ANAELLE
I lived at least two lives before this one. One as an empress...another as priestess. Though it’s difficult sometimes to remember which was which. I don’t mean reincarnation, or the countless characters in games. This is just a story. But sometimes that’s the only way to get to the Truth.
(She removes a piece of cord from among the many layers of her outfit and strings the key onto a necklace as she continues.)
I raised an empire and watched it fall. Loved and lost a god. Killed and died. Death can be...lonely. So can birth. Spreading your wings cracks the egg of the world. And for a moment it seems worth it. You are free! But the true horror comes when you realize that outside is just a larger egg that you’ll inevitably destroy. And even if you don’t...if you try to bare the pain and keep yourself small, the Serpent of Necessity will squeeze until you find yourself walking on eggshells with broken wings. But as you heal you learn that wings aren’t something everyone was born with. And you can’t blame them for that. So you blame yourself. If only something would crack you apart instead. Keep you from becoming the serpent, shedding skins so easily in the shards of other people’s worlds. So you seek out anyone whose knowledge or presence is greater than yours, in hopes that they have found an egg that’s large enough to share. Or at least that you won’t be the one to break it. You will finally know your limits and feel the safety of a true boundary. It won’t be necessary to fly on alone...

Luke moves into her light, and begins to circle and then caress her. He removes her coat and tosses it off. His is gone. She tries to ignore him, finish her thought...

ANAELLE
Someone...something...will finally be... 

He scoops her up into an embrace and carries her across the stage as the lights come up on a new graveyard arrangement. 

APRIL: HILLCREST ABBEY (THE CATHOLIC CEMETERY)

He pushes her roughly back against the tree as they make out. But she pulls away. 

ANAELLE
...enough. 

LUKE
Really? I was just getting started. 

He reaches for her but she dodges. 

ANAELLE
They could be back any minute. 

LUKE

So what? And this cemetery’s huge. 

ANAELLE
Graves told everyone to stay close to Limboland. 

LUKE
Didn’t the Catholics get rid of the whole idea of unbaptized babies ending up in Limbo?

ANAELLE
Eh...not entirely? Limbo’s sort of head canon the church thinks is probably fine. 

LUKE
Do you still have your Catholic school uniform? ...for purely profane reasons. 

She’s let her guard down enough that he’s touching her again. But she doesn’t mind.

ANAELLE
I do actually. The shocking thing is that it still fits. 

LUKE
Well, add that to our to-do list. In fact, shorter skirts as a rule from now on.

ANAELLE
Can’t make it too easy for you.

LUKE
And here I thought you were the most mythical of creatures, a woman who actually likes sex.

ANAELLE
If you think those are a myth then you definitely don't care whether they do or not. 

LUKE
And why do I worry that's what you like about me?

ANAELLE
Because against all odds, there's a very smart boy in there somewhere.

LUKE
Aww...now you're just being mean. You’re feeling vulnerable, so now you're mean.

ANAELLE
Oh is that what I’m feeling?

LUKE
With my hand on the most tender part of you, yeah, I'd say that creates an inevitable vulnerability.

He’s gotten his hand up her long skirt. She gasps.

ANAELLE
Interesting.

LUKE
What?

ANAELLE
That you think that’s where I'm most tender.

She gasps. He kisses her. 

ANAELLE
We’re supposed to be--

He doesn’t stop.

LUKE
I’m just trying to draw the sprits out. They feed off energy, so let’s give them a little snack. 

ANAELLE
Fuck you. 

LUKE
That’s the idea. 

ANAELLE
Someone could--

LUKE
Uh, huh. And the more anxious you get the more you want me to just do it right? Throw you down on one of these graves and remind all the ghosts what living really looks like, until they can almost taste it, everything they want but can’t have, winding you up further and further until you completely lose control and rip a hole in reality. 

ANAELLE
And then?

LUKE
We see what comes through. Wanna try it?

ANAELLE
I--

LUKE
You want me?
(she nods)
Yeah? To do what?

ANAELLE
To--fuck me--

She pulls away from him. 

ANAELLE
--When we get home.

He stares at her for a beat as she catches her breath. Then he chuckles and sucks his fingers clean.

LUKE
Yeah, you’re going to make that up to me later. 

ANAELLE
Something to look forward to, since we didn’t, you know, rip a hole in reality. 

LUKE
Okay, maybe I got a bit carried away in the moment. I just wanted to stir up enough energy that I could see for myself...what you see. 

That softens her a bit.  

ANAELLE
I haven’t Seen anything tonight. So maybe there’s nothing out there. But I appreciate that you don’t think I’m crazy. 

LUKE
I wouldn’t say that...but crazy is hot.  

ANAELLE
Ripping a hole in reality is crazy!

LUKE
Sometimes you have to throw rocks at the Universe to see if it throws anything back. 

ANAELLE
Clearly you’ve never been hit with a cosmic rock. 

LUKE
How else are we supposed to learn what we can do? And I’m not talking about just seeing ghosts. You said you’ve never done an actual spell because you never wanted anything badly enough--

ANAELLE
--that’s not exactly...Maybe being magic and doing magic are entirely different things.

LUKE
And that’s why Fate brought us together. Your power needed my will.  

ANAELLE
To do what?

LUKE
Anything?

ANAELLE
At what cost?

LUKE
Same answer. 

ANAELLE
Nope! 

LUKE
If you’re powerful enough to do it, you’re powerful enough to deal with whatever happens next.

ANAELLE
I can’t imagine that’s true. You can’t rip a hole in reality just to see if it works! Energy, plus symbol, plus intention. The higher the stakes the more you need a specific purpose. It’s impossible to ever be certain you’ll “harm none” but you still have to calculate risk, value and potential for mitigation... 

LUKE
You actually think it’s possible. You wouldn’t give it a second thought if you didn’t. 

ANAELLE
And you don’t. Otherwise you’d never be so reckless...you’re not fearless, you just don’t believe there are any consequences. This is all just a game to you.

LUKE
Maybe it is a game. But it’s one I’m still planning to win. 

ANAELLE
You don’t know even know the rules. 

LUKE
I’m not afraid to find out that magic is real. Are you afraid to find out that it isn’t?

Beat.

ANAELLE
No. I’m just not sure I like being used as bait. 

LUKE
It’s not--I wouldn’t...you weren’t in any danger. 

ANAELLE
You don’t know that. You don’t know anything about what you were trying to do or why.  The very best case scenario here is that nothing happens and you still get hit with Sam’s giant stick of “what the hell were you thinking?”

LUKE
Okay, you’re right, that’s does scare me. 

SAM
It should. 

Luke jumps to see Sam [who doesn't have to be a large man, but has a large presence, and a large stave] has entered behind him. 

SAM
So...what the hell were you thinking?