Chapter 3: Disgusting Tail

Morning came without ceremony. Pale daylight pressed through the shutters, spilling across the floorboards. The palace stirred awake beyond the walls-distant footsteps, muted voices, the low groan of the river barges easing past their moorings. By the time Corvo rose, the sun was already climbing, bright over the city rooftops.

Hours slipped by in duties too small to remember-brief words with guards, quiet glances across the halls, the routine weight of a day inside Dunwall Tower. It was nearer to afternoon when he found himself outside, walking the stone paths that traced the tower's outer grounds. The air was sharper here, tinged with salt and coal smoke drifting from the city below. Seagulls wheeled in the distance, their cries echoing against the high walls.

Corvo slowed, something tugging at the edge of his awareness. The faint scrape of a shoe. A small weight in the air that hadn't been there a moment before. His shoulders stiffened, and he turned sharply, hand instinctively brushing the hilt at his side.

Behind him-

A grin. Bright, mischievous, and utterly fearless.

"Corvo!" Emily's voice rang clear, carrying more delight than surprise. She stood with hands clasped behind her back, swaying on her heels, eyes gleaming with the excitement of a child who had finally caught her prey.

"You promised you'd play with me today," she said, tilting her head with mock sternness.

The tension in his frame loosened, though he didn't quite smile. Not yet.

"Emily..", Corvo said with a slightly irritated sigh. Not an angry, but more of one than a disappointment father would make. "Please, stop trying to sneak up on me like that. You've been hiding there for a while, haven't you?"

Emily only grinned wider, unbothered by the weight in his voice. "Maybe... just a little." She spread her hands apart, as if confessing to some grand crime. "But you didn't catch me, so I win this time."

Corvo's eyes narrowed slightly, though the corner of his mouth almost twitched. "Winning isn't always a good thing, especially if the wrong person notices you first."

She rocked on her heels, still swaying, still smiling. "But you noticed me. You always do."

That gave him pause. For a moment, his reply stuck in his throat. The sound of the river and the distant bells of the city filled the space between them until Emily broke it herself.

"Come on," she said, tugging at his sleeve with both hands. "You promised. No running off this time."