Emillia
Legacy Name: Emillia

Chapter I

Alliser and Jessamine were ecstatic upon the birth of their firstborn. The well-known socialites bragged up the arrival of Callista in the local paper, posing for a family portrait that earned a small column on the front page.

Callista was a gorgeous baby, her golden ringlets quickly growing to lay over an ivory forehead. Emerald eyes looked out on the world with wonder, crinkling at the corners every time the child smiled. It was so rare for Callista to cry. The girl showed her sadness through a solemn look that could easily be erased with a colorful bit of chalk or a finger puppet made to look like Grampy. No matter which confectionary gown she wore, she always just fit into every room of the elegant mansion. The red velvet music room with instruments polished to glow. The ivory entertainment room designed for the comfort of guests and never stained through the miracle of servant knowledge. The somber yet beautiful navy lounge where Alliser could sit in the evening and admire the stars outside the triple-paned picture window.

When Jessamine learned she was pregnant for the second time, there was no doubt in the minds of the hopeful parents that this child would be a boy. All the signs were there. Jessa could only fall asleep on her left side. She could not get enough of the salty chestnuts sold in little paper sacks by the vendor with the curly black moustache. Most importantly, the child was carried low. Yes, he was undoubtedly a boy.

Emillia came into the world shattering preconceived notions.

From the day of her birth, she was a direct opposite to Callista in every way. Her dark hair was brittle and flat. Her pale gray eyes would cross unexpectedly when she tried to focus them, causing wails of frustration. At least, that's what her parents assumed she was crying about. With Emillia, there didn't need to be a good reason for a scrunched red face and tears of outrage. Crying was something of a sport. The photographer would not waste good powder on a child who simply would not stop bawling. Emillia was granted one cramped paragraph on the paper's back page. They loved her all the same.

Callista was the one who made her parents see beauty in their youngest daughter, calling Emillia a pretty baby and putting cute ribbons in her sister's hair. Alliser took to calling her "Little Monkey" and had a grand time hooting and scratching his armpits, setting Callista to giggling and earning gentle smacks from his wife.

Emillia's first word was "ghost". When she started to talk, she learned very quickly, stringing together full sentences in just one week. It was the season of Halloween, leading her parents to believe their little girl was reacting to the paper ghosts the maid had hung from the ceiling to amuse the children. Jessamine ordered the string taken down.

Emillia would sit in her little chair for hours, staring at the pale blue walls of her room and whispering to some imaginary friend, whipping her head around in a guilty way whenever Alliser or Jessamine walked by. She ignored Callista's presence but the older girl took no notice. Callista's attention turned to more interesting playmates as she started lessons at a prep school, learning the arts of sipping tea and complimenting the dress of the headmistress at just the right moment to avoid a demerit.

Emillia's parents tried to convince themselves that their youngest child was going through a phase but what was cute at three was disturbing by eight. When asked, she reluctantly admitted her companion's name was Corvo.

Corvo did not like the bright and airy rooms that had once entertained second cousins to royalty. The ugly blue walls of Emillia's room were far too pale but thick black curtains could block the nasty sun, allowing Emillia to enjoy the sensation of night despite the day's hour.

Her parents brought in private tutors for the first two years of Emillia's education, fearing that the girl would be bullied for her obsession with her foolish fantasies. Her seventeenth tutor walking out the door in frustration was the final straw. It didn't help matters that Callista returned that very day, bearing a report full of glowing commendations.

Alliser sat Emillia down, forcing the girl to look him in the eye for once. Emillia squirmed and made a low growling sound in her throat despite her fear. Corvo hated to be stared at and one could hardly look at her without fixing a stare on Corvo.

"I want you to listen to me Emillia. Your mother and I have been too tolerant of this nonsense but it ends now. You are going to accompany your sister to the Academy next fall and you will make an effort to follow her example. Members of this family do not hide in the dark like animals."

Emillia ran for shelter the moment he dismissed her, retreating to the safety of her room. The dark was good. The dark was safe. Dark places were the only places that soothed Corvo's anger, allowing her to relax all the way.

The first day of school was horrible. Corvo kept up a constant snarl in her mind, making it impossible to listen to the woman with the golden bun who rambled on about some boring topic. Emillia was the oldest girl in the class, forced into a desk that was two sizes too small. She squirmed constantly, earning a tap of Teacher's pointer on the surface of her desk. She jumped as Corvo demanded that she take the stick and break it.

"It looks like someone has a bad case of the fidgets today. A proper lady sits still and does not fiddle with her dress." The slap of the pointer on the back of her hand was gentle but effective. Emillia was stunned into stillness as the other girls laughed in delight.

Corvo was right. He usually was. Before Teacher could so much as gasp in shock, the pointer was lying in two splintered pieces on the floor.

Jessamine had to pick up her daughter that same day. It was the worst disgrace in the school's history, expulsion after only one hour of lessons. Callista came home in tears, having endured five miserable hours of interrogation by girls who insisted on confirming a rumor that Callista's little sister was a demon child. Emillia's parents hugged their golden-haired wonder, leaving Emillia locked in her room without a candle. Emillia curled into a ball and slept, sharing Corvo's lethargy.

When they came to let her out a few days later, Emillia's parents were wearing smiles. She wanted to turn around and bury her head beneath the safety of her goose down pillow but her father's hand beckoned.

"We have wonderful news, darling." Jessamine's voice was the usual croon that set Corvo to howling, a sugary, sing-song tone Callista was just starting to imitate. "There's a very special man downstairs who wants to speak with you."

He was in the emerald room, a place for less important guests where Callista liked to do her homework. Despite his expensive cologne and fanciful white suit, the man could not completely mask the odor of sweat. Emillia wrinkled her nose, prepared to dash for the safety of her room at Corvo's command, bumping unceremoniously into her father's legs.

"Behave yourself. This man is here to help you."

Emillia sat stiffly on the very edge of the couch, refusing to look at the fancy man. He didn't share the barely concealed annoyance of her parents. The tone of his voice revealed his amusement.

"They're all like this before the first treatment. I don't want you to worry at all. This is not a bad child, merely a confused one. We need to chase the bad vapors from her head, get her thoughts in the right order, and you will have two beautiful daughters to do you proud."

Emillia watched warily as he pulled a metal box from his black bag. He was smiling in the way adults do when they mistake innocence for stupidity. Emillia had no formal education but she was far from stupid.

"This will hurt just a little, child, but I promise it will make you feel much better. That nasty voice will be scared away for good."

The occupants were fat and slimy, black bodies wriggling about as they sought something better than metal to taste. The doctor pulled free a particularly fat leech as Alliser pulled up the sleeve of his daughter's dress. Emillia had never heard Corvo roar but even his influence was not enough to break her father's firm grasp.

Emillia cried out as the creature made contact with her skin. It hurt, not like a tumble on the garden path but certainly more than the bite of an insect. Corvo instantly went to work attacking the invader, forcing it to splatter the pale green carpet. Jessamine moaned and ran from the room. They could all hear the distant sound of her retching.

Her parents had never thought to ask why their imperfect daughter never suffered from colds or ear infections. They had no notion of Corvo's protective watch over the girl he haunted.

Not even Corvo could be in six places at once. His growl was a weak buzz, mere background noise as Emillia began to feel weak.

"Her diet must be strict from now on. Broths are best and sugar should be avoided. Limit the girl's time outdoors to evening but see to it she gets a few hours in the fresh air every day. I will come three times a week until the cure takes full effect.

For five long years the treatments continued but as Emillia's body began to change, Corvo found new strength. One day he sent the leeches flying across the room. The doctor shook his head.

"I've never seen a more difficult case, but there is another option I would like to try."

Callista's sixteenth birthday gala was Jessamine's top priority, leaving Alliser to listen to the doctor's propsed plan. He was a strict man, but his heart was not iron. He shuddered at the proposal, looking through the cracked door into the room where Emillia sat and considered the pattern of dead leeches at her feet.

"All right. If you really think this will help. There's a small cottage on the eastern lawn, one that used to belong to the caretaker. Will that suffice?"

The doctor nodded gravely.

Emillia was rarely allowed on the grounds. She stopped every few feet to admire the flowering hedges and the butterflies that flapped lazy wings on a gentle breeze. Her father did not have the heart to hurry her along. For the first time in her life, she was behaving like a child.

The moment was ruined when Corvo made her crush a bright blue butterfly in her hand.

She was not the least bit concerned when he locked her in the stone hut. Despite the musty smell of mold on stone, she quite liked the quiet seclusion with only a few tiny rays of light coming through the stones.

A subtle hiss was her only warning that something was wrong. A stench filled the room, one that caused her to gag and reach for the handle of the door, only to discover a small hole. There was no way out.

Her nose began to adjust in time, only to have a new smell of rot blasted throughout the room. She did not know how long she suffered the odor treatment. A small trickle of blood began to run from each nostril as Corvo was completely overwhelmed for the first time.

She stumbled into the doctor's arms when the door was opened on a starry night.

"There, there, child. Do you still hear the voice?"

She could hear nothing but her own thoughts. She shook her head, throat too raw to speak.

"Rest is what you need. Tomorrow your life will begin anew."

He put a protective arm around her shoulders, guiding her back to the main house. The silence in her head was alarming. Corvo could be frightening at times, but he always knew what was best for her. She dared not tell the doctor the true reason for her trembling.

The fever struck in the night. She had never known such agony as her body tossed restlessly. They covered her in blankets as she burned, snatching them away when chills made her shiver.

You should have listened to me long ago, child. Did I not warn you they would make you suffer? You are greater than them, capable of so much more than the feeble-minded. Tomorrow you will rise from this bed. She had no way of knowing that the moment of Corvo's return was also the moment when the fever broke.

She was unable to attend the party. Her parents were quite happy to make excuses, spreading rumors that their poor child was sickly, gaining sympathy where they had once suffered scorn.

The doctor was paid quite handsomely and dismissed. Emillia had learned her lesson. She spoke to Corvo only inside her mind and made it a point never to stare into the distance when either of her parents was in sight.

Callista's years at a female university proved profitable not only in her nursing degree but in the wonderful match she found in Octavio. The young doctor was handsome, charming, and very rich. His ebony carriage became a welcome sight about town as the charming couple attended balls and parties held in their honor, giving Alliser and Jessamine a sweet taste of the life they once lived. Emillia was left under the care of the aging maid, sulking in her room as usual. Her parents had long ago given up on trying to get her to socialize in even the most intimate settings.

Octavio made it a habit to take tea with his future in-laws every Sunday morning. It was quite by accident that he made Emillia's acquaintance.

She was returning to her room from the privy, using the wall to keep her balance. Her strength had never quite been the same since that terrible night. He took her arm as if to help her, earning a furious growl from Corvo. Emillia pulled her arm away with a scream, carrying on as Corvo plainly showed her the images in the young man's hidden thoughts. Alliser rushed up the stairs, closely followed by Callista.

Octavio shook his head, feigning fright. "I turned the corner and almost ran into her. She started making this horrible racket."

Callista put her arm through his, turning him away and beginning to whisper in his ear. She shot one venomous look over her shoulder.

Emillia took no notice. She resisted Alliser's grip for the first time in her life, still suffering the fear brought on by Corvo. She was half-dragged into her familiar room, left to work off the episode on her rumpled bed.

Her mother came while she was asleep, silently gathering Emillia's plain dresses into a little carpet bag. The surface was splashed with a few rogue tears. Despite the many trials she had suffered, Jessamine genuinely loved both her daughters.

Emillia resisted being placed in the family car until her father presented an apple dipped in caramel. The sticky treat was such a rarity that even Corvo was distracted over the hour it took to reach their destination.

Oak River Asylum was built to be impressive from a distance, its wide lawns spaced with carefully groomed trees. A pretty stone fountain burbled before an impressive flight of marble steps, all leading to a massive pair of oak doors.

The Director was a balding man with thick spectacles. He beamed at the family as they made their way up the steps.

"Welcome! This must be Emillia. What a beautiful name! My name is Doctor Lancet and I am the Director of this facility." He chuckled, giving his head a small shake. "What a terrible word, facility. We like to refer to our little refuge as Home because our residents are often more comfortable here than in the wider world. We offer a stability that simply cannot be found among the frantic pace of today's society. But come, see for yourselves."

The visiting room was strictly white with tables and chairs spread before large windows protected by iron bars. Many of the patients stared blankly out the window or studied their hands on the table surface. Emillia began to tremble as Corvo started up a low warning growl. This was not a good place. There was something evil here, something the Director knew all about. Corvo demanded she take the man's glasses and smash them, taking away his sight. For once, she resisted. There were too many burly aids pretending not to care what the white-clad inmates did. They would be on her before she got her hand in the air. Corvo had done his job too well in teaching her the threat of men.

"As you can see, we've a good deal of space to allow for family visits. Visiting hours are from noon to three every day, though we do ask you wait one week to make the first visit. Our patients need that time to settle in and become accustomed to their new surroundings. We provide three ample meals a day and we have the most state-of-the-art treatment facility in the nation. You'll find that over time, your daughter will become a new person!"

Emillia's trembling was becoming noticeable. The Director cleared his throat. "I'll give you a moment to say your farewells, though I ask you keep it brief. It really is better to let the patient settle in as soon as possible and there are papers I must have you sign."

Jessamine gave her a hug and was stunned to have it returned. Corvo's disgust at physical contact was overridden by his desire to get out of this place. "We'll come visit as soon as you're settled, Baby. You listen to the doctors and do what they say, okay?" She had to pull away, not wanting to let Emillia see her cry.

Alliser did little better as he rested a hand on her shoulder. "Be good, Little Monkey."

The orderlies began to move the moment the door shut her parents from her view. They herded all the patients through a second door, one which let out on a pale green corridor.

Thick white doors with sliding iron bars opened by some mechanical means with a clang that made her jump. The other inmates paused before their assigned rooms, staring blankly ahead until the doors opened far enough to admit them. Emillia stared at the iron cot that would serve for her bed. She took too long, earning a push from behind. The door shut with alarming rapidity, leaving her in total darkness.

It was the first time in her life she wanted Corvo to snarl and curse but the darkness had its usual effect. She was completely alone.

She did her best to get to sleep, tossing and turning as the hard slats of the cot dug into her back and shoulders. She had spotted the bucket wedged in the corner on her way in, forced to make use of it twice in the night despite the rank smell. Mad she may be, but Emillia had always been a very clean girl.

She was curled in a small ball at the edge of the cot when the orderly came with her breakfast. The bowl contained a greasy gruel that was not at all appealing but while she was eating, the viewing slot on her door was left open to give her some light. She barely managed to swallow half the mess before she was forced to set it aside. The cup of water tasted strongly of minerals and something else she couldn't quite place. Sleep came at last, leaving her sprawled on the cot.

The drugs wore off slowly. She opened heavy lids on a new room, a sterile white box with a chair at the very center. Leather straps restrained her arms, legs, and chest.

"I don't want you to be frightened, child. You must keep in mind that we are doing this for your own good."

She could just make out Doctor Lancet's words over Corvo's roar of frustration as a thin whine filled the room. The pain came a moment later, lightning racing through her body. It lasted for only a few seconds and then ceased.

How many treatments did she endure? She did not care to think about that as one days slipped into weeks.

The doctor came to stand in front of her on a day when rain pattered against the windows high above. "Tell me honestly, child. Do you still hear the voices in your mind?"

She knew she had to lie to keep this horrible man happy but she could not get her lips to move. A sinister voice took charge of her lips, filling the room with a powerful masculine voice.

"You've always wanted to see demons, Professor. Poor little bed-wetting boy whose mother left him for a circus man. I warn you only once to cease your experiments before you truly anger me. This child has no control over universal forces and I will not allow the likes of you to make her a victim. Call the parents. Declare her cured, and I will pretend I never saw your face. Deny our freedom and I will find a way to take a flesh form."

Doctor Lancet gaped, thin lips hanging open as Emillia slumped back and fell into a deep sleep.

She thought for a moment she was back in her father's cottage, being forced to breathe a string of foul odors. She pounded on the walls until her hands bled, calling for Alliser until she slowly realized there were no thin beams of sunlight shining through the walls. She calmed, eyes focused in the direction of the door slot. They would water and sting but she was desperate to see the light again.

Her daily serving of gruel did not come. No orderly came for her bucket while she slept. As the last of the powerful drugs wore off she came to enjoy true clarity of thought sans Corvo.

Doctor Lancet would leave her here to die.

She could not clearly remember what had come out of her mouth when Corvo took control, but she had seen the doctor's look of utter horror. It was so peaceful to lay and think over her life without any interruptions. She wondered if Callista's wedding had taken place and if her sister would ever discover the truth about Octavio's character. She silently lamented over the loss of Jessamine's garden as she came to realize how much she missed the sight of pretty flowers. She had missed so much as Corvo's host yet she could not resent a presence that loved her with a depth few humans ever achieved.

The creak of the door brought her to her feet with a gasp. Corvo stirred in her mind, angry for being forced into such a long span of dormancy. How many days had it been? Four? Five? Emillia couldn't be sure. She knew better than to ask the stone-faced men in green. They each took hold of an arm, dragging her down the corridor.

They took her to a room with a line of showers, motioning for her to undress. She wished they would turn away but those stony stares left little room for argument. She shuddered as she looked up at the steel shower head. What new form of torment was this?

The water was cold but otherwise plain. One of the men slapped a rough bar of yellow soap into her hand. She took the time to really scrub, despite the loss of a few flakes of skin. She did not smell like lavender, but she was clean. An empty child's desk served as her dining table as they placed bread and a bowl of thin broth before her. She ate so quickly she nearly choked, washing it down with sweet apple cider.

They took her up a flight of stairs to a room paneled in oak. Doctor Lancet sat behind an enormous desk, beaming until the orderlies were dismissed and out of sight.

"Your parents will be coming to see you tomorrow, despite my protests. They will accept no further delays, unfortunately. You will be silent and obedient so they may see how well you are getting along. Cooperate, and I will put a hold on the shock treatments. Say anything to displease me and the result will be most unpleasant."

There must have been more drugs in the food. Her mind was hazy once again though she was not tired enough to sleep. She could hear Corvo raging in the back of her mind as she was carried back to her room, she just couldn't respond.

Alliser and Jessamine smiled as Emillia was led into the room. Their daughter seemed different already, calmly taking a seat and focusing her attention on the people before her.

"Hello, Mother. Hello, Father. It is a pleasure to see you."

Alliser frowned as Doctor Lancet made his way over. "We had a discussion, sir. I told you I didn't want my daughter on any drugs."

Doctor Lancet sighed. "I wanted very badly to obey your wishes, but I'm afraid Emillia has had some trouble adjusting. As I told you over the phone, it really would have been better for you to wait another week. I have Emillia calm now, but there is no telling what would go on in her mind if I did not keep her under careful control. She attacked one of my orderlies, you know."

Emillia bit her lip so hard that she could taste blood. Let him tell his lies. It didn't matter. The pain would stop. It had to stop.

"Yes, she's having quite a hard time. Fortunately, I have handled cases like hers in the past. There is a new form of treatment, one I am confident will be more effective. I will need your signature on this form."

Jessamine started to read, an involuntary whimper escaping her throat. Alliser threw the clipboard to the table, glaring at Doctor Lancet.

"I'm starting to think maybe you're the mad one. We will not put our daughter through something like this!"

The truth came rushing at Emillia as the last traces of the drug wore off. For just an instant before Corvo took control, she met the doctor's gaze. His sly smile told her everything she needed to know.

Corvo sent her leaping atop the table, her voice a wordless scream of rage. She leapt into the air, running for the door to the visiting room only to be stopped short by a pair of orderlies. She skidded to a halt with a snarl, turning toward the ly other source of escape.

The bars on the windows were tight but she was a slender girl. Corvo could give her the power to shatter those grand windows. He whispered inside her mind, instructing her on how to turn her body just right...

A hand clamped down on her shoulder, dragging her back. She continued to howl her denial as Doctor Lancet sadly shook his head and held out a pen. Jessamine cried on her husband's shoulder as he tried to meet his youngest daughter's gaze. His hand hovered over the signature line.

"No! Father, please! He's the mad one, not me! He makes us eat grease with out fingers and sleep on iron beds! Some nights I can hear the others screaming because of what he does to them. Please!

The room she was taken to was clearly below ground. A stone trough may have once served to quench the thirst of livestock. Chunks of ice floated on the surface. For once, Corvo did not roar or snarl or curse. His voice was quiet, gentle even.

"Do not resist them, Emillia. I want you to just close your eyes and let me handle this, okay?"

Emillia was so scared that she forgot to answer in her thoughts. "What will they do to me, Corvo?"

He fell silent but she could feel his gentler presence in her mind as Doctor Lancet entered. Her arms and legs were strapped to a platform of cold steel.

"You're not mad, Emillia. In fact, you're a very special girl. I know, because I used to have a Protector of my own, before she was ripped from my chest. It was for the best. It allowed my innocent mind to turn down more productive paths in life. I fear that your mind is too feeble to adapt as mine has, but after that little display in the visiting room, your parents can hardly argue that your place is here."

The shock of cold nearly caused her to open her mouth in surprise but Corvo was there. Somehow he surrounded her frail body, a giant, shimmering bubble that made the water pleasantly warm. She was smiling when she came to the surface. Doctor Lancet held a needle up to the light.

"I thought you were better at bluffing, Emillia. You should have at least pretended to feel something. Now I know exactly what I need to do."

Corvo was gone despite the ring of candles lining the room. She was surrounded by fire that moved into her body when she tried to scream.

Her head broke the surface. She coughed and gagged, sputtering until she could breathe again. It took her a moment to realize that the orderly who had turned the crank was lying on the ground. He was not moving.

"Didn't I tell you there would be only one warning, you fool?"

It was Corvo's voice, yet it was not inside her head. Doctor Lancet was not even looking at her, but at the shadows cast from a branch of candles. The shadow flickered and twisted, taking on a more solid form. The creature with the red eyes and thorny claws was not quite a wolf or a cat or a man. It was a little of all three. Corvo.

"It is no wonder Adevana surrendered so easily, considering her host." Corvo spat a small gob of flame which sizzled and burned out on the surface of the water. "You had to mistreat the vulnerable for your own twisted gains, thinking you could force one of us to obey your will like servants."

Doctor Lancet smiled. "Ah, but you forget that I know the rules of your existence. You cannot harm physical matter anymore than I can reach out my hand and touch the world of spirits."

Corvo's eyes narrowed. "Mother Universe is willing to make an acception in your case."

The doctor's feet left the ground as the grin fell from his face. A tiny part of Emillia knew it was wrong to let Corvo do this but she could not summon the energy to argue. Doctor Lancet's feet ceased to kick after a few moments. Corvo tossed him aside like a rag doll, turning his attention to Emillia.

"Sleep now, dear child. I will take you far from this place, to a land where we will be safe."

He clawed away the straps as if they were made from paper, taking her in his arms. Emillia buried her nose in his fur. It didn't matter where Corvo took her. He was her Protector.

Chapter II

Corvo cradled Emillia across the long leagues, keeping her frail body warm with his thick fur and humming gently when she threatened to wake. The girl's body and mind were equally exhausted. He would see to the care of both, bring her to a place where fools dared not venture so she could grow strong and healthy once again.

Her new island home was a paradise, the sort of place artists dreamed about but never quite re-created to their satisfaction. Three times a day she dined on fruits so juicy that she hardly had a need for the sparkling clear waters of the lagoon. A lily-white dress with golden embroidery replaced the tattered rags granted by the asylum.

A large stone building carved with ruins served her for a house, its massive halls filled with doors that let into an aviary with rainbow-hued birds, a library with thousands of books, even a grand ballroom with instruments carved from obsidian. Every day brought new wonders to tempt her senses and at night she slept as if enchanted.

Corvo hated to leave her but it was only in the witching hour that he could sever his link to the girl beneath his protection. It was a necessary risk, to baffle the hounds from her trail.

One police sergeant wandered into a bog, convinced he had seen a child in white that matched Emillia's description. His body was pulled from the muck two days later. A private eye paid handsomely by Alliser and Jessamine began to dream of terrible headless corpses until he renounced his career to take up juggling with a traveling circus. Ships sailing too near the island for Corvo's liking had a tendency to find themselves capsized. The island rapidly gained a reputation as a haunted place to be avoided at all costs.

For many months, Emillia's happiness was complete, but even the best enchantments can wear off if not renewed in time.

She woke in the middle of the night, craving a glass of water. The pitcher was at the bedside, yet Corvo was not there to fill the glass. Corvo was not there at all.

He appeared at her first fearful sob, seeking enemies with darting red eyes and a defiant snarl. His fur lay flat as he realized what must have happened.

"Hush, Emillia. I would never let harm come to you. You know this."

"You were gone, Corvo, just like when they fed me those horrid drugs. Where did you go?

He sighed. "It would be better for you not to know."

"Nuh-uh. What if you didn't come back some night? I'd never know how to find you."

"That will never happen, Emillia. I am bonded to you in ways you cannot begin to understand."

"I'm sure that foul doctor thought the same."

Corvo's sigh was deeper, the moaning of wind through the trees rather than the whisper of a gentle breeze. "There are those who would threaten your safety still, dear Emillia. They want to drag you back to the world you once knew, subject you to more terrors and this I will not allow.

"It's my parents, isn't it Corvo? They want to know what happened to me."

Glaciers cracking beneath the power of the sun could not rival Corvo's third sigh. "Will you not trust me to know what is best for you, Emillia?"

"Always, but I still want to see them again."

"Then look into my eyes."

Jessa knelt before a small shrine draped in purple velvet, weeping over a portrait that captured young Emillia in perfect detail. Alliser placed a doll on a plump red cushion, one in the shape of a monkey with a curly tail. He put his hands over his face.

"I am a fool of the basest kind! I could not love my own daughter. I tried so hard to make her what I thought a girl should be and now she is lost to me."

The scene changed, showing a young girl no older than eight with that same doll in her arms. She stared up at the portrait with wide blue eyes, small pink lips moving as if in prayer.

"Can you hear me Aunt Emillia? I think you can. You're living off in magic-land with your Protector. Naronus told me so. He made me promise not to ever say his name to Mommy. She wouldn't like it, not at all."

"Who are you talking to, Callia?"

Emillia almost didn't recognize the plump and bitter woman as flawless Callista. This woman had crow's feet at the corners of her eyes and her dress was a shapeless blue lump of cloth. Two little boys peered around her legs at their older sister. "Come away from there and put that filthy doll back. You know your Gram and Gran don't like you playing in here."

The girl sighed as she did what she was told, blowing a kiss to Emillia when she thought her mother wasn't looking.

Callista shot a look full of hate at the picture as she shooed her children away.

The scene shifted once more as Callista stood alone before the portrait, lips trembling. "You never went through these changes, sister. Men who once kissed the ground you trod never laughed behind their hands at what you became. Women never scorned you in the market. You live on in Papa's heart as the glorious one when once he kissed my cheek and called me his little cream rose. Let's see how those oil-painted cheeks hold up to the kiss of fire.

Corvo blinked, ending the string of visions. "Enough. I will not revisit that house of shadow, dear Emillia. You will stay in this paradise until you are ready to enter the world and fulfill the purpose that will make you great. On that day you will dismiss me as your Protector and I will take you to the place of your destiny."

"Never, Corvo. I will never send you away."

There were tears in her eyes as she once again met his gaze for what she saw there would prove her a liar.