Turn 16.2: Combattere per Amore
Of all the things to be doing with my time, before things escalate again?
This...was not as planned.
But then, when is anything, that has to do with that woman?
I sigh, seated in seiza, wearing only tabi, black sweats, and a white muscle shirt.
This fight between CC and myself has gone on long enough. One way or another, I will clear the air between us.
Even with my eyes closed, I still hear stocking clad feet entering the exercise room I'm waiting in.
"Alright Lelouch, what do you want?"
I take a deep breath, centering myself. Do not fall into anger, it is past the time when it would be called for.
"If you're going to apologize, I'm waiting," she says with a flat tone, tapping her foot.
Apologize? Really? Oh CC, my green haired temptress, let's see the measure of your steel, shall we?
"I am willing to apologize, perhaps for losing my temper. That was unbecoming of me. But as to striking you?"
I open my eyes, greeting her with an intense and icy gaze.
"You know damn well you deserved it."
A raised eyebrow is her response. Time to throw down the gauntlet, then.
"So if it's satisfaction you're after? There is only one answer I have to give, you sanctimonious, uptight bitch."
I stand up, turning around to take two shinai from the wall, then turning back towards her.
"CC, I challenge you to a duel," I intone with a rumbling growl, as I point a blade at her.
Oh yessss, that expression right now is beautiful. Incredulity, outrage, giving way to eagerness flavored with bloodlust and a touch of madness. Absolutely magnificent.
"Really? You're joking, right?"
I shake my head slowly, keeping the blade pointed at her smirking face.
Her agate eyes close... and then she starts laughing.
"Oh ho ho ho ho ho!"
A vicious, cutting laugh, a sound that would send most men running for the hills.
But me? It only inflames my desire.
"Ho ho ho ho! You truly are unique among all my contractors! Not one of them ever acted like this toward me!"
Her smile widens, lips drawing back to bare pearly whites with a hungry look as she rears back her hand and slaps me.
"I accept."
"Then choose your weapon. Though, you may want to change your attire, perhaps?" I say, giving a once over at what she's wearing. Boy shorts, T-shirt, stockings.
She looks down, shrugging and tossing the stockings aside. "This is fine. As for my weapon?"
I have a variety of practice weapons on the wall. Ashford has a decent collection, though aside from the fencing rapiers, most of them don't ever get much use beyond theatrical props. A shame, that.
A sound alerts me that her choice is made as I watch her draw two items from the wall.
A buckler and short sword? Is that a gladius? No, wrong design. Dirk? No, too big. Ah, arming sword, that's the name.
"My best style of combat is with these," she says, doing a few forms and movements. A quick style, designed for fast attacks, and finding holes in defenses.
She moves with grace and poise. How long has it been since she last practiced? How many battlefields has she seen? This is a soldier's style, a killing art for the battleground.
Why do I feel like I've seen this somewhere though...?
"Call me crazy—"
"I already did."
I smile at that quip. It's hard to remember I was mad at her, even now.
"—But something about that sword style strikes me as familiar."
She stops moving, turning around with a salute, blade and shield crossed across her chest.
"It should. It's the same one your mother uses."
...I do a double take after processing that. What the fuck...?
The look she has now is a cutting one. A smile edged with the knowledge that someone has just stepped into deep shit.
"I'm over 600 years old, little man. How much of that time do you think was spent on the battlefield? The fighting style that Marianne vi Britannia used is one that I created for myself. She was my finest student and the only one of my pupils ever to surpass me."
...Okay then, pretty sure my jaw just went through the floor with THAT revelation. Guess this means I'm screwed...wait. I start chuckling as the upside to this occurs to me.
"So, I don't have to hold back at all? You're just as eager to fight me as I am you?" Oh, my devilish witch, do you think I fell for you because you're a good person? Well, you are, for the most part. A better one than you give yourself credit for. But that isn't the whole story.
It's because you are not only kind, but also ruthless. Because you understand the weight of the crown I bear. Because you were lonely and you needed an anchor for your madness, even as I do. Because no matter how much you might not want to admit it, we complete each other.
And Mara help me, I want to have this out with you this way. To let all our storm and fury out in one single, glorious fight. So that afterwards, when the swords drop... that I can forgive you and unchain my heart that loves you so.
Her eyes sparkle as she nods, taking up a stance. "Yes, leave nothing back. Give me your all, everything that burns within that demon's heart of yours. Show me the fury of a king, Lelouch vi Britannia."
I take a deep breath as I assume a basic guard stance, blades held at my midsection. I know that I am likely to lose this, given our relative experience levels. It's going to hurt, and the rest of the harem and Black Knights will no doubt think I am insane for doing this. Well, maybe not Jeremiah or Tohdoh. Jerry would throw his hands up into the air and walk away. Tohdoh might offer to referee, in the interest of fairness, but largely as a pro-forma function.
This is a duel between swordsmen and swordswomen. And to step into this world is to accept the consequences of getting hurt, of fighting someone beyond you.
We may only be using practice blades, but I was taught by my original master to treat even being struck by practice blades as being hit by the real thing. Take even practice seriously, and you will instill the proper caution for live steel.
"Before we start, we need the appropriate background for this."
I walk over to my laptop which is linked to the stereo in the corner, tapping through my playlist.
"Really? You are absolutely obsessed with music," CC says with a long-suffering sigh.
I raise a middle finger behind my back at her as I finally spy something worth using. Perfect.
I tap a key and then move back to a dueling stance. "Tell me, CC, do you know who Motörhead is?"
The witch gives me a foul look as she taps her foot impatiently, "Another one of your weird bands, no doubt."
I give a Cheshire Cat grin worthy of Milly as the blasting guitar of Lemmy Kilmister starts roaring in the background.
"Like your taste in music is any better!" I yell as I slice horizontally at her torso.
"You know you can't be hurt
You gotta believe in your star
They'll always treat you like dirt
They can only push you so far"
She yelps in surprise as I connect, retaliating with a shield bash to my face, causing me to stumble back.
"Typical man! Thinking he knows better than everyone else around him!" she yells at me, moving to press the attack.
"They can't take it away
If you've got something to say
They might try and fence you in
But you've only gotta live to win"
Shit! She really is fucking fast! I stab forward, catching her in the solar plexus, allowing me to step backward, circling for an opening.
"I don't know better than everyone. Just 90% of humanity. And I'm sick of your uptight, smug cunt attitude."
I lead with a high strike, following with an uppercut, the first is caught on her shield, the second parried with her blade, leaving me open to a strike on my forearm. Ow! Fucking bitch!
"I know it's hard, a natural drag
It's a hassle to fight
If you don't wanna be a slag
If you believe you're right"
"I am not smug! I've just seen this played out enough times to be bored with it!"
I parry her low strike, moving backwards, looking for an opening.
"What makes you think I'm comparable to all the others you've contracted with?!"
Aha! I stab forward, hitting her in the breast, causing her to gasp in surprise.
"You asshole! You're just another conqueror trying to appease his own massive ego! And how dare you hit me there!"
"They've got the power now
But soon it's our hour now
We all know where we've been
We all been living to win"
I move my head to the side, narrowly dodging her counter-stab, slashing across her ribs. I shouldn't be winning this. She's sloppy because she's angry. Once she starts taking this seriously, I'm fucked.
"You know damn well I'm not just another conqueror! I have reasons for this beyond my own ego, even if that is part of it! I'm doing this for Nunnally, for Suzaku, for Kallen, for Millicent, and FOR YOU!"
I do an overhead strike that she catches on her shield, driving her backwards enough for the two of us to reset our stances.
"For me? And what do you think I want, boy?" she hisses at me as she pulls her shield arm back, sword moving slowly to rest pointed at the ground on her other side.
Yep, she mad. NOW she's going to fight seriously. I brace myself, eyes focused, waiting for her rushdown to start.
"You mustn't shout it out loud
Don't create a scene
Don't indulge in being proud
It only feeds their scheme"
"You arrogant little bastard...WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH?!"
I flinch at the tone of her voice, barely managing to block her high strike, attempting to counter with my other blade, only to have her bat it aside with her shield.
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT LONELINESS?! ABOUT STARVATION?! ABOUT THE TERROR OF BEING A WOMAN IN THE DARK AGES?!"
Despite her fury, her attacks have none of the mistakes of earlier. This is the real CC. The one she keeps guarded most of the time. The true level of skill that made her my mother's teacher.
I block a stab, parrying it desperately, looking for an opening—ARGH!
I gasp for air, eyes wide in shock and pain at the shot to the balls I just took.
"Don't you dare to try to lecture me about morality until you've been through even a tenth of what I have, Lelouch vi Britannia!"
I grit my teeth in fury, letting the pain and adrenaline take over.
"GRAHHHH!"
I go into a berserk state, attacking wildly, trying to push her back. This really isn't a good idea. But right now...
I JUST WANT TO HIT SOMETHING.
I snarl, bashing her shield arm repeatedly, trying to force her to counterattack.
"I'll lecture you any damn time I please! Because I know you're better than that! I know that you're worthy of the power of Geass, the power of Kings, yourself! YOU THINK I WOULD RESPECT YOU AS AN EQUAL AND MY PARTNER IF YOU WEREN'T WORTHY OF STANDING BY MY SIDE?!" I roar at her as I strike a double overhead blow, knocking her shield aside.
"Break down the wall
Live it up, it's their time to fall
Anarchy is coming in
Cause you know we live to win"
I twist my body to deliver the winning stroke and take the victory—!
She steps inside my guard suddenly, clocking me under the chin with her shield, sword hilt bashing into my solar plexus as she pushes both her arms to the side, knocking my arms away and leaving me open to her assault.
She grins viciously as she strikes my face with the flat of her sword, shield bashing aside my meager attempts to recover.
I'm absolutely outclassed. She's better than even Tohdoh, honestly. Part of it is her experience, yes. But her style is a work of art. Defense and offense merged as one. Shield and sword acting in both capacities.
She shoulder-checks me, bowling us both over, jumping onto top of me, stabbing downward into the ground next to my head.
We're both panting for breath, but I can only stare in awe at her. That was...absolutely breathtaking.
CC's chest rises under her shirt, bruises forming on her face and other places.
"I win, boy. Did you learn your lesson?"
I close my eyes in satisfaction, feeling the edge of anger finally drain away completely.
"Yes. Your victory was spectacular. Well done, CC, my witch."
She looks at me with malevolent but confused eyes. Seems her rage is not mollified yet.
"I'm sorry for hitting you. It was unbecoming of me."
My witch blinks, and then drops her blade and shield on the ground, straddling me with tears in her eyes.
"How...how are you so kind? I have done terrible things, things that no man could ever forgive me for. And yet...you still look at me with such love in your eyes...?"
I touch her cheek gently, feeling my heart ache at her flinching.
"Do you think because I was angry at you, that I ever stopped loving you?"
"You...you don't know what you do to me. You did something unspeakably cruel, you know."
I raise an eyebrow at her.
She holds my cheeks, tears dropping onto my face, "You were cruel enough to give me hope..."
I brush the tears from her cheeks, shaking my head.
"It is an impossible dream, yes. But...?"
I sit up, holding her in my arms, feeling my body ache in various places.
"To overthrow an empire is already something undreamed of in this world. To succeed where destiny decreed I must fall in another life... Are these not things deemed beyond a man's ability?"
I stare into her eyes, understanding now what she's feeling. She's terrified, looking for something to latch onto. Her heart is coming back, after so many years locked away in numbness.
"CC, I love you. And for that love, I will give you the thing you truly want most of all."
She turns away with a hurt look, "My death..."
I gently pull her face back to me, kissing her softly, lips touching with heartache, longing and grief.
"No. To free you of your curse so that you can live happily again with someone you love. But more than that? To give you the desire you deny to yourself."
Her eyes widen at my confident tone.
"What you want, my dear CC," I whisper to her ear, "is to rule."
She falls back in surprise, her face more open than I've ever seen it.
"To stand astride an empire with the person you love by your side, that is what your true heart's desire was. What your Geass tried, and failed, to give you."
I stand, helping her to her feet, as she looks numbly at me.
"None of those you contracted with understood this. This one essential piece of your personality. And over time, your heart being broken and betrayed made you wish to end it all, culminating in your death wish, and finally helping my parents with the sword of—"
I pause as she slaps me across the face, her hand shaking.
"You bastard..." she hisses almost silently, shivering.
I lift her chin, now more sure than ever that I finally understand this woman.
"But am I wrong?"
She clutches onto me, shaking her head.
"I do not ask for a contract. I do not demand your allegiance."
I dip her in a dance move, holding her with my arm, "What I want, is a Queen worthy of ruling beside the King of Hell. Whether it be the Black Knights, the World, or whatever lies beyond."
The flushed cheeks on her face and lovely visage before demands I go on. That I lay everything bare before her, this woman who rules my heart.
"I will give an engagement for your hand, and with it, I will offer you a crown to place upon your verdant locks."
My emerald vixen is smiling at me. The world feels as thought a great weight has been lifted from it.
"I knew you were different. I didn't mean what I said earlier..."
She bats my chest playfully, shaking her shining viridian locks as her soul bares itself to me.
"But that you think you can see into my heart, tell me what I really want, to be arrogant enough to offer me the role of your Queen, oh Demon King?"
She kisses me in a sudden movement, my surprise at it overtaken swiftly by my being overwhelmed by the passion and reciprocating in turn.
"How could you ever think I would say no?" she says with a breathy moan, her golden orbs meeting my amethyst ones.
"Then, my Witch Queen of Hell, let set this world right, together," I proclaim, lifting her hands up and kissing them across the red knuckles gently.
"Yes, Your Majesty, my Fiancé."
The kiss that follows is not one of hunger, of lust or even adrenaline.
It is love. Pure and complete, nonjudgmental. Two souls open and sharing in each other's pains.
"How do you feel about going out tonight, honey?"
She smiles slyly at me, "I pick the restaurant, dear."
I laugh, stroking her hair, "Of course. I was thinking of going to see Il barbiere di Siviglia at the opera tonight."
She pecks my cheek, then starts sashaying out of the room, making sure my eyes are locked on her. "It's a date."
I sit back after she leaves, taking a breath and stock of my various injuries.
Busted lip, bruises, maybe a black eye? Too soon to tell on that one. No broken ribs, maybe a bruised one. Balls really REALLY hurt from that cheap shot, but that's to be expected.
I take a deep sip of water, wincing at the slight ache in my side. Oh, that's going to be fuuuuun to explain later.
I'll need to tell everyone to lay off CC, in case they didn't get the message. The only person who can call her up short is me. A Queen only answers to her King, after all.
We are sitting together in the private box at the opera. The show moments from starting.
While CC could just relax and completely heal from all the injuries she endured, I was forced to use some stage makeup and a wig to hide my bruises along with shades.
Still, it doesn't detract much from the white tuxedo outfit. However?
It pales in comparison to her flaxen strapless gown. Sadly, for the sake of concealing herself, she is wearing a white wig. Striking, but not the verdant green of her normal,regrettably.
The audience starts clapping as the performer steps onto the stage, a representation of Seville, Spain.
"Ecco, ridente in cielo
spunta la bella aurora,
e tu non sorgi ancora
e puoi dormir cosi'?"
My lips quirk upward as I spot her silently following along with the lines, speaking them sotto voce. Figures she would know Italian.
"Sorgi, mia dolce speme,
vieni, bell'idol mio;
rendi men crudo, oh Dio,
lo stral che mi feri'."
I blink behind my shades as I feel a hand grasping mine. She gives me a cheeky expression and gestures with her eyes to return my attention to the opera.
Who am I to refuse a lady? And it truly is a magnificent operatic performance.
After a meal at a lovely Italian cafe with a very high reputation on Town Crier, the premiere website for finding places in cities, we stroll along the Boardwalk, enjoying the late evening, holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes.
Magnifica, mi bella.
I turn on my phone idly to check my messages, having switched it off most of the day.
Uh oh...20 messages?! Ohgi, Milly, Kallen, NUNNALLY?!
I turn to CC and show the alerts to her.
"Why didn't you..?"
I slap my forehead in frustration, "Because I shut my phone off during the opera because I didn't want to be interrupted. I forgot to turn it back on again, goddammit!"
I tap the touchpad furiously trying to find out what the hell is going on.
[BIG BROTHER! WHERE ARE YOU!? TURN ON THE NEWS RIGHT NOW!]
News?
I wordlessly go to Hi-TV News' website wondering what the fuck happened that put everyone in a panic.
Royal press conference?! I click the link, dreading whatever this newest bullshit is.
"Everyone, I, Princess Euphemia li Britannia, Third Princess of the Empire, and Sub-Viceroy of Area 11, would like to announce the creation of the Special Administrative Zone of Japan!"
...Goddammit, Euphie.
End of Turn.
