Sad Wedding Day
By Clocky

(This takes place five years after Claudio and Hero's fateful wedding day. The way this story goes, Don John's plot was never found out, and Hero chose to enter a convent rather than try to explain her position to an angry father and an angry Messina, neither of whom would believe her word against Claudio's.)

I could not have been happier. I was set to do a woman's highest duty- to marry to a suitor who was much pleased with me; to please him for the rest of my life. My dress was beautiful, the once-mine Claudio was handsome, and I had the approval of all my friends and family behind me. Oh hell, how quickly men's tables do turn!

I suppose I should have suspected when Father Francis asked Claudio if he came to marry me and he answered, "No." Right from that moment, things began to go horribly wrong. Claudio began speaking to my father of my worth- in the middle of the ceremony- and I wondered what the purpose could be of such discourse. Surely my father had already known my worth and consented to give me away.

Then was I betrayed. To this day, I know not why they chose to prey upon me with hateful lies. I must admit that dear Claudio chose his words well, calling me a "rotten orange" and an "approved wanton." My lord Don Pedro must have been consorting with Claudio, for they both proceeded to heap accusations of infidelity upon me in such measure that it was all I could do to stay on my feet. By their words I gathered their wholly misguided thoughts- they presumed that I had shared a bed with another man! The only thing I could think was how could they? How in all spite could they mock me so? It was not mocking, however. I could see in their faces that they truly believed what was coming out of their mouths.

Claudio I can never forgive. He had led me on under the impression that I was his perfect mistress, his queen, only to speak out against me on the day of our wedding. Could not he have thought of prudence, and in human decency spoken of this to my father and me before the ceremony? I suppose he felt he needed to punish me as much as possible. For that I wish him vicious ill.

I can forgive Don Pedro, if grudgingly. Claudio undoubtedly convinced him of the scheme; he is a man too good of character to be so ill-minded of his own accord.

Signor Benedick, bless him, appeared confused by the accusations and I think he tried to treat the situation as a joke. On that day, his actions bewildered me, but now they bring me some measure of peace. I thank him, and when I look back on that day, he and Beatrice and the poor, lovable Friar are the subjects of my only comforting memories.

Friar Francis, may he rest in God's sight, believed what I knew to be true, that I was honest and had no part in that day's miserable misfortunes. Thank the good Lord he calmed my father; if he had not, I suspect I would be dead now.

I now to the man Leonato, whom I regret to say fathered me. Damnation in Hell is too good for him, the man who professed to love me my whole childhood and youth, yet at the word of one man he barely knew and another who knew my pure character, immediately tossed love aside for hate, and fatherly pride aside for scorn. He believed all the wrongs thrown against me and forgot that I had ever been virtuous before. I believe he would have killed me had not the Friar and Beatrice and Benedick held him back.

The Abbess bade me write all this down to put it out of my mind. I believe it has had the opposite effect, and the memory will haunt me for the rest of my life.

A/N: Blaaaah, what a title. And what an angry vignette-thing. It was actually a journal entry I wrote in a Shakespeare class at the local university two summers ago. If you have any thoughts about it, please review. Constructive criticism is always welcome.