PetrasHotseatIndex | Time Under Chaos | Player Characters | Petra | Petra's Hotseat A pleasing smile has a strength and a power all of its own, and vice is a powerful weapon for claiming a hold of those who would indulge in them. And yet, for all of the hedonism, and your love of art, your direct bluntness shows that you are indeed, to all reports, your father's daughter. You are his legacy, and it is sometimes said that the things we do serve as messages to our parents of what we think of them and their influence on us and our world. Describe for me a work of art, in any medium you choose, that you would or could create if you knew that it would serve as a message to your father. Petra sighed in a way that suggests she has been asked similar things before. "You are opperating on the mistaken assumption that I have anything to say to the man who fathered me. I'm sure there are air-headed romantics out there who believe I have had this gaping whole in my life created by his absence, and that I would have a list of things to ask or say. But the truth of the matter is that I don't. I have better things to do with my time then leave empty messages for complete strangers."
Your father died for his country. Do you feel a responsibilty to finish what he started, in your own way? She laughed. "Why would I? It certainly wouldn't be the first thing he started and didn't finish. I'm not his maid. I don't clean up his messes. Besides, are you even sure he's dead? For all we know, he is skulking about Arden with Julian."
So, do you ever cheat at cards? "Do you want me to hurt you?" Petra demanded, clearly insulted. "Winning at cards is an art, a personal achievement. You insult me by suggesting I need to cheat to win. I hope you can swim."
What is your fondest childhood memory? Petra paused thoughtfully. "Hmm. That's hard to say. I actually had a very nice childhood. Certainly the most vivid is the first time I was old enough to attend Carnival in Venicia. Mother wanted to wait until I was old enough that the masked revelers and fireworks wouldn't frighten me, you see. It can be a bit overwhelming if you aren't prepared for it. It is a colorful and exciting event and they have a seperate section set up just for the younger revelers. It's still great fun."
What did they say that convinced you to leave Jade and go to Amber? She laughed freely. "I'm sure my answer is going to be disappointing, but after ages trying to convince me, the thing that finally got a yes out of me was 'Aw, come on. It'll be fun'. Merlin has an adorably sexy pout."
Are you being honest or purposefully cruel with your blunt nature? Why? "A little of both, I suppose." She shrugged. "I have not the patience for couching everything in politic or poliet double-speak and I have even less patience for fools. It's who I am. If they don't like it, there's the door."
How do you get back and forth from Cornaro? "Bit of a stupid quesion, isn't it? I am a friend of Merlin. Merlin is a Trump Artist. You could have figured that out all by your little self if you had put some effort into it."
Do you trust Merlin's assertion that you're Benedict's daughter enough that you'd risk walking the Pattern (if one was available)? She snorted. "I don't trust anybody that much, cara mia. But by this time it is fair to say that I am someone of note's offspring. Would I take the opportunity to walk it if I could? I'm not sure. I've lived just fine this long without it. Besides, when measured against my life, the possibility of being able to move easier through Shadow just doesn't seem worth the effort."
Whose company do you more prefer--men or women? "That depends," she smiled.
Is the Ramblin' Queen strictly for friends of the kings, or could rebels have a covert party there sometime and not worry about being ambushed and arrested? In other words, how political are you? "You just had to ask that, didn't you? I was an exceptional student at The Jade, but courtly politics is one class I did not perform well in. Again, a lack of patience. However, this is a business, and everyone's gold spends the same. They're all the same naked anyway. Mandor's pants come off exactly the same way as Julian's." She paused. "I think. For all I know Mandor's pants involve some wierd shape-shifting thing." Petra suddenly looked vaguely horrified and swiftly waved a hand dismissivly. "Ignore that last. It leads to disturbing mental images that are best not dwelled upon."
If you had a child - a girl - would you want her to follow in your footsteps? Would you train her to eventually work on the Ramblin' Queen? "Any child of mine would get the same freedom of choice I had," Petra stated firmly. "There were many paths open for me in Cornaro and I freely choose the one offered by The Jade. If my make believe daughter wanted the same, I would send her there when she reached the appropriate age."
The Ramblin' Queen represents a lot of different things to many of the people in Amber. Decadence. Freedom. Pleasure. If you had to sum up in one word what the Ramblin' Queen means to you, what would that word be? Petra laughed. "Depends on the day, and today's answer is 'Sanctuary'."
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