THE STALLIONS REST

[_mady07 1541]

 

A STALLION’S REST 

 The Death of Ramona I

 

 

Blood washed the carpets of the throne room. Ramona held to the metal arms that carried her up winding steps.

Her hair hung in disarray, clinging to her forehead in tangled, sweat-soaked strands. Her royal gown was marred by dried blood, its torn fabric clinging to her frail frame, made stiff and dark with the remnants of the day's violence. Faintly did she feel the careful grip of the guards who carried her, their expressions made pallid with fatigue and exhaustion. They ascended the winding staircase, each step echoing through the corridors. The rhythmic thud of their boots was punctuated by the soft, steady drip of blood from her own dress. Flickering torchlight illuminated their ascent, casting shapeless pools of darkness which seemed to shift with each step. 

 

Ramona contemplated the day’s events, each second etched into her mind with excruciating detail. None of it was her fault, surely not. And yet, so much around her seemed to wither and crumble. As a girl, she watched her family turn cold and jaded, changed by the weight of the Crown. As she grew into her station, life treated her no better. Her once warm and loving family became distant and estranged, their hearts hardened by the relentless demands of the crown. Friends who had once been close were likewise lost to the machinations of court politics, each one drifting away until only memories remained. Even love, the one refuge she hoped to find solace in, was torn from her by the cruel whims of fate. 

 

There was a creak at the door, as the guards made their way into the chambers, illuminated by naught but the moonlight which poured in from a nearby window. Gently did they set Ramona down, leaving her with nothing save her thoughts to keep her company. No servants came to change her garb, for they all lie dead within the bowels of the royal palace.

 

“I’d have killed 100 of them, if only to have saved her.”

 

It had all happened so fast, truth be told. The battle leading up the steps of the palace had raged on, beaten and barely survived. Ramona only wished to see her daughter. The healer, Revekka, carried the Sovereign through an active battle in the ballroom, up the winding stairs of the royal quarters, and to the dim flickering hall of Santana’s room. The steps creaked as they reached the first set of doors which had been ajar, broken down at the first fight within the palace. A path of blood trickled further into the depths of the hall. The pool of blood grew more and more before finally leading to the Princess’ bed chambers. Poison spilled from the night stand as there lay Santana's cold body, eyes distant and devoid of life; the woman was stiff with death for some time. The princess looked almost shocked in her death, clearly a violent and painful one. At the sight of her daughter. Ramona's voice caught inside her chest. A quiet sob emitted from the Monarch; her grace and elegance, strength and serenity, had dissipated. Ramona looked weak, and her armored expression fell to a true terror.

 

As Revekka moved away from the Sovereign to allow her the moment, it was clear that the fragile old woman was no longer keeping it together. Ramona cried over her child, reaching out and pulling the tiara from her girl's brow and gently through the tears closing Santana’s dark blue visage. Ramona moved her daughter's hair from her face placing a final kiss on her brow before the minutes dulled on.

Finally the room drew quiet and Ramona looked back to Revekka asking to leave, bitter despair in her tone. 

 

A soft breeze echoed through the Sovereign’s chambers; The cold set in on the night, though Ramona could not stand, her hand at some point reached out however fell short as the memories covered her mind. The wind picked up, sounding more like screams, terror that struck her grandchildren and raged through the halls.

 

“Look at them, look at the faces of the people who killed your mother,”

 

The Sovereign whispered to her daughter’s three children as they walked through the palace garden and into the body strewn halls of the throne room.

 

Isolating the children was never her intention, the pain led the Monarch into a different state. For most of her life she had spent alone, surrounded by hundreds yet alone she bore the weight of the crown. The people she loved and cared for never truly were able to be her's. For she belonged to Hyspia. Outliving her husband, and now her heiress, it was always a necessity for her to be strong. The stability of her nation relied on it. As a girl she hosted many friends which seemed all to slowly take its course. The Sovereign could never really have friends. Craving the warmth and love however, always being pulled to the cold throne of her ancestors. The only one left would stay by her side until the day she died. Konstantin would ensure that everything would be handled. He always did.

 

Darkness snuffed out the memory of her past, stifling her dreams and consuming her whole. There was not a sound to be heard. The wind stopped and the doors no longer stood.

Ramona was entirely alone in the void. From the distance the sound of a horse broke the silence, slowly flooding into the darkness with a tan coat and rounded stomach stood Solaje, the childhood horse of the Monarch.  A smile broke her wrinkled expression as she reached out in the abyss to hoist herself unto the horse's back. Ramona directed the horse into the distance, going forward in the darkness with no start nor end. The darkness seemed to lift slowly from her gaze as the horse moved forwards, a faint feeling of hope clung to the woman.

 

Light began to surround the horse, suddenly Ramona was standing in the bright light with her hand outstretched, clasping the arm of another woman; her features were all too similar to her own, with dark blue eyes and a knowing smile. The Sovereign let out a cry, her arms moving to embrace the figure, tears welling in her gaze.

 

“Santana, how I missed you”

—————————————————————————————————————————————————
 

 

Light drifted into the Sovereign's room in the early hours of the morning. As the beams of the sun crept from the balconies, two guards entered the room for a waking call. At the third attempt to wake the Sovereign the fear and dread of reality had kicked in. 

 

The first Sovereign of Hyspia was dead.

Flags of the city were pulled down from the mast, birds quietly sang in somber tones. Leaving behind her husband Konstantin, Her two surviving children, a niece and nephew, and thirteen grandchildren. The Sovereign now rested in the skies above watching over her kin for all time to come.

 

OOC:

Spoiler

Credits to Mojang and Teeylin for helping me write this post. A huge thank you to everyone who has helped during Ramona’s reign, I truly could not be more grateful and thankful for all of those involved. We have done so much and we’ve never thrived so well. I am so happy to have gotten to share this experience with you all. Thank you.

 

Spoiler

SOME AWESOME SCREENSHOTS THROUGH OUT THE PAST SIX MONTHS

 

All I have left to say is, Thank you all. . .

AND IT NEVER RAINED ON RAMONA

 

 

[Cheese 8883]

Julieta stood quietly. She had opted to speak very few words to anyone outside of her family over the past few months. After all, it was fitting for the silence of the palace, what with the absence of her mother and the servants, and now with the hole her Abuela had left.

 

Hugging onto her living doll, one that bore the late Santana's image, Julieta stared up at the dias where her grandmother once sat upon the throne, covered in blood. Soon, it would be her eldest sister, Xiomara, sitting upon that throne.

 

". . . Xio and Val aren't going to leave like Mama and Abuela," The Butterfly Princess murmured, presumably to her doll. However, for such a young girl, her tone was laced with worry; with confused grief. "-Right?"

Spoiler

 

[Javert 9615]

The Baron of Ramonadora was among the first to find the deceased Sovereign's body in the quarters of the Hyspian Palace. Having been concerned for his Mother-in-law's health, he and his niece Xiomara had made their way up into the Sovereign's bedroom. When the Baron found the Sovereign, he was unsure of what exactly to do. First his Sister-in-law, now his Monarch who he had served all his life.

 

Although the future was never certain, Nicolas knew that this was the beginning of a new age for the people of Hyspia.

[tadabug2000 4918]

Xiomara went from Grand Princess, to Crown Princess, and now Sovereign all within the span of a week. The eight year old grieved, that light to her gaze having darkened and donned the crown. There was court to run. She couldn't just leave the people so she may grieve on her own, no?

Nonetheless, her heart ached. . And she hoped she may find time to cry that night.

[_RoyalCrafter_ 5285]

Rafael mourned the loss of the only one who he could describe as being a parent to him.

[Pancho 4197]

In a far corner of the map, Ramona's oldest friend sat on the docks of Balian. As his levyman broke the news, the Margrave would wave him off. A tear ran down Jose's face, his fists clenching. Soon, the dam broke, tears strolling down the man's face.
 

"Ramona, en los brazos de Dios encontraras la paz." With that, the noble got up and began his return to the homeland, for the final time.

[teeylin 1688]

The recently deceased Santana welcomed her mother to hell, with a piercing grin. 

[Optimus420 1926]

The Cossack, simply known as Konstantin having few words to say to anyone closed himself off from the world once more. He kept his promise to his wife, he would go on to maintain and keep her horses well fed and well trained. Though his time in Hyspia has come to close, the sellsword in him knew there was work to be done elsewhere. After the Sovereign's court and receiving a knighthood for his service to the nation, he requested one simple thing, 

"Allow me to travel the world a free man not bound to the borders of this nation, I will aid you in your times of need, but it would be a fallacy to say I wish to remain."

Upon the approval given to him after obtaining his knightly spurs, he took off with the horses to be free as was his people's way. Upon the frontier is where he was most at home. The next chapter of his life was one unknown to him, but it would be lived to the fullest per her wishes.

"Until we meet again, Ramona."

[Bethinwonderland 2213]

Valencia held the little crocheted plush horse her Abuela had left her. Staring at where it's eyes would be "Do you know why she had to leave too?" she asked the tiny toy, however, no reply came "Me either.."

For a long while, silence filled the room.. The young Princess allowed the horse to slip from her hand and onto the bed. She shimmied her way next to her night stand so she could wind up her music box so that the melody might block the sound of her sobs as she grieved
 

---

In another wing of the Hyspian palace. Ornella cradled her two-month-old son, who thankfully got to meet Ramona right before she passed away.. She grieved along side her husband who just lost his mother. While she was exactly close with the dearly departed. She'd miss her Mother-in-law dearly as would the rest of the family and sovereignty.

Once Agustín had been put down for a nap, she turned to Inigo "Maybe we should go spend time by the water. Would that make you feel better? We can build a sand castle in her memory?"