Alright! The next chapter is here! Before we get started, a few things:
A/N: I own nothing, save whatever characters I create
A/N 2: I believe this is the quickest I have ever gotten out a chapter (or at least this is one chapter that didn't take me a damn month to write).
A/N 3: We've officially passed 300 favorites! Thanks again to each and every one of you.
And so, the story continues...
Chapter 12: Dance Beneath the Diamond Sky (Part 2: All Tomorrow's Parties)
One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised – Chinua Achebe
"Me?" Lelouch said, stunned at his sister's response.
"Yes, you" Euphemia said, her eyes shining. "You would be a better Emperor than I ever could be."
Cornelia was just as surprised as Lelouch from Euphie's proposal. She couldn't help but wonder if Lelouch hadn't put her under the influence of his Geass as well. But, as she looked into her eyes, she saw nothing but the lavender eyes of her sister, brimming with the optimism that would possess her when she came up with an ambitious and well-intentioned plan. "You would be perfect for the role" Euphie continued, that same optimism embodied in her voice. "You've shown yourself to be a excellent military commander. Given how efficient the Black Knights are, it's clear that you're also an amazing administrator. And any dissension from any of our siblings or from any noble can easily be squashed with your Geass. Everyone else here can either navigate the battlefield, the aristocracy, or the common classes. You're the only one among us who can navigate all three."
"The princess has a point" Ohgi said. "We all want to see the Empire changed. Who better than someone who not only has the potential to change the system, but fully understands the struggles of those of us here on the ground? I've worked with Zero since that day in Shinjuku, and I have never gotten the feeling that he felt he was above us all here. Even after learning he was a prince, I was always impressed by his calm demeanor and his willingness to connect with the rest of us. I think he'll make a wonderful Emperor."
"I further support this" Todoh said, adding his voice to the discussion. "He could have very easily kept the power of his Geass hidden from us and used it to further a more selfish agenda. Instead, he has revealed to us on his own volition and shown that he will use this power to help both Japan and the world."
Soon enough the rest of the room was joining in the support for Lelouch as Emperor, the words coming to near cacophony before Lelouch held up his hand for silence. "My friends" he said solemnly as he stood up, "I never expected to be given this honor. I promise I will do my best to become the commander and Emperor that you need me to be."
This earned him a standing ovation from the room. Yet Cornelia, as she clapped with the others, could not help but notice that Lelouch didn't have a look of happiness; rather it was an expressionless mask that had eyes of terrified concern.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
With the Princesses Cornelia and Euphemia having removed themselves from the Viceroy of Area 11, there was a debate over what would be worse in terms of a replacement. Ohgi, Euphemia, and a few others felt it would be worse if the Emperor would declare the region his personal domain like Penndragon and personally lead the forces in Japan. Others, Lelouch and Cornelia chief amongst them, felt that it would be worse if Schniezel was named Viceroy. One faction argued that it would be harder to fight a higher profile commander with a lot of charisma, the other argued that facing a ruthless and cunning commander would be worse, even if he might be distracted by his other duties.
In any case, the scenario that was playing out across Lelouch's phone was definitely the third worst scenario.
"Greetings Area 11! To those of you who don't know me, I am the Fifth Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, Carine ne Britannia!" spoke the new Viceroy over the speakers of the phone.
Even by his terms, things were moving very fast to Lelouch. After they had declared him the successive Emperor, there was a quick discussion about how to handle the situation with the two princesses who were allied with them, as they could very well not go back to their usual residences since Imperial forces wanted them dead. It was Nunnally who came up with a solution. She instructed Diethard to start reporting that the two of them were heading back to the Homeland to recover and a new Viceroy would be selected soon enough (these reports were verified with reports that had been falsified by Jeremiah). In the meantime, the two would be staying at Ashford Academy as Lillian and Candance Lamprouge, cousins of Lelouch and Nunnally who were staying with them for a short period whilst they explored potential opportunities. Lelouch had managed to convince Principal Ashford to let them stay, suggesting that assisting the Royal Family would allow them to regain favor with the court.
That had been a week ago. And in the meantime, Lelouch planned. Initially, his plan was to have Euphie announce her intention to take the throne and depose the Emperor, then have Cornelia use as many of her old contacts around the world to throw the Empire into a multi-front civil war. Now that he was to be Emperor, he needed to adjust his strategy. Now his plan was primarily based on the liberation of Japan before moving on to other Areas. The finer details of how that was all going to play out were still to be decided, but for now his most pressing concern about who would be the new Viceroy. So far, the state media had been reporting their cover story, so Lelouch knew that it was only going a matter of time before he find out what type of battle was he would be fighting in the coming days. With this news report, that question had been answered.
It was going to be a violent and ugly battle.
"I know that times in this Area have rough lately, with the cowardly attacks from such treacherous Elevens like the Black Knights" Carne continued, "but I'm here to promise that change is coming. This Area, which has lagged behind the rest of Empire, will go under a profound –"
Lelouch decided to skip ahead a bit, moving the video along on his phone. The press conference had happened to about a day ago, so Lelouch knew that the rest of Carne's speech would primarily consist of thinly veiled announcements of more repressive measures that were often connected by fluff that praised the Empire and the Emperor. Lelouch had little in the way of memories when it came to his little half-sister. As children, she was always near Guinevere and forbidden by her mother to associate with the so called "half-breeds". Lelouch certainly hadn't made any real effort to get to know her any better during his brief return into Imperial politics in the previous timeline, shunting her off as maid with his Geass without so much of a second thought. His sisters had a much more experience with her however, and their reports were …less than positive, to say the least. When asked about Carne the night she was announced, Nunnally had privately confided to Lelouch that she thought Carne was "a full-blown psychopath", amongst other things. Cornelia had written her off as "a rank amateur, who really shouldn't be let anywhere near the military". Even Euphie, who always tried to get along with everyone, called Carne "a complete waste of Imperial DNA". All three of them had made one thing clear during through their opinions: Carne was something of a battle otaku, who loved the idea of carnage and would happily support any plan that involved bullets and bloodshed. Cornelia was quick to point out that the Fifth Princess had no actual warfare experience. But she still worried Lelouch as Viceroy for two reasons. The first is that she might use something she learned as this war otaku and throw something unexpectedly devious at them on the battlefield. The second was that she clearly didn't care about civilian casualties, which signaled that battles were going to very loud and very violent.
But Carne ne Britannia was the lesser of Lelouch's concerns that had arisen out of the press conference. The much bigger concern came at the point where Lelouch allow the video to play onwards, where the Fifth Princess stepped away from the podium to introduce a gift from the Emperor himself to Area 11: The Knight of 10, Luciano Bradley.
"Greetings Area 11! I am Luciano Bradley, the Knight of Ten," the red-haired knight had begun his speech with, which had been a been a shorter variation on Carne's speech before him. The only thing that was truly different in the two speeches was that Bradley had actually called out the Black Knights by name, promising that "Death has come for Zero". The speech was really fitted to the Vampire of Britannia's tastes: his lust for blood exceed that of Carne's, and he would often use the cover of war to indulge his desires for carnage. Bradley also made sense as an appointment for the rebellious Area 11, as the Areas that he was stationed in had some of the lowest rates for resurgent rebellion (primarily due to lack of rebels left to cause any trouble). Lelouch didn't really care so much about whatever threats were being thrown at him; he had survived what the two of them were threatening with by more competent actors. But he was very interested in what message the Emperor was sending him by these two appointments: Britannia cared only for the territory and sakuradite of Japan and would hold on to it even if it meant tinging the land with blood.
"Are you watching that again?" Lelouch heard a voice speak. Turning off his phone, he twisted himself around to see Kallen looking at him expectantly.
"Just reviewing so that when we all meet together again, I can offer a coherent plan" he said, offering a smile.
Kallen smiled back, replying "That's all good and well, but we're needed now for the Student Council meeting."
Lelouch gestured towards the meeting room, and off they went. "What are your thoughts on the new Viceroy?" Kallen asked, as they made their way down the hallway.
"I'm afraid that I don't too many thoughts on her. I never really got the opportunity to spend any time with her. From what I've heard from my sisters, I apparently didn't really miss much."
"She must be a piece of work" Kallen said, as they entered the student council boardroom. "I thought it wasn't possible for Nunnally to say a negative thing against anyone."
"Oh, that was nothing. You should've heard Lillian's reaction when she found out."
"Oh? What was Lillian reacting to?" Milly asked, coming up to the conversation with a mischievous look in her eye.
"That there was to be a festival and a party coming in a few days" Lelouch answered, smoothly transitioning into the lie. "She was dreadfully worried that her stay here would be complete boredom."
"As if that's ever possible with the Prez in charge of things" Suzaku said as he sat down at the board table.
"Is it true that you're escorting her to the dance?" Shirley asked Suzaku as she took her seat.
"I am" was his reply.
"Really? What about the Princess?" a strangely worried Nina asked from her end of the table.
"Princess Euphemia is currently resting in the Britannia Homeland. As for whatever else you were insinuating, we have a strictly professional relationship."
As Suzaku delivered his response, Lelouch quickly gauged the room for the reactions of the other members of the student council. Kallen and Nunnally knew that this was all a façade, so they weren't paying attention. Nina, Gino, Shirly, and Rivalz all seemed to take the words in stride, which was in character for them. Milly, however, was smiling playfully while she sipped her tea, which signaled that she was about throw out some sly remark designed throw somebody off balance. His suspicion came true when Milly turned towards him and said "I'm more interested in what you have to say Lelouch. How does it feel to have Suzu here date your female clone?".
Lelouch smiled, more than prepared to deal with Milly's teasing. "Who either of them date is their own business. Besides, I'm just happy that Lilly picked someone quickly. I was worried that she would be mobbed down by girls who were trying to date me via proxy." There was a grain of truth to this. Euphemia and Cornelia had taken to wearing black wigs and violet contacts so that they could pass themselves off as members of the Lamprouge family. It had worked, but an unexpected side effect of attracting a lot of attention from the girls of the students; A lot of notes were being written inviting her to the dance, some of which seemed to be written by a feminine hand.
Milly held her mischievous smile as she looked at Lelouch. "I suppose that's fair" she said. "It's only your cousin. It's not like we're talking about Nunnally, are we?"
"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked, only to realize from the look in the blonde girl's eyes that he had fallen straight into her trap.
"Well, I heard that a certain someone asked her out to the formal."
"As always, you're making something out of nothing" Nunnally said quickly before turning to her brother, hoping to squash any misunderstanding before it got of hand. "Robert Grohl asked me out on what I believe was a dare, and I said no. I'm still being escorted by Miss Sayoko." Lelouch nodded as he digested this information. He remembered Nunnally mentioning this Grohl before; she had described him as having "all the charm of a dead dog", as well also possessing the utility of one as well.
"Well, of course" Milly said. "It's not as if Patrick Bradbury asked you out."
"W-W-What?" Nunnally stuttered, half choking on her tea.
"You know who I'm talking about. Your dashing classmate with the dark blue hair and those green eyes- "
"P-Pat's going with Mary Whitford – "
"Who asked him out. I have it on good authority that he would've asked you out if he hadn't so afraid of a certain someone."
"Can we please get the meeting started?" Kallen asked, eying the two Lamprouges. Nunnally was almost as red as the Guren and her hand was shaking her tea cup violently, whilst Lelouch had a look on him that was some cross between dumbfounded confusion and shellshock concussion. "It looks like our Vice President's head is about to explode, and I would like to have a boyfriend to take me to the dance." While she said this, Kallen made a mental note to have a word with Lelouch about how Nunnally was growing up and that there were side effects to eyesight.
"Right then" Milly said, turning her attention to the papers in front of her, "I hereby declare this council meeting in session! First things first, let's make sure everyone's here. Mr. Secretary?"
"It looks like Anya's missing" Rivalz said, looking around the room.
"Rivalz, don't you remember? Anya handed in her resignation four days ago" Lelouch said.
"Really? Why?"
"She said she needed to focus more on her duties with the military."
"As of now, she's now officially a member of S&R" Milly added. Students at Ashford were required to be a member of an extracurricular in an effort to have students connect with each other outside of the classroom. However, there were always a number of students who were "unclubbable", in part of their need for an afterschool job, familial situations, or their personality. If this was the case, they would be made members of the "Study and Research" club, or "S&R", a polite way of saying they went home at the end of the day.
"Wait, why haven't you done the same Gino?" Nina asked with a curious look.
"Why would I?" The blonde-haired knight responded?
"Well, I thought that you would be doing the same, given all that's happened recently."
"No, I love it here? What with all we do and …everything." After looking around the room and seeing a series of cocked eyebrows, Gino sighed and sagged his shoulders. "Look, I need a reason to get away from the military base. The new Viceroy is making some …odd changes around HQ, and …to be frank I just don't get along with Luc- Sir Bradley."
"It's no problem" Milly said with a smile. "I do believe that a number of our members have used this club to escape someone troublesome at one point or another. Let's move on. Nina, what's the status on the materials for the festival?"
"Well, everything is in place for the haunted house and the formal. As far as the class stalls and presentations, the only classes who have not had their reimbursement forms approved are 1A, 2C, and 3B."
"Really? Why is that?" Milly asked, turning towards Lelouch.
"Well," Lelouch responded, looking through his notes "1A elected not to do anything this year, and therefore didn't submit a form. 2C also didn't submit a form, as they've said that they'll get all their materials for their production of The Princess Knight from the drama club since they are working together on this. And finally, 3B's request was rejected since I do not trust Rickon Trevose with fireworks, or any pyrotechnics at all."
"Trevose…Trevose…Wait, isn't he the one who try to burn down the science wing and then blame on Rivalz?"
"Yes, yes he is" Lelouch said, smirking at the memory.
"Alright, I'll have a word with him" Milly said with a sigh. "Right, anything else?"
"We need to decide on a main event for the festival" Shirley said.
"Weren't we doing a giant pizza?" Lelouch said, confused. Things involving the festival were confusing for him in this timeline, since all of this was supposed to have happen before the SAZ debacle. But weather and logistical concerns had pushed it back to now. Still, he was surprised that he had missed a major change to the Student Council's plans.
"Well we were" Milly responded with an annoyed tone. "But someone stole the old Knightmares from the basement, so we need to come up with something new."
Lelouch quickly looked towards his sister and his girlfriend and mouthed the words When?. Nunnally was the one who responded, discreetly signaling the number "5" with hand. As Lelouch mulled back over his memories he thought back to what was going on five weeks ago. He had been planning out a response to the SAZ announcement, but he did remember that there had been a robbery at the school around that time. He also remembered Nunnally telling him that she had orchestrated the break-in so that she could have the Knightmares used in an attack on a gathering of corrupt nobles, as well as Milly being somewhat distracted since her engagement to Lord Asplund had fallen apart. The picture, Lelouch made a mental note to ask Nunnally where she had stashed those Knightmares; it would be embarrassing if they were found in a place that could be connected to them.
While he was thinking about all this, the other members of the council were suggesting new ideas as to what should be their main event as the giant pizza was off the table (so to speak).
"We could do a scavenger hunt, with an extra special prize at the end" Rivalz suggested.
"No, we just did that when we all chased Arthur" Milly responded. "Come on people, I need good ideas!"
"We play 'Sharks and Minnows' with in the school swimming pool?" Shirley said.
"We basically did that last year!"
"How about a gender-bent beauty pageant?" Nunnally offered.
"Tempting, but I rather not wind up in front of my grandfather again due to accusations of indecency like I did with the cross-dressing ball."
"How about a karaoke tournament?" Gino said.
"Try harder!"
"What about a pie-eating competition?" Nina suggested.
"We tried that during the winter festival, it went nowhere remember?"
"Diving competition?" Kallen said.
"Too bland!"
"How about a speed painting contest?" Suzaku said.
This earned him several different looks of baffled confusion. Milly turned to Lelouch and said, "Seriously Lulu, how do you handle him?"
"It can be a trial times to be sure" Lelouch said with a smile, looking back a Suzaku with an impish glint in his eyes. "One of these days, I'm going to find him trying to buy clothes from a soup store, I swear."
This earned him a round of laughter from the room, including a small chuckle from Suzaku himself. Milly then asked, "What do you think we should do, Vice Prez?"
Lelouch thought carefully for a moment, then answered: "How about a three-legged foot race with…all the participants dressed up as cats?"
"That's perfect Lulu! Start drafting the fliers when you get the chance Nina, I'll let you know what the reward will be. Now on to the next item: Does everyone have an escort or a date to the formal?"
"Well, I'll be taking Kallen" Lelouch answered.
"I'm taking Lillian" Suzaku said.
"Gino and I are going together" Shirley responded, eliciting a few surprised stares.
"And I'm taking my girlfriend" Rivalz said.
"Girlfriend? Who is she?" Lelouch asked, surprised that he had missed this. "Is it that one bar hag I saw hit on you when I visited you that a few weeks ago?"
"No, silly" Milly said with a giggle. "It's me."
This elicited a series of stares from everyone in the room. "When this happen?" Lelouch asked, kicking himself for not paying attention to what was happening around him.
"About…four weeks ago. My engagement was over with, and I was bored. Rivalz took me to a movie and a club, and it went from there."
"How come now is the first I'm hearing of it?"
"Oh Lulu. Unlike you, I know how to keep my relationships a secret."
"The only reason anyone here in the school knows about my relationship with Kallen was because you basically told everyone you met the day after you found out, which is basically everyone in the school."
"Can you blame me? It's the most interesting thing to happen concerning you since that whipped cream incident during the cross-dressing ball."
"Let's move on" Lelouch said, anxious to avoid having that memory dredged up before the council. "Anyone else have a date?"
"I'm being escorted by Miss Sayoko and Candance" Nunnally responded.
"And that leaves you Nina" Lelouch said as he turned his attention to Nina, as did the rest of the room.
"I-I'm not going with anyone" Nina said, stunned at the sudden shift of attention.
"Really? Why?" Gino asked.
"I'm-I'm just not interested" Nina stuttered out.
"I thought something like that would be right up your alley" Nunnally said. Lelouch couldn't help but notice that his sister's tone seemed to suggest something hidden and that Nina's face seemed to get redder in response. Now that he thought about it, the two of them seemed to be distant from each other these past weeks. It felt like it had started around the same time that Nunnally had Sayoko clean the entire boardroom table. Nunnally had dodged the question when Lelouch asked her about it, but he made a note to speak with her about it again.
"Well, you'll need to get one. No member of the Student Council goes to the formal alone! It's in the bylaws!"
"Madame Prez, it's not" Lelouch said gently.
"Well I'm making it a part of it!"
"You need a vote for that."
"Fine then: Who votes in favor of making all Student Council members have dates to the formal?"
In response, Milly's, Rivalz's, Nunnally's, Gino's, and Shirley's hands went up. With a smile, Milly said "5 to 3, the motion passes."
Nina was basically a red-faced, dithering mess at this point. "I-I-I don't ha-ha-have anyone I want to invite."
"Well if that's the case, I hereby charge Lelouch with finding you a date!"
"Me!" a confused Lelouch responded. "Why me?"
"Because you have a knack for reading people. And because if you don't, or if you set her up with someone terrible, I start spreading around that photo of you getting pied in the face during the cross-dressing ball."
"Fine. I'll find Nina a date. But know that if you ever decide to release that photo, know that I'll post your beauty pageant audition tape on the internet."
"What? How did you get that?"
"From the principal."
Milly's face started twitching, unnerved that she had been outmaneuvered. "My grandfather …gave you that tape?"
"Gladly. He also gave me some photos you can pay me not to show Rivalz."
"What photos?"
"The ones that document your pop-punk princess phase."
"You had a punk phase?" Rivalz asked his girlfriend.
"Meeting Adjourned!" was the only response he got to that question.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And so the days moved on, moving on without interruption or disruption, until the day of the festival and the formal. Milly had eventually announced that Pizza Hut would give the winners of the three-legged cat race a semester's worth of pizza free. How she had managed this no one would ever figure out, but it certainly drove up the registration. The day of the festival was like no other in history of the school. The schoolyard was packed to the brim as students, teachers, parents, and curious passerbyers toured the various stalls, took in the sight and sounds, and reveled in the fact that summer was coming and soon their troubles would be leaves on the wind. It was a carefree celebration of the young and the immortal by the young and the immortal, an enormous party that two Britannian Princesses said could give the ones thrown by the opulent nobles of Penndragon a run for their money. The crowning moment was the three-legged race, wherein a cavalcade of students dressed up in absurd feline outfits proceeded to run, hop, skip, and trip around the campus until a pair of sophomores became the first team to cross the finish line and win a year's supply of pizza, a pewter trophy, and the adulation and ovation of the school.
Soon enough, the stalls were closed, and everyone was shooed off the premises so that the other headliner event could take place: The Spring Formal. As the schoolyard was cleaned and the lighting was set up, the students of Ashford Academy began their own preparations for the night: The boys put on their best tuxedos and hoped that they were sharp enough for the girls to notice them; the girls put on their finest dresses and hoped they were pretty enough to catch the eyes of the various boys to notice them (or at the very least to keep the eyes of their dates on them and not on another girl).
Soon enough, every one of them was gathered on the courtyard, either catching up with their friends or standing around awkwardly waiting for the music to begin. They didn't have to wait long, for the orchestra began to play and the designated dance area turned into a sea of passion, romance, and various attempts at dancing (some of which were more successful than others).
While all of this was happening, Kallen was standing at a table to side serving punch. Her mood was a mixture annoyance and caution; the annoyance was caused by the fact that Milly had stuck her here at the last minute, the caution driven by a desire to avoid spilling any of the punch on her dress. While she had many dresses due to her aristocratic upbringing, this was particularly special, as it was gift from her mother. Originally her engagement party dress, her mother had adapted it for especially for Kallen: The dress was now form-fitting and extended just to her ankles, while a streak of red ran down the single sleeve and across her midriff, creating a striking contrast with the deep black that defined the rest of the dress. Kallen had thanked her mother profusely, while secretly feeling guilty; she had told Oghi, Tamaki, and everyone else in the original cell that she would tell her about Lelouch's Geass, yet she never got around to it since always seemed to come up. Perhaps she would bring Lelouch along when she did, to help her explain. He would certainly do his best to win her over from any objections, seeing how both them were in his good graces given the dress she was wearing. Kallen couldn't help but smile at the memory of Lelouch's reaction to her dress when he saw it earlier in the evening; his face had turned red as he told her how beautiful she looked, stuttering like the awkward teen that most people his age were. At least his reaction had been better than Suzaku when he had seen Euphie in her purple sleeveless satin dress; the poor boy hadn't been able to speak for about two minutes.
"Having a fun time?" a voice said from the side. Kallen turned to see Shirley approaching her, the orange-head looking lovely in an elegant green gown that brought out the color in her eyes.
"Kind of" she responded. "I'd rather be out on the dance floor than stuck behind this table."
"You're telling me" Shirley said in agreement. "At least your date actually came."
"Really? What happened to Gino?"
"Got called away to the military base at the last second" Shirley said with a sigh. "Nina looks like she's having fun though, isn't she?"
Kallen turned to see Nina, who was currently dancing with Rickon Trevose, a boy about her height wearing a bright orange tuxedo and who's purple hair had an intense streak of green running through it. Kallen, like other Student Council members, had been skeptical when Lelouch had chosen the self-professed pyromaniac as Nina's date, but it seemed to be going well. Rickon's passion for fire had apparently given him a passion for chemistry that made him a perfect match for Nina. Kallen had witnessed first-hand evidence of this when the pair had came over the punch bowl and discussed the molecular make-up of the drinks on the table. "Yes they do," she said as she looked on the two of them dancing. "I had my reservations about how well it would work out, but it seems like they are really hitting it off."
"It really does" Shirley responded. "Lelouch really know what's best for people, doesn't he?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about the two of you. Before you were dating, you were moody and really reserved. Now? You're much more outgoing and you seem far happier. The same goes for Lelouch. The only time I saw him smile, I mean truly smile, used to only be around Nunnally. It seems that you two really complement each other very well."
"And what about you, the one who pined away after him forever?"
"Oh, I'm still in love with him. But at least I now know that might heart isn't limited to one person. And at the very least, I can be happy that Lulu is now happy." There was a pause as the two of them watched the promenade of dancers go by them. "I can take over here" Shirley said suddenly, turning towards Kallen. "Why don't you go have some fun?"
"Really? You're sure?"
"My date's nowhere near here, and we both know that this may be one of the few opportunities for you to get Lelouch to dance with you in public."
Kallen thanked Shirley and headed out towards the ball, looking for Lelouch. She walked around the area for a bit, asking Nina and Milly, both of them wearing the same outfit that they wore to that party in China in the previous timeline, if they had seen him. In the end, she found him where he could always be found at events like this: In a corner off to the side, looking at his phone. "Please tell me you're not doing official business tonight" she said, walking up to him.
"I'm not" Lelouch responded, closing his phone and putting into his pocket. "I'm looking up baseball scores."
"You're looking up sports scores? Why on earth would you do that?"
"I have 400 pounds saying that Penndragon Dragons beat Atlanta United"
"Why are you betting on baseball?"
"Because the Black Knights needs as much as cash as we can get, as there's limits to how much Kyoto's going to give us. Besides, there's only so many Refrain dealers we can rip-off in this city."
"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you have a problem."
"With gambling or with the Black Knights?"
"A bit of both. But enough about that; do you think you could pull yourself away from your phone, bets, and revolutionaries to dance with me?"
"It would be my pleasure" Lelouch said, proffering his arm as the two of them headed towards the dance floor.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nunnally had spent the larger portion of her life in a wheelchair, so there were very few times that she felt hindered by her disabilities. This was one of them, as she looked out from under the porch of the Student Council building onto dance floor illuminated by fairy lights and the full moon, feeling a longing to be there. Her eyes glanced over Lelouch in his striking black tuxedo twirling Kallen around the floor, and she wondered what it would be like to be on the floor moving in time with the music, preferably in the arms of a cute boy.
"Enjoying the view, are we?" Nunnally heard a voice say next to her. Turning her head, she saw that Cornelia had taken a seat next to her. Her "cousin" had adopted a plain grey dress that was simple but elegant. She had brushed off any requests that a better dress be given to her, saying that she was to blend in, not stand out.
"Yes" Nunnally responded. "The only problem right now is that I wish I was out there on the floor."
Cornelia gave an understanding smile. "When the moon is shining, the cripple becomes hungry for a walk."
Nunnally raised an eyebrow at her half-sister. "Where did you pick that up?"
"I heard it from a num- a local when I was stationed in Lagos."
Now it was Nunnally's turn to smile. "Nice to see you're trying to distance yourself from your old thought process."
"It's a work in progress."
Just then, Nunnally noticed someone approaching them both. Shifting her attention towards the oncoming figure, she saw that it was Patrick Bradbury approaching with three drinks. The blue-haired heir to the Bradbury conglomerate was wearing a neon green tuxedo that somehow brought out the bright orange in his eyes. "Nunnally" he said as he handed her a drink before turning to Cornelia and addressing her as "Lady Candance" as he handed her a glass as well.
"Pat, thank you so much" Nunnally said warmly.
"It's no problem" he replied with an equally warm tone.
"Isn't Mary with you?"
"She had to take a call" Pat said as he looked around to make sure she wasn't there, "so I came over to see how you were doing."
"That's very kind of you Pat. I'm doing well, been catching up with my cousin after so long. How are you?"
Patrick opened his mouth to reply, but before he got a chance to respond, a shrill yell interrupted him. "There you are!" Mary Whitford shouted as she walked over furiously towards them, or at least as furiously as she could in the gaudy purple dress and neon pink heels she was wearing. "I've been looking everywhere for you," she said with a snarl once she was upon them, "why are you over here talking to her?"
"I-I was introducing myself to Lady Candance" he stuttered out, surprised by her appearance. "She's come from the Homeland, and since I haven't been there in many years, I was hoping to hear how things were going on over there."
"Well, I was just in the Homeland last month, so I can tell you all about it. You don't need to talk to them." And with that, Mary dragged Pat away so quickly, the poor boy didn't even get a chance to apologize.
"Well, she's seems nice" Cornelia said sardonically, sipping her drink.
"Mary's always been difficult" Nunnally said with a sigh, "but why she's being this way tonight is beyond me."
"Isn't it obvious? He's infatuated with you and you're infatuated with him. She's jealous!"
Nunnally started to feel herself turn red. "If-f that's true, why did-dn't he ask me?"
"Probably the same reason why the other two didn't ask you either"
"What other two?!"
"The one with the spiky green hair and the one with silver hair and glasses."
"Leo and Martin w-were going to ask me out?"
"Yes, the green-haired one –"
"Leo"
"I saw standing outside this building last week through the window with a bouquet of flowers looking anxious. The silver-haired one, Martin I guess, was outside your apartment a few days ago practicing an invitation when I came over for tea."
"I wonder why they didn't ask me" Nunnally said, almost to herself.
"That's easy: Lelouch answered the door."
"What? Did he scare them off?"
"I don't he meant so intentionally. He was quite pleasant when he opened the door for Martin and I. Martin just got flustered quickly, asked some throwaway question about the Student Council and ran. I think something similar happened with Leo as well."
Nunnally sighed. Given the air of mystique that Lelouch seemed to have cultivated around campus over the years, it would make sense that members of her own class would react to him with terror and awe. "It's probably for the best. I can't imagine what Lelouch's reaction would be if one of them did ask me ask out."
"It'd be tough for him, but he'll get over it. That's how it was for me and Euphie. I'll admit I was skeptical about Suzaku, but he's turned out to be a better boyfriend for Euphie than I could've ever hoped for" Cornelia said as she saw the two of them happily dancing on the floor outside. "So, which one of them is your favorite?" she asked Nunnally with a sly smile.
Nunnally felt herself turn red again, this time even stronger. "I-I don't know" she said, embarrassed by the conversation was moving. "They used to be just voices I heard when I went to class. Now that I can put a face to the name…" she said before trailing off, unable to explain the new overwhelming sensations that had come with the return of her sight.
Cornelia seemed to understand however. "O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world that has such people in it!" she quipped dramatically, her smile deepening.
"First African proverbs, now Shakespeare?" Nunnally said. "You're unusually poetic tonight."
"The princess has always had a lyrical streak" A new voice said behind them. "The only reason she doesn't employ it more often is because it clashes with her 'Amazonian woman of steel' routine."
Both ladies turned their head to see Dalton standing behind them with a smile on his face. He and Guilford had adopted the identities of manservants to "Lilian" and "Candance", and from his simple red uniform he still was in role.
"Besides" Cornelia said with a sigh, "the only people who quote poetry in the Capitol are nobles who are either overly pretentious or trying to be overly pretentious."
"Where's Guilford?" Nunnally asked.
"He's off to the side" Dalton replied, "getting a dance lesson from your maid."
Looking in the direction, she could that Sayoko was indeed instructing Guilford how to waltz properly. They seemed to be enjoying themselves; Sayoko had a patient and earnest smile on her face, while Guilford seemed to by oddly flustered. "Well, he's in good hands" Nunnally said. "Ms. Sayoko has the grace of a ballerina and the patience of a rock."
"She'll need it" Cornelia said, "I've seen Guilford dance, and he's nothing but left feet."
They all shared a quiet laugh at that, and then Cornelia asked Dalton to get them a refill for their drinks. As they sat there waiting, a question popped into Nunnally's head. "Nelly, when was the last time you danced with anyone?"
Cornelia was silent for a few seconds before answering. "I've never liked dancing" she began with a sigh. "It's always too formal and usually some drunk nobleman is trying to grope you at the same time, so I usually avoid it as much as I can. But one time, we were having a party at the base I was stationed in near Rio de Janeiro. Everyone there was having a good time and I even got a few requests to dance. I refused them all and managed to make it through the event with dancing one. But the next day, one of my lieutenants, Lidia, came to my quarters and asked why I didn't dance anyone. I told her that I didn't like dancing, but she said that had to be nonsense, that I just hadn't given it a fair shot. So she put on a CD that she had and taught a local dance called the samba. It took me a few tries to get it right, but once I did, I was having the time of my life. It was the first, and last, time that I ever enjoyed dancing."
Nunnally looked on her half-sister's face as she finished her story, noting that her face was filled with a mixture of wistfulness and longing. Then she realized what the cause of that expression was. "You loved her."
Now it was Cornelia's turn to turn red. "W-What would lead you to that assumption?"
Nunnally smiled. "What you, Big Brother, and Euphie all seem to forget is that is that I was there in the Imperial Court with all of you as well. I may have not been there long, but I did learn a thing or two about reading people's expressions and emotions."
Cornelia smiled back. "Fair enough. We were young when we met. She had tanned skin, long hair that was as black as the night, and a smile that could brighten any room. I was actually close to naming her as one of my knights."
"What happened?"
"Lidia died in a firefight near Toledo. It was all very odd how it happened; she was supposed to be ranging a good 40 klicks from where she was ambushed. She also told me a few days before that she felt that something was off and that someone was following her. I didn't pay it much attention at the time. Now I wish I had."
"You suspect the Emperor?"
"Before I came to Japan, I would've said no. Now…? With everything I know about now…now I'm sure I can trust anything about him."
Nunnally looked at her sister for a few seconds as she wondered how to respond to this. She was on the cusp for figuring out what to say when her phone began to ring. Cursing silently, she excused herself from Cornelia (who gave her an understanding nod) and looked to see who was calling her. Seeing that the phone that was ringing was her untraceable phone for the Black Knights, and that the call was from Jeremiah Guttwold, she picked it up. "What is it, Jeremiah?"
"Lady Nunnally I'm sorry that I'm calling you but I just found out and you and Prince Lelouch need to go-"
"Slow down Jeremiah! What's going on?"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lelouch and Kallen were off to the side getting a drink when they announced that a special waltz would be played next: the second waltz of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich. "My favorite!" Kallen said. "Did you have a hand in this, Lelouch?"
Lelouch only smiled and led her onto the dance floor. As the waltz began, they danced slowly and sweetly. Then something odd began to happen: The world began to fade away. First, the people, then the room, and then the floor. Soon enough, they were flying on air and were miles above the earth. It was if they were the only two people in existence, and they were dancing on a sea of stars. The waltz came to its slow end, yet the happy couple couldn't tear away from each other. As they looked into each other's eyes, they could only see the universe and nothing else.
Unfortunately, their moment of serene blissed was interrupted by a missile making its way into the Science Wing and blowing it up.
...And on that note, I'll end it here.
Thank you all for reading, I look forward to seeing you at the next chapter!