P.O.V. OF RONALD "RONNIE" RAYMOND.
It was late one cold and frosty evening, and the I, Lord Ronald Raymond, was on my way back to my estate with my trusted butler and friend Francisco Ramon from my Aunt and Uncles castle. They are the only family I have left and at 22 they had taken it upon themselves to try and find me a young and beautiful bride. I was next in line for the throne as they could have no children of their own and am their only blood nephew.
They were the current King and Queen and their castle resided in what was dubbed Central City. They were fair rulers, but they believed that I could be even better when the time came for me to take the throne. King Joseph and Queen Martha always looked forward to that day, and as law of the land I would need a suitable bride before I could do so. This is one reason they, mostly Aunt Martha, tries so hard to find me a wife.
I sighed in relief as I watched buildings passing through the thick curtains in the windows. I do enjoy seeing my Aunt and Uncle, I really do. But I could do without the attempts to force me into courting the eligible daughters of some of their friends, the wealthy lords and ladies and even some monarchs from neighboring kingdoms. I know they only wanted what was best, and that they hoped I would find one of them desirable and find love with them. It isn't that I don't enjoy their company either, I simply do not envision myself courting and marrying any of them that I'd met thus far.
"That was quite a wonderful night, was it not?" Francisco smiled. At least my trustworthy friend had found the evening to be enjoyable.
"I suppose." I offered up a half smile, still lamenting about the evening. Suddenly my smile grew wider, "Did I or did I not see you conversing with the Lady Snart?"
My friend blushed and his eyes widened, "Lisa? I-Uh-I would— I- "He stammered.
I laughed at my butler's reaction to my bringing up the beautiful younger sister of the incredibly wealthy Lord Leonard Snart. I know that Francisco had strong feelings towards this particular girl. "Do not worry Cisco, my friend, I will not say anything to her brother. I know how much you have come to care for her, and I really do not wish you dead. In fact, I think it is quite wonderful that you have found someone you care for on such a deep level." I am glad to have a friend close like Cisco, even though he insists that we call him by that odd and informal nickname.
My confession seems to shock him, but his bewildered look quickly turns into one of happiness. His grins widely, "Thank you, my Lord."
"Please, Cisco, call me Ronnie. I do not mind at all, and especially so since you insist on having such an informal nickname for yourself. Also, I think she is quite taken with you. I overheard her say as much to some other girls at the ball tonight." I half whispers the last part with a small smirk playing on my lips.
"Really?" He pumps his fist in a celebratory fashion. "Yes!" He opens the window enough to lean himself out of it slightly and yells, "SHE FANCIES ME! SHE REALLY FANCIES ME! YES!" effectively sharing his joy with anyone near enough to hear his loud voice, and the driver of the coach Bartholomew Allen.
"Get back in here you idiot!" I laughs and pull him back inside by his tailed jacket as I hear Bartholomew say, "What the heck Cisco! I'm trying to drive here!" "We do not need anyone else thinking that you are odd. What would happen if they happened to share this information with the Lady Lisa?" I raised his eyebrows as I teased my friend.
Cisco grimaced, "You're right. That would be quite unfortunate." He leans only his head this time out the window, "Sorry Barry, that was my bad."
Suddenly the carriage jerks and Cisco is thrown back into the door on the other side. He groans as he tries to get back up but he is thrown to the floor this time I am thrown forward as well. "What's going on Barry?!" Cisco shouts, but Barry doesn't have time to answer before the carriage slides and we all hear the sounds of the horses frightened whinnies and the sound of skidding before we hear a loud crash and suddenly everything is still once more.
"Oh no. Oh no. Oh no!" Barry's voice is the first thing I hear and he curses before I hear the sound of his feet hitting the ground, the snow crunching beneath his boots. "Please don't be dead. Please, oh please!" At this Cisco and I exchange alarmed looks and quickly rush to exit the coach together. "What happened Barry?" Cisco inquires again when he locates him through the thick of the heavy snow.
"Who is that?" Cisco is the first to move, and he kneels beside Barry and the person on the ground.
"I don't know, but we've hit her. She's hurt." Barry's eyes are wide and he is clearly worried about the girl lying in the snow.
I move and half kneels next to them to see, and find myself looking at the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on. Shaking my head, he clears my thought and focuss on the problem at hand.
"Can we get her medical help?" I look hopefully to both of my friends, they train in various sciences in their free time whereas I have trained only in the mechanical sciences. I have always made sure my staff has both time, energy, and some money so that they have the ability to pursue their hopes and dreams.
"I- "Barry pauses, "I think so." He seems unsure, but I trusts his friends and I would feel absolutely horrid if this poor woman were to die because of me.
"Come on, let's get her to the manor. We have a medical professional on the premises and it's far closer than any medical facility." my voice is strong, as it is when I does not wish for anyone to question my decisions and both of them nod is compliance.
"I am so dreadfully sorry miss, this is all my fault. We're going to help you, but this will hurt." I soften my voice as I speak to the seemingly unconscious woman, feeling as though I should address her. Carefully I pick her up, trying not to jostle her as I bring her into the carriage. Since the seats are not long enough for her to lay down, I hold her in my lap, and pray to whoever will listen that this poor woman will live to see the next day. That she will live to see Christmas with whatever family she had, that she would still live many years and not pass this evening on my account.