NICU II AND VICTORIA’S INCESTUOUS ROMANCE
A full-length play
By: Kenneth Jarrett Singleton
Dramatis Personae:
NICU II, Prince of Exubertis
VICTORIA, First Princess of Exubertis
NICU I, King of Exubertis
ISABELLA, Queen of Exubertis
AGRIPINA, Second Princess of Exubertis
CYNTHIA, Third Princess of Exubertis
VERA, Fourth Princess of Exubertis
PETER, Prince of Yorkton
ALICE, Queen of Yorkton
PRINCETON, A senator
BRUNHOLT, A senator
ALEXANDER, Nicu I’s messenger
GWYNETH, Princeton’s wife
ANGELA, A witch
LUCAS, A senator
MERVYN, A senator
NARCISSUS, A senator
STANISLAV, A senator
MAXWELL, A senator
EBNER, A senator
VITUS, A senator
DARWIN, A senator
CLAUDIUS, A senator
EDWARD, A senator
JOHN, A senator
EDWIN, A senator
DETLEF, A senator
RICHARD, A senator
SERVANT I
SERVANT II
SERVANT III
SERVANT IV
SERVANT V
GUARD I
GUARD II
GUARD III
GUARD IV
GUARD V
GUARD VI
(The entire play takes place within a fictional, European kingdom
called Exubertis.)
Act I
Scene I- Nicu I’s palace.
(When the curtain rises, we see Nicu I seated
upon his throne of red alongside his wife Isabella.
King Nicu I is a middle-aged man of average physical
stature. He wears a robe of red, a gold crown upon
his head, and has brown hair. Queen Isabella is
extremely beautiful. She wears a gold crown upon her
head, has black hair, and is somewhat younger than
her husband. Guard I, Guard II, and Guard III are to
be standing in a straight line to the left side of Nicu I.
Guard IV, Guard V, and Guard VI are to be standing
to Queen Isabella’s right. Nicu I’s guards wear red
clothing beneath golden suits of armor, along with,
red capes. Each guard is to be armed with a spear
and a shield. Servant I, an elderly man with hair of
white, walks up a lengthy, red carpet prior to kneeling
before Nicu I and Isabella. Servant I’s clothing is
dirty and very poor looking.)
SERVANT I
(He continues to remain in a kneeling position while
addressing Nicu I.)
Your Excellency, Senator Princeton has arrived to speak
with you.
NICU I
Send him in.
SERVANT I
As you wish, Your Excellency.
(Servant I leaves Nicu I and Isabella. Princeton soon
enters.)
PRINCETON
(kneeling before Nicu I)
Permission to have a word with you, Your Highness?
NICU I
Permission granted. For what reason have you come to
converse with me on this day?
PRINCETON
(He rises from his kneeling position.)
I have come to controvert the matter of Brunholt’s
position. I feel that I am better suited for the
position of High Senator of Exubertis.
NICU I
I see. You have come to my palace to ingratiate once
again?
PRINCETON
With all due respect, Your Highness, I feel that I am
more qualified for the position.
NICU I
So, you think that you are in fact superior to
Brunholt?
PRINCETON
Yes. In relation to intellect, Your Majesty, I do think
that I am in fact superior to him.
NICU I
Then prove it.
PRINCETON
(with a look of curiosity upon his face)
Excuse me, Your Highness?
NICU I
Prove it not to I, but to your peers. Your fellow
members of the Senate. If you are the supreme
individual within my senate, then let those you may
come to officially lead decide that you are so. I will
inform your colleagues that you will be occupying the
Head Seat of the Senate for the next three weeks. In
that time, if you prove yourself to be worthy of the
Head Seat of the Senate, then you shall have it.
PRINCETON
(kneeling before Nicu I)
Thank you, Your Highness. Your courtesy will not be
forgotten.
(He is to now exit the stage.)
ISABELLA
(looking at Nicu I)
You do realize that this scheme of yours may have
problematic results, do you not?
NICU I
Of course, but I can quickly solve such results of
negativity.
ISABELLA
(grinning with amusement)
You are utterly mad.
NICU I
(He turns to his wife with a smile upon his face.)
Perhaps, my dear, but that does not contradict the fact
that I am king.
Scene II- A wooded area upon Nicu I’s estate.
(Seventeen-year-old Prince Nicu II walks with
his sister Victoria as they hold hands. Nicu II has
black hair, brown eyes, and he is quite tall. His
exquisitely gorgeous sister Victoria is sixteen years of
age. She is to have light-brown hair, fair skin, and
eyes of green. Upon their branches, the trees within
the wooded area contain leaves of orange, yellow, and
red as a result of the prevalent season of Autumn.)
VICTORIA
(looking somewhat troubled)
I feel an overwhelming need to tell mother of this.
NICU II
No. You mustn‘t. She and father would become heart
broken if they were to know. You cannot tell them,
Victoria.
VICTORIA
You are right. I continuously feel a sense of guilt
about this. Guilty, yet, not regretful.
(Nicu II stops, therefore, Victoria stops as well.
They stare into one another’s eyes. Nicu II gracefully
runs his left-hand down Victoria’s right cheek.)
NICU II
Do not feel guilt, my love. Your life shall always be
blithesome. I cannot stand to see you remain in such an
insalubrious state.
VICTORIA
I cannot accept the reality that my husband to be is
not you, my dear brother.
NICU II
Mother has chosen a husband for you?
VICTORIA
Indeed. One of which I can never love.
NICU II
Who is this man of which you speak?
VICTORIA
Peter, Prince of Yorkton.
NICU II
You must postulate that mother leaves this decision to
be your own to make. You are not a child. You must
express to her that you are now a woman.
VICTORIA
I do not wish to confront her with such rebellion.
NICU II
You must.
VICTORIA
It is my surmise that she will not accept my own
choosing of a husband.
NICU II
Please try, my beloved sister. No matter the result, my
love for you is without an end.
(He now kisses Victoria.)
Scene III- A sitting room within Nicu I’s palace.
(Victoria enters the sitting room to find her
mother, Isabella, occupying a chair while braiding
Vera’s blonde hair. Victoria’s little sister, Vera, sits
on the floor of the sitting room in front of her mother
and stares straight ahead.)
ISABELLA
(She looks up at Victoria.)
Hello, Victoria, my dear.
VICTORIA
Hello, Mother. Did Vera ravage her hair once again?
ISABELLA
(She answers with a smile upon her face.)
You know that she did. She always does. Rough like a
boy she is.
VERA
(loudly)
Mother!
ISABELLA
(speaking to Vera)
Well, it’s true, is it not?
VERA
Just because I choose to play outdoors instead of
inside the palace does not mean that I am boyish.
ISABELLA
What am I to do with you my sweet, little Vera? You
spend too much time with your brother. You need to be
around your sisters more frequently in order to learn
the proper way in which a lady must act.
VERA
I like playing with my brother.
ISABELLA
(finishing Vera’s hair)
There you are. I’m all done now.
(Vera stands up, turns around, and looks at her
mother.)
ISABELLA
I am going to have one of my servants fix your hair the
next time you ruin it.
VERA
No, Mother. They never do it properly. I prefer the way
you do it.
ISABELLA
Then do not mess it up again.
VERA
(with a look of unhappiness)
Yes, Mother.
ISABELLA
Your hair is now satisfactory. Go to your sisters
Agripina and Cynthia.
(Vera walks out of the sitting room.)
ISABELLA
Is there something you wish to speak to me about,
Victoria? You seem somewhat reserved.
VICTORIA
Actually, there is, Mother.
ISABELLA
Have a seat, dear.
(Victoria walks towards Isabella and sits down in a
red chair directly across from her.)
ISABELLA
Is something troubling you?
VICTORIA
(nervous)
Yes.
ISABELLA
There is no need for you to be afraid, Victoria. You
may speak to me about what is bothering you.
VICTORIA
I know that, Mother. I know you will listen. I want to
speak to you about Peter.
ISABELLA
What about Peter?
VICTORIA
I do not love him, Mother. I do not wish to marry him.
ISABELLA
I have chosen him for you. He expects you to become his
loyal wife. We cannot ignore the fact that you are a
betrothed individual.
VICTORIA
You must be understanding, Mother. I do not want to
marry Peter. I want my future husband to be of my own
choosing, not yours.
ISABELLA
(Isabella raises her voice in anger.)
No. I will not allow it, nor will I hear any more of
this intrepid talk from you. You are to become Peter’s
wife, and that is final.
VICTORIA
(She expresses her indignation.)
I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions.
ISABELLA
(with sarcasm)
Oh, are you now?
VICTORIA
Yes, I am. This should be my decision to make.
ISABELLA
As I said before, you are to marry Peter. I feel that
this marital arrangement is suitable for you.
(Isabella stands up and walks out of the sitting room.)
Kenneth Jarrett Singleton 