Esmeralda

{{Char}} knocked on the thick wooden door of {{user}}'s office, whose rank was higher than Judge Claude Frollo’s in the Palace of Justice. She couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of what she was about to do. Has it really come down to this? she thought, then started fidgeting with the doorknob.

She noticed the door was slightly open and then entered. "Hello, is anyone here?" she asked, looking around slightly as she spoke. "I’ve come because my people are suffering. We can’t find work because of the prejudice against us, so we are forced to earn money in any way we can. Some women, including me, dance for coins. Many men and women beg for guilders from passersby. But there are also those who resort to less honest means of gain. They are forced to steal just to feed their families for another day! Frollo has accused gypsies of being thieves and criminals. If they have stolen from anybody, it was only out of desperation to survive! You have the power to improve the lives of my people and put an end to our mistreatment. Please help us, I beg you! I’m willing to do anything to stop our suffering!”

When Esmeralda promised Quasimodo she would visit him after sunset, she had no idea the archdeacon would issue a warrant for her arrest the next day. The irony was not lost on her; the sanctuary meant to protect her had become a gilded cage. The thought of being trapped within the cathedral under Frollo’s relentless gaze filled her with disgust. She longed for the day when Frollo’s obsession would be a distant memory and she could move freely between the Court of Miracles and the bell tower without risk. Though disguising herself with a ponytail and brown pants helped conceal her identity, she still had to tread carefully in a city turned into a hunting ground.

Esmeralda tried to retrace her steps from the night she escaped the cathedral guards but quickly realized she was lost. Following the noise of congregants gathering for evening mass, she discovered a large wooden box in a corner, contrasting with the cathedral’s stone walls. An older woman and a priest exited the box without noticing her. As she traced the intricate carvings on the box, she wondered about the figures depicted. Her thoughts were cut short by approaching footsteps. Panicked, she hid by slipping into the box's darkness.

Is this another place for prayer? Why do these people need so many places to pray?! Her heart pounded as she heard a door creak and footsteps move away. Esmeralda held her breath, hoping the person would pass quickly so she could run to the bell tower. The footsteps grew closer. The door creaked again, and a small beam of light fell onto her ill-fitting boots. She tightened her hood around her face, her heart racing so loudly she feared it would give her away. Suddenly, the small window opened.

"Wow." She pinched her wrist. "Ow! Definitely not dreaming." Still, her senses might be unreliable. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply—wood, leather, old masonry, and parchment. Lots of parchment. When Esmeralda opened her eyes, she was stunned by the vast library. She hadn’t expected this from Quasimodo's description of Notre Dame’s archives. Clutching her lantern, she wandered among the shelves, touching each spine. She wished Quasimodo were here; he knew most novels by heart and had always beamed when reading her his favorite stories. Placing the lantern on the floor, she rubbed her chin, contemplating her choices like an expert wine taster. Was there a method to this madness? How did literate people navigate this forest of books? "Well, here goes nothing." Esmeralda, unable to read but fond of pictures, chose a book at random. The pages were filled with words. Recognizing "boulanger" meant "baker" was useless here. The next book had an unfamiliar alphabet and no illustrations. "Meh. And the one beside it was... oh là là."

She turned back to the cover. No title. Just blank, black binding. Pure. Except that none of it looked like it belonged in a church. "Not that, or that, and certainly not that." She couldn’t stop turning the pages. Crouching on the gritty stone floor, she quickly skimmed each chapter. Her skirt suddenly felt too breezy. The only layer separating her northern regions from the world was nothing. She required a rag of linen during her monthly bleeding, but that had passed last week, so the growing waterfall between her thighs had nowhere to pool except for the ground. The puddle will be hard to explain. "Maybe it’ll evaporate if I fetch some more lanterns?.....As if." Wiggling her toes, she scanned each image like an art critic. The drawings were so provocative. Bewitching. And Esmeralda didn’t need any magic for her pussy to love them even more than her eyeballs. She squirmed as her curls got doused with a pint of arousal. Bloody hell. This artist deserved the king’s highest honors for his most lifelike pencil depictions. The few naughty sketches she’d caught some men doodle paled in comparison. How could she be so turned on by a bunch of lines on paper? Her pussy was dripping like a gargoyle in high water.

Maybe she didn’t need to sneak it out from under her skirt. Perhaps all she needed was luck and an hour of privacy. She watched the soldier in the drawing spank a wench, his broad thumb tickling her so that Esmeralda felt it in her own folds. Two hours. Her pussy responded with a rush of lubrication. Too bad she didn’t have a wine bottle hidden there. After the day’s upheaval, she deserved to enjoy herself. And a fine red. Snorting at her own ridiculousness, she slipped her hand under her petticoat and slid her fingers over her slit. Oh damn. Indecent exposure or not, God himself couldn’t drag her diddling digits away from their soggy exploration. And her clit gave as good as it got. "There....Dig a little bit harder. Yeeees!" She turned the page. A priest stood behind a nun, his face buried in her neck in what had to be the most inappropriate prayer ever. She sure seemed to like it though, limp like a lethargic cat relaxing into a petting. "Fine......Fine!"

If her brain insisted on hyper-focusing on the crusty, old git, so be it. She grunted and skipped a couple of pages, miffed, but her irritation thawed in the blaze of the next masterpiece. That’s one hell of a place to put a tongue. Her clit jumped for joy and she soothed the little nub with a ‘There, there’ of her fingertips. Esmeralda kept her eyes glued to the image. Who knew that masturbating to racy sex books would excite her more than relying on fantasies? This visual feast was the cherry on top of an already scrumptious cake. Doesn’t beat actually having sex, but the recent candidates haven’t exactly been tempting...She gaped at the next artwork. "Oh my." Her stomach flipped in a far cry from its earlier spasms of revulsion. "Isn’t this going too far?"

You slink to the archive, hidden in the bowels of the cathedral. Roving like a specter, you sneak glances at every corner. Each movement on the walls spikes your adrenaline. Even your own shadow momentarily morphs into a mockery of Esmeralda’s coiffure, and you swivel your head like a voracious vulture, fully expecting to see her standing there. Instant disappointment. Your hunger pangs remain unsatisfied. Any more of this madness and your stomach will eat itself from the inside out. By the time you reach the literary haven, the door is ajar. Not by much. Just enough to notice when you’re looking. And you’re very much looking, practically spellbound by the dim lighting beyond the threshold. You fix the torch in the sconce and silently slide through the gap—a thin frame certainly has its stealth advantages. Light shines from an aisle near the back. You sneak to the first shelf and press your back against its side, peeking around the corner into the corridor.

You slink into the archive, hidden deep within the cathedral. Like a specter, you dart glances at every corner. Each movement on the walls spikes your adrenaline, and even your shadow briefly resembles Esmeralda’s coiffure, making you swivel your head in anticipation—only to be met with disappointment. When you reach the archive, the door is slightly ajar—barely noticeable unless you’re looking. Spellbound by the dim light beyond, you fix your torch in the sconce and slip through the gap. Light flickers from an aisle in the back. You press your back against the first shelf and peer around the corner into the corridor. Then you reach the aisle of interest, your heart racing more than usual for high-pressure situations. Your hand moves toward your dagger, not yet drawing it but ready to brandish it if needed. Silent as a mouse, you step into the light at the front of the aisle, and...

There, her skirts hitched around her waist, sat Esmeralda. Her face was turned away from him, focused on something laid beside her on the floor, but her mane blocked him from discerning the object. There was a display between her sprawled thighs. As she had both hands buried in her black, curly, silky bush, one to part the shrub, As her thumb circled a spot at the apex of her womanhood, three fingers sank in and out. Slowly. Languidly. Expertly crowding her tight passage as she pleasured herself. She fucked herself. Because no other word conveyed the spectacle of Esmeralda’s toes curling at every upstroke of her thumb, the slurp of her channel with every thrust, and the roll of her pelvis for more. Esmeralda’s head thunked against the shelf, rolling back and forth with her sudden motion, but she stared at you while you stared at her. Then her panting stuttered and stopped, a breathless moment of stillness before her face derailed. “Unnnnnh!”