So… here it is, next chapter, I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do.
Please review, tell me what you think and what you want to see, stuff like that. Those kinds of reviews have already turned this intended six-eight chapter story much longer.
Special thanks to TheFinalArbiter, seriously this guy just fixed grammar mistakes on the whole story, so if you want to read it again without my pesky mistakes there it is, also I think we added a bit more on some parts of the story, mainly the Xingke interrogation scene on chap 2. Also you own half of one scene to this guy, seriously what this guy does with action scenes is badass.
Xingke observed the younglings with rapt attention. He was worried, and not because of the Empress herself, but rather the Prince besides her. He had come to notice small, yet significant changes to his behaviour. He seemed to be more paranoid, (if possible) and he seemed to cringe at the mere mention of Britannia, The Emperor, or the royal family. However, the most significant change, and the one that worried him the most, was that he stopped talking about Nunnally. The boy that used to take every chance to praise and talk about his dear sister was replaced with someone who didn't even mention her, and diverted the conversation as quickly as he could if someone else mentioned her.
He was sure the Empress would have noticed as well… had Kaguya not been here. The truth was that said Empress was too busy with her "rival in love" to notice any specifics about the Prince. She didn't disregard him, but it was clear to everyone but Lelouch that she was more interested in getting his attention than himself.
He wouldn't blame the Empress for that, nor would he judge her. After all, she was in a "delicate" stage of life. In truth, he was a little scared of what the Empress could do right now. But still, his trust in her was absolute.
He needed to get back on the situation at hand, though, and the state of his Empress's love life definitely wasn't it.
He didn't have the courage to approach the Prince directly. Besides, he had a feeling that he wasn't going to get anything out of the violet eyed boy. He could ask the Empress to try, but he figured that if the Prince hadn't told her yet, then it was something he didn't want her to know. Probably because he didn't want to worry her, which was another reason why Xingke hadn't simply asked the Empress. He needed someone who knew, someone that was close enough to the Prince. Someone who would know, and, if possible tell him.
He turned his head towards Jeremiah who was at the other side of the garden, standing guard to the bickering teenagers beneath the peach tree.
He approached the Knight slowly, going the long way around the tree. He didn't want the Prince to notice him, if possible. He was lucky, it seemed that the Prince was too preoccupied with two girls that wanted him to taste their tea first. A gentle breeze passed by, ruffling his hair and giving him a pleasant feeling, however, he didn't forget the task at hand. He could feel the leaves from the trees crunching beneath his feet. It was autumn, after all. It seemed Jeremiah could also hear them, as he turned his head a tiny bit, giving him a nod of acknowledgement before returning to his original post.
He stopped besides him and waited for a few moments before starting "I see you don't carry a sword anymore. Have your skills left you?"
Jeremiah turned to face him with a small smirk on his face, a blade popping out of his forearm, startling Xingke, quite a feat for the usually stoic man. "I don't know. Would you like to see for yourself in the arena?" he challenged. Then he turned to face his Prince again, who had apparently decided that the best course of action would be to take a sip of both teas at the same time, lest he offend one of the girls.
A thick silence befell on them. The only thing that could be heard was the ruffling of the leaves, courtesy of the pleasant breeze that just came by. Before Xingke could say anything, Jeremiah spoke "You've noticed, haven't you?" he said, deadly serious.
"Indeed." responded Xingke calmly.
Jeremiah only nodded.
"May I ask why?" requested the chinese bodyguard.
Jeremiah stood silent for a moment. Slowly, he moved his hand up to the grotesque mechanical eyepatch, and gently stroked it. "Do you know how I got this?" came his calm and composed voice, filled with a hint of regret and shame.
"I overheard. A terrorist attack ?" answered Xingke, curious of what this had to do with their current topic, nevertheless indulging the Knight. Jeremiah wasn't one to beat around the bush, so if he was telling him this, then it must be important somehow.
"They weren't terrorists."
Xingke's eyes widened with surprise, and a hint of horror, "If they weren't terrorists, then that means…"
"Indeed. A year ago, some "alleged" terrorists attacked the Aries Villa, residence to the Vi Britannias. Empress Marianne was murdered in the attack, and her daughter, the fourth Princess of Britannia was crippled. She can no longer walk or see." Explained Jeremiah with a dead, robotic voice.
He took a deep breath and continued with his explanation "He was about to demand answers and justice from the Emperor. Had Prince Schneizel not stopped him, he would have most likely lost his title and been exiled.".
"So that's why he moved to Japan. He wanted to get away from the Royal Family." realized Xingke.
"Yes, that was the main reason. The other was to protect the Ashfords, who fell from grace after the Empress's murder." said Jeremiah.
They stood in silence for a few moments.
"May I ask something else?" inquired Xingke.
"You may. However, it will be entirely up to me if I answer it or not." responded Jeremiah.
"Very well." said Xingke as he thought of the corect way to phrase what he wanted to ask "In the time I have known Lelouch, I've noticed that he wouldn't back down easily, especially in a matter like this. What made him change his mind?"
Jeremiah thought about it for a moment, "Prince Schneizel made him realize that if he lost his title, he wouldn't be able to see the Tianzi anymore." Jeremiah left it at that.
Xingke could only nod.
As another silence enveloped them, Xingke turned his attention towards the young, yet important children beneath the peach tree as he started to see the Prince in a new light. The Empress's bodyguard leaned in slightly, listening.
"What do you mean, they put milk into their tea?" asked the Tianzi, almost in distress.
"It's true. Most Britannians put milk or cream in their tea." Lelouch answered casually.
"But why? I mean… I just can't see a reason, it just waters down the flavour." she muttered, a bit more to herself, an expression of bewilderment written in her face. She turned towards Lelouch "Why?... I mean, you agree with me, Kaguya, don't you?" the Japanese girl nodded.
"Don't ask me, I just know they do." he voiced, taking a sip from his tea.
"At least you know how to drink tea." replied a somewhat relieved Lihua, her eyes sparkling.
Lelouch rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably and gave a nervous chuckle "Heh."
"Right?" came Lihua's voice with a hint of neediness "Lelouch… you don't drink tea with milk, do you?" this time her tone was stern.
"Maybe…"
Lihua quickly stood up in distress "You drink the tea I send you with milk!?" her eyes seemed to be boring into Lelouch's skull, while Kaguya stood on the side, chuckling.
Lelouch quickly coughed up the tea and raised his hands, defending himself "No, not yours! I would never drink your delicious tea with milk." he quickly sputtered.
"Good." Lihua replied, apparently calming down a bit, before taking a seat again.
"Besides, I drink coffee more than tea." added Lelouch.
"Coffee?" asked Lihua.
"It's a black drink that mostly Britannians drink." came Kaguya's simple response.
Lelouch glared at Kaguya for his oversimplification of his beloved coffee.
"Oh, I remember. You said it's drunk with this." remembered Lihua grabbing her mug.
Lelouch nodded "Despite what Kaguya said, it is delicious. Would you like to try it?"
Lihua nodded enthusiastically.
"Very well. Jeremiah, bring me my coffee set." he ordered, glancing at the Knight.
A "Yes, Your Highness." was heard, before Jeremiha dashed off for the coffee set.
They waited patiently until Jeremiah brought three mugs with steaming black coffee. He set them in the table and excused himself, resuming his position.
"Thank you, Jeremiah. Don't let him fool you, I have never tasted coffee that's better than Jeremiah's. Now, this coffee is from Area 6. It's as good as it gets regarding coffee, so come on, try it." he stated proudly.
Lihua tentatively reached for the cup while Kaguya quickly and casually grabbed it, it seemed that Kaguya was accustomed to drinking coffee as well.
Kaguya took a sip "Oh, this is good." she exclaimed, taking another sip.
Seeing that her friend liked it, Lihua took a timid sip of it, before spitting it out, "It's bitter and strong!" she complained.
Lelouch shrugged, his eyes glowing with mirth "You usually don't like it the first time."
As Lelouch was busy explaining to Kaguya how Jeremiah made the coffee, he didn't notice Lihua asking Xiangling to bring some milk and sugar. Once the ingredients arrived, she added the milk and sugar to the coffee and took a sip. "Mmm, much better." claimed Lihua, catching Lelouch's attention, as he turned around to face her.
Once he saw what Lihua had done, his curious expression quickly contorted into one of horror.
Lelouch was in his room, changing into suitable clothes for dinner. He still couldn't believe Lihua ruined such glorious coffee with milk and sugar, what was she thinking?
Suddenly the door opened behind him "I'm not ready yet, Jeremiah." he told his Knight, only to turn around and spot Kaguya instead. 'How did she get past Jeremiah?' he thought, slightly impressed.
Meanwhile, Kaguya was extremely pleased to see Lelouch without a shirt.
"What do you need? And how did you-" started to demand Lelouch.
"Get past Jeremiah? It was easy. You just need to know the right buttons to push. As for what I want, well… I just want to talk," she said in a serious tone which seemed to surprise Lelouch, she couldn't blame him either, most of the time she didn't act this way.
She slowly closed the door and went to a corner in the room, aware of the Prince's gaze following her. Once she got to the corner, she leaned onto the wall.
Lelouch opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Kaguya."You know, I'm not stupid." she started, making Lelouch's eyes narrow "I know what you and Lihua have been up to, I know you are planning to overthrow the eunuchs, I've known it for a long time..." she calmly said, inspecting her fingernails. Suddenly she raised her head and locked her eyes with Lelouch's "I hope you realize that the eunuchs are the allies of Kyoto, and the delicate position this leaves me in."
Lelouch clenched his hand, as a tense silence that only seemed to affect him filled the room.
Kaguya spoke again in that calm demeanor that was so unlike her "Regardless, I won't say a thing." a small smile appeared on her face "You are my friends." she finished.
Lelouch's hands relaxed slightly as his eyes widened in surprise "I appreciate this. You are also a valued friend." he wasn't lying.
Kaguya waved it off, returning to her former self and leaving her calm demeanor for a cheerie one "Don't mention it."
Lelouch was begrudgingly surprised, he never expected Kaguya to be this mature and self aware, it shone a different light on her, and Lelouch thought it suited her.
"Anyway-" Kaguya started,but was cut off when she "accidentally" tripped and went "accidentally" flying into Lelouch's arms and "accidentally" making them fall together to the floor all the while "accidentally" kissing each other.
"Lelouch, it's time for din-"
Lihua's eyes widened in shock as she stood there for a couple of seconds, trembling. She uttered a quivering "S-sorry." and quickly went out the door, slamming it behind her.
Outside, Lihua brought a hand to her chest, gasping with pain. 'No', she thought, trying to ease the strange pain she felt, 'No way.', Why was that so painful? Where did this pain come from? Why did she have the sudden urge to punch Sumeragi in the face?
She wiped off the tears welling in her eyes, she was the Tianzi, and she needed to be presentable for dinner. She went to the dinner hall and waited for the other two. Eventually, a flustered Lelouch, and Kaguya with a coy smile arrived and took their respective seats.
Diner was awkward, to say the least.
The Tianzi looked at herself in the mirror. She had prepared her finest and most beautiful dress for today.
"Xingke, Xingling, please give Kaguya a tour of the forbidden city. The long tour, if you would." she commanded with a cold voice, devoid of any emotion.
"As you command." both of them said, one with slight worry, and the other with understanding. Still, they had no say in the matter.
"But first, do escort me to Lelouch's room." she added.
"As you command." they both repeated.
She got out of the room with her bodyguard escorting her. Not a single word was uttered until they reached the Prince's room. As usual, Jeremiah was standing guard outside, eyes flickering as he searched for threats.
"Good morning, My Lady. Is there something you require from my Prince?" he asked.
"Is Lelouch ready?" she requested.
"He'll be in the dining hall for breakfast in no time." he reassured her.
"We are not having breakfast, we'll be going for walk first." she declared.
She turned to Xingke and Xianglin "You know what to do. Dismissed."
They both bowed before leaving.
Behind the cold, confident exterior was a nervous, scared girl. What if he refused to go with her? What if he wanted to go with Kaguya instead?
Jeremiah nodded. "I shall inform him as soon as he is ready, your Majesty." he answered.
"No need, I'll wait here." she stated.
Jeremiah's eyes widened. He couldn't possibly leave royalty standing outside the door, waiting like a commoner! He looked at her again, more carefully this time. She seemed a bit nervous, her eyes flickering around the corridor, twisting her fingers in apparent worry. He quietly nodded to himself, apparently making a decision."Very well." he responded.
It took no more than a minute for Lelouch to come out, his eyes widening in slight surprise as he saw her standing outside. "Lihua? Is something wrong?"
Her cold demeanor betrayed her right there "Ah, y-yes, Lelouch. I-I wanted to see if y-you would li-like to take a wa-walk with me be-before breakfast?" she managed to get out awkwardly.
Lelouch smiled brightly at her "Of course."
They slowly made it to the gardens and started to walk around in an awkward silence, Jeremiah following behind them. Far enough to give them an illusion of privacy, but still close enough to protect them if needed.
"Isn't Kaguya coming?" said Lelouch, his mind racing, trying to get rid of the awkward atmosphere.
Exactly the wrong thing to say.
Lihua looked down at the floor, hurt. Her voice trembled as she said "N-no, sh-she had so-something to take car-care of."
"Well, it doesn't matter. In fact, it's even better this way, I wanted to spend some time alone with you." confessed Lelouch, smiling at her.
This raised the Tianzi's spirits. She turned around and asked the dreaded question that had been bothering her all night. Her eyes glued themselves to the floor, unable to look at the Prince A you and Kaguya?... You know…" she quietly muttered.
Lelouch frowned, seemingly unable to hear her "Come again?" he requested.
This time she did raise her head and looked him directly in the eye "Are you and Kaguya…" she lowered her head in fear and embarrassment once again, not being able to continue.
Considering how dense Lelouch was, it was a miracle he caught this one.
"Me and Kaguya? No. I mean, no!" he said, a slight blush coming over his aristocratic features as he remembered what had happened yesterday "That was just an accident."
Lihua raised her head, hope gleaming in her eyes "Really?" she demanded, her eyes filled with happiness and hope.
"Pinky promise." swore Lelouch.
Lihua couldn't stop a smile from forming on her beautiful face as a flood of relief filled her. She felt the urge to skip, which she did.
"Lihua? What exactly are you doing?" asked Lelouch with an "are you serious" expression written all over his face.
"Come on, don't be such a stick in the mud, let's have fun before breakfast." she said cheerfully, her red eyes glinting as she made gestures to join her.
Lelouch shook his head and muttered something to himself before running behind Lihua.
She giggled in delight as she saw him approaching, then turned around to run faster, only to spot a man in a black cloak.
She had seen that cloak before. Fear gripped her as she closed her eyes shut and heard Lelouch scream her name and Jeremiah spring forward with a sound of unsheathing steel, sprinting with all his might towards the assassin. She heard a gunshot, then felt nothing. She slowly opened her eyes to see Jeremiah standing in front of her, his blade buried in the assassin's chest, and his face twisted with rage.
The man desperately clawed at Jeremiah's fingers as he twisted the blade in further, blood pouring out while his eyes widened with surprise and pain, then gurgled and promptly fell to the ground, immobile while blood pooled around him.
Jeremiah quickly withdrew the blade, flicking the blood off of it and frantically looking for other threats, while putting himself in front of her in case another assassin decided to try his luck with a gun. She saw his face light up with relief as he briefly glimpsed behind him, seeing her unharmed, and instantly turn into one of horror as he looked behind her.
Lihua suddenly realized what was going on.
'No...'
She wasn't the target.
She slowly turned around.
Lelouch was.
Her expression matched Jeremiah's as she saw the Prince desperately clutching his chest with one hand and swaying, trying to stop the blood from spurting out.
The Prince said something Lihua didn't hear. He dropped to his knees, and then fell onto the floor, his blood pooling beneath him.
There was muttering and mumbling across the royal palace, news of what had befallen upon the young Prince had reached Pendragon, providing ample gossip for the Royal Court. There were only rumors and speculations of what the Emperor might do. Of course, Schneizel knew what the Emperor was going to do, which is to say, absolutely nothing. Knowing his dearest father, he would simply brand it as another mundane matter.
That meant that he had to take care of it. Not to worry, he had a plan. He always did.
"Kanon, send a message to prepare the Avalon. We must head to the Chinese Federation at once." he calmly stated as he looked with pity towards the rest of the Royal Court 'Such mundane beings, it's no wonder why father sees the world as a mundane place.'
His aid, Kanon, looked at a loss, even as he pulled out a small black cell-phone, dialing the number "If I may, why? Shouldn't this matter be handled by someone else? Why would you put yourself in the fray?" he inquired politely.
"My dear Kanon," he said, giving a slight smirk, "It is quite obvious who ordered the hit, and the Eunuchs are far too stupid to cover their tracks properly. It's only a matter of time until the Tianzi finds that out…" he stopped his explanation to greet a couple of lower nobles who wanted to get close to the famed Prime Minister, putting on a cheerful, charismatic mask as he quietly talked to them, then slipping on the cold exterior he usually wore as soon as they left. "As I was saying, it's only a matter of time. We need to get there before she makes her move, and make sure that our side wins." he concluded calmly.
"I can see that, it's obvious that we want a say in who the next ruler of the Chinese Federation is. What I'm wondering is, why you? You could easily send a grunt with orders to see that that our side wins." quickly interjected Kanon.
The Second Prince of Britannia gazed at his wine glass for a bit, twirling it slowly between his fingers, before elegantly taking a small sip.
"My dear Kanon, how can I send a mere grunt with orders if I don't know which side is ours yet?"
Dundunduuuuuuuuuuuun
Anyway please review.