Rayn de Sable was panting heavily. The heat was unbearable. Yet here he sat. Tied to a tree stump. Only feet away from a small oasis in the desert. Inches from a knife that lay just out of reach of his left foot. He was blinded by the heavy flow of blood in his right eye. It was all he could do to wonder what had happened.
"But father, I don't want to be in the crusades!" Robert spun quickly, striking his hand sharply across his son's face. "You will never say heathen words like that again Rayn, do you understand me?" Rayn stood there, mostly un-phased. "I do not want to join in the crusades...It is not right!" His father, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar army, stood stoic as ever, making Rayn seem no more than a twig to a Red Wood.
"The only reason I have not killed you is because your mother begged me not to, Rayn..." The smaller man's face contorted slightly. "You never faltered when cutting down other innocent people, so why not me? Why not your little disgrace?" Rayn took a couple of steps back, he expected what might come. His father didn't strike him.
Robert simply pinched the bridge of his nose. "Rayn, whether you like it or not, you are coming with me. Just be pleased that I am not making you join the Templars as well." Rayn scoffed. "All you want is control over others' minds. You want to steal their free will, and for what? Order? Peace? How can there be order if there are no minds to enjoy it..." Robert spat towards the smaller man and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Rayn was taking heavy steps. He was only 21, but looked older because of the journey they had traveled just to get where they are now. "Rayn!" He shot his head up and rode up to meet his father. "Yes fathe- Commander...?" He was forced to call him that. After the first night, his father felt embarrassed to have him for a son and struck him for calling him 'father'. "I need you to ride ahead for me, to Jerusalem. You must deliver this to Majd Addin, and be sure to tell him that I am the one who sent it." Rayn nodded and took the left fork in the road on a horse.
"Sir, do you think it wise to send your son alone to Jerusalem? You know the assassins are-" Robert held his hand up. "Exactly...~" He brandished a sinister smile before calling for his men to continue along the road.
Jerusalem was beautiful. Rayn wondered how his father and the other crusaders could ever stand to attack cities like this. Rayn hopped off of his horse and tied him up in the stables. "Hm...I'm not even sure where he is in this city..." Rayn dropped his shoulders, throwing a mental tantrum, and walked to the gates.
"What do you think you're doing, Boy?" One of the guards shoved him roughly back. "I need to deliver a letter to Majd Addin." Rayn stepped forward again, once again being shoved back. "Why would someone entrust a little kid like you to deliver so much as a pile of horse shit to him?" The other guards laughed loudly.
Rayn furrowed his brow and went to trying to convince them to let him in when they all got a serious look on their face. "What in God's name...?" They walked over to the dead body of another guard. Rayn looked back to see, but his vision was blocked by a man wearing white robes and clad in weapons of all sorts. "An assassin? I think it best to follow him...~" Rayn jumped in behind the man and followed closely.
"Do you need something, Crusader?" Rayn jumped at the sudden voice. "I er...I just..." Rayn's eyes darted this way and that. "Speak up before I make you regret following me..." He went wide-eyed and spoke up quickly. "I was just wondering if you might know where the crusaders are stationed in this city!" He held his hands up in a dismissive manner to show he meant no harm. The assassin looked at him quizzically. "And what makes you think I have that sort of information." The answer caught in Rayn's throat. "You are an...assassin...~?"
Everything moved quickly. One second he was standing in the middle of an empty alley-way with an assassin, next second he was pinned to the wall, completely unable to move. "What did I do?" Rayn struggled fruitlessly. "Be still, Templar!" Rayn went as stiff as he could manage. "But I'm not a Templar...! My father is! So go kill him!" Rayn, trying to save himself, just dug a deeper hole for himself. The next thing he saw was a black, empty abyss.
Malik was going about his usual business, drawing out maps, sorting through missions, preparing for journeymen and novices to come by for information and feathers. "Malik!" He knew that voice from anywhere. "Altair? What's wrong? It's not like you to just bust in here and-" "Malik, this boy is de Sable's child!" Malik's eyes widened slightly and his brows went up. "And what makes you think that?" Altair sat the boy down. "He told me himself." Malik walked over and inspected the boy. "If I recall, Robert is over six feet tall, has arms the size of tree trunks, and has not a single strand of hair on his head. This boy is everything the opposite of that." Altair walked back into the main room of the bureau with rope. "Looks deceive." He went about tying up the barely conscious man.
"Where...where am I...?" Malik looked over. He had been inspecting the contents of the package that Rayn was told to deliver. "I need to take that to Majd Addin..." Malik looked over to him. "You realize who you speak of, do you not?" Rayn shook his head groggily. "I was just told to deliver it to him by my father..." Malik found his chance for proof that Richard was his father. "And who might your father be?" Rayn shifted to a more comfortable position. "Richard de Sable..." Malik eyed him a little longer then went back to inspecting the contents. Rayn lolled his head and went back to a state of unconsciousness.
It had been a few hours. Rayn stirred and opened his eyes to the late afternoon sunlight. "Altair, your little pet is awake and in need of clothing and food." The assassin walked from an adjoining room out into the main room. "Why does he need clothes?" Malik looked over. "Because he's in need of new clothing like any other person. Plus, he's your pet, so you need to take care of him as such." Rayn didn't like being called a 'pet'. He knew exactly what it meant. It meant hostage. Prisoner. Slave.
"You know...I'm pretty useless...My father doesn't care for me...in fact, I over heard him speaking to one of the higher ranking officers the night before he sent me here alone...he was hoping for this...hoping for you, the assassins, to capture me. I'm sure everything after that is crystal..." The two assassins looked over to the smaller man. "What do you mean by that exactly?" Malik said. "I mean, my father promised my mother on her death-bed that he would not kill me. But, a situation out of his control in which I would be killed..." He tilted his head to show what he meant. Malik nodded sympathetically.
"You are of use to us though. You hold information of the Templars, do you not?" Rayn sighed and nodded. "But, before you go about beating me to get the information, I'm willing to tell you everything I know." Altair tilted his head to one side before walking to him to untie him. "Altair, make sure you don't lose sight of him. A person his size in an outfit like that is a personal death sentence around most of the people in this city."
Altair helped Rayn drop down into the bureau. He was sporting new clothes and looked his age once again. Altair pointed to a room with a large, heavy door. "There's the bath room if you'd like to clean up." Rayn nodded, blushing slightly. He was obviously thankful for the darkness. "Hm." Altair scoffed and removed his heavier, more uncomfortable articles of clothing before laying down on the pillows and carpets.
"Altair...?" Altair held a hand up into a small beam of moon light to show Rayn where he was. "Where do I sleep?" He walked over, careful not to step on Altair by accident. "Right here." Rayn tipped his head to one side. "...where?" Altair sighed, obviously annoyed, before grabbing Rayn's ankle and forcing him down to the ground right beside him. Once again, Rayn blushed. This time, however, he was sure Altair could see it even through the darkness. "Here." Rayn tried to scoot away from him, but was kept in place by a strong arm. "I er...can I sleep over there...~?" Altair looked down at Rayn. "If you want to freeze to death, then go for it. I prefer my prisoners alive though, and I'm sure you'd prefer to live another day." Rayn remained stiff in Altair's arms, but sighed knowing that he was right about the desert nights. He forced himself to enjoy the warmth of Altair's body, finding himself relaxing with every passing second.
"It's easier for both of us fall asleep if you relax. I'm not going to hurt you." Rayn shivered even more. His breath was hot on the back of his neck. Slow. Steady. Sure of everything. He pressed himself closer to Altair without thinking and without realizing. Altair responded by holding him closer. "Why am I..." He pushed the thought from his mind. He found himself rather fond of his little prisoner.
"Malik, watch him for me. I'm going out for the assassination." Altair was strapping on the articles of clothing he had taken off. They consisted of everything but his pants. Rayn was the same way through the night, but he looked overheated. "Er...Rayn? Are you okay?" Rayn looked in the general direction of Malik's voice and nodded. When he woke up in the mornings, he was far from a well-groomed French man. His hair was a messy mop of black, tangled hair, it took him forever and a half to wake up and even longer to get on his feet, and he did nothing but slouch in the mean time. Malik laughed softly. "Such a child...~" Rayn flipped his hair up so one of his eyes were visible. "I'll have you know that I'm 21, thank you!" He stuck his lower lip out slightly without realizing it. "So says the expression on your face, Rayn...~" Malik said, receiving a flustered groan in response.
Rayn walked to the bath room, but Malik stopped him. "You took one last night." Rayn stuck his tongue out, but re-realized where he was and thought better of it and made his way back to the pillows. "You did that last night too." Rayn looked over to him confused. "Did what? Slept? It's not like I can do much around here." Malik thought for a moment. "You can go buy more incense for me...~" Malik tossed Rayn a few coins and waved him off. "But I don't know where to go..." Malik looked up to him. "Then follow Altair, he's going that direction anyways." Altair snapped his head around. "I'd prefer to do this quickly..." Rayn sighed and waited for the two to stop bickering before he said anything.
The argument was finally finished. It ended with Altair practically throwing Rayn up onto the roof and pointing in a direction before heading off. "Well that wasn't nice..." Rayn looked around and found a ladder to get down to the ground with. He followed the general direction that Altair pointed then followed the sweet smells until he found the herb seller. "Merci~" he then ran off back to the bureau.
"I thought de Sable said if the trip here didn't kill him, then the assassins would?" Two guards were taking their break in a small patch of shade. "I'm not sure. How do we know that that is him?" The first guard looked over with a stern look. "No, some Arabian just happens to look exactly like de Sable's boy and knows how to speak French." He clapped the second guard on the back of his head. "Jeez, no need to be rude. Should we send a pigeon?" The first guard nodded, then the two of them went back to their business.
"One foot...then...here...and...Merda!" He landed hard onto the tile floor of the bureau. "Ah, Rayn, so nice of you to drop in...~" Rayn looked up from the ground. "Ha ha..." Malik grabbed the collar of the shirt he was wearing and pulled him up like he was no more than a feather. "Did you manage to get the incense?" Rayn nodded and handed him the small package. Malik had asked him to get jasmine and he got jasmine. At least, that's what he thought.
"I'm just sick...I have a fever is all..." Rayn tried to reassure himself as he slipped into the relaxing hot water of the bath. His thoughts were uncontrollable. Hallucinations? Rayn went with that. As for the constantly rising temperature, he blamed it on a fever. His breath was growing shallow, more or less just panting now. Malik did all he could to stifle his laughter. Rayn had gotten amber, not jasmine. He walked away and began talking to himself.
"Altair will have fun with him tonight...~" Altair had just jumped in through the roof entrance. "Ah, speak of the devil." Altair tipped his head to one side. "I was just mentioning you to myself. Rayn got amber instead of jasmine. He's high now...~" Altair's eyes brightened and he smirked as Malik walked into his bedroom.
"Malik...?" He was sure he heard a noise in the dark bathroom. "Malik, I'm fine, its just a fever. Nothing I haven't dealt with before..." There was one thing he hated as much as he hated his father. Having his space invaded, especially when he was as exposed as a newborn. Altair stifled his voice and moved towards the edge of the large bath. He spoke up suddenly, his voice echoing off of the smooth tile in the room. "I'm not staying up any longer, so you and your French ways are going to have to deal with taking a bath with another man." Rayn had almost literally jumped out of his skin. He shot to the other side of the bath as quickly as he could, as if someone had come to kill him. Well, he was completely exposed, in a closed room with no escape, sharing a bath with a highly trained killer. But he sighed. He didn't seem to care as much as he normally would have if someone invaded his space like this. Instead, he completely relaxed against the edge of the bath, closing his eyes and trying to get through whatever illness was wracking his body.
"You do realize that you got amber instead of jasmine, correct?" Rayn shook his head. "No, but what's the difference...?" Altair couldn't help himself. He laughed loudly. "Ah, amber is a powerful aphrodisiac. You're only supposed to use it in small quantities. It seems Malik used enough to make you lose it~!" Rayn looked dumbfounded. He was high? This entire time he thought he was sick, he was just high? Since when did Altair seem so attractive...~? Rayn blushed suddenly and shot the lower portion of his face under water. Altair made his way over and cornered Rayn. "Come on, drowning yourself won't make it go away any- Well, actually, it will, but I'd prefer you alive." Rayn flushed suddenly, unable to control himself. Was he really pressing against Altair's body? He wrapped his arms around Altair's strong neck. Was he really doing that? He only realized that it was happening when Altair responded by wrapping his arms tightly around Rayn's small figure and holding him closely.
"You obviously can't handle the effects...~ I don't think the moist air is helping much either...~" Rayn stayed silent. He didn't know how to react. His own father, a Templar, beat him. Hit him. Wanted him dead. His enemy, an assassin, was here comforting him. Holding him closely. He began to question which side he was on.
Altair woke up with a mop of black hair in his face. He smiled softly at the naive way Rayn went about sleeping. He moved slightly, trying to not wake Rayn up, and tried to get more comfortable. "Mmh..." Altair froze. He knew Rayn was going to have a hangover, and he knew better than to underestimate anyone just because of their size. Rayn turned around in Altair's arms, mumbling in his sleep. Altair let out a sigh of relief and continued shifting around.
Malik walked in and nodded in acknowledgment to Altair, smirking at Rayn's limp body. "So how did he handle being high last night?" Altair chuckled slightly. "Jumped out of his skin, tried to drown himself when he blushed at me, clung to me like a child, and, personally, I'm afraid of the hangover to come...~" Altair whispered. He knew Rayn wouldn't wake up if they were talking quietly. He hadn't any of the days before. Malik sighed. "I'm the one that has to deal with it. You have to go back to Al Mualim." Altair craned his neck to look over to Altair. "What do you mean by that?" Malik looked over from his desk. "I mean, you can't take a Templar's child, especially not de Sable's child, into Masyaf without getting him killed. He'll have to stay with me if you want him alive. And I know you do."
Altair furrowed his brow. "What makes you say that?" Malik went back to his map. "I mean, you're blushing right now, and I can tell you're panicking on the inside at the thought of him getting hurt or even killed." Altair looked at Rayn and sighed knowing that Malik had backed him into a corner that he couldn't escape from. "Maybe so. But..." Malik looked back up. "But?" Altair sighed. "If anything happens to him while I'm gone..." Malik chuckled. "Don't worry...~"
"Why do I hafta, Malik...?" Rayn was throwing a fit. The last thing he wanted to do while he felt like this was go into the overheated, crowded, dirty, smelly market to pick up some things for him. "Because you're being irritable. It's dragging me down and, Altair can guarantee this, if I get angry, saying that you won't exist anymore is far beyond an understatement..." Rayn stepped back a little bit before sighing. "Fine..." He scrambled up the wall in his usual, sloppy fashion and escaped down into the market.
"There he is..." Four crusaders followed behind an unsuspecting Rayn. "Robert wants him back alive. It doesn't matter how injured he gets, however...~" The soldiers grinned evilly before walking off.
"Merci~" Rayn bowed his head slightly before walking off and allowing the gruff expression he held come back to his face. He wanted to stop by an herb seller to see if they may have anything for pain, but the smells of all the other herbs drove him away. He had tried once, but stumbled off like a man-man, gagging while he tried to speak. He didn't like that Altair and Malik were so used to the herb that was burned last night. Malik had been teasing him about it since he woke up.
"Nice...quiet...cool...~ I'll just hang out here for a little while before I head back...~" Rayn hadn't had his guard up for some time. Since he began to feel safe around the assassins, he hadn't allowed it to come up. He wasn't expecting to be grabbed suddenly. "Come on, Rayn. Your father has been expecting you for far too long." Another guard laughed after he finished talking. "And we can promise this...he isn't too happy...~" Rayn struggled in their grip. "No! He wanted me dead! I heard him speaking the night before he sent me out...Do not take me for a simpleton!" One of the guards struck him with the hilt of his sword. "Stop acting like an insubordinate! We can have you executed for it...~" They always sound pleased when whatever they say involves him being injured or even killed. Rayn knew he had to escape.
Rayn relaxed suddenly and laughed. "You guys have never seen me fight...have you..." He didn't give them time to answer. His leg shot up, hitting one soldier hard enough in the jaw to make a loud, sickening sound of a bone breaking. While the other three stood dumbfounded, he took his opportunity. He grabbed a knife from one of the soldier's belts, spinning and slashing his stomach. The other two had time to react, charging him with their swords drawn. Rayn fell to the ground, only inches from being hit by the swords. He cut one guard down and left him writhing on the ground. The other he tripped and slung the knife at hitting him in the very center of his chest. The guard with the broken jaw couldn't yell. He could barely hold his sword. "Must I teach you too...?" The guard dropped his sword and took off in the opposite direction. Rayn picked up his belongings and the things he got for Malik. Walking off, he started speaking to himself. "Maybe Malik was right...I think I am getting rather irritable..." He rubbed the bridge of his nose before continuing on.
Rayn looked around. Where was the bureau again? He remembered that it was near a perfume dealer. He almost threw up when he descended from the roof. He yawned before turning his head. Right into the chest of a very large man. A very large man wearing the uniform of a Crusader. A Crusader that happened to be his father. "Rayn...so good to see you...son..." He spat the last word, grabbing a handful of Rayn's black hair roughly. "Running from your duties, slacking off, helping the enemy, and killing your own men..." He began walking, dragging him through the market by his hair. Rayn knew he was near the bureau, he could smell perfume. "Malik! Malik, help! My Fath-" Robert struck him roughly, leaving his already groggy head useless to him. "No need for that...~ Your little one armed friend can't help you anyways." Rayn didn't know what he meant, but he at least had the feeling that Malik was okay.
"Come on." Robert spat, throwing him into the hands of some of the higher ranking officers who proceeded to tie him up. "We have a traitor to deal with."
Rayn looked through a crack in the cart's walls. They were miles from anywhere. But, there was an oasis near by. He immediately knew what his father was planning. They had done this to another man months ago.
The cart came to a stop. Rayn lurched where he was tied up. The door was thrown open and the rope around his neck was pulled on roughly. "Come on." He fell to the ground when the soldier deliberately pulled the rope sharply as he was exiting the cart. Everyone laughed, even his father. "So, what do you have to say for yourself, Rayn." Rayn struggled in the hard baked sand. "Nothing except that you are a poor excuse for a soldier and that you are the most despicable man I have ever laid eyes on..." Robert laughed. "Men, that tree there. The one alone just out of reach of the oasis." He smirked. "Cut it down so he will have no shade...~" Rayn struggled fruitlessly, trying to escape a slow, painful death.
The soldiers worked quickly, chopping down the tree so that even if the restraints were loose enough for Rayn to stand up, he would be just short of being able to slip the ropes up and over the top of the stump to escape. Rayn had been struck with the hilt of a sword to keep him from struggling while they tied him. "Let us hope that you repent and hope that your mother would forgive you of your sins, son..." Rayn spat in Robert's direction. "You should be the one repenting and hoping for forgiveness...This is everything mother was against..." Robert grimaced and pulled his sword sharply from his hilt. He slashed it at Rayn's face. It met it's mark. Rayn fell to the ground, writhing in pain, unable to hold his eye because of the ropes. "You see what you make me do to you, son?" Rayn squirmed. The sand was turning a bright shade of red, clumping up in small bits. "You leave me to make these decisions. To hit you like this. To leave you tied up in the desert." Rayn suddenly became still. Robert put his foot on his son's body. "Are you dead yet? Or must I tie you up as well?" Rayn suddenly jumped to life. "Far from you you bastard!" He landed a very hard kick on his father's knee, hearing a pleasing crack and a startled cry of pain. Robert responded by kicking him in the head, knocking him unconscious. "Tie him to the tree! Tie him by his neck! For all I care, you can suffocate him!" He paused and looked down at his knee before limping to a downed gate on a cart. "Get me a medic...Soldiers, we must go! And leave his things. Out of reach, if you would." One of the soldiers tossed his things out like trash, among them, a knife, which imbedded itself in the ground just inches from his foot.
Rayn was panting heavily. The heat was unbearable. Yet here he sat. Tied to a tree stump. Only feet away from a small oasis in the desert. Inches from a knife that lay just out of reach of his foot. He was blinded by the heavy flow of blood in his right eye. "Altair...Malik..." He dropped his head backwards onto the now dead tree. He was too weak to try to stand up. It had been an entire day since he had been left here to die.
His foot started to feel strange, so he shifted it. Still, it remained with the same feeling. Rayn forced his eye open to see a small cat pawing at the loose strings on his boot. "Well..h-hello...~" He maneuvered his foot so he could pet the small cat which purred in response. "You wouldn't mind chewing through these ropes for me would you...~?" The cat sneezed and sat in place. "Figured so..."
Rayn sighed, but an Idea came to his mind. He twisted his leg up so he could bite at the tied strings. He then flung his foot out to make the string land past the knife. The cat eyed it like it was prey, then pounced. Rayn pulled it back just fast enough to keep from having the string caught. The cat continued to eye the string, not paying attention to it's surroundings before...Yes! It had knocked the knife over and Rayn could now reach it.
He had been struggling for hours. Kicking it, smashing his foot against it to try to get a hold. He stabbed himself quite a few times, but he didn't care. Nothing could compare to the feeling of having those ropes relinquish their grip on his body. "My god..." Rayn tried to stand to his feet, but fell back to the ground. He couldn't stand. He went for dragging himself 50 feet to the oasis. The cat followed closely in tow, mewing and pawing at Rayn.
Rayn had finally managed to reach the water. He let his head drop down and he remained there until he needed air. He did the same thing over and over until he was able to use the relief to finally stand up. He needed something to eat. In this little oasis, that shouldn't be too difficult. Not far from the water hole, there was a strawberry bush filled to bursting with luscious, plump strawberries. Rayn smiled and made his way over with what little energy he had before collapsing again.
"If it weren't for the fact that I'd been on the brink of death, this would be pretty damn nice...~" He sighed and popped another piece of fruit into his mouth. This oasis was filled with fruits of all kinds. Even some of the most exotic that had cost too much for him in Jerusalem. This was heaven. Especially since he wasn't completely alone. He wondered how the cat had survived, but found the source when he ventured around. There were plenty of rodents and small fish trapped in pools of water. He smiled in amusement when the cat had slipped and fell into one of the pools trying to catch a larger fish. "I wonder how many times you've done that to yourself...~" The cat hissed and trotted off to some unknown destination. "Ah, almost a week and you still hate me...~"
Altair gripped the reigns tightly. He had received a letter that something had happened to Rayn. He needed to stop, however much he didn't want to. He was very low on water, and he knew this oasis to be filled with some of the freshest water. Something was up though. There was a large spot of dried blood on the ground about 50 feet from the edge of the oasis. "Probably another traitor in the midst of the crusaders...I wish that they would find another way..." He sighed and continued on.
He pulled his horse into the trees and hopped down onto the soft grass. "Get something to eat. We'll be heading out soon..." Altair said, patting his horse. Walking up to the edge of the water, he noticed something move in the bushes. He prepared himself for anything. Anything except being visited by a cat. "Ah, I see you still live here...~" The cat was soaking wet. He had just tromped away from Rayn after he was laughed at, but Altair didn't know that. The cat sneezed and sat down in a patch of sun to dry.
"Come on kitty cat~! I'm sorry~ I didn't mean to laugh~!" Rayn giggled as he walked through the oasis. He sighed when he finally saw the cat air-drying in a patch of sun. He walked out into the open, not even close to expecting an attack. He fell to the ground roughly, screaming, thinking that it may be one of his father's subordinates.
"...Rayn...?" That voice. He knew that voice. It was the same voice that comforted him not too long ago. "Altair..." He was pinned to the ground, a blade to his throat. Altair had been prepared to kill him. The would-be victim suddenly started to laugh. His would-be killer did the same.
Tears fell down Rayn's cheek. It was obvious to Altair that it was only from one side. He moved away the hair covering his right eye to reveal the remnants of a vicious attack. "What happened...?" Rayn looked away slightly. "It was my father..." 'So that's where the blood came from...' Altair picked the boy up. The cat had jumped onto his stomach. "I have a new friend...~" Rayn said, petting the damp cat gently. Altair smiled softly, hiding the fierce anger and hatred that rose inside of him. Robert de Sable would pay for far more than what he was already. Altair would see to that...
End
so yeah, there's Rayn's background story. Nice and long too, but only cuz I love you guys ^_^
anyways, tell me what you think and what not. I'll get back to Love Hate Kinda Thing sometime soon. After that, I'll do Cuccilio's story for ya