First Cause Part 1

I've been vlogging for a while, right now, on absolutely nothing. Well, it wasn't really nothing. Hans had a very important meeting today and he said that as soon as he was done, he was going to come to my house so that I could be the first to know how it went. This meeting could have meant the future of his whole career. It was really important for him, and to say the whole truth, I was vlogging with Anna just to keep my mind off stuff. I knew how much this meeting meant to him and I was so terrified that something could have gone wrong. Meanwhile, I might have not graduated yet, but… I had some pretty good news which I was going to share on that vlog once Hans was here, and of course, in case everything went well for him too.
Anna and I were doing a Q&A , just to let time go by a bit. I was sitting on the couch in front of the turned off TV, with Anna lying on the couch with her upper body draped on my lap, while I run my fingers through her hair, reading the questions off my phone. Then Anna and I heard the doorbell, without thinking, I put down the camera while it was still recording and went to open the door, since it must have been Hans, and it was, looking handsome in his blue coat and tie.
If I had noticed that Anna had taken the camera in that moment I would have told her to shut it down immediately, because Hans's face had worried me. He didn't look too happy.

"Hey, how did it go?" I asked him. He didn't answer right away, but looked down to the floor as he placed the bag with his projects next to the door "Don't tell me they refused your project" I said with hope dripping down my voice. Hans's sad face morphed into a bright smile.

"They didn't. They liked it and asked me to supervise all the works and they offered me a 3 year-long contract!" he said smiling.

"Really?! You did it! Congratulations!" I said smiling hugging him tight, as Hans lifted me off my feet spinning me around kissing my cheek. As Hans settled me down I took his face in my hands and brought it close to my own "I knew you could do it! I'm so, so proud of you!" his answer was a peck on my lips and hugging me tight, again.

"Congratulations, Hans!" Anna said coming to us.

"Thank you… Are you recording?" he said unsure.

"Yeah, give me a hug!" Anna said hugging him as well. Then Anna surprised us both when she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I have news too" I said Anna and Hans looked at me expectantly. Anna pointed the camera straight at me.

"Considering your happy face it must be something good" Anna said, as if to explain why she didn't ask if I wanted the camera off.

"It is" I started "Well… as you all know, it's been 4 years that I work as an intern in a law firm, but I'm not a lawyer yet, well… today, my boss summoned me for a private talk…"

"And?!" Hans and Anna asked in chorus, waiting for the news.

"And he- Geez, guys! Someone's curious!" I commented.

"Just tell us already!" Anna said impatiently.

"He's handing me my first real cause!" I revealed.

"OH MY GOD!- REALLY?! THAT'S GREAT NEWS!" Hans and Anna both shouted excitedly. My sister was the first to run me over with a bear hug. I held her tight as she had one arm tight around my neck and the other holding the camera in her hand.

"I'm so proud of you!" she said.

"Thanks, Anna" I said smiling at her. Then she kissed my cheek and let go of me. Hans embraced me immediately.

"I'm so happy for you" he said nestling his face in my neck, wrapping his arms around me "I love you" he whispered.

"I love you too" I said back. Unfortunately Anna heard us anyway, and it didn't help that Hans kissed the corner of my mouth in that moment.

"Aww! You guys are so cute!" she said coming closer to us. With one arm still locked behind Hans's neck, with the other one I tried to push Anna and the camera away from us, earning Anna's giggle when she received the light push.

"Go away…" I said, my voice muffled by Hans's shoulder, as I felt Hans try to push her away as well. But the we pulled away from the hug.

"What is the cause?" Hans asked me.

"I'm not sure yet, but my boss said something about financial irregularities in a business chain. I'll have more details tomorrow" I answered. After promising them I'd let them know all the details and had Hans promise to do the same about his project, we vlogged about our evening out. Kristoff joined us a little while later, and the four of us decided to go out to celebrate.
I was really excited about tomorrow… but I had no idea, in what a mess I was about to put myself in.

"Miss Arendelle?" I heard my boss' secretary call me "Mr. de Chateaupers wants to see you" she said. It was time to talk about the cause I was going to handle. I stood up from my desk and followed her to my boss' office "Congratulations, by the way" she said smiling at me before I opened the door.

"Thank you" I said smiling back and entered the room. As I got in my boss was still on the phone. As I opened the door, his navy blue eyes lit up as they met mine and with a bright smile he motioned me to come in. Then immediately ended the phone call saying he would call back later.

"Elsa! There you are! I hope you're excited about this. Please, take a seat!" he said in his deep voice.

"I am. Thank you for this opportunity Mr. de Chateaupers" I answered sitting down.

"Oh, please, love! I've known you for four years, by now. No need to be so formal. Call me Phoebus" he said smiling.

"Okay, Phoebus" I said smiling back.

"That's more like it" he said. Any woman who looked at my boss fell for him. He was French, but he grew up in th US. He was 35 years-old, tall, muscular, had blonde hair and navy blue eyes, not to mention that he was charming and well mannered. He was a cool guy. Plus, he was married and had a son. Their picture was ever-present on his desk and his wedding ring proudly on his ring finger.

"Anyhow…" he said "I've got your case. It is complicated, I admit, but you certainly are competent and will be able to handle it. The difficult part is the fact the respondent is very rich and can play dirty tricks thanks to his money" he said.

"Thank you for your trust. I won't disappoint you" I said as he handed me the folder.

"There is something particular about this case. It never happened to me in my years as a lawyer… so, I'll have to ask you who you are choosing as your client" he said. I looked at him confused.

"I thought you appointed me as prosecutor" I said

"Well… I did give you the cause as prosecutor… but the respondent actually came here and specifically asked for you as his lawyer" that last statement confused me even more.

"Who's the respondent?" I asked.

"Magnus Westerguard, owner of… who knows how many companies in finances… and not really a nice guy" he answered. My face fell... or went pale… I don't know. I just froze and Phoebus noticed.

"Elsa, what is it?" he asked "Do you know Magnus Westerguard?" he asked. I woke up from my trance.

"Yeah… I do know him…" I said "And he is horrible…"

"So… considering what you're saying, I suppose you are taking the case as prosecutor" he said. I remained silent as my brain started working on hundreds of thoughts.

"I… Do I need to give an answer now?" I asked Phoebus unsure. He stood up and walked in front me leaning on his desk and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"No, you don't have to, but I don't understand what you're so nervous about" he said worriedly.

"I… I'm dating his youngest son" I confessed. Realization dawned on Phoebus's face.

"Oh…" he said taking his hand off my shoulder "… Well… you could always refuse the case. I can give you another one just as important… as soon as we get one" I remained quiet. I wasn't sure what to do. Hans wasn't on good terms with Magnus, but he was still his father. Was I supposed to… betray Hans and worsen his relationship with his family by taking the case as prosecutor or was I supposed to go against my moral values and help a man that was ready to marry off his son to a woman he didn't even know for money? Or that wanted me in the family for convenience? Or that has had other issues with the law? Or who used his children as pawns for his business?

"You don't have to decide right away" Phoebus said.

"I need to speak with Hans about this first" I said. Phoebus gave me an encouraging smile and stroked my face in a fatherly way, before putting his hand on my shoulder again.

"Elsa, if you refuse the case, I can understand. Plus, you're work is excellent so you don't have to worry about getting fired, because if I did: I would be an idiot" he said chuckling, making me laugh a little.

"How much time do I have to think about this?" I asked.

"The trial is in two weeks. I'm sorry, but I can give you only 48h starting from the moment you get out of this office" he replied.

"Thank you" I said standing up as well "I'll let you know by tomorrow"

"Good luck" he said and surprised me by giving me a quick hug "And remember" he said putting both arms on my shoulders, holding me at arm's distance, giving me a serious look "Whatever you choose, working with you is a pleasure. You're smart, you're professional and have your priorities straight. Shall you refuse, you'll have another opportunity" he said then he took the folder from me "I'll keep this until I have your answer" And with that, I said my goodbyes once more and exited Phoebus's office, with just one question in mind: How am I going to tell Hans?

What to do?! What to do?! So... Elsa has a problem, a big problem... what do think about this? Will she refuse the case for Hans' sake? Will she take is as prosecutor? Or will she take it as defendant and betray her moral values?
Tell me what you think about this with a review, constuctive criticism is very well accepted! IF WE GET THIS STORY TO 36 REVIEWS I'LL UPLOAD THE NEXT CHAPTER!
See you next episode! ;-)

The Princess of Stars