- Created by Amir Shehata, last modified on Sept 13, 2020
FADE IN:
EXT. THICK FOREST - DAY
It's early morning. The sun rays barely break through the thick trees. Joseph, a seventeen year old boy, fair skinned, blond hair, blue eyes, climbs up a tall tree. He does his best not to slip on the snow covered branches. As he reaches the top of it, he collects some of its fruit in a bag he has slung over his shoulder.
Joseph moves from branch to branch collecting the fruit. He sees a large juicy one on the edge of a thick branch.
He tests the branch for sturdiness and ventures towards the edge of it carefully. The farther he walks the more snow accumulated on the branch there is. Suddenly he slips. He holds onto a branch above him, but it's too thin. It breaks under his weight and he tumbles down towards a deadly fall.
Out of nowhere a FOREST BEAST leaps and grabs Joseph in his mouth from the waist.
The beast lands and flings Joseph on the ground. Joseph disoriented from the quick series of events, backs up terrified. The creature is at least three times bigger than him, has a formidable back armor, its skin has what looks like glowing veins pulsating in rhythm with its heartbeat. It has a notable scar on its face.
The beast approaches Joseph menacingly. Joseph continues to backup until his back is against a tree trunk.
The beast sniffs him. He reaches for the bag Joseph has and pulls it off his shoulders. He dangles it from his mouth until the fruit inside it falls out.
The beast eats the fruit.
JOSEPH
Hey, that's mine.
The beast covers the fruit with his front leg.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
That's not fair.
Joseph tries to reach the fruit, but the beast navigates its body blocking the fruit. It eats another fruit, taunting Joseph.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Eimar, stop. I need these for my
sister.
The beast looks Joseph over, then he eats the remaining fruit.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Great. Just great.
The beast looks at Joseph and walks towards him. Joseph backs up.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Hey. Take it easy. Okay. No worries.
You probably need them more than I do.
The beast hits the tree with his massive body. A bunch of fruit gets dislodged and land around Joseph. One of them hits Joseph on the head.
The beast produces a sequence of melodic whistles. Joseph holds his head in pain.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Oh, you think that's funny, huh?
Joseph picks up one of the fruits and chucks it at the beast. The beast returns the favor by kicking one at Joseph. The fruit hits Joseph hard in the stomach. Joseph falls on the ground, holding his torso in pain.
The beast approaches him worried and rolls him over, trying to find out if he's okay.
Joseph laughs and points at the beast.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Gotcha.
The beast produces a sequence of annoyed whistles.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Come on it's a joke. And you deserve
it.
Eimar nudges Joseph and sits besides him. Joseph rests his back on Eimar. They are quite friendly. Joseph picks up one of the fruits. He breaks the hard crust and takes a bite. As he does he sees a tattoo on the back of his hand right above his thumb. He looks at it and runs his finger over it. Eimar looks at him and produces a sequence of whistles.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Oh, this? I don't remember when I got
it, probably when I was a baby.
Everyone in our town gets one, you
see. Kinda like a bond to the
community. But that was a long time
ago
Joseph takes another bite from the fruit and rests his head on Eimar's body feeling his steady breath. He closes his eyes.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Now we got each other, right, Eimar?
The sun rays land on Joseph's face. He opens his eyes.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Oh look at the time. I have to get
going. Mary is waiting for me.
Joseph jumps to his feet and picks up his bag. He collects the fruit in it. Joseph looks up at the beast.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I'll see you tomorrow, okay?
Joseph puts his hand on Eimar's face and Eimar leans his face into Joseph's hand.
The beast looks up abruptly. It sniffs the air as its demeanor changes. He becomes more aggressive, shifting around.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
What's wrong Eimar?
EIMAR, the beast, continues his irregular shifting.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Eimar, what's wrong with you?
Eimar looks at Joseph and growls. Tentacles drop down from his upper lip. He's clearly angry and agitated.
Joseph soon finds out the source of Eimar's agitation. He sees the glint of metal between the trees. A few camouflaged men in metal armor move swiftly through the trees.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Hunters.
(to Eimar)
Run.
But before Eimar reacts a spear comes flying and sinks right underneath his armor. Eimar rises on his hind legs painfully and in his writhing he hits Joseph. Joseph lands hard on the ground.
Eimar's shifting represents a serious danger to Joseph. The creature can easily trample him to death. Joseph runs and hides in a vacuum in a tree trunk. The hole is covered with branches and heavy moss.
Eimar starts running, but another spear hits him. This time the spear is tied to an iron chain.
Joseph watches as the hunters close in on Eimar.
Eimar on his part loses strength as more spears connected to chains sink into his body.
The hunters emerge from the thick forest.
HUNTER
The poison is working. Keep it coming.
The hunters shoot arrows at Eimar.
JOSEPH
Eitorians.
The EITORIAN HUNTERS congregate around Eimar and wrap the chains around his legs.
HUNTER
We got it, men. Let's bring in the
cage.
Joseph watches as another hunter rides a horse drawn animal cage.
Joseph makes a decision. He abandons his hiding spot and sprints at the carriage.
The hunters don't register his presence until he jumps onto the moving carriage. Joseph is very fast and has a strong built. He pushes the RIDER off the carriage. In his surprise the rider doesn't give much of a struggle. He just tumbles over. The leader of the hunters takes notice of Joseph.
HUNTER (cont'd)
Get him.
JOSEPH
YAAAWH
Joseph urges the horses to move, but the hunters surround the cart. The horses rise on their hind feet and don't go any further.
Three hunters congregate on Joseph. He tries to fight them off, but soon they drag him off the carriage and hold him down. The main hunter looks at the other hunters.
HUNTER
Go on men, load the beast up into the
carriage.
The hunter walks to Joseph. All the hunters have darker complexion, black hair and dark eyes.
JOSEPH
Let him go.
The hunter laughs.
HUNTER
You Stronglandians have a strange
obsessions with these beasts.
JOSEPH
They are not game, they are friends.
HUNTER
Are you telling us what to do, slave?
Because we do as we please.
Joseph struggles against his captors.
The hunter takes his sword out and points it at Joseph's neck.
HUNTER (cont'd)
My sword is laced with a poison that
merely incapacitates these beasts, but
will kill you in a moment's time.
Alas, it's your lucky day. I'm in a
good mood. This beast will make us a
handsome profit. So I'll give you a
choice. You can choose to die here, or
you can tuck your tail between your
legs and run away like a coward.
Joseph hesitates for a moment. His sight shifts between the hunter's sword and the unconscious Eimar.
HUNTER (cont'd)
Come on, slave. What's it gonna be?
Joseph takes a couple of steps back.
JOSEPH
(to himself)
I'm so sorry Eimar.
He turns and runs. The hunter's laughs echo in the forest.
We go to an aerial view. We zoom out until we realize this whole scene is a table-top display of a town miniature in a decoration shop.
INT. DECORATION SHOP - DAY
MARY, 14 years old, fair skinned with light blond hair, touches one of the trees on the miniature. Her eyes are wide with joy.
As we zoom out more we see that she's dressed in poor clothing.
The store is packed with people. They are mostly Eitorians, with darker complexion, hair and eyes. All are dressed in fancy medieval style clothing, signifying the time period they occupy. There are a couple of fair skinned people, but they are poor store employees.
Mary circles around the display and looks at a toy sword, made of wood. She picks it up and looks at it. She has the same tattoo as Joseph on the same spot on her hand.
MARY
Perfect.
The door to the store opens and MARCUS walks in. He's a tall Eitorian, impeccably dressed, almost royalty. He is flanked by two powerful guards. The one on his left is more prominent, DUDLEY.
At Marcus' entrance, everyone looks towards him in reverence. They bow slightly. Only Mary doesn't acknowledge his presence. She's too busy playing with the sword.
The STORE OWNER walks towards Marcus with a big smile on his face.
STORE OWNER
Sir Marcus! I wasn't expecting you!
How can I be of service. Anything you
need ...
Marcus holds up his hand to stop the store owner from continuing his banter.
MARCUS
Is the decoration for Sir Patrick's
festival ready?
STORE OWNER
Of course sir, I've already dispatched
the caravan with all the supplies. You
needn't have bothered coming all the
way here, sir...
Mary plays with the sword. She swings it and hits Marcus' hand with it.
MARCUS
Ouch.
Mary looks up at Marcus in fear. He dwarfs her.
MARY
(fearful)
I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to.
Marcus looks her over and then turns to the store owner.
MARCUS
What's that doing here?
STORE OWNER
I'm sorry sir. She's harmless. Comes
in here once in a while.
MARCUS
I would've thought a respectable
establishment such as this, wouldn't
let Stronglandian filth in. Maybe I
should be taking my business
elsewhere.
STORE OWNER
NO. No. That won't be necessary.
The store owner hesitates for a moment, but then grabs Mary's arm.
STORE OWNER (cont'd)
Thief.
Mary snaps surprised at his sudden aggression.
MARY
I was...
STORE OWNER
What else did you steal? Tell me.
The store owner glances at Marcus, wanting to see if his display of anger pleases him. Mary struggles against the store owner's grasp.
MARY
Stop! I didn't steal anything. I even
have money, see?
She opens her other hand and there is a couple of coins in her palm. The store owner looks at the coins then at Marcus, who continues watching the store owner critically.
EXT. DECORATION SHOP - DAY
Joseph runs through the snowy streets of the town, glancing back every few steps. He slips a couple of times but recovers himself before wiping out. Joseph clears the fresh snow flakes from his face, as he slows down and looks around.
People around him are moving quickly, trying to avoid the cold.
Joseph arrives at a light pole. He fidgets, shifting around, looking for Mary. He kicks at the snow in anger as he looks back in the direction of the forest.
JOSEPH
Mary. Mary.
(to himself)
Come on, Mary. Where are you?
He sees her through the store window. The store owner has Mary in his iron grasp.
Joseph sprints to the store.
INT. DECORATION SHOP - DAY
The store owner drags Mary to the back of the store. Mary struggles, pulling him in the opposite direction.
STORE OWNER
Come along now. Stealing won't go
unpunished on my watch.
MARY
Please, sir. Let me go. I wasn't
stealing anything.
Joseph comes in full force and shoves the man back, right into Marcus. And in the same swift motion, pulls Mary free from his grasp. The store owner stumbles into Marcus.
JOSEPH
Leave my sister alone.
The store owner scrambles away from Marcus.
STORE OWNER
I'm so sorry sir. Here let me adjust
your tunic
Marcus shoves the store owner aside.
MARCUS
Insolent boy.
Marcus gestures to Dudley, who moves towards Joseph. Joseph moves Mary behind him.
MARCUS (cont'd)
I'll teach you your place, slave.
MARY
Joseph. Catch.
Mary chucks the wooden sword to Joseph. With a sharp swing he hits Dudley's hand with the sword as he tries to grab him.
Dudley holds his hand in pain.
Joseph continues to backup towards the door.
JOSEPH
Mary go.
MARY
What about you?
JOSEPH
I'll be right behind you. Go.
Dudley attacks again. Joseph uses his sword to fling a vase at Dudley. Dudley deflects it away with a swing of his arm. It smashes into a shelve with other delicate glass products. It breaks apart into a million pieces. The crash triggers a chain reaction. Other products on the shelve teeter for a moment, and then crash down to the ground.
STORE OWNER
Please. Please. Stop.
Joseph swings again. This time Dudley grabs a hold of the sword and yanks it from his hand. But Joseph doesn't let go. He uses his momentum to smash into Dudley with his shoulder. They stammer back and topple over the table-top display. It crumbles down under their weight causing more havoc.
The store owner is close to tears.
STORE OWNER (cont'd)
Oh, no. Our town miniature. We've been
working on this for weeks. Sir.
Please. My store is ruined.
Joseph scrambles to his feet and backs away, but Dudley trips him. Joseph falls on his face. Mary tries to help him up.
MARY
Let's go. Let's go.
But it is too late. Dudley is already on his feet and grabs Joseph by the collar lifting him up. He holds one arm and the other guard holds the other arm, immobilizing him.
Marcus walks towards Joseph. He picks up one of the decorative candles lighting the store.
MARCUS
Insolent slave. Do you know who I am?
JOSEPH
All you invaders look alike.
Marcus takes out an iron stamp and puts it on the candle flame. Joseph looks at it scared. He tries to get free, but the guards hold him tight. They entangle his legs with theirs to prevent him from moving.
MARCUS
Invaders? We've brought order and
civility to this savage land and its
savage inhabitants.
Marcus puts the candle to the side, now that the iron stamp glows red from the heat. The Stronglandian employees look on despondently. They themselves have different marks on their cheeks.
MARCUS (cont'd)
For a country called Strongland, it
didn't put up much of a fight against
the great Eitorian people.
JOSEPH
Great?! You're a bunch of
opportunistic ...
Marcus slaps Joseph hard interrupting him. He holds his face to the right and holds up the stamp close to Joseph's face. Joseph can feel its heat. He looks at it from the corner of his eyes.
MARCUS
Shut up, boy. Let this mark always
remind you how all Stronglandians are
made to serve us.
Mary tries to attack Marcus, but the store owner holds her back. He looks sympathetic. He shakes his head at her, as if telling her it'll do more harm than good if she intervenes.
Marcus stamps Joseph with the red hot stamp on his left cheek.
Joseph screams in agony. The guards let Joseph go. He falls to his knees. The store owner releases Mary and she runs to her brother.
MARY
Why? Why? He didn't do anything to
you.
Marcus ignores her and turns to the store owner.
MARCUS
I expect you will ensure this never
happens again.
Marcus walks out accompanied by his guards.
All the people in the store stare at Joseph, whose hand hovers over the burn mark on his face, not daring to touch it. Mary helps him leave the store.
EXT. DECORATION SHOP - DAY
Joseph and Mary walk away from the store. Joseph holds a fist full of snow against his burnt face. The streets are almost empty. The snow floats lazily down.
Mary stops and gently takes Joseph's hand off his cheek. The snow has eased the intensity of the burn. The stamp's mark is now visible; a circle with a hammer in the middle.
MARY
This is all my fault. I just wanted to
buy you a Christmas gift. You've done
so much for me.
Mary shows him the money in her hand.
MARY (cont'd)
I've been saving up.
Joseph is moved. He closes her hand over the money and holds it with both of his.
JOSEPH
It's not your fault. None of this is.
But... But we need to stay out of
their way. You've seen how they think
of us as nothing more than slaves.
MARY
Not all of them. Some of them are good
people.
JOSEPH
No Mary. All of them. Did anyone in
that store help us? No. Not a single
Eitorian lifted a finger.
MARY
Joseph I'm not a baby, I understand
they hurt us. But just cause we've
been hurt doesn't mean we stop doing
the right thing.
JOSEPH
I am doing the right thing, Mary. I'm
trying to protect you. Can't you see
that? You're the one who's looking for
good where none exists. These people,
they hate us. That's why we have to
take what we can when we can to
survive.
Mary hugs Joseph.
MARY
I know you're looking out for me.
You've done that for as long as I can
remember and I love you for it.
Joseph's anger dissipates.
JOSEPH
We should probably head to work.
They part and they start walking.
EXT. EDGE OF TOWN - DAY
A wide shot of the old town.
The town is a bit despondent. The old buildings are mostly built of stone. The roads are made of blocks of rock covered with a layer of snow.
Smoke rises from chimneys and fires across the town. People huddle here and there around the fires to keep themselves warm.
Snow drifts lazily to the earth.
We close in on a blacksmith store. It's close to the edge of the town. A few hundred meters away from the blacksmith store is the start of a large thick, ominous looking forest.
In the large clearing in front of the blacksmith store, servants, who wear shirts with a black and white lion's head drawing on the back, hang banners with words like "Royal Birth" and "Eitorians Celebrate with the House of Patrick". The banners are colorful. Others prepare tables with all sorts of baked goods and fruits. Guards with the distinctive lion insignia on their chest armor, are scattered around the area.
CLOSE INTO THE BLACKSMITH STORE. WE TRAVEL THROUGH IT, PASSING ZAKARY, WORKING ON THE FURNACE. THEN WE NAVIGATE AROUND A BUNCH OF STACKED STUFF ON THE OTHER END OF THE STORE TO SEE A HIDDEN DOOR. THROUGH THE DOOR IS ...
INT. ROOM - DAY
Mary settles in the middle of a group of young kids. The oldest is only 6 years old. They are all fair skinned, except for one, SAUL, who's in the corner, alone. Joseph stands on the opposite corner of the room sneaking a dissatisfied look at him. He walks to Saul.
JOSEPH
Hey kid, wouldn't your dad be looking
for you?
SAUL
No.
Mary gestures for Saul to come sit close by her.
MARY
Saul, come sit beside me.
SAUL
Okay.
Saul gets up and sits besides Mary. Joseph shifts his footing and rolls his eyes. Mary fires him a look.
MARY
I want you guys to close your eyes.
Come on, close those eyes. Yes that's
it.
(waits until they
close their eyes)
Imagine, long, long time ago, green
pastures extended as far as the eyes
can see. People lived in beautiful
houses, took care of each other and
even of the Forest Beasts which we
fear today. But back then they were
friends, not pets, friends
SAUL
I can't believe that. They eat people.
My dad told me so.
JOSEPH
(annoyed)
No they don’t. They only defend
themselves because Eitorian hunters
kill them for game. They withdrew into
the forest, because now they don’t
trust any of us.
SAUL
Huh! Really? Well, I've never seen
one. Why don't they show themselves so
we can be friends again?
Joseph starts to say something, but Mary interrupts him.
MARY
Great question. You see if we learn to
do the right thing and treat them
fairly, then we can be friends again.
That's why our parents and
grandparents lived in peace, because
they dealt with everyone as equals.
Joseph walks beside Mary and kneels down by the Stronglandian kids.
JOSEPH
But kids, all this changed when the
Eitorians conquered our country and
changed it to fit their image. To them
we're just slaves. That’s why we have
to fight and take what we can to
survive.
SAUL
But I'm an Eitorian and I don't have
any slaves. My dad works the food shop
next door.
JOSEPH
Maybe you should...
MARY
What my brother is trying to say is,
if we willfully ignore our ways and
morals, then we will not be any better
than those who enslave us, no matter
who they are.
Mary gives Joseph a stern look. Joseph raises his arms in surrender and walks out through a small door, to a ...
INT. BLACKSMITH STORE - CONTINUOUS
Joseph exits through a small door. It's covered with a curtain and has a bunch of boxes and equipment right in front of it. All the stuff is there to hide the door.
Joseph squeezes through the boxes, to the main store area. ZAKARY works on a sword. He hammers on it while it's red hot. When he sees Joseph he stops.
ZAKARY
Bring me that bucket over there, will
ya?
(points to a bucket
of water)
Mary still at it?
Joseph brings him the bucket and Zakary dips the sword into it. Steam rises.
JOSEPH
Yeah.
ZAKARY
She's a smart girl, keeping our kids
educated about our ways.
JOSEPH
She's stubborn. It's not only our kids
she's teaching.
ZAKARY
You mean Saul? The Eitorian kid? He’s
harmless. I know his dad.
Zakary throws Joseph the sword he just forged.
ZAKARY (cont'd)
Try this for size.
Joseph takes it, balances and then makes a few skillful moves with it.
JOSEPH
Nice.
Joseph stops when he spots an Eitorian man, GAMLEEL, approach the store with three soldiers.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Woah, isn't that Saul's father?
Zakary looks at where Joseph points.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I told you we can't trust them.
Zakary look at Joseph disappointed. Joseph puts the sword to the side.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Fine. I'm gonna get them out.
Zakary nods as Joseph retreats to the back room. Zakary walks to the approaching men.
ZAKARY
Gentlemen, how can I help you today?
GAMLEEL
This is the man I told you about. He's
holding an illegal school somewhere
here.
ZAKARY
School? Sirs, this is a blacksmith
store.
GAMLEEL
My son told me all about it. They're
brainwashing him with strange
Stronglandian lies. He's probably
there right now.
The soldiers spread through the store, searching, knocking things over.
ZAKARY
Please, sirs. There is no need to make
a mess. I assure you, there is nothing
here.
One of the soldiers sees the curtain covered door and moves the curtain to the side. He gives Zakary a cold stare.
SOLDIER 1
Over here.
The other soldiers and Gamleel walk over. Zakary is distressed.
INT. ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Joseph manages to get all of the kids out through a small escape door in the back of the room. But before him and Mary can exit the soldiers burst in.
GAMLEEL
That's them. Those are the kids who
teach my son lies.
SOLDIER 1
You. Hold.
Joseph pushes Mary outside.
JOSEPH
Run.
The soldiers follow them.
EXT. BACK ALLEY - CONTINUOUS
Joseph and Mary hide in the middle of a hay stack.
JOSEPH
I told you it's a bad idea to have
that Eitorian kid around.
MARY
It's not his fault. He’s just a kid.
JOSEPH
I can’t believe you. Still making
excuses for them. Wake up Mary.
SOLDIER 1 (O.S.)
Here they are.
Joseph look over and sees the soldiers approach them.
JOSEPH
We gotta split up. I'll get them to
follow me.
Joseph pushes the hay stack and it lands on the soldiers.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Go.
Mary runs.
Joseph rams one of the soldiers and that soldier hits the one behind him. They both fall to the ground. Joseph bursts out running.
SOLDIER 1
(to another soldier)
Get up you fools. You go after the
girl. You, with me.
EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS
Mary runs through the snow and mud layering the road. She approaches an intersection and doesn't see a horse drawn carriage come at her.
RIDER
Whoa. Whoa. Halt.
The rider stops the carriage just before the horses trample Mary. Mary falls back as the horses rise on their hind legs.
The soldier chasing Mary catches up with her and grabs a hold of her.
SOLDIER 2
Come with me, you little weasel.
Mary struggles against the soldier.
MARY
I didn't do anything wrong. Let me go.
SOLDIER 2
Shut your mouth girl.
He drags Mary away from the cart.
SIR PATRICK (O.S.)
Stop.
The soldier snaps back and takes a knee when he sees Sir Patrick. Patrick wears a knight's armor. There is an iron head engraved on his chest piece. A similar emblem is engraved on the side of the carriage.
SOLDIER 2
Sir Patrick. I'm sorry to disturb you.
Mary doesn't kneel. The soldier pulls her down forcefully.
SOLDIER 2 (cont'd)
(hisses at Mary)
Kneel down.
MARY
I will not.
SIR PATRICK
What's going on here?
SOLDIER 2
This girl has broken Eitorian law.
She's been caught teaching kids their
lies.
MARY
I did nothing wrong.
JAIME, Patrick's wife, a stronglandian woman, fair skinned, blond hair, bright blue eyes, walks out of the carriage holding her son. A beautiful baby with the same darker skin complexion as Eitorians, but blue eyes and light brown hair.
Mary stares at the baby surprised.
JAIME
My dear husband, surely you will not
allow an innocent child to be
arrested.
Patrick looks at his wife, then turns to Mary.
SOLDIER 2
But it is the law.
SIR PATRICK
How dare you teach me about the law?
Let her go and leave.
The soldier lets go of Mary and leaves in haste after bowing in respect to Sir Patrick.
Jaime approaches Mary who stares at the baby.
JAIME
He's beautiful, isn't he?
MARY
Yes. I've never seen ...
JAIME
I know.
SIR PATRICK
Jaime, love, we need to get going. The
festival awaits.
JAIME
Isn't there anything we can do for
her?
Patrick turns to the chariot and calls out.
SIR PATRICK
Hadrian. Hadrian.
A young Eitorian boy, seventeen years old, pops out of the carriage.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
Hadrian would you mind helping this
young lady get to the festival?
HADRIAN
Yes sir.
Jaime touches Mary's face and smiles. Mary returns the smile.
Jaime and Patrick go back inside the carriage.
INT. CARRIAGE - CONTINUOUS
Patrick and Jaime settle in their seats. Jaime doesn't look happy as she watches Mary and Hadrian walk off. The poor people outside are hustling along. The luxury of the carriage stands in contrast to the torn down condition of its surroundings.
Patrick puts his hand on Jaime's.
SIR PATRICK
Things will change?
JAIME
When? Before this little girl gets
arrested again and sold into slavery?
or maybe before more of my people
freeze to death? When will it stop? I
can't continue seeing my people suffer
while I live in luxury.
SIR PATRICK
It's hard changing how my people
think. How about this? How about I
talk about it today, okay? Reassure
everyone that change is coming.
Jaime looks out of the window.
TRANSITION SHOT: CAMERA PANS UP SHOWING HADRIAN WALKING WITH MARY. THEN AS IT RISES WE SEE JOSEPH RUN ON THE ROOF OF A BUILDING.
EXT. ROOF OF BUILDING - CONTINUOUS
Joseph jumps from one roof to another rolls around and gets right back up on his feet running. One of the guards following him makes the jump, but the other hits the side of the building and falls down a one story drop.
Joseph reaches the end of the roof and jumps using parkour moves to shimmy down the side of two buildings very close to each other.
EXT. ALLEY BETWEEN BUILDINGS
Joseph looks behind him, but the guard isn't there. He turns a corner and bumps into someone.
ALFREDA, a thirty something, Stronglandian woman, beautiful, wears a full armor similar to the soldiers', but has a lion's head engraved on the chest armor. The same emblem engraved on Patrick's armor.
Joseph tries to retract back, but she grabs him by the arm. She's strong and coupled with how enamored Joseph is by her beauty, he doesn't break free.
ALFREDA
Who are you running from?
SOLDIER 1 (O.S.)
Stop him.
Alfreda looks up at the soldier and pulls Joseph around the corner out of the soldier's sight, then through the doors of the building making up the corner. There is a scaffold erected on the face of the next building, which is a good three stories higher, than this one.
Alfreda notices the mark on Joseph's face. She holds his face to the side to take a look at the mark on his face.
ALFREDA
This looks fresh? Is that why you're
running? You belong to the House of
Marcus?
JOSEPH
(angry)
I don't belong to anyone.
ALFREDA
Then why are they after you?
The soldier stands in the middle of the street looking around at the passersby. He sees Joseph stand with Alfreda inside the stairwell of the building.
SOLDIER 1
Stop that boy.
Joseph pulls free from Alfreda and runs up the two story building, Alfreda hot at his tail. The solider follows.
EXT. STREET - DAY
Hadrian walks back from a store with a candy in his hand. A bird jumps up and follows him. He look at it and shoos it with his foot.
MARY
Don't do that.
The bird bounces a few times towards him and quacks.
HADRIAN
Get... Leave...
He kicks at it again. The bird flies and tries to take the candy from Hadrian. It pokes at his head and hand while he tries to shoo it off, arms flailing.
MARY
Calm down, you're getting it mad.
Mary takes the candy from Hadrian and lures the bird away from him. She holds out her hand and the bird stands on it. Mary feeds her the candy.
HADRIAN
This thing bit me. It's a monster.
Mary laughs.
MARY
(to the bird)
Don't listen to him, he's just not
used to you.
(to Hadrian)
Baby.
The bird quacks at Hadrian. Hadrian makes a face at it.
Mary gives it the rest of the candy and the bird flies off.
Hadrian holds his hand in pain.
MARY (cont'd)
Are you okay?
Mary takes his hand and examines where the bird had pocked him. Mary notices an old scar, which bears a striking resemblance in its shape to the tattoo on her hand. She stares at it for a moment, then rubs the place where the bird had poked him. Her tattoo is visible to him.
MARY (cont'd)
Here. You'll be fine, you big baby.
Hadrian looks at her for a moment, then takes his hand away.
HADRIAN
Thanks. That candy was meant for you
by the way.
Mary waves at him dismissively.
MARY
Don't worry about it.
HADRIAN
You seem like a nice girl. You're
lucky Lady Jaime was there, if it was
anyone else, they would've let the
soldier arrest you. Next time you
should just follow the rules.
MARY
I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't
vandalize property nor was I inciting
violence. I was simply teaching kids
our Stronlandian ways. What harm was I
doing?
HADRIAN
The rules are meant to protect us all.
Mary looks at him in amazement.
MARY
These rules take away who we are, our
way of thinking our beliefs, morals.
What's left of me then?
HADRIAN
But your beliefs are just fairy tales.
Why do you want to keep propagating
lies?
MARY
Do you know that first hand? Or do you
just parrot what you hear?
HADRIAN
I'm taught in the greatest Eitorian
schools. Don't accuse me of ignorance.
I'm simply looking out for you
MARY
It's easy when you live in a bubble to
think you know everything there is to
know about Stronglandians. But if you
step outside the confines of your
castle. Get to know us, you might
realize how ignorant you really are.
HADRIAN
Again, calling me ignorant? Why do you
insist...
MARY
Do you even know who you are?
HADRIAN
What? What do you mean?
MARY
Where did you get that tattoo on your
hand?
Hadrain looks at the scar on his hand and gets angry.
HADRIAN
I should've realized. A Stronglandian
always lies.
Hadrian doesn't notice a carriage approaching.
MARY
Maybe you're the one who's living a
lie.
MARCUS (O.S.)
Hadrian.
Hadrian turns around.
HADRIAN
Father!
MARCUS
(points to Mary)
What are you doing talking to that
Stronglandian filth?
HADRIAN
I'm not. She was just in my way.
Mary looks at him disappointed and backs up.
MARCUS
You shouldn't be here right now. You
should be back in the castle. Get
inside. Now.
Hadrian complies.
There is noise and yells. People point up at a roof of a nearby building. Mary's attention is diverted away from Hadrian. She sees Joseph run across a roof and jump over the gap between the shorter building and the taller one. He grabs hold of the frame of a window. He climbs up to the roof with impressive agility. He's being followed by a woman in a Knight's armor and a soldier, who's lagging behind.
MARY
Joseph!
She walks over to the building, as Marcus' carriage rides away. There is an emblem of a circle and a hammer with in it, engraved on the side of the carriage.
EXT. ROOF OF BUILDING - CONTINUOUS
Joseph runs over obstacles on the roof. Alfreda chases him down successfully. He's almost at the scaffold, erected on the face of the building. It's his way off this building, but Alfreda tackles him down. Before he knows it he's facing the edge of her sword.
ALFREDA
Why are you running?
JOSEPH
I didn't do anything wrong. All I did
was protect my sister.
As if on cue, Mary calls on him.
MARY
Joseph. Joseph. Are you alright?
Alfreda looks down and sees Mary. She puts her sword in its sheath, and grabs Joseph by the arm.
JOSEPH
You're going to turn me in aren't you?
Joseph tries to free himself.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
You'd rather work with these invaders
than stand up for your own people.
Traitor.
ALFREDA
I do what I have to do to protect
those I love.
JOSEPH
At what cost? How can you live with
yourself?
Joseph looks back and sees the soldier running towards them, out of breath. Alfreda sees him too. Joseph pulls away, but miscalculates and trips over the edge of the building. He tries to grab for the scaffold and manages to get a hold of a wooden bar, but it breaks under his weight. Alfreda grabs his hand before he tumbles to his death. She pulls him up.
The soldier arrives, exhausted.
SOLDIER 1
Thanks. I'll take it from here.
Alfreda stands in between the soldier and Joseph.
ALFREDA
No.
SOLDIER 1
You don't have the right...
ALFREDA
Do you know who I am?
Alfreda takes a threatening step towards the soldier.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
Do you want to defy the head of Lady
Jaime's guard?
The guard hesitates and shifts, then he bows slightly and walks away.
Alfreda waits until he disappears in a doorway in the roof and turns to Joseph. She extends her hand to him and helps him up.
JOSEPH
Thanks.
ALFREDA
Stronglandians are stronger together.
Now go on, someone looks worried about
you.
Joseph looks at where Alfreda points and sees Mary. Mary runs to him and hugs him.
MARY
(to Alfreda)
Thank you so much.
Alfreda smiles and starts to leave, but Joseph stops her.
JOSEPH
I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said.
ALFREDA
It's okay. But I'm not with them. I'm
with Jaime.
MARY
Sir Patrick's wife? I just met her.
She's a very nice lady.
ALFREDA
Indeed. You should get going before
your parents worry about you.
MARY
Oh, we live on our own.
ALFREDA
I see. Well, if you guys need
anything, you see that watchtower over
there, my house is a straight line
down the road, right by the edge of
the forest.
A horn blows. They look in the direction and see that the festival is starting.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
Come along to the festival. You both
must be starving after your little
adventure. Lots of food over there.
EXT. ROOF OF A ONE STORY BUILDING - CONTINUOUS
Mary and Joseph crouch down and look through a fence made of old battered wood. From their vantage point they are practically on top of Sir Patrick's group which includes Jaime her baby and Alfreda. They have a good view of the crowd and beyond. Alfreda looks up and smiles at Joseph. Joseph smiles back awkwardly and waves. Mary looks at him.
MARY
You have a crush!
JOSEPH
Don't be ridiculous.
(beat)
Besides. She's not my type.
Joseph takes a bite of his bread, avoiding eye contact with Mary. Mary smiles and shakes her head.
Sir Patrick stands up and starts a speech.
SIR PATRICK
On this festive occasion, I would like
to extend the House of Patrick's
generosity to the people of my
dominion. We not only celebrate the
birth of my first born son and my
heir, but a new era of familial-ship
between Eitorians and Stronglandians.
MARY
That's nice.
Joseph looks at her, his mouth full of food.
JOSEPH
Really? You believe that?
MARY
Shuu, don't talk with your mouth full.
Joseph shakes his head and eats some more.
SIR PATRICK
I know the past has been dark for both
of our people. But we can't let the
past determine our future.
Sir Patrick looks at Jaime and smiles.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
As my beautiful wife always says, just
because we've been hurt doesn't mean
we stop doing what's just, good and
right. I would ask all of you to have
patience. I know it might not seem
like anything is changing, but I'm
working hard on all of your behalf to
bring equality and justice for all.
(beat)
For now, please, enjoy the food. And I
thank you all for coming to celebrate
the birth of my heir.
Joseph notices Marcus looking at Patrick with distaste. He turns around and leaves. Joseph reaches for the mark on his face. He nudges Mary and points in Marcus' direction.
They watch as Marcus and Hadrian with their personal guard head towards a horse drawn carriage and a bunch of horses. They get into their horse drawn carriage and the guards on their horses. They head off.
MARY
That doesn't make sense. Isn't it part
of their tradition to show respect and
obedience to the ruling house? Why is
he leaving?
Below them a band starts to play some music. Patrick, Jaime and Alfreda mingle with some of the people. Others start attacking the food.
Joseph stands and points.
JOSEPH
I've seen these guys before.
Mary looks and sees a horse drawn animal cage stop at the edge of the forest. There are a few men, holding spears and fire sticks. Joseph recognizes the HUNTER who led the others in capturing Eimar. The men with the spears dip the tips of the spears in a bucket with thick liquid and stab at some creature inside the cage. The more they do, the more the creature gets angry and rocks the cage back and forth dangerously. They are sufficiently far enough, that the noise of the band and the people cover the growls of the caged creature.
After the men stab at it multiple times, they open the cage. A fearsome forest beast with a notable scar on its face jumps out disoriented. It's Eimar. Eimar tumbles around, clearly angry.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Eimar!
The beast turns to the men unsteadily. It tips over and gets up again. The guards use the spears and the fire to keep him at bay. One of the guards extends his spear, with a few clothing items dangling on its tip.
Joseph watches as the beast smells the clothing items, tenses up and turns around.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
They're riling him up.
Eimar smells the air, then explodes into a sprint straight at the crowd. At first it's unsteady, but seems to regain its strength quickly.
Joseph climbs on the railing of the fence and yells.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Beast. BEAST. An attack is coming.
Beast.
His yells attract Patrick's attention. Patrick looks in the direction Joseph points.
SIR PATRICK
(points to the
guards)
You two, take Jaime back to the
castle. The rest with me.
The guards, save the two staying with Jaime, surround him and head through the panicked crowd to face the beast.
Joseph turns to Mary.
JOSEPH
Mary, let's go. It's not safe here.
MARY
We have to help Jaime and the baby.
JOSEPH
They have their guards. Mary listen to
me. Eimar...
MARY
Who?
JOSEPH
The beast. He's not acting right.
Those hunters did something to him. If
he breaks through the guards it will
wreck havoc to the entire town. We
have to get to safety.
Joseph takes Mary's hand and drags her down the stairs. As they head down, Mary sees the guards escorting Jaime and Alfreda off towards their convoy consisting of a horse drawn carriage and horses for the guards.
EXT. TOWN SQUARE - CONTINUOUS
The crowds are running left and right. Screams and hysteria have dominated the setting.
In the mayhem, Mary notices three hooded men attack Jamie's group.
Mary tugs at Joseph.
MARY
Look.
Mary points at the attack happening.
JOSEPH
Mary this isn't our business.
Mary looks at Joseph annoyed and pulls free from him. She runs towards Jaime's group.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Mary what are you doing?
Joseph tries to head after her, but a mob of panicked people pushes him farther away from Mary
WITH MARY
Mary watches the conflict between the three hooded men and Patrick's guards.
The crowd running around panicked slows Mary down. One of the attacker successfully stabs the guard protecting Jaime. He falls to the ground.
Mary has an idea. She jumps on a few boxes and starts yelling.
MARY
ANOTHER BEAST. LOOK OVER THERE.
This has the desired effect. The panicked mob changes direction and heads directly at Jaime. They run right through the conflict.
Mary runs right to Jaime. Jaime stands behind the second guard and Alfreda who are fighting the attackers. The crowd runs through the conflict causing more mayhem.
Mary touches Jaime's shoulder. Jaime snaps at her afraid, but calms down when she sees Mary.
JAIME
It's you!
MARY
Come with me I know a good hiding
spot.
Jaime hesitates.
MARY (cont'd)
Your guards don't seem to be doing so
well.
On cue the other guard is stabbed. He falls back right into Jaime.
The attackers only have Alfreda, who fights fiercely, to contend with.
One of the attackers leaves the fight and heads for Jaime.
Jaime gives the baby to Mary.
JAIME
Take him to safety.
Mary stands with the baby confused. The attacker grabs Jaime and pulls her back.
JAIME (cont'd)
Run!
Mary backs up, but a second attacker approaches her. However, before he reaches her, Alfreda stabs him through the back.
ALFREDA
Let's go.
Mary and Alfreda run away, but they are intercepted by another attacker, a large hooded man. He approaches them with his sword ready. Suddenly, Joseph appears behind him and slams him with a thick piece of wood. It shatters on his back, but it doesn't knock the guy out, only gets hims slightly disoriented.
The attacker swipes his sword at Joseph, but Joseph dives and rolls avoiding the deadly impact. He charges the attacker bravely and tackles him to the ground. As they struggle Joseph grabs at the man's armor and ends up ripping a metal medallion off his armor. The attacker pushes Joseph away.
Alfreda attacks him, forcing him to leave Joseph. Joseph looks at the medallion and puts it in his pocket.
Alfreda and the attacker have a heated sword fight. She is quiet skilled, but the man is to.
Joseph picks up a brick and throws it at the man, distracting him. This gives Alfreda the opportunity to jump in the air and deliver a fierce kick to the man's chest. It sends him tumbling backwards into a fruit stand. The fruits go flying everywhere, but Alfreda knows this is only a short respite.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
(to Mary and Joseph)
Follow me.
Mary and Joseph run after Alfreda towards a horse drawn carriage, with two horses.
MARY
What do these guys want?
ALFREDA
Isn't it obvious?
MARY
But why?
ALFREDA
It must be Marcus. He hired these
thugs. He hates Patrick for marrying
outside their people. He sees the baby
as a threat to his power and control
They pass by a scaffold erected by the face of a building under construction. There are stones and other material on it. And finally arrive at the carriage.
Joseph looks back and sees the large attacker catch up with them.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
Get in.
The large man charges Alfreda. Alfreda continues fighting him.
Joseph helps Mary into the carriage.
Joseph looks back and sees two other hooded men head through the crowd towards them.
JOSEPH
There are more coming.
Joseph looks around and finds a rope on the carriage. He grabs it and runs towards the scaffold they passed a moment ago.
ALFREDA
What are you doing?
Joseph throws the rope, like a cowboy. It wraps around a supporting pole of the scaffold. He wraps the other end around a pole of a building on the other side for leverage and pulls. With much effort the scaffold, which were already dislodged due to Joseph's earlier escape attempt, tips over and everything on it comes down on the approaching attackers.
Alfreda continues fighting the large man. She avoids a hit from his sword and slashes his leg with hers. The injury only slows him down.
The scaffold and the equipment on it has buried one of the attackers, but the other one escaped and rushes towards Alfreda.
Alfreda kicks the large one, with the injured leg. He falls back.
Joseph heads towards her.
JOSEPH
Let's go.
Alfreda sees the other attacker approaching fast. The large man also gets up and prepares to resume his assault on Alfreda
ALFREDA
Take the baby and go.
JOSEPH
What about you?
ALFREDA
The baby is more important. Go.
Joseph hesitates for a moment.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
Please. Go.
Alfreda charges the two attackers.
Joseph jumps into the carriage and takes the rider's seat.
JOSEPH
YAAAWH.
Joseph rattles the reins and the horses start picking up speed. Joseph looks back and sees Alfreda engaged in a hopeless sword battle with the three men.
Joseph rides the cart furiously to try and get as far away as possible.
EXT. EDGE OF TOWN - EVENING
Joseph continues to ride the cart furiously. He occasionally looks back to make sure he is not being followed.
INT. CARRIAGE - EVENING
Mary sits with the baby on her lap.
MARY
Everything is gonna be alright, baby.
We're gonna find your dad, okay?
The baby coos.
JOSEPH
Mary, you alright back there?
MARY
Better. How do you think we'll get him
to Sir Patrick?
JOSEPH
Good question.
Some movement of shadows outside attracts Mary's attention.
She puts the baby down in his crib.
MARY
Hold on, buddy, Okay? Be right back.
EXT. CARRIAGE - EVENING
Mary moves to the front of the carriage and sticks her head out. She looks this way and that.
JOSEPH
We have to git rid of this carriage
soon. Every guard and his brother will
be looking for it. And I'm betting
some of them are in on this coup.
Mary doesn't answer. She's looking at the edge of the forest to their left. The edge of the town is on their right. The town is dark except for a few fires here and there.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
What's wrong?
Mary squints at the darkness. She thinks she sees some movement.
MARY
I don't know, I thought I saw
something...
(yells)
Watch out.
Out of nowhere Eimar emerges from the thick tree line and charges them.
Joseph panics. He rattles the horses' reigns.
JOSEPH
Yaawh. Faster. Faster.
The beast is fast though. It rams the side of the carriage. The carriage goes on its right wheel for a moment and then slams down on all four.
Mary gets knocked back into the carriage.
Joseph looks back.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Eimar it's me. Snap out of it.
But Eimar doesn't take notice.
INT. CARRIAGE - EVENING
JOSEPH (O.S.)
(to Mary)
Are you alright?
Mary crawls to the crying baby. She wraps him in a hug.
MARY
It's gonna be okay.
Mary hums him a lullaby.
EXT. EDGE OF TOWN - EVENING
Joseph rides frantically. Eimar closes in. He rams the side of the carriage again.
Joseph swerves.
INT. CARRIAGE - EVENING
The carriage shakes as Mary holds the baby tight. A box in the side of the carriage tips over and a bag of food rolls out.
Mary puts the baby in its crib.
MARY
Hold on, buddy. I got an idea.
The carriage gets rammed again. And she loses her balance. She struggles to reach the bag of food.
Another shake.
The bag rolls into her grasp. She takes a hold of it and heads to the carriage's side door.
EXT. CARROAGE - EVENING
Mary opens the door and throws the bag at Eimar.
MARY
Take that.
The beast jumps an impressive jump and devours the bag whole in mid air. It slows down for a minute as it chews and spits the cloth bag out.
The carriage right wheel goes over a rock. Mary is flung out of the side door, but manages to hold onto it. She dangles freely with only her hold onto the door handle keeping her from getting thrown outside. Joseph looks back and sees the perilous situation.
JOSEPH
Mary!
MARY
Keep going. It's still after us.
Mary tries to reach the side of the carriage. Joseph looks back. The beast is gaining again. Mary is very vulnerable. If the beast catches up, Mary is dead.
Joseph looks ahead and sees the road split into two. The left side is elevated. He decides on a dangerous gambit.
Joseph aligns the left side of the cart, where Mary is hanging out from, to the elevated area. The wheels go up on the elevated part, lifting the cart to run on its right wheels. Mary flies back into the carriage and the door closes.
Joseph adjusts the horses to the left, and the cart slams down on all its wheels again.
Joseph looks inside the carriage. Mary crawls to the baby and gives him the thumbs up. Joseph doesn't believe his stunt worked.
The beast is now to their left, on the elevated part of the land. Joseph swerves away to the right, into a branch of the road, just as the beast leaps towards them. It lands behind the carriage.
Joseph looks back at the beast. It's too close for comfort. He looks forward and sees a watchtower a few hundred meters away. The watch area at the top of the watchtower is lit by a fire. He can see the silhouette of soldiers.
JOSEPH
Look. Soldiers.
He changes the direction of the cart to head there.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
If we can grab their attention, they
might protect us.
Mary looks out of the window at the beast which is closing in again.
MARY
You better hurry.
EXT. EDGE OF TOWN - EVENING
Joseph and Mary's carriage gets closer to the tower. The beast is just a few meters behind them.
EXT. WATCHTOWER - EVENING
Three soldiers walk along the watchtower.
SOLDIER 1 notices the carriage approaching.
SOLDIER 1
Look at that.
The other two soldiers walk up behind him. They look at what he's pointing at.
SOLDIER 2
Is he crazy? What's he doing?
They look carefully. In the failing light it's hard to get a clear view. They make out Joseph and Mary waving at them. Joseph and Mary keep pointing at the beast behind them, but it's blocked from the soldier's view by the carriage.
Joseph swerves and they see the beast.
SOLDIER 1
(yells)
BEAST. Dip your arrows in the poison.
The soldiers take their bow and arrow. They dip it in a bucket of thick liquid.
SOLDIER 1 (cont'd)
Aim. Shoot.
They fire a volley of arrows
EXT. CART - EVENING
Joseph hears the arrows approaching before he sees them.
An arrow swishes into the carriage and embeds itself in the wood frame of the cart a few inches away from Mary's head.
Mary ducks, covering the baby for protection.
JOSEPH
What are they doing? They're gonna
kill us.
Joseph swerves the carriage sharply as another volley of arrows whiz by them. A few arrows slam into the wooden body of the carriage. Mary looks back and sees two arrows pierce the beast's body below its back armor. It tumbles and loses its footing. But it gets up and retreats into the thick forest, as another wave of arrows whiz by it. It gets hit again.
EXT. WATCHTOWER - EVENING
The soldiers watch the beast disappear into the forest. They then turn their attention to the carriage which heads into the town.
SOLDIER 1
(to the other two)
Take the rest of the unit and go
arrest the riders of that carriage.
EXT. SNOWY STREETS - EVENING
Five heavily armed soldiers run through the streets of the town, lead by SOLDIER 2.
SOLDIER 2
Over there.
The unit heads to where the soldier points; the carriage.
EXT. SNOWY STREETS, CART - EVENING
They get to the carriage and look inside, but it's empty.
SOLDIER 2
This is the stolen carriage, Sir
Marcus reported
Soldier 3 pops out his head from inside the carriage.
SOLDIER 3
It's empty. No sign of a baby.
EXT. SNOWY STREETS, AROUND THE CORNER - EVENING
Joseph watches the soldiers from afar going through the carriage. He turns to Mary who's holding the baby with her hand over his mouth. The baby has calmed down now and is not crying. Mary sings him the same lullaby she sang him in the carriage.
SOLDIER 2 (O.S.)
Break into two teams and search the
area.
JOSEPH
We're not gonna be safe until we get
rid of Mr. Trouble here. I say we just
give him to the soldiers.
MARY
No way.
JOSEPH
Of course. Why would it be that easy?
Joseph gestures for Mary to follow him.
They walk away.
EXT. SNOWY STREETS - NIGHT
Montage of Mary and Joseph walking through the town.
They hide whenever they see any passersby.
EXT. MANGER - NIGHT
Baby is crying. Our heroes approach a manger. We can hear neighing and other sounds of farm animals from inside.
JOSEPH
This thing
(points at the baby)
is gonna get us caught.
MARY
Don't upset him anymore than he's
already upset. He must be hungry.
Joseph gives the insignia he got from the attackers to the baby. He's distracted by it.
JOSEPH
I am hungry.
They head inside the manger.
INT. MANAGER - CONTINUOUS
MARY
Well you're a big boy. You can handle
it. But we have to find something for
him to eat.
JOSEPH
Like what?
MARY
I don't know. Find something.
Joseph rolls his eyes.
They settle inside. The baby is still crying.
MARY (cont'd)
Take it easy. Joseph will get you some
food.
A cow and a sheep walk closer to the baby, attracted by his crying.
Joseph looks at the baby annoyed.
JOSEPH
You mister are a lot of trouble. I
hope you're worth it.
MARY
Joseph!
The baby grabs Joseph's index finger and sucks on it.
JOSEPH
Hey!
MARY
Wait. He likes it.
The baby stops crying.
JOSEPH
Well, I'm certainly not going to let
him do that.
Joseph wipes his finger on his clothes.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Come on Mary. When are you going to
grow up? They'll probably accuse us of
kidnapping him and put us to death.
MARY
I don't think so. Sir Patrick is a
good man.
WIDE SHOT
We see Mary with the baby and Joseph kneeling beside her, head hanging. The animals surround them. The moon shines through the broken roof of the manger right on them. It's eerily similar to the Christmas manger scene.
BACK TO INTIMATE QUARTERS WITH MARY AND JOSEPH
JOSEPH
(shakes his head)
I don't know how you can't see it.
Stronglandians and Eitorians will
never get along. All we are to them is
slave labor. That will never change.
So we should take what we can when we
can.
MARY
The baby needs food.
Joseph sighs.
JOSEPH
Fine. I'll go find something.
Mary puts her hand on Joseph's. We can see the tattoo on both their hands, side by side.
MARY
Thanks, bro.
Joseph walks out leaving Mary alone. Mary turns to the baby who seems to have gotten tired from crying.
JOSEPH
He has a good heart. I know cause he
takes care of me everyday. Yes he
does. Yes he does.
Baby smiles.
EXT. GARDEN OF TREES - NIGHT
Joseph climbs a tree, similar to the tree he climbed in the beginning of our story. He reaches for a fruit on the top and dislodges it. He looks at it and remembers Eimar
EXT. FLASHBACK FOREST - DAY
Joseph eats a fruit while resting his back on Eimar.
EXT. GARDEN OF TREES - NIGHT
Joseph climbs down.
INT. MANGER - NIGHT
Joseph walks back in. Mary had setup a little fire surrounded by rocks to make sure it doesn't spread. She fell asleep beside it. The baby is fussing around. Joseph sits beside them.
JOSEPH
You still up?
Joseph puts the fruit in front of the baby.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Here you go. Help yourself. I hope you
like it.
The baby crawls to the fruit and rolls it around, but he obviously can't open it.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Fine. So needy.
Joseph takes the fruit and cracks it on a rock to little pieces. He gives a piece to the baby, who devours it.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Slow down, buddy.
Joseph takes the smallest piece and eats it in one bite. He looks at the baby and gives him another piece.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Guess you were hungry, huh?
Joseph takes a piece of the fruit and sets it aside.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
This is for Mary okay? She's gonna be
hungry when she wakes up.
The baby tries to reach for it. Joseph moves it further away.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
A-uh. No. Not for you. You have enough
right in front of you.
The baby looks at Joseph with his innocent eyes, then returns to his piece of the fruit.
BABY FINISHES EATING. TIME PASSES.
The Baby lays on his back, letting the fruit crust fall away. He coos in satisfaction.
Joseph looks at him and suppresses a smile.
The baby gets up and crawls to Joseph and cuddles beside him.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Hey, what are you doing? You're
invading my personal bubble.
The baby doesn't care. He climbs on Joseph and rests his head on Joseph's chest. It takes Joseph a minute but then he puts his arms around the baby.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Fine. I guess we all need to stay
warm.
The baby makes himself comfortable. They both look up at the bright stars.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
You should count your lucky stars, you
know that? At least you have us. We
have no one. And it's because of your
dad and his people.
FLASHBACK. TENT VILLAGE - NIGHT
It's quiet. There are a few fires here and there, but mostly dying out.
INT. A TENT - NIGHT
JOSEPH (V.O.)
Our parents and us lived a relatively
quiet life until the Eitorians came to
round up more slaves
There are screams and sounds of fighting outside. Joseph's DAD and MOM wake up alarmed.
The dad looks outside the tent door.
DAD
They're coming.
He looks back at his wife.
DAD (cont'd)
We have to hide them.
Dad wakes up a seven year old Joseph, while Mom wakes up the four year old Mary. Mom pushes Mary to Joseph. She kneels besides them and kisses both of them on the forehead.
MARY
Mom, I'm scared.
MOM
Don't be honey.
Mom hugs Mary and sings her the same lullaby that Mary has been singing to the baby.
MOM (cont'd)
(to Joseph)
You have to take care of Mary, okay?
In the background DAD is moving a big piece of furniture, uncovering a door under neath it.
JOSEPH
What's going on?
DAD
You have to be brave for your sister.
She'll depend on you.
Mom hugs Joseph and Mary.
Dad opens the door he uncovered. It leads to an underground tunnel, just big enough for Joseph and his sister.
DAD (cont'd)
Joseph, Remember how we practiced
this, right?
Joseph nods.
DAD (cont'd)
Take your sister through the tunnel
and hide till morning.
MOM
Maybe we should try to run
DAD
No. They'll catch us. This is the only
way.
Joseph and Mary hurry into the tunnel.
JOSEPH
I don't understand.
DAD
Never be a slave Joseph. Never.
INT. UNDERGROUND HOLE - NIGHT
Dad covers the hole to the tunnel and it gets really dark in there. Joseph hears something being dragged to cover the hole.
FADE TO:
INT. TENT IN A VILLAGE - DAY
The ground seems to ebb and Joseph breaks through. A few hundred meters away he sees his tent city torn down. Various items are scattered all over the place. Their entire village is abandoned.
JOSEPH (V.O.)
Because of the Eitorians, we lost our
family, along with everything else.
INT. MANGER - NIGHT
Joseph touches the mark on his face.
JOSEPH
If it were up to me, I wouldn't get
involved at all.
The baby tucks himself in Jospeh's embrace. He's cozy.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Don't get too comfortable.
Joseph sees Marcus' medallion on the ground where the baby was sitting. He picks it up, looks at it, then puts it in his pocket.
WITH MARY.
Mary opens here eyes. She heard the heart to heart.
INT. MANGER - DAY
The baby is tucked beside Mary in a funny position. They are both still asleep. The fire is almost gone. A thin column of smoke rises up, from the dying flames.
Joseph wakes Mary up.
JOSEPH
Mary. Wake up.
He shakes her.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Wake up.
MARY
(disoriented)
What? What?
The baby yawns and rolls on his side.
JOSEPH
Look at this?
Joseph shows her a hand written poster about the missing baby.
MARY
What's that?
JOSEPH
Read it. It's Sir Patrick. It must be.
They put these posters all over town.
Now we know where we should take him.
We can drop him off there, ask for the
reward and be on our merry way. With
that many gold coins, we can finally
have a roof over our heads.
Mary takes the poster and looks at it. It says "1000 Gold coins to whoever finds Matthew. Sir Patrick". There is a hand drawn picture of the baby. It resembles Matthew. There is a map with a dot signifying the location of where they should drop him off. The seal of the House of Patrick is at the bottom of the page.
MARY
Do we know where that is?
Mary points at the map.
JOSEPH
This is the watch tower.
(Joseph points at a
place on the map)
So it can't be too far away. We'll
find it.
Joseph turns to the baby.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
You get to go home today buddy. Isn't
that exciting? And we get to have a
reward. Our luck is finally turning.
MARY
We should take him back to Alfreda.
JOSEPH
Alfreda!
(beat)
No. No. She's dead. No way she
survived the attack. Listen, this is
the only way. We can't keep him
around. He'll get us killed.
Mary seems unconvinced, but gets up and carries the baby.
EXT. EDGE OF TOWN - DAY
Mary walks carrying the baby. She takes a bit of her piece of the fruit and gives the baby the rest. Joseph is ahead of her, map in hand, guiding the way.
They are in an abandoned area on the edge of the town. There are a few unoccupied buildings around. The forest looms larger.
MARY
Joseph, I don't have a good feeling
about this. Where did you find that
poster?
JOSEPH
It was plastered all over the town.
It's a lot of money Mary. We need it.
Mary bites her lips. She's not convinced as she looks around at the abandoned huts and buildings in apprehension. She calms the baby.
WIDE SHOT OF MARY AND JOSEPH IN A WIDE OPEN AREA
The abandoned buildings loom larger around them. Joseph looks at the map.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I don't get it. There in no one here.
MARY
Let's turn back.
JOSEPH
But the money?
MARY
Joseph, forget about the money. This
isn't safe.
Suddenly they hear movement nearby. Joseph gets in front of Mary and the Baby for protection. A moment later a horse and its rider appear from behind one of the buildings. It's Marcus. He approaches them, an evil smile on his face.
Joseph turns around in attempt to run in the opposite direction, but Dudley, on his horse, blocks their way. They turn to their left and there is another rider. They are surrounded with no where to run.
MARCUS
Foolish dog. You thought you could
steal what belongs to me and get away
with it?
MARY
This baby doesn't belong to you. Why
do you want him?
MARCUS
Shut up girl. Don't talk back to your
master.
JOSEPH
You're not our master.
Marcus nudges his horse. He moves rapidly closer to Joseph and kicks him down as he passes by him. Then he makes a circle and gets back in front of them.
MARCUS
(to the Dudley)
Take them.
Dudley jumps off his horse and forces the baby, now crying, from Mary's hand.
MARY
No. NO.
JOSEPH
Leave them.
Joseph tries to attack Dudley, but the third rider comes closer and kicks Joseph down.
Marcus laughs loudly. He circles them with his horse menacingly.
MARCUS
Were you hoping for the reward? I have
your reward.
Marcus bumps Joseph forcing him away from Mary. He then carries Mary on his horse.
JOSEPH
What are you doing?
Marcus looks at him, obviously enjoying his fear.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Please let her go.
MARCUS
Fool. Your reward is to rot alone for
the rest of your life. Always
remember,
(points at his face
as if reminding
Joseph of the mark he
gave him)
I took everything from you.
Joseph tries to approach Marcus but Marcus kicks him away.
Marcus turns to the rest of his men.
MARCUS (cont'd)
Let's go.
EXT. FOREST - CONTINUOUS
Joseph hustles in panic after the horses as they enter the forest, but they are way too fast. He chases them for as long as he can, but soon they disappear within the thick bush. Joseph keeps running and running. He finally runs out of steam and falls on all fours.
JOSEPH
(out of breath)
No. Mary. What did I do? Mary.
Joseph starts to cry.
EXT. FOREST - EVENING
Joseph walks aimlessly. His head hanging down in defeat. His eyes red from crying.
He slumps down out of sheer exhaustion by a tree. Joseph buries his face in his hand, bringing his knee to his chest; trying to make himself as small as possible.
Time passes.
EXT. FOREST ROADWAY - EVENING
A caravan consisting of three horse drawn carriages strut along a roadway cut through the thick forest in a single file. A couple of guards ride their horses make up the rear.
Hadrian sits with Dudley in the riders' seat on the caravan in the middle. This particular carriage looks more like a prison carriage.
They sit without talking, rocking back and forth as they travel the uneven road.
Hadrian reaches for an apple and turns around to go inside the carriage.
DUDLEY
Where are you going?
HADRIAN
She's probably starving. Going to give
her something to eat.
DUDLEY
You shouldn't go back there.
HADRIAN
Don't tell me what to do.
Dudley raises his hand in a gesture of surrender.
Hadrian enters the ...
INT. CARRIAGE - CONTINUOUS
Mary sits in a corner huddled in the cold. She glances up as Hadrian walks in, but then looks away.
Hadrian hesitates for a moment and gives her the apple. At first Mary doesn't reach for it. She glances at the apple and sees the scar on Hadrian's hand; almost like the skin has been burned a long time ago.
Mary reaches and holds Hadrian's hand. Hadrian is taken aback by this sudden action and Mary's strong hold.
MARY
Where did you get this?
Hadrian tries to pull his hand free, but Mary holds it tighter.
HADRIAN
I told you! It's just a scar. Why are
you so interested in it? Hey, let go.
Hadrian leaves the apple fall by Mary's foot and pulls his hand free. She picks the apple up and devours a bite.
HADRIAN (cont'd)
What's your problem? I'm trying to
help you here.
MARY
Slavery is an odd way to help someone.
Did you ask your father where you got
that tattoo from?
HADRIAN
It's a scar, not a tattoo.
MARY
Do you know who you really are?
HADRIAN
What's that suppose to mean?
Mary looks at him as she continues devouring the apple.
HADRIAN (cont'd)
I shouldn't have come here. My father
is right. You're trying to mess with
my head.
Hadrian turns and walks towards the exit of the carriage.
MARY
Thanks for the apple.
EXT. CARRIAGE - CONTINUOUS
Hadrian sits back beside Dudley. Dudley looks at the unsettled Hadrian, but doesn't say anything.
EXT. FOREST - NIGHT
The sun sets behind the thick trees and soon the light is but extinguished. Joseph shivers in the dark. The night sound of the forest is fearful. There are far away roars and grunts and many other animal sounds.
FLASHBACK. EXT. ROOF TOP - DAY
Alfreda talks to Joseph and Mary.
ALFREDA
Well, if you guys need anything, you
see that watchtower over there, my
house is a straight line down the
road, right by the edge of the forest.
EXT. FOREST - NIGHT
Joseph raises his eyes and looks towards the city. Through the trees he sees the watch tower. He wipes his face.
JOSEPH
I hope you're still alive!
He gets up and walks in that direction.
EXT. ALFREDA'S HOUSE OUTER PERIMETER - LATER
Joseph squints in the dark. In the distance, obscured by the trees, he can see a house surrounded by a large fence. There is a small stable, with a single horse. He walks towards the house.
POV SOMETHING WATCHES JOSEPH FROM DEEP WITHIN THE FOREST
Joseph senses movement. He gets apprehensive and snaps around, but in the dark, he can't see anything.
Joseph's backs up near a bush.
Suddenly someone emerges from the bush and wraps her hand around his mouth to silence him. It's Alfreda.
ALFREDA
Shuu. We're not alone.
Joseph is terrified. Alfreda allows him to see her face. Joseph hugs her.
JOSEPH
You're alive. Thank God. But how?
Alfreda returns the hug.
ALFREDA
It'll take more than a few gangsters
to take me down. Now come with me if
you want to live.
They walk hiding in the dark shadows cast by the trees.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
We need to stick to the shadows. He
can't see well in the dark.
JOSEPH
Who?
ALFREDA
The beast. The one that attacked us.
JOSEPH
Eimar?
ALFREDA
You know that thing?
JOSEPH
Yes. I don't understand how he
could've attacked all these people.
It's just not him. Someone must've
messed with his head.
ALFREDA
I know.
JOSEPH
You know? How?
ALFREDA
We have to move. He's still under the
influence of the poison.
JOSEPH
No. I'm sure he'll recognize me. I'm
his friend.
Joseph walks out in the middle of the path, before Alfreda could stop him.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Eimar! Eimar. It's me.
Alfreda walks out and grabs him.
ALFREDA
Are you crazy? It's gonna kill you.
As if on cue there is heavy movement in the trees a few hundred meters ahead of them and the beast steps into the light of the moon. It smells the air. The arrows are still stuck in its body. Joseph freezes in place. Eimar sees them, but doesn't behave in a friendly manner. It crouches down and growls aggressively.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
RUN.
She practically drags Joseph behind her. They run as fast as they can. As they turn a corner in the path, Alfreda's house, surrounded by a high and mighty looking fence is within reach.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
Faster.
They race against time. Eimar is not far behind them. It's not running straight. It's injuries slows it down. It veers off the track and slams into a tree. The tree is uprooted. This beast is heavy.
However, no matter how slow the beast is, it can still overtake them. Luckily, they have enough of a head start to make it into Alfreda's home's outer perimeter.
They enter through a door in the fence. The beast is only a few hundred meters behind them and closing in fast.
EXT. ALFREDA'S HOUSE OUTER PERIMETER - CONTINUOUS
Alfreda closes the door and locks it. A moment later the beast slams against the fence. It slams again.
Alfreda and Joseph back up.
The beast slams into it a third time.
One of the stakes making up the fence cracks.
JOSEPH
This isn't gonna hold.
ALFREDA
Let's go.
They head inside the house.
INT. ALFREDA'S LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Alfreda locks the door.
She goes around and places iron grids in front of the windows and locks them in place.
JOSEPH
I don't understand. How could they
control him like that.
Alfreda locks another iron grid in place.
ALFREDA
The poison. It confuses these beasts
and while it's dazed and under the
influence, if it smells someone it
immediately goes on the defense and
assumes it's under attack.
JOSEPH
Marcus weaponized him. To target
Patrick?
ALFREDA
Yes. Help me out with this.
Joseph helps Alfreda lift an iron grid and lock it in place to protect the door.
There is a loud crashing sound. Joseph glances towards one of the windows.
JOSEPH
Look.
He points at a hole in the fence.
ALFREDA
He broke through. Get away from the
windows.
They both backup into the middle of the house. But everything is silent.
JOSEPH
Maybe he came back to his senses.
ALFREDA
No. It's planning. These things are
intelligent.
Alfreda goes to a box and takes a sword out. She holds it in a defensive position.
JOSEPH
Patrick isn't here, neither is his
wife or the baby. Why is Eimar still
after us?
ALFREDA
He's after me.
JOSEPH
Marcus wants you dead too?
ALFREDA
He wants us all dead. Me, Jaime, the
baby. He can't tolerate any
Stronglandian in a position of
influence. To him we're all a threat.
JOSEPH
And now he has Mary. I need to get her
back.
ALFREDA
We need to get to Patrick.
JOSEPH
No. No! We're not trusting another
Eitorian.
ALFREDA
Shuu.. lower your voice.
Alfreda shows him a mark on her arm. It's similar to the one Marcus burned on Joseph's face.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
I was Marcus' slave until Jaime pulled
me out of that rut. I owe her
everything.
(beat)
So I can understand your hate and
distrust, but we can't let that guide
us.
Suddenly the beast slams the side of the house. They both jump in fear.
The beast keeps circling and slamming the different sides of the house, looking for a weak spot. Then silence again.
Alfreda runs to the window and looks out. There is nothing there, then the beast appears as if from no where. It roars at her. She backs up in fear, holding the sword in front of her. Just as quickly as it appears it disappears.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
The house is gonna hold.
JOSEPH
Is there a way out of here?
Then they hear its foot steps on the roof. It starts working the roof, pulling on the wood, trying to make its way in. Part of the roof starts to give way.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I think it just found a weak spot.
ALFREDA
Come with me.
Alfreda moves a couch. Under it there is a door. She opens it revealing a set of stairs. Alfreda ushers Joseph down the stairs and then she goes in after him.
INT. ALFREDA'S HOUSE, BASEMENT - CONTINUOUS
Alfreda locks the door and it goes pitch black. They stay silent as the beast continues to try and break into the house. Then suddenly everything goes quiet.
Alfreda lights up a gas lamp and takes it off the wall. She gestures for Joseph to follow her. They walk through a long tunnel.
ALFREDA
We have to go to Patrick.
JOSEPH
No.
ALFREDA
It's the only way to rescue Jaime, her
baby and your sister. He's the only
one with enough resources to stand up
against Marcus.
JOSEPH
No way. No. They only see us as
slaves.
ALFREDA
Listen to me, Marcus doesn't believe
Patrick deserves to rule the land. He
always thought Patrick was too soft on
Stronglandians and his marriage to
Jaime only solidified Marcus'
believes. To Marcus Patrick is a
traitor; a breaker of Eitorian
traditions. For Eitorians that's a big
thing.
JOSEPH
And that's why he wanted to get rid of
them. So he and his house can rule.
ALFREDA
Exactly. With no heir in the House of
Patrick, rule will go to the House of
Marcus. But you disrupted his plans
when you warned Patrick about the
beast attack. Now he's trapped between
a rock and a hard place. Patrick is
most certainly looking for his kid and
wife. The longer Marcus keeps them
around the more likely Patrick will
find them. He'd want to get rid of
them as soon as possible.
JOSEPH
Why wouldn't he just kill them?
ALFREDA
He won't do that. Too much danger of
being found out. Patrick has many
supporters. I'll bet my life he's
gonna sell them to slave traders. I've
seen him do that many times. It's a
worse sentence than death.
Suddenly there is a loud crash.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
He's in.
JOSEPH
We're safe here, right?
(beat)
Right?
ALFREDA
The beast has a very acute sense of
smell. We need to hurry along.
They arrive to a door. Alfreda opens it and enters ...
INT. ALFREDA'S WORKSHOP - NIGHT
Both walk into a larger room. The only source of light is Alfreda's gas lamp.
ALFREDA
Here hold this.
Alfreda hands Joseph the gas lamp.
Alfreda lights one in front of a workbench. It gives a dim glow over a bow and a set of arrows on the workbench.
Joseph looks around the room they are in, using his lamp. He sees heads of different beasts hung on the wall; their back armor; their tentacles.
JOSEPH
You're a hunter. You murder them!
ALFREDA
That's the only reason Marcus kept me
around. I made him a handsome profit.
JOSEPH
Your a traitor to your people. These
creatures, we've always coexisted with
them in peace, until the Eitorians
started hunting them for game.
ALFREDA
Don't lecture me on history. I did
what I had to do to survive. You don't
know what Marcus did to me. It was
either that or get sold as a slave. Do
you know what they do to slaves? Do
you?
Alfreda opens a little drawer in her work bench and takes out a glass jar with some thick yellowish liquid. She proceeds to open the jar carefully. Joseph looks at her unable to decide what to do.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
We have no time to quibble and lay
blame. Marcus is the real villain
here. Don't forget that.
The crashing continues top level as the beast continues its search.
Joseph walks over and looks over Alfreda's shoulder.
Alfreda dips the tips of the arrows in the jar.
JOSEPH
Is that poison? You're not going to
kill him.
ALFREDA
I'll do what I have to do to protect
Jaime. And yes you and Mary too. You
might not think highly of me. But this
is my mission now.
Alfreda finishes off dipping the tips of the arrows in the poison. As she does, she places each one in an arrow pouch.
Joseph hears the noise of wood breaking apart. Joseph looks through the door and sees light streaming through as the beast breaks up the door into the tunnel.
Joseph locks the door to the workshop.
JOSEPH
He's in the tunnel.
Alfreda puts the glass jar in her bag. She takes the bow and slings the arrow pouch over her shoulder.
ALFREDA
Hey. Hey. Take this.
She gives Joseph the sword. Alfreda takes another glass jar from the drawer and smashes it on the ground. Once the liquid spills out it makes green smoke. It has a very poignant smell. Joseph starts to cough.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
This will hide our scent. Follow me.
They head deeper into the tunnel. Joseph secures the sword around his waist. When they are more than half way through, they hear the crashing of the workshop door as it breaks under the weight of the beast.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
Run.
They run.
EXT. FOREST - CONTINUOUS
They exit the tunnel into the forest just outside the perimeter of Alfreda's house.
Alfreda gestures for Joseph to follow her. They head towards a fenced stable.
EXT. ALFREDA'S HORSE STABLE - CONTINUOUS
Alfreda and Joseph walk in. There is only one horse in there.
ALFREDA
Get on.
Alfreda jumps on the horse and Joseph behind her.
They ride out.
EXT. FOREST - CONTINUOUS
Joseph looks behind him but there is nothing.
JOSEPH
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to judge you.
ALFREDA
We've all had it rough. But we have to
get our priorities straight. Jaime,
Matthew and Mary come before anything
else. Do we agree on this? Do we?
JOSEPH
Yes. Yes.
Joseph looks behind him and the beast is suddenly there, gaining on them.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
EIMAR.
Alfreda looks behind her. She urges the horse to run faster. She looks back, and the beast is still gaining. It's far enough, but clearly has an advantage. She stops the horse and jumps off.
ALFREDA
Ride off.
Joseph takes the reigns of the horse
JOSEPH
What about you?
Alfreda slaps the horse's butt and it runs off.
ALFREDA
Jaime is more important.
Alfreda takes a knee to steady herself.
She takes an arrow out of the arrow pouch hanging on her back, aims and fires.
The beast uses its back armor to repel the arrow. It slows down slightly as it does.
Alfreda in quick succession, takes another arrow and fires again and again. The arrows bounces off its armor.
ALFREDA (cont'd)
Come on. Show your belly.
Alfreda fires another arrow, this time it sinks in Eimar's powerful shoulder, but it doesn't slow him down much.
The beast is now too close for comfort.
Alfreda gets up, but before she's able to fully get out of the way, the beast rams her.
WITH JOSEPH
Joseph stops the horse and watches Alfreda fly in the air like a rag doll and come to a dead stop when she slams into a tree trunk.
JOSEPH
(yells)
Noo. Eimar. STOP.
Joseph nudges the horse and rides closer to the conflict.
WITH ALFREDA
The beast, now sure that it has incapacitated Alfreda, advances slowly for the kill. It shakes its head trying to get rid of the effect of the poison.
Alfreda, sill conscious, starts to back away. She tries to get up but falls on the ground. The beast moves towards her confidently.
Alfreda takes out one of the arrows, but is dismayed when she sees the bow has fallen out of her reach. She uses the arrow to threaten the beast.
The beast slows down, looking at the arrow carefully
ALFREDA
Yeah, you know what that is, don't
you? Don't you?
Alfreda jabs it in the beast's direction.
WITH JOSEPH
Joseph jumps off the horse and takes a rope, which is dangling off the saddle. He ties one end of the rope to a tree on the right side of the path and wraps the other end around another tree on the other side of the path. He makes sure the rope is tight, about two feet off the ground.
Joseph guides the horse away from the path.
JOSEPH
(to the horse)
Stay here. If I die... Well I don't
really care what you do then.
Joseph takes the gas lamp he had hung on the saddle. He gathers some dry sticks in the middle of the path in front of the rope and throws the lamp in its midst. The dry sticks quickly catch on fire.
Joseph takes the poison jar from Alfreda's bag, she had previously hung on the saddle, and pours its contents on the sword.
The fire grows.
WITH ALFREDA
Alfreda is now up on her feet, maneuvering with Eimar. Her only defense is the poisoned arrow, which appears to make Eimar think twice before attacking her.
The beast looks in the direction of the fire, growing brighter.
Alfreda takes the short opportunity of distraction and charges the beast with the arrow.
The beast is alerted to her advancement, but not before she's able to jab the arrow in its leg.
The beast reacts in pain and hits Alfreda with its leg.
Alfreda flies and lands on the ground face down.
It shakes its head, trying to get rid of the effect of the poison. It tumbles around.
That's when Joseph starts yelling.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Hey. HEY. COME AND GET ME. COME ON.
COME ON.
Eimar looks at Joseph standing behind the fire.
Joseph picks up a block of wood which is lit with fire, and hurls it at the beast. It hits the beast and falls beside him.
The beast growls at Joseph and steps on the lit wood, easily extinguishing it.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
COME ON, EIMAR. DO YOU STILL REMEMBER
ME?
The beast walks unsteadily towards Joseph.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I'm your friend.
Joseph holds his sword laced with poison.
Alfreda regains her consciousness and sees the beast head towards Joseph, but she's too weak to do anything, except reach out to Joseph in objection.
ALFREDA
(weak)
No. He'll kill you.
JOSEPH
Please Eimar, we're friends. Come on,
let's not do this.
But Eimar's attitude doesn't change. He is still aggressive and approaches Joseph menacingly.
WITH JOSEPH
Joseph starts to back up.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I'm sorry. But my sister comes first.
Eimar charges Joseph. Still under the effect of the poison, his strides drag against the ground. Joseph does his best not to budge, holding his sword in a ready to fight posture.
In less than a second Eimar goes through the fire scattering the wood everywhere.
Eimar's front legs get tangled on the rope, and loses his balance, but still leaps an unbalanced leap towards Joseph.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
(yells a battle cry)
YAAAAH
Joseph dives at Eimar and stabs him in his belly with the sword. The sword sinks all the way to the handle.
Eimar lands on the ground and doesn't move.
Joseph scrambles to his feet. He looks at the still Eimar.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Why? Why did it have to come to this?
The beast has scattered the lit wood as it rammed through the fire. The fire dies down.
Joseph looks at Eimar in the flicker of the dying flames. He' not moving. Joseph takes a hesitant step towards him.
Eimar takes quick shallow breaths.
Joseph circles the beast and sees its eyes still open, looking at him with a sense of helplessness.
ALFREDA (O.S.)
I can't believe you did it.
Joseph snaps towards Alfreda.
Alfreda has two poisoned arrows in her hand. She's walking with difficulty.
Joseph looks at Eimar again. He's so helpless. There are tears in his eyes.
Alfreda steps towards the beast and prepares to stab it with the other arrows.
Joseph holds her hand back.
JOSEPH
What are you doing?
ALFREDA
I'm gonna finish the job. This isn't
going to keep it down forever. Only
way is to cut off its head.
JOSEPH
Look at him. He's done. We can just
leave.
ALFREDA
We agreed Jaime and Mary first. When
this thing recovers and it will, it'll
come after us again and again until it
kills us.
JOSEPH
No. I'm not going to let you kill my
friend. He's as much a victim as we
are.
Alfreda pushes Joseph away.
ALFREDA
Get out of my way.
She continues her approach, but Joseph grabs her and pulls her back.
JOSEPH
Please no.
Alfreda elbows Joseph on the face forcing him to let go of her. But he immediately runs to Eimar.
ALFREDA
What are you doing?
Joseph takes out the poisoned sword from its belly. He steps away from it.
JOSEPH
(to Eimar)
You see, I helped you. I'm not your
enemy, Eimar. I'm your friend.
Joseph throws the sword away.
Alfreda tries to charge the beast, but Joseph holds her back.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
No. No. We're not going to kill him.
ALFREDA
Let me go.
The beast gets up. Alfreda gives up struggling with Joseph and backs up, holding the arrows in front of her. She is injured and in no shape to fight.
The beast looks at her angrily. Eimar is not very steady, but dangerous nonetheless. Joseph in a rare show of courage steps between Alfreda and the Beast.
JOSEPH
No. Stop. Eimar, this isn't you.
But the beast leaps over Joseph and takes a swipe at Alfreda with his muscular leg. She goes tumbling back.
Joseph runs and leaps, covering Alfreda with his body.
The beast charges Joseph and Alfreda. He raises his foot. If he brings it down he can easily squish both of them to death.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Please. Please don't do this.
Eimar freezes. His leg is in mid air. He looks down at Alfreda and Joseph. After a tense moment, he leaps away and disappears into the forest.
Joseph gets off Alfreda and kneels by her side.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. My
fault. Please don't die.
Alfreda looks at Joseph with difficulty. There are fatal wounds in her chest area. Her breathing is raspy. She reaches for his arm.
ALFREDA
(weakly)
Joseph, you have to be strong for your
sister. For Jaime. It's all on you
now. You need to get them away from
Marcus. You hear me?
JOSEPH
I don't know how. I've ruined
everything. I'm just a useless slave.
Alfreda holds Joseph's arm.
ALFREDA
No, Joseph. You're not. You're a brave
Stronglandian. Don't believe the lies.
Remember what we agreed on. Jaime and
Mary first. Right?
JOSEPH
Yes. Yes. Right.
ALFREDA
My bag.
Joseph looks up. He scrambles to get Alfreda's bag. He kneels back beside her.
JOSEPH
Here. I got it.
But Alfreda is dead.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
No. Oh. Please, wake up. Wake up. I'm
so sorry.
Joseph holds her hand and cries.
INT. CATACOMBS - EVENING
The catacombs are long dark tunnels. Prison cells are lined up on each side.
INT. PRISON CELL - CONTINUOUS
Mary is in a dark damp cell. A guard passes the cell. He throws her a dry morsel of bread, and leaves a bowl of water.
Mary takes the bowl of water and walks deeper into the cell, where Jaime is tied with metal shackles.
MARY
Here. Drink this.
JAIME
(exhausted)
That's yours.
MARY
You need it more than I do. Come on
now.
Mary helps Jaime drink the water. Then she breaks the bread in two pieces and gives Jaime the bigger piece. Jaime looks at her and smiles.
JAIME
This is all my fault.
MARY
No. It's their fault. Not yours. My
brother is right not to trust them. We
have to take what we can when we can.
Jaime looks at Mary sympathetically. She reaches over and rests her hand over Mary's.
JAIME
Don't forget who you are.
MARY
I don't know who that is anymore.
JAIME
You're the girl who rushed to help me,
someone she hardly knows, who put her
life on the line to save a half
Eitorian baby, when she could've saved
herself, and who gave me her water and
shared her food, no matter how little
she had.
Mary rests her head on Jaime's shoulder. And Jaime rests her head on Mary's head.
MARY
I am great, aren't I?
JAIME
And humble too.
Mary and Jaime share a quiet laugh.
A guard passes his stick across the bars of the cell, making a loud rattling noise. Mary and Jaime startle.
Mary looks up and sees three guards open the door to the cell and head towards them.
Two of them unshackle Jaime and pull her to her feet. The third one takes Mary and they drag both of them out of the cell.
MARY
Where are you taking us?
INT. CATACOMBS - CONTINUOUS
Mary struggles against the guard but he's too strong.
They walk through a gate into a larger area. Ahead there is a gate which leads to outside the building. There is a lot of clutter stacked up high. It looks like a storage area.
Jaime stumbles her footing. The guards are forced to slowdown to accommodate her.
GUARD
Come on woman. We need to get you both
ready.
Mary tries to go to Jaime's assistance, but her guard holds her back.
MARY
Look at her, she's hurt. I just want
to help.
GUARD
Move.
MARY
You can't treat us like this. We're
human beings.
Jaime looks at Mary and mouths ...
JAIME
Get ready.
Suddenly Jaime shoves the guard nearest to her into a stack of boxes. The boxes come tumbling down. The guards are forced to cover their head. Mary is suddenly free.
JAIME (cont'd)
Mary, Go. Find my baby. Go.
Mary doesn't hesitate. She bolts away. The guard responsible for her turns to the other two and points at Jaime...
GUARD
She's more important. Get her to the
slave trader. I'll go after the street
trash.
The guard turns and heads after Mary.
INT. CATACOMBS - CONTINUOUS
Mary runs aimlessly through a series of catacomb tunnels which look the same. She gets to an intersection, hesitates there for a moment and then turns left. She runs into a dead end.
She turns around and heads back, only to find the guard blocking her way.
GUARD
You're lucky they pay more for live
girls than dead ones, or else I would
kill you, slave.
The guard advances. Mary looks around, but there is no where to go.
HADRIAN (O.S.)
What's going on here?
The guard snaps behind him, then back at Mary.
GUARD
I'm just carrying Sir Marcus' orders.
HADRIAN
I'll take it from here.
GUARD
I can't be negligent in my duties,.
Sorry sir. You'll have to take this up
with your father
A wooden beam slams into the man's head and he goes down like a sack of potatoes. Hadrian drops the wooden club beside the man.
HADRIAN
Let's go.
Mary hesitates.
HADRIAN (cont'd)
Please. I'll get you out of here.
He extends his hand to Mary. She looks at the scar on the back of it. She hesitates for a moment, but then takes his hand and they head off.
This shot transitions out of the castle and we fly through the town. The town turns into a map. We cut to Joseph holding the map.
EXT. ALFREDA'S HOUSE - DAY
Joseph sits by Alfreda's grave looking at the map. It outlines Alfreda's house, the watchtower, and the forests, in the middle of the two towns. The castles are marked with red. He puts the map in Alfreda's bag.
Joseph stands over Alfreda's grave for a moment. He has erected a cross on her grave.
JOSEPH
I'm sorry.
Joseph picks up Alfreda's bag and mounts the horse. He rides off.
EXT. FOREST - EVENING
Montage of Joseph riding his horse through the forest.
He stops his horse and looks around. To his right, there is a tumultuous river. Joseph takes out the map and looks at it. He's clearly lost.
Joseph rides his horse along the elevated river bank. The forest gets thicker as he progresses. Suddenly, the horse slows down.
JOSEPH
What's the matter?
The horse becomes apprehensive.
POV PRYING EYES WATCHING THROUGH THE TREES
Joseph nudges the horse to move, but it doesn't obey.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Let's go. Come on.
Out of nowhere, two beasts emerge from the thick bush. One of them crouches and growls aggressively.
The horse rises on its two hind feet and Joseph falls off. The horse bolts away. The beasts don't bother going after the horse. They advance towards Joseph, who scrambles to his feet. A slope to the river is right behind him. He looks down the slope to the running water.
Joseph makes his decision and jumps, running down the slope. He loses his footing and trips on the tangled branches. He takes the rest of the way, painfully rolling down the slope. The slope ends into a steep drop down to the turbulent river.
Joseph flies and splashes into the water. He sinks down, but makes his way up. The current carries him down stream. He looks up and sees the beasts tracking him from land.
From the periphery of his vision he sees a third beast join the others in tracking him.
Joseph struggles to stay afloat in the whitewater. It's very dangerous. There are thick tree trunks leaning across the river, which branches extend under water. Indeed, he approaches just that type of obstacle.
Joseph tries his best to avoid it, but there isn't much he can do. He dives down below it, but gets tangled and stuck in the thick branches. The more he struggles, the more his situation gets worse.
As the seconds tick by, he loses air and starts to drown. Soon his strength falters and his struggles die off.
Suddenly, the entire log is lifted off the water, and him, tangled in its branches along with it.
Joseph lands beside the log on dry land. He spits out water and rolls on his tummy, then gets up on all fours. He coughs and looks up. Eimar, flanked by the other two, stands in front of him.
Joseph scurries back. He reaches for his sword and takes it out of its sheath. He holds it in front of him.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Eimar!
The other two beasts react aggressively. But Eimar, who is bigger and fiercer, produces a sequence of whistles at them. They back off and stand on an elevated hill behind their leader.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
You killed Alfreda. You didn't have to
do that. WHY DID YOU DO IT?
Eimar then does something, Joseph isn't expecting. He takes a few steps towards him and then extends his neck, until the vulnerable flesh touches Joseph's sword.
Joseph is astonished, but his astonishment turns to anger. He pushes the tip of the sword deeper into the beast's neck. But then stops as he notices that Eimar isn't resisting him.
The other two beasts howl in sorrow as they see their leader or father, being murdered.
Joseph stops as he sees the tears flow from Eimar's eyes. He pulls his sword back and let's it fall to the ground. He crumbles to his knees.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I don't know what I'm doing anymore.
I'm sorry. I failed everyone, my
sister, Alfreda, you.
Eimar gets closer to Joseph and produces a sequence of sounds. Joseph looks at the arrows still embedded in Eimar's body.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Let me get these out.
Eimar crouches and Joseph proceeds to pull the arrows out. Remarkably, Eimar's wounds heal in front of Joseph's eyes.
Joseph finishes and throws the last arrow into the river. His head hangs down. Eimar stands beside him.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Eimar, maybe you can help me get back
my sister. I need to get to the other
side of the forest. Do you understand
me? Where the bad guys are. The ones
who hunt you.
Joseph mimes the hunters and the shape of the castle, trying his best to communicate with Eimar.
Joseph looks at Eimar pleadingly. The beast crouches down beside Joseph, who picks up his sword and puts it in its sheath, then mounts Eimar.
Eimar gets up and sprints away.
INT. WINE CELLAR - DAY
Mary and Hadrian hide in a darkened wine cellar. A slit in the door lets a stream of yellowish, flickering light in. Hadrian and Mary sneak a look outside at guards, going back and forth, through the tunnel.
Hadrian gestures for Mary to stay quiet and follow him. They head deeper into the wine cellar and sit behind a bunch of wine crates.
HADRIAN
I know who I am!
Mary looks at him surprised.
MARY
What?
HADRIAN
You asked if I knew who I am. I do.
I'm an Eitorian; a descendant of the
House of Marcus.
MARY
Then where did you get this scar. Look
at this.
Mary takes Hadrian's hand and puts hers beside his. The striking similarity between her tattoo and the scar on Hadrian's hand can not be ignored.
HADRIAN
I am an Eitorian. I was raised on the
great traditions of our people; of my
people.
MARY
Then why did you help me? According to
your traditions we're nothing but
slaves to you.
Hadrian stumbles with his words and then falls silent.
MARY (cont'd)
Look, what you did for me proves to me
who you really are? A man who prefers
to stand against injustice no matter
what the costs are. You know what your
father is doing is wrong. We have to
get Jaime and her baby back to
Patrick.
HADRIAN
No! You don't understand. According to
our law, Eitorian law, Sir Patrick can
accuse my father of treason and
execute him on the spot.
MARY
What's the solution then? Commit an
innocent mother and her baby to a life
of slavery? Where does it all end?
Hadrian looks at Mary intensely.
EXT. EDGE OF FOREST - EVENING
The sun has almost set when Joseph arrives at the edge of the forest, on top of a hill. Down below is a small town, quite different from the town where he came from. His town is melancholy, dark. This one has a different spirit. The buildings are more friendly; more colorful; radiates hope.
There aren't many people in the streets at this time of day.
There is a main road which branches into two. One leads to a large castle and the other leads to a smaller one.
Both castles are built by a cliff facing the ocean. The cliff runs as far as Joseph can see.
Joseph dismounts the beast and looks at the map. He points at the larger castle.
JOSEPH
That's where I need to get to, I
think.
Joseph looks at the beast.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
It'll be safest for you to stay
hidden, okay? Thank you for
everything.
Joseph touches the beast's face. The beast leans his head into Joseph's hand.
Joseph turns and walks down the hill, leaving EIMAR at the tree line.
EXT. CASTLE - NIGHT
Night has fallen. Joseph walks up to the castle. He hides behind a boulder, watching the perimeter. There are a few guards walking around.
Joseph takes out his sword. He watches the guards making their rounds. When they go round the corner, they no longer have a view of the gate. Joseph takes this opportunity and sprints towards the open gate.
GUARD 1
HALT.
Joseph doesn't. He continues to sprint towards the gate.
GUARD 1 (cont'd)
INTRUDER. INTRUDER
Two other guards appear as if from no where blocking Joseph's path. Both have torches to light their way; their swords drawn.
The first guard who saw him blocks his path back.
Joseph looks behind him. Before he knows it he's surrounded by seven guards. All have their swords drawn out.
JOSEPH
I want my sister. I'm not going to
leave without her.
GUARD 1
(to his fellows)
Arrest him.
But Joseph makes a skilled move with his sword.
JOSEPH
I know how to use this. I'm not
leaving without my sister.
The situation tenses up. Two of the guards have spears and they start advancing on him.
GUARD 1
You can't take us all.
Joseph turns around erratically, swishing his sword around, trying to keep them back. But he knows he is no match for them.
Suddenly Eimar jumps from seemingly no where bumping two of the guards off their feet. They tumble around. Eimar lets out a terrifying roar.
The guards are scared. They back up.
JOSEPH
(to EIMAR)
Oh... is it ever good to see you, my
friend?
(to the soldiers)
You were saying?
The soldiers back up.
GUARD 1
Archers. ARCHERS.
Joseph looks up and sees two archers on the castle wall, preparing to fire their bows.
Joseph motions to Eimar to back up.
JOSEPH
Back. Back.
They back up as the archers shoot. One arrow misses. The other bounces off Eimar's back armor.
SIR PATRICK (O.S.)
STOP.
Joseph snaps towards the voice.
Out of the darkness a man walks through the castle's outer gate, dressed in a knight's attire. His vest carries the same insignia which is engraved in the sword Lady Alfreda gave Joseph, a lion's head.
SIR PATRICK stops between his guards. He doesn't appear to fear the beast. He looks from Joseph to Eimar.
SIR PATRICK
How did you befriend one of these
beasts?
Joseph realizes that he's speaking to Patrick
JOSEPH
Sir Patrick!
Sir Patrick advances towards Joseph. Joseph points the sword at Sir Patrick. Eimar growls. Eimar advances towards Sir Patrick. Truly terrifying. The soldiers raise their swords and advance to help their master. Sir Patrick stops his advances.
SIR PATRICK
Where did you get that sword?
JOSEPH
Alfreda gave it to me.
SIR PATRICK
Alfreda? She survived the attack?
JOSEPH
(sad)
Alfreda is dead. But Jaime and your
baby are alive.
Sir Patrick is moved by the news. He looks from Joseph to Eimar, then he motions to his guards to lower their weapons.
The guards hesitate.
SIR PATRICK
Do it.
The guards obey.
Joseph relaxes a bit.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
Where are they?
Patrick takes a step towards Joseph. Eimar growls.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
Please. Tell me.
JOSEPH
Marcus took them. And he took my
sister. And he manipulated Eimar into
attacking you. He wants you, Jaime and
your baby dead.
Sir Patrick is shocked by this revelation.
SIR PATRICK
What makes you think Marcus has
anything to do with any of this? He is
family.
JOSEPH
Wake up and see the truth. He wanted
to kill you because you married one of
us. He hates what your baby could one
day stand for.
Patrick is skeptical
SIR PATRICK
Are you sure? If you're lying...
JOSEPH
I might be poor. But I'm not a liar.
Joseph puts his hand in his pocket and produces Marcus' medallion. He throws it to Patrick who catches it.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I got this off one of your wife's
kidnappers. You recognize Marcus'
house signet, don't you?
SIR PATRICK
You could've gotten this from any
where.
JOSEPH
Why would I lie? What possible benefit
is it for me to come here? To die? My
sister insisted on returning your son
to you. She's a good person, better
than me. Better than you. She doesn't
deserve to be a slave.
Sir Patrick examines the insignia. He's moved.
SIR PATRICK
Come with me.
INT. SIR PATRICK'S CASTLE - NIGHT
Sir Patrick and Joseph walk through the corridor of Patrick's castle. It's extravagant to say the least.
They pass Dudley, Marcus' right hand man. Joseph doesn't notice him as he is busy looking around in amazement.
Dudley turns around to avoid being seen as well. Once they pass him, Dudley turns around and follows them.
INT. SIR PATRICK'S STUDY - CONTINUOUS
Sir Patrick's and Joseph enter a grand study, lit with fire torches hung on the wall. Sir Patrick sifts through some rolled up paper from a basket beside a beautifully crafted desk.
Joseph looks around the room in amazement, as he walks to a table in the center of the study
JOSEPH
(bitter, sarcastic)
It's ironic how a powerful and
influential man such as yourself needs
help from poor old me.
Patrick picks a roll and heads back to the table where Joseph stands.
SIR PATRICK
I understand your bitterness...
JOSEPH
Really? You do? Because from where I
stand you don't understand squat. You
live in this huge castle, built off
the backs of my people. You're blind
to the suffering you've caused.
Sir Patrick slams the table top.
SIR PATRICK
You don't understand history boy. When
we came here, we were locked in a life
and death struggle with the
inhabitants of the land. It was us or
them.
JOSEPH
You mean when you invaded our land.
Are you really trying to justify...
SIR PATRICK
We didn't invade anything. We came
here as traders. We settled on this
land and we kept largely to ourselves.
We provided goods and services to your
people. But when our numbers grew, you
turned on us and we had to fight back.
And we won.
JOSEPH
So it's okay to enslave us!
Patrick sighs and calms down.
SIR PATRICK
Listen to me. We can waste the little
time we have arguing about the past,
or we can work towards the future.
Jaime always told me, just cause we've
been hurt, doesn't mean we stop doing
the right thing.
Joseph looks at Sir Patrick.
JOSEPH
Mary says the same thing.
SIR PATRICK
Wise girls.
Sir Patrick unrolls the blue print of a palace on the table.
DUDLEY'S POV. HE WATCHES ON.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
This is Marcus' palace. He is always
cautious. You would've never been able
to make it into the palace on your
own.
Sir Patrick points to the blue print of the palace.
EXT. EDGE OF FOREST - NIGHT
Joseph rides Eimar furiously.
Joseph wears a similar suit to what Sir Patrick wears.
They travel in the edge of darkness, where no one can see them.
SIR PATRICK (V.O.)
He has guards posted all hours of the
day, patrolling the border of the
palace. They are likely to arrest or
even kill any stranger who approaches
unannounced.
Joseph and Eimar stop. Marcus' palace is now in clear view.
Joseph gets off and watches the palace, hiding behind a tree to stay out of sight. He can see the guards patrolling the perimeter.
INT. SIR PATRICK'S STUDY - NIGHT
Sir Patrick gives Joseph a letter with a distinguished seal on it.
SIR PATRICK
This seal will let you get past the
guards. It is carried by people on
official missions from me. So no one
will question your presence. I would
storm the palace and turn it upside
down. But I know Marcus. If he feels
cornered... You can't predict what
he'll do.
POV OF DUDLEY. HE WATCHES.
Sir Patrick takes a hold of Joseph's shoulders.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
I'm putting my family's life in your
hand. There is no greater trust than
this.
Dudley walks away.
EXT. EDGE OF FOREST - NIGHT
Joseph checks his sword and looks at Eimar.
JOSEPH
Alright, Eimar. Let's hope Patrick is
going to hold up his end of the
bargain. Stay here.
Joseph starts his hike towards the palace.
INT. WINE CELLAR - NIGHT
Hadrian looks through the slit in the door and the tunnel seems empty. He gestures for Mary to follow him. They exit to ...
INT. TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS
The tunnel is empty.
Mary and Hadrian climb up a set of stairs until they reach a door. Hadrian pushes it open. The light comes flooding in, blinding them for a moment.
Hadrian goes through first. He checks and makes sure no one is watching and then signals for Mary to follow.
Mary walks through the door to a ...
INT. SMALL HALL - CONTINUOUS
The hall is decorated with Eitorian paintings.
A couple of palace employees exit another side door. Hadrian and Mary hide behind a statue by the wall beside the door they just walked through, until the employees exit through one of the other doors.
There are a series of statues and plants, lined up across the wall. Mary follows Hadrian from one to the other, using them to stay hidden from sight.
They reach the last plant in the row. It's large and good for keeping them hidden.
Mary tugs at Hadrian's sleeve. He looks at her.
MARY
The baby. Please.
Hadrian hesitates for a moment and then gestures for her to follow him.
They head down a narrower corridor, which branches off the main hall. From there they go up a set of stairs into a ...
INT. CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS
Mary and Hadrian walk through the corridor. There are doors which line up both sides of it.
They hear footsteps closing in.
Hadrian pulls Mary into a doorway. They watch as a guard walks past them.
Once they are sure he's far enough, they exit their hiding spot and they go to one of the doors. They open it and enter a ...
INT. ROOM - CONTINUOUS
The baby is in a crib.
Mary approaches him.
MARY
It's okay, buddy. We're gonna get you
outta here.
When the baby sees her he's happy. He stands up in his crib and jumps up and down.
MARY (cont'd)
I'm happy to see you too. Let's go
okay.
Mary picks the baby from the crib.
HADRIAN
We have to hurry. The slave traders
are almost here. They will come for
him at any moment.
Mary follows Hadrian with the baby.
MARY
We gotta stay quiet, okay, buddy?
They exit back to the corridor.
INT. CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS
They head down to the end of the corridor, but two guards step right into their path. Both parties are taken by surprise.
GUARD
What are you doing sir? Sir Marcus
wants that baby.
Hadrian turns to Mary.
HADRIAN
Run.
They run down the other end.
The guards are still surprised. One of them turns to his compatriot, dumbfounded. Then they head after Hadrian and Mary.
Hadrian and Mary have a good head start. Mary holds the baby tight, who seems to enjoy the run
HADRIAN (cont'd)
This way.
Hadrian turns through a doorway followed by Mary.
INT. STAIRWELL - CONTINUOUS
Hadrian closes the door and slides a wooden tongue to lock it. Hadrian and Mary run up the stairs. A moment later the guards start ramming the door.
Hadrian and Mary exit the stairwell into a ...
INT. STORAGE ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Mary looks around at the dead end.
Hadrian walks around in the storage room filled with different items. It has one window.
Mary looks through the window at a six story drop.
MARY
We're stuck!
INT. STAIRWELL - CONTINUOUS
The wooden tongue keeping the door locked shatters and the guards storm in. Up the stairs they go.
INT. STORAGE ROOM
The guards storm in. The first thing they notice is the open window. They rush to it and see a rope dangling all the way to the balcony in third floor.
GUARD
Blast. Let's go.
They hustle out of the storage room.
A moment later Hadrian sticks his head out of an empty container. When he's sure the guards are gone, he climbs out and opens another container. He helps Mary out.
MARY
I can't believe that worked.
Hadrian walks towards the exit.
HADRIAN
We better hurry.
They both exit to the ...
INT. STAIRWELL - CONTINUOUS
Hadrian stops by the door and checks to make sure no one is there.
HADRIAN
Mary, I know what my father is doing
is wrong, but he's still my father. I
can't let Sir Patrick execute him.
Mary touches Hadrian's shoulder reassuringly.
MARY
Together we can do our best to
convince Sir Patrick not to. I'm sure
he'll listen.
Hadrian nods and heads out into the corridor
EXT. MARCUS' CASTLE - NIGHT
Joseph wears a hood over his face and gloves to hide his features. The darkness which precedes the dawn assists Joseph's mission. He flashes the sealed letter at the guard standing at the gate of the palace.
GUARD
Early for a delivery!
Joseph keeps his cool.
JOSEPH
Sir Patrick's orders.
The guard steps aside and Joseph walks through the gate. He heads to a set of grand stairs leading up to a large double door.
DUDLEY (O.S.)
You!
Joseph glances back and sees Dudley. Joseph speeds up his pace.
DUDLEY
Stop.
Joseph pushes the castle door open and enters into ...
INT. MARCUS' CASTLE, STONE CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS
Joseph runs through a long stone corridor. It opens to a big hall. At this time of day, there is hardly anyone awake.
He looks behind him and sees Dudley almost on him, sword ready to deliver a deadly blow.
DUDLEY
You won't get too far, slave.
Joseph takes out his sword and spins around blocking a sword hit.
Joseph and Dudley have an intense sword battle. Joseph uses all his prowess to fight a formidable and skillful opponent.
Joseph grabs one of the shields hung on the wall and uses it to defend himself against the hammering Dudley delivers.
INT. LARGE HALL - CONTINUOUS
The fight makes its way into a large hall.
There are statues and plants lined up against the wall.
Joseph pushes those in front of Dudley to slow him down. But Dudley is strong.
Dudley delivers a hard hit, which Joseph blocks with his shield. He stumbles back into a closed door. Dudley doesn't lighten up, he abandons his shields and uses both hands on the sword to hammer Joseph. Joseph uses his shield to block it, but it's so violent that he falls to the ground.
Dudley reaches for Joseph's shield and rips it from his hand.
Dudley smiles in triumph.
DUDLEY
End of the road, slave.
INT. ANOTHER STONE CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS
Mary and Hadrian run through a larger stone corridor towards a large door.
They push it open and exit to ...
INT. LARGE HALL - CONTINUOUS
The door Hadrian pushed open separated Joseph and Dudley. The door hits Dudley just as he is about to stab Joseph.
Hadrian and Mary run out.
Joseph scrambles to his feet and grabs his shield. He looks up and sees more palace residents walk into the great hall, watching the events unfold.
Suddenly Joseph hears a scream from behind him.
He snaps back and sees Marcus with one of his guards. The guard holds Mary hostage with his sword on her neck. She still has the baby. The baby cries.
MARCUS
I think it'll be good for everyone if
you hand me the baby. Come on, girl.
Mary gives him the baby. Marcus takes the baby in one arm and holds Mary's hand with the other. The guard transfers her to Marcus. Marcus looks at the tattoo in Mary's hand intently.
MARCUS (cont'd)
What have we here?
MARY
Let me go.
Marcus lets her go. She was pulling away so hard that she falls on her butt when he lets her go. Joseph, practically drags her back behind him.
MARCUS
It astounds me how dumb you
Stronglandians are. Do you know the
man you're trying to help? The great
Sir Patrick? His house was the one who
destroyed your village and took most
of your people as slaves. Probably
including your parents. I would
recognize that mark on your hand any
where. I happen to have gotten to know
one of their women quiet well.
Marcus laughs and looks at his guards and they laugh too.
Dudley joins the ranks.
Hadrian looks at his tattoo with a sudden realization.
MARY
Was that woman Hadrian's, mother?
Marcus falls silent.
HADRIAN
Well, was it father?
MARCUS
Shut-up boy. You're betraying me for
these slaves? You're betraying our
traditions
Marcus' guards stand ready to descend on Mary and Joseph.
MARY
You're the one who betrayed your
traditions. You're the one who
fathered a son from a Stronglandian
woman and hid his identity.
MARCUS
Lies. She's lying son. That's what
Stronglandians do. They lie to save
their skin.
MARY
There are no lies here except yours.
Marcus looks around at the castle employees congregating, eyeing him.
MARCUS
SHUT-UP. SHUT-UP. I had enough of
this. Kill them.
The guards don't obey the orders.
MARCUS (cont'd)
I said kill them.
JOSEPH
It's over. Sir Patrick knows about
what you've done and he's on his way.
Marcus grabs Dudley from his armor.
MARCUS
Get your men in order.
DUDLEY
Men, we obey the House of Marcus.
GUARD
Not for treason against our Eitorian
people
Dudley stabs the objecting guard through. The man falls to the ground, dead.
DUDLEY
Any one else.
The rest of the guards prepare and advance, but Hadrian gets in their way. Mary and Joseph backup. Joseph looks left and right. They are pretty much cornered, except for a balcony behind them. Joseph and Mary head there.
HADRIAN
You're wrong father. You hate them for
your own sins.
MARCUS
I should've known a son of a slave
will amount to nothing.
Dudley pushes Hadrian out of the way. Joseph throws his sword at the advancing guards. They duck to avoid it. Along with the delay Hadrian caused, Joseph and Mary have enough time to back up to the balcony. The rope which Hadrian and Mary had thrown earlier to trick the guards dangles a meter away.
Joseph and Mary climb on the thick railing of the balcony.
JOSEPH
We have to jump.
Joseph abandons his shield.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Jump.
Mary and Joseph jump as Dudley catches up and swings his sword at them, but misses.
Joseph grabs onto the rope. Mary slips, but Joseph grabs her hand before she falls. She secures her hold on the rope as well.
The momentum of the jump swings the rope like a pendulum.
Joseph looks and there is an adjacent balcony one level below. He rocks himself. Joseph gets close to Dudley. Dudley swings his sword, but Joseph protects himself with the his iron hand armor.
Their momentum carries them to the other balcony.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Let go.
Joseph and Mary let go and they land painfully on the balcony.
Dudley looks at them in anger.
DUDLEY
(to his guards)
Follow me.
He steps inside the castle.
MARY
We have to go.
JOSEPH
Not just yet.
Joseph takes a torch off the wall and a small glass bottle from his pocket. He uses his teeth to pull the plug and pours the contents of the bottle on the fire. It glows bright blue.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE MARCUS' PALACE WALL - NIGHT
Sir Patrick stands with his guards, watching the castle from far away. He sees the bright blue flame rise.
SIR PATRICK
That's our signal. Move.
Him and a few guards start riding towards the castle.
EXT. MARCUS' PALACE BALCONY - NIGHT
The flame continues to burn blue for a moment, before the fire returns to normal.
JOSEPH
Now we can go.
Joseph tosses the torch to the side and they run down a set of stairs from the balcony to the palace square.
EXT. MARCUS' PALACE SQUARE - CONTINUOUS
Mary and Joseph run through the square towards the gates. To their terror guards close the palace door.
Suddenly Sir Patrick rides in and shoots one of the guards closing the door with an arrow. The other guards back up. A short moment after, a stream of guards file through the gate.
SIR PATRICK
Men, fan out. Find my family.
Sir Patrick approaches Joseph with his horse and dismounts. The rest of his men spread through the palace, disarming Marcus' men.
Patrick cuts the few steps separating him from Joseph urgently.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
Did you find my wife and son?
JOSEPH
You have to hurry. Marcus has your
son.
INT. GRAND HALL - CONTINUOUS
Marcus looks at Dudley.
MARCUS
Gather your most loyal men. We need to
make a stand. Are you with me?
DUDLEY
Yes sir.
Hadrian holds his father's arm.
HADRIAN
Please, father, I love you no matter
what, but when is this going to stop?
MARCUS
Fool. The rule was meant for you.
Now...
Marcus pulls his arm free from Hadrian.
MARCUS (cont'd)
Whatever happens to the House of
Marcus is on your head.
Marcus walks away with Dudley and a few other guards. Hadrian hesitates and walks in a different direction.
EXT. MARCUS' PALACE SQUARE - CONTINUOUS
One of Patrick's guards escorts Jaime, who's tired and dirty, to Patrick.
GUARD
Sir!
Patrick turns to the guard and sees his wife. He runs to her and they hug.
SIR PATRICK
I thought I lost you.
JAIME
Where is our son?
SIR PATRICK
We'll find him.
Patrick touches her face tenderly.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
Stay with the guard. I'll go after
Marcus.
JAIME
No. I need a horse.
SIR PATRICK
You're in no condition...
JAIME
I'm coming with you.
SIR PATRICK
(to the guard)
Horse for the Lady.
The guard goes to get his horse. Sir Patrick turns to Joseph and Mary. Mary steps behind Joseph.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
I owe you a debt of gratitude. Stay
with my guards and you'll be safe.
JOSEPH
How are you going to find him?
SIR PATRICK
There is only one viable escape out of
my town. The trader's road.
Jaime goes to Mary and tries to hug her but she steps away.
JAIME
What's wrong?
MARY
You're married to the monster who
ripped my village and my family apart.
How could you?
JAIME
It wasn't him. It was his father.
MARY
Does it matter? He did nothing to stop
it, but give sweet and useless
speeches.
The guard brings a horse for Jaime. Jaime backs up towards it.
JAIME
I hope you find it in your heart to
forgive us.
Jaime mounts the horse.
SIR PATRICK
(to the guard)
Make sure they are safe.
Patrick and Jaime, along with some of their guards ride away.
Joseph turns to Mary.
JOSEPH
Are you okay?
MARY
You heard who that man really is. You
were right. I was too naive to think
they'll ever accept us.
JOSEPH
No Mary. I was wrong. You were always
right. Just cause someone hurt us,
doesn't mean we shouldn't help if we
have the chance. This is who we are.
You taught me that.
Mary looks away.
GUARD
If you'll follow me.
JOSEPH
Take my sister. I have some business
to attend to.
MARY
No. Joseph. You're not going to leave
me again.
JOSEPH
Mary, I have to see this through. I
have to keep my promise.
MARY
You don't owe him anything.
JOSEPH
You're right. I'm not doing it for
him. I promised Alfreda I'll get
Jaime's baby back.
MARY
You've changed.
JOSEPH
You don't know the half of it.
MARY
I'm not leaving you. I'm coming with.
JOSEPH
Mary. I can't worry about you and ...
MARY
No. I'm the one who got us into this
whole thing from the beginning. I'm
the one who should see it through.
Joseph looks at her and smiles
JOSEPH
Alright then. Let's do it.
GUARD
But Sir Patrick told me to take you
back.
JOSEPH
Sorry buddy. We don't answer to Sir
Patrick.
Joseph and Mary run towards the gate. Leaving the guard behind.
EXT. EDGE OF FOREST - NIGHT
Joseph and Mary head towards the tree line.
MARY
Where are we going?
JOSEPH
Almost there.
They get to a designated place and stop.
MARY
Where is here?
Joseph turns to Mary.
JOSEPH
Don't be scared now, okay?
Joseph backs up. Eimar steps out of the darkness. We first see his glowing eyes and veins, then we see his face.
Mary's eyes widen in horror. She is speechless.
Joseph puts his hand on Eimar's neck.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Meet my friend.
EXT. FOREST - TWILIGHT
The sun rises. Joseph and Mary are on Eimar's back. Mary holds on to Joseph.
The tree line is elevated over the main road leading out of town. Farther ahead they can see Sir Patrick has already stopped Marcus and his men. There is a face off between Sir Patrick and his men and Marcus and his men.
The road by the see runs along a cliff, with a steep drop down to the ocean. The ocean waves crash on the sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliff.
Marcus holds a basket with Sir Patrick's baby in it over the cliff. If he lets him go, it'll be certain death for the baby. Jaime is with Patrick's men. They stand behind Patrick surrounding her for protection.
Joseph and Mary dismount Eimar.
JOSEPH
(to Eimar)
Stay here. We don't want Marcus to
drop the baby if he sees you.
Joseph and Mary sneak down the hill.
EXT. THE TRADERS ROAD - MORNING
Sir Patrick takes a step closer to Marcus. His hands are up in the air as a gesture of surrender.
SIR PATRICK
Please, Marcus, let my baby go. He's
my only son.
MARCUS
Don't get any closer or I'll drop him.
Sir Patrick takes a few steps back.
MARCUS (cont'd)
Now, get on your knees.
SIR PATRICK
What?
MARCUS
On your knees. NOW.
Sir Patrick hesitates for a moment. He looks back at his men. Then he gets down on his knees.
SIR PATRICK
Please. Marcus. Haven't I been good to
you?
MARCUS
Good? You want to rip apart our way of
life and our traditions, and you call
that good? You want to give these
savages back power so they can be the
ones to enslave us and you call that
good?
SIR PATRICK
Don't be a hypocrite, Marcus. We both
know who Hadrian's mother is.
MARCUS
Unlike you I didn't suffer his mother
to raise him. You know full well, I
banished her and I raised him by
myself. Unlike you. You let this
Stronglandian slave infiltrate our
ranks and make changes left and right.
EXT. THE TRADERS ROAD, TO THE SIDE - MORNING
Joseph and Mary sneak behind a boulder and watch the events unfold.
SIR PATRICK
Marcus please. I beg you. Give me back
my son.
MARCUS
You want your kid?
EXT. THE TRADERS ROAD - MORNING
Back with Marcus and Sir Patrick.
Marcus reaches within his coat and produces a scroll. He gives it to one of his men and gestures to him to give to Sir Patrick.
MARCUS
Sign this.
The man walks to Sir Patrick. Marcus has made sure he's about fifty meters away to avoid any nasty surprises.
MARCUS (cont'd)
I'll reverse the damage you've done.
Sir Patrick takes the scroll from the man and looks through it.
SIR PATRICK
What is this?
MARCUS
A declaration, relinquishing control
over the land to me. And an admission
of treason against our people.
SIR PATRICK
But this admission will mean my
execution.
The man gives Sir Patrick a pen.
MARCUS
Yes indeed. It will. You will die
today Patrick. You will get what you
deserve for betraying our traditions.
And your men will follow me.
SIR PATRICK
What about Jaime and my son?
MARCUS
They don't matter to me. They can go
back to being slaves for all I care.
What is it gonna be? Your life, or
your son's life? My arm is getting
tired.
Marcus makes belief that he's going to drop the baby.
SIR PATRICK
Alright. Alright.
Sir Patrick picks up the pen and signs the contract.
SIR PATRICK (cont'd)
Here. Here.
Patrick starts to get up.
MARCUS
(shouts)
Stay on your knees.
The situation tenses up. Marcus' men ready their weapons. Patrick's men are ready to fight as well.
Sir Patrick returns to his knees.
SIR PATRICK
Okay. Take it easy.
EXT. THE TRADERS ROAD, TO THE SIDE - MORNING
Joseph and Mary continue watching the events unfold.
Marcus looks at the same man and gestures for him to get the contract.
MARCUS
Get it from him.
Mary looks at Joseph worried.
MARY
Marcus will never let them live. If he
gets that declaration, they are as
good as dead.
JOSEPH
I'm thinking. I'm thinking.
Joseph looks in Eimar's direction. He can't see him. Then he looks at Marcus
JOSEPH (cont'd)
No.
MARY
What?
JOSEPH
Look at him, if anyone tries to
interfere he can just drop the baby.
Marcus' man takes the contract from Sir Patrick and heads to Marcus.
SIR PATRICK
You've got what you want.
Mary looks at Joseph.
Joseph is frozen.
Mary then decides to take matters in her own hand.
She abandons her hiding spot and sprints towards the man.
JOSEPH
No. Wait.
But it's too late.
EXT. THE TRADERS ROAD - MORNING
Mary bursts into the scene, running towards the man carrying the contract back to Marcus.
Everyone is surprised by her sudden entrance.
Joseph is right at her tail.
Mary reaches Marcus' man first. She tries to attack him, but only manages to grab a hold of his arm. She's no match for him, however. He flings her away. Mary flies through the air and lands roughly by Marcus' feet.
Marcus looks at her.
MARCUS
You again!
Marcus' guards sees Joseph approaching and braces himself. Joseph, nimble, fakes a move then slides between the man's legs, punching him in the groin. The man reacts in pain and drops the contract. Joseph picks a rock from the ground and hits the man on the back of the head. The man drops motionless.
Joseph picks up the contract.
MARCUS (cont'd)
Dog.
Joseph turns and sees Marcus holding Mary by her clothes.
MARY
(mouths)
Sorry!
Marcus shoves Mary off the cliff.
JOSEPH
(yells)
NOO.
Joseph rages and runs towards Marcus not caring about the baby or the cliff. He's blind with rage.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I'll kill you.
Marcus lets go of the basket with the baby as he reaches for his sword.
SIR PATRICK
No. NOO.
JAIME
Nooo.
Sir Patrick and Jamie watch in horror as the basket with their baby in it, falls off the cliff.
Marcus smiles as he prepares to stab Joseph through upon his approach.
MARCUS
That's it, bring me the contract.
Suddenly his eyes widen as he sees Eimar plow through his men.
Dudley turns to face Eimar, but Eimar stomps on him. He's definitely dead.
Eimar passes Joseph with a single leap and charges Marcus.
EXT. TRADERS' ROAD - CONTINUOUS
Hadrian rides his horse. The road's curvature is such that he can see the side of the cliff where the confrontation between Marcus, Joseph, Mary and Sir Patrick is taking place.
He watches as Eimar charges at this dad.
HADRIAN
Father!
EXT. TRADERS' ROAD - CONTINUOUS
Marcus tries to get out of the way, but he's flung over the cliff.
Eimar turns to Marcus' men and growls.
They back up in fear, drop their weapons and turn and run.
Sir Patrick and Joseph sprint to the edge of the cliff and look over.
Joseph still has the contract in his hand.
As they look over the cliff they are greeted by a sight which both gladdens them, and sends a chill up their spine.
Mary is hanging on a protruding rock with one hand and with the other she's holding onto the basket with the baby in it.
But underneath her is Marcus. He also hangs on. He has fallen further, but climbs up.
MARY
Help.
Joseph puts the contract in the inside of his jacket. Joseph lays flat on his stomach and reaches for Mary. But she's out of reach.
MARY (cont'd)
I'm slipping.
Sir Patrick grabs Joseph by the legs.
SIR PATRICK
Trust me.
Sir Patrick holds onto his legs as Joseph leans over the cliff.
Marcus climbs up. He's getting closer to Mary.
Joseph reaches out towards Mary.
JOSEPH
Almost there.
Joseph puts his utmost effort to reach for Mary. Her hands slip, but Joseph grabs her in the nick of time.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
I got you.
(yells)
Pull me up.
Sir Patrick starts to pull Joseph up. But suddenly there is a sharp tug. Mary yells.
Marcus reaches Mary and is now holding onto her foot.
MARCUS
Give me the contract or we all die.
Marcus tugs again at Mary's foot.
Mary screams.
Marcus tries to reach for the basket, but Mary pulls it up.
Marcus tugs again.
Mary's hand slips a little from Joseph's hand.
Joseph pushes himself further down. Sir Patrick and his men hold onto his legs. Eimar watches on.
Joseph secures his grasp on Mary's hand.
As he does the contract in the inside of his jacket slips out a bit.
He struggles against Marcus. He pulls Mary up, while Marcus pulls her down.
The contract slips further out.
Mary kicks at Marcus.
She hits him in the face. But it's not severe enough to force him to let go of her.
Joseph is now dangling upside down.
MARCUS (cont'd)
I'll make you pay for this, dog.
Worthless dog.
Marcus strengthens his hold on Mary's right foot with his right hand. He lets go of his hand holding onto the cliff. His foot, in a crevice of the rock, maintains his balance. He reaches for a dagger.
Mary slips further. She screams.
JOSEPH
Let go of her.
Marcus raises his dagger to stab Mary. Joseph sees the contract slipping from his inside pocket.
JOSEPH (cont'd)
Stop. Here.
With an abrupt motion he reaches for the contract and lets it go towards Marcus.
Marcus abandons the dagger and reaches for the contract. He
maintains one hand on Mary's foot.
Marcus catches the tip of the contract. He momentarily loses his grasp on the contract, fumbles with it but finally secures his grip on it.
He raises his hand in triumph.
MARCUS
Yes.
Mary kicks at his hand and the contract goes flying away.
MARCUS (cont'd)
NOO
He tries to reach for it, but loses his grip on Mary and falls down towards the sea waves crashing on the rock bed.
EXT. TRADERS' ROAD - CONTINUOUS
Hadrian watches his father tumble towards the crashing waves.
HADRIAN
Father. FATHER! No!
He urges his horse to ride faster.
EXT. TRADERS' ROAD - CONTINUOUS
Back with Joseph and Mary.
Joseph watches a wave envelop Marcus. When the wave recedes, he's no longer there.
JOSEPH
Pull me up.
Sir Patrick pulls Joseph up, then Mary then finally the baby.
They all lay on the floor panting in exhaustion.
Sir Patrick reaches for the basket and takes his crying baby out and hugs him tightly. Jaime scrambles to him and they both huddle around the baby.
Jaime and Patrick cuddle with their baby and rock back and forth, trying to calm him down.
SIR PATRICK
It's alright. Everything is alright
now. Everything is alright.
His men gather around him.
WITH JOSEPH AND MARY
Joseph gets up and helps his sister up.
He hugs her.
JOSEPH
No more running away, please.
Mary laughs
MARY
Deal.
Eimar approaches Joseph. Joseph hugs Eimar.
JOSEPH
Thanks buddy.
Eimar returns the hug.
EXT. SEASHORE - LATER
Hadrian reaches the sea shore. He jumps off his horse and runs to the edge of the sea, looking around. He squints at the setting sun. There is a body floating upside down. Hadrian runs into the sea.
Hadrian reaches the body and flips him over. It's Marcus. He pulls him to shore. He situates Marcus' head on his knee.
HADRIAN
Father. Father.
He slaps his father's face, but there is no response.
Hadrian rocks his father back and forth.
THE CAMERA PULLS AWAY FROM HADRIAN AND MARCUS
CUT TO:
EXT. THE TOWN BORDER - LATER
The convoy including Joseph and Mary riding Eimar, and Sir Patrick, Jaime and his men approach the border of the town.
Mary and Joseph dismount Eimar.
Sir Patrick and Jaime stop and dismount their horses. Sir Patrick holds his son.
MARY
This is where we part.
SIR PATRICK (O.S.)
Come back with us. I will reward you
for all you've lost.
Mary looks at Patrick and steps closer to Joseph.
MARY
Really? You will? May I ask you
something?
SIR PATRICK
Anything.
MARY
Is anyone left from our village? The
village your house pillaged for
slaves.
Sir Patrick looks down for a moment and then back at Mary.
SIR PATRICK
I'm truly sorry for all the
difficulties which befell you and your
brother. I now see that change will
only come through people like you, who
are willing to do the right thing no
matter what their circumstances are. I
shall endeavor to do the same.
MARY
Please, no more speeches. Just tell me
where my parents are.
SIR PATRICK
I don't know. My father sold all the
slaves to surrounding towns.
Jaime takes a step towards Mary, who takes a step back. She doesn't want to get close to Jaime.
JAIME
Mary, come back with us and we will do
our best to find your parents.
Mary looks at Joseph.
MARY
Thank you for the offer. And I'm truly
happy that your family is back
together. But I think it's time we
find ours.
Joseph nods in agreement.
Eimar crouches down and Mary gets on.
JAIME
Thank you for everything
Mary and Joseph smile. Eimar turns around and sprints away
FADE TO BLACK.:
5 Comments
user-45229
Plot
Structure
Characters
Dialogue
Theme
Amir Shehata
Notes from call with Zac
user-c7f9a
I'll just comment on the few points I thought were most important in my understanding of the story.
1) Tattoo theme. I'm inclined to agree with what Zac is proposing: it would make more sense if tattoo had some "tribal mark" significance rather than being a slave brand. It would explain why Hadrian got the tattoo: his mother could've done it for him before Marcus could intervene and maybe that's why she was killed/exiled.
2) Marcus's obsession with the "contract". Can the piece of paper be so powerful? Who is so powerful that they can do harm to Sir Patrick if Marcus shows the contract to them? At some point I thought that this obsession was meant to highlight Marcus's progressing madness, but Sir Patrick in the ending seems to agree that the contract is dangerous to him.
Amir Shehata
I discussed 2 with Serguei and I think we came up with something pretty good:
The Eitorian is a very legalistic society. Similar to the Persian and Medes mentioned in the book of Daniel (in the Bible). Daniel 6:
7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
When they were successful in entrapping Daniel, the king tried to find a way to save him; however:
14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
The same is true with the Eitorians in their legalistic thinking. They create laws and once it's established and signed by the ruler of the land, they can't be changed, even by the ruler himself. This is to avoid different generations undoing what has been done. This would provide a compelling reason for Marcus to seek this contract.
There are multiple occasions in the script where this can be brought up:
Amir Shehata
Zac Comments 2.0
1. Marcus needs to personally hate Joseph to justify letting him live with the torture of knowing his sister is now a slave. This can be accomplished by having Joseph demean Marcus at the beginning somehow.
2. The intent of the flashback is to justify why Joseph doesn't want to get involved. If we show the Eitorians killing Joseph's father, this might achieve the goal. And we can include Eimar.
3. In the shop scene, Mary can defends an Eitorian Kid when he bumps into Marcus. Marcus shoves him. Mary helps him. Marcus trash talks her for daring to touch an Eitorian Kid. Asks the shop owner to take her. Shop owner tries to defend Mary in a subdued way, but it back fires. (Get back in the back she works here. No I don't) - Establish Mary and the shop owner that they know each other at the beginning of the scene.
4. Instead of the stable scene. They can go back to Zakary. Zakary is distressed for having them there with the Baby. He informs the gurads and betrays them. They spend the night. Marcus shows up in the morning and takes the baby and Mary.