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

Chapter 4 : Stressed Out

Arno arrived in front of the red house where « Léon » supposedly was. The young man knocked and waited a few seconds. He then met two green eyes through the door hole that opened from the otherside.
"Bonjour." Arno saluted him. "Does Léon live here ?"
"He ain't in." the man responded as he quickly closed the hole back .
Arno sighed and knocked again, and the man reopened the hole. "We haven't seen him for days. Leave us in peace."
"Has he been arrested again ?" A female voice said from behind the young man, which made him turn around to meet an old woman carrying a bucket of water that she put down to approach him.
"Not that I know of." Arno responded.
The woman nodded slightly as she stared at him before she introduced herself. "I'm Madame Margot, the owner of this orphanage. Léon is not here."
"I need his help." the young man replied and Madame Margot slightly smiled as she enlightened the candle hanging at the front door.
"He went to the windmill yesterday. I have not seen him since." She said. "Rosalie went to seek for him a moment ago. You'll probably find her there as well."
Arno frowned when he heard the name. "Wait... Rosalie ?"
"Oui. Do you know her ?"
"Small, thin, a pale face, dark hair and eyes ?" The man described her.
"I guess that's her indeed." The woman nodded.
"Alors oui (Then yes), I think I do." Arno answered.
He then started to lead as fast as he could towards the windmill, letting the now confused woman behind him. Actually, Rosalie was a quite common name, so there was still a chance this was not the one he knew. But the young man could not tell why, deep down, he still was unconvinced by that possibility, and he had a bad feeling about all of this.
Fortunately, it did not take him too long to reach the place where the old windmill was. But when he noticed all the guards who were present, Arno's worries increased.
"Diable." He cursed. "I hope she's not here."

At the same moment, inside the tunnels, Rosalie listened to the large man speaking to Léon.
"You ever met a noble, Léon ?" he asked. "You ever heard a noble talk ? Descended from God they were. Threads of gold arced from between their blessed legs into holy chamber pots." The man then paused to sniff a liquid inside a little flask which he put back inside its box before he continued. "And then, Léon..." He passed the back on his hand on his neck, imitating a head being cut off. "Foutains of rubies spilled from their necks and rained down upon all France. Now, a man born deep within the lowest circle of Hell can rise to the very top of Olympus itself."
"Unhand me, connard (arsehole) !" Léon yelled and the large man leaned towards him and added.
"Is that what you want, little man, to rise up ? I see it in you. Ambition. You're just like me !"
"Rose." Rosalie's heart missed a beat as she heard her name, but was relieved as she noticed that she was not the one being called. The large man straightened up to face whoever that mentioned his name.
He directly recognized the voice, so he answered. "Commandant Bonaparte."
"Any progress to report ?" Bonaparte asked.
"Only this." Rose answered, showing a huge wall with three circles engraved on it, filled with various symbols. In the middle, a sort of temple was represented with a strange symbol inside. Bonaparte raised what seemed to be a key and as he compared it with the same strange symbol engraved at the center of the temple, Rosalie remarked that they looked exactly the same.
"Find me the door that this key unlocks and I shall reward you beyond your wildest dreams." The commandant finally spoke as he turned at Rose.
"What is behind the door ?!" Léon yelled from behind, bringing the two men's attention back to him.
"Léon, please, shut up !" Rosalie murmured to herself.
"This is our petit (little) trespasser ?" Bonaparte asked.
"Who are you calling petit ? I'm nearly as tall as..."
"Chut !" Bonaparte cut him off. "You need to learn a bit of diplomacy." He then turned at the other man. "Rose, I trust you'll show the boy to the surface ?"
"Of course, Commandant."
Bonaparte then disappeared from Rosalie's sight, followed by his guards. Rose approached the two workers who held Léon, and smirked. "Kill him."
The young woman gasped, not knowing what to do. And the screaming of the little boy being dragged by the two men away did not help at all. She had to think fast, she needed help. Never in hell could she fight against two men, especially as she did not have any weapon and, even if she did, she would fail to use it properly. Rosalie thought about someone who could help him right now. Monsieur Paul ? This salopard would never accept...
"Rosalie ?" A familiar voice called her and she turned back to face whoever it was. She breathed deeply as she recognized Arno who started to walk quickly towards her. The young man had a concerned look on his face, but he was deep down relieved to see the young woman.
"Are you alright ?" he asked as he was visually checking on her. She rapidly nodded.
"I'm fine. But t-they're g-going to k-kill Léon !" she struggled to speak because of all the emotions she went through.
"Calm down." the man softly said as he gently held her shoulder and looked deep inside her worried eyes.
The young woman took a deep breath, trying to think about the fact that she was not alone anymore to comfort herself.
"Go straight back to the orphanage." he whispered. "I'll go down and find him. How does he look like ?"
"You can't miss him, he's a little boy." she responded while her eyes got teary. "Je t'en supplie (I'm begging you) Arno, you have to save him."
"I promise you that I will." he said, keeping the eye contact with her. "Now go !"
The young man let go of Rosalie, who started to run as fast as she could towards the exit without looking back. She had no idea about what Arno was doing here, but he surely came at the right time. And now Léon had a chance of being saved thanks to him. Once she approached the exit, Rosalie remembered the presence of the guards and she prefered to slow down when she climbed the last steps of the stairway.
But when she finally reached the outside, the men were nowhere to be seen. The young woman looked around, and noticed that there were less people than when she arrived. She was about to leave, but stopped as she noticed a few drops of blood on the floor at her feet. Rosalie frowned and deducted that the guards were not simply gone. Someone made them disappear.
"Who's there ?!" A distant man yelled.
The young woman raised her head to look up and noticed a thug with a rifle at a certain height, observing her. She quickly started to run to the opposite direction, ignoring the man who was yelling her to stop. She was slowed down by the long grass and suddenly her foot tripped over something which made Rosalie hit the ground severely. She quickly tried to get back on her feet but failed when she felt a huge pain on her ankle, making her moan. The woman sat to hold her foot but ended up face-to-face with the thing she tripped over that was dissipated in the long grass : one of the guards' dead body.
A cry bursted from Rosalie's mouth against her own will and she tried to look away but could not stop staring at the cut he had on his throat and his lifeless face. Then the gunfire coming from the shooter woke her up instantly. The woman finally managed to stand on her feet and tried to escape by limping as fast as she could. She then heard another gunshot behind her and lowered her head as she kept moving.