Esmerelda had no idea what was going on. First she's in love with Phoebus, waiting for him to valiantly rescue her. Then she discovers he's been engaged the whole time, and she's being whisked away to be bedded by a priest. What happened to her life? Her parents would be ashamed. Clopin would be ashamed, and furious, and probably say he had told her so. Or maybe he would be sad for her, and glad she was okay.
She didn't know, her head was in a spin. Would Quasimodo be willing to save her from this, or would even he be put off by her role in this entire situation?
Why can't things just work out?
She had followed Frollo lifelessly to his chambers and waited for him to devour her ravenously. It was obvious he wanted to; she saw the way he looked at her furtively, hunger in his eyes. When had that started? She couldn't remember. It just had, and she hadn't noticed, naïve girl.
The will to resist it had simply left when she realized Phoebus wanted someone else more than her. That she had been a toy, played with, and discarded. Stupid Fleur-de-Lys.
Frollo drew close to her and put his hands on her waist. Slowly, slowly, he started to kiss her, and then went for a hug instead.
What is he doing?
He inhaled deeply while his head was nestled in the crook of her neck, holding the position for a few seconds. Then he stiffened up and let her go.
"I-I—You—Stay here. Don't forget you're only free to go once the deal has been fulfilled."
For a second, she didn't understand what he was saying. She closed her eyes and waited for him to come embrace her again, but heard the door click shut instead, rapid footsteps receding.
He had left her. Alone. In his room. Didn't he realize she could just walk out? Coercion didn't have to be honored, did it?
Maybe I should leave. Probably should. Then again, it's not like I'm going to run out there into Phoebus's arms. Where would I go, what would I do? Clopin will have questions, and I don't even want to dance, anymore.
Besides, just because her life was in shambles didn't mean she had to become a liar. A deal was a deal, she supposed. He'd probably be back later to finish off what he started. She smiled bitterly to herself. What a situation.
She bided her time and waited for Frollo to return. The hours dragged on, even though there were a lot of little interesting things to look at in his room. She wanted nothing more than to open all the drawers and pull books off the shelves to see what was inside, but it seemed like an invasion of his privacy, which bizarrely felt wrong to her even after all he had done.
What is he doing? He seemed so keen. Did he possibly change his mind? It couldn't be. He's been after this for far too long. Didn't cause a ruckus to let his prey go.
Something had obviously changed in him from the time he came to her cell to the time they were in his room, but she wasn't sure what.
A curse on men and their desires. I hope he hurries, whatever he's doing. I'm so bored, and tired. I'll just close my eyes until he comes back…
Sunrise had come before Frollo returned: with breakfast. Esmerelda heard a commotion and opened her eyes groggily, wiping away the sleep before remembering where she was and why. Something smelled good.
Frollo hadn't slept at all, which was painfully obvious to her. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was a bit messy-looking. Same clothes and all. His eyelids were drooping, and he was stifling a yawn.
"Here is breakfast. Feel free to roam about during the day, but do not leave the confines of Notre Dame. We shall fulfill the deal later. I have business to attend to."
Annoyance poked at Esmerelda. What was he waiting for? Prolonging the agony wasn't going to help either of them, and what was the point of it anyway? Maybe he was having second thoughts, which was secretly a bit hurtful to Esmerelda. He didn't want her. Apparently no one did.
"What kind of business?"
"I have responsibilities." He answered, without looking at her.
She ate quietly, keeping her eyes down, and laid back down after she was finished, staring at the ceiling. Everything she thought she knew had just been destroyed, and she definitely needed time to think everything over.
If Phoebus doesn't want me, why did he pretend he did? How was I supposed to know? No one tried to warn me, except Clopin, and that was just a general statement about love being dangerous or something. Do I really love him? It sure feels like I do. I'm not sure how this feeling could be anything else, it's very distinct. It must be love, I'm sure of it. I get butterflies whenever I see him. It seemed like he liked me, did I misread the signs? Why is this all so complicated?
Most of her day was spent in bed. Frollo basically left her alone, but brought her lunch and dinner, which was nice of him, considering…
Whatever. He owes me that much. For both the past and the future.
Night fell, and she waited for him to come claim her half of the deal. She waited, and waited, and waited. Minutes, hours. 9 turned into 10, which turned into 11…
What does he even do all day? Being a priest can't be that difficult. He's got to know the sermons and vows inside and out by now. I'm surprised how quiet this room is, I didn't even notice the bells if they rang. I'll just close my eyes again, until he wakes me up.
With that last thought, Esmerelda fell asleep at midnight, and slept undisturbed until the next morning.
