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

Chapter 2 : Trauma

"Well, what do we have here ?" Rosalie heard her attacker from yesterday speak from behind. She was too scared to properly face the three men, so she temporarily kept her back turned and closed her eyes, praying for a miracle. Trying to hold her tears back, she slowly turned around against her own will.
"What do you want ?" she asked with a shaking voice as she kept a straight face. The large man grinned and took a first step towards her.
"Ma jolie... (Beautiful)" he called her. "You know exactly what we want." The two other men looked like they could jump at her at any moment like animals. Rosalie tried not to show that she was shaking by clutching her basket so tightly that her hands hurt. As her attacker took another step to get closer to her, she slowly started to step back until her back touched the cold wall behind her. The more the man was approaching her, the more she felt her heart beat faster.  Rosalie was terrified as she thought that there was no way that she was going to escape this time.
But suddenly, a few little items fell from the sky, bringing everyone's attention to the floor. Soon, those items released smoke, making the four of them cough and blinding the young woman completely. She took out a tissue from her basket and kept it on her mouth and nose as she tried to look around her in case she would see anything. Brutally, one of the men stopped coughing, then another one, and Rosalie was now blind and could not hear anyone or anything. While she waited for the smoke to disappear, she looked down and gasped : she had her feet inside a pool of blood. Horrified, Rosalie stepped back and, when the smoke was fully gone, she was paralyzed due to the scene that she was observing. The three men were lying dead in their own blood. The large man had a single cut on his throat as one of his friend was bleeding from his chest and the other one from inside his mouth. Rosalie could not take her gaze away from the dead bodies.
After she managed to come to her senses, she started to carefully walk passed the corpses, trying not to look at them again. She was also taking care not to dirty her shoes and her dress any more than they already were. Once she finally passed all of them, she ran for her life, trying to avoid the crowded places in case someone would see the red stains on her clothes. As she was running, she could not erase the image of the dead bodies from her mind and this brought back the tears to her eyes. The young woman felt like she could crack at any moment, so she ran even faster.
When Rosalie finally reached the tavern, she jumped inside and quickly closed the door behind her before she glanced one last time to look outside in case anyone would've noticed her. When she turned back, she startled once she noticed Louis watching her with concern.
"Rose, are you alright ?" he calmly asked.
This question made the young woman's eyes get teary again and she had no more strength to hold her tears back any longer. She broke down in front of the bartender who was at first surprised but then approached the young woman to hold her in his arms. Rosalie probably never had cried so much in a long time, she became inconsolable.
"You're safe here." Louis murmured to her as he caressed her hair. "Breathe."
Rosalie listened to him and tried to calm herself. A few minutes later, as she sobbed weakly, the bartender let go of her so she could wipe her tears and gently took the basket away.
"Sit down my child." he told her. "Tell me what happened."
The young woman obeyed and waited until the bartender sat next to her before she started to tell him everything. The man brought a glass of water for Rosalie and listened to her carefully to get everything she said as the barmaid still struggled to speak loud and clearly because of her trauma.
"And then, they were all dead." she concluded. "Someone killed them and disappeared like a ghost."
These words made Louis frown. "Didn't you see who it was ?" he asked.
"No, I was completely blinded by the smoke the whole time." she replied in despair.
"This man clearly knew what he was doing."
"But why did he not kill me then ?"
After a few seconds of hesitation, the light of a smile appeared on the bartender's face. "Probably because he didn't want to."
This time, Rosalie was the confused one. "But why ?!"
They both stayed silent for awhile, trying to figure out who could possibly be behind this. Then, the young woman remembered an important detail.
"When I was at the marché, I think I've seen a man on the roof of one of the flats." She added.
"You think ?" Louis asked as he raised his eyebrow.
"I'm not sure, he quickly disappeared." She replied. "I could not see who it was, his face was hidden by a hood. But if he was really there, he may be the one who saved me."
The bartender slowly nodded, showing his agreement. Then, he rapidly stood up."We will talk about this later eventually. Let's clean you up first !" He said.
Rosalie agreed and sighed as she glanced at her shoes full of blood. Upstairs, the bartender brought a bucket filled with warm water and Marseille soap while the young woman put a basin big enough for her to sit in it at the middle of the room. Louis went back downstairs to let Rosalie take a bath in peace. Once she took off her dress, shoes and underwears, she sat in the basin and took the little bowl inside the bucket to pour the water on her head a few times. Then, she grabbed the soap and rubbed gently her body and hair with it.
A few minutes later, once she rinsed her entire body, she took the towel next to her and wrapped herself into it. The woman then knelt down in front of the same basin to wash her clothes. As soon as she was done, she hung her wet laundry on the rope in front of her window and let it dry. Then she grabbed another clean underwear and dress and wore them. Louis arrived soon after.
"I came to throw away the bathwater." He spoke.
"Could you brush my hair first ?" Rosalie asked him.
"Of course, my child." He smiled before he grabbed the brush.
The young woman sat on her bed and Louis took his place behind her. When he took her wet hair inside his hand, he started to slowly brush her long hair. He tried to be as gentle as he could to not pull. Louis was the only person with whom Rosalie felt safe in Paris. He was like a father to her since the day he decided to take her into his house, and she never left. Louis saw in her the child he never had and as her story moved him, he decided to keep her under his protection. The bartender had been Rosalie's family ever since.
Once he finished brushing the young woman's hair, Louis put the brush down.
"Thank you." She said with a smile which the man returned. He then took the basin and left the room. Rosalie listened to his footsteps walking down the stairs as her gaze was turned at the pouring rain that she watched silently through her window.

During The Evening

Compared to yesterday, the tavern seemed deserted. Only a few customers were present, talking together while they were drinking their favorite beverages. It was still raining even though it was not as intense as during the afternoon and there were not a lot of people outside either.
Rosalie was cleaning a table with her rag when someone opened the front door. As she turned her gaze towards the arriving customer, her heart skipped a beat and she restrained a cry of surprise when she saw a tall man with a hood hiding his face. The barmaid stressed when she thought it was probably the mysterious man from the roof at the marché coming for her. But, as the man took off his hood and revealed his face, Rosalie recognized Arno and let out a sigh of relief. The young man was looking around and noticed the barmaid approaching her.
"Bonsoir (Good evening), Arno !" she said as if nothing had happened. "Red wine as usual ?"
"Bonsoir." he nodded."Oui, s'il vous plait (Yes, please)."
"Sit wherever you want, I'll bring your drink right away !"
Even though most of the tables were free, Arno still led towards his usual table at the exact same corner of the tavern. As soon as he sat, he turned his gaze at the counter where Rosalie was. The young woman grabbed a bottle of wine and as she was opening it, she looked around and met the gaze of the young man who was sitting at his same old table. This fact brought a smile to her face. Arno kept his eyes on her until she came at his table and started to pour the drink into a glass.
"I told you it was going to be calmer today." Rosalie said, looking at him.
"Indeed." Arno nodded. "At least there are not the salopards (bastards) from yesterday."
She flinched when the young man mentioned the thugs and her smile vanished. Arno remarked the barmaid's attitude.
"Is there something wrong ?" he hesitantly asked, raising his eyebrow.
"N...no." she shook her head. Rosalie had always been a terrible liar and Arno could see it. "Louis told them not to come back around here again... so... everything's fine." she then swallowed.
The barmaid was holding her plate very tightly, trying to mask the fact that her hands were starting to shake. But the young man was not blind. He noticed the young woman's sudden change. "Rose... ?" he waited for her to respond something.
Rosalie kept her eyes on him with a concerned look on her face. She was unsure about whether she should tell him what she had witnessed or not. She was scared that she would put the young man in danger by telling him about the murder. As she bit her lip, she looked around in case anyone would be listening to them.
"Sit." Arno calmly said, showing the empty chair next to his which brought back the barmaid's attention to him. After hesitating for a moment, she finally sat and leaned towards the man who did the same. Arno looked deep inside the woman's worried eyes, showing that he was listening carefully.
"They're dead." she whispered.
Arno frowned at her with silence for a few seconds. "Who ?"
"The men from yesterday... but I didn't kill them !" she then quickly added.
"Of course not." he responded unironically. "But what happened ?"
"They found me at the marché today." she started. "They chased me, so I ran but I reached an impasse. I thought it was over for me." her voice was trembling as she murmured those words. Arno nodded at her and showed some patience, letting her take her time to fully explain the event.
"Then, some smoke bombs fell from the sky and I couldn't see a thing for a moment. But, as soon as it dispersed I..." she then stopped. She broke the eye contact she had with Arno by closing her eyes while she sighed deeply to calm herself down, scared of breaking down in front of the young man. "They were dead." she finally sniffed, looking at her hands on the table. "They were lying inside their own blood, completely lifeless."
Arno slowly nodded, not taking his eyes away from the barmaid. "Did you see who did it ?" he asked her softly.
Rosalie shook her head in negation. "I ran as fast as I could." she continued. Then, she looked at the young man with concern. "Do you think he's after me ?"
"I don't believe so." He responded. "Even if he is, I'll protect you." he whispered the last part leaning closer.
"Well, you won't always be around." she said, trying to smile.
"Maybe I should be your personal bodyguard then." he joked which made the barmaid lightly chuckle as she wiped her tears with a tissue.
After watching inside her hands for a few seconds, Rosalie looked at Arno with a sincere smile.
"Thank you." she whispered.
"For what ?" he frowned at her.
"I don't know." she responded. "For saving me yesterday, making me laugh, listening to me..."
Rosalie paused to look properly at the young man's face. He probably did not take care of his heavy stubble for awhile and had dark shadows under his eyes but she still thought it was part of his charm. Before her silence got too awkward, she decided to conclude. "For being a friend."
And, for the first time in months, the light of a smile appeared on Arno's face.