Monika
Episode 1
“A Growing Girl”

Start, a stone castle, pennants flying proudly in the air, the sun rising behind it.

Cut to a door, a woman’s fist slamming against it.  Zoom out and pan to angle view.

Jennifer:  “Get up, Monika!  You’ve already missed breakfast.  Are you just going to sleep the whole day away?”

Cut to the other-side of the door.  Monika is still in bed.  She turns restlessly, trying to turn away from the offending noise, groaning.

Monika:  [drowsy voice]  “I’m up, Jennifer.  Leave me alone.”

Jennifer:  “No you’re not!  Now get up!”

Monika:  “I have a headache.  Let me sleep.”

Jennifer:  “It’s called a ‘hangover,’ and it serves you right!  I’m not going away until you drag your butt out of bed.”

Monika:  “Arrrrrrrgh!  Alright!  Alright!  You win,” [grumbles under her breath] “I’m up now.  Are you happy?  Huh, Jennifer, are you?”

Cut to Jennifer

Jennifer:  [smiles]  “Yes, now get dressed.  Claudet wants you downstairs for your lessons in etiquette.  In proper attire this time!  She’s not going to have you embarrass us again.”

Cut to Monika

Monika:  [muttered so Jennifer can’t hear, snarl on her face] “That sleaze had it coming to him...”

Cut to Jennifer

Monika:  [to Jennifer]  “I’ll be right down.”

[Monika climbs out of bed wearing a slip and changes into a dress a proper princess would wear.]

Cut to staircase, upward view.  Monika appears at the top of the stairs wearing a confining, but lovely dress.  She tugs at it, and her gait in it suggests that she isn’t at home in the garment.
Claudet:  [her voice is distant, but audible] “...girl simply refuses to learn.  [pause]  I don’t care how much you are paying me, my lord.  If she doesn’t want to learn, I can’t teach her.”  [pause]

King:  [also distant] “...gallows.”

Claudet:  “No, sire.  I didn’t mean to offend.  She’s a bright girl.  A lovely girl.  She’ll be a great princess.”

King:  “Are you sure you can teach her?  If not, I’m sure we can find a suitable replacement.”

Claudet:  “I’m sure.  I’m sure.”

Monika reaches the bottom of the stairs and walks to the doorway.  As she walked down the stairs, her face twitched in displeasure from Claudet’s statements, and then more so at the King’s bullying her.  Monika reaches the room.

Monika:  [curtsies properly]  “Good morning, Mrs. Bluestone.  Good morning, father.” [curtsy to the King]  “My sister said that you wished me to attend to my lessons?”

Claudet: [taken aback] “Um, yes.  You’re half an hour late, Princess.  A proper lady is punctual.”

Monika:  “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Bluestone.  I was out late last night.  I went to the Temple to pray and discuss the Great Spirit with the monks.  I should have come in sooner, I know.  I’m very sorry.”  [turns her face in fake shame]

King:  “See!  And you were worried that she wasn’t learning anything.  Monkia, I am glad that you’re finally starting to take an interest in the Great Spirit.  When it comes time for you to sit on the throne with your husband, you will need to take an interest in the Great Spirit.  It’s very important to the people, but in the future, wait to speak with the monks about it until Solday when we attend like everybody else.  A growing girl needs her sleep.”

Claudet:  “Well, be that as it may, now we have to work fast to make up for lost time.  Come along, Princess.”

Monika:  [curtsies]  “Yes, ma’am.”

They leave the room.


Later that day, Monika running in the outside courtyard, now in snug breeches and top.  She clears a tall fence with a leap and using her hands to vault over it.

Monika: “Jonathon!” [continues running to a small hovel] “Hey, Jonathon!” [comes to a stop in front of the house, panting] “It’s me, Monika!  Where are you?  I’m sorry I’m late, but my dad made me take those stupid etiquette lessons!  Where are you?”

An older man leaps from the roof and tackles Monika.  She has just enough time to see the silhouette against the sun before he hits her.  The tumble, her breath knocked out of her.  She manages to kick him off her.  She does a back roll and comes up on her feet ready.

Jonathon: “Sloppy of you.  You’re so impetuous, Monika.  You need to learn to watch more closely.” [he smiles slowly]

Monika: “I threw you pretty far at the end.  Tell me another story of Jonathon Longbow, Bounty Hunter Extraordinaire.”

Jonathon: “Okay, okay...  Come on inside.”

Inside, a simple house with various trophies on the wall and tables.

Jonathon: “Have a seat, I will pour us some wine.”  

Monika: “Okay, but don’t get any ideas.”

Jonathon: “I’ve seen you with wine in you.  If anything, I should have a bodyguard.”

Monika laughs.

Jonathon: “I wonder if there are any stories I haven’t told you yet.  I was a bounty hunter for twenty years, but twenty years isn’t enough the way you keep badgering me for stories, Princess.”

Monika: [makes a sour face] “Ugh, don’t call me that.  I hate when people call me that.  You know that.”

Jonathon: “Well, I’ll tell you about the time I caught Brock Stoneguard.  Now there was a mark, I tell you.  He ravaged the country side. [switch to scenes of Brock with Jonathon narrating] He and his band of men stole and plundered.  Raped and killed.  A scourge to all decent people everywhere.”

Monika: [interrupts, violent cut back to present] “Why have I never heard of him?”

Jonathon: [somewhat agitated] Because this was in the land of Ley Chow, far far away.  At the time, I was roaming about, seeing the world in search of new lands and new adventures.  My fame had preceded me, however, and when the Emperor–that’s what they called their ruler there–heard that I was in the area, he had me brought to him. [cut back to flashback] The thing is though, the Emperor had a lot different way of requesting my services than I’m accustomed to. [Jonathon surrounded by heavily armed guards].  I was arrested (for lack of a better word), and brought to kneel before the Emperor.  I tried to shake his hand, as our custom here, and a sword flashed.  I just barely withdrew it before it was cut clean off.  After that, I decided to kneel politely and let my host call all the shots.  His terms were quite simple.  I was to stop this Brock Stoneguard from plundering the Emperor’s land, or I could die.  If I failed, Brock would kill me.  If I returned without Brock or his head, I would be executed.  If I tried to run, they would hunt me down and kill me.  If I refused, well, I could die on the spot.  If I were to succeed, I would be rewarded with the Emperor’s thanks and would be allowed to leave alive.  I noticed that the floor had strange patterns etched into it in the color of stained blood, so I accepted the assignment.
“Now, Brock had embarrassed the Emperor.  He and his band had been caught.  They were going to have their heads lopped off in public, a deterrent to others who may have been impressed with his exploits.  The night before his execution, the three remaining members of his band rescued him, and replaced him with the Emperor’s favorite advisor.  They cut out his tongue so he couldn’t speak, and the custom being to leave the prisoner hooded from nightfall until after execution, the mistake wasn’t discovered until they held up the head after it had been cut off.
“Brock had holed up in the mountains.  His band was down to four, and he wanted to rebuild his gang before he got his operations back up and running.  Many thieves and murderers frequent the mountain chain, trying to escape the law.  That’s the same no matter where you go.  Lots of places to hide in the mountains, you know.  However, his search wasn’t going well.  I found their camp and they were fighting like cats and dogs.  I waited until the time is right.  That’s the problem with this young bounty hunters...they don’t know how to wait!  When they got out of each other’s sights, I got out my blow gun, and sneaking around the camp, I hit them with darts.  Soon, the poison I put on them made them fall asleep.”

Monika: “Why didn’t you fight Brock?  I thought the Great Jonathon was braver than that!”

Jonathon: “Well, I did actually.  He was a big man, and the poison didn’t seem to have much affect on him.  Let me tell you, child, those foreign swords are quick, not like our own blades. [he gets up and takes a long, slender, curved sword from the wall and tosses it to her] This was his sword.”

Monika: [unsheathes the sword and swings it in the air awkwardly] “Seems awkward to me.”

Jonathon: “That’s because you’re trying to swing it like a broadsword.  It’s a different technique.  In his hands [flash back] it was deadly. Even with the tranquilizer coursing through his veins, that sword flashed like lightening.  I thought I was good with a sword, but it was all I could do to stay the onslaught.  However, soon the poison took effect and he too fell asleep.  I returned him to the Emperor and earned my freedom.”

Monika: “I wish I could have such adventures.  I hate living in that castle.  They never let me do anything fun.”

Jonathon: “Well, yes, but you also don’t have to worry about what you’re eating next or your mark trying to kill you.  Don’t undervalue that.”

Monika: “Anything is better than learning how to be a proper lady...  Come on!  Spar with me some more.  I’m getting quite good.”

Jonathon: “Okay, but if your father learned that I was training you with the sword, it’d be the gallows for me.”

[he retrieves two swords and tosses one to Monika.  As soon as it is caught, he rushes her mercilessly.]

Jonathon:  “...Very good.”
“You are improving.”
“Okay, how about this though.”

[Monika’s thrust stops, the tip just touching his chest above the heart].

Jonathon: “Luck.”

Monika: [breathing hard] “Do you need me to prove it wasn’t?”

Jonathon: “Eh, I’ll let you have this one...”

Monika: “I’m ready for the Claymore.  Let me try the Claymore.”

Jonathon: “Girl, you’re too small for that thing...”

Monika: “No, I’m not!  Now let me try it!”

Jonathon: [sighs] “Okay.” [He comes back out with a Claymore and a small walking stick] “Here you go.” [the sword is taller than her]

Monika: “What’s the stick for?”  

Jonathon: “It’s my weapon of choice for this match.”

Monika: [grunts as she lifts the sword] “See, I can wield it just fine” [her voice strained]

Jonathon: “Then come at me already.”

[one slow, heavy swing.  Jonathon easily dodges.  Lightening fast retort with stick.  show it coming down, flash out with the sound of it making contact.]

Monika: “Ow!”

[cut to Monika dazed on ground, lump forming on her head]

Jonathon: “I told you that it was too big.  Let that be a lesson to you.  Now, you best be off before your father notices you missing.”

Monika: “I want to be a bounty hunter, Jonathon.  How do I start?”

Jonathon: “You?  Ha!  You’d have a rough time with it.  Usually, you ask the sheriff or one of his deputies, but they won’t give you an assignment.  Not with you being a girl and the Princess to boot.  Your best shot would just be to read wanted posters and go after him on your own.  If you catch him, you turn him in, and they have to pay you.  But you’re much too small to be a bounty hunter, Monika.”

Monika: “We’ll see... Someday...  Thanks for the story and the sparing.  I’ll come by again real soon.” [scampers off]


Later that night, at the dinner table.  Monika dressed nicely as before, hair combed to cover the bruise from the stick.

King: “So, how did your lessons go?”

Monika: “They went very well, thank you.”

King: “I’m glad.  It’s high time you started acting like a young lady should act.  It was terribly embarrassing at the ball.”

Monika: “He was trying to kiss me, father.  I don’t even know the guy.  I had every right to defend myself.”

King: “You could have pushed him away or at worse, slap him.  You didn’t have to lay him out with a punch.  Besides, it is just their custom to greet young ladies with a quick peck.”

Jennifer: [somewhat underbreath] “You would have known that if you hadn’t been an hour and a half late...”

King: “Well, I want you on your best behavior this coming Raiday.  As you know, Prince Humphrey  will be there.  He’d make an excellent match for you.  It’d seal the peace between he and his father, and I’m sure that you’d be able to bend him to our will.”

Monika: “Prince Humphrey?  Please, father.  He has to be the biggest dork.”

King: “Monika, I am your father, and if I approve of him, you are going to marry him.  It’s that simple.”

Monika: “But, father... I don’t want to marry him. [talking without thought]  I want to be a bounty hunter.”

King: [shocked] “What?!  I can’t believe my ears.  No.  Absolutely not.  Where did you get such an asinine idea?  You can’t be a bounty hunter.  You’re a girl.  And even if you weren’t, bounty hunters are thicknecked, musclebound rejects that couldn’t write their own names.”

Monika: “Jonathon Longbow isn’t!”

King: “Is that who has put this thought into your head?  You stay away from him.  If I hear of you ever so much as talking to him again, I swear I will have him hanged.  Now, I’ve lost my appetite.” [storms off]

Jennifer: “You really should stop talking to him.  Dad’s right, it’s silly for you to want to be a bounty hunter.”

Monika: “It’s better than being cooped up in a castle bored all the time, sister.  I just get so boooored here.”

Jennifer: “It’s not so bad.  You just need to calm down a little.  You’re too excitable.  Anyway, just think about it, okay?  I don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Monika: “Okay, okay.  Gesh, between you and dad, you just don’t leave me alone.” [Despondently stabs her food]

Jennifer: [smiles sweetly] “I’m sorry, Monika...we just worry about you.” [they continue to eat in silence]



Monika standing before a posting board, reading Wanted posters.  She picks one out and rips it off the posting board.

Monika: [mumbling] “Wanted: Jasper Firehart.  mumble mumble mumble.  Defiling the King’s land, mumble mumble Reward, fifty gold pieces.” [Outloud] “Yes, now this is the one!  It says here that he’s a mage...  Okay, maybe I should go to the wizards’ tower.  That’d be a good place to start...”

[Walks to the wizards’ tower.  Reaches door, takes time to adjust her swordbelt and arrange her clothing so that she looks the part.  She pounds authoritatively on the door]

Man: [slides open the eyeslit] “What business do you have here?”

Monika: I’d like to ask you some questions about Jasper Firehart.

Man: “The sheriff has already come by.  We haven’t seen him in weeks.  We don’t know where he is.  Now leave us alone, you silly chit of a girl.” [the eyeslit slams violently home]

Monika stands staring the door for a second, starts to knock again, but then stops and turns to leave.  She stops in mid-turn, seeing a man duck back into the shadows under her gaze in one of the windows.

Monika: “Hmmmm...”

Later that night.  Monika under window, testing her grappling hook.

Monika: “Lets see, knot good and tight, check.  Okay, I guess it’s ready. [stares up] Let’s see, Jonathon only showed me this three times, and I fell two times...  Here it goes.” [throws hook and dodges it as it comes crashing back down] “Okay, one more time...” [throws it, it catches, tugs on rope to make sure it’s secure] “There we go.” [scales wall-reaches window-climbs in]

Jasper:  [candles leap to life] “Princess Monika, I presume.”

Monika: [draws her sword] “Jasper Firehart, you are wanted by the crown for your crimes.  I order you to come peacefully.  Do not make me use force.”

Jasper: [Holds up his hands] “Now, I’m sure that I don’t want to make a small girl angry.  Especially when she’s holding a sword...  “Restrict!”

Monika: [falls to the floor, unable to move] “What’s going on?!”

Jasper: [picks up her sword] “Only a fool would try to capture a wizard directly.  What were you thinking.  You have to sneak up on us, or drug us, or something.  You’re lucky that I’m a white mage, or I would have to show you my displeasure. [takes a seat] Maybe I should call one of my black mage brothers in and have them practice on you.  It would serve you right.

Monika: “Let me go!”

Jasper: So you can turn me in?  Not hardly.  I admire your determination though, Princess.  But shouldn’t I be able to tell you my side of the story before you continue this foolishness?

Monika: [glares at him]

Jasper: Your father wished to build a hunting lodge over a magic well.  That’s a place where magic accumulates.  We tried to explain that he couldn’t do this, but he wouldn’t listen to us.  So I cast a spell over the area.  Any non-wizard looking at it will see a barren wasteland, blighted ground, animals too sick and disgusting to eat.  Uninhabitable, in other words.  I elected to do so and take the fall so that this resource won’t fall prey to the gluttony of your father.  His courts are as corrupt and shallow as he is.  If not, I would gladly plead my case before them, but they are. [pause]  Tomorrow, the teleportation spell will be ready, and my brothers shall send me to sanctuary far from here.  Soon this binding spell will lose effect.  I don’t wish to have you killed, however.  So I offer you a trade.  One far more valuable than fifty gold pieces, especially to a would be bounty hunter.  Interested?”

Monika: “What’s the deal?” [angry snarl]

Jasper: I shall grant you a very rare power. Nearly forgotten throughout out the ages. Growth! [watches her reaction] Think about it you’ll never be too little for anything.

Monika: [flashbacks to comments about being a girl and too small] “And what exactly do you want in return?”

Jasper: Just your silence.  Nothing more.

Monika: [pause] It’s a deal.

Jasper: [walks over to bookcase and retrieves a book.  Flips through the pages.  Sprinkles and slashes ingredients on her] “Be silent or the spell could be tainted.  Melika Untras.  Breatha.  Mulhalla.  Nercos de unti.  Melika.  Deit un chas!  Melika!  Untras!”

[Spell effects course across the room, surrounding and coursing over and through Monika]

Monika: [loses conciousness]. [Awakens] “How long was I out?”

Jasper: “Ten minutes or so.  Not long.  Do you feel alright?”

Monika: “I feel fine...Now... How do I grow?”

Jasper: “Just concentrate and it will happen.”

Monika: [squeezes her eyes tight, beads of sweat form on her brow.  She starts to grow, her head bumps the ceiling] “This is great!” [starts to laugh and crashes back to her old size, making her fall down] “What just happened? [angry] [she shoots back up and knocks her head hard on the ceiling and then, dazed, collapses back to her old size yet again].  What’s going on? [slurred]

Jasper: You were not born with the abilities.  You’re going to have to learn how to control them.  At first, you are going to have to really, really concentrate to maintain your size.  As time goes by, it will just be second nature to you, like learning to walk or learning to read or write.  It’s hard at first, but you’ll get the hang of it...”

Monika: “Well, that’s just great...  How big can I make myself?”

Jasper: “Right now?  Right now, I’d imagine that you’d have trouble reaching fifteen feet for more than a few minutes. [reading from the book] I believe their’s no set limit but I’d imagine that’s just exaggeration...”

Monika: [Concentrates and grows to 8 foot and stops] “I’m going to love this.  Why aren’t my clothes ripping apart?”

Jasper: It’s just part of the spell.  Explaining it would be almost impossible.

Monika: “Hey, I don’t have to understand it to love it!” [laughs]

End episode 1