Assassin's Creed (c) Ubisoft

Cacaesthesia n. 1) Morbid sensations

Franciade was a gloomy place, home to the royal necropolis, and formerly named Saint-Denis. Élise took a deep breath, trying to drown out the constant tattoo of heart beats. She only wanted to find Arno. She had asked around the Café Théâtre as to where Arno had gone, and eventually learned he traveled to this dreary place; traveling at night since the sunlight made her sleepy and hurt her sensitive eyes.

"I'm surprised you made it this far," Jacqueline said, slipping out of the shadows. Élise didn't jump, though she sucked in a breath, a habit she still hadn't quiet figured out how to stop, since she no longer needed to breathe. Jacqueline smiled at her reaction, Louis looming behind the blond vampiress. "Give up on him, he's mortal and his pain will subside."

"No," Élise hissed as she looked at the people passing by. Their heart beats were defending in her ears, but she held back. She fed earlier that day from several different people, a few swallows from each. The fact she had to drink blood bothered her, but what truly repulsed her was how much she relished the act of feeding at the taste.

"You'll get used to it," Jacqueline said, as if reading Élise's mind. "The act of feeding."

"Why are you here? I told you, I'm going to find Arno, with or without your approval. Dame or not, I'm still Élise de la Serre."

"Élise de la Serre is dead," Jacqueline said, "you are whomever you want to be now. You have complete freedom. You can be whomever you want, why cling to your mortal life so desperately."

"You sound just like an Assassin," Élise said with a roll of her eye. She perked up when someone in blue walk by, but the gait and the shoulders weren't Arno. "Arno, where are you…"

"How did you manage to get here?" Jacqueline asked.

"I asked around, people eventually told me where he went," Élise said. "Why was there a vampire way that I didn't know of?"

"You two are true soul mates, use the astral tether between your two souls," Jacqueline said, "it'll be quicker than trying to find him the mortal way."

"The what?" Élise stared at Jacqueline.

"Close your eyes, concentrate on Arno's pain, you'll see it in your mind's eye soon enough, that shimmering silvery-gold thread that seems to snake off into the distance. That's the astral tether. It connects your soul to your body, to its twin. Cutting it… is bad," Jacqueline said, leaning up against the wall. She watched the people walk by, licking her fangs beneath her lips. "Do you see it?"

"Yes?" Élise whispered, opening her eyes, she concentrated on the ground and that slim silvery-gold thread appeared. Élise glanced up at the sky, the sun sufficiently blocked out by the clouds. She ran off. "Thank you!" Élise called back over her shoulder, only to dodge a passerby with the graceful agility of a vampire. Jacqueline sighed, shaking her head.

"Should we tell her?" Louis asked.

"She'll ask," Jacqueline said, "she'll reach a point of desperation and ask."

"It may behoove you, my queen, to have a true soul mates pair in our colony," Louis said. Jacqueline glowered at Louis. "Just a suggestion."

"All we can do it, Louis, is keep an eye on her," Jacqueline said. "She's reckless, but she'll learn in time."

Élise followed the astral tether to the end of a narrow little ally, before letting go. She could tell Arno was close without it. "Arno where are you?" Élise whispered, pressing herself against the corner of a building, scanning the people that walked by. She saw a woman that bore a striking resemblance to her sprint by, a terrified look on her face.

"Élise! Élise! Wait, please come back! Élise!"

Élise perked up, like a hound catching the scent. She knew that voice, remembered how it cried out her name countless times. "Arno," she breathed, watching him sprint pass her. Élise stepped out into the street. "Arno!" she called to him, watching him stop suddenly allowing the fleeing woman to escape. A smile spread across her lips and he took a step towards her. "Arno, it's me, Élise!"

He turned, a shocked expression stamped on his face, but a smile had blossomed on his lips. "I wasn't seeing things," he whispered to himself, but Élise's acute hearing picked it up anyway. Arno walked towards her, tears welling into his eyes. "How… why…" he couldn't speak, as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

Élise returned the kiss hungrily, fingers threading through his hair and pushing his hood down. The warmth of his skin, tingled her corpse-cold body and the tattoo of his pulse thrummed loudly in her ears. She resisted the blood lust though. She felt Arno cup her cheek, stroke her cheekbone. Then suddenly pulled away. "Arno?" she asked, confused.

"No," he said, letting go of Élise. He placed his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes. "This can't be," he said, staring at her eyes.

Dread coiled itself in Élise's gut as realization dawned on her. Arno had finally noticed the unearthly stillness in which she held herself, the lack of breath and heartbeat, her eyes and her corpse-cold skin. She looked human, could pass for a human, but these subtle differences set her apart. And Arno was a master assassin, he was especially conditioned to pick up on such subtleties. "Arno," Élise said, reaching for him as he let go of her, taking a step back. "I know this is difficult for you to understand but—"

"Your dead!" Arno hissed. "I saw you die!"

"I know and for a while I was but I'm a—"

"No! I saw you die! I saw Germain strike you down with the Sword of Eden in the Temple! I carried your body out of that Temple!" Arno screamed, tears cascading down his cheeks. "I buried you!" Arno breathed, pressing a hand to his face. "No, no… I'm hallucinating, I'm… you can't be real!" Arno hissed.

"I am," Élise said, trying to calm him down. "Arno if you just let me explain—"

"No! You aren't Élise! You're some demon in her skin! You aren't my Élise! Élise is dead! She's dead! You aren't Élise!"

"Arno, please, just let me, explain and—"

"No! Get away from me you, demon!" Arno shouted, drawing his sword and brandishing the weapon at her. Élise took a step towards him. "Get away!" he screamed, slashing at her. Élise dodged the blow, the edge of the sword passing millimeters from her face.

"Arno, please!" Élise said.

"Go away!" he screamed, slashing again at her. Élise dodged, yet the tip of the blade nicked her eye, drawing blood. Élise blinked, feeling the skin stitch itself back together. "God of mercy," Arno breathed; Élise watched as his sword hand trembled.

"Arno, please…"

Arno crossed himself quickly. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallow be thy name—"

"Arno, please don't be like this!" Élise took a step towards him as he continued to retreat.

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," Arno muttered as he sheathed his sword and held up his hands in surrender. "Give us this day, our daily bread."

"Arno, you're being ridiculous!" Élise growled impatient.

"And forgive us of our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us—"

"Arno, whatever you're trying to do is not working! I'm not a demon!" Élise snapped.

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil!" Arno finished. Élise slapped him.

"Seriously, Arno!" she hissed. "I have never known you to be afraid of anything! Remember that one time we were children and we snuck into the nearby church graveyard on All Hollow's Eve and I was afraid of ghosts and goblins, and you teased me for being a coward?"

Arno stared at her for several long moments before turning tail and running down the streets, climbing the first building he came too. "Arno!" Élise called and was about to run after him when a hand fell upon her shoulder. Élise spun around to see Jacqueline. "Let me go! I have to make him understand."

"Do you see now? Do you see now that it's bad for him? Let him come to terms with his grief. He fears you. The living can sense we are unnatural," Jacqueline said, "that we are an affront against Mother Nature herself, some sort of unholy abomination."

"He's just confused! I can explain it to him! He'll understand! Arno, loves me! I refuse to believe he'll let his fear cloud his better judgement. I just need to explain to him once he's calm down," Élise said. "Please…"

"Élise," Jacqueline said, "this is why we try to encourage newborns to forsake their mortal life. I'm only trying to help you adjust to this new life of yours. You are a vampire now. You aren't human, you cannot bear him children. If you drink his blood, you'll be cursed. Love-making will be agony, since sex and feeding are so intertwined for us. Please," Jacqueline stroked Élise's cheek, "I'm begging you to let him go."

Élise slapped Jacqueline's hand away. "No. I don't care about the difficulties. Arno and I were star-cross lovers in life; I see no reason to forgo that now."

"If you continue down this path, child, it'll only end in misery and pain! Let him go before you regret it."

"No," Élise growled before walking off, vanishing among the crowd of people. Jacqueline slammed her fist against the side of the building, growling in frustration.

Élise swallowed the last mouthful of blood. She pressed the dazed woman up against the side of the church's courtyard wall, before drawing her knife and cutting her neck, connecting the two puncture holes. The woman would live, and hopefully won't have any memories of the attack. Élise rose to her feet, licking her lips to catch the last remaining bits of the woman's blood. She then turned her attention to the little bar that she followed the astral tether too.

She could sense Arno was within. Hear his heartbeat and feel the acute pain in his heart. She closed her eyes, Jacqueline's words echoing in her thoughts. She should just leave Arno to his grief. Leave him to his pain. In time it'll fade and he'll forget her, find a new love, get married, raise a family…

Élise screamed and tore chunk out of the wall of the church courtyard. Tears rolling down her face. She slumped to the ground. Everything was wrong. All terribly, imperfectly, hopelessly wrong! She and Arno were supposed to marry, have a family, grow old together, laugh about the recklessness of their youth, take comfort in their shared sorrows brought about by the Revolution.

Yet Germain killed her, because of her recklessness. "If only I had listened to Arno…" she muttered. If she had helped him, they would have taken Germain together, and everything they had dreamed of would be within their reach. She wouldn't be this cursed blood drinking monster.

She should listen to Jacqueline. Leave now, forget Arno, revel in her immortality and… "That's Assassin thought," Élise hissed, realizing that the promises Jacqueline made were more in line with Assassin ideology than Templar. "The Father of Understanding guides me," Élise growled, finding resolve in her long held Templar beliefs. Élise got to her feet, dusted off her hands and headed into the tavern.

And so ends part II. So, yeah, definitely will be another part, maybe too. If I can figure out how I want to end this.

Heaven/Christianity only effects a vampire during the transformation. A vampire is only harm by prayers and holy relics if they were devout in life. That's why Élise is unaffected by Arno's muttering of the Lord's prayer.

Also, I know neither Arno nor Elise are religious, but they probably were brought up Catholic to blend in. Thus Arno knows the Lord's prayer.

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Nemo