AN. MAJOR third parties. It is needed to establish something for the next chap which will follow a code Geass plot.

Imagine Finn's physical appearance at Season 4, and his sweetness back at Season 1. And think of the Finntana at Season 4 too.

P.S. Quinn might know that Red Coat knows something about the Royal family but she DOESN'T know about the A Team.

PLL S02E22 (Fathers Know Best) And Code Geass R2 (I actually forgot to check what episode it was but you would recognize it)

This chapter is mostly a filler chapter but the end has some major bomb drop so yeah...


Chapter 9

Bits of Society Ball

.


Ashford Academy

Santana.

.

"I don't understand how you don't get this!" Santana hears Marley rants besides her as she walks across the hall. She grips the strap of her bag hanging around her shoulders really tight as she keeps herself from snapping at Marley.

"A Society Ball is all gorgeous, and elegant, and formal, and—" and all Santana hears was blah blah blah…

This was all that pretty little bitch's fault.


"Tell me this is all a joke." Santana says as she marches into the Student Council Room. She sees Spencer puts her finger into her mouth and a gesture of 'sshh' and points to her phone indicating she's on a phone call.

Santana rolls her eyes as she plops down the couch. A few minutes pass by then she feels Spencer sit by the back of the couch. "What's up with you?"

"How can you not kill Kitty Ashford?!" She exclaims and Spencer almost fell of the couch at the loudness of her voice.

"Okay, I'll admit she's a bit hard to work with but—"

"A bit? Try unbearably! Have you seen this?" Santana shoves a piece of paper into Spencer's face. After receiving a glare from Spencer, which she quickly dismissed, she taps her foot and crosses her arms as she waits for Spencer to read it.

"You are invited to Ashford Annual Society Ball—"

"See? See what she did right there? How can she say 'Annual' when this is the first time you were doing this?!"

Spencer raises her eyebrows at Santana to address her confusion, "So… You're pissed that there were some grammatical errors in the invitation? Santana, you're starting to sound like me. I think it was really a great idea that I went back to our place." Spencer chuckles. After Thanksgiving, Spencer had decided to face her family issues and went back to their house back at Rosewood.

"No. It's a Society Ball, Spencer! Did you miss that part? Apparently, Kitty didn't waste her time in stuffing her nose to Quinn. Day after thanksgiving, she went straight to the palace to "hangout" with the princess seeing as they were best friends. Obviously, the royalties are still there so she took that chance to force herself into their inner circle. She told them that Ashford will hold a Society Ball for them so they could socialize with commoners because Quinn is so fond of them. I mean, seriously?"

Santana groans when she sees Spencer staring back at her like she grew three heads.

"You have to help me out here, what part exactly upsets you?" Santana could feel Spencer stares at her intently and she lowers her gaze towards the floor.

"Everything! That midget is up to something. I just know it!" Santana says as she waves her hands widely.

Spencer laughs at her, "Look. Have you dealt with Mona? She's a lot crazier to work with than Kitty. So retract the claws. This is a lot of work so I need you to stay focus so we could go through this. Got it?"

If Spencer hasn't found out about Melissa spilling the beans to Garrett, the officer in charge of Alison's murder, about their father knowing Alison's blackmailing, she'd probably be on her side too. This TONS of work will keep her mind off of her family for a while, but this will definitely be a migraine to Santana.


"Has anyone asked you out yet?" Santana asks cutting Marley's rant. She didn't even bother hiding the boredom written all over her face.

Santana sees Marley's pinkish cheeks, and she rolls her eyes again. What's wrong with her?

"Uhm… Two boys did, actually." Marley says shyly.

Santana raises her eyebrow at Marley's antics. Two? She stops and taps her foot as if waiting for Marley to continue. She watches as Marley avoids her gaze on Santana and if Santana doesn't have that much self-control, she'd probably slap that stupid dopey grin at her face.

"Jake and Ryder did." Marley says softly as she slowly meets the knight's waiting eyes.

"A Britannian asked you?" Santana says thinking of that Ryder guy. Ryder isn't from the higher class of society, but the fact that he is a Brittanian citizen still means something.

"Jake is a Britannian too!" Marley argues and Santana could feel an argument coming up.

She starts walking again to lessen the tension, once she hears Marley's footsteps following her, "Well, you know Jake. He's attached to Puck" She raises her forefinger and middle finger to cross it. "So technically, he's like an Eleven at heart. And I didn't mean that to disrespect." Santana explains before Marley could protest.

She sees Marley's face cramped up in confusion, "so why are you surprised that a Brittanian asked me out? Because if this isn't about the race, then is it because I'm not as beautiful as the others?"

Santana stops at her tracks and looks at Marley, she reaches for her hand and squeezes it, "Of course it's not it." Santana could still see the hurt in Marley's eyes and she immediately feels guilty.

During Marley's birthday last year, her dad had officially adopted Marley. Though Marley isn't taking the 'Lopez' name, she has legally claimed the status of an honorary Brittanian. Even so, the whole school didn't treat her as one for she hangs out with the Elevens.

"I just heard this rumorabout that guy, and he seems the person to play around. I don't want you to get hurt." Santana explains and Marley nods slowly without meeting her eyes. She was about to say something more when she feels arms wrap around her mid-section. She sighs as she releases Marley's hand. She sees Marley smile half-heartedly at her then turns to leave. Santana turns around as she feels the arms around her loosen a bit and was met by two blondes talking animatedly about the ball. She rolls her eyes again. Great. Society Ball here. Society Ball there.

"San! Where have you been? It was crazy at the auditorium!" Hanna says as she nudges Santana's shoulder. "Oh, and Spencer might've said that she will kill you the next time she puts her hands on you."

Santana promised she'd help Spencer out in her duties. Santana knew Spencer has a lot in her shoulders right now. This week had been insanely chaotic. Every guys (and some girls) has been asking out their love interests to be their date. All romantic gestures were grandeur. Santana would've thought it was a wedding proposal. Especially that most of the royalties are lounging at the school to get the 'atmosphere' of the commoners. All knights except Lord Jeremiah were expected to be at Ashford Academy during this week.

Seeing as Spencer is in charge of the whole preparation department, she had asked everyone's help for the putting up of everything in the auditorium. With Emily, (especially) Quinn and most of the knights in the same room, the auditorium has been crowded with all persistent students.

Spencer hasn't still warmed up to Paige McCullers, the psycho-with-a-name as she likes to call her, so she is really keeping an eye on Emily—which the tan beauty was not so glad about. Spencer has been scaring off all the girls that attempts to ask Emily out. Spencer reasons out that Emily is a sweet girl and would have a hard time saying no. So Spencer took the job of screening all of them based off on their intentions. And so far, she hadn't approved of anyone. Knowing Spencer, Emily would probably end up with no date on the ball at the end of the week.

"I was on my way there!" Santana counters but Hanna continues on with how crazy students have been asking her too. Apparently, when Hanna went to that LGBT community gathering to support Emily, people had assumed she was either gay or bi-curious. She hasn't bothered clearing up the issue for she somewhat enjoyed the attention girls were giving her. Santana thought Hanna has some inner gayness in her.

She hears Quinn giggles at their current situation and Santana took a glance at her princess. It was expected that everyone would want to be her date. And she knows she shares the same sentiment with Spencer. Though, she's open to everyone showing their intentions to the princess, she has to be more careful with whom Quinn would end up going with as her date. For some reasons, the Empress has completely trusted her capabilities in doing her job, but the Emperor matters most. When Quinn opened the subject to her parents last night, the Emperor hadn't shown any significant reaction towards the subject. Maybe it wasn't a big deal? It's just a Society Ball held by a middle-class Britannian so it wasn't worth the panic. The Emperor seems to be out of the palace most of the time dealing with some political stuff so that means he has fully entrusted Quinn with her, right? Santana shakes her head at the thought. The royal family is so hard to figure out.

"So… have you set your eyes on someone yet?" Santana asks Quinn when Hanna stops talking. They both stare at the princess waiting for her to answer.

"Does it have to be an Elite?" Hanna asks as she loops her arm to Santana's waiting arm at her hips.

"Nope. I already made sure that no media people would be on school grounds at the night of the ball. I manage to get a seal from the Emperor for the order so I'm sure no one would dare sneak out." Santana answers as she waits for Quinn's answer. Even though it wouldn't be publicly known, the royalties would be there. They would probably judge whoever Quinn's date is, and it is Santana's job to make both Quinn and her date comfortable at the night of the ball.

"Is it Finn?" Hanna asks eagerly. Santana turns to Hanna with a raised eyebrow. Finn? Was he making a move again? "Mr. Quarterback seems to be at Princess's personal space a while back." Hanna informs like a gossip reporter. Santana immediately turns to Quinn.

"Personal space? Did he do something inappropriate?" If Santana doesn't have Hanna's arm, she'd probably in Quinn's personal space too as she takes a step towards Quinn.

"Hey, chill out, San. Spencer's already the bad cop." Hanna chastises Santana but Santana was focused on Quinn who hasn't said a word from the start of her interrogation. "I asked you to keep an eye on her!" Santana turns to Hanna who just rolls her eyes.

"Santana. You asked everyone to keep an eye on her. She's fine." Hanna gestures Quinn from head to toe. Santana steps back a bit and wait expectantly for Quinn's response.

"He didn't do anything inappropriate, Santana. We were just talking." Quinn smiles and Santana sighs in relief. She knows Finn is a really sweet guy. He could make you feel special and all that jazz, that's why even though he is an Eleven, a lot of girls go crazy with just his handsome smile. She knows Quinn could easily fall for his charms, well not fully, but she knows Quinn can be swooned, that guy has some game. But what assures Santana is that she knows Finn would never do anything to hurt Quinn. She knows Finn should hate the Britannian army, but he's friends with her. He wasn't that judgmental so that should count for something, right?

"Okay. But are you going with him?"

"I don't know. I said I'll think about it. What do you think?" It was Quinn's turn to question Santana.

Santana hasn't really preferred anyone to go with Quinn. She doesn't want to get in the way with Quinn's decision but she promised she would guide her. There's nothing wrong with Finn, she ponders at the idea of him taking Quinn to the ball. But she knew Quinn going with an Eleven will definitely be a controversy among the royalties at the event. Sure she was all about equality, and she knows she is on the same page as Brittany, but she wasn't sure about the others. And she wouldn't risk ruining Quinn's image.

"I think it's great! Finn is a cute guy!" Hanna chirps. She seems to be 'pro Fuinn' as Hanna coins the term. "Wait a sec. We should pick our dresses together! I mean it's just five days away and-"

"I can't. All knights are on duty that day so we're supposed to be in uniform." Santana slumps her shoulders.

Knights of Rounds have a white uniform and cape-like coat which colors depends on their knightmares which has golden outline of Britannia's emblem on its back. The males have long sleeves – closed off top and white slacks. On the other hand, the females' uniform shows more skin. For the top, they have short sleeves which have an opening right below their chests that reveals their torso, white shorts to match the top, and knee-high boots.

She doesn't complain about their uniform. It accents her figure and all that, but this was a time for dress-ups and it's disappointing that she has to stand there at one side keeping an eye on everyone. Getting a date isn't even recommended at this point in time. Though that didn't stop some people on asking her anyway. Even Nate did.

"How about you, Quinn?" Hanna turns to Quinn who just politely shook her head. "Uhmm… Kurt has been working on something for me."

Suddenly, there was a buzz heard and both Hanna and Santana turn to their phones. When Santana noticed it wasn't her, she looks in Hanna's direction. "It's Caleb." Hanna assures Santana. On top everything, she still has to deal with A. Mona is part of the game too, she seems to be receiving texts from this A person. And Spencer's dad was really in bad position right now, as for the cheating part. Santana got a text too. But she didn't share that to the other girls. She knows it would freak them out, so it was probably the best to deal with it herself. According to A, she should be careful to whom she trusts. Santana could never understand this A person. Was he/she/it looking out for her? Was that just to mess up with her? Still one thing is sure, it is a warning.

"I have to go… Meet with you later?" Both Quinn and Santana nods as they wave at Hanna.

When Hanna was gone, Quinn turns to Santana and asks her as they start walking, "So… You're not gonna dance at the ball?"

"Are you asking me out, princess?" Santana teases Quinn. She has never opened the A subject to Quinn. A is dangerous, and if Quinn doesn't know about it, she would be safe. Even with everything, she simple puts on a façade for Quinn.

"It was nice of you to address me as the princess while asking me that kind of question!" Quinn replies as she crosses her arms. Santana wanted to laugh but she keeps herself from doing so.

"But were you asking me out?" Santana pushes. She loves teasing Quinn every time she gets. She knows Quinn would never take it personally and it somehow lightens the atmosphere between them.

"What would you say if I did?" Santana stops at her track. She didn't expect Quinn to take the bait. She quickly recovers and continues on walking to catch up with Quinn.

"Well… Regardless who your date is, I would be honored if you would save me a dance." Santana whispers into Quinn's ears.


Ashford Academy cafeteria

QUINN.

.

Quinn is happily eating her lunch when she saw a flash of red through the windows. She drops her fork and Santana pats her knee. "Are you okay?" She turns hesitantly to Santana and nods her head, "I-uhmm… I'm going to the bathroom." She says and Santana wipes her mouth with the tissue. "You don't have to accompany me." She stops Santana from standing up. She needs to know if it is Red Coat. What is she doing here anyway?

"I don't think that's a good idea." Santana chuckles as she looks around their table. She looks around too and sees most of the students eyeing her like she's a prey and she immediately looks down with a blush.

"I can handle myself, San. It's just the bathroom." Quinn says as she stands. She feels the students sits straighter as if waiting for a chance to pounce. Santana stands up too, much to Quinn's protests and cracks her knuckles. Quinn rolls her eyes at Santana's attempt to scare the students away.

She feels Santana about to follow her when she hears Brittany's soft voice calling Santana's name. "Santana, I still have to tell you about Lord Tubbington's girlfriend!" She turns around to see Brittany holding Santana's hand, tugging her down. For a second she thought of staying at the table and joining their conversation but when Brittany winked at her, she understood.

She nods at Santana's direction who was waiting for her permission. Santana timidly slips back to her seat as she turns to Brittany. Quinn made a mental note to thank Brittany later.

She zigzags her way to the bathroom and waits a chance until she sneaks out of the building. She sees three guys on their jerseys looking at her direction, before she could run, she feels an arm tug her at a different direction. She was about to scream when she sees Red Coat giggling at her at an empty classroom.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn hisses as she locks the doors and slides down the blinds. "Knights of Rounds are here."

"They don't know about me." Red Coat answers flippantly. Right. The world knows about Zero, but they don't know about Red Coat. How convenient.

Quinn crosses her arms still waiting for the explanation as she follows Red Coat roaming around the classroom. "I told you, I'm your ally. So I'm here to help you."

"Help me?" Quinn asks as she raises her eyebrow. Help her in keeping those guys and girls from coming to Santana? Help her in handling all the royalties forcing themselves in her? Help her in choosing her date?

Red Coat just sits on the teacher's table and sways her feet. Quinn was about to tell her to get off the table when the bell rang indicating an announcement from the administration. Suddenly, Kitty's voice was heard, "As the student council president, it is my job to help out all of my people in times of needs." Quinn hears Red Coat snickers at her side and she immediately glared at her. "Seeing as our dearest royalties are having a hard time choosing their dates, I'll be playing as your sweetest fairy godmother! I'm calling it, Cupid's day!" Kitty's face appears on the screen on the classroom.

"All of those who haven't had a date yet will be given these necklaces. Go to your homeroom to get yours with your name on it. As for the our dear royalties and knights, yours are found on the student council room. This afternoon, you shall wear it. In my signal, the game begins. You shall get your target's necklace and wear it. Under my executive orders, you two will be forced to be dates for the Society ball this Friday!"

"you hear that, princess?" Quinn turns her head to Red Coat. Slowly, she in unbuttoning her coat. Quinn raises her eyebrow in anticipation. She always sees her with that exact red coat and Zero's costume every time she meets her. She reveals herself with Quinn's uniform, her face looks a bit like Quinn's.

"What is going on?"

"This, my dear, is prosthetics. How do you think will I help you out there?"

"You're not planning on—"

"Honey, you can't even run a mile without having a heart attack." Quinn glares at Red Coat. Sure she's not hreat in the endurance department but she can work on it.

"I don't need you! Santana will be—" Quinn was cut off by Red Coat's laugh. She laughs like Alison, it's scary. It's Alison laugh for something ridiculous Quinn has done.

"Santana? When will you realize that you can't trust Santana? The girl is a dog of the Empire. Once she knows about you being Zero, she's gonna throw you—"

"She will not! It was you who killed her mother!"

"Honey, it wasn't me. Your dearest sister ordered for the ambush, I just came in to help the powerless. Like I said, Santana's mother was a casualty. Isn't that what your Father used to say?" Red Coat circles Quinn. Quinn clenches her fist with so much strength she knew her nails would mark her palm.

"If Santana knowing you are Zero will threaten your life, then I will personally make sure it'll never happen. I'm your ally, Quinn. You can trust me." Red Coat whispers to Quinn's ears.

"Now. Let's out that aside and deal with the present…"Red Coat explains their plan for the afternoon.


Ashford Academy cafeteria

SPENCER.

.

"Where are you going?" Spencer asks as she grabs Santana's arm.

"I'm gonna go look for Quinn, she hasn't returned yet and—"

"I told Rachel to look after her." Santana raises her eyebrow at that. Rachel? As far as she knows, Spencer isn't so fond of the petite knight. Rachel has this tendency to do everything it takes to always be right—just like Spencer is. So there is this personality clash between them. She had always tried to keep Spencer away from Rachel.

"What's this about?" Santana asks as she gives her full attention to her friend.

"Jason is coming to the gala." Spencer announces as she looks around seeing if there is someone listening to their conversation.

"What? I thought he detached himself from everything with royalties written all over it?" Santana asks in confusion. Jason had played the prodigal son card to the Emperor before. Why would he attend such event now?

Spencer ushers Santana into one side as they continue their conversation, "It was the Emperor's orders. I heard he would announce something on the night of the gala."

"Who? The Emperor? Or Jason?"

"Emperor has an announcement to make but he wouldn't be at the gala. Remember the previous Knight of Two? He would there together with Jason and announce the news."

"What news?"

"I don't know! It was classified!" Spencer exasperated. What if it was something about their little secret? The Emperor isn't in high school anymore, surely he wouldn't embarrass Jason and the Hastings by blowing up a secret like that right? But it is a society ball. Perfect way to drop a bomb like that. Spencer's parents would be there, most of Brittania's Elites will be there.

"Okay… Let's breathe for a sec." Santana says as she calms Spencer down. "A Royal announcement? But there'll be no press at the ball. What kind of announcement is that?"

Spencer massages her temple as she keeps the headache from worsening. "The Emperor had allowed the media, for that night."

"It can't be! I worked on that already!" Santana argues.

"Santana!" Spencer stops Santana from ranting. "I really have a bad feeling about the ball." She looks at Santana while her heart clenches.

"If you can't do anything with your position, I can't do anything either, Spence." Santana says as she holds into Spencer's hands.

"The Emperor has been back to the homeland since last week. Lord Jeremiah had told me that it was all about political stuff. They said they were dealing with the current threats to the Empire." Spencer explains as she remembers her conversation with the Knight of One.

"What if Jason decided to reconcile with the Emperor?" Santana suggests. Spencer just looked at her like it's the most stupid idea she has ever heard. Jason can't come back after knowing he doesn't have a royal blood in him. He wasn't like that. "Just listen. What if this is his way of saving your father's ass from the Emperor's wrath? If he goes back as the crowned prince of Brittanie, pressure aside, the Emperor might be pleased with his decisions and give him the throne."

"Santana, Quinn will rise up to the throne. I think the Emperor has made that clear in many occasions." Quinn has made her public debut already. The Emperor won't just take that back because his only son decided to come back to his arms. He's a man of his words.

"We can't prepare for something we don't know. So let's just try to gain more information about this stuff. I'm pretty sure I could pull some strings." Spencer rolls her eyes when Santana pointed to her chest. "But right now, we need to focus on more pressing issue. Kitty has done this stupid thing to prevent the knights from meddling with the royalties affairs. There are at least 15 other royalties aside from Quinn in the school. Five of them had already chosen their dates. This means we have 12 people to keep an eye on, including Emily in the list. Just in case Lady Pamela decides to show up." Santana reminds Spencer. Spencer nods her head in agreement. She still have some knight duties to attend to. Emily is still grieving for Maya's absence and Paige is doing some moves on her. Spencer has to be cautious. That girl has tried to drown Emily. She could just not be trusted.

"And because Kitty just really wants to be at the top of my hit list, she has included us to this pathetic game. Among the knights, only Noel Kahn has a date. Each of us has two people to look after. I don't know if going with an Eleven is a good thing or a bad thing, but let's just make sure that the royalties won't be hurt during the game." Spencer nods. She's impressed that Santana had already everything planned out. "I asked Mike to do a little research on our guests. Most of them doesn't mind going with an Eleven, thanks to the fact that Quinn was on an "Eleven's club". But four of those who already have dates still think that going with an Eleven in a Society ball, not to mention this will be televised is a big risk. I'm keeping an eye on both Brittany and Quinn. You take care of Emily and Count Luke."

"Why are you keeping an eye on Brittany? That's unfair! Sir Evans is here so you don't have to put much effort!" Spencer protests. Every strategically plan Santana has always has an advantage on her. That little minx!

"Well Quinn is the golden girl so my job is like ten times harder than all of you. Besides, people would want me too, you know!" Spencer rolls her eyes at Santana's conceited moment 101. Of course she would insist that.

"Well good luck protecting that necklace then." With that they both part ways.


ASHFORD ACADEMY JANITOR's CLOSET. (afternoon)

QUINN.

.

Quinn is nervous but she trusts Red Coat. She told Red Coat that she'd like to exchange necklaces with Santana. She could've just asked Santana about it but Kitty had prohibited all the royalties and the Knight of Rounds to communicate with each other an hour before the event. She doesn't even know where Santana is. Red Coat had insisted they exchange places. Red Coat will pretend as Quinn and move around the campus preventing other people from changing necklace with her. Quinn is now hiding at one of the Janitor's closet, which is absolutely weird, but Red Coat had set up computers and screens in here. She didn't know how red Coat had managed to put all those cameras around school but she didn't question it anymore. On the screen, Quinn could see her cousins with a smile on her face. This makes her smile too. It was good that her cousins were embracing the Elevens' culture like she does.

Together with her, was Mona typing codes on the computer, probably controlling the cameras focus. Quinn believes Mona is Red Coat's right hand. But even Mona doesn't know Red Coat's identity. She had attempted to use Geass on her but Red Coat prevents her from doing so. She had been using Geass for convenience and Red Coat says that she should be careful in using it. Geass is a very powerful tool, but she can only use it once with direct eye contact in every person.

"It's starting." Mona announces and Quinn looks at the screen. Since Santana is separated from Quinn, all they need to do is to lure Santana to the back of the building near the varsity's locker room where Quinn would be waiting until Red Coat appears. She'd give her the necklace, and when Santana comes, they'll exchange necklaces. Easy. The three of them would work together out to lose all the other students from following Red Coat.

A few seconds by, and she hears another bell that signals Kitty's announcement. She can't help but feel excited too. "Before we start this glorious event—" Kitty starts and Mona snorts. "What do you even see in her? She had caused your knight's adopted sister's eating disorder and—"

"Okay stop! She didn't!"

"Quinn, she did. And we don't want to talk about that now."

Quinn just stares at Mona as she turn her back on her. Sometimes Quinn thinks that Red Coat has just been turning Quinn to her friends. She knows her friends' secrets. Secrets that'll change everything. Though she can't blame them. Everyone has a secret. Even her. Especially her.

"—I would just like to say something…" There was a pause and Quinn might have thought that she was calling the whole thing off. "Whoever grabs Princess Quinn Fabray's necklace and brings it to me, I shall increase your club's budget to three times! Also, a 10, 000 gift certificate to-" Quinn could see all the students go wild, and her eyes widen.

She hears Mona laughs and Quinn glares at her, "well, this is a good twist to this boring game. I never knew her obsession with you could be this interesting ."

Kitty is the heiress of the Ashford's. even though the Ashford's are middle-class family among the Britannians, they are still well known for owning a prestigious school in Area 11. It wasn't a big deal for both genders to be in a relationship. It was just the same as going with an opposite sex. Kitty has been rumored of being attracted to both girls and boys. It wasn't a big deal too for royalties to associate themselves with someone from a lower class. Lady Jessica wasn't even from a middle-class Britannian family, but she was married to the Emperor. Given the society judged her for it, but who would dare speak against the Emperor's actions?

"Will this mess up our plan?" Quinn asks ignoring Mona's mocking. Supposed to be, only those who don't have dates are required to participate in the game. But due to this change, everyone is encouraged to join.

"It might. But I have it covered." Mona answers as she taps on her phone probably contacting on of the Black knights. The Black Knights don't know about Quinn, because if they did, the organization would definitely break apart. They can't take orders from the current princess of the Empire they are going against.

They hear Kitty's signal and everyone starts moving.

"Red Coat, Santana is near the school's front yard." Quinn says over the mic. She knows Santana would look for her, right? So Red Coat just have to appear at Santana's sight for her to follow her. But not too close, Quinn reminds Red Coat. She has spent most of her life with her knight, Santana would know if it is Quinn or not.

"Weird. One thing that differentiates you from Ali, is that she has been forcing herself to one person to another. But you? People just keep on coming and coming to your way. What an enchanting charm." Mona mocks, and Quinn ignores her again. This isn't the time to think about those things, not when she sees a group of jocks coming Red Coat's way.

"Rugby team is coming from your right, turn left towards the school library." Quinn says. Her strategic skills has been improving according to red coat, and it is a good thing. She had managed to win battles for the Black knights against the Britannian army. Surely she could manage to win this 'dating game', right?

"aye, aye, captain!" Red Coat mocks as she follows Quinn's directions.

"Quinnie, does Knight of Six have some crazy infatuation with you too?" Mona asks as she points to top-left screen. She sees Rachel running towards Red Coat's direction. What?

"Mona… I think this is time for you to play your cards right." Quinn hisses as she panics. If any of the knights catch Red Coat with that disguise, it will definitely be a big trouble for all of them.

Mona smirks then taps a few keys on the keyboard. Soon, she sees the same black figure who saved her from Puck in the incident before. "Who is that?" Quinn asks referring to the black hoodie person.

"Who knows?" Mona teases Quinn as she gives the orders to the black hoodie person.

"you do know you can't keep a secret from me, right?" Quinn says as she crosses her arms at Mona.

"It's not my call, sweetheart. Let's just say, he's on our side." Quinn stares at the black hoodie guy. He can't be Puck. The guy has smaller body structure than Puck. And Puck can't go near Quinn so there's no way he could follow Mona's orders. Unless he knows the truth about Quinn playing Zero at some incidents.

"He's not Puck, don't worry." Quinn's eyes widen. Mona did not just read her mind. No way.

"What are you saying?"

"it's written all over your face." Mona shrugs.

"You know about Puck. Did Red Coat tell you?" Quinn glares at Mona.

Mona shakes her head and has this annoying smirk in her face. "I could feel your anger towards him every time we have a Black Knights meeting. So you better keep up your acting. No one can know about you being Zero. It will destroy the Black Knights, it will destroy your princess image." Mona warns Quinn.

Quinn knew about that, of course.


ASHFORD SCHOOL GROUNDS

SANTANA.

.

Santana would kill Kitty the chance she lays a hand on that brat. She actually has enough reasons to strangle her. Santana runs as she looks for Quinn. Rachel had told her she has found Quinn, and was looking for her but Kitty announced that stupid rule of separating her from Quinn.

She had told Sam about the plan. Brittany doesn't seem to mind being taken by an Eleven. She said it would be a thrilling experience to spend time with her people. She was glad Brittany was taking this lightly. It was actually a surprise to see Brittany runs around so fast. Sam had told her that Brittany has loves dancing too when she was younger and has continue that hobby till now. And since, Lord Tubbington loves running around, which Santana can never put her head on—how can that fat cat run around like it was kind of a ninja?—and Brittany loves to follow him around, running a few miles in such speed isn't a problem with her.

"Sam, have you seen Brittany?" Santana asks ash she clicks her communicator placed in her ear.

"Uhm… Santana… actually, I have some problems right now." Santana hears some girls squeal at the background. She rolls her eyes at the blonde knight. The girls have been fawning over the 'cute' face of Brittany's knight. She heard Hanna refers him as the 'blonde Bieber'.

"I'll get back on you, I have incoming call right now." She ends the call with Sam and accepts the one from Spencer. "What now?"

"Have you seen Emily?" Spencer immediately asks. Santana stops for a second to catch her breath. "Nope. Not seen my twin anywhere." Santana answers as she looks around. She's near the Botanical garden, and she hates insects. She knows Quinn hates insects too but this is one of the few places around the school that the crazy fangirls wouldn't go to.

"Caleb tracked Brittany. Says something about the school playground." Spencer reports and Santana lights up. She stands up and readies to sprint towards the playground, which is at the opposite side of where she is now.

"Any news about Quinn?" Santana asks hopefully that her princess is somewhere nearer.

"Uhmmm… She's been running round, so it's hard to track her. He has tried to hack the school's CCTV's but that covers only the ones near the school buildings. He had last seen Quinn running towards the exit of the school's front building. Are you sure she doesn't have some tracker built inside you." Spencer explains then Santana laughs. Quinn? Running around? That's a joke.

"Are you sure it's Quinn?" Santana says as she rounds a corner. She looks around if there's no one around coming after her. When the coast is clear, she starts running again. She was glad Mike has brought some energy drinks with him. She wouldn't be able to keep up with this game if she doesn't have any preparations.

"Like I said, she was running around, he wouldn't be able to focus on her face." Spencer says.

As Santana ponders the thought of Quinn running around, she feels an arm tugs her at the side. She glares at her kidnapper and was about to throw an upper cut. Good thing Nate McIntosh had dodged her.

"What is wrong with you?" Santana scolds the Knight of Seven.

"Sorry captain, I had been trying to look for you but you're really fast." Santana sees the smirk she hates at his handsome face.

"Why are you looking for me?" Santana hisses. This might not be a life-death mission, but they still had to stick to the plan. "You're supposed to look for—"

"Yeah, about that, already got them a date. What can I say? I'm a matchmaker."

"Okay? So are you here to help me out?" Santana asks puts her hand on her hip.

Slowly Nate walks towards her. Then he reaches out. Santana thought he would touch her chest, so she instinctively snap it away. She glares at him but he reaches on her again. He was so fast, Santana couldn't stop him. When she's about to punch him in the face, she notices his hand was on her necklace.

"I'm gonna take care of this." He says as she plays his thumb over the half-heart shaped with S embedded on it.

"You don't have to." Santana says as she crosses her arms around her chest.

"Are you planning on giving it to someone?" he asks.

"What is it to you? Because I told you a couple of times, I'm not going to go with you!" She snares. Why can't this guy take a hint? He's like Puck sometimes, though she's gotta admit that this guy has more game than Puck. She rolls her eyes, she did not just think about that.

"I know. I know. It's just that if I have this, no one could get it from you. Then you don't have to worry about someone taking it from you, seeing as you don't want to go with someone on the day of the ball. I'm helping you out, captain."

Santana thinks about it. He actually has a point. She could go around without thinking of someone grabbing the necklace off of her neck.

"you're not getting it for your own?" Santana clarifies as she narrows her eyes on him. He simply laughs and shakes his head, "I already have a date."

Santana rolls her eyes. Jenna. The blind girl who 's a top candidate for the A Team. Maybe she was dating Nate to shoo in her way to the military? Again, she mentally slaps herself. This is so not the time to be thinking of such thoughts. She needs to focus!

"Okay. I'm giving you my necklace, but if you give it to someone else, I swear I'm going to break your arms and cut your balls and—"

"Alright! Alright! I'm at your side. No need to be hostile!" Nate says as he raises his arms in surrender.

Santana removes her necklace. She was about to give it to Nate when she remembered A's text. She has to be careful to whom she trusts. Was this it?

"Captain?"

"SANTANA! Where are you? Quinn is heading towards the school gym." Spencer's voice blares into Santana's ears and she may have removes the earphones in surprise.

"What?" Santana adjusts the volume of the phone.

"Caleb tracked Quinn. She's on her way to the school gym, with at least four of rugby team at her tail." Spencer informs.

"Remind me to kiss Caleb's ass." Santana says sarcastically as her face breaks into a grin. Maybe Quinn really has Santana a tracker in her body. The school gym is near where she is right now.

She clicks a button and Spencer's voice fades in. She turns to Nate who was looking at her expectantly. "Look I gotta go. If ever we see each other again later, I'll give you this!" She says while running towards the school gym. A had warned her. She knows she shouldn't trust A, but right now, Nate is with Jenna. And if her friends don't trust Jenna, she shouldn't trust them either.

She jogs her way towards the school gym. She nears the gym and saw a flash of blonde hair running towards the exit again. She doubts that it was Quinn. Quinn hates running. And not to be conceited and self-centered, but Quinn would never run away from her. She also can't see the four rugby players supposed to be running after her. maybe it wasn't Quinn that Caleb tracked. She contacts Spencer again, it immediately connected to her friend. "Spence?"

"Not now, Santana." Santana flinched at Spencer's tone. She could hear a distant voice… was that Emily?

"Why don't you just leave us alone, Hastings?" Santana hears another voice. There's probably one person who could sneer at Spencer like that.

"Was that Paige?" Santana asks. It seems that Spencer had ignored her and she could now hear Emily's pleading.

"Spen… just… talki… we're… fighting…" She couldn't hear the words clearly. Maybe Emily is far?

"Spencer!" Santana tries to gain Spencer's attention but to no avail, she just ends the call. She sees the same blonde as if waving at her. She was at the far end of the gymnasium, and the blonde is already at the exit. She has no choice but to check the blonde. Maybe it was Quinn.


JANITOR's CLOSET

MONA.

.

"So Santana still has the necklace, right?" Quinn asks again.

Mona nods as she focused on the screen once again. Luckily, Santana is near a tree where they had placed a camera. If not, they'd probably miss Nate McIntosh's attempt of taking Santana's necklace away from her. That would most definitely ruin everything. She hissed at her ex-boyfriend. It was really great dating him and all that. It was a sure in access to the military. But he was such a pain the ass. Mona sighed in relief at the call Santana received.

The knights' communication was too hard to hack. With Holly Asplund in their side, Britannia had been developing their technology to no end. It was getting harder and harder monitoring the knights' movements. Mona knew that Spencer talking to Santana about the A Team gave Red Coat a headache.

They couldn't connect to their knightmares' system and their newly communicators. The said communicators can directly link the user to another user in just an instant without the need of a network. It's basically a combination of much convenient untraceable cellphone and a walkie-talkie.

"Red Coat got Santana. You should head to the locker room now." Mona says as she sees Santana running after Red Coat. She knows Santana doesn't run that fast so she wouldn't be able to catch up with Red Coat without any help from the others.

She feels Quinn stands up and straightens her uniform.


ASHFORD ACADEMY PLAYGROUND

SANTANA

.

Santana was now running towards the hall that leads to the locker room. She was getting tired of the running around and it's making her crazy. She feels like she's now out of shape. She should really hit the gym again.

"Sannie?" she hears a familiar voice behind her. She turns around as she pants.

"Brittany!" She greets the princess. She notices that Brittany still has the necklace hanging around her neck. Great. So she's still not late.

"Are you okay? You look exhausted." Brittany comments as she hands Santana a handkerchief which Santana gratefully took.

"I uhmmm… I've been running around." She says as she wipes her sweat across her forehead.

"Are you running after someone or away from someone?" Brittany asks as she takes a step towards Santana. Santana straightens herself as she catches her breath. She needs water. She really feels like her skin is burning. She fans herself until she feels Brittany staring at her chest.

"Britt?" Santana asks curiously. She watches the blonde reach for her necklace, her other hand tilting Santana's chin up. She looks into her eyes and got lost with it.

"breathe with me." Brittany says, and Santana finds herself following Brittany. She follows Brittany's breathing and she her breathing evens out.

She doesn't know how it happened, but the next thing she knows, was Brittany placing her necklace on her neck. It would seem as Brittany had exchanged their necklace during the breathing exercise.

"Would you mind being my date for the society gala, Santana?" Brittany asks shyly.

Santana couldn't help but grin. Sam informed her that girls from swimming team, cheerleading team and drama club had forced themselves into getting Sam's necklace. For that Sam had begged her to look after Brittany who he can't find at the moment for he was stuck dealing with his situation.

Getting a date isn't recommended but it wasn't prohibited either.

"You want me to be your date?" Santana asks as she touch the half-heart pendant with a 'B' curving embedded on it.

"Why not? It would just be for one night." Brittany says nonchalantly and Santana could really feel her cheeks burning. What is wrong with her?

"I'm honored… Brittany." Santana says before she could stop her mouth from spilling those words.

"Should I take that as a 'Yes'?" Brittany asks and Santana could see that bright smile on her face. A smile she could always get used to. Santana took her hand and kneels down with one leg to kiss the back of it.

"Yes, your Highness."


ASHFORD ACADEMY VARSITY LOCKER ROOM.

QUINN.

.

Quinn's eyes widen at the sight that welcomed her at the varsity locker room. Red Coat in Quinn's disguise is kissing Finn Hudson.

She stood frozen in her place. She blinks for a second. What the hell is going on?

In three seconds, she didn't know how it happened, but it did.

One. Red Coat was at her side, her hand on Quinn's shoulder.

Two. Red Coat whispers to her, "I bumped into him. Didn't see him coming. He would recognize me if he looked into me closer, seeing as he is one of your greatest fan. And how do you distract a teenage boy? You kiss him. You should learn from Ali, Quinnie."

Three. Red Coat is gone. Quinn is six steps away from Finn who has his eyes closed.

This is not good.

She steps towards Finn who's now slowly opening his eyes.

"Finn?" she softly asks.

"uhmm… Quinn… why… why did you kiss me?" It took Finn five tries to form that sentence. He was still flushed from the kiss and Quinn's could feel her cheeks reddening too. Maybe not in a good kinda way, maybe in an angry kinda way. Red Coat had just kissed Finn Hudson.

Quinn had to think fast. Really fast because Finn is now staring down the ground fumbling through the hem of his shirt.

"I… I… I think I like you." She blurts out. It wasn't really a lie, isn't it? She likes Finn as a friend. She thinks he's sweet, and she enjoys his company.

"That… that's not true, isn't it?" Finn shakes his head with a sad smile. "You… You don't like me. I'm an Eleven, Quinn. You can't" He says and he actually looked like a kicked puppy. Quinn was confused by this. Hanna had told her that you only kiss someone you like. If in Finn's mind, Quinn had kissed him, he should believe that Quinn likes him, right?

"Finn—"

"No. You're a dream, Quinn. I'm nothing. I—"

"You're not nothing, Finn! Stop thinking like that!" Quinn shouts as she takes a step towards Finn. Finn is a great guy, he shouldn't be thinking so lowly about himself.

"You're honest… and you're so kind and smart, you deserve the best, Quinn." He says softly. "I'm stupid. I'm nothing but the school's quarterback who gets pity looks from all, Britannian or not."

Quinn shakes her head and puts her hands on the sides of Finn's face. "You're not. Please stop saying that."

"Ohio military had asked me to join them, Quinn." He says in a low voice, if Quinn wasn't near him she probably wouldn't hear it.

"What… what did you say?" Quinn asks.

"That I can't."

He can't? Why?

"I was thinking of you, Quinn. You would look differently at me if I join the Ohio's Liberal Front. They had hurt you, Quinn. And I can't…" He says and Quinn could see struggle in his eyes. He was torn that was for sure. "I wanted to join the Brittanian army so I could live protecting you. But that's wrong, right? I'm a traitor to my own country. My dad would probably be ashamed of me right now." Finn shakes his head and he steps back but Quinn reached for his hands.

"You're not… I know… I know how you feel, Finn."

Of course she knows. She has been leading the rebellion against her own country, her own family. It's the highest form of treason to your country.

"You're special. And… Yes." Quinn says as she leans in to hug Finn.

"Yes?"

"I would love to be your date for the Society gala." Quinn says as she removes her necklace and give it to Finn. She takes Finn's necklace and hands it around her neck.

"Quinn… you don't have to do this… if this is about—"

"It's not because I pity you, Finn. I like you. And I would love to go out with you. It'll be special." Quinn says as she holds Finn's hands and runs her thumb over the back of it. Finn's hand went to her chin and raises her head to meet hers.

"I'll make you fall in love with me, Quinn." Quinn hears as Finn kisses her temple.

Quinn smiles at Finn.

Fall in love.

She chuckles at the thought.

Red Coat says, the Power of the Kings will condemn her to a life of solitude.

Brittany says, just because she doesn't understand what love is doesn't mean she can't feel it.

Hanna says, whatever she thinks is love is love.

Who knew blondes have different perspectives on love?


ASHFORD ACADEMY (night of the Society Ball)

QUINN.

.

She was in Finn's arms but she can't help but look over his shoulders. Brittany is beautiful tonight, wearing that light blue gown with silver accents on it, and Quinn wouldn't blame Santana for not taking a glance on her. Santana's first dance is with Brittany, and her heart clenched at the sight of her knight smiling like that at someone else. Few days back, she is the sole cause of her knight's smile. Maybe she should ask Santana to take her to their place—the top of the hill. Yes, that is their place. No discussion needed. Maybe they should just spend the night gazing at the stars laying down the grass. She'd even agree in driving the whole trip if that meant Santana's arms would be all around her.

Red Coat and Mona had laughed at how their plan had ended up like this.

Quinn had used her Geass on three people who she had met on her way to the varsity's locker room just to keep them from questioning Quinn's necklace.

Red Coat insisted she had lost half of her weight during that run. But Quinn blamed her for kissing Finn.

She sighs and Finn pulled back from her. "Are you okay?"

"I… can you get me a drink?"

Finn smiles and he bows a bit before leading Quinn out of the dance floor.

She sees Spencer and took the seat next to her. "Are you enjoying the night, Quinn?"

She nods her head with a smile as she leans into Spencer. "How about you?"

"I'm keeping an eye on someone tonight." Spencer says as she pats Quinn's shoulders. Quinn nods her head in understanding. It is unfair that Spencer is looking out for Emily, and Santana is not. Had Santana completely disregarded her just because Brittany is at her side? Quinn wanted to cry. She knows Santana wouldn't betray her like that but she could hear Red Coat on the back of her head saying she shouldn't trust Santana so much.

She feels someone at her back and she hopes it was Santana. When she turns her head though, she sees Rachel Berry smiling adoringly at her. "Hi, Rachel!" she greets.

"Would you like to dance, your Highness?" the brunette asks as she extends her hand towards her.

Quinn politely shakes her head to hide her disappointment. "Maybe later? Finn is just—"

"Hey!" Finn says as hands the drink towards Quinn. She nods her head in gratitude. She stirs the glass as she hears Rachel's question towards Finn, "Would you mind if I take the princess for a dance?"

She could hear Spencer chuckle at her side and Quinn immediately hushed her.

"Sure." Finn smiles brightly and Rachel.

Finn was definitely a great guy and Quinn wasn't even giving him the attention he deserves. Maybe Finn is wrong. he's the one who deserves the best. It wasn't enough that he complimented him when he met with her at the school event hall entrance a while back. Quinn hadn't had the chance to spend the day with Santana. Every knight has been busy finalizing everything. Though she was glad the it was Santana who took her to the school. Santana wasn't even wearing anything special aside from the red-cape she has on, the ones the knights wear on special occasions. Come to think of it, Rachel and Spencer are wearing theirs—pink and black, but in Quinn's mind, Santana had pulled it off better than them.

She let the petite knight to lead her towards the dance floor. She was taller so she instinctively put her hands on Rachel's waist. The knight was shy about it at first but she takes her hands and put to her shoulders.

They had a small talk but Quinn finds herself craving for a certain Latina's voice. Rachel might have picked up on it as she says, "Don't worry, your Highness, Santana had specifically asked me to look out for you."

That got her attention and she turns to Rachel, "What?"

"As you can see, your brother is here and is about to announce something at the end of the night. Some people from the media has been forced to stay outside the event hall after the red carpet walk to keep from meddling with the royals' businesses. She has been really busy handling everyone." She says as she took a spin.

Santana is Quinn's spokesperson too. So it was also her job to handle all the media who wanted to have an interview with her. "Finn is an Eleven, and he might not have informed you, but he was feeling queasy about the stares he has been receiving since the moment you took his arms." Rachel explains and Quinn can't help but feel guilty. She hadn't thought about the consequences of her actions. Of course this has some major effect on Finn. She hopes nothing bad happens to him. It would really be unfair for him.

Rachel notices Quinn's frown and tighten her hold to her, "Santana had promised to let you experience the life you wanted, your Highness. She had made sure no one bothers you and Finn tonight. She really wanted you to enjoy the evening." Rachel says with a genuine smile and something she couldn't quite put on.

What if the life I wanted isn't exactly this? How can I enjoy this if she isn't with me?

She didn't even notice the song has shifted. Has she been dancing? Or was she just standing there like an idiot? She sees Rachel bows to her and she did the same.

She feels a tap on her shoulder. She whips her head and was met by Brittany's hug. She puts her hand on her cousin's back as she tries to recover from her surprise. If Brittany is here, where is Santana?

"I've been waiting for your dance with Finn to end so I could dance with you, but I got lost at Santana's story about your little date at the top of the hill." Brittany says as she immediately put her hands on Quinn's back to pull her, her left hand, on Brittany's waist, and their other free hand clasped together. Brittany had swayed Quinn and Quinn may have had a hard time processing that they were already dancing. Brittany may have rivaled Mike's expertise in the dancing department. She didn't even have time to think what she should feel. She was thankful everything was happening fast because Brittany might notice the blush on her face at the mention of her 'date'.

"Santana talks about uhmm… erm… our date?" She decides to use Brittany's words.

She sees Brittany nods her head enthusiastically and her smile grows bigger. Santana talks about her. "You should take me to a ride, sometime! Santana says you're a natural." Quinn feels guilty for getting jealous at Brittany. That girl was nothing but nice and here she is thinking badly of her sweet-sweet cousin.

"Maybe I should teach you too?" Quinn offers with a smile and she hears Brittany's laugh. Who doesn't love Brittany's laughter?

"You're not mad she's my date, right?" Brittany asks and Quinn could see the half-heart with an 'S' around Brittany's neck. The pang in her chest was back in an instant. She wondered what it would've felt like wearing that. She hadn't notice Santana wearing Brittany's necklace. She only sees the knight's emblem.

"I…-"

"I'm sorry. She was just there, and I felt like I had to do it, you know? Please forgive me." Quinn bit her lip at Brittany's pout. How on earth can you stay upset at that? Red Coat says Quinn shouldn't trust Brittany either. Red Coat pointed out that Quinn is weak for letting Brittany take Santana away from her. Santana is hers and Quinn should lay a claim. But Quinn refused to use Geass on her family—with the exception to her mother, and to the other knights of rounds.

"Of course, Brittany. You are forgiven. I love you." She says truly. If she would share Santana with someone, it would probably be with Brittany. Brittany had promised she wasn't a threat and Quinn chooses to believe her. Regardless of Red Coat's advice, she knows better to choose her allies. Brittany would never lie to her.

"Good. Because I love you too!" Brittany pulls her to a hug, and Quinn feels her heart melts. None of her sisters had hugged her like that. Brittany is giving her warmth none of her family members had managed to give her. not even from her own mother.

They were like that for a while and Quinn actually could say she was feeling the moment. She pulls Brittany closer and inhales her scent. Vanilla.

As the song ends, she feels Brittany pulls away and puts a kiss on both sides of her face. "Sorry for keeping her away from you, I know it's worth the wait." Brittany whispers into her ears before finally pulling away.

She turns around to question Brittany but the sight of her knight standing there in front of her empties her mind. Slowly she raises her gaze to meet her knight's and she can swear it takes her breath away.

"Santana…"

She says slowly. She wanted to run towards Santana and keep her from running away. She had missed her knight. But it would seem like her legs are not moving. It wasn't until she feels Santana's arms around her and she willingly let her head fall into Santana's shoulders.

"You know that I should ask for chance to dance with you first, right?" She hears Santana whispers into her ears.

She chuckles as she relaxes more into her knight's arms. She doesn't even care if she's pressing herself to the red knight's body. Her arms were around her knight's neck, and her knight's were wrapped around her mid-section. "You already asked that before. And I promised I'd save a dance for you."

She hears Santana's laugh and she smiles to herself. The feeling was back again, and she wasn't complaining. Santana is her safe haven.

"If I remember correctly, I'm not the one who did the asking, princess."

"You should stop teasing me, Lady Lopez." She reprimands her knight playfully. She holds into her knight tighter when she sees one of her cousins looking at them. Denise. Denise had shared her admiration towards Quinn's knight. Quinn could see Denise just waiting for the chance to grab Santana away from her.

"I'm not going anywhere, Quinn. Relax." Santana says but Quinn wasn't having any of it. Red Coat says Quinn was just like her father, once they had laid a claim on something, they made sure no one ever takes it away from them. She wanted to disagree but she knows it is true.

Quinn feels Santana's lips on her shoulder and she reluctantly loosens her hold on Santana's neck. They looked into each other's eyes and Quinn finds herself being pulled in by Santana's surreal gaze. It was bizarre looking directly at her. Should she take this chance to use Geass on Santana and ask her to never leave her side? She knows Geass is absolute and in spite of everything else, Santana would obey Quinn's orders. She was tempted, really. This is the one thing Quinn has to actually make sure Santana stays by her side.

She immediately feels the panic in her heart. She can't be thinking of things like that. She promised she would not lose herself in the power of Geass. Santana believes in her, and she would never use Geass on her. She would never betray her like that.

"Are you okay?" Santana was alarmed by Quinn's sudden change of mood.

Quinn nods her head and takes a breath, "I'm sorry. I just—"

Quinn hears a tinkle and her eyes etched in confusion. She notices the communicator in her knight's left ear which the knight clicked as she shoots a sheepish smile on her. Quinn could hear voice on the other line. Spencer?

"Where are you? I talked to my dad and I think I'm going home. Emily is with the Viceroy but can you keep an eye on her?"

Quinn nods her head sympathetically even though she doesn't want to let go of Santana. Santana mumbles out a 'yes' and she hears Spencer's thanks.

"I'm sorry about that." Santana says but Quinn just smiles at her.

"Are you enjoying the night, Quinn?"

"Finn has been amazing tonight." Quinn replies in all honesty. She still owes the acknowledgement to him.

"Good. It will save me the trouble of beating him up if he wasn't." Santana says jokingly and Quinn laughs at that.

"Thank you for protecting Finn and I." She says as she looks into Santana's eyes deeply.

"I just want you to be happy."

Quinn desperately wanted to kiss Santana. She concluded the urge wasn't normal anymore. She has this constant impulse to kiss Santana and she is sure it really was beyond the line of friendship. She had asked Hanna if Emily and Spencer had kissed before and Hanna just laughs at her. That meant it was beyond the line of knighthood too. She constrains herself from leaning it. This is a Society Ball and just because she chooses to ignore the lingering stares at them don't mean those doesn't exist. She knows she has to present herself well.

She was glad an interruption was made as music fades in. She feels Santana leads her to the tables where Finn was waiting at her. She smiles at him and takes his arm.

The door then opens and the media had started forming a line towards the front of the stage. The long-awaited announcement has to be made.

They wait until Jason who wears a well-designed attire with Brittania's emblem embroidered at his back reaches the center of the stage. He has been escorting an Asian girl, and Quinn wonders if it was his girlfriend. She saw Jason back at the palace this week and she thought that Jason had decided to move back in.

"Good evening to all of you!" He greets and it wasn't as lovely as everyone would want to. he actually sounds like Russell in Quinn's opinion.

"We would like to end the night with a pleasant news…" He starts as he scans the crowd…

She hears the same chime and she takes a glance at Santana. Santana seems worried. She uses her free hand to reach for her knight's hand but her knight took a step sideward as if something alarming is happening.

What is going on?

"…I, Jason Di Laurentis-Fabray, 74th prince of Brittania is engaged to Lady Cristina, Korea's crowned princess!" The crowd erupted to whispers and camera starts flashing wildly at the couple at the stage.

She sees Santana stops at her tracks with her jaw dropped. She too was shocked at the announcement. What is going in? If Jason was back at the palace, why was he suddenly marrying Korea's crowned princess? She feels Brittany's hand intertwined in her free hand. Then she remembers her conversation before.

She shakes her head. No. It can't be.

Her father wouldn't trade his only son for alliance, right?

There has to be an explanation.

She sees Santana and Sam stand at hers and Brittany's side. She hears Santana telling Finn to step aside. What is going on? She watches Santana gives order at her communicator madly.

Suddenly, she feels thirds of the media swarm into her direction. They wanted to know her opinion on the matter.

What would she say? She can't say she's happy for the both of them. She doesn't even know who Lady Cristina is. She is sure Jason doesn't know either.

She feels Santana's wrap around her and she feels safe for a while but for the first time it doesn't give her the peaceful she used to feel every time Santana is around. Everything is too much to handle. She was blinded by the cameras' flashes and the reporters' voices. Someone should've given her a heads up.

Without a warning, the lights went off and Quinn starts to panic as she tightens her hold to Santana and Brittany.

"Quinn, I'm here. Focus on my voice." Quinn hears Santana and she leans into her more without releasing her grip on Brittany. She tugs Brittany to her side and her cousin follows.

"I would like to congratulate you, your Highness." A robotic voice was heard from the speakers of the hall. Quinn hears Santana orders Sebastian to go directly to the technical room.

She hears Sam asks Santana, "Is it Zero?"

From the dark, Quinn could still outline Santana's face due to the moonlight passing through the skylight at the top of the hall. "I don't think so. We all know Zero loves dramatics. Even with the risk of getting caught, he would possibly show up, just to upstage the royalties."

Quinn could sense Santana has someone else in mind but she didn't push it.

"The Emperor really knows how to form alliance, doesn't he?" the mysterious mocks his Highness and the lights at the hall start to bright up. the screen at the top of the stage which is connected to one of the cameras at the hall shows the picture of Lady Cristina who is clinging to Jason's arm.

Quinn knew Korea was taking neutral sides in the war against the Chinese Federation but Santana thinks Korea would fight alongside its co-Asian country.

"But was it even right to force just an honorary Britannian to marry Korea's crowned princess? World, listen to me! Let me give you the news you have all been waiting for!" the voice announces. And the media went crazy.

Suddenly, the screen displays a picture of medical record. A paternity test to be exact. While the speaker blared into a different recording.

"Under these circumstances, you know very well that no one could find out!"

Quinn couldn't recognize the voice but she knows she has heard it somewhere.

She feels Santana stiffen at her side. Does she know who the speaker is?

"Of course I know! I just thought that you should know, Peter!"

Lady Jessica? Was that Lady Jessica?

And who is Peter?

Peter… Peter… Peter Has—

The screen then zooms in to the name at the paternity test.

PETER HASTINGS.

Quinn shakes her head. This is the worst joke ever. Maybe as worst as Ali's grave being dug and stealing Alison's body.

"Quinn, we have to get out of here. Sam, follow my lead!" Santana instructs as she wraps her around Quinn and leads her towards the back door.

Everything became a blur. The media started going after Quinn, and the most of them went to Jason.

"Santana, what is going on?"

Her knight doesn't answer her though as she feels herself being dragged to Santana's car. Santana was talking to someone again. "Are you okay? Where are you?" Santana squeezes Quinn inside and locks the car. Once everything was settled, the car speeds up.

She sees Hanna on the driver's seat pressing the car's honk continuously to scare the bystanders away.

"Yeah, we're out of the hall. Are you sure you don't need any back up?" Santana asks and Quinn had a feeling she was talking to Spencer.

She starts processing things that just happened.

Jason wasn't a Fabray, he was a Hastings.

Hastings.

Peter Hastings.

Lady Jessica had cheated on her father, the Emperor with Peter Hastings.

"Is Emily okay?" Hanna asks as she looks at the rearview mirror.

"Mike told me he had Emily and the Viceroy secured on an escort." Santana informs as she looks back. She sighs in relief knowing that nobody had caught up into us. She knows Hanna was a crazy driver.

"I can't believe that just happened! It was the sickest joke he/she/it has ever played and-" Hanna exclaims.

"Hanna, eyes on the road!" Santana shouts as she points to the windshield.

"Santana, tell me what the hell is going on! And Hanna, who are you talking about?" Quinn demands from the two as Santana shoots a glare at Hanna.

"Zero. This is Zero." Santana answers not taking her eyes away from Hanna.

This can't be. Red Coat didn't tell her anything. This can't be the Black Knights.

"No. This isn't Zero!"

"How can you be sure about that?"

"Zero cares about the Elevens, Santana! What good will this bring to the Elevens?"

"No! Zero doesn't care about the Elevens! Can't you see he's just using them? He wanted to hurt the Royal Family! He killed Alison, he killed Frances, and now he's attacking Jason! I swear I'm gonna catch him before he even makes a move on you!" Quinn could see Santana flaring up as if she's about to explode in anger.

Quinn wanted to argue. It's not true.

Red Coat is her ally.

Zero could never kill Quinn because Quinn is also Zero. Wait.

Is this Red Coat's plan? To put the blame on Quinn?

Quinn shakes her head. It can't be. There's a bigger story in this. Something that involves the Geass.

A tinkle was heard and Santana begrudgingly answered it. "What? Head to the palace. I had informed them of our arrival."

Quinn leans back to her seat.

"Was that Spencer?" Hanna asks worriedly.

"Yes, Hanna. Because the palace is where Peter Hastings should head right now." Santana says sarcastically.

"Well sue me for caring about my friend's whereabouts!" Hanna snaps.

"Santana!" Quinn scolds her knight. Santana rolls her eyes in response and turns to Hanna. "I don't know where Spencer is. But she said she has everything under control. Well not everything, but you know what I mean. That was Rachel informing me about the other royalties, including Jason and Lady Cristina had safely left the school grounds.

"What will happen to Spencer, Santana?" Quinn asks quietly as she looks outside the window.

"She'll be fine. She might be in emotional wreck, but she'll be fine. Though Peter Hastings and Lady Jessica are as good as dead."

Quinn feels a heavy weight in her chest. This is just one of the secrets that could actually break the Royal family apart.

Was this Red Coat's works? She doubts it. Zero would probably show up and take the credits for exposing this controversy to the world.

Nonetheless she knew she wouldn't sleep soundly tonight.


Cristina is TINA of Glee.

also, sorry for the long hiatus. college was a bitch.