Hello folks :)
First of all, thank you for checking out this story, which is both my first AC fic and my first story in English. Secondly, please keep in mind that English is not my native language and mistakes can and probably will happen, though both I and my spellcheck are trying to avoid them as best as we can. Nevertheless, if you see any sort of mistake, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE inform me about it. Honestly, I'd be most grateful and (with your consent) would definitely mention you and your helpfulness in the next chapter. So, again, inform me about it in any way possible.
Third, as usual, if you either like this story, or hate it to the core, let me know! There's nothing that motivates any writer more than reviews. But I'm sure most of you know that already.
Number four, about updates. Unfortunately, I am not the sort of writer that promises weekly updates and keeps that promise, so I won't promise anything. My updates depend on many factors, as school, motivation, ideas, etc. It might be that I'm on a roll and write day and night, bringing you a chapter a day (which, admittedly, is very unlikely), or that writer's block payed me a visit and you won't be getting anything for a few weeks.
The next chapter will probably be up in a few days, depending on how you guys like it so far.
Alright, I think that were the important points. Everyone still awake?
If you haven't figured it out yet, this is a Templar's POV fic, so don't expect too many Assassins in here. Mostly told by my main protagonist, who you will meet very soon. I apologise for the numerous POV changes in the first few chapters, there are all maked by highlighting the narrator's name in the beginning of his/her POV.
Uh, what else?
Sorry about the lack of both characters and... well, information in the summary, that was my intention as everything else appeared too much of a spoiler to me. You'll just have to trust me on that one ;) But of course, more than two people will appear.
That's it, I'm done, enjoy the Prologue and remember to leave a review! Adios!
~0Junebug0
Order Of The Cross
Egypt, September 17th, 1757
They weren't guards.
They were dressed as guards, but she had never seen them before and she knew every single goddamned eunuch serving in the palace.
She crept deeper into the shadows so that the two men wouldn't see her. As they walked by, she overheard parts of their muttered conversation.
"...get her as quickly as possible."
"The haramlik is well guarded, sir, we only have this one chance."
"I'm quite aware, Holden, in fact..."
Their voices faded away as they made their way through the hallway, but she had heard enough.
English, without the slightest hint of a foreign accent.
She waited until there was a safe distance between them and her and started trailing them cautiously, always anxious to stay in the shadows. Just because they were foreigners and dressed as guards they could still be aligned with the governor or one of his officials.
The taller one stopped a few feet further down the hall, turned around and looked back, examining the dark hallway with narrowed eyes.
The girl pressed herself against the cold marble of the statue she was currently hiding behind and felt her heart pace quicken with every passing second.
He saw me.
She made herself ready to run should the man make any attempt to approach her and waited.
Nothing happened.
After a while she cautiously peered around the corner, just to see that the hall was empty.
Damn it.
Almost tripping over a large carpet, she hastily ran after them, completely dropping her guard.
Which was proven a fatal mistake.
An arm wrapped around her waist while the owner's other hand pressed on her mouth, preventing her from calling for any sort of help.
The man, it was the taller one, lifted her up effortlessly and pressed her against a wall with her feet fidgeting a few inches above the ground.
Despite hardly having enough air to breathe, she tried to both scream and bite his hand, which resulted in a muffled cry from her and an amused smile from his side.
"Well well well, what do we have here? It appears we were indeed followed by a little shadow, Holden. ", he said, not without granting her another smile of pure satisfaction.
The other man scrutinized her from a little distance, with a worried look on her face.
"What should we do with her now, sir? If we let her go she'll raise the alarm."
"Then I fear we can't let her go, can we?"
The pressure on her chest made her eyes water. She struggled for air while being seized with panic. Dark sports appeared in her field of vision, her head started spinning. Her last efforts of freeing herself slowly became weaker and weaker, until she completely gave up and accepted her fate. At least she didn't have to serve in the palace anymore. Even death was better than that.
Due to the ringing in her ears she didn't hear the voices. She just felt the man's tight grip suddenly loosen and her lungs were filled with air.
"Damn it.", the tall one cursed under his breath while flashing a glance over his shoulder.
He now held her with only one hand, while the other one rested at his sword, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. His eyes were locked on something behind the corner which she couldn't see.
This short second of distraction was her chance and she took it.
She bit his hand as hard as she could.
He snarled, but did not scream, and his grip loosened even more.
Fighting back with all the strength she had left she managed to break away from his handhold and immediately ducked away as he tried to retrap her. Before he could stop her, she leaped forward and rushed around the corner.
And almost bumped into two real guards, who seemed to be on patrol in this wing of the palace.
So that was what they had been distracted with.
For the second time today she was lifted from the ground and held at eye level with one of the guards.
"What are you little rat running from, I wonder?" he snarled at her in Arabic while the other one drew his dagger and playfully started waving it around.
"Causing some trouble? Answer quickly or I'll slice open your belly and decorate you with your guts, my dear."
"Intruders! " she gasped, still fighting to free herself.
He immediately placed her back on the floor and crouched down next to her, his face dead serious.
"This hardly is the right time for pranks, girl. I hope you are aware of the consequences such a thing brings with itself. Consequences for us, but mostly for you. Now tell us exactly what you saw or heard, or get out of my sight as fast as you can."
Her eyes started tearing up and her voice was shaky and high-pitched when she spoke.
"I am no liar! My mistress had sent me to the well to fetch some water for her bath when... When..."
She sniffed audibly, but quickly continued after earning a warning glance from one of the guards. "When I was there and had filled my bucket I heard voices, strange voices I did not understand. I was scared so I hid behind the well. A few moments later two men appeared. They were dressed in the same clothes as you, but had bloodstains on theirs. I did not understand what they were saying but I think I heard something about his Excellency and the saramlik. After they left I stayed hidden for a while, and then ran away, I was terrified, you have to understand me!"
Now she was sobbing, covering her face with her tiny hands.
"Stop crying.", the guard ordered harshly. "What did they look like? Where were they heading? Pull yourself together girl!"
The other one raised his hand and hit her hard against the side of her head.
"Speak, you useless brat!", he shouted.
"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!", she cried. "It was dark and I was too scared to take a look. They had very fair skin, unusually pale. And tall. That's all I saw I swear!"
The second guard seized her by her collar. "Where. Were. They. Heading."
She shakily pointed a finger in the direction they came from. He tossed her on the ground and started running, closely followed by his companion.
In the moment they were out of sight she stood up, wiped off her tears, straightened her back and, with a perfectly steady voice, called over her shoulder.
"You can come out now, they're gone."
The two strangers appeared from the corner, the tall one mustering her suspiciously. In the light of one of the torches on the wall, she was finally able to see his eyes. They were grey like the colour of the ocean on a cloudy day.
"You speak English.", he said, matter-of-factly. "Who are you?"
"Just a humble servant of His Excellency's concubines, nothing more.", she answered coolly.
After a short moment of silence, in which they just stared at each other, the other man asked: "Why are you helping us?"
She averted her gaze from the grey eyes and turned to the other stranger, but didn't answer immediately.
"Because you can help me just as much as I can help you."
"And what exactly do you expect us to do for you?"
The tall one still wasn't convinced.
She sighed and closed her eyes for a second. Then she spoke.
"A few years ago some of the sultans men came to my home, killed all our cattle and took me with them as a punishment for my father, who was accused of speaking ill of the governor. I have served his concubines ever since. Life here has been rather unpleasant, so I've been searching for a way to escape this hell for years. I know this palace in every detail, therefore I can help you with whatever you're hoping to find here. In exchange I just want to return to my family."
They exchanged glances. After a few seconds of silence the tall one first sighed, and then spoke.
"Fine. We're looking for a woman. Dark hair. In her mid-forties. She has been a concubine for decades."
The girl nodded earnestly.
"Then she probably isn't one anymore.", she said, walking past them and signalizing them to follow her. "Come."
"Too many guards. We wouldn't make it past them without being recognised."
"Which one is she?"
"The one next to the fountain, crouching in front of the blonde. It's too far away from here, we'll never reach her."
She locked her eyes on the dark-haired woman, shifting into a more comfortable position.
They were hiding in the shadows behind a group of rather imposing pillars and observing the ample courtyard in front of them.
The harem, despite the governor's rather puny reputation, was quite ostentatious, with a large fountain in its centre, a pavement of black and white stones, walls clad in ivy and numerous beautiful women dressed in silk, accompanied by their servants.
"I'll get her and return on another route. Not far from here is a narrow hallway with red tapestry. There's a huge portrait of the governor hanging on one wall. She knows where it is. Meet me there in about-"
She paused, her eyes darting left and right as she estimated the time she would need to get to the meeting point without encountering any guards. "-fifteen minutes. If I'm not there in fifteen minutes you go without me."
"How can we be certain you don't betray us?"
"Considering that I'm your only chance to escape this palace without getting into a fight, you'll just have to trust me."
Not waiting for an answer, she stepped out of the dark and weaved her way through the crowd of concubines, servants and guards, her tiny figure almost disappearing between the tall women.
When she reached the dark-haired servant, she tapped her on the shoulder and motioned for her to go in the direction from which she came from with a brief nod, locking her eyes on the two inconspicuous guards, who had appeared behind the portico at the other end of the yard.
The woman stood up, shot an apologetic glance at the concubine she had massaged, who looked rather displeased with the situation, and approached the two men.
Assuring that she moved in the right direction, the girl waited for a few seconds and then attempted to walk in the opposite one, but the concubine, now almost infuriated for being both abandoned and ignored, grabbed her arm and pointed to her feet with a scowl.
There wasn't time for courtesies, so she simply yanked herself free from the woman's grip, grabbed the bowl of water next to her, and started running.
The concubine voiced both her surprise and her indignation with a loud scream, breaking the speaking ban.
Damn you, woman.
Now all eyes were riveted on the concubine and therefore on her, while she was running away.
She reached the door and risked a glance back. Five guards were on her trail, about forty feet away from her.
Her brain had already planned an escape route, she scurried through a corridor and around a corner into another one, which looked exactly like the one before, except for a few doors on her left.
At the next junction she stopped, breathing heavily, and poured the water from the bowl on the ground. Then she ran on. Shortly after, she heard cries of surprise and then cursing, which made her smile.
She hauled herself through a door, which was nearly visible due to its composure of the same material as the wall and locked it behind her.
Down a narrow staircase, around a corner, through another corridor.
Her feet pounding on the floor like the rain did on the roof of the old farmhouse she used to live in.
Almost there, just a couple more-
The wooden lath came out of nowhere, all she could do was scream in surprise and agony as it hit her hard against the forehead, making her tumble, while the momentum of her escape still carried her forward.
She fell down a few feet away, hitting the ground with her shoulder, which was painful, but nothing compared to the blazing pain in her head. White spots exploded behind her eyelids and she lost all sense of perception. She couldn't see, she couldn't think. Her vision blurred, the edges turning black. But she wasn't granted the mercy of losing her consciousness.
Please, let me die! Make the pain go away!
But no one answered to her silent prayer, except the sound of boots on the stone floor.
It did not matter, she would be executed for treason anyway. It was over.
With a twinge of panic, she thought about what they would do to her, what she'd have to endure before they would mercifully end her life. They were most creative when it came to torture, she had seen it with her own eyes.
Her death would be long and painful. Apart from the pain in her head, which slowly started fading away, she now felt the throbbing ache in her shoulder and cold metal against her cheek.
She froze, unable to move, curled up in a fetal position, her hands wrapped around her head. All she could do was open her eyes.
She knew the guard which had assaulted her all too well. It was the one who had ripped her from her mother's arms to bring her into this living hell.
He knelt next to her shaking body, his eyes even colder than the dagger he pressed against her cheek.
"You little bitch. Did you really think you could get away with this?"
Her only answer was a whimper, barely audible but enough to ensure the guard that she was still fully conscious.
"This sad attempt to escape this gift the governor granted you after your idiotic drunkard of a father couldn't keep his damned trap shut. He should've given you to his soldiers, they would have taught you some manners!"
His sardonic laughter rang in her ears as he increased the pressure on her face. She felt the blade pierce her skin and a warm drop of blood ran down her face like a red tear.
"He will want you alive.", the guard continued. "But I'm certain he wouldn't mind a little decoration of your face, don't you think? In fact, I believe-"
But she would never hear what he believed, as someone had thrust a dagger through his skull.
He shot her a surprised look, then his eyes went blank as he died soundlessly.
As he fell, she saw who had killed him. Behind him stood the grey-eyed man and calmly retracted his weapon, which was not a dagger, but a blade, and seemed to have extended from his sleeve.
"Are you alright?", he asked and reached out his hand to help her get on her feet.
She nodded, took his hand, stood up, and would have fallen down again, if he had not clutched her arm.
Her head was spinning.
"You're bleeding."
"It's nothing."
He shot her an annoyed look, sighed, and lifted her up before she could protest.
She seemed to merely consist of skin and bones, weighing next to nothing.
Ignoring her half-hearted complaints and assurances that she could walk on her own, he carried her down the hall and into the narrow hallway she had described them earlier. There, the other man and the woman they had come for awaited them.
"Is she alright?", the woman asked with a worried look on her face.
"Yes.", the girl insisted, while her carrier simultaneously said "I suppose not."
He carefully placed her on the floor in front of the governor's enormous portrait and only released her, after assuring that she could stand on her own.
"So now what?", the other man asked, nervously checking the hallway's ends every few seconds.
Instead of answering, the girl grabbed the edge of the carpet they were standing on and tossed it aside, revealing a secret trapdoor beneath it. It was locked.
"Secret escape tunnel for the governor.", she explained. "Heard there are a few of them scattered around the palace, but this was the only one I could find. At least I suppose it's one of them, as you can see I did not manage to break the lock yet."
Indeed the rusty lock seemed to have suffered numerous attempts of breaking it, but withstood.
"That won't be a problem.", the tall one said and pulled out a pistol under his robe.
The lock shattered with a single shot, which caused a loud noise.
"Quick.", he said and pulled the trapdoor open, which obeyed with a loud squeak.
Beneath it was utter darkness, only a few steps of an old ladder visible.
The tall one's companion went first, followed by the woman and the girl. Lastly, the grey-eyed men flung the carpet back over the hatch and shut it behind him, as he followed into the dark. The guards, who arrived just seconds after, didn't find anything but an empty hallway and the governor's portrait, which looked down at them with a smug smile on his lips, as if he knew exactly that the intruders had slipped through their fingers and were now escaping several floors beneath their feet.