Script: Prince Redbreast, Page The Last
Callpygia catches the robin and threatens it.
Callpygia: I could break your scrawny little neck for what you’ve done, but I won’t because I’m a lady. Now go away and never trouble me or the prince ever again.
Robin (being choked): erk… a.. gre… eed…
Callpygia throws the Robin away, into the woods.
Callpygia: Scram!
Callpygia returns to the meadow.
Callpygia: Am I too late? Do you still live, my prince?
Callpygia places the heart in the chest-hole.
Callpygia: I have your heart.
The prince wakes up. He sits up and faces Callpygia.
Prince: I am… whole. Thank you, thank you so much…
Callpygia: You’re…
He kisses her gently.
He gets up to leave. Callpygia is still there, still puckering; she was ready for the kiss to get a whole lot better.
Prince: Now I must be off, to go find my true love.
The prince walks off, to go find the queen. He’s singing. Callpygia sits on the ground, with the prince’s blood still on her hands and dress, somewhat disappointed but not too much.
Callpygia: Oh well. Easy come, easy go.
So there it is. The ending is meant to be an inversion of the common fairy tale trope “I rescued you, now you belong to me”. Sure, Callpygia rescued the Prince, and he’s very grateful, but that doesn’t mean that he’s under any obligation to forget his life up to this point and fall madly in love with her. It’s also meant to demonstrate Callpygia’s character. She isn’t so upset about losing the prince because all she’s really lost is an afternoon of traipsing around the woods.
A certain member of my family saw things differently. She thought the ending was horribly unfair- even when the fairy tale convention is being subverted, it’s the man who gets to make the choice and the woman who just has to accept it. One alternate idea would be to have the prince stand up, declare that he’s suddenly decided to become a monk, and wander off for parts unknown. Alternatively he could pull back before the kiss, give Callpygia a firm handshake instead, then apologize and explain that he’s not ready for romance right now because he’s just had his heart ripped out.
May 28th, 2010 at 8:06 am
Ooh.
I think they’re all interesting endings.
In defense of your ending, I will point out that saving his life didn’t set Callpygia back all that much. And I suspect she’s many rubies richer.