Mistborn #02 The Well of Ascension

asked. "You're giving up?"
    "I'm not giving up, Ham," Elend said, finally turning to regard the group. "But I'm not going to use the city's armies to pressure the Assembly."
    "You'll lose your throne," Breeze said.
    "See reason, Elend," Ham said with a nod.
    "I will not be an exception to my own laws!" Elend said.
    "Don't be a fool," Tindwyl said. "You should—"
    "Tindwyl," Elend said, "respond to my ideas as you wish, but do not call me a fool again. I will not be belittled because I express my opinion!"
    Tindwyl paused, mouth partially open. Then she pressed her lips together and took her seat. Vin felt a quiet surge of satisfaction. You trained him, Tindwyl , she thought with a smile. Can you really complain if he stands up to you ?
    Elend walked forward, placing his hands on the table as he regarded the group. "Yes, we will respond. Dox, you write a letter informing the Assembly of our disappointment and feelings of betrayal—inform them of our success with Straff, and lay on the guilt as thickly as possible.
    "The rest of us will begin planning. We'll get the throne back. As has been stated, I know the law. I wrote it. There are ways to deal with this. Those ways do not , however, include sending our armies to secure the city. I will not be like the tyrants who would take Luthadel from us! I will not force the people to do my will, even if I know it is best for them."
    "Your Majesty," Tindwyl said carefully, "there is nothing immoral about securing your power during a time of chaos. People react irrationally during such times. That is one of the reasons why they need strong leadership. They need you."
    "Only if they want me, Tindwyl," Elend said.
    "Forgive me, Your Majesty," Tindwyl said, "but that statement seems somewhat naive to me."
    Elend smiled. "Perhaps it is. You can change my clothing and my bearing, but you can't change the soul of who I am. I'll do what I think is right—and that includes letting the Assembly depose me, if that is their choice."
    Tindwyl frowned. "And if you can't get your throne back through lawful means?"
    "Then I accept that fact," Elend said. "And do my best to help the kingdom anyway."
    So much for running away , Vin thought. However, she couldn't help smiling. Part of what she loved about Elend was his sincerity. His simple love for the people of Luthadel—his determination to do what was right for them—was what separated him from Kelsier. Even in martyrdom, Kelsier had displayed a hint of arrogance. He'd made certain that he would be remembered like few men who had ever lived.
    But Elend—to him, ruling the Central Dominance wasn't about fame or glory. For the first time, completely and honestly, she decided something. Elend was a far better king than Kelsier would ever have been.
    "I'm. . .not certain what I think of this experience, Mistress," a voice whispered beside her. Vin paused, looking down as she realized that she had begun idly scratching OreSeur's ears.
    She pulled her hand back with a start. "Sorry," she said.
    OreSeur shrugged, resting his head back on his paws.
    "So, you said there's a legal way to get the throne back," Ham said. "How do we go about it?"
    "The Assembly has one month to choose a new king," Elend said. "Nothing in the law says that the new king can't be the same as the old one. And, if they can't come up with a majority decision by that deadline, the throne reverts to me for a minimum of one year."
    "Complicated," Ham said, rubbing his chin.
    "What did you expect?" Breeze said. "It's the law."
    "I didn't mean the law itself," Ham said. "I meant getting the Assembly to either choose Elend or not choose anyone. They wouldn't have deposed him in the first place unless they had another person in mind for the throne."
    "Not necessarily," Dockson said. "Perhaps they simply meant this as a warning."
    "Perhaps," Elend said. "Gentlemen, I think this is a sign. I've been ignoring the Assembly—we thought that they were taken care of, since I got them to sign that proposal giving me right of parlay. However, we never realized that an easy way for them to get around that proposal was to choose a new king, then have him do as they wished."
    He sighed, shaking his head. "I have to admit, I've never been very good at handling the Assembly. They don't see me as a king, but as a colleague—and because of that, they can easily see themselves taking my place. I'll bet one of the Assemblymen has convinced the others to put him on the throne instead."
    "So, we