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

Ch. 30: Vengeful Conscious

Altaïr’s POV



Cynthia’s bloodstained body soon became limp and unmoving in my arms. Her face turned a complete pale, almost as if snow fallen upon her features. Her life had slipped away from her, never able to return to this life ever again. Silence seemed to slowly rise over me, despite the fighting that continued. The clashing of metal against metal, the sounds metal against flesh followed by cries and howls of pain and anguish, vanished like the wind. I quietly sat there on the ground, holding onto her cold and lifeless body in my arms, watching her peaceful, yet pale stricken features. I wanted all of this to be a dream, some kind of nightmare. Unfortunately, I could not shut my eyes and find myself awake in Masyaf, holding her close to me and knowing she was safe within the walls of the Assassin stronghold. I wanted to tell myself that she was fine, that she would live on, but it would not come true. Cynthia was gone for good, and there was nothing I could do to save her. I had failed to protect her like I promised, keep her safe from harm.

“C...Cynthia?” Alexandra asked timidly as she slowly walked over and knelt in front of Cynthia and I. No response came from the pale woman, yet the Hungarian woman did not want to believe what was happening. “Cynthia, t-this is not funny. Not at all. Wake up!”

I slowly looked at her sympathetically, only to feel a quick surge of surprise and sadness fill my body. It was the first time I had ever seen Alexandra Benedek, a strong independent Hungarian woman who always stood up for herself and others...with tears streaming down her lightly tanned cheeks.

“P-please, Cynthia,” Ada muttered, following suit and kneeling next to her near sobbing comrade. “Just wake up and we can...we can leave! We can get out of here!”

No response arose from the lifeless body of Cynthia Richard, causing Ada to turn away, taking in a deep breath to prevent herself from crying further.

“No man or woman would be cruel enough to trick others by feigning something as dreadful as death,” Malik spoke up, looking down upon the group. “She would not be one to do such a thing, but then again I do not know.”

“Don’t say that, Malik!” Alexandra shouted, standing up and turning to look at him. “This is only a cruel joke that she is playing on us! She is just...just pretending!” She looked back at me. “Isn’t she, Altaïr? Isn’t she?!”

I stared at her for a long moment, unsure as to what I should say in response to make her feel better. Nothing would make her feel better, I knew that much, and I feared I would say something that would upset her. The still of the silence made more tears stream down her cheeks as she stared at me. Realization had finally hit her despite her constant denial of it all. After another moment, she looked back at Malik, who was unable to look her in the eye and chose to look away from her. When no one spoke up, Alexandra slowly collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands, sobbing as if she lost the most important thing in the world. In a way, she did. She lost one of her friends, the one person she called family. I may not have known much about the Hungarian woman myself, but from what I hear from Cynthia, Alexandra was like family to her. She, along with Ada and Diana - now that she had been forgiven after the things Cynthia had said - were like her family, and vice versa. Now, all of that was gone, gone like seasons.

“I am...I’m sorry, Cynthia...” I muttered, pulling her even closer to my body.

It was at that point that rage slowly began to build up inside of me. A sense of seeking out revenge began to cloud my mind as my eyes narrowed angrily. I knew exactly who was at fault for her demise. I knew exactly who to blame for this crime, and I knew exactly what to do in order to exact revenge. Looking over at Ada, I grabbed her attention by reluctantly handing over Cynthia’s limp body to her. She slowly looked at me with swollen red eyes, wondering what it was that I was thinking, but said nothing as she slowly took the body away from me. It was almost as if she had an idea of what it was, but was unsure I motioned for her to get her out of here. By now, Alexandra and Malik were watching me as I got to my feet, sword in hand, the sounds of the brawl ceasing as the Assassins became victorious against the Templars once again returned.

“Go with Ada,” I commanded the two standing before me. “Get Cynthia out of here immediately.”

“No, Altaïr,” Alexandra spoke, anger clear in her voice. “I am staying here. I am not going to keep running. I am done with running away like some coward.” Her eyes hardened. “Cynthia will not die in vain, and I will be the one to make sure of that.”

I stared at her for a long moment, yet before I could say anything as a retort, a voice that I did not want to hear spoke up.

“I...I don’t believe this...” My head slowly turned to the still hooded Abel, whose expression appeared...horrified? “W-what have I done...?”

“You...have committed an unforgivable crime, Abel,” I hissed, gripping my blade tightly in my hand. “One that will cost you your life.”

“W-wait, Altaïr! Just a minute!” He exclaimed, taking a few steps back. “You must understand! I do not know what came over me!”

“You lie, Abel!” Alexandra shouted. “You knew exactly what you were doing the moment it happened! You stabbed and killed your own wife, my friend, my sister! You murdered Cynthia!”

Abel shook his head frantically as I slowly stalked toward him as if he were prey, while he took a step away from me.

“Please! I-I did not mean to do it! I don’t know what came over me! Please, spare me!”

“When you know death is standing right before your eyes, you cower with fear.” I growled. “I should have known you were nothing but a gutless mouse.”

No words escaped his lips at those words, yet the fear that slowly continued to plague his mind told him that he wanted to live longer, that he needed to live longer. Before anyone had a chance to move or react, Abel was already sprinting away from his fate, his black robes flowing behind him. I was mere seconds from chasing him down and ending him, but I was stopped by Alexandra’s hand taking hold of my shoulder.

“Wait, Altaïr,” she said as I looked at her with confusion and wonder. “I have an idea on how to stop him.” She, then, turned to look at Malik. “Malik, gather the other Assassins and form a blockade at all of the gates leading out of Jerusalem. Abel will not get far knowing there is no escape.” She looked down at Ada. “Ada, take Cynthia’s body out of here and somewhere safe. A doctor most likely, but somewhere safe and out of harms way. I do not want to risk getting her...damaged.”

They both nodded once before doing exactly what they were told to do; Malik approached a few of the Assassins nearby and spoke with them before splitting up in their own designated directions, while Ada picked up Cynthia’s still lifeless body and took off. Once that was over and done with, Alexandra returned her attention back to me, her gaze hard yet determined.

“Altaïr, you will be going after Abel,” she told me hesitantly, as if she wanted it to be someone else, but became determined once more. “He may be fast on his feet, but I believe you and the other Assassins are much faster.” Her gaze hardened a bit. “Make sure he suffers for what he has done to us. What he has done to you.”

I nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder before speaking.

“Do not worry, Alexandra. I will exact revenge against him. That is a promise I do not intend to break.”

She smiled, knowing that I spoke the truth.

“I will be expecting your return and Abel’s head when this is all over,” she told me before turning around and helping Malik gather the Assassins needed before heading off into the city to their designated places. I watched her leave the scene with a bit of a smile on my face. She was going to make a great leader someday, especially for the Assassins.

Before I knew it, I found myself leaping from building to building, scanning the streets and searching for the fleeing form of the coward Abel. Determination and the vow of vengeance rapidly coursed through my veins with every step and every leap I took toward his presumed direction. The civilians appeared fearful about what was happening, but appeared unsure if running would do much of anything. However, my focus was not on them at the moment. I had to find Abel soon before he made his escape from the city. There was no way that I was going to allow him to escape knowing that Cynthia’s death was in vain because of it. His life would end by my blade, and her death would be avenged, no matter what the cost. I would kill him no matter what it took. Even if I had to go to the ends of the world to finish him off, I would do so in a heartbeat. No man, no coward, was going to live with taking away the life of an innocent human being and survive to tell the tale. I would do whatever it takes to kill him, even if it meant joining Cynthia in the next life.

As I leapt onto the next building with as much grace as an eagle, I immediately took notice to the very man making a sharp, unbalanced turn around the corner, nearly tripping and falling to the ground as he made his way toward the main gates of Jerusalem. It was in the direction in which the blockade that Alexandra had planned. Eyes narrowing slightly, I quickly began trailing him, my legs never giving out for even a mere second to breathe. Fortunately, Abel had not taken a chance to look up to spot my fast approaching form running along the rooftops. He was much too focused on fleeing for his life and escaping the city instead of worrying about the person who planned to take his life. Thankfully, I knew he was heading straight into a trap. There was no way he would be able to escape from the city with the blockade set up. With the Assassins standing in his path, he will have nowhere else to go and will be trapped like a thief in the market. It would be there that I would easily end his life.

As I had expected, I watched him abruptly slide to a halt as he realized that the gates were, indeed, successfully blocked. The Assassins were blocking every means of escape. Alexandra stood out front, standing tall with a blade in hand much like a leader would, and glowered at Abel with a gaze so hardened it could break glass if it was able to. Malik stood next to her, ready to fight if needed. Abel, as fearful as he was, was cornered; his only way out was blocked and there was no place to run. While he was distracted, I took the opportunity to leap off the building, landing directly in the center of the street and behind his cowering form. He quickly turned around and was just about to make a run for it in my direction, but noticed me quickly and turned pale at the sight. My eyes glowered as I slowly approached him once more, unsheathing my blade.

“There is nowhere for you to run, Abel,” I told him. “All of the exits have been blockaded with Assassins.”

He took a step back; fear and cowardice clear on his face.

“Just listen to me, Assassin,” he pleaded. “For just a few minutes, give me a chance to speak!”

“Why should I listen to you, a pathetic mouse who flees for his life?” I questioned. “You forced Diana to tell you the whereabouts of her friends, making her look like the traitor in the situation, by raping her.” I heard Alexandra gasp with shock, but went on, “You lied to all of the people in Jerusalem - no, the Kingdom - that you were soon to watch over, treating them like pawns in your game behind their backs. And worst of all,” My eyes glowered at him from under my hood, “you murdered Cynthia, your wife, an innocent person. And for what? To deny her the peace she longed for? Or because you could not live with the fact that she never loved you?”

“I...I don’t know!” He retorted hesitantly. “She never belonged to you, Assassin! She was too innocent to be with the likes of you!”

I raised an eyebrow at him before questioning.

“Too innocent?” Cynthia was innocent, but not as innocent as Abel was making her out to be. Who or what was he talking about?

“Yes! Clarice was too innocent to be tainted by your filthy hands. To make sure she was truly happy, I sent her to the Lord instead!”

I blinked once as I stopped in my tracks, confusion clear on my hidden features. His face, suddenly, turned even paler than before at his words. The name that escaped his lips was nowhere near Cynthia’s name, but the name of another woman: Clarice. Where had he heard that name before? Then, it suddenly came back to me all at once. It was Cynthia who had brought up that very name before her passing! Apparently, the same woman named Clarice was the reason behind Abel’s supposed pain. Clarice was the reason why the man standing before me did all of the things he did, just as Cynthia proposed; to hide the pain that was inflicted upon him. However, as much as that woman was to blame, there was nothing I could do to put an end to her. She did not tell him to do everything he did. He did it all on his own, and it was he who had to suffer the consequences, not her.

“I-I mean Cynthia! I meant to say Cynthia!” Abel shouted, his hands on the sides of his head. “Forget I ever mentioned her name!”

I looked over his shoulder to find Alexandra slowly making her way toward the man, her steps slow but her anger eminent.

“The woman named Clarice,” she spoke up, approaching the still cowering form of Abel. “Cynthia mentioned her name before she died, saying she was the reason for ‘your pain.’” She sneered at the thought, but went on. “Who is she, and why is she so important?”

“She is nothing! She is someone you should never know nor will you ever meet her!” He shouted frantically, turning to look at her as she stopped abruptly. “She has nothing to do with this! Just forget I even brought her name up!”

“Forget?” She questioned, disbelief clear in her voice.

“Why would we forget the name,” I spoke up, “of the woman who caused you to do all of this? Made you bring all of these problems to the surface?”

He looked back at me, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

“What?”

“As Alexandra had stated,” I started as I started to approach him once again, “Cynthia said that a woman named Clarice was the reason behind your recent actions, as if she were some puppet master controlling your every move.”

“Shut your mouth, Assassin!” He snapped, anger now clear in his face. “She did not do anything to me at all! She has never controlled me!”

“I may not know who she is,” said Alexandra, “but from what I heard, she is the reason you are like this, so greedy and pompous.”

“Lies! All lies!” This time, he had also pulled out his sword and pointed it at me. “Stop bringing her into this! She has nothing to do with this!”

My eyes narrowed slightly.

“She does if it has given you enough of a motive to rape Diana and kill your own wife.”

“ENOUGH!” He shouted, loud enough for it to echo. I remained silent as his eyes turned into daggers toward me. “You will pay for saying such...such fraudulence, Assassin. I will kill you where you stand and finish you once and for all! Something that I should have done weeks ago when I had you in my grasp.”

As he spoke out of anger, I slowly looked over at Alexandra, who held her sword a bit higher and tighter, as if she were preparing to fight the man standing before her. After a moment, her vengeful gaze soon met calm ones. As a bit of a warning, I silently told her to stand her ground for this fight and to let me handle him. When she realized this, her brown hues widened slightly with disbelief for a moment or two, wondering why I was telling her all of this. My gaze told her that this was just as much of my fight as it was my own, and that I could not risk getting Alexandra killed by Abel as well. It would result in leaving Ada by herself in the world to fend for herself. It was something I could not allow, and I told her all of that with a simple gaze. After a long moment, she slowly lowered her head a bit, glaring at the ground, but stood her ground nonetheless. To be sure, I watched her take several steps back from Abel before nodding in my direction. She had let me know that Abel was mine for the killing, and that she would not interfere no matter how badly she wanted to do so.

When I was sure that she would stand her ground, I motioned for her to join the other Assassins before slowly looking back at Abel, whose eyes could kill if given the ability. I returned the hardened glare, gripping my blade even tighter than before.

“It is your blood that will be spilled today, Abel, not mine.” I spoke in a bland, yet hard tone of voice. “You will never see the light of a new day when I am through with you.”

He chuckled menacingly and muttered, “We shall see about that...Altaïr.”