Edit- This is not an update I simply edited the whole FanFic because I started reading it and noticed some grammar mistakes but what I found out is that in the first chapter I called Tianzi, Jiang, which is her first name, but on the second and third chapter I called her Lihua, which is her last name. I don't like the name Lihua as much as Jiang, but I used it because somehow it got into my head that Lihua was her first name and I didn't want to call her by last name. Since I like the name Jiang better I'm going to start using it in the next chapters and change where it previously said Lihua for, also I used this as an excuse to correct the grammar problems in the last two chapters. Also I added a small scene to the end of this chapter, its nothing relevant you can skip it if you like.
And I'm back from the dead, my fingers may be the size of crayons now (I'm eating a lot of tacos here in mexico) but that will not keep me from writing. And to everyone here who is reading my other FanFic Knights of Honor, don't worry, the next chapter is coming soon, I just decided to write this first because I thought it was going to be a short chapter, next thing I knew it was 4815 words long! it's the longest thing I have ever written.
Please review and tell me what you think, it fuels the story.
Li Xingke stood in the middle of the Royal Gardens. He was dressed in his new uniform, given to him by the Tianzi herself. He saw the young Prince's Knight standing opposite to him, his gaze never leaving the younglings, and with a firm hand on the pommel of his sword.
He couldn't blame him. After such an attempt on the young Empress's life, and the harm that could have been inflicted on the Prince, what bodyguard wouldn't be alert at all times?. However, he did notice that his gaze lingered on the Prince more often, and for a more prolonged periods of time. Even though he had heard the Prince order him that in case of emergency, to save the Empress first.
"You can't catch me!" echoed the cheery voice of the young Tianzi through the gardens.
The aforementioned royalty were running through the gardens, playing tag. Well, it was mostly the Empress being chased by a tired and frustrated Prince, who due to his physical prowess or, rather, lack thereof, couldn't catch the girl.
Lelouch couldn't take it any more and leaned on the peach tree, seized by a coughing fit.
The young girl approached the boy and scolded him teasingly " You need to get in better shape, Lelouch."
The boy raised his head, and between ragged breaths responded "You… don't need…... to be ….in….. shape for….." another fit of coughing seized him before he could finish "Chess."
"You know, not everything in this world is related to chess." she said, bringing a finger to her lower lip.
"But chess can be applied to everything." he countered.
She smiled wickedly, "I've tasted what comes out of you applying chess to tea, it's not good, to put it kindly," she mocked.
"I'm going to get it right one of these days." said a red faced Lelouch.
She laughed "You've been saying that for over a year!"
Xingke quirked an eyebrow. It was unusual to see the young Empress so feisty and bold. Nevertheless, it was a welcome change from her usually shy demeanor.
He noticed the Prince's lips quirking evilly, 'Oh dear.' thought Xingke. On his days guarding the Empress he noticed that every time he had that diabolical smile, something was going to happen.
Apparently, the Tianzi had arrived at the same conclusion, since she nervously took a step back.
"Say, you are looking especially beautiful today. Why, your eyes are the loveliest shade of red I have seen in my entire life." he said with the most charming voice and lady-killer smile he could muster.
It had the desired effect as she looked at her feet, trying to hide her blush. Her legs visibly wobbled and she started fidgeting with her fingers. She stammered a few words, and tried her hardest not to melt right there, unsuccessfully.
The Tianzi had returned to her former self. Not without any help, of course.
"Well th-thank y-you, you ha-have lovely ey-" However she was cut off by Lelouch lunging forward and touching her.
"Tag, you're it."
She stood there and blinked, trying to process what just happened. However, Lelouch beat her to it.
"That's what happens when you apply chess to everything." he said with a satisfied smirk.
She blinked a couple of times again, realizing what had just happened. "That's cheating!" she suddenly cried.
Lelouch shook his head and crossed his arms "No, that's strategy."
"Naha."
"Yeha."
Xingke smiled as he watched the two children bicker. From the corner of his eye, he could also see Gottwald's reaction. He had relaxed slightly, dropping his hand from his sword and smiling warmly.
It was during moments like this that reminded Xingke that the Prince, even though he had a genius level intellect and could play the game of politics better than most, was still a child.
"I'll be back in no time, you'll see." said Lelouch with a soft voice.
Lihua only casted her gaze downwards in sadness.
He sighed and gently grabbed her chin, lifting her head to meet her eyes. "It's only a couple of weeks, I promise I'll be back for your birthday."
Lihua looked unconvinced, but raised her finger and said "Pinky promise?".
Lelouch smiled and raised his hand as well, interlocking fingers with her "pinky promise"
Lihua nodded and freed herself of Lelouch's grasp on her chin, lowering her head yet again.
The Prince nodded back, motioning to Jeremiah, who picked up his bags and started to move towards the plane.
He smiled yet again, and gave her a warm hug, eliciting a small squeak from the younger girl. He pulled away and said, "Don't worry. I'll be back before you can notice I'm gone."
The young Empress nodded, but didn't say a word. He gave her one last squeeze before turning and walking towards the plane.
"Lelouch!" came the voice of a little girl that surprised everyone in the room, including her, "Come back soon, and…" she hesitated, it was like something was stuck in her throat. Finally she finished "be careful."
The boy looked at her, then nodded before getting into the plane.
She watched the plane fly away. It had been one and a half years since Lelouch arrived, and he was going to visit his family in Britannia. As you could tell, the young Empress wasn't particularly fond of this.
Her gaze lingered on the plane for a few moments more, before she turned back and started to walk rather quickly towards the gardens, her bodyguard Li Xingke following closely behind. Much to Xingke's surprise, the girl briskly changed course. He could see her face for only a second, and what he saw was a stone face devoid of any emotion.
That's when he understood the sudden change of direction. Lelouch had told her to never show weakness in front of the eunuchs, and like everything Lelouch told her, she took it to heart.
He deduced that she was doing her best not to start crying.
As they neared the room, her strides became longer and her pace became quicker. So much that Xingke had to actually walk faster to catch up with her.
She hurriedly opened the door, the need to get in the room as fast as possible evident in her movements.
Once the young girl got in, she rushed towards her bed and buried her face on the pillow, a light streak of tears could be seen in her face. This was the first time she felt alone since the day Lelouch arrived.
Faint sobs could be heard throughout the room, her body shaking slightly.
Xingke didn't really know what to do. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? Comfort her? Was that even his place? Before he could decide anything, a crackled voice filled the room.
"I hate her." came the voice of the Tianzi.
Xingke raised an eyebrow "I beg your pardon?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.
The girl raised her head, the nearly dried tears still visible. "I hate her." she repeated.
Xingke was even more confused now, "If I may ask, who do you hate?"
She laid her head on the pillow again, this time looking of to the distance .
"Nunnally." she almost spat.
Xingke was taken aback by the venom in the young Tianzi's voice. The fact that she had openly declared to hate someone was completely unlike her. The Tianzi wasn't bubbly or cheery by any stretch of the imagination, but she was definitely kind hearted, which is why he was so surprised.
Then came the matter of who this Nunnally person was, 'Wasn't she the Prince's sister?' he thought, before nodding to himself. Indeed she was, he had heard the young Prince talk about her, he adored her. It seemed she was the reason he was going back to Britannia.
'But why would the Empress hate her?' then it dawned on him, 'Oh dear. I better stay out of this one.' he thought, shrewdly deciding that if the Empress had any wrath in her, by God, he was not going to find out today.
He only nodded and replied "Of course, your Majesty."
The young Empress sat, fidgeting nervously with her fingers.
It was her birthday, and Lelouch hadn't arrived yet. Obviously, she was distressed by this. That he hadn't arrived wasn't the problem, rather, the reason he was delayed. Reports had said that EU fighter jets had engaged the Britannian escort in an attempt to take the Prince hostage.
Communications had been cut off, so there was no way of knowing if the attack by EU forces had been successful.
This left Lihua distressed and wallowing in uncertainty. At her side, Xingke cast a gaze at her, remembering the three weeks without the prince.
The first day was the most eventful day, per say. After some crying and a declaration of hate, then some more crying, the girl quietly went to sleep.
The next day and the day after wasn't that eventful, the girl found ways to entertain herself, and didn't cry any more, even though it was evident she missed him. Things like putting two sets of tea when she made tea or taking out a chessboard were clear evidence of this, not to mention the long gazes at the sky.
Nevertheless, the girl remained her usual self to everyone but the most keen of observers. More importantly, she didn't show any sign of distress to the eunuchs, a testament to the girl's strength of character.
This impressed Xingke, and also served to remind him that even though the Empress was very emotional at times, she was also admirably strong.
He also was impressed on the positive spin the girl tried to put on things, he noticed a small smile that grew wider with every day that passed.
That smile was now replaced with a worried look and a dark sense of worry, a sense that strangely, he shared.
"There is a Britannian craft approaching." came the voice of one of the guards. Both Lihua and Xingke tensed up. The atmosphere was so thick that it could be cut with a knife, neither of them saying a word as they waited for the news.
To tell the truth, Lihua was petrified with fear. What if he had been captured? Or worse, killed. She shook her head, she couldn't bear those thoughts, the thought of losing him.
The door suddenly opened, and in came Lelouch, his clothes tattered and his hair sprawled.
To his surprise, Xingke exhaled in relief when he saw the young Prince unharmed. This couldn't even be compared to Lihua's reaction. She rushed forward and threw her arms around him, almost screaming "I was so worried! Are you alright!? Please don't ever scare me like that again!"
Lelouch wrapped her arms around her quickly and fondly said "I'm okay, but Lihua, I can't breathe."
Lihua pulled away quickly, "I'm sorry, I was just so worried. And I'm glad you are okay." she said meekly, looking at her feet.
Lelouch smiled "It's alright. That reminds me, I have something for you." he said, motioning to a previously unnoticed Jeremiah who was still wearing his piloting suit. He was holding a small box, wrapped in purple paper with a pink ribbon. He gave the box to Lelouch, who nodded in response.
He gave the box to Lihua "Sorry, the rest was destroyed in the attack, but Happy Birthday!" She tentatively took it from his hands, unwrapping it and saying a quiet 'Thank you.. She finished unwrapping the box, and carefully opened it.
Inside, there was a strange white glass, with big red letters written on it, it said 'DO NOT APPLY CHESS'. She looked at the glass with curiosity, flipping it to examine it.
"It's a mug/" explained Lelouch, "We use it in Britannia to drink coffee and…" he smiled playfully "... tea".
The only thing the young Empress could do was laugh. The two bodyguards let out a chuckle as well, looking at them fondly.
This wasn't the most exotic gift she had gotten today, and neither was it the most expensive. She had gotten tea sets made from the finest porcelain in the world, jewels and gold from all the corners of the Federation, and dresses made of the fines materials the world could offer. However, they all seemed miniscule compared to the gift she now held.
"This is Zhou Xianglin, she will be our new intelligence officer." said the young Empress to the small circle of loyal men before her. Notable in this meeting were Xingke, Hong Gu, the prison captain and an inside man on the eunuchs' private force. Lelouch and Jeremiah were also there, the first one sitting beside the Empress, while the second one was leaning on the wall, slightly outside the circle.
Xianglin nodded before taking a seat besides Xingke, "She will be in charge of logistics and such." finished the Empress.
She straightened a bit and turned to Hung Gu "Do the eunuchs suspect of anything?".
"I don't think so, my Empr-" however, he was cut off by one of the men in the room.
"I don't think we should discuss such things in front of a Britannian, much less a Prince of Britannia." he said, pointing a finger at Lelouch, his voice laced with venom, "For all we know, he could be working with the eunuchs, or informing his government of everything that goes on here." some of the people in the room nodded in agreement, others were taking aback by the boldness of the man, and lastly, others were insulted.
Jeremiah tensed up and brought a hand to his sword's pommel, ready to defend his Prince's honor.
However, to Lelouch's and Jeremiah's surprise, it wasn't the Tianzi who defended him, rather, Xingke.
"It's in large part to him that we are able to have these meetings. In fact, he was the one that started this group or 'secret court' as we are calling it. He has done, and will do more than you can even hope to accomplish," he said, standing up "So you had better keep silent on matters you don't know anything about." his voice hardened and fear could be visible on the man's face, "And I suggest you show some respect for the Empress and her friends. If you do not, you'll be put to the sword for insulting My Lady's honor." he emphasized his point by drawing his sword.
The man gulped in fear and looked for support around the room, finding none. Once it was clear he had lost the argument, he sat down and sighed "I apologize for questioning his loyalties, and for disrespecting the Empress and her friends, I beg for forgiveness."
The Empress gave a slight nod, out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Lelouch giving Xingke a nod of gratitude. "As we were saying, do the eunuch suspect anything?" she asked Hung Gu again.
"No, my Empress, I don't think so. They are blind, and think you are still on their leash." he responded.
She nodded, glancing around the room "Very well. We will discuss our course of action in the next meeting. You are dismissed."
Everyone in the room except Lelouch, Lihua and Xingke got up and started leaving. Xianglin was about to exit when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned to see the owner of the hand, it was the Britannian Knight.
"The Prince asks you to stay." he said in a deadpan tone, his eyes betraying nothing.
She looked at him for a few seconds carefully, then nodded and turned around to see the young Prince, both hands at his back. He gestured her to come near him, signaling that he wanted to speak to her.
She complied and started to walk towards him. She could see the other occupants of the room looking intently at her stopping once she was in front of him
"What do you suggest our next course of action should be?" he asked. His voice held an impressive amount of charisma and power. It was a leader's voice, a commander's voice. This made her realize that, even though the Empress called the shots, he played the political game.
Still, she was hesitant to answer the question of this britannian, "What is the point of this question?" she asked back.
"I'm trying to find out out if this intelligence officer is competent or if I have to get a new one, so what do you suggest our next course of action should be?" he calmly answered, keeping his hands at his back.
She tensed a bit, and realized she had no choice but to answer the question "We should ally ourselves with a more powerful political party, I suggest the traditionalists/"
He nodded, and calmly asked another question "Why?".
She took a deep breath "The traditionalist are one of the major parties with a high amount of power and influence. They want to see the return of power to the Empress's hands. A lot of our goals aligne with them, and they have a private army roughly the size of the eunuch's own. They have been trying to get rid of the High Eunuchs for years now, and they'll jump at any chance to do so." She explained.
The prince nodded in satisfaction, Xianglin releasing the air she had unknowingly held.
"Just one more question," he said, "where do your loyalties lie?".
This was the scary question to Xianglin, but without hesitation and standing straight she answered "To the Tianzi."
"Very well, you have proven yourself competent" he said, much to her relief and surprise. "As the intelligence officer, you must be close to the Tianzi to inform her of any recent developments and to give her important information." he brought a hand to his chin in thought, "Tell me, what is your military training?"
"I'm proficient with most kinds of firearms, and have experience in hand to hand combat, mostly with a knife or dagger." she said without flinching.
He nodded yet again and gestured to his Knight who carried a box, he handed the box over to Xianglin, who curiously took it. She opened it to find a servant's uniform.
"Congratulations, you've been promoted. From now on, officially, you'll be the Tianzi's personal maid. Unofficially, you'll supply her with valuable information on people and current events, you'll tell her if she's being lied to and give her a background on everyone she'll meet. It will also be your duty to protect her if things go south. The uniform has hidden pouches where you can put a gun and several knives, as well as a hidden blade." he explained.
She could only stare at the boy in amazement. She had just realized that, even though the Empress called the shots, he played the political game, and probably better that anyone in the Chinese Federation.
"Now, go and change. There is a changing room over there." he said, gesturing to the corner of the room.
She nodded and went to change. Once she was out, the Prince started to talk again Now that our new arrival is here, we should discuss what to do next." he walked towards the table and sat down "As she brought up the matter we've been discussing for the last couple of days," he took a deep breath "I think we should ally ourselves with the traditionalists".
"I agree." came Xingke's firm voice, "We need them."
Looking at the young Empress's face, you could see that she was displeased with the notion "But the traditionalist will never let me out of the forbidden city." she said meekly, the commanding tone that she had just a few minutes ago completely gone, surprising the newly appointed maid.
However, the biggest surprise for her was when the Prince gently responded, his voice devoid of the coldness it held when he spoke to her just a few minutes ago "I know you don't like it, but we will only need their support until you have enough power to rule without them. Once you have that kind of power, we won't need them anymore." he made a short pause before continuing "Nevertheless, it's your choice. If you don't want to do it, we'll find another way. We will be with you no matter what you chose."
There was an uneasy silence lingering for a moment before the Empress spoke up again "We will ally with the traditionalists."
Lelouch looked unconvinced, to say the least "Are you sure?"
The girl nodded "It's the fastest and most effective way to get rid of the eunuchs. Besides, we all need to make sacrifices."
He nodded, a glint of relief in his eye "So it's settled. Tomorrow, we'll send an emissary to negotiate with the traditionalists." everyone in the room nodded. Suddenly, a smile appeared on the young boy's face "What do you say we go and make some tea?" he asked the Empress, who fervently nodded and proceeded to go out the door with everyone in tow.
Xianglin was extremely surprised to see the two younglings' transformation. Once they had gone past the door, the Empress turned to a shy, almost awkward persona full of kindness. A far cry from what she had seen in the meeting. While the young Prince was still a tough nut in her opinion, he actually acted like someone his age now.
While she was standing at the base of the peach tree, she noticed something. While the Prince was using a proper chinese tea cup to try making his tea, keyword here being try, The Empress was using a strange kind of glass with a big red word written on it to make hers.
She looked in bewilderment towards Xingke, who noticed and answered her unspoken question "It was a birthday present from Lelouch." before calmly turning back to resume his watch of the Empress.
She raised an eyebrow. She was present on the Tianzi's birthday half a year ago, as an observer in the distance, of course. She had seen the wonderful tea sets that were given to her, made by the finest porcelain in China, and wondered why she wasn't using those instead of the ugly glass in front of her.
Another thing that bothered her, well, perhaps bother wasn't the right word for it, was that Xingke had called the Prince by name. To her knowledge, every Chinese in the palace called the Prince by title or nationality, never by name.
She was brought out of her thoughts by the voice of the Tianzi.
"Nope, still no good, Lelouch."
A thirteen year old Lelouch stood in front of a ten year old Lihua. It had been three years since Lelouch had arrived, and now it was time to go back. They both stood there in an uncomfortable silence.
Lihua raised her head and pleaded "Please don't forget about me.".
Lelouch looked at her with bewilderment "How could I? You are my best friend, Lihua."
Even though she was saddened by the situation, she couldn't help but smile. She had never heard him call her his best friend, and she was overjoyed that he thought of her in that way.
"Besides, we can send letters to each other since the traditionalists won't let us use email or the phone. That way, we can stay in contact." he said, trying to cheer her up. Finally, he removed something from his pocket and gave it to her. It was a picture of both of them making tea beneath the peach tree. She was confused, when was this taken?
Lelouch seemed to sense her confusion as he answered "I had Jeremiah take it without anyone noticing." he smiled at her "Keep it well hidden, you know how the traditionalists feel about cameras and photographs." he moved in closer and gave her a long and tight hug, to which she responded in kind.
They stood there for a moment, neither of the saying anything, just enjoying each other's embrace. Eventually, Lelouch had to pull back. He was met by some resistance, the girl didn't appear to want to let go.
Lelouch managed to pull back, Lihua just stared at him and started to say "Good-" before she was cut off.
"Don't say that. It's not a goodbye, I'm just not here right now." he said, confidence ringing in his voice
Neither of them noticed the couple talking behind them.
"You know, our progress in overthrowing the eunuchs will be severely hurt by losing him." said Xianglin to Xingke.
After the first awkward days of impersonating a maid, Xiangli had actually come to enjoy her position. She had loosened up a bit, a privilege only the inner circle of the Empress had, and had actually developed a close friendship with Xingke.
"I know, but we sometimes forget that he is only a boy. He probably misses his family and home." Xingke sighed "Besides, they will be exchanging letters. She can ask him for advice on the most important matters there."
Xiangli raised a brow "Is it safe to exchange such sensitive information in letters? Letters the Britannian government and the eunuchs could get a hold of?
Xingke responded without looking at her "I believe Lelouch taught her some sort of a code. On the Britannian side, Jeremiah will be receiving the letters, and you won't believe who the eunuchs chose to supervise the letters between them"
"Who?" she asked curiously.
This time Xingke did look at her, a smile on his face "Hung Gu."
She looked at him in disbelief "Really? The prison captain?"
"Yes, he has been promoted to captain of the guard in the forbidden city. The eunuchs think they have him in their pockets." she could see his smile growing broader "They were never very bright." he turned his head back to the younglings "Besides, I don't think Lelouch would do anything that could hurt her. Do you see how careful he is? That boy is paranoid."
"For a good reason." she interjected.
They stood in silence, fondly watching the two hug.
Xianglin broke the silence.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" she asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
"Yes." he answered without even thinking about it twice.
"Are you sure? I mean, look at her." she said, pointing at the Empress.
"If you would have seen her the day he went for three weeks to Britannia, you would understand." he sighed "I mean, that day, she was devastated. You wouldn't have noticed if you only saw her in the hallways, she hid it really well, but I got to see what she was really feeling. She felt alone, she was afraid that he wouldn't come back. She actually announced her hate for Nunnally. Today, she is just sad, maybe really sad, but just sad." he looked at her, smirking "And if there is one thing I have learned in my service, it's that she is stronger than she looks.".
She stood in silence for a second before she asked a question "Nunnally?".
"Yes, Lelouch's little sister." he answered.
The she remembered "Ah yes, he adores her, why would she hate…" then her eyes widened in realization "Oh."
"Yes, quite." came his response.
"I never pictured her for the jealous type." she said in amazement.
"Oh, believe me, she can get quite jealous." he said, crossing his arms.
"Really? She does appear to be selfless, she shares everything." she said, still amazed.
"Well, it seems the only thing she wants to keep for herself is him." he casually said. He was going to say something else, but noticed that the couple had stopped hugging, and that Lelouch was walking towards the plane with Jeremiah by his side. "It seems they are finished" he said, pointing at the couple and walking towards the Empress, arriving at her side.
The three of them saw the Prince walking towards the plane. Just before he boarded, he turned around and said "I'll come and visit as soon as I can.", then turned around and got into the plane.
Once the plane had taken flight, Xingke asked the Empress "How was the goodbye?"
"It wasn't a goodbye, he just isn't here right now." she answered, huggin the photo close to her heart.
Edit- So, that's that, this last bit is not really relevant, it's just an homage to my grandfather who died a year ago, and who's ashes we buried today, this small bit is dedicate to my grandma, who wanted to read what I had written, for her I included My dead Grandpa in the story before she read it, kind of a way of immortalizing him. If you read this last bit I thank you.
So, here it is, hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it, I have the worry that maybe it was a little rushed, personally I like it, it's a short story and I have dedicated 3 chapters to their childhood, it seems enough.
As always tell me what you think, what you want to see, what you don't want to see, anything pretty much.
Anyway, with this chapter we exit the childhood of our protagonist and next chapter we will begin the teenage years, its going to be fun.