Chapter 11: Learning to Love

A/N: Better late than never! Emelia starts to fall in love with her husband now! I hope you enjoy!

A few days after the wedding, Emelia found herself growing attracted to Clopin. When she saw him playing with Emily, she saw her future and growing affection towards him. Surprisingly, he never really got close to any other woman but her. It pleased her to see that he was really trying to make the marriage work. He watched with growing lust as Esmeralda taught her how to dance in a more sultry fashion. Since Emelia learned how to dance in her younger years, it wasn't hard to catch on; every child learned how to dance in some way or another at school.

Clopin watched Esmeralda teach Emelia how to dance the sultry dances she knew and he found himself getting entranced by his wife's beauty. Every sway of her hips left him breathless and when she swayed her arms over her head he found himself wanting her even more. It wasn't merely physical attraction either; it felt as if their minds were connected whenever she danced with Esmeralda. His heart began beating fast and his head spun a little as he focused on his wife. Soon, it felt as if there was no one else in the room but his wife.

"Clopin," said his friend Dante, elbowing the king in the ribs to get his attention, "you are out of it. Close your mouth and wipe the drool off your face before someone sees you staring like a loon."

"Huh?" was Clopin's educated response as he watched his wife dance with Esmeralda.

"Never mind," replied Dante, chuckling as he walked away. "You're too far gone to hear me, anyways. Have you ever claimed your wife yet? On your wedding night, we heard nothing. Unless you two are very quiet, you didn't do anything, did you?"

Clopin shook his head as he stared at his wife with wide eyes. "So beautiful," he whispered, staring at the view of heaven.

Dante arched an eyebrow, thoroughly amused by his friend's captivation. Emelia was indeed very pretty when she danced but in his opinion Esmeralda was better. The gypsy girl was very seductive and…well-endowed in her dance and he liked staring at her attributes. There was no other girl better than Esmeralda, in his opinion, but apparently Clopin was way too busy watching his wife dance.

"So claim her already," said Dante bluntly.

"I couldn't," whispered Clopin, shaking his head. "She doesn't feel the same way about me."

"Then make her," replied Dante, not seeing the big picture here.

"I'd never do that," said Clopin harshly, glaring at his friend heatedly. "I'd rather cut my own hand off before inflicting any harm on her."

Dante was momentarily shocked by his friend's anger but then nodded. "Indeed," he replied. "I have never seen you feel like this for a woman. This woman's changed you and you don't even know it."

"Did the other gypsies tell you to say that?" asked Clopin, feeling suspicious about his friend's declaration.

"No," said Dante seriously, "I did." He stared at his friend for a bit before gazing at the dancing women again.

When they finished, Clopin and other gypsies walked up to the woman and praised them for their work. Clopin pulled the blushing, breathless Emelia into his arms and bestowed a kiss on her lips. She started with surprise like on their wedding night but then she succumbed to the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. All the gypsies tittered and giggled like they saw something completely vulgar.

Emelia's heart soared like a bird in the sky because she felt like she was…loved. She hadn't felt that since her husband passed away and that left a giant hole in his heart. It felt as if Clopin gathered the pieces of her broken heart and put it together again. Her tongue traced the shape of his open mouth and tasted the unique taste that was only his. Like a spell was broken, the two pulled away from each other, flushing and breathing heavily.

"Lovely sight to see," remarked Dante, smiling widely.

Clopin gave him a glare and walked off with Emelia, who was still flushed from the kissing. The two sat down in their tent and didn't say a word. Finally, they twined hands and gazed into each other's eyes. Emelia only saw love, tenderness, and joy in his eyes and her heart melted in her chest. Tenderly, she pressed her palm to his cheek and pressed another gentle kiss to his lips. It felt nice to instigate a kiss without feeling any guilt or fear.

"I love you," whispered Clopin as he pressed his lips to her ear, causing her to shiver a bit.

"I know," she whispered back before pulling away. "I'm kind of tired, Clopin. I want to take a nap before going above again." With that said, Emelia changed out of her pretty dress and put on a little chemise to sleep in.

As soon as that was done, she pulled the covers back from their cot, snuggled against the mattress, and smiled contently as she pulled the covers over herself.

Clopin felt a little twinge of disappointment as he watched his wife snuggle into their bed but forced a smile onto his face. He loved staring at his wife like this because she looked so innocent and pure like the Virgin Mary. Sometimes, Clopin would lay awake watching his wife sleep because he got so hypnotized by her. Emelia would pull the blanket up to her mouth and doze peacefully like an angel on a cloud as she slept. Seeing that was enough to make Clopin fall in love with her all over again.

Instead of bothering her, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and walked out of the tent quietly so he wouldn't disturb her rest. As he walked, he smiled to himself and felt proud that was blessed to love someone like her. Now if only she would feel the same way. She merely kissed him because it was the duty of a wife to show affection towards their husbands. A small glimmer of hope resided in his chest but it wasn't enough to cheer him up.

(After dancing in the square)

"OW!" screamed a female voice from Clopin's tent about six hours later.

If anyone walked in, they would see Emelia seated on hers and Clopin's bed with her blouse off and Clopin himself rubbing some ointment onto her reddened shoulder and neck. Emelia whimpered in pain as Clopin applied the ointment because she got a sunburn that was hurting like fire. Tears of pain rolled down her cheeks and she bit her bottom lip to stifle the whimpers and cries.

"Okay," said Clopin casually as he rubbed the cooling ointment on her shoulder, "I can see that dancing for the townsfolk didn't go so well."

"I don't even know how it got there," breathed Emelia, feeling totally wiped out. "I was sure my hair covered most of my neck and shoulder."

As Clopin pressed the ointment into the most painful area, Emelia let out a cry and began sobbing again.

"Dear Mother of the Lord, that hurts!" she wept piteously, making Clopin's heart break.

Clopin hated seeing Emelia in pain, especially when he couldn't do anything about it. He knew, from experience, that sunburns eventually turned to a tan later on but they could get painful if they were aggravated. One of the healers, Magdalena, who was an elderly gypsy woman with a fiery temperament, discovered an herb that could help the sunburn heal from aggravation but it had to be kept in a cool area. Magdalena, being a good friend of Clopin, gladly gave him the medicine so he could apply it on his wife's shoulder.

"I know," whispered Clopin soothingly, "I know it hurts but I'm finally done. It will take a few minutes to sink into the aggravated areas but it will work."

"Thank you, Clopin," she sighed, rolling onto her stomach as she laid down on the bed. All the crying and pain wore her out so she decided to get some rest.

Clopin smiled at his wife as he watched her fall into slumber but couldn't shake how soft Emelia's skin was against his bare hand. It was like touching the most delicate porcelain but was strong enough to retain its beauty. Her skin usually was a beautiful peach color but now the sunburn appeared and it pained him so much. Of course he still loved Emelia with all his heart and soul but he hated seeing her in so much pain. It took all Clopin had to not cry when he heard her whimpers and sobs as he rubbed the ointment on her skin.

My poor wife…he thought as he walked out of the tent. I hate seeing her in so much pain…

"Your Majesty," said one of the gypsy men, rushing up to him, "I've caught some of Frollo's men poking their noses in places they shouldn't be."

The feelings of dread and sadness disappeared from Clopin's heart and were now replaced with sadistic intent. A smirk found its way on Clopin's face and he nodded to the gypsy, following him to the catacombs that protected the Court of Miracles.

…

The sound of loud voices roused Emelia from her sleep and she recognized the sadistic sound. It sounded like the same song the gypsies sang when she was found by them. Curiosity made her get up and pull a robe on so she could see what was going on. Quietly, she followed the sounds of voices and found two of her uncle's lackeys with ropes around their necks like she was. Her heart and veins froze, like ice ran through her body instead of blood, as she watched the events go underway.

She looked up to the noose and saw her husband with a frighteningly sadistic look on his face. A shudder rippled through her as she saw her husband smirk as he pulled the lever that would end the men's lives. As soon as the two lackeys got hanged, it felt as if Emelia's heart dropped out of her chest and fell to the floor. She didn't know what her expression was but it was enough to make Clopin's change from sadistic to guilt when he saw her.

Before he could even say a word, Emelia turned on her heel and rushed back to the tent so she could leave the Court of Miracles. When she entered the tent, tears ran down her cheeks as she gathered her sleeping daughter up in her arms. She picked up the only dress from the outside that she had and turned to leave but her husband stood right in front of her with a guilty expression on his face.

"How could you do it?" she whimpered, feeling as if the tears would never stop flowing. "How could you end a person's life like that?"

"By the same way they enjoy ending ours," replied Clopin coldly before catching himself. "I'm sorry you had to see that side of me but I had to do what was right."

"You could have had a better alternative, you know," hissed Emelia so she wouldn't wake up her daughter.

"No I couldn't," he hissed back, bending down to look into her face. "There was no other way, Emelia. They had to die." A look of iron melded into Clopin's usually-humorous black eyes.

"Then you're horrid just like they are," replied Emelia with her voice full of ice.

Before Clopin could argue back, Emelia placed her daughter in her bed and laid down in the bed she and her husband shared. When Clopin laid down next to her, the two of them basically ignored each other's presence.

"Good night," she said curtly from over her shoulder. She was facing the opposite direction of Clopin in a way to ignore him.

"Good night," he replied quietly. "I love you."

Emelia felt a little bit guilty for being mean but that feeling left her as soon as it came because she remembered she was mad at him. She closed her eyes as she drifted off to sleep again, praying that she wouldn't get nightmares from the violent scene she had just witnessed.

Aside from seeing her husband hang two men, she still loved him no matter how angry she was at him. Well, what could expect from love?

A/N: I'm ba-ack! Sorry it took me so long! I was at a week-long camp in Santa Cruz and the internet was not yet ready in our new house. I hope this chapter makes up for it! R&R!