Thawing Together Chapter 6
Four mornings later, Anders was awakened by a polite tapping on the door. It was Kai.
"I'm sorry to wake you, sir, but the Queen requests your presence in the dining room as quickly as possible. I think it's important, sir."
"Thank you, Kai," Anders yawned. He had never been a morning person and he never would be. He quickly freshened up, put on his work clothes, smacked himself in the head, took off the work clothes and donned one of his suits instead, and made his way to the dining room. Elsa was waiting for him; apparently she'd finished her breakfast a few minutes ago.
"I'm glad you're here," she began. "I've sent out messengers to the other nobles, but I have a feeling most of them won't be able to come. A soldier from the Kingdom of Stavanger has arrived on horseback, and he says he has a message of great importance for me. He won't tell me anything more. I have a feeling I'm going to need advice."
By eleven o'clock, the messengers had returned. All but one said their designated noble could not attend a meeting that day. The one exception, the Duke of Erl, would arrive within the hour. His coach pulled into the palace courtyard just after lunch. The Queen gave him some time to freshen up after the journey and grab a bite to eat before summoning the Council of Nobles (both of them) to an emergency meeting.
The soldier stood at parade-rest near the foot of the table. "I am Major Harstad, commander of the King of Stavanger's First Infantry Battalion, and I bear a message for Queen Elsa of Arendelle."
"I am Queen Elsa. Please proceed," she said.
He pulled a folded note out of the breast pocket of his uniform. "My lord, the King of Stavanger, demands the right of free passage for his ships through Arendelle's waters. If you refuse, the consequences will be less than pleasant for you." He re-folded the paper. "That is all. What is your answer?"
Anders and the Duke both looked to the Queen. After a few seconds, she said, "This calls for deliberation, of course."
"My orders are to get your answer and leave for Stavanger before sunset," the soldier said stiffly. "Delay will not improve your situation."
"Are you threatening –" the Duke began, but Elsa waved him to silence.
"Our deliberations will not take long," she said. "Kai, see to the Major's comfort. Major Harstad, we will give you our answer within the hour." The soldier and the major-domo left the meeting room together.
"Obviously, we need to give them what they want," the Duke burst out as soon as the door closed. "Stavanger is a much bigger kingdom than we are, they're not afraid of war, and it sounds like they're preparing for it."
"Don't their ships already have freedom of passage?" the Queen wondered.
"Their trading ships do. All merchant ships have freedom of the seas," the Duke nodded. "This must be about warships, or ships full of soldiers."
"None of which are aimed at us," Anders added.
"You don't dare assume that!" the Duke shot back. "You heard his threat! If we don't give them what they want, it means war."
"Stop and think for a moment, Your Excellency," the Baron replied evenly. "If they wanted to attack us, they wouldn't ask for freedom of passage. They'd just present us with an impossible list of demands, and if we didn't give them everything they wanted, they'd strike. They must want freedom of passage so they can attack someone else, and they want to take a shortcut through our waters. Does Stavanger have any enemies to the east of us?"
"Yes, of course," the Duke answered. "They have a long-standing feud with Glauerhafen; every few years, they start looking for an excuse to go to war against them. I'm surprised you don't know that."
"So you think Stavanger wants war with Glauerhafen," Elsa cut in, "and they just want us to stand aside and let them use our waters as an invasion route?"
"We couldn't stop them if we wanted to, Your Highness," the Duke replied. "We have no military force except for the palace guard and the three armed sloops of the coast guard; it would take a week to raise a militia. Stavanger's First Infantry is probably their only infantry, but they're a professional fighting force. We can't oppose them."
"The Duke is completely correct," Anders nodded. "But if Stavanger tried to fight Glauerhafen and Arendelle at the same time, could they win?"
"Probably not," the Duke admitted after thinking for a few seconds. "If they did win, it would be very costly to them."
"That means Stavanger doesn't want to fight us; they just want us to stay neutral," Anders nodded. "I agree that we'll have to give them free passage. But rather than just yield and give them what they want, why not try to gain a little advantage from this situation?"
"What are you suggesting?" the Queen wondered.
"I suggest that, instead of just saying, 'yes, here's your free passage,' we ought to ask for something in return. Something like... Stavanger should open their markets up to us for trade."
"If we start making demands, they'll give us those 'less than pleasant consequences' for sure," the Duke growled. "Stavanger doesn't let any other nation trade inside their borders; they're infamous for that."
"Then we won't ask for much," Anders said. "Just their wool markets. We don't want to provoke any hostilities, but this is too good a chance to pass up. If they really want to avoid war with us, they may be willing to give a little. Your duchy could benefit from another market for wool, couldn't it, Duke?"
The Duke considered that. The answer was obvious – his lands held plenty of sheep, and his people could always use more markets to sell their goods. He just didn't want to admit that this upstart Baron had come up with a better idea than his own. "I think it's a bad idea, Baron."
"Do you really think Stavanger will let us trade inside their borders?" the Queen asked Anders.
"If they're preparing for war, then they'll need plenty of uniforms for their soldiers," Anders answered readily. "That means they'll need lots of wool. It could be a golden opportunity for us."
"But if you've guessed wrong, they might attack us," she replied.
"It's unlikely, but yes, Your Highness, it is possible," he admitted.
"Hmmm." Elsa folded her hands and thought for a few seconds. "We will tell this Major to bring a message back to his king. In exchange for free passage for Stavanger's ships, Arendelle requests that Stavanger open its wool markets to our traders. Should we say anything else?"
"No, Your Highness." "No, Your Highness." It was agreed.
Later that afternoon, Baron Anders sent a messenger back to his chief steward. "Tell all our herdsmen to consider shearing their flocks a bit early. A lucrative opportunity to sell the wool might arrive within days." Some people might have called this "insider trading," but to the Baron, it just made sense. It hurt no one, the benefit to him would be small, and it might be very good for the people of his barony.
Three days later, Stavanger sent their answer. They were willing to open their wool markets to Arendelle for one week, starting three days from now.
"I think we should accept their offer," Anders told the Queen. "It's better than nothing, and if we try to negotiate for more, we risk getting nothing, or even starting our own little war."
"I completely agree," the Duke admitted. He sent out his own messengers to his lands, suggesting that an early shearing might pay off well. The other nobles heard about these dealings by word of mouth, and their own early shearings got off to a late start. When the first trading ship left Arendelle for Stavanger, it mostly carried wool from Anders' barony, with a few bales from the Duke of Erl's lands. That shipload made an enormous profit, even after the Queen and the Baron had taken out their portions in taxes. Subsequent shiploads from Arendelle's other lands also did well, but not as well as that first trip.
Baron Anders was suddenly viewed as something like a hero to his own people. The Queen thanked him quietly but sincerely. The Duke of Erl wasn't sure what to think of him – the baron's ideas had certainly made him and his duchy richer, but it galled him that this jumped-up commoner was suddenly calling all the shots in the Council. What good was it to be the highest-ranking nobleman in the kingdom if the Queen was only listening to her lap dog?
He visited Potet to speak privately with the Duchess. She agreed that something had to be done. After the Duke left, she called for a trusted servant whom she kept on the payroll for times like these.
"I want you to wander around the Northeast Barony and ask some discreet questions," she instructed him. "I want you to find out something about Baron Anders that he'd like to keep quiet. A girl, a drunken episode, a mishandling of money... it doesn't matter to me, as long as we can prove it, or at least make it seem plausible. Any questions?"
"None, Your Excellency," the man purred. The Duchess smiled. If Anders had any secrets, her "associate" would find them. The Baron's influence in the Council was about to hit bottom.