The Prince's Bellow| Act II, Part II

Script revised for Vocal's format. This is the second part of ACT II.

Characters If Any Group Wants to Act: Eris, Kander, Haelophes, Maelilere, Xoren, and Servant Guy

-------------------------------------------------------

FADE IN:

INT. THE BALLROOM-NOON. SERVANTS ARE GONE.

Kander and Haelo resume their dance routine. After hours of training, they have improved with little to no errors. They never take their eyes off each other, not worrying about stepping on each other's feet.

ERIS: Much better! The fun thing is that your grandfather trained Fiera and me for long hours despite the wedding being far off. I got callous on my feet. I didn't want to dance by the time my wedding came, but I had to. I decided not to do that with you.

KANDER: (Stops and holds Haelo.) Thanks, Dad.

They hear a loud crash outside, followed by screaming.

ERIS: (Looks at the doorway, angry.) Again?! What is with these people?

Eris walks to the exit, which has two massive tall wooden doors.

HAELO: Here we go again.

ERIS: (Shouting.) What the heck is going on here?! (Pause.) Oh, my gods! Did you drop the glass statue of King Gvo?! (Growls in frustration.)

HAELO: Sounds like someone is going to die.

KANDER: I pity them. It must've been an accident.

ERIS: (Still screaming from the door.) What do you mean Xoren [Ex-ore-enn] pushed you?!

SERVANT GUY (O.S.): He literally did.

Haelo's and Kander's eyes awkwardly met one another. Eris growls again.

ERIS: (Furious.) I will have the security guards check the cameras! If it shows Xoren pushing you, Xoren will be fired and charged with assault! He would also be paying for property damage! He's lucky he was not working during my father's rule; otherwise, his werewolf fangs would be crafted into pawns in chess. (Sarcastically.) Thank God that he is dead, for his and your sake!

HAELO: (Leans forward to Kander.) Your father scares me when he is angry.

KANDER: That is because we rarely see it.

MAELILERE (O.S.): What should we do, Your Majesty? Shall we glue it up?

ERIS: Good luck with that. If you guys glue it back up without making it look evident, I will award you.

MAELILERE (O.S.): I will do my very best!

SERVANT GUY (O.S.): Me too... I apologize for falling and breaking it.

ERIS: Don't sweat it. You better not lie to me about you being pushed by Xoren.

XOREN (O.S.): Yeah, he's lying.

MAELILERE (O.S.): No, you are. I watched you push him and told him to hurry up!

XOREN (O.S.): No, I did not!

KANDER: (To Haelo.) I need to ask you about something.

HAELO: Hm? What is it about?

KANDER: It's about your siren background...

Haelophes gets flustered.

HAELO: Go on.

KANDER: Do you have a heritage where you can do your powers outside the water? Like your voice? Like your scales? Water manipulation?

[Beat.]

HAELO: Yes. I still have a good singing voice, even without that ability. As for my scales, I angered an old pureblood mermaid, so she cursed me. (Pause and move her hair to the side.) I learned not to make fun of someone else’s unmatching scales.

KANDER: (Trying to process information for a moment.) Usually, the water and hypnotic powers turn off after ten minutes of leaving any body of water for a siren.

HAELO: The common sirens have their powers much longer before they wane; however, they are less powerful than pureblooded sirens. It takes me an hour to lose my abilities.

KANDER: I also checked the consensus about the siren population in Maradon. It's zero.

HAELO: (Chuckles.) Kander, who in the right mind would have to swim to the bottoms of rivers, ponds, lakes, and the ocean to count the heads of sirens? It's hard to tell the difference between sirens and mermaids in the water. We always try to keep our population a secret, knowing Maradon's and humans' beliefs.

KANDER: There's got to be some stories of people seeing you guys in the water. I bet those will be banned once published. There's a low mermaid population count, but I think the book was published in 1990.

HAELO: I am not saying that can't happen. You can probably find some stories of living kinds exploring the water world.

Eris is trying to call for Kander and Haelo, but they are too busy talking.

KANDER: I can always look it up in the library.

HAELO: (Teasingly.) The library is your second bed. Is that where you go if you don't want to share your bed with me? I can always sleep on the couch or in the guests' bedrooms.

KANDER: Haelophes, I will never do that to you. You by my side is the warmest thing for my heart ever.

ERIS: That’ll turn into the second warmest thing when I slap you across your face if you don't respond to me, Kander!

Haelo and Kander finally turn to Eris, who is not too happy.

KANDER: Sorry, Dad.

HAELO: He was discussing my background and heritage with me.

ERIS: Oh. (Pause.) Please don't talk about that on the dancefloor though.

KANDER: So, Dad, can I use my magic to create magic tricks to amp up the crowd as their new king?

ERIS: No.

KANDER: Why not? I make sure they won't hurt anybody.

ERIS: Knowing you in younger days-

KANDER: I'm nineteen…

ERIS: (Ignores him.) -you pulled pranks on your classmates in Tremis Youth Spellcaster Private Academy.

KANDER: I didn't do it unprovoked! I did turn them back ...I wished not for Burucka [Bear-rook-kuh] for uncomfortably hitting on me and being a brat in general. She was mean to Quaive. She would still be a troll if it weren't for the headmistress. Well, she does look like one without the spell.

ERIS: (Cheeky grins.) Sometimes I wish the mage bloodline didn't skip me and see what would happen during those fights with your mother.

HAELO: (Blunt.) A custody battle.

KANDER: Dad is not talking about those fights, Haelo.

[Beat.]

HAELO: (Eyes widen when she realizes.) Oh. (Pause.) Unlike kings and queens, you have the silliest demeanor behind closed doors…

Haelophes feels hesitant about something…

HAELO (V.O) (CONT’D): They act like any family at home even though there are servants and guards around. I’ve seen workers that are demons. I wonder if they tolerate me-- if I am one.

Kander is about to open his mouth about the pool fight, but he slams it shut. He then opens it again.

KANDER: It took her this long to figure it out. We are definitely going to break her.

ERIS: Hm. Better late than never. Let's see how loud you get when you fight each other.

Haelophes and Kander move their eyes toward each other before curling their lips.

KANDER: (Jokingly and slightly awkward.) Yeah, we will be so loud that there will be a shield.

HAELO: (Awkwardly.) Yeah...

CUT TO:

INT. KANDER'S ROOM- NIGHT KANDER'S ROOM IS A SIZE OF AN AVERAGE MASTER BEDROOM. HIS ROOM IS FILLED WITH AWARDS IN MAGIC COMPETITIONS, BOTH IN THE EMPIRE AND INTERNATIONALLY. KANDER PREFERS TO SHOW OFF HIS STRENGTH RATHER THAN WEALTH.

Haelo and Kander are sleeping with each other, but this night, they are not wrapped in each other's arms. Haelo sits up from the bed and looks at Kander. She sees him fast asleep. She gets up from the bed, and it's a full moon. She looks back at him and lowers her head, wondering if it is the right time to do it or if she should wait to see how life goes.

She turns back to the full moon. She clenches her fist. A covered orange glow can be seen from her closed palm. A feral growl leaves her throat. It doesn't sound like a siren at all. Her eyes turn green and orange. Her pupils are dotted.

Kander has awakened from the growl. He sees her up, looking at the moon. He doesn't say anything but quietly gets up and walks to her. He puts a hand on her.

KANDER: Haelophes?

Haelo snaps her head around and loudly hisses at him, making him jump, dodging a swipe of her hand. He sees her eyes are a different color or a moment before they return to normal. Her hostile looks dial down to worry, seemingly regret.

HAELO: K-Kander?! I-I-I'm sorry!

KANDER: You okay?

HAELO (V.O.): I failed… I don’t know if I am sad about it or not.

HAELO (CONT'D): (She turns away, about to cry.) I'm sorry, Kander. (Pause.) It's the full moon. (Pause.) The full moon gives me more power than I can withstand.

She puts the curtains close together. Her one fist is still clenched. The glow goes away.

KANDER: Is that normal for sirens to face?

HAELO: (Nods.) It empowers us, but I can't handle it.

KANDER: ...But I never witnessed it before from you.

[Beat.]

Haelo reluctantly sighs.

HAELO: I try to hide it. If you saw me like this, I fear you will run away.

KANDER: Haelophes, I didn't. My family has flaws too. We will not run from yo-

HAELO: I never saw any mistakes.

KANDER: My dad's forgetfulness, especially around names. My mother's fierceness sometimes goes against the social standards for a lady ang-

HAELO: That's not a flaw. It's what people want to see despite not being an angel themselves. They can't paint another's image, expecting all of them to follow along or agree to it. (Pause.) Do you like your mom's personality, Kander?

She might be referring to the painting she saw in the gallery there.

KANDER: I do. She fits more of an outspoken warrior angel. As for Quaive, he has a mild version of Autism and doesn't like to be around people. Like always, we push each other to adapt to changes we don't like. We will help train you to control your powers better during a full moon.

HAELO: (Weak smile.) Thanks, Kander.

She twitches while hissing. Kander doesn't get scared.

KANDER: Always. (Gestures his hand towards the bed.) Let's try to sleep it off.

CUT TO:

INT. THE ROYAL LIBRARY- NIGHT

The library is empty. It is the night before the wedding. Kander browses on a library computer to find articles about sirens and the moons. They get a bonus in strength; however, nothing says about losing control. He keeps searching until the supermoon when a moon is the closest to the Earth within its orbit. The big buff does make them lose control of their powers because it is hard to wield it.

KANDER: There was a full moon yesterday, but I don't think it was super.

FLASHBACK TO HAELO HISSING AT KANDER. HE SAW ONE OF HER EYES WERE ORANGE.

KANDER (CONT'D): Her eyes are green...

He looks more into the transformation process. Despite learning the basics about sirens at school, he feels lost. He needs to go deeper and have a more complex understanding. Their transformation doesn't change at all during a supermoon.

KANDER (CONT'D): Were her eyes orange while in transformation?

FLASHBACK TO HAELO'S TRANSFORMATION WHILE SHE DOVE INTO THE POOL AT MIDNIGHT WITH KANDER. HER EYES REMAINED GREEN.

KANDER (CONT'D): No…

FLASHBACK TO KANDER WAKING UP BECAUSE HE HEARD A GROWL.

KANDER (CONT’D): I know from school that sirens don’t growl. They hiss. It doesn't sound like a humane or emotional growl, either.

Kander is starting to get worried. He sighs before shutting the computer off for the night.

KANDER (CONT'D): What is wrong with Haelo? (Massages his eyes.) I can't figure it out. (Pause.) She hid so much. Why hold her issues until the days before the wedding? (Pause.) I wished she told me a lot sooner. Now, I will keep burying my face into the pages, hoping to find a cure for her ailments. (Pause.) I got to see a way before she hurts someone (Pause.) ...or me.

He gets up from the seat and pushes it in before walking out of the library for the night, turning the lights off.

BLACK OUT.