The hill was nothing more than a small bulk on the edge of the valley. Just as Ziio had said, there was a very large and ancient tree sitting in the middle of it, with large branches tiredly supporting the fallen snow.

She was waiting, her back turned to me but her posture straight, attentive, like that of a predator. For a moment I lingered behind them and I admired her slim figure, the intricate pattern of her cloak, the blackness of her hair. For a moment, I wondered what those layers of fabric were hiding.

'I should be ashamed of myself. Yes, very ashamed indeed' I thought as I moved towards her. 'What would my mother ever think if she knew?' But then, she wouldn't. She was long dead, and even if she wasn't, I doubted she would have even cared.

"Here you are at last" greeted me Ziio as she saw me. Then, without wasting a minute, she explained. She told me that in the town of Lexington Braddock's men were waiting to begin their campaign against the French. First of all, however, his intent was to imprison the natives who dwelled on the territory and make a slave of those who refused to join his lines.

As she explained, I looked at her in the face. Her determination was clear, her eyes burned brightly as she focused on each word.

'So she is serious' I told myself. Was she asking for help, though? Did she want me to help her and her people?

I did not wait for her to tell me. I proposed myself.

"Then we should put a stop to it. Together" I said quickly. And I had never been more convinced of something in my life as I was of ending Edward's life in that precise moment. Not only was I going to spend some time with this formidable woman, but I was also going to put an end to the life of one of my greatest enemies. However, there was no excitement, no satisfaction in knowing that I was going to put an end to the life of that reckless individual. Quite the contrary: Braddock had in some ways been a friend to me, and even though I cannot say we had ever been in that good a relationship, he was one of the few men who once would have aided the Templar cause without objection. But it was too late now to hope for redemption.

Ziio looked at me. There was doubt in her eyes, but this time, I read some hope in there as well. Slowly, she nodded.

The first thing we had to do was to track down the General.

"So I suppose this is the reason why you are staying here. In Lexington, I mean" I began as we made our way down the hill. She didn't answer. Before I could repeat the question a second time, however, she silenced me without even opening her mouth.

Ziio leaned forward, as if to check the land down our feet. Then, she jumped. It was not an ordinary jump, not that of a hunter of a Mohawk anyway.

It was a leap of faith.

Ziio must have been involved with the Assassins.

My blood froze. I stared at her as she made her way out of the haystack she had fallen in and then she stopped to look at me. I swallowed hard, letting my surprise run down my throat, and then I did the same thing.

'After all', I told myself as I followed her, 'she has by most chance already seen my Assassin insignia on my forearm. Maybe she believes I am a Templar'.

Or maybe not. There was a Brotherhood in the colonies, and they were well aware of my presence here. But then again, if she knew I was a Templar, why hadn't she warned the Assassins?

'Maybe she likes something of me' I thought. 'No. Silly me. She just needs my help'.

I had just finished to mentally reproach myself when we arrived in front of a stinky-looking tavern.

"Some of Braddock's men come here each night" Ziio told me once we reached the entrance, "Let's see if we can get some information out of them".

And we did. After no more than an hour I learned that General Braddock was to be found at Fort St-Mathieu.

'Ridiculous' I thought as I made my way towards the door, "to name a fort after a saint'. Not that I ever was that religious. Nor merciful. Fact that I confirmed in the moment I accepted the provocation of one of Braddock's man and ended up beating a whole group of red coats down.

I did feel some regret later, when Ziio gripped my arm and forced me to sit down to a chair.

I was expecting a lecture. After all, I had seen it coming.

"You are hurt" she said instead, looking at a little scratch I had gotten on my cheek with a little worry.

"It's ... nothing" I replied. A side of me was willing to tell her about wounds far worse than that one. As always, however, I hushed. I simply looked at her as she stood up and snatched a wine bottle for a drunken man asleep on a chair nearby.

I watched her carefully as she imbued a napkin with the crimson liquid and gently pressed it on my face. While she did this, her eyes were caught mine. I blushed and looked away, but then I noticed she was still looking at me.

'This is the moment to show my courage' I thought, and I raised my eyes again. This time, our contact lasted a little bit longer, long enough for me to spot the fierce mixture of feelings burning in her gaze. Among the anxiety for the future and the worry for what to do next, I read something else, something deeper. Beside the flame of determination which always ignited her gaze, this time I saw sweetness. The wish of winning her people's war once and for all and to take care of other matters.

"We should move on" she said suddenly, standing up and diverting her gaze.

She was halfway through the door when I called her name.

"Ziio. We haven't discussed our next move" I chuckled.

"We should attend such matters... somewhere else" she said quietly.

"Right"

The so called 'somewhere else' happened to be the same camp where I had been about to be eaten up by wolves just a few hours before.

"Tell me the truth. You were amusing yourself seeing me in such distress, didn't you?" I asked her as I took seat on a fallen log nearby.

She raised her head from the place where she was trying to start a fire. "How can you say such a thing? Human beings should never take pleasure in seeing someone else suffer"

"I know. I was merely... joking" I said, suddenly ashamed of my stupidity. I should have tried harder than that, if I wanted to impress that woman. The question was... did I?

"So what have you learned?" she said, sitting on the other end of the log

"I have learned Braddock is marching out of Fort St. Mathieu by the end of this week" I said. My eyes got lost in the fire which was not crackling and popping in front of us.

"What is the matter with that?" she asked after a while. "You look... queer about this Braddock"

She was looking at me know. I allowed myself a sigh before straightening back up and explaining.

"Braddock and I were brothers, once. I served under him during the war, and he in turn was... he was more than a family friend. He was a brother"

"A Brother?" an enthusiastic grin appeared on her lips. Like an idiot, I smiled back.

"Well, yes"

"I knew it. I saw your hidden blades"

"I know" I said, not even caring to filter what I was saying. 'You are beautiful when you smile' I would have liked to say.

"Why didn't you tell me before? Kasegowase and Achilles never told me that a Brother was due to arrive from overseas"

Kasegowase. Achilles.

I felt every and each drop of blood freezing in my veins all at once. My smile dropped, and so did my posture.

'She is an Assassin ally' I realised with worry. There was never going a chance for us to work together, or even be friends.

"What is the matter?" she asked as her expression filled with doubt.

I took a deep breath.