Prologue

All of this could have been prevented if she didn't fall for his charms.

If she had kept her eyes wide open and she wasn't blinded by his sparkling promises of adventures and freedom, of glorious recklessness.

If her hearing wasn't muffled by his heart-pounding praises, singing to her the hymn of enchantment, whispering olden fairytales and words which brought cherries to her cheeks.

All of this could have been prevented if she had listened to the tiny voice in her head and just gave all of her attention to the twins and considered him as the plain bastard that he was.

If he had remained as the plain bastard whose manners rivaled that of an exiled boorish prince who returned from the depths of forest to claim his golds.

If he hadn't showed her that even the wildest boars were capable of caring for those they had trusted and cherished.

Well, they wouldn't be in this situation if she hadn't taken his hand that one faithful warm summer day.

Yet all had been said and done, and now she was left with a great amount of stupidity directed towards herself, tears replacing the cherries on her cheeks, and a broken heart.

"Hear me out, Ceci," he pleaded.

She stared at him through watery gaze, seeing him under a new kind of light. Or perhaps, this light had always been shining down upon him but she had refused to look up beyond his handsome face, contented by the glow of his crystal amethyst eyes. What a foolish woman she was.

She shook her head, not trusting her voice to speak out words of vulnerability and helplessness. She couldn't give him more power over her when he had been playing with her heart throughout the whole time. No, this time, it would be her who would make the tables turn. It would be her who would decide how this game would end.

And ending it would be for it was not only her whom he had lied to, but also to the twins and the viscount.

His eyes widened, realizing that none of his pleads would be heard, that her ears which were once eager for his voice were now tightly folded and closed. Lifting his arm out, he tried to reach her but she immediately took a step back.

"This is more than what you are thinking," he tried again, much gentler, much slower as his feet approached her. "If only you'll hear me out."

"Enough." She looked up at him with anger in her eyes. "I've seen enough."

"Ceci…"

What had everyone in their town told her? Never trust a younger man's words. Never fall inlove with a younger man. Because not only it was frowned upon in their society, but these lads knew how to make even the sweetest apples bitter and poisonous.

Suddenly, she was tired. She couldn't look up at him anymore. Her neck had been strained ever since she met him. So she bowed, putting the gap in their ranks between them – overlapped her hands infront of her and said, "May I humbly ask The Honourable Lelouch Lamperouge to excuse me for the night?"

So this is the start of a new journey!

Just a little note, I'm not thoroughly knowledgeable about European nobility and how their old society worked so this is an advance apology for the mistakes that I would commit regarding this matter. However, I'll try my best to research and make this accurate as much as possible. Though, I might do some unconventional changes in order for it to fit the story. Please feel free to correct me if I made some careless mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass but LuluC owns me :-)

Reviews are highly appreciated. See you soon!