Track #12: Kiss Me
Sixpence None the Richer
It is the most awaited festival in the small humble country of Britannia. Folks and natives put on their best and most colorful clothes and dresses in celebration of the princess's 18th birthday, also known as the "Heart's Day". Decorations and flowers fill the sidewalks for the parade that will be held later. A group of musicians joyfully play their instruments in one corner surrounded by dancing young lads and lasses whose youthful instincts are carried away by the excitement for the upcoming game. The girls whose hairs are sporting the same braided style just like how the princess always wears hers parade their new dresses while the boys stare longingly at them. Children and their mothers hold purple and green flags, fathers and sons wear their best boots. In the midst of it all, infront of the palace's balcony that is open to the public, the most anticipated event of the day is taking place.
"Good day everyone!" Milly, the chosen announcer of the day, greets the large audience that has gathered on the grounds. "Welcome to the most awaited and most exciting event that all of us has been preparing for!" The crowd loudly cheers. "Today, we will witness seven knights and princes fight for honor, show bravery and portray excellent skills in order to win our beloved princess's heart!" On cue, Milly gestures to the beautiful lady sitting in the middle whose throne is in between the king and queen's. Dressed in an elegant blue dress, her silky emerald hair is curled and bundled up in a pink ribbon with a few strands framing her small face. Her lips are donned with pink hue as pink as her rosy cheeks. Earrings of silver and crystals hang from her ears while a necklace with a butterfly pendant lies delicately on her collar bones. One could say that the princess is the prettiest girl in the country and no one will object, not even the other royal ladies who are pretty themselves. But the feature that has been mesmerizing and enchanting everyone, even the citizens of other kingdoms, are her bright, strikingly clear golden eyes.
The princess gives a small smile and wave to the boisterous public.
"Now, let me introduce to you the participants of the game. From the kingdom of Cardemonde, Prince Rivalz!" A lad with dark blue hair awkwardly steps forward. "Next is Prince Suzaku from the Kururugi Empire! We also have a knight from the Bismarck Kingdom, Sir Gino Weinberg!" The crowd gladly cheers for each boy, with some of them coming from their neighboring countries. "Sir Rolo from the Geass Order, Duke Lloyd from the Asplund Kingdom." Milly continues to enumerate the rest of the participants until she announces the name of the last one. "And last but not the least, Prince Lelouch from the Lamperouge Imperial Family!" Clearing her throat, Milly silences the crowd. "We have so many royalties from another kingdom participating in the event. Let us all give them our warmest welcome and make them feel at home. But why would these handsome nobles sail the rivers and climb the mountains to join us in this event? What would be the grand prize that made them cross the boundaries to step foot in our humble country? Well, ladies and gentlemen, the grand prize aside from being the princess's prince for a week is…" Milly signals for a drum roll as the audience hold their breaths for the revelation. Some whisper their guesses and speculations. When she is satisfied with the buzzing energy that she had created, Milly reveals, "Princess C.C.'s first kiss!"
A collective "Aaaaaawww" and "Ooooooohhhh" comes from the audience. For who wouldn't want to be the beautiful princess's first kiss? In the small but rich country of Britannia, it is a tradition to celebrate the 18th birthday of its princess with a tournament participated by royalties from foreign lands. And each time, the winner will receive a personal prize from the reigning princess herself. Preceding princesses had rewarded books, hairpins, ribbons, jewellery and a few other things they treasured to the victor.
There will be three stages for the game. The first stage will test their creativity. The second stage will test their intellect while their endurance will be challenged on the final stage. Two participants is going to be eliminated each round until there is only one champion.
Prince Lelouch is quite confident on surpassing the first two stages. Why not when he is famous for his brilliant brain and tactical skills. The third part though, he is not so certain.
Folding the sleeves of his shirt, a smirk is plastered on his face after hearing the mechanics of round one. He is busy tying his apron when a small light object hits his head.
What? Is he being sabotaged? He holds the rolling pin infront of him as an improvised weapon and then turns around. There hiding behind a dark and unnoticeable wall of the palace's kitchen is none other than the princess beckoning him to her. Checking his surroundings, Lelouch makes sure that no one is looking at him before following her to the narrow space in between the walls.
"What are you doing here?" he whisper-shouts.
The princess flips a strand of her hair over her shoulder and haughtily replies, "I need to make sure that you are going to fulfill your promise."
Lelouch leans backward and raises an eyebrow. "When did I ever break a promise to you, C.C.? Right, never. So rest assured that I won't break it this time, too."
"I purposefully put the games where you have an advantage except for the third one. So watch your back in that stage."
"The other boys seem nice. I have made an acquaintance of Prince Suzaku weeks ago in a party and he was quite a pleasant and polite companion. Though, a little bit naive and gullible for his own good. He actually believed that your green hair is not real and is only the result of a witch's curse." He receives a kick on his shin.
"It is disrespectful to spread rumors especially if they are not true, Lelouch."
"Well, my point is, you don't have to worry about who will win. I looked up their backgrounds and they are all harmless nobles."
Pouting, C.C. crosses her arms like a sulky child. "But I don't want to give my first kiss to a stranger."
Lelouch sighs. "Then why did you decide to make that the grand prize? You could have made that yellow toy of yours as the reward." A kick on his other shin. "Fine, fine." A horn rings outside. "I need to go."
"Do your best, Lelouch. I'll be watching."
He gives her a salute before leaving their hiding place.
And true to his words, the prince does emerge the top contender in the first round. The challenge to make the most delicious and tastiest pizza out of limited ingredients requires only his minimal skills in baking and cooking. The panel of judges which is consisted of ordinary citizens marvels on the authentic and addicting taste of his pizza with one comparing it with the food of gods.
Lelouch secretly throws a smug look up at the princess who gives him a thumbs up in return. Unfortunately, Prince Rivalz and Sir Guilford are eliminated.
The second stage is divided into two parts: a chess tournament and a test on how good they are on formulating tactics.
The chess game just passes by like a gentle breeze with Lelouch being hailed as the victor and a certain Sir Cyrus Lacombé who wears a phantom mask covering his whole face coming in second. He was also a close runner-up in the pizza-making contest. Suspicious of his appearance, Prince Lelouch is slightly wary of this man's identity. The man appeared at the beginning of the first round making the total of the participants to eight, dressed in a long red cloak with the hood on. Never once he had taken it off since the start. Plus, Lelouch had never heard of the man's country where he is supposed to be a knight. Rosalia Island? He will ask C.C. for a map during the break.
The thought of the willful princess makes him shake his head. Silly girl to rope him into this mess just because she doesn't want to kiss a stranger. It is a mystery to Lelouch why she would even offer her first kiss if she is going to be like this. For a princess so much loved and admired by her country, she is quite unpredictable and a handful.
Well, this is going to be his first kiss, too if ever he wins this competition which makes everything fair. And he will do anything to emerge as the victor because just thinking of C.C. kissing another boy causes him an itch. A very annoying and unwanted itch. He must have eaten something spoiled a while ago.
Prince Lelouch hands his written plan on the test situation to the scholar confidently. At first glance, the circumstances seemed quite easy - too easy in fact, but when he read the whole paragraph again, he realized that there were a lot of tricky factors included. He owes his expected win again to his keen, observant eyes and quick mind. Flipping his midnight hair, he flops on the chair and waits for the other contenders to finish their work. Prince Suzaku seems to be having a hard time in this round. The crease between his forehead and… is that a drop of sweat? Lelouch shakes his head. He hopes that he would pass this. He'd rather be it Suzaku to defeat him and not the mysterious Sir Cyrus. Glancing up, he finds the princess's seat empty. Looks like someone already got bored. Lelouch could bet his treasures that the princess is already somewhere playing with her yellow toy or probably in the kitchen requesting pizza. That's how they met a year ago in a ball held in his own country. He caught her sneaking into the kitchen and requesting to their head cook for a pizza for her. Imagine his surprise upon finding the most sought after princess in the kitchen, with smears of tomato sauce on her face and fingers.
After a few more minutes, it is finally time to announce the winner. Lelouch stands tall, expectant and confident on his place so when they call another name, he steps a foot forward only to be blocked by a cloaked figure who walks straight to the center. He is too stunned to give a reaction and just watches with mouth hanging open as they raise the hand of Sir Cyrus. Lelouch is declared the second place followed by Duke Lloyd, and Prince Suzaku. Another two royalties are eliminated.
"Lelouch!" A relieved and smiling Prince Suzaku approaches him as they leave the room to take a break and prepare for the last stage. Still not getting over with the sudden turn of events, Lelouch turns to him sourly causing the other boy to back out. "Whoa, whoa. Why are you angry at me?" Suzaku cluelessly asks.
Calming himself, Lelouch takes a deep breath and continues walking out of the room, "Sorry, I'm not angry at you. I'm just upset with the results."
Suzaku immediately steps beside him and puts a hand on his shoulder. "But you're already leading along with Sir Cyrus. Oooh, you badly want to kiss the princess, don't you?"
"It' not like that. But… do you know anything about him? This is the first time I am knowing about Sir Cyrus Lacombé."
The brown-haired boy shakes his head. "I'm in the same boat with you. Do you think we need to worry about him?"
"I don't know but… his presence makes me feel uncomfortable. And with the skills that he has shown so far, he has a big chance of winning this competition." But I don't want to give my first kiss to a stranger "I'll ask the princess if the royal family is familiar with him."
"That's a good thing to do. Anyway, I won't show mercy in the next round, Lelouch especially when the odds are in my favor."
Lelouch laughs. "Now, who wants to kiss the princess badly?" But the words leave a sour taste in his mouth.
He actually finds her in the garden talking to two maidens – one with a scarlet hair, and one with a shiny orange – laughing at something that must have been really funny. With her back to him, the princess does not see him but her friends are wide eyed upon knowing his presence.
Giving them a polite smile, Lelouch greets, "A merry day ladies."
"A merry day, Prince Lelouch!"
Princess C.C. glances at her friends, amused by the redness on their cheeks. "These are my cousins, Duchess Kallen Stadtfeld and Duchess Shirley Fenette."
"Such beautiful ladies in this beautiful day." Lelouch ignores the scoff coming from the princess.
"Th-Thank you, Your Highness," Shirley utters.
Grabbing his elbow, Princess C.C. excuses them and leads him to a more secluded area in the garden where none of the contenders can see and suspect that she is giving unfair treatment to them. They sit on a bench with the princess immediately crossing her arms. "Really? Making a move on my cousins right infront of me, Lelouch? Where have your manners gone?"
Lelouch raises an eyebrow at her childish behavior. "As far as I know, genuinely complimenting someone is good manners. And I was just stating a fact. Your cousins are very pretty."
The princess murmurs something that Lelouch doesn't catch. But with the pout on her pink lips and the puff of her cheeks, he could easily tell that she is throwing a tantrum. Ah, is this because he hasn't called her beautiful ever since they have met? The princess is truly, genuinely and intimidatingly beautiful, he doesn't deny that. But when your first meeting was inside a palace kitchen – with mouth so full that he thought her cheeks would tear, hair carelessly tied up, and fingers being licked – her willfulness and nonchalant personality outshine her beauty and Lelouch actually likes that better.
"Errr… You don't look bad."
"Oh, now I hope you won't win the competition. I don't wish to kiss a man without manners."
Upon the mention of the competition, the prince remembers his true intentions of looking for the princess. "By the way, do you know Sir Cyrus Lacombé?"
"Hmmm? Why do you ask?"
"I am a bit wary of him. I never met him nor heard of his family. And with that suspicious appearance that he is presenting himself, he could be from an enemy kingdom."
"Being prejudice, aren't we?"
"What? No!" Lelouch clears his throat. "Well, perhaps, I may be a little. But you said that you don't want to kiss a stranger, and he is a total stranger even to me… So, do you know him?"
The princess shrugs. "Not personally. But I am certain that Father and Mother wouldn't have allowed him to enter if he is of evil intentions. This is just a sign that you shouldn't be too confident and slack off during the event. You looked so arrogant earlier."
"I didn't see you around."
"Well, I have my eyes everywhere. Say, Lelouch. This is a well-secluded place, isn't it? I practice my swordsmanship here to avoid getting caught."
"A princess with the knowledge of swords? You never fail to surprise me, C.C."
A mischievous smile suddenly appears on her face. "So how about we practice kissing here? It's your first kiss, too, right?"
Lelouch blinks at her.
And blinks.
And blinks some more.
When finally the idea dawns on him, he almost fall off the bench and onto the lush grass. "Y-You're jesting, right?" He looks around the area to hide his blush.
But the princess looks at him seriously. "I am not. Do you want to humiliate yourself infront of many people just because you don't know how to kiss? What if our teeth clash against each other? Or our noses bump? I don't want that. We need to plan and rehearse the movements."
"I know how to!"
"Hmmmm? And how did you know? Did you lie to me, Lelouch?"
He shakes his head. "No. It will be my first kiss, too." Then he lowers his voice. "But I've read some books," he mumbles.
"Books…" Her steady gaze makes the prince squirm on his seat. She looks at him from head to toe, her golden eyes seem to be seeing him in a new light. "It never crosses my mind that you are into those kinds of books."
What is she talking about?
Nodding, she continues, "I understand. You are a growing man and your curiosity about the human body and how it works is just normal."
Wait, is she thinking that it was those kinds of books?
"Hey," he tries to interrupt but Princess C.C. is unstoppable now.
"I may not be able to completely comprehend it since we are of different genders, but I know men have your own urges and sometimes they are difficult to control. Do not be embarrassed, Lelouch. Your secret is safe with me."
"It's not those kinds of books!" The princess just raises an eyebrow after he hit the back rest. "I read romance novels, C.C.! Romance novels!"
Silence.
A soft breeze.
A leaf falls on C.C.'s shoulder.
Slowly, a smile appears on her face.
Lelouch wants to take his words back.
"Now, now. This is honestly more interesting and quite unexpected from someone like you. Who would have thought that the overly-confident, dramatic – "
"I am not dramatic, for heaven's sake!"
" – and meticulous prince of the Lamperouge empire enjoys some happily ever after?"
Lelouch crosses his arms and glares at her. "Is there something wrong with that?"
C.C. waves him off. "Nothing. You just keep on proving that you are a fascinating human being. You never bore me, Lamperouge. So now, close your eyes."
"Why should I?"
"We are going to practice remember?"
"You're still insisting on doing this?"
"Yes. Quick, close your eyes so we can end this sooner."
Helpless and defeated, he closes his eyes and waits for her lips to touch his. His heart is hammering in his chest as if he had just ran a mile. He cannot believe this. He thought he is ready to win the competition and kiss C.C. but now that they are about to actually do it, his mind is both going blank and chaotic. He can feel her soft breaths on his nose and cheeks as she moves closer. Gulping, he had a moment of panic worrying if his lips are moist enough. What was the last thing he had eaten? He recalls thinking he had eaten something spoiled. What if he gets both of them sick? No book could have prepared him for the nervousness that he is feeling right now.
Out of nowhere, he is flicked on the forehead.
He opens his eyes and finds the princess standing and looking down at him. Her expression amused. "You really think that I would kiss you, don't you?"
"C.C…."
"Let it be a motivation for you to give your best in the last stage of the competition. It will be out of your comfort zone so prove to everyone that you are more than just a prince with a smart brain. Show that you are worthy to be hailed as the victor of the event. I will not be there during the whole thing but I want to hear your name when they announce the winner." And with that, she leaves him there, still recovering from how he was tricked.
He couldn't believe this. Suzaku is defeated by Sir Cyrus in a battle of swords. Prince Suzaku Kururugi who is famous with his agility, strength and reflexes is defeated by an unknown man from an unknown island. And now, after defeating Rolo in the first round, Lelouch will be up against Cyrus who still hasn't removed his mask and cloak throughout the whole competition. Things are not looking good.
"Now, we reached the moment of truth!" Milly gestures at the contenders to come closer. "We've witnessed how eight skilled and amazing men battled in a game of wits and strength just to capture the princess's heart. And in this battle, it is inevitable that only those who are prepared and gifted shall remain superior." Lelouch looks at his former opponents and checks if they are offended. Everyone seems to take Milly's words lightly. It's just a game after all. "From eight, we are now down to two. Who is the strongest? Who will emerge victorious and take the princess's hand? Will it be the genius son, Prince Lelouch Lamperouge?" A loud cheer echoes in the arena. "Or will it be the mysterious Sir Cyrus Lacombé?" Another loud cheer but much weaker than the first one. "Let the battle begin!"
The prince positions himself opposite the knight and takes the attack stance he had learned in all those trainings he had experienced. His favorite sword, the Damocles, feels light yet strong in his hands. Lelouch is no sword master, but with Damocles, a weapon specifically created according to his whole being, he had defeated a number of opponents in the contests he had joined, though not all of them had he won. His physical strength has been his constant weakness until now. There is always a clock ticking somewhere nearby counting down the energy he could use until he is drained and tired. He always has a limited time to fight. And seeing Sir Cyrus's smooth and fast ability, Lelouch is very much worried about the outcome of this round. He is actually glad that C.C. wouldn't witness his impending defeat.
Cyrus moves like a dart that it takes Lelouch by surprise when the knight suddenly appears infront him, sword up and sharp. Thankfully, his reflexes reacted fast and he is able to block the attack. The thin sound of the swords colliding is an annoying and ear piercing sound that Lelouch dislikes. There is a moment of pushing against each other before Sir Cyrus jumps back. Huh, his force is unexpectedly light.
Keeping alert, Lelouch tries to find an opening as they circle each other. Sir Cyrus initiates an attack again almost grazing the prince's arm. He then follows this up with an incessant amount of hits that all Lelouch can do is to block and block as he backs away. No, this is terrible! He couldn't stay in a defense position forever. He needs to gain the offense position and turn the game into his hand. But how could he when he can't even slip a hit to his opponent? This continues for another few minutes until Sir Cyrus jumps back again, out of his reach. Lelouch wastes no time and runs towards him. He aims at his arm but the knight is quick to dodge the attack. He follows him and swings his sword again only to hit air. He continues with this persistent dance of his until he is desperately gasping for air while his enemy barely has a hard time breathing.
Curse it, he needs to win this. C.C. believes in him and he won't let her faith be thrown into waste. From the very beginning, she had trusted his abilities and never doubted his skills. The thought of her disappointed and betrayed eyes for not being able to fulfill his promise is enough for him to surge again and clash with Sir Cyrus. He gives all his strength in this hit but still the knight is able to block the attack. Their swords tremble as they both exert their fiercest energy to defeat one another. Sir Cyrus is fast but his strength is obviously lesser than Lelouch so the prince manages a step forward. Glaring, the knight pushes forward as his feet slides backward.
Without letting up, Lelouch leans his body further in until he can almost kiss his sword.
"Surrender now while you're still standing on your feet," he says.
The knight shakes his head.
"Why? What are your intentions with the princess? If you're here to hurt her, I won't let you get out of this arena."
Another shake.
Lelouch narrows his eyes. "Who are you? There is no Rosalia Island in the map. Reveal your true self and – "
He makes a mistake. Oh, a terrible mistake.
He gets too distracted with asking questions that Sir Cyrus takes it as an opportunity to make his move. Without a warning, he jumps back causing the prince to fall over. Wide-eyed, Lelouch could only stare at the approaching ground. With all his force directed forward, it is too late for him to maneuver and twist to avoid hitting the hard stone. He falls with a thud, hurting his left shoulder. Ah, curse them all.
The tip of a sword appears before his eyes and there, standing tall and proud is Sir Cyrus. Amidst the loud shout of the crowd, Lelouch closes his eyes and only apologizes to C.C. for breaking his promise, for letting her down and have a total stranger kiss her. How can he face her now?
"Prince Lelouch? Prince Lelouch? Can you stand up?"
He is snapped from his thoughts by Milly's voice. Slowly, he gets up.
"Please go to the center."
Oddly, the crowd is silent all of a sudden. What have happened when he was thinking?
Sir Cyrus is already at the other side of Milly. Perhaps, all Lelouch can do now is assure that the princess is safe in the coming week. That he can perfectly do.
"As I've announced a while ago, the winner is Prince Lelouch Lamperouge!"
He is about to congratulate the knight when the announcement sinks in. What? WHAT? Milly lifts his hand and the crowd goes wild. Huh? What is happening?
"Wait, Milly. I think there is a mistake. Didn't you see that Sir Cyrus defeated me?"
"Oh, Lelouch Lamperouge."
C.C.? He looks around but the princess is nowhere to be found. But he heard her voice loud and clear. Oh, God, she must be haunting her because of his failure.
"It is me, Lelouch." And Sir Cyrus finally removes his mask and hood revealing none other than the princess herself.
"C.C.? Wha… Ho…"
He dismissively notes that Milly has left the center and it is only him and the princess.
"To test your courage and persistence. And to make sure that you will win the game. Though it was actually my knight who participated in the pizza making."
"Isn't that cheating?"
"I'm the game master so it doesn't matter," she nonchalantly answers.
Lelouch laughs at the ridiculousness of everything. "So you mean to tell me that you defeated me twice and even secured my place against the other stronger opponents all by yourself?"
The princess shrugs. "Something like that."
Oh, he can't believe this. He cannot actually believe this. All his stress and worry suddenly fly out of the window. "This is not doing any good with my ego just so you know."
"Oh I know. But your ego needs some disciplining anyway. So… are we going to stand here all day?"
Right, he still has to claim the grand prize. Stepping closer, he cups the princess's cheeks and marvels on her soft smooth skin.
"Touchy?" she says with a smile.
"Just to make sure that you are not going away this time."
C.C. laughs as if what he had said is ridiculous. He can't help but smile too. "Oh, not this time, Lamperouge. Not this time."
And she doesn't. And his heart still beats as fast as earlier but now because of excitement and anticipation and their noses do bump but they are able to quickly find the right angles and their lips finally touch – curious and innocent – and Lelouch thinks that perhaps, perhaps, this can be a start of a happily ever after.