Jessamine blinked a few times, making sure she had read the last sentence correctly. No, there wasn't a mistake- his name stood there, written in the thick, dark blue pen her father so infamously used.
She slowly lifted her head to the the audience, waiting for an applause, but none came. Everyone was looking around the room, muttering to each other, trying to guess who this 'Corvo Attano' was, and why none of the Gristolians had heard of him before.
She tensed up as she heard Corvo's footsteps behind her, watching the faces of the aristocracy turn completely sour. He put his right hand on his chest, giving the crowd a bow. Silence poisoned the room, making Jessamine's heart almost stop. Why would- no-how could father do this?
The silence poisoned the room was abruptly replaced by the sound of a man clapping, followed by joyful chuckling. Corvo jerked his head to the source, feeling his blood boil upon seeing the culprit. Of course, who else would it be?
His hypocrisy was unbelievable. Ariano hand given Corvo countless speeches about how to behave when he arrived at Dunwall, yet there he was, drunk off his ass, laughing as if he'd just been told the greatest joke he'd ever heard.
It took all the willpower Corvo had to not walk up to him and slap him back to his senses.
Hesitantly, a Serkonian followed the Duke, not sure of what else to do. A few others joined, and within a few moments the room was filled with Serkonian whistles and cheers, some of them even stomping their feet on the ground in joy of the wonderful news.
The people of Gristol, on the other hand, held expressions of confusion laced with disgust, their almost non-existent clap matching their faces perfectly. Jessamine didn't even need to look up- she could feel their piercing glares jump between her father and her, demanding an explanation that neither of them gave.
Euhorn, however, seemed to pay little attention to them. He let claps and cheers go on, enjoying them while he could, before lifting a hand to request silence.
"I would like to thank Duke Ariano and Master Attano for agreeing to my proposal." he started, acting as if he did not notice the discomfort that filled the room, "Corvo had made quite a name for himself at quite an early age, and I do believe that he will fulfil his duty with integrity and honor, as he always has."
Honor? Integrity? He was from Serkonos, he didn't have either of those- or at least that's what the Gristolians thought. Jessamine liked Corvo, she honestly did, but the only thing those aristocrat bastards cared about was heritage, and as far as they were concerned, her friend might as well be from the slums..
"You've got to be joking!" A voice shouted at her father as if on cue, "Who's to say he can be trusted?"
Enthusiastic muttering that Jessamine could only guess ment agreement, followed.
"Master Brimsley," He father said, a drop of annoyance in his voice, "Surely you're not disrespecting my judgement?"
"I'm believe he isn't, your Imperial Majesty," a woman added, "but you must understand why we're questioning such a choice. After all, the man is Serkonian!"
A dark-skinned man banged his fist on the table, clenching his jaw, "And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?!"
A few more Serkonians took his side, and soon the entire room was flooded with angry voices, everyone snapping and yelling as if they were at an auction. Jessamine swore she saw a woman spill her drink in a cream-colored man's face soon after.
Jessamine watched the chaos unravel in front of her, feeling a lump block throat. What do I do?
"Are you alright?", a whisper came to her. She turned her head slowly, looking at Corvo, who had painted a worried expression on his face.
No I'm not alright. My knees are weak and I feel nauseous and I just want to get away from these horrible people who are looking at me like a hungry dog looks at meat and they'll hurt you the first chance they get and maybe me too and Outsider what will they do to father and maybe he'll be able to calm them down and maybe he won't and I'm the future Empress so I should to know what to do but right now but I just feel so so confused and I can't-
She took a deep breath, unable to say a word. She grabbed Corvo's hand, letting her delicate fingers intertwine with is cracked ones, squeezing them as hard as she could, trying to pour her frustration into it. More than anything, she needed a friend right now.
"Silece! SILENCE!" Her father roared, hitting his fist on the table, his face a burning red that showed no signs of fading away. Once again, the room fell silent, all eyes pointing at him
"I assure you that I most certainly would not assign anyone I deem unworthy to protect my daughter. You must understand that it's hardly my wish for any harm to come to her, and I believe that Master Attano is quite capable of carrying out that responsibility."
Jessamine squeezed his hand harder.
"Surely none of you question my judgement?" He asked again, knowing that no one would dare speak up this time. He waited a few moments, just in case, before finally continuing:
"Wonderful. I imagine that we owe our guests and apology for our behavior, and as far as this evening goes, I believe we are done.
"Corvo, please escort Jessamine to her quarters." he said, rubbing his temples.
Corvo bowed to the Emperor, feeling a bit nervous himself. He wouldn't change his mind...
...Would he?
Corvo didn't need to tell Jessamine to follow him- she latched on to his arm the first chance she got, wrinkling his coat under her fingers, almost ripping it to shreds with her nails.
Jessamine looked at the ground as Corvo led her to the doors, not having the courage to look up. Murmurs of disapproval still flooded the room, and she felt as though she could hear every one. Some were for her father, some at Corvo, some at Jessamine herself. She didn't relax even when the doors closed behind her, safely sealing her away from the crowd.
The two walked through the halls, neither of them knowing how to break the awkward silence. What do you say after something like that? I'm sorry for not telling you about how I'm going to be your Lord Protector for the rest of your life, wanna play a game of chess?
The guards looked at them as they walked, raising their brows in confusion, blissfully unaware of what had happened not moments ago. Corvo didn't care - what he cared about was the scared girl who was holding on to him for dear life, still soaking in what had just happened and desperately trying to make sense of it.
Corvo pushed Jessamine's bedroom door open and escorted her inside. He watched her fall on her bed, letting out a sigh and putting her face in her hands.
He sat down next to her, waiting a few moments before putting an arm on her shoulder.
"Hey, it's gonna be alright.", he reassured her with a lie, hoping she'd find some comfort in it. It was a stupid thing to say, he knew, but nothing else came to mind, and just sitting in silence seemed, well, wrong.
She didn't reply with words, but rather, she wrapped her arms around his torso and dug her head into his chest, trying to shut the world out. If she was crying, Corvo couldn't tell, but the girl was undoubtedly downhearted.
He put his arms around her back, hugging her in return, knowing he could do nothing more.
Maybe protecting you won't be as easy as I'd thought.