Jon Alexander’s Folly

Mabel took a seat across from Captain Alexander. She asked him, "What do you consider Lady Connaissance? By that, I mean, is she your friend, is she your boss or is she someone that you were hoping could become your romantic interest?"

Captain Alexander looked down the street hoping to see her returning before looking at Mabel, "At one time I was hoping to have a romantic relationship with her but I always just felt like she was way too good for me. I mean, she's terrifyingly intelligent. She sees through everything and everyone."

Mabel nodded and then said, "And yet you assumed that such a woman missed that you had such an interest in her and still allowed you by her side every single day?"

Captain Alexander started to think hard about everything, "When I saw Princess Teslaimia the first time, it was like meeting the woman of my dreams. She is terrifying in her own way, she has this charisma that captures the attention of every single person that can see, hear, or smell her." He thought about it some more and then said, "Yet, I wasn't intimidated by asking her on a date the way I am with Lady Connaissance."

Mabel nodded and asked, "So what you are saying then, is that of the two most unapproachable women in the city of Connaissance you would feel safer asking the most beautiful of the two on a date? And you are?"

Captain Alexander made a face, "What do you mean?"

Mabel shook her head and laughed, "One is the Princess of Fursia, the other woman in the City Lord, who was also the Princess of the Windsor Kingdom. Just who are you to be choosing between them like a bricklayer trying to decide which of the two women at the delicatessen he wants to ask on a date?"

Captain Alexander frowned and then said, "I just thought that.."

Mabel cut him off, "No offense, but you sound like a complete ass. Lady Connaissance was gracious enough to treat you like a good man and even allow you to be her escort all over town to social functions and to formal occasions and you decided while she was injured to try and date her close friend, another woman you had no business having the honor to know. I ask who are you, Captain? A Prince? A King? Maybe a high ranking member of the Church? Those women are both at that level. Do you understand?" Mabel stood up and picked up the money off the table, "She even paid for your food and drink once again. How many times is that now, Captain? I certainly can't count that high off the top of my head."

Captain Alexander sighed and said, "I was a Knight Commander of the Windsor Kingdom. Good friends with the current King, Andrew Windsor. I was sixteen years old when I first met Lady Connaissance who is five years younger than me. King Andrew, Danny Conners, Leonard McCoy, Bon McScott, Elana Windcrest, and I were squires to the same order of the Knights of Windsor. We all just thought of the young girl Emily as our little Emmy. She would watch us practice and ask very in-depth questions as if she were thinking of becoming a knight herself. By the age of thirteen, she was able to use the sword as well as any soldier in the King's army and could hold her own with us, young squires."

Mabel nodded her head interested, "So she is someone you grew up around. You have never seen her for who she is, only for the person you grew up around."

Captain Alexander nodded, "It's hard for me to associate that pretty little girl with the grown woman who, as you said, is someone at the same level as Kings, and high officials. Some things happened as I was a young Knight, some bad things. I can't really speak about it, but I decided back then that I would do what I could when I could for her, and yet when the time came to be there for her, I wasn't. This was just icing on the cake. "

Mabel nodded and said, "In other words, you were a terrible knight, and now you have topped that off by also being a terrible friend."

"You didn't have to put it so harshly, but yes all of that." He frowned.

Mabel smiled and said, "I would say that the best thing to do is stop acting like you are her friend and just return to a professional relationship. Since you are unlikely to take such advice I will tell you that you should pick a relationship and do your best to live up to it."

*****

Princess Teslaimia had been greatly shaken by the events of her Kidnapping and realized just how vulnerable she was when the men her father kept around her were not there at her side. She knew that she would never be able to train in a weapon like a sword and have it be useful to her, so she made her way over to the Future Art of War Company and started to hang around them as they worked. From time to time she would ask questions of the men, or even offer up ideas. "Mr. Duhan, I wonder, aside from the Dragon, have you ever designed a small handheld antipersonnel device? Like, say something a lady could use?"

James was currently tightening a screw on his end of the far speak device as he answered, "Honestly, I am not really the best weapons designer here. I came up with the Dragon by accident. I was trying to invent a way to speed up a boiler heating by applying external heat. When it comes to weapons, you'd want to talk to Mr. Murray. He's got so many things on his plate right now I doubt he has thoughts on any of his own projects." James checked another box on his checklist and then snapped his fingers, "You know who might be the guy to check with, try Mr. Pillson. He's been working with this one-armed Knight on lightweight handheld crossbows that you can fire and reload with a single hand. Something that is just point and fire."

Teslaimia clapped happily and then gave him a kiss on the forehead, "Thank you, James, you're the best!" She then flittered away like a butterfly.

Teslaimia found Mr. Pillson in his workshop holding a weapon that looked like a handle with a footlong box on top of it. She knocked on the edge of his open door, "Mr. Pillson?"

He turned and smiled, "Ah, Princess Teslaimia, what brings you around to my humble workshop?"

She walked in and sat down beside him, "I understand you are working on a weapon that can be used quite easily. I am interested in having such a weapon for myself so I thought I'd drop in and see what you were working on."

He nodded and said, "I am indeed working on such a weapon, tell me, what kind of weapon do you think would suit you best?"

She thought for a moment, " Something light and easy to carry. Something I could essentially just point at someone I wanted to stop approaching and use."

He smiled and said, "Well said! That's exactly what I am hoping for as well. I was speaking with the Knight Commander in charge of new recruit training, Sir Colton. He also thought that having such a weapon would be perfect for the constabulary and the soldiers that would be manning the complex weapons of war we spend a lot of time training the men on."

She smiled and then asked, "May I ask, how does the Beehive work?"

He turned and flipped over his chalkboard and drew a box with two large compartments, "We send high-pressure steam into this compartment which pushes ball bearings out through shafts on this compartment."

"Would it be possible to make a handheld Beehive?" She asked looking at the picture.

He laughed and said, "I am afraid not, you see we would need another type of propellant instead of steam."

"What is propellant?" She innocently asked.

He smiled and then drew on the board, "It's a burst of gas that pushes the air forw... Wait. We could do that... Hold on for a moment Princess I need to go ask an expert." He got up and dashed out of the room, "Mr. Murray, if you wanted to cause a small controlled explosion what might you use?"

She heard Mr. Murray reply, "I don't know, probably a mixture of Sulfuric Acid and Nitric Acid, apply that to some cotton or other fibrous material, wash it well keep it dry, and then when it's time to set off the explosion light it with electricity?"

He then asked, "Could you use that material to make a handheld Beehive?"

A few minutes later Mr. Murray, Mr. Pillson, and three other men with extremely serious faces walked into Mr. Pillson's office and started to write on the chalkboard. "It needs serious testing, but I think you are on to something here." Mr. Murray said.

"How do we keep the weapon from exploding while sending the projectile downrange?"

"We could make the projectile lighter using a hollow core or perhaps just fill it with a soft light metal?"

"Léon Jean fucking Reno we could put these weapons in the hands of every soldier. We'd have a mobile Beehive system without the need for a boiler!"

"Who is the genius behind this idea, was it you again Pillson?"

Mr. Pillson laughed and then pointed at Princess Teslaimia, "Actually, I was just trying to answer her question, In truth, it was her idea."

Mr. Murray looked shocked, "I am so sorry Princess, I didn't even notice you were here." He wrote in all capital letters, 'TESLA WASP.' "Gentleman, cancel all other weapons testing and design. We are going to create a portable Bee launcher, the WASP because it can sting over and over and TESLA for the inventor."

Princess Teslaimia smiled and said, "I look forward to what you come up with next."

*****

"Why are you so upset tonight Emily?" Teslaimia reclined comfortably on Emily's couch.

Emily crumpled up the newspaper she had been reading and tossed it into the trash, "Jon. Do you know he actually had the guts to tell me he has been purposely avoiding me because he doesn't approve of my relationship with you?"

Teslaimia raised an eyebrow, "He really said that? That doesn't seem like the man I know."

"Well, I mean I did interrupt him, but that sounded like where he was going." She stomped her foot down.

Teslaimia shook her head and asked, "Was this about when you first woke up?"

Emily nodded and then asked, "Wait, how did you know?"

She laughed and shook her head, "Sometimes you are so dense, Emily. He was trying to explain why he was here to ask me on a date. He thinks you think that he is your boyfriend. You know, like romantically. He was embarrassed that you caught him trying to date your best friend."

Emily held up her finger pointing at Teslaimia, "What?"

She laughed harder, "You really don't get it? Jon assumes that you were romantically attracted to him because you used to always keep him by your side. Social events, friendly gatherings, new buildings, and business openings. I mean you two were practically attached at the hip you know. It was only when I started getting close to you that you stopped looking for him to do these things with, didn't you even notice?"

Emily's pointing finger slowly lowered, "But he is my knight, that's what they are supposed to do, right?"

Teslaimia threw a couch pillow at her, "Didn't you read all those stories in the newspaper? No one else saw things the way you did. Only you think that way." She laughed so hard she was kicking.

Emily pouted, "Wait, does that mean you were dating all those guys?"

Teslaimia raised her eyebrows, "I did go on a few dates yes. I mean, you were busy dating Jon and Winston most of the time, I had to have some fun too."

Emily walked over and sat down next to Teslaimia leaning into her, "I'm sorry. I grew up hanging around with the boys. I never really have understood what is appropriate or not when it comes to relationships with men. My mother had me learn court etiquette of course and ladylike mannerisms. It's just that all of my other teachers were the boys."

Teslaimia giggled and asked, "Did they make you show them yours after they showed you theirs?"

Emily looked confused, "Show them my what?"