Chapter X

Soft, incessant taps woke her from her gentle slumber. At first she ignored it, pulling a pillow over her ears in an attempt to drown out the noise, but as it continued, she knew it wouldn't stop anytime soon. Groggily pushing the blankets aside, Jessamine rubbed the sleep from her eyes to get a glimpse at the source of the disturbance. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, they made out the faint outline of a solitary figure crouched at the foot of her window balcony. Now rising from the comfort of her warm, inviting bed, her eyes widened in surprise as she saw clearly the unexpected intruder.

"Corvo?"

It must have been louder than she had intended, because at the sound of his name, Corvo held a gloved finger to his mouth, indicating silence. Still slightly confused, she unlocked the window, letting the night breeze sweep through the chamber. Shivering as the cold began to set in, Jessamine took a good look at the still kneeling Corvo. Dressed in all black attire, she almost didn't recognize him, had he not removed the thin cloth covering his mouth and nose. Slung over his shoulder was also a small bag, its contents a mystery.

"Corvo? What's going on? Has something happened?" She whispered, growing concern showing on her face.

Guarding his silence, he pointed at her clothes, motioning for her to get dressed.

"Come. I've got something to show you."

She took a second to dress herself in similar attire to his, a mixture of comfortable but stylish outfit fit for most excursions. Such as this strange and sudden one. She was still quite puzzled by Corvo's vague and unforeseen appearance, but Jessamine trusted him. Waiting for her to close the window behind her, Corvo revealed a rope fastened to her balcony, leading down towards the outskirts of Dunwall Tower. In a single motion, he vaulted over the railing of the balcony, and slid swiftly down the rope. Jessamine had a bit of a tougher time. Trying her best to make as little noise as possible, she struggled over the railing, then taking a deep breath and grasping onto the rope, made her way down slowly. The climb was higher than expected, and as she neared the bottom, Jessamine felt her arms begin to lose their grip. Jessamine stifled a scream as the rope's knot gave way, and she began falling what looked at least a couple stories high. Just as she began anticipating the agonizing pain of hitting the ground, Jessamine felt a premature connection as she collided with something else. Corvo, breathing heavily, had caught her only moments before she would have hit the ground. Holding her gently in his warm arms, he struggled to give her a thin smile.

"You alright, Princess?"

She simply nodded, words refusing to form in her mouth. Placing her down, Corvo motioned for her to get down, as he lowered his stance. She heard the unmistakable sound of booted footsteps on the stoned pavement approaching them. A lonely guard, who probably heard the commotion, walked over to investigate the strange sound. All Jessamine could do was watch Corvo, and hope that the sound of her rapidly beating heart wouldn't give them away. Yet as usual, Corvo remained calm and collected, keeping an eye on the clearing, ready to pounce into action should the moment require it. She could see as his eyebrows furrowed, until his eyes were only small slits, his jaw locking in concentration.

Since becoming her Lord Protector, she had begun to realize that Corvo's non-talkative attitude was not in fact, attributed to some form of shyness. He was just a quiet person, preferring to reserve his words until the moment required it, keeping to his silence that she had grown so comfortably in. So instead, Jessamine learned to read his body movements. At first they were small things, like how he crossed his arms when annoyed, or scratching his clean-shaven cheek when something of interest came up.

Now, she could tell that Corvo wasn't worried, just prepared. His body language indicated nothing but serene concentration at the task at hand. Which in this moment, was to not get caught by the very guards usually tasked in protecting her.

The investigating guard left as soon as he came, taking a quick look to make sure there wasn't any obvious or notable intrusions before moving on with his patrol. Realizing she had been holding her breath the whole time, Jessamine exhaled, looking up at her escort for the night.

Once they made it past the wall, and the rest of the security around the Tower, Corvo shed off his black attire, revealing gray garments, and pulling out from the sac on his shoulder, a pair of brown travel cloaks, as protection from the biting night cold. Jessamine took one of them from his hand, slipping the thick warm cloak on over her black clothing. Making their way to the stables, Corvo revealed two chestnut-gray mares, which appeared to be saddled and ready to go. Still unsure of where exactly he was taking her, at that point Jessamine decided that she had had enough. She trusted Corvo, with her live, and she would never believe that he would do anything that would put her at risk, but all she wanted were straight up answers.

"Wait Corvo."

Corvo, who had been checking the stirrups on both horses, running his hand through their hair, turned to face her. She swallowed.

"Where are we going? What is going on?"

Corvo gave her the same answer as before.

"There's something I want to show you."

Shaking her head, she crossed her arms, staring him down.

"That's not good enough. Look Corvo, it's the middle of the night, its cold, we snuck out of the Tower, I almost fell and hurt myself, and you're not giving me any answers."

Corvo looked around, nervous that someone had heard them. Sighing, he said.

"Look, as I said, there's something I want to show you. Something I found. But…I'd prefer if it was a surprise." He met her eyes. "Please, Princess. Trust me. It'll be worth it in the end, I promise. And then you can go back to bed, without me bothering you."

Unable to deny Corvo that sense of trust, she caved.

"Fine Corvo. But this better be worth it."

That brought a smile to his face. He helped her onto her horse before jumping on his own, softly whistling to the horse, spurring it forward. Once he felt the coast was clear, he beckoned to Jessamine, who followed. Together, they rode out of the populated city, and towards the outskirts of the city, to the wide, grassy frontier that outlined the northern coast.

It felt as though they had ridden for a couple hours before Corvo began to slow down. Jessamine's eyelids had already begun to grow heavy, and more than once she had caught herself falling asleep in the saddle. Luckily, her horse had the common sense to stay behind Corvo's horse, and she hadn't strayed too far from him. Yawning, she asked.

"How much longer, Corvo?"

Without looking back, he answered.

"We're close."

Already knowing the answer, she rolled her eyes, feeling a sense of annoyance growing. She was about to speak out again, when Corvo interrupted her.

"We're here."

It wasn't much. A small, solitary wood cottage, hanging over the cliff, looking out towards the sea. It looked as if there had been recent repairs in an attempt to make it more cozy, more of a livable environment. It definitely wasn't much.

"This is it?" She proclaimed, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice.

Corvo didn't answer, guiding the horses to a small corral off to the side, securely hitching them before entering the cabin. She reluctantly followed.

Inside was a different story. Everything was new, entirely renovated for a comfortable lifestyle. Candles were lit up in all corners, illuminating maps and drawings of the ocean and the stars. Jessamine found its simplicity appealing, drawing her in to explore every part of the little room. But the greatest part of it was the view. The wall facing the ocean had been entirely torn down, exposing the sea in its entirety. She sat on the floor, marveling at the beauty of the naked ocean, undisturbed by the city lights and pollution, or endless whaling metal ships infesting the bleak waters. Jessamine had seen the ocean before, after all Gristol was an island. But something about being able to gaze upon the ocean as it was created, with no human presence or interference, astonished her. A warm hand grasped her shoulder.

"There's more."

In his hand, Corvo held a small wooden telescope, newly made. Extending his hand, he offered it to her.

"Look out there. Towards the ocean."

Bringing the telescope to her eye, she peered through the glass at the smooth ocean. At first, there was nothing but the soft lull of the waves, but suddenly she caught a glimpse of a splash in the water. Gasping, she peered closer, able to see faint outlines of something underneath the water. Then, they appeared.

The whales surfaced one at a time, first the smaller children, the size of a carriage, soon followed by their parents. They were large, magnificent creatures, their glistening white hides reflecting the light of the shining moon, painting an almost spectral scene. Jessamine gasped slightly when the first of the whales opened up their blowholes to release a gust of air and water, droplets cascading through the air in all directions. Moving the telescope, she followed the younger whales, who had begun to splash and play innocently on the ocean's surface, as carefree as only children can be, as the adults swam gracefully, communicating to themselves.

It was such a pleasant and astonishing view. The sight of whales was usually followed by the smell of their rotting flesh as dock-workers moved to remove their natural sourced oil that had so quickly become a precious commodity throughout the island. So rarely now were whales seen alive, and certainly not in such high quantity. She reveled in the sight, taking it all in, a hint of sadness melting her heart as she knew it might possibly be the last time she see something of this marvel. Looking away from the pleasant surprise, Jessamine turned to Corvo.

"It's beautiful Corvo."

He smiled. "I thought you'd like it."

Still, a nagging thought clung in the back of her head.

"But…why all the secrecy? Wouldn't it have just been easier to go in the middle of the day, and just say we are going for a ride? Why didn't you just tell me?"

"What, and ruin the surprise?" Pausing, he rubbed his tired eyes. "Besides, I thought you'd appreciate the little adventure. You've been so occupied with your studies of late, I thought that you could do with a break, at least for this special occasion."

His eyes glistened, the small smile still on his face.

"Happy birthday, Jessamine."

A/N: Two chapters in the same month? Oh my god, it's a miracle!