The Servant of Judge Frollo

Misery Loves Company

        (Hello there, if you are reading this you are probably going to cry! Be ready!)

Frollo did bury the remains, in a golden vase and had a tombstone crafted of the highest quality. Made of ivory marble and her named carved with the deepest care as well as an angel kneeling above. He had stood alone at the funeral, yet he'd felt like she was there with him, in some sort of spirit or angel form. Putting down a rose he stood there, grieving and regretting as much as a man could. However his grief had been interrupted by the sound of a gasp and he turned, finding no one other than Esmeralda, her emerald eyes burning with hateful fire when she saw him. Despite being dressed in her usual garments of color she appeared...sadder now. Without a moment's hesitation she leapt upon him, trying to pin him to the floor and get a grip on his throat.

"You, you killed my sister! I'm going to murder you!!!" She screamed, voice echoing across the graves. He didn't fight, merely lay still under her.

"Go ahead than, I won't stop you. Kill me, go on." She froze, that beautiful face that he'd found so attractive not very long ago now only reminded him of Healia, and made him want to weep and wail to the heavens. But after whole days spent drowning in tears, he was all dried up. But that didn't mean the anguish had dimmed in the slightest. She dropped her hands, got off of him and noticed the name on the tombstone, making her bottom lip tremble. She traced the letters and whispered.

"She...she showed me how to write my name, and hers. This is hers isn't it?" He nodded solemnly and with a cry she threw herself against the stone, sobbing wildly. "It's my fault, I didn't try to save her, she knew something was going to happen but she didn't tell me, she wanted to protect me. And, and she gave her life to save mine. It's not fair, she didn't deserve to die! SHE DID NOTHING WRONG!!" Esmeralda wailed, her tears dripping down the smooth rock like raindrops. She turned to Frollo, her eyes filled with rage and agony. "Why? Why did you kill her? You were after me, not her! Why did you kill my sister?!" Frollo couldn't look at her, so he looked at the tombstone instead, but that didn't help very much so he looked into her eyes, his own growing wet. So he was still able to weep.

"She...I...We..." He couldn't go on, the accusation in her gaze was painful, it reminded him too much of his sins, his throat was burning again. Esmeralda looked away from him, tears trickling like a stream down her sun kissed cheeks.

"I'd heard you'd put a tombstone for a gypsy but I hadn't believed it. Now I know the rumors were right. Do you know what she meant to me? We both were orphans when he found us. A gypsy raised us together and we were together constantly. She wasn't any older than me but she felt like my older sister, the person I looked up to for guidance and when I was scared. She held my secrets, my fears, my hopes and my dreams in her heart, locked away. She made me smile wherever we went and she never lied to me, ever. She had spoken of you before, saying how you weren't as bad as you seemed. But now, now you've crossed the line. Why must you kill gypsies? What did we ever do to you?" Frollo touched the tombstone gingerly, as if to stroke a younger Healia's curls as she beamed up at him. His heart tightened at the thought.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for all I've done. If you want to kill me I will not stop you, go ahead." She narrowed her eyes.

"No. I won't become a killer like you. I will grieve the murder of my sister instead." He winced at the word murder, he felt even worse about himself now, knowing she had touched so many lives in her short existence. She kissed the stone and laid her head against it, ebony hair contrasting with ivory stone. He couldn't stay; he felt like he'd intruded upon a private funeral, he felt like a stranger. But how could a stranger share such grief? He rushed away, unable to listen to Esmeralda's cries of grief that rang out among the dead, a wail of loss that left him hollow inside.