Author's Note: This story and my character, Tamar, were inspired by four songs: Come Little Children (katethegreat19 on youtbe), Now We Are Free (Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard), Heart of Courage (Two Steps from Hell) and Ezio's Family (Jesper Kyd). I do not own Assassin's Creed, only Tamar and the children of Sanctuary.

Strange Happenings

Part 1

Masyaf

Altair Ibn La'Ahad frowned, staring at a map on his desk, golden eyes narrowed in frustration. He scratched his short, dark brown hair in the same way. It was strange that a piece of paper was making the Mentor show emotion. He had been the leader of the Assassins for months and was trying his best for the Order. But, there were those who thought he killed the former Mentor, Al-Mualin, to take his position. This, of course, was a misunderstanding. And, because of it, Altair didn't want any of them harmed.

Sighing, he pushed these thoughts from his mind. They were not the problem at hand right now. Again, Altair forced himself to gaze at the map. It was of Damascus. Scattered across it were X's. Counting them again, he got the same number. Twenty-six. And one Assassin symbol. He cursed under his breath because all of the X's were in different districts: Twelve in the poor, eight in the middle, and six in the rich.

"Dammit!" Altair slammed his fist on the table. "Nothing is making sense!" Taking a break, he began to look out the window. It was fall and the trees were just losing their leaves. He watched the leaves fall, but, no matter how hard he tried, the map could not leave his mind.

"Is everything alright, Brother?" a familiar voice came from behind him. Turning, Altair saw Malik Al-Sayf and Maria Thorpe. Both had worried faces. He hesitated before calling them over.

"Come," he waved them over. As they approached the map, he continued. "What do you see?" They both studied the map in silence.

"Damascus?" Maria asked, giving Altair a questioning look.

"What do the X's mean?" Malik spoke up, still looking at the map. "There are many of them."

"Disappearances," Altair answered. His friend looked up immediately.

"And the symbol of our Creed?" his voice had a hint of panic. The Mentor looked down with guilt.

"Munir Al Daye is missing." This came as a great shock. An Assassin, missing? That was unheard of. Looking back up, he continued. "As my duty as Master and Mentor, I must find out the fate of our Brother. Malik, in my absence, you will protect Masyaf," Malik tipped his head at this. "Maria, you will-"

"Be going with," she interrupted. Altair looked shocked at this remark. "Altair, don't deny that there are some that still hate me here because of my past. Also, even though I trust Malik, I don't trust being here." Seeing no way out of this, he nodded.

"Fine, we leave at sundown."

Damascus

Tamar ran and leaped over rooftops. Her short, wild black hair whipped through the air. Her green eyes showed joy like the smirk on her lips. She wore a light grey tunic that was wrinkled and stained. She had a sleeveless robe that went down to her ankles, which was black. Unlike most girls of thirteen, she wore dark brown leggings, which were in the same condition as her shirt. There were no shoes on her feet.

Peeking over her shoulder, her smirk got wider. The guards that were chasing her were far behind her. Tamar was the fastest runner in Damascus, and it helped a lot when she knew the city like the back of her hand. Knowing an alley was approaching, she raced towards it. She dropped, and began to blend with the crowds. Living in the poor district wasn't difficult, especially for a street-rat child. Tamar used to live in the middle, although she barely remembered the day she left it. But, she wanted to forget the months after.

"Tamar!" a boy's voice called. Looking around, she saw three boys on a corner. Moving through the crowd, she approached them.

"Did you get the food?" she asked. The boys smiled and showed her their sacs that were on their shoulders. One had bread and cheese. The second boy had fruit, such as apples and pears. The third had jars of fresh milk and water. Tamar looked around. "Where is Akmal?"

"He was with us, but then he disappeared," answered one of the boys. He shrugged before continuing. "Something caught his eye, and he said he would be right back." Trying not to panic, she sighed.

"I'll go find him," she spoke. "Go back to Sanctuary. I swear I'll be back. Good job!" She turned, beginning to climb the closest building.

"Good luck, Sister!" another boy shouted. Tamar smiled as she reached the rooftop. She wasn't their actual sister, they weren't even related. She was the only one to take them in and the one who understood their pain. Leaping over the roofs again, she looked for Akmal. She started in the market place. When there was no sign of him, she leaped to the the alleyways. Tamar's heart began to pound as panic rose inside her.

"Get off me!" a boy's voice shouted. Instantly recognizing the voice, she rushed to the alley and jumped down. Right in front of her were five soldiers carrying away a thirteen year old boy. He had dark brown hair, which was held firmly by a hand of a guard. Brown eyes narrowed in fear and anger. He had a cut by his eye and a bloody lip. His black tunic was smeared with dirt and wrinkles. His arms were held by two soldiers. His dark brown pants were covered in dirt. Akmal struggled to break free, but he was fighting a losing battle.

"Quiet, stupid boy!" shouted one the guards. He smacked the child across the face. Rage filling her, Tamar picked up a plank that was against the wall. Running, she swung it into the closest guard's head. He fell to the ground, hard.

"Who's next?" she asked with anger in her voice. The remaining guards, who were enraged of what happened to their comrade, smirked. A child was threatening them? A female child? They couldn't help but smirk. Strangely, so was Tamar. She was smiling at their stupidity. She rushed at the first guard and rammed the plank into his stomach, shattering it. The man leaned over from the impact, but, she wasn't done. Grabbing the tunic, she punched him repeatedly in the face. When she released him, he fell to the ground with a broken nose, bloody lip, and some broken teeth.

"Capture the bitch!" One charged, taking out his sword. Tamar jumped out of the way, then grabbed his sword arm. Keeping a firm hold, she kicked him in the groin. When he hunched over, she kneed him in the face. She expected the other two soldiers, but found them unconscious. Akmal was panting, his hands in fists. He smiled at her. But, she didn't share it. Instead, she glared at him.

"What?" he asked, shocked. Tamar crossed her arms.

"You know what," she spat back. "We're supposed to looking after the children, not going into alleyways, looking for trouble!"

"Like you do any better!" he snapped back. "You're worse than I am! Coming back to Sanctuary with bloody lips, black eyes, even broken bones! I-"

"Let's talk about this later, we promised the kids we would return to them." The two kids left in uneasy silence.

AN: I only described Tamar and Akmal because they are the major characters and everyone knows what Altair, Malik, and Maira look like.