First I wanted to apologize for my gap in activity. Between school/Real-life things and trying to continue my other fic, I couldn't make much progress with either one. This is a slight AU fic that is of a much shorter format than my other work.

Any comments or critiques would be appreciated. At the time of posting this fic has no consistent beta (two months of finding one has yield me no results), so if you wish to be a beta for this fic or simply offer advice please feel free to PM me. Sorry for the wait and enjoy!

I do not own Code Geass. All trademarks and copyrights go to their respective owners.

Many voices whispered in the art hall, full of anticipation and nervousness. Some party-goers already had drinks in hand and a bite or two of crackers, but all eyes turned toward the closed red curtains on the far end of the room. A young lady emerged in a dress colored a shade of blue which looked like light shimmering through the ocean, and it looked striking when contrasting her strawberry blonde hair. She unfurled a small letter and gave it one last glancing over before she spoke:

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Thank you all for coming to our governor's latest showcase! I now present to you the Third Prince of Britannia and Viceroy of Area 11: Prince Clovis la Britannia!"

Instead of the curtains simply pulling back, the curtains furled down toward center stage, encircling a figure behind it. The cloth settled to reveal a spriteful man, donning a suit colored in the blue, white, and red symbolic of his country's flag, and the red curtain rested on his shoulders like a cape. The crowd applauded, a few girls in the crowd whistling at him. Not one bowed, as was customary for other members of the Royal Family. Rather, the prince himself took a bow before his audience. "Thank you! Thank you!" Clovis gave a little smile to his announcer, which made her chuckle a bit. "I thank you all for being here to partake in my latest pieces of art! Please enjoy yourselves and drinks are on me!" The whole crowd laughed in response. With that the crowd broke up to observe the prince's latest creations docked on easels and hung on walls all over the room.

Clovis took off the cumbersome cape and folded it up to carry over his shoulder. He shifted through the crowd, giving a handshake here and a handwave there as he spotted a familiar figure. Euphemia looked with scrutiny at one of the paintings on the wall, her pink hair tied up in buns to avoid drooping over her white Victorian-style dress.

"Ah, sister!" Clovis waved. His words startled the princess, but when she found that it was her brother she gave a warm smile to him. "Clovis! It's so good to see you again."

"Likewise to you." The young man bowed before her. "I heard that you would be in Area 11 for awhile. To what do I owe you for coming to visit me out here?"

Euphemia pat his head playfully mid-bow. "Oh, I had to meet with someone so I decided it would be nice to drop by. Being a Viceroy must be rough for you if you're trying to juggle your art career with it..."

Clovis pouted up at her, but his blonde hair fell over his left eye. Euphemia giggled, and Clovis fixed his hair with his hands. "It's no big deal! Running a colony is tough for sure, but I seem to have things down. I finally found enough time to throw this party!" He threw his hands up and fell into a chair behind him. "Though if I must confess, I have not been as bright and cheerful as I'm used to." He settled down, his shoes tapping the marble floor.

The question caught his sister's attention. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I haven't heard from father in months. I've tried to contact him, but whenever I try I'm put through to Odysseus. Father could at least call his younger son once in awhile..." Euphemia leaned down beside him as he spoke. "And my search for our brother and sister has gone nowhere after all of these years."

"Clovis..." Euphemia put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a supportive squeeze. "I know it's been rough in your search for Lelouch," She stopped for a second when Clovis turned towards her. His eyes looked faded, showing through the cheerful attitude that the Third Prince of Britannia normally showed. "...but you shouldn't let this search bog you down." She pat his shoulder. "I can't stand to see you keep tearing your hair out over it."

Clovis shook his head, fighting back the urge to cry. "I won't stop looking. Father says they may be dead, but I know they're out there...somewhere..."

"You'll find them. I know you will." Clovis looked back up at Euphemia, to which she gave another calm smile that could brighten anyone's mood. Whether she believed that her younger brother and sister were still alive not even she knew for sure. "But enough about that, I wanted you to help explain this painting here." She gestured to the painting on the wall that she was looking at earlier.

"Ah yes," Clovis jumped up from his seat and strode toward the piece of art. "This one is in an art style I noticed during my brief trip to Italy back when I was in school." The painting was a departure from the Neo-Classical art that was standard for the Britannian royal household. Instead of obvious dimensions the painting a collection of many broad smears of bright colors forming blurry shapes. "Take note of the bright red smears, almost like smears of blood. I found a way to illustrate the concept of violence or force using only brush strokes. What do you think?"

"It looks like a bunch of red and yellow splashes to me," Euphemia scratched her head, trying to find meaning among the colors. The blue sun does stand out to me though, like a beacon in the middle of a red sea."

"Well art looks different to each person. I can't control what people think." Clovis waved to a couple young ladies passing by behind him. "Perhaps you may become an artist like me one day?"

The princess puffed up. "I guess it could be fun. But I'm not doing those scandalous swimsuits though if that's what you want me to do!"

Clovis looked at her with shock. "What?! But my swimsuit designs are fabulous! Nothing like those bloomers and one-pieces of old!"

Euphemia returned a look of bewilderment. "Those pieces of cloth? They leave no room for modesty! It leaves nothing to the imagination! I would think an artist like you would have some decency when designing swimwear."

"But the ladies around here seem flattered by my new designs! And they help bring out one's inner beauty, not hide it behind powder and frills...no offense to you of course~." He gave Euphemia a jab in the side.

Euphemia sighed. "There's no changing your mind is there?"

Clovis only laughed in response. Before he could resume, he saw a familiar face. Bartley, Clovis's trusting general, waved him over from the entryway. "Hmm? This may be important, so I must go. Enjoy the party!"

"Take care Clovis!" Euphemia waved farewell, to which her brother gave another bow before striding off in Bartley's direction. He kept his voice down when he reached his adviser, getting a hint to what this sudden request may be about. "Is there something you need Bartley? This is kind of an inopportune time to pull me out of the spotlight..."

Bartley adjusted his collar, looking a bit nervous, a couple beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "I apologize for the interruption, but we have an important visitor coming here tomorrow."

Clovis was not amused. "Who can possibly pop in on me without giving me some early warning? Especially when things are starting to get busy around the here!"

"Forgive me my lord, but it would be your brother, Prince Schneizel. He said he would be here tomorrow to talk about...well, what we've been working on."

Clovis gave pause: "Schneizel is coming here about that? I already sent a report, what more could he want?" Clovis quickly mashed a follow up in his head. "Well, how much time do we have to prepare for his meeting?"

"He said that he would be arriving tomorrow around noon at the research lab." Bartley leaned in closer to whisper. "He expects to see our subject as the first thing done on-site."

Clovis bit his lip, finding himself in a bit of a bind. "He doesn't give any time does he? Tell the research team to prepare for my brother's arrival, on the double!"

"Yes my lord!" Bartley bowed to the prince and made haste out of the palace.

Clovis caught his head servant at the top of the stairs and hailed her. "Once today's showcase is over I will need the palace prepared for my brother Schneizel tomorrow. We can't have him give us a bad report when he returns home!" The prince's words made the maid's eyes widen. "R-Right away your highness!" She quickly fled from the foyer to gather the rest of the servantry.

Clovis took a deep breath to calm his nerves, but the lashing unease remained in his head, not wanting to go of his conscience. "Gotta keep appearances up. Especially when sister is still around.". Almost on cue the lady in the blue dress whistled to him from the door that lead back to the art hall. "I hope I'm not interrupting something important darling." She spoke in a comforting tone.

Clovis snapped to her attention. "Oh, not at all! I just finished speaking with Bartley. Apparently Schneizel is arriving here tomorrow, so I gotta get this place set up right after the exhibition is over."

The lady perked her eyebrows up. "And he didn't even give you a few days warning?"

"He's pretty impulsive when it comes to family visits. He must like pushing his younger brothers around!" Clovis laughed. "But we will need to be in tip-top shape today and into tomorrow if we want the place set up for him when he gets here."

She bowed with one arm in front of her hip. "Of course m'lord, I will be willing to help anyway I can!"

"Thank you Ms. Eckert. But for now we must return to the party." He took her hand, ever the gentleman. "Shall we go?"

Lola's smile widened, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. "Lead the way sire."

The party ended around nine o'clock, when Euphemia and the last of the guests departed for the night. Before the guests even left servants began work getting the place cleaned up, as the the Governor's palace had to be prepared for tomorrow. Servants worked liked clockwork well after the Sun set, cleaning every inch of the palace, getting every light, toilet, and other utility replaced or repaired. Bartley made sure security will be air-tight, as expected whenever a senior member of the royal family comes to visit. Even the prince himself had to step in to help get the place ready in time due to the building being a bit understaffed this year. As much as he wanted to retire for the day and return to his art studio, he couldn't afford to make a bad impression to his brother, lest he fall out of favor in the royal family. He cursed under his breath at having to take part in preparations to get the place ready in time, but kept his disapproval under wraps, since the last thing he wanted was to make a scene and bring progress to a halt.

At long last, after working well past midnight, Clovis stumbled into his living quarters. He didn't bother calling a servant to help him get fixed up for bed, since he sent them off for the day considering they worked almost twice as long as they normally would. Once in his quarters he swapped shirts, got a shot of scotch to calm his nerves, and unfurled his long hair, which started to curl and split. Clovis fell onto his bed, his body collapsing into the linen sheets after spending most of the day running about the palace.

Clovis sat in his bed without pulling over the covers: his body certainly felt ready to fall asleep, but his mind still spinned in thought. "Just why is Schneizel coming on such a short notice? Bartley said it was about our latest subject." He scratched his head half in annoyance and half in anxiety. "Then again, I shouldn't be too surprised, since brother did bring her right to my doorstep..."

"What... what on Earth did you bring me?!" Clovis looked in confusion at the metal sphere that sat in a testing chamber before him. The sphere shimmered with a faint luster, feeling ominous against the grey, floodlit room.

"That would be your newest test subject." Schneizel replied. The sphere opened with a loud click, spiraling open to reveal its contents. Within the sphere was a human figure draped in hair of a sickly green hue. The person appeared to be female, but it was difficult to tell since the person was bound in a straitjacket covered in black restraints. She did not respond to her reveal, save for her eyes flickering to adjust to the new lighting conditions. Clovis did not reply, feeling a sort of dread from this thing's presence. She appeared human, but there was something off about her, like she had a presence that wanted to worm into his soul and probe his mind for secrets.

"She was found in the Kyoto slums, appeared to be torturing a few soldiers with some sort of telepathy." Schneizel handed his brother an unmarked portfolio with a plethora of different documents inside regarding this newly captured individual. "I want you to find everything you can about her and see just what she is capable of."

Clovis turned to his brother in alarm. "I thought that the boy we took in last year would be the last one, as per father's command!"

"Father has restarted our research." Schneizel remained calm in his tone of voice. "And this is no ordinary test subject. When I spoke to father that we found this particular person, he immediately restarted the project, so there is something of great importance to the Emperor that revolves around her."

"Of great importance?" Clovis returned his gaze to the strange girl. He could barely read her face through her unkempt hair. "Just why exactly is some Eleven so important to my research?"

"All of the info you need is in that portfolio." Schneizel answered. "She's more complicated than you think. I'll leave the rest for you to find out. Are we clear?"

Clovis paused, expressing doubt on wanting to proceed with this. "I know father wants me to keep studying Geass, but I don't think the way we go about it is something I want to do anymore." The mention of "Geass" made the captive turn up from her slump to look at the younger prince; clearly this person knows more about her powers than she thought...

"Having doubts?" Schneizel gave pause, realizing that he was pushing his younger brother too far. "He may be grown up, but he is still my little brother." He took a breath before proceeding. "Look, I know that becoming governor of Area 11 has made your research difficult to keep up with. I myself had the same doubts when I became a governor years ago. I'll admit that politics is no walk in the park, but you need to keep at it if you want to reach success." He put his hand square on his brother's back, scrunching it in a familial gesture. "I know you very well, and the last thing you are is a quitter."

Clovis did not meet his brother's gaze. "I...I still don't know if I can do this again..."

Clovis got a firm pat on the back in response. "You've already become one of the most knowledgeable people on Geass. With your discoveries we've saved countless lives by understanding and containing this mysterious power."

Schneizel's words gave Clovis little comfort. "I know that. But after what happened with that kid, I can't just take this with both hands again."

"Well not everything we face is all flowers and roses. Us Britannians need to be steeled up if we want to stay on top of the world." Schneizel turned toward the exit, flicking his silver cape to avoid tripping over it. "Plus I don't wish for us to get on Charles's bad side."

"Of course not." Clovis sighed, seeing he can no longer worm his way out of this one. "But what about her?" He returned his gaze toward the prisoner.

"Like I said, find out as much as you can about her powers, then report them to me just as before. Not to Charles, not to Odysseus, but to me. No one else." Schneizel gestures slitting his own throat. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must head to the airport. I have a construction project to attend to in Area 13." Schneizel started to stroll toward the exit, a few bodyguards already waiting to escort him.

"Brother wai-!" Clovis started, but when he turned his brother was gone, vanished like a white mist. Clovis was now alone with his new subject. He wanted to speak, but he saw she was already asleep in her capsule. /"Just how long was she in there?"/ A thought flashed in Clovis's head, but he put it aside for now.

"He keeps throwing these subjects at me like I'm some sort of computer. Can't he give his younger sibling a break?"

Clovis tossed and turned under his blankets. His mind just didn't want to rest while his body ached for some downtime. He already downed a few glasses of scotch, but they had little effect. He turned and groaned, seeing that only forty-five minutes passed. Fed up with his pointless quest for sleep he got out of bed and went to his desk. One flick of the desk lamp later he began pushing aside various legal paperwork to reveal a small cubby locked by a keypad underneath. A few button presses unlocked the small safe, revealing a compartment about the size of a student's bookbag.

Clovis haphazardly fished a hand into the hole, pulling out an unmarked portfolio. With a cathartic groan the young prince sat in the chair and opened the portfolio for the first time in almost a year. Inside were snippets from newpapers and screenshots of different websites, all revolving around one event. Headlines read, Royal Family Attacked At Capital! City Under Lockdown. and Charles's Youngest Confirmed Dead. Clovis grabbed a pen and scanned each article within the portfolio: public chatrooms, top secret government documents, news interviews, and so forth, Clovis read and reread each article, each piece of information littered with inserts of the prince's thoughts in different shades of ink. After reading the whole portfolio several dozen times he did not add a single drop of ink to the stack.

"Dammit!" Clovis slammed the desk with his fist, breaking the silence with a deafening *THUMP*. "Ten months and not a single lead!" He slumped into his chair, looking up toward the indifferent ceiling. After a few moments he developed a cold sweat at a realization. In a flash he gathered the documents back into the portfolio, tossed them back into the safe, closed the safe, and reshuffled the top of desk so it would cover it again. He did not tell his servants about his investigation, and when asked about the safe he just said that it kept a family heirloom. Minutes passed painfully slow, cold sweat chilling the prince's skin. He breathed a sigh of relief after about 10 minutes, and went to grab another glass of whiskey, which by this point the only way he was gonna get any sleep.

"With all of this stuff going on, I have no time left in the day..." Clovis scratched his head, feeling beads of cold sweat along his scalp. He tried to find a window to look out from, but his room had none, leaving only the tall, emotionless walls for company. He reached for his desk and grabbed a picture from it.

It was a small family photo, taken when Clovis spent his last year at the family house before leaving for university. His strawberry blond hair flowed against an unseen wind, and his eyes seemed a brighter shade of blue than he had now. The hairstyle of that day always made his adult self cringe a little whenever he looked at it. He stood alongside a young Euphemia, who looked half-annoyed by her frilly yellow hat that her mother insisted she wore.

Sitting in front of them were the two youngest offspring of Charles zi Britannia. To the left, a small, wide-eyed child sat with her hair in two neat buns, the child none too concerned about her dress getting dirty on the grass. To the right, a young boy in a clean grey suit who sat with a stern upper lip and a familiar expression of determination.

"Just where are you two?" Clovis whispered, his thumb tracing around his two missing siblings. "I know its been seven years, but there is still hope..."

He paced around his room for what felt like an eternity, his body feeling ever heavier with each lap around the room. He kept studying the photo, as if looking for any hint that may help him find his missing family. He fought back tears, wiping his eyes with his loose nightshirt. Finally his body could take no more, and he crashed into his bed sheets. He felt that the room was spinning, and he steadily drifted into the embrace of sleep.

"I know you're out there...somewhere..."