A/N: Many people own Code Geass, but not me.
Round Two
Stage 29 - Troubled Times
Britannian Army Encampment
Port Said Outskirts, Area 16
October 7, 2017 a.t.b.
A knock on her door roused Cornelia from her rest. A subsequent glance at the clock revealed that someone had woken her in the middle of the night. This had better be good. If something wasn't on fire, someone would be soon.
She threw her uniform jacket on over the thin slip she'd worn to bed and slid into a matching pair of trousers. As per habit, she retrieved a pistol from her nightstand and strapped it to her leg so that it lay hidden beneath her jacket. The odds of an attempt on her life getting even so far as into the camp were marginal at best, but she would take no chances. She'd conquered this area only earlier this year; the lingering chaos did tend to let vermin slip through the cracks from time to time.
But when Cornelia at last opened her door, she found Guilford, her loyal knight, behind it awaiting her pleasure. He wouldn't drag her out of bed for nothing. "What's happened?"
"His Excellency the Prime Minister is asking for you." Guilford's thin smile silently apologised for being unable to tell someone so important to just file a proper report, submit a request for an audience, or try again later at a more reasonable hour. "He insisted."
Cornelia heaved an exasperated sigh. Whenever Schneizel insisted on a face-to-face conversation, he intended to convince someone of something unpleasant. Here and now, she could only imagine that he intended to get his politics all over her war.
It was thus a resigned Cornelia who made her way from the barracks to the tent serving as her makeshift office. Guilford stayed to guard the door when she entered. Within, she found her brother's aide, Earl Kanon Maldini, awaiting her arrival on a video call prepared for her. She gave the usual pleasantries a miss, which suited the quiet man well enough, and demanded to get on with things immediately. If Schneizel had the gall drag her out of bed only to make her hurry up and wait, she would remind him exactly why the Goddess of Victory was also known as the Witch of Britannia.
Borderline adequately soon enough, Schneizel appeared on the screen. Like Cornelia herself, he bore the violet eyes characteristic of the royal family. Only those closest to him would spot the signs of exhaustion reflected in them, and at this moment, she found the nonchalant mask he wore upon his handsome face particularly annoying as he smiled warmly and said, "Good evening, dear Sister." If he felt whatever he had to say was so urgent, he could at least have the decency to not pretend otherwise.
Cornelia had no such reservations. "Schneizel, it's hot, it's the middle of the night, and I've had a long march across the border. What do you want?" If her shortness caused any offence, he didn't show it.
"As you wish," he said. "Do you recall the Breisgau heiress?"
A snort escaped Cornelia, though she resisted pinching the bridge of her nose. She'd known the Breisgau family briefly through Marianne before they'd exiled themselves but had never met their daughter. Nonetheless, she said, "It would be hard to forget her." Lelouch and Kallen had developed an odd fondness for teasing the poor girl, enemy commander or no, during their escapades in Russia. If she didn't know better, she'd dare think they were children pulling on the pigtails of a girl they liked. "What does she have to do with anything?"
"Ah, so you've not heard the latest gossip, then?"
While Cornelia, knowing what their father had commanded of Lelouch, could give a good guess, she flatly stated, "I've been a bit busy." She had her own instructions, after all, to take the Levant, a very definite work in progress.
"Then permit me to bring you up to speed. Miss Breisgau's recent rise to prominence has allowed her to move freely through lofty circles to meet and greet various dignitaries. During the course of her world tour, officially, the Tianzi invited her into the Forbidden City."
"Officially?"
Schneizel first offered a soft but, for him, exasperated sigh in answer. "One of the High Eunuchs wished to collect her."
Knowing the High Eunuchs' reputation, Cornelia met the explanation with a disgusted scoff. It took a special brand of idiocy to attempt to make a sex slave of someone so famous with a well-documented itinerary who'd matched wits with Lelouch and managed to eke out a few genuine victories in the process.
"Quite," Schneizel said flatly. "As a result, she extended her stay to see justice done." Needless to say, had she not, the incident would have been quietly swept under the rug and forgotten. "In partial payment of the debt, she actually met the empress. Rumour has it the two have become fast friends since."
"Good for them," Cornelia said dismissively. "Your point?"
"I would ordinarily encourage such things as a step toward peace in our generation. However, their growing closeness has given the Tianzi a voice on the international stage that the High Eunuchs have so far otherwise denied her. Suffice it to say that this has been interfering with preexisting and highly sensitive negotiations I'd entered into with the eunuchs."
Cornelia arched her brow. "And this concerns me why?" Ideally, she would stay out of the power games Father, Schneizel, and Lelouch would end up playing with each other over this mess in the making. There were reasons why she'd decided to become a soldier instead of a politician.
"Because the situation in the east has become extraordinarily delicate," Schneizel replied. "The eunuchs are looking to save face and secure their grip on their country. While I do not expect a war with the Chinese Federation to develop, I do anticipate an indirect strike at us. And at the moment, Area Eleven is the softest target."
Indeed it was, wasn't it? Cornelia allowed herself a moment to breathe as Schneizel's explanation unfolded. She reminded herself that Euphie had Lelouch, Kallen, and Marrybell all in the area to support her. She didn't need her older sister rushing a reckless campaign through the Levant only to come in and step all over her toes. Cornelia wouldn't do that to her; she deserved more respect than that. It would certainly make for a poor belated birthday present.
But Guilford would soon find himself responsible for collating daily reports on the situation as it developed.
Setting that aside for now, Cornelia asked, "What is it you want of me? As I said, I've been busy. I don't see that changing in the foreseeable future."
"As it happens, that's all I would ask of you," Schneizel replied. Upon Cornelia's sceptical look, he elaborated upon his request. "Miss Breisgau represents European interests in the Federation, where she's proving to be as much of a firebrand as her parents once were. I would prefer you not overly commit to your campaign. With you on standby, the Hemicycle might hesitate to formally intercede."
So that was Schneizel's game here. "Have you run this by Father yet?" Cornelia asked. She had a feeling she knew what his answer would be.
And indeed, Schneizel said, "The emperor is unconcerned over the matter," with a rare but distinct note of irritation in his voice. "He feels that any brewing conflict in the east will sort itself out. Thus my request."
Cornelia folded her arms as she contemplated the matter. As he was missing a few key pieces of information, she couldn't blame Schneizel for misunderstanding the situation. Certainly, their father's reasonable fixation on actual real-life magic meant he wouldn't care for expanding Britannia's territory into the Chinese Federation. It controlled no geass ruins, after all. The nearest three fell within Siberia, Japan, and the Levant, each just outside their borders.
Better yet, if the EU chose to expend the resources necessary to place the Tianzi in full control of her empire, so much the better. Cornelia fully expected to see another attempt to retake the Britannian Isles (and the geass ruins therein) in her lifetime, the first since her great grandfather's disastrous expedition. While one could argue that a grateful Tianzi indebted to the EU would prove problematic, she also represented a potential single point of failure. A well-placed application of magic could keep the Federation out of the inevitable conflict. Moreover, their father had already tasked Lelouch with damage control.
So the question then became thus. Did Cornelia prefer short-term benefits, particularly ones for her beloved little sister, more than she valued nebulous long-term gains? Father preferred not to meddle in his generals' campaigns so long as they proceeded accordingly, as warfare lay outside his areas of expertise, so she could imagine a world in which she made either choice without consequence.
In the end, Cornelia knew that she made her decision primarily based upon what would cause the least trouble for Euphie.
"What precisely did you have in mind?"
Hinode Terminal
Port of Tokyo, Area 11
October 7, 2017 a.t.b.
Marika's time with the imperial navy had, up to this point, constituted her entire life's exposure to harbours, docks, piers, and the like. It'd all been very organised, bland but functional. Even knights of the realm serving in the marine corps rarely received the creature comforts afforded to them elsewhere in the military. Honestly, if she never saw a boat ever again in her life, she wouldn't feel as though she'd missed out on anything.
In contrast, this harbour felt more like an airport terminal with the wharf the analogous jet bridge. The area had been emptied and the perimeter secured, of course, for both the arriving royalty and the royals already present to greet them, but the terminal gave off the same feel. There were rows of seats for waiting passengers, customs for people not exempt from such things, counters for ticket checks, and everything else required for international travel. If the navy had been so accommodating, perhaps she wouldn't have been so eager to leave it.
Not that she wouldn't have anyway, obviously. What young woman in her right mind would turn down the opportunity to serve directly under the brilliant Countess Stadtfeld or the royals who'd had the good sense to welcome the woman, the myth, the legend into the family as a princess?
Speaking of whom, four princesses were currently present. Of her official charges, Nunnally was busy chatting with the viceroy, Princess Euphemia, and the recently re-ennobled Lady Milly, better known as the infamous president of the Ashford Academy student council. Laila, the late Prince Clovis's little sister and her other official charge, had splintered off from everyone else to sit alone and watch the waves in quiet contemplation.
Lastly, there was Princess Marrybell's group. She still had no idea what to make of this particular princess. As a general, she could find no fault. As the viceroy's right hand, she could only say the princess excelled. The only tangible concern she had was how much trust the princess placed in the natives. Granted, that seemed to be working out, but who knew how long that would last? Area Eleven had the highest terrorism rate of any of the colonies even now.
Regardless, with Princess Marrybell was Sir Suzaku, who, by this point, she had to acknowledge as a capable, talented, and loyal knight of honour. She'd heard enough about him and his past with his princess to at least trust that he meant well for his liege. Sometimes it seemed like he had a crush on Princess Marrybell – which, typical – if she'd read into their banter correctly. The poor boy. That obviously would never go anywhere.
Which, of course, brought her to Dame Oldrin Zevon, Princess Marrybell's other knight of honour. She'd only needed to watch those two interact for all of five seconds to realise they were lovers. State secrets would never pass their lips. Their public masks when out and about never cracked as far as she knew. But hide their feelings for one another? No matter how hard they tried to tone it down, their silent looks, little smiles, and brief touches gave them away. It was adorable. She hoped she and her own fiancé could be like that when she was older and ready for such things.
But that stark difference in mood drew her eye back to Laila still sitting all by herself. A gloomy aura hung about the princess, though everyone appeared either too caught up in their own conversations or content to leave well enough alone. For all she knew, that might be by request. On the other hand, friends looked out for each other. Her Imperial Highness Princess Laila might not be a fellow Valkyrie, but Luna Linette had become a good friend, as strange as that would have been to think only last year before Kallen had placed them at Ashford Academy. She ordinarily wouldn't have been nearly important enough to know anyone in the royal family.
Marika broke away from the other Valkyries after a quick word with Lily. To avoid drawing attention to herself or Laila, rather than cut through the crowd, she skulked the long way around the gathered royals and family friends. She especially gave her annoying older brother pulled from his normal post to oversee security today a wide berth just in case. Once there, she quietly sat herself in the seat beside her friend.
And now that she was here, she realised that she hadn't come up with a plan for what to say. She didn't even know what was on Laila's mind. She could guess, given the scenery beyond the glass just before them, but her brother's death was a wound that didn't need reopening. Probably. But then what did she talk about? Maybe this had been a bad idea.
After the silence had stretched on – it hadn't seemed to bother Laila at all – both she and Marika let out a small grunt. A pair of arms had snaked their way around their shoulders from behind to pull them back against their seats and then together against another form just about their size.
"Sis, you're bumming me out. Marika, stop overthinking things."
A moment passed before a smile forced itself onto Marika's face. When Laila chuckled, she couldn't help but laugh as well. Leave it to Nunnally to cut through the tension with a claymore.
"Now cheer up! I just heard Lelouch and Kallen are only a few minutes out now. We haven't gotten to see them in forever."
"It's only been a few months," Laila remarked. "That's about par for the course from what you've told me."
Nunnally released them both with a roll of her eyes. "Well, it feels like it's been years."
"Do you know how long they're staying?" With any luck, and Marika had her fingers crossed, Kallen would have some spare time for the Valkyries before her busy life swept her away on another grand adventure.
In an oddly graceful motion – in the manner of Princess Marrybell's nimble movements rather than Princess Euphemia's natural poise – Nunnally flipped herself over the row of chairs to sit beside her sister. "They promised to stay through to my birthday," she said, "though knowing those two, who can say. I know Father wants them to do something, but they don't tell me anything."
Marika suppressed her urge to squeal. Secret orders from the emperor himself! How much more exciting could things get? She dearly wished she would just grow up already so she could go with them.
"Maybe they're here to reopen the investigation into…" Although she trailed off, Marika and Nunnally both knew Laila meant her brother's drowning. While officially ruled an accident, rumours abounded. They both placed a supportive hand atop one of hers from which she drew strength.
In time, Marika said, "I doubt it. I'm sure they could, but it'd be a" – not waste – "misuse of their talents, don't you think? You'd want someone more suited to look into it."
"Like Sherlock Holmes," Nunnally suggested.
Marika rolled her eyes, but Laila let out a little amused snort, so she supposed it was a fine suggestion.
"Well, whatever they're to do," Laila began, "it's naught to do with the colony. Euphie and Marrybell have things as under control as anyone can reasonably expect."
On that note, Nunnally at last spotted the incoming ship out in the bay and announced it to the room. In the moments that followed, everyone slowly gathered into a single large group to welcome the happy couple back from their long honeymoon in the Pacific. Marika rejoined the other Valkyries and the four of them found a nice spot off to the side to let family have its turn first.
The royal yacht docked at the pier. Local security first melded with the guards pouring off the ship, forming a more cohesive protection team. Moving more freely about, Marika spotted several of the royal couple's loyal ninja slipping off the ship. There were several of the Shinozaki already present somewhere in the building, she knew, but for the life of her, she couldn't point to who or where.
Then at last came the pair all of them were here for. The newlyweds, still unable to keep their hands to themselves, disembarked over the gangway together and strolled slowly down the pier. Following immediately in their wake came Sir Gottwald and a young woman with green hair who Marika vaguely recalled seeing but not meeting at their wedding. No name came to mind. Who was she that she'd gone with them on their honeymoon?
Soon enough, the pair entered the building. Now that Marika could watch them up close, what she found wasn't what she'd thought she'd seen. Kallen clung to her husband, all right, but for support rather than for any romantic reason. Her stiff movements told a story all their own. What'd happened? Surely it couldn't just be all the, well, presumed sex, right?
Princess Euphemia stepped forward first with arms spread wide. She met the couple in a ginger hug and, in a weary tone, said, "I would ask how your honeymoon went, but Kallen, you look worse for the wear than me and Marrybell combined. What happened?"
The woman in question grimaced.
A sigh as weary as the viceroy sounded escaped Prince Lelouch. "Another time, Euphemia. Long story short, Kallen got shot. Twice."
Princess Euphemia gasped alongside several others. Nunnally broke ranks and ran to them with Laila trailing after at a more sedate pace. Those three helped Kallen to a seat to rest over her objections that she didn't need to be babied. It didn't help her case that she visibly breathed easier after even just a few moments off her feet.
Eventually, one of them asked the obvious question, although Marika missed exactly who. "Was anyone else hurt?"
"Shinobu had the worst of it," Prince Lelouch replied. "She'll live, but we're unsure if she'll ever return to field work."
Marika exchanged worried looks with her friends. What on Earth happened on, of all things, their honeymoon?
Against all advice to the contrary and an obviously resigned husband, Kallen got back to her feet. She declined a wheelchair and latched onto Prince Lelouch for support once more. All she wanted, according to her, was to get to wherever they would be staying for the night so she could sit and rest or lie down and go back to bed.
And so they departed.
Kōzuki Resistance HQ
Nakano Ghetto, Area 11
October 7, 2017 a.t.b.
Naoto sat at his office desk in solitary contemplation. His fingers idly tapped along the surface in sequence as he thought. Something had shifted. He couldn't put his finger on what precisely what in these turbulent times, but he knew something had changed. Something was in motion.
Viceroy Euphemia had become as polarising a figure on both sides as Marrybell the martyr, the traitor, the hostage, the cause of everything. Since their ascension to power, those two had radically altered colonial policy for, though few enough would admit it, the better: rooting out corruption, halting the cultural death of Japan, tapping the massive pool of skilled Japanese labour, relaxing restrictions on those without citizenship, rebuilding infrastructure, mending fences where they could, and generally running themselves ragged trying to clean up the mess they'd been given to govern.
It was hard to hate them. Ironically, that was a large part of why so many people did. After all, they wasted good money on numbers. After all, the Britannian oppressors had broken their stick trying to break the Japanese and now wanted to give the carrot a go. As more and more people chose to bow to them and cautiously apply for citizenship, some more sincerely than others, the divide grew ever starker. Everyone had an opinion, and everyone who didn't share it was wrong no matter their circumstances.
It all gave Naoto headaches, but he'd become inured to the bickering. That wasn't what had him worried. He just couldn't grasp hold of what had him on his toes. He'd put Minami on the job to see what their intelligence network could dig up, but feeling vaguely uneasy wasn't much to go off of.
But speaking of whom, a message from the man himself popped up on Naoto's phone. 'Your princess is moving to another castle,' it read.
Naoto chose not to dignify that with a response. His sister had let him know this morning that her honeymoon had finally come to an end. She would arrive in Japan today after cavorting across the Pacific for months with Lelouch, visiting beaches, sampling the exotic cuisine, riding the waves, and who knew what else.
He wasn't jealous.
At any rate, obviously, Kallen was fine. He'd had Minami send a few of their more discreet and trusted spies and informants to keep an eye on things in the harbour just in case some other resistance got it into their heads to attempt something incredibly stupid. He didn't think anyone would even have the prescience to try, but information leaks happened. Besides, there was always that nebulous, looming feeling that something big was about to happen hanging over his head.
Naoto himself had opted not to put in an appearance for the same reason. He didn't want to be away from the ghetto if he didn't have to be, at least not until tensions settled somewhat.
A quick knock came at the door. Ito, Naoto's secretary, opened it and ushered a girl of no immediate note Nunnally's age inside before closing the door behind her, leaving them alone. That was highly irregular. Oh gods, it's not actually Nunnally come to fetch me, is it? But no, the eyes were wrong, obviously Asian. The hime cut sparked a few vague memories, but it was her green irises that gave him a name. Beneath that innocent face and bright smile lay a preternatural gift for law and politics easily on par with Britannia's best.
Naoto hastily rose to his feet and greeted her. "Sumeragi-sama," he said in greeting and then bowed.
"There's no need for that, Kōzuki-sama," she returned with a cheeky grin. "My cousin and Marrybell are as close as siblings, and your sister has at last married her prince. We're practically family now, are we not?"
"I…suppose," Naoto allowed.
Sumeragi nodded as though she'd had to explain how to add one and one to a high schooler. "You should start coming to my NAC meetings with her. I'm sure she would love to see you more often."
Well, that certainly sounds like family drama. Naoto inwardly rolled his eyes. "I'll consider it."
Regardless of his lacklustre response, Sumeragi skipped over in her strange combination of miniskirt and an oddly westernised furisode to hop onto a chair. She sat on her knees, rested her forearms on the chair's back, and leant both it and herself forward until it bumped against his desk. "Unfortunately," she began, "that's not why I'm here. I've come as the bearer of bad news."
Naoto said nothing but grit his teeth. He had a bad feeling he was about to find out what had him so on edge.
"But first," Sumeragi continued, "I was never here, of course, and you didn't hear any of this from me."
"Naturally."
Sumeragi nodded, satisfied, and leaned back so she could kneel upright on her chair. "Do you know who Sawazaki Atsushi is?"
"As pertains to this conversation, the leader of the Japanese government-in-exile, I imagine." He'd fled to the Chinese Federation with a miscellaneous collection of government big shots. For what little it mattered anymore, he'd been the chief cabinet secretary of the Kururugi administration before the war.
Sumeragi hummed with a moue of disapproval. "How much do you remember of prewar politics in Japan?"
"A lot," Naoto replied. He'd majored in history and political science en route to the law degree he'd never had the time for, after all, something Sumeragi well knew even before their first meeting.
"So if I were to say that our dog has a new master…"
Most resistance cells in Japan had a principal financial backer lurking in the shadows known by the sobriquet Kyōto House, Kyōto for short. After his initial introduction to Sumeragi, it hadn't taken Naoto long to suss out its remaining members by association. The NAC, betrayers, collaborators with the Britannian regime, consisted of Japan's former industrialist plutocrats, the unofficial power behind the Chrysanthemum Throne and the Imperial Diet. They paid lip service by day to the colonial government and used their economic might and control over the sakuradite mines by night to foment revolution.
Kyōto had never officially approached Naoto. Given his background, his current more peaceable approach to resistance, and his independent patchwork government in the ghettos with the viceroy's tacit support, this did not surprise him. But Sumeragi liked him, and considering that she had the best claim to the throne, that counted for a lot all on its own.
This, of course, brought them back to Sawazaki. Naoto had never met the man. He had no control over the former cabinet secretary living comfortably over in the Chinese Federation. He didn't see what this had to do with him and said as much.
"Have you been following the recent Federation drama?"
Naoto shook his head. He was busy enough with domestic problems.
"Well, get this." Sumeragi leaned forward again and lowered her voice as if to gossip. "The Tianzi is misbehaving. She's been getting ideas, dangerous things, about who exactly is supposed to be running her country. It's her bad influences, you know. That Malcal girl." Despite her haughty harrumph, the smirk she freely wore gave away her real opinion.
"Anyway," she continued, "the High Eunuchs have gotten themselves into a bit of a bind. The Tianzi, Malcal, or both have some real dirt on them. It has something to do with Britannia, though I don't know what just yet. To regain control, they intend to make a big show of patriotism against Britannia. Guess when and where."
With a sinking feeling in his gut, Naoto tried, "Indochina?" The current Area Ten colony would likely be much easier to assault, 'liberate', and reincorporate back into the Federation. Cambodia, presently known as Area Thirteen, might be even better.
Sumeragi arched an eyebrow.
Naoto let out a frustrated grunt. It'd been a year ago now, but he'd just finished preventing Japan from getting caught in the crossfire between three superpowers. Sure, the EU couldn't join the fray nearly so easily now, but that didn't really make him feel much better about setting Japan on fire.
"The long and short of it," Sumeragi said, "is that the old men are panicking because Marrybell and Euphemia are nice. They know Sawazaki isn't his own man anymore, but they're willing to trade one oppressor for a maybe lesser one."
One might point out that Japan and China didn't have the best history together. Britannia, in contrast, didn't care about their Eleven population. Apathy had a certain benevolent quality to it. Naoto, however, didn't need to point this out to someone like Sumeragi.
"They're going to ruin everything!" That near whine really made Sumeragi sound her age for once. "We have a good bad thing going right now. We have a benevolent viceroy. Our people aren't being treated too much like dirt. Britannia is too busy with its own problems to bother with us. The ghettos are safer under you than they've ever been. The Duke of Tokyo is sympathetic. Our drug problem is under control. And don't think I haven't noticed your sister throwing money around. Sure, there's less support for rebellion, but if we play our cards right, autonomy wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility. Maybe even independence eventually."
Euphemia's unexpected ascension to the viceroyalty had changed things, Naoto's own plans included, but this confession still caught him off guard. "You'd be willing to accept that?"
"I'm willing to face reality," Sumeragi countered. "The Federation won't treat us any better. The JLF isn't going to win us our freedom even with its new toy. EU intervention isn't coming. The only people of consequence who really listen to me are you and Marrybell. I don't even have full control over my own family's assets. At this rate, by the time I attain my majority, our fighting spirit will be gone. What would you have me do?"
Naoto had no idea. Sumeragi had the unenviable position of being young, female, and very bright. His grimace was all the answer she needed.
Sumeragi slumped onto the table with a sigh. "Not that it matters. Years of progress undone all because a handful of eunuchs don't like that their empress is asserting herself. Why is it that the only people who want to help us and can are supposed to be our enemies?"
A silence stretched on between them, neither quite sure how to answer that.
"Well," Naoto began, scratching the back of his neck, "thanks for the heads up." He'd need to stockpile resources, fortify the shelters, prepare for refugees fleeing retribution in the settlements, reintroduce evacuation drills he'd not needed since Euphemia became viceroy, and a half-dozen other things that came to mind right away. "Is there anything in particular you wanted me to do?"
Sumeragi sat back upright. She flicked her long hair back behind her and then said, "Only that you might want to pay your sister a visit when she finally returns to Japan. I would tell Marrybell or Suzaku myself, but I can't risk this leak coming back to me. It was hard enough sneaking away to you."
"Do you need assistance getting back?"
"No, but it'd nevertheless be appreciated," Sumeragi replied. "My people won't really be my own until I come of age, so trust is in short supply."
"I assume, then, that you're not staying for tea?"
Sumeragi giggled, some of her usual cheer back in her. "Maybe next time."
Ashford Academy
Tokyo Settlement, Area 11
October 7, 2017 a.t.b.
They decided to stay at Ashford tonight out of habit, though Kallen expected that arrangement to only last so long. It did come with benefits. Nunnally and Milly still boarded at Ashford with Laila, and it'd be nice to catch up with the friends they had there. She could check in on the Valkyries as well. But Euphie desperately needed company at the Viceroy's Palace. To anyone who knew what to watch for, the poor girl looked like a cram student the night before entrance exams. Someone needed to help her relax or at least take some of the load off her shoulders. Marrybell seemed nearly as worn down, so it wouldn't be her.
When they finally made it to the front steps of the student council building, the de facto guest suite for visiting royals, it was near evening. To the surprise of only those who hadn't spent a day with C.C., pizza showed up just after they arrived for her dinner. She badgered the delivery boy when she discovered it hadn't come with a points card and wandered off only once she'd extracted a solemn vow to have one mailed to her. Kallen didn't say a word about the exchange. She had no idea what that had been about and didn't want to know. Maybe later she'd subtly remind C.C. that she hadn't put a hard limit on the line of credit she'd extended to her contractor.
The rest of the group ate together on the ballroom floor of the clubhouse, the only space in the building large enough to comfortably fit them all. They eschewed discussing the elephant in the room for the duration, opting instead to enjoy the night amongst friends and family instead.
Some time after they'd finished eating and shifted to idle chatter, Kallen spotted Nina timidly lurking in the shadows. She'd not come wearing her old school uniform, having graduated early at the end of last year, but a formal dress more in line with the day-to-day wear of nobility. She wore her hair loose instead of braided, had ditched her glasses for contacts at least for the night, and sported the lightest touch of makeup. All in all, Kallen almost hadn't recognised her.
Curious, Kallen quietly slipped away from the party with a word to Lelouch that she'd be fine on her own. And she was. Mostly. Damn, she hated getting shot. She supposed that went without saying, but still.
At any rate, she made her way over to where she'd last spotted Nina. It didn't take her long to find her quarry in the next room over. "Hey," she said. "It's been a while."
Nina nervously twirled a finger around a lock of hair and stared at the floor. "Hello, Kallen. I…" She breathed slowly in and then out. Her arms folded together and wrapped around her waist. "I should go."
If that was what Nina wanted, Kallen wouldn't stop her. "Would you mind helping me upstairs first?" But she might only need a bit of persuasion to get over whatever was keeping her from her friends.
Nina paused in her flight, confused. She turned halfway back to Kallen and seemed to try and fail to find a polite way to ask why on Earth Kallen of all people would need an escort.
"I got shot," Kallen confessed, drawing a worried gasp from Nina. It also nicely distracted the girl from whatever had her so anxious. Kallen grinned and added, "A thrilling conclusion to any honeymoon, wouldn't you say?"
"No," Nina said flatly. Nonetheless, she moved to shoulder some of Kallen's weight. As they made their way to a back staircase away from the party, she asked, "What happened?"
After a bit of thought, Kallen decided on a partial truth. "Just between you and me, adventure archaeology isn't all it's cracked up to be." She was quite sure without looking that the scientist beside her frowned in silent disapproval. As such, it was time for a change of topic. "What about you? I thought you'd be on the docks today." Honestly, the entire student council, past and present, could have come if they'd wanted. They were at the party right now, even. After the wedding, it hadn't been practical to try to hide who the Linettes were from them.
"Sorry. I didn't make it home before Marrybell left. I got caught up in my lab with…" In a smaller voice, Nina asked, "You know what I'm working on, right?"
Kallen nodded. "It's come up." And wasn't that something of an understatement? Doomsday devices weren't supposed to be real.
"It's hard balancing university and research and friends."
The conversation ended on that reasonable note while they climbed the stairs. Kallen swore under her breath as sharp sparks of pain shot through her whenever she moved wrong. Why didn't this building have a lift? Or rather why didn't it have one that went up? The service lift only went down into the tunnels below campus.
Eventually, they reached the summit, where Kallen privately vowed to stab V.V. a few more times the next opportunity she got. They rested there a few moments while she caught her breath. Only once she had did the pair proceed through the corridors to her usual bedroom. Thankfully, it wasn't too far off.
It was only after Kallen dropped herself onto her bed that she realised how exhausted she actually was. Even so, she wasn't quite ready to fall asleep just yet. She had a friend to sort out first.
"Can I ask what inspired you to dress up?"
Nina curled her hands into the folds of her dress. "It's strange, isn't it?"
With a shrug, Kallen replied, "Different is always strange. Doesn't mean it's bad."
"I guess. Euphie bought this for me last year. It still fits."
Kallen knew that she had absolutely no room to talk here, but she tried anyway. "Nina, I've spent enough time on the Internet to know there's a market for everyone."
That somehow got the smallest ghost of a smile out of Nina.
"Who did your makeup and hair, by the way? It's nice."
"Akane and Toto," Nina said. "I didn't do very well on my own," she admitted. "Um… Actually, I don't know if you've met them."
It'd taken a moment before Kallen had recognised the first name. Akane was Marrybell's lady's maid, if she recalled correctly. The other escaped her, however. "Not Toto, I don't think."
Nina quickly explained how Toto had packed up and followed Oldrin here from the homeland. She served her mistress as Akane did Marrybell. They got on very well and had known each other since childhood, and while it was always nice to find good help, Kallen could recognise a distraction when she saw one.
"It was nice of them to step up for you."
Although Nina quietly agreed, she didn't take the implied invitation to reveal whatever was going on in her head, so Kallen decided to be direct.
"Nina, what's bothering you?"
It took a good long while and sorely tested Kallen's patience to wait for an answer before Nina finally spoke. "Marrybell once told me I should get used to this sort of thing. That I'll end up titled someday."
"Probably," Kallen replied with a shrug after thinking about it. Big name scientists did tend to end up that way sooner or later. "But it's not so bad as you make it sound. Just stay out of politics, and no one will care what you do."
Nina shook her head. "Everything I do reflects on Euphie and Marrybell."
That had a grain of truth to it, though not nearly so much as Kallen suspected Nina thought. No social faux pas she committed could ever overshadow her work in physics. Perhaps some bluntness would do here.
"You could sleep with every noble woman's husband in the empire" – Kallen made note of Nina's odd flinch – "and those two wouldn't care how much trouble that caused them." After a moment, Kallen added, "Not that I'm recommending you do or anything. Just be yourself. Real friends are precious things for us."
If anything, that advice only made Nina appear more reticent.
Kallen heaved a small little sigh. She'd tried. She didn't have the energy right now to do more. So she bade Nina to go join the party downstairs and let everyone know that she was going to bed for the night. While Nina's response didn't particularly inspire confidence that she actually would, Kallen took it for what it was and, after she left, prepared for bed.
Be myself? I don't want to be myself. I'm such an idiot. And a coward. Why am I like this?
Nina berated herself as she stalked away from Kallen's bedroom. She wished she could stop those thoughts, but they kept coming, and that only fed into the problem in a positive feedback loop, and she knew that, and that knowledge only made it worse because they just. Wouldn't. Stop.
Despite how much she wished to, Nina forced herself not to press her hands into her skull. It wouldn't do to mess up her hair and ruin all of Akane and Toto's work to make her somewhat presentable. With nowhere better in mind, she retreated to the student council meeting room and found her old seat.
Being back here, Nina allowed herself to sink into her nostalgia. She didn't miss the crowds or the easy classes or the chaos of Ashford, but she missed spending time with her friends. Or at least she missed sitting quietly in a corner while everyone normal had fun and tried to make her feel welcome until they needed her to 'do science' and let her actually feel useful. She didn't know why they'd bothered to keep her around, but she appreciated it more than they knew.
Slowly, a little bit at a time as memories washed over her, Nina began to feel more like who she wanted to be instead of the broken girl she really was. No one but herself should have to deal with her mess anymore than they already had. Maybe someday, if she tried hard enough, she would fix herself and stop worrying everyone around her.
Sometime after Nina had begun contemplating making another attempt to get over herself and join the gathering downstairs, the door to the meeting room burst open. Marrybell and Oldrin stumbled into the room locked in a passionate embrace. The former eventually pushed the latter up against the table, whereupon they broke apart for breath.
Nina, once she got over her surprise, squeaked, "Excuse me!" and fled the room before either of them could say anything. If she were particularly lucky, then maybe neither of them had even noticed her presence. She shut the door behind her and left them to each other's company.
It took minutes for Nina's blush to fade back into her makeup as she wandered the corridors for someplace to calm down. The sight of two gorgeous women in the throes of passion was a hard image to banish from her mind, especially considering who'd been involved.
And as soon as Nina realised she'd begun fantasising, she abruptly sobered. This time she couldn't resist sliding her fingers into her hair and clamping down. The pressure on her skull felt nice. It gave her something to concentrate on, something other than yet another complication in her life that she didn't need.
Still, Marrybell had such lovely lips.
I'm such an idiot. Did she just have a thing for princesses? Or maybe she had a fetish for the unattainable. It couldn't just be that she took a fancy to everyone who showed her the slightest bit of kindness. She hadn't developed any particular interest in Milly or Shirley, after all. What was wrong with her?
Eventually, Nina ran into a nice, lovely column to bang her head against. Not literally at first, of course, but she did take advantage of it to lean forward into for something to rest against.
And there, Nina sighed. She needed someone to talk to, and she'd just turned down Kallen because she was an idiot and a coward. She couldn't talk about this sort of thing with Marrybell anymore, as much as she missed it, without feeling incredibly awkward. Euphie was right out. An inevitable slip of the tongue would leave her rejected, and Euphie would be so nice about it that she'd only like her more. Milly wouldn't do at all. Maybe she could try Shirley? They could pine for royalty together.
Or maybe not. If she were to be honest, she doubted she would have much more luck with Shirley than she'd had tonight with Kallen. Marrybell had needed to drag even the slightest admission out of her before she'd opened up at all.
Well, at any rate, at least the crowd downstairs seemed to be thinning out. Maybe she could insert herself into it without panicking this time. Maybe.
The night pressed on as Lelouch caught up with what he'd missed while he'd been away with Kallen. Marrybell had gone ahead and knighted Oldrin, which he heard from Suzaku since the two in question had disappeared together a little while ago. He could guess why. At any rate, he made a note to offer his congratulations later and would let them sort out what for on their own.
On another note, the fall term was going well for Nunnally so far. She shared an amusing anecdote, however, about nearly failing a government essay because she'd accidentally submitted an unsanitised version of how things actually worked. Alas, the perils of being royalty and seeing behind the curtain.
Later on, Euphemia took the opportunity to vent. Succeeding Clovis as viceroy, to no one's surprise, had turned into an all-consuming appointment. She'd barely had time to crack open a textbook since her ascension and bemoaned that she would end up a high school dropout if things didn't improve sooner rather than later.
Sympathetic, Lelouch promised her he'd lend her a helping hand while he was in Japan wherever she needed it. He'd just come off of a months-long vacation, after all. He didn't need rest and relaxation right now. But then Kallen had an appreciable backlog of work for her own earldom as well which she hadn't been able to delegate. Now that they were married, he supposed he should probably act as a responsible earl and prioritise helping her power through that.
Well, he'd make time in either case.
And speaking of time, Lelouch probably didn't have much left before Euphemia, Marrybell, Suzaku, and, he supposed, Oldrin departed for the night. If he wanted to update them on the real story of what he and Kallen had discovered on Kaminejima, sans Ragnarok, he'd best do it before they all went their separate ways. It might be some time before he could bring them all together again in person for a group question and answer session. Marrybell had already mentioned that she'd be out of town for Euphemia's birthday.
Despite how much Marrybell wanted to drag Oldrin off to bed right now, she reluctantly let Lelouch pull her into a meeting about a far less interesting form of magic. Not that this had stopped them from cuddling together on the settee, only that it involved more clothes than she'd wanted.
Anyway, Kallen had already fallen asleep, which checked out, so it'd just be the usuals tonight minus her plus Oldrin now. Her absence, however, didn't prevent Lelouch from utilising her geass by proxy to sweep the room for bugs (Milly's or otherwise). Apparently, it woke her under certain unspecified conditions which he could trigger. But as they had no word from her, either the room was clean or she was physically unable to tell them otherwise. They all naturally assumed the former.
Once they'd settled in, they turned their attention to Lelouch.
He began with a long frown. "We discovered a lot on Kaminejima," he said slowly. "A few secrets I'm sworn to keep. Others, I'll leave to the principal actor to reveal. The geass ruins the emperor wants are called Thought Elevators. We'll discuss those and how magic really works in a moment. First, Euphemia, Marrybell, let me tell you about our Uncle V.V.."
Everyone sat or stood a little straighter at that unexpected bombshell.
Tonight's gathering played out as a shockingly normal party for Milly Ashford sans her usual antics. Granted, it only involved personal acquaintances, friends, and family instead of the entire campus, but even small scale celebrations were known to devolve into chaos around her. Marika, however, had unwittingly stumbled upon a distressing number of swimming costumes in a closet. Had someone perhaps talked Milly down or were they a sign of things to come? Who knew?
Regardless, as the night passed, guests came and went at their pleasure. Kewell, the tosser, had tried to send Marika and her friends to bed as Ashford's curfew for her year came around. It wasn't even a school night! Thankfully, though, Nunnally and Laila had thrown their weight around to get him to back off.
It was around this time that Prince Lelouch and the viceroy disappeared with Sir Suzaku. Shortly after, Nunnally and Laila pulled Marika away from the Valkyries to follow after them, claiming a need for her assistance with something. They led her upstairs and pulled her out onto one of the balconies into the brisk autumn night.
Nunnally pointed to the adjacent balcony. "Can you make that jump quietly?"
While confused, Marika carefully examined the gap. Certainly, she could make it across without falling into the shrubbery below. Doing so without making noise when she landed, however, was another question entirely. She could probably disperse the weight of her impact well enough when it came to her feet, but she doubted the railing would cooperate so nicely with her hands. A few taps of the metal fence on her current balcony produced a lingering hum.
"Probably not," Marika mused as she contemplated an alternative solution. If she could climb up from below, that would be another story. It wouldn't be hard to silently loop one of Milly's light ropes around the railing's decorative features, though it'd take a few tries before they got lucky. And the structure should be able to hold her weight. "But I have another idea." She quickly explained, and they set out to retrieve a rope each to speed up the process with a few spares just in case.
It occurred to Marika that, despite it generally being wise to just accept whatever nonsense Milly or, in this case, Nunnally, her protégé, got up to, she should probably ask what their goal was. So she did.
"Weeeeell," Nunnally began, drawing the word out, "Those five, now six with Oldrin, are always having secret meetings they won't tell anyone about."
"Seven," Laila corrected. "I saw that C.C. girl barge in earlier."
Nodding, Nunnally continued, "Seven, then. They always find us out when we try to discover what they're doing. This time, we're going to try to plant a listening device after they start talking."
Marika wasn't sure this was a good idea in the slightest, but she had to admit to some curiosity herself. And it was two princesses asking for her help. If something went wrong, then she was just following orders. And while she was fairly certain Kallen hadn't placed her at Ashford to enable Nunnally's mischief, really, what other result could one expect?
So only a couple minutes later, the princesses set about trying to lasso the decorative elements across the gap. They weren't very good at it, and Marika didn't think she'd be much better, but it wasn't so far away that they really needed to be. After a few attempts, they managed to get one rope stuck and then tossed the other end down to Marika awaiting it on the ground.
She gave the rope a good yank first. It didn't yield under a moderate amount of pressure, so she cautiously tested her full weight next. It didn't give then either. Above, the princesses gave her a thumbs up, so she climbed to the balcony. The rope had anchored high enough that silently pulling herself over the railing hadn't been at all difficult.
Now came the next phase of the plan. Laila held the listening device tied between two pillows. If anyone screwed up on either end, it shouldn't ruin the operation unless they really botched the exchange. And indeed, the hand off went without issue. Marika secured the device against the balcony window and, after a quick equipment check on the princesses end, got another thumbs up. Now she just needed to escape.
Peering over the railing, Marika figured she could make the jump down. She only needed to avoid making too much noise. So after detaching the rope, she shimmied over the side and climbed down so she hung from her hands. She dropped the rest of the way, landing with a slight grunt.
Just as she got back to her feet, the princesses each grabbed one of Marika's hands and pulled her along in an expeditious retreat with the evidence of their presence there tucked away under their arms. The trio soon made it to the residence hall, where the princesses pulled Marika into the room they shared with implicit permission to listen in on a potentially classified conversation.
At last, they finally turned the receiver on.
"–construct a Thought Elevator of our own?" Princess Marrybell asked.
Princess Euphemia, in turn, said, "I'd think all the effort we've gone through to control them would preclude that possibility."
"Unless they can't be unmade," Prince Lelouch added. "It would be advantageous to seize the extant ones regardless if so."
A moment passed.
"What?" C.C. asked.
The silence that followed must have carried the conversation on nonverbally for a short while. In the meantime, Nunnally, Laila, and Marika took the opportunity to exchange odd looks of their own. None of them, clearly, had any idea what this conversation was about.
"Who would you have me ask?" came C.C.'s eventual rhetorical question.
Princess Marrybell quickly replied, "The first code bearer," like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Code bearers are islands apart from C's World," C.C. replied. "Collectives unto themselves. Only oblivion awaits them."
After a short delay, Dame Oldrin said, "Can I ask who built Stonehenge?"
C.C. rather simply replied, "No."
"I'd be interested in knowing why Akechi Mitsuhide turned on Oda Nobunaga," Sir Suzaku tried next.
"Geass, perhaps?" Princess Euphemia threw out in answer.
Prince Lelouch cleared his throat. "While history is fascinating, perhaps we should return to the matter at hand?"
There was a general murmur of reluctant agreement before they returned to discussing a bunch of nonsense about magic, Thought Elevators, and someone named V.V. who led an army of sorcerers.
The trio in the princesses' room left the receiver on but all turned to look at each other.
Nunnally spoke first. "Are they…having a book club meeting?"
That didn't sound right. "Wouldn't they have invited you?" Marika asked.
"Probably," Laila mumbled. A second later, her eyes widened. "They're roleplaying!"
Nunnally broke into a giggle fit.
"Like with dice and miniatures?" Marika hadn't heard the telltale sound of the former. Maybe the listening device she'd planted for the princesses lacked the sensitivity to pick that up? Or maybe they were playing paperless? Some of the marines she'd known during her time with the navy used to do that when they were off-duty. Then again, electronic dice were an option too. "I don't know," she said unsurely. She didn't think they were the type of people to hide hobbies or even be embarrassed by them. But then what else could they be doing? "I guess it makes sense, though."
For now, they settled in to listen to how the rest of the game played out.
A/N: Spoiler Alert *rolls eyes* but so begins the Invasion Arc of Round Two.
Next time: Stage 30 - Fireworks for Euphemia.
Behold! A shameless self-promotion! I have a Patrreon account under the username Forthwith if you want to support my writing in general.