Key:

Giverti – 'my lady'. Respectful term for someone (a girl) you don't know Abba – father

Aifo ani? - Where am i? Haadoni Malik – mister Malik

Ani kol-kakh miztairet – I am so sorry (female) Aizeh yofi – what a beauty

Zikna – old maid nakhon? - Right?

Slikha - sorry/excuse me (male/female) Less formal than miztair) Zeh ko'ehv li- it hurts a lot

Shulamit bodadit – Shulamit the lonely Shulamit Ozarit – Shulamit the helper

Shulamit Yikara baht Nakhmun-Al-melekh - Endeared peace, daughter of he-who comforts, the sailor

000

With her help, Malik sat up and looked at his surroundings, he had no idea where he was, was he far from where he had fought? Or had he drifted? What had happened to the others? Looking around the small house, Malik was quite surprised by the little space; he was pretty certain that if he stood and put a finger tip on one wall he could reach over and – if he had had his other arm – be able to touch the one opposite, the length of the rectangular building was maybe, a very stretched maybe, eighteen feet in length. At the other end of the house was a counter with storage beneath it for a few pots and pans, a small table was not much further from it, a few scruffy and faded pillows pushed beneath it until they were ready to be used, a small fire place crackled, the orange flames licking at the pot suspended above it and then this little area he was occupying, it was slightly obscured by a wall that took a small square bite into the rectangular space, a little door attached. His eyes landed on a blanket not far from them, a small pillow with the stuffing falling out rested against a wall, "Giverti…who do you live with?"

"Oh no! Do not call me that!" she looked stricken by the word, she hated when people called her that!

Malik blinked at her outburst, "Alright then…Shulamit – "

She gave him another wide eyed stare, "Call me Shula! Just that! …It sounds better!" Malik stared back at her with a blank expression, young women were always so strange, no doubt that in a year or two she would be telling people to use her full name! "Now that that is out of the way, I can answer you." She shifted into a slightly more comfortable position and smoothed her dress over her knees, "I live here on my own, I used to live with my Abba but he…he is gone now. I manage really well though! It gets a little lonely sometimes and I am always scared thieves will break in at night time but that is just me being foolish."

"It is not foolish." Malik said quickly, if she was living alone she was a prime target – she was right to worry! He closed his eyes as a sharp twinge worked through his body, he could ignore the pain for now, he was more interested in information and the pain would not stop him from obtaining it! "Aifo ani? How long have I been out?" she hesitated to answer him and he nearly rolled his eyes in irritation, he could see plainly that she was worried about him, obviously he had not hidden his discomfort well enough from her large almond shaped eyes. He noticed how her chocolate brown eyes were flecked with darker brown, it seemed the more she noticed his aches the darker they became as she flicked over every injury – she had been his primary carer then. "Who brought me here?"

"You are in a tiny village about a mile from the dock you fell off in Takhanat Yahm, it is called, Takhanat Mayim; there are just over thirty people living here and we mostly produce fishing equipment – I make nets!" She gave him a proud smile; it was not every girl who got to do something productive here! "Let us see…you were asleep for nearly two whole days, sometimes you were awake enough to drink but most of the time you were out, at one point I had thought you were dead! Oh, I brought you here…I had a little help from some of the others because you are too heavy for me and I managed to get a healer to come to you…because the doctor is a conceited ba –ah…um…he is not very charitable." She pushed a few loose wisps of hair behind her ear and mentally slapped herself for her near curse, "I was out in my boat, I wanted to try fishing and I heard the fight, I saw a man fall in and wanted to help…somehow I ended up dredging you out and by the time I had you in the boat the other man was being pulled onto the dock and more fighting started."

So Altaïr was not at the bottom of the sea, a great weight lifted from him and he nodded his head gratefully, "So you saved my life." He watched her give a nervous laugh and nod modestly, she was not expecting him to give her great amounts of praise and she did not want any reward from him, she had simply been doing the right thing, she had not even known Malik's body had been so close to her boat! "Shulamit, you pulled me out of the water, brought me here, had me treated and have tended to me for two days…why?" He glanced at the blanket close by, "And have been sleeping on the floor while I take your bed." This was too much kindness for him to bear from one person - even now she was dabbing at the sweat on his face with a cool cloth.

"Shula," she corrected, "The floor is surprisingly comfortable! I am grown woman, Haadoni Malik, I did what I had to and if you want to thank me, you will get better – that will be thanks enough." She stood up and went to the fireplace to check on the food, "If you need to relieve yourself it is the door in front of you, I have some medicine for your wounds to dull the pain but you must eat something before you can take it, hopefully it will help bring down your fever as well and then I need to change your bandages."

He listened to her tell him what he would be doing and what she was going to do to him with interest, she had looked like a sweet, shy young woman but she was actually very confident and very self aware; Malik winced as he began trying to stand but stopped as the blanket slipped down his body, "Where are my clothes?" She dropped the small pot she was holding and was grateful she had not filled it yet; he watched her skin darken into an almost luminous red glow.

"I…they were…I had to take them off! You were wounded and I was trying to stop the bleeding myself – your clothing was in the way...and the wound on your thigh would be awkward to get to and I did not…I was – " she fumbled and tripped over her words, her blush intense and heating her face to a near fevered state, Shula reached down and picked up what she had dropped, "I was too embarrassed to try and dress you." She finally said, she flashed a quick glance up at the Assassin and missed his small, smug smile as she stared at the floor instead. Malik did not mind, obviously he had to be stripped of his wet clothes, and there was no reason she should have clothing for him to wear; he found her admission quite endearing and he decided that perhaps she was shy after all. He guessed that she had no husband she had forgotten to mention as she found it nearly impossible to deal with a naked man. "I mended your clothes." She pulled the blanket that she had been sleeping on away from the wall and pulled out a false stone from the wall to reveal a hidden alcove in the floor. Shula pulled his robes out and gave them to him, "It might be better if you just wear your bottoms…it might be tricky for me to treat your leg though…"

"How about I see to my leg wound and you help me with my others?" He caught her eyes and seemed satisfied when she agreed, her discomfort leaving her a little, she was still blushing and he could not help the teasing tone entering his voice, "After all the bravery you have shown – you are nervous of a penis?" A pillow hit him from no where and the Assassin hissed as his body flinched at the action, fire spreading out to every limb.

The woman's hand shot to her mouth as she realised her mistake, she had been embarrassed by his teasing and thrown the nearest object she had at him, "Ani kol-kakh miztairet! Please forgive me!" She rushed to his side and placed her hand on his back as he doubled over in agony, "I did not think… Ani kol-kakh miztairet." She felt awful as she watched his teeth clench and force short harsh breaths in and out, "I am so so sorry!" A different hissing sound reached her ears and she groaned as the pot over the fire began to over flow, Shulamit rushed back over to it, pulled it hastily off the metal hook and rested the pot on the ground. She fussed with it for a few more seconds and went back to the Assassin to try and mend what she had done. Malik reigned it all in and leant back against the wall, his chest rising and falling rapidly with the effort not to yell, "…Haadoni Malik, what can I do?" Shulamit cursed her stupidity, the poor man was in agony and it was her fault!

He opened his eyes after a long moment, the pain just about manageable as he dragged air into his sore lungs, "Find what ever it is you have to…to dull this pain." He shooed her from his side, telling her to finish her chores whilst he put some clothes on and used the room she had motioned to. He watched her hesitate to leave him but she moved once his breaths evened out and the ache was not so obvious. Holding his dark bottoms along with the blanket he had wrapped around his waist – mostly for her sake – Malik watched her as he leant heavily against the wall to catch his breath; he had barely moved but he was exhausted! She fumbled with a bowl and nearly broke it by letting it slip in her fingers, Malik took back his original judgement and added to it – she was clumsy, shy but not to a fault, her kindness was beyond anything he had ever known and she was quick to anger if teased. His near black coffee eyes regarded her carefully as she approached him with fresh bandages and a salve for his leg; she put them on a shelf beside him and went back to preparing food quickly and quietly; as if she was trying to hide for fear of doing something else. Shulamit reached the tip of his nose in height, she was a little unbalanced when she walked, possibly because she seemed to walk on the balls of her feet, it was then that he noticed that her hair was long – she kept it in a long plait that reached the base of her spine and glinted with shades of brown when the sun coming through the narrow windows hit the inky black locks. What he could see of her relatively pretty face disturbed him, she seemed upset, her fine eyebrows creased and the skin between wrinkled deeply, her plump lips were turned down in a frown instead of her natural smile…she must have been feeling guilty for causing him pain. "I forgive you…I just hope you forgive me for teasing you – it was rude of me to mock you over such a thing." With her back to him she nodded and muttered that everything was fine between them.

Malik had just finished rebandaging his thigh and doing up his bottoms when Shulamit announced that the food was ready, "It is very bland, and it might not look very appetising but the healer said that because you had not eaten in the last few days this would be best to give you – careful, it is hot." Stretching out his damaged leg, the Dai balanced the bowl on his other leg and took the spoon from his hostess gratefully; hopefully this would settle his slightly rebelling stomach. "I need to fetch some water before it gets dark…oh, it is late afternoon in case you were wondering," She said from the front door as she threw on her headscarf and grabbed a few large basins, "It will take a few trips but it will not take long…if you do not think you can eat much of the stew do not force yourself; the healer said it could take a few days." He nodded at the advice and watched her leave, the stew was very plain but the warmth that filled his stomach was greatly appreciated even if his body temperature seemed to hitch higher and make him feel too clammy. This was probably from swallowing so much of the sea water, he had no doubt caught some sort of bug and his body was fighting against it; still he felt like he was burning. He finished the food soon after starting, he had wolfed it down greedily and only slowed at an odd rumble of his insides – perhaps he ate too fast? " – Tell your sister I told her to shut up and go to bed! …Twenty three is not too old to get a husband!" Shulamit's voice rang clearly through the house from the door, she was being teased by a young boy and playfully she told him off before hefting the water onto the counter and being followed closely behind by Nina who did the same.

"Really, you need to either fix your buckets or buy new ones!" The brown eyed woman complained loudly, she made to look at Shulamit's sleeping lodger and squeaked in surprise to find him sat up and fully awake. "…Aizeh yofi…" the older woman jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow and shook her head incredulously at her friend's lowly muttered comment. "What? Can you blame me...Zikna." Another jab had the woman whining unhappily, she bruised easily and she did not want to deal with any aches later on.

"Thank you for the help, go home." Shulamit said curtly in hopes her young friend would go away.

Nina rolled her eyes and pushed past the other as she approached the man, her smile slightly mischievous, "So, when is the date?" Malik looked confused at her question and her smile widened, "The wedding! She caught you, she nursed you…she is a fantastic cook and my dearest friend! She also – "

"Nina!"

Nina looked back at her friend, she could see that she was not impressed by the solemn expression on her face and that she was getting angry at all the teasing about her lack of a husband. The Dai studied the two as they regarded each other, the new girl was younger than his hostess, she still had a childish face and the way she behaved reminded him much of his young student in Masyaf. She seemed barely out of her teens but had enough sense to see when she had said too much, "…I better go before she cuts me up and puts me in a pot to boil." She said to Malik with a wink, he looked much better sat up and awake; she couldn't help but feel envious of her friend for getting to play hostess. She stepped around Shulamit and kissed the woman's cheek, but before she left she stuck her head around the corner, "She is easy on the eye too!" The door was slammed shut as the older woman pushed her friend out forcefully – how mortifying! She wasn't a piece of meat to be offered!

She spent the next few minutes storing the water and mopping up the mess she had made as she put things down harder than necessary and muttered venomously under her breath about dismembering certain people. "You will have to forgive her; she is clearly insane and needs locking away!" She turned to look at him with a sheepish smile, "I had a thought while I was fetching the water; your friends will be looking for you, nakhon? Do you want me to send a message out to them?"

Malik shook his head slowly, the movement making him dizzy, "They are not so simply found, Shulamit, you can not send a letter out saying, 'please collect Malik al Sayf – he is here', if the letter got into the wrong hands…"

"Slikha, I forget that you are an Assassin." She felt a little foolish for thinking things to be so easily done, she had hidden Malik's weapons, anything that marked him as an Assassin in order to protect him and here she was planning to expose him, "Al Sayf? That is an interesting name…are you well trained with a sword?" Malik shrugged, cringing when the movement hurt his bandaged limb, "I should look at your bandages – oh, are you still hungry? Because there is more if you would like? I need to quickly run next door and give them some of my netting before I can do anything though," she didn't bother waiting for his reply about the food, she simply refilled the bowl and gave it to him, "this is the last trip I make and then I will look after you!" She threw him an apologetic smile and left again promising to return, she made Malik feel like a child, he could handle being left alone, now that his vision was clear and his mind no longer foggy with not knowing his bearings, Malik felt less vulnerable – especially as she had told him exactly where his weapons and robes were hidden. He chewed at his food and began to think of ways to contact the Brotherhood, he was in no fit state to make his own way and he did not even know if they knew he was alive…he wondered if they had even searched for his body…had they even survived the onslaught of soldiers, guards and Templers? He had to find a way back to them…Altaïr was useless without him!

Malik ran a hand along his jaw in frustration, annoyed when he felt how desperately he needed to shave, he would ask the woman if she had a razor tomorrow, it sounded as if she used to live with her father, maybe he had left one lying around and Malik would be able to liberate it. "I am back." The brown eyed woman announced, she closed the door and pulled the table opposite it against the wood, she noticed the Dai's beguiled expression and explained it was to keep thieves out in the night, "The lock is broken…it is silly I know but I do not want strange men in my house!"

Malik chuckled when she said that, what was he if not a strange man in her home? She realised his amusement and had to laugh herself, she knelt beside him and began unwrapping the bandage around his ribs, she liked how much easier it was now that he was fully awake and able to help her, "You seem harried." Malik said as he saw that she seemed a little tense after her running back and forth, "Did something happen?" She pursed her lips at his question and refrained from answering as she gently felt along his ribs; his muscles jumped and moved under her hands as she examined the still bruise blackened skin. She suddenly felt awkward, this was so much different than when he had just been laying still – it was harder not to ignore the hard muscle of a man beneath her fingers. "Are you worried I am offended by your friend's suggestion of marriage? Because I am not." Chocolate eyes gave him a quizzical look and she rose one of her eyebrows, Malik scoffed at that, "That does not mean I want to, the last thing I want is a wife!"

"Like I said, Nina is insane…drink this." She handed him a cup with some vile smelling concoction inside, he noted how the woman's confidence had returned as she ordered him to stop looking at it and drink it already! It seemed when it came to his health she was very serious. "Everyone just keeps pressuring me about a husband! Since Abba died…because he was all I had left…" He felt her fingers tremble along his skin and he heard the tightness in her voice as she fought sadness down her bruised throat, "The village think I need a man to care for me, Abba was always out at sea on cargo hauls and he never felt the need to rush me into a marriage, I looked after myself!…Now that he is gone people think I will not cope, that twenty three is 'getting on a bit' for a good match. I am sick of being called 'Shulamit bodadit' – I did not mind when it was Nina saying it as a joke but then it kind of spread."

Listening carefully, Malik could not help to think that she was coping just fine, she had been caring for herself and him, the home was in good order and she seemed capable, "They should call you 'Shulamit Ozarit,'" her cheeks coloured prettily and she muttered a thank you under her breath as she suddenly found binding his ribs to be much more interesting, "You know my name…my full name, it would only be fair to tell me yours." For some unknown reason, Malik wanted her not to feel sad and if that meant small talk then so be it.

"Shulamit Yikara baht Nakhmun-Al-melekh…and I must insist on you calling me Shula!" He ignored the request; there was nothing wrong with her proper name. "To be honest, it is only your thigh, your ribs and your arm that are any real concern." She glanced up at him as she continued to wind the bandage around his chest; his pupils had grown so large! She knew it must have been the medicine in his drink and chose to ignore it, "You are cut up in a few places but healing well and bruises are uncomfortable but you do not truly have any that are that bad! …This fever of yours…" she placed her hand on his forehead, he seemed hotter now and he seemed to pant slightly. She ignored it as well and continued, "Is probably just a reaction from the infection in this wound." Her palm had barely rested against the soiled bandage when he yanked his left side away from her, he knew his body should have been doubled over in the searing pain he had experienced earlier with how sharply he had just moved – obviously the medicine was working well enough to dull the sensation. "Haadoni Malik?" Malik glowered at her, he had nearly forgotten – no, not forgotten. His missing appendage was not something he ever forgot! It had been more that she had not stared or avoided looking or showed any sort of pity at its absence – her touching it like she didn't see a problem, like it was nothing strange at all made him uneasy. Women did not look at it, when he did get close to a woman they certainly did not touch the unsightly stump. "…Do not be like this," Shulamit said gently, using the tone of voice that melted into him, "'There is no shame in this house – no one is judged in this house'. At least that is what Abba always said." He felt her fingertips press along his jaw, his head instinctively following until he could see her face, until he could see how she truly was not disgusted or disturbed, "Ahna."

She did not play fair with her soft voice and pleading eyes! Malik allowed her to unravel the bloodied bandage, his eyes doubling in size as he saw the wound. It had been stitched up but infection had made the skin swell to the point where the stitches had ripped and yellowish green pus exuded sickly from beneath, his stomach churned and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to block out the view. Shulamit swore colourfully out loud, her former politeness and good manners dissipating – how had this gotten so bad? Earlier…he had fallen onto the limb earlier when he had first woken up, he had been leaning up on it…did that aggravate it so much? "Zeh ko'ehv li." He groaned through increasingly rapid breaths, he was dizzy, the world spinning and he was burning alive inside his own skin! Never mind that his arm resembled the mess it had once been before amputation!

"No, no it does not! The medicine I gave you will not let you feel this…you did not even feel this festering away during the entire time you have been up!" It was in his head, seeing it made him think that it hurt, his body followed all the symptoms as if it did hurt – he shook, his breath hitched so he was almost gasping and held the wound as if to stem an imaginary blood flow. More of the gooey liquid seeped out as he clutched the aggravated flesh in a punishing hold, "…Malik!" She reached to put her hand on his, "It is in your mind, look a - !" The second she touched him he struck out, he backhanded her – hard- across her right cheek and sent her sprawling to the stone floor. Spitting blood out of her mouth and cradling her face in her hands, Shulamit stared at the ground where she had landed as her brain tried to catch up.

000

Baaaaad Malik!

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