Written by: Caina Q. Fuller ©
Episode #11 of The Messenger
Gabrielle lies sleeping beside the fire when her warrior senses
pulls her awake. She opens her eyes to
find a man standing over her, bearing a scroll. Beside her Hope sleeps peacefully. Gabrielle brings her foot up
and into his face, sending him falling backward with a cry of pain.
Who are you? What are you and what are
you doing, sneaking up on us while we’re
sleeping?
Messenger
Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sneak.
I’m looking for Gabrielle of Potidaea.
Gabrielle
I’m Gabrielle of Poitdaea.
Messenger
Here you are.
The Messenger hands her a scroll and a large bouquet of daisies.
He dances from foot to foot, anxious to get away from her.
Gabrielle
Who is this from?
Messenger
I don’t know. I just get my assignments
from my boss, I don’t ask questions.
Can I go now?
Gabrielle
Sure. And remember not to sneak up on
people like that from now on.
Messenger
After what just happened, that won’t
be a problem.
Gabrielle opens the scroll and begins to read
it aloud.
Gabrielle
“My dear Gabrielle. I hope to catch up with
you in the next village. We have much to
talk about.”
It’s signed ‘A dear friend’.
Close up on Gabrielle.
Fade out. End of Teaser.
Act One
Fade
In
Gabrielle
and Hope (who by now looks to be about five months pregnant), ride into a small
but busy looking village. They come to
a stop in front of the village Inn and dismount.
Gabrielle
The note said they would be here, in this
village.
I have so many friends I’m at a
loss as to who it could be.
Hope
I’m starting to get excited. I wonder who
it could be.
Do you think it’s a man?
Someone who’s been loving you from afar,
and now he’s finally gotten up the courage
to meet you?
Gabrielle
Of course not dear. You know I love
Benjamin.
Besides, the note didn’t have
that romantic feel to it. I don’t know who
it is…unless its Iolous! I heard he and
Nebula were coming back to Greece to
attend their son’s wedding.
Hope
If it was Iolous, wouldn’t he have signed
the note?
Gabrielle
That would make more sense.
Hope
grabs the reigns to the horses, and prepares to take them to the stables.
Hope
You go on in. I’ll have these guys
stabled
and join you for lunch.
Gabrielle
You just ate breakfast a couple of hours
ago.
Hope
I know, but I’m hungry again. I am eating
for two you know.
Gabrielle
You eat enough food for five.
Hope
Is it a deal?
Gabrielle
It’s a deal.
Int.
Inn
Gabrielle
enters the Inn and finds Eve sitting alone inside and staring into her drink.
Gabrielle
Eve! I
should have known it was you.
Why the flowers and the mystery?
Eve
looks up, just as surprised to see Gabrielle as Gabrielle is to see her. She frown’s as her friend pulls out a chair,
uncertain as to what this is all about.
Eve
I didn’t send you a not and flowers. You
sent them to me.
Gabrielle
No I didn’t. Are you sure you’re not
pulling
my leg?
Eve
I’ve never been more sure about anything
in my life.
Gabrielle
Well that’s strange. We’ve both
received
flowers and a message to be here. Do
you think someone is setting us up?
Eve
Could be. I say we stay here and wait
it out. Let’s stay and find out whoever
this is.
Suddenly
the doors swing open and Augustus Caesar enters with two Roman soldiers. When Eve sees him, she draws her sword,
ready to fight, though Gabrielle remains oddly calm and uninterested. She remains in her seat while Eve faces them
down. Augustus holds up his hands in a
symbol of surrender.
Augustus
Calm down Eve. I’m not here to fight.
I just want to talk.
Eve
I should have known it was you.
Gabrielle
I can understand you giving Eve flowers
Augustus, but why me?
Augustus
strides arrogantly into the room, soaking up the adoration the villagers are
giving him.
Augustus
I haven’t sent anyone any flowers ladies.
I came on a mission to find Eve. Mission
accomplished. At least half way.
Eve
and Gabrielle roll their eyes in disgust and Eve sits back down.
Eve
Can you believe I almost married this
pig?
Gabrielle
From the life you lived Eve, I can believe
you would have done anything to gain
power.
Augustus
sits at their table and snaps his fingers.
Suddenly a barmaid rushes to the table and begins filling a glass for
him, gushing over his celebrity.
Barmaid
Here you are my lord. The best in the
house.
And uh…speaking of the house,
my room is the third door on the left,
second floor. I’ll leave the door unlocked
for you.
She
saunters away, swinging her ample hips but Augustus only has eyes for Eve.
He
reaches across the table and tries to take her hands into his, but she only
slaps at him, as she would a four-year-old child trying to eat his desert
before he finishes his vegetables.
Eve
What do you want? I know you didn’t
travel all the way from Rome just to
plead with me to change my mind.
Especially when you know I won’t.
Augustus
I want what I have always wanted: Your
happiness Eve.
I know you find this hard
to believe but, I love you. Come back to
Rome with me. Give us a real chance.
Give me a chance to prove to you that
I’m not such a bad man to be with.
Gabrielle
can’t stand it another moment, so she speaks up.
Gabrielle
You know Augustus, every moment I’m
around you it becomes more and more
difficult to reconcile the man before me
now and the young man I visited in that
prison cell in Egypt. Remember? You had
such heart, and such a sense of honor
and duty. What happened to Octavius?
Augustus
I still have a sense of duty and honor
Gabrielle. But I’ve also grown up. I’m not
the little boy you once knew. Now I’m a
man.
Gabrielle
No. Now you’re a pig with the crown
of
Rome’s emperor.
Eve
leans back in her chair. She’s lost interest in Augustus and this conversation.
Eve
You can forget it Augustus. I’m not
returning to Rome with you. I never will
so get over it ok?
Augustus
You’ll change your mind soon enough.
Eve
When are you going to get it through
your thick skull that I’m not interested?
Augustus
stands from the table and jerks his cloak back arrogantly.
Augustus
I will never give up on you Eve. I will
never give up on us. Let’s go boys.
Augustus
leaves as the barmaid from before comes back to the table. This time she has a message for Eve and
Gabrielle.
Barmaid
I’m looking for Gabrielle of Potidaea and
Eve, the Messenger?
Gabrielle
I’m Gabrielle. This is Eve.
Barmaid
There’s someone waiting to see you.
Shall I send her out now?
Gabrielle
Yes, please.
(To Eve)
I wonder to it is?
Eve
I don’t know, but we’re about to
find out.
Gabrielle
and Eve take one another’s hands in excitement as a dark figure appears behind
the curtain to the next room. A
strangely familiar figure.
Slowly the curtain parts and…
…Xena
emerges from the next room. Both
Gabrielle and Eve stare in shock as she walks toward them, but Gabrielle
recovers first and stands from her chair.
Gabrielle
Xena?
Eve
Mom?
Xena
Gabrielle. Evie. It’s me. I’m alive.
Eve
runs to her mothers embrace, but Xena never takes her eyes off Gabrielle. Not even for a moment.
Eve
Oh mother, I’ve missed you.
Xena
I’ve missed you too sweetheart.
Eve
How is this possible? How are you alive?
Xena
(finally looking at Eve)
I never died.
Gabrielle
had started around the table to go to her best friends embrace, but when she hears
Xena’s explanation for her absence she stops in disbelief and anger.
Gabrielle
You lied?
You let us think you were dead
when you’ve been alive all this time? How
could you do that?
Xena
I had to Gabrielle. I had to find some
way for us to escape Ares.
Gabrielle
stares on at her friend, helplessly incredulous, not to mention hurt. We can see from the gleam in her eyes that
her anger is growing by the second.
Gabrielle
I don’t believe this. I just don’t believe
what I’m hearing.
Eve
Gabrielle? Aren’t you going to hug mother?
Gabrielle
Hug her?
I never want to see her again as
long as I live!
Xena
and Eve react in shock as Gabrielle tears from the Inn.
Xena
Stay here Eve.
I’m going after her.
Eve
I don’t think that’s a good idea Mom. Let
me talk to her first. And when I get back,
I’ve got a bone to pick with you myself.
Ext.
Street
Gabrielle
rushes down the street toward the stables and her daughter. She’s so angry and
hurt tears are streaming down her face.
Behind her, Eve rushes from the Inn, calling her name.
Eve
Gabrielle! Wait! Wait a minute.
Gabrielle
I don’t want to hear it Eve. There is no
excuse for what she did to us. None!
Hope
emerges from the stables, heading her way, but halts when she sees her mother
in tears.
Gabrielle
Hope, get your horse. We’re going back to
Potidaea.
Hope
Alright, but what’s wrong Mother?
Eve
pulls Gabrielle around to face her.
Eve
Gabrielle, I know you’re confused and
angry. I am too, but I’m sure that if you
let her explain-
Gabrielle
What’s to explain Eve? She let us believe
she was dead for over a year.
Eve
I’m sure she has her reasons.
Gabrielle
‘She had her reasons’ would have worked
when I was younger Eve, but I’m not a
naïve little girl. That excuse doesn’t get
her out of her responsibilities anymore.
As far as I’m concerned what she’s done
is unforgivable.
Eve
Unforgivable? Gabrielle she just got back.
Don’t you think you should at least hear
what she has to say before you make up
your mind never to forgive her?
Gabrielle
No. I don’t.
Hope
comes back out of the stables with their horses and Gabrielle mounts up and
rides off.
Hope
What’s the matter with mother?
Before
Eve can answer, Gabrielle calls to her daughter from the end of the street.
Gabrielle
Hope!
Come on!
Eve
Go on Hope. She’ll tell you when you
get home, I’m sure.
Hope
rides after her mother, and Xena joins Eve on the street.
Xena
I heard what she said.
Eve
You have a lot of explaining to do mother.
I just hope Gabrielle will be willing to
listen before you lose her forever.
Ext.
Potidaea
Int.
Barn
Gabrielle
and Hope come into the barn and dismount, pulling the saddles off their horses.
As they work, they talk.
Hope
Mother? You haven’t said a word
all the way back. Why won’t you tell
me what’s wrong?
Gabrielle
It’s Xena. She’s back, claiming she
hasn’t been dead all this time. Can
you believe that? She just lied to
Eve and me. I can’t…
Gabrielle
turns away from her daughter, tears spilling down her cheeks. They lead their
horses into their stalls and lock the gates.
Gabrielle
I’ll take care of the saddles. You
go on in the house.
Hope
I’ll do it-
Gabrielle
(sharp)
Hope please! Do as I say.
Without
word, Hope turns and walks away, leaving her mother alone in the barn. As soon as no one is with her, Gabrielle picks
up a pitchfork and begins to beat a support beam in the corner. The horses
dance uneasily in their stalls at her rage.
Finally,
once Gabrielle has worked out her anger, she collapses to the floor and weeps.
Wide
shot of Gabrielle weeping on the floor of the barn.
Fade
out.
End
of Act one.
Act Two
Clip One- “Sins of the Past” Xena
offers her hand to Gabrielle to mount up behind her.
Clip Two- “Altared States” Gabrielle is drugged after
eating the nut bread, looks at Xena and tells her she is beautiful.
Clip Three- “Return of Callisto” Xena kneels in prayer and
begs that the light in Gabrielle’s eyes doesn’t go out.
Clip Four- “One Against An Army” Xena and Gabrielle join
hands as Xena prepares to face down the Persians and they swear that even in
death, Xena will never leave her.
Clip Five- “A Family Affair” Xena and Gabrielle sit in the
windmill after all is said and done, and Xena tells Gabrielle that she is her
way.
Clip Six- “God Fearing Child” Gabrielle reassures Xena
that they will provide a happy, safe life for her child as they prepare to
enter Tartarus through the lake.
Clip Seven- “A Friend In Need Pt. 1” Xena tells Gabrielle
that if she only has thirty seconds to live, she wants to live them looking
into her eyes.
As the last of her memories fade, tears begin streaming down her
face.
How could you put me through that
kind of misery Xena?
A pair of strong, masculine hands cover her shoulders, and when
Gabrielle looks up, she finds Benjamin standing behind her. He plants a soft
kiss on her neck, then on her lips.
Good morning darling. Hey,
you’re
crying. What’s the matter?
Gabrielle
It’s this mess with Xena. I can’t believe
she…
Benjamin
Come here. I think we should talk.
Gabrielle
I don’t want to talk about this with
you.
You’ll just try to talk me out of being
angry with her.
Benjamin
Please Gabrielle. Just hear what I have
to say. If you still want
to be mad at
her after this, then that’s your decision.
Gabrielle
Fine. But I promise I won’t like it.
Benjamin
Fair enough.
They go to a bench and Gabrielle sits on his lap.
I can imagine how you’re feeling right
now Gabrielle.
Gabrielle
No, I don’t think you can Benjamin.
Benjamin plants a finger over her lips, gently silencing her.
When I was eighteen, I met a young
woman I was absolutely mad about.
We clicked just like that.
I can
honestly say that the most magical
moments of this lifetime happened
with her that summer. At least, so far.
Gabrielle
What was her name?
Benjamin
Alexis. She was exquisite
in every sense
of the word. She had raven hair and
soulful brown. She cared about others
more than she did about herself. It was
this same quality that I loved so much
about her that took her from me in the
end.
Benjamin looses himself in his memories of Alexis, and Gabrielle has to
pull him back to the present.
Gabrielle
What happened?
Benjamin
I came from a farming community,
so the women would stay at home and
take care of the children while the men
Were out tending the crops. There was a
river close by her home so she often
escorted the children to gather water for
laundry or cooking. Whatever was needed.
One day this little boy fell in. She dove
right in after him, but because of the
rains we’d had recently, the currents were
stronger than usual and they were swept
away.
One of the children came back to
get help when she saw Alexis was in
trouble, but by the time we got there, they
were both gone.
Gabrielle shares more silence with Benjamin, letting him tell the story
at his own pace.
Benjamin
Some fishermen in a neighboring village
found them two days later and brought
them home.
Gabrielle
I don’t understand how this applies to
my situation with Xena. Alexis really did
die, doing something noble. Xena just
pretended to be dead, knowing what that
would do to me.
Benjamin
Alexis wasn’t just my lover, she was
my best friend. Xena has always been
your best friend, Gabrielle. I love you
dearly sweetheart, and I can’t imagine
life without you in it, but I could only
dream of seeing her one last time. You’ve
been given a blessing that very few people
in this world will ever get: A second
chance with a loved one you thought you’d
lost. Tell her you hate her, or your angry
with her, or tell her you love her,
whatever. But talk to her. Don’t let this
chance pass you by.
Gabrielle stands from Benjamin’s lap and goes over to watch the sun finish
rising behind a thick cumulous cloud.
Gabrielle
I’m just so angry with her for the pain
she’s putting me through.
Benjamin
It’s ok to be angry Gabrielle. Xena may
or may not be wrong for what she did,
who knows? You can work that out later.
Just ask yourself this: Is one lie worth
throwing away the friendship you’d built
up with her? Think about it.
Gabrielle
I’m not even sure where she is anymore.
I’m not sure she can hear me Benjamin.