Act 4 Scene 1

Noon. The town gathers at the church for the funeral of Banquo.

Macbeth: In his escape, Malcolm must have somehow found out I killed his father. It was a blessing I was away being crowned. Yet, a blessing dressed in despair, as my dearest friend suffered a fate meant for me.

Lady Macbeth: I’m so very sorry for your loss, my love, but wherever Malcolm is I’m sure the assassins you sent will find him and make him suffer.

The doors to the church open violently. Through them, Malcolm walks in holding a sack dripping with blood.

Malcolm: You wretched woman and vile man!

Lady Macbeth: Guards, arrest him!

Malcolm drops the sack, and out of it rolls a head. Someone screams and the guards halt.

Lady Macbeth: Don’t just stand there, arrest him!

Malcolm: Wait! If you are to arrest a murderer, then you must arrest the queen!

Macbeth: How dare you make such a bold accusation?

Malcolm: My claim is harsh but nonetheless true - Lady Macbeth is responsible for the death of the king and sent assassins after me too!

Lady Macbeth scoffs.

Lady Macbeth: You have no proof.

Malcolm: I do indeed.

He produces a letter from his pocket.

Malcolm [reading aloud]: I suspect he shall fly to his uncle Macduff’s castle. Send assassins and tie up this loose end. [speaking to the crowd] Were you so stupid to think the son of a king would not know how to fight? I found this letter on your assassins after I slaughtered them.

Macbeth: Of course we sent assassins after you! You killed your father and fled once you escaped.

Lady Macbeth: Everyone can agree, our decision was rational even if made in haste. Your innocence appears as thin as the trivial letter you hold.

Malcolm: Yet I did not escape, not on my own. Banquo freed me! And I have no doubt you are responsible for his death as well.

The crowd gasps.

Lady Macbeth: Once again you make a baseless claim. Guards, I have heard enough - seize him!

Malcolm: Again, I ask you to wait! I may have no proof of your involvement in Banquo's death - but I have proof of your regicide and more!

Malcolm pulls from his pocket a black letter.

Lady Macbeth [to herself]: Oh no, how did I forget to destroy that?

Malcolm: See here, a not so trivial letter I hold. She not only had her husband send assassins after me, but Lady Macbeth had her husband kill the king! She conspired with witches so that she could become queen. And not just any witches, but the infamous Ursula who leads them!

Macbeth: Give me that! [reading aloud] You need not lay a finger on the king's head, only suggest so to your husband. [speaking to Lady Macbeth] You have betrayed me, deceived me! Tell me, at the very least, that you did not kill Banquo?

Lady Macbeth: Everything has come burning down. And while I could try to deny all the evil I have done, there is no point. All other crimes are on the table, so I will not disrespect you further by withholding this last one. Yes, Macbeth, I killed Banquo.

Macbeth: On the day I grieve a friend who was like a brother, I find his death came not by an enemy of war but a traitor of my heart. How bleak is this love of mine? This love who I killed my king for! And how does she repay me? By decimating the only other semblance of a family I had. Today I lost not only a brother, but a wife and country in total.

Macbeth places a hand on Banquo's casket.

Macbeth: My grief should not be equal to Banquo’s worth, because then my sorrow would never end. Yet, he is worth more mourning than that, and I will mourn for him, forever.

Macbeth slits his own throat.

Lady Macbeth: Macbeth, no! Oh my love, my dearest husband. I did not mean for any of this to happen! All the power in the world is not worth this loss.

Malcolm: You have destroyed the life and soul of a noble man. You killed his best friend, and if not for your damned birth, we would still have our king. For conspiring with witches and betraying not only your husband but this town - I sentence you to burn at the stake. As rightful heir to the throne, guards, I command you to seize her!

The guards take her away.

Act 4 Scene 2

Dusk. Lady Macbeth is tied to a stake.

Malcolm: For all that you have done, I do not grant you the right to last words. Executioner, set this night ablaze with justice.

A hooded figure approaches Lady Macbeth holding a torch.

The figure pulls down their hood. Suddenly everyone else freezes.

Lady Macbeth: Ursula! Thank goodness you are here. Can you help me?

Ursula: Oh, I can, but I won't. You see, I am moments away from bringing my friend home and this spell to stop time will only last a moment.

Lady Macbeth: But you said you needed my help to do that!

Ursula: I did, and you did a wonderful job as you killed three men and caused the death of two. Now we only have one more soul to sacrifice to reunite my coven with our leader.

Lady Macbeth: Oh God!

Ursula: No, not God, but his most beautiful creation. With your death, Lucifer will arise.

Lady Macbeth: No! Malcolm! Hear my pleas, you must stop her -

Lady Macbeth starts to scream as she is engulfed in flames and everyone starts to move again.

Malcolm: Wait a minute, that is not the executioner but Ursula!

Shouting is heard in the distance.

Malcolm: As I watch the renounced queen die, a fire impossibly large is shooting from her stake into the sky! The ground is shaking, a large crack is forming!

Malcolm tries to run, but the earth splits and he falls into its depths.

Act 4 Scene 3

Lady Macbeth stands alone.

Lady Macbeth: Only moments ago I was enveloped in pain, but here I stand unharmed.

Ursula: Not for long.

Lady Macbeth: Oh! You frightened me. What do you mean by that?

Ursula: I mean, take a look around. What do you see?

Lady Macbeth: I see… I see the sky is a starless black void. I see no plants, only hard dirt. I see bones of the people who were just watching me burn. I see -

Satan: The end of the world. Cursed is the ground because of you; so in it you will suffer all the days of your filthy soul’s never-ending existence, watching the world you damned burn.

Lady Macbeth screams as she is engulfed in darkness.