Elsa and Anna were in a meeting with Kai to discuss about some minor issues that needed Elsa's approval. Anna was a bit tired. After having breakfast with her sister, Elsa had started to explain a lot of little details about Arendelle's government to Anna. It was a sad situation for Anna since she had supposed her elder sister was preparing her to manage Arendelle in Elsa's absence. Elsa hadn't said anything about that, but the implicit reason of the explanations had been hanging over both sisters.
"The bear hunt was very welcomed. A lot of people has expressed his interest in it." Kai stated.
Elsa clicked his tongue. "I wish they got lost in the forest. Is it really necessary to organize such a farce?"
"Some kind of entertainment is expected in a conference like this. Arendelle's prestige and your image as Queen it at stake!"
Anna giggled. Kai was very punctilious in protocol issues, maybe too much according to Anna's opinion.
"I suppose you are right, but it's a nuisance. We already have many more important issues to deal with."
"I understand you my Queen and I am also worried for the aftermath of the conference, but in diplomatic issues formalities are everything. When I announced the hunt last night, everybody applauded."
"You are right." Elsa dubiously said while frowning, she had remembered that after Kai's announcement of the bear hunt Adrian Simonyi had approached to the throne.
There was a knock at the door, an attendant entered and whispered something in Kai's ear.
"My Queen, as you asked me this morning, the English and French delegates have been watched. Lord Howard Halkett is now alone in the portrait room."
"Then I have to leave." Elsa quickly said as she raised to her feet.
"My Queen, I don't approve this kind of improvised meetings. You are Arendelle's Queen and a formal request for a meeting would be more appropriate." Said Kai.
"Last time I tried to do it this way. I was ignored and, when we met, it was at the worst moment. I want the meeting now and the more off guard I catch Lord Halkett, the better. I have no time for formalities." Elsa replied.
"It sounds great! Let's go for it!" Anna said also raising.
Elsa looked at Anna. " I think you'd better not come with me. He will be more receptive if we are alone and thus it will be easier to get something from him."
Anna quickly controlled herself, but Elsa could tell that she was surprised by the rejection. The young Queen turned her head to avoid her younger sister's gaze.
"I would prefer that you to go to the new harbor and talk with Corrado about the problems he had with the material being transferred in the night operations." Elsa said without looking at Anna.
"I will do as you want Elsa." Anna replied softly under her breath.
Elsa centered her attention in Kai to avoid looking at Anna. "Prepare a meting for this afternoon before the ball. Kristoff, Rolf and Corrado should also attend it. We will take stock of the current situation. I want a complete report of the activities of the delegates, specially the three main countries, England, France and the Empire. Corrado and Kristoff will report about their night business. "
"Yes Queen Elsa." Replied Kai nodding.
"Do I also have to attend it?" Anna Asked with a bit of irony in his voice.
"Of course you have to! You will be at my side in all the..." Elsa stopped talking. She was about to say 'mettings', but she could see the contradiction with the rejection to accept Anna in the meeting with Lord Halkett. Keeping Anna out of an important meeting was just what Elsa had promised not to do again. Elsa felt the necessity to explain everything to her sister, but she held back her feelings. " I want to see you in the meeting, please. I'm sorry but I have to leave."
"God luck." Said Anna when Elsa was crossing the door. Her voice has a point of regret that was like a thin dagger running through Elsa's heart.
Howart Halkett had been talking during almost two hours with prince Vladimiras. The Lithuanian, much to the veteran diplomatic surprise, was a skilled negotiator. He was searching a commercial partner to open his country to westerner commerce. There was a lot of influence at stake in the Baltic sea for the country which entered into Lithuania, and a lot of money for the companies involved.
It had been a hard bargain, the Lithuanian Prince knew the value of his part in the deal and was determined to get the corresponding return. At last Halkket had accepted to grant Elsa's hand to the young prince in exchange of the exclusivity in the Lithuanian commerce for the next ten years. Twenty would have been better but it has been impossible. Anyway, it meant to get a foothold in Lithuania and the Easter Baltic.
It seemed perfect. Vladimiras would control the young queen. The only negative detail had been his negative to ensure that Elsa would never return to Arendelle.
Von Schrader would have to resign himself to Princess Anna. A meeting with the Prussians had to be arranged this very day to inform them. It would be disagreeable if they received the news from a third source. Lord Halkett thought about how to handle the meeting with the Old Prussian Count as he headed for the portrait room. He liked to stay there, beholding the pictures. On the way to the room, he asked an attendant to bring him a glass of amontillado.
Once in the chamber, he stood in front of a beautiful picture of a young lady in a swing pushed by a man, supposedly her lover. Halkett was captivated beholding the graceful movement, so well caught by the painter when he realized that the young Queen of Arendele was entering into the room.
"Queen Elsa." He said bowing his head. "I don't want to disturb you. With your permission, I will leave immediately"
"Lord Halkett, what a pleasant coincidence! I will be delighted to talk with you."
"If you want to know if any decision has been taken about any candidate, I am sorry to say that I haven´t done the slightest advance. I still haven't seen any candidate who deserve you or your sister. You can be sure that I will keep you informed about any advance."
"Thank you Lord Halkett, I know I cant trust you in this point." Said Elsa with a charming smile but I want to have a talk with you about a different issue."
"I am at your disposal."
"I have been pondering about changing the way Arendelle manages his timber commerce."
"Poor girl, anything you made would have to be confirmed by your future husband in a few weeks." Thought Lord Halkett, asking to her self how to get rid of Elsa.
"Now Arendelle sells its timber on an annual basis. Every year we sell the timber …to whom offers the best price. I think that a longer compromise would fit better to our interests." Elsa said.
"Really?"Said Lord Halkett with sudden interest, timber commerce was his field of activity and the timber of Arendelle was a great deal.
"Yes, I think that a compromise for the next ten years to sell a certain amount of our timber to a given buyer at a given price will give us stability in our income."
"That's true. What amount of timber we are talking about?" Lord Halkett asked.
"Roughly half the production of Arendelle of last year." Elsa replied.
Lord Halkett was silent for a moment. That was a really huge amount of timber. There was a lot of money at stake. "Have you thought in a particular partner? England have several companies that may be interested." The diplomat's voice was indifferent as if he was talking about a petty issue.
"Yes, I have good references about Scandinavian timber. Do you know it?" Elsa replied gazing at Halkett's eyes. She felt like one of these snake charmers that she once saw in an Anna's book.
Lord Halkett returned Elsa's gaze for a long moment, smiling like a pride parent looking at a son who showed an unexpected skill. "I suppose that a compromise like that will have a price."
Elsa tried to hide her emotions, this was the critical point if Lord Halkett had the slightest glimpse of her real intentions everything was lost. "Yes, von Schrader. I want him out of the conference." He said with her voice slightly trembling.
"She really dislike the old libertine. I can't blame her for it. " Thought Lord Halkett before replying. "Von Schrader is a loyal ally of England, but he had laid his claim on his own. England don't have any influence on him." Lord Halkett gently replied.
"Of course, but you I'm not talking with England. I'm talking with Lord Howart Halkett a man with great personal influence that knows how to move this kind of issues. Am I wrong?"
"You flatter me, but let's suppose that I could influence the Count. How would the details of the trade be?. "
Elsa and Lord Halkett immersed themselves in a long discussion about the appropriate price for the timber. Halkett tried to get too cheap a price but Elsa was firm in sustaining what she considered a cheap but fair price. Halkett did veiled allusions to the viability of the trade and that he would need an 'acceptable' earning, according to his criteria, to convince the necessary people in Scandinavian Timber to lean on the Prussian.
Finally, Elsa accepted an added clause which established that the price would be lowered if a certain proportion of the remaining Arendelle's timber production was sold at a lower price to any other third party.
"I want to add another detail in exchange." Said Elsa after accepting the English request.
"And what is this detail?" Lord Halkett suspiciously asked .
"My people fears the frigate that you have placed in the fiord. I want to make this pact a symbol of the good relations between Arendelle and England. I want the deal to be done between England and Arendelle. "
"She is begging me for empty gestures of peace, how delightful feminine." Halkett thought before replying. "The deal is done with 'Escandinavian timber' not with the English government.
"Arendelle would demand that the deal was done through Scandinavian Timber. It should protect your interests and satisfy my people. I have accepted your addition to the deal, therefore I hope you will accept mine.".
After almost two hours of hard discussion, Elsa left the portraits room. Lord Halkett was exultant, Queen Elsa was willing to give the key to control the timber of Arendelle just in exchange for a minor point like von Schrader options to her hand as if there weren't a lot of alternative candidates. The young queen should learn a lot about bargaining, maybe prince Vladimiras her future husband will teach her.
Through Scandinavian timber, England would control an amount of timber roughly equivalent to half the production of Arendelle and Escandinavian timber would earn such a great deal of Arendelle's timber avoiding the Competition that after the conference would be among the English companies to take control of the share of timber assigned to England. The profits would be impressive.
The Queen had been adamant about the timber price, but anyway she had accepted the trap of the added clause. It would be easy after the conference to press Elsa's husband to accept selling that amount at a lower price to any other country and consequently activating the clause to lower the price. And it has been obtained in exchange of an empty peace gesture, as if a lot of alternative candidates weren't waiting for an option. She should be really afraid of England's power.
The conditions had to be sent as quick as possible to London for confirmation and the final contract had to be signed before the conference achieved an agreement. Lord Halkett didn't want to risk a rejection from Elsa if the final decision of the conference upset the young Queen.
And the meeting with von Schrader was critical now. The Prussian would dislike to lose all his options but Lord Halkett had an idea to avoid that. He was sure that it will please the old Count. The Englishman returned to its former position in front of the picture of the swing and immersed in it while sipping his sherry.
When Elsa left the portrait room headed towards her private rooms. In her bedroom, she slumped on the bed. She was not sure if her plan would work or she was just a little girl playing with her parent's tools. She feared that she was both things at the same time. "In this case I have to learn the rules of the adult world as quick as possible if I want to survive."
Elsa believed that Lord Halkett had taken the bait. Was the paternalistic smile on the diplomat's face, when she had said his excuse for including the English government in the deal, an indication that he hadn't seen Elsa's maneuver or was Lord Halkett just playing with a young and inexperienced Queen?
But it wasn't time for doubts, thought Elsa as she pushed aside a wisp of her bangs which was over her forehead. She needed to talk with Mullon but it will be impossible with Gonzaga around him. And She must talk with the French delegate before the conference achieved an agreement, she hope that the attendants watching him could catch him alone. But she needed to relax before that meeting.
"Would Anna have returned from the harbor?" Asked Elsa to herself, but on second thoughts, she decided that Anna would make questions about the meeting with the English delegate. Questions that Elsa wanted to avoid.
Elsa remembered Elias and the promise she had done of have more talks with him. Maybe thus was a good moment, the childlike innocence of the young Spaniard would be a welcomed change after the conversation with Halkett. When the young Queen left the room, she couldn't help being sad at heart, since she was avoiding her younger sister.
AN: Hi,
We start the third day of the conference. In the first two days (chapters seven to twenty) we have seen Elsa and Anna's first contact with the delegates and with other characters. I have tried to detail the relation between both sisters and their perspectives regarding the conference, and to delve into some characters personality and motivations. I hope you have enjoyed those chapters.
In the last chapter after seeing that dialog will be useless, Elsa have devised a plan to face the situation. She is going to put it into practice, but she is young and have been half her live shut in a room. So I have tried to depict her doubts when handling the delegates.
Thanks for the positive reviews, it's good to have some feedback and also the correction about story and history.
Regarding the opinion that most of the history is filler, I have to say that I have detailed the different motivations of some important countries involved in the conference (chapters 2-6) and the personality of the different characters coming to Arendelle due to the conference and the personality of my particular versions of Anna and Elsa (7-20). You could like or dislike them, but I recommend you to read them or you won't be able to understand some events to come.
See you in Arendelle ;)