Scene 14
Elsa looked over Fjordell with an enigmatic stare. The city sprawled over the battered coastline, the fjords typical of Arendelle having eroded under the near-constant pounding of the tides. As a result, half of the city of Fjordell was situated high above the water on cliffs overlooking the fjord, and the other half was right next to the water. But her attention was focused on the castle on the upper half. It was smaller than her own, and more functional as a fortress of defense. She saw a glint of light, and Elsa looked to Donovan, and he nodded, face grim. She spread her wings and dove off the mountain vista overlooking the valley. She glided over the outskirts of the city, aiming for the large castle overlooking the lower half of the city, hoping her timing was right.
Anna- five minutes ago.
Anna sat on a bench outside Baron Wekel's office. Anna sat up straight, looking up at Kristoff, looking spiffy in his uniform and light armor, a sword at his side. He smiled encouragingly, but she could sense his anxiety. The Baron had kept her waiting for over an hour, an unforgivable breach of protocol, and Anna intended to make him see the error of his ways. As she waited, she fingered her ring, a simple band with a small emerald set into the gold. Finally, the doors opened and a courier ushered them inside, as if they were common people! She stood regally, brushing her skirts and moving as deliberately as possible.
"The Baron must have had extremely important business to keep the Princess of Arendelle waiting." She stated to the courier, who wiped his brow nervously. He said nothing, however, just led them inside. The room was quite large for an office, and the fine carpet and the art on the wall made it clear the Baron was not a miser. The entire far wall was made of stained glass, an extravagance that not even Elsa's castle held. He was seated at his desk, reading a memo. He was extremely overweight, and had a reputation as an unpleasant person, but a shrewd businessman. Behind him stood a pair of guards. He sat in a high-backed chair, almost a throne by the level of precious metals set into it. He didn't even acknowledge her! Anna narrowed her eyes, but kept her face serene. Her husband growled softly, and she gently touched his arm. The Baron finally looked up, gave an oily smile, and set his memo down.
"Ah, Princess Anna, forgive me for the wait, I had extremely important business to attend to. Please take a seat."
She did not sit. "Baron Wekel, I am here on business of a vital nature, and I know you were informed of that, but you keep your Princess waiting for a full hour. It must have been earth-shatteringly important. My first order of business is to inform you of the extravagant amount you owe the crown. You have not paid your taxes to Arendelle for over a year, and I am here to request you pay us in full as soon as you are able." He spluttered, but Anna barged over him, opening a letter siugned by Elsa herself. "My second item of business regards the formation of the Grand Army of Arendelle. Queen Elsa, in light of recent events, has decided to create Arendell's first standing army-" He interrupted her quite rudely, standing and blustering.
"Princess, how dare you enter my own castle and tell me what I should and shouldn't do! I will not give you what is due because of the curse your sister placed on my people's crops! They were utterly destroyed this year, and I refuse to pay until my land has healed! And what is this nonsense about an army?! Arendelle has never needed an army and never will!" He sat back down dismissively, and looked at her disdainfully. "I will not be told what to do, by a girl barely out of her teens. I have let you assume you have a smidge of authority inside you sister's castle, but not here!" Anna's eyes widened at his disrespect, and Kristoff grabbed the hilt of his sword angrily. The baron did not seem to notice, and picked up the piece of paper on his desk and pretended to read it again. He stated, "If your sister wants to talk to me, let her come. I will speak to her."
Kristoff yelled angrily, "Don't talk to her like that!"
The pair of guards drew their swords as the Baron stated contemptuously. "Learn to respect your betters, boy." Kristoff looked to Anna, and she nodded. He drew his sword, stalked over to a window and smashed out the stained glass. The Baron looked on in horror as Kristoff waved out the window, and then stood next to Anna protectively. Baron Wekel opened and closed his mouth like a stuck fish and finally spluttered, "Arrest that man!" The guards looked at each other hesitantly, then rushed at Kristoff. They were intercepted by Anna, armed with a thin blade that had been hidden beneath her dress. She disarmed one easily with a flick of her wrist, sending his sword clattering to the ground. The other was too surprised to block a roundhouse kick to the face, sending his unconscious body flying. The Baron yelped and stood hastily, and Anna leveled the tip of her sword at him. She smiled, her sword held ready.
"Baron, you have made a huge mistake today. Oh, and Elsa should be arriving soon."
He gulped nervously, and stuttered, "The Queen!? Here?" The stained glass wall shattered, and through the gap walked a being silhouetted by the rising sun. Light shone through huge crystalline wings, creating hundreds of tiny rainbows cascading through the spacious room. Elsa stepped through the gap and into the room, the Baron shaking in his boots. She looked at him with an expression of distaste, and walked past him, her wings dissolving.
"Baron, I have come because you seem insistent on committing treason." She turned, light eyes nailing him to the floor. "So, I will give you two choices. You can accept my demands, or we will remove you and place Fjordell under proper leadership for the coming war." The Baron's eyes bulged.
"R-r-remove… w-w-war, Your Majesty?" Elsa turned again to look through the hole in the window.
"Yes. The Mjolgir have returned, and they have already swept through Eraskia like a storm. The northern coast of Arendelle will be next, unless we force them back. That is why I have created an army." She swept back to the Baron, using her height to its greatest advantage. "What is your choice? Will you serve your country, or be swept aside?" He straightened, and stood up. He knelt before Elsa.
"I will serve, Your Majesty." Elsa smiled cooly, and gestured for him to rise. He did so, uncertainly.
"You will immediately gather all available goods and capital to be shipped to Arendelle, to pay your debts and in return, I will send a division of Arendellian soldiers to provide a garrison for Fjordell, as well as begin construction of necessary defenses. Recruiters will arrive shortly to accept volunteers, as we will need all the help we can get. Oh, we will also need some of your personal reserves to pay the soldiers protecting your city." With every demand, the Baron's jaw dropped lower until it almost touched the ground. Anna and Kristoff exited the room, but before Elsa left, she looked back at the Baron.
"And in the future, you will show proper respect to the Princess and the Captain-General of Arendelle."
Later-
The three of them, escorted by Kristoff's men, exited the great castle. A small crowd had gathered, hearing of the commotion in the castle. They all stared in awe at Elsa, and some of them hesitantly knelt. Kristoff spoke in a carrying voice, "All hail Queen Elsa of Arendelle! All hail Princess Anna of Arendelle!" The crowd whispers became louder and more shocked, and much more of them knelt, hastily looking at the ground. Elsa waited for a minute, until all of them were kneeling. She gestured for them to rise, and they did so, looking about in confusion. Elsa stepped forward, creating a platform from which she could address the crowd.
"People of Arendelle, I have come to bring news. Some good, some not. The happier news is that I have decided to re-unify Arendelle. Since before my fathers' time, the barons and earls of the outlying cities have taken the remoteness of their cities as an excuse to create their own city-states independent of Arendelle. I have heard that Baron Wekel has placed heavy taxes on you without your consent, to do nothing but fill his own coffers. Is that correct?" The people began to nod, slowly at first, then more enthusiastically as they saw their neighbors doing the same. "I have come to tell you that he will no longer be acting against your wishes, and he will obey every word that comes out of my mouth. And the first words to proceed are for him to reduce these ridiculous taxes." The crowd began to applaud and cheer at Elsa's words.
"I have also heard of his discrimination against people from the lower level of Fjordell. This will cease immediately." Some of the more ragged-looking people among the crowd began to cheer louder.
"I have also come to inform you that the rumors are true. I do have power over ice and snow." She demonstrated by creating a massive snowflake over the courtyard, to the awed gasps of the crowd. She dispersed it and continued, expression softening. "I apologize for any harm I have done to my people, and anyone with legitimate losses will be repaid in full. But not all of my news is good. The barbarians of the North, the Mjolgir, have returned, and Fjordell is in danger." A collective gasp issued from the crowd, and Elsa put her hands up, silencing them. "In order to prevent destruction of everything we know and love, I have created the Grand Army of Arendelle. Any among you who wish to volunteer, may do so, but I must tell you that we will need every able man to protect his family and country." Anna stepped forward and continued for Elsa.
"Should any of you desire to volunteer, please speak to these gentlemen, and you will be signed up in the Arendelle Third Legion, to begin training immediately." She gestured to the soldiers accompanying them. "Are there any questions?" Anna asked. A man raised a hand, and Elsa pointed at him.
"What of the rumors of Southern savages in the capital?" At his words, Donovan walked out of the crowd and stood next to Elsa. She placed a hand on his shoulder as she addressed the crowd again.
"They are true. The nation of Arradia has agreed to train our army and assist in the defense of Arendelle at this dark time, and Lord Donovan is one of the noblest men I have ever met. Trust me when I say he has only our best interests in heart." Donovan smiled at her as she looked over the crowd.
"Are there any more questions for Queen Elsa?" Anna asked again. Nobody answered. Elsa clapped her hands and the platform sank into the ground.
Elsa said, "There will be a meeting in the great hall at the sixth hour for any who have more questions. Thank you for your support." She turned with Anna and Donovan, and together they walked back to Kristoff, leaving the people to chatter amongst themselves. A number of young men were looking at the soldiers curiously.
"Nicely done, Elsa. They seem confused in a good way, as opposed to last time." Donovan quipped, and Elsa lightly punched him. Anna laughed, and Kristoff said to Anna, "Thank you for taking care of those soldiers for me. I really don't want to fight… well, anyone!" Anna slipped her hand in his.
"Oh, I'm sure you could've handled it just fine." She said. "And Elsa! You looked positively terrifying in there! His face was priceless!" Elsa chuckled and stated,
"I bet it was! It was fun scaring that buffoon. I can't believe how high the taxes are around here!"
Donovan snorted. "I'm just surprised the people didn't revolt. Arradians would never have stood for that. And really, Elsa, you did an amazing job of handling that crowd." She looked down and smiled at the praise.
"Like Skahdi said, Elsa is a good ruler of humans." She appeared standing next to Donovan, thankfully not touching him. He didn't notice.
"Thank you, Skahdi." She closed her eyes and looked away modestly, not fooling Elsa for a second. She tuned back into the conversation.
Kristoff was saying, "My question is, how are we going to get the supplies and soldier over the mountains? There are passes, but they will soon be blocked. Winter is coming."
"Yes, and our power will grow, Elsa. You must know that we will be more powerful than earlier. Ever." Elsa didn't get a chance to respond, as Donovan asked her a question.
"That is a very good question. Elsa, how will we go about that?" She considered for a second.
"I think the smartest way would be to build a road to connect the cities, but I don't think we have time or money for that. I think we'll have to rely on water transport. Does Arradia have a large navy?" Donovan looked up and scratched his stubble thoughtfully.
"Relatively, yes. I can have over two hundred and fifty ships available in one month's time, all of them armed to the teeth with soldiers and cannons." Donovan had finally gotten around to showing Elsa these "cannons". They were tubes of metal filled with some explosive powder, which launched an iron ball over a mile at devastating speeds. They were powerful enough to knock down castle walls, and every warship in Donovan's navy had been outfitted with at least one. They were a new technology, and Elsa was hoping against hope that the Mjolgir did not have them. Donovan was currently experimenting with creating miniature one that could be carried by individual men, but he was having little progress.
"Wow, that's a lot of ships." Kristoff said in amazement. Donovan shrugged. "First thing I became High Warlord, I made my army as technologically advanced as possible, preparing for anything."
Elsa looked down, face grim. "I'm sorry, Donovan, but-" He smiled and interrupted.
"Of course I will. Arradia will defend Arendelle against anything. I will send for Harid to gather all of Arradia's might to Arendelle, everything we have, within reason. And don't worry about logistics, we clean up after ourselves."
Elsa smiled back at him. "Thank you."
He took her hand in his. "Anything." He answered solemnly. Anna and Kristoff stared at them, and Donovan looked back at them, annoyed.
"What? It took you long enough to notice."
The Mjolgirn continue across the Northern Hemisphere, destroying Italia and burning the capital of Weselton to the ground. They are fought to a standstill in the East by an alliance of the Coronan and Itusian navies. Finally, Sagr sets his sights on Arendelle. The Arradian navy has yet to arrive, and the Grand Army of Arendelle numbers only 6,000 strong.
