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sweet-evie · 3 years

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A Fantasy AU (Broken) WIP Written Months Ago Involving Marianne, Charles, & Child Lelouch -- Part of the Prologue

Marianne smirked at the thought of how unbecoming her idea of fun was. The other ladies of such an austere Court would have branded this inappropriate and ‘unlady-like’. Not that any one of them would have the guts to say that to her face. As Consort to one of the most powerful men in the world, she didn’t have the time to concern herself with the trivial and snooty opinions of the aristocrats.

Besides, there wasn’t anything wrong about personally supervising your son’s education on the way of the sword. She would have taken over his instruction herself. But alas, certain traditions had to be followed and respected -- even if she found them completely ridiculous.

Sighing wistfully, the Queen Consort carefully arranged the folds of her tailored gown, sitting in the shade of a canopy while one of her handmaidens stood behind. She kept a sharp ear on the clacking of clashing wood, her son’s grunts and impassioned yells, and the careful shuffling of feet on dirt.

“That’s it. Good. Don’t lunge yet. Step lighter.” Lord Andreas Darlton side-stepped a clumsy slash. The Prince yelped as he fell on his knees, wooden sword still tightly grasped in his hand as the shield tumbled to the dust. “Keep your shield up, Your Highness. You don’t-- Agh!”

Lord Darlton stumbled backwards, rubbing his eyes to rid them of sand. A handful thrown on his face by one determined and relentless child. Was the Prince this desperate for victory that he’d purposely discard fairness and honor? Marianne did her best to suppress a quiet laugh and an amused smile, watching her son as he moved on to snagging his chance. He whacked the Master of Arms on the elbows, the sides, and the knees.

“Your Highness, such unscrupulous tactics are below you.” Darlton coughed, gratefully accepting the damp towel one of the squires rushed to give him. He wiped his face and caught a glimpse of the Crown Prince’s chastised expression, wooden sword hidden behind his back as he hung his head. “A man fights with honor, extending respect even to his enemies--”

“I reckon that’s enough sword practice for today, Lord Darlton.” The Queen Consort of Britannia brushed invisible dust from her dress as she approached them and her distraught son.

“As you command, Your Majesty.”

Without words of protest, he acknowledged the Queen’s command once more with a respectful bow, extending the same gesture to the Crown Prince as well. Mother and son watched the lord leave with his squires and his aide-de camp, and Marianne waited until he was well out of earshot to address the young Prince, who in this stretch of time, gathered up his wooden weapons and put them away.

“Am I in trouble?” Lelouch asked, a tiny hint of meekness hidden in his voice, overshadowed by the obvious pride in his person.

Marianne raised an eyebrow. “No, of course not, my Prince. What compels you to think so?”

To his own credit, the boy did his best to suppress the surprise. He wasn’t going to be sentenced to stay in his room all day? “I cheated.”

A boy of eight. He still had so much to learn, but she was glad that he was on the right path. He thinks practically too, prioritizing self-preservation over tacky notions of ‘honor’ in a battlefield. Lelouch vi Britannia with his dust-stained face and grime-covered clothes. A ruler-in-training, she liked to call him in the privacy of her own mind.

“That wasn’t cheating, my love. You were smart.” Crouching just enough to be at his level, she brushed some dirt from his cheek -- leaving a streak of fair skin on-show. “I do not encourage you to train for ceremonial or traditional purposes. You’re fighting to survive and to protect yourself. You win, you live. You lose, you die. Life or death. You would rather live, wouldn’t you?”

The boy nodded, and Marianne flashed one of her charming smiles, ruffling the head of raven hair affectionately.

“Marianne.”

All turned to the stairs just in time to see His Majesty descend -- Bismarck Waldstein, an ever constant presence beside him. The Queen’s handmaidens, the passing servants, and the Crown Prince himself dropped into one knee in honor of the ruler who had recently taken control of the entire continent. Not a King. But, Emperor Charles. Lelouch mumbled this under his breath, wrapping his head around the fact that it was a title he would one day inherit.

“Oh hello darling.” Marianne crooned, disregarding formal Court etiquette. Emperor he may be, he was her husband first.

“A word.”

Two words coupled with a casual wave of the hand, dismissing those present in the vicinity. The servants scurried off to continue their tasks, the Queen’s handmaiden curtsied and made herself scarce. Lelouch looked at his mother with wide purple eyes, full of questions and unending curiosity. Still, she knew that whatever Charles was about to say was not meant for their son to hear. So she told him to go and find his sister and perhaps even a few of his cousins. She knew he wanted to stay, but her boy knew better than to ask questions he wouldn’t get answers to. Still a little miffed, he reluctantly received the casual pat on the shoulder from Charles zi Britannia himself, and accepted Bismarck Waldstein ushering him away from his mother’s and father’s rendezvous.

Marianne eyed her husband, took silent note of how broad his shoulders appeared underneath that tailored and regal suit. He was rather attractive, especially if he chose to do away with that atrocious powdered wig. How he could stand them, she would never understand.

She was still busy ogling him when his question cut through her almost inappropriate thoughts. “His studies and training are faring well, I presume?”

Oh, right… Their son. She nodded once to confirm and took his arm to lead him into the opposite direction. The training arena was built above one of the palace’s largest gardens. When she first came here, Marianne often wondered what the purpose was. Was there any political gain to be had for noble ladies to gawk at squires and knights sparring and training? Perhaps there was, now that she thought about it.

But this wasn’t why she opted to converse with her husband there. The orchard and the greenery offered lovely sights to stare at, and meant less hiding spots for any nosy eavesdroppers. Marianne held her skirts gingerly as they descended the steps.

“He can think on his feet. What he lacks in gifted swordsmanship, he makes up for with cunning.” Marianne smirked, nudging Charles’ side. “He is my son, after all, is he not?”

Charles allowed the tiniest quirk at the corner of his mouth as he grunted his agreement. “For his scholarly education?”

“Top marks from his tutors, as expected.” Marianne crooned as they entered the walkway between a row of flowerbeds. “But we both know you didn’t seek me out here, of all places, to talk about Lelouch’s brilliance.”

As she busied herself with admiring the loveliness of the flora and the fauna, she missed the ephemeral amusement in Charles’ face. Marianne always had confidence in her own intellect and potential, and it shone through in the simplest of interactions with her. He had married a captivating woman, and even his father had little to no objections about their marriage nine years ago.

Nevertheless, here and now, she was right. As much as he cared about his children’s education and upbringing, there were matters which he placed greater value on. The subject of the Sword of Akasha was one matter.

“I want to halt the progress of finding the lost key.”

The statement was followed by a cautious silence; one Marianne maintained whenever she processed thoughts -- turning ideas over and over again inside her head.

“What brought this on, Charles?”

“We don’t have the resources to spare when Française and the Prussian empire have come together to subdue Britannian influence.”

“So why stop the search for the key and the other artifacts?”]

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This AU was one of my favorites. For some reason, the plot I constructed just refused to cooperate, and it all devolved into ONE HUGE MESS. Like it always does XD

#code geass #marianne lamperouge #charles zi britannia #fanfiction #alternate universe #lelouch vi britannia #fantasy au #wbad blog #wbad fanfiction #wip #i posted it here because i think it's genuinely good #if only the plot worked haha

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