It took me a while to give this a direction. This is somewhat of a continuation of the previous chapter. Now I have a headache.

Disclaimer: Code Geass is not mine.

004 - Snakes (2013 a.t.b)

The corner of her mouth twitched into an irritated scowl. As much as she tried to focus on the large screen in front of them, the sound of her siblings muttering, gossiping and (God forbid) giggling, keep reaching her ears. It was distracting, to put it nicely.

Her brain screamed that it was too early in the day for such.

Even if they are most likely bored to death and could understand very little about the technology and the overall importance of the event, she would have to admit that the annual demonstration had become such a chore to all of them, they only consider it as part of the pomp that the Britannian Imperial Family is rather famous for.

Who gets dressed in a gown at a Knightmare demonstration, anyway? Cornelia (in her military garb) inwardly fumed at the stupidity, impracticality and the general showiness of her family.

And to fuel their need to be adored, they're holding a gala later. There was no way that she could talk her way out of it; she was Royalty, she was Chief General and lastly, they're - supposedly - honoring the participants of today's event (meaning that her Knight will also be forced into attending).

It would take a rebellion or an invasion before she could leave the clutches of the vicious Imperial court.

Damn, they're annoying.

Even if her mind was wandering, at least, she had the decency to feign attentiveness, unlike those around her. She stared resolutely at the screen as it displayed a Knightmare. As far as her siblings are concerned, Knightmares are Britannia's gift to the savage world. Why, the Numbers should be grateful that the Holy Empire of Britannia has graced their lands and had decided to share their culture, giving them a semblance of what a civilized nation is.

Sheltered, the whole lot of them.

They have never seen death first hand and never felt the need to struggle for one's survival. Cornelia highly doubted if they've even heard of the things she witnessed as Chief General. But then again, she supposed that the ongoing politics at court was a struggle for survival in itself. Even if they are on top of the food chain, they still have to fight, even if it was amongst themselves.

Casualties are normal.

Cornelia squared her jaw at the memory of Lady Marianne. Cornelia never deluded herself when she was the Captain of the Royal Guard; she had seen how the other members of the family reacted to everything Marianne does or say. And in addition to that, Marianne made a lot of enemies as the Knight of Six and later on, as an Empress Consort. Cornelia was convinced that it's not the work of terrorists, it was the result of petty politics.

Lelouch thought so too, and look at where that got him and Nunnally.

Her brother, Schneizel, had always commented how candid Cornelia is. He suggested, quite a few times, that she ought to watch their siblings. Even if it was done unconsciously, being backstabbing snakes is pretty much in their blood. Schneizel's main stand was that sometimes, force wasn't necessary if you know the right things to say.

You can't gun them down all the time, he had laughed at her grim disposition.

But Cornelia would very much rather have a gun pointed at her head than a knife poised on her back.

The movement to her left brought her attention to the present.

She looked at the blonde as he shifted subtly in his chair, moving his weight to the other side while crossing his long legs. She heard the sigh that came from him and watched a gloved hand twirl his hair idly. He kept looking at his shoes and was inspecting every inch of his sleeve. It took all of Cornelia's self control to not hit Clovis for such a gesture; tiredly, she reminded herself that he was just a boy - a boy who cared nothing about the world outside of his. He's just a boy who was just grateful that he was allowed to be exempted from school just so he could be present at the demonstration.

Despite being exasperating and a bit narcissistic, Clovis is still her charming younger half-brother and was one of the few siblings Cornelia actually cared about - after Euphemia, of course. She couldn't blame him. Cornelia knew her younger brother was bored without either Lelouch, Euphie or sweet Nunnally. He just couldn't relate to Cornelia or Schneizel, no matter how much he tried; he - somehow - always ends up making himself look shallow, foolish and immature compared to them.

And she knew Clovis hated that.

It used to be so different. When Lady Marianne was alive, this wasn't as tedious as it is now. In fact, it was something Cornelia looked forward to every year; she sat with the siblings she actually liked and conversed with the woman she idolized. There was even one year when the Empress had challenged an unsuspecting test pilot.

She missed those days.

"Are you alright, Sister?" Clovis cocked his head to the side and asked, concern evident. She answered him with a stiff nod.

This caught the attention of the one seated on her right, "I heard that today is the Gloucester's public debut. Congratulations, Cornelia. You've outdone yourself."

There goes the Prime Minister's silver tongue, Cornelia thought wryly. "Thank you, Schneizel, but I merely designed it around the existing Sutherlands, my men did the brunt of the work by building it."

The older blonde smiled (in a way that made her suspicious), "And your Knight is piloting it?"

... you know far too much, Brother. "Yes, he is."

"Then you couldn't have chosen a more suitable pilot than the Spearhead of the Empire himself! I'm looking forward to seeing his performance. Already, I feel that he will not disappoint you, dear sister."

"You are too kind, Brother. I will tell my Knight of your compliments to his skill."

"Why, please do! In fact, I would very much like to commend him personally, Cornelia, for his exceptional service to the Empire and to his Princess."

Cornelia ignored how Clovis' eyebrow arched upwards, a clear sign that the double-meaning behind Schneizel's words are becoming a bit too evident. Some of those who were sitting near them, looked at her curiously. She narrowed her eyes at looked away pointedly, almost stubbornly, hoping the blood rushing to her cheeks wouldn't be noticeable.

With the flourish of his hand, the Second Prince pointed at the screen, as if it wasn't big enough for all of them to see. "It's a fine piece of technology, dear Sister. It will serve the Empire well."

Cornelia stared at the towering machine. Heavier and bulkier than its predecessors and a touch more dramatic, being equipped with a large jousting lance and a cape. She knew which one was hers. It was brighter in color with a customized head and a white cape. The Knightmare moved its head and it gave her the impression that it was staring directly at her. Cornelia knew who was inside its cockpit. She would allow no other person to pilot it.

"Is that new?" The First Prince asked, looking genuinely intrigued.

Cornelia couldn't help but roll her eyes. Personally, Cornelia never had a problem with Odysseus. Not the brightest or most determined, but he was fairly harmless and was generally pleasant. He treats his siblings well; he was just the default candidate to be the next Emperor. Euphie liked him enough. At least he wasn't a tyrant who would force his siblings into servitude should he inherit the throne.

"It's a fifth-generation Knightmare, Brother." Schneizel explained, leaning over to explain. How he manages to be so patient, Cornelia will never know. "It will be exclusive to the Chief General's personal unit. I think they will be first deployed for the establishment of Area Twelve."

Her eyes were fixed on Guilford, who appeared in a smaller screen at the bottom left part of the large display. It was the norm to show the pilot; it would also give them an overview of what was inside the cockpit. Part of the demonstration was to showcase how the pilot is able to maneuver the Knightmare from inside. Although normally, his posture was already perfect (unfailingly straight-backed), but there was something different about him that she couldn't quite figure out. His hair was tied back in a sleek ponytail on the nape of his neck. Clad in the customized flight suit, Cornelia saw that he wore her colors: gold and dark burgundy. The new frames sat on the bridge of his nose. His mouth formed a flat line and his icy stare was (seemingly) fixed at her.

He was waiting for orders.

It suddenly struck her: when did they grow up?

And he grew up to be rather handsome.

Her head was reeling with the images it conjured: two children rowing a boat; a bookish-looking youth who indulged her every whim but stood to protect her against any hostility or slander; her friend, who barely left her side as he feared for her state of mind during her obsessive investigation about Marianne's death; a tall, bespectacled man with a steely gaze that softened every time he looked at her and the smile reserved only for her; a soldier who was agile, in physique and in thinking.

The Second Princess found it a little hard to breathe; finally, she acknowledged that there is truth in something that she shrugged off as a joke, out of convenience. She struggled to classify his words and his actions as harmless teasing. Her reluctance stemmed from the fact that they were friends and it would complicate things infinitely should they allow themselves to go in that direction. She is an Imperial Princess and there was no way in hell that she would be allowed in a relationship with a Knight – a soldier. Covertly? Anything can be unearthed. Truth is that she was afraid that if she does own up to the feelings she had obstinately tried to suppress, it was very likely that they would find a way to tear him away from her; and she needed him around.

His staunch devotion to her was not just that of a Knight; it was because he cared and Cornelia had no doubts that he would die just to protect her. But she didn't want that; she needed him to live and stay where he belonged: next to her.

Euphie was her weakness. Guilford was her strength.

Her heart sank as she spotted the ostentatious crest pinned on the left side of his chest; it was an indication of his position as a Knight of Honor. Cornelia stared at the screen, knowing that she was staring at a Knight who loved his Princess. Unfortunately, For her own selfish reason and for his own safety, the Knight will never know that his Princess did, in fact, love him back.

"Is that the skinny little boy who followed you around like a puppy?" A woman's voice spoke up, so obviously laced with amusement. Guinevere was a strange case. Cornelia did not particularly care for her, but for one reason or another, Guinevere had always wanted to act as the older sister figure. Cornelia thought that she would've given up when she ran off to join the military, but Guinevere still found ways to throw parties whenever she was home and introduce her to (insert shudder here) potential suitors. Cornelia made it a point to avoid awkward conversations with her. "He is rather pleasing to look at. I can see why you chose him, Cornelia."

It took all of Cornelia's common sense to not bare her teeth at her sister. "I didn't choose him because of that, Sister."

"You should have." Guinevere gave her a knowing (and an annoyingly superior) smile.

"Isn't he the son of Gaston Guilford?" Cornelia had a feeling this would be brought up. Trust her siblings to dig up somebody's lineage. And it was a lineage that her Knight was rather quiet about and had no intentions of discussing it to anybody.

"Lord Gian has a brother?" A surprised voice – female – piped in.

"Gian's an idiot." Clovis muttered to nobody in particular, but being seated next to him, Cornelia heard it and was grateful.

"Yes, this one's the Spare-head. He will never be a Marquess; their father thinks he'll die in the battlefield within a few years. The younger brother will most likely inherit everything." One of their brothers drawled. "The old man would've disowned this one, if not for the fact that he's closely associated with the Second Princess. If he's good for anything, it's for connections."

"Gil's more Heir material than his gambler of a brother. If he keeps it up, there will be nothing to inherit." Cornelia snarled under her breath. Schneizel, upon hearing this, squeezed her shoulder gently, consolingly; a kind warning to not bother with them.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who heard. "You come to his defense, Sister?"

"Of course!"

"I'm sure you do, you're always with him. Tell me, Sister, have you bedded him yet?"

"Oscar," Schneizel shot their brother a warning look over his shoulder while keeping Cornelia in her seat. "Lord Guilford-" He nodded towards the screen, "-Is an exemplary Knight and an outstanding soldier who is well-deserving of his title, ranking and accomplishments. He is one of Britannia's heroes; a true asset of the Empire."

There was a scoff, but no more comments.

Cornelia was seething. Vicious snakes. She cursed at them in her head. Even though she knew that they have nothing against him, it doesn't save him from being a topic of gossip. She felt a hand on her other shoulder and was surprised to see Odysseus smiling at her rather apologetically.

"He's your Knight, Cornelia. I think you'd be more suited to give him the order."

"Thank you." Cornelia flipped her hair over her shoulder and shot her offending siblings a glare before walking up to the platform, feeling everybody's eyes on her, including that of her Knight's. One hand remained on the weapon strapped to her hips.

"Lord Guilford," She addressed him and paused. What exactly was she supposed to tell him?

"Your Highness," He replied automatically.

"You have my gratitude for being in attendance at today's event. I must ask you to, once again, show the good people of Britannia what sets us apart from the other nations. I require a demonstration of the skill and bravery of its Military, as a soldier and a Knight of Britannia. Will you do this, Lord Gilbert G.P. Guilford?" She could've sworn that his mouth twitched into a faint – almost invisible (to most, but not to her) – smile and his next words made her proud, even though her heart ached in a twinge of longing.

"I am at your command, my Lady."

Come back to me soon, my Knight.

Thanks for reading and luv y'all for the kind reviews!