Inspired by every version of this story I've ever seen/read/been in.
"Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend."
—Chorus, Romeo and Juliet prologue.
If there was one thing known in San Ambrosio, it was this:
The Madrigals and the Montezes hated each other.
Ever since the town's founding nearly two hundred years earlier, the two families had been opposed to each other. It varied depending on the generation, who headed each family, the harvest, even which way the wind blew sometimes. But it was a known fact that if you were aligned with House Montez, you were against the Madrigals. And if you were aligned with House Madrigal, you were an enemy of House Montez. Or perhaps you were the third faction—those aligned with the Guzman family, the ones who served as peacekeepers to ensure the streets of San Ambrosio didn't erupt into bloody all-out war.
You would think people would pledge their allegiance to House Guzman, a third faction who offered peace and safety, but more often than not they'd choose one of the two feuding families. By the time our story begins, nearly every house in San Ambrosio has gone to one side or the other. Few stand between the two, and nobody dares to ask why they still hate each other all these years later.
In the current generation, with the entire town divided in what might as well have been half, tensions were running high. Montez-aligned merchants refuse to sell their goods to Madrigals, and Madrigal-faction businesses refuse to serve Montezes. With this kind of climate, it was only a matter of time before something happened. Anything could break this uneasy quiet, like a rude gesture of some—
Oh, and there it is. Miguel Valdez of the Montezes just flipped off Victor Rivera of the Madrigals. Here we go.
The result of Victor's anger was immediate. He launched himself at Miguel, screaming curses as he tried to punch every part of the younger man he could reach. Miguel yelled loud enough that passersby heard. Montezes turned to Madrigals and began to have brawls of their own. Soon enough, the streets were full of fighting as members from both factions got caught up in the excitement.
Even the current heads of each house got in on the action.
It was only stopped when Austin Guzman stepped in, lambasting Pedro Madrigal and Diego Montez for allowing this to happen. Both heads of house hung their own heads in shame, then they were sent back home with the warning that there would be more dire consequence for the next brawl like this.
It was only then that Diego's wife, a rather frail and nervous woman by the name of Lucia, emerged to join her husband and the son of the Rodriguez household, Felix. She anxiously crumpled the handkerchief she always held as she glanced around.
"Felix, have you seen Agustin?"
"Not today, no," Felix replied, shaking his head. "He wouldn't get involved in one of the brawls anyway."
Felix decided not to mention that he himself hadn't thrown any blows, either. The feud between Madrigals and Montezes was a foolish one, and he actually quite liked the three heirs to the Madrigal name—Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno. But to admit that would get him thrown out of the Montez family's good graces, and they'd been good to him over the years.
"Well, if you see him, tell him to come home. Please."
Diego gently wrapped his arm around Lucia's waist and led her away, giving a wave to Felix as they disappeared around a corner. Felix waited a moment before glancing into an alleyway.
"You can come out now."
Agustin, a rather tall and lanky young man, emerged from his hiding place behind a stack of barrels. He nodded to Felix.
"Thank you for keeping my cover."
"It's not a problem, muchacho. Tía Lucia's worried about you, though."
"She thinks I spend too much time with Padre Tomas."
"Well, in all fairness, you spend quite a bit of time at the church."
"I'm helping out with the chores. Padre Tomas is getting on in years."
"I'm not arguing that. I'm just saying that she's hoping to see you find a wife before she passes."
Agustin bit his lip slightly. He hadn't ever really felt interested in getting married, but it was a point of contention between him and his mother. Her health had always been frail, and with him now being in his twenties he was being pressured to marry and have a child so he could take over as head of house.
Not that he even wanted to.
Being head of house meant continuing this damned feud. The one that had just dropped the streets of San Ambrosio into chaos. He hated it, but because he was still 'young' and not yet the head of house, his words carried no weight. Perhaps he'd be lucky and the Madrigal triplet who succeeded Pedro would feel the same way he did. More likely than not, though, the fighting would never stop.
"Come on, let's go see Padre Tomas and Sor Sara."
"She's not a nun."
"Shush, not everyone knows that."
Agustin rolled his eyes and the two set off for the church.
She knew marriage was inevitable.
Her parents, ever since she reached twenty, had been pressuring her to get married to someone, anyone, from the Madrigal faction of San Ambrosio. Well, her and her fellow triplets, but her in particular because she was the oldest. She was expected to uphold the family legacy and continue the family line. It was worse than it was for Bruno, who had the distinction of being the sole son of the family, but only just barely. Her brother had a habit of disappearing to who-knows-where whenever they broached the subject with him and it was a skill she wished she possessed.
Maybe that was why she was up on the roof right now, staring out into the distance, into the mountains that surrounded their home. Out there, she could see the church where Padre Tomas and Sor Sara lived. And…
I want to run into the woods.
It was a thought she'd had before. Mostly when she was a child. The woods around San Ambrosio were off-limits to everyone due to rumors of a crazy person living in a cabin of some kind back there. But Julieta had always been fascinated by them, feeling them call to her and beckon her to go inside.
"Julieta!"
She glanced down at her mother, who was staring up at her.
"Come down from there before you get hurt!"
"I'm fine, Mama, I promise!"
Despite that line, Julieta made her way down and Mama began dusting off her skirts. Then she looked at Julieta's hands.
"Look at you, you're a mess! Come, come!"
"Mama, nobody's going to care if my hands are dirty—"
"You need to look your best at all times!"
Julieta found herself wanting to scream.
"Especially now. We've found you a suitor!"
Wanting to scream, the sequel.
"Who is it, Mama?"
"Why, it's Romeo Guzman. He's very interested in you."
The eldest son of the Guzman family. Of course. This was the way they could tip the scales and get rid of the Montezes. Or something, Julieta wasn't sure. This whole feud thing was stupid, anyway. Why keep all that up when there was no reason to?
"Now, he'll be here tomorrow to begin courting you, and I don't want you up on that roof again. Keep yourself neat and clean until after he leaves, at the very least. The same goes for Pepa and Bruno." She let out a sigh. "And, if possible, can you find your brother? He's disappeared again."
"I'll try."
"That's my Julie." Alma smiled brightly, then turned to go do something else. Probably make dinner.
Well, if I'm going to have to get married, I might as well do one last reckless thing.
So she waited. Bruno came home (she pretended not to notice the rats wriggling in his ruana), Pepa stared at her food without eating much (she was pining over a forbidden romance with Felix Rodriguez, a member of the Montez faction), and Mama and Papa simply chattered about how good Romeo would be for the family. Julieta could already hear the lines about "Romeo and Julieta, like that play!" and "it'll be a romance for the ages!".
Romeo Guzman was a good-looking idiot, and she wasn't interested in him.
When night had fallen and the rest of the family had gone to sleep, Julieta pulled on a dark blue shawl and snuck out of the house. Her feet led her towards the church, which was undoubtedly the safest place to go in the woods near.
This was it—her last act of rebellion before marriage.
There was nothing else she could do, short of running away.
And she'd never do that to her family.
So her feet were on the road, unknowingly, towards a fated and destined meeting.
So fun fact, the character of Lucia Montez is entirely based on Lady Montague as I played her in Romeo and Juliet. I was in a local youth production and I had to learn how to faint onstage. It was fun.
This is also very much in line with the whole "Alma didn't approve of Agustin" brand of fanfic that has been popping up here and there.
I will be saying the cast list as we go, so have fun!
Romeo: Agustin
Juliet: Julieta
Benvolio: Felix
Lord and Lady Montague: Diego and Lucia
Prince Escalus: Austin
Lord and Lady Capulet: Pedro and Alma
More to come next time!
So long and thanks for all the fish!
