Assassin's Creed: Firewall

Damsel in Distress Seeking White Knight

The girls led the way to the kitchen, chatting happily among each other. Emma was thankful that their attention had diverted away from her and onto other business, particularly as more ladies joined them on their trek, attracted by the sound of their laughter. Intrigued looks and a few questions were thrown her way, but a brief explanation that she was a guest but not to become one of them was enough to satisfy their curiosity. For now. It was a respite she wasn't about to look in the proverbial mouth.

The conversations were hardly hampered when they made it to the kitchen and collected their meals. Small portions to keep their slim physiques. It wasn't salted jerky, so Emma was satisfied. The more she listened, the more she could pick out of the talk around her. Not the subject, but the languages. She was surprised at the variety. Masyaf did not appear to spare an expense when it came to taking care of its assassin's...exotic desires.

The dark-haired beauty at her side had to be of Indian descent, if not directly from the country itself. Her English was crisp and clear and she jumped into surrounding conversations with an ease that spoke of an extensive education. High born? Or were these ladies simply educated so well for their job?

Talk went back and forth, occasionally dragging Emma into it with questions about the assassin she was suddenly the expert on. Apparently her arrival with him was the hottest gossip in the castle, eclipsed only by the rumors of why. Based on what the ladies were asking, no rumor scraped even close to the truth. He'd gotten her pregnant. No, he'd married her, no they came from Jerusalem so she must be Malik's wife sent here for safety. She was a Templar spy he'd captured. She was an Assassin spy bringing intel back to the Master. There was no limit it seemed to the number of possibilities the castle had come up with. The most popular, of course, was that she was a spy of some sort or Altair's secret lover he was finally bringing home. The truth was less absurd than the latter.

To their credit, they did not pry despite her less than revealing answers to their questions. They seemed to accept the little she offered as a full explanation. These women knew the importance of keeping secrets secret; at least, the ones that were required to remain unknown. They strove to know everything knowable about every assassin they served, and shared it liberally with each other. Gossip mainly; who had new scars, or who had what kink, who was safe to fall asleep next to, who wasn't. Some assassins apparently had favorites, others were not so choosy. Almost none were safe to wake from sleep, no matter how far away his weapons were. Always let sleeping soldiers lie.

Emma learned that the Indian beauty beside her was Ishana and she'd worked in this castle going on five years. Once brought in, they never left. Oh they were free to leave the service once they got older, but they could not leave Masyaf village for other work. Emma thought it a form of imprisonment, but Ishana assured her it was quite the opposite. Most places revolved their girls every few years in order to keep 'fresh stock' for their customers. Once pushed out of an establishment, they often had to move to a new city in order to get work, in which they would only have it for a few years. Having a permanent home was well worth the promise to live out their days in the village below. It was a protection for the assassins as much as it was for the women. They could share no secrets of the organization and they were protected from the enemy attempting to force information from them.

At least, Ishana had shared with a secretive smile, despite the violent nature of their lives, most of the assassins were rather gentle lovers. They were well cared for here, and they considered it a privilege to have been selected for service.

Emma couldn't help but shake her head in mild disbelief. It wasn't illegal here, but somehow she doubted these women had chosen this profession out of a desire to work in such a way. 'Most' were gentle here, but she'd seen too many times what damage a 'few' bad ones could do. It burned that there was nothing she could do. No way to help those here or the hundreds being trained to take their place.