Hi everyone! It's Melinda here! Sorry for the wait! As you can see, I really got into the chapter. It's pretty long.
Anyway, when the dance part comes around(you'll know what I mean when you read it), I feel like it wasn't that good. Sorry!
Still hope you enjoy the rest of it and hopefully another chapter will be up either today or tomorrow! Enjoy!
---Chapter 4--- Romeo and Juliet
Out of nowhere, the shaking stopped and I looked up…
The place before me was no longer Shane's living room. I let go of Mikayla and stood up. The place we were now in had cobblestone roads and old Victorian style buildings everywhere. I turned towards Mikayla and grabbed her shoulders. "Where are we? You played this game before! Where are we?" I was now shaking her. Mikayla forcibly removed my hands from her shoulders and stepped back.
"Person-"
"It's Lilly."
"Lilly, I have played half of this game but every turn has a different card. No one is ever going to play the same card once except for only five cards. That's it! And do you even know how many cards there are? Three hundred!" Mikayla shouted back at me. I put my hand to my forehead. I wanted to scream so much. It was at that point that I realized what I was wearing. It was an old dress that girls always wore in plays in Romeo and Juliet. The dress had Capulet colors on it; yellow and red. My head shot up like speed lightening.
"Mikayla, don't tell me that this stupid game sent us all the way to VERONA! Verona isn't even real!" I yelled, now mad. My hair was still in a braid and I still had on my converses which looked a lot more comfortable than what Mikayla was wearing. Mikayla looked like a peasant. I looked around and saw townspeople starring at me. That's when another thing hit me. "Where's Shane and Frankie?"
Mikayla looked around her frantically. "Oh no," she finally said. I put both of my hands on my forehead, stressed. This was not good. Technically, this was considered Shane damaging something. If we can't find them, then I don't know what bad thing will happen.
"Juliet!" someone called out from the street. Me and Mikayla looked at each other, than looked around for Juliet. That person came over to me and Mikayla. "Juliet! Juliet, you need to come. Lady Capulet wants you now." The person began to pull on my arm.
"Help me, Mikayla!" I yelled as I tried to get the person off me. They were pulling on me hard and I couldn't get them off of me. "Mikayla, I need you to go and get help!" Mikayla nodded. "I'll probably be at the Capulet house!" I yelled as I got pulled out of distance. I saw Mikayla run away to get help.
Mikayla ran and ran until she literally ran into someone. "Sorry," she said quickly. She got up and brushed herself off. She looked up and saw the person she ran into was wearing blue and black. A Montague. Once Mikayla got a look at the face, she literally almost screamed from happiness. It was Shane, and Frankie was standing right beside him. "Oh my gosh! Shane!" Mikayla almost chocked him to death from the hug she gave him. "Shane, I need your help!"
Shane looked at Mikayla, still a little confused. "Ok, what do you need help with? And what is going on here?"
"Shane, the game transported us to Verona. Yes, Verona isn't real but that game is different. Anyway, people think Lilly is Juliet and-" Mikayla was cut off there by Shane. He began pacing.
"Mikayla, where is she now?" Shane asked, clearly worried.
"The Capulet house. We must go now," Mikayla responded. Shane nodded and they began walking, Frankie still with them. They got stopped again, this time by Benvolio.
"Romeo, I know how you can get over Rosaline," Benvolio started until he spotted Mikayla. He bowed and kissed her hand. "And who do we have here?" asked Benvolio seductively. Mikayla giggled a little.
"Mikayla, we don't have time for this. We need to go to the Capulet house and get Lilly back before Shakespeare has his way," said Shane. Shane grabbed Frankie's hand and began to walk away.
"Romeo, what are you doing?" asked Benvolio. Shane turned around and faced him.
"His name is Shane, not Romeo," Frankie said, finally speaking up. Benvolio bent down to Frankie's height.
"Little man, I have known thou cousin for thy entire life. This is thou cousin Romeo. I'm sorry if you are confused," responded Benvolio. Shane grabbed Benvolio's shoulder and pulled him up.
"He's telling the truth," Shane said. "Dude, we just want to get Lilly back. You can help us or not but people are mistaking her for Juliet. I need to get her back before something happens."
"Romeo, this is great news!" says Benvolio. Shane gave him a confused look and was about to respond when Benvolio continued. "You have found new love with this girl named Lilly! We must get her!"
"Wait," Shane began, "if I say that Lilly is my love then you will help me get her?" Benvolio nodded. "Fine, then I'm in love with Lilly. Will you help us get her back now?" Shane said impatiently.
"Of course," said Benvolio. "And where is thou beauty that has stolen thy cousins' heart?" asked Benvolio.
"The Capulet house," Shane responded, beginning to walk away with Frankie and Mikayla trailing close behind. Benvolio ran up to them as fast as he could.
"You cannot go there. You are not allowed there since you are a Montague! You will get thy self killed! I mustn't let you go," said Benvolio, protesting Shane's actions.
"Look dude, Lilly has been my best friend since we were born and I am not going to let her kill herself. I am not Romeo. I am from a place called New Jersey. This man named William Shakespeare wrote this all. He created you, Benvolio. In his story, Romeo kills himself because he thinks that Juliet is truly dead and when Juliet wakes up later and sees that Romeo is dead, she kills herself. I am not going to let her do that. Although Lilly wouldn't want to, she would probably be forced to." Benvolio looked at Shane, not able to comprehend everything that he was just told.
"Ok, Shane of New Jersey. I will still help you. You seem like a notable man. You have my word," Benvolio said after a long pause. Benvolio then put his hand over his heart to show his promise of his word. "Shane of New Jersey, we must go at nighttime. There is a party tonight at the Capulet's house and everyone is wearing masks. That is when you shall make your move."
"Look, Ben," Shane began, earning a look from Benvolio about his nickname, "you can just call me Shane." Benvolio nodded. "How long do we have until dark?" asked Shane.
"About an hour," said Benvolio. Shane nodded and huddled the group together, figuring out tonight's plan.
I was dragged to the Capulet house against my will. I was shoved into my room where a woman was waiting for me. "Juliet, why must you run off? Haven't you learned thy lesson yet? Lady Capulet is not pleased and will be even angrier if I do not help you be ready for the ball tonight." I was guessing that this was Nurse. I never really read Romeo and Juliet but I knew some of it. I guess I really shouldn't fall asleep in class anymore. I turned towards Nurse when the doors closed.
"Nurse, I am not Juliet," I said. Nurse laughed at me. I was confused. "Nurse, I am not Juliet. My name is Lilly Truscott and I'm from New Jersey; not Verona. I don't know why everyone is thinking that I am Juliet because I am not." Nurse laughed even more.
"Oh silly, Juliet! Lady Capulet wants you ready for the ball. Now, let me help you dress and don't fuss like you always do." I looked at Nurse like she was mad. Of course, this was the olden days. Like ancient history old but this was their customs. Oh how I really hate this right now.
---
It was about an hour later and the party had begun. I was to come later on. I knew this part of the play, I think it was when Romeo sees Juliet for the first time. The only problem is that I am supposedly Juliet but I have no idea who Romeo is. Nurse left me alone for a little while, just like I asked, and this gave me time to think. My thoughts were interrupted by a rock thrown and hitting the floor of my, well Juliet's, balcony. I heard voices beneath.
I walked over to the railing of the balcony and saw a guy down there. His face turned up to me and I saw who it was. Shane. I opened my mouth to speak but his voice began before mine. When he began speaking, I could tell he couldn't stop. It was like the game put a curse on us and we had to go by the play while we still change it.
"But, soft! what
light through yonder window breaks?
It
is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise,
fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who
is already sick and pale with grief,
That
thou her maid art far more fair than she:
Be
not her maid, since she is envious;
Her
vestal livery is but sick and green
And
none but fools do wear it; cast it off.
It
is my lady, O, it is my love!
O,
that she knew she were!" said
Shane, trying to stop his mouth from uttering more words. He looked
confused. If we were supposed to go by the play then this was out of
order. I know that the balcony scene happens after Romeo and Juliet
dance.
"Shane!" I whisper-yelled. Shane looked up at me again and began climbing the vines next to the balcony. Once he reached the balcony, he jumped off and walked over to me.
"Lilly!" Shane said happily. He pulled me into a tight hug and I hugged back, missing my best friend and fearing what would happen. "Lilly, we are going to help you escape."
"We?" I asked. Shane pointed below and I saw Mikayla, Frankie, and Benvolio. "Shane, I have to get out of here now. Everyone thinks I'm Juliet. If we change the fate of Juliet, it would either be by me marrying Paris or escaping and trust me, Paris definitely isn't the fairest of them all." Shane nodded at me. He grabbed my hand and started pulling me to the edge of the balcony where the vines lie.
"Lilly, everyone thinks I'm Romeo. It is not going good for me either." Right at that moment, my door began to open. I knew it was Nurse.
"Go hide!" I whispered to Shane. Shane nodded and began to climb down the vines. I walked over to the door and opened it.
"I see you have gotten yourself ready," said Nurse annoyed. I nodded. I was wearing a ball gown. It was a tan colored dress with some pink and purple on the top part where it makes a sort of V-neck lining. I secretly smiled to myself for I still had my converses on. "Well, your mother wants you downstairs now. So come on." Nurse began to push me out the door. I could not let this happen.
"Nurse, I don't feel good. Maybe I should lay down," I said, imitating that I had a stomach ache. I needed to stay here so I could escape but Nurse would not have it.
"Juliet, you pulled this last time. Lady Capulet will not have you missing another party. You need to dance with Paris tonight also. No skipping out at all," finished Nurse. Nurse was definitely not on my favorites list right now. After much refusing, Nurse had managed to get me to the top of the stairs. I saw Capulet and Lady Capulet. I tried to get away from them but could not.
"Young Juliet, you are late. I will not tolerate this. Paris has been waiting for thee. You shall be ashamed," said Lady Capulet. Yeah right, I thought. I faced people who scared me more than Lady Capulet did. I rolled my eyes and ignored everything she said. Ok so one thing has changed, Paris left because I was late. That changes one thing to Juliet's fate.
"Mother, I shall dance," I said, doing my best to imitate the actual Juliet. I went down the stairs, ignoring Lady Capulet's protests, and once I reached the bottom, put on my mask. I got lost in the crowd of people dancing. I saw a man out of the corner of my eye. It was Tybalt. I could just tell. I dodged my way in a different direction to avoid the fearful person and bumped into someone else. The person I bumped into smiled and I could see it even with the mask. "Shane!" I said happily yet quietly. I hugged him tight.
"Lilly, you might wanna let go. People are beginning to stare," responded Shane. I laughed and let go. "What is something that didn't happen in the play during the party?" Shane asked.
"Romeo was talking about kissing Juliet but they never did," said Mikayla. Me and Shane shared confused looks and looked at Mikayla.
"Romeo was actually talking about how Juliet's lips were like a saint's and Juliet was saying that a saint doesn't move and they were just talking. They didn't dance either," said Frankie. Me and Shane were even more confused. How did Frankie know more about this than we did.
"Just dance," said Benvolio. I looked at Shane waiting for his answer. Shane sighed and bowed, holding out his hand.
"May I have this dance?" he asked, obviously not into this. I laughed.
"Sure," I said in the same tone he used. Shane shot me a glare and I laughed a little more. Shane grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor. We looked at the other couples around us that were dancing and imitated them. Shane put one of his hands on my waist and another in my hand. I put my free hand on his shoulder. We began moving but mostly after three feet, we turned and spinned, then moved three feet again.
"Does it scare you?" I asked in the middle of our dance. Shane looked at me confused.
"Does what scare me?" asked Shane. I sighed.
"Going by the play. Although it might be out of order, you know the ending. I don't want to be forced to kill myself because of what William Shakespeare wrote. I don't know what to do," I said, the fear clear in my voice. Shane looked at me concerned.
"Lilly, I will not let that happen. You're my best friend and if you die, I practically die too. We will get out of here, don't worry." I nodded at my best friend, glad he could understand. The dance was coming to the end but the night surely wasn't. Tybalt had seen us and began coming toward us, anger written on his face. Shane had seen this too. "Come on Lilly, we got to get you out of here." Shane kept hold of one of my hands and led me to an exit where Mikayla, Frankie and Benvolio were waiting.
"What is going on?" asked Benvolio.
"Tybalt saw them," said Mikayla.
"How'd you know that?" asked Frankie who was clearly reading our minds or something.
"Because he's coming this way," said Mikayla, becoming fearful. I turned around and saw Tybalt charging towards us. Shane instinctively stepped in front of me, Frankie, and Mikayla. Benvolio drew his sword.
"Young man, I shall hold them off. Escape into the night with thy's beauty and her friends. You must leave now or your time to escape will be gone," said Benvolio.
"Thank you Benvolio. You are a true hero," said Shane. Benvolio nodded then yelled for us to go and we ran. We ran like we knew nothing but to run. Frankie and Mikayla stopped after a long while for a moment. "Guys, we need to keep going."
"I can't run anymore," said Frankie who looked exhausted. We just ran two miles without stopping and I was kind of getting tired but I knew we needed to keep running. I bite my lip and looked around. We stopped right by a farm. There was grass unlike the pebbled streets of Verona. Knowing that we needed something to help us keep moving, I shifted my eyes through the farm to see if these olden people has horses. My eyes lit up when I saw two horses tied to a fence. I walked over and undid the reins that tied them to the fence. Still holding onto the reins, I pulled the horses over to everyone else.
"We can use the two horses. Mikayla, do you know how to ride a horse?" I asked. Mikayla nodded her head, too tired to talk. I knew Shane couldn't and I didn't think Frankie could either. "Ok, so Mikayla can take Shane and I'll take Frankie. We could ride the horses the rest of the way." Everyone nodded and we began to get ready to ride.
