The Norwegian Reformation

[Odinson]

Continued From "The Norwegian Crisis"

Enoch watched over Oslo and the constitutional convention that was ongoing in the city like Batman. His dissolution of Parliament and the sacking of his ministers was technically against the very idea of Norway's democracy, but this vigilante-like measure was the only thing that he could do to prevent a civil war. The military maintained its loyalty to him, thanks in part to the great respect that the armed forces had for his uncle Ingvar who had been a general and was now the Chief of Defense. After the King's dramatic "Walk into Oslo" as some were calling it, he first made sure his most trusted advisers, their families, and his friends and family were safe. Then, he appointed many non-politicians to be ministers in his new temporary "Royal Government". While this Royal Government helped the King govern Norway, newly elected representatives from across the kingdom were dispatched to Oslo to reform the constitution to ensure that the Norwegian government may never be put in such a compromised position again. Enoch had faced exceptional stress during the time of these talks as well, in part, because he was unsure of what the new constitution would look like. Would Norway become the first Scandinavian nation to become a republic? Would dramatic measures be taken to limit certain freedoms of the people? What he most feared, along with those two things, was that there'd be exceptional measures in the constitution which he'd fundamentally disagree with. Luckily, however, things seemed to be going smoothly so far.

Enoch decided not to appoint a Prime Minister, meaning that he held ultimate authority as the heads of state and government until a new government was elected. However, he considered his Uncle Ingvar and his newly-appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mister Leif Holt, as his most trusted advisers. In fact, Enoch deferred many political decisions to Minister Holt who would in normal times be considered the second-highest ranking member of the government after the Prime Minister. Leif Holt was much older than King Enoch. Recently he celebrated his 50th birthday. He had never served in government before, but he was the Rector of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, which was located in the King's hometown of Trondheim. Enoch had actually met with him before he went to the university, and several times after while he was attending the university. They weren't exactly friends at the time, but Leif Holt had acted as an educational mentor of some sorts to Enoch. There had been several nights where they stayed up into the wee-hours of the morning discussing politics or science. Two years before Enoch graduated, he became a Freemason at the same Masonic Lodge that Leif belonged to. Since then, they had kept in touch. Enoch chose Leif Holt as his Foreign Minister because he suspected that in the future, he could be a very impartial and import leader for Norway. For now, Enoch was testing him in the Foreign Ministry.

Since the King had dissolved Parliament, extended periods of sleep had become more of a luxury than a necessity. Nights had gone by where he only managed 1-3 hours, and this is how it had been for the past three days. He'd recently received very encouraging messages from the King of The Netherlands and the British Government. Queen Sophia thought those messages, in particular, had given him the strength to keep on going. It was now 8 in the morning. Enoch had been up since 3AM with a meeting between himself, Minister Holt, and the Minister of Justice. They were having preliminary talks about security measures for the next election after the constitutional reforms. After the Minister of Justice left, Leif and Enoch had some time alone.

Leif poured himself and the King each a cup of coffee. Enoch was sitting at his desk, halfway asleep. It was still dark outside, but the day had begun.

"Here, Your Majesty. You need to stay awake. I visited the convention yesterday evening, and it looks like things will be coming to a close," Lief said. He sat down at one of the chairs that faced the king's desk. Enoch immediately perked up.

"So you have some news then," Enoch said as he grabbed his cup of coffee. He pressed the brim of it to his lips and looked at his Foreign Minister with bloodshot eyes. "Any specifics?"

"Yes..." Leif had some news that he wasn't exactly sure how to tell the King. "The resounding opinion is that you did a fantastic job handling this entire... affair, Your Majesty. The monarchy is safe, of course. But part of the constitutional revisions included measures regarding the Crown's official powers of the Norwegian government."

Enoch set down his coffee. "Are they... taking away my title as commander-in-chief? Do I no longer appoint the government?" Enoch's voice was eager. He wanted to know how he was being punished.

"No, sir... Are you familiar with how the French government is structured?"

Enoch rubbed his face with one of his hands and shrugged, "Is this your way of telling me that I'm going to be beheaded?"

"The French government has both a President and Prime Minister. The President had immediate purview over defense and foreign affairs, while the Prime Minister is primarily responsible for handling day-to-day operations of the country. The President appoints the Prime Minister with the consent of the Parliament, and the President either approves or denies his appointments to his cabinet. The President may also call for new elections at any time, or wait five years when they must happen automatically. It's more complicated beyond that, but the basic idea is that the President is the head of state while the Prime Minister is head of government. When they both belong to the same party, they can work together with incredible efficiency and power. From what I saw and heard yesterday, they would like to set up a similar system, where the monarch would have purview over foreign affairs, defense, and was responsible for advising the government which will be headed by a Prime Minister appointed by you, with the consent of the new parliament. They want you to be a real part of the system, Your Majesty."

Enoch's bloodshot eyes grew a little bit redder. He had a look on his face of disbelief. Leif couldn't tell whether he was happy or mad.

 

[Odinson]

These events happen after roughly a day after the previous post

That morning, Enoch slept in. In fact, he didn't wake up until the afternoon. The constitutional convention was polishing their proposals and articles that would comprise of the new Norwegian constitution, and the young King and his advisers were almost sure that the monarchy would pay an important role in the new government. However until the convention formally gave notice to the Crown, Enoch remained in full control as a benevolent king with absolute authority. In the past weeks, he and his "Royal Government" ensured that the government continued to function and that Norway remained open for domestic and international business. It was a tiring, daunting task, but that hard part was now over. In fact, believe it or not, the King's schedule was clear that day.

The relationship Enoch had with his wife Sophia was the ideal marriage. They truly were in love with one another, but they also worked very well together. Enoch, who would otherwise work himself to death, was balanced out by his more adventurous half who almost always gave him a different and more enlightened perspective in life. Sophia felt the same way about Enoch. She never told him, nor had she yet admitted it to herself, but marrying him emboldened her to take her own life more seriously and gave her meaning. The young king's patriotism and true love for his people quashed much of the cancerous cynicism that was attempting to engrain itself in the 21st century. She did feel in her heart, though, that she needed him. Coincidently, he needed her. It's so rare to be in a relationship, romantic or not, where two people consistently feed off of each other positively. Something Sophia also liked the young king for was his youthful spontaneity, which occasionally found itself in conflict with his diligence and, on a rare occasion, with his work-ethic.

Sophia was inside the royal palace in Oslo. They past few days had mostly involved her husband staying inside the palace, resolving less dramatic domestic problems where her charm and skills weren't needed. She occupied her time by tending to her garden, reading, and painting. At this moment, she was inside the small secret garden within the palace. It was her and Enoch's private place of refuge, where no one dared to disturb either of them.

The door to the room creaked open. Sophia turned around and observed her husband, the King of Norway, dressed in very average, pedestrian streetwear.

"You're going to abdicate in that?" she joked.

Enoch closed the door behind him and, making it obvious, looked her over possessively. She put her hands on her hips and posed for him as he did so. The Queen was simply wearing jeans, a white blouse, and a light jacket.

"I can't think of a way to insult you back," he replied. His eyes met hers as he stepped closer, placing one of his hands on his shoulder. "I think, right now, we should just say 'Fuck it'."

Sophia smiled. "Fuck it!..... Is that all you came for?"

Enoch shook his head and took out his phone. "If we leave right now, I think we can get to Osvik for dinner. Just imagine, two normal people like us getting dinner and sitting with the people in some small-town pub."

Sophia buttoned his London Fog jacket because it was surprisingly chilly in the secret garden. "You're a walking-mountain and I'm the wife of a walking-mountain. I think our cover would be blown in a few minutes, don't you?'

Enoch pulled up Google Maps on his government-issued smartphone and scrolled to the town of Osvik. "Tall trees there block out cell coverage. The town is more like a village. When we are found out, it wont spread like wildfire. I think we'd have a good time. I spoke to Uncle Ingvar and he said he'd arrange it so that we weren't missed. It'll be fun."

Sophia could see a certain sparkle in his eye and agreed, "That actually sounds really fun, husband. I hope they have fish and chips."

He smiled and took her hand, "I checked. They have fish a chips."

The two snuck downstairs past ministers and political advisers. The King's Guard prepared a private vehicle for the King and Queen. At first, Enoch insisted on driving, the soldier talked him out of it since it was likely to rain that night and Enoch didn't have much experience. The military and intelligence community conducted a small operation, mostly consisting of the King's Guard, to ensure the safety of the two royals, but the quiet nature of the trip meant they didn't need as much protecting as normal. Within an hour, they arrived in the town of Osvik. Massive trees surrounded it, like a sea of vegetation. In the middle were a cluster of cozy homes, local shops, a church, and a local watering-hole named "Woodsman's Pub."

Enoch stepped out first and splashed his combat boot into a puddle of water. Sophia lifted one of her legs from the interior of the car to the outside, but Enoch caught her ankle before her shoe could touch the wet ground. He playfully pulled her toward him, grabbed her from behind the knee and the other hand on her back, and swooned her around the water. She gently touched the ground on the other side and couldn't help but giggle. He closed the door behind him, and walked beside her to the pub which seemed to be awake and full of patrons. He grabbed a wet door-handle, and pulled it open. Sophia walked in first, followed by Enoch. What was revealed to them was anything but royal.

The inside had a rustic, but still aesthetic, feel to it. The entire interior was made from wood. A few animal heads adorned the walls maybe fifteen feet above their heads. There were also pictures of what Enoch presumed to be some of the town's past mayors and notable citizens. Above a gently crackling fireplace, however, was an almost overwhelming painting of Enoch standing beside Sophia who was sitting in a chair. In the painting, Enoch's face was serious, he had one hand resting on Sophia's shoulder, and the other resting on the hilt of his ceremonial sword. Anytime Sophia and her husband traveled to public places like this, she called these kinds of paintings "Wanted Posters" because once a member of the public identified them, they would act surprised, and oddly the first thing many people did was point at the painting and maintain contact with the royals, as if they were trying to inform them that they were the King and Queen of Norway. It took every ounce of her willpower to not whisper those words to her husband at this moment.

So far, as they stood just in front of the now-closed door, no one had made eye contact with them. Some of the patrons watched TV, but most were engrossed in conversation with each other, drinking, eating, or a combination of the three. Enoch pointed to a small wooden table near the bar which was empty.

"That's our place. I bet we make it there without anyone seeing," he said.
"It's a twenty-foot walk, no way they don't see us. Bet accepted," she replied.

Enoch led her between tables and beside distracted customers before they sat down at the simple table. It had a slight wobble to it, but Enoch fixed that with a sugar-packet. A pub girl whisked by with what looked to be a basket of fish and chips. Both Sophia and Enoch were suddenly starving. At that point, they noticed they much more wanted to eat than conversate, but soon that wasn't going to be an option. The same girl that brought the fish and chips to another table came to their table. She brushed off a few crumbs of friend batter from her blouse and looked up at them.

"Hi I'm Dagny! Would you two like an appetizer for..." she stopped talking and just stared for a moment, first at Enoch, and then over at Sophia. The 17 year-old waitress looked to be confused.

"Um, I'm sorry. You both bare a striking resemblance to the King and Queen," the girl said. She looked incredibly skeptical, like she was almost entirely positive it was them, but that it wouldn't make any sense for them to be there.

"I suppose we do," Sophia said with a friendly grin across her face. "Could we get some fish and chips, and I think we'll each take an Austmann if you have it. Does that work for you, deer?"

Instead of letting the girl hear his voice, Enoch simply nodded. Austmann was a craft beer from Enoch's home town of Trondheim, which probably didn't help them conceal their identities if the waitress knew her beers. She scribbled on a small notepad and looked up at Sophia as if a lightbulb had just gone up in her head.

"Could I please see your ID? I'm sure you're at least 18, but we're required to ask," the waitress said.

Sophia's face turned white. "Well... someone drove us here. I don't think I have it on me." Sophia looked over to Enoch for help.

Enoch leaned in and spoke in a softer voice, "We are the King and Queen... We don't have IDs."

 

[Odinson]

Dagny stumbled into the kitchen, still holding her notepad and pen in hand. She looked like she had just seen a ghost. The head chef, who was plating as basket of fish and chips briefly looked up at her.

"Something wrong Dagny? We're a tad busy at the moment," he said.

The waitress hung up the ticket she had just written down and pointed to it. "That's the King's table."

The chef looked at the ticket, "We're giving the tables actual names now?"

"No, like, King Enoch and the Queen are here."

The chef inspected Dagny from behind the line, and leaned in to get a better look at her, "You're not high right now, are you?"

Dagny frowned. She dropped her notepad on the pass that separated her and the chef and pulled out her phone. After a few seconds she handed it to the chef. It was a picture of the King and Queen sitting at table 7.

"Is this real?" he asked as he zoomed in. One of the cooks overheard the conversation and peaked at the phone while another basket of fish and chips were brought up to the pass. The head chef instinctively smashed the bell a few times, "Service!!"

He handed the phone back to Dagny and looked at the ticket she had just put up. "Listen up boys!" he shouted as he walked a bit further back into the kitchen.

In the pub itself, Sophia and Enoch casually watched as other patrons conversed with each other. Some of the people there were much older men and women, while others were young like them. Sophia was especially interested to hear what normal people talked about - Enoch was just happy to be ignored for the first time in years. He knew it couldn't last much longer, but he savored the ten or so minutes of it that he'd enjoyed. Dagny came back with the two beers they had ordered, along with the head chef and an older man who Enoch assumed was the owner.

Dagny still looked nervous, but she forced a smile and set the two beers down for Sophia and Enoch. The head chef, who looked to be about Enoch's age, set down the fish and chips between them. The owner elbowed the chef, who quickly took off his hat.

"Hello, Your Majesties," the owner said. "I'm Bjorn, I'm the owner of this pub. Is there anything else we can get you?"

Enoch could hear in the man's voice that they didn't want to go away. He resisted sighing and said, "No, I think we are good. This is everything that we ordered. It looks like you guys are pretty busy here tonight," Enoch looked around the packed pub. A few people were looking at their table, probably because the chef's white outfit was distracting. It seemed no one else had noticed Enoch and Sophia yet.
"I don't want to keep you if you're busy, but would the three of you like to join us? The Queen and I thought it would be nice to get out and hear from the people. A lot of things are changing right now."

Bjorn looked at the chef, who looked back at them. It almost seemed like they were speaking telepathically. The chef reassuringly nodded, probably indicating that the kitchen was in safe hands without him at the line.

"Absolutely, Your Majesty. We'd be happy to!" Bjorn clapped his hands together, went to another nearby table, and pulled up two chairs. One for the chef, and one for Dagny. Enoch briefly stood up and shook Bjorn's hand.

The chef offered his hand, which he quickly wiped off on his uniform before touching Enoch's. "Einar Moen, Your Majesty. It's nice to meet you. I hope you both enjoy the fish and chips."

Enoch smiled, as did Sophia. "Feel free to share with us," Sophia said. Dagny started to reach for a chip but she could feel Bjorn burning holes into the side of her head with a blazing stare. She quickly put her hand back down at her side. Enoch broke off a piece of the flaky fish and took a bite. He chewed for a couple of seconds and swallowed. The suspense was killing the chef until Enoch said, "Now that's first class."

Chef Moen gave a big smile and nodded thankfully. Sophia sipped her beer after also taking a bite.

"Honestly, part of the reason we came here tonight is because we wanted to get away from things in Oslo," Sophia said. "King Enoch has been busy with handling things since... the troubles started a few weeks ago. But for the first time in nearly a month we both have some free time. But we also thought this could be a good way to hear from normal people that are outside of the political bubble we're surrounded by in Oslo. Chef, you're a working man, Mister Bjorn you're a business owner, Dagny you're a young waitress - this entire pub is a diverse group of people. We wanted to know what you all have to think about current events."

Sophia grabbed a chip and looked over at her husband. A waiter had stopped what he was doing and was now standing by the table because he recognized the royal couple. Within the next three minutes, other people began gravitating toward Table 7 as others pointed toward them.

"I'm not sure what you're heard in the news," Enoch said as others gathered around. "But the constitutional convention is almost over. Soon we're going to have elections again. Parliament will be reinstated, and there will be a Prime Minister. Please, I ask you to be honest with me - I wont be offended. Do you think I did the right thing?" Enoch was referencing how he returned to Oslo with the Army, dissolved Parliament, and temporarily took control of the government after major election fraud resulted in a faux-victory for the Norwegian Communist Party.

Chef Moen spoke up, "We watched it here on the TV. Honestly, sir, we all thought you were just going to stay in Thondheim until the government resolved it. I know that I was worried the communist party and the Parliament were going to start some kind of civil war. What you did was pretty badass- er, sorry..."

Enoch leaned back in his chair and waved away his apology. "You work in a kitchen, it's alright. Dagny, what do you think?"

Dagny swallowed and thought for a solid five or so seconds before she spoke. "My parents thought you were trying to take over the government permanently, so they were pretty upset at first. I think your speech and this convention thing made them feel better. There wasn't a way you could have done this without involving the military?"

Enoch could tell she was hungry, so he pushed the basket of food toward Dagny. "It was literally the last thing I wanted to do. I'm not sure if you know who my Uncle Ingvar is, but he's a general in the Army. I asked him the same question that you're asking now. He told me that the possibility of peaceful solutions was evaporating, and that bringing in the Army was the only way to settle things down. I don't think I would have done it, but that character who was in charge of the communist party issued a warrant for the arrest of the Queen and I... It felt like it was my last option."

Dagny grabbed a piece of fish and nibbled on it. "Well, if we're going to have elections again, then I think you did the right thing."

By now, virtually everyone inside the pub was crowded around their table and was trying to listen to the conversation. The owner, Bjorn, chimed in at this point. "I read in Aftenposten that you might have some kind of role in the new government? Is that true?"

Enoch half-way shrugged and looked over to Sophia. Her eyes were urging him to say the truth. "I made a pledge to stay out of the constitutional convention - I only wanted civilian representatives to be involved, so I haven't heard that first-hand. But a friend of mine who was at the convention told me that he thinks I'll be playing a role in foreign affairs and the military. When the new Parliament is elected, the Prime Minister will tend to domestic matters. I didn't ask for that, but it seems they want to bestow that upon me. If that is true, what do you think of it?"

Bjorn could feel everyone in the room staring at him as he fiddled with one of the buttons on his shirt. "No one should have absolute power over any part of the government. As long as the government has ways of checking your power, and you have to work with the government, I'm open to the idea... You did save our democracy after all."

 

[Odinson]

Dagny broke off another piece of fish and quickly put it in her mouth while Bjorn was expressing his opinion. By the time he was done talking, she swallowed it. "Your Majesty," she said. "What party are you going to vote for?"

Everyone looked back at Enoch he made a small smile, but he did his best not to sound arrogant or that he was mocking her. "The Monarch isn't allowed to vote because only citizens of Norway may do so. If I could vote, I would abstain because I don't think the exceptional amount of influence the Crown has should be used to sway democratic elections. I want all of you to choose who you want to represent you. The constitutional reformers chose me to lead the military and represent Norway internationally, which I will do until I die or if the government decides it is no longer the Crown's place."

The room was silent after he answered, so he spoke up again. "Since I'm doing more than providing national unity, I've been practicing giving a politician's answer when sensitive questions arise. How did I do?" Enoch smiled as many of the people laughed.

For a millisecond Sophia glared at Dagny as she went for another piece of fish, but luckily no one noticed. Sophia was still pretty hungry but in the history of politics and public figures, it's never been attractive to watch someone else eat. She couldn't take it anymore, and took a chip from the basket to hopefully prevent Dagny from taking more. There was now one piece of fish left. Dagny looked at Enoch who was laughing at a joke someone had just said. She turned her head and looked at Sophia who stared back at her. They both looked at each other intently for what felt like forever. Enoch looked at the almost empty basket, picked up the last piece of fish and was about to put it in his mouth before he saw Sophia. The expression on her face was primal. He got scared and handed it over to her, "Um...It's still warm, deer."

Sophia took the fish and quickly took a bite out of it while Dagny was now only left with chips. Enoch sipped his beer and looked around to see if anyone had a question. Out of the corner of his right eye, he saw what looked to be some kind of uniform. Sure enough, it was a Royal Marine. When Enoch acknowledged the man's existence he snapped to attention and raised his rite arm to salute the King and Queen. Enoch stood up and saluted him back. "At ease Marine," he said.

The King shook his hand and then sat back down. "All of us in the service are excited to hear that you're going to be more involved with military affairs, sir. Are there any changes that you're going to make soon? My CO says that you're enigmatic."

Enoch raised his eyebrows and looked over to Sophia, "You hear that? I'm mysterious." Sophia rolled her eyes playfully.

Enoch turned back to the Marine and nodded, "I do have some changes I would like to make. We need a more powerful military to protect ourselves from an increasingly unstable world. I think we're lucky that there's other nations near us like the United Kingdom and The Netherlands who are stable and freedom-loving, but we cannot be entirely dependent on them. The two past governments have allowed our military forces to get to historic lows in some very unstable times. At the very least, we need to be able to defend ourselves and our values. What I want to make common in the Norwegian armed forces is that we put quality over quantity. We may not have a million soldiers, but we will have the best soldiers with the best equipment and outstanding training."

The few stragglers who had been watching television were now also around Enoch and Sophia, listening to the conversations they were having. After twenty more minutes of conversation, Enoch finally looked over to Sophia who nodded. He stood up and offered his hand to Bjorn, "It was very nice eating here tonight. You have a wonderful establishment." Bjorn seemed delighted beyond description.

Enoch also shook the Chef's hand and also thanked him before he passed some money to Dagny. "This should cover what we ate. I hope you all have a good night!"

Enoch escorted Sophia out of the pub. The people that had been crowded around their table parted like the Red Sea. The Royal Guard outside prepared for a departure. Enoch opened one of the passenger doors for Sophia, and then stepped in after her before closing the door. One of the Royal Guards did a 360 before stepping inside the lead car. He sat down in the driver's seat and radioed in, "Odin and Frigga are on the move."