Got Merc?
Welcome to the Fifteenth Chapter (or what probably should be called Chapter Fourteen Part Two.)
DISCLAIMER- Allegra, Theobald, Ricardo and Simon belong to me. Everyone else does not.
Pargoletta - Thanks for the review! Romeo hasn't appeared because he's been busy with Juliet. Allegra has been introduced to him, though, and she knows all about him and Juliet, but knows she cannot tell anyone. He will appear soon. Tybalt doesn't give a care about what anyone is going to do to him right now for letting Simon hurt Allegra. He hates Allegra. As you will see he cares a lot more about the Montagues' destruction than Allegra's well-being. As for her brothers, they're just too scared of Tybalt. More on that in this chapter.
brookeblue - I'm so glad you read it! Whee! I was hoping you would. Thanks for the reviews. Glad you're enjoying it!
Warning: This chapter does involve abuse, some language and light blood.
You know the drill: Read, review, enjoy, and review.
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Mercutio wanted to kill Alaverti. He didn't care how he would be punished. He didn't care this man was three times his size. He didn't care if he'd die himself in the process. This man was as good as dead. When Mercutio saw Allegra on the wall, the world around him sped up. He had screamed to Balthasar to find his cousin, the Prince, grabbed a weapon off of Abram, charged the man, given Allegra to Benvolio, and immediatley tried to kill this villian. The Montagues were cheering, for him, for Allegra's vengance. Benvolio was the only man there who kept quiet, calming Allegra as a subtisute for Mercutio.
He swung at Simon with all his strength, and Simon drew back. The fight was taken out into the plaza, where the people scattered as the two men fought. Simon fought with no fear and with unbelievable skill. Mercutio did not let it stop him. Every time he prepared to stab at Simon, he was blocked off. Simon tired him out, but he did not show it and no one noticed. His entire body hurt with extreme fury.
Eventually, Tybalt grabed Simon by shirt and held him off of Mercutio. Mercutio swung at him still.
"Sheath thy sword, Mercutio!" called someone from the Capulet side.
"I will kill him!" Mercutio prepared to swing again.
Theobald Capulet was holding him back before he realized it.
"What dost thou have against Simon, thou demented villain?" Tybalt snapped at him, approaching Mercutio and standing over him.
"Release me!" Mercutio said darkly. Tyablt snapped his fingers and Theobald loosened his grip on Mercutio.
"What hast thou -"
"What hast thou not against Simon?" Mercutio exclaimed. "Allegra is thy cousin, Tybalt, not mine!"
Theobald kicked Mercutio roughly in the back of his leg. Mercutio was not pained.
"Why didst thou jump to protect Allegra?" Theobald demanded.
"Why didst thou not?" Mercutio said. "I do not fear Tybalt, and neither shouldst thou or thy brother. She is thy innnocent sister! One strike from that monster Alaverti and she would die had I not stepped in!"
Theobald gave him an icy stare. "Tell us not whether we love our sister."
"I am the only man here who knows what 'tis like to love thy sister!" shouted Mercutio so everyone there understood. He heard Benvolio groan but did not pay attention.
Simon grunted like a beast, attempting to charge Mercutio again. Ricardo beat him to the chance.
"Step back, Mercutio. I say thou lovest her not!" Ricardo said. "Let him go, Theo!"
Theobald trusted his brother and let Mercutio go.
"Thou knowest not what love is, if thou sayest I love not thy sister!" Mercutio said, drawing again.
"I know far better than a fool like thyself!" Ricardo shot back. "Have at thee!"
A far higher voice broke out from the Montague side. Allegra, panting, took a few brave steps toward her brother.
"Nay, have not at him!" she cried. "Do not dare touch him, Ricardo, thou coward!"
"Allegra, stand back -" Ricardo said.
"I am not like thee! I shall not stand back! I called for thee, didst thou hear? Thou dost protect me from Mercutio, who would never harm me, but thou stood by and watched that villain?" She pointed at Simon.
"Allie -"
"Call me not that!"
"- do not get entangled with this gentleman!"
"I love this gentleman!"
Allegra's sharp cry left a moment's bitter silence to float on the warm air. Ricardo did not know what to think. To Allegra's surprise, he turned and left the plaza, tugging Theobald along with him. Tybalt did not notice their absence. His face could have killed on its own. "Thou art a disgrace to the Capulets, thou treacherous bitch!" he yelled. Mercutio would have moved at him but thought he was too near Allegra.
Simon had been staring at Allegra with the same thirsty eyes. As she crept toward the Capulet side, her mouth open to snap at Tybalt, she looked as small and helpless as she had on the wall. He blocked her away from Tybalt.
"That shall be enough from you, Allegra, sweet," he said with a mix of annoyance and thirst.
"Call her not 'sweet'," Mercutio hissed, sounding quite dangerous.
"Nay. Call me what thou likest, Simon," Allegra said, "but I will cower not at thy feet, nor will anyone here with -"
Simon slapped her across the face. The Montagues all gasped; some cried "How dare thee?", others stood back, simply unable to believe it. The Capulets, though, all stood their ground. Mercutio was so angry with Simon he barely noticed how much the fact that Allegra's own servants and friends were not stopping Simon angered him.
Mercutio slid in front of Allegra and punched Simon with such power that Simon fell backward into the arms of the Capulets. Mercutio then turned to Allegra and locked his eyes with hers for a moment.
"Allegra, are you hurt?" he asked.
Allegra just barely held onto dignity. Her face softened for a moment, but she bounced back. "Ay me," she said under her breath. The Montagues watched Mercutio as he put a protective hand on her shoulder and looked her over to see if she had been hurt.
Meanwhile, as Simon rubbed at his bruising face, Tybalt grinned at him. Without a word, he gave Simon the message. The way the Montagues watched Allegra, the way they had gasped and protested - the way their friend loved her - she was not on the Capulets' side. The Montagues liked her, and she liked them.
"Shall I go further?" Simon asked. He looked at Allegra again; after she showed herself to be unafraid, she no longer looked so beautiful and delicate.
"Ay," Tybalt said. "Give her to me and I shall finish her. I shall tell her parents 'twas the fault of the Montagues."
Unfortuantlely for the Capulets, Benvolio had heard Tybalt.
"Mercutio!" he whispered. "We must go away. They are not finished here."
"I am not finished here," Mercutio said. The look of hot fury had not left him. "I shall finish it for them -"
"There should be no talk of finishing things," Tybalt said smoothly, and Mercutio turned around.
"Thou shalt swallow thy words, fool," Mercutio said, drawing. Tybalt loved to see him without a good comeback.
"Draw not, Mercutio! Draw not!" Benvolio cried. "'Tis all they want!"
"Ay, draw not, petty schoolboy," Simon told Mercutio. "I have not finished my dessert."
Mercutio grabbed for Allegra, but Simon got her first. Tybalt shoved Mercutio into the crowd of Capulets, who grabbed him so he could not break free. Tybalt grinned at Simon, who turned Allegra around and kissed her. "Bastards, let them go!" Abram cried and the Montagues joined in, charging the Capulets.
"Back down, gentlemen!" Mercutio called to the Montagues. "The Prince shall come, Balthasar doth seek him out now! All of you shall be beheaded should you not stand back!"
The Montagues glared at the Capulets but knew it was wise to listen to Mercutio.
Mercutio had hoped this would get the Capulets to let him go, but they did not. Allegra pushed Simon off of her, disgusted, and stumbled backward. Tybalt gave her a repulsive kind of smile and drew his sword.
"Touch her not!" Mercutio yelled, and the Capulets kicked him quiet.
"A Montague's friend, are you, little Allie?" he said.
"What are you doing, Tybalt?" Allegra asked, backing up into the Montagues. She never made it to them.
"Hush up, Allegra. Be a good girl, now, and let us finish you!" Tybalt grabbed Allegra around the waist and put his hand over her mouth. Allegra fidgeted, trying her hardest to break free, but Tybalt was just too strong. Simon had his hands on his hips and stood tall, satisfied. Tybalt sneered at Mercutio with every word he said, delighted at the sight of his obvious torture.
"Mercutio, thou art an agreeable gentleman, art thou not?" Tybalt asked, and Mercutio only glared, voicing no smooth reply. "I know my cousin is quite dear to thee. I am sure thou shalt not mind if I...cut her up a trifle?"
Mercutio knew shutting his eyes would be cowardly and dangerous, but he could not break free of the Capulets' grasp. "Tybalt, I pray thee!" he choked.
"Oh, did you hear, Tybalt?" Simon asked, smirking at Allegra in a disgusting prideful way. "Sweet Allegra, you are dear to the fearless Mercutio indeed!"
"Why dost thou not object?" Abram screamed at the Capulets, but Benvolio, who was pale with fear, nudged him quiet.
Tybalt's face glowed with pride. "Dear indeed art thou, Allegra, to the lion-hearted Mercutio." Mercutio tried his hardest to pull away, but could not. Tybalt, working his way up to pure satisfaction, continued his taunt. "Alas, just how fearless shall the lion be when the skin is broken?"
Mercutio did not know how much more he could take.
"Tybalt, if thou hast ever loved a woman -"
"Love!" a few men on the Capulet side called, screaming with laughter.
"Love the child, indeed!" Simon said. "Tell me, gentlemen, what will the lion do when he sees her stainless blood?"
Allegra shut her eyes as tightly as possible. Mercutio's short, painful cry...the cheers of the Capulets, her brothers' friends and servants... the protests of the Montagues. All the horrid sounds around her only added to the sharp pain in her arm, and the blood she felt leaking out. It was just a cut, not a stab; Tybalt had only run her across the arm, not through. Nonetheless she felt more pain than she had in a long time. She knew she was panting, but she dared not scream, for that was only what her cousin wanted, what that awful Simon wanted...
"Tybalt, stop this!" Benvolio yelled.
Tybalt's grasp around Allegra only tightened so Allegra could barely hold onto her breath. "I have only just begun, Montagues!" Tybalt said. "Tell me thou dost not enjoy this! 'Tis not over, though, until she is!"
Benvolio could no longer take it. Mercutio was being held back. However stupid he thought he was being, he charged forward, but as Tybalt saw him, he placed his sword nearer to Allegra's heart. Every step Benvolio took, the further the blade would sink. Benvolio, ashamed, stepped back again, prompting more obnoxious taunts from the Capulets.
"Why Tybalt, why do you wait?" asked Simon while looking at Mercutio.
Tybalt sneered again, and raised his sword higher, ready to -
"SHEATH THY SWORD, I BESEECH THEE!"
The world moved in slow motion. Every head turned to Mercutio, who had fallen on his knees, his face white with horror and desperation. For a second, all were silent. Mercutio - high, mighty, cocky, confident Mercutio - was on his knees, begging for mercy, while Tybalt, who he had always outsmarted, stood proudly over him. Tybalt still held the trembling Allegra, whose eyes were closed. She had been ready for Tybalt's blade. The Montagues were disturbed that Tybalt was satisfied. He had been planning on telling Allegra's parents it was Mercutio who had killed her, for they would have believed him, but the great Mercutio, on his knees, was delicious.
"Get up, thou pitiful coward." The words were honey on Tybalt's tongue.
Mercutio did, without a word, quickly, for he was afraid Tybalt would kill Allegra if he didn't.
"Take thy whore," Tybalt snarled, and pushed Allegra at Mercutio.
Mercutio wrapped his arms around Allegra and put his face in her hair. He felt her breathing heavily onto him as she wrapped one bleeding arm and one unharmed arm around his upper back. He had feared for a moment too long he would never feel her embrace again.
"What's all this, then?"
Everyone jumped into a bowing position as the Prince marched over to them, followed by a few men, including Balthasar. The Capulets and Montagues glared at each other while they were on the ground.
The Prince was a very fierce-looking gentleman, young but not too young, and proud; he gave the air of a dark, fearless warrior who was always ready to fight. Allegra had never been so close to him before; especially now, it was terrifying.
Prince Escalus surveyed the situation, shooting sharp glances at everyone on the ground. Allegra felt the heat of his eyes on her bleeding arm, and the pain stung a bit more.
"Cousin," he finally said in his booming voice, tapping Mercutio so he stood up. "You have sent for my immediate help. What hath happened here?"
Mercutio glared at Tybalt, then explained, "Tybalt and his companion hath done harm to a maiden of the Capulet house, my lord."
The Prince blinked. "Cousin, a maiden?" His stern face was hard and fuming. "What maiden? Show me."
Allegra hoped Mercutio knew how terrified she was, but he did not seem to.
"Allegra Capulet, my lord," he said. Allegra did not see, but Mercutio must have gestured toward her. The Prince approached her and tapped her. She stood up, the lump in her throat returning.
"Maiden," the Prince said, "what hath these gentlemen done to you?"
Allegra gulped. "Well, my lord," she said in a thin voice, "t-they had me against a wall, my lord, and then thy cousin h-helped me... but then they - they h-hurt me agai -"
"They are your family," said the Prince.
"I know, I know, I am sorry, my lord!" Allegra felt the world closing in around her. She fought to keep tears inside her eyes and away from her cheeks, but they were coming, and her breath was speeding up. Her face was bright red. The humiliation! She kept her gaze at her feet, even though she knew she should be looking at the Prince.
"Mercutio," said the Prince while looking at Allegra, "do you know this maiden?"
"Ay, my lord," said Mercutio, biting his lip. Allegra hated the fact he saw her weeping.
The Prince's blazing look mellowed a bit. He looked back at Allegra, who still wept, and took her face in his large but gentle hand.
"You need not apologize," he said, still in the same tone, but quieter. "'Twas not a fault of your's. How did these men hurt you?"
"Pardon, my lord," Mercutio said, knowing Allegra did not want to speak, "Alaverti had her against the wall, and I came between them to help her. Then he struck her, so .. so I struck him, and Tybalt cut her and nearly did worse."
The Prince was still looking at Allegra. Allegra saw something like pity flash by his dark eyes.
"Weep no more," he said to her. "This was a horrible thing." He handed her a hankerchief, which she was puzzled to see.
"Thank thee, my lord," she said, and took it as though it was made of gold.
"Cousin," the Prince said.
"Ay, my lord?" Mercutio asked.
The Prince nodded at Mercutio, and he understood. Mercutio went to stand with Allegra while the Prince tapped Simon.
"This was my fault," Mercutio whispered, gently touching Allegra's bleeding arm.
"Nay, 'twas not!" Allegra said. "'Twas because of you they did not do worse."
"Simon Alaverti," The Prince had been saying in his usual harsh way. "How do you plead?"
Simon's eyes wandered over to Tybalt, who did not return his glance. He kept his head down. All eyes were on him. He made no answer.
"Alaverti, should you ever so much as speak to Allegra Capulet again, your head shall be mine. I shall not have innocent maidens being harmed on the streets of my city. This is not the first time you have done such an offence to a maiden, Alaverti, and it shall be the last or your fate is in my hands. Bow."
Simon's nose twitched. He bowed again.
"And Tybalt," the Prince said, giving Tybalt a flick on the head to stand. To everyone's surprise, Tybalt did not stand. He got into a kneeling position. The Prince's voice became harsher yet.
"You have done worse than I ever imagined. One more toe out of line and you shall be at my mercy, is that clear? What will your kinsmen think?" he yelled. "Killing your own cousin! Your own sinless cousin! This fight hath plauged Verona far too long. This a step too far -"
"- who would ever wish to hurt Allegra?"
The Prince turned back to his cousin and Allegra. Mercutio had just spoken, though it barely sounded like this voice; it sounded small and defeated. He had taken Allegra in his arms and held her tightly, as though shielding her from further harm. The Prince's steady heart jerked a bit.
"Cousin, she is dear to you."
"Ay, my lord," Mercutio said.
The Prince would have actually smiled a little, had it not been for his ever-burning anger with Simon and Tybalt.
"Allegra Capulet is under my protection and that of my cousin Mercutio," he called to everyone there. "Anyone who doth attempt to harm her again shall answer to me. Tybalt!" he shouted, and Tybalt looked at him with extreme hatred. "Go home."
Tybalt nodded, turned and ran away, glaring back as he left. The Prince narrowed his eyes at Simon, who, with the same expression as Tybalt, pushed himself through the crowd and out of the plaza.
"Everyone here is excused," the Prince said, and everyone got up. The crowd broke apart, still whispering and exchanging glances. "Everyone but you, cousin, and Allegra as well."
"Yes, my lord?" Mercutio said, still holding Allegra's hand.
"My men and I shall take Allegra home," the Prince said. "She shall be able to see you when her wound is healed."
"With all due respect, my lord, I do not think her going home will keep her safe to-day," Mercutio said.
The Prince looked fond of him. "Mercutio, while I am aware you are very able to keep her safe, I desire a word with her father. It is my wish she doth come with me now. Come, Allegra." He began to lead Allegra and his followers away.
"Good-bye," Allegra whispered as she followed the Prince away.
Mercutio could have said good-bye, but as he looked at her, something blocked him. The sun was setting and what had just happened had been one of the most horrible things Mercutio had ever seen in his life, but at that moment, the world was never lighter. Mercutio knew why. He had never been more fond of her smooth, gentle, smiling face until he had come so close to losing it. He never imagined he would ever come so frighteningly close to losing her. He had never been so afraid. His heart had stopped for a moment.
"Ah, Mercutio."
Mercutio had not realized Benvolio behind him, but he was not startled. Allegra and Escalus had left the plaza already, and his heart felt very heavy as he thought of her on the wall.
"Ah, Benvolio," he said. "Why do you say 'ah'? Of all the things to say at this moment!"
Benvolio actually laughed a bit. Mercutio raised an eyebrow.
"Mercutio," Benvolio said in a quiet voice, "you love her."
"Well, I know that -" Mercutio said, but Benvolio barely seemed to hear.
"You love her. What you did today - Mercutio, you love her!"