Power of the Kings: Round Two

Kidnapping an Empress

The pout has returned to the empress's lips, as tears hang in the corners of her eyes.

"Your majesty, you'll be outside the Forbidden City soon," Kaguya looks at the girl.

"Huh?" Empress Tianzi looks between the two of us multiple times.

"I'm sure that having been within that place for all these years, you've been itching to see what the outside world has to offer," I grin, standing up and walking over to place myself in Lelouch's lap.

"Done talking with her already?" Lelouch wraps his arms around me, placing a hand on my thigh.

"I don't want to overwhelm her." I run my fingers over the bottom of his mask. "Besides, we haven't had any time together, except when we sleep. I just wanted to talk with you for a moment."

"Anything on your mind?"

"Only that every night is plagued with visions, but other than that, I feel great. Hearing Kallen call herself Japanese in front of all those people was exactly what I needed to hear. I call myself Japanese behind closed doors but knowing that one day I can proudly exclaim it to the world, that this past week being here I have been able to truly embrace it, I hate that I'll have to go back to hiding that part of me."

"I'm trying to work as quickly as possible to make sure you can be who you have always deserved to be." He gives my thigh a squeeze. "I want to get rid of Britannia more than anyone, so I am not going to drag it out."

I rest my head on his shoulder, "Everything has to be done perfectly."

"You've being transferred to the truck," Chiba's voice crackles through my earpiece.

"So much for spending some time together," I chuckle, getting off Lelouch's lap.

Once the box is placed within the semitruck being driven by C.C., the four of us climb up the ladder to exit out a hole in the top. Kaguya sticks close to Empress Tianzi as she struggles to stand for a moment. A staircase is pushed over to get us down off the box. Lelouch heads down first, followed by me in order to watch the two younger girls. Kaguya reaches the bottom, turning back in time to catch the empress as the truck makes a sharp turn.

"Are you alright, your majesty?" Kaguya concerningly asks.

"Are we, outside the palace?" Empress Tianzi lifts her head up.

"That would be correct," I softly answer.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect your dream would come true in such a violent way like this, but-" Kaguya says.

Empress Tianzi gasps, "You remembered my dream too! You both did!"

"Come, both of you," I motion to a simple table with four chairs at each side.

The four of us take our seats at the table. Kaguya and the empress are across from each other, meaning Lelouch and I are across from one another. Lelouch and I have nicer chairs than the foldout ones the girls have. The young empress receives water in a cup with a straw, per Lelouch's request that she get whatever she needs to make this more comfortable for her. He can be intimidating sitting with his elbows on the armrests and his fingers interlocked in front of him, which is why I explain first.

Our nation, the United States of Japan, should be thought of as just a part of a giant union of united states," I look at the empress, speaking soft but firm. "Including the United States of China, and for that, we need you."