Romeo and Juliet: Act X

Hokuto: “This Paris spoke of loving flowers much,
But seems it more that nectar was his taste.
The poor noble was stricken by decline,
And sought thy fortune by your marriage hand.
I heard the truth within a tavern crowd;
And though thou lov’st me not, I wish only
For happiness in my lady’s future...
The vexing parasite did force mine hand
That I sought to remove him from thy side.
I bid him take his sword in a duel.
He scorn’d me as a woman and refused,
Then in an uproar, call’d upon thy house
The Capulets and allies who hate me.
A fight broke out, and so thy cousin died...
Accepted I the blame, and to this crime
I did resign myself by the trial.
But craven Paris thought that I would speak
What I had heard upon the judgment bench...
He came into this church and drew his sword.
He scorned me as but a fragile maiden
And held me down... I struggled desperately.
While in our throes, the dagger that Paris
Had on his belt struck him. A stroke of wit
Occur’d to me... a revelation so
Cursèd and repulsive given to me.
I first obtain’d a poison that would mark
The skin with ashen hue if much imbibed.

Hokuto: This very poison! This little vial
I took from an apothecary in
The night by rousing him from his slumber
And frightening him into compliance.
With it in my possession, I return’d
To Paris, who still to my delight did live...
I fed him the liquor and forced him
Into mine own clothes. The death took him quick:
Contamination did rot his body
And turn it black. I would design to make
Him an unrecognizèd filth outside
To match the blackness of his heart, such that
His own parents could know him at glance.
To one who sees his corpse, he would appear
Myself, kill’d in shame of my transgression.
And yet I live still, like this. Cut mine hair,
Dress as a man, and wear a mask, and no one
Would think I Romeo... ‘Twas my design,
That I would use deplorable Paris
As my double, and vanish in the dark.
Then as a shadow, I would protect thee,
My lady Juliet... Mine only wish
Was to enrich your happiness, my love.
But that bright future hath darken’d to black.
I ask at least, allow me to follow
Thee to thy death. I could not protect thee:
And by my failure, a young maiden’s life
Was ripp’d from this world. This shall be my last
Duty on Earth, O foolish Romeo!
Nay, but before the poison consumes thee,
Let me take it from thy lips. God’s mercy,
Shall I stave death away. Is it too late...?
Thou art not conquer’d; beauty’s ensign yet^[1]
Remains in thee! Give me thy death instead!
Allow me just this, my dear Juliet!
My love, my all... Come, use my worthless life.
...Would that I woke to that beautiful dream.
O Death! I beckon you: come, unsavory guide!^[2]
Adieu, adieu, my love, my Juliet!
I give thee my first kiss and my last!”

“......”

Tomoya: “Hurry, come on! The curtain’s about to fall, and then the story will be over!”

Mitsuru: “Hey, look! It’s them, Romeo and Juliet...!”

Tomoya: “A–are they... dead? How? I can’t believe it, we couldn’t change anything! It still ended a tragedy!”

“No, this is even worse... Originally, Romeo and Juliet did come to love one another. They met up in secret night after night to affirm that love.”

“But no one around them would recognize their love, and they lost hope in the world. Then, in a terrible misunderstanding...”

“The two of them died. And now people know it as a great tragedy.”

“But while they were alive, they definitely loved each other. They were able to experience something real and live a wonderful life.”

“And in death, they could finally be united for eternity.”

“But thanks to that weird Reversi spell, everything’s ruined! Up to the very end, Romeo thought Juliet didn’t love her!”

Mitsuru: “And Juliet-nee~chan kept on hurting someone she really loved, too... She was so torn up about rejecting her that she cried over it every night.”

“I kept talking to her at first, so I guess she started thinking of me like some kind of baby bird, I guess?”

“She thought I was cute, so she brought me up to her room and gave me snacks.”

“Eventually I’d get tired and doze off... and Nee~chan' would sing me to sleep.”

“Man, I really liked that about her.”

Tomoya: “Really? I thought Juliet’s love got Reversi’d, and she actually hated Romeo...”

Mitsuru: “No way. She loved her so much she stayed away. She told me about it once, then told me not to tell anyone.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t say anything about it this whole time.”

Tomoya: “What the hell... so they really were in love with each other this whole time?”

“And despite that, they died without ever knowing each other’s feelings?!”

“That’s too cruel... How is the Reversi spell going to change anything about their tragedy, when this is the ending they got?!”

“Are you watching all of this, God, the author of this story? Are you satisfied? You wanted to save them and make them happy, but this is what you do to them?!”

“I can’t... this is so... It really is a tragedy.”

“......”