edgar following him and sitting on Jade's back. " You guys talking about your names? " Quasimodo asked, his children nodding in response " Well, you all chose your names! And those names fit you both perfectly! " He gently ruffled Felix's hair.

" Hey, Papa? " Jade asked " Do i have to look like a girl to BE a girl? " She had a worried tone of voice. Quasimodo let out a faint sigh, he knew one day his child would ask him this one day, but not so soon, but then again, when someone that's been harassing your entire family says that your own child can't be a ' true girl/true boy/nonbinary/genderfluid/agender ' or anything of the sorts, you kind of have to prepare yourself for that kind of conversation, even if his child wasn't even a preteen yet.

" No " Quasimodo responded " If you don't wanna wear dresses, or wear make-up, or dress in a feminine manner, you're still a girl! Why? Do you not like wearing dresses? " He tilted his head to the side curiously. Jade shook her head " No! No! I love dresses! Yet... I also like wearing pants and overalls! I'm still a girl though! Right..? " Quasimodo nodded " That's right! You're still a girl and you're still my daughter! " Jade let out a sigh of relief. That's when Quasimodo heard his name being called by his spouse. He got up and made his way to his bedroom, where Esmeralda was still in bed, albeit, sitting up and looking down at the floor.

" You okay? " Quasimodo asked as he sat on the bed, a worried expression on his face. Esmeralda let out a sigh " At what age do you think we should tell our children what Phœbus did to me? I mean, i know we can't tell them now, they are all too young, but i just don't know at what age we would tell them. " Quasimodo knew exactly what his spouse meant, and even he didn't have an answer.

You see, Phœbus had always harassed Esmeralda, even after she lost feelings for him by the time she was 15 years old. The harassment was constant and Phœbus just never seemed to leave her alone. He followed her everywhere she went, even when she had threatened him with either a taser, pepper spray, or whatever else she had on her person. But one day, Phœbus had gone too far.

A few years ago, when Esmeralda had just turned 18 years old, Phœbus had followed her AGAIN. She told him off and threatened him as she usually did, albeit this time with a sharp pocket knife. Sadly, that didn't stop Phœbus as he quickly overpowered her and took advantage of her. Nobody came to help her afterwards. And she wasn't found by anyone until a total of 8 hours later when a random citizen found her unconscious on the ground in the middle of an alleyway.

" I say we tell the quadruplets when they are 12, and we can tell Edgar when he's 10. Is that alright with you? " Quasimodo asked, a concerned expression on his face. Esmeralda looked over at her spouse, her lips curling into a small smile " Yeah, that's alright. That's the perfect age to tell them. And besides, it's one of the reasons why we're moving halfway across the world, so i never, EVER, have to see that man's face again! " Quasimodo smiled and gently hugged his spouse.

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" You sure do love that movie, don't ya? " Quasimodo jokingly asked Edgar, who was sitting on his bed, eating some dessert, and watching a movie. Despite the fact that Edgar had already watched this movie well over 20 times in the span of 2 weeks. But that didn't upset his parents or anything, as they didn't really mind.

The movie in question was about a king's crown being stolen and given away, so these two best friends go on a journey to try and get the crown back, all the while, their home is being turned into an evil empire by the same guy that stole the king's crown.

" They gotta get the crown! They gotta get the crown! " Edgar exclaimed as he pointed at his television, where it showed said two best friends were in a vehicle and were driving off to go get the king's crown back " They're gonna beat the bad guy! " Quasimodo smiled as he enjoyed seeing his child go on and on about their favourite movie.

" So, Mon bébé? " Quasimodo spoke " Maman and I have been meaning to tell you and your siblings this, but, we're all moving soon. We're all moving to America " Edgar blinked, trying to wrap his 5 year old brain around what his father just said.

" Moving? " Edgar asked " Why? " Of course, usual child curiosity, he really didn't know as to why he and his family were all moving " Did i do something wrong? " Edgar tilted his head to the side, afraid that he did something wrong.

" Non! Non! " Quasimodo reassured " You didn't do anything wrong! We just have to move because of what Phœbus and his family have been doing to me, your Maman, and all your siblings. " Edgar scooted over to where his parent was sitting and climb into his parents lap, looking up.

" Phœbus isn't very nice to me or my siblings. He's mean! " Edgar remarked, to which, Quasimodo nodded in agreement " He called Maman a mean word today as well. He called Maman a Gy- "

" Hey! " Quasimodo exclaimed, cutting his child off " Don't say that word, okay? It's a very nasty word, i don't want you to ever say that word, got that? "

Edgar blinked in surprise, he frowned as small tears filled his eyes and streamed down his cheeks, he immediately thought he had done something wrong, he never knew that what he was about to say was such a vile word. Edgar buried his face into Quasimodo's shirt, tears still streaming down his face.

Quasimodo embraced Edgar in a hug " Hey, hey. It's okay, Don't cry! " He spoke softly, trying his best to comfort his child " You didn't know it was a bad word, it's okay. " He gently patted Edgar's back

' Oh boy... ' Quasimodo thought to himself as he comforted his child ' My children probably have no idea how much of an ass Phœbus is to me or their mother... But, i guess they've seen enough to know enough. '