[Scene: Late at night, Annalise wears a dark cloak that covers her entire body and sneaks out of the castle. She goes to the creaky barn stable, a map and matchbox in hand and rides a horse, making her way towards Kingsley.]

[Scene: Once Annalise makes it to the town, it is still relatively lively with drunkards outside of pubs and the smell of alcohol wafting the streets. She stands out amongst everyone right now with her golden hair and suspicious attire.]

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

Ugh! It smells like alcohol and body odor. Absolutely Horrendous. 

Everyone here is drunk. If I’m gonna sabotage anything, I need to hide my tracks.

[Annalise scans the area for the drunkest person in the area and finds one.]

ANNALISE (to drunk, cautiously):

“Hi… Excuse me?”

DRUNKARD (slurring words):

“...Huh…?

Watttt do ya want…?

ANNALISE (fake smile):

“I was wondering if you knew where Mrs. Poppy’s home is… you know, the one that Lady Caelia fixed? I just want to see it!”

[The Drunk looks at Annalise’s face and is automatically swooned by her beauty and innocent look and he is caught in a trance.]

DRUNKARD:

“Oh! Oh yeah! Lady Caelia is a great person, she fixed Mrs. Poppy’s home. 

All the rumors about her being a witch aren’t true!”

[This strikes a nerve in Annalise. Annalise puts her hand in a fist out of frustration.]

ANNALISE - INNER THOUGHTS:

What does he mean the rumors aren’t true…?

Ever since I arrived at the castle, my life was a living hell because of her.

[Flashbacks play of the past: Original Caelia tripping Annalise over in their first meeting and laughing in her face. Original Caelia putting bugs inside of Annalise’s tea during the dinner with the King and Queen.] 

But because of her torment…

[More flashbacks play of the past of Prince Theo always saving and defending Annalise whenever Caelia did something. “It’ll be okay Annalise, just endure it for a little while and everything will be okay at the end,” he would say.]

… Prince Theo would always be on my side. And I even got the Queen on my side as well.

I need to keep it like that.

No matter what.

ANNALISE:

“Caelia sounds like a great noble. I would like to see the house that she worked so hard on!”

DRUNKARD:

“You take a right over yonder and go all the way down to the last house.”

ANNALISE:

“Perfect! As a thank you, can I buy you a drink?”

DRUNKARD: 

“Sure! I never say no to alcohol! BAHAHAHAHA” 

[Annalise buys a handle of hard liquor and pours one shot for the drunk.]

DRUNKARD:

“Ar ya not - hic - drinking?”

ANNALISE:

“I will drink later!”

DRUNKARD (holding up his shot glass to cheers):

“Alllrigght then. Cheers to Caelia Ardent!”

ANNALISE (holding up an imaginary shot glass to cheers back):

“Cheers. To Caelia Ardent.”

[Scene: Annalise arrives to Mrs. Poppy’s home. She notices the house modernized and upgraded compared to the surrounding houses. She catches herself slightly admiring the design and then is in disbelief.]

ANNALISE - INNER MONOLOGUE:

Thank god, it’s quiet over here, there’s barely any lights to catch me.

There’s no way Caelia Ardent built and designed THIS?

What kind of trick is this…

Tch. No matter.

[Annalise then pours the alcohol all around the wooden home.]

I’ll just call this a taste of her own medicine for torturing me.

[Annalise lights a match and then drops it at Mrs. Poppy’s home. The house immediately blows up in flames, lighting up the entire area. Caught off guard by the severity of the flames, Annalise accidentally drops the flask while running away.]

[Scene: Nearby, Caelia is sleeping in her guest bed when all of sudden, she hears screaming from outside.]

VILLAGER:

“FIRE!

FIRE!

FIRE! 

SOMEONE HELP!”

[Caelia immediately gets up and glances outside, a nearby home is caught in flames, lighting up everything in the surrounding area. She then immediately goes outside her room and sees that Cassian has woken up as well. They both run outside towards the flames.]

[Caelia, Cassian, and some other townsfolk arrive in the front of Mrs. Poppy’s house.]

CAELIA (quietly):

“I… I can’t believe it.

MRS. POPPY!”

[Caelia runs towards the house that blew up in flames and tries to go inside, but Cassian grabs her wrist to stop her.]

CASSIAN:

“CAELIA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? JUST WAIT UNTIL HELP ARRIVES.”

CAELIA (struggling to snatch her hand away from his grip, crying):

“CASSIAN, LET GO. I’M GOING INSIDE TO SAVE HER.”

[The flames in the home roar louder as seconds go by.] 

CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:

I can’t just stay dormant. 

I gotta go save her!

We just built this home and she wanted to start a new life!

[Caelia is reminded of Mrs. Poppy’s smile. 

With that she gathers the strength to be released from Cassian’s grip and immediately goes into the house roaring in flames.]

[End of Chapter 5]