The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc Page #12

REDBEARD:

Frenchies, you hear me? What

happened to your little virgin?

Jeanne is awake. She listens to Redbeard...

REDBEARD:

I'll tell you what happened... we

sent her back to Hell so she can go

f*** with the Devil!

Now Jeanne is caressing her horse while Redbeard taunts...

REDBEARD:

What are you going to do, Frenchies?

Why not come out and fight? Or are

you too busy praying to bring your

witch back from the dead? Do you

hear me?

Suddenly Jeanne emerges from the mist, riding her horse

and brandishing her banner --

JEANNE:

I hear you! May God forgive your

blasphemy... but I never can!

She turns and disappears back into the mist.

EXT. TOURELLES - BATTERY - DAWN

Redbeard blinks in amazement. He turns to another

soldier --

REDBEARD:

Go and wake up Glasdale...!

EXT. TOURELLES - FRENCH CAMP - DAWN

Jeanne rides along the columns of sleeping soldiers...

JEANNE:

Come on -- wake up -- sound trumpets

and to horse!

The dazed and sleepy French drag themselves from their

straw beds. Dunois emerges from his tent, bleary and

half-naked...

DUNOIS:

What's going on?

JEANNE:

We're taking back the Tourelles!

INT. TOURELLES - TURRET ROOM - DAWN

The Guard shakes Glasdale awake...

GLASDALE:

What's happening?

GUARD:

My lord... the French witch just

came back from the dead.

Glasdale hauls himself from his bed.

EXT. TOURELLES - FRENCH CAMP - DAWN

Jeanne supervises her men as they push a huge siege tower

toward the dry moat. She rides over to Aulon...

JEANNE:

Get all the men to horse and ready

to follow...

Aulon goes as Dunois hurries over...

DUNOIS:

Jeanne, what are you doing with

that... you've got it back to

front...

JEANNE:

I know what I'm doing, so either

lend a hand or go back to bed!

EXT. TOURELLES - BATTERY - DAWN

Redbeard watches in bewilderment as the siege machine

starts to materialize through the mist...

REDBEARD:

What the hell she's playing at...?

EXT. TOURELLES - TURRET - DAWN

Glasdale is equally perplexed, gazing out from his garret

window across the battery. An archer is by his side.

GLASDALE:

Crazy b*tch... she doesn't even know

how to use it...

EXT. TOURELLES - DRY MOAT/BATTERY - DAWN

The French wheel the enormous siege tower toward a wooden

lip above the dry moat. The drawbridge is firmly raised

on the far side. Redbeard's complacent expression changes

as he suddenly realizes what's about to happen...

REDBEARD:

Oh sh*t...

He backs away as the machine reaches the lip. Suddenly it

topples forward, crashing down on top of the raised

drawbridge and demolishing it beneath its enormous

weight...

EXT. TOURELLES - TURRET - DAWN

From his elevated viewpoint, Glasdale watches in horror as

Aulon leads the French cavalry across the siege machine

bridge that now spans the dry moat, giving them access to

the battery...

GLASDALE:

Raise the drawbridge!

The Archer passes Glasdale's order along -- a chain

message that reaches the gate-keeper, who promptly starts

to turn the winch...

EXT. TOURELLES - BATTERY - DAY

As the French swarm onto the battery, Redbeard and his

soldiers turn tail and race back toward the second

drawbridge into the Tourelles...

REDBEARD:

Wait for me!

The bridge is already being winched up... Redbeard is the

first to reach it... with a desperate leap he manages to

grab the lip of the bridge and scramble over...

EXT. TOURELLES - COURTYARD - DAY

... rolling down into the sanctuary of the Tourelles on

the far side.

EXT. TOURELLES - BATTERY - DAY

His comrades are less fortunate, and are slaughtered by

the advancing French.

Jeanne urges her troops forward, her white banner

billowing in the breeze, but with the drawbridge raised,

there is no way for them to enter the Tourelles. The

English hurl fresh insults -- and bombards -- from the

battlements above, and the French are forced to take cover

behind two ruined buildings on the battery.

Jeanne rides across to a ruined barn where several carts

are stacked with felled tree-trunks. She spots La Hire...

JEANNE:

Prepare these as battering-rams!

LA HIRE:

What's the use? The drawbridge is

up!

JEANNE:

Not for long...

Under a hail of English arrows, Jeanne rides back across

the open battery to a ruined house on the other side. She

sees Aulon and dismounts...

JEANNE:

The king said you're his finest

archer...?

AULON:

Well...

JEANNE:

Come with me...

INT. RUINED HOUSE - TOURELLES - DAY

Jeanne leads Aulon through the ruined house to the far

end, where a window overlooks the river-moat that

separates the battery from the Tourelles.

JEANNE:

You see those wooden beams...?

Jeanne points to the two beams supporting the chains of

the drawbridge further along...

JEANNE:

I want you to set them on fire!

INT. TOURELLES - TURRET - DAY

Glasdale spots Jeanne running back across the battery. He

summons his Archer, pointing her out...

GLASDALE:

Kill her.

EXT. TOURELLES - BATTERY - DAY

Jeanne leaves the ruined house and spots Gilles standing

with Alencon. As she approaches, Gilles spots the archer

in Glasdale's window far above, taking aim.

JEANNE:

Gilles -- fetch the Dijon Culverins

and place them over there...

Jeanne turns her back -- the Archer fires -- Gilles holds

up his shield -- the arrow strikes it -- and Jeanne turns

back, unaware that he has just saved her life.

JEANNE:

Clear?

GILLES:

Perfectly.

Gilles heads off, leaving Alencon looking left out.

ALENCON:

And me... what can I do?

JEANNE:

Um... round up the horses and keep

them safe...

ALENCON:

Good idea.

Leaving Alencon to his task, Jeanne rides off...

... and THUMP! a flaming arrow lands in one of the

drawbridge beams.

EXT. TOURELLES - COMPLEX - DAY

An English soldier peers down to see both beams ablaze...

SOLDIER:

Fetch some water!

The command is passed down the line -- a bucket is lowered

into the river and hauled back up -- the bucket rushed up

stone stairs to the soldier on the battlements...

EXT. TOURELLES - BATTERY - DAY

Meanwhile Jeanne returns to Dunois and La Hire --

JEANNE:

Stand by with the battering-rams...

DUNOIS:

We need another ten minutes...

JEANNE:

The bridge won't wait!

LA HIRE:

Leave it to me...

Back on the battlements, the bucket of water is passed up

to the Soldier, who tries to pour it over the edge and

onto the blazing beam. Aulon spots him from below and

fires a flaming arrow -- it pierces the soldier, who pours

the water on himself, extinguishing the flames...

EXT. TOURELLES - COMPLEX - DAY

TIGHT SHOTS:
hands wind the handle of a bobbin -- a

device is activated -- a lever thrown -- a grille slides

sideways...

EXT. TOURELLES - BATTERY - DAY

The beams collapse -- the support chains give way -- and

the drawbridge comes crashing down. Beyond it is a

portcullis, but to La Hire's exuberant volunteers this is

no barrier. Carrying buckets of flaming oil, they charge

forward...

... but as they race across the drawbridge, a sudden

volley of high-velocity arrows discharge from the lower

apertures of the portcullis, felling them before they even

get halfway across the bridge.

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