Hey, @Azena I'm not really sure where to take it from there since they still haven't met? Just a short thing about the chaos erupting or something? Time to write Richard's death, yeah?

Well, that's one option. Roland's "concerns" were just unintentionally justified. He got panic and kill Richard right then and there, or be cunning and use it to his advantage. "See! I told you Montierro already has men here!" Then have his guards take Gwen to her room? Idk, she wouldn't go for it being a general, she'd want to fight and protect her father. That's your challenge of not being a damsel: how to get Gwen away from the bulk of the fighting.

I can tell you, the secret escape is a tunnel in one of the dungeon cells. Hm...maybe she doesn't get sent to the corner. Maybe everyone in the Court moves to a safer area, the throne room, maybe? Then, the fighting breaks out. I figured Roland probably had some of the castle guards on his side before making this bold move, so those troops still loyal to Gwen and Richard would be outnumbered. If they keep getting pushed back, then that's when Ryder could pop in and lead the royal family to the dungeons. The noble king will be engaged and tell Gwen to clear the way and they'll follow shortly. Of course, they never get that chance...

EDIT: Thoughts that came to my mind anyways, feel free to use, manipulate, or discard as you see fit :)

She's not armed. So if she wanted to protect her father, she would have to go back to her room for her sword. She wouldn't be able to borrow one from the guards since they'll need every sword they can get. Then she would have to rejoin the battle but she'd see her own palace guard turning on one another which would be all kinds of horrifying for her as she realizes that this is a coup. It would mean she'd have to fight her way into the Throne room though; not that she would be too upset about that. And then we can have her be sent ahead and all that.

Ah, forgot that important tidbit. However you feel is best to proceed. My notes are: Escape in the Dungeons, she'd probably only leave if it was clear she couldn't save her father and she'd be next (he's dead, highly outnumbered?), and Richard doesn't suspect Roland yet so he'd be close to him wherever they go until the coup begins.

She loves her dad and is pretty devoted to him so she would likely have to know without a doubt that he was dead before she'd leave or be tricked into thinking he was already away and waiting for her. Would Roland actually kill the king if the entire court is with them?

I see two possibilities: If he wanted to keep this court, he'd have to not only kill Richard, but convince them Gwen is dead as well somehow. Then by law of the land, he is heir and takes the throne. They hate him, but short of killing him, they can't stop him.

On the other hand, this took planning. A zealot opponent of Richard like Count Montierro and others would have been willing to assist him and may have done so with the promise that Roland would kill the whole court and replace them with his supporters.

Both of these, of course, assume that Roland hadn't already turned any of Richard's court. Which, a loyal member would have warned him, so either he didn't try or everyone he approached agreed to it.

I think Roland wouldn't have needed to put so much theatrics into killing the king if the king's court was on his side. So I guess they're all getting murdered. Gotta wonder who the hell he's going to use as a scapegoat though lolol

Hahahah, oh Mina, you are clever. Roland kills everyone not on his side in the castle. As I described, the castle is on lockdown right now. He claims victory, dresses up some of Richard's men in merc gear and claims that Count Montierro finally made a move and hired mercenaries to kill the king! The poor bastard had no idea about this coup xD

Montierro is beheaded, pleading his innocence til the axe falls, and Roland, filled with grief from the untimely death of his brother and niece, reluctantly takes the throne. Life moves on. Those that still liked and remembered the good Richard did will grieve for a time, but aside from the shadowed rumors of Montierro's innocence and Roland's involvement...nobody will be any the wiser. That is until Uncle Rodric finds out Gwen is still alive and on his front door step.

EDIT: And...I just realized we're playing The Lion King. Uncle kills King and claims the heir is dead as well, then reluctantly takes the throne with everyone suspicious but unable to prove anything, until heir returns with backup and claims his head. lol oh well it works well here!

Gwen: I am Simba! RAWR~! Oh, wait, no

lololol

Hahhaa good thing I decided to go with Flameharts and not Lionhearts

lol that would have been too perfect

Huh...I'm actually not too sure how to respond to that one. Getting Ryder from the castle entrance to the dungeons...hm...

Well there we go, I wanted to put more, but I commandeered a friend's laptop to post and he wants it back now lol

Aw I was gonna introduce the prisoner as a character. Oh well :) I have a response. I'll post when I get home from work.

You might want to write ahead a little next time you've got something to introduce, that way I don't accidentally skip something I didn't know was going to happen. This time you could write over the parts that interfere with him being added as a character, if you like. I think it would be fun to have a prisoner in the mix.

No no, It's fine. It was an after thought I had anyways. I knew you'd likely move on when I came up with the idea. There's plenty more opportunity for characters to show up.

Everything all right?

Couple questions.

How do most of her people not know what she looks like? She's got quite a reputation from the border wars alone, not to mention all the traveling she's done with her father. Also the whole blue eyes thing and the fact that it's pretty hard to hide/mimic noble posture.

Also, wouldn't the people rally behind her if only because she was the king's daughter? He certainly would have made life better for the common folk--it was the whole reason he was able to be killed so easily--plus she was a general for like 5 years and a well traveled princess before that so she's going to have at least some level of charisma for rallying the people.

I know. Ryder not so much. He has a warped perception of her and the rest of the nobles. Even with policies trying to improve life for common people, a small town like the one he's from didn't see it. The local nobility would be in charge of enacting any changes and some of them just didn't. You have to remember, he knows she's a general, but he's never seen her in action. He figures she sits in a comfy tent, well away from the combat, and sends men to their deaths. That will be the majority of his character development is realizing the more time he spends with her that she's not who he thought she was.

That's the perspective I'm writing from. Not just a commoner, but someone that grew up in dirt and grime. She and her father may have traveled, but the small and dainty villages probably weren't on their list of places. Those kind of people wouldn't know her from an amateur doppelganger. The bigger towns and certainly other leaders that oppose Roland shouldn't be hard to convince. It's just getting the news to them that she's still alive.

Sorry for any confusion or offense, I sometimes get into my character's head too much and let them vent in my descriptions.

Cool. For some reason I didn't realize how much of a super noob he was to the ravens lol I guess this adventure's going to be kind of an uber shock to him! XD It'll be great.