The Source of The Article

Emily paced around the room and then picked up her cane and paced around her living room some more, "I have only ever had a conversation like that with Jon. Why would you do that Jon?" She tapped her cane on the ground. Then she sat down on the couch thinking about the conversation. "The only people there were Jon, Mabel... Wait. Mabel? Hasn't she always been asking me questions about the men I know?"

Emily quickly dressed, grabbed the newspaper article, and angrily made her way to the Defensive wall where Jon's quarters were. Midway there she found a cab to take her the rest of the way as she was having a hard time walking due to her anger and the late time of day. The human-powered cabs in the City of Connaissance were like carriages made for a man to pull, much lighter and smaller than a traditional carriage and much better for the City as horses were banned from the city streets to avoid having the hassle of waste clean up. By the time Emily had arrived, she was able to calm down enough to speak reasonably.

She walked at a nice even pace and then used the head of her cane to knock on Jon's door. He opened his door looking tired but already dressed in his armor as if he had slept in it. He was obviously shocked to see who was at his door, "Lady Connaissance? Why are you here at this hour?"

Emily just said, "Let me in, we need to talk."

He opened the door wider and said, "I'm sorry, please come in, I wasn't expecting guests so I don't have any coffee or tea prepared."

She threw the newspaper down on the table and took a seat, "Read this." She tapped her finger angrily in the newspaper pointing at the article she was upset about. "I need to know that you aren't the one, first of all, and then explain who is the right one."

Jon raised an eyebrow then rubbed his eyes before reading over the article, "He seemed to awaken in a hurry as he finished reading and the implications sunk in, Mabel?"

Emily nodded and then pointed a finger at him, "She's been feeding that gossip to the paper and she gets it from us when she asks those innocent little questions. Exactly what did you say to her about me that put this in the paper?"

He looked completely pale his hand covered his mouth, "I'll fix this, I'm sorry."

"Fix this? You'll fix this? Let me tell you what the consequences were first of all, and then explain to me how you'll fix this, Jon." She took a deep breath, "Teslaimia's father got word of..." She rapidly tapped the article with her finger, "...This... Somehow and sent two of his soldiers to my residence tonight. They barged in, grabbed her, and explained that she is going to be married off and will no longer be allowed near me. So tell me, Jon. Just how are you planning to fix that?" She slapped him hard across the cheek. "I am not even going to begin to imagine the damages this will cost my reputation here in the city."

Captain Alexander closed his eyes and then took a deep breath, "I would like to assign a detail around you for your protection. Just a small armed guard to keep people from approaching you. I know you prefer your privacy and the ability and freedom to go where you want when you want, but this scandal might be used by your enemies. He paced back and forth and then asked, "Who will she be married off to?"

Emily frowned and asked in return, "Does it really matter? It was just Polo again."

He looked at her strangely and then said, "That's impossible. Are you sure these men were truly sent by her father?"

Emily raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, is it possible they used this newspaper article as a way to come snatch the Princess of Fursia from your home for another purpose?"

Emily shook her head, "Teslaimia knew the men and seemed to believe their story."

He frowned and then thought about the conversation they had once before, "Lady Connaissance, may I ask, if it were you being kidnapped and you knew that the ones doing the kidnapping would hurt Teslaimia if you allowed her to know that you were being kidnapped what would you do?"

Emily had an angry expression, "What are you even talking about?" She rolled her eyes and then said, "I would go back with the men and hope that it would keep her safe."

He said, "Come with me. We may not have much time left. How long ago did she leave with them?"

Emily thought, "Maybe three hours ago?"

Captain Alexander called out to the watch, "Duty! Has anyone left through this gate tonight?"

The soldier nodded, "We had a wagon head down the mountain two hours ago. It was a load of large barrels headed for Damtown."

Captain Alexander called out, "Sound the alarm, shut down this gate and signal the lower gate to lock it down. I want that wagon brought back here and every barrel searched."

"Wait here, I'm going after the wagon." He dashed over and grabbed a horse from the stable, "Staughler you and your squad are with me."

Jon and his men rode down the mountain as the spotlights lit up the mountain pass. Down at the lower gate, Sir Colton had also ordered his men in a similar manner. He called out, "Nothing in or out of the gate, has anyone come down the mountain yet?"

One of Sir Colton's men said, "A wagon is at the storehouse, no one has come down yet."

Sir Colton took a deep breath, "Shut down the conveyor and lockdown the lower warehouse as well. No one leaves that building." He ran over and asked another one of his soldiers, "When is the last time anyone left the lower warehouse?"

He thought for a bit, and then checked his logs, "Last shift, so five hours."

Sir Colton narrowed his eyes, "You see those barrels, the big ones just at the top of the conveyor? We'll need to search those if my guess is correct. I want you to see if there are any people in those barrels. Take a full squad." As then men began to run to fill the order Sir Colton called out, "Jones! Crossbow and Sword."

Sir Colton's men arrived at the barrels just as Captain Alexander and his men arrived at the warehouse.

Up at the gate, Emily suddenly felt sick to her stomach, and then she began to feel dizzy before she fainted. As the men searched for Teslaimia, Emily was rushed off to the medic.

*****

Captain Alexander heard shouts coming from outside of the warehouse so he left his troop inside and rushed over to the conveyor. The troops from the lower camp had three men face down on the ground and stood around them holding crossbows on them while two other soldiers were pulling a human-shaped bag out of the barrel. Jon's expression was complicated as he asked the men, "How did you know to search these barrels?"

One of the men saluted Captain Alexander answering, "Captain, Sir Colton sent us to check these barrels when the upper camp had us close the gate. We found these three men hiding in the barrel with a suspicious bag between them."

Captain Alexander shook his head, "Sir Colton, has a quick mind, doesn't he?"

The soldier answered, "Captain if you are around Sir Colton everyday things like this, are just normal."

"Captain!" One of the soldiers yelled out.

Captain Alexander dashed over to check the situation only to find Teslaimia bound and gagged within the bag. He took his dagger out and quickly cut her free. She grabbed on to him and started to cry. Captain Alexander held on to her and said softly, "I'm sorry we were slow."

She shook her head and then hoarsely asked, "Is Emily alright?"

Captain Alexander smiled and said, "She's fine. Who were these men and why did they take you?"

Teslaimia said softly, "They are from the Sunshi. They oppose my father's reign and have tried to discredit him through different means. I don't know why they would try to kidnap me."

Captain Alexander nodded and said, "I'll bring you back. You have people worried." He picked her up in a Princess carry and walked back to the warehouse.

*****

Emily found herself in a strange bed once again, she slowly sat up looking around, a mad in a black suit walked over carrying a small black bag, he reached inside and pulled out a stethoscope asking, "Lady Connaissance, you've fainted just now so I just want to check your blood pressure."

Emily nodded and held out her wrist for him. He placed the stethoscope against her wrist listening closely and then took it back and placed it in his bag. She asked him, "Have they found Teslaimia yet?"

He replied, "They haven't notified us yet. Tell me, have you recently had a head injury?"

She nodded and said, "I was unconscious from it for a month."

"The only cure for such an injury is time, unfortunately. You'll need to be more careful about getting into stressful situations. Try to take it easy and rest more often. I want you to try and do some simple exercises. Just move your head up and down, left and right a few times a day. Also, write a word and place it twenty feet away from you and just watch it for twenty seconds every twenty minutes or so while you are reading. That should help with healing your brain." He stood up and walked away.

A few hours later Teslaimia and Jon entered the camp's medical office. Jon carried her over to the bed next to Emily's turning to her, "Lady Connaissance, how are you feeling? You gave my men quite the scare when you fainted."

Emily just looked over at Teslaimia relief washed over her face she asked, "Are you alright? Why did you go with them? We could have tried to fight..."

Tesliamia looked at her like she was stupid and then made a 'tsch' noise before saying, "Look at you, you fainted just from worry and you thought you could fight those men?" She smirked, "And you expected me to fight grown men? I am a Princess, not a knight." Teslaimia reached out her hand toward Emily who responded allowing them to hold hands.

Captain Alexander smiled and then said, "Lady Connaissance, about what I said earlier? I'll be assigning a permanent guard on you. Princess Teslaimia said that she would also prefer to have our guard instead of the men from the Embassy, so they will be protecting her as well. I am going to try to keep this group as subtle as possible. They'll try not to invade your privacy. You won't have to interact with them, but they will keep you under constant watch and intercept people that approach you."

Emily nodded and then asked, "What about the other thing, Mabel?"

Captain Alexander nodded, "I will speak to her of course, did you have another idea?"

Emily nodded and then looked at Teslaimia, "I think that one or both of us should be publicly dating a man."

Teslaimia smiled and then said, "Mm, well I am technically Polo's fiancé, so I can't do anything too brazen or it will affect the honor of my country." She looked at Jon and said, "You need to return to your old ways of staying on her hip publicly unless you have a woman that you are courting?"

He nodded and said, "You're right. All of this is my fault anyway."

Emily frowned and said, "You two are deciding my matters for me now? Maybe I would prefer if the man was someone like Danny or Winston?"

Teslaimia laughed, "You would never agree to Danny and Winston would forget that he was dating you the first time someone asked him a question he couldn't answer." She smiled and then said, "It's not like you have to have his child, Emily, just allow him to open doors for you and escort you around the city. I am still going to be there for you too. This is your idea, be smart about it."

Captain Alexander cleared his throat, "If you need me to, I mean I could be talked into helping with the child."

Teslaimia and Emily looked at Jon at the same time with the same look of disgust.