AC Syndicate: Isolated Files [OS]

Face the Love

[Chapter image by me]

A hooded shadow roamed the rooftops of London. The steps were slow. It walked, arms swinging as it went, making the light snow that fell on the city twirl slightly. The black-clad figure's head was down and to the left. It seemed to be following someone, watching her, among the citizens walking on the pavements just below. The brown eyes followed a woman beautifully dressed in her afternoon dress, holding the arm of a man of her own age, and who did not seem to be of the same social standing as her. He was wearing a top hat and looked dandy.

The man and woman looked at each other for a few moments, smiling at each other. They seemed happy to be spending the afternoon together, under the falling snow. The shadow on the roofs could not see their lovely smiles, but she suspected that these two were looking at each other with tenderness, and that their lips were in tune with their feelings. She could perfectly guess the face lit up by the love of the man of this couple that looked happy. Because he was none other than the old love affair of the shadow that was spying on them. And at this thought, and during the projection of the face illuminated by the tenderness he once devoted to her, the spy's heart beat harder, and not in the most pleasant way. It was a sign that he was still breaking. The figure's throat, with its feminine curves despite the attire, tightened. Despite the pain in her chest, she couldn't help but reflect on the man who placed his hand on the hand of the young woman he was accompanying. Love suits you... I would so much like to see it again with my own eyes, in front of you... and to feel it by your side.

Indeed, the shadow spy missed the time when she and he were a seemingly inseparable duo, the time when there was no one to catch the other in their mischief. A bygone era, provoking only nostalgia and melancholy in the hooded woman. Thinking about it, she sighed, her eyes riveted on their footsteps that devoured the present. And the future she could have had with him, walking away from her, on the arm of another. Why had she jumped at the chance? Why had she jumped at the chance to leave London on a mission? A mission that had led to another mission that required her to pretend to be dead. She had to have no correspondence, keep a low profile, the better to reach and eliminate her target. Just as Jacob had reproached her on her return to London:

"One word, Victoria... One word, and I could have understood that you were alive, that you were well..."

Her mission — which had been an opportunity for her to get away from Jacob and Jack — had been a success, but it had come at the cost of their feelings, their bond. In addition to the loneliness he had felt, a great emptiness had come over him. He had ended up with a middle-class girl, Daisy Campbell. A beautiful dark-eyed brunette. She had been able to support the Frye twin, as well as the little Jack he was looking after. She had been able to soothe the hearts that were bruised by Victoria's absence and supposed death. The latter, although she envied the bourgeoise, was very grateful to her for taking care of them in her supposedly eternal absence.

Behind his cheeky looks and sarcasm, Jacob was a sensitive man. His sister's departure to India had affected him, and Victoria had been there for him. And the bond they had together had only grown stronger. But Jack's arrival had changed things. The Frye brother had rescued him from the Lambeth Asylum where he was being abused and taken him back to the train, without consulting Victoria. She had never held a grudge against the boy with the terrible past, and as for the rescue, there was nothing to say. But Jack's arrival had made her panic, not really feeling comfortable with kids - the understanding she had with orphans was already quite good. Despite this, although the early days were difficult, she had eventually closed the distance between herself and Jack and liked him as if he were her little brother.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just Jacob she'd lost when she'd gone on that long mission away from London, which had led to others until the one where she had to pretend to be dead. As well as feeling abandoned, Jack had struggled with this so-called death... So when Victoria was back, he never spoke to her. The brunette knew she had done wrong, both with Jacob and Jack, and she bitterly regretted it. They had both gone on with their lives, and she didn't blame them for that. On the contrary... It was what she would have wanted if her death had not been faked.

After her retrospection, Victoria came back to earth, realizing that she had lost track of the Assassin and the bourgeoise. Using her eagle vision, she retraced their steps and found them fairly quickly. Jacob seemed to be walking the woman home. A mansion almost as big as Edward Kenway's. Victoria climbed down from the roof to one of the lampposts on the pavement opposite the one where Miss Campbell's home was located. Under the snow that was falling softly on London, the Blackbird watched them exchange a brief kiss — surely something not to be done in public in the codes of good and high society. She knew it was wrong to spy on them, but she paid no further attention. After all, it was her own business, and it was not a crime. Whether Jacob was happy, whether Daisy was a good person for him, or torturing herself to see what she had lost, what she might have gone through could be legitimate reasons. But deep down, she didn't really know why she was following them.

Jacob watched the woman he loved walk away, a smile on his face. Daisy was truly a sweet woman with a heart. He was happy to know her and what he felt for her made him feel good. But on the other hand, he still had a thought for Victoria. He regretted thinking it from time to time, because it was insulting to her. The bourgeoise was not as good as his Blackbird. At this thought, Jacob lost his smile and lowered his eyes as well as his head. He could not see his wife enter his home and close the door behind her. Victoria had watched the scene from the lamppost.

Without moving his head, Jacob looked up, sensing a presence nearby. More specifically, he felt a look. He turned his to the side, in the direction of the person spying on him.

"You should be roaming the rooftops of London, Victoria."

Spotted, there was no longer any point in hiding. The brunette who had returned from Cardiff two months ago descended from her perch as Jacob turned to her.

"I used to, until I finally saw that lovely bourgeois lady beside you that the Rooks keep talking about. Daisy Campbell, isn't it?"

"Daisy Frye," he corrected.

Hearing this name was like a bomb to Victoria. She could only put on a stunned face. Her throat tightened and she tried to hold back the tears that were welling up in her eyes. The emotion caused was not lost on Jacob, who tried to remain impartial to the reaction of the woman he still loved.

"We got married a few months before you came back."

He wanted to tell her that they were expecting a child - for four months, in a few days - but he didn't want to hurt her more. He felt she was already devastated enough.

"I didn't know you were married... I guess she doesn't know anything about the Brotherhood, or our war with the Order."

"Only that both exist, but I keep her out of everything... for her safety."

"Hence the fact that I don't know, until now, that you're married... and that the Rooks are not likely to know... or even the others..."

The Frye brother merely nodded his head in response. He had nothing more to say, and his heart was too full of sadness for any words.

"Then let's not linger here any longer," Victoria said, placing her hand briefly on Jacob's shoulder.

She started to leave, thinking that Jacob would follow her. But he didn't. Not feeling him with her, she turned to him, who was watching her leave. What he was about to say was not cheerful, and he knew it would hurt her more.

"I'd rather we went our own way."

Victoria knew that Jacob was still angry with her. His answer — clearly a "double entendre" - was painful, but she understood it. As she nodded, she looked at the floor and swallowed, then pursed her lips. She had got the message. They would both go their own way, which would now be parallel. They would cooperate as simple assassins, as colleagues, but they would make their lives. If that was a punishment Victoria had to do, then she accepted it. She sighed and looked at Jacob again.

"Fine..." she agreed reluctantly.

The next words were hard to say when she found them. She could already feel the tears filling her eyes. But she had to remain stoic, to put her feelings aside. But, one last time, she wanted to be sincere, to say these words with her heart... one last time.

"I-if... If you ever need anything... no matter what... You know where to find me."

Jacob swallowed in his turn. Understanding the message and what was behind her words, he nodded, tears slowly beginning to fill his eyes. He regretted this situation. If he hadn't been married to Daisy, if he wasn't going to be a father, he would have gladly gone on the road with Victoria despite the resentment that remained. He merely nodded before saying, with a small smile:

"If I'm looking for Blackbird, I'll just look at Big Ben."

This unheard phrase was a pleasant surprise for the brunette. It sounded good and it suited her. Indeed, Victoria was known to isolate herself from time to time in the heights of London, near the monument to contemplate it while she lost herself in her thoughts. A tear rolled down the brunette's cheek and she smiled slightly. She nodded briefly and turned around and walked away, back the way she had come. Jacob watched her walk away with emotion, his heart and throat tightening. He waited until he could no longer see her before walking away. He would miss being close to her, and she would miss being close to him. But if they weren't going to meet again now, it would be later. Once Victoria was gone, he turned and walked, blending in. His heart in regret and his mind in nostalgia. Snow did not only fall on the city of London. A winter was falling on the bonds between Jacob and Victoria.

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Short story inspired by this french song (sorry, I didn't find a video with english subtitles)