Those who knew him as Lelouch – not the Demon Emperor or the Masked Knight, but as a seventeen year old boy who was a friend, brother, cousin – felt the love he held for his sister had been his undoing. Their love had been more powerful than any Geass, and it spent him of body, mind, soul.

"I wish for a gentle world."

Had it been muttered by the lips of anyone other than Nunnally vi Britannia, the listener would've laughed and threaded their fingers through the speaker's hair, empty platitudes or harsh criticism the only reply to such naïve idealism found only in fiction.

But it had been Lelouch.

Lelouch, who hacked himself to pieces, serving them to immortal devils. Lelouch, who stained his hands with blood; his own and the people he loved. Lelouch, who brought the world to its knees in his crusade for peace, delivering justice to the corrupt while robbing innocents of their futures. Close friends and brothers in arms were not exempt from having part of themselves stolen for the greater good.

The only one he did not dare take from was his beloved sister.

Nunnally, who chased her half-sisters across royal prairie fields and crafted crowns from plucked flowers.

Blind, crippled Nunnally who folded a thousand paper cranes for a single wish.

Beautiful, fragile Nunnally, the 100th Empress of Britannia, the people's sovereign who ruled over all with kindness.

Lelouch's love had consumed him whole, but none would ever know that Nunnally – just Nunnally – loved her brother with equal intensity and ferocity. That should she get a chance, she would murder every being on the planet if it meant he would stay safe, beside her, wiping her chin, tucking her into bed, asking about her day. Eldritch horrors that deigned to grant her a wish traded with soul of millions would be heeded without hesitation, for she loved (loves) Lelouch more than everything else.

Only Suzaku knew, realised her true nature after he donned the mantle of Zero, a mantle so heavy the weight never left his shoulders even when the mask was off.

Lelouch vi Britannia was born a demon to a family of demons, and died as such. Everything he did from birth to death was cast in a negative light. Conversely, no matter what she did, everyone scrambled to praise and fawn, imbuing her actions with empathy and gentleness where there was none.

A royal servant accosted by reporters had let slip a small monument to Lelouch existed within the Palace, surrounded by a circle of violets, watered daily. When she was interviewed, Nunnally wore a smile like every other occasion. Her genteel bearing savoured by reverent eyes, her name like a prayer on their lips.

"He was my brother before he was an Emperor. I wish to honour his memory."

Public opinion of their Empress rose by two percent. Dissenters, who overwhelmed sparse supporters of their 99th Emperor with all the strength of a raging sea, bowed like stalks of wheat against whipping winds.

"What a gentle girl, she is!"

"Such a ungrateful wretch he was, so drunk on power that he discarded her who loved him most."

Nunnally could only stew in impotent rage, hiding hate and disgust and despair behind a smile until she was alone in a room too large for a single person, where she could cry into a pillow and pretend Lelouch's arms were wrapped around her, rocking her to sleep.

The next day, she would wake up, next to an empty space where her brother should have been. Then she would get up, set a smile upon her lips, and pretend to care for everyone who wasn't him.

It was her curse, for it was the only thing she was ever good at, and would ever be.

AN: Guess who rewatched Code Geass lol.