A's Character Q&A, Part II

Hey everyone, hope your week is going well!!

The results from the poll came in and A was chosen by a solid majority of voters, so they'll get to have their Q&A this month ✨

Here's A's first character Q&A, in case you haven't seen that one yet.

I also received a few interesting patron-submitted questions, so let's get to it!

Favorite outfit and why?
"I have a set of deep-blue robes that lighten into a brighter, more greenish blue whenever sunlight touches the fabric. It reminds me a lot of the gradients of the sea, from the dark parts of deeper waters to the radiance of shallower parts. It was a gift from R for my birthday last year, I've never worn it because of how fancy it looks. Perhaps I will during my birthday this year."

Have you ever had an unrequited love before? What did you do?
"Of course. I think most people have, at some point. As for me, I was very young at the time, around 13 years if I remember right. She was the daughter of one of the servants, one of my playmates growing up, and at the time I was convinced she was humoring me. I never ended up confessing to her.

"Thing is, I ran into her years later as an adult and mentioned I used to have a crush on her. She laughed and told me she did too, at the time, but was too shy to confess to me."

So, what happened?
Ashti/Azad shrugs. "Nothing. She was already promised to another, and neither of us held any feelings after such a long time. We mostly thought it was funny--but that experience did teach me to take a chance while I still have it. It's better to risk being rejected than let the moment pass you by and regret it years later."

[If A is romanced] "...Although, maybe it's better that I didn't confess back then. I might've been promised to her now, which would mean... never mind."

Conversely, has anyone ever had one-sided feelings for you before?
"A couple of times, yes. I've had a few admirers from a distance, but they were no better than acquaintances. I turned them down politely--some took it better than others."

Did they get angry?
"No, they would mostly just be sad, but one started sobbing on the spot. I also had a few times when a friend confessed their feelings to me, though, when I didn't feel the same. Those times were a bit more difficult to deal with."

How did you handle it?
"I let them both down easy, of course. The first time it happened, things felt strange with my friend for a while, but he eventually got over it. We went back to normal, and nowadays we can laugh about it. It helps that it was more of a crush than anything deep-seated."

"The second time, though... that particular friend was very much in love with me. It was a bit of a mess. I felt guilty that I couldn't return her feelings, and she couldn't spend time with me much anymore because it pained her too much. Eventually, we drifted apart. Sometimes things like that happen, it's no one's fault. Doesn't make it hurt less, though."

Let's move on to something more light-hearted. What's your favorite song or story to hear in a teahouse?
"You have to swear not to tell Xelara/Xelef."

Cross my heart.
"I don't believe you, but fine. It's the story of Xelef/Xelara and the Bandit King, Rizgar. Xelef/Xelara was hired by a village in Penawar to kill the Bandit King. Because his hideout was so heavily fortified, the Crescent Blades would've needed to lay a siege if they wanted to reach him, but they didn't have the manpower for that.

"So, the story goes, Xelef/Xelara snuck into the fortress, killed a few bandits while sneaking to the Bandit King, but then got caught. Someone in the village had ratted [them] out to Rizgar, and he was expecting them. Xelef/Xelara proposed to have a one-on-one duel instead, [them] against the Bandit King. [They] played on Rizgar's considerable pride, and he fell for it.

"Instead of actually fighting him, though, Xelara/Xelef took him hostage, used him to escape, then slit his throat the moment [they] stepped outside the fortress. The bandits became fractured without a leader, starting to fight amongst themselves, and the Crescent Blades took advantage to wipe their remnants out later."

Are you sure Xelef/Xelara doesn't already know you enjoy listening to this story?
"I know [they] know. That's why I need you not to remind [them], or [they'll] tease me about it for ages."

If you had the authority of the Crown for a day, what would you do?
"That's a tough one. There's only so much you can do in a day... any edict I could make would be easily reversed later, and anything large-scale would take more than a day.

"I suppose the most effective thing I could do would be to order raids on the estates of noble families, sell off their wealth and hand it out to the poorest among us instead. It would at least keep them fed for a couple of winters."

What would you do if you had to choose between saving the Crown or a large portion of your guards?
"I would save the Crown, no question. It's my duty as the Royal Protector, and any of the Imperial Guards would do the same. They know all of our lives are expendable compared to the Crown's. Not because the Crown's life is inherently worth more, but because of the consequences their death would have on millions of people.

"If they were assassinated like Ferzan, the chaos that would cause... it would leave Arsur extremely vulnerable. There are many, both within and outside of Arsur, who would take advantage. The citizens would be the ones to suffer most from whatever power-grab would occur after the Crown's death."

[If A is romanced] And your personal feelings don't play any part in that equation?
"...I never said they didn't."

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That was it for this week!!

I'll see you all again on Saturday for this month's tier 1+ character snippet 💖