Braveheart Page #10

EXT. RUINS OF AN ANCIENT CHURCH - NIGHT

The church is at the base of the precipice, beside the loch.

INT. THE CHURCH - NIGHT

This ancient Gaelic place of worship has been destroyed by

the occupying army, and yet it looks devoutly holy this way,

lit only by candles and moonlight through the open roof. The

village PRIEST whom we saw at the wedding celebration is

waiting at the altar. Marion steps into the confessional, as

William moves to the altar and kneels in prayer.

Marion emerges; she's changed into the wedding dress she

made from the cloth she bought. William stands and watches

her float down the aisle; his whole life was worth this

moment.

Together, the two lovers turn to the priest.

PRIEST:

You have come to pledge, each to the

other, before Almighty God.

From within his shirt, William withdraws a strip of cloth

woven in his family tartan. He and Marion each lift a hand

to the priest, and he binds their wrists with the cloth.

WILLIAM:

I will love you my whole life. You

and no other.

From her dress she takes a handmade handkerchief, embroidered

with a thistle to look like the one she first gave him those

years ago.

MARION:

And I you. You and no other. Forever.

The Priest waits for them to go on, but neither can; they're

too taken with emotion, looking at each other. The Priest

intones holy phrases...

PRIEST:

Agus bhayd lauch... The Lord bless

and keep thy love, now and forever.

The lovers kiss. As they break their embrace, a figure

carrying something dark and spiky appears at the broken door

of the church, and William spins as if to attack, but the

Priest catches his arm; they see the man carries bagpipes.

PRIEST:

I trust him -- or I'd'a killed him

me'self. A weddin' needs pipes.

The piper begins to play, and the tune from his primitive

chanter is wispy, ethereal, beautiful. The lovers look into

each other's eyes, as the single melody of the pipes merges

into a swell of music, UNDERSCORING MONTAGE

William and Marion ride the path to the top of the precipice,

where, in the shelter of the grove, they spend their

honeymoon. The MUSIC CONTINUES as, still sweaty from their

love-making, he returns her to her house just before dawn.

She waves from her window, as William rides away, as we

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. VILLAGE OF LANARK - DAY

It's Market Day in the village, busy with Highlanders,

merchants of all kinds, and a few special attractions like

jugglers and fortune tellers. Marion moves along a table

full of flowers and fruit... William, concealed behind hanging

baskets, watches her unseen, savoring the beauty of his

beloved, bathing his soul in the sight of her. Then she looks

up and spots him, her smile sudden and luminous, before she

remembers to conceal it. He moves up beside her.

WILLIAM:

I've missed you.

MARION:

Shush. It's only been a day.

(beat)

And it's seemed like forever.

WILLIAM:

Tonight then.

MARION:

My parents are growing suspicious! I

can't keep meeting you every night!

Playfully he pokes his finger under the collar of her dress,

pulling up the strip of checked cloth he gave her at their

wedding, which she now wears hidden around her neck.

WILLIAM:

Then when?

MARION:

...Tonight!

Tucking in the cloth strip, she hurries away, smiling.

ANGLE - DRUNKEN ENGLISH SOLDIERS - BY AN ALE CASK - DAY

They spot Marion moving through the fair, glowing, beautiful.

The soldiers smirk at each other; as Marion passes, one of

them grabs her wrist. It's the soldier with the scar, the

one who's been staring at her.

SOLDIER:

Where are you going... lass?

MARION:

Let go.

A second drunken SOLDIER pipes up.

SOLDIER #2

Why don't you marry my friend here?

Then I'll take the first night!

The scarred soldier pulls Marion into his big arms; she shoves

him away with surprising strength, and he staggers back, to

the laughter of his friends. Then he snatches her again and

kisses her hard on the lips.

She breaks free and SLAPS him fiercely, hard enough to draw

blood from his mouth. Tasting the trickle, he slings her

down against sacks of grain, and the soldiers are all over

her, pinning her down, ripping her clothes, a full scale

public gang rape. As the townspeople try to move in the three

soldiers waiting their turn at Marion pull their knives,

keep them townspeople back.

SOLDIER #1

B*tch, who do you think you are?

He slams his mouth down against hers for a long, awful time,

comes up clawing at her dress to rip it from her body... and

is hit in the face by a rock thrown at great speed!

It takes a moment for the other soldiers to realize what

just happened, and in that instant William is on them. He

wrenches one soldier's arm in a direction it was never meant

to go, breaking the elbow, separating the shoulder, and

slinging the howling soldier into his comrades.

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