forum Ask Ramona Anything

Started July 13, 2020 by Deleted user

tune

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(Would you want one of my characters to ask the questions?)

Whatever you want.

(Cheers! I'll have by boy Adrian interrogate Ramona– don't worry, he won't actually do that… probably. :)

(Thank you!)

A young man with dark hair sat across from the princess. He would have looked quite scary, what with the eyepatch and general "stay away from me or you will be decapitated" vibes he was giving off, but his lips were curved into a smile. "So… you're a princess, right? How is that treating you?" He crossed his arms over his chest, the movement more casual than anything.

Ramona is unbothered by his eyepatch and his demeanor. She looks at him in the eyes. "Being a princess is treating me fine. I'm not treating it fine, though. All my friends are commoners, and a few of them are trained fighters. Are you trying to intimidate me?" She smirks in a sort of snarky way.

"Ooh, all your friends are commoners!" Adrian– for that was the man's name– gasped dramatically. "Aren't you such a rebel." He snorted. Talking to someone royal hadn't sounded very fun, but at least this princess wasn't extremely stuffy. He liked that. "Me? Trying to intimidate you? Never." Adrian shook his head. He never tried to intimidate people– okay, that was a lie. Sometimes, he tried to intimidate people. But only on rare occasions. "So, princess, why would such a royal like you be friends with the lowly folk?"

"I've been called a rebel. Never called myself one," Ramona said, nonchalantly. "I don't choose who I like. I just happen to like most common folk more. I don't believe in stupid, arbitrary rules of conduct. And I don't believe I should have to marry to be valued, but my family does, and my commoner friends don't."

"Hmm." Adrian nodded, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Do you like me? I'm common folk." He smirked at Ramona. "Based on first impressions, of course." Adrian frowned lightly, suddenly realizing the line of questioning had turned away from her and towards him. "Anyway… what do you do as a princess? I actually have no idea what royals do when they're not parading in front of people or ruining my life."

"Whether I like you or not, I can't say yet. I'm leaning towards yes, but I've only known you for a moment," Ramona said, smirking. "I mostly practice archery, avoid meetings, dodge suitors, and suggest war strategy… though nobody listens."

"I like that answer," Adrian said, leaning forward slightly. "Oh, archery? That sounds fun. I've never tried, but I'm pretty good with these." He patted the holsters on his belt where he kept his prized revolvers. "How many suitors, exactly? Are they good looking?" Realizing he was straying off-topic again, Adrian shook his head. "Nevermind. You're involved in war strategy stuff? Who are you fighting?"

"Dozens. None I know well. Most are hideous in my eyes. But no matter who they are I don't want to marry." Ramona flipped her hair back. "We're fighting most European forces. Italy and France both want us as a territory."

"Wow, that's a lot. Your parents must really want you to get married." Adrian's eyes widened slightly at the number. "Oh… right, of course." He nodded as if he knew what any of those names meant. "How is that going for you? Are they powerful, uh, places? And why do they want you in the first place?"

"They do. Well, my father does. My mother…isn't around. Alive, though," She says, winking. "Their countries are powerful. We're in between them, both, and they want more conquest so they can make more money. I think the rights of my people are more important than their money from exports."

"What happened to your mother?" Adrian asked, eyes lighting up. A dozen different scenarios drifted through his brain, though he had no idea what the actual reason might be. "Ah, everything always comes back to money, doesn't it? Money is great, I guess– I wouldn't know— but you're definitely right. People should be able to have their own place, where they're safe." His eyes took on a hard edge.

"Well, I'm not supposed to talk about it, but she's better okay, and we'll reunite soon," she said, smirking again. "They really should. As much as I hate the royals, there are people in this kingdom who I love, and when I am queen, my goal will be to protect them. In fact, it already is." She notices the look in his eyes. "I feel that you know what I'm talking about."

"Aww, come on. I'm very good at keeping secrets," Adrian pleaded, leaning forward even more. "You'll probably be a much better queen than stupid Queen Adelaide. I mean, you care about people, which is way more than she's doing," He grumbled, mouth turning down. "Yeah, I do. I'm afraid my 'country' has already been invaded. I'm finding it very difficult trying to get them out."

"Queen Adelaide sounds awful. I bet my cousin Cassandra would get a long with her. I wish you the best of luck." Ramona looks around to make sure nobody is around who isn't supposed to be. "Okay, I'll tell you, but only because I like you. You can't tell anyone… my mother is the goddess Artemis herself."

"Oh, she is," Adrian said, his voice dark. He'd never tell Ramona, but he was actively trying to figure out a way to assassinate her. That didn't seem like the kind of thing to tell someone he'd just met. "Why would that be? Is your cousin terrible too?" His eyes lit up slightly when Ramona started looking around. "I won't," Adrian promised. "Wow, the goddess Artemis… uh, sorry, who is that?" He felt like he should know who that was, especially since Ramona said the name like she was someone important. Well, she was a goddess, so she was probably important. "Sorry, I know different gods. They're not really the type of beings to have children."

"She's awful, and she's trying to usurp the throne from me, but she thinks I don't know." Ramona chuckled slightly at Adrian's confusion. "She's one of the major gods of my religion. She has no other children, though. I sprung from her head. Technically, my father the king isn't my father, and I only have Artemis as a mother… but if that information gets into the wrong hands, well… that could be fatal for me."

"Huh. That does seem bad," Adrian agreed. He listened intently as Ramona explained who Artemis was. "I see. Wait… you sprung from her head? That's weird." His eyebrows rose at her last sentence. "And you decide to tell me? That wasn't the smartest thing to do." Adrian paused, then grinned at her. "But don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

"It's weird, but I always thought it was very special as well." She laughed and looked at him. "I may have just met you, and you may not seem…traditionally trustworthy, but I trust you." Ramona said. Her eyes showed she was telling the truth. "I trust you not to hurt ME anyway. I believe we've been through similar types of pain."

"I guess." Adrian shrugged. It may have been a different god, but he was always a little biased on matters concerning gods. He hadn't exactly had the best relationship with the gods. Any gods. "Well, that's nice." It was so nice to have someone trust him, even if it was only superficial. "Don't worry, I won't. What makes you say that?"

"Your country has been invaded. Mine has as well." She said matter-of-factly. "Nobody deserves that."