I'll Always Find Out
A Hamlet and Ophelia Short Tale
One day, when she was about ten, Ophelia was picking flowers in the garden of Elsinore castle. She wanted to make a crown of flowers for her hair with violets and daisies. Suddenly, young prince Hamlet appeared. He was just a few years older than her. Without knowing why, the young girl felt very nervous and embarrassed (after all, she was picking flowers in a garden which was not hers) and quickly hid the flowers behind her.
"What are you hiding?" the prince asked.
"Nothing, your Highness" the young girl answered with a brief curtsy, but she knew her red cheeks would betray her.
"I know you're hiding something", Hamlet replied. "You don't need to hide anything from me, Lady Ophelia. I'll find out."
With those words, he rapidly grabbed her hands and made her show him the flowers.
"You were picking flowers?" he asked, taking them.
"Yes, your Highness".
"Why?"
She looked down with her cheeks burning, playing with her hands.
"I wanted to make a crown of violets and daisies."
"Why?" he repeated.
"For my head. To look beautiful."
"But you don't need flowers for that, Ophelia. You are already beautiful."
She felt her cheeks turning even redder and couldn't look at him in the eye. He took her chin and made her look at him. He was smiling at her.
"Don't try to hide something from me ever again, Ophe. I'll always find out."
"Yes, your Highness. I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"This is your garden, I mean, your family's garden, I shouldn't have…"
"You can pick flowers here whenever you want, Ophelia. You just don't need them." Despite his words, he put the flowers in her hair. "You're always beautiful."
She smiled a bit, her cheeks burning.
"Thank you, your Highness."
"And don't call me that, please. It makes me feel old."
They laughed a little.
"Okay, Hamlet."
"That's better" he said, like his teacher told him when he improved at doing something. "Thank you, Ophe."
"You're most welcome, Hamlet."
He smiled, liking how she said his name. Then they heard Queen Gertrude calling her son.
They looked at the castle. Hamlet sighed.
"I must go now. Farewell, Lady Ophe."
He took her hand and kissed it before running back to the castle so the young girl didn't see his cheeks were a little red too.
Years later...
They were both lying together in the grass, in the same garden.
"I told you right here, years ago, I would find out everything you tried to hide from me. Why didn't you tell me?" Hamlet said, playing with Ophelia's hair.
"I was scared."
"Scared of what?"
"I feared you didn't feel the same."
"Why wouldn't I feel the same?"
"You are the prince of Denmark… and I'm just…"
"You are the sweetest and fairest young woman in Denmark. Who wouldn't want you?"
She blushed and hid her face on his chest. Hamlet caressed her long locks, laughing a little.
"I love when you do that", he said, kissing her head.
"How did you know?" she asked from his chest.
"That you were in love with me?"
Ophelia looked at him and nodded, her cheeks burning a little.
"It wasn't too difficult, actually" Hamlet answered, smiling. "You stared a little too much at me, and if I looked at you back, you looked down immediately, blushing. Whenever I was near you, you looked nervous and blushed easily, and if I talked to you, your hands trembled and you wouldn't stop playing with them or whatever you had in your hands at that moment. You gave me a lot of clues." He laughed and kissed one of her red cheeks, which she felt burn even more.
"That's why you started courting me?"
"Not only that. I started courting you because I'm in love with you too." he said, kissing her lips.
Ophelia returned the kiss and stared at him with a curious look. "But you never showed it."
"I'm a little better than you at hiding my feelings, my fair Ophe," he laughed. She pouted and he stopped laughing immediately. "Don't do that. You know I don't like it."
She laughed and kissed him tenderly. Then he said: "But I must confess I always left the place before my cheeks started burning."
The girl looked at him, pretending to be shocked. "That's cheating!"
Hamlet laughed with delight. "I never said I would play fair".
"Neither did I" she replied.
"You'll never be able to hide anything from me, my fairest Ophelia", he said, kissing her.
"That won't stop me from trying, my prince Hamlet", she answered, kissing him back.
He laughed again and she joined him.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
They smiled at each other before kissing again.