Hello everyone! I hope you've had a fine week :) For those of you who are already back in school... well, good luck!

There is a reason I have delayed to update this week: I have taken some time to draw Shay and Liam's room (which appears in this chapter). If you are interested, you can find it on my Tumblr account ( Ennessee)

Enjoy!


We left the room silently. No one felt like speaking, and questions seemed useless at this point.

'I hate the Precursors' I decided. It was all their fault, if my life was such a mess. To worsen things, I felt no desire to collaborate with the Assassins any further. The only question was: did I have a choice?

"Shay. Can I have a word?"

I turned slowly. "My neck is still aching, Liam" I said with a certain degree of irritation in my voice.

"I know. I am sorry" he said simply, and we both remained silent for a while.

It was very cold outside today, but I preferred it to the warm cup of tea I had been offered in the Manor's kitchen, where everybody's eyes would be pointed on me.

"You should return inside" I said at last.

"I need to keep an eye on you"

I turned my face away to hide the blushing on my cheeks. So he did know after all. "You are only willing to freeze your arse" I replied.

He laughed. "Think of it as you wish". There was some more silence, but it felt easier now. This was Liam's way of apologizing: quiet, almost hidden. It was during moments like this that I reminded myself that I could never replace with anyone.

"Well, it is my arse that is getting cold right now" I said.

"Stop saying 'arse'. Anyone could hear you"

"You're a pain in the arse, Liam"

He sighed, but I could tell he was amused. "And you are as much fun as a sea urchin in the arse"

"Arse"

"Arse" repeated my friend.

"Is something wrong?" asked a voice behind our backs. We both startled and turned towards the door.

"Mentor!" stammered Liam, torn between laughter and embarrassment.

"You should take shelter. A blizzard is about to come" he simply said. His face was unreadable. There was no way we could say if he had heard us.

Once the older Assassins closed the door behind his back, I began to laugh.

"You should look at your face, Liam!" I exclaimed. He had turned white.

"Nothing fun about that" he said, but his lips were already parting in a grin.

"I was surprised Achilles didn't collapse from a heart attack!"

The Mentor never, ever told swear words. Whenever he heard some of his subordinates make passionate use of them, he would smack them on the nape with the hilt of his dagger and force them to extra turns of cleaning up. Just our luck the situation softened his will.

No, wait. I make my own luck.


"Come now, let's head back home. You need a decent shaving"

About twenty minutes later I was standing in front of the mirror in the room I shared with Liam. We lived, like most of the Assassins working on the Manor's grounds, in the house block not too far from the stables. The place was constantly bursting with activity: people running in and out, slamming doors, laughing and playing cards or any type of board game. During the last period, however, most of the Assassins had gone home to visit their families, so the place was relatively quiet.

Our room had been heated in our absence. The fire popped and danced in around the logs in the chimney. It almost looked like a normal day. Liam was sitting on his bed, which was near to the fire. When I had first arrived and moved in with him, he had offered me that warm spot, but I had refused. He had always suffered from terrible pains in the back and he needed heat in the winter.

"You haven't moved my things" I said while spreading soap on my cheeks.

"I had no reason to" he commented. Liam as he rearranged his two pillows with a book opened on his lap.

"I thought the first thing you did after choking me was throwing my stuff away, so that you would never have to see me again" I tried to sound casual, but there was some discomfort in my voice.

"I can't deny I have been tempted in the past, especially when you sneaked in and out at night and I had to pretend I was asleep. But no."

I remained silent. Despite the fact that my mood had considerably improved, I didn't feel like joking.

Without paying too much attention, I dragged the knife's blade on the soft skin of my face. The hair came out without resistance, leaving a clean patch of skin.

"I need a shave too" said Liam casually, and then I saw his eyes looking at me through the mirror. "Shay?"

"Yes?" I looked behind my shoulders. He had got up and was now coming towards me.

"What is the matter?" I asked.

Without a word, he snatched the blade from my hand and took the clean towel resting on the chair nearby. Then, to my surprise, he roughly brushed it on my cheek.

"Hey!" I shouted, bringing a hand to my face, "That hurts!"

He stepped back, still with the blade in his hand.

"You have cut yourself"

I looked in the mirror. And there it was, a red gush on the soft skin on my face. Blood was already pouring out and I hurried to clean it.

"It was an accident"

Liam looked at me with an inquisitively, as if he doubted me.

"You should pay more attention. Hope might not like it if you left a scar on your face"

"What?" I exclaimed in disbelief. The knife slipped from my hand "that is not even funny. Your jokes are outdated, Liam"

"I saw it. How sweet, you held hands" his voice was calm, plain, devoid of any emotion.

For a long moment, I simply stared at him. He was not judging me, but I could sense tension in his voice.

"It's none of your business" I said in the end, then I took the knife and I focused on my shaving again.

"No, maybe it is not. But I must warn you. Hope is not one of the whores you bring here at times..."

"I know it already!" I snapped, "and they are not whores. You speak as if you don't do it either, when you think I am not looking..."

I saw him blush. "I haven't said that there's something wrong with it. Take a woman to bed, I mean"

"...but? What is wrong, then?"

"Hope is a strong woman in many senses. But we both know she is fragile when it comes to ... relationships. I don't think that embarking on a relationship with you, or any man for the matter is a good idea" he said.

"And what makes you think I would? We're just friends" I replied looking at him straight in the eye.

"Yeah, and God knows if you'd like better. Take it as an advice, Shay: don't mistake her brotherly affection towards you for something more. There can be no such things among Master Assassins. More so if you consider she is a leader"

"Really? Well, let me tell you something: only because your relationship with... what was her name? Theodore? Well, just because she left you and you felt miserable about it doesn't mean that there can be no such thing such as liking a lady, and eventually be liked back" I snapped. Instantaneously, my friend's face was disfigured by rage.

"How dare you, you fool!" he shouted, gripping the table in front of him with such force that his knuckles turned white. For a moment, I saw it on his face: his will to flee the room and forget what I had just said. The next moment, his sense of duty forced him to sit down and take a deep breath. He turned the chair to face the opposite side of the room with his back turned at me.

He didn't trust me yet. If even this painful topic which usually made him lose his temper hadn't worked, then there was no way he would have left me alone.

The kettle began to chug.

I kept shaving pretending that nothing had happened. In my deepest, however, I felt like an ungrateful, cruel little brother. What else could I have done, though? I didn't want to face him on the matter of my feelings for Hope.

Liam knew me as well he knew himself. Of course he had noticed my furtive and intense glances to her whenever she passed nearby, and how my cheeks flushed when she showed up in something other than her Assassin robes. Until now, however, he had never gone further than mock me. And now I had brought up a painful chapter in his life, one he had desperately trying to forget. God knew if he was going to forgive me any time soon.

'Silly me. I shouldn't have let her go' I brought my hands to my nose and inspired. Even though I had just washed myself, I was sure I could feel her smell. It was like her essence had penetrated my skin and was now warming my whole body up.

Inside my mind, I it was clear. I was totally and without a doubt in love with Hope Jensen.

Later that evening, Liam disappeared only to come back carrying dinner.

"I am sorry about before" I said simply. I got up from my bed and headed towards the fire. "I will heat up some water. You have missed your tea"

"No need" he replied.

We had been silent the whole afternoon and now the atmosphere was rather gloomy.

He filled my glass with a drink. "You've been a total asshole. Now we are even"

"I am sorry. I did not want to hurt you"

He didn't reply. We ate our meal in silence and he made sure I drank enough to feel talkative at the end of the meal.

We spent a long time talking. After I told him all about Lisbon, he updated me on how miserable he had felt after our quarrel. After about an hour, I was drunk enough to answer his questions, and he was to answer mine.

"I still think about her, you know. At times" he said, and I knew who he was referring to.

"She was heartless" I said

"She had a brain"

"I cannot believe you are still defending her after what she has done" I commented. I did not risk using her name. Anything related to Theodore had to be handled with care.

Liam sighed and rested his back against the wall. We were both sitting on the floor, warm cups of tea in our hands.

"You know how much it hurt. I don't want the same happening to you"

"It wouldn't"

"Do you love her?" he asked, looking straight at me.

"I really like her" I replied.

"Liking someone might not be enough. Furthermore, you cannot know if she loves you back of if she's just being friendly. Hope would never confess her feelings"

"I know" I said, but the words hurt me. I could feel a light sting in my stomach as I pronounced them.

"I've always known you fancied her" he said with a small smile.

"I am in love with her. I can't stop thinking about her. I would take her in my arms and lull her pain away. But she is so complicated" I sighed deeply, "She's not like any other woman"

"She isn't. Can I ask you something, Shay? Why didn't you ever talked to me about this?" he asked. He looked curious, but I knew there was more than just curiosity.

"I was afraid you would sneer at me and remind me that I am her subordinate. Like you did, as a matter of fact"

"Sorry about that. But you are right: as soon as I sober up I will indeed do it again. I don't think I can support you in this, Shay, but I can't abandon you either. You are my friend, before being my undisciplined, always-late-pupil"

"I am not sure I want to talk about this right now" I concluded, kicking my shoes off and getting ready to go to bed. "What about you? Any new conquest?" I asked. This time my question was rather casual. Somehow, it didn't matter as much as it did just a couple of months before. Women and adventures looked as if they belonged to a faraway life. At least for now.

"No, and I have no intention to. No long term relationship, at least not for another couple of years"

"You are wed to the Creed, right?"

He laughed. "Not exactly"

I got under the sheets. "So pass on the other shore. I hear there are charming boys out there. Sorry, I am not available"

"Aha, Shay. Very funny" he commented, but he did not sound amused.

"What is wrong with that? Gregor fancies boys, and I am perfectly all right with that"

"I haven't said there's anything wrong with it. Quite the contrary in fact: he has all the right to share his life with whoever he wants. I have no right to judge. "

"I heard Chevalier..."

"Chevalier is a married man"

"I know. I was just kidding"

"Well, hold your tongue. If he hears you, he'll be sure to make you pay for that" he lowered snuffed the candle and the room was engulfed by total darkness.

"Are you going to tell her?" I asked after a while. I was referring to Hope, of course.

"No, I am not"

"Please don't. She wouldn't like to hear it from you"

"I know. Now let's go to sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day. We have to track down this new Templar Grandmaster, if he is arrived to the colonies already, or otherwise make sure we sink his ship before he docks"

"Goodnight, then" I said, cursing the Manuscript under my breath.

"Goodnight" said my friend.

I looked at the last burning embers in the fireplace and for a moment I wondered if I looked like that to the other Assassins. Someone who had given up, how was letting pain submerge him. I could not allow that to happen. Right then, I decided that I had to change. Shay Cormac was about to leave his youth behind and become a true Assassin.

"And... Shay?" Liam's voice came rather unexpected.

"Yes?"

"Hope is a strong woman. I... I just wanted you to know: right after you came back, when she saw you like that ... she cried"