The Unnamed Saga: Sisters and Song, Chapter Four: "Away From Home"

Chapter Four: Away From Home

 

Open on birds flitting about bare trees.

Show one fly nearby.

Follow the bird to a barren tree branch.

The bird lands.  The branch is wet.  Dew drops from it.

Follow the dew drop down.

The dew drop hits a wooden roof.

Pull back to show the resistance base.

Cut to the resistance interior. Dawn is standing before the table.  She is wearing her royal leather armor with a cloak over it.  Diando is sitting on one side of the room, reclining in his chair.  Remi is leaning against the wall near the exit.  The Royal Guard is situated around the table, drinking and eating.

 

Dawn: “And so Fiona is closing in, and that is the full situation.  Any thoughts, guys?”

 

Diando: “One thought—I don’t like it.”

 

Dawn: “Noted.  Anyone else?”

 

Thomas: “I agree with Diando, and I don’t trust this Nicholas.”

 

Dawn: “What? Why?  What do you know about him?”

 

Thomas: “Practically nothing, and that’s the problem.”

 

Remi: “But that’s not entirely true.  I’ve been asking around since he showed up, and I’ve gathered some information.  He is part of a new theater group.  They’re a group of bards and players who’ve come together to put on shows all across Albion.  Already, they’ve earned some considerable fame in Silverthrone, having put on a well-received rendition of The Maiden White, and they are a favorite of the new Fionan governor, Lady Daphne.”

 

Thomas: “Okay but do you trust his information?”

 

Remi: “From what my sources say, yes, he’s trustworthy.  The rumors are spreading throughout the border regions.  Fiona is making a push inward, toward the city.  They’ve left most of the towns alone, but they’ve been raiding bases and capturing anyone who even seems outspoken on the issue.  They want to put the resistance to rest, and for good.”

 

Thomas: “Okay, his information is accurate, then, but that doesn’t make him trustworthy.”

 

Remi: “Considering our situation, I don’t think it would be wise to simply write someone off because of your own paranoia.”

 

Thomas: “Paranoia?”

 

Remi: “What else would you call it?”

 

Diando: “Remi, I know you mean well, but we need to consider the full context.  One wrong move, and we’re done.”

 

Remi: “Exactly, which is why…”

 

Thomas: “We can’t just hand over the fate of our princess and our nation…”

 

Diando: “I’m just saying, other alternatives…”

 

Remi: “I wish you two would listen to me long…”

 

Dawn: “ENOUGH!”

The room goes quiet.

Show each of them looking at Dawn.

The guard is quiet.

Sir Thomas is surprised.

Show Remi’s surprise as well.

Diando looks bemused.

Cut to Dawn.  She steps forward.

Dawn: “I’ve been patient up to now, but I can’t stand all of this bickering.  We’re not children, we’re adults, and this isn’t a game.  This isn’t even war.  It’s survival.  We take what we’re offered, and we make the best of it.  Remi, you contact Nicholas.  Tell him we’re interested.”

 

Diando: “Dawn, you can’t really…”

 

Dawn: “I can and am.”

 

Sir Thomas stands.

Thomas: “Princess, we’re not doing this.”

 

Dawn glares.

Dawn: “Excuse me?”

 

Sir Thomas looks around at everyone.

Show the guard shy away.

Diando shrugs.

Sir Thomas looks at Dawn.

He gulps.

Thomas: “Well, if no one else will say it, then I will.  Princess, I understand we’re in a desperate situation, but…”

 

Dawn: “No, you clearly don’t.”

 

Thomas: “Hear me out!”

 

Dawn: “No.”

 

Sir Thomas is taken aback. He stammers.

Thomas: “…But…”

 

Dawn: “I said, ‘No.’  We’re not discussing this.  I am the princess, and I am going.  If you can’t get behind me, then stay.  Anyone else who agrees with you can stay with you, but I will not be killed or captured in my sleep because I’m too afraid to move.  That’s my choice, and I’m done talking.”

Dawn looks Remi.

Dawn: “Remi?”

 

Remi smiles.

He stands from the wall.

He bows.

Remi: “M’lady.”

He turns to the door.

He opens it.

He stops.

Remi: “Oh, excuse me, miss.  Go ahead and come on in.”

Remi steps aside.

Niva enters.

She looks bashfully at everyone.

 

Niva: “I—I’m sorry if I’m interrupting.”

 

Dawn: “You’re fine, we were just finishing up.  Come on, we’ll talk in the bedroom.”

 

Dawn pulls the curtain aside.

Niva enters.

Dawn follows her and drops the curtain.

 

Niva: “I’m sorry, I was going to knock, but when I heard shouting I…”

 

Dawn: “You’re fine, so don’t apologize.”

 

Niva: “Sor…”

Dawn glares.

Niva: “I mean, uh, of course.”

Beat.

Niva: “So, how are things?”

 

Dawn: “They’re complex.  How’re things for you?”

 

Niva: “Simple.”

 

Dawn: “Then I envy you.”

 

Niva: “May I ask what’s wrong?”

 

Dawn: “Of course.”

Dawn slumps down on the bed.

Niva sits beside her.

Dawn: “The Fionan army is closing in on us, and all we can do is bicker.”

 

Niva: “They’re coming here?”

 

Dawn: “Yeah and we need to escape.  We have a way out, but my men are too afraid to take it.”

 

Niva: “Those men?”

Niva looks toward the curtain.

Niva: “But,they look so brave.”

 

Dawn: “Normally, they are, but when you’ve lost nearly everything, you become of afraid of losing what little you have left.  You become careful. Too careful sometimes.”

 

Niva: “That makes sense.”

She looks at Dawn, who is lounging on the bed.

Niva: “How do you keep moving?”

 

Dawn: “I don’t know, I guess I don’t think about the things I have to lose.  Instead, I focus on what I have to hold onto.”

Dawn laughs.

Dawn: “Wow, that sounded melodramatic.”

 

Niva: “No, it’s perfect.  Things you hold onto, I like it.”

She smiles at Dawn.

Niva: “So, where are you going?”

 

Dawn shrugs.

Dawn: “That’s up in the air.”

 

Niva: “Will my sister be there?”

 

Dawn goes quiet.

Dawn: “I’m not sure.”

 

Niva: “Oh.”

 

Dawn: “But, if she’s out there, then she might.”

 

Niva: “She might find you?”

 

Dawn sits up.

Dawn: “Yeah, we’re going to bring everyone together.”

 

Niva: “Good.  She’ll be safer by your side, I think.”

 

Dawn: “You think?”

Niva nods.

Dawn smiles.

Dawn: “You should come with me, Niva.”

 

Niva: “Huh? What?”

 

Dawn: “We can find your sister together.”

 

Niva: “Oh, I wouldn’t want to be a burden.”

 

Dawn: “Then come, because if you don’t, I’ll be up every night worrying.”

 

Niva: “I’m—I’m not packed or ready or…”

 

Dawn: “None of us are, so you have plenty of time.  Come on, come with us, I insist.”

 

Niva: “Well, I do…”

 

Dawn: “You will.”

 

Niva: “Then, I guess I should go pack!”

Niva stands.

She rushes from the room.

Dawn smiles.
She follows Niva to the door.

She turns and looks at the mostly empty room.  Only Diando and a few guards remain.  Diando is still leaning his chair against the wall near the curtain.

He looks at Dawn.

 

Diando: “She’ll get in the way.”

 

Dawn: “No, she won’t.  You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Diando: “She’s not a fighter, and she’s got no skills.  She’ll just be extra weight.”

 

Dawn: “Good thing we’re all so strong then.  We can shoulder a little extra weight.”

 

Cut to Anthem.  The sky is clear but a dark storm is on the horizon.

Show birds singing and flying.

Show the city bathed in morning light.

Show a bird dive.  It hits the water and just misses a fish.

It flies toward the city.

It lands on a balcony on the mansion at the top of the hill.

Show Mary and Glenn on the balcony.  Glenn is leaning forward and staring out at the sea.  Mary is reclining against the balcony with her back to the city.

 

Mary: “Speaking on that subject, how did the president react to the news of our absent ship?”

 

Glenn: “He’s dubious.  Thinks something went wrong.  Thinks it can be traced to him.”

 

Mary: “Such concern is understandable considering the circumstances.”

 

Glenn: “Yes, but it’s also problematic.”

 

Mary: “Has his heart had a change?  Does he now wish to turn us over to the great King Metis as an offering of peace?”

 

Glenn: “He hasn’t said as much.”

 

Mary: “And you’re doing your very best to placate him, I assume.”

 

Glenn: “We’re here, aren’t we?”

 

Mary: “That we are, but for how much longer, Sir Knight?”

 

Glenn sighs.

Glenn: “I’m no good at this stuff.”

 

Mary: “Oh, nonsense.  You’re doing well-enough, what you have kept us rooted for the time being.  I have worries, but none about the president.  Instead, about the ship.  It has been days.  It should have arrived long ago, complications considered.”

 

Glenn: “Yeah.  Do you think—?”

 

Mary: “Often.  I think often, but I won’t entertain such dark thoughts while light still yet remains.”

 

Glenn: “Never pictured you an optimist.”

 

Mary laughs.

Mary: “I remain an optimist until proven wrong, Sir Knight.”

She turns and leans onto the railing.

Show the hills of Anthem rolling beneath them down to the sea.

Mary: “I worry for our young princess.  She still believes in the idea of their inevitable arrival, and I haven’t the heart anymore to tell her the futility of it.”

 

Glenn: “She’s desperate.”

 

Mary: “And why not?  A lost mother, father, and sister, and a nation, and all in the span of a single bloody night.  Such suffering is not easily forgotten.  You should know this well enough.”

 

Glenn: “Yeah.”

 

Mary: “Let her entertain such fancies while she still yet has the strength to.  We will be the sober adults what must deal with the situation at hand.  Specifically, what if the good president should not be so good.  How will we react should he decide to betray our trust and return us gift-wrapped to a new master?”

 

Glenn: “With force.  Between you, me, and Elsea, we can keep the princess safe.”

 

Mary: “Mayhap but for how long?”

 

Glenn pauses thoughtfully.

Glenn: “Gods willing, we won’t find out.”

 

Mary: “And you think the threat of violence will serve as an efficient deterrent?”

 

Glenn: “Yeah.  So long as Fiona stays across the channel, he’ll hide us.”

 

Mary: “And should they grow bold enough to try their hand at the passage?”

 

Glenn: “Then it would be too late anyway.”

 

Mary: “Not so much an optimist yourself, are you?”

 

Glenn: “I’m a realist.”

 

Mary: “Quite.”

 

Glenn: “Do you think Zelos is…”

 

Mary: “That boy is far too stubborn for his own good.  Even should he have met death, he would come back just to prove a point.”

 

Glenn: “You really think he’s alive?”

 

Mary: “As I already said, Sir Knight, I am an optimist until proven wrong.”

 

Glenn: “For once, optimism sounds good.”

 

Cut to Silvara City interior, to a makeshift platform erected in the town square.  It is the newest thing in the shattered town.  A crowd gathers around it.  They look unwashed and hungry.  Fionan guards surround the platform with their swords and shields ready.  They stare out at the gathering crowd with cold authority.

Zoom in to show Dawn moving through the crowd.  She is wearing her cloak and is being pushed and shoved about.

She is grabbed by the wrist.

She turns and punches whoever grabbed her in the chest.

Nick staggers back.

Nick: “Hey, ow!”

 

Dawn: “Nicholas?”

 

Nick rubs his chest.

Nick: “You’re much stronger than you look.”

 

Dawn: “I didn’t know it was you.”

She glares at him.

Dawn: “You shouldn’t just grab a woman like that.  It’s asking to be hit.”

 

Nicholas: “Noted.  Next time, I’ll just shout princess until you turn around.”

 

Dawn: “Ah, right, sorry, I guess.”

She adjusts her hood.

Dawn: “Remi said you wanted to meet me here.”

 

Nick: “That was before the beating.”

 

Dawn: “What do you want?”

 

Nick: “Listen, did you bring your people.”

 

Dawn: “Yes, we’re spread out through the crowd.  It’s dangerous to have us all here.”

 

Nick: “I can imagine, but I wanted you to see this.  Your pal, Remi, he came to me with your offer, and he said that there were some, uh, dissenters.”

 

Dawn: “They won’t be a problem.”

 

Nick: “Not after this, they won’t.”

 

Dawn looks toward the platform.

Dawn: “Why? What’s happening?”

 

Nick: “A regent has been appointed.”

 

They meet eyes.

Dawn: “Lady Daphne.”

 

Nick: “So, you’ve heard of her.  Good! What else do you know about her?”

 

Dawn: “Nothing.”

 

Nick smirks.

He looks ahead.

Nick: “Then just watch.”

 

Dawn turns her attention to the platform.

Show the platform.

Lady Daphne takes the stage.  She is well-dressed and has Veruca at her side.  Veruca clutches an itinerary to her chest.

Lady Daphne goes to the edge of the stage and looks out at the people.

Show the crowd.  They are talking loudly among themselves.  Gradually, they grow quiet.

Dawn looks at those gathered in mild surprise.

Lady Daphne clears her throat.

Daphne: “People of Silvara, I will be brief.  I entertain no idle hopes that you wish me here on this day.  No, I understand your feelings for me and for my nation, and I understand that we are not welcome here.”

The crowd cheers.

Daphne: “Sadly, that is not the reality that we live in.  The truth is this: your nation has fallen, and it has fallen for the selfish actions of a few.  A renegade princess and a regicide prince brought this trouble to your city, to your streets, to your homes, and it is the cruel dictation of fate that you must suffer for their hubris and lose for their greed.

“Similarly, it is cruel that I am here on this day to dictate the future of your nation, but that is also the story fate seems to have written for us.  Before the war, I was a frequent visitor to your lands.  At times, I favored it even above my own.  Your forests are lush, your flowers full, sweet, and blooming.  Your people are equally well-represented, artisans and poets of the highest skill, workers of unparalleled dedication, and possessing a spirit more beautiful and more resilient than any other.

“The wounds of the war are still fresh.  I stand here now as salt in those wound, an unwelcome invader speaking of your nation’s strengths and glories only after it has fallen.  Again, I entertain no hopes of winning your favor.  Instead, I come with an offering of peace.  Cruel as fate may be to you, its hand has been dealt, and clinging sadly to what once was or what would have been will get you nowhere and find you nothing.  Your nation has burned, and no amount of pining might repair your broken buildings or fill your empty bellies.

“But your people are harder, and your strength lies not in your wishes but in your backs.  In time, you can mend this broken wound, and I come here in that interest and that interest alone.  You are Fionan now, whether you welcome it or not, and that means you are under my care, and on this day I make you this vow: you will rebuild.  You will make works of art that will be the envy of the world.  You will erect halls that will tower over the land.  You will rise again, your Silverthrone on high once more, and you will reclaim the glory and spirit that you are known for, and you will do it with your own innate merits: your industriousness, your perseverance, and your skill.

“The castle is gone, but you are not, and I have no interest of changing that.  I have no interest in servants but in people.  I have no interest in breaking you but in rebuilding you.  I have no interest in dominance but in freedom.  Under my watch, you will suffer no slings, no arrows, and no undue cruelty.  The Fionan guards that walk your streets are here at your service, and this will be known.  We are not here to rule or enslave, but to rebuild.

“In the interest of peace I ask only one thing from you: set aside your petty rebellions.  Make yourself not an enemy but an ally in my efforts.  Fight not with blades but with hammers and nails.  Waste not in a futile war already lost, but accept this new paradigm and adjust accordingly.  If you will do that, I will leave my home, and I will stand at your side, and I will hold the hammer and the nail with you and, gods willing, in time, your land will be known not for the loss you suffered, but for the great rebirth that followed.”

Lady Daphne bows.

Daphne: “That is all.”

Lady Daphne turns and leaves.  Veruca follows at her side.

The crowd stands in quiet shock.

They disperse slowly.

Dawn and Nick stand together.

Dawn looks at him.

 

Dawn: “That’s it? That’s what I had to see?”

 

Nick: “What, you didn’t see it?”

 

Dawn: “See what?”

 

Nick: “She flipped your script.”

 

Dawn: “All she did was admit the sins of Fiona.”

 

Nick: “Really, because it looked to me like she lamented them and sympathized with a group of wary people.  It looked to me like she promised them a chance of rebirth after the fire, like she offered them peace and potential prosperity under the care of the strongest nation the world has ever known, but let me phrase this differently.  Tell me, princess, what do you and your rebels have to offer?”

 

Dawn: “Freedom.”

 

Nick: “Not to be argumentative, but look around you.  These people are tired and starving and homeless.  She offers rest and food and a home.  All you offer is a longer war.”

 

Dawn: “That’s not what I offer at all.”

 

Nick: “That’s how they’ll see it.”

 

Dawn looks around at the people.

She sighs.

Dawn: “Then it seems that the city is even more dangerous than I thought.”

 

Nick: “My theatre troupe will be leaving by week’s end.  I hope that you will come, all of you, for your sake, and for the city’s.”

 

Dawn: “We will.  Get whatever we need ready, the paperwork, everything.  I’ll get Thomas and his goons along, even if I have to drag them myself.”

 

Nick grins.

Nick: “I might just pay to see that.

 

Cut to black and the sounds of waves crashing against the shore.

Show a small pinprick of light.

The light bobs from side-to-side.

Cut to Zara seated and hugging her knees.  She is sleeping outside, with her head in her arms, and is dark out.

Elsea walks up carrying a lantern.

She smiles at Zara.

She kneels beside Zara.

She shakes Zara awake.

Zara jerks up.

She smacks her lips.

She wipes her mouth.

She looks to her side.

 

Zara: “Elsea?”

Zara rubs her eyes.

Zara: “Are they here yet?”

 

Elsea stands.

She looks out at the sea.

She shakes her head.

Elsea: “No, m’lady, no ships have come in yet.”

 

Zara: “Oh.”

Zara yawns.

She looks around.

Zara: “Why is it so dark?”

 

Elsea: “It is night time, m’lady.”

 

Zara: “Elsea, I am tired.”

 

Elsea: “Then come along. We’ve a warm bed awaiting you at the mansion.”

 

Elsea helps Zara up.

Together, they walk away from the pier.

Show their backs as they leave.

Zara leans onto Elsea.

 

Zara: “They’ll definitely come tomorrow.”

 

Elsea: “Of course, m’lady.”