BLACK by Peadar Ó Guilín (Peadar O. Guilin) copywrite Peadar Ó Guilín Feb. 1995. The Monastery, at night. It is quite dark. CIAN's head is barely visible, sticking up somewhere at the back. GRAINNE can be heard shouting for him off-stage. He does not reply or even move in the slightest. Eventually, GRAINNE enters. She is tall and very sweet looking, the type of young woman that tends to win the Rose of Tralee. Her voice is soft and tentative, as if she is always treading carefully to avoid hurting your feelings. GRAINNE: Cian?... Come on Cian, I saw you take it, you know I did. Whatever it is you're up to, it's not going to work this time -- you've been spotted... (Pause.) I'll be understanding. I just want to know what you're at, that's all. Purely out of curiosity because... well, you know I'm likely to show you more mercy than Brother Bacchus. Don't tempt me into setting him onto your trail! ... I mean, you're not going to make Bishop now, are you? Not a chance! I'm ahead of you on points, my sweet, way ahead... So whatever it is you're up to better be pretty damn devious or you'll just get yourself expelled and that will be the end of that... Come on, pet, tell me. You know I'm the only one who could ever understand you properly... (She licks her lips nervously.) You know I'm the only one who... who really needs... never mind. (Pause., and then, in sudden impatience.) I'll find him. I'll find the little shite; I'll kill him. (She exits, still calling for him.) When GRAINNE has finally gone, CIAN emerges from hiding, and moves towards centre stage. The lights come up to reveal MAEVE asleep on a low pallet. No sooner is he in the room than she is awake, a dagger in her hand. When she sees that it is only CIAN she replaces the knife under her pillow, and holds out her arms. CIAN is pale and is covered with a light sheen of sweat. He too holds out a dagger in a ritual of peace. He lowers it to the floor. He has another dagger tucked into his belt at the back, but from where she is sitting, MAEVE cannot see it. He goes to her and they embrace. She seems delighted to see him, though he is stiff, almost formal. MAEVE: Cian, what's wrong? CIAN: Nothing. MAEVE: (Emphatic.) Something. CIAN: I just don't think we should do this any more. We can't afford to get caught. MAEVE: We sorted all this out months ago! So who's to catch us? You've given Grainne the slip again, I presume, and Bacchus prefers not to interfere unless one of the others can produce proof of what we're up to... Come, come here. Try and relax. Kiss me... I have news for you. CIAN: I want to. But... but this is such a weakness, you see that, don't you? We're terribly weak. MAEVE: We've been through this! All I'm asking for is a kiss. I won't beg you to spend the night, although I want you to, and you need to far more than I do. Sure look at you, you're trembling! CIAN: You have the wrong idea... I need... I need to be Bishop! MAEVE: But it's too late for that! I know you deserve the post, but Grainne's going to win it, you can't stop her now... Look, be sensible. Lie with me awhile and I'll tell you my news. CIAN: I don't think you understand. I'm prepared to do anything! MAEVE: What can you do? Kiss me: you are my bishop. CIAN: I will do what must be done! MAEVE: Come... She draws him close. Her hand drifts down his back to his belt. It is a smooth sensuous movement until it reaches the second dagger, at which point her hand suddenly stops as if frozen. She removes it again, shaking now, for she realises what he intends to do. She looks him in the eye but he fails to hold her gaze. CIAN: Please. You must not forgive me. If I remember you with love, it will all have been for nothing... You'll... you'll have wasted both our lives... Don't... don't forgive me. MAEVE: (Crying.) I'm trying not to. She closes her eyes and moves her lips to his. CIAN takes the dagger from his belt and touches it lightly against her ribs. His courage is failing him. GRAINNE: (Some distance away.) Cian? Cian! CIAN to his own great surprise, jams the knife suddenly between MAEVE"s ribs. She convulses, throws her head back and then tries to kiss him again, but she cannot. He lays her down gently. He leaves the dagger stuck between her ribs. GRAINNE: (Much closer.) I know where you are you little shit! I know exactly where you are! CIAN quickly collects the first dagger which he had left on the floor, and runs out of the room. GRAINNE: Cian? You're in there, aren't you? You're in there with your lover. She enters. She stops in wonder, staring at the corpse before it finally dawns on her. GRAINNE: Why the little angel! The fool! (She laughs.) He'll be expelled for sure this time! Exit GRAINNE. Servants come to remove the body, carrying it high and stiffly above their heads. Music can be heard off-stage. A woman enters collecting firewood and singing. The Village WOMAN: (Singing.) Tar ar ais, a leanbh, Taim uaigneach i d'easnamh, Ta brón orm gur thréig mé thú... srl. She sits, smiling to herself and continues to sing.Children run in and around the servants as they move off, shouting at each other in Donegal Irish. They fight and violently batter one of their number who cowers under their blows. Suddenly, they fall silent and look off-stage. The woman gathers up her wood and swiftly departs. HEADMAN (off-stage): They say -- they say that in that place ye have-- BACCHUS :(entering, with two pike-men, smiling as he sees the children. He is a plump jovial man who always seems ready for a laugh. He looks like a very friendly character indeed. The HEADMAN follows in his wake. To the children.) Having fun, are we? I have brought you some sugar. (He hands over a small bag to one of the children and then, pointing to the one they had been beating up.) What about your little friend? Go on now, give some to your little friend as well. HEADMAN: They say that in that place -- The bigger children give sweets to the child that they were beating up, but she throws them away immediately. BACCHUS: There! That's the one, that child. Here child, you can have a whole packet all to yourself. HEADMAN: She doesn't understand, brother. BACCHUS: It's alright, little girl, take the bag. HEADMAN: She doesn't understand. The child grabs the sweets and flings them away. BACCHUS: (Laughing, delighted.) You see? She understands me perfectly. Have her parents get her ready. Everything has a price. She understands that better than you ever will. That's why I want her. HEADMAN: Do you have to take her?... They say -- they say that -- BACCHUS: What is it that you want? HEADMAN: They say that in that place-- BACCHUS: You've been rehearsing this, haven't you? HEADMAN: Brother I... I... BACCHUS: (Enjoying himself.) What lovely children you have here. HEADMAN: You'll be taking more children? BACCHUS: A bargain is a bargain. We've always kept our side of it. HEADMAN: It's just that... Well, they say that -- they say -- BACCHUS: Oh Hell, man! HEADMAN (Plunging on in one rehearsed splutter.): They say that up in that place ye have there, ye have our children turned into monsters and furthermore that ye -- BACCHUS: Whoever taught you a word like furthermore?... Well? (Pause.) Never mind. Furthermore what? HEADMAN: You interrupted me, brother. BACCHUS: That's my job. Furthermore what? HEADMAN (sweating): I -- I forget. BACCHUS: Perhaps that's for the best. Monsters, eh? What a ridiculous notion. And what is it you want from me? Reassurance? HEADMAN: Well, if you could tell us -- BACCHUS: Indeed I could. I could stand here all day and tell you what really goes on in the monastery; the great work of educating the young; the fostering of their talents -- you do want the very best for your children, don't you? HEADMAN: Of course, Brother Bacchus. BACCHUS: I could waste my time, all my precious time giving you reassurances and dispelling your pathetic peasant superstitions, but do you know what reassurance is? HEADMAN: I... BACCHUS: I'll tell you what reassurance is: it's somebody else's job, that's what it is! Come on, it's just like in the village, right? You know how it is; everybody does their own job and sticks to it. You've seen me: I've been coming here for years. I do my job -- I collect the children. Someone else turns them into monsters, and someone else -- not me -- reassures the parents that it isn't so and pretends that going up to the monastery is the best thing that could ever happen to them. HEADMAN: (Horrified.) It -- it's true... You... you turn them into-- BACCHUS: Whoops! A slip of the tongue. I ought to be more careful... Why, you seem upset. What do you want me to do? ...Listen, you shouldn't be asking me these questions. Sister Maenad will be around next week to reassure you... And she is good, isn't she? I mean, I see what happens to these poor, poor children every day, and even I am almost convinced when I hear her words. HEADMAN: You turned my child a monster! You tooked her away and turned her a monster! BACCHUS: I did no such thing! I told you, I only collect them and deliver them to their horrible fate! Be fair! HEADMAN (weeping): We should never have made a bargain with devils. BACCHUS: You can break that bargain at any time. I am authorised to end the deal if that is what you want. HEADMAN: You are tricking. BACCHUS: No, no. We can end it all here and now. I'll represent the monastery, and you the village. We can go right back, back to the golden era before the deal was struck, when three quarters of your children died before they could walk, and often took their mothers with them. Yes, if that's what you want, we'll take you right back. HEADMAN: Alright, alright, take me back. Put finish to the bargain! BACCHUS: You can't be serious! You know that's impossible! The other villagers would never hear of it. They wouldn't begrudge us the odd monster now that they have so many children that live. HEADMAN: But I want her again! I need her back for my wife! BACCHUS: You need who? You mean your daughter? HEADMAN: My only child you tooked! BACCHUS: It's almost certainly too late for her now. We probably made a monster of her years ago... (Speculatively.) Who was your daughter anyhow?... I don't remember. We take from all the villages, you know. I can't seem to picture her face. HEADMAN: Maeve. BACCHUS: Maeve! Really? Maeve was your daughter? How strange... I don't think we managed to make a monster out of that one. Enter MAEVE sprinting across the stage. She is excited and happy. When the HEADMAN sees her he stares in amazement. HEADMAN: Maeve! That's my daughter Maeve! A Mhaedbh! Seo Daid, cabhrófidh mé leat, a Mhaedbh! BACCHUS: That's a ghost, you fool. It's only the past repeating itself. We have no time for this now. The past is dead, and I have yet to collect that girl. The HEADMAN tries to struggle through to reach her but the pike-men hold him by the arms and drag him screaming after BROTHER BACCHUS. The Monastary, by day. Enter the students, piling into the room, finding places to sit on the floor. When they have finally settled, PATRICIA enters. She is a strong but kindly woman who appears to love children very much. She is cosiderably aged, but not feeble. She gently separates those who are fighting, and then begins to speak. PATRICIA: You've been taught your numbers and letters; all very fancy of course, not like when I was a young slave in Wales minding sheep, when our Master first called me to his service. You'll have it easier than I did, so don't be putting on airs... I don't know what gods are worshipped in the villages these days, but I want you to forget whatever religious mumbo-jumbo your parents taught you, for here we worship no gods... I used to pray to the Christian God, you know? It was shit being a slave, because I had been born a princess, daughter to Niall of the Nine hostages... So I prayed to the Roman Christ, asking that I be delivered, that my father Niall would come across the sea to save me. But there was never any answer to my prayers... Until one night... I remember how cold it was, I was sure I would freeze to death -- I was freezing to death, lying in the snow, praying to my non-existent god... when I heard a voice: it was just a whisper, a gentle blasphemy: "Slaughter my sheep!" it said. "Is that you Jesus?" I called out. "Have you come for me at last?" But the voice knew nothing of this Jesus; it said: "Slaughter my sheep and I will pay thee well." So I did what I thought it wanted. I killed a fat ewe. I slashed her open and slept in her body like a lamb. In the morning the overseer came and was appalled so I slaughtered him too and ran away. Everywhere I went, my Master whose name is Lucifer kept me safe, and for this I adored him... only at first; he does not care a fig for our adoration, as long as we do our job. You are here to learn how to do this job. One or two of you will succeed, and the rest will be very sorry. So, make sure you succeed. Make sure your friends do not. There are rules, of course -- don't think we don't play by rules. First and foremost, is that you must all take more care of your appearances. Bad things come in bright packages, although the public generally thinks that the opposite is the case. They love each other for physical appearance, although they dress it up as something else, as personality or compatability. They will die for the sake of appearances; kill to maintain them. They will imprison the ugly more quickly than the beautiful... This is how we will catch them. You were all chosen for your intelligence but you were also checked for physical defects that you might glide through this world as a sharp scythe through wheat. Beware, however, you do not cut yourself: the public, the masses fall for appearances, but we must not. We do not suffer from prejudice; from the weakness of love; from the idiotic pride in our own beauty that makes us feel that Lucifer will not delight in punishing us if we fail him... Do not cut yourselves! We intend to teach you all, the true value of appearances. When we catch you breaking our rules, we will mar that perfection of yours with the whip. Our Master is the most beautiful of all the angels, and only the most beautiful may truly serve him. We are not interested in guilt or innocence; we do not care what you do when we don't catch you. When we catch somebody, we do not care if they are really responsible, so long as they appear responsible. GRAINNE: Does this mean we can get someone else punished? PATRICIA: Good question, Grainne, have a sweet, my love. Yes, my children, that's exactly what it means. Only one of you here may become Bishop. You achieve this position by amassing points for good behaviour throughout the year, that is, by not getting caught breaking our many, many rules. DIARMUID: Please Miss! PATRICIA: Call me "Mother". DIARMUID: (Puzzled.) Mother? PATRICIA: What is it, dear? DIARMUID: Can we kill all of our opponents? PATRICIA: Child Diarmuid, if I catch you killing any of the others I shall be appalled and have you punished at once! DIARMUID: Killing is wrong? PATRICIA: "If I catch you", I said. Nothing is "wrong". But did you think I had brought you all to the monastery to commit acts of petty evil? Do you think I care whether or not you steal a single acorn, or tell the tiniest of white lies or practise cruelty on a helpless mosquito caught sucking your blood? We were not put on this world to be evil; "I come to bring peace, not the sword". We are here to tempt those who are truly good into eternal damnation. Don't do anything by halves because you're only wasting your time! To hurt someone properly, you must hurt them for all eternity: you must send them to serve our master in Hell. The pain of this world, the evil around us, is as nothing to that in Lucifer's kingdom. When one of you becomes Bishop and travels the roads of all the world as Hell's missionary, nobody will listen to you if you tell them to be bad. The idea is laughable. A human being finds true damnation only through the betrayal of his own conscience. Our Missionary, the Bishop, will go into towns and villages everywhere and tell the people to be good; to set high, high standards for themselves. When they fail to reach those standards, they belong to us. Then they really suffer. CATHAL: But Mother, what do we get out of it? PATRICIA: Good boy, Cathal! Good boy! (She produces the bag.) Now you must have the nicest sweet of all. (He pops it into his mouth sucking ostentatiously, much to the annoyance of the other children.) As Cathal has so cleverly spotted, everything has a price, and the price must always be paid. We serve our Master through the damnation of humanity and in return, all those we bring to him must serve us. We are all damned, my loves, but in the next life we shall be the generals, the judges, the guardians of the prison... Now, let me remind you one more time (CATHAL who had been making sour faces, suddenly spits out the sweet, almost retching for the rest of the scene. PATRICIA pats him on the head.) never trust appearances. Did you enjoy your sweet Grainne? GRAINNE: Yes, Mother, it was very nice. PATRICIA: Oh really? What did you do with it then? GRAINNE: I gave it to Cian. PATRICIA: Did you like it Cian? You don't appear too ill to me. CIAN: No, Mother. It's just that Cathal looked so hungry, I thought he might like another. CATHAL is rolling about the floor, hyperventilating, his stomach, heaving... PATRICIA: Oh dear. I would advise you all to stand well back! Blackout. The Monastary, a Winter's evening. All the students except MAEVE come running onto the stage. They stop and look around, confused. EITHNE: I don't understand what all the fuss is about. So what if she took it. CATHAL: We're all responsible for the safe-keeping of the gold; if any of it goes missing, we all suffer for it, we all lose points. EITHNE: But surely Maeve's going to lose just as many points as we are! And there's nowhere in a hundred miles where she can spend the gold either, I mean, what is the point! CATHAL: The point is... the point is... she shouldn't be getting us all in trouble. CIAN shakes his head, but it is GRAINNE who answers him. GRAINNE: Cathal is of course right. She should never have tried to get us all in trouble like that, but there are two other reasons why we need to catch the naughty girl, and I'm sure Cathal is well aware of them. (She smiles winningly at CATHAL; he nods although it is clear he is confused.) None of us bear her any ill will, but we are all right thinking, honest people, and if somebody steals it is only fair that she be punished and lose out on her chance to become Bishop, right?. Admittedly, this would work out to our advantage, but let us be clear, that this is certainly not the motivation behind the good work we do today. Second of all, if she cannot be caught red handed, she will be the one who gets the reward for the return of the stolen treasure, not us. CATHAL: That's exactly what I was going to say! GRAINNE: I know. CATHAL: We have to catch her, or she'll be way ahead of the rest of us! O.K., we'll split up! Cian, you take the South wing... Eithne... Everyone is already moving off in all directions, ignoring him. Only GRAINNE has remained behind. GRAINNE: Come on, let's go. CATHAL: But where are they going? That's not where I told them to go! GRAINNE: You have filled them with entheusiasm for the hunt. Come on, we'll go together! Exeunt. MAEVE appears. It would seem that the whole time she had been hiding practically in their midst. She is carrying a pouch of gold in her hand. CIAN steps out of hiding too, somewhere behind her. She feels his presence and whirls around, flinging her dagger towards him with all her force. It misses, and they both rush to retrieve it, but CIAN gets there first holding her at bay with his own dagger. CIAN: You dropped your knife. MAEVE: (Holding out her hand.) My hand slipped. Thank you for picking it up for me. CIAN: Think nothing of it, my friend. (He does not give it back.) MAEVE: I knew if anyone could figure out where I'd gone it would be you... I hoped it would be you, in fact. I've watched you, you know, right from the start. CIAN: I know. And I watched you back when you were looking away. MAEVE: Ah, you think I was looking away! (Pause while they look at each other.) So, you intend to just keep me here until Brother Bacchus or one of the others arrives, is that it? I'll spend my life as a kitchen skivvy... But no, I would rather you killed me, like in the dream. CIAN: The dream? You dreamt I killed you? How strange, because... Because I would rather kill any of the others than cause you to come to harm- not that I will hesitate if you force me to it! MAEVE: Well, of course! CIAN: There might be another way to work this thing out, a way to benefit both of us... We could come to an agreement. There's nothing in the rules against teamwork. It wouldn't be totally unheard of. MAEVE: Teamwork... CIAN: You said you've been looking at me... you've seen me looking back... I know it may seem a bit novel, but... but perhaps we could be together, help each other out a bit. MAEVE : (Returning his gaze.) Help each other. Yes, it's interesting... To have somebody to scheme with, to make plans with, to share... to experiment with... with touch. I- I have to admit... (Pause.) You must think I'm totally stupid. This is a trap, isn't it? CIAN: Do you care? MAEVE: (She laughs, as if to say: "Don't be ridiculous!" But then she stops laughing, and totally amazed at herself, replies:) No... They kiss for what seems like a long time, but then, they hear the sounds of persuit rapidly approaching their position. MAEVE wrests one of the two daggers back from CIAN and has it at his neck. MAEVE: So this was your plan, was it? This was how you meant to delay me! CIAN: Give me the gold! MAEVE: You actually think I'm going to let you live! CIAN: If they catch you with my blood on your hands, you lose. If they catch you with the gold, you lose. But if you let me escape with it now, there is a small possibility that I was being sincere, and that I won't betray you. (The sounds are very near indeed now.) MAEVE: Only a small chance, you say... Ha! Go on then. It's better than nothing. Anyway, I deserve to be caught for being a fool. He runs off with the gold. No sooner has he disappeared than several of the students arrive on the scene. EITHNE: She's here! We've cornered her! She's here! Someone fetch Brother Bacchus! GRAINNE: (Taking CATHAL to one side.) Oh Lucifer! If only I were stronger than she is! If only I had the strength! CATHAL: What would you do? GRAINNE: She doesn't seem to have the gold on her. She may have hidden it already. If only I were as strong as you are! CATHAL: Why? Tell me why? GRAINNE: I would certainly have wrung the hiding place out of her long before Brother Bacchus could arrive. Without proof he'll just laugh at our accusations. There always has to be proof! CATHAL walks over to MAEVE. CATHAL: Where did you put it? MAEVE: Cathal, my friend! There you are! I was looking everywh- He slaps her across the face. Then, while she is still reeling, he steps even closer, and throws her to the ground. CATHAL: Where is it? MAEVE: Oh Cathal! Nobody slaps me like you do! He kicks her in the ribs. Then he sits down on her stomach, and pulls her head forward by the hair so that he is staring directly into her eyes, both of them breathing hard. He looks back at GRAINNE, she nods once. CATHAL: (He unsheathes his dagger.) Where is it? (Pause.) So be it... He places his dagger next to her eye. BACCHUS: (Entering.) Children, children! How I long to be young again! Cathal, my handsome boy. Come here to me, my fine strong fellow. CATHAL: (Going to him, nervously.) Brother, I have something to report. BACCHUS: Of course you do! (Hugging him.) Pay attention class. I picked this boy myself. Of all the students, I can honestly say that this boy Cathal is far and away my favorite! CATHAL: (Afraid.) Brother! Oh Brother please don't say that. It- it was Grainne that made me hit her. I swear it! I- BACCHUS: I believe you, my son, and she will be rewarded for it. CATHAL: Rewarded! BACCHUS: We were not put on this Earth to commit evil acts, but to ensure that others do so, thereby sentencing themselves to eternal damnation. Grainne will be rewarded, and you are such a sweet unselfish boy for telling me this. Now, Sister Maenad was looking for someone trustworthy, somebody she could have real faith in so that she could try out her new whip... Will you go? CATHAL: But- but Brother Bacchus, if I she leaves a permanent scar on my body, I'll- I'll never be allowed to become Bishop! BACCHUS: Worry not, my friend. You will love working in the kitchens! You'll get to use your knife therefor sure! I'm told it can be a real challenge. Go, now. Be sure to tell her it was me who reccommended you! (CATHAL goes.) When you're done, come back to me, and I'll rub salt into the welts for you. CATHAL: What?! BACCHUS: Or maybe even vinegar. CATHAL: Vinegar! But- but Brother... I- BACCHUS: Oh don't be silly, child! I was only joking. Do you take me for a sadist? Salt it is. Go on now, off with you!... As for the rest of you, surely it must nearly be time for bed? Exeunt. The Dungeon. CIAN enters into the dungeon, and moving down to its far end, searches around for some place to hide the gold. He doesn't notice JOKANNON who was standing in his cage staring in fascintion at the younger man as he walks in. CIAN scrabbles around in the hay for a few moments before he realises he is being watched. He turns suddenly. CIAN : Who the Hell are you? JOKANNON: You come barging right into my home and you have the gall to... what's that in your hand? CIAN: Wait! I know who you are now! You're the priest; the jesus cult priest who was- JOKANNON: The Christian priest!- CIAN: Who was wandering around trying to convert all our villagers. JOKANNON: Your villagers, is it? Ha! CIAN: I can see now why they've been giving us such trouble recently with the supply of children and barley. Well, at least they had the decency to turn you over to us in the end... What are you staring at? JOKANNON: Staring? Was I? No, no, not staring, not at all, I was actually peering, it's just my eyesight, you see, I like to peer. CIAN: I see. JOKANNON: (Laughing.) Better than I do, I'm sure, so much better. But do you mind telling me what it is you actually do here? CIAN: You're the prisoner, shouldn't I be the one asking you that? JOKANNON: Of course you should, my dear! But what would be the point of that? I have nothing whatsoever to hide! Patrick sent me of course. That's right, the Patrick, the Bishop himself, the same Patrick that drove the snakes out. CIAN: There are plenty of snakes in our villages. JOKANNON: Yes, yes, precisely! He had heard there were still a few pockets unconverted out here, and being too old to travel himself he volunteered me for the job! CIAN: I hope your religion is one of those that admires martyrs. JOKANNON: (Sobered.) Ah, it's like that, is it? (CIAN does not reply, but simply stares back.) So... what is it that you've got in your hands, young fellow? May I call you young fellow? My name is Jokannon, (CIAN ignored his outstretched hand.) So... just for the sake of a poor martyr's curiousity, would you mind telling me which of the old gods it is you whorship here? Hmm?... ... No, no, don't tell me, because I'd rather guess. You mentioned snakes... Crom Cruach perhaps? I could order you to tell me, you know. I am a Bishop! Come on now, you've more or less said that I'm doomed... surely it wouldn't hurt to talk to me a little... I only want to talk... CIAN: I'm going to hide this thing here, under the hay. JOKANNON: (Hopefully.) But you will be back for it? CIAN: I want you to know that if anyone else finds it before I do, I will kill you myself. (He immediately turns on his heel and leaves.) JOKANNON: (Shouting after him.) I only wanted to talk! Blackout. Cian's Cell. CIAN is sitting on stage reading a scroll when GRAINNE walks in with DIARMUID in tow. CIAN smiles at them briefly, they return it, but when he bends back to read their faces turn grim again. They wait for a while looking him over, but he ignores them. GRAINNE: What is that you're reading? Ovid? Catullus? CIAN: No, no, I'm just reading up on the Jesus Cult. We have one of them prisoner in the cellars, you know. A Bishop no less, we've had him there for weeks now.( CIAN returns to his scroll. GRAINNE nudges DIARMUID in the ribs.) GRAINNE: I might lend you my copy of "The Art of Love" if you're good to me. I'm sure you would enjoy it given your present state of mind... CIAN: My present state of mind...? DIARMUID: We're your friends Cian, you know that. We worry about you sometimes. That's what friends are for, right? GRAINNE: Right! And you worry us sick, I can tell you! I stopped by your cell last night just to see if you were O.K... well, it was early morning really... three o'clock to be precise. CIAN: By Lucifer, you must have been very concerned! DIARMUID: Oh she was. When she knocked and received no answer... GRAINNE: Let's just say I was worried. Your pallet was empty, I thought, "how strange", I- CIAN: Three O'clock you say? That would be about right, yes. I should have known better than to trust that ham at supper, it had a greenish tinge to it... I must have spent half the night crouching over the midden hole. DIARMUID: Cian, we know you weren't anywhere near the midden hole! CIAN: Ah, so you can see in the dark now! Or were you crouching underneath with your mouth open? As it so happens -- and I can't remember when exactly -- I went outside for some air. DIARMUID: Thats not why you went outside! We know exactly what you were up to, and when we catch you at it I swear-- GRAINNE: Diarmuid, may I speak to you a second? They draw off to one side. GRAINNE: (To DIARMUID.) Listen, there's little point in us doubling up like this. Why don't you pay Maeve a visit, and see if she'll let anything slip. If we can only catch them together once and have one of the Brothers or Sisters there to witness then they'll spend the rest of their lives in the Kitchens. Leave me to handle Cian, he's more likely to talk to me anyway. DIARMUID: They are guilty. GRAINNE: I know they are, and we can catch them. You've done well to push him this far, but I'm pretty sure I can do the rest. Just give me a chance, eh? DIARMUID nods once, smiles at CIAN and goes. CIAN: What an idiot! GRAINNE: Oh no, I think he's rather sweet, and he's so easy to control... CIAN: It's been a long time since you called into my cell late at night. Were you naked this time as well? I thought you'd given that up. GRAINNE: I had come to make a bargain with you, of sorts. CIAN: I don't keep money in my cell. GRAINNE: You see, we can't both become Bishop, but it isn't unheard of for a Bishop to bring someone along with her when she goes out into the world, to act as a herald, or a body guard, or what have you. You and I Cian, we're the only two in with a real chance here, you know it. We have everything in common! We could offer each other so much! Once the Bishop is chosen and our rivalry ends, whoever wins will need to choose her partner for the journey... Look, all I'm asking is that you agree to pick me if you are fortunate enough to win. And I will do the same for you. CIAN: Is that what you've promised poor Diarmuid? GRAINNE: Not quite. I asked Diarmuid to make me his assistant on the event of his succession. I have convinced him that I am in love with him, and that I will do everything in my power to make him Bishop. I have the idiot doing a different dance for every tune I play. CIAN: So now you think you can make me dance too, is that it? GRAINNE: No, Cian, but believe me, I wish I could. It looks like somebody's beaten me to it this time. Somebody even more devious than I... I don't know where you were last night, my dear, but I have a good idea of whom you were with. I'm sure you dance most prettily... All she's looking for is an oppertunity to catch you out, and become Bishop in your place. CIAN: She's not like you, Grainne. GRAINNE: No? Then what's she doing in the monastary? (He is visibly affected by this.) Don't take anyone for granted, my friend. The more she appears to love you, the more worried you should be... I must go. I advise you to think over my offer before it's too late. Exit GRAINNE. CIAN sits alone in his room for what seems like a long time. He stands and he paces; sits to read the scroll, and then abandons it. Eventually he picks it up and flings it off to the side... At this point MAEVE enters, picking it up. He is facing away from her. She smiles at him fondly. MAEVE: (Reading.) "The Jesus Cult believes in redemption through the forgiveness of sins. Redemption however, far from being a favoured place at Lucifer's side, represents rather an escape from his just punishment to a paradise which is totally beyond his reach. Once in the place called 'Heaven', the sinner is 'saved'... there can be no slipping back..." CIAN: (Totally composed.) We have one in the dungeons. MAEVE: Yes. You told me. Ages ago. (Pause.) MAEVE: Is something wrong? CIAN: (Smiling.) Of course not. I'm tired, that's all -- surprised you're not tired too. MAEVE: Oh, I'm not too bad. I've had more than a month to get used to it- to get used to you. I think I actually sleep better when you're there. Isn't that strange? CIAN: Yes, that's a point. It's certainly strange; it's all very strange. It happened so suddenly. One day, you weren't even talking to me, and the next, we were together, and we had always been together... But what are you doing with me? MAEVE: I don't understand. CIAN: Only one of us can be Bishop. Why are you helping me? MAEVE: (Coming closer.) You're the one who caught me. Why did you let me go? CIAN: I don't know. I'm not sure. I honestly don't know, because I don't love you. MAEVE: (Embraces him. Kisses him, and then, looking deeply into his eyes.) I don't love you too. (Pause.) CIAN: What if this is a trap? MAEVE: (Smiling.) Do you care? (He doesn't reply.) I see... Maybe you're right. We are in competition, and it would be more fitting if we worked apart from now on. (He embraces her.) I'll go now. CIAN: (Still holding her.) That would be for the best. MAEVE: Are you going to let me go? CIAN: Yes. (They kiss passionately.) Goodbye. MAEVE: Goodbye. The lights begin to fade as they become more intimate. The Dungeon. MAEVE and JOKANNON are in the Dungeons. MAEVE is sitting off to one side staring into space; JOKANNON is looking at her. Neither of them speaks for some time. JOKANNON: You don't have to talk. It's nice to have somebody you can just sit with quietly, isn't it? She does not answer. JOKANNON: Contemplation is a fine thing of its own right... I do know what I'm talking about. Several months I've been a guest here and I've become a fine contemplator. No... it's not contemplation you're at though, is it? I would say that you're daydreaming... Am I right? ... A young man perhaps? His fine limbs stretched out in the fire-light as you comb his hair. (She looks at him coldly.) I may be a priest but even I can understand such longings, even at my age. It must be harder for you. MAEVE: Your guessing is irritating, old man. JOKANNON: (Delighted at getting a response.) Guessing, you say? Guessing that irritates... I wonder now, I wonder why that is. I have guessed my way through your last three visits, but only now, when I mention love you become upset. MAEVE: I am not upset. JOKANNON: So he hasn't left you then? He still loves you? MAEVE: You don't know what you're talking about! Now kindly shut up before I bring the guards in to have you flogged! Silence. JOKANNON: Honestly, I don't know why you bother... Three times now, you've been down here and you havn't said a word. It's good to have the company, I'm not complaining, but it is strange. The other young girls that come down are far more talkative. They can be quite forward at times. Do you know, they actually tried to seduce me? Every single one of them has had a go at breaking down my vow of chastity, and me more than twice their age! I'm still a handsome man, if you'll excuse my vanity, but the poor things are wasting their time. MAEVE: Why is that? JOKANNON: The Lord Jesus keeps me pure, of course... Besides, I'm impotent... One of them -- Aoife, is that her name? -- took it rather personally. MAEVE: (Smiling.) She does have a bit of a temper. What did she say? JOKANNON: Oh, she gave the whole game away. I know where I am now. I know who you are, and what you do to people. MAEVE: We don't do anything to people. JOKANNON: Yes you do. You send them to Hell! MAEVE: They send themselves to Hell. We simply open the door, and they go or not as they see fit. JOKANNON: You trick them into betraying their own consciences, you can't deny that! All those beautiful young girls throwing themselves at a man my age, a man they know has taken vows. This is hardly a natural situation, now, is it?... They don't realize, none of you seem to realize that the very existence of a place such as this, rather than breaking down my faith, simply confirms everything that I have believed in since Patrick converted me. MAEVE: Don't take it personally, my friend. You're just an exercise, really. Something for them to hone their skills on. JOKANNON: Well, as far as I'm concerned, they're just making fools of themselves... You don't seem to be like them. Perhaps it's just that you're more subtle, more patient. A spider waiting for weakness, perhaps. You have never tried to seduce me. You have simply ignored my existence, and let me come to you. MAEVE: Think what you want. JOKANNON: Very kind of you, I will. If the truth be told, there's not much else to do here except pray, and I think even God gets bored with my company at times. So, yes, I have been thinking, of you, and your problem. MAEVE: My problem? JOKANNON: It's terribly obvious you have a problem. You are always so unhappy, clearly you don't belong in this place. I can help you, Christ can help you he can- MAEVE: Fuck Christ! Fuck him!... You're shocked, Jokannon. Why are you shocked? You shouldn't be, you know. If your Christ exists -- and we all know what a small `if' that is -- then he's my enemy. Can't you understand that? I'm going to Hell, I'm going to burn because I want to burn! I will supervise the torture of the souls that I have brought to the Master, and you, my friend, you will be among them. This I promise you. My burning will be no less painful than yours, but the important thing is, that when you burn, you will burn beneath me; you and thousands like you will bathe my forehead, and soothe my torment. But no one will be there to comfort you. Pause. JOKANNON: (Nervously.) You said you damned people by making them betray the things they believe in, the thing they love. And yet you sound like you're being true to your ideals. Arn't you worried that you might be saved? Your love for this boy- MAEVE: What boy? What are you talking about? JOKANNON: The boy you love, the- MAEVE: Don't use that word in my presence! Love is failure, a crutch. Neither Cian nor myself need such a crutch. We are not in love... We're a team, a perfect team. That's all, and if anybody else- JOKANNON: Cian... His name is Cian. It's a good trick that one. Get somebody angry enough, and sooner or later- MAEVE: (Suddenly calm.) Do you know how to write? JOKANNON: Yes, yes, in two scripts -- I know the Latin alphabet too and- (MAEVE takes out her knife.) What- what are you- MAEVE: Your tongue won't be enough, your hands will have to come off too. JOKANNON: You can't be serious, you can't- Guards! Guards! Please! MAEVE: I'm sorry for you. It was my mistake entirely. I lost control like a child, and compromised my partner. JOKANNON: B-but I won't tell anyone. I was just trying to help. A - a Christian priest can never repeat back anything said to him in confidence. I swear it's true, I swear it's true! MAEVE: (Thoughtful.) I have read this thing about priests of your cult, and yet you told me what Aoife had said. JOKANNON: It didn't count -- she wasn't making a confession. If- if you just let me say a few prayers at the end. If you let me forgive you-(she laughs.)... You don't believe in God, but I do. If you let me forgive you I'll be bound not to tell anything you've said at the risk of losing my soul. MAEVE: Cian and I are not in love. JOKANNON: I know, I know that now. MAEVE puts her knife away. Pause. MAEVE: (Laughing.) You would do very well as one of us, you know that? Normally only Cian can do to me what you just did, and only when he isn't trying. I'm glad I don't have to kill you... I might have been caught. JOKANNON: That's nice. MAEVE: It would be stupid to kill you in any case, now. You were brought here to be damned. JOKANNON: And why are you here? MAEVE: To do the damning. JOKANNON: (Attempting humour.) So what are you waiting for? Do your damned job! MAEVE: (Half a smile.) I'm biding my time. JOKANNON: You are more subtle than the others! You will be more of a challenge. MAEVE: After the way you just twisted me around your finger? We'll see. The direct approach is more traditional with priests. Apparently, most of them cave in if you so much as blow them a kiss. JOKANNON: God is my shield -- that and something very scary that happened to me in my late thirties... MAEVE: One of your admirers... JOKANNON: Former admirers, yes. Tried to give me the chop, one, two, you know how it is, just because I slept with her best friend. I woke up just in time, but somehow, ever since then I've... I've been feeling a bit low, and have a terror of scissors... As it turned out, it was an excellent incentive to mend my ways and convert to the true faith. I was a bit old to be playing at Casanova in any case... So why havn't you tried? MAEVE: Tried what? JOKANNON: To seduce me, like the others. MAEVE: Oh, well, none of the others were making any headway -- no point in wasting my energy on an impossible task. JOKANNON: I don't believe you. There's another reason. MAEVE: Believe it or not as you please. It's the same to me. JOKANNON: Do you know what I think? ... You have no intentions of seducing me at all -- and you never had. (Smiling.) And I know why... MAEVE: You're wrong; they weren't getting anywhere with you. JOKANNON: No they weren't. But you're smarter and far more beautiful, I'm sure you'd have a much better chance than any of them; in fact, I know you would! I was wondering... What would you do if I tried to seduce you? I'd be wasting my time, wouldn't I? (She doesn't answer.) I'm still a handsome man, I think, under the dirt... And my technique!... Ah! Many old ladies in Ireland will go to their graves with smiles on their faces remembering how it was with me... And you could learn so much! MAEVE: The seduction isn't supposed to be for my benefit at all. The whole glory of it would be in your damnation. JOKANNON: Ah, but you only think that now! I'll show you what real glory is! You will change your mind... O.K., let's do it! Give me time for a quick bath first -- even a sponging down would do -- and then you can damn me right here on the straw for half an hour. MAEVE: Thank you, no. JOKANNON: What do you mean, "no"? This is your big chance. Even if I can't manage it, it's the thought that counts, surely... Come on, child, you and me, I want it like the old days. MAEVE: That's not what you really want. You'd only regret it. JOKANNON: I'll worry about that later... Come on, now, please, Maeve, please, the grave will be so cold. MAEVE: I'm not doing it! Leave me alone! JOKANNON: You were sent here to damn me. Now do your job... (Slyly.) Hey, don't worry... I know for a fact that Cian won't mind. MAEVE: (Whipping out her dagger.)Wha do you mean he won't mind? (She struggles to calm herself.) ... I'll- I'll send you in one of the others. JOKANNON: Don't bother, child. (He smiles triumphantly.) I told you, I'm impotent... (Pause during which Maire collects herself.) MAEVE: That wasn't a very christian thing to do. JOKANNON: "I come not to bring peace but the sword." You can't deny it now. You do care about him. MAEVE: I never said I didn't care. JOKANNON: You didn't say it, no. MAEVE: (Pathetically.)It's necessary for the team effort... JOKANNON: Yes, yes, of course. MAEVE: I have things to do. JOKANNON: But you will be back. MAEVE: (Smiling.) Yes, Jokannon, I will be back. Confessional seal? JOKANNON: Your secrets are always safe with me, child. I'll tell nobody but Jesus. MAEVE: Well, he better not talk either. Exit MAEVE. Grainne's Cell. GRAINNE: It's not Cian I'm worried about, anymore. It's Maeve, too good, far too good to be true, what with the training she's had here... And Cian, he's been wandering around in a trance since the day he met her. He's made mistakes, mistakes he's probably not even aware of... you can be sure Bacchus has seen them though, (She laughs.) and Maeve, of course, I'm sure she doesn't miss a thing. Still, he has a substantial number of points under his belt all the same... Maeve's the one we should have been watching all along. She controls him through and through, and she's the one who has you beaten -- well beaten. Ah well, it's not your fault... DIARMUID: I've done everything I possibly could. GRAINNE: You've done almost everything, yes... DIARMUID: They're too good. Far too slippery... And yet, if they could just make one mistake... Surely it's not too much to ask. GRAINNE: You're right. It's so unfair. I know how difficult it must be to follow someone down a few coridors, to wait an hour or so, and then to surprise him and his lover... Next to impossible, I would say. It's such a pity neither of us has the nerve to really- DIARMUID: (Grabbing her.) What do you mean, "the nerve"? What do you mean? These arms -- look at these arms -- they could crush you! And him too -- both of them. "Neither of us has the nerve". Ha! I'm no coward. Bad luck doesn't make me a coward! GRAINNE: Then what does? DIARMUID: (Seems as if he's about to strike her, but then just pushes her away.) You won't provoke me like you did Aoife. So don't waste your time. GRAINNE: Me? Waste my time? With a kitchen boy? -- That's all you'll be if he wins... You promised to take me with you when you went, but I see now I should have allied myself with Cian instead. He tends to be a bit blind, I know, but he's no coward. He asked me to join him, you know, practically begged me... I didn't realise then that you were so weak... DIARMUID: Do you see this arm? GRAINNE: (As if she is saying "so what?") Yes. He punches her, sending her sprawling, forcing her to fight for breath. DIARMUID: It's strong? GRAINNE: Yes. DIARMUID: Strong enough? GRAINNE: Yes... You'll do it? DIARMUID: Yes. GRAINNE: I love you. Exit DIARMUID. GRAINNE struggles to her feet and follows him. The Dungeon. CIAN walks into the Dungeon and throws JOKANNON some food, which the latter gobbles down greedily. CIAN: I have also brought you some fruit... now? (JOKANNON, his mouth full, nods. CIAN hands him an apple.) Isn't gluttony a sin in your religion? (JOKANNON nods and continues to stuff his face.) So... if you were to have a fatal accident at this point in time, you would go straight to Hell? (JOKANNON nearly chokes in an effort to stop.) JOKANNON: (Spraying bits of food.) This is not gluttony! I need to keep my strength up. Only God knows what trials I may have to go through before this is over. Martyrdom, probably... As it is, I can't even be sure where my next meal is coming from and- CIAN: But everybody brings you food, Jokannon... JOKANNON: A worker deserves his wages -- Jesus himself said so. CIAN: Ha! And what work are you doing here, exactly? Have you converted anybody to believe in your God? JOKANNON: I'd rather not say. It might prove dangerous for them. CIAN: In other words, none. JOKANNON: It doesn't mean I'm a failure! It most certainly does not! In a sence, I'm fulfilling a dream I had a few years ago, back when I was first converted. CIAN: To be a martyr? JOKANNON: No, something much deeper than that. In our holy books, it is told how our Lord Jesus Christ went into the desert to fast and pray for forty days and nights. While he was there, the Devil came to tempt him, offering him power and wealth, trying to appeal to His pride. Needless to say, the Devil failed- CIAN: Needless to say! JOKANNON: He failed to tempt our Lord with the same evil that so often succeeds with us poor mortals... Anyway, I wondered when I heard this story if, while they were there in the desert together, Jesus tried to tempt the Devil with his goodness -- no, don't laugh! -- evil people can be tempted to do good. I know, because I remember my own life of depravity, the sudden cleanliness of paying a whore just to talk; the giddy feeling you get when you make a child happy or save a man's life... And that is the work I try to do here. I don't claim that I can save anybody from the flames, but I do intend to sow the seeds of Christian temptation in the hopes that some day even one of you might go willingly to the open arms of a most forgiving God. And the work is going well. They all come to me now, you know. Some of the girls don't even try to seduce me. They just want to talk. CIAN: And what do they say? JOKANNON: Oh, I can't tell you that! I'm bound by an oath of confidentiality. When somebody comes to make a confession I- CIAN: They actually confess! JOKANNON: Well, not exactly they- CIAN: This is extraordinary! You have to tell me what they say! With such information, by Lucifer- JOKANNON: I told you, I'm not allowed to say. It's against my religion. I told you- CIAN: You told me I was like a son to you. You said you loved me. JOKANNON: I do love you, Cian! I love you very much! CIAN: But you love them too, these others... JOKANNON: My religion says that I must. (Pause.) Maybe I love you a little more. CIAN: Then help me. Help me to be Bishop! JOKANNON: Oh that again! You are obsessed with it! Sometimes I think you would sell your own mother to become Bishop! CIAN: So?... Wouldn't you? My mother sold me to the Monastary... Do you know that the villagers are told that we get eaten, up here? Or turned into monsters? Or used as slave labour, to be killed out of hand when we grow too old to serve? They are surely damned for it... My mother sold me into that when I was only six or seven. She sold me, and now, all I want is to go back there as Bishop some day and smile at her... and kiss her on the cheek, and tell her I forgive her. I will make it my first stop; an official visit. JOKANNON: I knew it! I knew you could be tempted! CIAN: Don't be a fool! You have missed the point entirely! Of course I don't forgive her! How dare she do that to her youngest child! I will appear to forgive her; I will appear to love her, and I can do that in the knowledge that she has paid already with her soul and that she will spend all eternity servicing her debt to me... Now, those who came to you confessing. Do you still think them sincere? JOKANNON: I never said- CIAN: Because they all continue to play the game every bit as fiercely as I do. They are just as eager to govern the damned in the afterlife. They show no remorse. Now surely, Jokannon, a false confession doesn't count... and that being so, doesn't your maintenance of the confessional seal seem a mockery to you? Tell me what they said! JOKANNON: I can't! CIAN: Then, what are their names? JOKANNON: What? CIAN: Their names! Tell me the names of the ones who come to you. JOKANNON: I don't know if that would be completely- CIAN: Nonsence! I've read your holy books. I have found no rules against this. JOKANNON: Well, maybe not directly- CIAN: Good. Tell me. JOKANNON: Well, well O.K. It can't do much harm, I suppose... Let me see now... There was Aoife, Eoghan, Bríd, Maeve, Grainne- CIAN: Maeve, you said Maeve! She was here? JOKANNON: (Reluctantly.) More often than anyone else. CIAN: More often, you say... She never told me. Why? What is she hiding? (JOKANNON doesn't answer.) I just want to know one thing. JOKANNON: I can't tell you. CIAN: You don't understand. It's just a little thing... I- I don't want to be made a fool of, you can understand that much, can't you?... If you could help me I would be grateful. (Pause.) I only need to know one thing. It's not a big deal. JOKANNON: No. CIAN: It could be vital to my chances. JOKANNON: No. CIAN: All I want to know is: does she... love me? (Pause.) Perhaps I could even be of help to you, get you out of here... (Pause.) JOKANNON: She said she did not. CIAN: (For a second he is puzzled, but then he smiles fondly to himself.) Did she now, the rascal! Of course she did! She has said so to me often enough, and I to her! JOKANNON: She said it vehemently, as I recall. She threatened to kill me for even suggesting it! CIAN: I see. (Pause.) JOKANNON: I wouldn't- CIAN: (Violently.) You shut up! (Pause, and then, more coldly.) I am amazed at you priest. I'm amazed you hold your confessional seal so dear that you will stoop even to dishonesty to protect it. (JOKANNON tries to protest but CIAN speaks over him.) Very well then. I will let you hold onto your pathetic integrity for now. Keep your little secrets, only remember, when the day comes that you need my help you'll have to call out to your empty little god instead. Exit. JOKANNON: God, oh dear God, don't turn away from me! Forgive me!... And forgive me for the next time too... I don't know how much longer... I don't know... Maeve's Cell. MAEVE is lying on her side, facing the audience. CIAN is on the other side of her, and cannot be seen. She is sleepy and contented. MAEVE: I wouldn't mind a back rub. CIAN: It's a pity your arms arn't longer -- then you might be able to reach. MAEVE: (Smiling.) It's to be war, then? I'm no longer sorry about that hemlock I slipped into your tea. CIAN: It did smell suspiciously good for once. In my surprise I dropped the cup and never got to drink it. MAEVE: I hope you cleaned up after yourself. CIAN: Of course! Your Festival Robes had the flagstones shining in an instant. MAEVE: You can't beat the quality of fine robes. Yours were excellent for mopping up my diahorrea of the night before... Oh, don't worry, I only used the inside. CIAN: Ugh. I must remember that before I put them on. I didn't know you had diahorrea. MAEVE: Oh, I have it quite regularly. That's why your tea normally tastes so awful. CIAN: Bleagh! (Pause.) I'd better go. MAEVE: There are still hours before dawn. I'll be cold if you leave me now. CIAN: You know how uncomfortable I am about staying here -- even being here. Someone is bound to catch us sooner or later. It's inevitable. MAEVE: It is not inevitable! CIAN: Sometimes I think you want us to get caught. Or me to be caught, at any rate. MAEVE: Don't start this again, please... I want you to be Bishop. Don't you see that? I need you to be Bishop so we can be free and away from here... You're my escape from here, and more... Just imagine it! We will harvest the whole world you and I. Oh, they may call you Bishop for all I care, and see me as nothing but a servant, it's all just words, and we were taught better than to let words fool us. The truth is that we are partners and so much more than that, that our Master finally comes to bring us to our reward, not even he will dare to separate us. CIAN: You are so beautiful, my Maeve... I love... I love the fire behind your words. MAEVE: Me too. Won't you stay a little? CIAN: I can't. (He sits up and begins to put on his sandals.) MAEVE: Why? CIAN: Because... because I saw Diarmuid today. MAEVE: (Warily.) What about him? CIAN: Grainne works him like a puppet. She has him convinced that she loves him, and that she's going to help him be Bishop. The fool swallows every word while she smiles or, cries or... or begs him to stay... And all the time she is planning to use his destruction to make herself Bishop. MAEVE: What are you getting at? What has any of this got to do with us? CIAN: Don't you see it? MAEVE: No, I don't see it. Why don't you spell it out for me? CIAN: What would you do if I were using you like that? MAEVE: You wouldn't do that to me. CIAN: But if- MAEVE: Why would you bother? It's not in your interest. You know our partnership means more to me than becoming Bishop ever could. CIAN: But what if the partnership was just a trick? I mean, you want me because of who I am... but what if I'm just the mask Patricia and Bacchus have spent years teaching me to be? What would you do then, Maeve?... It's perfectly plausable isn't it? So plausable I don't know how you sleep at night... MAEVE: Cian, do you sleep at night? CIAN: I am simply asking you what you would do if you found I had been toying with you. MAEVE: It would be a horrible thing. Not to discover I had been lied to, but to find out that you had lied to me. And I would not care so much that I had failed to be ordained, or that I had been sentenced to the kitchens; but it would kill me knowing that you had sent me there. The pain of it! And just as bad, the humiliation!... I would congradulate you, of course, on your cleverness and skill. Later, I would kill you as soon as the coast was clear. CIAN: I would do the same, the very same. Only... Maeve -- I'm not sure I could wait until the coast was clear. I would have to be free of you immediately, of the terrible, terrible emptiness. I would have to fill it at once with a dagger. MAEVE: Why have you brought all this up, Cian? Is it supposed to be some kind of warning? CIAN: Of course not it was- MAEVE: Because you can keep your warnings for yourself. I am sick of them, Cian. CIAN: You misunderstand. It's just that if Grainne can- MAEVE: And I'm sick of hearing about Grainne! I don't want to be Bishop, not if it's going to cost me you! Do you hear me? Not if it's going to cost me you! Now get out of my room! CIAN: But you said- MAEVE: Get out! CIAN stalks off swiftly towards the entrance, but as soon as he reaches the door, he falls reeling backwards. He is followed immediately by DIARMUID who clubs him on the head with the hilt of a dagger. CIAN collapses in a heap. DIARMUID approaches MAEVE with a dagger. Enter GRAINNE. GRAINNE: What strength! Did you kill him? DIARMUID: I think so. I hope so -- I won't get in trouble for it now that we have proof... Go and wake the others. Get Bacchus first. GRAINNE: What about this one? Can you hold her? DIARMUID: (Laughing.) If I'm lucky! Go on... GRAINNE: (Making a show of cocking her ear in CIAN's direction.)What was that, Cian? DIARMUID and MAEVE: What? Did he- GRAINNE: (Winking.) No, I suppose it was just my imagination. Sorry Maeve! Back in a minute. DIARMUID laughs. Exit GRAINNE. DIARMUID: He's dead -- worse than dead -- killed legitimately, caught in the act... You're not in shock, are you? D-E-A-D. Dead! MAEVE: Why should I care? DIARMUID: Don't make me laugh. You loved him. MAEVE: You actually believe that? CIAN groans. DIARMUID turns distracted. MAEVE kicks him hard between the legs and robs him of his dagger. She stabs him viciously in the stomach, pulling the knife up and down. He falls to the ground dying. MAEVE immediately goes to CIAN who is beginning to sit up, holding his head. CIAN: (Bewildered.) You killed him! MAEVE: Not yet. But he's on his way. CIAN: (Hugging her fiercely.) Well done! Oh, well done!... They smile over at the dying DIARMUID for a few seconds. MAEVE: Grainne's gone to fetch Bacchus. You'd better run. CIAN: What about him? MAEVE: He'll be gone before they arrive. You'd better be too... DIARMUID: Grainne... Grainne... MAEVE: Go! Hurry! They'll be here soon. Go! Exit CIAN. DIARMUID: Grainne... MAEVE: (Going to him.) What is it, love? DIARMUID: My stomach... hurts... MAEVE: It'll be alright soon, love, I promise you. (She places his hands on the hilt of the dagger.) Hold tightly onto this and it'll make the pain go away. DIARMUID: Tabhair... tabhair barróg domh, a Mhamaí... ta mé... ta... MAEVE ruffles his hair and kisses him. She wipes her hands clean on his clothes, composes herself and goes back to sit on the bed. Seconds later, a crowd can be heard approaching. It contains BACCHUS, GRAINNE, CIAN and the other students who all look as if they've just been woken up. BACCHUS: Well, well, if it isn't little Diarmuid! He always turns up when you least expect him to! Thank you for waking me, Grainne. You always seem to be around at these times, and never with so much as a speck of blood to be found under your fingernails! GRAINNE: Thank you, Brother. BACCHUS: Not at all, child. Now, you others, can any of you tell me who is responsible for this terrible murder? Yes, Aoife? AOIFE: It was them, Brother, it was- BACCHUS: Now, now, Aoife, telling tales is against the rules, and very naughty besides. AOIFE: I'm sorry, Brother. BACCHUS: That's alright, dear. By the way, Sister Maenad wants to see you. AOIFE: (Resigned.) A new whip? BACCHUS: How clever of you to guess! She goes through them so fast, these days, the poor love. Come and see me when you get back. We'll have much to talk about. Now, Maeve, why is there a boy lying dead in your cell? MAEVE: I- I don't know, Brother. I really don't understand what happened. He came into my cell and- and he told me he loved me, and asked me if I loved him back. Mother Patricia always told us that love was a weakness, so of course, I told him no. Then he said I obviously hated him and- and he cut himself open right there in front of me. And I don't understand why. He was doing so well. Everybody thought he would be the next Bishop. I certainly thought so. BACCHUS: Did you hate him? MAEVE: Of course not, Brother! I don't hate anybody. BACCHUS: That's my girl! Well, he certainly must have hated himself -- this is about the most painful and savage suicide I have ever seen... Your distress is excellent by the way, most convincing. You'll go far... Well, well, a suicide! Who'd ever have thought it! He was your friend, Grainne? GRAINNE: He was, Brother. BACCHUS: Well done, well done indeed. You are an excellent class and I am truly sorry that we will only be able to choose one among you to be Bishop. It will be a terribly difficult decision in spite of Diarmuid's sacrifice. However, a verdict must be delivered soon, my friends, and you shall have it within a fortnight... Now, I think it's high time we all got some sleep, don't you? Cian, help Bríd carry the body. Exeunt all except MAEVE, and GRAINNE. GRAINNE: It's between the two of us now... Oh, I know I must be in the lead... but don't think I've grown complacent. I'll be watching you more closely than you can imagine. MAEVE: (Smiling broadly.) Goodnight, my friend. GRAINNE: (Smiling back.) Goodnight. Exit GRAINNE. The Dungeon. JOKANNON: What, you mean you really killed him? You actually killed him? Anyone who could kill like that would be capable of anything! MAEVE: (Exultant.) Thank you, Jokannon! I like to think so. You should have seen her face! JOKANNON: She was upset. MAEVE: Oh, not at all -- her composure was absolutely perfect: not so much as a flicker of emotion, either way. She is a worthy opponent; she is probably going to beat us in the end, in spite of our combined strength. JOKANNON: I take it then, you don't hate her. MAEVE: Oh come off it! Hate is such a stupid weakness to suffer from... (Mischievously.) I've confessed my horrid crime, Jokannon... arn't you going to forgive me? JOKANNON: Yes, yes of course. Ego te absolvo in nomine... Maeve, Maeve, it's not enough for me to forgive you! You must forgive me too... I have a weakness, that was why they sent me off to be a missionary... such a terrible weakness- MAEVE: Excellent, I want a full and frank confession, priest. JOKANNON: I can't tell you what- MAEVE: Oh, midnight! Then what is the point? Do you think I care for your little problems? I was... I was trying to be nice to you. Isn't that what you want? JOKANNON: I just want you to forgive me! MAEVE: I need to go. (She stands up.) JOKANNON: Please, Maeve! MAEVE: (Leaving.) You're forgiven. JOKANNON: (Shouting.) Maeve! MAEVE: (Turning. She looks at him and sighs.) I'm sorry, Jokannon. JOKANNON: Do you... do you really mean that? MAEVE: Well... whatever. JOKANNON: I forgive you, I forgive you for everything. Exit MAEVE. CIAN: (Emerging out of hiding.) You're a fool! You didn't find out what I need to know. JOKANNON: I'm sorry... CIAN: (Mocking.) "I forgive you." Idiot! (Pause.) Do you see now why I need her so much? Can you see why she terrifies me? Grainne has told me -- they have all told me what I know to be true... and yet when I see her as I did just now... even to hear her voice and my head is full of all the plans we made together; the things we shared or seemed to be sharing... But she is truly one of us. If only I didn't have to see her -- from our very first day here we have been taught that appearances are to be used only as a trap for fools. Why then, when I know this, when I practise it, am I still such a fool? Is it because of my youth, Jokannon? Does she have this effect on you too? JOKANNON: She seems nice to me... although she did threaten to kill me once. CIAN: There, you see? And it was no idle threat. She has killed. And viciously -- she is a pack of wolves all by herself... If she is with me, oh, Lucifer, if I could be sure of her at my back nothing could ever frighten me again. And if I could be sure of her at my side, nothing would sadden me or make me bitter... If you were able to show me a way I could tell for sure... JOKANNON: In this place you will never know, because ... you are all only children, but you have all been poisoned. Outside... outside, my boy, it can be different. You can abandon yourself to real love, all embracing, all consuming real love... The passion... sweet passion... CIAN: Of the Lord? JOKANNON: (Ashamed.) Yes... yes, of course. CIAN: You're saying I should take her and leave for the outside? JOKANNON: No! You can't take her! If you do, you'll be taking this whole place with you. If she is using you -- and who am I to say that she is? Possibly she is quite innocent in all of this! -- then she will continue to do so on the outside. Christianity, unlike the barbaric pagan superstitions of our fathers, recognises that women are more devious than men -- look at Eve in the Bible! Look at your leader here Patricia!... Anyway, as I said she may yet be innocent of all wrong, but the two of you running away together will not solve this basic problem of trust. CIAN: I have no intentions of leaving this place without my Bishop's staff. That was my goal from the very first, and it is still the most important thing to me now. JOKANNON: More important than your love... sorry, your bond with Maeve? CIAN: If she is genuine, my goal and my bond are one and the same... She has sworn that all she wants is me; that she has no ambitions of her own... If this is true; if she is the person she has always claimed to be then... then she is more important even than my victory. If she is not who she claims to be, then why should I... love her? When she killed Diarmuid, she saved my life, and yet, while I was lying there on the floor, regaining consciousness, she told him she didn't care about me... Who knows? Perhaps when I leave here I'll be taking you with me instead! JOKANNON: I could be of great benefit to you. I know so much- CIAN: Yes. I suppose you might. Tell me. What was that you were saying to her about a weakness of yours? It sounded interesting. JOKANNON: That is not for you to know. If one such as you found out my soul would surely be forfeit. CIAN: I will find out soon enough. You always tell me everything in the end, in spite of your stupid confessional seal. JOKANNON: You promised not to bring that up again. CIAN: So I did, old man, so I did... Maybe we can continue this conversation some other time. I have heard a rumour that Bacchus will be discussing the points with Patricia later on in the garden. If I find a suitable tree, and if I'm lucky, I might just be able to overhear what they're saying. I'll let you know. Maeve's Cell. MAEVE is in her cell when CIAN arrives. MAEVE: You look terrible! CIAN: I overheard Bacchus talking... MAEVE: That was lax of him! You were probably meant to overhear him. CIAN: Yes. MAEVE: Who was he talking to? What did he say? CIAN: He said... MAEVE: Yes? CIAN: I'm not first in line to be Bishop anymore... He said Grainne was ahead of me and... and I had been doing badly recently. Very badly. I was slipping down the field. MAEVE: Slipping down the field? I don't understand. You mean there's more than one person ahead of you? ... I don't understand! How could this happen? Who else is ahead of you? CIAN: Maeve, I can't ever lose you, give me a reason not to lose you. How could I bear to be on my own again? MAEVE: (Confused.) What's wrong with you? You managed well enough before. You were on your own then. CIAN: But I didn't know it. Nobody had told me. MAEVE: There's no need for any of this. You are not going to lose me unless I die before you do, and even then, a few years apart and we'll have all eternity together. CIAN: I want that so much! MAEVE: Then, you shall have it. Do you remember that dream I had? I told you about it -- you came into my room and killed me? Do you remember it now?... One thing I never told you... I'm a little ashamed, but I feel I can tell you, though I think it will shock you... In the dream, I actually allowed you to kill me. I knew what you were going to do, and yet I made no resistance... Yes, I see that you are shocked... disgusted even, but there is worse to come because, well, you know the way you know things in dreams? You just know them, I can't say how. But I know I forgave you for what you had done... I knew that I would have forgiven you anything... Are you horrified? CIAN: No. I'm ashamed. I should never have doubted you. MAEVE: Ha, I knew it! Doubt! I could see it carved in little lines across your forhead...There is no need for you ever to doubt me. I promise you, that even if I do die before you, even... even if it is your hand that ends my life, I will continue to do my utmost to look after you and take care of you. CIAN: (Annoyed.) What!? You will continue to look after me ? Don't you even know why I have been doing so badly recently? Or is it that you know all too well and you are deceiving me? MAEVE: I don't know why. Of course I don't. Are you saying it's my fault? You have become so strange these last few months and I wish I could say where it began... No, I can't say what has done this to you, only that I would do anything to bring you out of it and back to me. CIAN: Do you mean that? MAEVE: You know I do. CIAN: Because if you didn't mean it, it would prove... it would prove everything. MAEVE: What are you talking about? CIAN: You said you would do anything. MAEVE: (Annoyed.) You heard me, didn't you? Didn't I give it all up for you the moment I handed you over the gold? Until that day, my whole reason for living had been to become bishop. I surrendered that for you. CIAN: Ha! MAEVE: I have worked tirelessly to help you amass more points- CIAN: Of course you have, and all at your own expense. Poor, poor Maeve... So self-sacrificing, although Brother Bacchus doesn't seem to think so. MAEVE: What do you -- no, wait! Lucifer, it's me, isn't it? I'm the one ahead of you? That's what this is all about. And Grainne? CIAN: She's still in front, but only by a few points. MAEVE: Only by a few points! Oh Cian, but this is perfect! If we can get to her just once... even with a small thing. There are only a few days left, she'd never make them up again... What's wrong?... I don't understand... One more week, one more scheme, and we'll have won! CIAN: You'll have won. MAEVE: We'll have won! We'll be out there on the roads together, the whole of unsuspecting Ireland opened up to us... What is your problem? It makes no difference which of us is Bishop! Do you think I did this deliberately? CIAN: Points in this game are not scored by accident. They take skill and cunning and hypocracy. MAEVE: I have never lied to you. CIAN: Nonsence! It is second nature to all of us here. MAEVE: I have never lied to you. I accumulated all those points working for you, for us, but not for myself... This thing has simply happened, and we must make the best of it. After the ceremony, once we are out of this place, the title won't matter. We will continue to work as a team, as we always have... CIAN: You said you would do anything for me. MAEVE: You know I will. CIAN: I want you to get caught. MAEVE: If they caught me they would whip me... I mean, what good would that do us? I couldn't possibly be Bishop then. CIAN: "Anything" you said. MAEVE: Am I not good enough to be bishop? Has Jokannon converted you to his religion that thinks women are not good enough to lead? That women should serve their men?... I'm to be your servant then... a piece of meat to be flogged whenever I get too big for my boots and have some small triumph. Is that how you think of me? CIAN: No! No, don't you understand? You are all I think about! All I have been able to think about for months on end, and it- it's no wonder I'm slipping up! The lash would ruin the perfection of your skin... I need- I need to be free of you... If I could be free even for a while, even in the week that is left, I know I could find a way to finish her off. MAEVE: You havn't found a way to do it before now, and anyway the idea is ludicrous, I can be Bishop for both of us. I would have been happy for you. Please be happy for me. CIAN: If you do not do as I have asked- MAEVE: It is a stupid idea. I will not humiliate myself to pay for your stupidity. CIAN: If you do not do as I have asked, I will know you do not care. MAEVE: I fail to see the connection; you're acting the child. CIAN: I will know that you are not the person I thought you were- MAEVE: This is ridiculous- CIAN: And if you are not who you have always said you were- MAEVE: Cian, will you kindly shut up! CIAN: ARE TOU GOING TO DO IT OR AREN'T YOU! MAEVE: NO I AM NOT!... CIAN: At last, an honest answer. That proves it. That just proves everything! Exit Sean. MAEVE: Proves what? Get back here, you fucker! Proves what? Enter EITHNE with a big grin on her face. EITHNE: A lover's quarrel? Don't worry that was the last of them. Men! What can I say? They cannot stand to be in second place to a woman, most especially their woman. It hurts them in some way, and when a man is hurt he strikes out at what he imagines to be the source of that hurt. (She laughs.) He himself is never the source, of course. If you ask me, now is the time to kill him... Oh, don't put on that horrified face for me, everybody knows that's what you've been planning from the start. You're only mistake was in leaving it to the last moment when even he couldn't fail to see it coming. MAEVE: I never did anything to harm him. EITHNE: Yes, it was beautiful, but always a little too perfect, too convincing... I'll help you to kill him if you like... And I could be useful to you on the outside if you can use his death in some way to become Bishop. There's always a way. MAEVE: You don't think there's any chance I could convince him now? Win back his loyalty? EITHNE: Look, I was listening at the door -- you were brilliant, and if that little performance didn't convince him, nothing ever will, short of you doing that stupid thing he asked of you, and I doubt if even that would be enough now. It's time to call it a day and cut his throat like the pig he is. MAEVE: (Smiling.) Maybe I will do that thing for him. EITHNE: (Laughing.) Do something childishly wicked and get caught? Good, what were you planning to do? MAEVE: (Laughing too, and holding her nails up to EITHNE's face.) I could always slash your face, and go and confess to Bacchus! They both have a good giggle. The Monastery, at night. This is an exact copy of the first scene in all details save for the fact that all the action is seen from behind.It is quite dark. CIAN's head is barely visible, sticking up somewhere at the back. GRAINNE can be heard shouting for him off-stage. He does not reply or even move in the slightest. Eventually, GRAINNE enters. She is tall and very sweet looking, the type of young woman that tends to win the Rose of Tralee. Her voice is soft and tentative, as if she is always treading carefully to avoid hurting your feelings. GRAINNE: Cian?... Come on Cian, I saw you take it, you know I did. Whatever it is you're up to, it's not going to work this time -- you've been spotted... (Pause.) I'll be understanding. I just want to know what you're at, that's all. Purely out of curiosity because... well, you know I'm likely to show you more mercy than Brother Bacchus. Don't tempt me into setting him onto your trail! ... I mean, you're not going to make Bishop now, are you? Not a chance! I'm ahead of you on points, my sweet, way ahead... So whatever it is you're up to better be pretty damn devious or you'll just get yourself expelled and that will be the end of that... Come on, pet, tell me. You know I'm the only one who could ever understand you properly... (She licks her lips nervously.) You know I'm the only one who... who really needs... never mind. (Pause., and then, in sudden impatience.) I'll find him. I'll find the little shite; I'll kill him. (She exits, still calling for him.) When GRAINNE has finally gone, CIAN emerges from hiding, and moves towards centre stage. The lights come up to reveal MAEVE asleep on a low pallet. No sooner is he in the room than she is awake, a dagger in her hand. When she sees that it is only CIAN she replaces the knife under her pillow, and holds out her arms. CIAN is pale and is covered with a light sheen of sweat. He too holds out a dagger in a ritual of peace. He lowers it to the floor. When MAEVE sits up, it can be seen that her back is covered in welts. CIAN, however cannot see this from where he is standing. He goes to her and they embrace. She seems delighted to see him, though he is stiff, almost formal. MAEVE: Cian, what's wrong? CIAN: Nothing. MAEVE: (Emphatic.) Something. CIAN: I just don't think we should do this any more. We can't afford to get caught. MAEVE: We sorted all this out months ago! So who's to catch us? You've given Grainne the slip again, I presume, and Bacchus prefers not to interfere unless one of the others can produce proof of what we're up to... Come, come here. Try and relax. Kiss me... I have news for you. CIAN: I want to. But... but this is such a weakness, you see that, don't you? We're terribly weak. MAEVE: We've been through this! All I'm asking for is a kiss. I won't beg you to spend the night, although I want you to, and you need to far more than I do. Sure look at you, you're trembling! CIAN: You have the wrong idea... I need... I need to be Bishop! MAEVE: But it's too late for that! I know you deserve the post, but Grainne's going to win it, you can't stop her now... Look, be sensible. Lie with me awhileand I'll tell you my news. CIAN: I don't think you understand. I'm prepared to do anything! MAEVE: What can you do? Kiss me: you are my bishop. CIAN: I will do what must be done! MAEVE: Come... She draws him close. Her hand drifts down his back to his belt. It is a smooth sensuous movement until it touches something, at which point her hand suddenly stops as if frozen. She removes it again, shaking now, for she realises what he intends to do. She looks him in the eye but he fails to hold her gaze. CIAN: Please. You must not forgive me. If I remember you with love, it will all have been for nothing... You'll... you'll have wasted both our lives... Don't... don't forgive me. MAEVE: (Crying.) I'm trying not to. She closes her eyes and moves her lips to his. CIAN takes the dagger from his belt and touches it lightly against her ribs. His courage is failing him. GRAINNE: (Some distance away.) Cian? Cian! CIAN to his own great surprise, jams the knife suddenly between MAEVE"s ribs. She convulses, throws her head back and then tries to kiss him again, but she cannot. He lays her down gently. He leaves the dagger stuck between her ribs. GRAINNE: (Much closer.) I know where you are you little shit! I know exactly where you are! CIAN quickly collects the first dagger which he had left on the floor, and runs out of the room. GRAINNE: Cian? You're in there, aren't you? You're in there with your lover. She enters. She stops in wonder, staring at the corpse before it finally dawns on her. GRAINNE: Why the little angel! The fool! (She laughs.) He'll be expelled for sure this time! GRAINNE is still standing there laughing when she remembers something that seems to have the effect of a cold bucket of water being poured unexpectadly over her head. GRAINNE: Oh shit! She quickly moves to the body, and begins trying to extract the knife. The little shite jammed it in! She is still trying to pull it out when BROTHER BACCHUS enters followed by CIAN and two guards. BACCHUS: Hello, Grainne, may I be of assistance? Always ready to help a damsel in distress! Stuck, is it? I'll soon have it out for you, I'm a bit of an old hand at this game.... There! Why Grainne, this is your knife! You've been very bold. It looks like you were right after all, my boy! Good work! CIAN: Her back is all welts! They whipped her! She's all blood! BACCHUS: Of course she's all blood, my boy! A knife between the ribs like that... CIAN: But on her back... BACCHUS: Well, what of it? So, she received a good whipping. I'm sure she had it coming to her, the rascal. Although it must have broken Sister Maenad's heart to administer it -- she's always been one of our favorites. She cut Eithne up pretty badly with her nails -- like cats, they were, the two of them. I caught some of the servants taking bets. CIAN: Nobody told me. BACCHUS: See that Grainne? She had already been whipped! It looks like you were wasting your time! You scamp! I bet you never even looked first! GRAINNE: What- what are you going to do to me? (He smiles at her fondly.) Cian? Cian, you're as good as Bishop now, you can stop him! You have the authority to stop him!... Please, Cian... please... BACCHUS: Now, now, Grainne, I never for one moment would have suspected you to be a bad loser! Look, I'll tell you what, I'll give you a few moments to compose yourself, and I'll meet you back in my cell so we can have a chat about it. Deal? The guards begin to drag her away. GRAINNE: Please Cian... BACCHUS: She's such a headstrong young lady at times. But she's got great fight in her... She made quite a mess of old Maeve, didn't she? Ooh, I bet that really, really hurt. The pain of it as it grinds over the bone... CIAN: Leave me now, Brother. BACCHUS: Of course, your Grace. I'll have somebody come by and take the body to the farm. CIAN: The farm? BACCHUS: Why yes. The pigs must eat too, surely. You don't begrudge them that, I hope?... You are so strange. I'll send someone now. CIAN: No! BACCHUS: (Coldly.) No, my Lord Bishop? Is there a special reason why not? Pause. CIAN: Very well, then. Take her. The Dungeon. JOKANNON is sitting in the dungeon, when CIAN and GRAINNE enter together. CIAN is now the proud wearer of a new cloak, whereas GRAINNE is dressed as a servant, and awkardly acting like one. JOKANNON: Hello Cian, Grainne... CIAN: Don't waste your time on her, she can't answer you back. (He gestures to GRAINNE who opens her mouth to JOKANNON who recoils from what he sees in there. Then she removes CIAN's cloak and hangs it neatly to one side.) JOKANNON: So... how are you?... Congradulations, I heard what... CIAN: Grainne, my legs are tired. GRAINNE gets down on her hands and knees. CIAN sits on her back. It's not the same without her. It used to be fun, you know. Now... Duty, I suppose you could call it. A miserly accumulation of souls for my future comfort... JOKANNON: You musn't blame yourself- CIAN: (Smiling as if the very idea were absurd.) Not at all. JOKANNON: You're all nothing but children, really. Sophisticated and terrible, I know, but still. None of you know any better. CIAN: There's no hope for us, then? JOKANNON: Oh, I didn't say that! There's always hope of redemption, right up until the last breath there's hope. So don't be afraid, my friend. CIAN: I'm not afraid for myself. I was concerned for Maeve- JOKANNON: There, you see? Proof of what I was saying. Surely no one can be damned while their concern for others is greater than their concern for themselves! Furthermore, I know you've read our books. You may think that it was nothing more than a passing scholorly interest, but the Lord's word has greater power than many imagine: even to hear them can be enough to turn a rotten soul... but to actually study them... They seep into you, one drop of love at a time until they fill you up to bursting. CIAN: I was there when you forgave her. When I killed her she forgave me too -- I know this although she couldn't talk through the blood... And she knew what I was up to from the moment she discovered Grainne's knife in my belt, and yet- JOKANNON: She turned the other cheek, she gave up her life for her friend! Oh, Cian... this is wonderful! This makes everything alright! Surely the Lord will forgive me for breaking her confidence to you. CIAN: You mean she's gone to the good place? The Christian heaven? JOKANNON: Oh yes! There can be no doubt about it now! And... and you could join her there. Cian... Cian, since the very beginning I have taken a special interest in you. Havn't you noticed? Perhaps my interest hasn't been entirely unselfish... perhaps I shouldn't have been so eager to tell you things about Maeve, although, in retrospect, everything has worked out beautifully... she is in Heaven now, and you too, are almost ready to begin the journey back to God's love. CIAN: Perhaps someday, Jokannon. Not today. I have the great work of Satan to do first; I have the roads of Ireland to travel. Lonely roads, and unfamiliar people... I don't like being on my own, Jokannon, I don't like it any more than you do... Tell me... do you really want to be a martyr for your Jesus? I could leave you here. Maybe they'll let you die of old age... maybe they'll keep sending in generations of girls to try and seduce you. JOKANNON: It'll never work I'm imp- CIAN: You're not really impotent, are you, Jokannon? JOKANNON: I don't know what- CIAN kisses him passionately. JOKANNON gives in for the barest second but then pulls away. I was a Casanova... a real Casanova but then there was an incident... Sean kisses him again. Jokannon turns his face away, but he is shaking. CIAN: I've seen you looking at me. You don't like being on your own any more than I do... Please don't turn away. (He kisses Jokannon on the neck.) When I go, I'll need a servant, someone who knows the road... who won't... who won't leave me alone... JOKANNON: Oh God... Oh God, you -- you'd take me? CIAN: I'm not sure if I can. Kiss me. JOKANNON: You must take me with you! CIAN: Yes, only don't leave me. Kiss me! JOKANNON: Of course I will... Of course... Since the first time I saw you it's all I've wanted to do. He leans forward to kiss Sean. As soon as he does he realises his mistake. CIAN grabs him by his shirt and for an instant they stare each other in the eye. Then CIAN jerks him forward and butts him violently, throws him to the ground and begins kicking him to death -- intermittently of course. CIAN (Screaming.): You fucker! You shitfucker! You killed her! You made me kill my Maeve! (He kicks Jokannon several more times. Then he lifts up his victims head, and speaks to it furiously. JOKANNON, meanwhile tries to pray.) Did you really think you would corrupt me as easily as you corrupted her? You took advantage of her innocence to send her to a place I cannot reach her. Did you actually think she will thank you for it? DID YOU? (CIAN renews the assault even more desperately than before, and probably, JOKANNON is long dead before he finishes. CIAN walks over to where GRAINNE is standing ready with a towel. He holds out his hands, but she chooses to wipe his face first instead. Eventually:) Bring me my cloak... no... wait. Do you think she went to Heaven? (Grainne shakes her head.) I wish I could believe you. (He kicks Jokannon's body listlessly.) Bring me my cloak. I'm cold. (She does so, and as the lights begin to fade, they make their exit.)