I am so, so sorry for the delay on this chapter. I hope you'll continue to bear with me between these painfully long updates and don't loose faith in my story.

To compensate, I have made this chapter almost twice as long as the previous ones. Enjoy!

My feet were sore from at least two hours of walking, my stomach was rumbling and I was sweating, regardless of the chilly weather. I had just arrived to a marketplace, where I quickly decided I could use a break as well as something to eat. I did have quite a lot of money left, though I didn't want to make any unnecessary expenses, in case couldn't find the Seven Star anytime soon, or worse, if Adrian wasn't there, I would rather be able afford roof over my head than wasting the money I had on a fancy meal, even though it was tempting after the food served on the ship. Therefore, I saticfyed with an apple from one of the market stands and sat down on a nearby bench to rest my aching feet.

Today seemed to be a rather busy day. The streets had been packed with people and this square wasn't any different. As I ate, my eyes followed two children, a boy who looked to be around six or seven, and a slightly younger girl. They were laughingly running around their poor mother, who tried to buy a couple fishes from one of the stands. I couldn't help but to smile at their little play, though, I did feel some sympathy for their mother.

I was about halfway through my apple, and still watching the two children, who were now getting scolded for their behaviour, when a movement at the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned my head to see a man join me on the bench. I nearly choked.

He was armed from head to toe with a wide range of weapons; there was a large bow strapped on to his back alongside a quiver, and his belt held no more than two pistols, a sword, and a hatchet, which blade had an unusual, creative shape. As if his white hood and the symbol on his belt buckle weren't obvious enough, a closer look revealed the hidden blades attached to both his forearms. The man, casually sitting next to me, with his head bent down and arms resting on his knees, was an Assassin.

My heart was beating so fast and loud I feared he would hear it, and although every part of me desperately wanted to get up and run far, far away, I remained completely stoned, staring at him with wide eyes. He must have felt my gaze, for he turned his head to look at me. Not until then had I gotten to see the man's face, which held strong, well-defined features. His skin was fairly dark with a copper tone to it, and rich, brown eyes met mine for a brief second, before the man turned his head, and once again, looked downwards to the ground between his feet.

Only a moment later, at least eight guards came running into the square, causing quite the stir as they did. The officer shouted out a series of commands, though, I couldn't quite make out his words over all the noise. I turned my attention back to the Assassin. Should I call for the guards, since it was undoubtedly him they were searching for? I considered it briefly, but just one look back at the man made me decide not to. I knew that his kind were not supposed to hurt innocent people, but the man looked fearsome enough to make me keep my mouth shut.

It couldn't had taken long before the Assassin saw his opening, rose to his feet and quickly vanished amongst the crowd, well hidden from the guards. My body was irreparably tense, and I tried desperately to clear my mind from the panicked thoughts making it next to impossible to focus.

when he was finally out of sight I let out the breath I had been holding, and did my best to calm down. He couldn't possibly had known who I was, however, the chances of running in to one of those bloody Assassin are rather slim, least said nonexistent, since the entire colonial Brotherhood was supposed to have been wiped out years ago.

I hastingly finished my apple, while silently debating whether the man knew about my connections to his enemies or not, and at the same time, made an attempt to reason with my frightened self. I could be fairly certain the man was not following me; if he did, it would've been stupid, if not idiotic, of him to draw my attention like that. He was an Assassin after all, and considering the skills they were said to be in possession of, I was sure that if he wanted hide from the guards, and remain unnoticed by me, it wouldn't have been a problem. Again, choosing to sit on the same bench as me would have been stupid, say, he was after me. With this in mind, I managed to supress the uneasy feeling in my chest but also somewhat convince myself that I might just be spared from any further encounters with the Assassins. Today had been a coincidence; a very frightening one, not to mention unlikely, but just a coincidence. Either way, I ought to be careful in the future and stay out of trouble.

I stood up and continued to walk with a brisk pace. My feet were still uncomfortably sore, though I cared less about it. At the moment, I simply wished to get to the Seven Star as quickly as possible.

I crossed the square and headed for a street that seemed to lead in the right direction. It was a bit narrower than the one I had previously followed, but to my relief, it didn't hold as many people. The street was lined with red brick houses on both sides and small allays occasionally appeared between them. From time to time, I would pass an inn, with offers of warmth, rest and tasteful meals, which only got more and more tempting after every minute in the drastically cooling weather.

It took some effort, but I managed to ignore my cold fingers and tired legs while stubbornly continuing to walk in the same direction until the sun was low on the sky, and I finally reached the northern district. I couldn't be all too far from the tavern by now, and therefore decided that the quickest way to find it would be to ask for directions.

"Excuse me, sir," I spoke to an older man who was casually leaning against the wall of a general store with a pipe in his hand a short time later. He looked at me for a moment before he gave a smile exposing several missing teeth.

"What do I owe ye' the pleasure sweetheart? " his accent was thick and he carried a heavy scent of rum around him that made me want to cover my nose. What a lovely gentleman…

"Do you possibly know where I can find a tavern named the the Seven Star?"

"Just follow the road and ye'll find it at the far corner of the next square," he said while pointing out direction with his pipe. The man made a halfhearted offer to make me company, but I was quick declined him before politely giving my thanks for his help.

I hurriedly walked the remaining distance to the square, which was smaller than the one I had stopped by earlier, but held at least the same amount of people. The streets had gotten emptier and emptier the further I walked, which made me quite surprised to see such a mass of people, all gathered at one place. I came to a stop once I realized the cause of it, and attentively watched the rising resurrection. Both men and women were yelling with angry voices towards a rather small group of british guards, who desperately tried to keep the situation under control. Even though most of the people were still passively watching the scene, more and more joined the tumult. I had never seen a riot before, and I couldn't help but to find myself unsure of what to do. Perhaps it would be smarter to avoid trouble and simply go straight to the Seven Star, which indeed was located in the far, right corner of the square. A heavy uneasiness had begun to take it's grip on me, the thought of possibly being this close to Adrian was unbearable; I needed to know for sure if I was going to see my brother or not, however, I found it very difficult to take my eyes of the commotion. But, for once, I decided to smother my curiosity, and so, I began to make my way around the stir towards the inn. Had I not promised myself to be more careful only a couple of hours ago?

Most of the people who were not participating in the riot stood along the edges of the square, and since I came to the conclusion that wandering right through an angry mob was not a very bright idea, I was practically forced to push my way through the spectators in order to reach the opposite corner of the square.

I came to a halt, just in front of the door, as a wave of anxiety suddenly washed over me. I didn't know what was worst: the thought of not finding Adrian in there, and being forced to search after him for god knows how long, or the fear of his reaction to see me, say, he was behind those doors. Would he recognize me? Would he be happy to see me, or call me an idiot for ever leaving London? What if he'd be angry and force me to leave?!

"Oh, for the love of god, Anna!" I thought to myself. "You crossed an ocean and walked for hours with aching feet to get here, and now you find it difficult to open a bloody door?!" with that mindset, I quickly entered the Seven Stars, more because of irritation over my pathetic feelings than anything else.

The door shut behind me, and I was crateful to have escaped the chilly winds. It was much darker in here, so I waited for my eyes to adjust to the more dim light inside before I began to walk over to the bar desk . A scent of food, alcohol and tobacco filled the room, which was crowded with people, laughing or conversing with each other; most of them seemingly unaware of the tumult outside.

There was a woman standing behind the bar, and since I hadn't seen my brother yet, I was quick to get her attention before I was able to change my mind and flee the inn like a lunatic.

"How can I help you miss?" The woman looked to be in her middle-, or perhaps late twenties. She had soft facial features, big, clear blue eyes and blonde hair neatly put up in a bun. She smiled kindly towards me as she spoke.

"I am looking for a man named Adrian Ridler; I believe he is the owner of this inn?" I held my breath as I waited for her to speak, with a strong urge to turn around and forget I ever set my foot in this place.

"Yes, of course! I believe Mr. Ridler is in the kitchen, should I tell him you are waiting to speak with him miss…?" my heart took a leap of excitement, but was quickly brought down again with another wave of anxiety.

"Anna. And, yes please. "

"Alright then, I will be back in a minute," she began to walk towards a door on the left side of the bar, when she suddenly turned around in the middle of a step.

"Oh, I'm sorry miss, did you want something to…"

"No!" I interrupted her. "No, thank you, I am fine." I added, feeling ashamed for being so rude. She gave me a nod and continued towards the door. I nervously fingered on my apron, while taking deep breaths. God knows that I had missed my brother, and worried for him just as much.

I remembered the day he left. I had been permitted to come with him to the docks even though the rest of the household had said their farewells in the house. Well, everybody, spare for the two servants who carried his luggage, our hired wagoner, Margaret and myself, of course. I took his hand when he sat down besides me in the carriage, and I remember holding on to it so hard my knuckles had became white.

It had been an awfully quiet ride down to the harbour, there had not been much to say. Adrian would on occasion squeeze my hand and try to get look at my face, which I had turned away from him. I did not want my brother to see the barely held back tears in my eyes, but it would not have mattered. Once at the docks, as Adrian leaned down to kiss my cheek, I began to weep. He took me in his arms, just like he used to whenever he would find me in tears, held me close and reassured me that he would be safe, and that I shouldn't miss him. I refused to listen to him; nothing he said, or could have said, would make a difference. Instead, I asked him if we were to ever see each other again. Good lord, did his answer break my heart…

I cried like a baby all the way back home. Margaret had tried to comfort me for a while, but she soon gave up, as her voice failed to hide the fact that she too was close to tears.

About a week later, my grief had begun to transform into something else. I was angry, at Adrian for leaving, at father for letting him go, at mother, for treating my brother so badly, I was angry at everything! Around that time, father had also hired a teacher for Eric, and of course, seeing all the things he got to do and learn about, I wanted to do the same. Sadly, I "couldn't", since it is not appropriate for a lady. I don't believe it is necessary to tell you that this only fueled the already blossoming anger inside me. However, as I look back now, I feel like I should be thanking my father for denying me that education. If he hadn't, I would never have came up with the idea to borrow books from his library. Of course, it took me a good while before I was actually able to get inside that room. I had figured it would be easier to enter the library from the balcony, but, I still didn't have a clue on how to open a locked door. Eventually though, I figured it out. Theoretically, lock picking is surprisingly easy to understand. All I did was to simply ask father how locks work, and why you need a special key to open one. I remember how carefully I had picked my words to make myself sound as innocent and curious as possible. It must have worked, because father went as far as to explain why it was possible to pick a lock, without me even bringing it up.

The challenging part, was to actually do it. It took me a lot of time, and god knows how many ruined hairpins, however, I eventually mastered the fine technique.

The woman still hadn't come back, and the waiting was not helping to seattle the mess of feelings in my chest. Perhaps I should have ordered a drink...

I took a deep breath, and began to quietly count down from one hundred to zero in

order to keep my mind occupied.

I had come to thirtyseven when the door finally opened. Good lord, I could swear my heart stopped. He looked older, more mature, but except from that, and the casual clothes he was wearing, he had not changed one bit since I last saw him.

The woman made a gesture towards me and I could see my brother's eyes widen in disbelief as he saw me. I could not blame him for it...

"Anna?" God, had I missed to hear that voice! All I could manage was to give him a nod in response as I saw the smile spread across his face. Unable to restrain myself, I closed the distance between us and threw my arms around his neck, feeling like a little girl doing so. Adrian hugged me tightly, and I nearly cried with relief.

"Look at you, so big and all grown up!" He said with a laugh. "Pretty too! I bet all the men are just lining up to get a night with you!"

"Adrian!" I said and pushed myself out of his embrace to glare at him, which did not work well since I couldn't help the smile stuck on my lips. He chuckled and pulled me into another hug.

"Good lord, I have missed you, Anna," he spoke with a low voice into my ear.

"I missed you too." I said, just as quietly.

Shortly thereafter, Adrian changed a few words with the blond-haired woman, who I was properly introduced to as Mary, and found us a secluded table, where he sat me down to explain "what in bloody hell" I was doing here. I did as he asked, and told him. I was careful to go around the areas associated with the templars, as well as the fact that I knew about it. I had no clue whether Adrian was aware of the order, or sympathised with them. Perhaps he had even sworn his loyalty to the templars, perhaps he was one of them… I could not imagine it, however, it was a possibility.

Once I was done, Adrian had gotten a serious expression on his face. He looked straight at me, and I braced myself for what his response might be.

"You know about it don't you. About what Father and Blackwell are part of." Well, so much for trying to hide that… I sighted and gave him a short nod.

"How much do you…?"

"Most there is. I think you understand that it is why I left" I spoke before he was able finish his sentence.

"Did he tell you?" I gave my brother a sly smile

"Father never uttered a word of it... I have been sneaking into his library ever since I was eleven." I admitted.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me, you've always been nosy " Adrian chuckled. "Did he never catch you?"

"No, not once." I told him, without even bothering to cover the pride in my voice. "But, how did you find out?" his smile faded, and now it was my brother's turn to sigh.

"He trained me. Wanted me to become like himself. I suppose I've always known he served a greater purpose, but Father didn't actually tell me until I began to ask questions."

"And that is why you left? You didn't want to become a… be like him?" I corrected myself. Openly speaking about templars at an inn, where you never know who might be listening, could have rather severe outcomes if the wrong pair of ears were to pick up the conversation...

Adrian noticed my little slip, and rose from his chair.

"My residence is just upstairs."

I followed my brother and was lead through a door, close to the staircase, with the word "Private" elegantly painted on it. The single room contained no more than a small kitchen, a table for two, and a bed. There was a painting of a ship hanging next to the lone window as well, and besides a vase of half-wilted flowers on his nightstand, it was the only decoration I could find in his apartment.

He pulled one of the chairs out for me to sit, before he did so himself. Adrian seemed to struggle to find the right words, but I patiently waited for him to speak.

"It is like you said, I left because I did not want to become a Templar." he finally said. I could tell there was more to it.

"Father would never have allowed you to just take off like you did. How did you convince him?" again, my brother was quiet for a while.

"Anna, you need to understand... I don't just disagree with the Templars, I want them gone from this world." my furrowed my eyes as he spoke. "The year before I left, Father sent me on a mission to shadow some merchant, apparently an important one, to his hiding spot. But, things didn't quite go as planned. That man had prepared an ambush, and I fell right into it." Adrian made a break to study my face, and I can only imagine that it perfectly mirrored the confusion I felt. "That same merchant had been targeted by the brotherhood as well. The assassin signed to the mission had seen me follow his target, and assumed I had been sent by his enemies. He later told me he had know about the trap, and that he had watched me heading straight towards it, thinking: That is one easy way to get rid off a Templar." He smiled at the memory of it before he continued. "That man saved my life, Anna. He let his target go, to save me. I will forever be in his debt for that, and for giving me a new perspective." His words left me speechless. Of all the reasons Adrian would possibly had had to leave, this was one I had not expected.

"To answer your question: I Ieft a short time before I was supposed to be initiated into the order and become a Templar. So, as a last resort, I told father about the Assassin I had met, about the information I gave to them, and that I didn't sympathise with the order anymore. I think he wanted to kill me… but instead, he just walked away. The next thing I know, he had gotten me a passage to the ship that brought me here. The last thing, Anna, that father said to me, was that if he ever saw me again, he would kill me." My brothers voice had gotten heavier as he spoke. No doubt, it was difficult for him to speak of this. I imagined the sorrow father must have felt when he found out his own son had betrayed him. Now, as the missing pieces of my brother's leaving fell together, I couldn't help but to feel guilty as I too had betrayed him, regardless of all my reasons.

As Adrian told me his story, the gears in my mind had begun to work with full speed. As little as I understood the cruel, monstrous ways of the Templars, did I understand the goals of the Assassins. They seemed so unrealistic, fragile, not to mention a promise of chaos; where could my brother possibly have found, or rather have lost, the logic and reason behind his beliefs?

"Father sent you here because the colonial brotherhood had been wiped out, didn't he." I said, more as a statement than a question.

"Yes, I'm sure that was his main reason." He looked at me, as to try and see directly into my mind Sadly for my brother, I knew, more than well, how to fool those who tried to read me.

I truly didn't want to lie to Adrian, although, there was something that stopped me from exposing my true beliefs to him. I knew exactly what caused that feeling, however, I could not verify it yet. Therefor, I decided to keep my thoughts to myself.

"Adrian…" I hesitated a moment and took a deep breath, as a way to mentally prepare myself before I continued. "Have you joined the Assassins?" I looked straight into his eyes as I spoke, and I knew the answer before he had even opened his mouth.

"Yes, I have." He was obviously confused to the fact that I had come to that conclusion, since I had not told him about how I earlier had the pleasure to meet his brother in arms.

All I could do was to give Adrian a short nod in response. He raised an eyebrow and looked questioning at me, clearly waiting for me to give him an explanation.

I sighted; I felt as if I had stepped in a pile horse shit and then spent a long time wiping my shoe clean, only to stumble and fall head first into a dunghill. Some higher power must be laughing their arse of looking at me right now...