None of them slept well that night.
Frollo was scolding himself for losing his temper and at the same time, he was mad at the way she had pushed his buttons like that, insistently pressing towards an answer that she didn't actually want to hear. She had had it coming.
But a small part of himself was also hopeful. There had been that moment, right before she left. Up until then, he had thought that the gypsy merely despised him and at most, she was willing to be cordial in order to remain on his good side.
But now he was starting to suspect that maybe she held other type of feelings for him as well. He had felt it, when she was forcefully pressed against his chest. But he didn't dare to believe it. It was impossible, was it?
He had never awoken that kind of feelings in anyone before. He was much older than her, and she probably saw him as an old, cruel man, keeping her as a prisoner against her will. There was no way she could feel something other than hate and disgust towards him. And yet…
Esmeralda, on the other hand, was furious. She kept turning around in bed, too upset to be able to relax, let alone sleep. How could she have thought, even for a second, that there was some good inside of that racist bigot? And the way he had accused her of making a scene, as if she was begging for his company like a capricious little girl? God, she couldn't stand the man at all!
But the anger she held towards him was not even a fraction of the burning rage towards herself. She had been caught up in his game, blinded by his mysterious depths, and his voice, and his smell… See? There she went again!
She buried her face in the pillow and screamed, infuriated. Why was this happening to her? Apparently she couldn't trust herself anymore. All sorts of thoughts raced through her altered mind.
What if she escaped?
No, that wasn't an option. Remember what he said. He will chase after me and everyone else, and then it will all have been in vain.
What if she killed him?
No. Of course not! She wasn't a murderer. And as much as she hated Frollo, she didn't want to see him dead… for most of the time, anyway.
What if she seduced him? Make him lose himself to her, finally wining their endless battle for power and control?
That felt like a valid option. Even an exciting one. Which made her immediately realize it was the most dangerous option of all. She wanted to get away from the man, not closer to him.
Esmeralda noticed with a suffocated gasp that the thought of seducing him, even if just as a strategy, had suddenly invoked some wetness between her thighs.
She almost jumped out from bed. She needed fresh air.
The horses were sleeping. Esmeralda walked carefully down the stable's corridor, trying not to wake them up. She could hear them breath steadily, and the sound helped her relax a little bit.
Djali's box was at the end of the row. He must have smelled her, for when she got to the door he was already awake and waiting for her.
- Hi! - she whispered, slowly opening the wood panel and closing it behind her.
The goat placed his front legs on Esmeralda's thighs as a greeting, and she kneeled beside him. His presence and familiar smell made her mind and heart slow down. Djali pressed his head affectionately against her chest, and laid down over her lap. She surrounded him with her arms, so grateful to have him there. His love for her was unconditional. None of her doubts or inappropriate feelings mattered to him. She was just Esmeralda, worthy of all his love and loyalty. She wished she could see herself through such kindness as well.
She laid down on the hay, and still hugging Djali's warm body, she fell asleep.
- Are you okay? - a concerned voice woke her up.
She opened her eyes, confused, and was immediately blinded by sunlight. She raised a hand to create some shadow and she found Patrice's face scrutinizing her own, with a frown of worry.
- Hi Pat – she said with a nasal voice, still adjusting.
- What are you doing miss? Did you sleep here? - he asked, confused.
- I couldn't sleep – she explained, getting up from the ground and removing some hay from her hair. - I came for a visit and must have dozed off. What time is it?
- It's been a while since dawn. - the boy answered, opening the wood panel for her.
- I see… - Esmeralda replied, grimly, stepping into the corridor.
- What's the matter?
- It's nothing. I just don't feel like joining the minister for breakfast, that's all.
- You can stay here if you want. - Pat suggested. - I was about to have breakfast myself, after I finished feeding the horses. I can't offer you much, but… - he pointed out, embarrassed.
- I would love that. - Esmeralda quickly confirmed, with a wide smile. - But maybe we should let Frollo know. I don't want him worrying if I don't show up.
- I'll tell you what. If you don't mind feeding the last two horses for me, I'll run to the kitchen and tell Magdalene that you're safe here, so she can tell Master Frollo.
- That would be perfect. - she said, grabbing the wheelbarrow from him with a wink. Pat blushed and took off fast.
- So – he began, once they were sitting together by the fire at Patrice's small bedroom, behind the stables – what's going on with you and master Frollo?
Esmeralda was surprised by the boy's bluntness. He had caught her off guard, while chewing on a piece of bread and holding a steaming cup of tea. She cleared her throat, carefully choosing her next words.
- Do you know why I'm here, Pat?
The boy hesitated for a second.
- Not really… Master Frollo told me you would be staying as his guest, and as you know, he told me to take great care of your Djali. But that's all he said.
Esmeralda didn't buy it. She knew servants talked behind their backs, and rumors in the city spread faster than wildfire. So she lifted a skeptic eyebrow, with half a smile, and the boy smiled nervously back, giving in.
- I heard you caused some stirring at the Festival, and that he… captured you all afterwards. But he let everyone go, except for you.
- Yes, that pretty much sums it up. - she answered, nodding slowly.
- Why did he keep you here? - Pat asked carefully.
- I honestly don't know Pat. I wish that I knew. - she replied with a sigh.
- Don't you like it here? - he inquired, as if he was surprised by that thought.
Esmeralda looked at him with surprise of her own. She realized that Pat was the only one at the Palace that didn't seem frightened by Frollo. Of course, he was very respectful and careful around the man, but when the boy spoke about his master, there wasn't any dread in his tone, unlike every other servant she had seen there.
- How old are you, Pat? - she asked, out of the blue.
- Fourteen, miss. - he said shyly, worrying that she might consider him too young to have an adult conversation.
- And how long have you been here as the stable's keeper?
- Since I was 9.
Esmeralda frowned, struggling to understand what had made Frollo hire such a small boy to take care of his precious horses. She raised her palm in an inviting gesture to explain further.
- I used to live with my father at the farm. My mother died giving birth to me.- he began.
- I'm so sorry. - Esmeralda said in an understanding tone. - I also lost my parents when I was a baby.
The boy smiled sympathetically, and throwing another piece of wood at the fireplace, he continued his story.
- We lived at the outskirts of town, where the farm fields were. We didn't have much, though we managed to get through the day. We worked from sunrise to sunset. - he made a pause, as if he was gathering his strength to keep going. - But at night my father would have a drink and then he would start complaining about our life, saying that we would starve to death if I didn't work harder, and talking about my mother. Some nights he ended up crying… others he blamed it on me. He said I killed her.
- Oh my God. - Esmeralda gasped, horrified. - You didn't! You know that, right Pat?
- I know now. - he stated, calmly. In that moment, he seemed much older and mature, with his usually cheerful face darkened by the memories. - Anyway… one night we heard a knock at our door. When my father opened it, master Frollo was standing on the other side. Of course, I didn't know who he was then, but I could see my father's face go pale. Frollo said he had just gotten back from a long journey, and wondered if we could offer his horse some water to resume the way home. My father invited him in, with his hands shaking as he tried to keep his composure and hide his drunken state. He ordered me to take Frollo's horse to our stable and feed him some straw and water.
Esmeralda was completely focused on his story, so much that she forgot to drink the tea that was getting colder on her cup.
- It was the biggest horse I had seen in my entire life – Pat continued. - And I was kind of afraid of it.
- Yeah, I can imagine. - she said, nodding.
- So I was a little jumpy. And while holding the water bucket, Snowball made a sudden neigh and startled me. The bucket fell and all the water was spilled over the ground. - Pat explained grimly.
- What happened then? - Esmeralda asked carefully.
- My father heard the sound and came over to see what was going on. When he saw what had happened, he started scolding me harshly. He called me a useless moron.
Esmeralda frowned, visibly upset.
- Frollo told him it was alright, it was just water. But I think my father was trying to prove a point, to show the judge his authority or something. He kept shouting at me and then he pushed me to the ground and, with a horse whip on his hand, ordered me to drink the spilled water from the floor so I'd knew better than to waste it.
- What!?- Esmeralda screamed, leaning forward so violently that the cup fell from her hand and crashed into the floor. - Damn it! - she cursed, quickly getting down to collect the pieces. - I'm sorry!
- Don't worry about it, miss, please. It's just an old cup! - Pat replied soothingly, while helping her clean up the mess. - I won't make you drink the spilled tea, I promise. - he joked.
Esmeralda looked at him in disbelief. How could he joke about something like that? Something so horrifying? Her eyes started tearing up, just thinking about the poor boy.
- Hey, it's okay – Pat quickly said, gently placing his palm on Esmeralda's forearm. - That was the best thing that could have happened to me.
- How come? - she asked puzzled.
- 'Cause master Frollo was there to hear it. - he explained, getting up from the ground and helping her get back on her chair.
He took the broken pieces to the table, and dried the wet floor with a cloth before also sitting next to her again. Esmeralda was anxiously waiting for what would come next.
- When he heard my father say that, he lost it. His polite, formally restraint appearance shattered, and his face was red with anger. He threw my father a killing glance, and pushed him aside with surprising strength. My father crashed into the wall and collapsed to the floor, terrified of him. Frollo walked towards him and told him that that was no way to treat his son, and that if he ever heard he was mistreating a child like that, he would have him locked up for the rest of his life.
Esmeralda was frozen, covering her mouth with her hand.
- After that, he helped me get up and he asked me if I knew how to work with horses. I was shaking and too scared to open my mouth, but he kneeled before me, placing his hands on my shoulders reassuringly. He looked me in the eye and I saw a steadiness, a type of safety I'd never felt before. So I said I knew my way around a mule, which is what we had at the farm. He then asked me if I was willing to leave with him and learn what there is to know about horses.
Esmeralda's eyes were flooded. Her heart was shrunken inside her chest, as if being squeezed by an iron fist. She didn't dare speak a single word to interrupt the boy's story. He smiled at her, and with a shrug of his shoulders he said:
- You can guess the rest of it. He helped me gather my few belongings and placed me over his horse. I'd never mounted a horse before, but he held me firmly and promised he wouldn't let me fall. We rode back to the palace, and though it was late, he always kept a slow pace so I wouldn't be scared. When we got here, he said he would set up a chamber for me at the stables, and meanwhile, he took me to his dining room and fed me the most amazing meal I'd ever had. I had never been to a place like this, you see, so luxurious. I felt like I was dreaming. The following weeks, he taught me how to handle his horse and the rest of them. He's a strict teacher, and not the easiest man to deal with… but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. I owe him everything. He saved my life.