"What if he was already dead?" I asked. Fortinbras blinked. Obviously he was confused. I bet you were too, for a minute. Or are you still?
I smiled slowly, the plan beginning to write itself in my brain. I could see it already. "I don't understand," he replied. Well obviously. "He's your friend, I thought the whole point of you even coming here was to save his life.
I nodded. "It was. It still is."
"Then how...?" he asked, shaking his head.
"He could fake his death. If no one thought he was alive, no one would be able to rally behind him in a war. This could be the most peaceful war anyone's ever fought. The only casualty would be Claudius, if we played this right. The nobles are behind him, sure, but they're easily swayed. And if that doesn't work, what can they do if Claudius is already dead? They'll go right to you to start sucking up. Their first priority is their money and their lands. As long as you let them keep them, you'll have nothing to worry about from them." I spoke fast, as if the more words I gave him, the easier it would be to convince him this was a good idea. I just wanted to keep Hamlet safe, and get Claudius off of that throne.
Yes I had agreed to try it Horatio' way, thinking maybe it would be better that way, but I didn't believe it for a second. Claudius was a poison in the body that was Denmark, and he would kill it slowly, without a care in the world, since he already got what he wanted. The throne and a beautiful wife. Fortinbras leaned on the stone, thinking. Did I do it? Was it possible that he was considering it?
He nodded. "I'll think about it. If you haven't heard from your Horatio in your time limit, I will discuss the whole thing with my advisors. I owe you for keeping my secret, I'll give you that much."
I almost cried in relief. It was more than I could have hoped for, really. I think he must have seen something on my face to that effect, because he took a step back. Gay or not, he still didn't want to deal with a woman crying. Well I couldn't blame him, I was not a pretty crier.
"I'll see you at the feast tonight, Lady Corrine." He bowed his head and walked away, while I sagged on the wall, holding back my tears. I really couldn't believe that I had gotten so lucky. That he was willing to consider it, and that he wouldn't just act on the information I had given him, as soon as it was given. My luck really was finally turning.
After a few minutes of composing myself, I headed back down to relax, and to then get ready for that night's feast. It was hard to keep myself neutral after the morning I had, but I did it, with a lot of effort.
I went to the feast, sitting with Anette again. She was already chatting with someone across from her, which was fine. I had delicious food, good wine, and things were really going to be okay. The only thing I had to worry about was Horatio.
Oh god. Horatio. Why had I not considered that more? If Horatio needed me to come with Prince Fortinbras, it meant that he hadn't been able to convince Claudius to give up, and THAT meant that Horatio was in trouble. Worst case scenario, was that Claudius had had him killed. Even a good king could have justified killing Horatio, after trying to blackmail him. I paled, considering that possibility. The other possibilities weren't great either. Imprisonment, torture, banishment. The food turned cold in my mouth, or so it seemed. Then I looked up, toward the prince, after hearing something strange.
The man who stood behind Fortinbras started to cough. He sank to the floor, blood coming out of his nose. "Poison! Someone tried to poison our prince!" Some lord yelled. Oh this was not good.
"Seize the Dane!" The captain of the guard yelled. Several guards surged forward to grab me. Crap.
They dragged me, yes, kicking and screaming, to the dungeon. This was not good. This was very, very bad. I was being dragged to prison in the fifteen hundreds. I had read enough textbooks and historical fiction that this was not looking like it would go in my favor, not if they thought I poisoned their prince. Now here was a part of a castle that I had never wanted to see.
I was alone for what seemed like forever before someone came. I had time to go through all sorts of horrible scenarios in my head, just like the ones I had gone through with Horatio just minutes earlier. Would they torture me until I admitted I had tried to poison their ruler? Would they behead me? Drawn and quartered maybe? A hanging? Oh god. I was going to die.
Wait. Fortinbras wouldn't think I tried to kill him, right? I mean, we had just talked about how I needed his help. He couldn't think I had done it. Surely he would set me free. Maybe he was waiting until they found the person who had actually done it.
Who would be that stupid to try and poison someone who had a food taster?? Unless they knew that someone else would be blamed... Oh no. Oh no no. If Claudius knew what I was up to, what an easy way to get rid of me.
I was doomed.
