In a brief moment of peace, a little bit off from where the troops have made their camp, there is a small villa. In the villa's small town square, there is a quaint get-together, with dancing and merriment. Several festively dressed girls are in center stage, putting on an innocent, yet somehow provocative, number for the men on the sidelines.
Gatrie stumbles on stage, out of his armor, trying to get through the crowd of men without pushing anyone out of the way. He does not yet see the dancing girls.
Multiple street vendors are calling out, advertising their wares, overpowering the sweet little ditty that the girls are dancing to. Many are selling food. One old man, far in the back, has a stand of apples. He, too, is calling, but not as loudly.
Gatrie: Excuse me, pardon me! (To himself) Gee, I wonder what this hubbub is all about!
(A man, oblivious to all but the dancing girls, pushes in front of Gatrie in an attempt of gaining a better view.)
Gatrie: Um, excuse me. I want to get through.
Man (not even turning to look back at Gatrie): So do we all, kid. Now stop yapping so I can hear those pretty girls sing!
Gatrie: Girls? What girls?
Man: You know! The girls! The ones who are dancing in the plaza, as part of the annual autumn harvest festival. Now hush up kid so I can— (Noticing Gatrie's intimidating height for the first time) ah! Uh, here… let me get out of your way.
Gatrie: Um, thanks… (He tries to go around the man stealthily, but ends up just shoving him into the crowd with his shoulder.) Sorry…
(Gatrie spots the dancing girls for the first time. They are involved in a folksy number, somewhat between a tap dance and square dancing. All of the noise, all but the girls, seems to disappear. The spotlight gets more intense as the rest of the people on stage drift back into the shadows.)
Girls (singing): How pretty are we when we dance so freely?
Do we fill your throat with song?
Can nothing compare with our dancing this fine night?
It's only right you want to sing along!
(As their pretty dancing continues, a faded light appears in the background, over to where the old man with the apples stands. Behind him, Heather is sneaking into the villa. She watches the girls dancing and smiles, casually slipping an apple into her pocket when the old man isn't looking.)
Heather: It looks like today is my lucky day!
(Gatrie's little fantasy is broken. The lights come back up, the song and dance fades into the background, and Gatrie crosses over to Heather.)
Gatrie: You!
Heather: Yes, me. (She walks away from him, casually circling the dancing girls like a predator.) Aren't these girls so… talented?
Gatrie: Why, yes! (He pauses, and then glares at Heather.) I don't like how you said that.
Heather (preoccupied with watching the girls): Said what?
Gatrie: How you said that word: talented…
Heather: Then you disagree? Gatrie, the womanizer! Gatrie, the guy who has a different girl on his mind every night!
Gatrie (very offended): It's not like that!
Heather: It's exactly like that. (Heather slides up to one of the dancers and imitates her. The girl giggles, flattered, and slows down in order to show Heather the correct movements for the dance.)
Gatrie: Hey! Stop that! (He pulls Heather away.)
Heather (angry now): What's the problem? I'm just having a little fun. Or are you getting jealous? That's rather unbecoming of you.
Gatrie (completely flabbergasted): Wha—? J-jealous? (He straightens, and lowers his voice to a reasonable tone.) Now, Heather… I just wanted you not to intervene with this little number of theirs.
Heather: Humph! (She backs out of center stage.)
(The girls come forward while dancing, the noise around them fades once again as they begin to sing.)
Girls: How pretty are we when we dance so freely?
Do we fill your throat with song?
Can nothing compare with our dancing this fine night?
It's only right you want to sing along!
(The song begins to come faster and more complex as Gatrie steps forward, a singular spotlight shinning on him.)
Gatrie (to the girls): How pretty it is when you dance so freely
It fills my throat with song
And nothing can compare with love between boy and girl
(Gatrie looks pointedly at Heather.)
Gatrie: Oh ho!
It's the only right in a world of wrong!
(Gatrie goes up to one of the girls, the one that Heather had been dancing with. He swings her around as he sings to her.)
Gatrie: So come here, girl, take this throne
When it comes to girls I've always… known…
(Gatrie pauses dramatically. There is a fast drum roll, in which the girls wait patiently to dance again. When Gatrie sings and dances in front of him, they move behind him and act as his back-up dancers.)
Gatrie: Girls, girls, girls!
You are all so sweet
Girls (striking a pose): So sweet!
Gatrie: Girls, girls, girls!
So cute I could almost eat!
Girls (in mock fear): Oh!
(Heather, feeling upstaged, walks out in front of Gatrie. Determined to win the girls over, she joins in the song.)
Heather (pointing at Gatrie): Girls, raise a hand!
Who really wants to be with this man?
Because there's no doubt
You all can do whatever he can!
(There is a bit of silence as Gatrie struggles not to take that bet. The girls watch him closely for his reaction. Finally, his manly pride wins. He steps up and does a short little tap-dance. The girls imitate him perfectly. Gatrie tries a somewhat harder dance. Again, the girls match him step for step. Finally, Gatrie ferociously spins about, creating a dance that's too complicated to memorize. But as Gatrie goes faster, he spins out of control, and nearly falls down.)
Gatrie (not singing anymore): So you think that you would really be a better choice for them, Heather?
Heather: I don't think! I know!
(She goes back to singing, and the girls imitate her dancing like they imitated Gatrie's, although Heather's number is a lot more provocative.)
Heather: Girls, girls, girls!
You are all so sweet!
Girls (striking a pose): So sweet!
Heather: Girls, girls, girls!
So cute I could almost eat!
Girls (in mock fear): Oh!
Gatrie (pride hurt) No, you see, they need a protector
'Cause girls are weak!
(There is a pause. Offended, all of the girls stalk over to Heather's side of the stage and glare at Gatrie.)
Heather (laughing): Some, maybe
But as least we think before we speak!
(The girls laugh, and then position themselves so there is an equal number of them standing behind both of them.
Both: Girls, girls, girls!
You are all so sweet!
Girls (striking a pose): So sweet!
Both: Girls, girls, girls!
So cute I could almost eat!
Girls (in mock fear): Oh!
Both: And though we're different, it's true
Girls, girls, girls!
We both can do!
Gatrie (no longer singing): Hey! That sounds dirty!
Heather (laughing): Watch this, pretty boy!
(Heather does a complicated number that has a hip-hop type rhythm in the same beat as the chorus does. After doing it once, the girls do it with her a second time.)
Gatrie: How about this?
(Gatrie does a festive jig around in a circular motion with one of the girls while the others clap the beat behind him.)
Heather (not waiting for Gatrie's dance to finish): Hah! You call that dancing? Come on, girls! Let's show him how to move!
(Heather grabs a flower from the florist's station and presents it to one of the girls, who curtsies and accepts it. Heather then grabs the girl around the waist and pulls her into a seductive tango. Gatrie's dance finishes, but his girls are now clapping for Heather.)
Gatrie (singing and clapping): Watch as they dip and prance!
Girls are so fine
(Heather's dance finishes, and she twirls the girl away from her, who falls into the arms of the girls behind her.)
Heather: Yes, and that's why
Girls feel better around their own kind!
(One of the girls from the crowd grabs the flower the tango girl had held, and presents it to Heather shyly.)
Both: Girls, girls, girls!
You are all so sweet!
Girls (striking a pose): So sweet!
Both: Girls, girls, girls!
So cute I could almost eat!
Girls (in mock fear): Oh!
Both: I want one to court and woo
Girls, girls, girls!
We all can do!
Gatrie (stealing the flower from Heather): At least I'm an honorable man
And never steal
Heather (patting Gatrie's gut): Yeah, sure, whatever!
At least I don't snack between every meal!
Gatrie: I'm a man for hire, and it doesn't hurt
That I'm a good looker
Heather: You might want to change your ad; you
Sound like a hooker!
Both: How pretty it is when they dance so freely
They fill my throat with song
Nothing can compare with their dancing this fine night
It's only right we want to sing along
So come here, girl, take this throne
When it comes to girls I've…
(There is a beat.)
Always…
(There is another beat, and then a drum roll.)
Known…
(The song stops for a second. Gatrie does a short tap dance. Heather follows it up with a hip-hop routine. Not to be outdone, Gatrie's tap dance turns into a jig. Soft and first, and then growing louder, the music builds up again. Heather grabs the flower out of Gatrie's hand, and after putting it in her mouth, she pulls Gatrie into a fox trot. All around them, the girls circle up, and start clapping.)
Girls (chanting): Girls, girls, girls!
Girls, girls, girls!
(Gatrie and Heather stop suddenly and without warning, though the song and chanting continues without them.)
Both: Why are we dancing together anyway?
Gatrie: I hate you!
Heather: I'm gay!
(At this point, half the girls are still chanting. The other half join Gatrie and Heather for one last chorus.)
Both: Girls, girls, girls!
You are all so sweet!
Girls (striking a pose): So sweet!
Both: Girls, girls, girls!
So cute I could almost eat!
Girls (in mock fear): Oh!
Both: So pure in heart and true
Girls, girls, girls!
We…
All…
Can…
(There is a large drum roll, the longest in the number. The girls behind Heather and Gatrie are all doing different tricks. Some waltz together, some are tap-dancing, some are in a group and doing the original dance, and a couple are doing cartwheels. Gatrie and Heather hold up their arms as they dramatically finish the number.)
All: Do-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, do-ooh!