A/N: Well back to typing, I go. This chapter entails Esmeralda discovering a new side of Frollo and more conflicting feelings. Marriage chapter is next!
Chapter 10
The Man Behind the Monster
Esmeralda
"I know Clopin can be annoying and I apologize so much for it," I mumbled as Frollo and I proceeded upwards out of the tunnel leading down to the Court of Miracles. Frollo was still stewing in his own infuriation while I was apologizing profusely. A bit of me was also quite angered. However, it wasn't at Clopin; I was angry at Frollo because… "But did you have to strangle him when he tried to make us stay?!" I began shouting. You see after we were just about ready to wade back through the waist-deep liquid algae, Clopin had caught up with us and attempted to make us stay. He even brought out 'Little Clopin'. Clopin was entirely sincere in wanting us to still stay except he shouldn't have made Little Clopin say "Aw, don't be a stick-in-the-mud, Frollo. Come back to the party. We were just going to play 'Pick on the Virgin'!" Well, let's just say, Frollo completely snapped like a bent twig.
He had constricted Clopin's spindly neck with his marble hands and squeezed. Clopin was gasping like a fish out of water. He was flailing, arms waving around frantically and legs kicking around like a bucking horse. Frollo lifted him up in the air for a couple of minutes, shaking him violently. All of Clopin's bells tinkled. Little Clopin was screaming for some urgent assistance. I swooped to the rescue. Djali began tugging on Frollo's sweeping robe while I tried to loosen his grip on Clopin's neck. My poor foster brother was gargling like a chicken that swallowed a harmonica. Finally after moments of struggling, Frollo released Clopin. He fell to the ground, gasping and inhaling thirstily for air. I winced; Clopin had finger mark shaped bruises littering his tanned neck. Looking up into Frollo's self-satisfied and arrogant smirk, he managed to squeak out.
"You pant are pant freakishly long gasping inhale strong, you know that?" He pointed a quivering finger at Frollo while rubbing the painful bruises on his neck. "Felt like a boa constrictor was about to do me in." He muttered, rotating his neck experimentally. He was checking for any broken bones. Content, that he was still intact though sore, he reached out and shook Frollo's hand firmly.
"Well played, Claude Frollo," He confused Frollo with a compliment. "Oh and when you marry her, you'd better make sure you take care of her. Women don't like it when you don't please them in bed!" He yelled at us as we retreated up the steps. It took all of my strength to pull Frollo back up the stairs so he didn't end up asphyxiating Clopin again. I sighed; Clopin, you certainly know how to leave a good impression on people, don't you? Needless to say, Frollo was fuming. He ranted on about how my people were evil minions of Satan and what not. I groaned; I hoped he didn't change his mind about helping my people. Judging by how ticked off he was, that might be happening anytime soon.
"You gypsy heathens are crazy!" He shouted, illustrating his point by flailing his arms. "Is there not one of you whom doesn't prance around while entertaining children with a cloth doll on his hand?!" He inquired, hoping not all my friends were as wacky as Clopin. I shook my head and led him out of the cemetery. The sooner we return to the Palace of Justice, the better. I never imagined I'd think of that sentence. While walking home, Frollo detailed to me all of our future plans for the evening and for the days to come.
I would have to continue studying the Bible along with learning the basic skills of writing and sentence structure since I had to sign a marriage certificate. After I learnt all there is about God and his teachings, I would attend services with him. Soon, I would be confirmed and he would ask me to sign the certificate, dictating we were legally engaged to be married. We would then plan the wedding. I was hoping for a rather festive one, seeing as this was my huge sendoff into marriage life. Frollo, however, would rather everything be kept minimal. I rolled my eyes; men are truly clueless when it comes to weddings. We would soon be wed and I would then be transferred over to his bedchamber. He added that last bit of information with a devilish grin. I wanted to retch.
Yes, I may be starting to enjoy his presence but the very thought of actually 'being' with him sickened me. And weirdly, excited me as well! Soon, my mind was plagued with thoughts of Frollo, completely naked and sweating on top of me with his silver hair all messed up and dripping wet…I gulped down an aroused growl that was attempting to break through my mouth. Ugh, I had to push that horrid event of me seeing him half naked away. Not to mention that smoldering kiss we shared. I had told Clopin that I didn't love Frollo, which was true. Yet, a part of me didn't even know what was true anymore. Basically, it seemed all of my emotions turned liquid and decided to run into each other, confusing everything. At least our wedding wouldn't come so quickly. I still had a few more months and even a year of freedom left.
We are soon elbowing our way through a crowd of bustling shoppers in the streets. It was certainly overwhelming! It was hard to see through the many people flooding the square but something out of the ordinary caught my eye.
It was a young gypsy girl. She seemed to only be at the tender age of nine. Her hair was grimy and tied into a thick plait down her back. She was tanned, darker than me. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked to be shaking with anxiety. She was wearing a simple cotton dress in an ugly, mottled brown shade and little plain slippers of the same color and material. She was loitering about the fruit stand; she seemed to be really captivated with the pyramid stack of rosy apples. My eyes lit up. It was Sarnia, one of my friend's daughters.
Sarnia's shifted left, then right. I could almost feel her eradiating nervousness. My jaw went slack when I witnessed her snatch an apple off the stack and slips it into the billowy sleeve of her dress. I gasped. Sarnia never stole; she was one of those better-behaved gypsy children. Yet, here she was stealing a fruit. My heart sank. It started to palpitate even faster when I watched, transfixed and shocked, when the fruit seller grasped her arm and wrenched it tight.
"You little thief!" Sarnia began screaming for help. The shoppers momentarily halted their activities to survey the scene about to unfold. The fruit seller was a lumbering bear of a man. If he wanted to hurt Sarnia, he wouldn't need much effort. I immediately interfered. "Stop it!" I shoved his meaty hand off of Sarnia's aching arm. The poor girl was now massaging her bruised limb. The fruit seller was irritated and enraged at me. "Don't interfere, gypsy girl! Don't defend the little thief! She was stealing my apples!!" Sarnia tearfully bawled and ran into my arms. I held her protectively.
"I…lost…my…money. I…am….really…sorry!!" She sobbed loudly. The entire crowd was buzzing now. My mind was whirling. This is not what I needed now. I didn't need a public showcase of my people stealing. I do hope Frollo won't add to the awkward and depressing scene.
I seriously didn't want this.
Frollo
I watched with great shock at the scene unfolding before me. A gypsy child had stolen an apple and Esmeralda had defended her. This was just like with Quasimodo tied down to the pillory and how she had bravely saved him. The gypsy girl's courage and bold, impulsive nature impressed me to no ends. She was now cradling the whimpering, tear-streaked child, soothing her fear. The fruit seller was ranting on about how troublesome gypsy children were and how the gypsies should really stop procreating.
If this was any other day, I would immediately have the young girl in cuffs and thrown into the prison cells. I couldn't care less about children. Especially after my time with Quasimodo and with…I lost my train of thought when Esmeralda approached me. She was trembling, her fists clenched and sadness in her eyes. I didn't like it when she was unhappy; it dulled her beauty and made me feel a foreboding shadow casted over my heart. She beckons me closer to her and whispers. "Don't arrest her, please. She's only nine and she only has her mother in her life," Her shaking voice had a pleading edge to it. I stared at the gypsy child. Her head was hung in regret. She stood, hunching; an attempt to shrink herself. A single tear fell to the city streets. My gaze returned to Esmeralda; her eyes held a beseeching glint. Remember reader, if this had occurred a month ago, I would never listen to a gypsy's plea but now…Making a decision, I stepped forward to address the gypsy child. First, I ensured that the hood and cloak around me hid most of my face and hair. I bent down to talk to the child. She backs away from me, frightened.
"I'm not going to hurt you," I mumbled in my calmest voice. Truthfully, I could never talk to anyone without sounding arrogant or strict. However, since I was dealing with a child, I had to try my hardest to sound paternal. "Why did you steal the apple? I won't be angry with you." The girl, whom Esmeralda called Sarnia, looks up at me with naïve brown eyes. She mutters to me miserably that she had lost her food money her mother had entertained for. I nodded at this.
"What does your mother do? And how much does she roughly earn every time she entertains?" Sarnia shrugs her thin shoulders and says that her mother was a clairvoyant and that she earned at least a satchel of gold coins everyday she entertained. I then asked what was she to buy for food. She responded that she was ordered to buy a basket of fruit and a loaf of bread. Satisfied with her answers, I turned to the fruit seller who was flushed as a ripe tomato from his outburst and ranting. I held out a palm filled with gold coins, coins that he is now staring at greedily.
"This is for two things. One, give the gypsy child a basket of assorted fruits. Two, do not alert any of Judge Claude Frollo's guards about this incident." With that, I pressed the coins into the fruit seller's meaty palm. He bows and swears he won't ever tell a soul. He hands a basket overflowing with grapes, apples, bananas and other fresh, tropical fruits. Sarnia's brown eyes were jubilant. She bows and repeatedly thanks me with tears of joy. However, I wasn't done with my plans. I slipped my hand into my robe and pulled out a satchel weighed down heavily with gold coins. I handed it to her. She heartily took it. "That's for you and your mother. Keep it well and don't lose it. Just remember, I don't wish to ever catch you stealing again even if you have lost money. Stealing is a huge sin. I'm very sure you don't want to anger God, do you?" Sarnia shakes her head rapidly and says that angering God was a very terrible thing to do. I smile inside my hood; Gringoire really has taught the gypsies well. She bows again and repeats her many thanks. Then she did the most amazing thing.
The little gypsy flung her arms around my waist and hugs me tightly. This was probably the first time in many years that I had felt a child's warm body and clinging arms around me. Strangely, I didn't mind it at all. It actually felt…good. Like something I had missed for an incredibly long time. I placed my hands on the girl's thin shoulders and gently pushed her off. I patted her head softly and told her to run along and to pass my blessings over to her mother. Sarnia bowed for the last time and flitted off, a girl filled with all the sunshine and innocence in the world.
After the scenario, I turned and noticed Esmeralda was staring at me, her mouth agape. I smirked.
She has learnt something new today already.
Esmeralda
I must have been dreaming. I pinched myself. Nope, I wasn't dreaming. But still, what I had just saw couldn't possibly have happened. Frollo had just willingly and unconditionally helped a young gypsy child. I was flabbergasted. I had half-expected Frollo to drag the child by her bony arm into the prisons and fling inside one of the filthy, horrifying cells himself. I looked up at him and noticed he was already walking back. I immediately caught up with him.
"You saved her," was all I could blurt out. I was awestruck and rather impressed. He shrugs and tells me that Sarnia looked like a rather smart girl. She had a lot of good potential to be an upright Christian. However, and this he added with one of his infamous stern glares, if she was ever caught stealing again, he wouldn't put on an act of charity again. Instead, he'd have her and her mother both arrested. I cringed. Ok, he was still the same old stern, strict, demanding and morally upright Frollo. But today, he had shown his human side.
There was a man behind the monster after all. I wonder how Clopin would feel after Sarnia relates this story. He would be so amazed like I was. I smiled and fell in step with Frollo.
"You are certainly full of surprises, Frollo." He smirks back at me and simply says. "I am, Esmeralda. Trust me though, there are far more surprising things that you might discover later on." I noticed a slight flash of unhappiness in his eyes when he said that statement.
That's when it hit me like an arrow.
Frollo hadn't yet told me about that mystery lover of his. I wondered if he would finally tell me after our wedding.
Suddenly, I really couldn't wait to get married.