Sadie mentally smacked herself in the face and led everybody outside.
'He was serious. I did submit myself to him.' It wasn't long before she sensed the judge's presence behind her. She looked over to make sure her friends all had their swords. 'Esmé, Clopin, Quasi, Great!' Sadie then stopped and scratched her head as light raindrops started to fall from the sky.
"I'm sorry. I should have brought the umbrellas." The gypsy king apologized. "They were too big to carry anyway. No big deal." Sadie walked out into the rain. "If it gets worse, we'll find somewhere else." Esmeralda blinked. "She's right. If we're planning to leave here, we have to take advantage of every minute." Esmeralda looked at Clopin. He placed the map book in his bag. "You're right. Okay. Let's go."
Sadie nodded. "I'll catch up with you. I forgot something." They nodded and started to walk.
"What did you forget heathen?" She bit her tongue. "I..just don't want your robes to fill with too much water." Sadie blinked. "Nonsense. They won't." Frollo insisted. She sighed as images of him being slowed down by its weight and being devoured by zombies formed in her mind. "Please? I will carry them." "No." He sternly said and left her behind. Sadie sighed out loud before catching up with them.
"Got everything?" Quasi turned his head. "Yep." "Cool." The hunchback smiled as a zombie came forward. "I'll get this one." "Careful Quasimodo." Esmeralda drew her sword just in case. He sliced its head off and blew on the blade. "Nicely done Quasi!" Sadie ran over and hugged him. "Thanks." He smiled. "It was kind of fun actually."
Frollo watched the two of them interact and groaned. 'Self control my boy.'
"Clopin!" Esmeralda giggled. "What on earth are you doing?" Her eyes followed him as he stuck out his tongue to catch the raindrops. "I'm just getting a drink. That's all." He smiled. The gypsy woman rolled her eyes and pulled him aside her. "Well, yeah. But come along. You're not a dog." "Actually. Who knows when we'll come across fresh water again."
"That's..actually true Quasi. Never mind then." She shrugged. Sadie kept an eye on him to make sure he wouldn't find himself in trouble by looking up at the sky instead of focusing on the road. "Don't get too carried away with that." She warned. "No need to worry mademoiselle." He cleared his throat after swallowing a few more drops and walked beside her. "Refreshing." He laughed. Quasimodo then copied him and laughed as well.
"Oh boy." Esmeralda sighed. "You said it." Sadie yawned. "So what do you think of it just being the four us in Paris? I think it's cool."
"That's five, gypsy." Frollo acknowledged to Esmeralda. Sadie stiffened at his sudden voice. "Can you not do that again?" "Why ever not?" He caught up and walked beside her. "You startled me. I forgot that you were still following us." The judge sighed. "You know exactly why I am." Sadie closed her eyes and slowly sighed. "What I do for humanity." She muttered then held her breath as he stopped her with his hands on her shoulders. "I can think of a great many ways you can be." Sadie bit her tongue to avoid saying anything else. "Need I remind you again, and it will be far more unpleasant." He whispered in her left ear.
"What are you telling her?" Esmeralda turned around with a scowl. "It is none of your concern Esmeralda." He took a small strand of the girl's hair and braided it. "Are we clear?" "Y..Yes sir." Sadie breathed. "Good." He set a hand on her head. "Very good." Frollo let go and left her behind. The gypsy woman warmly held her right hand to comfort her. "You're not alone Sadie." "Do not sabotage my words gypsy." Frollo warned as he turned around and grabbed Sadie's hand instead, tagging her beside him. 'The world is full of pigs like him I swear to god.'
She groaned. "If I let go, will you stop pouting?" "Maybe." The girl scratched the back of her head. "I would like a clear answer." "Yes!" Sadie shouted, annoyed. The judge reluctantly listened. "It would be unwise to.." "Will you just shut up? For the last time, You are only human just like the rest of us! You're not 'holier' and you're not any less. We are all equal."
Clopin widened his eyes and hid behind his fellow gypsy, while Quasi hid behind him.
Frollo quietly looked over to his step son and motioned him forward. Quasimodo slowly extended his arm then took it back. Frollo grabbed the boy's sword with narrowed eyes and pressed the blade on Sadie's cheek. She clenched her teeth. "I have warned you time and time again that.." A zombie began to tug at his robe.
"Let him be." Clopin smirked.
"Filthy vermin! Get off." Sadie rolled her eyes as she leaned on her left hip and shot it, relieved that the sharp pain from the blade was stopped. "And I told you. Real hazard." She gestured to his robes. "I did not need your help!" "Oh really? Than what exactly were going to do?" The judge stood an inch away from her. "Snap your fingers? Making them turn to dust and send them back to hell?"
"That's actually not a bad idea." Esmeralda hushed Clopin as he said that.
Frollo growled and grabbed her wrists so hard that they fell numb. "Ow!" Sadie hiccuped. "I'm terribly sorry my dear. Does this hurt?" "I don't know. Does this?" She elbowed him in the gut with both of her arms. Frollo clenched his teeth, not making a sound. "I will kill you." "I would love to see you try my dear. That is, if you are willing to join me."
Sadie walked away and shot three zombies in a fit of anger. 'How mature to walk away from a conversation.' Frollo scratched his forehead. "Sadie?" The girl was far beyond twenty feet from him. "I suppose we should take shelter then." She looked at the sky. Large grey clouds were quickly moving and rumbles of thunder were heard. "Shoot. I have to hurry. Don't want to get struck by lightning."
Luckily there was a house a few yards away. "Great! See? I can do this whole survival test by myself!" "Sadie?" She ran into the house and quickly shut the door, not caring who was calling her. The girl wandered into a kitchen and tried to turn on a burner on the stove. The upper left? No luck. The upper right? No luck either. "Come on!" She turned the dial on the lower right burner. It lit up. "Yes! Perfect!"
She opened her bag and looked through the cans of food. After taking out a can of pasta, she went to look for a pot in a cabinet below the stove. "Crap. Well I guess I just have to use a bit of patience then." She shrugged and took a smaller pot and filled it with water. "Now we just wait for it to boil." The pot was set on the burner.
Sadie rolled her eyes as the door opened. Quasi, Esmeralda, and Clopin walked it, shaking their heads like dogs. "It got so ugly out there." The hunchback sat at the kitchen table, as did the gypsies. "I know guys. I should have been more precise about the weather." "Oh don't be so hard on yourself. It's not your fault." Clopin smiled. "Thanks." She smiled back.
"I'm making dinner. Pasta. Plenty more where that came from." "Why don't you take a rest? I'll do it." "Oh. Are you sure?" Esmeralda nodded. "Positive. We are a team remember?" Sadie lightly smiled. "You're right. I'll be right back then." She set her bag on the floor and left down the hall, hiding behind a coatrack and waiting for Frollo.
Sure enough, he opened the door completely soaked. The girl covered her mouth to avoid giggling. "The next time you mislead myself about the weather, I'm going to.." "You're going to what?" She emerged from her hiding spot and untied his robe in the back. The judge sighed and brought her into a corner out of everyone's view. His attire was hung on the rack and he knelt down to her level.
"Cut it out!" She tried to get away by pushing him but he blocked her with his arms. "Stop resisting." "You're scaring me!" She whispered and looked away. "I am not." She spit on his face and walked away. "I'm sick of being a victim to you!" He growled and wiped his nose with his shirt sleeve.
The girl huffed as she walked back to the kitchen. "Just in time. Dinner is served." Esmeralda smiled and set four platefuls on the table. "Hope you don't mind Sadie but I used two cans instead one." "Ah it's no big deal." She replied with a sigh, regretting being so immature just minutes ago. "So yeah. There's some left over in the pot if anyone is still hungry." "My compliments to the chef mademoiselle." Clopin wiped his face with a napkin. "Indeed!" Quasi nodded. "Thank you. It's another memory of my grandmother teaching me things." "That's cool. What else did she teach you?"
As Esmeralda began another story with the boys, Sadie took her plate and fork upstairs into a small bedroom with a single queen sized bed. She lay on her stomach with the plate in front of her. 'I'm not hungry.'
"The last thing I want is for you to become anorexic." Frollo stood in the doorway with his arms folded. "I know." Sadie shut her eyes. "I'm sorry I spit on you." "You don't need to apologize Sadie. May I come in?" 'You're asking now?' "Um. Okay." She stood up and backed into a wall. "Sadie. You know far well how fond I am of you." He walked over to her. The girl slowly nodded. "What do you want?" "Right now I want you to take a deep breath." She shook her head. "All this stress that you have is because of me. And I know that. I did tell you, however, that I can not change over night." "But.." "But what?"
"I don't love you." She gulped. "You can love me or hate me. I do not care which." Sadie tensed up as he touched her cheek. The skinned area was almost close to being healed. "Now I want you to finish your plate." "But what about you? I don't want you to starve either." "Don't worry about me Sadie. I will be fine." Frollo walked towards the door. "What if I share?" He stopped and turned around. "I do have some kindness in my cold heart, Claude." Sadie half smiled and left downstairs to get another fork.
Sadie quietly walked into the kitchen and opened a drawer. "What's up Sadie?" The gypsy king turned his head and put his plate in the sink. "I dropped my fork on a carpet. You'd think people would know how to keep a tidy house."
The girl returned upstairs and found the judge sitting at the end of the bed. "And you have returned." He smirked. "Indeed I have." Sadie sat at the top of the bed and divided the amount of spaghetti between them. "Don't get any ideas." Sadie twirled her fork. "Yes. I am clearly absent minded." Frollo looked at her as she quietly ate. The rumbling of thunder caused her to smile.
"Rotten luck." "Pardon?" "I said rotten luck. That I don't have the knowledge of a meteorologist." "It's only rain. Then again I acted as if the sky was falling." "Acid rain." The girl blinked. Frollo tilted his head. "How do you know about acid rain?" "I belong in hell remember?" He sighed. "Please stop saying that." "Okay." She shrugged and ate the last few strands of spaghetti. "I'll see if there's a dryer or something around here." She picked up the empty plate and walked out. "Don't wear yourself out." He whispered.
"The meal was great. Thank you Esmeralda." "Oh I'm so glad you liked it." She smiled and started to rinse the dishes. Sadie turned off the water. "I wouldn't worry about it. My poor prediction skills say that it's going to rain all day tomorrow too."
"Alright then." She hummed. "No problem. It seems that the boys can agree on that." The gypsy walked with her down the hall and motioned to Clopin and Quasi sound asleep on two couches in a large room. Three crammed bookcases stood against the wall. 'Well at least there's a door to it.' "Aw. How sweet. We should get to bed too." "True." Esmeralda quietly closed the door behind her and followed Sadie upstairs. "Who keeps that many books anyway?" Esmeralda shrugged. "I have no idea to be honest." She walked into a room and noticed a single king sized bed. "Your lucky day." Sadie smiled and saluted with two fingers. "Night." "Night Sadie." The door closed.
She slowly walked into the other bedroom with the judge awaiting her. "I don't want any trouble. Just a simple night." "Don't give me that!" She took off her hoodie and hung it over the door to dry. "I guess it is rather cold." The girl shivered. Frollo rose his eyebrows and pulled back the sheets. "Will you have enough room?" "Certainly. After you." Sadie huffed and rested her head on the pillow. He lay next to her with a sigh.
"Keep your shirt on." She narrowed her eyes. "Ah. Thank you for reminding me." Frollo sat up. "Don't!" "You did say that you wanted to keep warm correct?" "Well. Yeah. But I meant.." He took it off anyway and lay back down. "I can't believe you." She moved herself closer to him. "Nor can I believe you." Frollo shut his eyes with an arm around her waist. "Good night."
Sadie sighed with a hum, causing him to smile. "Are you warm enough my dear?" "Uh huh." Her body shifted a little and turned to face him. "Speak nothing of this." She closed her eyes. Frollo softly kissed her forehead. "Cross my heart and hope to die."