LIVINGSTON. Look at that, he’s packing himself! I have the King!

Boxes are starting to move, packing and bustle accelerates. WILLIAM looks at the kist with JAMES inside it a moment longer than everyone else and then we are in a rush of nightmare transition. Then we hear ISABELLA, a whisper out of the dark.

ISABELLA. I can see you.

As the kist sits in –

King’s Rooms / Tower Room

JAMES climbs out of the kist. LIVINGSTON, CRICHTON, BALVENIE and WILLIAM are there, just watching JAMES. JAMES looks back.

LIVINGSTON. Do you know where you are?

JAMES. Stirling Castle.

LIVINGSTON. You’re home, Your Majesty. And you’ve nothing to fear as long as I can see you. Understand?

CRICHTON. The council hasn’t agreed he’ll remain with you permanently, Lord Livingston.

LIVINGSTON. Oh aye, aye. You want to witter away about all that don’t you, Crichton? Fine, you can do your wee speech and then we’ll all carry on. Or you can stop bleating and wasting our time. I’m the King’s guardian. Never step outside the gate, King James. Never again.

Balvenie?

LIVINGSTON and BALVENIE leave. CRICHTON ducks a bow, angry.

CRICHTON. I’ll see you soon, Your Majesty.

He exits. WILLIAM still watches JAMES.

JAMES. What’re you looking at?

WILLIAM. You’re no a real king. You’re just a wee laddie.

JAMES runs at him.

JAMES. I’m the King! I’m the King! And I’ll kill you! I will!

WILLIAM (laughing). Aye, if you could catch me you would.

WILLIAM runs off as JAMES hears –

ISABELLA. I can see you.

JAMES. Who’s there?

There’s no answer. JAMES is moving through the castle, searching.

ISABELLA. I see you.

JAMES (searching). Hullo? Are you here?

He finds his way to the tower room, he finds ISABELLA.

ISABELLA. What are you doing in here? You’re not allowed.

ISABELLA sits looking out. She never turns her head from the window, watching the sky.

JAMES. Can you really see me?

ISABELLA (without turning her head). Yes.

JAMES. You can’t.

ISABELLA. I can.

Standing there with that mark on your face, how did you get it?

JAMES. I don’t know.

ISABELLA. Tell me.

JAMES. It was my twin brother Alexander. He died when we were born. He held onto my head because he didn’t want to go to heaven. He wanted to stay and play with me.

ISABELLA. I think the Devil slapped you to mark you as his own. That’s how it looks to me.

JAMES moves closer.

Stay back or I’ll stab you.

JAMES. You haven’t got a knife.

ISABELLA. I’ll rip an eye tooth from my head and stab you with that.

I’ll tear you like a wolf.

JAMES. I killed a wolf.

ISABELLA. Did you now?

JAMES. On my own.

ISABELLA. On your own?

JAMES. I wasn’t supposed to. I was supposed to stay back, but I didn’t. We’d driven them against the rocks and I saw this big, big, BIG wolf so I ran at it and I made a HUGE noise… RAAAAAAAAAAWR! Like that, and the wolf was going snip snap snip snap and his teeth were nipping and nipping the air to bits and he was hurling himself all over like a big eel you’ve stuck a fork in and teeth teeth TEETH coming at me. So I chucked out my coat like this… and he snapped up at it and there’s his throat and there’s my sword and I opened him up. HA!