"Evie! Evie!"
Evie wasn't listening as she raced ahead of her father, horse on her shoulders as she reached the centre of the town.
Almost five minutes later, when the horse was back on the ground (looking a little shell-shocked by the entire experience), her father managed to catch up.
"You know…" he gasped, "… when I said we had to get the horse to the vets as soon as possible, I didn't mean like that!"
"It worked didn't it?"
"It's not what a lady is meant to do!"
When Evie just shrugged, her father rolled his eyes and took the horses reigns. "Stay here…" he ordered her, "… don't move, don't breathe, don't do anything."
"Really?"
"Do you really need a reminder as to what happened last time?"
Evie remained silent, her eyes darting to the floor as her Father walked away, leaving her alone on the streets.
She would have just stayed there…. Honest!
But at the frantic, panicked sounds coming from the local antique store, she knew she couldn't stay there for much longer.
Curiously peering into the shop, she spotted the shopkeeper struggling with a large vase, seconds away from falling and ruining everything in the store.
"Oh, here!" she exclaimed, rushing over and supporting the other side of the vase, "Let me help you with that!"
She heard the shopkeeper sigh happily in relief, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You're welcome!"
As soon as he saw her, the shop-keeper visibly panicked. "I-it's you!" he exclaimed, before twisting around and wrenching the vase out of Evie's grasp, causing her to frown.
"Ummm…. Maybe I can help you?"
"No! No! I'm fine!"
"Are you sure, I mean- "
"- Yes! Completely fine! You can be on your way!"
"But- "
"- Now!"
With a very decisive nudge, Evie was pushed out of the shop, narrowly avoiding a group of society ladies, who glared at her.
Before any of them could scold her for her un-lady tendencies, she made a tactical retreat, speeding down the path before darting into an alleyway in order to catch her breath.
She couldn't make them understand that she had no desire to be one of them… she had no desire to be a lady. Married off to a husband she hated, with no rights or freedom to do as she pleased.
No thank you.
"Well, well, well…" she suddenly heard someone croon to her right, "… who do we have here?"
Turning to her right, Evie frowned at the sight of three… thugs making their way over to her, leering smirks on their faces.
"Why don't you bring your pretty self over here?"
"… Piss off."
The men stopped, stunned looks on their faces… but it soon vanished, and they started to surround her, backing her further into the alleyway.
"You don't want to do this." She hissed at them, her entire body tensing in preparation for a fight.
The men didn't seem to care… they just wanted to have a little bit of fun.
"I'm being serious…" Evie growled, straightening up in an attempt to seem larger, "… Don't. Do. This!"
They didn't listen.
As the leader of the little group reached forwards to grab her shoulder, she grabbed his wrist and bent it back as far as she could, listening to it crack and the scream of pain that followed.
"Now… Let. Me. Go!"
The other two didn't take the hint, stepping over their fallen comrade.
CRACK
"AAAAHHHH!"
One of the men clutched at his broken nose, glaring at Evie as she blew on her reddened knuckles.
"You were warned." She stated.
But the last remaining thug still didn't listen, instead choosing to leap at the young lady in an attempt to overpower her.
It was she was in a trance.
As the man tried to pin her to the ground, her hand scrabbled along the dirty ground, desperately trying to find something to defend herself with…. And her fingers found the piece of broken glass.
With a feral sounding growl, she grabbed the piece of glass and swung it towards the man's neck, not even flinching at the blood spurting out of the wound, staining the front of her dress.
When her senses finally came back to her, her eyes finally darted to the groaning pair on the ground… and the dying body next to them.
As the man chocked on his own blood, Evie could only think one thing.
Shit.
Desperately she glanced around, searching for a way out of the alley that didn't involve walking into the main streets, with blood over her face and dress.
There!
A little above her eye level, she spotted a window ledge. From there, it looked like it would be easy for her to make her way to the rooftops.
Knowing that she had very little time before someone came to investigate, Evie ripped her dress in order to make climbing easier, before leaping up and grabbing the ledge, pulling herself up and then quickly (much quicker than what she was expecting) making her way to the roof.
….
The police were at her home.
Her Dad had gone to find her, and when he found her ripped dress and the dead man in the alleyway, he'd contacted the police. The other two men, who'd managed to pull themselves to their feet and out of the alleyway, had also reported what had happened to the police, making out like they were innocent of course.
Everyone was looking for her… for the crazy girl who killed a man in cold blood.
It wasn't fair.
Sighing wearily to herself, she reached into her dress and pulled out her little locket. She'd had this for as long as she could remember… gold, with her name engraved on it, along with a familiar symbol.
The Assassins.
She knew she was adopted, and that the locket had been found on her… it was obvious where she'd come from, but she'd never quite mustered up the courage to investigate any further. The Assassins were feared, even by her, and the idea that she was a part of that group terrified her.
But after what she went through today, she knew she needed something… something that only the Assassins could help her with.
Control.
Knowing that there was an Assassin Temple not too far from the outer borders of the town, Evie made her decision and pushed herself to her feet, scanning the area to make sure the police were nowhere to be seen.
Once she felt like she was safe, she made her way back down to the streets, stealing a gorgeous hooded jacket from a nearby, distracted stall-keeper, wrapping it around her and pulling the hood over her head, casting her face in shadows.
Then she stole a horse.
She knew the police wouldn't be able to catch her.
She needed to know where she came from.
…..
The Temple was just as she expected…. Dark and possibly haunted.
Perfect.
"Okay…" she whispered, "… here I am."
Silence.
"I just want to know where I came from?" She spoke up again, "Who I really am… why I can do… the things that I can do."
Turning her attention to the walls of the Temple, she stared at the portraits that lined them. Stern looking man all wearing similar clothing, hooded white jackets where you couldn't see their eyes.
And then the room went completely dark, aside from the light above her.
"Evie…" a voice whispered from the darkness, "… my little girl."
Spinning around, Evie yelped as a figure emerged from the shadows, leaping at the man in an attempt to subdue him…. With no effect.
The figure just chuckled, fending her off easily, until she wore herself out.
"Not bad…" the man chuckled, "… A little rough in certain places, but there is skill there."
"W-who are you?!"
"Now… is that anyway to say hello to your Father."
As the man pulled his hood down, Evie felt her jaw drop slightly, "F-Father?"
"Is this really a surprise to you Evie?" The man asked, an amused smirk on his face, "To know that you have ties to the Creed?"
Evie was still in shock.
"Look how much you've grown…" the man scanned her from head to toe, "… You look so much like your mother, but with my eyes."
"Wait, wait…" Evie frowned, "… If you're my father, that would mean- "
"- You're the daughter of a Master Assassin. You have that potential within you."
"Oh. My. God." Evie leaned against the wall and slide down to the ground.
"You wanted answers, and by Altair's good grace, I know you are old enough to know the truth."
"So… why was I abandoned?" D-didn't you want me?" She really didn't want to know the answer, just in case it was the wrong one.
The man sighed wearily, moving to sit opposite his daughter, a frown on his face. "Of course we did… your mother and I loved you and your brother with all our hearts. But someone stole you from us, took you away from us and prevented us from taking you ba- "
"- Wait, wait, wait!" Evie frantically interrupted, "Brother?"
"… Jacob. He was your twin."
"A-and… you couldn't get us back?"
The man remained silent for a short time, before shaking his head. "The Creed can't do anything… but you can,"
"Really?" Evie couldn't deny it, she was excited, "What is it? I'll do anything!"
"If you can prove yourself to be a true hero, then you'll be allowed to join the Creed, taking your rightful place as an Assassin."
"An… assassin." Strangely enough, the idea wasn't completely repulsive to her.
"You should find Henry Green… he'll be able to teach you the basic skills. Help hone your talents."
"… And… where do I find him?"
The man smirked, before placing two fingers in his mouth, and whistling sharply.
Nothing happened.
"Ummmm, what's- "
"- Hi."
At the voice that was suddenly right next to her ear, Evie yelped and spun around, fist already darting towards the stranger's face before it was grabbed.
"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Four men, around her age, with strange glows surrounding them, were smirking at her. The one who had a scar on his upper lip, slowly let go of her wrist.
"Meet Ezio, Conner, Edward and Arno…"
One by one, the men raised their hands, indicating who her Father was referring to.
"… you would have been in the same class as them, if it weren't for… everything."
The men were clearly thrilled to see her. "We can't believe you're finally here!" Edward exclaimed, "Isn't this amazing? Conner owes me ten bucks, he said we'd never find you and- "He stopped, before wincing, "- alright, he owes me five bucks. Still a win."
The man turned away at this, an actual sign of distress. "Take her to Henry…" he eventually whispered, "… he'll help you Evie. They all will." He turned back to her and smiled gently "I have faith in you Evie. I know you'll make me proud."
"Y-yes…" Evie found herself straightening up at the words, "… T-thank you, I won't let you down, I swear!"
As she turned away to follow the others, she heard the man whisper one last thing.
"Good luck… my daughter."
However, when she turned to look at him once more, the Temple room was completely empty, and the light was starting to fade.
"Don't bother looking for him…" Ezio chuckled, a very obvious Italian accent in his voice, "… Your Dad one of the best at blending into the shadows and the crowds."
"But- "
"- Come on!" Edward interrupted, before she could voice her concerns, "Let's go! Off to Henry!"