As I sat on the roof of the palace, wind blowing through my hair, through my coat, right through my bones, I was filled with calm. Here I was, back in my city – finally the ruler that it deserved. It was strange looking to the past; pre-coup Emily was a shallow reflection of the current me. I could vividly remember believing that I was different than my fellow aristocrats; honourable, brave, worthy. In truth, I was an entitled fool.
But not anymore - I'd been torn down only to be built up stronger, better, if not more cynical, and admittedly, harsher. But if I'd learnt anything during my year on the run, it was that everything came at a price.
"Emily?" came a rough, warm, familiar voice.
"Father." I greeted, smiling wide as my greatest ally took his place beside me.
In truth, Corvo and I had much to discuss, but so far I'd avoided bringing up the Outsider and the powers of the Void. I wanted to bask in the joy of our reunion and reinstatement - I didn't want to bring up something which he was uncomfortable, if not ashamed to speak of. But he was my father and I had kept little from him up until now, if only he could've said the same.
"How does it feel, to be up here, with things finally taking shape after all that's happened?" He asked, eyes darting from roof to roof, scanning for potential danger as only the Royal Protector could.
"It feels... right. I'm finally where, who I'm supposed to be."
He chuckled darkly, "Going through what you did, it would be impossible to come out unchanged. Just remember –" He reached over, and squeezed my wrapped hand. "- You were as worthy before as you are now. Now, you're just... more experienced."
"You can say that again." I said, rolling my eyes. They fell to our hands, where they lingered.
Corvo, missing nothing, noticed my distraction. "It's a gift, Emily." He said, eyes on our hands but unfocused, as though he could see something else – someone else. "But it's a gift meant for the desperate, for those with nothing left to lose. In time, it may become a curse. Keep it in check, or it will overwhelm you..." he raised his tired eyes to mine. "I'm sorry."
Whether he was sorry for me, marked just as he had been, or sorry for never discussing his abilities with me, I was unsure. But it didn't matter, he knew, we both knew and neither could judge nor condemn the other.
Together we sat, staring at the sky and the city, talking little, content to just be together.
My first 'official' day of being the reinstated Empress was a tiring, yet fruitful one. I would not turn a blind eye as I had in the past to the workings of my empire, this time I would get to know those in power as well as the people under my care. Work and wages would be fair, gaps would be lessened, and I would chisel the corruption away steadily, with an unrelenting hand.
My court was growing, becoming a reliable group of allies with whom I could confer and receive council. And in terms of the general palace, I'd noticed a great change in how I was received. Once I had been tolerated, my speeches heard but not listened to. Now, people clung to my words, finding meaning in my charismatic cleverness – however, that some of the unwavering attention was due to fear, I did not doubt.
By this stage my story was fairly well known - how I'd almost single handily destroyed Delilah from the inside out, using wit and cunning to strip her bare. My lack of a violent revenge had been praised, but many criticised my punishments as harsher than assassination. I cared little what people thought about my actions during that time, for in a way it seemed as though it should be private. It had been me, a young, stupid girl, against the world. It was Emily's story, not that of the Empress.
That evening, I retired to my room for dinner. I picked at the rich foods while sifting through paperwork, a lot of which seemed unnecessarily extensive. It wasn't long before my eyes drifted longingly to the window, lingering on the rooftops parallel to me. I wondered if Corvo was up there, as he often was on quiet nights like these, enjoying his brief freedom from royal niceties. I wished to join him, but this was no longer just a begrudging job to me, it was my life.
I don't know when I'd fallen asleep, but when I awoke the landscape was changed. A grey ruin of rock and mist, where time and space did not interfere – I was in The Void. It had been a while since my last visit, when I'd ultimately trapped a surprisingly willing Delilah in her false world. I'd imagined it many times, living in the space between, just as she did now. It was a meaningless existence; less than death. Perhaps my critics where right about me.
"Dearest Emily." Came the booming but silky voice that I'd come to expect.
And then he appeared before me, his morbid suit, chiselled features and blackened eyes, all familiar and all wrongly comforting.
"Does it feel good, to finally sit on the throne stolen from you, surrounded my comfort and fake smiles? Or do you miss it, the quiet steps, the measured breaths and the slicing of blade through blood and bone?"
It was an intrusive question. So intrusive in fact, that it caught me off guard in a way which even he rarely managed – for the thought had definitely been floating, undefined and without worded structure in my own head, it just took him to voice it...
I had never lied to the Outsider; I'd never much cared to. A desperate woman already disgraced, I hadn't sought acceptance or supernatural approval, just a means of survival.
"Sometimes I think you know me better than I know myself, Outsider." I finally managed, slightly unnerved.
He smiled. "How interesting that you think so... Here I was, so very surprised by how you dealt with Delilah." The smile slipped. "You aren't above killing Emily, why did you spare her? Do you even know?"
The question was harsh, threatening even. He was displeased with the outcome of mine and Delilah's encounter - that much was obvious.
"I killed when I had to, when I couldn't- when I was incapable of an alternative. I didn't have to kill her."
He flashed in front of me, so close that his nose was almost touching mine. "Blood is thicker than water, Empress." He said, and I was surprised when no breath met my face.
And then he was away, appearing again to my left, eyes contemplative.
"Delilah resides here now, in the Void. She is near and far at all times and it displeases me. The woman is cunning, beyond reproach. I hear the tick of her clever little thoughts constantly, like rats in my pipes."
"A fitting comparison." I said, rather confused by the direction of the conversation.
"Indeed." He said, slowly advancing towards me. "And so it falls to you, Empress Emily Kaldwin, to look and listen and guard and contain that... box. Decisions have consequences, Empresses have responsibilities; this is yours."
I took a step towards him, filled with both confusion and dread. "What do you mean, Outsider?" I asked slowly, and pointedly.
"You're a smart woman, Emily." He said, with that same eerie smile. "You really are one of my favourites... a joy to watch!" And then he was gone, and I was gone, the Void disappeared and I lifted my weary head from my paper filled desk.
It was Corvo who found me, and for that I was grateful. Since returning from the Void they wouldn't stop - the voices. Whisperings in my head, none of which I could make out, none of which I could ignore. I was shaken, worried beyond belief. Somehow, in some way, the Outsider had changed me. In a pathetic bid to calm myself I'd decided to run a bath, but half way through I made the terrible mistake of looking in the mirror. I shrieked at the reflection, that of which was not my own.
It was then that Corvo appeared, startlingly fast, sword drawn and brow furrowed. It softened then, morphing into one of confusion, when he realised that the circumstances did not appear to be life threatening.
"Emily?" he asked, looking to me, concern heavy in his tone. I was still frozen in place, frozen to the mirror. And then he saw.
The reflection of the bathroom was gone, replaced by a familiar ashen wasteland. And where I should have been, stood the Outsider - smirk firmly in place.
"An overdue reunion." He droned, slipping slowly from the mirror into the reality of the bathroom. It was a terrible, yet fascinating sight. "How boring you became Corvo, once your lovely daughter was safe, was powerful. I never took you as a palace man, yet here you are, involved, respected."
"What have you done?" asked Corvo, gruff yet still. He knew the Outsider and respected his power. "How are you here?"
And he really was. The Outsider now stood, tall, confident and supernatural before us - in the living world.
"You took something from me." I stated, the initial fear gone, replaced with logic, curiosity and a new, hollow tenor which I couldn't quite place.
"Indeed, Emily the Clever." he replied, half mocking one of my many titles, "But I also gave you something. I am fair."
"Explain." Commanded Corvo; eyes slits, breath hard.
"Emily meddled with my world, a world that is not hers to meddle with. She believes she did what was necessary, to save her father, to save her family..." And then he turned to look back at the mirror and the dour reflection, now missing its point of interest. "The Void is mine, the Void is me... well... all but one, disjointed rift, taken and filled and abandoned. Emily is the keeper of that key now, and in exchange for it, I too have within me a part of her."
A beat of silence followed as the cogs of my mind turned and churned.
"You took my soul... and replaced it with the Void?" I choked out, going cold.
"Just a fraction. You are still you, I am still me."
"Why me?!" I yelled. "You hid your precious Void from Delilah; you resented her for wanting it, craving it. Why give it to me, unneeded, unasked for?" I demanded.
He came close, and lifted my chin lightly with his hand. Had he ever touched me before? I could not recall a time. He seemed to be appraising me, weighing me up to see if I was worth it, worth anything. I stilled and looked deep into his black eyes. I was filled with a quiet, burning rage, and he was emotionless, hollow as ever.
He let me go and stepped away - apparently he couldn't teleport in this reality, or maybe he just didn't want to. He looked from me to Corvo and then back to me.
"This is a burden for you, but one you will bear. I've watched many of my marked, seen them build and destroy and with this... gift, I could have predicted each and every one of their actions. What will you do, Empress Emily?"
"And what will you do, Outsider?" I asked, matching his stance, holding his eye. "Are you ready for the real world? Oh yes, I see you here, so out of place, out of time."
He smiled. "We are linked now Emily. The Void is open to you, just as this world is now open to me."
And then he turned, merging with the mirror once more, entering the Void and vanishing from view and reflection alike.