Chapter 7: Proposition

Aldren's eyes shot open, wincing at his harsh, painful awakening. He sat up quickly, coughing, rubbing his throat and viewing his surroundings whilst holding his side, recalling the events of last night. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, he saw his reflection in a mirror above a dresser. His side still hurt slightly and the bruise had begun to fade but the cuts around his eye and on his head remained...he healed fast, a trait owed to being a magical being...or so he had been told. He sighed and gazed out his window towards the dim sun in the mild autumn sky, unsure of what he should do next. A part of him thought to leave through the window now...yet he remained on the bed, because he was still injured? Or was it something else... He didn't have long to contemplate as he soon heard the sound of his door creaking open.

In walked an elder servant woman who spoke to him, "I'm sorry to disturb you sir, but the queen requests your presence in her study. It's down the hall to the left, double doors at the end."

Aldren was speechless for a few seconds, "Ah...very well...thank you." He nodded.

She nodded and exited leaving his door open. He stood up, closing the door and turned back to look in the mirror, he was still wearing his leather armor which was now more ragged from the garden skirmish. He looked like...a mess, no sort of thing that belonged in a castle. He considered changing into the clothes that were in the cabinets, he sensed it wouldn't do much to improve his appearance and decided against it. Besides, hopefully he wouldn't be here for much longer and could move on to...somewhere...

He opened the door and left the room, using the instructions from the servant to find the queen's study. He hesitated to walk in immediately and instead knocked softly at the door.

After a brief moment of silence her voice answered from within, "Come in."

He pushed open one of the doors and saw her majesty at her desk just as she was setting her quill down, she looked up at him with her hands together and a pleasant smile on her face. "Good morning or rather good afternoon I suppose; I hope that you are feeling better today."

He closed the door behind him and moved slowly toward her desk. "Better, yes-thank you and... the same to you, your majesty."

She rose from her seat, "Fine, thank you Aldren...well first things first."

She reached underneath the desk, first pulling out the doubled headed spear that Aldren had used to defend her last night, the rest of his gear and then his longsword from the throne room attack. She set both carefully on the desk side towards him, he could see that a part of her was still hesitant to relinquish the weapons to him. He first picked up the spear, twisting it in his hands it shrunk back to the small metal rod, then placing in its sheath and holstering his hand crossbow and daggers. Then he picked up the sword, weighing it in his hands a moment as he looked over the blade, sliding it into its scabbard and fastening it to his back.

He smiled, glad to have his most trusted companion back. "Thank you, your grace."

She nodded, "Well, now that that's been taken care...I hate to start your day out like this but...I have a proposition for you."

Aldren raised his eyebrow, she continued, "And I know that this may sound sudden-it is sudden. But I would like you stay in Arendelle- at least for the time being, help us investigate these attempts on my life and if you are willing...Oversee training of Arendelle's military to ensure the kingdom's ability to defend itself."

Aldren folded his arms and scoffed, "With all due respect, your grace...but what makes you think I'd care about your kingdom's safety?"

She folded her own arms and smirked, "Well clearly you care about my safety, you've shown that already...twice."

He looked towards the floor and pursed his lips, she stepped forward from around the desk and let herself become a little less reserved, "Aldren, I know that I'm asking a great deal from you, But I am asking for your help... I have a family I want kept safe and more than that, an entire people who look to me for safety...a safety I can't provide on my own, please...I need your help." She said putting a hand on his shoulder.

He looked to her hand and then back to her, a thoughtful look on his face before he sighed, "Very well... I'll help you."

She exhaled in relief and started speaking quickly, "Thank you so much, you don't know how much it means that. And of course I will see to it that you adequately compensated for your services-."

He held up his hand, stopping her in mid sentence, "I require no money for this service, your grace."

She smiled, she found his refusal of pay admirable, if surprising. Then he held up one finger, "I have only one condition: You will undergo training as well, this way when I am no longer here you will be able defend yourself... and lead your army...I won't be there to save you next time."

She was again surprised and somewhat apprehensive about this request but nodded her agreement anyway, "Oh...Very well...we have an agreement then?" she held her hand out to him.

"We do." he took it and gently shook it.

He turned and walked towards the door, "Now shall we have a look at this...'army' of yours."

She walked up beside him and matched his pace, "We shall."

OoO

Elsa stood beside Aldren in the palace archway as they watched the guards going through basic drills in the small training area behind the palace. Gillian while not a warrior at heart had more experience than most, he did his nest to direct them but looked more frustrated than anything. Aldren stood with his arms folded, his expression neutral as he studied them.

Elsa looked at him through the corner of her eye, while it was now confirmed that he had no intention of harming anyone here, least of all her, but she still wanted to try and learn more about him. He had powers like her, yet the complete and utter opposite, he may only have very limited knowledge about other so called 'elementals', but even so she intended to gather whatever information she could. It dawned on her that it was very likely that they were the only two of their kind, but perhaps that was enough. Besides that, he was a brave and selfless individual, that much he had already proved even if he was somewhat callous and walled off as well.

She turned her attention back to the guardsmen, "I'm afraid that the standard for our guards training during my time has never been that high."

He sighed and shook his head, "You certainly have my work cut out for me. They have...a long way to go, though there are a some promising individuals."

"Promising? Promising for what?"

"One cannot lead an army on their own: you will need captains and lieutenants to establish a chain of command. See those two?" he pointed first to a blue eyed, red headed, bearded man who was significantly larger than most of his fellow guardsmen. He was sparring two others at once, utilizing his size and strength against them but not recklessly or without skill.

The second was a brown haired and brown eyed young man of average size who sparred with a single opponent, dodging and parrying their attacks. Bringing them to the ground and disarming them with relative ease. Gillian himself was watching his progress with a smile on his face.

"Those two show much promise, I will endeavor to train with them personally and to learn more about them to see if they will be capable leaders."

"So you've trained others to fight and lead before?"

"Yes, some."

Elsa grinned, "Oh, where and for whom?"

He chuckled, "My, you are inquisitive, your grace."

She shrugged, "Well...I'm curious."

He folded his arms, "Clearly...well it isn't any army you've likely heard of, and of course there is my experience with multiple contracts where I've been employed to assist in conflicts and territorial disputes...but you should know that I've led troops into battle before, your guards are in good hands, I assure you."

She raised an eyebrow, "What was your rank?"

He cleared his throat, looking down at the floor, "Well, actually...I was a knight-of sorts...before I left."

"A Knight, really...Why did you leave?"

He rolled his shoulders, "It's complicated."

Elsa was beginning to sense a pattern, "Did it have something do with your-" She stopped herself mid-sentence as she could see he was becoming agitated, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't prod so much."

"It's quite alright your majesty." he then looked her directly in the eyes, "So, are you still up to the challenge of learning how to properly swing a sword?"

She smirked and looked at her nails in sarcastic vanity, "I think I swing a sword fairly well, like when I saved your life in the throne room."

Aldren laughed and rolled his eyes, she then looked back with more determination on her face, " But yes, I will do anything to protect my people and my family, whatever it takes."

He nodded, "Hmm, we may make a warrior of you yet...we can start as soon as you like."

"For now I'd prefer to tie up some loose ends in my own work." She then walked past him with a mischievous grin, "Besides...you need a bath."

She didn't turn back but Aldren had a look of embarrassment and disbelief, "I-wha...Pardon?"

OoO

Elsa walked into her study with a grin on her face, she'd sent some servants to attend to Aldren and have him...cleansed. She couldn't help but take some pleasure in his moment of discomposure, though she suspected that she'd pay for it in her training later on but for now at least, she felt it was worth it...She somewhat dreaded the idea of training to fight, she'd used her powers to defend herself before but never with intent to kill and even if she did, she never thought she'd have to do so in melee...the idea made her stomach turn. But her enemy was more than willing to do just that, therefore she could not afford to be compromising, she would do what she must to preserve the lives she was responsible for.

Now she sighed and pulled her father's book from the shelf and her notebook from the drawer. She wrote down the little information that she'd acquired and included an illustration to interpret this 'Amicus.' Then she decided to create a new section: 'Aldren', she wrote down what she had learned and what she had discerned from her own observations. Finally, she began to draw his face at the bottom, including every possible detail; his tanned, smooth, hairless skin, his stark black hair, even the intensity in his crimson eyes that held a subtle hint of pain and grief behind them...she wondered; what was the source of his sorrow...what was he hiding that hurt him so badly...?

She was startled by a knock at her door, she closed the notebook, gathered her composure and cleared her throat, "Come in"

The door opened and a slightly perturbed looking Aldren walked in wearing a black shirt and pants that had been provided for him, "Well... I'm bathed." he said with a sarcastic smile.

She couldn't hold back a laugh, "Well that is good to hear. I certainly hope they didn't give you too much trouble."

His annoyance faded and he smiled, "They took some convincing...but I was able to assure them I knew how to take care of myself."

She smiled back, "Mm...It is good to know you have a sense of humor."

He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled bashfully, "I suppose I don't exactly exude...'hospitality' on my first impression. So what is it that you are working on your grace?"

She looked down at the book on her desk and sighed, "Well...Since for the time being at least you are a citizen of Arendelle, it's no secret here that my family was more than closed-mouthed when it came to my powers. And it would seem my parents kept some information even from me."

She opened the large book, turning it and pushed it towards Aldren. He walked up to the desk and put his fingers against the page and narrowed his eyes at the sight of the black armored leader of the Naga. She leaned against the desk and rubbed her forehead, "All I have are the illustrations and a few words I was able to translate that happened to be in ancient Arendellian, other than that I-"

She was cut off when Aldren began speaking absent minded, "Amicus, Righ Bana-bhuidseach na Naga Ai..."

She leaned forward, "Excuse me?"

"Alfar...I can read it."

She got up from her seat and walked around to where he was standing, "How? And what language is it?"

Aldren cut his eyes to her and back at the book, Clearing his throat, "Alfar-elven...it's the elven tongue."

She was more than a bit baffled to say the least, "How-never mind, what does it say?"

"'Amicus, The Witch King of the Serpents Watch'...at least that's the first sentence."

Elsa stepped closer, "Do you think that you could read all of it?"

Aldren turned to her, "Perhaps, though this is a dialect I've not seen before, I'm not familiar with it. But for the most part it is similar, with time...I might be able to decipher it."

"That's fine, I just...it may important information about the enemy."

"Fair enough, but first I need you to share with me what you already know. You're keeping these 'Naga' in your dungeon so I assume that you've learned something about them that I don't know yet."

"I have..." She walked back to her desk and handed him her notebook with a silent prayer that he wouldn't find her drawing of him, "Here you are."

He flipped through the pages and his eyes widened slightly, he closed it and drummed his fingers against the cover as he whispered to himself, "Naga...Naga Ai, snakes...vipers with skin, instead of scales...perplexing indeed, though that explains a lot." He handed the notebook back to her.

"What do you mean?"

He rubbed his neck, red lines still staining his skin from steel gloves, "The naga warrior we fought in the gardens...no human could have possessed that kind of strength nor withstood the punishment I (attempted) to inflict. I was only able to harm him when I used my powers..."

Elsa ringed her wrists, "He survived the brunt of both our powers..."

"And if that book speaks truth...He is only one of this snake's heads."

A silence filled the room as they both thought on this revelation and what it could mean for the future, Aldren broke the silence, "Your grace, if you would permit me: I would meet these 'naga' in person."

She nodded, "Very well, follow me please.".

They exited the room, Aldren opened the door for her and she passed by and nodded to him. As they walked down the hall Elsa spoke again, "Promise me that you'll help me translate that as soon as possible, please."

He nodded, "I will-in time, I may even show you how to read it yourself... Oh and your grace, just for future reference...my jaw isn't quite so narrow..." he said stroking the length of his jaw and chin.

Elsa tensed and her face became unmistakably flush through her pale skin as she walked a few paces ahead of him to hide her embarrassment.

Aldren grinned and thought to himself, 'Payback.'

OoO

Eventually they made their way down into the dungeons below the castle. Aldren couldn't help but be pleased by the sight of the naga assassins in cells throughout the dark halls; most from the throne room attack, some from the garden assault. The queen stopped them in front of a cell towards the end. They stood outside the door the door and observed through the bars, inside were two naga, one was dwelling in a corner with his head down while the other had been pinned to the wall by ice with a muzzle of snow around his mouth.

Aldren turned to the queen, "I take it the two of you had a... disagreement?"

She folded her arms and smiled, "He refused to be silent when I was speaking to the other."

"Nice touch, Shall we?"

She nodded and the guards opened the door for them. The two guards accompanied them as they walked in and stood in the center of the room. Facing the naga on the wall who glared hatefully towards them.

"What are their names?"

"This one goes by Dane, the one in the corner calls himself Meren."

He nodded, looking to Meren he observed the traits that Elsa had described in her notebook, despite being fairly well built he had a fearful look and cowering stance that didn't match up, Aldren decided he wasn't the best subject for interrogation...yet.

He took a step towards the Dane, "May I speak with this one?"

She nodded and thawed the muzzle around Dane's jaws. The naga looked at Aldren, "What do you want, duine!" he growled.

"Ah yes, you were the one who tried to cut me apart with sickles...What can you tell me about your attack's on her majesty's life?"

The beast narrowed his yellow eyes and turned away, "I have nothing to say to you..."

Aldren folded his arms and growled softly, looking at the floor her picked up the discarded masked helm, he held it in both hands and looked back up at Dane, with a new idea in mind...He sensed that the creature before him had no intention to share anything with him and while Aldren had ways of making him talk, he had no desire to leave such an impression with the queen. "Well if that is the case then there is only one thing I require from you at the time...your armor."