A storm was finally upon Paris, after a long drought, the rain decided to come in late June and made the crop spring up later than usual. Which meant that fruits and vegetables were a major shortage and that meant higher prices.

But for Esmeralda, those days of worrying about things like that were long gone. She hadn't actually had to worry about obtaining food, or having to escape the floods of Paris' alleyways for almost a year. Frollo had actually pardoned her people and all it took was her agreement to stay in his home. When she finally agreed, she loathed the idea of the time spent there. She was picturing a life of having to carry out his horrible requests and serve him hand and foot, but the truth was he usually left her to her own devices. Also, she soon discovered that she really didn't need to provide anything to him, as the Palace of Justice was fully staffed at all hours. Although, she never expected any of the help to attend to her, even after Frollo assured her that they were well compensated for the work they did. She just wasn't comfortable with it. So, if she needed anything, she went to search for it herself and that included food.

Even though she thought she knew the reason for Frollo keeping her there, she learned that she wasn't even near the truth at all. Even though he was busy most of the time, he did find time to visit with her.

He would slip in, with either books or a small meal and they would just talk. Talk…debate…argue. But, each of them eventually learned to keep their emotions in check, to respect the other and that was the most shocking to her. It actually intrigued her on how passive he was in their private sessions. Of course, she never had the gumption to ask why he seemed to be one person in public and a completely different one in private. Maybe out of fear that he would see it as suspicious, or that she didn't want him questioning her motives and so she left it alone.

She had to admit, that she liked the secret visits and actually wished they were more frequent.

Lightning and thunder snapped her back to reality and out of her thoughts. She had been peering through her bedroom window that was located at the face of the massive building. She had a clear view of the dark, abandoned streets of the city and a clear view of the stony entrance to the palace.

Once her memories faded, she heard horse hooves clopping towards the high stairs and the sound of cart wheels squeaking. She craned her neck to look down and saw the top of Frollo's head as he gracefully moved to the oncoming horse and cart. His silk red sash whipping carelessly in the wind which always left her transfixed. The cart was covered by thick canvas and wrapped with tight rope.

Once the cart was at a halt, she could see two burly looking men descending the stairs. They met Frollo on either side of him waiting for the man at the reins to slide from the front rest. It was a man she recognized too.

"The fruits and vegetable merchant?" Esmeralda spoke questioningly to herself against the glass of her window.

Esmeralda shook her head in confusion. She wondered what he could possibly offer at this time that was of any use. No good crops were even available to reap at this time. The first rain Paris had been waiting for hadn't even made a drop yet. It would take at least 3 months for just the basic necessary foods to have enough rainfall to harvest.

Her calculating was interrupted by two other men exiting the back, standing on the edge of the flatbed and loosening the ropes to reveal many wooden crates. The boxes that were closest to her range of vision were sizes from medium to small and they were stacked neatly on top of one another. Next to those were larger boxes. The larger ones seemed to have spaces in between each pieces of wood, giving Esmeralda the idea that whatever was in those crates needed fresh air.

She squinted her eyes to try to make out what was possibly in the large crates, but she was too high to make out any detail.

She moved her attention to the two men at the back, they had just finished rolling the canvas to the head of the cart. She only recognized one other man. The one on the left, closest to her, was the spirits vender.

Frollo gestured for the two men beside him to head towards the men at the rear. The two muscular men obeyed, each moving on each side and attending each man with the crates.

The vegetable merchant swiftly turned towards Frollo to greet him. Judging by their body language, both men spoke in a business-like manner, but Esmeralda couldn't make out the subject. Eventually the merchant turned to move out of the way of one of the men carrying one of the heavy crates. He gently set the case down at Frollo's feet. The merchant grabbed a crow bar from an undisclosed location at the foot rest and opened the top with professional tact.

Esmeralda finally could make out the contents.

"Strawberries?" She whispers.

She could see Frollo studying the fruit with a trained eye. The merchant stands awaiting the Minister's decision. She could make out a curt nod of approval and the merchant smiles proud. Frollo instructs for his assistant to retrieve the rest of the berries.

While those were being brought into the palace, the other two men accompanied the other man carrying two crates on top of one another. Finally reaching Frollo, they were lowered to his feet; side by side, opened and revealed fancy green bottles.

"Wine maybe?" She questions in a low tone of perplexity.

The other box held smaller jars of an amber substance, but she could only guess as to what it could be.

Both were favored by Frollo, the rest of the contents of the cart was emptied and delivered to the entrance by Frollo's robust men.

Esmeralda continued to watch with careless interest, when Frollo suddenly turned slowly to walk back and lifts his head to glance in her direction. She gasps and quickly ducks to avoid being spotted. She wasn't sure if Frollo knew she had been snooping all this time. The man always seemed to have eyes at the back of his head. She wasn't even sure if she was even visible that high up, but it was always hard to tell with him and she didn't want to take any chances.

She sat there hidden for a while, she could hear wet taps of rain begin to hit her window and the onslaught grew with momentum. She finally got enough nerve to peek out of the corner and look. Through the sheet of rain, she saw nothing. Everyone had parted just in time. All she heard was retrieving trotting hooves.