Location: Pyrena Castle, Empress' Personal Office
Time: 7:20 AST
Beatrice had cleared her schedule for the day and while that had initially been to spend time with Alex other duties called for her full attention. She had called upon Lelouch Lamperouge and called for the room be cleared upon his arrival. "Kayleigh," she said before her departure, "Please don't stray too far, and promise me you won't come in until I call for you. Things may get heated between myself and Lelouch, but given the topic of discussion before us that is to be expected." With a nod of acknowledgement Kayleigh departed, Lelouch bowing as he entered before taking a seat at the Empress' invitation.
"Lelouch," Beatrice said as she reviewed her notes, "I'm sure you know why I've called upon you today. One thing that has become clear to me is that you have been less than forthcoming, and that troubles me. We spoke briefly before your trip to East Moreland, one in which you assured me you would relay a package of information which would clear up any notions surrounding my name in regards to the false allegations of any form of collusion with the Borland Separatists. You did inform me that venture had been less than successful, which is a possibility we both knew was highly likely."
"However," Beatrice paused, "You also acted without informing me of the full gravity of the situation we as a nation faced. It was only after the fact that I was informed of the existence of rogue Anauša agents; did you not think it of vital importance that I should know there were wolves in an institution which held the primary function of protecting me and my family? Did you ask the Moreladers to kill these people without my sanction?" she continued, certainly Kayleigh could hear the escalating tone by now.
"Your Majesty time was of the essence, we had a situation where a group of our own agents were compromised by Mr. Ofdensen, I couldn't go after them, so I came at them from an angle they would never see coming. Everything I did was done to protect you..." "Protect me, protect me, I asked you to do one thing and you took it upon yourself to do as you wish? Allow me to ask you again, perhaps in more clear words, you asked the Morelanders to spill Rokkenjiman blood?"
"They never said yes," Lelouch said meekly. "Of course they didn't say yes, their God blessed them with the brain cells Islyna couldn't be bothered to shove in your head! Who decided that a "leak" to the Free Mundus Network was a good idea, and who is this K. Porcelna?" Lelouch handed his phone to the Empress after a moment, "I ordered it, as for K. Porcelna, she's been in the system for some time, she's disposable compared to what wa...." "How dare you," Beatrice said in asperity as she stood, throwing Lelouch's phone against the wall and smashing it into pieces, "how fucking dare you say someone is disposable? All lives hold value, all are indispensable, that you would think any of this would be in my interests...you're just as bad as Charles, acting as you wish, using people, lying when your plot reaches the point of consequence. Lelouch," she said as she shook her head, "No."
"I did what I had to do to protect you, and yes sometimes that means I have to lie, to you, to the People..." he said again, though his words were of no effect. "With people such as yourself to protect me I'd have better odds if Kyle fucking Barren were standing before me pointing a loaded gun at my head right now. You lied to me, my People, the world, you found this lost soul and decided to repurposed her to fit your misdeeds, you outsourced the shedding of Rokkenjiman blood, and you've disrespected the authority of your Empress and the Throne. From this point forward I want one thing to be perfectly clear," Beatrice said as she drew closer to Lelouch, her face mere inches from his.
"I am the Empress of Rokkenjima, the decisions of the First Empire are mine to make; the fate of our People, even those deemed to be beyond reproach, those are mine to make as well. What gave you the right to make these decisions, who christened you judge, jury and, albeit by proxy, executioner of these souls? How could you betray me as he did? This business of weasels acting without my consent is over. The Anauša is over, I've had it proven to me that even apart from Ofdensen's corruption there is nothing worth saving. Raleigh will be fired and detained, in much the same manner you and anyone else who precipitated this cover-up will be, and my People will know the truth because this...this is not how Rokkenjima does things, this is not how we will do things. These are not the examples that will be left for Adriana to follow, the path of dishonour and deceit; your dishonour shall tarnish the Throne nor this First Empire any longer."
Lelouch stepped back in silence, "Your Majesty, I....I did it all for you. My life, it has always belonged to you," he continued as he reached for his pocket. "If I cannot reclaim my honour in this life, allow me to be purified on the Scales." In a swift motion he produced his pistol and raised it to his head, although Beatrice acted swiftly herself, "You fool!" she said, her hand striking his as the gun discharged. The blood which seeped from Lelouch's head stained her and seemingly everything around them, while the first thing Beatrice would see after being Kayleigh's face.
"I think it grazed him," she said, "Get the medical staff swiftly," she continued, operating somewhat on auto-pilot. "He finally told me the truth," she continued, "Kayleigh he asked them to kill those agents, moved to cover it up, for me he said. If he really knew me though he'd have known that shedding their blood was the last thing I'd have wanted." Beatrice soon found herself on her feet, stopping herself from rambling any further.
"I need the Vicegerent and, regardless of the time in Valtheim, I need Emperor Peter on a conference call as soon as humanly possible. This is my Castle, and it's about time that I clear out the trash that's been allowed to accumulate here. I didn't ask for, nor did I make this mess, but I sure as hell will see that it's cleaned up. Also, K. Porcelna, I need her brought out of whatever hole Lelouch has her in. He says she's been in the system so whatever charges she faces, I want to see if I can help her; not one more soul will be harmed by this series of events."
Down the hall she could hear Alex stir, calling her name gently. "Worry not love, go back to sleep. Things got a little loud down here, I'll explain everything tomorrow." Turning back to Kayleigh she sighed, "Luckily his sleep has been heavy as of late, he doesn't need this stress upon him tonight. Now then, the Vicegerent and the Emperor, we'll convene in the Imperial Council chambers."