Esmeralda

I haven't quite got the fine points down, like...when, or where... It just kinda kicks in whenever it wants to.
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Esmeralda makes her debut in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. She is a gypsy girl who becomes the object of Quasimodo's sincere affections, but unfortunately those of the tyrannical Judge Claude Frollo as well.

Development

Esmeralda's first appearance was in the TGS 2011 trailer, in which she is seen being held unconscious by Quasimodo, apparently having just been rescued from being burned at the stake. Magazine scans depict her interacting with Quasimodo and Riku. As of now, she has not yet appeared in any screenshots or videos with Sora.

Appearance

Given her name, Esmeralda's possibly most distinguishing feature is the green colour of her eyes. Though she is French, she possesses some Eastern characteristics such as jet black hair and brown skin. She most frequently wears a white shirt with a blue midsection, and a purple dress to follow. She is also notably barefoot, like most gypsies in the film. She wears a golden earring on her left ear, and a golden bangle on her right wrist.

Origin

Esmeralda was originally the titular character of the 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, but this incarnation of the character appeared for the first time in the 1996 adaptation, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She first makes herself known when she meets Quasimodo at the Festival of Fools and is the only one not repulsed by his deformed appearance, but she manages to land herself in trouble with the "law" by defending Quasimodo against a riot Judge Claude Frollo had deliberately refused to stop. When she openly defies Frollo, she becomes a fugitive and hides inside Notre Dame to avoid capture by Frollo's soldier-like thugs. There, she befriends Quasimodo, who helps her escape and develops feelings for her, although she sees him as a dear friend. Later, she seeks his aid in order to shelter Phoebus, Frollo's former Captain of the Guard and who had rebelled against Frollo. Esmeralda falls in love with Phoebus but is forced to leave when Frollo returns. In the film's climactic scene, she is threatened with execution unless she becomes Frollo's mistress, but Esmeralda refuses and is almost burned thanks to Quasimodo's intervention. Quasimodo protects the weakened Esmeralda from Frollo until Frollo is killed. In the aftermath, Esmeralda chooses Phoebus, and Quasimodo blesses their relationship.