"Broken Blade"
Assassin's Creed
Chapter 2
"Eagles Don't Swim"
The chilling waves hit Tahneen like a metal-clad mace as she plunged into the ocean depths. The male assassin flailed in a panic as Tahneen drew near, archers locked on cursed under her breath as she swam, watching as his head disappeared beneath the waves,"Damn fool can't swim!" She sucked in a deep breath and dove beneath the roaring waters, reaching out desperately to grab his sinking form.
Her lungs began to shrivel in pain as the need for oxygen grew, "Just...a little...more!" She stretched her arm as far as she could muster and, "Gotcha!". She curled her fingers around his wrist and pulled upward as hard as she could, wrapping her arm around his waist and headed back up towards the glistening surface. Her lungs were screaming for oxygen by the time they came up. She took in a long gasp of cooling air, calming the pain of near suffocation.
She turned her attention toward her troublesome comrade to make sure his head was above water when she heard the familiar "twang" of a bow and the "whistle" of an arrow as it streaked between their heads, barely missing by an inch. Tahneen realized that she became so focused on not drowning that she forgot about the danger still waiting for them on land. "Dammit!",She bit her lip in frustration as she quickly tried to conjure up a plan of escape. It was very difficult focusing with arrows whizzing past her head every few seconds. She racked her brain, running through the options over and over until it hurt just to think. She looked around frantically, hoping that something, anything, would inspire a plan of action. Her's and her Brother's garments were gorged with sea water and exhaustion began to set in. Just as she was about give it up, voices began to echo on the sea and a large ship became visible out of the fog. Tahneen thought quickly and formulated a plan. Dusk had finally settled over Tyre and would hinder the enemies' line of sight and line of fire. The ship's huge mast was approaching fast, carried by the wind. She reacted quickly and pulled the exhausted, water gorged, dead-weight out of way just as the large bow parted the waves. Tahneen reached behind her back, grabbed her short blade, and plunged it into the ship's wood-work. She hugged the man in a death grip as they were jerked forward and her arm practically wrenched out of the socket.
With the horrible combination of exhaustion and pain, it felt like forever before Tahneen felt that they were a safe distance away as the angry shouts of the Templers slowly faded into the fog. She let her fingers slip from the hilt of her blade as her and her undesirable dropped back into the sea.
"Finally...", Tahneen huffed as her feet hit the sand. Exhausted and water-gorged, she dragged the male assassin and herself up onto the beach. As the effects of adrenaline wore off, his body weight suddenly became unmanagable and Tahneen dropped down on her knees and layed him down as gently as she could manage. Still somewhat trying to catch her breath, she turned her attention to the unknown young man still unconscious. As she put her ear to his chest she prayed he was still alive and that her efforts to save him would not amount to nothing. She strained to listen and could just barely hear a small but audible heart beat. "Now to just get him breathing.",she thought to herself as she curled her hands into a fist and pressed down hard on his sternum. Again and again she repeated this until finally she heard him cough and sputter as the sea water exited his lungs and trachea. He immediatly sat up and continued to cough up water for a full minute until finally taking in full breaths of air. Tahneen leaned back and sighed heavely, thankful that her efforts to save this fool-hardy assassin was not in vain. After coughing up at least a gallon of sea water he suddenly grabbed his shoulder and grunted in pain. "Ugh!" Tahneen then remembered how the archers, when aiming for her, hit him instead. Fresh blood began to leak from his shoulder and his lower abdomen, no longer dialated by the water. She huffed in irritation as she leaned forward to look at the damage. The boy immediately pulled away and stared with suspicion. "Don't worry. I'm a friend." She looked at him as he searched her face. There was no lie to be found. After a minute of contimplating he then nodded and Tahneen resumed her assessment of his injuries. "What's your name, brother?", She asked as she grazed over his hip wound. He flinched a little,"Altair...". His voice was a bit gruff from choking but Tahneen understood. She had heard of this brash young novice. How he had quickly become the Master's favorite and how fast he was climbing the ranks. "Yours?", he said half-heartedly. Tahneen just finished inspecting as she spoke,"Tahneen". Altair stared at her for another minute until looking away. "Oh..You're 'That' girl..". He sounded almost angry at her as she stood up. She didn't like his tone, but then again, for someone as cocky as him, it was to be expected. She had climbed up to the top like it was a walk to the market. She was a natural killer. Her temper made sure of that, but it was also her crutch. She stood there looking down on Altair for another minute before responding,"We need to get out of here. We can find some place to hide and I can do what I can for your wounds." He just eyed her for another minute before nodding in agreement. He hated the idea of getting help from her, but he didn't really have much of a choice. Tahneen hooked her arm under his and helped him get to his feet. Tahneen waited till she knew he could stand on his own before sounding a sharp whistle. "What are you doing?", Altair grumbled. "Just wait." She stared off into the distance and a figured became visible, pounding towards them over the sand. "My horse, Zafir." Altair took a slight step back as Zafir skidded to a hault in front of his master, throwing up a cloud of sand. Tahneen gently patted the steed's strong neck and whispered to him in Arabic then turned to Altair. "Well come on Altair." She swung up onto her horse's back and offered her hand. Altair snorted and batted her hand away. "I can do it!", he snapped. He managed to haul himself up behind Tahneen, cringing as he did so. Tahneen just rolled her eyes and spurred Zafir into a canter, slow enough not to jar Altair's wounds too badly, but fast enough to stay ahead of the Templers who would surely be searching for them. "We'll get out of Tyre first and then I'll pull the arrows out." She had to talk loudly for him to hear over the sea breeze. Altair merely nodded, still holding his injured shoulder. They kept up the pace until they cleared the dunes and the walls of Tyre were far behind them.