A/N: As english is not my first language and this is my first time translating a longer text firstly written in german (visit /s/4d14520d0000c7d906625d78 for the original) into it, please be gentle. Critique is highly appreciated, though. The oneshot may offend you, especially as it uses LelouchxNunnally as the primary pairing (although only implied) - anyway, give it a chance. Merry Christmas.
Celebration of Love
5.12.2019 a.t.b.
Imperial Capital of New Pendragon, Holy Britannian Empire
Usually the streets and lanes in New Pendragon's Imperial Parks and Gardens would have been freed from their cold, white cover this early in the morning by the omnipresent army of nameless servants, but she had directed them to omit this: she wanted, when she had finally fought her way from her four-poster's soft pillows to her wheelchair in the morning – since she always avoided having her frail, crippled body, which he had nevertheless deemed worthy, worthy to be the only one touched by him, easily touched by anonymous servants, unknown to him – to move her wheelchair to a window and be able to see the virginal snow on meadows and trees, on bushes and hedges.
Nunnally vi Britannia, the one hundredth empress of the Holy Britannnian Empire, loved the snow, since she had overcome her father's geass and widely opened her eyes: it's dazzling white symbolized the innocence she and her brother had lost – early, far too early – and reminded her of white, blood-soaked, jewel-spangled imperial garments. It was the colour of the bible's lamb, whose death should finally have brought mankind what it desired the most: true peace.
At the britannian homeland's east coast, in New England, winter came far more early than in Tokyo, then the capital of Area 11, now the one of the United States of Japan, where it rarely snowed, often making it possible for the members of Ashford Academy's student council to celebrate her brothers birthday open-air.
Nunnally noticed a dark figure running through the snow, the only thing disturbing the scenery. She did not recognize the characteristic mask of her confidant, but the black cape was well-known to her and she knew Suzaku-san's plan for training by heart: on thursday mornings he ran exactly five kilometres before dedicating himself to the nation's business. He owed this precision not only his great responsibilitys, but also the reputation that his predecessor had built himself.
She could hear the click of heavy boots on thin red carpet on marble floor in the hallway. Someone knocked on the door, powerful and energetic. In a low and weak voice she called „come in" and her brother Schneizel entered the room, followed by several servants.
„Good morning, my empress", he said, and without turning around she knew that he was bowing gallantly. „I hope that you had a good sleep...?"
Slowly, Nunnally turned her wheelchair towards Schneizel, with some effort created a fake smile and, as always, lied to him: yes, she had slept well, while in the next room – a, compared to the palace's other rooms, relatively small dining-hall – the servants arranged the usual, opulent breakfast. She smelled the scent of pastries, all kinds of egg dishes and cake.
The truth was, of course, that she never slept well, if at all, no matter how peaceful the world, how calm her rule was. Already in that awful year she had spent without her brother as a princess in the old capital, from which she finally had fled back to Area 11 – away from Carline and her other siblings, back to her brother, whom she couldn't meet there, nevertheless – she had lied uneasily in her bed at night, touched herself and wished that her brother was there to hold her hand. After his sacrificial death it only turned worse, as now even the hope that he would return had vanished. Not even Suzaku-san could fill the gap her brother had left behind in her life.
Careful, as though she were a fragile porcellain doll, Schneizel, who now once again was the acting britannian head of government as well as the minister for affairs of the court, took her wheelchair's handles and pushed her into the adjacent, kept in shades of brown dining-hall.
Nunnally noticed the ironed Pendragon Herald's exemplary on a side table, and immediately it was presented to her by a servant in the imperial livery.
The journal titled in it's distinctive objective-cold style „Preponed presidential elections in the EU result in a clear majority for office-holder von Stetten", beneath a picture of the contended winner at his adjuration in Brussels. She would have to write a few words of congratulations to his office, as the diplomatic protocol demanded.
While Schneizel read the list of her appointments and duties for the day to her and her hand took a scone out of a basket on the table, Nunnally noticed the date in the paper's headline: it was the 5th of december 2019 a.t.b.. The crude information made her feel as if someone had stabbed her in the heart and turned over her stomach: slowly she laid down the pastry on top of the pyramid of twins.
„...at eight o'clock your Majesty will greet the United States of Japan's military attaché and observor for the Order of the Black Knights, his Excellency General Tōdō Kyoshirō for dinner", Schneizel ended his report, „Also, Lord Zero and the Earls of Pennsylvania, Florida and West Virginia will be present as well as the Duke of Alaska and the archbishop of New York. This will be everything. If your Majesty requires something..."
Once again Nunnally gazed out of the window. Zero's dark figure had vanished, instead of him a squad of Her Majesty's Imperial Guards of New England in their characteristic red uniforms with white cord and bearskin caps marched towards the changing of the guards at the Imperial Palace's front gate.
She remembered how she and her brother together with Euphemia had once built a snowman in Imperial Villa Aries' park: the three childs barely were able to haul the topmost ball on the body, so that they finally had to ask one of the knights guarding the property to do so. A few days after that they and the li Britannia family had gathered in Aries Villa again to celebrate christmas: the last she, her brother, their mother Marianne and their half-sisters Cornelia and Euphemia could have celebrated together.
Back then they had adjourned to the private drawing room that served as a living room to the vi Britannia family after dinner – a menu of multiple courses, personally prepared by Lady Marianne herself – where under a brightly decorated christmas tree the children's presents waited. Of course, plenty of presents to keep up appearances would follow, sent by nobles and admirers. Nunnally remembered only vague what she had obtained. But when she had opened her brother's present she – full of joy and gratitude – had given him, who had been busy unwrapping a daedal chessboard with chessmen made of crystal, a slight peck on his cheek – just in the same moment as Euphie on his other side, which had made Lady Marianne and Lady Eleanor laugh and jokingly worry about „inapprobiate behaviour" between him and the girls.
O the times, o the customs! How prophetic they were.
And now Nunnally said without looking up: „I want to hold a christmas party."
Schneizel gave a slight cough. „Your Majesty, if I may indicate that the annual Yule Ball is taking place on December 22nd? Besides, it is already the fifth. It'd be on an extremely short notice. The invitation for the Yule festival in palace are already sent out in October."
Now, however, Nunnally turned her wheelchair towards Prince Schneizel to look at him.
„I know that. But I rather thought of a real christmas party, with a christmas tree and the full panoply..."
The prime minister smiled at seeing how Nunnally had become slightly ecstatic about the description of her vision. Of course, he thought, in spite of her titles and position, she is nothing but a young, innocent girl.
„I understand, my empress." He paused, then looked down at the list of the monarch's schedule for the day. „I'll send over a state secretary from the Court Ministry to your office about three o'clock in the afternoon to talk about the details, especially the guest list, if it suits your Majesty."
„Fine, Schneizel", she said. Formerly she would have called him „brother", but that was over as well. Once again he bowed, then he left her chambers, followed by the servants. It was not until the double door's wings shut after them and the guardsmen outside snappishly and audibly clicked their heels that she relaxed.
Nunnally forced herself to drink up the still steaming cup of Earl Grey in front of her, yet ignored the numerous foods on the breakfast table, then took a long, very hot shower, until her skin was red, once again without enlisting for the assistance of servants.
Onii-sama... Happy Birthday.
Her Imperial Majesty
Nunnally vi Britannia
100th Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire
Invites thee
Jiang Lihua
1st Empress and Tianzi of the United States of China
As well as a companion
To a celebration of christmas
On 24th of December 2019 a.t.b. in the Imperial Palaces of New Pendragon
24.12.2019 a.t.b.
Imperial Capital of New Pendragon, Holy Britannian Empire
And so, the day had come.
Already two days ago, on sunday, the day of winter solstice, the ministry of court – acting for the empress – had invited the empire's high society for the annual Yule Ball. It had been embarassing to sit in her wheelchair in front of this many people, all of whom she did not or only from the media knew, and watch everything from high up, from her raised platform at the ball room's front wall. Her Majesty's Prime Minister, Prince Schneizel, had to take over evening's first dance seeing that her body was obviously not suited for dancing. He and his companion of course passed with flying colours.
It had been late in the evening as the ball really begun – the young high society of the beautiful and the rich as well as the few nobles who were even without their apanages and tax revenues rich – or infamous – enough to appear in this environment, where they were once again sovereigns due to their illustrious names, coats of arms and bloodlines, if only on the dance floor, awakened not until midnight.
While her brother had managed to disempower the nobility completely, she was not in a position to do so: be it due to a lack of backing or due to her fear of hurting someone, she had not been able to accomplish this against the will of the empire's conservative forces and had to undo most of her brother's reforms. However, the things nobody could now abolish again without starting a civil war had stayed: fiscal equalty, the same number of votes – one – at the elections for the Imperial Senate and of course the abolishment of the giant apanages not only for the princes and princesses of the empire – most of them hadn't survived the destruction of Pendragon anyways, all of them had died at her hand, she had killed her siblings! – but also for the high nobility.
Those reforms had at one go restored the exchequer this effectful that her Holy Britannian Empire could, according to the Minister of the Treasury's calculations, even shrunken and disarmed conquer the whole world a second time. Yet this was not Nunnally's wish – since how, she had snarled the completely dumbfounded bureaucrat, how could she do that and make all of her brother's sacrifices senseless and void? She had only calmed down when Zero had laid his hand on her shoulder warningly. Nonetheless the empire's Minister of Treasury had shortly after resigned from the affairs of state until he had died at a traffic accident.
And now was the 24th december's evening.
Christmas Eve.
Already on the fifth the ministry of court had sent invitations to the whole world and in the last days the various guests of state invited to the christmas party had landed and had been housed in their respective embassies and the noblest hotels of New Pendragon: Secretary-General Sumeragi, the Tianzi and prime minister Ōgi were only a few of them.
And everyone acted on her wish.
It had been necessary to second guards of honour: they had been seconded. It had been necessary to obtain a huge fir as a christmas tree for the palace square: it had been obtained. It had been necessary to require a Black Knight's battalion to guard the guests: it had been required and shortly after the men arrived with their Knightmares under the command of Colonel Kōzuki.
While the palace chefs rarely were busy in the days after the Yule Ball, they now tried to best each other with ever new creations and in suggesting menus until Prince Schneizel exercised his authority after shortly consultating himself with her: they would prepare a buffet.
Since only relatively few guests were invited, they had not prepared the grand ball room, whose counterpart in the old capital once had been the empire's social center, but only one of the palace's many salons as well as two adjacent rooms – a dining hall and a library.
The first to arrive were General Tōdō and a young, surprisingly beautiful woman, whom her companion introduced to Nunnally as his fiancée, Chiba Nagisa. The military attaché bowing presented her a small gift, and Nunnally admired, as it was the japanese custom, the pretty wrapping paper without opening it. For a while they uneasily stood around and exchanged trivial phrases. How cold it was! How beautiful that christmas tree in the salon's center! Because the only thing besides boring affairs of state she could talk about with Tōdō was her time at the Kururugis' shrine: and that would have meant talking about Suzaku and her brother.
But before the situation became embarassing, Schneizel – as always – came to her rescue and guided the guests to the library, where he asked Tōdō, who had the fourth dan-rank in Shōgi, for a game of chess on the forthcoming board.
Next to arrive was Zero, who had not been able to to drag himself away from his duties earlier. He kneeled down in front of Nunnally and took her frail hands: „Merry Christmas, my empress." Bowing once again, he handed over a small case, but advised her not to open the present until the last guest was gone.
Afterwards came in rapid succession the former Knight of Three, Gino Weinberg, who had somehow managed to win Kōzuki Karen or Kallen Stadtfeld of the Black Knights as his companion, Princess Cornelia – as always in uniform – and her loyal knight, Lord Guilford, Crown Prince Odysseus with a rather famous, girlishly giggling actress on his side, and to her greatest surprise – she did not dare to hope they'd come – Jeremiah Gottwald, who had been Knight of One under her brother's reign and now grew oranges in California, and the former Knight of Six, Anya Alstreim.
Nunnally had liked the strange girl since ten years ago she had come as a student of etiquette of all things to Villa Aries, probably the only Imperial Villa in which the lady of the house was on first-name terms even with the servants and let horses jump over metres high fences like Knightmares, and when Nunnally had returned to the old capital two years ago they had renewed their friendship, although both of them had lost their memories of each other under the emperor's geass. It already had surprised Nunnally that young Lady Anya had taken the place amongst the Knights of Round that had gotten free with Lord Waldstein's rise to Knight of One, yet even more, that she had had herself adopted by her brother's knight after his downfall.
Now Lord Jeremiah kneeled in front of Nunnally and stuck her right hand with his lips for a short moment. „Christmas is not just a britannian custom, Majesty. First of all it is a festival in honour of those that have sacrificed themselves for the sins of mankind and for the sake of peace."
She smiled melancholy at the concealed hint at her late brother.
„Rise, Lord Jeremiah. I am glad that the two of you have come."
Jeremiah complied to her request. Anya, who had not kneeled, raised the pink mobile phone in her hand and took a photo, then bestowed a rare smile on the gadget. She wore a knee-lenght reddish dress and curled in white and pink stockings. Her companion seemed to be slightly ashamed of her, but then handed Nunnally a small wooden box and by opening the lid revealed two flawless oranges. „A sample of our first harvest, your Majesty. I hope, you'll..."
He could not proceed, since the salon's doors sprang open and a young woman in a shockingly revealing dress ran, unhindered by the guardsmen in the hallway, towards the young empress. Lord Jeremiah tried to get in her way, the broad blade at his wrist blank, Anya looked up from her favorite toy and already Millicent Ashford held Nunnally in a tight hug.
„Milly!", Nunnally exclaimed joyfully, „Rivalz! How great to have you here!" She noticed that both of them wore identical, slender rings, with a single diamond embedded into her's. Milly followed her view and assured that she would be the first to know once they agreed on a date for the wedding.
Nunnally smiled at the two. „It's great that the two of you have finally found to each other, you are such a good match. When did it happen?"
„Well,", Milly began with a mischievous grin, „when your brother blew up Mount Fuji back then, the power supply in Tokyo – and, of course, Ashford – broke down and…" It was obvious what she aimed at, but before Jeremiah could unsheathe his sword to silence Milly – who, as a TV moderator, was used to interrupting people trying to interrupt her – the salon's doors opened once again and one of the guards announced the newcomers:
„Announcing Her Imperial Majesty, Jiang Lihua, Empress and Tianzi of the United States of China, and General Li Xingke of the Order of the Black Knights, Her Excellency Secretary-General Sumeragi Kaguya of the United Federation of Nations, as well as His Excellency Ōgi Kaname, Prime-Minister of the United States of Japan and his wife, Dame Viletta Ōgi!"
Apparently the guests of state from East Asia had travelled together. Now Kaguya, dragging her friend, the Tianzi, behind her, rushed towards Nunnally and Anya, whom she firstly had spotted as the only coevals in the room. Secondly the two empresses and the secretary-general already knew each other from various political and diplomatic occasions. Therefore, Nunnally greeted the Ōgis – they had left little Chigusa in the hotel with a babysitter, but the girl at all costs wanted to meet Zero and Empress Nunnally – shortly. Her former trainer's and the prime minister's child by now was almost one year old, and the second was on it's way.
The two adult's took their leave and soon engaged in a lively discussion with Odysseus and Cornelia – she did not knew where the starlet the crown prince had come with got to, but the next morning they would find her and Schneizel's aide Kanon in one of the palace's guest rooms – while Kaguya promptly absorbed the three other girls and engrossed them into a discussion about boys over canapé's scrounged from the buffet.
Nunnally retained herself: she and her brother may have proceeded a lot farer than Kaguya with her first experiments – Anya made a few cryptic hints about the Knight's of Round loyalty having been only with His Majesty the Emperor, the Tianzi only blushed and shyly bowed her head to glance at Li Xingke, who spoke with Tōdō at the other end of the room, once in a while – but how could she talk about it to those people? Not only they had been brother and sister: the whole world hated him.
And where exactly did Lord Jeremiah go to? She did not even notice him leaving her side. Nunnally took a look around the salon and there he stood by the fireside, a champagne glass in his hand – and next to him was Sayoko.
Sayoko! The last time she had seen her former confidant was shortly after her brother's death in Tokyo, at least one year ago. Already Nunnally wanted to excuse herself and driver her wheelchair over to the maid, but something with the way she spoke to Jeremiah dissuaded her from doing so: it was obvious that the two of them were heavily flirting. Just now Sayoko leaned forward, laid her hand on the Knight's arm and said something.
With a smile she averted her view from the two and turned towards Kaguya again, who was talking about love at first sight. Eventually with the professors Lloyd Asplund and Rakshata Chawla as well as Doctor Cecile Groomy and Nina Einstein – Nina, her old schoolmate! - the last summoned guests entered the room. They were this late because – which was what he and the Indian loudly argued about entering – Lloyd had driven and first had went two hundred kilometres towards Florida. According to Rakshata the reason for this was his reluctance to ask for the way even if requested to do so multiple times. Lloyd on the other hand seemed to be of the opinion that the Sat-Nav he had removed from an exploited Glasgow was no good or – one could not exactly catch that from his confused speech – that his evil stepbrother in Georgia had manipulated the gadget to lure them into his trap. Lloyd's long-time assistant, who wore a breathtaking black ball gown, was visibly embarassed when she bowed before Nunnally.
„And I actually thought that they were adults. Merry Christmas, my empress."
„Aren't they like this all the time? Merry Christmas to you as well, Miss Groomy."
Then Nunnally turned towards the shy girl behind them. „Nina-chan! Come, over there are Kallen, Milly and Rivalz!"
Nina was reluctant at first – how could she know in which way her former classmates would react, especially Kallen? Had not she been the one to develop F.L.E.I.J.A. and later on go over to the demon emperor of all people?
But her worries proved ungrounded: her friends welcomed her as if all those things had never happened. They chatted about past Christmases at Ashford and revived anecdotes from back then.
During this conversation Nunnally learned that Milly probably was the most famous newsreader of Japan by now and the face of HiTV and that Kallen had completed her studies with top grades last year and now was responsible for the Black Knight's division of Knightmares based in Japan.
Finally, it had be be about midnight, Milly and Rivalz bidded fairwell, their plane would p head for Tokyo already in the morning, work was calling. Shortly after, a slightly drunk Gino grasped his date, Kallen, to dance with her to the classical and christmas music playing in the background, which she receipted by amusedly rolling her eyes. Nevertheless it appeared to Nunnally as if she enjoyed whirling above the thick persian carpet with the former Knight of Three. Actually Prince Schneizel reacted fast on this development, he shortly talked to the servant responsible for the music, who bowed and disappeared through a door hidden almost invisible in the wooden panelling into one of the narrow corridors which made it possible fort he attendants to reach every room in the palace unseen. Not a single minute after that the music was getting louder and a viennese waltz began playing: the guests got the message and enthusiastic got themselves dance partners, and even the shy Tianzi could be persuaded by Kaguya to dance with her if not with Xingke.
Wistfully Nunnally observed the people that were her friends, yet so far away from her: she sat, wheelchair-bound, by herself at one side of the room next to the fireside in which a fire this blazing burned that it would have flashed over to the christmas tree next to it without the omnipresent servants already.
A soft hand laid on her shoulder and Nunnally turned her head to be able to look into the eyes of the woman behind her. „Sayoko-san!" Did not she dance in Jeremiah's arms just a moment before…?
„Mistress Nunnally", she said smiling, „may I take the liberty of abducting you to the library for a moment…" Knowing that the empress would not object, Sayoko already pushed the wheelchair through a broad, decorated with stucco doorway arch into the next room.
The library was a big, two-story and circular room with a gallery and a dome-shaped ceiling, on that a gorgeous baroque fresco: the goddess of wisdom, Athena, with Apollo and the muses. The walls were furnished with high bookshelves made of dark wood. In the middle of the room were, arranged in a circle, picking tables each with two chairs and a brazen lamp, in their center a chess table. On the black and white board still stood the chessmen of black and white marble in the checkmate position of Schneizel's game against Tōdō: the white bishop, two pawns and the king jointly detained the black king in one corner of the board, and neither the queen nor the pawn in the board's opposite corner could help him.
Around the board stood Lord Jeremiah, Earl Lloyd and Cecile, Zero, Kallen and Nina – a strange grouping, as except for Zero, Kallen and herself all of them had fought on her brother's side. But she understood the meaning of this and had to smile when Sayoko joined her into this cycle and then positioned herself next to her.
Somebody thrusted a glass of champagne into her hand and she noticed, that all of the others held glasses as well. It seemed that for empresses other rules applied.
„As I said, my empress: Christmas is a festivity at which we celebrate a great man and the sacrifice he made for peace", Jeremiah spoke.
„It has been one and a half year since Zero Requiem came to an end", Zero added, took off his mask with a short glance over to the salon and put it down on the chessboard. „The plan's been successful, as all of us know: by now there are no wars going on on earth, and all the money and effort once dedicated to military aims now serve in combatting hunger and poverty."
„And your Majesty is barely unblameable for this", Jeremiah joked, „No matter how big your brother's sacrifice may have been, no matter how flawless his plan, without your just rule the world would long ago have descended into chaos again."
Coy, Nunnally lowered her eyes. „But world is chaotic", Lloyd mused, „How else would it have been possible for people such entirely different to join forces to do something that will improve the world – in their eyes?"
Cecile chuckled. „Probably this time of peace won't take forever. Violence is a part of human nature. But as long as there are people like you, Nunnally, your brother and Suzaku, we may hope. And as long as there is someone bearing this mask, as long there is someone preserving the spirit of Zero Requiem… mankind won't perish."
Then she raised her champagne glass to give a toast. „A blessed christmas and a peaceful new year!"
Sayoko followed suit. „On Her Majesty, Empress Nunnally!"
„On the Zero Requiem", Suzaku spoke.
„On… on the Chaos theory", stuttered Lloyd and all of them bursted out into laughter.
„On the Order of the Black Knights!", Kallen finally exclaimed.
And then Jeremiah raised his glass, let out a bloodcurling battle cry that all world knew and feared, and in the salon a small girl screamed, and just then from the speakers sounded the final movement of Beethoven's ninth symphony – Freude, schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus Elysium…, sounded Schiller's ode:
„ALL HAIL LELOUCH!"
They stood, hidden by the gallery's shadows, far above the revellers when his name fell.
Whom he stared at, she had asked him. And he did not answer. Too much his mind was caught in gazing at that wonderful being, and he shed bitter tears whenever he thought that even she would fade away.
Eventually his companion rudely turned his face towards her with both hands and pressed her lips on his, but he kept looking at her and knew that he could not see her ever again. But didn't they say christmas was the festival of love?
Wem der große Wurf gelungen, eines Freundes Freund zu sein, wer ein holdes Weib errungen, mische seinen Jubel ein!
He closed his eyes and kissed her back.
Carefully she removed the broad red ribbon, then opened the lid of the small box Suzaku-san had given her.
Inside was in a cushioned bed a small, white locket in a heart-shape with ornate golden marquetry on a golden necklace. Nunnally took it out, admired the gem, then she opened it and a musical box began playing a dolce, low melody. Only one of the locket's holdings contained a picture: it was an old photo, recorded in the parks of Aries Villa. On it were pictured herself, Euphie and Lelouch.
It was horrible to see how the two of them innocently smiled at the camera… Why had they, those wonderful persons of all people, had had to die?
Nunnally vi Britannia, one hundredth empress of the Holy Britannian Empire, tightly closed her fist around the cruelly beautiful present – certainly he had meant it well – and bursted out in tears over it.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year, Onii-sama.