A/N: Gah. This whole chapter was supposed to be a tiny part of what will now be in chapter 4. Hehe. Enjoy!

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The sun had long set before Esmeralda decided to go inside. She saw the priest was sitting at the table, lost in his thoughts. To avoid talking with him she started to fold her new clothes.

Claude occasionally glanced her way, watching her fold the clothes carefully. It was almost cute and sad to see the young girl being overly preoccupied with it. Another petty thing he became jealous of for getting more attention then him.

When she finished, she just sat. She wanted to do anything but talk to him at the moment. She didn't like the closed in space she had to share with the man. No privacy. And there was only one bed. Now, she knew she had to talk with him.

"Sir." She called to him.

"I have a name, you know." He said, with a half smile. He spun an apple he had on the table, letting it fall over. His eyes where kept on it.

The girl didn't care to know his name but asked anyway, "What is your name priest?"

"Claude Frollo." He said, spinning the apple again.

"Well, my name is-"

"Esmeralda."

The girl starred at him, "How did you know?"

Claude snickered, "The poet that took off with your goat told me."

"Oh." After her pause, she continued.

"All right, Frollo. Where are you going to sleep tonight?" She questioned.

He shrugged, "I don't know yet."

"I'm sleeping on the bed." She said immediately.

"Alright. So am I." He said in a drone tone, still twirling the apple.

"No!" The gypsy barked, causing Claude to tear his attention away from the fruit.

Esmeralda used a calmer voice, "No."

That sting made Claude laugh aloud.

"Am I that horrible?" He asked.

The girl bit her tongue not to answer.

"Fine! To the cold, wooden floor for me." Frollo said irritably, flicking his wrist towards the ground.

Esmeralda starred at him, "You would take the uncomfortable floor for me?"

"Girl," He said with a sympathetic voice, "I would throw myself into a pit of cobras for you."

They held a quiet gaze, both trying to read each other's motives to the words they've exchanged.

Claude sighed, turning back to his apple, "Just hush and accept my offer before I change my mind."

She took up his offer quick. Now, she was curled up in the thin blanket on the bed.

This gave the man time to think and ponder his questions. What would he do with her? What would he want to do to her? Why was he letting her have so much freedom? Where to go next? How will he win her over? Can he win her heart at all? Is he still such a terrible demon to her? Does she still think of her disgusting captain?

All those bothersome questions he longed to be answered very soon.

It struck him suddenly, what if she is not happy. He assumed she wasn't, especially being cooped up in this tiny house. He would let her come with him tomorrow to town. He smiled at the thought. She may not be as down as she is now, he hoped.

He spent most of the night in his mind, never moving from his spot.

A hand touched his shoulder, which caused him leap from his chair and swing around in the direction of the person. He let out a long sigh. Who else would it be but the gypsy? His shoulders slumped.

"Yes? What is it?" Claude mumbled.

"Have you been up all night?" She asked.

The man laughed, "Indeed. But, no need to worry. Though, I doubt you do…I am used to not sleeping."

The gypsy adjusted her scarf, "You can sleep on the bed now. I've gotten my rest."

Claude snorted, "How kind of you."

His sarcasm was mainly due to his lack of sleep and he managed to drop himself, face first, onto the mattress. The girl made her way to the door.

"Where are you going?" Claude muffled through the mattress.

"Outside." She answered, then slamming the door as she left.

The priest didn't care at this point to chase after her. He could faintly smell her unique scent on the bedding. It was a small delight to him. Once he closed his eyes, he was asleep.

Claude slept until it was very late at night. All the while, Esmeralda thought once about taking the horse and trying to make her escape again, until she remembered how badly it turned out for her last time. So, she spent most of her time pacing around and talking with the horse.

She stepped inside to see him still sleeping. She walked over to him and tapped his back.

"Sir?"

He didn't move.

She shook him a bit, "Sir?"

No movement.

"Frollo." She barked.

Nothing.

Soon she wondered if he was dead. If he was breathing, he was breathing lightly because she didn't see his back rise or fall. She grabbed his hand to check if it was warm. It was.

The gypsy heard a small groan and felt a tight grip on her hand. A gasp escaped her as the priest pushed himself up with his elbow and his eyes closed. They opened half way as he grinned. With a strange strength, Claude managed to pull her onto the bed, causing her to fall on him.

"Hey!" the girl snapped.

That was enough to wake the priest up. He blinked stupidly as he saw the girl on top of him. He felt his face heat up.

"You can't tell me you were asleep that whole time." She hissed.

"I guess I was." He was all he could say.

"What on earth where you dreaming about to give you such strength anyway?" She questioned.

The priest blushed visibly, "Nothing in particular."

The girl pouted and said, "Can you let me go now?"

Claude grinned suddenly and flipped over so he was above her. He pinned her by the shoulders and added, with an effort to be playful, "Now why would I want that, my dear?"

Esmeralda found this as a threat and did the first thing that came to mind. She slapped his face. It was a powerful strike, leaving a red mark on his cheek. He returned to her a frightful glare. The girl shrank.

"You are a very, very lucky girl." Claude said in a cold, grim tone. His once warm hands seemed like ice.

Without any struggle she let Claude cuff her wrists. She was too scared. He leaned in so close to her ear, that she could feel his thin lips brush over it as he spoke.

"If you were any other disgraceful female I would have gotten rid of you long ago. I let you get away with so much; I sometimes wonder why I let a viper have so much freedom!" He hissed threateningly.

It changed quickly as he kissed the top of her ear lobe.

"Then," he continued softly, "I remember that I love you unconditionally. I would even let you get away with murder, oh the fool I am! Girl, I want you to be as free as any bird. I want you to be happy as you were on the streets again; singing, dancing."

He paused to cover part of her jaw line with light kisses.

He went on, "And what I'd give to see you, even just once, smile my way. You would make me the happiest man! To see those beautiful lips…"

Overwhelmed, he went to kiss the lips he craved, but the girl turned her head in refusal.

Smiling sadly, he said with a weak voice, "Cruel vixen."

"I want to sleep." She said flatly, without looking up at him.

Claude, eventually, moved from her the table. The girl wrapped her arms around herself and turned away from the troubled man.

"Before you doze off, would you like to go to town with me tomorrow?" He asked in an effort to make her feel better.

"Why?" She asked.

"I thought you might want to go and it would be nice to have your company…"

Esmeralda was bored already of this place. She shrugged, "Sure, I'll go."

"It makes me happy to here that." Frollo said calmly.

He waited for a reply but received none. Resting his head in his hands, he lost himself in thought once more.

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A/N: Done. School is time consuming and I don't know how often I'll be able to update. And I really don't want to abandon this. I'll try my hardest to update. Please review.