A very young Adelice ran down to the small pond, picking up her dress so the ends wouldn't get wet. She giggled as she watched the frogs croak and jump from lily pad to lily pad, her childhood curiosity making them the greatest animal in the world. “Adelice? What are you doing here?”, Clovis asked running up beside her.
“I'm looking at the frogs! I would try to catch one but Lady Marianne won't let me keep one in the house.”, she pouted softly and turned her attention back to the frogs. “I could catch one for you”, Clovis quickly said, wanting to impress her. Adelice looked up at him and smiled brightly. “Are you sure? I don't want you to get in trouble..”, Adelice said, giving him a wide eye look.
As Clovis stepped into the pond, getting his shoes all muddy a yell was heard. Adelice and Clovis turned to see who it was, they could see Lelouch running out toward them. Adelice smiled big and waved to him. “Hi, Lelouch.”, she said, smiling brightly up at him just like she had Clovis. Lelouch smiled at her and then looked toward Clovis. “What are you doing?”, he asked both of them.
Clovis frowned, putting a hand on his hip. “I'm catching a frog for Adelice, she wants one.”, he said triumphantly. Lelouch frowned. “I could catch one too.”, he whispered making Adelice look up at him. “You don't have to. I told Clovis not to either.. Lady Marianne is going to get upset if you both get dirty.”, Adelice whined.
Lelouch turned looked at Clovis who looked like he was close to catching one. Wanting to outdo him and impress Adelice himself he quickly ran into the pond, scaring any of the frogs so they jumped away from Clovis. “Look what you did! I almost had one!”, Clovis yelled, glaring at Lelouch who didn't pay much attention and sought about trying to get a frog.
They both quickly tried to catch one quicker then the other. Adelice giggled as they both finally caught one and held it up happily. Running up to her, showing her proudly. She smiled big when she saw the two frogs. “They're so cute”, she said, clapping her hands together. “Mine is better!”, Clovis said, pushing the frog closer to her.
“No!”, Lelouch said, doing the same. “Which one is better? Pick one!”, they both yelled, giving her pleading looks. Adelice giggled and smiled up at both of them. “I like both of them~”, she said, grabbing both frogs, placing them on the ground next to her. She grabbed a little pile of leaves and made a “bed” for them to sit on. She smiled up at both of the boys as they watched her playing with the frogs.
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Adelice stood quietly with her hands in front of her, staring at the big television screen as they played the Britannian national anthem. Shirley to her right and Kallen to her left. Her eyes slowly traveled off to the far right where Lelouch was standing, his face completely neutral. Adelice tried to do her best to keep her face neutral but she couldn't help the sinking feeling in her stomach at the loss of her friend.
She hadn't thought back to their childhood in so long.. how Clovis and Lelouch had always tried to compete for her attention in anyway they could. She had been right though.. Lady Marianne was quite upset when she saw both boys had gotten their shins deep in a thick muck of mud. She had given them another proper scolding for getting dirty right before they had to be at a ball that some of the nobles were throwing.
She bit her bottom lip fighting back tears as she saw a huge banner of Clovis hanging on the wall above his casket. He looked as handsome as ever, dressed in a fine military outfit and gloves. He held a single rose in his hand making a smile come to her lips. He had always been such a gentle man, delicate.. like the petals of the flower he held in his hands.
Around the casket lay millions of white roses that looked like a sea of white through the television screen. Seats were lined up along the back of the casket of high generals, Duchess', and nobility. Adelice felt her heart skip a beat as she saw Prince Schneizel sitting in one of the chairs next to Princess Cornelia and Princess Euphemia.
He was dressed lavishly in a white and purple robe. Adelice's eyes traveled to Euphie and Cornelia... how long had it been since she'd seen them. Five years? Ten years? She missed them deeply and frowned as she saw Euphie's eyes starting to get watery. She desperately wanted to reach out to her and give her a hug. Her eyes traveled back to Schneizel not able to take her eyes off of him. His eyes seemed fogged in thought.
His face was as serious as ever as he looked on at his brother's casket. She felt her heart rate increase a little as she kept watching him, a combination of fear and .. perhaps attraction. Her eyes traveled back to Lelouch who's expression hadn't wavered at all at the sight of his brother Prince Schneizel.
“And now, his Royal Majesty, the 98th emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire....”, the man doing the voice over said. Adelice turned her eyes to Lelouch who's mouth had started to form into a frown as he saw his father. She turned her eyes back as she watched Lelouch's father on screen.
“All men are not created equal. Some are born swifter. Some are born with greater beauty. Some are born into poverty. And others born sick and feeble. Every human is inherently different! Yes, that is why people discriminate against one another. Which is why there is struggle! Competition and progress. Inequality is not wrong! Equality is!”, the Emperor announced.
Adelice's lips turn down into a frown as she continued watching. “Evolution is continuous! Britannia alone moves forward! Advancing steadily into the future. Even the death of my son Clovis demonstrates Britannia's unswerving commitment to progress. “We will fight on! We will compete and dominate! And in the end, the future shall be ours! All hail Britannia!”, he chanted. He held his hand up to the air making the audience present at the funeral chant with him.
Adelice turned her blue eyes to Lelouch who was balling his hand into a fist, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. He was fighting his emotions as best as possible as he looked on at his father. She couldn't imagine how much this was eating into him.
To hold back those feelings for so long and now to see the man you despise speaking after just losing your step brother. Adelice bit her bottom lip as the funeral progressed, occasionally watching Lelouch out of the corner of her eye.
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Adelice walked into the student council room, no sign of Lelouch even there. She frowned. She had for sure thought he would be here, she couldn't find him anywhere, he seemed to have disappeared after the funeral. “Adelice?”, Milly's voice called as she looked up from a piece of paper she was reading. Milly stood up from her chair and walked in front of Adelice, putting a hand on her shoulder. Talking in a quieter voice then before she asked. “What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home.”
“I suppose but really I-”, Adelice was cut off by Milly shaking her head. “I know this is probably hard on you too.”, Milly said, a slight frown tugging on her lips. Adelice nodded slowly and sighed. “I was hoping Lelouch would be here, I didn't see him after the funeral.”, she whispered. Milly frowned more. “He isn't here. I haven't seen him either.”, she said as she walked back to the chair she was sitting in previously.
“Go home Adelice. Take the day off from club activities. I'm sure it's been a long day for both you and Lelouch...”, Milly said, waving her hand at Adelice. A smile came to her lips, silently thanking Milly for being considerate and understanding. She quickly walked out and down the hall toward Lelouch's home, sprinting across the courtyard quickly. He had to be there, there wasn't anywhere else he could really be.
She quickly stepped in and looked around the large dining room. It was dead silent. “Lelouch?”, she called out softly, hoping for an answer back. Silence answered her back making her frown as she waited. She peeked inside the kitchen, but no one was there.
She quickly made her way to the hall and into Lelouch's bedroom and frowned when she saw Lelouch sitting on the bed. He was slouched forward, staring at the floor, with his hair covering his face. His school jacket had been thrown on the ground, she quietly walked to it, knelt down and picked it up.
“Lelouch..”, she whispered, folding his jacket up neatly, setting it on his desk. Her blue eyes turned back to him. He hadn't moved an inch, his eyes hazed in thought and sadness. “Lelouch...”, she called again, he slowly turned his head a little, not meeting her eyes. She frowned as she saw a sparkle of something fall from his hidden face, tears falling slowly onto the ground he was staring at. She noticed a cut on his arm, that looked fresh.
Adelice quickly walked in front of him and knelt down in front of him, realizing he had done it to himself. “Lelouch.. don't do this to yourself.”, she whispered, gently taking hold of his arm, inspecting the cut. She frowned and quickly stood up and ran to the bathroom, grabbing the roll of gauze and an antibiotic cream, walking back quickly.
She knelt back down in front of him again and squeezed some of the antibiotic cream onto the little towel. “This might hurt.”, she whispered, gently running the towel over the cut. Lelouch let out a painful noise and flinched a little, tensing his arm. She frowned and held onto his arm tightly so he couldn't pull away. “Why did you do this...?”, she whispered, more to herself then him.
She slowly pulled the towel away after making sure enough medication had gotten into the wound and started to wrap the gauze around the cut. She tied it tightly to make sure it would be secure while he slept. Her blue eyes traveled up to his face that was still looking down. “Look at me..”, she whispered, not liking to see him like that. She frowned more when he didn't move, she slid her body between his legs and gently placed her hand on his shoulders.
“Lelouch...”, she whispered again, trying to get a reaction from him. She watched as he moved his hand a little, grabbing onto her hip, pulling her closer. Adelice gently ran her hands up and pushed some of his hair out of his face, watching tears fall down his face.
Leaning forward, she softly placed a kiss on the top of his head and wrapped her arms around his neck. She frowned, hoping that she was providing some amount of comfort to him during this difficult time that he was going through.
A tear rolled down her cheek as she heard Lelouch start sobbing, she pulled him closer, holding him tightly to her. She hoped the simple human contact would help calm him. The emotion toll of losing Clovis and seeing Lelouch like this ate away at her. “I'm so sorry Lelouch...”, she said softly, placing another kiss on the top of his head.
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Adelice walked into the student council room looking at Kallen and Shirley questionably. Shirley was digging in a huge box labeled “Cat House”. Kallen was knelt down on the ground looking through a much smaller box for something, they both turned to her. “We're making a house for our new member.”, Shirley said brightly, poking her head out of the box.
“I'll help you two.”, Adelice said walking up to them, holding out her hand. “Sure.”, Kallen said, giving a weak smile. “Are you-”, Adelice was cut off by Suzaku coming in the door. “Oh. Hello~”, Suzaku said surprised to see the three girls there. They all said hi and smiled at him, Adelice smiling the biggest. “Where's Lelouch?”, Suzaku asked looking around the room.
“He's at home. He's not feeling well.”, Adelice said meeting Suzaku's green eyes. Suzaku nodded understanding that it must have been about Clovis. Shirley took out the blueprints of the cat home and stared at it for a few seconds. A sigh came from her mouth. “This is gonna be harder then I thought. We're gonna need some tools.”. “I'll go get them.”, Adelice offered, making her way through the door.
“I'll go with you.”, Suzaku said, making Adelice turn to him. She smiled a little and nodded, walking out with him. She was quiet until the doors closed and looked up at Suzaku. “How's Lelouch doing?”, he asked, his green eyes fixed on hers. Adelice shook her head. “Not good at all. I've never seen him like that, Suzaku. He was so upset.”, she answered.
“I see. I was worried about him during the funeral. I didn't look over in his direction but I could just feel the tension he was holding.”, Suzaku said, opening the small closet where the supplies were. “Yes I know...”, Adelice answered, leaning down to gather all the supplies. “I've been trying to cheer him up but I think time will just have to heal him.”
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“I think it's finally done!”, Shirley exclaimed putting the last cone shaped topper on it. Adelice smiled and picked up Arthur, and put him up at the top, she giggled as she started to hear him purr. Suzaku smiled and held out a piece of string for Arthur to play with. Everyone turned when Milly came in. “Nice work you guys. Now we're already for the party tomorrow.”, she said, leaning against the door.
“As a celebration, lets all go to Lake Kawaguchi. After all, we've finished for today and it's still bright outside.”, Milly said, waving one of her hands. “I should probably head home.”, Suzaku said, wearing a slight frown. “But don't let me keep you girls waiting. You four should go.”, he said, still playing with Arthur.
“I should probably call Lelouch... he wasn't feeling well when I left him. I don't think me leaving on a trip is the best idea but I can ask him.”, she said, running her fingers through her hair softly. “I'm sure he'll be fine with it, but call him anyway.”, Milly said turning to the other girls. “You two go get changed and we'll meet at the gate.”, she said walking out of the room.
Adelice slowly took out her cellphone from her pocket and opened the flip-phone. She smiled at her wallpaper which was a picture of Lelouch and her, taken many years back. Opening her address book she found Lelouch's number and called it. She knew he would say yes but she just wanted to make sure he was alright. Lelouch had been a totally different person the night before, he seemed so upset.
As she made her way to little suite she counted how many rings the phone made. “1... 2.... 3... come on, pick up Lelouch. I just have a quick question.”, she said into the phone, frowning a little. A sigh came to her lips as she got his answering machine making her close the phone in frustration. “Honestly, he must still be asleep.”, she said, slipping the phone back into her pocket.
Deciding that he would have said yes anyway she quickly jogged to her suite and changed into some summer clothes. A pair of black shorts and a red tank top with lace trimming and collar. She quickly took a glance in the mirror before running back to meet the other three girls. She felt bad for not checking on Lelouch, but really... how much trouble could he get into while she was gone for a few hours?
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“I've never left the Tokyo Settlement before! This is my first time!”, Shirley said, eagerly looking outside the window of the train. Adelice had a small smile on her face as she watched out the window. She sat next to Milly who was having a glass of water and from what Adelice could see, was plotting something for them all. Nina sat across from her, cowering in her seat as she looked out the window. As if just breathing the air would harm her.
“This'll be interesting. Tonight we can stay up late talking, especially which boys we like at school.”, Milly said taking another drink. Adelice turned her eyes to her, she knew there was always something behind Milly's good intentions. Shirley glared at her. “Then you'll probably have a lot to talk about, right Ms. President?”
Milly smug expression came back. “Who can say~”, she answered. Adelice laughed a little and continued to stare out the window of the train, looking out at the country she once loved. She watched as Nina flinched and yelped when the train went into a tunnel. Biting her tongue was the only thing she could do to keep from saying anything out loud to Nina again. Milly quickly came to her aid and placed a hand on top of hers.
“Nina, it's alright. There are lots of Britannian tourists at Lake Kawaguchi so security’s fine. Don't be afraid. It's not the ghettos. I promise, you'll be fine. We'll all be with you the whole time”, Milly assured her. As the train zoomed out of the tunnel the view of Mt. Fuji came into view. Adelice smiled when she saw it and leaned forward a little, looking out the window at the beautiful sight. “Wow! That's amazing!”, Shirley exclaimed, placing her hands on the glass like an excited child.
Adelice yelped as she was flung out of her chair as the train screeched to a sudden halt. Milly doing the same as she fell forward. She quickly stood up and looked around. “What's going on?”, she asked, looking at the other three other girls. Shirley green eyes were wide as a group of men entered their car. Adelice eyes grew wide as she saw they were carrying guns. “What's going on?!”, Shirley yelled angrily at them.
The men approached them and told them to sit down and not make a fuss. Adelice could see Nina out of the corner of her eye who quickly sat down, cowering in fear. She focused her blue eyes back on the group of men, frowning and glaring at them. “Who are you people?”, Adelice asked angrily. “I said sit down!”, the man said pushing her down onto the floor, she winced as she hit her head against the window sill of the train.
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Lelouch sat cross-legged in his Zero uniform, smiling behind his mask as Ohgi and the others came into through the door. “What are you waiting for? Come on in.”, he said, ushering them in as he rested against the couch. They slowly walked in, admiring the fancy new place. “As of now this place will be our hideout.”, Zero said, making a gesture with his hands.
“So you think joining up with us is a good idea?”, Ohgi asked. “Yes we're comrades after all.”, Lelouch answered. “This place is huge. It's even got a second story.”, another member commented. Lelouch watched, hidden behind his mask as the crowd came in, admiring the large rooms. “Hey, it's even got a TV.”, one of the members said, flipping it on.
Lelouch watched as the news was on. The “Breaking News”, flashing in the bottom left corner. He watched as the female reporter stood in front of the Lake Kawaguchi convention center hotel. “The hotel jackers have identified themselves as the Japan Liberation Front. Many were taken hostage including Chairman James, tourists, hotel employee's, students, and children.”, the female reporter said.
Lelouch frowned and watched as the screen changed to the view of men in brown outfits, all holding guns pointed at the hostages who were having to hold their hands above their head. Kallen took a step forward and gasped softly. “From the student council..”, she whispered but loud enough for Lelouch to hear making his ears perk up.
He quickly turned back to the TV to see Milly, Nina, Shirley and Adelice on their knee's huddled close together holding their hands above their head. He watched as the men walked around them, poking people with their guns to threaten them. Lelouch watched as a man walked past and pointed his gun at a small child next to Adelice, who watched as the man laughed when the young child started to cry.
His heart gave a sharp pain when he saw the man point his gun at Adelice. Adelice's face was completely serious as the man lowered his gun to the hem of her shirt with the tip of his gun and lift up her shirt a little, smirking. She quickly swatted the gun away with her hand, making the man angry.
He yelled something at her and then slapped her across the face hard, making her turn her head sharply. Her hair fell in front of her eyes, shielding the tears that came to her eyes. Lelouch balled his hand into a fist trying to keep from showing emotion as he watched all of this. His rage burning like a wild fire inside of him. It was taking all his strength to not kill that man.
Adelice.. I will save you...