Well here is the fourth chapter. Please do two words of your appreciation mean a lot to me. They encourage me to continue writing and help me make my writing style better.

Lelouch hurried out of the courtroom and took the first left, which confused Daemon-one of his personal and most trusted guard.

"My Prince shouldn't you be going towards the right, that is the way to your personal chambers." This made Lelouch halt and he turned to address Daemon.

"Tell me Daemon do you feel that I'm not mentally sound due to the tragic incident that happened today and have forgotten the way in my own house?"

"No! Of course not My Lord. I was under the impression that you wished to discuss certain matters"

"Yes I did, but first would you answer a certain question that has been in my mind since a very long time."

"Of course My Lord."

"Which do you think is more important the past, the present or the future? Think about it and then try and understand the course of my actions."

Saying this Lelouch briskly walked away with Daemon quietly following him.

When Lelouch entered the infirmary, he was greeted by the sight of many doctors shouting orders and moving frantically. This greatly disturbed Lelouch and he thought that something was wrong with Nunnally.

Pushing past the doctors standing there he approached the bed on which Nunnally was lying. Her head and eyes were wrapped up in bandages as were her legs. There was no sign of bloodied gauges or cotton pads which is why Lelouch assumed that she wasn't physically hurt, at least not with bleeding wounds. As a matter of fact the only blotches of blood were on the dress that Nunnally was wearing that morning.

'Oh Nunnally! My poor sister…. What she experienced today is something I would never wish on my enemy… I wish I reached there earlier… maybe I could have noticed the attack before it happened…maybe I could have saved mother…least of all I would have been there with Nunnally and the burden of watching mother die right before her eyes wouldn't be something she had to carry alone. There are so many things I wish I could have changed but alas that is not in my hands all I can do right now is handle this situation as maturely as I can.'

Addressing the doctor standing by Nunnally's bed he finally asked the question he dreaded, "How is Nunnally? Where is she hurt and what is the level of damage to her body?"

The said doctor visibly gulped and answered, "The Princess is stable for now and there are no external injuries…"

"Oh why do I feel there is a but in there? Stop with the dramatics and get straight to the point."

"She has been analyzed with an aliment of the heart…"

"Ok… but she had that since she was a child due to her premature birth and I think that you should know that. Now I command you to tell me the entire truth and stop toying with me!"

Although the eleventh Prince was a mere 10-year-old, he was quite terrifying when he was angry. His temper was such that most of the elders quivered in fear of what to expect next from him. And the said doctor was no exception, sensing the Prince's rising temper he hurriedly answered, "The Princess is crippled and cannot walk any time soon."

"What! No! There must be something that you can do. Britannia is the most advanced empire and there must be some technology to cure this."

"I'm sorry my prince but it seems that there is nothing we can do for we do not know what brought about this sudden disability", answered another doctor.

"What do you mean you don't know? This is my sister's life we are talking about. Take all the money you want but cure this."

"You don't understand. Usually this kind of disability is caused by some sort of damage to the brain or spinal cord but we cannot trace any such damage in all our analysis. It is almost like she doesn't want to either walk or open her eyes."

"So, basically what you want to tell me is that there is no hope, that there is nothing you can do."

"I'm afraid not. We shall take your leave now." With that all doctors but one left the room allowing privacy to the Royal siblings.

'No! This cannot be happening. When Nunnally said that she couldn't feel her legs I really thought that there was nothing to worry because the doctors could cure her, but now all hope was lost. No! There must be some way out…I will not lose hope… Not yet…Mother wouldn't want it … she would want me to stay strong….I'll make a miracle happen… my little Nunnally will walk again someday soon…I promise.'

The gentle voice of Nunnally calling out his name brought him out of his reverie and he immediately seated himself next to Nunnally.

"I'm here Nunnally right by your side."

"Big brother you came."

"I promised didn't I."

"Well you did, but you are late" said Nunnally in a seemingly angry voice.

"I'm sorry but there were certain matters that had to be addressed"

"You should be sorry but it's alright. I'm only frustrated as I was so worried that something had happened to you too. But I guess that you have many responsibilities on your head that I am not your topmost priority any longer. I must learn to accept this."

"No Nunnally that's not the case you are and will always be my topmost priority. I just got caught up but now that'll never happen. I promise."

"Thank you, big brother."

After some moments of silence Nunnally addressed Lelouch again, "Can I ask you something big brother?"

"Of course Nunnally. What do you want to know?"

"What will happen to me now"

"What do you mean by what'll happen to you now?"

"I heard your talk with the doctors" replied Nunnally bluntly.

"What? How? But you were asleep…oh! Now I get it…You were eavesdropping weren't you naughty little. I guess I'll have to punish you when you get out of the infirmary. Maybe I'll eat all of your ice-cream for the next week."

"Big brother please don't change the topic. I may be smaller than you but neither am I naïve nor am I stupid, you don't have to hide the horrors of the world from me any longer. You don't have to hide the fact that I'm crippled and blind for life. I know it's unfair but I think it'll be alright. I'll manage somehow as long as you are by my side big brother. I may be a seven year old girl who didn't see much of the world outside the palace walls but circumstances have made me to grow up and I shall adapt to these changes."

Lelouch stared in awe as his sister concluded her little speech. He chuckled slightly and said "I guess the little caterpillar that I had kept in the protection of my cocoon has finally matured into a beautiful but fierce butterfly. What do you think Daemon?"

Yes My Prince, the young princess has certainly grown up enough to live up to her royal name."

"True…True…but don't you think that Nunnally's first question is something that must be discussed."

"Yes My Prince I do think that the events that transpired this morning were quite bizarre for the Aries Imperial Palace is almost impossible to penetrate. Its security is quite strong and can't be that easily penetrated by rogue terrorists."

"That were my very thoughts and you are right that this is not the work of some terrorists, its been done by someone else"

"What do you mean big brother?"

"I mean to say that the incident that happened today couldn't have occurred without the help of an insider."

"You mean that we either have a traitor in our midst or a person from the Imperial family as our enemy."

"Precisely, and isn't much of a surprise given the fact that mother was a commoner and on noble but I didn't think that anyone would resort to such violence."

"Why do you think so big brother?"

"Well, firstly mother had a lot of loyal supporters who would be thirsty for revenge upon her death and secondly its no secret that mother was our father's most favorite consort. So I don't think anyone would anger the Emperor with such actions."

"I must agree with you big brother when you put it this way. But have you checked the security tapes for any clues."

"Don't worry Princess I have asked Leon to bring them. He must be arriving soon."

Coincidentally at the very moment there was a knock at the door and a striking young man with closely cropped sandy hair and blue eyes stepped in. he greeted the Prince and Princess with a bow motioned someone to come in.

"I thought that you would be hungry at such a late our, so I took the liberty of ordering some brunch for all. We can eat and discuss the matters at hand."

Lelouch nodded and helped Nunnally sit up. With their little brunch set up they resumed the discussion they were having.

"Lord Deamon I looked up the security tapes as you had asked but there was no record of security breach. It seems as though it was a planned attack by some traitor as we thought."

"Yes, I think that is clearly established between all of us."

"Speaking of security where was mother's personal guard at the time of attack? Where is Cornelia, she was given the responsibility of mother's safety?"

"From what I have found from speaking with the guards Lady Marianne's elite was ordered to stand down today."

"That means….." started Daemon.

"Yes it means that someone elaborately planned the attack. This confirms our suspicions of a traitor amidst us. Leon call Cornelia now!"

"I've tried my Prince but we can't contact her by any means."

"Very well then I want you to immediately request a council with my father tomorrow morning. It seems that he needs to answer some of my questions."

"Yes My Prince. I shall arrange that immediately."

Well that concludes this chapter. the next one will show the conversation of Lelouch with Charles about his mother's death.