Author's Note: What's this? A new update already for this story? Well, it looks like you guys get an earlier-than-planned update! I will say that this Chapter has been my favorite to write so far, considering their is a fight scene. I've always taken an interest in writing a sword fight, since that type of action especially garners my attention. Any who, hope you guys enjoy this Chapter! Please R&R to let me know what you think!

Reply to Review:

Sera22: So I was victorious upon keeping Altair in character? *relief* I agree, I hope I can keep him in character throughout the duration of this story. Keeping my fingers crossed and putting a 110% effort :). And yes, poor Sa'ida...she shouldn't remain in her predicament for too long, though... ;) Hope you enjoy and thank you for the continued support.

Guest (That was simply wonderful!...): Thanks! And don't worry, I'm sure Altair will do the right thing. He may be arrogant, but he does care :). Thank you for your review!

Designation Drift: Cheers for Altair being character! ^^ Glad to see you're enjoying the story so far and I hope not to disappoint! Thank you for the review and support! Also, since your FanFiction name is Designation Drift, do you take an interest in the Transformers fandom? I just had to ask...*sheepish grin*

unknown author 5342215: *evil laugh* I love to write cliffhangers...but, here is the next Chapter, and I promise not to leave you hangin' on this one. Thank you for the review. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Assassin's Creed in any form or blade; I only own my OCs (Sa'ida Basilah, Ghalib Basilah, Fahdah Ishraq, and 'Azab). Credit goes to DecepticonShadowfire for helping me with Sa'ida's name.

Chapter III:

Man in the White Hood

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same." -Unknown

Altair strode confidently across the sun-bathed rooftops of Damascus. After his hindered, but overall successful endeavor at the souk, Altair was able to find more information about his assassination target with relative ease. Now he just needed to report his progress to the Rafiq and he could finally finish his mission here in Damascus. It took a great deal longer than he would have preferred, but he was satisfied to be so close to finishing. With his skill - ranking far above his current status of Novice - he would be able to dispatch Tamir easily. Even more so with the valuable information he uncovered.

Scaling the buildings that encircled the souk, Altair cast a mildly shocked glance at the bustling crowds and overly exuberant merchants that now filled the once peaceful souk. Amazing how quickly one little area could become so loud, crowded, and unnerving in such a short amount of time…

He moved forward in a brisk pace, not having any intentions upon staying there. His one goal was to reach the Assassins' Bureau and report his findings to the Rafiq, not lingering around a busy souk and staring in dumbfounded interest over it. Boots thumped lightly on the rooftops and gear and weapons clanked softly against his white robes; that was the only noise he made as he progressed. Even as he occasionally leapt from rooftop to rooftop, no additional noise emitted from him, save for a soft thump.

He was almost to beyond the limits of the souk when a voice - and judging by the tone, it was a man of little muscle power but strong vocals - yelled above the noises of the souk: "There's the thief! She is the one that stole my important papers!"

Altair paused his steps and turned his upper body slightly back towards the souk. By then, amazingly, the hoards of people began to settle down and direct their attention towards the flustered man. With his sharp eyes, Altair spotted the man who had been shouting - now wildly pointing and flailing his arms towards some soul he could not view from his position. Altair instantly recognized the man from earlier that morning; the same man he stole the letter with the fully detailed order for Tamir. Frown spreading across his features, Altair slowly but surely backtracked to where he had first gazed upon the souk, all the while listening in on the public conversation.

"Are you positive she is the one? She does not appear to be a 'thief,' as you claim." It was a new voice, and Altair quickly pinpointed him. It was a short, stocky guard with a rather gruff voice. He seemed to be the leader of the group of guards that followed close behind him.

"I am most certain! My…acquaintance…can vouch for it if necessary," the man he had stolen from pressed. Altair dropped down from the roof onto a small, wooden outcrop, getting a clear visual of the event taking place. As the shortest guard contemplated the man's words, Altair let his gaze move from guard to guard before letting it fall onto the poor soul being blamed for the crime he committed. However, as soon as his eyes fell upon the figure, he was surprised to see that it was the overly curious woman who tried to listen in on the two men's conversation. She wore the same worn, brown robes from earlier with the hood covering the majority of her head and face. Propped on her waist, she carried a decent sized wicker basket filled half-way with produce.

Finally, the leader of the guards made his decision and jerked his head forward, towards the unnamed woman. Two guards instantly obeyed the silent command and moved forward. They roughly grabbed the woman by the upper arms and hauled her forward, knocking the wicker basket she had carried from her hands.

The leader smirked faintly. "You'll be coming with us, thief. And please, let this go along smoothly for your sake."

"I have done nothing wrong! This is a false accusation!" the woman spoke earnestly, but the leader paid no interest in what she had to say. He signaled the guards to follow him, and they once again readily obeyed, the man he had stolen from right behind them.

Altair watched in silence as they walked away, the crowds parting for them without being told to. The overly curious woman was right: she truly had done nothing wrong. It was Altair who had stolen the documents and slipped away without the man even noticing. He hadn't intended the man to blame the woman for his actions; although, it would seem sensible since the man had not taken notice to him, even though he sat a mere 15 feet away at the time. And this strange woman just so happened to be walking by and trying to listen to their conversation. Actually, if she had let it be, then she would not have been blamed for this. She let curiosity get the best of her, and now she was paying the price.

Somewhat satisfied with that conclusion, Altair rose and hoisted himself back on top of the roof and turned in the general direction of the Assassins' Bureau. However, he couldn't will his feet to move forward and continued to linger upon the smudge of guilt that wormed its way into his heart. He gritted his teeth in frustration, trying to stamp out the guilt. It did not leave, much to his disappoint.

Turning around quickly and fiercely, Altair started to dash across the rooftops that surrounded the souk and headed towards the eastern exit. He moved swiftly across the rooftops as he moved towards the guards that were dragging away the curious woman.

It appeared that the Rafiq would have to wait.

They walked for quite a while through the streets of Damascus, passing by shocked citizens who gazed at Sa'ida with pitying looks but did nothing to stop the madness. It wasn't until they reached a large dwelling surrounded by various crates and barrels that they finally halted their trek. The shortest guard Sa'ida came to recognize as the group of guards' leader stalked up to the wooden door and rapped on it loudly. Almost immediately, a gangly fellow with short black hair and wearing dull red robes opened the door. The guard leader issued a sharp command that Sa'ida could not pick up and the gangly man nodded in acknowledgement before jogging briskly down the road.

The guard leader returned to his men, turning to the frazzled man who had blamed Sa'ida for stealing and spoke softly, "He will send word of our predicament and will return to inform us of what to do with the thief."

"Harsh punishment should be dealt! Common thieves will never learn unless the message is clear," the man hissed back. However, the guard leader seemed unperturbed by the disrespectful reply, dismissing the words with a wave of his hand.

"I still do not believe you have the right person. But, either way, an appropriate punishment will be served, I assure you," the guard leader reaffirmed, confidence backing his words; and that confidence made Sa'ida wince. She had, on occasion, seen other citizens escorted away for some crime they might or might not have committed. Some have returned, others have not, and it made her uneasy with fear. Would she be one of the many who never returned? Be forced to leave behind her father and her closest friend Fahdah? The mere thought made her cry out involuntarily in protest.

"Please, you must believe me! I have done nothing wrong! I let curiosity get the best of me, and I just wanted to listen…"

"And once you heard, you decided to steal from me as well! Those documents are of utmost importance, and he will have my head if I do not have that order delivered soon!" the man spat at Sa'ida, cutting her off. Sa'ida was puzzled for a moment by who 'he' was, but decided to push that fact away for another time.

"I couldn't even hear your words!" Sa'ida explained. It was a waste, however, as the man snorted in disbelief. Black, beady eyes glinting dangerously, he opened his mouth to retort, only to be cut off by the guard leader.

"So you do admit to listening in on this man's conversation?" the guard leader asked, seeking for confirmation. Sa'ida hated the feeling of regret twisting warningly inside of her, telling her she made a mistake relinquishing that tad bit of information. But she had already admitted to the fact and it was pointless to deny it now since the guard had already picked up on it.

Slowly, she nodded. "I did. But I could barely hear them, and only heard snippets of their exchange. Not enough to figure out they carried important documents as you proclaim."

A frown spreading across his features, the guard leader walked forward, the man flanking him. The guard leader glared at her - because of his size, he had to tilt his head up a bit to meet her gaze - and spoke lowly, "Then explain to me who else could have taken them if it wasn't you? No one showed this man and his companion any attention other than yourself, from what I'm hearing. So tell me right here and now, who else could have stolen from this man?"

"A question you will be taking to your grave."

The guard leader didn't even have time to absorb the shock of hearing the new speaker, or to even turn around to face aforementioned speaker, before a sharp blade punctured his neck. Sa'ida couldn't suppress the scream that tore free from her lips as she saw the guard leader stumble to the ground, small gurgling noises emitting from him before death claimed him. It took a few, brief moments for the four other guards that surrounded her to register that their leader had been murdered before they drew their swords with a shing. The man that had previously been flanking the guard leader gasped in what appeared to be terror, stumbling back.

Then, one of the guards, shouted angrily, "Kill him! Kill the murderer!" And that's when the madness ensued.

Sa'ida shrunk back, letting her back bump against the wall of the gangly man's residence as she watched. The person who had killed the guard leader was a decently tall, white robed and hooded man. Armor clad his waist and half of his chest, as well as each of his forearms; and a sword hung from his waist, which was quickly unsheathed as he prepared to face the imposing guards that stood before him.

One guard, who had been one of the guards that restrained her, lunged forward without hesitation. The white hooded man expertly dodged the incoming attack, moving easily around his opponent and then jabbing his sword forward. With a sickening slice that had Sa'ida reeling, the sword went through the guard's back and up through his heart; and, as soon as the move was executed, the blade was ripped away and poised to deflect another attack if necessary. The daring guard fell just as easily as the leader.

The remaining three guards exchanged an uneasy glance among themselves, no doubt wondering who would be the next to face this mysterious man.

Finally, the guard who had ordered the men to attack step forward without hesitation. Grim determination masked whatever concerns he had about facing the white hooded man as he to poised his sword. The two circled each other at first, sizing each other up, looking for a weak spot to strike. Confidently, the guard moved forward with quick and steady steps, swinging his sword upward, only for the white hooded man to deflect the blow with his own sword. The guard tried again, this time with sideswipe; and once again, the strike was deflected. Impatience filled the guard as he started swinging wildly, hoping to get at least one hit, one slice, at this strange and talented man. However, each swipe failed miserably; and on the final swing, the white hooded man successfully knocked the guard off his feet and drove the sword forcefully into his chest, ending the guard's life.

The remaining guards winced, cowering away as they watched another one of their fellow guards fall.

"He must be an assassin; he kills without mercy or remorse!" one of them uttered while the other bobbed his head in agreement. Slowly, they backed away, swords shaking and falling lower to the ground; and, once the white hooded man retrieved his sword and snapped his head in their direction, one of them shouted a garbled plea before turning and dashing away. The white hooded man watched him run off, not putting forth the effort to chase him, but rather switching his gaze to stare at the last guard standing. Aforementioned guard drew a breath before raising his sword once again and charging forward. The attempt, of course, was wasteful as the white hooded man sidestepped the impending attack, kicked the back of the guard's knee to make him fall, and slashing his sword across his back. The man fell to the ground, not dead, but critically injured and taking shallow breaths.

The white hooded man then turned towards the man who had blamed Sa'ida for stealing from him and stalked threateningly towards him. Sa'ida could not make out the man's protests as he hunkered back against the wall. The white hooded man seized him by the throat, pressed him against the wall, and spoke in a somewhat deep and commanding tone:

"I want you to find the commander of the guards of Damascus and tell him you made a mistake blaming this woman for a crime she did not commit. If you don't, just know I will be watching your every move. Am I understood?"

"Yes, yes! I understand! Just let me go!" the man pleaded, all disgrace he once had in his voice now gone.

"Good." The white hooded man released his grip and watched as the man scampered away, no doubt to fulfill his orders. Once the man was out of sight, he turned towards Sa'ida.

Sa'ida felt her heart leap out of her chest in fear. She had just witness this man kill the majority of the guards that had held her captive. Worst of all, he killed them with little to no mercy. Was he trying to save her, or was he just a killer? Didn't the guards just call him an assassin? If that was true, why was an assassin in Damascus?

"I was half expecting a 'thank you,'" the white hooded man deadpanned, the shadow of his hood blocking any view of his face or his expression. Sa'ida jumped slightly, tentatively looking up to look into the shadows of his hood.

"A…thank you?" Sa'ida repeated, dumbfounded. The white hooded man made grunt in possible irritation while he sheathed his now bloodied sword. He strode past her, not even giving her a second glance as he did so. Turning to watch him go, she numbly said, "Thank you." He paused, turning his head ever so slightly, and grunted again, a little more satisfied though. Then he continued forward, turning to slip into the shadows of a narrow alleyway before disappearing.

Sa'ida stared at the place where he had disappeared for a moment before looking back at the corpses that now littered the pathway, blood splattered on the stones. The sight made her stomach churn and she turned away and hurried down the pathway opposite of the incident. As she traveled back to her household, the hot early afternoon sun beating down on her, she couldn't help but wonder who the man in the white hood was. She was certain now that he had staged a rescue for her, not matter how cruel and gruesome the outcome. The real question was why did he save her? She didn't know him and she highly doubted he knew her. He had no reason - that she knew of - to save her.

So…why did he?

And there you have it. Altair and Sa'ida had a brief meeting, although not too pleasant. Don't worry, they'll get along at some point...key words being some point *mischievious smile*. Well, hope you enjoyed and please drop a review to let me know what you think.

Until next time, dear readers...