Kallen sat in the meeting room, anxiously waiting for Zero to make an appearance and introduce his knight. She looked around her, taking in all of her surroundings, trying to distract herself from the mixed emotions of anxiety, and jealousy, brewing in her stomach.
The diversity of people invited to the meeting surprised Kallen, if this was so important he probably should have invited more people, not that the people in the room were lacking in status, but there were just so little of them. There was Ohgi, Tohdoh and Chiba all seated alongside each other. Nunally and Lady Kaguya were seated together as well, chattering away quietly while Sayoko, sitting next to Nunally, watched looking rather amused. What was left of the original Resistance members were there as well, along with Rakshata. Near the head of the table were Emperor Schneizel el Britannia and the commander-in-chief of the Britannian army, Cornelia li Britannia. Kallen ended up seated next to Cornelia, much to her discomfort, but no one else would take the seat, and then Tamaki pointed out that since both she and Cornelia were women and since Kallen was half Britannian it only made sense for Kallen to be the one to sit next to her, lest any other unsuspecting person fall victim to her wrath. Kallen told Tamaki that he was exaggerating, as usual, but agreed to do it anyway.
At the head of the table were two chairs, one for Zero and one which had initially been for C.C, although the chair had been removed ever since she had left. Kallen wondered whether C.C had come back, there was a rumor going around that a girl with long hair had been seen around the building, but if she had why would Zero call such a small yet important meeting? No, it was someone else, and the rumors were just a byproduct of Tamaki's jealousy of C.C, she was almost sure of it.
The door slid open with a hiss and Zero stepped in, his cloak drawn around him, everyone stood, including Schneizel, and waited for him to sit down. He signaled to someone standing just outside Kallen's view and sat in his chair, motioning for everyone to sit down.
"Many of you know why this meeting was called and those who don't will find out soon enough" he paused, waiting for a reaction, maybe.
"The resistance groups, or group rather, has been growing larger, and becoming stronger, by the day. I am worried that they will attempt something rash in the near future, try and stir up trouble. So, in order to prevent anything from happening I have decided to take action and show them that we are ready to fight for peace, and that we will not allow them to disturb the current order of things" What does any of this have to do with his Knight? "I once knew of a woman who had such extraordinary fighting skills that I thought she must be inhuman" Kallen noticed Tohdoh's eyes narrowing "That woman disappeared for a while and I was recently able to locate her and persuade her to join our forces" Tohdoh opened his mouth to say something but Zero held up a hand, silencing him. "Many of the people in this room have been acquainted with her at some point and all of you have probably heard of her. She may be considered as our personal FLEIJA Warhead, only much more controllable, but just as dangerous I assure you."
Zero stood up and everyone followed suit. Kallen noticed that Tohdoh had begun to look slightly uncomfortable and she wondered why. They heard a familiar hiss and everyone turned expectantly towards the door, a mix of anticipation and excitement apparent on their faces.
A young woman, with waist length, raven black hair and fierce eyes stood in the doorway. She wore a military uniform, similar to that of the former Knight of Zero. A large katana hung by each side of her waist and black steel toed boots were on her feet.
There stood Lisbeth ru Britannia.
"This, my good comrades, is Lisbeth ru Britannia. Henceforth, formally known as Knight of Zero"
Kallen felt her blood boil and rise to her face just watching her strut to Zero's side, anger flooding through her entire body. Zero sat down and everyone did the same, Lisbeth waited for everyone to be seated before sitting down herself. Kallen started to shake, her jaw clenching and unclenching, her face getting hotter and hotter by the minute. If he wanted an 18 year-old girl he could've chosen ME. I'm the best we've got, how dare he choose someone else? After everything I've done for him he chooses some Britannian Princess over me? Kallen had to stop herself from growling.
"LISBETH" Kaguya yelled, grabbing Nunally and pointing while jumping up and down in her seat. "Nunally Nunally it's Lisbeth! It's Lisbeth! Look!" How the hell does Kaguya know her?
"Lady Kaguya please calm down" Sayoko said, smiling at Lisbeth who, in turn, smiled back. Sayoko knows her as well?
"Impossible" whispered Cornelia beside her, her face horror-stricken "Did you know about this?" she asked Schneizel.
"No" he replied calmly.
"What's wrong?" Chiba was asking Tohdoh, looking extremely worried, and Kallen could see why.
Tohdoh's face had gone white and it looked as if he had stopped breathing, his eyes were wide and his lips were pressed so tightly together they were all but a white line, he looked like he had just seen a ghost.
"Lisbeth. It can't be" he finally croaked his voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. Tohdoh too? What the hell?
"He should've just chosen Kallen. At least she isn't a Britannian" Tamaki whispered loudly.
"No."Tohdoh said loudly. "Lisbeth is just as Japanese as Kallen is"
"How Japanese can a Britannian Princess be?"
"Whether she is Japanese or not does not matter, I thought that lesson had been taught and understood long ago. There is no place for racists here" Zero's tone was calm but his words shut Tamaki up immediately.
Lisbeth smiled appreciatively at Tohdoh, who nodded back, looking like he was on the verge of tears, the first time Kallen had ever seen him this emotional.
"Lisbeth is the best fighter I've ever seen!" Kaguya said, looking at Nunally, who nodded in confirmation.
"Thank you" she said, smiling and nodding at Kaguya and Nunally.
"Kallen" Zero said.
"Yes?"
"Please stand here" Zero stood up and gestured to the space in front of him.
Lisbeth stood behind him, a dark look washing over her face as she wrapped her hands around the handles of her swords.
"Kallen, I would like you to shoot me"
"I thought we agreed not to do this plan" Lisbeth's tone sounded dangerous but Zero ignored her.
"Excuse me?" Kallen said, looking dumbstruck.
"Please shoot me. Aim for my legs if it-" Kallen pulled out her gun and squeezed the trigger.
Lisbeth growled and jumped onto the table, drawing a katana and reaching out in front of Zero to deflect the bullet, Kallen shot again, Lisbeth jumped in front of Zero and deflected it once more. Kallen shot and shot and shot and Lisbeth blocked each and every one of her bullets. Kallen stopped when she had a single bullet left, breathing heavily, Lisbeth appeared calm but her eyes were alert and she stood in a protective stance in front of Zero.
When Kallen shot her last bullet she hadn't really expected anything other than Lisbeth blocking the bullet again, but instead she used the bullet to knock the gun out of Kallen's hand. She put her katana away and retrieved Kallen's gun, reloading it and handing it back to her.
"Thank you Lisbeth" Zero said calmly, returning to his seat.
"Stupid fucker" Lisbeth mumbled as she went back to her seat and glowered at the floor.
"Are you satisfied Tamaki?" Tamaki nodded, his face pale.
"As you have all just seen Lisbeth is quite capable, both in hand-to-hand combat and operating a Knightmare Frame. I think that she is just what we need to prove to those who oppose us that we will not, under any circumstances, allow the peace to be disturbed."
Kallen was still in shock by the time Zero had finished his speech and he and Lisbeth were getting up to leave. She was still trying to work out how in the hell she had managed to block all of the bullets using a katana, one of the most difficult swords to master. Another thing she tried to comprehend was what a Britannian was doing mastering a Japanese sword and affiliating herself with people like Kaguya Sumeragi.
She was really trying to shoot him too, take out all her frustration, but apparently Lisbeth was too good of a bodyguard to let that happen, Kallen almost growled again but instead she opted for scowling at the table, a more civilized manner of showing her frustration. Kallen really disliked Lisbeth at that point, but somehow she truly believed that she wasn't to blame. She didn't ask to be given this inhumann power, she didn't ask to be appointed Zero's Knight, and she had no way of knowing about Kallen so there was no reason she should refuse his offer.
Kallen just couldn't bring herself to hate her.
Something clicked inside of her, seeing them walk out like that together, and she decided to follow them, something she was sure she would be good at, although thinking back on the fight, Kallen had been so sure she could get past Lisbeth then too. Of course, if she was discovered she could just say that she had decided to go back to her room or the bathroom or something, depending of course on which way they were headed.
"Do you still think this meeting was a bad idea?"
"I think this entire affair is a bad idea, Zero" she sounded cross.
Kallen noticed that Lisbeth didn't speak to Zero like he was higher than her, they spoke together as if they were equal, there was no formality between them at all. Stupid fucker Kallen remembered I thought we decided not to go through with this plan she almost sounded like she was chiding him, like he was a child and she was his mother somehow. If Kallen could only figure out Lisbeth's past she would be able to tell for sure whether the current Zero was Suzaku once and for all. Kallen was standing behind a wall, they were apparently heading towards Zero's room and it became obvious to her that Lisbeth knew who Zero was.
"That's not-" he began to say but she cut him off.
"As for this meeting I think it's utterly pointless, not to mention extremely stupid."
"I merely wanted to test people's reactions before the actual thing tomorrow"
"Yes, but Cornelia could go and blab to someone and we might get into a lot of trouble. Unless you're forgetting I was meant to be Empress of that godforsaken country. This whole thing could cause an international incident, a Britannian Princess working under a former terrorist, and I know you say that the division between races has diminished greatly but I don't think too many Japanese people would be happy about that."
"Are you forgetting that you are half Japanese? And I already proposed a solution to that problem, besides, I believe Cornelia is a little smarter than that"
"Yes but I can't announce that publicly. It would cause an even bigger problem which I'm not ready to deal with right now. I've already endangered his life enough, Zero. Do you want me to kill my own brother for some selfish matter?" she sighed and Kallen held her breath. What the hell is she talking about?
"I highly doubt that Emperor Charles vi Britannia actually told anyone that he had a little boy locked away somewhere, using him to blackmail one of his wives and her daughter"
"My father may be a tyrant, but he isn't stupid. He must have ensured some way for this to go on, it was a lifelong contract, if I die it will fall upon my eldest child and when he or she dies it will fall upon their children. And so on and so forth"
"So the logical solution would be to not have any children?" Did he sound…disappointed?
"I could always adopt, though I can't see myself as a motherly figure" Zero chuckled.
"I can't either"
"I never really labeled you as the strategic type anyway" He's freaking Zero for Christ's sake how can he not be the strategic type?
"What do you mean?"
"You're the type of person who fights with your heart, and I admire that greatly about you, however you are quiet lacking in the department of logical reasoning. So I think that you have some other motive behind this meeting"
"Well, there's another reason why I approached you to be my Knight. Your fighting skills are beyond legendary and your brain power equals that of the greatest leader in history, not to mention you are an excellent cynic, even if you are a bit blunt at times"
"So, I am to be your advisor as well? I fear that people will consider me as a replacement for C.C and treat me as such…I see that you have adopted formal speech, something you never could get a grasp on as far as I could remember" from her tone Kallen could tell that she was smiling.
"It makes things much easier, I understand why you Royals use it now"
"So, what was the real reason behind this meeting?"
"In all honesty, I merely wanted to assure those close to you that you are alive and well."
"Tohdoh you mean?"
"Well, Tohdoh, Sayoko, Nunally, Kaguya. Cornelia seemed quite happy to see you as well"
"Yeah, sure" Lisbeth snorted.
"Weren't you close as children?"
"Not really, she spent too much time around Euphemia for my liking, plus she took up the role of guarding Marianne who lived in an entirely different section of the palace. I would be lying if I said that I didn't like her, though"
"Why do you dislike Euphemia so much?"
"I guess opposites didn't attract in our case. She was too…naïve, too optimistic. And despite the fact that I appreciate those qualities greatly in a person I just couldn't get along with someone like that"
"I think you label yourself as depressing too much"
"It's the truth, it's not as if I have any reason to be optimistic, my childhood wasn't exactly a walk in the park"
"There you go, being blunt again. Someday you are going to get into an extremely uncomfortable situation because of that mouth of yours."
"The regular definitions of uncomfortable situations don't really apply to me unless you haven't noticed. I don't tend to deal with certain situations as most people might"
"And you ask why I chose you from my Knight"
"Kallen didn't seem to be too happy about that" she sounded remorseful.
"She was close to Lelouch, and he favored her greatly, she was probably just surprised that she wasn't chosen"
"She's an excellent fighter"
"I'm not looking for someone to operate a Knightmare for me. I'm looking for someone who I can trust to thoroughly be able to protect me should we be put in a position where we don't have access to Knightmares or any other form of modern weaponry. You are the only person I know who would be able to protect someone from a Knightmare without needing to use one of your own."
"It's in my blood"
"You are too modest. If I didn't know any better I would have thought you were some future form of an advanced Knightmare, meant to look like an innocent human"
"If you didn't know any better? What's that supposed to mean?" she sounded amused.
"Don't be perverted"
"Gino's getting to me" she sighed and Zero laughed.
"In any case Rakshata sure as hell treats me like a Knightmare"
"She finds you interesting, and she wants to build the perfect Knightmare for you"
"It won't only be for me, you'll be sitting in it as well"
"Exactly, I'll just be sitting in it; you'll be doing all the flying and fighting"
"And if we are put in a position where you need to operate?"
"I'm sure it won't be that difficult, I'll read the manual and take it for a few test runs before using it in battle if it it'll make you feel more comfortable"
"Very well, I still believe you think too highly of me"
"You think too little of yourself" he sounded amused now as well.
"…"
"Something wrong?" there was genuine worry in his voice.
"I just…I really don't see the odds of this turning out well. The government will probably demand that I return to Pendragon immediately and call this a conspiracy of some sorts. And when I refuse they will demand that I give up my status and my claim to the throne, but I can't do that, I promised Lelouch I would do my best to help you and I never ever break my promises. I just…I don't feel ready enough for this"
"You will be fine. I have complete faith in your capabilities" his voice was soothing yet firm.
After about two minutes of silence Kallen decided to look and see what was happening, just to make sure they hadn't died or something. What she found was Lisbeth in Zero's embrace, she had her arms wrapped around his waist and he was stroking her hair gently, she couldn't hear it from where she stood but she could detect the faint sound of deep voice murmuring something.
When Lisbeth pulled away Kallen could tell immediately that she hadn't been crying. She had an expression of a person who was crying but her eyes were completely dry. She resumed her previous stance, standing rigid and returned the hardened look on her face as if nothing had happened.
"I'm afraid I have a favor to ask of you" she said quietly and Kallen returned to her hiding place behind the wall hurriedly.
"Ask away"
"Well, considering my current condition I don't really feel safe sleeping in the dorms" Current condition? What does she have split-personality disorder or something? "And as a byproduct of that I've been suffering from lack of sleep, well more than I normally do anyway"
"I see. You can stay with me"
"Huh?"
"You can have C.C's old room" she muttered something in response which made him laugh.
"I wasn't planning on letting you sleep in the school anyway, much too risky, I may need you for something in the middle of the night and I don't want to have to send someone to fetch you from the school"
"What on earth could you possibly need from me in the middle of the night? You know…I'm starting to think that the rumors about C.C and Zero's relationship are true"
"There you go, being perverse again." Zero sighed and Lisbeth chuckled.
"As I said, Gino has been getting to me lately, it's quite hard not to be influenced by that boy" she sighed.
"Would you like me to send for someone to get your stuff?"
"I'll get them myself thank you"
"I know it isn't easy for you to rely-"
"I said thank you" Lisbeth snarled and Zero sighed.
"Of course, you're very welcome"
"You know, I'm afraid that I have to shamelessly take advantage of your bottomless kindness once more, Zero"
"You are free to take advantage of whatever you like"
"My second request is…" she trailed off and then took a deep breath "…Is for you to find happiness"
"Oh…well…er...I don't think that's possible, you see, I-" he sounded extremely uncomfortable.
"Please" she pleaded, sounding desperate.
"I'll…try" he sighed.
"Thank you"
Kallen followed them the rest of the way, still digesting all this information. A million and a half questions ran through her brain, but she couldn't find a single one that she would ever actually be able to ask. Throughout their conversation Kallen's suspicions about Zero's identity rose and fell until she was right back at square one.
When they reached the door to Zero's living area Lisbeth flung out an arm to stop Zero from resuming his pace. Kallen stood, frozen to the spot, afraid that she had been caught. She sighed in relief when Lisbeth lowered her arm and placed a hand on Zero's shoulder, her previously tense body had relaxed and Kallen could hear her take a deep breath.
"I trust that I have your confidence in everything we discussed and will discuss in the near future?" her voice was a little loud and it took Kallen a while to realize that the question was actually directed towards her, of course, it wasn't a question really, more of an order.
"Yes of course"
"Thank you"
