A Leafless Rose

Characters:
Harolous Aviendon: Master of the house shared between the Aviendons and Dalverons
Cedricus Dalveron: Same as Harolous
Elizabethe Aviendon: Wife to Harolous
Sybell Dalveron: Wife to Cedricus
Samitia Aviendon: Daughter to Harolous- a lover
Alithrea Dalveron: Samitia's best friend- daughter to Cedricus- a lover
Leafeus: Town knight of hearts- a lover
Treabus: A man constantly accused of sleeping with Elizabethe
Cook: Wise cook of the house of Aviendon and Dalveron
Adelani: distant relative of the Aviendon- matchmaker- a lover

Act I, Scene i

Samitia is already on-stage. Enter Alithrea.

Alithrea: Hark! Fair Samitia! How fare thee?

Samitia: Ay, Alithrea, ay me, for but spite is he.

Alithrea: Why, good Samitia, wherefore dost thou speak of spite? What has happened whilst my eye be blocked from light? Who is it that thou doth spite?

Samitia: One who does none but kill my heart. Leading on with fine baited arms, oh those arms, he leaps like a frog on a wet stone just to out of reach. He dost burn my love, which is thrived by his hate. I love him like the bee loves the flowers, like the flowers the sun. He hates me like a cat hates water, like a cat drowning a slow death from small drops of the liquid on which man thrives, oh how he hates me by my love. And how I love his hate. He would see me put to the stocks, hanged, burned, then thrown into the sea ere he turns his heart. Oh that that would be my fate, to die so horribly but to have one small moment in which he would notice my fair ugliness. Oh that that would be my fate, for once died and once noticed would mean twice lived. His acknowledgement would revive my desperate soul. I love the one whom I should hate for his hate for me. I love the one hanging in front of me on a string yanked from the cat. I love none other that my dreamy knight of hearts, the handsome Lefeaus. A good friend of my father's, who bids him marry, but he will none with any lady but one, his lips do stay closed on that matter (oh those lips!) He claims to love one most deeply, and claims to hate me most dearly. Methinks it do be thou he loves, for so strange is his mind under your eyes. Thou hast stolen my love!

Alithrea: Under my eyes may it be, I did not notice his strange actings near me. Swain his gaze have I none, or, at least, not intentionally was it done.
Samitia: Oh good, sweet Alithrea, dost thou speakest true? Dost thou mean you love not my love? He whose name reflects his deep love for nature, which is as beautiful as he and all his loves that are not of our sex? He who denies any lady but his to be wife, only Cupid knows who might she be or when she will appear, to come his bed? Dost thou love the man I love but the man who hates me? Dost thou love thy dearest friend's love? Your friend who has been by your side since the womb? So near each other that those who know not our names would call us sisters. Well, ne'er must thou forget who hast taken blame for thee when thou didst steal pastries from our cook-

Alithrea: I did the same for thee when thou too stolest from our kitchens!

Samitia: Ne'er must thou forget who let thee creep in my chambers when thou was afeared in the night.

Alithrea: I did but the same for thee when thou was afeared! As you were more oft' than I!

Samitia: Even be it so, the question still stands: dost thou love the one I find so dear, so dear as I find nature dear? His name fits perfectly his heart, as he and I love nature I love him thousands more. His name is nature, nature his name. I love nature so therefore I love his name. His name is his soul and, as I afore said, I love his name so I must too love his soul. His soul is him, he is his soul, and as I said it before I will say it again, I love him! I love all about him! I love his name, his soul, his palace, his face, his eyes all of him from his head to his toes, I do love him. I love Leafeus down to my heart's bottom and to natures end. So, my beloved sister who is not, tell me if thou lovest him. Speaketh not a lie, speaketh only the truth, for if a lie thou doth speak, a curse on the palace which our families have shared for so many generations. A curse on all those in it if thou dost lie. Tell me, I swear to you my temper will not fly high, but thou must now tell me or never again be me nigh!

Alithrea: I-

Harolous: From off-stage Curse that lovely wife of mine! Curse her in all her divine! How I hate the one I married for love. How I mistook that crow for a dove!

Samitia: Come, from this place we must fly! Our fathers must not find us this place nigh!

Exeunt Alithrea and Samitia

Enter Harolous and Cedricus

Cedricus: Peace, man. Many times have you and your wife quarreled over petty things such as this.

Harolous: Petty call you it? My wife courting with Treabus is not petty!

Cedricus: As I have said so many times ere this, your wife visits no bed other than the one which belongs to you.

Harolous: I tell you, she-

Cedricus: Peace! Harolous, what didst thou suspect of your wife the fortnight before last?

Harolous: Why, Cedricus, I did suspect her of visiting the bed of Treabus…

Cedricus: And was she?

Harolous: …No.

Cedricus: No! Nor was she a month before that or a fortnight before that! Good Harolous, how long have we been friends? How many times have I fixed your marriage and told thee that you and your wife quarrel more the Titania and Oberon themselves? How long have we shared our palace?

Harolous: How many times have you upon me laid this inquiry?

Cedricus: Times too infinite to count, so peace good man, and repent.

Harolous: Ay, forgive me friend, and forgive me wife, for a jealous fool you have married for life.

Cedricus: Thou art forgiven. Now, to the matter of thy cousin's daughter coming hither to visit our lovely palace home.

Harolous: Ah, Adelani, such a beautiful, sweet, fair child is she. No trouble will she cause to thee.

Cedricus: Ay, but what eating doth she favor? Doth she prefer pork roasted on a spit, ham slow-cooked on a fire-

Harolous: Whatever the cook doth prepare she doth prefer. Worry not on her, for she will be insulted if thou durst.

Cedricus: Forgive me my friend, worry will I not.

Harolous: With nothing to forgive, forgive can I not. Nor forget will I not. Thou canst not and will not worry, so I canst not and will not forgive nor forget thee. Forget thee can I not for too oft' have we spoken here aloft. Fifty years and one hundred four more have our ancestors guarded our palace door. Come, time we do waste. We must inside now with haste, to tell our chef to prepare the food he knows to be of best taste.

Exeunt All

Act I Scene ii

Enter Harolous, Cedricus,

Cook and several servants

Harolous: Come, our gracious cook, make ready your recipe book. Make ready to prepare your best food to please the sweet Adelani be she in whatever mood.

Cook: Come servants, light up the fires in the stoves and under the spit, then make sure that each is correctly lit. Go and fetch the quail earlier caught, and put away the steak we have more oft' then not. Prepare for thee shall we, not but a pot of quails and carrots and peas.

Harolous: Ah, a fine choice.

Cook: But of course, good master, now, let not the heat of our kitchens get to your head, go and fetch your wife from your bed.

Exit Harolous

Cook: The heat in the kitchens shan't touch his head for it is full of naught but lead. For too a surprise it is that the ground doesn't crumble where he doth tread. As strong as lead must the ground be to bear the weight of our master and his head. So strong must it be to bear the weight which on it doth tread. Sirrah! Go, fetch us for our master some wine and bread!

Exit one servant

Cook: Check twice again to sure be we cook only the quail which are freshly dead. By my ear, I know Master Cedricus comes near, sirrahs prepare! A good show must we give for our other house head.

Enter Cedricus

Cook: Ah, Master Cedricus, how art thou on such as beautiful day as this?

Cedricus: I am as fine as the day, good cook. What food dost thou prepare for our guest? I do hope none but the best.

Cook: I make for her a stew of quails that will make her tongue on her chin leave trails.

Re-enter servant with bread and wine

Cook: Haste, you lazy dogs, move faster your tails and fetch me those fresh dead quails!

Cedricus: Tell of this to Harolous not for I do worry more than he says I aught. How canst I worry not when how long our guest is staying she tells us not?

Cook: Worry not, good master, for thou hast a cook who can prepare delicious meals for however long she may chooses to stay. Now, be calm, and get thee away.

Cedricus: Away shall I, and remember, good cook, of this, Harolous must not know.

Cook: And know shall he not, for my lips are sealed as hard as iron wrought.

Exit Cedricus

Cook: Quickly sirrahs, again without food we must be caught. The masters believe our guest, Adelani, will cause trouble not, but rumors have I heard that trouble is what she is taught. Mixing and fixing relations is what she does, and often steals one of the lover's loves. She finds a woman who loves a man and teaches her how to act so get the man she can. Lovely and nice as this sounds, her matchmaking fun can be vicious as my hunting hounds, for often things happen upon her so that when she sees the man she doth purr. She often steals the man from the friend she tried to help, and when she sees one swooning after a man who will none, she will do none but falsely help. With our young mistresses quarreling over men, I'm sure our guest will offer help again. So while my masters worry not, I will strengthen my ear and not be caught. I will observe the young mistresses three and try to keep Samitia from Adelani's counseling free, and be weary for an abruption in the Aviendon family tree. Most do not think cooks wise, but, more oft' then not, we are more wise then a counsel of men's wives.