Embracing The Light (Arno Dorian x OC), an Assassin's Creed Fanfiction

Chapter 26 : Mission Infiltration

Later That Day

"So, this is the address ?" Rosalie started.
The duo was standing with their hoods on on the roof of an Austrian building. On the other side of the street, they could see a fancy C-shaped estate with two floors only, and a courtyard with a fountain in its middle. A carriage was also waiting at the entrance of the building.
"If we rely on the amount of shooters on the roofs and guards all around the estate," Arno responded "I suppose we are in the right place."
"Seems like someone important is here."
"Indeed." the man then took a moment to observe his surroundings. "Do you see any entries ?"
Rosalie imitated him and answered a moment later by pointing somewhere with her index. "There's an open window on the right side of the building. Last floor."
"Bien (Good)." he said with a little smirk. "Now, we have to get rid of all those guards."
"We can't just kill all of them one by one though, they are way too many."
"I never said we will have to kill them all." Arno explained and Rosalie frowned. "We will only have to distract them until we sneak in."
"How ?"
The man then took out a Berseck Blade and showed it to his partner who curiously observed it. "Watch and see." he playfully added.
Arno then carefully placed the blade on his gauntlet and targeted one of the guards inside the courtyard. He then held his breath and shot the man who instantly flinched.
The assassin then immediately turned back to Rosalie. "Take care of the two shooters on the right side of the roof. I'll take care of the two others."
She nodded and the two of them soon created a distance between each other in order to place themselves in front of the two aisles of the estate. Once they did, Arno watched the Berseck Blade show its effects and glanced at the woman who was looking back with astonishment, discovering the blade's effect for the first time. The man quickly nodded at her and she imitated him. They then both looked at their front and took a few steps back, before they started to run as fast as they could and jump above the street, right towards the estate.
Rosalie stopped breathing as she caught the roof's edge. She then tried to go up as quickly as possible with the strength of her arms and, once she completely got on her feet, she glanced at Arno who was already running towards his two targets, so she decided to do the same without waiting. She first noticed the nearest shooter with his back turned on her, busy trying to shoot the guard who became unstable and violent due to the Berseck Blade. Rosalie instantly jumped on him and drove her hidden blade inside his neck. She then saw the second shooter not too far on her right side and shot him from where she was with her phantom blade in order to get rid of him as well.
Rosalie turned her gaze towards Arno once again, and the man was checking on her too. When they both realized that all that remained to do now was to infiltrate the estate, they both started to run towards the open window they had spotted earlier. Rosalie was much closer, so she was the first one to climb down the wall and throw herself inside the building.
The first thing that she did was to quickly check around to make sure no one was nearby. The place was quite fancy just as much as on the outside. She was in a quite big corridor with, at its middle, a void showing the floor below. Quickly enough, Arno managed to join her and looked around.
"We will talk about it once Mr. Cormac will arrive, Eure Hoheit (Your Highness)." they both heard a female voice coming from below and positioned themselves carefully in order to glance at whoever was speaking without getting caught.
"Very well then." a male voice responded.
Rosalie looked over the railing in front of her to see who the woman was. Once she noticed the blonde hair, she recognized Henriette de Lévis, the woman she saw in Payen's memories more than a month ago. The young lady was speaking with a very well-dressed young man that seemed like he was around the same age as the two Assassins but looked unfamiliar to Rosalie.
Soon enough, the sound of a gunshot coming from the courtyard caught everyone's attention.
"What was that ?" the man asked out loud as his head was turned towards the window near.
"I do not know..." Henriette responded sincerely. One of the guards rushed inside and she stopped him. "What is happening outside ?"
"One of our men became mad." the agent replied, trying to catch his breath. "But we have neutralized him."
Rosalie and Arno glanced at each other.
"Mon Dieu (My God)..." the blonde woman gasped while her royal guest quickly looked at her.
"I suppose I should go." he said. "Before another one of our men puts you in danger."
"As you will, Eure Hoheit (Your Highness)."
"We will see each other at the oratorio then. I'll send you and your mother's tickets soon enough." the man then kissed Henriette's hand. "Until then, stay safe, Mademoiselle."
"You too, Eure Hoheit (Your Highness)." she softly said with a polite smile.
The guest then led to his carriage and, as soon as he was far enough, Henriette's smile dropped while she turned at one of her maids.
"I will be in my bedroom. Do not come to disturb me unless it is urgent." she demanded.
"Of course Ma'am." the maids replied, keeping their heads low.
Henriette then led towards somewhere else and disappeared from Rosalie and Arno's field of vision.
They both straightened up and Rosalie whispered to Arno. "This is Henriette de Lévis."
"Are you sure ?" the man asked in a low voice.
"I am. I saw her in Payen's memories. But I have no clue who that man who just left was. "
"I think that was Franz II.." Arno said.
Rosalie glanced at him. "Who ?"
"The archduke of Austria."
The woman's eyes widened with shock. "Quoi (What) ?!" she whispered a bit too high.
"Hush !" Arno quickly said. "Someone might hear us !"
"I'm sorry..." she guiltily replied. "But you're telling this as if it was something completely normal !"
"I did not mean it to sound as such. But it is what it is."
Rosalie sighed. "Do you think he might be involved in the Templars' business ?"
"I have no clue, but I hope not." Arno responded, a little concerned. "For if he is, we may have to kill him as well, but killing the archduke will have terrible consequences, and not just in Austria. We are not here to start another revolution."
"But if he is implied in all of this," Rosalie suggested "that could explain how the Templars became so influential in Vienna. He may have been helping them all this time."
"Let's not jump into conclusions so quickly." Arno responded. "Besides, the archduke is not our priority right now."
"You're right." Rosalie sighed and changed the topic. "The night of the ambush, Payen gave the Apple of Eden to Henriette de Lévis."
"Really ? Then it must be somewhere here !"
"I'm not quite sure." The woman stopped him. "Henriette said that she was going to deliver the Apple to her mother."
"Gabrielle ?"
"I suppose... But she doesn't seem to be here right now. And since we don't know where she is..."
"... we can't tell where the artefact is either." Arno finished with a slight nod. After he thought for a moment, he added. "Let's look around the estate and try to find some clues first."
Rosalie agreed. "We should split up."
An expression of surprise appeared on Arno's face. "I did not necessarily said that we should..."
"I know, but I think we will be much more efficient and discreet if we stay on our own." Rosalie cut him off.
After he thought for a moment, and seeing how determined the woman was to be alone during the mission, he sighed. "Alright then."
Rosalie smiled slightly. "I'll check on the right aisle of the estate."
"I'll take care of the rest." Arno continued and, before Rosalie had the time to walk away, he held her back by grabbing her arm and took a more warning tone. "But if anything happens... If we get into trouble for any reason... You put yourself first and try to escape."
"But-"
"Rose." he cut her off. His face then softened as he looked into her eyes. "Please..."
Rosalie stared at him for a moment, not wanting to accept his demand. But, on the other hand, she knew that he was not going to leave her alone if he did not make sure that she would not put herself in danger for his sake. Even though she understood the reason why Arno was so worried about her, Rosalie did not think that Arno saw her as who she was, an Assassin, but more like who she used to be, a defenseless barmaid. This bothered her a lot since Arno was her mentor and, as a mentor, he was also supposed to make her take risks instead of protecting her as an infant.
But this was not a place for argument, so Rosalie decided to shut out her thoughts and whispered as she looked down, unsatisfied. "D'accord (Alright)."
Arno nodded. "Be careful."
Rosalie shut her eyes momentarily before she glanced back at the man. "You too."
As soon as he let go of her, the woman turned her back and walked away from Arno who kept his eyes on her until she turned around the corner and fully disappeared. Only then they both remembered that they should watch out in case someone might catch them. But, fortunately, since most of the guards that were here in the first place were the archduke's men, the estate was much calmer now that they had left.
Rosalie was now in a new long corridor with only two doors on her left side. She hurried to look behind the first one and noticed that it was just a lounge. She quickly gathered that she would not find anything interesting in there and got out of it quickly. Once she rushed towards the second one, she found a bedroom. The woman decided to stay there and look around.
Rosalie could easily tell that the bedroom was much bigger than the place she shared with Arno at the inn. There was a tidy king-sized bed at the middle of the room with red and golden sheets covering it up and that were matching with the silken curtains hiding the windows. As she was analyzing the rest of her surroundings, Rosalie saw an open wardrobe revealing a couple of female dresses, making her gather that she was in a woman's bedroom. However, she could not tell for sure who's it was. But since Henriette was supposed to be in her room by now and she was not here, Rosalie guessed that this could be Gabrielle's bedroom, making her instantly realize that some crucial information might be kept inside this very room.
Soon enough, she approached the desk nearby and searched the books on it. None of them seemed to be what she was looking for and Rosalie decided then to open the drawers of the desk and instantly found a couple of papers — or more specifically, letters. She grabbed the first one and read quickly.