The Empress & The Gunslinger

Chapter 19 - Emily Kaldwin, Let Me Down

Emily arrived at a hotel in Saint Denis. She sat on her horse looking up at the place; awful flashbacks of the last one she stayed in being robbed flooded her mind. She looked around her to see if there was anywhere else she could stay but he thoughts were rudely interrupted by a man in a carriage pulling up alongside her "Hey you, Miss!" Emily turned to her left to find the Mayor in the carriage. She smiled at him and nodded her head. The Mayor looked at Emily up and down, noticing that she was covered in blood. "Forgive me, Miss, I don't want to know what happened to you but would you like to come back to mine and freshen yourself up with a nice bath" The word bath instantly put a smile on Emily's face! It had been a long time she had a decent wash. Without hesitation she accepted the Mayor's offer and climbed off her horse. She was helped into the Mayor's carriage by one of his men, who then attached her horse to the rear of the carriage to follow along with them.

The Mayor smiled at Emily. "You are that young woman who was seen locking lips with an outlaw"
The memory made her heart ache.
"Where are the Van Der Linde gang?" He asked her.
Emily shrugged her shoulders "Probably dead"
The Mayor frowned at Emily and decided it was not the time to keep asking her questions.

As the carriage arrived at the Mayor's house, Emily was helped out of the carriage and escorted into the house. She was given a bath, a hot meal and a lovely dress to wear, however she kept the black cloth over her hand to hide the mark of the outsider. Emily never really said much other than thank you. She felt very tired and drained from using her powers earlier that day and decided to head on up to the room that the Mayor had setup for her to stay in. It reminded her of home, of her father. Memories of her and her father began to flood her mind; her heart was in a great deal of pain. How could she be so stupid as to fall for a gunslinger that was clearly only after her money as well?

The remainder of that evening she remained in her room, reading books that were on the book case, whilst sitting in front of the fire warming herself up. As she was about to retire for the evening there was a faint knock on the door. She frowned, placing her book down and headed towards the door where she opened it to find the Mayor standing there.
"Miss, may I come in?"
Emily nodded and stepped out of the way to let him in. She walked back over to the fire and sat down in one of the chairs. The Mayor closed the door behind him and sat in the chair next to her.
"Sorry I've been quiet, I just want to say thank you for this" Emily said.
The Mayor smiled "Child, I wouldn't do this often but I am aware of your heritage and I know Corvo."
Emily turned to look at the Mayor in shock "You know my father?"
The Mayor nodded "I knew your mother as well and she would not want you wondering around a place like this on your own"
Emily looked down at her hands and sighed. "So are you part of this whole plan to try and steal my money?"
The Mayor laughed "Don't be daft I have my own money. I'm here to keep you safe."
Emily smiled and raised her head "What do you want from me in return?"
The mayor shook his head "Nothing. As old friends of your mother and your father I simply want you to have somewhere to put your head at night, have a change of clothes, hot food and a warm bath"
Emily's eyes began to fill up "How do I know you're not lying?"
The Mayor placed his finger under her chin and turned her head so that she was facing him, he wiped away the tear rolling down her cheek "I have no need to hurt you."
Emily turned her head back towards the fire, away from the Mayor without saying a word. She could feel the lump in her throat getting bigger as she tried her hardest to hold back the remaining sadness in her heart.

The mayor got to his feet and left the room, Emily followed behind to lock thedoor to her room. She turned her back to the door and slid down to the floorwhere she burst into tears. How could everything go from being so perfect to sobroken? She couldn't stop her mind from all the questions it had. Why didn'tArthur come after her if he loved as much as he claimed to have done? She justfelt a big empty whole in her heart. She had spent every day of her life forthe last 8 months with this man, she felt even more stupid for making love tohim, she felt used, she felt hurt, she was broken and she didn't know how tofix herself or heal this pain she had in her heart.