A/N: Just a quick note that Nunnally will be crippled same as canon, but will not be blind.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 1: Prologue

"Introducing, his highness, Lelouch Vi Britannia; first-born child of empress Marianne Vi Britannia and 17th in line to the imperial throne," announced the royal Herald as a young boy around the age of 9 approached the throne before kneeling at the base of the stairs while bringing his right fist over his heart in an imperial salute. The young prince was dressed in a black suit and shrouded in a gold-embroidered black cape.

"Hail, your majesty. My mother, the empress, is dead," the young boy announced with a scowl on his face. Charles Zi Britannia, 98th emperor of the holy Britannian Empire, spared his son a brief glance before regarding the other nobles that had all gathered in the throne room for one reason or another.

"Leave us," he called out as he motioned for everyone else, besides Lelouch, to leave the room. Several of the nobles grumbled to themselves about not being able to bear witness to the meeting, but the majority of them obeyed without question.

"Rise, my son," Charles commanded as he descended the steps from his throne until he was standing next to Lelouch. Doing as instructed, Lelouch stood to his feet and looked up to the imposing stature of the emperor as he towered above him.

"Father, someone had mother assassinated!" Lelouch proclaimed through grit teeth as his fists clenched tightly by his sides. To his surprise, Charles knelt down so that they were at eye level and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Lelouch, I have people looking into it, but until we find any actual evidence, there's not much that can be done." Lelouch continued to grind his teeth in frustration at the overbearing sense of uselessness he felt.

"You're the most powerful man in the world; there's nothing you can't do!" Lelouch proclaimed as if it were a simple fact. The emperor could only snort in amusement at this statement as he stood to his feet and placed his hand on top of Lelouch's head and mussed his hair. Lelouch glared at the offending hand as he pushed it aside and attempted to fix his hair.

"It's not quite that simple, Lelouch. I have an entire empire to run and can't spare any more resources than I already am to look into the matter,"

"Then I'll do it!" Lelouch immediately responded. "Father, I want to join the military!" Charles smirked as he ascended the stairs to seat himself on his throne.

"Very well then, Lelouch; I shall do as you've asked. However, if you truly wish to do this, I will not allow you to receive any special treatment; you shall receive the same training as everyone else,"

"Of course; I wouldn't have it any other way, your majesty," Lelouch said with a bow before turning to leave the throne room. However, before he could open the door, his father called for his attention once more.

"By the way, son, you should tell Cornelia about this; your fiancé will probably want to know that she'll be training her betrothed." Charles smirked as Lelouch spluttered incomprehensibly and ran from the room with his face beet red. Were anyone else around they would've heard the unfamiliar, yet unmistakable sound of the emperor laughing.

Lelouch sighed to himself as he relaxed in the garden at the Aries villa. This was his favorite place to unwind and after telling his paraplegic little sister he would be joining the military, he could definitely use it. Placing his arms under his head as a makeshift pillow, Lelouch tried not to think about the tearful look Nunnally had given him as she begged him not to go. Seeing her look at him that way was almost enough to make him change his mind; almost.

Noticing that something was blocking his sunlight, Lelouch opened his eyes to find someone standing over him. Seeing a mane of familiar pink hair, Lelouch couldn't help but smile as he pulled his younger half-sister down on top of him; said half-sister laughing on her way down.

"Hello, Euphie," Lelouch greeted as he brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Euphemia smiled as she used his chest as a pillow.

"So, I heard the big news; I'm surprised you actually managed to get away from Nunna," Euphemia said with a giggle. Lelouch groaned as he let his head drop back to the ground and brought a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose.

"It certainly wasn't easy getting away from her, that's for sure. She's going to have to get used to it though because, regardless how much she wishes otherwise, I'll be leaving next week." Euphemia buried her face in his chest with a sigh.

"She's not the only one who's going to miss you ya know. While you're off playing soldier with Cornelia, I'll be stuck here all alone waiting for you to get back," Euphemia said with a pout. Lelouch chuckled as he ran his fingers through her hair and took in her scent which, while he could smell her shampoo, she had a unique floral scent that was distinctly her own.

"I need you to do me a favor while I'm gone, Euphie," Euphemia looked up at Lelouch to let him know he had her attention while she waited to hear his request. "I need you to look after Nunnally for me; keep her safe."

"Of course I will, Lulu," Euphie smiled. "I do have a favor to ask of you as well though," she mumbled as she bit her bottom lip.

"Oh, and what might that be?" Lelouch asked with a raised eyebrow. Euphie responded by sitting up and asking him to close his eyes. Shrugging off his confusion, Lelouch closed his eyes as instructed. His eyes flew open again when he felt something soft, warm and wet on his lips.

The sight that greeted him was a heavily blushing Euphemia with her lips pressed against his in a chaste kiss. After the initial shock wore off, Lelouch closed his eyes and returned the kiss. After what felt like ages, but in reality was only a few moments, the two broke apart and looked at eachother with matching blushes. Neither said a word as they both avoided eye contact.

"Think Cornelia will be mad you took my first kiss?" Lelouch asked with a hint of humor in his voice. Euphemia looked panicked for a moment before looking away.

"I think she would be madder that you took mine," she retorted causing them both to blush. "I guess this'll just have to be our little secret won't it?" Euphie giggled as she nudged Lelouch who gave his own chuckle as he grabbed Euphie's hand and interlaced their fingers.

"We should get back to the villa; it's getting late," Lelouch explained as he began leading them back to Aries villa. Euphie nodded as she hugged Lelouch's arm and smiled brightly knowing that she would always remember this day fondly; even if it does cause some trouble down the road between them and her sister.

"Do you really have to do this, Lelouch?" Nunnally asked pleadingly as she held onto her brother tightly. The day had finally come for Lelouch to leave for his training and Nunnally was, once again, trying to convince him not to go. Most of their siblings were present, but aside from Nunnally and Euphemia, none of them actually cared. Although, Schneizel did seem to find significant amusement in Nunnally's antics; smug bastard.

"Yes, Nunnally, I have to go. I promise I'll call you when I can and I'll be back before you know it." With that said, Lelouch gave her a kiss on the forehead before handing her off to a nearby maid. With that out of the way, Lelouch motioned for Euphie to come give him a hug. She immediately ran to him with tears in her eyes and threw her arms around him. Lelouch inhaled deeply to memorize her scent one last time as he returned her embrace. Looking around and seeing that nobody would be able to tell from their angle, Lelouch gave Euphie a quick kiss.

"I promise I'll call you when your sister isn't running me into the ground," Lelouch whispered drawing a light giggle out of Euphie as he stepped back next to the car that would be taking him to the base. After one last wave to everyone else who showed up just for appearances sake, he got into the car; followed shortly thereafter by Jeremiah Gottwald, his most loyal knight.

The drive was made in silence as Lelouch used the time to mentally prepare himself for what awaited him. He knew that his life was about to change drastically and that it would likely be more difficult than anything he has had to do thus far in his admittedly sheltered life.

[4 Years Later]

Looking back on the last 4 years of training, a now 13-year-old Lelouch would easily say that they were the most difficult, and yet at the same time most rewarding days of his life.

During his first few weeks, he received relentless hazing and was alienated by his fellow cadets and instructors for being the "commoner prince"; this worsened significantly when word got out that he was in an arranged marriage with his elder half-sister, Cornelia Li Britannia, who was the object of desire for many. However, Lelouch refused to give in and continued to push through the training and sabotage attempts without complaint.

When Cornelia learned of this treatment, she immediately confronted Lelouch and asked why he never said anything. His response was to ask her to stay out of it and continue to treat him the same as anyone else. After a rather extensive argument, Cornelia reluctantly agreed and said that she would let him handle it himself.

While their engagement had been arranged between their mothers before Lelouch was even born and without her consent, Cornelia held no animosity towards her half-brother and was actually rather fond of him for being so good to her beloved sister. While she would never admit it out loud to anyone else, the fact that he was being mistreated irritated her immensely. However, she knew that Lelouch was very prideful and that her interference would likely only serve to make matters worse and drive a wedge between them.

Things continued in a similar manner throughout the next 12 weeks until it became time for them to begin their knightmare training. Each of the cadets was put into a training simulator that replicated the third-generation knightmare frame, Ganymede. While excited to use the same model of knightmare that his mother was partial to, Lelouch was also nervous that he wouldn't be able to live up to her legacy.

This was a very crucial part of training for the cadets as it would determine which of them had the potential to continue receiving knightmare training and who would be cut from that particular program. Once everyone had been separated into groups, the groups then took turns testing their sync ratings and anybody who scored less than 45% was immediately cut from the knightmare program. Lelouch remained on edge as he continued to watch group after group being tested and while there were plenty who received average scores and a few that even made it into the 70th percentile, there was an alarming number of people that were being cut from the program.

There was only one group left before Lelouch's who were set to go last and he was having a hard time keeping steady as he could feel his hands shaking at his sides.

"Holy shit, did you see that Weinberg kid's sync rate?! The kid had an 87% and he's only 10!" Lelouch heard somebody yell and looked up to see a kid with blond hair and blue eyes pulling himself out of the simulator with a wide smile as people started crowding around him. Seeing that someone not much older than him was able to outperform everyone else so far, Lelouch took a deep breath to calm his nerves and prepare for his turn.

Once the ruckus had settled down, the final group took their places in the simulators to begin the final round of testing. Taking another deep breath as his simulator powered up, Lelouch placed his hands on the controls as a look of determination settled on his face.

"Begin!"

"…."

"…"

"Dude…"

"No way…"

Everyone in the area stared in disbelief as the simulators powered down and the area was filled with silence.

"I-impossible…he got a 94%...how the hell can a 9-year-old have a sync rate on par with the Knights of the Round?!" One of the drill instructors asked what everyone else was thinking as Lelouch stepped out of his simulator looking just as shocked as everyone else.

"Way to go, Lulu!" Cornelia couldn't stop herself from shouting as she walked up to him with the biggest grin he had ever seen her wearing and wrapped her arm around his shoulder while laughing; completely ignoring the fact that they were surrounded by nearly the entire base. If he wasn't in a state of shock, Lelouch likely would've been blushing like a fire truck, but as it was, he could only stare at his monitor with wide unblinking eyes unable to comprehend that the screen actually showed a 94% sync rating.

After that, things started to be looking up for Lelouch. Plenty of people were still jealous of him and Cornelia or didn't like that he was a half-breed, but the vast majority started to respect him after seeing his performance with the simulator.

Another major development was that Lelouch and Gino Weinberg were both given the ranks of Warrant Officer. While it was nice to receive the recognition of their abilities, the promotion also came with a significant increase in the difficulty of their training. While the two of them still bunked with the rest of the cadets, their training regimen was completely different and left the two feeling on the verge of collapse by the end of each day; even Gino who seemed like a limitless ball of energy was practically crawling into his bunk each evening.

"Yo, Lulu," Lelouch groaned as he turned to face the boy he begrudgingly called his friend.

"Gino, how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?"

"My apologies, your highness," Gino replied with a mocking bow and a smirk as Lelouch glared at him in response.

"That's not what I meant and you damn well know it," Lelouch groaned through clenched teeth. "Just tell me what the hell you want," Lelouch sighed as he rubbed his temples to stave off the headache he was sure would be coming.

"Oh, right, I just came to let you know your wifey is looking for you," Gino laughed as he dodged to the side of the fist that was thrown at him and leapt back to avoid the follow-up kick.

"Why do I put up with you?" Lelouch asked rhetorically as he started to walk away.

"Because I'm the only one around here that can give you a challenge and isn't trying to get in your wifey's pants," Gino replied casually with his hands behind his head as he walked beside Lelouch towards the P.T. field where he knew Cornelia would be at this time. Lelouch ignored the statement altogether as he continued as if Gino wasn't even there.

"You wanted to see me, ma'am?" Lelouch asked with a salute as he approached Cornelia.

"At ease, Warrant Officer," Cornelia responded as she returned the salute. With the formalities out of the way, Cornelia motioned for him to follow her as she made her way to her office. Once they were alone in her office, Cornelia proceeded to lock the door before sitting behind her desk.

"Take a seat, Lelouch," Cornelia stated as she motioned to the seat across from her. Doing as instructed, Lelouch gave her a questioning look as he tried to ascertain what this was about, but was unable to glean anything from Cornelia's blank expression as she idly tapped her fingers on the desk.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate you and inform you that father has decided, after review of your progress, to assign you the rank of major; effective immediately," ignoring the look of surprise on Lelouch's face, Cornelia continued where she left off. "However, the real reason I wanted to speak with you is because I've been recalled to area 9 to deal with the insurrection there so this will likely be the last chance we have to speak until you complete your training." Lelouch's look of surprise quickly turned to a frown at this new information. While he wasn't exactly sure what his feelings for Cornelia were, he rather enjoyed the occasional talks that they were able to have and certainly wasn't fond of the idea of her being away for so long; it was bad enough he was away from Euphie and Nunnally.

"I see…" Lelouch trailed off with a deep scowl as he stared off into space; completely unaware that Cornelia had stood up and was moving around the desk until she stood behind him. He was drawn from his musings as he felt slender arms wrap around his neck as Cornelia hugged him from behind. Lelouch's cheeks were stained pink as he felt her warm breath caressing his neck as she leaned into him. "C-Cornelia?!"

"Shhh, just let me stay like this for a moment," Cornelia requested in a soft voice as she continued to embrace him from behind. Lelouch continued to blush as he contemplated the situation. While they were technically engaged, this was the first time they had ever done anything like this and besides Euphie, he was rather lacking when it came to female interaction.

"Sure thing, Nelly; whatever you want," Lelouch placed a hand on her forearm as they sat in silence for a time before they each had to get back their duties.

Shortly thereafter, Cornelia left for New Zealand and Lelouch refocused on his training. Throughout the course of the remaining 3 years, aside from the occasional call from his sisters and the times when Gino would all but drag him along for his shenanigans, Lelouch had fully immersed himself in intensive training. And while most were impressed with his drive and determination, there were many who felt the "Black Prince" was a bit…extreme.

[Present]

The day had finally come as 13-year-old Lelouch stood at attention as the closing ceremony was reaching its conclusion and he would finally have a short leave to return to the homeland before his first deployment. Snapping a brief salute, Lelouch shared a handshake with the General as he was handed the pin that would signify his new rank as Lieutenant Colonel. Taking a glance to Gino who was receiving his own promotion to Major, the two smirked at eachother as the ceremony came to a close and they were dismissed.

"So, what are your plans now 'Lieutenant Colonel'," Gino mocked as he nudged Lelouch on their way out of the ceremony hall. Lelouch rolled his eyes as they approached the barracks to pack their belongings.

"They're sending me to the South Pacific as soon as my leave is over, but until then, there's a certain princess at home that I can't keep waiting any longer," Lelouch answered with a soft smile as his thoughts drifted to bluish-violet eyes and pink hair.

A/N: That's it for the prologue. This was mainly just to set things up and the next chapter will have more plot development and a bit of fluff.