Author's Note: And finally, all the main players are introduced in this chapter. We already have Lelouch, Shirley, Jeremiah (although he's going to be shifted to a supporting role), and arguably Infinity. It's time for Rolo's entrance, although I had to write a different backstory for him. It may seem a little off, but I assure you that it is necessary for the plot.
I'm actually a little confused about something. Is Lelouch's old home in Pendragon called the Aries Villa, or the Aries Imperial Palace? Or the Aries Palace? They've always called it the Aries Villa when I watched the anime, but some other sources claim it's called the Aries Palace. I'm going to stick with the name "Aries Villa" for now, though.
Ahh.. and there's going to be another character other than Rolo entering the story in this chapter. I suppose any Shirley fan would not be happy to see him, though, seeing how he almost drove her mad
Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass in any way.
Chapter 12
The Assassin from the Sword
"What do you want to know?" Lelouch asked Shirley heavily. They finally reached Aries Villa, which was a good half an hour of driving distance from the Pendragon Imperial Palace. Lelouch was surprised to learn that his previous servants were still around since the villa was practically abandoned after Marianne's death and Lelouch and Nunnally's exile. Jeremiah told him that the emperor ensured that they remained in the hopes that Lelouch and Nunnally would return one day. Perhaps he was trying to make the villa remind Lelouch of his happier childhood moments. Too bad that attempt was a failure, as Lelouch couldn't find it in him to feel a single shred of joy in returning to the Aries Villa. He could be wistful or nostalgic about this place, but it was impossible for Lelouch to be elated when his mother died in this very house.
"Everything," Shirley immediately said. She sat up attentively on the plush red couch, her arms hugging a square scarlet cushion to her torso. The pair was in the living room with Jeremiah, who merely stood quietly. The villa was relatively modest as compared to the grandness of the imperial palace. Instead of having diamond chandeliers to light up every hallway, a simple yellow light provided illumination in the parlor. The stairs and its banisters were made of mahogany.
"Let me rephrase that," Lelouch coughed. Of course, she wanted to know everything about him. "What do you want to know first?"
"Oh, right," Shirley blushed slightly. "Why were you and Nunnally hiding under false identities in Area 11?"
"My mother, Marianne vi Britannia, was assassinated. I confronted the emperor about it and he sent me and Nunnally to Japan to hide from the other assassins while he attempted to solve the case," Lelouch began, pacing around the room. "The official reason was that we were exiled after I abdicated my right to the throne in a fit of rage after my mother died. He chose Japan to hide us because it was the least likely place to be attacked by any of the world's superpowers at the time," Lelouch grimaced, recalling how everything changed the moment Japan realigned their sakuradite policies against Britannia.
"That plan fell on its face when the Oriental incident occurred. I'm sure you're familiar with that term from school, it was mentioned during our history lessons," Lelouch said knowledgeably, to a nodding Shirley. "Nunnally and I were living peacefully with Suzaku in the Kururugi Shrine when the Britannians attacked. As you may imagine, it was quite a shock to us. We thought that the emperor didn't care about our lives anymore. I was worried that he would send people to ensure our deaths, so I created false identities for myself and Nunnally, listed our names in the records of the deceased and went to the Ashford family, who took us in because they supported us before my mother was killed."
"However, it appears that I was mistaken about the emperor. He never wanted any of us to die, he was forced into that difficult decision by his advisors and the need to not alert possible assassins to our location. He promised himself that he will search for us once the case of my mother's death was solved. Eight years later, he finally got to the bottom of it and discovered that it was the fault of an organization, called the Sword of Akasha. He executed the leaders and announced a manhunt for their members. At the same time, he sent Jeremiah, whom he trusted because he was a member of the royal guard in charge of protecting us, to find us in Area 11. He isn't fully human, in fact, he's a cyborg. He was severely injured while guarding us during the assassination attempt and was brought back to the world of the living with the aid of cybernetics. He found me in the student council room one day, just after we were planning for the school festival."
"Tying bootlaces," Shirley commented wryly, the memory of that moment coming back to her.
"Tying bootlaces," Lelouch chuckled slightly despite his less than cordial mood. "Yes, it was that time. Anyway, I was not very willing to trust the emperor so easily, and there were other complications of returning to Britannia so I told Jeremiah to wait until I graduate from Ashford while I tried to think of a solution. Eventually, I agreed to return after making the emperor accept my conditions, which are to ensure that Nunnally will have a better life here."
"So how was I part of the plan?" Shirley asked curiously.
"You weren't," Lelouch replied, his voice gentle. "At first, I didn't want to be emotionally attached to anyone since I would be returning to Britannia. But I just couldn't resist you, I guess. And I didn't want to leave you behind either, so I made you come to Pendragon with me."
"I see…" Shirley's voice trailed off. "Wait, so what's the problem now?"
"The Sword of Akasha. They have returned, according to second princess Cornelia."
"What are they anyway? I mean… what are they trying to do?"
"They are an elite bodyguard unit formed by my great-grandfather to protect his wife, Akasha. They were given special privileges and prestige due to their unique positions. It's too bad that over time they've grown haughty and prejudiced against those ranked lower than them, particularly the commoners. That was the reason why they killed my mother. Her commoner blood made her look impure in their eyes. Fortunately for us, their practice of hereditary roles, which allowed their offspring to join the Sword of Akasha regardless of merit or skill, meant that most of their members are nothing but a bunch of over privileged, lazy nobles. The Sword of Akasha was close to collapsing after Charles's empire-wide manhunt for their members. However, early this morning, a prison which housed many members of the Sword of Akasha was assaulted and they were set free. That means that someone had the capability and the resources to lay siege to a highly defended prison and free the Sword of Akasha members. In short, they have returned… and are likely out for our blood," Lelouch finished dramatically.
"Wow," Shirley blinked twice. She anticipated that there might be some problems when she noted the aristocrats' unfriendly looks towards her in the ballroom, but this was on a whole new level.
"They're after me as I'm the son of Marianne," Lelouch added grimly. "And they might be after you as well, just because you're attached to me and are a commoner." There was a momentary pause of silence.
"I thought such old prejudices died out decades ago," Shirley murmured, hugging her legs to her chest, which contracted due to a strong emotion – was it dread?
"Some things never change," Lelouch sighed, shrugging his shoulders squarely. "I'm sorry, Shirley, to involve you in all this."
"It's okay, Lulu," Shirley shook her head, her bright orange hair swaying from one side to another. "So what's the plan now?"
"You'll be safe as long as you stay here, Shirley," Lelouch promised. "The Emperor assigned several guards to this place a few months before we came here." He knelt down and reached out, clutching her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The pair then stood up and Lelouch led her around the house. "It's getting late. I'll show you where we'll be sleeping."
Shirley paused in her tracks, her brows furrowing in confusion, causing Lelouch to stop as well. "We?" She repeated.
"What's the matt- Oh," Lelouch realized in mid-sentence. "We're having a shared bedroom. We're not going to do, well, anything. Just sleeping in the same bed, that's all." Although they have been dating for five months, they weren't that intimate to the point that they slept with each other yet. While Shirley was not exactly a prude, she wasn't sure whether she was ready for such a thing either. "What were you thinking of, Shirley?" Lelouch grinned slyly at her.
"Nothing," Shirley quickly said, hiding her reddening cheeks under her right hand. Lelouch smirked, his good mood lasting for only two seconds before he remembered the colossal obstacle standing between him and his happiness and life. He sighed and continued his path to his bedroom, with Shirley following him closely behind.
"Yes, Carine, I promise I'll catch up with you another time," Lelouch groaned into the telephone. His head was tilted towards his right shoulder, and there was a phone wedged in between his ear and shoulder. He woke up early in the morning only to discover that there were many nobles and royals alike who were calling the house's telephone line to know his story. Thus, Lelouch trooped down from his bedroom to the hall and crashed into a chair before answering the endless stream of calls.
Of course, Lelouch didn't tell them everything and did not mention Nunnally at all – after all, the Sword of Akasha did have members in such echelons in the past and he would not be surprised if they still did. He supposed that most of the callers were merely curious, but he suspected that one or two of them were trying to glean information from him. He considered ignoring all of the callers, but there was a small chance that he would be able to tell which one of them were his enemies. Right now he was dealing with Carine ne Britannia, fifth princess of the Holy Britannian Empire. She was the same age as Nunnally and had blue eyes, but unlike her, she had a rather aggressive personality and sported fairly long red hair.
Lelouch barely placed the telephone down when it rung again. The harried eleventh prince sighed loudly and picked it up once more. "Greetings, Lelouch vi Britannia here," Lelouch said in a bored and dull tone. "First Princess Guinevere? Ah, long time no see indeed…" He was quickly growing tired of answering telephone calls and hearing the phrase 'long time no see'. "I'm doing fine. Nunnally?" Lelouch paused for a brief moment as the first princess asked about his sister. "I lost her during the war. It happened when a unit of Britannian bombers attacked our location. A bombshell hit somewhere behind us and I lost consciousness… the next thing I knew, she was gone," Lelouch lied, and he even choked a little at the ending to make himself sound more emotional to convince Guinevere. "Yes, I've tried to search for her – of course, she's my only sister! Hopefully, I'll see her again someday…" Lelouch's voice trailed off as he spotted Shirley shuffling her feet towards him, rubbing her eyes blearily. She was clad in pink striped pajamas and a pair of cotton slippers. Her length of orange hair hung loosely, reaching her waist.
"Hold on a moment, Guinevere," Lelouch said as he covered the mouthpiece and shifted in his seat to regard Shirley. "Good morning, Shirley," Lelouch smiled at her. She returned the smile slowly, still shaking off the vestiges of her slumber. "Did you sleep well?"
"Well enough," Shirley mumbled. She bent down, her hands stretching towards her toes. "What's going on?"
"I think I'm going to be busy for a while with telephone calls," Lelouch grimaced. He was about to say more when an elderly servant with balding grey hair and dressed in the servants' attire of a white collared long-sleeve shirt, black trousers and a vest approached them.
"Pardon my interruption, Your Highness," the old man bowed at Lelouch. "And my lady," he added, glancing at Shirley. "The young man who has applied for a vacant spot of a servant has finally arrived. He's waiting in the parlor for an interview."
"Why do we need another servant, anyway?" Lelouch frowned.
"Mr. Klein has retired since six months ago, with the approval of your father, and we have been understaffed since then. The current applicant is quite skilled, I heard. He may be a good asset to the household."
"Well… I have my hands full here…" Lelouch's voice trailed off and his eyes flickered back to Shirley. "Shirley, how about you go interview the new applicant?"
"Me?" Shirley blinked in surprise. She did not expect such tasks to be given to her, especially deciding who should be employed to attend to the villa. "I don't think I'm suited to do such a thing. It's your home, Lulu."
"This place's going to be your home too, at least for quite some time," Lelouch informed her. He doubted that he would let her go back anytime soon, with the Sword of Akasha on the loose. "And I trust your judgment. Just think of it as doing a favor for me, alright, Shirley?"
"Alright, Lulu," Shirley agreed. "How do I start?"
"Firstly, you should change out of your pajamas into something more appropriate," Lelouch eyed her attire. "Once you're done, come back here and he will show you the way," Lelouch angled his head towards the elderly servant, his raven colored fringe shifting across his features. Shirley complied and headed back to the bedroom to get changed. She briefly wondered how the applicant would be like. Hopefully, he would be someone she could get along with.
"Ah, finally, a customer," a slim, dark-eyed young man remarked. Light spilled in from the open door of his trailer, illuminating his messy white hair and he brought his palms together repeatedly, the sound of clapping reverberating through the tiny room. He observed the clothing and mannerisms of the other person in the room. "And quite a distinguished one too."
"Enough of your childish foolery, mister," a woman in a formal dress sniffed disdainfully, her blonde locks hanging loosely. She cast a repulsed look at the walls of the room, the brown paint peeling off in multiple spots. The woman towered over the male seating in front of her and covered her features of her face with a mask which would not seem out of place at a masquerade ball. Her graceful hand dipped into her purse, which she clutched in her other hand, producing the insignia of the Britannian royalty, and a piece of fabric with the symbol of the Sword of Akasha, causing the only member of her audience to start. "I'm here for… business matters."
"A Britannian royal, with the Sword of Akasha?" the man asked incredulously. He then burst into a fit of hysterical giggles, disregarding the glares which willowy woman who sent him. "Very well," he managed to silence his laughter, straightening in his seat. "To what do I owe the pleasure, princess?"
"This," his patron replied, her lip curling in contempt as she threw two pictures, one of a raven-haired teenager, the other of an adolescent with auburn hair, her peridot green eyes shining innocently in the photograph, on his cluttered wooden desk. "I want them gone, mister."
"You may call me Mao. Mister makes me feel old," the younger individual muttered as he picked up the photos. He squinted at them and made a slight tsking sound. "So young… what are their names?"
"Lelouch vi Britannia and Shirley Fenette. Can you do it?"
"Ah, so is this a spat among the Britannia royalty? With the Sword of Akasha involved, no less. Oh, what a gleeful drama," Mao cackled wildly. "Well, I could, but I need to know more about them. And I'm sure that you're aware that there's a price…"
"They're staying in the Aries Villa. I'll provide you with what you need to enter there. And yes… your reward. A hundred thousand Britannian dollars."
"That little? I expected more from a royal…" Mao commented, smirking slightly. Sword of Akasha was well-known in the Britannian underworld. If she was both a member of royalty and the Sword of Akasha, and she still had to approach a mercenary to get rid of her targets, it must mean that there was something which prevented the Sword of Akasha or her personal forces from acting. Thus, Mao thought that she would be rather desperate to eliminate them and he never hesitated to try wheedling as much money as he could from his clients. After all, a mercenary's job is never that easy.
His client sighed with exasperation. "Two hundred thousand then. And I want you to torment him in particular. Crush him emotionally while carrying it out. I don't care how you do it, as long as you can accomplish it." Normally she would even consider negotiating with what she thought were lowly people, such as mercenaries like Mao, but he carried a reputation in delivering quick and satisfactory results.
"I can simply kill them, but going that far? That will be troublesome…" Mao replied a trifle hesitantly, reclining in his plastic chair. Assassinating a member of the Britannian royalty is far from easy, and going such an extra mile would make it a lot tougher.
"Ah, but here's the catch. If you do so, I'll quadruple the bounty. Eight hundred thousand. Record the whole incident and send it to me as proof, and I'll send you your reward. If I find it to my liking, I may even throw in a little bonus for you, to make it a million. How does that sound?" Mao's jaw dropped at the mere mention of the bounty increase. The royal smiled in triumph as she could sense Mao's reluctance vanishing. Wealth was always the weakness of mercenaries after all. "Remember to make them suffer."
"A million dollars. I would be a millionaire," Mao whispered, his eyes glazed over as he imagined the piles of riches awaiting him after his mission. "Consider it done, princess." Without another thought, he immediately began to piece together a plan that would meet his patron's expectations…
"Hi," Shirley said amiably with her trademark radiant smile. She had changed out of her pajamas into a comfortable outfit of a white bandage skirt and a pink sleeveless top. She was in the parlor, sitting opposite of the interviewee, in a comfortable single couch while clutching a clipboard to her chest The only thing between them was a coffee table. The interviewee was surprisingly a very young man – perhaps even younger than her. He had light brown hair and eyes a shade of violet extremely light that it was nearly pink. The youth was about her height and lean in build.
"Hello," the brown-haired teenager returned shyly in a small voice. He was dressed in dark trousers, light blue collared shirt, and black leather shoes. He stared at Shirley for a few seconds before averting his eyes quickly. "Um, here's my resume…" He dug into a small leather suitcase next to him, before producing several sheets of papers, which were stapled together and passed it wordlessly to Shirley.
"What's your name?" Shirley enquired, puzzled. She thought that normally an interview should start with exchanging names and handshakes.
"Oh, sorry. I'm Rolo. Rolo Haliburton," the young man managed. Shirley decided to skip the handshake after she noticed how timid he was. He almost reminded her of Nina, in a way. Both of them were just so introverted.
"I'm Shirley," Shirley noticed that the job applicant looked a little underfed. The slim girl passed him the clipboard together with a pen. On the board was a sheet of paper entitled 'Personal particulars of employee'. "Please fill in the form with your personal details, Rolo. I can call you Rolo, right?"
"Yes," Rolo replied, shrinking a little as he uncapped the pen and began writing quietly on the paper.
"Would you like to get something, perhaps some coffee?" Shirley asked kindly, trying to be cordial with him.
"No thanks, it's fine," Rolo said quickly. He took his eyes off the clipboard, sneaking another glance at Shirley nervously as she perused his job resume.
"Experienced in a variety of household chores – cooking, dishwashing, sweeping, ironing, sewing, mopping, doing the laundry and cleaning in general," Shirley read the documents. It sounded like he was fairly capable of being a servant of the villa, although she was curious why he would learn to do so many chores at his young age. She flipped the resume to the next page. "Oh…" Shirley glanced up cautiously at him. "You used to work at the orphanage?"
"I'm an orphan, actually," Rolo replied. It was the truth in a way – he never met his real parents and was given the last name Haliburton by his guardian. "And yes, I was helping out my orphanage in cleaning and everything… but recently we're short on funds, so I decided to find a job so that I can help them…" his voice trailed off, with a melancholic note in his voice. Rolo shook his head as he wordlessly handed the clipboard over the Shirley.
"Oh dear," Shirley said in a small, sad voice. She peered at the form with his personal details. 'Lyonesse Orphanage' was written neatly under 'Residential address'. Shirley scrutinized Rolo and realized that now she looked carefully, she should see that his clothing was a little weathered. "The poor guy must have been finding a job for quite some time now." Although she reminded herself that she should not offer the job solely based on her sympathy, Rolo appeared to be a decent person and most importantly, he was equipped with the necessary skills as a servant. "You're hired, Rolo.'
"Thank you, Miss Fenette!" Rolo gave her a grateful and tired smile.
"Call me Shirley please," Shirley giggled. "Such formalities make me feel awkward. We're around the same age anyway."
Rolo nodded and heaved a sigh of relief, which Shirley thought was because he obtained the job. However, he lied about his past. Oh, he was an orphan alright, but he was taken under the wing of the Sword of Akasha's leader Infinity. Contrary to his seemingly innocent countenance, he was an accomplished assassin and spy sent by Infinity to infiltrate the Aries Villa and he had just passed the first barrier.
Rolo thought about his past before he joined the Sword of Akasha. He was told by the headmistress of the orphanage that he was found on their doorstep during a particularly cold winter day when he was a baby, with a letter probably written by his parents, who abandoned him, saying that he was to be named Rolo. He lived in the orphanage until he was eleven, accumulating skills in dull household tasks. When he was not in the orphanage, he would wander around the streets nearby, and eyed the children around his age, accompanied by loving parents and having warm clothes on their back, with much envy. How he wished that he had a parental figure as well, for he felt lonely in the old orphanage. It was not that living in the orphanage was terrible, but his withdrawn and quiet nature earned him little friends, and most of the other orphans tend to keep to themselves as well. Thus, he could connect to none of them.
It was a few days past the end of summer when a couple entered the orphanage with the intent to adopt a child. For some reason, after they had spent nearly a few hours on which child to adopt, they decided to select him. Rolo was ecstatic on that day, as he could finally leave his old, wearisome life behind and settle down with a loving family.
How wrong he was. For the first few weeks or so, he was treated well enough by his adoptive parents. However, they grew more bad-tempered over time and started to mistreat him, much to his bewilderment. For nearly nine months he put up with the increasingly cruel abuse - be it starvation, being made to do menial tasks harsh beatings, being denied water and even sleep. He tolerated it until one day when they battered him so severely that he felt like he was an inch from death, and that was when he snapped. He defended himself with the kitchen knife and somehow he ended up killing them both with it. It was horrifying for him, but at the same time, he reveled in it, to finally get back at his tormentors. He had stabbed and hacked at their limbs and torsos relentlessly despite their screams and pleas, which fell on deaf ears. "They tried to break me. They tried to kill me. They betrayed me. They deserved this," Rolo reminded himself repeatedly as he thrust the knife into their bodies.
Rolo was found kneeling in the house, beside their long exsanguinated corpses, caked with their blood by the police. The smell of decomposing bodies alerted the neighbors, who then contacted the cops. They took him into custody, but a week later, he was mysteriously set free by a tall, hooded man. Rolo did not know who he was, but he had the authority to bail him out regardless of the severity of his crimes. The man told Rolo that he took a special interest in him, and offered him to join the Sword of Akasha. Seeing that he had nothing else in life, Rolo did not hesitate to take up the offer. The adult called himself Infinity back then, and while Rolo knew his real name afterward, he was accustomed to simply addressing his leader by his codename.
From there onwards, he had trained for five years, honing his skills in combat and embarking on missions, which are usually related to assassination or intelligence gathering. He only answered to the masked leader alone, and this time, his mission was to find and retrieve a special key which was extremely critical of his master's plans, since it was confiscated by Marianne herself. However, Infinity himself did say that while the key was his first and foremost priority, his secondary tasks were to assassinate Lelouch vi Britannia and Shirley Fenette, for their very pairing was against the principles of the Sword of Akasha.
After what seemed to be an eternity to Lelouch, the phone calls finally ceased. The prince wiped his brow and took a deep breath. Now that the Sword of Akasha has returned, he needed someone trustworthy to protect Nunnally. Lelouch briefly ran through a short list of people that could be trusted with such a task in his mind, and grimaced. Jeremiah could do it, but he wanted the Margrave to stay in Britannia to guard him and Shirley. Suzaku has his own military obligations. Sayoko was already protecting Nunnally, but he wanted more protection for his little sister. There was only one choice left, and that was Cornelia. He had to admit to Cornelia that he lied to her yesterday at the ball about Nunnally's status, but he hoped that she would understand why he did so.
Without further thought, Lelouch dialed Cornelia's number, fervently praying that she would agree to his request. While the Sword of Akasha was based in Britannia and had little influence in Area 11, he could not take any chances with Nunnally's life on the line. Thankfully, Cornelia answered the call quickly enough.
"Cornelia speaking."
"Cornelia. This is Lelouch," Lelouch said in a low voice. "Are you alone right now?"
"I'm not, but I'm surrounded by my most trusted subordinates," Cornelia assured her half-brother. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"… Alright, but first, where are you right now?"
"I'm at a military base, about to board an aircraft headed towards the European war front. Why?"
"You mustn't go!" Lelouch almost shouted in the mouthpiece, startling Cornelia.
"Brother, it's a direct order from the Emperor. I can't simply disobey-"
"It's about Nunnally!" Lelouch interrupted urgently. He then realized that he was being too loud and there were many other people in the villa beside him and Shirley. The prince lowered his volume. "I can't say too much over the phone because there's a chance of being overheard."
"Nunnally?" Cornelia sounded surprised. "I would listen to you, brother, but you do understand that I can't just not show up in the European war front, especially after our father publicly ordered me to."
"Then we'll go to the imperial palace and have him to countermand that order," Lelouch replied curtly. He could sense Cornelia growing hesitant again, and he added. "Please, sister. It's really important, and I can't trust anyone other than you."
"Very well, Lelouch," Cornelia sighed. "I doubt the emperor will actually do that, but if you insist. We'll meet at the Pendragon Imperial Palace right now."
"He should understand," Lelouch said grimly. It would not make any sense for Charles not to care about Nunnally's well-being, after all, the effort the aging emperor put into finding them. "Yes, and please hurry. We can't afford to delay this any longer." He ended the call without another word and cast a look around his surroundings. He had to leave the security of his home and head out to possible danger, but it was worth the risk for Nunnally. However, the prince wasn't going to expose Shirley to such potential harm and decided it was safer for her to remain at the villa. After all, it was defended by a unit of imperial guards.
"Shirley," Lelouch called out as he put on his dark leather shoes. Shirley poked her head inquisitively around the corner. "I'm going to meet Cornelia, to discuss security issues." Even with the group of soldiers defending the villa, he could not compromise on the security standards of his very own home with the Sword of Akasha's return. It did not just house him - Shirley was with him as well. Thus, Lelouch opted to converse with Cornelia about whether she can afford any other troops to help protect him and Shirley. He would broach the subject if she agreed to secure Nunnally. "Jeremiah's coming with me as well. This may take some time… but don't leave the villa while I'm gone, alright?" He had already informed the roster of guards around the villa to be on the high alert.
"Sure, Lulu," Shirley felt a little disquieted after witnessing the serious expression on Lelouch's face. As Lelouch turned to leave, she touched him on the arm, causing him to pause. He looked at Shirley questioningly for a moment and she leaned in, planting a swift kiss on his cheek. "Be safe," Shirley whispered.
"You too," Lelouch returned. "Let's go, Margrave Gottwald," he added to Jeremiah, who was patiently standing in the doorway. Both males briskly exited the villa and made their way to the garage, where Jeremiah would drive him to the li Britannia residence.
Shirley sighed as she walked through the corridors of the villa. She did not expect that living with Lelouch would be so complicated. Dealing with the fact that he was a prince was hard enough, and now there were assassins after their lives as well. Of course, she still loved him wholeheartedly and had no regrets being in a relationship with him. She briefly wondered whether the members of the Sword of Akasha really thought what they were trying to do was correct. She shivered at the thought of them actually believing that their deeds were righteous. It smacked of fanaticism, and terrorists often had that trait. Negotiating with such overzealous people was often impossible, which meant that they had to fight for their lives. She was not inured to violence, and she found herself hoping that she would not be a burden on Lelouch's already heavy shoulders.
Shirley's feet guided her towards the gardens. Of all the places in the villa, the garden was the only place which she felt truly at home with. Oh, the bedroom was comfortable and luxurious, but there was something about the flowers and greenery that made her feel at ease. Since Shirley had so much time to herself, she tried to pick up gardening as a hobby. If Rivalz and the other student council members could see her, surely they would express disbelief or amusement at her attempts to cultivate the garden. After all, she was known for being clumsy and horrible at most chores. Hopefully, gardening would be an exception as she would hate to end up destroying the garden she so loved.
The lilac shrubs were still intact and lovely in the early summer of Britannia. They were her favorite flowers, especially since Lelouch gave her a bouquet of lilacs – a mix of violet and white ones. He told her that they were a symbolism of her to him, for the purple lilacs symbolises the first emotions of love, and the white ones represented youthful innocence. That was during the simpler times when he was merely Lelouch Lamperouge, and when they were dating in Ashford Academy, going to classes hand in hand, and ignoring the jealous looks the other girls were shooting her. It seems like those easier times were over. Shirley hummed a tune to herself, which was gloomy at first, and then it started to sound increasingly cheerful. Sure, their lives were in danger, but they can overcome it. If the Sword of Akasha has returned, that meant that they were vanquished before, and they can do so again.
Cheered by her own optimistic thoughts, she fetched a pair of gardening scissors and a small guidebook entitled "Gardening for Dummies." She was thankful that she was alone – if someone saw her reading a book with such a demeaning name, it would be quite embarrassing. The lithe swimmer pictured the student council – particularly Rivalz and Milly, in hysterics if they saw her right now. She banished the image; although she smiled a little at the thought of her old friends, and could not help but wonder what their reaction would be if they knew Lelouch was a prince. Lelouch told her that Milly and Suzaku already knew, but there were five other council members who were not aware of that. Most likely they would share her initial response – shock and surprise, and they would come to accept it eventually. Shirley shrugged as she knelt down by the lilac bushes, unmindful of the grass brushing against her thighs and started to prune the shrubs carefully.
Shirley's notion that she was by herself was wrong, as there was someone watching her unknowingly. Rolo was standing half-hidden by the doorway which led to the garden. He spied on her, observing her tending to the garden with care. "Perhaps now would be a good time to accomplish the secondary objective," Rolo's hands dug into his pockets, fingering the ceramic switchblade he has kept there. "The distance between us is probably lesser than 12 meters. I can sneak up to her easily, and I can cover her mouth with my hand, muffling her, while I bring the knife up to her neck. That would be a quick kill." Rolo mulled over the wisdom of murdering her right now while the other secondary target was away. Perhaps he should do it another time. Infinity told him that it would be best if he retrieved the key first before killing his targets. If any of them died first and the key was indeed in the Aries Villa, the others may deem the villa no longer secure and move it to another location. "The key comes first," Rolo reminded himself and he was about to turn away while an elderly servant hobbled past him urgently. Rolo frowned as the old servant, in his haste, did not even notice Rolo. The young assassin leaned against the doorway casually, attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"Lady Fenette!" the servant began breathlessly. "There's a knight who says he has grave news about Master Lelouch! He seeks permission to enter the villa so that he can relay it to you."
"News about Lulu?" Rolo could detect fear in Shirley's voice. "Where is the knight? Show him in, quickly!" The sound of multiple footsteps grew louder and Rolo slinked away to the villa's living room, having discerned that it should be the place where Shirley will meet the knight. His interest was most certainly piqued, and he wondered if something had really happened to Lelouch or was it a mere ploy.
Moments later, the front doors opened, admitting a man dressed in the knights' white and gold uniform. He was lanky and had pale milky hair. There was something about his features that informed anyone looking that he was not of Britannian descent – but honorary Britannian knights, while widely frowned upon, were not unheard of. The knight hastened towards Shirley before saluting her.
"You are Shirley Fenette, are you not?" The knight's voice was slightly accented, but Shirley paid it no mind. She was more concerned about what he had to say. "I have something of extreme import to report."
"Yes, I am," Shirley replied instantly. "What happened?"
"His excellency, Lelouch vi Britannia, and Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald was caught in a traffic accident several minutes ago. His condition is rather serious. He's being sent to the imperial palace's medical room right now," the knight informed her, a hint of urgency in his tone. His dark eyes shone with intensity.
Shirley paled and her knees felt weak as panic gripped heart, threatening to overwhelm her. She could not lose Lelouch now. "Please bring me there at once! Hurry!"
"Time is of the essence indeed," the knight agreed. He clapped his hands in a peculiar fashion, the sound echoing through the hall. "I will drive us there. Let's go." Shirley obeyed, her slender legs instantly moving as she followed the knight through the exit.
Author's Note: I thought it would be good to touch on one of her flaws: her naivety. She is still human after all. Till next time, people.
For some unknown reason, I felt quite reluctant to post this chapter so soon. However, I've checked it a few times and I can't seem to find anything wrong with it... although I keep thinking there's something missing. Was anything amiss? Let me know what you guys think.