ALIZA & ARAN #2 (From Bad Ending Theatre)
The Vampire Queen, ALIZA and her companion, ARAN. They are sitting next to a campfire in the Moonlit Forest, sipping tea. ARAN is roasting marshmallows as ALIZA doodles on her notebook.
ARAN
(Waves his stick of marshmallow around) Keep your blade sharp and your mouth shut! Down, Demon! Kneel before the hero of fate!
Aran stumbles over a root. He regains his composure and turns to ALIZA.
ARAN (CON’D)
Oh dear. Aliza… Did I look cool?
ALIZA
(Didn’t even lift her head) Yeah, yeah. Absolute icon, Mr. Cool. Pretty sure the Demon Queen will turn to stone the moment she hears your battle cry.
Aran leans over her shoulder, peeking at her notebook.
ARAN
What are you drawing? Stick figures? Oh, wait—this one’s definitely you. But who’s this other one?
ARAN
Erika? Never heard of her.
ALIZA
(Coldly) Of course you haven’t. She’s my sister.
The song "It’s Raining Somewhere Else" gradually fades in and plays as background music.
ARAN
Aliza? Are you… angry?
ALIZA
No. Just old memories crawling back up.
ARAN
You know, it helps to talk about it.
ALIZA
(Sighs, swirling her tea) It’s a long story, Aran.
ARAN
We’ve got all night, and a fresh bag of marshmallows. Go on.
ALIZA
Erika was always destined to eclipse me. From the moment we were born, she was better at... everything. While I struggled just to lift a training sword, she was already slicing wooden planks clean in half. While I panicked at our first royal banquet, she could smile through endless speeches without a single twitch. I hated her sometimes. Everyone would say, “Look at your sister! Why can’t you be more like her?” So I pushed myself to the limit. I worked until I bled, just hoping that one day… she’d look at me with envy instead.
ARAN
Well, once we take down the Demon Queen, you’re going to be a legend. We both will. Your sister’s going to be so jealous she’ll want to pull her hair out!
ALIZA
(Faint, sad smile) Maybe. But let's not talk about her anymore... What about you, Aran? Why did you leave home to start this journey?