Sorry – having re-read the previous chapter it was a little rushed! I shall endeavour to write chapters in weeks when I'm not writing year 9 reports! They've computerised the system now, so I get a whole three lines to describe a child's progress/lack thereof over a term. You get used to leaving out connectives in such situations. Rant over! On with the show.
Esmeralda twirled in the mirror once more before removing the white dress Frollo had ordered for this occasion. It had been a long morning and she was relieved to be back at the palace, even if she would not have time to relax before this afternoon's feast. Frollo walked into the room behind her and collapsed onto the desk chair, throwing his hat carelessly across the room onto the bed. He sighed happily, triggering Esmeralda's learned response to go and massage his temples. Frollo rested his head back into her hands and smiled.
"I am so proud of you Esmeralda," said Frollo quietly, his eyes closed against the glare of the sun through the window. "A year from heathen to confirmed member of the church."
"I thought you liked me as a heathen?"
"I prefer you as a Christian."
"Typical. A man finds his perfect woman, only to change her into something else." She pinched Frollo's ear playfully and walked away to remove the white dress behind the screen.
"That hurt!" he accused, turning to face her in his chair.
"Good." Esmeralda emerged a few minutes later in a more casual blue dress.
"You were confirmed less than an hour ago. Already you fall back into your old habits." He stood and crossed to her, reaching out and taking her waist in his hands. "You should be punished for such behaviour."
"Are you volunteering to do the honours?" Esmeralda giggled as Frollo lowered his face to hers and planted a light kiss on her nose.
"Not just now. I have to prepare the speech to deliver to the King and his guests this afternoon."
"I thought you'd written that already?"
"No."
"Could I go out while you work?"
"Of course. Be back by four – I want you to travel with me in the coach." Esmeralda looked up suspiciously at Frollo. She was usually told to arrive at these dinners separately to Frollo to distance the minister from rumours the two were sleeping together. She had also been allocated quarters in a far part of the Palace of Justice for the same reason. This did not stop the two spending most of their waking time together when Frollo was not working.
"What are you up to?"
"My dear Esmeralda, can you not trust me?"
"I've never trusted you."
"I am hiding nothing."
"You lie!" She pulled back from him and danced away. "I'm not coming to the feast if you don't tell me why you want me in the coach." Frollo rolled his eyes and reached out to grab the gypsy as she circled around him, always managing to stay just out of reach. He finally gave up and sat down on the edge of his desk, watching her with a hint of disdain. Esmeralda stopped dancing around and pouted. "You're no fun when you're moody."
"I am not being moody. I simply want you to travel with me in the coach tonight. I swear to you I am not concealing any one thing from you." Esmeralda turned the phrase over in her mind as Frollo sat down and drew a quill out of a drawer to begin scribing his speech.
"Does that mean you're not hiding anything or that there's more than one thing you're hiding?" She perched on the arm of Frollo's chair. Without looking at her, Frollo raised his right hand and gave a dismissive wave.
"I am working, gypsy girl, please be gone."
"Yes master," snapped Esmeralda, stopping to pull a face at Frollo.
"Charming. Have fun."
Waltzing around the town, Esmeralda tried to figure out what Frollo was up to. Over the last year, she had seen the old judge change from a genocidal, obsessed maniac into the man who teased her and enjoyed her taunts in return. Of course, as the highest judge in Paris he still dealt out death penalties and the most cruel of punishments to the most depraved of criminals in the city. However Esmeralda felt she had gained an understanding of why the judge was so strict in dealing out punishments. The laws of Paris were strict and almost all criminal offences carried with them lengthy prison sentences at best. Frollo was simply doing his job, albeit with a little too much enthusiasm. She had tried to be impressed when he had boasted how crime rates had dropped since his promotion to minister.
"That's because people are terrified of you Claude!"
"I think that's rather the point Esmeralda…"
"Wouldn't you rather be considered fair than cruel?"
"Not really. Although I would argue I am entirely fair in my dealings with criminals."
"You punish them all indiscriminately."
"Precisely." He had given her what had been, a year ago, a rare smile and held her close. She had realised then that there was some truth in what he had said – regardless of class, all criminals suffered at the hands of Frollo and his torturers. Although, he had found rather a lot of 'legitimate' excuses to harm her people.
Turning the corner, Esmeralda thought back to another occasion when a group of gypsies had been caught begging for food near the King's palace. She had begged Frollo to show mercy and he had refused, telling her that if he showed weakness on this occasion, further indiscretions by the gypsies would follow. However, when the terrified family had been brought before Frollo a few days later for sentencing, they had been given only a month's imprisonment and Frollo had ensured they were given food enough to last them a week when they left. They had not been beaten nor mistreated while in prison and although Frollo would never admit it, Esmeralda knew she had tempered his response to the gypsies during the last year. She didn't want to admit it, but as she became more accustomed to Frollo's continuous presence she was finding him less repulsive. In fact, despite her own dislike of his treatment of her people, she was starting to enjoy his company more and more and looked forward to the time they spent together. Since her first day at the Palace of Justice, Frollo had insisted on his being allowed to hold, touch and kiss her at will, something Esmeralda had found loathsome at first. She didn't know exactly when the dislike of this treatment had turned to acceptance, nor when the acceptance had turned to expectance.
Up ahead, a group of people was gathered around a small knot of soldiers. In the centre of the group was Phoebus, his blonde hair shining in the spring sunlight. Esmeralda spotted him straight away and darted behind a stall while she found out what was going on. Edging closer, her gypsy instincts keeping her hidden, she listened intently to the soldiers' conversation.
"We met near a border town and I offered to escort Mademoiselle DeLys back to Paris when our regiment returned." He pulled an attractive blonde girl closer to him, holding her waist and smiling down at her.
"And now you're marrying her!" guffawed a lieutenant.
"Of course. Tomorrow in fact," grinned Phoebus. "I shall see you later Fleur, I have some business to attend to." He pecked Fleur DeLys on the cheek lightly and turned to the remainder of his company. "Jaques, I hereby order you to escort my fiancée home."
"Yes sir captain sir!"
"And don't forget your appointment at Saint Martins tomorrow at eleven!"
"Of course not sir!" Phoebus saluted his comrades, turned on his heel and headed for Notre Dame, Esmeralda following in the shadows.
"Phoebus – you're back!" Quasimodo ran over to the captain as he turned the corner at the top of the staircase.
"Hey Quasi."
"I thought you were posted out in Burgundy forever?"
"Frollo changed his mind. When he found out I wanted to get married and the girl was from Paris, he agreed to allow me to return with the latest batch of recruits."
"Who are you marrying?" asked Quasimodo, puzzled. "What about Esmeralda?"
"I grieved for the loss of Esmeralda for months. Then one day Fleur walked into the border town I was recruiting in and I fell for her. I will always care for Esmeralda, but I love Fleur DeLys. I want to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her. Besides, Esmeralda has Frollo."
"She doesn't love Frollo – she loves you!"
"It's too late. I came to see you Quasimodo, not Esmeralda. How has Frollo been treating you?"
"He has been – kinder – lately." The two continued talking, Quasimodo returning to the subject of Esmeralda again and again to try and change the captain's mind about Fleur DeLys. Phoebus had fallen in love with the stunning Parisienne however – and nothing Quasimodo could say would change his mind.
Esmeralda fought back tears and pressed herself deeper into the beams of the belltower. Phoebus had not seen her follow him into the cathedral and she had managed to eavesdrop unnoticed on the entire conversation. As she heard Phoebus making his goodbyes to his old friend, she slipped down the stairs and out of the tower. She hid behind a pillar and watched Phoebus leave, hot tears now burning her cheeks. She waited until she thought Phoebus had had enough time to leave the square outside the cathedral, then ran out and back to the Palace of Justice.
Frollo was practising his speech in front of the mirror when Esmeralda, red-eyed and dishevelled, ran into his room. Frollo stopped, turned to face her, then dropped his speech and walked over to comfort her.
"What is it my dear?"
"Why didn't you tell me? How could you not tell me?" As Frollo touched her arms in a gesture of comfort-giving, Esmeralda pounded her fists into his chest. "Why didn't you tell me?" she screeched.
"Is this about Captain Phoebus?" asked Frollo quietly, dreading the answer.
"Yes! He is to be married tomorrow and I heard him tell Quasimodo he no longer loves me and…"
"And as you are my companion now, that should not concern you." Frollo looked down at Esmeralda and took her chin gently in one hand. "I ordered him to leave the city simply to keep the two of you apart. Fleur DeLys is the daughter of one of the king's advisors – it would have been improper for her to be married away from the city. Had it not been for her father's insistence, Phoebus would not have returned to the city and you would never have found out about his marriage."
"You wouldn't have told me?"
"No. What would have been the point Esmeralda? You have sworn to be my consort, my wife one day, yet you refuse to let go of the childish fantasy that Phoebus will come and sweep you away from all of this. I thought if I kept all mention of Phoebus from you, you would one day forget him. Clearly I was mistaken." Frollo released her and sat down on the end of his bed, pain etched on his face and his movement stiff, unyielding.
"Would you like me to leave the room?" asked Esmeralda.
"No. I thought you were starting to enjoy my company?"
"I am! I do!" replied Esmeralda, astonished to realise it was true.
"Not enough, it would appear. Not enough." Frollo rose and left the room, slamming the door behind him in a manner that stopped Esmeralda from following him. Alone now, Esmeralda sank to the floor and cried for the loss of the love Phoebus had held for her. After a while, she composed herself and stood, straightening her dress. It was then she realised Frollo had laid out her clothes ready for the feast that afternoon. As she scanned the room for other items he may have moved, Esmeralda saw Frollo's speech on the floor and picked it up to read it. Amongst the usual thanks to nobles on behalf of the king, remarks about the justice, crime levels and effectiveness of punishments in Paris, there was one line in particular that caught her eye.
It is with great pleasure that I would like to thank His Royal Highness for giving me permission to marry my student La Esmeralda.
He had always talked about their getting married, but this was the first time she was aware of he had mentioned it to anyone else – he was practically announcing his intent to the whole of Paris! Esmeralda felt her head swim. The last thing she had expected today was to see Phoebus with his fiancée, though finding out her relationship with Frollo was to be moved to a more official level would come a close second. She held the speech in her head while she thought about the last year. Phoebus had his beautiful fiancée who he adored – nothing would change that. As for her, she had Minister Frollo as her partner, soon to be fiancé from the look of the speech and she knew he was completely under her spell. Even if he was twice her age and not much to look at with a penchant for genocide…
"If nothing else, he would love me. And he cannot live forever and my people need me to keep this bargain." She spoke to the empty room, half-hoping Frollo would be listening outside the door. With the parchment in her hand, she left to find Claude Frollo and finalise their arrangement by accepting his proposal.