Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Chapter 2

A/N: I want Æblekage ;-; I hate this chapter to bits but i ain't re-writing it so hey.

                                                            -+-

The road from Masyaf to Jerusalem was long and not one Malik Al Sayf enjoyed taking. Especially in the sweltering Israeli heat that came with the merciless summer. At least it wasn’t as bad as it was in Syria.

Oh Allah, Syria could practically burn ones skin off.

Malik sighed, loosening his grip on the reins of the weary stallion. The horse had been on the move for hours now, with the sun beaming hotly on its back and Malik felt as sorry for it as he did himself. There was still a long trip ahead of them, perhaps around a day or two of travelling and Malik had to either improvise a camp on the shrubby desert or force himself and the poor horse on. He pondered on the second option. He and his previous horse had the made the trip with only an hour break between although the poor creature was practically dead by the time they’d reached Jerusalem.

And it wasn’t too much effort,

Well not for Malik anyways.

In the end, he decided it wasn’t worth being stuck with an almost-dead-horse and pulled to a stop some hours later. He didn’t particularly like the thought of resting in the middle of nowhere, especially since the Templars were normally on the prowl during the night, but there was no choice.

The great mottled beast looked gratefully down at browning shrubs and grazed for all it was worth whilst Malik settled down in the sand. The desert itself wasn’t anything to marvel at, but the sky above it certainly was. The stars appeared to shine brighter than they did in Masyaf or Jerusalem, illuminating the darkening sky. It was only evening, but you could easily be fooled into thinking it was midnight.

Yela’an…(dammit…) it was so hot.

The heat was making Malik rather sleepy, but he kept his eyes peeled, his hand on the hilt of his sword. He wasn’t going to risk getting stabbed whilst he slept, or captured because anything could happen. That’s what Altair told him constantly, that’s what he’d learnt during the time he was an assassin. You could never, ever let your guard down; Altair had said, before he’d fallen asleep one night atop the bureau. What an idiot.

The horse had quietened and was now nudging its snout against the Dai’s face. Malik grumbled in response and pushed its nose away before turning away sleepily.

‘’Hffffffffffffgghhhhhh.’’ It breathed.

‘’Go away.’’ He mumbled, flipping around with his back to his horse, hand still placed on his sword.

‘’Hfffffffffffffffffggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh.’’

‘’No.’’

‘’Fuck you Malik have you lost your mind?’’