Hello everybody, sorry for not updating in like forever, but I'm here now and with a brand new chapter.
Please review and tell me what you think, it keeps the story going
"Anya…?" Lelouch asked slowly, worry seeping into his tone.
The girl was hugging Lelouch tightly, and didn't show any signs that she heard him.
He tensed up, prompting the girl to hug him even tighter, bringing him closer. Lelouch started to gasp for air, her grasp was too strong.
"An-ya" Lelouch croaked, struggling to get her name out.
There was no response.
Lelouch tried to free himself again, but was easily stopped by physically superior Anya, she seemed to be holding onto life itself. She was afraid to let go, fearing that if she loosened her hold, he would disappear. Anya backed off a bit, loosening her hug and allowing Lelouch to breathe again, before slowly looking up at him, her pink eyes containing a silent plea.
Lelouch couldn't bring himself to deny her.
"Take as long as you need." he allowed her, sighing.
Anya nodded gratefully and proceeded to bury her face in Lelouch's chest.
Lelouch's soothing heartbeats entered Anya's ears, calming her down, reassuring her that he was still there. Her erratic breathing gradually slowed down, and her stiff muscles started to relax, her grip starting to fade away as her features softened. Anya's eyelids started to feel heavy.
She started to nod off as the only thing that kept her standing, the adrenaline, was flushed out of her system. Exhaustion took over as the only thing holding her together was wisped away. Little by little, she started to slip, threatening to fall. Anya couldn't hold on any longer and slowly let go, leaving her shrouded in darkness as she fell into a bottomless pit.
Anya lost her footing and felt herself fall with no means to hold herself together and no one to hold her, or so she thought. An arm shot out wrapping itself upon her waist, preventing her from falling.
It was Lelouch. Her cane, the thing that she lent in for support. Not that she would ever admit that, either to herself, or those around her.
Barely conscious, Anya could only make out his blurry face, but somehow, even though the rest of his face was behind a thick fog, she could see his eyes. His noble, purple eyes, piercing the wall between them and reaching out to her, calming her down and allowing her to fall into a deep, gentle sleep.
He quietly looked at the sleeping girl, seemingly frozen, as if he was in a trance.
It seemed that even Lelouch wasn't immune to the charms of having a sleeping beauty in his arms.
The young man was at a loss of words. When had Anya become this beautiful, and how come he didn't notice it? Although it was a simple question, it bothered Lelouch to no end, since he prided himself in being in excellent sync with his surroundings. No wonder the battle was "lost" if his awareness was at this level.
Lelouch unconsciously sneaked another peek at Anya, denoting all her features with precise thoroughness. Although she had rather small breasts (not that Lelouch cared for breast size, he thought of such discussions as frivolous and uninteresting, not to mention annoying and irrelevant), she possessed a lean, athletic figures with just the right curves in just the right places, a flat stomach and petite features also made her figure something to be envied and desired. The cherry on the top was a face that many would kill for, a round, cute face coupled with gorgeous and piercing pink eyes that would give any male in their right mind get an involuntary nosebleed if observed from the right angle.
On the other hand, Anya's sleeping face would make anyone pause and smile. Fortunately, Lelouch was not what we would call a Homo Sapiens, and could only stare blankly at it.
His hand accidentally brushed against her hair as he shifted her lithe body, it was silky and thin, pleasant to the touch with an unusual color that many vied for.
Lelouch shook his head, dissipating the unwanted but not unpleasant thoughts of Anya's distinguished beauty and returned to the task at hand.
Lelouch carefully held her as he retrieved her mask from inside the Mordred's cockpit with his free hand. He carefully put the mask on Anya, careful not to disturb her. He then puts his own on and carrying her down the stairs that allowed him access to Mordred's cockpit with careful steps. She was surprisingly light, he remarked.
Once Lelouch set foot on the ground, he brought Anya up and held her with both arms, carrying her off bridal style, even as she slept peacefully. His soft footsteps resonated through the room, in tune with his calm thoughts that were deciding if he should consider what had just happened a slip up that should never happen again, or just new knowledge concerning Anya.
Ohgi was restless, shuffling in his chair on the mess hall. The doubt of what really happened in the battle kept nagging him. They had all heard Zero when he ordered them to draw back, that the objective had been completed and that further loss of life was not necessary.
The speech he gave was certainly convincing, since everyone came back to home base in high spirits and celebrating, with some even breaking out the booze (Tamaki) and being completely inebriated right now.
But not Ohgi. No, Ohgi didn't celebrate. He didn't come back in high spirits, and with refiled morale and strength by their leader's speech that was given in front of everyone just as soon as everyone was back at base.
Instead, Ohgi's dubious attitude led him to notice some unusual things. Like how the girl that was always besides him was missing, and how Zero looked ever so slightly tired and, dare he say, defeated, beneath his usual confident front.
Yet, it could have just been his imagination. After all, who wouldn't be tired after facing the "Goddess of Victory" in battle? And if he had heard correctly, that girl had faced Sir Guilford "The Spearhead of The Empire" and one of Britannia's most distinguished Knights in battle Himself, and lived to tell the tale.
The matter of the strange man in armor also bothered him. Was it just his imagination, or did such a unique man really exist?
He felt a pat on the back and turned around to meet a grinning Kallen, her eyes sparkling. "What's with the gloomy expression, Ohgi?" she joyfully asked him in stupor, slapping him a few more times for good measure.
Ohgi gave her a tired smile, looking down to gather his thoughts, but deciding to go against telling her what was plaguing his mind. He had never seen Kallen like this, so alive and happy. She had found her icon, and he didn't want to destroy that. Yet if Zero turned out to be a fake, he would kill him himself.
"Ah, nothing. I'm just a bit shaken up because I got blown out of my Knightmare." he lied, shrugging as he looked up to face her, his face expressing his tiredness.
"Are you sure you're alright?" she asked, her previously joyful look melting into concern at her friend as she leaned in closer.
Ohgi, slightly startled, moved back, putting his hands in front and waving them left and right "Of course I'm fine, Kallen. It's nothing. Now go and have fun, you should celebrate." he suggested with a kind voice.
She looked at him for a few moments, then nodded, a small grin crossing her face as she seemed to be satisfied with the answer, and, with a wave, went to another table with a more lively mood.
Ohgi sighed, and leaned back into the chair, relaxing. He smiled and took a drink of water, a smile forming on his face. "It was only my imagination. I should trust Zero more. After all, he did save the civilians and got us this far." he muttered under his breath, shaking his head and looking up at the party.
The Second Princess of the Britannian Empire was not pleased, there was an air to her that emoted some barely veiled contempt, coupled with some wary disposition. The usual strict demeanor that would look more like aggressiveness to an untrained eye was replaced with a cautious and thoughtful attitude.
Though, it was evident by the slight twitch in Cornelia's left eye that she was losing her patience. She was being forced into this careful footing, and that irritated her greatly.
Euphy contemplated her sister with worry from across the table. They were having dinner in the grand hall of the Viceroy's palace. The whole room was decorated with expensive furniture, lavish decoration and flamboyant paintings, courtesy of their late brother, Clovis.
Although the room was perfect for an elegant, pleasant party, the atmosphere that resided in the room was far from anything of the sort. It was more akin to a command post after a lost battle
Euphy was well acquainted with this tense silence and grim mood. This was what happened when Cornelia was cornered and had to take more cautious steps to complete her objective. It occurred when Cornelia was forced into a path that diverged from her usual, rather straightforward approach of ramming Knightmares at a problem until it went away.
Still, even though Euphy knew what the atmosphere entailed, she didn't know what caused it. To her knowledge, the battle had been won.
She slowly looked up from her plate to where Cornelia was viciously stabbing a meatball and watching the tomato sauce spurt out with narrowed eyes. Not wanting to envision the grotesque images that Cornelia had conjured in her mind, she avoided to look at her plate, opting to face her directly.
"Sister?" Euphy called out with a worried tone.
Cornelia's hawk like eyes quickly left the plate and proceeded to stare her down, giving her a silent acknowledgment of her presence.
"I thought the battle was won." Euphy enunciated, trying to dig for answers.
"It was won." Cornelia efficiently answered, not taking a second longer than needed and returned to bringing holy retribution upon the meatball.
"So?" probed Euphy, not giving up by a long shot.
Cornelia stopped torturing the poor meatball. For the first time you could see hesitation in her face. She didn't want to worry Euphy.
"The battle was won… but I didn't win it." Cornelia admitted in a defeated, almost weak tone, looking away in what appeared to be shame. This made Euphy jump slightly back in surprise. After Euphy recovered from the small shock, she cocked her head, asking a silent question.
Cornelia turned to the younger Li Britannia, her expression dead serious as she prepared to explain something she considered crucial. "The battle was not won because of my leadership or my strategy, rather, because of Zero's overconfidence and his troops' inexperience. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I'm not sure I follow." confessed Euphy with a tinge of shyness.
"Zero showed an uncanny ability for strategy, calling him anything else other than a genius wouldn't do him justice…" she took a sip of wine and then continued with the same harsh tone that would have scared many away. "His strategy was perfect, he had a trump card that I didn't expect and would never expect, he had priorities and a clear objective, eliminating my Royal Guard, knowing that I wouldn't send reinforcements for them and then break off to the mobile fortress. If they managed to get there or not isn't the issue here, the real importance of this strategy is that they would have left me virtually defenseless, and without my elite unit."
Cornelia's eyes narrowed with rage as she recalled all the mistakes she made in that battle all over again. She started to lose her self-control and stood up, spitting every word with fiery wrath.
"The reason we won, or rather, the reason he lost, was his inexperience and confidence. Had it been a more seasoned Commander, the battle would have been decisively his!" she finished with a brutal snap.
As Cornelia's breathing regulated and she started to calm down, she saw a terrified Euphy watching her with horror, her hand over her mouth. Of course, it wasn't fear of Cornelia, rather fear for Cornelia, if it would have been the other way around, Cornelia would have been broken.
Cornelia slowly sat back onto the chair, letting its comforts soothe her enough for her to start talking again. She sighed.
"In the end…" Cornelia started, her voice hoarse because of her previous endeavor "I deduced that Zero was a prideful idiot with a flair for the dramatic, and in trying to exploit that pride, I got myself lost in mine…" she finished, her voice barely above a whisper.
An indescribable silence fell upon the room as both sisters awkwardly ate their dinner without a word. Cornelia remained slumped against her chair, resembling less and less the strong leader she was known as. Euphy tried to comfort her sister, but it was in vain, since Guilford entered the room at the exact moment she opened her mouth.
"My Lady, I have news that require your immediate atten-" he started, and then abruptly stopped upon realizing the mood that plagued the room. He cleared his throat and tried the sensitive approach "I can come on another ti-"
"Spit it out already." commanded Cornelia with a tired, yet authoritative tone, returning to her former self
Guilford hesitated for a moment but eventually gave in. He stood up straight and gave his report "While reviewing data from the battle, we uncovered a strange signal. At first, we thought it was a glitch in the system, but a closer looked revealed that there was indeed someone or something there. It matches no known IFFs. We are still examining the data, but we believe it was an observer, though who and for whom he was working for is still a mystery." he finished with a monotone.
Cornelia took a sip from her wine glass, her eyes narrowing. "Very well, you are dismissed." she responded irritatedly. Guilford, however, didn't take to heart, because he knew that the Princes was irritated at the situation, rather than him. He bowed and took his leave, closing the door quietly behind him.
With Guilford gone, Euphy was finally able to speak her mind, however, instead of giving words of comfort she presented an offer Cornelia couldn't refuse.
"How about we take a bath together? It's been ages since we've done that!" Euphy exclaimed with a cheery tone.
A genuine smile spread across Cornelia's face, her eyes finally warming over "I'd like that." she accepted.
There was a rather pleasant mood in the student council room, oblivious to the events that had transpired just yesterday. Simply put, everyone was having a nice day.
Lelouch was off in one corner of the room, animatedly talking to a very pleased Shirley. Milly was being her usual self by ordering Suzaku and Rivalz around while sitting on the desk and cackling every now and then, while Kallen appeared surprisingly relaxed talking with Lucas.
Anya was in a similar position. Seated alone on a couch, she was remembering the good old days while she browsed through the thousands of photos she had of her childhood with Lelouch and Nunnally. It stood out that none of the pictures contained Suzaku in them.
Anya found herself in a good mood while pleasant memories filled her mind. Even a small half smile was working its way up her delicate features.
Unbeknownst even to Lelouch, she was taking a small risk by watching some of the earliest pictures, many of them dating to the time they spent at the Aries Villa. A photo appeared on the screen, almost making her blush.
It was that time she played the Princess with Lelouch. He was holding her bridal style while Nunnally took the picture. You could clearly see the tinge of red on Anya's young cheeks, even as she smiled widely at the camera.
Suddenly Anya expression went blank as she remembered what had happened last night. Her memory was a little fuzzy due to the shock she experienced and being dead tired at the time, but she remembered faint glimpses of Lelouch carrying her off to bed.
However, her strangest and most vivid memory of that night was the happiness she felt. The happiness she felt while she was being carried, and the happiness she felt now remembering it. She quietly gasped, bringing a hand to her chest. It brought a warm sensation to her chest that she had never felt before. She was so happy.
Why did she feel so happy?
Maybe it was because while Lelouch carried her all the way back to their rooms, she felt protected, she felt safe…
Her eyes narrowed as she started tapping her fingers on the couch. That annoyed her to no end, she was the one supposed to protect him, not the other way around, and he was the one supposed to feel safe, to feel secure, not her.
Nevertheless, she was the one grinning like an idiot while Lelouch almost got killed.
Suddenly, an unexpected question popped out of the blue "Why am I protecting him?"
Was it because she felt safe with him and wanted to return the favor? Because she wanted to help him like he helped her?
No, that wasn't it.
There was something else, something deeper.
What if… what if it was because she wanted him to stay besides her? And, maybe, protecting him was the only way to stay next to him?
Maybe it was her excuse to be kept by his side? To keep him by her side?
She looked up to Lelouch, who was happily chatting with Shirley on the far side of the room. He was smiling, a sincere smile.
Anya felt something stir within her heart.
Uncertainty, maybe?
Anya gave a slight scowl, then returned to her phone, passing through the photos dismissively, pretending not to notice the happily chatting teens.
But what if something that could threaten their bond appeared? Something that would take him away. Something that he didn't need protection from.
Something that he didn't want protection from.
Her knuckles turned white as she unknowingly clutched the device between her hands.
While Anya was delving deeper into her thoughts, a hand came to rest in her shoulder, calling out to her.
Anya's eyes widened in alarm, it was not Lelouch's hand. She quickly turned the phone's screen off, fearing that whoever was behind saw something. She shifted uncomfortably in the couch, trying to look back at whoever was touching her.
"You seem like you've known him for a long time." came Lucas' voice before she could turn around completely. He removed his hand from her shoulder as she turned around to face him. Anya was greeted by a kind and warm smile, and shining blue eyes. "I didn't know you entered Ashford together, you seem quite close." he said suggestively with a knowing smile.
Anya quickly returned her eyes to the phone's screen, quickly turning it on. She internally sighed in relief when she realized that the photo he had seen was their first day on Ashford. Back when she was still in middle school, and Lelouch was on his first year of high school.
"We've known eachother since we were kids." she answered monotonously, returning to her camera phone. In the back, Lucas took a few steps around.
"Oh really?" Lucas said, taking a few steps around the couch, letting a brief silence fill the conversation "Aren't you worried?" he commented, a mischievous glint passing through his eyes as he took a few steps closer.
"About what?" asked a genuinely curious Anya while she pressed a few buttons in her phone.
Lucas gestured with his head towards Lelouch and Shirley who were still talking.
"What is there to worry about?" Anya questioned obliviously, clearly not understanding what Lucas was suggesting. She continued to browse through the photos, thinking the conversation was over. Lucas just stayed back for a moment, formulating his answer while walking near the couch again.
"Oh, I don't know." he exclaimed with a sarcastic tone while plopping himself besides Anya. "Maybe that he will be taken away." he concluded with a picaresque smile.
"We are not like that." Anya answered quickly, perhaps too quickly, her pink eyes narrowing in anger.
"Besides…" Anya started, with just a bit of hesitance "I've known him for a long time. No one knows him better that I do." she stated with quiet confidence, almost as if she was reassuring herself more than anyone else. It was a fact that, strangely, she had to state. To know that she was the closest one to him gave her a sense of comfort, it made her feel secure.
Few words were needed to send this sense of security crumbling down.
"Yes, but…" Lucas suddenly turned deadly serious and started to eye Shirley. "By knowing him for so long, you have become part of his past, a past that…" Lucas faced her yet again and deadpanned "a past that he may want to forget."
He pretended not to notice how Anya slightly flinched upon the mention of those words.
"Shirley is a clean slate, someone to start with anew and leave the past behind." he concluded, returning his gaze towards Lelouch and Shirley.
Anya sat there for a moment, then slowly lifted her eyes from the phone and towards Shirley and Lelouch. She fidgeted for a moment while she processed the information she had just been given. Then she simply stood up without a word and started to walk towards the speaking teens. Anya found a couch that was much closer to the one before it, and facing Lelouch and Shirley. She sat down and posed her vigilant eyes upon them, all the while pretending to watch her camera phone.
Lucas only watched her go, a nostalgic smile gracing his lips.
"You're an asshole, Shepard." came Garrus's gruff voice from a hidden earpiece within Lucas's, or should we say, Shepard's ear.
He snickered quietly, and with a smug tone quipped "Say what you will, Garrus, but in the end, you will be asking me for all the juicy details." he rubbed his hands together for good measure.
"You there! Stop scheming and get back to work!" Milly roared from the other corner of the room, brandishing a newspaper roll at him like a sword.
"Aye aye, Captain!" Lucas said while rolling his eyes, a smile of enjoyment in his face.
"Anyway, we are getting sidetracked here. Let's get back to the real objective." Garrus muttered with resignation before giving a deep sigh, disappointed that playing time was over.
"I agree. Target sighted, commencing approach." Lucas whispered with mock seriousness which made Garrus chuckle, then groan. Lucas's eyes seeked out Kallen. After all, his entire reason for being in this school was to get closer to Kallen and investigate her.
"Hey Kallen, mind helping me out with these boxes?"
The mood in the kitchen presented a stark contrast from the council room. It was strange, considering Milly was in the room. Both Lelouch and Milly were preparing supper for the rest of the council, being the only ones that could cook with a reasonable degree of skill.
Lelouch wanted to talk with Milly, but by the time they were alone, she had become an unapproachable fortress.
He assumed she knew what happened yesterday, and that was the cause of this unspoken tension. He started to cut the carrots into little pieces, formulating his speech and how he would approach the conversation.
Milly, on her side, was efficiently cutting the meat in pieces, her usual jabs and cheery attitude absent. She was preparing the food in absolute silence, a novelty in the student council.
"Milly." Lelouch tried to start a conversation, but was given no response by the blonde President.
"Milly." he called again, with the same result.
Lelouch turned around, slightly annoyed "Mill-" he tried to say, but was caught by surprise as she had seemingly snuck up behind him and was less than one meter away. She raised her hand and brought it down with all her might, planting a heavenly slap on Lelouch's right cheek.
He was taken aback and couldn't utter a single word. He slowly raised his hand and slightly rubbed the red mark Milly had given him. It hurt like hell.
"That is for being an idiot and putting your life and Anya's in danger, not to mention breaking nearly all the Knightmares I gave you." Milly scolded with a harsh tone, but somewhere deep beneath that frown, you could see that all she cared about was that Lelouch was alright.
Lelouch scowled, anger filling his eyes. He opened his mouth to deliver a stinging comeback, but paused. He sighed, and said in a calmer tone "I know. I got sloppy and almost lost my life in the process, that's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you."
Milly was going to add something else, but noticed that Lelouch was really troubled by what was happening and decided against it, offering some support instead. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, her voice taking a gentler tone.
Lelouch breathed in, enunciating the worries that had taken a toll on him but couldn't say out loud until now "I thought that I could do it, but after yesterday, I'm… not so sure anymore." he confessed with narrowed eyes, a hot fire of anger burning deep inside. "That's why I need you. I need someone to watch my back when I'm in battle, since, apparently, I can't do that on my own. I'm confident that it won't happen again, but it's still a good idea to have a second set of eyes analysing the situation and making sure I don't muck it up." Lelouch growled out, leaving his dignity and pride behind, asking for help.
Milly thought about it for a moment with a finger on her lip, and nodded "I can do that, no problem. Just one question. Why didn't you ask Anya, and told her what you told me?" she asked with curiosity, cocking her head to the side.
"If a leader shows insecurity, the people around him will falter," he simply answered like it was the most common thing in the world, he continued to cut the carrot for a moment before adding in a lower tone "subordinates and partners alike."
Milly giggled at his answer.
"Is something the matter?" Lelouch asked, twirling around and narrowing his eyes, thinking he was being mocked. Never let it be said the former Prince of Britannia didn't have his pride.
She managed to tease him between fits of giggling "Oh, a partner, is she?"
So, what do you think? did I go too far on the Anya parts or were they alright? to be honest I was worried about them. And what about the Cornelia and Euphy part? did you like it.
Please review, it makes me really happy to get your reviews.
