Chapter 2 - An Excuse To Like You

a.t.b December 24th 2009

Britannia - Pendragon Imperial Palace

Lady Marianne is is dead. Nunnally is dead.

My fault.

Mine.

She ran blindly through the palace, she needed air, gasping and sobbing she stumbled towards a set of double doors leading to the main balcony. She needed to be alone, she knew her father would never forgive her if she knowingly let anyone see her cry. Weakness. He hadn't even reacted to the news, he didn't care. The woman she looked up to as a hero was dead because of her, someone who she regarded as a mother a confidant after her own mother left.

She flung open the doors and the freezing air immediately assaulted her. Staggering to the balcony ledge she crumpled to her knees and clung onto the railing, sobbing uncontrollably she ignored the falling snow as it drifted around her.

"Princess? Princess!" A voice called. The doors flung open with a bang. Bullets. Her breaths started coming out more jaggedly as the footsteps hurriedly approached. She couldn't breathe, her chest felt like it was being squeezed in a vice grip as her hands started to shake. Screams.

"Princess!" Someone took her hands between theirs and pushed her backwards so she was sitting down on the floor. Crying.

"Princess, you need to calm down you're having a panic attack, breathe with me. In, out, in, out." Get in there the empress is in trouble! Taking deep breaths in time with the voice the vice grip on her chest slowly loosened and her breathing calmed down with each breath she took her fuzzy vision becoming clearer until she could make out the figure in front of her.

"Guilford?" She gasped. Guilford was now a member of the Royal Guard along with Margrave Jeremiah, three years of harsh military service had all but stamped out the playful attitude she remembered from when they first met. He was proud of his heritage and had a strong loyalty to the royal family but that had seemed to be all that was left of him. He followed orders to the letter and focused all his energies into becoming a top Knightmare pilot, he stopped attending parties and had treated her with cold detachment... up until now.

An expression of concern dominated his features. His grey eyes emanating such worry that she was beginning to wonder if she'd imagined his cold attitude towards after her birthday. Initially when she had seen Guilford amongst a small group of Royal Guards stationed outside her younger sisters room three years ago she had approached him and attempted to make conversation, to which he responded with monosyllabic answers with a stoic expression. After several embarrassing occasions of being softly rebuffed by him she had finally started to treat him the way she would any other soldier. Coldly.

To try and forget the feelings she had for him she threw herself into every activity that didn't involve being anywhere near him. Spending summers at the Aeris Villa, going on diplomatic missions with Schneizel and finally learning how to pilot a Knightmare with the Goddess herself Marianne vi Britannia who was nicknamed Marianne the Flash for her expertise in a Knightmare frame. Marianne… She felt sick. Clutching at the front of his uniform she noticed something. Blood. It was splattered all over his chest and had soaked through the bottom of his trousers dying them a deep red.

She turned to a pile of snow by her side and promptly vomited, falling heavily sideways as she did so from the force of her retching. Arms clutched around her waist kept her from falling head first into the snow, fingers grazed her skin, fingertips dyed with blood. She jerked slightly at the realisation and long strands of her hair streaked in her sick as she coughed at the sudden movement and from the force of her retching. Tears streamed down her face as she forced her hands to fall limp by her sides instead of clutching at his front.

Exhausted her head lolled backwards and white spots danced in her vision. She heard a low murmuring from Guilford that sounded like a reassurance before everything became fuzzy. Guilfords hand slipped under her knees and rested on her back before lifting her up, her head falling uselessly onto his chest and her hands hanging limply towards the floor. After a few seconds the warmth of the corridors began to seep through her skin.

'Princess I'm taking you back to my rooms.' He paused a second as he began to descend some stairs. 'I presume that you don't want anyone to see you like this.' Guilfords soft voice slipped in through the cracks of my consciousness. I couldn't speak but I could feel the memories of months of uncomfortable silences and awkward glances melting away as I began to slip away in his arms.

Thank you.

I am so sorry! I forgot! Thank you for being patient and for you PM (you know who you are) to remind me this story even exists. I'll upload chapter two in about the same time as this one maybe less if a moment of inspiration strikes me. It's in the next few chapters where you'll see the characters that we see in Code Geass to really appear, the first three will be how they got there. Be patient please!

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