Chapter 6: The Morning

"...I told you to stay!" Frollo shouted.

He scrambled to his feet at the sight of the gypsy.

"I couldn't!" Esmeralda defended. "Will you tell me what's going on?"

"Nothing!" Frollo insisted. "I've just had some trouble with the fireplace. Now leave!"

He began to approach her angrily.

"Trouble with the fireplace?! You were just screaming!"

"I said, LEAVE!"

Frollo grabbed Esmeralda by the shoulders, lightly shaking her.

Just this morning he'd put his hands on her like this. But this time was quite different. Earlier, Esmeralda had been the one in tears, horrified. Now Frollo was the one in a panic, his streams of tears barely visible in the dim light.

"You're scaring me..." Esmeralda murmured.

"Good!" Frollo growled. "You should be afraid of me, gypsy!"

Esmeralda pushed him away, stumbling backward.

"Idiot!" She insulted. "I'm scared FOR you, you arrogant bastard!"

Frollo was left speechless. The idea of this woman (anyone really, but especially her) being concerned for him was absurd. Too absurd to believe. He laughed at it.

"Pathetic gypsy!" Frollo remarked, resuming his scowl. "Your feigned concern is humorous. If you really want to get in my good graces, quit this act and just do as I say!"

"I don't give a damn about what you think of me!" Esmeralda retorted. "I just want to know what is wrong with you!"

Frollo struggled to contain all of the emotions brought on by his nightmare. Though scowling fiercely, he couldn't hide the trembling in his body or the tears he barely kept in his eyes. He considered telling Esmeralda the truth just to scare her into leaving him alone, but that would compromise the whole arrangement. He needed her to fear him, not to picture him as the boy who took a torch to his chest. As it was, he'd have a hard enough time making her forget what she'd seen tonight.

"There is NOTHING for you to know!" Frollo insisted.

"If you won't tell me, at least come to bed!" Esmeralda pleaded.

"I will do as I please, gypsy!"

Esmeralda gave up. She turned around and began to leave.

"I'll leave you be." She submitted. "But I won't forget about this."

"You will." Frollo disagreed. "I'll make sure of it."

"You could make it easier to forget by explaining things." Esmeralda sassed.

She stormed off. Frollo was left alone and troubled. He understood what she meant. As long as his behavior was left unexplained, Esmeralda would remain suspicious. But he was still determined to make her forget without explaining. But how would he do it? That all started with his choice tonight.

He pondered whether he should return to bed. On one hand, resuming some normalcy might help to convince Esmeralda that he was in an acceptable state of mind. But on the other hand, he didn't want to reward her rebellion by coming back as she'd asked.

The crackling of the fireplace made Frollo's decision for him. Losing his mind to the fire tonight was humiliating. He wanted no more of it. So, he told himself that the nightmare meant nothing. This torment would not continue. It had suddenly restarted for some reason, but it would surely be gone tomorrow. He was married to Esmeralda. His feelings about her wouldn't continue to scare him. Surely, if he just went on with his life, he could bury every thought of the fire once again. Esmeralda would not continue to question him. She would have no reason to when he acted as if this never happened. Everything would be fine...

He waited until he thought she'd fallen asleep again. Frollo was glad to find his wife sleeping and unaware when he returned to bed. She would question him no more tonight. And after tonight, things would continue peacefully. That satisfying thought helped Frollo sleep.


The judge was woken by the sun creeping through the window. Frollo groaned. The light told him he'd overslept. How shameful. Well, there were worse things than starting the day late. Frollo rose from the bed and prepared himself for the day. He dressed in his robes and pondered his work. He supposed he would have to find a new target for justice now that the gypsies were gone.

Gypsies... Esmeralda!

Frollo whipped around, searching the room for Esmeralda. She was gone. He had to find her.

The judge rushed out of his room and grabbed the collar of a passing guard.

"Where is she?!" Frollo demanded.

"Who?" The guard asked, dumbfounded.

"The gypsy!"

"The gypsy? You mean your wife, Sir?"

"Yes, my wife! How many other gypsies do I keep around here?!"

"She... Left your room a few hours ago."

"And you didn't stop her?!"

"No, Sir. I assumed the wife of the Minister of Justice was allowed to move about..."

Frollo shoved the man with a growl. He raced down the hallway until he found a maid, whom he also questioned.

"Have you seen my wife?"

"Yes, Sir. She asked for quite a few things this morning."

"What things?!"

"A needle and thread, some assorted fabrics, and some-"

"Never mind! Where is she?"

"In the dining room, I believe."

Frollo rushed to the dining room. He expected to see some kind of chaos, but what struck his eye was a flash of purple. The purple of Esmeralda's skirt, flowing with her stride as she journeyed around the table, picking up dishes. She nearly dropped them all when she noticed Frollo.

"Good morning..." The gypsy said sarcastically.

"What on earth are you doing?!" Frollo questioned.

"Just stacking the plates, so the servants have less work to do."

"Has there been some party here that I was unaware of?!"

"No, I've just been eating. You should know I didn't eat yesterday! And they had me starving in prison before that!"

Esmeralda finished stacking the plates and gracefully twirled away from the table, just to bother Frollo more. He saw that she'd made herself some clothes, much like what she was wearing before her capture. The purple was irksome. Frollo felt that a gypsy was undeserving of such a royal color.

"Impressed by my sewing abilities?" Esmeralda taunted.

"I woke up and found you missing!" Frollo complained.

"Oh, did that upset you?" Esmeralda sang mockingly. "Well, last night I woke up to you storming off with no explanation!"

"Forget about that!" Frollo yelled. "What you saw last night was nothing more than a moment of disturbance. We're going to pretend it didn't happen. Understood?"

"I'll pretend if that's what you want." Esmeralda gave in. "But I'm not going to forget it."

Frollo told himself that she would forget it in time. At least she'd agreed not to bring it up again. That was enough for now.

He stopped acknowledging her. The judge called for a servant and asked for some food to be packed. Esmeralda couldn't help questioning it.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Never you mind." Frollo dismissed.

"Are you going to the belltower? If you do anything to Quasimodo-"

"Don't think so lowly of me, gypsy! I spared him for your sake. I've already married you, so it would profit me nothing to harm him!"

"Then take me with you! I want to see him!"

"Not now."

"He probably wants to see me too. Do you want him wondering what happened to me?!"

Esmeralda made a good point. Quasimodo would surely panic for her if he wasn't shown some proof of her safety. Besides, if Frollo was to resume his previous relationship with the boy, he would have to give Quasimodo some reason to trust him.

"I suppose I can bring you." Frollo consented. "But know that I won't let you out of my sight!"

Esmeralda hoped for the best. At the very least, she would reassure her friend that she was okay. But perhaps, if she was lucky, she would be able to learn something more about Frollo from him...


Finally an update! This chapter took a little longer than the previous ones because I had a lot to do, but I'll be keeping them coming as long as people are reading. The wild ride of Esmeralda and Frollo's marriage is just getting started.