*Throws my crappy fanfiction at you* This is just a random little story I wrote because I thought it might be fun. I hope you enjoy.
Some might say C.C. was inexpressive. They might say she seemed as cold and immovable as a stone statue, or as pretty as a porcelain doll, and just as vacant.
Upon meeting her Lelouch would have agreed; she certainly appeared as though she would not let one flicker of emotion pass across that unfeeling face. Even before recently he would have to admit his thoughts sometimes strayed into that realm, but it was far from the truth.
Though she conducted herself with an air of callous apathy, Lelouch didn't miss the micro-expressions as they flitted across her features. It was rare that he knew what they meant. That slight crease of the brow, the slight purse of lips, the sudden flicker in those haunting eyes. But if there was one thing he knew, it was that C.C. was not expressionless, or without emotion.
Lelouch had witnessed those delicate features screw up in pain, soften with affection, and reveal a childlike vulnerability. However, there was one emotion he thought would never appear on her face: wonder.
A woman who had seen empires rise and fall was fixated on a door, opening and closing with a press of a button, her eyes alight with wonder. Well, to be precise, it was a very young version of her, but nonetheless that was still her face, and that look was unmistakable.
Lelouch had been making an effort to hide his amusement(with mixed results) ever since he had exposed the slave girl to all the wonders of their shared quarters. However, whatever else happened, Lelouch had determined he would not waste this unique circumstance. All those innocently expressive faces, and wild reactions would be catalogued into his memory forever. In fact, he was trying to refrain from goading her on just to see what expressions and movements his partner was capable of.
The only thing stopping him was that it seemed rather cruel given the circumstances...cruel to himself more than anything. He was merely hoping to amuse himself with the memories at some point in the future once his C.C. had returned to her proper place, languidly stretched out across the couch or his bed, devouring her favourite cuisine without a care in the world.
Grudgingly, Lelouch had admitted to himself that he found the slave girl cute. That C.C. was cute was something he had refused to admit even when he caught himself staring at his C.C. with her arms wrapped around her favourite yellow plush, or with a certain expression on her face. But that the woman looked rather endearing in this moment was something he couldn't deny.
Thus, it was with some remorse that Zero stood and left the girl to the simple pleasure of opening and closing sliding doors with a push of a button. There were other matters that required his attention.
No matter how many times she saw it slide open and close its mysteries refused to reveal themselves to her. She was baffled and amazed. How does a touch here, translate to a movement there?
And it was a door, a door unlike any in her experience, but a door. She liked to think of it as a sorcerer's door. The slave yearned to ask her master how it worked, however she was too timid to muster the courage.
A dark figure stirred in the corner of C.C.'s eye, causing her to start and shift away with unease until she turned, the realization it was just her master dawning on her. The girl's wide eyes trailed after the man, a mask concealing his features and a cloak wrapped around his broad shoulders.
"I'll return shortly," he informed her, his tinny voice resounding off the walls as he swept by with long strides. The doors in his path hissed open and closed once he strode past them, blocking his figure from view.
The girl stared after him, suddenly realizing that the doors had closed of their own accord, something she hadn't realized a moment earlier as she continuously pressed the button. Cautiously, she opened the doors her master had left through, stepping through and turning back to watch as they closed.
But how does it do that? In her mind it seemed as though the doors could sense her. Is it...alive?
Disturbed by the notion, she recoiled. But nothing had happened yet despite her incessant button pressing, and her master acted as though it was conventional. In attempt to calm herself she took a deep breath.
The girl determined she must return to her master's quarters, so she pushed the button at the side of the doorway. Nothing. The doors didn't open. Perplexed, she pushed it again. Nothing.
The fears she had quelled moments earlier rose to the surface once again, her chest tightening with anxiety. Again. Nothing. Maybe it really is alive. Maybe I angered it.
"I-I'm sorry. Please l-let me in," the girl pleaded, not understanding she had to enter the code on the number pad next to the button on the side. She pushed it again. When nothing happened she panicked, convinced she had angered whatever entity controlled the mysterious doors. She recoiled from them until her back hit the other set of doors behind her. The timid girl started and whirled in fear, her long hair swirling around her slight frame at the sudden movement. On reflex she apologized, "I'm so sorry!"
Biting her lip, she considered the other set of doors, her face still displaying her fear prominently. One hand darted out and she quickly pushed a button by this new doorway experimentally. When they swooshed open she took a hesitant step forward, peering out into the long hallway outside. She took another step out, recognizing the place from her one trip with her master when he had originally taken her here.
A moment later she realized the doors had closed behind her, but her attention was quickly diverted when she detected raucous laughter coming from somewhere down the hall. People...
Lelouch entered his quarters, removing his masks as he announced, "I have returned."
Silence was his only answer, though it wasn't overly strange considering his roommate's shy nature.
"C.C., where are you? I have a present for you," he said, casting his gaze around the room as he clutched the brightly coloured children's book in his gloved hands.
Silence.
The exiled prince frowned. It was unlike her. Perhaps she is asleep. Lelouch opened the door to their bedroom, but the sheets had remained undisturbed in his absence.
The washroom? He walked across the room and knocked on the door. No answer. He opened it to find the room unoccupied. She left?
As a last effort the raven-haired man jogged over to his command centre located at the back of their quarters, his mind already calculating all her possible whereabouts and formulating possible courses of action. The empty space was void of the emerald-haired woman. Shit! I should have told her not to leave.
Lelouch gritted his teeth in frustration. He had hoped to avoid anyone seeing her. Those who knew her would pick up on her strange behaviour almost immediately, and anyone who didn't would still be able conclude something wasn't right about her. He had no idea how he would explain that. Acting? One of her games? The truth? And beyond that...she might hurt herself, and is no doubt terrified. Or maybe she means to escape from me... Damn it.
In one swift motion Lelouch spun around, tossing the book he had been holding onto the coffee table as he passed and pulling up his mask to cover the lower half of his face. He secured Zero's mask on his head as he exited the room, deciding to turn right.
Stalking through the halls, he scanned his surroundings, violet irises glossing over all the hiding places in sight, searching fervently for her bright green head. Lelouch spotted someone approaching from the other direction ahead of him.
"You," he said gruffly, drawing his subordinate's attention.
"Zero?" the Black Knight said, surprised that their leader had spoken to him.
"Have you seen C.C.?" he queried.
"I haven't... Is something wrong?"
Lelouch cursed inwardly as he answered, "No. Continue with your duties."
He continued to search, occasionally asking people if they had seen her as he passed them. Unfortunately, the answer was always the same. He was beginning to think he had elected to start on the wrong side of the Ikaruga as he passed a guarded door. Two Black Knights stood before it, one on either side. The men were guarding the room the Belarusian representatives were meeting in.
They had requested an audience with him scheduled for later today to sort out some matters, and for his convenience Lelouch had granted them access to a room aboard the Ikaruga in which they could discuss in until that time.
"You two, have you seen C.C. pass by here?" Zero asked the two guards.
"Oh, she went in earlier," the guard on the left informed him, gesturing to the doors behind him. "I think she should be speaking to the representatives right now."
"What? You let her in there?!" Lelouch demanded.
"Huh? Yeah. I mean she was a little underdressed so we sent someone for a uniform, but we assumed you sent her. Were we not supposed to?"
"Tch." Ignoring the question, he pushed past them, opening the doors. This is bad...
Noticing his entrance, the smartly dressed men and women turned to face him from their seated positions around a desk, ceasing their discussion in rapid-fire Belarusian. Lelouch's eyes skimmed the room for C.C., but to his surprise it appeared as if she wasn't present. However, he did notice the jumble of clothes discarded to the side; among the pieces of a Black Night's uniform he recognized C.C.'s white boots. Where is she?
A tall man at the head of the table stood, saying in a thick accent, "Zero, we were not expecting you until later."
"Nothing has changed. I merely came to ensure you had everything you required," Lelouch lied without a second of thought.
The room had only one set of doors so Lelouch determined C.C. couldn't have escaped that way considering the guards hadn't seen her leave. The only hiding place besides the banner on the wall is the...table, Lelouch thought as he bent sideways until he made out two golden eyes, blinking out at him from the cover of the mahogany table.
"We assure you that we are fine. Though...Zero, are you well?" The man inquired, a puzzled look etched onto his features.
Realizing he must appear very strange in his current position, Lelouch righted himself, explaining, "Nothing to worry about. I was simply looking to see if there were any more articles of clothing strewn about." He gestured at the pile of clothing he had seen earlier. "I apologize for that. It appears that one of my subordinates was rather careless."
"It is fine," the man assured. "This room is sufficient. However, we would appreciate it if you would allow us to continue our meeting."
Instead of leaving as the man requested the masked man circled their table as he said, "Of course. Though if you have any questions so far I would be pleased to answer them." The room's attention was focused on him, including the attention of a certain girl hiding under a table Lelouch noted, seeing her peek out from the edge.
"We would prefer to finish our discussion first. There are some things we need to make decisions about," a woman spoke up, an annoyed edge colouring her accented words.
"Sounds great. It's always a good idea to look forward toward your ultimate goal." As he said it he pointed forward dramatically, gazing down at C.C., trying to make it clear he wanted her to slip out the door while they weren't looking.
Cocking her head in confusion, she continued to stare. Inwardly groaning, Lelouch repeated, "I said, it's great to look forward to the future, like at that door."
He gestured at the door again, ignoring the stares of the Belarusian representatives. A few of them glanced back at what he was pointing at, utterly confounded. When the confusion clouding the gold eyes peering up at him didn't dissipate he sighed and abandoned the effort. Instead he looked directly at C.C. and made a shooing motion. She understood what that was supposed to mean and scooted under the table.
"Zero, are you sure everything is fine? Do you require medical attention?" one of the members queried, attempting to be courteous even though the expression on his face clearly showed he thought Zero had gone mad.
"Oh I'm all right. It's just that...the painters did such a marvelous job on these walls. I was trying to draw your attention to them. Isn't the colour simply marvelous?"
"It is very...beige..." one of the representatives commented.
As all the Belarusians cast their gaze around the room, a green head popped up on the other side of the table, the girl's gleaming eyes still trained on her master from under her emerald bangs. The woman sitting next to C.C. began turning her head in the girl's direction.
In a desperate act Lelouch made a rapid gesture, waving his hands downward, trying to indicate that he wanted the girl to hide under the table again. She ducked under once more as the representatives' attention snapped back to him, eyeing him suspiciously. This is going very badly...
One of them leaned over to the person next to her and whispered something. Lelouch thought he made out a, "Wacko."
"But you know what? I just realized that this table is not nearly big enough for all of you. I have another room where you can finish your meeting in peace. It's magnificent. Let's depart immediately. I will escort you personally," Zero declared as he sauntered around the table once more, standing before the door again.
"We are fine here my lord. But we must finish our discussion in private. We don't have time to waste."
"Really? Because on second thought I think the walls are not the correct shade of beige. We have a larger room with a much nicer shade," Lelouch continued, hoping that no matter how ludicrous his request may seem, they would give in and follow at the urging of the infamous Zero. Well in this moment he might not seem so impressive, but he still wore the mask and he hoped that was enough.
A more headstrong and impatient man sharply said, "This is nonsense, Zero. If you mean to insult us we may need to rethink our participation."
"No. Of course not. I-"
"We can't follow a madman. What is the meaning of this?" a woman joined in. Lelouch needed to regain their confidence immediately.
He instantly dropped his efforts to free C.C., his voice growing dark as he said, "I will remind you that without me your borders will fall to Britannia. You cannot hope to resist them without the Black Knights' protection."
"Then what is with your...flapping?" the angry man said, mimicking Zero's earlier erratic movement. "We believed that you were a formidable commander, not a buffoon. This is our nation's fate at stake."
"I have not forgotten." His temper flared at the man's insolence, but he kept it in check as he ordered, "C.C., come out. It's all right."
C.C. obeyed, hurriedly scurrying out from under the borders of the desk and eliciting a shrill shriek from the woman sitting beside her. Lelouch had wanted to avoid...well that...
C.C. wore the jacket of a Black Knight's uniform and behind her she dragged a very long black boot. She had seemingly somehow managed to only put it on partway, leaving the rest of its length to drag behind. It was quite the sight to behold.
Kneeling before him with her gaze fixed on his feet, the slave girl apologized, "I'm so s-sorry. I accidentally got stuck o-outside and I heard people so I ran and those m-men told me to go in here and p-put those c-clothes on. And then a-all these people c-came in and I d-didn't know what to do so I hid. I'm so sorry."
"It's fine. I would appreciated if you stood up though," Lelouch instructed with a twinge of sorrow. The sight of her groveling seemed very wrong.
She obeyed as the young man directed his gaze back to the Belarusian representatives. Their slack jawed expressions of shock were laughable; he couldn't help but smirk with amusement behind his mask.
"Please forgive me, master. I understand if you have to bea-" She finished with an alarmed squawk muffled by the hand that Lelouch had clamped over her mouth just in time.
"Sorry about her. She's fallen very ill as of late. So...we'll just be...going now..." Lelouch excused them, deciding the best course of action was to leave before anything else happened.
Shuffling backwards awkwardly under the wide-eyed gazes of the UFN representatives, Lelouch and C.C. left the room, black boot trailing in their wake.
Lelouch had determined one thing from this whole experience, and it was not that he should tell the slave girl not to leave their quarters. The one thing he had gathered was that no matter what happened, C.C. would always be the bane of his existence.
Authour's Note: Well I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave a review if you wish to. =)