The Target of His Heart (An Assassin's Creed Fanfic)

Ch. 6: Of High Expectations and Hidden Secrets

The Next Day...



May 9, 1191



A wide, childlike grin was plastered against my light tanned cheeks as I aimlessly wandered the streets of Jerusalem just like I had mere days ago, glancing at the buildings above my head as if I were looking for something. Two guards stood nearby in order to keep a close eye on me. According to Abel, it was just in case I would make any attempts at running away again. However, what was the point of doing so when 1) there was no plan to follow, and 2) there was actually something worth looking forward to. That something, oddly enough, happened to be Altaïr. Despite the impossibility of ever seeing him again, I anticipated his arrival once again. Not tonight, of course, as he had made plans to return to his home before coming back. Still, I decided to allow time to take care of things and let it run its course. There was no point in becoming impatient for his return. And besides, it was just as that all saying goes: “All good things come to those who wait.” The quote made me purse my lips; was waiting for an Assassin to return a good thing?

On another, much happier and pleasing note, I had heard rumors from the guards about Abel. They claimed he was going to be extremely busy all day long re-planning everything for our postponed wedding, therefore he would not be around and I was not going to see him for a while. At those words, I mentally leapt for joy, knowing that my day was slowly starting to get better. I prayed nothing would ever interrupt it, and that every day could be just like this. The people in the streets had noticed my happy upbeat mood, each one of them either giving me strange looks or smiling sweetly. Well, how would you feel if you knew were meeting someone interesting was going to come through your window just to see you added with the fact you would not see your undesirable fiancé for a long period of time? Happy, to say the least. At least, I thought so anyway.

Turning a corner, I continued on my way with walking through the city, placing my hands behind my back absentmindedly and glancing at the assortment of items on sale in the merchant stores. The guards who were watching me eyed me curiously, wondering if I was up to something they did not know about, yet I chose to ignore them for the time being. They may have been there to keep watch over me so I would not run away – unfortunately thanks to Abel – but there was no way I was going to allow them to keep me from having a good day. After taking a few steps on the new street, I looked forward and immediately spotted Ada and Alexandra up ahead, patrolling as they said they were going to do yesterday. My smile growing, my day became even better than before. Seeing my friends had always made my days a little less hectic and a little more interesting, and seeing how my day was already perfect, why not throw them into the mix as well? Hastily, I ran over to them, my smile growing bigger. The guards had a hard time keeping up with me, but I hoped that they were able to keep an eye on me and not assume I was trying to run away.

“Hello, my friends!” I called out as I approached them. “How are you on this beautiful day?”

They turned their heads to look at me, each giving me a friendly smile.

“Fine,” Alexandra responded. “A little bored and tired, though, since there is not much is going on in the streets today. Especially after yesterday's events.”

“That is quite a shame,” I sighed, placing my arms over their shoulders, smiling warmly. “But cheer up! Both of you. You should not let a beautiful day like today go to waste!”

Ada raised an eyebrow in confusion in my direction.

“What's the matter with you, Cynthia?” She asked with a confused tone. “You seem a lot more, eh, perky today than yesterday.”

I sighed with content and released them, walking forward a bit before turning to look at them. I took notice to the guards keeping their distance from me, probably not to eavesdrop so much.

I smirked mischievously.

“Oh, nothing really,” I spoke. “Just enjoying the wonderful weather today is all. It is much more...enticingly peaceful than the others.”

“But yesterday, you were upset about the wedding again,” Ada pointed out. “You cannot suddenly become happy, especially after one day.”

“I know, I know,” I shrugged, “but I am trying not to worry so much about all of that. Besides, Abel will be busy with the wedding for a few days anyway, so I will not have to worry about him as much I thought.”

“That sounds great...but I do not think that is all,” Alexandra spoke, crossing her arms over her chest. Then, she lowered her voice in case anyone tried to listen in to what she was trying to say, “This does not have anything to do with that Assassin, does it?”

I rolled my eyes at her words.

“He has a name, you know,” I told her, “and it is Altaïr.”

Ada gasped in shock and exclaimed in a low tone, “It does involve the Assassin!” I glared at her lightly. “I mean Altaïr…”

Shaking my head, I turned back around and placed my arms behind my back once again before saying, “He came to see me last night.”

“He what?” Ada exclaimed in a low voice, but it still held the surprise and shock at the same time. Alexandra said nothing, only stared at me with a shocked expression.

“I know, I know. I was surprised to see him, too,” I explained.

Alexandra moved closer to me, becoming serious once again.

“What did he want?” She hissed, now speaking in a low, serious voice. “I hope he was not there to-”

“He was not there to kill me, oddly enough,” I reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “He claimed he could not kill me despite being ordered by his Master to do so.”

“Why is that?” Ada questioned. A small smile graced my lips as I recalled the words Altaïr spoke to me last night.

“He claimed I was much too innocent to kill and he was not allowed to kill the innocent,” I explained. “That was it.”

Ada groaned with annoyance as we continued to wander the streets, all while keeping an eye out for anything suspicious in the streets.

“That was it?” She asked. “That was all he wanted to say?”

My eyes shifted a bit, thanking God that they were unable to see my face.

“Yes,” was all I said before leaving it at that, not wanting to go further into the conversation.

I did not want to tell them everything about what was going on, meaning I did not want to tell them that the offer to kill me was still presented. Also, I did not want them assuming there was something going on between us. Although it was nothing big or serious going on at all, somewhere deep down in the back of my mind I could tell it was slowly turning into something, something I could not control on my own. I could trust the two women that walked with me with my entire life, but I did not want to be in Jerusalem to tell them everything. Someone nearby – a dedicated civilian or a loyal guard – might hear us and inform Abel about it. That was something I truly did not want to happen – let him know that an Assassin made plans to see me – especially after his little talk with me about the attempted escape. I had to keep quiet about it, just until we got out of Jerusalem and got as far away from here as we could. Only then would I feel safe enough to let them know everything that had happened and what was to come in the future ahead of us. That is, if there was a future for the four of us, let alone Altaïr and I There was a huge possibility that something, anything, could happen, but I doubted it. I was getting married to Abel. Even though I desperately wanted to get away from this wedding, he was my fiancé. Then again, I was planning on making an escape from here soon. I suppose, I thought, chewing on the inside of my cheek, that maybe something could happen between us. But...I don't know for sure.

As the three of us walked through a few crowds of people, I looked forward, trying to find something worth looking at, before immediately noticing the one single man, one that I did not expect to see for days at a time, turn a corner. He immediately spotted the three of us walking, sending me one of his fake smiles. I slowly started to glare at him, as did Ada and Alexandra, as he slowly made his way over to us.

“Oh, great.” I muttered. “What is he doing here?”

“I thought you said he was not going to be around for the next few days,” questioned Alexandra, nudging me lightly.

I shrugged.

“That’s what I heard,” I muttered a response just as Abel approached us.

“Hello, Cynthia, my love!” he said, embracing me which caused me to shrink back in disgust. “Fancy meeting you here, is it not, my dear!”

“What are you doing out here, Abel?” I spoke as he released me from his embrace, but kept one arm draped over my shoulders. “I thought you were going to be busy re-planning the wedding for next month and would not be around for a few days?”

“I decided to come see you before I got to working on that,” he explained. “I did not want my beloved Cynthia to worry about me so much while I am away.” I growled and looked away from him. He simply chuckled. “You look so adorable when you’re angry,” he commented, thought I could hear the teasing in his voice.

I shrugged my shoulders harshly and took a step back from him.

“Come around more often,” I snapped. “You’ll be able to see it a lot more!”

Once again, he chuckled, patting my head lightly.

“So cute, but unfortunately it will be as you said. I’ll be busy for the next few days and will be unable to do so.” He, then, noticed Ada and Alexandra standing behind me, noticing the glares they were giving to him. “Ah! Ada, Alexandra! I did not see you two there!” He spoke with playful innocence.

“Sure. We’ are simply other people walking the streets to you,” Alexandra retorted, growling a bit. “How...touching...”

“Forgive me, dear Alexandra,” He looked at me before looking at her, “but it is hard to see others when I look into the eyes of my gorgeous soon-be-wife.” A pause as realization struck him. “Ah, that reminds me!” He looked back at me. “I was going to ask you something, Cynthia. Are you excited about our unexpected change of plans for the wedding? That was another reason why I came out here looking for you as well.”

I huffed.

“Well, you should not have wasted your time doing that,” I told him. “Because I have been wanting to tell you that I want the wedding called off. Now.”

He laughed.

“I cannot stop it, Cynthia,” he said. “I told you before, your father has the authority to stop it not me.”

“That is not true!” I snapped at him before calming myself. “You have every right to put a stop to this, but you don't because you enjoy seeing me suffer! Instead of marrying you, I would rather feed myself to lions! I would jump into a river and drown myself to escape this living nightmare!” A pause as I lowered my head a bit and allowed my eyes to darken slightly. “I would rather be killed by an Assassin than to ever be with you.”
I sensed Ada’s and Alexandra’s gazes fall onto me at the last words.

“Those are such horrible things to say,” said Abel, sounding upset. “It is unbecoming of a beauty such as yourself to say such words.”

I growled and walked passed him, harshly brushing past him.

“I wish any of those things could happen to me so I could avoid this marriage once and for all!” I shouted back to him as I walked away from him, Ada and Alexandra quickly following close behind me and leaving Abel to fake his confusion as usual. Fortunately, not many people had noticed the ordeal and went on with their busy day, something I was rather fortunate about.

“You...you were not serious about all those things you said...about dying, were you, Cynthia?” Ada questioned timidly, her voice filled with worry.

A sigh escaped my lips as I turned my head to her, giving her a reassuring smile. However, I said nothing in response, which clearly worried Ada even further.

“Of course she would not, Ada. Are you joking?” Alexandra spoke. “She is not stupid enough to be so accepting of death. She wants to live long and enjoy life to the fullest!”
I looked forward and lowered my head slightly, just enough so the others would not notice it at all.

That is what you think... I thought to myself as we continued our trek around the city in silence.



Later On...



I slumped onto my cool bed with a huff, while Ada and Alexandra simply stood there watching me, Ada leaning near the balcony door and Alexandra sitting in her usual chair near my dresser. I was glaring at the ceiling with all the hate for Abel that I could muster for a long moment, before shooting up in bed with an angry look on my face, growling in the process.

“God, I hate that man.” I groaned. “I hope he suffers in Hell for all eternity!”

“I know,” Ada agreed. “He thinks he can woo the crowd with his fake...well, everything. But he cannot fool us, no matter how hard he tries!”

Alexandra placed her forehead on her forearms, huffing a bit.

“I wish I could just...throw him in a pit of fire, Cynthia,” Alexandra growled. “Trust me. We know how you feel.”

I glanced at her.

“And I would gladly join you,” said Ada, nodding in the raven haired Templar’s direction.

I nodded my head in agreement and listened to the other things that they could think of, like taking him to docks, tying him to a rock, and throwing him into the water. It was Alexandra's plan, one that was gruesome to the very finest point. Then, after a few minutes of their planning, it slowly grew quiet between the three of us. We all looked around the room, thinking of what to say to each other in order to change the subject. During the silence, I suddenly began thinking of Diana. I still had yet to tell her about my last night's meeting with Altaïr and his expected arrival. Unfortunately, I feared it would be difficult for her to take, seeing as I had not killed the man when I had the chance for the second time. Since she, also, had a death wish for the Assassin, it was difficult to decide whether or not telling her would be one of the greatest ideas in the world. Her reaction of Altaïr coming to visit me in the middle of the night would not be one of the best things that I would see in this lifetime. She would most likely...lose it, for lack of a better term, and question why I was seeing a “killer” behind everyone’s back. That, or she would just deal with it and be all right with it, as Ada and Alexandra had. It was a long shot, since she was accidentally injured by said Assassin, but it was a possibility that such a thing could happen. A sigh escaped my lips. It was all too confusing to figure out on my own.

“Hey, Cynthia,” said Ada, breaking the long silence between the three of us. I glanced at her, noticing the worried expression she had on her face. “How is...how is Diana going to take the news about Altaïr seeing you?”

My eyes widened slightly, shocked to know she had the same idea in her head as I did, before looking away and shrugging.

“You know, I was thinking that myself,” I told her, “and frankly, I don’t know how she would react.”

“I say we tell her nothing,” Alexandra suggested, earning glances from me and Ada.

“But we cannot keep it a secret from her,” said Ada. “She’s our best friend.”

Alexandra sighed.

“I understand that,” she started, “but how would you feel if your friend was still seeing the Assassin that nearly killed you?” Silence was her response. “Exactly.”

Ada looked away for a moment before looking back at Alexandra.

“Yes, but we cannot keep it from her forever, you know.”

Alexandra placed her chin on her forearms.

“Then we tell her when we get to Damascus,” she suggested. “It would be best if we did it there than here, since we will be out of here and no one will go telling Abel about it.”

I looked away from her.

“Yes…I guess that is a good idea,” I muttered.

Alexandra nodded.

“All right. It’s set,” she said. “We tell no one, including Diana, about this until the time comes.”

“Right,” Ada said with a determined look on her face.

I slowly lowered my head slightly and sighed, as if I was feeling tired despite not feeling that way. A strange feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that keeping this vital information from her for a while would be best, but then again it was the worst idea we ever came up with in...well, ever. Diana always had the habit of over-reacting with anything of extreme importance – which happened to be the case with my situation with Altaïr. Sometimes, if we did not tell her for a little while and it was not all that important, she would over-react for a moment, wonder why we did not say anything, but eventually just accept it. However, knowing that Altaïr had visited me and was expecting to come back in the middle of the night would cause her to overreact to the highest degree. She may not take it the way we would like her to react to it. I assumed keeping it from her would be best, but in the end, I feared it would ultimately turn for the worst once she found out.

Alexandra noticed my sullen form, got up from her chair, walked over to me and sat next to me on my bed, placing a hand on my back and rubbing it.

“Do not worry, Cynthia,” she reassured me. “We will not tell anyone about this. You can trust us, and you know it.”

I smiled lightly at her words.

“Thank you. I know I could trust you both.” I bit my lower lip lightly. “I do trust Diana with my life, but she might have a heart attack for this one. She was injured by him, after all.”

Alexandra pat my back.

“That is why we have to keep it a secret from her for now,” she said. “That way, it will not be as bad...I hope.”

I nodded.

“Alright,” I said. “Not a word to anyone, got it?”

“Our lips are sealed,” Ada said, placing a finger to her lips. I smiled warmly at her while Alexandra shook her head at the brown haired woman.

It felt good to know there were people in this world that I could trust with my life and I could tell anything to, no matter how pointless or important it was to me. That was what having best friends was all about. They could be there for me and help out. They could pick me up off the ground and be the support I need to get through the hard times in life. A thought soon crossed my mind as I looked forward, staring outside at the building across from me. Maybe, I thought, I could gain Altaïr’s trust next, seeing as we share the same views. It would probably be awhile before I could actually gain the trust of an enemy, but it was worth a shot. Since he would not kill me because of my innocence, maybe I could at least earn his trust and bring us...closer to one another. He strongly agreed with the things I said about Abel and would probably be willing to help me out if need be. I pursed my lips in thought as I placed my elbow on my knee and my chin on my hand, supporting it. Maybe, I thought,just maybe I could gain that trust for myself. That way, he, too, could be an extra support in my life.