The Power of Queens

Chapter 6

The holidays had finally arrived. School was out for the next few weeks and Liana was sitting on the train home contemplating. She was going to the Black Knight camp. The thought unsettled her slightly; it meant that she was finally leaving the security of her childhood and stepping into the bigger world, the world that was her duty to protect.

She couldn't help but be a little bit nervous and maybe a little angry as well. She was about to meet the very same rebels who had fought to free Japan from Britannian rule but also the very same arrogant fools who had betrayed her father after everything he'd done for them. They still thought he was a tyrant and she had little doubt that they would turn on her should her true identity be discovered. Not that that would happen. The worst thing that could happen would be that her Geass would permanently activate and she'd accidently brain wash someone. She sighed and tipped her head back against the window. She had been using her Geass more and more often as of late and she had a feeling that she would lose her control of it soon. She'd have to contact C.C. when that happened.

Twisting her head around slightly she examined her reflection in the window. Everything was in place; her hair was longer than usual (thanks to extensions) and dyed its usual tacky blond and her dark violet eyes were hidden by muddy brown contacts though, if you looked close enough, the mesmerising purple could still be seen beneath the dull brown. Then she turned her attention to another easily recognised feature; her arm. It had been several weeks since her encounter with her maternal grandmother and her run in with the thugs and she hadn't seen either since but just at a glance she could tell that the scarring from the knife wound inflicted upon her would be permanent. A long faint red line ran up the length of her inner forearm, from the top of her wrist to a few inches above her elbow. It was not particularly painful, nor had it weakened her arm in anyway, but the problem was that it could not be covered up. She glared at it disdainfully for a few moments before glancing at her wristwatch.

Quarter past one. She had been on the train for over an hour now and they were just passing through rural countryside. She groaned; it was another half hour until she finally reached her destination. After about ten minutes of looking out the window, watching them pass farm after farm, she turned her attention to the carriage. It was empty. It had been nearly full when she'd gotten on in Tokyo but most people seem to have gotten off within the city or at the former ghettos. She took a moment to relax in the peace and quiet but it was useless as, at that precise moment, the door leading to the carriage in front swung open and a girl around Liana's age stepped inside.

She was a tall girl, taller than Liana, with long, wavy dark brown, almost black, hair and azure blue eyes and the kind of porcelain skin and pretty, aristocratic features that many nobles seemed to share. Liana was instantly on the defensive. She knew that the nobles in Britannia were rising up against the royal family, against her aunt, the empress Nunnally. She knew that they were displeased with the equality that Lelouch had forced upon them, they wanted their power and riches back. Their guerrilla strikes against the empire were reported on the news almost weekly. It was almost like with the terrorist attacks in Japan before her father had become involved; clumsy and disorganised but still, to a level, effective and she was positive that the nobles were not doing this alone. There had to be some greater power behind it; there always was.

"Hey," the girl greeted, pushing a thick lock of dark chestnut hair behind her ear. She sat down opposite Liana.

"Hi," Liana replied curtly. She had no business with the girl, what did she want?

The girl stuck out a hand. "I'm Marley," she introduced herself, "Marley Cobert."

After a few moments Liana shook the girl's hand. "Liana Leicester."

The girl smiled widely at her. "The other carriage was totally empty," she explained, "and you looked kind of lonely all here by yourself so I thought I'd join you."

"You were watching me?" Liana questioned sharply. Marley's eyes widened and she shook her head viciously.

"No, no, no! I just saw you and I thought maybe you'd like the company. I was kind of lonely myself, actually..."

Liana said nothing and instead contemplated the information the girl had given her. Marley Cobert, Marley Cobert. Cobert. The name sounded familiar but she didn't know where she'd seen it before. Or perhaps it wasn't the name Cobert at all that she recognised, just something that sounded like it. Cobert was far too plain, after all, to be the name of a Britannia noble. And this girl, who was now watching Liana nervously and biting her nails, didn't appear to be noble in anyway apart from appearance. And that could just be a coincidence. There had been normal people, after all, with noble-looking features; her paternal grandmother - the former empress - was an example of that.

Taking her chances, Liana smiled at her. Almost instantly, Marley smiled back.

"Where are you headed on this empty train?" Liana asked her, genuinely curious.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm going to that Black Knight camp thing."

"I am too."

"Really?"

Liana nodded, noting Marley's obvious happiness that she had met someone else, who seemed relatively friendly, that was also going.

"That's good," Marley laughed, "I was worried that I wouldn't know anyone and everyone else would know each other and I'd be the odd one out."

Liana shrugged. "We can be odd ones out together then. I don't know anyone either." She paused and took a closer look at Marley. Before she had only noticed her most obvious features but now that she looked closer she noticed that the clothes the girl wore were old and frayed, and the bag that she carried looked like it might rip at any moment. She looked, well, poor really.

Was this what the Japanese looked like when Britannia governed them?

"You're Britannian," Liana commented. Marley watched her carefully for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, I am."

"Where're you from?"

Marley was silent again for a few moments, and Liana could tell that it was a sensitive subject for her but she didn't back down.

"I live with my sister," she admitted finally, "we used to live in Britannia itself but not anymore."

"How come?"

"Our parents and older brothers – they were soldiers – were killed when I was just a baby," her voice cracked slightly and Liana began to regret pushing her for answers, "during the demon emperor's reign. We've been moving about ever since. Been in Japan for a while though." She smiled sadly.

So her family had been killed in the battles during her father's reign, fighting for the opposite side obviously. Not that she could blame them; he had played the role of the tyrant very, very well. But they were just soldiers.

"Do you hate him?" she asked, "Lelouch vi Britannia, I mean."

Marley nodded. "I do. He killed so many people. He deserved what he got. And you? What's your story, Liana?"

Liana hid the anger that was within her well, only the flash in her eye showed her true feelings. Luckily, Marley wasn't looking her in the eye but instead staring at the ground, silently mourning her deceased family.

"My father was killed during that time as well, near the end of the... demon emperor's reign," well, that wasn't a lie, "and my mother, well, I don't know what happened to her," not quite true, "but I haven't seen her since I was very small," since birth, actually, "I've moved around a bit, staying with my sister," yeah right, C.C.'s at least five hundred years older than me, "but I've lived in Japan for a long time now, though I sometimes visit the capital."

"And you're Britannian?" she asked.

"Yes," Liana confirmed. The only feature she possessed that looked somewhat Japanese were the shape of her eyes; large, almond-shaped orbs. Marley nodded.

They chatted a little bit longer about random things, both girls were glad not to be talking about families or politics and they bonded quickly, soon considering each other friends yet Liana couldn't help but feel that behind Marley's shy and innocent demeanour, they was something distinctly off.

Before they knew it the train was coming to a halt as it entered the station. They had arrived.

Black Knights, Liana thought with a smirk, here I come.