"Clovis, I've noticed something."

"Hmm…?" The third prince continued painting.

"You rarely have father in your pictures. Why is that?" Lelouch had been sitting there for an hour…and he was Bored. He wanted to do something, even if it was just annoying his elder brother with random questions. "Yeah big brother Clovis, why not?" Chimed in Euphemia who was genuinely curious.

Clovis dipped the tip of a small paintbrush into purple oil paint, and lifted it to the canvas. "Well…father is always frowning, so that doesn't make him a very good subject for a painting, does it?" He thought about the statues and paintings of Emperor Charles in his own villa and shuddered. Their eyes and scowls followed him around in a way that non living things shouldn't, looking eerily disapproving.

Just as the real ones did.

"Frowning makes people age faster, and others might learn from father's bad example." Clovis laughed.

"Then Big brother Lelouch is going to get old really fast?" Nunnally nudged the prince beside her playfully. Their elder brother cast an amused look over at the three seated on the stone bench. "You should watch out Lulu! One day you might find yourself looking just like father!"

The eleventh prince glared at him. "You could imagine him smiling like you imagined big sister Corny and me with wings." Euphemia continued after she stopped giggling.

"It's different Euphy. You two are so nice, it's easy to imagine you as an angel! But father never looks happy, but then he never looks sad either." Clovis picked up a thicker brush and dipped it in pale blue paint.

A while later, he put the paintbrush down, and with a flourish presented it to the prince and two princesses.

On the pale gray stone bench, Lelouch sat -smiling quietly- in the middle, Euphy was on his left and Nunnally on his right, both were beaming. The imperial siblings seemed to glow. The shadows cast by them and the bench were black, and in contrast, the paved ground, reflecting sunlight, was a brilliant white. In the background was the garden of the Aries imperial villa in its full, blooming glory. The grass and flowers were not merely colorful- they were exuberant.

"Wow." Euphy breathed.

"That's beautiful big brother Clovis! Thank you!" Nunnally hugged him.

Lelouch was impressed despite himself. His brother really had talent (even if he was useless in almost everything else).

"Who is that?" he pointed, noticing a figure leaning against a tree in the picture. Judging from the green hair blowing in the wind: it was a woman. Lelouch turned to look at the corresponding tree in real life. The tree was quite close, and it was obvious that there was no one under it.

"I think it's a friend of your mother's. I've seen her visiting sometimes." Clovis shrugged.

C.C and Marianne were resting their horses beside a small stream. They could see the palace from where they were sitting.

"I saw Lelouch and Nunnally just now." C.C said, settling down on the grass next to Marianne.

The empress smiled fondly. "Clovis and Euphemia are visiting, so they all were probably in the garden posing for the young artist, right?"

She nodded then smirked. "I heard that you'd used a Ganymede to scare off one of Charles'consorts." Marianne chuckled at the memories. "She was bullying my Lelouch and Nunnally! I just couldn't resist doing that."

"What did Charles say?"

"He kept quiet till he was in his room, then burst out laughing."

"You know, I've heard Clovis say that he doesn't draw Charles because he scowls a lot. And I'm sure you took a picture of him rolling on the ground…"

Marianne looked at her, "He Has wondered why his son never painted his pictures, and his birthday IS coming soon."

****

"Clovis, could you come with me? I'd like to show you something.

Clovis who was just about to leave after dinner, smiled politely. "Of course Lady Marianne."