Sei cosi sicura del mio amore
Da portalro via con te
Chiuso nelle mani
Che ti por ti al viso
Frollo glanced over to her side of the bed that remained empty. He never washed the sheets since she left either. He knew how disgusting it was perceived but he couldn't bring himself to for they smelled too much like her and was the only thing that prevailed of her. That was the only thing he had left. She had taken everything else with her, including his love.
He remained in the Palace of Justice just working for he had nothing left. He no longer tortured people to punish or get information. No, he abandoned that long ago, ever since she agreed to truly be his. He had stopped suddenly out of fear that she would hesitate and then go back on her word. He left the gypsies alone as he ensured and she kept her part of the deal, although it always seemed in the beginning she was having second thoughts.
Claude never thought that she would have the courage to go back on her word but one time, she had done just that. She had ran out in abhorrence, consternation or outrage. He didn't know which one, still to that day. Even when he finally found her and basically carried her back to the Palace of Justice, she still stood her ground. She was still Esmeralda, the gypsy girl who never backed down, even through everything she had endured. That was one of the many reasons he fell so deeply in love with her, for her defiance and intrepidity that never ceased or weakened. But that was also the reason why she wasn't laying next to him that very minute. Both of them knew that if Claude was caught taking care of gypsies, nonetheless, married to one, it would be an act of treason against the king. Not only would Esmeralda be killed, but Claude would follow shortly after.
It made no difference on how much he had insisted she stayed, that Quasimodo could harbor her, she refused. She said that it would be safer for the both of them, that there was always a gamble if she remained. He had reluctantly agreed and how he despised himself for doing so.
It had been so sudden as well. Days before he received the letter from the king, everything had been fine. In the letter, it had been decreed that all gypsies found in Paris were to be killed on the spot. When the news had spread, the streets became invaded with the travelers as they all rushed to leave and all of a sudden, just as quickly as it began, it was quiet. Only one other gypsy besides Esmeralda had lingered behind: Clopin Trouillefou, the Gypsy King loited, waiting for her as she tried to talk Claude into letting her go.
He remembered exactly what he had said to her before she left. "You carry my love, life and heart with you when you leave. Die and they go with you. Die and I will follow. For I cannot and will not live without out". He hadn't been exaggerating either. She was absolutely everything to him and if she were to leave, he would follow not long after. She held his life within the palm of her hand, clutching onto it, never once loosening her hold.
"Any word from her?" he asked a maid each and every morning before he went to breakfast and every single time, he would get the same answer in return.
"No, Minister Frollo," the maid would say and then scamper off as though she had just saw a ghost, as though terrified that her answer would anger him and he would bring his wraith down upon her. Although he no longer killed and rarely tortured (only doing so to the exceptionally horrendous people such as murderers and rapists), he still held his temper and icy exterior. He was known to snap at the most unexpected of times. By how unpredictable the man was, that was why one was to know better than to stick around, especially if the day wasn't one of the good ones. Esmeralda was an exception to his usual personality. However, during certain times, the danger lurked closely and was revealed, giving the reason why the Gypsy Queen had ran off. That was when Frollo vowed to control his temper even if it seemed that it would get the best of him towards the end. Despite his attempts, everyone was more than wary, waiting for a potential snap in their minister despite the fact they barely existed anymore.
Claude scoffed softly when he replayed the scene again in his mind. He had gotten annoyed by how many times she stuck up for gypsy children or just her people in general. It was stupid on his part. What did he expect the Gypsy Queen to do? Watch her people get discriminated against and do nothing? When she ran off, anger and sadness rushing through her veins, because of him… That was the first time his heart shattered.