FADE
IN:
Ext. field
- day
Tall green grass waves in
the sun.
A GIRL, early teens, lays in the grass.
Birds chirp in the
distance.
The girl closes her eyes.
She smiles, soaking in the sun.
The birds stop chirping. Silence.
A deep
roar.
The girl's eyes fly open.
She jumps up and sprints
away from the sound.
At the
edge of the meadow, a flame gouts upward.
Int.
kitchen - day
A
small, rustic space. A
wood-burning stove, no running water, rough wood fixtures.
GINGER, greying and thick-wasted, washes and cuts vegetables.
JACK, her
twenties-something son, sits at the table.
Ginger
What do you mean, she
won't marry you?
Jack
You heard me. I ask and
ask, but she just tells me to be happy with the fact that we live together.
GinGER
What about children?
Doesn't she want kids?
JACK
She won't even talk about
it. She says that if I want kids, I can go ahead and get pregnant all by
myself.
GINGER
I never liked her.
Jack
But except for those two
things, she's great. I love her.
GINGER
What girl spends every
spare moment shooting arrows and swinging a sword? It's just not natural.
EXT.
practice yard - day
A
circular dirt-packed arena adjoining the malitia's
compound.
Pairs of MILITIAMEN spar
and wrestle.
Other MILITIAMEN perform
general upkeep on their equipment.
The sun glints off metal.
SADIE, Jack's girlfriend,
is in a fighting stance. She holds a practice sword.
DAVAD, a militiaman,
stands similarly across from her.
They spar.
Davad scores a hit. He grins.
Sadie grins back. She
attacks.
Sadie's sword thwacks
against Davad's armor plate.
Davad drops his sword. His breath is labored.
Davad
Ok, ok ... I give.
Davad shakes his head.
DavAD
(CONT'D)
Every time, you know
that?
Sadie
You could practice more.
Davad grins devilishly.
DAVAD
... why
worry when you're around to protect all of us from the big bad dragons?
The COMMANDER enters from
the compound.
The commander gives a
wordless yell and all action comes to a grinding halt.
The militiamen turn to
him.
Commander
I've got good news boys.
The mayor's called in a witch to deal with our dragon problem.
The militiamen smile and
clap each other on the shoulders.
The commander holds his
hand up. Silence.
Commander
(CONT'D)
I'll be asking for
volunteers -- the witch will want some sort of an escort.
InT.
jack's house - night
A
one-room rustic cabin. A kitchen area in one corner, a bed in another, a fireplace along
one wall.
Sadie cleans up from
dinner.
Jack sits in front of the
fire with a pipe.
SADIE
We've got a witch coming
in to town tomorrow.
Jack
It's about time someone
took action.
Sadie hands Jack a plate
with strawberries.
Sadie
I found these on my way
home from practice today.
Jack begins to eat the
strawberries.
Jack
I wish you wouldn't spend
so much time down there.
SaDIE
The witch -- she's going
to have a local escort.
Jack continues to eat
strawberries. He doesn't offer any to Sadie.
Sadie goes back to the
kitchen area. She cleans.
SADIE
(CONT'D)
I volunteered.
Jack looks up with an
angry expression.
Int.
commander's office - day
A
sparse office.
The commander stands. He
sweats.
CommANDER
It's -- it's a real
pleasure to -- um -- to have you here --
The WITCH is sitting
across from him.
Witch
Thank you. I am glad to
help where help is needed.
Commander
Um . .
.
WitCH
I understand that you
have some escort possibilities for me? I wish to meet the dragon as soon as
possible.
The commander nods. He
wipes sweat out of his eyes.
EXT.
practice yard - day
A line
of five militiamen, including Sadie.
The Witch enters,
followed by the Commander.
CommANDER
Here -- um -- here are
the volunteers, miss -- um -- ma'am.
The witch nods.
The witch steps forward.
She touches each in turn. A faint glow appears around each when she does.
Finished, the witch steps
back.
WiTCH
The woman will come with
me. Thank you all for your bravery.
The four men depart. They
look back once before they exit.
COMMANDER
Just
one. Are -- are you sure?
Witch
I'm sure.
The witch smiles at
Sadie. Sadie, unsure, smiles back.
The witch turns to the
commander.
WitCH
(CONT'D)
You may leave us now.
Please tell the mayor that I will notify him when the mission has been
accomplished.
The commander exits. Looks back once before he leaves.
The witch grins at Sadie.
WitCH
(CONT'D)
Now we get to have some
fun -- let's go kill a dragon!
Sadie grins back.
ExT. road
- day
Sadie and the Witch ride
horses.
SaDIE
Not too much further. An hour, maybe.
WITCH
Did someone actually find
its lair?
SADIE
Well ... no. I wanted to,
but it was deemed too dangerous. But it's been seen all around here, and
there's only one good cave structure in the area.
WITCH
I'm glad I chose you.
Sadie
Why did you only choose
one of us? We all would have come along with you.
WiTCH
Because I promised my
mother that I'd always take at least one person along with me. Otherwise I'd
just wander in, take care of the problem, and be gone before anyone even knew I
was here.
SaDIE
Gotta love it when mom takes over your life.
Witch
She's been right a time
or two, I suppose.
SADIE
My mother wants me to get
married. I moved in with my boyfriend, hoping that would appease her, but no
luck.
WiTCH
I think that's half the
reason my mother wants me to take along the offered escorts -- she hopes I'll
find the love of my life. Instead I get men who are so nervous they can't even
speak to me.
Sadie laughs.
Sadie
Just wait until she
starts demanding children . . .
They both laugh.
Ext.
dragon's lair - day
An open
stretch of ground outside a cave.
Sulfur and smoke creep
out of the cave.
Sadie and the witch ride
up.
SADIE
So I'm not supposed to do
anything? Just -- stand here.
Witch
Trust me,
you don't want to get in the way.
The witch moves her horse
toward the cave.
The witch opens her
mouth. A strange sound emanates.
A roar
from within the cave.
A DRAGON exits. On all
fours, it is about 3 feet tall.
The witch raises her
arms.
A shimmering wave of air
appears. The wave of air moves toward the dragon.
The dragon breathes a gout of flame.
The witch's horse sidles
to the side. Narrowly avoids the flame.
The dragon tries to move
forward, but the air holds it back.
The witch is starting to
sweat with effort.
The dragon is pushed back
against a rock. It thrashes for a moment, then is
still.
The witch drops her
hands. She turns to Sadie.
WiTCH
(CONT'D)
See? No big deal --
A
SECOND DRAGON barrels out of the cave. It crashes into the witch before she sees it.
Sadie cries out and draws
her sword.
The witch is on the ground,
unconscious.
Sadie gets to the dragon
before the dragon can attack the witch. It flames. Sadie moves away. The flame
singes her clothes.
Squealing, the witch's
horse lumbers off the ground and runs away.
Sadie cuts the dragon's
head off in one clean sweep.
Sadie climbs off her
horse. She grabs her saddlebag and runs to the witch.
The witch is still passed
out.
Sadie's hands shake as
she checks the witch's pulse and breathing.
Sadie wets a piece of
cloth. She presses the cloth against the witch's cheek.
SADIE
Please wake up...
Sadie kisses the witch's
forehead.
SadIE
(CONT'D)
...please wake up...
Sadie kisses the witch's
cheek. Kisses her lips.
The witch kisses her
back.
Sadie jumps back.
SadiE
(CONT'D)
I'm sorry!
The witch rolls to her
side.
SadIE
(CONT'D)
Are you ok?
WITCH
Ouch ... I hurt. What
happened?
SadiE
There was a second one.
The witch sees the
decapitated dragon.
WITCH
Oh. Thank you.
Sadie
Your horse ran away.
WITCH
She'll find me ...
eventually.
Sadie
We should get you back.
The witch nods. Grimaces.
WitCH
Let's go slow, ok?
Sadie helps the witch
climb on her horse. She climbs on behind her.
Int. inn -
night
A small
room with a twin-sized bed.
The witch lies in the
bed. She reads.
Sadie peeks
her head in the door.
Witch
Come in!
Sadie enters. Shuts door
behind her.
SADIE
The doc says you'll be
better in a day or two.
Sadie sits on a stool by
the bed.
Witch
I'm feeling pretty good
right now, but I've nowhere to be for a few days.
Sadie nods.
The witch puts her hand
on Sadie's hand.
WiTCH
(CONT'D)
You could come with me
when I leave, you know.
Sadie looks up, eyes
wide.
Int.
JACK'S HOUSE - nIGHT
Jack sits by the fire. A
flask sits by his foot.
The house is a cluttered
mess.
Sadie enters.
Jack
'Bout time you got back.
Big hero, don't have to come home until you darn well feel like it, huh?
Sadie sets down her
saddlebag.
SaDIE
I'm tired, Jack. I don't
want --
JaCK
You're always tired,
Sadie. Too tired to talk about marriage, about kids.
Too tired to have sex --
Sadie walks over to the
bedroom area. She starts pulling clothes out, putting them into a second
saddlebag.
Jack
(CONT'D)
You're always so tired.
You should stay at home, take care of me -- then at least if you're tired it's
for the right reasons.
Jack takes a swig from
his flask.
Saddlebag full, Sadie
walks to the door. She picks up the second saddlebag.
Sadie
Goodbye Jack.
Sadie walks out the door.
Jack stares at the fire. Takes another swig from his flask. He begins to cry.
EXT. inn -
day
The witch leads her horse
out of the stable.
The witch looks around. Sees no one. Sighs. Climbs into the saddle.
Sadie gallops up from
around a corner.
The
witch smiles.
Sadie comes to a stop.
Smiles back.
They turn their horse's
heads the same direction.
Side by side, they canter
out of town.
FADE OUT