Troy Page #13

HECTOR:

Bird signs! You want to plan our

strategy based on bird signs?

PRIAM:

Hector. Show respect. When

Archeptolemus prophesied four years

of drought, we dug deeper wells.

The drought came and we had water

to drink. The high priest is a

servant of the gods.

HECTOR:

And I'm a servant of Troy.

(beat)

I've always honored the gods,

father. You know that. But today

I fought with a Greek who

desecrated the statue of Apollo.

Apollo didn't strike the man down.

(beat)

The gods won't fight this war for

us.

(CONTINUED)

69.

76 CONTINUED:
(2) 76

PARIS:

There won't be a war.

(he stands)

This is not a conflict of nations.

It's a dispute between two men.

And I don't want to see another

Trojan die because of me.

PRIAM:

Paris -

PARIS:

Tomorrow morning I will challenge

Menelaus for the right to Helen.

The winner will take her home. The

loser will burn before nightfall.

Paris leaves the room. The others sit in stunned silence.

GLAUCUS:

Does he have a chance?

Everyone looks at Hector, who meditates before answering.

HECTOR:

I want our army outside the gate in

the morning. Agamemnon won't let

this war end with a duel.

77 EXT. PALACE GARDEN - NIGHT 77

Priam's gardens are wondrous: palm trees grow in the

courtyard; flowered vines climb the walls; Aeolian harps

chime in the breeze.

Priam and Paris sitting on a bench, facing a statue of

Aphrodite. The king holds a cloth-wrapped bundle in his

lap.

PARIS:

Father, I... I'm sorry for the pain

I've caused you. I -

PRIAM:

Do you love her?

Paris looks up at the statue of Aphrodite.

(CONTINUED)

70.

77 CONTINUED:
77

PARIS:

You're a great king because you

love your country so much. Every

blade of grass, every grain of

sand, every rock in the river -you

love all of Troy.

(beat)

That's the way I love Helen.

Priam nods and contemplates the goddess of beauty.

PRIAM:

I've fought many wars in my time.

Some were fought for land, some for

power, some for glory.

(beat)

I suppose fighting for love makes

more sense than all the rest.

Paris says nothing, but his father's words seem to relieve

a great burden from his shoulders.

PRIAM:

But I won't be the one fighting.

He hands Paris the bundle. Paris, curious, begins

unwrapping the cloth. Finally the object is uncovered: a

shining sword, expertly forged, inscribed with the seal of

Troy.

PARIS:

The Sword of Troy.

PRIAM:

My father carried this sword, and

his father before him, all the way

back to the founding of Troy. The

history of our people was written

with this sword.

(beat)

Carry it with you tomorrow.

Paris holds the sword up and it glows in the moonlight.

PRIAM:

The spirit of Troy is in that

sword. As long as a Trojan carries

it, our people have a future.

78 INT. HECTOR'S CHAMBER - NIGHT 78

Hector sits on the bed beside Andromache, who nurses their

baby boy.

(CONTINUED)

71.

78 CONTINUED:
78

Hector looks exhausted. He stares at his son.

HECTOR:

He has no idea what's happening.

ANDROMACHE:

Thank the gods.

HECTOR:

The man who killed Tecton outside

Apollo's temple -- I've never seen

a spear thrown like that. An

impossible throw.

A long beat until Andromache breaks the silence.

ANDROMACHE:

Briseis was in Apollo's temple this

morning.

Hector stares at Andromache.

HECTOR:

Are you sure?

She nods, swallows hard, and closes her eyes. After a

moment Hector, his eyes full of sorrow, runs his hand

through her long hair.

HECTOR:

I need to see my brother.

ANDROMACHE:

Don't go.

HECTOR:

I need to speak with him.

ANDROMACHE:

I mean tomorrow. Don't go. You've

fought enough. Let other men go

out there.

HECTOR:

You think I want to fight, my love?

I want to see my son grow tall. I

want to see the girls chasing after

him.

ANDROMACHE:

Just like they chased his father?

(CONTINUED)

72.

78 CONTINUED:
(2) 78

HECTOR:

He's much more handsome than I ever

was.

For a moment they sit quietly, watching their son.

ANDROMACHE:

I lost seven brothers in the

Spartan Wars. You'd think I'd be

good at losing by now.

(beat)

I can't lose you. I won't survive.

Hector stares at her for a beat before pulling her close

and kissing her. Everything is in this kiss, their entire

past. Andromache finally lets him go and Hector walks out

the door.

79 INT. PALACE HALL - LATER 79

As Hector walks to Paris's room, he spies someone in a

dark cloak sneaking down the candle-lit hallway -- an

assassin?

HECTOR:

Wait!

The cloaked figure looks back and then runs. Hector

chases. The fugitive runs through the archway at the end

of the corridor and into the garden.

80 EXT. PALACE GARDEN - CONTINUOUS 80

Hector runs into the garden. He's far faster. He seizes

his quarry and pulls aside the fugitive's cowl. It's

Helen.

HECTOR:

Helen?

By the light of the moon he examines her face. The stress

of recent weeks has taken its toll, but the shadows

beneath her eyes make her face more compelling than ever.

Embarrassed by the awkwardness of their position, Hector

stands and helps Helen to her feet.

HECTOR:

What are you doing out -

(CONTINUED)

73.

80 CONTINUED:
80

Helen runs. Hector catches her again after a few strides.

HELEN:

Let me go.

HECTOR:

Where?

Helen struggles against Hector's grip, but it's useless.

HELEN:

Let me go!

Helen, still struggling, begins to cry. Hector pulls her

to his chest. She cries for real now, violently sobbing,

her mouth muffled against Hector's body.

HECTOR:

Shh. Shh.

HELEN:

I saw them burn. I saw them

burning on the pyres.

(beat)

It's my fault.

HECTOR:

No.

HELEN:

It is. You know it is. All those

widows. I still hear them

screaming.

Helen takes a deep breath. She manages to control

herself.

HELEN:

Their husbands died because I'm

here.

Hector can't deny this. Helen pushes herself out of his

grip.

HELEN:

I'm going down to the ships.

HECTOR:

No. You're not.

(CONTINUED)

74.

80 CONTINUED:
(2) 80

HELEN:

I'll give myself back to Menelaus.

He can do what he wants -- kill me,

make me his slave. Anything's

better than this.

HECTOR:

It's too late for that. You think

Agamemnon cares about his brother's

marriage? This is about power.

Not love.

HELEN:

Paris is going to fight in the

morning.

HECTOR:

Yes.

HELEN:

Menelaus will kill him.

Hector looks away, the words hurting him.

HELEN:

I won't let that happen.

HECTOR:

It's his decision.

HELEN:

No. No. I can't ask anyone to

fight for me. I'm no longer queen

of Sparta.

Hector bows to Helen and kisses her hand.

HECTOR:

You're a princess of Troy. And my

brother needs you tonight.

Helen stares at Hector in wonder. The words seem to

bolster her spirit, and she smiles though her eyes are

still wet. She nods, touches his arm and goes back to the

palace.

81 EXT. BEACH ENCAMPMENT - DAWN 81

Up and down the beach thousands of GREEK WARRIORS prepare

for battle. Despite their vast numbers, the men are oddly

quiet, each absorbed with his own thoughts.

Rate this script:3.7 / 9 votes