Chapter One
Informer: "So, have you heard from Arya?" Altaїr stands in silences with an annoyed look. The informer realizes that there will be no response, "Sorry, brother, peace be with you and good luck with the rest of your mission." Altaїr walks away; he hasn't learned much of his target and decides to return to Masyaf. He saddled his horse and started on his trip back home, the weather was unusually hot for this time of year and the air dry.
A few days later Altaїr returned to Masyaf and was greeted at the gate by a brother in arms.
"Altaїr! It is good to see you again. The master awaits you in his library…hurry I'm sure you're eager to put your tongue to his boot--" Abbas taunted.
"Another word, and I'll put my blade to your throat!" Altaїr snapped. Abbas grunted and moved aside. Tension flared as Altaїr passed and continued onto the main courtyard, the mass of the castle evaded the sky. Altaїr looks to the sky to see the unusual formation of dark clouds, looks like it's going to rain, how odd, he thinks to himself. He walks up the flight of stairs to reach the castle entrance, from there he continues onward to the Al Mualim's studies.
"Ah, Altaїr, what news do you have for me?"
"None, afraid, Jubair Al Hakim has escaped once again…" Altaїr said with confidence and a little shame.
"I see…I expect more of you, Altaїr." Al Mualim raised his voice, "You're one of the best and this type of failure is below you."
"It wasn't my fault! Someone must have tipped him off--"
"Some Master Assassin," a voice came from behind, "making up excuses?" An assassin comes out from behind the bookcase. This assassin is slightly smaller and skinnier than most. Altaїr looks down at him.
"Who's this?" he asks Al Mualim.
"This is your new partner…."
"What? I don't need a partner, especially some as scrawny as him—"
"Her." Al Mualim corrected, Altaїr looked at him in disbelief then looked back over at the other Assassin. "Her name is Aamir 1and she'll be working with you to track down and kill Jubair."
"Is this some kind of joke?" Altaїr yelled, "This girl? An Assassin? She should be in the Gardens, not doing a man's work!" he exclaimed.
"Hush, boy!" Al Mualim interrupted, "She is a well trained assassin and has proven herself countless times."
"But—"
"But nothing, you'll do as you're told."
"As you wish, Master." Altaїr managed to say.
"Good, now you two should go and prepare for your mission…get to know one another." Al Mualim returns to his studies and the two Assassins dismiss themselves. Aamir leads them out of the castle and back to the courtyard where another Assassin met them.
"Ah, Altaїr, can you please demonstrate some of the techniques; it appears that my students are having a hard time?"
"Of course, in fact…" Altaїr looks over at Aamir, "why don't Aamir and I demonstrate?"She looks over and him with curiosity as does their Brother. "Al Mualim said you were skilled, so you shouldn't have a problem with this, don't you agree?"
"Agreed." She replied. It was easy to tell that Altaїr was not thrilled to have a partner, and he was about to make sure that she knew her place. They step into the practice ring, getting ready for the demonstration. It was a presentation of swordplay, to disable your opponent. Their swords touched slightly and slid pass by one another. Altaїr maneuvered his sword around Aamir's and then moved in for the 'final blow.' Aamir reacted quickly, blocking and countering Altaїr's attack, disabling him instead. He fell to the ground in shock. He moved to his knees and then to his feet, the crowd whispered amongst themselves in disbelief. Of course now, Altaїr's pride was injured, but he would redeem himself. This time Altaїr moved quicker in hopes of out maneuvering her, but Aamir was still faster, able to out maneuver him.
Now Altaїr was on his last straw, and decided to go all out. He goes in to disable Aamir. She counters. He matches her counter and heads in for the final blow. This time she was caught off guard and was thrown to the ground. Altaїr's swords came down as if to strike her, but he stops just short of her throat. The sound of thunder suddenly filled the sky and lighting illuminate the courtyard, the initial soft rain turns into a down pour. Aamir lies on the ground as Altaїr stands triumphantly over her.
Chapter Two
Altaїr slides his sword from her neck down to her torso while the rain drips off its edge, he then sheaths his sword. "That was a very impressive demonstration. Thank you for your time, Altaїr, Aamir," said the instructor, as he tried to ease the tension between them. Altaїr nodded to the instructor and then reached his hand down as to offer Aamir a hand up. She merely stood up as if she didn't even notice Altaїr's hand. The mixture of the soft rain and the breeze seemed to clean the dirt from her white cloak, the standard white uniform of that rank of an Assassin.
"Okay, let's finish up here and get out of the rain. I wouldn't want anyone to get sick." Said the instructor and so they did. Altaїr and Aamir retreated from the rain to prepare themselves before their next journey; Jubair has disappeared and left no trace as to where he went so they need to research.
The storm raged on as the night drifted by. Neither book nor scroll held any information that would help them. Despite the size of the library, nothing could be found. Aamir returned a book to its place, "There's no use, there's nothing here that will help us. We should get some rest and start again tomorrow."
"I understand, late nights must be hard for you." Altaїr taunted. Aamir silently walked to an adjacent room. The room had a Persian carpet centered on the floor, and many silk pillows lying in piles about the room. A table stood on the far side of the room, with a small window to the right side of the room. Centered on the table was a red cloth with the Assassin's symbol on it, on top of the cloth was a framed piece of paper. The paper was made of from the best materials from the region and had a Celtic boarder around the edge. Centered on the paper was the Assassin's Creed, written in Arabic: Never harm the innocence, Be discreet, and Never bring harm to the Brotherhood, directly or indirectly. On either side of the Creed were two candles, unlit, and above the table on the wall was the Creed's symbol carved into it.
Aamir walked to the back corner and sat in a pile of pillows; she slowly closed her sea green eyes and soon fell asleep. A few hours later, Altaїr walked in, lighting flashed from the window illuminating the room. He looked at her. She was now lying on her side, her arms hanging over the pillows. She was in the fetal position, moving to wrap her arms around herself for warmth. He let out a sigh as he reached for blanket; he walked over and covered her body. While covering her he brushed against her skin. She felt frozen. He felt as if he should have come in sooner; that he could have protected her from the cold. He quickly placed the thought into the back of his mind, walking to the opposite corner and went to sleep.
Early next morning, as the sun just peeked over the mountains, a strange hawk flew over Masyaf, landing in the window of the room where Altaїr and Aamir were sleeping. This unusual hawk was all white with black-tip feathers on his wings. Altaїr awoke to see Aamir standing in the window, with the sunlight surrounding her body. For a moment Altaїr stared at her through the beams of light, watching as she tended to the hawk. He stood up and walked over to her.
" What an odd bird, who does it belong to?" He asked.
"It's my personal hawk, his name is Omair2."
"Problem solver?"
"Yes, he is of great help in my endeavors." Aamir pulled out a little roll of paper from Omair's ankle. As she unrolled the piece of paper she carefully slid her thumb across the paper opening it. "We should go to Damascus and speak with Tamir."
"What? How did you come up with that? The paper is blank!" Altaїr exclaimed.
"I have my ways, Altaїr. Shall we go?"
Soon they were on their way to Damascus, following the only lead they had. All the clouds from the storm had disappeared from the night before and the air returned to its dry condition as the sun hung over head. There were some plant life growing on the edge of the road and some in shade of the cliffs, near the water; they were growing strong despite the harsh desert condition. Along the way, they joined a group of travelers. It was only for a short time, but they wanted to see if they could gather any new information about Damascus or Tamir. However, it turned out that the weary travelers had no useful information, but did mention that they could have better luck finding information in the marketplace of Damascus.
A few hours before sunset they finally reached their destination. Being as it was too late to visit the marketplace, they decide to head for the Assassin's Bureau for the night. The streets were quite now with some lanterns lit, they were welcomed with open arms…sort of. Several of Altaїr's fellow Assassin's disliked him because of his ego, and even more were not fond of the idea of a female assassin. But still, the Bureau's doors were opened to them. The Bureau Leader brought out some blankets. Nights in Damascus were known for being quiet cold. The Temperature change between night and day left a bitter chill in the air as the sun went down.
Chapter Three
At the break of dawn, the marketplace was bustling with people. Shop owners were setting out their merchandise, animals were being herded through the streets, and customers lingered in the waiting. People gathered together, just to converse over the daily grind, not concerned over the items being sold. It was an average day, full of excitement.
When Altaїr awoke he noticed that Aamir was already awake, sitting up on the roof with her hawk, Omair. He stood to fold his blankets, wondering why she was always up before him. Altaїr returned the blankets to the Bureau Leader and thanked him for his hospitality,
"Peace be with you, my friend."
"And to you, Altaїr." Replied the Bureau Leader as he reached for the blankets. Aamir was feeding Omair seeds when Altaїr joined her on the roof. For a moment she didn't respond to him, she just sat there with a lamenting look on her face. As Altaїr looked further around her hood, he thought that she was about to cry. Omair called out as Altaїr came closer to them. Aamir seemed startled, jumping up to her feet. She tried to conceal her surprise, asking what took him so long. Of course Altaїr didn't like her remark,
"Well then, Aaraa3, where do we go next?" Aamir glared at him for his taunt.
"We can go to the marketplace, I'm sure we can find some information there."
Altaїr just smirked and jumped from the roof to the lower level. Aamir shook her head in annoyance and proceeded to follow him.
While in the marketplace, they split up to cover more ground. Time seemed to go by so slowly, as if a time rip caused time to skip over and over again. The task was repetitive and unproductive at best. The sun came down on them with blazing heat, this summer was usually hot with unusual rain storms. Some thought it a bad omen to have so much rain. Aamir stopped by the water well, she pulled the bucket up and dipped her soft hands into the water, cupped them and took a drink.
Altaїr happened to be passing by noticing Aamir by the well. He was watching her as the glistening water touched her lips.
Once she was finished, she turned her head in Altaїr's direction, he quickly turned away and walked into the adjacent marketplace which was covered in shade by the arched buildings over head. Embarrassed for staring at her and not having the self-discipline to keep his own thoughts in order. He was sure that she saw him, he would have to make up an excuse for why he was staring. Perhaps he would lecture her on her lack of motivation; standing around the well and his disappointment in her. As his mind trailed he over-heard some men talking behind the corner of a building.
"That Tamir! He always pushing these outrageous orders. It's impossible to fulfill them, it's just too much."
"Hush, lower your voice. Regardless of the orders, Tamir will have you killed if he knew you were talking behind his back."
"So what? At this rate I'll be dead soon anyways."
"Be still…" the one man paused and looked around, "you'll still be there at the Souk, noon tomorrow, right?"
"Eh, of course, I have a family to take care after all."
"There's no shame in it, see you there. Peace be with you." The man walked away.
"Yes, yes, peace be with you as well."
Altaїr decided to return back to the Bureau, he moved for the outside marketplace where Aamir was. He tried to catch her attention, motioning her back to the Bureau. She was at a jewelry stand, looking at a particular necklace. She was very interested in it. The chain was made of black leather with gems fixed into the band; there was a sapphire in the middle that faded into jade and then into ruby. She seemed to pay no attention to Altaїr though she should have seen him.
Altaїr approached her from behind, whispering in her ear. "We need to head back now, to talk in private." Immediately, she put the necklace down and walked back to the Bureau. Before Altaїr left, he took another glance at the necklace: the surface was rough and it had many jagged edges. Why was she looking at this for? Once they returned back to the Bureau, Aamir asked the important question. "What did you find out?"
"Tamir will be at the Souk at noon, we will gain more information once we scope out the area."
"Fine, I'll go to the Souk now and see if I can't find out anything else….so you want to scope out the area for routes?"
"……." Altaїr paused for a moment, upset with her assertive behavior. He was supposed to be in charge of this mission, He was her superior in title and ability. However, he allowed her to do as she wished, he wasn't in the mood to argue;"Yes, I will, we'll meet back here at sundown, agreed?"
"Agreed."
Chapter Four
Altaїr explored every corner and path around the Souk4, checking for lines of attack and their alternate escape routes.
Aamir, on the other hand, disappeared into the shadows. The Souk was very crowded in preparation for tomorrow's display of materials to be presented before Tamir. There were only a small group of guards, directing the people where to set up their tables. The head guard, Rarul, was doing the least amount of work, sitting in the shade allowing the grunts to do all the work. He considered himself too important to be wasting time on small stuff like this.
A slight commotion broke out in the middle of the Souk. "Stupid girl, watch where you're going! Don't you know that there's an important meeting being held here tomorrow!" a man yelled. On the ground below him, was a young, beautiful girl. Rarul took notice of her right away. He made his way over to the site of the commotion; the day may have just proved itself to be interesting.
The young girl held her hands up in apology, "Please, please, I..I am sorry. I meant no disrespect, please. There…there were these men, and they were…chasing me—"
"What's going on here!" Rarul shouted.
"Ah, this woman's babbling." The man waved his hand in the air. Rarul, looked down at her, captivated by her sweet and innocent eyes. He couldn't help but be taken by them.
"Child," he started taking his hand to lift up her chin, "calm down, tell me what happened." She seemed to be relieved by this man's words and took a deep breath.
"There were these men….a few streets back, that tried to rape me." She spoke softly and grabbed Rarul's hand and started crying. Rarul couldn't help but be tempted in the situation he found himself in. He brought her in closer to him and stroked her hair.
"There, there, everything is alright now." He motioned back to his group of guards, two of which ran off to find the rapists while the others continued to work. Rarul lifted up the woman while wearing an evil smirk on his face. "You were very brave child…ah, what's your name?" he looked down at her, she looked up.
"Um, my name's Rachael, sir." She said in a low shy voice.
"Well, then…uh, Rachael. Could you please come with me so that I can make an official report? It would be of most help to me and to get these scoundrels off our fair streets." She agreed with him.
Altaїr was watching the commotion from above, he thought the poor woman was in an unfortunate situation but did nothing to help her. Of course, why would he? To intervene would only be putting the mission at risk. He had more pressing matters to attend and he could not afford such hindrances.
Rarul walked Rachael to his official quarters to take her report. They walked into Rarul's office, he sat Rachael on a bench and he sat across from her.
"Okay, Rachael, start at the beginning please."
"Well, I was walking to the marketplace to do some shopping for my ill father. My older brother is out of town taking care of our uncle's flock while he's on pilgrimage." She stopped to wipe a tear from her eye.
"Continue…" Rarul moved closer, trying to seem sympathetic.
"Well, um, a man called out from behind me. At first he tried to sell me something, but I declined. When I went to turn away two other men blocked my path, I tried to get away but they cornered me…." Rachael buried her head in her hands.
"It's okay, dear, I know it's hard." Rarul moved in close, right next to her.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't remember much…" Rarul wrapped his right arm around her, "I fought back and ran as fast as I could…and, and, that's when I ran into the Souk." He moved his left hand to her chin.
"There, there, no need to worry my dear. You're safe now and my men will catch them."
"uh, um, sir. I thank you very much, but you're very close to me. I don't think others would approve…..?"
"Hahaha, don't worry about that!" Rarul grabbed her by the throat, forcing her down on the bench. He released her throat as soon as she was restrained; he wanted to hear her pleas for freedom.
"Someone help! Please, help!" Rachael yelled but no one came to her aid. Rarul laughed at her anguish.
1 Aamir: meaning full or full of.
2 Omair: means problem solver.
3 Aaraa: meaning adoring. Altaїr is making fun of Aamir saying that she's full of adorable qualities, like a child.
4 Souk: a marketplace, a particularly big one.