[A/N]: Thank you for those reviewed/favorited/followed. I value you all. :) Now, screw uploading quickly. I wanna let it go! :D Enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Prowess of a Sovereign
"Ooh, look snowflakes, Elsa," Anna teased. "It's going to be your birthday soon!"
Elsa smiled as she turned to look away from the window she was gazing upon to perceive her sister. "Snow crystals, you mean?" she corrected. "And thanks for reminding me that I will be getting old. Soon."
Anna laughed and nodded. "Yeah, snow crystals, and you're dreadfully welcome. But we should totally give you a wonderful celebration like your coronation day last year—but you know, only better!"
"Agreed," Elsa responded. "Anyway, are you, Kristoff, and Olaf ready now?"
The brunette rolled her eyes teasingly. "Of course, sister. We've been up for hours doing so. Oh, that reminds me, I think I have to meet them now at the gates. We'll see you at nightfall, then?"
"Nightfall," the queen acquiesced.
Anna hugged her and ran ahead.
Elsa was then left to gaze by the windows once more. She looked up at the sky and observed the snow crystals. Smiling at it, an image of a snow haired boy suddenly appeared on her mind, and she stopped staring outside.
No. Not anymore, she thought glumly, walking away from the window.
She won't think of… of him anymore. It's been fourteen years. That would be enough.
"Surely," she muttered to herself.
Perhaps, not, because the moment she thought of his snow hair, her mind began to relive the memories she had with him—how he smiled, how his blue eyes twinkled, and… and—.
"Your Majesty?" Theodora, her lady- in- waiting, called her to reality.
"Yes, Theodora?" Elsa asked, feeling slightly relieved for the diversion.
"The council of advisers is ready for you, Your Majesty," Theodora answered. "They are waiting at the chamber to our right, Your Majesty."
Elsa nodded, smiling. "Yes, thank you, Theodora."
Theodora curtseyed and gestured to the butler, who was called Stefan, to open the door for the queen.
Elsa thanked them both, but before entering, she said to them, "You two need not call me 'Your Majesty' when we are alone. Just call me by my name—it would suit us better, don't you think?"
Not yet used to the new behavior of their Queen, who used to be so uptight at court, Theodora and Stefan looked at each other before gazing at the queen and then smiled.
"Yes, Yo—um, Elsa," they answered in chorus.
Elsa nodded and then entered the chamber.
The council of advisers stood when she entered, and she quickly let them sit. She told them not to mind waiting for her as she walked to her own seat. When they were all settled, Elsa gazed at them all and smiled.
"Good morning, everyone," she greeted.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," they greeted likewise.
The queen nodded and sat up straight. "So what are our agendas for today?"
The counselors scanned their notebooks and told in chorus, "Commerce, festival, and the justice system, Your Majesty."
"Commerce, all right. What problem do we have here?" Elsa asked.
"Your Majesty, what do you propose we do, now that you've terminated all sorts of trade with Weasel town?" one of her council of advisers inquired, his beard twitching when he said the former economic partner kingdom's name.
"Weselton," Elsa corrected, eyeing the counselor amusedly.
The other advisers laughed, but he merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Aye, Your Majesty, Weselton, it is," he rectified.
The queen nodded and gazed upon the people at the table. The council immediately silenced. Smiling, she appropriated the conference.
"Our goal for Arendelle is to increase its profits through the help of the proletariat community. Our kingdom will not exist without its citizens and the working force, so we must take care of the laborers by fully acknowledging their rights. I do not want to hear any sort of unjustified treatment of the proprietors to their workers. If there is such a case, I want it heard at court, so I can levy the rightful judgment," Elsa said, pausing to mentally go through her list of subjects needing attention.
Before she continued, she looked around her, taking in the adviser's reactions. Some assented. A few, she noticed, seemed revolted. Elsa immediately called upon Victor, who seemed to look disagreeable the most.
"Councilor Victor, does my proposal trouble you?" she asked. "If there is anything you would like to tell me about this propaganda, I'd be glad to hear it."
Victor pursed his lips for a bit and then eyed the queen. "Well, Your Majesty, I am a little vexed at your suggestion, but I am not sure if you would wish to hear my plea."
Elsa raised a brow. "You have a plea? You may tell me—it might ameliorate the plan."
"Well, my queen, not that I harbor any ill will towards your, um, will, but do you not think that you are giving too much for the working class?" he began explaining.
"And how am I giving too much?" she asked.
"You want us—us bourgeoisie—to 'fully acknowledge their rights', and you want their cases to be heard at court. Isn't that a little too much?" Victor replied, looking to the other advisors for support. The other councilors' faces remained blank—they seemed wary of the queen's wrath.
"And how is that a 'little too much'?" the queen pushed.
Victor shrugged to ease his anxiety and then hurried to elucidate his point, "Well, Your Majesty, it seems to me that you might become too attached to their plight and forget that the proprietors and people at court need your immediate attention, too."
A few councilors muttered, "Ah, hear, hear."
Then others followed.
"Oh, yes, I forgot. The palace guards were complaining of their uniforms."
"And the kitchen maids—they said they needed more ingredients for the upcoming feast with the queen's mother's cousin's family's family."
"The palace's bushes need trimming, I've seen."
"Ah, yes, the bushes at the garden! They've become dreadful to look at!"
"Truly."
"Honestly."
"Positively."
Perplexed, the queen gazed at them. Victor took this as his chance to gravitate Elsa to side with him. He grinned at her, who merely raised a brow.
Victor coughed. The council of advisers silenced once more. They all gazed at the queen.
"Well—," she began.
But Victor cut, "So you see, Your Majesty, it is us that needs your undivided attention. After all, we help you with the kingdom."
Elsa raised another brow and resisted the urge to roll her eyes—best of all, though, she tried to avoid tapping her foot or chilling the room. So she sat straighter and saw the councilors shrink somewhat. Even Victor seemed to lean further in his own chair.
"First of all, I would like to thank you all for your commentary. It helped me prove my point, which leads me to the second. All of us are working for Arendelle, our kingdom. None of us are actually above the others, as you, Victor, would seem to imply. But before you all form a mutiny against me, let me clarify. Without the proletariats, our working force, we would not have the food we eat, clothes we wear, and things as such. But without the monarchy and people of the court, we will not function as a sovereign. Third, I am not becoming too 'attached' to them just because you think I favor them. No, that is not true and not what I meant. I give them respect, just as they give me mine because they help the kingdom function economically, which is the focus of our discussion—and not the prejudices of a dominion over a subordinate. As I've said earlier, we all work for Arendelle. What differs is the level of service we serve for each other in this nation—it is not blood, birthright, or money. Fourth, it is not only their cases I want to hear at court. If instance, a worker did not properly do the job his proprietor designated him to do, I will have it heard here. Fifth, all your concerns—though not petty—regarding the palace guards and bushes are labored by the same people you seem to dislike. Sixth,even if we do not have Weselton as an ally, we have France, the elder Princes of the Southern Isles, Corona, especially, and other countries on our side. We will pursue my parents' trading policies and conditions with them," Elsa finally rebutted, gazing at them fiercely.
None of them uttered a word. Not even Victor, who was thoroughly looking ashamed of himself.
"So," she continued, "if you were all truthfully, honestly and positively listening to me, you would understand and comprehend why I wished to focus on the proletariats during my first term as your queen."
She breathed.
"Was I clear?" she finally asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty," they answered in chorus.
"Wonderful," she replied. "And just to inform you, I have tasked Princess Anna and Kristoff and Olaf with checking the working conditions of the businesses of Arendelle. They are going around the nation, as of the moment. I will be receiving their reports at the end of the day. Any questions?"
Frederick, the one seated beside Victor, raised a query. "Your Majesty, when you mean 'checking the working conditions of the businesses', you mean to say that our own industries are being monitored?"
"To put it simply, yes," the queen answered.
Frederick's jaw dropped, and so did the others. "B-but why were we not informed of this in advance?" he burst tersely.
"I am checking the integrity of your commitment to Arendelle in the primordial phases of your being advisers to me. Some of you, I personally selected to be here. Some were recommended to me. Now, if Anna and the others suspected any malevolent elements over the course of their supervision, then you will be subject for trial at court. If proven innocent, you may conduct your business as you regularly do. If evaluated otherwise, your industry will be suspended for a month and the owners will be held at prison and put to counsel," Elsa replied. "I trust you understand that you are all set to this and that I give no exceptions."
"Queries, then?" she asked again.
Louise, one of the women Elsa chose for her council, spoke. "And what if the owners or workers were suspected of treason or any other grave act?"
Elsa replied, "After the trial, our council will speak to them. We will evaluate. If the outcome is ill, we will have to, at best, exile them for a year or until as such when they have realized their error. I do not wish to have injustice permeating our kingdom. But if proven otherwise on a lesser degree, they will do the nation service by doing the lowest form of labor. Would that suffice?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," they replied.
She gazed around them once more and said, "I believe we're done with the first agenda, then?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," they answered in chorus.
Nodding, she looked to her right and saw Alphard, the raven- haired consulting prodigy her father told her when she was fifteen. Her father the King greatly favored the sixteen year old during his last year. She had chosen him not just because of her father, but because she wanted to test his alliance, too.
So she asked him, "So, Alphard, what do we have next on our agenda?"
Alphard checked his leather- bound notebook and pointed a finger on a certain part of a page. Then he looked up at her and said, "The upcoming winter solstice festival, Your Majesty."
"Ah, yes, Princess Rapunzel and her husband the Duke Eugene will come. I almost forgot. Thank you, Alphard," Elsa responded, closing her eyes and laying her hand on top of the desk.
"You're welcome, Your Majesty," he replied, smiling.
Elsa nodded and then asked them, "All right. Committees. Alphard and Louise, you do the liaison with the countries. Frederick, the food. Victor, the tournaments. And the others,…."
When the meeting with the council of advisers ended, Elsa set to go for a walk, but before she left, Alphard and Louise caught up with her and called her attention. The queen halted, turned and raised a brow at them. "Yes, what is it, Alphard? Louise?"
Louise bowed a bit and smiled, saying, "We are very impressed with how you dealt with the council, Your Majesty."
"You reminded us of your father a lot," Alphard remarked, his grey eyes twinkling in reminiscence.
Refusing to let morose events muddle her thoughts, Elsa smiled weakly at their compliments and nodded. "Thank you," she replied. "I will do my best for this kingdom, in honor of my parents."
"Well, in that respect, you have done them justice today," the raven- haired advisor said, smiling.
Louise acquiesced to this with a nod.
Feeling her cheeks redden, the queen remembered not to indulge herself much from compliments. She had to remember to be careful, even if she liked the camaraderie she felt with the two. So Elsa smiled once more and said to them, "I'll have to go now. I'll be reading the recommendations for the educational system in our kingdom for a bit."
The two councilors bid her a goodbye and left.
Why Elsa chose to lie to them, she really did not know, but when she felt sure that no one around was watching her, she headed to the rear gates to go to her ice palace.
As she walked around the halls, she kept perceiving portraits of her parents because she had asked the kind maidens to raise the dark curtains so she could see their faces once more, but now she wished she hadn't.
It just evoked memories she didn't want to resurface anymore. It was too much for one day. Though one would think those three years after their demise, one would be used to the pain, but not the young queen, who could not forget. Suddenly, Elsa felt her milieu feel colder. She gritted her teeth and crossed her arms, breathing.
She had to get out now.
Finally reaching the rear door, she ran.
[A/N]: So what do you think? Any favorite/least scene/stuff? Tell me about it. :)