Thanks to Opaque Opal and Yami! Y'all are most frequent reviewers who keep this story going. Thanks to Yami for helping me with the historical accuracy and all. Seriously, you made the dress awesome lol!


What started off as just picking colors and fabrics soon turned into something different. We walked down the streets of Paris, pointing out random things and giving our opinion of them. It was as though I and Esmeralda were friends. It was as though, despite my half blood, the gypsy and I were…sisters.

It was just so weird, I thought as she bargained over the price of fabric for a few feet, how I was raised in a higher status and yet, seemed to be best friends with a gypsy. A gypsy of all people! Frollo hated them with a passion that I could not quite understand.

Shaking my head out of my thoughts, I snickered to see Esmeralda winning the bargain. "Fine! Now please, just pick out what you want and I'll get measurements!" The old lady snapped, obviously annoyed. It would seem that she wanted us to pay and leave as quick as possible.

What neither I nor Esmeralda knew was that her King spied on us. The man formally known as Clopin stood in the shadows, his eyes narrowed and his ears straining to listen to the conversation. As the puppet master watched, it became quite clear that they weren't just talking about clothes and colors for Lavender's…wedding.

The man felt a fresh wave of anger and resentment, jealousy and depression wash over him. His thoughts turned bitter at the word 'wedding', at the idea of 'marriage'. He just could not understand for the life of him why Lavender chose the judge over him! He was older than her by a few years but much younger, and stronger, than the Judge! He was funnier and warmer while the Judge had no humor. If he did have some sort of humor, it was sick and sadistic; that Clopin was sure of.

I debated, "No, I don't think green goes good with purple. It…"

"It will look beautiful!" Esmeralda stated, smiling brightly so her emerald eyes reflected her happiness. She held out a large piece of the silk fabric but I grabbed her wrists lightly, making her place it down.

"Not on me, not with purple eyes." We were debating the color for the top which would be made of silk. She looked me over and thought for a moment, nodding at last. Instead, she looked around.

I should have realized that a gypsy had a natural eye for colors and fashion though. A grin jumped on her face, a soft 'ah-ha!' left her lips. When she reached over for the fabric she had been eyeing, I wondered just how many times my old friend Phoebus pictured himself kissing those lips. Did Frollo think that about me?

The color of dark blue, almost midnight blue, came and clouded my vision. Jumping back slightly, I smiled. The silk was almost a black color but much lighter, not as light as the baby blue sky right now though. It was…it was…ocean like blue. Grabbing it as though it were very fragile and breakable, I whispered without thinking, "Ocean blue…just like mother's eyes."

Esmeralda held a very soft, gentle look on her face. It was pity, I realized within a moment. I felt guilt wash over me; I hadn't thought about mother for quite some time now. I had been too tired thinking over Frollo and Clopin, about my future. I thought about Father but not of mother…it was just still painful, I suppose.

The softness of her voice startled me into present reality. The way she looked over at the other fabrics for the other part of my dress, she was avoiding my gaze. Was she scared of how I'd react?

"I remember your mother faintly. I'm not that much older than you but I can remember when I was a child, I used to see her running to Clopin. I remember hiding behind a tent or a carriage, watching her whisper to the King. I couldn't hear a whole lot but she held a bundle of blankets in her arms. It wasn't until a few years later were I old enough to realize what had happened." She picked up white cotton like cloth and shook her head, putting it down.

Continuing softly, she kept her eyes on the colors. "She had come to our King to ask a favor. Despite being an outcast for the choice of her mate…of her husband…" It looked like Esmeralda was thinking over this. Was it possible that she thought of the soldier Phoebus? "…She asked Clopin to protect you if something were to happen. But so many years had passed since then and he hadn't heard a single whisper of good or bad news of your mother. I guess he just…didn't know.

"But when he told us about your little visit to the Court of Miracles…" She chuckled, "How you followed him, he was obsessing over your mother once more. They cared for each other, from what I heard. That was when he told me to distract the soldiers guarding you when you two met in secret."

"Phoebus, right?" I smiled like a Chester cat. "He seemed to be attracted and lost in your dances. I never got to thank you for all that, anyway…although I suspect you didn't mind."

Esmeralda dropped the dark violet cloth to cover her blush. "Like I was saying…When I first saw you…you looked so young. Your knee was hurt and you were searching for a cane when I danced before the blond soldier. Your knee still hurts, doesn't it? Anyway…I remember thinking 'she looks so much like her mother'. I could tell by the way you were trying to dodge in and out of crowds to get lost, you were very rebellious and feisty."

Suddenly she grabbed violet and very light purple clothes of cotton. "Lady Lavender, how about we sew these two together for the bottom?!"

Smiling slowly, I nodded and went inside a small building to get measurements. There was much more Esmeralda wanted to say, I could tell. But for now, I would not press the matter.


We walked for a while, just roaming mindlessly without a destination. The lady said it would take about a week to make the dress so we paid half in advance, half later. Frollo had given me only a certain amount of money, so I gave it to her but secretly had nothing else.

I had to ignore the feeling of eyes on me, especially since the whole town knew who I was and who I was going to be. Lavender Frollo…I smiled. Apparently, though while I was daydreaming, Esmeralda had been talking.

Suddenly I pointed out, "So you like the blond soldier, don't you?"

The poor girl almost tripped. Before she could speak, a voice shouted, "Lavender! What are you doing with gypsy filth?!"

We both turned to see a very upset and angry Frollo. Worried sketched on my face but when I looked at the green eyed woman, she was grinning. The words she had spoken earlier echoed in my mind, "I'll just…disappear, then."


Next chapter: What kind of disappear does she mean?! What will Frollo do? When Lav goes back home, will he be mad or happy? Review please