Damsel Page #12

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We will.

Fishel moves to the next pack.

One of the campers makes a run for it. Bursts to his feet,

in the opposite direction.

Rune draws an arrow.

CAMPER #2

No! Please!

Bear kicks Camper #2 in the face and wrestles him to his

stomach.

Rune buries a well placed arrow in the center of the running

camper’s back.

Camper #2 begins to cry as Bear roughs him up. Tying his

hands behind him.

Vel looks at Camper #1

VEL:

You going to stay put?

68.

The camper nods.

Fishel continues to dig through their belongings. He throws

more gold to Vel.

VEL (CONT’D)

It’s not safe for boys like you to

be traveling with this much gold.

There’s not a soul out here who

wouldn’t kill you for less.

Bear moves to his first victim, the knocked out camper, and

begins tying his hands together as well.

CUT TO:

INT. IVORY FORTRESS - GRAND THRONE ROOM - NIGHT

Rapunzel sits, powerful in her throne. She rolls her fingers

across one another.

A black vine grows toward her. It crawls upward into the air

at her shoulder’s height.

Leaves unfurl as the vine rolls open, like ever-growing

parchment.

She opens her palm to the sky.

The final leaf at the end of the vine opens and a lethal

black spider emerges. It drops from the edge of the plant by

a strand of web, landing in her palm.

Loneliness has driven her mad.

She rolls her fingers, toying with the spider as it dances

between them.

Her eyes move to Cavill, whose head hangs as he sleeps. Held

at bay by the queen’s black ivy.

RAPUNZEL:

What a waste.

She rises, floating from hip to hip until she lands in front

of him.

She runs her hand across his smooth cheek. Her eyes dart to-

and-fro.

69.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

I would have made a wonderful

bride. A doting wife. I could

have been yours.

Her chin jitters, manic.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

I would have been a queen of the

people.

She spins her finger in a circle in the air, referring to the

dead princes surrounding the room.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

Any of theirs.

She rests her head against Cavill’s chest. Tears drip from

the corners of her desperate gaze.

In her brokenness.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

Foolish wanting.

She stands again. Loses herself in thoughts of Edward. Her

eyes drift into the past.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

I would have been loyal. I could

have loved you forever.

She steadies her gaze back on Cavill.

Her shoulders square, her posture rises, her chin comes high.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

What might have been is lost. Now

I am a queen by my own accord.

CUT TO:

EXT. SOUTHERN PINE FOREST - DAY

Elise presses on, beside a small river.

The land falls away ahead. A waterfall.

She cautiously climbs down the steep embankment.

70.

EXT. SOUTHERN PINE FOREST - POOL - DUSK

Winded, Elise pulls her bow from her shoulder and drops her

pack to the ground.

A serene pool collects at the base of the falls.

She scans the crystal water for fish. A few scamper by.

She removes her boots and vest. Rolls up her pants. Pulls

her hair back, tying it with a small piece of twine.

She grabs her bow and a single arrow before cautiously

stepping into the shallow water.

She moves quietly until she’s at a depth just above her

knees.

She notches the arrow and draws back the bowstring.

Ready, she watches. Patient. Still. The disturbance she

created subsides.

Small fish hurry by.

She lets the arrow fly. It shoots into the water sending a

spout upward.

She retrieves it by its shaft. A flopping rainbow trout, her

prize.

EXT. SOUTHERN PINE FOREST - POOL - MOMENTS LATER

Elise uses her flint to start a fire in a pile of kindling

and dry brush.

Her gutted fish is run along a spit.

A sudden change in temperature. Elise shivers and moves to

her boots, pulling them on while the fish cooks.

Her leather vest comes next.

She rubs her hands together, breathing into them.

She moves to her pack and takes her blanket, throwing it over

her shoulders, she sits by the fire.

An eerie whisper, an ancient language, nearly inaudible,

creeps across Elise’s neck.

SPIRIT (O.S.)

Nior choir duit mall.

71.

Elise only notices a syllable or two, but it’s enough to

catch her ear.

Thinking it her imagination, she turns her attention back to

the fire.

SPIRIT (CONT’D)

Nior choir duit mall.

Still a whisper, but audible. It’s a breeze.

Elise stands.

ELISE:

Hello?

Nothing.

Scanning her surroundings. The cliff and waterfall behind

her. The pool to her right. Rolling hills of pine to her

left and in front of her.

She spins. Nothing.

ELISE (CONT’D)

Hello?

Moments more before she tightens the blanket around her

shoulders and wearily takes her seat again.

CUT TO:

EXT. ELISE AND BRAUN’S HOME - THAT NIGHT

Braun sits on the bench outside of his family’s home.

Staring into the glittering sky above.

He stands and enters through the front door.

INT. ELISE AND BRAUN’S HOME - CONTINUOUS

Douglas coughs from the adjacent bedroom.

Braun makes his way to the stove and ladles soup into a bowl.

DOUGLAS (O.S.)

Braun?

He sets the bowl on the dining room table and makes his way

toward his father’s room.

72.

BRAUN:

Coming.

INT. ELISE AND BRAUN’S HOME - BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS

BRAUN:

You ok?

His father lies on his side, struggling to prop himself

upright.

Braun helps.

Douglas has trouble catching his breath.

DOUGLAS:

Thank you.

BRAUN:

Of course.

He gestures for his son to sit next to him in the bed. Braun

obliges.

DOUGLAS:

I worry that I have been too big a

burden on you and your sister in

these last years.

It cuts Braun.

BRAUN:

Do not think that way. Father, I

love you. Elise loves you.

DOUGLAS:

I know. I know, son.

A moment passes.

DOUGLAS (CONT’D)

Thank you. For what you have been

to me. I pray hard that you might

be a father to children as generous

as you have been.

BRAUN:

Father-

Douglas needs to finish, but he’s weak.

73.

DOUGLAS:

When you have children, you are

born into a new world. You see

everything in a new light. You

helped me learn so much.

BRAUN:

And you, I.

Douglas rests his head on the backboard. Fragile.

DOUGLAS:

Do you remember the song I taught

you, when you were a child? Of the

eternal lovers?

The father holds tight to his son’s hand.

DOUGLAS (CONT’D)

Will you sing it for me?

Douglas’ breath grows shallow. His eyes heavy.

Braun tries to gather himself, tearing up. He grips his

father’s hand tightly.

He sings. His throat is gravel, but beautiful.

The song is slow. Old.

BRAUN (SINGS)

Was long ago the tale began/

a devil and an angel.

Two lovers met and bound their

souls/ they dance through time and

fable.

CUT TO:

EXT. SOUTH SHIRE - MORNING

Braun stands atop a green hill.

His father lies on a pile of dry grass. He’s passed on.

The song continues.

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