Forbidden Lovers

      A cool, crisp summer night in August, Gregory Lawrence was forced to a fancy high society ball with his father. He detested the idea of going but knew as the bible said, that he must be obedient to his parents. Once at the ball, Gregory was having a boring time until his eyes roamed across the room to a beautiful young girl, possibly two years younger than he was. Her face was so sweet and pure that made makeup seem something so vile. Her lovely, healthy, shiny brown hair was wavy and her ice blue eyes stared back invitingly at Gregory. Nervously, he walked over.

      "Hello," Gregory greeted her.

      "Hi," she whispered shyly.

      "I'm Gregory."

      "Rosalinda. Rosie, for short."

      "Wow... you're so beautiful." As Rosalinda blushed, Gregory took a deep breath. "Would you dance with me?"

      Rosalinda shyly nodded and Gregory took her in his arms. She closed her eyes and let him take her away.

      "Gregory!" a sharp voice yelled. "Get away from that young lady right now! Don't you know that the DiCaprios are our biggest enemies?!?!?!"

      "You're a DiCaprio?!" Gregory asked Rosalinda in disbelief.

      Rosalinda slowly nodded, embarrassed as she looked down at the floor. She quickly spun on her crystal heels and humiliated, walked all the way out of the ballroom. Even though Gregory knew that his father would be really mad at him, he ran after Rosalinda. In that short space of time that he met her, he grew to love her.

        "Son!" yelled Mr. Lawrence in a sharp voice. "Where are you going off to?"

        "I am going after my love!"

        Mr. Lawrence was not so quick to catch on. He thought that Gregory was talking about Isabella, a pompous, blond haired girl in his son's high school, The Royal Academy.

        "Do you mean Isabella?" Mr. Lawrence demanded.

        Gregory thought quickly. "Yes father!" With that, he took off with lightning speed in the direction that Rosalinda went. Out into the garden he ran looking everywhere for the girl that he loved. She was nowhere in sight. Gregory was getting worried. He could not leave the ball without saying goodbye to Rosalinda. He ran on and on into the dark, black street. On the ground lay a diamond barrette. Gregory picked it up and examined it. "Rosalinda," he whispered. After delicately placing the barrette in his pocket, Gregory ran off in his search for Rosalinda. He even checked by the nearby park but she was gone without a trace.

        Gregory sighed sadly, broken up inside when he heard sobbing nearby. His head turned in the direction of the great, oak tree at the back of the park and sprinted towards it. He peered behind the tree and to his greatest delight, he was surprised to see Rosalinda.

        "Rosie! My love... why are you crying?"

        Rosalinda looked up and quickly wiped her tears. "Oh Gregory I love you ever so much but destiny would not allow us to be together. Our families are mortal enemies."

        Gregory sighed again as he realized that this was the typical Romeo and Juliet story. He took Rosalinda's hands in his and looked her in the eyes. "Rosalinda! Listen to me! Whether destiny wills us to be together or not, I do not care. You are now my life and I would make sure we are together."

        Rosalinda's eyes shone in the dark moonlight as she smiled at Gregory. "You mean - you're willing to risk your life for me?"

        "Definitely."

        As soon as Gregory uttered those words, loud noises broke the silent air. It was Mr. DiCaprio and his troops!

        "Sir Lawrence! What are you doing with my daughter?" demanded Mr. DiCaprio.

        Gregory and Rosalinda looked at each other fearfully. Gregory decided he would stand up and declare his love.

        "I love your daughter sir. I am dreadfully sorry but I cannot and will not keep away from her."

        Mr. DiCaprio's eyes blazed with fiery anger. He twisted his lips into an inhumane snarl. "Men - take him away!"

        Before he knew it, Mr. DiCaprio's troops seized Gregory and handcuffed him.

        "Father, no!" cried Rosalinda. "I love him and I want to be with his as well."

        Mr. DiCaprio spun around and glared at Rosalinda. "You too will surely be punished! Get home at once!"

        Gregory watched intently as Rosalinda walked off, tears falling from her eyes. It killed him to see her so depressed. He fiddled with his handcuffs and opened it when he detected the silent lock. He hit his attacker one hard punch and sped off quickly, grabbing a surprised Rosalinda in his arms along the way.

        "Gregory! What are you doing? You'll be in even more trouble if my father tracks you. As great as my love is for you, I do not think we should be together."

        "Yes!" Gregory replied firmly. "No matter what obstacles are thrown our way, you and I - together. Forever."

        "Are you sure that your love for me will never fade?"

        "Never! What about you?'

        Rosalinda smiled her sweet smile. "No chance... but where do we go now?"

        "That's a good question."

        Rosalinda stared into Gregory's eyes. "It's amazing how quickly one can fall in love. Before this day, I never believed in love at first sight and that is exactly what happened to me today."

        Gregory kissed Rosalinda's forehead. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

        The next day, Gregory and Rosalinda eloped and looked for a place to stay. They found a deserted bungalow in the middle of the woods. It was abandoned and run down. Gregory went out to buy some tools to fix up and Rosalinda went to get some food for them to eat.

        On her way back from the grocery, Rosalinda was estatic. She was with her true love and it was so blissful. After buying a loaf of bread and some cheap butter, she went back to her bungalow and to her horror, she saw Gregory was on the floor, bleeding, his head dismantled from the rest of his body.

        "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Rosalinda shrieked. She saw a note on the floor next to Gregory's dead body. She violently grabbed it up, tears screaming out of her eyes.

        Rosalinda, I am sorry but I had to kill your boyfriend. You know I do not approve and I promised that you and he will suffer. For the rest of your life you will be pained by this fact and will suffer...

        What a sick man! Rosalinda recognised her father's handwriting.

                                                    To Be Continued..............................