Chapter Four: And Bring Me Home

Suzaku was nervous the entire flight to England, trying to stop himself from moving too much in his seat. It was obvious that Gino and Kallen were up to something. They had kept to themselves once the two of them had gotten back from lunch. They had told him that they had already reported in and he didn't need to. On all other missions he had been on, with or without Gino and Kallen, Nunnally had expected a report on he phone while Marianne had wanted a report in person. He had been told that he wasn't to do either.

To make matters more suspicious, there was no sign of a royal presence as they landed in Heathrow, just the usual bustle of the airport. Suzaku looked over at Gino and Kallen, not surprised when they continued to hurry along. He kept his mouth shut as they made their way through the airport, sticking close to Lelouch.

He barely managed to keep himself quiet when they walked out of the airport to find two cars. He recognized the blonde leaning on one of the cars, the one that Kallen was guiding him and Lelouch to. Suzaku turned in time to see Gino getting into the other one. "Kallen…"

"Later."

He was shoved into the car, Lelouch scrambling in after him. Kallen claimed the other window seat while Milly sat up by the driver. She immediately turned around to face them, grinning as the car began to pull away from Heathrow.

Kallen breathed out a relieved sigh as soon as they were out in traffic. "Thanks for picking us up on such short notice Milly."

"No problem. It seemed like an ideal situation to get myself into." Suzaku tensed as she turned to stare at Lelouch. "And it looks like I've backed the right horse here. He's a dead ringer."

"What's going on?" Lelouch's carefully controlled tone of voice made Suzaku flinch.

Milly and Kallen didn't seem to be affected at all. Milly just smiled. "Apparently there's been a bit of a snag. Gino is going to work it out now while we wait it out."

"What kind of snag?" Suzaku glanced at Kallen.

"Nunnally has ordered all searches for Prince Lelouch stopped."

"What?" Suzaku twisted in his seat, resting his hand on Lelouch's arm when Lelouch turned.

Kallen just shrugged. "Those were her orders, but we were already returning. Gino is going to see what the circumstances would be to get an interview despite the order."

"And what do I do until then?"

Kallen turned her attention to Lelouch. "You'll be a guest of Milly Ashford and you will try to remember something that will be impressive enough for them to believe you."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"We'll pass you off as an illegitimate child of one of the dead princes, which wouldn't be too hard." Kallen stared at Lelouch, Suzaku automatically leaning close to him. "I doubt that a DNA test would fail to prove that you have some Britannian blood in you."

Milly leaned further back towards them. "He already has the eyes and the facial structure. There's a good chance that he is related to the Britannian royal family, maybe through one of the minor princes."

Suzaku looked warily at Lelouch. They had promised him that they would find something out about his past, but they had never promised to prove that he really was the lost prince. But it had been heavily implied. And part of Suzaku had already started to believe that Lelouch was the lost prince, despite all of his attempts otherwise. After all of their promises, it felt like just being proved illegitimate was a let down.

Lelouch was playing with the gold chain around his neck, the charm at the end still hidden under the neck of his turtleneck. Lelouch glanced over at him briefly before looking out the window, watching the street as they continued to drive through London traffic. He finally shook his head, meeting Suzaku's gaze. "I don't care how it is done; I just want to remember something."

"And we intend to uphold our end of the bargain." Kallen exchanged glances with Milly. "It just might be a more roundabout way to go about it."

Lelouch finally nodded, Milly giving an excited cheer. The blonde pushed herself back in her seat, Suzaku catching glimpses of the back of her hands as she gestured. "Well then, I'll start training you to act the part until you're granted an audience with Lady Marianne. You'll need them anyway no matter what."

"Will there be a test?"

"Of course. If you can't act the part, how will you convince them?" Milly chuckled. "If we want to make this work, we need to make sure that you give them a good impression. And I expect that Gino and the others will be taking you around town to try and catch Nunnally and Lady Marianne."

Kallen leaned forward. "And you'll help?"

Milly waved her hand in a dismissive motion. "I sat in on most of the questioning sessions, so I know most of the questions. Filling him in on the history won't be too hard."

She launched into a detailed description of the questions, Kallen paying close attention.

Suzaku knew he should have been paying attention too, but he found himself watching Lelouch. Lelouch was playing with the chain again, alternating between looking out the windows to watching the two women. He finally turned to Suzaku, scooting a little closer. "I'm guessing that the Ashford estate isn't in London."

"No, it's outside London, about twenty-three miles outside actually. It's very close to Windsor Castle, where Nunnally and Marianne are staying." Lelouch frowned, Suzaku chuckling at the expression. "Don't worry, the Ashford estate and Windsor aren't as big as you think that are. They just tend to…sprawl."

"Ah." Lelouch gave a nervous laugh. "And that's supposed to be calming?"

"Yeah."

Lelouch shook his head. "I'm expected to memorize chunks of royal history and the layouts of two large houses. Is there a simple place where I can hide?"

"Well, there's the townhouse. It's almost never used."

"It's being used now." Milly broke off her conversation with Kallen to address them. "Princess Cornelia and her fiancée, Sir Guilford, are using it while they visit Lady Marianne. Lady Marianne offered it to them as a retreat while they are here. The current gossip says that Empress Evelina disapproves of this marriage completely."

Suzaku tensed at the mention of the empress, looking over at Kallen. Evelina was less than pleased that Marianne employed Japanese guards, she preferred Britannians. In fact, she preferred Britannians for most jobs. Suzaku was sure that Evelina would be annoyed more so than usual because she wouldn't be the empress much longer, not with the way the emancipation of the Areas was going.

He cleared his throat. "How much time do we have before she comes?"

"Oh, she isn't coming here." Milly twisted in her seat. "There's something going on in Pendragon about Princess Cornelia's wedding. Emperor Schneizel is pushing for a ceremony in Pendragon while Princess Cornelia wants to have a private ceremony here. Until that's settled, no one is going anywhere.

"But, if everything does go Cornelia's way, the empress would arrive a week before the wedding to spend time with the nobility here and to find all of the places where Schneizel and Kanon could hide from her."

Suzaku looked back over at Lelouch, hesitating before beginning to explain. "Empress Evelina is one of those who believed in Emperor Charles' claims that Britannians were a superior race and that it was destiny for Britannia to grow. She was quieter when before Schneizel became emperor. Now she can't stop pushing her views onto Schneizel's politics."

Lelouch looked disgusted. "Why doesn't he get rid of her?"

"Besides the important family ties that came from the marriage?" Milly turned to look at them. "Because he doesn't want to cause trouble within the empire, but that could change at any moment. At least Schneizel got an heir out of the marriage."

Suzaku watched Lelouch carefully. Lelouch was frowning, like he was trying to take in the information or trying to remember something, Suzaku wasn't sure which. He did know that, aside from Nunnally and Euphemia, his Lelouch had been close to Schneizel. Of course, the two of them had been closer to rivals than friendly, but it was one of the closer bonds in the Britannian family. To Suzaku, it didn't look like Lelouch remembered anything.

He slumped in his seat, turning to stare at the window. He just tipped his head slightly when Milly spoke to him.

"You'll have the better excuse Suzaku. You'll be with a guest the entire time." Suzaku tensed, Milly not noticing his discomfort. "You're the only one I could get for the job since Kallen and Gino are specifically assigned to Marianne. Besides, Nunnally thought that it would be good for you to rest after this."

Suzaku bit back his annoyed reply, dropping his gaze to the floor. Nunnally would try to protect him from her decision and wait to tell him. She was probably expecting him to disobey orders and go on searches on his own. And the worst part was that he would never be called in for disciplinary action. He reached up to rub at his neck, stopping when Lelouch grabbed his arm, giving it a squeeze. When he looked, he found that Lelouch was looking confused instead of angry.

Lelouch quickly jerked his hand away. He looked away, contemplating the floor. Suzaku swallowed and returned his gaze to the window. He tried not to turn his head as Lelouch spoke up. "So, what's the plan?"

"We wait for Gino's report from our ally within the household. We'll probably need them when we introduce you or start convincing them that you are the lost prince." Suzaku looked over just in time to see Kallen shoot him a worried look.

That look kept him on edge for the remainder of the ride to the Ashford estate, carefully keeping himself from looking at Kallen. By the end of the ride, Lelouch was pressed up against him, peering out of the window. When the car rolled to a stop, Lelouch quickly scooted away from him and scrambled out of the car.

Suzaku was slow to get out, stretching before looking back towards where Windsor was. He flinched and turned towards the Ashford mansion, trailing behind the group as they headed toward the door, Milly already launching into the tour for Lelouch. Lelouch glanced back at him once before he was dragged off to the front entrance.

Kallen grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the side entrance. Suzaku wanted to protest but stopped at the look on Kallen's face. He sighed and allowed himself to be dragged away, surprised when Kallen didn't pull him all the way into the house.

She dropped his arm with a sigh. "This is your chance to pout."

"I'm not going to. I just want to know what is going on."

"You already know. Nunnally gave the order and we're trying to get around it. I thought that you would be happy to get to stay with Lelouch."

"A way to keep me quiet?"

"Listen." Kallen reached out for him, pulling back at the last minute. "I don't agree with this, but Gino convinced me. If you want to believe that this is the lost prince, fine. If you want to just think that this is you doing your duty, fine. I don't care what you do. Your orders are to stay here and help this Lelouch, unless you would rather deal with Princess Euphemia."

Suzaku blanched, looking away. Kallen awkwardly patted his arm. "I thought so. Just stay here then, I'll let Gino handle the princesses. Just…try to be happy. I'm sick of you moping around."

Kallen turned to walk away, Suzaku stopping her by grabbing her shoulder. "Shouldn't you warn me about not getting too attached?"

"It's not my job to look after you. I do care, but you're old enough to take care of yourself. If you want to believe that it's Lelouch, then go ahead."

Suzaku let his hand drop from her shoulder. "Do you think that it's Lelouch? The real Lelouch?"

Kallen sighed, shaking her head. "I've seen a lot of the imposters; I've kicked out most of them. The man we brought with us is the closest to the pictures of Lelouch as a child and he does look like Marianne. I don't know if he's really Lelouch, but that close resemblance has to count for something. But, in the end, I think the only thing that matters is if you think he's Lelouch. You knew Lelouch better than any of us."

She shrugged and walked away. Suzaku watched her go for a moment before turning and walking back into the kitchen, making his way to the main hall. He didn't get the chance to brood over the information that he had been given, Milly bustling toward him.

Milly grabbed him by his arm and started pulling him towards the stairs. "I already gave Lelouch a room and I want to get you settled before he decides to start wandering. He looks like he's about to bolt."

"And I'm keeping track of him."

"Well you are his…protector." She flinched and spoke quickly to cover up her slip up. "And you seem to be the only one that he seems comfortable with. It only seems fair to keep him close to someone he knows after everything, not that it's your fault."

Suzaku sighed and allowed himself to be pulled down the hall, stepping back as Milly threw open the door to a room, gesturing at it. He glanced at her before stepping inside, forcing himself not to look amazed. His life had been spent in small rooms, from the cell that his father's councilors had kept him in to his room in the barracks. He could barely remember his room in the Kururugi Shrine, just a vague memory of the sun coming in through the window and hitting the wooden floor. He swallowed, reaching up to tap his fingers against his collarbone as he stepped further into the room. He preferred not to think about anything related to his past, because it would just lead back to that small cell somewhere in Japan.

He stepped further into the room, barely hearing Milly shut the door. Suzaku paused to rest a hand on his luggage, rooting around in his carry on bag to pull out the pin. He checked it over carefully, running his finger over the delicate wings before slipping it into his pocket out of habit.

Sure that his most prized possession was safe, Suzaku walked around the room, noting the view from the windows and the clear path to the door. He had never been able to shake the habit of looking for escape routes and safe places to hide his charges if he had to fight; it was too firmly entrenched in his mind. The room passed as defensible, which allowed Suzaku to turn his attention to the bed for a moment. It was far better than his cot in the barracks, Suzaku not sure that he would be able to sleep on something that looked so comfortable.

He walked over to it, running his hand over the bed spread. Normally he wouldn't have been housed in rooms like these; he would have been on the ground floor. Suzaku smiled to himself, looking up and freezing at the sight of a door in the wall. He moved around the bed to get to it, resting a hand on the door. Knowing Milly, Lelouch was just on the other side.

Suzaku jerked his hand back quickly, swallowing. His situation was too much like a knight to his lord for his comfort. A knight would get a room adjoining his lord's or sleep in the sitting room if they were staying in a suite. He resisted the urge to touch the pin in his pocket, turning away from the door and going to sit in one of the chairs. He wasn't a knight, not yet.

There was a time that he'd had the chance to be one, a month after Gino and Kallen had been knighted. Suzaku leaned forward and ran a hand over his face. He had been so lonely in that month, his only two friends gone more often than not and an awkward gap opened between them. It wasn't that the others in the barracks had treated him badly; none of them were close to Suzaku as they were all older guards. So he had spent most of his time watching over Nunnally and Euphemia, who was staying for that summer.

He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face at the thought of Euphemia. He preferred to remember her how she was in the early days of that summer, all smiles and her hair refusing to stay in its buns as she worked in the gardens with Nunnally or went out riding with her sister. That was the Euphemia he wanted to think about, the one that he had felt comfortable with, the one that was almost like the beautiful princess that he remembered from his childhood. For almost one summer, he had almost been able to forget Lelouch.

For almost one summer, he had started to fall in love.

Suzaku tipped his head back and closed his eyes, not surprised when his thoughts turned to what happened after that summer.

There had been a riot, the people protesting the closeness that England was settling into with Britannia. The English people had been alright with the Britannian royal family taken up residence in some of the castles that they had owned before Napoleon had taken London and the royalty had fled. It was the fear of becoming the next Area that had urged them to riot, despite the fact that Schneizel had assured them that no such thing was happening.

And Euphemia, beautiful, caring Euphemia, had gone out to try and calm their fears.

Suzaku clenched his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. There were so many things that could have gone wrong, he should have been thankful that it had just ended up with Euphemia breaking her leg. But what he remembered more than the outcome was the panic as he had fought through the crowd to his princess' side and standing over her as the crowd pushed around them, realizing that he had failed to protect her from harm.

Euphemia had wanted to reward him by making him her personal knight, but he had refused on two grounds. One, that he had been unable to completely protect her, that he had allowed the crowd to get between the two of them and hurt her. Two, he still considered himself bound by Lelouch's promise, despite the fact that Euphemia had pointed out that Lelouch was probably dead. It had just been an attempt to ease him away from a promise that had never been fulfilled; Euphemia would have never had it in her to trick him into accepting the position. But his conscious had never allowed it.

The final weeks of the summer had been filled with icy silence between the two of them, Euphemia cooped up because of her broken leg and Suzaku going over every moment of his failure. Then, when he had analyzed it to the best of his efforts, he had gone over the rest of the summer and came to a stunning conclusion. While he had started to fall in love with Euphemia he had been comparing her to Lelouch.

That had been enough guilt to encourage him to work harder to keep him away from Euphemia. He still remembered her from their childhood, and he didn't want to define her by how she compared to her older brother.

Suzaku rubbed a hand over his face, staring at the wall across from him. Rehashing over the details wouldn't get him anywhere; it would just remind him of his guilt. Suzaku sighed and stood up, intending to begin to check the hallway, when there was a knock on his door.

He got out of his chair and strode over to the door, opening it slowly and expecting it to be flung open in his face. When it didn't, Suzaku assumed that it wasn't Milly. He felt himself relax more at that, not sure if he was willing to face Milly again so soon. Suzaku opened the door all the way, smiling as he saw Lelouch standing in the doorway.

Lelouch returned the smile cautiously, peeking into the room. Suzaku stepped back to allow Lelouch to see the room better, surprised when he immediately saw the door. "So that's where that leads. Am I to expect some sort of visits in the middle of the night?"

Suzaku's first reaction was to blush. He shook his head, clearing his throat. "Ah, no. Probably not. Just keep your side unlocked in case-"

"In case someone comes after me." Lelouch smiled at him, taking a step back. "Which means that you're playing the guard for me. You don't have to, you know. I'm not important."

"Yet." The response surprised Suzaku as much as it seemed to surprise Lelouch. Suzaku licked his lips and leaned against the door. "If you are…a prince, you have to get used to someone hovering around all the time. Consider this another lesson."

Lelouch gave him a long, speculative look. "As long as I'm not tripping over you."

"I'm not that bad."

"I'd rather decide that for myself."

Suzaku grinned and took a step back. "I'll leave you to that then, your highness."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth Suzaku knew that he had made a mistake. Lelouch's smirk disappeared and he took a step back. Suzaku swallowed, tightening his hand around the edge of the door. He waited for the rebuff that would follow, surprised when Lelouch just turned around and walked down the hallway.

Suzaku couldn't gather the courage to watch him go; instead choosing to close the door and walk back to his chair. He should have known better than to push too fast. He sunk down into the chair, rubbing his hands over his face. It would be hard to remember that he couldn't just settle into the easy banter that he had shared with Lelouch before. It was probably intimidating to this Lelouch. It was just another rule to be added to the growing list in his head. Suzaku groaned, dropping his hands to the arm rests.

For now, he would let Lelouch get acquainted with the house, on his own for today but Suzaku would accompany him later. He would not relent on the issue of him shadowing Lelouch, Lelouch would just have to get used to it. Suzaku reached for the pin in his pocket, jerking his hand away quickly. He wouldn't interact with Lelouch more than he had to, he didn't want to scare Lelouch off again at the wrong moment.

He sighed and glanced back at the door, part of him wishing that Lelouch would come back so he could apologize. But just wishing things wouldn't make them come true, he had learned that early on. One could only wish for so long.

Lelouch walked quickly down the hallway, playing with the chain around his neck. He barely paid attention to where he was going, just paying attention to the texture of the chain in through his fingers. He hadn't meant to trigger a memory, and he was sure that Suzaku hadn't either. Lelouch didn't know what would trigger a memory; it could a simple phrase or just looking at a building. Sometimes the memories were frustratingly small, just the sound of someone's voice or a vague feeling that he had been in a place before.

He had resigned himself to the fact that everything would not come back to him in one big flash of insight. That was the stuff of fantasy. But it didn't stop him from wishing that it would happen.

Lelouch wandered down into the main hall, glancing around as he tried to remember what Milly had told him as she had dragged him to his room. He swallowed and chose a door, hoping that it would lead somewhere quiet. He was lucky that he found the library.

Lelouch let his shoulders slump as he moved toward one of the chairs, finally untangling his fingers from the golden chain. He ran his hands over his face, trying to process what had triggered the memory. It had been something in the conversation, something small that he had almost missed when it had been said. Lelouch sighed, letting his hands drop to the armrests of the chair and closed his eyes.

What he had gotten was nothing important, just a fragment of a conversation. There hadn't even been a memory of voices, just the words and a bit of an emotion.

"Is that an order, your highness?"

"Don't mock me!"

"Why not? You make fun of me!"

"I do not."

"You do! You're always calling me stupid."

"Because you are."

"Just because I'm not as smart as you doesn't mean anything!"

"Well that just proves how little you know."

"Shut up! You don't know anything because you're just a spoiled brat!"

"And you're just a worthless commoner!"

And then there had been a punch. Lelouch absently rubbed his jaw, glancing back toward the door. From all of that he had learned that he had been a spoiled brat as a child, something that made him smile slightly. At least that was something.

He drummed his fingers against the arm rest. He was under orders to remain here and try to remember what he could. Lelouch chuckled, pushing away from the chair to walk along the shelves. He hand a hand over the spines of the books, picking one at random. He just wanted something to distract himself from pushing for more out of the memory. He learned that his first impressions were usually the right ones.

Lelouch flipped aimlessly through the book, leaning against the shelves as he stared at the words on the page, not reading them at all.

"Trying to get ahead?"

He jumped at the sound of someone's voice, turning around to see Milly standing inside of the library. Lelouch shook his head, sliding the book back in place. "Trying not to get lost."

"Or trying to lose your guard." Lelouch frowned, Milly seeming to take that as disgust. She moved further into the room. "Suzaku really isn't that bad. He's probably the best one of the bunch. Gino would talk your ear off and I think you and Kallen would end up arguing all of the time."

"That's not it."

"Ah, then it's something else." She leaned forward, staring at his face for a moment before rocking back onto her heels. "We'll find that out soon enough."

Lelouch hid his shiver, not sure how to react to that statement. He turned his attention back to the shelves, aware that Milly was trailing after him as he made his way around the room. He didn't expect Milly to leave him to his silence for long, and he wasn't disappointed.

"So, tell me about yourself." Lelouch turned his head to look at her. Milly just smiled. "I have to know what I'm working with."

"Shouldn't that wait until we have approval for an interview?"

Milly waved his concern off. "They'll probably ask some standard questions and you should know the answers well before hand so you can say them confidently. That will leave you time to figure out what you can do to impress them."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow before shaking his head. "Fine. I was found when I was eight, wandering around Tokyo. I was taken to an orphanage. I don't remember why I was wandering or anything after that first day I woke up in the orphanage. There were four other Britannian children that came in on the same day and more trickled in over the next few days, ones that were lost in the panic after the murder of the royal family. All those who didn't have a name or couldn't remember their name were named after the dead members of the royal family."

"And you got Lelouch?"

"There was another Lelouch, but he was younger." He shrugged. "I stayed there until three days ago. I was told that someone would meet me, which they never did."

"And you just fell in with those three?" Lelouch nodded, surprised when Milly seemed content with that answer. She turned to the bookshelves, pulling out a book and flipping through it. Lelouch took a step back, watching her carefully. Milly didn't seem to notice or she didn't mind, continuing to page through the book. "Interesting. Well, from what you have there's evidence that you could be the lost prince. But, as you said, every Britannian in Japan panicked that night. So there's a chance that you're still some noble's child."

Lelouch shrugged. He wasn't sure how he felt about being identified as a noble's child or one of the illegitimate children of the royal family. There was a part of him that wouldn't settle for anything less than the lost prince, but the chances of that were slim. The fact that Princess Nunnally would need convincing from loyal knights of the family didn't bode well for him. It would be better if he accustomed himself to settling for less.

"Here." Lelouch jumped as Milly suddenly shoved a book into his hands. He turned it over to look at the title, nearly dropping it as Milly shoved two more into his arms. "Your first homework assignment. And I expect you to complete it. I won't accept slacking from you."

He stared at the books, raising his eyebrow when he saw that they were mostly history books, one etiquette book slipped in among the rest. Lelouch laughed, tucking the books under his arm. "What is this, the Ashford Academy?"

"No. That's a private school a few miles away from here run by my grandfather. This is Milly's Prince Academy." She winked and walked out of the room.

Lelouch sighed, shifting the books under his arm before glancing upstairs. He could hide in the library and read the books Milly had given him; he didn't have anything better to do. Or, he could return to his room where he knew that no one would bother him, save Suzaku.

He rolled his eyes and walked back to his room. He had spent most of his childhood alone, mostly of his own choice. There were few chances to make friends and Lelouch hadn't been the friendliest, he had been too busy trying to regain his memories or trying to keep himself distracted, always on his own. He didn't have that luxury anymore, not if he was going to take this chance seriously. Now he would have to get used to having people around at all times, especially one hovering close to him, but he found that he didn't mind if it was Suzaku. He wasn't quite comfortable around Suzaku, but it was the closest thing to comfort that he had.

Lelouch passed Suzaku's room, not surprised to see the door closed. He shrugged to himself, stepping into his own room and shutting the door. He doubted that Milly would be coming to see them again; she was probably busy with her own business. And, from what he had heard in the car, he figured that Gino and Kallen would be busy with their tasks.

He dropped the books onto his bed, staring at the history ones warily. The orphanage had kept a few teachers on staff for the sake of the children. To his knowledge, Lelouch had at least a rudimentary high school education from them. It would have been enough to serve him in a simple job, but Lelouch probably would have worked for the rest of his life just to remain comfortable, something that he would have preferred not to do.

He sighed and picked up the books, setting them on the nightstand. Lelouch took one over to one of the chairs in the room, hesitating before walking over to the door that led to Suzaku's room. Suzaku had asked him to keep the door between their rooms unlocked, for his own safety. Lelouch smiled to himself, shaking his head as he unlocked the door. He was sure that he would have Suzaku in the room soon enough. Suzaku would probably search his room every night. He seemed the kind to take his job seriously.

Lelouch went back to his chair, pausing when he heard Suzaku moving around in the room next to him. He expected Suzaku to come through the door. Instead, he just heard the lock clink as Suzaku unlocked the door on his side, but that was it. Lelouch gave the door a speculative look before going back to his books, tracing his fingers over the cover. Apparently he hadn't completely figured Suzaku out, the idea making him smile. That made him less nervous about his interest in Suzaku. He just wanted to know about the man who would be guarding him.

It was an easier idea to accept than believing that he was just drawn to Suzaku.

Gino bowed when he entered the sitting room, smiling as he heard Euphemia laugh. He glanced up, waiting for her signal before standing. Gino crossed the room, taking the seat that Euphemia gestured to, shaking his head when she offered him food. "As much as I'd like to, I'm on business."

"Surely that can wait for a moment. I haven't seen you in a long time, Gino, not since…" She frowned and shook her head. "Well, since I did something foolish and broke my leg. How is Suzaku, Gino? Really."

Gino swallowed. He hadn't expected Euphemia to ask about Suzaku so soon, but he should have. Euphemia was probably still in love with him. Gino shifted in his seat, looking anywhere but her. "Still the same, still looking for Lelouch."

"Still obsessed with it?"

"Yes."

Euphemia laughed sadly. "I had hoped…but they were always so close when they were children, so it makes sense." She cleared her throat. "And you and Kallen?"

"Fine and as happy as ever."

"Good. Good."

Gino watched her carefully. Euphemia was more fidgety than usual, meaning that she still had a lot on her mind. It wouldn't be too far fetched to guess that she was still thinking about Suzaku. He felt a little guilty for not lying to her about him. But it was probably easier to just get Euphemia used to the idea that Suzaku had liked her, never loved her.

He cleared his throat, scooting forward slightly in his chair. Going straight to business now would probably be too much, a reminder that she could be losing Suzaku forever. There was no question in anyone's mind that Suzaku would be knighted by Lelouch, if Lelouch was found. If Lelouch was still alive. Instead, it was better to just try and cheer Euphemia up again. That was his job in this venture in the end, to charm the princesses over to their side.

"So, I heard that Cornelia is finally getting married."

"Yes." Euphemia pushed her bangs out of her eyes, a fond smile replacing the sad one. "Their wedding is coming up at the end of the month. Cornelia tried to get it to be a small private affair here, but Schneizel said that it would be better to have it in Pendragon to show that the royal family is still as strong as ever. The last I heard, he's going to announce the news tomorrow." She blushed. "Right now, Cornelia is mad at him because she has to get married in Pendragon now. We had been at the Imperial Palace for a week before we came here and Empress Evelina drove Cornelia crazy."

"And Schneizel is willing to risk Cornelia's anger for this one wedding?"

"I think…I think…" Euphemia looked away, motioning for Gino to lean closer. Only when Gino had leaned forward did she speak again. "He's been reworking the line of succession. The one that father had left behind was a mess and Schneizel didn't want Britannia to suffer through the same panic."

Gino remembered the panic well. Schneizel had taken the throne the day after the massacre, just to have someone running the government. Until they had found the document that stated the line of succession, Schneizel refused the title of emperor. Britannia had been without an emperor for a week before the proper documents were found, and then the panic began.

Out of the seven documents found, five were still legally viable. The line of succession had been messed up badly from before Charles took the throne as emperor. Charles' father had gotten the throne on a technicality that had caused a civil war when he died. Charles had only managed to get the throne by staying hidden until most of his older siblings had been killed and then finding a regent to rule with him until he was of age. His brother, Vincent, had solved the problem by fleeing the country.

Tracking who would take the throne after Charles' death had been further complicated by the fact most of his older children were dead or in hiding, which gave some of the older members of the Britannia family the courage to push their claim to the throne. It had taken months, during which Schneizel continued to rule the empire and some of the other princesses and princes came trickling back in, only to find that they had been barred from taking the throne because they had been considered dead.

To Gino's knowledge, the fighting over the throne would have gone on far long or escalated into another civil war if Schneizel hadn't finally claimed the title of emperor. There had been arguments following his announcement, but Schneizel had been backed by the common people and most of Charles' wives, since most of them had lost at least one child to the massacre at Aries Villa.

That Schneizel was reworking the line of succession meant two things, that he was doing as he said and trying to keep an emperor on the throne and Britannia out of civil war or he was terminally ill. Gino tried to think back on the last time he had seen Schneizel. The emperor had seemed perfectly alright then, but he had never been able to get a good read on Schneizel.

Gino swallowed, deciding that not knowing was the greater risk. "Is the emperor well?"

Euphemia sat back. "Well of course he is." She frowned a moment later, Gino surprised at the speed that she caught on to his thoughts. "Why?"

"He's reworking the line of succession."

"He's making it easier for his heir to take the throne." Euphemia shifted nervously in her seat before sighing, slumping forward. "Forgive the lack of formality, Gino, but I'm too tired for it. Nunnally has been out distracting Lady Marianne while Cornelia and I talked to Schneizel. We wanted him to be sure of what he was doing before he agreed to anything."

Gino tensed. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, Schneizel is just…fixing something that needed to be fixed." Euphemia took a deep breath. "You know about Empress Evelina and her views? Well, it's gotten to be too much for the empire. The Areas don't appreciate her trying to get them back and Schneizel doesn't appreciate his diplomatic work ruined. Britannia is twice as profitable under Schneizel, and it's because of his network of treaties. The Areas are essentially free and self governing, but Britannia has the right to exclusive trade if the Area wishes and a promise that Britannia will back them if they get into trouble. Doing this has put the Chinese Federation and the EU on edge since the Areas are no longer resisting us but working with us."

"I'm sensing a but here."

Euphemia smiled. "And here it is. Empress Evelina has got to go. Even her family agrees that she is doing more harm than good, but that's only reluctantly."

"So? There's a law that allowed the emperor to marry more than once."

"Yes, but that will just make her angrier. Besides, can you see Schneizel as many wives as my father had?"

"He's not the type to be held to any number of women."

"Exactly. Which is why he's reworking the line of succession to appease Evelina's family. Their son will remain the crown prince and they will continue to support him despite the divorce. And that is why Cornelia is getting married in Pendragon at the beginning of the month, because the news will be out about the divorce soon enough and a celebration is needed."

Gino narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything. It was common for the aristocrats to shuffle each other around to be used for another's benefit. It had happened more often than he wanted to remember in his childhood, but that didn't mean that he felt any better about it. Honestly, it unnerved Gino. It reminded him of the many other possible ways his family could have reacted when they had found out about his affair.

He looked up as Euphemia touched his hand, a real smile on her face again. He cleared his throat, careful not to move his hand away from hers. "So why did Nunnally and Marianne not take part in this conversation?"

Euphemia's smile disappeared, Gino wincing at his blunder. He went to pull his hand away, Euphemia not letting him. "Schneizel left some of his siblings on the document, the older ones to serve as possible regents and the younger ones to take over the throne if something happens. But Lelouch is no longer on the document, and we had a long talk about what to do about it. Marianne may have agreed to respect Nunnally's wishes in not looking for Lelouch anymore, but listening to them talk about removing her son entirely may have been too much."

She let her hand slip off of his, staring at the floor. "It was a bit much for me as well. Despite everything, I always hoped that he was alive too." She cleared her throat and stood up. "But I guess it's time to face the facts and move on."

Gino shifted in his chair, trying to come up with the right words. "That brings us to the business I wanted to talk to you about. You do know about our mission?" He paused long enough to see Euphemia nod. "Well, we found something."

"Lelouch?" Euphemia stood up straight.

"No. But he looks just like him." Gino got to his feet when Euphemia turned to walk away. Against his better judgment, he reached out to grab her wrist. "Listen Euphemia, Kallen and I both agree that he looks like he could be Lelouch."

"Many of the other impostors did too."

"Yes, but this is different. Euphemia," Gino circled around so he could see her face, "he's the right age and knows nothing about his past."

"How convenient."

"And he's taken to Suzaku completely." Euphemia froze at that, Gino hurrying onward. "I know that it's not real evidence, but none of the others have even recognized Suzaku when they've come into their interviews or left them. Some of the others that we looked at in Japan looked disgusted to see him. But this one made Suzaku smile."

"Gino…"

"I know that's not enough, but we promised this guy that we'd get him a chance. We thought that he looked like Lelouch so we dragged him over here."

Euphemia pulled away from him, crossing her arms over her chest. "What does he want?"

"His memories?" Gino shrugged. "He isn't in it for the money, that's for sure."

She hesitated for a moment longer before letting her arms drop. "And you are sure about him?"

"No, which is why I want to get support before I bring the idea to Nunnally." Gino couldn't help the smile that crossed his face. "It will be hard enough to get her to see him, let alone take him seriously, so I want all the evidence we can get."

Euphemia sighed, shaking her head. "I…I will see him tomorrow then and make my decision. I just hope you are right, Gino."

"I wouldn't be bringing this up if I didn't think I was." Gino bowed, pausing before he got up. "We're keeping him at the Ashford estate until we can convince Nunnally and Marianne to see him."

"I will be there tomorrow then." Euphemia motioned toward the door, her formal demeanor dropping for a moment. "I trust you, Gino."

There was no response he could give to that. Gino just nodded and walked out of the door, trying to ignore the way that Euphemia slumped back into her chair. He shut the door carefully behind him before turning to walk down the hall, jumping when he saw Kallen standing there.

"So, what did she say?"

Gino glanced around before starting to walk in the direction of their rooms. Kallen fell into step beside him, obviously impatient to hear the news. Gino took a deep breath, letting it out as a sigh. "She's agreed to see him, but she didn't seem convinced."

"Then we'll have to do our best to convince her."

"Good-night mother." Marianne looked up as Nunnally walked out of the room. She smiled at her daughter, the smile disappearing as soon as Nunnally shut the door.

Something important had gone on today, and she hadn't been a part of it.

She leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand. Marianne had let Nunnally take her out of the castle for a day out in the city. She hadn't argued at the time, she knew that she needed to do something other than mope around the castle trying to preserve every memory she had of Lelouch. That and Cornelia and Guilford needed their time alone, especially since there was talk of the wedding being moved back to Pendragon. Marianne sighed and stood up, walking over to pick up her hairbrush. She would have to tell them that the offer of her townhouse extended to the honeymoon or for any time they needed to escape Pendragon. She understood how difficult it was to live with a woman who disapproved of you.

Marianne shook her head and began to brush her hair out. Until the massacre at the Aries Villa most of the other wives had hated her, but that had disappeared after Charles had died. Perhaps it was because there was no need to compete for Charles' attention anymore. Or maybe it was the fact that all of the wives at lost someone important to them, be it one of their children, a relative or a beloved knight. It had brought them all together, to the point where they didn't mind speaking with Charles' commoner wife. In fact, most of them seemed to admire her because of the way that she had carried on afterward, how she had not only supported Schneizel, but had made herself available to him despite the loss of her child.

None of them realized how she had grieved for Lelouch when she was away from them. For most of the wives, grieving was done partially in private and partially in public, all part of the show of politics. Marianne realized the importance of the political show, but she refused to be anything but strong in public. She had spent too long being judged and watched for any signs of weakness to allow any of it to show in public. In private was a completely different matter.

She glanced over to the letter partially hidden by her hand mirror. Her mother had sent it to her when Lelouch had been confirmed as dead, an invitation to come home whenever she needed it. Marianne smiled and reached out to touch the letter, jerking her hand back quickly. She had never taken up the invitation, she didn't want to sit through her mother's pity filled smiles and her father's attempts to cheer her up with his old war stories. Once they had inspired her to work hard and become a Knight of the Round, to make her father proud. Now they just reminded her how she had thought of her children.

To her, Lelouch and Nunnally had just been a way to keep her position. She had loved Charles too much to just be put aside like his other wives and her mother had needed the money that she could give her, as her father had been badly injured during a skirmish and her mother had lost her job. Her children had just been a means to the end, a hope that, eventually, her mother and father could live in comfort for the rest of their lives.

When she had lost Lelouch, she realized how much she had loved them, how they weren't as much of a bother as she thought.

The brush dropped out of her hands, Marianne immediately turning to look at the door. Thankfully, no one had heard. She didn't want Nunnally to rush back in to try and comfort her. She had been holding Nunnally too close for too long, Nunnally didn't need to be stuck tending her for the rest of her life. Marianne could take care of herself. This was just a little difficulty for her to get over.

She took a deep breath, bending over to pick up her brush. Lelouch was gone, that was something that she had to accept. She couldn't go chasing after shadows and grasping at air in the hopes that it would return her little boy. By pushing the issue she had just hurt Nunnally, the one thing that she had never wanted to do.

Marianne placed the brush back on the table as someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

The door creaked as it opened, Marianne relaxing as Jeremiah Gottwald peered in. "My lady?"

"I'm fine Jeremiah, just tired."

"Of course, my lady." Jeremiah bowed and shut the door.

Marianne sat down on her bed and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Tomorrow she would work to figure out what had happened that Nunnally had to keep her out of the castle for the day. It wouldn't be hard, not if she could corner Cornelia. Cornelia was under enough stress at the moment that the simple offer of a person to talk to should be enough. It would be good for her to get out and ride, really ride again, not just let her horse plod along on the trails.

She took another deep breath, steadying herself as she came to a single conclusion. Nunnally was right. It was time to let Lelouch go. Marianne looked over to her bedside table, her hand shaking as he picked up a pen and scrawled a quick note. She would visit Lelouch's grave in Pendragon and leave flowers there. And she would talk to Nunnally. Marianne had never been able to keep plants alive; Nunnally must have inherited that skill from her grandmother. She wanted to create a small space in the garden, a small place where they could put a monument for Lelouch.

It was the only thing she could think of doing.

I've messed a bit with English history here. I'm assuming that, since the nobles and the royal family fled to the US when Napoleon invaded England in the Code Geass universe, they just did away with the royal family entirely and resorted to a purely parliamentary system with the final veto power on the prime minister. With that in mind, I expanded the universe to make England and Britannia somewhat friendly to each other during times of peace as they do have the same originating culture.

The castle that I put Marianne in does exist, although I've tweaked it and parts of its history for the purpose of this fic. Windsor castle did suffer from a fire in 1992, but it was the Upper Ward that suffered damage, not the Lower Ward where I have the fire occurring in this fic. The Ashford estate would be where the Frogmore estate exists currently.