Chapter 12: Banter

Corvo stood beside Emily at the end her first official cabinet meeting. The room itself was empty but for Emily, himself, and Billie Lurk. He was surprised when Emily recommended Billie Lurk as the new Royal Spymaster, and was even more surprised when she accepted. He had no fondness for the former assassin, but Emily's high recommendation of her and overall cordial treatment of Billie persuaded him to at least be civil to her.

"That went well."

Corvo did not even need to look to his right to know the Outsider was standing next to him. Billie's slack-jawed expression told him all he needed to know.

"Watched the whole thing?" Corvo asked, sure he knew the answer.

"Actually, no," one could hear the smirk in his tone. "I decided to entertain myself awhile by listening to a couple kitchen maids squabble over missing apples. This meeting was more an afterthought."

Corvo suppressed a sigh. He had a feeling the Outsider is responsible for those missing apples.

"You!" hissed Billie, her eyes narrowed.

"Who, me?"

Corvo rolled his eyes at the feigned innocence. Emily tried to hide a smile behind a mask of disapproval.

"What are you doing here, you black eyed bastard?!" Billie snarled, her hand on her knife. Emily walked over to Billie and put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"He is here as a long-term guest and unofficial advisor," Emily soothed.

Billie relaxed a little, but looked concerned. In a softened tone, she whispered:

"Are sure that is wise Empress?"

"He has been here for nearly a month," Emily said. "The worst that happened was that he freed a whale."

Corvo raised an eyebrow and turned to face the Outsider. The god looked rather pleased with himself. Billie still looked skeptical.

"Alright," she turned and pointed at the Outsider. "Don't think you can go cause havoc unnoticed. I have my eye on you." With a bow, she left the room.

Emily smiled, and turned to face Corvo and the Outsider. She placed her hands on the table, and there was a small challenge in her eyes.

"What do you think of my cabinet Outsider?"

The Outsider stroked his chin, looking thoughtful. "Loyal and competent."

She raised an eyebrow. "You truly think so?" her voice was teasing.

"Would you rather tell you that they all are conniving and self-serving without an ounce of skill among the lot?" The Outsider leaned forward, placing his hands on the table.

"So you distrust my choices?"

Corvo felt increasingly ignored by his daughter and the deity in their little back and forth, which to him sounded uncomfortably flirtatious.

"The Outsider? Flirtatious?" he scoffed at the thought. "That creature is probably disgusted by such base things."

But Emily, he could see Emily get sucked in by those black eyes. The notion made him shudder.

"Dear Empress! I am wounded that you would think I held you in such poor regard!"

Then again, the Outsider here and now was different from the Outsider he once knew. This one was more… human.

All the more reason him to keep a watchful eye on him.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Emily thanked Greta as they entered her room.

"It is no trouble," Greta replied with a cheery smile and a shrug. "So, what is the issue?"

Wordlessly Emily gave an unopened envelope to Greta, watching her face.

"Ah, it is from Merida Fitzpatrick," the Sister raised her eyebrows. "Is this Wyman's sister?"

"Yes," Emily replied, fretful. "She rarely writes to me, and what worries me is that I have yet to hear from Wyman."

A look of unease appeared on Greta's face. "You have not heard from him since the Coup or since your restoration?"

"He has not written to me since he left!" Emily cried. "When either of us parted in the past we did at least write to each other. I do not understand what makes things so different this time."

Greta frowned, a pitying look in her eyes. "Emily, it is entirely possible that Wyman is no longer interested in being with you. It sounds crazy, at least to me, but it happens. Or he could have died in a freak accident. We won't know until we open this envelope."

Emily nodded, and sighed. "That is true." Greta offered the envelope back to her, and she took it. "Is it crazy that even after being told that he did nothing to help me in exile that I still want to be with him?"

Greta nodded, and added a sheepish shrug. "To be honest, yes. Noble support could mean your life or death. If he truly cared about you he should have been doing everything he possibly could to help you out. And that includes the bare minimum of speaking out in your favor across Morley. Even so, it is hard to erase years of affection, so while it is crazy it is also normal. I think."

The short Sister's expression made her laugh briefly. But the envelope seemed to weigh heavily in her hand as well as her mind, chasing away the mirth quickly.

"He is one of the few friends I have left," Emily said quietly. "Alexi was killed before my eyes, my cabinet decimated, my staff slaughtered, and now it seems that Wyman has abandoned me."

Greta reached out, an empathetic look on her face, and touched her arm. "You deserve better from a lover, void, from a friend. I know you and I have not known each other long, but please know that I consider you my friend. And if Wyman has no good reason to leave you hanging, I say good riddance. A friend is no friend if they jump ship at the first sight of a storm."

Emily reached up with her free hand and covered Greta's, giving it a brief squeeze. "Thank you," she whispered, overcome with gratitude.

"Anytime," Greta replied softly, a gentle smile on her face. "Now, let's open that envelope."

Dinner with Greta was bound to be interesting experience, particularly with the Outsider on the guest list alongside her. Greta never stayed late enough for it, and the Outsider seemed reluctant to intrude on dinner, something Corvo was grateful for. It was about the only time when he could spend with Emily without someone else in the room. In any case, the Oracular Sister was invited on a whim by Emily; he and the Outsider were already sitting when Emily showed up late with Greta.

The Outsider's face was enough to indicate to Corvo that dinner was about to get very interesting.

"Royal Protector Attano, God of the Void in corporeal form," Greta greeted, a nod for him and a mocking bow for the Outsider.

The Outsider did not respond; he simply picked up the bowl of blood oxen soup and began to drink it.

Greta sat down beside him, across from the Outsider. Emily took her seat a moment later.

"My apologies for being late, we were discussing a letter I received from Wyman," Emily picked up her spoon, which was the cue for the rest of the better-mannered at the table to start eating.

"Oh?" Corvo never had a fondness for Wyman, mostly due to their penchant for illegal tobacco and lackadaisical attitude towards anything serious. A lot of his begrudging respect for Wyman evaporated when he was unable to find any evidence of them working to support Emily during the coup. In spite of knowing that, Emily seemed to still have feelings for them, evident in her avoiding eye contact, looking down into her soup and stirring it, appetite gone.

"More accurately, it's from their sister," said Greta. "Wyman is getting married because they knocked up the heiress to King Street Brandy fortune, Lydia King. Lady Merida thought the Empress deserved to know, and was invited to the wedding if she would like to go. She also offers her political support."

That explained why Emily looked so down. He reached over, offering his hand, and Emily took it with a squeeze.

The Outsider finished chugging the bowl of soup and seemed to finally notice the mood of the room. He set the bowl down and took a sip of water.

"You are better off without Wyman, Empress," he said somewhat flippantly. "Did you know they were sleeping with Esma Boyle the same time they were seeing you?"

Emily looked up at him in shock. "Is that true?" she gasped, her grip on Corvo's hand suddenly tightening.

Greta glared at the Outsider. "I do not think this is the right time to share that information," she snapped.

"It's alright Greta," Emily said, her voice thin, yet steady. She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nose. The Outsider looked somewhat uncertain.

"I would not lie to you Empress," he said carefully. "I hoped this information would make you feel better about no longer being saddled with him."

Emily gave him quite a cutting look, which visibly took the Outsider aback. "I was not saddled with Wyman. Belittling our relationship does not make me feel better."

He was still for a moment, before pointing to Emily's bowl of uneaten soup.

"May I have that?"

Emily laughed a short laugh and pushed it over to him. The Outsider picked it up and immediately began to drink it. Satisfied that his daughter was alright for now, Corvo gave her a smile and let go of her hand.

"So Outsider, any success at getting back to the Void?" Greta asked, her voice just polite enough for it not to be mocking. The Outsider paused in his consumption of the soup.

"Why, trying to get data for you Sisters?" he replied just as politely.

"Oh not at all," Greta batted her eyes. "I thought that you are perhaps missing your home."

The Outsider snorted, and returned to drinking straight from the bowl.

Corvo turned his attention to the steak and carrots. Emily was not eating much, but was clearly listing to the Sister and the Deity banter. He heard a soft thud as a soup bowl was placed on the table.

"I am the Void," the Outsider recited tonelessly. "It is not my home, no more than your body is your home."

"Hmm," Greta put a piece of steak in her mouth, pondering another question. "What is your opinion on people doing all sort of crazy rituals to get you attention?"

"If they wanted to get my attention, they should try to be more interesting," The Outsider punctuated that remark by shoving an entire carrot in his mouth.

Corvo sorted. He recalled the Outsider making a very similar remark about Sokolov.

"You can see everything, right?" Greta asked.

The Outsider gave her a very condescending look as he stuffed a too-big piece of steak in his mouth with surprising elegance.

"What is the funniest thing you have ever seen?"

The god pondered while he chewed. "Perhaps when a young noble grabbed a blood ox by the tail and was kicked a rather delightful distance into a lake."

"I guess one had to be there," Emily commented.

The Outsider nodded. "The noise he made was truly remarkable. Both upon the kick and when landing in the lake."

"I am surprised that it had nothing to do with whales," she remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"Now that you do mention it, there was quite the whaler once who had quite the vendetta against a large white whale…"

As Emily and the Outsider started a conversation between the two of them, Greta turned to him with a keen eye and a sly look.

"I've talked to Billie about this, but I have plan for Emily's birthday, which should be happening next week. Of course, we need your approval."

Well, this promised to be interesting. "I am all ears."