They tied the horses in a stable that was open, yet it cost them three times more that what it would normally cost, since the owner said that it was a risky time of the year and need a proper incitement to look after the horses that of course weren't the only ones there. Corvo simply eyed him and let him know that their horse better be there when they come back.

As they made their way toward the main plaza of the town Jessamine not only grabbed his hand but leaned against his arm, humbling a soft song as they walked. Corvo kept looking around making sure no one would follow them or try anything stupid. He had seen several kids picking pocketing, but with just a glare made sure that they didn't try anything on them, Jessamine contrary to him seemed more relax and enjoying that they were out for ones, on their own.

The smaller plazas of the town seem to have a small carnival going on, which was more familiar type of Feast, contrary to what it usually was. Jessamine was pulling him alongside each one of the stands showing him the different things that there were selling, but Corvo was paying more attention to all the people that was walking around them than to Jessamine. She pulled him from one stand to the fountain that was in the middle of the plaza and hugged him, he turned and looked at her.

"You should relax Corvo, nothing bad is going to happen," she said as she rubbed her face against his chest. Corvo looked at her but didn't replay anything. "Are you hungry? I think I know a place where we could eat that you might just like."

They walked a couple of blocks until they reached a street with several restaurants. She looked around and found the one that she was searching for. They entered it and asked for a table for two. Once they had sat down she smiled at him.

"Have you been having fun?" she asked but before he would answered she said, "Oh, I forgot, you haven't since you can't relax even a bit, I'm starting to think that Lord Resnik was right, you are an old man in the body of a young one." Corvo simply frowned slightly but didn't reply anything.

A young man approached them, Corvo eyed him waiting to see what he wanted. He asked them if they were ready to order, to what Jessamine responded in Serkonan that they would be wanting a duck for both of them and any drink that would go with it. The young man smiled back and said that it would be a pleasure to serve them and go away. She laughed softly when she looked at Corvo.

"I forgot to tell you, didn't I? I asked Mr. Bennett if he knew any Serkonan restaurant that would be in the area, and he told me of this one, I hope that the duck is just as good as the one you ate back there at Serkonos. You seemed happy when you told me about it, so I guessed I could try to make you relieve a nice memory," she said smiling at him.

"Thank you Jessamine," he said smiling at her and grabbing her hand. "It really means something," he could easily see the blush under her mask. "Though I'm going to warn you, don't expect me to use my etiquette while eating, is better to eat it with the hands."

Jessamine looked at him with wonder seeing how the Lord Protector had lost all sense of seriousness as he ate. He did seem to be enjoying it with each bit. When he finished his half of the duck he quickly cleaned his fingers.

"You seem to enjoy it a lot," she said as she bit the leg that she had on her hand.

"It is a really good cuisine, is strange to find such a fateful cuisine of another island here in Gristol, they always add something else."

"Yes, you are right… would you like to eat my half, I mean I'm not going to eat it. It is too much."

He looked at her. "You really can't or just want me to eat it because you want me to enjoy the feast?"

"Is there a difference?" she asked but he simply shook his head. She passed him the plate that he began to eat eagerly, when he finished he looked at her.

"You are dirty, Corvo" she said as she leaned forward and clean the edge of his mouth with a napkin. "There you are, clean as new. Now time for the desserts," she said smiling at him.

The waiter put in front of both of them a tart like the one Corvo had described early in the morning. Corvo looked at Jessamine, who smiled back at him and they began to eat.

They left the bistro sometime later as Corvo had been too eager to speak with the owner, but above all to speak with someone that had also hail from Serkonos. After they left he seem more relaxed and happy, so she decided to get the opportunity and go again to the first plaza that they had visited. They went around the stands again, still she notice that he did kept looking over his shoulder but not as frequent as the first time. From there they walked toward the main plaza that had a huge fire in the middle of it, not far from it there was a large band of musicians that were playing different instruments yet all of them seem to know which piece of music should be play. The plaza was bursting with far more people than the other ones, Corvo hold Jessamine closer to him, to what she used the opportunity to hugged him, she liked to feel his arms around her.

Corvo looked around and notice several people drinking in a far part of the plaza, while others seem to be smoking some sort of narcotic. He also noticed a couple of men fighting not far from the entrance of the Abbery that had the town, not to mention the thieves that were pick pocketing some of the other people that were simply dancing around the fire or in smaller groups. He had to admit that he didn't like that but when he looked at Jessamine, she didn't seem to see all those things but quite the contrary. She was looking at the people that were dancing and laughing and having a good time, not to mention those that were toasting not only for their families but for the Empire and the fair and wise Empress. She looked amazed by how the commoners celebrate the Fugue Feast that was quite different than how the nobles celebrate it. She stopped and looked around and smiled at Corvo, how had his serious face fixed.

"Oh, not that face again," she said as she put both of her hands on his face, "Smiled for me Corvo, please? Or… or maybe you want me to make you smiled," she said in a mischievous voice and she leaned forward to try to kiss him but he moved and she kissed him in the cheek.

"Are you sure you want to be here? I think is getting late," he said, she rolled her eyes and then looked at the band of musicians.

"Oh!, I know that song Corvo! Come on, let's dance!" she urged him as she pulled him toward the fire. "I used to dance this when I was little, come on!"

"I don't dance…" he said without moving at all.

She looked at him and pressed her face against his chest. "You are going to tell me that you follow the Seven Strictures and that you don't dance this because is an old pagan dance? Is that what you are trying to tell me?"

"No… I simply don't dance," he said. "You see, I was never taught how to dance, I was taught the arts of sword fighting and how to use any range weapon, how to infiltrate to any place and horse riding. How to speak and write in the four languages that the Empire have, but… it was never part of my training to learn how to dance."

"Well it really isn't that difficult, you can follow me," she said as she tried to pull him toward the dancing people.

"I rather not."

"Well then, you better keep an eye on me, since I'm going to dance until I can't anymore," she said and quickly enough she incorporate herself with the rest of the people that was dancing.

Corvo watched her and move alongside her as she danced, he saw her laughing and smiling as she dance beside strangers not worrying at all of anything. He leaned against a wall as he watched and then heard a woman beside him.

"If you like her that much, you should tell her," Corvo looked at her. "You can't tell this all bones that you don't like her, I know the face of a man in love when I see it. And she likes you too, or maybe is that she is your relative and that's why you don't tell her?"

"She is not my relative," said he looking at the woman and then at Jessamine. "I'm just looking after her."

"I'm sure many men here would like to 'look' after her and more if you aren't really willing to do anything. I mean is pretty obvious she likes you, the question would be why you don't like her back, is that you had someone else?" Corvo shook his face. "Then I wonder why you don't simply tell her, oh look the dance is over, but surely the musicians will continue playing music of old, would you dance with me young man? You won't say no to an old lady like me, would you?"

Corvo didn't knew what to answer and let the old woman drag him to the circle of dancers, where he made eye contact with Jessamine who laugh at him. He shook his face and started imitating the other men. The dance wasn't that complicated after all a few turned going inside and outside of the circle, crossing palms and once in a while clapping at the same tune that the music. When he changed partner some of the girls whispered into his ear several propositions of what they could do after the dance was over, to what Corvo smiled in an awkward way and change of partner.

Corvo started looking around for Jessamine once the dance was over moving himself out of the dancing circle, but he couldn't saw her any place near.

Jessamine stopped dancing and looked around to try to find Corvo. She started walking around the fire but didn't see him.

"Corvo?" she called out for him and then someone grabbed her by the waist. She smiled and turned around to face him, but she didn't saw Corvo once she had face the man.

"Jessamine!" Corvo looked around, he hadn't found her, and he was getting tense, where could she be? He called her out again. He stood up and search for her, he was looking desperately for her. He took a deep breath and called out for her again. Then he heard it, his name, from where had it come from? He looked again and then saw it, Jessamine was trying to break free from a couple of men. Corvo didn't waste another minute and ran through the crowd trying to reach Jessamine before she would disappear from his sight again.

He bumped into several people, to what most of them just yelled at him to be more careful. Some men just looked at him and said at loud that probably he was running away from his wife or that the girl he was running after most be a real beauty. He stopped to look around at the begging of the street, then he heard the men saying that Jessamine should stop moving so much, that if she stay still everything would go faster. Corvo ran toward the small street and then stopped to hear again, just to hear her calling out his name. He took his dagger and saw the men that had Jessamine against a wall under the entrance of what seem to house.

"Let her go!" he called at them from behind.

One of the men turned and said. "If you want a go, you will have to wait; oh I see, you think a little knife like yours will scare us?" and draw a sword.

The man threw himself at Corvo, who easily evaded all the slashes that the man tried to land on him. Corvo moved closer and cut the man's hand making him drop the sword, who screamed and took out a dagger and tried to stab him. Corvo moved even swifter and stab the man on the eye, then grabbed his arm with one hand and with the other hand twist the man hand until it break. Corvo pulled out his dagger and finished the man by smashing his face against the wall. Then he looked at the other man, who opened his eyes and tried to pulled out a short blade but Corvo was already upon him and stab him quickly in the hand making him drop the knife, then Corvo used his arm to extended the man's neck and lifted him several inches from the ground and immobilized him with his other arm.

"You are going to ask for forgiveness to her Grace, you heard me," Corvo said in a low whisper.

"If she would really be the Empress then I would gladly fuck her," the man said looking at Jessamine. Corvo pressed the end of his dagger at the man's throat.

"I SAID APOLOGIZE!" he roared.

Jessamine was looking at him with terror in her face and tears on her eyes. "Stop it! I order you to stop it!"

Corvo looked at her and let go the man who fell into the ground. She ran by them, Corvo remain still a couple of seconds and started following when he heard the man screaming at him. Corvo evaded the thrust of the knife and quickly stab the man at the base of the neck and pulled out the dagger. The man tried to stop the bleeding and even grabbed Corvo by the coat but finished falling into the ground.

"You should have apologized," he said and walked toward Jessamine that had waited for him at the beginning of the main street.

Once he had reached her, he turned her to him and was going to ask if she was alright when she slapped him in the face.

"What took you so long?!" she said with fear in her voice and then began running away. Corvo simply followed.

They arrived at the stables and quickly took their horses; the keeper didn't say anything to them as it was clear that it had turn into an unpleasant night. Corvo grabbed Jessamine horse reins and make both horses galloped toward the manor. Once there he helped her get down and saw how she walked quickly to the manor. He took both stallions to the stable and walked back to the manor. A part of him was angry at Jessamine, if she had listen to him, she wouldn't had that unpleasant experience, but another part of him felt that if he had dance with her from the beginning nothing of that would had happen. He entered the lobby just to find her standing at the beginning of the stairs holding a candelabrum and looking at him.

"Would you escort me to my room, Lord Protector?" she asked weakly, he walked to her and offered his hand which she took.

They arrived to the room and she opened it then she looked at him. "Would you mind making me so company, at least for a while?"

"That won't be a problem your Grace", he said and proceeded to enter the room, he went to tend the fire and rekindled it.

He then turned and looked at her that was sitting at one side of her bed and had already taken off her boots. Corvo walked to her and sat next to her and looked at her, he really didn't know what to say. So he simply remained in silence, thinking that she might be scare to death of him by now. Probably she had never seen a man die, but he had. As he had killed before, way before he had even been under Lord Resnik service. She rose from the bed and walked to the drawer and took off the mask.

"It is broken," she said softly showing Corvo the masked that she had worn that night, it had a fissure in the right part of it.

Corvo proceeded to remove his own and looked at it, it had blood on it alongside dirt. "I'm sorry about the mask," he said as he handled it to her. "I didn't mean to get it stain, your Grace."

She took it in her hands and simply said, "They belong to my parents and now looked at them, they are broken and… and…" she let go the mask and began to cry. Corvo hugged her and pressed her against his chest, she hugged him back. He did want to make her feel better, but he really didn't know how, so he simply hugged her and lay with her on the bed.

He stood with her for a couple of hours until she had stopped crying and began to breathe in a more regular way. The fire was almost out again, he wondered if she would be sleep already and if it would be prudent for him to leave her now that she was asleep. He gave a sigh and looked around he could easily see all the outlines of the furniture as his eyes had adapted to the darkness that surround them. He hugged her a bit more.

"Are you awake Corvo?" she asked.

Corvo looked at her and whispered back. "Yes, I am."

"You were right. I'm sorry, I should have listened to you…" she said as she buried her face against his chest. "I was a fool to believe that nothing bad would happen to us, to believe that it could be celebrated and be cherished, I'm so sorry…"

"No, Jessamine, you weren't wrong," he said as he simply brushed her hair. She looked at him with surprise. "It is that some people are ill will but not all the persons that were out there were like that, I bet there were nice people enjoying the Feast out there. And above all what you tried to do for me was something no one had ever tried and I really appreciated it," he smiled at her in a sincere way.

She clenched tightly against him. "But you could have died because of me tonight, because I was a foolish little girl that believed there is nothing to worry about out there…"

Corvo easily heard the anguish in her voice. "If I would have died tonight, I would had done it gladly…"

"Because it's your duty?" she asked.

"No, I would die for you any other day because that is my duty, but these days… I'm just Corvo Attano and you are just Jessamine Kaldwin, and I would die gladly for you not because is my duty but because I can't imagine to live in a world where you aren't in it," he said and kissed her forehead.

She raised her face and looked at him, he started closing the gap that was between them.

"We really shouldn't be doing this," she said in a low whispered.

"I know, we really shouldn't… But I really want to…" he replied to her.

"So do I…" she said and let him kissed her.

When they broke apart he looked at her and saw the same desire that he had and smiled softly to her and kissed her again, he really didn't knew if they would just be sharing tender kisses what was left of the night or something else. He didn't knew and really didn't care at the moment all that he care was that he was with the woman he love and then guessed that the Fugue feast wasn't that bad after all.