A Warlock's Last Hours | CODE GEASS FANFIC |

Hour 1

11:16 am, exactly 24 hours before death

Clack,

Clack,

Clack.

A pale figure trailed a silent path through a glass hallway, his presence ghostly except for his very real face.

He had sullen purple eyes, glowing like gems in the fall sunlight, the crown around his head glaring with stark contrast against his raven hair.

Clack, clack, clack.

What do you suppose someone like this would be? He was a boy, after all.

Clack, clack, clack.

Cold, like ice? Or how about when a fire burns so hot it begins to freeze? Do you suppose someone with such an ethereal presence and heavy charisma like this could smile at a joke?

The boy stopped in front of a portrait.

Lelouch vi Britannia had everything in the world, wouldn't you suppose?

Riches, rags, looks, smarts. Happiness, pleasure, contentment, peace.

Sorrow.

The boy emperor sunk to his knees in front of a very grand painting.

It was of his father, now dead, looking incredibly young, with rolling locks of golden hair and a smooth, shining face, smiling at whoever dare peer at his visage.

Lelouch stared for a long time, before standing up, his embroidered clothing rustling softly, as he began making his way down the hallway from whence he came, running a hand along the wall, over smooth stone and the rough paint of large portraits of the royal family, each radiating an entirely separate emotion.

Youth, ecstasy, mystery.

He stopped in front of a painting of his sister, Princess Euphemia, whom he had murdered.

Lelouch ignored the twinge in his heart as he remembered his childhood with her, so full of life, so filled with kindness.

And here they both were, one in a grave and the other just about done digging.

Schneizel,

Odysseus,

Clovis...

Cornelia,

Carine,

Guinevere.

Nunnally was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Lelouch.

Lelouch thought back to the days at the palace, in his childhood, where his only worry was breakfast, clothing, and avoiding his yucky older siblings. He would play in the garden and drink tea with his mother, play dress-up with Euphemia and listen to Cornelia's stories.

Now, it's gotten so much more than that.

Lelouch turned the corner, making his way down from the second floor to the garden, where he would be eating lunch.

The weather was marvelous, the sky a clear, iridescent blue, with birds singing everywhere. Lelouch breathed in deeply, feeling the air fill his lungs, before exhaling, and opening his eyes.

Suzaku was already there, standing next to Lelouch's chair, his ever-scowling face not the least bit diverted in the scene of such a wondrous day.

C.C. sat, too, on a soft, cushioned guarded bench, wearing a black gown and hugging her plush. In front of her was a plate of pizza, steaming, fresh from the oven, the olive oil and tomatoes glinting in the sunlight.

Lelouch sat down, tucking the long straps of his uniform under the table before simply tossing the whole thing off to the side, onto the ground.

He didn't feel like eating at all.

But even so, Lelouch still reached across the table and snatched a piece of C.C.'s pizza before his hand could be slapped away.