Thanks for the reviews!!!
I don't own the song, Elton John does...Hugo owns the characters.
Summary: Claude is rough with Esme in the tub. Claude reverts to being controling, jealous and manipulative. Jehan delivers the news of Phoebus' death.
Preview: Esme finds it hard to forgive Claude. Claude rememebers the first day he saw Esme. Esme remembers the day when Claude asked her to marry him. They both remember why they are married.
"My dear, that dress must feel uncomfortably heavy in this water."
Claude suddenly realized that Esmeralda was sitting with him in the tub, fully clothed. And that was not how he wanted her to be in the tub with him. The laces of her bodice had already been loosened by the captain, so Claude loosened her belt and skirt. He could feel her warm body beneath the cool water, wiggling and rubbing against his. He allowed her to slip the wet clothes off and watched, contented as she tossed them carelessly away. She slowly descended back into the tub, allowing Claude time enough to relish her nude figure. A lustful smirk crept across his face, as she sank down onto his waiting member. Her skin gleamed, reflecting the little light the moon offered. He ran a hand around her waist, closing the little gap between them. He could feel her hot breath on his lips, enticing him to press his to hers. He could hear the shivering gasps of his name and leaned into her, causing her to lean back. As the water sloshed around them he let his hand slide down her thigh to her knee and brought her leg around his waist. This was the most aggressive she had ever seen him, he was hungry for her.
"Oh Claude!"
With his aggression and the positioning it felt almost like her first time with him. There was a tiny amount of pain and he could feel her tense up.
"Be rough with me!"
She whispered in his ear, eagerly clawing at his shoulder blades.
He rammed into her, nibbling at her neck simultaneously.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!"
Her voice was barely above a whisper and she could hardly manage to call out his name.
She could sense him becoming greedier, as his tongue slid between her breasts.
He was not interested in satisfying her the way he had been all along. No, tonight he was only interested in how she could satiate him! He for once wanted to be selfish, a tiny part of him wanted her to feel helpless and a small part of him wanted to hurt her in the throws of passion.
He could feel her, ready to climax. Her moans had become short, high pitched yips. He rode her faster and harder now, aching to see her ripe breasts bob and bounce in the cold water.
She arched her back, allowing him full view of her ample bosom.
"Yes my Esmeralda!"
His tone was more possessive than passionate and loving.
He deepened his thrusts, wanting her to know that he was in control. He clung to her, grabbing her by the hair and twisting his hand into that dark mass.
"Ouch!"
He had heard her, he had acknowledged the slight pain she might have been in, but that pain was worth it to him.
"Oh say my name my darling!"
He squeezed her breasts, letting his tongue languidly circled one erect nipple. He let his hands drift down her waist and pull her up into a sitting position. He wrapped his legs around her and led her legs around him. He slammed into her over and over again, wanting to hear her moans more and more. He dug his nails into her thighs, causing her to yowl in pain.
"Oh Claude Frollo!"
It had hurt, just the way it had the first time they made love.
She called out, feeling him climax inside of her.
He leaned back, nonchalantly, not caring what she did next. He wanted to push all thoughts of the captain out of her head once and for all, he wanted to punish her for merely thinking about any sort of life with Phoebus. And in his mind he had.
He watched as she shivered in the icy water and as she pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them in an attempt to keep warm. She looked as vulnerable as she had in the dungeon. The look in her eyes was pleading with him to take her in his arms and hold her, reassure her that he hadn't meant to be THAT rough. He smirked, watching her try and cover up her luscious breasts.
"Why be so modest my dear?"
He could not hide the evil grin from her. It had been a rhetorical question, or at least she thought it had been.
"Yes, hide from my gaze. Tell me, when we make love do you ever think of the captain?"
"No!"
She had confessed to him that she still thought of him, she did however, not say when those thoughts occurred. She had answered immediately, and to Claude that meant only one of two things; she was offended by the question and reacted on impulse, or she didn't want to take the time to fabricate a lengthier lie.
"Not even once?"
"No. Why would I? When we make love I barely have any time to think at all and when I do think, it is about how you make me feel."
He was now gabling with not only his heart, but hers as well.
He saw her question as merely part of her answer and did not feel obligated to answer it.
"So when do you think about the captain?"
She gave him a look that should have told him not to continue this conversation and that even if he did win this little battle, he would lose something greater.
"Sometimes my mind wonders when I am alone. Once in a while when he would knock at the door, or send me a gift."
She shrugged the thoughts of Phoebus from her mind so easily.
"When you think about all the 'what ifs' what do you think about exactly?"
He could see how uncomfortable he was making her, which was exactly what he wanted. He could see her avoiding his gaze, trying to look away; a sure sign of a liar.
"I think about him riding on his steed, teaching me to ride. I think of him coming home and being happy that I am there waiting for him. Yes, in the beginning I thought about what making love to him would be like, but that was long ago and when you first rescued me."
It was the truth, she had no reason to lie to him.
She was growing uncomfortable. He glared at her, not blinking.
"And do you compare me to those sweet little fantasies you have of your handsome captain?"
She knit her brow. It was a loaded question and he was trying to get under her skin. When she did not answer right away, he assumed that her answer was "yes."
"Then go and be with your knight in shinning armor, you impious little whore!"
She pouted in anger, shook her head and tried to keep the tears which were welling up in her eyes from falling. It was not that she wanted to be with Phoebus, she could barely stand to be around the captain! She just didn't want to hear Claude continue to demean her.
She placed a hand on each side of the tub and pulled herself out.
"Your bed will be cold for quite sometime!"
Her voice was bitter and harsh. She grabbed a towel and went into their bed chamber to find something suitable to wear. She would go stay at the inn with her mother and children, until Claude found it necessary to apologize.
Had he waited for her answer, he would have found out that she did compare him to her fantasies of the captain and that there was no comparison. He would have found out that she preferred him even over her daydreams! He would expect her to come back into the washroom, but after several minutes he decided not to wait any longer. She would surely be in their bed chamber, waiting completely nude under the covers. She would want to wound him by allowing him the sight of her body, but not let him touch her. She had done so before, she had even fingered herself to make her point. It shocked him when he opened the door and Esmeralda was not there.
He had risked losing everything in asking her about her fantasies and he did lose. He did not foresee losing everything, so he stood there, a questioning look on his face. She truly did not think about the captain in the manner that she thought about Claude. He figured that she needed some time to think things over and that she would be back in the morning. He crawled into bed, already missing his sweet wife. He wondered why he had to take things too far and why he always felt the need to have the last word. But he did not have the last word this time. She did. She was sweet, she was loving and good to him. And he had called her a "whore." She was constantly telling him how much she loved him and how much she wanted to make love to him every night and he had questioned her fidelity. He thought to himself that had he just let her be, he could be tasting coition at this very moment. But the fact that she still thought of the captain made him rage with jealousy! He pulled the covers over his head and pressed against a large pillow. It was nowhere near as gratifying as cuddling with his wife, but it would have to do.
It had not been an easy night for Claude; it was full of tossing and turning and thoughts of how to make things better with Esmeralda. His first thought was to find her and apologize. He also thought that it would be in his best interest to have some sort of a gift, a peace offering for her. He would go into the market that day and find something exquisite that Esmeralda would love and march gallantly to the inn, demanding to see her at once. It all sounded so romantic to him, that he was absolutely certain the plan would not fail.
Esmeralda had given much thought to Claude's probing questions. She felt some guilt for having thought about Phoebus, but not enough to lose sleep over. What she lost sleep over was the fact that Claude had called her a "whore." He had never once said that to her before and she wondered if that was how he really felt about her. He had saved her life, so that she would have no choice in marrying him and consummating the marriage. She often wondered what might have happened had she refused to marry Claude and refused to make love to him. Perhaps he would have denounced her as a witch and turned her over to the courts. For a brief moment in time she felt his words ringing true. But, morning came and she knew that Claude would be along any moment to correct what he had done wrong. He would patch up the little hole with nothing more than paste and a thin sheet of parchment.
Jehan had gone to the Francois house, hoping to tell both Claude and Agnes what had transpired that evening after they left.
"Well, where is she?"
Jehan questioned, after Claude had told him of the events of the previous night.
"She probably went to the inn to stay with her mother and our children."
Claude groggily wiped the sleep from his eyes.
"Perhaps this news is best heard from you brother."
Jehan hoped that he would not have to be the bearer of awful news to the girl.
"One would think. But, no."
Jehan gave his older brother a puzzled look.
"She and I had an argument last night. She thought that I gave the captain that drink out of jealousy and she confessed to me that she still thinks of him from time to time. I stupidly put my foot in my mouth and called her a name I should never have called her. If I tell her, then she might take it the wrong way, she might be angry with me for putting the poisons in the captain's drink."
"Yes, but you did not deliver the drink."
Jehan tried to find a loophole, but there was none.
"You didn't put the sword through his heart at least."
Jehan shrugged, trying to make his brother feel better.
"She and I have never fought like this. She always finds some way to forgive me. Should she not apologize for her daydreams about the captain? You know, she asked me if I ever wondered what my life would be like had I never saw her."
Claude heard his brother chuckle and gave him a mock hard look.
"Oh, please brother! You would probably still be hunched over some old book…"
"Yes. Perhaps I would have done something great!"
Claude had gone off into his own little world and was talking to himself.
"I could have created gold from lead! Imagine it, at this very moment I could have been a king! And why stop at King of France. I could have been God's very own first in command. Yes, then everyone would see that God is the only true light in this world! All of my theories and experiments were thwarted the day I saw her down in the parvis, dancing. And to think back now, my body and soul were once so pure and clean and my mind was so clear. Yes, had I never sought her out, I would have a clear head and be able to think! But, when it comes to Esmeralda all of my reasoning and logic fly away! Logic no longer makes any sense."
Jehan rolled his eyes and let his brother go on a tangent.
"And should she be angry over the fact that you do have regrets? Should she be jealous of your mistress, Knowledge? Does she envy your sweet Logic?"
Jehan was driving at a point, one which Claude had failed to see.
"You are still jealous of the captain. Claude, you have nothing to envy. If you were he right now, you would be dead. Now, is that what you really want?"
Claude saw the truth in what his brother said.
"She's yours and he is dead. And isn't it odd, how all this time he has been just a few houses away from her…at anytime she could have gone to see him and set up a rendez vous at La Val D'Amour, or perhaps La Folordel's?"
Jehan did have a point. Esmeralda had never once sought Phoebus out. She had been faithful in their marriage.
"Tell me, how many times have you read a book during your marriage? How many times have you handed her The Bible and asked her to read a few passages from it aloud?"
"Countless."
Jehan nodded.
"And she has never once refused, or pulled the book away?"
"Not once. Well, there was one evening when she wanted to get my attention and she placed her hand over the nest few sentences."
"She has never held a book over the fire, or threatened to take them and sell them, or destroy them?"
Claude saw his brother's point.
"And what do you suggest I do? A simple apology won't work this time! She has actually left this time and I'm certain she is tired of hearing the words, 'I'm sorry' from my lips."
Claude was frustrated.
"That is one thing I have never had to deal with. I have never had a woman walk out on me. Yes, the woman I used to see were prostitutes, but even they deserved some form of respect. If you show up with some elaborate gift, then she will think that all you want is to buy back her affections. If you show up with only the words, 'I'm sorry' and no lesson learned, she will think that you think that's all it takes. You have really backed yourself into a corner Claude. In any event she may see the apology as just a bandage; a temporary solution to a long term problem."
As they walked down the street, Jehan stopped to purchase an apple from one of the street vendors and bit into it.
"What long term problem?"
It was apparent how clueless Claude was.
"You are a very controlling and jealous man, Claude. You manipulated that poor girl into loving you, instead of allowing her to love you in her own time and on her own terms. When it comes to women you are clueless as to what they are and how they think. You may love Agnes, but you love her more as an object, than an actual person. And until you start thinking of her as a person with her own thoughts, her own feelings and learn how to cope with emotions, then you will be clueless."
Claude knew he was clueless, but hearing it from his younger brother and in so many words, it just seemed to make Claude look the fool.
"Yes, but how do I deal with her emotions?"
"Women are emotional creatures. Their emotions change often and frequently. You need to learn what each emotion looks and sounds like."
Claude nodded.
"Yes, but what do I do about my immediate predicament?"
"I wish I knew."
Jehan finished off his apple and tossed it aside. They had reached the inn where Esmeralda was staying. Jehan would go in first and break the news to Esmeralda, and then Claude would step in to comfort her.
"Agnes?"
Jehan knocked on the door to Gudule's room.
"Young man, may I help you?"
Jehan took a step back.
"Yes Madame. I am looking for Agnes Francois. My name is Jehan Frollo Du Moulin…"
Esmeralda recognized the voice and the name.
"Jehan!"
She sprang to the door.
"Claude sent you, no doubt."
She scoffed, not wanting to let on that she missed her husband.
"No, actually I bring some grave news."
Jehan cleared his throat, before continuing.
Esmeralda gave him a look of absolute worry and fright.
"The captain stabbed himself with his own sword last night. He is dead."
Esmeralda gave Jehan a puzzled look.
"I saw it with my own two eyes Esmer…Agnes."
For a brief moment she fought back the tears, but after a few seconds she could no longer keep her composure. Jehan felt it best that he leave.
"Claude, don't go up just yet…"
Claude had already entered the establishment. In the grave tone of his brother's voice, he knew that Esmeralda needed him.
"Agnes…"
He saw her from the doorway, crying. Her first love had died and she could not help but weep for him.
"If you have come here to tell me that I am wrong to be crying over his death, then leave! If you are here to question me about how often I will think of him after this day, then leave! I do not want you around, if you only wish to make me upset."
He wasn't sure if he could handle her thinking about the captain any longer. He walked out, down the stairs and back out into the street. Seeing his brother standing, waiting for him, Claude turned back around and went back up the stairs into the room.
"I am not here to make you upset."
He sat down on the bed, next to her and placed an arm around her, allowing her to lean against him.