Chapter 10: Return to Japan, former Area 11
Don't let your guard down…
Never let her out of your sight…
Never fall in love…
Suzaku found Lloyd's haunting words echoing in his head as he piloted the jet that was to take his party to Japan; they had left Britannia in the dead of the night and very few people noticed the small jet leaving the military facility. Those who did thought nothing of it for it was common for the earl to have things sent to and fro for experimentation with other facilities throughout the empire.
While Nunnally and the others slept in the back, Suzaku and Kallen stayed up to pilot the jet together. Both had made sure to get enough rest during the day to prepare for the ten hour flight back to their homeland. They had been in the air for a few hours already and Kallen noticed that her leader had not uttered a word since their departure; she saw him speaking with Lloyd briefly before they left and wonder what the earl might have said to disturb him so.
"Suzaku, what's wrong?" she asked "You haven't said a word since we left; is something bothering you?"
Upon hearing his friend's inquiry, the dark knight snapped out of his trance; like Cornelia, Kallen was very perceptive and could read him quite well.
"It's nothing; I was just preoccupied with my thoughts of everything that's been going on this past week." It was true but Kallen sensed there was more to it then just that. She wanted to ask Suzaku what the earl said to him before they left but thought it best not to pursue it. Instead, she decided to change the subject.
"Do you ever miss it? Our homeland?" she asked. It was a fair question, neither Suzaku, Kallen, nor Sayako have been back to Japan since Nunnally became empress.
Suzaku was silent as he thought about it for a few moments. To be honest, he wasn't sure. The way he saw it, home was wherever his dearest friends and everything else he wanted in life was, including Nunnally, so he tended to think of Britannia as his home.
"Occasionally, but not often; I believe in the saying that home is where the heart is. Other then Kaguya, I don't really have any close relatives and as much as I love her, I knew she would eventually grow up and have a life of her own." It was true; his cousin became a government official working under Prime Minister Ohgi after Japan became independent and last time he heard from her, she told him that she had just become engaged to her longtime boyfriend.
"I see…" Kallen said she turned back to her side of the control panel. Suzaku decided to return her question.
"What about you?"
"I feel the same as you" she answered "Though I have a much bigger family on my father's side, I am not close to any of them, including him. At times, I miss our old classmates but like your cousin, I knew they would eventually move on with their lives. I try calling up Milly up every now and then but hardly ever hear from Nina or Rivalz since they're so busy with their new lives and careers. However, I do think it's more ironic that I feel more at home in my father's homeland then my mother's ever since I became a Knight and moved into the royal palace."
"Speaking of your mother, how is she?"
"She's doing well; she works as a medical assistant and lives in a nice apartment out in the capital that I was able to rent for her. I'm happy to say that I've improved my relationship with her and try to see her as often as possible on my days off."
"Does she know you're going back to Japan with us for a few weeks?"
Kallen shook her head. "There was no need to tell her plus I think it best if few people know of our mission. I just told her I needed to take some time off in the countryside and left it at that; she was perfectly fine with it."
"I see…good. I'm hoping our stay in Japan will be brief and uneventful. I am grateful to Gino for his idea of hiding Nunnally there but at the same time, I feel bad for leaving Cornelia and the others to do all the work of finding the killer while we do nothing."
Again Kallen shook her head. "I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you on that, Suzaku; I'd hardly call protecting the empress 'doing nothing'. It's true that their part will be somewhat tougher then ours but keeping Nunnally's presence in Japan a secret is no easy task either. We have to do everything we can to make sure no one sees her or all our efforts would have been in vain. It's lucky for us that Milly's summer home is far out in the countryside but that doesn't mean we can let our guard down. Even if the nearest town is a good fifty miles away, there's always the chance that random people can pass by the area."
"You're right" Suzaku agreed "Still, I hate not being able to search for the killer with Cornelia and the others. Even if he's far away, I'll never be able to relax as long as I know he's still out there."
"I know, but you mustn't be so hard on yourself. You may be our leader but you're still only human; there's only so much you can do alone. We can trust the others so let's just not worry about it and focus on doing our part; that's the best we can do for them as well as Nunnally."
"Of course; I do trust them. Thanks for telling me that, it does make me feel a lot better." Suzaku was surprised at the ease in which he was able to engage Kallen in a casual conversation such as this. Though he wished the circumstances could have been different, he was grateful that their mutual concern for Nunnally was able to bring them closer and hoped that their trip will bring him more chances to improve his relationship with his subordinate.
Unknown to the dark knight, that subordinate felt the same way though she was damned if she was going to admit it to anyone, including herself.
SSSSSS
There was a tomb-like silence at Pendragon Imperial Palace after the inhabitants had retired for the evening. As a rule, the palace curfew was ten; after the servants and guards have made their final rounds, the palace was completely closed off and no one was allowed to enter or leave until morning. It was well past midnight and all staff members were fast asleep as they were expected to be up by six to start performing their daily tasks. All except one.
In the room lit only by a single candle, the man sat at his small desk, cutting out individual words and letters from the small stack of newspapers and magazines before him and pasting it on a smaller paper while humming an eerie tune. He was a slightly unkempt man, with his mussed hair, unshaven face, and untidy clothes; anyone who saw him now might guess he was in his early or mid-thirties but his appearance made it difficult to tell for sure. Of course, he knew how to make himself look presentable enough for work, but barely; in his off time, he'd let himself go completely without a single care as to his appearance; that was the last thing on his mind now.
The man put down his small scissors for a moment and glanced at the pictures on his wall, of which the subject of all was the same.
Empress Nunnally…
The woman who occupied his nearly every waking thought every since he became employed in the Imperial Palace over half a year ago.
Since the moment he first saw her face, he became infatuated with her beauty yet despised the fact that she was far out of his league. He knew he was not the only one who could never have her but instead of contenting himself with admiring her from a distance, he unknowingly allowed his infatuation to become obsession, with mixed feelings of twisted 'love' and jealous hatred of the men who pursued the empress as well as the woman herself for being beyond his reach. He was in love with her at one time but that love became hate when he realized that no matter how much he 'loved' her, she never even noticed him.
It was then that the man came to the final conclusion that if he could not have his dream woman, no one could; he'd rather see her dead then in the arms of another man. His last few attempts ended in failure, thanks to circumstance and that damn masked knight. He even thought about killing him as well but knew that he wouldn't stand a chance against the Knight of Zero in direct confrontation, having no battle experience, so he focused his attacks against the more vulnerable Nunnally using subtle underhanded tactics. He might have failed so far but came closer every time so he decided to keep trying. With his dogged persistence, it would only be a matter of time…
SSSSSS
"I'm so happy to see you again, Nunnally, it's been so long!" Amelia 'Milly' Ashford cried happily as she took Nunnally in her arms and hugged her so tight the empress almost gagged; like her ex-fiance, Earl Asplund, the young Ashford heiress was certainly stronger then she looked despite her frail appearance. Nunnally was one of her favorite classmates as well as close friend so she could not help seizing the young empress as soon as she stepped off the jet which was docked in a closed-off area behind the Ashford family summer home.
"I'm very happy to see you too, Milly!" Nunnally managed to gasp before Milly realized how tight she was holding her. Loosening her hold, the Ashford heiress immediately apologized.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! Forgive my roughness, its just that I've missed you so much." She turned to Suzaku, Kallen, and the rest and bowed. "I'm sorry; I must apologize to all of you as well. You must be tired from your long flight; I have already prepared your rooms as well as dinner. I regret to say that I have sent all my servants on leave to maintain the secrecy of your stay so we will have to attend to our own personal needs for awhile. I hope that won't be too inconvenient for you; I know you are used to having the assistance of your servants."
Suzaku shook his head as he set his bag down and gave Milly a gentle hug. "It's all right, Milly, there is no need to apologize. You've already helped us a great deal by allowing us to stay here; we'll be just fine without the servants. In fact, I prefer that no one else here know about our stay."
"I agree" Kallen said "The fewer people who know about our plan, the better. It is vital to our success that no one knows of the empress's presence here so not having the convenience of the servants is a small price to pay." The Knight of Four grinned as she looked at her old friend and then Suzaku, "After all, we did just fine without them when we were still students here, didn't we? I for one, haven't allowed the luxury of the royal palace to spoil me."
Milly laughed. "Of course, not; that's just like you, Kallen. But enough, you've all had such a long trip, I'm sure you must be famished. I have prepared the rooms before your arrival; all of you are free to use any room you like so go ahead and bring your luggage in. You can unpack later after dinner; we must eat before the food grows cold. I'm also looking forward to hearing what's been going on so I can better assist you."
SSSSSS
"I see…so that's what's been happening. I knew there must have been more to this then what the media has been telling the public." Milly said as she looked down at her food. The Ashford heiress did not seem too surprised that there have been additional assassination attempts on Nunnally after the bombing incident.
"Yes, we were able to keep the poisoning incidents and phone call secret from the public because they were more subtle though no less serious. I was even more alarmed because it meant that the killer was closer then I thought, most definitely a palace resident able to move about freely; it was then that I decided to bring Nunnally here while the other Knights search for her stalker back home." Suzaku explained. During dinner, he revealed to Milly what she had not heard from the media while the others ate and listened in silence. After the dark knight finished his story, she turned to Nunnally, sympathy apparent in her eyes.
"Poor thing… I'm sure it must have been a terrifying ordeal. I'm glad you came to me; I promise I'll do everything in my power to help you and make you comfortable for the duration of your stay."
The empress blushed and lowered her head as she slowly stirred at her stew with her spoon. Nunnally was grateful for her friend's help and support but hated having to drag Milly into her messy and complicated situation. "Thank you, Milly, and all of you for doing this. I am grateful for everything you've done for me but still, I hate it that I got you involved. Someone has already died because of me and many more have been hurt; it pains me because I feel so powerless to stop it."
"Don't feel bad, its not your fault" Kallen said gently as she placed her hand on Nunnally's. "Yes, I understand it's hard not knowing who your enemy is but that's what we're here for. Looking out for you is what we do and I'm not just saying this as a Knight but also as your friend."
Milly nodded her agreement and seized the opportunity to change the subject. "That's right! And although I wish it could have been under different circumstances, I'm glad I have the chance to see you again. The last time I saw you was at your coronation ceremony; how has it been re-adjusting to life in the palace after living in exile for so long?"
"To be honest, it has its ups and downs. Yes, I am grateful to have back my royal status and birthright but it was hard for me to give up the personal freedom I had before. I do kind of miss the days I could go out in public without drawing a crowd and being surrounded by bodyguards."
Sayako chuckled. "Is that really such a bad thing?" she asked "It's always better to have people drawn to you then away from you." It was true; Nunnally's beauty and gracious nature drew people to her like a magnet. Her subjects adored her, making it a lot easier for her to rule, unlike her feared and despised father and brother who had to deal with rebellions and other forms of opposition constantly throughout their reigns.
"Well, I never thought I would sit on the throne of Britannia but since I have inherited it, I have to accept the bad along with the good. Giving up some personal freedom is a small price to pay for the power to change the world for the better."
"I'm glad you see it that way, Nunnally. And from what I can tell, you've seem to have handled your duties and responsibilities very well." Milly then turned to Carline "I'm happy to see all of my old friends here again as well as having the pleasure of meeting you, Princess Carline. This is the first time I've met another member of the Britannian royal family asides from Lelouch and Nunnally; I would like to know more about you as well."
Carline, who had been silently sipping at her soup and nibbling at some bread until now, was startled. She hadn't expected Milly to take such a sudden interest in her; very people ever did in comparison to her royal sisters and she was not in the habit of drawing attention to herself. To everyone, Carline appeared content to stay in the background while not performing her royal duties. Since she did not meet new people often, she wasn't sure how to answer Milly's inquires.
"Well…" Carline began "There's not much to tell. Asides from being a Princess of Britannia and performing my duties as such, I don't believe there is anything about me worth talking about. I don't get out of the palace a lot and people don't pay much attention to me and what I do, unlike Nunnally, who I believe is the most interesting of the royal siblings."
To this, Milly raised her eyebrows in surprise at such a humble answer from fifth princess. "Come now, everyone has qualities worth talking about; no life is ever uninteresting. Even if you think your life is nothing spectacular, you must still have interests, dreams, and ambitions."
Carline put her spoon down, wiped her mouth with her napkin, and looked up at the ceiling for a moment as she thought on how to best answer Milly. Of course, she felt uncomfortable being poked and prodded but felt obligated to do so out of courtesy to her hostess. "Well, when I was younger, I used to want to be commander-in-chief of the Britannian military but I knew that Cornelia was much more qualified for the job then I was. Since I couldn't have that, I wished for some kind of position in the military simply because I wanted to go out and win glory for my country. Of course, father wouldn't allow that either as he didn't think I was soldier material. After all, I'm not Cornelia or Schneizel."
Curious, Milly wanted to press Carline further but Sayako sensed her discomfort and decided to change the subject. In her three years living and working at the Imperial Palace, she had gotten to know the royal siblings quite well as making sure they remained loyal to Nunnally was one of her duties. "Milly, this food is delicious. Did you make it yourself? I'm sure it must have been hard for you with all the servants gone."
"Oh, thank you. No, it wasn't hard at all; I enjoy cooking. I take every opportunity to get better at it and I've made a lot of progress over the last few years. There was a time not too long ago when I couldn't even make eggs and toast right, haha. The only drawback was how long it took since I was cooking by myself without the assistance of the servants but it did get done as you can see."
"And I commend you" Sayako praised "We appreciate you taking the time to host us during our stay but won't that take you away from your job? From what I heard, news reporters are always working, especially on call."
"Ahh…about that, I've quit that job a while ago. I eventually discovered that journalism isn't really my cup of tea. Instead, I chose to return home and run my family's university as its principal. Right now, school is out for the summer; there are summer classes but I do not need to be there since I've arranged for another relative of mine to serve as principal in my place while I am here with all of you. Trust me, Nunnally's safety is of great import to me so I will do anything I can to make helping all of you possible."
The rest of dinner went by with talks of what everyone has been up to for the past three years, those present and not present. All had stories to tell to keep the conversation alive, all except Carline who remained oddly silent for the rest of the dinner. Suzaku noticed how seemingly unable or unwilling she was to add to the conversation. Perhaps she was just being shy or just didn't feel confident enough to talk about herself further. Whatever the reason, he decided to pay her a visit later to see what was bothering her and maybe offer some comfort.
SSSSSS
"Carline, are you awake? It's me, Suzaku." The dark knight called quietly as he rapped softly on the princess's door. The others had already retired for the evening but he decided to take some time aside to check up on Carline. It was still early, just a quarter past ten but he and the rest of his party had a long trip so there was a chance she might already be asleep. He decided to wait a few moments to be certain before heading back to his room.
Just as he was getting ready to leave, Suzaku heard the sound of the door being unlocked on the other side and slowly sliding open. Carline stood before him clad in the white Victorian style nightdress Milly had provided for her, her long red hair unbound and cascading down her back and about her shoulders.
"Yes, my lord?"
Suzaku made a bow. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" The princess shook her head.
"Not at all. I am a little tired from our trip but still not quite enough to sleep yet. Is there anything you need of me?"
"No…" he began "Actually, I wanted to ask if there was anything you needed of me. As the one in charge of the group, I am responsible for all of its members. Your well being is of great import to me."
Carline looked at him in confusion. "Well, I appreciate your concern and thoughtfulness, my lord but I am perfectly fine. Whatever made you think I needed anything?"
"Well…at dinner, when Milly questioned you, I noticed how uncomfortable you were with her inquiries. I apologize if she said anything that might have offended you, she didn't mean it. Milly's a good woman; she just has the insatiable curiosity of a child and sometimes has difficulty taking a hint."
"I see…well, it's alright, I'm not offended; I know she didn't mean it. My discomfort isn't because of her; I'm just a little shy around new people, that's all."
Suzaku gave a small sigh of relief. "Thank you for understanding. Even though we don't know each other very well, please remember that I'm here for you just as much as for Nunnally. If there is ever anything you need of me, please don't hesitate to ask. Good night and sleep well, my lady." Bowing again, the dark knight prepared to take his leave when he heard Carline call out behind him.
"Wait!' she cried. Out of curiosity, Suzaku turned around and glanced back at her. "Thank you for coming to see me tonight; I'm glad you came. I do not need anything at the moment but I appreciate the offer. Good night to you as well, my lord."
"Your welcome, Carline; goodnight."
A/N: Hi, I'm back. Sorry for the delay; I wanted to write at least a chapter a week until the story was finished but other things kept getting in the way. Ironically, I had more free time when I was sick but couldn't stop coughing long enough to write. Now that I'm in the recovery phase, I can. For now, all I can promise is to update as fast as I can so if I appear to be taking a little long, please bear with me.
