Hedda: Defender of Olympus
"Plague"
TEASER
FADE IN:
Amphipolis. Midmorning. A large group is gathered around a lone speaker. As the speaker continues her story, we immediately recognize the voice as that of Gabrielle in her bard mode.
Gabrielle:
So the noble Cyrene had accepted her Fate, to die at her own daughter's hand, so that that daughter might be liberated from the madness and persecution inflicted on her by the Furies. But from my visit with Orestes, I had learned that it would do no good; that if Xena did in fact kill Cyrene to avenge her father's murder, she would be just as damned for the crime of killing her mother. It seemed that there was no way out, that Ares would win one way or the other, and Xena would be lost. But even in the depths of madness, Xena's mind was still sharp, and she had come up with a plan. She convinced the Furies that Atrius wasn't her father, that Ares had taken his form the night of her conception, and that is was the God of War himself that had sired her. The Furies weren't easily convinced, and they required a test, so Xena suggested that she and Ares fight. If she was truly half-god then she could survive, but if Ares killed her, then the mortal man Atrius was indeed her father. So Xena and Ares fought in a mesmerizing display of swordplay and acrobatics, and in the end, Xena came out triumphant; Cyrene was freed, Xena was made sane once more, and despite their ordeal, Xena and Cyrene grew closer for having faced their past, and the wrath of the Furies, together.
Just as Gabrielle bows her head to signify the end her story, a voice rises up from the back of the crowd, and everyone turns around.
Hedda:
(melodramatically) Indeed, we should all thank Cyrene and Xena, and remember them well, for if it wasn't for their brave deception none of us would have the freedom to stick an axe in the backs of our kinsmen whenever we feel like it. Spouses would be out of luck for an 'instant divorce'; heirs would have to wait out the natural course of events to inherit their fortunes; and siblings would just have to learn to accept that Mommy and Daddy love their brother or sister more. Yes, in the end, Xena gave humanity the greatest gift imaginable, (pausing for effect) the gift of anarchy.
Bowing deeply with an exaggerated flourish, Hedda finishes her speech and smiles at the looks of shock and confusion on the villagers' faces. Pushing her way through the crowd, Gabrielle angrily pulls Hedda down the street towards Cyrene's tavern.
CUT TO:
Inside Cyrene's Tavern – 5 Minutes later. The Tavern is undergoing renovations, so there are no patrons. Gabrielle storms in with Hedda in her grip.
Gabrielle:
Alright, I've stayed out of your whole 'Defender of Olympus' mission, so can't you at least extend me the same curtsey as a bard?
Hedda:
You call spouting anti-Olympian rhetoric, in the center of this town, staying out of my mission? You're a famous bard, Gabrielle; your words carry weight. When you tell stories that cast specific members of my family in a bad light, you make the people angry with all of them, and then Michael and his twisted little cultists come along and give them a way to vent their anger! Even Eve has enough common sense to consider the consequences of Eli's words before she writes a scroll or opens her mouth these days! This war isn't just about the gods! It's about the freedom to think for yourself and the responsibility that comes with doing so! I thought you understood that; I thought that was what you were fighting for! Or maybe you're just fighting because you're angry that Michael and his god didn't step in to save Xena this time!
Gabrielle:
(enraged) Leave Xena out of this!
Hedda:
You first.
Gabrielle is so infuriated that she looks like she's going to explode! Seeing how upset Gabrielle is, Hedda decides to try a more conciliatory approach to making her point.
Hedda:
(not used to expressing her feelings) It's not easy loosing the person who shaped everything you are; I know. Everywhere I go, I see Athena.
Gabrielle:
(appreciating Hedda's attempt to make peace) How can you not? All the statues and engravings…
Hedda:
(with a bittersweet smile) We Olympians never were a humble people; that's for sure. (getting back to business) Look, in the interests of peace between us, would you please just keep to the stories where my relatives don't make an appearance, or if they do, they're not the bad guys? (getting an idea) Maybe you can even tell one where Michael and his buddies are the bad guys!
Gabrielle:
(nodding) Alright. I have a few of those.
Gabrielle and Hedda smile and even shake hands.
Hedda:
I think I'm gonna go to Dad's Temple tonight and see if he'll spar with me. I can already feel my muscles turning to fat with all this inactivity. You wanna come?
Gabrielle:
Hedda, we've only been here two days!
Hedda:
Two and a half days, and it's driving me insane! I need to kick some *ss! I want to get back on the road!
Gabrielle:
We will, just as soon as Eve finishes her business and reopens the tavern. Besides, don't you want to see where your mother grew up? I mean, the Conqueror was from Amphipolis too, right?
Hedda:
Yes, but once you've seen one farming village, you've seen them all. (getting a haunted look to her eyes) Besides, this place irks me.
Gabrielle:
(understandingly) Hedda, I know…
The sound of several scrolls being dropped cuts Gabrielle off from what she was about to say. The two women turn towards the racket by the doorway and see FARIS, the son of Cyrene's attorney, and his father's successor, hastily picking up the scrolls he dropped. Gabrielle rushes over to help the clumsy man, and Hedda just stands, watching in amusement.
Faris:
Ah, Miss Hedda, I'm glad I caught you. I have that scroll I need you to sign.
Gabrielle:
You need Hedda to sign a scroll? What for?
Hedda:
That's my business.
Faris:
Actually, as the executor to Cyrene's will, it's Miss Gabrielle's business as well. By law, she has to be told everything. Anyway, this scroll… (Faris rummages through the pile of scrolls which he placed on a table, finds the one he's looking for, and raises it triumphantly) this scroll says that Miss Hedda surrenders any legal claim to her grandmother's estate and promises not to contest her will at a later time.
Hedda:
(raising a finger) Cyrene's estate that is… I may need Hera's old temples for strategic purposes in the future.
Gabrielle:
Eve told me she was going to give you half the tavern and Xena's grandparents' farm, you know, the one your father lived on when he was mortal.
Hedda:
(uncomfortable) I told her not to bother. I don't want any of it, and I don't think Cyrene would've appreciated half her life's work being given away to someone like me. Eve was her granddaughter; this place should be hers.
Gabrielle nods silently, even though she looks like she wants to say more. Faris puts the scroll before Hedda, hands her a quill, and she signs it at the bottom. Almost the instant Hedda lifts the quill, Eve rushes in, worry and a hint of fear marring her face.
Hedda:
Ah, Eve, I just signed over any rights I may have held on this place. It's all yours. (smirking) May it hang around your neck like the proverbial albatross.
Eve:
(not even hearing Hedda's comment) Gabrielle, Hedda, we have a problem. I was at the temple of Eli last night, when two sick children were brought in. Their mother had died of the same fever they were consumed with and they'd lost their father three years ago after a farming accident. We called the healer, and she stayed with the kids. She told us that we should all go home for the night, that she would sit with the little ones. So, we took her advice, and when we opened up the doors this morning, they were all dead, the kids and the healer. We'd hoped that that was the end of the fever, so we hastily lit a funeral pyre and spent the morning praying for their souls. Until Cadius, the temples oldest priest showed the marks of the sickness. And three children and their parents who lived next door to the sick kids showed up at the temple with the same symptoms!
Hedda:
(rolling her eyes) So, you just had to drag your well-exposed and potentially infected carcass back here to tell us the good news? Hm?
Gabrielle:
(scolding) Hedda, show a little sensitivity!
Hedda:
Okay Kiddies, gather round while I give you a brief summary of what the gods know about how diseases spread. The first infected individual, called patient zero, comes into contact with other people, and through various methods of contact, spreads the disease. However, the disease takes time to show symptoms, and during this hibernation, anyone who comes in contact with this patient zero or anyone else he or she has already infected, can catch it (growling) and become a carrier themselves! Congratulations Eve, by running through Amphipolis' on a busy afternoon, coming into contact with dozens of people, and showing up here to give us your news, you may have just kill everyone in this village!
FADE OUT
It was supposed to have been a Golden Age…
Humanity had cast off its god-wrought shackles
And mankind was no longer beholden to Fate;
But in our newfound freedom we forgot one thing…
Absolute Power Corrupts ABSOLUTELY!
Now one woman stands at the crossroads of history.
She is Hedda:
The Daughter of War himself and the greatest mortal warrior of all time.
She will save us from the forces of Hell.
She will save us from the forces of Heaven.
And though historians may claim that she failed…
We are still here!
END OF TEASER