Hamlet & Co.

A modern au texting blog dedicated to the characters of Shakespeare's Hamlet! Read from the beginning to keep up with the plot. Feel free to interact with the characters! Updated whenever we can, & story is told through fics, texts, and asks. Run by @memollyevelyn and @meharmonycarmen. Credit to @thecandlesticksfromlesmis for the inspiration!

[hamletandthegang]

Hey guys!

Guess what?! We finally figured out how to make this blog able to be read in chronological order! If you’d like to read from the beginning, or want to catch up on any plot points you may have missed, feel free to do that here!

Here’s the link by itself: hamletandthegang.tumblr.com/tagged/hatg1/chrono

Thanks! We’re going to be much more active soon! The next point is big, so be prepared!

~mod harmony :}

[alioshakaramazov]

may i offer you some Hamlet booty shorts in these trying times

[so-true-jestie]

i just realised we're missing "THIS TOO, TOO SOLID FLESH" and honestly that's such a crime.

[hamletandthegang]

Hey guys!

So so sorry there was such a long break, some personal life shit hit the fan and I (mod h) needed to step away for a bit.

Thank you so much for all the support, this whole thing started about two and a half years ago at this point, and it has been absolutely wild from start to finish. I hope you enjoyed this epic of a story, because I certainly loved creating it.

This blog is henceforth finished, we will come back and check asks and comments from time to time, and maybe do an update here or there, but the main story is now finished. Feel free to send in asks if you want to ask questions of either mods or any of the characters, we’d love the interaction!

Anyways, thank you all so much.

Signing off,

Molly and Harmony

[hamletandthegang]

Two Years Later (Epilogue)

Dear Hamlet,

It’s springtime, school’s have just let out. Everyone looked so beautiful at graduation today, you would’ve loved to see them. Oliver graduated from fifth grade, and he’s going to middle school next year.

Annalise still has another year, but she also took an internship at an art museum helping the curator with classifying pieces this spring. She really loved it, and now is thinking about doing grad school for a degree in museum curation or anthropology. Guildenstern is going to grad school in Germany next year, and hopes to work at a company he interned at which classifies space rocks and debris and helps with the neighboring national space stations.

Rosencrantz has been keeping his cafe up and running, and even got to move to a new location last month! Marc still works there on the weekend, but he also is pursuing an undergrad degree for math education, and wants to work in high schools. Horatio just sent off his application to a really snazzy school in north Denmark close to his parents, where he’ll probably do more degrees in math. He’s gotten very interested in actuarial science and is thinking about trying more of that and seeing where it leads.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention- Guildenstern got new implants a month ago that have returned his hearing to almost full capacity 24/7! One of his professors worked at the company that was doing more experimental research, and he is the first to test the new product. So far, he’s been happier than I’ve ever seen him before.

Maggie was crowned Queen of Denmark after the siege, but she immediately abolished the monarchy and turned the country into a democratic state with a council of elected representatives from all the counties and biggest cities. She’s served every term so far, and was also elected as the officer of military affairs. Surprisingly enough, the people have taken to her like a fish to water. There was of course some outrage after the capitol fell and the king was killed, but after she started implementing her own ideas everything became immediately more peaceful. The poverty rate has been decreasing rapidly, and homelessness has been reduced to almost zero because of the housing projects she set up and fund-raised. Even the economy has been growing steadily, it turned out that Claudius and many of his nobles were taking massive chunks of the country’s treasury for themselves, and after the legal things were settled money wasn't a worry at all.

Even trade and relationships with other countries have gotten better- turns out the reason no one wanted to meet with us was because the king was such a prick. Everything’s gotten better with her help. Six months ago, she launched an attack against the Norwegian kingdoms and was able to take back her title as the rightful Queen of Norway. She then made Norway another state under the same democratic rule as Denmark and has brought the two countries together almost flawlessly after almost fifty years of being enemies. I think you’d be very happy with how things have gone.

Speaking of Maggie, she and I actually started dating two months ago. She is wonderful in every way I could possibly imagine, and I hope you’ll be happy with us too.

I still feel your presence watching us from time to time, so it’s possible you already know all of this. I hope you are as happy as we are now. Almost everyone started going to therapy or counseling of some sort, and it’s been noticeably helping everyone to move forward.

Also, a statue of you was put up in a garden on the castle grounds. It’s in stone, and has your name and story engraved on the bottom. It’s already gotten some moss around its base, which I think makes it look even better.

Your body was buried in the cemetery with a stone over it, next to where my old gravestone was from when I “died”. Laertes’ is next to my father’s, and Gertrude’s is next to your fathers. I actually don’t know where Claudius’ grave is- people seem to have almost forgotten about him entirely.

I feel happier than I have in a long time. I know it won’t always stay that way, but for once I can actually imagine myself growing old and being happy, instead of being dead before I turn thirty. I’ll see you again someday, I promise, but for now I am going to live a long and happy life with our friends and family.

Forever yours,

Ophelia

~~~

Ophelia set her pen down on the desk and sighed. She quietly folded the letter, and slipped it inside the envelope underneath it. She walked out of the room she was in, down the steps, and out the side door of the castle to the garden where she and Hamlet had spent so much time as children together.

She stopped in front of the statue of her old lover. She bent, and set the letter down in front of the rows of candles, flowers, photos, memoirs, and more that had been left by friends, family, old acquaintances, and even the people of Denmark who had loved their young prince so much.

In loopy letters on the top was written: Hamlet

Ophelia smiled, and turned back to the castle. The whole group was in for the summer, this fall they’d scatter but for now they were set to have dinner in a few hours.

After her footsteps had long fallen away, the wind tugged at the paper and whisked it off the ground. It flew through the air, skidding across the sidewalk and through the grass occasionally, until it blew all the way across the shimmering lake and away into the forest that surrounded the city.

And the wind was at peace, and the world was happy.

[hamletandthegang]

The end.

Laertes stood on the balcony of the throne room, looking down at the chattering nobles and rich snobs below. He was not one for pleasantries of this sort; he was much more inclined to a hard day’s work than ever putting on some of the foolish clothing he saw the men below him wearing. The King had made this small duel into a massive banquet, which Laertes thought was ill-advised seeing as how it would just add more witnesses to his nephew’s death, but he didn’t think it wise to say anything.

A large hand clamped down on his shoulder, and Laertes turned with a start. Claudius, the King himself, had slipped away from the crowd and was smiling at him. “Are you ready? There’s only an hour left till the fight.”

Laertes gave a sullen smile, “Yes. I’m just a little worried about all these people here. If something goes wrong-”

“Nothing will go wrong, I have made this plan completely foolproof.” Claudius smiled again assuredly and took his hand off Laertes’ shoulder. He knew Laertes was concerned about witnesses, but that’s what he was counting on. Laertes was the final tie that left evidence of Polonius’ unfortunate death, and setting him up to be an enemy of the state would rid him of two problems at once.

Claudius shared a fatherly look with Laertes, assured him again not to worry and sent him down to where he was supposed to wait for the fight and get ready. He stared after him as he walked down the stairs to the lower level and smiled.

Gertrude touched his arm and startled him. “There you are, dear. Our party guests are missing you!”

“Of course, darling, I’ll be right there.”

Gertrude smiled sweetly at him and followed where Laertes had gone. Claudius turned and watched her go down the stairs to where the crowd was swelling and laughing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw where Hamlet, Horatio, Anna, and someone- he couldn’t tell who as they were wearing a hat and mask- entered through one of the side doors and sat down. Hamlet was wearing his typical attire for when he practiced fencing- he didn’t like wearing the whole suit so he settled with just the blouse and black pants- and carried the white helmet under his arm. Laertes was wearing a similar outfit but with white pants and a white padded chest plate. Hamlet spoke to his friends before they sat down, then continued to the edge of the hall opposite to where Laertes was. Claudius could see how the two of them tensed at their enemy’s arrival. The hall began to quiet when the people noticed the fighters had arrived.

Claudius made his way to the dias where he and Gertrude were to sit, and rose a glass of wine to make his speech.

~~~

Horatio gripped the bottom of his bench with white knuckles. He knew Hamlet’s abilities were very strong, and that the plan was well thought out, but he still felt nervous about it all. They were about to overthrow a government— what could go wrong?

They had checked with the rebels outside the door before coming in, all decked with guard gear and nearly unrecognizable under the specific low hanging hats they had stolen, and they had locked the doors the moment they were inside. There was no going back now: the plan was in motion.

Monica had successfully cut the Wi-Fi from the castle, and if needed had access to the power itself and all the information in any camera or vault in the whole building. Her hacking skills had grown scarily powerful, but Horatio just hoped she was good enough on her feet to be able to fix whatever went wrong. Because, at least in his experience, something always went wrong.

~~~

Maggie stood on the bridge between the Denmark castle grounds and the army of troops that stood behind her. Marilyn had arrived over an hour before, and they were waiting for the signal from the rebels that the doors had been locked before they were to circle the building and begin the siege. Wind ruffled through Maggie’s hair, and she pushed it out of the way when it hit her face.

She didn’t start when her watch buzzed, she simply looked down and saw the four simple words: The duel has begun.

She then raised a fist in the air, and the troops behind her went silent. She turned and faced them, rays of sun outlining her hair and torso as it peeped over the bridge’s edge. “Move out.”

~~~

You could almost see when they realized what was happening inside. The castle itself seemed to shift nervously on its feet, as guards began to buzz back and forth and the very windows turned to each other in a sort of confused expression.

Guildenstern and Rosencrantz shared a glance. They were standing with their backs up against the side of the van at the edge of the parking lot, across from the intersection and bridge that led to the front doors of the castle itself. The remaining rebels were inside, and small curtains and sheets had been tacked up over the windows so no one could see the full-on armory that had been prepared inside. Marc was sitting in the driver’s seat, waiting in position for when they were supposed to advance.

The guards around the entrance hadn’t yet moved, but one had exited through a side door and came around to talk to them in low tones. Eloise had found a way to lock the doors from the inside and outside- no one was coming in or out.

Just over the edge of the row of hedges that outlined the castle ground, Guildenstern could make out the troops, led by Maggie and Marilyn, hurriedly taking their positions around the far edge of the castle from the back of the castle where the other identical bridge lay.

“Now?” Rosencrantz asked, hands dancing around each other as he tried to keep calm.

“Wait for the signal, then we go,” Guildenstern whispered back, already feeling the muscles in his calves beginning to tense.

They both looked down as their watches beeped simultaneously.

Guildenstern opened the door of the van and jumped inside, followed by Rosencrantz, as Marc revved the van and it began to move. Louise, Ryzza, and Jackie were sitting behind them ready for what looked like an apocalypse. It certainly felt like one, so their appearance was vaguely comforting.

They sped across the intersection between the cars and parked just outside of the gates with a lurch, and Louise opened the back door and shot something out of it into the parking lot behind them.

The projectile flew up into the air and burst into a million red particles with an exploding sound. The light it created was blinding, and they all looked away and covered their ears. There was no more secrecy anymore.

The castle burst to life. Guards stumbled back at the sudden blinding blast, and alarms began sounding as Jackie, Louise, and Ryzza rushed around the van and through the castle’s gate onto the bridge.

~~~

Ping! Ping! Crash!

Laertes and Hamlet crossed swords again and again, this time Laertes shifting backward, another time Hamlet stumbling to the side and turning. They were very easily matched, standing in a large rectangular area of the floor while the crowd of nobility sat with baited breath and hushed mumbles around them. Claudius sat on the small platform on his throne, a glass of red wine standing on a table next to him.

A distant ringing noise found its way to Annalise’s ears, and she tensed. Was that the castle alarm? She couldn’t tell, and since no one else seemed to hear it, she brushed it off and stayed focused on the flashing swords. She, Ophelia, and Horatio sat near the back of the room, shifting to see the action over all the heads and bodies. They didn’t speak, as the others around them did, but stared completely silent, as if willing Hamlet to win.

Finally, a touch was called and the duo parted. “Hamlet!” The referee called out, and a round of gentle applause echoed around the room as the pale dark haired boy raised his hand. Ophelia let out a breath under her mask, and Horatio’s hands loosened a little from where they were nailed to the bench he sat on. Only two more and Hamlet would win.

Laertes and Hamlet circled each other, raised their points to touch, and the referee slipped his sword under theirs and raised it, shouting “Allez!”, and they began again. Dancing around each other, swords tapping and breathing heavily. Hamlet was surprised at how calm he felt. This was an old hobby. He had grown very skilled and accustomed to the light weight of the metal in his hand and the way it swished through the air. He focused on the light glinting off of the points and the way Laertes’ feet shifted, anticipating his opponent's every move and blocking it with the utmost agility.

Laertes was not as tactically calm as his enemy. To him, this was revenge- a finishing of things. He was glad for his helmet covering his reddening face and sweat trickling down his temple. His hands felt sticky as he swung the sword. He had once been a renowned fencer, but he knew how much his skills had weakened over the years of not practicing and military work teaching his body to be more forceful and less agile than his college days.

He had never seen Hamlet’s style of fighting before, and he would have stopped to marvel how swift and pointed his attacks were, if there weren’t a million other thoughts he was drowning in. He was waiting for the moment when he would just tip his blade against his calf, or perhaps his arm or even his cheek- he wasn’t wearing his helmet. Laertes relished in the thought of what would come after, his enemy sinking to the floor and turning paler than ever before, before spilling his life out and finally putting Laertes’ revenge to rest.

But he hadn’t had an opportunity yet; Hamlet was too fast. Before many minutes had passed, another touch was called, again in Hamlet's favor. Laertes gritted his jaw under his mask and tried to remain calm. Hamlet raised his hand just as before and prepared to begin a new set when the King interrupted.

“Goodness, Hamlet, you look so pale! Gertrude, darling, go wipe his brow and let him have some wine before the next set begins.” He gestured to the cup beside him. Gertrude stood happily and began to descend the platform, but Hamlet held up his hand.

“No, Mother, thank you very much. I will have some afterwards. You may take it yourself if you’d like,” Hamlet said, rewrapping one of his knee pads and smiling solemnly.

Gertrude laughed, “Alright, if you insist!” And picked up the glass.

“Darling, wait-” Claudius tried to stop her hand, and the room stilled, all eyes turning to the King.

“It looks wonderful, honey, there’s no harm in just a taste!” The glass was raised to her mouth before Claudius could say another word, and she set it back on the table and motioned for the fight to continue as she settled back into her seat.

Claudius looked as though he might throw up, such a horrified expression crossed his face. But he covered it quickly and sat back in his chair as the fight began. The two circled each other- “Allez!”- and the fight began again.

Laertes huffed under his helmet, and Hamlet rushed forward and clashed his sword against his, shoving his opponent backward. Laertes only took a step though, before sliding his blade against Hamlet’s and slicing him on the cheek. A rose of satisfaction bloomed in his chest, and he prepared for the referee to part them as a whistle blew.

Hamlet stumbled back when Laertes shoved him, confused at the sudden hot sensation on his face. He reached up and touched his cheek, and came away with a red stain on his gloves. Before he even thought about what he was doing, instinct took over and he rushed at Laertes again, taking him off guard and sending both their swords to the floor in the fray. The referee blew his whistle again, but Hamlet had already bounded to the floor and grabbed the nearest sword- the one that happened to be Laertes’- and was up on his feet and back on top of Laertes again. Laertes scrambled out of the way and rolled to the side, grabbed for the sword that had fallen and used it to parry Hamlet’s blow as he twisted back around.

The referee couldn’t get between them, they were fighting again, and a few people in the crowd had begun to stand, including Horatio, Annalise, and Ophelia.

Hamlet made a swift movement to the side, and Laertes followed, trying to dodge his next move, but Hamlet faked him out and turned behind him, sending his sword into his back. Laertes let out a gasp and stumbled forward.

A piercing scream drove them apart. Gertrude was standing on the platform, hands gripped on the side of her chair and eyes wide. “The cup!” she shouted, and Claudius tried to grab her hand so she didn’t fall. “Hamlet, the cup is poisoned!!” She screamed again, and the whole crowd was on their feet. Gertrude coughed once, twice, and red liquid dripped from the side of her mouth. Hamlet ran to the platform, the sword clanging to the floor. He took her hands and guided her to a comfortable position against the chair, and watched as she smiled gently at him and the life left her body.

Hamlet rose as her head drooped back, hands shaking and breath quickening. He froze as his eyes met Claudius, and he knew what he had done to the wine.

“Hamlet!” Laertes shouted from behind him. He whipped around, ready to fight again, but saw that he was propped up against one arm on the floor. His helmet was abandoned a few meters away, and his hair had fallen into his face. Hamlet went to his knees, and as he did he saw Ophelia, Horatio, and Annalise fighting their way through the crowd. “Hamlet, I’m sorry- the blade was poisoned! The King told me to, he said it would avenge my family. Hamlet, you’re going to die, no medicine in the world can save you. I’m sorry, I just wanted revenge- please forgive me before I’m gone!”

Hamlet looked him in his eyes, with his mother’s blood still lingering on his hands. “I forgive you, and I’m sorry. I suppose I’ll be seeing you soon.” Laertes fell forward and caught himself on his wrist.

Ophelia burst through the crowd and skidded over to her brother. She bent over him, and he turned his face and saw her. A look of horrible realization crossed his face before he breathed and was gone, and Horatio forced Ophelia to stand up and walk away so their cover wouldn’t be blown. Annalise dashed from the side to follow them. Hamlet caught Horatio’s eye, and although he couldn’t hear what he said from across the room, Hamlet knew what he had said almost as perfectly as if he had whispered it into his ear: “Finish this.”

Hamlet stood and slowly turned to Claudius.

~~~

Guildenstern dug rapidly through a box that was half falling out of the back of the van, and grabbed out a roll of charges. He tossed them to Rosencrantz who set them off as fast as possible, sending flashes and bangs into the sky. Shots rang out from somewhere in the castle, and they shared a glance. Ryzza, Jackie, and Louis were still up by the doors of the castle, trying to keep the guards' attention by any means possible. Guildenstern noticed his watch blinking, and backed up against the van to check it.

It was a message from Horatio, but when he tried to read it, all it said was reloading, over and over. The Wi-Fi had been completely cut, and Horatio knew he couldn’t get a message out to anyone on the outside. So if he had tried to…

“Rosencrantz-” Guildenstern started, but he was at his shoulder before he even finished.

“What’s wrong?”

“Horatio tried to send a message but it won’t load.” Guildenstern looked at Rosencrantz, and he understood immediately.

“He wouldn’t try unless it was going wrong,” Rosencrantz thought out loud and Guildenstern nodded. “We need to get in there.”

“How? All the entrances are shut off because of the siege, I don’t think we’d have time to find a side door that was open-”

“We bust in the front,” Rosencrantz motioned to the doors where the commotion was.

“How?” Guildenstern asked incredulously.

Rosencrantz thought for a moment. “The van. It’s three thousand pounds of pure metal- we can get through some unsupported decorative doors.”

Guildenstern tried to think quickly, and Marc came around the side, panting.

“What are you guys doing? We need-”

“Horatio tried to send a distress message- something went very wrong,” Rosencrantz spoke, already taking the boxes out of the back of the van and placing them on the ground.

Marc paled. “Okay, what are we going to do?”

“I’m going to take this van and ram it straight through those doors and all the way into the throne room.”

“You think you’ll make it?”

Rosencrantz looked at Marc. “No idea. You coming?”

“Absolutely.”

~~~

Hamlet stood over Claudius’s dead body. The poisoned wine lay sprayed all over him and the floor around him, and the poisoned sword lay plunged in the body on the ground in front of him.

For the first time in his life, Hamlet felt like time stopped dead around him. It died along with Claudius, and now Hamlet stood in the center of absolute chaos, completely at peace.

Across the room, standing by the locked entrance that the crowd was flocking to, stood his father’s ghost. He heard his voice in his head, saying, “You have avenged me. Good job. I am sorry for my wife, and I am sorry for you as well. But I suppose you’ll be here with me soon enough.”

“Yeah,” Hamlet said, an iron taste in his mouth. He could feel the veins around the cut on his face getting hot and could feel the poison from the sword trickling quickly through his skin. He didn’t have much time.

Funny, he had wasted so much of it leading up to this moment. So much planning, procrastinating, attempting, so much time had gone into this one moment. And it was done. And he was done.

And if he was being honest, it felt right. No main character ever lived ‘happily ever after’. It only made sense for him to go this way. Covered in the blood of his soulmate’s brother, his uncle, his mother, and his own, with poison dripping through his body at frightening speeds. But he wasn’t frightened. He had looked death in the face and refused to let it take him so many times, it felt like an old friend had finally caught up to him.

Hamlet wondered if he’d go to hell or heaven or whatever happened to come after this. He figured he didn’t need to worry about it- there wasn’t much he could do at this point.

He had read so many stories where the hero went through loads of trauma and turmoil, but always came out on top in the end. He had checked all the boxes, and it was time to take his final bow.

The world began to speed up again as Horatio, Ophelia, and Annalise appeared at his shoulder and caught him as he fell. They lowered him gently to the ground, and Ophelia tried to say something to him, but he didn’t hear her.

A massive crash brought his attention to the doorway. The crowd had moved away to avoid it, but there sat the van, partially crumbled but wholly intact, and Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Marc piled out of it and took off across the room and to where Hamlet was laying on the floor.

“We got a message from you but it didn’t load so we figured we ought to- oh fuck,” Guildenstern stopped and put his hands over his mouth. Rosencrantz dropped to his knees, and the other two followed him.

“I’m sorry I dragged you all into all of this,” Hamlet choked out. He could feel himself slowing down. “You all are a better family than I could ever have imagined. Stay alive for me, yeah?” Hamlet looked up into Horatio’s face as he said it, and he nodded. “No more cheating death, no more suicide attempts, I want you to do what you need to do to get over me, let Maggie take the crown and help her set up a new government, then go and do what you want to be happy.”

“You want some kind of last words? I can write them down for you,” Rosencrantz said, and tried to force a smile.

Hamlet smiled, then said, “Actually yeah. I read it in a play in highschool one time, and it really stuck with me.

If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart,

Absent thee from felicity a while,

And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain

To tell my story.”

Hamlet’s eyes dulled, and his head slipped back on Horatio’s arm. He felt himself slip from reality. It felt familiar, like the moment as a child when he first went to the lake on a family vacation, and was told to jump off the dock. That seemed far too intimidating- it being his first time and all- so he sat himself down on the edge with his little life jacket on, and rocked back and forth until he slipped over the side.

He felt his feet hit the water. He felt his head dip under the warmth. And Hamlet, the Dane, Tragic Protagonist, Prince of Denmark, met death at a crossroad, as if it were an old childhood friend that he had long longed for, but never seen.

Hamlet was gone.

~~~

Horatio knew he couldn’t hear him, but he finished the line anyway.

“Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,

And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!”

He let his hand drift over his best friend's eyes, and they were shut. Maggie had taken the castle by now, they could hear her outside the door.

They had won.

Hamlet had won.

[hamletandthegang]

[hamletandthegang]

[hamletandthegang]

The Final meeting.

“Thank you all for coming, I’m so glad to have you all here, yadda yadda yadda you know the drill. Now I’m gonna cut the bullshit and get down to the what’s what.” Maggie placed her hands up on the table and leaned against it, taking a sip of the vodka nearby. She gazed around the room, surveying the faces around her and hoping she’d see them all here again by the end of this week.

Hamlet, Ophelia, Horatio, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Annalise, Monica, Marc, all seven of the rebel group, all sitting around in the cramped room they had chosen to be a meeting room, staring at her in bated silence. This was what so many of them had been preparing for for so long, and here it was.

“I have 4,000 men from Norway that will be here bright and early Thursday morning, and I will go and meet them just outside of the city. Monica, you’ll come with me and keep tabs on everyone’s status throughout the takeover. Marilyn- Ophelia’s mother if you haven’t heard- has agreed to bring a squad of some of the best of the police force in the city, and she will come meet me with the Norwegian troops. When the time is right the police force will circle the castle and begin a takeover of the building, and when the national guard comes in I will lead my troops in as reinforcements and storm the castle. That’s where you all come in. Hamlet, I want you to talk to Laertes somehow and schedule the duel for this Thursday evening. Make sure he doesn’t back out of it.” Hamlet nodded and saluted. “Now, Ophelia, Horatio, and Annalise will stay in the throne room with him, making sure everything goes according to plan. Basically your goal will be to make the duel and all it’s pomp so entertaining and loud that all the nobles and especially the King and Queen are preoccupied and not thinking about what’s going on outside the doors. Igor, Sebastian, Camila, and Eloise will take the lead in pretending to be guards and locking the doors to the throne room and keeping everyone inside. Marc, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Ryzza, Jackie, and Louise will take the van and station themselves on the drawbridge by the front gates. I spoke to each of you individually before this meeting and gave you the general rundown, if you have questions talk to me afterward. Basically your job is another line of distraction and keep the national guard focused on you while the troops besiege around you.” Maggie knew how dangerous that area would be, and had only allowed those who volunteered to be positioned there. Next, Maggie turned back to Hamlet. “Be careful- since you will be technically trapped inside with not a lot of easy access to communication with the others, you won’t be able to call for help if the duel should go wrong. You’re confident in your skills?”

Without hesitation, Hamlet answered darkly, “Yes.”

Maggie glanced almost instinctively and met Ophelia’s eye for just a second before saying, “Good. Once the duel is over and you have won, keep everyone in there as long as possible until we can break our way in and get to the throne room to confront Claudius. After that, it’s all a political game.” Maggie scanned the faces in the room. “I’m hoping there won’t be much bloodshed, but I cannot predict there will be none. Do I have your loyalty in taking down this King? If there is any hesitation, please speak up now.”

The room was quiet for a moment, and Maggie felt her chest tighten up.

“You have my complete loyalty.” Hamlet spoke first. She let a relieved smile slip from her face, and met his gaze. They had been sworn enemies only a few months ago, now she felt as if she’d known him a lifetime. They were shockingly similar in moral beliefs and ideals, and she had greatly enjoyed spending the last few days with him and his friends. She never would’ve guessed that the prince she had sworn to kill would one day be such a great friend to her, but she supposed that was the way life went. She never expected her brothers to murder her mother and blame it on her either, but people were fickle like that and she had learned to stop her assumptions from getting in the way.

“Mine as well,” Ophelia smiled.

“Me too,” Horatio spoke quietly, and this surprised Maggie. She thought he out of all of them would be the one to refuse.

One by one, each person in the room spoke, until they were all in agreement, they would follow Maggie to the end of the earth for this campaign. It was a great burden to hold on her shoulders, but Maggie took the responsibility graciously. Leading had not come naturally to her, but she’d done it so long it now felt like an ill-fitting overcoat slipping over her shoulders, perfectly comfortable in the knowledge that she’d done it a hundred times before.

“Alright, then we have much to prepare.” Maggie clapped her hands and the meeting dissolved into individual excited conversations and rushing words.

[hamletandthegang]

Fortinbras

A week sped by all too fast. Ophelia and the rebels had successfully remained out of the sight of the prying eyes that might reveal them, even though they hadn’t been the most subtle about the matter. Maggie had had just enough time to formulate her plan, and had gathered Horatio, Hamlet, Ophelia, and Monica into a room after the castle was fast asleep to talk it over with them. They had all pitched in to make it as full proof as possible, and then agreed that this was the best possible option. The next day Ophelia and Monica had packed an overnight bag and snuck back into the city to speak to Marilyn in person, and Maggie had stepped onto the bus at the street corner, one which would take her to a train platform, then on and across the sea and back to where her journey had first begun.

Now, she stood in the glittering throne room of Norway’s Capitol building, a few feet away from the King himself. It would have been intimidating to anyone else, but Maggie had to control herself from laughing at how stupid her younger brother looked, staring down at her menacingly.

“Holy shit, this place has changed a good bit since I last saw it,” Maggie remarked under her breath, staring around the room. The King scowled and flicked a finger, sending the guards at the door out of the room. The door swung shut and the room fell silent, the only sound being the muffled steps of the guards moving outside.

“So,” Maggie turned back to her brother. “Where’re the others? Hidden them away in some back room, hmm, Eddy?”

He seemed to frown further at the childish nickname. “What do you want? You know you’re technically still an enemy to the state here.”

“Quit that, you know the people have known the truth for a long time-”

“What do you want?”

Maggie smiled as sickeningly sweet as she could muster, an expression that didn’t grace her face often. “I need your army. Just for the weekend. I’ll take ‘em out for a spin, don’t worry, no scratches of course-”

“Why in hell would I let you do that?”

Maggie smiled again, knowing she had piqued his interest. “I’m about to take Denmark down from the inside out.” She knew the power her words held, and how much it would irritate him to hear how casually she spoke them. “Eddy, I just need some reinforcements. You took this kingdom away from me all those years ago, now let me take one for my own. I’m avenging Father, I’m sure you can get behind that cause.”

Edward thought for a moment, weighing her words and trying to keep his gaze held with hers as long as he could. He was able to fool every nobleman and duke in the state into thinking he was some polished prince, but she knew him all too well and he knew that all his airs and nobility wouldn’t fool her for a moment. She was the rightful queen. Margaret Fortinbras, first child of the former King and Queen. Of course, that was before father had been killed by old King Hamlet, and their mother- well, she hadn’t lasted much longer. Edward and his two younger brothers had successfully pinned her murder on Maggie, and driven her completely out of Norway. Monica had followed, leaving the throne to Edward alone, as long as he could keep his brothers’ weapons away from his neck. Maggie and Monica had lived alone in a shivering tiny cottage in the far outskirts of Norway, and Edward and his brothers had stood aghast at the carnage that had been strewn around it after their assassins never came back home. He knew how ruthless she could be. And she knew just how much he feared it.

Edward wondered if Denmark would keep her satisfied.

“I could kill you right now,” he edged, testing the waters.

Maggie stood firm, and the hint of a smirk crossed her face. “You could try.”

“What if I say no?”

“Then,” she had no hesitation. “I take Denmark myself and come for your crown next.”

“If I agree, will you settle in Denmark and never come back here?”

“If there is no reason for me to come back, then yes, I will leave revenge to the side. You will never see me again.” Edward could see the faces of his slaughtered assassins reflected in her dark eyes. He knew what she was alluding to. But he also knew the risk of keeping her alive.

After a brief stare-down, Edward spoke, “Fine. Is 3,000 enough?”

“Four.”

“Fine. When do you need them?”

“Mmm,” Maggie hummed, and flipped open her phone. “Let’s say Thursday. At the castle.” Today was Saturday, the 12th of June.

Edward withheld his sigh and nodded. “Fine. It will be done.”

Maggie smiled, “Fantastic, I always knew you were the negotiable one. Thank you, dear brother.”

“Leave my kingdom.”

“No hug goodbye?” Maggie spoke, a laugh on her lips. With no response but stony silence, she turned on her heel and stepped out of the room, hoping never to look back again upon his spoiled prune-like face.

Edward sat in his throne room alone. He sighed, allowed himself to slouch again, and then leaned over his chair and plucked a small vial buried inside the armrest of his seat. He addressed a letter, finished with the words: Do not fail me. And placed this and the vial inside a small box that a servant brought. Then he sent the box off to his last resort.

[hamletandthegang]

[hamletandthegang]

Grocery Run

Horatio, Annalise, and Maggie stood next to a wrack of t-shirts, Annalise and Maggie talking as they held them up to each other and laughed, and Horatio looking around at the rows of food and people surrounding them. They had decided to go to the huge supermarket at the other end of the city, and had been walking around collecting what they needed for only half an hour before Ophelia had taken a wrong turn and had disappeared completely into the mass of people.

“She hasn’t answered her phone yet,” Horatio sighed and leaned on the wrack.

Annalise laughed. “I don’t know what we expected.”

“Oop-” Horatio looked down as his phone buzzed, and then threw his head back and laughed. He showed Maggie and Anna, and they laughed as well. The notification read: HORATIO IM LOST IN THIS SUPERMARKET HELPPPPP

“Okay, if you guys are okay here, I’ll go look for her.”

Annalise and Maggie glanced at each other and nodded. “Sure,” Maggie said, and Horatio walked off and into the crowd.

Annalise walked to the other edge of the table where more t-shirts sat folded up in a row, and held one up, letting it unfurl. It was a low-quality iron-on of an element from the periodic table. In the box it read ‘Ah!’, and then underneath it: The element of surprise. “Guildenstern would love this,” she laughed and folded it back up so she could snap a picture and send it to him. As she turned and tapped on her phone, Maggie’s smile dropped and she watched Anna’s cheerful expression. She had heard a lot of what she had said to Ophelia earlier, and knew this whole trip was just a ploy to help them all clear the air. Maggie didn’t mind it; she understood Anna’s motives perfectly. Hell, she’d be pissed too if she was in her shoes.

Maggie looked around and noticed that there was a tray of free samples of some sort of lemon ice cream inside an open freezer a few meters away. She walked around the table until she knew she was out of Anna’s peripheral vision, and then slid over to the freezer and grabbed a pair of the small paper bowls and spoons. Maggie had noticed how Annalise was constantly cooking or baking things for people to eat, and she wondered if she received it the same way.

“Maggie?” she heard Anna call when she returned.

She looked around the rack of shirts and answered, “Right here!”

“Oh! There you are,” Annalise smiled, then spotted the cups as Maggie stepped out from behind the rack. “What’s that?”

“Lemon Gelato I think- there’s a bunch of samplers over there.” Maggie placed one down on the table next to Anna and started eating hers.

Annalise looked at Maggie, expressionless and focused on the flimsy spoon that came with it, and then down at the cup. She picked it up and ate, leaning her lower back against the edge of the table like Maggie did. “Thanks, that’s really good,” she mused after a moment.

“Mm, no prob,” Maggie said quietly, still sucking on the paper spoon.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, until finally Horatio emerged from the rows of bread loaves, trying to hide the smile betraying him, Ophelia in tow.

They stopped by the table, breathing heavily from evading getting run over. “I’m backkkk,” Ophelia said sheepishly, and they all laughed.

“Where did you go?” Maggie asked.

Ophelia looked at Horatio, and he sighed, “One of the hundred soup aisles in this store. Let’s get the rest of our stuff and- where’d you get that?” he said, looking at the gelato in Annalise’s hand. She pointed over at the freezer, and Ophelia and Horatio glanced at each other for a split second, before they raced over to the freezer. Ophelia made it back to the table first and triumphantly shouted, “Ha!”

Horatio followed, another cup in hand. The four of them stood in a circle and finished off the end of their samples, then picked up the black plastic basket that had been abandoned on the floor and continued towards the front of the store to the checkout line.

[hamletandthegang]

Talking over Pancakes

It had been nearly a week since Ophelia came back. She and the rebels didn’t leave their rooms much during the day, still trying to avoid the King and Queen and blowing their cover. Ophelia and Maggie spent most of the time together while the castle bustled with activity, waiting till things quieted down to go down and hang out with the rest of the group. Maggie hadn’t told a soul, not even Monica, about the plan she had concocted for storming the castle, and she didn’t plan to for at least a little longer. For the first time in what felt like lifetimes ago, she had a group of people that seemed to care about her wellbeing, while also not requiring her to lead them or take care of them at every turn. As much as she loved the ragtag group she had collected, it definitely felt as though they relied on her for everything sometimes, and she hadn’t put down that burden in years.

Ophelia was trying to reintegrate herself with her friends again, but it was slow going. Only Rosencrantz treated her like normal, laughing and cracking jokes with her. Nearly all the others just tried to dance around inevitable conversations, not able to even be in her presence without the nagging feeling to talk through and rehash all that had happened- and frankly, Ophelia was tired. She didn’t want to talk about what had happened anymore. She was still trying to process it herself. Being with Annalise was the best out of all of them, second to Rosencrantz of course. She hadn’t tried to start any deep conversations or ask semi invasive questions, only wiped her eyes from time to time and used any excuse possible to hug, hold hands with, or attach herself to Ophelia.

On a bright Wednesday morning, Ophelia and Maggie sat in Ophelia’s room, listening to the radio quietly while Maggie braided Ophelia’s long golden hair. Sunlight peered through the window and onto the bed they sat on, and Ophelia looked up as a knock sounded and Annalise peeked in.

“Good morning!” She said cheerfully, and set a plate of pancakes on the desk. “Oh! Maggie, I can grab yours too, I left it-”

“Oh that’s okay, I’ll get it.” Maggie tied off Ophelia’s hair and hopped off the bed. She shut the door and walked down the hall, leaving Anna and Ophelia alone. Nobody in the castle knew who she was or why they should be wary of her, so she was free to roam if she liked, as long as she had a good reason for being where she was.

Annalise fidgeted, looked around, and ended up sitting on the bed next to Ophelia, who was drawing on the notebook in her lap. “How’d you sleep?”

“Pretty good,” Ophelia laughed. “Maggie and I were up for a bit watching a movie, so I was in bed a little later than I would’ve preferred.”

“Mm,” Anna hummed, staring out the window absentmindedly. “You’ve- er, nevermind.”

“No it’s okay, what?”

Annalise began again, choosing her words carefully. She had been wanting to talk to Ophelia about her newfound friendship for a while, but they’d always been together. “I just- you’ve gotten awfully close to Maggie lately- I mean that’s not bad, but-”

“Oh, Jesus, I’m sorry. It’s just because we’ve both had to keep our heads down that we’ve been spending so much time together, that’s all,” Ophelia assured her, fully believing what she said. When Anna didn’t reply, Ophelia looked up again from her doodle. Annalise was still looking at the window with a funny expression on her face. “What is it?” With still no reply, Ophelia sighed, “Look, I didn’t replace you-”

She stopped as Annalise looked at her abruptly. “Did you not?”

“What are you talking about? Of course I didn’t!”

“Ophelia, look at it from my perspective for just a second, okay?” Annalise spoke softly and not angrily, but Ophelia wondered how long she’d been brooding about this. “You died. You killed yourself. My cousin and best friend killed herself. I put together my own cousin’s funeral, I take care of Horatio when he fell and busted his head, I take care of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern after they’re fished out of the middle of the ocean and nearly dead. And a month later, you show up again with a new best friend, new experiences that you don’t want to talk about- for good reason,” she added. “And all of the sudden I barely know who you are! Sorry-” She stopped herself as her voice rose at the end of her sentence and rubbed her knuckles. “I just don’t know how to talk to you anymore, that’s all. And I don’t want to lose you again. You mean the world to me.”

Annalise stopped and finally looked up at Ophelia, who was staring blankly back at her. “I’m- oh God, I’m so sorry!” Ophelia hugged her.

“You stayed away for so long,” Annalise whispered and hugged her back, mist forming on the edges of her eyes.

“I know, and I’m sorry. I was avoiding having to face Hamlet, I never thought about how you would see it.” They released each other and Annalise leaned back. “But I promise I didn’t replace you-”

Annalise rubbed at her eyes, and finally broke. “Like hell you did! Ophelia, your best friend is the same person that made you dig a fucking bullet out of Horatio. The same one that nearly blew Hamlet up. And suddenly it’s all okay because she fished you out of a pond?! I don’t care that you are her friend too, I don’t care about that. But why her?!”

Annalise froze as she spotted Maggie at the door, holding a plate of pancakes. She tried to say something, but nothing came out. Ophelia noticed her too, and took up. “Maggs-”

“You’re right,” Maggie mumbled.

Annalise looked at her, confused.

Maggie locked eyes with her, and let her read her expression. She rarely let a single emotion slip through the net of her face, something which had taken years to learn as she was a naturally very emotional person. But now, she let all the pain and growth she had undergone show on her face like an open book. “You’re completely right, Anna. I did some really fucked up things. I hurt your friends way more than I ever deserve to be forgiven for. I was lacking a lot of important information on who to trust, and made rash decisions that ended up backfiring completely. I’m not asking you to forgive me, I would never expect you to. I am sorry, though.” Maggie finished speaking and smiled at Anna. “I’m going to go eat these in the kitchen.” And she left the room, letting the door breeze shut once more.

Annalise still sat frozen on the bed. Ophelia stared at the door, and then back at her friend sitting on the bed. “Anna-”

“Do you trust her? Like- really trust that she’s changed?” Annalise looked at her from an angle.

Ophelia hesitated, thinking back to the ride in the van, holding Horatio in the back seat and telling him to breathe… Then she thought about how many times that same girl had checked on her to make sure she wasn’t having nightmares, or had made sure she was completely comfortable and felt safe at all times while she was in the apartment, or welcomed her with open arms to the rebel group when she had nowhere else to go.

“Yes, I do.”

“Okay. I can too, then.” Annalise shut her eyes as she spoke. “I shouldn’t have lashed out like that, I’m-”

“No, I’m sorry, I should have realized how all this was going to affect you. It’s not fair for me to expect everything to just go back to normal again, as much as I miss those times, we’re not there anymore.”

Annalise nodded. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. “Ah, I said I’d go with Horatio to the bookstore downtown this morning. Would you like to come? Maggie too?”

Ophelia looked at her, ruffling her hair with her hand. “That sounds lovely, actually.”

“Okay, great. I’ll tell Horatio,” Annalise slid off the bed and walked to the door, straying to look at Ophelia once more before walking out into the hallway and down the stairs.

[hamletandthegang]

[hamletandthegang]

I suppose Ophelia’s back then.

We’re all just trying to process what’s going on right now. Annalise hasn’t left her side since the moment she woke up, and Marc keeps coming by to just look at her and make sure she’s still there. I haven’t seen Rosencrantz and Guildenstern yet today. Horatio’s taking a nap I think. I’ve been kind of avoiding her so far today. I just don’t know how to talk to her after last night.

I don’t know what Maggie’s up to, but she hasn’t left her wing with the rest of the rebels. Although a few hours ago Igor emerged to get a whiteboard and some markers. Monica also arrived sometime last night after we all went to bed, so I think she’s up there somewhere. It’s really weird having them all here.

Marc suggested we do some fun group activities, just to clear the air and stuff. I’m not really looking forward to it (I usually don’t like those kind of things) but I’ll probably have to do it anyway. My mom and uncle haven’t seen Ophelia yet, and I’m hoping to keep it that way.

Somehow we have to make peace with each other and move on, but everything is moving so fast it’s making that very hard.

~Hamlet

[hamletandthegang]

Goodnight

It was nearly sunrise when they finally finished the game and split off to their respective rooms to sleep. Hamlet wanted to hang back and talk to Ophelia alone, but Maggie refused to leave the room to the two of them until Ophelia promised her she'd be okay without her. She finally left and made her way to the small room near Ophelia's that they'd marked out for her, and Hamlet and Ophelia were the only two left in the room.

Ophelia yawned and put the game box on a shelf, "It's really late, we should at least try to sleep a little tonight." She turned around and saw that Hamlet was looking at her with a blank expression. "Look," she sighed. "I don't know what else to say, I just-"

"I understand," Hamlet said, waving a hand for her to stop trying to explain. "You don't need to tell me why you stayed away for so long, I get it."

"Yeah." Ophelia looked down.

"I just- I don't want you to be scared of me," Hamlet said quietly. Ophelia started to protest, but he stopped her again. "I saw how you acted whenever I came close to you, I know. It's okay."

Ophelia didn't speak, only put a hand over her mouth, and tried to keep herself from becoming too upset.

"It's come to my attention- uh, well, I was sort of told by some other people- that our relationship isn't very healthy anymore. That seems obvious now that I say it out loud, actually. But, I think it might be best for you if we take some kind of break from whatever we had before, and see if we can restart later."

Ophelia didn't meet his eye. She knew this was the right thing to do, but she could barely believe he would be the one to say it. Deep down, she was grateful she didn't have to-; she knew she wouldn't be able to hold her ground if he got upset. "I think you're right," she whispered. "I don't want to believe it- I still love you, but this isn't good for either of us right now. I'm glad you see that."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

They stared at each other, each lost for words.

"How long?"

"I dunno, maybe a month or two? Just to give us both space and time." Hamlet sat down in a chair as he spoke.

"Okay."

"I still love you, you know that," Hamlet reassured her. "I'll never stop loving you, whether we're together or not. But I think this is best for us."

"I agree," Ophelia nodded, then rubbed her face. "I need to sleep. Can we talk about this more tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Also, I don't really want to tell Laertes yet, at least until after Claudius is off the throne. I just- I dunno-"

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Hamlet said.

"Okay." Ophelia moved towards the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Ophelia. Sleep well."

"You too."

She left, and the room fell silent. Hamlet put his head in his hands. He knew this was right, but it didn't feel good at all. Horatio peeked around the corner. "Thank you," he said, and Hamlet looked up. "I know neither of you wanted this."

"No, no, you were right. This will be better for her."

"Just give it time."

"Yeah."

[hamletandthegang]

Reunite

Ophelia, Hamlet, Horatio, and Maggie all walked around to the far side of the castle, where there was a secret entrance they used whenever they wanted to avoid Claudius or the guards. The grass was still wet from where it had rained earlier, and they walked in silence, each lost in their thoughts.

Ophelia became more and more nervous by the second of what the reaction would be from the others. She had started feeling very guilty that she had stayed away for so long, only now revealing the fact that she was alive to her life-long friends. But she also felt like she was somewhat justified in her actions and hoped the others would understand. She mostly just didn't want to face Annalise.

Maggie was wracking her brain, trying to rapidly stitch together a plan from the pieces of the failed assassination attempt from an hour ago. She had the rebels, the police force, and now a perfect way into the castle and a clear shot to the King. All she lacked were the forces to combat the sheer amount of military and guards connected to the court…

Hamlet was still trying to process the fact that his girlfriend was still alive. He had been told she'd lost her mind and killed herself, come to find out she was alive and well and hanging out with what used to be one of his worst enemies. It had also dawned on him what he had done to her father, and suddenly her hesitation to his presence made a whole lot more sense. What had he done?

Horatio was exhausted. The last three weeks had felt like years. First coming back from England, Hamlet immediately killing Polonius and being sent back to England, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern narrowly avoiding dying out in the middle of the sea, getting a concussion and being bed-ridden for a good 36 hours, and then one of his best friends losing her mind and then dying and then NOT dying. He didn't even want to process the sheer amount of emotions he felt about her appearance- he just felt utterly overjoyed. He wanted to hug her and never let go, but she seemed very sensitive to any physical touch at the moment, so that was not an option. So instead, he was left to walk along quietly, filled to the brim with a feeling of uncontainable exhausted joy.

Hamlet helped them all into the side door then himself, shutting the door behind him and knocking into Horatio. They climbed up through the bottom of the ledge that led to the small door and then stepped out into the castle hallway. They made their way upstairs and to the third-floor window where the rebels were waiting impatiently in the car underneath and unfurled the climbing ladder to let them up. After each of them tumbled through the window and filed into the least-used wing of the castle, they continued to where they knew the others would be at this time of night.

The group had taken to playing board games in the little game room near the kitchen every night, trying to find ways to act normal and pretend as if they were simply college students hanging out together. Ophelia swallowed hard as they turned the corner and could hear the low voices coming from that room and tried to prepare herself for their reactions.

Hamlet and Horatio walked in first, leaving Ophelia and Maggie behind the wall separating the game room from the two steps up into the kitchen.

"Hey! How'd it go?" Anna's cheery voice asked, and Ophelia nearly turned around and left on the spot.

"Well, we didn't get Claudius, but- uh, we have someone here to see you all," Horatio spoke, and Ophelia took a deep breath and stepped around the corner.

The silence shot like bullets.

Rosencrantz, Marc, Anna, and Guildenstern all sat there completely stunned.

"Hi, guys," Ophelia said hesitantly.

Annalise screamed, stood up, and backed around behind the chair she was sitting in as a shield. "Is this some sick joke? Are you a fucking ghost or something? Huh?!"

"Hey, hey, no it's okay. Let's just sit down and-" Horatio tried to explain, but Annalise kept talking.

"No no no no no no this can't be real- I saw your grave! I saw your grave!" Annalise shouted, beginning to get choked up. "I saw the empty bottle- I saw it! Goddamnit this isn't real-" her back hit the wall, and before Ophelia could go over to her, Guildenstern had shot up and wrapped his arms around her, nearly pushing her over. Rosencrantz was still staring, completely in shock, and Marc had his hands over his mouth, barely taking in the information in front of him.

Ophelia could feel Guildenstern shaking, and when he finally let her go, he looked almost green. He sat back in the chair behind him and pulled a hand through his hair, staring at her as if she'd disappear at any moment.

"Holy shit-" Rosencrantz finally spoke. "Phelia? Damn! You really had me!" He started laughing, and Ophelia couldn't help but smile. This was the way Rosencrantz dealt with everything- he laughed. Ophelia had missed hearing it. As a child, his home had been extremely loud and downright abusive at times, and he had quickly developed a coping mechanism of joking to diffuse situations and the ability to laugh through almost anything.

"Marc?" Hamlet placed a hand on his shoulder, and he looked up, hands still clamped over his mouth.

"Can I…?" He motioned to Ophelia's hand, and she held it out. He hesitated, then grabbed hold of it, and once he felt how completely solid and warm it was, a hesitant grin spread across his face. "Thank Christ," he breathed, then stood up and hugged her. He hadn't forgotten about the ghost of the former King that stalked the grounds at night.

Annalise had finally started breathing again and approached her cousin hesitantly. "You died, right?"

"Nearly," Ophelia smiled out of nervousness. "I think Laertes gave me something that just knocked me out for a long time so somehow I just woke up on the sand and- yeah. I don't really know what happened, but my memory was really messed up for a while afterward so after I found Maggie, I just stayed with her for a bit while I tried to recover from it all and-"

"Wait, Maggie?" Guildenstern asked.

"Oh!" Ophelia noticed that she still was standing in the kitchen and motioned for her to come in. Annalise gasped when she revealed herself, and the room went silent again.

"It's okay," Horatio interjected. "I think she's cool." Maggie shot a grateful look at him.

"Are you sure?" Rosencrantz asked him, glaring at Maggie.

"She wants to help us take down Claudius. She also apparently saved Ophelia and let her stay with her, so yeah, I guess." Hamlet shrugged.

"Alright," Annalise said, obviously still hesitant. "I'm watching you though."

"That's justified," Maggie said.

"So, you're just- back?" Marc asked, turning back to Ophelia.

"Yeah, I suppose. Is that okay?"

"Are you kidding?! Yes! Please don't leave again," Marc said, eyes beginning to shine as the emotions of the night caught up to him. He put a hand over his face and tried to keep himself from falling apart entirely.

"I'll try my best," Ophelia said, also feeling the lump in her throat return.

"What do we do now?" Rosencrantz asked.

Ophelia thought for a moment, and after no one said anything, suggested. "We could just- play Monopoly? That sounds kinda fun." She pointed to the game that they had been playing before they had arrived.

"Let's do that," Annalise nodded and sat down, reshuffling the cards so they could restart the game.

They sat in a circle around the small table the board was laid out on and reset the game to play again. They pulled up another fold-out chair for Maggie and began to play. They didn't know what else to do. What even was 'normal' anymore?

[hamletandthegang]

The First Attempt

Ophelia stood on the second-floor balcony, leaning against the side of one of the small supporting beams that lined the square area. She gazed down on the primary area below and watched Hamlet and Horatio eat at a table near the King himself and the delegates he was eating with. They kept looking around them, trying to seem inconspicuous, but Ophelia was entirely out of their line of sight and had no worry that she would be spotted before the time was right. She had one job- wait for the signal.

Maggie was sitting in the booth directly behind the King's with Monica, making sure the tall menu she was holding stayed propped up above her face. She was listening intently to the conversation happening behind her, and Monica would stop to turn and whisper into her earpiece every few seconds, trying to keep the rest of the rebels focused and ready.

Hamlet glanced around him for at least the fifth time and sighed when he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just an over-crowded fancy restaurant, no one he seemed to recognize. Horatio was also completely unable to keep from fidgeting and glancing around, even more so than Hamlet. He couldn't help but wonder if Horatio knew something he didn't. He'd been acting strangely all week, even on top of the headaches from his concussion.

A waiter walked by their table, and Hamlet looked up right in time to catch their face. He froze- he could've sworn he'd seen them before, but where?

Maggie laid her head up against the back of the bench, trying to catch what the King was saying. His voice had very suddenly dropped to a whisper, and she tried to make out what the low voices were saying.

"Now?" Monica mouthed at her once she caught her eye. Maggie shook her head; she wasn't done with the King's conversation yet.

She held up a hand and listened intently as one of the delegates broke the tone from before and returned to the cheery atmosphere. He said something about the bathroom and then stood up and left, leaving only the King and the other delegate at the table. Maggie waited until the ambassador had made it a good way away from the table, then locked eyes with Monica, "Now."

Ophelia sighed and looked around, wondering when the signal would come. The suspense was killing her, the cord tied by her shoulder onto the beam she was leaning on growing more tempting by the second. In the center of the floor directly below, there was a small fountain and pool of water, with small coins littered across the bottom of it. The cord by her shoulder led up to the enormous chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Something bright flickered from the ground, and Ophelia looked down at where it was coming from. Monica's hand mirror flashed into her eyes, and she nodded silently. Ophelia smiled and flicked open the pocket knife she had been keeping in the sleeve of her jacket. That was the signal.

Hamlet tapped his finger against the table impatiently. He had only been told that when the 'signal' was made, he was to run over to his uncle, where he'd know what to do from there. He hadn't been told what it was, only that it would be impossible to overlook-

CRASH!!!

The massive glass chandelier came down and shattered in the center of the restaurant over the fountain, throwing water and large bits of glass everywhere. Screams filled the air as people got out of their seats and backed away from the fountain, and the fire alarm was set off, triggering the tiny sprinklers on the ceiling and causing the lights to begin blinking. Then the chaos set in.

The people in the restaurant started running in all directions, trying to get through the restaurant's central doors. Hamlet looked up at Horatio and nodded, then they both shot up from their chairs and skirted over to where they'd been instructed.

Hamlet stopped dead in his tracks as he saw who was already there- Maggie. He turned to Horatio, who had immediately gone completely pale and still. "Stay here," he whispered to him, and he hurried over to her.

She ignored everything he said but motioned to the other side of the bench, where he spotted a case on the floor. He made a choice: good plan or not; this might be the best shot he would get. He motioned to Horatio to get out of the way and dove to where Maggie had pointed. Monica had already fled the scene, and Maggie was in place. It was she and Hamlet against Claudius- that much was clear.

The bodyguards had already begun surrounding him as he pulled himself out of the booth. People were still running around and screaming- the central exit was very small and had been overrun quickly, so the others had run to find other ways out. Maggie flitted in between the crowd and was nearly in place when Ophelia appeared at her shoulder.

"What are you doing? I told you to stay up there while we got this sorted out," Maggie said under her breath to her as she put her handgun into place.

"I figured I'd be more help down here-"

"You're just going to be spotted down here!" Maggie turned to her and said. "Just make sure Hamlet doesn't see you yet, we have a perfect shot if everything goes according to- oh shit." Maggie stopped as she noticed Hamlet crouched where she had been sitting, aiming directly for Claudius. "Okay, Ophelia, get out of the way and away from the action, okay?"

Ophelia nodded and stepped behind a column, trying to stay out of the way of the rushing crowd.

Claudius was moving closer to the emergency exit, the guards around him trying to keep people from crashing into him and not looking where Hamlet was- and he took his shot a second too soon. He missed, and the gunshot only sent everyone's panic spiraling out of control. Maggie sighed. So close.

Horatio had ducked behind a row of tables, trying to breathe and calm his heart rate. The stitches in his stomach felt like they'd been nearly ripped open, though there was no blood, and they were almost healed all the way at this point. He doubled over the table he was leaning on with his elbows, his vision blurring slightly with the phantom pain. He tried not to close his eyes, knowing he'd just be back in the van with Ophelia leaning over him with blood everywhere and- but he was in a restaurant, not in the van, and Ophelia wasn't here, so- wait. Horatio had opened his eyes just in time to see Ophelia round the corner and hide behind one of the columns. That- that couldn't be!

Maggie leaped over the railing she had been standing behind, shoving her handgun back into her bag over her shoulder, and run over to the booth, trying to avoid the people nearly crashing into her. "You had one shot," she said to Hamlet frustratedly.

"You couldn't have given me any other information?!" Hamlet retorted.

"Just follow me and shut up," Maggie dragged him out of the booth and hurried over to the door where Claudius had just left with his guards. "His car is out there, and once he's inside and driving away we won't have another chance."

Hamlet followed her to the door, and they allowed themselves to be swept into the parking lot by the crowd. Claudius' car had been parked near the exit, and he was making his way to it quickly, with Maggie and Hamlet right behind him.

Ophelia looked around, feeling like she was being watched. The crowd was beginning to slow down as they flooded out of the doors on each side of the restaurant. There was still glass and water all over the floor from the chandelier, and she had to be careful not to step on any large pieces.

Finally, the last of the people left, and silence fell over the ruin. Ophelia looked towards the door as voices appeared again, and Maggie and Hamlet walked back through the door, Maggie looking disappointed and frustrated and Hamlet completely bewildered. Maggie was telling him off for missing the King, and Hamlet was defending himself until he stopped dead in his tracks, staring directly at Ophelia.

Maggie sighed when he noticed what he had seen and sat down by one of the overturned tables.

"What?" Hamlet said hoarsely, completely forgetting about Claudius and stumbling forward to where Ophelia was standing by the railing around the fountain. "You- this is real, right?"

Ophelia nodded, and Hamlet went pale. "They told me you were dead."

Ophelia nodded again, at a loss for words. The last time she had seen Hamlet, he was standing over her father's dead body.

"Please say something, I need to know this is really you," Hamlet pleaded quietly.

"I'm here," Ophelia said, voice nearly breaking.

Maggie looked at her with concern, knowing how fragile she still was and entirely ready to take her out of the situation at any moment. Still, Ophelia didn't give any notion that she wanted out, so she stayed sitting. "Careful," she growled the warning as Hamlet took another step towards Ophelia.

Hamlet reached out to take her hand, as he used to do, but Ophelia took a step back and winced. Hamlet opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out except a hoarse, "Phelia?"

A quiet rattling cough made all three of them turn. Horatio was still sitting curled up by the wall with his eyes shut. Ophelia pushed a table out of the way and knelt by his side. "Horatio? Hey, you good?"

He opened his eyes and saw Ophelia's face. He groaned and looked away, thinking he was still hallucinating that he was back in the van, but when he glanced around at his surroundings, Ophelia could almost see the double-take on his face.

"No way," Horatio said, looking back at her. Ophelia didn't know how he'd react, but before another second passed, he broke into a huge grin and nearly knocked her over with a hug. She laughed and hugged him back and rocked back on her heels, trying to keep from falling backward. Hamlet appeared behind her, still completely lost for words.

When Horatio finally released her, tears were streaming down his face. He cursed and tried to wipe his face on his hoodie. "Are you- oh my- I can't believe you-" Horatio stumbled to find words. Ophelia helped him stand up and turned back to Hamlet, who noticed how close he was and took a step back for her comfort, remembering everything that had happened. The three of them walked back to Maggie, who stood up, still watching Ophelia's movements like a hawk.

Horatio hesitated when he saw her, and Ophelia shook her head, "She's not going to hurt you, I promise.”

Maggie put her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I want to help you guys take down Claudius, I didn't have the full picture back in France and I thought you guys were with him. I'm- uh, I'm sorry about all that, I really didn't know you were on the right side. You obviously don't have to forgive me or anything, I just don't want you to think I'm gonna try to hurt you like that again."

Horatio watched her silently as she spoke, then nodded after some hesitation. "Alright," he said, still wary but willing to believe her. "I don't really know what's going on anymore, but alright."

"Great," Maggie turned to Ophelia. "The rest of the rebels are waiting at the castle, so we should probably get back there to help them sneak in."

"Yeah, sure," Ophelia said, making her way to the door to the parking lot.

"We can take the van back, if you'd like," Hamlet mentioned, and Ophelia nodded.

They got in the van, Hamlet driving, and went back to the castle. "How do we tell the others?" Horatio asked after a few minutes of driving.

"Oh, god, I have no clue." Ophelia said. "Anna's gonna kill me," She laughed.

"Over my dead body," Maggie muttered.

"Claudius is probably already there, but I don't think he saw us at all so we should be good." Hamlet spoke as he drove down the dark road, the only light coming from the street lamps every few yards.

"Alright, cool. I hope they don't freak out too much when they see me," Ophelia laughed nervously.

"Who knows what they'll think, honestly," Horatio said, and they continued back to the castle, the three of them talking as they used to and Maggie sitting uncomfortably in between.