chapter 14
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A knock on the door to the Great Room. "Queen Elsa, this is Kai. May I enter?"
"Enter."
Kai opens and closes the door behind him.
He coughs into his hand. "Most of the Councilors are here, and we can begin at 2 pm, as planned. However, a couple of potential problems have occurred, Queen Elsa."
Elsa slumps, "Tell me."
"First, and I believe it is a minor problem. The messenger I sent to the Bishop of Arendelle has returned. He says the Bishop will be late to the meeting. He is occupied with a pastoral matter. "
Elsa looks at Anna. Both shrug. "Not too surprising, Kai. I am sure that there a lot of people who need some help after last week."
Kai replies. "I agree. I just don't know how late he will be."
Elsa pauses, then says, "Since he is no longer my regnant and he is not an official member of the Council, his presence is not required. We can use the Castle's Priest Gunnerus for the opening prayer. Send a messenger back, please inform the Bishop that I give him permission to be late. I would appreciate an estimated time that he will be here, but that is not required."
Kai nods, accepting the orders.
'Things would have been different before Grandfather rewrote the constitution.' Elsa thinks. 'The Bishop was a member of the Council, before then. But, Grandfather, following the example of the American and French revolutions reduced the Bishop's role in government. Besides, I wonder...'
"Did my Father, as head of the Church of Arendelle, lead the prayer, or the Bishop?" Elsa asks Kai. "That is unclear in the minutes of the meetings that I remember."
"The Bishop, Your Majesty. When he was unavailable, the Castle's Priest gave the prayer."
"I wonder if, since this is the first meeting, should I?" She asks Kai.
Kai pauses. "Tradition says otherwise, Your Majesty."
Elsa nods, "Make sure the Gunnerus is in the room and is aware of his responsibility."
Kai nods, then he loudly coughs into his hand again.
"A big problem?" Anna asks.
He grimaces. "Councilor Axel Nicolai Herlofson is not here and my messenger...believes that he will be at least a half-hour late, if not longer."
Elsa closes her eyes and grimaces.
"What am I missing?" Anna asks, confused.
Queen Elsa and Kai share a look. She says, "It is a power play, Anna. If I delay the meeting, then he proves that he is more powerful than myself. We are waiting on him, not everyone waiting on the Queen."
She sighs, "I am sure that he has someone in the castle that will signal him at two. Someone on the walls? Look into that, Kai."
He nods.
She orders. "I wish to know who among your staff is not trustworthy."
A grim look appears and he bows, "Yes, Your Majesty."
She taps the table thinking. "IF I delay the meeting, he will signal something, and I start the meeting on time, he will signal something else. What...will Herlofson do?"
Kai coughs, "If I may?"
"Of course, Kai. I need advice."
"If the meeting starts on time, he'll rush here in anger."
"I showed him that I will not bow to him."
"If the meeting is delayed...he'll delay some more, to prove his power."
Queen Elsa nods, slowly. "I have bowed to him, before I even meet him, that will make him happy. But, if I go the other way, he will be angry. Do I want to start my first Council Meeting with an argument?"
She looks at Kai. "Opinion?"
He clears his throat. "The Bishop, when he was the regnant, delayed meetings until all were present. Even your Father, delayed meetings on occasion."
'Why did you delay, Papa? I knew Jens delayed some meetings, it is just that the minutes of those meetings never made it clear, why he delayed. I thought it was something like this.' Elsa thinks. 'Which means that Herlofson has the weight of recent habits on his side. Jens...How I wish you had more backbone. Things would have been different. Instead of a smooth transition of power, I must impose my will on the Council, first.'
Elsa's teeth grind. "Anna?"
"Are you sure, Elsa?" Anna asks. "I mean." She plays with her hair. "I... This isn't my cup of tea, you know?"
"Please?"
"You're more important than him." Anna states with in a final, there is no other answer, tone.
"And the argument?"
"From what you've said, the two of you aren't going to get along anyway." Anna shrugs. "So, why worry about it? There will be arguments between you two, no matter what."
Kai coughs. "It will affect how the other Councilors will act, Princess Anna."
"oh. Politics." Anna says in a small voice. "I did not think about that." Her voice hardens. "But, who is to lead. You or him, Elsa."
"Yes. That is the key. Thank you, Anna for helping me make up my mind."
Elsa looks up at the ceiling, takes a deep breath. She contemplates her future. 'Can I do it? Except for last week, I've never been in a fight. Oh, some wrestling matches with Anna when we were kids, but that was fun, not a real fight. Can I force my will on the Council? All of them are older, more experienced than I am. How, Papa, how I wish that I had some experience with people. How I wish that I could have, at least, watched a Council Meeting. Either I will succeed or my reign will be... a ruin. Once I do this, there is no turning back...' A pause. 'My plan is so...chancy. It would be soo easy to do nothing.'
Another deep breath...
Queen Elsa stands up, opens the door to the Great Room and steps into the room, before Kai or Anna can stop her. The people in the room, various castle servants and citizens talking and moving through the castle, stop and stare at her. Kai and Anna rush to follow her.
One the guards standing next to the door, slams the butt of his pole-arm onto the floor. "All bow! Queen Elsa!" The room stills.
"Master of the Household." She looks at Kai and she announces in a loud voice, "Today's Council Meeting will occur at 2pm. As scheduled. That is all. Prepare for the Meeting."
She looks over the Great Room. A buzz of conversation is beginning. She nods, firmly. She spins around and re-enters the waiting room. Kai remains in the Great Room. Anna follows her, closing the door behind her.
'Today will be very different.' Kai thinks. 'I knew that she was upset about how the Bishop was running the Council. I underestimated her frustration, though. I wonder...How much of it is her general feelings about being isolated and how much is it her disappointment with how the Bishop ran Arendelle while he was in charge. How hard will she push it? Elsa has mentioned her desire to clean up Arendelle, before. I just thought that she'd ease into her Reign, not start it with a bang.'
He stalks out of the Room, giving orders. 'I thought that with her powers, she'd be cautious with this first meeting, but. Anna, I suppose, was right. The Queen must lead. There will be a confrontation between her and Herlofson. I must warn Marcus. A few extra guards in the Council Room is a good thing.'
Recalling Herlofson's attempts to bribe hin, 'He needs to be cut down to size, anyway.' Kai smiles at that thought.
Inside the room.
Elsa collapses as she sits down. She buries her head in her hands, her loose hair tumbling onto the table.
"Elsa?"
A hiccup.
"Elsa? What's wrong?"
"For years, I have dreamed about being the Queen. It was always so easy...so easy to give orders in those dreams." Anna hears as Elsa whispers into her hands, between another hiccup. "Now... The effort to stand there and to throw down the gauntlet... Will I be able to go through with my plan?" Icy fog forms over her head, similar to the cloud over Olaf.
Anna kneels next to her sister. "Elsa. How can I help?" She places her arm around her sister, hugging her.
Elsa turns her head so she can face her sister. Anna moves the hair, so they can see each other's eyes. "Do you know how easy it would be to do nothing? To let Herlofson continue as he has. All, I as the Queen, really have to do is sign whatever is placed before me, Anna. That fulfills my legal responsibility. The Council is supposed to take care of the day-to-day business of running Arendella. I can dump all the responsibility on them." The icy fog covers the ceiling.
Elsa reaches out and touches Anna's face. "I can ignore them and spend time with you. I want...Oh. I want to take the time and be your sister. To take the time to play." Another hiccup. "For years I have planned on being the Queen. And now... now that I must act...I have second thoughts."
Anna takes Elsa's hand and squeezes it. "Elsa..." She licks her lips, "Olaf...told me that Love is putting someone's else's need before yours. Who do you love?"
"You." The icy fog vanishes.
Anna takes a deep breath. "I love you, Elsa. But, do you love the people of Arendelle?"
Elsa sits up and states, "Of course. I..." Another hiccup.
Anna interrupts, "Will you place their needs before yours?"
A pause.
A hiccup. Elsa covers her mouth.
Anna shakes her head. "Let's take care of those hiccups, Elsa. They're getting irritating."
Elsa nods and stands up, Anna also stands.
The door to the interior of the Castle opens, a maid with a carafe of water and a couple of glasses enters.
Elsa and Anna's eyes widen in panic.
They stand there... frozen. (the hiccup problem is gone, btw.)
"Queen Elsa." The maid bows to Elsa. "This will help you." She places the carafe on the table, fills a glass and walks to Elsa to hand it to her.
Ice forms of the floor around Elsa. The maid slips on the ice. Elsa grabs her, saving her from falling. The glass of water flies toward Anna, who avoids it, narrowly.
'I'm getting better at avoiding things.' Swiftly passes through her mind.
"I'm sorry. Sorry. Your Majesty." The maid pleads as she kneels on the floor, pulling out a cleaning rag from her clothes, so she can wipe up the watery mess.
"Do not worry." Elsa blinks. "I am afraid... I do not know your name?"
"Agathe."
"Agathe, do not worry. You were trying to help." She glances at the floor. The ice vanishes. Agathe cleans up the spilled water, as Elsa and Anna watch, exchanging many glances that could mean anything...
"With your permission." Agathe says as she stops at the door, about to open it.
"Yes."
"Be the Queen." Agathe whispers as she bows. "That everyone hopes for."
Stillness and quiet as she leaves the room.
Time passes...
"Will I place Arendelle's needs before mine? Is that not the definition of a Queen, that I wished to be?" Elsa says in a small voice.
Anna waits. 'Make the right choice, sister.'
Elsa walks in front of the mirror. "Anna, could you help me straighten up my dress?"
'Mental note: Have Gerda introduce me to the household staff. I will not embarrass myself again, by not knowing a name. Hmmm... Have them stitch their names on their clothes, so everyone can see the name? Maybe a patch? Something to think about.' Elsa thinks, trying not to think about...
After adjusting her clothes and her icy tiara. Elsa nods in satisfaction.
"I am the Queen of Arendelle."
"And Herlofson?"
"Will obey me or else."
Thank you for reading
jeff