The Unnamed Saga: Sisters and Song Script, Chapter Two: "Those Unforgotten"

Chapter Two: Those Unforgotten

 

Open to black.  There are sounds of activity in the background.  People are speaking and birds are chirping.  There are footsteps and animals.

 

Elsea, off-screen: “Princess!  Princess, slow down.”

Open on Zara marching through a crowd of people.  It is light out.  Elsea is immediately behind her.

Cut to Elsea forcing her way through the people and chasing after Zara.

Elsea: “M’lady, Glenn and Mary have fallen behind.”

 

Zara: “Then they will just have to catch up.”

 

Zara and Elsea walk off screen.

Settle on the crowd for a panel.

Glenn and Mary step out of the crowd and on screen.

 

Mary: “Hasn’t she just gotten more lovely the longer we stay in Anthem?”

Mary looks down at her dress, which has a stain on the stomach of it.

Mary: “Now, what is this then?”

She rubs at the stain.

 

Glenn: “Come on, the ship will arrive soon.”

 

Mary: “Oh, hush, there is hardly need for hurry.”

 

Glenn cocks his brow.

Glenn: “You aren’t excited to see Zelos?”

 

Mary: “My excitement won’t change the winds, Sir Knight, and it will hardly make time pass more quickly.”

 

Glenn: “They should be arriving soon.”

 

Mary: “Mayhap they should, but the question is whether they will.  These things have a way of going awry.  You understand, I am sure.”

She scowls.

Mary: “Drat!”

She looks at Glenn.
Mary: “And I loved this dress, too.”

 

Glenn: “Come on, I can hardly see them now.”

 

Mary: “Yes, yes, in quite the hurry to wait and all.”

 

Cut to Anthem exterior, looking in at the bazaar.  A large wall separates the bazaar from the port.  Zara is marching through the gateway with Elsea following shortly behind.  They are walking down a massive stairway toward the port.

Show the rolling, clear water and the sea birds flying about.  The sky is clear.  Boats are docking in various piers.

Zara stops and stares out at the long piers.

Show the poort again, showing the workers pulling a ship in.

Show birds picking at fish.

Show boats approaching from a distance.

Show Zara standing with her arms crossed and surveying the area.  Elsea is at her side.  In the background, Mary and Glenn are descending the stairs.

 

Zara: “Shouldn’t we see the ship by now?”

 

Elsea: “It may be just over the horizon, m’lady.”

 

Zara: “Should have been here by midday.”

Zara squints up at the sky.

Zara: “They’re late.”

 

Elsea looks up as well.

She nods.

Elsea: “Yes, m’lady.”

 

Mary, off-screen: “I told you as much.  The sea is a lady as fickle as you, princess, and any attempts at crossing are oft met with one form of disaster or nothing.  Need I remind you of our own harrowing journey?”

 

Zara blushes.

Zara: “I had never ridden a ship before.  Besides, seasickness is not so uncommon.”

 

Mary: “Anyhow, mayhap we should rest our legs.  Standing will leave you stiff of posture, and you shouldn’t want that when your suitor comes sailing into port.”

 

Zara: “My suitor? Ha!”

 

Mary settles on the stairs and stares out at the sea.

She hoods her eyes with her hand.

Mary: “All of this sunlight.  I fear winter may have spoilt me with its shade.”

 

Zara crosses her arms and taps her foot impatiently.

 

Glenn: “Don’t worry, the wait should be brief.”

 

Mary: “Unless they’ve met unforeseen trouble, mind you.”

 

Zara: “They didn’t.  I’m sure of it.”

 

Mary: “Oh?”

 

Zara: “I can feel it in my gut.”

 

Mary looks at Zara.

Show Zara tapping her foot and staring out at the sea.

Mary closes her mouth and looks back out at the sea.

Mary: “Yes, m’lady, I am certain that you are quite correct, and they should make port at any moment.”

 

Cut to Dawn and Niva eating in the resistance hideout.  It is still raining outside.  Water drips from the ceiling.  Dawn has her bowl clean.  Niva picks at her gruel.  The royal guard is assembled around the table, watching irritably.  Diando is among them.

 

Diando: “Hey, Dawn, can I speak with you?”

 

Dawn: “No, I have a guest.  Don’t be rude.”

She turns back to Niva.

Dawn: “So, tell me about yourself.”

 

Niva: “Um…Like what?”

Niva laughs nervous.  She tucks her hair back.

Niva: “There’s not much to tell…”

 

Dawn: “Well…What did you do before the occupation?”

 

Niva: “Before?  I didn’t do much. Tended house, mostly.”

 

Dawn: “Tended house? So, you were a wife, then?”

 

Niva laughs.

Niva: “No, no, nothing like that.  I was…My sister was in the military and didn’t have much time to care for herself.  Our parents died while we were young, so…Anyway, I took care of things around home for her.”

 

Dawn: “I see, and what about now?”

 

Niva: “Now? Well, now…I…My sister is a soldier.”

 

Dawn: “So you’ve said.”

 

Niva: “I’m…I don’t know if it’s appropriate.”

 

Dawn: “You’re among friends.  I promise.”

 

Niva looks around.

Show the disapproving faces of the Royal Guard and Diando.

Cut back to Niva, who looks anxious.

Dawn looks around.

 

Dawn: “Oh, don’t worry about them.  They’re just…”

Dawn glares at them.

Dawn: “…rude.”

 

The guards look away quickly.  They busy themselves.

Diando continues to stare.

Dawn returns her attention to Niva.

 

Niva: “Well…I’m looking for the resistance, actually.”

 

Dawn: “The Resistance? Like the Silvaran Resistance?”

 

Niva nods.

 

Dawn: “You mean to join?”

 

Niva: “Something like that.”

 

Dawn: “Well, you’re in luck, then, because you’ve already found them.”

 

Niva: “What? You mean, you are…”

She looks around the shack.

She grimaces.

Niva: “…THIS is the resistance?”

 

Dawn: “Well, yeah, but not all of it.  We can’t stay in one place.  That’d just tell the Fionans where to look.”

 

Niva: “Oh.  That makes sense, I guess.”

 

Dawn: “And, to properly introduce myself: I am Dawn Summer Estein, the second princess of Silverthrone.”

 

Diando: “DAWN!”

 

Dawn: “Oh, like she wouldn’t find out eventually.  Calm down, will you?”

 

Diando groans.

Diando: “I…need fresh air.”

Diando storms outside.

 

Niva: “So…You’re the princess?  Oh! I should be bowing or…”

 

Dawn: “I’m a princess of a fallen kingdom, so don’t worry about it.”

 

Niva: “Oh. Are you sure?”

Dawn nods.

Niva sits quietly.

Niva: “Can I ask you a question?”

 

Dawn: “Of course you can.”

 

Niva: “Do you know anyone named Umber?”

 

Dawn: “Umber?”

 

Niva nods.

Niva: “She’s my sister, and she–Well, about two weeks ago, she was sent off for a scouting mission and–She never returned.  I don’t even get letters.”

 

Dawn: “Oh. Honestly, I don’t know all of our ongoing operations of the top of my head, but I promise, I’ll see what I can find.  Okay?”

 

Niva smiles.

Niva: “Thank you, thank you so much.”

 

Cut to the Anthem docks by evening.  Zara is still on the steps.  She is hugging her legs and resting her head on her knees, sulking.  Elsea yawns behind her.  Glenn is in the rear with his hands on his hips.  He has his cloak removed and is holding it under his arm.

 

Glenn: “Maybe Mary was right, and we should retire.  We’ve been here all day.”

 

Zara: “I am not going.  Surely, they’ll be here soon, and I don’t want them thinking that they were forgotten.”

 

Glenn: “This was our plan.  That’s proof enough.”

 

Zara: “Regardless, I am not leaving.  I’ll wait all night if I have to.”

 

Glenn: “Elsea, will you two be alright by yourselves?”

 

Zara glares.

Zara: “We’ll be fine! We survived long before you came to our rescue, and will continue to do so even in your absence.”

 

Elsea looks back at him.

Elsea: “Don’t worry, Sir Glenn, we will be well.”

 

Glenn: “Right.  Well, I’ll send some food.”

 

Glenn turns and leaves.

Elsea returns to staring at the water.

Elsea yawns again.

Zara’s stomach grumbles.

They both look at Zara’s belly.

Zara: “…I hope that he hurries.”

 

Cut to Silverthrone, just outside of the resistance shack.  Dawn and Niva are sitting on a stone bench.  It is rather beaten up, with deep cracks in it.  The rain has ceased, but the clouds hang in the air.  Water drips from the roofs.

 

Dawn: “This day looks about how I feel.”

 

Show the low-hanging clouds.

 

Niva: “It is rather gloomy.”

 

Dawn looks at the city.

Dawn: “Yeah, it is.”

 

Show a bird fly into view, a small parcel attached to one of its legs.

It lands on the shack and flutters inside.

Dawn smiles at it.

She takes Niva’s hand.

She stands and pulls Niva up with her.

 

Niva: “What!”

 

Dawn: “Come on! We’ve got news!’

 

Dawn drags Niva inside.

Inside of the shack the Royal Guard has gathered around the table.  Remi is standing nearby with the bird.

Show Remi removing parchment from the bird’s leg.

Remi feeds the bird a seed and sets it off.

The bird goes to its perch to drink some water.

Remi unfolds the parchment and reads it over.

He hands it off to a member of the Royal Guard.

Diando touches Remi’s shoulder.

 

Diando: “What’s wrong?”

 

Remi: “Another one’s burned out.”

 

Niva leans over to Dawn and whispers.

Niva: “What’s going on?”

 

Dawn: “We’re on the run from Fiona, and they’re hunting us down.  If another’s burned out, that means they’ve smoked some more resistance out.”

 

Niva: “And that means?”

 

Dawn: “You don’t want to know.”

 

Dawn leaves Niva at the door.

Dawn takes the parchment and reads it personally.

Niva watches from the back, separated from them.

 

Thomas: “They’re getting more aggressive, m’lady.”

 

Dawn: “Or at least smarter.  The border’s not safe.”

 

Remi: “I’m beginning to fear that nowhere is safe.”

 

Dawn: “Well, we have to hide somewhere, so that attitude isn’t helping.”

 

Diando: “It’s not an attitude.  It’s fact.”

 

Dawn: “And it’s not helpful.  That’s also fact.”

 

Diando: “You can sit here and pretend everything will be okay, but this isn’t a war anymore, Dawn.  It’s an extermination!”

 

Dawn: “And what should I do? Crawl under a rock? Hide? Let them burn my nation to the ground while they look for me?”

 

Diando: “Look around you! They’ve already burned it!”

 

Sir Thomas steps between them.

Thomas: “Enough!”

 

Diando glares at Sir Thomas.

Diando: “Don’t you dare go around talking to me like I’m some dirt on your shoe.”

 

Thomas: “You’re not showing the lady proper respect.”

 

Diando: “And she’s doing so much better about that.”

 

Sir Thomas grabs Diando’s shoulder.

Thomas: “Just calm—”

 

Diando shoves Sir Thomas.

Diando: “Don’t touch me!”

 

Remi steps between Diando and Thomas with a single hand on Diando’s chest.  He looks Diando in the eyes.

Remi: “We should wait outside.”

Diando looks at Remi.

He looks at Sir Thomas.

Remi: “Now, Diando.”

 

Diando: “Yeah, we should.”

 

Remi and Diando leave through the front.

On the way out Diando grunts at Niva, who stares wide-eyed.

Dawn hunches over the table.

Sir Thomas puts his hand on her shoulder.

 

Thomas: “Princess, he doesn’t…”

 

Dawn: “He’s right.  They’re both right.  Nowhere is safe from Fiona.”

 

Thomas: “Yes, but, nowhere isn’t exactly a place I want to go.”

 

Dawn: “I know, I know.”

She looks at the map on the table.

Dawn: “Sir Thomas, I want you to send a message out to everyone.  Wherever we are, we’re compromised.  We need to relocate the entirety of our resistance to one defensible position.”

 

Thomas: “To where, m’lady?”

 

Dawn: “We’ll think on that.  For now, just spread word to be ready.”

 

Thomas: “Yes, m’lady.  Anything else?”

 

Dawn: “Yeah.  We need to find a way out of the city.”

 

Thomas: “Yes, of course, I’ll look into it.”

 

Dawn: “Thank you.”

 

Cut to Zara at the Anthem docks.  It is sundown.  Birds are drifting through the sky, and the sea is calm.  In the distance storm clouds gather.  Zara is still sitting with her head on her knees,  Elsea at her side.  A basket sits between them.  It is piled with wooden plates that have been picked clean.  Flies buzz around.

Show a fly hovering about Zara’s head.  She is watching it with disgust.

She smacks her hands together in front of her face.

She opens her palms and looks.

She grimaces.

Zara: “Well, I got it at least.”

Zara wipes her hand on the ground beside her.

She stretches.

She falls back.

She sighs.

Zara: “How much longer will they make us wait?”

 

Elsea: “Are you getting tired, m’lady?”

 

Zara: “I’m not tired, and I’m not leaving.”

 

Elsea: “Of course, m’lady.”

Beat.

Elsea: “It’s just that they will be serving supper soon.”

 

Zara: “Yes, they will.  Do you know what’s on the menu?”

 

Elsea: “Brisket, I think.”

 

Zara: “Brisket. That does sound good. But still, I should wait for their arrival.”

 

Elsea: “As it is now, m’lady, they may anchor their ship and wait out whatever trouble they’ve met.”

 

Zara: “And they may not.”

 

Elsea: “But you’ve been here all day.”

 

Zara: “And I’ll stay all night if necessary, but I won’t leave them.”

 

Elsea: “I understand your dedication, but…”

 

Zara: “You clearly don’t understand!”

Zara sits up.

Zara: “I won’t have them arrive to empty shores.  They are not forgotten, nor will they ever be.  And when Dawn sees the port, I will be here so she knows her sister, the last of her family, has not abandoned her.  So, go if you must, but I will not be joining you!”

They go quiet.

Zara lies back on the ground and stares up at the darkening sky.

Zara: “Sorry for yelling.  That was—uncalled for.”

 

Elsea: “Apology accepted, m’lady.”

 

Zara: “You can return. If you want to.”

 

Elsea: “I’m fine, m’lady, but thank you for your consideration.”

 

Zara looks at Elsea.

She looks back up at the sky.

Zara: “Thank you, Elsea.”

 

Elsea: “You’re very welcome.”

 

Beat.

 

Zara: “If you wanted to return for a portion of brisket, I wouldn’t have any complaint about that.”

 

Elsea smiles.

Elsea: “Of course, m’lady.”

Elsea stands.

 

Zara: “Oh, and if you could, be a dear and take the dishes with you.  They’re drawing flies.”

 

Elsea: “Yes, m’lady.”