FADE IN

Daylight. A busy town street, bustling with people. Argo and Gabrielle's horse are tied up next to a building with a sign over the entryway that says 'Simon's Souvenir Shop' in old English lettering.

CUT TO

Inside the shop. The camera pans over rows of shelves, reaching up to the ceiling on one long wall of the room, with all kinds of toys and knickknacks. There are necklaces of blue, green, gold and red glass beads hanging from wooden racks; there are painted wooden figurines of soldiers in a fighting stance, or battling each other, or riding horses that rear up with their hooves in the air. There are also figurines of dragons in various poses.

A pair of child's hands reaches for one of the dragons, one that has large wings extending from its body and fire coming out of its mouth. The camera pulls back to show that the hands belong to Darion. He picks up the dragon and turns, showing it to Gabrielle and Xena who are standing nearby.

DARION:
     Can I get this one? It looks just like the one you told me about on Elis!

XENA (chuckles):
     That one had three heads.

DARION (scrunches up his face):
     Okay...but other than that, it's exactly like it, right?

XENA (shrugs):
     I guess so.

DARION (eagerly):
     Can I have it? (to Gabrielle) I really, really like this dragon. Look how the flames just explode from his mouth! (shows her the dragon and points to the flames) It' so cool! I promise, it's the last time I'm asking for anything...well, at least here in Britannia.

GABRIELLE (sighs):
     I don't know, sweetie...they're a little pricey.

DARION (makes a puppy-dog face):
     Please?

Gabrielle sighs again and looks at Xena who shrugs.

XENA:
     Hey, don't look at me. I'm not getting in the middle of this one.

Gabrielle looks back at Darion.

GABRIELLE:
     All right. (smiles) It's not like we buy a whole lot of things, anyway. (quick pan to Xena, who rolls her eyes and smirks)

CUT TO

Outside the shop. Xena, Gabrielle and Darion stand next to the horses.

GABRIELLE (reaches for the dragon which Darion is holding):
     We'll just put that in with your other presents for now, okay? (Darion pouts) Come on, if you take it to the tavern you'll just get food all over it.

Darion sighs dramatically and hands over the dragon; Gabrielle puts it into a rather large cloth bag attached to her saddle.

XENA (grins):
     Well, if there's nothing else we manage to do here in Britannia, at least we'll help keep the souvenir shops in business.

GABRIELLE (smiles brightly):
     Okay, everyone--time to eat!

They start to walk toward a tavern down the street.

DARION:
     You know what I want? A candied apple!

GABRIELLE:
     That's not exactly dinner, is it, Darion? How about we save the sweets for later, huh?

DARION:
     Okay. Then I'll have...a turkey leg.

GABRIELLE:
     That sounds good. (pats him on the shoulder) Maybe I'll have one myself.

DARION:
     So...are we going to be here in Britannia much longer?

XENA:
     We've still got some ground to cover.

GABRIELLE:
     So far, we haven't seen any sign of the Romans. (she stares into the distance, a suddenly thoughtful look on her face)

XENA (glances at her):
     Are you all right being back here, Gabrielle?

DARION (looks up curiously):
     Why wouldn't Gabrielle be all right?

GABRIELLE (gives him a quick look, then looks defensively at Xena):
     Of course I'm all right. (sighs a little) We were here a while ago, Darion, and we had a...pretty rough time. (changes the subject with a forced smile) I think we should head north--while we're here, I want to see that famous forest in Brigantes.

DARION:
     Why is it famous?

GABRIELLE:
     I've heard it's one of the world's most amazing forests, with beautiful trees... (Xena snorts; Gabrielle looks over at her and smiles teasingly) Of course, some of us think that if you've seen one tree, you've seen them all...

XENA (chuckles, slightly piqued):
     And some of us think a tree is something to talk to. (shakes her head) All right, we'll go see your forest.

The camera pulls back as their voices start to fade.

DARION (mischievously):
     So you pretty much go along with whatever Gabrielle wants, huh?

XENA (unflappable):
     Not true. It's just that keeping her happy is the smart thing to do.

CUT TO

A lush green forest. The trees stretch high into the sky forming a thick canopy, allowing minimal light to shine through to the forest floor, with scattered patches of sunlight. A thin blue mist hangs in the air. The camera slowly moves through the forest, lingering on the morning dew that drips off of the leaves and flowers, the birds perched on branches, the squirrels racing about through the upper branches of the trees. The air is filled with birdsong and the buzz of insects.

The camera moves in on a clearing with thick rose bushes growing along its edges, the delicate red, pink, white and pale yellow blossoms guarded by prickly thorns. As the camera moves further, we see that the clearing is actually a grassy beach, water lapping peacefully at its edges. A veil of white mist, tinted pale blue, rises just off the water's edge.

The silence is suddenly disturbed by the faint sound of pounding hooves, and then a distant neigh. The pounding grows louder until the legs of a galloping white horse come into view; it is pure white with hooves of polished gold. The animal continues to race toward the camera as it pulls back, showing its snow-white chest, then its neck and finally its muzzle as it neighs in fright. The camera rises higher to show the terrified look in the animal's dark eyes.

Pan to two men on horseback pursuing the white horse, carrying ropes. One is a stocky, burly middle-aged redhead with a shaggy beard; the other is tall with dirty blond hair. They laugh loudly as one of them swings the ropes forward, lassoing the animal around the neck. The white horse falls to the ground with a thud and a loud neigh, thrashing about. Laughing again, the men dismount and rush over to inspect their catch.

HUNTER #1 (the redhead):
     We got it.

He draws a long sword and flips it in his hand, hilt forward, then brings down the hilt. The horse neighs again; then the sound of a blow is heard and the neighing stops abruptly.

Off-camera, a woman's voice gives a faint cry or gasp. The camera pans over to a beautiful young woman with ebony-black hair and green eyes, wearing an elegant green and white dress, who stands behind the men. She covers her mouth with her hands in dismay.

Pan back to the limp body of the white horse and the two men standing over it. We do not see what Man #1 is doing but we hear a sound, rather like that of something being sawed. The camera moves up just as the man raises his hand. He is holding up a spiral horn of gold, the same tint as the animal's hooves. Close-up of the man's grinning face.

HUNTER #2 (also grinning):
     It looks like we just earned ourselves a nice bonus from the king.

The men's laughter is heard as the camera focuses on the horn, its tip sparkling in the sun. Then it pans over the immobile body of the white horse and over to the young woman who stands behind the men, her face full of sadness and guilt, as we:

FADE OUT

END OF TEASER