章 17: Chapter 17: Et Tu, Julius?
The softness of the pillow under his head was a blessing. For the first time in a while, he had a good night's rest. As the rays of sunlight pierced through the bright green curtains he put over his windows, Lelouch awoke well rested. There was rarely a day in Lugnica that was not bright and sunny. The thing that finally forced him to move out of bed were the sound of steps.
Brushing through his hair as he sat up, Lelouch grabbed the sword by his side and looked around. It was barely a second later that he caught sight of the source of the noise.
Standing outside, far down the street where he was living, a yellow streak was rushing towards his wide open door. Lelouch blinked the sleep out of his eyes and rubbed them just to be sure that he wasn't seeing things. By the time he noticed what was happening, it was already too late.
"LELOUUUUUUCHH!" was the battlecry of the wind-empowered speedster as she jumped from her run, spinning through the air at least five times before slamming a leg into his chest. Lelouch had both a weird sense of deja vu and vertigo when the momentum of the kick managed to remove him from his bed and onto the floor. The fact that he wasn't splattered on the wall was almost more surprising than the fact that he had been assaulted in such a manner.
Then the wind came after her and kicked up every single book and paper that was lying on the desk, creating a chaos in his room that was comparable to the aftermath of a battlefield. Lelouch put his head on the floor, putting his arm over his eyes.
"Good morning, Felt," Lelouch said. The girl was standing on his bed now, grinning triumphantly as she took a very unladylike pose. It consisted of her fists sitting on her hips while her upper body was leaning backwards.
"You almost die against a whackjob and that's the first thing you say!?" she asked. Lelouch slid the arm off his face and looked up at her.
"How did you even get in here?" Lelouch asked, slowly removing himself from the ground. A soft cough caught his attention. Turning his gaze towards the door, he saw Flügel, in his small form, trying his best to hide himself.
"That giant bird let me in," Felt said. Lelouch frowned. Of course he did. The Sage-turned-spirit was aware of his relationship with the candidate and her knight and that he considered them friends of sorts. When she saw him pick up the papers that were on the floor instead of continuing the conversation, Felt scowled. "Hey, you have a guest!"
"Who kicked me first thing in the morning," Lelouch said. Felt didn't even look guilty, she just grinned. Huffing slightly, he turned to her again. "Though yes, I admit that it was wrong of me not to check in with you after returning to Lugnica. The days have been rather… hectic, as of late."
"You killed an Archbishop, that's like finding a sacred gold coin on the ground," Felt said. "You deserve a few days off for that."
There wasn't nearly as much luck involved in that situation as there would be in finding money. Lelouch tried to smile at her, but it was rather hard to do so. If anything, he found himself letting his guard down around her. "Where's Reinhard?"
"I kinda ditched him at the castle when he went to get that fancy tattoo you've sold to the castle," Felt answered, waving him off. The spitfire was never worried about her safety. Considering the fact that she's likely a bastard of the royal family, she should be the most attractive target for people that want to secure another candidate's victory. "Is it true that you didn't even take money?"
"Indeed." Lelouch nodded. "I've made a different arrangement instead."
"You're actually pretty dumb, aren't you?" Felt asked. Lelouch shrugged.
"If the Lady Felt thinks so, how should one such as me refute such a statement?" Lelouch asked, going back to gathering the papers of the ground. Felt snorted.
"Don't make me kick you again."
Lelouch raised his hands in defeat when he finished picking up most of his things and then threw them all onto the desk, to be sorted out later. "Reinhard is going to be worried if you're not back by the time he finishes."
"He's too fussy, I don't need someone to keep an eye on me all the time," Felt said, crossing her arms. Crossing her legs, she fell down onto the bed and bounced slightly. Her fingers grabbing the sheets as she leaned forward, she glared at him. "Don't think that means I'm not going to kick you again for not coming by immediately. What's with that bird anyway? That's just weird!"
"It's… he's my spirit," Lelouch said. "I've recently contracted him. And I wasn't exactly up to doing much besides finding a place to sleep after coming to Lugnica. Mathers left the mansion and the candidate Emilia all but dragged me back to the capital with her."
"Don't you have that weird spell now?" she asked, still sounding annoyed. "You could've called for us! You nearly died!"
She put emphasis on the last part, and Lelouch was honestly grateful that there were people who worry about him to such a degree. He nodded at her. "The spell reaches you no matter where you are, even in the bathroom. It's rather hard finding the right time for it."
"Don't pretend you don't wanna see Reinhard in the bath," Felt said dismissively. He didn't want to, and he already did. She leaned backwards until she fell over, her back on the bed, facing the ceiling. "This is pretty comfortable, I guess I get why you left the mansion."
Flügel fluttered towards her, sitting down next to her and tilting his head. "You really do look like them, you know?"
"Like who?" Felt asked, picking up the bird and lifting him up in front of her. Flügel didn't complain.
"The Lugnica royal family," Flügel said. Felt scoffed and threw the bird aside. He floated up instead of landing somewhere, and Lelouch took a seat on his desk.
"You knew them?" she asked. "Everyone keeps telling me how I look just like them, some of the nobles try to be all buddy-buddy with me. 'Oh, Lady Felt, if only you could behave more dignified'. 'Oh, Lady Felt, I have a son around your age, would you like to have his babies and make me rich?'"
"I doubt that's something a noble said," Lelouch said.
"It sounds like that. I grew up in a mud pit of a ghetto, but I'm not stupid," Felt said, sounding very agitated. "The old man taught me a lot of things. Lately he's not really been around, though."
"Where is he?"
"Off with that other old man, the guy from the Karsten family. Reinhard's grandpa."
"Are you worried of him leaving you?" Lelouch asked. Felt shook her head a bit too quickly.
"No, I know he'd never do that, it's just…" She bit her lip, unwilling to open up about this to him. Rather than push the issue, Lelouch respected her decision and just shrugged. "So, stupid bird is a spirit?"
"I'm not stupid," Flügel said. "I am the almighty Alchiba, spirit of the white void, accumulation of the moonlight-"
"A very annoying spirit," Lelouch agreed. "Who unlocked the door so quietly to let you ambush me and kick me out of the bed."
Flügel's outraged comment was cut off when a window opened in front of Felt. She blinked a few times before squinting, leaning forward. The window moved away, staying a certain distance away from her head.
"Lady Felt!" Reinhard said loudly. "I was worried when I couldn't find you in the castle. Where are you? Are you safe?"
"Don't worry too much," Felt said, waving him off. "I'm on Lelouch's bed right now. It's pretty comfortable."
Lelouch's eyebrow twitched. He couldn't just take away her fun, but depending on where Reinhard currently was, rumors could spread.
"Oh," Reinhard said, sighing in relief. "Okay, if you're with him, then there's no need to worry. I'll come pick you up in a bit."
"That's it?" Felt asked. "No reaction? I'm in the bed of a guy? Someone you like very much? Isn't that against some brotherly code?"
Reinhard was quiet and Lelouch just shook his head at the rather shameful display. When Felt jumped up and walked towards him, Lelouch raised a hand to stop her.
"We're going to kiss," Felt declared. "To make Reinhard jealous."
"I can hear you," Reinhard said. "And I don't mind. I think Lelouch would treat you right."
"You're no fun! Absolutely none!" Felt shouted, waving her hand through the window. It vanished. Felt stared at Lelouch, and the former emperor stared back. The blank staring was interrupted when Flügel settled on Lelouch's still outstretched arm.
"So, are you gonna do it?"
She kicked the bird. "Be glad I don't have my knives with me."
Lowering his arm again, Lelouch sighed. During all the excitement, he forgot that the door was still wide open, though they weren't really loud enough to make everyone aware of the topic of their conversation until the last moment where Felt decided to shout. When Lelouch stood up, a window opened in front of him.
Giving Flügel, who was doing his best impression of a dead bird on the ground, a glance, Lelouch mentally made a note to ask him how to give the spell an 'accept' and 'decline' function. Maybe he should introduce something that announced the caller by name too. The window split open and revealed the face of the young knight he met just yesterday.
"Good morning, Sir Julius," Lelouch said, sounding as polite as possible. "Is something the matter?"
Felt was making gagging noises behind him, and Lelouch could see the glance towards her by the knight of Hoshin. He didn't look amused.
"Good morning," Julius greeted. "Lady Hoshin has asked me to inform you that moving towards Kararagi seems currently impossible. The White Whale has been sighted on the road towards the port and it usually takes a few weeks to assure clearance."
"That's unfortunate," Lelouch said. The White Whale has been something he was curious about, but the information on it has been sparse. Considering the lack of historical works and the amount of children's books containing such facts, that wasn't much of a surprise. Lelouch would have to dig the brain of his spirit later. "If at all possible, I'd still like to meet with her in another setting."
Unfortunate didn't even begin to describe it. It'd leave him in a situation similar to the one he was with Crusch, where their first meeting would leave the candidate in a less optimal mood. Yet, complaining about the presence of the White Whale was like complaining about rain falling after the news said it'd be sunny all week.
That is, complaining wasn't going to make it go away.
"That is why I've contacted you," Julius admitted. "If it's not too much of a bother, Lady Hoshin would like to invite you to join her for dinner tonight. She has reserved a table in a popular restaurant near the city's center on short notice and didn't wish for the opportunity to pass by."
"Food?" Felt asked behind him. "Hey, Lelouch, tell him I'm coming too!"
Before Lelouch could say anything, Julius laughed slightly, clearly expecting the rival candidate to say something. "Of course, I've heard of your friendship with Reinhard and Lady Felt, he's a good friend of mine as well. You're welcome to join us."
This could go both ways. Felt was a rival, but not one that most people took seriously, not even the other candidates. Even Emilia seemed less concerned about Felt's presence than the other three candidates when they came up in a conversation.
"We'll be there," Lelouch decided. "Thank you for informing me, Sir Julius."
"It was my pleasure."
The window vanished when Julius' hand moved through it on his side, and Lelouch was left in the room with the princess who was picking her ear and the spirit that was still not moving off the ground.
"Alchiba, come," Lelouch ordered. Flügel stood up immediately and flew towards Lelouch's head, turning into the hairpin without much hesitation. "I'm not sure when Reinhard will arrive, Felt, do you want some tea? A snack perhaps?"
Besides the furniture, Lelouch had an assortment of various teas. There wasn't much one could store without buying a fancy water-magic enchanted fridge, and Lelouch wasn't really the kind of person to cook, so he didn't need one either. Felt shook her head, staring at the hairpin instead.
"You know, if you grew out your hair, I'm sure you'd make a pretty girl," Felt decided.
For once, Lelouch could appreciate the fact that there was someone who could just ignore all tension and political implications to make fun of him. The voice of Flügel rang out in his mind, announcing she wasn't wrong.
And then the witch voiced her approval. Lelouch suppressed a grimace as the sudden cold pain that stabbed through his brain. She had been awfully quiet since the confrontation with Betelgeuse, too busy doing whatever she was doing to the Archbishop's soul, Lelouch assumed.
Only a few minutes later, Reinhard knocked on the door. Opening it for him, Lelouch greeted him with a soft smile. "Hello, Reinhard, it's been a while."
"Yes," Reinhard said, smiling back. "I apologize if Lady Felt has been burdening you."
"I'm right here," Felt muttered, crossing her arms. "And Lelouch and me are really good friends, he's even gonna treat me to dinner today."
"You are?" Reinhard asked.
"I am?" Lelouch asked Felt. Rather than let her continue, he just turned back to Reinhard. "Anastasia Hoshin invited me for dinner later today, and Felt decided to invite herself. Sir Julius didn't mind."
"Of course he didn't." Reinhard sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "I heard you've not really hit off that well yesterday. He can be a bit hard to connect to, but he's actually a good person at heart."
"I don't doubt that." Lelouch didn't. If he was someone handpicked by Marcos, Lelouch didn't doubt that Lady Hoshin's sworn sword had his sense of duty and honor as a knight, which Lelouch had threatened with his questions about his loyalty. "I'll try to get to know him better."
"Oh my," Felt said, fanning herself with one hand. Her voice was in the mocking tone of someone who was imitating someone haughty so badly that they were obviously just making fun of them. Somehow, with her appearance so closely related, it still reminded Lelouch of Priscilla Barielle. "Two knights rather than one, oh my, will it stop at a menage a trois, or is there nothing that can satisfy Lelouch Lamperouge's inhuman desire?"
Lelouch snorted. She pointed an accusing finger at him, looking incredibly satisfied with herself.
"You laughed," she said. Lelouch shook his head.
"I would never do something as undignified as laugh at such a dirty joke," Lelouch denied smoothly, smiling at the princess. "Unless of course the esteemed Lady Felt ordered me to."
"No, you definitely laughed, Reinhard, tell him," she said. Reinhard smiled at her, shaking his head slightly. "Come on! I order you to say it!"
"Ordering him won't mean anything if he would lie to you," Lelouch said. Felt growled, glaring up at the tall young men. Reinhard clapped his hands together.
"Of course, eating dinner with another candidate means that you'll have to dress the part," Reinhard declared. Felt paled slightly. She had a deal, and if there was anything that the urchin-turned-princess would never do, that'd be breaking a deal. That, and passing up a chance to line her pockets with gold. Lelouch waved them goodbye.
###
Hours later, Lelouch had mostly finished cleaning up Felt's mess.
The center of the city was without a doubt a place for the more wealthy people. The shops included various clothing stores and just as many restaurants which looked not too different to those he was familiar with. Lelouch met up with Reinhard and Felt near the restaurant. The latter was dressed in a pale yellow summer dress, while her knight had decided to come in the most formal clothes he had - his Royal Guard uniform.
Reinhard knew which restaurant, probably by talking to Julius on the way there, and led them inside. It looked like a high-class restaurant, it smelled like one too. And the people pretended that their gazes were not solely on them when they walked in. Approaching the table where Anastasia Hoshin was sitting with Julius and a child with huge animal ears on the top of her head, Lelouch gave the candidate a bow.
"Thank you for your invitation, Lady Hoshin," Lelouch said. Reinhard bowed as well, and Felt gave the most formal bow she could - a mocking courteous one. Anastasia looked amused. Julius didn't.
"Don't be too formal," she said, winking at Felt when they were all seated. "I don't think we've met yet, Lady Felt was it?"
"Don't be too formal," Felt mirrored the words of her rival. Anastasia simply nodded.
"Felt, then," Anastasia decided. "Sir Reinhard and Sir Lelouch, thank you for coming today. Let me introduce the new face on the table-"
"I'm Mimi!" the little girl said, raising her hand wide in the air. She was probably half Felt's age. Give or take one or two years. None of the nobles nearby hid their disdain, but nobody said anything. "I'm a mercenary!"
Lelouch blinked. Someone that young? Anastasia closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair slightly as she put her hands over her lap.
"She's the vice-commander of the Fang of Iron," Julius explained. "An impressive demi-human mercenary group. Though she's young, I assure you she's quite capable."
"I'll take your word for it," Lelouch said, taking a look around. Anastasia Hoshin and Felt. Besides the obvious issue that most people took with Emilia, these two candidates were the ones least likely to get any support from nobles inside Lugnica. The foreigner and the urchin couldn't be any more different, yet somehow started in the same position.
While nobles would flock to the former without any issue if they think they could earn something from it, nobody had anything positive to say about Felt, nor did Felt have anything positive to say about anyone besides Reinhard. A man approached, handing the six of them the menu and leaving them alone to choose.
The young girl was kicking her legs back and forth, Lelouch could see it simply from the way her entire body moved in the chair. The big menu was held straight on the table, hiding her head when she leaned over it. It was a somewhat funny display. Someone he knew once would have liked it.
Lelouch grabbed his head, trying to do his best to make the motion look natural when a cold pain pierced through his skull again. Shaking his head and trying to ignore it, Lelouch simply ordered something randomly, unable to gather his thoughts right.
"So, Lelouch, I'm curious," Anastasia began. He looked up to her, the pain subsiding and leaving him with a smile that looked only slightly strained. "I heard that after I left, Captain Marcos invited you to join the Royal Guard."
Only Reinhard and Felt looked surprised at the news. Russell told the candidate about it, Lelouch was sure of it. She, in turn, would've told Julius. The man didn't look happy about it, but then again, he had a better control over his expressions than most. If he was feeling anything strong about it, Julius certainly wouldn't show it this blatantly.
"He did?" Reinhard asked. "He didn't tell me-"
"It's not something he wanted to spread, because I refused," Lelouch said. Reinhard frowned.
"You refused?" Reinhard asked, sounding flabbergasted. "But why? The Royal Guard is the most prestigious knight order of Lugnica!"
"I have my reasons, he knows them and has extended the offer for as long as I need, until I can dedicate myself fully to the kingdom," Lelouch answered evasively. Reinhard nodded, accepting the answer while Felt instead hit him strongly on his back.
"Aye! Fuck that shit!" she said, the crude words obviously heard by most people in vicinity. Honestly, Lelouch wanted to see them try to throw Felt out. It'd be something amusing to see without a doubt. "Who needs knight orders, huh?"
"Though I understand your disdain for nobility and knights," Reinhard said, turning his gaze to Felt. Lelouch could see the carefully crafted facade of Julius slipping for just a moment, turning from irritation into outright animosity. "There are some of us who have joined the knights to leave things behind. Please don't disrespect the decisions to join, even if you dislike the people."
Felt looked unhappy at being chastised, and it looked like even Reinhard, with the patience of a saint, had certain things that he'd not even let his mistress get away with saying. Though the girl was stubborn and always confrontative, she nodded, and to Lelouch's surprise, inclined her head towards Julius in the most formal gesture he had ever seen her do.
"I apologize for my words," she said. While she had obviously practiced the words, she did sound genuine.
"I accept your apology, yet there's no need to apologize to someone such as me," Julius said. Anastasia looked like she'd disagree. "Nor do I need someone to shield me from words, Reinhard. It is as if you ought to be the knight of everyone from the way you throw yourself headfirst into any conflict, verbal and physical."
"Ahaha," the red-haired knight chuckled nervously, rubbing the side of his neck. "I apologize, it's more for the sake of teaching her than it is for yours."
Julius looked satisfied with the answer. It was obvious to Lelouch that those two were friends, beyond just the normal camaraderie of knights in the same order.
"Say, Felt," Anastasia began, trying to lift the mood with her positive attitude. "I'm curious about something."
"Huh?" was Felt's undignified answer. Anastasia continued unfettered.
"Would you tell me what your plans are if you became queen?"
"No clue," Felt said. Anastasia's smile slipped and her face turned into the positively charming image of a fish out of water. Leaning over the table, one elbow on it and her head propped up on her hand, the blonde continued dispassionately. "I didn't have much of a choice with Reinhard deciding for me, but Lelouch convinced me to try, at least."
"To try what?" Anastasia asked, giving Lelouch a glance. He was smiling. He was always smiling when he didn't know what other expression to make. A smile was charming, disarming. So when she glanced at him with the eyes of a vulture looking to grab its prey and snap its neck on impact, he smiled.
"If I'm queen, I can fix the things I don't like, right?" Felt asked. Anastasia nodded. "Even among the poor people, some are more lucky than others. I was raised by someone, I have a blessing that lets me move faster than anyone. There's people who grow up alone, with barely enough food to survive the month. I want to change that."
For a moment, Lelouch could see the eyes of the predator that was Anastasia Hoshin flash in something that he could only describe as 'recognition'. Perhaps 'nostalgia'. It was as if she gazed upon something that made her remember a fond memory, and she clapped her hands together.
"A noble goal!" she said. "I agree!"
"You do?" Felt asked, surprised. Anastasia nodded, and Julius smiled at his mistress' vigor. Mimi had her head on the table, groaning at the lack of food so long after placing their order.
"I grew up like you," Anastasia said. "Then, I took odd jobs for the Hoshin company. It took me a while, but I worked myself up. These are the kind of things that not everyone can do. Some have luck, some have sheer determination. If you want to help people benefit from you becoming queen, I'm sure you'd do a wonderful job!"
Felt blinked, mirroring Anastasia's earlier expression with her mouth wide open. "You know, I think we might get better along than I thought. Anastasia, right?"
"Yes," the woman from Kararagi smiled, not bothered that Felt didn't seem to recall her name. While Felt and Anastasia began bonding, Julius instead turned his attention back to Reinhard and Lelouch.
"Could you bring Alchiba forth?" Julius requested. Reinhard looked curious about the spirit as well, but said nothing. "There was something I was curious about."
"I'm not sure if a bird on the dinner table would really be appropriate," Lelouch said. Flügel disagreed and instead appeared on the table, vanishing from Lelouch's hair. It was preferable to having him turn into a person to sit down with them. "Very well."
Anastasia gave the bird a glance before returning to her conversation with Felt. Julius inclined his head at the bird.
"What'dya need," the great and powerful Yang spirit said, sounding as groggy as a kid that was just woken up from a nap. A nap that took hours and still didn't leave them energized.
"I wished to ask something that my spirits brought up yesterday," Julius said. Spirits. Plural. Lelouch kept listening. "There are six great elemental spirits, right?"
Alchiba nodded. That was news to Lelouch. "Indeed, what about them?"
"Though I only really know one of them," Julius said, sounding sceptic. "I also know the names of the others. Ariel the Wind Spirit, Puck the Water Spirit, Miranda the Earth Spirit, Oberon the Fire Spirit, Umbriel the Yin Spirit… and Titania, the Yang Spirit."
"Oh," Flügel said, his beak opening slightly. "Oh."
"Yes, I admit," Julius continued, shrugging. "When a spirit capable of changing his form appeared, claiming to be a great spirit under the name of Alchiba, I checked again, yet I could find no mention of you. Which means you're either Titania, hiding your name, or you're something else entirely."
Through the mental connection Lelouch had with his spirit, he could hear Flügel's voice call out. There used to be more great spirits back in the day, but only the 'greatest' survived the onslaught of the Witch of Envy. For all intents and purposes, time only started after Satella, and before that, things are unknown.
The fact that Puck was actually one of the six 'greatest' spirits alive did make Lelouch reconsider Emilia's role, however. Perhaps that is where Mathers' interest comes from?
"Or perhaps," Flügel said, sounding uncommonly serious for once. "I'm a coward who has hidden himself from the time before the Witch of Envy killed all the other great spirits."
Julius nodded. He couldn't tell if Flügel was lying, and in Lelouch's opinion, a half-truth like that was as good as the full one.
"Yours are born of the world," Flügel continued. "Spirits like that don't die, but they're relatively numerous. Your blessing allows you to find where they've hidden themselves, inside trees, as spirits of puddles and rain, in the ashes of a fireplace. Things like me, we can vanish if we're destroyed."
"I understand, I apologize for my insensitiveness," Julius said.
Finally, the food was served. Lelouch felt his headache growing.
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