Morning in Elsinore

by Rosepixie

A series of very short stories about characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet in the morning. There is very little plot, but it is safe to assume that the stories all take place on the same morning, so small connections may become evident. I have no current plans to expand any of these, but may continue to add more of them over time.

1. Claudius

Prince Claudius rubbed the sleep from his eyes as best he could as his groom silently moved around him, ensuring that he was perfectly dressed and made ready for the day. The king was at home and so more formal dress than usual was called for, although Claudius doubted that his brother really cared about such things.

A glance in the looking glass assured him that everything was as it should be. He strode out of his chambers and made his way to the intimate royal breakfast room. A maid was laying out breakfast, but there was no sign of his brother yet. Queen Gertrude always ate breakfast in her chambers and young Prince Hamlet was away at school, so the king's absence left Claudius to eat alone.

With a sigh, the prince sat down to his meal. He was not looking forward to the day. When King Hamlet was away, the running of the country was left to his queen. She worked with Claudius to manage it all and, while the work was never ending and the kingdom only seemed to gain more troubles as it waged war on its neighbors, Claudius treasured those times.

When Hamlet was home, though, Gertrude spent most of her time crying in her chambers as her husband ignored the needs of his people and searched for new fights to start. If Claudius got too involved in trying to run the country, Hamlet became enraged, yet he himself showed little interest in doing so. It was a mess and the people of Denmark were the ones to suffer for it.

When things were especially bad, and particularly when Gertrude was suffering keenly, Claudius sometimes let his thoughts darken. As much as he hated his brother, though, he doubted that he could ever really bring himself to do anything about the situation. Once in a while, though, when Gertrude came to him in tears, he thought that perhaps it was possible. At those times, he found that he had a difficult time seeing how such a drastic act could be anything but an improvement.

Claudius munched on dry toast as his thoughts continued to stray down the dangerous path they tended to tread when his brother was home. It would be best if Hamlet left with his generals again very soon, before Claudius became too tempted.