Dreams Within Eden » Places

         Water fell from his face, blackened as the ink was scrubbed from his flesh. Corvo had attended to his cleaning in the washroom while Lenore prepared the breakfast she had brought. As he toweled off his face, he looked into the mirror; clean. The ink spot was gone, at last. Of course, that wasn't his concern anymore. As he stood there, hovering over the sink, staring into his own eyes, he saw something that troubled him. The same thing that troubled him every time he gazed into the mirror. He was afraid, and too much a coward to do anything. However, he found justification in his behavior: he just didn't understand social conventions. What was normal to him seemed alien to everyone else. People would think it strange that Corvo's greatest friends were machines and numbers. As much as it hurt to admit, even Lenore couldn't offer the solace he found in the workings of the machines. Or, that's what he wanted to believe. Believing that made things easier, at least.

He sighed, hanging his head. How ya holdin' up? His head snapped back up quickly, looking around, searching for a voice. Of course, he didn't know why; the voice he had heard was his own, inside his head. It was faint, but it as there. He didn't know where the thought came from, or why he thought it. He only knew that he felt a good bit disturbed by it. He ran his hands down his face, shaking himself. He inhaled, held it, let it go, and walked out of the washroom.

There was Lenore, just there out on the floor, making a place for their meal. She looked beautiful today, as any day. That was a fact Corvo had always tried to make a lie in his own mind, that nothing about her was beautiful, that she wasn't worth his time, that he should forget her, because she was going to forget him. But, and this was the damnable part of it all, even as much as he tried to lie to himself, he'd never believe it. He was a man of fact and reason, even if he believed his emotions were unreasonable. He just couldn't believe that he would ever believe his own lies, and that was destroying him, more so than the truth that he did care about her, even though she may not feel absolutely the same way as he.

Still, under that smile of hers, he felt vulnerable and open, as if the world outside didn't matter anymore. Of course, she would be gone soon, and Corvo would have to come back to reality; a reality that said she was still outside his reach, that he was alone, that he had work to do. And as she stood there, inviting him to their meal, a mixture of remorse and disbelief washed over him. If only he could tell her. If only they could be. If only the world were that fair. If only.....

She beckoned him over, and he smiled. Behind that smile was the truth, however. And as he walked over, slowly, he only felt more disconcerted, for his dreams would surely fall apart in the wake of reality.

"Nevermore," he whispered to himself.