Start chapter 11

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"Now, I must do this before those rumors can spread and grow out of control. Today is obviously not possible." Queen Elsa says, thinking out loud. "Tomorrow? Sunday... I will be attending Church in the morning, there will no way to get away until afternoon."

"Monday, then?" Gerda suggests.

Elsa shakes her head, no. "I must address this as soon as possible, Gerda. I must stop those rumors before they get out of hand. Sunday afternoon and early evening. Since it is summer, I should take advantage of the extra light." She looks at Kristoff, "Can you spread the word, generally, about this? Can this be done?"

Kristoff looks surprised, but after a few seconds of thought replies, "Yes. I think so, most of the guys will be there tonight. I can talk to them then. And tell them to hang out...Ah. Where?"

"The courtyard in front of City Hall, I assume will not due?" Elsa asks the question, but she is already anticipating the response.

"Yes, Your..." A quick glance at Anna, who is now paying attention to the conversation. "Yes, Elsa."

"Where are you going tonight?" Anna asks Kristoff.

"The Ice House, Anna." He replies, automatically.

Elsa frowns, "The Ice House? I seem to remember that name. Gerda?" She looks at her.

"The Ice House?" Gerda asks herself to give her a few second to think. "It's a tavern near the docks. Taxes are...paid, even if they are late and a little short. There is, though, a lot of violence there. Every couple of weeks, a month at most, there is some sort of fight there."

She looks hard at Kristoff. "Bjorgman is a common enough name that I can not be sure of this, but. I seem to remember a Bjorgman when the Guards talk about their fights at the Ice House."

He blushes and gushes out, "The Guard has arrested all the regulars at least once or twice, Ma'am. Sometime the Guard just takes everyone, throws them in jail for the night, and releases us the next morning."

Elsa, Gerda and Anna, look at him. He is a big, tall, strong man, who is clearly used to physical labor. Anna knows, from the experience with wolves, that he can fight. The other two can use their imaginations.

"Is there space outside it for a meeting?" Queen Elsa asks him.

"Just you and them?"

A nod.

"Yeah. There is a nearby dock that you can use."

Elsa turns to Gerda, "You will coordinate with Kai." She states.

Gerda asks. "Guards?"

"Yes." Elsa says off the top of her head.

'As Queen, I will have guards around me for the rest of my life. I must get used to that.' She thinks.

Gerda nods, a sensible precaution, especially for visiting the rough part of the city.

Anna and Kristoff both say, "No!"

Elsa raises an eyebrow in a silent question.

"They'd be afraid that you are going to arrest them." Kristoff says quickly.

"Anna?"

Anna frowns, "If you've got guards around, that means that you are afraid. At least that is what I think."

"I am not afraid of my subjects." Queen Elsa states. She frowns, "And I can not make my subjects afraid of me." A pause, "So, no guards."

"Queen Elsa." Gerda begins.

She holds up a hand, "The Captain can place some guards nearby." Snow and ice flare around her hand. She grins a crooked grin, "I think I can hold off a crowd, if needed. However, I see no reason for violence."

Kristoff clears his throat. "Umm.. Queen Elsa, I just realized that you haven't said what you're going to tell them?"

Queen Elsa smiles, "I'm going to save that for them, Mr Bjorgman." Her mysterious smile grows as she ignores requests from Anna and Gerda for an explanation.

There is a knock on the door to the Great Hall.

"Open." Gerda calls out.

Kai opens and closes the door behind him as he enters the room.

"I have everything prepared, Your Majesty." He bows to Queen Elsa. "The more complex cases I talked into a later audience, after you have a chance to review their documents. The others are simple things, that I feel would be good cases for a first day, especially on such short notice." He pauses, "You will be able to take of them, quickly. Then you can move to the courtyard for an informal session with you subjects."

Elsa grins, "So, you did notice Captain Marcus's show, then."

Kai nods. "The Councilor Lennart Michael noticed as well, Ma'am. He did not look happy."

She sighs, "I had hopes, but he is a stubborn man, at least that is the impression I've gotten from the letters I have sent to the Council."

Kai nods and thinks, 'Stubborn isn't quite correct, he just knows what he knows and changing that will be difficult.'

Elsa continues, "It will take more than that to convince him. Everything is ready then?"

He nods. "I just have to give the signal. You can enter when you hear the thump."

Elsa looks at Anna, "I know that you'll want to spend time with Kristoff, Anna, however."

Anna sigh and squeezes Kristoff's hand. "I will be with you, Elsa." She lets go of him.

"Thank you, Anna." Elsa smiles at her, "If you wish to arrange to met him later for lunch, I will not object."

Anna looks at Kristoff. He rubs the back of his head, "Well... I was thinking about going to the Ice House. You know, to get started on what Elsa said."

"Good. I will meet you there." Anna declares, before anyone can object.

Kai blinks and then coughs into his hand, "Anna, that tavern has a bad reputation. I would strongly recommend against that."

She pats Kristoff's arm, "Do not worry about that, Kai. I'm sure that Kristoff can protect me. He's done it before." She smiles, beaming at him, obviously trusting him.

Kai looks at Elsa, a pleading expression on his face. Gerda is also looking at her with a similar expression.

Elsa looks at Anna. She can not refuse her sister, not against that trusting expression on Anna's face. An expression that looks so similar to the trusting look Anna has given her...

She bows her head. She speaks in a low voice, "Mr Bjorgman?"

"I will protect her!" Kristoff stands upright in as close to a military brace of attention as he can do. "On my life and honor!"

Anna blushes, she did not expect this...

"Very Well." Elsa's voice breaks, "Anna, this is just lunch and I... I wish you to be with me this afternoon."

"Sure, no problems, Elsa. I'll be back." Anna goes to the door to the Great Hall. "Just like I'll be with you in a few minutes, right?"

Elsa smiles in relief. "Yes. You are correct, Anna."

Kristoff clears his throat, flicks his eyes at Kai, and asks, "Ah... Your Majesty, the guys are going to ask about Herlofson. Umm... Do you have anything you want me to say?"

"Axel Nicolai Herlofson?" Kai squeaks out while Queen Elsa is thinking.

Elsa nods at Gerda, in silent permission to explain.

While Gerda is speaking to Kai, Elsa thinks, 'Before last week... I was planning on using the feelings of good will that normally happen right after a new King or Queen begins to rule to slide him out of the council. Rearranging the Council at the start of a new reign is pretty common.' A sigh. 'I would, probably, have to appoint his younger brother, or that cousin of his, which would not stop the corruption. But it would have put everyone on notice that I was not going to allow corruption.'

She glances at her hands. 'Now...after last week. Do I push that hard? NO. Although...I must rethink this afternoon's council meeting. Still, if I do nothing, then Herlofson will consider me a pushover and he will increase his corruption. So, I must come up with something dramatic. Hmmmm...'

Kai, after waiting a couple of minutes, coughs, "Your Majesty?"

Elsa blinks and looks around. "I am sorry. I was lost in thought." She smiles at them. She looks at Kristoff, "I will bring him under control, Kristoff." A twitch of her lips, "Learning that he is abusing his power like you mentioned makes me want to throw him in prison, this afternoon."

Kai and Gerda start to speak, but stop when Queen Elsa holds up her hand. "But. To do that today would be very unwise. Between that action and my powers..." Snow covers her hand and then vanishes.

Kai and Gerda sigh in relief.

Queen Elsa looks at the paperwork in front of her. "Even this evidence is not enough, he will throw his accountant to the wolves, blaming him and calling him a thief." She waves her hand to Kristoff, "Even his men that are gathering those quote special fees unquote, ie bribes are not enough. He will claim that they were cheating everyone."

She looks into infinity, "I must avoid the appearance of tyranny..."

She thinks, 'It was so clear a couple of weeks ago. I would rearrange the Council, putting everyone on notice that I would not stand for corruption. Now, my powers and actually doing something... I must act, but... the shoals and reefs of politics.'

"How?" Anna asks, "You've got to do something?"

Elsa takes a deep breath and sighs, "Yes, I do. It will upset him, but given the letters we exchanged over the last few years..."

Queen Elsa thinks, 'Writing letters to the Council was all I could do to communicate with them, until last week.'

She looks at Kristoff, "Tell them, that I will go something, but I will need some help. We will have to arrange for them to bribe, or otherwise break the law, in front of witnesses. It will take more time than I would wish, but."

"But, you're not breaking the law yourself." Anna smiles.

Queen Elsa nods. "I must uphold the laws, not break them. If I break laws, then everyone can." She tapes her chin and looks at Kristoff, "The more bad feelings there are about him, the better. Once he has, in your words, pissed off enough people...I can act."

Everyone else in the room blushes as Queen Elsa utters those last few words.

Kristoff nods, "So, you want me to tell them that Herlofson will be stopped, but you need some help. We need to set up some of his shake downs with some guardsmen."

Elsa shakes her head, "No, other Councilors must the witness's, so there is no wiggle room. And, yes, it will take a few days before we can start this, Mr Bjorgman." She looks Kai. "You will have to coordinate things, Kai. I am sure that you can find some reason to meet with the Ice Master and Deliver on a semi-regular basis. Do not tell anyone else for a few days."

"Ahhmm." Anna breaks in, "What about me? Why can't I coordinate anything? I will be seeing Kristoff, also. And, if I see something like that, I'll report it."

Queen Elsa sighs, "Yes, of course. However, you are too close to me, Anna. A neutral party must report the crime." A flick of her eyes to Kristoff. "A, say, foreign ship Captain? If he is doing everything I suspect, he is squeezing illegal fees out of them."

Kristoff nods, he understands what Queen Elsa's plan.

Kai nods as well, as he thinks, 'Making sure that this works will be difficult, especially working with an inexperienced young man. From police records, he is a brawler who has been arrested several times at the Ice House. How am I supposed to do something subtle with a person that looks...' A flick up and down Kristoff, a sniff at the dirty clothes, 'A country bumpkin.'

Elsa looks at Anna, "Although, Anna... A couple of public arguments between you and him...might be useful."

Anna brightens up, "So, I can call him a crook?"

"After he does something in your presence, yes." Elsa smiles, "Feel free to call him everything that I can not."

Anna smiles. Queen Elsa smiles. Kristoff smiles. After exchanging a look Kai and Gerda smile, slowly.

Elsa stands in front of the mirror. She and Gerda adjust her clothes. They exchange a couple of low whispers.

"I am ready." She declares.

Kai enters the Great Hall. The sound of a staff hitting the floor.

Queen Elsa and Princess Anna enter the Great Hall.

Gerda grabs Kristoff and begins to explain things to him. The protection of Anna's reputation is a priority.

There will be a couple of guardsmen, disguised as laborers at the Ice House, just in case. Queen Elsa's orders.

End chapter 11

I'll be speeding up things in the next chapter, I've gotten Queen Elsa set up. Now to bring in some challenges.

Thank you for reading

jeff