THORN PRINCESS Fantasy by Madison Alford
CHARACTER NAME
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
AGE
GENDER
ROSE AARON MARTHA WILLIAM GERARD TOWNSPEOPLE ANNOUNCER
PRINCESS OF ALTARIA,TWIN PRINCE OF ERIMOS FLOWER CART OWNER PRINCE OF ALTARIA,TWIN KING OF ALTARIA PEOPLE OF ALTARIA ANNOUNCER FOR ROYAL FAM
20 21 55 20 50 20-50 60
FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE MALE MALE/FEMALE MALE
ACT 1 SCENE 1 SETTING: The kingdom of Altaria. A place rich with different types of flora that create a luscious and vibrant beauty to the area. For miles and miles, the fields are filled with the most beautiful flowers and plants. Because of its idyllic presence and fruitful harvest, Altaria hosts an annual festival to celebrate a successful year. AT RISE: ROSE enters on stage from the palace gates. She has an open-basket on her arm and wears a short, white dress. The princess is in a courtyard that contains a couple carts. Two Townspeople walk by and look at Rose. TOWNSPERSON 1 (excitedly) Is that the princess? TOWNSPERSON 2 It is!!! (The two bow to the princess and she waves at them. The townspeople squeal in delight and exit. She crosses over to the carts on the opposite side of the stage on which she entered. MARTHA walks over to ROSE and bows to her.) MARTHA Princess Rose! It’s great to see you out and about today! Is that a new dress? ROSE Yes, Martha. It is! (Rose spins around.)
2. ROSE (CONT’D) I got it because one of my other dresses was torn. MARTHA Oh, Rose. How did that happen? If you don’t mind me asking. ROSE I fell into a thorn bush. MARTHA Oh! You must be more careful around thorns. You don’t want to scratch your pretty face, now do you? ROSE No, definitely not. MARTHA Is there anything you are looking for specifically, Rose? We have some new legumes and gourds down the line. I heard Gregory has some fresh fruit today! ROSE I’m not looking for anything in particular, but I will definitely be sure to go to his car. Thank you Martha! MARTHA If you need me, Dear, just let me know. (Rose looks over the carts and picks up a couple of vegetables and legumes. AARON walks on stage. He goes the carts and the cart owners bow to him as he walks by. Aaron is intrigued by the different kinds of flowers. The cart owners talk loudly over one another to get his attention. Rose doesn’t notice when he joins her at the cart she is already looking at. They both reach for a rose at the same time and their hands touch.)
3.
My apologizes, Miss.
AARON (to MARTHA) One rose, please. MARTHA Be careful, sir. They’re sharp! (Aaron doesn’t hear Martha and pricks himself.) ROSE Oh my! You’re bleeding! Let me help you with that. (Rose rips off a bit of cloth from her basket and wraps it around Aaron’s finger.) Thank you, Miss.
AARON (Aaron hands the flower carefully to Rose.) AARON (CONT’D) A beautiful flower for a beautiful girl. Oh, thank you. I’m Aaron. Rose.
ROSE AARON ROSE AARON A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. (Aaron exits. Rose watches Aaron leave and strokes the flower.) MARTHA He needs to be careful. Pricking your finger on a thorn is a bad omen, especially if you draw blood. It is?
ROSE
4. MARTHA You of all people should know that, dear. You’re the princess of the flower kingdom. ROSE (laughing) How could I forget? I think he’s quite charming actually. MARTHA He’s definitely a new face that I haven’t seen around here before. He’s beautiful.
ROSE MARTHA He thinks the same about you. (Martha looks up to the sky. Rose and Martha jump at the sound of THUNDER.) MARTHA (CONT’D) Oh my. You should get home soon. (Martha packs up her cart and the other carts move offstage with the cart owners. The sky turns dark and it starts to RAIN. Aaron re-enters and bumps into her.) AARON Rose, do you need some help? ROSE Yes! I need to get back to the castle so this food doesn’t get wet! (Aaron takes off his jacket and puts it over the basket.) Lead the way.
AARON (Aaron offers to take her left arm, but Rose gives him the right instead.)
5. AARON (CONT’D) I’ve never experienced rain before. ROSE Never? It rains daily here because of the flowers in the kingdom. What is your kingdom like? AARON Arid, dry, lifeless, boring. All the things people look for in a kingdom. How do you grow food?
ROSE AARON Certain foods can grow in the desert climate, so we eat a lot of gourds and peppers. If we want anything else, it has to be imported in. ROSE That’s so strange. I have never been to a place like your kingdom before. AARON You must not get out very often, do you? ROSE Not really. I have everything I need here. But my brother, William, studies in a dry place like you described. He thought it was strange on the first day because he didn’t get drenched. AARON He goes to school with me. He invited me to come to the festival tomorrow, that’s why I’m here. ROSE Maybe it was fate that brought us together. AARON Maybe so. (The two stop at the palace gates.) ROSE Here’s your jacket back.
6. (In the exchange, the rose drops onto the wet ground.) AARON I got it! (He carefully picks up the flower and gives it to ROSE.) AARON For you, Rose. ROSE Thank you for your help and I will see you tomorrow. (Rose and Aaron exit. The rain stops.) SCENE 2 AT RISE: A wooden table with stools comes onstage. Already lounging about with his feet on the table is WILLIAM. WILLIAM (to himself) Your petals are pretty/ your petals are mighty/ my little flowers in bloom. (Rose enters and wrings out her dress.) WILLIAM (CONT’D) Caught in the rain? ROSE (sarcastically) What gave that away? The rain outside or the fact that I’m wet?
7. WILLIAM Does father know you went shopping? ROSE He doesn’t and he’s not going to know. WILLIAM He is going to find out at some point. Cooking is a servant’s job. Not a hobby for a princess. ROSE You don’t think I don’t know that? It’s not like father asks where I go everyday anyway. He doesn’t care. WILLIAM That’s a lie. ROSE He cares about you because you’re the one getting the throne. I’m just supposed to look pretty and smile. (Rose puts on a fake smile and looks to William. She looks to her basket. She silently takes the ingredients out of her basket and puts them onto the table. She smiles to herself.) ROSE Tomatoes, potatoes, beans, clovers, chickpeas, and lentils. (William watches Rose and takes his feet off the table. He leans close to her.) WILLIAM Soooooo... Who is it? ROSE (taken aback) Who is what?
8. WILLIAM (scoffs) Oh, come on. You never come back from your mysterious shopping trips with a smile on your face. Who is it? ROSE Nothing. WILLIAM Nothing? Really, it’s nothing.
ROSE WILLIAM A smile like that doesn’t come from nothing. Okay... I met someone.
ROSE WILLIAM (bluntly) You meet people everyday. You’re the princess. I met a boy.
ROSE WILLIAM This is new, but does this look like a face that cares? ROSE And you think I care about your girl problems? Besides you asked. (William over dramatically rolls his eyes.) WILLIAM Well, I won’t be having too many girl problems anymore. (William stands up from his seat.) I’m going to go check on our guest. Be sure to get to bed at a reasonable hour.
9. ROSE Don’t mom me.
(playful) WILLIAM (laughs) As the next king, it’s my job. (William exits. Rose faces towards the audience. She takes a leather bound notebook and a pencil from her basket. Rose puts a pot onto the table.) ROSE (to the audience) I can juice some of the tomatoes and dice the leftover ones. Put the tomatoes into a pot over a medium heat and add three teaspoons of sugar so that it combats the acidity. Add the beans, potatoes, and lentils into the soup. Finish it off with clover. (The lights dim and become cooler to show time progressing into night. ROSE takes a sip from the pot and smiles.) ROSE (CONT’D) That’s how you make Aaron’s Rainy Day Soup. (Rose soup. table Aaron
fixes herself a bowl of She takes a seat at the and pulls out the rose got her. William enters.)
WILLIAM Time for bed. Did you already forget the festival is tomorrow? ROSE I know. The boy I met is coming to the festival. (William slides into the stool next to Rose.)
10. WILLIAM (skeptically) Is his name Aaron by any chance? Did he give you that rose? ROSE Maybe. Maybe not. But if it was, what could you tell me about him? WILLIAM Well, he’s the prince of Erimos, the desert kingdom. ROSE Is that it? WILLIAM No. ROSE Go on then! (William looks off into the audience as he starts talking about Aaron-- not paying attention to his sister.) WILLIAM (to the audience) He’s really caring and nice. He showed me around his kingdom, since I’ve never left Altaria before. He’s a year older than us and has been living there since he was born. He showed me around to classes and then we shared a literature class together. We did readings together and talked in depth about poems. He has such a beautiful reading voice. I could fall asleep to it. ROSE (to the audience) Dad would really like him. He’s so sweet and kind. He would just have to worry about William running the kingdom and would never have to learn about the thorns. (William and Rose look at each other. He looks at the rose.)
11. WILLIAM (to the audience) He gave her a rose. (to Rose) He gave you a rose. That’s definitely a good sign that he likes you! It’s just like that lullaby mom used to sing to us. “Your flower is pretty/your flower is mighty/my little flower in bloom”. (A CLOCK CHIME goes off and William stands up.) WILLIAM (CONT’D) It’s late. Time for us to head to bed. (William crosses towards offstage. Rose doesn’t stand up.) ROSE William? WILLIAM Yes? ROSE Nevermind.. It’s nothing. WILLIAM You sure? ROSE It’s nothing. WILLIAM You can trust me, you know that, right? ROSE I know. I forgot already. WILLIAM Okay Rose. I’ll see you in the morning.
12. (William exits. Rose stands up, rolls up her sleeve, and looks at her left arm. Wrapped against and around her arm are thin, silver branches with sharp thorns.) ROSE Nobody needs to know... BLACKOUT. SCENE 3 AT RISE: It is the next day. The ballroom of the castle is set up for the festival. There are flower decorations everywhere and is lit with a heavenly glow. An ensemble of townspeople fills the stage. Both William and Aaron are already onstage and talking to one another. WILLIAM (to Aaron) Aren’t you happy that you came out of the dry wasteland to see all this? AARON It’s pretty amazing actually. Do you know if your sister is coming anytime soon? WILLIAM (snarky) She may be my twin, but I don’t know what she’s doing every moment of everyday. AARON I was just wondering. She looked beautiful yesterday in the rain.
13. WILLIAM And wet. Rain happens to have that affect on people. (to the audience) He’s enamored with Rose. Why would he ever be interested in me? (The sound of HORNS play and William groans.) WILLIAM That’s my cue. I’ll see you in a bit. (William runs backstage as the ANNOUNCER walks onstage. The Announcer taps his cane on the ground and loudly clears his throat to get the attention of the ensemble.) ANNOUNCER Dukes, Duchesses, and Townspeople of Altaria! It is in my great honor to present to you, His Majesty, King Gerard! (KING GERARD enters from the same side William exited from. He waves and bows to the ensemble and the audience.) ANNOUNCER Introducing His Royal Highness, heir to throne of Altaria, Prince William! (William walks onstage and waves to everyone, like he’s a rockstar.) ANNOUNCER And lastly, Her Royal Highness, Princess Rose! (Rose walks onstage in a dress with long sleeves. She curtsies to the audience and crosses over to William.) ROSE (whispering to William) Did Aaron come?
14.
Why should I tell you?
WILLIAM (King Gerard taps on a goblet to get everyone’s attention.) KING GERARD Welcome everyone to the Festival! We’re glad you all could make it. Please enjoy this year’s flower the Snapdragon, our flower inspired by William! Enjoy! (William crosses over to Aaron. Rose is taken aback by William’s response and her arm starts to hurt. She grasps it and tries to hide her visible pain.) AARON Your sister looks beautiful today. WILLIAM Sure. AARON Do you think she would like to dance? WILLIAM We should go talk for a bit. I haven’t seen you since our literature class. We should catch up a bit. I can show you around, like how you showed me around Erimos. AARON Maybe later, William. (Aaron goes to find Rose in the mass of people, William follows in suit. Aaron finds Rose first and dances with her. William watches from afar. Aaron dips Rose and he leans in to kiss her. William rushes over to Rose and grabs her hand, pulling her away from Aaron. Aaron stays where he is.) ROSE William? What’s going on? I’ve never seen you act like this before.
15. WILLIAM Why does Aaron want you so much?! ROSE (surprised) What? WILLIAM I wanted to show him around and he’s just so enamored by you! We’re practically the same person! ROSE No, we’re not William! WILLIAM Yes, we are! What makes you different than me? ROSE He gave me a rose and danced with me. He was about to kiss me! I love him, William! WILLIAM Of course you love him! You’ve only known him for a couple hours! I can say that I love him because I’ve known him for months! ROSE ...Do you love him? WILLIAM YES! But he’s head over heels for you, you insignificant object! (Rose slowly takes her hand away from William.) ROSE Is that how you really think about me? WILLIAM It’s how I’ve thought about you for years. ROSE I’m sorry I’ve been such a nuisance to you.
16. (Aaron crosses to Rose’s side.) AARON Rose? Are you okay? ROSE I’m sorry William! I should have never been born! (William realizes what he’s done to his sister.) WILLIAM No... Rose. That’s not what I meant... ROSE Then what did you mean? That I was your best friend because that’s certainly not what you told me! WILLIAM I’m sorry-- I didn’t-AARON Maybe you should go, William. WILLIAM Stay out of this, Aaron. This isn’t your fight. This isn’t your family. AARON I’m just trying to help. WILLIAM She doesn’t need your help. ROSE Maybe I do want his help. WILLIAM You don’t know what you want! AARON You aren’t her guardian, William.
17. WILLIAM I know what’s best for her. ROSE You don’t know what I need, William! I’m your brother!
WILLIAM ROSE Then stop trying to be Mom! (William grabs Rose’s arms and she quickly pulls them away. Her thorns scratch his skin and draw blood. She harshly pushes William away. Rose sees the blood, realizes what she’s done, and backs away. William bleeds from the scratches going across his right arm. He touches the blood and looks at it on his hand.) Rose? ...I’m sorry...
WILLIAM ROSE (Aaron backs away from Rose.) AARON Rose? What’s wrong with you? (William takes Rose’s left arm and rolls up her dress sleeve, revealing the thorns.) WILLIAM Rose... What happened to you? (Aaron runs to exit and Rose runs after him.) Aaron!
ROSE
18. (She grabs his right arm and he harshly pulls it away, scratching himself with the thorns. He looks at his right arm as it bleeds.) AARON Get away from me! You... YOU FREAK! (Rose exits crying and William crosses to Aaron.) WILLIAM How dare you talk to my sister like that! AARON You do! And you’re a freak just like your sister! WILLIAM Get the hell out of my kingdom. (Aaron briskly walks offstage. King Gerard crosses to William.) KING GERARD William! Where is Rose? I have some men here that I think would be great suitors for her. (King Gerard notices the blood on William’s arm.) What happened to you?
KING GERARD (CONT’D) WILLIAM I’ll explain later. I need to go find Rose. (William runs offstage as Rose’s bedroom is brought onstage. The ballroom darkens. Rose is sitting at her vanity. Everyone except William and Rose exit.) I hurt them...
ROSE (William runs back onstage from the opposite side of the stage he exited on.)
19.
Rose? Are you in there?
WILLIAM ROSE I’m going to fix this William! I’m going to fix everything! (Rose takes the knife she took from the kitchen from her vanity. She raises the knife and the lights go out. Rose screams. The only light is a spotlight on William.) WILLIAM ROSE! (William leaves the spotlight to burst into Rose’s room.) WILLIAM DOCTOR! WE NEED A DOCTOR! (whimpering) Your petals are pretty/ my little flower in bloom... BLACKOUT. ACT 2 SCENE 1 AT RISE: Rose, William, and King Gerard are in Rose’s room. Rose is sitting on her bed, William sits at the vanity, and King Gerard paces around the room. Rose has bandages wrapped around her left arm, blood stains can be seen on it. William also has bandages on his hands, from trying to help out Rose, and his right arm. The King stops pacing and looks at Rose, who is looking at her bandages. Costume note: Put William in short sleeves. KING GERARD Why? (Rose looks up.)
20. ROSE I don’t know. KING GERARD You don’t know? ROSE It just appeared one day... I don’t know why. And I don’t know how. KING GERARD Well, that’s just wonderful isn’t it? I have a scratched up king-to-be because of my daughter who now I can’t even marry off. WILLIAM Father, don’t be so hard.. KING GERARD And you’re cooking? ROSE Who told you? KING GERARD The only one who has ever seen you cooking. You will never leave the castle again after what happened after today. No more going to the market. No more cooking. ROSE I should just sit still and look pretty? KING GERARD And maybe we can all forget what a disgrace you are to this family. (King Gerard stands and crosses to exit.) ROSE It started after mom died. WILLIAM You’ve had the thorns for that long and didn’t tell me?
21. ROSE How was I supposed to know what to do? KING GERARD You should have trusted us. We could have looked to find a cure for this-- this curse! ROSE If I had known you would have reacted like this, I’m glad I didn’t. I don’t want to sit in the castle and just waste away. I didn’t ask for mom to die! I didn’t ask for these thorns! I didn’t ask to scar William! I just wanted to be happy! (King Gerard exits. William stands up and moves to sits on the other side of Rose’s bed, looking away from her.) ROSE I’m sorry about your arm. WILLIAM I’m sorry for all those horrible things I said. ROSE I know you didn’t mean them. Aaron blinded us both. WILLIAM Love does that, doesn’t it? ROSE Why didn’t you tell me you loved him? WILLIAM For the same reason you didn’t tell me about the thorns. I didn’t know how you would react. The soon-to-be king and the only son in the family being a homosexual? I won’t be able to continue our name. I don’t think anyone would have reacted well to that. ROSE I miss Mom. (William climbs over the bed so he is sitting next to Rose.
22. He wraps an arm around her shoulder.) WILLIAM Me too, Rose. Me too. ROSE She understood us. Even if she didn’t, she would try. Dad doesn’t even try. WILLIAM Let me try to understand you and in exchange, I’ll sneak you out of the castle to continue to cook. ROSE But you told father about my cooking. WILLIAM One of the servants did. I would never do that to you. I know how much you care about it. (Rose looks down at her lap.) WILLIAM (CONT’D) Rose? ROSE Yes? WILLIAM Can I see your thorns? (Rose nods and unwraps her bandage. She gives her left arm for William to examine. He looks closely at the thorns and touches it.) WILLIAM These are so strange. Do they hurt? ROSE Sometimes. Usually when they grow, they hurt like daggers digging into my skin. At the beginning they were just a nuisance really. They kept ripping all my dresses.
23. WILLIAM I’m sorry that this is happening to you... ROSE I’m dealing with it. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me. WILLIAM Worry about you? I’m always going to worry about you! You’re my sister and now you have these thorns that we know nothing about. Forget Aaron. I need to keep an eye out on you. ROSE (playful) Don’t mom me. WILLIAM (laughs) It’s my job. (Rose hugs William, surprising him.) ROSE I love you, William. WILLIAM I love you too, Rose. LIGHTS FADE. SCENE 2 AT RISE: It’s one year later from the festival. William is being crowned King of Altaria. He sits in a throne with snapdragons on it. His arm now just has white scars where Rose scratched him. King Gerard stands next to him, holding an ornate flower crown in his hand and a scepter.
24. KING GERARD (to the audience) Thank you everyone for coming to witness the coronation of my son, William, Prince of Altaria. As you all know, if the Royal Family has produces a son; he will take the throne at age twenty one to provide the kingdom with fresh ideas of the future. (King Gerard turns to face William. William stares out into the audience.) KING GERARD (CONT’D) Do you swear, upon the truth that you know, to continue to make our kingdom bountiful in harvest and give these people the king they deserve? WILLIAM I do. KING GERARD Will you be there for our people? Will you help them when they come to you with problems? And will you strive to continue our lineage? WILLIAM I will. KING GERARD Then with the power invested in me, I now give you the title of King of Altaria. (King Gerard puts the crown on William’s head and gives him the scepter. He exits. William stands from his throne and lets his cape flow out. He walks to the edge of the stage.) WILLIAM I promise to be the best king I can be. I will be here for all your troubles. Thank you. TOWNSPERSON 1 What happened to your sister?
25. WILLIAM What? TOWNSPERSON 1 She disappeared! TOWNSPERSON 2 I heard she gave you that scar! TOWNSPERSON 1 I heard that too! WILLIAM I’m sorry. I would rather not talk about that. TOWNSPERSON 2 Why are you hiding her? WILLIAM I’m not hiding her. She and I continue to go to the market. TOWNSPERSON 2 Sounds like a lie to me. Let us see her! WILLIAM I’m sorry. I have to go. (The townspeople exit and William gets rid of the scepter, crown, and cape. The kitchen table and stools come onstage along with Rose. The thorns are around her other arm and her legs.) ROSE Did they ask about me? WILLIAM The townspeople want to know what happened to you. I reassured them that you still continue to go to the market. ROSE I’m scared to know what they’ll think about me if they see me. They probably will think I’m a monster.
26. WILLIAM You’re a monster? What about me saying I’ll continue the lineage when I like men? ROSE (light laugh) That is a little bad. (William inspects Rose’s thorns.) WILLIAM How has this batch of soup doing? Any sign of the thorns going away? Martha thought maybe dandelions could kill them. ROSE Nothing has happened yet. We can try the dandelions a bit longer and see if it does anything. WILLIAM I just.. I really want you to get better. I don’t want to be alone. ROSE You’ll have father. WILLIAM He doesn’t count. I want my sister, my twin. ROSE How did the coronation go? WILLIAM It was fine. I wish you had been there. ROSE I don’t want people to see what I look like. WILLIAM Rose, it’s just a couple thorns. You did a great job of hiding them before. ROSE That was before they decided to keep on growing. Now I’d have to dress like a nun to hide all of these.
27. WILLIAM You are far from that. ROSE Have you talked to Aaron since the Festival? WILLIAM No. I haven’t gone back to school. I want to focus on you. I want to help you. Boys will just distract us. ROSE Or tear us apart again. WILLIAM Only if we both find him attractive. ROSE That’s the hard part about being twins. We have the same mind. WILLIAM Is there anything you want to do today? ROSE I’d like to look out the window again, if that’s okay. (William stands up and puts his hand out.) WILLIAM Of course. (Rose takes William’s hand and stands up from the stool. They cross the stage and Rose falls to the ground.) WILLIAM Rose, are you okay? What happened? (William leans down to help her up.) ROSE Don’t touch me! I don’t want to hurt you!
28. (Rose pushes herself up and slowly stands before falling down to the ground again.) WILLIAM Rose? Can you not walk? (Rose doesn’t respond. She just stares at her legs. William helps Rose up.) WILLIAM (CONT’D) Let’s get you to your room. We need to find a cure and fast. LIGHTS FADE. SCENE 3 AT RISE: Rose’s bedroom flat is onstage along with a bed. Rose is laying in bed and the thorns are now around her right arm and making their way up her neck. There is a sound of a KNOCK on her door. ROSE Come in. (William walks into her room with a plate of food.) WILLIAM How are you feeling today? ROSE The same as the past few days. In pain. You should just kill me to end my misery. WILLIAM Don’t talk like that Rose. ROSE They’re going to kill me anyway. They’re around my neck. Who knows what they’ll do next.
29. WILLIAM What happened to my strong sister? ROSE She’s not so strong anymore. The thorns are killing her. WILLIAM I think her spirit is killing her too. (William sets the food on her vanity and sits on the edge of her bed.) WILLIAM (CONT’D) I don’t want to lose my favorite girl. ROSE I don’t think we have much of a choice now, William. WILLIAM Don’t talk like that... (Rose and William start to tear up and he puts their foreheads together.) WILLIAM You’re going to get better. I just know it. ROSE How can I get better if we can’t find a cure? WILLIAM Let’s figure it out then! Instead of trying to make an elixir or finding a genie lamp, let’s get to the root of it. It started when mom died, right? ROSE Right. When I saw her dead in the bed, the sheets covered in blood from her coughing, I froze. Later that night, I found my first thorn on my forearm. It continued to grow from there. WILLIAM It’s been two years. Have you not moved on by now?
30. ROSE I thought I did... But the thorns say differently. WILLIAM Was it the shock? ROSE I really don’t remember much after that. I don’t remember her body going away or even the funeral. It’s like my mind just stopped taking notes on what was happening that week. (Rose takes a few deep breaths and closes her eyes. William takes Rose’s hand and holds it in his lap.) WILLIAM I’m not going anywhere. You know that. (Rose coughs and tightens her grip on his hand.) WILLIAM (CONT’D) Are you okay? (Rose shakes her head. William stands up, but Rose won’t let go of his hand.) ROSE Don’t go.. WILLIAM I have to go get a doctor... Somebody. ROSE No.. Don’t. WILLIAM At least let me try to cut them off again! ROSE William...
31. (Rose traces where her thorns scratched his arm. William tries to get out of her grip, but Rose still won’t let him go. ) WILLIAM Let me try one more time. ROSE They’ll just grow back and it’ll prolong my life just a little bit more before the inevitable. WILLIAM More time for us to find a cure! ROSE William. Sit. WILLIAM Rose. ROSE Sit. Please. (William sighs as he sits back down beside Rose’s bed. He loudly sniffles as he tries to stay strong for his sister.)
I love you, Rose.
WILLIAM ROSE I love you too, William. WILLIAM (sings) My little flowers are in bloom/ my little flowers are you/ You bring me such happiness/ when you’re around/Your petals are pretty/and your petals are mighty/my little flowers in bloom. ROSE (hoarse) Your petals are mighty...
32. (William tries to keep his composure.) WILLIAM And your petals are pretty. (Rose’s arm and hand goes limp.) WILLIAM (CONT’D) My little flower in bloom... (The lights blackout but a spotlight is pointed at a rose, revealing its last petal has fallen off.) BLACKOUT. ACT 3 SCENE 1 AT RISE: Martha and some of the townspeople are onstage. They stand in front of two grave stones: the Queen’s and Rose’s. The sound of RAIN echoes through the theater. Martha puts a bouquet of flowers on Rose’s grave. MARTHA I wish I could have helped more, dear. (The townspeople leave and William walks onstage in all black with a black umbrella. He crosses to Martha and she hugs him.) Thank you.
WILLIAM (Martha exits. Aaron enters with a bouquet of flowers.) I’m sorry.
AARON WILLIAM What are you doing here?
33. AARON To offer my condolences. WILLIAM You’ve done enough damage to my family. AARON I’m sorry for the way I reacted. (William is unresponsive. Aaron puts the flowers on Rose’s grave and crosses to exit.) WILLIAM I do need to thank you though. (Aaron stops and looks at William.) AARON For what? WILLIAM If it wasn’t for you coming to Altaria, I would have never known about Rose’s thorns. She would have died thinking she was alone. Did she die painlessly?
AARON WILLIAM ...I don’t know. I wish I could say she did, but I have a feeling that she died in pain. Rose wanted to die. She got her wish. I..I just miss her so much. I’m sorry.
AARON (The sound of the RAIN continues to echo.) Will you be coming back to Erimos? No. What?
WILLIAM AARON
34. WILLIAM I’m not going back. I’m the king now and I don’t want to see that desert wasteland. Goodbye Aaron. Goodbye William.
AARON (Aaron crosses to William, kisses him on the cheek, and exits. William waits to be alone on stage before rolling down his right sleeve, revealing similar silver thorns wrapped around his wrist. He chuckles to himself.) WILLIAM I finally understand what you were going through, Rose. I’m learning how to cope with your death. LIGHTS FADE TO BLACK. CURTAIN