Damsel Page #10

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Gilbert fights to remember what he can.

55.

GILBERT (CONT’D)

He was a little older than I am

now, when I lost him. I remember a

desert. Being alone. I remember

walking for days in heavy sand. I

remember the headmistress and her

wagons coming to me. From that day

on, I have travelled with them.

ELISE:

How old were you?

GILBERT:

I cannot know for certain. I was a

child.

Elise turns her lips apologetically.

GILBERT (CONT’D)

I became strong when I lost my

family. Maybe you deciding to be

free is the way that your brother

will learn to be strong on his own.

ELISE:

You are not on your own Gilbert.

There is a difference.

Elise turns her attention back to the night sky.

ELISE (CONT’D)

Braun is not like you. Choosing

your own path. Being whoever you

want to be. Going wherever you

want to go. Home is all that

matters to him.

Gilbert puts his hand on hers.

GILBERT:

But, you are not him.

Elise thinks on her options.

ELISE:

What I love about this freedom is

equally, the freedom to leave.

Coming here to stay would just be

another sort of responsibility that

I do not want right now.

GILBERT:

I thought that, with time, it would

be easier for me to understand.

(MORE)

56.

GILBERT (CONT'D)

When you are not here, I think on

you constantly.

He tries to compose himself, knows that this conversation

never goes they way he’d like.

GILBERT (CONT’D)

I wish that you needed me the same.

I wish that you remembered the look

on my face when we first met.

ELISE:

Who says that I do not? There is a

difference between what I want and

what I can give right now. I do

not even know the difference

between the two.

They gaze at the stars. The majestic purple galaxy above.

ELISE (CONT’D)

I wonder if my visits only make it

harder for you.

A sadness floats between them. Gilbert tries to find a way

to smooth it over. A kinder approach.

GILBERT:

No matter how far apart two people

may be, they see the same moon, the

same stars.

Gilbert turns his eyes to Elise. Connecting.

GILBERT (CONT’D)

I think about that often now.

His gaze floats back to the sky.

She steals another glance at him. He catches her and smiles.

Gilbert decides to leave her on a good note.

GILBERT (CONT’D)

I should turn in.

ELISE:

I am going to stay for a while.

He stands.

GILBERT:

Maybe one day, I will not have to

look to the stars for comfort.

57.

A melancholy smile between them.

Elise’s thoughts float to Prince Cavill.

ELISE:

Maybe one day.

Gilbert disappears back into the circle of wagons.

Elise loses herself in the twilight. The sounds of the

wilderness resonate.

Solitude.

RAPUNZEL (O.S.)

You are beautiful.

She turns to find Rapunzel, dressed her version of a gypsy’s

attire, approaching her from the direction of the circle.

Rapunzel’s hair, thick and long. Angelic.

Their first encounter.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

I am sorry if I startled you. I

saw you out here and wanted to see

if everything was alright.

ELISE:

Thank you.

Silence binds them.

Elise’s eyes wander across the sky. Her worries get the best

of her, tears well.

RAPUNZEL:

Is... everything alright?

Elise turns to Rapunzel, feeling strangely drawn to her.

Rapunzel wraps her fingers around Elise’s wrist and gently

pulls her from her seat, bringing her into an embrace.

ELISE:

My heart and my head constantly

tear at one another. I never know

which to follow.

Rapunzel holds her there, comforting the girl as her tears

finally spill over.

58.

RAPUNZEL:

Dear child.

Rapunzel speaks in an ominous whisper.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

Surely you know of the dangers to

come. The dangers you have not yet

faced. This journey you are on is

nothing to be taken lightly.

Elise immediately collects herself and moves away.

ELISE:

I do not take it lightly.

RAPUNZEL:

What is it that compels you to

continue onward?

She recognizes Elise’s weakness.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

Leaving your father and brother. A

journey to save a man you cannot

possibly love and for the king of a

kingdom that forgets you.

ELISE:

I never said it had anything to do

with the king. Who are you? How

do you know what I am doing?

Rapunzel reaches out for Elise, placing her hand on her

shoulder, calming her.

RAPUNZEL:

You remind me much of myself.

Elise softens.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

We are connected, you and I.

Rapunzel presents a necklace. Silver with a blood-red jewel.

ELISE:

It is beautiful. I couldn’t-

RAPUNZEL:

It is yours.

Rapunzel gently turns Elise’s back toward her, hanging the

jewel from her neck.

59.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

Return home. Your brother and

father miss you.

Elise takes hold of the jewel. Considers.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

You need only grasp this pendant.

Ask to return to South Shire and it

will be so.

The moment weighs on Elise.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

This is not your fight.

Elise has a hundred things that she wants to ask. She waits

one second too long.

Elise’s lips part as she spins to face Rapunzel once more,

but she’s already gone.

Elise hangs in the mysterious moment. Her hand on the

necklace around her neck.

CUT TO:

EXT. SOUTHERN THESSIA WILDERNESS - DAWN

Four men, the queen’s mercenaries, travel on a path through

the forest.

Ruffians, dressed in weathered leather clothes. Belts and

straps harness their weapons.

Their hair, long and unkept. Skin, worn and scarred.

FISHEL, the smallest of the group, leads the way.

A thin twine line runs across the path, it goes unnoticed at

first.

Vel wears a heavy long sword. He spots the trigger.

VEL:

Fishel.

Fishel stops.

Vel inspects the taunt line, which is attached to a steadfast

tree on one end.

60.

On the other, it is attached to a tall, unstable stick,

supporting a heavy rock pendulum.

He signs for the crew to step back and sweeps the rope with

his sword.

The stick falls and pendulum swings across the path, crushing

against a massive boulder on the other side.

BEAR, even larger than Vel, but not as quick, carries a

heavy, one-handed hammer.

BEAR:

Could’ve done some damage.

VEL:

Someone wants to make sure they’re

the first one to the prince, eh?

BEAR:

The things some folks will do for

money.

They grunt with humor.

VEL:

Best we travel off the path from

here on out.

Bear raises his nose.

BEAR:

I smell fire.

FISHEL:

It’s early.

BEAR:

A little breakfast before the day’s

journey?

RUNE, the final of the four, is of medium stature and bears a

bow and quiver.

RUNE:

What fool would set fire in the

daylight at a time like this?

BEAR:

A fool that wants to be found.

A dangerous crew.

CUT TO:

61.

INT. GYPSY CAMP - DAWN

Morning fog hovers over the land.

The center of camp, where a fire once blazed, has become the

common sleeping grounds.

The gypsy folk lie atop blankets which cover the forest

floor. They rest as a tribe.

The colors of the ornate campsite are even more interesting

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