Author's Note: There will be no more flashbacks. The story will proceed from this point forward in 'real' time, although I will probably note places and perhaps some passage of time if that is not clear from the context.
From the World English Dictionary:
escheat (ɪsˈtʃiːt) — n
(in feudal times) the reversion of property to the feudal lord in the absence of legal heirs or upon outlawry of the tenant
Trust me, you need to know this definition...(Authorial snark)
** Present Day - March, 1841 - Kingdom of Arendelle **
Monsieur Robin Pierre and Baron Bjorn Thorstad were enjoying after dinner brandy in front of the fireplace in Thorstad's study. The servants had been dismissed for the night and they were alone, the only sounds the crackling of the fire and the clock ticking on the mantle.
"So, my friend, how do you think our beloved Queen should suffer a mischief?" Thorstad asked Pierre.
Taking a sip of his brandy before replying, Pierre said, "She is your queen, my friend. I am but a visitor in this fair kingdom." He stared thoughtfully into the fire. "Your Admiral Naismith is a suspicious, paranoid man. It might be best if the mischief that takes the Queen befalls him as well." He sipped his drink again. "We must be extremely clever with this one."
"What about the Princess and her ice harvester friend?" Thorstad asked.
A shrug from Pierre, "That will be much easier. Harvesting ice is a dangerous business, n'est-ce pas? An accident is not all that unheard off."
Thorstad thought for a moment. "Timing will be tricky, then. They don't generally start harvesting ice in earnest until very late in May, early June. It will depend on how quickly the warm weather returns."
Pierre nodded. "Yes, but that gives us ample time to set up the mischief for the Queen and the Admiral. I think, perhaps, the beau should be taken first, so that the Queen can comfort the grieving Princess with all her sisterly love. Then, not long after, the Queen will meet her fate. A double blow to the Princess, and she will be ripe for the sympathy of a gentle and caring suitor as she struggles to manage her new duties of ruling the kingdom. "
"We should be introducing her to some of those gentle and caring men now, don't you think? They would appear to be somewhat suspicious if they were totally unknown to her until after the Queen's funeral." Thorstad suggested.
"Yes, a good plan. But who shall we be dangling in front of the Princess? There are no convenient thirteenth sons wandering around just now." Pierre cocked an eye at his companion.
Mulling this over, Thorstad responded, "You're right. We need to give this some careful thought." Going on, he said, "In the meantime, is there any way we could perhaps drive a wedge between the Princess and her beau, or even between her and her sister? We know she is insecure."
"Yes, I think there may be. A few words in the ear of Princess Anna, very subtle words to make her question whether this Kristoff is the right one, whether he is worthy of her. And more words to perhaps make her wonder if the Queen is quite so appreciative of the little sister as she seems."
The two men discussed their problem until the fire burned down, then Thorstad escorted Pierre to the door and bid him goodnight.
Pierre returned to his office at his main warehouse. It was located conveniently close to the docks where his ships brought in the goods he imported to Arendelle. Even at this late hour, the warehouse was busy with activity; ships came and went with the tides, and one had come to dock earlier in the evening. A continuous stream of wagons arrived from the docks and were unloaded, their contents stored in the appropriate section of the warehouse for later distribution. Supervisors checked each load against the ship's manifest and directed the workers to the correct storage space for the casks, barrels, and cases.
"Bon Soir, mon ami." Pierre greeted one of his countrymen as he hung his cloak on a peg on the office wall. His associate simply nodded in return, the desk in front of him covered with papers, ledgers, and manifests.
"Has that consignment of 'Special Edition' come in on this ship?" Pierre asked.
The man, who used the name Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, looked up at Pierre. "Oui. I have instructed our men to store it in the secured room so it will be safe from unauthorized sampling by the workmen."
"Excellent. We will have use of it soon. Very soon. It will make quite the impression on our new friends here in Arendelle, don't you think?"
"Indeed." Saint-Just went back to his ledgers.
Finally the ship's hold was empty, and the last of the cargo had been hauled to the warehouse and stored properly. The workers left, some to go home, some to enjoy food and drink at one of the taverns located conveniently near the docks and warehouses. These establishments generally stayed open all night long, except during the deepest part of the winter when the fjord froze over and no shipping came or went. Then they stayed open only 20 hours a day. The idle sailors and dock hands needed somewhere to spend their time while they waited for the thaw.
One such worker had a few drinks with his fellows, swapped gossip and flirted with the bar maids. Finally ready to go home, he called one such bar maid over to pay his bill.
"Hey, Brandy. More fine hospitality you've shown us this day. Here's a little extra for you!" He passed a wad of small bills to her with a wink and a slap on her behind. She simply laughed gaily at his joke and tucked the bills into her ample bodice, blowing a kiss to him as he staggered out the door.
Continuing to serve the rowdy crowd, she went over to a table where Erik Jorgensen was finishing a tankard of ale and had waved at her for a refill. She got another pint from the bar and brought it to him, setting it down with a flourish. "There you are, Erik. A little extra for you tonight."
Erik thanked her and smiled with appreciation as he watched her take the empties away with a saucy wiggle to her hips. He slid the folded piece of paper out from under the tankard and into his pocket. He was sure that Colonel Nordholm would find whatever was on the paper very interesting. He finished his ale, left some coins on the table, and went home.
Early the next morning, Erik knocked on Colonel Nordholm's office doorjamb. "'Morning, sir. Have a little extra in the dispatch for you this morning." He held out a thick folder.
"Just put it with the rest on the pile, Erik. I may never get home tonight." Nordholm nodded to a stack on the corner of his desk.
"Aye, aye, sir." Erik left the folder and returned to his own desk.
After the attack by Weselton Elsa and Admiral Naismith had decided that Arendelle was in need of a group of people responsible for seeking out information on people, groups, or kingdoms who might want to do Arendelle harm. The surprise attack had shaken them. The Admiral organized what he called the "Arendelle Intelligence Service" and put Colonel Nordholm in charge of it. Nordholm was flattered at the trust that the Admiral and the Queen had in him, but he often wished he was back on board a ship or on horseback leading a regiment of Marines. The endless stack of reports on his desk drove him to despair some days. Sifting real information from gossip or fantasy was maddening, and the thought of missing some crucial clue kept him up at night.
Some time later, Nordholm looked up to see Admiral Naismith entering his office. Naismith waved Nordholm off before he could get to his feet and salute. "Keep working, Colonel. I just stopped by for a few minutes before I went to the Council meeting."
"Aye, aye, sir." Nordholm did get up to close the door. This caused no attention from the others working in the office. Any conversation between the two of them was presumed to be confidential, and as such were generally conducted behind a thick, closed door. It would have been more notable if the door had remained open.
"Well?" Naismith asked. "I got the 'a little extra' message from Erik earlier. What do you have?"
"Nothing very promising concerning our good friend Rob Pierre, I'm afraid." Nordholm replied. "One of our people in his warehouse passed along a note last night about his ship that docked late yesterday. A large cargo, mostly the usual variety of cordials, wines, liqueurs and so forth. Plus a very expensive 'Special Edition' of brandy. The man seems determined to turn Arendelle into a mirror of Gallic drinking habits."
"Considering the profit margin on the stuff he's importing, he's certainly got the incentive."
"Indeed. Now, if we could only get him to supply rum for the Navy." Nordholm said with a grin. The quality of the rum doled out on board the ships of the Royal Arendelle Navy had been a running joke in the kingdom since before the Admiral was a midshipman. The sailors considered it a plot to drive up business at dockside taverns. Some rumors said the stuff was really intended to poison the rats in the hold when the sailors poured their rations into the bilge.
"Well, we can only continue to keep our eyes and ears open. There is no such thing as a perfect conspiracy, if indeed there is a conspiracy out there. Everyone makes mistakes. If there is something out there that's not just a figment of a paranoid imagination, we have to hope we see it before it's too late." The Admiral stirred as if to leave. "Do you have anything else for me?"
"There is one troubling account of a potential assassin entering the kingdom. Unfortunately, the report is very vague and from one of our less reliable sources. I wouldn't normally bother mentioning it, but...some people out there still fear the Queen and consider her an evil sorceress that deserves to die. For all we know, Weselton could have decided to be more subtle this time around." Nordholm commented.
"Well, keep on it. Send out some inquiries to our more reliable agents, and perhaps get a message to our man in Weselton. I'll mention it to the Queen, but she will probably discount it. We'll have to depend on the Queen's Own to keep her safe." The Admiral rose to leave. Nordholm walked him to the door and saluted as he left.
Princess Anna was attending the meeting of the Royal Advisory Council again, and had managed both to arrive on time and to avoid knocking over any water pitchers. She was smugly proud of herself.
Elsa adjourned the meeting exactly on time and everyone stood and bowed as she left. The Admiral followed her out the door. He had mentioned that he wished to speak to her in private, and she had told him to come to her study right after the meeting.
Anna had exchanged a few words with the Bishop and had then turned to go down for lunch with Elsa when Baron Thorstad approached her. "Your Highness." he murmured with a slight bow.
"Oh, Baron Thorstad. How are you?" she replied.
"May I compliment you on your attention to duty once again? Your presence indeed brightens our gatherings. I can only hope that your sister the Queen continues to invite you so that you can continue to learn from her." He smiled at her.
"Thank you. I'm afraid she will. I mean, not scared afraid, just...part of the training and all." As usual, she got a little flustered. Sighing to herself, she thought, "Why can't I be just as smart and elegant as Elsa is all the time?"
"I hope to see more of you, in any case. Have a good afternoon, Your Highness." Thorstad took his leave.
Elsa sat at her desk in her study and motioned the Admiral to a seat. "What do you have to share with me, Admiral?"
"Nothing very substantial, I'm afraid, Your Majesty. Just a nugget of troubling information that has come to Colonel Nordholm's attention that I felt you need to be aware of." The Admiral proceeded to relate the story of the potential assassin to Elsa.
"Hmm. You're right, that's both insubstantial and troubling. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do about it?" she asked him.
"Only that your guardsmen be more vigilant, if that is even possible. And that you and the Princess perhaps reduce public appearances until we are certain about this possible threat." he suggested.
Elsa shook her head. "No, Admiral. I hid away from my people for too long. They forgave me for it, and I am not going to go back into hiding now. Certainly not for something as will-o-the-wisp as this."
The Admiral sighed. He knew when he made the suggestion that she would probably brush it off. "I understand, Your Majesty. But please do give it more thought. There may be things you can do to reduce the risk."
"I shall. Thank you. Would you care to join my sister and me for lunch?" Elsa stood and walked him to the door.
"No, thank you, Your Majesty. I'm afraid I have too much on my desk today to indulge myself." He bowed and walked toward the castle entrance. Elsa went down to meet Anna for lunch, evaluating the information he had shared with her.
Anna was waiting when Elsa arrived. She smiled at her sister and said, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, honey. The Admiral had something he wanted me to know about."
Anna smiled in return and said, "No, even I can manage a ten minute delay for lunch." A growling stomach said that was a tiny fib. She looked chagrined at her body's betrayal.
Elsa just chuckled. "We'll make it up to you, I promise. I heard the cook talking about a special dessert today."
As they were finishing the meal, Anna noticed that Elsa had a somewhat distracted look on her face. "Elsa, is something wrong?"
The Queen looked at her. "No, Anna, not really. Just a somewhat vague report about an assassin trying to enter the kingdom."
"Whoa, Elsa, an assassin? Are you in danger?" Anna worried that there were still people out there that would want to depose Elsa from the throne by whatever means.
"No, no. We get these sorts of rumors and hearsay all the time. Colonel Nordholm and his staff spend a lot of time separating fact from fantasy. The Admiral was just doing due diligence. I wasn't going to worry you with it." Elsa tried to sound reassuring.
"Well...okay, if you say so." Anna remained a little skeptical.
"I do say so. Now, are you going to eat that chocolate cake, or do I have to escheat it to the Crown?" Elsa teased her sister and was rewarded with a pout and a glare as Anna pulled the dessert plate closer to herself and away from Elsa. Elsa laughed and took a bite of her own cake.
After the Council meeting, Baron Thorstad had gone to visit with Rob Pierre. Pierre had a very nice rented pied-à-terre, as he called it, in the well-to-do quarter of the town. It was spacious and comfortable, and he shared it with two of his top level subordinates. Since his business required him to travel extensively, it made sense to have a shared residence. Pierre had invited Thorstad for lunch and the Baron had accepted eagerly; Pierre's imported cook prepared meals that put even the castle provender to shame.
The sweet wine served as dessert was smooth and fruity tasting. Thorstad appreciated the range of tastes that Pierre had introduced to his palate. Native Arendelle cuisine ranged from dull to boring to lutefisk, a dish that made Thorstad shudder when he thought of it.
"Another excellent meal, Rob. My compliments to your chef, and my gratitude for the invitation." Thorstad said to his companion.
Pierre simply waved off this praise. "Let us repair to the study, shall we? I believe I have some suggestions that may start us toward the solution to our various problems."
Settling in front of the fireplace with another bottle of wine to pass the afternoon, Pierre dismissed the servant and filled their glasses himself.
"So, what suggestions do you have, Rob?" Thorstad said after an appreciative sip of his wine.
"Timing, as they say, is everything. In this case, I believe the enforced wait until ice harvesting begins again works in our favor." Pierre began. "We know that we need to have our Prince Charming at least become a familiar sight to the Princess, even as we do not want him to approach her yet. He must simply be someone that she has met several times in a social setting; someone of good birth and impeccable manner. Friendly, but not forward."
"Agreed. How do you suggest we introduce this paragon of virtue?" Thorstad asked.
"Parties." Pierre smiled thinly.
"Parties?"
"Specifically, wine tasting parties. My importing business is doing exceeding well; the booth at the Spring Festival was very popular. The next logical step is to introduce the exotic liqueurs and wines to a wider audience. The nobility and gentry always fancy themselves as arbiters of good taste and fashion. I believe that you should host a gala event to start this off," Pierre said.
"Me? Why me?"
"You are a member of the Royal Advisory Council. If you were to invite your associates, and the Queen, it would be a social coup and an event that would have the rest of the nobility begging you for an invitation."
Thorstad was a little skeptical. "What makes you think the Queen would accept such an invitation? She is no longer a recluse, but that hardly means that she is seen gallivanting around the town every day. She's more likely to spend time with the commoners in the marketplace than entertain the nobility."
"Ah, but that is something you can use to persuade her. Point out how it will endear her even further to the influential people of her kingdom, while at the same time providing a boost to an economic activity that benefits her merchant class. Mention that it will enable her to mingle with people in a situation where they may feel freer to express their true opinions, particularly if their tongues are loosened by the wine."
Thorstad had to admit the idea had merit. "And so, the Princess would attend as well? Where she would in the normal course of events, be introduced to our charming friend?"
"Yes. And not just at the first event. Other members of your noble class will be eager to host similar events, because it will have become 'fashionable'. And of course the Queen and her sister would be invited. I expect the Queen would not attend many of them, but the Princess is known to take great enjoyment in parties." Pierre explained.
"The Princess will be escorted by her ice harvester friend." Thorstad pointed out.
"All the better. Remember, we have no intention of wooing her at this time. It will be enough to simply be a familiar, friendly face. When our ice harvester meets a tragic accident, no suspicion will be attached to someone who simply wants to express his condolences to the Princess who will still be under the watchful eye of the Queen. Then, when the second tragedy strikes and she ascends the throne burdened by grief even deeper, well..." Pierre sipped his wine again.
"Subtle, my friend. Very subtle," Thorstad commented.
Pierre shrugged. "We must be subtle, Bjorn. Your Queen and her Admiral are intelligent and paranoid. Slipping past their defenses is not a trivial thing to accomplish. You see now why the delay works in our favor? There will be time for several such parties where our Princess may meet and enjoy the company of her own class."
Nodding thoughtfully, Thorstad asked, "So, once the Princess is grieving for her lost love, how then do we get past those defenses of the Queen? Her guardsmen are vigilant and brave. None of them would hesitate to save her life at the cost of their own. Not to mention the fact that her magic gives her a weapon she can deploy in her own defense."
"Very true. Analyzing the situation, we must realize that a close up assassination attempt would fail to get past her guardsmen, and she would then protect herself in any case. Additionally, we need something that would take the Admiral as well."
"So, what do you suggest?" Thorstad asked.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but the kingdom celebrates the coming of summer much as it did for spring?" Pierre said. Thorstad nodded.
"And does not the Bishop perform an invocation over the ships of the fleets during that celebration? A ceremony at which both the Queen and the Admiral are sure to be in attendance?" Pierre asked. Another nod from his companion.
Pierre settled back in his chair with satisfaction and continued. "Then, we have an appropriate event toward which to plan. Suppose an evil terrorist in the pay of the Duke of Weselton were to arrange for a large store of gunpowder to be under the platform used by the Bishop and other dignitaries for this invocation? The resulting explosion is not something even the Queen's magic would be able to stop. And in one swift blow, the kingdom would lose the Queen, the Admiral, and many other high officials. Not only would the Princess lose her sister, but would be bereft of many of the advisers that might look with suspicion at someone who wanted to console her."
Thorstad was shocked at the scope of bloodshed his associate was suggesting. "Rob, that's...that's horrific!"
Pierre looked at him solemnly. "Mon frere, one does not make an omelet without some egg breakage. It is possible to design the bomb so that the destruction is limited to the dignitaries if you wish to minimize the collateral damage. We shall do so."
Still a little shaken, Thorstad asked, "Where will we get the gunpowder?"
Pierre smiled grimly. "As it happens, I am importing some in small quantities as we speak. It is a 'Special Edition' of brandy, or so it says on the casks. By the time the summer solstice arrives, we will have more than enough to accomplish our goals."
"It seems that we have a plan, then. What must we do first?" Thorstad asked.
"The very first thing you must do is invite the Queen to your gala wine and liqueur tasting event. I will do all the planning and arranging for the party; all you must do is persuade Her Majesty that it will be for the good of Arendelle!"
"When will we have this event?"
"I think two weeks should be ample time for me to set everything up. The ship that arrived yesterday had a full cargo hold, with many new varieties of cognac, brandy and wine. We will be the toast of the kingdom, mon ami!" Pierre smiled broadly at his friend.
Thorstad lost no time reaching out to make an appointment with Elsa. She was able to fit him into her schedule the following day.
"Your Majesty, thank you so much for accommodating my request. I know how full your schedule is." Thorstad said as he bowed to her.
"Please, have a seat, Baron Thorstad. What can I do for you?" Elsa indicated he should take a seat in front of her desk.
He proceeded to explain the idea of the wine tasting party and invited her to attend. "I realize that it may be a bit presumptuous of me, Your Majesty, but such a social event where you are a guest, not the hostess, may prove to be a setting where your people would be more comfortable speaking freely to you about events or moods in the kingdom. And perhaps it would be more enjoyable for you when someone else is responsible for making sure all goes well." He smiled charmingly.
Elsa was a little skeptical, but she had to admit he had a point. She smiled back at him politely. "And when is this event, Baron? I must check my schedule."
He handed her two thick envelopes of the finest stationery. "It will be in two weeks. The details are here in the invitations, Your Majesty. I include one for the Princess Anna, as well. And a guest, should she choose to bring someone."
"Thank you, Baron Thorstad. Looking at my calendar, I believe I can accept your kind invitation." Elsa took the envelopes and laid them on her desk. Rising, she continued, "I hope I don't offend you, but I fit this meeting in with some difficulty, and I must get back to my other duties. Kai will escort you out."
Thorstad rose and bowed. "I understand completely, Your Majesty. Thank you so much for accepting my hospitality. I assure you, it will be a memorable event."
She picked up the envelopes after he left and skimmed through the invitation with her name on it. She looked thoughtful as she tapped it on her palm. She supposed he was right about the fact that she would enjoy not having the responsibility of throwing the party. She would still be the center of attention, though. She put the invitations aside and began reading another report from the endless stack on her desk.