DISCLAIMER: Code Geass and its characters belong to Sunrise, Inc.

Sir Hochstein is the creation of the Anonymous Author whose work inspired this one.

08. Points to Ponder

"Somebody's enjoying their new toy."

Kallen stopped operating her new motorized wheelchair at Shirley's comment. Her father had spared no expense, seeing as this was not simply a wheelchair with a motor installed. It had a function that allowed her to recline it, letting her take naps wherever she felt like resting, no longer needing to wait to be taken to her room. Meanwhile, she had been running circles in her room, testing what maneuvers she could pull off while in it.

"I was merely expressing my appreciation towards yea token of my Lord Father's..." Kallen began her speech as haughty as she could pull off, but later sputtered and fell into giggles when she couldn't think of the 'proper' word to use next. Shirley joined in her laughter. Upon calming down enough, Kallen raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. "Guilty as charged."

"I take it you're not ready for breakfast yet?"

"Nope. Not at all!" Kallen declared. Her stomach, however, took that opportunity to growl loudly. After another round of laughter, they made their way to the dining room for breakfast.

It was refreshing, having Shirley walk alongside her instead of behind her. They'd have to wait to race each other, though, as the halls' carpeting hampered her chair's traction. Still, it was nice to be able to operate the elevator on her own, and for the two of them to be able to enter the dining room side-by-side.

"I see someone had a good morning," her father commented.

"Yes. Thank you so much for the new chair, Father."

"It'll need to be recharged before lunch, though," Shirley commented beside her, earning a playful elbowing from Kallen.

"I've ordered charging stations all around the manor and the gazebo so you won't get stranded from a spent battery," her father assured. "Nevertheless, I'd hate to order a replacement due to overuse."

"I was just breaking it in, Father," Kallen put in in her defense. "I'll take good care of it. I promise!"

"Excellent."

Their meal passed in as light a mood as when it started, with quite a few laughs at Kallen's childlike excitement on her newfound mobility. It was in this prolonged jolly mood that Kallen thought to broach a topic that had been on her mind for a while now.

"Father, who did you say Lelouch was?"

Immediately, the entire table fell silent. A look passed on her father's face before he raised it to give a reply, "He is the son of a business partner, who plans to start his own business here in Area 11."

Exactly like before, she thought. Not something suspicious in itself, but the answer she wanted wasn't in it. Might as well go all in, she thought.

"You were angry when you first introduced us. Why?"

There it was again, that twitching of his ear. He swallowed what he was chewing at the moment and took a sip of water before replying, "His father and I do not quite see eye to eye in running our businesses."

"Then why did you agree to mentor him, if you're not really in good terms with his father?"

He heaved a heavy sigh. She could tell this was a question that he dreaded answering. "A gamble," he finally said after a few moments. "Lelouch is a younger son, and was considered the black sheep of their family." Not a complete lie, but Kallen didn't know that. "I hoped he could be easier to deal with compared to his father."

"And you introduced us. Is that part of your gamble?"

Another deep breath. "It wasn't, but I saw an advantage in doing so." Again, not a complete lie. "He showed interest in you, and you hadn't reacted negatively to him."

Kallen was getting frustrated. She wasn't getting the answers she wanted, but she didn't know what question to ask next. Recalling another detail from their first meeting, she decided to take that path.

"Did you know him? Before we were introduced," she asked Shirley.

"Why do you ask?" Shirley had stiffened before giving her reply. Kallen noticed.

"You were tense the whole time that afternoon until he left," she pointed out. "Why was that?"

"I was worried you'd get another episode," Shirley admitted, but that was only half the reason.

The answer she had been given all made sense, yet none of them satisfied her. None of the answers had shed light on the mystery of Lelouch. Her past observations have all been explained. Those they couldn't answer she'd need to ask Lelouch himself.

But should she even allow Lelouch near her anymore?

"Kallen!"

Her father's hand on her shoulder startled her. Bot he and Shirley apparently had been calling her attention for some time now.

"Are you okay?"

"Sorry," she immediately replied. "I had a lot on my mind."

"About Lelouch?" asked her father, his expression darkening.

She hesitated before giving a light nod. "He's a mystery, to me," she admitted. "He's polite enough, and kind, but I sense there's something under the surface. I thought maybe you know what that was.

"But based on your answers," she sighed, "maybe I imagined it all." No, she thought, she wasn't ready to tell either of them about her nightmares.

Her father grasped her hand. "Don't dismiss those feelings just yet," he said. "Your instincts never failed you before. That's why you're still with us and not a casualty in your accident. Just know that we're here for you."

"Yeah," Shirley affirmed.

"Thank you," she whispered in response, though not without her doubts. Again, she sensed anger behind her father's protectiveness of her. She wished she could talk to her mother about these things, but she needed to stay away from her; simply the sight of her triggered one of her episodes. Kallen herself suggested to not attempt further contact, afraid of causing her mother pain from being the cause of yet another episode. Still,

"I miss Mother," she whispered.

Her father stood up and hugged her. "She misses you, too. You're getting better every day. You'll be able to get close to her again sooner than you think."

"I hope so," she replied. There was already so much that she wanted to get off her chest that she didn't think her father or Shirley to be the best person to speak about those with. She was sure they were keeping secrets from her. At the very least her mother could shed light on her father's behavior. Maybe she could help her make sense of the conflicting messages her enjoying Lelouch's company and the nightmares she was having.

For now, she would trust her instincts, and wait.

They were lying on their sides, face to face on his bed. He was cradling her cheek.

"Will you stay?" he asked.

"I will," she replied.

He closed his eyes in relief, but widened them in horror after he reopened them.

He cradled her battered body even as his other hand remained upon her cheek. Blood was trickling from the corners of her mouth, upon her otherwise unmarred face. She was smiling at him, her eyelids slowly drooping closed.

"No!" he screamed, coming fully awake.

That dream again, he thought. Nearly every night since seeing Kallen again, he had been having these dreams, especially vivid on nights after his visits to her. Were they the result of his intense guilt? Were they the result of his own fears of making the same mistakes if he succeeded on having her back? Was C's world challenging him to go against their shared destiny that he saw when he took that peek behind the veil?

His hand reached for the packet that contained the folded piece of paper that was her letter to him, once hidden in the spine of the book he had seen her reading during their time in the Institute. It was all he had left of Kallen Kozuki. The collar he had given her was already destroyed, half-melted around the neck of the corpse they used to fake her death with; all identifying features burned beyond recognition. The letter was clearly written some time after she gave her response to stay with him, and some time before the attack. What prompted her to write it though, had become another answer he sought to hear from her.

Finding and reading the letter after their separation strengthened his resolve to fulfill his promise, even if she may never be able to see it for herself.

Her body was his. His life was hers. She had more than fulfilled her end of their deal. He was on the path to fulfilling his. Seeing her again eased his guilt a fraction -- letting her go apparently had been the right choice.

That night, he needed her. Now, she needed him. Their fates were intertwined, and he has already decided to not aim for the throne without her by his side.

A knock came from his bedroom door. "Enter," he bid. Sir Hochstein, one of his personal knights entered.

"Your highness," he began, "you asked to be reminded of your regular calls with Lady Ashford. It is currently one hour before today's call."

"I'll make the call in the library," he responded. "Prepare the secure connection. I shall be there in twenty minutes."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And tell the kitchen that I'll be having breakfast as usual in the dining room. I shouldn't take long."

"Understood."

With that, the knight left the room to see to his orders. Meanwhile, Lelouch got up from his bed and began his morning routine, as well as prepare himself for the call with Milly.

They were still engaged to be married, but with the announcement of her pregnancy ahead of his transfer to Area 11, it was agreed that she should remain in Britannia until she gave birth, to ensure that his heir was in safe hands instead of the troubled Area. The wedding would happen some time after the birth.

The child was not his. After Kallen's 'death', he and Milly had agreed that life was too short to not spend what time they had with those whom they truly loved. And so they have conspired to secret visits by her lover, and he would declare their child his heir. This allowed him to go to Area 11 by himself, to fulfill his promise to his own true love.

They still kept the pretense, of course, with regular calls to check on each other, with her own lover standing behind her, already part of her entourage as a bodyguard, personally vetted by Lelouch. They were still planning for when the baby was finally born; there was always the possibility that the child would resemble the father more than Milly, after all. She was still his oldest friend, and he would not have her whole family suffer for the choices they had made together.

She didn't know about Kallen being alive; he hadn't told her. As far as she knew, Shirley asked to go home, perhaps shaken from what they had witnessed in the attack, and was formally dismissed from her service. He still didn't know if he should let her in on the secret, or let her know Kallen Stadtfeld as a daughter of local nobility that sought an alliance.

Completing their call as usual, he went and broke his fast according to the routine he had been following since his arrival in the Area. There would be some variation once he had taken over as viceroy, but he would continue his residence in the Villa. People would expect Milly to eventually join him once they married, after all.

The butler arrived announcing the arrival of an unexpected guest.

"Jeremiah Gottwald requesting and audience with Your Highness."

Lelouch checked the time. He could spare thirty minutes for the man. "Show him to the library. I shall be joining him shortly."

Instructions thus given, the butler gave a bow and quickly departed. Lelouch then ran through the possible reasons for the visit. As far as he was concerned, he had stuck to the terms of their agreement to the letter. If he had something to discuss with him, why choose coming to the Villa instead of the viceroy's palace, where he was expected to conduct most of his duties as soon-to-be viceroy? Drinking the last drops of his coffee, he believed he had figured out what it was that he wished to discuss.

-.o.0.o.-

Jeremiah Gottwald valued loyalty over all the other virtues he believed a proper gentleman and knight should possess. He also believed that loyalty could take more than one form. For example, loyalty towards those one admired; it involved a great amount of emotion, though often with one eye opened and the other one closed. At one point his loyalty to Marianne involved this. Though he truly sympathized with her plight, he refused to see the possibility that she would choose to stay with the emperor for the sake of her unborn child. Nevertheless, he would rain hell upon those who would even think of speaking ill of her memory.

Another form, one he similarly held, had to do with the desire to pay back a great debt. Such was the loyalty that he had to offer Lord Stadtfeld. Emotion was similarly involved, but it would be driven by one's sense of honor more than anything. Failure would compound the debt, and only he could decide when it could be considered paid in full.

What brought him to call on Prince Lelouch this day had to do with both forms of loyalty that he held. His admiration of Marianne led him to at least hear her son out despite his well-known reputation, and found him worthy of similar admiration. The prince's activities, however, seemed to focus on the home of Lord Stadtfeld, with whom he owed a great debt. What he was about to raise could possibly pit his loyalties against each other.

"Sir Gottwald," Prince Lelouch greeted, not yet fully dressed for his duties for the day. He had caught him at the perfect time.

"Your Highness," he greeted back, bowing low. He raised his head in time to see the prince take his seat at the head of the long reading table and gesture to his guard to close the door and leave them alone.

"You may speak freely. The whole house is swept daily for bugs, and my fiance's grandfather used to lock himself in this room to think in peace," he explained. He then gestured for him to take a seat, which he took. "What brings you here?"

"Business," he replied.

"What business, then," the prince asked, more relaxed that he had ever seen a royal behave. The amused smile in his face suggested that he had been wanting to speak the phrase for quite some time now. A good sign, he thought. He decided to skip pleasantries and took a manila envelope from his coat pocket, which he laid upon the table.

"We occasionally check on our clients' destinations and cross-check them with police reports, in case we need to send a cleanup team."

"Then you have nothing to worry about. I made sure not to do anything illegal or dangerous."

"On the contrary, Your Highness, your activities yielded something more concerning." He slid the envelope towards the prince and bid him to open it. "Your trips have formed a set pattern: the same destination, the same time of day, the same day of week.

"While you are correct that you aren't involved in anything illegal or dangerous, the risks you've opened yourself to are much harder to cover up than bribing law enforcement to look the other way."

"I'm listening," the prince said, having confirmed what he had just said from the maps and photographs contained within the envelope.

"What we had set up for our clientele are plausible reasons to disappear for short periods of time. What we don't provide, however, is invisibility. Wherever you chose to go, we won't always be able to keep people from saying they saw you there. It's especially difficult to do so if such witnesses belong where they saw you."

"You mean the neighbors," the prince mused.

"Correct. The particular neighborhood you frequented is where more than a few lords of the Area reside. If at least one of them are especially concerned about security, we can assume your arrivals may already be recorded in their logs."

"And these?" The prince gestured to the photographs from the envelope.

"What we have managed to hack and delete using our systems. Observant residents or staff, on the other hand, we'll have more trouble accessing. We can't bribe them all, nor can we track all with whom they speak with."

"So word could still spread, and eventually there will be those who would decide to investigate."

"Exactly."

The prince heaved a sigh. "What can you suggest?"

An unusual choice of words, Jeremiah noted, but what he had prepared could still serve as answers to it. "The simplest solution would be to lie low for a while, and resume your visits after a long wait."

"Not an option."

"You may also consider formalizing your alliance with Lord Stadtfeld and make your visits to the manor official business."

"No. Stadtfeld must not be associated with me in any way."

"May I ask why?"

"It does not concern you."

"If it puts the Stadtfeld family in a difficult position, it becomes my concern."

"I assure you, that was not my intent. However, I cannot simply halt my visits to Stadtfeld Manor."

"Again, why?"

"I fail to see how giving you the answer to that question should affect your promised support."

"As the son of Marianne, my vow to offer you my support remains. However, should you become a threat to one with whom I owe a great debt of gratitude, I need to decide whether I should stand back or choose a side."

"Then tell me," the prince said, his voice rising, "what options can you offer that would fulfill both of your oaths?!"

He slammed a palm against the table. "If you answer this question truthfully:

"Why should I or the Stadtfeld family trust you with their safety?"

They stared each other down like that for some moments. In truth, he was hoping to convince the prince to at least place his visits further apart, if not to stop them entirely. Though he had to wonder, why was the prince so adamant to continue this pattern?

He then noticed that the air around them had become heavy. It took him some moments before he recognized the sensation. His eyes widened when he realized that the source of it was the young man before him.

In the next moment, the prince leaned back in his chair and heaved a heavy sigh. He had just made a decision, it would seem.

"The answer I mentioned I was seeking," he began, looking at the table instead of at Jeremiah, "I believe Kallen Stadtfeld holds the key."

"So you were, wooing her?"

The question made the prince raise an eyebrow. "Nothing so plebeian. How much do you know about her current condition?"

"There was an accident," he recalled from what Lord Stadtfeld had told him, "and she was gravely injured. Lord Stadtfeld barred visitors from calling since the day she was brought home." He knew that was not the whole story, though. Lord Stadtfeld had needed his services to bring her in secret into the manor.

"What about of her mental state?"

"Amnesia," he replied, "and rumors of PTSD."

The prince nodded. "She and I had met some time before her accident. She had made quite the impression, and had given me much to think about. I had hoped to meet and speak with her again. The old her, that is."

"And your repeated visits?"

"It appears I am one of the few that have not triggered her PTSD. Lord Stadtfeld allowed my visits in hopes of helping her heal. I continued in hopes of eventually obtaining the answers I seek."

A pause. "You speak the truth?"

"Yes," came his reply. "Further harm that will come to her is something I wish to prevent."

I believe him, Jeremiah thought to himself. He had sensed no deception from the young man despite having invoked -- intentionally or no -- his command over the Divine Right. The emperor would not have released him from its influence unless he had submitted to his demands, but the prince dispelled his before speaking what he wanted to hear.

He had the impression that, perhaps, if he offered that particular option for continuing his visits to Stadtfeld Manor, they could have the next emperor of Britannia as an ally.

He produced a phone from within his coat. "May I be excused for a moment?" he asked while holding the phone up. He moved a short distance away after the prince gave him the gesture to proceed. In a few clicks he had dialled the number of the person he wished to confer with. That person answered the call almost immediately.

"He intends to continue?" came Lord Stadtfeld's voice.

"Yes," he replied.

"I'll allow it. You know what to do."

"Of course," he relied in acknowledgement before ending the call. He resumed his place at the table before declaring,

"Your Highness, I have just received approval to reveal to you Area Eleven's best-kept secret."

A/N: It took me a little over a week to get unstuck in the back-and-forth between Lelouch and Jeremiah. I'd appreciate if you could share your opinion/s on how it turned out. Also, the Kallen part was originally at the latter part of this chapter, but the timeline worked better when I put it in the start, so here it is.

One more chapter to shell out before I start posting the chapters that I've been writing backwards. Consider this chapter the halfway point for this story.

As always, any feedback is appreciated :)

~ryder77