A/N This is actually meant to be an Esmeralda smut fic. But I never want to just do smut for smut's sake. I needed to open up a believable premise to why she would have growing feelings for Frollo. I decided to separate it into chapters. So, this first chapter is kind of dry, but opens up reasons for her actions later on.

Enjoy and please R&R. Thanks! :)

Esmeralda spoke out irritably in her tent, as she rolled over on her side in her bed.

"This is ridiculous…"

She couldn't sleep. She hated when she couldn't sleep. She could not relax. Thunder could be heard in the distance. She was hoping that the oncoming storm would relax her but it wasn't helping.

A subject kept popping into her head and it was just as confusing as the feelings she was experiencing, the subject being none other than…

Judge Claude Frollo

She couldn't stop thinking about him. She tried to think of anything else to ease her insomnia. He would not leave her mind. He had invaded her thoughts ever since he discharged her a week ago.

No…She corrects herself with a small shake of her head. Her conscience screaming at her.

Be honest Esmeralda…it was way before that…

She lets out a small sigh and rolls on her back trying to find a comfortable spot but can't. She cannot erase the picture of him in her minds eye and she gives up on sleep altogether. Instead, she ponders the last five years, with a small growing urge currently building within her as time ticks slowly by.

Throughout the course of those years, he had taught her how to read and write. He attempted to teach her other languages and scribes and she was happy to report she wasn't a bad pupil. She was a fast learner and she wanted to believe she shocked him with her overall cooperation and determination.

He later admitted that his plan initially was to have her flogged into submission, if she surrendered to him. That was, until he discovered her eagerness to willingly be educated. She hoped he wouldn't turn down a willing participant.

The previous ultimatum he made at the pyre turned into an agreement between the two later. She was relieved that he was inclined to take a more diplomatic angle. Her terms were that she would be taken under his tutelage to learn basic skills, be released. But, upon that release, be settled without further harassment and this included the whole of her people. He agreed, but his terms were very clear, she would be released, but only if she was prepared to assist her own people, with her new found knowledge and apply it to reversing their social plight.

Of course she fought him on this and she could still hear his baritone voice.

"I can only do so much Esmeralda. It has to be by your action and not by complaint alone! It is up to you on how you want the citizen to view you and the rest of Romani people."

The comment had made her angry at the time, automatically going into a mode of defensiveness.

"Really? You are the most powerful man in Par…" Her retort was cut off abruptly.

"I have a duty to Paris and her people! As instructed to me by the crown! If you CHOOSE to be a part of it, there is work to be had by you alone." He spoke firmly.

He had challenged her, unapologetically putting her in her place during their sessions and it infuriated her. Somehow through it all, it ended up also exciting her. She came to respect his no nonsense philosophies. She had to admit that he did always give her a choice.

She came to realize that she wasn't that different from him and at first it disturbed her. But after long internal reassessments, she came to the conclusion that it didn't have to be a bad thing. They both enjoyed a challenge and they both had strong convictions. It just depended on both coming to an equal ground. This change brought on stimulating debates, learning more than she ever expected to.

She learned who Frollo was behind closed doors, contrary to what he projected to the public. He was a man that held high regard for self- sufficiency. She surprisingly caught onto what he wasn't as well, which was the senselessly violent tyrant that she assumed he always had been. She eventually understood why he did the things he HAD to do to protect his city. He had a responsibility and it would cost him his own life if he failed.

She found herself in awe of his intelligence, his logical thinking, his tactfulness when it came to upholding the law. She was able to overlook his piousness and was in awe of his passion and his unwavering faith. Then she started noticing more...

A clap of thunder and a flash of lightening shook her out of her reverie and she jumps slightly. Rain drops start falling against the outside of her tent and she finally could feel the warmth of sleep taking over her muscles, relaxing her enough to slow the ever turning cogs in her brain. She finally falls into a well awaited sleep.