The Highland Tale; The King Act Two Scene Three Sub Act Three

 

DEATH IN THE CASTLE

ACT TWO

SCENE THREE

SUB ACT THREE

 

The alarm woke the household then. The maids went to their tasks to locate their cares. The door to MacBeth’s chamber opened, and the maid rushed in.

“My Lady? I do apologize. I was...” The maid bowed to the lady who was seated on the bedding. She was without her nightgown and on the bed of the Thane.

“I should have knocked.” The maid averted her eyes.

“Leave me. I will join to check on the concern there.” The lady dismissed the maid and retrieved her gown. She put it on and then grabbed the dressing gown of MacBeth. She felt stained, and she was then. She needed the dressing gown to hide the stains of the night.

Lady Elleanor met the others at the hall. She saw MacDuff, who was prancing in the hall. There were the guards and the other nobles in all forms of night dressing gathered there.

“What happened that makes the awful trumpet call everyone who is sleeping in the house to come together? Tell me! Tell me!” Lady Elleanor approached the Lord. 

“My apologies, my lady. The news I could tell you is not something you should hear. Telling it to a woman would kill you instantly.” MacDuff bowed to the lady.

“Then tell me.” It was Banquo who had arrived and approached the Lord.

“Oh, Banquo, Banquo, our royal King has been murdered!” MacDuff spoke out. It drew gasps from those gathered there.

“Oh no! What, in our own house?” Lady Elleanor called out.

“It is too awful, no matter where it happened. Lord MacDuff, I beg you, change your story and say it is not true.” Banquo looked to the other. “The King is well guarded here.”

MacBeth and Lennox arrived, followed by Ross.

“If there was a way to let Lady Death take me instead, I would relent and live a blessed life. Because starting from this moment, there is no reason to keep living.” MacBeth said. “Everything is meaningless. All grace and distinction are dead. The wine of life has been poured away. In all the world, only the dregs remain.”

“The King is dead.” Lady Elleanor asked. It was then that the two princes arrived.

“What is wrong? The guards will not let us see Father." Donalbain asked.

“You are... you do not know it yet. The spring, the source, and the very origin of your blood have been stopped.” MacBeth looked away.

“Your royal father has been murdered,” MacDuff told them.

“Who did it?” Malcolm asked.

“We are...” Lennox was cut off by MacBeth.

“Apparently, the guards who were watching his bedroom did it. Their hands and faces were covered in blood. So were their daggers, which we found still bloody on their pillows. They stared at us, confused, but they would not speak again. Their throats slit.”

“They shouldn’t have been trusted with any man’s life.” MacBeth roared out. “Even so, I do not regret my fury, which pushed me to kill them in the heart. Their death was not mercy for my anger.””

“Why did you do that?” Malcolm asked. “We could have learned more from their action.”

“Can someone be wise, shocked, calm, furious, loyal, and neutral all at the same time?” MacBeth looked at Malcolm. “He is my King." No man can. My love for Duncan resulted in a violent rage that made me kill them before I could pause to think.”

Banquo approached MacBeth. He knew the other both as a friend and as a as a solider. MacBeth, at times enraged, will act recklessly towards the enemy. There were times when he would regret his action and pray for the sin. Such was MacBeth not seen by others.

“Duncan, his white skin all splattered with his precious blood, covered in gashes that looked like wounds to nature, let the rot in. And there next to him were the murderers, dripping with blood, their daggers covered in gore. Who could have stopped himself? Who loved Duncan and had the courage to act on it?” MacBeth cried out.

“Get me away from here, now!” Lady Elleanor could not take the shock and fell to her knees.

“See to the lady’s health.” MacDuff called on the servants. “Take her back to her chamber.”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? The two of us have the greatest reason to express our horror and grief. He is...” Malcolm looked to his brother.

“Our father lies there dead.” Donalbain whispered to his brother, “What could we say now? I have eyes on me, as I may have killed him. I did not. I have my reasons to do so, but I did not.”

Malcolm looked around and saw the stares. They are the ones who will benefit from the death of their father.

“What should we say when we ourselves may be in immediate danger from some hidden place? We should leave. We are not yet ready to show our tears... or fears.” Donalbain whispered.

“Nor is it yet time for us to take our grief and turn it into action.” Malcolm whispered. “We need to bid our time here well.”

Lady Elleanor was carried out then.

“Let us retire to our chambers to refresh. Let us meet and discuss this bloody crime to see if we can figure out what happened. For now, we need the space to quell our fears and doubts, lest it shake us.” Banquo took the lead on the matter.

“For now, please stay in your chamber until we call on the meeting.” Banquo added. “Guards will be in the corridors, and the castle is in shutdown.”

There were some murmurings, but none were to protest.

“I am putting myself in the hands of God, and from there, I’ll fight the treasonous plot behind this murder.” Banquo looked to the others for confirmation or objection.

“I will too.” MacDuff nodded to Banquo,

“Let us all get dressed quickly and regain our manly strength, and then meet in the hall.” MacBeth had composed himself and left the hall. Everyone exits except Malcom and Donalbain.

“What will you do? Let us not meet with them. A liar has no trouble pretending to show sorrow he does not actually feel. I am going to England.”

“And I will go to Ireland. We will be safer if we separate ourselves. No matter where we are, every smile might have a dagger hiding behind it. And those who are most closely related to us... and therefore closest in line to the throne... are the ones most likely to try to kill us.”

“I believed the plot had only just begun, and we would be safest if we could avoid the scheme. Therefore, let us make an excuse to leave soonest, get on our journey, and not worry about being polite and saying goodbye. We should just disappear. We are justified in sneaking off when there is no mercy left for us to count on.”

Unseen by the princes, Ross of Cambria heard the two princes. He walked away and kept the secret to himself. He was no traitor not will be side any, but his loyalty was to the named King.

Ross will take the oath to the throne and King, whoever sits there.