Return to the Pits

Callista Curnow shook. Whether she was cold or afraid, she couldn't tell. Probably both. She peeked again through the blinds, looking across at the pub across the road. A tallboy clanked past, and she quickly moved away from the window.

That movement caused her to fall back into a shape that had not been there before.

She jerked away but was grabbed, a hand going over her mouth as a blade came to rest at her throat.

"Don't say a word." Warned a low, masculine voice.

Callista locked up.

"Enough, Corvo. She means me no harm."

My lady-

The man released her and she span in place, looking up and down the man the world had blamed for killing the empress. He looked…exactly how she'd expected him to look, really. Terrifying, tall, rugged, handsome...Anyway.

Walking out from behind him was a young girl in a white dress, who's legs were shaking just as much as Callista's were.

Emily Kaldwin looked up at her with a shellshocked expression. "Callista?"

"My lady!" She ran forwards, brushing past the deadly assassin to scoop up Emily in a hug. "You're alive! Oh thank the Outsider…"

"He hardly deserves any thanks." Grumbled Corvo, to himself.

"Hello, Callista." Emily said, tonelessly. "Why are you hugging me? You know I'm a witch."

"I don't care." Callista chuckled, crying. "I'm just glad you're safe." She looked around. "Where is…where's the boy? Thomas?"

Emily's gaze darkened. She didn't answer.

"Oh my dear, I'm so sorry."

"Havelock. Pendleton. Martin." Emily bit out. "Where are they?"

"They…" Callista stood back up, and waved the two towards the window. "They took off to the new lighthouse. The one your mother began construction on? Burrows turned it into a fortress, and the loyalists, if you can even still call them that, have taken off in a boat there. They've already announced your return, but they've told the world that they have you, and that you're safe with them in the lighthouse. Pierro and Sokolov both refused to go with them, they're holed up in their lab with some armoured walls. And there are soldiers now, all over the pub."

"Not for long." Emily flexed her fingers.

"My lady, are…" Callista winced at Emily's expression. "Are you okay?"

"No."

"I…I see."

Corvo put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to handle this one?"

She shook her head again. "No. Pierro is my friend. I'm not going to stand by while he's getting hurt just because I…I'll be fine."

Corvo and Callista shared a look. Neither said anything.

._.

"This is dumb. Why are we even here?"

"Because the Admiral took Jack and Geoff to the island, so we're stuck covering their shift."

The two guards shuffled restlessly. One out of boredom, one out of worry.

"How long do you think this damn scare's gonna last, anyway?" The bored one growled. "I just wanna get back to regular patrols."

"As long as the Void-Singer's still out there, I guess." Shrugged the concerned one.

His partner laughed. "Oh come on, you believe that crap?"

"Believe-Uh, yeah? It's true!"

"Blow off!" The guard laughed, and waved dismissively. "Magic doesn't exist. This 'Void Singer' is just some rumour passed about by the church and some scared homeless people."

"Don't say that!" The other hissed. "She might-"

"What, come get us?" He put his hands around his mouth. "Oi! Miss murder witch! What's the deal with acting like a little girl anyway?"

"Stop it!"

"Hey, if you're real, why don't you come scrag me, huh? I bet you don't even have the-"

And then he vanished.

His companion blinked. "Wh-What?"

"He was a lovely fellow, wasn't he?"

The guard, shaking, turned his head. The Void-Singer sat there on a wall, swinging her legs casually.

"Shame he didn't have much interesting to say…" She looked up at him. "I can't imagine you'll be any different."

"Now wait a minute, I didn't mean, no. Nononono, Argh! Oh god! No-"

._.

"Three…two…one…" There was a boom. "And right on time. Honestly, could they be any less predictable?" Pierro tutted and went back to his studies.

"Perhaps if the guardsmen were more competent, I would not have been so easily kidnapped." Mused Sokolov, reading through one of Pierro's journals. "And I must say, you have demonstrated incredible ingenuity with your remedies, sir. If I had known you worked at this level, I would have had you abducted weeks ago."

"High praise from you, I'm sure." Pierro drawled. "And courtesy demands I respond in kind. Not that I would be lying, now I've studied your creation process I must admit to being impressed."

"Thank you." Sokolov paused. "I wonder…has it possibly occurred to you too…"

"That the hagfish oil could free up the active sites on the river crust enzymes?" Pierro offered.

Sokolov felt a smile coming on. "Indeed. In fact, at the right temperatures-"

"-It might prove fatal to the strain!" Pierro walked over to his stores. "I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but, well, do we have any more subjects?"

"Afraid not. Our last weeper died two hours ago." Sokolov sighed. "I'll try and sample something from the corpse we can test on."

"Hold off with the scalpel." Pierro warned, checking his pocket watch. "The next volley will come in three…two…one…"

There was no boom.

Pierro and Sokolov shared a glance, then listened with baited breath for the activity outside.

There was silence.

"Glad to see you two gentlemen are hard at work."

Both span, and there sat a girl in a white dress on their table. She flicked up the useless veil to regard them with tired eyes.

"Emily!" Pierro shouted. "You're alright! I told them they shouldn't have chased you off, I told them-"

"It's alright, Pierro." She tried to smile, but it came out bitter. "It's not your fault."

"The guards." Sokolov checked. "We have a plan. If you can get to the roof, there's an advanced version of the arc pylon that should be able to-"

"Oh I already dealt with the guards." Emily dismissed.

"I…See…"

"But anyway, the plague!" Pierro mentioned. "We're making progress there too. In fact, we think we might be on the verge of a cure!"

Her face rose for a moment, before falling again. "Is that so."

Pierro blinked. "You're not…happy?"

"You're a little too late to help my feelings." Emily sighed. "But this isn't about me. Continue for my people."

"Did…" Neither of the two were stupid. They paled. "Ah. I see."

"Enough. Havelock." Emily hopped down off the table. "Do any of us have a boat?"

._.

Emily walked into her room. Clearly the guards hadn't felt the need to come snooping around in here at least; it was almost exactly how she'd left it. Thomas' spare mattress was still haphazard on the floor, her bed was still ruffled slightly from the last time she'd used it, and if she looked, there was the hand mirror she'd left on the dresser. If she had been feeling fanciful, she could have pretended the last two days had been a dream.

But she was quite through lying to herself, thank you very much.

"The flare is right there." Callista pointed to the window, walking in behind her. "Your boat is waiting for you, just set it off."

Emily nodded, wasting no time walking up to it and cranking the lever. A red bolt of light flew up into the sky.

"What do you think happens to us now?" Callista mused from behind her. "It used to be simple; work for Havelock, and hope. Now…"

"There are two real possibilities." Emily told her, not looking back. "If this ends with me as empress, then I'll ensure both you and everyone else are compensated substantially for your services. I'll even continue to hire you, in fact."

"You'd do that?" Callista blinked. "But…I'm hardly fit to serve an empress."

"You've been doing rather well so far." Emily remarked. "Of course, if I die or get rejected, then there's no reward at all for your efforts. For which I'm very sorry. Should that occur you and the other servants are welcome to any and all of my remaining possessions, if it would help. I wonder how much you'll get for a dress that never dirties…"

"Stop that!" Callista begged. "You shouldn't have to think like that!"

"No." Emily sighed. "But here we are." She squinted out to the waters outside, and her eyes widened as she saw the boat that was coming into the port. "Is that-?"

"Of course." Chuckled Callista. "Who else?"

Emily was gone, propelling herself out of the window. She landed daintily in the small boat, and only took a moment to meet the eyes of it's occupant before rushing forwards and pulling him into a hug.

"Hey, now." Chuckled Samuel Beechworth. "It's good to see you too, young lady."

"It's all gone wrong." She whispered, tears in her eyes.

"I know, I know." He continued to bring the boat to a stop with one hand, rubbing her back with the other. "But is it over yet?"

"No." She replied.

"Well then." He pulled her off him, and held her at arms' length. "Better stand up straight."

She nodded.

._.

The rest of the Hound Pits congregated on the dock: The remaining servants, the scientists, her and Corvo. The latter nodded at Sam. "You'll be mister Beechworth."

"Aye."

"I hear you've been looking after my charge over the last few weeks."

Samuel shrugged. "She's hardly needed an old fool like me looking after her, but I've done my best."

Corvo fell into a small bow. "Then I'm in your debt, sir."

"There's no need for that." Samuel laughed it off. "I've just done what I thought was right."

"Nobler than it seems, that." Corvo smiled at him. "I'll thank you all the same."

"Enough adult politeness." Emily waved her hand dismissively at them, earning laughs from the others present.

She looked across their faces, fixing them in her mind. "We're going to the lighthouse." She said. "Me, Corvo, and Sam. We're going to reach the loyalists and, well…" She took a breath in. "Stick together. If all ends well I'll have you all summoned to the tower, you can drink or whatever it is grownups do, and we'll all get on merrily. If all ends poorly…well it was nice. For as long as it lasted."

The sentiment was echoed by all of them. Most wanted to come in for a hug, and she didn't refuse them, perfectly happy to let the moment drag on for as long as she could. But eventually, she knew it was time. With one last look, she stepped calmly into the boat, and turned her attention fully to Samuel.

"To the lighthouse." She told him, putting down her veil. "Let's finish this."

What is it with me and writing edgy children, honestly it happens in like all my fics...Anyway, here it is. Emily's in a slump, obviously, this is the second time someone she cared deeply about has died on her. But she's not letting it stop her, even if she can't muster her usual whimsy anymore.

I don't need to tell you what's coming next.