Juliet’s Survival - CHAPTER 1 - Part 1
CHAPTER 1 (Part 1)
[I saw a beautiful woman today. I asked people around to find out her name. Juliet Capulet.
I want to write my first piece in Berneque for Juliet].
***
“You’re not inviting any Montague?”
I asked, puzzled, as I organized the guests for the ball. The Capulets and the Montagues are not on good terms, and that’s nothing new, but there hasn’t been a time since I’ve become Juliet that I haven’t invited someone from the Montagues.
It was a matter of courtesy. To ostracize a family simply because they didn’t get along would make one appear uncultured.
“Yeah. Do we really need to invite the house of an enemy?”
My mother’s sharp words made me feel a strange unease. While it was true that Montague and our family had a strained relationship, it wasn’t to the extent of being considered enemies. There were no political animosities or family feuds worthy of being called enemies, just the kind of bad blood that goes back generations, piled on top of each other, where people try to embarrass each other when they meet in social situations.
Things were taking an odd turn. The sudden change made me feel uneasy like the ground was shaking. My mother’s out-of-the-blue declaration shook to the core the only thing that made me feel secure about being Juliet.
I had become Juliet. Or, to put it another way, I was not Juliet seven years ago.
Anyone can understand the despair I must have felt if they suddenly found themselves the Juliet of the Capulet family, and there was a Montague around whom they didn’t get along. After all, there is no one who doesn’t know Juliet Capulet’s fate.
When I first realized the situation, I decided to run away. I was thirteen at the time. Fifteen in Korean terms, but it was still a young age. However, thirteen was also the age at which Juliet met her tragic end. I had to hurry up before tragedy struck.
‘What are you doing?’
I was about to walk away when someone called out to me.
‘Do I know you?’
‘What are you talking about?’
I’ll never forget the look on his face like he was looking at the world’s biggest idiot. And that condescending kid was Romeo.
In the original play, Romeo meets Juliet in a ballroom where he’s been sneaking around. It’s definitely strange to see Romeo casually talking to me in front of the Capulet gates. There was no trace of romance in his blunt tone. My plan was completely revised.
Observing the situation, I realized a few things. The Montagues and Capulets were neighbors and had a very bad relationship, but they weren’t enemies.
Romeo and Juliet had been childhood friends, growing up together since the age of six. While their relationship could be described as somewhat turbulent, there was no doubt that they had known each other for a long time. Lastly, this place was not Verona but a fantasy country named Berneque.
I reached a conclusion. This was not the world of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ At least, it wasn’t the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Shakespeare that I knew. Finally, I could settle comfortably into my new life.
But now, complaining about the house of an enemy.
“Juliet, I need you to help me put up these decorations.”
As if my feelings of betrayal were irrelevant, the mansion was in full swing preparing for the ball. My mother held out a sparkling glass bead to me.
“These are beautiful beads.”
“It’s not just a bead. It’s a Masterpiece. Honey, you need to be more careful with it.”
As my mother finished speaking, the sand inside the bead started to crackle and glow. Each grain of sand emitted a thin ray of light, which refracted on the surface of the glass bead and scattered in all directions. I stared mouth agape, at the spectacle.
The Masterpiece was the only magic existing in this place. But it wasn’t the kind of magic you could control, as I’d imagined, and you couldn’t prevent the magic from being activated if you didn’t want it to. It chose great works of art or talented artists for itself.
The effects of the Masterpieces were diverse. Some were as simple as making the glass bead in my hand glow. A sword forged by a skilled craftsman could become a magical sword that could cut through anything if the Masterpiece was imbued with it. A fairy tale book chosen by the Masterpiece could display the contents of the story in the air like an animation.
Both tangible and intangible arts could become Masterpieces. In some plays, depending on the weather during the play, rain would pour into the theater, causing people to suffer. Seeing that, it seemed that the effects of the masterpiece were not always helpful. It was impossible to know what the effect would be, whether it would be good or bad until the magic was cast.
There was only one thing that all Masterpieces had in common. Masterpieces could not be damaged in any way.
So, my mother’s advice to handle it carefully was quite futile. Even if I were to throw this glass bead on the ground right now, it wouldn’t break. I tossed the bead into the air and caught it repeatedly.
“Juliet!”
“Yes, Mother. Can I put this decoration here?”
My mother raised her voice. I promptly lowered my tail and helped with the decorations. When I was done, I returned to my seat and resumed organizing the invitations. But my hands quickly became sluggish.
To be honest, I wished this ball wouldn’t take place.
I was afraid of my mother’s sudden stubborn change. I was afraid of the deteriorating relationship between the two families, just like in the original.
My hand, passing the invitations, stopped.
[William Shakespeare]
A chill ran down my spine. It was a name I was all too familiar with, and one I wanted to avoid at all costs. Technically speaking, he was the one who killed Juliet.
I tried to calm my mind for a moment. The fact that Shakespeare existed in the same world as me was not at all unsettling. In the original work, there could never be an invitation from Juliet to Shakespeare for the ball, so this was another piece of evidence that I wasn’t in the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ world where tragedy struck.
But strangely, my anxiety didn’t go away. I lifted my head and looked around. My mother was engrossed in decorating the hall. I cautiously hid the invitation between the folds of my dress.
Contrary to my wishes, the day of the ball was fast approaching. The invitations had all been sent out by today, except for the one I had hidden.
I stared intently at the invitation in my hand. My mother hadn’t noticed that I had stolen the invitation. If everything went as planned, I could get through the ball without meeting him and safely move on. And Shakespeare would undoubtedly become an unwelcome guest without invitation. I let out a small sigh.
The only reason I didn’t want to give an invitation to Shakespeare was my intuition. Such a reason might not be justified. I looked at the address written on the invitation. William Shakespeare’s residence was right in the center of the Capulet mansion and the Montague mansion. It was within touching distance if I fell.
How could I not have heard his name until now? I had even visited the Shakespeare estate a few times. It was a very familiar surname, so I was uneasy even then. However, there was no one named William there. Something was definitely strange.
I stood up and started to leave. I couldn’t stay anxious forever. I had to go find out the identity of this uneasiness. I tightly clutched the invitation in my hand.
“I came from the Capulets. I’d like to meet Mr. William Shakespeare.”
After a brief explanation that the invitation was missing, the butler ushered me into the parlor. He told me to wait a moment and then went to call for William Shakespeare. I sat down on the parlor couch. Suddenly, I realized I had been tapping the handle of the sofa with my fingers and belatedly stopped. I felt my heart beating rapidly.
It didn’t take long for the butler to return with a man. Standing next to him, a tall figure with a head taller than mine and broad shoulders caught my eye. The man had blond hair and seemed gentle with kind-looking eyes. He was truly a handsome man.
I stared at him for a moment, as if enchanted. He looked much more suited for romance than someone like Romeo. I thought his sparkling blue eyes were beautiful.
At that moment, his blue eyes widened in surprise.
“Juliet?”
“Yes?”
I stared at him in disbelief. I could have sworn I’d never seen this man before, so how did he know my name? The wariness that had been slightly eased by his handsome face began to rise again.
“Excuse me, but have we met before, Mr. Shakespeare?”
“Oh, no. I must apologize for the abruptness, Miss Capulet.”
The man’s embarrassment was palpable. Looking at the reddened tips of his ears, I waited for his next words.
“I am a playwright. I recently returned from abroad and haven’t staged a play here yet, but I plan to soon. I’ve never met you, Miss Capulet, not in person, but I’ve heard countless poems in praise of you. However, now that I’ve met you, you are much more beautiful than those poems suggest, Miss Capulet.”
Shakespeare spoke with a sweet smile. Though I wouldn’t say it myself, I, at least the Juliet I became, was quite a beauty. As Shakespeare said, there were quite a few poems and rumors circulating in society about me.