Author's Note: So I didn't realize that people were reading my story! But I saw that I had two favorites and one review! I am no longer getting any notifications from fanfiction anymore, which is odd. But anywho, please review! Thanks to XxLAWLxX for your review! I encourage others to review as well, I absolutely love constructive criticism (I simply take flames as criticism so even "flamers" are encouraged to review).
I am a bit worried that I might be making her a bit too Mary Sue...So please leave a review! If I had to name her weakness it would be her being weak (physically) and her shy personality..but I fear that that might be going away because of the chapter below. So please review! Thanks.
Chapter Two: Make Her Break
After a brief nap in her new room, if it could even be called that, Nadia rose from her sleep and gave a soft stretch. She had brought a single blanket, as she had assumed that she would have a proper room and thus a proper bed; she had laid that down on the floor so she wasn't sleeping on just the ground, and had used her bag full of clothes as her pillow. She rose from her resting place, crossing her legs and rubbing her eyes sleepily, she was a tad bit sore still yet from her travels but she knew that she had work still yet to do. She rose, swiped her hands quickly over her leggings and tunic to be certain she was properly covered before exiting the supplies closet once she had fixed her headdress once more on the top of her head.
Timidly her hazel orbs moved towards the young man who seems to harbor a hate towards her already, he was not paying any attention to her, simply continued his work. As quietly as possible, she made her way into the other room, not daring to look up at the young man unless he barked at her an order or some sort of retort towards her. But thankfully, he said nothing and allowed her to pass without even a scolding, which she was thankful for as she reached the kitchen. She tried to be as quiet as possibly, being certain to close cabinets carefully instead of simply knocking them shut and allowing them to bang noisily; Nadia quickly immersed herself in her work, chopping up whatever vegetables she could find, mentally making a list of things that she would like to get at the market tomorrow, and using the water that was fetched from the well to create a sort of soup.
A gentle thud was heard, and Nadia couldn't help but curiously poke her head in the doorway to see Nimid dressed in the usual assassin robes, "Safety and peace, Malik." HIs gaze first moving to the supply closet before landing on Nadia and giving a smile as he pulled down his cowl, "and safety and peace to you as well, my lady. What is that delicious smell?"
Nadia blushed and was about to answer when Malik spoke up, "Instead of focusing on your stomach and flattery, how about you pay attention. Tell me. What did you find?"
Nadia practically shrank away at Malik's harsh words, but said nothing as she stirred the soup that sat in a small pot over a fire. She sat in a chair, sewing one of her tunics carefully, a sleeve had been torn. Nimid had joined her after the chatter had finished, smiling and greeting her happily, "And how was your rest?"
"It was well, thank you, I did not even hear you get up and leave," she pointed out.
"I had to stretch my legs, and I decided to get a bit of a jump start on my assignment anyways," he said dismissivally before going on in a bit of a quieter tone, "do not allow Maliks anger earlier to betray him, he is quite nice when you get to know him."
Nadia wanted to speak up, state her opinion, but instead she simply nodded. She supposed she understood how it would look to the poor man at the sight of her, he was already crippled, sent to Jerusalem after being forced to step down from being an assassin, and now a humble bereau leader. There was no shame in the position, and if it had been his choice to become one, Nadia knew that he might not be as grumpy, but it hadn't been, and now Al Maulim had sent her here specifically to aide him. Nadia was a woman, property, it would be much like a horse caring for it's rider. Regardless, he should stop being so arrogant. And should stop focusing his anger onto me when I have done nothing wrong- "ah!" She gasped as she had shoved her needle through her stitch, the point poking her finger enough to draw blood. She put her finger to her mouth tenderly, grumbling at how foolish she had been before she tied off her stitch properly and held out the arm, putting her arm through to make certain that it would stay in place.
"You are quite handy, could I ask you to fix my robes? There are some holes in some places," Nimid explained sheepishly.
"Of course," she answered as she tested the soup once more and then got three bowls and filled one for Nimid, Malik, and herself. She quickly cut up some bread, grabbed a couple of pieces and then places Malik's soup and some bread on a wooden tray and walks it into the other room.
Malik's sharp gaze is immediately on her as she places the food on an empty space, if looks could kill, Nadia thought as she have a small pause before him for him to say anything to her; insult her, yell at her, anything. Her gaze was concentrated on the floor as she waited, and finally, he gave a, "Leave me." And Nadia quickly scurried back into the other room where Nimid was currently helping himself to a second.
Nadia was forced to undo her headress, at least the part around her mouth, in order to eat. Nimid politely said nothing, but as he glanced up and saw her he was taken aback at her beauty, she was quite normal really, a simple beauty, but because of her quiet demeanor and timid attitude, Nimid had always thought he would find something much more graceful. But Nadia had a sharply defined jaw, a small chin that matched her just as tiny nose, her lips were thin as well, a bit cracked from her biting and picking at them. Some freckles dotted her round cheeks, and complexion was an even, natural tan. There was nothing amazingly beautiful about her, she was simply ordinary as she took careful sips of her soup.
"Do you write to your father often," Nimid asked in conversation.
Nadia nodded politely, "Evet (Yes), as often as I can," she said as she took another sip, realizing she should continue the conversation, she asked, "and what of your family?"
"Lost my mother when I was little, followed in my father's footsteps with the Creed, as many of the boys have," he explained, the rest of dinner was left in silence, both enjoying the quiet and them both being able to sit on anything besides a horse. Nimid remembered the white knuckled grip she had on the saddle, how tense she had been in alarm and Nimid wanted to ask why she was so fraud of horses, but she suddenly fixed her headress so that the fabric was covering her mouth once more and rose.
"If you give me your robes I shall be certain to see them quickly," she explained as she gathered her dishes and placed them on the counter. She turned to face him but blushed as she saw his bare chest and faced away from him and went out towards Malik once more. Again, the Dai refused to acknowledge her presence as she silently took his empty bowl - she refrained from smiling as she knew it would show in the crinkle in her eye, refilled his bowl, and then returned it to the man. As she re-entered for a second time, she attempted not to blush as Nimid stretched lazily, his outer tunic lay on her chair as she took his bowl and washed the dishes properly before returning to her seat and starting her sewing.
Nadia worked diligently, silently, and quickly. Her stitching wasn't marvelous, but it would do just fine; she needed more practice that was for certain. She raised the robes up and inspected them herself, looking over to Nimid- he was gone! Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked around the place but did not find him at all. Nadia folded the robes carefully, like a delicate flower, and then proceeded to edit the room in search of Nimid.
Not seeing him, she looked to Malik and warily asked him, "Hadritak (Sir), the young assassin, where has he gone?"
The moment she spoke, cold brown orbs were on her. Nadia wanted nothing more to shrink away, and just as she was always taught, she lowered her gaze. But she wanted nothing more than to glare right back at him for acting as though she was some sort of nuisance, she hadn't even done anything to him yet! Nadia knew that she was a bit of a klutz and that she allowed her mind to wander far too often than was proper for a young lady, but she hadn't done anything to him! But even if she were to yell this at him, her voice would turn timid and meek, afraid of angering him further. Best not to poke the angry tiger already in its cage.
"He went off on an assignment, what do you want woman," he barked at her coldly. At being so blantantly called such, her hazel eyes widened in shock, unable to hide her surprise at the venom in his voice. In the confines of Masyaf, Nadia had never been called a "woman" so coldly, she knew there was a hierarchy of power, and had heard how in other lands that woman were treated quite unfairly, but this was the first time Nadia was being held to this sexist anger. "Well? Out with it? The mentor said you'd be useful, but all you've done thus far is use up my time by simply standing there!"
That seemed to snap her out of her shock as her eyes returned to their normal size and she continued, though her voice wavered once in the beginning, but she had quickly regained control, "I-I was only trying to return his robes, he asked me to stitch them for him," she explained, Malik glared at her for a long time before finally tearing his gaze from her to land on the pillows and blankets before returning his critical gaze towards her. Nadia nodded her head mutely and quickly moved over to the blankets and placed the robes on Nimid's sleeping space before returning towards the Dai, carefully collecting the dinner tray (Nadia had to bite back a slight smile at the sight that he eaten everything), and then returning to the kitchen area.
As she washed the dishes and cleaned, Malik took out the letter he had received from Al Maulim, he had responded to her angry letter, Maulim's writing much more readable, unlike Malik's angry scribbling. The Mentor had explained that this was not some sort of mistake and that his pride needed to be swallowed, basically scolded Malik as though he were some sort of novice. This only infuriated Malik further; cast away into Jerusalem, given a woman to aid him, and now the Mentor scolded him as though he was some novice instead of speaking to him respectfully like the former assassin he used to be, instead of a crippled man with no longer any family. Furiously, he shoved the letter back into a book and examined the map that he had diligently worked on.
His vision blurred and Malik huffed as he decided to call it a night, he walked around the counter with ease before entering his room to retire for the night. Nadia watched him leave before she re-entered the room, she quietly set to work; collecting dirty ink pots and brushes, properly stacking books or putting them away on shelves, she cleaned the ink pots and the brushes and returned them to their proper place, and then when her work was done, she turned out the last candle, looked to see if Nimid had returned or not (he hadn't), and then she retired to her supply closet and went to sleep.
My dearest Abba,
I am trying to be as patient as possible, it does not help that I have received her headstrong personality. But I know you are right, Malik is probably a very nice man. I'm just afraid that he has been hurt too much to show any kindness.
The city of Jerusalem is very different from the nice city of Masyaf, I am yet to be outside but I hear people yelling at one another over the smallest thing, things that I feel are irrelevant. A woman bumps a man and she gets called a "wench" and to watch where she is going. Part of me misses the sheltered life of Masyaf, but I know that I should be grateful for the Order and their generosity.
I'm sorry my letter is so short, I haven't done too much worth bringing up at the moment, and today will be my first day out of the house.
Missing you dearly,
Nadia
Forty-five...sixty...ninety...one hundred, four hundred, Nadia triple counted before depositing the coins into a small purse and then exiting her closet, she was up before even Malik as she went to the kitchen and warmed up some bread for breakfast. Her mind wandered to win she would sleep in, the smell of warm bread rousing her from her sleep as her mother prepared breakfast herself. She smiled softly at the thought, her brother joining her occasionally; tears pricked her eyes as she thought of how much both fought so angrily at one another, both would get so mad with the other. But now looking back, how she wished she could shake herself to get rid of petty rivalries and simply treasure the afternoons they had on a weekly basis, cherish them, instead of looking for a fight with her brother. Inhaling sharply, she quickly wiped her eyes and controlled herself, just in time too as she heard footsteps.
"That smells delicious," Nimid's hoarse voice came, she cleared her throat to be certain that she could speak clearly as she placed the bread on the counter to cool. "Are you going somewhere?"
"Yes, I figured if I'm staying here I should get to know the market properly," Nadia explained politely, as she put her purse of coins in her dress, that way a thief couldn't slip coins from her too easily and so she wouldn't jingle when she walked and draw attention to herself. "I need to get a couple of things as well."
"Would you like me to escort you," Nimid offered politely.
Nadia was about to respond when a sharp "novice!" cut her off and both gave a slight flinch at the harsh tone, "seems you have other obligations." Nimid gave a soft smile before ducking out of the room and towards Malik, Nadia cut up the last fruit that was there and placed it in a bowl, and placed the bowl and the baked bread onto the tray. When she heard Malik dismiss the assassin, she handed him the tray as he immediately went to work, not mentioning how his work space had been cleaned last night at all.
Nadia pondered for a moment whether or not she should bring up her leaving, she had just opened her mouth to get his attention when he snapped at her, "What?"
Her eyebrow twitched, and though she didn't know it, Malik felt a sick satisfication at this; he didn't know the woman well, all he knew was her name! What he did know based on observation, was that she kept herself composed rather well, and Malik could tell from the slight twitch of her brow and how her eyes had widened last night when he had called her a woman coldly, like her gender was an insult.
She huffed out a breath of air, which made Malik's chest swell that he had gotten under her skin before she said in a calm tone that didn't for a second give away her annoyance at his behavior, "I thought I would go into the market, unless you have an objection, hadritak (sir)," she stated, and even Malik was a bit surprised that she allowed her slightly snide comment to pass her lips. He had honestly expected her to take his anger in silence and show any resistance, she had surprised him and the Dai was not surprised often.
"None," he stated simply, and to not be bested, he quickly added, "get out of my sight, your mere presence ills me."
Once more he watched in a childish satisfaction as she bristled before him, he half expected her to storm up to him and slap him. And he was curious how much restraint she was having as she simply turned on her heel and moved towards the back door and left without a backwards glance. He drummed his fingers for a brief moment, allowing himself to ponder about the woman. And for a moment he wasn't angry anymore; he felt guilty for his childish behavior, guilty for shoving her in the supply closet like some servant, and moreso guilty for not even offering her an escort or a map. He was a Dai after all, his greatest asset was gathering information for the assassins that had assignments here, it was the only skill he could exercise left as an assassin as well; he knew how dangerous the streets of Jerusalem for woman were at the moment. As quickly as the moment had been there, it was gone. He was angry once more at the woman, she was the epitome of all his anger: her cool and calm demeanor was like Altairs, just missing the arrogance and the mouth to match it - though her snappy comebacks showed that the attitude was bubbling at the surface. She was a reminder of how Al Maulim practically deserted him in the city, and furthermore thought so little of him that he needed aid from a woman!
He threw a pot in his anger, ink splotting on the wall and on the floor as he clutched onto his arm in slight pain. The stumped limb throbbing angerily, pulsating through his entire being and only making the Dai angrier. He quickly masked his pain though as he heard the faint drop of an assassin entering his bereau.
Nadia had just wanted to get out - get away! The man was insufferable, incorgiable, disgusting, arrogant- the list went on and on! Nadia let out a snarl of frustration, making a couple of people look to her curiously, but she stormed onward, not even taking a moment to acknowledge them as she walked. The warm air did little to simmer her frustrations, but she took a deep breath and looked around, only now realizing that her feet had just taken her anywhere, she had no clue where the bereau was, or where the market was. Groaning at her own stupidity, she turned and back tracked her steps in hopes to find the small garden a second time, she vageuly remembered the way they took when they had entered the city, but that would do her little good as she would have to find the right entrance that Nimid and she had entered through, and there had to be multiple entrances.
A stroke of luck allowed her to find the garden, and she exhaled lightly before setting off for a second time, following the flow of people as she memorized her steps carefully. Finding little landmarks to help herself back, she beamed at the sight of the market and hurried away towards a merchant stand.
Nadia got the food needed first, deciding that was more important, she attempted to haggle a price with a merchant with many rugs, but he wouldn't budge at all. With her purse significantly lighter, Nadia carried her purchases back, everything was in a small crate a woman was kind enough to give to her. She had taken a pause on a division as she looked for a landmark. She had just found one when a man slammed into her, she clutched her purchases in surprise as she stumbled backwards, and another man shoved her out of the way. Nadia stumbled once more, apologizing furiously before she hit something so hard that she fell to the ground. Her crate scuttled, but a stroke of luck allowed it to stay upright properly and none of her purchases to spill.
"I'm so sorry, sir," Nadia apologized, vaguely she realized that people were no longer walking in the crowded intersection and she pondered what made them run off before a hard kick landed on her side. Nadia went down, holding her side as she looked up in confusion - but her eyes widened to saucers as she saw a Templar before her.
"Watch where you are going, whore," he snapped at her.
Nadia rose carefully as she said, "I'm sorry, sir, I'm just not-" she stumbled a bit at the blow, clutching her face in pain. The Templar had back handed her with a metal hand, she looked to him in utter shock.
"How dare you speak to me! Who is this gypsy's escort," he demanded, anyone looking on either scurried to go around the entire area to their destination or shook their head.
Nadia tried again, "Please sir, if I may, I came alone-" she flinched as he raised his again, this seemed to make him chuckle as Nadia quickly down cast her gaze; she wanted nothing more than to be in her closet! No, she wanted nothing more than to be in Masyaf! The Templar signaled the guard to grab her things, and he dumped them on the ground.
"You are new, so I'll let you off with a warning, woman," he growled, getting close to her, but Nadia refused to back down; already hurt from what happened. "But next time, I'll enjoy the spoils." And with that, he left.
Nadia dropped, gathering what she could into the crate and returning to her brisk pace. Her eye throbbed, and she realized halfway home, she had closed it and it was far too swollen to open. She slipped into the garden and quickly into the bereau. Nadia placed the crate on the counter as she silently began to cry, when she heard someone enter. She quickly composed herself and tried to look too busy for interaction.
"Lady Nadia, I am leaving," Nimid announced, close behind her by the sounds of it, "I have already fetched you water fr the well. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"No, no. Have a safe trip back," she said as she continued to look preoccupied.
Nimid furrowed his brows and asked, "are you alright?"
"Fine, fine, just busy," Nadia waved a hand towards him as she continued working on nothing in particular. Nimid said nothing but a soft bye and finally left her alone.
Nadia heaved a sigh as she went to work on preparing dinner, Malik never shouted for her and so she didn't bother asking him if he needed anything. Once dinner was finished, Nadia only made enough for one as she wasn't feeling to hungry anyways, she threw some salt on everything and stored it away. She gave Malik his food and then returned to the kitchen without a word and cleaned anything else, then sat and sewed a bit. It wouldn't be until she went to gather Malik's plates and cups would the Dai look at her and finally say something.
"What happened to you?"
Nadia tensed, "It is nothing."
This was not the response Malik expected, he frowned as he moved around the counter as guilt already ate at his stomach and he wanted a reason to tell that guilt that this was her fault or her doing. "No, tell me what happened."
"Oh? So now you care," she demanded as she put the dishes in the fun and rolled up her sleeves to get work done.
"No I do not," he said firmly, and then went on, "just tell me what happened so we can both return to hating each other."
"Hating each other? I never hated you," she whirled around on him, "you're the one that hated me- and for what? Nothing!" Nadia was making a path towards her closet.
But Malik persisted, following her, he reached for her arm, "That doesn't excuse this behavior!"
"Leave me be- ah!" She cried out, she had moved her arm at the last second so that Malik couldn't have grabbed her, but he had still reached for her so he accidentally hit her side. Nadia had cowered into the wall in pain, putting a hand against her side as her eyes pricked with pain.
"This has gone long enough, woman-"
"I have a name," she barked as she ran for her closet, Malik lunged and grabbed the first thing he could: her head scarf. Nadia yelped before whirling around to face him, her left eye narrowed, the other swollen shut as she glared at him, her round cheek on the right was an angry red and slightly bruised, not as much as her eye though. But Malik was also taken aback by the dark, brown locks that fell to her mid-back, they were waves and waves of the river of brown.
Malik handed her the head dress back, "If you had just told me-"
"What does it matter," she demanded, snatching back her head dress, tears pricked her eyes and this time they fell. Malik thought he'd feel satisfied at the sight of this, but the guilt only ate at his stomach and clawed at his chest, "You hate me! I hate it here! I want to be away from you, I want to go home!" She demanded before whirling around and running into the supply closet and slamming the door shut completely. Malik could still hear her muffled, stifled sobs as he told himself constantly that he shouldn't care, but Malik did feel terrible for the way he had acted.
