Lady Macbeth Makes a Choice

I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling until I hear his breathing slow down, and that is when I slowly turn my head and see his eyes closed and his face calm. I pull the thin sheet off my body and stand, pacing to the end of the room and back towards the bed, my hands shaking with rage and my head pounding from all the stress of the night.

I thought that he would be able to handle the murder of Duncan, but so far, he has proven me wrong. Everyday it’s a new hallucination, and it doesn’t matter all too much if it’s just around me, but this can’t be happening in front of all our guests like it did tonight. People are soon going to become suspicious if this continues to happen. I fall to my knees and reach blindly under the bed, sliding my fingers across the concrete floor until I feel the cool metal of my dagger underneath me. I slide it out carefully and take the handle in my palm, gripping it tightly and standing, my body at the foot of the bed. “You don’t have to do this.” I whisper, wiping my unbrushed hair out of my face with my free hand. “He’ll get you sent to jail. He can’t handle the guilt. Do it.” says another part of me. I pace to the other side of the room again, glancing out the window at the moon hanging high above the land and trying to focus as a million thoughts and questions fill my mind.

What will everyone think when the new king mysteriously dies only days after Duncan? Will this only make things worse for me? Who am I going to blame it on? The guard. I can blame it on the guard. It’s another murder, but it’s the only way I’ll be able to get away with this. Would you rather live freely without the one you love or locked up in a jail cell beside them? Either way, we won’t be together. 

I grip the blade even tighter and walk towards the door of the bedroom, taking in a deep breath and pulling the handle to reveal the guard standing beside the door. 

“Lady Macbeth.” he says, surprised to see me up at such a late hour. I slowly lift my hand and show him the dagger, and when he opens his mouth and tries to say something, I place my finger on his lips, silencing him.

“You will be silent. Don’t make a sound. I’m sorry. I really am.” I say, spinning his thin body around and bringing the blade to his throat, dragging it against his skin, blood dripping from my hand as he falls to the ground. I look into the lifeless eyes of a loyal man that I have known my whole life, a tear streaming down my cheek as I reenter the bedroom. There’s no going back now. 

I slowly walk over to my husband who is laying on his back, sound asleep. I line the dagger up with his heart, lifting my arm high into the air and closing my eyes as I force the blade down and feel it cut deep into his skin. I look down and his eyes shoot open, a look of pure fear and betrayal on his face. 

“My lady.” he whispers, grabbing the dagger and taking it shakily out of his chest. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, but you know you couldn’t handle it. You’re growing worse and worse by the day. I have to do this on my own.” I say, listening to his last gasp for air. I use my thumb and pinky finger to close his eyes, tears now violently falling from my eyes and down my pale face. I quickly grab the dagger and open the door, placing it in the guard’s hand and returning back to the room. I run over to the pale of water, placing my hands in it and rubbing them together until the skin is raw, yet still the smell of blood lingers in the air. Once there is not a trace of blood left on me, I walk over the dark red stained sheets and look at the lifeless body of the love of my life. There was no other way.