“Oh, fine,” Benvolio said, disappointed.
Mercutio and Benvolio retreated into the house as the nurse approached. Romeo was practically bouncing on his heels with both anxiety and excitement. He inhaled slowly and told himself to have faith. Time apart, long distances, whatever the obstacle—together, he and Juliet had the power to overcome it.
“Greetings, Nurse. How are you this morning?” Romeo bowed in front of her as if she were a woman of royalty. It made all the sense in the world to get into her good graces.
The nurse wrung her hands nervously. “The time I have with you is short, Romeo. ’Tis almost the afternoon, and I have been gone from the castle for longer than expected.”
“I understand,” he said, swallowing hard. “Is Juliet still…I mean, will she—”
“My lady’s only wish is to marry you, sir.” The nurse glanced over her shoulders and kept her voice low. “But the clock is ticking, as you well know. And if anyone finds out about your impending union, the Capulets will try to kill you, and the prince’s declaration of peace is certain to fall. God save our souls after that.”
Romeo ignored almost everything the nurse had just said, except for two words: “marry you.” In his excitement, he planted a kiss on each of the nurse’s cheeks.
“Bless you, Nurse! You must tell Juliet to meet me at the monastery no later than three o’clock. Friar Laurence will perform the ceremony in his private cell.”
The nurse took the edge of her apron and wiped off her cheeks. “A wedding without any witnesses? That is not what I had imagined for my dear Juliet.”
Romeo sighed. “It is the best I can do right now.”
“And what about later?” The nurse fiddled with a stray strand of yarn dangling from her shawl. “Where will you go after the wedding? Have you even thought that far?”
The nurse was right—Romeo hadn’t considered that yet, and he should have. Once word got out, he and Juliet would be in too much danger in Transylvania. In fact, they might need to leave the province of Wallachia altogether. But admitting to the nurse that he had no plan would be a big mistake. She would tell Juliet about his lack of foresight for sure. He had no choice but to improvise.
“I have found a home for us in Moldova,” Romeo lied. “We can go there after she has transitioned, when her parents will be less watchful of her.”
The nurse glowered at him, doubt filling her narrowing eyes. “Do you know how to raise livestock?”
Romeo sighed again. “Why is that important?”
“Just answer the question, sir.”
“No, but I am a quick learner,” he replied.
“Juliet is going to need a steady diet of animal blood. If you are not able to raise livestock, your wife will have to go out at night and hunt for it, like a mangy, wild dog! How does that image sit with you?” the nurse scolded, pointing an angry finger at him.
Romeo’s palms were starting to sweat. “It doesn’t sit with me at all, madam. You must believe me when I tell you that I will do whatever it takes to—”
“You are just a boy!” The nurse’s voice was now high-pitched and shrill. “And tomorrow at midnight Juliet is going to become a vampire. She will no longer be able to see the light of day. She will live forever with the hunger for human flesh gnawing at her gut. She will—”
“I know!” Romeo shouted, so loudly he made the nurse flinch. Then he took a deep breath and continued calmly. “What you are failing to understand is that none of that changes how I feel about her. And mark my words, nothing ever will.”
“Nothing, eh? What about Juliet’s initiation rite?” the nurse asked.
Romeo was completely confused. He had never heard of any initiation rite for vampires. “I do not know what you are talking about.”
The nurse momentarily put her hand on her chest, and then shook her head while taking a step backward. “I must be going. I will give Juliet your message.”
“Wait, this initiation rite—what is it? Why should it concern me?” Romeo could sense that the nurse was hiding something from him.
“Never mind, I should have kept quiet about everything.” The nurse turned around and headed down the path.
Romeo chased after her, though. Luckily, the nurse wasn’t very fast because of her round size, so he was able to catch up to her. He halted right in front of the nurse, causing her to nearly trip over her own feet.
“If there is something else I should know about Juliet, please tell me,” he said.
Tears formed at the inside corners of the nurse’s eyes, then rolled down the sides of her short, upturned nose.
“She belongs with her family,” she said simply, before pushing Romeo to the side and briskly walking away.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
As the rest of the house slept, Juliet paced back and forth in the castle’s orchard, waiting for her nurse to return from town. She had been praying for good news from Romeo ever since a tiny killdeer bird had whistled outside her window, just a few minutes after daybreak. Now Juliet’s eyes were set on the sun clock located in between two spruce trees. Although her nurse had left an hour ago, it felt as though she’d been gone for almost a year.
Juliet wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to prevent herself from coming apart at the seams. She turned her back to the sun clock and ambled over to a small fountain that was at the base of a marble statue of Vlad the Impaler. Juliet picked up the bottom of her pale pink dress and knelt down near the fountain, leaning over a bit so that she could see her reflection rippling in the water.
What she saw made her gasp in horror—her eyes had already lost their blue hue in favor of a deep shade of cherry red. Suddenly ten knots formed in Juliet’s stomach, and she covered her mouth with both her hands to prevent herself from throwing up. But that only intensified her sickness. Juliet stared at her hands and watched in terror as her fingernails grew long and thick, just like her mother’s and father’s.
Juliet bowed her head and cried. While Romeo had said that he did not care that she was turning into a vampire, she worried that when he saw her like this, he would run away and never look back. She could not blame him—not after all of the pain and suffering vampires had caused the Montagues. But she couldn’t help but think that death might be preferable to living forever, knowing that her greatest love had rejected her.
The sound of a squeaking fence hinge shook Juliet from her brooding.
“Who goes there?” she asked.
Out from behind a patch of small plum trees came her nurse. Juliet leaped up from the ground and sprinted over to her as fast as she could.
“I am so happy you are back!” she shouted, throwing her arms around the nurse and hugging her.
“Shh, child. You’ll wake the undead.” The nurse kissed Juliet on the forehead and released her from their embrace.
“What can you tell me about my sweet Romeo?” Juliet said, her heart leaping inside her chest.
The nurse’s eyes glazed over with tears as she looked at Juliet’s red irises.
“It is all happening so fast,” she muttered.
“Which is why you must help bring Romeo and me together.” Juliet grabbed hold of the nurse’s hand, careful that she didn’t scratch it and draw blood. Lord knows how tempted she might be to taste it, now that her physical changes had begun.
The nurse squeezed Juliet’s hand affectionately. “That will not stop the transition, my lady.”
“That is exactly the reason I sent you to see him,” Juliet said, her tone impatient. “Did he say again that he would love me now as a human, and later as a vampire? If he has changed his mind and heart, you can start digging my grave.”
The nurse sighed heavily. “My lady, his loyalty and love for you expands with each breath he takes. He reassured me that nothing could ever keep him from you, not even your transformation, and he wants you to meet him at the friar’s cell so that you two can be married.”
Juliet clasped her hands together and glanced up to the sky. “Oh, how wonderful it is to
hear those words!”
“Yes, they are wonderful words,” the nurse replied. “But he does not know the whole truth about you.”
Juliet’s smile began to fade away at this remark. “Indeed he does. I have told him everything.”
“Everything except for your initiation rite,” the nurse countered. “Don’t you think your future husband should know that you will die on your sixteenth birthday unless you murder someone and drain them of all their blood?”
Juliet bowed her head and said nothing.
“And what about the fact that you are already engaged to be married?” the nurse added.
“Aren’t there enough gruesome facts about me for him to accept? I cannot possibly—”
“Then why don’t you just marry Count Paris?” the nurse interrupted, hugging Juliet and rocking her back and forth. “You have nothing to hide from him. You are one and the same, and your family will approve of your union. Why put yourself through this hell?”
“My eyes may have changed color, Nurse, but that does not make me blind,” Juliet snapped, wiggling away from her. “Count Paris is not like me in the slightest, and my family only approves of him because they want to preserve their power. Honestly, Romeo Montague is more like my kin than any Capulet—he detests the violence between our families as much as I do. You will see, when he and I become joined, our hell will become our heaven.”
“If heaven is where you want to reside with this man, then you must not keep secrets from him,” the nurse warned. “You must tell him the truth.”
“I understand.” Juliet gently took the nurse’s shawl and put it over her own head. “Everyone here is still sleeping, and I must get to the friar’s. Will you help sneak me out of the castle? Please?”
“It is against my better judgment, but I know you will do what you want anyway and I won’t be able to stop you.”
The nurse glanced around the orchard and found some beautiful white dog roses in a nearby bush. She grabbed some by the stem, ripped them free, and then handed them to Juliet.
“Here, a bride should not be without flowers on her wedding day,” she said, wiping streams of tears from her face. “Now let us go, before I change my mind.”
At around a quarter to three, Juliet and her nurse were at the monastery door, waiting to gain entrance. They had successfully evaded the guards at Capulet Castle by escaping through the tunnel system. The nurse had also led her through the forest and into the valley, using several unmarked paths.
Now that Juliet was on Friar Laurence’s doorstep, her mind had been wiped clean of the entire journey. She no longer recalled the frantic race through trees, or her dress getting caught on prickly shrubs, which tore small holes in the fabric. She did not remember how the roots of her hair had become damp, although it was surely due to the condensation in the castle tunnels, or why her body ached all over, or where she had dropped her bouquet of flowers. But memory was no longer important to her. Everything that had happened in her life up until now seemed trivial and meaningless.
With the exception of meeting Romeo, of course.
As the nurse knocked on the door for the second time, Juliet felt a blinding pain pinch her stomach that caused her legs to wobble.
“Ugh, where is this man? We cannot stand out here forever. What if we are discovered?” the nurse complained as she knocked once again.
“By who? This monastery is not exactly a popular spot in Transylvania,” Juliet replied.
The nurse turned to Juliet, a streak of moisture glistening on her top lip. “Perhaps one of the Montagues has gotten wind of this. They may have plotted to disrupt this wedding and chop your pretty head off!”
Juliet was surprised to find herself laughing. This wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, but still, the thought of it was just so…comical.
“Do you actually think I’m trying to be funny?” the nurse asked, visibly irritated.
“No, I don’t.” Juliet fanned her face with her hands in an attempt to compose herself. “But it seems rather obvious that you think this wedding of mine will soon lead to my funeral.”
The nurse lowered her head, her mood now somber. “Yes, and that is why I must remain out here.”
“What? You are not going to give me away?” Juliet felt a ball of sadness building inside of her chest.
“Even though I wish this wasn’t true, you are not mine to give, my lady,” the nurse replied.
Juliet wanted to plead with her, but before she could, the door of the monastery opened. A thin, humble-looking, white-haired man in a brown robe appeared in the archway, smiling warmly as he bowed.
“Welcome, Juliet,” he said. “Good tidings to you and your nurse.”
“Hello, Friar.” Juliet was thankful he had not greeted her with an awkward stare, for her appearance was not particularly bridelike. While there was no way to hide her demonic eyes, she crossed her arms in front of her chest so that he would not see her hands.
“This way, my lady.” The friar held out his arm, just as a dutiful escort would. “Romeo awaits your presence in my private cell.”
Juliet took his arm, but glanced over her shoulder, gazing longingly at her nurse. “You promise to wait for me?”
The nurse nodded and squeezed Juliet’s shoulder affectionately.
Once Juliet was inside the monastery, her nervousness began to escalate. Although she wanted nothing more than to be with Romeo forever, there were so many unfamiliar and distressing urges crawling up and down her nearly snow white skin. As the friar led her through winding halls and countless rooms, she noticed that he had a small cut on his chin—most likely a scrape from shaving. But Juliet did not see this with her eyes.
She could smell his blood, even though it was drying.
The aroma was so distinct—like the scent of meat cooking on an open fire—and contact with it was beginning to intoxicate her. She could feel her mouth watering, and her head becoming light. She was using every ounce of willpower she had to steer her mind’s focus where it belonged—on the eternal commitment she was about to make to Romeo Montague.
“Here we are, Juliet,” the friar said, stopping in front of a door that wasn’t much taller than he himself. “Are you ready?”
Regardless of the burgeoning love in her heart, Juliet could barely tear her eyes away from the friar’s chin. Thankfully, she was able to shake herself out of her trance and nod.
The friar opened the door slowly and Juliet was met with the glorious glow of hundreds of purple candles, nestled firmly in waist-high cast-iron candlesticks. The windows were cracked open, and the breeze from outside sent the curtains billowing. There was a long, silken, silver carpet leading to an altar at the far end of the room, which was covered with cream lace cloth. Standing by that altar, dressed in a dark blue velveteen jacket, his hair neatly combed and a red rose in his hand, was Romeo.
Juliet wanted to sprint across the room and hold him in her arms. From the gigantic grin on Romeo’s face, it seemed as though he wanted to do the same. Juliet was so enraptured that she felt like she was flying through the heavens like an angel.
But then Juliet saw a shadow fall over Romeo’s eyes and watched his mouth drop open in shock.
“Juliet,” he said in disbelief.
She thought Romeo might have been taken aback by her newly red eyes, but when the friar let go of her arm slowly and stepped away to gape at her in awe, she knew something else was horribly amiss.
“What’s wrong?” Juliet said frantically.
Romeo gestured to her feet. Juliet looked down and saw that her delicate beige high heels were hovering six inches above the ground.
“Oh my God,” she said, and gasped.
When her knees buckled and it seemed like she might crash to the floor, Romeo took off running, letting the rose flutter down to the carpet. But instead of barreling out the door, as Juliet suspected he might, he rushed to her side, catching her limp body in his arms. Juliet could not stop herself from sobbing, and Romeo cradled her
until there were no more tears left for her to cry.
Despite the strange appearance of her clawlike fingernails, Juliet ran one of her hands through Romeo’s hair, which felt just as she had expected it to—soft as goose down. As she stared at him, her worries about their future slowly began to dissolve.
Romeo gently pressed his forehead against hers, gazing deep into her flaming eyes. Juliet saw no doubt reflected back at her, or fear or futility. All that existed was the sparkle of unadulterated happiness.
In this moment, Juliet was neither human nor a vampire. She was an angelic spirit, soaring on the wings of true love.
“I don’t think I can wait for the friar to marry us before I kiss you,” Romeo whispered into her ear.
“Neither can I,” she replied.
When Romeo kissed her for the very first time, Juliet thought his lips tasted like the finest powdered sugar. They were also unbelievably soft, just like tulip petals in early spring. The feeling that was stirring inside of her was like nothing she had ever known. It was as though her soul had been asleep for hundreds of years, and was now slowly waking up to a world that was made entirely out of sunlight.
The friar cleared his throat rather loudly. Romeo pulled himself away from Juliet, the glint in his eyes suggesting that it took every ounce of his energy to do so.
“Shall we proceed with the ceremony?” Friar Laurence asked, waving his hand toward the altar.
Juliet didn’t hesitate with her answer. “Yes, Friar. I want this more than anything.”
Romeo buried his face in her shoulder for a brief moment, and when he raised his head, Juliet noticed that his eyes were filling with tears of joy.
“I’m going to make you the happiest woman on earth,” he whispered into her ear. “I promise.”
“Come to the altar, both of you,” Friar Laurence instructed.
Romeo set Juliet back down, though her feet no longer touched the floor. Now that she was floating above the ground, she was a good inch taller than he, but she could not worry about a trivial thing like that anymore. She had more important matters on her mind, like getting through the ceremony without being in physical pain. However, when Romeo took her hand and led her toward the altar, she realized that as long as she was close to him, not one part of her body ached.
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