Chapter Text
"I have an announcement to make…" the emperor's voice echoed through the air, the voices of the assembled crowd faint in comparison.
"Ha! As if he could have anything shocking to say with such an announcement..." Eda muttered, folding her arms and refusing to look at such nonsense.
"Yeah! What kind of reveal could be so important?" King asks as he climbs onto the roof, helping Hooty get settled and keeping him from falling to the ground from the great height.
"The Day of Unity is cancelled!", announces the voice of the ruler of the Boiling Isles, sounding too happy with such a statement.
"What?" several voices exclaim at once.
Kikimora, Raine and Terra turn to see the image of the emperor, the three of them look very surprised by such words; while Eda nearly falls off the roof in surprise, she is caught in time by Luz and Amity, preventing her from ending up on the floor.
"There's no way Belos will cancel such plans, he's been talking about it for years…" Eda mentions, refusing to fall for the idiot's tricks.
"I'm sure you're wondering why, right?" The communication was one way, he can't tell that several of the villagers nod and murmur affirmatively.
There is a brief moment of silence, and the emperor sighs, drawing the attention of most of the Isles' residents.
"Well, I'm tired…" and that was all he said as his justification.
If anyone could see his face, they would have noticed that the emperor was smiling.
Everyone looked stunned at the image of the ruler before such phrases, unable to believe what he has mentioned.
"You know that I have ruled for fifty years as the emperor, I haven't had a single day off, and I thought, what better time than now..." His voice sounded very happy, as if he had discovered a great revelation.
"If I cancel everything on my schedule, it means I have free time", Belos radiated happiness, "Besides, it's silly…", his voice sounded cloudy at the real implications behind the day of the unity.
The stunned looks of all the listeners focused on the image of Belos.
It was as if Belos had sensed the disbelief of his people, "I don't expect them to understand how terrible it would have been to continue with that course of ideas…", he murmurs, but is still heard in the silence that has covered the area.
"Well, happy coven day everyone!" The emperor raises his magic staff, and it burns with a bright red light.
"Bye!" At this, the emperor's image fades in front of everyone, because he has smashed the intercom with the same staff in his hands.
Everyone present falls silent, when voices immediately rise, questioning what has happened, because there is no way the emperor would resign like that after so many years of planning.
An alarm sounds, renewing the attention of those present on stage.
Steve's image appears on the scene, looking shaken, behind him there are several glass shards, an abandoned white cloak and the emperor's mask lying on the ground.
"The emperor has disappeared!" Steve's voice says through a new intercom, being heard by all the residents; the panic only increased at his words.
Eda and the rest of the group watched the chaos from the roof, all the questioning cries, the anxious looks...
"Wow, Belos sure knows how to cause chaos around him…", Eda murmurs, a little proud of the bastard.
Those words confirm for Luz that the situation isn't a deception carried out by the emperor himself.
"So…", Luz tried to speak, drawing her attention away from the growing chaos, "What happens if the emperor disappears?" Luz questions, quite curious of the consequences in such a situation.
Eda and Amity look at each other for a moment, trying to agree whether or not to tell Luz about it; King breaks up the staring contest between them, startling the rest of the group when he himself shouts the answer...
"They are looking for the prince!" King exclaims, jumping between Eda and Amity, holding out both arms to emphasize his own words, drawing attention to himself.
"Look for the prince!" exclaims Kikimora at the same time as King.
The guards spread out at her order, trying to get results, they are quite anxious at the disappearance of the emperor.
The guards advance through the crowd, trying to find the young heir, since in an emergency situation, he's the only one they can go to.
"King!", Eda exclaims, angry at the scare caused.
The little rascal shows no guilt, as he proceeds to laugh despite Eda's reprimands and Amity's stares.
Luz is quite surprised by such information, she wasn't aware of that, she thought that Belos was the only existing member of royalty; well, you always learn something new every day.
"Is there a prince in the Boiling Isles?" Luz's question was met with an affirmative nod from Amity.
"Yes, Lilith mentioned that Belos has an heir," Eda mentions, looking at the commotion around her with a smile on her face.
Luz remains silent before barging in, "It's strange to imagine Belos having children…", Luz mentions, quite disturbed by the idea.
There is a brief moment of silence, where Amity, Eda and King agree with Luz's words, Hooty quickly interrupts the created calm, deciding to contribute crucial data to the conversation and clear up misunderstandings.
"Oh no, hoot…" Hooty mentions, getting too close to Luz's face, giving her a bright look, shaking slightly at the girl's crazy idea.
"The prince is the closest relative of the emperor, but he's not his son...", at such words, the group looks at Hooty, questioning with their eyes how he knows such information, but he doesn't answer, and prepares to continue speaking.
"No one knows how the emperor and the prince are related, but they are known to be relatives…" The shocked looks of the other four on the roof go unnoticed by Hooty.
"At least, close enough for the boy to be considered his successor…" Hooty falls silent, not responding to the questioning looks of the group, who are trying to figure out how he knows so much.
Silence reigns again in the group, in the distance, the murmurs are barely audible.
"Wow…" Luz sighs, leaning back on the roof.
"Do you think Belos really did run off on a required vacation trip?" King asks, putting quotation marks between the sentence.
"Well, I don't know that, but he certainly is capable of crazy things, one more isn't too much...", Eda internally applauds the idiot emperor, it's funny to watch all the members of the emperor's coven run in panic.
Luz watches the crowd gather, and from there she recognizes the golden guard, loitering in the crowd, but unidentifiable to those around him due to the absence of his distinctive uniform.
Hunter runs off, following a blurry figure blending into the crowd, the man was laughing at Kikimora's expression at the report of the emperor's disappearance; she will kill him if she finds him.
"You can't suddenly take a vacation like that, uncle!" Hunter chides, trying to keep up with the man.
"Of course I can!" exclaims Philip, and no one around him pays attention to such words, "I'm the emperor!" he shouts, surprising Hunter due to the collective deafness of the group around him.
"That's abuse of power!", Mentions the blond boy quite disturbed by the audacity of his uncle.
"I've ruled for fifty years without a day's rest, I deserve it!" His expression crinkles as he slams his progress to a halt, suddenly looking quite scared at the thought of continuing to work.
He turns around, looking at his nephew, "Besides, I never wanted the job!" He mentions it, shaking his head, hating so much those who harassed him to take the role of emperor of the Boiling Isles.
"I won't force you to succeed me!" He points a finger at his nephew, "It's horrible to have to lead, and those parasites are annoying…" he said referring to the annoying workers stuck to the side, bugging.
"I want to have a family break…"
“Is this why you brought me with you?” Hunter questions, holding her hood closer to his face, trying to hide his appearance.
"Yes, I want to spend family time with my nephew…" It was the best time to make up for lost time with his only relative.
"Besides, you're considered my heir…" Hunter gave him a confused look, and Philip went on to explain quickly, "If I disappear, you take over!" He points dramatically at the blond-haired boy.
At this, Hunter shuddered, blanching at the implication of having to put up with all the chaos that is rapidly forming; the boy ended up nodding in confirmation, accepting the crazy idea of the man who turns out to be his uncle.
With a whistle from Philip, a sky blue bird was called, and it landed perfectly in its owner's hands, perfectly transforming into a magical staff.
"Come on!" A hand was extended to Hunter, who accepted the gesture, giving in to the crazy plans made at the last minute.
They both flew away from the crowd.
Abusing the fact that no one knows their appearance, the emperor and the prince escape far from the collective panic caused by their absence.