The Hero of Damtown

Emily looked through the daily reports and noticed something from the mayor of Damtown lavishing praise on Sir Colton and the soldiers from the lower defense force. It caught her eye because the troop was all new recruits lead by a new Knight Commander she hadn't heard about. She raised an eyebrow as she read the details. Teslaimia and Captain Alexander entered her office without knocking as was normal for Teslaimia so Emily didn't bat an eye, she asked, "Captain Alexander, who is Sir Colton?"

"That's the Knight Commander of the lower defense force, I hired him to act as the head of the new recruit training initially and was planning to expand his duties to head of the entire lower defense once he had enough soldiers," Captain Alexander replied casually and then he got worried, "How did you hear his name?"

She tapped her finger on the desk and then said, "Well, your eye for talent seems to have found a hidden gem. Listen to this, 'Lady Connaissance I want to thank Sir Colton of the Connaissance Defense Force. He bravely took a small troop of men and rescued some of the young women from our village including my granddaughter. I only came and told him that the brigands in the area had been raiding the villages and he immediately took his men, found them, and brought these girls home to us. He even had his men look after them and treat them with the utmost respect after their terrible ordeal. My Granddaughter told me that Sir Colton spoke with each of them and assured them that their lives were still worth living and that even though they were hurt, they still had so much left for to do with their lives. When I heard all that he did, I was even more thankful that our Defense Force has such men leading them. I don't know if such a minimal service deserves official recognition, but if I may suggest, I feel that Sir Colton is deserving. The fact that he is even able to serve with a missing arm is amazing enough' Signed Mayor Wilkins."

Captain Alexander rubbed the back of his head, "I know he only has one arm, but I really did hire him just to be the recruit trainer, I wasn't expecting him to lead the troop to fight in the field. I'll get down there and make sure that he keeps his troop in the camp."

Emily shook her head no, "Captain, I don't expect you to reprimand him instead, I would like you to bring him and his recruits up here to City Hall. I am going to give him a medal and commendations for his men. According to this report, they only had a few minor injuries and provided service above and beyond the call of duty when facing a group of brigands that outnumbered them three to one."

Captain Alexander nodded and said, "I will leave at once. Shall we say, tomorrow at City Hall? I'll have a troop from the topside head down and relieve him and his men."

Emily nodded and said, "Let's schedule it for tomorrow at ten in the morning, that way the paper will have something other than my love life to talk about when they print the next edition."

Teslaimia looked at Captain Alexander shaking her head knowing he was going to avoid things once again. She decided not to interfere and instead curled up on the couch and started to read as he dashed out the door.

Emily asked, "What's this Tesla Wasp idea that Winston is crediting to you?"

She looked up at Emily and smiled, "I asked them if it was possible to make a handheld Beehive. When they said no I asked them why not." She laughed, "One of them asks another, who asked another, and pretty soon they are writing on their chalkboard. Next thing I know they had practically designed and built one." She shook her head, "I can see your fascination with science. It's amazing watching them chase down a problem with practical solutions just from the simplest of questions."

Emily nodded, "So you were hoping for them to design a weapon for you so you wouldn't feel so vulnerable."

Teslaimia pouted, "You are too smart, it scares me when you see right through things to the heart of the matter with almost no clue to go on."

Emily shrugged and said, "I understand the powerlessness of knowing your loved ones are going to be killed and not having the power to do anything about it." She kept reading the papers in front of her, "By the time I was fifteen I had my own system of spies and informants throughout the Windsor Kingdom. I knew about the plot to kill my parents and to kill me long before it happened. I was the one who had the idea to exile me here planted in my uncle's head. Our trip to the Holy Chadtom Empire was the first time in years I let things go out of my direct control and look what it got me. I may very well be this way for the rest of my life." She motioned to the cane beside her desk.

Teslaimia looked down and said nothing for a long time, tears ran down her cheek, "I'm sorry Emily, you went there because of me. It was my fault that you were hurt."

Emily shook her head, "If we hadn't been there and brought the Zealous, every man woman and child in the Empire would have been killed or worse. I lost something, yes, but I have no regrets about how events played out. If I regret anything at all, it's simply not paying attention when those men attacked us from behind. I know better than that." She sighed and shook her head.

Teslaimia laughed even as she still had tears in her eyes.

*****

The next morning Captain Alexander, his top men along with Sir Colton and the recruits from the lower camp all gathered at City Hall. They were all dressed in dress uniforms with shiny silver armor pieces. Sir Colton still had a face full of scars and was missing an arm, but he was dressed in his immaculate uniform and had his hair cut nicely. If one looked past all the damage he had endured after years on the battlefield you would almost be able to see the handsome man that once might have been. His recruits also looked like veteran soldiers. Captain Alexander did a troop inspection and was very pleased with what he saw.

Emily and Teslaimia came down from her office to address the crowd that had gathered and to present the medal to her troop commander. Teslaimia immediately recognized who Sir Colton was, but was quick to show her normally smiling face. Emily who had been unconscious the entire time had no idea that the man responsible for her injuries stood right in front of her waiting for a medal. Emily first spoke to the crowd, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to present our City's highest award for valor to a man who has gone above and beyond his duty as the Knight Commander for our training regiment. He has only just recently immigrated to our fine city and in his first year with us has already shown the kind of leadership and care for its citizenry that I would expect of a long time veteran." She stepped forward and draped the medal over his head and neck while saying, "Sir Roger Colton, Knight of the Cambrian Order. Thank you for your service." She clapped for him and then said, "And to our first recruit class from the Connaissance Defense Force, I have reviewed Sir Colton's assessment of your performance in battle and after discussing with both Sir Colton and Captain Alexander have awarded each of you your first commendation and promotion to active duty soldiers entitled to full rank and pay. Congratulations Gentlemen, thank you for your service." She once again clapped for them all.

As they all milled around chatting and shaking hands Teslaimia managed to pull Sir Colton to the side and leaned close to him, "She has no memory of you because your men hit her so hard she will never be the same again. I have no idea how you managed to hide here right in plain sight but I swear to you, if you break your oath to her or this city, you won't just lose your arm, I'll have your balls." Teslaimia pulled away from him with a bright smile on her face.

Sir Colton had the urge to slip away and survive, but something inside of him forced him to lean back close to her and say, "I was left with nothing after that battle. No friends. No allies. My arm had to be cut off to save my life. I was never going to be more than a beggar for the rest of my life. I know you don't believe in him, but my Lord Léon Jean Reno brought me out of that river to a man who was a fellow believer. He nursed me back to health and brought me to the road leading here. He said I could go south and live on the alms provided by the Church or... I could go north and find work here in the City. Rather take the life of a beggar I went north and was given the second chance to be a Knight. When all was lost for me, I was given a second chance by the city of Connaissance. I swear to you. I will follow my oath of service. I know that I can never undo what I have done in service to the Church, but on my oath as a Knight of the Cambrian order, I will be the Knight that my God and my Lord Léon Jean Reno expected me to be when they granted me this second chance."

Teslaimia then leaned close her voice barely containing its anger, tears welling in her eyes, "Your God may have forgiven you, but I never will. Hurt her again and I will have your balls." She smiled and walked away from him.

Teslaimia found Jon who noticed that she was wiping tears away, "These boys have you all choked up? I know they were outnumbered, but it wasn't as dangerous as you might think."

Teslaimia rolled her eyes and shook her head, "No, it wasn't that. Just saying hello to an old friend. Do you remember how I was saying I wanted to know what it meant to be a Queen rather than a flower? I think I finally know now what that difference means. It means doing what's wrong knowing its wrong because it's the right thing to do."

Captain Alexandre frowned, "It thought that two wrongs don't make a right?"

Teslaimia glared at him and said, "How can you be the commander of the defense force while being this stupid? We need to promote that one-armed guy as soon as possible."

Captain Alexander smiled and shook his head, "What's all this we? I thought you were a Fursian Princess, don't you have your own country to ruin?"

Teslaimia flipped him off and then walked away in her most attractive gait. Emily noticed the gesture and walked over to Teslaimia, "Did he ask your friend on a date or something?"

Teslaimia laughed happily, "No, I just told him that the city of Connaissance will be in danger if we don't promote the one-armed Knight above him because he is so stupid."

Emily giggled and then said, "He's a brilliant tactician that's for certain. He looks a little frightening because of all the scars on his face, but when we spoke about his men, he was extremely detailed. He's a different kind of commander from Jon. Jon leads by example, Sir Colton leads with his mind and his attention to detail."

Teslaimia yawned and said, "This is so boring how much longer must we stand around making boring conversation?"

Emily smiled and said, "It's lunchtime, we should go over to the fish restaurant on 4th ave, they will have the string quartet playing today."

Teslaimia nodded and said, "I need to bring some Fursian entertainers here. The cultural scene here is so Windsorian."

They held hands as they walked down the street. Emily replied after a while, "How are you ever going to explain to your father that you are an unwanted bride that decided to stay with your girlfriend in a tiny unimportant country?"

Teslaimia shrugged and said, "They way I always talk to my father, I just won't talk about it until he brings it up."