A Very Corvosider Christmas, a dishonored fanfic

Bar the doors and draw the curtains, Fa la la la la la la la!
On Darkest Night, we'll suffer no urchins, Fa la la la la la la la!
Don we now our rich apparel, Fa la la la la la la la!
Sing we all the Voidstice carols, Fa la la la la la la la!

Eat the scrumptious feast before us, Fa la la la la la la la!
Burn the Void God, join the chorus, Fa la la la la la la la!

Follow me in merry measure, Fa la la la la la la la!
As we partake in our pleasure, Fa la la la la la la la!

Fast away the long night passes, Fa la la la la la la la!
Hail the morn, ye hed'nist masses, Fa la la la la la la la!
Sing we joyous all together! Fa la la la la la la la!
While the Void God Winter weathers, Fa la la la la la la la!

- Gristollian Voidstice Carol

Month of Darkness, 1838

The Outsider trudged through the empty streets, his feet shuffling through the snow, his hands tucked under his armpits, the howling wind clawing at his frostbitten ears. His eyes and nose were streaming, the tears turning to ice on his face as fast as he could wipe them off. His fingers were frozen and his toes were numb. A sob rose up in his chest at every cruel buffet of wind, at every closed door he passed by.

Please, the scared child that had once lived inside him begged. Anyone…

When he looked at them from the corner of his eye, the buildings of Dunwall warped and twisted into grim facsimiles of themselves and the sound of the wind hummed with the discordant music of the Void. On this night, he was neither here nor there, but in the unfathomable space in between. He was neither a god nor human, but he was lost beyond all reason.

He kept his eyes to the ground, focusing all his effort on the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other, on moving, on keeping warm.

A spark of an idea burned at the back of his mind, lighting the way momentarily. But the wind snuffed it out with a single, brutal gust and the streets groaned as they shifted beneath his feet, leading him to nothing but a series of dead ends and broken dreams.

*.*.*

Lost ghosts sing
Are you listening?
In the Void
Stone is glistening
A terrible sight,
We're afraid tonight
Walking in an empty twisted land

Gone away, is all reason
Here to stay, is Darkest Season
We sing a brave song,
As we go along
Walking in an empty twisted land

In the Abbey we can light some incense
And drive out the Void for just a bit
The Outsider'll tempt us
We'll send him hence
And come the early morning
He'll be gone

Later on
We'll conspire
As we dream by the pyre
To face unafraid
The places we've strayed
Walking in an empty twisted land

Lost ghosts sing
Are you listening?
In the Void
Stone is glistening
A terrible sight,
We're afraid tonight
Walking in an empty twisted land

- Gristollian Voidstice Carol

It didn't look a thing like him.

Corvo smirked as he examined the thing. He had burned many effigies before, on Voidstices past, thinking nothing of it. It had been a strange new tradition to him, when he'd left home for Gristol. In Serkonos, Voidstice was a much more somber affair, celebrated with little more than long, boring Abbey services and candles kept burning throughout the night to keep the darkness at bay.

In Dunwall, things were rather more extravagant.

A servant, her cheeks rosy red from the cold, had given one to each guest as they entered Dunwall Tower - a little effigy of the Outsider made of dried sweetgrass, sage and heather, with a pair of cloves inserted between the blades of grass to serve as eyes. He wore bits of perfume-soaked felt and his neck was adorned with a bright red ribbon.

Having seen the real thing since the last Voidstice he'd celebrated, it didn't at all compare. Even so, he felt a twinge of guilt as the High Overseer fanned the sacrificial fire. The party proper could not start until the effigies had been burned to ash.

The chattering guests gathered into an orderly line as the fire grew hot and the High Overseer rang his ceremonial bell. Corvo scanned the room quickly, his heart thudding in his chest, thinking frantically that he'd lost track of Emily. But no, there she was - among a group of noblemen's children, poking her effigy's eyes out of its head and sticking them back in.

He stepped into her field of view and offered his hand to her. With a smile, she popped the Outsider's eye back in and let him lead her to the head of the line.

The effigies crackled and popped as they threw them on the pyre together, the little scrap of ribbon curling away into glowing embers, the sweetgrass being burned to nothing long before the eyes turned to ash. The room filled a sweet-smelling smoke as each guest cast their doll onto the fire, most of them spitting an insult on the Outsider's name as they did so, before making a beeline straight for the bar.

He had never truly believed that the Outsider walked in corporeal form this night or that the Void merged with the human world as the stories said. That, he'd always imagined, was more of a fantasy to keep the children in line. But, he had to admit, the long darkness of the Winter Solstice does strange things to a person's mind. It was not at all uncommon to hear stories of people hopelessly lost in familiar places on Darkest Night, stumbling off cliffs where streets were supposed to be, seeing things - vast, unknowable forms - swimming through the midst of a blizzard. It was generally believed to be dangerous idea, venturing outside on a night like this, when the power of the Void was nearer than at any other point in the year.

All of a sudden, the image popped into his head, unbidden - the Outsider, not as the monster that the Abbey had portrayed him as, not as the malevolent entity derided in carols - but as a lone man, all alone in the cold, dark night.

He hoped he was well, wherever he was.

*.*.*

You better watch out
You better stand tall
Better not doubt
He's tempting us all
The Outsider is walking the streets

He's knocking on doors
Trying to break in
Gonna find out who's guilty of sin
The Outsider is walking the streets

He sees you when you're dreaming
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been paying him mind
So your Strictures don't forsake!

O! You better watch out!
You better stand tall
Better not doubt
The Outsider's tempting us all
The Outsider is walking the streets
The Outsider is walking the streets

- Gristollian Voidstice Carol

The window shown with warm light, a shining beacon in the swirling dark. The Outsider shambled towards it, slipping on the ice hidden just below the powdery snow, falling into the wall of the building he sought. Gritting his teeth, he heaved himself back to his feet and peered through the window, his breath fogging the thick glass.

There were people inside, wrapped in brightly-colored garb, sipping hot beverages that steamed in their mugs. The rafters were wound with garlands and ribbons. Brilliant trinkets of unknown use hung in all corners. He saw a couple standing beneath a little growth of greenery dangling from the rafters, their lips passionately interlocked, their arms wrapped around each other.

Something caught in his throat as he watched them, transfixed. His eyes brimmed with tears that had nothing to do with the chill wind.

The moment passed and he realized that a woman was staring at him from the other side of the window. Her eyes were wide with terror, her knuckles, white, as she gripped the curtain. Slowly, she tugged it closed.

The vision was gone.

The wind howled in the Outsider's ears, the ice it carried, sharp as knives.

*.*.*

Quisby the Laggard, was a very foolish soul,
With his Restless Hands and his Roving Feet, and his life without a goal.

"That Black-Eyed Bastard is a fairytale!" he said.
"His tale is faux and adults know that his myth is one long dead."

The Outsider did hear this, as he listened from the Void,

For when the sun set on Blackest Night, with the poor fool man he toyed!

Oh, Quisby, the Laggard, was as lost as one could be;
In streets of grey, he had gone astray,
just as deep as the endless sea.

Thumpety thump, thump, thumpety thump, thump,
look at Quisby go.

Thumpety thump, thump, thumpety thump, thump,
trapped in a world of woe.

Quisby the Laggard, despaired of his luck that day,
so he said, "I'll run, maybe find the sun! Now, before I waste away."

Down to the center, he found a strange and shifting man
He cried "Here and there, I've been everywhere!
Please sir, help me if you can."

He turned around and Quisby frowned! His eyes were black as coal!

And he knew his doom had come too soon, when he shivered in his soul

For Quisby, the Laggard, walks the Void to this sad day,
And the children say, you can hear him pray, as his ghost goes on its way

- Gristollian Voidstice Carol

The celebration was rather more subdued this year than in previous ones. So many familiar faces gone from the guest list, so many nobles dead or lost, whether from the Plague itself or…

No, Corvo thought to himself firmly, pushing aside his dark thoughts like a bit of rotten fish that had found its way onto his plate, tonight is the night for merriment.

Unfortunately, that was the exact thought that Esma Boyle had too.

She was literally swaying when she toddled over to him, a half-empty glass of amber liqueur in her hand, her fine clothes spotted with what looked like a dribble of mishandled wine.

"Lord…hic…Protector!" she slurred, reaching out to him, "Ohhh, sir, you've got a crumb on your…"

He gently took her by the wrist before she could touch him.

"Ha." she laughed humorously, her eyes cold, the light of the fire bringing out every wrinkle on her face, "When was the last time you had any fun?"

"Curnow." he called under his breath, "Curnow!"

Where was that man?

"Yessir?"

Corvo gave a start as the guard captain appeared, beaming, seemingly out of thin air, a sprig of holly stuck in his lapel.

"Could you please escort Lady Boyle to her guest chambers?" he said slowly, lowering his voice so that every guest would not hear all at once, "She's had a bit…"

Esma was licking her lips with an expression he did not care for at all.

"…too much to drink, I'd say."

"Of course, Lord Protector. If you'd come along, miss…"

"Ugh, the nerve…" she grunted under her breath as Curnow took her by the hand and led her from the throne room, "In my youth, why, no one would"-

"There will be chocolates and coffee in your room presently, m'am. Compliments of the Empress."

"Oh? You don't say…"

*.*.*

What child is this, who, laid to rest,
Beneath the tree is sleeping?
Whom spirits greet with plaintive bleat,
While the lost and damned are weeping?
This, this is the Void's cruel king,
Whom heretics guard and blasphemers sing:
Haste, haste to turn him away,
False boy, the son of despair.

Why lies He in such grey estate,
Where life and love lie bleeding?
Good Ev'rymen, fear, for the Outsider here
Gross inequity is pleading.
Knives, blades shall pierce him through,
Black chants are sung, the world made new
Hail, hail the Void made flesh,
False boy, the son of despair.

So lock your windows, shut your doors,
Come, villein, emperor, despise him.
The Void's cruel king disaster brings,
Let steadfast hearts disown him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
To shake the night and crack the sky
Light, light to end the dark,
False boy, the son of despair.

- Gristollian Voidstice Carol

The Outsider saw a light flare in the dark and then go out as swiftly as it had been lit.

"Hello?" he said quietly, more to himself than any other entity.

Only the cold howl of the wind answered him. He took a few wary steps in the direction that he thought he'd seen it. The snow crunched under his boots. The wind whipped at his clothes.

The light flared, brilliant and bright. He leapt into action, racing ahead just in time to see -

A girl, wrapped in rags, huddled beneath the steps of a nobleman's house, a lit match in her hand as she stared blearily up at him, her windworn face streaked with icy tears. She shivered and dropped the match with a little cry in her throat as the fire burned down to her fingertips. The light died as it hit the snow.

He could hear her teeth chattering in the darkness, feel the smallness of her quaking body as he reached out to touch her.

She was as cold as the Void.

Please sir, he heard his own, tiny voice crying out from beyond the veil of countless millennia. It's so cold, please…

His frozen fingers fumbling with the buttons, he struggled to be free of his jacket. When it was in his hand and the wind bit through the thin layer of his shirt, he knelt down and wrapped it around her bony shoulders. She sighed and her shivering abated, if only a little.

He hugged himself tight as he struggled onward, the streets warping themselves in bizarre ways around him, the sound of whalesong rumbling beneath the whistle of the wind.

*.*.*

'Twas the night before Voidstice, and all through the flat
Not a creature was stirring, not even a rat;
The door was locked, the windows sealed with care,
In hopes that the Outsider would not be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While they dreamed of the Strictures in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a darkest night's nap,

When out on the step there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moonless sky betrayed nothing, the smog, less,
I looked out bewildered, trying to hazard a guess,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But the figure of my worst and absolute fear

In a flash, he was in, his progress silent and quick,
I thought in that moment that I was going to be sick.
More rapid than hounds, than railcars, he came,
I gibbered and gasped, knowing all too well, his name;

"Now, SEEKER! now, LIAR! you've THIEVED and TRESPASSED!
you GLUTTON! whore LOVER! your ERRANT MIND, mine at last!
To the depths of the sea! to the Void in your heart!
I take you now! from this life you will part!"

As a boulder before the ocean wave does crash,
I stood my ground, my faith unabashed,
he glared, his black eyes boring into my soul
he sneered, his face twisted into a terrifying whole.

And then, in a twinkling, he was deeper within
peering over the forms of my dear sleeping kin.
I had drawn my sword and was turning around,
When back he came with a terrible bound.

He was dressed all in grey, from his head to his foot,
he smelled of subtle perfume - of ozone and soot;
My daughter's old doll he held in his hand,
examining it as something strange, beautiful and grand.

His eyes - how they burned! his mouth, how thin!
His cheeks, pale as chalk, the unearthly sheen of his skin!
The skin crinkled beneath his angry black brow,
As he looked up at me, his mouth forming the word, "How?"

"In wicked thought and deed, you were once unmatched.
To hearth and home, I never thought you'd be attached.
Your crimes were too many, your sin quite severe.
So how is it that you have a family, a life, a lover here?"

I looked at him coldly, the sword tight in my hand,
As I tried to think up some stylish reprimand.
But my mind gave me nothing, my thoughts were a blank.
Fancy words got me nowhere - I would have to be frank.

I laughed aloud in the face of that Void-touched man
The things in my head spinning into a plan
"I am but a simple man." I declared, thumbing my nose,
"Moreover, it is this precious simpleness that I have chose."

"I seek no fame, no glory, no money.
I know one as you might find that quite funny.
But this here is my life now, simple and sweet.
I have never 'til now felt so utterly complete."

"I have no room for magic, nor sorcery, nor sin.
I have thrown it all away, a fresh start to begin.
You are not welcome here. Begone, adieu.
The window is left open, just for you."

With that he sprang from his post, with the wind all a'whistle,
And away he flew out like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he vanished from sight,
"I WILL FOREVER BE WATCHING - ON THE NEXT DARKEST-NIGHT!"

- "A Visit From the Outsider," Gristollian Voidstice Poem

Emily was fast growing weary of all the attention lavished on her throughout the evening - the gifts, the stories, the countless penniless nobles hoping against all hope for a favor from the impoverished Royal Treasury. She'd been dozing off in her throne for a good half hour now.

"Emily." Corvo said quietly, leaning over from his post behind the throne, "Are you ready to turn in?"

She looked over the waiting, eager crowd for a moment, thinking it over, her face set into an expression that was deadly serious...and then curtly nodded.

Corvo stepped forward, clapping his hands loudly enough to get the attention of everyone still milling about.

"Everyone! The Empress and I would like to thank you all for celebrating with us tonight. Your presence means the world to us in these trying times and I do hope that you've enjoyed yourselves. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our guest rooms, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Dunwall Tower staff. Happy Voidstice and to all a good night!"

"Here, here!" Sokolov slurred drunkenly, raising his half-empty bottle of King Street Brandy in a toast to no one and nothing in particular.

With a weary sigh, Emily slid off her throne and allowed herself to be escorted up into her chambers. Corvo did one last security check while she got herself ready for bed.

She was getting too old to be tucked in, but it was something that she still demanded nightly. Corvo obliged without question, fluffing her pillow and tucking the covers so securely around her that monsters under the bed could not hope to reach beyond them.

He kissed her on the forehead, shut off the lights and locked the door behind him.

As he stood out there in the empty hall, relieved of duty for the night, the distant sounds of the party below drifting up to his ears, he felt heavier than he'd ever felt in his life.

It was the first Voidstice celebrated in the palace without Jessamine.

It shouldn't have been a big deal and yet…

Every tiny anniversary, every milestone passed…it hurt. Just a little. Just enough to sting. It felt like a single frayed thread poking out from the edge of his consciousness, threatening to unravel the whole thing with the slightest of tugs. Furthermore, Corvo was known for being an intensely private man. He had few friends and even fewer with whom he would trust his secrets. Trust was never a thing that had come easily to him, even before his betrayal, but most especially after. His grief was not something that he had ever felt comfortable speaking to another human about, not with so many still about, looking to stab him and his in the back at the slightest notice.

Deities, however…

He smiled as he walked down the stairs, his spirits slowly lifting again, a blush coming to his cheeks at the thought of seeing Him again when he closed his eyes.

*.*.*

Blackest night, darkest night!
Moon is gone, lost is light.
Round yon sacrifice, One and All.
Cursed child, the Void to him calls,
Rest in dreaming endless,
Rest in dreaming endless

Blackest night, darkest night!
The world shakes, at the sight.
Horrors stream from Forever afar
Wicked tongues sing praise to their god,
The Outsider is born!
The Outsider is born

Blackest night, darkest night!
Orphan of blinded sight.
Falsehood flows from Thy lying tongue
Such deceit from one so young,
Void-twisted son, at Thy birth
Void-twisted son, at Thy birth

- Gristollian Voidstice Carol

The Outsider stumbled into the wreck of a house, panting and shivering with effort, falling to his knees before the blazing fire. His hands shaking and teeth chattering, he raised them up to the warmth, almost sobbing with relief at the prickling sensation of feeling in his frozen fingers again.

"Such a dreary night, dearie." a voice from the other side of the fire intoned, "Shouldn't you be at home?"

"H-Home?" he echoed through chattering teeth, catching the glint of tarnished jewelry, the wink of a sightless eye through the dancing flames.

"Granny will tell you a tale, to pass the time, hmm? Perhaps you'd like to hear of the boy who became a god and lost his name? Ah, but you know that one too well. Oh! I know…you'd like a tale of ice and cold. Of triumph over the elements on the darkest night of the year. It's all very dramatic.

"An old god walked the streets alone, for this one night he was between worlds, neither quite in the Void nor quite free of it. He was lost and confused, seeking something - or is it someone? - but not sure how to reach it. Oh, he spent the whole night trying and failing, giving away the pieces of himself that kept him warm, but never getting any closer to his goal. Had he known how simple the answer was, he might have made it before the sun rose and all us Void Spirits returned to the place from whence we came.

"You see," Granny Rags said softly, the fire dimming as she rose to her feet, "All he had to do was go home."

He lurched away from the fire as she laughed, her body disintegrating into a hundred tiny, furry pieces that squealed and squeaked as they ran away. When he had uncovered his eyes and pulled himself up from the snow-strewn floor, only embers burnt before him.

Home.

That was not a thing he had ever had before. He wasn't entirely sure if he understood the concept. It was a place, wasn't it? One you returned to, time and again the same, safe and warm. He had never known any such place, never been anywhere where the ground didn't shift under his feet, where up and down held any sort of meaning, literally or figuratively.

Unless…

Corvo, night after night seeking him out in dreams, his smiling face going over the mundane details of his day, his small grievances, his minuscule joys. His listening ear when he was in turn told about the echoes of the world that he'd seen in the Void that day, the petitions he could do nothing about.

When had these dalliances become so important, so central? How…how could a person be a home? It didn't make any sense, and yet...

The embers died and the ruin was cast into a chilling gloom. The Outsider rose to his feet, gritting his teeth as he bent the Void to his will, shivering uncontrollably as set out into the blizzard once again.

*.*.*

I'll be home for Voidstice
Please, please wait for me
We'll watch snow and drink cocoa
You, I long to see

Darkest Night will find me
Where my heart remains
I'll be home for Voidstice
Through ev'ry icy rain

I'll be home for Voidstice
Please remember me
I'll be warm, in human form
Tonight I am free

Darkest Night will find me
Where my heart remains
I'll be home for Voidstice
Through ev'ry icy rain

- a distant song, whispered from the Void

Corvo sleepily made his final patrol of the night, halfheartedly checking that the windows were all shut, that the locks were in working order. It was a good night for an assassination, with the streets so empty and most of law enforcement holed up indoors on account of both the blizzard and their age-old superstitions.

A few party guests lingered in the throne room, sipping hot toddies and exchanging uproarious drunken stories. Sokolov had fallen asleep in the chair he'd staked out all night and was snoring like a motorboat. Corvo smiled, not at all envious of Curnow's task of escorting the cagey old man to his sleeping quarters.

His footsteps echoed in the empty halls as he strolled down the stairs to the front entrance. The windows were frosted with ice and the wind howled through the nooks and crannies of the architectural flourishes outside. He felt strangely at peace here, under the eyes of no one and nothing, quiet enough at last to hear the sound of his own breathing.

It was his favorite time of day - when he was at last able to be out from under the eyes of the court and there was no one to tell him what to do but himself. On a warmer night, he might have slipped out and gone roof-top hopping for a bit before bed.

But, ah well. The best he could do tonight was enjoy the silence while it lasted.

Something slammed violently against the front door, rattling it in its hinges.

His hand was on his blade immediately, his every fatherly and Lord Protectorly instinct on high alert. It wasn't possible. The courtyard was locked down. He'd seen to it himself, lowered the portcullis the instant the last guest was indoors. It wasn't- It can't be-

A very definite, precise knock sounded from the other side of the ancient wood.

A servant locked outdoors? A guardsman who'd partied too hard? Whoever it was, they would almost certainly freeze to death if they spent the night locked in the courtyard.

And if it was something more sinister? Well, he thought, flexing his Marked hand. I can handle that well enough on my own.

Quieting his racing heartbeat, he undid the deadbolt and turned the key.

A body hurled itself through the open door, tangling him in icy arms as it sailed through on a gust of freezing air.

"C-Corvo!" It gasped through chattering teeth, "C-Corvo!"

Corvo hugged him back tightly, the subtle pain in his chest flaring into utter confusion, horror…joy. How? the question echoed in his mind again and again. How, how, how…

Somehow, the answer didn't matter quite as much as the feel of his body, the touch of his skin, the shock of him standing here, right now, in his arms, in the real world.

A moment passed and he realized how cold the little body he was holding was and how much it shook despite the warmth of his hug.

"Oh!" Corvo gasped, pulling away and closing the door behind them.

The Outsider looked back at him sleepily, ice caught on the fibers of his eyelashes, his clothes rimed with frost, his pale skin reddened by the sting of the brutal wind.

"Where…" Corvo asked softly, getting lost in the black depths of the Outsider's eyes, "Where is your jacket?"

He smiled slowly and mischievously, an expression that Corvo couldn't say that he'd ever seen from the Void God before. He could not hazard a guess as to whether the redness of his cheeks was the result of the cold or something else.

"Here!" he chuckled, shrugging off his own gold-trimmed coat and draping it over his skinny shoulders. "We'll get you some dry clothes! And I'll have the servants light a fire. Ah…would you like anything to eat? Do…do you eat?"

"I'm…not…sure…" the Outsider intoned, a wrinkle forming between his eyebrows as he frowned, "I don't remember."

"Well!" Corvo said with a smile as he clapped him on the back, "One thing at a time, eh? To my chambers, then!"

He flicked the hood of the Outsider's borrowed coat up the moment he saw Captain Curnow rounding the corner, his arms in the air as he yawned.

"Come along, Lady Boyle." he said under his breath, just loud enough for Curnow to hear. He struggled to keep a straight face as he pulled the bulky coat tighter around the Outsider's skinny frame. "You mustn't go outside on a night like this even if Lydia can't stand your smoking…"

Curnow sniggered softly as he passed them by, shaking his head. The Outsider smiled warmly under his disguise.

They made it to the Royal Protector's quarters without any more of a fuss and Corvo quickly picked an outfit out of his closet for the Void God to wear. It was all too big, of course - it'd hang like a sack off of that poor bag of bones. But it was dry and clean and those were the things that mattered most now.

"Here." he said, gesturing to the shady alcove that he'd been using as a dumping ground for all of the Lord Regent's old things that he was still sorting through, "Change in there while I call someone to get the fire going."

Not wanting to ring the bell at this hour of the night, he poked his head out into the hallway and scanned for signs of life.

"Oh! Ms. Benton!" he called out, catching her just before she rounded the corner, "I don't mean to bother you, but could you please light the fire in my room and send up some hot chocolate and whatever leftover sweets we have from the party?"

She gave him an odd look and then her face cracked into a smile.

"What's this?" she laughed, "Our Lord Protector growing a sweet tooth in his old age?"

He smiled bashfully and slapped his stomach.

"Can't have the royal courtiers thinking I can be bribed with sweets, can I now? I'd never see the end of it."

"Of course, Lord Corvo." she said, curtsying and smiling at him demurely. "I'll have that fire lit straight away."

Soon enough, the fire was roaring, chasing the chill from all corners of the room. A little while later there came a tap on the door and the beleaguered chef, his eyes baggy and red, silently passed him a silver tray with the things he'd requested on it. Corvo thanked the man and gave him a direct order to go straight to bed.

"They're gone." he called out softly, nudging some things aside on an end table so that the tray would fit. "Are you decent?"

Slowly, the Outsider stepped out into the light. He wore Corvo's coat like a cape, draped over his shoulders, the gold edging nearly scraping the floor, the sleeves flopping at his sides. Beneath, he wore a crisp white dress shirt, the sleeves snappily rolled up to his elbows in such a fashion that one wouldn't have even noticed that they were too long unless the fact were roundly pointed out.

Corvo sucked in his breath, his heart pounding at the sight. He must have had an amusing expression on his face, because the Outsider chuckled, spun on his heel (causing the jacket to flare out like a magnificent set of wings around him) and plopped down onto the plush divan before the fire.

"Well…" Corvo said, having to cough several times to clear his throat, "Have some hot chocolate?"

He poured the dark fluid into the tiny silver cup he'd been provided and passed it into the care of the Outsider's slender fingers. The Outsider sniffed it suspiciously and took a tentative taste.

"Mmph!" he grunted, scrunching his face up and putting two fingers on his lips.

"Oh!" Corvo gasped, "Is it too hot? Ah, I should've asked for some milk, I'm sorry…"

"No." The Outsider said quietly, "It's…delicious. I…didn't know things were this delicious."

Corvo smiled, falling down on the divan beside him.

"Well, I guess the fig and honey cake would be a bit much for you, wouldn't it?"

"Perhaps. But…I'd like to taste it."

He set the cup down on the floor and snuggled against Corvo. He was still so cold. And bony and small. Corvo wrapped his arm around him, drawing him closer, running a hand through his tousled hair.

It was all so strange. But he wished it would never end.

They sat there for some time, neither speaking, both half-dozing, lulled to sleep by the crackle of the flames and the ticking of the clock.

"I gave it away, you know." the Outsider whispered, breaking the silence.

"Hm?"

"My jacket. I found…a child out there, freezing to death. I gave it to her, though I nearly froze myself."

His grip tightened on Corvo, his fingers shaking with the memory.

"It was the one time I have ever done anything in my life. With my own hands, choosing a single outcome out of the shifting mass of probabilities. It was…such a small thing, but I changed it. I changed something. I saved someone."

"Oh, Outsider." Corvo sighed, smiling as he booped him on the nose, "You've changed more than one thing."

"Two things." the Outsider laughed softly, running his cool fingers over the contours of Corvo's Mark.

All of a sudden, he squeezed his hand and leaned closer. His heart fluttering in his chest, Corvo met him halfway, suddenly aware of the harsh stubble on his face, the taste of hours-old coffee on his tongue, a million tiny details that could go wrong, that could ruin everything, if only-

The Outsider kissed him softly, passionately, minding not a single bit of it.

*.*.*

Have yourself a merry little Voidstice,
Let your heart be warm
For tonight,
you've weathered the unending storm

Have yourself a merry little Voidstice,
Here with me you'll stay
For tonight,
no Void will stand in our way.

Here we are, touching, kissing lips
Happy miracles of yore.
Cursed loves who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more.

Through the years
I'll see you in my dreaming,
Rest beside me now
Stay as long as sunlight will allow.
And have yourself a merry little Voidstice now.

- a song that Corvo hums under his breath when he thinks no one is listening

*.*.*

I wish I could stay (but darling, the Void's outside)

I'm going away (but darling, the Void's outside) This evening has been (I'm so happy you dropped in)

the best of my being (I couldn't believe it, what I was seeing) the whales are calling (For you, I'm falling)

Again, I'll be alone (wish I would have known) My edges feel blurry (morning, please don't hurry)

Oh please, just a moment more (will it help if I implore?) Say hello to your empress (we'll both take care)

I'll miss you more than I confess (come back to me, swear) I wish I knew how (your eyes are obsidian now)

to break this spell (I'll hold you close, I wish you well)

I wish I could stay (I feel you fading away)

At least it was grand (tonight as I held your hand) I really can't stay (I know, it's okay)

But darling, the Void's outside

I have to go (but darling, the Void's outside)

You'll find me out in the snow (but darling, the Void's outside) Your welcome has been (how lovely that you dropped in)

the best of the night (I wish that sunlight wasn't so bright) Soon I'll be gone (I never thought I'd hate the dawn)

I hear whispers at the door (waves upon a blackened shore) The Void is so cold (with my arms, you I'll hold)

If only there was just a day more (I wish I'd met you before) I'm being dragged home (remember me when you roam)

You lent me your coat (it looked better on you) You've really been great (I don't get the Abbey hate)

But don't you see? (stay here with me) There'll always be tomorrow (it doesn't help with my sorrow)

I'll be there next year (I'll listen for you and hear) I wish I could stay (too bad it doesn't work that way)

Darling, the Void

Darling, the Void's outside

- Song which echoes back and forth across the Void, come the Month of Darkness

Corvo…

Corvo heard his name being whispered from somewhere far away. The Void? Was he dreaming? If that was the case, he need only reach out and…

Corvo!

Where was he?

Corvo, please…

His voice had cracked. It sounded as though something was tearing out his heart.

"Corvo…"

Corvo blearily opened his eyes, grumbling at the thought of being up at all - and was immediately catapulted into wakefulness by what he saw.

The Outsider was phasing in and out of existence as he lay beside him, his body at once turning into a blurry photograph and then snapping into realism too detailed to be real. Morning light streamed through the blinds and he could hear the footstep of the palace staff moving about outside.

"I don't want to go back!" he sputtered out, thick, tar-like tears rolling from his jet-black eyes, "I don't want to see forever, know everything! I don't want…want…"

"Shhh." Corvo whispered, pulling him into a tight embrace, burying his cold, sobbing face into the warmth of his chest.

"I'll…be here…alright?" he said softly, struggling to keep his own voice even, "I'll be waiting for you every Voidstice, no matter what happens. Just…hold onto that thought. Remember that I lo"-

He was holding nothing but empty air, the only signs that there was ever a guest in the room, the wrinkles in the blanket, a half-eaten fig and honey cake and a cold cup of cocoa.

*.*.*

O Come All Ye Everymen
Steadfast and mundane,
O come ye, O come ye to the edge of the Void.
Come and behold Him,
Born the Child of Darkness;
O come, let us abhor Him,
O come, let us abhor Him,
O come, let us abhor Him,
The Black-Eyed God.

O Sing, choirs of Ev'rymen,
Sing in acrimony,
Sing so that the spirit's cries are drowned out in joy
Give to our Void God hatred in the Highest;
O come, let us abhor Him,
O come, let us abhor Him,
O come, let us abhor Him,
The Black-Eyed God.

All Hail! Wretch, we greet Thee,
Born this cold, dark night,
O Void God! for evermore be Thy name abhored.
Avatar of discord, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us abhor Him,
O come, let us abhor Him,
O come, let us abhor Him,
The Black-Eyed God.

- Gristollian Voidstice Carol

Month of Darkness, 1839

Corvo paced nervously all night, his eyes always on the windows, the doors, the curtains. At every gust of wind that rattled the windowpanes, he shuddered, thinking of the conditions that his lover must be facing outdoors.

But what was he supposed to do?

Ah yes, Captain, just for a lark - would you ever so kindly send out a patrol to scour the streets for a man matching the exact description of the deity whom we've spent the entire night reviling in song?

No.

It couldn't be, no matter how much his stomach churned upon thinking of him, trapped out there, under the eaves of every locked window and barred door…

At some point during the night, in an effort to relieve just a bit of his obvious melancholy, Emily stuck a sprig of holly behind his ear and then skittered away, laughing wildly. He cracked a smile for the first time that night at the remembrance that despite her high station and heavy duties, his daughter was still a child.

He tried to be cheerful for her.

At the end of the night, his head still buzzing with anxiety, his nightly security check done twice over now, he returned to the royal quarters to catch up on a bit of paperwork that he'd left undone before the big night. Emily was snoozing peacefully in the safe room tonight. The quarters were empty and silent and he was free to do whatever he wished without fear of waking her up.

He'd finally managed to concentrate on what he was doing when there came a sharp rap on the office window.

His heart leaped in relief and overwhelming joy - which was immediately replaced by an electric jolt of sheer terror. His heart pounding, he lurched away from the desk, threw open the window and dragged the Outsider in by the collar.

"What were you thinking?" he sputtered, squeezing him tight and casting one eye out the window and down the dizzying drop to the sea below, "One stiff gust of wind and you'd have…"

"Ah, but I didn't, now did I, dear Corvo?"

"Oh, you…arghhhh..."

He looked up at him, the corners of his black eyes crinkling in merriment. His face suddenly went serious as he reached up to pluck the holly from behind Corvo's ear.

"Oh, what's this now?" he asked, a chuckle in his voice as he drew a white-berried sprig free from his hair.

It wasn't holly after all.

"It goes like this, does it?" he asked quizzically, extending his arm above their heads so that the plant brushed the top of Corvo's head.

"Yes…that does seem right, doesn't it?" Corvo purred, leaning in to the kiss with a smile.

*.*.*

Hark how the winds,
whistling winds,
all seem to hiss,
one step amiss,
Darkness is here,
the Void looms near,
beware young and old,
meek and the bold.
deep rumblings long
that is their song
with mournful ring
praise to their king.
But seek and you'll hear
words of good cheer
from everywhere
filling the air.
Oh how they pound,
raising the sound,
o'er street and home,
the lost who roam.
Gaily they ring
ev'rymen sing
songs of good cheer,
Voidstice is here.
Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Voidstice,
Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Voidstice.
On on they send,
on without end,
'til night is done
again rise the sun.

- Gristollian Voidstice Carol

Month of Darkness, 1843

"She got the drop on me yesterday. For the first time! She was so quiet, so perfect. I'm…proud. So proud. Though I'd rather not give her too many compliments while we're in the middle of training, y'know? She might pick up some bad habits…"

"Um hm…"

The Outsider stared intently at the fresh portrait of the Child Empress hanging over the throne. She seemed, harder, colder than the little girl in the old portrait that had just been replaced. Far too stern for a girl of sixteen.

He wondered if she was watching them right now. An Empress practiced in sneaking was not someone who could be confined to her room.

He turned around to see Corvo fiddling with the audiograph player that had been set up on the edge of the throne room for the party earlier that night. There was a stack of audiographs in his hand and his frown deepened as he flipped through them.

"What are you looking for?"

The Outsider stepped towards him, pulling Corvo's coat tighter around him. It still smelled of incense and cloves and if you really concentrated, the musk of Corvo's flesh.

"Ah, it's just…"

He slammed the stack down on the side table, frustrated.

"I'd like to play some music, but all of these songs…they're so…insulting. And…wrong."

The Outsider smiled weakly.

"It's nothing I haven't heard before. And the tunes are fine enough."

"Ugh!" Corvo cried, snapping around towards him with a look of supreme sorrow, "But you shouldn't have to hear any of it! Ever! And not tonight, of all nights. I…I just want something to dance to. It shouldn't be this hard."

"You could sing one. You used to sing. There was such music in Serkonos, before you found yourself here."

A distant smile flitted across Corvo's face. He crossed his arms, considering for a moment.

"It's…been a long time. I hope I don't offend your senses too badly with this…"

"Numa casa serkonosa fica bem…" he sang softly, his voice on the deeper end of a tenor as he tapped his foot to his the rhythm in his head, "Pão e vinho sobre a mesa…"

"E se à porta humildemente bate alguém," he sang louder as he gained confidence and shimmied across the floor, gyrating his hips, "Senta-se à mesa com a gente!"

"Ahha!" the Outsider half-laughed, half-screamed as he swept him off his feet, whirling him around the room.

"Fica bem essa fraqueza, fica beeeeem! Que o povo nunca a desmente…"

The Outsider's feet were all over the place, but it hardly mattered if Corvo was so quick that he couldn't be stepped on.

"A alegria da pobreza, está nesta grande riqueza, de dar, e ficar contente…" he whispered the last lines, leaning in close, his nose touching the Outsider's, his eyes alight with laughter.

*.*.*

We three Eyeless of Karnaca are
Seeking Him, we traverse afar
Club and fountain, mine and mountain
Following portent bizarre