I visited C.C. again the next night, planning to speak to her again. This girl was so...mysterious. After hearing about Mao, I had begun to wonder about her past. What was she like as a child? How did she grow up; pampered like Euphemia or degraded among royals like Nunnally and I? Did she have any other siblings? If so, are they still alive? Did she get along with her family? Who was she? So many questions...and no answers to any of them...

When I sat on the bed next to her, she smiled and grabbed hold of my hand. I couldn't help but smile back her. Life lingered in her eyes now, no longer completely blank and void of emotion. Her skin had little more warmth to it and the color was beginning to return to her cheeks. Her hair was less tangled, as if a bush had been run through it once. She was still shaking, though. Oh, well...at least she was recovering...

She said, "Hello, again, Lelouch. How's your day been?"

I shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I had paperwork to do and I had to try not to gag at the sight of my best friend and your sister making googly eyes at each other. Nothing new, really."

She looked up the the ceiling, looking as if she were sent back into another time. "Being raised in a life of royalty...that must have been great..." she said, sounding wistful.

"What do you mean?"

She smiled at me kindly. "I was raised in a life of slavery. I have no royal blood in my body; just that of a slave girl..."

I froze. C.C. was raised as a slave? How did she because the queen then? "Tell me about your past," I commanded, knowing that she would do so, causing me to feel as if I were taking advantage of her mind and body's weakened state.

"I was actually born as a nobleman's daughter. He didn't want a daughter. He wanted a son. So, he sold me for five hundred dollars once I was three years of age. There were other girls there, ranging from three to thirty. None of us knew the man's name, so we all called him master. Master had me clean everything until I was five. Once I was five, I took care of animals. It was very cruel. One night, I had refused to go out in a thunderstorm to shut the gate that kept the cows inside. Master was enraged and was very harsh with the punishment. I have a jaged scar under my left breast from that night.

"When I turned nine the next night, I ran away. I was bloodied, bruised, and barely able to stand. I forced myself to run through another storm, the hail pelting me with brute force. I cried as I ran, wanting nothing more than to be free. The rain came to a stop after what had felt like hours. Eventually, I collasped in the middle of a road, barely concious. I passed out for a short period of time, but long enough for the horrible storm to start up again.

"When I awoke, my body was bloody from being pelted with hail. I thought of just lying there and allowing myself to die there on teh street, but the thought of going to sleep and never waking up scared me. I crawled forward, trying to reach someone...something...anything that could save my life. I finally came upon a church and forced myself in. Once inside, I crawled until I lost all streangth. I passed out for a few hours, only to awake again at the feet of a nun. She was looking down upon me with emotionless grey eyes that made me shiver in both fear and relief. I looked up at her, hoping she would help me. She knelt in front of me on her knees and asked me if I had a reason to live. Scared and cold, I told her no, but I didn't want to die. She just nodded and fetched a blanket for me. She took me to a warm room, where I my wounds were cared for. She could do nothing for my scar, though. She smiled kindly at me and asked me what my true wish was. I was startled, but I confessed to her that all I had wanted was to be loved. She only nodded and gave me what I wished for. To me, she was the mother I never had. It wasn't until I was a week away from turning ten did everything with her fall apart.

"I remember that it was raining, just as it had on the say I ran away from Master. The nun had taken me outside to speak with me on important matters. I asked her what she wanted, only for her to tell me that she's gone through hell on her own and wanted nothing more than to die, but was unable to find the courage unless she had killed someone first. I was deeply confused and asked her what she was talking about. She cackled and grinned crazily. She said, 'I'm sorry dear, but it appears that I tricked you!' With that, she took a knife and sliced it into my skin right where my scar was. I fell the ground, almost dead. I heard her cackled again before hearing the sound of her own blade being driven into her temple, killing her on the spot. I passed out, then.

"I awoke again in the royal hospital. I was found by a knight named Gino. I never learned his last name, though. But, when I awoke, there was a girl sitting next to me. I later found out that it was Euphemia, the only child of the king and queen of Geass. I was shocked to find that the girl had wanted to adopt me. She faught with her parents for weeks on end, trying to get me to become her adopted sister. I tried to tell her multiple times that I didn't need her to do that for me, but she insisted. In the end, I became her older sister and the heir to the thrown. You know what happened from then on until I was fifthteen.

"When I was sixteen, I realized that my adopted parents had wanted to trade Euphemia off to the Chinese Federation in exchange for our country to remain free. I was furious. I told Euphemia about it, only to find that she knew about it and had decided to go for our people. I did not want to stand for any of that. So, one night I poisoned my adopted mother. Her death was swift and painless. My father had come up with the plan, so I killed him with a kitchen knife. He died slowly, begging for his life. I watched him slowly bleed to death in silence, thinking of the freedom Euphemia would gain from those murders. A few days after their deaths, I was crowned queen. Many people accused me of murdering them for the throne. I refused to answer any questions about their deaths. But, one day their rage had gotten to the point where I had to make a deal with them. The deal was that if I kept Geass safe from the threat of war, then I could stay. But, once Euphemia has a kid or gets married, I would be banished and she would become queen."

When she was done, she was shaking much much worse than before and sobbing. I yanked her up by her hand and pulled her into an embrace. She was frozen for a second before hugging me back tightly. I pet her long hair slowly, whispering words of kindness, hoping desperately for her to calm down. After what felt like an eternity, she finally calmed down. She sniffled, curling herself up into my lap. She rested her head against my chest. "Thank you, Lelouch," she said, "I've been needing to tell someone of those things for so long..."

I buried my face in C.C.'s soft hair, allowing her rose-like scent to consume me. I whispered, "C.C., I promise you that I will grant your wish."

She lifted herself up a bit and whispered into my ear, "Ceceniah." I gasped, looking at her in shock. Her eyes were closed as she remained in my arms. "You finally called me...by my real name..." she whispered.

I held her tightly, saying her real name once more, wanting to see her smile again. She smiled peacefully before going to sleep. That night, I promised her I would love her, but it might have been that I already did...

A/N: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! I hope you guys liked it! The next chapter will be pure LelouchXC.C. fluff! Then, everything goes to hell! =D Yesssssssssssss! Lol. Anyways, I really hope you guys liked this chapter! Also, I'm posting a new poll. Please, vote on teh poll and review this chapter!