Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.
A/N: You guys are amazing! Spectacular imaginations. I received requests and I will be sure to complete them. Thanks for the reviews! This might be the last update for sometime. School is starting :'( Anyways, this is an unusual chapter. This was suggested by KK. Guess who this is!
Lord Joyde: Thanks for the idea!
fliggy91: Thanks for the idea!
Scarease: Thanks for the review!
Terlander: People's thoughts are never in order. That's the only reason I can give. Thanks for the idea and review!
kingrichard360: I understand your feelings. There are days when you want to write and days you don't. Xingke was, as Lelouch puts it, 'as smart as him and as strong as Suzaku'. But the poor guy died! Thanks for the review!
KK: The usual cheerfulness that Gino has isn't present. I noticed it too. Xingke is an interesting character who had very less screen time. No problem. I too will be busy the whole month of September. Thanks for the review!
Kream: You mean a parody fic? Thanks for the idea!
Deathknight3-0: Thanks for the idea but as I told you there is already a story like that. But thanks for the idea!
Chapter 21: A Mother.
She is a lonely woman.
(A broken one)
She is unable to understand what went wrong
(How could fate have dealt such a terrible hand?)
Just two years ago, they had been a small but happy family.
They had everything they could ever need and more.
A dedicated father, a caring mother and a sweet, gentle child.
Now, in just 2 years, all that is left is a grieving wife and broken mother
(Why? She wanted to ask but there was no one to listen, no one to understand)
She stares at the photo above the fireplace- a photo of happier times- everyday.
(To remind her of what she had lost, what she could never get back)
The man in the photo had been buried alive while the girl had allegedly committed suicide.
(And they had left her behind to grieve)
They die just a year apart.
(She too wished to die)
She had been broken enough when her husband- her dear, loving husband- had passed away.
(Oh how he must have suffocated and died an agonizing death after being buried under the heavy soil)
But she reaches her limit when her sweet daughter- her only child- has gone away from her too.
(The support she had leaned against when her husband died)
Her daughter is-was- just a child (in her eyes) and she had wanted to protect her child from all the horrors in the world
(Especially after what happened to the father)
Is she a bad mother?
Before all the incidents that had broken her, she might have said no.
But after everything that happened she isn't sure anymore.
(She should have known what was wrong with her child. What had drove her to suicide)
(Maybe she wasn't such a good mother after all)
But somewhere in her heart, she knows that it wasn't suicide.
Her daughter is-was- many things; childish, foolishly optimistic, naive and, at times, stupid but she is-was- not selfish.
(She would never leave her mother alone)
Looking at the terrorist attacks in the news, she cant summon energy to even care.
(People die everyday. Her husband died due to a terrorist attack. But did anyone care?)
Her mind has taken on to repay the memories.
(A beach trip, the bright and cheerful faces of father and daughter, an unusually hot day, a phone call, Death, days passing by, another phone call, another death)
The time she first reacts to anything around her is when Milly Ashford and Rivalz (she couldn't remember his last name) came by to offer their condolences.
She feels a bittersweet relief at the tears in their eyes.
(It felt good that someone else other than her cared)
Milly hugs her and that prompts a question out of her.
(Did she really commit suicide?)
At the glance that Milly and Rivalz shares, she realizes that they themselves are not sure of the answer.
The next time she has any interest in anything around her is when a boy announced himself as the next Emperor.
She wouldn't have cared about it if the boys face hadn't dredged up long forgotten memories.
("And this is Lulu!" Her daughter voiced chimed, as sweet as honey and the expression on her face brighter than sunshine.
"Lulu?" She asked, looking at the too thin boys photo in her daughters hand.
"Well... Its actually Lelouch but I call him Lulu." Her daughter cheeks were tinted red and she raised her eyebrows.
"Your boyfriend?" She asked, a small smile curving her lips upwards. The small smile turned into a big one when her daughter falls back in surprise and shakes her head and waves her hands, trying to deny it.)
(And she knew)
(It is love)
It seems surreal to see the boy her daughter had loved sitting on the throne.
(And she wanted to scream,'You are too young, much too young to take the burdens of the world on your shoulder. Please, escape when you can!')
She idly notes that he looked even more thin then when she had seen him in the photo.
She wonders if her daughter would have been happy with him.
The last time she shows any emotion was when she sees Zero again on TV.
She sees him running (with an almost superhuman speed) and after a couple of jumps, landing in front of the boy (who was still painfully too young to be holding the burden of being the Emperor)
Her breath catches in her throat when the sword glints in the sunlight as Zero pushes it into the Emperor.
Her eyes are glued to the TV as Zero stands tall and proud, and the Emperor falls, never to open his eyes again.
Her heart clenches as she hears the soulful cries of his little sister despite everything he had done.
(And she thinks of how unfair the world is if it is able to take to painfully young children away from their loved ones)
She knows that most of the world regards him as a monster.
But she remembers him as the boy whose name always bought a smile on her daughters lips.
(Lulu. Lulu. Lulu. This was all she would hear from her daughters mouth)
Zero had killed them.
(She didn't know who killed her daughter- for she was sure that her child had been killed by a monster- but she felt that it is connected to Zero)
And she hates him for it.
(She wonders how the Empress could allow her brothers killer to stand beside her)
But there is nothing she can do.
Except sit on the chair in front of the fireplace, staring at the photo and waiting for her time to come.
(When she can rejoin her family and the picture would be complete)
A/N: Ahh... I think you all might have guessed who this is. If not... Shame on you! Anyways review! Hope you enjoyed!