My first Assassin's Creed fanfiction so please be kind to me.

This chapter is in third person just so I can tell you how you, as the reader, and Connor know each other before the events of Connor's missions as an assassin. The other chapters will be the reader's point of view.

I've spent absolutely ages on this chapter just for you guys so I really hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 1

1759

The morning sun's rays shone down on the vast greenery of the Mohawk Valley. The brightness of nature illuminated, colours more fascinating than those of a single flower. The sound of birds singing as they soared through the sky was peaceful, and the rustling of bushes proceeded as small animals of the forest awoken from their slumber. The morning was tranquil.

In the village of Kanatahséton, life was halcyon, children played by the lake. The water was still, it reflected the suns beam and the trees that stood tall in their place. Men of the village were preparing themselves to hunt within the wilderness of the forest. They put their wooden bows and arrows upon their broad backs, and gathered all the necessary weapons and equipment needed for a successful hunt. Deer and, if they were lucky, bear were targets that were set in their mind, they were determined to get enough food to feed their people for the week. The woman were tending to the crops, harvesting those that were ripe and ready. As for the elders, they were sat around the fire, calling upon the spirits to look over the men as they hunt.

Everything was going by the normal routine as the morning went on, all the children ran around the village except for one, Ratonhnhaké:ton. Ratonhnhaké:ton had only just turned 4 a few days before. And just like any other child, turning a year older mean't he was a step closer to being allowed further into the forest. When he confronted his mother, Kaniehtí:io, about going to the river at the edge of the Valley, she told him that it was somewhere he must not wonder towards. This however, caused him to become curious of what was beyond the river. Going against his mother, he ventured further and further into the forest, the suns light filtered through the branches of the towering trees. The fallen red leaves crunched under his feet as he came closer to the river. Soon enough, he could hear the trickling water of the river not too far from where he stood.

The forest eventually opened up to the fresh running water of the river, Ratonhnhaké:ton smiled at the sight that was before him. Bees flew around the harmonious flowers that lived by the rushing water, and fish of various sizes swam freely in the clear river. This place was enchanting, full of life, and Ratonhnhaké:ton had no regrets at defying his mothers rules. With big strides, he walked over to the rivers bed and sat himself down. He admired the way the fish swam effortlessly against the waters current. Without any hesitation, he took off his deer skinned boots and dipped his bare feet into the fresh water, sighing at the sensation of water weaving in and out of his toes.

"H-hello," A sweet, high toned voice came from behind the native boy, which startled him and made his head turn in response. Stood before him, was a young girl with [h/l] [h/c] hair that was in tight ringlets upon her head. A pale blue and white dress covered her small figure, which was lightly covered in patches of dirt. Hands held together, her arms were behind her, showing her obvious nervousness as she cautiously spoke to the strange boy. Ratonhnhaké:ton was unsure whether to answer the girl, but as he continued to stare into her big [e/c] eyes, she began to shift from one foot to the other.

"I'm [name], w-who you are?" She asked, hope etched in her delicate voice. Hoping that he would answer her, and hoping that he could speak her language. She had heard many stories of the people who lived in the valley, tales that they were dangerous and that they do not understand the people of the King's English. Ratonhnhaké:ton didn't speak after 5 seconds and the girl looked down, realising that he was not going to answer her. But she was wrong.

"I'm Ratonhnhaké:ton," He said, his voice was slow with caution, he too had heard tales of the people beyond the valley. He had heard they wanted to take over their land and were greedy for money and riches. Many of his people did not trust the city people. A playful giggle escaped [name]'s lips as the sound of Ratonhnhaké:ton's name was something she had not heard before.

"That's a funny name, Ra...Radoo-"

"Ra-doon-ha-kay-doon" Ratonhnhaké:ton corrected, he broke down his name so she knew exactly how to say his native name. He spoke slow too, that way she could listen to the words he spoke.

"Ra-doon-hay-"

"ha-kay-doon," He corrected yet again. The girl frowned and took a deep breath of air into her lungs and focused on getting his name right. Her determined little mind focused hard and soon said his name with a strong loud voice.

"Ra-doon-ha-kay-doon" She stood up tall and proud as Ratonhnhaké:ton smiled. Her smile extended from one ear to the other realising she had achieved her goal. Ratonhnhaké:ton began to feel a slight warmth in his heart, and realised that maybe not all the city people were like what people of his village had said. For this girl stood next to him, was a kind heart, sweet little girl, who was honest and only wanted to be friends with this strange boy.

For the rest of that day, or in fact, the rest of that year, they had met with each other in the same place. Whether it be a cold winters day, with snow blanketing the earth and freezing over the river, or whether it be a scorching hot day, with flowers blooming at their finest and animals running the earthy ground, they tried their hardest to come to that same spot and play with each other. However on days where meeting was beyond impossible, was when Ratonhnhaké:ton and [name] were feeling their lowest.

1760

Ratonhnhaké:ton looked up upon the saddened grey sky, a few random droplets of rain fell on his face. The wind was blowing viciously against the trees, earning a few leaves to plummet to the ground. Ratonhnhaké:ton had a feeling that something bad was going to happen, but he just didn't know what. When finally arriving to the river, and seeing no one but himself there, his face fell in disappointment. The mood of the village seemed on edge, like everyone had the same bad feeling he felt up until the moment he came to the river. And he thought he could escape such feelings by meeting with the girl he had grown to become literal soul mates with. But that became impossible to do so when [name] was not there. He waited for no longer than half an hour, his fingers becoming numb and the wind biting at his skin, before he made his way back to the village.

Kanen'tó:kon, Ratonhnhaké:ton's friend, saw him coming back from his short lived adventure, and saw that his face was down and upset. His heavy feet came running over to Ratonhnhaké:ton, skidding to a stop in front of him, almost bumping into him in the process. With a concerned yet playful grin, those of a cheeky boy that usually gets up to no good, Kanen'tó:kon fluently spoke in his native language.

* "Skennen'kó:wa kenh ontiatenro'shón:a?" With his small infant hand, Kanen'tó:kon put his hand upon Ratonhnhaké:ton shoulder, patting it lightly. A shrug was all that Ratonhnhaké:ton could do in his current mood. He was about to open his mouth and speak, but a stern, female, adult voice was heard, calling Kanen'tó:kon's name. With that, Kanen'tó:kon gave Ratonhnhaké:ton an apologetic smile and ran in the direction of the demanding voice. Ratonhnhaké:ton had nothing to do for the rest of the day, the men were preparing themselves to go out hunting, the woman were tending to their daily chores and the elders did nothing but sit around the fire, talking about business of their village. Usually it was business that were not to be heard by younger ears like Ratonhnhaké:ton himself. Which only encouraged the younger natives even more to eavesdrop.

Ratonhnhaké:ton made his way to his and his mother's family's longhouse. The longhouse was, obviously, long, and it was made of bark and wood from the forest that surrounded their village. Inside, in the center of the 20 foot long hut, was a crackling orange flamed fire, smoke rose from the flames and surrounded the area. As he peaked around the doorway to the hut, he saw that no one was inside, and so with light tip toes, he headed over to his mother's bed. Searching eyes looked around for something he had seen his mother use when she thought he was asleep. His eyes brightened when he discovered that it was hidden underneath her pillow and he pulled out the beige journal from underneath the deer skinned pillow. With a quick look over his shoulder, alert for if his mother appeared, he hesitantly opened it to a random page, to reveal an entry that was written inside. Unlike the other native children, his mother taught him how to read, obviously he wasn't too good at it, but he was still learning. However, he could still understand some words.

The entry he read was in 1754, she wrote about the convoy she was being escorted by and she wrote that it was attacked by a group of men that were dressed in fine clothing. They attacked all around the street they had been ambushed on, men with muskets on the roof shot at the redcoats and the men down on the ground fought sword to sword. She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. Despite knowing how to defend herself and fight, and despite being in situations like that herself, she felt nervous for what the men would do to her. She wrote about one certain man that caught her eye, the man with tanned skin and dark hair that was tied up in a red ribbon, face shadowed by his tricorn hat. She took notice at how skillful he was at fighting compared to the other men. His swordsmanship skills were beyond amazing, it was as though he were trained as a young child. He was swift and fluent with his moves, killing effortlessly as though it was the easiest thing he had ever done in his life.

Before he could continue with the intriguing entry, foot steps echoed in Ratonhnhaké:ton's ears. Through pure panic, he dropped the book and shoved it under whatever was closest to him. When he turned, his mother stood a foot away, her eyes glared at him knowing that he was up to no good. Ratonhnhaké:ton gave his mother a small smile, trying to prevent the look of guilt from spreading over his face.

*"Sekoh ista," Ratonhnhaké:ton said timidly to his mother, trying to avoid any eye contact that was bound to give his schemes away, he didn't want his mother to know he was invading her privacy just because he was interested in his mothers life. His mother never told him anything about who his father was or how she grew up, she kept him in the dark. And it was only out of curiosity that he ended up reading the journal. His mother was his everything, despite not knowing much about her past. She was the only one there for him, she was there for when he fell and grazed his knee, and she was there when he and Kanen'tó:kon had a dispute. No matter what, he loved his mother. He would do anything, anything, for his mother. Even if it mean't risking his own life for her.

"Hmmm... And what are you up to?" Kaniehtí:io had a fluent Mohawk tongue, she was born and raised in the Mohawk village as was her son, Ratonhnhaké:ton. But she knew he wasn't completely native, and really, part of him was an outsider. However, she left that fact alone in the dark. She didn't care if there were a part of the traitor she loved inside of Ratonhnhaké:ton, as long as he did not reflect his fathers decisions, she was happy. She always knew Ratonhnhaké:ton was one for not getting up to no good, and due to his gender and age, there were no avoiding it. So when he stuttered to answer her simple question, her eyebrows rose. Luckily for Ratonhnhaké:ton, his friend came to save him in such a situation.

"Come play with us! The others have gone hunting and we're bored," Ratonhnhaké:ton gave a heavy sigh of relief. His friend would always pop up in situations such as the one he was currently in, and thats why he loved his friend even more than he should. Hesitantly, he moved around his mother and slowly walked over to his friend that was waiting by the doorway of the hut. Kaniehtí:io's chocolate brown eyes followed his small figure as he headed towards the door before speaking up.

"Go on. But do not venture beyond the valley," She raised her finger as warning, she knew exactly what he was like for getting into mischief. She found out that he ventured off up to the river, despite him being told not to, but she knew he did not venture any further, so she allowed him to continue doing so. With a sly nod, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Kanen'tó:kon joined the other Mohawk children as they wandered off into the wilderness of the forest to play a game of hide and seek.

Ratonhnhaké:ton eyes fluttered open, his vision slightly blurred and his head pulsing with a dull ache. Sitting up was found to be a difficult task to do, so as he stood up, he almost fell back down again. His body swayed from being overly lightheaded. After falling against a trees trunk and almost fully recovering, he noticed the aroma of smoke, smoke of burning bark and wood. His eyes enlarged as he could see nothing but the grey clouds that wrapped itself around the forest, animals like deer and rabbit ran by to find safety in more cleaner air. He was scared, from the events that happened before he was knocked out up until now. Smoke filled the air, he had no clue what was going off. His feet began to dart through the forest, following the route to his village.

Screams of terror erupted from his lips as he neared his village. He saw the flames soaring high above the trees, flames that were burning the longhouses that the Mohawk people slept within. He could feel the heat of the fire as he grew nearer and nearer. Entering the village was unbearable as the heat hit him almost instantly. Screams came from everywhere, screams from woman who saw their homes being burn't to the ground and screams from the children as horror clouded their eyes.

"ISTA!" Ratonhnhaké:ton shouted with all his might, smoke choking him as it entered his lungs, leaving no space for oxygen. He ran over to the village people who lay on the ground out of the danger of the roaring fire that was tearing down the village.

"Where is my mother?" He shouted again, through choked breaths, hoping for a reply. When he received none he continued on. He ran through the village looking into each fallen longhouse to see a way through to the otherside. Seeing one longhouse, yet to be burned to rubble, he made his way inside. However, he barely made it through to the other side due to it finally collapsing, and his chest heaved heavily for desperate need for clean air. Screams from the villagers were distant and overpowered by the roaring and crackling of the unruly fire. His longhouse was a mere distant away and with all his strength, he ran over to the entrance to the building, which was blocked by wood and rubble.

"ISTA?!" He saw her struggling form trying to push away the fallen poles that had trapped her body to the floor. Ratonhnhaké:ton hit the blockage to get her attention and she turned her head to see his enlarged and frightened eyes looking at her. Coughs erupted from her throat and with a weak voice, she spoke.

"I'm here..."

"Coming!" Ratonhnhaké:ton looked around to find a way into the burning longhouse. Quickly, he darted around and found the only way around to the otherside. Part of the longhouse broke down allowing access inside. Once inside, he saw her trapped body covered in her own blood. The sight frightened him, he felt his heart tighten at such a terrifying moment.

"Help us!" He yelled, hoping that someone could hear him and would come to their aid. As soon as he got to her, his hands began to work on removing the rubble. It scolded his hands as he tried to remove the sizzling wood that pinned her down. Desperate to get it off of her, he continued and ignored the pain that surged through his hands.

"I am here. I am here. It is going to be fine,"

"No my son. You must leave. Now!" Those words hit him harder than she anticipated them to. He would never leave his mother to die and for her to tell him to go, was something he would never dream of doing. So he continued, determined to not lose the life of the only family he had left.

"Not without you,"

"It's too late for that!" Kaniehtí:io took his hand within her own, and she looked into his eyes with hers that were filled with dampened hope and sorrow, knowing that she was going to leave her son without seeing him grow up to be a man with a promising future.

"You must be strong, Ratonhnhaké:ton. You must be brave,"

"Stop it. Stop it!" She regretfully saw the fear in his eyes, wishing she could calm him and tell him that everything was going to be alright. But she knew that no matter what she said, he will forever be scarred by her death and alone.

"You will think yourself alone, but know that I will be at your side. Always and forever," Before she could fully finish, a man came behind Ratonhnhaké:ton and pulled his struggling form away from the collapsing building. Fresh tears cascaded down his cheeks as rubble collapsed atop his mother.

Everyone who remained alive had gathered by the lake, watching as the whole of the village glowed florescent orange, the flames viciously attacked the bark and wood that formed the longhouses. Horrified sobs and screams came from the woman and children as their homes turned to ash. Ratonhnhaké:ton curled in the arms of the man who dragged him away from the collapsing building, trying to hold back the tears that threatened his eyes.

From that day on, Ratonhnhaké:ton never ventured far into the forest. He stayed within the village, helping the men and woman build up the village again. He focused on training to hunt and fight, going up against animals like deer and if extremely unlucky, wolves. But he never ventured up to the river. In fact, he completely ignored the fact that [name] was waiting for his arrival each passing day. After a week, [name] had finally come to the conclusion that their friendship was either over or that something had happened. Soon she came to realise that there were no point coming to the river again as she would be let down yet again. So she remained within the comforts of home from that day on.

Each day, Ratonhnhaké:ton mind became clearer and clearer of what he thought had happened on the day of the fire. First it was a peaceful game of hide and seek which lead to disaster. And he knew exactly who to blame. His eyes darkened as he remember the man who attacked him, and his brethren who stood watch. Charles Lee.

*Skennen'kó:wa kenh ontiatenro'shón:a = How are you my friend?

*Sekoh ista = good morning mother

Sorry about the sudden change from Mohawk to English. I wanted to use some Mohawk in this just so I could capture the culture of the Mohawks, but when It can to more complex sentences and phrases, I could not work out how to word them in Mohawk so I had no choice but to put them in English.

Like I said, chapter 2 will be the readers point of view, so please don't be put off by this chapter.

Hope you enjoyed this and I look forward to reading your comments 3