HUGE thank you to iguanablogger who is providing me with translations! Not the dodgy kind that google has either!

Key:

Ahna - 'please', but more desperate. Like "I beg of you!" Maspik- shut up (male/female)

Lo – no Aikh ata margish? - How are you feeling?

Ani kol-kakh miztair - I am so sorry (male) Ain Bahaya - it's nothing/no problem

000

He was drowning, sinking deeper with every struggle and the light from the sun was dimming – blackness was swallowing him. Black and red obscuring dark brown eyes as he felt like his lungs would burst from being so full of water, his heart halting and starting in agonising pulls. This had not been how he thought he would die – this had always been Altaïr's greatest fear…where was the great Assassin…hadn't he fallen in too? Altaïr couldn't swim, he was afraid of water…had his body already sunk to the bottom? Into the inky blackness still covering Malik like some foul disease – it was so hot down here and it hurt…wasn't drowning supposed to be peaceful?

Safety and Peace

Safety and peace…

…Peace

Where was his peace?

00

He sat up with an agonised yell, coughing and sputtering on water that was not really pouring from his mouth and shivering at the cold wet weight of his clothing that was not there. He felt hands grab him and he pushed violently against them, rolling his body to pin down the other with his hand around their throat – squeezing tightly as his body shook all over, "S-s-stop!" he glared down, unseeing, at the person clawing at his hand and wrist, the voice slowly seeping into his brain and telling him it was a woman's voice…a woman? He tried to focus and when he saw her face had turned red and was slowly turning purple Malik threw his body away from her. She coughed and took in deep breaths of air as he continued to shiver and cough through his raw throat; he fell on his left side and barely supported himself on the remains of his left arm. Barely able to breathe as he retched and choked on the bile produced of an empty stomach, Malik vomited on the cold stone floor. Hands found him again and this time he did not attack, he let the stranger rub his back firmly and quietly whisper to him that he was alright – that he was safe and no more harm would befall him. He was not drowning any longer…hadn't he sunk to the bottom? Sunk to his death with Altaïr?

"Al...Alt…" he heaved again, his stomach cramped powerfully and crippled him further, where was Altaïr? Had someone pulled him out also? "Taïr…where…?" He gave up trying to rasp out the question – everything hurt – why wasn't he dead?

"Please…ahna…" she patted his bare back in an attempt to prevent him choking further, his skin was hot and clammy under the pads of her fingers and her brows creased in concern, he was still so ill, "I am begging you, please…take deep breaths, breathe long, you are not drowning, you are safe and I will help you." His body lurched a few times as he tried to force the tension out of his muscles, her voice was light, accented beautifully and it seemed to seep into him and help his mind clear from the blackness of the water. She spoke in two languages as she was unsure of which he would understand and Malik decided he liked the mix very much in her accent – he understood both easily. "There…steady, calm…you are alive and this pain is proof - It will fade." He groaned in embarrassment as she produced a damp cloth from no where and wiped his mouth of the bile residue from his episode, she didn't seem to mind at all. He couldn't see her properly but he took note of the gentle smile just within his view as she tried to help him back into the bed. He helped as much as he could but he felt so weak and when he fell onto the bedroll his vision bled back into the darkness, he felt her hand stroke his cheek soothingly and her voice further lulled him, "I am here – you will not drown."

Once she was satisfied his breathing was even and that he was back into oblivion the young woman let out a relieved sigh and rubbed her neck gently, she would be bruised and her throat would hurt later on, she did not blame Malik though. He must have been having a terrible dream about what had happened to him and her touch had seemed like an enemy…she had been frightened, what if he had squeezed a little tighter? He had strength enough to break her neck if he had wanted to. She had been watching over him for two days, trying to get water into him at every opportunity, she was constantly back and forth from the well to have enough water to wash the sweat away and try to cool his fever…if she had of died – who would care for him? He would most likely die if she was not there. Shaking her head of the thoughts, she gave him another long examination; there was a bandage wrapped around his upper thigh, a tiny tinge of red had burst through the layers on the inside of his leg, most likely he had torn the injury when he had moved – she hated changing that bandage…well not hated, it embarrassed her. There were no men living in her tiny home and she had had to remove his clothes, wash his body – all of it – and tend to all of his injuries. The thigh wound was so close to his…she coloured at the thought and adjusted the blanket so it was properly covering his groin, she would deal with that wound later.

The next few cuts and bruises she came across were on the hard ridges of his stomach, her fingers traced a few of the scabbed wounds, they were healing well, his ribs she had bandaged as best she could, he was heavy and his prone body made the task difficult, the skin had been black and she was certain she could feel many of his ribs were broken. On his right temple was a small cut that was almost completely healed, she suspected it was what had him so confused and disorientated. She pressed her hand against his chest, his heart thudded strongly and she smiled, lingering for a moment to admire how their tanned skin merged together in a way that her hand seemed to vanish – flicking her gaze to his amputated limb she let a frown erase her previous smile. It was obvious it was an old injury, something terrible had happened in this man's past and he had had to have his arm removed from just above the elbow, she had bandaged the limb all the way to his shoulder but even now blood oozed and swallowed the white cloth, he had a horrible wound on his bicep, she was worried it might be infected and she made sure to wash and clean the wound several times a day but it seemed to throb angrily. She had no money for a real doctor to come and Malik had none in his belongings for her to use. She couldn't help letting her smile return, he was quite handsome, even in his weakened and sickly state, she had found herself on many occasions just staring at his well toned body and she knew his every feature, from the curve of his lips to the dark hair on his head that stuck out in odd places.

She had wondered what kind of job he did to be so evenly muscled, he wasn't bulky like the dock workers and he wasn't as lean as the message runners, he was perfectly in between and it wasn't until she had begun to collect the clothing she had hastily removed from him to stem the bleeding that she noticed the knives, the dagger, the sword and other supplies in his pouches that she realised what she had dredged up from the sea. Assassin. She had taken her time to clean his weapons from the salt water and blood that would ruin them and then she had washed and mended his clothing. After she had done these things she carefully folded and stored his secret in a hidden alcove f the tiny house – if anyone saw him she would tell them that he was a traveller attacked on the road. It would protect her and it would keep him alive until he was well enough. The trouble with living in a tiny village was that nothing was a secret, people visited to gawk at the man but no one stayed to help! She stood and decided the best thing to do now was settle back into her normal role of 'woman who lives alone' she fetched some water that was not fit for anything but cleaning the mess the Assassin had made on her floor and once it was gone she began making food, perhaps he would be awake today, she wanted desperately for him to eat something – anything!

A knock interrupted her while she was cutting up some vegetables and she cursed under her breath as the knife nearly caught her skin. She made her way over to the door and opened it cautiously, "Nina? What are you doing here?" the visitor rolled her eyes and walked in passing her friend. "Oh no you do not! He is still asleep, very ill and he is not a side show to be gawked at!" She pulled on the shorter woman's arm and dragged her toward the area she was preparing food. The woman called Nina whined in annoyance, pulling her hijab down to uncover her caramel brown hair and better glare at her friend.

"I am simply worried, you a lone, helpless damsel in such close quarters to that amazingly beautiful, beast of a man – I am simply checking on you…out of concern." She grinned cheekily and looked to see Malik's condition, she was disappointed to see him still unmoving but at least his breaths came easier now. A few days ago he had been rasping and struggling to get any air into the barely working lungs, "It looks like he will live – it is not fair! Most people go fishing and are lucky to get a fish! You go and you catch a husband! I am going to be stuck with Imran! …It is so unfair! I could slap you, Shula!"

Shulamit scoffed at her friends comment, "Husband? Maspik!" She cut the vegetables with a little more force than necessary and then waved the knife at her friend as she continued to rant, "He is a poor man who is fighting to stay alive! Not some…husband that is having a bad day – I am not saving him in hopes that he will marry me! Look at him, he is older than either of us and probably has a wife…and children!" Her little tirade fell on deaf ears as Nina shook her head, a grin dominating her pretty features.

"Or maybe, he is single or a widower! And he will be so grateful for all your tender loving care that he will pursue you ruthlessly and you will both fall madly in love and get married and there will be babies!" She squealed merrily and pretended to swoon over the counter, satisfied in herself for making her friend blush madly and try to hide her face with her long hair. "…Oh come on! I am playing! You have hardly said a word to me since I intruded into your home!" Nina moved to stand beside her friend and looked carefully, obviously she was tired, she was caring for a strange man who probably needed attention in the night and she knew for a fact that Shulamit had spent nearly all of her money on medicines and bandages for the man – Nina reminded herself to bring some leftovers later in the evening – that she hardly had money to buy anything for herself. Her brown eyes flashed dangerously as she noticed the way her friend was swallowing in an almost painful way and now that she looked she could see the beginnings of deep bruises. "…He has been awake?" she whispered and sent a wary glance at the man, "Did he try to strangle you? I will fetch my brothers – we will throw him out!"

"Lo! Lo, do not do that! It was an accident! He woke up for only a moment and he did not know where he was! He thought he was still drowning and that I was an attacker! He looked so terrified once he realised I was not hurting him…ahna, Nina, he was scared and once he realised I was no threat he made no movement to harm me." She held onto her friend's shoulders, her best puppy dog eyes on the younger woman as she tried to stop her from running for help.

Nina nodded slowly, her frown still in place, "Fine, I will not tell anyone but be careful! I will come back later to check on you!" she threatened and pulled her headdress back into place before opening the door to leave. "If anything happens, come find me. You know my family will protect you in your father's place." Shulamit nodded and smiled bravely at her friend as she left, Nina was her best friend but she worried too much over her! Shulamit had been on her own for almost a year, she was twenty three and fully capable of caring for herself! She threw the food into a pot to boil and carried it to the fireplace where it could cook; while she was free she wet a cloth and squeezed the moisture out from a small basin. She sat at Malik's side and dabbed at the sweat on his face, she would have to get more water later so she could bathe the rest of him and then she would check under his bandages and try to clean his wounds and then she would try to make him drink and then there was her own work she had failed to do! This was not an easy job! A frightened gasp escaped her mouth as a strong grip began crushing her hand; looking back at his face she saw that his eyes were open, wide and confused and so wonderfully dark and deep.

He took a few deep breaths and looked around the cramped but neat house, where was he? Where were his brothers? The Templers – where were they? Water dribbled down onto his cheek and he flinched at the icy feel, it even streaked down his wrist, Malik focused on the woman, his eyes registering the grimace of pain and then drifting down at where his hand had captured hers – his grasp so hard that the moisture escaped from the cloth trapped in her hand. It took a moment but he realised he was hurting her and let go abruptly, she released a shaky breath and cradled her hand to her chest but she did not flee from his side, "Aikh ata margish?" She asked and Malik realised this was the woman from earlier…he had been sick on her floor and she had calmed him…helped him back to the bed – and he had once again hurt her! Shaking his head at her question he reached up and traced the marks on her neck secretly pleased that she did not seem at all afraid.

"Ani kol-kakh miztair…" Malik muttered brokenly.

A smile broke across her concerned features and she grabbed his hand in both of hers, his apology was more of a blessing in her mind, he was awake, he was alive and he was not some violent Assassin that would kill her on the spot, "Ain Bahaya!" she dismissed his apology easily and let her smile grow as his expression became deeply puzzled. As far as he was concerned he had nearly killed her and she seemed happy by that fact! "I am Shulamit."

Sighing painfully and only wishing to be unconscious once more, he looked at her carefully with his blurred vision before deciding she deserved his trust, "Malik." Her chocolate eyes lit up at the new knowledge and she squeezed his hand in her excitement, he couldn't help returning the smile, it was weak and it hurt to do but she was pleased and that was enough to alleviate some of his guilt of causing her harm.

000

So, chapter one! I am taking this fic a little slower, I will update when I update and not before! Review! Let me know what you think!