The Right Answer

A Princess Bride fanfiction

Summary: Westley begs the Dread Pirate Roberts for his life.

A/N: Wow, this turned out differently than how I'd intended it! It originally was going to be more of Westley thinking on his predicament in a way rather reminiscent of "Life Is Pain, Highness", but then it turned out more from Ryan's point of view! Weird isn't it, how the pen takes over you like that? Anyway, after you read it, review. Reviews keep me going, and keep me writing. So review already!

The pirate laughed as, one by one, he cut down all the people on the ship, rich and poor, young and old. He didn't really care. They were all the same in his eyes. All reacted the same to imminent death.

You see, he'd ask them all a question, a simple question. A question that could be answered in so many ways, but there was no right answer, because it was never answered in the right way. Not to Ryan, or rather, the current Dread Pirate Roberts, anyway.

"Any last words?" he'd ask, just as Cummerbund had asked him all those years ago. And his predecessor before him, and so on. It was a tradition.

Then, he'd wait. He'd wait for the response he was waiting for. None of them knew which of their victims would be spared before they heard it, but they all knew it when the time came. They all knew that there would be one to answer correctly.

Ryan, for example, had replied with, "Yes, I do. But you have taken any worth from them." And, because he had said such a unique choice of words, he'd been allowed to live. Interesting, isn't it, how people are allowed to live for such simple a reason?

But for Ryan, there was nothing simple about it. He moved on to an old man with an expensive-looking tunic on.

"Any last words?"

"Please! Please! I'll give you anything! The ship, the farm-boy deck-hand! My daughter! Anything! Just don't kill me… I beg of you!" he cried.

Ryan rolled his eyes and gave the signal. The man screamed as he fell into the harsh water below. The next victim was a middle-aged, middle-class man with the starts of wrinkles beginning to show themselves.

"Any last words?"

The man said nothing; he was too busy crying his eyes out. He fell in the water with the rest of his crew.

One left. A young man, blonde hair and blue eyes, walked up, eyes trained on the ground. No tears spilled from his eyes, no rage burned in the blue spheres. He just looked down, solemn and accepting of his fate.

"Any last words?"

Ryan was met with the surprise of his life as the boy looked up, and met his gaze. Sad, heart-broken eyes met his as he uttered the only word the Dread Pirate Roberts had yet to hear on his time on the pirate ship Revenge. "Please."

Ryan was taken aback. "What was that?"

"Please, I need to live," the farm-boy said in a broken tone.

"Why? Why is it so important that you are here?"

"True love," he replied. "Buttercup. I work at her farm. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on. I love her more than anything else in this world, including my own well being. She is intelligent, witty, and beyond anything else, faithful. I love her. And I don't want to leave her," he concluded, gazing at me forcefully. "That is what is so important for me here. Now, kill me if you must, but I promised her that no harm would come to me. I told her… and if she gives up on me… she'll give up on true love." He realized the truth even as he spoke it. His life depended on hers, and her love depended on his.

That's when Ryan knew, deep in his heart, that this boy, this farm-hand, this… Westley was going to be his successor, and was going to find his true love again. And he smiled. So that's what it feels like, he thought, fond memories of his predecessor dancing in his mind.

"Well, I've never had a valet," he said after a moment passed, sheathing his sword. "You can try it for tonight, I'll most likely kill you in the morning. What's your name, anyway?"

"Westley, sir," the farm-boy replied in confusion and relief.

Ryan started to walk away, but a voice interrupted him. "Um, Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Thank-you."

A/N: REVIEW! The button is right there! All you have to do is press it and write "cool" or "good". Heck, I wouldn't even mind if it was just a ":D" or "8D" or ":)" or "8)"! Even a "3" wouldn't kill ya.

Point being: REVIEW!