TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains mention of DA and miscarriage
AN: Lyrics are from the song "If I Can't Love Her (Reprise)" from Disney's Beauty and the Beast Broadway recording, written by Alan Menken and Tim Rice.
CHAPTER SONG: "Bread and Roses" by Judy Collins
"So, this isn't exactly an engagement ring...but a 'promise ring'? I don't believe I've heard of such a thing." Molly held up Emmy's scarred hand, her blue eyes focused on the metal circle wrapped around the American girl's tiny finger.
Emmy noticed how Molly's lovely brow wrinkled with sadness at the sight of her marked hand, forever branded by violence from her father.
"Yes...last night, Will asked me to share a vow with him. He swore to be faithful to me after we're parted when he leaves next week... and for us to always love each other and find one another again." Emmy gulped back a coming sob as she looked down at the tied chain woven on her hand, a smile forming on her lips. "I honestly don't think I'll be ready for something like marriage for a long time... me and Will only met barely a month ago, but I feel like I've known him my whole life."
"My dear Emmy, I know Will hasn't always had the most confident luck with girls. But I swear I've never seen him around any of them the way he is with you." Molly traced her fingertip over the string on Emmy's hand. "A love like yours is a rare one. You've brought him back to the way he was before he enlisted. Just the way he looked at you when he introduced us at the train station...before he even said your name, I knew you were the woman he described in his letters."
A warm blush colored Emmy's cheeks as Molly twirled her own wedding band around her ring finger as both women stood on the front porch and watched the playful scene before them.
Will, Cici and Elle ran about the yard, both little girls tackling the tall man to the ground in a lighthearted wrestle. They wore new dresses their uncle had bought for them in London that were already soiled from rolling around on the grass, the ribbons on their heads hanging loose from the children's hair.
Emmy's heart swelled at the sight of the man she loved playing with his darling nieces, his contented laugh echoing in the air. He crawled on all fours as the girls climbed onto his back like they were mounting a horse. Will suppressed a groan of discomfort as their slight weight sat upon the scars covering his back underneath his clothes.
The American woman opened her mouth to protest the girls roughhousing on him when Molly beat her to it. "Girls, your Uncle Will is getting tired. Enough playing; it's time for your homework before supper."
"But, Mummy..." Cici began to whine as she pulled Elle back onto the ground as they both slid off of him.
"Young lady, don't argue. Come along now." Molly walked toward the girls as Will stood up from the grass, stretching out his towering form. The stern, yet loving Englishwoman lifted up Cici into her arms as Will did the same with Elle, adult siblings carrying the girls into the house.
Cici pouted as she laid her head on Molly's shoulder and was taken inside. Will met Emmy's eyes as they stood on the porch and he softly smiled at her, which she returned. His hands were full with Elle, so Emmy settled with reaching up to place her hand upon his cheek, allowing him to feel the "promise ring" on her finger, the cool metal chain against his skin.
An exhausted Elle stirred against her uncle as she was adjusted in his arms and he rocked her ever so gently against his chest like she was his own child. He absentmindedly stroked her tangled hair as Emmy looked adoringly at the image of him holding his niece with such care.
Something in the back of her mind, similar to Tom's voice, told her that he would be an amazing father one day with offspring of his own. As for Emmy herself, she couldn't imagine being a mother anytime soon.
They had a thousand other things to consider before even entertaining the idea of a family or marriage...
She saw the newly repaired watch on his wrist shining in the evening light, which Emmy could consider as her own token of devotion to William Schofield.
He slowly shifted Elle into one arm, allowing Will to reach with his free hand to hold Emmy's palm to his cheek, pressing a kiss to the strong pulse of her wrist. His ocean eyes focused on his lady with undeniable warmth.
I love you. His lips silently mouthed to Emmy.
I love you too. She reciprocated with no hesitation, also speaking with only her pink mouth without her voice.
Awhile later, Emmy sat at the parlor table with Cici as they both knelt in front of the young girl's schoolbook. Cecelia being only seven years old, the book itself was a simple one filled with pictures, but the child was having trouble sounding out words and stringing them together into sentences.
And Emmy, with her library background, had seen plenty of children from the Richmond schools come through at various reading levels.
As Molly and Will set the table for dinner, Emmy sat patiently with Cici, Elle innocently playing with a couple of her dolls on the floor.
"Just go by each word, like I showed you, Cee. You can do it." Emmy knew the girl was on the verge of giving up, but kept all her patience intact, locking herself into 'helpful librarian/teacher mode'. They both pointed their fingers to each word as Cecelia took her time.
"Th...the... fâflowâflower... bloom...blooms...in spr...spring. The butter...butterfly drinks...the flowâflower's...nec...nectar." Cici giggled as she finished the last word, grinning a gap-toothed smile.
"Great job! Now, let's finish this page, and I'll tell you and Elle a bedtime story tonight." Emmy pointed the tip of her finger to the next sentence as Elle silently walked over to the young woman and climbed into her lap, displaying her own bond with their uncle's American paramour.
Emmy wrapped her arm around Elle, the small child playing with the promise ring on her finger, and her other arm placed around Cici's shoulders as the older girl stepped carefully through the final sentence on the page.
"The...the spi--- spider...sits... in the web...waitâwaiting to catch the butterfly." Cici finished the sentence and she clapped her hands happily, earning a proud squeeze on her shoulders from Emmy.
The brunette woman closed the book and set it on the table amongst Cici's other schoolwork. As she helped to organize the books back into a neat stack, Emmy glanced down at a children's volume of nursery rhymes... and the title on the open page caught her eye and a bout of nausea twisted in her stomach.
The Spider & the Fly...
And for a split second, she heard the sound of Erik's dark mocking laugh in her head and on the book's pages, rather than the illustration of the title characters... she saw herself in the center of the intricate web, bound in a spread-eagled position, helpless to move and her tormentor slinking toward her with the intent to consume all of her until nothing else remained, not even bones to be picked over...
With no hope of anyone coming to her rescue...
"Aunt Emmy?" Cici's voice broke through the woman's thoughts as she felt Elle climb out of her lap. Emmy looked over at the older girl who was gently tugging at her woven braid to get her attention. "Mummy said it's time to eat."
Emmy smiled softly at Cici as both little girls joined hands and went to wash up for supper. She shakily stood up from the floor and grabbed the stack of books from the table, placing them into Cecilia's school-bag for tomorrow, lest she forget any of them for the classroom.
As she buttoned up the bag, she heard the boot steps of Will walking toward her. Emmy stood to face him, fighting a wave of nausea. She looked up to see her corporal coming toward her, his large hands gently taking hers within them. He raised her scarred hand to his lips and placed a kiss on her finger bearing the promise ring...
Will would never tire of seeing her lovely hand adorned with such a sign of their bond strengthening.
He looked down at her, his blue eyes alight with concern. "My love, are you alright? You're white as a ghost."
Emmy licked her lips as she looked down at the floor. "No...no, I'm fine, Will. I...I just need to eat. I'm starving."
She smiled up at him, hoping it seemed genuine as he reached up to place a hand soothingly on her cheek. His brow furrowed with slight disbelief at her statement, but he sighed in resignation, not wanting to start an argument that he knew most likely she would win, for he could not deny her anything.
"Very well. Why don't you go sit down and I'll bring you some cold water." Will yearned to make her feel better, make whatever was ailing her disappear.
Emmy had hoped her health was improving, having not had a fainting or dizzy spell for the last 24 hours, the dread of being spirited back to 2020 would be the final nail in the coffin...
She nodded silently as they walked side by side into the dining room, allowing herself to place her own kiss onto Will's broad shoulder. Emmy couldn't blame him for worrying about her wellbeing, and she already felt exhausted. Her body needed to sleep and she couldn't wait to go to bed tonight... but she was worried about what dreams would haunt her.
.
.
Later on after dinner, Emmy felt slightly better with nourishment in her system, her rosy aura returning to her fair cheeks much to Will's relief. She sat up in the girls' bedroom, trying to settle them down with a story, her own version of the fairytales they loved.
The last few nights, she had enchanted them with stories based on the films she had watched throughout her own life, from "Snow White" to "Cinderella" and "Hercules"... Tonight, she was finishing up the story of the golden haired Rapunzel.
Both girls were huddled together in their beds, the covers up to their chins as they listened with rapt attention. Emmy paced around both beds, using wild hand gestures and exaggerating her voice as she impersonated the characters.
"Mother Gothel was about to drag away Rapunzel as Eugene lay wounded. And she shouted out to her, 'I'll go with you, if you let me heal him!'". Emmy sat on Cici's bed, curling her fingers into the covers.
"No!" Both girls cried out, invested in the story like they were actually there.
"Yes... and Rapunzel never breaks a promise." Emmy widened her eyes and smiled at both children as Will stood at the bedroom doorway to watch the entertainment. "So she went to Eugene's side and went to use her hair's magical powers to make his injury go away. He was fading fast and she didn't have much time... but before she could fix him up... he used a piece of broken glass to cut all her hair off and it turned brown."
"Like your hair, Aunt Emmy?" Elle asked, perking up as she got out from under the covers and climbed onto her sister's bed to sit on the woman's lap. She ran her tiny fingers through a few silken strands of Emmy's chocolate locks.
"Kind of...but Rapunzel has much prettier hair than me." Emmy half-jokingly responded and she met Will's eyes as he stood still in the doorway.
His soft voice interrupted the girls' storytime, a gentle smile gracing his lips as he looked at his dear nieces and his lover. "Your hair is even more magnificent, sweetest Emmy. Such elegant beauty from every one of your curls would place Rapunzel to shame."
Emmy looked down with a flattered blush, self-consciously ruffling her glorious waves loosened over her shoulders with her fingers as the girls giggled at their uncle's romantic words.
"Uncle Will, would you save Aunt Emmy from the bad people like Hercules saved Meg from the underworld after she died?" Elle innocently asked, laying her head on Emmy's nightgown covered shoulder.
Emmy vaguely recalled the dream she had on the train. Her helpless soul floating down through a whirlpool of eternal death and her Will valiantly diving in to bring her back to salvation...
"Of course I would, darling. I would do anything and everything it took to save her." Will went to sit by Emmy's side, seeing that Cici was beginning to doze off against her pillow and Elle was struggling to stay awake. He raised his hand and comfortingly rubbed Elle's back before taking the little girl into his arms to place her back in her own bed. As he tucked her in under the covers, he kept his eyes on Emmy's face as he continued speaking. "I would vanquish all the evil in existence to protect her."
Silent tears of love flowed down Emmy's cheeks as her heart brimmed over with burning passion for her soldier verbally expressing his declaration of preserving her safety.
And all she could think of in that moment was that she would do the same thing for him in a heartbeat, without hesitation...
And she couldn't help but have a deepening sensation in the pit of her stomach that what Will had just said would soon be put to the test. How and when she knew not of...
Would their love be able to endure such trials?
She already knew her life would be in the balance with the time travel... hanging by a thread of fate...
And if the time travel didn't kill her, what if Erik was to signify her end?
.
.
Emmy lay awake around midnight, everyone having already retired to bed. She stared up at the ceiling, clutching the sheets up to her chin.
She couldn't but feel a chill in the room, the air surrounding her decreasing in temperature from fairly comfortable to arctic.
The moon outside was shrouded in the night sky, leaving the young woman in darkness as she waited for a restless sleep to claim her.
She shivered, goosebumps riddling her skin as Emmy yearned to feel Will's strong, warm arms around her, but per Edwardian propriety, he was still relegated to sleeping on the chaise down in the parlor.
She shut her eyes tightly, trying to shut off her brain as she still remembered seeing that story in Cici's book, The Spider and the Fly.
Erik was waiting for her in the present of 2020, planning God knew what to do with her...
She awaited the nightmares of him to come for her, of being his prisoner, unable to escape his grasp, captured in his web of possessive seduction.
But something worse arrived...
An icy breeze whirled around her despite the window being closed. A strange green light glowed from the vanity mirror...
And Emmy slowly sat up... yet she felt no fear. No instinct to race out of the room screaming.
Her eyes widened with a blank stare as her gaze locked on the oval shaped glass. A low tone wail flowed through her ears... almost like music.
Her mind was completely empty of any thoughts she was having just minutes prior.
Nothing but the light...
She was hypnotized...
All that went through her compulsed psyche was the mirror calling to her.
Erik's deep, commanding baritone voice spoke her name, infecting her ability to control herself. She placed her stocking covered feet on the floor and stood up, her long hair flowing down her back, her lips open and agape with succumbing to the trance enveloping her.
"Emmanuelle... my patience is running out, waiting for your return." Erik's voice beckoned her as she began to step toward the mirror, her fingers reaching out to the glass. "Don't get too comfortable in your new surroundings."
Erik continued talking as she stepped closer to the mirror, not able to break away from the enchanted influence before her.
All that she needed was a spinning wheel spindle to prick her finger on and send her into a deep sleep...
Her fingertips reached out to touch the glass as the glow in the reflection intensified, Erik's voice louder in her ears.
"I'm coming for you, dear Emmy. Not even your beloved Corporal Schofield or your new friends can keep you from my hold." He spoke again with a boastful tone to his words.
But, that was the mistake he made, mentioning those she had come to love in this era.
No!
Emmy emitted a frightened scream as the mirror glowed now a burning white, exploding and shining into her retinas as the hypnotic coils around her conscious mind unraveled from encircling her and she swayed in a mental tidal wave of sudden vertigo, the light disappearing into blinding darkness.
Her legs began to buckle as she heard pounding on her bedroom door, Will's worried voice rumbling in her eardrums despite the ringing in her aching skull.
Oh, God...she was about to faint again...
The piercing ring in her head overcame Will's voice as she collapsed to the wooden floor, her eyelids closing. The door burst open and she felt the vibrations of feet on the floor of whoever had come into the room.
A pair of gentle, strong arms lifted her off the floor, carefully cradling her close before placing her back on the bed, another set of fingers feeling her forehead and wiping away sweat from her brow.
Emmy sunk into an unconscious lull as Molly and Will looked over her worriedly.
Her bedside lamp was turned on so they could get a better look at her. She was so pale, and not in a healthy way. Dark circles inhabited underneath her beautiful eyes...
A cold chill in the air made Will shiver as he stepped back, watching Molly place a damp rag to her forehead. She listened for signs of the girls awakening, but heard nothing at all. Thankfully they were heavy sleepers...
Emmy moaned, blinking open her eyes as she moved her head side to side on the pillow. Her tongue wetted her cracked lips as her voice rasped out words she managed to allow release. "I...I heard Erik's voice. In the mirror... he knows about all of you. He'll take me... as soon as I return to 2020. Even one hundred years away from him, he'll never leave me alone."
She sat up, propping herself on her shaking arms as Will immediately sat by her side on the bed, taking her into his arms with a protective embrace, his elongated fingers stroking her mahogany tendrils of hair.
He wanted so badly to say something comforting to her, but he knew it was useless. Once she was spirited back to her own era, they would be separated and she would be completely vulnerable. All he could do for her was be there and hold her in his arms.
"Will, what in the bloody hell is she talking about? Who's this man after her?" Molly asked with a clearly concerned tone.
He instinctively held Emmy close, glancing to the woman in his arms who stared ahead as though she were looking straight through Molly.
This was going to be a long night of explanation...
.
.
The next morning, Will removed the mirror from the vanity, placing it into the cellar. Even though the ornate piece of furniture had once belonged to his and Molly's late mother, they had to take measures to protect Emmy from whatever had haunted her that night.
The following couple of days, Will rarely let Emmy out of his sight, and while she normally would have protested at his being so protective, she was too shaken at being alone too long. Thankfully, Cici and Elle remained blissfully unaware of what had occurred that night.
On the eve of Saturday, the girls were napping upstairs while Molly and Emmy were working together to make supper. Will had gone into the village to buy polish for his army boots to the insistence of both women that he get some fresh air.
While they worked in the kitchen, Emmy watched Molly carefully as she cooked and intricately prepared the meal. The American's modern day sensibilities certainly made her realize how easy technology had made cooking for herself in 2020. She rolled some dough out on the counter, watching how Molly used her hands and wrists and kneaded it smoothly. Her brown waves of hair had been pinned up with a couple of the hairclips Will had gifted her and some daisies Cici and Elle had picked out of the garden and woven into her silky strands, inspired by her story of Rapunzel's hair being braided with flowers to keep it from dragging on the ground.
She hoped Will would appreciate the visual of her hair done up in such a fashion reminiscent of a fairytale heroine... the girls had called her a real princess once they accomplished the feat of weaving flowers in her gloriously chaotic hair.
Emmy was surprised how she was picking up so quickly on the use of 20th century house-ware and crockery. Her hands were caked with dough and powder and even though the particles in the air caused her to sneeze, she found herself enjoying such menial tasks without the electricity she was so accustomed to.
Perhaps, she was beginning to fit in this era more than she ever thought possible...
She wiped her hands on her apron, Molly having lent her a spare one to keep her dress clean. Emmy went to fetch the plates to set on the table when a question came to her mind.
Elle and Cici's father...
She had never asked Molly what happened with him.
Before she could think clearly, the question exited her mouth. "Molly... I... I was wondering why... you never talk about the girls' father. Your husband, Mr. Satterthwaite. Whatever happened to him?"
Molly was walking toward the table to set the plates down and she slightly wobbled without dropping anything surprisingly. She cleared her throat and Emmy immediately regretted her blunt interrogating...
The plates now placed, Molly had her palms flat on the table. Emmy with her own hands on the older woman's shoulders, guiding her to sit down...
"He... he's no longer part of this family... His name was James. After Will enlisted and first left for France, he kept being sent feathers in the mail. He wouldn't serve... and he was fired from his job after he kept showing up drunk." Molly's hands began to tremble, like Emmy had seen Will's do whenever his PTSD threatened to overwhelm him.
The Schofield matriarch paused in her story to take a breath and Emmy reached out with her scarred hand to hold hers across the table, waiting for her to continue. After looking down at the white tablecloth, Molly calmed the shaking of her hands before wiping a tear away from her face.
And she continued her story. She had to be honest with the woman her brother loved so...
"He got involved with some gambling in London... he ended up pawning some of Mother's jewelry and most of the money Will would send us to keep the house afloat. I ended up with child again a few months after Elle had turned two years old...and he was infuriated, not wanting another mouth to feed. He either wanted me to get rid of the baby...or he would." Molly sniffled, blinking back her tears.
Emmy could sense where this was going, but she could only silently squeeze her hand in support, waiting to see what would be said next.
"We argued that night I told him about the pregnancy... I was probably around eight weeks along. He held me at the top of those stairs... and he threw me down... I woke up at the doctor's, Will holding my hand. He had come home early on leave that night and found me at the bottom of the staircase...in a pool of my own blood. James was arrested, and when he was released a few days later... Will nearly beat him to death. For me and for my lost child... Will threatened to kill him if he ever came near me or the girls again. And I haven't seen or heard from him since... He left our lives, but he won't give me a divorce after all this time." Molly's tears finally flowed down her reddened cheeks and she wrung the large wedding band around her finger. "I still wear his ring as a reminder of what happened, a token of self-loathing to myself."
It all made sense to Emmy now. Will's protective behavior and his reaction to her story of Erik when he had smashed the mirror in his room...
"Do the girls remember any of this?" Emmy suddenly asked, a bout of nausea flowing through her at the thought of the children hearing such a horrific act of familial brutality.
"No, I don't believe so. Cici used to tell people that her daddy hurt mummy, so he doesn't live here anymore. But she doesn't know the specifics." Molly sighed a heavy breath. "Even though I can't conceive anymore since the fall... I don't regret anything that led to the birth of my girls."
"I'm so sorry, Molly. I...I can't imagine going through that." Emmy sat up and went to her side, wrapping her arms around her neck in a consoling embrace.
At first the Englishwoman stiffened at the sudden display of sentiment, but she returned the hug, her chin on Emmy's shoulder. "And, what you went through with that bastard Erik. You poor dear, I can't believe you've had to endure such beastliness."
"After my own dad hurt me... I swore to myself never to truly get attached, especially to men. Until I found Will... I can't believe I had to go over a century backward in time to find one good man who truly loves me." Emmy laughed bitterly, knowing how insane she sounded.
No... two good men... she couldn't forget dear Joseph Blake...
"He does, Emmanuelle. I've known him his whole life and there's no doubt in my mind anymore that you're beyond good for him." Molly slowly withdrew from Emmy's arms, a sad smile coming onto her face.
"I know you had hesitations about me before and I don't blame you, having a strange woman in your house around your girls. I've honestly grown really fond of them." Their hands remained interlocked upon the table.
"They obviously adore you, dear girl. And thanks to your tutoring, Cici got improved marks on her reading this week!" Molly squeezed Emmy's hands in thanks before both women stood from the table. "Now, enough with the heavy stuff. Let's get this supper finished or the girls will wake up hungry."
"Yes, ma'am." Emmy smiled so wide, her cheeks began to feel pinched as the sound of the front door opening alerted them.
"Will!" The brunette American girl immediately ran to the parlor to greet him, feeling the need to be in his arms after hearing Molly's story.
The lance corporal closed the door behind him, sighing profoundly like a man with a thousand pounds of pressure on his shoulders. His hands were empty of any purchases he had intended to buy during his excursion into the local shops. He looked up at the sound of his beloved Emmy's sweet voice welcoming him.
Lord above, how he loved coming home and finding her here...
He placed his arms around her waist, his nose nuzzling her hair, inhaling the floral heaven of the daisies pinned into her curls. Tears came to his eyes as he leaned away from her, Emmy's arms about his neck, her fingers playing with his velvet haired nape.
Her gorgeous green eyes were aflame with worry as she saw him holding back tears and she placed her hand upon his cheek. Molly came into the room, removing her apron.
"William... what's wrong? What happened?" Emmy asked as Molly quickly went to her younger brother's side and placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him upright, his knees almost giving out.
"I just saw Joseph Blake at the surgery with his mother." Will kept his focus on the two women in front of him, the whites of his eyes pink and bloodshot as though he'd been crying recently anyway. "Mrs. Blake is very ill. With tuberculosis... and she's dying."
Molly placed the palms of her hands to cover her mouth as Emmy hugged Will tightly, allowing him to cry on her, his forehead on her delicate shoulder as she stroked his dark wavy hair in comfort.
.
.
Emmy had grabbed her cloak from her room, and she appreciated that Will didn't protest when she expressed her desire to visit the Blakes' residence.
She had to see Joe and make sure to be there for him after everything he had done for her. And Mrs. Blake too... who had been more of a mother to Emmy than she could ask for.
She vaguely remembered hearing Will's pleas for her to be careful as she burst through the front door and leapt off the porch.
The overcast cloudy sky loomed over her as she ran, speeding through the streets of Surrey, pushing her way past numerous people and earning a few disgruntled cries of complaint aimed at her as she raced through the crowd, the skirts of her dress trailing behind her.
She at last arrived at the border of the Blake property, pausing at the fence around the yard. She watched from a distance as a horse-driven rig stopped at the house. Joseph himself jumped down from the driving seat, and reached up to help his mother down out of the small carriage.
Emmy could only survey silently as her affection for her dear friend spread through her chest at the sight of him being so attentive to his mother. She couldn't hear what was being said, only able to see the elder woman step onto the ground, using her son to support her weight as she began to falter standing straight.
Catherine placed her arm around Joe's shoulders and he scooped her up into his arms with little effort, steadfastly carrying her through the doorway and getting her inside.
As Emmy saw the front door close, she opened the gate and entered the yard, closing it behind her. Myrtle came bounding toward her from around the house, barking with joy as the pregnant dog went to welcome the familiar visitor.
The petite woman scratched Myrtle behind her chocolate furred ears before the dog led her toward the house. Emmy locked eyes with the white mare that was pulling the Blakes' rig, the large animal's black eyes meeting the woman's gaze as she nickered with curiosity. Cautiously, Emmy reached out her fingers and placed one of her hands on the horse's muzzle. The equine's nostrils flared, inhaling the new scent of the human in front of her, feeling with a sense of trust this visitor meant no harm.
"Emmy..." Joseph's deep gentle voice roughly croaked behind her, like he was with-holding tears. "You're here... I was scared you'd been taken away, but the Lord has answered at least one of my prayers... Our Satine seems to like you as well." He attempted to lighten the mood with his teasing, referring to the horse that he still had yet to unhook from the rig.
The girl saw her best friend stepping off the porch, his skin pale and face unshaven from a couple days' neglect of tending to his growing stubble. His deep blue eyes tired but alight with amazement seeing her presence at his residence again.
"Joe." Emmy whispered his name, turning away from the horse and going to embrace him. Her arms encircled his neck and shoulders, holding him tightly as he clung to her like a drowning sailor grabbing a flotation device in the ocean. "I came as soon as I heard. Tell me what I can do."
She felt his body shivering in her hands as he leant slightly out of her arms. His forehead was pressed to hers as he inhaled a deep breath. He took her scarred hand and his eyes focused on the metal string around her ring finger.
No pain could be deeper,
No life could be cheaper,
No point anymore if she can't love me
No hope she would do so...
Emmy explained quickly before he could jump to any conclusions. "It...it's a promise ring from Will, from the string of his army tags. He'll be leaving back for the front in about a week. And we made a vow to always love each other until we're reunited. There's...no engagement."
Joe thought of his responding words carefully as he brushed a loosening curl of hair off her cheek. He had never seen her look so beautiful, even in her melancholia.
"As long as you're both happy, dearest one. That's what matters most to me." He lifted up her other hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "And your being here for support is of most importance. Will told me you would be on your way eventually. He said he'd come by as soon as possible."
The two friends held hands as Joe and Emmy turned to the horse Satine, the lieutenant going to unburden the magnificent creature from her bonds. The girl's promise ring brushed along his own calloused fingers, leaving phantom burn marks on his skin. Joe felt another piece of his heart detach from the still beating organ and fall to the pit of his stomach.
The heartbreak of seeing another sign of Emmanuelle's love that he could never have for his own...
Oh, but how he would wish for all the agony in the world if it meant his mother would not slowly perish in such a prolonged, suffering way. First his brother, now his dear mother...
God help anyone if the woman he treasured in his every thought and dream was added to his increasing list of losses... She was his Northern Star, guiding him to some semblance of peace with her radiance... her light and warmth couldn't be obliterated from his life even if she didn't return his passion.
For Tom, Will, Mum...and Emmy... he would take all their pain for them even if it meant a lifetime of loneliness and misery.
For I know that she cannot set me free
Let the world be done with me...