July 18th, 1840
Captain Eadan Mackenzie sat in the chair, self-conscious as hell. Waiting in the hall to meet Queen Elsa, he was understandably anxious meeting Royalty, especially a Sorceress-Queen. It wasn't even his job to do this sort of thing. He was the senior Officer of the Dunbroch embassy here in Arendelle. Despite the Diplomatic posting, he had very little experience in Diplomacy. His job was to keep the Embassy safe and report back military findings that concern Dunbroch. However, the Ambassador had been recalled for a personal debriefing with Queen Elinor, leaving Eadan to re-negotiate terms with this new Queen.
It wasn't that there weren't other diplomats who could talk with the Queen, but the cowards had insisted that only he was high ranking enough to discuss matters with Queen Elsa. So here the Highlander sat, wearing a blue tunic and a full kit, with excess fabric draped over his shoulder. The audience now only minutes away, the young officer looked over his uniform, looking for deficiencies, trying to look perfect. Finally, after an eternity, the overweight Steward opened the door, stepping out.
Eadan stood, straightening out his military tunic in a final attempt to look sharper. "Well?"
"The Queen will see you now."
Eadan sighed in relief that the Steward knew English. He was held up for almost an hour earlier today, due to the Gate Guards' inability to speak English, and his own failure of Norwegian and German. A simple request for entry, even with an invitation led to two men screaming at other in guttural language, as more Guards arrived also unknowing. Even the first Officer to arrive was clueless, with the second actually understanding English. He really did not need any more drama.
He stood up, thanked the Steward and was gestured into the room, where Eadan saw them. First was Queen Elsa, refined and reposed, wearing an Ice dress just like from the stories. She wore a crown as well which sat on her platinum blond hair and the gems complementing her vivid blue eyes. The description given by the Lieutenant who had attended the coronation was hardly exaggerated.
Unexpected was the presence of her sister, the Crown Princess Anna. While also a beautiful young girl, she lacked the… grace of the Queen. She hardly stood still, bouncing slightly as if suffering from some need to constantly be in motion. She wore a plain dress, one more suited for a well-to-do townswoman, instead of a Princess. This combined with her Reddish hair, freckles, and youth reminded him of the Princess Merida. Which wasn't necessarily a good thing…
"Your Highness, My name is Captain Eadan Mackenzie of Dunbroch. It is a pleasure to meet you." He tried not to, but his nervousness led to his accent coming on thick, with rolling r's and what not.
The Queen drew a breath to speak but was cut off by a rattle of German from the Princess Anna. Like most German speakers, Anna had an odd way of hitting every hard syllable and letter, while sprinting through the sentence.
"Elsa, warum ist er trägt ein Kilt? Das ist seltsam! Ich habe noch nie einen gesehen! Warten Sie, kann er mich verstanden? Oh, bitte nicht, mir zu sagen, er uns verstehen können!"
The Queen calmly relied in a slower, more deliberate but equally unintelligible response.
"Nein, er spricht nur Englisch, jetzt lassen Sie mich dies zu beenden.
The princess rolled her eyes, before muttering a simple "Fein." She mumble something after that that he couldn't pick up, but could have sworn sounded English.
The Queen turned back to Eadan, continuing. "I am very sorry about that. Anna can interrupt sometimes." Eadan was surprised by the Queen's Excellent English. While it still had a German accent, grammatically speaking it was sound. If anything it was technically superior to his own.
"Now, what is it you wished to discus with me Captain?"
"Well you see your Majesty, the events of the last several days certainly have caused a need to… reevaluate our nation's partnership."
"I see. Dunbroch wishes to withdraw our Alliance."
"God no, your Majesty!" The outburst startled the Queen and the Captain, who turned red at a result before finishing the thought.
"Dunbroch is committed to maintaining a strong Alliance between our great nations. However, finding out you can cast magic changes things on a base level. As such, we must redefine our Economic, Political, and most importantly, our military relationship."
"That is actually very well thought out, Captain. At this point some countries have openly declared they want nothing to do with us, mostly the Catholic ones. It's nice to know your leaders are so understanding."
"Well, you can say Queen Elinor has a special… perspective on magic…"
"I am guessing I do not want to know."
"No you don't. Back to the topic at hand, I would like to have a greater understanding of your magic. In regards to military manners."
The Queen shifted her eyes down, while clutching her arms, as the Princess glared at him with a stare that could strip paint. The latter puzzled him, leading him to wonder if Princess Anna could speak English. It was time to backpedal.
"If your majesty would rather not discuss the matter…"
"Yes Captain, I am very busy today. I would prefer it if you left."
"Very well." Eadan turned and left, after a quick bow. He knew better than to push in diplomacy, and if the Queen did not wish to discuss military ramifications, it was better not to force her too. Hopefully she would be agreeable in a few days, or he would be finding a new post…
…
As soon as the door closed, Anna erupted.
"Can you believe that guy?! Of all of the things he could talk about, he wants to talk about how good of a weapon you are?! What a jerk!"
"Anna I'm not mad at him. I do not want to discuss that, but he was doing his job."
"It's his job to be rude?"
"No. He's a soldier. He doesn't know about trade deals or politics. The only thing he's knowledgeable on is military manners."
"Still." Anna paused, her mind instantly switching to another grievance. "And why didn't you let me handle this? I can be your diplomat!"
"Anna, just because you can speak a few-"
"Elsa, I can speak English, French, German, Norwegian, and Polish fluently. I am conversational in Swedish, Russian, and Danish. I also know Latin and Gaelic, but those don't really get spoken so, forget them.
Elsa paused, thrown aback at how many languages she knew. Elsa had no idea how gifted Anna was.
"Anna, how did you…"
"Elsa, remember when we really young and we talked about when you would be Queen?"
Elsa struggled to bring up that long lost memory. Ah yes, a few days before the accident…
"We agreed that you would Queen, and I would travel and tell how wonderful you were to all of Europe. Even after we were separated, I still hoped that one day I could do that! And well, I was stuck in a castle for 13 years with nothing better to do so…"
Elsa stood aghast at how she had so underestimated her little sister. She had always viewed herself as the scholar of the two, and while she loved Anna dearly, she also enjoyed being superior academically. Yet Elsa had just learned she was an imbecile in the language department compared to Anna. She struggled to simply learn English and Norwegian, with German being her birth language. She knew a little French, Danish, Russian and Swedish, but never enough to get by.
Still, it wasn't Anna's linguistic skills Elsa feared for.
"Anna, it's not just about being able to talk with them. It's being able to talk to people you don't like."
"I'm not that short tempered!"
"Oh really." Elsa mentally sorted out all of the upcoming meetings that were planned to pick out an unsavory one. Her eyes lit up and a mischievous grin formed as she thought up a perfect one. "You would be willing to not just talk, but remain polite, calm, and reposed to a certain… King Frederick of the Southern Isles?"
Anna's eyes narrowed, before her face formed a shocked expression of disbelief. "We have to talk to Hans' dad!? Why!?"
"I need to find out whether Hans acted alone or not. And the only way to do that is sit down with Uncle Freddy-"Elsa caught herself, before continuing "-King Frederick and talk about this."
"What was that?"
"What was what?" Elsa replied, turning red from embarrassment."
"Uncle Freddy?"
"Anna, King Frederick is my godfather. He was papa's best friend during the war and was very active in my life until the accident."
Anna had been informed that her memories had been changed as well as the true story behind her and Elsa's separation. She tried to remember King Frederick, as she was old enough to remember but couldn't for the life of her.
Odd.
"Now let's go. We have my first council meeting to go to, and I know I'm going to need you to calm me down."
…
Marshal Paulus Hindsfjell rode up to the front of the immobile column of soldiers, taking his place at the lead. The Palace Guard assured him that the crisis was over, but were taciturn on details. As such, he was uneasy about marching his men into town in parade formation. But he would not storm the town without proof of enemy attack so here he was.
At the front was his Chief of Staff General Wilhelmsen, with Colonel Marcks and Lieutenant Colonel Spalter, his head of Cavalry. Colonel Marchs was a tall, gaunt, bespectacled man with a Spartan attitude and air of nobility about him. A good combat leader, the man insisted on being "With his boys" right where the fighting was thickest and most dangerous. Johann "Metzger" Spalter was the Prussian born Cavalry officer from the school of Blucher. Aggressive, Fearless and independent, the man wore his Black Hussars uniform, Totenkopf and all.
As he joined them, he was greeted with crisp salutes, which he returned with his own relaxed salute. Colonel Marcks was the first to speak.
"Sir, the Infantry is formed and ready to march. My Sergeant Major insists the kinder are ready to be seen by the Queen."
"Very Well. Spalter?
"My Cavalry and Kessel's Artillery are in position to come to your relief if need be."
"Good."
At that moment, a Palace Guardsman rode up on Horseback, stopping to salute the party.
"Field Marshal, sir. Queen Elsa requests you and your Staff's Presence at the Palace." Despite its wording, it was an order, not a request. And the Guardsman made sure to use a tone that informed him of that.
"No problem. I was about to lead my men to the Castle now."
"Her Majesty would prefer to discuss a matter before you lead your men into town."
Paulus nodded. Trap or not, the Queen wanted to talk to him. Alone.
"Very Well. I will be there shortly."
The Guardsmen saluted, before turning about and riding off with a loud hyah! As the rider became distant, Paulus turned to Spalter.
"I, Wilhelmsen, and Marcks are riding to meet the Queen. If we do not return or send word by nightfall, storm the city. Understood?"
"Jahowl!"
"Good." He gripped the reins of his horse, turning to his General and Full Colonel. "Let's go meet the Queen."
…
Queen Elsa put on a green and black dress with gold and purple trim, one very conservative with its cut, ensuring that from neck to ankle, wrist to wrist, she was covered. Elsa sighed as she looked in the mirror, annoyed that her fashion was relegated to be about sending certain messages, rather than look good or match her own tastes, let alone be comfortable. Purple, green and gold, the national colors of Arendelle to show where her heart lie, and concealing clothes as she had been told bluntly by a maid, that the revealing nature of the old dress might "make her look like a whore."
She envied Anna, who with little expectations, could wear much less formal and comfier clothes. Still, she still kept her hair in her now signature braid, and wore no gloves, not that Anna would even let that be an option. Secretly though she kept a pair hidden away, just in case. Elsa had heard whispers that this was going to be a very ugly council meeting, and that she could expect requests to abdicate. THAT was something she would never agree to.
She looked in the mirror, to do one last check-up before heading out of the bedroom to face her destiny. At first glance she was content, until she noticed something. She didn't notice a flaw of makeup or dress but a chilling realization. She did not see the "True Queen of the Ice and Snow." She saw the same terrified girl who was about to be crowned Queen.
But then she noticed another thing, something that made all the difference in the world. When she stared into that mirror 4 days ago, she stood alone. Now she had her sister, and with her Elsa felt stronger and braver.
"I'm ready."
As she turned and began to stride down the hall, Anna moved alongside her head turned slightly to initiate one last conversation.
"I liked the ice dress better."
"So did I, Anna. But now is about sending a message."
"And what's that?"
"That despite my nature, I put Arendelle and my duties as Queen first."
"Of course you do! You don't need to dress like an old lady to say that though!"
"Also, one last thing Anna, don't take anything personally. These men are mostly honest, decent men doing what they think is best for Arendelle. You cannot get angry at what they say."
"Even when they're wrong?"
Elsa smiled as the paused before the Council door. "Especially when they are wrong."
She turned to face the door, wiping the smile from her lips and taking one last breath to calm herself.
Do well. For Papa's sake.
She pushed the doors open, as Kai announced her presence to the seated Ministers.
"All rise for the Queen!"
The collection of men rose, despite their feelings of animosity or lack therefore of. Some mumbled curses under their breath, but none dare confront the Queen. Not yet.
Queen Elsa walked to her seat at the head of the oak conference table without a word, as Kai drew the chair back so Elsa could effortlessly stand in front of her chair, pausing as Anna found her own seat, the closest chair on Elsa's right hand side. With Anna ready, Elsa gave the word.
"Gentlemen, please take your seats."
As Elsa and Anna sat, Elsa couldn't help but notice the deliberately slow pace of some of the minister's efforts to sit down, a deliberate, if catty way to defy her. Elsa made a mental note of the men who did this, even though she hardly marked them as a serious threat. Elsa was more concerned about the men who would give fake smiles, for they were the ones who would really act against her.
She brushed off the childish insult, before preparing for business proper.
"Minister Jamesen, I believe you were the one who called for this meeting. What do you wish to address?"
All eyes fell on Jamesen, the senior minister of the Government. A former soldier, as well as a merchant and husband and father, Jamesen was the icon of Arendelle's middle class. Anna had never met the man before today, and she noticed something off about him. At first glance he seemed a normal middle aged man – greying dark hair, an apparent full set of teeth, some wrinkles and scars. However Anna noticed that while the left side of his face was scared and wrinkled, the right side seemed smooth and untouched. There was something unnatural about it that drew her gaze, though she tried not to stare.
The man stood his cane up, grasped firmly by gloved hands as he rose up, legs stiff. With an expression as warm as winter he unleashed his surprise.
"Your Majesty, during your absence we came to the conclusion that certain members of the council, myself included, may have been wrong when we backed you to be Queen. As such, we have voted to conduct a hearing on the question of your continued regency."
"You want to put me on trial."
"In a word, yes. You will have every opportunity to legally defend your continued reign, but I hope that you will in the end respect the Council decision."
Anna stood up, clearly upset. "You want to put Elsa on trial? How dare you!"
"Anna, please."
With a scowl on her face, Anna sat down, arms crossed and eyes averted, unable to stomach these fossils and their clearly insane plot to dethrone her sister. It was insane, right?
"I assume you are using the Jarl's Revolt as your legal precedent, correct?"
"That would be correct. A number of the men in this room are in fact nobility, and carry on the powers of the old Moot. Furthermore, the Council was authorized the power to unseat a King and pass the crown to the next of kin after the crisis of Crown Prince Christian's potential regency. Your Grandfather passed that law into effect."
"Yes. A two-thirds majority can instill a vote of no-confidence in a Regent or successor and pass it on to the next in line."
"Yes. We could have passed it during the Great Freeze, but as Chairman of this council, I vetoed it."
"Why?"
"Because I will not stand for backroom, treacherous dealings, even ones I support. I openly support a motion for you to step down, and let Princess Anna take the throne. However, let no-one say I took the coward's route."
"What if I don't want to be Queen?" Anna spoke up, as Elsa remained silent. It was a valid point.
"There are others who could take the throne, but all of them are foreigners, and would not likely have Arendelle's best interests at heart. It'd be better for Arendelle for you to take the crown passively, then let a Pole or Norwegian take it actively."
"So I'd just be a figurehead for your rule? That is not what my father would want!"
"King Agdar, may he rest in peace, would want what's best for his country."
"How dare you, sir! How dare you speak for my father?!"
Elsa tried to interject, but even her Queenly presence was not enough to stop this maelstrom without something dramatic.
"I knew your father long before you were born, your Highness. Even though we disagreed in politics, I always considered him a close friend."
"And that's how you honor him? By stealing the crown from his daughters?"
Up to this point, Jamesen had maintained a calm, professional tone. However, being criticized by a child one third his age began to test his patience. Elsa could see the rising anger, and from past experience knew that this was not the man to anger.
"Anna."
"I do what's best for Arendelle! No matter how ugly it is."
"Elsa is what's best for Arendelle!"
"Anna!"
"And by what logic do you support that statement with!?"
"Elsa sacrificed so much for Arendelle!"
"And what, could you, a child, possibly know of sacrifice?"
"She endured thirteen years of pain for me! And I nearly died for her! What do you know of sacrifice!?"
"ANNA!" Elsa screamed, finally ending the back and forth "debate" between the two. But it was too late. Across the table, Jamesen trembled with fury, his berserk button pushed. Jamesen was normally a cool, reasonable man. But if there was one thing you never did, it was to question his understanding, or lack of sacrifice. Which Anna had just done.
Jamesen stood up, eyes blind with anger. Even Anna found herself backing down a little from the pure power of the man's hardened stare. However instead of exploding, his pent up energy dissipated. In a sudden cool, collected calm, he asked a simple, but loaded question. "Your Highness, have you seen what canister shot does to a man?"
Elsa cringed, knowing exactly what was about to go down. She had seen this exact meltdown once before, and it still horrified her. Like many veterans, Elric Jamesen was proud of his service, but never was one to boast or parade his service achievements. But he always carried his medals and badges, to remind himself, and to show those who thought him inferior. He reached into his jacket, and tossed out a medal rack, including a wound badge in gold.
Still standing, the old man grabbed the right side of his face. To every one's dismay, he began to peel the leather facial prosthetics away, including a fake ear. The uncovered site revealed horrific scaring, including exposed bone and teeth, as well as ligament and his nasal cavity. He tossed down half of his face, proceeding to yank out his right eye, leaving a gaping, dark maw, Still not finished, he reached into his mouth and pulled out a set of dentures, revealing that over half his teeth, as well as a good portion of his right jaw was missing.
With his hideous face still staring Anna down the bent over, grabbing and twisting his right leg counter clockwise with an audible click. He fell back into his chair, then proceeding to pull his wooden leg from his trouser leg, before chucking it onto a table. With half of his face missing, Jamesen understandingly had speech issues, with his previously stern voice now more muffled and gravelly.
"Death is merciful, your Highness. Real sacrifice is fighting to live, so to hold your daughter again, only to have her scream and recoil in horror at the mere sight of you. That is pain."
Anna's gazed remained fixed on the man's disfigured face, as he ended the exchange.
"With all due respect, your Highness, don't ever question my understanding of pain or sacrifice again. You are but a child!"
"You have no right to talk to the Crown Princess like that!"
It was Hilfred Widstrom, the youngest man on the council. Newly appointed as the Deputy Interior Minister, he was the executor of the Interior Minister's plans and policies, which was made harder by the old Interior Minister resigning in protest of not being informed of Queen Elsa's magic. As such the young man tried to fill the shoes of his former superior. As such the young man was now the head of Arendelle's civilian police and emergency services. Blond with hazel eyes and a parted hair style, the young man looked almost boyish, if not quite yet. Facial hair was starting to grow and a lack of baby fat told a viewer that he was no child, but certainly not an "old man" like the others.
"Be Quiet, boy. I was a veteran of a decade of war when you were in diapers!"
"I don't care if it was a century of war! The Royal family deserves nothing but our complete respect and obedience! From all of us!" The last sentence was more directed at the room of less than loyal Ministers, of which men like him were the extreme minority. A murmur of disapproval met the young man's statement, not surprisingly.
"Shut your fucking face, ass-kisser!" Vidkun Lundgren shouted, as he stood in anger. As Financial Minister, he was charged with ensuring not only that taxes were in order but also chief to both the ministers of Agriculture and Industry- their failures where his failures. And the Great Freeze was not exactly beneficial. Lundgren was a large man, and while very intelligent and gifted with math and management, he was also prone to anger and losing his head. Slightly overweight with a brown set of hair and mustache, and eyes sunken from tireless working, Lundgren could still light a fire under a subordinate from with one of his rages.
"Arendelle lost over a tenth of its livestock, a third of its crops, and a quarter of our fishing fleet is either lost or down for repairs! I WILL NOT be blindly obedient to the Queen responsible!"
Seeing the argument going out of hand, Queen Elsa began to protest, with a stern but ignored "Order!" as the young minister lashed out at Lundgren.
"You are a traitor and a coward!"
A fist flew knocking the young man on his back. Fighting words had been exchanged, and the former sailor would not tolerate insults to his courage.
"I will not suffer a college boy's insults, when he has not as much even had a whiff of grapeshot!"
What had been murmuring had now erupted into a shit storm of shouting and shoving as the loyalists gathered around their fallen comrade and the opposition proceeded to berate those who still had, in their view, an idiotic loyalty to the Queen. Elsa began to pound the gavel and cry out for order, but it was no use. This was no longer a meeting ran by the Queen, but between two rival groups.
Feeling powerless, Elsa slumped back into her chair. She felt belittled that she couldn't get her own damn government to listen to her. If she could not do that, how did she have any hope of running the country. Before she had felt so confident, back when a whisper from her would silence a room. She had realized now that she had coasted on her father's reputation, and now that it was her own authority that upheld order, that she was powerless.
She was angry. Despite a life of preparation, all that education, all that mentoring was a mere joke to them. She was angry that these men no longer respected the legacy, the authority of the crown. She was angry that she was so weak that only the sycophants and blindly loyal stayed true to her. She was angry at these men, she was angry at her father for not giving her more preparation, she was even angry at Anna, envious of her lack of responsibility with her currently muddled mind. But while she hated all of them, she loathed herself most of all. Neither side had noticed the cooling of the room or snow beginning to fall, not until it was too late.
"ENOUGH!" Two fists slammed on the table, but it did not belong to any minister. Rising as her fists made contact, the Queen's anger and utter contempt for the circus that the council meeting had become manifested itself, and did so hard.
Making contact, the table instantly froze, with a blizzard's gale sending documents and ledgers flying to all corners of the room, with icy spikes jutting outward as the silenced ministers recoiled, now reminded again why many of them feared the Queen. More than the display of magic, it was the fact that Elsa's eyes glowed a bright, icy blue for a second that scared them most of all.
"I AM THE QUEEN, YOU WILL COME TO ORDER WHEN I COMMAND IT!"
Elsa shook with a mix of adrenaline, fury, and a fear as the council stood there, mouths gaping and bodies still in an effort to placate the terrible force facing them. None understood what happened next but Anna, as she stared in shock and horror as Elsa withdrew a pair of gloves and quickly put them on, hindered by the tremor her hands suffered.
Voice trembling, the young Queen gave an order disguised as a request. Her voice trembling and nearly cracking under the pressure, it was all Elsa could do to refrain herself from exploding like the time bomb she had become.
"I believe we are finished for today. Would you gentlemen please retire for the day?"
"Yes, we can."
Quickly finding their way out of the room, the Ministers were gone in mere seconds, not even bothering to collect personal effects. As Anna closed in to embrace her sister, a terrified Elsa turned, pleading with Anna for her own sake.
"Anna, please. Get behind something."
"But Elsa-"
"NOW!" Elsa screamed as her eyes began to ice over with a magical glaze again. From Elsa's perspective it was very similar to the vision one had when "Seeing red." Knowing from experience, Anna upturned a coffee table and tucked herself behind it, still peeking to see what was about to happen.
Elsa ripped off the gloves, with her magic coming forth like water from a busted dam. She screamed in anger as she wielded her magic like an enraged man would a bat. With blasts of frosty winds flipping tables and chairs, spikes of ice punching through castle stone, there was more than anger at a council meeting's dismal state in this rage. Much more.
With a final, banshee-like scream, she unleashed a burst of magical ice in all directions, of the same variety that accidently froze Anna's heart. An inch of wood was more than enough to block this burst, even though it would prove unnecessary. Though infuriated at the world and some-what angry at her, her love of Anna never faded from her mind as ice went in all directions but Anna's table, though the windows did not share this luck, shattering from the blast.
Elsa collapsed to her knees, deeply breathing and holding back tears as Anna emerged, taking in the breathe-taking alteration of the council room. Taking a mere look at Elsa, Anna did what she did best. Falling to her knees Anna squeezed Elsa in a loving sisterly embrace. She knew she needed to reassure Elsa, and that despite all of this, that everything was okay.
"Wow." She paused, thinking of a follow-up. "That was freaky!"
Not her best work.
"Well, not that you are freaky, even though you are. But in the best way!"
Elsa smiled and laughed, causing Anna to sigh in relief. She was willing to be thought a klutz, if it brought Elsa some relief and joy. Knowing that she somewhat contributed to the abject failure to the meeting she set about trying to rectify her mistake.
"Elsa, I'm so sorry for getting mad at Jamesen. I should have-"
"Anna, look at me." Elsa leaned back, hold Anna in her grip and staring into her eyes. "This is not your fault. It's mine. Politics is my cross to bear, I should have never-"
"No!" Anna shouted, causing Elsa to lose her train of thought as Anna began to rant. "You don't have to do everything alone! I'm not your sister only after hours. If me helping you rule gives the slightest relief, then we're damn-well doing it! Together!"
Elsa had no response but to seize her sister and embrace her as hard as she could. All would be okay.
Bit of notes-
I know I promised the Regiment's homecoming, and yet it's not here. The reason why that is this chapter was originally over 7000+ words, including a lot more crap. As such, I was advised to scale back this release and include the cut content as Chapter 3 (with additions, of course.) I also felt that the chapter kind "jumped the shark" in reveals, twists, and scenes, meaning inevitably a few chapters of filler unlikely to live up to this chapter's standards.
Onto content. Considering I like "Brave" almost as much as I like Frozen, I really liked the idea of them existing in the same universe and timeline. As such, "Dunbroch" exists as a minor independent region of Scotland, ruled by King Fergus and Queen Elinor. Have less English influence, some things have inevitable altered. For example, Captain MacKenzie wears a "Full Kilt," which is the garb Scottish Highlanders actually wore- the modern Kilt is an English factory worker's invention, designed for his Scottish workers. If curious, a simple google of "Full Kilt" will produce the image you need. Very similar to the garb worn in Brave.
Also, this chapter straight up ended the Teen rating for this fanfic. If fully describing a man missing half his face and numerous F-bombs doesn't do, I don't know what will. By the time this goes up it'll be changed to M. Sorry if this rating change has inconvenienced you.
Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to Grrlgeek76, who Beta-read this chapter and went way above and beyond the call to duty. I requested a simple read over and basic opinion of the chapter and it's length. I got a full proof-reading with color coded notes and corrections. And as always, to be blessed with favorable reviews from her, as well as all the others who give me input is a great honor. Thank you all.
Glossary-
Jahowl- German phrase used as a response to an order. The closest English equivalent would be Aye-aye, sir! Or less closely Hoo-ah and Oo-rah when they are used as a response. You've probally heard Nazis say this one in the movies.
Totenkopf- German for Death's Head. While today carrying a very negative stigma thanks to its wide use in the Waffen-SS as a cap device, the Totenkopf goes way back, to the days of Frederick the Great. In German service, it was predominantly used in either Cavalry or Irregular forces. Hence why Regular Heer (Army) Panzer crewmen wore Totenkopf on their Jackets during WW2. Many other non-German units continued this trend, including official uniforms until WW2. By that point the negative stigma made it nonpolitically-correct even though unofficially, skulls are used by everybody. To the point that my unit is labeled Grim Troop and we use a Grim Reaper as our unit symbol.
Translations-
"Elsa, warum ist er trägt ein Kilt? Das ist seltsam! Ich habe noch nie einen gesehen! Warten Sie, kann er mich verstanden? Oh, bitte nicht, mir zu sagen, er uns verstehen können!"- "Elsa, why is he wearing a kilt? That's strange, I've never seen one! Wait, he can hear me? Oh, please don't tell me he can understand us!" (Roughly)
"Nein, er spricht nur Englisch, jetzt lassen Sie mich das machen.- "No, he only speaks English, now let me handle this. (Roughly)