Finally, I have finished this chapter. I rewrote this twice and I am still not entirely happy with it. But any way, read on.
Disclaimer: If Code Geass was mine, I wouldn't be writing this.
"You and Nunnally will be sent to Japan."
As the Emperor of Britannia said those words, murmurs swept through the court. Empress Marianne was known as the favourite wife of the Emperor, so the Emperors words left the court shell-shocked. But Lelouch remained unfazed. Or rather he tried to. He was very much aware that the impassive mask he had tried to perfect was slowly cracking.
"Your Majesty, isn't that a bit harsh?"
Lelouch did not need to turn around to know that it was Cornelia who had interfered, the desperation in her voice was enough. However, he still turned his head. She was looking straight ahead. Though she was trying to look as stoic as possible, her trembling hands gave away her fear.
"Are you questioning me, Cornelia?" Asked the Emperor, as stoic as ever, but his tone made it clear that Cornelia was treading on thin ice.
Cornelia stood still for a moment, obviously trying to come up with an argument which would make the Emperor change his mind. Lelouch did not know why she even bothered to do it. It was as Cornelia said, the Emperor did not care for his children. The drama unfolding right before his eyes, was proof for Lelouch.
Finally, Cornelia drew a deep breath and started talking.
"Your Majesty, who is to say that those Japanese will not threaten to harm them and force our hand." Cornelia looked pleased with the argument that she had put forward. Surely, he wouldn't do anything if the security of Britannia would be compromised.
"So what?"
This answer shocked everyone in the court, Cornelia included. She had expected him to at least pretend that he was human.
Though Cornelia had already told him how little the Emperor cared about them, the way in which the Emperor talked about their possible death, almost as if talking about the weather, shocked Lelouch. He did not know that his father was a monster.
Slowly, the shock turned to rage. It was the Emperor's fault that mother was dead. It was the Emperor's fault that Nunnally was crippled. And here he was, speaking as if was not even bothered about it.
"It's your fault," Lelouch said softly, his voice carrying to all corners of the still silent court. "You are the reason Mother's dead. You are the reason Nunnally's injured. And here you are talking as if they do not matter "
By the end of his rant, Lelouch was breathing heavily. Each breath of his resonated within the walls of the court. The members of court were left shell-shocked at the audacity of the young prince.
The Emperor however remained silent. Those few in the court who were genuinely worried about the young prince, grew more and more uneasy by the second. As if sending the two children to Japan in a situation were war seemed inevitable wasn't bad enough, further punishment would only serve to successfully destroy their last remaining links to the royal family. And in their current situation, the Vi Britannia siblings couldn't afford to lose those last remaining connections.
Suddenly Lelouch felt a hand on his shoulder. Cornelia had come up to Lelouch's side and he had not even noticed. And to his surprise Cornelia went down on one knee and bowed in front of the Emperor. "Please forgive him Your Majesty. He is still grieving and not in his right mind."
Lelouch just stared at Cornelia in shock. He was about to speak against her when he felt her grip on his shoulders tighten, so much so that he nearly cried out in pain. But he managed to restrain himself. It was then that he noticed that even though she had bowed her head down to the Emperor, her eyes were firmly fixed on him and she slowly shake her head, silently ordering him to stay quiet.
"Very well," the Emperor said, breaking the silence the court had descended into, "I will forgive him this time." Once again the court descended into murmurs. The Emperor was infamous for his ruthless punishments. Yet, here he was, forgiving a child who dared to speak out against him.
"However," the Emperor continued, "I will not tolerate another show of disrespect. You will do well to remember that Cornelia."
"Yes your Majesty. Thank you for your kindness," Cornelia said, trying her hardest to keep the venom out of her voice. And she slowly stood up, bowed once again to the monster in front of her, grabbed the hand of her younger brother and walked out of the court as fast she could, dragging him behind her.
"I can't believe he said that." Lelouch said as he rested his head against Cornelia's though she told him that their father did not care for his children, Cornelia knew that a small part of him still believed that she was wrong. At least until their father personally crushed those believes himself.
"He was insistent on sending you and Nunnally to Japan. Not even Schniezel was able to persuade him to change his mind." That caused Lelouch to jerk his head. The fact that Schniezel had talked to the Emperor for him was news to him.
"Schniezel knew about this?" Asked Lelouch, hoping that his mentor had not abandoned him as he had previously believed.
"He was the one who informed me that you were being summoned to meet him," Cornelia said, looking down at once proud and arrogant Prince, now just a lost boy, desperate to know that he still mattered to at least some of the people around him. "Truth is, none of the family members knew about this except Schniezel," she continued, "he hoped that I would have success where he failed."
As she spoke, Cornelia gazed down at the boy next to her, his eyes widening, hoping she was sure, that Clovis would come to visit to paint a portrait, or Schniezel would come to play a game of chess, like they did before Lady Marianne's death. And she once again remembered her oath to destroy anyone who wanted to harm the Vi Britannia's.
The stench made Lelouch gag. The smell of the decomposing bodies was unbearable. Never had he seen such violence in his short life.
"Lelouch, what is that smell?" His little sister, who was on the back of Suzaku, asked. For a moment Lelouch faltered. He did not know what to say. Telling the truth would have been cruel. She had already suffered so much, there was no need to bother her with any more with the harsh realities of what was happening around them.
"Don't worry Nunnally, we are just walking through a garbage dump," he said, ignoring the look which Suzaku sent him. For the smallest time he felt guilty for lying to his sister, but he immediately squashed it. Now was not the time for such feelings. He started walking looking straight ahead, resolutely trying to ignore the look of sympathy, he was sure, Suzaku was sending him.
They had walked for hours, the hot sun was slowly sucking away the last bit of strength from the bodies of the three children. They were so exhausted that the did not notice the sound of a vehicle until it stopped right in front of them. Suzaku and Lelouch tensed. Due to the uniqueness if the group, they were not particularly welcomed by anyone they had met so far.
As soon as the door opened, the two boys immediately readied themselves to flee the scene. But Lelouch was soon found himself unable to move, as he found himself in a powerful bear hug and the only thing he could see was a mane of violet hair.
Hope you guys enjoyed this. I know that this is short, but the chapters will get longer as the story progresses. And also, I really need a beta. So if anyone is interested PM me.
And I almost forgot, Kallen will make her appearance in the next chapter.
Please don't forget to review.