ACT 1
FADE IN:
Gabrielle and Eve stare at Hedda like she just sprouted a third eye.
Gabrielle:
50 years?! I'm NOT staying in here for 50 years!
Hedda:
Pity we can't just raise the defenses to let you out to deal with the Christians by yourself. I'm sure that would be very amusing to watch. However, I didn't say we were going to spend the next 50 years in here, just that we could if we had to. When the Christians realize this place is impenetrable, they'll leave and when they do, we can raise the defenses, sneak out the back, kill any guards they leave behind, and continue on with our lives.
Eve:
What about the innocent people of Kiota? They don't have enough food or medical supplies to sustain this siege much longer!
Hedda:
(getting frustrated) Look, you may not believe this, but I want to help the people of Kiota as much you do, but our senseless deaths wouldn't do them any good. If we arrive a few days late, some may die, but I know the people of Kiota; many of them used to worship at this very temple, and they are a stubborn lot. I'm confident they will endure till we can arrive!
Eve:
(with resignation) I sure hope you're right.
Eve turns around to move to Gabrielle's side, when suddenly Hedda gets an idea.
Hedda:
But maybe we can lighten their load enough for them to free themselves!
Eve and Gabrielle look at Hedda hopefully.
Hedda:
Right now the Christians think it's just the three of us and a few Priestesses holed up in here. Prizes to be sure, but nothing so worth destroying that they'd pull their forces from Kiota. However, if we could make them believe that they've stumbled onto an active temple, maybe even a training site for those who oppose them…
Gabrielle:
(catching on) Then they'll transfer most of their men here in order to get to us, and the people inside Kiota will have a fighting chance to break the siege!
Hedda:
Exactly!
Eve:
Uh, it's a good plan and all, but how are we going to make the Christians outside believe we are enough of a threat to warrant abandoning Kiota? It may only be a fifth the size of Corinth, but it's valuable none-the-less.
Hedda:
(boastfully) Honey, this is a temple of Athena! The entire building and its residence are a monument to warfare and engineering. We have a stockpile of weapons that would do the entire Persian Army proud, most of them crafted by Hephestus himself; the Priestesses you saw earlier can all kill a fly with a bow and arrow from fifty paces; and in addition to the automatic defenses, we have three precision catapults attached to the roof that are designed to be virtually effortless to load. In addition I can easily rig twenty crossbows to fire with the pull of a string, which will help give the illusion of manpower. Add in a few well-timed appearances from us on the roof, and of course any additional ideas the two of you can come up with to improve upon the deception, and when we attack, just before dawn, this place will instantly become an irresistible lure.
Gabrielle:
Why dawn?
Hedda:
Because they'll be at their most vulnerable then. The larger number of casualties our mock army gives them in round one, the more convinced they'll be of the danger we pose to them. As Daddy always says "You can judge an enemy's determination and resolve by the body count they leave in their wake."
Gabrielle:
That's disgusting!
Hedda:
No, the disgusting part is that it's usually true. (changing the subject) Now, let me show you to the armory, and we can get started.
Eve follows behind Hedda, shaking her head in disapproval, but going with her regardless of her personal feelings. Gabrielle, on the other hand, remains were she is for few moments, deeply distrustful, but eventually she too follows along, if only to keep a handle on things as best she can.
CUT TO:
Outside the Locked Down Temple to Athena. Three Hours After Sunset. Two Knights of the Faith and Twenty-Four Christian Soldiers brave the inhospitable weather as they set up camp around the temple.
Two more Knights of the Faith approach their brethren from behind the temples where they were sent to look for another entrance. These two new Knights are younger, and they bow before their superiors before speaking.
Young Knight #1:
It's locked up tighter than a drum and there's no other way in, Sir.
Older Knight #1:
(dismissively) Impossible! These things have hidden exits all over the place! It must at least have air vent of some kind! A place like this could really pack 'em in whenever a war, or epidemic, or what not broke out! Them women still have to breath! Reexamine the building again, with a fine tooth comb this time, and take some more men with torches for lighting! (looking the younger Knight straight in the eye) Find me a way in!
Younger Knight #1:
(cow towed) Yes, Sir. (to Younger Knight #2) Come on.
The Two Younger Knights walk off and start rounding up men to hold the torches.
Older Knight #2:
Keeping those torches lit in this weather is going to be difficult.
Older Knight #1:
It doesn't matter. They won't find anything anyway. Athena personally oversaw this temples' construction. It will be seamless… but so long as it keeps those Godless B*tches away from Kiota, it serves our purpose, and the exercise will keep the men busy and, if sold to them properly, should help bolster morale.
Older Knight #2:
And what about the Heathens inside?
Older Knight #1:
(dismissively) Oh, what about them? They want to remain inside this edifice forever, let them. Voluntarily interned alive, unable to even step outside for a breath of fresh air, knowing there is nothing they can do to stop us from winning this land for the Lord; sounds like an adequate punishment to me.
CUT TO:
On the Roof of the Temple. Night. Cloaked in black, and under the cover of night, Gabrielle and Eve are loading twenty-four crossbows in preparation for the predawn attack. They work in silence as to keep the Christians below unaware of their coming and goings, even though logically they know that at this height and with the storm raging on in the background, they'd have to shout at the top of their lungs to even get the Christians' attention.
Eve:
(whispering to Gabrielle) Where's Hedda? She said she was just going to get more rope, but that was almost half an hour ago?
Gabrielle:
(sarcastically) She probably ditched us and is halfway to Kiota by now.
Eve:
(smirking despite herself) Gabrielle, you know she wouldn't do that! She needs us, and I'm not just talking about our allegiance in this war. She may not consciously realize it, but deep inside she knows. Her heart wouldn't let her just abandon us.
Gabrielle:
I'm not so sure about that as you are, but she's just as trapped in here as we are for the time being. She couldn't have gone too far.
Eve:
Well, we need that rope if we're ever going to get these crossbows rigged. I'll go look for her.
Gabrielle:
Be careful. Even if Hedda is willing to put her blame of us on slow boil, this is still Athena's temple. Some of those Priestesses might still be holding a grudge.
Eve:
(giving Gabrielle's shoulder a pat for reassurance) I know, and I will.
Eve walks off and Gabrielle starts inspecting and repositioning the crossbows she and Eve just loaded.
CUT TO:
A Hallway in Athena's Temples. Eve is walking down the hallway, when she suddenly comes to a turn with two possible directions, and she is unsure about which avenue to take. Sighing, she begins to retrace her steps, which only leads her down another corridor, one she is totally unfamiliar with. She is now officially lost.
Eve:
(tentatively) Hello?
Getting no response, Eve continues down another corridor. At the end of this new passage, she sees one door, set apart from the rest. A light beams from inside, making the door's edges glow as if the room behind it was well lit with candles. Cautiously Eve approaches the door, and silently pushes it halfway open. What she sees sets her back a moment, not in a frightening way, but in awe.
The entire room is one huge, hand-painted, mural depicting different battle scenes from Greek history.
On the ceiling is a perfect rendition of the Defeat of Chronos, Zeus' hand still holding his father's rib, as the Titan King clutches his bleeding chest wound, and the other Titans look on in horror.
Three of the walls have smaller but similar murals, depicting different battles.
However, despite the truly amazing artistry of the murals, the most impressive feature of the room is the gigantic tapestry hung adjacent to the bed, for this is not a work about long ago battles, but of the lives of one god and one mortal, Ares: God of War and Xena: the Conqueror, woven together in the tapestry's threads, as well as in the short life together that the piece depicts.
Eve is transfixed by the tapestry's shear beauty, even though the content of the image disturbs her. She has already figured out that the Xena woven here is not her dear mother, but the merciless Conqueror that never found peace or learned the value of human life. This Xena had lived as a wild animal, the dark god beside her, urging her on to unspeakable acts of savagery. But the theme of this work is not violence, but the profound and deeply rooted relationship between two people that seemed to be inevitable from the perspective of the weaver.
Gabrielle (V.O.):
(equally amazed) By the Gods!
Startled, Eve spins around to find Gabrielle standing in the doorway and herself directly in front of the tapestry, as if it had magnetically pulled her towards it.
Eve:
(breathily) It's beautiful, and yet…
Gabrielle:
(softly) I know.
Coming out of their awe, Gabrielle and Eve start examining the rest of the room. Beneath their feet is a blue and silver oriental rug. The large bed is covered in blue silk sheets, and there is a hand carved chest, dresser, and mirrored vanity set next to the bed. All in all, it appears to be a lavish bedroom. Four medals and two trophies rest proudly in a glass display case next to the tapestry, and just above the glass case an impressive array of weapons are mounted.
Gabrielle examines closely examines a carved staff at the center of the collection, while Eve, having strayed over to the vanity, examines a gorgeous platinum and sapphire wedding bracelet.
Hedda:
(near blind rage) Get your grubby, mortal paws off my stuff, you Stupid B*tches!
Gabrielle swiftly turns to see Hedda, a length of thick, coiled, rope wrapped around her left shoulder, and a dagger in her right hand. The look on Gabrielle's face says she's ready for a fight, but Eve calmly raises a hand to stop her and any confrontation.
Eve:
(hasty to explain) Hedda, we were just…
Hedda:
Let me guess, Messenger of Eli; you were collecting for the poor and just decided to help yourself! (grabbing the bracelet from) Since Xena killed the Furies, blood kinship only goes so far these days; tread lightly! Daddy gave me this on my sixteenth birthday;! Lay your filthy hands on it again and I'll rip your arm right out of its socket!
Gabrielle:
Alright, that's enough! We weren't stealing from you! When you didn't come back to the roof, Eve got worried!
Eve:
I got lost in the corridors and I saw a light coming from this room, so I thought somebody in here might be able to direct me! I'm sorry I touched your things. It was rude of me, and I'm truly sorry. Your room is truly beautiful and I was captured by the artistry in everything.
Knowing that Eve is being honest, Hedda takes several calming breaths, as she places the bracelet around her wrist and inspects it for marks or dullness. Finding none, she smiles sadly at it, then looks back at Gabrielle and Eve with a cold stare.
Hedda:
Tellata and the other Priestesses were having trouble getting the emergency storage doors open. I don't know about you, but I want to eat while we're stuck in here, so I was giving them a hand. (holding up the coiled rope) And as you can see, I also got the rope I promised, so let's get back to the roof. We still have a lot of preparations to make.
While the tension hasn't completely dissipated, they all know they have work to do if their plan to draw the Christians away from Kiota is going to work, and that must come first. Hedda leads the way back to the roof, and they begin their work once more.
CUT TO:
An Hour Later. Hedda, Eve, Gabrielle, and Six Priestess of Athena are loading the last of the catapults. All are dirty and sweaty from their labors.
Gabrielle:
(to Hedda, while still panting) I thought you said these catapults were virtually effortless to load?
Eve:
(smirking) They are. Have you ever loaded a regular catapult? It takes 12 strong men, and twice as long, at least.
Hedda:
Precisely. Now, I'm hungry. Let's go get some dinner. Tellata said she was making rabbit stew tonight. You two are in for a treat; Tellata makes the BEST rabbit stew!
Eve:
I hope so; I'm starved!
CUT TO:
The Temple Dining Hall. Hedda, Gabrielle, Eve, and Tellata sit around a large, intricately carved, table, situated in the center of the room, eating hot bowls of stew and bread, and chasing them down with goblets of wine. At another, smaller, table, three of the Priestesses sit, eating in virtual silence. There are three more of these smaller tables, each with eight chairs, set near the walls, but they are all empty, testifying to the temples past capacity, and current vacancy.
Eve:
Where are the novices? Aren't they hungry?
Tellata:
(as if explaining to a child) Novices eat in the kitchen, until they have taken their vows to our Goddess' memory.
Gabrielle:
(getting self righteous) And those three (pointing to the Priestess at the other table)? Why don't they sit with us and why are they using mugs and metal dishes while we have silver goblets and porcelain from Chin?
Hedda:
(letting her spoon fall into the dish loudly) Because Athena was a big, scaly, monster who insisted that her people earn their status, rather than just taking it through force. Maybe, if I'd followed your Xena's example, instead of Athena's, I'd have the world enslaved under my boot heal right now! Of course there would be no room for justice or fair play, but hey "Might makes right, even when it's wrong.", right?!
Gabrielle jumps to her feet so forcefully that her chair falls backward.
Gabrielle:
(in Hedda's face) Don't you dare go putting your father's words into Xena's mouth! Xena was nothing like you describe! I was her soulmate; I knew her better than anyone, and you don't know a damn thing about her!
Hedda:
(smugly) You forget, it was only the accident of Uncle Hercules' birth that delineated the Xena you called your soulmate from my birth mother, and in her world, you, or more accurately, your counterpart, killed her while she was pregnant with me, so I'd get off my high horse and walk through the rest of this conversation, if I were you.
Hearing this, Gabrielle takes a small step back as if she'd been slapped across the face.
Gabrielle:
You're lying! I could never kill Xena, not in any universe!
Hedda:
That's what my father thought when he saw you leaving her tent. "I have nothing to worry about: Gabrielle could never harm Xena." And less than a minute later he found her bleeding to death from a stab wound to her belly.
Gabrielle:
(in a shocked whisper) No!
Hedda:
(continuing her verbal assault) Oh yes! You even gloated over the deed! If it weren't for that Shamaness, Alti, and her plan to use my father to manipulate Xena in all future lifetimes, I wouldn't be here right now!
Gabrielle:
(still stunned) Alti… why would Alti want to save your life?
Hedda:
Admittedly, that wasn't her main concern, but she had to have known that, with my parentage, I would be a powerful soul, and as my father has repeatedly warned me over the years, Alti lives to harness other's power for her own evil purposes. It's who she is; it's what she does, but I can't spend my life sitting around waiting for her to attempt to collect me.
Gabrielle:
No, you can't. But if she does come after you…
Hedda:
(rolling her eyes) Yeah, yeah, yeah; You'll be there for me. I know.
Eve:
Excuse me, but I'm lost here. Who's Alti? Why would Gabrielle kill your mother? I just don't get it.
Hedda and Gabrielle:
(simultaneously)
It's a long story.
An especially loud crack of thunder booms.
Eve:
(tired of being dismissed in Gabrielle and Hedda's feuds) Well, we've completed the preparations for tomorrow's attack, and we can't go anywhere else in the mean time, (decisively) so I think it's time it all gets aired out.
Hedda:
I'd tell you, but I'm sure the great bard, Gabrielle, here, wouldn't want to hear a story where Athena and my father are the heroes of the day. It might be more difficult to perpetually vilify them in her future scrolls, and the Fates forbid she actually try for objectivity in her writing.
Gabrielle:
(not taking the bait) No, Eve is right. A lot of this is still a mystery to me and if I'm to command your father's army, I need to have all the facts.
Hedda considers Gabrielle's words and finally nods in agreement.
Hedda:
But let's take it to my room. It's a long story and we'd all be more comfortable there.
Eve and Gabrielle nod in agreement, and begin cleaning up their dinner utensils.
Hedda:
Leave it. Tellata will have one of the novices get those. And as Gabrielle so quickly agreed with me a few minutes ago, it really is a long story.
Concerned, Tellata watches Hedda turn and walk away. Shrugging, Eve and Gabrielle follow her as she instinctively makes her way through the temples' corridors. When the get to Hedda's bedroom, Hedda offers the foot of her bed to Gabrielle and Eve to sit on. She then props her pillow up and sits with her back against the headboard. As Gabrielle and Eve stare at her expectantly, Hedda is now a little unsure of whether this was such a good idea, and not being a bard herself, has no clue where to begin. When her nervous eyes fall on the Tapestry, her thoughts become clear once more, and her confidence is restored.
As Hedda tells her story, several clips from the Hercules episode 'Armageddon Now II' and the Xena episodes 'The Dirty Half Dozen', 'Maternal Instincts', and 'Chakram' are seen as they are mentioned.
Hedda:
You could say my story begins where one of Gabrielle's scrolls ends. When your Xena killed the war god, Kal, and united the chakram of light and dark, she set into motion a series of events that would change not only this world, but the world of her counterpart, my mother… (with pride bordering on awe) Xena: the Conqueror.
The camera focuses tightly on the image of the Conqueror, raising her scepter, which is depicted in the tapestry. This woven scene morphs into the real life face of the Conqueror, at that very moment, and is held in an eerily lingering close up.
FADE OUT
END OF ACT 1
READ ACT 2