The Broken Dove (An Assassin's Creed Fanfic)

Ch. 7: Family

Cynthia's POV

One Week Later…

The second-to-last week of November had made its way to the soils of Masyaf, and already the once lush and green grasses and leaves of the trees turned to browns, reds and yellows as fall finished making its way through the land. Soon, flakes of white would begin patching the ground beneath our feet, letting us know that winter would be approaching soon enough. Life as I knew it was slowly becoming much more comfortable with time, though there was still some tension amongst the Assassins. To start, Cristabel and I have started talking in more civilized terms, though our conversations were rather short and with not much personal information to be mentioned. One could tell she still had some trouble coping with the fact that I was going to be around for a while. I could not blame her for such a thing. It would be difficult to live with the fact that someone she once despised, or still does, will be working alongside her, amongst the ranks of the people she - I - once despised in turn. In a way, I felt bad; I felt like I was meddling in affairs that I did not belong in, but what was I supposed to do? It was my choice to leave the Templars and become an Assassin, and it was my choice alone. Had I known, however, that my presence would be enough to cause such distress, would I have chosen a different path; would I have stayed with the Templars?

Not only did thoughts of whether or not joining the Assassins was such a good idea, but the thought of telling Altaïr that he was going to be a father made matters worse. I had become sicker than usual, but that was only because of the stress that was going through my mind. The training was something I could handle at first, but when I realized that things may become more and more dangerous, I made excuses not to do them. By now, there was not a doubt in my mind that Altaïr was becoming suspicious, and it would only be a matter of time before the truth came out. The only issue that I had was how he would take it. I did not want to neglect my training any further than I had to, but I did not want to risk losing the child at the same time. Altaïr would make absolute sure that I would avoid any and all training until the child was born - maybe even longer than that. Even though it would be something we would both agree upon, as of now I was unable to defend myself long enough against any Templar attacks. If I could not even protect myself, how would I possibly protect my own child from harm? It was the only distress I had with putting an end to my training, but at the same time it was the only way.

That being said, the secret could only remain that way for a time, and keeping it was something I could not do. If only there was an easier way to do it…

~*~

"So you are really going through with it, Cynthia?" Ada asked worriedly as I fixed my attire. "Are you finally going to tell him?

Looking at her, I nodded once and said, "It is just as you said, Ada. Keeping this secret any longer than I have will hurt our marriage in the future. I do not want to risk such things, especially if it hurts us as a whole." My head lowered too my stomach as I placed a gentle hand against it. I could almost feel its life growing inside of me, but I knew that was just my head filling with anxiety. "Besides, all of this stress may not be good for the child. I do not want anything to happen to him...or her." I looked back at Ada. "Maybe by telling Altaïr I will relieve some of that and...help keep it from any possible danger that may come from it."

Ada's eyes shifted a moment, as if she were a bit nervous despite having told me to inform Altaïr of the news, before she sighed.

"You are right, I suppose," she stated. Then, she looked at me again. "But...what of the other Assassins, like Cristabel? Are you worried about what they will think of the matter?"

I stared at her for a moment as I lifted my hood over my face and shielded it from view. Then, I smiled, shook my head and said, "No, of course not. Altaïr is my husband, and such a thing is natural when two people are married." I moved over to the bed I shared with the aforementioned husband and fixed my sword and other assorted weapons fit for a novice around my waist. It was almost second nature to prepare myself for battle, even if I was safe behind the walls of Masyaf. "It will not matter what the others think about this child. I just hope they accept him or her as one of their own in the end."