Frollo was almost insane from the whirl of feelings inside of him. There were too many feelings, too many conflicts. He could barely conduct mass, he was so distracted. Truth be told he wasn't sure how to proceed; the gipsy was now in the dungeon, and had just admitted she loved Phoebus and may or may not have had a hand in his stabbing. Watching her confess her love was painful. Her almost-confession to something she hadn't even done, and the methods they used to extract her confession (especially considering he was actually the attempted-murderer) were heart-breaking. How could he?

Frollo didn't want to hurt people. He had never thought of himself as capable of that sort of thing. Lately it seemed as though a dormant part of himself had been awoken; some concealed, completely different man to the docile intellectual he had been for so many years had taken up residence in his mind, and he had no idea how to cope with it, or control it. Frankly, he was scaring himself. Yet he couldn't guide his own hand. It was embarrassing, and reducing him to a pile of nerves.

In any case he had decided tonight was the night he was going to confront Esmerelda about what he wanted more than anything. His lust was such that he got riled up just thinking about her and what he wanted to do. It was pitiful, really, and every time a hormonal wave engulfed him the ensuing shame was immense. Which was often, or so it felt.

Night fell, and after finishing up with his daily duties he made his way down to the dungeon where the condemned girl lay curled up in a cold, dark cell. Guilt hit him when he saw how pale she was compared to usual. All the life of the once musical, vibrant girl had been absorbed by the grey stone walls. Building resolve, Frollo stepped into the cell.

"I'm the priest here to prepare you for your hanging."

"I'm cold, and hungry. I haven't harmed anyone. Please, just let me go."

"You've been sentenced to death. By morning, you'll be up on the gallows…"

Originally he had hoped to quell his urges by ridding himself of her, but when he voiced her imminent death aloud he suddenly thought that perhaps his desire would outlive her if she died, and he instantly regretted setting everything up the way he had. Was this problem robbing him of his reason as well as his self control? Oh dear. Well, all he could do was roll with the punches now.

"Come morning, I'll be fine. Phoebus will come for me." The spitting tone in Esmerelda's voice snapped something in Frollo. He cursed his own weakness, but couldn't fight the mix of negative emotions stirring within him.

"We'll see who comes for who when you're strung up." Frollo said bitterly.

"What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much?!" Esmerelda shrieked desperately, trying to understand why this man held so much spite for her.

The floodgates had been opened. All of Frollo's pent up thoughts came spilling out.

"One morning, you were dancing in the square with the sun hitting you just so. It was like nothing I'd ever seen. I remember it so vividly – a shiver went up my spine, my whole body was overwhelmed. Every day since then I've seen the devil in the mirror instead of my own face. All I want is some happiness, some bliss… I've come with an offer for you. My bed or the gallows. I can get you out of here, all you have to do is say yes. Accept and I guarantee you'll be returned to your gipsy friends just after. I know you're waiting for Phoebus, but he's engaged to someone very wealthy and he couldn't appreciate you for what you are, he's too used to having whomever he wants. Please, please…"

Esmerelda stood, shocked and upset.

"Phoebus… is… engaged? To who? He never told me this! You must be lying!"

"No, no, I'm not lying. In fact his fiancée Fleurs-de-Lys visited me a week ago to discuss the wedding preparations. They're taking things slow to be sure, but it will happen. And come now, Esmerelda... How long did you know him? Be rational. He hadn't time to tell you everything, and it definitely wasn't in his best interest to do so."

It was all Esmerelda could do not to cry. The love of her life, engaged? He had chosen someone else? He wasn't going to come for her. It dawned on her that she may never have even had a chance.

"Please. Say you will. We can both profit from this. You were willing for him, without even ever having gotten to know him – what makes me so different? Looks? I don't understand. Can't you see how much I want this, how much I need this? What do you have to lose? You'll die tomorrow! And I've realized I don't want that to happen. Please."

Frollo was close, so close, to shedding a tear or two. Frustration had started to accumulate inside him, and Esmerelda hadn't answered, hadn't even rejected him outright. Poor girl was probably in shock. It just wasn't fair. Some people had all the luck in this world, and Phoebus was definitely one of them. Man had probably slept with any girl that caught his eye, and he had little to offer, as far as Frollo was concerned.

Meanwhile Esmerelda was still processing the news that had hit her ears. Honestly, aside from trying to manipulate her into agreeing, he had little reason to lie to her about Phoebus's engagement, and of all people he would know about who was going to tie the knot. It was so upsetting… Suddenly defeat and depression washed over her, and she couldn't force herself to care anymore. If Phoebus had chosen someone else, the battle was lost.

"Okay. I accept."

Frollo was buried so deeply in his own nervous thoughts that he almost didn't register the meaning of her words. His head snapped in her direction when she spoke.

"You – wait, what? You accept?"

Esmerelda simply nodded and stood up, looking at Frollo directly. Her eyes had lost the fire that she had while talking to him even if she was in the poorest of health.

"Lead the way."

"Just to be clear, once you lie with me, you are free to go, but not until then."

Esmerelda nodded, then looked to him expectantly.

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. What an amazing and unpredictable turn of events. Frollo was practically glued to the spot, but he forced his feet to move over the rough stone floor. Esmerelda followed closely behind, walking apathetically behind him.

It didn't feel right. Honestly, nothing about any of this felt right, but this part in particular… Something about it had Frollo in a state that he was uncomfortable with, even though he had already defied his own values more than once during this crazy course of events.

They reached his rooms at last, and Frollo set to lighting candles so they could see. Secretly he was biding time, not quite believing what was about to happen.

How to proceed? He had no experience in these matters and despite her lowly upbringing he suspected she didn't either. On top of that, he wasn't entirely sure he was quite as 'in the mood' as he was earlier. Something about having her in front of him drove him crazy but also heightened his own internal barriers towards acting upon it.

His chambers were simply but luxuriously decorated. In terms of furniture, he had a bed, side tables, chest, drawers, as well as a desk and chair and numerous bookshelves. The blankets were heavy, the sheets were clean. All of the furniture was elegant but also useful. Books were strewn everywhere and candle wax was dripping down all of the candle fixtures from long nighttime readings. He had often stayed up into the early hours, engrossed in some book or other.

Does Esmerelda read? Probably not, she was raised in the street. Does it matter? Maybe it does. It feels like it does, for some reason.

"So? Shall we begin?" Esmerelda asked clinically.

"Oh. Yes, I suppose."

Beginning was more awkward and difficult than he would've thought. Frollo drew near to her, and put his hands on her hips, slowly preparing to kiss her. He decided to start by hugging her and smelling her neck. The thought of kissing overwhelmed him and he couldn't bring himself to do that just yet, despite yearning for it for so long. Esmerelda shut her eyes and shuddered slightly at the alien touch, but allowed herself to be handled.

Oh, good Lord. How can I be doing this? The poor thing is practically a child compared to me. I never thought I'd need this, ever. Why me, why now? God above, have You forsaken me? Is this a test? I have devoted my life to You, what more do You want from me? This torture is too much.

Suddenly panic engulfed him as he realized the gravity of the situation. He couldn't go through with this, not yet. Maybe not ever. Was the fact this was happening to him more upsetting, or the fact he couldn't even act on it given the chance? Time to clear his head.

"I-I—You—Stay here. Don't forget you're only free to go once the deal has been fulfilled."

And with that, Frollo left the room and shut the door, leaving a confused and wary Esmerelda alone with her thoughts.