This is a new story I wanted to tryout after reading a few like it. so here it goes! This series will have long update times, as I am merely trying it to see how much I enjoy writing it. If I do(Likely) it will be updated biweekly though I hope to nail down a schedule, but my work makes things pretty hard for me.

I do not own Code Geass, though I do own my OC!

"It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much preforms much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done." - Vincent Van Gogh

I slowly awoke as I had thought I heard something moving downstairs, a shuffle that might have been been Tug, my adorable beagle mix I had for several years now.

About to fall asleep I heard it again, this time though, I knew there was no way a 40 lbs. dog could make that noise, the only question I had now was why hadn't he alerted me? I quickly got out of bed, laying against the side opposite from the door.

'Who were they? Are they McCain's goons? I thought I paid them this month?' I doubted that last thought as my door slowly opened, creaking slightly as I hadn't gotten around to greasing the bolts.

I laid on the ground, my stomach to the carpet as I slowly peered under the bed, I could see what appeared to be a set of black shoes, the kind you wear to a nice bar, or to some sort of event.

Slowly I watched as they made their way to my bed, those shining shoes making their way towards my bed. Stopping right about where my feet would be. I held my breath, hoping that whoever the fuck invaded my house would leave, and quickly.

I tried to squeeze myself under the bed to no avail, my shoulders a bit too wide to fit,a small curse to my genetics but what could I do. I considered surprising him, but given the lack of surprise, I doubted I could have offered much a struggle. But with the shoes taking small steps towards the end of the bed, I figured that I wouldn't have to wait long at least.

Clasping my hands over my mouth, I watched with agony as the shoes made their way to the middle of my bed, soon to offer me up on a silver plate. After that, everything seemed to swirl together and the last thing I remember was facing the end of a loaded gun, a mighty impressive .32 snub nose revolver, shined to perfection of course, before a bright flash and loud bang ended it all for me.

That was all I remember of my past life, though when I was first born anew into this world, I could probably remember more. I don't even remember my old name, much less my old face, but that's no longer important to me.

Oh and that born anew part? Exactly as I meant it. Expecting the endless void that I thought was the afterlife, I instead found myself in the blindingly white lights of a hospital E.R. room, confusing the now small me as my new eyes burned from the light. After a bit of crying, I began to get cleaned off and got a proper look at the man who helped give birth to me. He was a short man, a bit of graying hair at the top of where his sideburns would begin, with crows feet marking his tired bloodshot eyes. I had a feeling that whatever was happening to me, it was a hard and long process.

After a bit of cleaning up, I was made presentable as I was handed to my mother, a beautiful Auburn haired woman with beautiful green eyes and a smile like the sun. I knew at once this was my mother, letting a happy giggle come out as she held me, gently pinching my nose.

"His name..." her voice soft and caring as she looked into my eyes, "will be Theovold."

Theovold huh? Wait, what the hell kind of name is Theovold?!

"Lady Genessa, a message from His Majesty," A servile man announced, approaching from the corridor, redeemed rather plain, short brown hair and eyes, rather young too. Guess I'm the offspring of some kind of royal?

"Oh Herold," my mother said softly, "will he be coming to see his son?"

The servant soberly shook his head, "I'm afraid not my lady, he seemed disinterested when I addressed him in court."

My mother frowned, her arms tightening around me softly, a tear making it's way down her cheek, "I... see then..."

"Do you require anything, my lady?" The servant asked, his eyes worried as he bowed, his right hand against his heart.

My mother shook her head, looking back down to me, "No thank you Herold, I will call for you if I need you."

The servant straightened out and left the room, throwing a curious glance to me before closing the door.

My mother and I spent the rest of the day with each other, her singing me sweet lullabies and placing delicate kisses on my forehead.

That was the day I came to remember as my birthday, the Twenty-Second of January of the year 1993 a.t.b.

The Second of July of the year 1994 a.t.b.

It's been about a year and a half since I have been reborn and if I had to sum it all up in on sentence, it'd be quite simple.

I'm am royally fucked.

Today was the day I was allowed to roam around the mansion I have lived in with my mother, under my caretaker Melody's supervision of course.

My first task was to find something like a study but alas, my room was on the first floor while my goal was atop those pesky things called stairs. A place where it was deemed too dangerous for me for now by my doting mother and caregiver alike.

Oh how I wish my small legs could carry me to the glory that awaited!

Sadly, I had to make due roaming the ground floor, and as I entered another of many rooms made to entertain guest, I saw it.

A grandiose painting of an unforgettable face. His white beard and curled locks, his tall and regal posture commanding respect, and those unmistakable violet eyes.

Yes, this man was Charles Zi Britannia, 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire.

I fell back on my rear as my toddler mouth opened, staring at the portrait, my mind focusing only on that man's regal stare. I was stuck in the world of my favorite show back when I was younger.

Out of a side room, my mother made her way in, and seeing my expression, chose to pick me up and wrap me in a gracious and warm hug.

"Do you see that man, my dear Theovold?" She looked at the portrait with me, her face somber as she took in His Imperial Majesty, my gaze turning towards her.

"While you may not know it yet, that man is your father, Charles zi Britannia." She said his name with sadness, her expression matching her tone as she couldn't take her eyes off of the painting. Man if my jaw could drop more, I'd probably be declared a medical abnormality. Something that I knew wouldn't turn out well in this viper's nest of a family.

I slowly returned my gaze to the painting, squeezing a portion of my mother's dress, I promised to myself that i would meet this man, who caused Mother so much sadness.

The Tenth of September of the year 1998 a.t.b.

As I had begun to grow, I noticed several key things. First was my families lack of travel, something I thought was a frivolous thing in Britannian Court. Second was my own appearance, I had a soft red hair with the ability to grow it long, my eyes shared the traditional violet, though mine seemed to be a deeper shade than any of my siblings did from the show, while I had yet to meet any of them to prove it. Third was I had an outstanding memory, which I definitely did not have during my last life. While yes it wasn't a photographic memory, but things tended to stick marginally well with some minor repetition. Maybe Charles had a point in the end? I scoffed at the thought though I wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I took to spend as much of my time to read as much as possible, a hobby I did carry over. I spent many hours reading books in the study, much to the surprise of my mother when she caught me reading Homer's 'Illiad' last week.

This lead her to embrace me in a fashion to where had Herold not stepped in to save me, I'd have perished surely. Upon my recovery, he offered to look into a few private tutors for me, to aid in my development. My mother happily agreed.

When my tutor arrived, I was a bit lost for words. Since my arrival almost five and a half years ago, I hadn't had much contact outside of my family or a friendly call of one of my mother's friends, which were far and few between.

"Greetings, Your Highness, I am to be your personal tutor starting today. My name is Sir George Thatchwell, a pleasure to meet you," The man while not exactly intimidating due to his age, held an aura of confidence in his trade that honestly startled me. He had short cropped grey hair and old blue eyes that still held an intense fire. I instantly knew I had my work cut out for me.

While the first month or so was spent probing my capabilities, Sir George tasking me with series of test being given to me covering a dozen different topics at various degrees of difficulty. At the end of it all, he sat down with me to tell me his personal opinion.

"Your Highness, I believe you posses quite the intellect. However, I noticed you had left portions of the test in regards to international history blank, why is that?"His voice firm as I cautiously looked over to him, his own gaze meeting me head on. A lump forming in my throat at his own gazes strength.

I cleared my throat quietly before taking a deep breath, I had to tread carefully now, "I apologize, Sir, but I couldn't remember the information and to help my score I had skipped over them so I could focus on the questions I did know." He merely squinted at me, his own mind working to determine what he should do.

After what seemed like hours, he finally huffed an approval before beginning to talk to me about the courses I would take, "With your mother's guidance, we will focusing on several more noble courses, starting with History. Once we can confidently say you are well versed, we can move into Swordsmanship, Marksmanship, Warfare, Politics, Art, Imperial Protocol, and Britannian Decorum. For no we will focus on the arts though after that, we would move into the more physical topics with your other instructor as you grow older and inherit more of your father's physic." At this he gave me a mischievous smirk before standing up and offering me a slight bow, "I would suggest you get some rest your Highness, tomorrow will be a long day and I will not tolerate you dozing off mid lecture. Prince or not."

I could only watch that smirking scholar as he bowed again and made to leave the room, making for his personal room on the second floor.

I slumped into my chair, a very unrefined pose, but I knew I was alone right now so it would be fine. However my mind was racing in regards to what I could easily remember of the story. I could remember that we hadn't invaded until 2010 a.t.b. sometime during the summer and while the Britannian Empire wasn't exactly a third of the world yet, they had been wrapping things up down near Brazil and would soon move against what I know as Chile. I sighed as I stood up, intent to go visit the gardens to help calm myself. I knew that I couldn't go against my fathers oppressive rule, not if I wanted to avoid Lelouch and Nunnally's fate.

I closed my eyes as I walked the familiar halls, my ponytail swaying with my steps. I had enjoyed this new life, the time I had spent with mother, even if it did feel a bit wrong at times. My cheeks flushed slightly at the remembrance of my first feeding. I shook my head as I pushed the thoughts away, I knew what my mother was to me, else I wouldn't call her so. Didn't help me feel any better as I still had the mentality from my previous life.

I was finally pulled from my thoughts as I found what I was looking for, a wonderfully decorated wooden door that lead out and into the garden my mother and I cherished. With a small push, I opened the door as the scent of roses proliferated my nose. When I had first been brought out here, I hadn't seen nature arrayed in such a way in my entire life, while a maintained garden, they seemed to let the flowers fall in such a way as to appear natural, giving the garden an appearance of being scooped out to be placed right in this mansion.

I smiled as I walked out and towards the marble gazebo, my outfit today consisting of a white button up and slacks, as I had yet to really develop a sense for the Britannian style. As much as I would have preferred a pair of jeans right now, I had to admit these were not bad at all.

As I approached, I noticed that mother was sitting inside, tending to on of the various potted plants, "Mother!" I called out, my voice warm and cheery as I ran the final couple steps to her.

She merely smiled and took me into her warm and welcoming arms, placing a kiss on my forehead, "How did your lessons go with Sir George?"

I huffed as the woman put me down, "They went well, though why did you sign me up for so many courses on fighting?" I had a bit of concern in my voice, I had wanted to stay away from the battlefield as I didn't have much confidence when it came to warfare, much less fighting. While my old body had been one that could fight two guys at the same time, this one was much smaller, and if my past experience was anything to go by, I doubted I would be able to last long against even girls my age.

My mother noticed my concern, placing a hand on my cheek, "Oh my dear Theovold, I know you must be worried, but trust me. I know you'll do wonderful things in the future and I want you prepared for everything." Her face lit up with that warm and caring smile that I had grown so fond of, though I noticed that it didn't reach her eyes.

The Twelfth of January of the year 2001 a.t.b.

My mother and I walked into a grand hall that could only be described being used for royalty, the fantastical colors decorating everything they touched in a way to remind one of a rainbow. Today was a very important day, as I was to begin meeting the other members of what I'd call my family. I was dressed in a traditional outfit worn by princes, a vibrant red high collared coat covering a white silk blouse and trousers accompanied by a deep red cravat. While I still needed some assistance coming up with the outfit, I had been getting the hang of it.

After a few minutes of wait, my mother fussing over some non-existent lint on my clothes, we met the reason behind our visit. Marianne Vi Britannia smiled to my mother as she walked down the stairs, her hair bouncing gently. I merely tried my best to not seem nervous, I didn't wanna draw any unwanted attention. She quickly crossed the hall, hugging my mother before offering me a hug, and after a bit of pleasantries the adults left me alone to wander the Aries Villa.

'Being the favorite must sure be nice' I thought sarcastically, though I didn't really mind the lack of fatherly affection. Instead, I was relieved that my family would go unnoticed by V.V. for now. Letting my mind wander as I explored, I hadn't really expected this place to quite this big. There were corridors upon corridors, each decorated in tribute to one historical figure or another. I didn't pay them much mind instead, I was trying to find a very specific place and after what seemed like hours of searching, I found it.

Opening the door to the study, I quickly scanned for anything I would find interesting. After spotting a book or two, I took them over to a very comfortable looking chair to begin, "What do you think your doing?"

My eyes quickly darted to the person whom the voice belonged to, praying that I wouldn't ever meet him not now not ever. But it seems fate is a cruel mistress as I came face to face with the Emperor, my father, Charles zi Britannia. The man looked down at me, contempt growing on his face, "Well, are you going to answer me or stand there and keep me waiting?"

My throat seemed to close on itself, my voice wavering as I spoke, "M-my apologies, Father, I h-hadn't known you were in here..." I was gripping the book I was holding tightly, my knuckles white as I tried to steady my breathing.

"What do you have there?" He asked, his imperious glare falling down to my hands. Quickly, I held the book out, the title now visible for the Geass user, his eyebrow moving a fraction of an inch as he looked over it again, "Why would a boy like you be interested in the works of Aristotle?"

I kept my gaze with his, a tough endeavor for a small child, though I knew what could happen if I showed weakness. Straightening out, I pulled the book back to my side,"I hadn't read this one yet, so I wanted read it." I tried my best to keep my voice level, now was not the time to be intimidated.

Charles merely watched me, seeming to think about something before getting up, a determined look in his eyes, "Tell me, why are you interested in it?"

I held my ground, "I have always been interested in history, it helps me to picture what our past was like, the mistakes and accomplishments alike." He held my gaze for a bit longer before moving from behind the desk, motioning me to follow him as he exited the room. I was quick to keep up, the book under my arm as he hadn't taken it. After a bit of walking, we made it out and into the courtyard, where several nobles were together including my mother and Lady Marianne, the latter of whom was holding a small black haired boy. They had seemed to perk up as the Emperor approached, getting up from their seats to meet him part ways, the other nobles remaining where they were. Though they kept an eye out for something interesting. there was a couple of tents set up though what dominated the courtyard was the Ganymede and a sister frame that I haven't seen before. Same build, just a white instead of the blue.

Once the two woman had approached, my mother quickly noticed me in tow, sending a concerned look my way as Marianne addressed the emperor, "Oh my love, what took you so long?" Mock hurt in her voice as she teased the large man.

"The various paperwork kept my hands tied, and I had an interruption," He then nodded his head towards me before looking towards the massive frames, "Is today's demonstration on track?" He asked no one in particular.

Marianne smiled, "Yes, they said about 5 minutes till the bout." The Emperor nodded, turning to face the armaments, "Listen boy, I brought you to see this, and so you can learn something important. While I won't argue the merits of studying history. I would instead push you to look to wards the future. I believe these, Knightmare frames are exactly that. While immobile now, I have no doubt they will prove vital in establishing Britannia as we expand."

He then turned towards me, his face never wavering from that indifferent expression, "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I looked from his to the machines, my heart tightening as I imagined what exactly those machines will be capable of,"I do, Father, though I will not stop my study of history, so that they can be remembered if nothing else." I returned my gaze back to Charles, I could feel my body hot with purpose as I looked into his violet eyes. We held it for a second before I heard one of the machines starting up, taking my attention with it.

As it began to slowly stand to it's full heights, I couldn't help but gasp slightly as I watched it begin it's pre-combat diagnostics.

"Who is piloting the Ganymede? I'm surprised you'd allow someone else to pilot it, Marianne." My father asked to no one in particular.

"You know I can't turn down the Knight of Six when she gets going, and when I heard that she and Bismarck got into yet another dispute leading to the throwing of gloves and that Tia's been practicing quite a bit to teach him a lesson, I actually recommended it." Marianne answered, her voice cheerful about the matter.

"What was the terms?" My mother asked, concerned.

"Apparently they have had enough, they bet their positions on this bout, and I doubt either will give in easily."

My mother's brow furrowed as she turned her attention back as the other machine began to warm up. They both took a starting stance, Bismarck favoring his two handed traditional style, while the Knight of Six, Tia, had taken to duel long swords. They began with minor trades, no one really committing to any specific attacks, though I could tell both were quite skilled.

"So Bismarck is in the Enceladus then? He's been growing fond of it hasn't he?" My father quipped, a smirk on his face as his Knight of One charged, switching to a more aggressive style as he preformed an impressive swipe, one I could barely see as it cleaved through the air with ease. Tia responded with a parry while spinning off to the side, trying to mitigate as much damage as she could whilst simultaneously striking with her alternate weapon. Bismarck side stepped it, bringing his extended hilt down on Tia's offending hand, the crunch of metal loud as it dented the armor.

Watching as the Ganymede's right hand could no longer pivot, my stomach sank. Even with my next to nothing Knightmare experience, she would have a difficult fight ahead. "So they'll be dismissed if they lose?" I stated, I myself wasn't very comfortable with this, as I watched Bismarck continue to press his advantage, swinging his great sword with ease and skill only attainable either from extensive training or live combat, considering who it is, I'd say both in equal regards.

"If they aren't strong enough to defend their title, the better. I don't tolerate weakness." The Emperor said intensely as they locked swords, the Ganymede being pushed back slowly from the accumulated damage, the right wrist cracking more and more until it finally snapped, the wrist breaking just beyond the joint on the forearm. Using this, Tia spun again, trying to make some space, only to find that Bismarck had expected it his sword primed to lunge. At this I turned away, expecting the sound of the Ganymede's cockpit being torn open.

At the lack of sound, I turned to looked back to the fight, my heart once again tightening as Bismarck kicked out the Ganymede's feet, sending it sprawling onto the ground. Bismarck had prevailed and I couldn't help but feel sympathy for the Knight of Six who was defeated and would have to give up the life she had made for herself. Once again, another person was ruined by my father's Social Darwinism. I turned and made my way back inside, away from the sight of someone being stripped of all their honors.

After my talk with my father, I had insisted on Knightmare combat being added to my curriculum, my mother reluctantly agreeing after a hour or two of debating. With this I had built a solid foundation in my book. Through the early months I had worked on my study of the art's and more bookish pursuits, but slowly we began to notice my strength's and weaknesses as we progressed. While early on, my grasp on tactics was good enough to pass basic scenarios, it was limited to just the basics. This caused me to fail many a Scenario's due to my own lack of foresight, much to Sir George's dismay.

It had been about four to five months since I had requested extra courses, that my combat instructor had arrived. He went by the name of Sir Niell Levotic,a knight and looking at his background, he had been placed among dozens of various noble houses, teaching their children in the way's of Close Quarters Combat and Marksmanship, he had also been deployed during the suppression of Area 4 otherwise known as the former countries of Brazil and Chile. As such, he proved an invaluable asset when it comes to experience and training.

After Sir's Niell and George got acquainted, I was immediately introduced to my new hell. I was to be ready at five thirty in the morning prepared for my studies with Sir George with various lectures and task assigned to me based of the lessons. After lunch, I was to go and change into more athletic clothes to begin my physical training starting with a 10 kilometre run for stamina. From there we would return and begin the calisthenics, the main focus being to rectify my childhood scrawniness. At about four in the afternoon, we would begin combat techniques. Despite the previous steps, this was always the most painful. Firstly, we had to determine my weapons of choice, eventually settling on the sword and pistol combination. Sir Niell said we could incorporate this with my Knightmare training switching out my pistol with a Knightmare rifle. Secondly we had to ingrain the skills and perception required for live combat, with Sir Niell acquainting me with the ground in the most intimate ways.

The Second of December of the year 2008 a.t.b.

I held my stance, my breath even as I began to focus my all towards the fight ahead. Niell was much the same way, though I could feel his eyes tracing over me looking for any signs of weakness. 'Not today'I thought as we slowly paced around one another in the circle we call our ring. while today wasn't the most physically demanding due to our engagements for the evening, Niell insisted on a short bout to maintain discipline. So far we have been going at it for twenty minutes with no one any closer to pining the other.

It has been seven long years since he has shown up and it's been during the last year that my hard work has been paying off. Last December I had bested Niell in single combat, During which he had been sick, using my style which I have dubbed 'Justice' which had earned more than it fair share of teasing from the rugged veteran, though Niell gives the style praise for it's ingenuity behind closed doors. At least I hope he does.

Just as I was about to go in, I hear my mother calling my name, and as I turn to look all I see is sky, "Never get distracted in battle. Not unless you want to die." Niell's rugged voice informed me in a straight laced manner, his face serious. "My apologies, Teacher," I say getting up, a small nod knowing that tomorrow I should expect hell for this blunder. While I am only fifteen I easily reach my trainers height, being just over six feet tall, and due to my years of training in physical and knightmare combat, I am well built weighing in around one hundred and fifty six pounds. I keep have been keeping my auburn hair a bit longer, favoring a ponytail that reaches just below my collar. Overall I consider myself maybe just above average, though that's mainly from the effect I have on the newer maids around the manor mixed with the reactions my siblings.

While I began to head off to bath and get changed, my mind was racing over what today was. Lelouch's birthday. I knew it was gonna be a modest affair, since I had been to every one since I meet the boy. He was an interesting character, lacking in the force of will he gets in the show. He still has an impressive aura and charisma. Not to mention his intellect already far surpasses mine, having beat me almost immediately after learning how to play chess. A defeat he lauds over me, but he never fails to invite me to matches when i'm available. A smile graces my face as I remember as Lelouch had tried to help teach me chess strategy and his inevitable irritation when I couldn't get it.

As I finished washing off, I called Herold for his opinion of what to wear for the grand occasion. I no longer needed him for such task, though it comforted me seeing his smile as he gave me his input. "I believe your court robes should be fine, Your Highness." He said with a small bow.

I frowned to the middle aged butler, "Herold.." I said, a bit of sorrow in my voice as I began to get said garment, "I thought I told you that you didn't need to address me as such in private. I'd much prefer it that you treated me like a friend instead of your boss."

He shook his head as he helped fix my deep red cravat as the pin was a bit off center, "You know I hold you in the highest respect, My Lord, so I would prefer to refer to you as such, even if I do consider you as a friend. It means all the much more to me that I can work in such diligent service to you" This earned a small smile at the man's earnest confession, how could I scold him when he says something like that?

"Then as long as your happy, I can overlook it this one time." I say with faux indifference, a smile plastered on my face, "Now, I wish to see mother before I go, could you give me a moment and wait by the door?" Herold merely bowed holding my red overcoat in his hands before exiting the room.

She had been diagnosed with cancer two years ago, though she had kept it a secret from me as long as she could, that was until she had collapsed one day while we had a walk through the garden. When I had learned of it, I was devastated. While I knew I was an outsider, I still loved my mother with all my heart. She had cherished and cared for me when I was sick, and had always brightened my darkest days with just her beautiful smile. I had insisted on care but she merely shook her head, they had already diagnosed it as too late as it had spread from her lungs to her brain. They gave her only a year, but she had survived all this time, struggled and fought to try to ease away my pain over this course of time. These last two months have shown an increase of growth of the cancerous cells, having weakened her to the point where she could no longer walk, much less eat a full meal.

Taking a deep breath, I made my way to my mother's chambers, knocking gently before entering. On her bed, my dear mother laid, her eyes closed as she slept, her once youthful skin now wrinkled at malnutrition. I slowly approached, careful not to wake her from her painless sleep, gently taking her hand in mine. I ran a small circle on the back of her palm as I whispered to her, "I will be off mother, I promise to be back, and with it I will brings stories of sweet little Nunnally and Lelouch." As the tears began to well up, I fought them back, 'I won't show weakness in front of her. Even is she may not know it, I want to be strong in front of her.' Carefully, I placed her hand back down, kissing her on her forehead before making my way to the door, taking one last glance at her before I exited.

When I had reached the front door, Herold bowed once more before offering me my overcoat. The main color of red remained, as it was the color of my mother's family crest, though I had made it my own the collar was now lined with black, and I had a bit of white added to the cuffs of the sleeves in a diagonal pattern. I merely smiled as I though of the night to come, pushing the dark thoughts of my mother condition and my worry for her to the back of my mind. I didn't want to bring with me a cloud of depression. I instead focused on the happy looks from my siblings, of which I was certain that Cornelia and Euphimia would be there, but I had an inkling that maybe Schniezel would show up if he wasn't in the middle of negotiations. I never realized the talent that was the Britannian royal family until I saw it first hand.

Making my way to the limousine, Herold opened the door for me as I got in. After we had gotten off, I watched out the window as the city skyline passed us by Pendragon being a beautiful sight no matter what time of day it happened to be.

It was a thirty minute ride in which I spent most of it thinking of the future to come, while I wasn't to be forced to. The military had been pressuring me to join for a year or so now, since they had witnessed my performance in one of the newer Glasgow models. I sighed as I remembered their latest proposal of sending me to one of the better military schools, not that I'd be learning much there that Sir George or Sir Niell hasn't already taught me. It would be a formality at most, and an annoyance at worst. As I was the Aries Villa off in the distance, I pushed that aside, making a note of it to send off a response to them once I return home.

As we pulled up, the Villa staff came to meet me, as well as Lady Marianne, who greeted me with a warm hug which I returned in equal measure, "How is your mother?" She asked.

Though there was no concern in her voice, I knew her better than that from the multiple visits to the Aries Villa, "Not well, i'm afraid, they had to increase her prescription medicine again." This earned a somber look from the noirette, before she lead me inside the villa. What I saw warmed me deep down as Clovis was playing Lelouch in chess, and given the look that our blonde sibling had, he was losing again.

"Knight to E6, check." The younger sibling said, his hand moving said piece into place. This caused Clovis to lean forward, his hands over his mouth as he tried to find a way out of the current situation he was stuck in as Lelouch turned towards me, a smirk growing on his face, "Theovold, you wanna have a match after we are finished?"

I shook my head, a smile growing to respond to the child's, "I'm afraid I will have to pass as I have something quite important to talk to you about." This earned a raised eyebrow from the noirette before he nodded. We had gotten decently close, though I feel he didn't view me as a true sibling like he does with Euphimia. As much as I disliked that, I couldn't help it with how the Imperial family is organized and set up with us having to plot against each other. I watched as Lelouch finished off Clovis, much to the latter's displeasure as he had a habit of being a sore loser.

I motioned for Lelouch to follow me, taking him to a side room where I believed we could get some distance from the other attendees, "What is it you wanted to talk about?" I faced the window, looking out over the city skyline again as it began to get later, the sun sending vibrant oranges and yellows across the sky.

"I merely wanted to give you your birthday present, little brother." My smile never faltering as I thought of the future and to what will happen, "Though it'll be a bit unorthodox if that's fine with you." I said with a slight chuckle as I went down on one knee to make eye contact with the future ruler.

"I wanted to offer you a promise, an oath of sorts when you think about it, that one day, in your greatest time of need. I will come to your assistance no matter what." This earned a very confused look from the boy who was trying to process what I was talking about, "I know you won't understand right now, but you will. I want you to remember this and know that what I'm saying is earnest," My hand going to his slim shoulder, "Is that okay with you as a present this year?" I finished, a nod from the boy making my smile grow.

"Good, now I heard your mother had prepared something quite exquisite for your birthday and I for one am famished." I said as I patted him on the back, getting up and moving to leave the room only to hear something from the boy.

"Why would you promise something like that?" I turned and saw him, his face now serious and focused. The face that I had seen once before on the small child. When he had been sent to Japan and denounced his claim to the throne.

I looked back out the window, my mind racing on what I could say to the small child before I settled on something quite simple, "Because your my dear little brother."

Over the next few days, I had decided to take up the Military's offer to join and go to one of their academies, and after many tears, I was off to the Imperial Army Academy of the Duchy of New York. I had packed only a few bags and trusted Herold with my mother, much as it pained my heart, I knew she wouldn't want me to be caught up on her condition to deny myself a life. In the back of the transport, I held my head in my hands, the feeling of abandoning my mother was overwhelming. I felt like I was running away from the problem, and it did nothing but aggravate me to the point I almost asked to go back.

But as I turned to the military official who had picked me up, a Captain Kurt "Harlequin" Lancester, a brunette man who had a wild but composed look about him, had interrupted me, "We're hear, will you be alright?" He gave me a gaze that almost seemed to say that he had expected more from the offspring of the Emperor.

I gritted my teeth before stepping out past him, "I'll be fine, Captain." I said as I did, my own gaze icy as I looked over the school, scaring one of the lower ranking nobles who had been stationed here to assist with the integration of important guest.

"Good, this is Stella Verithe, she will be escorting you to your room, tomorrow I will pick you up at zero six hundred, be sure to be ready." The Captain replied coolly, he was already walking off before I could say anything to him, "Stella, make sure to escort His Highness to his room." Leaving us with each other as he walked around a corner.

She looked back to me, her hands gripping the hem of her blouse as she worked up the courage to speak, "Y-your Highness, I think we should get going." Her voice was quiet as I turned to face her.

Seeing her expression made me let loose a breath I hadn't known I was holding, and taking my bag I motioned for her to lead the way, which she was quick to oblige.

After a bit, we finally made it to my room, a decently sized room in and of itself as I doubted normal students here would get something like this. Even if it was only half the size of my previous bed room, "I have been instructed to assist you with getting settled into the campus life as soon as possible, Your Highness," Stella said, her previous wariness gone as I set down my bag, "If you have any question's feel free to call upon me whenever."

"Thank you, I will be sure to if the need arises," I said cheerfully as I began to unpack, and noticing that she was still here I turned to face her, "Is something the matter?"

"Well, if I may, Your Highness, the Captain isn't a bad person, he may be harsh and scold more often than other teachers here. But he has always had his best interest out for those he's responsible for, so try not to blame him for being harsh or disrespectful earlier." She finished with a faint tint of blush on her cheeks, she seemed to like him quite a bit, though I am unsure if it was all purely academic, based off of her tone.

I sighed and leaned against the desk at the foot of my bed, crossing my arms as I did so, "I'm not that worried about it, I actually prefer to keep things informal when I can." I thought back to the look that Kurt had given me, and my face turned into a scowl again, I knew that I was quite compassionate in comparison to my siblings, though I didn't think that i'd be viewed so negatively over it.

Returning my gaze to the girl before me, I took notice of how she looked, she was a couple inches shorten than I was, had blonde hair that loosely went down to her shoulders and blue eyes, she was currently dressed in the green military uniform that had indicated she was training to be a knight, "Your Highness, I just hope you don't hold it against the Captain for how he acted, is all." Her voice got quiet as she turned to go, "A-anyways, I have some duties to take care of, if you'll excuse me."

I watched as she left, as I made my way to unpack the bags I had brought with me, touching up the room to make it more to my style as I went.

The next morning, I was sipping on a cup of coffee I had prepared, using a recipe for a cappuccino I had in my past life, appreciating to sweet taste as I drank. It was currently around five thirty in the morning, and I was already prepared to go out today, wearing my hair in it's standerd ponytail, I also had on a white blouse, black slacks and a red vest, I didn't think i'd need my coat today as I thought of all that was to happen. Soon Lelouch's mother is to be killed by a certain blonde imp, and he will be sent to Japan with Nunnally as pawns. From there we should be moving to invade later in the year. I gripped the mug tightly as I thought of the suffering Lelouch and Nunnally would have to go through before they could find relative happiness before a knock at my door pulled me from my thoughts.

Dumping out the mug and placing it in the small kitchenette, I opened the door smiling wide as the Captain entered my view, "Good morning, Captain, may I ask what you need at this hour?" My voice calm as I gently teased the officer.

"I am here to pick you up." His voice neutral as he looked me up and down, before realizing he hadn't gotten me a uniform yet.

"But dear Captain, it's only five forty..." I quickly checked the wall clock in the kitchen, "Seven? I was told to wait until six on the dot." My smile unfaltering as the Captain sighed, his face adapting an irritated look, his hand moving up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"I had figured the extra time would only due us benefit us as we have several things to do before hand," His hand returned to his side as I nodded and exited the room motioning for him to lead the way. As we walked I noticed the various cliques walking around, catching a couple of glances sent my way before some murmuring. I doubted anyone knew who I was besides the teachers and Stella as I had opted to remain out of the public spotlight so far. Most were probably wondering how come a transfer would be coming in the middle of the school year, though I personally didn't mind what they thought, as I wanted to finish the few years that was required of me.

"We will be meeting with Colonel Deigchuff discuss your courses and what we shall do to help you integrate with the other students, he should have more details on that than I would, so save your questions for him." His voice had a to the point way that I knew wouldn't get me anywhere and after a bit of walking he stopped in front of a set of white double doors, knocking three times before being granted permission to enter.

The Captain promptly entered with me in tow, before popping to attention and giving the man a traditional Britannian salute, which the old officer returned before doing the same to me, which I merely waved off, "Good morning, Your Highness, I hope Captain Lancester has been giving you a warm welcome to our academy." He had a worn smile on his wrinkled face, he had short cropped grey hair and a mustache that I was jealous of, "Do you have any questions before we begin?" His gaze however was sharp as a knife as he looked me over as I shook my head no.

"Good," He said before clearing his throat, "While I know you have come here on special circumstances, I would instead offer this," as he said this he slide a piece of paper forward, the front containing an image of me with a lot of standerd information except that my name was wrong, "To help the other students relax around you and for you to get the full experience here at our school, the General's collectively agreed to have your information falsified, to instead pose you as a nobleman's son from a tiny house with no real land." He had taken the paper back at this point, my hand moving inside my pocket as I processed the information, while it did make sense, I wish they had ran it through me first. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk.

"Sounds good with me, Colonel, though I have one thing i'd like to add." My normal smile returning as I turned my attention to outside the window, "I would prefer to be in the Captain's classes, as he has made quite the impression on me." This caused the veteran to chuck as he approved it along with my request for a normal knight in training uniform.

After I had gotten changed, I followed my new teacher until we had gotten just outside the door to his room, my hands behind my head as I had already grown accustom to my new outfit, "Before we go in, I have one thing to say to you, You Highness, "His voice was low to prevent those inside from hearing, "I won't take it easy on you despite your upbringing and linage, I want each of my student's to pull their weight, is that understood?" His cold gaze was on me now and I could tell he was quite serious about this.

"I would have it no other way, Captain." I said with a wide smile, my hands holding the back of my head as I nodded to the door, earning another sigh from my new teacher.

Opening the door, he quickly made his way to the front of the class, his voice loud to even surprise me out in the hall, "Alright, Calm down, we have a new student today." He took up a position behind the pedestal before the chalkboard covered with various tactics I could remember from George's lessons. His announcement caused a few whispers as he turned towards the door, motioning for me to come in and introduce myself.

My smile plastered to my face, I quickly entered, making my way besides the podium, offering a salute to the rest of the class, "Hello, I am Theo Holestead, I am eager to learn with all of you!" I proclaimed much to the shock of the class, I even noticed a few girls blushing slightly. The Captain pointed for me to go take a seat in the back, which I quickly moved to, which I happened to recognize a friendly face as I sat next to Stella.

"Alright, first we will begin with a coverage of Tactics from last lesson, Theo, you just follow along and ask Stella if you have a question, she should be happy to help." Kurt began as he started his lesson, my attention focusing to the blonde to my right. Catching a glance from her, I offered a small wave as I myself returned my attention to the lesson.

After several hours of lessons, we had been cut out for lunch, we were given some free time and I went and found myself a nice and quiet spot beneath a magnificent oak tree in the main square that connected all of the buildings. Sitting down, I had settled in content to enjoy the outdoors before I was quickly interrupted. Opening an eye, I spotted a meek Stella, who was standing just a few feet away, "What was that about in class?" She seemed nervous and I couldn't blame her.

"The various members of the upper brass had deemed it necessary to keep my identity hidden for my safety,"I gave her a small wink as I closed my eyes again, "Don't go selling me out, alright?"

She sighed as she took a second to think about something before taking a seat next to me, "I won't, Your H-I mean, Sir Holestead, I hope your adjusting well."

I shrugged from my spot on the ground, I hadn't considered much of today's lesson, though I was curious to what the future held as I hadn't been to a traditional Britannian school, "Uneventful, I hadn't exactly learned anything I hadn't already known and please call me Theo, I told you I prefer informality." I said with a sigh, I had hoped for a bit more.

"Well Theo, that is to be expected considering your background, I would imagine this is more a refresher for you than anything," I raised an eyebrow to the young girl, "Though next year should be more interesting for you if your looking for a challenge."

"It's not the challenge I'm looking for, it's more of a search for knowledge, and while I know a lot, I don't know as much as I'd prefer to, hence why I took up the offer to come here to learn." I sat up, my arm resting against my propped up knee, "And besides, I heard we would get to pilot Knightmares, and I'd be an idiot to pass that up.

The Seventeenth of August of the year 2009 a.t.b.

My time at the academy was almost exactly as I had expected, with my true heritage hidden and Stella being ordered to not say a word of it, I mainly went unnoticed outside of being Kurt's object of obsession as he carried through on his promise to make sure I pulled my own weight and one Micheal Ryder declaring me his rival. I was given the first two days to adjust to my new schedule before he began to drill into me the same discipline as he had the others, though I always used this opportunity to poke a bit of fun back. As we entered the second set of courses, effectively our second year, I had placed among the top ten for studies, though I owed a lot of that to Sir George for his years of diligent tutelage. I made an effort to call him to thank him as soon as I could. In term's of physical combat, I had quickly proved to be top in the class, either unarmed or armed, even beating on of the instructors before Kurt had come out and put an end to my win streak. The man knew how to grapple, I had to give him that.

Though today was the beginning of our Knightmare practice and I was quite excited for it, as I was tired of being cooped up in the simulator's day after day. Our first task was a small team operation, in which three teams of three effectively played capture the flag. To help prevent injury they had faced during previous training, they had specially enhanced rifles, though would paint the armor and once you reached a certain level they would call you out. This had proven quite effective as no one was really skilled enough to hide when they took a death blow. That and the first team to lose had to clean the machines spotless, a daunting task that had most not wanting to lose anytime soon.

I was chosen as part of a team of three along with Rylie, a lower born noble who could hold his own in a knightmare though was poor academically, and Shelia, who could be attributed the same. Both of my teammates were armed with knightmare rifles and I had my standerd sword and knightmare auto pistol. I sighed inside my cockpit as I thought of our game plan being the one who was nominated via vote, to fall through because of democracy, oh the irony. I had eventually decided on an all out attack idea, where Rylie and Shelia would each go as a group of two to assault the other camps, while I remained behind as our guard. They weren't ones to disagree.

Soon after the bell rung to signal the start of the exercise, I watched as the two of them prodded off to begin their assault, and I found myself wishing them success, despite knowing the other team compositions. Team one was consistent of Stella, who placed second in terms of piloting, Micheal, who placed third in the same catagory, finishing it off with Quinn Denzel, who had placed first in terms of tactical leadership. Team two had consisted of the second place tactician and the fourth and fifth place knightmare pilots.

I had to sigh again as I though of my chances against such pilots, while we were given Glasgow's they weren't something to scoff at in terms of pilot skill. Yes, you could defeat a few opponents with it single handedly, but it lacked the fine control and precision that it needed to be a beast that could fight another army alone. I needed to be smart to get through this, and pray to C's world that they didn't team up against me, a fact I considered very likely.

After a few minutes, they had reported in contact at team two's flag, two knightmare's standing guard as they kept their fact sphere's going on the look out for threats.

I told them to wait it out. After a quick affirmative, I sat back and began to wait to see if team one would come for me alone. I was left to my thought's for several minutes before I heard Micheal talking over his loudspeaker, "It is time to end this once and for all, Theo Holestead!" Micheal all but yelled, while I had to give the dirty blonde applause for being persistent, I had figured the twelve consecutive wins in a row against him in the simulator would have at least gotten the point across.

I straightened out of my relaxed position in the cockpit, turning my knightmare to face my new opponent. Micheal was lightly armed, favoring a standard knightmare lance over any ranged weapons. I smiled as I saw his face over my display, his face set in a determined expression, his blue eyes baring into my deep purple, "I would enjoy that, Micheal, though I won't let you grasp victory easily." My hands gently grasped the controls of the knightmare, my hands moving to put me into my battle stance, my sword raised even with my shoulders and pistol forward, Micheal taking up the traditional lance stance, the hilt being even with his ribs. We stayed like this as we stared down the other, before he shot forward, intending to close the gap as quick as possible. I put the land spinners in reverse, my pistol firing off rounds to attempt to slow him down, Micheal dodging them with skill as he closed the distance, only a few rounds landing on target though not causing anything significant.

I dropped the pistol, spinning to meet him before he could try to disable my knightmare, my sword coming with me in a low slash towards his waist. He deflected it with the hilt of his lance, spinning it to bring it down on my offending arm, my blade coming up to take the hit, my other forearm going behind to it support it. We stayed even like this for what felt like hours, both of us attacking or blocking, swinging out to the other dodging or parrying, until I finally got the opening I needed. He was going for a one handed lunge, the tip aimed for my cockpit block, at the last moment, I brought my arm up to redirect the blow, my arm getting damaged in the process as I brought my sword overhead to impale his fact sphere. As his machine automatically went down to one knee, a small team of instructors, one of which was in a knightmare, who were supervising had come out to take him away to prevent him from being injured, a defeated look on his face as he was lead to the standby area. I felt a bit of regret that fate had led us to be in the same class, Micheal easily being a pilot of skill while being a man other people looked up to. I decided that tonight I would speak with him soon, he deserved that much.

I focused my attention on the battle, asking for the other two to give me a status report, and hearing that Stella and Quinn had ambushed team two, I was quite surprised to hear that they had come out on top while only losing Stella's arm. I smirked as I told them to wait for me to come and assist as I doubted the remains of team two would make a move. I raced through the trees, quickly finding my teammates before launching my assault. We ended up winning due to Stella's previous damage and Ryder taking out Quinn, only for our victory to be short lived. Team two's tactician had snuck around the edge of the area and claimed both Team One and Team Three's flags for their own while we fought, thus winning the event.

Kurt then proceeded to give both Teams one and three the punishment of cleaning the knightmares. While we couldn't repair them ourselves, they made sure to have everything ready and back in place for us once we had shown up for the extra duty. We each decided to clean our own knightmares before drawing lots to see who would clean the remaining three. Sadly, I watched as Quinn, Rylie and Sheila make their way out of the knightmare bay to enjoy what free time they had left while Micheal, Stella and I were left to clean.

I was sitting by the head of Quinn's knightmare, trying my best to wipe away the now drying paint from the fact sphere, while Micheal was helping by manually taking off the pieces each. We kept the silence as we worked, Stella eventually running to get more water, leaving just the two of us to talk.

"Today was a good fight, I could tell you had put a lot of practice in," I said without looking to the dirty blonde, a piece of paint being especially stubborn,"Almost had me if it wasn't for the lunge, it was telegraphed really easily."

I heard him click his tongue at the critique, much as it disheartened me, "I don't need your sympathy." His voice was cold as I flinched at the hostility, I knew he disliked me, though I could never figure it out as to why.

"I apologize if I offended you, it wasn't my attention," I said, my voice a tad bit quieter as I tried to process how to fix our relationship. I found Micheal interesting, he kept things light in the classroom for the others, though next seemed to include me, "I just wanted to get to know you better."

This caused him to stop working and look up to me, a red streak marking his face from where he had smeared paint unknowingly, "Why would you care about something like that?" His look was inquisitive before quickly shifting to shock, "Oh, don't tell me your-"

"No I am not, I would prefer you to perish the thought immediately." I quickly cut him off, "Not that I have anything against those who do swing that way, it's just not my cup of tea."

"Then why?" He asked, his voice serious.

I looked back down to him, my face somber, "I figured that rivals don't have to hate each other, we eventually will be fighting for Britannia together, so I wanted to get to know you better, who knows we might even be assigned to the same station together. I would much prefer to know you as a friend than someone who had it out for me back in training." I kept my eyes on him, his face calming in understanding.

"I see..." He said, though he sounded unconvinced, "Though I can't."

"Why not?" I said, I could feel that something is wrong but I couldn't tell.

"Because all the girls here seem to fawn over you like a puppy, I know you purposefully pose for their secret pictures so they can get your good side!" He yelled, his face slightly pink as he made his confession. I felt like a deer in headlights.

"They do what?" I could barely believe what he just said. I knew that I popular, though I didn't think it'd be to such an extent as to go to borderline stalking.

"Oh don't act like you don't know, they even made a website!" He said, pointing to me, earning a shocked look from me, "They call you the Untouchable Prince because of your skills in knightmare piloting and your looks."

Ironic, "I don't know what your talking about!" I yelled back, "Why would I let people just take picture of be without my permission! That's unreasonable!"

He flinched at this, realization dawning on his face as he took in my words, "Wait, you didn't know?"

"How would I? I'm just here to learn same as you!" I shot back, my hands going up to hold my head, 'What is wrong with people?!' I thought in panic.

Micheal seemed to contemplate this, deciding on something while I spent that time freaking out on how much they got of me, "Are you okay?"

"What if they put one in my room..." I thought to all the things I did in private while I thought I was alone, the various little habits I indulged in, "I'm ruined..."

Micheal climbed up and grabbed a hold of me, turning me to face him, his blue eyes searing with heat, "Don't worry, I will help you though this, and I have just the plan," He had a devilish look on his face as he talked, one that did not sit well with me.

After finishing up with the cleaning, we wished Stella a good night before making our way to my room to discuss what Micheal had in mind.

"First off, what the fuck kind of connections do you have to get a room this big, and to yourself no less?" He said with a whistle as he entered, taking in the room.

I gave him a questioning look as he continued, "My room is half this size and I have a roommate, we don't even have a kitchen." He said as he started to check the place out, looking for something specific.

I sat at my table, my hands clasped together in front of me as I waited for him to finish sweeping the room for hidden camera's, keeping watchful for the slightest hint of something being out of place, "I am a special enrollment, the military has been trying to get me to join for a few years now since I assisted at one of the Ashford foundation testings." I replied, my head hung low as he finished and took a seat across from me.

"Those aren't easy to get into, much less to be able to pilot for one," He had an impressed look on his face as he talked, "Must have had some serious connections with the Imperial family. No wonder the teachers call you an ace."

"I guess you could say that, though I wouldn't want to brag." i said turning my head to him, "By the way, what plan did you come up with? I have been thinking of things but I don't want to make an assumption."

He smiled that devils smile again as he leaned closer to me, a look of enjoyment on his features, "We cut your hair."

I waited for a second to see if he had anything else, but as he didn't continue I steeled my gaze on him, "That it?"

He nodded his affirmation as I sighed, "Not gonna happen, i'm afraid. I spent a lot of time taking care of it to just chop it all off at a moments notice."

Micheal shook his head, "The girls say it gives you a regal aura, one that makes you fit your princely persona that they have given you. So when you cut your hair, you'd effectively break their princely image of you."

I had to admit the logic was there, though I couldn't help but feel uneasy about the plan, "Only one problem I can find in your logic."

He raised an eyebrow, "What would that be?"

"I can't give it up, it helps to remind me of my mother," I said matter of factly, my arms crossing in front of my chest, my face set in a stern look that offered no quarter.

"Oh come on, it'll grow back, don't be a mamma's boy," He said almost pleadingly, his mischievous look in his eye never faltering.

"Do it and I'll throw you out in a heart beat."

The twentieth of April of the year 2011 a.t.b.

Micheal, Stella and I had spent the remainder of our time as an inseparable trio, completing all the requirements for us to leave with the three of us holding the top spots for knightmare piloting and Stella holding down the third spot for academics. Despite Stella having the highest average, and being the Valedictorian equivalent of our class, I was offered the chance to speak. Knowing I couldn't refuse, I chose to dress in my court outfit, overcoat and all despite it being quite a beautiful day out today, though I changed the white slacks with black ones as well as adding shoulder boards to the coat. I had successfully kept my hair from being cut outside of the normal amount as it was loose today, framing my face almost perfectly.

As everyone waited, eager to see who was going to speak instead of Stella, I slowly prepared myself backstage, a couple of officers talking to me about various small matters that I didn't care for, "Sir, have you made a choice as to have as your personal knight? There are multiple young talents among last years graduates, if you would be interested to lo-"

I waved my hand, cutting him off, "I intend to pick my knight when the time is right, not for you to help bolster you ego, now if you excuse me." With the flourish of my overcoat, I slowly made my way mid stage, a content smile on my face at the collective audience's gasp. I had immediately grasped their attention, even hearing a few whispers from this in the front row.

"Why is Theo up there? I thought Stella had him in studies?"

I slowly placed my hands on the edges of the podium, the mic already pretested and set up beforehand, as I began, "I would like to say thank you for spending these last few years with me as it has truly been an honor. for those of you who know me, I am Theo Holestead, though that is just a cover and for lying to you all, I apologize from the bottom of my heart. My true name is Theovold Lu Britannia, and it is a pleasure to finally be able to meet you all as my true self." There was another round of gasp as the weight of the words settled with everyone, several people getting a bit worried as they didn't exactly have the best relationship with me. Though a few woman among the rest had a look that unnerved me as I could only hope they didn't have any weird thoughts.

"Today I have been asked to speak instead of Lady Stella Verithe, and for that I must once again apologize as you have only been a major help to me during my time here, but you deserved the spotlight for your hard work." I gave her a warm smile that she returned as a few people around her looked at her aghast that she hadn't shared the information, one of them being Micheal, "to the rest I can only give you my best wishes in your future endeavors wherever they may take you in service to my family, and that you remain well and healthy should we ever meet again on the battlefield."

I let them get a pause before continuing, "I learned many things here, most of it from you all as you have helped guide me to the person I will be in the future. To the teachers, I thank you for the many lessons you had taught us and for the endearing qualities of Captain Lancester as he was always a bright light in a dark world," This earned a bit of laughing from the crowd as Kurt grunted from his spot behind me as I shot him a smile.

"I would like to end today with a very special announcement, could I have Stella and Micheal come up to the stage," The two got up, a confused look covering most everyone's faces as they came up before me, my smile unwavering as I brought them before me, "I have another favor to ask of my two dearest friends, should you accept, I would love for you both to be my personal knights of honor." This earned a gasp from the both of them as they thought of what they were being offered.

After a moment both nodded, going down to one knee as I took Kurt's dress sword, preforming the Oath of Knights with each of them personally, "Do thy promise on thy name that you will serve in your lord, never to cause him harm and will observe your homage to him with good faith and without deceit?"

"Yes, My Lord" They had said in unison as I finished, a smile on both of their faces.

"Then rise my knights in the name of Theovold Lu Britannian, fifth prince of the Holy Britannian Empire, Lady Stella Verithe and Sire Micheal Ryder, for you two shall know no fear as I will stand besides you and guide you down the path of the righteous." As I commanded they stood up, offering me a salute before taking a step behind me, each brimming with joy and confidence.

"As you can see, I have claimed my knights of honor, a bit unorthodox as I couldn't end up deciding between which of the two to choose. With this, I thank you all for your time, and I wish you well." I pumped my fist in the air as I finished, "All hail Britannia!" I roared out over the room, the rest of them joining in. 'That was pretty fun, can see why father does it now.'

As soon as we left, Herold was already here with the private car, a raised eyebrow to my two knights following close behind me, before opening the door, knowing better than to as questions in regards to choice, "Stella, Micheal, this is Herold, he has been in service to my family for a very long time. Herold, have you prepared their outfits, can't have others thinking they are just normal troops now can I?"

"Of course, Your Highness, they are waiting back at the manor, as well as the rooms you had asked I prepare." He said to the point, a small smile on his face as he closed the back door, to begin out little road trip to the airport.

Micheal used this chance to begin my interrogation, "Why didn't you tell my you were a prince?"

I shrugged as I crossed my legs, my hands on my knees, "I was told it was a safety concern, though I didn't hide it exactly, just no one asked. And besides," I said as I pointed to my eyes, "I was just surprised no one figured it out from the most obvious fact."

He didn't seem content with this, "Why didn't you tell me? We are suppose to be friends."

He looked furious though besides him Stella looked calm as she processed something else entirely, "Why did you pick us? There was bound to be better candidates?"

I turned my attention to her, "There were plenty, though I didn't want to pick my knight, or in this case knights, because of such silly reasons, I wanted them to be someone I could trust, who I knew could correct me should I step out of bounds or begin to go down the wrong path. Besides, how could I just tear myself away from you guys."

This seemed to blow out some of Micheal's steam, though he still seemed pissed. I would have to let him cool off on his own, though Stella seemed to only have more questions which she decided could wait till later. We sat in silence for a bit before Herold interjected his own update, "My Lord, have you been informed as to the events that have happened during the last three years?"

i shook my head, "No, sadly they didn't give me much in the way of external communication outside of a five minute phone call once in a while, though keep in Chronological order," I didn't want to say I knew what has already happened though I was curious about the things outside the obvious.

"Prince Schniezel was made Prime Minister soon after you left taking over for Odysseus, the latter being made the Minister of Defense. About one year after you left, Cornelia had also been named General of the Army after defeating several insurgencies in South America before going to begin the Australian Subjugation. They were named Area Eight just eight months later. Soon after that however, something tragic occurred, Lady Marianne had been killed by terrorist, and Princess Nunnally had been crippled, she can no longer see nor walk," Herold seemed to choke up for a second at the next part, but fighting through it he finished what he was going to say, "On the same note, your mother, she had succumbed to the cancer, she had past away last September."

As he finished, I clenched at my knees, "Why wasn't I informed? told that her condition had worsened yet again?!" My voice was lethal, both Micheal and Stella being taken aback at my sudden ferocity.

Herold seemed unfazed beyond his own grief, "She had insisted that you don't have any distractions, all the way until her last moments she didn't want you worrying about her." He his voice was weak now, we had parked a second ago and now I could see the older man shaking slightly in the front seat, his own temperance not being able to hold back his own pain, "I am so so sorry, My Lord, but they were her last wishes.."

I got out of the car and walked a bit away to a nearby pillar, slamming my fist against it, my other hand covering my forehead, I could only feel the grief and guilt from abandoning her. I hadn't went a day worried about her though from my brief talks she had seemed to be pulling through so I never gave it much thought. I sunk to my knees as I felt the hot tears begin to stream down my face as I hit the wall once again, the pain unfelt as I felt the small hands of Stella on my shoulders, bringing my face to hers, a look of sympathy on her delicate features, her left hand moving up to wipe them away as she began to comfort me, Micheal just behind her a similar look on his face as they helped me to my feet and I regained my composure.

After a few minutes of tidying myself up, I turned and went to Herold, who had a guilty look on his face by the car, his hands behind his back. He looked to want to say something but before he could I embraced the man, "I apologize for yelling at you, you hadn't done anything wrong. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me..." My voice was light as the smaller man returned the hug, his body shaking slightly as he began to sob.

"I am so sorry, Your Highness, I'm so so sorry..." Micheal and Stella watched on, their own feelings reaching out to the two of us. As much as I wanted to join Herold, I knew i must stay strong, to keep myself ready for what was to come.

Damn, this thing is long, I hope you all enjoyed!

With Theovold, I was aiming for a kind prince that while he was still smart, he was still a more physical person. With Micheal I wanted him to be a good fit to serve as someone who he could rely on in battle, and Stella to help cover where his weaknesses lied in strategy.

Also with the double knights of honor, Theo wouldn't have really cared about such a thing as only one, as even Cornelia could be attested to having both Dalton and Guilford, even if only one is recognized as her knight of honor.

R&R Appreciated.