"We're waiting on confirmation via official statement, but we have reason to believe Rickard no Britannia, 27th prince of the Empire has succumbed to injuries sustained in a terrible riding accident."
"Another one," Rivalz sighed as he glanced at the television in the student council room, saw the painted portrait of the late prince on the screen. Just twelve years old. "Are they really pretending it's just an 'accident'? Seven of the emperor's kids in a week and they're just accidents now?"
"Maybe it really was, though!" Shirley tried, a weak and fragile smile on her face. By the tone of her voice, even the optimistic girl couldn't believe her own words, no matter how much she wanted to. "I mean, we don't know–"
"Sweetie," Milly reached across the table, put her hand atop the redhead's and offered her a sympathetic smile. "We know." No matter how much the bright girl's fallen expression hurt, she had to know the truth of it all. They all did. "Every network that said they aren't accidents has a whole new staff, from producers to janitors. They're just trying to keep people calm for as long as they can."
"If we know it's all lies, why are we watching it?" Rivalz asked. "I mean... It's really depressing."
"Show some GUTS!" Milly demanded in answer. "Everything is going to get worse before it gets better and it could land on our doorstep." She glanced to Lelouch. He didn't look up from his notepad. Though he did nod slightly to the side as a response. "Area Eleven is too important of a resource for us to be left alone. This will all come to our shores eventually."
"Prez, you were like, you were part of all that stuff for a while, right?" Rivalz asked with the tact of a typical teenager, his anxiety not helping at all. "What are we supposed to do? You're saying all this will come to us but..."
"Stay informed," the former noble stated firmly. "That's why we have the news on. Even if it's not all true it's still information. We can all use that to make decisions that will keep us all safe. None of us are important enough to take notice of for the people who matter," she lied convincingly, "That will help. But we need to make sure we don't get into anything that might get us into undue danger."
"Right!" Shirley agreed enthusiastically. "That means no more gambling, Lulu!"
"Right," he agreed absently, "No gambling." It was hardly gambling if you couldn't lose after all. Not to mention there was no chance he would give up such opportunities. He had been using those activities to build capital from the beginning and now he needed more, and quickly. Plus moving in such vaguely high society circles with shady interests gave him more information than many puffed up nobles realised.
The conversation continued around him. Uneasy chatter as the television droned on in the background. Lelouch had already finished with his work for the afternoon which left him free to think and plot on his notepad in his personal shorthand.
First. The major players. The macro perspective. There remained four of them and with the benefit of time, Lelouch had gained an idea of what their general movements and aims were. At least their short to medium term objectives.
Cornelia. She was a threat ready to emerge over the horizon. He knew now without a shadow of a doubt, she would be coming to Area Eleven. The very first thing she had done after the emperor's funeral was return to the middle east and organise a coordinated retreat. It was a logical move from a strategic perspective. The Middle Eastern Federation were only half-conquered. The EU and the MEF would inevitably join forces to pressure her. By some accounts they already had. And so she had withdrawn her forces from the front line, then pulled back further and further until they were once again in Britannia-controlled territory. Area 10, the Indochina peninsula.
She was heading east. Strategically, at least for the sake of maintaining the empire's territory, she would be fortifying the borders of Area 10. A region likely to see attack from the MEF and the Chinese Federation. She was doing that, there was no question about that. But... Lelouch hated to call it a hunch but there was no better word for it. He didn't know whether it would be for the sake of fuelling her warmachine or for securing the source of that fuel for the rest of the empire, chasing off any other would-be conquerors from within or without. But the prince could feel it in his gut, his half sister was on her way. She was taking a long road, perhaps gathering supplies, or allies for her efforts. But eventually her forces would arrive.
Schneizel... Lelouch would not breathe a sigh of relief for Schneizel's activities, but he was certainly glad for the reprieve. Schneizel was entirely too busy with the homeland to concern himself with Area Eleven. With the Britannian court and particularly the capital in turmoil it was up to him to keep things under control, both for the empire and for himself. Putting a lid on a dangerous situation was a way for him to prove he brought stability, which would bring the weaker willed under his banner. Weak support was still support, and as one of Charles' most accomplished children he wasn't wanting for strong support either. Schneizel would be an issue eventually, but it seemed that eventuality was far in the future.
Guinevere was playing in dangerous waters. Her endgame... Lelouch couldn't see it, but having been away from reliable intelligence on the affairs in the homeland that was hardly surprising. It would seem she was positioning herself against Schneizel but that would be a dangerous, maybe even foolish path. Based on who he knew her to be when she was younger, she wouldn't be above such foolishness. Then again, Lelouch himself expected he and Schneizel would be at odds one day. Though not without adequate preparation.
But above all of them, even Cornelia, the most immediate threat was the Chinese Federation. In terms of forces he would put Cornelia first. In terms of strategy, Schneizel. But the Chinese were completely unhindered. They could act as they chose with little fear of rival hindrances. They would be fools to pass up the chance to take a weakened Area Eleven. It wouldn't be immediate, but Lelouch was secure in his belief that of his many enemies, they would be the first to strike. However, he had one saving grace. Much like Cornelia, the Chinese Federation would take time to mobilise their forces. Weakened and potentially separated from the empire or not, Area Eleven was still a state belonging to unquestionably the most powerful military in the world. A faction of that military remained present. And even more, it would receive support if threatened by a non-Britannian faction. Letting the sakuradite supplies fall into any other nation's hands would be disastrous. Unacceptable.
"In brighter news, the Knight of Six, Sir Anya Alstreim arrived in Area Eleven today to a hero's welcome! The youngest knight among the Knights of the Round, Sir Alstreim is a popular figure among young girls everywhere! An inspiration to those who wish to achieve greatness like she has!"
It seemed that support was already coming. He watched as the young girl received that 'hero's welcome' with a dour and unmoving expression. She didn't seem to enjoy or particularly care about the adulation laid upon her in the slightest.
More troops, more knights. And one of the best knightmare pilots in the world. This was... For the region, it was good. The Knights of the Round were taking securing Japan seriously. For Lelouch and Nunnally? It was neutral. At least in the short term. More Britannian forces weren't a threat to them. The Round answered to the emperor. Without him they answered to the empire and to a lesser extent, potential heirs. Were they to be discovered by the Knight of Six, she would work for their safety. And as it was uncertain if Clovis himself would see them as requiring removal, discovery would not be a worst case scenario. It would change his plans, but not put an end to them.
That all being the case, the priority was simple. He could continue to monitor the macro scale, ensure he wouldn't be taken by complete surprise on that front. But for the time being he could focus a vast majority of his attention on Japan itself. Put some of his plans into motion. For the moment, there were no fires to put out. He had time to gather what support he could, expand that support via subversion and inspiration, build himself a foundation. All the while, he needed to discreetly insert himself into the goings on of Clovis' administration.
... One of those objectives was much more difficult than the others. But not at all impossible.
"Lelouch?"
"Yes?" he answered Milly, once again not looking up from his notes.
"Everyone's gone."
He nodded slightly. "I know."
He also heard her exasperated sigh, the angry scraping of the chair next to him, and the rustle of her clothing as she reached out and forcibly tilted his chin up and right so he would look at her. "I'm worried about you, you know?" she reminded him, her expression concerned. "I know you, Lelouch. Well enough to know when your genius brain is working a mile a minute. And I get it. This... A lot's going to happen and you and Nunnally are going to be caught up in it."
Yes. There weren't many people who knew him as well as Milly Ashford did. If he were lax, if he allowed himself to be truly distracted in her presence, she would be able to see right through him.
Which was precisely why he allowed himself to become distracted.
"You know you can talk to me, right?" the beautiful blonde asked. "You don't have to keep it all bottled up. I know things are going to get complicated but I'm still here to help. Grandfather too."
"I know, Milly," he assured her with an apologetic smile. "Thank you. And I'm sorry, but I think I'll need to take you up on that."
The excitement and enthusiasm was clear. She saw his asking for help as a victory. "You've got it. Just name it!"
She really was that sort of girl who devoted herself to others. It was why he knew this would be acceptable as a part of his long-term aims. "I'm going to reveal myself." He didn't give her time for any shocked retort. "I always intended to, one day. A life of obscurity, I could never stomach it. Not when Charles was still breathing. Not while the ones who murdered Mother and hurt Nunnally still roamed free." His lip curled into something halfway between smile and sneer. "Only one of those is still relevant. But with that bastard's death I have the chance to do more. With him gone, someone else takes his place. That person has the chance to reshape Britannia. I want to remake it. I can think of no more fitting vengeance against him than purging this cesspit of an empire of his poisonous ideology! I'll make a world where Nunnally can always smile!"
His zeal had perhaps gotten the best of him for a moment. He didn't know when he had stood, nor when he had raised a clenched fist in front of him. Even so, Milly looked up at him with a smile before she too stood. "All that talk about vengeance, I thought I might not have known you as well as I thought I did." Her eyes held a gentleness in their gaze. "A world where Nunnally can always smile, huh? Yeah, that sounds more like the Lulu I know. But you still haven't said what you need from me."
"What I need... Is the complete support of the Ashfords."
His zeal hadn't brought her up short, but that request certainly had. "Complete? You... Lulu, that's a lot to ask! For what you want to do, I don't even know how much that would help you with how diminished my family is! We're pretty much coasting on being old money and running the Ashford Foundation! We run education services! And..." She stalled, looked away. "And even if it was worth it for you, that's enough they wouldn't do it without asking for something in return. You know what they would want."
"The Ashford Foundation offer education services, that's true," Lelouch agreed. "This academy, other lesser schools, correspondence courses. But that isn't it, is it? The Ashfords also rose to greatness on the back of knightmare frame development, didn't they?"
"Yes, but we had to–!"
"Give all that up when my mother died, when you lost support at court. You don't develop knightmares anymore. All you have is the Ganymede. But..." He smirked. "The Ashfords run education services, like you said. And that aspect was never touched. Your family have always been the experts in the methods to train pilots."
"You want... Simulators?" Milly asked, her face scrunched up in confusion. "To train... You want to recruit an army?" she asked quietly, in surprise.
"Broadly speaking, I want people I can trust to some extent. I can't find that in the forces of the viceroyalty, or of the homeland. So I need to build it myself." He shook his head. She didn't need to know more details of his plans, so it was time to deflect her attention. "And as for what your family would ask for, well," he smiled, moved closer, laid a hand on the small of her back, "That's no sacrifice at all." He didn't change the timbre of his voice, he didn't pitch himself down. There was no need. Even if he didn't care to employ it until now, he would have been a fool to not notice the effect he could have on the fairer sex. He was, after all, a prince. With manners, comportment, grace and care for his appearance that such a position would require.
Milly, having known him so long and having grown up in the same circles, was bound to be less affected by such things. But less affected was not unaffected, as evidenced by her blush at the sudden contact. It was gratifying to see the boisterous and flirtatious young woman so struck by him. He wondered if anyone had ever put her in this position before. The implacable Milly Ashford.
And then within about two and a half seconds, she was right back to herself, pushing him away and into the table with an imperious frown. But it was a nice bit of turnabout while it lasted.
"I can't believe you, Lulu! Playing with a maiden's heart like that!" the Ashford heiress huffed, even as the blush remained on her face. "And that line. 'That's no sacrifice at all.' I won't be an onerous burden on you, just what every girl wants to hear from her future husband! For shame, Lulu! For shame!" Though the words sounded like a rejection, her pushing close to him again, her legs standing between his, her chest pressed against his, it was very clearly not a rejection. "We'll need to work on that. It'll be hard to gather consorts if you don't know how to say the right things."
... Right. That was the way of things if he wanted to become Emperor, wasn't it? Though since he intended to tear down Britannian customs there was no reason to–
The blonde vixen had clearly seen his hesitation by how she grabbed his chin. Forced him to face her directly. Then, she leaned down and captured his first kiss. If Lelouch had ever entertained the idea of seducing Milly rather than the other way around, this shattered those delusions. But he couldn't deny, this was just as good. Their lips parted with a pleasant sigh from the older girl and a fluttering of her eyelashes. "Yes. Gathering consorts. I understand not wanting to be like Charles. But I know you aren't dumb enough to throw away the strategic potential of unlimited marriage alliances. Besides," she added with a heavy-lidded look as she traced patterns on his chest, "I wouldn't mind having a few playmates join us in the bedroom. Or just to keep me company when you're busy." Her eyebrows suddenly shot up and her grin widened. "Feels like you wouldn't mind either."
"You're right," he admitted. Both for him liking the idea and for not wanting to throw away such a useful tool. And any woman who tied herself to him that closely would go down with him should he fail. It near guaranteed a certain level of loyalty. Something that would only become a more valuable commodity the further he went. He cleared his throat to cover a grunt of appreciation, Milly's other hand had at some point found its way between his legs. Her soft fingers stroked gently over the protrusion of his erection under his clothes. He'd seen Shirley on the receiving end of this sort of treatment a time or two. He never considered he'd be in for it too. "Nothing fazes you at all, does it?"
"That's not true at all," she denied him even as her fingers ghosted over his hardness. "There's plenty that does. That's why I won't ask more about what your plans are. I trust you. And I know you meant every word of what you said. Why you're doing this. But if you need a little help, just say the word. Like, say, if you wanted to get yourself trapped in a compromising position with Shirley?"
"I, uh, that's maybe a little more than I'd–"
"Oh, really?" the persistent girl asked with a false pout, feeling the twitch of his manhood that put doubt to his protests. "She's so nice though. So accommodating. And her breasts are so soft and squeezable. It's like your fingers just sink into them." Suddenly, the warmth of her hand disappeared. Milly smiled as she stepped back and quickly grabbed her bag. "Well, let me know if you change your mind!"
She left him then. The latch of the door clicking shut behind her with an absurd sense of finality and regret. The cast off prince stared at that door, through it to the girl he knew was laughing to herself on the other side. The Chinese Federation. The EU. His many siblings. Resistance cells. No. None of them. He knew in his soul it would be Milly Ashford who would one day be the death of him.
-(-)-
A/N: And... That's the first of my newer stories caught up! Sorry! This was the most recent and as such has the fewest chapters by quite a margin. More is coming though, promise.
