In some ways, it burned Jeremiah Gottwald's heart to run from the battle. He could hear the cries of her Highness, the Princess Cornelia, shouting that they must not let the dogs of the demon king escape. But most of those dogs, now released by their master, were scattering back into the wild, and Jeremiah was among them, turning his back to a battle as he had not done in a long time.
Jeremiah Gottwald, Knight of One to his majesty the Emperor, who had always strove, even when his fortune seemed bleakest, to fulfill his duty and uphold his honor, must run, must be recorded in the books of history as a coward and servant of a tyrant.
Yet, Emperor Lelouche -- the just, noble and kind emperor that the world might not (Nay, must not) ever know -- had bid Jeremiah, when everything was over, to run, to start anew, in a place that would be prepared for him. Because of this, Jeremiah Gottwald could run, and not feel a coward. Because of this Jeremiah Gottwald could run, and feel nothing but pride for the small part that he had been privileged to play in the play that would change the world.
Emperor Lelouche had let Jeremiah picked the place to which he would run, and had smiled a bit when he heard it. If it had bought some mirth to the Emperor in his final weeks as a human being, Jeremiah liked to think it was the best choice he could have made. Even so, despite the irony of his choice, he was looking forward to it too: A long rest after a hard fought battle.
As he ducked down an alleyway some miles from the place of his final clash with Zero, a figure stepped out to meet him, face hidden in a flowing scarf.
"Lady Sayoko," He said with a courtly bow, "It is a great pleasure to see you again."
"The feeling is mutual, Gottwald-san. Did Lelouche-sama acquit himself well today?"
"He was the most noble emperor that Brittania has ever known," said Jeremiah, "My only regret is that the world will never know of it."
"And the world must not know," said Sayoko, "and because that is so, we serve him, even unto death."
"Aye," Jeremiah nodded. The two began walking deeper into the alleyway, in companionable silence at first.
"Is our new home made ready?" Jeremiah asked.
"It is. I have secured passage there for us, and we will assume our new identities shortly. Zero will send our "daughter" after us, and make sure we are left alone."
Then, "Gottwald-san, may I ask... why did you save her? Why did you invite her to join you in exile at the end of the Requiem?"
Jeremiah smiled slightly. Looking askance at the ninja, he wondered if he only imagined a tinge of worry in her eyes.
"There were, perhaps, many reasons. I saw in her someone who had been used by evil men, someone who had been manipulated, someone much like me."
"But," He continued, as a word died on Sayoko's lips, "there was one reason above the rest. I have told no-one else this, for fear that it would make me seem weak, or bring the purity of my motives into question, but my Sister was at the Aries Imperial Villa the night that Queen Marianne died, sent there to learn the ways of a fine court lady. We were told that the rebels had killed her as well, and we mourned her as such. However, I recently learned the truth: that she did not die. Instead, the Emperor rewrote her memories and kept her close, for she carried the spirit of the Lady Marianne."
"Then Anya is... Your Sister?" Sayoko spoke. Jeremiah indulged in thinking that he saw something akin to relief etched on her face.
He smiled, "And if she wasn't? Why did you ask in the first place, Lady Sayoko?"
Now he was sure that she smiled behind the scarf, and he noted the slight tinge of red on her cheeks.
"What do your eyes behold, Jeremiah Gottwald?" She asked.
"Are you not a disciple of his excellency as well, Lady?" Jeremiah said in a chiding tone of voice, but his smile was content, "Then you should know that I can look only toward the future, just as he taught us. If I look aught elsewhere, then my honor has left me."
"The Future, Gottwald-sama? That is a... vague answer," Sayoko said, and now her eyes seemed a little duller.
"The future, Lady Sayoko, is not vague, for I see it clearly. It is the future I chose for myself, with the blessing of his majesty. In it, I am a simple orange farmer, with a small farm in the California countryside. A Future such as that is pleasing to me. But I do not believe that such a simple life alone will be enough to give me the future I desire."
"Of course not," Sayoko frowned, "I am sure a cavalier such as yourself still requires adventure and glory, but remember that for the sake of Lelouche-sama-" Sayoko ceased her talk at an upraised hand from Jeremiah.
"Nay Lady, Glory and Adventure I do not need, and as for Honor, I have as much as I need. I had the Honor of serving his majesty, and more importantly, of bringing a true and lasting peace to this world. That is all the Honor and Glory I need. No, Lady, what I need...."
Sayoko looked at Jeremiah with a raised eyebrow as he stopped and looked up at the small patch of blue sky peeking out between the buildings.
"I am a sword returned to the sheath, but I do not wish to rust, and therefore I will need a sparring partner. I will be a simple country farmer, but I am a nobleman of Brittania, and therefore I am used to fine company when I take my tea. I am a cyborg, but yet I am still a human, and even more so a man. Thus, I recognize the strength of the human spirit, and praise the paragons of humanity, and as a man, admire the beauty of a strong and gracious woman."
"Mister Gottwald. My family has walked the night and stood on the edge of falsehood and truth for generations, but even we have our limit. I would have you speak plainly, sir," Sayoko said, but she was very definitely smiling behind her scarf, Jeremiah saw it in her eyes.
Jeremiah cleared his throat self-consciously, and bowed to the Ninja woman. taking her hand. As he straightened up to look her in the eye, he hoped the heat he felt rising to his own cheeks was not too unmanfully apparent on his visage.
"We are named Husband and Wife in this new life only out of convenience, and as a cover for our true identities, for the sake of the story of the Emperor. You owe me no marital duties, nor do I owe you the same, and I am, as I said, a gentleman. Nevertheless, I find myself quite taken with you, Sayoko-san," Said Jeremiah, lapsing into the honorifics of Sayoko's home country and hoping it did not sound insincere, "You are a disciple of chivalry of the highest order, a soul as noble as any I have know, and if I may be so bold, as fine a specimen of womanhood as I have laid mine eyes on, whether inside or outside of the highest courts of Britannia."
Jeremiah leaned down and kissed her hand, to gather strength for the next words as much as anything, "I seek permission to court you, Sayoko-san."
In response, Sayoko turned and opened a door. She stepped through, Jeremiah following her hesitantly. They stood in a covered dock. The small 2-man submarine they would take to safety awaited nearby.
With the door closed, Sayoko turned back to Jeremiah, lowered her scarf, and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"When I was a serving maid, I observed that a kiss on the cheek was a common favor given by Brittanian ladies to the men who courted them," She said as she pulled her scarf back into place, "And I found it very pleasant to give. You have my permission, Jeremiah."
The Cyborg let loose a breath he barely knew he was holding as he offered his hand to Sayoko and boosted her up into the Submarine. He'd always had his doubts about Zero Requiem, always had hoped there would be another way, a way to spare his master. But now, for the first time, he felt at peace. The woman he loved smiled down at him, offering a helping hand as he climbed up after her. Yes, he was certain of it. The world was as it should be.