Chapter 36-Query
Kallen
One look around the Grand Banquet Hall and Kallen couldn't believe she was seeing so many important people in one place. Though this useless bunch only consists of whomever randomly emerges from a royal or knighted womb and whoever that package of DNA and unearned privilege chooses to marry. At least Nunnally doesn't seem like the type to spend a fortune on bonbons and leave the empire-running to her siblings. She felt Gino's hand trail up her arm and let herself be pulled into a rough kiss that was showy enough to be for someone else's benefit. Ugh.
In the cathedral where Nunnally was crowned his allegiance to Britannia had required him to sit amongst the nobility, but now they were back at the palace anything went. And she'd planned to make use of these freeform arrangements to snag a seat beside C.C for the elegant dinner, but the witch had yet to make an appearance. I wouldn't be surprised if she's too ashamed to show her face, but I'm not leaving this palace until I get a chance to see her!
As Kallen darkly stared at her plate and continued to mull over the questions that had been bothering her small ripples were beginning to radiate on the surface of the water in her crystal goblet, and moments later the massive doors of the hall burst open. A pure black warhorse in full ceremonial dress thundered into the hall with a flash of midnight and some of the seated guests jumped to the feet while King Gabriel II of Romania fell out of his chair. The rider wore the kind of armor that only existed in a storybook and was so highly polished that looking at him or her made Kallen's eyes ache. Midway across the central rectangle of space that the tables were arranged around they removed their helmet with a graceful sweep. the rider removed their helmet, which released a cascade of periwinkle hair. Like a freight train the horse continued to the High Table but at the last moment it's rider steered the snorting beast to a turn so sharp that it's tail swiped across a baffled-looking Nunnally's plate.
Though the woman was so far away that Kallen couldn't make out her face she clearly heard what she was shouting.
"If any person, of what degree soever, high or low, shall deny or gainsay our Sovereign Lady Nunnally, Queen and Empress of the Holy Britannian Empire, Defender of the Faith, daughter and next heir unto our Sovereign Lord the last King deceased, to be the right heir to the Imperial Crown of this Realm of Britannia, or that she ought not to enjoy the same; here is her Champion!"
This could serve as the perfect distraction to let me slip away. Checking to make sure that Gino was paying her no attention she slid from her chair and briskly walked past the rows of tables to the exit. The guards gave her no trouble as she roamed about the deserted sub-hall and choosing a path at random she began her quest to locate the witch. After passing an ugly statue she ran into an unavoidable security checkpoint.
"May I direct you back to the celebration, ma'am?" Asked one of the guards. Noticing how the other seven were giving her suspicious looks Kallen smiled brightly. "Oh no, it's fine. I'm just looking for the ladie's room."
"Then Elaine will show you to the one closest to the celebr-"
Kallen clapped a hand over her mouth and doubled over. "I'm gonna be sick!"
"Past this checkpoint to the right! You have ten minutes, and if you don't come back we'll be forced to respond as if to a security breach!" He yelled to Kallen as she ran to where she was directed. Once she was out of their sight Kallen was happy to find that she had reached the palace's residential section. Now if I were a prince, where would I keep my pet girl?
She headed for the off shooting hallway that she assumed would be the guest quarters and followed a trail of grease drips she found on the floor. When she knocked on the door it led to there was no response and feeling reckless she walked in. The source of the grease was a stack of empty pizza boxes, nine in fact. This is definitely C.C's room. One of her signature straightjackets rested over the back of a chair, but it appeared to have been ripped apart.
"C2?" Kallen called, not wanting to catch the witch unaware. "Miss Chulainn?"
The next room was dark and the bed served as an indication that something was wrong, for the pillows had been messily stuffed underneath the blankets to make it look like someone was sleeping. But the answer was found when Kallen looked a bit more closely at the open window and what was tied to the intricate stone carvings; a fluttering ladder made of bed sheets. Since I'm not supposed to be here I can't exactly report this, and C.C isn't helpless. But why would she want to leave if the royal family is wrapped around her finger and she's living in the fanciest palace on the continent?
A quick glance at a gilded clock that gently ticked from atop the fireplace revealed that eight of her ten minutes had already been spent, and Kallen realized that if C.C was found to be missing the guard she had paid off would definitely rat her out. And some huge scandal would definitely lead to friction with Britannia, and that's the last thing we need. So still pestered with her questions and hoping to foil the witch's escape attempt Kallen tied her skirt in a messy knot at her waist and carefully lowered herself out of the window. Though the gurgling fountain where she would be making her landing was only two floors down she instantly began to regret her decision.
Maybe I'm not as fit as I thought I was. She thought, her arms protesting as soon as she made them hold up her entire weight. I guess I'm only on the second floor, and if a pregnant witch can do it, so can I! The sheets felt awfully flimsy and when she had made it half-way down a gentle breeze began to pick up. Her hair had come out of its fancy bun and was sticking to her forehead like clumps of seaweed. With a gentle splash she dropped into the fountain underneath, and her skin seemed to tighten as goose bumps popped up all over her body. The garden must be huge…. Maybe this wasn't the best idea. Maybe C.C is already gone. Nothing but the forlorn rustle of the hedges could be heard and the party felt like it was miles away.
Having abandoned her painful high-heels to make the climb the cool grass felt comforting under her sore feet as she stealthily began to make her way into a forest of shaped hedges. She had just passed a fleur-de-lis when the rustle of clothes alerted her of a guard, and Kallen sought refuge behind a sword.
It was a wince of pain that caught Kallen's attention and after plunging her arms into the cool mass of leaves she parted the hedge and found C.C at last. The witch was struggling to get a foothold on the towering walls and was sensibly dressed in dark pants and a jacket that was scuffed from the rough stones, her hair hidden under a slightly too-big beret. Though her face was red from cold, exertion or maybe even tears there was an unmistakable glow to it…this particular detail brought Kallen out of her silence.
"C2!" She barked, jumping out from behind the bush.
With a startled sound C.C nimbly leaped from the wall and landed into a crouch as if she were preparing to run away. But when she caught sight of Kallen her body eased up, and she leaned resignedly against the wall with the air of a kid who had been caught stealing cookies but would never admit to it.
"Kallen." Her voice was almost as chill as the air, and she defensively crossed her arms. "You should go back to the party, for I heard there was going to dessert buffet."
"Well, then why aren't you there?"
With a thick sniff C.C turned back to the wall. "I'm a little tired of life at the palace."
All the urgent questions were chased from Kallen's mind and replaced with a bitter anger. "Please, as if you don't enjoy cozying up to Lelouch's brother-"
"Half-brother."
"Big difference! No, that makes it worse."
"'It'? There's no it. And I can hardly stand him. I can hardly stand all of them, except for Nunnally at times."
Kallen didn't know why she felt so breathless and realized that she didn't know how to put her questions into words without sounding like a total moron. She had been waiting for this moment ever since the witch's capture and pregnancy had been announced but somehow an accusatory interrogation no longer seemed like the right thing to do. They knew, or at least had known, each other well from their year in hiding together. But that now only worsened the feeling of betrayal.
So after taking a deep breath Kallen forced herselfto make scrutinizing eye contact with the witch. "We…Suzaku and I…don't know what to think about this."
"I did notice that Zero wasn't here..."
"He said that he wouldn't be able to stand looking at you."
C.C didn't look surprised. "And I suppose you also feel deceived."
"Yeah! After initially being excluded fr0m his master scheme I figure it...the R-Requiem... out the moment it's completed. This makes me feel great because it means that I truly understood Lelouch all along and now I get why his murder was so upsetting to Kaguya. Y'know, because she also knew what he had done." I'm babbling now, spit it out! "I just don't know why he would lie to us! About you, I mean. Of course he had to conceal the fact that he was just pretending to be a monster, but why was 'insuring his legacy' kept a secret from even Suzaku?"
After thinking for a moment the witch pushed a few strands of hair that had come loose back under her hat. "Lelouch knew that if he told you about the Requiem you would do anything to find another way. He also knew that you'd be smart enough to figure it out in the end." Her smile was terribly sad but Kallen detected the tiniest hint of pride "Never have I met a man with such superhuman resolve….and even though everything was for the best, I miss him."
That has nothing to do with...I did not sit through a three-hour ceremony just to get blown off. "You're just telling me what I want to hear!"
"No Kallen, you're simply no longer a part of this story."
Much to her frustration Kallen felt like she was going to start crying but an unmistakable sound that caught her attention took priority over all else. The two gunshots sounded in rapid succession and seemed distant. But of course they're using a silencer; assassins couldn't do their work without them. She thought as she lunged for C.C's hand, the witch having gone oddly still. Making a split-second connection that the wall would lead back to palace window Kallen followed along the wall at a run, dragging the witch behind her.
"Hurry up!" she hissed as C.C began to tarry, giving her arm a desperate yank because the witch wouldn't stop looking over her shoulder. The cold night air filling her lungs gave Kallen the energy to make it all the way back to sword-shaped hedge with the witch in tow.
When they reached it C.C snapped out of her strange reverie. "They stopped." If Kallen didn't know any better she would say that C.C sounded disappointed.
"But that still means-" She was cut off as C.C furiously signaled to be quiet and pointed to a body that was dumped at the bottom of a nearby hedge that looked like an obelisk. The man's Imperial Uniform was drenched with blood as he'd been cleanly shot through the heart, and his gun was noticeably missing. Before they had time to register this there was a flurry of rustling leaves and staying to the shadows a dark figure emerged from behind it. Shaky with fear Kallen watched with disbelief as C.C moved to leave their hiding place but caught her by her jacket collar and threw a restraining arm around her waist. This isn't the time to be suicidal! The witch struggled and gave her a look of such pure hate that Kallen honestly thought she was going to be punched or have her brains fried with mystical mind powers.
The witch forced her way free with surprisingly ferocity and covered the remaining distance to her window. C.C then began to struggle her way up the knotted sheets at an understandably slow pace with Kallen behind her. Should I have made her do something this exerting? Well...at least it's better than being killed. Her hands began to slip on the now sweaty sheets and before she knew it C.C above her seems to be getting smaller, so rapidly that Kallen doesn't even have time to think why. A strange weightlessness took over her right before she made an instinctive grab for the sheet and her hand caught a knotted bunch. But now she's all the way back at the bottom and just as she frantically begins to worry whether they've been discovered by the mysterious shooter she notices from a dark figure among the hedges that they'd been watching the entire time.
Sorry this is a bit late I was sick all week and it just turned out to be something worse than we thought. But I'm pretty much okay now. Next update May 25 b/c of finals. And thanks for reading this far and for so long, I'm sure it's been a year since I desperately needed somewhere to vent my leftover Lulu Grief that had built up after the season finale. Whenever I do badly on an English paper or feel stupid after getting a bad mark I can say to myself "Oh yeah, well I have a 36-and-counting chapter story that's read by people all over the world, so there!" This website should have an auto-save feature -_-