I'll be perfectly honest with all of you. When I posted this story, I half expected it to receive a very small number of views and follows. I was pleasantly surprised when that was not the case, in fact, I feel more energized to continue my work after the unexpected good reaction.
I won't lie, I care about the numbers. Views, follows, favorites, reviews, it all matters to me, but writing this I found myself having real fun. In my opinion, reading reviews is the best part, so if you want to make me happy sends lots of them, ask anything you want.
I know how people hate long author notes so I'll split them into the start of chapter notes, where I'll answer the reviews and end of chapter notes, where I will go further explain the chapter's writing process and other stuff.
Now for the reviews:
So far, I have three confirmed pairings for Lelouch: Euphemia, Milly, and Marrybell. I'm saying that beforehand so people who oppose the idea of incest don't spend their time here for naught. I know there will backlash and this chapter's numbers won't be nearly as good as they were in chapter one, but it's something I'm sticking with no matter what.
Lelouch decided to leave Nunally in Japan so she would be away from assassins, but he knew that at this point hiding her would be pointless, as there were lots of questions raised about him. This is why he revealed her existence to Charles in the first scene, although he did not reveal to anyone her exact whereabouts.
Regarding canon events and interaction with the non Britannian characters, I do have plans. At the point this story is not fully developed in my mind, I have two main arcs to go through until the canonical start, so the story itself will pick up with Lelouch being fifteen instead of seventeen. His interactions with other characters such as Shirley, Kallen, Rivalz, and the Black Knights will be limited but will happen, Lelouch still has some reasons to go back to Japan as Nunally will be living there. However, I'm keen on mending these interactions into the story in a seamless manner so things won't look out of place.
The final number of pairings is still undecided, I do have a few ideas on my mind, but if I do add a girl the first priority is to make an actual realistic backstory leading to the pairing to prevent things from being repetitive.
Reading Chapter One once again I agree, Lelouch and Suzaku do sound way older than ten. One could make a point for Lelouch though as he had to deal with some shit ever since his mother was killed. However, I plan a time skip during the next chapter, so Lelouch and Suzaku will soon be reintroduced as teenagers rather than children.
Most likely I'll be giving Lelouch a Geass, although I'm not sure whether it will be the same as in canon, considering that he went through a different route. As I mentioned above, the story is still developing and I don't know how I will approach the canon timeline, so I can't be sure of C.C.'s role going forward. She will appear, but I'm not sure how, or when. Jeremiah makes a small appearance here but I've decided on making my own approach on our dear paragon of loyalty. The impression I got from some of the fanfictions I've read (they are great ones really; I'm not being a critic) is that Lelouch often accepts Jeremiah too easily. He had every reason to not trust him but decides to do so nonetheless. We all know how loyal Gottwald is, but the fic's Lelouch doesn't so I felt having him 'test' Jeremiah's loyalty before trusting him.
On the outside, Lelouch appeared to be as cool as a breeze, but inside he was really terrified. He did well on his role-play, but perhaps he overdid it. After a few of his (planned beforehand) antics, the Emperor dismissed the entire court. Schneizel, Cornelia, and even Clovis attempted to join in but the old man was not having any of it. If not for the Knight of One who guarded the throne room's entrance, he would be alone with the one he once called father.
"What of Nunally?" he demanded. His voice was loud, even oppressive, most would be scared by the tone alone, not to mention it came from the man who has absolute control over the most powerful nation in the world.
"You didn't ask about her when she was at the hospital." That was what Lelouch wanted to say.
Instead, he took a deep breath, put a smile as fake as the efficiency of the Chinese Federation government, and made eye contact with the emperor. "I was afraid she wouldn't hand the trip well, so I've opted for leaving her there, under the care of some trusted people, until I learned what Your Majesty wants from us." His voice was as softer as silk.
"And why you did not contact Britannia?"
"For most of the occupation we had to actively hide, the Jap…apologies, Elevens wouldn't have been kind to us. After I managed to guarantee Nunally was safe I've opted on returning here on my own."
The monarch raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"
"It was my foolishness that led me to Area 11, it felt fair to leave there on my own too."
The 99th emperor nodded, almost in approval.
"And what you plan to do now, Lelouch?"
"As I said, I want to serve our Empire, I have my own ideas on how to do so, but ultimately the choice will be yours." The returning prince said earnestly.
"And what is your idea?" It frightened Lelouch to see that despite being somewhat monotone, the emperor's voice could still scare the living daylights out of him.
"To serve the military."
"Why is that? From what I recall you never expressed interest in warfare before.
"Oh? You did pay mind to my childhood? I'm overjoyed." Lelouch had to bite back the witty retort at the tip of his tongue.
"War can change one's perspective in life, father. I never thought myself superior to the others, but as I survived alone in a battlefield where so many elevens lost their lives? We truly are masters of war, I truly became fascinated by it." If Lelouch's head was still attached to his shoulders after this meeting he would be heading directly to a drugstore to buy some liters of mouthwash, he could smell the bullshit in his breath.
"Very well then, enroll in the military, but do not expect any type of coddling, you will have to earn your own stripes. If you prove yourself successful, we will talk again."
The prince nodded. "Your Highness, what of Nunally?"
"I have no use for cripples in Pendragon, leave her wherever she is; as long you pull her weight, she is to remain forgotten. Is there anything else?"
"No, Your Highness." Lelouch replied through gritted teeth, fists closed so tightly that his nails left marks on his palm.
"Then you are dismissed." Charles said with a wave of his hand.
Lelouch saw it coming ever since he set his foot on the damned throne room. The confrontation with the emperor was far from being the last he would have in Pendragon. The Britannian Imperial Family could be described in lots of words, but extensive mayhap be one who could be better used. The last time he counted the emperor had a hundred and eight consorts and little more than three hundred children.
From those three hundred, Lelouch could say he knew about thirty, and that's only because he had an easy time retaining information. From those thirty he could say he cared for five: Nunally, Euphemia, Cornelia, Schneizel, and Clovis.
Yet, when he was escorted out by the Knight of One, he could count a lot more than thirty heads waiting for him.
"LELOUCH!" he knew that voice well, really well. The newly returned prince did the only thing he could: brace for impact.
A few seconds later he was subject to a tackle that would make even professional football players wince and was properly sent crashing to the ground, courtesy of a pink and white blur.
"Hey, Euphy." He said from the ground
"I was so worried." His second favorite sibling said, and soon enough he could hear sobbing. He just returned the embrace and let her cry, she deserved it. It may be nothing compared to the visual carnage and stench of a warzone, but now that he thought back it must be really painful to lose someone you hold dear in a way that could never give any type of closure.
'I'm back, that's what matters." The raven-haired prince said. "We'll talk, I promise you that."
As he got up and managed (with a lot of effort) to escape his half-sister's embrace, he was surprised by those who waited to greet him: Marrybell mel Britannia, Laila la Britannia, Carine ne Britannia, and the twins.
Before he was exiled, Lelouch had a rather cordial relationship with Marrybell; as she was one of the few imperial children who never belittled him for his mother's heritage. They never talked a lot, most of his time was monopolized by Nunally and Euphemia, but she never looked down on him, and for the eleventh prince that was enough. She also was one of the few siblings who saw him and Nunally off when they were sent to Japan. "I'm truly glad you're safe Lelouch." The girl said earnestly. "How are you?"
He gave the pink-haired princess an honest embrace. "I'm well enough, Marrybell. It is truly nice to see you again."
The next in line was Laila la Britannia. To be honest, Lelouch couldn't even remember speaking with Laila alone but recalled that she had a good relationship with Nunally. Like Marrybell she also was amongst the small group that saw him off. "Laila, you look lovely." As said before he never interacted personally with the girl, but when faced with a woman you don't know, compliment her appearance. Who would've guessed Clovis could teach him something useful?
"Thanks." The petite blonde said quickly hugging him and returning to Clovis' back.
The next in line was Carine, who Lelouch strongly disliked due to her previous treatment of Nunally.
"You didn't die." She noted
"I survived, despite many attempts."
"You saw many elevens die?" she asked with glee. Carine always seemed to like confrontation and bloodshed; she would be a lot more threatening if she didn't sound like a whiny little child though.
"Yes." I confirmed, quickly making my way to the last set of siblings.
"Lelouch." The twins, Castor and Pollux rui Britannia greeted in unison. The twins went a bit off the radar, not only due to their somewhat low position on the succession but also because people genuinely seemed to forget they existed. Even Lelouch with his photographic memory had trouble remembering them sometimes.
"Castor, Pollux." The eleventh prince greeted back. The only visible difference between the twins laid within their eyes, as one had aquamarine-colored ones whilst the other's were amber. No idea of which is which though.
After exchanging greetings with the younger siblings in attendance, Lelouch gulped as he went face to face with his third favorite sister: Cornelia li Britannia. The fact that he waited almost five months to contact the homeland would already guarantee a big berating. Making Euphemia cry in the process only added further insult to the injury.
Still, he survived the war, he would survive that.
Lelouch gulped. "Hello, Cornelia."
Her reaction was as expected. "HELLO? THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY? HELLO!?"
"Screw this, I'm heading back to Japan. I wonder if the JLF is still recruiting."
Lelouch said nothing, as his mind was rather preoccupied glancing around the room, looking for any signs of an escape route.
"Cornelia, maybe you should listen to what Lelouch has to say. Preferably later, when you are calmer." Schneizel intervened.
The Second Princess glared at Schneizel and back into Lelouch before nodding. "But we will talk." She warned.
Schneizel quickly hugged Lelouch. "I'm overjoyed to see you back in one piece, brother."
"We will talk later." Was the muttered part only Lelouch could hear.
"I'm glad to be home." The prince replied, returning the hug and nodding at Schneizel.
"We will." He whispered as they embraced
Finally, Clovis came forward. "It overjoys me to see you Lelouch, but I must ask you a question. What of Nunally?"
"She is alive and under protection." Lelouch measured his words carefully. Despite being on friendly terms with most of the occupants of the room, one could never be too cautious. "The Emperor agreed to keep her away from the capital at the moment."
Clovis nodded in agreement. Whilst his relationship with Lelouch was good, he always seemed to bask in the praise Nunally gave on his paintings; which weren't something that the raven-haired prince didn't seem to enjoy that much.
"Still, such a magnificent occasion calls for celebration."
Lelouch attempted to dissuade the third prince but to no avail, his first night in Pendragon thus was spent in a pointless banquet hearing nobles ramble and ramble, whilst strongly regretting his decision to come back.
Two days later the returned prince found himself into the gardens of the Virgo Imperial Villa, home of the li Britannia sisters. The palace proper closely resembled the Aries Villa, although the gardens weren't nearly as extensive as the ones at Lelouch's residence.
The li Britannia princesses' mother died shortly after Euphie's second birthday, leaving the estate to the then fourteen years old Cornelia. Since only the two sisters lived here and the emperor was not one for social visits, the sisters often spent time at the much livelier Aries Villa. Euphie would play with him and Nunally whilst Cornelia got to spend time with her idol, Marianne the Flash.
"Princess Euphemia waits for you at the gardens for a meal." The butler informed.
He found her waiting atop a grassy hill that overlooked the palace. She looked as radiant as always, her perfect pink hair cascading through her back and wearing a white, her favorite color, sundress.
"What about Cornelia?" he asked as he sat beside the third princess.
"I wanted to speak with you first, alone." Euphemia explained. Her eyes, more bluish than violet, locked onto his. The princess then embraced Lelouch.
"Err….Euphie?" Lelouch attempted to speak. He loved her embrace but knew that people might talk. Marriage between siblings whilst not common wasn't prohibited, and he vividly recalls the memoir of the day she and Nunally fought over who would marry him.
At the time they were too young to understand everything that marriage would entail, but in Euphemia, he saw something he wasn't capable of seeing on Nunally. Something a man would look for when searching for a bride.
"It's just that…for so long I've thought I had lost you…" The princess cried at his shoulder. "For today please let me hug you, ensure this isn't a twisted dream." Euphie pleaded.
The vi Britannia prince just closed his eyes and nodded, relaxing at her embrace. "It's okay, I'm here, I'm here for you."
For a long time, the pair just kept silent, too lost in their embrace. As much as Lelouch wouldn't like to admit he also needed this hug, five months of the war are long, punishing. He felt plenty of human contact during that time; Suzaku offering a hand to help him climb a hill, Nunally holding tight at his neck as they ran through the night, even a pleading hand belonging to a bloodied Japanese woman, her voice pleading, something about her daughter…
But Euphie's embrace was a reassurance that he also was alive, something he didn't even have the time to realize back in Japan.
"How are you Lelouch?" as all things were meant to end Euphemia eventually released her hold on him as they ate from the picnic basket the princess brought.
"I'm fine, why you ask?" the prince asked with a frown.
"Please tell me the truth, you spent a long time away from home…."
"At this point, I don't even consider this my home anymore." His emotional side wanted to say. He was a broken boy when he landed in Japan, the following months saw him recover his true self, thanks to people who had no reason to help him: Suzaku, The Prime Minister, Taizo, even Kaguya.
Even when they lost the war and became Elevens instead of Japanese if given the chance he would become a 'filthy eleven' rather than a Britannian prince. That was what he thought for a long time, but then realized that if he was to discard his name, he would also be discarding his previous life: Cornelia, Clovis, Schneizel, her…
He was not okay, he was sad, and angry, and happy, but most importantly he was confused as hell.
"I don't know." he admitted. He laughed helplessly. "I have no idea if I'm okay."
"Lelouch…"
"Despite that, I'm glad I got the chance to see you all again. The last time we spoke, at the cargo bay, when we were sent to Japan, was not how I wanted things to end."
Considering that Lelouch lost his mother, saw his sister lose her leg movements, vision and was publicly humiliated by the one he called father; all in the span of a month; his snapping at others was justified.
"You had every reason to be angry, we should've done something." Euphemia protested.
"My anger never was meant for you, but I was just a foolish kid, I yelled at you and that is unforgivable." You could see real regret in the prince's eyes.
"We…I deserted you and Nunally when you two needed us the most."
Lelouch shook his head. "You were only eight at the time, I doubt you could've done something to change things."
"It was unfair to you." Euphemia attempted to protest but was silenced as Lelouch squeezed her hand.
"The world is often unfair; it still didn't give me the right to treat one of the most important persons in my life the way I did."
Euphemia blushed at his words. "Lelouch…"
She however was interrupted by a maid. "Princess Cornelia came home."
"Let's go then." Lelouch said offering his hand to Euphemia, who happily accepted.
Euphemia squirmed in her seat at the dining table. Before Empress Marianne's assassination, Lelouch had a great relationship with Cornelia, often challenging, and, much to the older princess' embarrassment, defeating her at chess. Both idolized Lelouch's mother and had mutual respect.
Now, they dined silently, and couldn't even look each other in the eyes. Lelouch said that he didn't hold any grudge towards her, but the same could be said from Cornelia?
"By the way, I'll demand the abolishment of the number system from the emperor at court tomorrow."
"WHAT!?" Her two favorite siblings turned to her in shock, causing her to giggle.
"You didn't even talk to each other." The younger princess pointed out, smiling mischievously.
The raven-haired prince nodded at her words, but it was her sister who took the initiative.
"I wanted to apologize for the way I spoke two days ago, it was unfitting."
Lelouch nodded. "You were obviously surprised, so it's justified."
Euphemia thought they would still keep silent but her brother continued. "I too apologize, you probably were worrying about us this whole time."
"Why didn't you contact us?" Cornelia asked, thus marking the start of the interrogation.
Lelouch frowned for a bit, but let out a sigh and focused his eyes at Cornelia's. "I was considering faking my death and disappearing with Nunally."
Euphemia sighed sadly, she suspected Lelouch could resort to such methods. He was abandoned after all. Cornelia, who did not know him as well as she, gasped.
"In the end, I've decided against that and came back here."
"And you think that this is fair to us!?" Cornelia shouted. "Euphemia had to take medication to sleep for months after your death was announced."
Euphemia felt Lelouch's eyes trained into her and blushed. "SISTER!" she protested.
"I went to the Kururugi Shrine and found nothing but rubble and ashes!" Cornelia continued her rant. "You have any idea how it is to lose someone you care about without even having their remains given a proper funeral!"
"And what you expected me to do?" Lelouch challenged his tone matching Cornelia's. "Euphie and the other were still too young, but you, Schneizel, Odysseus, even Clovis could've helped me! Yet you cowered in fear of the emperor." The prince knew he was being bitter, but at this point and after Cornelia's rant emotion trumps reason. "You expected me to come back like a scared puppy with the tail between the legs and beg the emperor for forgiveness? Or you expected me to plead to the Britannian forces which I witnessed murdering, pillaging, and raping their way across Japan?"
At this point, Lelouch stopped as Cornelia had tears on her eyes and Euphemia had a downcast look on her face. Once again, he was hurting his sisters. "I apologize, I clearly overstepped my limits."
"No, I apologize." Cornelia suddenly said, still clearly shaken by Lelouch's outburst.
Her favorite brother was rarely one to show emotion and the only time she saw such anger in his eyes was during the infamous audience with the emperor. As much as she would've liked to deny there was no point around it: her brother hated her.
"I promise Lelouch, I'll make things right once again."
Coming back to the Aries Villa, Lelouch had divided opinions regarding the meeting. On one and he managed to reassure Euphy and even hold his ground against Cornelia. On the other hand, he let out all his pent-up rage, frustration, and even self-doubt get the best of him, resulting in a lash out where he revealed a lot more than he intended to. Thankfully this was with Cornelia, who was the least likely person to attempt to hurt him. Had he let this out with someone else, even Schneizel, he probably wouldn't be as fortunate. After the initial confrontation, the dinner ended with yet another hug from Euphie and Cornelia's promise of support.
He entered the villa, attempting to pay little to no mind to the cursed stairway which changed his life. Easier said than done.
"Your Highness." A voice called out from behind.
The prince turned to see a tall, tanned man with teal hair donned in a ponytail, orange eyes, wearing the red and grey Imperial Guard outfit. Lelouch then realized he already saw that man before; he was one of the guards during Marianne's assassination.
Seeing no hint of the other staff, Lelouch sighed. "It seems that I underestimated my enemies."
The prince's eyes moved through the huge hallway, looking for any sign of escape, he found none. No escape. At least Euphie would have a body to bury this time.
Lelouch took off his black coat, revealing the white shirt he wore underneath. "Do your duty."
"Lord Ashford, please protect Nunally."
The prince kept his eyes open, but as he realized he was about to get murdered he closed them, yet no sound was heard and no shot came.
Instead, the man in front of him was kneeling.
"You're not here to kill me." Lelouch noted eyeing the man kneeling. "Who are you?"
"I am Jeremiah Gottwald, and I'm here to pledge my alliance to you." The man in front of him said, still kneeling.
That...was a surprise for Lelouch. So far, he only had his own name, a disgraced one after that fateful audience, for that matter. Despite their overall smugness, superiority complex, and selfish views, Lelouch saw nobility as bothersome to deal with but easily predicted. Like starving hounds, they lunged at those weak and incapable of defending themselves but also were tame when handed food from their master, in that case, the ones with more power. His eldest two half-brothers, Odysseus and Schneizel had their own fair share of nobles cajoling them. But he wasn't as high in the line as Odysseus, nor had the status Schneizel had, which made him wonder.
"Why?"
"Excuse me, your highness?"
"Why you wish to pledge your loyalty to me? I do remember seeing you guarding Aries Villa when my mother was still alive but other than that I can't see why you would pledge to me."
"Empress Marianne was my hero, and a model Britannian, I grew to idolize her exploits and hoped to follow in her footsteps. After graduating from the Imperial Colchester Institute, I joined the military and was assigned to guard the Aries Villa of all places." The man, who was still kneeling, became somber. "Then I failed her not preventing her assassination. And once again I failed when I could not save you from the filthy elevens…"
Lelouch's face gained an angry frown. "A filthy eleven as you so candidly pointed out saved my life." Interrupting and berating the soldier was unpolite, but the prince needed to get a measure of the man he was. So far, he was no impressed.
Jeremiah gasped. "I had no idea."
Using the signature aristocratic look which he inherited from his dear father, Lelouch glanced at the man dismissingly. "Go on."
"Then I received news of your return and came here to offer my loyalty to you."
Loyalty, for Lelouch, was earned not given, so why this man was here?
"And what would you earn from that?"
Seeing the confused expression on the man's face the prince sighed. "At the moment my position at this court is precarious at the best, so why you wouldn't offer tour loyalty to someone else?"
"Because my loyalty to the Empress trumps my loyalty to the Imperial Family."
Lelouch had to admit the man was resolute, the way he spoke left no doubts that he indeed believed in that. "My mother is dead."
"And I blame myself every day for it."
The prince was now openly frowning. "Do elaborate." He demanded.
"I was taught to obey all orders, yet there's one order I regret ever following." Gottwald felt the prince's violet eyes burning at his.
"What order?" his voice didn't seem to belong to a child anymore.
"To withdraw security from the palace."
"When?" Lelouch's voice became harsher.
Jeremiah couldn't meet his violet eyes, opting to glance at the same stairs where Marianne was killed. "The night before the attack."
"The order came from Marianne herself?"
"No." Jeremiah added shamefully. "It came from her Head of Security…"
"Cornelia." Lelouch said with a growl
The prince closed his eyes and was silent for a few minutes. Paying closer attention, Jeremiah could see the twitches in his facial expression and the balling of his fists. He was going to explode.
He didn't.
Instead, the prince was calm. "I appreciate your visit, Jeremiah Gottwald. However, I can't accept your loyalty, at least not for now."
Just like that air was torn out of his lungs once again.
"I don't know you, and obviously I don't trust you. Trust is earned through actions, so I ask you, Jeremiah Gottwald, are you ready to prove yourself."
"YES, YOUR HIGHNESS."
For the next week, Lelouch rarely was seen outside his study. Almost his entire time was spent on his personal computer, his research focused on two persons. Jeremiah Gottwald and Cornelia li Britannia. Thankfully he was in Britannia, where corruption was rampant, and with some cleverly placed bribes, he managed to secure access to the military network.
Cornelia…if what Jeremiah said is true…. she'll become the prime suspect of the murder. That…would be the highest level of betrayal possible. And it would hurt, more than anything else, even more than his father's rejection. The sister who cared so deeply for him and Nunally, to be capable of that….
What would he even do?
Could he stomach taking arms, could he spill the blood of his own sister? Would he even be able to face his own siblings, Euphy? Cornelia practically raised Euphemia, could he afford to kill her and transform Euphemia into another Lelouch? The idea was enough to make bile rise through his throat. Most of Cornelia's info was classified, yet another perk that came from being an Imperial Princess, but her record would be spotless if not for the failure in guarding his mother. What she would even gain? She adored the empress, why would she betray her?
Despite having a negative impression of the overzealous noble due to his statements, Lelouch knew he was someone to keep his eyes on. As informed previously to him by the man itself, Jeremiah graduated from the Imperial Colchester Institute and guarded the Aries Imperial Villa. After that he was assigned to the 9th Armored Battalion and served in the Indochina War, where Britannia conquered the territory which would be known as Area 10, also earning a Medal of Honor for his efforts. He did not fight during the Second Pacific War as his regiment was still stationed in Area 10, but shortly after the end of the war, Jeremiah requested a transfer to Area 11, where he became a prominent member of the Purists, a group that supported the segregation between Britannians and Numbers and the abolishment of more progressive measures, such as the honorary citizenship. His background wasn't special, nephew to a minor landed noble, his father died in battle, has a sister studying at a minor college. What stood out for Lelouch was that Gottwald had no ties with any of the emperor consorts' families, that, in his opinion, were the prime suspects of murdering his mother.
Jeremiah is still a wildcard, and as much as he was intrigued by the information brought forward it could still be deemed as part of a bigger plot to both earn his trust and estrange him from the li Britannia sisters.
Yet the man could be an ally, something he desperately needed at this point. Jeremiah's loyalty needed to be tested, and for that, he would need the help of those really loyal to him.
He took the burner phone he acquired earlier this week and dialed. "Reuben, it's Lamperouge. I may need another favor."
"You'll be playing as white?" Clovis la Britannia asked as he saw the board. Whenever they played the last game's winner would get to pick the color of his pieces. Clovis never won, and Lelouch always chooses black.
"I felt like changing." The raven-haired prince making his first move g2 to g3.
Clovis frowned in concentration, glancing at the board. "Father assigned me as Viceroy of Area 11." The blonde announced with pride.
Lelouch nodded. "Congratulations."
"I will cut to the chase, I want you as my right-hand man, a sub-Viceroy." Clovis said, paying no mind to the chessboard in front of him, he knew he was going to lose anyway.
"I can't accept." the younger prince said with a frown.
"Why not? We would make a great team."
"I am to enlist at the military academy, it was my compromise with the emperor." That was half-truth on Lelouch's part. If he went to the emperor saying that he wanted to help Clovis the man would most likely allow him to. But being Clovis' second in command was not interesting for him. Still, knowing the third prince's temper, an outright rebuttal might hurt his pride, and Clovis was likely to do dumb things (dumber things) when affronted.
"I'm sure I can persuade father…"
"It's already decided. But I can still help you." Lelouch cut off, this time with a truthful statement. He could, and would help Clovis. Even if he had nothing to gain from it, after all, Nunally and his most important allies were there; he couldn't afford to have resistance cells running rampant.
Clovis smiled enthusiastically. "You would."
"My stay in Japan would have been a pleasant one, if not for the war. Their customs are significantly different from ours but they are respectable nonetheless."
"You don't mean to compare our culture to the one belonging to those ruffians." Clovis protested in bafflement.
"No, of course not." Lelouch said with a false smile, as his pawn causally captured the black knight. "But it's our duty to prove Britannian superiority by bringing civilization to the Elevens."
Now that was a complete lie from Lelouch, but it the best way to manipulate Clovis. As much as he cared for his artistic older sibling, he had no qualms about his personality. The third prince coveted being the center of attention, and whilst he somewhat achieved that he could easily be beaten by other two siblings who basked into the limelight: Schneizel and Guinevere.
Schneizel actually justified the attention put on him by his ruthless efficiency in politics, being appointed as Prime Minister at the tender age of eighteen. His charisma was unmatched as was his genius and the second prince, older and higher in the line of succession could easily shadow Clovis, something Lelouch had no doubts irked the third prince.
Guinevere was similar to Clovis in many aspects but managed to be even vainer than him. She had her own social circle and ensured she was always on the cover of magazines, either due to her lavish parties or a scandal or another. Basically, the first princess was Clovis with an even bigger ego and breasts.
Clovis had the minimum intelligence to identify manipulators, such as the emperor and Schneizel, but lacked enough wit to realize himself was being manipulated. Knowing that things were easy for Lelouch, plant his idea at Clovis' mind and let him, and the others believe it came from the third prince himself. The fact that this somewhat indebted Clovis to him further sweetened the deal.
"You're totally right." Clovis said enthusiastically, not even noticing he put his queen on the aim of Lelouch's knight.
"The best way possible to achieve that is through the careful insertion of Britannian lifestyle and a tender treatment of the Area; rebuild schools, hospitals; even parks and let them believe you care."
At that, the older sibling frowned. "I think that doing that would take things too far. I can't have people in the homeland thinking I'm a number sympathizer."
"Furthermore, should the Elevens be civilized, this could mean an increase in the overall production of Sakuradite, something I'm sure will endear yourself to the emperor."
Clovis' eyes widened. Hook, line, and sinker.
"Checkmate." Lelouch said with a smirk.
"What?" Clovis asked before glancing at the chessboard. "Oh well."
Atop the grassy hill, Lelouch overlooked the downcast form of his sister. It's raining, hard, yet the girl stood out eyes glued in the ground as the droplets fell on her, unrelenting.
Due to the uniqueness of the Imperial Family, blood relations often could shape relationships. If he was to speak on strict biological terms Lelouch had one sister and an immeasurable number of half-brothers, half-sisters, and even a few half-nieces and half-nephews.
But as someone who knew the importance of having a sister, he could not bring to reduce this word in a half just for the sake of it. Being raised alongside Euphemia and as close as he was to Cornelia, he couldn't reduce his li Britannia sisters to half. He even relucted in diminishing siblings with less pleasant personalities to half. Odysseus, Schneizel, Clovis, Laila, even Guinevere, it felt unfair to acknowledge them just as 'half'. Those who he did not know, or who he loathed, Carine, Hannes, and that sea of unknown faces, let them be the half-ones.
The girl soaked by rain was his sister. They may not have shared a womb, but now he knew they were tied by something much bigger, much worse. No one in Britannia knew as much of what she was going through as he did.
Imperial funerals, Lelouch decided, looked the same. The same number in a crowd, the same black outfits, hells even the priest was the same. There were some differences though, for starters when compared to the last one he attended this had two caskets instead of one. The heavy downpour replaced the overcast weather, and most importantly he was one of the onlookers rather than being the one receiving condolences.
Her hair was a bit frizzed and the pink color was faded. The violet eyes seemed empty and he wondered if he was like this during that day, so…dead inside. She seemed tired of the whole false sympathies, just like he felt that day.
The princess had double the grief as her sister died too. He truly wondered what would've happened to him had he lost Nunally too.
Most likely he would be dead. He could see at least five different scenarios where that would happen.
Yet in a dark corner of his mind, a monster he had to wrestle let his thoughts be known.
It would be better should've Nunally died. She took so much from you, even now she restrains you.
Deep down inside of his mind, there was at least a part of him that resented Nunally, for being a cripple a useless weight to him. This was his selfishness taken to the maximum as Nunally lost even more than him. He banished those thoughts from his mind.
He'd rather die than leave Nunally alone.
The same couldn't be said of the girl in front of him. She lost everything in a single night. No mother to guide her, no sister to fight for.
He felt more sympathetic than ever he felt before. Was he like that? Why no one extended a helping hand? Why no one helped him? Why no one helps her?
No more.
As he stepped near his somber sister he glanced at the other girl, who stood in guard before her: blonde hair, green eyes, same height. From a noble family, one he couldn't remember the name. The girl's devotion to his sister was evident, she practically snarled at those who made snide remarks regarding the tragedy. When he stepped she got quiet, however.
"Marrybell." the prince called out, locking his gaze with his sister's.
Lelouch saw recognition flash in her eyes, momentarily replacing the emptiness.
Without further ado, he hugged her. No words were needed. No words would even get through her brain at this point. She stiffened and the girl beside her seemed to lock a predatory gaze on Lelouch. Yet he felt a small tentative touch at his back, she then returned the hug.
"Sister, I promise I'll take care of you."
The eleventh princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, Marrybell mel Britannia strode through the Imperial Palace, her violet eyes blazing in anger as her light pink hair cascaded in fury.
The last two weeks had been hell for her and she could safely state that she grew to loathe the nobles: so eager to come at the Pisces Imperial Villa and ask for favors from her mother and so quick to speak and mock of her death. Yet the one person she hated the most was the emperor, a year and a half ago when it was said that the investigation regarding Empress Marianne's death was being called off after only a week, she couldn't believe it. Her mother even went as far as to point out that this could as well be a lie, intentionally spread by the emperor himself in an attempt to get the perpetrators to drop their guards. Now she saw the emperor for what he truly was, he lost a wife and a child and didn't even attend their funerals. Now he was calling off the investigations and Marrybell could clearly see no effort whatsoever was made to find who killed her mother. If the monster sitting on the throne was not willing to exact justice on his own, she would force him to do it.
Just as she was reaching the enormous doors that led to the throne room a figure appeared beside her.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The voice belonged to Lelouch vi Britannia, her half-brother, dressed in his casual black attire.
"Lelouch." Marrybell greeted, often considered the black sheep of the Imperial Family, Lelouch surprised everyone when he came back after previously being declared dead. "As much as I'd like to exchange pleasantries I can't. I have more important stuff to do." The princess said firmly; he did comfort her at the funeral but she had to put that on the back of her mind.
"I see. Which one do you prefer: Canberra or Baghdad?"
"What?"
"Where you think you're going? The Australian Kingdom or the Middle Eastern Federation.?
"I'm not going anywhere." Marrybell was starting to get irritated at Lelouch's unnatural antics.
"You're going to be exiled if you cross that door, just like I was." The prince pointed out
Her eyes narrowed. "That's none of your concern."
"Well, so I bid you good luck then. And I truly hope, for your own sake that I'm wrong."
With that, he turned to leave, but Marrybell's curiosity caught up to her.
"Why should I listen to you?"
"What would you lose?" he retorted.
"Fine, let's talk."
The prince nodded. "Follow me."
Apparently, her brother had planned in advance, as a driver waited for them nearby. The entire ride was spent in silence, with the princess occupying herself by glancing at the unusual route the car took.
"We're not heading to Aries Villa." Lelouch clarified, apparently noticing Marrybell's actions. "If we did by tomorrow all of Britannia would've known you've been there." He answered the unspoken question.
Eventually, she found herself in a warehouse nearby Pendragon's harbor. When Lelouch opened the door, she noticed several different kinds of workout equipment.
She felt her eyebrow shot up. "If I recall correctly, you hated physical exercise."
"I still do." The raven prince admitted. "But after what happened at the war, I saw how important fitness could be. If not for an extremely strong friend I'd have died at the warzone."
Marrybell kept quiet, as much as she didn't know Lelouch as well as Cornelia and Euphemia the idea of him, or any other sibling of hers for that matter, dying at a foreign land bothered her.
"Besides I'll be enrolling at a military academy soon, I'm just preparing ahead." Her brother took her deeper into the warehouse and to a space with two chairs.
"Now you must be wondering why I was so insistent for you to come here."
"I am." The pink-haired princess confirmed.
"To put it bluntly I wanted to prevent you from making the same mistakes I did when facing the emperor."
"Things would've been different." Marrybell protested. "I was not going to publicly denounce my own inheritance rights."
"When I asked for that audience, I wasn't planning to do that, but seeing him speak of Nunally like that…made something inside of me snap."
The prince sat down. "When things happened the way, they did I was angry, not only at the emperor but at our older siblings as well. I saw things that even now are etched onto my mind, and every time I think back on them I ask 'Why nobody was there for me? Odysseus, Schneizel, Cornelia…' I can eventually forgive but never forget because each time I see an injustice I remember them. I'm doing this because I feel like I'd be a hypocrite if I turned my back on you now."
Marrybell kept silent, mulling over her brother's words when he once again surprised her and held her hands.
"More than anyone in Britannia I know what you are feeling. The anger, betrayal, grief, and hopelessness of the whole situation. If there's someone that can help you go through it, that someone is me."
Rarely she saw so much emotion in his voice, but she simply couldn't let go of her rightful anger.
"I can't let my mother and sister's assassination be in vain. The nobles, emperor, anyone who was involved must pay."
"I'm not saying to give up, I'm saying to bide your time. I've not forgotten either, the whispering behind my back, the way things were conducted, but how can we demand justice if we are too weak to even stand up for ourselves?"
I felt his hand squeeze mine. "Don't be like me Marrybell, I demanded justice for my mother and ended being sent as a hostage to a country that was invaded by Britannia less than a year later. If you go it won't be as a hostage." The last part was said with disgust. Arranged marriages were one thing, a clearly underage marriage with a ten-year-old was another.
"Why you are saying all this?" Marrybell demanded suddenly. "Wouldn't it be better for you if I were to be sacrificed?"
"When the 89th Emperor Henry XV von Britannia reestablished the practice of polygamy through the empire his idea was that blood would tie the Imperial Family and would prevent infighting. That…backfired spectacularly. But the point is that there's more than blood tying us, there's also a common cause. I truly couldn't stomach having you killed or being raped by someone in a faraway land just so I can become emperor."
The princess was silent for a few seconds. "I should've fought Nunally."
"Excuse me?"
"When we were young, I often wanted to join in and play together with you Nunally and Euphemia, but each and every time I did, Nunally would throw one of the meanest glares at me and I'd give up. Now I regret that you're an amazing person Lelouch."
Lelouch openly laughed at that. "People don't realize because how calm she is but Nunally had a huge mean streak hidden deep inside her. In fact, even Euphy had some trouble dealing with her at first."
"How is she?"
"Nunally is a lot stronger than all of us give her credit for. I wouldn't be capable of dealing with all that she went through and still being capable of being happy and smiling. As much as it may seem that I'm the one who protects her, that's quite the contrary, she protects me from being corrupted by this unfair word."
Lelouch saw that Marrybell had tears in her eyes. He never interacted with Marrybell's sister: Euliya mel Britannia but could see that speaking of siblings brought back some memories.
"I'm sorry for bringing that up." He attempted to console her.
"It's okay, just…give me a minute."
Lelouch waited until the lone tears turned into sobs and then, after ten minutes, turned back into lone tears.
"What is your dream Marrybell?"
"My dream?"
The prince nodded. "At the hardest times, when I found myself lacking the strength to go on, I would focus on my dreams. Even if it is just an illusion it may be good for you."
Marrybell nodded, closing her eyes and taking her time. Before the attack, she already lived her dream: being a princess, being happy. Now that was nearly not enough,
Even Lelouch was surprised by the steeliness of her gaze. "I want to end terrorism."
Lelouch nodded. "I've been thinking, are you sure it's terrorism?"
You could see the confusion on her face. "What do you mean?"
"The way your mother and sister were killed, inside their own home, is similar to the way my mother died. The methods were different, but both attacks targeted imperial consorts and were carried out at Imperial Villas. Yet, I never considered my mother's death as being caused by terrorists."
Marrybell frowned. "But if it's not terrorism what that would be?"
The prince's eyes darkened. "Political assassination."
Seeing the confused expression on his sister's face was the clue for Lelouch to continue speaking. "Terrorism is loosely defined as the attacking of certain targets during peacetime in order to cause uneasiness and spread terror to the civilian population of a country. That could've as well been the case, I'm sure the assassination of imperial consorts and members of the imperial family could cause unrest, but I feel that attacking an Imperial Villa would've been too hard for a terrorist without any previous knowledge of the location. Political assassination however could easily be disguised as terrorism. For me, it made more sense that this was the case." His expression darkened. "So far, the evidence I found out worryingly seems to confirm my fears."
"You found something? You think this can relate to my mother's murder?" Marrybell asked in surprise.
"I'm not sure, so far I only have a clue, which will take a lot longer to investigate. All I said is based on assumptions, I only said that so you can keep your mind that there's a chance the attack on your family came from the other way."
"I see." Lelouch indeed gave her something to think about.
"I promise to share with you anything I find that can be related to your mother's death. I'm still regarding this as political assassination, but I do admit that I may be wrong."
Marrybell nodded. "I can promise the same. If I will fight terrorism but you opened my eyes, I was indeed rushing into actions."
Lelouch extended his hand. "´Partners?"
Marrybell felt a smile tugging upon her lips. "Partners."
As I said I had real fun writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
You'll notice that during the talks with the emperor and his siblings Lelouch will often have some comical thoughts and witty remarks in his mind. The thing about adding bits of comedy is that as a writer you don't exactly have an idea whether this is funny just for you or if the readers also find it fun, so I'd like to hear your opinion on the matter. It's being funny or just needless comments?
Lelouch's talk with Euphemia was a tricky one to write because I wanted to make things special between them without making people uncomfortable, considering they are too young. To do so I focused more on the physical contact between them without further developing the feelings' part. It may seem contradictory but makes sense for me as they still don't know that much about physical relationships.
On a small note, Lelouch taking his coat and facing Jeremiah when he thought he was being shot is a historical reference. Napoleon did the same after coming back from his exile at Elba, not even a single soldier sent to capture him dare to shoot and instead, they joined him.
I also introduced Marrybell, which in my opinion is a character that is often undervalued. Her story is too similar to Lelouch's and their only interaction is a small scene in the compilation movie. In fact, the two are so similar that Marrybell was the only member of the Imperial Family to pledge allegiance to Lelouch without being geassed.
The next chapter will feature a lot of world-building as I set up the first act. As a writer I'm always keen on making something different, innovative, so I'm looking forward to it. This will however take a bit longer than this update. I have another fic I'm working on and will also have to deal with some personal matters, so please be patient.
Please follow/fav this story and leave a review if you can, they truly mean a lot to me and encourage me to do things better.