Connaissance

Emily's caravan had traveled some three hundred and fifty miles with the last twenty being the hardest on the horses and the wagons as they came up the twisting and turning mountain road. At the summit of the mountain pass road, they were able to look back down into the valley and could tell just how high they had climbed. After reaching the summit there was about a two-mile-wide mountain pass where a fifty-foot tall fortress wall had been newly constructed. In the center of this massively thick wall was a huge double door that was three wagons wide and three wagons tall. On top of the wall was a group of Windsor Kingdom troops armed with bow and arrow. The caravan stopped within hailing range of the doors and Captain Alexander shouted out, "Her Highness, Princess Emily Windsor-Smith to assume Lordship of the City of Connaissance!"

On top of the wall, a soldier started to wave signal flags toward the other side of the wall which was answered by the sounds of a horn sounding four times. As the massive gate started to open, a band started playing the Windsor Kingdom national anthem. Once the gate was open, the Windsor Kingdom troops were lined up on both sides of the paved road in honor guard formation, swords unsheathed and held pointed up towards the sky. At the end of the formation were three men, one looked to be the troop commander in shining plate mail with a bright red cloak, one was a richly dressed civilian and the last was someone Emily knew from the palace, her Uncle's best friend, Daniel Conner who had a bright smile on his face.

"Emmy!" He called out and waved.

Emily couldn't help return the genuine smile with a bright smile of her own and an emphatic wave. Captain Alexander's face went mostly stoic with a slight frown. The caravan came to a stop and then Emily and Alexander climbed down from the roof of the lead carriage. "Danny, what on Hanston are you doing here?" Emily rushed forward and gave him a big hug.

The big man laughed loudly and returned her hug and then replied with a smile, "That uncle of yours may act like he wants nothing to do with you, but Drew has always been looking out for you secretly. He sent me here to make sure that your city had a good wall around it and that you'd be able to take over here without any hassles."

He looked a little sad for a moment and then said to her softly, "Emmy, I'm not going to lie to you, the Connaissance you dreamed about, and the Connaissance we found here is not the same. When we got here air was full of soot, the people living here were miserable. A few wealthy merchants owned all of it and treated the poor like they were slaves. The kind of science you used to blabber on about was nothing like what was being done here, all they were doing was mass-producing cheap products to be sold in the surrounding kingdoms. After we shut these big factories down, most of the overpopulated city left. There's nowhere to grow anything up here. It's all paved city up the base of the Alps. You have one road in and out of this valley that we finally built this wall on. "

Emily nodded, she gave Daniel a punch on the arm and asked, " So, what you are dancing around then, is it that we'll have food shortages until I can figure out a way for the citizens to make money?"

"It's much worse than that, Emmy, all that you'll find here is a big coal mine, the biggest metal works you've ever imagined and a logging industry. If you want any other resources aside from metal, coal, and wood, you'll need to trade, and no one is willing to give fair terms to the city since they know you have no natural resource options. Food is much worse, because of the soot, there are no animals to hunt here and obviously, since they paved over all the land, nowhere to grow anything. I've been having hunters travel down to the valley, but gathering meat that way is too slow. No idea how'll you fix it, but I wanted you to know about the problems." He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's good to see you again Emmy. I did my best to clean this mess up before you got here, but some of this... It's going to take a better mind than mine to find solutions."

Emily scrunched up here face in deep thought, "What's the current population of the city?"

Daniel closed his eyes, "The city is built for a population of one million, currently the population is half that. Most of those people are in the service industry or out of work factory laborers. Emmy, this city, the way it was built... It's just not sustainable."

She nodded, "I get the idea, it needs a way to get food and resources up to the valley. How far are we from the Windsor Kingdom border here?"

"If you look down there in the valley," He pointed out through the still open main gate, "This city has about 50 miles of territory down in the valley, I suggest building a small village down there for a few farms and some hunters. You have these big wagons you can use to shuttle food back and forth."

Emily hugged Daniel again and then asked, "My uncle mentioned you built an embassy here? I wonder, will this embassy be enforcing the Kingdom or the Church's will in my city?"

Daniel shook his head, "No, we are just leaving a small defensive force here for you personally. Just in case some other kingdom decides to grab a Windsor Princess to use as a bargaining chip. These men are elite, but they will stay out of any local governance issues. They are only here as your personal guard force in the event of hostiles trying to breach the city. They can take you out, no matter how many soldiers are on the other side of that wall."

One of the Red Lion Battalion sergeants walked up close to Captain Alexander and whispered, "Want me to hold his legs so you can punch him in his fancy pants handsome face?"

Daniel caught just a bit of the whisper and asked, "I'm sorry Emmy, I have ignored your mercenary. Hello Jon, the former knight of the Windsor Lion Brigade. As I recall, you fought alongside us at the battle of Apple Hill. It was a real shame what happened to your Lion Brigade." Daniel reached out and took his hand in a hard handshake.

Captain Alexander smiled stiffly returning the strong handshake with an even harder grip, " You must be Knight Conners from the Windsor Dragon Brigade. The remnants of Windsor Lion Brigade are all here. After we were disbanded by his Highness, we decided to form the Red Lion Company, however, on our trip up here to Connaissance, we have sworn our oath to her Highness. We are now the Red Lion Battalion of Connaissance."

The two men stood facing each other shaking hands neither letting go when Daniel spoke up again, "Battalion? I only see a small company here, are there more of you coming then?"

Emily felt there was something very odd about this handshake so she spoke up, "Danny, Captain Alexander was able to lead my caravan here through a large brigand assault, a full brigade attacked my caravan."

The two men finally let go as Daniel finally pulled his eyes off Alexander's and looked at Emily, "A full brigade! That couldn't have been brigands only the church and the Palace have..." Daniel made a terrible face before looking at Alexander again, "Those pious bastards dared to kill my Emmy!"

Alexander nodded and then said softly, "Her Highness is an amazing leader, unlike others in her family."

"Your Emmy?" Emily started to chuckle, "Danny you haven't called me that since we were little."

"We, you mean you! I was a grown man back then, little girl!" Danny laughed loudly. He turned to Alexander and said, "You were also a grown man back then when she was a little child. A tiny little child." Danny barely concealed his glare at Alexander with a smile.

Alexander returned a fake smile and said, "Oh, not as old as you, of course, I was still a rookie squire when you received your full knighthood."

"Alexander, If I recall right, weren't you always chasing after that pretty red-haired girl, what was her name...?" He snapped his fingers a few times trying to pull out the name from the face.

"Elana. She was with us at Apple Hill, she died when the Lion Brigade was used as a sacrifice, I apologize, I mean, a distraction so that his Highness could gain military merit." Alexander looked at Daniel with empty eyes.

Daniel frowned and then said in a heavy tone, "If Sir Lockhardt hadn't taken your Lion Brigade out of position, none of you would have lost a life. His Highness's plan was perfect. It wasn't his fault that your leader decided to change it with a stupid battlefield decision."

Alexander walked right up to Daniel, nose to nose, and poked him in the chest with his index finger and said in an equally heavy tone, "If we hadn't moved our position the entire left flank would have been lost along with His Highness's and your dog life!"

Moments later the two men started to fight like drunks at a tavern the two men rolled on the ground pushing and swearing, neither one able to get a real punch in or do much more than cause the other man to look pitiful and dirty. Emily stood there with her hand over her face and finally yelled out, "Am I not standing here? Both of you stop this nonsense at once!" She stamped her foot down trying to get their attention.

The two men rolled back to their feet. and started to dust themselves off they both looked at each other and started to laugh each man reached out and shook the hand of the other before pulling it in for a hug, "I'm sorry Alex, I went too far." Daniel said as he slapped the other man's back a few times.

"No, it was my fault, Dan, I shouldn't have put all that on you, I know neither of us had any hand in the decisions from that day." Alexander sighed and then said, "You'll have to show me around town, I think I owe you an ale."

"You're damn right you do!" Daniel laughed in agreement, "Come, let's go see City Hall and meet the locals."

A few moments later the caravan was underway once more with a Windsor Kingdom escort.