CRIMSON CROWN: A STORMERE TALE
Episode 2: "The Offer"
FADE IN
EXT. VALENRITH – LOWER DISTRICTS – MORNING
The capital’s underbelly.
Crowded streets tangled with shouting vendors. Fish guts in the gutter. Children darting between carts. Steam rising from grates..
Life, but in a smaller, more human version.
A modest carriage rolls through, deliberately unmarked.
Inside, SCARLETT, hood drawn low. No jewels. No sigil.
Two guards ride alongside her; protective and uneasy.
Scarlett looks at the streets like someone who doesn't get outside much.
A woman argues over some bread. A boy palms a coin and runs. A man coughs into a rag already dark with blood.
SCARLETT (quietly):I didn't know everything was this bad...
The guard beside her doesn’t look surprised.
GUARD: It's been like this for months...
Scarlett watches a mother split one apple three ways.
She feels sad... but filled with rage.
INT. SMALL HEALER’S HOUSE – MORNING
Dim. Overcrowded. The air smells of boiled herbs and sickness.
A sick child lies sweating beneath thin blankets. The mother kneels beside the bed, exhausted beyond tears.
Scarlett presses a pouch of coins into her hands.
The woman stares, then gasps.
WOMAN: Your Highness, I... I can't...
She tries to bow. Nearly collapses.
Scarlett catches her.
SCARLETT: Don’t. Please. And accept it. You need it more than me.
The gratitude is raw. Desperate. Clutching.
Scarlett isn’t used to this.
She gently frees her hands.
She goes outside.
EXT. HEALER’S HOUSE – CONTINUOUS
ALERIC leans against the stone wall, arms folded.
He straightens when she exits.
ALERIC: If your father finds out you were here...
SCARLETT: He won't...
ALERIC: You're playing with fire, Scarlett.
SCARLETT: No. I’m just tired of seeing this kingdom rot.
They walk.
INT. PALACE – COUNCIL CHAMBER – DAY
The court is united. Which, usually, is far more dangerous than divided.
Lords and ladies speak with measured calm...
LADY VELARA: We must raise grain tariffs.
SCARLETT: Again? We literally raised the tariffs last week...
LORD THESIN: And we also need to reinforce the eastern garrisons. Publicly, this time.
SCARLETT: Are y'all insane? It's the third time this month you've requested this. We can't keep doing this... We'll bankrupt entire families.
LORD MAERON: There's not much we can do, princess. We must approve these requests...
KING ALDRIC sits at the head. Older than he looks. More tired than he admits.
KING ALDRIC: If we approve this, we will be starving, at least, three provinces.
A mild pause.
LORD MAERON: They’ll survive. But we need to do this... for security.
SCARLETT: Against what? Y'all keep mentioning security like we are under war.
Another pause. No one replies.
KING ALDRIC: I'll aprove this. But, let this be very clear, this is the last time we're raising tariffs and diverging troops.
No one flinches.
At the back, among scribes, servants, and ink-stained clerks...
THE STRANGER listens.
Still. Observing. Smiling faintly.
INT. PALACE – SCARLETT’S CHAMBERS – EVENING
Servants remove Scarlett’s jewelry piece by piece. Each item lands on the table with a small metallic sound.
Her armor coming off makes a loud thud.
She dismisses the maids.
Pure silence.
She faces the mirror.
She looks like a princess.
Polished. Composed. Decorative.
She touches her reflection.
SCARLETT (under breath): What good are you as a princess if you can't save the people of your own kingdom?
A knock.
SCARLETT: Come in.
A servant enters.
SERVANT: A message, Your Highness. It was left at the gates.
Scarlett takes the sealed note.
The servant leaves.
Scarlett breaks the seal.
Inside:
You can save your kingdom. But you'll need help... Meet me at the Solarium, tonight.
Her jaw tightens.
INT. PALACE – OLD WEST WING – NIGHT
Long abandoned corridors.
Dust motes drift through the pale moonlight. Tapestries rot on the walls. The palace feels older here.
Scarlett arrives at the old Solarium.
She reaches for the door.
She hesitates but opens it.
INT. ABANDONED SOLARIUM – CONTINUOUS
A shattered glass ceiling. Moonlight spills in like silver rain.
Broken plants. Dead vines.
And one man.
THE STRANGER, standing by the window. Hood down, yet somehow face still covered in shadow.
He doesn’t turn immediately.
SCARLETT: You’re either very brave or very stupid to contact a royal member through random letters...
THE STRANGER (smiles faintly): I’ve been called both. But it worked, didn't it?
She doesn’t move closer.
SCARLETT: You sent the letter?
THE STRANGER: Yes.
SCARLETT: Then talk... before I have you arrested.
He finally turns.
THE STRANGER: My letter said everything... And if you're here... is because you’ve already considered what I said.
Silence.
She knows he's right.
He gestures toward the city.
THE STRANGER (CONT’D): Your kingdom is dying. And you know that.
SCARLETT: I do.
THE STRANGER: And you know that your father knows that too.
A beat.
THE STRANGER (CONT’D): He’s tired. And you can tell he's suffering with all of this.
Once again, she knows he's right.
SCARLETT: So, are you just here to tell me the obvious or are you telling me what you want?
He studies her now, properly.
THE STRANGER: I want to help you fix this kingdom. Reshape it into something... remarkable again.
A breath.
SCARLETT: And what will I have to pay for that?
He smiles. Certain.
THE STRANGER: Eventually? Everything.
INT. PALACE – TRAINING YARD – NEXT DAY
Steel clashes violently.
Aleric fights like he’s filled with rage. CAPTAIN LARS blocks a strike.
Aleric doesn’t answer immediately.
Captain Lars doesn't believe him but, he doesn't push further.
INT. SCARLETT’S CHAMBERS – DAY
Scarlett re-reads the note given by The Stranger.
Her fingers trace the ink. She holds it over a candle.
Flame curls the paper. It blackens. Crumbles.
EXT. ROYAL GARDENS – NIGHT
We arrive at a garden covered in moonlit hedges and sculpted fountains.
Scarlett walks alone. The Stranger sits casually on a stone bench, as though he owns the place.
SCARLETT: You said I had time to think this over.
THE STRANGER: And you do... I'm just here to see if you had any doubts.
She sits, rigid, angry at herself for being here.
SCARLETT: Say your offer. Clearly. Tell me exactly what you want.
He leans forward.
THE STRANGER: I can put you on the throne. Tomorrow.
She laughs.
SCARLETT (laughing): And I can fly and make cake out of thin air.
THE STRANGER: I'm not joking. Your father’s reign is ending. And you know it... Whether by illness… betrayal… or inevitability.
She stops laughing.
THE STRANGER (CONT’D): And when it does, the court will devour itself. I can make sure you’re the one that takes the throne.
SCARLETT: The council members would never vote for my approval.
THE STRANGER: They would, trust me.
SCARLETT: And you? What would you get out of this?
THE STRANGER: I would get to help you. I could become your royal advisor. That's more than enough for me.
Silence stretches.
SCARLETT: You’re asking me to betray my family.
THE STRANGER: I’m asking you to choose which family matters more. The one with your name… or the one starving outside your gates.
INT. KING’S STUDY – SAME NIGHT
King Aldric coughs violently into a cloth.
Blood.
The High Priest pretends not to see.
HIGH PRIEST CAELUM: The council grows impatient, Your Grace. I think you were right...
KING ALDRIC: Let them. There's not much else we can do, Caelum. Just know... if something happens to me, protect Scarlett. Please.
The High Priest nods.
Another cough from the King. More blood.
EXT. BALCONY – LATER
The city sprawls below. Storm clouds gather in the distance.
Scarlett and Aleric stand side by side.
ALERIC: You’ve been silent these past few days. You okay?
SCARLETT: Uhm, yeah. Everything's okay. Don't worry.
Silence.
SCARLETT (CONT’D): Do you think I'd make a great queen?
Aleric studies her carefully.
ALERIC: I don't need to think. I know you'd do a terrific job. But, what has got you thinking about that? It's not like that's happening anytime soon. Your father is still alive and well.
She doesn’t answer.
INT. ABANDONED SOLARIUM – NIGHT
Scarlett stands in the doorway. The Stranger waits.
No smile this time.
SCARLETT: I’m not saying yes, yet.
THE STRANGER: Of course not.
SCARLETT: But I’m listening.
A slow smile from The Stranger.
EXT. VALENRITH – NIGHT
The city sleeps uneasily. Thunder rolls in the distance.
Above the palace... Storm clouds gather.
FADE OUT.
END OF EPISODE 3