I own nothing. Fire Emblem is owned by Nintendo and Dishonoured is owned by Bethesda.

The Empress of Gristol: (Act 1)

Chapter 1: Reunion of Family

"Flora! Flora!"

The oak door swung open into the stone corridor, unleashing a frantic maid that bounded down the corridor like a scalded cat; yowling for her fellows with great anguish. She was about to skid around the corner until another maid, with light blue hair, beat her to it. As if she had been rehearsing for this exact moment, she grabbed the arm of the frantic, light brown-haired maid.

"Felecia, what wrong?"

"I-It's Lady Emily! She's gone!"

Flora's gaze sharpened at those words. Without hesitation, she released Felecia and the two servants charged towards their masters' room. Upon entering the large, well-furnished bedchambers, the twins scoured the room in a panicked fever, trying to discover a clue to their milady's disappearance.

"I can't find any sign of a struggle," said Flora in an anguished tone. "When was the last time you saw her?"

"I-I was guarding the door all night," said the brown-haired maid as she swung open the wardrobe doors. "Hey, that outfit she was working on! It's gone!" The light-blue haired twin was at her side in a flash. After a quick scan of the wardrobe, she turned to her sister with a serious look in her eye.

"Felecia, please tell me you didn't sleep on the job."

"No!" She retorted in an indigent manner. "I slept in all day yesterday so that I wouldn't fall asleep on the night watch. Nobody came in besides me when I gave her Jakob's tea. And I didn't spill it this time."

Speaking of the devil, a silver haired butler with black armoured gloves briskly walked into the room. "What has you done now, Felecia?" Asked the butler with no attempt at hiding his exasperation.

"I haven't done anything," said the now sulky maid. "Lady Emily has vanished!"

His brow furrowed for only a second before Jakob began sneering at the brunet. "I see. Lady Emily must have snuck out whilst you were asleep. She does love sneaking about—"

"—But I was awake all night! She couldn't have snuck away!"

"She is telling the truth." Jakob dark eyes turned to Flora, who spoke clearly and crisply in defence of her twin. "Felecia wouldn't lie, and she wouldn't be upset unless she thought Lady Emily was in danger."

At her words, Jakob's expression softened and was now alert. He went over to the room's window, which was open and rattling in the wind. "There's no way anyone can climb up or down this tower. Even Hoshidan ninja filth wouldn't have the stamina to cling onto the walls this high up."

At the mention of Hoshidan enemies, Felicia's face became taut with more worry. "Oh no! She's been kidnapped! What are we going to do!" Flora and Jakob bit their lips, the fear now affecting them. "I'll go and get Gunter! We need to find Lady Emily!"

United in purpose, the three servants drew their knives from their leg pouches and went to seek out their liege. The soldiers of the Northern Fortress were quickly mobilised and began searching every nook and cranny. The servants, led unwittily by the clumsy brunet, final found the head of the fortress' guard.

Gunter was an old man with grey hair and the face of veteran. He wore dark armour that was styled in the traditional Nohrian aesthetic; sleek yet sharp like black garnet. He was striding through the main oak door with an entourage behind him at the same time the three servants practically leapt down the marble stairs.

"Gunter! Gunter!" Cried Felecia. She was interrupted by the edge of the large rug she almost tripped over, hadn't Flora and Jakob caught her. "We need your help! Lady Emily is missing!"

The old soldier's eyes sharpened, but his demeanour remained composed. "Are you sure? Emily might just be sneaking around again…"

"I wish that were the case," replied Jakob. "But Felecia has sworn she couldn't have escaped through the door. We are searching the castle just in case, but Lady Emily usually reveals herself when we mobilize the guards, so we are assuming the worst…" Pain began visibly showing on the butler's face.

"Oh no! Emily is missing!?"

The three servants finally noticed the visitors Gunter had been escorting, and had sunk onto one knee for they were the royal children on Nohr. The one who had spoken was Elise, a petit teenager with blonde hair that was tied up into long, curly pig-tails and was dashed with streak of light purple. She wore a black dress with pink trimmings and bore a healing stave in her hand and a worried look on her face.

"Are you sure of this?"

"Absolutely certain, Lord Leo."

The youngest lord with straw-blonde hair raised his pointy, armoured fingers to his chin to ponder. He wore high, silk collar and black armour with gold trimmings and attached to his belt was a tome of dark magic.

"Oh, this will not do," cooed Camila, the eldest princess. Wearing a black crown that had cat like ears attached, the lady wafted away her long, purple hair with her own armour gloved hand. Wearing a similar armour to Leo, except with an opening for her chest with a belt strap crossing over it, Camila managed to hind her concern under a playful smile.

"No, it will not." This was uttered by the last and oldest sibling, Xander. He had mid long blonde hair and wore a crown similar to Camila's, though there were thorns where Camila's cat ears where. His armour of black and golden was graced with royal purple tunic with a cape that hung from his shoulders to his hips. His face was stern, though it really wasn't much of a change from the norm.

Gunter turned to the royal siblings, also bending down on one knee, and calmly said: "Do not worry, my liege. We will find her soon enough. She's probably still in her room and these louts just missed her."

"Hey!" Protested Felecia and Flora.

"This is serious, old man," spat Jakob in a bitter tone. "Flora searched the room, the only way out was through the window and it is a near impossible climb."

Elise gave a gasp. "What if ninjas took her away!" Tears began trickling out of her eyes at the idea. "No! We gotta save Emily!"

Leo looked down at his sister and pattered her on the shoulder. "Don't cry Elise. Gunter's right, she's probably just hiding really well this time."

Suddenly, a gloved hand appeared on both young royal's shoulders.

"BOO!"

Elise screamed in shock while Leo had the worst reaction. He jumped and turned at the same time, landing on his back heel. The hand that surprised him now gone, he fell backwards onto his ass which hit the stone floor with a resounding crash. Spluttering and cursing, his collar crumpled, he looked back up at the newcomer and glowered at her. "Very funny, Emily!"

The dark-haired royal gave her younger brother a mischievous grin. She would have extended a hand to help him up, but Elise had begun hitting Emily with her healing stave. "That was so mean, Emily!" She wailed with red, runny eyes. "You are such a meanie! We thought you were taken away from us…Waah!" She then dropped the stave and hugged her big sister really, really hard. She was then joined by Felecia, who was also crying.

Embarrassed, Emily patted her sister and servant on the head. "I'm sorry, you two. I just wanted to surprise you, Leo and the others."

"Well that wasn't very nice," sniffed Felecia.

"Yeah, it wasn't," huffed Elise. "And get off, you. This is my sister, my hug." Felecia retraced her arms and laughed sheepishly. The young girl, who wasn't really crying at this point, looked up and pouted, "You're gonna have to play with me for a really, really long time for me to forgive you."

Emily grinned. "Okay. I promise well play for as long as you want." The young princess squealed in delight and continued to hug the sneaky royal.

Camila laughed and smiled at her sisters. Leo was helped up by Gunter and was still glaring at his dark-haired sister. Xander was also staring intently, though there was a small smile that most mortals wouldn't be able to see. He cleared his throat and the two sisters released their embrace, though not with any haste.

"Would you care to explain how you manage to sneak past your retainers again, little sister?"

"Simple, really. I climbed down myself."

The eldest prince raised an eye brow while his younger brother just raised his voice in a disbelieving tone. "Impossible! There's no way you could have climbed down safely without falling."

A cocky smile and pose was her retort to that, along with a boast of, "I can climb back up again to show you if you want."

"Aw, aren't you adorable." Emily cockiness was quickly stifled by Camila, who took her turn to hug her younger sibling. "You must have been practicing for months to obtain the strength and stamina needed to do that."

"Yeah, I did," said the slightly embarrassed dark-haired girl.

Smiling, the elder sibling nuzzled her sister gently. "I'm so proud of you, my sweet, silly sister. You've done very well, but you must apologise to Leo. I think you might have hurt his poor feelings, and that won't do." Leo began to blush and mutter to himself.

She nodded and Camila released her, allowing her to face her little brother. "I'm really sorry, Leo. Heck…" She turned to her servants and head guard. "…I'm sorry for getting you all worried…again."

"No worries, milady," replied Jakob as he bowed to his mistress. "We are just glad that you safe." Flora and Felice both nodded while Gunter was just smiling wistfully. "Though I must ask; did Felecia actually keep guard or was she asleep?"

"I'm fairly certain that she fell asleep against the door."

"Lady Emily," protested Felecia with a red face; out of embracement or out of anger of Jakob's smug grin.

Seeing this, the dark-haired royal narrowed her eyes on her butler. "You're not one to talk, Jakob. You sleep against the door as well." His grin was wiped clean with that remark, and he got a well deserve jab in the arm from the brunet maid. Flora, who was seemingly free of this sin, giggled at her subordinate's antics.

It was now Gunter's turn to cough loudly. "If you are through acting like fools in front of our guests, go to the kitchens and prepare breakfast." He turned to said guests. "My liege, will the usual surfice." After many yes', and one large 'Yeah', he barked at the trio, "You heard them, now make it snappy."

The two maids and butler made their way in a graceful manner to their jobs. Gunter himself was about to go and tend to the royals' horses when Emily intervened. "Gunter, once you're done in the stables, do you mind going to my room to check on that bird I found in the stables the other day?" Nodding, he left the main hall and the grand oak doors closed behind him.

As the royal siblings of Nohr made their way to the dining hall, Camila fell into step with Emily. "Little sister, what was that bird you mentioned?"

"Well, a couple of days ago I was crafting leather at the stable work bench when I heard noises from the stables and found a bird of some kind. It was injured badly and I've been nursing it in my room for a while now. When I woke up this morning it was gone."

The purple haired lady wrapped an arm around her sister. "That is so like you, my little darling." She gave her a dotting kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, the little bird probably got better and flew away, thanks to you."

"Hey, Emmy!" The little blonde was now tugging at her arm. "Where did you get those new clothes?" The dark-haired royal looked down at her dark blue coat that covered a set of leather armour. "I've never seen a coat like that before."

Her cocky smile was back again as she re-admired her clothes. "Made it myself. Been working on it for a couple of weeks along with some new armour."

"What's wrong with the royal armour Father made for you?" Chimed in Xander.

"It's not conducive for sneaking." She replied casually. "The only reason I used to manage to sneak around in my old armour was that I would go bare footed."

"Speaking of which," continued Xander in his commanding tone. "When will you finally starting wearing footwear? It is beyond ridiculous at this point."

"Ah, but remember, brother." Chipped in Leo with a smirk on his face. "Boots are too uncomfy for our sneaky sister."

"They are though." Pouted Emily. "I always feel like I'm going to trip over myself when I wear shoes."

The straw-haired mage laughed. "It's only thanks to the Devil's own luck that you haven't cut your foot open by now, sister. Who would have thought that the most skilled thief in all of Nohr can be thwarted by giving her some slippers to wear?"

"Leo, stop being mean to Emmy." Said Elise while trying to glare as hard as she could.

"It's all right, Elise. It doesn't take a skilled thief to steal from Leo." Cackling, she pulled out a tome and waggled it at her brother. "So tell me, Mr dark mage, what are you reading these days?"

The mage, flabbergasted, reached for his tome and grasped at thin air. Before he could demand anything of his sister, she held out the tome within grabbing distance and had dropped her smirk. Snatching if back, he resumed glaring at her before muttering. "If you must know, this is the scared tome Brynhildr. The second royal weapon that belongs to our family and only wielded by the most powerful of mages. And I, after a century without a wielder, have unlocked its secrets and can use its power for myself."

The dark-haired lady smiled, with no hint of jest or mischief, at her brother. "Congratulations, Leo. Father must be pleased as punch with you." He did not respond with wit or boast and only bit his lip. Emily quickly worked out what the issue was. Moving over to her brother, she gave him a one-armed hug as they walked into the dining hall. He did not respond or reject his sister, but the bitter look in his eyes refused to wane. Not wanting to push her luck, she released her brother and scanned the room for her servants.

Flora was stoking the fire whilst Jakob was laying down the plates. Felecia, meanwhile, was filling their set glasses with water and juice. There was no accident until she reached the final glass, where the brunet choked on the last hurdle by overfilling her lady's glass. Realising what she had done wrong, she began panicking and tried to quickly fix her mistake. If Jakob hadn't been in range to stop the maid from dropping the juice jug out of nerves the mess would have been greater.

Sighing, she motioned to her sibling to sit down as she patted her clumsy servant on the back. "Don't worry about it, Felecia. You go with Flora to prepare the weapons for training. Xander will want to train after breakfast." She nodded and went on her way, still slightly cress fallen.

As she took her seat next to Elise, Emily flashed a smile at her family. "So, besides Leo now being the most powerful mage in Nohr, what other exciting things have happened. This was met with a serious look from both Xander, Leo and even Camila while Elise lowered her eyes to her juice. The three exchanged a glance before Xander broke the news. "Do you remember Lady Valene?"

"Yes, she's Elise mother and one of Father's concubines." The dark-haired royal, as she uttered those words, worked it out with no trouble. Her mouth open in shock, she turned to her sister who was quietly drinking from her glass. After she put it down, Emily hugged her and whispered, "I'm so sorry…about your mother." The blonde didn't burst into tears as she gently hugged her older sister back. In fact, her face was blank and devoid of cheeriness nor sadness.

The silence was only broken when Leo spat on the ground. "You're lucky she gone. I can't wait for my mother to drop dead."

"Leo!" Snapped Xander. "How dare yo—"

"Don't deny it, Xander! Your mother was the Queen, not ours! Our mothers care nothing for us, we are only pawns to win favour with Father!"

"I know, but that does not mean—"

"She ignored Elise on her death bed! She tended to her until her dying breath, but all she did was try and curry some useless favour before she died!" Anger pulsing through him, he slammed his fist down on the table; spilling his drink all over the place.

"Leo, Xander! Please, control yourselves!" Camila stood up, starring down her brothers angrily. Leo was about to retort, but she cut him off firmly, saying, "Leo, I understand. I really do. But please…don't argue in front of Elise or Emily. I know that here we can speak our mind…but…" She trailed off, her gaze now mournfully on her youngest sibling.

There was quite once more as Emily continued to embrace her sister. The young one was still not crying, but her face remained neutral as thoughts known only to her stormed though her mind. The silence was deafening for everyone as they waited for the breakfast to be served.

"…Well, might as well break the news now…"

Elise's hand tightened as she looked up fearfully at her sister's words. The other three were quick to rise, Xander leading the scurry over to their mournful sister. "What news?"

Taking a deep breath, the dark-haired princess released her troubled sibling; who straightened up with genuine fear in her eyes. She pulled her left glove off and showed off the back of her hand. On it was a black mark that looked like a sword stabbing a spikey shell of some kind. There where random circles underneath the lines that made up the 'shell' and the hilt of the sword was a turnabout arrow with a dot in the middle. As all of her siblings gazed upon it, she tensed her hand and it began to glow a bright yellow.

All were bewildered, but Leo was the first to speak. "Sister, how did you get this mark?"

"I got it…in a dream."

"A dream," asked Xander sharply. "You can't have gotten a mark like that in a dream? Do you mean someone branded you while you slept?"

She shook her head. "No, I was given it while I was in the dream…" She began ruffling her own hair, as if she was trying to rack her brains. "I know it sounds silly, but I was in this weird and misty place. He called it the Void."

"Who did, darling?" Spoke Camila in a soft tone.

"He called himself the Outsider. I can't remember what he said exactly, but he gave me this brand and said my…my 'borrowed blood will fuel his mark's power'". Sighing again, she stood up with her marked hand raised. "Look, ever since that dream I have been able to do stuff like this."

Her mark glowed and suddenly Emily vanished before her siblings. Elise gasped while the other three spun their heads in all directions. Xander was the first to see that their sister had teleported across the room. The moment that confirmation was made, she reappeared in front of them with a troubled expression.

"How is that possible?" Blurted out Leo. "You need a tome or at least speak words to perform magic. He grabbed her hand and began examining the mark with feverish gusto. "And there is no Dragon Vein in this room. But that Outsider did mention 'borrowed blood' which could refer to our family's dragon blood…"

Xander and Camila both exchanged a bewildered look as they had nothing to say to the display. Composing themselves, Camila was the first to ask in her motherly tone; "When did this dream happen?"

"The first one happened about a month ago."

"The first one?"

As if talking about the dreams gave her a headache, she sat down; dragging her investigating brother with her. "I never saw the Outsider again, but I sometimes find myself back in the Void and I see some really random things." Suddenly she made a sound of frustration. "Look, I wake up with the mark from my dreams and its allowing me to perform magic with a wave of my hand. I don't know how it got there or…"

"Shh…" cooed the oldest princess as she gently caressed her sister's cheek. "It's all right, dear. We will sort this out together." Emily smiled back at her sister. The purple haired royal looked at Leo, who had finished his examination of the mark. "Do you recognise the symbol, Leo?"

"No," he replied pensively. "There's no family with this crest in Nohr, I know that for sure. And I have never heard of a magic crest giving a person with no magical experience the ability to perform magic. I have ideas of what topics to pursue, but it will take time." He then smiled/smirked at his dark-haired sibling, saying, "Chin up, sister, we'll sort this mess of yours out."

"Why are you such a jerk, Leo?"

All eyes turned to their youngest, who was trying to glare again but was not by any means intimidating. Realising this, she turned up her nose to Leo and folded her arms. "At least she can use magic without a stupid tome. I bet she can use all kinds of cool spells." Everyone had a smile on their face and they only grew when Elise dropped her folded arms and started giggling gently. It wasn't forced, it wasn't empty. It was just them, together.

Xander was the first to stop smiling, as he resumed his seat and crossed his fingers together. "I trust Leo to be able explain this mysterious seal. I will tell father when we return, but until then let us enjoy our time here." He looked towards the passageway at the back of the hall that leads to the kitchen. "Strange, I thought that your retainers would have brought us our food by now."

"Felecia probably spilt—"

Screams echoed around the hall, screams the brought the sibling to their feet. They came from the passageway, its owner running into the hall with a knife in her hand and blood on her apron. "Lady Emily," yelled Felecia as she ran towards the siblings. "He got Gunter and Flora! Jacob is—"

Without warning, all of the colour from the world was drained from their view. Felecia was now frozen in mid pose, her left foot raised off the ground. The juice drops that had been dripping off Leo's side of the table were also frozen, even the drop during mid splash. But they could still move, and they were reaching for their weapons and tools. Except for Emily, who had not brought a weapon with her.

Before she could make this fact known, the being that attacked her retainers slowly walked out of the passage. A chill struck her as her eyes gazed upon the assailants metallic and jagged skull mask; as if recalling nightmares from long ago.

Whilst Emily was struck with horror, Leo prepaid to strike the menace. His legendary tome flew from its hoister and into his outstretched hand. The tome opened and its pages began flipping as if the prince was reading it at high speeds, an orange aura and symbol etched ring surrounding him as the magic charged the air around him.

The mysterious assailant was about to reach Felecia, who was still frozen in time, before a pallaelagram appeared beneath his feet. From the symbol came vines and other sharp tree growth that tried to plunge itself into the assailant's chest. He barely managed to dodge, colliding shoulder first into the wall to avoid a tree branch piercing his lower side.

Instantaneously, colour returned to the world and the terrified maid continued to run and scream. "…holding him off! The other guards are all—" The maid cut herself off with a yelp after glancing behind her to see that the assailant had been right on her tail. She staggered past the royals and stood by her mistress, her knife at the ready in a poised stance.

Xander looked upon the intruder as if he was examining a cockroach; said bug now standing tall where Leo's spell had once been. "Speak, villain!" He barked. "Who sent you here?" The hooded man didn't speak, though the lenses of his glass eyes seemed to magnify upon the royal siblings.

"Probably another Hoshidan rat," cooed Camila in a low and venomous tone. "I'd wager he is after our precious little Emily. Isn't one theft of our siblings enough?" Her fingers around her giant, steel axe tightened like a vice.

The stranger glass eyes shifted in response, but not to the eldest princess. Emily felt the man's eyes fix on her unarmed person and more chills began spreading down her body. She side-stepped to Leo, who was still at the ready with his tome, and whispered, "Leo, I need to borrow your sword." She motioned to the iron blade's scabbard on her brother's belt.

He gave a sigh that was more amused than frustrated as he whispered, "Typical." He reached for his sword and at the same time the stranger drew his. With great speed, the man's crossbow was raised, and a bolt was already flying before the royals could react. The young prince had hand on his hilt as the projectile struck him right in the throat. Instantly his eyes rolled into the back of his skull and he collapsed; landing on the table with a resounding crash.

Elise screamed and ran to her brother's side, dropping her healing staff at the sight of her brother being slain. While Camila heisted out of horror, Xander charged in anger at the masked man. In his hand was a long, darkly coloured blade that had a red glow like the sky during a sunset; the legendary blade Siegfried. Roaring like a lion, he thrusted his blade at the stranger with all his might.

But the stranger's hand began to glow. As the edge of Xander's blade was about to pierce him, the stranger vanished in a cloud of smoke. Siegfried struck the stone wall. The high prince pulled it from the wall and turned around in time to see the stranger with a sword in hand. It was a fist that was planted in his stomach that winded the prince. Being head-butted by a metal masked face was the real pain the blinded him and staggered him backwards into the passageway.

Before the stranger could do more damage, Camila darted for him like a snake. It was nothing short of a miracle that he managed to deflect her blow as he turned around, though nothing could save him from the sharp kick she delivered him. The princess continued her assault on the masked man, even when he teleported behind her; their skirmish bringing them onto a table in the dining hall.

While the battle raged on, Elise shook her brother whilst real tears began dripping down her face. "No, Leo!" She sobbed as she shook him. "Wake up!"

Emily, though stunned and shocked, managed to see that her sister's request wasn't unfounded. Having gone straight to the wound, she found that the projectile had been a dart of some kind. Upon removing it, she noticed that her brother's chest was slowly rising and falling.

"Elise, it's all right," she assured softly. "He's just sleeping. He's still alive." More tears dribbled down the young princess face, but cheer was their cause instead of sorrow. With that piece of mind, Emily reached for Leo's sword to join her sister.

As she stood up, blade in hand, she heard her servant yell, "Lady Camila, incoming!" The dark-haired princess saw Felecia throwing her knife straight at the stranger. If not the another yellow glow, the dagger would have slipped past the eldest princess and pierced the hooded man's shoulder. Alas, colour was once again drained; leaving the knife three inches where it should be.

The stranger, in a clean motion, managed to elbow past the tall Camila and grabbed the thrown knife. He threw it back to the sender's leg and then allowed time to move on. The maid could never have imagined that her own knife would be now sticking out of her own leg. Howling in pain, she crumpled to the ground.

"Felecia!" Emily turned round to her sister. "Please, heal Felecia. I'll go help Camila."

As she said this, a scream of pain drew both their eyes to an another horror. Camila was writhing in the air as she flew like a stone into the dining hall wall. The sound of armour smacking stone was also laced with a crunch of bone. Camila slid down the wall in a heap, blood strumming from the back of her head.

Anger trumping her misery, Emily roared like her brother and charged the hooded man; the blight against her family. Jumping onto the table, she raised her sword in a crescent ark to cut across the stranger's back. But just like her brother, the man turned with inhuman speed and deflected her blow. But he did not follow up like last time. Instead he took a few steps back, knocking over plates and glasses as he did so.

The dark-haired princess stood her ground, taking up the stance that Xander had drilled into her head. She crossed her arm in front of her chest and straightened out her sword arm until it was pointer behind her; a stance that seemed open and inviting of danger to the untrained eye. "I don't know who you are…" growled the angry princess. "…but you will pay for hurting my family!"

As her eyes bristled with contempt of the hooded man, the stranger continued to step away from the princess. His glass eyes were seemingly fixed on her unarmed hand, the one that bore the mysterious mark. He didn't say anything, but you could tell that his stance had been softened. And Emily took full advantage of that.

With a quick glow, she blinked out of reality into the space before the stranger and slashed at his exposed chest. He managed to doge and raise his weapon, but unlike Camila and Xander he was seemingly unable to exchange blows as Emily swung from up high and low. Her form was sloppy as every swing left herself wide open, but she did not care. After a while, the stranger stopped dogging and managed to lock their blades together. Sparks flew as they engaged in the lock, eyes filled with rage burrowing into eyes made of glass.

Suddenly, the sound of gears wearing accompanied the act of the stranger's blade retracting into its own hilt. Surprised, Emily couldn't break from the lock and thus her blade was dragged down the retracting edge. Before it could cut down into the stranger, he grabbed the princess's sword arm and forced her to drop her blade. He then tripped her leg out from under her and she fell onto the wooden table. She tried to wrestle from the man's grip, but he placed his knee onto her other arm and held the other with an iron hold.

"Let me go!" She grunted as she tried to flail her legs. The man raised his free hand to his face, a single finger pressed against the mouth peace. She did not remain silent and only screamed even harder for her brother Xander. The stranger seemed to give a sigh, but it was slightly garbled and muffled. His hand then raised to his mask and his finger reached around its edges.

Emily didn't pause in her attempts as the man pulled the mask off his face. Not until the real eyes of jet black were staring down at her did she fall silent. For they were red and soaked with tears.

That was all she saw of the stranger, for he had outstayed his welcome. His eyes darted to the left, spying the knife that had been thrown by the healed Felicia. Once again, he stopped time with his mark and reached out for the knife once more. However, as he grabbed the handle, the man screamed in pain with the same garbled quality. For the knife had been empowered with frost, for its owner was a scion of the Ice Tribe, and it covered his marked hand like frozen water.

Staggering upright, colour returned to the world. Felicia, seeing that her plan had worked, jumped onto the table with a grace that you'd think be beyond her. But with battle afoot and her lady in danger, the brunet drew another knife and charged at the mask less stranger. With his marked hand damaged, he tried to doge the incoming knife strikes whilst putting back on his mask. That earned a slash to his other arm and more ice crawling across his armour.

The man, masked once more, let out a kick that did connect with the maid. However, it lacked the power to do more than just stagger her back for a few seconds. He tried to retreat, but a beam of black and red shot out from the passage and stuck his shoulder. Gargling in pain, he fell off the table as Xander strode back into the room; holding aloft the legendary Siegfried that was still crackling in energy. Just as he got back to his feet, his marked hand not free from its icy prison, Elise finished healing Camila and the axe-wielder was now on her feet; armed with a smile and a murderous glee.

The stranger, seeing that he was outmatched, took one last look at Emily; who was still lying on the table. His gaze lingered for a few seconds before he disappeared into the either.

Lying on her back, the dark-haired princess looked at the spot where the man had vanished; the man that still haunted her dreams. The sounds of Xander barking orders at faceless guards were muted along with the sounds of Camila calming a shaken Elise. Even the sound of her maid asking her if she was alright was already fading, along with the walls of the dining hall itself.

Mist poured into the princess' vision as the floor beneath began to rot away; pieces of it floating away into the depths of the Void. The table she lay on was exempt from this and new sounds began to fill her ears. Swords clashing, arrows cutting through the air and the same words over and over again.

"We're your family," said in many different and interlaying voices.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to get the image of those jet black eyes out of her head.

"For no matter how hard you try; those eyes haunt you like an unwanted shadow that clings to you in the moonlight."

She did not flinch at the sound of the clear, odious voice that cut through the sounds of her dream. Even when the tall, dark haired man with sunken, lifeless eyes appeared before her amongst a cloud of oily vapour.

"It has been many long years since you have seen that man, since I graced you with my mark," spoke the Outsider in calm and ominous manner. "Many years stuck in the prison that you call a home. A prison that you stayed in like an obedient dog; clambering around like a trained monkey in a cage while you always yearn for more."

She did not reply to the Outsider. She had not the will to speak in this desolate place, the crushing vastness swallowing her strength to utter a word before this godly being. That did not stop the being from posing his question:

"Will you be able to cope with what is to come? For tomorrow, your siblings will arrive before dawn and will meet to test you one last time. From there you will leave your prison and journey along the roads fate has laid out for you." He smiled, an unnerving rarity for Emily. "Will your journey be as interesting as Corvo's? Well, we shall see…"

With that, the mist began to envelop her and the table she rested on disappeared. She fell silently into the void, her soul screaming in terror as she descended into nothingness.