Romeo and Juliet and Vampires

“Nicely done,” he said, impressed. “I did not know you had that in you.”

“Oh, I am full of surprises,” Romeo said.

Benvolio charged again, his sword aiming high at Romeo’s head. Romeo ducked at the last moment and then swept his sword near Benvolio’s feet, hoping to trip him up. Benvolio was too fast, though, blocking Romeo’s sword with his own, all the while a smug look forming on his face.

“Come on, Romeo! Get him!” Mercutio called out from the corner of the room.

Benvolio swiped at Romeo two more times with his sword, which Romeo defended easily. “Why are you cheering for him and not me?”

“I always bet on the underdog!” Mercutio said.

Romeo saw that his opponent was distracted and whipped his sword at Benvolio’s left arm. The tip of the blade cut a hole in Benvolio’s shirt from his elbow to his shoulder.

“Damn you! This is one of my favourites!” Benvolio growled.

“I am not the least bit sorry,” Romeo said.

“You will be in a moment,” Benvolio said, swinging his sword at Romeo rapidly.

Romeo dodged three of Benvolio’s swipes in a row. But then, Benvolio’s shiny metal blade sliced down towards his legs, and Romeo spun out of the way just in time. He wasn’t so lucky when Benvolio charged at him again—Romeo was forced off the worktable and hit the floor, face-first.

Romeo groaned in pain at the blunt impact, then slowly rolled over on to his back and touched his nose with the palm of his left hand. He craned his head up to see if there was blood on it, and sighed when he saw his guess was correct.

Out of breath and sweating profusely, Benvolio yanked the sword out of Romeo’s grip, his playful mood suddenly turned serious. “It is your turn to hear me now. You are deluded, Romeo. Vampires do not have the capability to love. They are heartless and their only intentions are to kill.”

“You are wrong,” Romeo spat out as he sat up and wiped his bloodied nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

Mercutio helped Romeo up off the floor. “I am afraid he is right, and your father would wholeheartedly agree—not to mention skin you alive if he knew you were consorting with the enemy.”

“So instead I should follow your example and consort with women who smell like a barnyard and taste like cheap whisky?” Romeo said as he dusted himself off.

“Enough of this blathering. We have a good fifty or

more weapons to tend to,” Mercutio said, and pointed to double bows that needed to be restrung.

“So do you plan on visiting a harlot’s bed this evening, Mercutio? Is that why you are in a hurry?” Benvolio asked with a laugh.

Mercutio got out some wooden stakes and stacked them on the floor, readying them for inspection. “I wish. I had plans with Maribel, a servant maid from Capulet Castle, but she cancelled because she has to work at that ridiculous ball for the prince. She’d promised me a foot massage, so I’m quite disappointed.”

“She is better off serving food to those bloodsuckers than touching your calluses,” Benvolio said.

“It depends on who this servant maid is,” Romeo said, relieved that the tension in the air had lifted. “How ugly is she?”

Mercutio sneered at Romeo. “Maribel is not ugly, you imbecile. In fact, she’s quite attractive. Even more so than her mistress, Rosaline.”

Romeo’s mouth hung open. “You are courting Rosaline’s maid servant? Since when?!”

“Only a few days. But we haven’t mentioned you and Rosaline at all, if that is what you are worried about,” Mercutio said.

Romeo was thrilled by his friend’s revelation. It was entirely possible this Maribel was a trusted confidante of Rosaline’s. If he could somehow charm and impress the woman, perhaps she would speak kindly of him to Rosaline and convince her mistress to give him a chance. If he didn’t act on this news now, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

“Tonight I will win Rosaline’s favour,” Romeo said with a renewed spirit. “And both of you are going to help me.”

Mercutio narrowed his eyes at Romeo. “How do you propose we do that?”

“You will convince your pretty maid servant to sneak us into the ball so that I can see Rosaline,” he answered.

“A few moments ago my lady friend was ugly, and now all of a sudden she is pretty,” Mercutio said.

“Like I said, I’m full of surprises,” Romeo said with a smile.

Benvolio did nothing to mask his frustration. “This is ridiculous, Romeo. And dangerous to the point of suicide!” he said. “We’ve never gone to the castle at night. The vampires will outnumber us by the hundreds.”

But Romeo would not be persuaded by Benvolio’s gift for reasoning. “We can go in disguise and blend into the crowd undetected. No one will even know we are there.”

“This is the most preposterous plan ever created,” Mercutio said, throwing his hands up in the air. “I refuse to take any part in it.”

“So do I,” Benvolio echoed.

“Well, if you don’t come along, I will go to Capulet Castle all by myself,” Romeo said with confidence.

Benvolio and Mercutio traded an uncomfortable glance while Romeo waited for their response. Benvolio nodded, and Mercutio took a hefty wooden stake from the top of the pile, offering it to Romeo as though it were a family heirloom.

“We must shave a few of these down so they will fit underneath our coats,” Mercutio said.

“And we will ask Friar Laurence for garlic and enough holy water to fill our ankle flasks,” said Benvolio.

Romeo grinned as he shook their hands one at a time. “I suppose we must prepare for the worst.”

“And for your innocence to be lost,” Mercutio said with a wink.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.