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ŠPumpkin - May 20th 1998
Scene 1:
The king's sitting room, late one evening.
There is a large window with heavy drapes upstage center with a view of the city. There should be two fancy old-fashioned chairs upstage left with a small square coffee table in front of the chairs. On the table there should be two gold goblets filled with red wine. There should be a divan downstage left and across from it, downstage right, there should be a wooden door, elaborately decorated. Upstage right should be a sofa.
Enter MALACHITE with a vial of red poison; he pours it in a goblet.
MALACHITE: He shall never know what hath hit him!
Exit MALACHITE
Enter KING and QUEEN laughing.
KING: Did thou see Ambassador Kelvin's face when I rebuked his proposal, my lady? He looked like he hath swallowed a frog.
QUEEN: Yes, my lord. What merriment it hath brought me! (Giggle, holds hands up to her mouth.)
KING: (Laughs) I am sure, my lady, he hath brought much joy to this humble household.
QUEEN: Humble indeed, my Lord! This humble household is the most spectacular of palaces!
KING: Truly! Shall we have a slight taste of wine?
QUEEN: Surely, my Lord.
They both walk to the table and each pick up a goblet. The king takes the goblet that MALACHITE put poison in. They each take a sip.
KING: What in the Devil! (Cries out and falls to floor) My Lady! Help! (Gasping)
QUEEN: My Lord! (Reaches for the fallen king) Are thou in distress?
KING: Yes! Help, my Lady! Help! (Gasps, falls unconscious)
QUEEN: Oh spite! Oh hell! (Opens door, screams for aid) Help!
Enter SIR TOPAZ and SIR GARNET through door
TOPAZ: Your Highness! What hath happened? (Glances at king) Is the king unwell? (Runs to the king and kneels before his body)
QUEEN: I fear so! What shall we do?
GARNET: It seems that the old boy hath fallen on the floor! What a terrible occurrence! Doth he require assistance?
TOPAZ: How very observant of thee, Garnet! We must send for Opal, quickly! She is most wise and knows much about illnesses and such.
QUEEN: Truly. (Leans out the door) Opal! Fetch Opal for me please and quickly!
Enter OPAL
OPAL: Amethyst! What hath happened here? What is wrong with your husband?
QUEEN: He took a sip of wine from this here goblet. (Picks up the goblet and holds it out to OPAL)
OPAL: (Takes goblet, and sniffs the contents) Setelain.
QUEEN: What? What did ye say?
OPAL: Setelain. It is a poison that affects the lungs directly. This could of only been done by one man, Malachite.
QUEEN: Poison! Who would poison the king? He is beloved by all of his loyal subjects!
TOPAZ: And who is this mysterious Malachite?
OPAL: Some people in the kingdom fight for the old ways. They do not believe that women or people of other religions, such as me, belong in high stations of power. One such is Malachite. (Turns to TOPAZ and GARNET) Put the king on the divan over there. (Points to the divan)
TOPAZ and GARNET pick up the king and place him on the divan.
GARNET: The old boy hath gained several pounds from living such an easy life and not to mention all those pastries he stole from the kitchen! (Chuckles) Wouldn't ye say so, old friend? (Nudges TOPAZ with elbow)
TOPAZ: I would not talk, if I were thee! (Taps GARNET's stomach)
GARNET: How humorous.
QUEEN: Is there any known cure to this poison, Setelain?
OPAL: The only known cure has been hidden away from humankind for centuries. It is said that "The Dragon's Eye" is hidden in this very castle.
TOPAZ: What! There is a cure! Where mightst I find it?
OPAL: The map that shows the location of the "Eye" is hidden near a piece that tells time. But, make haste, you must find the cure before the sun sets tomorrow night, or else, the king will die.
TOPAZ: I swear that I will find this "Eye" before the sun sets.
QUEEN: (Looking at TOPAZ) In my husband's absence, I am assuming his full duties. Go forth then, Sir Knight! Seek out what is hidden and return it to us as soon as possible, Go then!
TOPAZ: As ye commands, my Queen! (Bows)
GARNET: My Queen. (Bows) Opal, will thou accompany us as well? We both need thy wisdom and overwhelming beauty to guide us! (Winks at her)
OPAL: Sir Knight, if I were thee, I would close thy mouth. Unless, of course, thou wouldst like to spend the rest of thy life as a turnip!
GARNET: I shall do as ye advise. As, all the fair world knows of thy great powers.
QUEEN: Wise decision. Ye may leave at once. All of thee.
OPAL: Go then. I will accompany thee shortly. I must first speak to the queen about certain matters. Get some rest. Tomorrow will be a difficult day.
TOPAZ: Why not begin the search now?
GARNET: I hath never seen thee so excited for a quest so unimportant as this.
TOPAZ: I do advise ye to clamp thy mouth closed before it becomes dislodged from thy face!
GARNET and TOPAZ begin to leave. As they move towards the door, GARNET trips over his sword and lands at the feet of his Queen. They all laugh.
QUEEN: It is nice to know what a devoted subject thou are, Sir Knight! (Chuckles)
GARNET: How humorous.
The knights exit.
OPAL: Now, Amethyst, doth thou trust me, wholly?
QUEEN: Why yes, of course I doth! Might I inquire why you ask?
OPAL: I must tell thee certain things that thou might not like. May I drop this flowery language? I prefer to speak normally, the common way as you call it.
QUEEN: Of course.
OPAL: The man that I spoke of before, Malachite, is truly evil.
QUEEN: Evil! How is that?
OPAL: You see, once, Malachite was a good man who fought loyally for his king, your husband's father. But the king got old and passed away. Then your husband took the throne. Your husband believed that the old ways of the kingdom were unfair so he made new rules. He made it possible for me to be here right now. It is written within the new rules that "All people are created equal".
QUEEN: How tragic a story! Please, continue ye have my complete attention.
OPAL: Malachite was used to having all the attention and power, but when I appeared he lost his authority. The King was fair to women and people of other religions, Malachite was furious with your husband. He was planning revenge for years. He was waiting for the right moment to strike. He apparently thought this would be the right time. I was awaiting this attack for years. I am very surprised he waited this long.
QUEEN: Oh really? Why did ye not tell me before? I would hath been concerned, yet I the Queen deserved to know! Oh, I am terribly sorry, do continue you tale.
OPAL: During the reign of the old king, Malachite trapped me in a dungeon for many a year, for I was a female who tried to fight the old ways. Malachite had imprisoned me here.
QUEEN: Imprisoned? Hoe dreadful I am glad ye have been freed! Just because thou are female and different, doth not change a thing! Please go on.
OPAL: But when your husband became king, he freed me to be his advisor, and bestowed upon me all the power that Malachite had before. Malachite vowed revenge on your husband the day he was crowned king of Ho. I am afraid Malachite just got his revenge. It's going to be a long day tomorrow, get some rest before we begin tomorrow.
QUEEN: We shall. Good night my good friend.
They all exit
Continue....
You can send your comments to the author at
sdhoirm@aol.com
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