Broken Soldier ~ Assassin's Creed 4

Chapter Thirty Four

I flattened down my hair and tried to pull it into a ponytail. The bright sunlight had beamed in through the thin curtains and woken both Martin and I up. He decided on staying in bed until the last minute. His hair was still in his face, and he was not wearing a shirt. He was sprawled across the sheets, hugging tightly to a pillow while snoring lightly into his naked arm. I smiled at his reflection in the mirror when he flipped his head over again. A small string of light cast itself on the pale skin of his bare back.

My hair still tumbled down to my hips still, even being in the ponytail. The maroon strands billowed out from the ribbon and carried down in loose curls. After running a damp cloth across my face and scrubbing the make-up from my eyes, I spotted Martin shifting and standing up behind me. I smiled towards him as he trotted to pull on his suit trousers. His undergarments stuck out of the top of the trousers before he tugged on a shirt. He buttoned the bottom one, then groaned.

"My head is killing me." His eyes were squeezed shut tightly and he grabbed the side of his head. "Would you get me some water? I think I am coming down with something." I nodded.

"If you will tie the back of my dress first." His eyes shot open, then he wore a look of disappointment.

"Damn. I thought you were naked." He toddled over to me and began fiddling with the ribbons on the back of my dress. After a while, it was tight enough that I knew it wouldn't fall down. I turned around and planted a quick kiss on his lips.

"You lay down. I will be back with breakfast in a little bit. Fruit?"

"No oranges." 

Once in the kitchen, I spotted one woman who was scrubbing at the counters and another was kneading dough for bread. The one making bread glanced up at me with a smile and instantly stopped what she was doing. She wiped her flour-laden hands on her apron before approaching me with a huge grin. Both of her hands took one of mine and shook it roughly.

"Welcome to the Labrousse estate, Miss. We hope you are enjoying your stay so far, even if you have only been here for one night. How did you find your supper?" Her bright attitude sounded fake at this time in the morning.

"It was wonderful. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Would you, by any chance, be Eva?" The woman shook her head, and pointed to the older one.

"I am Christine. That is Eva over there, scrubbing the floor." Eva stood up, dropping her brush into the bucket of soapy water. She dried her hands in the same way Christine cleaned hers.

"Bonjour, Elisa. How are you and Monsieur Martin this fine morning?" Her French accent was a lot stronger than Christine's. Suddenly, I remembered my objective.

"That is actually why I am down here so early. He was feeling a little under the weather, and so I came to get him some water and some fruit." She snapped her fingers.

"I know just the thing." She pulled a cup of water from a cold bucket and placed it onto a tray. She then added a bowl of orange and apple slices to it. "He might have said that he doesn't want any oranges. Make sure he eats them. They worked wonders when he was a child." She thrust the tray towards me with a smile.

"Thank you for this. I will take them now." Eva held up a finger, before pulling a bread roll off of a small plate and handing it to me. 

"For you." She turned me around and pushed me from the room. "Must return to our chores." I giggled and spotted Clemence. He smirked at me.

"You have only been here one night." I pulled a confused face at him. 

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh la la!" He wiggled his hips from side to side in an exaggerated manner and placed a finger to his bottom lip. I laughed, still confused at what he had said. He stopped abruptly and slumped forward, his arms swinging. "Do you still not understand?" I shook my head. He straightened up, raised a hand to eye level, raised the other right next to his left one, then slammed them together. He moved them down with a stupid grin on his face. "Hmm?"

"Clemence, I still do--"

"You know what happened! Man," He raised his hand again in the same way as before. "woman." He raised the other again. "Ready? This is the difficult part. Pay close attention." He clapped again. I raised my eyebrows, then placed a free hand to my cheek.

"No way." He winked.

"Our room is right beside yours. Also, I spoke to baby brother. He is ill and tired, so he confessed everything." He chuckled and patted my shoulder. "Go take him his breakfast." I blushed deep crimson as I ascended the stairs. I got to the second room on the left and opened the door. I glared at Martin when he looked to me.

"What did you tell Clemence? Tell me properly."

"About last night." He giggled.

"And why did you do that?"

"He asked me about it."

"Martin!" He groaned. "Right, for that, I got you extra oranges." He moaned and punched the bed.

"Why?!" He grumbled.

"For being an idiot and spilling all our secrets!"

"But we have to be open about our rel-"

"Not about private things, you fool." I hissed and dropped the tray onto the bedside table. I turned on my heel to leave.

"Wait." I huffed, then faced him again. He puckered his lips. "Please?" I rolled my eyes and went back to give him a kiss. He held the sides of my face gently with his fingertips. I pulled back and hit his arm gently. 

"No more talking to your brother about us."

"You know he thinks you are a rebellious woman?" I growled.

"No! I did not know that! For goodness sake, Martin... What have you started?"

"Sorry." Martin laughed loudly.

"I am leaving to write a letter to Edward." I took a bite from the bread roll. "And don't you step foot out of this room until you have finished every last bite of your fruit."

~~

Dearest Edward,

I am doing well. Martin and I...well, we have never been closer. Though, it seems now that all of his siblings might know so within a few hours. I believe he might have the flu, since he is completely delusional and also blurting out secrets. I should send for a doctor.

I miss you like crazy, Edward. I am not sure how long I can wait for you to come back. I want you to be there at my wedding. I need my best friend with me. Of course, I love Martin, but I have known you for longer than I have known myself. I have not spoken to your family, though your mother knitted me a beautiful, wool scarf from the sheep on their farm. I treasure it. In fact, I wore it on the journey to Martin's family's home in Paris. The house is lovely, albeit a little bit chilly. But, I suppose that is to be expected in January. However, the scarf keeps me so very warm. I hope to sit by a fire soon to warm up even further. I also hope for heavy snow. I should enjoy playing in the snow with Martin's siblings' children. Of course, his sister, Alaina, is a child at heart like me, so we could probably play outside on our own for hours and still not get bored. The children will end up hating me. My soon to be nephews and nieces. 

I hope you can come home soon.

With love,

Elisa.