The following day, Benvolio receives Lord Montague’s summons. Instead of skulking through the shadows, he is treated as a guest and shown into the study with offered refreshments. Though he wonders at the suddenness of the summons, Benvolio is hopeful this is a sign Lord Montague means to keep his word. Perhaps he means to go over the particulars of Julius’ capture. He is made to sit and wait to receive his answer. 

Benvolio taps his foot as time passes. It’s been a little over ten minutes since he was shown in, and he still hasn’t seen any sign of Lord Montague. Even more concerning, Mercutio is nowhere to be seen. Benvolio had hoped to see him before going to talk to Lord Montague—to look over the evidence first—but when he didn’t spot him and no one answered his questions asking after him, he figured Mercutio would make an appearance a little later. 

Finally, he hears the door open and Lord Montague enters. He stands to greet him with a short bow.

“Thank you again for agreeing to meet with me, Lord Montague.”

When he meets his eyes, his heart drops, dread creeping up his spine. Something has upset Lord Montague—something besides this meeting. Benvolio’s mind races before he calms himself. Stick to the plan.

“I—”

“I would expect something like this from that no good son of mine,” Lord Montague says slowly. “But you, Benvolio?” He shakes his head. “This is truly a disappointment.”

Benvolio frowns.

“What are you talking about? What have I done?”

“What have you done?” Lord Montague chuckles mirthlessly before glaring. “Why did you do it?” he growls. “Of all the people in this place, why kill Mercutio?”

Benvolio’s jaw clenches, his anger growing. Now the looks and silence from the servants make sense. Julius must have caught him while he was trying to find evidence against him. Benvolio tightens his fists.

“I didn’t,” he says darkly.

“If only I could believe you.”

Lord Montague claps his hands, and the Prince’s knights enter the room. 

“I had high hopes for you, boy,” Lord Montague says as they surround Benvolio. “Perhaps that was my mistake.”

“Benvolio Montague,” one of the knights states, “for the act of killing Mercutio, kin to the Prince, you are sentenced to death by hanging.”

“Wait!” Benvolio cries as another knight takes his arms. “Please! You must listen to me!”

Lord Montague does not turn around as Benvolio is dragged away. He stops struggling, his anger subsiding to guilt. It is his fault Mercutio is dead. Though he wasn’t the one to end it, he may as well have been. He knew it would be dangerous, and yet he didn’t hesitate to get Mercutio involved. He bites his lip, tasting blood on his tongue.

“Oh, cousin, how far you have fallen.”

Benvolio raises his gaze to meet Julius’. For the first time, he can see the mirth he hides behind sad eyes. Julius shakes his head.

“Who could have guessed you would stoop to such horrible acts. I’m disappointed, Benvolio. I looked up to you.”

“You,” Benvolio growls. “How dare you!” He lunges at Julius, held back by the knights. “You killed Mercutio and took Romana!”

Julius wears a shocked and hurt expression.

“Where is this coming from, Benvolio?” he says sadly. “Have you gone mad?”

“I’ll show you mad! Give her back to her family, Julius! Send her home!”

He watches as Julius sighs and turns to walk away.

“Julius! You know the truth! Julius!”

“I don’t know whatever truth you are referring to,” he says over his shoulder. “All I do know, dear cousin, is that you were careless, and now we all must pay the price.”

“Julius!” Benvolio roars as the knights continue to carry him down the hall. 

With a sly grin, Julius approaches his father’s study and finds him, fists clenched standing with his back to the door. Julius knocks on the door, and Lord Montague’s face hardens at the sight of him.

“I’m sure this must be hard for you, Father,” Julius says softly, “and believe me when I say, I hate seeing my cousin treated so, but he needed to be stopped.”

In two large strides, Lord Montague stands before Julius, slapping him to the ground. Julius tastes blood as he glances up at his father.

“Get out of my sight,” Lord Montague says, voice tight.

“As you wish,” Julius says, picking himself off the ground. 

He bows once and leaves, a cruel grin on his lips.

Amidst the chaos of Benvolio’s arrest, Julius slips out of the Montague manor and heads to the abandoned church where Romana waits. He is determined to have back what he lost. With Benvolio locked away and sentenced to death, what choice did she have but to open her eyes to the truth? 

Julius knocks on the door before entering with a tray in hand.

“I’ve brought lunch.”

“Thank you so much for your kindness,” Romana says with a smile. 

“Please, this is the least I can do,” he says, setting the tray down. “I’m sure all this waiting must be wearing on you.”

Romana sighs as she picks at her sandwich.

“Yes, well, it is certainly not ideal, but I can handle it.” She smiles softly. “It’s a small price to pay for a lifetime of happiness.”

She notices the sad look on Julius’s face, and her heart drops.

“What’s wrong?” she asks. “Has something happened?”

“I-I—” Julius sighs, his shoulders slumping. She sees unshed tears in his eyes.

She takes his hands gently, her heart racing as a sense of dread takes over her chest.

“It’s okay, Julius,” she says. “Take your time. Breathe. I’m right here. I’m sure whatever has happened isn’t—”

“Chimere and Mercutio are dead.”

Her mind goes blank.

“Wh-what?”

“They found Chimere’s body a couple of mornings ago, and only recently did they discover Mercutio. Both had been stabbed to death.”

“No,” Romana breaths, covering her mouth with her hands.

“I was so distraught when I found him, Mercutio, lying in his own pool of blood. There was so much, I just—”

Julius turns away, his shoulders quivering.

Romana struggles to make sense of what she’s learned. Chimere, dead? She tries to picture that sunny smile and motherly countenance cold and dead, but she can’t. It can’t be true. Why Chimere? What could she possibly have done to deserve such a fate? Romana chokes back a sob.

“But the worst part,” Julius says, his voice thick with tears, “is Benvolio has been accused of it all.”

If Romana’s heart was breaking before, it is completely shattered now.

“Benvolio?” she says, her voice barely audible.

Julius nods.

“The guards saw Benvolio leaving the scene of the crime when Chimere was killed, and Mercutio’s body was found in Benvolio’s chambers.” 

Romana’s world seems to tilt. She can barely breathe, each breath leaving before its been fully taken. Benvolio, a murderer? She clutches her chest, struggling to calm down. Benvolio wouldn’t do something like this. He is a kind, gentle man who would never kill someone in cold blood. Especially not someone who meant something to her or Julius. She takes in Julius’ crushed expression, his pain no doubt mirroring her own.

“It’s not true,” she says vehemently through her tears. “There must be some kind of mistake. We both know Benvolio would never do something so horrible. I’m sure if we wait, they’ll discover the one who’s really behind this.”

Julius folds his hands over hers, and tightens his grip.

“But what if they don’t, Romana? Benvolio is already locked away in the Prince’s dungeons. Even if he is innocent, I don’t think there is any time to save him.”

“No!”

She jumps to her feet, and hurries to the door. Julius just manages to catch her. She struggles in his grasp.

“Romana, you can’t!”

“I will not let him die!” she shouts. “He can’t! We promised to live together. To be happy!”

They sink to the floor, her whole world falling apart as Julius holds her. They stay like that for a while, Romana crying her eyes out, Julius holding her gently.

“What if we ran away?” Julius says softly.

Romana blinks up at him, her vision blurry.

“What?”

“There is nothing left here for us. Your father will only double his efforts to keep you locked away, and my father will never truly approve of me. I say this is the best chance we’ll have to leave this terrible place behind and start over.”

Romana considers his words. He is right. If she were to return home now, she probably would never feel the fresh air on her face or touch feet to grass again. She’ll probably die an old maid, forever trapped behind his walls. Her thoughts turn to Benvolio alone in a cell somewhere in the Prince’s dungeons. She just couldn’t bring herself to believe he was guilty. Surely if she thought so, someone else might have. 

“I can’t,” she whispers.

Julius frowns.

“But why?”

“I can’t leave Benvolio,” she says. “Even if there is no hope of his innocence being proven, I just can’t bring myself to give up on him.” She grabs Julius’ arms, her eyes pleading. “Please, help me prove what we both know. There has to be a way to save him.”

Julius remains silent for a moment. His head hangs.

“So, you would leave me to suffer while you two run off into the sunset.”

“Wh—”

Before she can blink, she feels her hair being yanked, her head jerking at an odd angle. She cries out.

“And after all the trouble I went through to help you. It just wasn’t enough.”

“J-julius! You’re hurting me!”

“It’s the least of what you deserve,” he says coldly.

He drags her by her hair, pulling her out of the room, and tosses her to the ground. Her head hits the concrete, her vision swimming. She groans. When her vision stills, her eyes roam around the room. Her heart drops. Knives, needles, spikes, pliers, whips, shears, and every other kind of weapon and device of torture line the walls. She starts to tremble.

“Wh-what—”

“It’s my collection,” he says with a humorless laugh. “Beautiful, isn’t it? Each one can inflict so much pain in so many different ways.” He walks toward the whips, pulling one down and brushing his fingers over it lovingly. “I never thought I’d bring you here, Romana.” He turns cold eyes on her. “But then again, I never thought you’d be the one to betray me.”

“S-stay away,” Romana demands, backing away from him. She doesn’t know this stranger, so full of malice, standing before her. Gone was the sweet smile, the gentle hand she had come to know and love. In its place, a monster.

“I thought long and hard about what to do to get you to realize your mistake,” he says, cracking the whip. Romana flinches at the sound. “Bringing you here seemed like the best option. I thought if you believed Benvolio had abandoned you, you’d wake up to reality.” He clenches his jaw. “I underestimated how foolish you were.”

“D-don’t touch me,” she says as he approaches. 

She struggles to her feet and runs to the door. She feels the crack of the whip before she hears it. It bites into her back, setting her skin on fire and sending her to the ground. A blood curdling scream tears from her throat.

“You brought this on yourself, my dear,” he chuckles darkly as the whip hits her skin again. “Pets that bite their master need to be punished!”

She feels her skin split and bleed. Tears course down her cheeks as she screams her throat raw. When her consciousness fades, her mind pleads for Benvolio to save her.