Chapter 1 – Dreams

My eyes fluttered open from sleep. Darkness. My eyes searched blindly for a moment but the light betrayed me as the darkness pressed in from everywhere. I tried to move but something held me back. My arms stiffened as I realized cold metal was embracing my wrists, and my back was cleaved to a cold stone wall. My restful state turned quickly to one of panic, adrenaline flooded my veins and I struggled in vain against the bonds.

What the hell?

My mind raced. Where was I? What the hell happened? The most important question burned, what was going to happen? As I pondered, my ears perked up to the sound of rattling metal keys. A door burst open and the light flooded in. My eyes squinted in the bright burning light and my head throbbed in pain. I could hear footsteps, heavy, clanking. Armored footsteps? They came close, I was still blinded by the bright light. More jingling of keys, my bonds creaked open then suddenly relief. My arms slumped to my sides heavily as they were released. I froze in fear, not wanting to stir the wrath of whomever my captor was. I felt a gloved hand suddenly grab my upper arm tightly

"Come on Gypsy." A gruff male voice came.

Gypsy?

My eyes finally began to adjust to the burning light and things started to become clearer. I looked over at the man holding my arm weakly. Armor, and a uniform, my mind recognized it as medieval era immediately. It was very worn, old, with holes and rough fabric that was covering a jingling bit of chainmail. The man stopped and grabbed my other hand, then the feeling of itchy stiff rope abrasively twisting against my wrists as he bound me. I looked down drunkenly as he tied me. I was perplexed as I looked down at my arms. My arms… were caramel colored. My hair falling down over my shoulder…ebony. My eyes darted back and forth between the two. This was not my skin! Not my hair! My mind raced faster.

It's just the dim light. I reasoned to myself.

I was led outside to a corridor, a man stood at the end of the hall looking at me solemnly. He was an elderly man, looking to be a priest, clothed in white with a large cross on his smock. I was brought before him and he began to speak a prayer in Latin as he held a bible.

I squinted drunkenly at the man. He looked so familiar somehow, as if I had seen him before in a film. I listened idly at the prayer too distracted to discern the meaning and then froze when I heard the term 'mortem' –death. Were they going to kill me? How in the hell did I get to medieval times?

I looked at the priest pleadingly, as he closed his bible. The man himself looked as if he were going to cry as he looked up at me from the book. His face was ashen and his thick white eyebrows tilted in sorrow.

"I am sorry Esmeralda." He whispered to me.

Whoa now! Esmeralda? Wait wait wait!

Now it made sense, a little sense anyways. The olive skin, dark hair, medieval guard, the priest, I recognized him now, he was the familiar archdeacon! I was now living the life of Esmeralda…somehow. I was in the story? The animated film? I looked over at the stone wall of the hall. It seemed real, yet…painted also? Was it a dream? So surreal!

The guard stopped at the large door leading to the outside and fussed with unlocking it, next to me there was a large barrel of water. I leaned carefully over to it and looked at my reflection in the water. Nothing but the pure beauty that was Esmeralda stared back at me, those striking green eyes and wonderful smooth complexion. I gasped in awe. My fear started to be outweighed by excitement.

I was interrupted by the guard roughly grabbing and yanking me away from the barrel and into the outside world.

My eyes were instantly filled with the beautiful images that were the city from the film, so many colors, beautiful architecture, yet cut with the primitive dirtiness that was the Middle Ages. I was led down sprawling stone stairs, where was I? The Palace of justice? A horse drawn cart waited at the bottom and I was quickly loaded into it.

As I rode in the cart my mind researched quickly everything it could remember about the film. From my white tunic and imprisonment this was… guuuuhhh! I groaned inwardly.

I was going to be burned at the stake! What a time to get thrown into things! Of course I knew that wasn't going to happen in the end.

As I rode in the cart I saw the familiar platform appear, loaded with dry sticks, and a single large wooden pole in the middle. That was for me. The street was crowded, the square more so, and the people were so thick it took forever for the cart to get through, all the while people in the crowd shouted my name and tried in vain to stop the cart I was in.

"Esmeralda! Esmeralda!" They shouted. It was clear they were upset, they didn't want me to die. They unloaded me quickly and I was led up to the platform this time by two guard. As I came up the steps it was then I spotted him. The main antagonist of the film. Looming up in his black robes like a storm cloud. I froze, partly in fear, and partly in awe. My heart jumped up into my throat and my knees turned to jelly. It was Judge Claude Frollo.

As it turns out I strangely enough found the character to be… quite…attractive. All of the evilness aside the man was smart, sophisticated, and had a stately and noble face with an aquiline nose, well-groomed silvery hair and hazy rainstorm-like grey eyes. He moved with grace, every gesture so refined. Good God, the man was even more beautiful in real life!

I panted softly, hoping it would pass for a woman panicked about her coming death and not being struck by lust.

Frollo's imposing figure loomed over me looking down on me with disdain.

"Put her on the pyre." He drawled coldly.

Ohoho! That voice, deep and gravelly just like I remembered!

I was brought to the pyre and bound tightly, then the guards lumbered off the platform, leaving only me and the Judge.

His figure approached me once more, I marveled at him, not a stitch out of place on his judges uniform, his head crowned with the familiar purple and black chaperon. This time he held a torch in his hand, he glared at me solemnly, the torch light highlighting the wrinkles on his face as he did so.

"The time has come gypsy, you stand upon the brink of the abyss." He warned, his eyes wide. "Yet even now it is not too late." He said coming closer. "I can save you from the flames of this world, and the next." He smiled. "Choose me, or the fire." He said pushing the torch closer to my face, the heat pushing his point across even further.

I was in a stupor as I listened to his words as one would listen to a song. Good God that voice was so velvety! His face was so close to mine, I could see every fine line and wrinkle. I bit my lip nervously. Like a girl who had come face to face with her crush. This was the moment I was supposed to spit in his face.

Ohnonononono! I wasn't going to do that! This was a chance to change the entire course of the story.

He leaned in closer to me, eagerly waiting for me to speak. Yet I stumbled as I tried to speak. My heart was pounding up into my ears. A few words jumped into my mind, from my Latin class, back in the real world.

"A-amica mea. Redime m-me." I said the best I could in my wavering voice, hoping I had pronounced and said the words in the right order. The words meaning 'Redeem me, my love.'

Frollo raised his eyebrows and his eyes went so wide I thought they might pop out of his head. His mouth hung open in a small gasp and the torch dropped right out of his grip.

The torch dropped right onto the pyre.

Crap!

Frollo blinked and immediately grabbed the torch from the fire. But the dry pyre had already eagerly taken the flame it was offered. Frollo turned to his guards quickly.

"Put it out! Now!" he barked. Frollo then dove quickly on top of me grabbing at the ropes tying my hands. In that moment I felt him and the dark fabric of his robes press against me. They were soft, velvety, and luxurious. I sighed inwardly despite the immediate danger I was in. Frollo procured a dagger and cut my bonds and pulled me off of the crackling pyre quickly as the smoke started to waft up. I stood in front of him for a moment as he looked down on me in disbelief. I just got saved… by Frollo.

"What did you say, Gypsy?" He whispered to me incredulously, his eyes boldly staring at me.

I blinked, love-struck, my voice in tatters, my face burned from how badly I blushed as I looked at him.

"Amica mea, redime me." I said again, bracing for his reaction.

Frollo's lips parted slightly and a red hue washed across his pale face, "H-How?" he stuttered, confused, obviously baffled as to how a gypsy knew Latin words.

There was a drone of muttering in the crowd, as they curiously wondered why I had been pulled from the pyre.

Frollo grabbed me by the shoulders and looked at me, studying me.

"Hmm." He said putting a ringed hand to his mouth.

He then touched the side of my face softly and with all sincerity in his voice whispered. "Of course…Amica mea."

Inwardly I screamed like a school girl.

Then grabbing my wrist tightly as if to keep me from running, Frollo turned to the onlookers.

"The Gypsy Esmeralda, has recanted!" he announced loudly.

Recanted? I didn't recant, I just told him what he wanted to hear. And I know he wanted to hear that!

I expected the other gypsies there to give a shout of disapproval, yet how upset could they be if in their minds I was only trying to save my own life? There were simply shouts, cheers? I figured the crowd was somewhat pleased I would not be killed this day.

Before I knew it I was being whisked away back to the palace of justice along with Frollo. As the rickety cart rode by I could see the prison carts full of gypsies across the square, and Phoebus. My stomach churned, I hoped they would be alright.

Not long after I found myself on the upper levels of the palace of justice this time, which contrasted sharply to the lower levels I had been on. I had guessed correctly that the upper levels was where Frollo lived. I was led down several corridors until finally I was pushed into a room with a fireplace. Frollo entered coolly behind me and continued to eagerly close and lock the door with a shambley looking skeleton key. I watched him curiously, his hands shook as he fumbled with the lock.

Locked in a room with Frollo? Yes yes yes! My mind screamed.

Frollo sighed loudly and put his back to the dark paneled door as he held the key in his hands. Finally he looked up at me. His eyes were hazy with lust, he smiled at me, and I shuddered. Carefully he took his hat from his head, delicately placing the silken chaperon on a nearby table revealing his well-kept silvery hair underneath.

"You." He drawled with a distant fiery excitement in his voice. "I nearly burned all of Paris to the ground searching for you, Amica mea, yet the burning question on my mind right now is how a gypsy came to know Latin…" he said looking at me with skepticism and curiosity.

I could tell the man was taken with me, he was practically quivering with excitement, I wondered how much he could see that I shared in that feeling because at that moment I wanted to pounce on the poor Frenchman.

I stumbled as I tried to speak, partly because of nerves and the other because I had no idea what to tell him as an answer.

"Well…I don't spend all my time dancing for coin." I said back to him, trying to dance around the subject.

Frollo raised his eyebrow and gave me a skeptical glance.

"I would not think a gypsy to be interested in such things." He said suspiciously. Frollo turned and walked to a stack of books on a desk and rummaged through them before picking up a text and bringing it to me.

"Here, if you are so versed in Latin, then you must know how to read also I presume." He said smugly handing the open book to me.

Heh… I thought.

I grasped the tome coolly and squinted at the letters. Thankfully the text was in English, though in the back of my mind I wondered why it wasn't French. It looked to be some sort of medieval prayer book.

"Now, read." He commanded, pointing to a verse with a bony finger.

I looked down at the pages, there was a lot of really intricate drawings all over the page, different colors, bright and beautiful intermingled with the words I marveled at it. I recognized the verses as Psalms.

"When David by his sins had provoked God's wrath, and now felt not only his hand against him, but also conceived the horrors of death everlasting, he desireth forgiveness."

I looked up to see a horrified Frollo pursing his wrinkled lips as he glared downwards at me.

"A gypsy…" he remarked as he snatched the tome out of my hands. "How does a gypsy know such things!?" he muttered to himself.

I smiled smugly, holding back a laugh from the confusion I caused him.

He stood looking back at me, unamused. He steepled his thin hands in thought delicately.

Ah he's doing that thing with his hands! I thought as I giggled stupidly inside.

"You are... an enigma…an enchanting one." Frollo said as a smile spread across his face.