Adelice stepped into the room and was immediately ushered in by Milly. “We have an emergency!”, Milly exclaimed. Adelice raised an eyebrow. “Nina is missing one of her computer chips. We need that chip now and fast, so whoever finds that chip first gets a special prize~!”, Milly held up what appeared to be an envelope, creased from being folded up.
“Our prize is a wrinkled envelope?”, Adelice asked sarcastically making Rivalz laugh. She was immediately met with a hit to the head by Milly's rolled up paper. “Be serious, you guys!”Adelice laughed and fixed her hair. “Alright alright, I'll start looking. I'll take the hall.”, she said trying to get Milly to stop glaring at her.
“I'll take the ballroom”, Shirley said excitedly, hurrying out the door. Adelice followed her and sighed. This better be a good prize Milly... She knelt down and started looking around near the corners of the wall, she slowly crawled around on her hands and knees, checking all the corners.
Nothing. Adelice let out a deep sigh, this was pointless. Finding a tiny little chip in these huge halls would take forever. She slowly stood up and brushed herself off, fixing the sleeves of her jacket back down.
“I found it!”, she heard Shirley call from in the ballroom. Adelice smiled, good she wouldn't have to hear any more whining from Milly. She quickly jogged to the ballroom to see Shirley hand the little computer chip to Nina.
“Thank goodness you found it, this has all our lab data.”, Nina said, holding the tiny chip in her hands. “Good! My ass is killing me.”, Rivalz complained making Adelice giggle. She patted his shoulder softly.
Everyone turned as the doors slide open, revealing Milly in an apron. “Where you all able to find it? I finished up on my end!”, Milly said pushing her little cart of sweets with her. “Should we dig in?”, she said, pushing the cart to the center of the ballroom.
Adelice looked at the first floor, surprised to see Lelouch there, who was talking to Kallen. She raised an eyebrow, that's odd. “What's going on?”, she asked peering down at Milly, Lelouch and Kallen. “I made some treats, the envelope was really a decoy, I knew you guys wouldn't work as hard as you would if I was just offering you food”, a sly smile played on her lips.
“Madam President you tricked us!”, whined Shirley. Rivalz laughed, “Who cares, that food looks great!”, he said, heading down the stairs, almost tripping over his feet. Adelice walked down the stairs after him.
“What is all this?”, Lelouch asked Milly. “What? I thought you knew. We're inducting Kallen into the student council.”, Milly said, setting up a plate for each of them. Adelice smiled, “That's great, we could use some help with those..” she stopped as she saw Milly look up at her “..detailed reports.”, she finished, adding a smile for insurance.
Milly set back to what she was doing. “It was my grandfathers idea really, he thought it would be good for her poor health because she would have a hard time with regular club activities. Oh right! I'm Milly, President of the club”, she said smiling at Kallen. Everyone introduced each other and Adelice just smiled at her. “You already know who I am. Glad to have you here too, Kallen”, she said giving her a warm smile.
There was a low hum as Nunally came into the room, holding a box of cupcakes in her lap. “Shirley, could you put these on the table for me”, Nunally asked. Shirley quickly took them and set them on the table next to all the other great food.
Lelouch look surprised. “Nunally what are you doing here?” he asked. “I'm still in the middle school level so I can't be on the student council yet but I will be soon enough, a pleasure to meet you.”, Nunally greeted Kallen. Adelice met Lelouch's gaze and shrugged.
Rivalz slammed a champagne bottle onto one of the tables. “Alright! Should we kick this off with a toast?”, he asked, attempting to uncork the bottle. Adelice shook her head as Nina started to protest about drinking champagne during school hours.
Rivalz almost had the cork off when Shirley tried to grab it from his hands. “No way, we're gonna get in trouble!”, she yelled at him. Adelcie frowned, somehow she knew this wasn't going to end well. “Here Lelouch!”, Rivalz yelled tossing the bottle to him. Lelouch barely caught it before Shirley was already trying to grab it from his hands, making him fall backwards and Shirley on top of him.
Adelice stared as she saw the cork come off of the bottle and toward Kallen, her eyes widened when she saw Kallen swat the cork but the champagne spilled on her and all over her clothes. No one said a word but just stared at Kallen.
Adelice finally broke the silence walking over to her. “Let's get you cleaned up”, she said, ushering Kallen out of the room. She returned after getting Kallens soaked clothes with champagne. Milly frowned at Adelice as she shrugged.
“I guess that wasn't the best 'Welcome to the Club' party we've ever done.”, she said handing the clothes to her. Adelice frowned. “Not really..”, she muttered.
“Do we have any clothes for her?”, Shirley asked feeling a little guilty. “She can use some of mine. I'll go down to my room and get some.”, Lelouch said walking out of the room. Adelice watched him leave and sighed. “I guess we should clean up this champagne stain.”, she moaned grabbing some towels and cleaner. “I hope it comes out.”
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Lelouch walked down the hall with Kallen after he shower. The clothes fit a little big on her but it would do till her clothes were done in the wash. “I hope you're prepared for the crazy events Milly always plans.”, he said to her. “Yah what's up with that?”, Kallen asked. “Blame our president. You'll be spending a lot of time with her. Hope you're ready.”
As he walked back into the ballroom he heard the TV on. “Lelouch it's aweful!”, Nunally yelled. “What is?”, he asked in surprise. Milly turned to him. “Prince Clovis has been found dead. The reports are saying he was killed.” Lelouch frowned and watched the Television as he saw people gathering for the funeral. Nobility no less, all coming to honor his brother.
He turned his eyes to Adelice, who was completely still, watching the TV. I'm sorry Adelice... He saw tears start to well up in her eyes and he felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He knew when he killed Clovis that this would affect her but he couldn’t change the world without first going through pain. It had to be this way, there was no way around it but as he looked at Adelice brush away a tear from the corner of her ear he couldn't help but feel worse.
Her other hand was clenching a white towel tightly, he could see her the knuckles of her hand turning white from how strong she was holding it. He slowly walked over to her and grabbed her hand, taking the towel away from it. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and then turned back to the TV as she grasped hold of his hand tightly. He frowned as he could feel her shaking a little.
“We interrupt this broadcast for breaking news!”, the reporter said. Adelice frowned. Now what? Wasn't the loss of her dear friend enough? She held onto Lelouch's hand tighter as the images flashed on screen. “The man suspected of this murder has been captured.”, she continued.
Lelouch felt a pit in his stomach, his mouth going dry making it hard to swallow. “According to this report, the suspect is an honorary Britannian.” Lelouch watched as the man was escorted by military toward his prison cell. “What the-”, he said under his breath.
Adelice felt like she was about to fall as she stared at the screen. Words didn't come out of her mouth, she couldn't speak, Suzaku... a murderer? It was impossible. He couldn't? If they found him guilty he would be killed too.
Adelice felt like screaming but stayed silent and only gripped onto Lelouch's hand stronger. She saw him struggling against the guards and watched as one of the guards hit him, making a gash across his cheek. She closed her eyes, she couldn't bare to watch anymore. This couldn't be happening, it just wasn't possible.
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Adelice sat on the couch, alone, as Lelouch helped Nunally into bed. She could hear her talking about Suzaku. Adelice sighed... she felt lost. Who did she believe, the news said that his fingerprints were definitely on the gun. She couldn't bare to think about it. Tears welled up in her eyes and fell onto the carpet. Clovis... She heard Lelouch quietly enter the room and put a hand on her shoulder as he sat down next to her.
His hands cupped her cheek and he gently wiped the tears away, wanting to provide some level of comfort. She finally spoke after some time. “Why?”, she asked softly. Lelouch stayed silent as he watched more tears fall, a deeper frown forming on his face. “Why would someone do something so horrible?”, she asked, speaking of Clovis. He gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don't know.”, he whispered.
Adelice wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “It... It isn't true .. what they saw on the news? That Suzaku killed him?”, she asked, her voice cracking a little. He pulled her close and cupped her cheek. “Of course not. They'll find him not guilty, Suzaku would never do something like that. They just made a mistake”, he assured her, wiping more tears away. She nodded slowly. “I'm glad to see he's still alive...”, she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder as the funeral started.
She couldn't bare to watch as they spoke kind words about Clovis and showed his coffin adorned with beautiful flowers. She could feel Lelouch's gaze rest on her as she clung onto the TV remote tighter, making her knuckles white again with her strong grip.
Lelouch took the TV remote from her, gently prying it from her hand and turned it off. He ran his fingers through her hair. “Did you want to spend the night again?”, he asked softly, kissing the top of her head. He felt her nod into his shoulder. “Please. I don't want to be alone right now.”, she answered.
He smiled and let her stay nuzzled into his shoulder, running his fingers through her hair until she fell asleep. He felt guilty to say the least. It had affected Nunally and Adelice more then he had expected and even more so now, they were accusing Suzaku. He felt a pit in his stomach again. Nothing was working out the way he intended to, he needed to change things.
What could he do though? He thought he had planned everything out. He had dotted his “I's” and crossed his “T's”... so why had things turned out this way? He gently rubbed his forehead with his other hand. He'd figure out someway in the morning for now he wanted to sleep. The day had been a rough one.
He gently lifted Adelice up and into his arms, carrying her to his bed and laid her on it, covering her with the sheets. He leaned down kissing the shell of her ear and then walked to his dressing beginning to change. He sighed, the night was going to be long. He knew he was going to have trouble sleeping, his mind was still racing, thinking of ways, reasons and solutions. What on earth was he supposed to do now... There was no way they were going to find Suzaku not guilty, Britannia needed someone to blame. Whether their 'evidence' was right or not.
He had to do something, but what? It would break Adelice's heart if something happened to Suzaku. Running his fingers through his hair he turned off the light on the end table and crawled into bed next to Adelice, forcing himself to close his eyes. Tomorrow was another day.
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Adelice yawned as she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked horrible, her eyes were all red from crying so much last night. She sighed, at least classes were canceled today. She didn't feel like going one bit, all she wanted to do at the moment was take a relaxing bath and get her mind to a happier place. She slowly unbuttoned her shirt and slipped off her skirt, doing the same with her undergarments.
She drew the curtain of the bath and turned the hot water on. She looked back at herself in the mirror, her skin looked paler, probably from the way she was feeling. She flexed her fingers softly, feeling the sore digits, no doubt from how hard she had been gripping the TV remote the previous night. She hoped Suzaku was alright.. wherever they were holding him. She wanted to help.. but what could she do, they had found evidence and she certainly didn't have any evidence to prove that he was innocent.
There was no use worrying about it now she guessed. She knelt down and opened one of the cabinet doors under the sink. She smiled as she found a lavender bath salt and poured some into her hand, dropping them into the bath water. The room quickly filled with the smell of lavender and she took a deep breath letting the scent sooth her nerves.
Climbing into the tub she set a towel under her head so she could relax her head on the edge of the tub. She drew the curtain and tried to relax as best as possible. The smell of lavender helping her to forget about Clovis' passing. She reached for her hair clip, near her pile of clothes and fastened her hair into a bun to keep it from getting wet.
A knock came to the door. “Come in.”, she called, turning the hot water off. “It's just me.”, Lelouch said. “Nunally spilled a little bit of juice on the floor so I needed some towels.”, he explained as she watched his shadow bend down and get some towels. She heard him open the cupboard and then close it. She sat up a little, “Lelouch.”, she called.
“Yes?”, he asked turning back to her. She reached her hand and drew the curtain a little, enough to show her bare shoulders. “You don't think that the person that killed Clovis will try to attack any other members of your family, do you?”, she asked, hesitantly. Lelouch frowned. “No, I don't think they will.”, he said. Adelice nodded and bit her bottom lip, letting go of the curtain and letting her hand fall back into the water.
Lelouch set the towels he had in his hands down on the counter and sat at the edge of the tub and reached to touch her soft cheek, which she happily nuzzled. “Don't worry about that anymore, I'll be back tonight, we'll have another dinner together.”, he said, leaning down, giving her a soft kiss. She slowly nodded and watched him slowly walk out the door. He gave a small smile back to her as he closed the door which she returned.
As soon as he closed the door however, Adelice's frown returned. He seemed a little angry but then again that could just be from the loss of his brother. She didn't blame Lelouch for being upset. She laid back against the tub once again and closed her eyes. The world was getting crazier day by day. She wished she could make it stop, why did the world have to be this way?
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As Adelice walked into the living room, grabbing the remote, and flipped to the news. Perhaps they found evidence that Suzaku was innocent. She could only hope and pray that, that had happened during the night. She watched as the “Breaking News” symbol was at the bottom of the screen and traveled her eyes up.
Her eyes widened as she saw a crowd gathered. It was already time for the trial? She felt a pit in her stomach, the only reason they would move that quickly for a trial is because they were going to find him guilty. She slowly sat down on the couch, sitting on the edge of it, grasping the remote in her hand tightly. No. No.. this couldn't be happening!
She dragged her attention away from the media and looked around the room. Where on earth was Lelouch anyway? He said he wasn't busy today but he didn't appear to be home. She looked around the room. There was no sign of his bags either. She frowned, probably off gambling again, she knew it wouldn't last long until he was back at it. Her hands fell and gently held the bracelet that he gave her and held it up closer to her face, she pressed it to her lips and sighed. I hope you're alright...
She turned her attention back to the TV as she saw Knightmares coming down the road and then Suzaku, tied up with guns pointed at him. This is madness... Suzaku didn't do anything, the Britannian's had pushed this way out of line. There was no reason for this meaningless trial. They were just looking for someone to blame it on.
Her blue eyes traveled to Suzaku's face. He looked like he had been beaten badly, purple and blue bruises covered his face along with healing wounds, no doubt a way to try to get him to admit to a crime he didn't commit.
How could her own people act this way... they acted like savages, yet they placed damnation of the Japanese. They weren't even going to listen to him, no matter what Suzaku said in the trial, no matter how hard she wanted to believe that he would be okay, she knew where this case was headed and it wasn't in a good direction.
She watched as the camera's zoomed into Suzaku and she wished she could run to him and hug him, tell him everything was going to be okay, just to say goodbye to him but she was forced to watch as her friend was jabbed with a gun in the side of his ribs by one of the guards. She winced slightly but still brought herself to continue watching, not being able to tear her eyes from the screen.
The vehicles and Knightmares stopped, Adelice narrowed her eyes. What on earth are they stopping for? Her eyes widened as she saw Prince Clovis' personal transport vehicle approaching. She stood perfectly still, not even daring to blink as his vehicle continued to drive closer to where Suzaku was held captive.
She watched as Lord Jeremiah yelled at the approaching vehicle. The banner of Britannia suddenly went up in flames and there stood a man in a long cape. She frowned as she took in the sight of him. Dark colored clothing, with gold trimming. He had a mask on, covering his face from the crowd that had gathered. Adelice's mouth dropped a little.
“I am Zero.”