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Gold: Is What Life Can Be Characters: Ser Arthur: A knight of high glory, once a harbinger of peace, now aging and bitter. Sam Snow: A bastard born to a stable boy; a commoner with a heart of gold. Setting: The sun is about to set, turning the clouds a golden brown. A heavy aroma fills the air. Flowers seem to sing a song; the ants march in rhythm. The birds follow the wind, and the men follow their hearts. Ser Arthur: (Speaking aloud, adamantly) The sun… it burns gold, Yet my life has turned grey and cold. (Sighs, his shoulders slumping) Once, I was a man of standing; Now, I am but a useless battering ram. Sam Snow: (Kindness running through his veins) Ser Arthur… Ser Arthur: (Angrily) Speak that title again and have your head chopped! Call me Arthur, not "Ser," for I am a man who has been robbed. Robbed of glory, and the man I once was. A warrior, they said? Now, I am nought but a weak lass. Sam Snow: (Sympathetic) I understand, Arthur. It must be rough. But for the man I once knew, you are still plenty tough. (With ambitious sadness) I am no different; I am but a bastard. No warrior—just the boy who fed your horse mustard. Arthur: (Angrily) You son of a basket! So, you were the one who put my horse in a casket? Oh, you fool! What was the need? I presume a stupid head filled with greed! Sam Snow: (Confused) Have you gone mad, Arthur? You accuse me of greed? (Adamantly) You were the one in need! In need of saving—saving from death itself! Arthur: (Angrily) Death, you say? ’Tis you who has gone mad! What could have killed me? A knife in the hand of a lad? Sam Snow: (Quietly) I cannot tell. Arthur: Why not? Sam Snow: Nay, I cannot. Arthur: (Angrily) Stop playing games with me! Sam Snow: (Uttering sadly) I did not want the battlefield to take my friend. It would have left my soul to rend. It causes me pain... I did not want our friendship to be in vain. Arthur: (Grateful) Aye, that struck a nerve. And rightfully so, you serve. I see a Maester in you, bastard boy named Sam. Remember thirty years ago? My horse almost turned you into cooked ham! Sam Snow: (Cheerfully) You are an arrogant fool! Sorry to tell you this, but no woman liked you—you looked like a baboon! Arthur: (Annoyed) Now, you’ve gone too far, Sam the Ham. (The two men chuckle like young girls. Do not blame them, for this world can be quite a swirl.) Sam Snow: (Jokingly) "Arthur, the Golden Knight! One swing of his sword drops a lady’s robe!" That was a lie. Of all the people I knew, You just dodged an arrow and shouted, "Oh heavens, phew!" Arthur: (Serious) Bastard, no time for jokes. My life is nothing more than a hoax. I owe you one for saving my life. (Jokingly arrogant) Oh, how dangerous! A lad with a knife! Sam Snow: Look at that sun, Arthur. Without you, the battlefield would have gone no further. Arthur: Kind for a big man, aren't you? So, what do you say, Maester Sam the Ham? Sam Snow: Now, that is a filthy soul. The night is dark... And darker it goes. (The stars shimmer down on the two. Their hearts have opened once again to what is true. How deep this hole goes, or how high they may rise, one may never know.) CURTAIN.