Sorry I didn't update last week, but I've been really busy since my first volleyball tournament of the season is coming up, and that is my priority for now. Also, I was busy with some political campaigning, and now that my friend has won his election, I'll probably be busy interning for him, so unfortunately, that means that the updates are probably going to slow down. But, as always, your reviews convinced to stay up extra late just to type up another chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Chapter 7
Ethereal pillows, billowing sheets that engulfed her in a cloud of warmth, a hand stuffed mattress that provided the best arch support in all of Britannia. She had almost forgotten how nice her bed was. After living on base for a few weeks, a soft bed was a welcome substitution. On the base, she would endlessly toss and turn all throughout the night. At home, she would not stir even once during the night. Not only was her bed more comfortable, but it also distinctly reminded her of home.
Home. That was somewhere she had not been in too long. Home meant Nunally, her mother, and the Aeries Villa. Home meant safety, and a carefree life. No stress, no worries. Life was easy, and maybe even a little bit boring. But strangely, she liked it. She wanted stability and an easy life. Didn't everyone? That was what she was fighting for, wasn't it? All she wanted was a unified world where she and Nunally could live together in peace. She could inherit the throne, and find some pleasant noble to marry. Then all she would have to worry about was how to spend the rest of her days.
But before that could happen, she had to find a way to unify the world, be it through diplomacy or through war. She would get started eventually, but her bed was like a prison cell, refusing to let it leave its warmth and comfort.
Lelouch's eyes suddenly snapped open as she realized that something was wrong. There was no way that she was back in her bed. No, her last memory was passing out in a dirty bedroom in the ghettos. Now she was back in a clean bed in her room? Something was very wrong.
She sat up at alert, looking around the room she was in. It was a spacious room with wooden walls and granite floors. The mahogany walls were adorned with distinctly Chinese carvings, and opened up into a large window that comprised an entire wall of the room, a far cry from her room, with its distinctly Britannian design and modern building materials. Wherever she was, it definitely wasn't her bedroom.
"Mistress, are you awake?" A soft voice asked. A short girl with a short black hair in an expensive looking red silk Chinese dress was standing in the doorway with a puzzled expression. Instantly, Lelouch quickly pulled up her covers, realizing that she was naked, lying in some strange bed in some strange building.
"Who are you?" She asked with a shaky breath. The fact that the woman had a foreign face that was definitely not Britannian did not help matters. Lelouch was not racist or xenophobic, but the fact that she was looking at an unfamiliar face in an unfamiliar setting made her extremely unsettled.
"I'm a servant of the Forbidden City." The woman replied, as if there was nothing strange about it. Of course, why would it be strange? After all, the woman worked here every day. Obviously, she would not find anything strange about it. Disregarding Lelouch's shocked expression, she scurried in with a pile of fabrics.
"Your clothes were taken to be cleaned. Please use these instead." The servant said, leaving them at the foot of the bed and running out after quickly bowing. In shock, Lelouch could do nothing but gape at the clothes, letting various thoughts run through her head.
First and foremost, how did she arrive in the Chinese Federation? She was ambushed by Elevens, so why was the Chinese Federation? Second, why was she not being kept behind some sort of cell? Why was she even still alive?
Dizzy from the thoughts racing through her head and still groggily trying to recall the events of the past few days, Lelouch sat in silence. Slowly, she crawled out of the sheets to the foot of the bed. Quickly she slipped on the clothes that had been provided for her. She ran an appreciative finger over the purple silk of the floral Chinese dress she had been provided with. While she was thankful for the change of clothes, she was also very wary. After all, it wasn't normal for her to suddenly wake up in the Forbidden City.
"Um, Mistress, breakfast is being served. I've been instructed to lead you to the dining hall." The servant had returned, just as Lelouch finished adjusting the dress.
Nodding slowly, she nervously followed the woman down a series of halls, trying to think of a rational explanation. Obviously, she had been transported to the Chinese Federation, but by whom, and for what reason?
The woman stopped at the end of a long passageway, allowing Lelouch a few moments to catch up.
"The others have already begun breakfast." The woman said, moving to the side so that Lelouch could walk through.
Nodding, Lelouch calmly walked into a large dining room. The room itself, if you could call it that, was furnished by one large table in the middle with wooden chairs surrounding it on all sides. There were no walls, only four large columns that supported the cavernous roof, allowing an unobstructed view of most of Luoyang.
As she strode in, she could instantly feel several pairs of eyes fixated on her figure. The table was only occupied by a few people, and all eyes were on her. Uncomfortably, she silently took a seat, noticing that the room had gone dead silent.
"Did you enjoy your sleep?" Surprisingly, the person who had spoke first was a small white haired girl. As Lelouch looked closer, she realized that it had been in fact, the Empress that had just spoken.
"Yes." Lelouch replied softly, studying the faces around her. Kallen Stadtfeld, no Kallen Kozuki was seated across from her, dressed in a blue Chinese Dress. The Empress was sitting at the head of the table, along with a black haired girl that Lelouch did not recognize. At the other end of the table, a young man with black hair stared warily at her, before deciding to focus on his breakfast.
"Kallen, have you enjoyed your stay so far?" The Empress continued.
"Yes, very much so. Thank you." Came the quick reply. Kallen was visibly nervous and constantly glanced at Lelouch, quickly unnerving the Princess.
"Do you know how much longer you will be staying here?" The black haired girl was the one to speak this time.
Deciding to let the two talk, Lelouch decided to focus on her breakfast. A bowl of congee stared back at her, along with a cup of tea. She quickly glanced around the table, noticing that everyone else was consuming the same breakfast. Tentatively, she spooned a small amount of the rice porridge and blew on it a few times before deciding to stick it in her mouth.
"I'll be staying here until the Princess leaves." Kallen quickly replied once more.
After hearing herself mentioned, Lelouch decided to speak up, "What am I doing here?"
The black haired man smiled, "Well what do you think? You're a prisoner."
Lelouch was confused for a second. After all, prisoners were usually kept behind bars with guards confining them. However, as far as she could tell, she was free to roam the Forbidden City. No, it definitely didn't feel like she was a prisoner.
"I don't feel like a prisoner."
The black haired man smiled, "Well, you're trapped in a cage, albeit, a luxurious cage, but a cage nonetheless. You will stay here and you will not be permitted to leave, except for special occasions."
Lelouch understood now. They were keeping her as a hostage. It made sense. As long as she was here in the Forbidden City, Britannia would be loath to invade Luoyang. But at the same time, that meant that Britannia would also attempt to stage rescue missions. At least, she hoped it did.
She really had no way of knowing if Britannia even had any idea that she was missing, much less where she was being held. Still, at some point, they had to discover the truth, right? Schneizel was a master at spinning tales and swaying public opinion. There was no doubt that he could find a way to cover up her kidnapping and possible death, but he had to care enough to try and look for her, or she hoped.
"Furthermore, to assure that you will not try to escape, or try to contact the outside world, you will be accompanying the Empress at all times with an armed escort."
As he mentioned that, Lelouch quickly glanced around and noticed that there were several guards keeping watch on the outskirts of the room. They were probably going to be omnipresent. After all, their job was to protect the Empress. She looked at the black haired man, studying his features.
He was dressed in what appeared to be officer garb, all in royal blue. He had a relatively amicable expression on his face, but his eyes were constantly shifting and searching for danger, clearly the sign of a solder. In addition, his face, however pale and young it looked, was definitely hiding layers of pain and war experience. He looked every part the military man.
"I see. And are you a part of this escort?" Lelouch asked.
The man shook his head, "No, I'm far too busy with commanding the military."
Lelouch's eyes widened. So the man sitting before her was Li Xingke after all. His appearance was nothing like what she had expected. She had always imagined Li Xingke to be a grizzled war veteran, but instead, a young and dashing officer was sitting in front of her. Although Britannia had spies almost everywhere, they had still never found a way to identify Li Xingke, mostly because his meteoric rise through the Chinese Federation had not left many photographic records for Britannia to study.
"So why go through all this trouble? Why not just keep me in that room back in Area 11?"
Li Xingke's lips turned upward even more in a large smile, "Please, and keep a lovely woman like you out of the court? I think that you would be good for appearances. You are essentially a diplomat of Britannia, and for the most part, you will be treated like one."
Although she knew that he had been joking, Lelouch could not help but blush at his compliment of sorts.
With a smile, Li Xingke returned to his tea, having decided that it had cooled sufficiently. As he carefully sipped the tea, he couldn't help but feel that lately, it had tasted much better than usual.
"Explain to me why I shouldn't have you two executed right now?" Cornelia roared at the two Knights. Gino immediately recoiled at the caustic words while Jeremiah hung his head in disgrace. Although the words stung, nothing hurt Jeremiah more than the fact that the Princess had gone missing on their watch.
Lady Marianne had entrusted him with the honor of protecting Princess Lelouch, and he had failed. Cornelia's words may have been biting and harsh, but nothing was worse than the pain of knowing that he alone had made a mistake and that he alone was responsible for the missing princess.
They had not told Lady Marianne yet that Lelouch was missing. In fact, beyond the current occupants of the room, no one knew of the Princess' disappearance. However, the distraught look that he imagined would come over Lady Marianne's face in his dreams haunted him day and night. He would never be able to face her ever again, that is, if she ever let him face her ever again.
"Because of you, the Princess is missing! And you call yourselves her Knights?" Cornelia continued on her diatribe, still full of venom to spew at the two incompetent fools sitting before her.
"Cornelia, that's enough." Schneizel chided from his seat. As soon as he had heard the news, he rushed out to Area 11 within days. He had to talk in person. The phone was not secure, and they could not afford to let any word get out. So, under the pretense that there were some military checkups that he had to do, Schneizel rushed out to Area Eleven.
"That's enough? Isn't she your sister too?" Cornelia asked incredulously.
"Schneizel's right. Lelouch herself ordered them to stay and continue searching. They were merely following orders." Odysseus added from his position against the wall. He was still distraught about Lelouch's disappearance as well, but he tried to remain level headed and think rationally, unlike his sister, who was currently being fueled by emotion.
If Lelouch had taught him anything, it was that he had to stay calm and think things through, no matter the situation. Still, it didn't mean that he wasn't worried. Actually, it was quite the opposite. Inside, he was freaking out, but for Lelouch's sake, he put up a strong front. In his heart, he knew that would be the only way that they could ever hope to find her.
"Odysseus? I thought that you loved her!" Cornelia questioned, shocked that the man who had supposedly started the war for Lelouch's sake was so willing to forgive the two.
"I do, but killing these two won't bring her back. We have to remain level headed and keep this a secret." Odysseus said.
Schneizel nodded in agreement, "The worst thing we can do now is to panic and let this news get out. It is imperative that as few people as possible know the truth. We are in a precarious situation. All we can do is to keep the media away and try and keep the Chinese Federation at bay."
He turned to the two knights, "That's why I am assigning you two to search for Lelouch. It would be best if you two did it so we wouldn't have to involve anyone else."
"What? The Prince left last week?" Lloyd asked incredulously. Next to him, Cecile discreetly sighed in relief. She had been nervous about Lloyd's plan, and now, the Prince had read her mind and left the country.
Somehow, she had managed to convince him that it would be best to wait a few days a conduct a few more tests before requesting for a pilot. Personally, she had actually found that to be a smart decision, as they had already found a few things to correct, but Lloyd being Lloyd wanted to conduct live testing as soon as possible. Eventually, she found that she could not stall him any longer, and he had dragged her over to Prince Schneizel's office.
"See Cecile? I told that we shouldn't drag our feet with our transfer request." Lloyd said with a disapproving shake of his head. He had never been one to take his time, and he was eager to rush out the Lancelot to combat situations within a month, if at all possible.
"Well, maybe it was for the best. Now we'll just have to review more pilots until the Prince returns." Cecile said before making a move to leave. However, almost immediately, Lloyd grabbed her arm.
With wide eyes, he shook his head, "Are you crazy? I've already told you, he's the one. We'll just have to make a quick call."
Lelouch awkwardly watched the black haired girl, Kaguya, talk nonstop while walking with the Empress through the gardens of the Forbidden City. She had to admit, although they were different, the Chinese gardens were beautiful, in their own way.
They were walking on a stone bridge with a small brook running underneath it. Aside from Kaguya's talking, the gardens were calm and tranquil. The grass was green, and the small pond that the brook emptied into was extremely still, almost like a perfect pane of glass. The chirping of small birds could be heard, and all in all, Lelouch felt relaxed for the first time in a long time.
The first few days had gone by rather uncomfortably. Lelouch had once been a Princess, but she had never been as restricted as the Empress was. Almost every moment of her life was planned out, to the minute. Worst of all, Lelouch had to come along for the ride, which was slowly becoming more and more enjoyable as the days went by, as much as she didn't want to admit it.
She was still uneasy about the fact that she was a prisoner, but she wouldn't deny that captivity was a liberating experience, as paradoxical as that seemed. For some reason, she found the fact that the Empress had a carefully planned life to be relaxing, in its own way. In here, she had no worries, and no responsibilities. It was almost as if she had gone back to the days before her eighteenth birthday, back when she was free to spend her days with Nunally and her mother in relative peace.
"So, you're a Princess, huh?" Lelouch stopped in surprise as she realized that Kaguya had begun talking to her. The escort stopped right behind her, and she was once again reminded of the fact that she was still trapped in a cage, no matter how relaxing of a cage it was.
"Yes, I'm Princess Lelouch vi Britannia, Seventeenth in line to the throne." Lelouch reeled off, having that line committed to memory.
"Huh, so, are there any hot guys in Britannia?" The girl asked.
Lelouch's eyes widened at the bluntness of that question. The past week, Kaguya had refrained from really talking to anyone but the Empress. The few times that she had actually talked to Lelouch, she usually did so with the grace and courtly air that was to be expected by the representative of a political group. But now, her tone was entirely different, almost like that of a gossiping woman at the local salon.
"Say, Tianzi, weren't you engaged to some Britannian hottie?" Kaguya asked a flustered Empress, already going to another topic. The Empress stammered, obviously uncomfortable discussing the topic.
"Odysseus is my brother, not some hottie." Lelouch interrupted coldly, although she wasn't sure why she did so in that way.
"All I'm saying is that he didn't look half bad in the photos I saw of him. Plus, he looks like he hits the gym every day! You would've been one lucky girl, Tianzi." Kaguya said, almost like a schoolgirl describing some teen idol.
"Well, um, I don't think I was really ready for marriage." Tianzi whispered, but Kaguya ignored her.
"Still, he backed out for some other girl from what I heard. I bet she was a total slut or something." Kaguya continued on.
"That other girl was me." Lelouch said through gritted teeth, leading to an awkward silence.
"Heh, well, you know that I was just kidding around." Kaguya said with a small laugh.
"It's fine." Lelouch replied, although her tone said that it was anything but. With an awkward laugh, Kaguya decided that now would be as good a time as ever to stop talking.
Sensing the tension evident in the air, Tianzi decided to break the silence.
"So, how is Britannia?" She asked softly.
Lelouch looked at the Empress with confusion, "Haven't you ever been there?"
The girl shook her head, "I've never been outside the Forbidden City."
"Really?"
"The Eunuchs have kept her locked up here." Kaguya added, suddenly serious.
"Ah! Don't say that kind of thing. They'll hear you!" Tianzi squealed.
"So what? It's the truth. It's not fair. We should be out in the real world together, meeting a ton of hot guys." Kaguya said.
As the Empress nervously stuttered in response, Lelouch could not help but be reminded of Nunally. Kaguya was a loud and blunt girl, but Lelouch could not help but be entertained by her. The girl was almost like a female version of Clovis, who had endlessly entertained her back in their youth. To be honest, the days were already flying by in her time at the Forbidden City. Had it really already been a week? The days had already melted together, giving the impression of the passing of merely a day or two. She was already thinking less and less about the war, politics, or Britannia.
Schneizel was more stressed than usual, if that was even possible. First the issue with the war, now this! He was definitely going to go bald within a few years if things did not change. Lelouch had been missing for well over two weeks, and they had made absolutely no progress. Jeremiah and Gino had gone around questioning some civilians in the immediate area, making sure not to reveal too many details, but the populace had been unwilling to offer much help. At this point, he would trade anything for just a scrap of information.
The only good thing that had come from the last two weeks was the fact that Lloyd had reported in with a status update about the Lancelot. Apparently, they were making stellar progress, and now they just needed a test pilot. They had chosen an Honorary Britannian by the name of Neil Dylandy. He couldn't say that he truly appreciated the choice, but at least it meant that they were making good progress. He had quickly approved the transfer request and was rewarded with the promise that Lancelot would be ready for combat soon.
Still, despite the shred of good news, the situation before him was still one that most mortal men would balk at.
"Prince, you need to relax for a little bit. Princess Lelouch is a resourceful woman. She will find a way to contact you. Until then, you need to focus on the deal with the Chinese Federation Loyalists. They are the key to ending this war early." Kanon chided while massaging the prince's shoulders.
"Lelouch may be resourceful, but she's never been in any situation like this before. And if the media gets word that she is missing, the E.U. will no doubt try to take advantage of our perceived weakness. We cannot afford to fight a war on two fronts. Something like that would take too much of a toll on our army and economy. I can't afford to relax now, not when the fate of Britannia rests on my shoulders." Schneizel replied.
Before Kanon could respond, the phone began ringing. Schneizel snatched up the receiver and placed it against his ear.
"Schneizel." Came Li's voice.
"Li, what do you want?" Schneizel asked in an annoyed tone.
"Well, I heard from a little birdie that you have a missing princess." Li replied, completely at ease.
Schneizel's entire body froze up, "What? Who told you that?"
"That's not important. What's important is that I can return her to you. That is, if you follow certain conditions." Li said with a smile. He held all of the chips, and he knew it.
"What do you want?" Schneizel grumbled.
"Nothing much. All I want is for you to ensure the success of our coup. The High Eunuchs cannot be left in charge of this country."
As he said that, the gears in Schneizel's brain began turning. He had already made that sort of offer, although all he had done was to ensure their cooperation if the coup succeeded. Now Li wanted him to pledge his aid in the actual coup.
Schneizel had originally planned to invade the Chinese Federation after the coup took place, and create a consulate in the Chinese Federation so that Britannia would be able to support and control the new government, that is, if Li succeeded. However, now Li was asking for something completely different.
Still, aiding them could turn out to be beneficial in the future. Of the other two superpowers, Schneizel knew that the E.U. was of bigger concern. However, if the Chinese Federation became an ally of Britannia…
After a pause, Schneizel decided to respond, "Well, that's something we can both agree on."
"We need to make our move now!" Hong Gu exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. In response, several men shot up from their seats and began engaging in a shouting match. Although all the men present were all Loyalists, that didn't mean that they didn't have differing opinions.
"Enough!" Zhou Xianglin yelled, silencing the crowd. As a woman, she was often mistreated by sexist officers, but as far as the Loyalist group went, they knew that she was to be respected, and to be feared. Besides Li Xingke, she was regarded as the most skilled commander in the Chinese Federation, and was treated as such.
"Thank you Zhou. As you know, we have had the Princess captive here for about two weeks. So far, we had not contacted Britannia, which has tried to cover up the fact that she is missing. However, I have just contacted Prince Schneizel, and I have just secured some added military support. "
As Li said that, some murmurs of approval came from the rest of the assembled officers.
"But what if Zhao Yun finds out? He's already been suspicious of us, and if he discovers that we have talked to Britannia, our plan is ruined. Why did you go and risk the entire operation?" One officer asked.
Li Xingke stood up from his seat.
"Men! The time to act is now. The Britannian wind is now behind us, and will carry us forth to victory! The tyrannical High Eunuchs have ruled this country far enough. Look where their leadership has gotten us? A starving population, economic downturn, and now, a war! The only way that the Chinese Federation can ever be restored to glory is with the restoration of the power of the Empress! That is why we sit idly by while our country falls apart! Our chance is now, and we must not waste it! As soon as the Britannian reinforcements arrive, we will make our move. Long live the Chinese Federation!"
"Is Commander Li present?" Lelouch looked at the Chinese man with black hair who had entered the gardens. Once again, they were taking a stroll, for what had to be the third day in a row. Or was it four? All of the days were nothing more than one giant block of memory to her, without distinction through the various days. Not that she was complaining. No, to the contrary, she loved the feeling. She was wonderfully relaxed and, in all honesty, she could care less about being rescued.
"No, is it something wrong?" Kaguya asked, suddenly in a professional tone. Lelouch stared at the girl, marveling at her suddenly much more mature tone and appearance.
The man shook his head, "Eh, no, we have some important business to discuss, however." Lelouch quickly looked over the man. His name was Zhuge Dan, and he was one of Li Xingke's subordinates that worked around the Forbidden City, as she often saw him scurry around. From what she heard from maids, it seemed that he was an ambitious young officer who was a descendent of the great Zhuge Liang himself.
However, so far, Zhuge Dan had not shown the same intelligence and ingenuity that his ancestor possessed, and thus, was still a subordinate of Li Xingke. He was definitely eager to prove himself, and, although he was still an ally of Li Xingke, it was also clear that he was a bit envious of Li's success.
"Ah, Zhuge, why are you here?" All four turned to see Li Xingke approaching with a large smile. Obviously, Li did not possess the same envious feelings towards Zhuge Dan, as his large smile told.
"Commander, we have some urgent news! It seems that Britannia has suddenly stopped their offensive. Our spies have indicated that all Britannian forces have suddenly ceased movement in Area 11." Zhuge said with a quick salute.
"I know, Zhuge." Li responded with a quick glance at Lelouch.
"Thank you. If you were not so easy to capture, our plans would have been ruined." He informed Lelouch.
"What plans?" Lelouch demanded to know.
Li shrugged his shoulders, "Well, I suppose there's no harm in letting you know."
"Commander! You can't possibly let her know!" Zhuge exclaimed, but a glare from Li shut him up.
"Without her, our plan would not be in place to succeed. She does have a right to know."
Zhuge opened his mouth to protest once again, but decided to drop it once he realized that Li was not going to listen to him.
"Well?" Lelouch asked impatiently.
"We have plotted to restore the Empress back to power and along with Britannian forces, overthrow the tyrannical High Eunuchs."
"So you are attempting a coup?" Lelouch asked, amazed that they would actually trust her with such an important plan. However, she had already observed from her time with the Empress that some factions had developed within the Imperial Court. The High Eunuchs and their supporters were in favor of keeping the Empress from making important decisions, while a smaller group of Loyalists were currently lobbying for the restoration of some of the Empress' powers.
It now seemed that Li was a part of the Loyalist group, and had been planning to overthrow the High Eunuchs. It made her captivity apparent to her once again. She had been used as a bargaining chip by Li, in exchange for military support.
"Yes, and thanks to you, it is all the more likely that we can succeed." Li replied with a smile.
"Commander!" Li turned to see several guards walk in, following a man with long black hair in a ponytail and dressed completely in silver armor.
"What is it, Yun?" Li asked with a tone of annoyance.
"The High Eunuchs have requested the presence of the Princess in the court." Yun replied.
"Fine. I'll come along as well."
"Sorry, but they have specifically requested that the Princess come alone." Yun said with the threat made apparent when two guards placed their hands on their swords.
"Lord Jeremiah, Lord Gino, this is your chance." Schneizel said to the knights sitting in Lelouch's office. While he was Area Eleven, Schneizel had decided to use Lelouch's office in lieu of creating a new one.
"What do you need us to do, my Prince?" Jeremiah asked eagerly, relieved that Princess Lelouch was still alive, and also excited for his chance for redemption.
"We will be smuggling you two, along with some other men from the Special Research Division, into the Chinese Federation, where you will aid in the coup of the current government. You will be working with Li Xingke, who has knowledge of the location of Princess Lelouch. From what we know, it is very likely that she is being held in the Forbidden City. We want you two to follow Li's orders, but at the same time, your main priority should be to ascertain the location of Princess Lelouch, and if possible, to stage a rescue." Schneizel informed the two who nodded in understanding.
"We will not fail, my Prince." The two said in unison.
"Have you had a chance to talk to Li Xingke?" The Eunuch questioned. Lelouch was sitting in a chair, surrounded by all eight Eunuchs at once. She was in what she had come to know was the throne room. In addition to the gardens, she usually spent the most time in here, sitting next to the Empress, who was supposed to make important decisions.
However, in reality, most decisions were made through constant bullying and manipulation by the Eunuchs. It was clear that Tianzi wasn't ready to lead yet, and the men were simply taking advantage of her. It made her livid. Watching the girl get pushed around by eight scheming men just made her blood boil. She could honestly say that, after the last two weeks, she understood why Li Xingke was staging a coup.
Still, there was nothing she could do about it at the time being. The truth of the matter was, she was nothing more than a prisoner, and they were eight of the most powerful men in the Chinese Federation. Until Li Xingke was ready to carry out his plan, which would take a few more weeks from the sound of it, she was powerless to do anything but to try and answer their questions.
"No." Lelouch lied easily.
"Really? He did personally appoint himself to be your caretaker." One whispered. Lelouch's eyebrows arched a bit at that stray comment.
"Well, I've been under constant surveillance. I don't have many chances to talk to him." Lelouch remarked casually. She knew from constant lying that the little details made the lie that much more believable. However, her answer wasn't far from the truth. Over the past few weeks, she had not had much of a chance to speak to Li Xingke. The man always seemed busy with something, and was often outside of the Forbidden City all day, which meant that she rarely talked to him.
One laughed in response, and Lelouch suddenly stiffened. Something was not right.
"We know you're lying." Lelouch's heart stopped. How could they have known? She had not done anything to give away the fact that she had been lying.
"You see, we've suspected that Li has been working towards his own agenda. The spy we planted only served to justify our suspicions. There's no point in lying. Now, what did he tell you about his plans?"
So they had a spy? She had to find a way to tell Li about this, if he didn't know yet. But first, she had to get out of this interrogation alive.
Without even flinching, Lelouch coolly answered, although her heart was beating at a million miles an hour.
"Like I said, nothing."
The man smiled, "All right. I see that you are going to be difficult. But don't worry, we will not mistreat you for that. All we will do is make sure that you are telling the truth. Yun!" The man from before quickly bowed at the mention of his name.
"Yes, my lord?"
"You are going to be the Princess' constant companion. I don't want her to ever be out of your sight. It is your responsibility to watch her and report anything suspicious."
"Yes, my lord." The man bowed and stepped up right to Lelouch's side.
And just like that, the oppressive of bars of the cage were made evident to Lelouch once again.
"What is this meeting about?" Schneizel asked, tentatively taking a seat at the head of the table. Kanon had rushed up to him and informed him about the emergency not ten minutes ago, and he had to rush just to make it to the room on time.
"Thank you for coming Prince. We're discussing the recent behavior of Prince Odysseus." Guilford said, nodding at Schneizel. Apparently, he was the one who was moderating the meeting, but, as Schneizel knew too well, Guilford's appearance only confirmed his suspicion that Cornelia was the one who had actually called this meeting to order.
He should have known. From what Cornelia had told him privately, it seemed that Odysseus had effectively seized control from her on the base. No doubt she was feeling threatened by him. And if she was feeling threatened, he had no doubt that she would take action against him. Most members of the Royal Family did not get along well, and Cornelia and Odysseus were no exceptions.
He had to give it to Odysseus though. Never had he thought that his older brother, the Mediocre Prince himself, would usurp Cornelia's command and drive her to such extreme measures, but he was completely proven wrong. While he did applaud his brother's newfound audacity, he was also concerned.
Cornelia had never been threatened quite like this before. For all her life, she had always gotten her way and never took any orders from anyone but the Emperor. It would be interesting to see how she would respond to this, but for Odysseus, it would be nothing but trouble. Schneizel had seen glimpses of his sister's legendary temper, and he could not imagine what kind of actions could be fueled by such intense emotions.
"What about it?" Schneizel asked calmly, curious as to where this discussion would go.
"Well, initially, we believed that he would be willing to step down from the throne. However, now, we have reports from some eyewitnesses that Odysseus has been exhibiting some strange behavior lately. He's become much more violent and emotional." Guilford informed those gathered, although he was looking at Schneizel as he did. Yep, there was no doubt that Cornelia had put Guilford up to this.
He held back a sigh. Honestly, with the issue of the war, he would have thought that Cornelia would have enough sense to hold off on her feud with Odysseus, but it was clear that she had no intention to do anything of the sort. He supposed that it was to be expected. Cornelia had a strong personality, and being manhandled by Odysseus surely did nothing but anger her.
Schneizel nodded, "I would agree with that statement."
Guilford quickly scribbled something down before clapping his hands together, "Then it is decided."
"What is decided?"
"Prince Odysseus must die."
Just so you guys know and aren't confused about it, two weeks passed in this chapter since Lelouch arrived in the Chinese Federation. Also, I've made up two Chinese Federation generals, Zhuge Dan and Zhao Yun. Just so you know, I love Dynasty Warriors, and these characters have the same appearance as their Dynasty Warriors 7 counterparts. They do share some personality traits, but it isn't really a crossover, it's just that I didn't want to have all generic generals besides Li Xingke, Zhao Xinaglin, and Hong Gu, so I hope you enjoy their addition. They will have some significance in the plot later on.
Also, I know that a lot of you probably think that Suzaku is OOC, so let me warn you, he is definitely going to get more and more OOC as the story goes on, so be warned! Also, like I said before, I'm going to get even busier after my dad's friend won his election and gave me a internship, so I will tentatively estimate two weeks per chapter from now on. On certain weeks, I'll probably get inspired enough to write a chapter in a week, but I usually try to upload on Friday afternoons, so if I can't make my personal deadline, I usually wait until the next Friday to upload and just spend the next week doing some editing.
If you took the time to read that author's note, I thank you for continuing to read this story, and hope that my slower updates won't make you stop reading. In general, I hope that the quality will be better and that this story continues to entertain you. As usual, please feel free to give me a PM or leave a review if you have any thoughts at all. All comments are welcomed! As I usually say, I am a review whore, and every review makes me just want to write more. I'll be honest, I write a lot more when I get reviews, so if you want faster updates, I would really appreciate a review or a PM.