Chapter Eleven: Terror Comes

Lelouch rubbed a hand over is face as he climbed the stairs to the second floor, feeling exhausted but happy. He had spent the whole day with his sisters and, while they still didn't feel like sisters, they no longer felt like complete strangers either. Lelouch supposed that had to do with the way that both Nunnally and Euphemia had spent the whole day telling him stories of their childhood, probably trying to get some sort of reaction out of him. Despite their disappointment, he had remembered a few pointless things, like the way the three of them had always snuck out into the garden to watch the stars, or the many times he had struggled to put Nunnally to bed when she had no intention of falling asleep.

He smiled to himself, glancing over his shoulder at the stairs. It wasn't quite family yet, but he was sure that everything would eventually fall into place. It had worked with Suzaku, there was no reason that it shouldn't work with his sisters.

Lelouch frowned at the thought of Suzaku, walking down the hall to his room and opening the door. The last time he had seen the guard was early that morning, and it was completely dark now. Suzaku had been standing on the balcony while Lelouch had joined his sisters in the garden, keeping away because he had an appointment with Marianne. Lelouch hadn't been worried until Marianne had showed up in the garden with her knight. He had assumed that Kallen and Gino had been met with separately when they had come out and Suzaku had disappeared, but having Marianne with them meant the audiences were over. And then there had been that one incident with Gino.

He had watched the knight storm into the garden and have a conversation with his mother. It was obvious from the way that Gino acted that he had lost the argument. Gino had stayed away from Marianne for the rest of the afternoon and had even absented himself from dinner, leaving Kallen, Dalton and Jeremiah alone with them. The last Lelouch had seen of them was a quick glimpse of the knight through a door as he and Kallen had spoken about something. Before he had gotten close enough to hear anything, Euphemia had grabbed him and dragged him off to the sitting room. All he had seen was Kallen turning to leave and Gino grabbing her arm.

As the evening had worn on and Suzaku hadn't appeared Lelouch had considered going looking for him, but his family had made it impossible to leave. He could have just summoned Kallen to his side and ordered her to look for Suzaku, but Lelouch was sure that she wouldn't have listened to him, prince or not. Knights were not meant to deliver messages. That left him little choice but to wait until everyone else went to sleep and then look for him. Lelouch was sure that Suzaku was still close to the castle or Kallen and Gino would have acted differently.

Lelouch trudged into his room, not caring that the door had not completely shut behind him. He just wanted something familiar to him to be able to relax, he still felt too strung out. Out of habit, he reached for the locket, jerking his hand back when he remembered that it was no longer around his neck. He had given it to Nunnally after the interview that had confirmed that he was the lost prince. Nunnally had wanted him to keep it, but it had felt right to give it back to her. It had never been his in the first place.

He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the ground. Without the locket, he was left with Suzaku, but Suzaku wasn't here. That left him with Gino and Kallen, both of whom were too busy with their own problems to be approached. There was also a part of him that didn't quite want to call on them, the same part of him that didn't like that he was relying on other people to comfort himself. As a prince of Britannia he wouldn't be able to rely on anyone else, at least not in public, so it was good practice in having to handle himself and being overwhelmed.

Lelouch looked up at a knock on his door, surprised when Marianne peered into the room. She spotted him sitting on the bed and walked into the room, Lelouch catching sight of Jeremiah moving into position outside of the door. He closed his eyes the next moment when Marianne flicked on the lights in the room. "Lelouch?"

"It's nothing. I'm just tired."

"Well, it is rather late." Marianne gave him an uncertain smile, her own nervousness making Lelouch feel better. He didn't know what he was doing and neither did Marianne, which meant that neither of them could make too much of a mess because their expectations were low.

He sighed and stood up attempting a smile that didn't look as exhausted as he was. "I'll be fine M-mother." He almost stumbled over the word, catching himself before he could call her Marianne. "Besides, I have a few weeks before we go to Pendragon."

Marianne stared at him. "You would come with us?"

"Cornelia is my half-sister and I see no reason that I should stay behind." He had gotten his wish; he had a place in the world and a handful of memories to go with it. Now he didn't want to be stuck in one place and hidden forever.

Lelouch could see how uneasy his presence made Marianne and Nunnally. It wasn't the fact that he had very little memory of them or that he was alive, it was the fact that he existed and now they were desperate not to lose him again. Lelouch could understand why Marianne had not announced him publicly and why she wanted to keep him at the castle for as long as she could, but he would draw the line at being cooped up here forever. If that was the case then maybe it would have been better to get a mind numbing job, because it would equate to the same thing. Now that he had something to his name he wanted more.

"I don't see why it would be a problem." Marianne was quick to recover, Lelouch feeling the corner of his mouth twitch up in a smile. "It's just that Pendragon is so different than here and there's all the political implications to think of."

"I'll handle it." Lelouch wasn't quite sure that he could make good on his claim, but he had a feeling he would be able to stomach it. It would just be a matter of watching and following the example of his mother and Nunnally for the first few days while he gathered his own impressions. Then he would begin to make statements on his own, skirting away from the topic of the emperor. From what he had heard of Emperor Schneizel when compared to Emperor Charles, Lelouch was sure that he would support the former over the latter, even if Schneizel had annoyed him as a child.

In any case, Lelouch was sure that he was so far down the line of succession that he wouldn't matter other than his relationship with the emperor, and he was more than willing to act in that capacity.

Marianne still seemed unsure but nodded anyway, Lelouch relaxing at that. He preferred to work with her permission than against her will, it would keep his relationship with his mother smooth until he remembered exactly what she meant to him. There was adoration and love already vaguely there, but that was probably because she was his mother, there was nothing strange about loving his mother. Lelouch wanted to be sure that there was nothing between them, nothing that would cause him trouble before he started to begin to rebel. Or at least he hoped that it would work as a plan.

"If you're sure then." Marianne turned to leave, pausing to look back at him. "We'll probably have to take you shopping then. I suppose that might be better kept a secret, especially after what happened the last time Nunnally and Euphemia went shopping."

"What happened?"

"Cornelia now has more clothes than she knows what to do with. Between the two of us we figured about half of what some of it would be used for." Marianne chuckled, glancing down at her simple orange dress and gesturing at herself. "Cornelia and I are soldiers, frills are threatening."

Lelouch laughed, about to bid his mother goodnight when Marianne stopped again, one of her hands resting on the door. "Did Suzaku ever give you that pin?"

He froze, staring at his mother. She must have known Suzaku hadn't talked to him since that morning, so she was assuming that he had met up with the guard sometime between when they had finally come in and dinner. Lelouch swallowed and shook his head. "I haven't seen him."

But Marianne was no longer paying attention; she was staring at something on the bedside table. Lelouch turned to look, his eyes widening as he stared at the small object on the table.

It was small, something that could fit easily in the palm of his hand and shaped vaguely like a lowercase i. It was mostly blue, save for the four white wings that stuck out from the top of the i and the gold that ran along the sides. In the dot at the top was a little gold crown, the only symbol on the pin.

Lelouch reached out and picked the pin up, cradling it in the palm of his hand. He recognized it. Jeremiah wore a similar pin all the time with the rest of his uniform, but that wasn't the important thing. The important thing was why Suzaku would have a pin like this and why he would have given it to Lelouch. He looked up at his mother, unable to keep from looking at the pin for long. He frowned as he stared at it, trying to work out the problem.

"I see that he did." He heard Marianne walk towards him, Lelouch automatically curling his fingers around the pin and pulling it close to him. Marianne took a step back at that. "Lelouch?"

The pin was worn in places, the paint a little less shiny and the corners blunted, like something had been handling it a lot. But, it had been taken good care of. Lelouch couldn't feel any cracks or places where it could have been broken and put back together. Suzaku had cared for this thing and had probably kept it close at all times. So why would Suzaku just leave it like this?

Lelouch felt panicked. Suzaku wouldn't leave something this precious to him if nothing was wrong, but Suzaku hadn't been around all day. And Suzaku had said that he felt like he wanted to die sometimes. What if he had decided that he wanted to die and hadn't stopped himself this time? Lelouch shivered, tightening his grip on the pin briefly before releasing it. He was jumping to conclusions, but at least it was a conclusion. There had to be other ones, more logical ones that didn't lead to that eventuality.

He swallowed and looked up at his mother, not quite sure how he should phrase his question. He licked his lips, uncurling his fingers from around the pin. "Why?"

Marianne stared at him for a moment before sighing. "He wanted to give it back to you, there was some promise that you two had made."

"So…he was my knight?"

"Suzaku was too young to be a knight, you never had one appointed."

Lelouch frowned. That didn't sound right. "But he…"

"Suzaku was being trained for that eventuality, yes."

So Suzaku had been already picked out to be his knight, that part felt right. Suzaku had never gotten to be his knight because of the massacre, which also felt right. But then Suzaku having the pin didn't make sense. The pin was given upon the appointment of the knighthood, a symbol of their position even when they weren't in full uniform. Lelouch had never seen Dalton wearing his, but it was probably on his person and Lelouch had never seen Jeremiah without his. So then why would Suzaku have it? He hadn't been old enough nor had it been official and yet Suzaku still had the pin.

Lelouch shut his eyes, trying desperately to think of something, anything that would make this make sense. After a few minutes of drawing a blank, he opened his eyes and looked at his mother. She wanted the pin back, that was obvious enough. It was probably tradition to keep them locked away somewhere until the knight was appointed. Suzaku had never been a knight, so the pin had never been his. Lelouch sighed, glancing down at the pin. He still didn't want to give it up because it meant something.

"Come on."

"My father…"

"They won't hurt him."

"You can't be sure of that. My father works for the emperor, they might try to kill him as well."

Panic. They needed to get out of here. The screams were too close. "It won't do you any good to stay behind!"

"Lelouch, he's all I've got."

It was the truth, but it hurt. There had to be something to get Suzaku to come with them, but he couldn't think of anything. His mother and sister were already too far away and those screams…

But there was the pin that he had grabbed. A pin and a different promise. The promise could be altered by never broken, not this promise.

The steady, almost guilty, weight was transferred from his pocket into the palm of Suzaku's hand and secured there by Suzaku's own fingers. Then a quick glance at Suzaku's face, watching the confusion and shock.

"Lelouch, I can't…I'm not a knight."

"I know you're not, but just listen. This is a promise to me, alright?"

"What kind of promise?"

"I want this pin back and I want you to be the one to give it to me. I won't accept it otherwise." He couldn't stay longer; he had to catch up to his family. Nothing could change Suzaku's mind at this point, but at least he could offer encouragement. Encouragement was better than grabbing onto Suzaku and begging. He was too proud to beg, to proud to plead and cry. Instead he would use Suzaku's pride against him. "You have to promise that you'll make it out of here alive so you can give that back to me."

"I promise."

Lelouch jerked his hand back as he felt Marianne's fingers brush against his palm, not resisting as she lifted the pin from his hand. He stared at her before looking back at the pin. "He should have given it to me directly. That's what I meant."

Marianne paused, resting a hand on his shoulder briefly. "I don't know why he didn't, although he had a lot on his mind after we talked."

"You talked about the reward." Lelouch didn't phrase it as a question because there was no other reason that Marianne would talk to the three people who had brought him to England. That at least narrowed down the reason that Suzaku hadn't come back. But, if he hadn't reappeared then he was thinking hard about something. Lelouch looked up at his mother. "He didn't take the money."

"No and I didn't expect him to."

Lelouch hadn't either. After the death of his father Suzaku would have no one waiting for him in Japan and his life as a guard would support him on his own well enough. He waited expectantly for the answer to his question, not surprised that Marianne started walking away from him.

"He asked for an alternate reward, I gave him the choice between becoming one of the guards under Dalton or Euphemia's personal knight."

Lelouch barely heard the sound that he made, only realizing that he had made any sound because Marianne turned to look at him. He was too busy going over what his mother had just told him. She was essentially sending Suzaku away, either way he would be far away from them. But that wasn't right, Suzaku was supposed to be his knight. Marianne herself said that they had groomed him to become Lelouch's knight. Why she had changed her mind was beyond him. But he did know that it wasn't right and he wouldn't be letting it go. It was the entire reason he had stolen the pin from his mother's study the night of the massacre, he had heard people talking about how difficult it was maintaining a royal presence in Japan. He had wanted Suzaku to promise that, no matter what, he wouldn't change his mind about being Lelouch's knight and staying friends with him. Up until then, the only people he could call friends he had been his family and the sons of the Britannian noblemen that Lelouch could never bring himself to trust completely.

He clenched his hands into fists, quickly gathering himself together as he turned to face his mother. "I don't think you have the right to make that choice. It is custom to allow the royal in question to choose their knight."

"And it is a privilege of the royal family to either accept or reject the choice." Marianne's voice softened, but she didn't relax. "Euphemia had already asked him, but he put it off until he found you. He fulfilled his promise, Lelouch. Allow him to live his own life now."

Lelouch bit back his first response, to shout no and demand that she give him the pin back. It was a childish response anyway and not one to sway Marianne. He took a deep breath to calm himself before stepping forward. "He told me that he still wanted to be my knight and I want to keep him close because…" Lelouch scrambled for the right word. It was too soon to say that he loved Suzaku; there were still too many gaps in his memory and too few days where they had just spent time together. He was sure that there was lust, but he preferred not to admit that, especially not to his mother. But there was one thing he was sure about. Lelouch straightened his shoulders. "Suzaku is my friend and I want to keep him as close as possible. I lost everyone I cared about before I don't intend to let it happen again."

Marianne had no response; she just stared at him and shook her head. The motion made Lelouch narrow his eyes. "And what objection do you have, Mother? Do you have one rational objection for why he shouldn't be given the place he was promised but go with Euphemia instead?"

His mother tensed under the verbal assault, Lelouch partially expecting her to lash out at him. Now she looked more like the soldier that he had read and heard about and less like the mother he had seen all day. He shifted nervously but stood his ground. He was well within his rights to demand an answer, especially on this subject. Marianne might want to keep him out of the public eye for a little while longer, something that he completely agreed with, but she had no right to keep him in the dark like this.

The idea that she would even try frightened him. If he had to drag the answer out of her like this it probably meant that she wouldn't have told him unless it had come up in conversation and there was no way around it. She would have probably kept the news from him as long as possible, and there was a danger of that becoming a habit. Maybe she just wanted to protect him from the world because he had disappeared once and maybe his eight year old self would have allowed that. But he had grown up without Marianne and he had changed. Now not being allowed to even know what was going on was dangerous, not only would it keep him out of the loop on most political matters but it would also deny him the chance at remembering something.

Lelouch sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He understood that his mother was scared for his safety, but there was no reason for her to do this. And, if she was taking so long to come up with an answer that she knew would satisfy him it meant that there was no real reason. If she wanted to keep him safe so badly then she would allow him to choose a knight before he was announced to the public so he was well protected.

He resisted the urge to shout at Marianne, to demand an answer from her. There were too many people in this wing and he didn't want to cause a scene, not over something like this, especially since Euphemia was involved. It wouldn't be fair to make her choose between his side and Marianne's especially since Lelouch had the sneaking suspicion that he would win, just because of his prior claim.

Lelouch looked up at Marianne again. "Mother, I trust him. That should be enough for you."

Marianne looked like she was going to speak again, Lelouch ready to start arranging a counter argument. But he never got the chance to hear what Marianne was going to say, both of them jumping as the door was pushed open, a panicked Jeremiah leaning into the room. "My lady, it's Princess Nunnally. She's-"

Jeremiah didn't get to finish his sentence. Marianne had been walking towards the door when he had begun speaking and she shoved him aside to get out into the hallway. Lelouch followed a step behind, surprised when his mother hiked up her skirts and sprinted to Nunnally's room. Lelouch followed after her, glancing over his shoulder when he didn't hear Jeremiah running after them. He slowed down long enough to see Jeremiah rushing over to where Dalton was standing outside of Cornelia's door, probably relaying the news to him, which would mean that Cornelia and Euphemia would find out what had happened soon enough.

Lelouch turned around and ran down the hallway towards Nunnally's room, only managing to get halfway down the hall before Marianne screamed.

"Nunnally!"

He jumped at the scream, bracing himself against the nearest wall before finishing his sprint. If the others hadn't known before, they knew now. Half of the servants probably knew now too. He swallowed nervously only slowing down in front of Nunnally's door.

For an instant, he wanted to turn around and walk away. It would be easier to take the coward's way out. But Nunnally was his sister. He didn't remember much about her, just little inconsequential things, but even those were something. Lelouch clenched his hands into fists and walked into the room, immediately stumbling backwards until he could press his back up against the nearest wall.

Nunnally's guard was on the floor, tied up to the desk and bleeding. Lelouch swallowed, barely glancing at his mother as he crossed the room. He heard the sound of others running up towards the room, but those were just faint background noises. They weren't important, especially not when compared to the mark that was carved into Rolo's skin. He was intimately familiar with the mark, having spent hours staring at it.

He shivered and looked away, meeting his mother's gaze. Marianne was glaring at him, like she was daring him to say that he trusted Suzaku now. Lelouch didn't bother to retort, he just leaned over to look at the guard.

There were strips of fabric on the floor, one close to the guard's head and one still looped around his wrist. Lelouch glanced at the desk before standing up, jumping at the sound of the door banging against the wall. He turned his head, moving closer to the desk as Cornelia stalked into the room.

"What happened here? Where's Nunnally?"

"She's been taken." Marianne's voice cracked over the last word, Lelouch glancing at her. Marianne was staring at the floor, refusing to meet anyone's gaze. "Some madman from that group that tried to kill us all came and took her."

The guard on the floor shifted. "It…it was my fault."

"No it wasn't, Rolo. You did your best." Marianne crumpled up the note in her hand before dropping it to the floor, looking every inch the soldier now. "Cornelia, I'm going to need your help. They couldn't have gotten far. I'll leave you in charge of searching through the fields and woods. Jeremiah, I want you to lead the guards to search through the house. Guilford, do not leave Cornelia's side. Dalton, don't leave Euphemia."

The men saluted and stepped into their positions, Jeremiah ducking out into the hall and beginning to bark orders at the gawkers outside. Marianne didn't even seem to register the commotion. "Euphemia you will remain inside. Everyone will report to you and you will be in charge of making sure we stay in contact. Any injuries will also be in your care. Hopefully you can begin to start putting together what happened while we search for Nunnally." Marianne paused for a moment. "And make sure Lelouch stays with you. I've lost one child and I have no intention of losing another."

Lelouch looked up at his mother and shivered. If this was her reaction to losing a child, he didn't know how he hadn't been found within days of being brought to the orphanage. Or maybe it had just been the distance. Marianne had complete control here; the person who had taken Nunnally couldn't have had more than an hour or two of a head start. And, with the whole countryside soon to be warned, they wouldn't be getting anywhere. Lelouch glanced at the crumpled piece of paper on the ground, tempted to reach for it. If they had left a note, it meant that they wanted a ransom for Nunnally and weren't just going to kill the princess. Although, if they had belonged to the group who had murdered their family ten years ago, he couldn't be sure.

He knelt down to grab the paper, freezing when his mother called his name. He looked up at her, slowly pulling his hand back. Marianne had it under control; he was useless in this situation. Lelouch sighed, about to stand up when Kallen came running into the room.

She nearly ran into Guilford, stumbling away at the last minute and catching herself on Nunnally's dresser, sucking in deep breaths. Kallen glanced at Lelouch before turning to face Marianne. "I found them…by the side entrance. The guard is dead."

"Then he must have climbed up the servant's stairs."

There were nods, all of the knights agreeing with his mother, but Lelouch found that he couldn't stop running Kallen's words through his hand. He frowned, snatching up the paper and standing up. "You said them, Kallen."

"Gino…"

She didn't even have to finish her sentence; Euphemia was already out the door and speaking to the servants. Lelouch saw Kallen relax, wanting to offer her a smile but his attention was caught between the injured guard on the floor and the note that he held crumpled in his hand. He had been too distracted by the guard to notice his mother's expression when she had read the note, but he was sure that what was in it had been enough to push Marianne into action. Lelouch closed his fingers more tightly around it, moving his arm slightly behind him so the note wouldn't be seen.

Thankfully everyone was too busy with orders from the knights and Marianne to pay attention to him. The only time that they looked back at him was when Marianne ordered Kallen to stay and guard him. Then Marianne left the room, Lelouch hearing her giving out orders as they went down the hall. He shook his head and leaned back against the desk, carefully smoothing out the note in his hands, trying to ignore the way that Kallen kept glancing at the door. Finally, he gave up and looked at her. "He'll be fine."

"I know that," she snapped, "I'm just annoyed he was there to get hurt in the first place. We could have used him."

Lelouch glanced at her and chuckled, leaning back against the desk. He couldn't quite tell if Kallen was telling the truth or just trying to hide her worry, he didn't know her well enough to be able to determine that. But it was a fair enough answer. He would leave her to her own devices. Kallen didn't need him asking if she was alright every few minutes. Besides, he had more pressing matters to attend to.

Lelouch glanced down at the note, his eyes widening as he read it over.

'Bring the boy that the knights brought to me. If this is done, then I will release the princess. Only send the boy unless you want Princess Nunnally to be killed.'

The paper dropped, Lelouch staring down at his hands. Nunnally had been taken because of him; there was no other person that the note could be referring to. His mother was going to try and get Nunnally back, but Lelouch had the sinking feeling that whatever plan Marianne had wouldn't work. This person only wanted him and obviously had no qualms about killing another member of the royal family. The person had the gall to walk into the castle and injure a guard before kidnapping Nunnally. His mother knew all of this and was trying to get Nunnally out her way.

Lelouch frowned, shaking his head and looking up at Kallen. That would just get Nunnally killed, no matter how hard Marianne tried to prevent it. She was reacting out of the fear of losing him again, something that he didn't blame her for. But this was Nunnally, her safety couldn't be risked.

He knelt down on the floor, waiting for Rolo to acknowledge his presence. The guard glanced at him before closing his eyes. "I couldn't…he would have hurt Nunnally."

"I can't do anything about that now. What I can do is make sure that she gets back alive. Tell me where she is."

The blank look on Rolo's face told him enough. The guard hadn't heard anything from the person who had kidnapped Nunnally, so he was essentially useless in this situation. Essentially useless and in pain.

Lelouch sighed and stood up, gesturing for Kallen to come over. He helped her lift Rolo up, the two of them trying to avoid pulling on Rolo's injured shoulder too much. Lelouch jerked his head in the direction that Euphemia had gone. He would try and catch up with his mother later. Lelouch was sure that Kallen wouldn't stop him, not with the chance to catch the person who had injured Gino.

They stumbled out of the room, Lelouch having to stoop a bit to keep from pulling on Rolo's shoulder. He glanced over to the side as they paused for a moment, Kallen adjusting her hold on Rolo. He found himself staring at the stairs. They were usually covered slightly by a tapestry and the door at the top was left open to allow the servants to move quickly around the castle. Lelouch stared at them, missing Kallen's call to start moving again.

The person who had taken Nunnally hadn't given a clue to where she would be, so he would have gone somewhere obvious. Lelouch wasn't sure if Marianne had thought of that before she had ordered her search. She was probably doing a systematic search of the grounds, which was the better strategy if the kidnapper had fled with Nunnally. Instead, the kidnapper had only demanded Lelouch's presence, which meant that both the kidnapper and Nunnally were still on the grounds.

Lelouch jumped as Rolo's arm slid from his grasp, but he made no attempt to take it again, instead taking a step towards the stairs. "What's down here?"

"There? The first floor."

"And the door where you found Gino and the other man?"

Kallen jerked her head toward the end of the hall. "They were guarding the door that led outside."

"The closest one to this staircase." Lelouch waited for Kallen to nod before walking over to the window at the end of the hallway, staring out into the night. He couldn't see much, everything further away from the castle was obscured by the lights that had been turned on to aid the search for Nunnally. He narrowed his eyes and tried to make out the shapes in the darkness.

It made sense that the kidnapper would go out the closest exit to where he intended to hide and the hideout had to be somewhere close to the door. Lelouch sighed, resting his forehead against the glass. He couldn't see much beyond the garden and the deeper shadow that was the small chapel in the center of the maze. Beyond that Lelouch guessed that the garden ran on; he hadn't been past the entrance to the maze in the single day that he had been there. His best guess on the rest of the terrain was that the garden ran into the wall.

Lelouch pushed away from the window, giving the view one last look before making his decision. He wasn't sure if he was right, but it would mean that he was doing something instead of just standing around and being useless. After all, his presence hadn't been announced to the world yet. Prince Lelouch was still officially dead, but Nunnally was still alive. She was the one that he had to protect. If he could remember nothing else about her, he remembered that she was something that was to be protected at all costs.

He walked over to the stairs, staring down them only to be stopped by a call from Kallen. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going after Nunnally."

"No. You're supposed to stay here."

"If I don't, they'll kill her." Lelouch looked over his shoulder at Kallen. "Would you rather that happened?"

"No! But-"

"Then I'm going."

"Wait. I'm coming with you!" Kallen adjusted her grip on Rolo and walked down the hall, obviously intending to get him to Euphemia.

Lelouch waited until she was out of his line of sight before continuing down the stairs. He didn't have the time to wait. The kidnapper was a part of the same group that had killed their family; Lelouch didn't want to test their patience. There was also the danger that Marianne would find Nunnally before he did, and Lelouch wasn't sure that his mother would be able to find a way out of that situation. He swallowed, slipping from the staircase and into the hallway.

He managed to get outside without any problems, glancing back at the door to make sure that it slid shut completely before turning and running in the direction of the maze. He would start his search there and move through the gardens. The shadows and the lack of light in the garden would be the perfect place to hide. Plus there was the chapel, a sure fortress that the kidnapper could hide in and, maybe even be completely missed.

He would just have to get there before the search did in any case. Lelouch still didn't know what the kidnapper wanted him for, but he made a mental note to find out. Before he had come here, he had just been another orphan; there had been nothing special about him. But, if the kidnapper had known that he was the lost prince, which meant that he had been in more danger than he had ever believed. And, if the group had known that he was the lost prince, then would they know where some of the other royals were hiding? Or would they have already managed to work their way into the guards surrounding the other royals?

Now Lelouch understood some of his mother's fear for his safety, although he still couldn't see how she could connect Suzaku to that group. He shook his head. It was not the time to be thinking about Suzaku, Nunnally was the important thing right now.

He shivered, slowing down as he reached the entrance to the maze. Lelouch stared up at the hedges, suddenly intimidated by them. Earlier, they hadn't seemed like they were looming over his head, but that had been under the sunlight and when he hadn't been paying attention to them. He reached out to brush his fingers over the edge of a leaf, laughing to himself. It was just a maze, the same maze that he had seen that day. There was nothing different about it.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the maze.

Suzaku jerked away as someone grabbed his shoulder and shook it. His first reaction was to turn and claw at the person attacking him. He managed to get one hand around the person's throat, Suzaku shifting so he would be able to bring his knee into the person's stomach and lift them off of him before he opened his eyes.

He stared up at Kallen, quickly letting go of her and sitting up in bed. He ran a hand through his hair, absently trying to fix it as he wondered when he had fallen asleep. The last thing he had remembered was going over the pros and cons of becoming Euphemia's knight without really considering the list that he had made. His mind was made up anyway; he would accept the position in the morning.

Suzaku turned his attention back to Kallen, frowning when he realized that he hadn't heard her knocking. He was a light enough sleeper to be woken up by the sound. Kallen had proven that at least once before. But the door was already open, looking slightly askew like Kallen had just thrown herself against it until it had opened. That coupled with the fact that she had been the one to actually wake him up instead of Gino's usual early morning bouncing on his bed was something out of the ordinary.

He blinked rapidly, buying time until he could look at the clock, realizing that it wasn't morning yet. It was still dark, which meant that he hadn't been sleeping for long. But obviously something had happened.

Suzaku pushed Kallen back, slipping from the bed. Gino had probably told her about his decision and she had tried to talk him out of going with Euphemia. Following their normal pattern, if she couldn't convince him to change his mind, she would try to beat it out of him, although Kallen had yet to win completely. Their record was made up of invalidated matches as Gino always came to break up their fights before there was any clear winner.

He sighed and shook his head. "Kallen, it's for the best that-"

"It's not that," Kallen snapped. He took a step backward; watching as Kallen physically distanced herself from him. "Look, you may be too stupid to care about yourself but I think you care about Lelouch."

Suzaku tensed, waiting for Kallen to come up with another condemnation but she remained silent. He narrowed his eyes. "What happened?"

"Someone broke in." He saw her gaze dart up to the tattoo that was hidden under his shirt. "Someone from that group."

Suzaku reached up and placed his hand over the tattoo. It was useless to cover it up now, Kallen knew about it and the connection had already been made, but he felt a bit more secure if he knew for sure that no one would be able to see it. He looked away from Kallen, lowering his gaze to the floor.

"They took Nunnally, Suzaku, and they demanded that Lelouch go to them or they would kill her. Marianne is searching for them now, but they'll just kill Nunnally if they aren't found by Lelouch."

He looked up, his heart pounding. Marianne had been willing to look over the fact that he had been with the group for now, but she would probably trust him even less after this. Even if Suzaku had nothing to do with the kidnapping, the timing was perfect. Right when Suzaku had gotten back and been denied what he had wanted Nunnally had been taken. Suzaku would be able to deny the accusation, but he was sure that it wouldn't be enough.

Suzaku swallowed, forcing himself to focus back on the problem and not on the possible consequences. "What would they do with Lelouch?"

"It's pretty obvious that they want to kill him."

"Why?"

Kallen stared at him before shoving him. "How would I know? I was just given orders to guard Lelouch."

"And where is he now?" Suzaku leaned around Kallen, trying to see if Lelouch was standing just outside the door. Now was no the time for an explanation of what had happened and Suzaku was sure that Lelouch would allow him that, for now. It was after they had found Nunnally that would be the problem; there would be nothing to stop Lelouch from demanding to know why Suzaku had been avoiding him. The thought of having to explain himself to Lelouch frightened him just a little bit more than the idea that someone from the group was on the grounds.

Kallen grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back, Suzaku staring at her. He gave the door one last glance before meeting her gaze. "Where's Gino?"

"He's hurt." Kallen's voice cracked over the last word, Kallen shaking her head. "He was at the door that the kidnapper used. Before you ask, I don't know why he was there. He's just been avoiding Marianne all day."

"Because of me?"

Kallen didn't answer, but Suzaku knew that it was true. Gino had gotten concerned for his sake and had spoken to Marianne. Suzaku hadn't asked him to because he was fine; he had come to terms with what he would have to do. But it was because of him that Gino wasn't speaking to Marianne, which meant that it was his fault that Gino had been outside of that door when the kidnapper had come in and it was his fault that Gino had gotten hurt.

"How bad is he?"

"He'll live. But that's not the important thing. I was helping Rolo when Lelouch ran off. He's gone after Nunnally."

Suzaku stepped around her, heading for the door. He didn't register that Kallen had called for him to stop until she grabbed him, pulling him back. Lelouch was more important at the moment; there was no time for complicated planning. Suzaku had already wasted time asking pointless questions because he had been took preoccupied to realize what Kallen was really trying to say.

Suzaku tried to pull away only to have Kallen hold onto his arm more tightly. He shook his arm, finally taking a step towards her when she wouldn't relent. "Lelouch is going to get himself killed. Nunnally's safety is important but there has to be a way to get them both out alive."

"So now you care?"

"I never stopped." Suzaku reached down, prying her fingers from his arm. "Where is Lelouch?"

"I don't know." Kallen huffed, pulling away from Suzaku. "I wouldn't have come to get you if I had known."

Suzaku tried not to wince, choosing to step away from her instead. So he was a last resort instead of the first person she turned too. Apparently she wasn't over the fact that he had allowed himself to be reassigned without an argument and, surprisingly, it hurt. Suddenly he was deemed no longer important because it was assumed that he would no longer be there, that he didn't care about Lelouch at all. He forced himself to shrug, trying to be nonchalant. "Fine. Tell me where to start."

Kallen hesitated, staring at him before seeming to come to a decision. She pointed toward one wall with a long sigh. "You search the gardens. I don't know why he would have gone that way, but we might as well look."

"And where will you be?"

Kallen gestured toward where the castle was. "I have to at least make it look like we still know where Lelouch is, just so there isn't more panic. Marianne can't hear about this, or it'll be both our jobs. She's panicked enough as it is with her daughter missing."

"So keep quiet and look quickly. I can do that."

"Good." It was a quick dismissal, Kallen already walking towards the door.

Suzaku stared after her, bristling a bit at her ease in ordering him around. He was sure that she was just worried about Gino, Lelouch and Nunnally; Kallen did tend to get snappy when she was worried. But what hurt was the condescension. He knew that Kallen and Gino weren't happy with him. He knew that they thought that he was just being an idiot. But he had also thought over what he had to do and leaving was the best decision. Lelouch was too important to him and messing up anything when dealing with Lelouch was not an option. Euphemia was a better option because he would be able to see that Lelouch was safe without risking the chance that he would be the one to cause Lelouch harm.

There was nothing he could do about that now. Lelouch was in trouble and, even though he tried to tell himself that Lelouch wasn't his concern anymore, Lelouch was still a royal prince and he was still a guard. It was his duty to protect all the royalty. There was no getting out of this even if he had wanted to refuse. He would have joined in the search if Kallen hadn't come to ask him, but they had decided to leave him alone for obvious reasons. It would be hard to win back the trust of the royals after this, just when he had started to feel secure in his place too.

He shook his head and stormed past her, missing the small smile that crossed Kallen's face. He was too focused on getting to the gardens as quickly as possible.

The gardens took up a large area and would be hard to search because of all the nooks and the odd shadows that were thrown by the plants themselves. Suzaku would have to be careful, because the kidnapper would probably be able to hide anywhere and Suzaku wouldn't see the person until they attacked him. Suzaku tensed at the thought, rolling his shoulders forward and glancing around nervously. There was also the chance that he would walk right by the kidnapper and Nunnally without noticing them, which would mean that the kidnapper would know that they were not following the demands and Nunnally would be killed.

Suzaku gritted his teeth, wanting to find Lelouch so he could punch him. He knew how much Nunnally mattered to Lelouch; Nunnally was like a little sister to him as well. But there was no point in just blundering after Nunnally, not with the threat hovering over her head. There had to be some kind of plan, some way to take a step back and look at the situation before charging in. Lelouch was good at that, but never when Nunnally was involved. That was what Suzaku was around for, to stop Lelouch from doing something stupid for the sake of his sister. Usually, he was there to stop Lelouch. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if this was the one time that he hadn't been there and Lelouch had been hurt, all because Suzaku had been too much of a coward to face him.

He broke into a run, sprinting for the maze. Even with Lelouch in a panic, Suzaku was sure that he would be able to catch up if not outrun him. It was stupid and probably the worst thing to do, but he had to make sure that Lelouch didn't meet with the kidnapper before they had a plan. If Suzaku could just do that, then he would consider it an accomplishment. Then he would know that he had done something worthwhile before leaving Lelouch.

Kallen was probably counting on him to keep her out of trouble as well. She was really worried about Gino. If she had sent him this way and stuck near the castle it meant that she wanted to stay close to him. Suzaku knew that he should have been happier for her, that Kallen was finally allowing herself to trust someone else, especially since Gino was from the class that Kallen openly despised. But there was still some part of him that was angry with her for trying to interfere with his life when he had never commented on hers.

He gave his head a hard shake, nearly losing his balance as he took a turn too sharply. Kallen didn't matter at the moment and neither did Gino. He knew the both of them were safe. That left two more people that he was close to in danger; those two were the ones that he should have been worried about.

Suzaku stumbled to a stop at a crossroads, catching his breath. He turned in a slow circle, straining his senses to try and pick up something. He wasn't sure that Lelouch or the kidnapper would chose to hide in the garden. There were plenty of places to hide but there were equally as many chances to get caught. There was no way out from the garden itself aside from scaling the wall on the other side of the maze.

Suzaku jumped at the sound of something creaking, turning to stare in the direction of the sound. There was no one else in the maze, there was only one entrance. He turned toward the sound, staring at the chapel. That was the only place that could have made a creaking noise. Suzaku stumbled forward a few steps before breaking into a run. There was no way that he was going to pass the chance up.

Suzaku slowed down as he approached the front of the chapel, glancing at the door. The front door was the only entrance, but the door was sure to be guarded. So he would do better to go around the building and find another way in.

He took a deep breath and moved closer to the walls of the chapel. He would be safer in the shadows and where anyone inside wouldn't be able to see him. From there he would at least be able to scout the interior of the chapel. Suzaku dropped into a partial crouch, inching towards the large stained glass window. When he got there he tentatively raised his head, moving to a place where he could see into the chapel itself.

It took him a moment to be able to make out anything inside, Suzaku shifting until he was looking through a clear triangle. He tipped his head to the side, just making out someone beside the alter and someone sitting on the alter. The latter blocked his view of the center aisle and there was no other spot that he could look through, the lack of light making it impossible to see through the colored pieces of glass.

Suzaku huffed and settled into a comfortable position. The only thing for him to do was to wait it out a bit longer. When he person on the alter moved he would get a good view and then he would be completely ready to act.

Lelouch stared up at the chapel, ignoring the chill that ran down his spine. The chapel was in the direction that the kidnapper could have gone, but there was no guarantee. Lelouch only hoped that he had beaten his mother to the center. He glanced once over his shoulder before reaching for the door.

It creaked when he went to open it, Lelouch wincing at the sound. In the darkness, it sounded louder than it should have. Lelouch stood still for a moment, waiting for the sound of shouts that would signal the approach of Marianne's guards. There was just silence, Lelouch sighing and stepping into the chapel. He lingered in the shadows by the door, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the gloom in the chapel. When he was sure of himself he began to walk forward.

He intended to carefully look around the chapel, but he was immediately distracted by the girl that was tied by the alter. Lelouch lurched forward, grabbing onto the back of the last row of pews, using them to hold himself up.

She was still alive and seemed to be alright. Even better, Marianne and her search party weren't anywhere near the maze and chapel. Nunnally wouldn't be in danger and he only had to negotiate with the kidnapper to make sure Nunnally would stay safe.

"Nunnally." He whispered his sister's name, some part of him disappointed when she didn't hear him. Lelouch pushed away from the pews and out into the center aisle. "Nunnally!"

She jerked, Lelouch watching as she tried to stand only to crumple to the ground. So, the kidnapper had tied her legs. That she didn't shout back was in indication that she was gagged as well. He couldn't think too far beyond that, just taking note that the kidnapper wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Nunnally, I'm so sorry!"

He jerked to a stop at the sound of clapping. Lelouch turned, staring at the man that was stepping out of the shadows by the back of the chapel. He stumbled back, nearly falling back into a pew as the man strolled up to the alter and leaned on it.

"So the boy finally shows himself. I was wondering if you had gotten my note."

Lelouch pushed himself away from the pew, continuing his walk down the aisle. He was careful to keep his gaze on the kidnapper. "I did. I'm here, now let her go."

The kidnapper looked shocked before letting out a laugh. "Oh and you just think you'll get out so easily? What guarantee will I have that she won't run and bring back up before I'm finished. No, you'll have to wait until I'm done. Now, get up here."

Lelouch frowned and kept up his steady pace. He saw no reason to hurry, especially after the man had refused his demand.

To his annoyance, the man didn't seem to be bothered at Lelouch's resistance. Instead the man just jumped up onto the alter and smiled down at him. "So, what took you so long? I would have thought someone like you would have come running. It's your job isn't it, to protect the princess? But you just left that one guard in charge of her and he was no trouble to dispose of."

Lelouch gritted his teeth, but refrained from snapping out the first thing he could think of. He stepped up onto the dais, turning the man's words over in his head. There was still some safety for him, the kidnapper just thought that he was a guard. Lelouch tried to look for a mark that would connect the man with the group that had massacred his family, quickly giving up. There was no reason to reveal he was a prince; it would probably be safer for him if he didn't. Lelouch chuckled. "Your note was lacking in details."

"I couldn't have Marianne coming after me. And I was sure you would figure it out. There was no way that you couldn't have, not after what you've done."

Lelouch froze, staring at the kidnapper. "What?"

"It should be obvious. You should know what you did." The man leaned forward. "Tell me, I want to hear it from you."

The man was obviously insane, there was no other reason that he would attempt to kidnap Nunnally just to get his attention. And, obviously, the man expected him to know something. Had he spited the man sometime in his past? They looked like they could be around the same age, but Lelouch wasn't completely sure. Lelouch settled for a blank stare.

The man huffed, sitting up and sliding close to the edge of the alter. "Don't give me that look. You know what you did. You know it. You know it."

"Let Nunnally go."

"Not until you tell me!" Lelouch took a step back as the man pulled out a gun and aimed it at him, sliding completely off the alter. "Tell me why you were so special. Tell me why you tried to steal her away from me. Tell me why you were enough to get her killed!"

Lelouch held up his hands, turning slowly until he was facing away from Nunnally. If the man fired the gun Nunnally would be safe.

He carefully raised his hands in an exaggerated sign of surrender. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do. You wouldn't be here if you weren't guilty."

Lelouch gritted his teeth, glancing behind him to look for a way out. He couldn't see anything towards the sides of the chapel. Besides, if he ran, he wouldn't be able to out run a bullet. He glanced back to Nunnally, watching as she struggled to get out of her bonds, her eyes wide. He wouldn't leave her, not when she was still in danger. Lelouch reached for his neck, automatically trying to find the locket that wasn't there any longer.

He dropped his hands, flinching when he heard the man release the safety of the gun. Lelouch took a deep breath and straightened up. "I can't tell you what I don't know. Before now I didn't know anyone and I don't think that the orphanage would have suffered a loss like that without contacting me." He paused for a moment, long enough for him to grow uncomfortable under the kidnapper's stare. "I haven't killed anyone!"

"You have." The man switched his gun to his other hand. "She was killed because she was following you. They had a whole file on you and she was the one in charge of it. So, who were you to her? Were you the next project or were they trying to replace me?"

"Replace you?"

"I did everything perfectly!" Lelouch recoiled as the man stormed forward, staring at the gun that was pointed at his head. "I did everything that she asked of me and that should have made them happy! But you came along and…what was the point of you? Why were you there?" The man lunged forward, Lelouch stumbling backward as the gun came close to his head. "Why were you so important to her?"

There was a crash and the sound of shattering glass. Lelouch abandoned his attempts to stutter out an answer to look at what had caused the sound. He barely noticed the gun moving away from him, Lelouch focused on the shadow that he saw falling through the window and tumbling behind the alter.

The man reacted faster than Lelouch did, swinging the gun back towards Lelouch and taking a step forward. "Get out from behind there or I'll shoot him."

Lelouch felt the gun press against his head, leaning as far away as he could without falling over. He glanced back at the alter, expecting the person to immediately scurry out from behind cover.

Instead the person jumped onto the alter, using its height to his advantage to leap at the man. The person and the kidnapper collided, the two of them tumbling to the ground. The gun slid somewhere off to the side, knocking harmlessly against the alter before skittering off into the darkness. Lelouch barely gave it one look before running over to Nunnally.

He skidded the last few inches to his sister on his knees, already reaching for the knots that bound her legs. He fought the urge to glance over at the kidnapper, he didn't know how long they would have until the fight was over or who would win. It was better to have Nunnally ready to run before anything happened than to have the kidnapper get his gun again and shot the two of them.

He fumbled with the knot a moment more before finally getting it undone. Lelouch reached for the knot that bound Nunnally to the candle stand, pulling her gag down with one hand. She didn't speak, just twisting so he could get at the knot more easily. Lelouch carefully pulled the knot loose, losing patience with it quickly when it couldn't be undone. He slid the loop over Nunnally's wrists, stopping when the loop didn't quite fit. To his surprise and a bit of dismay, Nunnally wiggled until her hands were free, ignoring his attempts to catch her hands and check to see if she was alright.

She pulled the gag off of her, throwing the cloth to one side before throwing her arms around him. Lelouch stared at her for a moment before smiling and holding her tightly. There were still so many things about her that he couldn't remember, the simplest things and the huge events in Nunnally's life. Thus far he only remembered a few childish games and the fact that he would do anything to keep her safe, but that was enough. At least those things he knew were true, those things felt real.

He looked up from Nunnally, his eyes widening as he saw Suzaku standing up, the man's gun in his hand. Lelouch pulled away slightly from Nunnally, still clinging to her arms. Of all the people that lived in the castle, Suzaku was the last one that he had expected to see.

Suzaku glanced over at them. "Is Nunnally alright?"

Nunnally pulled completely away from Lelouch, getting to her feet. "I'm fine, Suzaku. Thank you."

"I was just doing my duty." Suzaku's eyes narrowed for a moment, Lelouch not sure if the anger there was completely directed at the man on the floor or himself. "It would be best if the two of you left now."

Lelouch helped Nunnally to her feet, carefully escorting her around the scattered broken glass and into the center aisle of the church. Suzaku turned to cover them, the kidnapper remaining on the ground as Suzaku put his back to the center aisle.

Lelouch paused, looking between Suzaku and the man on the floor. "Will you be able to handle this?"

"I'm a soldier, Lelouch. It's my job to protect the royalty."

Lelouch tensed at the terse comment and the reminder. Suzaku didn't even look back at him, not even to check if he was fine. Lelouch understood if Suzaku was angry at him, but for Suzaku to ignore him completely was something else entirely. He felt his stomach turn at that, trying to push it away to think over later.

"Lelouch?" The man on the ground pushed himself up, grinning at him. "Like the lost prince? Is that who you are? Oh, this is my lucky day."

The man got to his feet, ignoring Suzaku's shouted orders to remain on the ground. Lelouch shivered and pushed Nunnally behind him, starting to back down the aisle. The man didn't even seem to care about the gun now, walking forward until his chest was pressed against it.

"Well, well, now I know why they wanted to keep a close eye on you. But that still means that C.C. was killed because of you and the reason isn't that important." The man laughed. "Oh, this is perfect. I'll get my revenge and carry out my orders."

"This is your last warning, back away from them or I will fire!"

The man glanced over at Suzaku, Lelouch shivering as the man stared at Suzaku's neck. The kidnapper smirked and tipped his head to the side, gently resting his fingers on the gun. "Will you Suzaku Kururugi? You'd be killing one of the members of your group."

"I don't want to have anything to do with you people!"

"Really? Well that's a disappointment, because your father had such high hopes for you."

"Your father?" Nunnally reached out to grasp Lelouch's arm, peeking out from behind him. "Suzaku's father had nothing to do with your group."

"He did. He did! Why would I lie to you? Why else would a fierce defender of Japanese independence suddenly decide to throw in his lot with the Britannian emperor? He was planting a spy." The man glanced at Suzaku and winced theatrically. "But it didn't take, did it? You actually wanted to be liked by them and you worked so hard."

"I…I never knew."

"Of course you didn't, that's what made you the best spy."

"I never wanted to spy on them!"

The man laughed, pushing the gun away from his chest. "And your father knew that, which is why he decided to get rid of the problem by killing the royal family."

Lelouch felt Nunnally's grip on his arm tighten. "Suzaku…"

"I didn't know and I never would have let him." Suzaku looked desperately over his shoulder at them. "You were my friends."

"Don't doubt him. He really was a loyal friend. You were the one that stayed behind when they were escaping."

Lelouch took a step forward, but Suzaku was already staring at the man again, visibly shaking now.

The kidnapper didn't seem to care; he just leaned forward and continued. "You had been trained to be the good knight too well. You killed your father. And I bet you didn't have to think twice before you pulled the trigger, it was just instinct. Anything to protect your precious Britannian playmates."

Lelouch felt Nunnally's hand slip from his arm, not sure if it was because he was still moving forward or because Nunnally was backing away from Suzaku. He did hear her gasp but he didn't turn around to look, not when Suzaku was visibly shaking.

"Suzaku, is this true?"

"It's…I didn't…I had to protect you, Nunnally. You were my…"

And Lelouch understood, and hated himself for missing the blatantly obvious. Suzaku had talked about his childhood, how he had enjoyed staying with Lelouch and Nunnally, how his father never around. It was natural that Suzaku would feel more comfortable around the royals than his own family. It was logical that Suzaku would feel loyal to the Britannians above the Japanese who had just treated him as Genbu's son. What surprised Lelouch was that Suzaku had actually pulled the trigger.

But that made everything else make sense. Suzaku had kept the tattoo as a reminder of what he had done, a constant punishment for himself that he couldn't escape. Suzaku had thrown himself into searching for Lelouch in an attempt to make up for his father's betrayal and his own failure. Suzaku had killed his father and lost his best friend that night, he had lost just as much as the other members of the Britannian royal family but had never been able to talk about it. So he had thrown himself into searching for Lelouch, because there was some kind of redemption in that, in taking back what he had lost and regaining his position. It would make up for the betrayal and the failure. Suzaku had risked everything on the slim hope that Lelouch would be alive and had staked his redemption on that.

It was painfully like Suzaku to think like that and, if the situation was any different, Lelouch would have laughed.

It was highly unlikely that Suzaku would have been punished for killing his father; he probably would have been applauded for it. But, in the end, Suzaku would just see it as a life taken in anger. Suzaku would probably hate himself for pulling the trigger for the rest of his life, but Lelouch was more focused on the fact that Suzaku had shot anyway, just because he and Nunnally were in danger.

He stepped up behind Suzaku, keeping an eye on the man as he wrapped one arm around Suzaku's waist. He felt Suzaku start, soothing him with a quick brush of his fingers over Suzaku's arm before he rested his palm over Suzaku's hand. All he needed to do was curl his fingers and he would be holding the gun, but that would be his last resort in the situation.

Lelouch tipped his head to the side, meeting the kidnapper's gaze even as he spoke to Suzaku. "I forgive you."

"Lelouch…"

"He was a traitor."

"He was my father."

"He would have killed us." Lelouch cleared his throat. "Thank you."

Lelouch couldn't see Suzaku's expression, but he felt his friend tense. He couldn't really think of anything else to say, not when the kidnapper was staring at them. He was sure that the man had other weapons and other ways to kill them all, but he wouldn't let that happen. And he wouldn't let this man break Suzaku down any more.

"Shoot and I'll take the blame." He saw Suzaku turn his head, Lelouch smiling back at him. "That is an order from your prince, Suzaku. Fire."

Suzaku paused only long enough to adjust his aim before he pulled the trigger, Lelouch watching as the kidnapper toppled over, a look of surprise on his face. He chuckled to himself, pulling away from Suzaku to look at the man that was splayed out on the floor. "You said it yourself; he doesn't hesitate when defending the nobility."

Lelouch turned away, reaching behind to grab at Suzaku's arm. "Don't you disappear again."

He expected Suzaku to protest, not to just slump and allow himself to be led back to where Nunnally was. Lelouch had thought that Suzaku would have to be coerced, especially with the way he had been shaking earlier. Instead Suzaku was tractable and obeying orders without question. He was probably still reeling from the shock and just relying on habit. Lelouch hesitated before settling for a comforting pat on Suzaku's arm, not sure what Suzaku would do to him if he had been more forward.

Sure that Suzaku would stay close, Lelouch turned to look at Nunnally, holding out his hand for her. She immediately took it and gave it a squeeze, pressing herself against him. "You alright?"

"Yes. You?"

"A bit shaken." Nunnally shivered and tightened her hold on his hand. "But I'm fine. Will Rolo be alright?"

"I'm sure that he will be." Lelouch glanced over at Nunnally, surprised to see that Nunnally was looking back at Suzaku. Lelouch turned to look at Suzaku as well, realizing that she was also asking about Suzaku as well. He stared at Suzaku for a moment before shrugging.

Nunnally sighed and rested her head on Lelouch's shoulder. "Let's go home. It's been a long night."

Lelouch nodded and squeezed her hand in reply. He guided Nunnally down the aisle. For a moment, he was tempted to send Suzaku to find Marianne, just to ease his mother's worry, but he didn't want Suzaku to wander too far away from them, not after the kidnapper had shaken him so much.

He got a better grip on Nunnally, reaching back for Suzaku only to have the guard step away from him. Lelouch pulled his hand back, curling his fingers close to his palm. Part of him wanted to shout at Suzaku for keeping away and blame him for the mess. If Suzaku had been around then Nunnally could have been freed faster and then the kidnapper wouldn't have been able to let that information slip out. But shouting at Suzaku wouldn't help anything, so it was up to him to make the forgiving gesture. And this time he wouldn't allow himself to be pushed away by whatever his mother had to say.

Lelouch had only just regained his family and he had nearly lost both Suzaku and Nunnally in one night. He wasn't going to let it happen again.