Chapter Five: Mesmerize

"We're all attracted to the things that interest us, the aspects of the world that our hearts long for. We want to see ourselves in others, to be challenged, to be appreciated for who we are. We want to mesmerize others and be mesmerized in return."

Emily –

I hated to admit that he was handsome, but it wasn't something I could just stop seeing. His dark hair was slightly unkempt in a way, but still just taken care of enough to be attractive, roguish. His eyes were focused on the various herbs and other materials gathered around the work station he was making use of. He leaned over it even though I know he must have heard me open the door, I paused at the other end of the room, watching him. He'd taken off the jacket he always wore and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to not interfere with his crafting. It was the most disheveled I'd seen him but somehow that added to the attraction. Then after he'd finished adding some powder to whatever he was mixing he glanced up at me. I was immediately reminded of how he wasn't human even if he looked like one when he worked, when his eyes were downcast.

His eyes had always hypnotized me, even in the void it was difficult not to grow distracted by them, but that quality was stronger in the real world. I was lost so easily in his gaze, it made me wonder if the whole of space wasn't trapped in that darkness. Before the moment extended to the point of awkward I forced myself back to reality, hoping that the heat in my face wasn't visible as I spoke. "I had dinner brought up, I don't know if you are hungry. I don't know if you eat actually, but it's here if you want it."

Then again, even speaking I hadn't glanced away, I was trapped in that dark gaze…but I wasn't afraid, not as I had been during our first few meetings in visions of the void. When I didn't know if it was a nightmare or dream, if he was friend or foe. I still didn't know which he was…or if he had even decided himself. I did know that if he was going to harm me, he would have already done so. So with those trepidations gone it was too easy to fixate on that limitless gaze. I'd always been curious and there was an eternity of knowledge in this creature, past and future…how couldn't I be swept away by his very design? I didn't realize that I was still staring until I needed to blink, my eyes having grown a bit dry as I watched him…my mouth wasn't far behind…I was glad they'd brought wine up with the meal. I think I agreed with father on needing something more than water for my company tonight.

He smiled ever-so-slightly at my drawn-out attention. I supposed it was only natural that he would notice it, didn't he notice everything? That thought only aided my nervousness and I wasn't sure what to say to him. Thankfully he broke the silence for me, nodding lightly as he spoke. "Thank you for considering me Empress, now that you mention it a meal would be wise. I will be there in a moment."

I nodded, a bit relieved when he looked back to his work since despite all my inner dialogue I had still been staring. I headed back out of the vault, hesitating a moment near the door before deciding to lock it again. He didn't need the door to get out after all and it was better to be secure. Then I sighed to myself, closing my eyes a moment then shaking my head as the view I just had of him came immediately to mind. I had to compose myself better. I rubbed over my face with my hands and walked to the table to pour the wine, pausing a moment then pouring him a glass as well – if he didn't drink it then I would. I tried to shake the electric feeling that seemed to have seeped into my skin.

Was I getting a crush on a god?

That couldn't be healthy. I'd heard rumors about ole Granny Rags, that she'd gone mad in her obsession with the Outsider…I'd always assumed it was nothing more than a story to teach a lesson, until now. I was living the danger. Certainly, I'd thought the Outsider handsome in the void, but that had been an impossibility, never something worth considering deeply…but now he was in the real world. I tried to dismiss the concept, it was absurd. I was the Empress of Dunwall and he was the god-creature of the Void. I was only helping him return to his rightful home, it was nothing more than folly to entertain something further than that.

"How are preparations proceeding?" He asked suddenly, from the opposite chair. I jumped, dropping the wine bottle, but he caught it…or I assume he did since it was on the table a moment later, faster than I could follow. "I apologize, I should have warned you somehow. I didn't mean to spook you."

"It's fine." I assured, though I felt far from it. For all my training and preparations there was no guide on how to interact with the Outsider. "Slowly but I am trying to move toward leaving in a few days if everything is at least patched together enough to work in my absence. I'm glad you joined me though as I needed to ask you a few things. As I need Corvo here to make sure the capital runs in my absence, I need a new royal protector."

"I'm not certain it is wise to bring on someone new in such an unstable period." The Outsider remarked, then smirked a bit, seeming to realize before I could ask him what I wanted. "You want me to take on the role."

Did he know other things I was thinking about? I sipped my wine generously at the idea he could read my thoughts. I couldn't stop speaking though, I had to press forward…he was probably used to this happening if the rumors were true. Even if he sensed my fancy he was being merciful enough not to speak of it.

"I know, it seems silly but I need a reason for you to be on the ship too and it gives justification for you to be around me in close proximity at all times. I also called in Sokolov because I think he can make lenses to cover up your eyes and then you'll be passably human." I rushed to explain, a little afraid he would refuse my plan and I'd have to come up with something else after father's earlier skeptic reaction. "I know you want knowledge of your presence kept to a minimum but I think that he is trustworthy and he is the best man for the job. Besides, I also know what it is like to get kicked out of your home and while I don't want to make mistakes I want to try and hu..."

I let my statement drift off as the Outsider reached over to touch my arm, pausing my small rant about what I wanted to do. "…rry."

I felt a little reassured that his expression was calm, as usual. There was an easy confidence to his voice that helped slow and quicken my heartbeat at all once. My chest was almost as confused as the rest of me as to what was happening. "I accept Empress. I would still like to keep my presence as hidden as possible but it is an acceptable compromise given what I am asking you to do. Time is of the essence and this seems the most expeditious route."

"Good…" I nodded, glancing outside toward the city. I needed to look somewhere else, to be distracted. What had come over me? I was acting like a foolish teenager, I had a country to concern myself with. I had to admit that I did agree with him that time was important, the sooner the Outsider was back in the void the less I would be tempted to consider these impossible ideas. "…it'll be better for everyone the sooner you are returned."

"I will do everything in my power not to harm your country while I am here, you have my word." He promised and I knew he'd hold to it. As Corvo had pointed out, the Outsider for whatever he was, wasn't a liar.

I nodded again, picking up my fork to start eating, not trusting myself to say too much. Instead I switched back to the topic at hand. "I hope we can leave in a couple more days. You don't mind Sokolov giving you something to cover your eyes? Assuming he can make it, he'll have to see you."

"Sokolov has been hoping for a glimpse of me for years, this will be his only chance. It will be interesting to see how humans react when I look like they do." The Outsider stated thoughtfully, he'd picked up silverware and was eating with me slowly, seeming to test every small piece and consider it before moving to the next. It was such a strange concept, sharing a meal with him when he'd been such an esoteric force until yesterday. I liked it, the ability to just sit and enjoy something simple with someone else. When was the last time I enjoyed a one on one meal with anyone other than father? Not since Calista probably…

The Outsider –

It had taken a fair chunk of the afternoon explaining to Corvo my involvement with Emily. The protector had been both frustrated and grateful for the mark I'd place on her. I knew he was glad that she was safer as a result of my power but he also recalled that my magic didn't come free, that I could draw those with my power into the void as I wished to. I think it frustrated him most that there was now a part of her life he wasn't privy to. She was his daughter after all, and there were few fathers more watchful than Corvo Attano. Still, eventually I finished the story and he agreed, as I expected, that returning me to the void was the wisest course of action. I left him then, and returned to Emily's vault.

The ritual design was precise. I had not crafted something so complex since the glass or the heart, but this ritual would be more than either of those had been. Difficult since I couldn't draw as easily from the void's energy, and I would have to pierce back into the void itself. I had to have all my measurements exactly, another mistake as in the Delilah issue would be costly. I got caught up in the work, so much so that it wasn't until I heard the door opening that I realized how much time had passed. I didn't look up at first, not until I had the proper measurements and was mixing them together did I glance up to the Empress, standing in the higher section of the room watching me work. Was it strange for her, seeing me do such seemly mundane things in her world? I guess it would have to be.

"I had dinner brought up, I don't know if you are hungry. I don't know if you eat actually, but it's here if you want it." She stated, her voice wavering a moment at the start of her comment. Her face was flushed slightly as well, was she growing ill? No, that wasn't it. My presence here was still not fully mortal, not really – the void was still in my eyes and she was captivated by it. It was clearer here perhaps than in the other realm, the show that I was still connected to my home. I appreciated it, but it was also slightly amusing how distracted she let herself become, a far cry from her nervousness in previous encounters. I smiled lightly at her, "Thank you for considering me Empress, now that you mention it a meal would be wise. I will be there in a moment."

I returned to my work, and could hear the door closing a moment later…more a sign that my eyes were the source of her intense interest. I couldn't read those with my Mark easily, it was harder to see where they were going or had been without more focus. Even in the void I often chose to watch as opposed to influence them more than I already had. I occasionally spoke with them of course but it was more interesting not to know and see where they ended up by their choices compared to the rest of the masses whose futures were laid out. Emily was one of the few individuals whose fate wasn't decided, and who could influence the fates of others through her choices and actions. Most I chose to share power with were similarly fascinating.

I finished putting together another piece of the material, a break for the meal came at a good time as I had to leave it to set for several hours. I put my sleeves down and put my jacket back on, glancing in a mirror to make certain I was presentable before appearing opposite Emily at the table.

"How are preparations proceeding?" I asked. She jumped, dropping the wine she was pouring but I caught the bottle, setting it down without a spill. "I apologize, I should have warned you somehow. I didn't mean to spook you."

"It's fine." She assured instantly, too quickly to be true. She pressed immediately into further conversation before I could or could not comment however. "Slowly but I am trying to move toward leaving in a few days if everything is at least patched together enough to work in my absence. I'm glad you joined me though as I needed to ask you a few things. As I need Corvo here to make sure the capital runs in my absence, I need a new royal protector."

"I'm not certain it is wise to bring on someone new in such an unstable period." I started, before considering what she was doing. Her nervousness, the unusual aspect of her voice and expressions. She didn't mean someone else. "You want me to take on the role."

It was an entertaining thought, and I expected Corvo would be both happy and not to have someone so potent to look after his daughter. Neither of them knew just how long I'd been looking out for Emily's interests. I'd taken in Corvo, in part, because he would protect Emily. I'd gotten Daud to interfere with Delilah's first plot to puppet her as a girl. Then finally I offered power to Emily herself to save her from the fate her aunt had in mind. I'd been safeguarding her for years, it seemed pointless to refuse to do so now.

"I know, it seems silly but I need a reason for you to be on the ship too and it gives justification for you to be around me, near at all times. I also called in Sokolov because I think he can make lenses to cover up your eyes and then you'll be passably human." She explained swiftly as I considered her offer. She really was behind this idea of hers. "I know you want knowledge of your presence kept to a minimum but I think that he is trustworthy and he is the best man for the job. Besides, I also know what it is like to get kicked out of your home and while I don't want to make mistakes I want to try and hu..."

I appreciated her sentiment, and that she was taking the time to aid me with such vigor to her plans, she'd already done more than I expected in a short time. She was so agitated however, perhaps because she thought I would refuse. I reached out toward the end of her rant to settle my hand on her arm. The cloth she wore was softer now, the finery expected of someone of her station, not the coarse cloth she'd had when she was out in Karnaca. There was a warmth to her below the layer of fabric, and I offered a light smile, hoping to reassure her as she finished her statement only after a long pause when I reached out. "…rry."

"I accept Empress. I would still like to keep my presence as hidden as possible but it is an acceptable compromise given what I am asking you to do. Time is of the essence and this seems the most expeditious route." I spoke in agreement to her plan, taking my hand back to instead retrieve my silverware. I hadn't used it in a while but it wasn't exactly difficult. Besides, the food here smelled much better than the stale bread and cheese I'd had earlier.

"Good…" She nodded at my acceptance, glancing out the window. I wasn't certain what worries were on her mind but given the way she stared at her city I could guess. "…it'll be better for everyone the sooner you are returned."

How quickly a few months had turned her around. She'd gone from often viewing her throne as a nuisance to instead desiring actively to do what she could for her country. I understood her concerns, I was a problem to her being able to freely move forward after all. A possible threat to her people. I thought it best to let her know that was not my intent. "I will do everything in my power not to harm your country while I am here, you have my word."

"I hope we can leave in a couple more days. You don't mind Sokolov giving you something to cover your eyes? Assuming he can make it, he'll have to see you." She seemed to recover at my remarks, growing more serious as she lifted her own utensils to eat. I was trying a bit of some sort of sauce, I had to admit that food had come far from what I recalled. Humans were very forward thinking in their work with culinary design, spices alone helped bring them forward in that genre.

"Sokolov has been hoping for a glimpse of me for years, this will be his only chance. It will be interesting to see how humans react when I look like they do." I replied to her question, picking up a bit of something else to try it. I didn't want to do too much at once, as I had with the building earlier. I didn't know if too many sensations would disorient me, at least she seemed content to just eat quietly as well with our conversation drawing to a still. I wondered how she would react to me if Sokolov could craft these lenses she hoped for. Would she still stare, knowing what was beneath them? It would be worth participating to see how people viewed me when I at least looked like any other human…

End Chapter

These chapters always get away from me. They end up longer than I mean for them too. I guess I just have to go with the flow of what I'm feeling though. College starts back up for me tomorrow so I'll be very busy. I make zero promises on when I'll be able to post again...but happy new year!

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Mantic64 - Not a bad idea but Corvo needs to be about the capital as Emily needs someone she trusts - short supply at the moment.

tigerfur - It's more of a mix, I went with it based on how my own play through the game went. I mostly noticed that almost everyone seemed dead when I ended up in Delilah's chapter at the final parts.

Dori and Connor - Thanks for the reviews, I will post more as I have the time : )