Fork in the Road (Altair/Assassins Creed)

Chapter 1

Hana pulled on her brown dress and white apron, before tying her copper hair up in a bun with a white rag. Her routine had been the same since her mother had passed away and she had been taken in by the blacksmith. She cleaned all the bedchambers on the fourth floor of the assassin's citadel, and she was thankful that she wasn't in charge of the mess hall or the library, her little legs and arms could only do so much!

She climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor, and made her way towards the cupboard at the top of the stairs. Pulling out a mop and bucket, which she filled with the tap at the side of the small room. There were ten rooms to clean, and the first thing she did was empty and restock the fireplaces, secondly she cleaned the stone floors, then polished the furniture. Finally, the young woman made her way around the rooms stripping the bedsheets and taking them down the stairs to the washroom, fetching fresh linen while she was down there.

Hana washed her hands and wiped them on her apron before she set to work at changing the bedding in each room. Once she was done, she would be able to go home!

But, as she reached for the door handle after changing the sheets in the last bedroom, she gasped upon finding her bracelet missing. She wheeled around, her heart pounding in her ears.

She needed to find her bracelet.

She headed straight for the fire, sticking her hands in and fumbling around. Black ash marked her hands and her face from where she wiped at her brow. "No, no, no!" She cried, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.

"Is there something you're looking for in particular?"

"Forgive me!" She gasped, pushing herself onto her feet, wiping her filthy hands on her relatively clean apron. Her eyes cast down towards the ground at her feet, the Mentor of the Brotherhood tilted his head to the side curiously.

"What is it, my child?"

"I've lost my bracelet, Sir."

"What is so special about a strip of leather?"

"My mother gave it to me." She informed him, her hand moving to touch her wrist where the bracelet should be. "She had been freed from slavery in Acre, and it was a souvenir she had from her travels."

The older man nodded his head in understanding, "She was freed by one of my men?" He questioned.

The girl nodded, "Yes, Sir, his name was Umar."

"Did your mother have a relationship with him?"

"No, she was pregnant with me when she was still a slave. Umar brought her here with a few other villagers for freedom. She died of a fever last year, which is why the bracelet means so much to me."

"Who's looking after you, child?"

"Rasil, Sir."

Al Mualim raised an eyebrow curiously, "You're the girl my blacksmith has taken in?"

She nodded, "Yes, Sir. He has been very kind to me."

"I will help you find your bracelet, child."

Her eyes lit up, "Thank you, Sir. That is very kind of you-"

He held up his hands to calm her from her sudden excitement, "But you must return home at once, before Rasil starts to worry about your whereabouts. I shall return your bracelet to you later, if I can find it."

Hana bowed her head, "Thank you, Sir. I will go as soon as I clean up my mess-"

He waved a hand, "Tend to it in the morning, child. There is no harm leaving it until then."

"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." And she quickly put her cleaning supplies back into the cupboard, and hurried home for her meal. It was stew that they had for dinner – which they always ate early – with half of a bread roll to share. She sat at the table to the right of the blacksmith, her father figure, and told him of her meeting with the Grandmaster that morning.