Or Else Let Her Be Mine And Mine Alone

The Duke of Burgundy

'I do not love you.'

'Then who do you?'

She squinted at the accusation. 'Stop being jealous. I love nobody.'

His face sulked. 'Still so presumptuous. Aristotle was right; one's environment determines his character. Taking the Egyptian out of you shall be a chore.'

'What are you talking about?'

'This,' he said, pointing at her. 'So docile in front of your captain. So sweet with that behemoth. But with me...'

'For your information, mistresses of nobles are not particularly known for being "obedient".'

'Oh, but mine shall.' He planted his lips on her wrist, tracing her arm. It took everything in her to not punch him. 'I have risked damnation for you. I have told you how delirious these months have been for me. Yet, I have saved you.'

'Let go of me.'

He seized her wrist. 'Do not resist fate. Look what happened to Duke Maximilian.' Her anger decreased as she realized that she had forgotten her purpose for meeting the goblin.

'Who is this Duke, and why is he coming?'

'It's difficult to explain. It's the result of a decade-long drama.' He grazed her thighs, touching behind her knee.

'Can't you tell me about it?' she asked eagerly, eager for him to stop.

He frowned, placing the other hand on her back. 'You want to listen about politics from me?'

Before she could answer she felt herself being lifted up, Frollo taking her to the table. Her heart lurched as he kept her down and held the hem of her gown.

'N-no. Claude, I-I really want to talk to you.'

Blue eyes pierced hers, giving a chill in her spine.

'The way you do it, it's-it's not good.'

'What do you mean?' he said impatiently, his hand lifting up her skirt to her thighs.

'Listen! Please. I want to tell you...you go too deep. I spoke to my mother. She said that it takes more time for women to get ready. How you do it...it hurts a lot.'

'I'm aware that it is torturous for your kind,' he replied callously. 'They carry the original sin of Eve.'

She couldn't stop her eyes getting glassy. 'The pain lasted all of today after last night. Please, I can't love you like this.'

He paused. Frollo looked up and saw large tears forming in her big black eyes, her face ashen.

'You want me to love you, don't you?' the girl asked in what sounded like a mix between a sob and a plea. This was the first time she had spoken about returning his affections. A part of him wanted to ravish her then and there, but another reasoned: if he took her now, she would just fear him even more. But if he listened to whatever she wished to say, he could earn her trust. He already had her, but he could even make her want him. He closed his eyes and imagined her moan as he made love to her.

'What do you want me to do?' he said hoarsely.

Pearls of slight relief shone on her face. She had almost resigned to the realization that she would be violated again at that wretched wooden table. Her closed throat was able to blurt out only one thing. 'Tell me about the Duke of Burgundy.'

His eyes twinkled as his lips curved. How melodramatic the girl was. 'Make yourself comfortable.'

--

'This all began with Charles, the brother-in-law of the King.' He gave her a glass of wine as he himself filled a chalice and relaxed in a chair.

'As the Dauphine, our Louis had an amicable relationship with Charles, the Count of Charolais. But after he became monarch, things started going sour. Louis purchased some towns that his father had given to Charles's father. Then Charles got this fever of having a Burgundian state independent of France. Louis did not like that.'

Esmeralda sipped the wine and listened ardently. She yearned to learn about whether this Duke could hold the key to her people.

'Then, some rebel nobles started to have a problem with Louis centralizing French authority. Charles joined these nobles; in fact he became one of their leaders. Ultimately a war happened that lasted more than a decade. Charles got slain. To make it better, he had no son. Louis thought that Burgundy was as good as his. He immediately sent a wedding proposal of his six-year-old son to Charles's daughter, Mary.'

'What? How old was Mary?'

'Nineteen,' the judge answered.

'That is ridiculous!'

'That is our King,' he jibed. 'But the girl refused and married the Archduke of Austria, Maximilian. Now, Maximilian and Mary both were adamant that they wouldn't give up and continue fighting what Charles started. At least that was what they said,' he snickered. 'Many say that Mary was the true hand behind it all, and her husband was nothing more than a slacker.'

She felt sorry for this Mary, and respect as well. If only she could've fought for her people like that.

'So around a few weeks ago, Mary died from a horseback incident.'

Oh. That was sad.

'Maximilian has started to lose his popularity and has no choice but to yield. Louis has come up with the proposal to marry his son to Maximilian's daughter and make him give the county. He shall come to Paris on Saturday and we'll make sure he accepts.'

She again felt a pang in her heart. This Duke was himself helpless. How could he help her? And if France was taking Burgundy, did that mean that if her people were there, they would again have to flee? In that case, she told herself, she could at the very least tell Duke Maximilian to pass the message to her people. If Mathias had told her she could speak to him, he couldn't be a bad person.

'Why were you so curious to learn this?' Frollo asked, bringing her back.

She shook her head gloomily. 'It was just that everyone was talking about it.'

He nodded, 'The people love drama. Do not be surprised if his arrival creates new gossip about me.'

'You? What do you have to do with it?'

He smiled to himself. 'You will see. It shall be an enjoyable day.' He was having a whale of a time seeing her in awe of him. What else could it be- her sitting motionless on the table, watching him with wide eyes? Devotion wasn't far from love after all, and who could reject a man chosen by God?