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The King Is Coming

Altenir Silva

 Story-line: At the gate of a castle, two sentinels are chitchatting while waiting for the arrival of the King.

 

SCENE ONE.

Blackout. We hear a voiceover.

MELENAU (OFF)

The King is coming!

Lights up on a front door of a castle in the Middle Ages. GORDON (30), the sentry guard of the castle is sleeping at the door.
His spear lies on the floor.

MELENAU (25), the owner of the voice we have just heard is a sentry guard, too. He enters holding his spear.

MELENAU

(Loud.)

The King is coming!

(GORDON wakes up. Confused.)

GORDON

What?

MELENAU

I said the King is coming.

GORDON

Now?

MELENAU

Yeah.

(GORDON picks up his spear and looks out the door.)

GORDON

But the sun is still sleeping. I can see the moon's light.

MELENAU

And?

GORDON

The King will come only at dawn.

MELENAU

I think not.

GORDON

How do you know that?

MELENAU

The Queen said so.

GORDON

The Queen spoke to you?

MELENAU

No. Of course not. I heard it from the lady-in-waiting.

GORDON

Which one?

MELENAU

Adele.

GORDON

Adele spoke to you?

MELENAU

No. I heard it from her in the kitchen. She was talking with Mildred.

GORDON

Did you go into the kitchen?

MELENAU

No... I mean... yeah...

GORDON

Are you crazy, Melenau?

MELENAU

Just one time... It was late night...

GORDON

What the hell were Adele and Mildred doing in the kitchen?

MELENAU

Eating.

GORDON

Late at night?

MELENAU

Like me.

GORDON

Oh my God!

MELENAU

They didn't see me.

GORDON

And there you heard them talking about the King...

MELENAU

Yeah. They said the King is coming.

GORDON

And Haghar?

MELENAU

Haghar, the cook?

GORDON

Beware of the cook. Did he know that you went into the kitchen?

MELENAU

No. 

GORDON

If Haghar gets you...

MELENAU

Please... don't say nothing about it.

GORDON

Of course not.

MELENAU

Thanks.

GORDON

Do you know what Haghar did with Celebe?

MELENAU

The blacksmith?

GORDON

Yeah. Haghar saw Celebe in the kitchen and cut off his big toe.

MELENAU

Are you kidding?

GORDON

Sure he did it.

MELENAU

Now I understand why he never takes off his shoes.

GORDON

Exactly.

MELENAU

Poor man...

GORDON

Haghar doesn't permit anybody there. He has a fear about poison.

MELENAU

Poor man...

GORDON

Did you know about Duncan, the King's Stableman?

MELENAU

No.

GORDON

He lost his... You know what I mean...

MELENAU

I don't.

GORDON

He lost his... his...  his "sword of life".

MELENAU

Oh! Really? How?

GORDON

Haghar.

MELENAU

Haghar?

GORDON

As he did with the big toe of Celebe... cut it off.

MELENAU

Duncan also entered at the kitchen?

GORDON

No.

MELENAU

What happened?

GORDON

Duncan was seeing Mirthes, Haghar's wife at the lake.

MELENAU

Get out!

GORDON

I swear... She was bathing totally naked. Someone told Haghar about Duncan watching his wife at the lake. When the night came, Haghar went to Duncan's room and cut off his 'sword of life'.

MELENAU

Poor man.

GORDON

Haghar is merciless.

MELENAU

Gordon, how do you know that?

GORDON

I'm a well informed man ... by the way, I listen at the wall. 

MELENAU

Do you listen at the wall?

GORDON

Everyday.

MELENAU

What else did you hear?

GORDON

I shouldn't talk.

MELENAU

Why?

GORDON

Because it would be the end of me.

MELENAU

Is it serious?

GORDON

Very.

MELENAU

Gordon, I'm your friend. Please, trust me.

GORDON

I can't.

MELENAU

Trust me?

GORDON

No. I cannot say what I know.

MELENAU

Oh, man! You're killing me softly...

(GORDON approaches the door, trying to hear something.)

GORDON

Is the King coming?

MELENAU

Let me see.

(MELENAU looks out the door.)

MELENAU

I think not.

GORDON

But I heard a noise.

MELENAU

Could be an owl.

GORDON

Maybe...

MELENAU

Will you tell me?

GORDON

What?

MELENAU

About the wall.

GORDON

Forget it.

MELENAU

What do you hear at the wall?

GORDON

Nothing... just nothing...

MELENAU

Is it about the Queen?

GORDON

Stop it! Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?

MELENAU

We are alone here.

GORDON

But soon the King will be here.

MELENAU

Tell me before he arrives.

GORDON

I think we should stay in our positions. We're sentries.

MELENAU

Alright! Alright! I don't want to know anything.

GORDON

Thank you.

(They go to the sentry post with their spears.)

(Silence.)

MELENAU

You're an asshole.

 GORDON

Shut up!

MELENAU

I should give you a punch.

GORDON

Do it.

MELENAU

I never liked you.

GORDON

Great! I always thought that you were a better jester than sentry.

MELENAU

You're going to swallow that.

(The two begin to fight. It's a fun fight, nobody will be injured.)

(Suddenly we hear the sound of trumpets.)

MELENAU

The King is coming!

GORDON

Oh my God!

(They stop fighting and run to their positions.)

(There's a moment's silence.)

MELENAU

Sorry.

GORDON

That's fine.

MELENAU

I lost my mind.

GORDON

(Sotto voice.)

What I know has nothing to do with the Queen.

(Again, we hear the sound of trumpets.)

MELENAU

I got it.

(The two guards stay frozen at the door.)

(A strong light shines up and down the door and fog
fills the place to create a visual effect.)

(We begin to hear the music: "It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley.)

(Then -- all of a sudden -- Elvis Presley appears.)

(The King, Elvis Presley, sings.)

(Curtain.)

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Altenir Silva - Scene4 Magazine | www.scene4.com

Altenir Silva is a Brazilian playwright and screenwriter. In 2019, he won the Best Feature Screenplay at Prisma International Film Awards in Rome with The Sunrise Man (co-written with Ben Fiore, based on a story by director Werner Schumann). This screenplay was also nominated as a Top Finalist, 2017, Hollywood Hills Screenplay Awards, CA, US. In 2017 his short-play "Friendship" was published in "One Minute Plays: A Practical Guide to Tiny Theatre" (Routledge UK). In 2014 he received the Award of Excellence from Shakespeare at The Burg Theatre Festival (Middleburg, VA) for the play "The Idea". In Brazil, he worked as a scriptwriter for several TV shows at Globo TV, Record TV, CNT TV. He also wrote the feature films "Belarmino & Gabriela" (2007), "The Salt of the Earth" (2008), "Japan Connection" (2008), "Curitiba Zero Degrees" (2010) and "Moses and The Ten Commandments" (2015). For more of his writings in Scene4, check the Archives.

©2020 Altenir Silva
©2020 Publication Scene4 Magazine

 

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