Esmeralda noticed that Brielle began to twitch in her sleep.
"No, no!" she whimpered, tossing and turning.
"Brielle, it's alright!" Esmeralda yelled, crawling over to her.
Brielle screamed and woke up, shaking. Beads of sweat dripped down her brow.
"Shhh, it's okay, you're alright," Esmeralda soothed, hugging Brielle as she sobbed into her shoulder.
"It was an awful dream…" Brielle cried.
"Tell me what happened," ordered Esmeralda.
Brielle seemed reluctant, but wiped her eyes and told her story.
"I had a dream that I got arrested-"
"By who?" said Esmeralda, cutting her off.
"Judge Claude Frollo," she said before continuing. "Anyways, he ordered me to be executed. My head was forced down and the last thing I heard was 'Release the blade'. Then I woke up."
Esmeralda gave her a funny look before she handed Brielle a handkerchief.
"Thanks," she mumbled, blowing her nose.
"Did you remember anyone else in the dream?" Esmeralda asked.
"No, why does it matter to you anyway?"
"No reason," Esmeralda lied.
Brielle cocked an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Tell me the truth," she commanded, giving Esmeralda a cold stare.
"How about you tell me why you were wandering around Paris in a blizzard, and I'll tell you about your dream's meaning. Do we have a deal?"
She held out her hand, gold bangles hanging from her wrists. Brielle looked at it with uncertainty before shaking it.
"Deal,"
"Let me know when you're ready. We've got plenty of time," Esmeralda stated, starting to count the guilders she had collected earlier.
After several minutes, Brielle told her story. How her mother had died, her dad was a drunk. She had no one to look after her, and how she lost her shawl. How Frollo had kicked her out of Notre Dame. How he had chased her; and he leg had been dislocated before she passed out.
"And now I'm here," she finished twenty minutes later. Esmeralda was deep in thought, choosing her words carefully before telling Brielle her thought.
"I think you might be a clairvoyant," she confessed, putting the guilders in a jar.
"Me? But why?" Brielle squeaked, her eyes wide with skepticism.
"I dunno, your dream just sounds very accurate. Have you had any other dreams like that?"
Brielle sighed, staring at her knuckles.
"Well, once I had one a couple of years before my mum died. I saw her coughing, and she wouldn't stop. I called for help but no one was around. Then she spat out blood and collapsed."
"And how did she die?" Esmeralda asked.
Brielle was fighting back tears, staring at her knuckles again.
"She died exactly like she did in my dream," she whispered as her tears fell silently.
Esmeralda stared at her with a mixture of horror and empathy
"I dunno how I can," she continued, wiping her eyes again. "I mean, I had the dream two years before she died,"
"So you can figure out how people will die, but not when?"
"I think so," said Brielle shakily.
"Can you tell me how I'm going to die? Or Djahli?" Esmeralda asked, looking scared. Upon hearing his name, Djahli cocked his ears, quivering in her lap.
"I don't know, maybe if I hold your hands I can figure it out," Brielle suggested.
Esmeralda eagerly held them out, gold bangles dangling from them. Brielle took them and closed her eyes.
She felt as if she was being electrocuted and she couldn't let go of Esmeralda. Immediately, a vision flashed in front of her closed eyes. She saw Esmeralda tied to a pyre and it was set afire. The flames slowly engulfed the gypsy and she let out a scream as the fire licked the flesh off her skin.
Brielle opened her eyes and let go of Esmeralda, trembling at what she had just witnessed.
"What was it? What did you see?" she asked abruptly. Brielle struggled for words; her mouth gaped like a fish out of water.
"Umm, you die after you drown in the Seine," Brielle lied.
"Oh," she said, looking crestfallen.
"Don't feel bad, it might not happen at all," Brielle soothed, patting her on the shoulder.
"Could you do Djahli now?" Esmeralda demanded hopefully. The goat gave her a fearful look before he glared at Esmeralda.
"It doesn't work on animals," she said quickly, unsure if it was the truth
"Alright, we'd better get to bed then," she remarked, changing the subject. She crawled under the furs next to Brielle while Djahli curled up at their feet like a regular house cat.
"G'night," Brielle yawned, rolling over so that Esmeralda faced her back.
"Good night," she replied. Within minutes, both the gypsy and the goat were asleep, leaving Brielle to muse about everything that happened upon leaving her father's.
Let's see: I've been nearly killed by both Frollo and the cold, dislocated my leg; only to have it popped back, rescued by Esmeralda, and burdened with the ability to foresee death. Now on top of that, I just saw the person sleeping next to me get burned at a pyre.
She could hear Esmeralda's steady breathing in her ear. Comforted, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
