Oncupone: A Twisted Fairytale

Scarlet:
I smiled a little and took my hand off my sword. "At ease, I guess. What're you doing all the way out here?" I asked. "I was out scouting for any of the Duke's men, were you doing the same?"

Onesie looks shifty. "I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you, ma'am." He frowns for a moment, remembering something, then says slowly: "The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful."
He waits for her to reply.

(I know that's a quote from Mulan, but I've got no idea what to say)

Scarlet:
I pondered the quote thoughtfully. "A very wise... and very older ruler said that," I said finally. "And I believe two people were very happy as a result of that."

((Quote something seemingly unrelated and cryptic: it's meant to be a password.))

Onesie waits patiently for her reply.

Scarlet:
I pursed my lips, but smiled a little. "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek," I said.

"Right this way, ma'am," says Onesie. He leads her down a narrow winding path to a hefty 32-pounder cannon being cinstructed in a secret glade.
"his is Humpty Dumpty."

((True story. Humpty Dumpty really was a cannon.))

((Well, that's cool.))

Scarlet:
I raised my eyebrows at the cannon. "Very impressive, very impressive. Have those cannonballs I found at the castle proved useful at all? The ones that changed color?"

"We haven't dared to test them yet. Would you care to supervise the first firing?"

Scarlet:
"You know, I think I would," I said, bending down to examine one. "I wonder what the Duke's got in mind... nothing good, I'm afraid."

"I wouldn't know. I'm not privy to that sort of information."

Scarlet:
I grinned at the soldier and pushed my goggles from my forehead over my eyes. "Shall we do this?"

Suddenly, a girl hurried past Onesie and Scarlet, with her unnaturally long hair coiled around her shoulder as if it were rope. " 'Scuse me," she said, very quickly, "Coming through. Pardon me. Need my pants."

((So as to avoid any confusion: Rampion has stashes everywhere. She has some clothes nearby that she evidently needs to change into.))

Onesie hooks the butt of his musket around her legs.
"Looks like the guards are getting slack. Who are you and how did you get in here?"

Scarlet:
"Just about to ask the same thing," I said, crossing my arms. "You, my friend, have a LOT of hair."

Rampion, of course, tripped and fell to the ground. She did, however, have time to pull her coiled hair in front of her face, and, therefore, was uninjured. She stood up, brushing the dust off the front of her dress.

Turning to face the two people in the clearing, she quickly looked them up and down. She recognized the man in the soldier's uniform. After all, he was quite... distinctive. Obviously, he was Onesie. She wasn't so sure who exactly the girl was. Definitely in the Order of the Hood. Riding Division, perhaps?

"I'm Rampion, of course," she said, answering Onesie's question, "And I'm just here to get some things nearby."

Rampion looked at the girl wearing a hood. "That I do," she nodded, "A real nightmare to keep orderly, but if proves useful quite frequently. It's worth every bit of trouble it causes, in my humble opinion."

(Guh, I need to switch to third person)

Scarlet pursed her lips slightly, making a quiet humming noise. "I'm Scarlet. Order of the Hood, Riding Division. You do realize only authorized personnel are supposed to be here?"

There is a quiet but ominous click! as Onesie draws back the flint of his musket.
"The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful," he says clearly. He stares at Rampion, awaiting reply.

Rampion looked at Scarlet. "Yes. Yes, I do. But I'm-"

Click

Rampion stood stock still, staring at the weapon in Onesie's hands. It took a few seconds before she was able to speak. "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek," she responded, pleased with how she managed to keep her voice from shaking.

Scarlet let out a sigh and turned back to the cannonballs, examining them. "Well, now that that's settled, shall we get on with the firing?" Reaching up, she pulled the thick goggles from the top of her head down over her eyes.

Onesie lowers the flint very slowly and holds out a hand to help her up.
"I'd like to see this."

Rampion gratefully accepted Onesie's hand. Readjusting her hair on her shoulder, she looked towards the large cannon and gave a low whistle. It was pretty big. "You're firing that? I certainly hope it's size isn't an indicator of how loud it is."

"We don't know yet," says Onesie. "Well, I don't."

"Only one way to find out," said Scarlet, plugging up her ears with a bit of wax then passing it to the other two. She nodded to the other soldiers, who loaded the cannon with one of the strange cannonballs and pointed it at an angle into the sky. Holding the light-stick gingerly, she moved behind the cannon. "Firing in three... two... one... zero!" The flame from the rod ignited the fuse and the cannon went off with a bang. The cannonball shot into the sky, leaving a slight rainbow trail behind it. Suddenly, it broke into four parts, a shimmering net expanding from it. "Well, that was interesting," she said, lowering the goggles.

"Wow," Rampion said simply. She watched as the net fell to the ground. Unable to contain her curiosity, she turned to the others and asked, "So what's the intended use for something like that?"

"I would've thought it'd be obvious," came a voice from behind them. A tall, scrawny young man came into view, a bag slung over one shoulder, and a general layer of dirt completely covering him.
Scarlet frowned at him and touched the hilt of her sword. "Jack. Never thought I'd see you again."
Jack waved his hand at her. "Yeah, yeah, good to see you too, Red. Anyways, it obvious isn't it? The Duke's out to capture the Wolf. Duh."