Braveheart Page #28

GENERAL:

Mornay?

LONGSHANKS:

For double his lands in Scotland,

and matching estates in England.

WALLACE, WITH STEPHEN

They see the Scottish army abandoned.

STEPHEN:

Betrayed!

Wallace glances to the other hilltop; still no sign of Bruce.

He looks on in agony as the crossbowmen unleash another

volley. The Scottish spearmen, bunched in a tight group, are

helpless. The bolts fall, cutting through their helmets and

breastplates like paper. Wallace has no cavalry -- and his

men are being slaughtered! He spurs his horse, and Stephen

and the infantrymen race behind him.

The English heavy cavalry surge to meet them, but Wallace

weaves through them, dodging with his horse, slashing with

the broadsword, cutting down on knight, another, another...

The Scottish infantry claws in, dragging down the horses,

hacking the knights as they run by.

The English bowmen are about to fire again, but they see the

Scottish charge bearing down on them and adjust their aim;

the bolts cut into the infantrymen; one bolt tears off the

armor of Wallace's left shoulder. He wobbles on his horse,

regains his balance, and keeps up the charge.

AT THE ENGLISH COMMAND

Longshanks and his generals are watching the action.

GENERAL:

My God, and still they come!

LONGSHANKS:

Use the reinforcements! But take

Wallace alive!

The General signals and the English reinforcements surge

into the battle.

IN THE THICK OF THE BATTLE

On horseback, Wallace fights his way into the watery edge of

the field, where English infantry is now overrunning the

schiltron. He hacks men down left and right, reaches the

Scottish center, and finds Hamish bending over another

soldier. Wallace dismounts.

WALLACE:

Hamish! Ham --

And Wallace sees that Hamish is holding his father, fallen

in battle. Wallace has no time to react; he cuts down and

English swordsman moving in to hack Hamish's back. Wallace

lifts Campbell across the saddle, and shouts at Hamish...

WALLACE:

Get him away!

Hamish obeys, jumping onto the horse and galloping back toward

the rear. Wallace fights with new vengeance, swinging the

double-edged broadsword with deadly accuracy.

Rallied by Wallace's presence, the Scots surge back. Then

Wallace sees the English reinforcement cavalry coming.

WALLACE:

A charge! Form up! Form up!

The Scots pull up spears and hastily form another schiltron.

The spears bristle out, ready... the English horsemen thunder

in. But before the spears impale the horses, another flight

of crossbow bolts cuts down half the Scots still fighting.

Hamish reaches the rear of the battle and lowers the limp

body of his father to the Scottish monks who are attending

to the wounded and giving absolution to the dying...

Still Wallace fights back, meeting the English charge. The

Scots hold their own. An English knight tries to ride over

William; he knocks the lance aside, and tough the horse slams

into him, William also unseats the rider.

The rider rolls to his feet. William struggles up to meet

him -- and comes face to face with Robert the Bruce.

The shock and recognition stun Wallace; in that moment,

looking at Robert the Bruce's guilt-ridden face, he

understands everything: the betrayal, the hopelessness of

Scotland. As he stands there frozen, a bolt punches into the

muscle of his neck, and Wallace doesn't react to it.

Bruce is horrified at the sight of Wallace this way. He

batters at Wallace's sword, as if its use would give him

absolution.

ROBERT:

Fight me! Fight me!

But Wallace can only stagger back. Bruce's voice grows ragged

as he screams.

ROBERT:

FIGHT ME!

All around, the battle has decayed; the Scots are being

slaughtered. Another bolt glances off Wallace's helmet; a

third rips into his thigh plate, making his legs collapse.

Suddenly Stephen comes through the melee, on Robert's horse!

He hits Robert from behind, knocking him down, and jumps to

the ground to try and lift William onto the horse!

Robert sees a knot of crossbowmen moving up, sighting out

Wallace, taking careful aim! Bruce leaps up and helps Stephen

sling Wallace onto the back of the horse, even covers him

with his shield, deflecting another bolt fired at Wallace,

as Stephen mounts too.

As the horse plunges away into the smoke, Robert falls to

the water. His own troops reach him, realize who he is, see

the horrible expression on his face, and race on after the

Scots.

Robert is left alone, on his knees in the water, the fire

and noise of battle now dim to him, as if his senses have

died along with his heart.

LONGSHANKS:

Looks over the battlefield, strewn with the bodies of the

Scottish dead. For now, he is satisfied.

EXT. ROAD - SUNSET

Remnants of the defeated army straggle past. Wallace and

Stephen are trying to help Hamish carry his father, but now

old Campbell says...

CAMPBELL:

Son... I want to die on the ground.

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