In the Name of the King
Prologue
The Aeries Villa was loud. During the summertime, sunlight could radiate through the open windows, bringing warmth to the mahogany floorboards, and whitewashed walls. The many children, prince and princesses, would run around its halls, their little feet tapping on the floor – sometimes on the grass. They would chase each other until they were tired, sitting down on the comfortable sofas and chairs until the maids and servants brought plates of food: snacks for the hungry children. Then, once their bellies were filled, their hunger sated, their fatigue cleansed, they would all get up and play once more. Yes, the Aeries Villa was a lively place.
Marianne walked through the noisy halls as Nunnally ran away from Euphemia. The older girl's legs were longer, and she quickly closed the distance between them, only for Nunnally to round a corner, and keep on running. Marianne could only smile at their antics. They weren't princes and princesses in the Aeries Villa. Just children wanting to play, and that was how Marianne liked it.
She continued on, making her way through the Villa, to one of the more secluded areas. The eastern wing was a bit boring. Most of those rooms were just guest bedrooms anyways – not much fun to be had there – but Marianne knew this was where they would be. She opened one of the doors, only to hear fingers tapping on wood, then a shifting of clothing, and then a firm clack as Schneizel placed his piece down. He held it there for a brief moment, a doubtful look crossing his face, only to be resolved as he let go of the wooden head of a white bishop.
"Ah, I knew you would be here." At her entrance, Schneizel and Lelouch turned their heads and bowed.
"Mother/Your Highness." Before returning to their game.
"How are you boys doing? It seems like you're having a bit of trouble there, Lelouch." Marianne pointed at Lelouch's black side. He hadn't lost many pieces yet, but his position made it difficult to use his pieces efficiently. Schneizel, on the other hand, with a slight numbers disadvantage, had his pieces all spread out on the board, each one able to protect another, connecting his army in an indestructible web of soldiers.
"I'm fine, mother. We've been playing for a few hours now, but I haven't won a single game yet. Schneizel's too good." Lelouch pondered for a few more moments before making his move. Schneizel only grinned as he captured one of Lelouch's pieces. Lelouch returned the gesture, capturing another one of Schneizel's before falling into a trap. "Ugh. See what I mean? I hate you Schneizel."
"Well, I have been playing this game for years. If you could beat me so easily I wouldn't be called the best, now would I?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just you wait. I'll beat you someday." Lelouch grumbled at his brother.
"Well I came here to tell you boys that lunch is ready. Once you finish your game, come to the dining room." With that, Marianne left the room and left the boys to finish their game. She made her way to the dining room where all the other princes and princesses were already seated, waiting for the last of them to arrive before eating the plates and plates of food laid out before them. Yes, Aeries was loud, and it was lively, but most importantly, Aeries was home.
OoOoO
Something was off. Lelouch felt it the instant he woke up that morning: a nagging sensation in the back of his head. Throughout the day this irritating tug made him uneasy as he wondered what this premonition could mean. Nothing had happened throughout the day, but as the ten-year old boy lay in his bed, that feeling would simply not go away. Something was off. He knew it.
Someone's going to get hurt.
He knew it. He wondered what would happen – who would be the victim. Could it be his sister? His mother? One of the guards? For the next hour, Lelouch merely tossed and turned in his bed, clearly too agitated to fall asleep. The imminent feeling of danger growing ever closer and closer. Unable to resist any longer, Lelouch got out of bed to make sure everything was fine. Dressed in nothing but his pajamas and a pair of slippers, Lelouch slowly trudged through the now empty halls of the Aeries Villa. Lelouch remembered all of the fun he had in those walls, from the first day he met his brothers and sisters to just this morning when he lost another game to Schneizel.
The normally active house was now deathly quiet, and in the middle of the night, only an eerie silence pervaded the halls. Moonlight shone through the large windows, shining beams of light onto the ground. The spacing between the windows created an alternating pattern of light and dark. He would step into moonlight, then back into shadows, then once again into moonlight, and once again into shadows – all the while, making his way towards his sister's room.
Nunnally...
He slowly and quietly opened the door just a crack, its hinges barely squeaking as it swung open. He saw nothing but an empty bed. An empty bed. Where was his sister? Panicking, he entered the room and lifted the covers to see if she was perchance curled up underneath the covers, sleeping in a position where his view was blocked. Unfortunately, the only thing underneath those covers were cool bed sheets. His heart palpitated as he began to sweat. Where could she be? Dead? Kidnapped? Where did she go?
No. Relax.
Lelouch took a minute to reign in his fears. He was a prince of Britannia, not some overly emotional child. Cold logic was his friend. He took a deep breath and thought. Dead? Unlikely. Kidnapped? Impossible. The guards in the villa would make it impossible to break in. Guards. Speaking of which, where were the guards?
The shock of his realization hit him hard. He should have passed at least one guard when he made his way towards his sister's house. Usually, the halls would resonate with the light tapping of their boots on the wooden floorboards. Lelouch managed to keep himself from panicking once more. Think. While the lack of guards was suspicious, he needed to figure out where else could she have gone. Kidnapping, while unlikely, was now a possibility. However, there was a more likely place:
Mother's room.
For a strange reason, his premonition only grew as he thought about his mother's room. Hopefully, he would find Nunnally there. Hopefully. He quickly exited the room, not bothering to even close the door as he marched towards his mother's room. He passed through the long drawn out halls of the Villa once more with nothing but the light sound of his feet on the ground to accompany him. It felt like the longest trip of his entire life. He could feel the strange sensations in his stomach grow as he reached her door, his hand grasping the knob. He was almost too afraid to open that door. Almost.
The door swung wide as Lelouch stepped into the room. He heard nothing but the pained whimpering of his sister. He almost cried. He only stood there, illuminated by the dim radiance of the moon. Speechless. He dropped down to his knees.
Nunnally...
And sighed a sigh of relief. There she was – there they were – cuddled together on the bed. Marianne held her daughter close as the girl kept whimpering in her restless sleep.
"Be quiet, Lelouch, or you'll wake her up." Marianne seemed to stir awake at Lelouch's entrance. Nunnally, however, remained asleep in her arms. "She's had a bad dream."
He watched as his mother kissed Nunnally on her forehead, whispering soothing words as Nunnally's nightmare abated.
"Where are the guards?" He whispered, getting up off of the ground.
"I let them take the night off. They work everyday. They need their rest sometimes too."
"But that's dangerous. What if someone came in, and there were no guards to protect you?"
"Protect me? Lelouch, don't be silly. Remember, I'm a soldier too. One of the best. It'll take a lot more that one person to take me down. Now go back to bed young man. It's still the middle of the night."
Of course. Marianne The Flash. One of the Empire's finest soldiers, in a Knightmare or out of one. Her incredible record was what caught the emperor's attention in the first place. At that, Lelouch nodded and left the room, closing the door softly behind him. It was strange. Mother was fine. Nunnally was fine. Yet the feeling in his gut still told him something was wrong.
Someone's going to get hurt...
Nah. That wouldn't happen. His mother even said it herself. She was a soldier of Britannia: Marianne the Flash. Nobody could take her down. Who could take down Marianne The Flash? Nobody, right? Right. Nobody. How could he ever forget? Pushing the feeling of uneasiness away, Lelouch made his way back to his own room, where he took off his slippers and crawled back under his covers.
Not before stubbing his toe on the foot of his bed.
"OUCH!"
And the feeling was gone.
OoOoO
The next morning, Lelouch woke up at the crack of dawn, the light from the rising sun penetrating through his windows and curtains. Sitting up, he managed to rub the sleep out of his eyes as memories of his restless night shot into the front of his mind. He quickly rose, throwing off the covers as he made to stand. His toe still throbbed from when he banged it against the foot of his bed.
"Ahh. Still sore." Ignoring the pain, he quickly got dressed and walked downstairs. The smell of eggs and pancakes pervaded the house and Lelouch took a big waft of the delicious scent.
"Lelouch!" Someone ran straight at him, leaping into his arms and giving him a face full of brown hair. She giggled. "You're awake, sleepyhead!"
"Whoa, Nunnally! Augh, I can't breathe!" Lelouch couldn't understand how his timid and 'fragile' sister had such a strong hug. He might as well have been getting a hug from a Knightmare. She did, however, let go as Lelouch rubbed his arms, wincing slightly at the rough treatment. Her eyes were radiating with happiness. "You're rather happy today. Why's that?"
"I don't know. Today just feels like a great day!" She turned around and began to skip down the hall towards the dining room. "Come on, let's eat! Mother's already waiting."
Lelouch only smiled and followed behind his sister as she bounced up and down, one leg after the other, smiling as she greeted everyone passing by with that contagious smile of hers. Yes, Aeries Villa was a happy place, and Lelouch would have liked to keep it that way.
OoOoO
How's it going? TeflonSG with a new Code Geass FF. As one of my favorite animes of all time, I needed to write something about it. I've read a lot of fanfics about Lelouch being found, but what if he was never lost? I hope you enjoyed my twist on Code Geass, and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!