The weekend had passed by way too quickly, and what do you know, it was Monday again. Bored out of my mind, I went to the Student Council Clubhouse after classes were done for the day. I was looking for Kallen and Shirley and Milly. They had brought up going to Lake Kawaguchi for the upcoming weekend, and I wanted to go with them.
"Who's there?" I turned around to see Nunnally in her wheelchair behind me. Walking over to her, I thought about coming to see her later this week. Things had finally settled down after the "Orange Incident", and I was allowed to go places I wanted to go to. Although, I had snuck away to a few places unsupervised.
"Hi there, Nunnally. Do you know if any of the Student Council members are here?"
"Oh, Annmarie. Um, yeah, I think so. They are probably in the meeting room."
"Thanks, Nunnally. Are you and Lelouch doing anything special this week?" She shook her head. "Then would it be alright if I came by a couple of days this week for dinner or something?" Her face lit up.
"Oh that would be wonderful! You should definitely come by. I haven't had the time to talk with you at all, and even Sayoko has missed you." I giggled. Nunnally, though she was blind and crippled, always seemed optimistic. She would make me feel at peace whenever I spoke to her.
"Okay, I'll make sure I come by this week and definitely more than once."
"Okay, well, I don't want to keep you from what you have to do. Again, I'm pretty sure they are in the meeting room. See you later, Annmarie." She moved her wheelchair down the hallway toward her room. When she was out of sight, I walked to where Nunnally had said she thought the Student Council was.
"Milly, stop it!" Oh no. I walked into the room where all the shouting was coming from. Milly was making fun of Shirley. Nina, Rivalz, and Kallen were in the room trying to ignore what was going on. "Madame President, stop it! It's not like that!"
"What's going on in here?" Kallen saw me and walked up.
"Oh, the usual, Shirley babbling about things Lelouch related causing Milly to tease her."
"Oh, Lelouch, I love you so much. Let's get married and have eighteen babies running around and then live happily ever after." I sighed. Milly was being her theatrical self.
"I do not think or act like that!" Shirley's face was a light pink. Just like any other time, Milly was acting like Shirley. I started to giggle some. I turned back to Kallen.
"So, are you going to Lake Kawaguchi this weekend?"
"Oh, no, my mother and father set up a doctor appointment for me this Saturday. Apparently there are going to be a lot of tests, and I'm not supposed to go anywhere."
"Aw. Are Milly and Shirley still going?"
"Yeah, I think Nina is too."
"Annie! I didn't even see you come in." Milly practically jumped over the table in the room to come hug me. "Are you coming to the hotel this weekend?" I nodded my head. "Yippee! This weekend is gonna be so much fun!"
"What's gonna be so much fun?"
"Hey, Suzaku." I turned around after hearing Milly's greeting. Sure enough Suzaku was right behind me.
"Hey," he said, mostly to me.
"Hi, I thought you had work today, and that's why you weren't at school."
"I did, but I finished early so I came here to be with you guys." We smiled at each other. Finally, I walked up and hugged him.
"Oh, come on you guys. PDA!" I turned to see Milly acting all crazy again. "Get a room." I sighed. When was the oldest one on the Student Council ever going to act her age?
"Hey, Suzaku, do you have anything going on this weekend?" Shirley was the one who had spoken up.
"Yeah, sorry. I have to work this weekend."
"Darn, never mind then. I was just gonna ask you if you wanted to come to Lake Kawaguchi with us. Annmarie would have loved it if you could come along."
"Shirley." She smiled some. I turned back to Suzaku. "Well, I have a couple of meetings back at the palace. Can you take me home?"
"Of course, that is part of my job after all." We walked out to a car that would take us home. The car ride was short. Walking through the doors to the palace, I walked up to Cornelia's office/study with Suzaku following behind me. I opened the door and walked in. Cornelia was yelling at a few military officers. I led Suzaku to a couch at the side of the room and waited for Cornelia to be finished with the other people in the room.
Fifteen minutes had passed by the time the military officers left the room. "Annmarie." I stood up and walked over to the desk Cornelia sat at. Two chairs were across from her. I sat down in one, and Suzaku sat down in the other. "I have to go to Saitama tomorrow. While I'm gone, Euphy will keep things in order here." I rolled my eyes and grumbled at the same time. "It should only be one day, so you won't have to deal with her for too long."
"Pardon the interruption Viceroy," Suzaku began, "but who is 'Euphy?'" He got up and saluted when he saw her face. Cornelia was looking at him sternly; obviously annoyed by the fact he had spoken up at a meeting he technically wasn't supposed to be at.
Before Cornelia had the chance to yell at him, I said, "Euphemia is my half-sister like Cornelia. Euphemia is the blood-related sister of Cornelia. She and I don't exactly see eye to eye, so we try to ignore each other as much as possible. That's why you don't know who she is." He nodded, and I turned to Cornelia for her to continue.
"Anyway, that is what will be going on tomorrow. As for things to be coming in the future, you have party planning tomorrow. The guest list has been written up, but you need to write up invites for your friends. You need to discuss decorations, food, and a few other things. Dress measurements will be taken tomorrow as well."
I nodded. "Is there anything else?"
"Ah, yes, I almost forgot. I heard you were planning on going to the hotel resort by Kawaguchi Lake."
"Yeah, I haven't had time to go anywhere with my friends. I figured that since the 'Orange Incident' has calmed down that I could go be with my friends."
"I see. In that case, I want you to take some soldiers with you, just in case."
"Cornelia, please. Do I really have to take protection with me? I will be with my friends, and besides that I have my own defensive training to protect myself."
Cornelia sat at her desk thinking over what she would do. Eventually she said, "Very well. However I still want you to carry a mike or camera with you so that we can keep an eye on you. If there is the off chance that you end up in trouble, we will be there as quickly as we can. Understood?"
I smiled. "Yes."
"Good, then you are excused. You may leave."
I got up and walked around the desk to give her a quick hug. Then, Suzaku and I left. He had to go back to the A.S.E.E.C. headquarters for more Knightmare training. I went along with him. When we both reached the A.S.E.E.C. section of the military base, we ran into a familiar face, at least a familiar face to me.
"Annmarie, it's nice to see you again. We didn't have much of a chance to talk last time. It'll be nice to be able to catch up." My eyes narrowed as did hers. Suzaku looked from me to her and then back to me.
"Annmarie, who is this?"
For a while, nothing came from my mouth. I just couldn't get anything out. "My name is Euphemia li Brittania, and you are…"
"Oh, Warrant Officer Suzaku Kururugi," said Suzaku who then bowed.
"Suzaku, you don't need to bow to this hypocrite."
"Annmarie, what are you talking about? How am I a hypocrite?"
"Oh, you know why. Do I have to explain it to you again?"
"I believe you explained yourself well enough last time, but then you were lashed and sent here as punishment. Personally, I think it was the perfect punishment for you, being sent back to the country you were from. How did it feel to be hated again?"
I went to try and hit Euphemia, but before I could, two soldiers came in front of her, blocking me. Suzaku also grabbed me to stop me. "Let me go! That bitch needs to be taught a lesson!"
"Annmarie, it's okay. Calm down. You don't have to listen to her." I settled down and turned to see Suzaku. He smiled down at me.
"Fine." Suzaku let go and led me to where the Lancelot was. Euphemia followed close behind. "Why is she here," I mumbled.
"She is here to inspect A.S.E.E.C." Lloyd stood in front of us. "Nice to see you again Annmarie, and Princess Euphemia, what an honor it is to meet you."
"Oh, you are too kind."
Suzaku and I continued on our way into the training room. He had to go change into some training clothes. He left for a little bit. Time went by quickly, and Suzaku's training was done. "Officer Kururugi, a word with you please." Euphemia beckoned him over.
"I'm gonna leave now," I said. Suzaku turned to me quickly.
"Are you sure?" I nodded. "Then in that case," he said before kissing me. After the kiss ended, he hugged me. I waved and started off to the palace, but before I left I saw Euphemia's face change. It changed from curiosity to a scheming one.
The next day, Suzaku had to leave school early to go to A.S.E.E.C. He said he would be done with things in time to come pick me up. I told him not to worry about it and that I would meet him at A.S.E.E.C. Before I left school, I stopped by the teachers' lounge to pick up the homework that Suzaku wasn't at school to get. After I had done so, I called the palace, asking for someone to pick me up. I was told that someone would be sent right away, and by the time I got to the front gate, a car was waiting for me. The chauffeur opened the door for me.
"Am I taking you straight home, Princess?"
"No, I need to get homework to Suzaku Kururugi. He works with A.S.E.E.C."
"Very well, Princess." Once I was sitting inside the car, the chauffeur started to drive away from school. "Shall I wait for you to come back to the car afterwards?"
"No, Suzaku will bring me back to the palace later." I saw the chauffeur's eye's in the rearview mirror as they twitched in anger. "I saw that." His eyes widened.
"My apologies, Princess." My eyes narrowed. I looked out the window and watched the other cars we passed. In no time, we arrived at A.S.E.E.C. HQ, where today, it was at the military base. "Good night, Princess." I opened my door and walked away from the car. I waved to the chauffeur behind me. When I arrived to the Lancelot's holding station, I smiled at a few of the scientists as they greeted me.
"Sorry, you have to sit here watching me do my homework," Suzaku said, meaning the homework he was actually at school to get.
"Don't worry about it. You haven't attended a real school before, so it can't be helped." I looked up to see Suzaku and Cecile sitting at a table.
"The guys on the Student Council are helping me, too, but it's still hard." Cecile giggled.
"To be perfectly honest with you, I've been a little bit worried. It's supposed to be a liberal school, but I was afraid you weren't fitting in well. Other than Annmarie, I wasn't sure if you would make any other friends."
"Me too; I was expecting that. But I happened to run into an old friend there, and he smoothed everything out for me."
"Be sure you never take that friend for granted. If your friendship continues, your reunion won't have been coincidence, it will have been predestined."
"Okay," Suzaku said.
"Anyway, please try one of these."
"Ah, thank you. I will."
"Suzaku, wait! You don't want to-"
"I'd like your opinion of them."
"There's jam?"
"Yes, I just happened to get some lovely blueberries." I reached the top of the platform where Cecile and Suzaku were. "Ah, Annmarie, would you like to have one?"
"Uh, no thanks Cecile. The chef at the palace is preparing a meal for me already." Suzaku looked at me with worry. "Um, Suzaku, I brought your homework from the classes you missed." He didn't want to swallow the food in his mouth, but he did anyway. Suzaku stuck his tongue out, showing exactly how he felt about the taste. I pressed my lips together to try to prevent me from laughing.
"All right everyone, pack it up, pack it up. We're done for today. Don't do anymore. Hip hip hooray! That's all folks." I giggled.
"Lloyd, you're not the kind of person that would be happy about a day of work on the Lancelot ending." The purple-haired scientist shrugged his shoulders. I felt a dizzy spell begin to form. "Suzaku," I called. He looked at me as I grabbed the railing of the staircase I had climbed in order to get on top of the platform we were on.
"Annmarie!" Suzaku got to me before I fell, and he slowly lowered me to the ground. "Annmarie, are you okay?"
"Just… dizzy." After a few seconds, the dizziness slowly subsided. "Suzaku, thank you."
"For what?"
"For looking out for me."
"It's my job. Cornelia ordered me to take care of you." I smiled. "But, I would do it even if she hadn't."
"So Lulu lived here before this became Area Eleven, huh? Was he a neighbor?" I sat in the Student Council meeting room with Shirley and Suzaku. An acoustic guitar was on my lap. One of the younger students of the Music Club had broken two of the strings on it, and I was fixing it.
"Um, what about yourself?"
"Myself? I guess we're a lot alike in that respect. Honestly, I didn't like Lulu at the beginning when I first met him. He gave me the impression that he was flippant, and the only thing he worked hard at was avoiding hard work." I giggled.
"That's the perfect way to describe him."
"Back when we were both freshman, I happened to see him come upon a traffic accident. A driver rear-ended another car and was clearly at fault, but he tried to blame it on the elderly owners of the other car. Nobody tried to help them. And then, Lulu didn't do it so he could boast to his buddies or laugh about it later. He did it with the same bored expression he always wears. That's when I wondered, 'What's up with this guy? What goes on in his mind? What does he wanna do?' I really wanted to know, and in the process of finding out…"
"You fell in love with him," Suzaku stated.
"Um, you think that's what this is?"
"Of course. Watch this." Suzaku walked over to me. The smile on my face slowly faded away. My cheeks became pink. Shirley watched Suzaku grab my chin, kiss me softly, and then say, "I love you, Annmarie." I felt my cheeks grow darker, turning red.
"Suzaku!"
"If you were to have that same reaction if it was Lelouch, then you love him."
"M-Maybe you're right." I smacked Suzaku's arm. He laughed.
"It's not funny. That was mean. We only just started dating."
"But it's true. I do love you, more than you realize it seems." I covered my blushing face.
"I'm supposed to be fixing this."
"Then fix it." Suzaku kissed the top of my head.
"Stop it!" He laughed again.
"I know Kallen said I had it all wrong, but it seemed like she was getting upset in order to fool me."
"That's not the kind of person Kallen is, I should know. After all she is my best friend."
"Which is why in this case it's best to simply ask him directly; on your behalf, I can ask him how he feels about you?"
"What?! You'd really do that?!"
"Just relax. It'll be fine."
"Are you nuts?! No way!"
"Aw come on. Let me handle this for you. I'll be discreet."
"Suzaku, no you won't." I set the guitar aside, now that the two new strings were on it. All I had to do was tune it now.
"I don't want your help! Okay?!"
"It'll be fine."
"Woah!" I stood up when they fell to the floor.
"Uh, sorry." My mouth was open in shock. Suzaku winced in pain from, Arthur, the cat's teeth.
"Uh oh, does that hurt much?"
"Greatly." I rushed over, shooed away Arthur, and pulled Suzaku off of Shirley. Immediately, my arms were around Suzaku's torso. "Annmarie?"
"I don't think she realizes how much she loves you."
"Mm." I turned my face into Suzaku's chest.
"Annmarie, you're so cute when you are jealous."
"Sh-shut up, Shirley." She giggled. "You guys kissed." Shirley blushed again. "Suzaku…"
"It-it was an accident. Right, Shirley?"
"That's right, Annmarie." I sniffled and backed away from Suzaku to see him better. He saw the tears in my eyes and wiped them away.
"I love you." He kissed me. "Only you. Do you know that?" I smiled slightly as more tears began to fall. I nodded.
"I… I l-love you, too."
"I see. You dropped something." Lelouch took a sip from his cup of tea. He had already changed out of his uniform. I sat across from him with social studies homework in front of me. Social studies was the subject I struggled with, and Lelouch helped me with it when I needed it. Milly had come in, looking unusually nervous. Apparently, she had lost something. "I would like to ask something. Is it something important to you?"
"Huh? Well, I guess so. I don't want it to get lost or have someone else keep it." Lelouch's eyes shined. Then, he smiled. I sighed.
"Well, well… then I must find it now, before you do."
"Lelouch, you shouldn't be so mean to Milly." Lelouch looked at me.
"Yeah, she's really distressed about the item she lost. Please help her. I beg of you." Lelouch looked at his sister. Nunnally rarely begged, if at all. "Besides, Milly is always taking care of both of us, right Lelouch?"
"I won't deny that, but I take care of her too; many times multiplied."
"Really? But I always have fun when Milly is with us." Lelouch was quiet. He couldn't say no to his little sister. It's not that it was impossible for him to say no, it's just that I had never seen him say no to her. Lelouch sighed. His shoulders slumped in defeat, and then he placed his teacup on its saucer on the table.
"Alright, fine, I'll help you Madame President."
"I knew you would come through for me Lelouch. You're so reliable."
"I don't need useless flattery. Besides, I won't be much help. I didn't find anything of the sort."
"I see…"
"It's not at the lost and found?" Milly looked at me and shook her head. "It didn't come to the Student Council?"
"No."
"And you can't find it anywhere," Lelouch said. "That means…" Lelouch's eyes narrowed. "…From what you've told me, it seems that the item you dropped may be important to you but others won't see it that way. So the person who picked it up might not think it's a big deal and held onto it."
"That's… a slight problem."
"By the way, what is this item that you dropped?"
"Oh, uh, it's… a schedule book."
"Huh?"
"A schedule book, but it's not the student handbook. And it's not the notebook that contains the notes of my Student Council members' work habits either so don't worry."
"You actually keep notes on their work habits?"
"Oh, don't worry Annmarie, I have one for you too."
"Milly!" She giggled.
"I'm just kidding."
"No one would be worried about you losing something like that," Lelouch sighed again. "I see, a schedule book. That's pretty tough. Depending on who picked it up, it might have been thrown away.
"You didn't have your name in it?"
"Actually, Nunnally, I'd just bought it."
"You'd just bought it?"
"And it was important?"
"Was is very valuable?"
"No, that's not it… you know what, it's not a big deal. Thanks, you helped me a lot, all three of you. I'm sorry to bother you and Nunnally at home."
"I'm sorry I couldn't be of any help," Nunnally said.
"If it's almost new, then it's more likely that someone still has it. Why don't you talk to the teachers and have them ask the students in each class?"
"Really, it's not that big of a deal."
"But…"
"It's okay. I'll just give up and accept it as bad luck. Sorry for bothering you, Lelouch and Nunnally, especially you Annmarie since you were doing homework."
"It's okay. This isn't due until next week, and I was almost done anyway."
"I'll see you all tomorrow at school."
"Milly, wait, I'll go help you look for a bit."
"Thanks, Annmarie." I packed up my school work and followed Milly outside.
