When Elsa's ship rendezvoused with the Admiral's, Naismith and everyone he had brought along transferred to the larger ship to return to Arendelle.
He explained to Elsa who the blindfolded man was and became alarmed when a patch of ice appeared on the deck around them. "Your Majesty, we need to hear what this man has to say. I know this is difficult for you, but he has given his parole..."
She shook herself, waved her hand and removed the ice. "I understand, Admiral. Forgive my momentary loss of composure." Her fear had spiked when faced with the man who had kidnapped Anna.
The Admiral nodded and said, "I think we should meet with him in the Captain's cabin, only the three of us. You, me and Captain Gunnarsson. The man has given his parole, but I don't trust him alone with you."
"I agree. Let's get this over with," Elsa went into the cabin with Eric, settled herself in a chair, clasped her hands in her lap and waited for the Admiral to bring the Weselton man to her. Eric stood at her right hand, ready to defend her if necessary even though he didn't display any weapons.
When the Weselton man entered, the Admiral said to him, "You may remove the blindfold now."
He was tall and dark-haired, with quick brown eyes that took in the cabin, then settled on Elsa. An ironic bow as he said, "Your Majesty, how good of you to meet with me."
"You'll excuse me if I don't consider this a social occasion, I'm sure," Elsa's voice was under tight control. "What have you to say to me?"
"Direct and to the point. Good, this won't take long then," he replied. "The Duke of Weselton has sent me and my men to extract what he considers fair payback for the insult given him at your coronation..."
Naismith interrupted him gruffly, "He had his men try to kill her! He's lucky we didn't execute him and those two thugs for attempting to murder our Queen instead of sending him home."
"Ah, but there are always two sides to a story, Admiral," smirked the Commander. "The Duke feels that he was justified in protecting Arendelle from a sorceress that was killing the entire realm with her magic."
Elsa flinched. Three months wasn't long enough for her to be completely reconciled to what she had done, no matter how hard she was working at making up for it. Deep inside of her a tiny voice agreed with the Weselton man. She stifled that internal voice and said, "So, what exactly does this payback consist of?"
"In three days, the Duke wants our ships loaded with tribute. He sent a list along, you both received copies," he glanced at the Admiral and Elsa. "Once the ships are loaded, you and the Princess come with us back to Weselton."
"Why would I do that?" Elsa was almost snarling with indignation at the demands. The list of tribute the Duke had sent along would impoverish Arendelle. This late in the season, starvation for a part of the population would be a real risk.
"If you don't, we kill our 'guest'," sneered the Commander.
She was beginning to get angry; she realized the anger was her fear in disguise. Just the bare statement that he would kill Anna caused her heart to pound. The thought of Anna helpless in this man's control was sickening.
Elsa glared at him. "Be careful, Commander. My sister is precious to me, but you can only kill her once, at which time her value diminishes to zero. I know that you wouldn't do that unless it were a last resort."
"What makes you think that, Your Majesty?" Eric wondered if there was a small crack in the man's swagger?
"Because once she is dead, there is absolutely nothing that prevents me from killing every last one of you." Elsa's voice was a flat monotone, her face a stony mask. Eric shuddered. Her lack of expression was far more frightening than any explicit show of emotion. He hoped the Weselton man understood what Elsa was capable of doing if something happened to Anna.
"And any of you scum that Her Majesty misses, the Navy and Marines will be glad to clean up," growled Naismith.
"So, let us agree that although I have leverage, it's not absolute. However it is enough, I think, to encourage you to agree to the Duke's terms. Your sister's life can be purchased by paying the tribute."
"What about the demand that both of us accompany you to Weselton?" Elsa asked. "What purpose does that serve?"
"Isn't it obvious? In order for us to return safely to Weselton, your magic and the armed forces of Arendelle must remain neutralized. You and the Princess must come along to ensure there is no ambush lying in wait for us as we sail to Weselton."
"And they will be allowed to return once your expedition is back in Weselton?" Naismith interjected.
"The Princess will be returned unharmed."
"The Queen?" Gunnarsson asked.
The Weselton Commander smiled cruelly. "Why, the Duke intends to try her as a witch. He's a traditionalist who thinks burning at the stake is appropriate for witches."
Elsa was speechless at the man's bravado. The Duke must be mad to think that she would agree to any of this. She felt her gorge rising as the nightmare that had haunted her since she was a child was presented to her as her fate. The thought that she would be condemned as a monstrous sorceress and burned was a foul taste at the back of her throat. She felt her control slipping and struggled to push the fear back down.
Naismith was outraged. "So your proposal is that we impoverish the kingdom and allow you to murder our Queen? And in return you will not kill Princess Anna."
"Neatly summarized, Admiral. But don't forget, you'll get the Princess back and she can ascend the throne of her dead sister. So it's not as though Arendelle won't still have a queen." The man's brash arrogance was breathtaking.
Literally, in Elsa's case. She felt light-headed and faint and was having trouble breathing. She felt a panic attack coming on, the emotional overload of the day's events were threatening to overwhelm her self-control. It would be disastrous to show that weakness in front of this enemy. She silently chanted her mantra while maintaining a stony silent glare at the Weselton man. She clenched her hands so hard she was afraid she would break a bone but the cabin remained free of ice.
"It seems we are in somewhat of a stalemate, then, Commander," Elsa finally said. She fought to keep her voice under control, to show him none of her rage and fear.
"How so?"
"You have Anna as hostage, but you can't kill her out of hand or you will all die. We cannot attack unless we are willing to let you kill her. The Duke's plan only works if I agree to allow him to loot my kingdom and kill me while trusting him to keep his word that my sister will be released unharmed once he has accomplished that."
He said nothing; her analysis was correct and he had no intention of giving her any advantage by admitting it.
She stood and gestured at Eric. "Blindfold him again and return him to the hold. This decision will not be made in haste. Commander, your parole still holds, and I will not violate it. But I assume you can understand why I insist on some time to mull over this situation and make my decision?"
He shrugged, "Not too much time, Your Majesty. If I am not returned to Arendelle by the morning, well...my second in command does not have my appreciation for your integrity. I wouldn't want him to do anything … impulsive."
Eric blindfolded him, took him by the arm and led him away. Once their footsteps had faded beyond the closed door, Elsa sat down again, her hands shaking. The Admiral gave her a moment to be sure she had her emotions under control, then he said, "Your Majesty, are you actually considering agreeing to this abomination?"
She looked at him in bleak despair. "What choice do I have? You know full well what I will do if something happens to Anna. You are one of the three people who know exactly what we went through before my magic was exposed. I had lost my sister for thirteen years; we've only been reunited for three months. I can't lose her again and stay sane. The Duke will find that he has created the monster he fears."
He did understand the anguish she was dealing with. "I have no good advice to offer, Your Majesty. This is a dilemma with only bad options. Unless we could find some way to free the Princess..."
They sat in silence until Eric returned. "Your Majesty, may I ask what you're thinking?" He could tell from the expression on the Admiral's face that he wasn't thinking anything good was going to come of this.
Elsa sat silent, her eyes unfocused and staring at the bulkhead, ignoring the two men in the cabin with her. Neither felt comfortable pressing her. Finally, she shook her head and stood up to pace back and forth in the tiny cabin.
"The key to this puzzle is Anna. If we can somehow get Anna away from their grasp, we then have a free hand to deal with the invasion force in any way that we wish." Elsa could have been talking to herself for all the attention she paid to Naismith and Gunnarsson. She stopped and looked at them speculatively. "I have an idea, but neither one of you will like it."
Eric and Naismith looked at each other, then back to Elsa. "We are here to serve you and Arendelle, Your Majesty. However little we may like it, it will be your order, and we will obey," said Naismith. Eric nodded his agreement.
"Sit, then, and let me tell you a Crown Secret." The expression on Elsa's face was a contorted grimace. This secret had been privy to only the Royal Family for centuries, but she was desperate and could think of no other escape from their dilemma.
=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=
The Weselton Commander's internal emotions were not as sanguine as his outward appearance. He was a brave man, personally selected by the Duke for this mission. He knew that his chances of success were not as good as the odds that Elsa would kill all of them out of hand in a do-or-die attempt to rescue Anna, starting by cutting his throat and feeding him to the fish.
He sat and sweated for almost an hour before Captain Gunnarsson returned and pulled him to his feet.
"Come on, you. The Queen has your answer." They went up onto the deck.
"Take off the blindfold. I want him to see how serious I am about this." Elsa's voice.
He blinked to clear the tears caused by the sudden glare when the blindfold was removed and he stood in the bright sunlight.
Elsa glared at him. "I will agree to your terms. Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. I will present myself at the gates of the castle courtyard and surrender to you. I will give the necessary orders to withdraw all Arendelle troops from the city and move any Navy ships at least 5 miles outside the harbor. I will also provide a signed decree ordering all citizens of Arendelle to follow your orders with regard to the tribute. In addition, I will provide an order that allows you to take possession of the castle, which is far more defensible than your ships, giving you two strong points. The only troops left in the castle are my personal bodyguard, and they will be ordered to withdraw to the Marine Barracks and stand down with the Marines."
The Weselton man forced himself not to react. He had never dreamed that she would go along with any of it, much less all of it. And she was offering him the defensive capabilities of the castle, which was a bonus. He put an arrogant smile on his face and bowed, "A wise decision, Your Majesty. I will see you in the morning, then."
Elsa snapped her fingers and the Admiral handed the Commander a dispatch case. "These are the decrees I described to you. The Admiral will be sending messengers to all of our troops to stand down and withdraw to barracks. You may take possession of the castle two hours after we return you to your ships."
She took a step closer to him and looked into his eyes. "Know this, Commander. If anything, anything at all happens to my sister, you are a dead man. Everyone with you is a dead man. The Duke will be a dead man. Even if I die, Arendelle will take its vengeance on Weselton, burn it to the ground and sow it with salt and then we'll mail the butcher's bill to hell to add to the Duke's account. We'll make Ragnarök look like a summer picnic. Is that clear enough for you?"
This time he could not control his flinch at the savage determination in her eyes. He could see it echoed in the Admiral, her Guard Captain, and every man watching this little scene on the deck of the ship. "Perfectly clear, Your Majesty."
"Get him on his way, Admiral!" and Elsa turned away and strode to the bow of the ship, as far away as she could get from him. She left small icy footprints on the deck.
The Admiral gestured and they blindfolded him again. "I'm putting you on the fast sloop that brought us here. You'll be back in Arendelle before sunset."
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Once the Weselton Commander had left on the message sloop the Admiral ordered their frigate to set sail. They would go ashore and meet the Marines and get to the encampment where they would get together with Colonel Nordholm and inform him of the plan. Elsa had been right; neither Eric nor the Admiral liked her idea. But neither of them had anything better to offer, so … her plan became the plan.
Kristoff came up to her; he hesitated to say anything. He was afraid that she would blame him for Anna's kidnapping. As though reading his mind, she turned to him, laid her hand on his arm, looked into his warm brown eyes with sympathy and said, "It's not your fault, Kristoff. There's nothing you could have done to change what happened. If there is blame, I accept the responsibility for not insisting on better security for Anna."
Startled, he said, "But, Anna always hated being followed around by the guards. And there's never been any reason for it in the past."
"The key phrase in that sentence is 'in the past'. I should have realized that everything changed once my magic power was common knowledge. And that the obvious way to sidestep that power was to blackmail me in some way to neutralize it." Her words were tinged with bitter self-loathing.
"Not you alone, Your Majesty, not even primarily you." Naismith had joined Elsa and Kristoff. Gunnarsson was with him. "If anyone should have figured out the glaring security problem created by the changed situation after your magic was exposed, it should have been those of us responsible for that security." Eric nodded to indicated his agreement with what Naismith was telling Elsa. "You would be justified in dismissing us and seeking better advisers."
Elsa allowed herself a wry smile at the two of them. "But then, Admiral, I would have all that training to do to make those better advisers proficient in dealing with the Crazy Ice Queen; the Queen that almost froze her own kingdom into oblivion. Assuming I could find men such as you, as loyal as you, who would serve such a Queen."
"We have now learned a hard lesson. I hope, I pray that we will not pay for that lesson in blood and the lives of my sister, myself, or any of my subjects. But we have learned, and we will do better. All of us," she finished.
They could say nothing to that except bow to her and accept what she was telling them.
"Admiral, have you sent out the dispatches?" Elsa asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty. The Marine troop will meet us at the forest camp, Eric has sent his dispatch to the castle. Our messengers will get to where they need to be before the Weselton man gets back to his ships. Everyone will know what they need to do before you … surrender." She could tell that word was ashes in his mouth, bitter and choking him.
"Good. Thank you. Now, if I could ask you for the courtesy of letting Kristoff and me have a little privacy? He and I have things to discuss before the morning," she responded.
The two men saluted her and left them. Kristoff looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Elsa? What's going to happen in the morning? What was he talking about, 'your surrender'?"
She moved closer to him and took his hand in both of hers. He always thrilled at her touch, her hands were soft and smooth and a little cool. "Kristoff, we are going to do what is necessary to rescue Anna. Part of that necessity is that I must put myself in the hands of the Weselton force to give her a chance to escape."
"Elsa, no! They'll kill you!"
"That's possible, but killing me before they take me back to Weselton will result in their own deaths and they know it. I doubt that the Duke is paying these men enough to commit suicide for no gain. I think I'll be safe until we get to Weselton. But in truth, if that force is actually able to sail with their holds full of loot and me and Anna as prisoners, we will have failed, and I at least will probably die." She shook her head. "No, the whole point of my surrendering is to allow Anna a chance to escape. With me as a captive, the Weselton Commander will be confident that he has won, perhaps overconfident and careless. That's our only hope. The hope that Anna will be able to take advantage of that carelessness and escape."
"But … but … how is she supposed to do that? She can't just walk out the castle gates!" Kristoff protested.
"No, but the gates aren't the only way to leave the castle and Anna knows that. She's clever; it won't take more than a hint to point her in the right direction. And if she succeeds, then we're free to smash these bastards into dust and kick their asses all the way back to Weselton." Kristoff had never heard Elsa use that kind of language. Or seen that kind of feral snarl on her face. He pitied the Duke's men. And the Duke.
"It sounds like a risky plan," he said.
"It is risky, but it's the only plan that gives us any chance at all of ending this without destroying Arendelle and getting a lot of my people killed. Most of the risk is on me, but I have the best chance of defending myself if something goes wrong. The chances that Anna can sneak out of the castle are pretty good. You know how she is, this will be another opportunity for her to exercise that mischievous streak of hers."
She continued, "And once she's out of there, we can take back the castle and the town."
Kristoff looked down at his Queen, the woman that he hoped would be his sister-in-law some day. He was afraid for her because he could read between the lines. She would do whatever it took to rescue Anna.
"Elsa, please … take care of yourself in this plan of yours, will you?" he pleaded. "Anna needs her sister just as much as you need yours."
She smiled up at him, "I will, my loyal Ice Master and Deliverer. I intend to be 'Auntie Elsa' to Anna's many children," and she winked at him. "When she finds the right man, of course!" she teased and chuckled at his blush.
Author's Note:
Although it was probably clear from context, I realized that I had forgotten to explain exactly who 'Admiral Naismith' was and why we care. Comes from writing too many stories and thinking you guys have (a) read all of them [and if you have NOT read all of them, why not?] or (b) read my profile! LOL!
From the original "Protector of the Dominion":
High Admiral of the Navy Mikael Naismith was the highest ranking officer of the Arendelle military, de facto and de jure in overall command of Elsa's armed forces. His family had immigrated to Arendelle from Avalon when his great-grandfather had decided to remove himself from the religious turmoil in the aftermath of the Great Revolution. His troops called him "Old Hard as Nails", although not where he might hear it.
He appeared in my very first fanfic, "Beautiful, Powerful, Dangerous, Cold" but he didn't have a name or a backstory until later, when I realized I was actually building an AU with my stories. I went back and retconned in the name and backstory to BPDC.
Admiral Naismith, Kai and Gerda were the three people who knew all about Elsa's powers after her parents died. As Elsa once explained to Anna, it would have been irresponsible for no one to know should something happen to their parents. So Gerda had previously dealt with emotional episodes Elsa experienced. The Admiral built the dungeon and shackles at Elsa's request (Chapter 4 & 5 of "Walk Through The Park") and Kai, well, Kai just knows everything.