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

Chapter 1 : Savior

The Next Evening

Arno struggled the entire day to stand on both of his feet because of the painful hangover from which he was suffering. And yet, here he was, down in the streets, ready to drink once again. This was exactly how every single day of his passed : getting drunk at night and staying at home the next day, then getting drunk again and so on. Sometimes, he even could get into a fight with another customer, or the owner of the tavern himself due to unpaid bills. So he tried not to go to the same tavern twice. But this time, he surprised himself by leading towards the same tavern as yesterday.
He could hear the noises coming from inside even though he was one street away from it. Outside, there were no traces of the sunlight left but some people were still out talking and walking together. When Arno finally reached the tavern, he was surprised to see that there were even more people than last evening. He could not find any empty table and struggled to shove through the crowd.
"Maybe I should go somewhere else..." he murmured to himself. But before he could do so, someone behind him spoke.
"Welcome back, Monsieur !" she said. When he turned back, he saw the young barmaid from yesterday smiling politely at him, holding her empty plate with her left hand. "Are you looking for an available table ?"
After a short moment of hesitation, Arno nodded at her and the young woman started to observe her surroundings, standing on her tiptoes to look at the back.
"Follow me." she then told to the young man before she led towards the same table where Arno sat the day before. When she reached it, she grabbed the empty bottles that the previous customers left and her valid hand reached a rag that was inside her apron's pocket to clean the table. Arno took a sit next to her and glanced around.
"I hope your head did not hurt too much this morning." she chuckled and Arno ignored her comment.
"Is there always this many people in here ?" the young man asked.
"During Friday evenings and Saturdays, oui." she responded. "But if you come back tomorrow, you'll notice that it usually is very calm." The barmaid then put her rag back into her pocket. "Now, what can I get you ?" she asked.
"Red wine, s'il vous plaît (Please)." Arno answered automatically.
The young woman nodded with a smile and the man lost her from his sight as she walked past the crowd that was standing around. As soon as she grabbed a bottle of wine and opened it, Rosalie backed towards the young man's table, but before she could reach it, she felt a hand grabbing her arm.
"Bonsoir, ma jolie (Good evening, beautiful)." the man called her. The woman gazed at him with fear : a large bald man in his 30's with his two companions who stood like two skeletons next to their chief. She started to feel stressed and looked for Louis but she was incapable of seeing anything.
"Let go of me." she coldly told him, trying to escape his grip, but he then suddenly pulled her and she fell on his lap, making the bottle fall down and paint the floor in burgundy red, bringing the attention of a few customers to them in the process. The abuser smelled alcohol so badly that it made the barmaid feel dizzy.
"Oh come on, don't be shy..." the man breathed against her ear and the woman felt even more disgusted but she was entirely paralyzed, completely scared of what he was about to do with her.
"Let her go !" Someone yelled and, when Rosalie looked to see who it was, she was a little relieved but also terrified to see the hooded young man. Terrified because he was putting himself in great danger.
The large man looked at him deeply with a grin on his face and decided to release the young woman who did not wait any second to move away from him, holding her arm. He then stood up and slowly approached Arno who did not flinch even though the guy was a full head taller than him.
"Now who the hell do you think you are to give me orders ?" he asked as he gave him a slight hit to his shoulder. In the blink of an eye, Arno punched the large man in the face, making him lose his balance and hit the ground. Rosalie covered her mouth with her hands to silence a cry of surprise.
"Louis !" she then screamed, calling the bartender who noticed soon after the fight and ran towards it. The other customers could not do anything but watch or run away. Most of the women who were present gasped in shock. The large man then got back on his feet and jumped on Arno, making him fall under him. But the young man quickly took over by grabbing the empty bottle near him that dropped earlier to hit his opponent's head with it. As soon as the bottle broke into pieces and the man started stunning, Arno got on top of him and started to hold his neck, choking him with all of his strength.
"I think he's learned his lesson." Rosalie said with a shaky voice. Arno was clenching his jaw as he was grabbing him by the neck. He could not take his gaze away from the man lying under him and whose face was getting redder, nor could he hear anything or anyone around him.
"Please! Stop!" the young woman shouted, scared, as she grabbed the young man's shoulder.
It took Arno a few seconds to listen to her and let go of the large man who started to cough and breathe heavily. The young man got back on his feet but did not face the barmaid who looked at him with astonishment. Louis then grabbed the troublemaker man and pushed him towards the exit door.
"Don't you ever come back around here again !" he yelled.
The abuser gave a dark look to Arno, who kept his gaze on him as well, before he finally left followed by his friends. The other customers sat back to their places and the usual din that animated the tavern came back. When he finally turned his gaze back at Rosalie, Arno's face softened as she was still staring at him.
"Your face..." she murmured. "You're bleeding !"
He gently touched his cheek that was starting to sting and noticed blood on his fingers.
"It's nothing. I'm fine."
Rosalie insisted. "Please, let me at least clean it."
"It really is not necessary." Arno sighed but the woman was not convinced.
"It's the least I could do for you after all the trouble you have put yourself into because of me, monsieur."
"It wasn't your fault." he reassured her.
"Still."
Arno sighed again, seeing how stubborn the barmaid was, and decided to obey and sat back to his table. She put her usual smile on her face as she walked towards the door behind the counter and disappeared. She reappeared later with some cotton and a bottle of alcohol in her hands. Before she arrived, Rosalie also grabbed a bottle of red wine for the young man. She put all the stuff on the table before she sat on her chair and approached Arno. As she analyzed the cut inside his beard, on his right cheek, he took a sip from the bottle of wine.
"Your wound is actually not too deep. I'll only have clean it up."
Arno looked away as the barmaid was soaking the cotton with alcohol. She gently grabbed his chin to make him turn his head towards her. The young man frowned as he looked at Rosalie who approached her face from his to see the cut precisely. As soon as the cotton touched his skin, Arno's face tensed because of the pain.
"Désolée (Sorry)..." the barmaid whispered.
While she kept applying, Arno watched the details on her face, especially her eyes. They were so dark that he felt like he could fall into them. He also looked at the little frown she had, showing how involved she was in her task. A few seconds later, her face relaxed and she sat up straight, looking at the result with a satisfied look.
"It's not too much, but it will heal faster." she said.
"Merci."Arno replied.
As the young woman nodded back, she bit her lip and he could tell that she wanted to add something.
"Monsieur..." she started.
"Just call me Arno." he interrupted her.
"Arno." she repeated with a nod. "I... wanted to thank you."
"It was nothing, really." he replied as he took a sip from his wine.
"Non, It was not nothing to me." she answered. "It meant a lot. So, merci beaucoup (thanks a lot)."
Arno frowned when he saw the upset look that she had on her face.
"You're welcome." he responded. "Mademoiselle (Miss)... ?"
"Rosalie." her smile reappeared. "But you can call me Rose."
"Rose..." he muttered to himself.
A few seconds later, Rosalie realized that she could not just sit there and let Louis work all alone.
"I... have to get back to work." she said with an embarassed smile.
"I think I'm going to leave as well." Arno announced as he finished his bottle of wine. The young man caught a few coins inside his pocket to pay his bill but the barmaid put her hand on his arm to stop him.
"Please don't." she told him with a little smile. "Consider this as a gift to thank you."
Arno slowly nodded, keeping a straight face, and led towards the exit. A soft autumn wind caressed his beard as soon as he put a foot in the street. Before he left, he glanced inside the tavern and saw Rosalie cleaning up the wine and the bottles on the floor. Then, for the first time in months, he walked down the streets of Paris, at night and sober.

- The Next Morning -

Arno.
It was the very first thing Rosalie thought about when she woke up. The way the young man defended her yesterday evening was still on her mind. Rosalie was accustomed to see someone help her out this way. She had to take care of herself since she was very little — too little, actually. So, the fact that Arno had put himself in danger for her had greatly impacted the young woman.
"Rose, debout (get up) !" Louis shouted from downstairs, waking her up from her daydream.
Rosalie rubbed her eyes and got on her feet to get dressed. She then brushed her wavy hair, letting it fall down her back naturally. Rosalie lived with Louis in a little apartment right above the tavern that was big and comfortable enough for them to be at ease in it.
The young woman ran down the stairs and opened the door leading directly inside the tavern. Louis was sitting on a table and reading a newspaper. He took his gaze away from it to look at her.
"You're finally awake !" he said.
"Bonjour, Louis." she answered with a smile as she grabbed a cup that she filled with coffee. "What's the news ?"
"Nothing interesting..." he sighed. "Oh, I need you to go to the marché (market place) today. There are a few things I want you to buy."
"What is it ?" Rosalie asked as she took a sip of her drink.
"It's all written here." Louis responded by giving her a list of vegetables and meat. The barmaid gave it a quick look before she drank the rest of the coffee in one go and grabbed the list and the very small bag full of coins that Louis put on the table next to it, then her coat and basket. In a few seconds, she was already outside.
The sky was very cloudy and it seemed like it could rain at any moment — a typical autumn weather in Paris. Rosalie started to hurry, not wanting to be soaked. Thankfully, the market place was not too far from home. In a few minutes, she was already there. The place was very lively since most of the population did not work that day. Rosalie spotted the butcher's stall right away, thanks to the huge meat pieces that were hanging upon it, so she decided to lead towards it. As she took the list inside her pocket, she read what Louis wrote.
"Let's see..." she whispered to herself. "One kilogram of ground beef."
The young lady then repeated the same thing to the butcher who was already focused on his job. As she was waiting, Rosalie started to glance around and, when she raised her gaze to look at the flat behind the stall, she noticed a sort of human silhouette standing on top of its roof, which made her frown. It looked like the man was staring back at her, but a hood was hiding his face. A few seconds later, the silhouette turned back and disappeared, letting the young woman even more unsure whether what she just saw was a figment of her imagination or not.
"Voilà, mademoiselle." the butcher said, holding the meat wrapped inside paper. Rosalie came back to reality and turned her gaze back towards him. She put the meat inside her basket and paid the butcher before she left. Rosalie checked the list to see what else she needed to buy — only a few vegetables. She did not wait any longer and walked straight to the vegetables stall to buy everything she had to.
As soon as her job was done, she turned back to return to the tavern. But then, she froze when she recognized a face among many others inside the crowd : her abuser from yesterday evening, followed by his two other friends. The three of them were watching the now terrified young woman who struggled to keep her calm due to her heart beating like crazy, like it could come out of her chest at any moment. As she was breathing heavily, Rosalie started to walk to the opposite direction, hoping she could avoid the men but it was too late. They saw her and now they were following her. Rosalie kept pushing people who were on her way as she started to walk faster, receiving lots of remarks by doing so. As soon as she managed to get out of the crowd, the young woman ran for her life, holding her basket close to her. But she was so busy glancing over her shoulder each second to see where the men were that she did not notice she was leading straight into a very narrow street. As she kept running, Rosalie fully stopped when she reached a dead end, out of breath and completely trapped.