Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of the franchise Assassin's Creed. They belong to Ubisoft. All original characters and situations are fictional. Resemblances to real persons or events are coincidental.

Also, I am not a native English speaker, so please bear with the grammar and spelling errors.

Definitions:

Bismillahi arrahmaanir raheem = in the name of the almightly Lord

LITTLE BELLS RINGING

One

She stared at his hand, unable to tear her gaze away from an unfamiliar, but strangely intriguing sight of a hand with only four fingers. Where his ring finger should have been was only a sad stump. Suddenly it struck her where this mutilating tradition was from. Her grip around the tray in her hands tightened.

The Assassins' Brotherhood.

Lower your gaze, Esma!She quickly averted her eyes and made her way back to the kitchen. Her palms were sweaty. Should she inform her father about this...man? It would probably be better not to make a scene and wait. He looked normal enough for now.

She started to beat the dough to distract her mind, but she could not withhold herself from glancing at the hooded man's table every now and then.

"You're overdoing it, Esma," said her father, Maghrub, who peeked over her shoulder. His sudden appearance startled her and she let a little gasp escape. "Did I surprise you?" The man withdrew and smiled. "It seems like you are holding a grudge towards the dough!"

"Gracious, Father. Yes! You startled me…" Her glance flicked towards the hooded man again though he seemed peaceful enough with his cup of juice. She looked down at the dough. "I think I was relieving some pressure?"

"Pressure from what?" The older man started to chop up some beautiful, red meat. "Has someone been bothering you?" He paused momentarily to look at his daughter.

"No, nothing of that sort," Esma immediately replied. "You know that Maher has been accompanying me whenever I need to go somewhere."

In reality, she did not like her cousin Maher's company. Sometimes he would get too close for comfort, which is why she preferred to go alone. She didn't have the heart to tell her father this as his brother and his son Maher were the only family he had in this town. Her mother died while giving birth to her younger sister, who died of illness at two years age. She would not want to cause any more grief to her father.

Their restaurant was good business in Jerusalem. Her father had a gift for cooking. His humble efforts in combining the almighty Lord's providing seemed to really please the other brothers and sisters.

"I have been told that Maher is not always around—" Maghrub stopped midsentence when he noticed the hooded customer raising his cup towards them. "Ah, Esma, it looks like our brother wants some more sap."

Esma looked to his table. The man seemed to be in thought. She wiped her hands to a wet cloth and with feigned calmness she made her way to him.

"A refill, brother?" She strained a smile on her face. Her fingers clenched around her apron.

"Yes, please." His voice was surprisingly pleasant. It was calm and collected. "It's good sap," he added. He raised his head and looked at her. His hood obscured most of his face, but she could see his straight nose and somewhat dry lips where a long scar ran across.

"Thank you." She quickly collected the cup and retreated to the back. Somehow she could feel him staring at her back, but she did not want to turn around to confirm the feeling.

After she had brought him another drink, he asked her to order a good dish for him, a large serving he emphasized. She repeated this request to Maghrub who then started to prepare her favourite meal: lamb with vegetables and bread. It was a relatively simple dish but quite popular and absolutely delicious seeing as how her father prepared it.

Esma put the dish down in front of the mysterious customer. "Please enjoy the food! Bismillahi arrahmaanir raheem!" She smiled, "All praise to the Lord for sustaining us food."

The man gave a nod of approval.

"You're most welcome, brother."

Beta reader: Simply Laura.

Author notes: Just before bedtime, I like to write little bits and pieces… I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :-) More to come. /Update: revised chapter.