In the years preceding her exile, Leloucia vi Britannia's childhood could be deemed a happy one. Her mother, the 5th Empress Consort, Marianne vi Britannia, dotted on her young child, showering her with the love every child craves; she was in wanted for nothing as a Princess of the Realm and the copious amounts of presents rained on her could leave even the most spoiled Noble child with want; her father, the 98th Emperor, Charlze zi Britannia, visited the vi Britannia line more often than any other, much to the dismay of his many other wives and children, and as such the 5th Empress and her child were considered to be among his favorites.

When she was 3, a new sister was introduced into her life. Eye witnesses claim that the older Princess cared little for the new baby, even going so far as to call her a nuisance, but it didn't take long for the new Princess, Nunnally vi Britannia, to become the center of their small family.

Years later, when the 5th Empress was slain by terrorists and her younger sister crippled, many scholars claim that something broke in the small Princess and a hatred for those responsible developed, urging her to face her father and demand he look into the attack, an act that would not only see her and her sister exiled to Japan as hostages, but also seal the fate of the entire world.

- The Rise of Zero and The Dragon

A small pyre was built by the sea. The bodies of Genbu Kururugi and others who had been extracted from the now ruined Kururugi house lay on it in preparation to be burned.

Leloucia stood watching the flames, the fire light dancing over the hollow angles of her face as she held the hand of the small wheelchair bound girl beside her. Nunnally vi Britannia, the second of the exiled Princesses.

Suzaku stood on her other side, small form shaking as tears streaked down his face.

"P-Please… don't l-leave me..."

He was so scared. So scared she would see him as a monster now and abandoned him like the rest. So scared of being alone.

"I won't." She laced her fingers through his so that all three children now watched the fire hand in hand. "I swear to you Suzaku. One day I will destroy Britannia."

He looked over at her through watery eyes. She looked scary in the light of the fire, but he knew her better than that. She was weak; a scrawny little girl who could barley even lift Nunnally without help. How could she destroy the strongest Nation in the world when an entire country of grown ups couldn't?

He didn't doubt her words though and fear seized him as he realized she would do exactly what she promised, with or without any upper or lower body strength, and once again he would lose everything close to him.

He gave her hand a squeeze, silently promising her his own strength. He would give her everything, even his life if needed, so long as she always kept him at her side, so long as she didn't leave him like the rest.

…

"I swear to you Suzaku... One day I will destroy Britannia."

The dream still echoed in his mind. Leloucia, young and alive, promising him the destruction of her Homeland.

He had believed her. He had really believed her.

In that moment, his countries defences falling around him, he believed what the small ten-year-old girl had promised him.

The plane shook.

"404, look alive!"

Suzaku straightened up under the glare of his commanding officer, not wishing to give the man another reason to hate him. He couldn't help however, returning to his previous train of thought.

He had been naïve, stupid, to think she could do that. She was one person, a weakling hiding from Britannian, possibly already dead. Anything she could have done would just have put her and her sister in more danger. And that wasn't something she would be willing to do, meaning he was without his only ally.

It was he who would have to fix this. He had created this mess and he had to clean it up. This was his burden. His sin.

"Soldiers! Salute the Captain of the Royal Guards!" Their commanding officer's shout fully pulled Suzaku from his thoughts as he stood to facing the screen at that back of their transporter. The rest of the Honorary Brtannian's around him stood at attention with him, saluting the television.

Captain Natesie of the Royal Guards appeared on the screen, cold grey eyes surveying them with distain. The scar just under his left eye even seemed to twitch with disgust.

He sneered down at them as he spoke. "We are after an armed and dangerous terrorist group that had the audacity to steal from his Highness, the Prince. We believe these terrorists are hiding in the Subway System and it is your mission to locate the weapon that they've stolen." The screen changed to a picture of a reddish brown spherical object with many odd wires and cylinders sticking out of it. It wasn't until the man spoke again that Suzaku understood what kind of weapon it was. "Poison gas. Highly dangerous and with a range that would whip out the Tokyo Settlement and the areas surrounding it." The screen changed to a map of the Subway system running under the Shinjuku Ghettos. "Investigate the old Subway System that runs through the Eleven residential district and the Shinjuku Ghetto. Report in the moment you spot them. Recovery of the target will be handled by us, the Royal Guard. You people bare the honorary tittle of Britannian's now but you were born Elevens! Therefor the stench of these monkeys ought to be a familiar one. If you want to earn the right to carry arms, then show some results! This is your opportunity to show your loyalty to Britannia!"

Everyone around him joined in for a resounding "Yes, My Lord!" before the man disappeared. A hatch in the back of the transport began to open, blowing strong gusts of wind up towards them.

"Alright, go go go!" Their commander shouted over the wind and they rushed forward, grabbing hold of the cables as they began to lower.

While the others watched the ground, waiting for the moment their feet hit so that they could run off and prove themselves, Suzaku watched the sky, remembering his childhood friend, the life they had had before the invasion and all the promise they had made to each other.

But the dead couldn't change the world and he was all alone in a suicidal war.

…..

Cecil watched silently as her slightly older and much more eccentric boss laughed, as a form of greeting, in the face of the General. They had cornered the man just as he was leaving the Viceroy's Palace, where he was directing military supplies like Tanks and Knightmare Frames to where they were supposed to go. She kept her hands clasped in front of her to keep from knocking her boss upside his head for such disrespect. The man was a General for god sake and close with the Prince, and here they were distracting him from his duties and laughing in his face.

Of course, none of that would bother Lloyd. Heaven forbid he actually act like his tittle or age dictated…

The General looked rightfully confused by their presence. Doubtfully he knew who they were. They had only just arrived in Area 11 after all, under orders from Prince Schneizel, and had entered the country in as much secret as they could muster. She was pretty sure his brother, Prince Clovis, was the only person their Prince had informed of their presence.

"What… What are you doing?" the man finally asked, looking between Lloyd and herself.

Lloyd only laughed louder, still leaning towards the man like he was studying a particularly interesting specimen. "Looking at a man who blundered, what else?"

Oh… not just distracting him then, they were insulting him too it seemed.

"Why you-!"

"You really screwed the pooch. Terrorists come along an steal whatever it is you and the Prince are secretly working on; retrieving it is simple, but you want to sweep up all their compatriots in addition, kill anyone who knows about it, am I right? Let the terrorists go and you can find their hideout too." Lloyd spun to face her, his neck moving at almost an odd angle, a move that was startling even after all the years she had known him. He looked like a demented owl. A demented, murderous owl. "Congratulation, your reasoning was spot on!"

Oh great, involve her…

"Oh, it-it was nothing…" She stammered, staring at the ground shuffling her feet.

Damn it, he knew she hatted being called out like that in front of strangers! He was giving her her due right of course, she had after all been the first one to figure out what was going on here. It didn't make this any less embarrassing though, and she was pretty sure he was getting some kind of sick enjoyment out of this.

"I just thought it was strange…" she continued, her voice wavering as she looked up to see the General glaring down at her.

The man looked none too happy with her and she shrunk in spot, hoping his anger would move off her soon. It did, thankfully, and instead directed itself to Lloyd. "Okay, that's enough. What is it the Special Core wants?"

So the man did know who they were. Prince Clovis must have told him. He had probably looked into their history too. Maybe that's why he let Lloyd get away with insulting him… Not exactly surprising; they were famous. Though, not for the reasons she or the rest of the crew would have hopped for…

Lloyd turned back to the General. "I'm merely saying that I would like to assist with the clean up~"

"To… assist?"

"Correct~ Because its data I want~ Data, data, data!"

Before Lloyd could continue with his song, she cut across him and got straight to the point.

"Excuse me, but… what in the world have they just stolen anyway?"

No one was quite sure what the secret Project the General and Prince Clovis had been working on was. Even Prince Schneizel was at a loss, though he had jokingly considered that it might be a birthday present for the Emperor, he had seemed more than a bit concerned by the secrecy with which Clovis kept it under wraps. Even the Princes spies had been unable to infiltrate the ranks of this… Code-R Team.

The man hesitated for a moment, checking their surroundings before leaning in towards them. "…Chemical Weapons, or more specifically… Poison gas."

Cecil clasped a hand to her mouth. Oh god! The ramifications of something like that falling into the hands of terrorists was disturbing. What if they released it? How many innocents would die this time in one of their attacks? It... It was just to horrifying to think about.

Lloyd whistled. "Well, I wouldn't want to stick around for that."

"Lloyd!" she turned back to the General. "We have to do something. Please General, allow us to help."

The man hesitated again, before finally nodding. "Alright. I will allow you to tag along to collect 'data', but you are to stay within the safe zone unless otherwise commanded by myself or my Prince, is that understood?"

Cecil nodded earnestly while Lloyd simply laughed.

…

The tunnel was illuminated by light.

Leloucia squinted, raising her hand to shield her eyes as she turned towards the source. They widened in surprise despite the watery protest they put up. Suzaku tensed at her side.

They had been so preoccupied with the unconscious girl spread out in front of them, that they had failed to pay attention to the surrounding world.

The military had found them.

10 men in all, each wearing the customary brown uniform of Clovis' Royal Guards. She never understood why Clovis, her flamboyant and artistic older brother, had chosen such plain uniforms. Even Cornelia and Schneizel had more extraordinary appearances.

Not that any of that should matter at the moment through, but it still bothered her.

"Stinking monkey! Being an Honorary Britannian will not excuse you!" The man in front snapped. From his slightly more impressive uniform to the small cape draping off his shoulder to the way he held himself, all of that spoke to his supposed importance. Not the smartest way to hide the hierarchy of the military, though she supposed that had always been Brittannia's way. Out front, bold and proud. Until of course they stabbed you in the back.

Suzaku got up, and for a moment she panicked as he left her side. She had felt safer than she had in years with him by her, even if his job dictated he take her in for treason. He still thought she was a terrorist, after all.

Seeing him now though, running back to them like an owned dog, it made her want to break something.

"I'm sorry, sir! We were told this was poison gas, but-"

"How dare you question orders!" the man snarled, grey eyes flashing with anger.

Leloucia's hand tightened on the girl's shoulders, and she felt the girl stir slightly in her lap. What the men were after had not been the poison gas Suzaku and the other Honorary Britannia soldiers had been told, but instead this girl. What her importance was though, Leloucia couldn't tell.

The straightjacket she wore seemed to mean she was a prisoner, but why the lies and why the capsule to hold her? Was she dangerous? A biological weapon perhaps? A super soldier?

Either way, Leloucia at once realised that despite the lack of gas, this situation was indeed poisonous, and that despite how bad the situation looked, she wasn't about to freely let this girl fall back into the Britannian's hands, no matter what she was.

The man, which she had concluded to be the Captain of the Royal Guards, continued. "However, in light of your outstanding military achievements, I'm going to be lenient. Private 404, take this and execute the terrorist."

Suzaku still thought she was a terrorist; she had never given the chance to explain. These men thought she was a terrorist; she would never get the chance to explain.

"She's not a terrorist! She's just a civilian that got caught up in all this."

He was defending her? He thought she was a terrorist, yet he was keeping it a secret from his superiors? Maybe he wasn't as different as she thought he was…

"You insubordinate little- That's an order! Didn't you swear your loyalty and life to Britannia?!"

And there it was. He had no choice.

Either way they were dead. If he killed her then they had every right to executed him for killing a full fledged Britannia (Not to mention a Princess as they were sure to find out if they bothered to go through the proper channels to do this. If they didn't, well then her and Suzaku would share an unnamed grave here in Shinjuku, which truthfully didn't sound half bad considering the options). Either that or they would kill her themselves, place the blame of her death on him anyway, and then execute him. Or, quite possibly, they would shoot them both and never tell anybody.

I was a lose-lose situation and she could see no way out.

His choice though would interest her. The little boy she had once know wouldn't hurt her, she truly believed that. But the little boy she had once known would never have forsaken his home and join with the enemy. He had defended her, that was true, but he had obviously changed in the last 8 years since they parted…. or did he have some other reason for joining the military? She wouldn't rule out the possibility that he was the terrorist.

Maybe if she revealed herself she could save them both, at least for a time. It would doom her, that was certain, but Nunnally…. Sayoko would keep her safe, she was confident in the ability of their maid. There was a reason the Ashfords had assigned her to the exiled Princess'.

As soon as there was news that Leloucia had been found, or should anyone attempt to take Nunnally, Sayoko would whisk her away to safety. Operation Alpha. Sayoko would do everything in her power to protect Nunnally.

Yes, Nunnally would be safe. And so would Suzaku.

Suzaku squared his shoulders stubbornly, and for a moment he looked just like he had all those years ago. The same stubborn boy she had fallen in love with. "Yes, but… I can't."

"What?" The man looked momentarily stunned, though it was quickly becoming replaced by anger.

"I won't do it, sir." He shook his head, turning to Leloucia with a smile so full of love and dedication that she was surprised his head didn't explode from the optimism obviously coursing through it. He thought by disobeying she would live. He had always been a fool. "I won't shoot a civilian. I can't follow your orders."

The man looked outraged to have an Eleven speaking back to him. He raised his hand and slapped Suzaku across the face, the noise of which rang out across the tunnel.

Suzaku seemed momentarily stunned by the action, which the man used to reached for his gun, ready to execute Suzaku for his disobedience.

Before he could do anything though, Leloucia made a decision that would forever change her life. "I command you to stop in my name! Under order of Leloucia vi Britannia, 3rd Princess of the Realm, you will stop!"

The man froze and the group behind him began to mutter in confusion. No one was quite sure if what they had heard was true. After all, Leloucia vi Britannia, daughter of 'The Flash' and the 98th Emperor, was supposed to be dead.

The Captain ran an eye over her. There was of course no mistaking her looks though now that she had mentioned Marianne the Flash. She was almost the spitting image of her mother, the woman famous throughout the military for her skills with a Knightmare, and the purple eyes of Royalty were nothing to scoff at.

While it was true that purple eyes weren't necessarily restricted to the Royal family, it was rare to find them outside of the line and in most cases, the person was in some way related to the Royal Family a few generations back.

Her mother had had the most beautiful shade of purple in her eyes, but as far as anyone could tell, the Lamperouge family had absolutely no relation to the Royal Family. They were commoners all the way back.

Still, purple eyes were often hailed as special by the common folk, so much so that people even went out of their way to treat people with such eyes with a bit more respect than the rest, at least until they could be assured that they were not Royalty in disguise or somehow related to the Emperor, at which point they would go back to treating the person however they pleased.

She herself only had to assure people that her sister, who's eyes were forever shut after the horror she had witnessed, had the green eyes of their father, and they usually excused them from suspicion. Though she was still hailed as the Ice Princess of Ashford, she concluded that had more to do with her personality than anything else.

"Leloucia vi Britannia is dead," the man said slowly, still running his eyes over her.

"Evidently not since I'm speaking to you here and now."

He hesitated a moment longer before reaching for his communicator and radioed in.

"This is Captain Natesie… Yes, sir, we found the target. Unfortunately, the capsule has been opened… Yes, an Honorary Britannian and…. Your Highness, we have a girl here claiming to be Leloucia vi Britannia… Yes… Yes, she appears to have been with the terrorist… Yes, sir."

The communication device was passed to her.

"Leloucia?"

"Clovis."

The other end was silent for a time. It had been a long time since her brother had last spoken to her, and she had only been 10 at the time. 7 years did a lot to change someone's voice.

"…. How can I be sure it is truly you?"

"Ask me a question you're sure only I would know."

He was silent for a moment as he contemplated

"The last time we saw each other, what book did I give you."

"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." He had been adamant about her reading it, going on and on about how much he himself was like Hamlet. She never could see the resemblance.

She had taken it with her into exile though, and still had the book in fact. She had been rereading it while Rivalz was driving them to and from her mornings chess game. How far away that all felt now. It was a different time, a different life.

"It… It really is you…"

He didn't sound as happy as she thought he would. Clovis had been the brother she had been closest to after Schneizel. He had been a spoiled brat and often blamed her when his pranks went wrong, but he had always been willing to play chess against her no matter how brutally he lost or let her tag along on said pranks. When he turned to art, one of his favorite subjects to paint was Aries Villa, her home, so she often saw him in her youth.

Speaking to him again now brought up many emotions she had tried to suppress, such as homesickness. She almost allowed herself to wish for a simpler time when she was young and naïve, her mother alive and her sister well.

Of course, there was no going back though, so such thoughts weren't worth even entertaining.

"Were the terrorist holding you hostage?"

She sighed. "No, this is just one big misunderstanding. I merely stumbled upon this by accident while attempting to help what I thought was a drunk driver, at which point I fell into the back of this truck and was attacked by the military."

She could tell he didn't believe her. Hell, she wouldn't have believed her.

For some reason this girl was special too Clovis. She was being kept a secret from the rest of the military, and these men had obviously been ordered to kill anyone who found out about her. Clovis probably planned to use her to secure the throne.

Leloucia's money was on super soldier, some kind of genetically manipulated human that the terrorists wanted on their side (unless they were still under the impression that it was poison gas?). Now that she knew, she was a liability. An expendable liability. No one would miss a Princess who was already dead.

"I assume my word isn't enough to convince you that I would keep this a secret, is it?"

The line was silent.

"No. I suppose that is to be expected."

"You understand, don't you, Leloucia? Why I have to do this?"

He was pleading with her, pleading with her to understand why he had to kill her. She could have laughed.

"Yes, Clovis. I understand why you have to kill your own blood, because their an / inconvenience/ to you. I hope that throne of yours can buy you a guilt free conscious," she hissed, and without letting him attempt to argue, she tossed the phone back to the feet of the soldiers. "Kill me if you must. Do as your master commands you."

One of the men bent and picked it up, handing it back to the Captain who listened in silence to the Princes command. "Yes, Your Highness."

He didn't even need to singled to his men, they raised their guns, no questions asked.

No one would stand up for her. She was alone, utterly and completely alone, just like she had always been, just like she always would be.

Suzaku took a stance in front of her, placing himself between her and the men.

No… She wasn't alone. She had Suzaku, and Nunnally, and Sayoko, and the Student Council. It was a small group, but it was her group. And she was thankful for it. Despite her short time on earth, she felt she had almost known true happiness. If things had been different, if her mother hadn't been killed, if Britannia wasn't the despicable place it was, if it hadn't invaded Japan… if Suzaku hadn't joined the military…. then she wished… she wished they could have gone to Ashford together. He would have liked it there; she was sure of it.

She stood up then, wanting to face death on her feet beside her friend. They would face this together.

The Captain raised a hand, singling the men to lower their weapons with an almost sadistic smile. "I will do this myself. No need to waist bullets."

Revealing herself had been a mistake. Clovis knew about her survival now, he would come to the conclusion that Nunnally was alive as well. He wasn't smart, but he wasn't stupid either. There would be a man hunt, much like there had been at the end of the war, and they would find Nunnally. Sayoko and the Ashfords could only protect her for so long, sooner or later someone would find her.

She had failed Nunnally, a thought that terrified her more than facing her own death.

Nunnally…. Nunnally…

The Captain stepped in front of Suzaku first.

She took Suzaku's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. They were both shaking with fear now. He gave her hand a squeeze back just as the man pushed the gun between the protective plates of his uniform and fired.

Suzaku crumbled to the floor.

She heard herself scream his name, gripped his hand tighter as it threatened to fall away from her, saw herself reach out for his body, but it felt like those actions belong to a different person.

She felt nothing. Her whole body had gone numb, blood pounding in her ears.

Her eyes moved on their own, away from the two bodies at her feet. She could see the Captain's mouth moving as he turned his gun to her, but his words were like a distant hum. The gun jerked back slightly in his hands but there was no sound. No feeling. Just numb.

She knew what was happening, but her mind refused to accept it.

Suzaku had just been shot (Why wasn't he moving?). She had just been shot (Why was she falling?). She was dying (Why were the Royal Guards coming towards them?). Her brother had killed her, just like he had killed her mother, just like he would kill Nunnally (What happened to that green haired girl?).

Leloucia was thrown forward by some unseen force; light licked at the walls around them and though she couldn't tell why, her back began to tingled.

Large chunks of the road above began to rain down as the world around her spun. She could tell it was the road even in her haze. Everything would have been over quicker had they been under a building.

She watched as the Royal Guards staggered and ran, a few getting struck by the crumbling ceiling and falling motionless a few feet from her.

She had been shot.

(She was dying.)

Suzaku had been shot.

(He was dying or dead, she couldn't tell.)

Her brother had betrayed her.

(He would pay.)

The last thing she thought before the world went dark around her was to hope that the rest of the Royal Guards got buried beneath the rocks along with them.

...

A/N: So this started out as one giant story which got split into three different ones. Code Draco is one, this is the second and the third is still being worked out. As such, you might notice some similarities between Code Draco and this one (if you've even read my other story that is lol). I did tried to change some things up, but... well, lets just say I was a bit too lazy to try and rewrite a lot of the scenes I was already happy with lol. It shouldn't continue to be similar, just this beginning stuff before it splits off into its own story, but I do apologize if you're reading this and keep seeing Code Draco (I also apologize for being away from Code Draco for so long. Life got in the way and this story kept begging to be written. I'll hopefully get back to Code Draco soon and be updating both of these when I can, providing life can keep the curve balls to a minimum.)

Now onto this story. So I'm not as happy as I want to be with this beginning stuff, but I've been holding onto this one for so long trying to get it right that I figured I might as well let it out into the world and see what other people thought of it (if you have any constructive criticism for it, it would be much appreciated). Basically this is one of those Butterfly Effect stories where one small thing changes everything (such as if Leloucia were to reveal herself in an attempt to save both her and Suzaku). I don't want to spoil to much though so I'll shut up for now.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far lol and please leave a review if you can :)