Chapter Twenty-Seven
Quasi hadn't intended to let his wife to get within fifty feet of Jehan Frollo, and…yet…here they were, staring into the eyes of the Angel of Death himself.
At least that's what it felt like to him. They had barely made it a hundred feet from the stone steps of the estate's entrance when she somehow managed to pull herself from her state of semi-consciousness, blearily opening her eyes and focusing more than a few feet in front of herself, despite the bell ringer's attempts that she lay her head back against his chest and rest.
"Where…Phoebus?" It was all she could say, and even those two simple words came out more like a hoarse-sounding croak. "Have to…go back, Quasi…"
"No." The word escaped him as more of a low growl from the back of his throat before he could stop himself. "You're…you're hurt. We need to—I—I need to get you help. Leave our insane Captain and Sun God to his inevitable job. Let Phoebus handle this. You're hurt!"
Madellaine furrowed her brow into a frown as she risked a glance back over her husband's shoulder towards the castle. "H—he saved…your life, Quasi. Our lives. W—we c—can't just…let Phoebus…die…like this. Let…me…go…" she growled through gritted teeth, struggling against Quasi's strong hands, pitifully clawing with both of her hands at his hands, which stayed wrapped around Madellaine's waist despite her pleas for him to release her. "Phoebus…in danger…Jehan is…a monster," she gasped, turning her head to the side and coughing.
"Y—you can barely stand up, Lena. I—I cannot let you go back there. Jehan would kill you, Madellaine!" Quasi protested, though seeing she was not going to relent in her efforts, let out a haggard sigh and maintained his steady grip upon her waist. "But…" His voice trailed off as he cupped her chin in his hand and forced his wife to meet his gaze. "I swore that I would not leave you behind. I almost lost you the once to Frollo, I won't let another one take you from me, beloved. I'm not going to live in a world without you, for a life without you, only that would be true torture, my love. I can see that you have no intention of leaving this place without Phoebus, and I would be a fool to try to prevent you. I know that I cannot, but…I'm coming too." He smiled at her look of bewilderment.
Quasi knew she hadn't expected him to agree with her. He shot Esmeralda and Helena a brief look and was surprised to see sympathetic smiles on both women's faces, although there was no mistaking the worry that lingered there.
"Go," he encouraged the pair. "Back to the cathedral. We'll…we'll meet you there. The north bell tower. Have a basin of supplies for…" Treating wounds, is what he wanted to say, just in case, but couldn't bring himself to say it. Quasi turned away, hating hearing the crack in his voice. He knew the risks better than most. "We'll meet you there. I promise." He turned to Esmeralda. "You've my word."
The Romani did not hesitate to envelope him in a tight hug, both of them. "Be careful, my friends."
Quasi nodded and was immediately jolted out of the memory of how they had landed out on this balcony terrace in the first place.
He blinked, startled, and turned his attention towards Jehan and let out a low growl.
Jehan had somehow managed to wrench Madellaine away from his grasp while he'd been foolishly distracted.
"You see, Barreau?" Jehan was saying urgently to his wife, his heaven's light. "I still want to save your life. I still believe you can be saved!"
"Not the way you'd save it, I'd rather die! I will not be forced to marry you! I'll die before I ever let you touch me again!" she bellowed angrily, though her voice was soft and faint, her eyes briefly flitting to Phoebus and Quasi. She froze, not sure what to do.
Phoebus did his best to communicate. Find a distraction. Stall him. Keep him talking long enough for us to get behind him. You can do this, Madellaine. Help us kill this bastard! Help us set you free.
"What's your answer, my love?" Jehan demanded.
"I don't understand!" she cried, turning her gaze back to Jehan and willing no fear to show on her face, although she was failing miserably. "I don't understand, Jehan, of all the women in Paris you could choose to marry, why me? You would lust after a married woman, it's sick."
"I don't know why I wish I knew!" he said calmly.
"You truly are a monster, Jehan!" Madellaine shouted.
Jehan's eyes grew dark and he seized her wrist, pulling her forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No. You are mistaken, Madellaine. Take pity on me, my dear. I'm only human, after all. I've lost the only family I cared about. You don't know what my love for you is!"
"I won't marry you, Jehan!" she snarled. "NEVER!"
"If you want the bell ringer alive, you'll come with me willingly of your own volition. If you as much as look at me in a manner that displeases me, your husband dies. If you decide to be noble and take your own life one day, he' will die. You and I will marry, Barreau, and you'll provide me with an heir, and keep the last of our great family's house alive. We will prosper, so that our progeny will rule these lands for well over a thousand years." He glanced at Quasi and Phoebus, whose hearts sank into their stomachs.
He knows, thought Phoebus wildly.
Jehan smirked and he turned and cupped Madellaine's face in his hand, tilting her head to kiss her passionately. She stiffened, not returning his kiss. He broke apart and glared at Madellaine. "Am I not merciful?" Madellaine glowered at Jehan, not answering.
A muscle in his jaw twitched and his handsome face contorted into a grimace. His hand drifted to her neck and he began to strangle her. Madellaine coughed, gasping for air as her gaze met Quasi's. Their eyes locked and all she could see in his eyes was the rage.
The entitlement in Jehan's voice, the outrage, the jurisdiction of his tone frightened her. If she could not think of a way to talk him out of this, he would surely kill her. This is how I die.
"Jehan… please, don't do this…" she begged, grasping at his hands, struggling to free herself. "I…need…you…" she gasped. "Stop, please…"
Satisfied, he released her. Madellaine erupted into a coughing fit and collapsed to her knees, a hand on her throat, still incredibly weak from the dosage of pennyroyal she'd taken, though she had thrown most of it up earlier.
"Hang on!" shouted Quasi, rushing, and kneeling to tend to Madellaine. "I've got you," he whispered soothingly. "Y...you're safe."
"Get out of here!" she managed weakly, the dark circles under her eyes becoming more prominent wrenching away from Quasi's touch. "He'll kill you! Leave me alone; I can take care of myself! He won't kill me, it's you that he wants, love. GO!" she shouted, wrenching away from him.
"No," he retorted angrily, not relinquishing his hold on her. "I'm not leaving you alone ever again," he promised. "I made a promise to you on our wedding day, love, and I intend to keep it."
"I've waited for this moment for a long time, my son," Jehan snapped, no warmth in his tone, his dark eyes almost black in color. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair and scowled at Phoebus, who had no weapon in his hand, one of Jehan's own men having disarmed him. Not giving the bell ringer a chance to react, he grabbed Madellaine by her arm, wrenching her to her feet, pulling her out onto the terrace. "You killed my brother. For that, your actions have consequences."
"Let her go, Jehan!" roared Phoebus. "If you let her go now, you can still walk away from this in one piece. Leave now, and don't harm her, and we'll let you live. It's your choice, Jehan."
"This is the best the greatest captain in France can do?" he taunted, looking amused. "Look at you, Captain Phoebus, you've no sword to defend yourself. You'd willingly give up your own life for these two? You're weak! The years away from the wars made you soft, my friend!"
Jehan charged at Phoebus, who'd been anticipating the move. The soldier removed from his sheath a silver dagger, and Madellaine recognized it as her father's.
But how…? He must have taken it from my satchel when Esmeralda and Phoebus found me earlier in the bedroom.
The younger Frollo scream let out a guttural growl of rage from the back of his throat and wrestled Phoebus to the ground, but Phoebus was thinner and more agile than Jehan and managed to get on top, restraining Jehan by his shoulder. "You won't kill me," mocked Jehan wickedly. "Your years away from the wars have made you soft."
"Do it, Phoebus!" shouted Quasi, beside himself with rage.
Phoebus screamed, torn between the two desires to protect the only family he had left and to rid Paris of the last Frollo, save for Madellaine. Jehan sensed his hesitation and plunged the dagger into Phoebus's shoulder. Captain Phoebus screamed and dug at the dagger, his blood soaking his tunic, staining it in its garish redness.
He was beginning to wish he had thought to don his armor.
"How easy it was to kill you," laughed Jehan, spitting at Phoebus's feet. "The noble, valiant warrior of Notre Dame couldn't even protect his friends and family and you die a pitiful death," he taunted, disgusted at the young soldier. "If only my brother could see you both now, especially you, boy," he growled, glaring at Quasi. "Both of you, cowards! Fear not, Claude. I told my brother that this day would come."
Madellaine's voice spoke up behind Jehan, startling him out of his monologue. "You won't kill anyone, Jehan. I won't let you." Her voice cracked, but she fought it back down. She lifted her head and jutted her chin out at Jehan defiantly and glared at him. "It's over," she said calmly. "I have to go with you. You've won."
Jehan laughed and turned and met his sister's gaze. "What are you going to do, Barreau? Hmm? You can't kill me." Madellaine grimaced, a look that did not suit her, that Phoebus and Quasi didn't know what to make of.
Phoebus screamed at the pain in his shoulder, this burning intense fire that dug into his shoulder and spread warmth throughout his entire body. "You don't have a violent bone in your body. You never did, Madellaine."
Madellaine frowned, glancing at Phoebus. Her face paled at seeing his shoulder wound, though she shook her head to clear it. "Maybe not, but why should I try to fight this anymore? I can't win against you, so I've no choice but to marry you, Jehan," she snapped, weakly reaching out for Quasi. "You loved your brother, I know. But this…this will not bring him back. And you know this. You can stop this."
Jehan Frollo ignored the girl's words, instead, taking a moment to wrench her to her feet, dragging her away from her husband, holding both her hands in his, and his dark eyes drifted towards her left hand, where her simple yellow gold band glinted.
"By the gods, girl," he scoffed, lifting her hand slightly, raising it just so to closer examine the wedding band she proudly wore on her left hand, after he'd asked her. "That's the best your husband could do for you. But it's so…so plain. It's a disgrace. You are a Frollo, Barreau, like it or not. You deserve better than that."
Disgusted, she jerked her hand out of his touch, gingerly rubbing her hand as though Jehan had burned her. "He could have given me nothing and I still would have married him, Jehan!" she shouted, feeling insulted.
"What is that you see in this monster that you don't see in me?" he demanded, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "Tell me now, or—"
Despite her fear at her current company and situation, Madellaine felt a genuine smile creep its way onto her face, a faraway look in her blue eyes as she chose to stare out at the grounds of the estate instead of at Jehan.
"In my eyes, he's handsome," she said softly. "He's kind. Treats me with respect and kindness." She frowned as she turned back towards Jehan. "He's no monster, Jehan. He's not the monster here, Jehan, you are!" Madellaine spat venomously, disgusted.
Jehan let out a guttural growl from the back of his wrist and seized her arm, shoving her backwards violently against a stone pillar with no way out. A brief flash of red appeared out of the corner to her right.
Quasi, she thought, breathing an audible sigh of relief. Phoebus was trailing close behind. Stall him, Phoebus was trying to silently communicate to her with his eyes.
Madellaine gave off the tiniest nods, not enough for her captor to notice, and turned her attentions back towards Jehan, who was admiring her slender form in her green dress.
He scoffed and rolled her eyes at her glowering look of hatred. "Do you feel as uncomfortable as you look, my love?" he said, keeping one hand grasped tightly around her delicate, thin wrist. "I think so!"
"I wouldn't give you the pleasure!" she snarled through clenched teeth, a fire blazing in her haunting gray eyes. Her gaze flitted back towards her husband, who made a silent motion with his hand for her to keep him talking.
"It gives me no pleasure," Jehan Frollo said quietly, his serious tone unlike his usual jovial behavior. "I would much rather set you free, sweetheart."
"Then why don't you?" Madellaine shouted desperately, wrenching her arm free and backing away against a stone pillar, almost tripping over her dress's long hem. Her eyes darted back towards her husband and Phoebus. Please.
Phoebus nodded, raising a finger to his lips, silencing her. Jehan continued.
"Because in order to do that, I would need you to make me a promise, Barreau," Jehan retorted softly, his ironclad grip on her hand tightening. "Marry me, come away from this wretched place," he added, glancing around the balcony with a look of disgust in his eyes. She knew he was thinking of him. Madellaine did not know how to respond to his pleas. She fell silent. "You see?" Jehan said, beads of sweat forming on his brow now. "I still want to save you. I still believe that your soul can be saved!"
"Not the way you'd save it, I'd rather die!" Madellaine bellowed, trying her hardest to ignore the pained look in her husband's eyes. "Go to hell, Jehan!"
"What about Quasimodo, the monster, your husband?" he hissed, his tone sounding utterly disgusted. "Would you rather he die as well? His fate lies in your hands, Barreau. If you don't come with me, then he dies a painful death and I'm going to make you watch..."
"No," she whispered, her voice coming out as a low, breathy squeak. "Don't..I'll...come with you."
"I have given you more than enough time to think about what I have offered you. What is your answer?" Jehan demanded.
"I…I don't understand!" she sobbed, tears welling in her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks in desperation. "I don't understand. Why me, Jehan, of all the women you could take for your wife in Paris, why me?"
Jehan paused, suddenly looking defeated. "I don't know why. I wish I knew," he sighed, sounding, dare she think it for a moment, truly remorseful. Madellaine had heard enough.
She had been foolish to think there was any sort of hope for Claude's brother's character and his soul to be redeemed. He was well and truly lost, and only his death might bring him some small form of peace, though she highly doubted that. "You truly are a monster!"
Jehan's dark eyes grew even darker, almost black in color, and her wrenched her wrist forward, his vice grip tightening and threatening to dislocate her wrist if she so much as spoke out of turn against him again.
"Oh, no, my pet. Take pity on me, Barreau. I'm only human, after all. You don't know what my love for you is!" he bellowed, a pleading, desperate edge to his voice now that Madellaine knew she did not like, and even the shift in his tone had temporarily halted Captain Phoebus and Quasi in their tracks. "It's fire, it's—it's hot lead! You rouse in me the wish to set you free. I will save you, Barreau. You do not know it yet, for the demon has blinded you. But I can help you…to see. I'll take you away from this place, just you and me. You know I'll love you until the world ends," he added, almost as an afterthought as he made to cup her chin in his hand, but she violently wrenched away from him.
"Jehan, your love for me is nothing more than a false love, based off of lust and conquest!" Madellaine hissed angrily through clenched teeth. She closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths, willing her temper to calm down, lest she say something she truly regret, and then she would really be in trouble.
Jehan fell silent, regarding the much younger girl in silence for several long excruciating moments before finding his voice again.
When he spoke, his voice was shaking, and full of a strange resolve she'd not heard. "If you want your…husband…alive, you'll come with willingly of your own volition. If you so much as look at me in a manner that displeases me, he dies. If you decide to be noble and take your own life one day, he dies. And as for you," he growled, fixing Madellaine with an ice-cold stare. "You will love as I love you. You will provide me with an heir of pure blood, so that our family's name and progeny will rule France for a thousand years."
Madellaine was rendered speechless at Jehan's so-called 'plan.' Is he stupid? Does he really think that I would willingly go with him and sire children with him? She stared, unable to believe what had just come out of her captor's mouth.
Jehan frowned, taking that as his sign to continue as he advanced upon her, cupping her chin in his hand, tilting it slightly to force her to look at him.
"Am I not merciful?" he murmured low, his voice heavy with desire for her, fully knowing what he wanted of her was still incredibly wrong.
"Jehan, you…" Her voice trailed off as Jehan pressed his lips to her cheek for a gentle, chaste kiss. Scream at him. Yell at him, scream, spit in his face, kick him, do something, just be defiant!
But she couldn't force her lips to move to form the words she so desired to scream and rage at him.
Jehan pulled away from her slightly, pulling back to study her pale face. When she did not respond, unable to fight against his urge any longer as he forcefully lunged himself at Madellaine, closing off the gap of space between them.
"TELL ME!" he screamed, his powerful voice echoing all throughout the balcony and into the upper level of the estate as well. Madellaine gazed up at Jehan in utter fear and trepidation, her mind no longer forming coherent thoughts.
Her eyes darted around wildly until her gaze rested on her husband. She froze.
The outrage, the entitlement, the jurisdiction in his voice frightened her more than anything physical he could do to her. She needed to escape from him.
If she didn't, she was going to die. Madellaine tried to apologize to both Phoebus and Quasi for what she was about to do with her eyes, begging both men to forgive her for this next part. She turned back to Jehan, not wanting to give away her rescuers' position.
"Jehan," she said smoothly, transforming her normally shy, quiet, kind voice into something more like a seductive purr that was not like at her at all. She hated it, what she had to do to keep Jehan Frollo distracted, but so this was.
Madellaine noticed Quasi and Phoebus had been rendered frozen to their spots behind a nearby pillar, Phoebus's hand hovering over the hilt of his sword, having managed to reclaim it, his fingers twitching as he seemed to resist the urge to pull it out.
She smiled at Jehan, snaking her arms around his neck, and pulling him down slightly, desperate to keep his attentions focused on her for just a second longer.
"You're right," she whispered in what she hoped was a convincing enough tone. "I don't need my husband, that—that demon in my life. He—he bewitched me," she spat, disgusted. "I didn't know what I was getting into, and now...I can't get out. He cannot satisfy me like you can. All I've ever wanted is you. I—I was foolish to reject your advances for so long. I realize that now. I…" here she hesitated for only a fraction of a second. "I adore you," Madellaine said quickly, biting her lip playfully and hoping that gesture alone was enough to convince him that she was truly genuine.
"Now you're seeing reason," he grunted. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"Take me away from Paris. I can't stand it here," she lied, her eyes still flicking from Phoebus to her husband, pleading for them to hurry up and do something—anything—take him out before she gave them all away.
Her blue eyes widened as Phoebus crept closer towards Jehan, his sword finally drawn from its scabbard. Jehan started to turn around, but thinking fast, she cradled Jehan's face in her hands and yanked him forward to kiss him passionately, cringing, her mind screaming at her to break it off, though the move was a desperation move on her part, anything to give the captain time to make the killing blow and end this. Her hands entangled in his dark hair, her hand pressing against the back of his skull, desperate to keep him from turning around, but it was to no avail.
Jehan reached out his free hand as he broke apart, adjusted his stance just so and backhanded Notre Dame's young soldier so hard he staggered backwards.
"You really didn't think I would make it that easy for you, did you, Phoebus?" he taunted. He turned towards Madellaine, a look of disgust upon his handsome face. "Give me some credit, my darling," he grinned. "I'll deal with you in a moment, Barreau. You have been a thorn in my side ever since the tavern, and this ends, one way or another. Tonight. Right now," he snarled, grabbing her arm, and standing up with her on the ledge of the balcony's railing with careful footing.
"Jehan, no!" Madellaine begged, but he gave her wrist one sharp twist and she quieted. "Please don't do this," she tried again, but he wasn't listening. "Th—there must still be some good within you. This…this is not you, Jehan."
"Are you still angry with this bell ringer after he…what he did to Claude?"
"Why are you doing this?" Madellaine demanded angrily, hating all of this.
"Because," he added, pressing the tip of his blade into his sister's throat. "Your husband has something to say to me and to both of us. Don't you?"
Quasi said nothing, a look of outrage and horror dawning in his eyes.
Jehan sighed. "An apology? Apologize to me for what you did. Apologize to me for murdering my older brother," he commanded. "And you owe your pretty little wife an apology for ruining her life and defiling her."
His voice was slow and dangerously calm and quiet.
Quasi hesitated. "I—I'm sorry," he said quietly, having eyes only for Jehan.
"Look at her, boy. An apology doesn't mean anything if you're not looking the person in the eye," Jehan mocked coldly, a twisted grin upon his features.
Notre Dame's bell ringer cringed, lifting his chin slightly to meet his wife's gaze. What he saw in her eyes broke his heart several times over. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" prodded Jehan, pressing the tip of the blade into the column of her throat even harder. "I want to hear you say it, my son. Tell me what you did."
Quasi's voice cracked as his gaze flitted from his wife to Jehan Frollo. "For…" his voice faltered, and he fought back the lump forming in his throat.
"Yes?" Jehan continued, starting to get slightly impatient. "Get on with it."
"For killing your brother," he finished, never taking his eyes off his wife.
Jehan lowered the tip of his dagger just slightly, fixing his son with a cold stare, before breaking into a surprisingly charming grin. "Wonderful! Over and done with," he grinned. "Doesn't everyone feel better, I know I do! Glad that's settled. Things were getting rather intense," he chuckled. But then his smile faltered. "You know, come to think of it, with Claude dead, you and I are the closest thing to kin we have left, and for killing my brother—your own uncle, Quasimodo—it still needs punishment." Jehan glanced sideways at Madellaine, whose face remained impassive, but the briefest flickers of fear passed through her blue eyes. "A fitting one, I think…Good. This'll do."
The bell ringer's face blanched as he realized what was happening. "No, no, no, take me!" Quasi pleaded, raising his hands in surrender. "Let her go. It's me you want. Take me instead," he begged desperately.
"NO!" Madellaine shouted, seemingly forgetting for a moment that Jehan was holding her at knifepoint. "Take me. Let him go. Spare him."
Jehan merely laughed at her plea. "Oh, how noble you two are! Lucky for both of you, I plan on dealing with you both in a few moments." He turned towards Madellaine, cupping her chin in his hand, tilting it and whispering into the shell of her ear. "Exchange your last words with one another. It's all the time you have left, sweetheart. If I cannot have you, if you will not come with me, then I am afraid, that no one shall have you," he growled. Jehan turned his gaze towards his son, who was rapidly losing his temper, his entire body trembling with the effort to control himself, his strong hands balled into fists.
The boy was losing himself to the darkness in his heart as Jehan could clearly see it in his eyes, he wanted to kill Jehan.
"Let her go right now!" Quasi bellowed. "I'm warning you. I won't say this to you again, Jehan…"
"Or what?" taunted Jehan, shifting the edge of his dagger down towards her side. "You killed my brother," Jehan Frollo growled lowly. His body was shaking as he looked into the bright blue eyes of his son.
He had Claude's eyes. "Like father, like son, I guess," he snapped. Turning towards Madellaine, who was silently crying, tears cascading down her cheeks, he grinned. "Which one is it going to be?" Jehan challenged, his eyes half-crazed with madness. "You can only go after one. Me, or the whore," he snarled, twisting her arm hard enough that she cried out.
His gaze fell upon Phoebus, who made no motion to surrender his weapon. "Drop your sword, Phoebus," he retorted calmly. "I said drop it. Drop it right now on the ground there, or she dies. Sheath your sword or drop it."
Seeing no other choice, Phoebus swallowed nervously and gingerly laid his weapon on the balcony floor, all the while wildly glancing around, searching for another way to get Quasi and his wife to safety. He only saw one way out of this mess, and he didn't like it. Madellaine met his eyes and begged him not to do this. No. Don't do this, Phoebus, please, she seemed to say to him.
I must. There's no other way. Phoebus hoped that one day, she would understand why he did it. Madellaine shook her head slowly at him, fresh tears welling in her eyes.
He silently pleaded with the young woman for her to comprehend his decision. If anyone understand what he had to do, she did. He had to save her. He had sworn an oath to Quasi and Esmeralda and everyone important in their lives to protect her, no matter the cost.
"Jehan, let her go!" Phoebus ordering, standing to his feet, wincing at the pain in his ribcage from the blow Jehan had dealt him. The man was strong, he would give him that. "Don't do this! It's not too late for you. You can stop this, and we will let you live. You can walk away from here, but only if you let the lady go and do not harm her. Don't harm her, and your life is yours. Let her go. Right now," he commanded, fixing Jehan with a glacier cold, icy stare.
Jehan laughed, his laughter cruel and mocking, echoing through the balcony. He shifted Madellaine his arms, shooting Madellaine one last apologetic glance. "Very poor choice of words, Captain Phoebus." His eyes landed on Madellaine. "You, sweet, darling Madellaine Renee Barreau, have been a thorn in my side long enough. I've had enough," he growled harshly through gritted teeth. Jehan Frollo's eyes burned with such anger and hatred that an icy, cold chill ran up the length of her spine, paralyzing her in fear.
She was no soldier. Like her father had been. Like Captain Phoebus was. Then again, Jehan himself was no great warrior anymore either.
Once he had been, according to stories Geoffroi had told her during her time here, but no longer. Jehan was aging, and as a result, even she could tell the man moved slower.
No warrior was he. Not anymore. Perhaps he had enough knowledge and skill to suffice in a mild skirmish, but this was not so. In this, Madellaine knew she was to die now.
"Then," Madellaine began slowly, not looking at Jehan, feeling her eyes grow wide and round with fear as she locked eyes with Quasi, apologizing for this.
She could not lose her courage now, not when it meant she could save him. If the only good that came of this was the chance that her husband was safe, then it would have to be good enough. She could live with such a death. If it was fighting for her friends. If she fought to protect him.
"There is only one thing you do with a thorn that's ailing you. You must remove it, Frollo," she hissed through clenched teeth. That was enough for Jehan.
Jehan Frollo let out a guttural scream and before she could make any kind of sudden movement at the reaction, a scream that did not belong to Jehan or Phoebus or anybody that Madellaine knew rent the air, and Madellaine felt herself being violently shoved away from Jehan and back towards where her husband stood, in a daze.
The serving boy, the one not much older than her or Quasi by a few years. Jamet, Madellaine thought his name was, stood in front of Quasi and Madellaine, an arm held out in front of him as though to prevent either one of them from taking a single step forward. Jamet was the only thing standing in the way of their inevitable demise.
"No," the boy growled, baring his teeth in anger, a look of utter rage upon his still-slightly boyish features. "Sh-she was kind to me, Frollo. Will not let you hurt her." Jamet's voice remained impassive and neutral, and even he was surprised at the coldness in his voice as he managed to answer Frollo.
Jehan's eyes flashed indignantly with anger. "Then, it would seem that you leave me no choice, boy. You have been a thorn in my side for far too long, so I have no other option, but to relieve you from my service!" Jehan let out a guttural growl and lunged forward, and Jamet felt a warmth blossom and bloom deep within his chest.
He let out a groan as the silver dagger met flesh, soft and scarred, and made a satisfying squishing sound as the tip of the blade sank deep enough to make the man scream. Jehan twisted the blade in his hands, all the while sinking it into the betrayer's heart deeper and deeper. The boy's skin was tearing to shreds as the knife rotated, the sound of his muscles and nerves being gouged growing louder amidst all the screaming.
Then, without warning, Frollo jerked it all the way into Jamet's back, until the shiny metal had disappeared inside him and the black jeweled handle was pushing against the boy's broken skin. His cry of agony was a brilliantly deafening sound, guttural chokes blended together with an agonized roar.
Jamet sank to his knees, continuing to scream, convulsing and trembling like a rabid animal.
Jamet let out one last guttural growl and with a gurgling cry of agony as he spat a mouthful of blood off to the side, he threw his entire body weight over the edge of the balcony, ensuring that he took Jehan Frollo with him as they plummeted to their grisly deaths below, where the Angel of Death would greet them like an old friend.
The last of the Frollo family was extinguished the minute Jehan's head hit the stones below, staining the steps of the Frollo estate crimson garish with his blood.
Madellaine bolted towards the edge and peered over. "Is he...?" She let out a content sigh as she felt her husband snake his arms around her waist from behind and rest his chin on her shoulder.
"Yes." His voice cracked and wavered, and as Madellaine shifted in his embrace to better look him in the eyes, caressing either side of his slightly misshapen face in her hands, his blue eyes held such heartbreak she could not bear it. "I...I thought back there, I'd lost you."
Madellaine smiled, sinking into his hold and resting her forehead against his, basking in the warmth he gave off. For so long had she wished for a love like theirs, and now that she had it, she could not bear to lose the thing which made her so complete. "You'll never lose me. I'll always be with you, Quasi," she whispered, leaning in to kiss his warm lips.
He smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "Until the end of the world, my love," and leaned in to kiss his wife again. His kiss was gentle, passionate, and warm. When she broke apart, she once again rested her forehead against his, his little smirk telling her everything she needed to know. That he was hers, and he would never leave her by herself again.
Madellaine smiled, feeling her heart skip a beat as he returned the gesture, both of them utterly relieved to be alive. "Take me home."
Quasi nodded, instinctively reaching for her left hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Let's go home, Madellaine. Together."