Romeo and Juliet. The Unseen Romance ((Venticaeca Romance))
Act 1, Scene 5
The serving men came into the room, with napkins, jittering with excitement. The Capulet feast was about to begin! "Where is that damned boy, Potpan? Is he not going to help us remove the plates and dishes?'' The first serving man cried, exasperated, throwing all the napkins in the air accidentally, and bent to pick them up. He was in charge, and they were short on hands. "When a few people have all the good manners, and even they are dirty, things are bad." The second serving man said, stroking an imaginary beard. "What are you doing." the first serving man asked, looking at him weird. "I'm pretending to be a Zen master." he replied, and everyone around him face palmed. "Take away the sideboards, stools and plates, and save me a piece of marzipan. Then have the porter let in Susan Grindstone and Nell. Antony and Potpan!" A boy saluted, mockingly, and replied. "Yes, sir!" The first serving man turned away sighing. He heard a bell ringing, and gasped in surprise. "They call for us in the Great Hall!" he cried. Another serving man smiled, and said, soothingly. "Then let's go. We can't be there, and here, can we?" The first serving man smile, and nodded. He was calmed down slightly, and said "Yes. Let's depart. Onward!" He said, mockingly. All the servants exited, hurrying, so everything would be perfect for the Capulet feast.
As the Serving men all moved aside, Lord Capulet, and all of his house guests entered. The host, Lord Capulet, stood, tall, and cleared his throat. At once, everyone grew silent. "Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to my feast. I am honored to have you all in my manor, tonight. All you ladies, who don't have athlete's foot, feel free to have a dance with one of the charming gentlemen. If one of you refuse, we shall know you have the terrible fungus." He stopped and winked. " You are all welcome at my feast. Enjoy yourselves. Come musicians. Play." The musicians started playing music. It was a cross between jazz and classical music. A few of the guests began dancing, slowly, while the rest just watched in amusement.
Among the people watching were Mercutio and Romeo. The two of them stood silently during Capulet's speech, absorbing the details. He did say all were welcome, after all. The pair watched as Lord Capulet went to talk to someone, they thought it was his cousin, but couldn't be sure. Then, Romeo turned to Mercutio. "Thanks for getting me in, bro." He said. Mercutio grinned. No problem." He said, before Romeo spoke again. "We must go our separate ways now though. Before you protest, I will be fine. If worst comes to worst, I have Old Betsy here." He said, patting a bag he had. Old Betsy was a hand gun his grand father gave to him. Mercutio tried to argue with Romeo, but he shrugged off any objections. Finally Mercutio gave up. "Be careful." He said, and gave Romeo an awkward hug that guys almost never did. The, he turned around, and walked away, and slowly, Romeo did the same.
Mercutio took one last look behind him, and saw Romeo whispering to a serving man , and sadly turned away. Why was he so in love with Rosaline? She was nothing more special than the women he usually had in his bed. Sure she was attractive, but there were so many others like her. Romeo should have take his head from the dopey world he lived in. Honestly! He probably believed in Queen Mab, the old fairy tale everyone listened to as a child. Romeo's world was all about love at first sight, one woman at a time, dreams, and thoughts. Why couldn't he just have his feet on the ground? He sighed, but walked on. Romeo was not going to ruin his evening, no matter how in love he was. Maybe a broken heart would help him realize that love wasn't a good thing.
He trudged on, looking around for something to do. A few people called his name out, and he answered them, waving, with a huge smile that killed the ladies. Mercutio was about to go and chat up some random girl, when something knocked him over. "$ #% " Mercutio spat out, shocking a few females in that area, before he fell onto the floor, with someone on him. He twisted his body in mid-air, so he fell on the bottom, so the person on top of him wouldn't get hurt. After all, if it was a cute girl, at least he's have a chance of getting her number. And, the worst that could happen would be some 40-year-old man fell on him, and would squish him ...he hoped it was the cute girl.
Mercutio sat up from the ground where he currently lying. In his lap was a girl. She looked around the age of 15, maybe a bit older, and had many remarkable features that he noticed immediately. She had bright red hair, brilliant blue eyes, and a nice figure...what? He was a teenage boy, after all. Her face turned a rose-like shade of pink when she realize she was sitting in a random boy's lap. She tried to get up, but managed to fall back onto him again. He chuckled, and stood up, holding the girl in his arms, bridal style. He gently put her down, since she started struggling for some unknown reason, and helped her stand, as she wobbled slightly.
"All you alright?" He asked, slightly amused. Maybe he might get the cute girl's number, if he tried hard. "I'm fine. She replied curtly. "Are you sure? That was quite a tumble you took...and on me." He said, with a slight looked at him weirdly. "Do you know who I am?" She asked. "No. Should I?" He asked, nervously. She smiled, breaking the cold act she was putting on. "Nope." She said, brightly. "Thank you so much for saving me from the tumble I was about to take." Mercutio felt his heart skip a beat. What was wrong with him? Why was he blushing? It was the ladies who usually blushed when ever he was talking to them...or flirting. He felt his heart beat, and felt breathless. Was- was this what love felt like?
He saw Tybalt in the distance, and stiffened up when he saw what exactly Tybalt was looking at. Romeo. He saw Tybalt send his servant for something, probably a gun, and was about to interfere, when he saw Lord Capulet go, and stop the almost fight, He relaxed, and smiled at the pretty girl. "Would you care for a drink? " He asked. "Sure." She said, tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear. Mercutio brought the two of them something from the bar, non-alcoholic of course, and was about to start trying chatting her up, but then decided to have a real conversation with her. It was something about her, that told him not to even tr. So he asked her about herself, beliefs, and talked to her, like he would with any friend.
Two hours into the party, they were still talking, and he found himself liking her company. He was about to comment on how stupid everyone was where he lived as well, when he saw Romeo in the corner with another girl. They both were sucking each others faces, which was kinda gross, but Mercutio was proud. Romeo finally got over that bitc-erm, girl, Rosaline. He was so proud, he didn't even bother to look at the girl Romeo was currently making out with. "Ugh. Get a room." The girl next to him remarked, and he nodded. No matter how proud he was, it was still disgusting. suddenly, he realized that he had no idea about the girl he had spent all this time talking to's name. He turned to her, and asked, softly. "I haven't gotten your name yet. What is it, if I may ask. " He said, curiously. The girl looked at him, but didn't say anything. "Here, I'll go first. My name -" He started, before getting cut off. In the corner of his eye, he saw Romeo tug that girl, who's face was still covered, into another room, but that wasn't so important, at the moment.
"I know who you are, Mercutio." She said, looking at him oddly. "I'm afraid to tell you my name, as you are friends with Romeo Montague." Mercutio looked at her. "Are you a Capulet? Because that's fine with me! I'm no Montague. I don't give a ((blanked out for a reason, cough cough)) about Montagues and their little childish feud with the Capulets. Honest!" The girl smiled, and had Mercutio's heart racing again. No doubt about it. He was in love. "That's awfully sweet." She said, and moved in closer. Slowly, she pressed her lips onto his, kissing him. He pushed forward, and for a moment, everything was perfect. Then, they broke apart, and she gasped out. "I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, and backed away. "I-I have to go." Mercutio lunged forward, crying out "Wait! Please, tell me your name, before you go!" The girl turned around, sadly. "My name..." She said slowly. "Is Rosaline." And with that, she ran off, not looking behind her, leaving a party, and a stunned Mercutio behind.