CHAPTER SONG: "All I Need" by Within Temptation
Disclaimer: The song "So This Is Love" sung by Ilene Woods and Mike Douglas, written by Al Hoffman, David Pack, Jerry Livingston and Mack David. Copyright per Distrokid, Walt Disney Music Company
April 24th, 1917
Later that evening, Emmanuelle sat on the twin bed in the spare bedroom of Molly Satterthwaite's house, brushing out her long hair after her bath. She felt a slight chill in the air, enfolding her arms around herself despite the thick white nightgown she wore and the cotton stockings on her feet. She would need to buy herself a robe, at least while she was staying here...
The golden lamplight illuminated the small room around her, giving it a welcoming coziness that she hadn't felt in so long, yet she had felt a sense of apprehension from Will's beloved sister aimed at her for a majority of the evening.
Not that the older woman had expressed as much in words so much as with her occasional glances with her blue eyes in her direction when William wasn't looking. And Emmy didn't blame her. She was a stranger in the house and Molly had two children to take care of and protect...
And Emmy had still yet to ask about Mr. Satterthwaite, Molly's husband. She hadn't asked William, having a feeling he wouldn't want to explain such details on his sister's behalf.
As she contemplated on how she would approach Molly on that subject as well as the Englishwoman's true opinion of her, a knock from the other side of the bedroom door alerted her to another presence. She grabbed a woolen shawl from the chair in front of the small vanity and placed it around her shoulders to give herself some cover, wanting to keep herself somewhat modest.
Emmy opened the door to the sight of Molly standing in the darkened hallway, her silhouette giving the older Schofield sister a poise that made the American brunette feel hawkish and unappealing by comparison. She opened the door wider to give Molly access in case she wanted to come into the bedroom.
Molly was the first to speak before Emmy could form proper words. "I just wanted to make sure you were settled for the night, Miss Hunterson. Is this room to your liking?"
Emmy cleared her throat, looking down at the floor before meeting Molly's vigilant gaze. "Yes, it's perfect, thank you Molly. And please, call me Emmy."
She kept her voice to a low murmur, knowing little Cici and Elle were asleep in the other room next to hers.
"Very well, Emmy." Molly gave a half-smile as the lamplight in the room glowed upon her face, revealing a few freckles along the bridge of her nose, similar to that of Will's if anyone had doubts about their relationship as siblings. "While my brother is here as well, he'll be sleeping downstairs on the chaise lounge in the living area. And with my children here, I expect you to show an example of ladylike behavior regarding your physical bond with him."
Emmy held her head high as she held Molly's gaze, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "Molly, I know you've only heard about me through Will's letters to you, but please hear me out through my own words. I understand we just met today in person and you've yet to judge my character and you've your two girls to think about. I don't mean to compromise anybody in this house, especially your brother. He's been nothing less than a total gentleman to me and I'm the last woman in the world to deserve a wonderful man like him. For reasons I can't fathom, he returns my affections and we've respected one another's boundaries. I may seem like an unwelcome intruder in your home and you're entertaining me for Will's sake, but please don't presume to think that I'm some hussy he found from the streets because he got lonely back in France."
Molly stared unblinkingly at the petite woman in front of her, clutching onto the wood paneled doorway with one of her hands, the other clutching onto the skirt of her dressing gown.
Emmanuelle concluded her defense to her formidable hostess.
"I may have skeletons in my closet and demons in my past, but who doesn't? I've done things I'm not proud of, but Will loves me despite all that. And I love him more than I've loved anyone in my whole life, and he gave me the courage to open my heart to happiness with someone who loves me for just being myself and not for what I can give them." Emmy took one more breath as she finished her speech. "I would very much like for the two of us at least to be amiable to one another, and your girls are lovely, and well-behaved. If you would give me a chance to prove myself as being worthy of your brother's love, I think you'd come to view me as a friend. I swear on my life I mean you, your girls and your brother most of all, no harm."
Molly leaned back, clutching her dressing robe tightly around her chest as she looked Emmy up and down as though she were taking another thorough look at the woman who had captured Will's heart. Her little brother, whom she had raised in her own girlhood since their mother died in childbirth...
At last, the elder Schofield sister spoke again, her voice slightly shaking. "I...I will deliberate on your words, Emmanuelle. I hope you have a pleasant rest tonight."
Molly stepped back and quietly shut the bedroom door, leaving Emmy alone with her words hanging in the air. Both women found themselves holding back tears of frustration and confusion. Molly went to her room and closed the door, clutching her arms around herself as she felt the guilt wash over her as she replayed the words she had just spoken to her brother's beloved, so blunt and cold even she didn't recognize herself saying them...
Walking to her bedside, she went down to her knees on the hard wooden floor, placing her elbows on the coverlet and bowed her head in silent prayer as regretful tears streamed down her fair freckled face. She prayed for both her brother and the woman he looked at with the most adoring gaze she had never seen in his eyes since the girls had been born...
Emmy leaned against the bedroom door, wiping away her own tears from her eyes before they could flow down her face. More than anything in that moment, she needed William's arms around her...
Sighing to herself, she opened the door again, working to be as silent as possible as she made her way down the shadowed hallway and toward the stairs to go meet her love.
Queen Guinevere going in secret to her knight Lancelot, risking everything she'd known for their sinful union...
Emmy was no fictional heroine created by one of the greatest writers of the English language. She was just a woman in love and nobody would shame her for that...
The brunette woman wrapped her shawl around her shoulders to further cover herself and exited her bedroom after closing the door quietly. She saw a sliver of light emanating from Molly's bedroom, signaling that she had yet to retire herself to bed.
Thankful that her stockings were padding her feet on the wooden floor, Emmy ghosted through the hallways and made her way down the stairs, taking a deep breath as she trembled in anticipation of being in her Will's safe, comforting embrace even though they had been around each other unless out of necessity ever since their reunion back in France...
That was love, not wanting to be away from one another as though part of them would cease to be...
She had never been so happy to see anyone than when William returned for her at the hospital, just like he vowed he would when he easily could have left her behind and she would be left alone in a foreign country torn apart and decimated by bloodshed...
Before her thoughts could go further into her internal despondence, Emmy found herself at the bottom of the stairs, leading into the modest living parlor. A flaming pile of kindling illuminated the room along with a lamp by the chaise lounge where her soldier rested, his long legs dangling over the edge due to his tall height and the sight of him in his sleeping trousers and splayed out on his sister's furniture brought a smile to her face.
He appeared to be staring up at the ceiling and his azure eyes looked in her direction when he saw her nightgown clad form move from the corner of his eye. William immediately sat up, smoothing out his messy brown hair as his face slightly reddened at her seeing him in his unbuttoned shirt, despite that he recalled that she had seen him completely without his shirt before and his scarred flesh exposed...
However, they had been in the privacy of his train cabin and they were in his sister's home with children in the other room, so they had to keep some precedence and propriety when it came to their passionate displays of affection.
Will cleared his throat before speaking to the fair woman approaching him, his heart accelerating at the vision of the girl he cherished before him in her evening attire, threatening to leave him tongue-tied like a prepubescent youth.
"Emmy...I thought you'd gone to bed already. Is everything alright, my love?" He spoke softly to her, concern and curiosity dripping in his tone. His trembling fingers worked to button up his shirt to at least half cover himself as he rose from the chaise and approached his beloved.
The petite brunette woman wrapped her arms around herself as she looked down at the floor before gazing up at her Will to meet his worried blue eyes. She blinked back tears as she reached up to clutch onto his shirt, his own arms enfolding around her and his lips pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
Will knew without asking further that she was troubled and he longed to make it better for her, felt it within his veins, bones and marrow. His sweet Emmanuelle had endured enough for one lifetime and he would've forsaken all his dignity and welfare to make sure she never suffered again for the remainder of her days.
His fingers stroked her flowing tresses of mahogany hair, a gesture of silent affection that was soothing to both of them in its simplicity. Emmy sighed as she leaned her head against the bare section of his warm chest exposed by his half-open shirt, her ear against his strong, heroic heartbeat.
Of all the sounds she ever heard in her life, nothing compared to that of William Schofield's heart that beat with love for her. She closed her eyes in momentary bliss as she placed a kiss of her own on his skin right above his source of life pulsating through his body.
He shivered and inhaled a shaking breath in response to the sensual touch of her kiss as she looked up at him with her bewitching green eyes, his fingers moving to cradle the bottom of her chin. She still had yet to say anything since she came downstairs.
"Let's sit down a moment, sweetheart." Will took both of her hands in his as he led her to sit on the chaise beside him. Emmy picked up on his choosing of the term endearment 'sweetheart', remembering how he only used that word when he was especially anxious for her. His healing hand brushed her linen gown clad knee as she perched herself beside him on the chaise.
She placed a hand to her throat as she released a dry cough, a sore sensation causing her esophagus to itch. Emmy winced in discomfort as her fingers massaged her neck and Will stood up from his seat next to her. He took her other hand into his and placed a kiss to her own scarred fingers.
"Give me a moment, love. I'll get you some water." His gentle voice assured her that he would find a remedy to soothe her coughing. He turned away from and she watched him walk away into the kitchen, silent tears of gratitude streaming down her face.
Back in her own era, she was so accustomed to relying on herself when it came to her basic needs such as food, clothing, medicine and finances, with everyone around her being so embroiled in their own personal lives, nobody would bother to look up and offer a helping hand or a kind gesture. Yet ever since she arrived in 1917, no matter what ailment she appeared to have, Will would always work to make sure she was taken care of and tended to. And he didn't expect anything in return from her...
Even such a simple act of getting her a glass of water to cure her dry throat left her feeling sentimental and more in love with the man in the other room. His selfless patience and caring approach to keep her safe from both her demons and external threats that aimed to do her harm... And had risked his life to get her to safety away from the battlefields of France and to complete his orders to save all those men in Joseph Blake's battalion...
And who was she? A bitter, cynical 21st century born woman employed in a library who hardly spoke to what little family she had and was pressured into a forced sexual relationship with a man hell-bent on possessing her and who held too much power to be held accountable for his actions in blackmailing and assaulting her...
And yet this wonderful man who had protected and sheltered her and looked at her as though she was some kind of saint...
Both Will Schofield and Joe Blake looked at her like that...they loved her.
She had no doubt Molly held a woman's intuition when it came to Emmy arriving with her brother, walking at his side. And as his sister, she had a right to decide about her as a guest in her house...
Her words from moments before rang in her head... Not so much in what was actually said, but the tone in which she spoke.
Emmy wasn't good enough for her brother in Molly's eyes...
She wasn't enough for him...
She probably wasn't enough for the Lieutenant Joseph Blake, either. Oh, how she missed him terribly as well...
The tears overflowed from her eyes as the ash darkened fireplace before her became blurry in her vision and she buried her soaked face within her hands.
A pair of hurried footsteps approached her side as her small body shook with heavy sobs.
"Emmanuelle!" William's voice whispered somewhat loudly still to gain her attention as he set the glass of water down by the chaise on the nearby table. He kneeled down before her on the carpet before his distressed love. His hands reached up to cradle her tearstained cheeks, her skin radiating heat. "My darling, whatever's the matter? Are you ill or in pain?"
Her lovely face had turned pink with her heightened emotions as she looked at her compassionate man, her knight in a solder's uniform rather than armor, a gun at his hip in place of a sheathed sword and shield. His thumbs tenderly wiped away her tears before he reached over and held up the glass so she could drink the cooling water.
Emmy released a couple hiccups as she took the glass into her shivering hands and William sat down by her side again on the chaise, enfolding his arm around her waist and placing a kiss on her heated wet cheek, awaiting for her to speak. He watched vigilantly as she drank the water, slowly calming herself as her dried throat reveled in the liquid flowing down into her system. Will watched carefully to make sure she didn't accidentally drop the glass and risk it breaking into pieces and hurting herself.
Will crooned more words in her ear as her breathing became more even and she leaned her head against his shoulder, her forehead grazing his neck and he placed a kiss upon her temple and her locks of silken hair. "Tell me what I can do to free you from this sadness that plagues you. My beautiful, brave Emmy... How my heart breaks to see you in the clutches of such misery."
Finally, Emmy found the fortitude to speak in all honesty to her hero, aiming to speak the all injurious truth. "Molly spoke to me upstairs awhile ago...she knows something isn't right with me. And it's just convinced me further what I've known all along since you and I met. That I'm...I'm not enough for you, and never will be...that you're not supposed to love me."
"Molly told you that?" Will spoke with a disbelieving tone and leaned away from her to look better into her eyes, pink and rimmed with a bloodshot tinge from her tears. His large hands held onto hers in his ever tender grasp.
"Well...she didn't say it so much in words, but I could sense the implication in her voice. Call it a woman's intuition that she senses something is wrong. I'm a woman from another century who somehow was sent here and I have no idea if or when I will ever go back...and part of me doesn't want to leave after I've fallen in love with you and...and I'm afraid that if I do go back that you'll forget me and..." She found no more words for her brain to transfer into speech and immediately William enfolded her into his arms, pulling her into his lap as though to keep her from suddenly vanishing from sight and out of his reach.
No matter time or distance, he had written to her during their separation...
"Look at me, Emmanuelle." Will spoke her full name again as they faced one another and he cradled her close to his chest similar to how he had in his nightmare after pulling her from the hourglass. They were close enough to kiss, their noses brushing as they looked into one another's eyes. "I will speak to Molly first thing tomorrow. But I swear on my soul that I will never ever forget you. Anywhere you go, you will always be my Emmy. Amongst all the fire and death and destruction of this senseless war, I found you!" He took her scarred hand with his own and placed her palm above the flesh where his heart continued to beat in tandem with hers. "You are all the beauty and wonder I've seen in this world gone to hell."
Will placed his other hand upon her petal-soft cheek, his fingers caressing the returning blush gracing her pale skin tone as she calmed down and absorbed his words of everlasting love. Emmy released an exhausted sigh as she smiled up at her lance corporal.
"I'm yours as you are mine, sweetest Emmy Hunterson." His comforting whisper moved to reassure her. "No powers on earth or the heavens will destroy my love for you, I promise." Will took ahold of both her hands within his gentle grasp and lifted both of them to his lips, imprinting the most heartfelt kisses to her fingers. "You are everything I will ever want, all I'll need...all I shall forever desire."
He slowly lowered both pairs of their hands as Emmy graced him with a tearful smile of relief. She freed one of her hands from his hold and raised her scarred fingers up to his mouth, slowly tracing the shape of his lips that had kissed her so many times she lost count, but she had never felt such affection and devotion radiating from just one simple gesture as when Lance Corporal Will Schofield was kissing her.
Emmy allowed her hands to stroke his prominent cheekbones and sculpted jaw-line, silently appreciating the masculine Anglo-Saxon originated facial beauty of her own personal hero. Any conjuring of Prince Charming she had pictured in her mind didn't compare to her noble Will.
Not finding appropriate words in response to her soldier's passionate confession, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his own in a kiss so full of fire no other words were needed to be said between the man and woman in their own solitary bubble of bliss, however temporary it would stand before being obliterated.
They broke apart to catch their breath, a chuckle releasing from Will as he watched Emmy stand up from the chaise, stunned at the sight of her flowing nightgown hugging her body in a way that made him repress a blush from coloring his own cheeks.
Lord above, she was so beautiful...
"Will...there's something I want you to do for me." Emmy softly asked her lance corporal, taking his calloused hands within hers, her tiny thumbs caressing his knuckles. She bent down to press a kiss to his forehead.
"Anything; say the word and it shall be done." His voice lowered into a deeper tone of chivalry, displaying his anticipating whatever she wanted, whatever she ordered of him.
She slowly pulled him up to his feet, allowing him to tower over her short frame, the top of her head barely coming up to the bottom of his chin. William battled the urge to sweep her up off her feet and spin her around as she laughed and smiled...
Any spontaneity Will felt enflaming inside him instantly calmed as her fingertips stroked along his exposed chest through his half-open shirt. Her voice was a quiet whisper and he listened to every syllable on her sweet tongue, prepared to fall on his knees before her in humility at her effortless elegance and angelic splendor.
Her green eyes met his adoring gaze as she spoke the following words to her soldier. "I want you to dance with me."
Emmy smiled up at him before looking down at the floor in slight embarrassment, not sure as to how he would respond to her request. She felt William's fingertips gently tilt up her head so he could see her face again, his thumb grazing along her bottom lip. "I would be honored to dance with you, Emmanuelle."
The lovely woman standing before him beamed a bright smile as she placed one of her hands on his shoulder and Will took her other hand into his strong protective grasp. His free arm enfolded around her waist as he pulled her close. "I know we don't have music, but we can make some."
"How is that, love?" William asked, a coy grin playing on his lips, his eyebrows rising in slight amusement.
"I can sing to you, though I don't have the best vocal skills." Emmy chuckled herself as she and Will begin to move along the rug. He raised up their connected hands into the air above their heads and he watched as she slowly received the signal and did a somewhat awkward twirl like an amateur ballerina, a crimson blush blooming on her cheeks...
Will lowered their hands and lifted up hers to place another kiss on her knuckles. "Any sound of your voice is music to my ears, my darling."
She began to lead the both of them into a slow dance, moving in sync with one another as Emmy leaned her head again on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, the most soothing sound she could ever hear. Her eyes closed in pure comfort and bliss and she felt Will sigh against the top of her head. The safety of just being in his arms, every embrace, every kiss and touch no matter how brief...
That was when Emmanuelle truly realized...
William Schofield was her home...
And Emmy's self-consciousness melted away as she began to sing to her paramour.
"So this is love,
So this is what makes life divine,
I'm all aglow, and now I know
The key to all heaven is mine..."
She chose a simple and short song from one of her favorite childhood films, Cinderella, knowing that less was more in how she wanted to convey her love for the man dancing with her in his family's home, keeping her close in his arms, the only place where Emmy constantly felt safe and protected.
William listened with rapturous attention to the lyrics she sang, as he softly hummed the tune in sync with her. Although he didn't recognize the song as anything he had heard before, he couldn't help but be moved by how she expressed herself before him and he felt more privileged to see such a genuine display of raw emotion from her. He met her gorgeous green irises looking up at him as she lifted up her head from his chest and he found himself smiling down at this woman he would have given anything to protect, smiling like he thought he never would again after everything... The corners of his mouth slightly hurt from his lack of expressive happiness over the last few years...
The petite angel waltzing with him continued her serenade as he twirled a soft lock of her chocolate brown hair around his finger, gently curling it behind her ear.
"My heart has wings, and I can fly
I'll touch every star in the sky
So this is the miracle
That I've been dreaming of..."
Emmy softly trailed off at the end of the verse she was singing, her voice lowering into a soft whisper...
And the final line of the song flowed from Will's lips, his improvising in concluding the song with her filling the young woman in his embrace with indescribable feeling of bliss and joy.
"So this is love..."
Those four words carried on the calming current of William's smooth, velvet voice making Emmanuelle feel as though she were floating, that none of the terrible things that happened in either of their pasts had the power over them anymore...
No other words emanated from either man or woman, Will looking down at Emmy as he bent down to her height and their lips united in a kiss. They stood still in each other's arms, basking in the afterglow of their romantic dance.
Emmy vaguely wondered if Cinderella felt such happiness with her Prince at the ball as she was experiencing in that moment, being held within her hero's arms.
So lost they both were their moment of frozen time that neither of them noticed the slight figure of Molly Schofield-Satterthwaite silently observing them from the staircase. Only when the creaking sound of his sister's feet on the steps cracked through the couple's reverie was Will alerted to her presence. He looked up toward the staircase, but she had quickly disappeared out of sight before he could call out to her without awakening Giselle and Cecilia.
Emmy had turned around just in time to see the skirt of Molly's dressing gown vanish up to the top of the stairs and they listened to her quiet steps above on the upper floor.
Both of them sighed out a breath of trepidation, at last feeling the exhaustion wash over the both of them as they deescalated from the euphoria of the previous few moments.
William chuckled dryly before placing a chaste kiss to the top of Emmanuelle's head, placing his hands upon her small shoulders.
Yes, he was definitely going to have a discussion with his sister at first light in the morning...
His further musings were interrupted by the exhaling of Emmy has she released a yawn, her rosebud lips opening and closing even though she tried to stifle it down.
"I suppose we should retire for the night, my love." William murmured to his beloved Emmy as she began to nod her head silently in agreement. His fingertips tenderly traced along the roundness of her cheek.
"Yeah, it's been a long day, Will." Emmy took his hand into both of hers, lifting it to her lips so she could kiss his palm. "Maybe Molly just needs to sleep on it, get used to the notion of me being here. She has only just met me today."
She continued to hold his hand as she led him to the bottom of the staircase, stepping onto the first two steps so that she stood up to Will's full height.
"I'll speak to her, Emmy. I want you to be comfortable, and I'll do what I can to make sure you're looked after properly here." William interlocked their fingers together as she cradled his bigger hand in her delicate hold. His free hand carefully reached up behind her head and stroked through the ribbon tendrils of her hair.
"Thank you, William." She blinked back tears of gratitude and leaned down to kiss him again.
Juliet bidding Romeo goodnight from her balcony in their moonlit clandestine rendezvous...
"Sleep well, my dashing prince." Emmy whispered with only a mere breath of her voice, reaching to run her own fingers through his brown hair waving upon his forehead. "My brave soldier."
"May you have the happiest dreams, my sweet nightingale." Will raised her hand that had just adjusted his hair to his mouth and placed a gallant kiss upon it with all the reverence in his heart.
"I shall if they're of you, my Will." Emmy found herself speaking aloud, knowing that mere weeks ago, she would've blanched at the thought of speaking such harlequin airport novel drivel to somebody else, let alone a man. But, this one in front of her was breaking through to her more sentimental, romantic side, the one she had buried long ago for her own self-preservation who longed to feel truly cherished and nurtured...
They kissed once more as a departing sign of farewell before they were to separate for the evening. Will longed with all the aching in his body as she pulled away to lift her up off the stairs and embrace her one more time, but the tired fog in her eyes convinced him not to, knowing they both needed proper rest after the long day of travel and emotional challenges.
As William watched her turn away and walk up the stairs with care so as to not make the steps creak, he called for her again in a low undertone.
"Emmy, wait." He spoke her name, beckoning for her to face him. His hands placed on the banister railing. The girl instantly whirled back to see what was the matter, trying to keep from yawning again.
"Yeah, Will?" Her voice asked, her eyes locking with his. She waited for a few curious seconds to see what it was he needed, her face melting with compassion and yearning for him.
He found himself smiling a small grin as she said the broad terminology of her own era while inquiring him, blunt and to the point. How he never knew what she was going to say next...
"I...I just wanted to have another look at you." His smile widened as he gauged her reaction to his teasing play of wooing her, wondering if she was internally cringing at such elementary phrasing.
Surely a girl at her level of intelligence and background would scoff and brush him away like one swats at a buzzing flying insect. He braced himself for a mocking laugh or a taunting.
Instead, Emmy smiled at him, her evergreen eyes glistening with such radiance as she blushed that rosy aura of adorable defiance of his complimenting her beauty. In a playful manner, she turned around to him and flipped her flowing mermaid-length waterfall of hair over her shoulder, allowing her numerous strands of softness to cascade down her back.
Her knowing smile was one of silent mischief as she left William stunned at the bottom of the steps. She glanced back one more time as she glided further up the stairs in her white gown as though she were descended from heaven, her pink lips mouthing the words to the astounded man. I love you...
William thought his heart would cease beating as he watched her vanish and go around the corner up to her room before he turned to walk back to the chaise lounge. His body was nearly numb from all the emotions coursing through his veins, hot and cold, pain and comfort all at once...
Both Emmy and Will went to sleep that night, hoping they would be given the strength they needed to face the uncertainty of tomorrow. Their hearts racing and beating within their exhausted bodies of their having crossed another bridge of their unorthodox relationship.
And so their first night together in Surrey ended. The lance corporal and the girl caught between two centuries fell asleep hoping to cross the stepping stones to being back in the civilized world of socialization...
However wonderful their reunion had been for William Schofield and Emmanuelle Hunterson, they knew deep down that these moments of carefree romance couldn't sustain them forever. One way or another, heartbreak would destroy the illusion of true love conquering darkness and desolation.
.
.
Alas, Emmy didn't dream of her Will that night. Rather than she had a nightmare about herself...
She was dying...
She laid amidst rubble and debris, her head and back propped on an uncomfortable slab of wood. All she felt was pain everywhere in her body, her life slowly draining away with the passing seconds...
However, she wasn't alone. Thomas Blake, clad in his mud soaked uniform kneeled at her side, gently holding her hand, his fingers stroking her knuckles, the boyish gleam gone from his blue eyes as he stared mournfully at her wilting state.
"Tom...why do I feel so weak? What's happening to me?" She was barely able to rasp out in a rough whisper, a cough assaulting her throat.
The youthful man reached out to stroke her pale, ashen cheek. "The time traveling back here...it's killing you, Emmy. But, I'm begging you, just hang on. He's on his way here for you...he'll want to see you one last time."
"Who's coming for me? Will? Joseph?" Her voice barely managed to form either of their names and she tried to focus her blurring vision on Tom's tear-stained face.
He didn't answer as black dots began to overwhelm her sight and she closed her eyes, wincing as her chest ached with agony and her lungs struggled to keep her breathing. Whoever was on their way, she wouldn't be able to see them...
A faint whining sound at her side opposite from Tom brought a stab of internal relief as she felt a gentle, wet licking on her face and something warm and furry settling onto her abdomen.
Myrtle, the Blake family dog laid her head on Emmy's stomach, although she couldn't see what breed the distressed canine was as she sat to claim her place next to the frail woman, like she was grieving the loss of her owner...
If Myrtle was here...then Emmy had a good idea who was soon to be at her side to mourn her.
Emmy was unable to speak any further, losing more strength in her body. She could feel the last of her breaths leaving her airway... her heartbeat slowed like a ticking broken pocket-watch... until there was no more motion at all from her.
The woman's hand went limp in Tom's grasp, her skin cooling as he watched her pale skin become discolored into an unhealthy tone of gray, no blush of life evident in her cheeks, her fiery blood frozen in her veins.
Tom laid her unmoving hand on her abdomen as footsteps hurriedly approached from behind and the younger man turned around to face them, blinking back tears in his eyes. Myrtle whined again as she went around to his side for her own consolation.
"Emmy..." Joseph Blake choked out her name as he saw her lifeless body lying among the wreckage, slowly stepping toward her prone form as though he hoped she would open her eyes. He looked to his wide-eyed brother, who shook his head in sadness and defeat.
Tom stood up to make room for Joe at Emmanuelle's side, lifting up Myrtle to hold her as his older sibling dropped to his knees, his arms trembling as he reached out to the woman he loved. She lay still as death... he had arrived too late to tell her everything he had wanted to.
Lt Joseph Blake had made a vow for her and now she was gone. "My dearest Emmy..."
His normally dignified voice fell into a shattered sob as his face contorted into a heartbroken display of emotions. His arms gathered her motionless body to his chest, her lovely neck dangling her head in a sagging manner. One of his hands tenderly cushioned her head against his breastbone to rest her more comfortably to him, as though he were a parent rocking an infant inside a bassinet, her tangled hair brushing his face, lacking the shine of her liquid chocolate tresses as they had dulled into a color brown similar to barren soil. Joseph's tears escaped down his cheeks, sprinkling onto her face like resuscitating rain.
Tom hung his head in silent anguish as he witnessed his strong older brother in such a vulnerable state. Joseph spoke softly to her, as though he possessed an inkling of hope she could hear him.
"Forgive me, Emmanuelle. I only wanted to keep the vow I made to myself and to you. What I would give... To prove my love for you ... Your kindness and courage, I always have." The despairing Lieutenant pressed the gentlest of kisses to her forehead. More tears formed in his eyes at the icy touch of her skin against his lips.
Her warmth and light completely snuffed out... that fire and spirit inside her that had captured his romantically restless heart had been extinguished.
Joseph kept a firm embrace around her, holding her close as though he would never let her go again. So many times he had lost her, only now it could never be undone.
"I'm sorry, Joe." Tom dared place a consoling hand on his brother's shoulder as he kept cradling Emmanuelle. The nineteen year old soldier held back his own sobs. "We might be recruited to protect those we love, but we can't always save everyone."
At his younger brother's words, Joseph rose his head up and turned to look Tom square in the eye. His voice was a roughened growl of seething fury as he spoke and he retained his shielding hold on the woman in his arms with delicate care as though she were more precious than all the treasures in the world.
"I'll burn in Hell before I never see her draw breath again."