Absolutely and utterly preposterous. Absurd. Asinine. Illogical and irrational.

And still, it woke me from a dead sleep screaming profanities.

Nightmares are not uncommon in my mind, but after I learned the truth of my father's death, I had rather hoped that I could have banished their presence in my mind. And while the nightmare did not focus on that incident, it was no less painful and burns no less in the eye of my mind.

My "little sister" would say it was simply a "fool's foolish foolishness foolishly fooling with foolish foolery." And while it's taken me a few years to translate her, I'd agree.

But that changes nothing that I feel in my chest.

I have long held to the belief that emotions are left for the weak and helpless, and that they had no place in my everyday life. I did not need petty connections to other people. What few people I kept around me as "friends" – mainly Butz and Wright – were held at a safe distance, so that they never got too close, yet also weren't entirely alienated. Franziska...was a different story. If ever I was close to someone, it was her – but even she and I had our understanding. Her weaknesses were hidden behind the crack of a whip, and mine behind the snap of a crisp retort. It was a rare instance if we let each other see beyond them.

So who could have ever seen the kid sister of Lana Skye finally breaking through my façade?

Ema. The very thought of that name sent chills through my body, and not for reasons that anyone to chalk up as "good". Because after that dream, one more name shot through my mind, and I could feel the adrenaline beginning all over again.

Klavier Gavin.

I barely knew Gavin, but I had heard Ema refer to a "glimmerous fop" on occasion, and finally got a name out of her. A young German prosecutor with a penchant for guitar riffs, he was as precise as I was and yet infinitely more … socially graceful. A bit presumptuous and arrogant, but I'd never met a prosecutor that wasn't. Ema had never seemed fond of him; she only spoke of him with any type of respect when overtly prompted. I wasn't sure what precisely she meant by "glimmerous", but it wasn't complimentary.

So why, why, why could I not get the image of the two of them together out of my mind?

As all my nightmares were, the night prior had been vivid and intense. I was waiting outside of the courthouse, at the bottom of the steps, waiting for her. She had testified in the case, and done well for herself … though she didn't see it on her own. Wright came down, reveling in his triumph over Gavin, and we exchanged greetings. A few more faces I didn't recognize came by. And then I saw her, smiling even through her disappointment that all of her work investigating had led to an acquittal. My mouth opened to greet her; I took a step forward to walk toward her.

And he came up behind her, platinum blond hair dazzlingly bright in the sunlight, matching the grin traced across his face. One arm snaked around her waist, eliciting a giggle from her as she batted at it, feigning embarrassment at the public display of affection. Gavin barely reacted, his grin simply growing wider and his grip on her waist a touch tighter.

If ever I had desired to fade into the background, it was then.

But the dream wouldn't end there. Just before they brushed past me, Gavin's eye was drawn toward me, and the pair stopped. "Ah, Herr Edgeworth! You watched the trial, ja? I thought I saw you in the gallery."

My chest hurt. I could barely speak. But somehow, the words, "Yes, of course," escaped my lips.

"Suppose ever Herr Hair gets it right sometimes." The two of them laughed, and even though the jab was not toward me, it stung. How could she laugh...? She'd worked with Wright... "The next time I grace the stage, however, you will not be disappointed. It will be a rocking the court has never seen before!" He mimed playing a guitar exuberantly, drawing another small giggle from Ema.

After bidding me farewell, he went to leave, and somehow I managed to move to catch Ema. He paused, but she looked at him and he simply nodded, stepping a few paces away. "I..." My mouth was dry. No words would come.

"Mr. Edgeworth." With two words, it was as if a thousand of Franziska's whips had dug into my chest. She'd been one of the first to call me Miles in … I can't remember how long, and now...! "It has been a long and tiring day, and I think we both could use our rest. I hope your evening is nice."

She turned to leave, and I managed a weak "Ema..." that made her pause. The sound of my dream voice made me cringe in reality. I sounded weak, broken, damaged in a way I had not been since I lost my father. It was pathetic.

Suddenly her face was hard, and I almost believed I saw her sister in that second. "Perhaps...it would be better for all of us if you called me Miss Skye." She paused for a moment. "After all, Klavier and I have professional reputations to keep up – as do you, Mr. Edgeworth … that is, if you still care about such things." And she walked away, being swept up in the embrace of her former "glimmerous fop", who presses a kiss to the back of her hand and revels in the sound of her laughter.

I scream – no, I roar – I howl in anguish and swear and curse the child whose parents I name unmarried and suddenly I awake in the dark of my room, wondering how I got there and why I cannot etch those steeled Skye eyes from my mind.

As I said, it is absurd. To begin with, I have no evidence that any positive relationship – friendly, romantic, or otherwise – exists between Ema and Gavin. Any time we have spoken of him, she presents a strictly forced civil working relationship, and nothing more.

But though I am strong and confident behind the prosecutor's table, in matters of emotion … of the heart … I am notoriously weak and lacking in self-confidence. Klavier Gavin is all that I am not. Self-assured, confident … entirely unflappable. Where my nerves get the best of me in social situations, he is suave and calm, simply able to waltz through any situation unscathed. Where I hide my feelings and squelch them behind years of training, he dazzles with smiles and flirts with ease. He is sociable, friendly, open. I am reserved, often aloof, closed off.

He is the obvious choice, in looking for a … "boyfriend".

Gavin is the type of person that if you have what he desires, he will find a way to charm the baby birds from your nest and he will have them himself. If it is Ema skye he wants, no amount of sharp retorts or steely gazes will stand in his way. Miles Edgeworth is but one more obstacle he will overcome in his conquest.

And I, having allowed my guard to come down just an inch too far, will be broken by him, if it is she that he chooses. That is one battleground that I am too naïve to fight on.

I promised Ema I would come to the second day of court. She's nervous about her testimony again, especially after what we uncovered today. I cannot say as I blame her; I would be as well. It's a tricky case, and I am far from surprised that it is the first case that Wright takes on after having been away from the bar for so long. While the evidence points against him, I will be far from shocked to see one of his usual turnabouts at the end of the last day of trial.

But I do not know if I truly have the strength to sit and watch a day of Klavier Gavin playing his imaginary guitar where I have so often stood.

...A promise is a promise. I was raised a von Karma, for better or for worse – and before that, my father taught me all that I attempt to hold dear now. And neither my father nor the von Karmas would accept my backing down from this.

So I will go, and I will watch.

And I will pray that my nightmare is just that – a twisted tale from my all-too-vulnerable heart.