STORMERE
Season 2, Episode 8: "Interlude II: Aleric & Scarlett"
EXT.
VERITA – NIGHT
The capital
sleeps.
Perfectly. Too
perfectly.
Crimson
banners hang still in the air.
No wind. No
noise. No life.
At the
center…
The black
palace.
Watching
over everything.
SMASH TO TITLE:
STORMFALL
INT.
PALACE TRAINING HALL – NIGHT
A vast stone
chamber.
Empty.
Except for
Aleric.
He moves
through precise combat forms.
Sword
cutting through the air.
Sharp.
Controlled.
Perfect.
Again.
Again.
Again…
He misses a
step.
Stops.
Breathing
heavier than he should be.
Frustrated.
He looks at
his hands.
They tremble.
FLASH CUT
– KRYSTAL SANDS
Hunter
falling. Lyra screaming. Soren breaking.
BACK TO
SCENE
Aleric
clenches his fists.
Forces
stillness.
ALERIC (quiet): Focus.
A voice
behind him.
SCARLETT (O.S.): You’ve been doing that for hours.
He doesn’t
turn.
ALERIC: I didn’t ask you to watch.
Scarlett
steps into view.
Calm.
Composed.
Dangerous.
SCARLETT: You didn’t have to.
A beat.
She studies
him.
SCARLETT (CONT’D): You’re slipping.
Aleric turns
now.
ALERIC: No. I’m not.
Scarlett
raises an eyebrow.
SCARLETT: You missed three steps in the same sequence.
Silence.
She’s right.
He hates
that she’s right.
INT.
TRAINING HALL – CONTINUOUS
Scarlett
walks closer.
Slow.
Measured.
SCARLETT: You used to be better than this.
Aleric’s jaw
tightens.
ALERIC: People change.
SCARLETT: Not that much.
A beat.
SCARLETT (CONT’D): What’s wrong?
Aleric
almost laughs.
Almost.
ALERIC: You really need to ask that question?
Scarlett
doesn’t flinch.
SCARLETT: Yes.
A long
silence.
ALERIC: I chose him.
SCARLETT: You chose me.
Aleric looks
at her.
Pain behind
his eyes.
ALERIC: I chose both.
A beat.
ALERIC (CONT’D): And I lost everything because of it.
INT.
PALACE BALCONY – LATER
The city
stretches below.
Order.
Silence.
Scarlett
stands at the railing.
Aleric joins
her.
Neither
speaks at first.
SCARLETT: Do you remember Valenrith?
Aleric
exhales.
ALERIC: Every day.
FLASHBACK
– EXT. VALENRITH GARDENS – SUNSET
Younger
Aleric.
Younger
Scarlett.
Laughing.
Alive.
Free.
She spins
through the garden.
He watches her.
Smiling.
BACK TO
PRESENT
The silence
between them now is heavier.
SCARLETT: We used to believe in something different.
ALERIC: We were younger.
SCARLETT: We were better.
Aleric
doesn’t respond.
INT.
BALCONY – CONTINUOUS
SCARLETT: You think you betrayed them.
Aleric looks
at her.
ALERIC: I did.
SCARLETT: No.
A beat.
SCARLETT (CONT’D): You chose a future. With me.
ALERIC: At the cost of everything else.
Scarlett
steps closer.
SCARLETT: That’s what power does to someone.
Aleric
shakes his head.
ALERIC: That’s what he does.
A beat.
Scarlett’s
expression shifts slightly.
Dangerous
territory.
SCARLETT: Careful.
ALERIC: No.
He turns
fully to her now.
ALERIC (CONT’D): Tell me something honestly.
She holds
his gaze.
ALERIC (CONT’D): Do you actually believe in this? Or you’re just in too deep
after what happened in Valenrith?
A long
silence.
Scarlett
doesn’t answer immediately.
And that is
the answer.
INT.
PALACE CORRIDOR – NIGHT
Aleric walks
alone.
Fast.
Restless.
The walls
feel tighter.
The silence
louder.
He stops.
Hands braced
against the stone.
ALERIC: (quiet) What am I doing?
FLASH CUT
– HUNTER
“You don’t
have to do this.”
FLASH CUT
– LYRA
“He killed
Hunter.”
FLASH CUT
– SOREN
“You don’t
get to take him too!”
BACK TO
SCENE
Aleric
closes his eyes.
Pain. Regret.
Guilt. All of it.
INT.
THRONE CHAMBER – LATER
Nox stands
alone at the center.
The air hums
faintly.
Wrong.
Aleric
enters.
NOX:
You’re troubled.
Aleric
doesn’t deny it.
ALERIC: You already know why.
Nox turns.
Calm. Collected.
NOX:
Because of them?
Aleric’s
silence confirms it.
NOX
(CONT’D): You’re still attached.
ALERIC: They were my friends.
NOX:
And now?
A beat.
Aleric
struggles.
ALERIC: Now… I don’t know.
Nox studies
him.
NOX:
That uncertainty will get you killed.
ALERIC: Maybe.
A beat.
ALERIC (CONT’D): Or maybe it’s the only thing keeping me alive.
Silence.
Nox tilts
his head slightly.
Interested.
NOX:
Being alive is overrated.
Aleric
almost smiles. Almost.
INT.
THRONE CHAMBER – CONTINUOUS
A long
silence between them.
NOX:
You regret your decision.
Not a
question.
Aleric
doesn’t lie.
ALERIC: Yes.
A beat.
NOX:
And yet you’re still here.
ALERIC: Yes.
Nox steps
closer.
NOX:
Why?
Aleric meets
his gaze.
ALERIC: Because I believe you can still fix this, Kael.
Nox studies
him more carefully now.
NOX:
And what if I can’t?
Aleric
doesn’t answer.
INT.
SCARLETT’S CHAMBER – NIGHT
Scarlett
stands by the window.
Aleric
enters.
Quiet.
SCARLETT: You spoke to him.
ALERIC: Yeah.
A beat.
SCARLETT: And?
Aleric
exhales.
ALERIC: He was… alright.
That gets
her attention.
SCARLETT: Good.
Aleric looks
at her.
ALERIC: You don’t sound surprised.
SCARLETT: I’m not.
A beat.
SCARLETT (CONT’D): I started to stop doubting someone who is always twenty steps
ahead of everyone else.
Silence.
INT.
CHAMBER – CONTINUOUS
Aleric steps
closer.
ALERIC: If this keeps going…
He stops.
Struggling
to say it.
ALERIC (CONT’D): We’re going to lose more than we already have.
Scarlett
studies him.
SCARLETT: There’s nothing else to lose.
A long
silence.
Then.
She steps
closer. Closer than before.
Not hostile.
Not distant.
Something
else.
SCARLETT (CONT’D): I only have you.
Aleric looks
at her.
ALERIC: Scarlett…
They kiss.
EXT.
PALACE ROOFTOP – PRE-DAWN
The sky
cracks faintly above the horizon.
That same
unnatural tear.
Wider now.
Aleric
stands at the edge.
Watching it.
Scarlett
joins him.
SCARLETT: That wasn’t there before.
ALERIC: No.
A beat.
SCARLETT: Do you think he’ll fix this?
Aleric
doesn’t hesitate.
ALERIC: Yes. He has too.
Silence.
The wind
picks up.
Unnatural.
Aleric
stares at the tear in the sky.
Then, for
the first time… He looks unsure of where he stands.
Not fully
loyal. Not fully gone. Just… lost.
ALERIC (quiet): We made a mistake.
Scarlett
doesn’t deny it. Doesn’t confirm it.
She just
watches the sky.
END OF EPISODE.