I Gave You My Heart

Chapter 4

Hamlet was outside the castle walls, looking for Horatio in the forest, he had told his "fiancé" that he was just going for a morning stroll, but after what happened the night before, he knew he had to find Horatio.

He heard someone weeping in the distance, he followed the noise until he came across a figure lying in the mud.

"Horatio?"

"Horatio!" Hamlet cried in fear, "Is- is that you?"

He drew closer to the figure lying in the dirt, his face turning pale and hands shaking as his suspicions were confirmed.

Hamlet rolled over the lump of a human, who was facing away from him, onto his back. Hamlet wiped the mud off of his friend's face. There was a faraway look on Horatio's face. He didn't respond to Hamlet being in front of him.

Trying to get Horatio our of his doze, Hamlet kissed him on the cheek and he said, "Guess what? We're going to be okay. Ophelia said she won't tell the king about us."

Horatio didn't respond and continued to look off into the distance.

"Horatio," Hamlet whispered, fear in his voice, "are you okay?"

Hamlet noticed the dry mud in Horatio's hair, his hat nowhere to be seen. Horatio must've been lying in the mud for at least a couple hours. What had made him end up all the way out here? He was at least an hour's walk from the castle.

Hamlet shook Horatio, "Snap out of it!" Hamlet's eyes started to tear.

Horatio woke up from his daze, but much to Hamlet's surprise, the emotion he showed was not happiness or even relief, but seething anger and hate.

"I don't believe you! You lied to me about how you felt, but luckily I overheard the truth, no matter how painful it may be." Horatio suddenly spoke up, emotion rising in his voice as he continued, "IT WON'T BE OKAY! YOU LIED AND YOU HURT ME!"

At that moment, Horatio collapsed into Hamlets arms, weak from exhaustion. Hamlet shook him. "Horatio!" he screamed over and over, tears returning. He didn't know what was wrong. For all he knew, Horatio could be DYING.

He knew he couldn't let that happen. He knew he had to take him back, and tell someone. But who could they trust?

For the moment though, that didn't matter. All that mattered was getting Horatio back.

He carefully picked up Horatio, still crying softly, and began the long walk back to the castle.

Hamlet carried Horatio bridal style through the forest.

"It's going to be okay Horatio"

Horatio groaned in response.

"Horatio......if something goes wrong...... and you don't......make it.......I want you to know that I..........I...... I love you!"

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Horatio awoke up to find him self being carried by Hamlet.

"It's going to be okay, Horatio," he heard his friend say. He knew that Hamlet was taking him back to the castle. He couldn't let that happened. Everyone would find out. He needed to stop Hamlet. He tried to protest, but all that came out was a groan.

"Horatio...... If something....... wrong........ make it...... I love you" he heard his friends voice growing more muffled as he slipped, unwilling, back into sleep.

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Back at the castle, Ophelia wandered around, looking for Hamlet. Her fiancé had left early that morning to go for a walk, but it was past noon, and he still hadn't returned. Although she couldn't quite remember what had happened last night, she knew it had something to do with Horatio, and she figured it might also be the reason her fiancé had left.

While Ophelia searched for her husband-to-be Hamlet was almost back at the castle. When he entered, he tried to do so without making much of a scene. Though the guards were interested why the prince was carrying a dirty muddy person in his arms, they didn't question Hamlet much.

Hamlet didn't want Ophelia to see him with Horatio so instead of going through the main halls he went through the back corridors. He made his way to Horatio's room and laid Horatio on the floor. Hamlet realized that Horatio was shaking and was probably really cold from being covered in mud. He decided that weather he liked it or not he would have to take off the muddy clothes that stuck to Horatio's body.

After he awkwardly stripped Horatio -leaving his underpants on-, layer him in his bed under the covers and then left to go find help.