Summary: The fireside scene from Attack of the Clones, with a twist.
Notes: This was written as a response to the Dare Challenge at TF.n. I was dared:
Rewrite the canon scene of your choice as Shakespeare might have written it. The sequence of events should stay the same but the dialogue is all yours. Ideally it must include at least one genuine Shakespearean quote as well.
Act II
Scene XXIII. A room in the Naberrie's lakehouse.
Enter ANAKIN and PADMÉ
PADMÉ:
My guest, protector,
friend, the hour grows late,
Yet I am loath to part.
Some troubled thought
Is writ upon thy face,
and though my heart
Misgives thy fateful
words must render naught
But grief and sorrow to
us both, yet speak.
ANAKIN:
Ten years and more have
passed since first we met.
Then I was but a child.
We parted soon,
And ne'er again our
paths did cross till now.
Yet every moment since
thy angel light
Didst break upon my
vision, I have held
Thy memory dear within
my heart. Each morn
The break of dawn less
radiant shines than thy
Remembered smile. Each
indrawn breath infused
With thine own
fragrance, lotus-flower sweet.
Each night, as in
imperial majesty
Thy world once ruled,
thou reign'st Queen of my dreams.
PADMÉ:
I cannot bear to hear
such words. Forbear;
It is not seemly thus
for thee to speak.
ANAKIN:
Yet speak I must, these
words that long have burned
In silence stayed on my
unmoving tongue.
Though then I loved
thee as a child, now I've
To manhood grown, and
love thee as a man.
To stand here by thy
side, yet touch thee not
Is torturous pleasure,
precious agony,
Sweet pain, yet should
I leave thy presence dear
Aught else would be to
me the airless void
Between the stars,
which steals both life and breath.
Just once thy lips
touched mine. The memory still
Engulfs my soul in hot
tormenting flame.
With that forbidden
kiss, a branding iron,
Thy owner's mark
engraved upon my heart
In lines of fire that
never more shall fade,
But harden, and remain
eternal scars.
I know not anymore what
I should do.
I place my fate within
thy gentle hand.
I am thy slave; I'll
do whate'er thou bid.
PADMÉ:
I am amazed, and know not what to say.
ANAKIN:
Say only whether thou my suffering share.
PADMÉ:
I dare not answer. We
should bid good night,
And speak no more
impossible desires.
ANAKIN:
O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?
PADMÉ:
What satisfaction
canst thou have tonight?
The world is real, not
built of airy dreams.
Thou art a Jedi; I in
Senate serve.
The road that thou
wouldst set thy feet upon
We cannot follow.
Neither thy desire
Nor mine can alter
that.
ANAKIN:
Thou dost desire!
PADMÉ:
Thy future thou shalt
not forsake for me.
The cost would be too
high, the price too dear.
ANAKIN:
Thou bidst me honor
reason as my guide,
But never have my feet
calm thoughts pursued,
But swiftly followed
where my impassioned heart
Hath led. I doubt not
I should happier be
If I could pluck the
blossom of my love
For thee, and with a
wish and sigh of breath
Send ardor flying hence
like downy seeds
Upon the wind. But
passion's roots have sunk
So deep within my heart
that to attempt to pull
The tough stem forth
would only serve to drag
My heart still beating
from my lifeless breast.
PADMÉ:
Though sweet temptation
woos me to thy side,
Enticing with forbidden
pleasures' hope,
I'll not surrender.
ANAKIN:
No. But even so
We could in secret
love, by dark of night,
Or when concealing
shadows cloud the sight
Of all who would
gainsay our covert tryst.
PADMÉ:
Live in eternal
falsehood? Exile truth
Beyond all compass?
Counterfeit cold looks
To cover hands' hot
touches? I could not
In such deception
dwell, I fear. Couldst thou?
ANAKIN:
No, neither could I
bear such vile deceit.
The effort to keep such
a secret hid
Would rend our lives
asunder with the strain.
Thou hast convinced me.
We would be destroyed.
PADMÉ:
'Tis settled, then.
We shall not fall in love.
I pray thee, speak no
further of these vain
And hopeless longings.
I shall do my best
To wipe from memory all
that thou hast said
This night, and still
regard thee as the same
Dear friend that thou
hast always been to me.
Good night, good night,
may thee with sleep be blest,
And all thy troubles
sooth with peaceful rest.
ANAKIN:
She bids me sleep? I
shall not sleep in peace
For many nights, I
fear, if e'er again.
She has refused me.
Easier far to die
Than live with that
rejection. Yet I must.
My lady lives, and I am
charged to guard
Her steps. My heart
shall burn forever in
A fiery hell of
unrequited love,
Yet for her sake I'll
bury the fire deep
In ashes cold and dank,
that I may keep
Her safe. Let love lie
banked against the night
It shall not wake again
to heat and light.