Before the Storm
I really hope I don't fuck the Italian culture up. If I get anything wrong, tell me. I would prefer to go back and edit a chapter than spread misinformation. Be sure to read the first chapter, or this AU will make approximately 0 sense. The year is currently 1825, the day is May the 5th.
Lelouch carefully peeled the blood orange, pulling the orange skin off the red flesh before passing it to his sister, Nunnally. Her smile was infectious, and Lelouch couldn't help but grin as well when he leaned back in his seat and gazed out over Palermo- his city, he supposed.
He and Nunnally lived in what would have once been called the Norman Palace, a castle that loomed above the city of Palermo, a testament to the many conquerors who seized Sicily for their own. The Romans, the Arabs, the Normans, the Spanish, and now the Britannians. Lelouch knew full well that while he and Nunnally were liked by the Sicilian population, he was just one of many foreign rulers, just a few missteps away from his own War of the Vespers. Although he would be willing to fight to keep Sicily, he knew he couldn't guarantee Nunnally's safety if the people turned against him. That was the issue, he supposed. In danger in Sicily and in more danger in the Imperial Capital.
The two siblings were half Sicilian, and their mother was born and raised here, and while this won them cooperation from the Sicilian people, he knew that the Britannian nobility abhorred them for their Italian blood and their commoner mother. The Italians seemed to accept them more the Britannians, and he was very grateful to the people for that. He liked the people and he liked the city- its bustling markets and the rows upon rows of tiled roofs that hid so much history between and under them. He'd walk among the streets sometimes (with Jeremiah as an escort, of course. He was no fool.) and just talk to the people, a rugged, hearty folk who retained fairly optimistic despite the French looming, at their closest, just over 3 kilometres from their shores. Or perhaps they were simply assured they would survive the French if they came, the same way so many cultures influenced Sicily but never destroyed her. The Britannian administration certainly wouldn't be any different, especially considering how the only Britannians ruling the country were Lelouch and Jeremiah.
Lelouch also knew that he lived in something of a backwater, all things considered. Sicily was certainly a beautiful country, but Lelouch knew that its value to the Britannian government was an oversized dockyard that just happened to have oranges to fight scurvy. His siblings ruled in other parts of the Empire, in viceregal complexes from the Cape of Good Hope to Mexico City to Quebec. Odysseus was off in Brazil, courting the ex-Portuguese nobility, Cornelia was leading an expedition into Persia with hopes of seizing Tehran within the year, and Schneizel was the Emperor's right hand, managing a delicate political dance to keep the Emperor of All Russia and his cossacks from charging into Persia from the north.
Despite the lack of glamour his post held, Lelouch knew that his chance was coming: his chance to restore a proper place for himself in the Britannian court, and the safety that would mean for Nunnally. When the Emperor of French died, he hoped to harness the great movement sweeping through Italy, the Risorgimento, and secure all the resources of the peninsula, if that's what he needed to keep his sister safe from the vultures of the Imperial Britannian Court. Uniting all the Italians would just be a happy side effect of the process, and so he bided his time, receiving newspapers and reading the literary journals of influential thinkers all across Italy. The time would come, Lelouch was sure.
Lelouch realized the danger of his position when he saw his mother's blood dripping down the steps of the Aries Villa, and understood that no one would be there to support him but himself when he confronted his father. He supposed Gottwald was an exception, but he had no allies in the capital, and his mother's supporters, the Ashfords, were a shadow of their former power and influence, when they held sway of all Britannian trade east of India, from Malacca to China. All the Ashfords had now was Dejima, an island off the coast of far-flung Japan, where they managed a few warehouses and a school for the children of Britannian traders in the region. They had also recommended a house servant for them- a woman named Sayoko Shinozaki, who was so far from Britannia they were practically assured she wasn't an agent for some party who wished to end the legacy of the Commoner Empress once and for all.
He had been ruling, or at least helped in ruling, Sicily for the past year now, and it was as fair as a country as any. It practically ran itself, given all the rights and privileges it demanded from Britannia, complete with an actual, bona fide parliament that could check the monarch's power! Of course, that was a problem that could be solved with that proud Britannian strategy, bribery. With a council full of milquetoast pencil pushers running the day to day business of the country but getting out of his way when it came to anything important (not that he didn't check carefully to prevent graft. He may have tolerated corruption if it gave him the power he needed, but he was trying to run a political machine here!), like the army.
The Sicilian Army was in a poor state when he first came to power, not a professional military of the sort Britannia was so proud of or even the great mass of the French Grand Armee, but instead a mere peasant rabble armed with muskets and rifles who were enthusiastic, but no match for Emperor Bonaparte's armies who waited just across the Strait of Messina. His first objective was to reform the army, with help from Jeremiah, until it could hold its own.
Offering good pay and lunch every day for every man who enlisted, Jeremiah could scrape together a grand total of 3,000 men who were fit enough to fight in Palermo, after thousands of men died in the Army of the Holy Faith which attempted to restore the old King of the Two Sicilies. Lelouch had 3,000 men. Bonaparte commanded 685,000 at his height, Cornelia was leading a corps of 36,000 to crush the Shah of Persia, and Lelouch had 3,000 men. Winning against France in its current state with that many men was laughable, even if many soldiers were tied up garrisoning their conquests, and despite the fact they had lost many men in their recent campaigns.
At the very least, Sicily had a considerable fleet and merchant marine, more than enough to move his army around should the need ever arise.
"Tell me, Jeremiah, what do you think of the army?"
"They're certainly not the worst men I've ever trained, many of them seem to have experience with hunting, but shooting deer and shooting men are two different things."
"Well, we'll make the best of what we have." Lelouch was musing about how he could use his 3,000 men most efficiently, when he was informed of a visitor from the Britannian homeland. "To whom do I owe the pleasure?"
"I'm Earl Asplund, and I'd like to know if you would like to cooperate with me. I think our interests are aligned, in some ways." The woman behind him coughed. "…. your highness."
"Well, what do you have for me, Earl Asplund?"
With a rather bombastic gesture, he pulled out a bullet from one of his pockets, but unlike most it was not a simple ball of lead but instead an almost conical shape, with a hollow in the base.
"Quite an unusual bullet you've got there."
"Have you ever fired a rifle before, not a musket?"
"On occasion."
"You know that the main issue with rifles is loading them quickly?" Lelouch nodded, his brow quirked. "This little bullet expands when the powder blows behind it, allowing the rifling to spin the bullet without having to jam the bullet into the barrel."
"Remarkable. And you'll provide these bullets for me?"
"Of course!"
After employing the man for a while, Lelouch realized why he may have needed to come to Sicily to find gainful employment, because no one else seemed to have wanted him. In all honesty, the little bullets that he dubbed Asplund Balls were enough reason to keep the man around even if he didn't come up with much else of value., and more than enough to counteract his eccentricity His assistant, Mrs Croomy, was pleasant enough, but the poor woman was clearly running herself ragged trying to keep the man alive as he fiddled with his steam engines and chemicals.
With help from Lloyd they had begun primitive mass production of the Asplund Balls, and he was more than willing to share designs for the complex machinery which filled the factories of Britannia proper. Lelouch was very enthusiastic about the factories, but knew they'd take a while to pan out. That was fine though, Lelouch could wait.
Asplund also showed him plans for a sort of self driven rail-car that ran on rails of the type used in iron and steel mines, and a complex machine to process enough steel for those rails. Fortunately, Sicily was full of unlanded peasantry who were more than happy to get any work, including assisting Asplund's schemes, or mining sulfur to produce gunpowder. Changing times indeed.
As usual, Sayoko came every morning with bundles of newspapers, from printers as far flung as Paris to the Mantua and Parma Gazettes. Unfortunately they were frequently a few days old, but there was no way to get news of an event instantly. Or perhaps there was, he mused. He'd have to ask Asplund what he could do about the situation.
Unfolding one of the papers, he received some good news.
GREECE REVOLTS, FRANCE COMES TO HER AID
The Greeks have revolted and established the First Hellenic Republic in Athens, revolting against their Turkish overlords. The French Empire has joined the conflict as well, hoping to secure "the freedom of the smaller nations of the world". The Empire of the Danube also joined the war, in order to prevent further French encroachment into the Balkans. This seems to be the logical conclusion of months of skirmishing between French forces and the armies of the Danube and the Turks.
Reports are already coming in of small battles between the French Army of Italy and the Austrian Imperial army near Venice, and ships have already begun blockading north Italian ports.
Nunnally turned when she heard him opening the paper, and Lelouch read aloud for her, as Sayoko listened in. "What do you think of this, big brother?"
"I expect this war will be a long one, Nunnally. Without a talent like Napoleon at their head the war will likely stretch, which will give the Turks time to raise armies from their more far flung territories: Mesopotamia, Tripoli, Egypt."
Nunnally frowned. "I understand why everyone's fighting… but all this bloodshed seems so unfortunate."
Meanwhile, some 900 miles away, an aging Corsican breathes his last, having finally lost his struggle against stomach cancer. His son weeps, and starts making preparations for his father's affairs, knowing full well that everything he worked for might crumble.
BONAPARTE DEAD, DEADLOCK IN THE SENATE
Just days after the French joined the war of Greek Independence, Emperor Napoleon breathed his last on the 5th of May, 1825. He is survived by his son, Napoleon II, King of Rome, although the stance of the French Senate on who would succeed the Emperor.
More radicals elements called for an end to the monarchy altogether, while others called for Napoleon II or even an elected monarch to rule as Emperor. Reports of fighting in the streets of Paris and even a fistfight in the Senate are spreading, and this raises concerns about Marshal Murat's campaign in Greece. With turmoil at home, the Greek War of Independence may turn out in the Turk's favor.
Lelouch could scarcely believe it when he first read the papers. Napoleon was dead and France was already beginning to descend into chaos, and this paper is already several days old. He needed to start moving now. He shoved back his chair with a screech and called for Jeremiah.
Nunnally frowned. "What's the matter, big brother?"
"Emperor Napoleon is dead, and he has no designated successor."
"Does that mean civil war in France?"
"Most likely. I'll be working with Jeremiah to make sure Sicily's army is up to scratch."
"Your Highness-"
"Bonaparte is dead."
Jeremiah's eyes widened, but he remained composed. "What are your plans, your majesty?"
"We gather the army, prepare the ships, and wait for an opportunity. We cannot strike until Italy revolts, for fear of starting a full-fledged war between France and Britannia."
"And Italy will revolt?"
Lelouch grinned. "Napoleon's house of cards is caving in, Jeremiah. It's only a matter of time."
FLOREAL MASSACRE
Late on the night of the 21st of Floreal, a group of Parisians were protesting outside the Senate Building, calling for an end to the interregnum after the death of Emperor Napoleon and the immediate coronation of Napoleon II as Emperor. Soldiers stationed to defend the Senate attempted to pacify the crowds, but eventually a shot rang out and fighting began in earnest. No one can say who started the conflict for certain, but the blood flowing on the cobbles was undeniable.
Prince Napoleon and the radical Nouveaux Montagnards faction have both blamed each other for the outbreak of violence, and have both gathered armies. The country seems poised on the brink of civil war…
So it begins. I hope to hop back and forth between this and my other in progress fic. I hope that this fic is high up on the list of "Weird-ass AUs". The historical research is actually kind of interesting, all things considered. This is such an interesting time period even normally, much less in the Code Geass-verse. I expect very little if any Geass shenanigans. C.C. is probably out there, but I'm imagining she was betting on Napoleon being the one to put her out of misery.