Fork in the Road (Altair/Assassins Creed)

Chapter Thirteen

They trotted up to the town, the copper haired female staring curiously at the oval shaped rooftops of the buildings. She noticed Altair slouching in his seat, and she copied his posture upon spotting a small patrol of guards making their way towards them, and then round the side of another building.

They dismounted, and led their four legged companions into the stables where a young boy took an extortionate amount of coin from them to care for their mounts for the one night. The Master Assassin held up a hand to stop her however, upon spotting a red helmet standing on guard not four feet away from the inn.

Altair proceeded to climb up the side of the brick wall with confident footing, turning to glance down at the female once before he disappeared over the edge of the roof. Hana wasn't sure if he had wanted her to stay where she was, or create a distraction. She shifted awkwardly on her feet for a second before peering nervously around the corner, and finding the red helmet face down in the road. She frowned when she could see no sign of Altair, and her eyes widened when the Templar pushed himself to his feet.

"You will pay for this!" The sword was drawn almost immediately, "Show yourself!"

Hana ducked back behind the wall, and slowly slipped away in case the red helmet moved from his position and spotted her. She shuffled a little quicker around the edge of the wall when she could hear heavy boots heading her way, and she could feel her heart starting to race in her chest. Perhaps the look was to tell her to get ready?

She drew her sword and put her back flat against the wall, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before jumping around the corner – dropping her sword immediately when she found Altair standing in front of her.

"What on earth are you doing?" He asked.

"I..." She picked up her sword and sheathed it, reaching up to rub her neck in embarrassment, "I don't know."

He sighed, "Why didn't you follow me?"

"You wanted me to follow you?"

"I was going to show you how to dispose of him." He stated, "Now come, let us pay for a room."

Embarrassed, she followed him back down the street and into the inn. She took a quick look around to get her bearings of the place, and to look for any potential threats or escapes if the main door was blocked – a window was slightly open, big enough for her to slip through, but definitely too small for Altair.

"Is this your bride?" The innkeeper asked, pulling Hana's attention back to the task at hand as the man let his eyes flicker onto her form curiously.

The two assassins were silent before Altair muttered a response, "Yes," He cleared his throat to try and rid himself of some of the awkwardness. "We require somewhere to stay for the night."

The innkeeper nodded, swallowing almost nervously, "Do you require food?"

Altair shook his head, "Perhaps only for supplies once we leave in the morning."

"Very well," the innkeeper nodded as he placed a key upon the counter, "Second floor, and last room on the right. Unfortunately, I have yet to make the fire-"

Altair waved a hand, "-I shall be able to do it, thank you." He glanced at the female when she made no bid to move, and quickly followed her line of sight towards the window as another group of guards walked past. He placed a hand on her elbow to get her attention, and the two of them swiftly left the main room to make their way upstairs and finally into their rented room.

Hana deposited her bags onto the floor before making her way towards the window to see if it would make a good escape route, whilst Altair lit the fire.

"I've stayed here many times before," He voiced once the hearth was ablaze. "The innkeeper is an ally. Any sign of trouble with the guards and he slips a piece of parchment under the door. You climb out of the window where there are two rungs on the right hand side, and then three rooftops over on the left there is a place to hide." He took a seat in one of the two armchairs in front of the fireplace and cleared his throat, "Now make yourself useful," He placed two large volumes on the floor beside him and nudged them with the toe of his boot towards the second chair. "See if you can find anything on the Target. He's had a previous attempt on his life, by Famir."

"Efled's father?" She questioned, looking nervously at the volumes as she pulled the first one onto her lap as she took a seat.

Altair nodded, "Yes, you'd met?"

She nodded as she flicked to a random page, squinting down at the dark markings on the rough page, "He trained with me a few times, promised to tell me stories of his travels to the cities. His kindness is the reason Efled hates me."

He raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"

"I was the last person Famir spoke to as he left Masyaf, I believe Efled resents me for that. I threw down my sword to surrender during training, but he continued to fight."

The Master Assassin was silent as he watched the females eyes scan down the sentences. He remembered finding himself in a similar situation when he was younger; with Abbas, when he had told his once-friend the truth about his father committing suicide. "His emotions must have made him careless. Did you win?"

"Unfairly." She admitted.

"It wasn't fair in the first place, if he did not accept your surrender."

"But I kicked him when he was down; I should not have done that."

"I've killed men when their backs were turned, many times." She looked up at him when he continued, "It doesn't matter how you win, if you win. Cheating may save your life one day."

"Is that why we're reading?" She asked, "Cheating?"

"Reading is knowledge and knowledge is power." He watched her curiously as she continued to squint down at the pages before her, and bit her lip nervously. "What is it?"

"Nothing." She blushed, jabbing her finger into the middle of the page as she looked up at him. "Why?" He was silent, his hooded head turned in her direction and his eyes - although shrouded in shadow - she knew were analysing her form. She sighed in defeat, "I don't read very well." She turned back to the book, her finger trailing back up the page to point to where she really was. "If at all really."

"You should try." He said, "Reading is one of the greatest things you can learn."

"I think I have found his name though," She revealed, smiling timidly. "I recognise it from Al Mualim's scroll. But that is the best I can do."

"Read me the sentence."

"Really?" She questioned.

"Really."

The process was slow and painful, and Altair had his hand over his face by the end of it. He had corrected her on almost every word, and she was so frustratingly slow! He took the book from her and had to reread it just to file the information away in his brain before he looked over at the female.

"Didn't you find a letter on your last mission?" He questioned.

She nodded, "Yes, but Jabal read it out loud."

"You're lucky that he did." Altair stated, taking the book from her and stuffing it back inside his bag. "You should invest in some lessons," He advised, "I've been in a position before where I've had to bail out one of my brothers. He was a young Novice, and managed to intercept a letter informing him that the guards knew he was there." His eyes then went to the floor in front of their inn room door as a piece of parchment was slipped underneath it, "Get out through the window."

Hana grabbed her things and followed the Master Assassin across the rooftops, and sure enough, found a conveniently placed roof garden available for their use.

"You shouldn't be up here, leave now." An archer aimed his bow at the two of them, seconds before they could disappear from his line of sight. Hana froze, Altair did the same, and then suddenly, they had to flee the scene when several guards ascended onto the rooftop – alerting the archer to attack them.