A Battle Unseen

[Doc]

Cliff House, South Western Kaliburg
early May 5717

William, affectionately known to those around him as "Willy" passed by the living room. In there, he saw his mother, folding clothes that were taken out of the dryer recently. He looked at her cautiously, hoping she would remain unaware that he was watching her. Over the last couple months, he had got the sense that there was something of a change in how his mother, Aunt Nicki, Lady Melanie, and several others had been treating him. They were, he thought, perhaps less affectionate, more standoffish... A couple of times he noticed that several of these people, almost all in the circle closest to his mother, were speaking, and when they noticed him, they stopped abruptly and looked at him. His father, however never did that. But his mother... something had changed with her and he didn't like it, so he tried to tip toe by the entrance so he could go to his room without her seeing him.

"Willy, would you come in here please?" his mother said without looking up. She had a serious look on her face, and she was paying attention to the clothes of his sisters' that she was folding. He hesitated for a moment, and then entered the room. "Come sit here next to me for a minute. It's time we had a talk."

He just knew he was in trouble for something. He couldn't figure out what it was. Did she see the broken window in the basement? Was it some chore he hadn't done? His mother was not strict. In fact, she was extremely indulgent with her kids. So when she was upset, it made it that much worse. He stepped into the room, and walked very slowly toward her. She stopped, looked up and then turned her face toward him, and it almost freaked him out when she smiled, and said "Come on, nothing is wrong. Come sit down right here on the couch. You and I have to have a conversation." He froze for a second, and she noticed, patted the cushion next to her as if to encourage him and almost hypnotized, he moved toward her, quite against his will.

He sat down, not saying a word. She put the shirt she was folding back into the basket and kind of kicked it out of the way. Willy's mother could be very intimidating sometimes. The smile sort of faded from her face as she studied his. The boy's blue eyes. His dark wavy hair... he looked a lot like his father. He looked a lot like her own older brother, the one she idolized as a kid. The one who had no interest in her, who pushed her out of the way all the time, who told her she was a silly little kid, who never wanted to watch her plays...

"Willy, I was about your age when I lost my father and mother, and my two brothers, Maybe a little younger..." He had heard this story maybe one time before, so this was news to him, but he didn't really know how to process it. "I was a very little girl, when I went to live at Aunt Nicki's house in Luxon. I was very scared, let me tell you. She was a real wreck, and I kind of was forced to learn how to take care of myself in that moment. It was a couple years before she was ok again. Did I ever tell you about all that?"

"No mom, I don't think you did," the boy answered. "I mean, I knew about your parents, but you don't talk a lot about them."

"No, I suppose I don't," she answered. "I... it was a very difficult time for me and my aunt and uncle. A very difficult time. I don't really want to talk much about that. I only bring it up because I started training to become the Empress very soon after that. My uncle Andrew and the Chancellor at the time, Lady Ericka, you have met her a few times, decided that education would take my mind off how miserable I was around my aunt. They thought a little 12 year old girl just needed to be distracted. I was never supposed to be who I became, you know. I was supposed to an actress. Or a model... Never the Empress..."

"Mom, why are you telling me this?" asked Willy, who was sort of confused, while he tried to show compassion at the same time.

"Well." she said with some thought. "I don't... know... how to..." She stopped short... "Let's play a game..."

"Come on mom, I have homework..."

"No this will just take a few minutes, ok? Just indulge me... Go along with me."

Willy thought it couldn't hurt. So he nodded.

"Ok, let's say you have, like a superpower. Let's say you can do anything you like, you can make anything you like happen... What would you do?"

"Oh that's easy," said Willy with a smile. "I would give myself a million pesos."

"A million pesos, huh?" asked his mother with a smile. "You would give yourself a million pesos with a superpower? Like giving yourself money would be your super power?"

"Totally, mom. Think of all those people who can't do that! If I had a superpower it would be to get a million pesos."

Carolina thought. "What would you do with a million pesos?"

"Well, I would buy candy first, and probably a car and then I would probably play the lottery and win more money."

This was not going in the direction Carolina thought it would. But what did she expect? She asked a 13 year old boy what he wanted: Of course he's going to think like a venture capitalist. She decided to try the question again.

"Well, lets say you had a million pesos already," she said. "Let's say you had three wishes. What would your first wish be? You can wish for anything..."

"Easy," he said. "I'd wish for unlimited wishes, so I can get whatever else I want." Carolina rolled her eyes.

"Son, you need to think bigger..." she said.

"Bigger than unlimited wishes?" he asked. "I mean... it would be cool to meet Thomas Jones. That would be very cool."

Carolina had to stifle a laugh. That guy was more important to her son than a million pesos and unlimited wishes...

"Imagine that your word was law. What you said was the law. What would your first law be?"

Willy noticed the shift: the playfulness sort of left her voice as she asked him this question. He was sort of struck by the way she put that, for some reason. It was just something he noticed and then it went, like a single discharge of a rifle in the mountains, long enough to notice it, not long enough to identify which direction it came from...

"I suppose..." he said thoughtfully. "If I could make any law I wanted, I would... I would say that we should make sure everyone has a home."

Carolina was surprised by the answer. "Why would that be your first law?" she asked.

"Well," he said. "We were learning in class about how some countries, and even someplaces in Kalistan, have homeless people and their lives are very hard. And one girl in my class raised her hand and asked if living in a car makes a person homeless, and the teacher said sometimes that is what it means. And this girl got real quiet, and I think that she might live with her mom in their car, and the teacher didn't know that. I would want for her and her mom to have a home."

Carolina smiled. "Yes, that is very sensible," she said. "And it is also very ethical. If you have the power to make any law, it is always best to start making laws to help those who are unable to help themselves. Would you make laws that help the wealthy?"

Willy thought for a moment. "I... I don't think so."

Carolina looked at him. "And why not? You would make laws to help the poor, but not the wealthy?"

Willy decided to think for a moment. "Well, of course: the wealthy can buy whatever they want. If you have a million pesos, you can do anything you want. We learned about this in school. Our teacher said that the only reason we even have government is to allow our community to do things that we can't do by ourselves. Its why people pay taxes, its why we have a fire department and a police department. We should support those things not only for our own benefit, but for everyone's benefit. But the poor still need these things even if they can't afford to pay for them, while the rich can pay taxes and their wealth isn't changed a bit. So yeah, I would make laws to help the poor, and the wealthy get to benefit because they have a million pesos."

Carolina laughed. "So you think a million pesos is a lot, huh?"

"Its more money that I can even imagine," said Willy. "We did the math in school and we saw that a worker in Kalistan will make a million pesos in thirty years of work at a normal job. If I had a million pesos, I wouldn't have to work."

"A million pesos, huh..." Carolina smiled. "Yeah, that would be nice. It would be nice if everyone had a million pesos..."

Willy laughed. "Yes it would. So I would also make a law saying everyone gets a million pesos."

Carolina smiled. She was very proud of her son's big heart. "Don't worry Willy, some day you might be able to make that law..."

Her son smiled, almost forgetting his earlier trepidation. "Maybe you should make that law now, Mom," he said. "You're the Empress, and the teacher says you make whatever laws you want. What you say goes. It's the law."

Carolina's smile faded. "Well, perhaps your teacher is right about that, but sometimes its a little harder than just wanting it... Sometimes I have to figure out where its going to come from. That's often the harder part."

Willy noticed the change in his mother's complexion and tried to change the subject. "Mom, are you ok?"

Carolina looked at him square in the eye. "You are my son and I love you very much. I am going to officially name you Crown Prince next month, you will formally be named my heir and you will be the next Emperor when I am no longer Empress."

Willy, still smiling a little, said, "I said you're the Empress."

Carolina answered, "No not forever. You're 13 years old now, and it is time to start teaching you how to become my replacement. You aren't a little kid anymore. Lady Melanie and Lady Christina will be here tonight, and it'll be official by the time you go to bed. I am sorry. I held out as long as I could, but... it won't do you any good to delay anymore. Your heart is in the right place. You are a kind and honest boy. You will be a good Emperor."

Willy was suddenly filled with dread. Her declaration hit him like a ton of bricks. "Mom? I'm scared."

Carolina said, "Don't be, you're just going to be learning. We don't have to like chop off a finger or anything..." she smiled and held up her hands. "See? All ten of them are still there. It's not something to be scared of. It's just a real big job, it's your future, your destiny. It is what you were born to do."

Willy sat still and took it in a bit. "What if I don't want to do it."

Carolina hugged the boy. She knew it was something that he didn't really have a choice in. It was his solitary obligation in a society that was defined by civic duty. "Look at it this way. You'll get a million pesos..."

He smiled and looked up at her. "Really?"

She laughed at the absurdity of the question. "And then some..." she answered.

"Will I get to meet Thomas Jones?" he asked.

"Sure, if you like you can meet whoever you want." she answered.

He smiled and nodded his head as if that settled it. "Fine then. I guess I'll be the Emperor." She smiled and nodded her head too.