Given the way that Britannia tended to operate and the manner in which certain families obtained and maintained an iron grip over position and privilege, it would be easy to fall into the trap of believing that Milly Ashford was the student council leader of Ashford Academy because of who the school was named after. This could especially be concluded by anyone that paid a passing glance to her typical behavioural pattern. Aloof, carefree, flirtatious, teasing - she doesn’t seem like she’s taking it all that seriously, does she? Obviously nepotism at play. Her grandfather <i>is</i> the superintendent. It’s not hard to imagine at all, is it?
Those that knew her better would disagree. Milly earned her place through hard work, intelligence, charisma and legitimately caring about the various problems with which she dealt. There can be no question that she is an exceptional young woman with an illustrious career ahead of her in whatever field she chooses to inflict her talent upon. With her natural curiosity and people skills, journalism would be the natural answer.
In summary, she was in this position because she legitimately enjoyed being in this position. Not for the power, not for the prestige. Because she liked helping people. Hell, she liked people full stop! Which is exactly why at this very moment in time she was personally handling a dispute between the badminton and tennis clubs rather than leaving it to her fellow council members.
“… And let us not forget club maintenance policy article 32, subsection A!” Melisa Roseborough, head of the badminton club sniffed triumphantly. “Which this louse has clearly flaunted on several occasions!”
“Article 32, subsection A…” Lonnie Hazlewood (head of the tennis club) replied thoughtfully. “No club leader may arrive at the acadamy while wearing a ginger toupee? I fail to comprehend the relevance!”
“Article 23!” Melisa snapped. “When two different clubs rely upon the same resource, both clubs have a duty to return it in delivered condition! After your last training session, the court was covered in filth and spilled water, your racquets were not properly stored, your balls were all over the place -”
The two of them shot a brief worried look at Milly at the realised double entendre, but she pretended to ignore it. Too easy. Besides which, interrupting either of them with such a quip as they made their statements wouldn’t exactly help anything along and might make her seem quite biased one way or the other.
“But isn’t it interesting how our storage locker was broken into a few days ago?” Lonnie sneered. “One might almost think that someone was attempting to make the tennis club look bad in an effort to get more time for her failing club! After all, hasn’t she been begging for extra practise time recently? Not that it would make the slightest shred of difference.”
“Why, you snarky little worm! I can’t believe you would have the audacity to -”
“That’s quite enough,” Milly stated, leaning forward to catch both of their attention. It was an effortless thing for her to manage, even with the rising mutual frustration between these two club leaders. “It seems to me that both of you want to play the field at the same time, and are frustrated by the other’s attempts to keep you honest. To resolve this problem, you have decided it would be appropriate to come and take up the student council’s valuable time rather than sort it out amongst yourselves?”
The two of them began to fidget. “Um… Well, when you put it like that…” Lonnie began.
“Well, I’m glad you did!” Milly interrupted, standing up and walking around the desk so she could rest an arm on both of their shoulders. “Far too often, clubs try to sort this kind of issue out themselves and only make it all that much worse! I’m so happy you realised you were getting nowhere yourselves, and appealed to a higher authority for advice!”
In a single instant, Milly released them both, spun around and perched herself on the edge of the desk directly in front of them, leaving them quite a bit mesmerised by her performance. “We will sort this out,” Milly said, as the two of them stared up at her. “Trust me on that, we will sort this out!”
But something rather odd had started to happen and both Lonnie and Melisa independently noticed it and were independently baffled by it. A strange shape had begun to form in the student council president’s eye, a very specific shape that neither of them could look away from as soon as they saw it. A shape somewhat similar to a bird in flight….
<hr>
Milly was bored. No, that was the wrong word. Melancholic? Yes, that’s a bit closer to it. The news had put her in a bit of a foul mood. There he was, Zero and his Black Knights, simply having to mess things up for everyone else, but that wasn’t what was depressing her. It was the blatant propaganda tricks and weasel words used by the media to portray the live, ongoing events.
Ever since she had decided this might be the route she would take, Milly had begun to notice little tricks like that. Control the media, control the message. Control the message, control the narrative. Control the narrative, control what people think.
Oh, sure, she didn’t exactly agree with Zero or his message necessarily, but that didn’t mean she had to enjoy the strategies employed by her own side to discredit him and turn the population against him. Unethical was unethical, regardless of the guilty party!
In this line of thought we can see just how tremendous a journalist Milly would someday become. If only others could see past this bias, and realise that life and politics were not some grand game where you win by scoring cheap points off the other. If only…
So off went the news, and she had to find something else to occupy her time. It took her but a moment of thinking to come up with something that was potentially interesting: Play with Lelouch! Ah yes! Paying him and Nunally a visit was just the ticket! And so, off she went to have some fun with the “Lamperouge” siblings.
“I am terribly sorry, Miss Ashford,” Sayoko said when she arrived. “Master Lelouch is not present at this time. He has had to leave on an errand, and has not stated when he will return.”
“Disappointing,” Milly sighed. “But at the very least I simply have to say a hearty hello to Nunnally while I’m here! It would be so rude not to.”
“As you wish. Please follow me.”
And follow the trusty maid she most certainly did! Ah, but to miss out on an opportunity to tease Lulu. Such a shame. Even so! Time spent with Nunnally was never wasted. The girl was so hopelessly cheerful and endlessly endearing that before the hour was out, Milly was confident she’d have forgotten all about this foul mood!
“I see. So, you fold like this, and then fold here?” an unfamiliar voice said. Milly raised an eyebrow in interest. That sounded like a woman. Nunnally already had a friend visiting? A friend that Milly had never met? Whoever could this be?
“Let me feel… That’s right!” Nunnally replied as Milly entered the room. “Miss C.C., I was wondering… How did you and Lelouch meet?”
Jackpot.
Milly was a curious person. She also happened to have a rather nasty tendency to involve herself in the affairs of others. Lelouch was a naturally secretive person, and while Milly completely understood that… Oh, but she couldn’t help herself! Besides which, it wasn’t healthy to keep too many secrets, hm?
“Hello, Nunnally!” Milly called. “And who is your darling friend? She’s adorable!” An attempt at pinching “Miss C.C.’s” cheeks was deftly, casually and emotionlessly avoided. Cuter and cuter, moment by moment!
“Hello, Miss President,” Nunnally responded, all cheers and smiles. That was one of the things Milly liked about her. Nothing got her down. Nothing at all! “I’m afraid Lelouch isn’t here at the moment, and I’m not sure when he’ll be back.”
“That’s quite alright!” Milly chuckled, waving off the concerns. “Sayoko already informed me of that particular development. For the moment I’m much more interested in your new friend.”
“You can call me C.C.,” the mystery girl replied, and only then did Milly’s eyes meet hers for the first time. Oh, they were going to be the very best of friends. She could tell. It takes a teaser to know a teaser, and this girl… Milly felt like bowing down in reverence at what she saw in those eyes. This was a master of the craft, and there was so much to be learned here! “And you must be Milly Ashford. Lelouch and Nunnally have mentioned you. It’s so cruel that he’s not introduced me to his friends, all things considered.”
“All things considered?” Milly gasped. “Does this mean that you are his secret girlfriend?”
“My lips are sealed,” C.C. replied. Oh, that tease! Dangling just enough to get her interested, then pulling back at the last moment! “… But they might be loosened in exchange for a gift.”
“What sort of gift?”
C.C. simply smiled, and for a moment Milly feared for her immortal soul. What possible favour could this mystery girl insist upon? What mountainous task lay before her before Lelouch’s secrets would be laid bare before her? What nightmare had she stepped into?!
<hr>
“That was the most delicious pizza I have ever had,” C.C. remarked, patting her belly and licking her lips.
To think. A simple pizza was all she wanted. “Well, naturally! The Ashford family has dined in many restaurants throughout the world! Can it be any surprise that we know of the best pizza place?” Though if she was honest, it wasn’t really her style at all. To each their own.
“So! Loosen those lips, and reveal your secrets! Just as you promised!”
“I promised nothing,” C.C. replied, smacking her fingers. “I merely stated that my lips <b>might</b> be loosened in exchange for a gift… But since it was a rather impressive pizza, I think you do deserve some sort of reward.”
Before she could ask exactly what the girl meant a hand had reached out and touched her shoulder, and - Pretty colours! The whole world had gone swirly and bright, and everything blended together into a single glorious canvas! At that corner of her hearing, she was aware of a question… Do you accept? Something in her heart screamed yes! Yes, she accepted! Whatever it was, if it was as beautiful as this -
“Milly, are you alright?” Nunnally asked, sounding just a little worried. “You were babbling and I was about to call for an ambulance but C.C. said you would be alright in a moment, and -”
“Th-thank you, Nunnally… I feel quite alright,” Milly said. She staggered to her feet and winked impulsively. It felt like there was a bit of dirt stuck in her eye. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss C.C. Please, don’t hide away like this in future! You simply have to pay us a visit at the student council, I’m sure everyone would love to meet Lulu’s girlfriend! Goodbye, Nunnally… Be sure to tell your brother I dropped by! And then tell me how he reacted. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Bye bye!”
Oh yes, that was definitely an interesting experience, and her mood was perked right back up again! C.C. had to be his girlfriend. It was the only rational explanation, and could also explain neatly what it was that Arthur had supposedly grabbed the other week. A picture of the two of them? Maybe even an engagement ring? Oh ho! She’d have to grill him tomorrow… But first thing’s first, she had to get a look at this eye! It was really starting to itch… No… It was like there was a mounting pressure building right behind it, waiting to explode!
Little did Milly yet realise that she had obtained the power of kings: A Geass was now hers to wield! But what was the nature of its effect?
- Imposes Milly’s personality on the victim.
- Victim is turned on like never before.
- Allows manipulation/detection of victim’s fetish.
- Compels victim to announce their crush or most well-kept secret.
- Something else
No comments:
Post a Comment