(2009 A.B.T)

Tanya couldn't help but sigh as she watched many of the other royals converse amongst themself as a band played music filling the ballroom with an air of royalty. The only other time the young blonde has experienced something along this line would be in her previous life during the high command balls. It's not that she hated the balls but she simply couldn't understand the point of them. In her previous life high command would use them to try and keep morale high to help take their minds off the fact they were losing the war, but here it just seemed that many royals simply through these parties just because they can. Tanya's thoughts were cut short as a maid carrying a tray of food made their way towards her. She grabbed a piece of what looked like some sort of fish placed on a small cracker before thanking the maid, who bowed before turning to serve the other royals.

It had been a little under a year since her first royal appearance and to say it was a mix of emotions would be an understatement. Many of the royals showed either no interest in her or in the case of the 'purist' faction viewed her with open disdain. Even her own family saw her as some sort of rival other than Nunnally, Euphemia, and Lelouch who showed interest in her meeting with father. However, there was only one person that surprised the young blonde with their reaction was Cornelia, who seemed to show a genuine interest in her proposal.

"You know, I always took you for a people person." A voice said, breaking the young princess out of her thoughts. Tanya couldn't help but smirk slightly as she saw Lelouch, out of the corner of her eye, as he made his way to stand next to her.

"Tell me Lelouch, when have I ever been a 'people' person?" She countered jokingly causing her older brother to chuckle slightly. "Speaking of a people person. I half expected Euphemia or Nunnally to be practically glued to your hip during an event like this." She asked genuinely curious at the location of her sisters.

"Well, Nunnally went to help mother with a few things, and Euphemia was distracted long enough for me to slip away." He said jokingly as he looked out at the crowd of nobles. Tanya could notice the slight look of confusion on his face.

"I haven't seen lady Emily here?" He asked his sister, who simply shrugged.

"Mother wanted to be a part of tonight's security team. So, she decided to leave me here with nothing to do." She said with a bored tone. Tanya couldn't help but feel a slight pang of concern when she saw a smile form on his face.

"Well, if you have nothing to do then why not enjoy a dance with your older brother." Lelouch asked, gaining a scoff from the young girl.

"That's a nice joke Lelouch but I'm not really a dancer." She replied simply.

"Then why don't we fix that." Lelouch said as he took her hand and pulled her to the dance floor. The young blonde couldn't help but panic which only got worse as Lelouch pulled her closer and began to slowly guide her through each step.

"Damit Lelouch, people are watching." She whispered in embarrassment as she noticed the crowd of onlookers.

"So let them stare, it's not like members of the royal family can't dance with one another." He joked as they continued to dance. She couldn't help but sigh at Lelouch's carefree attitude, it was almost as if he didn't care about his public image. As they slowly moved around the dance floor, Tanya could notice the other royals watching them with interest out of the corner of her eyes. She was silently thankful as the music slowly came to an end. She could only watch as Lelouch shot her a mischievous smile as he bowed before leaving the young blonde on the dance floor in front of a group of onlookers. A plan to strangle her older brother was slowly forming in the back of her mind, however the plan was cut short by the sound of clapping. Tanya turned to see a fellow blonde haired young man dressed in a royal outfit make his way towards her.

"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful!" He cheered as he came to a stop in front of the young princess. Tanya couldn't help but roll her eyes at her brother's antics.

"Clovis, I didn't expect you to show up to this sort of party." She said, this wasn't the first time she's meant her older brother. The first time she meant him was by complete accident, as she ran into him when she was asked to participate in a 'sleepover' by Nunnally and Euphemia.

"Why of course my dear little sister. I wasn't going to give up the chance to enjoy such an elegant party. Especially not one from Lady Marianne." He said, gaining the young girl's attention. He seemed to pick up on her sudden interest as he continued on.

"It's extremely rare for Lady Marianne to hold a party, much less make it accessible for the lower royals." He explained casually as he ran his hand through his blonde hair. She could see his eyes wander to a few young ladies standing alone at the back of the bowl room.

"Well, if you excuse me dear sister, I have some important things to take care of." He said as a smile formed on his lips causing the young princess to roll her eyes at her brother's rather lack of subtlety. Tanya couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as she was finally able to leave the overly crowded bowl room to a rather amused Lelouch waiting for her.

"Looks like someone was having fun." Lelouch joked, gaining an annoyed glare from his younger sister. Tanya was about to reply but was cut off by someone yelling Lelouch's name.

"Big Brother!" A voice called, gaining the siblings' attention. They turned to see Nunnally, waving from the top of the central staircase. Tanya's eyes drifted from Nunnally to Marianne, who stood next to her daughter. Tanya could notice the slight smile on the older woman's face as they made their way down the staircase.

However, the peaceful scene was destroyed as the sound of gunfire and a rain of bullets filled the main hall. Tanya could feel her body move on its own as she quickly grabbed her brother and pulled him down to the safety of the ground. The rain of bullets only lasted a few seconds but the scene was akin to something from her previous life. She could feel her heart drop as she slowly looked up to see Marianne laying on the staircase, her once life filled body laying motionless and covered with bullet holes. Some slight moment from underneath Marianne's body was enough to grab Tanya's attention as she quickly ran to see a very much still alive Nunnally laying underneath her mother's body.

"Nunnally!" She yelled as she ran to her injured sister. Tanya let out a slight sigh of relief upon seeing her older sister still breathing. The young blonde couldn't help as her eyes drifted to the lifeless body of Marianne and the bullet holes that filled it.

"Lelouch, you have to hel-" Tanya called but stopped as she noticed her brother staring in shock at the sight before him.

"Marianne!" A voice yelled catching the young girl off guard, as Tanya saw her mother run past her to the dead body that lay beside her. Before the young blonde could say a word a pair of arms quickly grabbed her and pulled her away from the scene. Tanya quickly turned to see Cornelia pulling her, a look of worry and shock painted upon her face. Before Tanya could do anything, she watched as Cornelia turned around and began running her hand over her small body almost as if she was looking for something.

"Sis-" she started but was cut off by the pink haired girl.

"Are you alright? Did they hit you? Are you in any pain?" Cornelia said as she rapid fired her questions. It wasn't until the blonde took a moment to look at herself to notice the blood that covered her blue dress.

"I'm fine Cornelia. This isn't my blood." Tanya said as she turned away from her older sister as she saw the main room filled with guards and medics. She watched the medics gently picked up the injured princess before rushing her to what Tanya only hoped was the nearest hospital. The young blonde-haired princess watched as her mother cried over the lifeless body. Tanya's thoughts were broken as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm going to look for Euphemia to make sure she's alright." Cornelia said as she began to walk away before stopping abruptly. "I'll have one of my men escort you home." her sister said before leaving the young blonde, who could simply nod in confirmation.

The sound of rain was always something Tanya enjoyed, the way it would give an essence of peacefulness. However, at this moment of time it did nothing to lighten the mood, as the rain hit the umbrella above her. Her blue eyes scanned the small group that gathered for the funeral of the fifth wife of the beloved emperor. She turned her attention back to the priest that was giving the eulogy for the late empress. What surprised the young blonde there was a rather lack of her father's presence at this important moment, a part of her would have expected the emperor to have at least held a national eulogy for the passing of his wife.

Tanya couldn't help but let out a sigh, there was no point in thinking about such details right now, no there was something more important that the young princess had to look after. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Lelouch standing still, his eyes never leaving the sight of his mother's grave. However, it was the emotion that she saw within his eye that caused concern from the blonde. She had seen those type of eyes so many times before. She could see his eyes so full of anger and hatred. Tanya couldn't stop her eyes from narrowing in concern as she looked at her brother.

"Lady Marianne, was many things. A loyal knight of our beloved nation, a loving wife and friend to many." The Pastor said before pausing, to look out at the small group of mourners. "But most importantly she was a loving mother of two wonderful children. She did what any loving mother would do and sacrificed herself to protect her daughter Nunnally, who we hope will fully recover from this horrible tragedy." Tanya stopped paying attention to the pastor's speech as she turned her gaze to the rather small gathering or more importantly who wasn't there. Not only did her father refuse to show up but many of Marianne's supposed supporters also failed to attend this gathering as well.

The young blonde turned her attention to her older brother, who stood alone beside the coffin, his eyes never leaving the wooden box as it was slowly lowered into the hole. Tanya watched as the others slowly made their way back to the warmth of the manner leaving the two siblings standing in the rain. She didn't say a word as she slowly made her way to stand next to Lelouch.

"How's Nunnally." she asked simply.

"The doctor says she's stable but-" he paused. "They say she wouldn't be able to ever walk again." he replied coldly, his eyes never leaving the coffin as the keepers began to fill the grave. Tanya couldn't help but curse at herself, she was never one to empathize with people, especially in a situation like this.

"When I find the person who did this, I'll-" he started his voice filled with nothing but rage.

"Lelouch…" Tanya whispered. It wasn't that she didn't understand his anger, but from her past experiences rage made people do reckless things.

"Thank you, Tanya." Lelouch said softly. "When everyone else froze, you ran in to help. I-I froze and could do nothing but watch as my mother was killed and my sister crippled." He finished as he clenched his fist. She could see a strange look of determination forming in her brother's eyes.

"I requested a meeting with father about my mother's death." He said simply leaving no room for discussion. Tanya could feel her eyes widen as she heard him.

"Hold on Lelouch, I understand your anger but-" she started but was cut off by her brother.

"Father's the only one with the answers I need." Lelouch cut in as he looked into her blue eyes. He watched as she seemed to search his violet eyes for a few moments before sighing in annoyance.

"Just don't do anything stupid." She replied simply before turning to make her way back to the warmth of the villa. Lelouch couldn't stop the slight smile that formed as he followed behind his little sister

(1 week later)

Tanya stood silently amidst the crowd of other royals that waited for this rather unusual meeting. From what Tanya could tell it was strange for the children of the emperor to request a public meeting with their father. It was even more strange for her to attend a meeting like this, judging by the look of confusion that Erica gave her. Tanya couldn't help her right eye from twitching in annoyance as she overheard many of the other royals gossip about ridiculous things.

"I heard empress Marianne was killed inside the palace" one of the lower royals muttered.

"There's no way terrorists could've gotten in there, which means the real assassins must have been-" another royal replied in a whisper, which caught Tanya's attention.

"Beware, my friend, you'll regret it, if anyone overhears that talk around the palace." the other royal snapped as he looked around to make sure no one was watching them. Tanya was almost thankful for her small appearance allowing others to simply overlook her presence.

'Was Lady Mariannes death an inside job?' Tanya thought to herself as the idea of possible benefits that others might get for her death. However, her thoughts were cut short as the door to the royal hall opened.

"Announcing Prince Lelouch VI Britannia, 17th heir to the Royal Britannian Imperial Throne." A voice called out gaining the attention of the waiting royals. Tanya could only watch as Lelouch made his way directly to their father. She could see the look of anger that adorned his face as he walked down the aisle.

"I heard that his sister was also injured in the attack." Tanya could hear from behind her.

"From what I heard she was shot in the legs and that she lost her sight from the trauma of the event." a different woman replied, causing Tanya's eyes to narrow.

"That's disappointing, now she can't even be married off for political gain." the original woman said, causing a sense of rage to form within the small blonde. She quickly composed herself as she turned her attention back to her brother, as he kneeled in front of their father.

"Father. My mother, the Empress, is dead." Lelouch said simply as he looked at his father only to see the emperor looking back at him with a bored expression.

"Old news, what of it?" Charles replied as he looked down at his son.

"What of it?" Lelouch repeated what his father said in a shocked tone.

"You sought an audience with the emperor of Britannia, simply to inform me of that?" the emperor said annoyed by such a waste of time as he turned to the guard. "Send the next one in. I have no time for these childish games."

"FATHER!" Lelouch yelled as he ran toward his emperor, only to be stopped by the royal guards. Charles simply waved the guards away as Lelouch stopped at the stairs leading up to the throne.

"Why Didn't you keep mother out of harm's way? You're the greatest man in this nation if not the world." Lelouch started as he clenched his fist in anger. "You should have protected her, and now you even refuse to visit Nunnally, your own daughter!" he yelled, causing the emperor to narrow his eyes.

"I have no use for that weakling" Charles said without a care.

"That weakling?" Lelouch muttered as anger filled his body. The emperor scoffed as he looked down at his son.

"That is what it means to be royalty." he replied leaving no room for any argument. It was at this time that Tanya hoped that her brother would simply turn and leave, to save whatever face he had left. However, that hope was short-lived.

"If that's what it means to be royalty then I give up my claim to the throne!" Lelouch yelled, causing a chorus of mutters to erupt from the crowd of royals. Tanya could hear her heart stop as the reality of the situation hit her.

"You are Dead." Charles said simply causing Lelouch to stop mid speech.

"What?"

"You have always been dead to me. Dead from the moment you were born who gave you the fine clothes you wear, a comfortable home, the food you eat, and your very life. all of those I have given to you!" the emperor said, annoyance filled his voice as he looked down at what was once his son. "In short you are nothing to me because you have never existed, yet you dare to speak such foolishness to me." he yelled as he rose from his chair, causing the now terrified Lelouch to stumble backwards. Even Tanya could feel her small body fill with fear as her father's fury showed itself to the world.

"And since you are dead, therefore you are not entitled to any rights. That's why I'll be sending you and Nunnally to Japan as prince and Princess. The two of you will serve as bargaining tools for the benefit of Britannia. Now take him away." Their father said as he sat back down in his chair. Tanya could only watch as her brother was dragged out of the throne room. The last thing she could see was the look of shock on his face as the doors closed.