Damsel Page #13

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BRAUN (SINGS) (V.O)

Each life they live t’gether in

heart/ each ends within death’s

cradle.

The angel leaves early of us/ it

happens without fa-il.

(MORE)

74.

BRAUN (SINGS) (V.O) (CONT'D)

The path is rough to tir-na-nog/

and she’s the only able.

The grass burns. Braun’s head high and strong. His face

red, overcome with tears.

BRAUN (SINGS) (V.O) (CONT’D)

One day they’ll be t‘gether again/

o’er sadness they’ll prevail.

CUT TO:

EXT. SOUTHERN PINE FOREST - MORNING

Elise walks briskly.

Sadness comes over her. Knowing.

BRAUN (SINGS) (V.O.)

The angel waits to guide his soul/

across death’s foggy va-le.

One day they’ll be t‘gether again/

love is an eternal ta-le.

She pauses. Holds the dark necklace tightly, longing for

home. Tempted to use Rapunzel’s gift.

CUT TO:

EXT. SOUTHERN PINE FOREST - POOL - MORNING

The queen’s mercenaries; Vel, Bear, Fishel and Rune come to

Elise’s camp site at the base of the falls, near the pool,

where she’d camped the night before.

Vel fondles the fire pit where Elise’s spit once stood.

VEL:

Still warm. Can’t be too far

ahead.

Rune notices a path of Elise’s footprints in the mud near the

shore.

RUNE:

Only one set of tracks. Small

feet. If I didn’t know better, I’d

say it must be a girl.

Bear grins deviously.

75.

BEAR:

Just our luck, eh boys? A lonely

lil’ girl, ripe for the taking.

RUNE:

She’s moving south.

VEL:

Looks like we’ve got another hero

on our hands.

The dangerous men gain on Elise.

CUT TO:

EXT. SOUTHERN PINE FOREST - ELISE’S CAMP - NIGHT

The music of the night thunders around her. Frogs and

crickets chirp. Owls sing.

Elise has set up camp. She’s unloaded her traveling supplies

and weapons.

She pulls her blanket around her and readies for sleep.

Her small fire flickers in a pit nearby.

Her heavy eyes fall closed.

Suddenly, all of the animals are quiet. At once.

She notices a change in the air. The strange empty twilight.

INT. IVORY FORTRESS - TOWER PRISON

Elise opens her eyes. She’s in Rapunzel’s tower cell.

Startled, she rolls to her back and quickly gets to her feet.

Trying to understand.

All of her belongings are gone.

Rapunzel approaches the frightened girl.

RAPUNZEL:

I haven’t brought you here to harm

you.

Rapunzel smiles.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

I wish for you to know me.

76.

ELISE:

I know who you are.

RAPUNZEL:

Do you?

ELISE:

You have taken the prince.

RAPUNZEL:

I have.

Elise scans Rapunzel. There’s a kindness in the witch’s

eyes, though slight.

ELISE:

Why did you give me this necklace?

Impenetrable eye contact between them.

RAPUNZEL:

I am fond of you.

Rapunzel narrows in.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

I heard your brother as he

serenaded your father’s passing.

How does it go? The angel waits to

guide his soul across death’s foggy

vale? You felt it. You grasped

the necklace in your hand and you

thought of returning home. You

could have. You should.

Even more.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

Braun is alone now. In South

Shire.

Elise is winded. Emotional. Punched in the gut.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

I’ve brought you to the very castle

where I hold Cavill. You will not

be able to wake him from my spell.

Rapunzel reaches out, brushing Elise’s pale cheek with her

hand.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

Do you know what your king did to

me, Elise? Left me to rot.

(MORE)

77.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

In this very cell. For 30 years.

I had no way of knowing if I’d ever

leave these walls. Each day I

would pray for nothing more than an

escape from my prison. Each day I

prayed for freedom and instead,

each day, a dove would come to

visit that window.

She gestures to the window behind Elise. The ghostly-white

moon breaking through.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

I spoke to it. It became my only

friend.

She oozes insanity. Wickedness.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

Then, one day, when my hope was no

more, I thought, how cruel, the

stars, to give me a friendly dove,

rather than a life outside of the

tower’s walls. I stopped praying

for freedom. I began to pray for

revenge against my captor and

against the man who betrayed my

trust. Who broke his vow.

The corners of her mouth quiver with anger as she recollects

the reason for it all.

Her eyes swell with hatred.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

And I prayed for revenge against

the one who sent the dove when I

asked for only freedom. Darkness

became my lullaby. A blood-red

cardinal visited my window and all

at once I knew the power of a

twilight so black that I might have

my revenge.

Elise feels for the tormented woman.

ELISE:

The king deserves your revenge.

Rapunzel’s eyes glow with elation. A connection. She’s

enthralled by the thought.

ELISE (CONT’D)

But, Cavill is kind. A good man.

78.

All at once her enthusiasm fades. Her lips turn down, sour.

RAPUNZEL:

The world of man is corrupt.

Fickle.

ELISE:

There are those who say that I am

fickle. My brother is a loyal man.

My father a loving husband.

Rapunzel’s evil rears its head. Her eyes grow black with

fury.

Black vines grow from the ground at Elise’s feet.

They writhe and twist like snakes, binding her to the stone

floor.

Elise scrambles to stand, but she is held at bay by hundreds

of rope-like vines.

RAPUNZEL:

If you will not heed my warning

then, know your foe.

A show of Rapunzel’s might.

Elise struggles. The vines wrap around her throat and begin

to strangle her.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

Should I squeeze the light from

your eyes? Should I finish your

journey for you? With a thought, I

could!

Rapunzel calms. With a wave of her hand, the vines are black

ash. They float and vanish.

RAPUNZEL (CONT’D)

You will drown in my fury if you do

not head my warning. Return to

South Shire. This journey was

never yours to make!

Rapunzel is gone.

EXT. SOUTHERN PINE FOREST - ELISE’S CAMP - CONTINUOUS

Elise’s breath is vapor in the cold air.

The music of the night returns. Frogs and crickets chirp.

79.

Wolves howl in the distance.

Elise’s eyes, filled with fear. She thinks on her father’s

death.

She thumbs the jewel around her neck and closes her eyes.

ELISE:

What is far, will soon be near. I

will not fear what I am bound to

face. I will not want for what I

soon, will have. Though, I am

blind in darkness and the paths are

many, my guide is true. Though the

weight is heavy, I do not bear it

alone. Though my heart shys from

the struggle, I will fight through

the current. Against the

adversary, I will stand strong, for

I do not stand alone.

CUT TO BLACK:

Moments pass before Vel’s taunting voice breaks through.

VEL:

What do we have here?

EXT. SOUTHERN PINE FOREST - ELISE’S CAMP - MORNING

Vel kicks at Elise.

VEL:

Pretty little thing.

Her eyes burst open. She’s surrounded by the group of

ruthless men. Vel, Bear, Rune and Fishel.

VEL (CONT’D)

What in the world would possess a

little girl like you to be out in

the middle of the woods?

Rune dumps her bag on the ground.

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