A/N: This would be my very first one-shot and my very first Code Geass fic. I'm shocked that it turned out to be a freaking nine paged one shot. But it was all for Schneizel. Yup, I'm a total fan girl. And this fic was just my perception on why he was acting that way on the series. Read on!

-------------------------

Rightfully Theirs

The first time he saw her, he was in that engagement party, their engagement party. He wasn't interested in her in any way. Rather, their engagement was for political convenience, a peaceful treaty between Britannia and E.U.

He wasn't in favor of this. But whether he likes it or not, he had to agree. It was his father's scheme and it was for the greater good of their Empire, after all.

Schneizel el Britannia, the second prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, stood in the middle of the banquet hall, quietly observing the girl that ought to be his wife. She sat there, calm and composed, a few meters away from him. She had long and lovely locks of brown hair and a pair of innocent sapphire eyes adorned by long lashes, as asset the royal family of E.U. has been known for. He knew her father was a great conqueror, half of E.U. rested on the palm of his hands. And the instant that he marries the daughter and only child of that conqueror, the Empire would surely have that territory to them. He wasn't a fool to not know what this engagement was all about.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Schneizel looked up to find his mother standing beside him. "Now, Schneizel, don't be shy and introduce yourself to her, she is your fiancée."

Schneizel frowned. He wasn't shy, why would he be shy? He just doesn't care about her. If it weren't for the proper etiquette of a man to be the first to introduce himself, he wouldn't have bothered to do it.

He crossed the hall and approached the girl. Knowing his presence, her blue orbs were now fixed on him. Schneizel stopped in front of her, speechless. He was just a young boy, and he didn't know any better.

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you," he said as he held out his hand.

The girl smiled at him, stood up and held his hand with both of hers. "No, it's my pleasure to meet you."

They had shared a short conversation. It was something so miniscule, but he had remembered it perfectly, as it was the first time they met.

---------------------

It was part of the agreement that they'd be married once the girl turns eighteen, which was still eight years away. For the meantime, she was ordered to stay with him, for it was thought that each of them would make a great companion to one another.

There they sat facing each other in the middle of a lush garden, a chess board placed neatly on the table between them. It was once in a lifetime that Schneizel chose the black pieces, giving the white ones to his fiancée, together with the chance to play first. The girl was dumbfounded, taking the king and silently looking at it.

"You do know how to play, don't you?" Schneizel observed her from across the table, resting his chin on his right fist.

The girl gently shook her head.

If there was one thing he'd hate in a companion, it was their innocence in the only game he had loved, chess. Schneizel frowned at his fiancée's inability to play chess. "Move that pawn one block ahead."

Following what he had said, the girl moved the piece he was pointing at. Their match just ended up with Schneizel playing with himself, except for the fact that there was someone to move the pieces for him. In the end, there was a king and a pawn for her, with only a king for him. Schneizel stared at the pieces for a moment. "Move your king to the right."

The girl, once again, followed what he had said.

"You won," Schneizel straightened up at his seat. Not once had he let anyone beat him at his forte, it was just out of consideration that he had let her "win".

Much to his surprise, his fiancée let out a laugh as she clapped her hands. "That's great."

Slack jawed, he stood up and headed to the pathway that led back to the palace. "Let's go."

Years had passed and his fiancée had grown into a lovely young lady. Everyone in the empire would compliment the two of them as "a match made in heaven". And he had gotten so used to everyone telling him that he was lucky to have such a lovely fiancée.

They were partly correct, but he only took their engagement for granted and he doesn't consider himself lucky to have her. It was then that he realized that he had known her for years and yet he doesn't know anything about her besides her name and her inability to play chess.

-------------------------

"Tell me, Schneizel, do you dance?"

Schneizel cannot help but look at the young lady who had just asked him a very absurd question. It wasn't that he doesn't like dancing, he just doesn't have the knack for it.

It was his half-brother Odysseus' birthday and it was to be celebrated, and the two of them are not exceptions. He never liked gatherings but being a part of a royal family had him exposed to so many of these occasions that he had gotten used to it.

"Schneizel?"

Again, he looked back at her. He never intended to answer her question so he decided to ignore it. But before he could even look away, she took his hand and dragged him to the dance floor. She held his hand with her right hand and his shoulder with her left. "Just move to the music."

And he started moving with her across the hall. Schneizel forced himself not to step on her feet or trip and fall on the floor. And before he could notice it, he was moving along with her.

"When you dance, make sure you look into your partner's eyes."

Schneizel looked at those lovely blue eyes of hers. His fiancée cannot help but smile at him. It was that look of sincerity he always received. And looking into her eyes had just proven him that it was as real as he thought it would be.

----------------------

That smile and those blue eyes. It was always that look that made him calm even though everything around him was all screwed up. When his mother died, his father wasn't even there. Not a single soul cared about her death. Even though people came to her funeral he knew that they were just there to express their condolences, and afterwards they would all forget about it, as if his mother never existed.

Just when he thought that his life was crumbling into pieces with his mother dead and no one to trust, his fiancée was there to pick him up and hold him in her arms with that warm smile of hers.

"Your mother is just in a better place, that's all."

Schneizel stared at her, his soulless lavender eyes looking at the young lady in front of him. He held her in his arms as he buried his face on her shoulders. She was there, she was there all along. She was always there for him and not once did she ever leave him alone. And yet he never acknowledged her presence.

---------------------

When he was ordered by his father to join him on his military expedition, he did not refuse. He left her on the palace as he set off. Then he returned a few months after, a changed man who only cared about conquering, military tactics, war and battle. Still, she was there, waiting for him to return. She treated his injuries he had obtained from piloting a knightmare frame and battling the enemy. As her soft hands caressed his injuries, he felt that somehow there was this one person in the world who cared for him.

She'd prepare tea and food for him and she'd sit across the table and watched him eat. She'd also listen to him attentively when he told her what he's been doing in the past months that he's been gone. It was one thing that he looked forward to every time he's away, to go back to her, her wonderful smile, her beautiful face and those eyes…

"Welcome back, Schneizel"

-----------------------

She was taught to be a wonderful lady, with her proper etiquette and her motherly act. But it wasn't those that he had fallen for. It was how she taught him to live.

Ever since he knew her, he had learned something from her. She had a different view of life; she'd always look at the beautiful side of life. It was something that kept her living despite the fact of being away from her family after all these years. He knew from her, that life isn't just a battlefield, that it isn't just to conquer or be conquered, but it was a series of choices in which he'd prefer the one that would be better for him.

It was her that taught him to see the wonderful side of life. It was her that taught him to appreciate what he has. It was her that made him feel that he was alive.

It was only her that made him feel this way. He knew his feeling for her was something different and he couldn't confuse it with other feelings. Was it love? He wasn't certain…

----------------------

Two years before their marriage, she was sixteen and he was seventeen. He had been hiding the feeling he has for her for two years now, and somehow it just gets stronger and stronger. He knew he couldn't contain it any longer, that he must tell her what he had been feeling for her.

She was in a small patch of garden behind the palace, picking flowers that she had been growing for a year. She was unaware that Schneizel was just a few meters away from her, silently observing her from the patio of the palace. He descended a few steps and moved closer and closer to her until he was right behind her. And before she could even notice it, Schneizel wrapped his arms around her as he pulled her into a hug.

Both of them remained frozen for a moment. His fiancée turned to look at him. "You scared me Schnei-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Schneizel had ducked his head to kiss her on the lips. Everything just happened so fast that he didn't even bother to think that he had just told her everything, everything that he felt for her after all these years.

After his confession, they stared at each other. His fiancée was shocked at everything but she smiled as she cupped his face with her beautiful gentle hands. Her gesture was enough to let Schneizel know that she felt the same for him. He smiled at her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a deep kiss.

------------------------

Every single day was just meaningful for the two of them. Words simply cannot describe what they felt for each other. Schneizel was just contented to have her by his side every waking moment of his life. He loves her. He just knew it. Everyday, his love for her just grows and it came to a point that she was all that mattered to him.

And how time flies. It was just two more weeks before her eighteenth birthday, and more importantly, their marriage. It was winter but they decided to pursue the wedding even with the climate.

In the last minute of their preparations, she decided to go back to her home country, to her relatives for a visit. Schneizel was hesitant at first, fearing for her safety when a lot of her countrymen disagreed with their engagement.

"Schneizel, it's my country. I need to see it at least before I get married."

No one loves that country more than her. And that was probably one of the reasons why she agreed to the engagement. Schneizel looked at her, her eyes longing for her home. He agreed to let her visit her home country, with the condition that he must go with her.

------------------------

No words could express her excitement on returning home. From their aircraft, she glanced below to see the country she had left eight years ago. They landed in front of a huge palace. Schneizel and his fiancée got off as they walked to the door of the palace. The place was heavily guarded; knightmare frames were surrounding the area to ensure their security. His fiancée was ahead of him, ascending the flight of stairs that led to the door. She was about to enter when a man got off a knightmare frame, and shot her at long range.

The world seemed to stop at that very moment. He stared in utter horror as his fiancée dropped down the flight of stairs and to the pavement. Blood spurted out of her body, scattering on the ground where she lay. Everyone started to panic as they chased the man who shot their princess, some were calling for back-up security, an ambulance and the palace's medical crew. Schneizel's heart was beating fast as he ran towards his fiancée. He picked her body up and rested her head on his shoulders. Crimson blood stained his pure white clothes as he held his fiancée, who gasped for air as she coughed blood. Anger took over him and he pulled out a gun from his waist in order to shoot the man who was now caught by the security.

A bloody hand held his, Schneizel looked at his fiancée who shook her head in refusal of his action. "No… please… he's my countryman."

Schneizel dropped his gun as he shouted at the security for help. The medical crew came running to their princess. Schneizel held her hands, as he told her to hold on for dear life.

"Schneizel…," his fiancée uttered under her breath, her blue eyes filled with despair and fear of dying. "… I love you."

Her breathing slowed down as her eyes started to close, her grip on him loosened. One last breath and she laid motionless.

"No," Schneizel whispered. "No… No… No!"

He removed his gloves and his bare hands touched the face of his beloved. "Please wake up… please… wake up."

She never did. She was as still as a doll. And before the medical crew could save her… it was far too late. He looked at her, without noticing the tears that rolled down on his cheeks. Why her… of all people?

----------------------

It was found that the rebels had infiltrated the palace's security. Inside, the King and the Queen of their kingdom lay motionless on their bed, they have been drugged when they were asleep and they never woke up. It was a rebellion that was carefully planned.

Schneizel knew it was his entire fault. If it weren't for the engagement, none of this would've happened.

And now he was left all alone. The woman he had cared for, the woman, who meant the world to him, was taken away from him. Every passing moment without her was like eternity, like hell. Nothing seemed to matter to him now. He cared less about himself, about Britannia, about… everything.

------------------------

His fiancée's birthday has arrived, but the celebrant was nowhere to be found. Schneizel stared at the empty bedroom that was once hers. He sat on the edge of the bed as he tried to remember the nights when he'd accompany her in her bedroom when she cannot sleep. He'd watch her sleeping figure as he brushed some hair away from her beautiful face. At times he'd lie beside her or he'd lean in to kiss her forehead.

He walked away from the bedroom and went out of the palace, walking towards a small church where they were supposed to get married. With his orders, he told the guards that he'd be left alone. He opened the big wooden doors as he walked towards the altar.

He stared at the dark, empty church.

Empty

Just like him. Schneizel closed his eyes. The moment he opened them, he saw a lot of people and the church was bright and beautiful… just the way she wanted it to be. He felt something touch his hand, he turned and there he saw his bride, smiling at him. That beautiful smile… how long had he wanted to see that?

"Yula…"

Schneizel stepped closer to hug his bride only to be snapped back to reality. He was back to the dark empty church. And he was once again… all alone. His heart ached at the misery he was going through.

"Yula…"

How long had he waited for someone like her, someone who would love him not as a Britannian prince but as a human being, someone who would never leave him alone, someone who'd care for him.

"Yula…"

It was only a minute after he had introduced himself to her, but she acts like she had known him for ages. She was kind to him; she even treated him like a good friend. Though, his father had selfish intentions on her.

"Schneizel," that was the first time she called out his name. "Will you promise me… that after we get married… that you will protect my country?"

Schneizel looked at her. Her smile had faded and was replaced by a serious look. He nodded. "Yes"

He remembered everything. He made a promise to her. And he wouldn't break it. It was the only thing that would keep her memory alive in him. It was the only thing now that he could do to prove to himself that he loves her… so much.

He might have lost the power to gain control on E.U., on her kingdom, but he could easily attain that. He won't stop on anything to get what he wanted. And once he had conquered her country, her kingdom, he'll be the emperor. And he'll do what it takes to protect, to protect that kingdom.

That kingdom that was rightfully theirs.

----------------------

A/N: How was it? Reviews are highly appreciated so don't hesitate to push that review button. xD