written for English creative assignment for English. This is a "what if" take on a part of the play...
A Mother's Love
What has become of our lives? How did everything go horribly wrong? Gertrude thought as she walked down the empty hall of the castle, Oh Ophelia, poor child.
Tears came into the Queen's eyes as she played back the scene in her mind. Laertes had just come back from France, looking for revenge of the one who killed his father; Ophelia, poor thing, went crazy over the death of her father at the hand of her ex-lover, and drowned herself. Gertrude was on her way to break the unfortunate news to young Laertes. She couldn't help but blame herself for all this, for it was her son who caused this innocent family to fall apart.
No, Hamlet is not at fault; he has gone mad, so he should not take responsibility for his actions, the other part of Gertrude's mind argued. Before she could stop herself, her mind took her back to when Hamlet was in her chamber, showing her his disgust with her decision to remarry. She remembered how Hamlet's passionate words shook her, made her mind reel, shattered her shield of ignorance, and crushed her soul. She went numb as she saw in her mind's eye the moment that her sweet Hamlet became a murderer.
Gertrude gasped as she desperately tried to shake the image from her mind. Her knees felt weak, so she had to lean against the wall for support. The woman huffed as tears stung her eyes.
I am responsible. I am to blame for all of this, she told herself bitterly. I am the one who made Hamlet mad, mad with anger that I have married his uncle. Oh, what have I done? Gertrude sighed as tears traced her cheeks. I am the cause of all this strife. I have not been a good mother to my son, or a loyal wife to my beloved first husband. The Queen took a shaky breath. But no more, I shall be more supportive of Hamlet; I shall talk to him and apologize.
With this resolve, Gertrude straightened up and walked down the hall, intent on finding Hamlet and talk to him. She was about to turn down the next corridor when she heard voices coming from the room beside her. It sounded like Laertes and Claudius, the very people she was looking for before. Gertrude walked towards the door and was about to open it, but she stopped at the mention of Hamlet's name. Curious, she decided to listen.
Her eyebrows knitted as she heard Claudius talking to Laertes about giving Hamlet a drink, and she barely held back her gasp of horror as Claudius mentioned venom. She did not know what they were talking about, but it seemed to involve her son, and did not sound good. In her surprise, she did not notice that she was leaning on the door to hear better until the hinges creaked. Gertrude froze as the men stopped talking. She sighed, since she already gave away her presence, she might as well make it known.
"Hamlet, come, have a drink." Claudius raised his cup and took a swig, then dropped a pearl in the cup and held it out to Hamlet. Gertrude's eyes widened as she thought she saw a trace of white powder on the pearl. Her pulse quickened. Could this be the venom Claudius was telling Laertes?
"Set it aside for awhile, I'm not tired yet," Hamlet answered, but Gertrude could see that Hamlet was sweating and breathless, so she took out her handkerchief and called for Hamlet to wipe his face with it.
The Queen glanced at Claudius, who seemed slightly impatient and annoyed at Hamlet's refusal. Gertrude's heart sank as she realized what Claudius had planned: to poison Hamlet with the wine. She was sure that even though Hamlet refused for now, Claudius would find a way to make Hamlet drink it later. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth as she looked at her husband and the cup in his hand.
I've wronged Hamlet once, and I shall make up for it. I will not allow them to hurt my son!
Gertrude took a deep breath and reached for the cup.