A/N : Hi everyone ! This is an english translation of my french fiction "Cache-cache" . First, before reading this fiction, you gotta know that english isn't my native language so you might no understand a few things (or/and maybe the whole fiction, I don't know xD) . I tried to do as much as I could, but unfortunetely, I don't have anybody that could correct me in time like these. So, I'm sorry in advance if you don't understand what's written in this fiction.
Disclaimer : Assassin's Creed : Unity belongs to Ubisoft, otherwise this would've happened in the game.
~ 1778.
They were ten. It was the time when they didn't know anything about their social condition, about their future. It was the time when they could laugh about everything. Arno and her were bestfriends. They trusted each other, more than anyone else. The relationship they had was the same as brother and sister, even though they didn't considered each other as family. Their favorite game ? Hide and seek. They adored to walk through the streets of Paris or the huge villa of the de la Serre. Elise always hid herself behind flower pots. Why ? Arno had never known. He liked to look at the red hair strands hat that exceeded the pot. He liked to pretend no to see her just to look at her a little bit more. He liked to spend time with her, more than with anybody else. Just as she liked to be with him.
Elise stayed hidden behind a green pale pot. Her face exceeded the long stems and let see her beautiful brown eyes.
"He didn't see me", she muttered, relieved.
But then, she felt a hand on her back.
"Found you !", the young boy exclaimed.
Elise, surprised, let out a "oh no!", before smiling and walking through the alley. Arno followed her and they talked. They were only children, they didn't know anything about the feeling a man could feel. But actually, they both knew how they felt like for each other. But unfortunetely, they were only ten.
~ 1788 (february).
Ten years passed by since then. And a lot of things had happened. Elise was raised in a high bourgeoisie school. Many times she tried to escape from it. Each thursday morning, Arno Dorian, who was almost twenty-one, woke up, thinking about the letter where was the "E." with a large heart drown on it. Those letters, written by Elise herself, contained the thoughts she kept for herself. And of course, those were the proof that the two of them shared a love relationship. After his father's passing, Arno has been adopted by Elise's father, and both of them had to consider each other as brother and sister, unless, it was not. And it always have been. Arno rose lazily from his bed and observed the giant window next to the bed : it was snowing. With a weather like this, he would've hugged Elise and told her that it was to "give her warmth" . The very idea make him smile and this morning, he was surprised not to see a letter under the door. "Perhaps it was still too early", the young man thought. His foots guided him towards the back of the room, where was a silvered box. Inside it were tons of letters that she had sent to him. It's been ten years that she sent him letters, so they were many letters in the box. He took the first one, opened it and read it again :
"Arno,
Life here is getting harder. I won't give up, otherwise this won't be the Elise you'd known.
But I want to get out from here as soon as possible, to get back to the life we had, at that time
we were only children, pure and naive, ignoring everything about the world we lived in. The director doesn't make my life easier, but I'm holding on. Because, as I said, if I wouldn't, the person who writes you this letter wouldn't be the Elise de la Serre that you know.
I hope that everything's fine where you are, and you don't make any trouble.
I love you.
Elise."
He smiled. Elise knew him better than anyone. She always ended her letters the same way. The "I love you" she added at each letter always made him happy, even a day when he feels extremely bad. Even if he regretted the distance that separated them, knowing that she was fine was enough for him. Yes... Enough.
~ 1788 (april).
Today should be an important day. He didn't know why exactly, but Elise had told him that in her last letter : "next thursday will be a very important day, try to remember it", she wrote. There he was, in the grand hall, where they used to play hide and seek together. He was perambulating, waiting for something he didn't know. The few butlers in the room looked at him sometimes, wondering what he was doing there.
It was only when afternoon came that one of the butlers found a torn page on the floor behind one of the flower pots. He called for one of the other butlers a few meters from him.
"This "E"... Who could it be ?"
Arno, who had listened, got up from the chair, surprising the four men around him, and run in oder to take the page.
"Monsieur...?", the butler said.
"Excuse me, Olivier, but I think this letter belongs to me", Arnoa asserted.
Olivier gave him the paper and returned to work, just like Arno left to read the letter :
"One. Two. There steps. Do you really love me ?"
A code. It was one of the few codes they shared. Now, he knew what he was waiting for. He knew where he had to go.
He went upstairs and walked through the library. There, he walked towards the chimney. Why the chimney ? When they thought about this code, Elise and Arno were twelve. They were playing next to the chimney, and then sat in front of it. Elise had asked him if he considered her like a sister, which he answered no. Then she asked him : "Do you really love me ?" ... He never answered this question. Not directly.
Arno looked everywhere around the chimney and found an other torn page :
"One is never too careful."
Six pages after, he knew everything. He was outside the villa, in the great gardens, looking for the woman he loved. He thought about a place she loved, where all the pretty flowers were. And there she was. When she saw her, Arno dropped all the pages in had in hand and ran through the alley. He hugged the red hair woman and laughed.
"Welcome back", he murmured.
"Wow, what a nice welcome !", she said.
Her arms encercling Arno, she closed her eyes. For how long did hey keep this a secret ? Three, four years ? They didn't know. Keeping secrets was part of Elise's life, just like Arno.
Why Elise liked playing hide and seek ? Until now, Arno had always ignored it. But now, he understood.
I might write a sequel, I don't know since two people told me that I needed to continue this story. Actually, I don't have any idea in mind about what could happen next, but I'll do my best !