Scene 8


      In one, the road leading to the palace. On the backdrop we can see the impressive regal gates in the distance surrounded by perfectly tended shrubbery. MARITZA rushes on from the left followed by a weary MARIANNE.


      MARITZA

      Hurry, Marianne! Hurry!

       MARIANNE

      Oh, your highness! Stop!

      MARITZA

      What is it?

       MARIANNE

      There is something wrong.

       MARITZA

      What are you talking about?

       MARIANNE

      The palace. I can't see any guards. It is too quiet.

       MARITZA

      Nonsense. Come along.
        (Suddenly from all sides KIELBASIAN SOLDIERS appear with muskets raised. MARIANNE screams. GENERAL SHUCKENDORF enters from the left with an exaggerated bow.)


      SHUCKENDORF

      Good evening, your highness.

      MARIANNE

      Then you knew all along whose highness was who.

      SHUCKENDORF

      I am afraid you are under arrest.

      MARITZA

      How dare you, you…munitions manufacturer!

      SHUCKENDORF

      How did you…?!

       MARITZA

      You think you're fooling the world…posing as a Kielbasian general! You and your fellow munitions manufacturers infiltrating the armies of the world!

      SHUCKENDORF

      Soldiers! Arrest these women! Take them to Epascadoro!

      MARIANNE

      Epascadoro?! That is the vilest prison in all of Europe!
        (SOLDIERS handcuff both MARIANNE and MARITZA and force them off to the left. Backdrop rises and we are in cell in Epascadoro. It is truly the vilest prison in all of Europe. MARIANNE sits on the floor on one side, MARITZA on the other. "A Part of Living" is played in the background as a dirge.)


      MARIANNE

      To think I would wind up my young life in a rat-infested prison…

      MARITZA

      So much for gypsy dawns.

      MARIANNE

      But, mum, it did work. The gypsy dawn. We did meet…

      MARITZA

      God gives with one hand, and puts us in Epascadoro with the other. We search for years to find the one for us,
      The one who'll be the moon and sun for us.
      I used to view this all with disbelief---
      I found the one, but it was oh, so brief.

      Springtime,
      The world full of fragrance,
      The trees dressed in green.
      We'd have known the springtime together---
      Oh, think what might have been!
       
      MARIANNE
      Our arms
      Entwined in each other's
      When day has begun.
      We'd have felt this rapture together---
      Oh, think what we'd have done!
       
      MARITZA
      Each hour a highlight,
      Our hearts are burning,
       
      MARIANNE
      Walks in the twilight,
      Whispers of yearning.
       
      TOGETHER
      Romance,
      A lifetime of romance,
      A lifetime serene---
      We'd have had that romance together---
      Oh, think what might have been!
      Just think what might have been.
        (At the end of the song, the cell door creaks open and SHUCKENDORF enters. He goes to Maritza.)
       
      SHUCKENDORF
      Well?

      MARITZA

      Go away.

      SHUCKENDORF

      I offer you my life…my fortune…my power…

      MARITZA

      But at what price?

      SHUCKENDORF

      You reject my love?

      MARITZA

      I would rather die than have you touch so much as a fingernail!

      MARIANNE

      Oh, your highness!…
       
                       SHUCKENDORF
      Then die you shall! Guards!
       
              (TWO HUSKY GUARDS enter.)
               
      MARIANNE
      Maybe you'd consider someone from a lesser background.
               
      SHUCKENDORF
      Take these women to the firing squad…immediately!

      MARITZA

      But before I go, I want you to know this. There is a man somewhere in Montavia who shall expose you to the world for what you are…a vile, conniving, unconscionable, greedy munitions manufacturer, who, like your fellow munitions manufacturers, all posing as generals and admirals throughout Europe…a man who will hunt every last one of you down until you all pay for your heinous crimes!

      MARIANNE

      Bravo, your highness! Bravo!
        (SHUCKENDORF places his hands over his ears so as to blot out the hideous things Maritza is saying and rushes from the cell. A moment passes when TWO MONKS enter.)

                                          FIRST MONK

             We have come to deliver the final rites.

      SECOND GUARD

      Yes, Father.

      FIRST MONK

      If you will leave us alone for just a moment…

      FIRST GUARD

      (hesitating for a moment) Surely, Father.
        (GUARDS exit. FIRST MONK rushes to Maritza, SECOND MONK to Marianne.)


      FIRST MONK

      We don't have a moment to lose.

      MARITZA

      Nikko!

      MARIANNE

      Vasily!

      NIKKO

      There is a boat leaving for America.

      MARIANNE

      America?

      MARITZA

      But Kielbasa has no seaport.

      MARIANNE

      Neither does Montavia.

      NIKKO

      We have no time to explain. Follow us. And make not a sound.
        (NIKKO and VASILY exit first, then MARITZA and MARIANNE. The stage is empty. We hear the following:)


      FIRST GUARD (o.s.)

      Wait! Where are you going?   (This is followed by a biff, a gasp and a clump.)


      SECOND GUARD (o.s.)

      Hey, you can't…!
        (Another biff, a gasp and a clump.)


      SHUCKENDORF (o.s.)

      Who are you? What the devil do you think…!
        (This time we hear a biff, a gasp and a horrendous clatter. We know by the sound that Shuckendorf is no more. The strains of "A Part of Living" are now heard as a triumphant crescendo.)
       
      BLACKOUT