Embracing The Light (Arno Dorian x OC), an Assassin's Creed Fanfiction

Chapter 0 : First Time

Friday, 17th of October 1794

Arno was walking down the streets of Le Ventre de Paris as the sun was setting again. Winter was near, the days were starting to get shorter. The night was showing up earlier each day, and with it, Arno's darkest thoughts. So he had to numb himself, just like he did every single night since Élise was gone.
As each day seemed more and more like the day that preceded it, Arno lost more and more all sense of time and reality. He was not just sad, he was devastated. He did not just feel empty, he felt like a black hole. He had no one left, no friends, no family, and getting drunk was the only thing wherein he could find comfort.
The young man finally slowed down as he reached the entrance of a tavern that was unfamiliar to him. Actually, he never usually came into this neighborhood of Paris. Inside, many people were talking loudly and laughing while they were drinking down huge pints of various beverages in the blink of an eye.
Arno finally spotted an unoccupied table at a corner of the room and led towards it to take a seat. As he kept both his elbows on the table and his head low, he glanced around him. There was not even a single man sitting alone, everyone was with at least a friend. Arno gathered that this place was more for people who wanted to have a good time than for lonely souls. He suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if he did not belong to this place. But before he had the chance to leave, a woman in her middle 20's appeared next to him.
"Bonsoir Monsieur (Good evening sir), what can I get you ?" she asked with enthusiasm as her pink lips curved into a warm little smile. Arno raised his gaze quickly to look at her. The young brunette had a clear skin which made her big dark eyes come out even more. It seemed like she was not eating well, since she was rather small and skinny, but she held her plate full of empty glasses with a certain grace as she kept her back naturally straight.
After a few seconds of hesitation about whether he should just leave or stay, Arno made a decision.
"Red wine, s'il vous plaît (Please)." he answered as he thought it would be too late to go back now.
"Red wine." the barmaid repeated as she nodded before she turned her back and returned to the bar counter. The young man did not take his gaze away from her as she walked and carefully put the dirty glasses on the counter. It was like all of her moves were calculated, even the way she grabbed the bottle of red wine on the shelf and when she carefully circumvented the other bartender, a robust man in his mid 50's, it looked like she was dancing.
When she started to lead back to his table, Arno decided to quickly look away, realizing how awkward the situation seemed. However, the woman did not look like she saw him observing her and focused on her task. She put an empty glass on the table and poured the red wine down with a certain automatism, like she had been doing this since she was born. After she placed the bottle next to the glass, she glanced at the young man with the same smile on her face.
"Voilà !" she said as she walked away.
Arno decided to concentrate on his drink. As he took a first sip, he was surprised by how good it tasted. Usually the wine he drank was far from being exceptional and he never minded as he was not drinking for pleasure. But he thought it was still a good thing to feel something lightly positive for once.
The young man did not wait to drink the rest of the glass in one go. In a few minutes, the entire bottle was already empty. Arno started to feel slightly dizzy, so he shook his head to wake himself. He saw the barmaid walk past him.
"Excusez-moi (Excuse me)." he said, which made her spin around to face him. "Can I have another bottle please ?" he asked.
When the young woman noticed the empty bottle on the table, her mouth opened, as she could not hide the surprise she felt when she saw how fast the young man drank all the beverage. But her polite smile quickly reappeared and she nodded at him before she went back to the counter. A few seconds later, she arrived with a new bottle that she carefully put on the table and took the empty one with her. Arno did not wait any longer to grab the bottle and drink a few sips as his gaze got lost somewhere in front of him.

Hours later

Almost all of the customers left the tavern and Rosalie almost finished washing all the cups and glasses as the other bartender, Louis, was counting the amount of money that they had earned during the entire day.
"We've done lots of benefits today. I love fridays !" he declared with joy as the young woman chuckled. But then, he noticed an unconscious man lying on his table, his head resting on his right arm.
"Who's this ?" the bartender asked. Rosalie then turned her gaze and, when she understood who he was talking about, she could not hide a smile.
"He's drunk six bottles of red wine. It's a miracle that he's not dead yet." she replied.
"Six bottles ?! Mon Dieu (My God) !" he shouted with shock.
"Oui." she sighed. A sad look appeared on her face as she watched the stranger, wondering what he possibly could have lived to end up this way.
"Well, it's getting late. I'm going to wake him." Louis announced but the barmaid stopped him.
"I will. I'm done with the dishes anyway." Rosalie answered as she walked towards the customer. When she was close enough, she gently shook his shoulder to wake him. The man slowly raised his head and looked around as he tried to open his eyes properly.
"Monsieur, we're going to close the tavern." she softly said. Her voice made him turn his gaze to her, then he remembered where he was. A grin came out of his mouth as he felt the beginning of a headache. Arno put a hand in his pocket and took out a few coins that he let on the table before he got on his feet. But after taking a few steps, he started to lose his balance and leaned his hands on another table. The barmaid rushed next to him and slowly took him by his left arm to help him out.
"Here." she whispered. "Let me help you."
Arno let himself be guided by the young woman as he had no force to fight back.
"Is your home too far from here?" she asked. The young man just shook his head, focusing on putting one foot in front of another. When they had finally reached the outside, the barmaid gently let go of him. Arno did not care to thank the young woman before he left. Rosalie watched him disappear in the cold night and returned inside the tavern.