Nunnally of the Insurrection
Chapter 28
Milly Ashford smiled, "About time you got back."
Nunnally groaned, "Milly, I haven't slept..."
"Sleep is for the weak. Come on," Milly grabbed her.
CC looked on with amusement as Milly dragged Nunnally off.
Kallen dryly noted, "I'll never get used to how confident Nunnally can be, yet such a pushover for Milly."
"I think Milly reminds her of a big sister," CC offered mildly.
"Makes sense," Kallen agreed. "Catch you later," she waved, heading to her dorm to get some sleep.
Meanwhile, Nunnally sighed, "What is so urgent?"
"The Viceroy and her sister are coming here for an event later this week," Milly told her, "I figured we need to decide the best way to hide you from Cornelia."
"I could just stay away," Nunnally started.
"The Student Council is 'officially' meeting them," Milly cut her off.
"So I have to be there," Nunnally realized.
"Or be really, REALLY sick," Milly agreed as they reached the student council rooms. "And we both know you're a shit actress."
"Milly!" Nina scolded, having overheard.
"I still remember that time you pretended to be 'Yamato Nadesico', average Japanese Girl," Milly added wryly.
"It was a joke!" Nunnally defended herself.
"Suuuure it was," Milly teased.
Nina poured Nunnally some tea, "You look tired."
"It's been a rough couple of days," Nunnally admitted.
"We also need to introduce you to the new Student Council member," Milly added.
"You drafted some other poor fool?" Nunnally teased.
"She didn't run fast enough to escape," Nina noted.
"Yuck it up, you two," Milly said.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Prince Odysseus successfully made it to the border, and was surprised to see things peaceful, if rather tense.
"Why...?" Odysseus wondered.
"Not now," Dorothea ordered. She then radioed a code, letting the Britannians know they were royals and that it was an emergency extraction.
"The war stopped just after we escaped?" Odysseus groaned as they entered the outposts and were greeted by security.
"Yes sir," the noble running the border outpost squeaked.
Dorothea frowned. "Much of the Prince's guards volunteered to stay behind."
(Volunteered, of course, was total bullshit. They had been sacrificed to buy time for them to escape. They were Imperial soldiers, it came with the job.)
"Have we heard what happened to them?" Dorothea checked.
"No ma'am," the man shook his head.
Dorothea addressed Odysseus, "So our escaping probably saved your life."
And, of course, kept him out of enemy hands. Both knew she likely would have had to kill him, then off herself to keep Britannian secrets. Which he was VERY well aware.
The two saw the video of the restored Empress, not long after they arrived.
"As we were negotiating with the Eunuchs, I guess negotiations are off, now?" Odysseus noted.
Dorothea nodded glumly, "Indeed. We'll need to consult with Prince Schneizel of course, their might be a way to push forward, but..."
Odysseus rather doubt THAT was possible. Plus even if they forced a marriage, he was pretty certain the woman would kill him in his sleep.
"Can we PLEASE get back to Britannia?" Odysseus asked plaintively.
"I'll start making arrangements," Dorothea said, feeling a slight twinge of sympathy for the boy.
Odysseus sighed in relied. Of course, going home also meant facing father...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Alice Dewit hurried into the student council room, then stopped.
Nunnally Lamperouge was slumped in a chair, fast asleep. Light brown hair fell around her face, and she looked surprisingly pretty.
"Shhh," Rivalz shushed her, the young man looking amused.
"What happened?" she asked him softly.
"She just got back, I think jetlag caught up with her," he shrugged.
Alice wondered what had happened, but as far as she knew Nunnally had just been off at a chess game. Interesting.
Kallen entered, also tiredly yawning. She frowned at the sleeping Nunnally, clearly irritated by her napping.
"Hey," Rivalz started.
Gracefully Kallen kicked the chair leg, throwing things off ballance and sending Nunnally crashing to the floor.
"Awk!" Nunnally yelped.
"That was just mean," Rivalz noted, amused.
"Eh," Kallen shrugged as she sat.
"Ow," Nunnally winced as she got up, "really, Kallen?"
"You know, we have a new member, and you're both setting a great example for her," Rivalz noted, amused.
Both Nunnally and Kallen saw Alice, and looked sheepish.
"Hello, I'm Alice DeWitt. Please to meet you," Alice said, bowing slightly in her seat.
"Nunnally Lamperouge," she smiled wryly, "and this is Kallen Stadfield."
"We're not normally this bad," Kallen added.
"Yes, they are," Shirley Fenette joked as she came in with Suzaku.
"Now now," Suzaku Kururugi chuckled.
Milly Ashford and Nina Einstein hurried in, and the meeting started.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"You wish to visit Ashford Academy?" Euphemia blinked at her big sister.
Cornelia nodded and said, "I know I've mostly left the public relations stuff to you, but I want to get out there."
Her aide, Guilford, had been nagging her about it. While she had been focused on ruling the Area, the regular people didn't know her that well. The nobles, of course, were willing to follow her, but the Elevens... well. They didn't HATE her, necessarily, but there was little love there.
(Ironically, their alliance with the Black Knights had improved her status with the Elevens. Her giving an award to Nemo had given them a huge jump in popularity, which honestly annoyed her. Still, there wasn't much to be done.)
"You've been visiting there, yes?" Cornelia asked.
Euphemia beamed, "Yes! We know the Ashfords, so it seemed like a good place to visit."
Cornelia nodded, though she had wondered what Euphemia was up to.
"When do you want to go?" Euphemia asked curiously.
"I'm thinking next week," Cornelia admitted, "we're making the arrangements with the administration and the student council."
"Have you met Milly Ashford yet?" Euphemia asked, amused.
Cornelia groaned, "I have NOT heard good things."
Euphemia giggled.
"If she tries groping me, I'm slugging her," the very well endowed Cornelia added, having heard that Milly tended to DO that.
"Remember, we don't want to upset Lord Ashford," Euphemia added teasingly.
Cornelia grunted, "I think she takes after that old letch."
In the Student Council chambers, Milly sneezed suddenly.
:Someone's talking about you, Prez," Shirley teased.
"Again," Nunnally added.
"Ha ha ha," Milly rolled her eyes, unaware two Princesses WERE discussing her just then.
To be continued...