Fork in the Road (Altair/Assassins Creed)

Chapter Six

They didn't know what specific time their Targets were due to arrive at the graveyard, but they ensured they had enough supplies to stay for the day. They crouched on the edge of the roof, planning any exits they needed and making sure they were in a position to flee if they were spotted. They found themselves in a nearby roof garden, one which was in a perfect spot to oversee the graveyard.

"Was your father an assassin?"

Hana looked up from peeling her orange at Altair's question and shrugged, "I never knew my father."

"Your mother was a whore?"

"No. She was a slave in Acre before she was rescued, and brought to Masyaf with a few other villagers when she was pregnant with me." She offered him half of the orange in her hand, to which he politely declined. "Rasil took me in when she died."

"Is he like a father to you?"

The eighteen year old nodded, "I would do anything for him. He's been very kind to me."

It was silent for a long moment, and as Hana finished the last of her orange, the Master Assassin spoke once more, "Al Mualim himself offered you a place to train in the citadel, didn't he?"

She nodded, "I'm not really sure why. I was the fourth floor maid." She felt his eyes on her wrist and she played with the leather bracelet, nervously.

He cocked his head to the side curiously, "He must have seen something in you. You are the first female he's allowed into the Creed, and no daughter of an assassin either."

There were voices from outside the roof garden, and both Master Assassin and Novice sat up straight to peer through the curtains and towards the graveyard below. Sure enough, both Targets were there and the female sighed internally, for this looked like an opportunity for the both of them to carry out their assassinations.

"Be patient." Altair's voice broke through the silence. "It may be a good opportunity, but we cannot strike now; not without knowing what we are getting into..." He trailed off, almost awkwardly, to which Hana felt the unspoken words still the air between them.

Solomons Temple.

Turning their attentions back to their Targets, they listened for a moment and frowned when both men rest their hands upon one particular tombstone.

"They're brothers." She realised, squinting from the sunlight. She sat back on her heels and allowed the curtain to drape back into place. "Why are they both in different districts?"

"Yours collects women from the streets, and spends his earnings gambling and whoring, does he not? Mine lives in the Rich District, running a slave trade business. Your target has come to mine in need of money and a boost in trade." Altair explained, "However, I am unsure as to why Al Mualim has chosen him as your first Target. He has many guards with him, despite being unable to pay for them. Far too many guards for a Novice mission."

He meant no offence, and Hana agreed with him anyway, "Perhaps Al Mualim didn't think this was going to happen. Maybe he thought he would be a drunk in a tavern?"

"Al Mualim wouldn't jump to a conclusion." Altair said, "He couldn't have known they were brothers, for we didn't." The Master Assassin let the curtain fall back into place when the brothers' left the graveyard. They hadn't been discussing anything new, merely confirming what Altair had overheard the night previous – that the two would go into business with one another. "If he did, perhaps you should have been given the smaller of the two at least."

It had not escaped her attention that she had been given the fatter and taller of the two.

They then separated ways, Hana wasn't sure where Altair was headed, but she was going to search for anything to give her a clue as to where in the Poor District her Target was living.

She overheard a conversation between two guards in an alleyway, gossiping about her Target having sold his house for much less than what it was worth. Although she was glad of the information, she was stuck at square one once more. She listened for at least an hour before the two had come to the conclusion that the older brother would allow the younger to board at his mansion, in the Rich District.

"He had us move his documents over yesterday." The shorter one stated, his voice was lighter than the others and Hana's interest peaked to the point where she found a bench to sit on, rather than linger in the crowd. "There were a lot of papers. Some of the women they recently took had to help move them too, probably the first time they've stepped foot in the Rich District."

Hana was unsure as to whether she would be allowed in the Rich District, being a Novice, but if it was necessary for her to search for information about meetings of the brothers and information she could use to set up her assassination, then she needed to.

The copper haired female hadn't mapped out the Middle District, and had found herself lost on many occasions. She climbed towers, searching for points where she could map the layout of the city before she finally found herself in the Rich District. Once there, she found herself having to use the rooftops. She was worried about being spotted, for there were many guards on every street, the patrols seemed to be three times as busy as the Poor District. She took out a few archers, and eavesdropped a conversation between two merchants before she found the mansion.

She let herself in the first window without hesitation, and quickly hid herself away behind a statue to take a deep breath and decide her next move. She probably shouldn't be working so spontaneously, and she hated the fact that she had let herself in without planning – as Altair had already advised her against working in the unknown. In any case, she decided it was too late to turn back now, and she let herself into the first door on her left after listening carefully, and deciding that the room was empty.

It had been pure luck that she had found herself in a rather lavish bed chamber, and from looking around, she decided that it was too lived in to have been the one her Target to be using.

She was in the brothers chambers, she decided.

Hana didn't leave, for her Target was going to be working for him, so she needed to know meeting times and such – for it would be handy if she had support with her on her first assassination.

Of course, she wouldn't let Jabal be proven right and allow the Master Assassin to do everything for her, no. But she would feel a lot more confident if someone so skilled was watching her back.

Before she could reach the desk, however, she heard footfalls. Her heart raced, and in her moment of panic – her mind went blank.

What the hell was she to do?

Her feet acted before her mind could process a plan, and she scuttled underneath the grand, silk sheeted, four poster bed. She bit her lip, and clenched her eyes shut as she tried to slow her breathing. Her palms began to sweat, and she cracked an eye open when the door to the chambers opened and a pair of brown booted feet came into view. She was frightened beyond belief, but she frowned when two forks of white cloth floated into view as the figure stopped in the centre of the room.

Hana shuffled out from beneath the bed when she recognised the robes to be that of an ally.

"Altair?" She questioned, sighing with relief when the noticeable differences in robes and weaponry answered her question.

The Master Assassin turned his peaked hooded head in her direction, alert and guarded from her sudden announced presence, and sighed, "What are you doing in here?"

Before anymore could be said, they both turned – alert – towards the door as heavy footfalls, and tiny bells alerted them to another beings presence. Giggling accompanied the bells and heavy feet, and Altair was quick to dive underneath the bed to join the Novice as the latch to the door lifted.