Chapter 57: 60.

It takes quite a while for everyone to get enough of the view. I have four looking glasses, and I passed them all around, people pointing stuff out to each other. In a way, it is good that they are preoccupied, because a copperphone is wobbling in my pocket. Direct line to the king. Figures he'd call me to find out what the hell is going on.

"Hello, your highness." - I murr into the receiver.

"Lady Gillespie! Thank gods." - he sounds worried - "I have just received a report that... something had ascended into the sky from your manor. Are you alright? Is it a monster attack? Do you need support?"

Whoops, worried him a bit more than I expected. "Ah, no, I'm quite fine, thank you for asking." - I tell him demurely - "Please stand the guard down, it is not a monster attack at all." I pause, as I hear him shouting orders to chill out, then continue as he audibly returns his attention to the receiver - "I'm testing out my airship, that's all."

"...Airship?" - he repeats in a strangled voice - "...You mean to tell me that this... shape is a... boat? And you made it rise into the air?"

"Nnnnot quite, but you're not wrong in general, your highness." - I confirm - "There is no need to worry. If you'd like, I have Lily-Anne and Edward on the ship, you can speak to them if you want to? They're duly impressed, I hazard a guess."

He bites off a surprised chuckle. "Only you, Lady Gillespie. Only you." - he then offers - "Just to reconfirm, you're confident that the monsters pulling the ship will not break free?"

"Ah, I do not have any monsters here, your highness." - I object - "It's simply magic craftsmanship taken to the peak. Before you ask, there are flowerbeds embedded into the frame, so even if I were to go and take a nap, it will simply descend at a walking pace. I've locked the rudders, so in case of that happening, the ship will simply settle down outside the city in the fields."

He chokes. "...Just... that... Gods and stars, is there anything beyond your reach?" - he yelps - "I... just... HOW... Gah! Lady Gillespie, why are you so fond of making me doubt I woke up in the right world?"

"I like inventing things." - I tell him back with a chuckle - "So... Should I call Lily-Anne or Edward so that they could give you their own impressions of my latest flight of fancy? Oh, prince Hohenzollern is also attending, we're going to have a bit of a party. Newspaper gals are here too, so you can count on everything being explained in the next newspaper issue."

He snorts. "Very well. Give the receiver to Lily-Anne, if you please." - he offers. I find Lily-Anne, tug her away from the window gently and offer her a receiver.

She peers at the receiver, mouths "Dad?" at me and takes it. "Yes... hello, daddy... Yes! It is amazing. I can see the palace from up here and the Academy and the Market Square and just, the whole of Parsee at once, it's so, so... Oh? Um... Well, There's me and Alyssa and well all of the harem really, there's brother Ed and Selene, there's kronprinz Hiram and sheikha Rafiqa, there are Newspaper Gals and a couple of other Alyssa's friends from the Academy... No, we're not on top of this, haha, no... There's a, uh, cabin built into the ship, very nice actually. Lots of glassen windows, steel filigree, those weird chairs that are like baskets... yes, rattan!... Hm? Well, yes, definitely. You should talk to Alyssa about that though, daddy, I don't know if anyone else knows how to fly an airship... No, she just... No, we didn't know at all, Alyssa just invited everyone for a party at her manor... Yep, well, her surprises are different I suppose... Oh, yes, immensely! Dad, you should really take a flight sometime soon, it's... just... no words. You have to see it yourself to understand. Uh...Oh, sure, handing it back."

I take back the receiver and listen to it. Abraham starts talking after a moment. "Lady Gillespie, I wish to confer with you tomorrow about a possible use for the airship." - he begins - "Namely, if you are amenable, I'd like to see it, take a short flight and provided the accommodations are suitable, discuss with you a possibility of using this airship for a diplomatic mission to Kraut." O-ho. That sounds pretty nifty.

"Fair enough. Though, you should know that I never trained anyone else to control the airship yet, and I'm not confident there are many people who can do it as is." - I tell him, and he chuckles.

"Lady Gillespie, you of all people would be present there regardless. We are finalizing the agreements between Kraut and Champagne regarding all matters concerning dwarves and about the expansion of your tar roads into Kraut kingdom." - he offers - "Would it be possible to collect your father on the way, and how long would the trip take, by your estimation?"

I hum as I run mental mathematics. If we run from Parsee to Gillespie estate, then set the course straight for Berlinger, it would be something a little over three hundred leagues. I'm confident I can put out forty leagues per hour at cruising speed. Which means... eight hours. Of course, nothing ever proceeds ideally, so...

"If we depart around midday, we should make it to Gillespie estates by mid-afternoon. After a layover there, so we could have meals and pick up father, if we depart in the early evening, we should cross over the mountains overnight and arrive to Berlinger in the morning." - I tell him. And wince, as the receiver emits quite a bit of clatter. Did he just... drop his or something?

"Excuse ME!?" - he shouts into the receiver after some fumbling - "Are you saying we can make a trip OVERNIGHT!?"

"Yes. Travel by air is convenient that way, your highness. No need to circle around the impassable terrain, sidetrack to use bridges or camp overnight. Airship can fly just as well while you're sleeping on board." - I explain to him, and I can see Hiram next to me paying attention. I guess he was alerted by the mention of his home city.

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"I see... Lily-Anne mentioned prince Hohenzollern is also on board? Could you ask him to take the receiver for a minute?" - he asks after a bit of thoughtful pause. I grin at Hiram, and extend the receiver to him.

"Hold this to your ear." - I tell him - "His Highness Abraham wants a word." Hiram takes the receiver slowly, fumbling with it a bit.

"Yes, your highness?... Yes... Really?.. So soon?...." - he says, casting a sharp glance in my direction - "Well, I have no objections to that, if lady Gillespie is amenable. Would it be possible to take a guest with me, though?... No, just someone I would love to introduce to my father... Yes." He returns the receiver to me with - "I believe we will need to speak soon, lady Gillespie."

I lift the phone to my ear, and ask - "Am I right to surmise prince Hohenzollern will be a part of the diplomatic party?"

"Just so." - Abraham confirms - "Sorry to bother you even more, but could I also have a word with Edward?"

I make my way across the cabin to where Selene and Ed are watching the clouds in the chairs, and tap Ed on the shoulder. "Your dad's on the phone." - I tell him as I pass him the receiver. Selene gives me a hooded look.

"You know, I'm not even mad." - she says - "I'm just, agh... flabbergasted. Now if only you invented microwave oven next..." She trails off and winks at me, as Ed talks to Abraham. His opinions, while more muted, seem to align with Lily-Anne's - airship is a marvel, he is fine, the party is memorable and goodness gracious can't get over the fact we're in the air. Taking a glance around, I verify that people had finally gotten their fill of the view, more or less and are finding themselves places around the two tables hugged by corner couches. DeeDee, MeeMee and LeeLee are already at one of the tables and had taken over one side of it with copious paper. Are they writing an article about the airship while on the airship? Goodness, girls. On the other end of the same table, Lemand, Moon Unit and Roxolane are having an animated conversation about the enchantments they spied on the airship - and ones they believe might be of use or they think were already used, or... I start pulling out the pizza dishes, and Bridgit rushes to help me with it. Between the two of us, we manage to set the table before anyone takes a specific notice of it. I've had enough of foresight to install a sizable water boiler to provide drinking water to the passengers, and its shrill whistle serves well as a dinner bell.

I end up being seated next to Cordelia, my harem equally dispersed among the cabin still engulfed in their conversations. Bridgit apparently feels the maidly call and enters a state of quantum superposition, because I can see her at the boiler, at the table and next to the snack cupboard in the same time. Wait. It's NOT a fucking joke, actually. Bridgit IS probability unstable right now... And apparently does not notice herself. But... Oh shit. Ooooh shiiit. Narrative causality, you're a BITCH! I'm not ready for superpowered maido! ...Oh well. I will talk to Bridgit later about this. Give her the superpowers talk. With great power comes great amusement and all that.

"How are you two?" - I quip at Cordelia and Lincoln, who are strangely silent. Cordelia shakes her head violently, as if waking up from a daydream.

"I don't know." - she offers softly - "I'm still trying to accept that we're flying. That we're about to dine above the Parsee. That there are four different royals from three different dynasties at the table with us."

Lincoln leans over her and pats her back lightly. "I think we're fine. Just... trying not to be overwhelmed by all this." - he offers - "And trying not to think about the veritable torrent of questions we will have to endure tomorrow at the Academy."

I snag nearby Bridgit and pull her close, despite the squirming. "Bridgit, you should calm down a little and sit down to eat something. You're running yourself ragged." - I admonish, as I kiss her on the nose before letting go.

Cordelia giggles at the display softly. "You know." - she whispers to me conspiratorially - "Everyone in the Academy thinks your harem is the most spoiled harem in history."

"Well, I love them. Why shouldn't I spoil them?" - I answer entirely reasonably. I mean, it's kind of bloody obvious I would spoil my harem to the hilt. Who wouldn't want to spoil such lovely girls?

"Yeah, well..." - Lincoln pitches in from his spot beyond Cordelia - "Half the guys in Academy crib notes off you and other half moans you've been setting the standards of courting way too high for them to even try."

I turn to look at him, my brow quirked. "Lincoln, if they can not be arsed to put their mind and heart into entertaining their dates, why are they trying to date to begin with?" - I tell him - "Courtship is all about showing your best sides. And if your best side is being lazy bastard, well... let's just say I wouldn't rate your romantic chances high."

Cordelia titters - "Some of my friends wish more men were like you. Some other of them are starting to size each other up as potential dates. You might have started a bit of a skinship boom among the maidens in Academy, lady Gillespie." She pauses, and then turns to face Lincoln, reassuring him with a gentle kiss - "I keep telling Lincoln here that even you wouldn't find fault with his courtship, but he remains unconvinced."

"Hey, I resent that." - he objects playfully - "I'm not thinking my courtship is faulty, I merely think I could stand to improve on it when I can."

"And this is why I love him." - Cordelia concludes proudly.

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