Hello once again for the third time audience! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I never thought I would get this far. I have wanted to write this book since March of last year when I started playing Assassin's Creed 3. This is gonna be huge! I advise if you have not read Rise or Revolution that you do, because there is a lot in here that will tie into everything in the other books. Anyways, here is the book you have all been waiting for, Revenge:
Revenge
A Flash From the Future, a Surprise, and Texting Words
This is not happening. I am not about to die. I did not just alter the entire course of history. I did not just get shot with a freaking bullet. And I am not about to let them say goodbye. But of course... I am...
"Come on, can't this thing go any faster?!" Haytham yells from somewhere above me. Or at least I think from somewhere above me.
"We are going as fast as we can, father," Connor bites back just as fierce and angry as Haytham. His voice sounds far away and I can't seem to remember where we are.
My vision is blurry. Every part of my body feels numb all over but I keep feeling this intense pain in my middle section. I try to move to feel it with my hands, but I can't seem to move at all. I feel this weird hot sticky substance under my fingers which rest on the hard wooden ground I lay on that are on either side of my body. All the sights and sounds around me are melting into one big puddle in my throbbing head and I keep hearing shouting voices and this loud roaring sound I recognize but can't remember where from.
"Oh, shit," I hear Haytham's voice again, but this time it is much more clear. There's suddenly a surging pain that runs through my body that comes from my middle section again. I want to scream and I have the feeling someone is trying to stop the flow of the hot sticky liquid from continuing to come out. "Dammit, Riley!" I hear Haytham shout at me again. "You can't die! Don't you dare bloody leave us! You brought this back together! Don't you even think about letting go!" I think Haytham is crying or really sobbing over me but I can't tell because his face and everything about him is too blurry for me to be sure. I want to come out of this shock stage that I'm stuck in, but there seems to be no escape.
I try to focus on my surroundings instead of the gaping hole in my stomach. I smell the familiar scent of salt in the air and there's a strong wind that blows around me and a fresh spray of sea water splashes over me and I finally realize we must be back on the Aquila. My surroundings slowly begin to soothe me. You know, I could do it. I could just let go and let the rocking of the ship move me to sleep. I would die happy. I only hope Connor and Haytham...
"Come on, pick her up," A voice suddenly says above me. My hope of dying at sea vanishes when I feel strong arms carefully lift me from where I lay on the upper deck. They jostle me around causing more pain to my middle and I hear the breath of who carries me which is rough and their heartbeat is abnormally high.
I'm able to turn my head slightly and I smell the familiar sweet, woodsy scent of Connor and quickly realize it's him carrying me to wherever we are going.
"Hurry, Connor! She doesn't have much time!" I hear Haytham's scared and urgent voice again. "Which way is the manor?"
"Take a left ahead," Connor says quickly to Haytham. I then realize we made it back to the homestead. The feeling of Connor's deep chest that rumbles as he speaks calms me a bit.
Then, the moment comes too quickly; the three of us are bursting through the doors of the manor. The shouting and lots of quick movements only increases once we're inside. I can faintly hear Connor and Haytham shouting which is now joined by another male and a female voice.
There's suddenly another firm wooden surface beneath me along with a cold rush of wind as my clothes are ripped from my upper body. I feel the urge to scream and cry out. I want to get out of here. I only want Connor to hold me while I cry into his shoulder about this horrible nightmare I'm trapped in. But this is real life.
"Come on, Riley!" I hear Connor this time who is crying for me. "Don't leave me! I love you!"
I suddenly feel the lone tear slowly find its way down my face. I'm not crying because I'm about to die. I'm not crying for Connor. And I'm not crying because I'm scared. I'm crying because this is where Achilles was supposed to say, "I told you so."
6 months earlier...
"Okay, so there's OMG, LMAO, TTYL, XOX, LOL, WTF, WYD, BRB, and a bunch of others I can't remember. Oh yeah, I almost forgot ILY!"
"What does that one mean?"
"I love you."
"Well, I love you too but what does that one mean?"
"No, silly! It means I love you."
Connor chuckles at me as he looks down and continues to play with the blade of green grass in between his fingers. Then he looks up at me and grins, "Then ILY."
I giggle as I lean forward a bit more to press my lips to his soft and warm ones. Life could not get any better.
We lay on our bellies facing each other in the green grass outside the manor in the bright summer sunlight that pours through the canopy of trees above our heads. It's another beautiful day on the homestead and it seems only proper that we enjoy it outside. The air smells of pine and freshly cut wood along with a light breeze that blows through bringing the scent of fresh bread Prudence is making in her oven outside with it. Moments like these are what I love more than anything else in the world.
Slowly getting to my feet, I stretch, reaching up for the sky with my arms in the air. Connor gets up as well and swings his arms back and forth to feel them again. We have been lying like that for almost an hour, it feels nice to stand up and stretch.
I take Connor's hand and lace his fingers into mine and we begin to walk down the beaten trail through the homestead.
We are greeted by Warren and Prudence while they sit outside enjoying the day with their baby, Hunter in their arms. But once we walk by the church, Mayriam calls for us.
"Need your guys' help, if you have a second," she says to us with a smile.
I release Connor's hand and walk towards her and he follows. "What's up?' I ask.
I hear the fast footfalls before Connor does. So when Norris takes a running start out of excitement, he places his hand on Connor's shoulder.
"No wait, Connor!" But it's too late.
Out of habit and surprise, Connor grabs Norris's hand and throws him over his shoulder and into the ground at our feet and places his shoe on Norris's chest.
"My friends!" Norris says happily with a huge smile on his face despite the fact that he was just thrown by Connor.
"Norris! What are you doing?" Connor says quickly when he realizes who he just threw.
"She said yes!" Norris exclaimed from under Connor's foot as he looks at both of us still with a huge smile on his features.
Connor's face is priceless as he drops his jaw in surprise and smiles as he asks, "Myriam?"
"We are getting married!" Norris cries.
I stand beside Myriam just as shocked as I bring my hands to my face and smile while I turn away from Connor and Norris and quickly throw my arms around Myriam. "That's fantastic news!" I say happily. Myriam giggles as she hugs me back.
When we part, Myriam laughs as she says, "I told you not to tell him, Norris!"
Connor grins sheepishly as he helps Norris back to his feet before asking Myriam, "Is it true?"
"Yes!" Myriam says excitedly to Connor and I as Norris puts an arm around Myriam's shoulders.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" I say hugging both of them this time.
We suddenly see Father Timothy approach us. He looks to Connor and I, "So now that you two have been told, might I have a word? We have much work to do!"
"Of course! What would you have us do?" Connor asks a smile still on his face.
"Accompany me to the inn, I have business there," Timothy says as he gestures to the road Connor and I just walked. Connor and I nod before we follow. "Norris is a stickler when it comes to tradition," Timothy begins. "Myriam knows not where her father is and they were hopeful that you, Connor might act his part at the ceremony. And Riley," He looks at me. "Myriam was hoping you would be her maid of honor for the ceremony."
"I would be honored," I say to Father Timothy with a smile.
Then he looks to Connor. "What do you say, Connor?"
"What would I do?" He asks. "I am not familiar with colonial wedding customs."
"It means you will walk with her during the ceremony and give her to Norris as her father would." Father Timothy replies with a smile.
"I would be honored," Connor says as well.
"Wonderful," Timothy says happily. "On to other business! Our weddings are complex beasts and require many hands working together to execute. We'll need Warren and Prudence to provide food, Ellen to make the appropriate clothes, Big Dave to smith wedding bands, me to conduct the service and Oliver and Connine to host a banquet."
"That is a lot," I note as we continue to walk on.
"We'll start here," he gestures to the Inn.
"What color do you want your dress to be, Riley?" Ellen asks me as she holds out different colored fabrics of silks out to me.
"Umm," I say slowly as I examine the colors. Then I look to Myriam who is standing on a stool with her arms held out like a bird as Prudence takes her measurement. "What do you think, Myriam?"
Myriam chuckles. "It's you choice, Riley."
"But's it's your wedding," I say in protest.
She sighs. "If you're so picky, then pick something that goes along with my dress," she says as she looks down at the white fabric resting on a chair nearby that will soon be her wedding dress. "But add your own personal style to it, if it pleases you."
I sigh as I turn back to face Ellen. "I want those two," I say pointing to two different silks on either of Ellen's arms.
She grins. "This will be a dress to remember, won't it?"
I nod grinning at her before she sets aside the other fabrics.
"Can we do a little something different?" I ask Ellen.
She glances at me as she puts down another stool for me to stand on while she holds a tape measure in her hand. "What is that?"
I move to stand on the small wooden stool and hold out my arms like a bird as I speak. "I want to make the dress shorter and have no sleeves."
All the women in the room stop what they are doing to look at me in shock.
"You want to do what now?" Ellen asks me in surprise.
"I want my dress to be strapless and go a little past my knees in length," I reply calmly.
"But that is improper for a woman," Prudence says uneasily.
"So is wearing pants and boots, but I do that anyways," I say with a shrug as I gesture to my body that wears my black leather boots, jeans, black tank top, and my mother's old favorite large dark blue sweater. "And where I come from, it's normal."
"She does have a point, Ellen," Myriam adds backing me up. "If Riley wants to have it short and sleeveless, let it be. I want to see how this turns out.
The silk feels soft and smooth under my skin. A light breeze blows through the open window and cools my bare shoulders again. I look at myself again in the full body mirror Achilles and Connor cleaned for Myriam and I that was once in the basement collecting dust and mold. Achilles said that Abigail, his wife once used it. We are in the manor where we got ourselves ready in the study upstairs with the help from Prudence and Ellen who did our hair and makeup and helped us into our dresses.
My dress is white and red. Well, mostly white, of course to match Myriam's dress. It has a sweetheart top and a flowing white skirt that goes just a little past my knees like I asked for, and just only for me, I added a long red ribbon that is tied into a bow around my waist as my own personal touch.
Prudence was kind enough to do my hair. Strangely, I have rainbow streaks in my pale blond hair on the top of my head, for those of you who didn't know. My mostly left-side parted hair starts out in the front with a light faded red which blends into a light faded orange all the way down to the light pink that started growing within the last few years of my life. Most of my layered waves in the front of my face were left alone to rest in front of my eyes and the rest of the pale blond hair is braided into one long simple braid down my back then curled into a braided spiral bun in the back of my head along with the different colored flowers added in to match Myriam's hair.
I smile at my reflection. For those of you who don't know, my name is Riley Anderson. I am seventeen years old and I am an Assassin. I arrived here in the 18th century about a year ago by the Apple when it transported me on the night the world ended after I watched my parents die and I killed my first man that night along with dozens more. I try not to think about it too much. For the past twelve years of my life though, I have had these dreams about Connor, about his life and everything that takes place within it and the Revolutionary War. I ignited the Revolution at the Boston Massacre, I watched Connor die before my eyes and then through my decision, brought him back to life, I killed a man recently out of anger and hatred for the Templars and all they have done to the ones I love, I was hanged and still survived, I changed a man's heart so he wouldn't kill me or his own son, I don't know what lies before me now... all I know is that I am terrified.
My mind travels towards the situation at hand that has been nagging at the back of my mind ever since we got back from Monmouth. Much has happened since that day as well. I rescued a small boy named Connor, George Washington called upon us to discover a traitor in WestPoint who turned out to be Major General Benedict Arnold who got away, and only a week ago, I killed Nicholas Biddle in his own ship and Connor kissed me in front of everyone for the first time on the Aquila and it made me realize how much he truly loves me, and how much I truly love him.
The tides of war are turning. The Loyalists fall back beneath the advancing Patriot army, their hold on this land weakening by the day. But the Templars only seem to grow stronger. Though fewer in number, the threat they pose appears undiminished. Making matters worse, Washington chose to spare the life of Charles Lee. We are told he has taken refuge inside Fort George, and so our days are spent searching for a way to breach its walls. Of Connor's father, there is no trace. And he is glad of it. If we can be rid of Lee, there may still be a chance for reconciliation - and through it, peace.
"You look gorgeous, Riley."
I turn around to face the glowing Myriam. She looks way better than me, though. Her long brown hair is put up in a small bun with Prudence's specialty she did at her wedding by adding flowers into the curls of her hair like mine. Except she only put white flowers to match her white wedding dress that is long sleeved and drapes to the floor. It is a very colonial wedding dress that fits her well, but not something I could wear.
"Thanks, Myriam," I say with a small blush rising in my cheeks. "You look much more beautiful, through."
It's Myriam's turn to blush as she smiles while looking down at her dress. "I suppose everyone can look upon us today and see we are beautiful."
I grin and nod as I turn back around to look at myself in the mirror again.
We suddenly hear footsteps coming up the hall. The door opens and Ellen pokes her head in the doorway. "It's almost time to go, you guys ready?"
Myriam nods while Ellen looks at the both of us and smiles at our appearances. "Thanks, Ellen," Mayriam says. "Riley and I will only be a little longer."
Ellen nods. "Both Connors will be waiting outside for you two." With that, she quietly closes the door and as soon as her footsteps disappear, Myriam whips around and runs towards me.
"I can't do this, Riley!" She says quickly as she grips my arms and shakes me.
"Do what?!" I ask, once she releases me.
"Get married!" Myriam cries. "I can't do this." She sits down in a chair that was once pushed into the table in the middle of the room as she puts her face in her hands. "I'm no house wife," she mumbles through her fingers.
"Nobody thinks you are one," I assure her as I squat down beside her.
"That's what all this means, though," Myriam says through her hands again but a bit louder like she's trying not to cry.
I sigh as I try to find the right words to say to help her. Then, thinking like my mother, I say, "Norris means not to change you. He admires you for who you are. You need be nothing else. He has told me himself these words."
Myriam looks at me as she removes her hands from her face. "He did?" She asks me will a small smile.
I smile and nod at her. "He truly loves you like no one else can," I add. "You won't find anyone better than the man waiting for you at the alter in the church right now."
"Like you and Connor?" She asks me.
I think about that for a moment before I look at her and let a small smile form on my lips. "Like me and Connor."
"You look beautiful, Riley," Connor leans over and whispers in my ear as we stand outside the church, waiting for everyone to arrive.
I feel another blush rise in my cheeks as I smile. "Thanks, Connor."
"You two ready?" Myriam asks us with a glowing smile as she turns to look at us.
"Just as ready as you are," I say with a smile as I hand her the bundle of wild flowers Connor and I picked earlier this morning.
I feel a small tug on my dress. I look down and see little Connor smiling up at me. The ten-year-old reaches up and holds up a single bright red rose to me. I bend down to look him in the eye as I take the rose from him.
"Thank you, sweetie," I say with a smile as I ruffle his sandy blond hair and he smiles too. He has changed so much within the few weeks he has been here on the homestead. When I rescued him, he was terrified and weak. He had just watched his parents die before his eyes and lied so he could die with a different family so he wouldn't be alone in the end. Now, he smiles and laughs so much more, lives in the church with Father Timothy, and is the ring bearer for the wedding today.
There's suddenly a strong and warm hand on my bare shoulder. I look up as I slowly rise to my feet and look at Connor. "Can I add to that?" he asks me as he gestures to the rose in my hands before handing me a bundle of white roses.
My face lights up at this. I take them as I say, "Connor, these are beautiful." I bring them closer to my face and breathe in their sweet scent before tucking the small red rose into the center on the white ones. "Thank you." I smile as I look up at him.
Connor smiles back before saying. "And, one more thing." I give him a puzzled look. "Turn around," he orders me with a smile.
I roll my eyes as I giggle and turn around. The flash of something shiny and silver comes into my vision before I feel the coolness of a small object on a thin chain being clasped to my neck. I look down and the small, silver, coin around my neck. It has the Assassin's symbol engraved into the front and on the back is the word "Rise."
I turn around to look at Connor. "It's beautiful," I whisper as I throw my arms around his neck. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Connor replies, his voice soft. When I release to look at his face he says, "Big Dave had some silver left over and I asked if he would make something special for me."
I look down at the silver coin. "It's perfect."
"It's time, Connor and Riley!" Connor and I look at Myriam who is motioning for us to come towards her.
I look back at Connor. "It's time."
"It's time."
The entire homestead stands with smiling faces at us in the pews on either side in the church hall as I walk ahead of Myriam and Connor who have their arms hooked together, both Myriam and I holding our flowers with smiles on our faces.
When we make it to the alter where Father Timothy, Little Connor, and Norris stand, Connor and I step away, side by side as we watch.
After the words and vows were said, Father Timothy closed his book as Myriam and Norris put on each other's rings and said, "You may kiss your bride."
I smile and sigh as they lean in and happily kiss in front of everyone without a care in the world.
An hour later, we stand in the common area of the Inn after everybody has eaten and now chats happily among one another. Connor and I with our arms hooked together, weave through everyone, saying hello and receiving compliments on my dress and Connor's giving away of Myriam.
"Hello, Connor. Hello, Riley. Enjoying yourselves?"
Connor and I look to see Big Dave and Ellen who were once talking no have their attention given to us.
"We are," I say with a smile.
"It is nice to see everyone together and happy," Connor adds as we look around the room once again.
"Look at those two kids, it's a lovely sight," Big Dave chuckles as we turn around to look at Norris and Myriam dancing to the music in the middle of the floor. "Norris is one of my best friends and he couldn't have found a better woman. Proud of him."
"Sometimes people are just right for one and other," Ellen says happily. "Norris and Myriam are a match made in heaven."
"Or a match made by Connor and Riley, isn't that right?" Big Dave says with a chuckle.
I smile as I giggle and hold Connor's arm tighter. "We only helped Norris muster his courage. The rest came naturally."
"Connor? Riley? Could you come here for a moment?"
The two of us turn around and see Prudence calling us over to her.
"Hey, Prudence," I say when we approach her. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to tell you how much I love you dress, Riley," Prudence says with a smile as she holds Hunter in her arms. "I didn't think I would like it, but I must say you look beautiful."
I blush again. "Thanks, Prudence. That means a lot."
"Excuse me, everyone."
Everyone stops talking as we all look to the front and see Ellen stand in front of the fireplace with something green and white folded in her hands.
"Thank you, I won't keep you long," she promises. "I would like to present something to Connor and you all. I once said I'd find a way to show my gratitude for your courageous actions in my defense and this is what I give you today."
My mind travels back to a few nights ago when Ellen's ex-husband decides to pay her a little visit with his men who tried to break into her house. We all defended her bravely and sent away him and his men. Ever since then, she has said that she wants to repay us for our kindness.
Ellen unfolds the beautiful green, white, and blue flag. It reminds me of the Texas one except where it is normally red it is, blue and where it is normally blue, it is green with thirteen small yellow stars formed into a circle instead of one big white one.
"This flag is a symbol of our strength and unity and I would hope you'd all be proud to fly it high above your homes and shops," Ellen says to all of us. "I'll happily make one for each and every one of you if you so desire but this one is for you two, Connor and Riley."
I can't believe that it's dedicated to me as well. In reality, it should've been only Connor who got it. The two of us smile as we walk up to Ellen who has folded up the flag again and is handing it to us.
"Thank you," Connor says with a smile as he takes it.
"Thank you, Ellen," I say as well while I smile and grab one side of the flag.
Connor and I hold up the flag together above our heads for the entire homestead to see with smiles on our faces. They applaud us and smile back at us.
It is here in this moment, as I look around, I realize that these people took me in with all of my flaws and mistakes without hesitation. They are my family and Connor is the love of my life.
I know… that was pretty long…. But I just kept adding and adding. I hope you liked it anyways. Well there you have it, the first chapter of Revenge. I can't wait to write this book, it will be my masterpiece that I get to share with all of you wonderful people. As always, rate, review, like, subscribe, follow, favorite, vote, note, share, reblog, comment, do whatever it is you fine people do in your spare time. Bless your face. Peace off!
