Now it is time to introduce a new antagonist! Just to make things juicier. I kind of based this new guy off of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, except this guy is way scarier and way smarter. Also, I would like to warn you again that the rating of this story will probably change. And I do not own Assassins Creed 3, even though it would be awesome if I did.
Chapter 2: Unwanted Affections
It had been seven months since my encounter with Connor and for some reason, I just can't get him out of my head. He would just appear in my thoughts randomly throughout the day. As I walked down the street, I would catch myself looking around to see if I could spot his white hood walking among the crowds. In my neighbor's apothecary, I would stare at the jars of plantain oils for long periods of time, until Mr. Yelding would wave in front of my face and ask what was wrong. In my father's black smith shop in the downstairs portion of our house I would swear I'd catch a glimpse of a tomahawk among the many weapons laying around only to blink and find it's nothing but an axe. I think I might be going crazy.
But still I got up and ready for another day of acting like a lady. What a boring existence, to pretend to be something you're not everyday, to act like you're happy with a life that doesn't even deserve to be called a life. I'm just existing, forever stuck on the same page of the story. It was monotonous and maddening.
I dressed in my church frock, though fancier than it should be with me wearing the accursed corset my aunt had ordered me to wear everyday. I hated the thing, how I couldn't breathe or sit down comfortably in it. How it constricted my movements to near none and made it so incredibly difficult to defend myself should there ever be a need, and I did need to some times. I didn't have to wear it all the time, thank The Lord, only the days that I had to see my aunt, such as today. She was coming to force me and my father to go to her church.
We hated her church, just crawling with Redcoats and Loyalist nuts. I hated it more for the corsets and the King's dogs, my father hated it more because he wasn't all that religious. Neither was I truthfully, but we went to please my aunt, our only other remaining family member. I hurried down the creaky old stairs to try to get my father to tie my corset before my aunt got there and squeezed the life out of me. My father was usually more lenient about the tightness then Aunt Patricia was.
I heard the door bang open downstairs and mentally cursed my bad luck.
"Neeeeellllaaaaa!" The woman shrieked in her shrill voice, reminding me of the sound of dying sea gulls. I slowed my pace as I neared the wooden door leading into the workshop, stalling for time. I braced myself for impact with a polite smile on my face as I opened the door.
"Good day to you, Aunt Patricia. I trust you've been well?" I forced a smile onto my face at the sight of her. I always made sure to use proper speech in front of my aunt, for fear she'd nag me for hours about my atrocious self-conduct and give me more of her abhorrent "etiquette lessons". Really they should be called torture sessions.
She wore more make up than was needed, making her resemble the jesters I'd heard plagued the French courts, or a bad imitation of the male actors played up to be women on stage. A gaudy yellow dress adorned her slightly plump figure, covered in lace and frills intended to make the outfit seem less cheap than it was, and failing miserably. She clutched a pair of white rabbit fur gloves in her hand, apparently feeling the need to show off her best set now that there was a chill in the air. I bowed my head a bit in fake respect and she turned her beady black eyes on me.
"Neela, why aren't you ready yet?! We must be there in a half hour! Come here now so I can tie your corset!" She squawked in that gull voice of hers. My smile faltered as I reluctantly made my way over to her and my father gave me a sympathetic look. My aunt flipped me around and I grabbed hold of the table. I had to muffle my cry of pain when my aunt suddenly yanked the strings of the corset, sending a sharp pain through my ribs.
"You've been giving her much too much leeway on the tightness Aiden, it's like she doesn't wear them at all!" She shrilled. I gave my father a weak smile, which he returned, seeing as how I really didn't wear my corset.
My father was a burly man, if a little heavy around the middle, hardened from his years hard at work with the hammer. He had wild ginger hair, a trademark of his Irish heritage, with an accent to match. His eyes were a bright, almost luminescent green, quite like those of a cat, the only trait I had inherited from him besides his personality. He was a good natured man with a healthy beard and laugh lines. The best man I knew and my best friend.
I sucked in a breathe as the pain in my ribs increased from the tightness. I really didn't like these infernal things. It hurt to wear them and they pushed my breasts up to an uncomfortable level. How other women wore them every day was a mystery to me. I would prefer to wear breast bindings over corsets any day.
"There now. Nice and thin in the waist. If you don't have a small waist and aren't presentable, that young British officer's eyes will leave you for another girl. We can't have that now can we! Stand up straight and keep your shoulders back! Stop that complaining, it's unsightly! You know Aiden you really should start the wedding preparations with such a lovely suitor for your daughter hanging about! Don't know why you haven't yet..." She babbled on. Yet another reason why I hated being a lady.
For a year now some Redcoat lout at least ten years my senior has been trying to court me. He was a brute of a man, handsome enough and clever, with rank and money, no doubt the reason my aunt favors him so much. But he was arrogant, cruel, and it was no secret he got around with the ladies. I was just his newest prize to conquer, and the fact that I refused to give made the game that much more entertaining to him.
I could care less for a British dog, especially that one, though I'd never voice my patriot opinion for fear of my safety and my father's reputation. Plus the look in his eyes spoke loudly of a possessiveness and hunger that would secretly frighten me. But I'd never let that man see, it might give him reason to act on it. My only solace was that my father didn't seem to care for him either. In fact, he would chase him out with whatever weapon he was working on every time the officer came to our door.
As I put on the remainder of my outfit, my thoughts once again turned to Connor. Who is he? What is he doing now? Will I meet him again? For some strange reason my gut was telling me I'd find out the answer to my questions soon enough.
"Neela, it's time to leave!" My aunt called from downstairs.
"Coming!" I yelled as I ran from my bedroom and followed her and my father out the door. And time to put on my smile and endure the day. Oh how I wished I could just spend my day in my neighbor's apothecary shop, the one place besides the forest where I felt at ease. As a woman, I could not take up an apprenticeship anywhere, but being there was the closest I could ever get to it, seeing as how Mr. Yelding enjoyed my company as I looked after his kids and had no qualms about teaching me his trade unofficially while on the job. Working with medicinal herbs was my only real talent besides using my knife and singing. All of the other things I was good at I had learned from necessity or practice. It was also one of my more useful skills.
Through the use of herbs I had maintained a more healthy body and mind than most. When I spoke to people, they seemed to think that I naturally had none of the bodily reactions that most are afflicted with at my age, or any other age. I had no blemishes on my face, no greasy hair, no body odor or stretch marks, all very uncommon for a 16 year old girl in this day and age. It was my use of herbs that gave me these advantages. Truthfully I don't know why other people don't make full use of them. However, not having these kinds of disadvantages brought troubles of a different kind.
Troubles like that persistent British dog James Guildor, the officer that has been trying to court me for the last year, who just so happened to be quickly making his way towards me as I walked down the street, followed by a group of soldiers. I immediately turned down a separate alley way, hoping to avoid his notice. Aunt Patricia would have my head for missing church but it wasn't worth running into that.
As I made my way down the alley I suddenly heard a loud thump behind me. Out of pure instinct, I whipped around, dagger already in hand and ready to use. My eyes quickly flicked over the scene in front of me, looking for the threat. But instead, I was met with a familiar white hooded figure in a similar stance, hidden blade pointed directly at me not two inches from my face. My heart gave a little leap in my chest, though not from fear. I smiled at him.
"It's nice to see you again, Connor. You know, we've got to stop meeting like this. For once I'd like to see your face before the edge of your blade." I lowered my dagger down to my side and he followed suit, retracting it back into the cuff of his sleeve. Again the only thing I could see was the lower half of his face. He looked a bit sweaty and out of breath.
I heard shouting from around the corner in the Main Street, from which I could just make out the voice of that smellsmock, James. Connor looked anxiously towards the streets and looked ready to run. Perhaps he had been chased? Well I certainly wasn't going to give James the satisfaction of catching him, and if I was being honest with myself, I didn't want Connor to be caught. I smiled and pointed to a large pile of hay in the corner of the alley.
"You go hide in that hay over there and I'll get them off your tail." He looked a bit hesitant, as if he wasn't willing to trust me. I rolled my eyes and pushed him in the direction of the hay rather harshly. "Haven't changed at all, I see. Don't worry and just trust me."
"I think he went this way!" James shouted just around the corner. I hid my dagger in the folds of my skirt just as I heard the rustling of the hay behind me. I turned around and faced the group of guards just turning into the alley, James leading them. They stopped when they saw me.
"Neela! How wonderful to see you!" James walked forward, his arms wide in greeting and his icy blue eyes sparking. I grimaced at him.
"I wish I could return the sentiment, James." I crossed my arms, refusing to meet his unwanted embrace. He tsked me and put an arm around my waist, pulling me into his side.
"Don't say that, you'll come around eventually. By the way, have you seen a man in a white hood running around? He's wanted for the murder of a group of guards and for interfering with the collection of taxes." He asked me with a gleaming white smile, no doubt trying to charm me like all those countless other unfortunate women. I could feel his breath on my hair and I pushed away from him in the most polite way I could manage. His smile faltered a bit at this, annoyed at my lack of response to his cajoling.
As discreetly as I could, I wiped the hand that had touched him on my skirt, wishing to rub away any traces of him off my skin. The other guards laughed and I could see the anger building up on James' face. He didn't like being embarrassed in front of his subordinates, especially not by a woman.
He was a massive chauvinist, you see. It was one of the reasons I didn't like him. Really, I didn't know why all the young women swooned at the sight of him, when he degraded them so much. Sure he was handsome and all, not my type, but had those sharp, pointed lines of his face, the angular features that were so popular with the ladies and eyes that, to those not well practiced at seeing the coldness in their frosty color, seemed beautiful. But the fact that he knew he was attractive, and used it to his advantage in order to bed the easier women in town, just increased his already engorged ego and made me dislike him more. Plus there was the fact that he wouldn't leave me alone.
"As a matter of fact, I have. Just a moment ago I saw a most suspicious character run by me down that way." I pointed down Main Street in the way I'd just come, hoping to get the men to leave. Well, most specifically James to leave. He turned his head to look down the alleyway.
"Go and follow him boys, he can't have gotten too far!" He ordered the lower ranking soldiers, still looking irritated. The sight of his discomfort was actually very pleasing to me. The guards all hastily ran in the direction that the hooded man had supposedly run.
"Best be off then, don't want to keep your lackeys waiting." I told him with a smile. His eyebrow twitched at my comment and I could hear his teeth grind together, but I payed it no mind since it was just a part of our usual arguments. But this time I had managed to make him genuinely angry. I turned, expecting James to depart as well, but was suddenly yanked roughly into the wall of the alley by a hand on my wrist.
I looked up, surprised, into hungry blue eyes. He had me trapped on the wall, his hand holding both of my wrists, making it impossible to reach for my weapon. Of all the times he had approached me asking to court me, he had never been so forceful. He usually tried to give me petty compliments or expensive and meaningless gifts, trying to impress me with his wealth and charm. Of course, I had never once accepted the gifts. Perhaps, if he'd shown me a single redeeming quality in his everyday behavior, I might have reconsidered. But I knew just what kind of activities he and his gang took part in.
Having him rip off his fake "good boy" facade in front of me, showing me the nature I had always known was there, was a shock. And, truthfully, it made me a little scared.
He inclined his face towards mine, close enough that I could feel his breath sweep across my face. His eyes harbored all of the hardness, cruelty, and anger that I had always seen stewing under the surface.
"How long must you deny me? For one whole year I have tried to gain your attention, and still you refuse me. You know how much I want you. I have rank, money, prestige! What more could you want in a man!" He shouted at me. I looked at him sharply, trying to hide the fear fluttering in my chest with the indignation I felt at his words.
"Everything! You throw around your money and rank like a shiny toy, hoping to impress me! You think yourself so high and noble but really it's just a product of your inflated ego! Did you think that buying me presents and giving me shallow complements would distract me from all the terrible things you and your fellow soldiers do? I've seen the way you act when you think I'm not looking. The face you put on for me is no more than a lie you fabricated to deceive me and every other unsuspecting woman you come across. You may be able to buy other girls' hearts with charm and lies but not mine! I'd rather die a spinster than marry a selfish, arrogant man like y-!" I was abruptly cut off by his lips crushing down onto mine and my words were muffled against his mouth. I was briefly shocked by the action, as he had never forced himself on me before. That shock wore off quickly, however, when one of his hands came up to grab the back of my neck and his body moved to further press me against the wall. I tried to tell him to get off of me, to shake him off, but to no avail. He was much stronger than me and with his hand around my wrists, I couldn't get to my dagger.
I was starting to panic. A million images flitted through my mind, of the countless times James had come to my door bearing gifts intended to woo me, of him and his little band of Redcoat sycophants laughing as they beat a poor colored man who happened to pass too close on the street, of him leading the barmaid of the Green Tavern up the stairs to a spare room with false sweet words, and finally, of Connor's eyes watching me from inside the pile of hay, no doubt witnessing this embarrassing display.
With a sudden burst of courage, I did the only form of defense I could muster. I bit his lip hard until I tasted the metallic and slightly salty twinge of blood on my tongue. James let me go and stepped back with a cry of pain.
"You bit me!" He exclaimed in a mixture of outrage and surprise. He lifted his fingers to his now bleeding mouth. I had to stop myself from smirking in satisfaction.
"That's what you get for forcing yourself on a woman. I have said this before and I'll say it again. I have absolutely no intention of becoming your wife, now or ever. I don't care what kind of easy life you might offer me. I want to marry for love, not material gain. And I am far from loving you." I told him in a hard voice. I needed to get this across. Perhaps he might finally see that I would never be interested in him, though that seemed unlikely. He took a step towards me, his full height looming ominously over me. I refused to back down.
"Make no mistake, Neela Briar, you will be mine. It's just a matter of when. And it will be soon. Very soon." He looked down at me and sneered confidently and evilly. I shivered, truly fearing him for the first time in my life.
"Sir, we've lost sight of him." One of the lower ranking soldiers said from the opening of the alley. James turned to him, his military mask already in place.
"Keep looking! We must find him! I will join you!" He gave me one more fleeting glance before running out of the alley behind the other soldier. I released a shaky breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. My heart beat pounded in my head and left a loud ringing sensation in my ears.
I felt a hand on my arm and gasped, thinking for one irrational moment that it was James even though I'd just seen him leave. I turned around with eyes wide, half expecting to see brown hair and icy blue eyes looking back at me, but was surprised to find a pair of golden brown ones instead. It was only for an instant before they were covered by shadow again, but it was enough for me to see concern and some other emotion floating in their depths. I sighed in relief.
"Oh Connor, it's just you. For a moment I'd thought... Oh well, never mind. Anyways, I'm sorry you had to see that, it was a bit embarrassing for me. Well at least they're off your tail..." I trailed off when he lifted one brown thumb to the corner of my mouth. He ran his finger along the edge of my lip and I blushed scarlet, my heart fluttering in my chest. He brought his hand away and I was surprised to see it stained red.
James' blood. My subconscious informed me. I hastily wiped the back of my hand across my mouth, blushing in embarrassment.
"Are you alright?" He asked in that entrancing deep voice, surprising me in that he seemed the type to not speak unless he had to. It was a shock how much that voice had an effect on me. My heart was racing in my rib cage, pounding against my corset. I looked down, embarrassed that he'd seen me in such a position with James.
"Yes, I'm fine. James has been pursuing me for a while now. I've tried to tell him I'm not interested but he just won't listen. Someday he'll come to his senses. He can find his perfect little wife somewhere else." I rubbed my arm knowing that I just lied. He wasn't going to give up on me any time soon, I'd have to marry another man or move to another state for him to leave me alone. Though I doubt even that would stop him. James was the type of guy who was used to getting what he wanted, and doing anything in order to get what didn't come easily to him. That included me.
"I may be out of line, but it seems that man wants more from you than just companionship." Connor told me gravely. I nodded solemnly, knowing all too well from the previous encounter what he meant. It had frightened me far more than I was letting on.
"Should you ever need help, I live in a small encampment just north of here. You are always welcome to stay there if you wish. The people there would do well with a steady hand for herbal remedies." He told me. I looked up in surprise, that he would remember my apothecary hobby and that he would ever ask a woman to work the trade. Such a proposition was highly uncommon, as women were often looked down upon as the weaker sex. It sounded nice, to get away from here, but I knew I couldn't go.
"As tempting as the offer is, I must decline. I have my father to look after. I can't just leave him to himself. Thank you though." I smiled sadly at him, wishing I could go. He just nodded and stood there. I heard shouting down the street. "You should go, before they catch you. It was nice to be able to see you again. Good bye." I turned to leave the alley, willing to dissuade more people from finding Connor if I could.
"If ever you need it, my Homestead will always be open to you. If you need my help, and I am close enough to hear, just whistle. Good bye for now, Neela, and thank you for your help." I turned to ask him how he could possibly know if I was whistling for help, but he was gone. He seemed to have a certain knack for vanishing into thin air. I shook my head in amusement and amazement before going to find my Aunt, sure to punish me harshly for skipping church.
Enter James! Think forceful, abusive ex boyfriend with rank and money and you've got him, except he's never actually been with the main character. This should make for interesting plot development, if I do say so myself. Of course I already know this because I have about the first 10 chapters planned out already. Read and review people! I like it when you tell me things!