The carriage carrying the Assassins Arno Dorian, Elise de la Serre, and their one year old son Francois, pulled into the Village of Versailles in the early afternoon of December 23rd. Arno opened the door, and held it open for his wife. Elise stepped out, with Francois cradled in her hand, her feet landing in the thin layer of snow. Arno walked over to the driver.
"Merci, Monsieur. Thank you for getting us here." Arno said, with a bow of his head. Arno returned his attention to Elise, who smiled at him.
"Welcome back, my love." Elise said, with the smile still on her face.
"It sure feels good to be back in Versailles." Arno replied, returning a smile to his wife. "It sure has changed since the revolution started."
"That it has, Arno." Elise inquired. "I'm still getting feelings of war and bloodshed around here. It doesn't feel like the place we called home all those years ago. It makes me quite sad."
Arno and Elise began to walk through the snow-covered streets of Versailles. Elise looked around, looking at the ruined buildings with windows punched out. She looked down at Francois, and began to cradle him. Arno and Elise continued to walk through the snow covered streets of Versailles, until they approached a building with a large courtyard. Arno and Elise stood in the courtyard's entrance.
"The Hôtel des Menus-Plaisirs. The home of the Estates-General of 1789." Arno recalled, scratching the back of his neck. "I remember sneaking in here to deliver a letter to your father, only to be followed by those oafs Victor and Hugo. They snuck in too because they wanted my watch."
Arno gently tossed his pocketwatch in the air.
"Ah, the Estates-General. I remember that day." Elise stated. "I remember being so sick that day, Father dragging me out of bed, and forced me to wear a dress. I had the worst look on my face. I felt like throwing up."
"I wonder if anyone remembers that idiot who climbed to the top of the church spire over there, just to see you." Arno replied, with a wink. Elise looked up to the to the top of the church spire.
"I remember seeing someone up there, but I had no idea that it was you up there." Elise replied, with a smile. "I wonder what they have done with the building in front of us."
Arno looked up at the building.
"From what I've heard, it served as a courthouse, barracks, and a place where they gave out bread during the Revolution." Arno informed his wife, wrapping his hand around her waist. "As of right now, some gentleman who had the last name Dubusc purchased the building earlier this year, while you were in Egypt, and tore down the rooms of royalty, and the hall the Estates-General was held was removed as well."
Arno looked down at Elise, whose teeth were chattering a little bit.
"A little cold, are we Elise?" Arno asked, with a large smile on his face.
"Just a little bit, yes." Elise replied, sheltering Francois from the wind. "Francois is getting a little chilly. Do you know a place where we could go?"
Arno held his hand up to his chin, and thought for a few moments.
"There is a place we can go to." Arno stated. "It's called the Brasserie Garceau. We can stay there for a little bit, and warm up."
"All right, Arno." Elise replied. "Lead the way my love."
Arno smiled, and began to walk towards the Brasserie Garceau. After walking for a few minutes, Arno came to a stop inside a small marketplace, which looked very empty.
"Why have we stopped, love?" Elise asked, with a tone of confusion in her voice.
"This was where I brought La Touche to an end, seven years ago." Arno replied, looking around the marketplace.
"Aloys la Touche?" Elise asked. "The man who went from tax assessor to plebeian in under a week, from what I heard."
"Yes. The man who led us to Robespierre." Arno replied. "Spreading the Terror by way of mass execution. However, I ended those plans when I ended his life on the guillotine platform over there."
Elise put her head on Arno's shoulder.
"Beautiful, Arno." Elise said, looking up at Arno. "But we should get going."
"Ah, yes. Let us continue." Arno replied, with a smile. Elise smiled back at him, and the two Assassins walked on to the Brasserie Garceau. Over the course of the walk, Arno and Elise observed all of the buildings that had boarded up windows, and all of the graffiti on their walls.
"Ah, here we are!" Arno said happily, as Elise followed him into the building. Elise only saw a few people in the pub. She found herself a couple of corner seats, and sat down cradling Francois. Arno followed suit, and sat down beside his wife. The bartender recognized who Arno was as soon as he pulled down his hood.
"Hey, you there!" The bartender called out to Arno. "Weren't you the town drunk here a few years back?"
Arno rolled his eyes sarcastically, and got up from his chair.
"No, of course not!" Arno replied, in an intensely sarcastic tone. "I thought it was that guy who lived next to the run down de la Serre estate!"
Elise restrained Arno.
"I remember seeing you come in here several times, drinking yourself into a stupor, and moping about some red haired woman." The bartender retorted. "Speaking of which, is that her in the corner?"
Elise looked up from Francois. She handed her son to Arno, approached the bar, and slammed her hands on the bar.
"Yes, I am that red-haired woman, who happens to be his wife." Elise replied, with a threatening tone in her voice. "But, should you choose to threaten my husband by calling him the town drunk in front of myself or my son again, I'll emasculate you faster than you can pour a drink. Got that?"
The bartender held his arms up in the air, and backed away from Elise.
"Let's go, Arno." Elise called over to Arno. Arno got up from his chair, and smiled as they walked out of the bar. Elise ran her hands through her hair.
"They don't call you 'Firey' for nothing, Elise." Arno said, gently rocking Francois. Elise looked back at her husband.
"When someone insults anyone I love, it just rubs me the wrong way." Elise replied, as the two Assassins continued to make their way through the village of Versailles. After walking a little ways to the east, Elise came to a stop, looking on in horror at her childhood home.
"My God." Elise said, followed by a gasp. "I can't believe it has been reduced to this state."
She began to walk inside. Arno followed suit. Elise looked around the lower level of the estate, to see broken windows, crates of unopened wine, and covered up furniture. Tears began to flood Elise's eyes as they walked out into the backyard.
"I always remembered running around out here, playing games and swinging our toy swords." Arno reminisced, looking around the backyard. Arno looked up, to see Elise walking over to the graves of her parents. Arno approached as he watched his wife took a knee before the gravestones of her parents. Arno sat down with Francois. Elise let out a sorrowful sigh.
"Mother, here I am." Elise began, wiping tears from her eyes. "I miss you with every ounce of my heart, every day. I wish you were alive to see me grow up into a woman moulded in your image."
Elise placed her hand to her lips, and placed her hand on her mother's gravestone. Elise shifted over to her father's gravestone, remaining on one knee.
"Father, here I am. In front of you a different woman." Elise said, fighting back tears. "I have avenged you, but through avenging you, have changed my way of life. I have become an Assassin, and through the Brotherhood, plan to to keep your memory alive for as long as I live."
Elise let emotion get the best of her, and she began to weep as she placed her hand on her father's gravestone. Elise got up from her knees and hugged Arno from the side, burying her face in his shoulders with tears rolling down her cheeks. Arno caressed Elise with both his arms, rubbing her shoulders. Both Arno and Elise looked down at their feet, and noticed Francois wasn't at their feet. Arno looked up to see Francois, sitting in front of the grave of his grandfather. Elise smiled, and sat beside her son. Elise watched as her son reached out and touched his grandfather's grave. Elise placed her finger on Francois' hand as he ran his tiny hand across the name of her father, Francois.
"Yes, Francois. You were named after your grandfather." Elise told her son. "He was such a wonderful, caring man. I hope you grow up to be just like him."
Elise scooped up Francois, wrapped him up in his blanket, and cradled him in her arms. Arno placed his hand around her waist, and walked with her back to the estate. Walking towards the front door, Arno noticed Elise freeze, her gaze looking up the stairs.
"Elise? Are you coming?" Arno asked. Arno approached his wife, who was still staring up the stairs.
"What's wrong, my love?" Arno asked, placing his hand on her shoulder. Elise looked back up at Arno.
"I just saw ghostly figures of us as children running down the stairs." Elise replied, sounding confused. "It just appeared spontaneously."
Arno returned a confused look of his own.
"And you just saw this now?" Arno asked.
"Yes, it did." Elise replied. "Just as I stopped in front of the stairs here, it appeared. Once I blinked, they were gone."
"Fascinating, Elise." Arno replied, with a surprised tone in his voice. "But now, we must continue our tour."
Elise smiled, and exited the estate with her husband. Walking through the district, Arno noticed that this part of the district was much cleaner than the southern part of the village. The couple exited through the northeastern entrance of the village, walking through the forest. Elise paused again.
"I remember this area of forest." Elise stated, as she looked around.
"It looks like every other forest would." Arno inquired, walking past Elise. "What is so special about this area?"
Elise looked back at Arno.
"This is the spot where my mother, Monsieur Weatherall, and myself had an encounter with a wolf." Elise replied, rocking Francois. "I'm not too sure why it didn't attack us. My guess now was that it was scared of Scratch, our dog. Back when I was a girl, I thought it took one look at my mother, and froze in fear."
"Speaking of Monsieur Weatherall, what happened to him?" Arno asked. "I haven't talked to him since I retrieved that chest of yours from Maison Royale de Saint-Louis, and after we dealt with Ruddock."
Elise looked down to the snow, and gently kicked some snow around.
"I would continue to write to Monsieur Weatherall, up until around January 1795, updating him on everything that was happening." Elise began, as she caught up to Arno. "He passed away, shortly after I became an Assassin. I never got to visit him."
Arno placed his hand on Elise's back.
"I'm sure he would have been proud of the decision you made, Elise." Arno replied.
Elise smiled, as the two of them walked through the forest, leading to the Palace of Versailles. After a few minutes of walking through the forest, Arno and Elise arrived at the gates of the Palace of Versailles.
"My goodness." Arno began. "The palace has seen better days, hasn't it?"
Elise looked at the palace, which had graffiti all over it, a shell of its former self.
"It sure has, Arno." Elise replied. "I still remember my initiation ceremony, and you going above and beyond to sneak in just to see me. But, every good story has to have some shades of grey."
"I still remember that day too, Elise." Arno added. "My carelessness got your father killed."
"But that was the past, Arno. We avenged my father with Germain's death." Elise told her husband. "I remember bringing your watch back to you, and you were in a very terrible state."
After Elise finished talking, Arno focused on on the courtyard of the palace, and witnessed a ghostly figure fall to the ground, with another figure attempting to assist the fallen figure. Arno blinked, and the figures vanished.
"Arno? Is everything alright?" Elise asked.
Arno looked over to his wife and son, and another man, standing beside Elise.
"Who is this?" Arno asked, pointing at the man.
"A courier." Elise informed Arno. "He has a message for us."
Arno nodded his head. The courier pulled out a letter, and began to read it.
"Ahem. Masters Trenet, Quemar, and Beylier wish to speak with Monsieur Arno Dorian, and Mademoiselle Elise de la Serre in the lower chambers of the Saint-Chappelle Cathedral, about an urgent matter in the heart of Paris. You are to report back to Paris immediately."
"Thank you, Monsieur." Elise told the courier. "You may take your leave."
The courier bowed his head, and began his walk back to Versailles.
Elise looked down at Francois, and then looked back up at Arno.
"Shall we head back then, Arno?" Elise asked, as she began to walk back towards Versailles.
Arno smiled, and followed his wife.
"I believe the answer is yes, my love." Arno replied, catching up to Elise. Arno and Elise continued to walk through the forest, eventually reaching the village. Upon entering the city, Arno and Elise walked towards the de la Serre estate. Walking through the streets, Arno noticed the streets were a little bit livelier than they were before they left for the palace. Upon arriving at the estate, Arno was surprised by the presence of a carriage, and the driver waving at them.
"I didn't think it would be that urgent, but alright then." Arno whispered to himself, as Arno and Elise approached the carriage driver.
"Monsieur Dorian?" The carriage driver asked.
"Correct." Arno replied. "I assume you are the driver that is going to get us to Paris?"
"You would be correct, sir." The driver stated, as he opened the door for Elise. Elise smiled at the driver as she got into the carriage. Francois began to cry as soon as Elise sat down. Elise gently caressed him, and began to rock him back and forth.
"To Paris, Monsieur!" Arno reminded the driver, as he climbed into the carriage, and closed the door. The driver nodded his head, and snapped on the reins. The horses whinnied, and began to trot through the snowy road, carrying Arno and Elise through their childhood home of Versailles, and onto Paris.