Meltdown
by Concolor44
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Chapter 2: Retribution
Garland-draped effigies of Elsa graced most of the buildings.
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No one moved, no one dared blink, for the space of three breaths. Then Elsa allowed a tiny smile to grace her features as she very deliberately sat back down on her throne. She gathered her ermine robe about her, studying Hans calmly until his smirk faltered a bit. "Tell me," she said in a conversational tone, "Does your false ambition know no limits? Your perfidy no bounds?"
The corners of his mouth turned down in time with his frown. "I am … there is … ambition has nothing to do with it!"
"Oh, indeed."
He took a small step forward. "You have been deposed, Elsa. You will now surrender your throne to me."
"Really. So then, has King Charles declared war on Arendelle?"
"What? No, of course not." A little of his bravado returned. "Don't be absurd."
"I had rather thought not." Her smile increased momentarily before settling into a look of satisfaction. "Arendelle, as you may not realize, O Prince, has a non-aggression treaty with Norway. It dates back to the middle of last century, and is renewed faithfully every five years. It was, in fact, renewed last autumn, and carries my seal."
"What does that have to do with …"
"Also, while the King certainly is the titular head of the official Church of Norway, Arendelle is not Norway. And Arendelle does not have a state religion. We collect no tithe. In fact, even though a majority of the populace – and that includes the royal family – does adhere to the Lutheran faith, and does, it is true, look to the Church of Norway for spiritual guidance, freedom of conscience is a cherished and closely-held right here. The concept was written into the laws of the land in my great-grandfather's time. There is a synagogue just to the north for the small Jewish population that ended up here after escaping persecution in Russia. One of the most popular taverns in the city is operated by a trio of Trappist monks. And no one is required to attend Church. Many do not."
Hans blinked at her, not liking where the conversation was going. "That still does not …"
"King Charles," she went on, as if he had not spoken, "is certainly welcome to his opinion. But Arendelle is a sovereign state, and bears no liege-oath to any other ruler. If Arendelle happens to follow his lead in a given issue, we do so for our convenience and pleasure … not his. So his opinion remains just that, and carries no weight of law or rule." She drew herself up proudly, solemnly. "Arendelle, as it so happens, has a Queen.
"The kingdom is doing quite well, and we thank the King of Norway and Sweden for his concern … however …" She fairly pierced Hans with her gaze. "I would state for the record that, in the first point, I am no sorceress of any kind, but a loyal daughter of the Church. I was born with the God-given abilities I possess, and I use them in the service of my lands. In the second point, I love my people. I care for them in a way that no mere upstart outsider could possibly comprehend, and I will continue to do so as long as a merciful God allows me to draw breath. In the third point, I have no intention whatsoever of handing over my throne, and the reins of power it signifies, to anyone else, period. And in the last point …" Here, she gripped the arms of her throne and rose smoothly to her full height. "Lastly, it will be a colder day in Hell than any day Arendelle has ever seen before a pusillanimous, lying, conniving, back-stabbing gremlin such as yourself gets his sniveling hooks into this blessed land."
He stood there, trembling in shock and fury, grinding his teeth in frustration. This was not going at all the way he had envisioned. Ergo, his backup plan. "Very well. The King instructed you to follow his orders upon pain of death. That's your choice, Elsa!" He jumped to the side, and the five men behind him all drew pistols and aimed at the Queen.
She would (much later) determine that she should have anticipated such a move on his part. It would be just like him. And he wouldn't have come into her palace to make such a proclamation without any means to back it up other than the threat of the King's displeasure. It made perfect sense in retrospect. However, in the heat of the moment, staring down five cavernous gun barrels, she froze.
Her guards, on the other hand, were trained for just such an occasion, and stormed in front of the Queen to protect her. The two on the outside threw their spears just as the five pistols spoke. The multiple reports were deafening in the enclosed space, and it jerked Elsa out of her paralysis.
Two of the assassins were down, but so were two of her guards. The scowl that came to rest on her normally lovely features should have terrified the assailants. Perhaps they were too preoccupied with trying to kill her to notice. But they weren't given the chance to launch another volley, as thick ice instantly encased the entire delegation.
Elsa rushed to the fallen men. Both were conscious, but bleeding badly. She prodded one of the servants and directed, "Get the chirurgeon here as fast as ever you can!" Whipping back around to the men in a rising panic of concern, she said, "Eckert, Bjarni, hold on! Please, please don't die! Please don't …"
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Like a spark through oil-soaked tinder, the news of the attempted assassination spread across the city. Small mobs sprang up in several places. A few vigilante groups approached some of the Aldermen to insist, vehemently, that the invaders be attacked forthwith. And there was no shortage of volunteers.
For their part, the Aldermen quickly got up a petition for war and sent it to the palace. The sanctity of the ruling house, the safety of their beloved Queen, and the very sovereignty of Arendelle itself were at stake, they proclaimed.
The individual at the focal point of all this fuss, however, was working hard to maintain calm … hers, and that of those around her. After doing all she could for her two wounded guards, Elsa called a meeting with the Council to discuss appropriate responses to the affront. At the close of an hour and a half of debate, they decided to send a small party out to the flagship. An official document was penned, outlining the crimes which had been committed against the Throne of Arendelle, offering a pardon to the sailors on the ships, and asking for a confirmation that there would be no more hostilities. Three men were chosen to deliver the message.
By that time, night had fallen, and Elsa decided that this next step could wait until morning. Besides, it had been hours and hours since her last meal, and she wanted nothing more than a nice, hot filet of cod with that wonderful lemony sauce the cook had invented, followed by a nice, hot bath with some lavender soap.
Later, while Gerda fussed over the Queen's bath preparations, Elsa detoured over toward Anna's room. She hadn't seen her sister since before all the unpleasantness began, and she felt the lack of the strawberry blonde's ready effervescence. She could really use a little pick-me-up, and a few minutes with Anna sounded like just the thing, especially since she could assure the girl with no trace of doubt that her relationship with Kristoff had absolutely nothing to do with the delegation's visit.
It had become their practice to knock twice and just come in. Neither sister was all that prudish around the other. If Anna walked in on Elsa getting dressed, it made not even a bump in the highway of her chatter. Similarly, Elsa had no qualms about sitting in the room and grinning to herself while Anna flung clothes in nine directions trying to decide which gown/dress/jumper/riding outfit would best impress Kristoff. As if, Elsa would think to herself, Kristoff needed any impressing. He was positively ridiculous in Anna's presence, smitten beyond description, and even prone to small accidents. It was really quite silly. She, herself, was very sure she would never behave in such a fashion. Of course she knew, as did most women, that men were the weaker sex.
But, as she approached her sister's rooms, she heard a sort of keening wail. Her eyes flew wide in alarm; she picked up her skirts and ran the final stretch down the hall, calling up her ice powers in readiness. If there were someone trying to do harm to her baby sister …
Anna's cry grew louder, stuttering and gasping in pain! But Elsa was almost there. "Anna! Anna, what's wrong?! Who's there?!"
Elsa yanked the door open and sprang inside, arms raised to rain icy death on …
A good hundred candles lit the scene: Kristoff. On his back. Naked. With Anna poised over him, spitted like a duck for roasting. Naked. With Kristoff's hands clenched hard into her thighs.
A quick series of squeaks and moans in time with her thrusts preceded Anna's final drawn-out cry and subsequent satiated collapse onto her lover. Neither of them noticed Elsa, being rather preoccupied with more pertinent activities.
The Queen stood in the doorway, bemused, for a moment more, then walked quietly over to the bed. Her sister and her consort were breathing deeply and rapidly, eyes closed, contented smiles gracing their faces.
"One wonders," stated Elsa, "how long this has been going on."
Anna gave a little shriek and clawed for the quilts.
Elsa raised an eyebrow. "A bit late for modesty, don't you think?"
Kristoff blushed so hard Elsa wouldn't have been surprised if his face began giving off smoke. Anna, finally securing the haphazard wad of covers, pulled them up to just under her eyes and peered at her sister like a trapped doe.
A delicate foot tapped the hardwood a few times. "Well? How long?"
Anna cleared her throat, coughed, cleared it again, swallowed twice, and stuttered, "Th-th-this is th-the … um … the third time."
"I see." She regarded the pair with mild exasperation. "I see," she repeated. "So you believed it a good idea, given that Arendelle might be on the brink of war, to sneak off to your room and make the beast with two backs, did you?"
They spluttered and stumbled over unintelligible (and likely fabricated) explanations for half a minute before Elsa held up her hand. "As I am sure you are well aware, one fairly common outcome of this … performance is that you will find yourself with child."
Anna hid her eyes, getting even redder than she'd already been.
"You never gave that the slightest thought, did you?" Switching her gaze to Kristoff, she added, "And after our talks, too. I believe I had made my position on this, ah, state of affairs quite clear."
"Um … yes. You did. Quite. Sorry. Very clear. Yes. Sorry." He swallowed hard and squeaked, "Don't kill me?"
"So what inspired …" She waved a hand in their direction. "… this?"
Anna dropped the cover and knelt, pleading, "Please don't be mad at Kris! It was all my idea! I set up the candles and put clean sheets on and had dinner waiting and he didn't know it was for …"
"Stop." That hand again. "As it takes two to make this dance work, culpability is shared. That you, sister, seduced him in this instance does not excuse him. Though I must say," she stated, stroking her chin while contemplating Anna's smooth, svelte, unclothed form, "Thinking about it dispassionately, I would be truly impressed if he had been able to resist that."
Anna squirmed back under the quilt, shame radiating off her in waves.
"So. You are newly nineteen years old and an adult, at least theoretically. If you understand the consequences and are prepared to suffer them …" the Queen turned and glided to the door, waving a careless hand in their direction. "I've nothing more to say on the topic. Carry on. I'm going to have a bath and then retire." She paused at the door. "One might suggest you consider doing likewise." A very tiny frown wrinkled her nose. "And have those sheets washed."
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The Queen's representatives set off at daybreak, rowing out to the great warship under a flag of truce. Almost the entire city lined the walls and the docks, watching their progress.
Elsa and Anna sat together in one of the tower rooms so they could have a good view of the proceedings. Elsa's father had been fond of ornate spy-glasses and had a nice little collection of them. She currently held one that brought the scene much, much closer. Anna had one nearly as good.
Neither sister had brought up the embarrassment of the previous night, for which Anna was intensely grateful. She figured Elsa would revisit the subject after the current crisis was past, and was planning to be on her very best behavior until that time. If she could restrain herself. Kristoff had proved to be … quite talented. And blessed with a marvelous stamina. Just thinking of it made the blood rush to her nether regions, so she resolved not to think about it. Much.
To distract herself, she asked, "Who are those three again?"
"Jakob Aadland and Geirulf Solversen, two of the Aldermen, and the First Lieutenant of the Watch. I believe his name is Rolf Heim."
"And who's rowing?"
"Their names are Derek and Falke. They're in the Watch, too. It seems there was a lottery held to choose who had the honor."
"Oh. My goodness."
Finally the skiff made it to the huge ship. A ladder was lowered and the three clambered up. They spoke briefly with someone in an ornate hat and then went into the superstructure on the foredeck. The few sailors that could be seen just lounged around on deck and in the rigging. There were two near the wheel, leaning on it and talking to each other. Peering closely, she fancied she could make out details of the uniforms …
Wait.
In rising alarm, she fiddled with the focus, bringing the view in a bit more clearly. After a minute, she was sure. She rose and hurried toward the door.
Anna stood and followed. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Those are not Norwegians."
"… Huh?"
"If we're lucky, they're mercenaries. If not …"
Anna had to run to keep up with her. "What if they're not?"
"Then they're pirates."
In just over three minutes Elsa had called what Councilors were available and shared her fears. One of the old men grew very pale and sat down. Elsa stepped over to him and asked, "What is it, Geert?"
"Falke! My son is one of the rowers!"
A guard burst into the conference room. "My Queen! The ships are moving!"
They all hurried out to one of the westward rooms and peered toward the end of the fjord. The sun shone full on the five ships as they slowly maneuvered around to form a line.
"They're going to fire on us!"
Elsa's brow darkened menacingly. She said nothing, but ran to the nearest stairs and began to climb. She was puffing hard when she reached the high landing and stepped out to the balcony. Frost suddenly covered all the near surfaces. A cold fog ran along her body, spread across the floor and spilled down the side of the castle. She raised her arms and concentrated as a series of flashes along the side of the flagship signaled the first volley.
"NNNNNGYYYAHHHH!" She flung her power toward the water. Huge gouts of ice leaped upward, climbing and climbing and finally intercepting the speeding cannonade. Only two of the shells made it through, and they splashed into the water just in front of the dock.
The assault's deafening thunder was muted somewhat by the wall of ice, but it still brought distant screams from the people milling about below. The barrier was just low enough so that Elsa could still see over it. The other four ships copied the flagship, sending dozens of flaming balls toward the city, but the Snow Queen stopped them all. They fired two more quick rounds before deciding that tactic wasn't going to work. Two of the schooners began ponderously turning to leave.
"Oh, no you don't." Elsa created a long slide extending from the side of the tower where she stood, out, out, out to connect with the top of the great frozen escarpment, and out, out, out to meet the water about halfway to where the ships sat. Then, forming some skates of ice, she jumped onto the slide and zipped down to the fjord.
All five ships were well into turning about, obviously wanting nothing more to do with the Ice Witch of Arendelle since they had so drastically underestimated her power. But now Elsa, standing in contact with the fjord, exercised her will on the water beyond the small fleet. It froze solid at the mouth of the fjord, and then began slowly to tip upward and backward toward the city. She could see screaming sailors as they tried to find purchase on the decks that were steadily becoming perpendicular. In very little time, all five ships were standing on their sterns, locked in ice. She saw the skiff and used another bit of power to boost it up on a thin ice block and scoot it over near her. The two men were shaken, but ever so glad to be away from the flagship. As it happened, half a dozen of the sailors had trained long guns on them just as Elsa's powers struck. They would have been dead in another few seconds, had she not intervened.
"What of the three who went aboard?"
"We don't know, my Queen," answered Falke. "We heard nothing."
"Did you bring your swords?"
Derek shook his head. "No, your Majesty, we were under a flag of truce."
She nodded, then fashioned two ice swords for them, concentrating and hardening the weapons until they would shatter steel. "Let's go find them."
It did not take long. Terrified, freezing, and completely demoralized, the sailors offered no resistance whatsoever, quickly directing her to the cabin where the three had been stowed. She blasted the locked door to splinters, brought the three into the bright morning sun, and got them reasonably thawed out before they all headed back to Arendelle.
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The victory celebration involved the entire city and lasted the rest of the day. Garland-draped effigies of Elsa graced most of the buildings.
Almost the entirety of Arendelle's small military force trekked out to the bound ships to take their complement of sailors into custody, which took several hours. The gaol and the dungeon were nothing like big enough to hold them all, so Elsa created a floating ice prison where all 720 of them could cool their heels until she decided what to do with them.
The captives were docile to the point of groveling, having been thoroughly cowed by Elsa's show of force. The day after their capture, one at a time, they were taken to a nearby guardhouse and interrogated. They all got to watch, eyes round, shivering in fear, as Elsa rode a small iceberg out into the fjord, lowered the ships back into the water, and banished the ice. That same day a contingent of arms experts and accountants spent many hours going through the ships and cataloguing what they found. Elsa, meanwhile, spent a great deal of time with her Council.
Every man of them felt that Hans, the Baron, and the assassins should be executed for piracy. About half of them felt the same way about the mercenaries (for that is what they were). Two of the schooners were of English make, one was an American privateer, and one was of German origin. The flagship was a French "74", and of fairly recent manufacture. The four leaders of the mercenaries maintained staunchly that the Prince had supplied them with the flags and banners they flew, and had promised them the opportunity to loot the city when they took control. They hadn't really expected any kind of fight, and when the Queen's representatives informed them that Hans's delegation had been arrested and was currently enjoying the benefits of the royal dungeon, they'd panicked. Fearing mutiny if they told their men the mission was a bust, they'd opted instead to try to take the city on their own, and their shock and dismay at being put down hard by Elsa's power was just … enervating. They had no will left to fight. None of them knew any details about the supposed edict from King Charles, as none of the ships had ever been to Oslo.
This helped greatly to settle Elsa's mind on that score, at least. She truly did not want to have any sort of conflict with the much larger, much richer, much better armed nation that surrounded Arendelle on three sides. Even if she could prevent a military incursion – and she felt confident that it wouldn't be a problem – the threat of embargo was very real, and cutting off all trade would hurt her people badly.
The morning of the third day, they had the Baron brought up for interrogation. After spending some time in the dark and damp, he was no longer the condescending peer. In fact, after just a few minutes of grilling, and having Elsa show him just how creative she could get with the forms her ice materializations could take, he confessed to not being a Baron at all. He was an actor, hired by Hans to play the part. The King's proclamation was a forgery, he didn't know where Hans had procured a copy of the King's seal, he was extremely sorry that he had gotten mixed up in this whole mess, he'd had no idea that they were going to try to kill Elsa, he'd never even seen the assassins until two days before they landed … and he wanted to know if they thought he'd done a creditable job pretending to be a member of the peerage.
Elsa had slapped him for that one.
She dismissed the Council and told them to go enjoy themselves. Take some time and spend it with their families. She declared a special day of rest, and announced that everyone who stopped into a tavern that day could have one free drink on her. She and Anna and Kristoff went on a short picnic excursion to the pleasant meadows east of the city, and had a delightful cold lunch. It was a happy day.
Happy, that is, for Arendelle. Not so much for Hans, where he languished in the lowest dungeon, strapped into the pillory.
Later that night, well after dark, later than she would normally be up and about, Elsa paced in her library. Finally coming to a decision, she trooped down to the dungeon, informed the guards that she wished to speak to Prince Hans alone, and was soon standing in front of his cell.
He was a sorry sight, stuck there with his head and arms locked in the rough wood. His court finery was a ragged, stinking ruin, since he was not allowed to move from that spot for any reason. Twice a day, the guards would give him a dipper of water and two small loaves of bread. But his own filth coated the insides of his breeches, and oozed through the expensive fabric to cake in evil stains on the surface.
She simply stood, regarding him for a few minutes before he raised his head and noticed her. Then he growled low in his throat. That led to a short coughing fit, but after a minute or so he turned his manic, bloodshot eyes her way. "Gloat while you can. My family has power. Not ridiculous ice power like yours. Real power. The power of life and death. You'll pay. Oh, how you'll pay for this insult. Blood and pain and …."
Standing quiet and unmoved while he rambled, she waited until he ran out of steam, and then offered, "I read up on the Kingdom of the Southern Isles after your first visit. The King and Queen are moral and upright people, and are known for being sticklers for following the rules. Your family, I feel quite sure, has no idea what you have been doing. They would have stopped you otherwise."
His glare, if anything, became more feral. But he didn't dispute what she said.
"I can't imagine that it was very cheap to hire those mercenaries. And I also can't imagine that your father would have allowed such a substantial withdrawal from the royal treasury. The Southern Isles are, at most, twice as large and prosperous as Arendelle, and such a sum would be missed." She rocked back and forth, heel to toe a few times. "Has it been missed already?"
He stared at her in hate for a quarter minute before dropping his eyes with a muttered, "Bitch."
"I suspected as much. So, while your family may, indeed, be looking for you, I seriously doubt it is for the purpose of a rescue."
He deflated as the tension slowly drained out of him. He had known all that. But knowing something is a very different thing versus internalizing and acknowledging it, and the consequences of his actions suddenly comprised a very bitter pill.
"So now we come to the crux of the matter. You have twice attempted to take my life. That constitutes piracy in the latest instance, for which in Arendelle the penalty is death; both cases could be considered an act of war. Actually, I could have had you executed that first time. But I was very new to the throne and under a lot of other stresses at the time. We have since more than replaced the custom we lost in cutting economic ties with Weselton. We have been through one of the most brutal winters in anyone's memory. And we have prospered despite everything that has occurred. At any rate, I am no longer that girl. I am Queen of a blessed and happy land, and I intend to see to it that Arendelle stays blessed and happy."
"Go to hell."
She gave him an abbreviated smirk. "As the saying goes, 'you first'. And I can certainly arrange that if it is your wish."
He turned his burning gaze her way again.
"I have decided to leave that decision in your hands. The assassins you hired will be executed tomorrow. Arendelle has no vested interest in keeping them alive. But you? You will spend the rest of your life in this dungeon. Never doubt that. However … how long that life turns out to be is up to you. You may request execution at any time. How was it you put it to me just a few days ago? Ah, yes: that is your choice."
A tortured howl accompanied his frenzied thrashing against the pillory. She observed his fit for a moment before turning and mounting the stairs.
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