My mother taught me how to make them when I was just a kid. She told me if you make a thousand of them, then your wish would come true. Origami is a Japanese art. I wondered how Nunnally knew how to make them. My father was killed during the Shinjuku ghetto incident. When. My mother was killed during the special zone commemoration. Britannian forces shot her. I tried to carry her, but she told me to leave her behind and run. She told me that she wouldn't have made it even if I did carry her out. That was the hardest decision of my life. Now, I'm on my own. Empress Nunnally returned, interrupting my thoughts.
"Shima-chan! We're back!" Nunnally shouted as she was escorted into the room.
"How was your meeting?" I asked.
"Oh, it was so boring. More talk about territory. Full bloods trying to convince me to do what they want. You know. Same old, same old." I nodded. Zero stood there silently as always. Nunnally continued, "Whoa! You really cleaned the place up didn't you, Shima?"
"Well, I had time. I figured it's the least I could do. It's really no big deal."
"No. It definitely is! How would you like to go out to dinner with Zero and me tonight? It's the least I can do to thank you."
"Oh, my Lady. A thank you isn't really necessary." I responded trying to brush it off.
"No. I insist." She said smiling, grabbing my hand. I finally gave in. I couldn't say no to those beautiful eyes and her sweet smile.
"My lady, where exactly are we going for dinner? I'm not too sure how I should dress."
"We're going to a dinner party. It's a Britannian and Japanese social! I organized it."
"My Lady, I understand that your intentions are pure, but are you sure it's a good idea? Not all Britannians are as forgiving as you are."
"Shima, how is anyone going to learn to like one another if they are always trying to avoid each other? That's why I make these fancy formals."
"But what if someone gets angry that there are Japanese attending?"
"Then they will be escorted out of my social. Anyway, I never thought of you as the type to get discouraged so easily."
"I'm not. I just don't think this is a good idea."
"Do you have a formal dress to wear?" she asked. Come to think of it. I don't. There was no need for dresses in the past. I shook my head. "Well, it's a little late to buy one. I have dresses, but they might be a little tight on you around the breast area. I'm an A cup. You seem to look like a C."
"Empress!" I exclaimed, blushing and covering myself. "You're so forward! There's a guy here! He doesn't need to know about-" I inched closer, and whispered, "about our lady parts." She just laughed.
"It's just Zero! Zero, will you escort us to my room?"
"I thought this was your room."
"Oh no. This is just where most of my stuff is. I have another room at the academy where I keep more permanent things. For example, I keep all my formal clothes in that room so I don't have to pack them whenever I go back to the homeland. I also have many more dresses in the homeland. It's just easier this way since I travel back and forth a lot." She explained. Zero guided us to the elevator and to the second floor library. No one was in there because it was the weekend. Zero pulled a book out and opened it. He put it in Nunnally's face. It scanned her face and the walls opened: Empress Nunnally's secret room. It was huge. I stared in awe. It was glamorous. "Zero if you don't mind, could you please leave the room?" she asked. He left. "Alright, choose whatever you like. There were so many dresses, but there was one that stood out to me. It was a bright and bold, solid red dress. It hung on one shoulder. There were embellishments around the breast.
"Can I try that one on?" I asked, pointing at it.
"I've never even touched that dress before. I don't even remember why I have it. If it fits, you can have it."
"Really?" I asked, more excited than ever. I stripped down right there and zipped it on. It was a little snug around my breast and hips, but the dress looked gorgeous.
"I think it was supposed to be a casual, loose formal gown, but you've turned it into a seductive dress. I like it. " I tried to walk, but my legs were restricted by the tightness of the gown. "Oh no. You can't dance like that! Zero!" she yelled, "Can you bring me some scissors?" Zero entered with scissors and Nunnally cut the dress from the bottom to my upper thigh and made a slit. "There! Now, the dress looks even better!" She yelled in excitement.
"Are you sure it's not too revealing?" I asked in uncertainty.
"Trust me. You'll look like a saint compared to what most Britannian women wear to these things. Now, you have to finish getting ready. Make-up is in the bathroom. Shoes are in the closet. Help yourself." I went into the bathroom. This dress looked great on me. I was kind of excited for this formal. I had never been to one before. I applied my make-up. Contoured my face. Smokey eyes. Nude lips. I put my hair in a loose ponytail that rested on my left shoulder, leaving my other shoulder naked and exposing my neck. I walked into the shoe closet and found tons of different type and sized shoes. It looked like a shoe store. I found a pair of strappy, black high-heels. They were perfect.
"How do I look?" I asked Empress Nunnally.
"You look great. Here," she said, handing me a pair of dangling, diamond earrings.
"You look great too, Empress." I replied. She was wearing a sleeveless-short, baby pink dress. It was a sweetheart cut, so nothing was too revealing. She wore her hair in a bun, with a small tiara. She also wore a shear, white shawl around her neck. She looked so innocent, while I looked like her opposite.
"To the party!" she exclaimed, but first she grabbed for something in the corner. They looked like crutches, but they attached to her forearms. She attached them and it was like she was walking, just with assistance.
"Lady Nunnally. You make it look so easy."
"Yeah. I've been taking physical therapy classes for my legs. I believe that I can overcome this abnormality. I can't exactly walk like a normal person yet, but I can stand up with these crutches. Even though I'm using my arms, it feels really good to stand up. I can even attempt to dance!" she replied, again with her sweet smile. We walked out of the room and secured it, then headed to the elevator. I kept seeing my reflection in the glass windows, but I couldn't keep myself from hiding my excitement. I looked so cool.
The red dress really brought out my Asian features. It contrasted nicely with my black hair and my light brown eyes. We walked toward the car. Zero just kept his head turned away from us. He was so mysterious. After 20 minutes, we arrived at the place. The building was beautiful. There was a garden in the courtyard and vines growing on the building. It looked like something you'd find in the EU. "This building is where our Ambassador meets whenever we have diplomatic concerns with Japan. But I have the authority to hold social gatherings here. " The place was guarded by Knightmares. So if anyone tried anything, they'd be shot down in the blink of an eye.
The party was huge. There were so many high-ranking officials. Gino Weinberg attended with Kallen Kozuki. It was amazing to see a nobleman not care about race. Though Kallen is a half-breed, she proudly claims her Japanese side. She looked incredible. Wearing a simple, sleeveless black, tight fitted gown. There was a slit on both sides, so her legs were exposed. She wore black knee-high, high-heeled boots. Her hair was about shoulder length and straightened. Milly Ashford was as revealing as ever and hosted the party. This was so cool.
"I can see that you're very excited." Nunnally laughed. "You should go mingle. I'm going over there to talk to Milly and Nina."
"I've never really been good at mingling. But I guess I can act like I am so Nunnally doesn't worry about me," I thought to myself. I headed over toward the food: cheese and wine. "The drinking age is 20, but I'm only a year behind. Ah, I'll drink it anyway." I contemplated. I downed the whole glass.
"Hey sexy lady!" a man yelled as they grabbed my butt. I turned around and elbowed them in the face; he fell on the ground. Thankfully, no one was paying any attention. It was Shinichiro Tamaki from the former Black Knights. He was drunk out of his mind. We knew eachother from when we were kids. Before the war, he would come to my house because my mom would always make him really good food. He was always a freeloader.
"Tamaki? What are you doing here?" I asked, annoyed.
"Oh God. Shima? Why are you here! Oh God. I just grabbed your… You're like my sister!" He whined.
"I'm here with Empress Nunnally. She invited me here tonight." I replied.
"So, what. Are you like her servant or something? Did you sell your soul to those Britannian demons!" he shouted, drunkenly. I crouched down,
"Will you lower your voice? You'll get kicked out for being so disorderly. And no, I am not her servant. I am her handmaiden and her friend. Not all Britannians are bad, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. You do know handmaiden is a fancy word for female servant right?" he scoffed.
"Wait. Why are you here if you still hate Britannians so much!"
"The free booze. Why else?" he answered.
"Well, it was nice seeing you again. I'm going to go over there." I told him. I had no idea where I was going, just anywhere away from Tamaki. I grabbed two more glasses of wine and headed for the balcony door. I leaned against the balcony admiring the night sky, while finishing my second glass of wine; the moon was full and bright, and it shined beautifully on the party.
"Who is that girl?" I heard someone say in the background. "She's dressed as if she's someone important."
"There's no way. Can't you see? She's an 11. Just some filthy 11," a man scoffed. I wanted to say something, but I held my tongue. I was so sick of racism, from both sides. I just didn't get it. We are all human.
"You're not supposed to call them 11's anymore, you know."
"Yeah and who's gonna do something about? That cripple we call an Empress?" After he said that, my blood boiled. Empress Nunnally isn't really trusted by the Japanese because she's Britannian and for her to be insulted by her own people made my blood boil. I downed the remaining wine from my second glass, then the third glass. Then, I approached him.
"Hey!" I interrupted, "I don't care if you talk bad about me, but Empress Nunnally is a wonderful person. She's a better person than you low lives could ever dream of being!" Why did I do that? It must be the alcohol. The man inched closer to me, flung the empty wine glasses I was holding, and grabbed my hair, trying to intimidate me. "Go ahead. Hit me. It'll only further my point about how low you are." I exclaimed coldly. Why did I continue to say these things? I'm going to get myself killed. He let go of my head and laughed. Then, he punched me in my abdomen and then kicked me in my ribcage, repeating the phrase, "You filthy savage. I'll show you a low life." I fell to the ground, clutching abdomen.
I tried to brace myself for the beating, but tensing up only made it worse. Everyone on the balcony just stood there, doing nothing. They just continued on with there daily conversations. Some of them even went inside, just so they wouldn't have to see it. I could've defended myself, but it wouldn't help my people. The media would only cover the side that made me look like the criminal –the savage. I let him kick me around so everyone would see who the real savages are. My ribs hurt so badly. They stung with every breath I took. It was painful to the extent that I couldn't even breathe. I was gasping for air. They were probably cracked if not broken. Finally, someone stopped him. All I heard was my attacker fall to the ground. I looked up to see Zero being engulfed in the moonlight, offering his hand to me. I tried to grab it, but it was difficult for me to stand. Even lifting my arm somehow hurt my ribs. So instead, he kneeled down in front of me.