Hidden Blades and Moonbeams

by Tari J. Deitrich

Simon Peter, Noah, Nathaniel, and Azaria are four young men raised by the Assassin Brotherhood in Aldenmor. They dedicate their lives to keeping peace in a country that abhors how they do it while trying to stay out of the King's eye. However, things get interesting when the King does get involved with them.

1. Prologue

Hello, my readers.
No, you're not imagining things. I took a very long break from this story and I do apologize for that. Then again, I took a break from many of my original works and fan fiction stories. Things weren't coming to me all that great until recently. Lately, I've been helping out a friend Haley Phoenix with her stories. More specifically, her Seven Cities Saga which is located on fiction press (the sister site to this one). I've been helping her flesh out details for her first novel, Camthaeran, and the companion guide which she hopes to publish at the same time. Until recently, my work has taken a back seat.

About a year or so ago, I started writing an Assassin's Creed fan fiction. That is until I hit a rut and haven't gone back to it. Now that I've restarted it, or rather looked back at what I did so far, I decided there were quite a few things I needed to do to it. Some chapters needed to be rearranged. And that is why I deleted Hidden Blades and Moonbeams. Just to restart it and move things around.

Here's a bit of background before you start.
1. This story doesn't take place in the time frame or the places you're familiar with. There also won't be any appearances of any of the assassins you know except for maybe Jacob and Evie Frye who have been taken out of their Victorian England setting and placed in modern day England. There may be mentions to Altair, Ezio, Connor, Edward, and the others but none of them appear in this either.
2. This takes place in a country in a dimension all its own called Aldenmor. Aldenmor (the world and everything therein) belongs specifically to my best friend and writing partner, Kawaii Stella, who has kindly allowed me to make a few alterations here and there. Therefore, credit to Aldenmor belongs to her. Aldenmor is a vampire-dominant country (I just wanted to point that out) ruled over by a monarchy.
3. Many of the names you see regarding the ruling family come from other fandoms such as Yugioh GX, Trinity Blood, Teen Titans, and others. Credit for those character names and their semblances go to the creators of these fandoms.
4. I'm also receiving help with this story from Kawaii Stella. She and I went back and forth with much of the dialogue over the last few days. Since we are working together on a few other stories, this one did not interfere with the line up at all.
5. This story also has a lot of back and forth viewpoints from various characters. Some assassins, some not assassins. I am making sure to divide each of these viewpoints up before they change to avoid any confusion.

Without further ado, feel free to Read and Review. I hope you enjoyed it.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Assassin's Creed Franchise. Anything pertaining to Assassin's Creed belongs to UBIsoft.

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| Prologue |

~Simon Peter's POV~

I don't remember much about my previous life. The life I had before the Brotherhood took me and my identical twin brother, Andrew, in. We'd been in foster care since infancy, only to be shoved out into this cruel, cruel world after graduating into Master Hashshashin.

The whole time we lived with that family, they made it clear they were only going to raise us, but they weren't duty-bound to love us. Andrew and I spent a lot of time alone, not only trying to figure out what our lot in life was, but also trying to glean information about our parents. What we learned at the age of seven did not to bestow much confidence.

The Mentors wouldn't tell us much about the man and woman who sired and birthed us. We were never given any names, only telling us our father was a prominent figure in the Brotherhood and was cast out for having unsanctioned relationship with a Christian woman in secret. Our father, when confronted by the Mentors, remained unrepentant; announcing for the entire Brotherhood to hear that he loved this woman. That he had wedded her beneath the eye of her God. Despite the Mentors' wishes, he refused to annul his marriage to her, even going as far as to toss the Brotherhood's insignia upon the courtyard the storm away.

For years, the Brotherhood left our parents be. They only interfered when a fateful accident claimed their lives. The Mentors sent two Hashshashin in to lay claim to us, explaining to us that although our father had left the Brotherhood behind, his children could still be inducted into the Brotherhood whether we wanted to or not.

Mentor Jacob's explanation had explained much. Why we had no family save for the acolytes who trained with us and the foster parents who refused us any sort of parental affection. Why the adults in the streets called us sons of the betrayer. Why we were watched so closely and only sent on missions with a mentor to watch us.

When we reached a level of maturity, the Mentors called Andrew, myself, and four others to them. They told us we had been selected to be in the military of Aldenmor, not explaining why besides their need for talented men such as ourselves to prolong our training with the outsiders of Aldenmor. I was sent to join the Military Police, Andrew was sent to the Garrison. The other four, Razeen and Hasan—Muslim Hashshashin—and Theophilus and Nikolos—Greek Hashshashin- were also assigned. Razeen with me, Nikolos with Andrew, Hasan and Theophilus in the Defense Corps. The Mentors told us to do well but keep our natural skills hidden.

"Do so well the King would be surprised," said Abraham, the greatest of all the Mentors.

A car came to get us. We were to arrive on separate days to avoid any suspicions we might bring to the Brotherhood. Razeen and I went on the same day, in separate cars, within hours of each other. Razeen begged to be allowed to go first. His request was fine with me as I wished to have a moment in private with Andrew.

Andrew had not much to say. He seemed anxious, perhaps even angry. He could not understand why Abraham, Mus'ab, and Myles were sending us away. Andrew feared they were punishing us for something without telling us what it was. He went as far as to speculate we were being punished for our father's desertion.

I did not believe it to be so. I believed our father paid for his desertion with his life.

Yet, there had to be a reason why the Mentors deemed it necessary for us to leave the commune and join the Aldenmoran military. They would not even tell us when to come back, let alone if we were to return at all. Then again, it was not uncommon for Hashashins to be sent away for prolonged missions. The only thing I could be sure of was the Mentors would be keeping in contact with us. That we were not being dismissed, only sent on a mission together.

The world outside the commune was very different from what I had expected. Not that we saw much of it between the commune and the base the car took us to. Mentor Joseph handed me a packet of information—ID's birth certificate, and the like—and told me to present these to the recruiter. He told me that a contact inside the registry board had already created a background for me in case anyone needed to check.

The recruiter was a petite thing. A small and pretty female. Short, wavy, light-brown hair. Amber eyes. Pale skin. She pursed her lips as I drew near. Sizing me up. The plastic tag pinned to her uniform read DREYSE, Hitch.

"Name?" She asked, curtly.

Simon Peter Spielheimer." I said. I had already memorized the name in my packet. We often went without any last names unless necessary. The Mentors would often reward us with names upon completing our training.

Dreyse could barely hide a smirk. I could not tell if she was laughing at my first name or last. It did not matter to me if the Mentors had only just given me a new name, it was now mine. I found myself forcing my anger into an easy boil in my stomach.

I watched her scribble my name down. Her shoulders trembled, barely able to conceal her laughter. "Age?" She asked, voice cracking with ill-contained glee.

"Seventeen." I answered. At least my age remained the same. No doubt, many things about me were still spun with truth.

"Young buck." She commented, her laughter subsided into a hungrier look that I understood less than how she could compare me to a male deer.

I said nothing, only waiting for this process to be over.

"May I see your identification?" She snapped her fingers at the packet I still carried in my left hand.

Wordlessly, I passed it over, wondering if the Mentors had made a mistake sending me here. Why would they send me on a mission with no end date like this? What were we really supposed to do?

Dreyse sent my information ahead and I was led to a fitting room where I was given a uniform and told to change. A plastic badge was passed to me and I pinned it onto the lapel of my shirt. A chain onto which hung two, flat disks were given to me and I hung them around my neck. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I realized it was too late. I had been indoctrinated into the military outside the Brotherhood. Those people had eaten up the Mentors' subtle string of lies and accepted them as truth.

I was reminded of what Mentor Joseph taught us.

"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember . . ."

"Nothing is true."

"Where other men are limited by morality or law, remember . . ."

"Everything is permitted."

It made me wonder how blind these people were that they were so willing to accept what was presented before them. How far would the dig to learn the truth—the real truth? I promised not to make them ask questions. To be unassuming. To fly under their radar. They must never know Razeen and I were not normal humans—there was nothing in the packet to indicate I was a vampire, which is to obvious of a lie as they would notice my lack of blood intake. I would have to be careful.

And so began my life in the Aldenmoran military. This grueling life made me miss the quiet of home. Made me miss the religious traditions of my people and the colorful blend of Greeks, Jews, and Muslims. We barely saw our brothers assigned to the other branches. Apparently, the other branches did not interact much. I missed Andrew's company, but it seemed Andrew did not miss me. At least he didn't seem to when we met for Yom Kippur.

We did no embrace as we used to after having not seen each other for some time—being separated on missions used to make us anxious to see one another. Andrew only nodded at me to acknowledge my presence and gave me the traditional greeting. The rest of the day he spent giving me the cold shoulder. I wondered what was eating him but even Nikolos—Andrew's bunk mate in the Garrison—could not tell me. He could only suggest that, perhaps, Andrew was having trouble adjusting to being severed from the Brotherhood..

God knew I hoped that to be so.

For five years, we six faithfully served the branches our Mentors assigned us to. Razeen and I made a game out of trying to best one another by accumulating a rank before the other. Unfortunately, being in the Military Police meant we could not ear ranks as fast and we were forced to watch Theophilus and Hasan excel before we even became Staff Sergeants. Hasan became a Lieutenant and an avid sniper. Theophilus became a Sergeant and eventually, a brilliant Captain. Andrew and Nikolos only gained ranks as slowly as we. Even though Razeen and I barely spoke with our other brothers, we were able to watch for news on each other's progress thanks to the bulletin board located in the center of the base.

In our fourth year before our contract was to be up, Razeen quietly reminded me of our mission to impress the King—whatever that meant, we weren't sure. With so few options, we went to the Commander, Nile Dok, to ask how to better ourselves. Dok gave us several options: Security for Transport, Security in the Brig, Mounted or Dismounted Patrols, and Dog Handling.

Razeen quickly volunteered for Mounted Patrol, saying he liked horses—perhaps more than he liked people. I chose Security in the Brig. Doing this work was boring, though as long as I did my job, I was rewarded. I did well there. Even though I was settling into this life, I knew the Mentors were expecting something to come out of this. I only wondered what.

A year after Razeen and I chose our stations, I received my answer when Commander Dok came and handed me a summons from the Palace.

"I had this come across my desk this morning. Couldn't help but think of you." Dok said.

I took it from him and began to read.

NOW HIRING
Location: Palace of Aldenmor
Date: February 10-12
Time: 10A.M. Til NOON

We are currently looking for individuals to serve on the
PALACE GUARD DETAIL
Individuals must be able to work productively as a team.
Military Experience Preferred
Apply in person at Palace Aldenmor
Ask for King Sartorius Shovat

I looked at Commander Dok, noticing him beaming expectantly at me. It was as though he believed I should apply. For what reason, I wasn't sure.

"You're one of the best we have, Spielheimer. They way you pick up on things is astounding. I don't know how you do it. I'm surprised you didn't join the Defense Corps. You really would've grown there. But here . . . we're holding you back. Stifling your skills." He hooked his thumbs into his belt. "Besides, your contract with us is almost up. You can either sign up again or go home, but I'd really be happier if you'd join the King's personal guard."

I returned my gaze back to the page before me. The Mentors had said nothing about an end date, let alone if we'd be allowed to return home. I suspected they were waiting for this. Or, at least, something akin to this.

"What do you think, Spielheimer? Wanna be a guard and live in a lavish palace?" His ruddy face split open wide as though he's just told me a joke. I didn't understand what that joke might be as I did not see the humor in his words.

"I will have to speak with my rabbi," was all I said. It was common knowledge around base that I am Jewish. It was also accepted that I had joined the military under my "rabbi's permission". I had also made it clear that I had to check with my "rabbi" before making any other adjustments to this life.

Since Dok knew of my religious background, he only nodded; giving me permission to place a call out to Rosewood and ask Mentor Abraham what he though of this new outcome. Much to my astonishment, the Mentors had expected this. Had planned for this. They ordered me to apply, extending the same instruction to Razeen as well. Mentor Abraham told me that one of us had to be hired as a personal guard to the Kin. The other five were reserve guards meant to stand by in case the initial hiree couldn't hack it.

So, here I was, days later, sitting in a warmly-lit hallway of the Palace. White marble shined beneath my clean and shiny combat boots. I stared at the black dress slacks coating my legs. Creases starched so much my legs burned and itched beneath my palms. Across the door from me sat Razeen, who blatantly explained he had no desire to act as a guard for a bunch of spoiled royalty.

Even if we were to spy on the King and Queen.

Hasan and Theophilus had already applied, having been told by both Commander Zoë and Mentors Mus'ab and Myles to do so. Nikolos had told us that he and Andrew were planning on applying the next day. Though Andrew seemed bitter about it. I wondered if my twin planned to leave the Brotherhood. It wasn't like he couldn't renew his contract with the Garrison and find better living outside Rosewood. Nor was it like Andrew was dangerous enough for the Mentors to fear him if he did decide to desert. Desertion was still frowned upon. Former Hashashins often met with aggression or suspicion.

Still, I feared for my twin. Feared what he would do. The Brotherhood was all we had. They made us what we are.

I chose not to dwell on that. Chose not to think about what my twin could do. I, instead, looked at the walls. Light-cream catching light from the windows. Familial pictures hung up at regular intervals and priceless decorations around the corridors. Flowers dotted the spaces below each picture or sentineled the decorum. Gold-trimmed molding lined the bottom of the wall where it met the floor or arched around the doorways.

I got up to study one of the pictures before me. A blue-haired man and a purplish-haired woman sandwiching a silver-haired boy between them. All three were smiling with the happiest expressions one could imagine. I could tell this wasn't fake. I had seen faked joy before. This wasn't it.

A door finally opened and the living semblance of the man in the picture stepped out. He wasn't very old, but then, I'd heard of vampires living for near a millenia and never looking a day over twenty. But I knew this man was well into his thirties and nearing forty.

The man looked around, spotted us, then approached.

We stood up and saluted him.

"King Sartorius," we intoned in unison.

The king inclined his head. "Gentlemen."

Taking that to mean "at ease", we relaxed.

"Your Majesty, sir, we're here to apply for the guard position you posted." Razeen said.

"Do you understand what this position entails?"

"We are to guard the royal house and the members inside." We both said.

The king looked slightly amused, though we knew not why.

"Do you know why this position opened up?"

"No, sir."

"The guard assigned to my wife in preparation to become our new babies' guard died tragically in an automobile accident a few weeks ago. With three months remaining in my wife's pregnancy, we need to fill the spot very soon."

"We are to guard . . . children?" Razeen asked.

I bit my tongue. I loved kids.

"That is correct."

Elsewhere in the palace we could hear young children squealing in play.

"Children are precious and innocent, and also very vulnerable. I want my children kept out of harm's way. Do either of you have experience with children?"

"Not in our home life, sir." Razeen said. "I am the youngest of five."

"I am a twin." I said.

"But we serve on the military police division and sometimes minding children is in the job description." Razeen added.

The king looked at me. "You are a twin?"

I nodded. "I have a brother identical to me. My name is Simon Peter and my brother's name is Andrew."

He smiled. "How wonderful. We are expecting twins."

I smiled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Razeen attempt to apply a poker face. No doubt he was wondering how he was to watch two children at once. We had both assumed we were to be guarding the whole house. Not the family's many individuals.

A small child, perhaps five years old with purple hair cut to her chin ran to her father.

"Daddy, when will we play in the snow?"

"In a little while, Raven. After daddy finishes the interviews."

The little girl looked up at us.

I squatted in front of the girl. "Hi. What's you're name?" I asked.

"Raven." She said. "What's yours?"

"Simon Peter." I answered.

"Do you like the snow, Simon Peter?" She asked me.

"I do. It's nice to watch it fall."

Raven's eyes sparkled as she nodded. "It glitters, too!"

"Do you like the glitter?"

Another excited nod.

I smiled.

"Raven!"

I looked up to see a teenage boy with dark hair and red glasses standing on the balcony.

"Aunt Sari's got lunch ready!" The boy called.

Raven squealed and ran to her brother and the promise of lunch.

"How many children have you, Your Majesty?" Razeen asked.

"Eleven." The King answered. "The twins will make thirteen."

"So many heirs." Razeen muttered.

"Now, your job with the children would be to guard them and protect them. I do hate to call it baby sitting, but sometimes that is what it will entail. For the most part, while they are young, their mother and I will also be around. But for when they begin to get older and venture out, you'll go with them. Sometimes you will be able to keep a distance, others you'll stay close by. I feel like you both should be experienced with such details. Am I correct?"

"Not really." Razeen said.

The king looked a little disappointed with that response. "What have you been trained to do?"

"Police work in the military." I answered. "I did a year of guard duty in the brig."

"I was on mounted patrols with the horses." Razeen added.

"I see. What makes you feel qualified to protect my children?"

Razeen said nothing. Mounted patrols were nothing like "babysitting". I couldn't help but feel like this was a mistake.

"My Lord, guarding the brig is much like 'babysitting'. I was tasked with watching prisoners until their court hearing. I have stopped jail breaks before as well. Nothing escaped my notice."

Razeen still said nothing. Perhaps wishing he'd done something else instead of equestrian patrols.

"I see." The King said, looking thoughtful. "How gentle are you with your mounts?" He asked, looking at Razeen. "Do you tend to them yourself?"

"Yes sir. We are responsible for all our horse's needs. Feeding, grooming, and cleaning. I spent most of my time tending to my horse when I wasn't riding or seeing to my own needs."

"Very good. Many of the children enjoy horse riding just as my wife and I do. It would be nice to have a guard familiar with them. We had one a while back the was just terrified of them."

Razeen did not seem delighted with the idea of riding with children.

King Sartorius noticed. "Are you still interested in this position? I only want those serious in looking after my children."

Razeen didn't answer right away. To anyone watching, it would've appeared he was weighing the question carefully in his mind. What I saw was an inward grimace at his disobedience to the Brotherhood. His own discomfort mattered little to Mentor Mus'ab.

But was Razeen's sanity worth his obedience?

Finally, Razeen shook his head. "Apologies, Your Majesty. I suppose I am not a good fit for this position. Not yet anyway."

The king nodded. "I appreciate your honesty. Perhaps in the future there will be an opening more suited for you."

"Such as sentinel work?" Razeen asked as though requesting the king think of him next time he needs a new guard to do something as simple as guard the front door of his house.

He nodded. "We usually look for one to two new sentinels each late summer, you may consider applying for that then."

Razeen bowed. "I look forward to reapplying, My Lord."

"We will be glad to see you again."

"Thank you, My Lord." He said. He still waited for that word of dismissal.

Razeen turned away and marched toward the front entrance.

I watched him go out of the corner of my eye. The rest of my attention was on the king. "Yes, sir." I said.

"Very good. Why don't we continue the interview in my office?"

"As you wish."

His Highness led me to an elevator, where we went up to the next level of the palace. Down a tastefully decorated corridor and around a corner led us to the king's home office. Inside he sat behind the large desk in a leather chair. He motioned for me to make myself comfortable in one of the guest chairs.

The guest chair was comfortable enough to make such a task easy. Although, I felt like I was melting into the fabric it was so comfortable. I had to force myself to pay attention to the king.

"Tell me a little about yourself, Simon Peter."

This was not a question I was expecting. What did he want to know? I couldn't very well mention my background with the Brotherhood. What could I say? I'm a soldier? He already knew that. The year spent in the brig was already known.

I tried to think about what the job entailed. Personal guard to the king's future children. Twins, no less. Would my background in foster care help with any of that?

Sensing my hesitation to answer, the king broke the question down. "Why are you interested in protecting my children? What draws you to leave a career with our fine military?"

I opened my mouth to answer, hoping it would be an acceptable response. "I wish to grow beyond the constraints of the military and hone my skills in a way that would be beneficial for the whole of this country."

"I see. I take it then you believe that my children are a part of this country's future?"

Though subtle, I caught the undertone of the question. He was looking to see if I thought his family was good for Aldenmor.

"Are not children the future for any family or Country?" I asked. "I believe we borrow our world from the future generation. They inherit what we leave behind. From what I can see, you are raising for yourself future kings and queens and your heirs seem to be fine people. I wish to help you continue molding your heirs into good people this world can be proud to call their king or queen."

The king smiled. "Thank you. They are our future, and they pave the way for every person who follows. I think you will make a fine protector for our twins."

"It would be my honor to protect them."

"Are you sure you are up to handling two children?"

"My brother and I were raised in a foster family of eight. Six were younger. Two were elder. If I can handle chasing six, two are less challenging."

Smirking the king nodded. "Very good. I can understand where you are coming from, then, having two older brothers and an older sister, and two younger sisters."

I was confused. "Pardon me, My Lord, I thought you and Princess Sarina were the only two in your family. If you had elder brothers, how is it you inherited the throne?"

"My elder brothers are from my adopted family on earth. They took us in after mother and father vanished."

"So, your brothers are not blood heirs."

"No. Just Sarina and myself. The Tolens already had three children and a fourth coming soon after when they took us in off the streets. Their house was full but they made room." His highness chuckled. "I just recently brought most of my medical books here from home. I think mom was happy to have more room for her canned vegetables."

I did not say anything to that but I allowed myself to chuckle. Perhaps my own foster parents were happy to have room for more foster children.

"They couldn't afford to put me through school, but they did support me on my journey." The king was thoughtful for a moment. "I do need to ask, Simon Peter, do you have any kind of emergency medical training?"

"First aid." I answered.

"I see. I would like you to get a bit more training then, just your basic CPR, how to handle a child choking, food allergies, that sort of thing before you take your new uniform. A few of the children do have allergies, so there is a chance the twins will as well. I would like you to be prepared."

"I understand, sir, and I am willing to do so."

"Excellent. We welcome you to our staff."

"Thank you, sir."

The king rose from his seat. "You may wonder around to gain familiarity with the palace and the other children. Arella should be around somewhere. I'm sure she'll want to meet you, seeing as you'll be following her around."

"Am I to follow her around until the children are born?"

He nodded. "It would be best, I think, since she'll be with the babies most of the time once I return to work."

"I understand, sir."

"How long until you will be released from your military duties? If need be I can put in a word with Commander Jackson to have you released earlier. Seph owes me one."

"My contract with the Military Police is nearly ending. I suspect should I take this post, my contract will end. Commander Dok said as much even he showed me the poster."

"I see."

"I shall have to check with Dok. He'll know more."

"Do what you need to. Your quarters here will be ready for you."

A gentle knock came at the door before it opened. In came the queen, her arm draped over her large belly.

"Perfect timing, Arella." The king said, stepping around the desk to greet his wife. "I'd like you to meet the twins' guard."

I got out of my chair, stepping around to meet her.

"Queen Arella. It is a pleasure to meet you." I said. I couldn't take my eyes off her round belly. She looked ready to pop at any moment.

"The pleasure is all mine." Arella said. She laughed sweetly at my stare. "Hard to believe I still have three months to go, isn't it? They're certainly making themselves comfy in there."

"Do you know what you're having?" The words tasted like turpentine coming out of my mouth. It wasn't something we discussed in Rosewood. We preferred to keep the unborn's genders secret until birth as a way of saying "what will be, will be". In the world outside Rosewood, I'd noticed many friends asking such a question to expectant mothers. I only deemed it polite to ask.

"No, we always like to be surprised." Arella said with a smile. "Even though Sar could probably tell by looking at the ultrasounds, he swears he doesn't know."

"I don't." He insisted. "I never look that closely, no matter the temptation.

"I see. Well, whatever they are, I'm sure you will be quite happy."

"Of course we will be. We're very excited for them to arrive. Sarina is determined we'll have a boy and girl, and her premonitions have been correct for several of our children." Arella said. "Though, she predicted Abel wrong." She said with a smirk.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Perhaps wishing too hard for a niece." I remarked.

"That's what I think." Sar grinned. "She had even bought little dresses. Luckily for her Lilith came along next, so the dresses have been put to good use."

"That's good."

"It is."

"Sar, your kids are begging to go outside and play."

I turned and saw the crown princess standing there with a pink-haired baby on her hip. The young one looked to be just under a year old, teething on a colorful jelly ring.

I was startled by the odd color hair on that baby.

How did a mother with purple hair, and a father with blue and white hair make a pink-haired baby?

"Aw, come here, Aelita." Arella said, taking the baby into her arms. The little one smiled at her mother.

"Mama!"

Arella kissed her head.

I watched, awkwardly, unsure how to proceed.

The crown princess looked at me and smiled.

"How good it is to see you, Inspector. I haven't seen you since your last inoculations."

I suddenly remembered that Sarina was a nurse on the army base. "Good to see you, too, Princess." I said.

"I assume you've been well, seeing as I haven't seen you recently."

"About as well as to be expected." My words were honest.

Sarina nodded in understanding. "That's good."

"Simon Peter has just become our newest guard." Sartorius informed his sister.

"How wonderful! Congratulations!" Sarina smiled. "I hope the kids don't run you ragged."

"If they have not run you ragged, I suppose I shall be fine."

"That's the spirit."

Something made baby Aelita jump and squeal. "What's the matter?" Sartorius asked his wife.

"She felt the babies kicking. They've been very active today." Arella said, soothing her daughter.

"They're anxious to come see the world."

"Feels like it. Or they just enjoy keeping their poor mother up at all hours of the day and night."

"I'm sorry."

"It is just a part of motherhood." Arella said. "You'll see for yourself how active a baby can be once they've been born."

I just nodded.

"Don't let her scare you." Sarina told me. "Most of their kids have been pretty tame."

"I heard the horror stories from the Defence Corps. Very little scares me after that."

The princess nodded sadly. "They all have seen a lot of horrors. Some who return are never the same."

I nodded.

"Anywho," Sartorius said, interrupting his sister. "You may return to your duties, Simon Peter. We look forward to you wearing our uniforms."

I bowed. "I look forward to serving you, Your Majesty."

"Thank you. Don't forget about those training courses before you return. Enjoy your day."

"You as well."

With another bow, I left the comforts of the palace. Razeen met me in the car bound for base. He arched a black eyebrow at me when he saw the smile on my face.

"I am assuming the King accepted you as a 'babysitter'." He remarked, dryly.

"He did indeed, Aah. This is good for us, you know." I said.

Razeen said nothing to that. What he did say was, "Better you than me, Shaqiq. Children make me easily annoyed." He clenched his fist around the door handle. "Did you see the way that one girl interrupted her father when he was in a meeting? If she was my child, she would have known when it was acceptable to interrupt me when I am working."

I did not respond. Razeen was even less likely to settle down than I was. Time away from Rosewood had made things difficult for him as he was no longer looking to a Hashshashin-born girl to wed, nor was he out in the field looking for an impoverished woman he could take to bed with him. At the same time, I couldn't help but wonder what Razeen would really be like as a father. No doubt, if he'd had a daughter, she would've had him wrapped around her finger. Razeen talked like a tough man, but I'd seen a softer side to him when he worked the stables. Even showing the younger personnel how to work with their horses.

"When we get back, you need to tell the Mentors what happened. They will be pleased with this result." Razeen reminded me.

I nodded. As promised, I made my report to the Mentors when I got back to base; telling Dok I had to tell my "rabbi" the good news. Dok understood and even helped me find classes for CPR and other pre-emergency classes. He then informed me that my contract was now up and congratulated me on getting a guard post at the Palace.

I still couldn't help but wonder what all the Mentors had in mind for me there.