Normally I don't put a note at the beginning of a chapter, but I wanted to explain a few things right away for anyone who is new to my writing.

You probably noticed that this story is a sequel. That does not mean you have to read the first story before this one, but I would recommend reading in order if you want to know how the plot got to this point and why characters are behaving the way they are. There is a lot that won't make sense without background. But if that doesn't bother you, read on! This story definitely builds on the last, but it can still be read by itself if you're comfortable enough not knowing all the context.

If you've already read the first part, welcome back! I hope you enjoy this update!

Chapter 1: The Getaway

Esmeralda remembered a time when immeasurable happiness had only been a dream. She'd always been a happy person, but life had not treated her well at many times. For a long time, it had seemed like all but a given that she would never have her dream, to stop dancing for money and spend her days with a loving husband. But that time felt far in the past now. Now Esmeralda had her dream, and she was loving every moment of it. But there was one part of it all that she had not been able to dream of: The fact that her loving husband was Claude Frollo.

Claude couldn't have dreamed of this either. Even when he'd first begun to feel interested in Esmeralda because of certain feelings, he'd never planned on falling in love or being where he was with her now. This kind of happiness had been even less conceivable to him than it was to her, since he'd long ago resigned himself to a lonely life of celibacy and believing love was not meant for him. Unlike Esmeralda, he had not been a happy person or had so much as a dream that things might change. He'd never even considered the possibility of getting married, but especially not to her of all people.

It was an unlikely relationship even if you didn't consider their history. The idea of a common street performer and the Minister of Justice falling in love sounded laughable, and it was even more unbelievable knowing that Esmeralda and all of her people had suffered at the hands of said Minister of Justice. Without seeing it, no one would have believed that Claude would ever feel any remorse for his actions, or that he would come to appreciate Esmeralda once his stubbornness was gone, or that she would find him likeable enough to be his friend, or that she would actually forgive him, or that the changed Claude would happen to bond so well with Esmeralda that a romance would occur. The love between the couple was something no one had ever anticipated, themselves least of all.

But these days, it no longer felt strange. The kind of relationship that had once been unimaginable for Esmeralda and Claude was now impossible for them to imagine a life without. They didn't care that people were still confused by it or that they were occasionally stared at in public. The couple were happy with their life together, all the hostility between them now in the past. Those closest to them knew how they had ended up together, but they didn't mind if no one else quite understood. They no longer felt a need to talk about the past, now that amends were made and nothing tore them apart. They were in love and married with a close group of friends and family who supported them. What could be better?

Well, perhaps there was one thing that could make this even better. Esmeralda and Claude were still very eager to have a child together, but that would surely come soon. They'd been trying ever since getting married three months ago, so it was likely only a matter of time before a baby joined their family.

But right now. they weren't terribly concerned about the time it would take to conceive. The couple were busy enjoying their time in Italy, which was just as pleasant as they'd hoped it would be. They'd seen famous art pieces and historical sights. Esmeralda had been able to use her new knowledge of the Italian language, which Claude had been teaching her for the last few months. And now they cooled their feet by stepping into some gentle waves that landed on a beach.

Claude stood still, watching the waves wash over his bare feet. This was something he'd never done, standing barefoot in a body of water with the legs of his pants rolled up above his ankles. He hadn't had the common childhood experience of playing by the river, since his parents had thought it uncouth and told him sand was too dirty. Thankfully, Esmeralda had made it her mission to get Claude to do things he'd never done before. She'd promised him it would be a pleasant experience to walk through sand and wade into water. And as per usual, she was right. Claude was more than content standing on this beach with her, though he was a little apprehensive when she suggested they wade farther into the water.

"It's safe." Esmeralda promised. "The weather is perfect right now. No wind and no aggressive waves."

Claude didn't disagree, the waves were calm enough that wading a little farther wasn't dangerous. Still, it was intimidating for one who couldn't swim.

Swimming wasn't something Claude had ever needed to learn. It was a useful skill if you were a sailor or someone who worked near water, or if you were a member of the part of society who worked outdoors and sometimes liked to jump into some water for a break. Esmeralda was one of those people, so she'd learned to swim from friends at a young age. But Claude, needless to say, was not one of those people. Esmeralda knew that, but she was never afraid to help him try something new.

Claude did trust her, but he wasn't sure that he trusted himself. Even in these calm conditions, he had worrisome thoughts about drowning. This situation was just so foreign to him that he couldn't help feeling nervous.

"This may be irrational," Claude admitted. "but I'm a little afraid of drowning in front of you."

"We won't go far." Esmeralda assured. "And you know I wouldn't let you drown."

Claude was aware of that. He knew Esmeralda had saved Phoebus from drowning, so she surely wouldn't let anything happen to him. But that almost made it worse. Needing to depend on her like that was a little embarrassing, even if it shouldn't be at this point in their relationship. By now Claude was used to letting her take care of him, and he was used to her knowing how to do things that he didn't know how to do. But maybe the nature of this activity made it different. Claude was not proud to need someone who could swim all because he couldn't keep himself from dying if he went too far into the water. Not having that simple, life-preserving skill made him feel inadequate.

"I'd hate to need you to save me from drowning." Claude explained. "The thought makes me feel pathetic."

"I'll teach you if you want." Esmeralda offered. "But this doesn't make you pathetic! It's not your fault, you just weren't taught to swim."

Something Claude was still adjusting to was the fact that he wasn't to blame for the things that made him feel inadequate. He did have a much easier time believing that now than when Esmeralda had first known him, but there was still some progress to be made. Perhaps now was a good time for a little progress. That in mind, Claude smiled.

"Don't let me sink." He said almost jokingly.

Esmeralda smiled, taking his hand.

At first they waded in slowly, getting Claude used to the water. When they were deep enough into it, Esmeralda helped him float. It wasn't long before she had him starting to swim, and from there his hesitance quickly vanished. Claude was happy as soon as he knew he wouldn't sink, so he indulged in some playful splashing back and forth between him and Esmeralda. At one point, before she could splash back at him, he lunged toward her and lifted her up while they both laughed. Claude was strong enough that doing this on land wasn't difficult, but he was amazed by just how easy it was in water. He felt little weight with Esmeralda in his arms, so he stood like that for a long time, looking happily into her eyes until he finally lowered her enough to kiss her.

They had to leave in wet clothes, but they didn't mind. The sun kept them warm, and the couple were too excited from their little adventure to the beach to care if they were soaked. Besides, it would be a convenient excuse to undress each other soon (not that they needed one).

For what was one of many times, Claude was amazed by the things this love brought him. He loved the things he learned from Esmeralda, not just the obvious words of wisdom, but also the skills. Since knowing her he'd learned the skills of playing card games, making practical jokes, and now swimming. And all the better, the learning was mutual. From Claude, Esmeralda had learned to read and write and to speak Italian conversationally. Both of them were more skilled people as a result of their time together.

Claude mentioned these things when he returned with Esmeralda to the house they were staying in.

"I never would have tried swimming without you." He said gratefully. "Thank you."

"Thank you!" Esmeralda returned. "That was probably the most fun part of this whole trip!"

"The most?" Claude asked with a smirk.

He twirled his fingers suggestively through her hair. Esmeralda chuckled, happy with what he was getting at.

"We ought to get out these soaking clothes, don't you think?" Claude asked.

"Of course!" Esmeralda replied.

They started to kiss, hardly breaking it as they hurried away to the bedroom.

The couple lay together peacefully, watching the sunset through the window. There was just enough light for them to properly admire each other.

Claude hadn't liked to emphasize his wife's appearance in the past because it wasn't why he loved her, and because he didn't like to remember that physical attraction had been his motive for hunting her down violently. But now that he was forgiven for that, he was becoming more comfortable with acknowledging her beauty. Claude couldn't deny that Esmeralda was a beautiful woman. He loved her green eyes and raven hair. And her body was ideal to him, softly curved in all the right places, yet solid and strong under her smooth brown skin. Claude could admit that he was quite attracted to all of it. He could admit that now because he knew it wasn't conditional, she would always be beautiful to him, no matter how she looked.

Esmeralda didn't have that kind of guilt to work through, so she could more easily admire her husband. The attraction had certainly not been mutual in their early days of knowing each other, and not only because Esmeralda had hated Claude then. She'd completely disliked his appearance before, but that had changed after he had changed. He'd stopped combing his hair back, letting it become curly, as was natural for him. Esmeralda liked those curls and often touched Claude's hair affectionately. She also liked how impressively built he was. He had a slender frame and therefore looked scrawny in clothes, but seeing him out of clothes revealed that he wasn't as thin as he looked. Anyone would have expected a bony appearance, but instead a toned layer of muscle covered Claude's form. Esmeralda often told him how much she liked it, and it was a very welcome compliment. But there was something Esmeralda was noticing just now. Since they'd been married, Claude had started to look healthier. Before they'd been together, he'd been pale and and tired looking. Now his face was lively and the dark circles under his eyes had disappeared, a result of being happier and properly resting. And since he'd been in the sun more than ever, a gentle tan now gave his skin some color. Esmeralda smiled when she noticed it.

"You look different." She shared.

"Different?" Claude asked.

"In a nice way." Esmeralda clarified. "Happier. Healthier."

Claude smiled.

"Well, I'm certain I don't need to tell you why."

Esmeralda smiled back and cuddled into his arms under the bedsheets.

Thanks for reading! It will probably be a while before I update, but I'll keep at it as long as people are interested in reading!

By the way, I wanted to get readers' opinions on a project I've been considering. There were a lot of storylines I considered writing into the first part of this series but ended up dropping. I didn't end up including these elements because they were a bit dark and the plot was already dark without them. And since I always wanted a happy ending, including even more dark content would have given me more to work through to get to that happy place. But if folks are at all interested in seeing what I would have written if I didn't scrap those ideas, I thought maybe I could write a collection of deleted scenes, and possibly something connected to the plot I did write.

If I do that it probably won't be anytime soon because I now have this sequel to work on, but I'm down to put it on my to do list if anyone is interested! Let me know what you think!