Chapter 2

" The answer is no".

Malik plainly ignored Altair's scowled look pointed at him. " Malik, damnit", cursed Altair. Malik raised an eyebrow and casually lean against edge of the table. His hip juts out a bit to rest against the edge. " Why? Give me two reasons why must you leave now". Altair's left eyebrow twitched a bit, indicating that he is annoyed and frustrated but his face is expressionless. Malik smirked at Altair's edginess at the start. Racking his brain for answers as to why he has to leave so late at night again. " I told you already. I need to find someone who is out there", sighed Altair, running a hand across his face.

" And for what exactly, novice?".

Altair's tense posture soon became a bit relax and defeated. " For Aliyah". Malik raised both eyebrows. " She needs a mother". Malik sighed before mumbling about daughter and father being idiots. " No she does not need a mother. What she needs ", Malik pushed himself away from the table to stand in front of Altair only to jab his finger into his chest, " is her father". Altair growled and shoved Malik's finger away. " How?". " You got to be kidding me!?", yelled Malik, frustrated. " How Malik? Tell me. I'm running out of options on what to do with Aliyah".

" You are such a novice", muttered Malik, rubbing his forehead as he felt an oncoming headache blooming. " Malik", growled Altair, frustrated. Malik shot a glare at Altair before stepping up to him till he is face to face. Their noses almost touching. Malik was close enough to feel Altair's breath on his chin. Malik smirked , eyes lighting up with a mischief and amusement that only Altair knows about.

" What you should do novice, is that...", Malik whispered, eyes glancing down at Altair's mouth before looking up to see those amber orbs looking at him, " you should spend more time with her. Teach her. And not be stuck with that damn Apple". Altair growled and whispered, " What if I don't want her to learn to wield a sword? And take up what women always do". His voice became a bit husky at the end. Eyes slowly glazing with a desire in it. Like a dead fire being relit again. Malik smirked again. Dark brown eyes seem to tease amber hues even without touching said person.

" Then it's her choice, don't you think? She is pretty good with a sword for a 7 year old, according to Rauf. Seems that she has inherited your talent".

" I..."

Altair was cut short when a pair of chapped lips closed against his. Altair returned the kiss with eagerness, bringing his hands up , one to hold Malik's head at the back and the other, resting against his hip. Malik pulled back to smirked at him again. A soft noise escaped Altair's mouth when said person pulled away. " Listen to me for once, and teach her something that only you can". Altair opened his mouth to speak again only to be silenced with a kiss.

He silently gasped and Malik took this chance to slip his tongue in Altair's mouth. Tongues battled for dominance. Altair slipped his hand from Malik's head to the front of his chest. Moaning, Altair gently suck at Malik's tongue. They pulled away for breath. Heavy pants can be heard from the two of them. Both their eyes were glazed with lust and desire for each other. Malik lean in closer to Altair to lick the shell of his ear. Groaning, Altair fisted Malik's shirt in his hand and the other on his hip to bring him closer.

" I suggest we continue this somewhere else, don't you think?", whispered Malik, huskily. " That I can agree with you", smirked Altair, dragging Malik into the Dai's bedroom. Malik smirked once more before calling Altair's nickname, " Novice".

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Aliyah opened her amber eyes to stare up at the sky. Blue sky with white clouds rolling by, a soft breeze blew which caused the water at the lake on the far left of the valley, rippled. Aliyah slowly sat up at look at the greenery around her. It was calming and soothing to be here and she smiled. She like it here. This place ever so peaceful.

" Aliyah".

Aliyah turned her head when someone called her from behind. A woman dressed in a white gown stood there with open arms. Her black hair swayed in the breeze. But what caught Aliyah's attention is the woman's sea green eyes. Recognizing the colour of the eyes, Aliyah bolted towards the woman. " Mama!". Hugging her mother around the waist, she let tears fall. Hafa smiled and hugged her daughter.

" Hello, sweetheart".

"Mama, I miss you".

" I miss you too", Hafa hugged her again before loosening her hold on Aliyah. Confused, Aliyah looked up at Hafa, " Mama?". " I'm sorry Aliyah but you can't stay here". Hafa kneeled down till she was eye to eye with Aliyah. Aliyah blinked, confusion in her eyes. Hafa smiled at her, cupping her cheeks and kissing her forehead. " You look so much like your father". " Mama, what's going on?". Silent tears dripped down Hafa's cheek. " Mama?". " ALiyah I need you to do something for me , ok?".

" Do what? Mama...?".

A serious expression appeared on Hafa's face. " Aliyah, I need you to keep an eye on the Apple. Don't let Baba see what happens to you".

" Apple? You mean that golden ball that Baba has?".

" Yes, that. Promise me , Aliyah. Promise Mama that you will do this", she gripped Aliyah's shoulders hard. Aliyah winced a bit before nodding. " Yes Mama, I will". Hafa smiled, " That's my girl", before kissing her forehead again. " I'll always be with you". With that Hafa disappeared. Aliyah gave a shout and tried to reach for Hafa. " MAMA!".

In a blink of an eye, the whole scenery changed into something else completely. The grass became stone pavement, the trees became tall buildings with balconies that she didn't recognize before. ' It's not Masyaf', she thought. Turning around to look at the whole place, she got scared. " It's not Masyaf". Laughter and music and be heard from an alleyway. Turning to face the sound of it, Aliyah saw light streaming through the alleyway.

She hesitated before walking over to the light. Once through she saw people dressed in colourful dresses and costumes that she not familiar with. Men and women wore mask over their faces. Aliyah walked to one woman standing at the side laughing away. " Um excuse me", she said, reaching out to grab the woman's dress hem only to pass right through it. She gave a yelp in surprise.

" Wha-?", confused and scared, Aliyah stared at the people around her. They spoke in a language she was not familiar with. Something caught her eye. She turned to see what caught her attention only to see a blur of white. " Baba?". A man dressed in assassin robes only it was more stylish than the ones she has seen back at home. This man has a cape on one shoulder and wields two hidden blades. " How come he has two?", confused, Aliyah spoke out loud. The man stiffen and turned to look at her. Her amber eyes widened in shock. " You can see me?".

The man stiffen then slowly nodded his head. She opened her mouth to ask but was cut off when the man turned when laughter reached their ears. He turned to face his target. She watched in fascination as the man advanced unto his prey like an eagle. 'Like Baba'. Her eyes widened as the assassin silent his target in a brutal way y slicing the target's neck and stab him in the back. He fell and the assassin followed the movement to look up at his next target.

Chaos broke through. People began to scream and scurrying away like mice. Aliyah stood at the back, pressing herself up against the brick wall. The shadows covering her from sight just like how the Master Assassins taught her. She watched as the assassin ran after the other man. She blinked and next thing she knew she was standing behind said man. The guy was leaning over his knees, panting. " He's behind me".

Aliyah turned her head to the alleyway. She watched as the assassin jumped down to land with a loud thud. She winced at the impact but continue to watch in curiosity. She heard the man speak but she still couldn't understand what he said. She looked at the assassin as he step out into the light before stopping and taking a step back. The assassin slid his hidden blade back in to fiddle with his other hidden blade. She can hear the silent of a turning mechanism that she was not familiar with.

The assassin raised up his arm to take aim at his target. A loud explosion sound like echoed throughout the courtyard. Aliyah jumped at the sound and watched as the man fell backwards, his white mask breaking upon impact. The next thing she knew, she was standing next to the flashy assassin. Looking up, she couldn't see his face but only his mouth and he had a scar on his lips. Like Altair. " Who are you?", she asked him. The assassin kneeled down to her height and gently cupped her cheek. "You shouldn't be here, bambino". Her eyes widened. "I can understand you?". He nodded, " Si, you can now but you are not from this time".

" Huh?".

" You must go Aliyah".

She jumped in surprise as a woman bathed in gold stepped into her vision. " You mustn't be here at all. Go back now, my child", the woman spoke, gently placing her hand unto her head. " wake up". The woman's voice merged with the man's voice.

" Don't let the Apple fall into his hands".

" His? Who is him?".

The assassin smiled at her. " Wake up Aliyah. Wake up" .

Her amber eyes widened as the floor disappeared underneath her. Aliyah screamed as she fell downwards. As the assassin slowly begun to disappear. " My name", his voice sounded distant and fuzzy, " is Ezio".

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Aliyah woke up with a start. Her breath came out in short pants. Her amber eyes scanning the room. Realizing that she is in her own bed and in her own time. Sunlight streamed into her bedroom to bath the room in a silent gold colour. Getting up, Aliyah felt disorientated and dizzy. She felt a slight headache coming up. Slowly crawling out of bed, she went to the basin and jug at the corner of her room to wash up. She was already late for breakfast as it was past seven. Knowing that her father will question her for her lateness, she quickly dressed and left the room.

She stopped as the room began to spin. Placing her hand unto the wall, she waited till the room stop spinning. Her headache began to pulse making it even worse. She felt her legs began to tremble. She blinked her eyes as pain suddenly blossomed in her eyes. She blinked again and the world in front of her turned into a greyish colour with white outlines for the objects in her room. She panicked and ran to her door. Swinging it open, she startled the assassin on duty to guard her door. " Princess?". She turned to stare at the assassin but only to see a blue colour in front of her. Her headache pulsed even more making her wince in pain. She closed her eyes tightly to open it again when the pain lessen a bit.

The world came back to normal. Her heart was racing at the sudden change. " Princess, are you alright?". The assassin walked over to her to rest his hand on her shoulder. She jumped and scrambled away from him. She ran away from him. " Princess!". Saeed who was walking to get Aliyah frowned as he saw her running away. " Aliyah?".

Aliyah ran to her father's room. Panic was rising up and her heart was beating faster than normal. Her breath came out in pants and her headache began to start up again. She blinked her eyes and the world became a greyish colour again. She crashed into Altair's door with a sharp yelp and when she tried to stop. " ALIYAH!", Saeed yelled when he caught up with her. Her gaze turned towards Saeed to see him blue. She panicked even more and grasped Altair's door handle. Hands shaking and the headache making it worse, she couldn't open the door properly. Saeed's hand came upon her shoulders to stop her. But that only made her panic even more. Blinking hard to world came back to normal. She yelped in surprise when Saeed tried to pull her away from the door. " Aliyah, what's wrong?". His words couldn't be heard when she panic.

The only thing she can hear is her heart beating hard. She felt sick all of a sudden. And the world began to spin a bit. She manage to open the door. Pushing Saeed away, she ran into Altair's room. " Aliyah!". Saeed chased after her. " For goodness sake child, what is going on? What's wrong?". He grabbed hold of her arm only for Aliyah to scream. Altair suddenly burst through his bedroom door. Shocked filled his eyes when Aliyah was kneeling down, clutching her head in pain and screaming. Malik came running from his room to skidded in a halt. A few assassins who were walking by came running also.

Aliyah continued to scream even when Saeed let her arm go. " Aliyah!, Saeed yelled, kneeling in front of her and trying to get her attention. Aliyah fell backwards unto her bum only to crawl backwards away from Saeed and Altair who quickly walked over to her. " NO! NO! NO", she continued to yell. Tears streamed down her face but what made Altair froze was the her pupils were dilated . They were dilated till they were almost black. She scream again and clutched her head in pain. Her eyes were wide with fear.

Altair quickly ran over to her to grab hold of her hands. She struggled before stilling. Her eyes were wide but he can see the slight gold color glowing within her iris. His own amber eyes widened in surprise. ' She has eagle vision'. " Aliyah", he said, trying to get her attention but failed to do it. Her eyes weren't looking at him but behind him. She was staring at a figure behind Altair. It was the same woman that she saw in her dream. " Sleep my child. Sleep". The woman said and disappeared. Aliyah's eyes rolled up in her head and slumped forward. Altair quickly grabbed her as she fell. " ALIYAH!", he yelled, panic rising in his heart.

Quickly he check for her being alive to breath out a small relief. He frowned at the sudden change in her. Gathering her into his arms, he carried her to his bed room. " Malik, can you take care of things for today?", asked Altair, stopping at his bedroom door , not turning to look at Malik. Malik stared at Altair's back before sighing. " Yes, I will". Malik was confused and worried about Aliyah. " Thank you my friend", said Altair, walking into his room ad closing the door. Saeed who was still kneeling on the floor, slowly got up. He was equally confused as Malik is but was very worried about her.

He cared about her a lot to the point that he treats her like she is his own daughter. Saeed knows that he can't do anything now but to let Altair deal with it now. Walking over to Malik, both shared a look. Malik turned to the other assassins only to growled at them. " Do not speak of this, do you understand?". The other assassins nodded their heads, knowing not to question the Dai.

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Altair walked over to his bed to place Aliyah unto it. He covered her in his blanket and sat next to her. He gentle brushed her black hair aside. He frowned at the turn of event this morning. " What happen?", he quietly asked her. No answer. That he knew. How can she answer him when she just fainted? " What did you see?", he asked her again before leaning over to rest his forehead against hers. " Wake up, please wake up", he said softly.

Leaning back, Altair got up to walk over to the other side of the bed. Laying on top of the blanket, Altair rested his head against the wall. Closing his eyes, he played with a necklace that belongs to Hafa. A sapphire jewel that she never took out when she wore it. The sound of fire cackling , Altair opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling. He tore his gaze away when he heard a soft humming sound. Jolting upwards, he stiffen and open his senses. His eyes gaze across his surroundings only to land onto the box that he kept the Apple inside.

The Apple was the one making the noise and was glowing. Curios, he got up to reach for it upon his bookshelf. It stopped making the humming noise when he opened the box and placed his hand over it. " What?". He heard the shifting of covers. Turning back towards his bad, he quickly shut the cover and walked over to his daughter. " Aliyah?". He looked at her to see her eyes staring at the ceiling. " Aliyah?". He reached for her touch her cheek. She didn't react nor move at all. Her eyes continued to stare at the ceiling. That's when Altair panic. " Aliyah, wake up". He shook her shoulder. " Aliyah, damnit. Wake up". No response. Panic began to rise up in his heart. " ALIYAH!". Aliyah blinked her eyes and turned her gaze to Altair. Amber met amber.

Altair sighed a relief. " Baba?", she croaked. Her voice small and sounded painful. He couldn't blame her, from all of that screaming. " I'm here", said Altair, sitting on his bed again. " I'm here", he reach up to stroke her head. Aliyah slowly sat up to crawl into Altair's lap. He stilled for awhile before slowly relaxing. Slowly he brought up his arms to wrap around her. She buried her face into his robes. Clutching to him like dear life. " hey , what's wrong?", he asked noticing that her hands her trembling. " ALiyah, what's wrong?".

" Baba", her voice soft and muffled from his robes. He had to strain his hearing to hear her.

" Don't leave me".

Altair froze and looked down at her head. " Wha...? Why?".

" Don't leave me".

" Why? What are you talking about, Aliyah?". Pulling her away from him, he cupped her cheeks to tilt her head upwards. " Aliyah, why are you saying things like this?".

She bit her lip and tears pooled in her eyes. " Because...".

" Because what? Aliyah". He said her name sternly. Knowing that tone, Aliyah knew than to disobey him.

" Because you regret having me as your daughter".

Altair froze complete. Dread filled his whole being. " where.. Where did you hear that f..from?", he stammered. Aliyah let her eyes meet her father's. " The lady in gold told me". Altair's eyes widened. " How...?", he whispered.

" She told me you never wanted me after Mama died. Is that why you stay away from me?". Her question innocent but it pierced his heart.

Altair couldn't answer her straight away. He couldn't. It was already bad enough that he has to keep his distance from her but to hear her say it just made it even worse. He buried his face into her hair and hugged her. " Baba?". He didn't respond just hugged her tightly.

" Baba, I'm sorry".

He pulled back to look at her. " Sorry? Why are you sor-", his words was cut short as he watched in horror as Aliyah began to choke. " Aliyah!", he cried out. Aliyah's amber hued rolled back into her head as she began to choke and convulsed. " Shit", Altair cursed. " SAEED!", he yelled knowing that the man was still in the room. Saaed swung open the door. His brown eyes widened in shock. " Get the healer. NOW!", Altair yelled, holding Aliyah down. Saeed nodded and ran to the entrance to tell Yari to get the healer and fast.

" Aliyah", whispered Altair, panic rising up in his body. Aliyah stopped convulsing and choking. Altair sighed a relief but only to have his body freeze up. Like somebody dumping ice cold water all over him and his heart. " Aliyah...Aliyah...ALIYAH!", he yelled. Checking for signs he couldn't believe it. He screamed out her name just as the healer came rushing in.

Aliyah laid on the bed. Altair felt hands pulling him back, but he fought them. Trying to get to his only child. The healer moved into his vision. Altair heard someone saying his name but he didn't hear them. All he could do was stare at Aliyah's dead body. He didn't hear the Apple humming softly or it glowing a soft gold colour. The healer barked orders to the other assassins in the room to get him some other supplies. Altair felt nothing. All he could think of Aliyah.

His only daughter, only child was lying dead in his bed.