It was early morning when I heard my door open. I heard it because I couldn't sleep- I was too nervous. When I'm nervous, I have a habit of not eating, not sleeping, and having trembling hands. Right now all three of those habits where going on. Why? My father wanted to have a private meeting with me. Now I bet you're saying to yourself, big deal, so you're dad wants to talk to you. GET OVER IT. It's not that big of a deal. Well for me it is. You see, I am Ashleigh Li Britannia and my father is the Holy Britannian Emperor. Britannia is a country who controls 1/3 of the entire world, so my father is a man or great power, importance, and of little time. So to want to have a private meeting with me means something BIG is happening, and I doubt it's good.

"Mistress, are you awake? I have the dress you requested yesterday." The speaker was Regina Watson, a girl my age who was forced to work for the imperial family to pay off her father's debts. I disproved of her calling me mistress, and that she was working here and not in school, but I couldn't say anything lest my father got word of it. I gave the red-haired girl a smile before running a hand through my own dirty blonde-hair. Thankfully I had washed it last night so it was smooth and silky. Without speaking, I walked behind the changing partition on the opposite side of my apartment-sized bedroom. Fully awake and alert, I quickly pulled off the satin nightgown and stood naked in the room for a moment, letting the cold air caress my body tenderly. Regina passed my undergarments over the partition; she was on the taller side like me. I was clasping my bra strap when Regina spoke again. "Mistress, I heard the other servants talking, and I know what is happening with you. Would you like me to tell you?"

"Please," I answered, not skipping a beat. Regina was like my personal spy- no one thought to watch what they said when she was around, she was just a chamber maid they thought, so she would always tell me interesting things she picked up on.

"Well, from what I understand, the Emperor is sending you to Area II undercover. I think it has to do with the Black Knights."This information made me pause for several moments while putting on my dress. Area II, formerly Japan, surrendered to Britannia in a great war 7 years ago. The Japanese, now officially called Elevens, had been pretty peaceful for most of the time, but recently there were several terrorist attacks, starting with Shinjuku. During the Shinjuku attack, my half-brother and Area II ruler was murdered. Originally thought to be honorary Britannian Private Suzaku Kururugi, the murder was revealed to be a masked terrorist named Zero- who claimed the act as his when he "freed" the soldier from being captive. However, Kururugi came back on his own free will and was claimed innocent during a jury. Zero soon announced to all of Japan during a terrorist attack by another group which he stopped, to be the leader of the Black Knights, a now powerful resistance group. My half-sister Cornelia, known as the Ares of the family, is now ruling Area II and trying to capture him. I was deeply puzzled- how did any of this have to do with me? I was no spy, I was no warrior (although I am very capable of using a knightmare frame, thanks to Cornelia), so how could I help?

I by now had finished putting on my jewelry and my makeup, so I looked in the wall length mirror that was placed above the golden dresser by my bed. My sparkling blue/green eyes looked back at me with a distant look, as if I was uninterested in everything. My long dirty blonde hair I left long, letting it hang to just above my waist. The deep, rich purple dress fell just above my knees, and hugged my figure despite that I saw myself as stick-like with almost no butt and moderate boobs. The dress looked nice with the subtle jewelry and black pumps I wore. Deciding I looked presentable, I turned away from the mirror and walks towards the door to exit my bedroom. My hand grasp the large iron handle, turned it, and then pushed against it. The door opened without a sound, and I slipped out.

Before I knew it, two armed guards were opening the large brass doors which contained the throne room. With my head held high, my hands clasped tightly in front of me to hide the trembling, I walked onto the purple satin carpet and made my way to the throne seem to loom in the distance. Peering out the corners of my eyes, I checked out the usually crowded room. The room was enormous- probably one of the largest in the castle, and was probably the most lavish one too. 99 paintings were hung up around the room, each one of a different Holy Roman Emperor, including my father. Speaking of father…

I approached my father warily, and looked up at him on his throne. His hair was white, and he had wrinkles on his forehead, however he did not look old. His entire face was cold and calculating- there was no warmth in his eyes, and no smile upon his face. It was as if he was looking down at someone who had murdered a close family member and not a family member themselves.

"Good morning father-"

"Is it? This bloody situation in Area 11 is keeping me from my work! I need this bothersome problem to end! And you're going to help end it," my father said in a deep growl. I was taken aback from the gruff manner in which he spoke to me, but there was nothing that I could do or say about it.

"How can I help amend the… situation?"

"We have received intelligence that Zero may be connected to a Britannian student at Ashford Academy, but we do not know which one. You will go undercover as a Britannian noble student, and look for anything suspicious. Since you have not made your royal debut, only Cornelia and Euphemia will recognize you. You will report specifically to Cornelia if anything suspicious arouses information. Understood?"

I nodded to my father, realizing that I would be "employed" by my father for the foreseeable future. "Yes father, understood. When should I begin packing?"

"Your bags were being packed as we spoke. You will leave immediately. Now, be gone, and do your best. This problem must be dealt with before it causes me to be apart from my work any longer. God grant you mercy if you fail, for I won't." And with that, I was dismissed.