ACT ONE FADE IN Inside the Amazon city of Themiscyra, which has a rather rural look with small houses and horses grazing. The camera follows Xena, Gabrielle and Eve, panning over groups of Amazons practicing their fighting skills of fighting with staffs and swords, and others practicing archery. Finally the camera closes in on a large group of Amazons on a city square, gathered around a wooden platform where Varia is standing. Xena, Gabrielle and Eve dismount and start walking through the crowd of Amazons. VARIA: Varia glances down at the group to see Gabrielle and Xena standing there. VARIA (smiles a little uncertainly): She stops short when she sees Eve standing several paces behind Xena. Varia's eyes narrow in anger. VARIA: All the Amazons turn to stare at Eve. A murmur runs through the crowd. AMAZON (off-camera): The murmur grows louder. Eve looks intensely uncomfortable. Gabrielle walks up the steps of the platform to face Varia. GABRIELLE: VARIA: GABRIELLE: VARIA (puzzled): GABRIELLE: VARIA (raising her voice): GABRIELLE (sternly): VARIA (shakes her head): Murmurs of protest erupt throughout the crowd of Amazons. EVE (still standing at the back of the crowd, makes an effort to speak up): AMAZON #1: AMAZON #2: AMAZON #3: EVE (starts mounting the platform): Gabrielle puts a hand on Eve's shoulder and looks encouragingly at Eve, then turns to Varia. GABRIELLE: Eve comes closer to Varia and faces her. EVE: Varia sighs and says nothing. The other Amazons are now completely silent, glancing at each uncertainly. GABRIELLE (to the crowd): Only a few voices shout "no." GABRIELLE (to Varia): VARIA (displeased): A brief silence. GABRIELLE: VARIA: XENA: VARIA (shakes head): Gabrielle and Xena look at each other. GABRIELLE: CUT TO Night. Eve is standing in a dark room, staring out the window at the brightly shining moon. Gabrielle peers in the doorway. GABRIELLE (quietly): Gabrielle walks up to her. She is wearing the fine brown leather armor, gauntlets and boats that she had gotten from Messene when they had been there to defeat the guirve. There are patterns in bronze all over it and the back has the metallic design of a guirve. EVE (smiles a little): GABRIELLE (grins): Eve smiles and then looks a little nervously at her. EVE: GABRIELLE (reassuring): Gabrielle smiles at her slightly and then leads her outside. CUT TO Outside, Amazons stand in a circle, holding torches. A bowl filled with water stands on a tripod in the center of the circle. Eve walks up with Gabrielle, still looking a little nervous. GABRIELLE: EVE: GABRIELLE: EVE: GABRIELLE: They stop in the middle of the area, surrounded by the Amazons holding torches. Gabrielle walks to the tripod, takes the bowl and stands in front of Eve. Eve glances at the Amazons around her, whose faces are emotionless. Then she kneels and bows her head. GABRIELLE: EVE (not very confidently): Gabrielle pours the bowl's contents onto Eve's head, the water running down Eve's face. GABRIELLE: The Amazons are silent as Eve is initiated, but when Gabrielle glances over at them, they break into a half-hearted, subdued cheer. A little timidly, Eve looks up at Gabrielle. Smiling, Gabrielle puts her hand on Eve's shoulder. The camera moves to the back of the Amazon crowd away from the light of the torches to show Varia, her face full of bitterness and anger. She huffs quietly and walks away. CUT TO Sunrise. Euric, mounted on a gray scruffy-looking horse, is positioned on a hill overlooking Themiscyra. His army is behind him, a small number of horsemen followed by many warriors on foot. EURIC (grins): Euric looks behind at his warriors, who nod and laugh in agreement. Euric chuckles and starts down the hill, the warriors following. CUT TO Gabrielle is in a room, working on a scroll. There is a knock on the door. GABRIELLE: An Amazon enters and bows before Gabrielle, then looks up at her. AMAZON: Gabrielle puts the scrolls down on a table. GABRIELLE: Antiope nods and leaves. CUT TO Outside view of a house. Amazons are in preparation for the army's arrival, armed with bows and arrows, swords, staffs and other weapons. Gabrielle comes out of the house and sees Antiope talking to Varia and another Amazon, a beautiful woman about thirty-five years old, with long golden hair and green eyes. Gabrielle walks up to them. ANTIOPE (to Gabrielle): GABRIELLE: Gabrielle glances over at the Amazon standing next to Varia and notices a pendant around her neck, similar to the one that Varia wore when she was queen. GABRIELLE (a little surprised): VARIA: MEROE: GABRIELLE (lowers her eyes sadly, then looks back at Varia, Antiope and Meroe): MEROE: VARIA (doubtfully): GABRIELLE: Just as she finishes, Xena and Eve walk up. When Meroe sees Eve, she gets a strange look on her face, as if she can't place where she has seen Eve before. Eve, too, catches a glimpse of Meroe and gets a look of recognition and regret, but she doesn't say a word. Xena notices this and frowns slightly. EVE (softly): Varia has an angry look in her eyes again and opens her mouth to protest, but before she has a chance to say anything, Gabrielle shoots her a look, almost a glare, and Varia keeps silent. XENA (puts a hand on Eve's shoulder): EVE: XENA: She and Eve smile at each other. GABRIELLE: Gabrielle, Eve, Varia, Meroe, Antiope, and Xena start to walk to the town gates. GIRL'S VOICE (off-camera): The camera pans back to show a girl, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old, running toward them. She runs up to Meroe, wraps her arms around the queen for a moment, and then backs away. She bears a striking resemblance to Meroe. MEROE: KLYMENE: Xena and Gabrielle glance at each other, smiling a little. Eve looks away. MEROE (strokes Klymene's face): KLYMENE (insistent): Meroe shakes her head but finally relents. MEROE: KLYMENE: MEROE (smiles): GABRIELLE: Meroe proudly pats Klymene on the head. Then Varia, Antiope, Xena, Eve, Gabrielle, Meroe, and Klymene head toward the gates. As the camera pulls back, we see that Meroe is walking with a slight limp. Eve sees this too, and there is once again an expression of uncertainty and regret on her face. CUT TO The seven women walking through the forest just outside the town, which can still be seen behind them. Through the trees, they can see a clearing and an army of men advancing. We get glimpses of the men's faces. They are grubby and bearded, wearing animal skins, carrying clubs and short swords. Most are on foot. Xena and Gabrielle glance at each other. XENA (grimly): GABRIELLE: The two of them look at Varia, Meroe, Antiope, and Eve, who seem worried as well. Meroe looks at Klymene and kneels down to her. MEROE: KLYMENE (nods): Meroe kisses her on the forehead. Then the women all exchange silent looks and start walking toward the army. Klymene follows her mother with a loving look. CUT TO Euric watches as the group of Amazons comes near. EURIC (chortles): When the Amazons come close, Gabrielle steps forward. GABRIELLE: EURIC (laughs): His men burst out laughing. GABRIELLE: EURIC (haughtily): XENA: EURIC: ANTIOPE: MEROE: VARIA (sneers): CUT TO Klymene, hidden in the shrubbery, stares intently at Euric, her mother, and the other women, then dashes back toward the town gates. CUT TO Euric chuckles again and raises his hand, signaling his men to attack. They rush forward and the Amazons draw their weapons, but then Eve stands in front of the other women, stopping them in their tracks. The Ostrogoth warriors look back at Euric and he raises his hand, stopping them for a moment. EVE: EURIC: XENA: EURIC (glares at Xena): XENA: GABRIELLE: EURIC: GABRIELLE: EURIC: He's about to bring down his hand in a signal to attack, but Eve holds her arm in a supplicant gesture. EVE: EURIC: With another gesture, he signals to his army to move forward again. Just as the Ostrogoths charge, Xena's ululating battle-cry--A-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!--pierces the air, making the warriors flinch and stop. Before they can recover from the surprise, Xena leaps in the air, flips and with a powerful kick knocks Euric off his horse. Then she throws her chakram, cutting down several of his horsemen. The Ostrogoths charge again and the women fight them, retreating to the edge of the meadow and using the trees for cover. Eve stands to the side. Euric gets up and runs toward Gabrielle, sword raised. She quickly draws her sais just in time to deflect his blow, stopping it and pushing him backwards. EURIC (grins): GABRIELLE: Euric swings again but Gabrielle does a flip worthy of Xena, landing behind him, and kicks him in the back. He quickly turns around and charges her again. CUT TO Xena and the Amazons fighting Euric's men. Despite their skills, particularly Xena, they are having a difficult time containing the onslaught of the Ostrogoths, since they are vastly outnumbered. CUT TO Eve watching from the sidelines; her face reflects an internal battle of her own. CUT TO Dozens of Amazons running toward the battlefield where the sound of swords and the grunts and cries of the combatants can be heard. Klymene runs behind them. The Amazons rush onto the clearing to help Gabrielle and the others but Klymene stays back. Scanning the battlefield, Klymene finds Meroe fighting hard against one of the men. It is clear that her bad leg is hampering her movements. Nevertheless, she swings at her attacker and wounds him badly, her sword slashing across his side. He stumbles and starts falling but is able to make one more jab with his sword, piercing Meroe's chest. A horrified Klymene watches her mother fall to the ground. KLYMENE (screaming): Klymene runs over to her mother as fast as she can. She kneels over her mother, weeping. Meroe, gasping for breath, slowly puts her arm around her daughter. KLYMENE (crying): Meroe struggles for breath and opens her mouth but can't say anything. Klymene breaks into sobs and hugs her mother tightly. Meroe dies in her arms. The camera pulls back to show the warrior who killed Meroe getting back to his feet and picking up his sword. He is swaying a little, the wound in his side bleeding, but he can still stand. He looks at Klymene, who is wailing over her dead mother, and his hand clutches the hilt of his sword. The camera pulls further back for a wide shot, and we see that Eve is watching the warrior who is standing over Klymene, whom no one else seems to notice--everyone is too preoccupied with the battle. Eve's eyes widen with fear. Finally, with the look of someone making a fateful decision, she steps out from behind the tree and runs out into the clearing, picking up the sword of a dead warrior from the ground. She charges toward the warrior who is now raising his sword above Klymene. Just as he is about to kill the girl, his eyes bulge as Eve's sword goes through him from the back, the bloody blade coming out of his chest. Klymene is still oblivious, crying over her mother. Xena, who has just dispatched the man she was fighting, turns and sees Eve, just as the warrior collapses, dead. Eve's face is filled with anguish, and Xena momentarily looks horrified. Meanwhile, Gabrielle, who is still fighting Euric, sees Xena's expression and then follows her gaze to see Eve standing over the dead man as we: FADE OUT END OF ACT ONE |