Code Geass - A Brave New World

by nightbringer24

(Pretty heavily inspired by Ripped Away) What happens when a young man from our world is transported into the world of Code Geass? Watch as our unfortunate hero is thrust into situations he doesn't fully understand, but tries to make the most of it. R1 Arc in progress.

26. Chapter 26

Lying on her side, the stuffed Mr Cheese plush clutched tightly to her chest, CC realised something she should have realised sooner: Lelouch's bed was very comfortable. She did spend most of her time on it, yes, mainly when the boy didn't have her doing anything for his little 'rebellion' and whenever he decided to go to class.

The bed was large, a double, which she found a bit peculiar for a teenager who didn't seem to have any active interest in the opposite sex. Although in retrospect, that wasn't the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. But lying in her underpants and feeling the softness of the mattress envelop her as she tried to sleep, she didn't really care.

'Ah, if only my life could have been like this.' She thought to herself, a thin smile coming to her lips as she drifted off in to sleep.

+Knock, knock.+ Marianne's voice came in loud and clear in her head, causing the lime-green-haired immortal to open her eyes before they narrowed in annoyance.

"Marianne, that was uncalled for." CC said in annoyance as she rolled on to her back and looked at the ceiling. "I was just about to have a nap."

+Oh, pfft,+ The disembodied voice of the late empress said almost right in her ear. +You're always napping. Or eating. Just be thankful that I haven't caught you having sex with my son yet.+

"You don't have to worry about that happening, Marianne." CC said testily. God. Even 600 years later, if an unmarried woman lived together with an unmarried man... "What do you want?"

+I have a question to ask you, CC.+ The voice in her head said, the jovial tone still in her voice even as she sounded just a bit sterner. +Do you know of a man called Ciaran Forsyth? He's a captain in Cornelia's Royal Guard.+

An image of the dark-haired Briton in the drab green pilot suit eating a slice of pizza flashed in her mind.

"I know him. Why?"

+I met him in Sacramento a few days ago. He's... he seemed a bit... odd.+

"Odd how?" CC asked, sitting up on the bed.

+Like... like... It's hard to explain.+

Now this was odd. Marianne was hardly ever at a loss for words. "Marianne?"

+It's like... have you ever watched a television show, and one character always seems to be out of focus in the camera, no matter where they or the camera is?+

CC blinked in confusion for a few seconds as she tried to process what she had just heard. "Marianne... that doesn't really make sense. Even for you."

A indignant huff echoed through the immortal's head. +Well it's not my fault! This whole thing doesn't make sense to me either. I just thought with your age, you'd have seen something like this too.+

Flopping back on to the bed, her hair flying up in the air before settling on to her shoulders, CC tried to dig through her memory for something similar to what Marianne had described. It was true that she had met hundreds, no, thousands of people during her expanded lifespan, but as far as she could recollect, she had never experienced anything like the former-empress had described.

In the end, CC shrugged her shoulders, an ultimately useless gesture on her part.

"I'm sorry, Marianne. I can't say that I've met that sort of person before." The immortal said.

+Well... It was worth a shot anyway.+ The voice of Marianne responded, sounding very much like someone sitting down in a chair after a hard day of work (not that she really would in her current state, CC mused). +Anyway, VV ordered an assassin to kill him last night.+

"He didn't?" CC asked, not shocked by the idea but shocked by the fact. "Why?"

+From what Charles told me, the little bastard said that one of his researchers had been trying something with the Collective Unconscious and that the captain was the result of that experiment.+ Marianne said, sounding very much like a gossipy schoolgirl. +For some reason, VV took it upon it himself to have the young man killed.+

"Wait, what?!" CC asked loudly, sitting bolt upright in shock, not caring if anyone heard her possibly talking to herself. "Say that again."

+What, what he wanted the guy killed?+

"No, not that bit. The other bit. The bit about the Collective Unconscious." The lime-haired witch replied.

+Oh, that bit.+ Marianne replied. +I'd have thought you'd have known about that?+

CC let out a low huff in annoyance. "Marianne, you know that I've been away from the Geass Order for nearly eight years. Now tell me: what has VV done with the Collective Unconscious?" The last sentence was nearly hissed out, a far cry from the normally laid back manner of the immortal witch.

+All right, all right.+ The Empress' spirit said in a placating tone. +From what Charles told me, it seems that one of the researchers in the Geass Order had a theory that... oh, fuck. What was it? Something... something about... there being other Collective Unconscious' and reaching in to them.+

For a moment, CC was merely dumbstruck, the Mr Cheese plush nearly falling from her slackened grip as she took in what she had just been told.

"Marianne. Please tell that you are joking."

+CC, do you ever remember Charles telling a joke?+ Marianne asked in return.

Flopping backwards, the immortal witch put a hand to her forehead as she let out a loud groan in annoyance. "Ugh, that idiot! Didn't I warn him how dangerous that could be?"

+Uh... want to fill me in here?+

Removing her hand from her forehead, CC stared up in annoyance at the ceiling. "Marianne, it's a basic principle of the universe that a cause has an effect, that you can't take anything without giving something in return. Even I don't know the full extent of what the Collective Unconscious can do, so there's no way in hell that VV will know what the results of this act will be!"

Closing her eyes, CC did her best to steady her breathing. God, but that little bastard just kept on infuriating her.

"I mean, killing him might destroy the very fabric of time itself." She groaned out-loud, obviously using an extremely unlikely scenario just to illustrate her point.

+But then, leaving him alive might also end the universe as we know it.+ Marianne opined, sounding confused and not also not fully convinced of where this train of thought was going.

From her position on the bed, CC shook her head. "No. No, I don't- well, there is the possibility, but I don't think that something like that is going to happen. At least... I don't think so."

This was too strange, though, for the immortal witch. VV always had too much of a propensity to stick his nose in to places he shouldn't but this time he was definitely going too far, for his own good and the good of others.

"Since he's here in Area 11, I'll try my best to get closer to the captain and-"

The sound of a door opening and shutting loudly filled the room. It had been a habit that Lelouch had developed in an attempt to try and give CC some form of warning that he was coming. Usually, she would have not experienced any sort of worry from the noise, but now...

+And what, CC?+ Marianne asked, her voice betraying any of her characteristic calm.

"I'll talk to you later, Marianne." The witch replied before she switched off the mental link to the deceased Empress' spirit, earning a very muffled curse from her before CC laid back more fully on to the bed as the door to Lelouch's room slid open, allowing the bed's owner, dressed in his black school uniform, to enter.

"CC, I... oh, lord!" The teen revolutionary leader began before he covered his face in shock. "Please, for the love of God, at least put a t-shirt on or something. Please! What if someone sees you?"

'Yup. Definitely no worry of me ending up in the same bed as him.' The immortal thought to herself before she rolled up in to a foetal position, hugging her large yellow plushy to her body. "Why does it bother you so much, Lelouch? I'm just giving you a glimpse of what you'll very likely be seeing in a few years, so you should try and get used to it at least. Probably."

A snort of derision came from the dark haired teen as he walked over to his desk and placed his school case on to it's surface.

"So... any progress?" CC asked, not wanting to keep the room silent.

"I though the cease-fire would be to our benefit, but it seems to have nearly been the opposite." Lelouch replied in annoyance. "The few remaining resistance groups that exist in Japan are either made from hard-liners who want us to strike much harder and more often at the Britannians, both military and civilian, while the others are too timid to give us any sort of support unless we take any sort of action against Britannia."

"So you'll always have to be on the offensive to get any sort of support, then?" CC asked, looking over the head of Mr Cheese.

"Yes. And knowing my sister, that would be a disaster for us. She'll very like- no, she will have reinforcements coming to shore up her forces, and they'll probably be some of the best that Britannia has to offer."

"A worthy opponent then." The witch stated as she rolled on to her back. "And a dangerous one too."

"Indeed. If I knew which forces she was sending for, then I'd be ready for her." Lelouch said in frustration, gripping the back of his chair tightly before he turned to look at the woman lying on his bed. "Speaking of which: you still haven't told me what you learnt from that captain."

'Oh balls.' CC said to herself. 'I wanted to avoid this.' Looking to her side, she saw the teen she had made a contract with staring at her incredulously for an answer. 'God, he's a persistent little cuss. And not in the way I like either.'

"I didn't learn anything from him." She said. "The only thing that I learnt about him that you didn't already know is that, even though he's a soldier for Britannian, he has some very novel views about Britannia, the military and war."

This took Lelouch by surprise, especially if the wide eyed look on his face was anything to go by. "Wait, what do you mean?"

At this, CC shrugged before she replied. "I can't really remember the majority of it, but one thing that I do remember is that, even though he says that inequality is the leading rule of nature, he views the military as some sort of great equalizer, with it being able to raise up even the lowliest person up to the highest rank."

Turning fully on to her side to look at the boy standing beside her, the witch's face was devoid of any emotion as she spoke. "Just like your mother."

Like he had been slapped, Lelouch eyes opened wider in shock at what she had just said before a grin cocked his lips to the side. "Really now? Heh. No wonder Cornelia took him in. Did he say anything else?"

"Yes. He said that he hates war."

Confusion crossed Lelouch's face at the last sentence.

"So he's a soldier, who's fighting for one of the most brutal empires that has ever existed, who's fighting under the command of the woman who has brought whole nations under the heel of Britannia, and he says that he hates war?" A snort came from his throat. "I've never heard such a more brilliant example of hypocrisy in my life."

From her position on the bed, CC didn't say a thing as she watched Lelouch walk over to his desk and sit down.

"No matter. What we do or do not know from him won't change anything. Once the cease-fire is over, the Black Knights will strike back at Britannia."

"And where will that be?" The witch asked, not really caring about what he would say but intent on listening anyway as she closed her eyes.

"We'll be attacking the Viceroy's Palace directly."

That made CC's eyes snap open as she bolted back upright. "What did you say?"

"You heard me." Lelouch said without turning around, even as he heard the woman almost literally jump off the bed and stomp towards him. He did however turn to look at her when he felt his chair be spun to face the angry visage of the half naked witch. "CC, what are yo-"

"You and I made a contract. A contract that you have not fulfilled your end of yet. And for that, I need you alive!" She practically hissed in to Lelouch's face. "So you WILL NOT attack the Viceroy's Palace."

The teen was stunned. "How dare y-gah!" His complaint was silenced as CC clamped a hand around his throat, enough to stop him talking but not enough to reduce air intake.

"No, Lelouch. I won't hear of it. When I gave you that Geass, you made a contract with me. So I will not see you throw your life away in a foolish attempt at revenge. Do you understand?"

Lelouch's eyes nearly bugged out of his skull at the force in the lime-green-haired witch's voice, a complete contrast to her usually lacklustre personality, forcing the youth to nod his head in reply as he was unable to speak from the disturbingly strong grip on his neck.

"All right then. You can pursue your vendetta against Britannia another time, but don't through your life away." CC said simply as she removed her hand from his throat.

Not paying any more attention to him, the woman padded back over to his bed and, after picking up the plush toy she had dropped in her anger, she plopped down on to the bed. Maybe now she could get that nap.

Children were such a pain.

---

It had become too much of a familiar scene for the Second Princess: her sitting at the desk in the Viceroy's office and Ciaran standing in front of her, the young man looking quite worried about what the Princess would do to her.

Which was not really helped, she thought on it, as she held the knife that he had presented to her, the blade-tip resting against the desk pad while her index finger kept the weapon upright.

"You don't have anything to worry about, Ciaran." She said, keeping her eyes closed as she resisted the urge to try and destroy the item in front of her with her bare hands.

"I'd like to believe that." The young man replied. "If it wasn't for the fact that I can see the vein on your forehead throb with anger."

Cornelia's eyes snapped open, the glare she directed at the Briton making him, and everyone else in the room, take a small leap backwards.

Okay, maybe she was angry.

Laying the knife down on to the desk top, Cornelia closed her eyes, pushing herself to her feet before she took in a steadying breath. Opening her eyes, she looked directly at the young man across from her.

"Yes, Ciaran. I am angry. Do you know why I'm angry?"

"Because I-" He began before Cornelia cut him off quickly.

"I am angry... because the fact that an assassin managed to slip through to get his hands on you, literally. I'm angry that this bastard of a man dared to even think of laying hands on you and I am fucking angry that we can't find the bastard who employed him!"

The last word of her sentence was punctuated by her slamming her palms hard against her desk, making the objects on it, and the people around it, jump a bit. Sighing deeply, her anger dissipated, Cornelia let her body fall back in to her chair, causing her hair to bounce wildly before it settled again.

"If I get grey hair before I'm thirty, I'm blaming you." She tried to joke, pointing a finger at Ciaran with a small smile on her face. Which quickly fell at seeing the fact that a forlorn look was on the young man's face, causing her to sigh. "Although to be fair, I did say the same thing about Nonette."

"Hey!" The Knight of Nine responded, sounding very annoyed, although the act was enough to bring a small smile to Ciaran's face.

'But still', Cornelia thought to herself. 'I should probably change tact here.'

"Okay," she spoke out-loud. "Let's go through what we know already. After I called you three-" She gestured at Nonette, Ciaran and Darlton. "-the night before, you all go back to the officer's barracks, where Nonette orders a take-out."

"Yes, burgers." The young man said. "Mine of which, I still have not had a chance to eat yet."

"Not my fault." The champagne-haired Knight said, holding her hands up defensively.

"All right!" Cornelia called out, interrupting the conversation before it got out of hand. "So you three planned to have dinner, where Ciaran went out to get a drink from the vending machine in the hallway. It was here that you were approached by... Lady Villetta-" She did her best to avoid spitting out the name in disgust. "-and the assassin."

The Princess left the rest of that sentence unsaid as she didn't want to bring it up. And from the looks on the faces of the people in front of her, she knew that they weren't too keen on anyone bringing it up either.

"I assume that you've read over Marshal Stirner's report on the incident, Your Highness?" Darlton asked.

"Not yet, although I doubt it will say anything that I don't already know." Cornelia replied sounding quite irritated about the whole situation. "I still cannot believe that an assassin got that close to one of my own officers!"

The sound of a fist striking a hard surface filled the room, although the Third Princess didn't pay attention to the pain in her left fist from the strike.

"So who do we think is responsible for this?" She asked after taking a steadying breath.

"First thoughts had Zero being the lead choice from the gate." Darlton replied, earning a few head nods in agreement. "But then we also had a thought that it could be that arsehole Hasselbach."

"We'll have to discount Lord Hasselbach for a start." Lord Guilford said suddenly, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "His incarceration, while being far too good for his crime, means that he can't possibly send out a message without us finding out about it."

"Thought as much." Ciaran said, sounding quite annoyed at the fact. "And I highly doubt it would be Zero, if I'm honest."

"What makes you think that it wasn't Zero?" Cornelia asked. "I wouldn't put it past the snake to try something like this."

"Yes, I know the feeling, Princess." The young man replied, nodding his head with a small smile. "But he's arrogant, not stupid. Think of it; what does he gain from trying to take me out? Even if he did succeed, it would do nothing except thoroughly piss you."

The purple-haired princess inclined her head as she agreed with the statement. Messing with her family, even if they were technically adopted, was a sure-fire way to get her angry.

"Plus," Ciaran continued. "If he did send the assassin, then he'd technically be breaking the cease-fire which would give us carte blanche to act against him. Which, combined with how angry you'd get, would really not be in his best interests."

Leaning forward to lean against her elbows, Cornelia steepled her fingers against each other. "So that leaves us with one fact then: we have absolutely no idea who this man was hired by."

All people present nodded their heads as the Princess continued speaking.

"But one thing's for sure: we have just had a major security breach. Obviously, bringing this insurgency to heel remains the main focus of our operations here, but we cannot ignore the fact that someone inside this very palace sent the message to the assassin, or his contractor, to say where Ciaran was. So we need to root him out. NOW."

Turning her chair, she directed her gaze at her knight. "Guilford, since you're the one detected the transmission, then I'm tasking you with finding this rat and flushing him out."

"As you command, My Lady." The bespectacled Knight said, bowing his head as Cornelia turned to look at the people in front of her.

"As for all but one of you, I can't really say much except for you to keep your eyes open for anything suspicious. If you do see anything suspicious, then you are to report it to Lord Guilford. Understood?"

A chorus of affirmations met her before Cornelia turned and pointed a finger directly at the non-Britannian among them. "And you."

Ciaran's eyes opened wide as he pointed at himself in confusion. "Me?"

"Since word will probably get back to this rat-bastard's employer that you survived, you will still be in danger. So until we catch him, or he slips up, you are to remain in the Palace." Cornelia responded, tapping a finger on to her desktop to reinforce her point. "If you feel that you need to go out in the Settlement, and that's a definite if, then you either tell myself, Darlton, Guilford or Nonette or Dorothea or have one of us accompanying you."

"Eh?" The look of shock on the young man's face would have been funny at any other point of time, but now, not so much.

"Ciaran, I'm serious." Cornelia responded sternly. "If you go out in the Settlement by yourself without telling anyone or having anyone with you, and you get attacked, then..."

He sentence trailed off as she thought about the possibilities that could happen to him, none of which bore thinking about.

In front of her, Ciaran looked between the others in the group before seeing that he wasn't going to get any back up on this one. "Fine." He said in a quiet huff.

From her seat, the Third Princess let a relieved smile come to her face. While it was a fact that, ever since Ciaran had unceremoniously dropped in to her life, her life had definitely become more varied and interesting. And, to be completely honest with herself, she didn't want to lose him.

"I'm only doing this for your own safety, Ciaran." She said warmly.

The nod of the young man's head of dark brown curly hair told her that she had won any argument, so she could safely switch topics. "All right then, so is there any other business to talk about before we go on to our main topic for tonight?"

The room was silent for a few seconds before the heads in front of her were shook side to side. It looked like Darlton had shot a sideways glance at Ciaran, but she couldn't be sure, so she ignored.

"All right then," Cornelia said, putting her hands flat on to her desk. "As you all know, the deadline for the cease-fire ends tonight, so I want all of you to be ready in case something bad happens."

"Which it won't." Ciaran added, but Cornelia ignored him.

"I'd put good money on Zero launching an attack on us the moment that the cease-fire ends at midnight-"

"Which he won't."

"Goddamnit, Ciaran!" Cornelia called out in frustration, "Stop doing that."

"I'm just saying that what you want Zero to do, he will not do. The only things that he will do are the things you don't want him to do."

"... eh?" This time, it was the older woman's turn to be confused, a bit like everyone else in the room, forcing Ciaran to elaborate.

"Look at this logically: Zero is not fighting a conventional war. He will use very trick and every avenue he can find to attack us. But he will also know, or at least have a major inkling, that we will be receiving reinforcements from the Homeland, even though we still have a good few days until they arrive. He also knows that any commander worth their salt would have their forces on high alert right at the end of the cease-fire, ready for an attack, which he won't follow through with, because he knows that if he were to attack us, then we'd be ready for the hit. It's only when we won't expect him to hit us will he hit us."

Cornelia, and everyone else present could not help but simply stare in dumbfounded disbelief at what Ciaran had just said. Granted, there was some sense in what he had just said, but the way he had said really left little to be understood from it.

"He's right, you know." Nonette said matter-of-factly, causing the older princess to rest her hand against her forehead, even as she chuckled softly.

'Of course it's Nonette who gets it.' Cornelia thought to herself as she brought her hand away from her face, before she locked eyes with Ciaran. "All right then, captain. In your, esteemed military opinion, what do you suggest we do?"

The look of minor annoyance that came to his didn't escape the Princess' face, making the smile on her lips just a little bit wider, but to his credit, Ciaran actually spoke.

"I say: keep the main units on standby, but we also get 332 Battalion ready as well. Even if we're still undermanned, having those men will be a bonus. Plus, I do not think that the Black Knights will be expecting to get hit with something like the Valkyrs."

Cornelia nodded her head in agreement. From the footage that Darlton had taken during their training in Sacramento, the effect of the Valkyrs would be horrifying for an opponent who weren't prepared for it. Plus, the fact of having some more battle-ready soldiers, especially ones from the elite Pathfinders would be nothing but a boon to her current forces.

"Sound logic, Ciaran." She said, nodding her head before sitting upright in her chair. "All right, everyone is dismissed, but be aware that I want 332 Battalion ready on standby at midnight for three hours. If there's not attack during or after that, you'll be stood down for the night. Understood?"

"Yes, Your Highness." The Briton replied.

"Yes, My Lady." Darlton intoned, both men bowing their heads in respect to the Princess before she waved them out of the room, the Knights of the Round and Euphemia following behind.

They hadn't gone more than five yards before Cornelia called out. "Ciaran! Forgetting something?"

In an impressive move, the young man pivoted on one foot and quick walked over to the desk where the Princess rested her elbow against it and the sheaved knife held in her hands. Without saying a word, Ciaran plucked the knife from her hand and jogged back to catch the others as they headed out of the door.

Sitting back in her chair, Cornelia let a small smile play at her lips.

Yes, she would definitely hate to loose a man like Ciaran.

---

As he exited Cornelia's office, shutting the door behind him, Ciaran found himself instantly encased in a tight embrace from the young princess, drawing an amused chuckle from Dorothea and Nonette.

"Seriously, Euphemia?" He asked in mock annoyance before he wrapped his own arms around the young girl with a chuckle. "How long were you waiting to do that?"

"Since you got back." Euphemia said with a smile as she hugged him.

It was true that Ciaran had seen the pink princess waiting anxiously for his return when he and 332 Battalion had landed in the Palace's hangar, standing alongside her sister, Guilford and Dorothea, ready to review the battalion.

That had certainly gone more smoothly than he imagined it would, with Cornelia meeting Lieutenant Fick and having a slightly more cordial meeting with Lieutenant Villetta (who later complained that the Second Princess had gripped her hand a bit too tightly during the handshake) before she talked to each of the team leaders and the pilots before she gave the unit it's mission directive in Area 11: to strike hard and to strike fast at the Black Knights and any other resistance groups they missed.

After that, it was the meeting he had just been in and now here he was caught in an attempted bear-hug from Euphemia.

Looking past the Princess' head of hair, Ciaran saw Darlton directing a slightly miffed look at him.

"What?" The young man asked, trying his best to shrug while still being hugged by the Princess.

"You didn't tell the Princess about what happened last night." Darlton said as he put his hands across his chest.

"Tell me what?" Euphemia asked, turning her head to look at the general, eliciting a small chuckle from the man she was hugging.

"No, not you, Euphemia. He means Cornelia." Ciaran responded to the young girl before he looked up at Darlton. "I just didn't think that it was the right time to tell her."

"Wait, wait. What's going?" Dorothea asked, the shocked expression on her face mirroring the one on Euphemia's as she released him from her grip, forcing the young man to elaborate.

"It... it happened after the attack." He said haltingly, his eyes dropping a bit. "I... I had a... a really bad nightmare that night and it... kind of really made me feel that I might be out of my depth a bit."

He couldn't deny it, but he felt a bit of shame at what he said, but it didn't stop him from finishing.

"I felt that if I told Cornelia about it, then she'd react... a bit too strongly to it."

"How strongly do you think she'd react?" Nonette asked.

"Like she'd take me off frontline duties and put someone who knows absolutely nothing about the people under his command and how to use them effectively?" He asked in reply, looking up at the woman.

"Yeah... she might do that." The Knight of Nine replied bit hesitantly. "But still, you should have told her."

"I know." Ciaran said in a dejected manner, his eyes dropping back down to the floor.

The sensation of someone putting a hand on to his back and rubbing up and down gently made his head snap back up. Looking to his left, he saw that Dorothea was standing to his left, a small, reassuring smile on her lips.

"You're only human, Ciaran." She said, not taking her hand or her eyes off of him. "But I do think that you should talk to Cornelia at some point in the future about this."

The others nodded their heads before Darlton spoke up. "She will understand, lad. You're not alone in this, trust me." Walking forward, the tall general put both of his hands on Ciaran's shoulders. "But if you feel that you can handle this on your own, then I won't force you. But please. Don't let this build up too much."

Tilting his head up, Ciaran would have had to be blind to miss the sincerity in Darlton's eyes as he nodded his head in agreement.

"All right. Let's just get through tonight though, shall we?" The young man said to the group, eliciting a confirmation from all of them, with Nonette being the first to move out, happily announcing that she was going to get something to drink. However, one figure stayed behind.

As she began to move past him, Ciaran stopped Dorothea by gently gripping her jacket sleeve, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"Ciaran, what's-" She began as she turned to look at the young man beside her, before a quiet 'shush' silenced her. Looking down the corridor at the receding backs of the others to make sure they were safely out of earshot, he jerked his head to the side to indicate that she should follow him. Moving quickly, Ciaran moved his hand down to take a hold of Dorothea's as he led her down the corridor and round a corner out of sight.

"Ciaran, what is going on?" The umber-skinned woman asked in a loud whisper, aghast at what was going on but the cautious smile on her face told the world that she was enjoying the act.

"First off, let me do this." Ciaran replied, before he gently brought his hand up to cup Dorothea's face. Leaning forward, he softly placed his lips against hers. In response, the woman put her hands against his arms and melted in to the kiss.

After a few seconds, the two disconnected and looked at each other with a giddy expression, the young man moving his arms down to wrap gently around her waist.

"How long have you wanted to that?" Dorothea asked as she nuzzled her forehead against Ciaran's.

"Ever since I got back." Came the reply as he returned the affectionate gesture. "Besides I need to talk to you about something."

Dorothea moved her head back, allowing her to look fully at her lover. "About what?"

"Remember how, before I went to Sacramento, I said that we should go on a date?" Ciaran asked in reply, as he gently began swaying his body, and by extension, Dorothea's, side to side.

"Of course." The Knight of Four replied, letting herself be led in the ad-hoc dance that she had been forced in to.

"Well... let's do it. Tomorrow." Ciaran said, a smile on his face.

Shock came to Dorothea's face as she stopped moving, which almost made the young man tip to the side.

"Are you serious?" She asked.

"Uh... yeah, pretty serious." Came the somewhat confused reply.

"Ciaran, you know that Cornelia says that the Black Knights will do something tonight." Dorothea said in a measured tone, trying to make him see reason. "If not tonight, then maybe he'll do something tomorrow."

Ciaran let out a sigh before he responded. "But he won't."

"I know you said he won't, but how do you know he won't?"

The young man let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, I'll admit that I'm not one hundred percent sure that Zero won't attack, but ninety-nine is still a good number."

Dorothea didn't say anything in response, only looking at him simply for a few seconds before she brought a hand to rest gently against his face. "Ciaran. What is this really about?"

The young man's eyes opened wide in shock before they softened slightly, a chuckle leaving his throat. Damn, but she was good. After taking a short but deep breath, he gave his response. "I... I'm twenty-one and I'm already helping decide to decide the fate of a nation. But being with you... it's making me feel more like I'm... like I'm someone normal. Even if it's only for a short while."

Silence filled the corridor as Ciaran simply looked at the woman in front of him, waiting for her reply. Her response didn't really surprise him, as it was something he had come to expect, but the young man still couldn't help but smile when he felt Dorothea's lips press gently against his own before they retreated and he was pulled in to a hug.

"I'm sorry, Ciaran." She said, her voice low as her mouth was so close to his ear. "I forget what your situation is like. I'm being selfish."

Moving back from the hug, the umber-skinned woman looked at the man in front of her resolutely.

"But the situation is far too dangerous for us to go out together."

He didn't mean for it to happen, but Ciaran let out a quiet huff from his nose, making him sound like someone younger than what he said his age was.

"I think you should do it." A younger voice said from the end of the corridor to Ciaran's right, making the pair spin in shock, only to relax when they saw Euphemia's face peering around the corner.

"God- Euphemia, don't do that!" Ciaran said, stopping himself from swearing early as the Princess moved around the corner and headed towards them.

"I'm sorry, but you two disappeared, and since you obviously don't want anyone else to know about it, I went and looked for you two." She explained as she drew closer to the couple. "So, I'm sorry, but I overheard what you said. And I think that you two should go on the date."

"Princess-" Dorothea began before Euphemia cut her off.

"Dorothea, I have come to the same land that seven years ago was ravaged by our own country. It is the land where I have lost three of my siblings and have almost lost a dear friend. Before the end, I want to see some happiness."

Ciaran's mouth dropped slightly as he looked at the girl in front of him. He knew that while Euphemia's usually genial mood was genuine, behind it was a girl who hid a great deal of personal pain. And while, in a sense it could be considered, emotional black mail, he really didn't know how it would affect her request was refused.

Beside him, he heard Dorothea suck in a guilty breath. "Your Highness, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"No, please." Euphemia said, quickly cutting in, shaking her head. "I don't want to make you feel that you are being pressured in to this situation, but more than anything, I want you to know that I support your relationship with Ciaran, in whatever way I can."

Royal support for a relationship. In another place, in his own world, Ciaran would have chuckled or even outright laughed at it. But right now, it meant a heck of a lot. And looking to his side, it looked like it meant a lot to Dorothea too.

"I thank you for your words of support, Euphemia." The umber-skinned woman said, smiling happily before the emotion dropped from her face. "But if Zero does pull something tonight, it'll be too dangerous to us do so."

'Again with the ironclad logic!' Ciaran said in his head, although the roll of his eyes told everyone just what he had thought. Especially if the narrowing of Dorothea's eyes were any indication.

"Are you that hell-bent on having the date tomorrow?" She asked sternly.

"To be perfectly honest? Yes. Yes, I am."

"All right then. Fine." She said with a sense of finality, putting her hands against her hips as she turned to look at him. "If Zero doesn't attack tonight or tomorrow morning, I'll go out on a date with you."

Ciaran's eyes opened wide in shock at the change in tone in Dorothea's voice, surprised by the woman's forcefulness on a matter she had just a few seconds previously protested. And from the blush that crept up her face, the Knight of Four knew it too.

"Dorothea, do you know what you just said?" Euphemia asked, looking in shock at the older woman.

"Yes, I know what I said!" Dorothea replied, the blush on her face staying put. "But I mean it! If Zero doesn't attack, then I will go out on a date with Ciaran. Happy?"

The broad grin on the young man's face told her and Euphemia all they needed to know. Reaching forward, Ciaran gently put his hands round Dorothea's waist and pulled her in to a hug, earning a small squeak from the older woman before he leant forward and gave her a small peck on the cheek.

"I'll hold you to that." Ciaran said

The act made Dorothea's blush deepen, but looking at him, the woman's shocked visage dropped in to one of quiet bliss at the act, while to the side, Euphemia just smiled broadly at the pair.

---

For the rest of the day, the Britannian forces that were situated in and around the Viceroy's Palace in Area 11 were put on to high alert status. The remaining soldiers were ordered to their posts, Knightmares were mustered in designated areas, with the two Knights of the Round and Lord Guilford ready to lead them, and in the large hold of the Palace's hangar, the six gunships of Butcher Squadron of 332 Battalion sat ready, their weapons locked and loaded, their engines primed, each one sitting like a predatory bird, just waiting for the signal from it's handler to be let loose and hunt.

For their part, the Pathfinders were split up around the lower levels of the Palace, at specially prepared exits and among Cornelia's Royal Guard troops. Their command structure was split between Ciaran on the lower levels of the building and General Darlton in the command centre, while Villetta would command the air wing.

Each person waited with bated breath for the hour of attack, with each person spending their time waiting in different ways. Cornelia went over each contingency plan she and her staff had formulated, Darlton checked and rechecked all radio frequencies between the command and control centre and the combat units, Nonette tried to engage Dorothea, Guilford and anyone who would respond in idle chit-chat, while the Briton did a tour of each of the units on the lower levels.

It was true that since Ciaran's units would be right where the front-lines would be, he and the others would be the first to engage the enemy, both human and machine. As such, their already impressive arsenal was complimented by other weapons: forty-millimetre automatic grenade launchers on tripods, single-shot anti-armoured rockets and heavy calibre machine guns. All that could had a round chambered and pointed at the expected enemy points of entry.

But hardly anyone knew why they were doing this. Rumours of a special kind of training abounded, but the captain was tight-lipped about the whole thing.

The hours ticked down in minutes, even as the day seemed to stretch on for what seemed like eternity. Before the appointed time, at 23:00, all non-essential personnel were ordered to secure bunkers, to spare them the horrors of the expected combat and to get out of the way of any important movements. None questioned the order, seeing as how many times before they had been subjected to emergency drills, so virtually all of them didn't see any sense in questioning the order.

The countdown drew closer and those who knew about the deadline waited with bated breath. Fingers clenched hand-grips and drummed against computer surfaces.

At 23:58, General Darlton gave the order for all soldiers to be ready. Safeties were disengaged and weapons were pointed at doors, even as energy cores spun in to life as Gloucesters and Sutherland readied themselves for combat. In the hangar, the noise became deafening as the twelve co-axial rotors of the Valkyrs spun in to life, filling the space with a miniature whirlwind.

At 23:59, Cornelia braced herself as she stared down at the tabletop display of the Viceroy's Palace, observing the order of battle and waiting for Zero to appear, ready to give the order for her soldiers to unleash hell.

The seconds ticked away until the clock display switch to 00:00...

Nothing happened. The midnight air over the Tokyo Settlement was quiet save for the stirring of the wind, the cries of the seagulls enjoying the night air and the sounds of a city metropolis enjoying the night-life it had to offer.

The display switched to 00:01. Still nothing.

This was not what anyone, except for a certain dark-haired British-born captain, had expected to happen.

However, Cornelia did not give the order to stand down, keeping her forces at full alert, but even for the battle hardened troops at the Second Princess' command, the hours of inaction took their toll. On the lower levels of the Palace, Ciaran ordered the soldiers down to twenty-five percent watch, while he contacted Villetta and ordered her and her fellow pilots to shut down their engines to avoid overheating but to keep them keyed and ready.

It wasn't until 03:30 that Cornelia finally conceded that the young Briton had been right. With only the slightest hint of annoyance, she gave the order for all units to stand down.

"All personnel return to your posts." An automated message rang out over the Palace's tannoy system. "This has been an emergency drill."

From their prepared bunkers, the civilian members of the palace's staff filed out as they grumbled about their treatment, more than a few questioning if being put through an almost five hour long emergency drill counted as overtime. The soldiers and pilots returned to barracks, none saying anything, the axiom of "Hurry up and wait" being drilled in to them so thoroughly that they had no reason to question it.

There was only one member who could take some consolation from the fact that Zero and his Black Knights hadn't attacked, and he had fallen sound asleep against a wall near the Palace's entrance, with his helmet as a pillow.

---

The hallway was silent, the long corridor completely devoid of any butlers, maids or guards. Not a single being stirred in the long expanse of the area of the Viceroy's Palace, until two distinctly and diametrically opposing heads stuck out from behind one of the corners that intersected the hallway and peered down both ends of the corridor, one with a head of dark brown curly hair and the other with a head of straight pink hair.

"All good to the back." Ciaran said from his position.

"No-one down this way." Euphemia said from her position before she turned back around. While the young princess was dressed in one of her regular regal outfits, the older man was wearing a distinctly more pedestrian affair: a pair of dark blue jeans and a deep brown jacket over a light blue t-shirt, while around his neck and tucked under the jacket's neck, was a white and black chequered scarf.

She couldn't help but smile sweetly at the sight of the man she considered her brother, with his hair neatened up as best as he could, straighten up his outfit as he turned to look at her, spreading his arms wide as he asked: "How do I look?"

"You look like a young man going out on a date." Euphemia said happily, smiling at her friend as he nervously fiddled with the front of his jacket. Reaching forward, she softly took his hands in hers and pulled them away. "Don't worry. This will all be okay."

A small blush coloured Ciaran's cheeks as he looked the princess in the face before a small, goofy smile cam to his face. "I know. It's just... heh, I'm imaging how my parents would react to this whole thing."

"Do you mean as in you going out in a date with Dorothea or as in you dating a Knight of the Round?"

"If they knew what a Knight of the Round was, definitely the latter." The young man replied as he took a step backwards and leant against the wall slightly. "I mean; ME, dating a member of the aristocracy! They'd definitely be shocked beyond words. Hell, my poor mum would probably faint."

Euphemia opened her mouth in shock, ready to speak, although she had to admit that the idea wasn't too outside of the grounds of reality. Especially with what Ciaran had told her about his parents.

"And if we just look at it from just me dating Dorothea," He continued, "Well, they'll just be happy that I'm dating at all. Although I'm not sure how they'd feel about the age difference."

"Five years isn't too bad." Euphemia said happily, trying to cheer him up.

"Yeah, but you know people get weird if a younger male is in a relationship with an older woman." Ciaran responded, causing the Third Princess to nod her head in muted understanding. It was a bit of a rule that, in Britannia at least, a young woman having a relationship with an older man wasn't really frowned upon, especially amongst the nobility. But if it was the other way around, a young ma having a relationship with an older woman, then it was something that was frowned upon. Not so much in the nobility as it was amongst the common people, but it was still enough to draw many unwanted words.

But looking at the Briton, she didn't think that he would have that sort of problem. He looked older than his twenty-one years, which was enhanced quite a bit by his facial hair and the way he held himself in his Royal Guard uniform. She did know though that neither of those, nor the fact that he was in a relationship with a high ranking Knight of the Round would stop the more vocal of their critics spewing their ignorance.

Turning around slightly, Euphemia moved to stand next to Ciaran and leant against the wall herself.

"So... when do you plan to tell Cornelia and everyone else about this?" She asked.

Ciaran let out a low sigh. "I... I don't know. But I'll bring it up with Dorothea today."

Again, the princess nodded her head at his answer.

"How long have we got until you need to leave?" She asked, looking to her side. In reply, Ciaran lifted up his right hand and looked at his watch.

"Five minutes." He replied, prompting the pair to push themselves off the wall. Before they moved away from their section of the hallway, the young man took in a breath before letting it out again. "Okay, I'm ready for this."

Euphemia did believe him, she really did. But his eyes didn't have any of the conviction they would have. Reaching forward, she took a gentle hold of his hand. "Ciaran, is everything okay?"

"Yeah." He replied in a quiet voice. "It's just... the reality of what's happening is really sinking in. I always dreamed of brining my girlfriend home to meet the family. Now I'll never get to do that."

The young princess couldn't help the frown that came to her face. She remembered seeing how happy he had been at telling her about his relationship, a look that she herself dreamed of having in front of her own family. She couldn't imagine how devastating it must be to never show your family who you fell in love with.

Giving Ciaran's hand a gentle squeeze, she looked at him warmly. "I know with certainty that your family would be very happy to know that you fell in love with someone as amazing as Dorothea. I know I am."

This earned a smile and a light chuckle from the Briton. "You'd make a good teacher, Euphemia."

Euphemia responded by giving a small curtsey before cocking her head. "So? What are you waiting for? You have a date to go to."

This spurred the young man in to action as he straightened up the front of his jacket before, after turning a full one-hundred and eighty degrees on his heels, he began walking down the side corridor he and the Princess were in and down the main hallway.

Following him at a quick trot, Euphemia quickly caught up with him and the pair walked in an amicable silence the whole way. There was only a small number of guards or palace staff that they met on their journey, but both of their perspective ranks made sure they were not bothered during their walk.

It didn't take long for the pair to reach one of the side entrances of the palace. Like the Medieval castles of the Old World, the Viceroy's Palace had various entrances and exits that were built in to the side of the enormous building, posterns they would be called, that could be used by the inhabitants to evacuate the building if any serious attack was incapable of being repulsed. Or for people who wanted to slip out quietly for a romantic rendezvous to exist unseen.

It was outside one of these ensconced exits that the pair found Dorothea waiting for her date. Her black hair was out of it's customary side-braid, instead it was let loose to hang over her back while two small braids hung down in front of her ears. Her outfit was a simple affair: a plain white, short-sleeved vest on top, a pair of royal blue chinos on her legs and a fashionable but sturdy pair of black pumps on her feet. Even Euphemia couldn't help but feel envious of how beautiful yet strong the Knight of Four looked, even when she was at rest against one of the pillars and was gazing off in to the distance at her side.

The sound of their approaching footsteps drew her attention as he head snapped around to look in their direction, pushing herself off the pillar. A look of mute fear was on her face, but it quickly shifted in to one of relief at she saw who was approaching her.

"Your Highness, I'm glad to see you." Dorothea said, bowing her head to the Princess before she turned to look at the man beside her. "Hello, Ciaran."

Ciaran's mouth was open slightly as he looked at the umber-skinned woman, before a blush overtook his cheeks. "D-Dorothea. You... you look... stunning."

Her vantage point at the side of the group gave Euphemia a good vantage point of the frankly adorable exchange from the two. Both looked less like soldiers and more like two teenagers on their first date acted, if the movies and TV shows she watched were anything to go by.

"So..." She asked, hoping to get the two back on track. "What's the plan for you two? Anywhere special in mind?"

Dorothea was the first to recover. "Uh... I was thinking that a simple trip down in to the Settlement would be best. A little walk to the Mall, a little bit of shopping then a bite to eat."

"The classic." Ciaran said, shrugging his shoulders. However this drew confused and disbelieving looks from the two female Britannians, who did not expect him to say something like that. "What? I have an older sister. I've had to watch romcoms."

This earned a small titter from Euphemia while Dorothea shook her head while a smile came to her lips.

"Okay, then." The young princess said, coming down from her little bout of laughter. "Just so we're clear on the plan: you two will be out of the palace for four hours tops, then you'll come back here. During that time, I'll cover for you two here. Right?"

Truth be told, Euphemia was not too keen on possibly lying to Cornelia and her sister's entourage, especially not after the fact that Cornelia had adamantly stated that the Briton was not to leave the Palace without telling any of the senior staff where he was going.

'Although,' she thought to herself. 'He's told me AND he's going with Dorothea. So he's not really breaking any rules now."

"So are we all set?" Dorothea asked, looking at the man beside her.

"Yep, I'm all set." Ciaran responded with a smile on his face. "So are we taking a car from the gara-"

"Euphie! Ciaran! Where are you?" Nonette's voice called out from one end of the hall before it echoed down to where the trio was standing, causing the three to jolt up in shock.

"Oh balls." The young man said in fear, before Dorothea took a tight hold of his hand.

"We need to go. Now!" The Knight of Four hissed out in fright, before she turned to look at Euphemia. "Your Highness, I'm sorry about this but-"

The pink haired princess held up a hand to silence the woman. "It's all right. I can handle this, it's fine. Now go. Quick!"

She smiled as Dorothea gave her a warm smile in reply before her eyes opened wide in shock as Ciaran reached forward and gently pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Thank you so much for this. I owe you big time." He said as he leant back to stand upright before the pair turned around and went through the door, a quick jog at first as they went through the portal. As the door closed behind them, a smile came to Euphemia's lips as the pair began running hand in hand down the corridor before the closing door blocked any view of them.

"Hey, Euphie! Come on, where are you?" Nonette once again called out. Her voice was closer this time, accompanied by the distinctive sound of her heels clacking against the tile flooring as she approached the Princess' position.

Taking a calming breath, Euphemia steeled herself as she heard the sound of the Knight of Nine's footsteps drawing closer behind her before she turned around, giving the champagne-haired woman a happy but small smile. "Hello, Nonnette."

The older woman let out a huff as she put her hands on her hips and looked at the young princess. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you."

A confused look came to Euphemia's face. "You have? Why?"

"Well, one of the guards said that he saw you with Ciaran earlier and I just wanted to talk to you spend some time with you guys." Nonette said with all honesty. "By the way, where is Ciaran?"

The pink princess shrugged noncommittally. "I don't know. He said he had something to do in the garage, so he must have gone down there."

Euphemia mentally congratulated herself on the lie she just told. To be honest, lying didn't come naturally to her. Whether it was because of her upbringing as the Third Princess, where she always had Cornelia and Schneizel to protect her from any and all threats, or whether it was that she had never felt the need to lie or whether because she was just incapable of lying, she didn't know. But what she did know was that this lie she had just told was one of the toughest things for her to do, and she had pulled it off so flawlessly.

A look of confusion graced Nonette's face. "I didn't pass him though."

Uh oh. "Umm... pardon?"

The older woman gestured a thumb over her shoulder. "If Ciaran was heading to the garage, he'd have had to go back down the same corridor I just came down. But I didn't pass him." She let her hand down as she looked to the side of them and at the large door to the outside. "Why are we outside one of the posterns?"

A single bead of swear dripped down the side of the young Britannian's forehead, and it wasn't because of the temperature. "Uh... yeah. Ciaran said that... he wanted to go for a walk in the fresh air, so he went outside."

Nonette's eyes shifted slightly to look from the door to Euphemia. "Really?"

Euphemia nodded her head in reply. "Yes. Really."

Silence filled the space around the pair, with the young princess trying her best to mentally stop the second bead of sweat that had joined it's partner.

"Euphie," Nonette said simply. "Do you know where Dorothea is?"

"Uh... no." The Third Princess shook her head. "Nope. Not a clue."

"Right then." Nonette replied nonchalantly as she turned fully to look at her, the look in the Knight's eyes anything but nonchalant.

Looking up at the older woman's blue eyes, Euphemia couldn't help but swallow softly as she felt herself shrink under Nonette's intense gaze. 'Britannia's Hawk'. That was her nickname even before she was elevated to the ranks of the Knight of the Round. Nonette's piercing blue eyes seemed to be able to take in every detail she cast her gaze over, and that was reflected in her proficiency with guns. Pistol, rifle, sniper rifle and Knightmare weapon; there were tales abound of the woman's skill with each one, and it was no exaggeration that many battles had been cut short by the timely intervention in to the fray.

Right now, the Third Princess was feeling the full brunt of Nonette's hawk-like gaze, her blue eyes seeming to scrutinise every single facet of Euphemia's body. These were not the leery but jokey stares that the woman subjected Euphemia to when she started... 'developing', as Cornelia put it. It was the stare of hunter staring down it's prey, waiting for the other to break and run.

She wasn't sure if the sweat was actually pouring off her head or not, but to Euphemia, it certainly felt like it as she tried her best not to break Nonette's stare.

"Euphie-"

"Ciaran and Dorothea went to the Settlement together and they went through the postern gate because they didn't want anyone to find out!"

A small pair of hands clamped over Euphemia's mouth as she realised what she had just said and to whom. She had only one job and she had failed. Horribly! Small tears began to form at the corner of her eyes as she closed them in shame.

A hand gently placed on top of her head of pink hair stopped Euphemia from breaking down as, looking forward, she saw Nonette smiling sweetly at her, the hunting look of her eyes gone to be replaced with one of sisterly kindness.

"Oh, my sweet little Euphie." The Knight said, as she gently stroked the young princess' hair. "You'd make a poor politician. You're just too nice to lie."

Euphemia gave a small sniffle in reply as she brought a hand up to wipe a tear away from her eyes. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"Just a little bit." Nonette conceded as she turned to look at the door beside them. "So are you going to tell me where they're going?"

The princess shook her head resolutely. Or as resolutely as she could with slightly teary eyes, prompting Nonette to smile at her.

"All right then. We'll go find them."

"We?" Euphemia asked before letting out a startled cry as the older woman grabbed her by the arm and began pulling her along, the princess trailing behind the Knight as she was dragged along.

"I've decided that you and I shall have a girls day out." Nonette quipped as she happily marched along, completely ignoring the sounds of protest from behind her. "We've not really had the chance to do that since I've been here, so it's high time we did so. And if we so happen to run across Ciaran and Dorothea, then that'll just be perfect."

Euphemia's position behind Nonette allowed her the luxury of letting a grimace spread across her face. She had wanted to give the pair of lovers some privacy for just one day, but now this? Now she was going to actively stalking them!

"Oh, please forgive me, you two..." She whispered to the open air as she was dragged to her room.

---

He didn't know what made him do it, but partway through their walk towards the Omotesando Mall through the same park that Nonette took him through, Ciaran stopped and turned to look in the direction, or at least what he thought was the direction, of the Viceroy's Palace.

"Something wrong, Ciaran?" Dorothea asked from beside him, her interwoven hand giving his a soft squeeze.

"No. It's just... I just had a niggle, that's all." He replied, shaking his head to clear the thought as he turned to look at the woman beside him and gave her a small smile. "Nothing to worry about. Come on, it's a nice day."

With that, the pair continued their walk.

They had taken one of the more discreet cars from the Palace, the slightly bulbous dark blue car transporting them from the imposing white building to the heart of the Settlement. They had parked the car in one of the myriad of car-parks that dotted the area, before they took their trip. down the sand covered path, each person enjoying the closeness of the other as they passed under the shade afforded by the leafs of trees that Dorothea stated to be 'Blue Japanese Oak' (although Ciaran had no way of countering that claim since he knew next to nothing about botany) and other transplanted species of oak and maple. As they walked, they passed small well-kept beds of flowers and lovingly sculpted water-features made to resemble natural waterfalls, rivers and lakes.

It was strange how, Ciaran mused, even in the middle of an insurgency, the whole place seemed to exude a sense of true peace and serenity.

Although, for all of the outward sense of tranquillity the place exuded, there was one place that was not tranquil. And it was in Ciaran's head.

"I... uh... I hope you don't mind me taking you to the places that Nonette took me." He stumbled out, a faint blush spreading over his cheeks. "I know that I've really been here longer than you, but I've not really been to many places in the settlement so-"

A finger gently pressed against his lips silenced him as Dorothea spoke up. "Ciaran, you're talking a mile a minute."

"Sorry."

"And don't worry about it." The umber-skinned woman continued, moving to stand in front of him. "I know that you've been stuck in the Palace for the longest time, so you don't have to apologise."

A relieved smile came to the young man's face at the news that she wasn't angry, making him wrap his free arm around her shoulder and pull her in to a hug, prompting a small giggle from Dorothea before she spoke up again.

"Just don't take me to the same places she took you." She quipped, causing Ciaran to laugh lightly in reply.

"Hey, give me some credit here." He replied, a look of mock hurt on his face. "I'm not a complete fool."

A small hit against Ciaran's chest was Dorothea's reply as she untangled herself from his arms and the pair continued walking down the path to the mall.

A light breeze came through the park, light enough not to be an irritant but strong enough to stir up the well trimmed grass of the lawns while it made the leaves on the trees dance softly and to make Dorothea's hair flow with the wind, revealing the extent of the woman's beauty to the world around them. Of course, Ciaran was the only one out of the groups of people that passed to notice the way the sunlight made her eyes glint like emeralds as she turned to look at him.

"Ciaran. Is somethin-"

The feeling of his lips pressing against hers was as much a surprise to the young man as it was to her, but neither could deny that it was a happy surprise for the pair as they both melted in to their first public display of affection. Neither person paid any attention to the world around them as their lips moved against the other's until they broke apart.

"What brought that on?" Dorothea asked, a giddy smile on her lips as she looked around them in amused fear.

In reply, Ciaran shrugged. "What? Can't I give the world a little show that I love my girlfriend?"

As soon as the last word left their lips, both sets of eyes opened wide in mute shock at what had just been said.

"Your... your girlfriend?" Dorothea asked in disbelief before her tone became less surprised. "Well, I guess it was high-time we made it official then."

This caused the young man to arc an eyebrow at her. "I thought we had made it official when we kissed before. But: yes. I do consider you to be my girlfriend."

A smile spread across the Knight of Four's lips as she took in what Ciaran had just said before, taking him by surprise this time, she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pulling him in to a kiss of her own.

Once again, the pair were locked together, lips pressed against lips as they enjoyed the kiss before they disengaged. Both were quite out of breath from the display of affection. Out of the corner of his eyes, Ciaran saw more than a few people shooting them disparaging looks from a few passer-bys, while more than a few just looked surprised by what they just saw.

"Yeah," The young man said, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed about what had just happened, which was a feeling shared by Dorothea. "We should probably stop before we get done for public indecency."

"You are right." She replied before she disentangled her arms from around her lover's shoulders and turned around and began walking towards the mall.

Watching her walk away, Ciaran was shocked to see how quickly Dorothea's mood had shifted, merely from people giving her dirty looks. She walked with her back straight, yes, but it was the straightness of a soldier's back. The kind of non-committal straightness that would have made her unapproachable to everyone else, the type that tried to deflect any criticism directed at her, even as it hit home in the end.

He turned his head and shot a dirty look of his own at the few people that remained gawking at them before, moving in quick strides, he came up beside Dorothea and put one of his arms across her back, resting his hand against her shoulder. This had the result of making the woman jolt slightly, turning her head to look at him in confusion.

"What are you..."

"Ignore them." Ciaran said simply, keeping his voice level. "We're in this relationship because we love each other, not because others forced us in to it. This is OUR relationship, not theirs."

Dorothea didn't, or rather, couldn't say anything in reply as she looked at the young man beside her. "Ciaran..." Was all she mannered to whisper out before he gave one more thought.

"I have had enough with living by other people's expectations."

If he hadn't been so focused on not letting his anger overcome him, Ciaran would have noticed the concerned look on his partners face.

---

From her position partially crouched behind a conveniently placed bush, Euphemia watched as Ciaran and Dorothea continued their walk towards the mall, leaving the small number of people behind them as the Briton put a protective arm against the woman's back. She still wasn't sure how the Knight of Nine had managed to track the pair down, but she had done it well.

"We'll I'll be." Nonette from her side, prompting the princess to turn her head to look at the Knight of Nine. To avoid any attention, the older woman was dressed in one of her civilian outfits, a green t-shirt worn with a pair of pale blue jeans, while, likewise to avoid any undue attention, Euphemia wore a white skirt under a tan jacket and a pair of burgundy heeled pumps coupled with a pair of light tan thigh-high stockings. Her long pink hair was down in the back while she wore a pair of pink glasses with fake lenses on her face.

"Come on, Nonette." Euphemia said, sounding a little put off. "You know this isn't right. Let's go back to the Palace before we get in trouble."

The champagne-haired knight literally waved off the princess' comments, her gaze still firmly locked on the moving figures they were spying on. "I am not letting those two get away from me. Come on, they're heading for the Mall."

It was completely unexpected, even for her, and Euphemia wasn't able to tell, even when she was older, how it happened, but as she moved from a crouched position to a standing one, she snapped at the woman beside her.

"Nonette Enneagram, that is it!" Euphemia said sternly. "We are not following these two any more. They want to be left alone for their date, so we are going to go back to the Palace right now!"

A pair of disbelieving blue eyes stared up at the princess as Nonette took in what she had just said. That look lasted a few short seconds before a smile came to her face and she began chuckling.

"Wow. That was good, Euphie. You sounded almost like Nellie then. Almost. You need work on your volume a bit though."

"Nonette, I mean it." The pink-haired princess said, balling her fists at her sides. "We're being cruel. Ciaran and Dorothea want to have a nice day together. Why can't we let them have that, especially after all he's been through?"

A look of surprise again came to Nonette's face again, but this time it stayed as she took in what Euphemia said. "You are serious about this."

Euphemia nodded her head. "Yes, I am. I'm just... I'm sick and tired of seeing all of the horrible things that have been happening; Clovis being killed, all of the fighting and the killing, at Saitama, Kawaguchi, Narita, Ciaran being captured and then nearly killed. I just... why can't he have something nice for once?!"

The steady rise in the volume of her voice took the Third Princess by surprise, especially when she looked around to see if anyone had heard her outburst (they hadn't), but no less than it took Nonette by surprise, the older woman's eyes open wide in shock before a sombre smile came to her lips.

"You're a good friend, Euphie." She said as she put a hand on the teen's shoulder. "But I'm not going back to the Palace."

"Why not?" Euphemia asked, absolutely aghast at what she had just hear.

"Just like you're a good friend of Ciaran's, I'm a good friend of Dorothea's whether she likes it or not." The Knight of Nine replied as she put her hands on to the Princess' shoulders. "I like Ciaran as much as you do, maybe even more, but I still want to see if these two connect as much as I think they do."

"But they just kissed in public." Euphemia stated, gesturing to the area that the couple had been in a mere minute before. "What more evidence do you need?"

Reaching up, Nonette cupped a hand against the young princess' cheek, holding it softly as a warm smile came to her face. "Oh, my dear little Euphie. You have a lot to learn. Love is a lot more than just being willing to kiss a person in public. Anyone can kiss in public. Watch."

Leaning forward, the champagne-haired knight closed her eyes and pursed her lips slightly as she moved closed towards Euphemia's face. Which in turn made the young princess freak out in shock.

"No! No, no, no. No, I get it." She cried out in a bluster, shaking her head quickly, making her hair swing wildly.

A small chuckle came from the Knight's throat as she stood back upright. "Glad you understand. Now I'm going to follow Ciaran and Dorothea. You're welcome to go back to the Palace without me. If so, I'll see you later."

And with that, Nonette took a few steps backwards before she vaulted over the piece of shrubbery, making what sounded like a couple of old people on the other side cry out in fright at her sudden intrusion before the woman began walking off.

Behind the bush, Euphemia took a few breaths to compose herself, taking a few deep breaths, before she came out from behind the bush, giving a quick apology to the old couple before she hurried off after Nonette. It was true that she didn't want to disturb the pair on their date, but she also wanted to learn more about what love actually was.

---

With the unpleasantness in the park behind them, Ciaran and Dorothea could, in an official sense, begin their date in earnest. And she had to admit to herself, but the Knight of Four felt a bit of trepidation at being put as the leader of-sorts for the whole thing. Her rank as a noblewoman did not really allow her to have what could actually be described as a 'date'.

Courtship. That was what she had done for the last few years of her life. Noblemen, some good, some bad, very few good looking and far too many... just the complete opposite. All had come courting her, all came with gifts to try and woo her to them, none came with the intention of trying to make her fall in love with her. All they wanted was her title.

Looking at Ciaran as he scrutinised a brown pair of shoes, a smile came to her lips as she thought on how he treated her about her rank: like it was nothing. Well, no, that's a lie. In the right situations, the Briton did treat her as their prospective ranks allowed. But when they were alone together like this...

"What do you think?" Ciaran asked suddenly, turning slightly to present the shoe in his hands to her sight. It wasn't anything special, just one of the pairs of shoes that were made from a soft tan material, not unlike those used to make trainers, with a more sturdy leather sole. A pretty good pair of footwear if she ever saw one.

"I think they look good." Dorothea said with a smile before her face became more quizzical. "But what's wrong with the boots you have now?"

In reply, the young man turned to face away from her and presented the sole of his right boot where, right in the middle of the arch of his foot, was the beginning of a hole.

"Ah." She said in reply.

"I know that I probably should take it to a cobbler or something," Ciaran said as he turned back around. "But I feel like I should have a backup in place. Plus I could do with some softer footwear."

Dorothea nodded her head in understanding as he called over one of the store clerks to ask them about getting a full pair of shoes, which the woman, actually a teenager, quickly went to get. Soon, the girl returned with a plain cardboard box with the desired pair of shoes in them.

"Is there anything you want while we're here, Dorothea?" Ciaran asked, turning to look at the woman beside him.

The words themselves would have been enough to make a smile come to her lips. It wasn't the fact that he had asked her, as she had had several courters in her time ask her that question before. It was just the way he had asked it; "Is there anything you want while we're here." It had just been a simple question. No desire in his eyes for her rank or anything of that sort. Just the query: did she want anything?

"I'm all right for now." Dorothea replied truthfully. "But if I see anything you like, I'll hold you to that offer."

She didn't know why she did it, but at the end of her sentence, she gave a small wink. It was a quick and simple thing for her to do, but she had no idea why she did it! It just slipped out so easily. No-one else seemed to have noticed the gesture, although the slight widening of Ciaran's eyes made the blush on Dorothea's cheeks become all the more prominent.

"F-forget I did that." She said, quickly spinning around on the spot to look intently at a pair of black leather boots that were at least a full size too big for her feet.

The light pressure of a hand gently touching her shoulder made her jolt before turning around to look in to a pair of blue-green eyes filled with concern.

"Dorothea?" Ciaran asked, keeping his voice low so only she could hear him. "What's wrong?"

She didn't say anything instantly, trying to figure out what she could say to him. Instead, all she could come up with was, "Can we talk outside?"

"Of course." The young man replied, before turning to look at the teenage sales assistant. "I'll come and pick these up later, if that's all right."

After being told that it was, the pair quickly vacated the store with Dorothea leading the way until they emerged in to the busy mall proper. If she had had a mind to think about it, the Knight of Four would have found it funny that virtually of all these people had no idea that their city would have become a battleground.

But right now, her mind was on something else. Or rather, on someone else.

"Okay." Ciaran said calmly. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Dorothea repeated, giving a small scoff in reply, like he should have known the answer. "Haven't you seen how I've been acting around you over the past two days?"

"Aye, I have." Her young lover replied, slightly confused about where this was heading, "But I don't quite get what you're getting at."

"Ciaran, I have never acted like that around anyone before!" The Knight of Four replied, throwing her hands out to the side as she spoke. "I have never said any of the things that I have said to you in front of anyone, and yet you are making me say these things without even thinking about it!"

The slight widening of his eyes told her that Ciaran was surprised at what she had said, but the smile that came to his face offset that a bit.

"Dorothea, are you... are you worried about being... more open around me?"

Her eyes opened extremely wide and her jaw dropped open as his words hit home and the last segment clicked in to place! Is that what was happening? Was she becoming more open around her new lover?

Well, it did make sense, as she mulled over the thought in her head. As her lover, Dorothea did feel more safe around him, and not in a physical sense. With him close, she felt warm and secure enough to not feel the restraint that was placed on her by her rank as a noblewoman in Britannia. When she was around him, she felt... just like a normal woman.

But how could she explain that to him?

"In Britannia," She began. "It's hard for a woman such as myself to... act like a normal woman. We're constrained by all sorts of rules and etiquette. And for a woman who came from the common life, I'm expected to abide by those rules and etiquette. Even when I'm approached by a... by a complete pig of a nobleman."

That was one party she wanted to forget. Who even thinks drinking two bottles of vodka is acceptable behaviour anyway?

"But Nonette doesn't seem that fussed about the whole thing." Ciaran stated, admittedly quite confused by what she was leading to.

"Of course she wouldn't. She's Nonette Enneagram. She was born with the ability to ignore what people say about her. It's hard for people like me." Dorothea looked at Ciaran before an honest and happy smile came to her face. "But I think that's why I can open up around you."

Crossing his arms across his chest, the young man looked at the woman in front of him expectantly. "Oh really? How do you figure?"

Putting her hands behind her back, she leant back until she felt the solidness of a safety wall behind her before she spoke. "Because you're a lot like me. I've seen how you act around nobles, Cornelia and Guilford excluded, and I've seen that you don't really care for them. Around those of us that you do like, you treat us like friends. And more."

This earned a smile from Ciaran. "That's because you guys are my friends. Or... rather, more like a family to me. Except for you, of course."

The smile on the umber-skinned woman's face broadened at his words. "That is true. But there's also more."

"More?"

"Yes." Dorothea replied, nodding her head. "With you, I feel a connection. I don't think I can call it a 'soul-mate', but with you, I feel like... I don't know how to say it."

Stepping forward, Ciaran closed the distance with her, moving a hand to rest against her arm. "Try your best."

Taking a deep breath, Dorothea thought hard on what to say. "When I'm with you, I feel... that I'm not pressured to be or do anything around you. That we can just... be ourselves around each other, no matter where we are. Like... even if we were the last two people on Earth, I'd be content with that."

A low chuckle came from her throat as she realised what she'd just said.

"I'm sorry. I know this must all sound ludicrous to you, but that is how I feel about this whole thing. It's the only way I can describe it."

Looking directly ahead, Dorothea watched as Ciaran digested her words before nodding his head.

"No, I get it." He said, sounding like he had reached a quiet epiphany. "I mean, I'm a stranger to love myself, but, to be honest, all of those feelings you just described? I feel the same way."

Reaching up, he gently cupped her face in a soft touch, making her smile even as her cheeks reddened slightly.

"Don't feel ashamed to say how you feel. I know what it feels like, to have people force their opinions on you and telling you how to feel. It doesn't lead anywhere good."

"Is that why you got so worked up over those people in the park?" Dorothea asked.

"... Yes." Ciaran replied after a few seconds of hesitation. "I got... bullied a lot because of how... expressive I was with my feelings, especially in high school."

Dorothea instantly knew what he meant. She didn't doubt that Kitakyushu was the first time he had been brought to tears.

"But after I got away from there, I swore that I wouldn't let anyone else dictate how I could express my feelings, beyond reasonable limits of course. And I also swore that I would be able to enjoy a relationship, if I got one, with whoever I was with. And I won't let the fact that I'm here change that."

Looking at him, the Knight of Four saw that he was truly earnest in what he said, and she smiled as she felt the protective presence again.

"I don't doubt it for a second, Ciaran." She said as she moved her arms from behind her back to wrap around his neck. "Besides, I think I've figured out what I want while we're here."

"Oh?" An eyebrow arched in response. "And what's that?"

Moving a hand from behind his shoulders, Dorothea extended a finger before pushing it gently against the scarf that was around his neck in to his chest. "You... and me... just together. No shops, no bags, nothing. Just me and you, enjoying a day out together."

Ciaran looked at her in confusion before he smiled. "Aye. I think I can give you that."

Moving aside, the young man bent his arm at the elbow beside him, offering his arm to Dorothea, who happily placed her arm in the crook before the pair stepped off in sync towards the rest of the mall.

---

From their position seated on a bench discretely placed behind a bush not far from the shoe store (there's always at least one, either in a shopping mall, a park or anywhere really), Euphemia smiled as she heard what the couple said to each other before they walked away.

"And that," Nonette said as she leaned back in the seat, smiling as she turned to look at the girl beside her. "Is love. It's much more than two people sharing a kiss. It's people sharing their worries and concerns, but with surety that the other person will comfort them without expecting anything in return."

Looking at the older woman, Euphemia really couldn't help the look of surprise that came to her face. A look that the Knight of Nine did not take well.

"What? I know what love is!"

"No, that's not it!" Euphemia responded, holding up his hands defensively in front of her. "It's just... that was quite poetic."

This made Nonette shrug, her annoyance quickly forgotten. "Well, I have my moments. Come on, they're moving off, let's go."

Before she knew it, the Third Princess was suddenly yanked to her feet, earning a yelp from her at the sudden act as she was dragged on by the older woman.

"Okay, I think we've seen enough now." Euphemia said. "Can't we leave them be now?"

"No!" Nonette responded, sounding genuinely insulted by the question. "We've only just started."

Letting her head droop, the pink-haired girl resigned herself to continue to be complicit in Nonette's little adventure.

As she went along though, a thought played on her mind: why did she need to know what love was? She had no romantic feelings for Ciaran, none at all. To her, he was like an older brother, even if she knew, deep down, that she was only a substitute for the family he had lost, and he, a substitute for her own lost family. While those facts were well known to both of them, neither showed any hesitation in seeing each other as family.

Platonic love was what her teachers had called it.

So why did she want to know about romantic love?

She was sixteen years old and, as befitting the life of a royal princess, had led a sheltered life. That meant that she had not really grown up with any chance to really talk to anyone about the feelings she felt. In fact, she had never really been told about what her feelings actually were or even been told what they were. Such was having Cornelia as an elder sister.

It was just a learning experience, Euphemia told herself. She just wanted to be ready for when she found the person she did love, so she wouldn't be surprised and confused by her feelings.

That's all it was.

---

For the next hour, the rest of the day passed in a happy blur for Ciaran as he accompanied his new girlfriend through the mall. True to his word, they did not step in to a single shop, although they did spend a good deal of time looking in various shop windows. Admittedly though, he had nearly broken that rule twice, once at a store that sold wargaming figures and secondly at a pet store. That had taken a fair bit of strength on Dorothea's part to pull him away from entering.

"I'm sorry." He pleaded. "But I can't help it! When I see a puppy, I just... I just can't help myself."

The Knight of Four chuckled at his words. "It's all right. You've done well keeping to your word so far, so I'll let you off for that one. Besides, that Alsation pup was pretty cute."

Looking to his side, Ciaran smiled as he saw the happy blush that spread across the umber-skinned woman's face as the pair made their way towards what had to be the food court.

Even though the pair had spent almost three full hours on their feet, the young man was surprised that he didn't feel any serious pain in his feet from the constant movement. He should have been amazed, but he paid it no attention as he began chatting with Dorothea about their food plans.

"So what do you fancy for lunch?" He asked as they stopped below the stairs that split the food court in two, with the restaurants on their level while the small fast food vendors were a flight of steps above them.

"Well, I was thinking of maybe a simple sandwich, or maybe something-"

The sound of a loud crash above them cut off Dorothea mid-sentence as both she and the young man turned their head to look up the stairs.

"What was that?" Ciaran asked, as he took a step close towards the stairs, straining his ears to listen as best as he could to hear what was going on.

A loud cry of pain was all the pair needed to know what was happening.

"Up the stairs. Now." Dorothea stated, before the pair moved in to motion, another cry of pain coming to meet them.

The sounds of distress were getting louder as the pair raced up the staircase, Ciaran quickly taking the lead as the blood pumped through his ears as the source of the screams for help came more apparent.

"Hey! Come on, you filthy Eleven." The gruff voice of a man barely out of his teenage years sounded cruelly. "Come on, aren't you going to do anything?"

"Yeah, come on, say something." Another voice cut in, slightly higher in pitch than the first but just as cruel. "Say you're sorry, like all you Eleven fucks are."

Coming to a halt at the top of the stairs, Ciaran clenched his teeth as he sucked in lungs full of air. He could feel sweat dripping down the back of his neck and he definitely felt like he was getting close to overheating, even with the industrial strength air-conditioning that the mall had, but he paid none of that any mind. Because, no less than twenty yards in front of him, a group of three Britannian teens, probably only a few years younger than him, were standing around an old Japanese man, who had retreated in to a ball. From the looks of it, they had been beating the man for a while, although from the distance and the bodies surrounding the poor man, Ciaran couldn't tell if there was any blood.

"Ciaran, what's going on?" Dorothea said as she came up the stairs behind him, looking a lot less taxed by the quick ascent. The young man didn't need to turn around to see her reaction, especially if the angry intake of breath from behind his shoulder told him all he needed to know.

The Briton's fists clenched in anger at the sight of the teens laying in to the old man. He was certain that his vision was beginning to turn red from his anger, but a hand kindly but firmly placing itself on to his shoulder made his blood come off the boil as he turned to look at the woman behind him.

Dorothea was looking at him expectantly. "I know what you want to do. But you can't."

"But we can't just let them beat the poor man up!" He hissed out, although the Knight of Four didn't recoil from his anger.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't help him," She replied with a level voice. "I'm just saying: you can't do what I know you're thinking of doing."

That derailed any angry thought that Ciaran had as he arced an eyebrow at his partner. "How do you know what I'm thinking of doing?"

"Hey!" One of the teens shouted, jabbing his chin at the pair before he advanced towards them. "You got a problem over there?"

As the teen came towards him, Ciaran stole a glance past him at their chosen victim. The man, probably in his late sixties, was probably what could be considered the quintessential stereotype of an old Japanese person: short, with a balding head of white hair and tanned, wrinkled skin. Although the small pool of blood under his face made the young man's blood being to simmer again.

"You're not feeling sorry for this Eleven, are you?" The second teen sneered, planting a foot heavily on to the old man's back, forcing a low groan to come out of him.

Behind him, Dorothea spoke to Ciaran again. "Stay calm. Keep a level head. You don't any good if you get violent."

"Hey!" The first teen said, a scowl on his face as he came closer, showing Ciaran that he was indeed just out of teens: lanky, with poor patchy attempts at facial hair coupled with fair few bits of acne. "I'm talking to you."

"Yes, I heard you!" Ciaran snapped back. "You've had your 'fun'. Now why don't you be good little boys and go home? I think that you've probably got homework that needs to be done."

He took no small measure of delight in seeing the teens face change from one of contempt to angry surprise as he saw that the man wasn't going to back down. "Wha-what did you say?"

"I'm saying that you should go home before something bad happens." Ciaran replied coolly.

This remark earned a snide chuckle from the second of the group, an equally lanky teen, with the proportions of his arms and legs being akin to a gorilla's but with none of the muscles-mass. "Don't tell me you feel sorry for this Eleven?"

The Briton said nothing as he crossed his arms across his chest. "And if I am?"

A snort of derision came from the first teen. "Are you serious? He's a fucking Eleven! You know what Britannia says."

"Yes, I do know what Britannia says." Ciaran responded, uncrossing his arms and putting his hands against his hips. "And I don't agree with it. Taking a country by force and enforcing your own values and government on to them is enough to show someone that you've beaten them. But treating a conquered people's like shit? That's not showing strength. It's called being a bully."

A look of confusion came to the second teens face while the first one spoke up. "That's bullshit. The Emperor says that life is a struggle, where the strong devour the weak."

This earned an irritated scoff from the Briton. "Really? The man who lives in the single-most safest place in Britannia, with the Knights of the Round, palace guards and whatever else is in the capital to protect him? The man who I have never seen lead his soldiers from the front and yet commands them to wage war on whoever he wishes? That's not strength. That's called being pampered."

"Ciaran!" Dorothea called out in shock behind him before the young man quickly waved down her protest.

"I'm making a point here. I'm saying that it's bloody hypocritical for a man who has never had to struggle for anything in his life to preach that the strong should subjugate the weak. Having everything given to you is not strength. Strength is working for what you have, earning it through your own sweat and blood. Although I shouldn't really be surprised: all of you teenagers have your heads up your fucking arses."

"What did you say-?" The second teen said angrily before the third teen, who had spent the entire conversation looking very quizzically at the woman standing behind Ciaran, with the old man still at his feet suddenly spoke up.

"That's the Knight of Four!" The boy, a mix of both the second and first but a slightly thicker figure, said as he pointed at the umber-skinned woman with a mix of wonder and shock on his face. In response to the statement of fact, the pair of teens closer to her looked at Dorothea with the same reactions on their faces, one of them whispering out a quiet "holy crap" before they recovered from their shock.

"My Lady, you've heard what this... this man is saying." The first teen said, quickly correcting himself from swearing even more in front of a Knight of the Round. "He should be locked up."

"Or worse!" The second teen added.

Turning in his spot to face her, Ciaran was a little surprised to see the same sort of expression one would get when they had stepped in a pile of dog shit after being caught in the rain without an umbrella after missing the bus to work being directed at him. Her gaze quickly shifted to the side to look at the teens.

"I suggest that all three of you leave now." She commanded icily. "Now."

The look of shock on the teens face couldn't have been more of a delight to Ciaran if he could savour them if he wasn't so focused on the look on Dorothea's face.

"But My Lady-" The second teen began before being interrupted by the older woman.

"I know what the captain said, and I will deal with that in my own time." Okay, now he could take a bit of delight from the continued look of shock on the teens face as the umber-skinned knight continued speaking. "But I do agree with him that you three are nothing but vile, despicable bullies. Now; leave."

The three teens looked at each other in confusion, obviously unsure about course of action to take, before, with no small amount of grumbling, the three turned around and departed. The third teen, showing a little more class than the others, gave a small bow to Dorothea before he too departed.

Closing his eyes, Ciaran let out a steady breath. He swore in his head that he had been just within an inch of lunging forward and beating the closest teen himself if Dorothea hadn't been called in to interfere.

But looking back at her, the young man couldn't help but frown at the sad look that was directed at him on her face.

A pained groan from in front of them reminded both of the pair of what they had come up for as they saw the old man attempt to lift himself up from the floor. For a few seconds, the man managed to push himself up on to his feet, but as the old began teetering precariously, Ciaran and Dorothea both rushed forward to grab on to him before he fell over completely and hurt himself further.

"Hold on there, sir." The young man said as he took a gentle hold of the old man and carefully helped him stand upright. Being closer let Ciaran get a better look at his injuries. From a cursory glance, it merely seemed to be bruises and very small cuts. The man could have had more under his clothes but it was difficult to tell, but from the looks of it, the intent behind all of the injures had been to cause the man serious pain, not to kill him. Definitely a warning.

"How is he?" Dorothea asked, sounding genuinely concerned for the man.

"He's breathing, so that's a good thing." Ciaran replied before he addressed the old man. "Sir, can you hear me? Can you speak?"

A low grown came from the man before he spoke in halting English. "If... if you plan to hurt me... just do it."

Easing the man up, Ciaran let out an annoyed huff. "No, you don't understand. We're here to help."

Turning his head, the old man looked at the young man beside him in surprise, the look on his face deepening as he saw the umber-skinned Dorothea approach them with a walking stick that could only have presumed to have belonged to the old man.

"This isn't a joke?" He asked, wanting to believe what he himself had just said but still wary, not that Ciaran could blame him.

"No, sir. It's not." Dorothea replied warmly, shaking her head as she handed the man his walking stick, which the man took gingerly. "Do you know why those... those boys attacked you?"

Taking the walking stick in his hand, the elderly Japanese man set it against the ground before leaning himself against it. "Because they can. To them, us Numbers are like bugs beneath them. Eh, you must know how it is, right, missy?"

The old man beamed a forlorn smile at Dorothea who merely frowned in reply, although to Ciaran, it was just weird. He was pretty certain that the third teen from before had clearly said that she was the Knight of Four.

"Actually, sir-" He began before Dorothea cut him off.

"I'm from Barbados, not the African continent. But I understand what you mean." She said warmly, raising her voice just a little bit in volume, confirming Ciaran's suspicion that the old man must be hard of hearing.

"Oh, my apologies, miss. I hope I didn't offend." The man said sincerely. "But still: thank you for taking pity on an old man."

"It's no problem at all." Ciaran responded, ready to say something else before a high pitched voice called out.

"Ojichan!"

Turning around, the pair saw a young Japanese girl, probably no more than twelve or thirteen year of age, pushed her way through the crowd that surreptitiously formed around the group. No one, except the child made any attempt to get near the group.

"Ojichan!" The girl again cried out as she raced towards the old man, almost barrelling in to him as she clamped her arms around him and began talking quickly. Ciaran had absolutely no clue what was being said, but from the tone of the girl's voice and the small amount of tears in her eyes, she had been worried about her older relative.

For the moment, Ciaran wished that he could understand Japanese so that he could hear what was being said. Although the glare that was soon directed at him by the girl needed no translation.

Holding up his hands defensively, the young man began talking. "Now I know this looks bad, but believe me; I-"

"Shut up!" The girl suddenly barked, her English clear but heavily accented. "Beating on a defenceless old man. You Britannians are all alike."

"Rina!" The old man said scoldingly before turning to look at the pair. "I'm sorry for my granddaughter. She lost her parents in the invasion."

Snapping her head around, the girl began angrily talking to her grandfather who responded to her in a calm and even tone. This continued on for a few more seconds before, after some surprisingly forceful words from the old man, Rina quietened down, looking thoroughly chastised as she looked down at her shoes as he turned to look at Ciaran and Dorothea.

"I'm sorry for the trouble that I and my granddaughter have caused you. Goodbye to you both." The man bowed his head before turning to walk away from them, gently ordering Rina to follow him.

"Sayonara." Ciaran said, waving his hand forlornly as he watched the pair walk past the slowly thinning crowd before disappearing from sight. "Well that really made this day turn a complete one-eighty."

"Just a bit." Dorothea responded in a sad tone of voice. "But that's Britannia for you, I'm afraid."

The young man nodded his head before he turned to look at Dorothea and the sad look on her face.

"So we going to talk about all this?" He asked, sounding as morose as she looked.

In reply, the umber-skinned woman shook her head and, moving towards him, she hooked on her arms around his and intertwined their fingers together. "Yes, but not here. Let's get some lunch."

Nodding his head resignedly, Ciaran let himself be led away from the scene, leaving the few tiny drops of blood that had been spilt on the ground to be covered up the tramp of dozens of pairs of feet.

---

A minute or so earlier, leaning against a low wall in the upper part of the Mall, directly across from the small food court, Nonette looked on with no small amount of pride as she watched the three Britannian teens run off with their tales between their legs. She couldn't fully hear what had been said, but it was nice to see that neither Ciaran or Dorothea had raised their voice at all against them.

"You can look now, Euphie. They've gone." The Knight of Nine said to the girl beside her who had her hands covering her eyes in fright.

"Really?" Euphemia asked timidly. "Nothing bad has happened?"

"Yes, Euphie. Nothing bad has happened." Nonette replied with a small chuckle. Ever since the pair had caught sight of the couple approaching the scuffle, the young princess had refused to look at the resulting confrontation, in case the Briton had been forced to fight the teens. Thankfully, that had not been the outcome.

Now, looking at the scene as Ciaran and Dorothea moved to help the fourth man to his feet, Euphemia let out a sigh of relief at the sight. "Oh, thank God. Did you hear anything of what was said, Nonette?"

The woman shook her head. "Not really. Well, no, that's not really true. The stuff that I did hear though is not something I'd really say in front of someone like you, Euphie."

A small blush came to the Third Princess' face before she turned to watch the couple help the man on to his feet, which provided a shock to her. "That man's an Eleven!"

Squinting her eyes as she leant over the wall, which drew a small squeal of fright from Euphemia, Nonette focused as much as she could on the man that Ciaran was helping to stand up until she could see that, yes, the man was an elderly Eleven.

"Well I'll be." The champagne-haired woman said with a smile. "Looks like Darlton's rubbing off on the guy."

The broad smile on Nonette's face stayed put as she saw the pair seem to talk amicably with the old man. This was how it should be: Britannia had to help the people they conquered, instead of just continually beating them down. The woman's opinion wasn't really that well received among the members of Britannia's ruling elite, but when did that stop her from expressing them?

"Oh, that's nice to see." Euphemia said as she observed the scene, leaning down and folding her arms against the low wall, a serene smile on her face.

"You know," Nonette said suddenly. "You never said what you'll do for Area 11 when Cornelia leaves and you're made viceroy."

Turning her head suddenly, the young princess looked up at the older woman, chewing her bottom lip gently before she turned back to look at the scene in front of them.

"... I don't know yet." She said honestly. "But I think that I would like to have Ciaran on my staff."

"As a member of your personal guard?" Nonette asked, arcing a questioning eyebrow at the young girl. "Hasn't Nellie already said that she'd assign Darlton to be the head of your personal guard?"

Euphemia didn't say anything as she looked at the trio across from them. Her attention was suddenly piqued however as she spotted something or someone unseen parted the small crowd that had gathered around them, until...

"Oh! A young girl's just ran up to them." She said excitedly, making Nonette turn her attention back to Ciaran and Dorothea.

"Oh, that's a pretty picture." The champagne-haired woman said happily as she watched the Japanese girl rush forward and clamp her arms around her grandfather, shouting something in Japanese as she hugged her relative.

From where Nonette stood, it would have made a brilliant picture, silently damning herself for not bringing her camera with her. Although that feeling quickly fell away as she watched young girl turn her head to look at Ciaran before she began snapping at him in English.

"Oh no." Euphemia said dejectedly as she watched Ciaran and the old man try to clam down the angry young girl. It seemed only marginally successful as, after the grandfather calmed her down with a loud cry that reached even her ears, he began leading his relative away from the pair, leaving them in stunned silence. "I don't understand people sometime."

"What do you mean by that, Euphie?" Nonette asked, pushing herself back from the wall to stand beside the sad looking princess.

"Ciaran and Dorothea's actions were clearly nice. Even the old man was nice to them about their help, and yet that girl just... just yelled at them!"

Nonette gave a small smile, even as Euphemia raised her voice. She knew that it wasn't in anger, just plain confusion.

"I'm sorry, Euphie." The Knight said as she reached over and pulled the girl in to a hug. "That's how people are, I'm afraid. If they grow up knowing nothing but anger, then that's all they'll know for the rest of their lives. Even if they are shown some genuine kindness, they'll dismiss it as being part of an ulterior motive."

The Third Princess gave a truly dejected sigh, one that almost broke Nonette's heart at hearing.

"Humans are strange, aren't we?" Euphemia asked, making the Knight of Nine chuckle a bit.

"Euphemia, you are preaching to the choir." She said happily before she turned her head and watch Ciaran and Dorothea begin walking away together. "Come on, they're moving off. Let's go."

This earned another sigh from the young princess. "Do we have to keep following them, Nonette?"

"Just for a little while longer." The woman replied. "From what I saw, that last bit rattled them quite a bit and I want to make sure they're all right."

This revelation surprised Euphemia, but she didn't have a chance to say anything as the Knight of Nine made her way along the pathway and down the stairs to the next level down, to the area that held the various restaurants and cafés.

Nonette couldn't help the feline-esque smile that came to her face. 'No escape now, my pretties.' She thought to herself.

---

The myriad sounds of the café at lunchtime filled the air with a gentle murmur: waiting staff moving back and forth between taking orders and returning with trays of food and drinks, the clinking sound of cutlery hitting crockery and the blur of conversation filled the air. One side of the café was taken up by a large window, emblazoned with the eatery's name, that went from ceiling to floor and wall to wall, revealing the goings on of the inside to the world of passers-by outside.

Although at the table currently taken up by the Knight of Four and the Captain of Princess Cornelia's Royal Guard, the atmosphere around them couldn't have been more dead. Even though they had ordered their chosen food and drink in a friendly manner from the waiter and had taken their chosen meals in a like manner, a frosty silence had fallen between the two.

Watching her companion stab his fork in to a section of salad before he repeated the gesture with the lasagne in front of him, cutting a segment free which he then brought up to his mouth, Dorothea didn't really know how to broach the subject she wanted to say. But thinking back on it, directness had served well for her with Ciaran in the recent past.

"You know that I could have you reported for saying what you said about the Emperor, right?"

His mouth full of food, the only thing the Briton could do was to stare at her blankly as he chewed his food. Okay, so maybe she had to work on her timing a bit.

After a few seconds of chewing, Ciaran swallowed what was in his mouth before he spoke. "Why?"

"Why?" Dorothea repeated in confusion before lowering her voice. "You insulted the Emperor of Britannia!"

In response, the young man just shrugged. "He's sure as shit been called worse."

"But you're a member of the Royal Guard-"

"No, I'm a member of Cornelia's Royal Guard." He said, cutting the woman off mid-sentence. "My loyalty to her is much stronger than my loyalty to a man I've never met. It's a big difference."

This confused Dorothea quite a bit. "Wha-what's the difference? She's Emperor Charles' daughter. Why doesn't your loyalty extend to him as well?"

Ciaran shrugged in reply. "It's... complicated. Let's say that I... kind of owe Cornelia my life and leave it at that."

Dorothea blinked in confusion at the statement that she had just been told but from the look on the young man's face, she knew that she wouldn't be able to get an answer from him if she pushed him. It was a look she'd seen before, one her own face had held.

"Besides," Ciaran continued nonplussed. "Who'll know? Those pratts only know who you are, and they'll probably be too scared to try and say anything if they know that I'm with you."

"But how do you I won't say anything?" Dorothea asked earnestly.

A small but sincere smile came to her boyfriend's lips. "Because you're still here."

The Knight of Four's eyes opened wide in shock. That was not something she had expected him to reply with.

"That... that is true." She conceded begrudgingly, earning a cheeky smile from the man sitting across from her before he carried on eating his meal. In return, Dorothea ate her own meal in silence, not able to think of anything she could say.

The sounds of the knives and forks working away at their plates and their quiet chewing filled the small space they were both in before they had finished their meal. It didn't take long before one of the waitresses came and cleared away the dirty dishes, leaving the two alone.

"So..." Ciaran said, picking his glass of cola up and swilling the glass around like a person would with a brandy. "Barbados, eh?"

"Well... kind of." Dorothea replied, shrugging her shoulders a bit as she looked down at her glass. "My mother was a maid for a nobleman who lived in Barbados, but my father was a soldier, an officer, from the African Legion."

"Ah." The young man replied in an interested tone of voice. "The African Legion?"

"It's now the 280th West African Rifles." The woman replied, sounding quite pleased with the fact. "Admittedly... I got them their official title."

Across from her, the sound of a glass being put down gently on to the table surface reached her ears as Ciaran asked. "So you're father was a-"

"A Number, yes." She replied simply, nodding her head as she watched her fingers play against the rim of her own glass of cola. "Well... no, not back then. Back then, they didn't really fall under the Numbers system."

Looking up, Dorothea saw a look of confusion crease Ciaran's eyebrows as he looked at her.

"Never heard of the West Africa Trading Company?"

A shake of the head came as a reply.

"Well, long story short, the West Africa Trading Company used locals as labour and, eventually, soldiers to protect their assets against the European Union and other hostile African nations, which later became the African Legion."

"Ah, wow." Ciaran said in genuine delighted interest. "So... how did your father end up in Barbados from West Africa?"

"Funnily enough," Dorothea responded as a smile formed on her lips. "He was sent there to train to become an officer. Apparently he had distinguished himself quite well against the German and French offensives. And this was all before Knightmares became standard, remember."

"Now that's cool." Ciaran said in wonderment as he smiled. "Sounds like a man I'd like to meet."

Dorothea's eyes lowered to the table as her voice dropped and a wistful smile came to her face. "Yeah. I know what you mean."

Across from her the man didn't say anything, the sound being made the sound of him leaning forward in his chair. The sight and feeling of him taking one of her hands in a gentle grip made her look up at him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked sincerely.

Dorothea looked at the young man across from her as she scrutinised him: twenty-one years old, and he showed more emotional maturity than people his age. If she had to write a list of his qualities that she found herself drawn to, that would definitely be in the top ten.

Bringing her glass up, she took a quick drink to wet her suddenly dry throat before she spoke softly so that only he could hear but loud enough to be heard over the overall din.

"I think I was about four or five. It was the first time I had ever been on the Homeland." Dorothea said. "The... the nobleman, Sir Mark Aitchison Young, who my mother worked for had been invited to a party of one of his friends and he had decided to let my parents accompany him and his wife as their guests to the party. Obviously, I was too young to go with them, so I was left back at the nobleman's holiday residence."

Her vision became blurry as tears began forming, unwanted, in her eyes, but she persevered with the story.

"I don't know the full story since I was so young, but on their way back from the party, the car they were all... were all travelling in-" A tremor came to her voice but she fought through it. "-was coming back in the rain when... when..."

A quiet sob left her throat before she quickly clamped her hand over her mouth, not wanting to make a scene in public.

"Hey." Ciaran said soothingly, picking up his chair with the hand that wasn't still being held tight in Dorothea's and moved it to sit next to her before wrapping an arm protectively around her. "Do you want to stop?"

Hand still over her mouth, the Knight of Four nodded her head, managing to keep her sobbing under control. Beside her, Ciaran pulled her gently in to an awkward but heartfelt hug as he did his best to physically soothe her.

"I'm sorry for bringing this up." He said earnestly as he rubbed a hand against Dorothea's shoulder.

"No. No it's fine." The woman replied, shaking her head. "That sort of memory will make anyone cry. It's just... I've not told anyone that story for a while."

Beside her, her lover nodded his head in agreement, shifting his body slightly to avoid leaning against Dorothea before he leant forward and pressed a kiss against the top of her head. It was a small gesture, but one that made her feel so much more at ease.

"So I imagine that it's after all of that that you met Darlton?" He asked.

Dorothea nodded. "Yes. Since I lost my parents and neither of their parents were in a state to look after me, I was placed as a ward of the state. Surprisingly, orphans are treated quite well in Britannia. I got food, a bed and an education. But I never felt like I had any worth, like I was just drifting around the place. Even in an orphanage, it's hard for a half-black girl to fit in. So I wanted somewhere to belong."

Now a happy smile came to her face as the umber-skinned woman wiped away the last few tears in her eyes as she remembered that fateful day for her.

"That was until the orphanage I was in had a visitor." She said wistfully. "It was before the anniversary of the Empire's Founding, which is a major holiday in Britannia and it's territories." Dorothea explained for Ciaran's benefit. "Now normally, this is a day that many of the people of the Empire, especially the nobles to put forward their 'survival of the fittest' talk, but for others, it was a chance for them to... well, to be nice. A group of nobles and officers from the army had come around to hand out presents to the orphans and to give money to the orphanage."

Stopping momentarily to take a drink from her glass, Dorothea continued.

"I was about twelve when this happened. Normally, I'd have been doing some jobs around the orphanage, helping the sisters clean up or looking after the younger children. But this time, the sister superior had specifically told me to make sure that I was here for this event." A small snigger left her mouth. "I make it sound so big when it was really just about half a dozen men and women giving out presents with a small number of photographers around. I didn't really want to, but the sister insisted I go.

"So I went to the main hall and I stood to the side, not wanting to draw too much attention. As I was looking around the hall at the various people, I saw the sister superior talking to a tall man in an officer's uniform. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but from the way they were talking and looking over at me, I could see that the man was interested in me in some way."

The feeling of Ciaran's hand gripping tightly to the side of her arm surprised Dorothea, but it made her smile that anger was his first reaction. Reaching up, she rested her hand atop of his own, calming him down quickly. "Let me finish before you react."

"Sorry, love." The young man replied as Dorothea continued with her story.

"So the sister brings the officer over to where I'm standing, and introduces him as a good friend of hers. Obviously, I had to take her word for it so I introduced myself to the man politely. Instead of introducing himself, he asked me what I knew about my father, so I told him that the only thing I knew about him was that he was a soldier. That's when the officer told me that he had been the man who had put my father up for officer's training, and he had been trying to find me for some time, seven years in fact.

"I was stunned. This was a man, a soldier, an officer in fact, who had known my father and had come looking for me. But why he wanted to find me, I didn't really understand. So I asked him. He said, very simply, that he wanted to take me away, and to give me a home."

"Well that's great-"

"Ciaran!" Dorothea butt in on the young man's butting.

"Sorry."

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying; I asked the officer why he wanted to find me, and he said that he wanted to give me a home. Now obviously, I was thrilled about this news, as any orphan would be. But then he said that, when I turned sixteen, I'd have to join the army."

"I bet that was a bit of a sucker-punch." Ciaran said before he promptly shut his mouth.

Dorothea looked at him out the corner of her eye before she smiled softly. "That's one way of putting it. At that age, I wasn't really a scrawny child. Helping the sisters with their work and breaking up numerous fights had made me quite tough and, I won't lie, I had often times thought of going for the army. But to be told that I had to join when I turned sixteen surprised me. So I asked why, why did I have to join the army?

"He said that, while he could look after me, he wanted me to take my father's place. He said that he had chosen to put my father up for officer's training to show Britannia that people from West Africa were worthy of being their equals. Now that job was mine."

The umber-skinned woman let out a wistful sigh before she continued speaking.

"Now obviously, when you're that young, you really have no idea what you want to do with your life, and to do what this office suggested? It was staggering. But something about the way this man spoke to me, his voice, his conviction, it made me want to take him up on his word. So I did, and I haven't looked back since."

The young man with his arm around her was silent for a few seconds before he spoke up. "So was this before or after Darlton got his scar?"

A loud and light-hearted laugh came up from Dorothea's throat, drawing a few sideways glances from the people around her before they turned back to their business as the woman's laugh quickly simmered out.

"No, it was a good while before he got the scar." The umber-skinned woman said happily. "You'll have to ask him how he got it though, since I doubt anything I tell you will do the story justice."

At that, the Briton beside her gave an affirmative hum before he leant to the side, resting the side of his head against hers. Dorothea appreciated the gesture.

"Thank you for listening to what I said. I know it's a lot to take in." She said.

"Thank you for telling me." Ciaran responded, the smile on his face clear from his voice. "I know it must be hard to tell someone all of that."

Dorothea nodded her head before she moved to look at the man beside her. She found herself almost looking directly in to his eyes, her green orbs staring in to his blue-green. They seemed to be resonating kindness and warmth as they looked at one another.

Leaning forward, the Knight of Four gently pursed her lips as she moved in to kiss him, to repay the kindness that he had been showing her over the last few hours the only way that she currently knew how, and was able to in public. She felt herself closing the distance, feeling his breathing brush against her own skin, feeling the very tips of his facial hair brush against the skin above her lip...

The tinny sound of a mobile phone going off made Dorothea snap her head back as she gave a subdued groan in annoyance while Ciaran answered the phone. His annoyance at the interruption as he answered the call in annoyed tone.

"Forsyth here." That tone was instantly dropped however as he realised who he was speaking to. "Oh, Euphemia, it's you. What's up?"

The woman's head snapped back down to look at Ciaran as he talked on the phone. Even from where she was, she wasn't able to hear what was said.

"Euphemia, wait... wait... Euphemia, slow down. I can't understand a word of what you're saying. You're... you're sorry? Sorry for what?"

"What's going on, Ciaran?" Dorothea asked, leaning closer to try and figure out what was being said, to which the young man shook his head.

"I don't know. She's not really making sense." He replied before he turned his attention back to the phone. "Euphemia, I don't understand what you're saying. 'Look up'?"

"Look up?" Dorothea repeated, looking up from her view of the side of Ciaran's head, which meant that she ended up looking at the far wall of the restaurant. Then she realised that since the message on the phone was for Ciaran, then she'd have to look up from his viewpoint, so she turned her head.

Which made her eyes open wide in shock.

Tapping her boyfriend on the shoulder, Dorothea tried to get his attention. "Ciaran? I think that you should look up."

Raising his head, the young man began speaking. "I don't get it. Look up at wha..."

His voice trailed off as he saw what Dorothea saw: Euphemia, looking very red faced, and wearing glasses for some reason, as she held a phone to her ear, looking absolutely flustered, and beside her, stood Nonette Enneagram, who had the biggest and probably the single happiest smile plastered on her face as she waved happily at them.

"Oh, no..." Dorothea drawled out as she slumped down in to her chair.

This wouldn't end well. Especially if the thump from Ciaran's head hitting the surface of the table was any indication.

---

AN: 30 pages. This... got a bit out of hand. I will admit this readily: romance is not my forte in writing. Combat, people being killed, general violence: all that I can do well. This story is really becoming a leaning curve for me. I seriously wanted to try and stick to my limit of 24 pages per chapter, but as I kept writing and writing, the scene with Ciaran and Dorothea in the mall kept increasing in size. Admittedly though, the original plan contained a fair few more light-hearted moments: Ciaran and Dorothea interacting with some younger kids in the park who possessed some waterguns, before using said waterguns to get payback on Nonette.

However, that was not to be it seems. Ah well. For better or worse, this is what I came up.

On Dorothea explaining her past, I just really had no plan for that backstory apart from her being an orphan of an interracial relationship and ending up meeting Darlton. The West Africa Trading company, yes, is an allusion to the East India Trading Company. I know that native soldiers in the employ of the EIAC were the sepoys, but I couldn't think of what the name was for their regiments, or for African soldiers in the employ of the British Empire during that time period, so I just came up with African Legion. Although another historical joke: in the time period that the Code Geass universe takes place (our 1960s), the governor of Barbados was Mark Aitchison Young. ... yeah, it's not that funny a joke.

And the bit above with Ciaran explaining why Zero wouldn't attack the Palace is my attempt at a nod to one of the greatest British sitcoms of all time, Red Dwarf.

Onto to real life: I am employed now! Well, only for three months, and in a completely different city to where I actually live which means that I have to live with my sister, her fiancee and her maniac cat for three months. But I get paid! Whether this has any effect on my productivity, I cannot say.

Also, mrthischarmingman2 requires help. Now, from the start, this man has been one of the biggest supporters of Code Geass: A Brave New World. He has helped me develop ideas for this story by giving me suggestions and by having us bouncing ideas of each other, which is great in of itself. Then he went the extra step by starting a Code Geass fanon wiki page for Ciaran, which is amazing. THEN he went and suggest this story for a TVTropes fanfiction recommendation, which then resulted in there being a TVTropes page for this story! All by himself. A good and loyal fan.

Well, as you can imagine, doing this all by himself is hard and taxing. So, I humbly ask that, if there are any of my readers and followers out there with the inclination to help a fellow fan, please help him expand the fanon wiki and the TVTropes pages. It would mean a lot to him and also mean a hell of a lot to me too. Please.

So, to all of you have gone down this far, thank you for reading and if you decided to help expand the pages mentioned, thank you for that too. And to the rest I say the usual: read, enjoy and review. Until next time, good bye.

ETA: I remembered but this does need to be said: this is not a harem story. Dorothea is the only partner that Ciaran will have romantically.