Chapter Forty-Seven
"Some souls are connected by an ancient calling beyond worlds"
…
Arendelle, the city of ice and snow and the centre of trade of this part of the seas. The country is well known for being a producer of ice that is imported at all regions. Ice is after all used to preserve food, a rough alternative and cheaper than the spices being imported from the east. In the previous year, its economy once again boomed as they begun to sell salt of all things which led to merchants rallying to its coasts in droves in an attempt to buy the preservative and ingredient that is widely great in demand by well, everyone. Salt after all is used by cooks and chefs all over the world.
The number of nations who sells salt after all can be counted in the fingers and all of them (minus Arendelle) usually just collects the salt from their seashores where salt water gets stuck on rocks and becomes salt over time. This leads to a high demand that gold is literally being exchanged for the condiment.
This demand brings great trade towards Arendelle all year round; that merchants even brave the winter travels to the country in an effort to get their hands on the precious commodity. You see, Arendellian seas in summer are calm and peaceful that one can skim through the open waters in a little boat and be safe. In the winter however; it is the exact opposite. Massive waves of towering sizes guard the way to the coasts of the shoreline destroying everything in their path. Only the best of the navigators and the ship captains' dare to sail the treacherous waters at such a time of the year. Even then accidents can happen. Such harsh weather after all is the reason why the ship of the previous monarchs of the once small country is foundered to smithereens; their fate disappearing to the unknown. Even the Arendelleians themselves fear to sail such waters.
At least that's the old Arendellians talking. Not so much for the new ones.
"YEEEEEEEEEE-HAWWWWW!" the shout of glee from the sailor of the Swan Ship sounds off as the lithe vessel skims through the powerful waves like a heron on the eaves of the wind. It's sixteen man crew paddles vigorously even as the powerful wind strains its sails propelling the vessel through the large hills of water. Its crew strains to milk every bit of speed they can from the vessel in an effort to keep themselves ahead of their competitions who are also attempting to catch up by straining their own Swan ships.
Boat Racing or Swan Race that can only be held at winter, made official by the Steward of Arendelle two months after the Grand Tourney. With the release of the Swan Ships from the dockyards, courtesy of the brilliance of Lady Miya, the ship mistress; the once turbulent waves of Arendelle becomes a thing of anticipation. The Swan Ships are lithe vessels made of Lescannian wood; light enough to swim through any storm and very diverse that every sailor in Arendelle simply wants to have one. In open sea or in the presence of a storm; its unique triangular sails can propel it to mind numbing speed. The Swan Ships can also be varied in size and retain its design; very cost effective compared to the bulky galleons and frigates that is the norm.
The cheers of the observers at the raised platforms at the bay intensifies as this year's Swan Race gain traction as their crews and drivers urge their ships forward at breaknecking speed. Bets are especially famous as the Arendellians put their money on their favourite racers. The small family of course of three at the topmost platform is no exception.
"Yipeeee! Go! Go! Go!" the small now walking form of Kaldita cheers madly as the young princess waves her chubby fists madly as she watches the white forms below soar through the waves.
Silvanna smiles amused as Amelia, Kaldita's official caretaker and Silvanna's personal bodyguard after being inducted to the royal guard regiment, try to hush the small hyper midget away from the sides of the platform. A warm hand intertwines with hers and Silvanna stares for a second at the soft face of Elsa who gives her an amused smile as the two of them watches their charge with satisfied amusement. Instead of thrones ( like most monarchs would usually use), installed at the platforms for watching; Silvanna had instead fur filled sofas of white placed for better comfort. There's no reason to put herself on discomfort simply to stroke her ego (Plus it gives her the perfect excuse for Elsa to press her body quite snuggly to her).
As the boats below them turns at another checkpoint, the cheers of the people intensify as the boats reach another leg of the race. Silvanna can't help the satisfied smile that appears on her lips as Elsa leans at her, lying comfortable with her head on her chest. A small sigh left her lips as the warm breathe of Elsa touches the side of her breast. Since it is not a formal event, Silvanna acquiesced to Elsa conjuring instead for her an ice dress, white in colouring. Of course Elsa being Elsa the dress she conjures for her is backless, strapless, and sleeveless making Silvanna worry that any more lower on her chest and the dress will fall off. Elsa took great amount of amusement when Silvanna mentioned that to her before kissing her hungrily.
Things have been progressing well ever since the end of the Great Tourney. It seems that after all the bloodshed and the war with the tumultuous amount of growth and careful guidance that Arendelle had sorely needed, things had started to calm down at last. The country is prospering under the businesses of Lance Trading and the numerous trade routes forged, the result of many royalty and nobles brushing shoulder to shoulder within Arendelle territory. Thus work is aplenty and even the lowliest of Arendelle's people can have a modicum of comfort in their lives (Not accounting of course the bums who refused to lift their asses to work, as far as Silvanna is concerned, the slugs of society can't benefit anything). Farming was especially held in high regard for the Arendellians. The gardens may make farming possible but only those who had the skill and the drive tend to farm successful winter crops native only to Arendelle's regions. There was a good reason as to why Arendellian fruit costs a lot in the market. Standard education might not be mandatory yet due to people focusing more on work instead of intellect, but in the now booming barony of Redrock, scholars are attracted like flies as the Tower of Wisdom, fielded by Baron Smelter gains reputation. The fact of course that Redrock is the largest last resupply town before heading off to the long trek towards the Coliseum also increased the fief's revenues and renown a hundredfold. Peace and quiet rules the entirety of Arendelle and the country is at peace.
That does not mean that everything is alright though.
Arendelle's borders both land and sea might be secure but the world outside? Not so much.
It seems that after the Great Tourney, nations great and small once more decided that the world was too quiet and there is a need for noise. Thus the horns of war sounded once more and the chaos begun. Apparently Arendelle is at fault there, an unintended consequence of the War against Nogrod.
The desert nation despite its fearsome reputation is the number one producer of raw materials of the exotic kind like gold, silver, diamond and every kind of precious stone and material. In a way it is one of the barbarians' way of tracking down which nation is the richest. Merchants tend to go to Baza, its only open city to trade. The leaders of Nogrod tend to take note of the source of where the merchants travel the most thus giving them an accurate point of view of countries and cities to loot and pillage. Most nations unfortunately are unaware of such an observation method by the barbaric desert dwellers and thus gets the unfortunate pick to be Nogrod's new conquest or raid victim.
With the majority of Nogrod's army however decimated and the country in shambles with so many of its leadership dead, the trade of raw materials came into a screeching halt shortening even more the already short supply of goods from there forcing the Great Nations to act. Apparently the chance for money and a way to improve the economy is too much of a temptation to resist. thus Rome, Greece, Spain, France, England, and even the Vikings after a year managed to establish large presence on the desert continent. Most of them are large cities situated on the coast in fear of the Nogrodions banding once more. Nogrod without a proper leader had fallen to tribal wars and most simply did not care about the foreigners encroaching on their coastlines. As far as Nogrod was concerned, they can fight each other without them lifting a finger.
Yes, apparently despite their shared fear of the desert dwellers, the lure of money, possibility of a monopoly caused the Great Nations to declare war with one another slowing and damaging trade and commerce everywhere as smaller and weaker nations are forced to take sides. Even the seas are affected as those controlled by the Great Nations are highly regulated and inspected. Thus it became a fourway slugfest between the Great Five resulting to a stalemate and a continuous war with no end in sight.
Of course with such upheaval running rampant, crime also rose. Large numbers of pirates now roam the seas looting and raiding any unwary merchant ship who chose to avoid the ships of the Great Five fighting by traveling through the open seas instead of the usual safe routes. As it is, prices of goods and commodity rise with opportunists rising at every side.
Such as the Southern Isles for example; Silvanna would admit that she is a tad bit concerned of the once small nation. Ever since their old king, Philip passed away, his son, Rickard had been conquering small nations beside his one after another. With the Great Five busy punching one another, the Southern Isles are free to expand their territory without them intervening whatsoever. Already the once small conglomerate of land masses are now slowly forming into one large empire whose territory both water and land is double that of Arendelle. Normally on the political side of things the Southern Isles is far enough from Arendelle with the Channel of Siegried dividing the waterways northward and the French and English ships duking it out that any sort of travel on the Channel was greatly discouraged. However based on canon, the Southern Isles is the one responsible for giving Elsa much grief and as far as Silvanna is concerned, she would make ready for it to spare her lover the pain.
That's why Silvanna despite the loud protests of the Council members bought Boaz, a medium-sized island at the Channel of Siegfried from Rome last year and fortified it greatly. Of course the cost is high and nearly bankrupted Lance Trading again if not for the emergence of the salt trade. Silvanna did not use after all the money of the state of Arendelle but hers. Thus Boaz, a lush island with white beaches with many natural harbours now contain a large stronghold filled bearing the banners of Lance Trading and that of the Winter Bank. In a way it is a blessing in disguise. Due to the island's positioning, it is a safe harbour for any traveling merchant, bounty hunter, mercenary or the occasional warship that passes the Channel of Siegfried. It is considered neutral ground in a way and the sailors respect the rule with the Winter Bank enforcing it.
"Looks like I win again our bet Silvie," Elsa smiles smugly as her chosen racer reaches the finish line hoisting their sails up for all to see.
"I still don't understand how much luck you have when it comes to picking who will win," grumbles Silvanna handing Elsa a ten silver coins. This is the sixth time that Elsa won their betting competition with Silvanna winning only three.
"Awww, you aren't jealous are you Silvie?" teases Elsa rubbing Silvanna's arm playfully with her gloved hands.
Silvanna only grumbles earning her a kiss from Elsa at her cheek. "Don't worry dearest, maybe next time you'll win," she adds making Silvanna roll her eyes much to the princess' amusement.
"Mooooommmy!" Kaldita's cheerful call brings the two out of their conversation as a white speeding bullet slams into Silvanna's legs before crawling up it to sit in front of her. "I won mommy, look," she raises a silver coin victoriously in front of Silvanna's face.
"Really? You did?" asks Silvanna as the little midget nods fastly, her dark blue hair bobbing behind her. "I won it against Auntie Amelia,"
"That's good. Your mommy Elsa will get you into the town to exchange for some chocolate later for that silver coin okay?" says Silvanna making the four year old cheer as she plants a sloppy kiss at Silvanna's cheek before crawling atop Elsa's lap.
"Really? I will?" asks Elsa amusedly as she holds the little tyke in her arms.
"I'm pretty sure that you would rather prefer shopping chocolate at Arendelle instead of attending with me later listening to the Duke of Weselton's proposal," answers Silvanna smugly. "Besides, it would be an excuse to let Munchkin here go out of the castle," she waves a hand at the four year old who only beams with bright eyes at Elsa in affirmation.
"Oh alright, but don't take too long dealing with that old man alright? We planned to go to the Hot Springs Lodge for the evening,"
"I will," Silvanna winks at her as Elsa stands up carrying Kaldita who is fiddling with the end of her braid at her arms. "Stay safe both of you, and don't eat all the chocolate!"
"No promises," Elsa cheerfully replies in a sing-song voice before she exits the raised dais with the Arendellian royal guard trailing behind her.
Silvanna only shakes her head in mild disbelief. When it comes to chocolate, Elsa can be unreasonable at times. Still this is the little moments that Silvanna would not trade for anything; the moments when the two of them can be themselves without their lives being influenced by politics or burdened by their responsibilities. Speaking of which…
"You're teaching her gambling," Silvanna turns her attention at Amelia who only shrugs at the accusing look.
"She's got very good luck when it comes to it. Must be inherited from her mother," replies her bodyguard making Silvanna's lips twitch in amusement at the side. How things have changed between everyone.
Long story short, Silvanna finally founded the courage to tell Elsa about hers and Amelia's little tryst during the war against Nogrod and the reasoning behind it. Suffice it to say that Silvanna was surprised at the reaction, or rather the lack of it. She had expected being frozen solid or even a shouting match from Elsa about breaking of trust or something. What she did not expect was for the princess to nod in understanding and asked whether Amelia made her life more bearable when she's at the field of battle. What's more surprising that made Silvanna's jaw fell to the ground was when Elsa became fast friends with Amelia and even confided in her about their secret relationship. She had almost fainted at that. Apparently Elsa believed that if Silvanna trusted her, then she can trust her also fully.
This of course made Silvanna's heart twist and turn in guilt. Her fear of Elsa being too dependent on her and looking at her as perfect in every way is becoming reality and worse, she can do nothing about it. The last thing that Silvanna wants right now is for Elsa to be caught in a question of personality while canon rolls. In fact if she's going to be honest with herself, she prefers Elsa not questioning her decisions until at least canon finishes itself, for her sake.
"Come," Silvanna beckons as she stands up dusting the bits of food clinging at the hems of her dress. "Let us go and meet this Duke of Weselton who had been trying to get an audience with us for the past two months or so,"
"He's persistent I give him that," says Amelia falling in step beside Silvanna. "How many times had he sent a courier?"
"Seven, I believe," answers Silvanna as they descend the raised dais for the royal family at the harbour. "If not for the fact that the Church backs him, then I would not even consider meeting with him,"
"Is it because of Weselton's reputation?" asks Amelia.
"Yes," Silvanna simply nods. "Cutthroat dealers who squeezes small countries of every penny that depend on them of their commodity. Weselton is infamous for being one of the agricultural countries in this part of the sea and most kingdoms rely on them heavily for food and supplies. Thus the cutthroat prices and demands they make,"
"I don't see why the Church would endorse a country like that. Don't they have morals or something when it comes to the nations they support?" asks Amelia, disbelief in her voice.
"Normally yes," replies Silvanna heading up to the entrance of Castle Arendelle, the guards saluting her. "However ever since the founding of the Church, Weselton had been one of the nations that supported it financially. Plus one of Weselton's main produce other than its agriculture is glass and glass is one of the most important needs of the Church when it comes to building their monasteries and stuff,"
"So what in the world is so important for Weselton that they are wanting this trade agreement to come into motion?" Amelia questions as they finally reached the entrance of the Throne Room of Arendelle.
"Like everything else that comes from our mines Amelia, raw materials into making their glass," answers Silvanna opening the door in front of her.
…
A year ago, if somebody asked Anna how she would feel if she had a child of her own, she would have laughed at their faces. Now however as she is holding little Jacob on her own hands, Anna won't change it for the world. It had been three months, three months since last year when she gave birth to her charge. Suffice it to say that it was the most agonizing thing that Anna had ever felt in her brief life. She recalled fondly the death threats she had issued at a nervous looking Alucard during the time of her birth for touching her. After many agonizing hours however, she finally managed to bring forth to this world; her son, Jacob.
Suffice it to say that the coming of her son into this world brought Anna a sense of discipline and self-control that even she did not know she possessed. One look, one look is all it takes for Anna to fall in love with her son and knows then and there that she would do anything for him.
Ironically this made her understand Elsa more and her acceptance of her older sister's decision to stay away from her. Silvanna said long ago that the powers her sister controlled remained unstable and her sister doesn't have full control yet. Her sister did not stay away from her because he hated her, no. Her sister stayed away from her because she loved her and did not want to see her hurt the same way Anna did not want any hurt to touch her child. For that she was thankful. Of course she was still miffed that Elsa never ever tried talking to her, not even once; however she understood and that Anna believed was the most important thing.
Besides things had changed for her also; she was no longer simply the lonely girl who longed for a companion and someone to talk to. If she had been the same person before then Anna believed that she would have pushed for her and Elsa to interact even with the truth about her unstable powers. It would be a selfish decision on her part after all in an effort to simply alleviate her loneliness about life. With her current position however as an aide of Jonathan Johnson, the Prime Minister of Arendelle. Boredom is a thing of the past with the thousand and one things that she helped him with in order to keep Arendelle running. Plus there's also the fact that Alucard, the father of her child and her best friend is now her permanent bodyguard once more until at least Elsa's coronation where it would be debated whether they would be wed or not in order to legitimize Jacob officially as part of the royal family. So yes, life is looking up for Anna despite her missing her sister.
…..
"Easy with the chocolate darling or else you'll choke on it," Elsa gently chides little Kaldita who nods her head vigorously at her chastisement before swallowing the large amount of chocolate inside her pouty cheeks and eating more slowly.
Currently the two of them are here at the main town of Arendelle outside the castle walls enjoying the peaceful scenery even if it's starting to snow. Arendelle is truly beautiful in winter and it is a good thing that people now have the proper housing, clothes, materials and food to stave off the cold all thanks to Silvanna. In fact if you ask Elsa, the people are feeling even more festive with Winter's coming as she can see more than one stepping out of their stalls or homes to enjoy the sights and scenery. She can also see children running around chasing one another or simply hurling snow balls at one another while their parents yell behind them to be careful lest they slip. It is truly a large change of the Arendelle that her father inherited and maintained.
"Here's your entire order of chocolate your majesty," the cook from the bakery says making Elsa bow graciously at him. She is a regular at this bakery who makes the chocolates thus there is a familiarity between her and the owner who enjoys the fame and prestige of having the Crown Princess of Arendelle being his personal customer.
"And here's for the little beauty, may she grow strong and healthy," he offers another bag of chocolate at the four year old who shamelessly accepts the extra chocolate before picking one and munching on it with gusto.
"Oh she's your daughter alright your highness," laughs the baker. "I've never seen anyone eat chocolate with such passion as you do,"
"Thank you master Hamlet," Elsa giggles as she takes Kaldita's free hand. "We'll be heading off now,"
"Do take care your highness and my regards to Lady Silvanna," he bows in respect as Elsa along with Captain Rex and her five guards follow the way heading back to the castle. They're barely away however when they heard it.
"You dare make this effigy you foolish pagan!" a shrill but manly voice sounds making every eye in the area to look at the source.
Elsa herself blinks as she nods at her guards who form a circular cordon around her and Kaldita before slowly heading to the cause of the sound. It does not take long for them to find the source of the commotion. There in the religious district where the different shrines for all faiths are located stand fifteen men all dressed in grey and white wearing plate mail over their chests and tricornes atop their heads. A large "I" is emblazoned at the middle of their headgears.
"Please father," a monk who is the one in charge of keeping the places of worship of the town functional tries to protest. "This is a sacred place for all faiths of Arendelle. There is no need for-,"
SMACK! Even Elsa winces as the grey robed man decked the monk at the face throwing him into the ground out cold.
"THIS IS AN ABOMINATION AND A PLACE OF DESPOSITION IN THE FACE OF THE CHURCH!" the man yells out loudly making the observing crowd back away slowly as he is handed a torch by one of his subordinates. "THERE IS ONLY ONE DIVINE AND NOT THIS PAGAN SHRINES!"
Elsa finally had enough of this charade.
"Stop!" her voice makes everyone immediately pause as every eye turns to her. Everyone's reaction is immediate as they started to bow. The robed man and his subordinates are unfortunately not that fast in processing the neurons in their brain.
"Who dares to-AHHH!" his shout is cut short as the torch he is levelling at Elsa and her retinue is thrown off his hand as a grey shafted arrow shot through it; courtesy of the hidden Ranger who is always assigned to keep an eye on Elsa.
His guards seeing their leader in trouble start to move forward taking maces off their belts only to be stopped short as Rex and Elsa's five guards step forward sabres at the ready. They thankfully are smarter than their esteemed leader as they finally managed to catch up as to whom they are dealing with noticing the royal emblems of the surcoats of Elsa's guards.
"I am Princess Elsa, Crown princess of Arendelle, and if I may sir, you are causing a ruckus by assaulting people without reason to do so," declares Elsa loudly earning her a heated glare from the man.
"It is within my right as Inquisitor of the Holy Church to deal with divine punishment against any paganism!" he hisses before sneering at her. "And here I thought that Arendelle adheres to the rules of the church for the continuation of trade,"
"Lady Silvanna, the current steward had decreed that Arendelle respect all forms of religions within its borders as long as they respect Arendelle's rules and laws," says Elsa. "Those who found not adhering said laws would be demanded to leave and forced to leave if they refused,"
Elsa watch as the "Inquisitor" seems to froth at his mouth at her words.
"That….that is preposterous!" he growls in anger . "The-the cardinals will hear of this! This I swear!" he finishes off before regaining his footing gesturing for his men to follow him wordlessly as they literally ran to the docks.
"Stupid assholes," commented Rex sheathing his sword as he glares at the dwindling forms of the four figures. "This is why I don't like religious folk. Too unreasonable when it comes to the conflict of their faith and common sense,"
"They called themselves Inquisitors. Do you know them Captain?" asks Elsa feeling a bit worried remembering the fanatic devotion she saw in the man's eyes.
"Only rumours," answers the Captain of the Guard. "Hands of the church specially trained to hunt down heretics and….witches. I believe it is high time we go back to the castle your highness. We have enough excitement as it is for one day," the Captain says staring warily at the direction of the docks.
Elsa only nods wordlessly as she takes Kaldita's small hands on her own. Once more she takes a look back at the figure of the Inquisitor and his men disappearing into the gloom. Somehow she's got a feeling that this would not be the last time she will be hearing of the Inquisitor or any of his Order.
….
"NO!" Silvanna's voice snaps like a whip making everyone inside the room flinch. Normally it is truly unbecoming of a ruler, steward or not to lose his or her temper when dealing with an audience from another kingdom.
Everyone, the nobles attending however does not blame her for blowing a gasket already. The Duke of Weselton is probably the most unsightly man all of them had the displeasure to see. He looks like an old monkey shaved clean off and balding, wiry, short with an overlarged nose and an inflated ego pressed together inside his suit. Of course the fact that his voice is nasally and drawling like a drowning kangaroo only adds to the negative bonus points that the observers had for him.
"I'm telling you lady steward," he drawls self-importantly holding his arms at the sides like a choreographer in an orchestra. "This trade deal will not only bring riches to my country but it will also prosper your little medieval kingdom," if not for the fact that he has repeated the same phrase and argument for the umpteenth time, it would have sounded convincing. As it is however, it only serves to irritate the ears of those listening.
"And I'm telling you Duke, the answer is no," answers Silvanna angrily. "The trade agreement that you are offering us is literally criminal with us getting very little as compensation while you get large stocks of our resources. There's also the fact that you want to buy it from us on credit with you offering no collateral whatsoever. That is simply unacceptable,
"We have the backing of the church and our word, our promise is genuine for the credit. Are you saying Lady Silvanna that the backing of the church truly means nothing to you? That is very close to heresy-,"
"Out!" the snapping voice of Silvanna cut off the man as he stares in disbelief at the slowly darkening face of the Knightess.
"But the deal between Weselton and Arendelle needs to be signed and-,"
"OOOUUUUUUUTT!" Silvanna's spear slams to the ground making the entire hall echo at the impact force. The Duke of Weselton needs no more encouragement as he quickly make himself go scarce leaving Silvanna alone at the throne room with the High Council still remaining rooted at their seats.
Silvanna only sighs knowing she fucked up by her actions. Still, try listening to the weasel-like man whose voice is so greasy and nasally that it is a miracle that the negotiations even landed three hours compared to the original thirty minutes that had been planned before. Still, he needs to address this if he plans to salvage any fair deal from the Weselton Duke.
"Lieutenant," Silvanna leans to one of the stationed guards. "Go and tell our dear Duke that we will reconvene tom at thirteen hundred with a fairer deal to discuss, "
"Yes Steward," the man salutes before heading out.
Silvanna only sighs as she dismisses the attending nobles out until she is the one left at the throne room.
She fervently hopes that the trip with Elsa and Kaldita later would make a very good time. She is almost excited next year for what is to come.
/…..
Author's Note:
Im skipping a lot of my original story since I am busy and this story had little help so here I am, trying to help them.