A/N: Just three chapters left, including this one! We have reached the climax of the story. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter Ten

Juliet's mother Lady was the first to realize that her daughter had disappeared. She'd hoped to speak to the distraught mare, to see if she could help ease the pain she was feeling. But after wandering all over the clearing and not finding Juliet anywhere, she rushed to her mate, crying, "Juliet's gone!"

Upon hearing this, Capulet approached Prince and told him the news, feeling as though he was on the verge of drowning in a sea that threatened to overwhelm him from within. Prince promised he would search for the wayward horse, but it was now nightfall and he could not in good conscience ask any horse to stray from the herd, not with the darkness shrouding the forest and shielding any predators that might be lurking in the trees. He would therefore send out a search party in the morning.

Capulet, overcome with guilt and horror at what he'd said to his daughter, decided he couldn't wait till then. He set out and searched the forest surrounding the clearing for her, calling her name at the top of his lungs and begging for her forgiveness. When Juliet remained missing, he returned to the herd, dejected and brokenhearted. His mate was anxiously waiting for him, and when she asked why Juliet would have run away, he confessed what he'd done. Lady was furious that he could say such terrible things to Juliet, so furious that she refused to speak to Capulet for several days.

The next morning Prince carried out his promise and sent several able-bodied horses to look for Juliet, ordering them to go as far away from the herd as they dared before returning. His hopes were not high: he knew that she must have left the herd to find Romeo and assumed that both horses were by now far away from the clearing. Yet still he prayed someone would find them, feeling as though Juliet's disappearance was just as much his fault as Capulet's. He couldn't stop himself from wondering if Benvolio had been right, and that if he'd let Romeo stay none of this would be happening. He sighed and closed his eyes, wishing more than anything that the previous day hadn't happened, that he knew nothing of Romeo and Juliet's secret romance, that everything was still peaceful in his herd…

Benvolio and Rosaline volunteered to join the search, and together they rushed off to the clearing where they had once found Romeo and Juliet sleeping. The memory felt as if it belonged to a different lifetime. They told their friends about what was happening and urged them to be on their guard in case someone came by. "You should be safe," Benvolio concluded. "Since Father knows we've searched this general area, I doubt he'll send anyone else this way. But still, be on the lookout and be prepared to run just in case."

"Thank you," Romeo said, nudging his companion's shoulder gratefully. "We'll be careful, I promise."

"By the way, Juliet," Rosaline said, almost as an afterthought, "your father is absolutely frantic with worry. I know what he said yesterday was terrible, but I think he understands that and is truly sorry for it. Just thought you should know."

Juliet looked away, biting her lip. Her father's cruel words had invaded her dreams the previous night, and Romeo had spent several minutes comforting her and soothing her back to sleep. The wounds were still fresh and needed time to heal, but she said, "Maybe someday, once this has all settled down and everyone's had a chance to look at it from a new perspective, I'll be able to talk to Father about what happened between us. Maybe then we'll be able to forgive each other and move on. But right now…I just don't know…"

Rosaline nodded. "I understand. I just thought you ought to be aware of it."

Benvolio and Rosaline left not long after this, promising that they would visit as soon as they felt it was safe to slip away from the herd. "Please give my father what comfort you can," Romeo told his friend. "I know he must be terribly upset."

"That doesn't even begin to cover it," Benvolio replied sadly. "But I'll do my best. And you…" He paused and smiled warmly. "You be happy. Both of you."

Romeo glanced happily down at Juliet and murmured, "I don't think that will be a problem for us." Juliet nickered and nuzzled his withers.

Benvolio and Rosaline said farewell and returned to the herd, informing Prince that they had been unsuccessful. Prince was disappointed but hadn't really expected anything different. "Then I suppose all we can do is hope they are together and happy," he remarked. Benvolio, surprised by his father's melancholy, did not know how to reply.

Of course Benvolio and Rosaline weren't the only ones who knew of Juliet's whereabouts. Yet Paris did not come forward with the information. At first even he didn't know why he was holding back. But as the hours ticked by and as days passed with no sign of Juliet or her banished mate, the plan that had only vaguely taken root in his mind began to take on more form, shaping into a plot that required that he and he alone know of the missing horses' whereabouts.

The problem was that his plan required the two horses to become separated, just for a moment so that he could act. But Romeo and Juliet never left each other's side. They grazed together, ran together, talked and laughed together, drank from the stream together, slept together…it was as if they were attached by some invisible rope that bound them to each other. Under the pretense of continuing searches for his betrothed (even though everyone else, even Capulet, had given up), Paris spied on the young couple every day for a full week, waiting for the perfect moment to carry out his terrible deeds.

That moment finally came one hot summer afternoon.

Juliet stood with her mate in their little clearing as usual, occasionally swishing her tail to rid her hide of pesky flies that tried to land on her. Her gaze was fixed on Romeo, her eyes filled with concern, for her beloved was sick. He stood listlessly, uninterested in grazing on the lush grass before him, his head lowered and ears drooping, eyes half-closed as if he were thinking of taking a nap. Every few minutes he would cough, a dry, racking sound that made his sides heave. Juliet flinched every time it started up again, feeling her heart constrict painfully. She would gladly have taken Romeo's suffering onto herself rather than watch him endure it minute by minute, hour by hour.

Romeo coughed violently again. Juliet reached out with her muzzle but pulled back almost at once, not knowing what to do that could possibly help. Romeo had told her to keep her distance for fear of catching it herself. "That darn Tybalt," he'd muttered. "He had that fever when he challenged Prince, remember? He must have given it to me when I ran into him to stop him stealing you away."

"I'm sorry," Juliet had replied, looking sadly at her hooves.

Romeo had looked sharply up at her and quickly said, "It's not your fault, love. It is what it is, and I don't blame you. But I do think you ought to stay away from me for a few days, just until the worst of it is behind me. I'd hate to see you go through this too. It's…not fun."

Juliet hadn't replied, partly because she couldn't think of anything to say but mostly because Romeo succumbed to another coughing fit and wouldn't have heard anything she'd said anyway.

Now Juliet watched her mate as he shook his mane in frustration. He huffed and looked over at her, his eyes softening as they always did when he gazed upon her. "Forgive me," he said quietly. "I know I'm not great company at the moment."

Juliet smiled weakly. "Don't worry about it." Then in a halfhearted attempt to inject some humor into the situation she added, "You're still better than some other horses I know."

Romeo smiled but didn't laugh. He knew she was still upset over what Capulet had said and wasn't ready to forgive him yet for his callousness. He didn't blame her, but he did wonder if she would be better off if she put the incident in the past. The constant brooding couldn't be doing her any good…

Juliet huffed and glanced up at the sky. The sun was shining almost directly overhead, and the heat was becoming quite uncomfortable. She lashed at another fly with her tail, reflecting sourly that bugs seemed to thrive in this kind of weather and wondering at the fairness of such a torture.

"You seem thirsty," Romeo remarked after a moment.

Juliet returned her gaze to him and snorted quietly. He was still very perceptive, fever or no fever. "A little, I suppose," she admitted.

Romeo tossed his head and winced when the movement made his head throb. "Go on to the stream, love. There's no sense in letting yourself get dehydrated just because I'm a little sick."

Juliet bit her lip worriedly. "Are you sure? I don't like the thought of leaving you alone, even for a moment. What if something attacked you?"

Romeo shrugged and grinned. "I'd cough in its face; that ought to scare it away."

Juliet rolled her eyes but couldn't quite stop herself from smiling. "Ha ha," she said mockingly. "I'm serious, Romeo."

He sighed. "Don't worry about me, Juliet. I'll be all right for a few minutes while you go get a drink. I'll probably just try to get some sleep, see if that will help. It's all right," he added when Juliet still hesitated. "I'll be fine, love. Go on. I'll be right here when you return."

Juliet didn't say anything, but her fears were far from quelled. She suddenly had a very bad feeling about leaving Romeo alone. She couldn't explain even to herself why she felt this way, but she was suddenly certain that something was going to happen, something big, something terrible, and that her leaving her mate behind, even for just a moment, would be the act that set it into motion.

She shook herself mentally. She was being ridiculous. Of course nothing would happen. The stream was only a few minutes away. She'd drink her fill and be back in no time. Romeo wouldn't even have time to fall asleep before she got back.

She forced herself to smile and said, "All right. I won't be but a moment."

Romeo nickered to her, a quiet sound of affection and reassurance, and Juliet tried to take some comfort in it as she turned and walked away into the trees.

The trek to the stream was short and uneventful, as Juliet had known it would be all along. "See?" she muttered to herself as she bent her head down toward the glistening waters gurgling past. "You were getting yourself all worked up for nothing." And she started to drink.

Poor Romeo, she thought as the fresh, cool water soothed her dry tongue and throat. My poor Romeo, sick because he saved me from Tybalt. Just how bad was this fever? How long would it take for him to fight if off? She hoped it wouldn't be long. It had come on suddenly, so maybe it would depart just as quickly? She wished she could ask someone for advice. Her mother, she knew, was rather knowledgeable about illnesses that commonly affected horses…

But of course she couldn't ask her mother anything, because her mother was back in the herd, along with her father and Paris. And while she missed Lady and Rosaline dearly (she still wasn't so sure about Capulet and she certainly didn't miss Paris) she knew she couldn't go back. She'd made her decision. Romeo was her mate, and she didn't care what Prince or anyone else said about it.

She raised her head slowly, her eyes fixed on a point along the opposite shore, their gaze unfocused and unseeing. If what Rosaline had told her that day was true, then her father was desperately hoping for her forgiveness. He was sorry for what he'd said and done and wished for her to return and forgive him. He had been angry with her, but she was still his daughter and he loved her. And he was her father and she still loved him, that much was true, but all the same, those words had left wounds, wounds that were slow to heal. When would she know whether she was ready to forgive him? And what would she do when that time came? Should she return to the herd and speak with him? That was dangerous: he or Prince or Paris might insist that she stay with them, and then what? Abandon Romeo for a life she didn't want? Absolutely not. No, she would have to think this through carefully. She didn't want to take any unnecessary chances with…

She got barely a second's warning. She heard a faint snorting breath and turned around to see who or what was behind her, but before she could get a good look something hard and heavy struck her over the head and she cried out in pain, collapsing to the ground as the world around her faded. She got the briefest glimpse of what looked like a horse's legs covered with what might have been brown hair – chestnut? – before her eyes closed and she knew nothing more.

…

It didn't take Romeo long to realize that the nap he was hoping so desperately for was going to elude him. Every time he thought he might be on the verge of blissful sleep, another coughing fit would shake him awake, leaving him weary and frustrated. So after a few minutes he simply gazed at the ground at his feet, thinking about Juliet.

The past week had been the best of his life. He was finally united with the mare he loved, and there were no limits to the time they could spend together. No more dreading the sunrise, no more impatient waiting for night to fall…now it was just the two of them, together forever. He smiled to himself as he thought about it.

Not that all their time together had been without its worries. For one, there was this fever that had disrupted their peace, but more troublesome was Juliet's continuing bitterness toward her father. She refused to speak about him, breaking her silence only once when she'd awoken from a nightmare following her flight from the herd. Other than that she refused to even say his name, and she'd pointedly refused to talk when Romeo had brought him up once. It was an unmistakable message that he'd picked up on quite quickly.

But they were going to have to talk about it soon, and Romeo was starting to get anxious. Not only was it vital for Juliet to discuss her feelings and free herself from the darkness of her pain and anger, but it was important to try reestablishing a link with the herd. After all, he didn't want to stay banished forever. It was his hope that they could someday seek the forgiveness of Capulet and Prince and Paris so that they could be welcomed back home, all enmity and fury forgotten. Romeo missed his father and knew that Montague must be heartbroken to have lost his son so suddenly.

Perhaps there was a way to see Montague sooner rather than later, he mused. The stream was nearby. If he was careful and patient, then maybe he could wait for his father to come get a drink and reveal himself. Surely it would cheer Montague to no end to be reunited with his son, even if it was in secret…

A rustling caught Romeo's attention, and he looked up, his mouth curving into a smile as it always did when Juliet was near him. But the expression quickly turned to one of surprise and fear, for it wasn't Juliet who emerged from the brush and into the little glen.

It was Paris.

The two stallions stared at each other for a long moment, a moment that seemed to last for an eternity. Paris looked Romeo from head to hoof as if he were sizing him up, wondering why Juliet had fallen for him. There was a cold, calculating glint in his eyes that didn't totally disguise the burning hatred that blazed in their depths. Romeo laid his ears back, warning Paris not to come closer, and opened his mouth to speak. But instead of words, he greeted the newcomer with a volley of coughs. Paris watched with disinterest and said nothing while Romeo hacked and heaved.

At length, Romeo managed, "Paris…I…I must say, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Paris made no reply but continued to glare at Romeo as if he were some form of horsefly, the kind he was accustomed to swatting away with his tail. Feeling unnerved by his silence, Romeo said, "Why have you come to this place? Have you come on Prince's behalf? I have obeyed his order and left the herd. This is not his territory. He should have no qualm with my presence here."

"I'm not here about that," Paris said coolly. "Do you think I care where you live?"

"Then why are you here?" Romeo inquired, feeling both puzzled and uneasy. Whatever Paris's reason for being here, it couldn't be good.

"I'm here about Juliet."

Romeo stiffened. "I don't know where she is," he lied boldly, and then as if to contradict himself, he started coughing again. "Isn't she…home with her parents?" he added when the fit had subsided.

Paris smiled, and somehow his smile was more chilling than his cold indifference. There wasn't a trace of warmth in the expression. "No," he replied quietly. "Juliet is not with her parents. Of course you knew that already, Romeo. I know she came here to you after leaving. Don't bother lying about it. I've seen you two together." His smile vanished and was replaced with a scowl of jealous rage. Romeo felt his heart miss several beats, and he frantically tried to come up with some way to get out of this sudden predicament. He glanced over at the forest, wondering why on earth Juliet hadn't yet returned from the stream…

As if reading his thoughts, Paris snorted and continued, "But that's neither here nor there. What I've come to tell you, Romeo, is that you will never see Juliet again."

Despite his fear, Romeo felt anger rising within him. "Why's that?" he demanded. "Do you plan to steal her away from me?"

"No," Paris said softly. "Because she's dead."

Romeo blinked. Dead? Juliet? What was he talking about? Juliet had just gone to the stream for a drink. She'd been gone for only a few minutes and would be back at any time. Of course she wasn't dead. Had Paris lost his mind?

Then the words clicked in Romeo's brain, and he felt his entire body go cold with horror and dread. He gaped at Paris, shaking his head mutely in denial. "Dead?" he breathed. "But…she's not…she can't be…"

"She can be, and she is," Paris said, a note of triumphant glee in his voice. "I met her at the stream and killed her myself. If I can't have her, then no one will. You stole her from me, and now I've stolen her from you for good."

Romeo started to shake, feeling as though the earth beneath him had turned to some strange half-solid, half-liquid substance that couldn't support him. "You…you killed…you killed Juliet?" He staggered backward a step or two, reeling as grief and pain started to replace the shock and disbelief. His heart felt as though it was bound by tight cords that prevented it from beating properly, and his lungs seemed to be filled with ice. "No…" he gasped, and tears started to well in his eyes. "No…not my Juliet…my sweet Juliet…you can't be dead…it can't be true…no…"

And then he threw his head back and screamed to the heavens, screamed so loudly that a flock of birds nestled in a nearby tree took flight in terror. His knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground, his vision blurring with the tears that overflowed from his eyes and streaked his cheeks. In that moment he wanted to die. What was the point of living without his beloved Juliet to share his life with? There was no future for him without her, no joy, no happiness, no love, only pain, suffering, emptiness…

…and rage.

He looked up at Paris, who was watching his display of anguish with savage satisfaction, his eyes alight with glee at the effect his news had produced. "You monster!" Romeo bellowed, clambering to his feet again. "You killed my Juliet! Kill me too, Paris! Murder me as you murdered her!"

Paris chuckled darkly. "It would be my pleasure."

The two stallions lunged for each other, and the fight began.

A/N: The beginning of the end…how will it all turn out? You'll have to wait and see… The next chapter will be up on Friday. Hope you're enjoying it!