The Connaissance Observer

Emily was walking along her normal route to the tea shop across from the residential building area carrying a book when a young boy carrying a bag ran up to her, "Good morning pretty lady, I see you are carrying a book, but did you know that the East Ave strangler has finally been caught? You can read all about it in this morning's Observer for only one Pixie!"

She raised an eyebrow and then fished out a single Pixie coin and handed it to the young boy who then handed her a three-page newspaper. Before she could even so much as ask a question the young boy raced off to speak with another man carrying a book giving the same sales pitch. Emily folded the paper and placed it in her book before heading to her normal spot. As usual, she found a seat on the patio and watched as the construction crews started their work on the large brick building. She put her book to the side and opened the newspaper as the waitress walked over, "The usual Lady Connaissance?"

Emily smiled and said, "A cup of Jasmine tea and one of your blueberry scones, please."

"Oh! You brought the Observer today, I am so glad they finally caught that terrible East Avenue strangler. It was terrible what he was doing to those women." The waitress frowned, "That reminds me, Lady Connaissance, did you read the story last week about our city's most eligible bachelors? Three of them were linked to you, you know." She gave her a wink and then went back to her work.

Emily's eyebrow twitched involuntarily as she picked up the newspaper and read every story. When she found the social section the twitch returned once more as she found that she was the central figure in almost every story. One story read, 'Lady Emily Connaissance was seen touring the new City Hall construction site in the company of Mr. Winston Murray, is Captain Jon Alexander on the outs? The handsome young inventor Winston Murray is, of course, the man responsible for the city's new conveyor system which brings food and wood up from the valley floor. Mr. Murray is also now the lead designer for the Future Art of War company as well as the CEO and founder of his own Murray Electric company. Rumor has it that Mr. Murray, one of Connaissance's most eligible bachelors has risen to fame and fortune recently all thanks to a helping hand from our very own Lady Connaissance.'

"I read in that paper the other day, that you brutally rejected Prince Iopolo causing him to return to his fiancé in Fursia. May I have a seat?" Captain Alexander stood facing Emily at the table.

She smiled at him and warmly replied, "Of course Jon, you should try the scones here. They are wonderful."

He gave her a smile and nod and sat down, "Daniel gave me warning that King Andrew would be coming for an official visit this week. He isn't sure about the exact date or time, but the King will be staying at the Embassy. He doesn't have the full details, but I believe this visit has something to do with an alliance between Fursia and the Holy Chadtom Empire."

"Uncle is always two steps ahead of his enemies, he must think there is a threat in the alliance. I wonder if he is coming to marry me off to Prince Iopolo or to ask for weapons of war from us." She rubbed at her temple.

Captain Alexander looked a little shocked, "King Andrew wouldn't arrange your marriage!"

She gave him a sly smile and then said, "So it must be weapons. Jon, how long has this newspaper been published? Today was my first time seeing it."

He rubbed his chin in thought, "Let's see, I believe it was three weeks ago? Maybe four? They only do three editions a week. The front page usually has the crime and political stories. The second page has opinions, social stories, and the back page is where you find birth and death announcements. I hear they will be adding more as paper's sales pick up."

She looked amazed as she asked, "Where do you usually find the paper? I only heard of it today because a young boy came up to me on the street with it."

He nodded, "They call those kids newsies. The paper is sold out of little stands by the industrial sector. The newsies go and pick up a bag of papers and resell them. I guess they cost one Spriggan each and then the newsies sell them at one Pixie so they make a Spriggan for each paper they can sell."

She looked impressed and smiled happily, "Who runs the paper? No one from the Observer has ever talked to me."

"A man named George Martin runs the paper, he came in with that huge group of returning refugees. I think the paper is owned by Randolf Duke. Mr. Duke cuts the checks and Mr. Martin handles the editor in chief role." Captain Alexander waved over the waitress, "Good morning Mabel, could I have a cup of the black and a scone?"

The waitress smiled, "It's good to see you back Captain, I didn't believe those stories in the paper about you." She hustled off the kitchen.

Emily's eyebrow twitch started as she asked him, "Jon, what stories?"

He waved his hand as if dismissing it as nonsense, "Just gossip about my love life. Nothing to be concerned about."

An intern with the Mr. Duke's company came riding over on a high wheel, he hopped off and let the tall bike crash to the ground, "Lady Connaissance, Lady Connaissance! Mr. Pillson says you have to come to the new city hall at once!"

Captain Alexander asked, "Is it trouble or good news?"

"Ah! Captain sir, I don't know, he just had me come over at my best speed to call on Lady Connaissance." The intern stammered out.

Emily waved over the waitress, "Thank you for the tea, I'll pay for Captain Alexander's as well." She handed over a few Sprites and then started walking to the new city hall. Captain Alexander followed along with her uninvited. The intern hopped back on his high wheel and zoomed off ahead of them.

Captain Alexander walked along with her in silence for a few blocks before he cleared his throat slightly and asked, "So, that Winston Murray is quite the inventor. Who knew that his Beehive system was just the tip of the iceberg for his accomplishments."

Emily chuckled and then replied, "Well, I did of course. That's why he's here, isn't that right? Winston isn't just brilliant, he's quite handsome and brave as well. Do you remember when stood on top of my wagon and faced that large force of the Church's troops? He didn't even blink. If his Beehive had failed, we all would have died."

Captain Alexander made a sour face, "That's right. Very brave."

Emily smiled up at him and added, "He's actually quite strong as well, I was amazed to see that he works out every day. I wonder if he could have been a knight had he come from the right family?"

"You're doing this on purpose." Captain Alexander frowned.

Emily giggled and then suddenly gasped. She stared straight ahead with her mouth wide open.

Captain Alexander stopped in his tracks and followed her eye line. What he saw shocked him to his core. Instead of the usual red base steel skeleton, the tall structure was a red base with what looked like a giant piece of Obsidian stretching up ten stories into the sky. It was the tallest most amazing structure either of them had ever seen. It was almost a full city block with a white Pillson Concrete sidewalk surrounding it. In the brick red first floor was a golden or brass doorway with another piece of the obsidian like surface nestled into it. A sign written in gold or brass letters said, 'City of Connaissance' and bellow that also in the same lettering, 'City Hall'. As they got closer to the building they saw The Duke brothers, Mr. Murray, Mr. Pillson, and a number of other city dignitaries shaking hands, smiling and laughing.

When they saw Emily and Captain Alexander coming everyone quieted down. Mr. Pillson stepped forward and announced, "Lady Connaissance, I am sorry to call you down on such short notice, but I thought that you should be with us on our inspection tour." Mr. Pillson offered his arm to Emily who graciously accepted. As they started to move forward A familiar white carriage with ornate gold trim and red seal with golden lion's head on the door arrived.

Daniel Conners dressed in his ornate knight's armor was the first man off the Carriage, he looked around and then bellowed out, "His Majesty, King Andrew Windsor!" After the announcement was made, a team of four knights dressed in shiny ornate armor walked into positions around the door to the carriage. King Andrew looked every bit the part of a king. He walked unhurriedly down off the carriage and then looked around. He looked up and up and nearly stumbled as he looked at the magnificence of the building in front of him. Much like Emily his mouth hung open as he stared in awe.

Emily called out to him emotionlessly, "Uncle, you are just in time, we are going on a tour of our new city hall, please honor us by joining our first look."

King Andrew almost smiled as she invited him to come along but regained his Royal dignity and nodded, "Of course, Lady Connaissance, I would be delighted. This is the most amazing looking building I have ever seen, I am curious to see the inside as well."

The group followed behind Mr. Pillson and Emily as the magnificent door opened. Inside they were shocked to find that what looked like Obsidian was actually glass. The building had four giant ornate pillars the center of which looked straight up to a skylight 10 stories above as if the center of the building was hollow. The floors were obsidian up to the center area. The area under the skylight had white marble tiling with a circular white marble desk directly in the middle. A pair of gentle curving wide spiral staircases leading up to the next floor were behind the circular desk. as they walked up, they noticed a hallway with four doors behind gates. The second floor had a number of offices that had yet to be furnished along with a public counter on each side. As they went from room to room, a young scribe took notes of all the comments made by the group. Mr. Pillson smiled and then said, "I almost forgot, Mr. Murray would do the honors?" He pointed to a switch on the wall.

Mr. Murray had a big grin on his face as he walked over flipped the switch. The office they were in was suddenly illuminated as if they were all standing outside. He spoke up and said, "Thanks to Murray Electric, this building has all-electric lighting and electric motors power the Duhan Lifts."

Emily had a bright smile on her face as she asked, "You used the Duhan lift in the building?"

Mr. Pillson smiled and said, "You remember that hallway with the gated doors?" The group then followed him back to that hallway where four young women wearing uniforms opened the gates and lead five guests into each of the Duhan Lifts. Once inside the women closed the gates and doors. They walked over to a handle next to the door and took the group up to the tenth floor by gently turning the handle to the number ten. As the group exited the Lift, they were all marveling at what they experienced. Mr. Pillson walked over and flipped a switch that turned the electric lights on. The top floor was a giant cafeteria. He smiled at the group and said, "This floor will be open to the public and the building's employees. Please, be our guest and have a sample of the food we will be serving."

A group of well-dressed waiters brought out tasting plates for each of the tables. An array of sandwiches, soups, and easy to prepare comfort foods were placed on each table. Everyone seemed to quite enjoy the menu. Emily was at a table with the knights including Captain Alexander, King Andrew, Mr. Pillson, and Mr. Murray. They mostly spoke about the building until King Andrew smiled at Emily and said softly, "What you are doing here is far beyond what I imagined you would be capable of doing. Emily. I suspect you have already learned about my crime..." He looked at Captain Alexander, " So I won't try to force you to act like we are family. I just want you to know. They will never get past me, even if I have to put my entire Kingdom at war with them to do so."

Emily's eyes were cold as she looked at her uncle, "We won't be selling our weapons to any other nation."

"I am not asking you to arm us, what I would like is a treaty. Should Fursia and the Holy Chadtom Empire solidify their alliance by marriage, and combine their forces to go to war with us, I just want you to close the road with Fursia. I understand you have a treaty with the Holy Chadtom Empire and I would not want you to do anything to ruin that. I just want you to guard our northern border against Fursia."

Emily made a conflicted face and then answered, "He won't marry her so this treaty is pointless."

"How are you certain that he won't? I have met Teslaimia before, I wanted to ask for her hand myself, but she was dedicated to him." King Andrew mentioned offhand. "Did you think that his puppy love for you was going to always be there even as you treated him as just another boy interested in your beauty?"

Emily's cold face started to redden and show signs of anger, "Not all men treat their oaths like meaningless words."

King Andrew leaned close to her and grabbed her hand roughly, "If my oath was worth nothing you would have already been murdered. I accept your hatred and your anger because I did what I had to do to protect my first and most important oath. Given to the sister I loved at the birth of her daughter. Don't think for a moment that I haven't died a little bit more each day I have lived after doing that. When my life comes to an end, I will have many regrets, but doing whatever it took to keep my word will not be one of them." He released her hand and stood up followed by his knights, "I will stay at my embassy here for two days." He turned and smiled at Mr. Pillson, "Your building is without any doubt the greatest in the entire world. You and your associates here should be applauded for making the impossible, possible. The next time I come to the city here, I look forward to seeing what you have done. Bravo!"