Disclaimer: I don't own Bloodlines or Romeo and Juliet.
A/N: I don't know if this has been done before in this section, but I wanted to do it anyway, because I am studying it in school. This will be a bit more interesting because:
1. I will not be featuring excessive amounts of old English.
2. It is based on our favourite Bloodlines characters.
3. I, unlike Mr. Shakespeare, don't love to use poetic, confusing lines that make them especially difficult to learn and recite. (I am not the biggest fan of the word ne'er
I really have nothing against Shakespeare, he was a great playwright.)
Since Mr. Shakespeare's obviously amazing (confuzzling, groan-producing, mind-addling) beautiful work is so long, if I want to have it in detail, this is going to have to be a multi-chapter story.
Well, I hope you enjoy my story:
Starcross'd Lovers.
Character Reference for Act 1, Scene 1:
Sampson - Brayden.
Gregory - Trey.
Abraham - Neil.
Balthazar - Lee.
Tybalt - Keith.
Montague - Nathan.
Lady Montague - Daniella.
Capulet - Jared.
Lady Capulet - Mrs. Sage.
Prince of Verona - Abe.
Benvolio - Eddie.
Romeo - Adrian.
On the streets of Verona...
Brayden and Trey were walking along the streets, they were from the house of Sage. They were making their way back up to the Sage house.
"Trey, O' my word, we'll not carry coals." Brayden said, trying to start a conversation with his work buddy.
"Umm... man, translate, I don't speak English from a million years ago." Trey answered, confused at Brayden's choice of words. Brayden rolled his eyes before replying, obviously annoyed by Trey's lack of participation.
"We won't put up with insults." He told Trey, explaining it as if Trey was a five-year-old.
"How do you get the word 'coal' from insults?" Trey asked curiously, if not a bit snarky at Brayden's old-fashioned words. Brayden only sighed exasperatedly at his question.
"If Ms. Sage was here, she would reply with: 'No, for then we shall be colliers.'" Brayden sighed, thinking of their intelligent friend who was also their boss's daughter.
"Dude, I know Sydney speaks Spanish, but I don't. Or is 'colliers' a French word... hmm..." Trey, unlike Brayden, had no qualms about calling Ms. Sage by her first name when there was no authority around.
"I said 'colliers,' Trey."
"... Yeah?"
"You know, coalminers." Brayden attempted to explain to his friend.
"So, why didn't you just say that, instead of going off and speaking some foreign language?" Trey asks, and Brayden wasn't sure if he was doing it to annoy him or if Trey really was that uneducated in the English classics department. Either way, he face-palmed himself - quite hard.
"For someone who is supposed to be quite smart, you are incredibly thick." Brayden groaned.
"What can I say? It's a gift. Anyway, what would you do if you saw a dog from the house of Ivashkov?" Trey asked Brayden, seemingly seeking amusement.
"I would duel with them, of course!" Trey had to hide a bubble of laughter.
"That is so ten centuries ago, B." He smiled to himself. Brayden decided to ignore his mistake.
"Would spar fit better, then?" Brayden tried his hand at sarcasm but apparently he wasn't very good at it because Trey took his antics seriously.
"You are going backwards in time, try going forwards," Trey suggested.
"Fight?"
"Much better." Trey praised him.
"Then I would fight them!" Brayden put on a ridiculous growly voice.
"You wouldn't, you would run away with your tail between your legs." Trey laughed.
"I will fight! I will push the women away, up against the walls and fight the men. Everyone knows women are weaker than men." Brayden said, defending his honour.
"Not my Angeline." Trey contradicted.
"The one exception..." Brayden admitted, thinking back to the many times that Angeline had been challenged to a fight, and the many times a man had lost his dignity afterwards.
"Anyways, the fight is between our bosses and us, their loyal workers!" Trey pronounced forcefully. "Gee, Brayden, you are really beginning to rub off on me..."
"And you on me," Brayden prepared to deliver his speech, much to Trey's protests. "I feel like fighting to death with men and cutting off their women's heads like they did in the French Revolution to Marie Antoinette -" Trey cut him off before he could go any further.
"Stick with the blood-lust and kill the history lesson... Speak of the devil, here come two workers from the house of Ivashkov! Get ready!" Trey commanded.
"I'm ready to back you up." Brayden's taking this really seriously, but then again, so was Trey.
"How? By running away?" Trey couldn't help himself.
"I wouldn't run away!" Brayden insisted, arguing back.
"Of course you wouldn't," Trey answered sarcastically. "Just like you wouldn't know all the capital cities in Europe."
"Well... there's Dublin, London, Paris, Madrid..."
"I didn't mean list them out, you idiot!" Trey shook his head hopelessly. "You are, in a nut shell, a hopeless case."
"Are you attempting to quote Bruno from The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas?" Brayden asked, his face pure seriousness. Trey just groaned.
"Anyway, let them start the fight so that we can say they started it and we only acted in self-defence." Brayden told Trey, determined to prove him wrong.
"Wow, you just had a good idea, man." Trey told him, patting him on the back.
"Why thank- hey!" Brayden said, realising that Trey had just insulted him with a compliment. Trey just laughed.
"I will frown at them as they pass by and they can take it whichever way they want." Trey suggested, having an idea of his own.
"No! Let us bite our thumbs at them, it is a disgrace if they decide to tolerate it!" Brayden was really getting into the swing of the thing... though it would have been better if he had been a few centuries up to date.
"Bro, that is so old-fashioned and disgusting! You'd swear we were peasants in the Shakespearian times! For the love of God, just sneer at them or give them a dirty look." Trey groaned, rather embarrassed at his friend's lack of social experience.
Then Neil and Lee, from the house of Ivashkov, entered. They spotted Trey and Brayden. Trey threw them a dirty look and Brayden bit his thumb.
"What is that guy doing?" Neil whispered to Lee.
"Is he biting his thumb?" Lee answered quietly.
"Why the hell is he biting his thumb? That's incredibly... sickening." Neil shuddered in disgust.
"You think? I told you those Sage's were weird." Lee chuckled.
"I can't believe that I didn't believe you." Neil grumbled.
"Twenty dollars when we get home." Lee reminded him.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Neil waved dismissively. "Do you sneer at us?" He called over to Trey, ignoring Brayden's thumb-biting. He was expecting an answer from Trey but received the reply from Brayden.
"Is it there fault if I say yes?" Brayden whispered to Trey.
"No, I thought you were supposed to be the smart guy." If looks could kill, Trey would be a puddle on the floor.
"I sneer, but not at you." Brayden called back.
"Is that right?" Lee replied sceptically.
"Do you argue?" Trey asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Argue? Never. It was the one thing that they taught us at the academy-" Neil began.
"It's okay, they don't need to hear your life story..." Lee grumbled.
"Yeah, we all know mine is better!" Trey roused up the fight.
"It isn't." Neil answered, getting angry.
"Well..." Brayden was about to begin.
"Say better, here comes one of ours." Trey whispered into Brayden's ear.
"Better." Brayden spoke. No longer than the words were out of his mouth did the tension shot up and all men were anticipating the next move.
"You lie," Neil hissed poisonously.
"Fight if you want to prove it!" Brayden challenged.
"Brayden..." Trey began hesitantly.
"Just go along with it." Brayden hissed, confident in his actions.
They began to fight.
Eddie saw the commotion and ran up.
"Stop it, ye fools!" He roared. "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into!" He attempted to part them.
Keith walked up behind him.
"Keith! Help me, please!" Eddie called pleadingly.
"You want peace? I hate that word just like I hate hell and all Ivashkovs! Fight me, you coward." Keith sneered.
He ran up to Eddie and Eddie fought back in self-defence. Many citizens appeared, Jill among them.
"Eddie! Stop!" She cried, but he didn't hear her.
"Down with the Ivashkovs! Down with the Sages!" The crowd yelled over the sound of clashing swords.
Jared Sage and his wife entered.
"What is going on? Give me my stick, woman." Jared yelled.
"A stick? You are much too old to be fighting, dear."
"A stick, I say, old Nathan has come to spite me."
Nathan and Daniella Ivashkov entered.
"That villain Jared! Let me go, I say!" Nathan yelled.
"You will not get involved again!" Daniella yelled.
Abe and his soldiers entered.
"Stop, rebellious subjects! Stop fighting! On threat of torture, part and listen to your leader! Three fights started by a simple word. You have disturbed our streets three times! If you ever disturb our streets again, I shall make you pay by your lives. Jared, come with me. Nathan, I shall call you later. Once more, on pain of death, leave!" Abe commanded as the whole street went silent.
Everyone left except Nathan, Daniella and Eddie.
"Who started this fight?" Nathan asked.
"Your servants and Sage's servants. I tried to part them but Keith attacked me. While we were all fighting, the Prince arrived to give his opinion." Eddie explained.
"Oh, I'm glad Adrian isn't here. Where is he? Have you seen him today?" Daniella asked worriedly.
"Madam, around dawn I went for a walk and underneath the sycamore tree was Adrian, and he was walking. I went towards him, but he saw me and ran away. I didn't go after him, figuring that he wanted to be alone." Eddie informed her.
"He is usually seen in the morning with tears on his face, adding more darkness to his life. When the sun comes up, he comes home and makes his room as dark as night. He needs to grow up and improve his mood." Nathan thought aloud.
"Do you know the cause?" Eddie asked, concerned.
"I don't."
"Have you even questioned him?" Eddie asked boldly.
"I and many other people, but he will not enlighten anyone." Nathan answered, biting the rude part of his tongue.
"I will try and find out." Eddie promised.
"Oh, thank you." Lady Ivashkov smiled before leaving on the arm of her husband.
As Eddie stood alone on the streets, trying to figure out where Adrian was, Adrian entered.
"Afternoon, Adrian." Eddie greeted.
"Is the day so young?" Adrian asked sadly.
"What makes you so sad? Are you... in love?" Eddie asked curiously.
"Out."
"Of love?"
"Out of her favour, where I am in love."
"Writing poetry again?" Eddie asked, a small smile on his face.
"Yeah... want to hear more?" Adrian asked slyly.
"Sure," Eddie shrugged.
"Why, such is love's transgression. Grieves of mine own lie heavy in my breast, which thou wilt propagate to have it pressed with more of thine: this love that thou hast shown doth add more grief to too much of mine own. Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; being purged, a fire sparkling in lover's eyes; being vexed, a sea of nourished with lover's tears: What is it else? A madness most discreet, a choking gall, and a preserving sweet."
"Shakespeare?" Eddie asked, smiling.
"Who else?" Adrian sighed. "Bye, Eddie."
"I'll go with you."
"I am not here, I am not Adrian - he is some other where." Adrian smiled sadly.
"Who do you love?" Eddie asked curiously.
"A woman." Adrian hadn't lost all of his old arrogant traits.
"Does she love someone else?"
"Yes..." Adrian's mood got worse."I need a drink."
"No, no you don't." Eddie insisted. "I'll make you forget all about this girl, by looking at other beautiful women."
"Good luck with that." Adrian muttered.
"I will make you forget about her - trust me." Eddie answered and with that they walked away.
A/N: Thanks to my wonderful beta Ehlymana. Check out her awesome stories :) :) :)