Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunchback of Notre Dame or anything to do with it. However, I do own Diamanta Devereux, her father, Oliver, Cecile Devereux, Madame Doreen,and Judge Thomas Gautier.

Note: No, the story isn't finished. I, too, am a Clopin fan and refuse to finish the story with such a terrible ending as I have in this piece of it. I don't know how many chapters there will be, but there'll be enough for the story to make all Clopin fans fulfilled.

Chapter #4

"It's ok if you don't want me here," Diamanta said shyly. "Not many people do." Esmeralda pulled a nightgown from her own childhood out of a small drawer.

"Why would you think that?" Esmeralda asked as she handed her the nightgown. Diamanta pulled off her clothes and put on the nightgown.

"As soon as people know my name they hate me. The only one on my side is Monsieur Trouillefou." Esmeralda looked slightly taken aback.

"What about me? Aren't I letting you sleep with me tonight?"

"When you saw me you weren't bothered, but when you knew who I was you looked at Monsieur Trouillefou like he was crazy for letting me come in here." A long silence broke out between them. "What did Mama do to make all of you hate me?" Diamanta asked quietly.

"Diamanta, I wish I could tell you, but you are so young and innocent. You are still a child and by your bruises I can see you are in dire need for a proper childhood," Esmeralda said as she folded Diamanta's clothes into a neat pile. "In the Court of Miracles, we can give you that childhood."

"How are you going to do that if I'm not here?" Diamanta asked. Esmeralda gave her a puzzled look.

"Diamanta, this is your home now. You don't have to run anymore."

"I never did well inside a home," Diamanta said, gesturing to her injuries. "By daybreak I should be gone. I'll go from one place to the next, never having a home. I'll be just like a—"

"Gypsy," Esmeralda finished.

"Madame Trouillefou, you must understand I need to find where I belong," Diamanta explained.

"Diamanta, you belong here. You are…wait…what did you call me?" Esmeralda said in surprise.

"You are not Monsieur Trouillefou's wife?" Esmeralda laughed.

"Of course not! What gave you that idea?"

"The way you two bickered reminded me of my parents. Monsieur Trouillefou claimed you weren't his wife, but I didn't believe him."

"Why wouldn't you believe him? He is a very trusting person."

"No man is trusting, madam. Papa told women he didn't have a wife, but when Mama found out he—" Diamanta fell silent. "Good night, madam." She wrapped herself up with one of the colorful sheets and flung herself onto the soft mattress.

"Diamanta, what did your papa do?" Esmeralda asked quietly as she nudged the blue blanket that held the little girl. A soft sniff came from the sheet, which soon became wet with tears.

Esmeralda leaned forward and embraced the trembling bundle.

"Diamanta, let's play a game." Diamanta stopped crying and listened. "You can ask me any question you want, but then you have to answer my question. We'll go back and forth, asking and answering questions until we are both satisfied. Is that alright with you?" Diamanta poked her red, tearful face out of the sheet and nodded.

"I've decided what my first question is." Diamanta began, trying not to let her voice break into an uneven tone as it usually did when she cried. "Why does everyone hate Mama?" Esmeralda sat in silence as she thought out how she was going to explain this to such a small child.

"You see, Diamanta, most of the people in this world are good. Sometimes there are a few bad people. At first your mama was a very good person just like all gypsies. She tried what she could to make a few silver coins here and there. Unlike some people, she would never steal or hurt anyone to get this money. No, she always did an honest day's work. One day she met a man who hated gypsies with all his might. When she met him, she wore nice clothes, so he didn't recognize her. In one day she fell deeply in love with him. Suddenly she wanted to do bad things to make sure he wouldn't know she was a gypsy. She took things without asking and never gave them back. After a while, they decided to get married. Clopin told her this was a bad idea and if she married him, she would never be a gypsy ever again. This got your mama very, very angry. She told Clopin she would tell her fiancé where we were staying, and she did. At the time we lived in a very different place. When the now married Cecile Devereux convinced her husband to go into the old Court of Miracles, he found nothing but a gypsy's lost scarf. We had already moved here. Your papa wondered how your mama knew about the Court of Miracles, and she eventually had to tell him. One day she found Clopin entertaining small children with his puppets. After the children went home with their parents, she begged him to take her back to the Court of Miracles. She told him your papa was very angry, but he said no. After all, she told her husband about the Court of Miracles, which was a big secret that nobody knew about except the gypsies. After that all we heard about her is she had a daughter named Diamanta. All gypsies don't like your mama at all," Esmeralda said, pleased that she could reduce such a complex concept into a child's story. "Now I get to ask you a question." Diamanta sat up, the cover now completely off her.

"Ok, ask me."

"What did your papa do after your mama found out he told other people he wasn't married?" Diamanta wiped a small tear from her eye.

"I remember waking up to Mama and Papa yelling about something. I was used to this, but this time it was different. I don't know how, but for some reason Mama sounded different. Her voice was different. I went downstairs to see what was going on and they saw me." Diamanta wiped several tears from her eyes. Esmeralda put an arm around her. "Papa turned to me and walked toward me. He looked different. His face was angrier than it had ever been before. He raised his hand and suddenly Mama screamed 'Don't hurt my baby!'. He turned to look at her and gave her a look I never saw her give anyone before. Mama told me to go upstairs, but Papa told me to stay where I was so I could see what would happen if I ever became like Mama. Then he hit her with the back of his hand. And then he…he…" Diamanta burst into tears.

"Your mama is alright, right?" Esmeralda said in a slightly panicked voice.

"The next day was her funeral!" Diamanta wailed. Esmeralda clutched the sobbing child to her chest and rocked her back and forth. "He wouldn't stop! I tried to help him, but…" more tears stained Esmeralda's nightdress. Soon the whole story of how she came upon the Court of Miracles poured out of her accompanied by more weeping. Eventually, Diamanta cried herself to sleep.