AN: I'm so sorry I disappeared for a month and a half without warning. It wasn't planned… I just had a lot of trouble starting this chapter, and then even more trouble deciding what I wanted to happened in it. So I went and wrote something else instead while I waited for inspiration. And then inspiration arrived, I had trouble getting a certain character to do as I wanted and still say in character. And it's extremely difficult writing at home with constant interruptions from my sister. A lot of my time has also been consumed with attempting to get a job, which hasn't happened yet.
So, I'm sorry. I have more idea of what happens next, so I'm going to try to start as soon as possible and hopefully I won't keep you guys waiting so long for an update again. I'm going to try to get at least one more chapter out before the London Expo at the end of the month. If I don't, feel free to tell me off.
Anyway… I hope this chapter is ok… I'm not happy with how it ended up, but I've kept everyone waiting too long as it is. Next chapter should be better.
Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass.
When they landed in Britannia it was early in the morning, earlier than it had been when they'd left Japan. Lelouch had spent most of the flight asleep against Suzaku's shoulder. Suzaku was glad, Lelouch's sleep had obviously been lacking in quality recently, haunted by the dreams from Rolo, and so now that Rolo was rescued he could sleep better and was catching up. It would save him the problem of jet-lag. Suzaku wouldn't have that issue, he'd done so much jetting about over the past two weeks that his body clock would be happy to get back into Britannia time. Rolo had slept, and EE had remained awake, drawing occasionally, and talking quietly with Suzaku, filling himself in on the past several decades of history he'd missed out on.
The landing party which met them off the plane contained no one particularly important since their arrival had been organised at short notice and the local Britannian welcoming committee was rather busy. Apparently Nunally was planning a family celebration in the run up to her Golden Jubilee and nobles were arriving from across the country. If anything, this pleased Lelouch. It meant their arrival would go largely unremarked upon, people would assume he, or rather 'she', was just another relative of the Empress, granted, one that didn't show up on the Britannian family tree, and had been escorted by Zero, but he was sure people would just assume Nunally had her reasons and think no more of it. It also meant he would get to meet all of Nunally's potential successors without them being aware of why.
The journey to the palace was uneventful, and they were escorted through the various security measures and shown to their rooms. Suzaku had disappeared, presumably to stop by Zero's quarters to stash his own share of belongings secretly, and then report to Nunally. Each of the three new arrivals received security passes and were requested to be in possession of them at all times, so their presence in the palace went unchallenged, and so they could come and go from the palace into the city freely.
Lelouch settled into his quarters, and ensured that EE, and particularly Rolo were also settled in suitably in rooms on the same corridor. The rooms were small; the best of the guest rooms had of course been reserved for the more important visitors, which, Lelouch was sure, included many of his half-brothers and sisters, as well as his nieces and nephews who he would be discussing with Nunally. There were a lot of visitors, and Lelouch was impressed that they were staying in the palace at all, relatively unimportant as they were, since most of those that were not relatives of Nunally were staying in the city. He supposed Nunally was responsible for that too, he was impressed she'd managed to convince whoever it was who was in charge of organising the rooms to free up two more at short notice.
Rolo was looking a little bewildered; probably the rush of so many new experiences and environments, and Lelouch took a few moments to reassure him, and made EE promise to keep an eye on the boy when he wasn't there.
And, about half an hour after they'd been shown their rooms, Lelouch was summoned by a maid to meet with the Empress. Before leaving, Lelouch politely requested that his companions were given a tour of the palace, and perhaps shown to the library. He considered this a good way for the other immortal to continue filling in the gaps in his memory left by his imprisonment, and was a quiet and calm environment for Rolo.
Lelouch was curious as to why EE had been held as a prisoner when CC and VV had been high ranking members of the geass order, before CC had left, and VV had given away his code and the order was, supposedly, completely destroyed on Zero's orders. But now wasn't the time to ask, he had to go meet his sister.
He couldn't decide whether he was more apprehensive or excited, eager or terrified. Though he'd spoken with her on the phone, and had seen her face many times on television and computer screens over the past fifty years, it wasn't the same as seeing his sister face to face. The only thing he was certain about was that he'd much rather face her looking more like himself, and not dressed like he was, but it couldn't be helped.
He was shown into a small room, and asked to wait until the Empress was ready to see him. After a few minutes he looked up as Zero entered the room and removed his helmet.
"She's been held up because Cornelia's just arrived, and she's required to go and greet her," Suzaku said with a sheepish grin. "She asked me to come and keep you company. I think she wants me here for moral support."
"For me or for her?" asked Lelouch, smiling faintly
"Good question," replied Suzaku removing his cloak, draping it over a chair and then sitting down beside Lelouch. "You can, um… de-feminise if you want. Nunally will come in by herself; since I'm here, there's no need for anyone else to guard her."
Lelouch sighed with relief and kicked off his shoes; he then gave Suzaku an odd look, and turned away. He fiddled around for a few moments and when he turned back his chest was looking flat, and he'd zipped his jacket up to his throat. He didn't remove the wig; it would be to difficult to replace it in here without a mirror, but he pulled it back behind his shoulders and then tucked it into his jacket. He contemplated attempting to rub some of the makeup from his face, but decided that it would smudge everywhere and he'd just look even more ridiculous.
As a result, he managed to look slightly less girly. Though, being Lelouch, it was likely nothing he could do would ever stop him looking at least slightly feminine, since with his facial features he would have a hard time ever looking particularly 'manly'. Suzaku sniggered at the mental image of a macho Lulu; heavily muscled, dressed casually in clothes Lelouch would usually cast aside for not meeting his high standards, his hair cropped shorter, maybe even completely gone, and perhaps even a tattoo or two. It was a ridiculous image, Lelouch looked much better the way he was now, and was even more acceptable as a female than the disturbing macho version Suzaku had just imagined.
Lelouch gave him another look, probably wondering what he found so amusing, but before he had a chance to ask the door opened and Nunally wheeled in.
As the door shut softly behind Nunally's wheelchair, and he met his sister's eyes, Lelouch had to suppress the urge to bolt from the room. His sister, his usually sweet, soft-hearted sister, could be quite scary when she had sufficient reason to, and she certainly had sufficient reason to be angry with him.
She didn't look the same as he remembered. Of course, that was only to be expected, it had been fifty years since they'd last been in the same room, but it was sad, and disconcerting to see his baby sister looking so old. He hadn't been prepared for it… he blamed Suzaku for not having aged physically. Even though he'd seen an older Kallen recently, and had known his sister was in her sixties too… he supposed this was the curse of immortality, to see his close friends and family age and even die, while he was left behind. He collected his thoughts and managed a smile for her.
Nunally smiled at the sight of her brother and Suzaku sitting beside each other, pleased to see them together in a world not consumed by war. The smile faded as she recalled the last time she'd seen the pair together, even if Suzaku had be disguised as Zero at the time. It wasn't a happy memory. She remembered that she wasn't very pleased with the pair of them, and her expression hardened somewhat.
"Brother, Suzaku," she started as they stood in greeting. She wheeled closer. "Please, sit down; you can relax around me."
They sat down again, and Lelouch tried to relax. "It's nice to see you again Nunally, I haven't stopped worrying about you… but you're doing well. I'm glad."
"Of course I'm doing well. I'll admit, ruling Britannia was challenging at first, I didn't really know what I was doing, and you did leave the world in such a mess. But I had a lot of help from Cornelia and Zero of course, and surprisingly from Schniezel as well, since I'd thought he was keen on taking that position for himself, not giving it to me." Here Lelouch noticed Suzaku shifting a little guiltily out of the corner of his eye. "But I'm not stupid, and I certainly don't need coddling and being sheltered all the time. I learned quickly… I may not be the greatest ruler Britannia has ever had, but I don't think I'm doing too badly."
Lelouch cringed. He had heard what his sister was really saying. It was that she didn't need his protection, and that without him around to shelter her from the world and its harsher truths, she had finally had the chance to grow up. She was now an independent, strong willed person, and she most certainly didn't need him to try to return to the position he'd previously had in her life. She could, if only figuratively, stand up for herself. He wasn't here to make the decision for her, merely to give her friendly, unbiased advice, and perhaps to see a side of her potential successors that they would not show Nunally herself.
"I understand," he said. "I think you're doing brilliantly. I don't regret protecting you when you were younger… you were my baby sister. We'd been through so much and l just wanted you to be happy… you were all I really had left and I didn't want to lose you. But you don't need me as a big brother anymore, or Suzaku either. I know he's been here to look after you, like I asked him too, but he's let you make your own choices. And we'll continue letting you make your own choices. But I'm still glad you've asked me to be here, as a friend, if not as a brother, because this is one of the biggest decisions you'll ever make, and we want to be here to support you."
"Yes, I can make my own decisions, but I do appreciate advice in my best interests, rather than that of my advisor, and when it comes to this issue in particular, they all seem to have their own opinions, and none of them coincide. I know, perhaps better than you yourself, that you have a few issues when it comes to protecting people, specifically me. I will ask that you make sure this remains directed at the boy you have brought with you, and not at me, as I don't need it. You are here as a trusted friend, not as my brother, and you will be repaid for your assistance, so long as you don't act too… motherly towards me. Not monetarily, but I know you want to help the boy that you brought with you, and help solve Suzaku's own mystery, and I will give you access to any resources you deem necessary. And I expect you to behave, and for me to be aware of what you're doing at all times. No plotting or scheming without informing me why first."
Lelouch practically hung his head in shame. That had been Nunally's way of telling him off for all of the scheming he'd done before, in that first year he'd been Zero, where, without directly lying to her, he'd broken his promise of not lying to her by avoiding telling her the truth. Nunally's promise of help was, however, welcome. "I promise." he said, meaning it fully.
"Good," she said, smiling brightly, instantly lightening the atmosphere in the room. "There's nothing planned for today, since my guests are still arriving, so you make take your meals whenever you wish, just ask, someone will even bring them to your room if you wish. Tomorrow however, there will be a ball to welcome everyone, so you might like to use today to procure something appropriate to wear. I must say Lelouch; I can now understand why Milly took such delight in dressing you up. You look just like mother," she laughed, as did Suzaku, but Lelouch frowned.
"You brought this on yourself when you chose that disguise," Suzaku reminded him with barely concealed glee. "Anyway, I'm sure you'll enjoy shopping for a ball gown."
"He'll look lovely, won't he Suzaku," asked Nunally, enjoying the nostalgic feel to Suzaku teasing Lelouch, just like he had when they were all children. That and the fact that her brother and Suzaku still had their youthful appearances, made her feel younger, an altogether pleasant feeling.
"He will," said Suzaku, "I'm sure there will be many young men queuing up to dance with him."
Lelouch, blushing rather hard, punched Suzaku on the arm, then, seeing Suzaku's expression, one that hinted he was about to comment on Lelouch's underwhelming physical capabilities, he twisted to face away, his arms crossed sulkily.
`"Now, now brother," scolded Nunally playfully. "That's not very ladylike, I expect better from you tomorrow."
Lelouch sighed in defeat. He should have remembered before he'd agreed to come here. His sister and his best friend, when combined, were even worse even than Milly when it came to winding him up, and that was saying a lot. He supposed it was Milly and Suzaku together that were to blame for his sister developing that way. He turned back and met his sister's eyes. He deserved much more than just teasing as punishment for what he'd done to her. He supposed he should just be glad his sister was willing to forgive him, and wasn't ordering him and Suzaku to be imprisoned as traitors.
"Oh, and Suzaku, don't think you're going to get away with just wearing your Zero suit all the time. I have something special planned for next week that I haven't told you about yet."
Suzaku stopped laughing and paled, fearing whatever it was Nunally had planned.
"Now brother… before you leave, I want to hear what you and Miss CC have been up to for the past fifty years, and I want to know exactly who your two new companions are."
AN: Rght... So Nunally tells Lelouch that she'll take no more babying from him, she's a grown up, ruler of half the planet, and really doesn't need it. And the whole 'meeting the potential sucessors' deal is being covered up with her Golden Jubilee celebrations. Because 50 years is a golden jubilee, and i'm ashamed it took me so long to remember it. So... other than dancing, what other events should I include?