ch8 excerpt

INT. GALWAY GALLOWS, GALWAY, NIGHTTIME
The two incarcerated are escorted by a cabal of jailers, a necessary precaution considering the women they’re dealing with. The two women are bound in chain and wood contraptions, putting their hands collapsed on each other and tying their wrists. One of them opens up the cell and throws Yseult in. They motion to do so with Morrighan, but she just walks in herself right after her. Yseult flips and turns on the floor to get herself comfortable, while Morrighan leans towards the wall and slides down.

JAILER
In here. You’re due for execution tomorrow witch. Knight, we’ll work something out.

The men leave but the main warden stays, and on the floor sets himself up at a post near the end of the hall, checking on other prisoners.

YSEULT
Oh, lovely, dear, they even got us a room together.

MORRIGHAN
Please don’t talk to me.

YSEULT
But it’s been so long, Ori, don’t you want to catch up?

MORRIGHAN
What did you just call me?

YSEULT
I shortened your name, it kept throwing off my syllabic meter.

MORRIGHAN
Ugh, can’t believe I had to run into again.

YSEULT
Hmhm, fate is a funny thing. Anyway, I assume you don’t want to die. So I have a proposition, we break for it. Get an “I help you, you help me sort of thing” going.

MORRIGHAN
You realize I don’t like you, right? If I’m saving anyone, it’s myself.

YSEULT
And how do you suppose you’d do that?

MORRIGHAN
I’ll just explain myself tomorrow, talk about what I’d been actually sent to do up here, and how I don’t know you, and how I also hate your guts, and everything will be cleared up.

YSEULT
Hmph, you’re more mad than I am if you think they’ll let you go.

MORRIGHAN
What are you trying to say?

YSEULT
They all hated you out there, no, they’re gonna kill you the first chance they get. This is Galway, king here’s been too busy having a dick-measuring contest with a fairy warlord to care about proper law enforcement.

MORRIGHAN
I think I have more faith in them than you.

YSEULT
I wouldn’t want to wait and test it.

MORRIGHAN
Why do you even need my help? You’re magic. Blow up your handcuffs. Or turn them into frogs.

YSEULT
My hands are bound, stupid. If I can’t move my arms, I can’t use any magic. Wouldn’t even be all that great, the fishmongers broke my staff.

MORRIGHAN
Okay then, if we worked together, how would we even get out of this cell, both of us have our hands bound, I can barely move my fingers in this.

YSEULT
Simple. Get a guard to come in, we knock him out, we’re on our way. Anything else, we improvise. I’m very good at that.

MORRIGHAN
Think they’d be privy to us trying to get a rise out of them.

YSEULT
Nah, they won’t be. Everyone in here hates me!

MORRIGHAN
You have a point, there.

YSEULT
On top of that, these wardens are a bunch of thick dossers, swear they list that as a requirement.

MORRIGHAN ponders for a bit, weighing her options. Realizing she has zero, she acquiesces to YSEULT.

MORRIGHAN
Okay, I’ll work with you. How do you plan on--

YSEULT
HEY TOSSER! YEAH YOU, YOU OLD SAP.

The WARDEN looks up from his post and angrily starts to slowly drudge over to the door, hand primed to the weapon on his hip.

MORRIGHAN
(whispering)Wait, now?

YSEULT
Course now. Come on, keep up.

The WARDEN comes round to the cell doors and sneers at the two women.

WARDEN
The fuck do you want, witch.

YSEULT
My, my, such foul language. Bet you wouldn’t be so tough if these bars weren’t holding me back.

WARDEN
Don’t think you’re gonna get me in there with you, not gonna be played a fool by your kind.

MORRIGHAN(whispering)
Told you.

YSEULT(whispering)
Shut up.

YSEULT continues goading the guard.

YSEULT
Please, I’m all tied up, can’t even use any magic, and I still bet you couldn’t take me.

WARDEN
You couldn’t last a second against me, see these?

He points to his arms. YSEULT laughs. MORRIGHAN is still trying to read the situation.

YSEULT
You call those arms? I swear, you’re thicker-headed than you look. Surprised you even got work with those stringy little noodles.

WARDEN
Why I oughta--

YSEULT
Yeah, you oughta. Try me, you shit-eating wanker.

WARDEN
Alright, you cocky bitch, that’s it.

The warden pulls out a morning star and opens the door, locking it behind him. He starts to peddle it on his palm, then hold the shaft in his hand.
WARDEN
Sposed to be takin yer head of come morrow, but, I think maybe we’ll just move up that timeframe.

YSEULT
Ooh, real intimidating. Your husband teach you how to talk dirty like that?

The Warden moves to bash YSEULT’s head in, she stares directly at him laughing. Morrighan springs into action, tackling him and wrestling him to the ground, taking care to hold her binds around his neck. They wrestle and she eventually holds him in a headlock with her legs until he passes out. She wraps her chains around the metal shaft of the warden’s weapon and pulls, eventually breaking her chains. She rubs her wrist and looks disdainfully at Yseult.

MORRIGHAN
You’re quite the tool, gotta say.

YSEULT
I know, right?

Yseult shakes herself off and jumps up. Morrighan is dragging the guard’s body to the side of the cell as the mob now begins to give chase, Yseult jumps in next to her.

Morrighan decks Yseult, knocking her down into the floors of the dungeon.
YSEULT
What the shit?!

Morrighan rubs her hands.

MORRIGHAN
I told you I’d cave your face in if I saw you again. Shame it took this long to do it, though.

YSEULT holds up her hands to her nose to stop the bleeding.

YSEULT
Real nice, hero. Fantastic job, now get me out of these bindings.

MORRIGHAN
I’m not trying to incriminate myself any further than this. You’re staying in those.

YSEULT
What? We had a deal, you underhanded--

MORRIGHAN
We both remember what happened last time I trusted you.

YSEULT
Who could forget, you tried to kill me over vegetables!

MORRIGHAN
Is that really what you took from that?

Bells toll as their commotion alerted more of the guards, the other prisoners screaming and trying to get them caught, and the two of them can hear the

YSEULT
Shit, they’ve set off alarms. This whole place will be crawling with guards looking for an early execution.

MORRIGHAN
Then let’s not give them the chance. Think the requisition room was back at the end of the hall. Let’s get in there and get out.

YSEULT
Anything to get out of here.

The two rush through the dank corridors of the dungeons, Yseult off balance due to the fact her hands are bound. Reaching the end of a hall, Morrighan pushes in the door to the supply room. Morrighan starts to put on her plate armor found amongst the requisitioned items.
Are you seriously going to put on all that?

MORRIGHAN
...I feel more comfortable in it.

YSEULT
And they call me weird.

The footsteps grow in volume, and more seem to be joining them. Looking towards the light of the room, the guards start to rush into the end of the hall way. MORRIGHAN puts up the door and sets up it’s locking bar.
YSEULT
Wait, you can’t lock us in here, there’s no escape!

MORRIGHAN
Well, what else can we do?

WARDEN
Leave the room calmly and quietly, and we won’t hurt you.

YSEULT(whispering)
I think they’re lying.

MORRIGHAN(whispering)
Oh, wow, you think so?

WARDEN
ALRIGHT BOYS, RAM THE DOOR.

The wardens start preparing to bust the door down, Morrighan looks to Yseult for a plan.

MORRIGHAN
Alright, Yseult, now would be a good time for another one of your ideas.

YSEULT
Right. Get these chains off of me.

MORRIGHAN
What? No way, I told you I--

YSEULT
I’ll let you bind my hands again as soon as I’m done. I’ve seen you fight, you’re not as good with men as you are monsters.

MORRIGHAN
What? I took down that guard in a minute!

YSEULT
Would have been seconds if you just killed him.

BANG. BANG.

MORRIGHAN
I don’t kill people.

YSEULT
And I don’t want to get killed tomorrow, so since you won’t kill them, I’ll at least make it so they’ll be down and out all at once.

The door starts to crack, the ram is making a dent. Morrighan pulls away from the wall the door is on and moves behind Yseult.

MORRIGHAN
No choice. Fine.

Morrighan rips the chain off of her. Yseult gets up and becomes deadly serious.
YSEULT
Lovely.

BANG. BANG.
YSEULT
Let them break through the door. Hide to the side. I’ll handle the rest.

MORRIGHAN
Are you sure you’ll--

YSEULT
Do it.

Morrighan listens to her and hides to the side of the room, staying still and to the wall. The banging on the door gets louder and with a loud BANG, they break through it. The men look into the door to see only Yseult standing in the middle of the room.

YSEULT
Hello boys.

YSEULT’s eyes glow blue and her tattos start to illuminate, and the room begins to fill with magical light. MORRIGHAN looks on in awe as YSEULT poses and channels her energy, the guardsmen are uneven, holding their shields and swords up in preparation, but also fear. YSEULT’s focused concentration breaks into a glasgow grin.

YSEULT
How nice of you to join me.