Microsoft Word - BETROTHED.docx (17 page)

"It's Aiden. I realize it now. Everything he said is true. I'm not in control of my emotions. I behaved badly.”

Caitlin understood. She had been there. It had been a long, hard struggle for her to regain control, and she still felt as if it were a daily battle, and that she were learning something new every day. She felt her journey was far from over, but she also felt she’d come a long way. She remembered what it was like in the early days, and how Sam was feeling now: emotions and passions seemed to consume you, it was so hard to control them.

She reached over and placed a conciliatory hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay," she said. "I've been there. We all make mistakes. Training is a process. It doesn't happen on day one.”

Sam seemed to brighten a little. Caitlin remembered how she had always had a way of making him feel better, even growing up, even in their terrible little apartment in New York.

"Tell me about the clue," she said to him. "Warwick. Dad’s letter. What did you find?"

Sam slowly shook his head.

"That’s the other thing. Aiden told me that there is no clue. That
he
is the clue. That this place is the clue. My being here." Sam lowered his head. "He said that
you
are the one who's meant to find Dad. I'm only meant to protect you. My part of the mission is ended. You are the special one."

Caitlin was shocked at his words. She had never imagined that she was more special than Sam, or that their missions were different. It made her feel burdened, as if she carried the final remaining clue to whatever it was they needed to find.

"But I have no idea what my clue means," she said. "I'm been thinking about it, processing it over and over. I have no idea what the mount of judgment is. Do you?” Sam slowly shook his head.

Caitlin sighed. "Then I’m afraid that there’s nothing for me to do either, until we figure it out.”

“And when you do?” Sam asked.

She paused. "Then I'll go pursue it, whatever it is. In the meantime—”

“In the meantime, there's nothing for you to do but enjoy yourself," Lily said, coming over, putting an arm around her shoulder. "It's your engagement after all. Cheer up! Celebrate. I insist that you do!"

Caitlin smiled, warmed, as always, by Lily’s presence.

“In fact, I have decided that I'm going to throw you to an engagement party. Right now. We need to celebrate.” She turned to the crowd. "Don't we?” The crowd roared back in approval.

"There's a new Shakespeare play opening today at his new Globe theater,” Lily continued.

“Romeo and Juliet. We’re all going to see it.” She turned to the crowd. "Let's go celebrate these two.

It’s on me!"

The coven roared back in approval, and Caitlin's heart lifted, as Caleb came over and kissed her.

"Mommy?” Scarlet asked. “Can I come? Please? I've always wanted to see a Shakespeare play.

Please. Please!"

Caitlin smiled. "Of course you can, sweetheart.”

"Yay!” Scarlet jumped up and down, Ruth barking beside her.

Caitlin was blown away.
Romeo and Juliet
. She couldn't fathom its being called “new.” Or hearing Shakespeare being called a “new playwright.” Or his “Globe” being called a “new theater.” But it was 1599, after all, and everything that was old was new again.

Caitlin’s heart filled with delight. Her entire life, she had wanted to go to a Shakespeare play.

And now, she would be going to actually see one of the first productions of
Romeo and Juliet
, in Shakespeare's theater, while Shakespeare was alive—and who knows, maybe even there himself.

Caitlin flew through the air, her entire coven beside her. They had all left Warwick together, heading towards London, to Shakespeare's theater, to celebrate. Caitlin had never been more excited. Here she was, with everyone she loved dearly, heading to celebrate her engagement with a new play by Shakespeare. She could hardly imagine what it could be like to actually see a play of his in the time and place that it was set. She felt herself bristling with excitement.

It felt so good to have everyone together, and she was still riding high from being proposed to.

She was overflowing with joy. Finally, everything seemed perfect in the world. For the first time, she saw such a bright future ahead of her. Finally, she could have it all—a happy life, surrounded by people she loved, and a time and place in which she could settle down.

Best of all, she didn't have to feel guilty about not pursuing her search for her father. She had no idea how to decode the riddle, and neither did anyone else. There was literally nothing else she could do. So she felt okay to take some time to enjoy herself. After all, how often in a girl’s life did she get proposed to?

If things should change, if she should decode the riddle, then she would do what she had to, and continue on the search. But a part of her secretly hoped that it did not come to that. She was so happy and content here, she truly wished things would never change.

As they flew over the city of London, it now felt like an entirely new city, experiencing it with all of her friends and loved ones at her side. It was less shocking to her this time, having already been through it once before. It was, in some strange ways, beginning to feel familiar.

They all flew over the river Thames, then, seeing the London Bridge off in the distance, veered off to the right side of the river, to Southwark. As they approached, Caitlin spotted below the circular structures of several theaters, bullbaiting rings, and bearbaiting rings. She was puzzled to see that the bearbaiting ring she had visited days before now seemed to be damaged by fire. She wondered when that fire could have broken out.

They dove lower, circling over the neighborhood that held Shakespeare's theater. Down below, thousands of people were crammed together, all packed together on this warm September day, walking in the unpaved, muddy streets that were also filled with wild dogs, chickens, livestock, and an abundance of rats, visible even from up here.

Caitlin smiled wider as Caleb, flying beside her, squeezed her hand, looked at her and grinned.

She could see how proud he was to have her by his side, and nothing made her happier. She looked down at her ring again, and again felt how lucky she was to be with him.

They all landed behind a building, out of sight of the crowd, not far from Shakespeare's theater.

Caitlin set down Scarlet, as Tyler set down Lily, and they all walked out from behind a building, and right into the bustling crowd of humanity.

Caitlin found herself jostled back and forth, as did the others, and she held Scarlet’s hand tight so that they would not get separated. She tried to stick together with the others, as they all pushed their way through the endless masses, trying to make it across the open square, to the packed entrance of the globe. These crowds reminded Caitlin of a time when she was young, when she went to Disneyland, and there were so many people crammed in that it'd taken her nearly an hour just to go a few feet.

As they approached the theater, Caitlin looked up at it in awe. It appeared just as she had seen in the history books, and seeing it in person was incredible. It was a large, round theater, built very steeply straight up, made entirely of wood, its exterior painted in a bright white, with dark wooden beams interlacing it, and a sharply slanted, dark roof made of straw.

As they funneled their way with the masses towards the main entrance, the energy became more and more vibrant. Lily stepped up and paid the attendant, and turned to Caitlin and the others.

"We have a choice," she said. "We can either sit in our own private box, off to the side, or stand in the middle, with the masses, and be closer to the stage. We’d be standing on the ground the entire time, but we’d be closer.”

Caitlin thought, and looked to Caleb, who didn't seem to have any preference. Caitlin didn't want to sit in a fancy box off to the side.

"I’d like to stand,” Caitlin said, “with all the others, right on the ground, close to the stage. I want to experience it the way the masses do."

"You got it," Lily said. "That's fine with me. You just saved me a bunch of money anyway—

groundling tickets are only a penny! It can be a bit of a rough crowd, though. Is that okay?"

Caitlin smiled. "That's great," she said. "I want to see the real London."

Lily smiled back. "It's
your
engagement party," she said, with a large smile, "whatever you want."

As Lily paid, they all walked through the ramp-like entrance, and right into the theater.

"Can I sit on your shoulders?" Scarlet asked, yanking Caitlin's hand.

Caitlin smiled. "Of course," she said, hoisting her up, onto her shoulders. Scarlet squealed with delight, kicking her legs, as she looked every which way.

Caleb came up beside her and held her hand.

As they entered the theater, the electricity in the air was palpable, and the sight took Caitlin's breath away. She looked up, all around, at the wooden seating, the rows of benches on all sides, rising steeply into the air. In the center of the theater was a circular pit, a ground floor made of dirt, on which thousands of people milled, huddled together.

The wooden stage was raised about fifteen feet off the ground, and so wide, it stretched about a hundred feet across, and about forty feet deep. It was framed by columns all across. She was surprised to see how simple the stage was, hardly adorned by any sets, and of course, not having any lighting. She remembered that nighttime shows hadn't existed yet in this century, and that all plays still had to be performed in the sunlight. Indoor theaters were an invention yet to come.

"GET YOUR GIN HERE, ONE PINT! GIN HERE, ONE PINT!" a man yelled out over and over again, carrying a pouch slung over his stomach, dozens of small bottles in it.

Their group made its way slowly through the huge crowd of groundlings, gently but firmly making their way as close to the stage as they could.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" Scarlet kept saying to the people in front of them.

It worked like a charm. People everywhere turned and made way for her, smiling when they saw her, and she managed to make their way nearly to the lip of the stage.

"Can't wait to see what Will has this time," Caitlin overheard one crowd member say.

"I hear it's a tragedy," one of them responded.

"No. It's a romance," another said.

"You're both wrong,” another said, “it's a comedy."

Caitlin smiled to herself. It shocked her that these people had never seen it. Once again, she felt so fortunate to be here at this moment, in this time and place, right when it was first happening.

As she looked around, trying to take the entire scene in, she also realized that she was a bit surprised: this was not how she’d pictured a Shakespeare crowd. She’d pictured it to be more refined, more elitist, more snobbish. But the opposite was true. The people here were just ordinary masses, hard-working people. In fact, many of them didn't even seem to be respectable enough to be hard-working people—the majority of them, to her surprise, seemed to be rough looking types—

drunks, scoundrels, and various unsavory characters. If Caitlin hadn’t known better, she could have easily mistaken this crowd for a group of convicts.

Caitlin was shocked that they would all come to see a Shakespeare play. And she was also shocked that, in this time and place, even the most uneducated person could grasp a Shakespeare play at first glance. It made her sad to think how far the 21st century had fallen behind.

Suddenly, a rush of excitement spread throughout the crowd. The chatter began to die down, and the vendors selling products began to quiet, too. The jostling and shuffling for position began to slow, as well. Caitlin felt herself bristle with excitement, as she sensed the play was about to begin.

Moments later, a lone actor stepped forward, out to the center of the stage, walking dramatically right to the front, just feet away from Caitlin. Caitlin could hear Scarlet gasp up above her, on her shoulders. The entire crowd became deathly silent. In fact, Caitlin could not believe how silent it became so quickly, at how much respect these people gave to the theater: there were thousands and thousands of unruly people here, and yet now, at this moment, she could not hear a peep. There were certainly no cellphones or beepers to go off, either. That was another thing that made Caitlin appreciate this time.

The actor proudly lifted his chin, commanding their attention, and spoke the opening lines of the play:

Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

As the actor continued his long monologue, introducing the play, Caitlin was overwhelmed by his clarity of voice, by his precision, by how the actors performed in this day and time. It was truly an art form.

The play unfolded, the narrator followed by a large, rowdy group of actors, who played out an opening fight scene in a crowded marketplace, quickly establishing the rivalry between the two families in the play: the Montagues and the Capulets.

One scene followed the next, and Caitlin found herself becoming completely entranced, losing all sense of space and time. She had never experienced theater like this—so real, so alive. It truly felt like the first time
Romeo and Juliet
had ever been performed. As she got lost in it, Caitlin found herself forgetting what actually happened in the play, and found herself riveted to every word, wondering what would happen next.

The scenes raced by until they came to an elaborate dance scene, a formal dance hosted by the house of Capulet, which Romeo had snuck into. Caitlin found herself riveted as she watched Romeo see Juliet for the first time:

ROMEO

What lady is that, which doth

enrich the hand

Of yonder knight?

SERVANT

I know not, sir.

ROMEO

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night