RichardIII1955 - Yay! Glad you like Benedick! And that's exactly what I aim for, so thank you!
Cornadopia - Beatrix is going to be a main character in this story! We'll be seeing everything through her eyes o.0
Moon Lantern - Just as a reminder...never have hope for Mercutio!
Well, Beatrix has met Benedick! I can just tell it's love at first sight...not. So, what's going on with everyone else in Verona?
"You know, Mercutio is never going to grow up," sighed Valentine, as he and Escalus walked down the corridor together.
"No. I suppose not. I just find it hard to admit it to myself. I'm worried about him, you know," replied Escalus.
"We all are," Valentine agreed, "His behaviour is ridiculous. Don't get me wrong – he's my little brother and I love him to bits, even if he licks my elbow and sings the theme tune to Postman Pat at four am in the morning – but I just can't help but wonder what on earth will happen to him. I mean, what will he do once he finishes university? And what can he do with an art degree anyway?"
"Which is exactly what I'm thinking," Escalus shook his head, "Well, anyway, I can't dwell on it. He'll be going back to Venice for his exams at the end of the month, and I need to sort out the debriefing of the military personal who are arriving back from England. Don Pedro has arrived, and is willing to stay for a few weeks whilst we sort everything out, but I'm still waiting on the man who Athens sent in charge of their forces."
"Isn't that...Tychon Alanis?" asked Valentine.
"Yes, it was," said Escalus, "The name Alanis rings a bell, but I can't recall where."
"Me neither," said Valentine, "When do you think he'll arrive?"
"I have no idea," Escalus sighed again, "King Edward has been keeping our troops for as long as possible, claiming he needs them to suppress riots or further Lancastrian uprisings. Henry and Jasper Tudor have gone into exile, but Edward is insisting on being precautious."
"Tudor is what, thirteen?" asked Valentine, "What will he do? Have a teenage tantrum and throw spot cream across the room?"
"Edouard managed to get his way having a few teenage tantrums," warned Escalus.
"And look what happened to him," Valentine smiled, "I don't usually approve of Mercutio being rude and insensitive, but that musical he wrote about Edouard is well-warranted."
Escalus shook his head, but he smiled too, "I suppose to Mercutio's credit, I believe there's a secret creative genius underneath all his craziness."
Valentine smiled back. Sometimes he envied his brother's creative side. He'd never been able to get in touch with that side of himself, and had stuck to interests in topics that were a little more clear-cut and required less imagination.
"But back on topic," said Escalus, "For the debriefing, when Tychon finally does arrive, we also need the person who signed the command to send our armies over to England, and who organized the Greek mercenary companies to fight for the Yorkists, which is Angelo."
"He's still in Verona, just looking after his grandson," replied Valentine, "We can just give him a call."
"I don't think it will be as simple as that," replied Escalus, "I don't think he'll want to come back."
"Why not?"
"Various reasons. He's been lying low. I tried to call him a couple of times, but Gabriel answered and said he was busy or something. Well, that's the polite version of what Gabriel said. He actually told me to go and – well, you don't need to know."
"What were you calling him for?" asked Valentine.
"To talk."
"About what?"
"Just stuff in general," Escalus shrugged, "I got on well with him when we worked together. I considered him one of my friends. I was upset when I had to suspend him and sorry to see him hand in his resignation."
"I hadn't realised."
'No, of course you hadn't,' Escalus thought, 'No one ever thinks that I am a person under the title of prince. No one ever thinks that I might want to have friends like a regular man or have likes and dislikes contrary to my public office. I think perhaps only my sister and Mercutio understand.'
"Well, never mind," said Escalus. They turned a corner. Some servants were standing on step-ladders, and unstapling items from the ceiling. Don Pedro, Benedick and Claudio were standing underneath, and occasionally reclaiming the items when they were brought down.
"What's going on?" asked Valentine.
"It was your brother, Mercutio," replied one of the servants, "He went into the guest's rooms last night, took all their socks and stapled them to the ceiling."
"Oh, for goodness sake!" groaned Escalus. He turned to the three men, "I am so sorry, he is such an idiot, I-"
"It's ok," said Don Pedro, as he folded two together back into a pair, "I gathered that this was his typical behaviour after dinner last night."
"I will tell him off next time I see him," promised Escalus.
"No need," said Don Pedro, "I think this is the most entertaining visit we've ever had, what do you say?"
"Indeed. I spent last night in the company of Miss Beatrix Montague. She had some very interesting things to say about her brother," said Benedick.
"What did she say about him?" asked Valentine. Of all of Mercutio's friends, Benvolio was the one he liked the best. He was polite, friendly, and not overly crazy. Sometimes he could even be a good influence on Mercutio. Sometimes.
"She seems to be jealous."
"Jealous? She hates him," Valentine looked perplexed. For as long as he could remember, every time his mother had taken him and Mercutio to spend time with the Montagues, Beatrix and Benvolio would be squabbling and arguing. Which was ironic, really, because Benvolio rarely argued with anyone.
"That could possibly be the reason for their hatred," stated Benedick, "Do you know her well?"
"I'm a family friend," explained Valentine, "My brother is Benvolio's best friend"
The servants brought down the last of the socks, and handed them back with a bow. Claudio thanked them, and they took the ladders away.
"Anyway, I must go and finish attempting to contact Tychon Alanis," said Escalus, "Valentine, do you have anything of import today?"
"Not particularly, although I was planning to spend some time with Merc whilst he's home from uni."
"Have a good afternoon then," said Escalus, patting his eldest nephew on the shoulder.
It had been a quiet few months.
Angelo finished laying Alexei down for a nap, and then wandered through the house. Gabriel was no longer dancing due to the reparations that had to be made to his company's theatre, and had got a different job as a multilingual interpreter. Angelo had been thrilled. It was a more stable job and had much more opportunities for his polyglot son. Raiden and Linton were at school. Gabriel had got custody of them as their only remaining living relative after Angelo's ex wife and her partner were killed in the earthquake. Angelo had been saddened to hear of Lina's death. True, their marriage had been stormy, and Angelo could safely say he no longer loved her, but she had been the mother of his only son, and the grandmother of his grandson. And so, for Raiden and Linton's sake, he'd let Gabriel look after them here in his mansion, so they had the security of a home.
But the thing was, when Alexei was asleep, and Gabriel at work, and the two boys at school, Angelo was bored. He'd been unemployed for months, didn't have a partner, and didn't go out much because he didn't want to attract any negative attention.
It had been quite nice at first, to just stay in the house and rest. The weather had been cold and bitter, and Angelo was still recovering from the radiotherapy. He'd happily lain in bed until almost midday, reading books he hadn't had a chance to before resigning, watching crappy daytime telly, and best of all, spending time with Alexei.
Now, however, the days stretched out long before him, and Angelo wished there was something to do. He sat in the front room, the warm April breeze floating through the window and the sunlight lighting up the blue colour theme of the room. The breeze ruffled his dark hair, and Angelo wondered whether or not he'd need to get Gabe to help cover up his grey streaks anytime soon.
He closed his eyes, wondering whether or not he should just drift off and take a nap. He could if he wanted to, after all, and if Alexei needed him, then the baby monitor was a few feet away...
The phone rang just as Angelo closed his eyes and grew heavy and content. He jolted back into the present, and hurried over to the handset. It was probably someone trying to sell him something, but it would be nice to talk to someone.
"Hello?"
"Angelo!"
"Escalus?" frowned Angelo, "Is everything all right?"
"Everything is fine," replied Escalus, "How are you?"
"I'm good."
"And how's the little one?"
"Alexei? Oh, he's fine," said Angelo, wondering why on earth Escalus had rung him to ask about Alexei. He was the prince, surely he had better things to think about than his former Deputy's grandson?
There was a pause. Escalus went on, "So...what's he like?"
"Er, what do you mean?"
"Has he grown much?"
"Yeah, he's grown loads. He's going to be tall when he's older. He's been babbling and smiling, and he's starting to learn how to walk. Gabe keeps trying to get him to say daddy but he's still only babbling."
Escalus cooed, "Oh, I'm glad to hear you're all ok. I haven't heard from you in months. It's like you disappeared of the face of the earth."
"Well, I...wanted a break from it all, really. Time to recover."
"Of course. I understand. How, um, are you now?"
"I'm...getting better," said Angelo steadily. The truth was, the problems he was now facing in the wake of his treatments were not ones he particularly wanted to talk about with the sovereign prince of Verona. Talking to Gabriel about it was embarrassing enough, especially as one evening Linton and Raiden had been caught listening and giggling with their ears pressed against the door.
"Ahhhhh!" cooed a voice. Angelo turned around. Alexei was sitting delightedly on the carpet, clutching his favourite cuddly dragon.
"Hold on a minute, Escalus," Angelo pulled the phone away from his ear, "Alexei! How did you get out of your cot? And how did you get down those stairs?"
" 'agon!" Alexei giggled, waving his dragon in the air, " 'agon!"
"Naughty boy," said Angelo, awkwardly picking him up and balancing the phone at the same time.
" 'agon!" Alexei announced, grabbing the phone and speaking into it.
"No! Leave Granddad's phone alone!"
Alexei just giggled again. Angelo wrestled away the phone, and then sat down with Alexei on his lap.
"I'm sorry about that. He's somehow climbed out the cot, come down the stairs, hauling this cuddly dragon toy he has with him, and now he's being a little monster."
Escalus just laughed, "He's a bright young lad. I'm so pleased to hear how well you're all getting on."
"So am I. Thank you," said Angelo quietly.
"But I have something I need to ask you."
"I see."
Usually, Angelo would have leapt at the chance to do something for Escalus. He would have done anything to help his prince, seeing it as his duty, but now he hesitated.
"You see, do you remember last summer, with the wedding?"
"Yes," Angelo cringed. It had been a horrible time for him.
"Well, our troops and the mercenary troops we hired to send to the Yorkists are returning soon, and we need to have a debriefing session about, you know, the usual stuff, and also to discuss whether or not we ought to continue with our assistance if the Lancasters were to return. I'd like your opinion on that as well, if it's all right."
"I thought they were all dead?"
"No, Henry Tudor and his Uncle Jasper are out there."
"Henry Tudor is thirteen years old. His claim to the throne is through illegitimate descent, and from a woman in a country that practises male-preference cognatic primogeniture. He has no allies, no money, and no way of procuring any. He's not going to try anything," dismissed Angelo, although he decided not to mention the Skype conversations he'd overheard Gabriel and the exiled Lancastrian heir having, regarding Henry's plan to "bash up all those Yorkists who won't even let me have Edouard's iPad."
"Yes, but King Edward won't take any chances. And I think we ought to be prepared. I know you've finished with politics now, Angelo, but we need you here for the debriefing. You signed the command along with me, and its protocol that you should be here."
"I see," sighed Angelo.
Alexei turned around. He shook his dragon again, " 'agon!"
Angelo looked at his grandson. He'd been living in such a bubble these past few months. It had been blissful to sink into ignorance. Did he really want to leave it so soon? Did he really want to go back to the place that had almost ruined his life?
'It'll only be for one day. Maybe even a couple at best, if it drags on. It can't hurt. It might be good to see Ralph and Clive again. Maybe even check up on whether Amparo's doing her job properly, ambitious little bitch. And maybe even see if Mercutio has managed to blow up his bedroom yet.'
"When does it start?" asked Angelo.
Escalus beamed, "As soon as Tychon Alanis arrives"
"Beatrix, get up. You've got to be at work by nine."
"Fuck off, Benvolio," cursed Beatrix.
"Last night you begged me to wake you up so you wouldn't be late!" protested Benvolio.
"Yeah, that was last night. This is this morning. And this morning, I want you to fuck off," snapped Beatrix, pulling the duvet over her head.
"Fine. Lose your job. I don't care. It's not my problem!" Benvolio stormed out.
"Twat!" Beatrix yelled after him. She yanked the duvet over her head and simmered in the warmth. He was such a little shit. Couldn't he just leave her alone to sleep? She couldn't wait until he was back at university, then she could have their dad all to herself again. It was a pity this time Benvolio would only be there for a month this term to do his exams. Beatrix was pretty sick of his revision notes and posters being left lying around the house. None of them made any sense and they all got in the way of everything.
"Beatrix, get up!" snapped her dad, banging on the door, "It's half eight!"
"I'm tired!" Beatrix retorted.
"You've still got to go to work!" Anthony snarled.
"Fine, I'm up!" Beatrix leapt out of bed, and started hunting for her uniform. Anthony stormed back downstairs. Beatrix chucked on her uniform, brushed her (still) brunette curls, and then proceeded to slap on as much makeup as humanly possible to cover her tired face. Since having her hair dyed back to brown, Beatrix found she could get away with wearing much darker colours, so, today she did. When she was done, she put in sparkly earrings, a sparkly necklace with a B for Beatrix on it, and a sparkly bangle.
When she made it into the kitchen, Benvolio was already washed, dressed, and feeding Eliseo as he made notes off of a textbook. He glanced up.
"You look awful."
"You look like a deformed toad," retorted Beatrix.
"Oh, now, there's a new one. Maybe you've finally started using the creative side of your non-existent brain."
"Whatever, loser. Where's my cappuccino?"
"I don't know," shrugged Benvolio.
"Unca Ro-mo have it!" squealed Eliseo.
"Bastard!" snapped Beatrix, "Give me some Euros so I can buy one"
"No chance. Ask Romeo."
"You let him get away with drinking it, therefore you have to give me some money!"
"No chance! It's not my responsibility to control what Romeo does and doesn't drink."
"But it's my cappuccino," seethed Beatrix.
"I don't care," Benvolio gloated. Eliseo giggled. Beatrix grabbed her bag, and stormed out. She had ten minutes to get to work, park her car and get her cappuccino. She slid into the car, started the engine, wonkily drove out of the driveway, and started on her way to work. She parked the car, and then ran quickly over to the nearest Starbucks. There was a massive queue, and some dumbass old people were making a hash of ordering and then handing over their change. Seriously, it wasn't hard. Beatrix rolled her eyes, and then made her order when they left.
Finally, she had it. Beatrix took a sip, and enjoyed the sensation of her daily dose of caffeine go to her brain. Perfect. Now, she could survive the day.
She started to strut along in her pink heels, and opened the door. She strutted out, and then, out of nowhere, there he was.
Benedick.
Beatrix collided with him, and felt the hot coffee pour down her white uniform. She shrieked and squealed.
"You idiot! You made me ruin my uniform!"
"You should have looked where you were going instead of admiring yourself strutting in those silly shoes," retorted Benedick, steadying himself.
"I was not," Beatrix scowled, trying to steady herself.
"Oh, really? I notice women doing that all the time."
"And? They look good," Beatrix snapped.
"So you were admiring yourself strutting in those silly shoes."
"I was not!" Beatrix nearly yelled, "Now look, you've ruined my uniform and now I'm late for work, thanks to you!"
"If you looked where you were going and got up ten minutes earlier, none of this would have happened."
"Wait, what?" Beatrix swirled around. How did he know about this morning?
She was about to ask him more, but he was walking off. Beatrix boiled with anger.
"Here, enjoy the rest of my ruined coffee!" she shouted, and flung the half empty cup over him. It splattered across the back of his shirt impressively. Beatrix goggled, and scarpered before Benedick could turn around and reply. In spite of the morning's antics, Beatrix was there for nine 'o' clock on the dot, and at least they had spare uniforms in the back.
After spending a day manicuring nails, plucking eyebrows, and waxing people's private parts, Beatrix got back in the car to go home. The drive home was painful and tedious. All Beatrix wanted was a bath, and a sit down, but the traffic was bad, and all the typical crazy Italian drivers were being impatient and risky.
When she got home, Romeo was using the only bathroom that actually had a bath, not a shower. It sucked being in a rented townhouse instead of the Ranch. Beatrix hammered on the door and yelled at him to hurry up, but he replied he was going out on a date with Juliet, and needed to look his best.
"You see her everyday and every night, why would she care about what you look like?" Beatrix yelled through the keyhole, "You prima donna!"
"I'm not a prima donna, I want to look good for my girlfriend! If your boyfriend turned up looking like shit you'd dump him. I don't want to get dumped!"
"She's not going to dump you, she loves you! Twat!"
Beatrix left it. He wasn't going to leave anytime soon, so she may as well give up.
"Haha, Beatrix can't have a bath!" taunted Benvolio, singing through his open bedroom door, "Beatrix smells of sweat and nail formula, and she can't have a bath!"
"You little-" Beatrix rounded on her younger twin, but then they were interrupted by the sound of voices coming from downstairs.
The bathroom door opened. Romeo peered out, "Is there someone in the house?"
"I don't know," said Beatrix, "I didn't see anyone on my way in."
"Yes, there is," said Benvolio.
"Who?"
"Go and find out," shrugged Benvolio, "I was down there talking to them earlier, but then I had to come and do some more revision."
"Whatever, swot," Beatrix rolled her eyes. She made her way back downstairs, and opened the door to the front room. Her Aunty Paulina was seated, and her Uncle Claudio was beside her. Her dad Anthony stood up. Benedick and two other men she didn't recognise were also seated and standing up.
"Ah, Beatrix. You're back," said Anthony. He seemed vaguely happy.
"Yeah, I got back ten minutes ago," Beatrix glanced around the room and glared at Benedick, "What's he doing here?"
"Beatrix, don't be rude."
"That man made me chuck my cappuccino over myself this morning," Beatrix said angrily.
"They didn't get here until after you left," said Paulina.
"No, I had to buy my cappuccino in town this morning, because your son drunk my last one. Idiot," Beatrix sniffed.
"Beatrix," scolded Anthony, "Mind your manners."
"Can I also add that you then chucked your cappuccino over me?" asked Benedick.
"No. Shut up," said Beatrix. She turned to her family, "One, why is he here, and two, who the bloody hell are all the rest of you?"
"I am Prince Don Pedro, of Aragon."
"And I am Count Claudio, from Florence."
"We share the same name, so try not to get too confused, Beatrix," said her uncle Claudio.
"Yes, we know you can't always tell salt from sugar," added Benedick.
Beatrix scowled, "That was deliberate. I don't know who told you about that time, but I deliberately put salt in that coffee because it was for Mercutio."
"Why would you make Mercutio coffee? He's hyper enough!" asked Benedick.
"It..." Beatrix trailed, "Was a decoy. I was going to make two coffees. One for me, and one before that so Mercutio would drink the first one and leave the next one alone. And it worked perfectly. He spat it out and ran away."
"Perhaps we will have to think of something similar if we don't want any more pranks to be played on us," Claudio nodded to Don Pedro.
Don Pedro nodded, "You're a bright girl, Beatrix."
"I sincerely hope that's sarcasm!" shouted a voice from upstairs.
Beatrix seethed, "That little cunt..."
"Beatrix, that's no way to talk in front of guests, and especially not a prince!" scolded Anthony, "And especially when we'll be family soon!"
"We...what?" Beatrix frowned.
"We thought we'd have a little celebration this afternoon," explained Paulina.
"Of what?"
"Your cousin's engagement!"
"He's been engaged for ages," frowned Beatrix, "He couldn't wait to stick a ring on Juliet's finger, and we're still trying to stop them from flying off to Gretna Green-"
"No, Beatrix, your other cousin," said Anthony, "Your maternal cousin."
"Ohhh."
Beatrix hadn't seen the maternal side of her family since her mother's death when she was ten. Briony Montague hailed from Messina, in Sicily, from a cadet branch of the Montague family. Beatrix knew little of her family's history, but she did know that the Montagues were originally from Sicily, until their heir was granted lands and a title in Verona by doing a great service to the current prince. He decided to move to Verona and make his ancestral seat there; leaving behind his younger brother to hold the lands and titles they had in Sicily as regent. As time went by, and generations went by, the Montagues built up their wealth and power in Verona, and soon began feuding with the hot-tempered Capulets from the other side of town, and the Montagues left in Sicily continued to manage and build their wealth and power.
The rest, they say, is history.
Briony had lived in Sicily with her parents and her brother, Leonato, until deciding to travel to Verona to meet and explore the other half of her family. When she got there, she fell in love with Anthony, the younger brother of the current heir. Many of Anthony's peers, Shylock, Angelo Fulgencio, Regina Capulet, Camilla Oftmoro, wondered how on earth such a sweet girl like Briony could find something lovable about someone like Anthony, but, evidently, she had, because she married him, and given birth to twins. Meanwhile, Leonato had married a woman called Innogen, and they had one daughter, who was their cousin, Hero.
Beatrix could see why they hadn't come to Verona to visit. Verona was where their beloved Briony had wasted away from cancer. It contained nothing but bad memories and grief. They had kept in contact through Facebook and Skype, and from that, Beatrix could already tell that Benvolio's demeanour and characteristics was shared by most of them. Sweet, gentle-natured, and easily walked over...
"So...which one of you is she marrying, or has Hero taken up polygamy?" asked Beatrix, covering up her sensitive moment of musing over her mother.
"Beatrix, don't be silly," scolded Anthony.
"She's marrying me," said Claudio.
"Ah, damn. And there was me hoping she'd snagged a handsome prince," said Beatrix disappointedly.
"Beatrix!"
Don Pedro just laughed, "I helped you along the way, didn't I?"
"Indeed you did," Claudio smiled gratefully at his friend.
"Well, what I want to know," said Beatrix. All eyes turned on her, "If you're here in Verona, and before that, you spent the past few months in England fighting Lancasters...how did you meet her and how did you propose?"
"We knew each other from before I left. And last night, I proposed on Skype," explained Claudio.
"That's so romantic!" crooned Romeo from upstairs.
"When will the wedding be?" asked Beatrix.
"Sometime in the summer," said Claudio, "After everything here has finished and when everyone who has exams has managed to finish them. We'll be going to Sicily."
"Sicily, in the summer? Sounds like hell for those who hate extreme heat," Beatrix smiled, and then turned to call up the stairs, "Doesn't it, Benvolio?"
