| Episode Guide | Teaser | Act 1 | Act 2 | Act 3 | Act 4 |
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ACT ONE
FADE IN:
EXT. CAMPSITE - MORNING
Gabrielle is very deeply asleep, having spent most of the night chasing away Xena’s nightmares. It is only with the breaking of the dawn that she is finally able to close her eyes for some sorely needed rest.
Xena, on the other hand, is up and ready for the day. She’s already killed and skinned several rabbits and is frying them in the pan after coating them with several spices stolen from Gabrielle’s secret stash. A smaller pot is warming water for tea.
Crouched over the fire and poking at the frying rabbit with a thin, metal spatula-like item, she stiffens as she catches the sound of someone trying to sneak up on the camp.
Without looking, she holds up the spatula, pointing it in the direction of the still hidden-from-sight marauder.
XENA I wouldn’t, if I were you.
All sounds cease as the bandit freezes in his tracks, surprised at being noticed.
A moment later, he chances moving forward again, seeing Xena calmly return to her cooking duties.
XENA (cont’d) I’m not kidding.
Xena gestures behind her with the spatula.
XENA (cont’d) She gets really cranky when she doesn’t have enough sleep.
The bandit looks past the covering of trees and into the camp, where he sees Gabrielle peacefully slumbering on a jumbled pile of furs. He laughs and starts forward again.
Xena sighs, though her eyes are sparkling.
XENA (cont’d) Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.
Without looking up, Xena expertly flings the spatula, sinking it into the arm of the bandit, causing him to grunt and drop his weapon. His companions rush past him and into the clearing, their own weapons raised.
Diving over the fire, Xena rolls and comes up between two of the men, grabbing them by the fronts of their mismatched armor and slamming their heads together. Dropping one, she lifts the other and heaves him over her shoulder, where he lands, with a thud, to the left of a still sleeping Gabrielle.
GABRIELLE Not now, Xena.
Gabrielle rolls on her other side and snuggles back down into her furs.
Grinning, Xena fells yet another attacker with a swift uppercut to the chin, then throws him over her shoulder where he lands unconscious on the other side of Gabrielle.
GABRIELLE (cont’d) Xena… please?
Xena turns just in time to avoid being sliced open by the bandit leader who has retrieved his weapon and is striking at her with a clumsy, left-handed blow.
Ducking under the swing, she comes up, head-butts him, and pushes him backward. He stumbles back through the fire and lands in a heap at Gabrielle’s feet.
Gabrielle has had enough. Rolling onto her back, she sits up, angrily wiping the bangs from her eyes just in time to see a grinning Xena holding the frying pan she managed to rescue from the stumbling bandit.
Gabrielle looks at their three guests, then back at Xena. Her eyes narrow, focused on the frying pan.
GABRIELLE (cont’d) You didn’t.
Xena’s grin is unrepentant.
XENA Breakfast?
CUT TO:
EXT. FOREST TRAIL - MID MORNING
The weather has turned cold, and Xena and Gabrielle are both wrapped in their fur cloaks as they travel down the forest trail. Gabrielle, in deference to her recently healed back and legs, is riding Argo while Xena walks ahead leading the horse.
Gabrielle shifts in the saddle and sighs.
GABRIELLE Xena.
XENA Mm?
GABRIELLE Can we stop now? I want to get down and walk a little.
XENA Gabrielle, I know you think I’m coddling you, but if we want to make it to Poteidia in time for Solstice, we need to move quickly, and I don’t want to overstress your muscles.
GABRIELLE I know that, but....
Xena stops, turns and approaches her partner, laying a hand on her knee.
XENA If you really want to walk, I won’t stop you. I just… don’t like to see you in pain.
Gabrielle reads many messages in Xena’s anguished features, and sighs once again.
GABRIELLE Okay. I suppose a little more time on this beast won’t kill me.
Argo whinnies, highly offended.
GABRIELLE (cont’d) Sorry, Argo.
Argo whinnies again.
Smiling, Xena pats Gabrielle’s leg, but before she can turn, she freezes, head cocked.
GABRIELLE (cont’d) More bandits?
XENA Six. Just ahead.
Gabrielle rolls her eyes.
GABRIELLE What’s going on? I thought we’d already used up our requisite one fight per day.
XENA Apparently not. (beat) Gabrielle....
GABRIELLE (heatedly) Don’t tell me to wait here, Xena, ‘cause I’ll bop you over the head with my staff if you so much as utter one word of that command.
Xena grins.
XENA Just be ready.
The air is suddenly alive with the sounds of shouting men. Bandits charge at them, single file along the narrow trail.
Chuckling to herself, Xena grabs the first bandit, turns him and shoves him toward Gabrielle, who carries out part of her previous threat and bops him on the head with her staff. He falls in a puddle to the ground.
Bandits number two, three, four and five are dispatched in the same manner until Argo is all but surrounded by unconscious men. She voices her displeasure quite loudly.
Shaking her head, Xena grabs Argo’s reins and leads both horse and rider away from the remains of their attackers.
CUT TO:
EXT. FOREST GLEN - EARLY AFTERNOON
A small stream, partially iced over, runs through the glen. Argo laps at the water while Xena and Gabrielle wrap up the last of their light lunch, preparing to get back on the trail. As they do, both hear the unmistakable sounds of yet another group of bandits heading in their direction.
GABRIELLE Not again!
Gabrielle looks up at the sky.
GABRIELLE (cont’d) Who peed in your porridge this morning?
Two young men not even old enough to shave yet burst into the clearing, weapons raised. Their swords are almost as long as they are and it’s obvious they’ve never seen a day’s fighting in their lives.
Xena sidesteps the first, who runs past and almost into Gabrielle. She disarms him easily, then pokes his behind with the point of her sai, sending him yelping into the woods.
Xena jabs the neck of the second boy, who instantly drops to his knees, with a tiny trail of blood trickling from his nose.
Xena crouches over him, glowering.
XENA You know the drill.
YOUTH (choking) Thirty seconds… no blood… dead….
XENA Smart boy. So smart, I’m sure you’ll be able to answer my question with no trouble at all.
The youth nods.
XENA (cont'd) Why the sudden interest in attacking us? Is there another bounty that I don’t know about?
YOUTH S… soft.
Xena looks at Gabrielle, who shrugs.
XENA Soft?
YOUTH You! Gone… soft… no chakram… easy to… kill… .be famous… please!
GABRIELLE Xena....
Huffing out a breath of air, Xena takes the pinch off the boy, then hauls him up by the front of his jerkin, holding him easily two feet off the ground with no visible effort at all.
XENA This look ‘soft’ to you, kid?
The boy’s eyes are wide as saucers.
YOUTH N-no.
XENA Good answer.
Switching hands, Xena reaches down and unhooks her chakram from its clip. She holds it up so the youth can easily see it.
XENA (cont’d) Since you’re so good at answering questions, I got another one for ya. What do you call this?
YOUTH Your chakram.
XENA Right again. I knew you were a smart kid. (beat) Sooo... if this is my chakram, what does that mean?
Silence as the young man thinks about it. The answer comes to him and his eyes widen even more, almost seeming to swallow his peach-fuzzed face.
YOUTH You got it back!
Xena displays her teeth in a less than joyful grin.
XENA Right again.
YOUTH From the G-God of War! You… you got your chakram back from Ares!!
Xena sets the young man down on his feet.
XENA Congratulations. You win the prize.
YOUTH My… my life?
XENA Well, that, and a friendly piece of advice. (beat) Go back home till you’re old enough to shave. And after that….
The boy nods, looking anxiously at her.
XENA (cont’d) I’d choose another line of work if I were you. You’re too smart to be a bandit.
YOUTH (happily) Y-yes, Ma’am!
Xena straightens and looks to Gabrielle.
XENA (mouthing) Ma’am?
Gabrielle crosses her arms and smirks.
XENA (cont’d) G’wan, get outta here before I change my mind.
The young man runs away as quickly as his legs can carry him, which is rather quickly.
CUT TO:
EXT. MEADOW TRAIL - MID AFTERNOON
Xena and Gabrielle are walking down a rutted wagon trail that weaves its way through a vast meadow. The grasses are brown and brittle and a chill, biting wind whispers and moans. Shivering, Gabrielle pulls her cloak more tightly around her. Seeing this, Xena puts an arm around her partner’s shoulders and pulls her in close.
Gabrielle smiles up at her.
GABRIELLE Thanks.
XENA My pleasure.
The two hear a faint rumbling sound, and stop, looking to the east.
GABRIELLE Here we go again.
XENA If they’re raiders, there’s an army of ‘em.
Another faint sound reaches their ears.
GABRIELLE Riding sheep?
Argo whinnies and backs off, pulling at her reins. Xena and Gabrielle step back just in time to avoid being trampled by a small flock of stampeding sheep crossing their path.
A moment later, a young shepherd boy comes into view and stops in front of them, bending over and gasping for breath.
SHEPHERD Help me. Oh please, help me.
XENA Those your sheep?
SHEPHERD Yes, and it’s my first day. My pa told me not to let them out of the pasture, but something spooked them, and….
GABRIELLE It’s okay. We understand.
SHEPHERD My pa’ll tan my hide if I lose them, I know he will! And they’re headed for the cliff!!
Sighing, Xena releases Gabrielle and moves toward Argo.
SHEPHERD (cont’d) No! They’re afraid of horses! You’ll spook em even more for sure! Oh, my pa is gonna kill me!
Shaking her head, Xena hands Gabrielle Argo’s reins and walks over to the boy.
XENA Stay here and be ready to herd them when they come back this way.
SHEPHERD But how?
XENA Leave that to me.
Yelling out her battle cry, Xena goes racing after the fleeing sheep. Her cry startles them, and they slow for just a moment before picking up steam once again. The momentary hesitation is all Xena needs. She reaches the rear of the stampeding flock and jumps, tucking into a tight flip and landing in front of them, mere feet away from the cliff’s edge. She throws her arms up.
XENA (cont’d) HAH!!!
Unable to stop, the sheep plow into her, almost trampling her beneath their smelly, writhing bodies. Digging her feet in, she holds the line, almost choking on the stench. The sheep finally come to a confused stop. Xena’s heels literally dangle off the cliff edge, and she spits out a mouthful of wet wool.
Resisting the almost overwhelming urge to turn her unwanted charges into lamb chops, she instead pushes the lead sheep around so that he is facing the Shepherd and Gabrielle.
XENA (cont’d) G’wan! Get!
The sheep look at her, bleating.
XENA (cont’d) NOW!!!
The flock turns as one and begins running back in the direction it came. Gabrielle backs Argo out of the way, and the young shepherd runs forward, pulling a pan flute out of his carry sack, and begins playing.
The sheep instantly calm and approach the boy, surrounding him and ‘baaing’ happily.
Xena walks up to the group, wiping sheep muck from her arms and legs and looking decidedly grumpy. Gabrielle approaches her, then backs away, fanning the air in front of her face. Xena gives her a look. Gabrielle grins.
SHEPHERD Thank you, oh thank you! You saved them and me too!
XENA (smiling weakly) Not a problem.
SHEPHERD Well, I have to go now before Pa finds out I’m gone. (beat) Hey! Next time you’re in this neck of the woods, come by for a visit! We’ve got the largest sheep ranch in the area!
GABRIELLE We’ll do that.
SHEPHERD Can’t miss us.
XENA (dryly) I don’t imagine we could, no.
SHEPHERD Just look for the sign that says PEEP. That’s my pa. (beaming) I’m Beau.
So saying, the young lad skips merrily back into the woods, leading his lost sheep home.
CUT TO:
EXT. RIVER BANK - LATE AFTERNOON
Xena and Gabrielle have reached a rather high mountain plateau and have stopped before a wide, frozen river.
Gabrielle looks doubtfully at the river.
GABRIELLE Think the ice is thick enough to hold us? It’s pretty early in the season.
XENA It’s not us I’m worried about. It’s Argo.
Argo whinnies in agreement.
Just as Xena steps off the bank to test the strength of the ice, a piercing sound is heard echoing through the air.
GABRIELLE Was that a scream?
They look up as a gigantic CRACK is followed by more terrified screaming.
XENA Come on!
The pair runs along the river bank and around a broad curve until they can see the cause of the screaming.
A group of young children are halfway across the river, but a gigantic crack in the ice has stranded them, making it impossible to move forward or back without risking a fall into the icy waters below.
As the duo watches, the ice cracks again, leaving the group stranded on an unstable ice floe that bobs in the turbulent, rushing waters. They scream again, holding tightly to one another to avoid being pitched off into the river.
GABRIELLE Xena!
XENA I see it. Hang on.
Reaching into the saddlebags, Xena pulls out a long length of rope. Tying one end around Argo’s saddle horn, she cinches the other tightly around her waist. Then she goes back to Gabrielle.
XENA (cont’d) I need you to stay here and guide Argo for me. Make sure she doesn’t spook, okay?
GABRIELLE Couldn’t I be more help going with you?
XENA Yes, but the ice is already cracking. I don’t trust it to hold up the both of us.
GABRIELLE Well, I weigh less than you do. I should go.
Xena lays an urgent hand on her shoulder.
XENA Gabrielle, please. Trust me on this. The ice is very slippery. You can’t take the chance of falling while your back is still healing. Then I’d have to come out anyway, to get you and the children.
Gabrielle looks down at her boots and sighs.
GABRIELLE I hate it when you’re right.
XENA I promise. The next group of stranded kids we come upon, they’re all yours, okay?
Gabrielle meets her eyes, smiling a little.
GABRIELLE Just get going. And Xena?
XENA Mm?
GABRIELLE Be careful. Please.
Xena grins.
XENA You got it.
As Xena carefully steps out onto the ice, Gabrielle looks once again up at the sky.
GABRIELLE You know that wish I made last night? (beat) This is not what I meant.
The sky remains prudently silent.
CUT TO:
EXT. FROZEN RIVER - LATE AFTERNOON
Xena slides carefully across the fragile ice, keeping her balance through sheer luck and skilled determination. Within moments, she has made it to the ice floe. It has grown precipitously smaller as the rushing water eats away at the remaining ice, melting it quickly. The huddled children stare at her, wide-eyed and shivering. The oldest child, a red-haired boy of about ten, draws himself up as best he can while still holding onto the others.
BOY (suspiciously) Who are you?
XENA My name’s Xena.
YOUNG GIRL The Warrior Princess?
XENA Some people call me that.
YOUNGER BOY (scoffing) You’re lying. The Warrior Princess is an old lady.
YOUNG GIRL Yeah, that’s what Thomus says, and he knows everything!
XENA He does, does he?
BOY Yeah. He does. He says he can whip Xena with both hands tied behind his back.
The ice tips as a strong rush of water passes underneath it. The children scream in terror, and the youngest child, a girl of no more than four, slides off the edge.
Her feet never get the chance to touch the water as she is suddenly plucked in mid-air and brought over to Xena’s side, safe and sound.
XENA Are you all right?
YOUNGEST GIRL You smell funny.
Xena sighs as she looks down at her sheep-muck covered cloak that she hasn’t had the time to properly clean.
XENA (tightly) Are you all right?
The little girl holds her nose and nods.
Xena turns back to the rest of the children, still huddled on the rapidly diminishing ice floe. She holds out her arms.
XENA Okay, let’s go. C’mon.
OLDEST BOY What?
XENA Jump. I’ll catch ya.
YOUNGER BOY Huh-uh. I’m scared.
XENA C’mon. Jump! You’ll be fine.
YOUNGER BOY NO!
XENA JUMP!
The boy jumps.
Xena catches him easily and sets him next to the girl she’s already rescued. She looks down at him.
XENA (cont’d) You see this rope?
YOUNGER BOY Yes.
XENA I want you to hold onto it very tightly and follow it back to the pretty lady over there standing next to the horse. Can you do that for me?
YOUNGER BOY Sure!
XENA And take your friend, here.
YOUNGER BOY (offendedly) She’s not my friend. She’s my sister!
XENA Yeah. Fine. Just go.
As the two youngsters carefully grasp the rope and head back to shore, Xena turns to the rest of the group.
XENA (cont’d) You see what they’re doing? That’s what all of you are gonna do too, just as soon as you get over here. Now c’mon. Next person in line, jump.
The children move en masse, half jumping, half falling into Xena’s arms. She manages to catch them and send them on their way.
All but the youngest boy who is huddled on what’s left of the floe, shivering and crying pitiful tears.
OLDEST BOY That’s Procis. He can’t swim.
XENA (angrily) He can’t swim!? What’s he doing crossing a river, then?
The boy hangs his head.
Xena sighs. Untying the rope from around her waist, she wraps it around the youngster’s waist and ties it off tightly.
XENA (cont’d) Make sure the rest of them get across safely.
OLDEST BOY What are you gonna do?
XENA Never mind that. Just go.
The boy goes.
Xena gingerly eases herself over onto the floe, taking care to be as gentle as possible so as to not cause it to tip and send them both into the water.
The floe shakes alarmingly and, just as Xena picks up the huddled boy, cracks down the middle, leaving behind a piece barely large enough for Xena to stand on.
The distance between the floe and stable ice is now too large for Xena to merely step back across, and its instability makes an attempted jump very dangerous at best.
Seeing this, Gabrielle quickly herds the children to shore, grabs her staff, and skitters out onto the ice, slipping and sliding and using the staff as a balance point. Within seconds, she’s at the edge of the widening crack in the ice.
XENA Gabrielle! Catch!
Gabrielle drops her staff and catches the child just in time to see the floe tip and Xena plunge down into the freezing river.
GABRIELLE XENA!!
Juggling the struggling young boy, Gabrielle peers over the hole in the ice, staring down into the turbulent waters.
GABRIELLE (cont’d) XENA!!!
As if summoned by Gabrielle’s cry, Xena surfaces, braces her hands against the ice, and hauls her body out of the water, completely drenched and chilled to the bone.
GABRIELLE (cont’d) Xena! Thank the gods you’re alright!!
Xena smiles through gritted teeth.
XENA Yeah. Just peachy.
CUT TO:
EXT. RIVERBANK - LATE AFTERNOON
While the children surround Gabrielle, Xena stands off to one side, drying herself with one of their sleeping furs, then wrapping herself in a second. She’s wet, freezing, and smells like a sheep. In a word, she’s miserable, but being Xena is determined not to show it.
GABRIELLE So, tell me again why you were crossing the river?
OLDEST BOY We were going to pick berries for Solstice.
GABRIELLE By yourselves? Do your parents know?
OLDEST GIRL We don’t have parents. We’re orphans.
XENA (sotto voce) What is it with orphans and Solstice anyway?
Gabrielle hears her and winks before returning her attention to the children.
GABRIELLE You weren’t running away, were you?
OLDEST BOY Running away? Why would we do that?
GABRIELLE Are you treated well?
OLDEST GIRL Sure! We love our teacher!
YOUNGER GIRL That’s why we were going to pick berries! He loves berry tarts!
YOUNGER BOY (sadly) Yeah. And now we won’t be able to make him one for Solstice.
Gabrielle looks over to Xena. After a moment, Xena nods. Gabrielle smiles at the children.
GABRIELLE Well, we might just be able to help you with that.
Walking over to Argo, Gabrielle reaches into the saddlebags and comes out with a cloth covered bundle. Returning to the children, she unwraps the bundle, displaying a large cache of late-season berries. The children look on in awe.
GABRIELLE (cont’d) Will these do?
OLDEST BOY We couldn’t take those.
GABRIELLE Why not?
YOUNGER BOY Because they’re yours!
Gabrielle rewraps the bundle and presses it into the younger boy’s hands.
GABRIELLE And now they’re yours. Consider it a Solstice gift from Xena and me.
YOUNGEST GIRL Really?
GABRIELLE Really.
CHILDREN Thank you! Thank you!
GABRIELLE You’re very welcome. (beat) Now, give us a second and we’ll walk you back to your home.
OLDEST BOY Oh no, you don’t have to. It’s right through those woods.
GABRIELLE Are you sure?
OLDEST BOY Sure I’m sure. After all, we got here fine, didn’t we?
GABRIELLE Well....
OLDEST BOY We’ll be fine. Come on, guys. Let’s go home. (beat) Thank you for the Solstice gift, and thank you, Xena, for saving us.
Gabrielle smiles. Xena nods.
OLDEST GIRL Happy Solstice!
GABRIELLE Happy Solstice, you guys. Be safe.
CHILDREN We will!
After watching the children depart, Gabrielle walks over to Xena, who is shivering within the bundle of her furs.
GABRIELLE (softly) Hey.
XENA Hey.
GABRIELLE Pretty cruddy way to spend the day before Solstice Eve, huh?
XENA (smiling slightly) I’ll live.
Gabrielle grins.
GABRIELLE Will these help?
Opening her hand, she reveals a small treasure trove of ripe berries, Xena’s favorite. Xena’s smile broadens.
XENA Only if you feed them to me.
GABRIELLE That can be easily arranged.
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT ONE |
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