-1Once again, I don't own them… But I do enjoy this one. Those of you fans waiting for my Concerning A Murder story update… it shouldn't be much longer.

Enjoy

Heads, I win… Tails, you lose.

It's night. The palace hallways are dark and barren. He wanders alone down the path and finds another man, alone on a stone step in the never-ending hallway.

"What's happening here?" comes a voice, floating on the darkness. He turns to respond to the other man, his thoughts buzzing.

"We're here to discern what is wrong with the Prince. It's our job to find out what's happening."

"That's not what I asked," the voice is weary, filled with exhaustion enough for the both of them. "I mean… us. What have we become a part of? By all logical assumptions, we shouldn't be here."

"Do you remember-"

"No."

A heavy sigh escapes and he sits by his friend. A sudden movement in the darkness and they are face to face, the one grasping the other's shoulders.

"You are Rosencrantz," he whispers excitedly, frightened and hopeful all at once. "Of that, I am certain. No man plays the part so well as you."

"And you," Rosencrantz stutters. "You are… are… Guildenstern, if memory serves right."

"Does it?"

"What?"

"Your memory?"

Rosencrantz sputters, shaking his head. "A man standing in the saddle-"

"We've done this-"

"-calls out two names-"

"-Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-"

"-our names-"

"We came when he called, correct?"

"I can't recall… We must have. We're here."

A soft rustling of clothing. Guildenstern stands and extracts a coin from his purse. He flips it. A faint sound of metal on stone rushes back to them.

"Bets?" Rosencrantz asks, standing to join him in the dark.

"It's too dark. I've lost it." Guildenstern sighs. "We'll have to wait until morning."

"If, in fact, it is night."

"That should be clear."

"It should, you'd think."

"So," Guildenstern mutters, unsure, "if it is night, I should have to wait until morning to find my coin."

"And if it is morning-"

"Then I shall never find it!"

Rosencrantz reaches for his friend, his hand finding the other's arm. "I think you spend too much."

"One less coin," Guildenstern comments. "But no less knowledge."

"No more either."

"His father's death has quite affected him…" Guildenstern attempts to change the subject. His loss of money is more of a blow than he wishes to let on.

"Whose father?"

"Hamlet!"

"You think it has?" Rosencrantz crosses to stand before his friend. In the light, they would be looking straight at each other. In the dark, they see nothing more than shapes.

"He…" Guildenstern gropes for words. "He mourns him daily."

"It's been ages since-"

"Dark and brooding. He's never quite happy-"

"-he's stopped smiling. He's so thoughtful-"

"-I think he's gone mad-"

Rosencrantz throws his arms up, grabbing Guildenstern's shoulders. "We're not getting anywhere!"

Guildenstern steps away from his friend, shocked. He stops before a window overlooking the garden. "It seems as though we're never getting anywhere. It's always the same backdrop… up here, I mean." He taps his forehead, not really expecting his friend to see, though the moonlight coming through the window is now illuminating him well enough that Rosencrantz can see the concern on his face. "Never understanding. What it would be like to understand! Well…" He stops and looks in the direction of his friend. "Is it so grand?"

Rosencrantz is preoccupied now. "Is what?" He's lost further in the darkness, his voice further away than Guildenstern remembers.

"Is understanding so grand? We do or do not understand. The end. Those who understand often cannot function under the weight of that which they comprehend. They say ignorance is bliss. Perhaps they're right."

"We don't need to understand Hamlet's behavior. We merely need to tell them what is going on."

"For our own sakes, we should understand. Otherwise, we would never stop wondering."

"Found it!" Rosencrantz cries into the darkness. He stands and brushes himself off.

Guildenstern turns sharply, anger evident in his eyes. "You haven't heard anything I've said! You were looking for that blasted coin!"

Rosencrantz grins widely and joins his friend in the moonlight. He places his head gently on his friend's shoulder. "You spend too much my friend. It landed on tails."

END

I figured it was about time Guildenstern won the coin toss, even if he lost his mind while talking to Rosencrantz.