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desert-dyke · 4 years

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I Am Here When You Call To Me

An “Emily deserves better” AU where Jessamine doesn’t die. Corvo is able to stop the assassination attempt, but he and Emily are shaken up by almost losing their mutual loved one.

requested by @dashcon-baby-official

read on AO3 or read below

Corvo laid awake, staring at the ceiling. Besides him, the Empress was curled against him, fast asleep with her long black hair all in her face. She deserved this rest after the day they had. Being an Empress always came with its critics. If Corvo had been so naive to believe none of those critics would wish death upon her, he would have been out of a job. He had shut down assassination attempts in the past. What troubled him tonight was how uncomfortably close they had gotten today.

What would have happened if Corvo hadn’t returned early like he had? The city watch had failed to deter the group of assassinations. If he hadn’t been standing in that gazebo with Jessamine, he probably would not have gotten there in time to stop the blade from piercing straight through her abdomen. His fingers trace lightly along her arm, trying to focus on how smooth and intact her skin was. It hadn’t happened, he reminded himself. Though the thought played vibrantly in his mind.

There was a sound from the corridor, a thump echoing through gaping empty halls. Corvo jolted to attention like his training taught him to do. His heart thumped like a wardum, blood pounding in his ears. He slips from the bed and with the stealth of a predator makes it to the door. Corvo peaked through the keyhole. He saw nothing but shadows. His breathing is rough and its a fight to keep it silent but he can’t deny how on edge he is. It was luck that he had stopped the earlier assassination and Corvo was sure it was going to eventually run out.

He threw a look behind him at Jessamine still asleep. He is hesitant to leave her behind and defenseless without consciousness while he explored the noise. He could only imagine the silent knife sneaking into her quarters once Corvo was lead away, slitting her throat while she was blissfully unaware she had been in danger at all. He contemplated waking her, but stopped when he realized he could very well just be acting paranoid.

Corvo opened the door with care, so as not to make any noise. He saw a shadow skitter across carpet and behind a potted plant. Too large to be a rat, too small to be an assassin. He reached for his sword, drew it halfway so it would be at the ready, as he crept towards the plant.

A shrill scream filled the corridor and Corvo nearly mimicked it as he took a step back. Two, small hands held in the air, as her face was turned away, unwilling to look her death in the eyes.

“Emily,” Corvo’s voice softened. He sheathed his sword and knelt to a less intimidating height. Her cheeks were glazed with tears he was sure were there even before he scared her nearly half to death.

“Oh Corvo!” She raced to hug him, like she never hesitated to do before. His arms close around her, pulling her better into his lap. He held tight onto her, stroking her short dark hair. When he saw that assassin grab her, it had made his blood boil. Had he come to kill Emily as well? Or was the plot even further wicked than that?

“What are you doing? You should be in bed,” Corvo reminded her, though he should as well. He wiped at her face with the sleeve of his nightshirt.

“I saw a mask!” Emily insisted. “Those glowing, circular eyes from the assassins. Right at the edge of my bed!” For the briefest of moments, Corvo’s heart twitched with panic. He remembered the sickly sight of those masks. How the assassins seemingly spawned out of nowhere. One moment nothing, and the next, he was surrounded by danger. He blinked away the memory.

“They’re all gone,” He assured Emily, but perhaps also himself. He had driven a blade through the back of one. Another, his sword clashed with, before Corvo had managed to throw the assassin off of their rhythm. He bashed the hilt of his sword into their throat, knocking the wind out of them, before kicking them off the ledge, tumbling against rock until hitting unforgiving waters.

“What about the red one?” Corvo fell quiet at the posed question. The assassin in red hadn’t been wearing a mask at all. Corvo saw his black hair, the mangled scar that divided across his eye. He was last to arrive after the masked assassins in black. He, too, seemingly possessed some sort of power from the void. When Corvo saw him grab Emily, he wanted ever so much to take Jessamine’s place, as she threw herself in between the assassin and her daughter, but Corvo had been caught up in fighting the others. After they were killed, the red assassin vanished. Whether he had counted his losses or was currently planning a second strike was unknown to Corvo. He was vaguely aware that until he saw that assassin as a head on a spike, Corvo would forever be looking over his shoulder at every turn, expecting him to come back.

“He’ll stay away if he knows what is best for him,” Corvo replied, feigning his confidence. He rose to his feet, picking Emily up with him. Her legs wrapped around his waist. She was getting a little big to be carried, but Corvo made the exception. The day she had required a maturity far beyond her age. He did not want to see her have to grow up overnight because of what happened. He’d gladly allow her be the child she was for a little bit longer.

“Why did those assassins attack mom?” Emily asked. Her chin was resting on his shoulder, looking down the dark hallway behind him.

“As Empress, there is always going to be people who disagree with what you say,” Corvo relayed. “Sometimes those people feel so strongly they’re willing to kill for their beliefs.” It was a reality Emily was going to have to learn before she took over for her mother. He wished he could somehow spare her that truth, that she would never have to live it for herself. He couldn’t lie to her, though. It wouldn’t do her any favors.

Corvo paused in his tracks. There was something still bothering him. The look on Spymaster Hiram Burrows’ face when he saw that Corvo had returned early. He looked nervous, and moments before those assassins appeared. “Or sometimes people are just greedy for power.” His tone was gritted. His paranoia was going to have him second guessing everyone’s intentions until he finally uncovered who had hired the assassin.

Corvo opened the door with slightly less grace this time, given that his hands were occupied with the little Empress-to-be. He didn’t bother returning Emily to her room. He was confident what she had seen had been nothing more than a trick of the eye, but Corvo did not want to risk it. Nor did he want Emily to be alone and afraid all night. He brought her back to Jessamine.

The door closed behind him with a loud thunk. He heard Jessamine gasp from the bed. She sat up too fast, he realized with a sinking heart, no doubt afraid she was under attack again. He supposed they were all going to be a little jumpy the next few days.

“I brought you a present, your highness,” Corvo teased, despite the guilt he felt for waking her. Jessamine breathed a laugh, relief washing over her face. Emily was exchanged from his arms to Jessamine’s. She nuzzled in close to her mother.

“What a surprise!” Jessamine remarked. Her smile was wide and bright, but Corvo could tell she was fighting off tears. Not because she was upset to see Emily - she would never be anything but doting to her only child - but out of fear of losing her.

“I was too scared to be able to fall asleep,” Corvo explained, as he perched on the edge of the bed. “I needed Emily here to keep me safe.” This time Jessamine smiled for real, a small closed lip smile, her blue eyes beaming at him.

“I’ll protect you Corvo!” Emily excitedly chimed in. She dove back into the multiple pillows on Jessamine’s bed, thrusting a fist out and giving her best attempt at a battle cry. “YAR!”

“Alright, my little warrior,” Jessamine said, pulling the young girl in closer. “Even heroes have to sleep,” She whispered into her hair, before kissing her forehead. A hand reached towards Corvo. “And you as well, my heart.” Corvo accepted her hand, grinning to himself. He thought they agreed to lay off the pet names while Emily was around. It was a pointless rule when the young girl had seen them share affections between each other many times before. Emily was a smart girl. He barely thought the Empire believed their lies that they weren’t a couple. Emily had to have seen right through it.

He slipped beneath sheets, pulling them up and over Jessamine and Emily before settling an arm across his lover, the young girl happily sandwiched in between. He allowed his eyes to fall shut, knowing both of his best loves were here with him. They were safe.

“Corvo?” The small voice pipped up.

“Hmm?” His body was exhausted from the days trials and he was ready for sleep to claim him.

“Will you teach me how to fight?” She asked. “So next time I can help you protect mommy?” Corvo peeled an eye open. Jessamine was looking back at him. She nodded slowly in approval.

“Of course,” He answered Emily, stroking his hand along her hair affectionately. He only hoped there never came a time she would need to use it.

#dishonored #emily kaldwin #corvo attano #jessamine kaldwin #my fics #I'm accepting one more request if anyone else wants to jump on board

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rose-red-ink · 5 years

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Shadows and Thrones, Chapter One

Hey everyone, thanks for showing interest in my book! I’ll be adding a link to this and subsequent chapters on my masterlist page. Hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 1

Everything began to fade away; the bed beneath me, the press of the metal headset in front of my eyes, the quiet birdsong outside my window. The world faded to black as my mind was teleported to somewhere far away and nowhere all at once.

The world of Shadows and Thrones, the newest VR game on the market. The darkness around me started to swirl with muted color, consolidating into a generic female avatar standing a few feet in front of me.

Dozens of menus popped up, offering height, weight, hair color, race, skin color, fighter class, and more things to choose from than my overly-excited brain could settle on. A grin on my face, I set to work.

My boots touched down with a soft crunch in a beautiful pine forest. The trees stretched tall and green above my head, swaying gently in the breeze. The sharp scent of pine needles touched my nose, and I couldn’t contain a tiny gasp. Full-dive virtual reality really was amazing. A thrill rushed in my chest, a familiar ache to run and climb and explore every inch of this new world.

‘And then what?’ a little voice whispered in my head. ‘You’ll explore this world, it’ll be all fun and exciting for a few months. It won’t make you happy.’

I shook my head. “Shut up.”

I was here, the sun shining in a dappled pattern over my avatar’s skin, a whole new world stretching out before me. I didn’t have to be thinking about all that, I shouldn’t.

I took a deep breath through my nose, taking in the scents of pine and damp earth and freshly baked bread, somewhere off in the distance. Probably a town, one with a tavern.

I could find some other players, try to join a guild, or even just a party for a few days as I got used to things. Maybe people might want me in their guild, if I didn’t mess up too much.

Squaring my shoulders, I walked towards the direction of the smell. As the trees thinned out, I could see a village across the fields of grass, chimney smoke rising into the clear blue sky. Perfect.

The tavern was filled with players of all races crowded around tables. An NPC barmaid pushed past me, delivering mugs of mead to a drow and some kind of water spirit race, before bustling back to the bar.

Everyone seemed to know everyone else, groups of friends and old guilds meeting up. A girl in low-cut armor lounged in the corner, hitting on whoever walked by, and acting super friendly to any girl players who wandered past.

I steered clear. I’d played enough video games to know who those kinds of players were.

But as the tavern filled with more players, my hesitation grew. My eyes drifted to the notice board. I could put up a sign, saying I needed a guild to join, but that could yield...uncomfortable results.

So I sat on a bar stool, picking at my long fingernails, for what seemed like forever.

After nearly an hour, I sighed and resigned myself to just making a notice board post and hoping whoever picked me up wasn’t too creepy.

Looking for guild!

My name’s Risty Blackburn, I’m a level one shadow rogue, leaning towards a DPS role.. Looking for a guild to join. No spam or roleplaying guilds, please!

ID contact number: 78349375841

‘You really think anyone’s going to be interested with that? Just log out and stop wasting your time.’

I winced, tearing down the notice. I mentally called up the menu screen, reaching for the logout button.

I tapped it. Nothing happened.

I frowned. Tapped again.

The tavern still bustled around me.

Maybe the headgear took a couple minutes to shut down? The instruction manual said it was supposed to be instantaneous, but this was a new game. They probably had to work out a few bugs.

I waited five minutes. Ten. Fifteen.

Then, my stomach flipped. An elf player stood, reaching for his menu, and disappeared in a flash of light.

He was logged out instantly. Was something wrong with my VR gear? Or the game?

I hurried over to the table he had just left. A dwarf man and some sort of cat woman looked up at me expectantly.

My stomach dropped. “H-hello.” I managed. “I, uh, have either of you had a problem logging out? I saw your friend did, but mine isn’t working.”

The dwarf rolled his eyes. “It’s not that hard, noob.”

He pulled up his menu, pointing to the logout button. “See? Right here.”

Frustration boiled inside me. “I know.” I snapped, pulling it up. “But it doesn’t work.”

I demonstrated, the button still yielding no results.

The cat-woman frowned, looking at my screen. “That’s weird…”

The dwarf sneered. “Go figure it out yourself.”

The cat-woman smacked his arm with a disapproving glare, before looking back to me. “I’d go to the city hall. There are some friendly NPCs who can help with any glitches.”

I nodded, thanking her.

So I just needed to get bug sorted out. That was all. Everything would be fine. But I couldn’t shove aside the sinking feeling in my chest as I left the tavern and into the coming sunset.

Something was off.

“What the hell do you mean?!”

The enraged roar was what greeted me as I walked into the city hall. An elf man was yelling at an NPC with a politely blank expression.

“You do not meet the requirements to log out right now.” the computer-generated man said calmly.

“If you say that one more time--”

“You can’t log out?” I interrupted. Which I immediately regretted as he whirled on me, green eyes blazing with anger.

“Figure that out all by yourself?” he snarled. “The stupid logout button doesn’t work.”

I shrank back. “Mine doesn’t work either.” I managed. “That’s why...why I’m here.”

He looked at me with narrowed eyes, before moving aside.

“Talk to him,” he ordered.

I hesitated, before walking quickly past him, in front of the NPC.

“Hello,” I said quietly.

He smiled politely, his settings reset to talk to me. “Good evening, adventurer. How may I help you?”

“I can’t log out.” I explained.

He smiled. “Alright! I’ll pull up your profile and see what I can do. Please stay patient.”

His expression went blank again.

“This takes a while.” the elf explained. He kept fidgeting, picking the sleeves of his long cloak. From his clothes and the starter’s bow slung over his shoulder…

“You’re a ranger, right?” I asked.

He looked down. “Oh...yeah.”

I nodded. “It looks...nice.” His avatar did look good, it was clear he had spent lots of time on it. His skin was light brown, with long black hair loose around his shoulders. His eyes were dark green, like the pine forest I had spawned in. But his eyes kept darting around impatiently, never settling on anything for too long.

“Did you need to log out for something?” I asked.

He grimaced. “I...yeah. I just got a message from my sister a few minutes ago, she went into labor. I’m gonna miss the birth of my new niece or nephew if this bug doesn’t clear up.”

I winced. “Ugh, I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault.” he scratched the back of his head. “Sorry I was yelling.”

I smiled. “It’s alright, I understand. You’re probably freaking out a bit for your sister, right?”

He gave a tight, stressed laugh. “Yeah. But I mean, her husband’s taking her to the hospital, and my mom is with her...she’ll be okay. It’s just irritating.”

He shook his head, as if trying to clear out his intruding thoughts, and held out his hand. “Anyway...I’m Lorson Clearwater”

I shook it. “Risty Blackburn.”

He grinned. “Okay, that’s a cool name. And a neat avatar.”

I couldn’t help my smile. “Yeah, it took me an hour,” I admitted.

My avatar had long, dark red hair, turning to golden blonde as it reached the tips. Her skin was dappled with freckles, and she wore simple black leather armor under a reddish-brown cloak. A couple simple daggers were strapped to her belt. But the best parts were the ears and tail. They were those of a fox, and the same red-brown as the cloak, tipped in white.

“Kitsune is a pretty cool race. I figured I’d go classic, though,” he admitted, looking down at his avatar.

“Nothing wrong with classics.” I reminded him cheerfully.

He smiled, some of the tension seeming to leave his face. “Right? Elves are awesome.”

“Ms. Blackburn, I’ve finished your scan.” the NPC interrupted.

I turned, heart pounding. “Thank you. What did you find? Can I log out?”

The NPC smiled. “You do not meet the requirements to log out. Thank you.”

Four hours later, Lorson got a message from his mother that his sister had given birth to a healthy baby boy. She was annoyed he hadn’t been there. He told her something had come up, that there was an accident, but he was okay.

Lorson and I couldn’t get any more answers out of the NPC, so the two of us had gone out of the hall, and sat on the marble steps. He’d halfheartedly suggested we go try out the combat system, but I’d just shrugged. The excitement I’d felt for the game’s release had been replaced by a cold, leeching dread.

What if I tried dying?

“You can’t log out either, can you?”

A voice made him look up. Two more players stood in front of him. A girl with short, dark purple hair plopped down on the steps, visibly fuming. Her long staff and dark blue robes meant she was a mage or some kind of spellcaster.

“This is BS.” she snapped.

The other player with her smiled apologetically at Lorson and I, before sitting down next to her.

“We’ll figure it out, Kaia,” he said gently. His heavy armor, golden hair, and broadsword marked him as some sort of tank, probably a paladin. “We’ve already sent a troubleshoot request, we just need to wait.”

He sat down next to the girl in the blue robes, giving them an apologetic smile.

I glanced above his head, the name there was “Edun”.

“I was supposed to video chat with some friends tonight, but the stupid NPCs say I can’t log out!” Kaia snapped. “What the hell are the “qualifications for logging out”? What does that even mean?!”

“I’d be happy to explain, miss.”

We all looked up to see a generic human player standing a few feet away. I frowned. His player name and HP bar weren’t visible, which I didn’t even think was possible.

“And who the hell are you?” Kaia sneered.

The man smiled. He had a kind, if not generic face. “My name is Adrius. I’m the reason you’ll all be staying in this game, for the foreseeable future.”

#Shadows and Thrones #Risty #Edun #Kaia #Lorson #VR #Writeblr #WIP #Thanks for reading!#Please like and reblog #If you enjoyed

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