SC05 - Rough Start
EXT. ST. NERO CHAPEL. MORNING.
Eleanor and Jan step outside and into the sunlight. Eleanor is wearing her travel gear and carrying her satchel. She spots Zavier standing by the road, talking to Mayne, who sees her and stops mid-sentence.
ELEANOR: Morning! Hope I'm not interrupting.
MAYNE: Course not. I just wanted to meet the man who's gonna be looking after you. Anyway, are you set?
ELEANOR: Yep. So I suppose I'll see you in three days.
MAYNE: Do be careful out there, Elle. The world can be a dangerous place.
ELEANOR: I know, Father.
They hug and Eleanor kneels in front of Jan.
ELEANOR: Now I want you to promise me you'll be a good girl alright?
JAN: Do I have toooo?
ELEANOR: Just for a few days.
JAN: Alright Ella. I'll be good!
They hug, then Eleanor stands up and ruffles Jan's hair. She then walks up to Zavier.
ZAVIER: I take it you're in then?
ELEANOR: (Smiling) I guess I am!
ZAVIER: You seem a little more... enthusiastic this morning. Why the change of heart?
ELEANOR: Maybe it's because I'm not being blinded by strangers with weird stones.
ZAVIER: Ah, yeah. I should really apologize for that. I didn't know that would happen.
ELEANOR: (Grins) Tell you what, you get me back here in one piece and I'll forgive you.
ZAVIER: That I can do. Let's get moving, shall we?
Eleanor nods. They walk down the road, Eleanor waves goodbye to her family until they are out of sight.
ZAVIER: They seem like nice people. So do you live at the church?
ELEANOR: Yeah, I was orphaned as a kid and Father Mayne took me in. I guess it's become more of an orphanage than a chapel really.
ZAVIER: No kidding, I'm an orphan too. I was raised at the Mercenaries Guild in the city.
ELEANOR: You're a mercenary? I thought you were with the goverment?
ZAVIER: Yeah but we might as well be run by the government. I mean, often they like to hire us when they don't want to spare any of the militaries people.
ELEANOR: I see. So did you fight in the war?
ZAVIER: (Chuckles) No no... we get hired to do all the mundane things. Like sending messages and collecting supplies. Not that anything about this trip's been mundane, mind you. (He gestures towards an old road that leads out of town) This way.
They continue talking while walking down the road. Zavier suddenly stops when they reach a riverbank.
ZAVIER: Ahh, that's not good.
The soldiers from the bar are walking down the road towards them.
ELEANOR: What's wrong?
ZAVIER: (Lowers his voice) I may have made those guys a tiny little bit mad last night... Just keep walking, maybe they won't recognize me.
ELEANOR: You did what?
The soldiers hear Eleanors outburst and look over at the two of them. The leader of the bunch recognizes Zavier and grins. He walks right in front of Zavier, forcing him to stop.
SOLDIER #1: Well, well, well. Look who we have here.
ZAVIER: Morning! We're just passing through, if you don't mind.
Zavier motions for the soldiers to step aside. The soldier instead steps closer.
SOLDIER #1: What if I do mind?
ZAVIER: Now what happened last night was a misunderstanding. You said it yourself. I apologise for any offense I caused.
SOLDIER #1: Sorry isn't gonna cut it.
The soldier pushes Zavier backwards. Zavier regains his balance and grins.
ZAVIER: So that's how it's gonna be, huh? Eleanor, you might wanna stand back for this next bit.
Eleanor backs up and gives him a worried look as Zavier pulls his sword from his sheathe, pointing it right at the mans face.
ZAVIER: How about just you and me?
SOLDIER #1: (Laughs) Kid, you got spirit but I'm gonna beat it right out of you.
The soldier pulls out his own sword and lunges at Zavier. Zavier parries and the two fight back and forth for a few moments before locking swords.
SOLDIER #1: Not bad, kid. But you ain't gonna be a hero today.
Before Zavier can react, one of the other soldiers strikes him in the gut with their fist. Zavier topples over backwards.
ELEANOR: No! Stop!
The soldiers proceed to kick Zavier while he is down on the ground. Eleanor grabs the leader by the arm but he throws her off and she falls to the ground.
The leader looks back down at Zavier with a look of disgust.
SOLDIER #1: You shoulda shown a little respect, kid. None of this would have happened.
ELEANOR: (yells) I SAID STOP!
The soldiers stop kicking Zavier and turn to Eleanor
SOLDIER #1: Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?
The soldiers notice she has her arm outstretched, pointing above them. They look up and see a floating mass of water right above their heads.
SOLDIER #1: That's... (He looks back down at Eleanor and panic strikes his face) No wait! Don't...
Eleanor drops the water on them and pushes it back into the river. The soldiers yell as they are swept away by the current. She drops to one knee and takes a few deep breaths, then scrambles back to her feet and runs over to Zavier.
ELEANOR: Are you alright?
Zavier sits up and rubs his side.
ZAVIER: Ahhh, yeah they're not as strong as they... (Stopping mid-sentence, his eyes widen and he faces Eleanor) Wait, what the heck just happened?
ELEANOR: Umm, right. About that.
ZAVIER: Did you... the water... how? I don't...
ELEANOR: (With a guilty expression) This is gonna take a lot of explaining...
YOU ARE READING
Daylight - First Draft
Adventure(Some of the second draft is now up. Check it out on my profile if you want the latest version of the story) The world of Aedryn has entered an era of unprecidented peace and prosperity. War is a thing of the past, old feuds reduced to mere legends...
