Chapter 11
Council with the Duke
"Land Ho!" called captain Jim from above. Rushing up from the lower decks, the Duke and King Gerbhard were relieved to see the shores of Arendelle up ahead.
"Ah, Arendelle" said the Duke. "At long last, I return."
"I can see why such a small country has been independent for so long" said Gerbhard, examining the landscape. "Only a fool would attack such a well defended castle. What with the mountains to the north and the narrow fjord."
"Yes, yes" said the Duke dismissively. "And who knows how many secret sorcerers have played a hand in keeping it that way. Do not let its beauty sway you, nephew, within those walls lies a great and powerful danger, far to horrid to behold."
Gerbhard looked to his uncle. "I take it the same applies to its queen?"
"Oh yes. She is a beauty, but that is only a guise for the cold, feeling-less monster inside..."
"Anna! Where is my crown?!" Elsa called frantically, flipping through dress designs as she conjured them onto her body.
"Oh, right here!" said Ann, running in, trying to rub drool off the crown. She handed it to Elsa, who held it cautiously at the tips of her fingers.
She looked at it with disgust. "What on earth...?"
"Yeah, I might have played around with Matty for a bit, and he thought it was edible... Yeah. I cleaned it up, mostly anyway."
Elsa ignored her as she froze the drool, then let it disintegrate in a flurry of magic. Putting it on her head, she looked back to the mirror. "Anna, quick, does this say intimidating?" she asked, referring to the dress.
She was wearing a variation of her coronation dress, though with shorted sleeves and ice blue highlights on the rosmaling. Her hair was in a light bun, a section of her hair allowed to hang of the back, trying to make herself look as regal as possible.
Anna looked her over. "Well, the skirt is a little bare..." Responding almost instantly, Elsa flung her hands down, shooting dark blue streaks down her dress. "...A little darker..." And other fling of magic. "There! Should scare the living daylights out of him!"
"And hopefully send him running back to Weaseltown" Elsa responded.
Knocking on the door, Gerda poked her head in. "The ship has docked, your majesty. Councilman Andar is ready."
"Thank you Gerda. Tell him I'll be down in moments" said Elsa. Straightening her dress, she turned to the door. "Alright, are you ready to go?"
"Matthew's with Olaf and I just finished getting Kristoff into some formal clothing."
"Excellent." She turned to the door. "Well, here we go..."
Walking out into the courtyard, Elsa was joined by Anna, Kristoff, and Head Councilman Andar. Andar and Elsa would speak alone with the Duke, hopefully able to just legally send him away. Elsa saw Lionel holding his son's shoulders by the gate, looking nervous. Before continueing to the main gates, she went to the side to see him.
"Don't worry. He'll be gone before you know it."
Lionel gulped, nodding. "Thank you, you're majesty." It didn't take a thermometer to know that it was hotter than usual outside.
Down at the docks, Jase, Isaac, and several guards stood waiting, keeping a hawk's eye on the Weselton ship. Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Andar finally arrived, where the Duke was waiting on the deck of the ship, with the King behind him. After a moment to notice the crown, Elsa's eyes widened.
"King Gerbhard is here?!" she asked no one in particular.
Kristoff shook his head. "Isn't it a little strange for the King to be here for a criminal?"
Elsa looked back briefly at Jase, not knowing why at the moment, not realizing it was for emotional support. Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the ship. "Alright, let's get this over with. Are you ready Andar?" she asked Andar.
"Yes, your Majesty" he replied.
Quickly, Elsa and the much older Andarwalked forward, meeting the Duke and the King on the gangplank. Standing behind them were the Duke's loyal bodyguards, the same ones who tried to kill her so long ago. Trying not to look at those faces, she kept her eyes on her guests.
"Duke Archibald, and King Gerbhard" Elsa greeted, though not with glee. "May I need remind you that all members of the Weselton royal court has been barred from entering our kingdom?"
The Duke smiled, though not out of pleasantness.
"We are aware of this" said Gerbhard. "But it was paramount we come to ensure justice is carried out."
"And are you also aware that the man you seek to carry out justice against, Mr. Leewell, has been given sanctuary in Arendelle?"
"And are you aware that he has the ability to set fire to your castle at will?" said the Duke.
"I think I can handle a little fire..."
"Ladies, gentlemen, please" interrupted Andar. "Perhaps we should get down to business?" he asked, looking at Elsa, whom he could tell was getting ready to get into a firefight with the Duke.
She nodded. "Yes... of course." She turned to the Duke and Gerbhard. "I'm sorry you came all this way for nothing, but Mr. Leewell has told me about his troubles in your kingdom, and according to the law of asylum, I don't have to hand him over to you. I humbly ask that you leave and call off your assassin."
The Duke, however, smiled deviously. "I heard of this assassin, but rest assured that he acts not under my accord. Mr. Leewell must have made enemies elsewhere."
"And how do you explain this?" she asked, holding out the confiscated note, a senses of confidence in her voice. Nothing would please her more than to watch the Duke panic. "This was taken during the assassin's escape, and it is signed "The Duke", who according to the note, was scheduled to arrive soon, just as you have."
"Such paper evidence, especially taken from a known criminal is null and void" said the Duke immediately, as if expecting this. "It does not hold to itself as legitimate evidence."
"Maybe so, but you and I both know it was you" Elsa said with confidence, looking directly at the Duke. He knew that she knew, but he didn't care, as she couldn't prove anything.
"Are you accusing us of such criminal acts?!" asked the King.
Elsa didn't answer that, assuming that he was in on it and was just bluffing. "Mr. Leewell will be of no more trouble to Weselton" continued Elsa. "So why not just leave, and we can put this whole thing behind us." For a moment, she felt that she had beaten them. All she wanted was to end this and return to life as usual.
But alas, the Duke simply smiled, much to Elsa's disappointment.
"Well, as much as I would love to return to my own country and away from this cursed land, I'm afraid that I have a right to have our case heard before an open trial."
"An open trial?!" asked Andar. "You must be joking! Why would Arendelle ever agree to such a thing?"
In response the Duke confidently took out a piece of parchment from his coat. Clearing his throat, he read it. "'Under Article 9, Section 12 of the International European Summit of 1736...' attended by your great-grandfather I might add" he added smugly. "And I quote, 'In regards to sanctuary, if a citizen guilty off or suspected of a crime feels that the law of his or her country has treated him or her unfairly, then he or she may seek sanctuary in another country.'" He raised his finger to draw attention. "But, 'If the ruling class of his or her country of origin wishes to pursue justice against him or her, even if the two nations are not in allegiance with one another, then an international trial must be held. A judge of a neutral country, as approved by the ruling classes of both nations in question, must both oversee and provide a verdict, by which both countries must apply by."
When he was finished reading, he held the paper out for Elsa and Andar to read. Quickly grabbing the parchment, Andar took out his reading spectacles and began reading the parchment. Re-reading the parchment over, he frowned.
"Most countries have forgotten of that ancient summit, so I don't blame you for overlooking such a loophole" said the Duke smugly.
"You can't expect us to hold to such an outdated agreement?!" declared an outraged Elsa. "Kingdoms have risen in fallen in that time, it can't be expected to still apply! No one has called upon this in decades!"
"Ah, but I have read over the original agreements, and no such dismissal of the agreements was specified, even after a participating nation has fallen. Both the signatures of Weseltonian and Arednellian royalty are on that document, and thus we are both bound to it."
Elsa frowned as she re-read the paper in front of her. It was true. Many of these old laws regarding international justice were usually forgotten. Many new summits and laws were made in their place, making them null and void. This one was different. It adhered specifically to what the Duke wanted, and not even the new laws of sancturary could refute it. It was a little known loophole, and the Duke had exploited it.
How could this have ended so badly today? She walked in with overwhelming hope that Weselton would be gone and out of her hair by the end of the day, but now, their predicament was looking more and more complicated. Not willing to show defeat, Elsa glared back at the Duke and King.
"And you wish to hold Lionel Leewell to court? For the same reasons you sent two men to murder myself?"
"How dare you!" shouted the king. "My uncle was only acting under the best interest of everyone present! You were effectively sentencing your own people to death!..." He stopped when the Duke traded a glance, as if to say "let me do the talking."
The Duke looked back to Elsa. "While I assure you Weselton's position on sorcery remains the same, Mr. Leewell is suspected of not only sorcery, but also arson of one of our warehouse district and murder of two innocent laborers."
"Murder?" snapped Elsa. "Like how his wife was murdered?"
"We had nothing to do with the unfortunate death of Mrs. Leewell" said Gerbhard. "We found her body with a privately made arrow, not one used by the royal guard. That doesn't dismiss his crimes."
"Like it or not, Queen Elsa" said the Duke. "We have a legitimate claim to seek justice against the man. If you wish to dishonor the law, be warned that our common allies won't be too happy about it. You can expect repercussions."
He was right. If Arendelle refused, they would technically be breaking an international agreement, no matter how old it was, Arendelle's allies would most likely take Weselton's side. She was facing failed alliances, possible cuts of trade that Arendelle needed, or worse still, war. The latter was an extreme for this particular issue, but Weselton would exploit it to whatever end, and she knew it. Despite being the undeniable ruler, even a Queen had to adhere to the law.
"Very well" Elsa said is disgust in her voice. "Arendelle will honor the rights of Weselton..." Lord knows how much she wanted to say 'Weaseltown', "...and hold a trial."
"Splendid!" said the Duke. "Now, we will need a place to stay" he smugly added.
Elsa thought about it. No way was he going to stay in the castle, and the option of even one of the finest hotels was an insult... to the hotel. The old Weselton embassy was vacant, though it was kept up in case of a possible use for it.
"The Weselton embassy still stands. If you don't mind staying in your ship till tomorrow, we will have it ready for you."
"That's, acceptable" said the King. "Then we will meet again to discuss the judge to oversee the trial and a date. Does tomorrow sound satisfactory?"
Elsa nodded. "Tomorrow it is."
"Excellent" said the Duke, clapping his hands. "I'm so glad we could reach an understanding!"
"As am I" said Elsa, forcing herself to keep her queenly manners up. "Then we will retire until then. I will send a messenger when the embassy is ready."
"Agreed, your Majesty" with that, the Duke and King bowed while Elsa curtsied.
They went back into the ship, while Elsa and Andar walked off back to where Jase and the others stood waiting. Anna was the first to run up.
"So, did you sent them packing or what?" she asked happily, believing victory to have been achieved when they walked back into the ship. Her smile frowned when she saw Elsa's face.
"We need to get to the castle and pull out all the legal documents" she said to everyone. "We've got a lot of work to do..."
Was it really going to be that easy?
Thanks too all of you who have shown interest in my pairings. Right now, between the poll, which is on my profile page, and the reviews, Jase is the most popular choice. While I don't believe romance is central to a good story, I have to agree that it plays a slightly larger part in this than in all my other stories. I'm not announcing anything, so just hang in there till the end.
Also, last chapter saw the biggest number of reviews for any of my stories at 10! I love you guys!
SnowQueenElsaOfArendelle101: I got that beat! (Cracks knuckles) I've captured three alligators and dozens of sharks (one of them bit me!), and I have two shotguns, two rifles, a handgun, a compound bow, a crossbow, a crazy psychopathic macaw who responds to my commands, a Rottweiler/German Shepard mix who is a massive animal (with territory issues I might add), and a whole boatload of crazy redneck friends, all of whom follow a brotherhood code of "you take one of us, you take all of us"! So bring it on! I'm Batman!
-Batman