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ACT 4
FADE IN:
INT. STRONGHOLD - CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS
The crossbowman lifts his bow and aims carefully.
Fergal enters his quarters, and walks over to Gabrielle. He stands watching her for several minutes as she continues to work. His back is to the opening to the corridor.
The bowman shifts around, but he cannot get a shot past Fergal. He lowers his bow in frustration, and fades back into the shadows.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - ARMORY - AFTERNOON
Xena enters the armory. It is a square room filled with weapons. Xena roams between the stacks of blades and other implements of war. Each clan chief has stacks of arrows fletched in their colors. Xena selects an arrow from each pile, and she also picks up two different types of daggers. She slides them into her kilts and leaves.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - FERGAL'S QUARTERS - AFTERNOON
Gabrielle is leaning against the wall. She lifts her head and turns, facing Fergal as she falls back against the wood. She is sweating, and exhausted, but at peace.
FERGAL Are you ready, lass?
Gabrielle nods.
GABRIELLE I'm ready.
FERGAL Good. We'll walk over then with you.
Gabrielle looks over at Fergal. He has his men standing behind him, and they all have weapons. Their faces are serious.
GABRIELLE All right. Let's go.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - COMMON ROOM - EVENING
The entire clan is gathered in the common room. It is crowded, smoky, and tense. At one end of the room, a small area has been marked off with kegs, and two boards run across them, making a primitive stage. Lorcan holds court at the far end seated at a large table, his men and women surrounding him. He is the chieftain, and is making sure everyone remembers that.
Mahon enters with his family. Many of the people gathered call out to him. He raises a hand. His other arm is around a tall, equally red haired younger man dressed proudly in Mahon's colors.
Fergal enters from the other side of the room, to a much smaller greeting. Gabrielle stands in the middle of his men.
GABRIELLE Lot of people in here.
FERGAL All the clan, lass. This means a lot to all of us.
Gabrielle squares her shoulders. She realizes everyone is looking at her. She looks around, searching for something, but does not find it.
LORCAN All right! Settle down, you lot! We've got serious business to settle here.
The clan quiets down, but not completely.
LORCAN (Cont’d) First thing. A moment to bow your heads, in memory of the great, good friend of our clan, our treasure, our lost Chief Bard, Padraig.
Now it is completely silent. The sound of the fire crackling can be clearly heard. The wood creaking overhead can be heard. A low muttering rises.
LORCAN (Cont’d) Choose his successor well, clansmen.
Mahon pushes his way through the crowd, and confronts Fergal.
MAHON My coin or yours, friend?
Fergal produces a coin. He tosses it in the air.
MAHON (Cont’d) Plank!
Fergal catches the coin, and slaps it on his wrist. He holds it out to Mahon, without looking at it.
MAHON (Cont’d) Ah! Save the best for first! We lead!
Mahon's people cheer, and the tall redheaded young man raises his hands in acknowledgement. Fergal retreats to his table.
Xena enters, makes her way through the crowd and ends up behind Gabrielle. She puts her hands on Gabrielle's shoulders.
Gabrielle turns.
GABRIELLE There you are.
XENA Here I am.
Gabrielle indicates the room.
GABRIELLE Tough crowd.
Xena reviews the room, and shrugs.
XENA I remember the night you recited your first poem to me. This any tougher?
Gabrielle turns around and looks up at Xena with a smile.
GABRIELLE Now that you mention it….
Xena lowers her voice, and ducks her head closer to Gabrielle.
XENA You ready for this?
GABRIELLE I'm ready. Did you find out what was going on?
Xena glances around. Mahon's son is approaching the makeshift stage.
XENA Not entirely. But I will.
Xena pats Gabrielle on the side. She looks around, then she leans over and kisses Gabrielle soundly.
XENA (Cont’d) Good luck.
Xena slips off into the crowd, leaving Gabrielle the center of interested attention. Gabrielle decides to study the floor until her blush fades.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - COMMON ROOM - PLATFORM
Mahon's son, RORY stands on the platform. He is good looking. He has a sprinkling of freckles across his face and an air of open good nature.
RORY Today I will tell you a story of the valor of our clan!
The crowd roars approval. Mahon smiles.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - INFIRMARY - NIGHT
Xena slips into the infirmary. It is empty with the exception of three pallets. One holds a man with his head swathed in bandages. Xena studies him. She suddenly kneels down and taps his shoulder. His eyes pop open and see her. He reacts, putting a hand up protectively and squirming away. Xena smiles grimly. She stands and moves on.
The next man has a broken leg. Xena passes him by. The third is Bonnach.
Bonnach is sleeping. He is bare to the waist, and his chest is swathed in bandages. Xena kneels, and draws her breast dagger.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - COMMON ROOM - NIGHT
Gabrielle sits with Fergal's family, watching Rory perform. He is very good.
FERGAL (whispering) He picked a good tale.
Gabrielle looks around. The men are celebrating the tale of clan war Rory is telling.
GABRIELLE He knew his audience.
Fergal looks at Gabrielle curiously. Behind them, there is a subtle shifting of bodies as men ease into the room and stand behind Fergal's group. There is a glint of torchlight on steel.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - INFIRMARY - NIGHT
The sound of cloth being cut wakes Bonnach. He gasps, seeing a backlit figure crouched over him. Xena claps a hand over his mouth.
XENA Shh. I'm not here to hurt ya.
He is frightened, but he nods. Xena releases him.
BONNACH What are you doing?
XENA Hunting.
Xena uncovers the ugly knife wound in Bonnach's side. She removes one of the two daggers she took from the armory, and holds it to the wound.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - COMMON ROOM - NIGHT
Rory finishes his tale. The room roars with approval. Gabrielle clenches her hands as she waits her turn to go up. Fergal claps her on the back and the rest of his family also reaches out to touch her, as though for luck.
FERGAL Up to you now, Gabrielle.
Gabrielle nods, puts her shoulders back, and heads for the platform. As she passes through the crowd, she is watched closely. She can hear doubtful words directed at her.
Just short of the platform she stops, staring at it as the murmuring around her increases.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - CHIEF BARD'S ROOM
Xena enters the very quiet room. Behind her, two guards are slumped on the ground. She passes by Padraig's covered body and heads for his worktable. She pulls out a drawer, which has shallow trays made of wood on its surface. They are filled with stones. Xena stares at them, her brow creasing in puzzlement.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - COMMON ROOM - PLATFORM - NIGHT
Gabrielle takes the last few steps and leaps, rather than climbs, up onto the platform. She turns to face the room, and from her perspective she sees a sea of strange faces, with many eyes pinned on her.
Everyone is talking. Gabrielle waits, letting her eyes travel over the crowd. Gabrielle sees there are armed men near the back of the room.
After a moment, the crowd quiets down.
GABRIELLE Sometimes the greatest battles are fought….
MAHON Copycat!
The crowd laughs. Gabrielle waits.
GABRIELLE …. Fought not with swords, but with words.
The crowd murmurs, unsure of what she means.
GABRIELLE (Cont’d) It takes a special kind of warrior to win the battle for hearts and minds. Padraig was such a warrior.
Now it is quiet again.
GABRIELLE (Cont’d) This is his story. A story of lost dreams, and finding the heart to recapture them.
Lorcan watches Gabrielle, his face still. Slowly, his head turns and looks at a man nearby. The man nods, and slips away.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - CHIEF BARD'S ROOM - NIGHT
Xena studies the stones. Abruptly, she pulls out the arrows she'd taken from the armory and throws them on the desk. She matches the fletching colors to the colors stained on the rocks. Her eyes widen. With a muffled curse, she leaps over the desk and bolts for the door.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - COMMON ROOM - PLATFORM - NIGHT
Gabrielle stands on the platform. She is sweating, and her voice is growing hoarse, but the crowd is riveted on her.
GABRIELLE But he never let go of that dream. His warrior's heart remembered it, cherished it, and when someone came to rip the life from him, that dream spoke at last.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - COMMON ROOM - NIGHT
Lorcan folds his arms. He watches Gabrielle, but his eyes flick around the room, watching the rest of the clan. Gabrielle's passion has captured them. Even Mahon sits raptly listening.
Lorcan looks off to his left. He nods slightly. He looks to his right. He nods again.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - COMMON ROOM - PLATFORM - MOMENTS LATER
Gabrielle comes to the end of her tale. She senses the crowd's approval.
GABRIELLE He spoke his dreams. He guarded yours with honor. He taught the value of a bold heart, and in his ending hours, he gave me his story as a great gift. (pausing) A gift I now give to you.
For a moment, the crowd is silent, then a great noise erupts as they react. They begin pounding on the tables. It sounds like thunder, and blocks out almost everything else.
CUT TO:
INT. STRONGHOLD - COMMON ROOM - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS
Lorcan lifts a hand. His fingers start to curl.
XENA Move, and I’ll gut you like a pig.
Lorcan freezes, and looks down. Xena stands close by his side, her sword point pressed into his flesh. Around them, the crowd is still going wild.
LORCAN What do you think you're doing?
XENA Ending your story. The hard way if I have to.
Very slowly, Lorcan lowers his arm. Fergal's family rushes to the platform. They lift Gabrielle on their shoulders and dance with her.
Suddenly Lorcan breaks and runs for it. He shoves people out of the way and leaps for the door. Men and women scream, and scramble out of his way. Xena whips her chakram out and lets it loose. It sizzles through the air and chops through the ropes holding the torch posterns up. With a cracking sound, they fold inwardly, blocking the door Lorcan is racing for. He pulls up and leaps backwards, almost set on fire by them.
Xena catches her chakram. Lorcan is in a small open space by the door.
The clan mills around in confusion, unsure of what is going on. Mahon decides to take charge.
MAHON What is the meaning of this?
Xena points towards Lorcan with her sword.
XENA You've got a weasel in your midst. His men attacked Fergal's family.
LORCAN You lie! Outsider! It was you who attacked them!
The crowd glances between them, not sure of who to believe.
XENA Bring your man with the broken skull in here. (pausing)
I’ll show you how I broke it. Then you matches the hole in Bonnach's side.
Lorcan starts to back away towards the torches.
LORCAN Demon!
XENA Only when I have to be.
Lorcan points.
LORCAN Take her!
Xena steps forward and carves a slash in the air with her sword, slicing through Lorcan’s kilts and exposing his right thigh. Everyone freezes. There is a bandage there. Xena cuts through it, and reveals a sai wound.
XENA
One thing about sais.
The clan turns on Lorcan. Even his men back away from him. Men surround him with drawn weapons and he is hidden from view. He is dragged out. Xena lets her sword rest on her shoulder. She looks over at Gabrielle, still being carried on Fergal's shoulders. Their eyes meet.
Cheers start to go up again, and the celebration begins.
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT FOUR
TAG
FADE IN:
EXT. STRONGHOLD WALLS - MORNING
Gabrielle sits on the wall, her diary in her lap. She is still wearing her tartan. It is sunny out.
GABRIELLE (VO) I thought there was a part of me that I lost forever somewhere on the road we've been traveling.
Gabrielle looks out over the wooded landscape.
GABRIELLE (VO) (Cont’d) The last place on earth I expected to find it again was here.
A gust of wind ruffles Gabrielle's hair, and she dips her quill in ink again.
GABRIELLE (VO) (Cont’d) It's wonderful to see how these folks cherish people like Padraig. (pausing thoughtfully) People like me.
Xena emerges from the stronghold and walks over to her. She leans against the wall, tossing a small rock on one hand. Gabrielle closes her diary and smiles at Xena.
GABRIELLE (Cont’d) It's hard to believe Lorcan thought he would get away with it.
Xena shakes her head.
XENA He gambled away most of the clans assets. He had to control whoever was in that office, and he had Mahon over a barrel for two year's worth of tributes.
GABRIELLE But why kill Padraig? He was dying anyway, Xena.
XENA He figured it out. You must have given him the final clue when you told him about the attack.
Gabrielle sighs.
GABRIELLE Poor Padraig. I really liked him.
Fergal emerges from the stronghold, supporting Bonnach. They walk slowly over to where Xena and Gabrielle are. Bonnach holds a hand out to Gabrielle.
BONNACH I wanted to say thank you before you left. I don't know if I can live up to your example, but I'll surely try.
Gabrielle takes his hand, and grips it.
GABRIELLE Don't thank me yet. Sounds like you've got a tough job ahead of you.
Fergal chuckles.
FERGAL You're both welcome to stay, if you like. We always need strong hands, and strong hearts.
Xena and Gabrielle exchange glances.
XENA
Thanks. But we've got
GABRIELLE
Maybe we'll come back and
Fergal nods. He gives Gabrielle a pat on the back, then he helps Bonnach back towards the strong hold. Xena and Gabrielle watch them until they disappear. Xena leans against the wall and looks out at the forest.
GABRIELLE (Cont’d) Hey, Xena... Thanks.
XENA For what?
GABRIELLE For believing in me.
Xena studies Gabrielle's face briefly. She smiles at Gabrielle.
XENA Right back atcha.
Gabrielle leans over and gives Xena a kiss. She opens her diary again.
GABRIELLE (VO) I look around now, and this place no longer Holds so much horror for me. There's a lot of beauty here, and you get a feeling there might be a story behind almost every tree.
Xena puts an arm around Gabrielle.
GABRIELLE (VO) (Cont’d) Maybe we can stop and listen to a few of them on our way.
Gabrielle closes her diary and puts her quill in its case.
GABRIELLE (Cont’d) So, have you figured it out yet?
Xena looks at her.
XENA Figured what out?
GABRIELLE
Something that isn't animal,
Xena chuckles.
GABRIELLE (Cont’d) Gotcha.
They walk off down the road together.
XENA That's an easy one.
GABRIELLE Oh yeah? Name it.
XENA Dreams.
Gabrielle looks at her. Xena smiles back.
FADE OUT
DISCLAIMER
NEXT WEEK ON XENA
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