Chapter 1: And the Day Inevitable Happened

January 5, 1760

In hindsight, I should not have answered the door, maybe pretended I was not home. I probably would not have been in this mess, because honestly, anyone willing to be out in this weather is suspicious. Standing right outside my door, barely two feet from me, is Shay Patrick Cormac, ex-Assassin now Templar, and Charles bloody Lee, the bastard that is seriously a snake in disguise. "Shite," was about the only dignified word I could get out in the current situation.

Lee, the git, looked mildly shocked by both my language and my accent, "You're Irish."

"Somebody give Mister Lee here a medal; my name is Norah Driscoll for Christ sake, of course I'm bloody Irish, you plonker. I may have lived here in the Colonies since I was a wee lass, but I still have the Irish blood running through my veins. I did not take you as Irish hating considering you are allied with one, you know, the man standing right next to you," despite how much I was panicking about their presence, I had a serious hatred for anyone who insulted my heritage, and although his comment was not supposed to be an insult, I was happy for another reason to hate the man.

"You seem to know a lot about us lass," I tried very hard not to roll my eyes at Shay's comment, is that not why they were here, but I suppose he was stopping Lee from undoubtedly pulling his sword on me.

"I was under the impression you were here because I knew a lot about you and your stupid war with the Assassins," I swear, if they were here for another reason and I just gave myself away, I am going to kill myself now.

"Aye, that we are, it came as quite the surprise when we discovered that some map making woman here in New York had been snooping on us for the past however many years. We have been sent by Master Kenway to find out exactly how much you know and what you plan on doing with that information."

So realistically this could go either way for me, if they decide I know too much, I might just end up food for the wolves, but if I can convince them I am really only curious, they might let me live. However, I am not stupid enough to think they will just leave me be; I may keep my life, but not necessarily my freedom. Weighing my options, I realise telling the truth is most likely the best course of action. "Well gentlemen, I will not go telling you fibs, as I know that is not a smart move; I will be straight with you by saying I probably know too much for your order to be comfortable with, especially for someone outside of it," I pause momentarily to ensure they are not going to draw their swords and cut me down where I stand. "However, I would like to point out that I am not a threat to you or your order. My research and ever-growing knowledge of you Templars merely stems from curiosity."

I am not entirely sure how much they believe me about my simple curiosity as Lee, in fact, looks disbelieving and Shay simply looks like he could use more details. It was Lee who asked for clarification however, "And what, pray tell, makes you so curious?"

I suppose now was a better time than any to be completely blunt, "There were two events that made me curious, both of which involve one of you each," I did not give either of them time to interject before continuing. "The first time was in 1752 when I happened to witness you Mister Cormac and your old friend Mister Liam O'Brien save a bunch of smugglers from the Royal Navy. The second event, the event that solidified my curiosity, was in 1754 when I stumbled upon yourself Mister Lee and your Grand Master looking for the Native woman. I heard the words 'assassin' and 'templar' thrown around multiple times during both events. So, I started my research, and let us just say, when you have as much access to the frontier and the cities as I do, it is not hard to learn things."

I probably doomed myself with that last statement, but I figure I would look more innocent by being so honest with them. I have reached the stage where if I lived, I would be a very happy woman. Both men looked pensive, and I could not figure out what my fate may be simply by looking at their expressions. It felt like hours before Shay finally spoke up, "Perhaps you should come with us lass, we can find out what the Grand Master wants to do with you there."

I could not say I was shocked, I knew that even if they let me live, they may not let me go free; did not stop me from being completely freaked out though. I clearly had that fear written all over my face because Lee tried to make me feel better; tried being the operative word. "Do not worry Miss Driscoll, we are not taking you there to kill you," but even I could hear the underlying 'yet' in his tone.

In the end, I found myself being escorted to Fort George in between two terrifying Templars. What did I ever do to deserve this? I am an honest woman with an honest job; I cannot help it if I am naturally curious. At least Shay was gentlemanly enough to hold my umbrella so that I could, unsuccessfully, protect the hem of my skirts from the muddy ground; my shoes, unfortunately, are completely ruined. If I did happen to survive this, I wonder if I can convince Mister Kenway to force Lee to replace my ruined clothing and shoes. Probably not. Hopefully, these men are willing to lend me a pair of trousers and a shirt; I have no conniptions about wearing men's clothing.

I could see the towering walls of Fort George rising ahead of us, and if I am honest with myself; it looked terrifying in the rain, looks a lot like my imminent doom. Sensing my discomfort, Shay moved my umbrella to his right hand so that he could place his arm on the small of my back to encourage me forward; I am not entirely sure if this is supposed to be a gesture of comfort or just to ensure I do not stop, however, I was surprisingly comforted none-the-less. "Do not worry lass, everything will be fine."

I give him a raised eyebrow before speaking, "I am no idiot Mister Cormac, even if your Grand Master decides to spare my life, I am very well aware that I will lose my freedom for the foreseeable future. I do have one request though."

"And what might that be?"

"My skirts are covered in mud and there is no hope for my shoes, if it is not too much trouble, I would very much like to borrow some clothes until I am either dead or have access to my other clothes," I have never been a pessimist, but I am being realistic, I am either going to die or be locked up. I would at least like to be presentable when either of those events happen.

"The only clothing I can offer up are men's clothes, probably all too big for you lass," despite the skepticism I could hear in his tone, I could tell that he was also amused at the prospect of seeing me drown in men's clothing.

"I am well aware of this Mister Cormac, however, they will do," when he raised his eye brow I felt I needed to defend myself. "You don't really think I am the sort of girl who wears dresses at all times. I would not be able to do much if I wore dresses out in the frontier; nothing would get done."

"Very well lass," he chuckles. "Once we get you situated in a room, I will bring you some of my clothing, you will basically be swallowed by them, but you clearly do not seem to mind."

"Thank you Mister Cormac," and as we finished this conversation, we came upon the gates to Fort George and my fear returned, accompanied by the rain turning from an annoying drizzle to bucketing down.

As I anticipated, Shay's clothing basically engulfed me; the disadvantages of being a small woman I suppose. I used a belt to ensure the pants were not going to slide down my hips, and rolled up both the sleeves of the shirt and the length of the trousers. I tried to make the outfit look as dignified as possible before Shay and Lee return with Master Kenway; I may not particularly like the man, by I at least wanted to look presentable for a man like him. I somehow succeed to create a somewhat dignified look that I am happy with despite not wearing shoes and decide to sit down on one of the chairs in the room while I wait. Now that I did not have clothing to focus on, all the emotions I feel about the situation come flooding back; apprehension, fear, worry, mild annoyance and a few minor emotions.

I realise my hair is a complete mess, so I decide to focus on that to push away all the terrible thoughts floating around in my mind. Despite having a physically demanding occupation, and needing to be traveling quite a bit, I still insisted on having my blonde, curly hair long. It reached the middle of my back and when I was out working, I usually have it braided and twisted onto the top of my head, but Shay and Lee had come while I was relaxing at home and it had been loose. Using a strip of cloth I rip off my damaged dress, I plait my hair down my front and tie it off with the cloth. Looking and feeling a lot better, I am thankful that the men were only now returning as I could hear their feet outside the door.

Shay was the one who opened the door and let in the one and only Haytham Kenway, Grand Master of the Colonial Rite of Templars. I am ashamed to say that he is a lot more intimidating close up; especially when he is looking at you with his piercing eyes that make me feel as if he is going to kill me without question. I was so busy being scared of those eyes that when he speaks, I cannot help but slightly jump at his voice. "Miss Driscoll, Charles and Shay tell me that although you know a lot more than you should, you claim to only know this information to settle your own curiosity. Is that correct?"

Despite my fear, I somehow manage to summon enough courage to answer the question, "Aye Master Kenway, that is correct; my curiosity lead me to researching everything I could about both your order and the Assassin Order. I was unfortunately born with a natural curiosity of things, hence my occupation. So when I stumbled upon Mister Cormac and Mister O'Brien, and later yourself and Mister Lee, I could not help myself from digging deep into the war between the two Orders. I suppose I should have realised one of your orders would find out about me."

This causes a tilt in Kenway's eyebrow before he continues, "You know so much, but you insist you are not a threat to us; how can we be sure you will not go off to the Assassins and tell them everything you know?"

"What use would that do me anyway? Mister Cormac has almost completely destroyed the Colonial Assassins, not to mention I neither agree nor disagree with either Order. In fact, I am completely neutral, and before you ask why, I will tell you," I stop them from interrupting as I could see Lee getting ready to do just that. "The reason I am neutral is because I can see the faults in both Orders, I admire every Templar and Assassin for their strong beliefs in their cause, but I could never fully believe in either. Although both causes have their good points, the fact that neither cause has a midway point makes them both faulty. You Templars believe in order, but your means involve taking away people's free will. The Assassins believe in freedom, but complete freedom over your own life causes chaos and disorder. If I had any belief it is the midway point, where people have someone to lead them without oppression, where they can choose how they live their lives, but a world where there is law so that there will be order amongst the chaos."

"You seem to have given this a lot of thought Miss Driscoll," I thought I heard a level of surprise in his tone, but I might have imagined it among my unrelenting fear of the man.

"I have had eight years of research and watching both orders to think about it. So yes, I have given it a lot of thought. Eight years may not be a long time to you considering how long this war has been waged, but it is enough for me to know what I think and believe about all of it," I just hoped my little philosophical speech did not get me killed.

Thankfully, the Grand Master did not look inclined to kill me anytime soon, so I was safe for now. He seemed to spend hours, but must have barely been minutes, thinking about his next course of action, I cannot say I am surprised by his following words, "I am sure you will be happy to know I will not kill you Miss Driscoll, but I need you to understand that we cannot simply let you go free in light of this situation."

"I figured as much, I am no idiot, I know how your Order operates, I expected nothing less, so I will not make a fuss nor complain on three conditions, if I may," when he inclined his head to allow me to say my three conditions I continued. "First, you do not try to induct me into your Order, my views on this war will never change; second, you let me continue my work, I would be gone in the head before long with nothing to do; and finally, if you want information from me regarding the Assassins, do not expect any of it to entail the leading up to the death of anyone, Assassin or innocent. You let me have these conditions and I will willingly become a sort of informant for you; my occupation involves traveling, and I hear many things that may be of interest to you."

I kept my focus on Kenway to show my conviction, and I was not too sure I wanted to see Lee's feelings on the idea. I could see the gears turn in his head; he appeared to give my conditions a lot of thought. "Very well Miss Driscoll, I will abide by your conditions if you abide by a few of mine," despite my initial hesitation, I nodded my head. "You inform either Charles, Shay or myself about your every travel, and within the walls of the Fort you go nowhere by yourself outside of your own quarters, also, if your travels take you anywhere near the Davenport Homestead, you are to be accompanied by someone of my choosing without any complaints, agreed?"

In the end I knew that was the best I was going to get, and in the long run, these conditions were not too bad considering I was also getting my way. "Okay then Master Kenway, I can abide by those conditions."

"Good, we have a spare room in the Fort that Shay will direct you to, it is getting late and I am sure you are tired. I will send someone to collect your things from your house and they will be brought here, that way you do not need to continue to drown in Shay's clothing."

I somehow managed to not visibly show my embarrassment at the statement, and in the end he was right; I am knackered and could really use the sleep. So I simply inclined my head at Kenway before following Shay to what would now be my new living quarters. "So lass, seeing as you will be staying here and your clothing will be brought by tomorrow, you can keep my clothes to sleep in for the time being. You can return them when you no longer require them," I thought this rather kind of him, but I already knew he was not the git that Lee was, so I was not completely shocked.

"Thank you Mister Cormac, that is very kind of you," somehow I figured that as long as Shay was around, I would not really mind my stay inside this foreboding Fort.

"You are welcome lass, and I suppose that now that we are basically allies, you can call me Shay."

I had already mentally been calling him Shay, so it was not too hard to agree to that, "I can do that, as long as you call me Norah."

He simply smirked in response before he led me to a door, "This will be your room, Norah," he smirked again while saying my name. "I hope it is to your liking, I will see you again in the morning."

With that he walked back the way we came and left me to my own devices.

Okay, so as you can see, I decided to put up chapter 1 anyway, I'm hoping this helps you guys think of a possible title for the fic. I am curious to hear what you guys think of the fic so far as well, so far, only the next chapter is completed, but I'll at least wait until tomorrow to maybe put it up, however, everything after that is mostly bits and pieces and will only go up when I have solid chapters. When that is, I can't say for I don't know, I want to get everything that is in my head typed up so that I don't forget anything and then I will fill in the gaps. Anyway, thanks guys.

Seza, out