Chapter Two

It had been almost seventy years since that day.

Seventy years since the death of Lelouch vi Britannia, the 99th emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire.

Seventy years since I had sacrificed myself and left my life behind.

I stood in front of a gravestone, in a cemetery near Ashford Academy. Ashford was still running, overseen by Milly's grandson, or so I understood. I had kept up with the lives of my old friends, but it was difficult to do so with any certainty when I was believed to be dead.

And I suppose in a way, I did die that day. Lelouch vi Britannia, emperor, student, leader, truly ceased to exist. Those titles no longer belonged to me.

The gravestone was Nunally's. She had passed away several years ago. Her, I had managed to be more informed on. She became the empress of Britannia, ruling justly all her life, well-loved by her people.

At the age of twenty, she had begun to stand, with aid of a walker and the ever-present Zero holding her arm. At thirty, she no longer needed the walker, and simply leaned on her constant companion when she became unsteady. By the time she reached forty, she walked confidently on her own. Few things in my long life brought me more joy than seeing her gracefully step up to give a speech.

I never asked how C.C. recovered my body. Seventy years, and it's never seemed important. All I remember was fading away, cradled in Nunally's shaking arms, and waking up cradled in C.C.'s steady ones, in a room I didn't recognize. I also didn't recognize the Geass symbol on my forehead, a match for C.C.'s.

I knew I would die that day. I also knew it would not be permanent. That did not make it any easier or less real.

C.C. and I lived together quietly for several years. Neither of us wanted to give the power of Geass to anyone else; there was no place for it in the time of peace and prosperity that followed my death. However, C.C. was right in that immortality is a lonely life. Most of my childhood friends are dead. All of the family members I knew are dead. This cold knowledge is warmed only the companionship I've found in C.C., and the feeling of her next to me when nightmares interrupt my sleep.

She'd kissed me tenderly the first time I was struck with the reality of never being able to see Nunally, Suzaku, Milly, and Rivalz again. Over time, those kisses had developed into more, and not only occurring when I needed comfort. Even as everyone we'd known faded away and were forgotten, we never felt alone. I saw relief in her eyes whenever she remembered she did not have to spend an eternity in solitude.

She'd once told me her wish was to die. I'd learned long ago that it was to truly be loved, without the influence of her Geass. In making a contract with her, I'd promised to fulfill her wish before I knew what it was. I reminded her of this after I'd first told her I loved her, joking that our contract was finally complete. This had actually made her smile.

And so for the next several decades, we lived simple lives. We stayed away from the eyes of anyone who would recognize us. As much as we could be, we were happy.

I felt an arm slip around my waist as I stared at the gravestone. I didn't have to look to know who it was. I knew C.C.'s touch better than my own. She didn't speak, only looked at the gravestone with me.

The sun was beginning to slip below the horizon. C.C. reached into a small bag on her hip, setting an item on the ground among flowers and other small tokens. Nunally's grave was still consistently adorned even three years after her death.

Eventually C.C. squeezed my hand. I met her eyes, and she reached up to brush away tears I hadn't realized I'd shed. She pressed her lips to mine gently, and then turned to head back down the neatly trimmed path, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I knelt over the grave and placed my hand on the marker. "I love you, too, little sister," I whispered. I kissed my fingers and touched them to the place where her name was engraved.

As I followed C.C. down the path, I turned back to the gravestone one last time, watching the sun's last rays settle on the small origami crane resting in the grass.