Book 6: Showdown (The Kid Emperor of Occultoria)

Chapter 6 - Trouble in Celio

 "So the King of Celio was killed by his own Ice Phoenix?" repeated Archbishop Julius.
Max nodded.
The Archbishop smiled. "Good. Less work for you. I congratulate Your Imperial Majesty for having reconquered the Province of Celio. Sir Jordan was also an excellent choice as Viceroy. I see a lot of potential in that young man."
"Me too," said the Emperor. "But I've lost Magicka. What should we do about that?"
"Since we were unable to reconquer it by political means, we will just have to use force. But don't worry about Magicka. There are still five other provinces in the Empire left to reconquer. Some will be easier to retake than others."
The Archbishop looked like he wanted to say something, but he was hesitating.
Max noticed his advisor's pause and said, "What is it?"
The Regent took a deep breath. "When Princess Sanchia and her mother left, they took their contributions to the Imperial Treasury with them."
 "What do you mean?"
 "I mean to say, sire, that we are nearly bankrupt again."
Max frowned. "Bankrupt? So soon? What happened to the qiyou oil that the Duke of Monstria sent me?"
 "It takes a lot of money to run a whole empire, sire. The money from the qiyou oil is almost gone."
Max grew silent. He was thinking.
He asked, "There's no way we can raise taxes here in the Imperial Capital?"
"No, Your Imperial Majesty," replied the Archbishop. "The citizens of your Capital are already taxed to their limits. Any more and they would rise up in rebellion."
"Wait a minute," Max said. "I just reconquered another province. Surely Celio has some money it can contribute to the Imperial Treasury."
The Archbishop nodded. "Yes, you can issue an Imperial Edict to the Viceroy and ask him to begin taxation there immediately. For urgent messages sent by the Emperor of Occultoria, you can use the Tahitian red-billed rail."
Max nodded. He hoped that Celio would have enough money.
His thoughts then turned to Jessica. She had mysteriously vanished. He had hoped to find her in Celio but she was nowhere to be found.
He told the Archbishop about Jessica.
Julius said, "We'll get Joan Stanton and the rest of the Occultorian Intelligence Agency right on it. I'm sure they'll find at least a clue on her whereabouts."
Max nodded. He could only hope.

***

Viceroy Jordan was settling comfortably into his new role as Viceroy of Celio. He even had his own light-purple robes and a small crown made of clouds. The Emperor had entrusted him with governing Celio and Jordan wasn't going to let him down. But first, he had to look the part.
He was standing in front of the Celestial Palace, about to address the concerns of the citizens. The rule of King Yun had left them all nearly bankrupt and they were figuring out how to raise funds and grow prosperous again.
An aide, a cloud spirit named Opaque, came up to Jordan.
"Your Imperial Excellency," said the cloud spirit.
At first, Jordan didn't know he was being addressed. He wasn't used to be called Your Imperial Excellency, but he could certainly get used to it.
"Yes?" Jordan said.
"I think I see something coming."
The two of them looked into the near distance.
A red bird was hurrying toward them.
It hovered right in front of the Viceroy, carrying a piece of parchment in its mouth.
"Hear ye! Hear ye!" the bird proclaimed. "The Imperial Edict has arrived! It carries the weight of the authority of the Emperor of Occultoria! Bow down before it!"
Everyone knelt down.
The bird read aloud, "Imperial Edict #3! The Emperor is requesting that all citizens of Celio contribute to the Imperial Treasury. Failure to do so will be considered treason and is punishable by death! That is all."
As quickly as it had come, the bird dropped the Imperial Edict and flew away.
The Viceroy picked it up.
All the weather spirits immediately began grumbling.
"We're poor enough already. How can we contribute?"
"This is highway robbery."
 "I wished we had never rejoined the Empire."
The Viceroy raised one hand, calling for silence. "Your Emperor is calling on you for help. It is every patriotic Occultorian's duty to answer the summons. We will contribute as much as we can to the Imperial Treasury. We will...."
At that moment, Jordan was pelted by raindrops by rain spirits.
"We will not be exploited again!" cried a female rain spirit.
Soon, other weather spirits rallied to her cause.
The Viceroy was too shocked to speak. It looked like he had an open revolt on his hands.
When the rain spirits pelted him with raindrops one more time, he knew it was time to retreat into the castle.
He motioned for his aide to retreat with him.
The two of them hurried inside and shut the large wooden door.
Leaning against the door, Viceroy Jordan could hear and feel the thudding sound against the wood as the raindrops continued to be hurled.
"What do we do now?" he asked, water dripping down his face.
His aide Opaque looked at him with wide expressive eyes. "I don't know, my lord viceroy. Citizens always revolt when they hear news of big tax hikes. Maybe we could just wait it out."
The weather spirits now began pounding on the door.
Jordan's heart pounded heavily along with it.
He had been looking forward to being Viceroy, but now, he realized that the job wasn't going to be easy.
What he dreaded most was telling Max that not only did the citizens of Celio refuse to fork over taxes, but they were also rioting.
Jordan waited a few more minutes and when the pounding had stopped, he opened the door.
The crowd had dispersed.
Relieved, he leaned against the door and sighed.
This job was indeed hard, but he decided he wasn't going to give up. Celio might have been a poor province, but he was determined to make it affluent again.
The first thing he had to do was to write a note informing the Emperor of the riot and his advice on what to do from there.

***

Back in the Imperial Capital, the Emperor was taking a walk in the Imperial Gardens. It was a beautiful night and the moon was round and bright.
He was walking around the cobble-stoned path, toward a bubbling fountain.
A lot was on his mind, much more than what was normal for a kid.
But then again, he wasn't a kid anymore. He was officially a teenager, with teenage problems.
But what kind of teenager ruled over a million souls?
He was happy that Celio had been reconquered, but sad that he hadn't found Jessica.
Sometimes, he felt that he just needed a moment to be a kid. He didn't want all these adult problems that were plaguing him, weighing on his mind.
Ariel was walking alongside him. "Gorgeous night, isn't it, Max?"
The stars were out in full force, but Max barely glanced at them. "I guess."
When they arrived at the fountain, Max was amazed to see that it was the size and length of a swimming pool.
What a perfect opportunity to just be a kid again, he thought.
"I'm going for a swim," he said.
The cat began licking her paws. "As a feline, I hate water, so I'll stay right here."
She curled up into a ball and closed her eyes.
Max stripped down and then dove right in.
The cold water chilled his skin, but soon, he got used to it.
He began doing laps across the pool.
As his heart raced and the water caressed his skin, he was on a high.
What a thrill it was to forget all his problems and allow the water to hug him! He lost himself in the abyss of the water.
The more he swam, the more euphoric he felt.
He forgot all his mounting problems and focussed on all the fun he was having. For the first time in a very long time, he actually felt as carefree as a kid again.
He was in the middle of doing his sixth lap across when something shiny on the ground of the fountain caught his eye.
He dove down and was surprised to see a treasure chest.
He was even more surprised to see gold coins spilling out of it.
When he realized what he had just discovered, his eyes widened.
Summoning all his strength, he reached down, grabbed the chest and brought it with him to the surface.
He hauled the chest right out of the water and tossed it onto the ground beside Ariel.
The cat woke up with a jerk. "What's all this then?"
 "Gold," replied Max, getting out of the fountain. "It's going to fund my government for the next year."
 "Oh," exclaimed the cat. "It must be the famous Gatani Gold."
"Gatani Gold?" repeated Max, drying himself with his shirt.
"Yes," said the cat. "One of your ancestors, Emperor Gatani, was rumored to have hidden a treasure chest full of gold somewhere in the Imperial Palace. He was hiding it from his creditors. Who would have thought it would end up in the Imperial Fountain?"
Max grinned. Finally, some good news.
This treasure chest would be the solution to his empire's financial problems.