Author's Note: I don't own anything
Esmeralda ran and ran until she could no longer. She ran out of breath and had to stop to catch it. She was near a river and she stopped for a drink. With her left hand, she dipped it into the cold water for a drink. She brought the water to her mouth and sipped it. Once, she had enough water, she leaned up against a stone wall and let her thoughts wander.
The cool breeze rustled through her ebony hair and she looked up to the sky and saw a shining star above her. She felt like she was going to cry again, until she heard a familiar voice. "Are you all right my dear one?"
Esmeralda turned to see a worried Clopin. "No."
Clopin walked towards her and gave her a trademark smile. "If it makes you feel any better, I followed Phoebus, and he slipped and fell into a pile of horse crap."
"I deserve to be in his place after what I did tonight."
"No you don't. Don't speak that way about yourself. You were just confused is all."
"How did-"
"I know many things."
It was silent for a few moments. "Clopin, I don't know what to do. I'm so confused."
"What's the problem?"
"My heart is telling me one thing, while my mind is telling me something else. I love Phoebus, but a part of me doubts that. And I find myself attracted to Frollo."
"Love is a complicated thing, you know. Love is also one of the world's greatest things. Everyone deserves love and deserves to be loved. You are a very caring and loyal friend. You would do almost anything for a friend or a cause you believe in. Sometimes your heart and your mind will conflict in agreement. It's up to you to figure out what choice you will make. Do you listen to your mind? Or do you listen to your heart? Esmeralda, I've known you a very long time, and you always follow your heart. What's your heart telling you right now?"
"My heart wants to forgive Frollo," Esmeralda answered, "I want to forgive him."
"But?"
"My mind tells me no."
"And what of Phoebus?"
"I don't love him."
Clopin looked surprised, "You don't?"
"Nope. I just liked him for his butt!"
Clopin and Esmeralda laughed. "No, the reason I was with him was he was willing to love me. I was afraid that no one else would want to love me for who I am. I thought he loved me, but recently I felt like there was no more love. He doesn't show me any sort of affection."
"Esmeralda, two things, first, did you tell Phoebus?"
"I did and he wouldn't listen."
Clopin nodded.
"What was the second thing?"
"You are surrounded by people who love you. People love you for who you are," Clopin explained, "Never hold on if you feel like you are suffocating in a relationship. If you need to escape, then you leave them. There's an expression that goes something like: if you love someone, let them go, if they return, they were yours the whole time."
"Clopin…how did you know all of this?"
"That's a story for another night. It's late and we should probably get some rest. There is an abandoned farm just up the hill. We can spend the night there."
"Thank you Clopin for listening."
Esmeralda hugged Clopin and smiled. The two then set off to go up the hill to the farm. Clopin made sure Esmeralda was all set before he went to sleep. "Goodnight Clopin," she whispered.
"Goodnight Esmeralda."