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

Chapter 17 : Hidden

The Next Morning

Rosalie was finishing to pack up her stuff when someone knocked on her door. She presumed it was Arno.
"Entre (Come in)." she said.
The door then opened and the young man carefully stepped inside as she was storing one last dress inside her suitcase.
"Are you ready ?" he then asked.
"Oui." she sighed as she closed the bag.
Arno then approached her to grab the suitcase's handle and carried it outside the room. Rosalie followed him, after she closed the door behind her, then both of them walked through the hallway and climbed down the stairs, taking their time. The estate was plunged into a silence Rosalie was not quite used to.
The Brotherhood decided that Arno and Rosalie should not stay at the estate now that the Templars were aware that they lived there. So, the duo had to pack their things in no time and move out as soon as possible to another house that the Brotherhood owned. The masters also charged Arno with mentoring Rosalie, even though he was not a master himself. Beylier promised to Arno that he would become a Master Assassin and take his place at the Council once Rosalie's formation would be over.
"Where are the maids ?" the young woman finally asked him.
"I've told them not to come." he answered. "They won't need to work here anymore as we will be gone for a while."
As they reached the entrance hall, she noticed another suitcase — probably Arno's, that was put right next to the stairway. As he grabbed it with his valid hand, the young woman thought about Célestine and her ill mother.
"But how are they supposed to earn money if they don't have a job ?" she then remarked.
The young man explained. "I didn't say they lost their job. The Brotherhood will still pay them as usual, of course. Especially nowadays, people are getting through really tough times. It would not be humane to just kick them out."
"Agreed." Rosalie nodded, reassured.
Arno then glanced at her as a little smile grew on his face, which the young woman noticed when she looked back at him. She felt quite uncomfortable.
"What ?" she then asked in a low voice.
"Nothing." he shook his head and turned his gaze away from her.
Arno liked how much Rosalie cared about people, even when she barely knew them. Her heart was pure and he hoped it will remain as such. But now that she became an Assassin, he was quite doubtful. A person with such empathy could not kill somone in cold blood without internal consequences. She was surely not going to be the same anymore and this thought made Arno's smile vanish. He did not want her to change. He wanted her to always be this same devoted and wholehearted person.
For he was unsure whether she would still care for him or not if her heart hardened.
The two people silently walked down the little stairs across from the entry of the Café-Thêatre which was surprisingly deserted as well. Once they arrived in front of the secret steel door, Arno put down one of the suitcases to reach for the keys inside his pocket. Rosalie was slightly intrigued as she looked through the gate and noticed how obscure the other side seemed.
"Where are we going exactly ?" she spoke.
"At the south of the city, to a little house." he responded as he put the key in the lock. "It is much safer for us to use the tunnels, someone could spy us from the outside."
"Tunnels ?" she echoed.
The man then pushed the door and stepped aside. "Après vous (After you)." he said to the young woman who hesitantly walked through the gate, followed by Arno who locked it back up before he joined Rosalie.
It was quite hard for her to look where she was stepping on as the path was merely enlightened by a couple of torches hanging on the walls. Her nose was slightly crinkled because of the smell of dirty water that was invading the entire place. Sometimes, there were rats appearing and disappearing instantly, but Rosalie did not seem troubled by their presence.
"Back when I was living in the streets, rats were everywhere." she explained. "So I'm quite used to them, but the odor... Mon Dieu (My God) !"
"You'll get used to it quite soon too, as we're gonna use those tunnels all the time from now on." Arno said.
"Lovely." she sarcastically replied.
Once they finally reached a new stairway which they carefully climbed, they stopped in front of another door with double lock, but this time, Rosalie was incapable to see what was behind. As soon as Arno took out his keys and managed to unlock it, he pushed the doorway and let the young woman walk inside first. As she did, she slowly observed the room. This place was nothing like the estate. It was small, very dusty and far from being luxurious. The floor was squeaking at each step she and Arno were taking, indicating how old this house was.
The room in which they were seemed to be a kitchen. It had a table for two with a huge cauldron nearby and a counter on which there were a couple of dishes and pans that were neatly stored, just like the spoons and ladles that were hanging on the wall. Arno put down the suitcases at the middle of the room. Rosalie frowned as she analyzed the environment she was in, she felt strange.
"I know this isn't as comfortable as the estate," Arno explained as he tried to look through the curtains, "But we will have to hide here, at least until things calm down. We must keep the curtains and doors closed for awhile, we never know who can observe us."
There were two different doors inside the room, one across from the other. One of them was next to the windows and the way out to the streets. Rosalie approached the other one and suddenly opened it, surprised by the fact that it was unlocked. The sunlight first blinded her for a few seconds, but as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the backyard covered with weeds, and she now realized where she exactly was.
But she quickly came back to reality when Arno rushed next to her and quickly closed the door back. "What is wrong with you ?! I just said to keep them closed !" he snarled louder than he thought he would as he glared at the young woman who looked back to him with a confused expression on her face.
"I... I needed to look at something." she murmured as she uncomfortably turned her gaze towards her feet. "I apologize."
Arno's face then relaxed. He sighed with his eyes closed as he realized that he exaggerated by yelling at Rosalie. "No, I'm sorry. I've lost my temper." He then stepped back. "But we really have to be careful."
The young woman slightly nodded as she kept walking inside the kitchen. After a few moments, Rosalie was the one who broke the silence. "Arno, I think I've lived in this place before."
"When ?" he asked.
"When I was a child."
"That's not impossible." he shrugged as he rested against the counter, observing Rosalie. "The Brotherhood owns a couple of houses like this one dispersed pretty much everywhere in Paris. If your parents had a lot of missions requiring them to «stay on the field», the Assassins probably provided them a house so they could stay nearby."
"We actually moved a lot from one place to another." Rosalie replied. "I've almost forgotten most of them. But not this one."
"Why ?" he frowned. "What's so particular about this house ?"
She then turned towards him and a flash of sorrow crossed her face as she said in a whisper. "This is where my parents were killed."
Arno then straightened with a shocked expression due to Rosalie's revelation. "Rose, I'm so sorry." he said.
"After I drank into that chalice yesterday at the Council, I've started to relive the worst moments of my life. It included my parents' death, right here." Rosalie confessed. Arno stared silently at her, carefully listening as she was strolling around the room. "I don't quite remember that man's face. But now I remember exactly where he was standing." She stopped and her gaze was directed towards the backyard door, as if she could look through it. "I remember my mom and dad's dead bodies lying on the grass tainted with their blood. I did not even get the chance to see them alive one last time and that's the worst. This was the very last image I've kept of them since they left." Her voice sounded full of regrets.
She then stared blankly in front of her for a few seconds, lost in her thoughts. But when she realized she was being silent for too long, she deeply sighed and came back to reality as she turned to face Arno who kept his sad and compassionate gaze on her. "Would you like us to move to somewhere else ?" he asked.
"Non." she replied with determination.
"Are you sure ? You know, I can..."
"It's okay. I'll get used to it." she tried to smile. "Mais merci (But thank you)."
Arno slowly nodded, still concerned about the young woman who did not dare to stare back to him. But as she said she did not mind, he had no choice but to trust in her words.
She then clapped her hands. "Let's settle down and unpack our bags."
"Right." Arno nodded then grabbed the suitcases. "I'll bring them upstairs." he then said before he walked past Rosalie and climbed up the steps.
The young woman glanced around one last time before she followed him. Once she reached the upper floor, she was surprised to see that her bedroom changed. They replaced her tiny little bed with a double bed and removed all of her toys to probably throw them away. Rosalie's body entirely stopped moving as her eyes kept looking around.
"The last floor is also a bedroom. I think I..." Arno came out of the staircase hidden behind the wall.
He froze when he saw the look on the young woman's face.
"Rose ?" he then asked, making her jump and turn her gaze at him. Arno thoughtfully stared at her for a few seconds, noticing that something was wrong, then spoke. "You know, we still can move to somewhere else..."
"No. I want to stay here."
"Are you sure ?"
"Oui." she responded with determination. "This is important for me."
The young man then sighed and approached her. "I want to believe you, Rose. But it seems like you keep torturing yourself since we've come here. Maybe this isn't a good idea."
"It will take time, but I'll be used to live here again." she softly answered with a smile. "I will remake new memories to replace the old ones. This time, you'll be in them too."
Those words brought a little smile to Arno's face as he looked away. He liked how that idea sounded, remaking new memories meant starting a whole new life and that was what he needed the most.
"What are we going to do now ?" Rosalie then sighed, trying to change the topic. "We cannot even step outside, we'll be starving very soon."
"The Brotherhood can help us out with that." he replied. "I'll go to the sanctuary today. Besides, I have to seek council so that we can plan our next move against the Templars. Even though we have pretty much nothing in hand right now."
"Uhm..." The young woman hesitantly said as if she wanted to add something.
"Except if you know something ?" Arno then continued, to which Rosalie seemed more embarrassed.
"You're probably going to think I'm crazy..." she then paused.
"Try me."
She then slowly approached him. "When I've killed that Templar the other day, I've instantly had those kind of... flashes of memories. Her memories."