Page 89 of Emma & Edmund

"But I won't "feed you" or whatever you said." Quoting around his words, Emma draped her blanket over her shoulders, clutching it around her in a makeshift cape before finally stepping off the bed. "I am returning for Edmund alone."

"Unfortunately, my dear," Molek's triumphant smile hadn't moved an inch, bubbling up the pride-fed refusal Emma had donned only moments ago, "they go hand in hand."

Emma took a pause, pursing her lips into a thin line.

Molek had been very vague with his words, enough so Emma could only skim the barest meaning of them, but it seemed there was a very specific way that he regained his power. For whatever reason, he needed Edmund to do so, which would explain his timely arrival. The details between mattered little to her, not when he was her only viable path back to Edmund.

"Then we shall spend the rest of our days in pleasant company, never to make love again. That will eventually make you go away, won't it?"

A burst of laughter sent a shiver down Emma's spine. It was similar to Edmund's in volume and tenor but lacked any of the warmth that wrapped around her like a hug.

"I would bet my damned soul you'd last an hour at the most. Besides," in a blink, they were nose to nose again, his black mouth unnaturally stretched into an eerie smile, "I wouldn't think it wise to threaten me right now. Who knows what damage I can do on our way out of town?"

"You've used that trick too often," Emma tried to push him away with little success, "it frightens me no more. Nor does your threat of further damage. There is no lower my reputation can sink."

"And yet," Molek countered immediately, "only now can you truly live without fear."

He was wrong. Emma was terrified.

While her love burned brightly in her chest, fresh and alive, Edmund's may have dulled. Should have, with how she treated him. Molek's words were less than trustworthy, and should he have mourned, even the deepest mourning can turn cold with time.

Even still, there was a glimmer of hope out there on the Welsh border. Hope that the city she loved and the society she dedicated her life to no longer held.

"Be ready in an hour."

"An hour!" Emma was ripped from her thoughts by her own gasp. An hour was hardly enough time to choose what to bring, let alone pack and say her goodbyes. “That’s impossible!”

"Then you’ll be left behind."

Like a candle, starting with his head dripping down his shoulders and onto her rug before vanishing with a singe of smoke, Molek disappeared before her horrified eyes.

Gazing down at the fading shadow where his feet were, Emma wondered if she just assigned her soul to hell. Just as quickly, she countered herself, knowing that if she didn't at least take this risk, the rest of her mortal days would be just as hellish.

An hour flew by just as quickly as she thought it would. Throughout the entirety of it, she packed and unpacked the same small bag over and over again, one moment steeling herself and committing to the runaway, only to convince herself moments later it was the worst idea she ever had.

Fate alone had the bag bursting with belongings when a knock came to her door, nearly spooking Emma out of her skin. She wasn't quite sure what she had expected to be on the other side, her mind immediately seeing the nearly naked, rust-hued body of Molek, as if he was just casually strolling the halls.

It shouldn't have been a surprise to, once again, hear Heidi's voice on the other side. Yet, it was.

"Miss Emma? Your father is asking for you. He told me to ready you quickly."

"Yes," she hated the way her voice cracked, "please come in."

In her usual way, Heidi entered with a cheery smile, arms full of fresh laundry and the glint in her eye she always had when planning Emma's outfit. Looking into the face of the woman that raised her, a pang of regret hit deep in her gut. Society may have turned its back on her, but Heidi didn't.

She wondered if Heidi would approve of Edmund. Emma believed she would, despite all the reasons a reasonable person wouldn't.

Just as quickly as she entered, Heidi's eyes darted to the pack on Emma's bed, and her exuberance sobered.

"Are you going somewhere? I haven't heard of-"

"Of course not!" Emma's stomach turned at the lie, even as she plastered a grin across her face. "It's just...a...a gift!"

Heidi knew well that Emma had no one to give a gift to, especially not one hastily packed in a well-used tote.

"Your father did say you had someplace to be. Funny though, I thought I saw him leave hours ago. And why would he rent a coach when he has a perfectly good one? Strange man, your father."

Heidi's musings sounded accusatory in Emma's ears, but the woman expected no answer, only pulling a light yellow day dress from the wardrobe.

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