Now that that's taken care of, I realized that the use of some Norwegian and Swedish terms, while adding to the authenticity of the setting may be confusing. So I decided to add a glossary, which is located at the bottom of the chapter. I also intend to use this forward as a sort of FAQ, so reviewers can see the answers of previously asked questions. I'm just getting started, so keep reading, and please review.
…
13 Years Later
"Group, Giv AKT!"
Dieter snapped to the position of attention, along with the other recruits, to an audible snap as his iron heeled perfectly shined boots clicked together. He and 2 other guardsmen had been handpicked from his company of recruits to serve with the post of the highest honor- the Castle Guard. With his father's service as Captain of the Guard and Dieter's own exemplary service, the Castle Staff decided that Dieter was good enough to guard the new queen.
Today was a special day for the recruits. They had discarded their recruit uniforms and had received the Green Uniform of the Castle Guard, and to commemorate the transition, the future Castle Guard were about to take the Royal Oath and receive the Queen's Krone from no other than the Regent herself. Elsa was due to be crowned queen the next day, Coronation Day.
The three men stood anxiously in the Castle Square. As according to the Queen's wishes, their families were not there. Only a small number of Guardsmen, some servants, and the Bishop of Arendelle witnessed the ceremony.
The Captain of the Guard marched to the front of the small formation. Tall, he had some blond hair visible beneath his shako and in his trimmed beard. With a leathered face much like his father from years of standing guard in the fierce winds of the ocean and the spray mist of salt water, the Captain was an imposing figure. Carrying a book, stopped center-front of the three, He paused, opened the book, read for a moment, and then looked up.
"Gentlemen, my name is Captain Edvard. You men are about to serve in position of the highest honor. As such, this position requires sacrifice, as well as faith and duty. Faith in the Queen, and Duty to your country and family." He paused. "You men are to be sworn to secrecy for the rest of your lives. You are the guardians of the secrets of the royal family. No matter what, you WILL NOT tell any soul what secrets you see inside these wall. If this, or a life of serving the Royal Family, up to the cost of your own life, is too much step forward now. You will be transferred to another post at no penalty"
Dieter stood fast. No chance. I fought too hard to get here. A few secrets will not faze me.
Captain Edvard waited a moment for any men to step forward. "No takers?" He smiled. "Good. Now raise your right hand and repeat after me." He opened his book, and holding it with his left hand, and raising his own right hand, and the Captain began to read from the book, and the three of them repeated the words solemnly. "I, state your name..." and there was the jumble as they each proudly called out who they were.
"…Swear to follow the orders of my superiors"
"…Protect the Royal Family, as well as their image and secrets"
"…Keep faith in the Royal Family and in Arendelle"
"…And perform my duty to the People of Arendelle"
"…Should I fail to honor this oath, may my comrades punish me"
"…And my family and countrymen forsake me"
"…So help me God!"
With the last verse, Dieter felt invigorated and empowered, this was it! This was real! Captain Edvard closed the book with his left hand, before proceeding to tuck it under his arm. "Remember boys, bow, receive the coin, handshake, and bow." He quickly turned about facing forward.
Kai the chief of the Servant staff, proceeded to unfurl a scroll, and read. "Her Royal Majesty, the Crown Princess of Arendelle, Crown Princess Elsa."
Two guards opened the doors, as the soon to be queen, Princess Elsa strode through the doorway with a grace Dieter had never seen. Beautiful, with a meticulously well done hair bun, with nearly perfect features, she was a sight to behold. Prim and proper, the queen wore a dignified, if restrictive, purple, green, and black dress, as well as a set of white gloves.
Dieter was a little puzzled by the Princesses gloves, given the weather. It's over 80 degrees and I'm sweating like a pig, why would the Crown Princess wear gloves?
She walked in a poised manner over to Captain Edvard, who bowed before her Majesty. "Your majesty, your future Guardsmen await your Krone"
She nodded. "Of course, Captain. Show me the way."
The Crown Princess and Captain made their way to the first of the three, Nordfjell. Nordfjell was a Sami, people of the North. Having grown up on the lake cutting ice and having the genes to boot, Nordfjell was a giant of a man, well over 6 foot. With dark hair and beard, and thoughtful eyes, he was a quiet man. The only one who had no family in the Guard, Nordfjell was an extremely disciplined and capable soldier. Dieter was on the far right and would be the last to receive the Queen's Krone. He clicked his heels, and bowed. With a loud and proud voice, he said. "Your Majesty!" He held out his left hand, and Elsa dropped the single coin into his hands. She shook his right hand, waited for the bow, and moved on.
She turned to the next man, Eklund. Of average height and a little overweight, Eklund was still more than capable of keeping up during the physical moments of training. A good soldier, Eklund was often nervous and shy around top brass and other VIPs. His father had served as an officer in the guard, and as a result had helped get him the position. As with himself, family made a major difference when being selected for the guard. He was nervous as hell.
"Yo-our Majesty." The young man stammered as Elsa turned to him. He held out his shaking left hand and waited for the coin to drop. Unlike the last coin, this coin was defective, with a slight sharpness to it. After he received the coin, he without thinking, switched the coin to his right hand and stuck his left hand out again, not his right for the handshake. Elsa smiled, amused at his clumsiness. Eklund apologized and stuck his right hand out, still with the coin. Then it happened.
Still holding the coin, its sharp edge tore the Crown Princess' glove. Her hand was fine, but the delicate gloves had a massive tear. As she drew her hand back, her perfect expression changed to a much different one. Not of anger at the clumsy guardsman, not of sadness for a lost glove, but of fear. Not waiting for Eklund to finish bowing, she quickly moved to Dieter.
"Your Majesty." Dieter stated with confidence. He held out his left hand, and waited for the coin. The Princess dropped the coin, and began to turn to leave.
No handshake or waiting for a bow? What is up with the princess? Perhaps she's afraid of germs?
The Captain paused, before whispering to the future queen. "My lady, each Guardsmen is traditionally given a handshake, which is returned with a bow." Elsa paused, and with visible dread and anxiety, turned and took Dieter's hand. The tear was great enough for bare skin to touch Dieter's thick gloves. It lasted mere seconds, before Elsa forcibly withdrew her hand. Dieter bowed to a suddenly relieved Elsa, who regaining her composure and posture, turned and proceeded to head back into the Castle interior.
The Captain moved back to front of the Formation. "Group, Dismissed." The three groaned as the moved their stiff bodies and tugged at their hot wool uniforms. Dieter adjusted his hot shako. He was troubled. He looked at his hand. The palm of his glove had a thin layer of snow and frost on it. Even with the thick glove, his hand was cold.
"What is going on with Princess Elsa?" He whispered to himself. He shook his head. Not my place. Whatever the future Queen has for secrets, the less I know, the less likely I am to give said secrets away. Just be a good soldier and carry on.
He brushed the snow and ice off, adjusted his Shako and began walking to the Castle Gate. There was a reception in the town square for the men, and their families were waiting.
…
Night was falling as Dieter hugged his mother Rota, and shook the hand of his father, Fafnir, and proceeded to walk back to the Castle. It had been a pleasant day, and Dieter looked forward to more such leaves in the future. But he had to report back to the Barracks for the proper in processing. He put his cap back on and walked to door of his family home. He was turning the knob when his father stopped him.
"Papa?"
"Son, you have taken the oath, so now I can tell you." His father began, before looking around to ensure his wife was still in the kitchen. "There is magic in that family, in the Queen. When you were five-"
Dieter put his hand up "Dad I don't want to know. The less I know, the less likely I am to betray the secrets of the family."
Fafnir paused, both annoyed and proud of the man his son had become. "You are a man now Dieter, if you don't want to know, that's on you son. But be careful, boy."
"I will Papa."
Fafnir embraced his son with a strong bear hug, with his large hairy hands rubbing his son's brown hair.
"I love you son." His father's stern face, with his now grey hair betrayed a moment of weakness, before he returned to the stoic pose he perfected in the Guard. Dieter replaced his cap and headed out the door, to return to the castle. He didn't make it 20 feet out the door before his younger sister sprinted out and began to talk to him. 15, with red hair, freckles, and missing teeth from fighting other boys, Edda was definitely a tom-boy, with only one "girly" obsession- the Royal Princesses.
"Did you see Princess Elsa? What about Princess Anna? Were they pretty? You got to tell me Dieter!"
Dieter smiled. "Slow down little Valkyrie. I did meet Princess Elsa and she was very beautiful. I didn't meet Anna." He saw the other recruits heading back to the castle. Knowing he had to go, he turned and hugged his little sister. "Go home little warrior, or I'll be late. I'll see you soon."
Edda paused. "Remember your promise, Dieter." Dieter grimaced. He has half-mindedly promised his sister before he shipped off to training, that if he made it into the Castle Guard, he would ask the Queen if she would consider allowing female guardsmen. It's not my place to ask the queen for anything. Maybe one day, but not my first day.
"I'll see what I can do Edda, but no promises." Edda, still a child and full of hope, proceeded to squeeze Dieter even harder, giggling even louder. One day Edda would be bigger than Dieter, he just knew. It was strange, as with most other aspects of life, Edda was mature and realistic. But with her one last little girl dream, Edda believed in the impossible. Dieter did not want to shatter that dream, but she did not want to see Edda hurt either when she one day faced the cold hard truth. Today, though, she could dream.
"I'll see you tomorrow little cub." He patted her head, and turned off to return to the Castle. He still had a long night of settling into the Barracks.
…
"And this is your bunk, Eriksen. Situate your gear and then head to the dayroom, for tomorrow's instruction." Dieter heaved his belongings onto the bed, which had been left made by the previous Guardsman. Next to him was the other two new recruits, Nordfjell and Eklund. Eklund had been nervous all day, fearful that the Queen was going to punish him for that day's events.
"Are you sure she's not going to get mad? I mean, she looked quite upset."
"Stop worrying about it Eklund, if she was going to punish you, it would have been there, I'm sure Princess Elsa is not upset at you. She probably couldn't tell you from any other guard"
The trio finished and proceeded into the dayroom. Adjacent to the barracks, this is where Guardsmen spent their off duty hours, gambling, drinking, reading, or whatever pursuits of entertainment the Guardsman desired. The Captain was there, with his tunic unbuttoned, holding a glass of mead. His graying blond hair now visible, and his blue eyes a little glazed from alcohol. Many other of the off duty men were similarly intoxicated. He picked up a spoon, and proceeded to tap the glass, to gain the room's attention.
"Listen up, we all know what tomorrow is- Coronation day. We all know what that means. It means a new Queen. A proper Queen." A few men muttered in agreement.
"It also means, that after three long painful years, I can look at that wall, and NOT be reminded of our failure." The captain's tone became bitter as he jabbed at the opposite wall, where above the flags, sat a portrait of King Agnar, veiled in black. Oddly, 4 glasses of beer lay beneath the banners and portrait, untouched, and perfectly aligned.
"No Guardsman shirked his duty that day, but we still failed when the cursed ocean took the King and Queen. With a new Queen, we can finally replace that portrait. But we must NEVER forget that pain, forget the shame of losing a young King." Most the veteran Guardsmen cast their eyes down, reliving the pain of the day news came of the lost ship.
"Some of us lost brothers that day, so first I propose a toast- to the Guardsmen who served the King that day, and gave their lives doing so, and as such died with no shame." A Sergeant made his way around, putting glasses of beer in all the men's hands, including Dieter's. Captain Edvard waited patiently until this was complete, before raising his glass. "To Andersen, Lindstrom, Forsberg and Lundgren- Til Valhall!"
The room raised their glasses. "TIL VALHALL!" Dieter took a small drag. He had drank alcohol for years, but still was no means a heavy drinker. Captain Edvard pounded back half his glass, before pausing, to continue his speech. "And before I leave you for the night, a toast to a Good Man, a Brave Warrior, and a Great King. To King Agnar."
This toast was different. While they had loudly toasted the Guardsmen that, by their ways, had died a glorious death standing by their King and were entitled to eternal glory in Valhalla, the King's death still pained many in the room. It was a solemn and quiet "To King Agnar" they gave.
"Good night men. Get rest, drink water to avoid hangovers, and get ready. Tomorrow, we open up the gates."
Glossary
Giv Akt- Swedish command for the position of attention. Eyes forward, back straight, feet at 45 degrees, hands curled with the thumbs touching your trouser seam.
Krone- Norwegian Unit of Currency. The Arendelle guard follow British tradition, that a soldier is not a soldier until he takes "The King's Shilling". Somewhat altered here as a graduation ceremony, especially as the Queen herself gives the coin.
Til Valhall- Norwegian for "To Valhalla". See Valhalla below.
Valhalla- the Viking equivalent of heaven, and a warrior's paradise. Warriors who go to Valhalla fight all day with real weapons, are resurrected at dusk, and drink and feast all night. Typically, only warriors who died a glorious death in battle went to Valhalla. The Guardsmen could easily adapt it so those who died serving the King/Queen would be rewarded with Valhalla.
Valkyrie- Female Spirits of Death, Valkyries are split into two categories, early Valkyries and Later Valkyries. The early Valkyries were horrifying demons of death, who plucked those unlucky enough to die in battle screaming off to the afterlife. Later Valkyries are the ones most are familiar with, beautiful shield maidens who scoured the battlefield for those destined for Valhalla, in which a Viking who saw a Valkyrie new his time had come, and would often charge headlong into an enemy mass, to make his death glorious. Capable warriors on their own, being referred to as a Valkyrie is a compliment.