Chapter 17)
"…Look, love, what envious streaks do lace the severing clouds in yonder east; Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops. I must be gone and live, or stay and die." Romeo declared and touched a hand to Juliet's face as they stood on her balcony.
Faith stood in the wings, out of the way, transfixed by the two before her. Their words seemed to dance and it was hard to remember that this was Asrai, who stumbled and chattered, speaking and moving so elegantly.
Romeo climbed down the tree that had let him climb to his love so easily and bade her a farewell so solemn and despairing a few sniffles could be heard in the rapt silence of the audience.
As he exited the stage, Juliet's mother came upon it and Juliet a little behind her, as if from her balcony into her room. Soon her father and her nurse appeared, all of whom seemed set upon her marrying the prince's relation Paris.
Fenneyman listened for his cue as Romeo onstage, begged his man Balthasar for news and heard that while he was in exile, Juliet had died. His despair seems to know no bounds as he walks Mantua's streets and finally cries for the apothecary.
"Come hither, man. I see that thou art poor. Hold, there is forty ducats. Let me have a dram of poison—" He began.
"Such mortal drugs I have but Mantua's law is death to any he that utters them!" His conviction was astonishing even though he cut in several lines early. "My poverty but not my will consents." He produced a small vial from within his robes.
Romeo handed him the purse with grim satisfaction and an unholy light in his eyes. "I pay thy poverty and not thy will."
Juliet was lying in state on a long wide marble tomb, her hands folded over her breast as if in prayer, her eyes closed. She seemed as if one dead. Romeo had had to fight off Paris in order to enter Capulet mausoleum and sheathed his sword as he finally entered. His face as he saw his dead love was heartbreaking.
"Eyes, look your last!" He began the final speech, gathering his love limply into his arms. "Here's to my love." Tredorian pretended to drink from the vial. Gasping he breathed. "O true apothecary," He kissed Juliet's cold lips one last time and eased her down with loving care. "Thy drugs are swift. Thus with a kiss I die." He slumped down at the side of her tomb. From within the wings Fenneyman removed his cap solemnly.
A moment later Juliet took a deep gasping breath and woke, rising with her face away from her Romeo. "…Where is my lord?" She asked as if of the fates. "I do remember well where I should be, and there I am. Where is my Romeo?"
"Dead!" From her place in the royal box, Lorelei felt tears streaming down her face. Her customary chilling tones were gone as she nearly sobbed the answer to Juliet's question.
As if cued by the princess' outcry, Juliet's gaze fell upon the slumped form of her young husband beside her and her face grew still with horror and grief. In a voice near tears she cried out. "What's here? A cup clos'd in my true love's hand? Poison, I see, hath been his timeless end."
Desperation and despair crept across her features and with grief's madness upon her she seized Romeo's dagger. "…O happy dagger This is thy sheath. There rust and let me die." She seemingly plunged the length of steel into her breast, creating with red silk a flower of blood rising from around it as she fell forward over Romeo's still form. Cries of protest rose from the audience and then faded away in shock.
Wabash, the Princely chorus, walked onto the stage along with the Montagues and Capulets. As the families vowed to raise monuments and end their feud the prince proclaimed in mournful tone. "A glooming peace this morning with it brings; The sun for sorrow will not show his head. Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; Some shall be pardon'd and some punished; for never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." He froze with his head slightly bowed and his hands spread.
Asrai and Tredorian lay as if frozen in time while the others barely stirred in the tableau about the stage. A worried frown creased Henslowe's brow backstage and he looked at Faith anxiously.
Sabine blinked and realized that there was no more, the play was truly at an end. There were tears in her eyes and on her cheeks too she found and with her husband rose to her feet. Someone else in the audience found the presence of mind to begin clapping. The Obarskyrs recovered enough to join in the praise and soon the applause was thunderous.
Slowly the actors came out of their poses and made their way to the front of the stage. With smiles on their faces they gave a group bow and parted in the center as Tredorian and Juliet stood up from their death scene and came hand in hand to the edge of the stage. Solemnly Tredorian bowed while Asrai curtsied and all of the actors realized that the thundering wasn't only from the audience's enthusiastic clapping.
From behind them the city guard thumped their staves on the stage, creating a loud beat and silencing the house. "I arrest you in the name of His Majesty King Amon!" A terribly familiar voice shouted. From within the wings Faith groaned as Tilney swept past her.
"Arrest who Captain Tilney?" Burbage strode out onto the stage arrogantly.
"Everybody! The Admiral's Men, The Chamberlain's Men and everyone of you ne'er-do-wells who stands in contempt of the authority invested in me by his Majesty!" Captain Tilney informed him.
"Contempt?" Burbage argued. "You closed the Rose, actually burnt it down. I have not opened it."
"As if you could." Henslowe said mournfully from his elbow.
"You are harboring a known thief and fugitive from justice!" Tilney shouted back at him. "And that woman is a woman!" He pointed at Asrai who blinked at him and muttered something unintelligible under her breath. "If she is not a display of public lewdness in being on the stage…" He stopped and shook his head. "I'll see you all in the clink! In the name of His Majesty King Amon—"
"Captain Tilney!" An authoritative voice interrupted him with an audible snap. From the royal box the king was rising in his chair, a hand extended to his wife who rose with him. There was a wave of awed exclamation through the crowd as the royal couple descended from the box to the floor. They moved forward together and the king gently assisted her to the floor before continuing in a more mild tone though edged with facetiousness. "Have a care with my name, you will wear it out." The crowd seemed to ripple again in muted chuckles at their king's ironic words.
They moved through the crowd in the pit without ceremony climbing to the stage. Watching them Asrai muttered to Tredorian. "Ah…Tredorian, there's something you need to know."
"And what do you think it is Asrai, that I should know, at this particular moment." Tredorian retorted sarcastically.
Ned next to Asrai rounded on Tredorian in a whisper. "Take a good look!" He jerked his head at the approaching royalty. "She actually is the princess Asrai Aelaitha." He snapped.
Tredorian looked at the royal couple and then looked at Asrai. "Damn me!" He exclaimed softly.
"Most likely," Ned said acidly, "All of us, to the hell of the dungeons."
"Please, you're not the ones in trouble, I am." Asrai muttered as her parents climbed the stage and her mother cast a penetrating eye in their direction. The three of them fell silent.
"The Royal family does not attend exhibitions of public lewdness." Sabine informed Tilney quietly. "And I do not see why a woman on the stage is such an exhibition." She eyed Tilney with her glittering stare. "I am on the stage now, do you call me an exhibition of public lewdness?"
The troupe of actors gasped in denial at the thought and Tilney bowed. "No Majesty I do not."
"Then it follows that neither is Asrai's presence on the stage such a thing." Amon concluded. "As for the charge of harboring a known thief and fugitive…" He looked around. "I don't see how you can accuse these folk of robbing the audience. I certainly feel I received my money's worth." The folk in the audience, made slightly bolder by their ruler's casual manner and charismatic charm, echoed him in a chorus of 'hear hear's and 'aye's of agreement.
"You made the king and queen pay for the show?" Henslowe squeaked out accusingly at Burbage. "Are you batty?" His horror at the thought was almost comical and Amon grinned wryly.
"We paid and gladly, for that is what a Cormyrean citizen does when wishing to attend the theatre." He told Henslowe, the grin still tugging at his lips. The laughter that swept through the crowd was slightly louder as Amon turned slightly and winked at the audience. In spite of their nervousness the Admiral's Men also found themselves chuckling as the king of Cormyr's grin grew a bit wider. Amon found that he was enjoying this time onstage.
Tilney, unresigned that he should not have the King's full attention, took centerstage again as he dragged Asrai out of the line of actors and to the middle of the stage. "This girl is a thief and fugitive." He proclaimed.
Sabine's eyes narrowed in order to hide her relief in finding her daughter. Beside her Amon took a deep breath, disguising his urge to throw his arms about his baby girl. "We know she is a fugitive, but what is she accused of stealing?" He inquired keeping his sapphire blue gaze sternly upon Asrai.
"First she stole this." Tilney produced the gold and amethyst ring. "And then she stole my purse when I was apprehending her."
Sabine reached out for the ring and regarded it for a moment in her palm. "Yes. This is the ring of our daughter Asrai Aelaitha, the youngest child of the Obarskyr house." She said quietly though her voice reached the highest balcony. "She has been missing these past three weeks."
"I believe you are holding her there." Amon told Tilney idly. The captain of the guard jumped in shock and let go of Asrai's arm. There was a chorus of astonished exclamations from the actors and audience.
"We're all going to end up in the clink." Burbage muttered.
Henslowe sighed. "See you in jail." He replied.
"Hi Momma. Hi Poppa." Asrai said almost timidly. Her usual impulsiveness was regained a moment later as she asked with sparkling eager eyes. "Did you like it?"
"Yes we did." Amon told her with a nod. "Now what is this about stealing Captain Tilney's purse?"
Asrai made a face. "Well he took my ring." She declared. "And I like my ring, mostly because you two gave it to me." She wrinkled her nose as she looked at Tilney. "So I took his purse until I could get my ring back."
Sabine's face grew stern. "And where is Captain Tilney's purse?" She asked.
"Oh I've got it here." Asrai reached into her pocket and pulled it out. "I didn't want anything to happen to it." She explained handing it to Tilney.
"But it's still full." The confused Captain observed.
"Well of course it is!" Asrai said indignantly. "I wouldn't spend it. That's not my money." She put her hands on her hips irately. "It's your own fault, I would never have done it if you hadn't taken my ring away."
There was a roar of laughter from the audience as too many folk lost the ability to restrain themselves at this new turn of events. Even Ned, whose trepidation had not eased during the banter of the past few minutes, began to chuckle.
"Yes." Amon said coolly. "The ring which our daughter has sworn to keep upon her hand at all times." He handed it to Asrai and she obediently put it on. "The ring that had she been wearing it would have allowed us to locate her when we learned she was missing." Asrai blinked and thanked Selena mentally for having Tilney rob her. Amon regarded Tilney with a stern gaze. "We will speak of this later." Tilney gulped audibly, quailing beneath his monarchs gaze.
"In the meantime," Sabine folded her arms and Asrai knew from long experience that her mother was itching to do something very unbecoming royalty. "Asrai Aelaitha shall accompany us home." She raised an eyebrow. "Daughter, where are your belongings?"
Asrai sighed. "My pack is in the dressing room." She said dully, now certain she would be grounded until she was thirty at least.
"Fetch it then." Sabine commanded and as Asrai moved off the stage looked at Tredorian with a slight smile on her face. "Master Tredorian, I should like it if you would be kind enough to call upon us at home. There is much I think we should enjoy discussing with you." She tilted her head and the smile on her face grew warmer. "Perhaps you might prefer to call before it is time for Court. When we may all be comfortable."
Asrai reappeared onstage looking absolutely miserable as Tredorian was stumbling over his acceptance of the invitation. Her pack had been exactly where she'd left it with a piece of parchment pinned to the strap. The note had said simply. "See you later baby." Faith was no where to be seen. Numbly she stood next to her father and followed him off the stage.
Sebastian looked at his baby sister's face and then at the actors on the stage. "You were wonderful." He whispered taking her arm companionably. "Absolutely wonderful." Asrai's reaction to this was hardly the excited chatter he would have expected from her. Instead the tears brimming in her eyes overflowed and streamed down her face. "Sweetheart, it's not that bad." He coaxed as they got in the coach.
"Yes it is." Asrai sobbed and cried on his shoulder the entire way home. Every time she thought her tears would dry up, the thought occurred to her that she'd never get to see Faith again, or she'd never be able to act on stage. Her friendships with Tredorian and Ned were almost certainly done for, since they'd never trust her again. Everything she'd discovered and wanted so much was lost.