Chapter Ten: No More Pretend
Kallen wasn't surprised that she found Suzaku at the castle instead of in the barracks. It made more sense that he would be there, especially since Lelouch had been officially moved to the castle the night before. Kallen wasn't completely sure of the details of Lelouch's interview with Nunnally and Marianne, only that they had kept him for a long while before ordering for what little Lelouch had to be moved into a room at Windsor. Kallen hadn't bothered too much with the details after that. Suzaku had volunteered to move Lelouch's things and there had been a small party in the guard's barracks. After putting up with the stress of hiding the prince from his family and worrying about what their reactions would be, Kallen was more than ready for a party.
Officially, it had been to celebrate the divorce of Emperor Schneizel and Evelina, the latter none of the guards had particularly liked. There had been some element to the celebration for the five young men who had been chosen by Dalton to serve as a part of Cornelia's guard after she had gotten married, but Kallen was sure that would be an official celebration for them when they were presented to Cornelia. But it had been too good of an opportunity to pass up since most of those stationed at Windsor wouldn't be going with Marianne and the princesses to the wedding.
Secretly, she and Gino celebrated the finding of Prince Lelouch. Kallen wasn't sure if they had permission to spread the word that they had found them. But, considering that Lady Marianne had not yet told the guards herself, Kallen was more than willing to hold her tongue. It was Gino that she would have to watch. He was probably the one that would let the secret slip out.
Kallen sighed, rubbing her forehead and wincing. She had barely kept herself from overindulging the night before, a combination of all the stress disappearing and Gino's drunken attempts a flirting with her. She had allowed herself to get just drunk enough to have a headache the next morning. Kallen knew that she should have been thankful for Gino's high alcohol tolerance or else the messenger that Marianne had sent to them that morning would have probably been injured. Eight in the morning was far too early to receive news that they were expected to meet with Lady Marianne concerning the matter of her son.
At least she had managed to get up and get ready before Gino, who had spent the most of the morning waving away her attempts to get him out of bed. She had only made three before giving up on him and trusting that he would show up on his own. Gino was old enough to take care of himself without her babying him every step of the way. It wouldn't be her fault if he failed to show up to their audience on time, she had tried to get him up.
She sighed and walked up to where Suzaku was leaning against the balustrade, mimicking his position. Kallen didn't bother to wait until he looked at her, glancing out toward the garden. With Lelouch out in the garden getting pulled around by Nunnally and Euphemia, Suzaku wouldn't be acknowledging her presence for a long while.
Kallen shifted her weight so she could lean on the stone railing a bit more comfortably, watching as Euphemia took a hold of Lelouch and started to drag him to another part of the garden, noticing when Suzaku tensed. Her first reaction was to tell him off for worrying, it was obvious that Lelouch was safe and there were plenty of guards around to protect him. Now that Lelouch had been found it was time for Suzaku to start looking after himself.
She bit her lip to stop herself from speaking, turning so she was looking at Suzaku directly. He looked far more relaxed than she had ever seen him, even with the slight scare from before when Lelouch had moved out of his line of sight. There was still enough dependence on Lelouch's presence that made her wary, but such dependence on anything made her worry.
Kallen blinked at the bit of red on Suzaku's neck, taking a moment figure out what part of Suzaku's clothes had red on it, only to realize that she was catching a glimpse of the tattoo around Suzaku's neck. She wanted to recoil, but stopped herself. If she showed that she had noticed then Suzaku would be self conscious about it again, just another insecurity of his that drove her crazy.
Suzaku didn't need a prince to make himself feel like a worthy human being. Kallen had heard the story of what had happened the night of the massacre, how Suzaku had lost his father that night and then had been carried away to be used as a political tool. There were some whispers through the barracks that he had been horribly tortured, but Kallen wasn't sure that it was the truth. All she was sure about was that Suzaku had a tattoo, one that she hadn't even seen the full extent of, but it was something that had completely defined his life from that point on, a bunch of ink on his skin.
At least now he wasn't worrying about his tattoo or whatever else made Suzaku unworthy in his mind, and that was something that Kallen would give credit to Lelouch for. Suzaku didn't need a prince to make himself feel worthy, but maybe he needed one to be able to convince himself to overlook his flaws.
Kallen quickly steered herself away from that train of thought, it was far too complicated to be thought over with what felt like half a hangover still lingering. Instead she reached over and poked his arm, waiting until he looked at her to give him a lazy smile. "You missed a great party."
From the way that Suzaku started, Kallen assumed that he hadn't known. Then again, with the guards all knowing Suzaku, they probably hadn't invited him to spare him the embarrassment of stumbling through a polite refusal or coming up with an excuse. She shrugged, shifting so she could pillow her chin on her arms. "Although I'm assuming that you found something else to occupy your time with."
"Yes." Suzaku blushed. "Lelouch wanted to talk with me."
"And I assume everything got worked out." Kallen waited for Suzaku's nod before returning her attention to the royal siblings in the garden. "Good. I wouldn't have been able to punch him otherwise."
She expected Suzaku to laugh, or at least to glare at her in some attempt to curb her humor. But she didn't except him to stare at her. "Why?"
Kallen blinked and pushed away from the railing. She turned to look at Suzaku, rubbing a hand over her face when she saw the earnest look that he was giving her. "Because, prince or not, he has no right to jerk you around like that." When there was no comprehension following her statement, Kallen groaned and shook her head. "Look, I'm your friend so I look out for you, alright? But I'm not above letting you sort out your own problems, remember that. Lelouch falls under one of your problems. I'm just here to make sure you don't do something monumentally stupid."
"Right." Suzaku was nodding, Kallen feeling a bit better about her mangled explanation. If she had managed to do that much then there was no reason that she would fail utterly at the audience with Lady Marianne.
Kallen took out her cell phone, checking the time on the screen before looking back into the castle. Gino had said that he would meet her, but he still hadn't shown up and the time for their audience was fast approaching. She sighed and shook her head, slipping her cell phone back into her pocket. Sometimes she wondered if she was just asking for trouble now that she was considering a relationship with Gino. After all, he never took things seriously enough and he was a Britannian noble, but he was irritatingly charming and had succeeded in wearing her down this far. Even with those things in mind she would not cover for him. Gino was old enough to handle his own problems.
She reached out to pat Suzaku on the shoulder. "Make sure he doesn't disappear again. I'm not in the mood for chasing after Lelouch again."
That got a short laugh from Suzaku. "Where are you going?"
"Lady Marianne sent for us. It's probably to discuss how to handle the Lelouch situation and dole out the reward, nothing big. Apparently it's important enough to be woken up especially early for it."
"Well she was a solider once, that's a habit that she hasn't broken." Suzaku turned his attention back to the royals in the garden. "And she probably wants to spend the day with Lelouch, so she's getting business out of the way early."
"If you say so." Kallen waved before walking back into the castle, leaving Suzaku to stare out into the gardens. He would probably be out there for a while and ridiculously content with that. She shook her head but forced herself to just leave it alone. Suzaku deserved to have a few days to settle into this and, perhaps, he would get better after getting his position as a knight.
She sighed and shook her head. Maybe Gino was right about just leaving him alone, it was so much easier to just worry about herself and her own problems than try to fix Suzaku's. Suzaku had proven more than once that he didn't want to be fixed by her, so maybe this was the final hint. At least that meant now she could focus herself on her budding relationship with Gino and her mother's health.
"Oh, Kallen!" She turned at the sound of Gino's voice, yelping as he caught her by the arm and spun her around.
Kallen allowed herself to be spun once before she clawed at Gino's hand, freeing herself. She stumbled back, glaring at him, glad that he stepped back and raised his hands in surrender. This was another quirk that she considered annoying, his apparent inability to have a hangover. She suspected that there would be a few arguments with him being far too cheerful far too early in the morning.
She glared at him, tugging her sleeve down over her arm again. "So you finally showed up."
"Well, we were ordered to."
Kallen rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, dragging Gino down the hall before he could spot Suzaku and insist that they talk to him. It was almost time for their appointment and Kallen was sure that Marianne would not want to wait, not when her son had returned. Gino could always find Suzaku later and she was sure that he would be able to drag Suzaku away from Lelouch long enough for the two of them to have a conversation.
Gino followed her down the hall without a complaint. Kallen caught him humming a few times under his breath. She sighed, giving his arm a shake when his humming got too annoying.
"Still have a headache?"
"Yes." She hissed the word out, cutting herself off from saying anything more when they came up to Marianne's study.
Jeremiah opened the door before she could knock, Kallen quickly stepping back and bumping into Gino. She was about to turn and push him back when Jeremiah motioned for them to come in. Kallen forgot about her intentions to give Gino another reminder about her personal space, all her attention going to the audience.
She had met with Lady Marianne in an official capacity a surprisingly few number of times. The first time was when she had approached Marianne asking to be part of the royal guards, specifically as Kallen Kozuki instead of Kallen Stadtfeld. The second time was when she had been knighted for her service to Marianne. All her other meetings with the former empress had been unofficial, surprising for a former soldier and Knight of the Round. Kallen guessed that it was much more comfortable for Marianne to act more casually, especially now that she was away from the rest of the court. But, despite the time she spent around Marianne and the fact that Kallen believed she knew the former empress well, meeting with Marianne in a formal setting still scared her. It was probably because of all the etiquette lessons that Kallen had sat through while her father hoped that she and Naoto would be acceptable heirs to the Stadtfeld line.
Kallen swallowed, blushing as she felt Gino's fingers brush against the back of her hand as he breezed past her. Of course Gino would figure out something to try and make her feel better, even if it ended up making her feel nervous for other reasons entirely. At least he had managed to distract her.
Jeremiah shut the door behind them, remaining standing in front of the door as Kallen shuffled further into the study. As she had expected, Gino had started up a lively conversation with Marianne about the most trivial of things. She envied him for that ease around their employer. Kallen had had the same upbringing as Gino until she was eight, until her father had decided that Japan was no longer safe for Britannians and had left Naoto and herself to their own devices and their mother to fall to Refrain. Even with that training, the constant visits to other nobles' houses and the rare visits to the Aries Villa, Kallen had never felt comfortable around the nobility. Just the setting of the audience was enough to put her on edge. She supposed it was because she had never quite adjusted to the fact that she was part of the Britannian nobility, when she had been old enough to process the idea she had already just become another Japanese citizen.
But she was sure that most of it came from the realization that her father had never come back to them. Kallen could just forgive him for his panic after the massacre of the royal family; she would have found a place to lay low too in those circumstances. But at least she would have had the decency to take her family with her instead of leaving them to fend for themselves. Her father had just left them and had gotten married nearly a month after the massacre, and it hadn't taken long for Kallen to see that's just what most of the Britannian nobles did.
The flow of conversation between Gino and Marianne slowed, Gino looking over his shoulder during one point in the conversation and jerking his head, a clear signal that he was just buying time for them. Kallen swallowed and edged over to Gino's side, slightly embarrassed about how easily she was thrown off stride and by something so normal. From what she heard from the guards of visiting nobility and the knights of royalty, it was rare to have contact with their employers outside of an official capacity. Besides, her reluctance to talk to Marianne in her own office was just another thing holding her back, and Kallen was not in the habit of letting things hold her back.
She slid into place beside Gino, keeping her eyes focused on Marianne's desk and feeling the space between her status and Marianne's for the first time in a long while. Kallen moved her hand away as Gino tried to place his over hers, wanting to be left alone while she got over this. It was better that she learned not to rely on people in situations like this; the method had always worked for her before. And then there was the fear that she would end up like Suzaku, needing someone to define herself.
Kallen looked up at Marianne, relieved to see the older woman not looking bothered by Kallen's behavior. Marianne just gestured to the chairs on the other side of her desk before sitting down herself. Kallen just followed her example, settling down on the nearest chair.
She glanced back at the door, frowning when Jeremiah remained standing in his place. If she was right and they were speaking about the reward for finding Lelouch, and there could be little else that they were discussing, Suzaku should have been there as well. Kallen was about to comment on this, but was stopped as Gino spoke up, quickly pushing the thought of Suzaku aside.
"I suppose this is where you scold us for disobeying Princess Nunnally's order."
Marianne smirked, leaning back in her chair. "You could tell her that, although I don't think that she would believe you, especially since I ignored her wishes to get her to talk to Lelouch. But I also think that she doesn't care anymore. She has her brother back." Kallen saw Marianne lean to the left in her chair, probably to get a glimpse of the gardens outside of her window and to look for Lelouch. "I don't think anyone will demand that you are held responsible for what you did. Without it, Lelouch wouldn't be back with us."
She smiled toward the window for a moment more before clearing her throat, Kallen tensing when Marianne met her gaze. "But this does have something to do with Lelouch. As you know, there was a reward for finding him and it is only fair that you get rewarded for your efforts."
"And it's only fair that I decline." Gino spoke with a smile, completely relaxed in his chair. "I honestly don't think I need any more money."
Kallen looked at the ground when he glanced over at her, wishing that she could just wave off the offer of money so flippantly. She wanted to refuse the reward as well, because they had been under orders and they had wanted to find Lelouch. It felt like stealing if she accepted the money on those grounds.
But, on the other hand, she didn't have the inheritance that Gino had waiting for him. Even if Gino had been exiled from the Weinberg estates, he would be going back. He knew he would be going back; he was the only heir in the family. He would have money for the rest of his life while Kallen had to work to earn everything that she could. Aside from looking after herself, she had her mother and brother to look after. Half of her wages every month went to paying for her mother's hospital treatment. Her brother was already working two jobs pay for a small fraction of the hospital bills and to pay the rent for their small apartment. Kallen couldn't remember a time recently when she had seen Naoto for more than a few minutes and completely awake. It was one of the reasons she hadn't visited her family in Japan for a long time, she didn't want to watch them getting run down as they struggled.
She knew that the reward money from finding Lelouch would be more than enough to pay for the rent for their apartment, which would be some stress off of Naoto. And, even though she hadn't visited for a while, she and Naoto kept it touch through e-mails. From his last hastily written and typo filled report she knew that her mother was close to being let out of the hospital and ready for the last stages of her treatment at home and then, hopefully, she would be no longer dependant on Refrain. But Kallen was sure that their mother going home would just place more stress on Naoto, her brother would want to keep their mother in perfect health and wanting for nothing. Naoto wouldn't be able to juggle three jobs, even if he could make room in his schedule for it.
Kallen looked up at Marianne, purposefully keeping her hands from clenching into fists. She swallowed, making sure that she met the former empress' gaze before speaking. "I'll take my portion of the reward." She caught the look of surprised on Marianne's face, forcing herself not to feel ashamed. "I'm not doing this for myself. That money will really help my family. None of it is meant for me."
That softened the expression of disbelief on Marianne's face, Kallen resenting the older woman for a moment. Of course it was completely possible that Marianne had forgotten about Kallen's family problems in the face of her own search for Lelouch, but that slip up back Kallen want to scowl. It was the kind of noble attitude that she hated the most, one where they thought of no one but themselves. Before she did anything she regretted Kallen looked down at the floor. She wasn't willing to lose her job here; she liked it despite the few glimpses of a world she despised.
Kallen looked up when she was sure that she wouldn't glare at Gino or Marianne. She couldn't quite blame either of them for the situation that she was in, although she had expected a bit more from Marianne. After all, Marianne had been a commoner herself once. Surely she would have remembered what it was like worrying about a family that always seemed to be struggling to keep afloat.
To her surprise, Marianne didn't seem to be bothered by her outburst, calmly making a note of on a piece of paper on her desk. Marianne looked up once, clearing her throat before laying her pen down. "I'll make sure that the money is available to you as soon as possible and ready to be transferred to where you see fit."
Kallen managed a tight smile, standing up when Gino did. She bowed to Marianne, turning towards the door and walking out. She ignored Gino's attempts to grab her arm, waiting until she was in the hallway before turning to face him, pulling his arm away from her. "I don't need your charity."
Gino stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. "I know. And this isn't charity." Suddenly the smiling and happy-go-lucky Gino was gone, replaced by the serious one that Kallen had only seen a handful of times. "This is me worrying about you because, obviously, you have a lot of things on your mind. Now, just answer one question, has it gotten worse?"
"No." Kallen slumped, pressing her shoulders against the wall. "If anything it's gotten better. Everything is fine."
Kallen would have expected any other person to walk away but Gino just relaxed, his smile coming back. "Well, glad to know that." He reached out and tapped her shoulder. "You're allowed to talk to me, you know."
She just shrugged, pushing away from the wall and walking towards where she had left Suzaku. As expected, Gino tagged along, sticking close to her side. Kallen wanted to roll her eyes, but she was glad for the company, even if Gino wasn't going to remain silent for long. Of course he would attempt to pry further and she would attempt to keep from letting too much information slip out, but it felt good to have someone to talk to without it feeling like she was relying on someone too much.
Kallen glanced over her shoulder at Gino, scrutinizing him. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to take some time off as soon as Cornelia's wedding was over. She could help Naoto move their mother back into their apartment. And, maybe, it would be a chance to show Gino to her family. She knew that her mother would be pleased to see that Kallen was settling down, but Naoto might take it as a chance to remind her of what their father had done. But maybe that was what she wanted, to watch how Gino behaved around her family and find that out for herself.
She stretched her arms above her head, purposefully pushing the line of thought away. She would deal with that later. Right now she wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and sleep off her headache, but Kallen was sure that she would be woken up again to watch over the princesses. She rubbed her eyes, heaving a sigh before grabbing Gino's arm and starting to tug him down the hall.
"What's the hurry Kallen?'
She was sure that the question was accompanied by one of Gino's wide smiles, but she didn't bother to look back. "The princesses are out in the garden. I'm sure that, if the orders haven't already arrived, we'll be sent to watch over them until afternoon tea."
"Ah, about that."
Kallen glanced over at Gino out of the corner of her eye, staring at the paper that he waved at her. She supposed that she could take one of two courses of action. She could ignore Gino or she could come back with her own retort. And, by the way her head was still pounding, it would be better to just ignore Gino, but Kallen had never been able to take his teasing very well.
"You were going to tell me about this when?"
Gino looked thoughtful for a moment. "Definitely before we got back to our rooms, but after the meeting with Marianne."
Kallen reached up like she was going to strangle him, jerking her arms down at the last minute. Strangling him wouldn't help, because he would just laugh and hold her at arms length from him, which was just enough to keep him out of her reach. Any sort of retaliation would just end up getting her nowhere, at least not while he was expecting it. Kallen watched him out of the corner of her eye as Gino stuck the paper back in his pocket, planning her revenge.
It wouldn't take much to convince the princesses to go over to where the fountain was, it was a great place to have lunch. And, while they were there, Kallen would push Gino into the water for being so cheerful that morning and for the orders that he had almost forgotten to tell her about.
Suzaku didn't have long to wait outside of Marianne's study. Jeremiah opened the door almost immediately for him. Suzaku nodded to the knight, slipping quietly into the room.
He had stayed by his place on the balcony until he had seen that Gino and Kallen were out with the small group. He didn't want to leave Lelouch alone for too long, especially since he couldn't shake the fear that Lelouch would just suddenly disappear. He was sure that Lelouch appreciated the fact that he had stuck around for so long too. Suzaku had noticed that Lelouch had taken to glancing up at the balcony where Suzaku stood, probably waiting for Suzaku to come down and mingle. But he knew his place, he was just a guard, the knights were the ones who could mingle with royalty. And there was a part of him that wanted to see Lelouch as fiercely independent as he was before, the spoiled prince that would never think of asking help from anyone until there was no other choice.
Suzaku swallowed, glancing up at Marianne before walking over to stand in front of her desk. He didn't take a seat, too aware of the differences in their rank. Marianne seemed to be aware of them too, because she didn't offer him a seat. He closed his hand around the pin in his pocket at that, trying to keep himself calm. They wouldn't get in trouble, not because they had found Lelouch. Besides, he knew Marianne. He had spent most of his childhood around her and been saved by her after he had been rescued from the former members of the Japanese government. Marianne could be harsh, but it was never without reason.
He gave Marianne an abbreviated bow from the waist, suddenly aware of how loose the neck of his shirt was. This morning it hadn't bothered him but, then again, Lelouch had spent most of the morning paying attention to the tattoo. The fact that Lelouch had been confirmed as the prince and accepted into the family in combination with that had been more than enough for Suzaku to feel relaxed enough that he hadn't put too much thought into covering up the tattoo. Now he regretted it.
Suzaku stood up as quickly as he was allowed, adjusting the collar of his shirt and waiting for Marianne to speak. He had made one blunder already with the tattoo, not that Marianne disliked him for it. Marianne just hated the group who had all but destroyed the royal family and had taken away her son. Suzaku couldn't blame her for hating anything that reminded her of that group. He smoothed his hand over his neck one more time before letting it drop to his side, nearly jumping when Marianne cleared her throat.
"Have you heard the news?" When Suzaku remained silent, Marianne went on. "The group was recently found and investigations are being made into them. But all the leading members, all of them that encouraged the attack on the Aries Villa that night, are dead."
Suzaku relaxed fully at that, breathing out a sigh of relief. While he had known that they wouldn't come after him again, he was too well protected and no longer as useful to them as before, he had always been afraid that someone would reveal what had happened the night of the massacre. Genbu Kururugi had been, to the rest of the world, a great friend to Britannia and the one most well known for working towards a free Japan. Now only Suzaku knew that he had been the one trying to free Japan through the destruction of the Britannian empire and that Genbu Kururugi hadn't given up his life to protect the royal family, his own son had killed him.
He tightened his fingers around the pin for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm…I'm glad to hear that. It's safe for everyone again."
"I wouldn't call it safe." Marianne paused a moment, a smile crossing her face. "But it is a relief to know that only the lesser members of that group are still alive. Perhaps it will be enough to encourage the royal family to gather together again. I was afraid that Cornelia would be married in only the presence of the emperor, her mother and myself."
"I don't think that Schneizel would have let that insult stand."
"Maybe he wouldn't, but he has his own problems."
Suzaku refrained from speaking. Despite being a part of the royal family, albeit because of his friendship with Nunnally and position alone, he didn't have the firm grasp of the politics inside of it as the others. He was sure that Kallen was able to follow the numerous rumors and scandals without a problem, but Suzaku always felt like he was just plowing through and always missing something important. Suzaku was even less sure of the full measure of the family's various entanglements in Pendragon. He would always get snatches from the guards, but nothing that he could piece together himself.
Marianne seemed to come back to herself, sitting up and lifting her elbows from the desk. "But, those are Schneizel's problems and he has them well in hand. The more important matter is you and the thanks I owe you."
Suzaku blushed. "T-that's not necessary."
"But it is. From the various accounts I've been told by the others, you were the one that was sure that this was the right Lelouch. And you were right. That is hardly something that I can ignore." Marianne gave him a soft smile. "I called Kallen and Gino in to talk about the reward money. Of course, there are other acceptable rewards that can be given."
Suzaku felt his heart beat faster, trying not to let his excitement show. He would have refused the reward money in any case. He didn't have any living relatives that he knew of and he was living perfectly well on the salary he already received. He was already fed and housed by Marianne so the money he received went towards the few things he needed, like clothes when his wore out and presents for Nunnally on her birthday and Christmas. Even with the reward divided into three parts, Suzaku was sure that the money would have been too much for him to spend in his lifetime. But since Marianne had offered an alternative, he felt that there was hope.
He had never rehearsed his speech to her, despite his surety that he would find Lelouch and bring him back. Suzaku had just hoped that the subject would come up so that he wouldn't have to stumble through his plea. He tapped the top of the pin with his finger before pulling it out of his pocket, trying not to react to the gasp that Marianne gave.
The pins were a symbol of a personal knight to royalty and were only given during the ceremony of knighting. How Lelouch had managed to slip the pin away Suzaku had never known. But, judging by the Marianne's reaction, Suzaku felt a bit uneasy. It was very possible that the pin had been from Marianne's knighting ceremony when she had become the personal knight to Charles zi Britannia.
He quickly placed it on the desk, having to struggle to keep himself from reaching for it again. Suzaku stuffed his hands in his pockets, clenching them into fists so he could stop himself from touching the pin.
To his surprise, Marianne didn't demand to know where he had gotten it. Instead, she reached up towards her left shoulder, to where the knights wore their pins, jerking her hand away a moment later. She glanced at Suzaku before turning around and standing up. He watched her walk to one of the shelves in the room, carefully taking down two boxes. One she set reverently on the desk, stroking a hand over the top of the box before setting down the other. This one she opened, revealing a pin exactly like the one that Suzaku had carried for ten years carefully stuck in red velvet.
Marianne made no move to pick up the pin that was still on the desk, instead sitting down and resting her hand on the box that was still closed. "I had always wondered where it went. I didn't notice it that night or for a long while after that. It wasn't until we had lived here for a year that I realized that the pin was missing." Marianne sighed, gesturing at the open box. "I had them made for Lelouch and Nunnally when they were presented to Charles as heirs to the throne. I had hoped that I would be able to present them to my children so that they could choose their knights when the time had come."
Suzaku pulled one of his hands out of his pocket to gesture at the pin, sticking the hand back in when the movement was done. "Lelouch gave me that."
"I suspected as much when I found it missing. Although I don't know why and I may never know."
It would have been easy to tell Marianne about the promise he had made to Lelouch that night, but Suzaku found that he didn't want to speak about it. That was something between Lelouch and himself, something that he hoped that Lelouch would remember when Suzaku showed him the pin. Then everything would go back to the way it was supposed to be.
He cleared his throat, staring at the pin instead of Marianne. "I don't want the reward money. If I took it, then I would feel obligated to pay it back to you for everything that you have done for me."
"And I would just refuse."
Suzaku nodded, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to look up at Marianne. "But I do want to accept the other offer of a reward." When Marianne gestured for him to continue, Suzaku spoke quickly, wanting to get the words out before he could think about them for too long. "I want a chance to be Prince Lelouch's personal knight."
Marianne froze at that, Suzaku licking his lips before continuing. "I don't mean immediately or within the month, but I want the chance to become his knight. Before there had been talk about me becoming his knight and Lelouch had always wanted me to then. All I ask is a chance to win back that place and I ask your permission to carry out that chance."
Silence stretched between them as soon as Suzaku shut his mouth, unwilling to go on in case he said too much. He was sure that, while Marianne would approve of his and Lelouch's budding relationship, she would have preferred them to wait a bit longer. There was always the chance that she could accuse Suzaku of persuading Lelouch to agree with him, something that Suzaku didn't want.
He jumped as Marianne closed the second box, staring at the plain black lid for a moment before looking up at her. Marianne closed her eyes for a moment before staring at him, staring at his neck.
"No."
Suzaku was sure that he made some noise of protest, because Marianne held up her hand for silence. Out of habit, Suzaku snapped to attention.
Marianne pressed her hands against the top of the desk, looking like she was about to push away from it, but remaining put. Suzaku understood the significance of the move. She was speaking to him as Lady Marianne, as the former empress of Britannia. She was his superior now, what she told him would be an order that could never be disobeyed. He hung his head to avoid her gaze, listening as Marianne shifted in her chair.
"Suzaku, perhaps it would be best if you were offered another position."
He glanced up at that, quickly lowering his gaze again when he realized what she was staring at. Marianne was looking directly at the tattoo on his neck. Suzaku felt his stomach twist. He had thought that he had managed to prove his loyalty enough to Marianne. Out of everyone close to him, Marianne was the one who knew the most about what had happened to him when he had been kept by the former members of the Japanese government. He had made sure to tell her everything that the men had demanded of him and stress that he had revealed nothing. Suzaku had never betrayed the royal family, even when it would have let him escape.
He swallowed and forced himself to nod, the motion enough to encourage Marianne to go on. "You are wasted as a guard, Suzaku, especially with the way you have handled yourself over these past few years. I have let you refuse promotions for too long. A position with the guard forming around Dalton would be just the place for you."
Suzaku shook his head, still a bit stunned by the offer. Anyone else would jump at the chance to join the guard contingent that would be following Princess Cornelia around, but Suzaku was sure that he would just end up pushed to the side. While Dalton was pleasant enough towards him, Guilford tended to be quieter around him and Suzaku knew what Cornelia thought of the Japanese. Although she had mellowed in the past years, she hated the Japanese people for destroying her family. To join with her, even if he had been one of the ones who had brought Lelouch back, would just make his life miserable.
"My lady, I can't accept the position."
"Then I'm sure that there is a less stressful position." Marianne paused for a moment, Suzaku looking up hopefully. "Didn't Euphy ask you to be her personal knight once?"
Suzaku couldn't do anything but nod. She had asked and he had turned her down, partially because he was still shocked over his failure to keep her safe during the riot and partially because he wouldn't have been able to search for Lelouch. Becoming Euphemia's personal knight would have put a stop to any searches that he wished to do, unless Euphemia had come along with him as well. Even as a knight he had no business dragging around a princess as he chased after hints about Lelouch. But now there was no reason to refuse, except for his desire to be Lelouch's knight.
Marianne seemed satisfied with his wordless answer, Suzaku watching her as she nodded to herself, stacking the two boxes on top of each other again. "Well that would be the perfect position for you then. You deserve a knighthood for your service to Britannia, Suzaku. Euphy is just involved enough in politics that you won't get bored, but she rarely ventures where things could get too dangerous."
Suzaku was nodding before Marianne had finished. There was no other choice to be made. If he refused the offer of a knighthood now it wouldn't look good. Marianne was fair, but Suzaku was sure that she wouldn't bend on this matter. If Suzaku remained as a guard he would see little of Lelouch or Marianne would make sure that he and Lelouch were kept apart. And all because he had too stupid to follow them that night. If he had never spent those months with that group Marianne would trust him more, she wouldn't have to worry that Suzaku had accidentally let something slip about the royal family.
Of course, if Suzaku stayed, there was a chance that he could earn her trust. Suzaku was sure that she trusted him with Nunnally. There had been times where he had been Nunnally's only guard before Rolo had been taken in. So there was hope there, but only if Suzaku cut all ties with Lelouch for the moment. It was a better alternative then agreeing to be Euphemia's knight and only seeing Lelouch when Euphemia visited Nunnally and Marianne.
He took a deep breath, glancing at the pin on the desk. Either way it meant that he would be expected to spend the night with the guards in the barracks. Suzaku wasn't sure if Marianne had heard of the relationship between him and Lelouch, but he was sure that all of his chances of being trusted again would be ruined if Marianne found him with Lelouch before he had her express permission to be there again. Suzaku reached out, taking the pin from the desk. "May I have a day to think about it?"
"Of course. Come to me when you have made your decision." Marianne held out her hand, obviously waiting for him to give her the pin.
By all rights it didn't belong to him, it had never belonged to him. But now that he knew that he would either have to become Euphemia's knight or spend his entire life working to gain enough trust to become Lelouch's knight, he didn't want to give the pin up. It gave him the hope, something that he had little enough of. Suzaku cradled the pin in his hand, staring at it instead of Marianne. "I promised Lelouch that I would give this back to him when we found each other again."
There was a soft noise of understanding before Marianne dismissed him, Suzaku making sure that he gave her the full bow her station required. He turned and strode from the room, not even glancing at Jeremiah as he passed. He was sure that Jeremiah would find him later and offer some kind of reassurance, even if it was heavily laced with racism. At least Jeremiah would try.
Suzaku stepped out into the hallway, glancing down at the pin in his hand before shoving it in his pocket and walking quickly into Lelouch's room. He kept his mind carefully blank and his expression bland. He didn't want to start deliberating over the choice before him in public, not where others could corner him and demand to know what was wrong. The last thing that anyone needed was a confrontation. It would be horrible to spoil the good mood that the household was in because Lelouch was back.
He slipped into Lelouch's room, not bothering to turn on the light. The room was completely clean, just the small pile of stuff in a corner to show that someone lived here. Suzaku was sure that it wouldn't take long before the room looked inhabited again. He crossed the room and set the pin on the nightstand, turning abruptly and nearly running from the room. If he had stayed longer he would have been tempted to take the pin with him.
Suzaku kept up his fast walk until he had reached the barracks, the journey to the guards' housing a blur in his memory. To his relief, there was hardly anyone around. Those in the house were probably busy either getting preparing for the absence of Marianne and Nunnally when they went to Cornelia's wedding or they were searching for things for Lelouch. The guards, from what Kallen had told him, were probably all nursing hangovers or put on duty around the perimeters of the castle.
He shook his head as he walked into his small room, sitting heavily on the bed. Marianne wouldn't have allowed Lelouch out in the open if she thought that he wasn't safe. She would probably keep him close over the next few months just to make sure that he wouldn't disappear on her again. It was probably on that same principle that she was pushing Suzaku away. Any other time she would have trusted him, but now he was just a reminder of that night and of the people that were so willing to kill her family. Suzaku supposed that he should have been grateful that she didn't order him to leave immediately.
But wasn't offering him the job of Euphemia's personal knight a subtler way for her to order him to leave? If nothing else, Marianne was a soldier before a lady; she would view things through a soldier's eyes. If she had offered the job to Suzaku, it meant that she thought that it was the best fit for him. It was only because she was Lelouch's mother that she wasn't offering him the job for Lelouch.
If he was completely honest with himself, Marianne would probably never offer him the position of personal knight to Lelouch; she would consider it too risky. The two of them together would probably be the biggest magnet for trouble whether the group was fighting for the release of an Area or for Britannian dominance again, and that was not even considering the stir that would come out of the announcement that Lelouch was alive. Anything further than that and Suzaku couldn't even begin to grasp the political implications of such a choice. But, in the end, they didn't matter. What mattered was that Marianne obviously didn't feel comfortable enough to have him around Lelouch.
If that was the case, perhaps it would be better to just be Euphemia's knight. She would want to spend time with Lelouch but, eventually, she would go her own way. And, while it would be painful, Suzaku wouldn't have to spend the rest of his life waiting for another impossible miracle to happen. He would rather take the coward's route out than to suffer in silence.
He let himself fall backwards, staring at the ceiling. If that was his choice, then he was going to have to speak to Lelouch before he left, the relationship between them wouldn't work out. Euphemia was not going to remain where Lelouch was forever, and he needed to be by her side. And maybe Kallen and the others were right; he was just in love with Lelouch because he was obsessed with him. It had been stupid of him to ignore that conclusion before.
Suzaku looked up at a soft knock on his door, turning his head to the side as Gino shuffled into the room.
The blond grinned at him, letting the door shut slightly as he leaned against the wall. "There you are. I was wondering why you abandoned us to look after the royalty all on our own."
"Really?"
"No. That was Kallen." Gino laughed, tipping his head to the side. "But I don't see a reason why you shouldn't be out there."
Suzaku went to stand up, stopping himself quickly. He couldn't, not when he knew what choice he had to make. It was better to distance himself from Lelouch now, when he was knighted would be too rough a break for him. As much as he wanted to relish the days that he had left with Lelouch, it wouldn't be worth the heartbreak to keep them. He leaned back, offering Gino a smile. "I think you two can handle them on your own."
For a moment, Gino looked like he was going to reply with his own quip, but then he frowned. Suzaku twisted to look over his shoulder, wondering if something in his small room had gotten out of place or he had left something lying around from before they had gone to Japan. Aside from the suitcase he had dropped off before carting Lelouch's things to his new room, there was nothing but the blank wall. Suzaku turned back, subtly trying to reinforce his smile in an attempt to reassure Gino that everything was alright.
Contrary to his expectations, the smile just made Gino frown more. Suzaku swallowed, tempted to look back over his shoulder again. "What?"
"I never knew you could smile like that."
"I always smile like this."
"And that's the problem." Gino huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "And now you're in here instead of outside watching over Lelouch. What reward did you take?"
"Not the money." Suzaku answered immediately, shrugging when Gino continued to stare at him. "I asked for an alternate reward and was given the honor of becoming Princess Euphemia's personal knight."
"But that's not-Oh." Gino stood up straight that that, Suzaku fighting the urge to clamp his hand around his neck to make sure that the tattoo was hidden.
He cleared his throat, looking up at Gino only to find that the blond had left. Suzaku scrambled to his feet, rushing to the door and pulling it open. He had to make Gino understand that this was for the best. It wasn't what he wanted, but it was obviously what was best for him. He was already too dependant on Lelouch just to feel normal. If Lelouch died or was hurt while Suzaku was in charge of his protection, then Suzaku was sure that he would lose what tentative hold on sanity he had.
Suzaku pushed himself away from the door, trudging back to his bed and flopping down on that. Gino had to understand that Suzaku couldn't just do what he wanted, he didn't have the power to force his way into positions or to use to bail himself out when things went badly. It was far better to accept a position that he didn't want and be sure that he wouldn't be thrust into the political spotlight and be able to do his job properly than to go after what he really wanted and mess up. He had already failed Lelouch once before by being too cowardly and too stupid to escape with the rest of them, Suzaku was sure that he wouldn't be able to survive another mistake like that.
He reached up to push his bangs out of his eyes, staring at the ceiling. Even if Gino didn't understand he was sure that Kallen would at least approve of his decision, albeit a bit grudgingly. Kallen had never wanted him with Lelouch in the first place, and she had been right. Suzaku sighed and closed his eyes. Tomorrow he would request an audience with Marianne and accept the position. After that he would try his best to break things off with Lelouch. It was the only thing he could do.
Gino had only been completely furious once in his life, when his father had beaten the maid
He had only been fourteen at the time and the maid was only a year older than him, but she had been from a lower class and from the former Area 11. His father was been one of the nobles who had outwardly agreed with Emperor Schneizel about the liberation of the Areas for the sake of Britannian safety but had privately continued to treat people from the Areas as lesser beings.
Gino hadn't cared about the division in society and he still didn't. All he had known was that the maid was nice to him and that she had a nice smile. And he had been fourteen and in love.
It had taken months for Gino to convince the maid that he could protect her and they had only just started their relationship when Gino's parents had found out. Gino hadn't known that they had learned anything, not until the news came to him that the girl had been thrown out onto the streets. The news of the beating Gino had heard from the servant's gossip and he had immediately confronted his father when he had heard of it. While he understood now and had a basic grasp of then, was that he was different from the others, that he had to be willing to sell himself to the highest bidder in an attempt to keep their family wealthy and in a position to jockey for power with the emperor if there was ever a chance to. If he was lucky or could make a good argument for his cause, then he might be able to marry for love. But beating the girl and then throwing her out had been unacceptable.
He had still be furious the next day when he had made up his mind to join the military and he had intended to work his way up through the ranks. But his mother had interfered and sent him to Lady Marianne, supposedly because she was the best to learn from although Gino had known that his mother was just trying to keep him safe and in a place where they could get to him if they had needed to. By then his own anger had worn out and he had accepted the placement.
Gino was aware that this made him no better than the other nobles in Britannia, but he liked to think that he was trying to make a difference. Instead of letting rank alone carry him he worked hard. He had earned the respect of the knights that served the princesses and princes that visited Marianne and Nunnally and had even managed to befriend the entire guard barracks. He had never knowingly asserted his rank to get him into the positions that he wanted; Gino had never experienced rejection until he had come to Marianne. He hoped that all of this would balance out the facts that he couldn't change; that he was a bit of a spoiled first born and that he came from one of the wealthiest noble families in Britannia. He hoped that now he could safely say that his actions spoke for themselves.
And now he was ready to ruin that record because he had had enough. He was ready to pull rank just to get Suzaku the position that he deserved.
Gino stormed into the garden, catching a glimpse of Kallen out of the corner of his eye. He was sure that she tried to wave him over, but he just shook his head. He would speak to her later once all of this was settled. For now, his full attention was on Marianne.
He remembered to bow when he approached her, his early etiquette lessons taking over. Being polite was probably better than angering Marianne before he could present his case. Gino swallowed, standing up and making an effort to calm himself down. He needed to be rational here, to be sure that he would hurt Suzaku by doing this. He could injure his own position all he wanted to, he would be able to survive whatever came out of this.
He cleared his throat, looking up from his bow. "Can I speak with you?"
"Of course." Marianne walked a few steps further away from where the others were standing, even going as far as to wave Jeremiah away from them. Gino glanced at the older night, feeling himself relax. If Marianne was sending Jeremiah away it meant that she was going to be speaking to him without any emphasis on her station. "Now, what would you like to speak with me about?"
Gino rose from his bow, carefully brushing off the knees of his pants as he considered his words. More than anything he wanted to just shout and accuse Marianne, but that would just draw unwanted attention. He had to be carefully here, something that he wasn't too good at in conversation. Gino found it easier to apologize and ask forgiveness than ask permission.
He took a deep breath. "It's about Suzaku."
"Matters were settled with him. We've come to an agreement."
"An agreement that you knew he would accept either way." Gino gritted his teeth and forced himself not to shout. "You know that he'll agree to be Princess Euphemia's knight because he's going to spend the day thinking things over and second guessing himself."
"And do you think it's better to just allow him to remain a guard?" Marianne raised an eyebrow. "I've watched him turn down every promotion that was offered to him just because he was looking for Lelouch. I've let him continue to sell himself short. I know Suzaku would make a wonderful knight, he's had been training to become one before he ever came into my care. That was the original agreement. I could either let him waste away in the guard or make the choice for him. I've watch him continue to make the same choice for years now, it was time something was decided."
"Then you could have made him Lelouch's knight. That's all that he wants. And that was the original arrangement."
Marianne shifted, one hand twisting the fabric of her dress. "Things change, Gino."
"I can probably say that Suzaku hasn't."
"That may be true. But this isn't a matter of doubting his qualities." Marianne met his gaze. "It's a matter of doubting him."
"Suzaku has been nothing but loyal-"
"Then why does he still keep that tattoo?"
Gino was brought up short by the question, snapping his mouth shut. He stared at Marianne, his silence seeming to be the only answer that she needed.
"If he truly hated it then he would have gotten it removed by now. He's had the chance and I've hinted at it more than once. Instead he hides it and acts nervous whenever he thinks that someone is looking at it. I know he's been through a lot but that's not the behavior of someone who hates something, it's the behavior of someone keeping a secret." Marianne sighed and shook her head. "I won't go as far to say that he completely believes what those men did, but some part of him might believe it and that part won't let him remove that tattoo. And, until I get proof that he doesn't consider that group's ideas anymore I won't let him into a position close to Lelouch. I lost my son once already; I don't want to have to lose him again."
Gino shook his head, trying to process what Marianne had said. To his surprise, she didn't give him the time to, glancing at him before looking away towards where the others were. "Will that be all, Gino?"
"Yes." He dropped his gaze to the ground as she went past, holding himself in place.
He wouldn't change her mind now, he couldn't. Part of the problem was a basic misunderstanding and part of the problem was that Marianne was reacting as any mother would. Gino may have been able to fix the misunderstanding, but he would never be able to stop the maternal reaction. And he found that he couldn't blame her for it. By all the reports that he had heard, Marianne had been broken once her son had been officially declared dead. She probably considered it a miracle that he was back.
But that didn't stop her from being completely wrong about Suzaku. Even though she had known him longer than Gino had, she was still horribly wrong.
Suzaku kept the tattoo as a reminder of something. Gino didn't know quite what it was, Suzaku had never told him or Kallen, but he did know that it was something bad, something that always made Suzaku freeze up whenever he came close to mentioning it. So the tattoo reminded Suzaku of what he had done and, in a manner that was only logical in Suzaku's mind, encouraged him to make up for what he had done.
Gino had never fully grasped how Suzaku mind worked, but the solution felt right. Suzaku was one of those people who would suffer forever just for the chance to make up for one wrong thing that they had done. He probably thought that the torture at the hands of his father's former allies and the years spent searching for Lelouch were the punishment, so it was only fitting that finally being able to let go of all of that and just exist was a fitting reward. But now Suzaku would never get that because he had been nudged into thinking over all of his actions and coming to the conclusions that his superiors wanted him to.
Gino turned to look back at Kallen, shrugging in response to the confused look that she gave him. She had been the one to send him after Suzaku. She had been the one to notice that he hadn't rushed out to make sure that Lelouch hadn't disappeared while he was speaking to Marianne. And Gino was sure that Kallen wouldn't take the situation as well once it was explained to her, she would probably immediately jump to the idea that it was Marianne looking down on Suzaku for his nationality or class. In that case, it would probably be best to have Kallen speak to Suzaku herself.
He sighed and trudged back over to Kallen, automatically scanning for danger. Kallen scooted closer to him, elbowing his side instead of asking a question like he thought she would. Gino stared down at her for a second before retaliating by poking her side.
Kallen made a face, taking a step away from him. As they settled into their positions she still didn't ask about Suzaku, instead just tipping her head in the direction of the barracks. Gino frowned and shook his head in response, getting a worried look from Kallen. She would probably investigate later and Gino would have to stand by for damage control, it was the only thing he could think of doing. And, in the end, he was sure that Marianne would not break. She was just reacting out of fear and he couldn't blame her for that, but it was going to be hard to see Suzaku go.
Sneaking into the castle had been easier than expected. After everything that the tour guides had said, it had sounded like making his way past the guards would have been a difficult thing. Instead, it was one of the easiest jobs Mao had done in his life.
It had been easy to walk from the small village that surrounded the castle to the residence itself. There had been a few guards out, but they weren't paying attention. A few of them even seemed groggy, a sure indicator of some celebration that they were recovering from, whether from a hangover or from a lack of sleep. It had been easy to just stick to the shadows and slip by them when they looked away. From there he had moved to the first side entrance to the castle.
There he had encountered his first real problem. The blond knight he had seen in Japan was there speaking to a guard. Mao narrowed his eyes, testing the weight of the knife in his hand. He would have one chance to get through this point or abandon his mission for the night. The latter was not an option; he had kept C.C. waiting for too long.
Mao sucked in a quick breath and threw the knife, running out of the shadows and throwing his full weight at the blond knight. The blond went down quickly, Mao not wasting time on a struggle. The man was his height but twice his size. He quickly smacked the blond's head against the ground, biting his lip to keep from laughing at the sound that the collision made.
When he was sure that the knight was down, Mao stood up, walking over to the dead guard and pulling his knife out. A quick check of the surrounding area showed that no one had heard the scuffle, which left him free to pick the lock on the side door and slip inside.
Once inside he paused to orient himself. He was on the ground floor, with the rooms where the royals slept right above him. Mao tipped his head up with a frown. He wasn't too sure which room his target was sleeping in. He had looked over the basic plans for the castle and guessed depending on the size of the room who was in it. The largest room was probably for Marianne and, going from there, the next one would be for Nunnally. The other rooms at the other end of the hall were probably for guests.
Mao shrugged and turned to slip into the servant's staircase. It was late enough that most of the royals would be in their rooms and not inclined to come out. It would only be a matter of quick observation. But he was sure enough in his guesses that he would find Princess Nunnally on the first try. If he didn't have to wander far from the servant's stair then he would have that much more time to set up for when the rescue came.
He paused at the top of the staircase to glance down both sides of the hall before stepping out into the open. If he was right, then Marianne's room was to his left, leaving one room on his right before the hallway ended. That would be Nunnally's room, close to her mother and close enough to an exit that she could escape easily. Mao adjusted his hold on his bag, wiping his knife on his shirt before adjusting his grip on it. He would have to be ready for any other guards that would come at him.
Sure of himself, Mao sauntered out into the hall. He came to a stop in front of Nunnally's door, leaning over to check to see if it was unlocked before swinging the door open, much to the surprise of the occupant if the gasp from inside the room was anything to go by.
Mao didn't take the time to make sure, dropping his bag as he saw someone running at him. For a moment, he thought that it was the boy that he had been tracking from Japan, but he amended his thought a second later. This boy was a bit too short and moved like a guard, not like the boy from before. Unfortunately for this guard, Mao knew how to handle himself.
He kicked the door shut, stepping to one side as the guard rushed past. Mao grabbed the guard's arm and twisted it back, smiling when he heard a snap. He then released the guard and stepped back, kicking the guard in the knee for good measure.
Sure that his opposition was down for the moment, Mao skipped over to Nunnally, who was still sitting in her chair with a look of shock on her face. He grinned down at her, his expression faltering when he saw that Nunnally was reaching towards the drawers of her desk with her left hand. He huffed, reaching for her hand and slamming it against the desk, strolling around behind Nunnally to open the drawer with his free hand.
Mao laughed at the gun that he saw in the drawer, shaking his head. "That's no way to treat a visitor, your highness."
"And that," Nunnally jerked her head towards where her guard was slowly picking himself up from the ground, "is no way to treat a guard of the royal family nor request an audience with me."
"I'm afraid I'm short on time. Now," Mao let go of Nunnally's hand and pulled her away from the desk, retrieving his knife and pressing it against Nunnally's throat, "I would stay over there if I were you, unfortunate things may happen if you come closer."
The guard stared at the two of them before sinking to his knees again. Mao grinned, carefully letting go of Nunnally. "As for you, princess, stay here unless you want your guard killed. And no screaming, then I'll have to kill both of you, and it would be such a waste."
His bag was just two steps away from Nunnally and, to his delight, both the princess and the guard complied. Mao scooped up the bag, dropping it on the desk and opening it. He pulled out the rope and the scrap of cloth he had brought, moving quickly to pull Nunnally's arms behind her and tie her wrists together. That both of them were complying was good, but he wasn't sure how long that it would last. By the look of her guard, it wouldn't be long. The guard looked like the type to do something foolhardy, brave and fatal to save something that he held dear.
Once her wrists were secure, Mao made a loop in his next length of rope, looping that around Nunnally's neck for now. Then he pushed the gag into her mouth, securing it behind her head. Then he stepped back to look at his work. It wasn't the best that he had ever done and, frankly, he was ashamed of how it looked overall. But there was nothing that could be done, not when he still had to move his hostage.
Mao sighed and glanced back at the guard, a smile crossing his face. There was a way to make things more elegant, more in his style. And he could spare the time to do it.
He leaned over Nunnally's desk, careful not to shove things off of it in his search for a pen and paper. Once the items were found he scribbled a quick message, spelling out his demands. Then, he knelt on the ground and used his knife to cut off a strip of Nunnally's skirt. This he cut in half as he advanced on the guard. The first strip went around the guard's mouth, effectively silencing him. Then Mao dragged the guard over to Nunnally's desk, tying him to one of the legs. Sure that the guard would be held, Mao bent over and cut the uniform from the guard's back, clearing off one shoulder before settling down to do his work.
He had never done this before; in fact he was often encouraged not to do it. The Geass Order had said that they wanted to be kept secret, that it was in their best interests. But, if they were a secret, how was C.C. to know that he was doing what she had asked of him? He had always made sure that his jobs were arranged beautifully so as to be as tasteful as possible, just in case C.C. saw them. Even with that, he had always wanted to leave some sort of calling card, some sort of sign to show to C.C. that it wasn't some copy cat but him who was fulfilling her desires. Now, with the Geass Order gone, he had his chance.
Mao grinned down at the guard, pressing a finger against his lips. "Quiet now." Then he began to carve the symbol of the Geass Order into the guard's back.
To his credit, the guard did not scream. He twisted and there was some muffled whimpering, but there was no screaming. So the guard did remember the threat to kill Nunnally if he spoke. Mao chuckled, finishing off the outline of the bird-shape with a flourish. He patted the guard's clean shoulder before standing up and looking at Nunnally.
Finally he was rewarded with what he had been looking for. Before Nunnally had just allowed herself to be tied up but Mao had had no doubts that she was probably planning some kind of escape, with or without her guard. Now, she was just in shock. Mao had showed himself willing to do anything, and she wasn't even thinking of escape anymore, she was thinking about the poor boy that was tied to her desk. Maybe Mao had hit on an unexpected use for the guard, especially if he affected Nunnally this way. In any case, he didn't have the time to think about it.
He straightened up the desk, making sure that the note was in plain view, and swung his bag over his shoulder. He wiped the knife on his shirt again before picking up the end of the rope that dangled around Nunnally's neck. Mao made sure to give her a smile before tugging gently on the rope. "Now, you'll follow me without a sound and listen to everything I say. In return, I won't come back and kill him. Deal?"
There was a pause before Nunnally nodded her head. Mao gave her a mock bow before tugging on the rope and leading her from the room, but he was a gentleman enough to allow her to pause and look back at her guard before pulling her towards the servant's staircase.
Nunnally was complaisant, keeping up with him and keeping quiet as he led her down the stairs and onto the ground floor. Mao immediately took her out of the side door, having to drag her away when she saw the two bodies on the ground. Mao turned to kick the blond knight for good measure, adding a glare at Nunnally so she understood. Until she was secure anyone that they saw was in danger. Mao wasn't sure that she got the message, but he hurried her along anyway.
The path to the gardens and the small chapel there was in shadow and unguarded. Mao guessed that Marianne had only put effort into guarding the perimeters of the castle, because it was logical that the guards would sound the alert if someone had gotten in. Mao shivered at that thought, tugging on the rope again. He had left bodies out in the open because he had no other option. While the guards were still slow and groggy they weren't stupid. When they found the two bodies they would start searching the grounds. Mao wanted to be in place and ready to negotiate when that happened.
They traveled in silence, Mao attempting to get Nunnally to move faster. She wasn't fighting him overtly but she was shuffling along, probably trying to buy time for the guards. And, now that they were no longer near people, Mao couldn't threaten to hurt anyone, all he could do was pull on the rope around her neck and try to get her to move faster. He gritted his teeth to keep from attempting to threaten her, he had nothing but words and Mao didn't think that Nunnally vi Britannia would be cowed by words. Instead he directed his next pull up, smiling when he heard Nunnally grunt at the rope tightened around her neck. Now she had the choice to either strangle herself or keep up and, predictably, she kept up with him.
Mao navigated his way carefully through the maze, a bit disappointed at its simplicity. Then again, he supposed that the point wasn't to get lost but to get to the small chapel in the center. It would work in his favor since the boy wouldn't get lost along the way. Still, he couldn't help but to be a little disappointed. Then again he had managed to leave the signature of the Geass Order on the guard, Mao was still happy about that.
He tugged Nunnally into a jog, rushing through the maze to the small chapel. He paused for a moment to stare at the stone chapel, automatically checking for guards or for any useful escape routes. He only allowed himself a quick look, aware of how Nunnally was pulling on the rope in his hands, just short tugs but with a steady pattern, like she was trying to pull the rope from his hands. Mao smiled and tightened his grip, marching to the door of the chapel and swinging it open.
He dragged Nunnally down the aisle, barely paying attention to the well kept pews to either side, instead focusing on the alter at the end of the aisle. That would be the best place to wait for the boy since the door was the obvious way into the chapel. Mao was certain that there were various side entrances and other ways to get into the chapel, but the dais with the alter on it backed up against a wall and commanded the best view of the room. Mao twisted to look over his shoulder, a bit disappointed that there was no balcony. If there had been, he could have hidden away up there and had used the time to unnerve the boy before approaching them. Mao shrugged, hauling Nunnally up to the base of the alter before pushing her to the ground.
She went down without a sound of protest, Mao kneeling beside her. He pulled the loop of rope from around her neck, reaching down with his other hand to grab at her ankles.
Mao had to jerk away as Nunnally kicked out, staring at her in surprised before smiling. "Ah, so you won't go without some protest. I respect you for that. Unfortunately," he lunged at her, grabbing her ankles with one hand while he pressed himself down against her legs, "this is not the time."
Nunnally screamed, the sound muffled by the gag in her mouth, and twisted. Mao grunted as she managed to get a knee into his stomach, scrambling to keep himself on her legs so she couldn't kick him again. But it was hard when Nunnally was twisting under him, occasionally contorting herself in an attempt to strike at him with her bound hands or make an attempt to use her shoulder. Mao gritted his teeth and looped the rope around her ankles and pulled the loop tight.
When he was sure that it was secure he jumped away, watching as Nunnally writhed for a moment more before coming to a complete stop. The princess glanced at him once before shaking her head, looking like she had calmed down immediately. Nunnally even attempted to set her hair to rights with short jerks of her head before giving up and staring back at him.
It was her calm that he would have to be careful of. He knew how to handle people who screamed, begged and fought with no real purpose. Those he had to just wait out and they would eventually go quiet, either because they had run out of energy or because they were crying too much to continue. Nunnally was completely in control of herself and probably looking for ways to get out of her situation by the way she was looking around the chapel. Mao frowned and looked at the rope in his hands. She probably thought that now was the time to make her move because he didn't have any hostages, which obviously put him at a disadvantage.
Mao huffed and quickly secured the end of the rope to one of the heavy candle stands, tossing his bag behind the alter. He would remove the final things he needed from the bag once he was sure that Nunnally was going to remain still, he didn't want to risk the plan now, especially since it involved more waiting. He rolled his eyes and hopped up onto the alter, kicking his legs as he watched Nunnally. "Now we wait, princess."
She frowned, Mao laughing as Nunnally shifted herself until she was sitting up. "Don't give me that look. You cooperated so no one else will be hurt. Three casualties are better than all of the staff dead and all three of them aren't even dead. Your guard will be fine."
She gave him a look of disapproval before turning to look at the door. Mao smiled to himself, humming under his breath as he tried to make himself comfortable on the stone alter. After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling and peering at the stained glass window behind the alter to try to figure out what the picture was in the dark he looked at the door as well. He considered that it was the best thing to do for the time being; after all he had to have some kind of entertainment while he waited for the boy. For now he would ignore the way that Nunnally was carefully searching for escape routes or attempting to free her arms and legs. Her reaction would be so much better if he waited until she was nearly free and then adjusted his knots. Mao tried not to giggle, not wanting to ruin the song he was humming. It had been C.C's favorite.