Fork in the Road
I do not own Assassin's Creed. However, I do own the characters that you do not recognise and the plot for this story.
Chapter 1
Hana pulled on her brown dress and white apron before tying her copper hair up in a bun with a white rag. Her routine had been the same since her mother had passed away and she had been taken in by the blacksmith. She cleaned all the bedchambers on the fourth floor of the assassin's citadel and she was thankful that she wasn't in charge of the mess hall or the library, her little legs and arms could only do so much!
She climbed the stairs up to the fourth floor, and made her way towards the cupboard at the top of the stairs. Pulling out a mop and bucket, which she filled with the tap at the side of the small room. There were ten rooms to clean, and the first thing she did was empty and restock the fireplaces, secondly she cleaned the stone floors, then polished the furniture. Finally, the young woman made her way around the rooms stripping the bedsheets and taking them down the stairs to the washroom, fetching fresh linen while she was down there.
Hana washed her hands and wiped them on her apron before she set to work at changing the bedding in each room. Once she was done, she would be able to go home!
But, as she reached for the door handle after changing the sheets in the last bedroom, she gasped upon finding her bracelet missing. She wheeled around, her heart pounding in her ears.
She needed to find her bracelet.
She headed straight for the fire, sticking her hands in and fumbling around. Black ash marked her hands and her face from where she wiped at her brow. "No, no, no!" She cried, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.
"Is there something you're looking for in particular?"
"Forgive me!" She gasped, pushing herself onto her feet, wiping her filthy hands on her relatively clean apron. Her eyes cast down towards the ground at her feet, the Mentor of the Brotherhood tilted his head to the side curiously.
"What is it, my child?"
"I've lost my bracelet, Sir."
"What is so special about a strip of leather?"
"My mother gave it to me." She informed him, her hand moving to touch her wrist where the bracelet should be. "She had been freed from slavery in Acre, and it was a souvenir she had from her travels."
The older man nodded his head in understanding, "She was freed by one of my men?" He questioned.
The girl nodded, "Yes, his name was Umar."
"Did your mother have a relationship with him?"
"No, she was pregnant with me when she was still a slave. Umar brought her here with a few other villagers for freedom. She died of a fever last year, which is why the bracelet means so much to me."
"Who's looking after you, child?"
"Rasil, Sir."
Al Mualim raised an eyebrow curiously, "You're the girl my blacksmith has taken in?"
She nodded, "Yes, Sir. He has been very kind to me."
"I will help you find your bracelet, child."
Her eyes lit up, "Thank you, Sir. That is very kind of you-"
He held up his hands to calm her from her sudden excitement, "But you must return home at once, before Rasil starts to worry about your whereabouts. I shall return your bracelet to you later, if I can find it."
Hana bowed her head, "Thank you, Sir. I will go as soon as I clean up my mess-"
He waved a hand, "Tend to it in the morning, child. There is no harm leaving it until then."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir." And she quickly put her cleaning supplies back into the cupboard, and hurried home for her meal. It was stew that they had for dinner – which they always ate early – with half a bread roll each. She sat at the table to the right of the blacksmith, her father figure, and told him of her meeting with the Grandmaster that morning.
"He said he will return my bracelet to me later, if he can find it." She said around her mouthful of bread, "I hope he does find it."
"I'm sure he will." Rasil nodded his head, spooning the last of the stew into his mouth. "Will you be helping me this afternoon?"
She nodded her head, "Yes, Rasil. I like watching you work, I like the mirrors."
"The blades." He chuckled, wiping his hands on the cloth as he popped the last of his bread ration into his mouth and stood up.
She collected the bowls and followed him into the kitchen where she began to dry the pots and pans that the blacksmith washed up, "Yes, the blades." She nodded, "Will I be able to learn how to use them?" She asked.
"I can show you basic moves if you'd like?" He said, "But it will have to stay secret, for I do not know what the other villagers would say."
"It's none of their business." She said, "Why would they say anything anyway?"
"Because you're a girl, only twelve at that!" He replied, "Swords are used by men; as soldiers."
She screwed up her face in annoyance, "Surely there's no harm in knowing how to defend myself?"
"Of course not," He smiled, "But before we do, you need to finish your work."
She smiled and nodded, "No one can make them shine like I do!"
They worked together for the afternoon, she had settled into the blacksmith's home well. He was very kind and fatherly, having been married once but losing his wife to the same fever that Hana's mother had passed away from, the blacksmith hadn't had any children of his own. He had taken Hana in with open arms, and treated her as if she was his own daughter. Of course, she didn't call him father and he hadn't expected her too.
Hana worked for her keep, and it kept her out of trouble while the blacksmith was at work himself. She cleaned rooms in the citadel during the course of the morning, and polished the weaponry for Rasil in the afternoons, and that was how it had been for the past year.
"Good afternoon," It was the voice of Al Mualim, and Hana recognised it from that morning.
"Sir!" She ran towards him excitedly, "Did you find my bracelet, please say that you did!" He smiled down at the young girl before holding his hand out with the plaited leather sitting within his palm, a smile broke out onto her face, "Thank you, Sir!" She took the piece from his hand and immediately attached it back onto her wrist. "How can I ever repay you?"
He chuckled, "I do not require anything, child." He looked up at the blacksmith as the young girl skipped off towards her seat to continue polishing the sword that she had abandoned, "Rasil…"
She left the two men to speak to one another, and she concentrated on making the steel shine like mirrors. She enjoyed this part of the day, polishing weaponry was very therapeutic, and when she was done she usually sat watching the swords burn red in the hot coals and sparks fly when Rasil hit them with the flat hammer.
Al Mualim left before she could join the two men before the hot coals, and the young girl carried her stool over towards Rasil and sat beside him as he thrust one of the blades into the fire. He was silent, only offering the young girl a smile when he looked in her direction, and it remained that way for the rest of the afternoon.
"Are we going to practice now?" Hana asked, jumping up when Rasil wiped his hands on a cloth, the sign that his work was over.
"Not today." He shook his head, "And not me."
Hana frowned, "But you said-"
"-Not me." He interrupted before she could continue her complaint. "Al Mualim has offered for you to be trained inside the citadel."
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Really?"
Rasil nodded his head, "A few boys, a couple of years younger than you are to begin their training in three days. You'll be joining them."
"How exciting!" She exclaimed, jumping up from her stool and dragging it back into its position by the polish. "How long will I be trained for?"
"The same as the other boys, six years."
"But I'll be eighteen." She stated, "Aren't girls my age married by then?"
"I am not your father," Rasil held up his hands, "If you wish to marry, then that is up for you to decide."
"I don't know if I want to get married."
"Well, you have some time to decide." Rasil smiled, "You might decide to marry while you're training."
"But I want to finish my training."
Rasil nodded his head in acceptance, "I'm sure you will, Hana." He stated supportively, "You don't have to choose one over the other, you can do both."
The young girl nodded and then smiled, "But he would have to have your approval, Rasil. Just because you're not my father by blood doesn't mean you're not my father. I never knew my real father, and assuming he was a bad man for what happened with my mother, I think you're much nicer than he." She took his hand as they made their way out of the shop and towards their home, "But you must promise me that when I have completed my training in the citadel, we can practice together?"
Rasil smiled, his eyes dancing with happiness at her words, "Of course we will, I promise."
A/N: So he's the first chapter of a new Assassin's Creed story. Much like EOC, there will be a few time jumps at the start of the first few chapters, just to understand Hana's personality and relationships with her friends/enemies within the brotherhood.
Please review and let me know what you think :) Also, Fork in the Road is only a temporary title for this story, in a few chapters time I will ask for a few suggestions for someone to name the story :) Thank you everyone, hope you enjoy the fic! xx
