Test of Faith

Chapter 72

"We should be sharing what we know with Lee, not Washington," Haytham muttered, annoyed. The three of them were now entering Valley Forge with the intention of seeking out George Washington.

Mirabella had mixed feelings about the Commander, but she trusted Connor's judgement. "You seem to think I favour him, but my enemy is a notion, not a nation. It is wrong to compel obedience - whether to the British Crown or the Templar Cross. And I hope in time the Loyalists will see this, too, for they are also victims."

Jesus christ, not again. "You oppose tyranny, injustice - these are just symptoms. Their true cause is human weakness. Why do you think I keep on trying to show you the error of your way?" Haytham argued.

"You have SAID much, yes, but you have shown me NOTHING," Connor spat, then walked off. Mirabella sighed as they followed behind him. 

"He has always allowed his anger to control his thoughts, don't take it personally," she reassured Haytham, touching his arm.

He merely huffed, but they quickly fell silent once they stopped at Washington's tent. "Sir," Connor greeted politely, catching the Commander's attention. 

"Hello, Connor. What brings you here?" he asked, glancing at Haytham and Mirabella. As the younger Assassin spoke, Haytham casually wandered into the tent. 

Mirabella eyed him in confusion, shaking her head, but he dismissed her. He picked up a letter, his face mixed with shock and anger. "And what's this?" he announced loudly.

Washington suddenly lunged for the letter. "Private correspondence!" he snapped, but Haytham dodged him. "Of course it is! Would you like to know what it says, Connor? Mira?" he asked, looking between both of them.

Haytham quickly scanned the paper. "It seems your good friend here has just ordered an attack on your village - although 'attack' might be putting it mildly. Tell him, Commander."

Mirabella's blood ran cold as she stared the Commander down - it had been Connor's own ally. "We've been receiving reports of allied Natives working with the British - I've asked my men to put a stop to it," Washington reluctantly confessed.

"By burning their villages and salting the land. By calling for their extermination, according to this letter - not the first time either. Tell him what you did fourteen years ago," Haytham taunted angrily, advancing.

"That was another time, the Seven Years war," Washington protested, getting in Haytham's face. "You MURDERED children, families...." Mirabella managed to force out.

She looked to Connor, but he held a distant expression. "And so now you see what happens to this 'great man' when under duress. He makes excuses, displaces blame, does a great many things, in fact, except take responsibility!" Haytham yelled, visibly seething.

Before the two men could lunge, Connor interrupted. "ENOUGH!! Who did what and why must wait, my people come first!" Mirabella stood tall next to Connor, readying to leave. "Then let's be off," Haytham declared. "No."

He froze at Connor's command, and to Mirabella's shock, he backed away from her. "We are finished." Haytham shared the same look of bewilderment. "Son - " Connor immediately cut him off.

"Do you think me so soft that by calling me 'son' I might change my mind? How long did you sit on this information? Or am I to believe you both discovered it now?"

Mirabella's jaw dropped when Connor addressed her, as well, and his glare shifted to her. "You have told me more than once how angry you were with my mother - how much you wished she were never present! How do I know you did not kill her yourself to get to me?!"

Mirabella took a step back, her eyes beginning to sting with spontaneous tears, and Connor turned back to his father. 

She turned away as she was overwhelmed with shock, and her gaze fell to the ground. She heard his retreating footsteps, and looked up to see Connor storm off.

"Mirabella." Her skin raised with goosebumps at Haytham's voice, and a light hand touched her back. "Are you alright?" he asked her gently. 

Mirabella turned to look at Haytham, but instead she looked past him at Washington. Her rage peaked, and her Blade was immediately unsheathed. "YOU!!"

She lunged with her Blade outstretched, but Haytham quickly grabbed her by the waist, and she had just missed the Commander. "Stop!" 

He settled her back down, blocking her view of Washington; "HE CAUSED ALL OF THIS!! HE SHOULD BE KILLED!!" she shrieked, trying to shove past him.

Haytham caught her flailing wrists. "I know, but not here," he said sternly. Mirabella froze for a moment, staring up into Haytham's eyes, and he shook his head. 

Reluctantly she relaxed, dropping her arms, and Haytham released his hold on her. "Let's go," he said, guiding her away.

Mirabella kept her gaze on the ground. "Where will we go now?" she asked softly. "To Fort George, for now."