Rakel, who had her hands lightly clasped on her lap, clenched the edge of the table. “I beg your pardon?”
“Captain Halvor will no longer be in control. Instead, I will be replacing him as your primary military expert.”
Rakel pushed her chair away from the table. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, snapping her skirts. She was vaguely aware that Tryggvi and Colonel Vardr hurried after her as she sailed through the celebration—people scrambling out of her path.
She approached one of the soldiers standing guard at the doors. “Where is Captain Halvor?”
The soldier bowed. “I believe he is off duty and is in his quarters, Princess.”
“Thank you.” She left the hall and navigated her way down the straight-shot hallways of the municipal building.
“Princess, is everything alright?” Tryggvi asked as they left the building and stepped into the wintery night.
This is why I detest falling unconscious—things spiral out of control, and I’m not even aware of it.“No, but I shall right it shortly.”
“This is nothing personal, Princess. It is how the army operates,” Colonel Vardr said, his voice stiff and unbending. “We have to uphold the system—even in times of war—or rank will mean nothing, and foot soldiers will ignore orders.”
Rakel ignored his useless sputtering and walked towards the barracks. “Knut,” she said, calling out to the gap-toothed soldier as he ambled past.
“Princess!” he bowed.
“Where are Captain Halvor’s quarters?”
Knut looked behind Rakel, saw Colonel Vardr, and put on a smile that split his face. “Right this way, Princess.” He led her into the stone, rectangular-shaped building and up to the second floor.
The whole time, Colonel Vardr lectured about order and rank. “Really, Princess, you are lucky to have made it so far with a mere captain aiding you. A major was held in the garrison encampment. He should have taken over leadership immediately.”
Knut stopped outside a room.
Rakel decided that if Halvor hadn’t heard Vardr’s lecture as they moved down the hallway, he deserved to be surprised, and she threw the door open with more force than necessary.
Captain Halvor was seated on a chair, in the middle of polishing his boots, so it seemed. “Princess,” he bowed to her and snapped a salute to Vardr. “Sir.”
“Why is it that Colonel Vardr claims he is my new military expert?” Rakel demanded, barely registering when Tryggvi leaned against a wall and rubbed his hands together in glee.
“He is my superior, Princess. It is a natural re-organization,” Captain Halvor said. “There are many in Glowma who outrank me, making them better choices to work with you.”
“So you were going to step aside and place my life in the hands of a man I do not know.”
“No, Princess. I was never excused from my post. My men and I will continue to guard you, under Colonel Vardr’s supervision.”
Rakel’s gaze flicked from Halvor to the smirking Vardr and clenched her hands together to keep herself from taking Halvor by the shoulders and shaking him. “Very well, then. I am giving you a field promotion to the position of general.”
Halvor stared; Knut—who hadn’t left as he hadn’t been specifically dismissed—cheered, and Vardr gasped. “That’s impossible! A captain cannot be elevated to the post of general in a singleday!” He sputtered, turning purple with rage.
“Really?” Rakel asked coolly, leveling her glacier blue eyes on the colonel. She took a step towards him. “Even though it is Halvor who aided me in freeing villages and encampments? Even though it is Halvor who organized and led the retaking of Glowma, giving orders to hundreds of soldiers who, while not belonging to his company, followed him gladly? He has more than proven his abilities.”
“I will not follow acaptain!” Vardr said.
“Then you will leave,” Rakel said.
Vardr backed up into a wall, still sputtering. “B-but, you can’t just?—!”
Rakel smiled—not the pleasant one she tried to show the villagers and soldiers, but an icy cold smile of winter. “Can’t I? I am Princess of Verglas. The only one with the power to overturn my decision is my brother. You are free to take your complaint to him, though reaching him will prove to be challenging. You could always try tophysicallystop me, which, frankly, will end more poorly for you than if you tried to infiltrate Ostfold alone.”
Vardr choked on his self-importance.
“General Halvor,” Tryggvi said, “if I might be so bold as to offer a suggestion. I feel, as the commanding officer, you might find it in your best interest to hold a re-organization of the army—to promote and demote. I’m afraid to say some officers did not act as they ought to while we were occupied. My staff would begladto share our observations with you.”
