Two Days Later...

May 8, 1191

Cynthia's POV

"Come on, Cynthia! You have to tell us what happened," exclaimed Ada as she leaned against my dresser but still appearing just as jumpy as her tone of voice. I smiled at her excitement, but shook my head as I lied down on my bed, my hands placed behind my head.

"You cannot ignore us about that man forever, you know." Stated Alexandra. "We have to know who he is and why he left you alive when you should have been killed."

Two days had passed since I last saw Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, the Assassin that was so close to ending the suffering and hardships in this life of mine once and for all. The injured he had inflicted on me was deep and appeared as if it would, indeed, kill me – it had penetrated my side and exited through the other side – yet his words were true. They were not enough to completely finish me off completely. Since then, I constantly wondered why he so calmly decided to let me live the way he did despite the orders that had been given to him by his Master. Alexandra, after finding my unconscious body, became outraged over the fact that he left me to die, but was unable to do anything to seek revenge as she could not find him. Before she came up with any rash ideas, I told her to let it go, knowing we would never hear from the Assassin again. However, somewhere deep in the back of my mind, my words felt like a lie. Deep down, I had the feeling that our paths would, one day, cross again. When that day was to come was beyond my knowledge, yet it made me anticipate his return, wondering if he would come back to finish me off. Besides, it was doubtful that he would ever try to return, what with everything that was going on.

On another topic of interest, after having been taken to a doctor for her wounded shoulder, Diana had been healing for the past two days since the failure of our escape. The doctor told us that she was going to be fine and will live for a while longer, since the wound was not deep enough to kill her or have the need to be amputated. However, they said she would have to refrain from moving her arm too much to keep her wound closed and fully heal properly, which meant she could not work for a good week or so. As much as she hated the idea of not using her injured arm for an extended period of time, she followed their request and said nothing else. Instead, whenever I had time to visit her, she would constantly talk about how she was going to find and kill the Assassin who injured her. As a friend, I had to agree with her, since I understood where she was coming from. However, my heart and mind constantly seemed to tell me otherwise, as if I wanted him to stay alive for just a little longer.

During the time that Diana went to the doctor to get her arm checked out, Ada and Alexandra would search for me and, when they did, question me about Altaïr and how I was able to live after chasing him down. Not only that, but they wanted to know who he was in general and why he suddenly came when he did, out of nowhere and on the day that I was to be married. I did not have an exact answer other than the fact he was out to kill me by order of his Master, so I kept my mouth shut and continuously told them the same thing every time: "I'm not telling because I don't know." However, instead of just dropping the subject as I had wanted from the start, they continued to nag me about him, obviously not accepting the answer I gave them. They wanted a straightforward answer, not some answer that gave them nothing but mysteries and wonders about the stranger than nearly took my life.

But that is how Altaïr was, I thought to myself. Mysterious and wondrous at the same time, leaving me behind to wonder what he was up to for two long days.

Ada sighed with frustration while I looked away, having given her my usual response.

"Please tell us what happened, Cynthia!" She begged. "We have to know! This man has to pay for what he did to you!"

"I told you already," I responded truthfully. "I don't know what happened."

"You have to know something," Alexandra said, leaning in her seat a bit. "I mean, you were the one who chased him down to exact revenge, yet it was you I found lying unconscious on the ground from a stab wound, not the Assassin." She pursed her lips. "Clearly, something must have happened."

I sighed frustratedly, unable to repeat the response for the umpteenth time.

"If you must know," I started, "the reason I was left unconscious by the Assassin was because he claimed I was too innocent to kill. And killing the innocent was against...um, something. I don't remember, but he was not allowed to do so."

"That doesn't explain why he stabbed you," Ada pointed out. "If he claims that killing the innocent is against whatever law he and the Assassins follow, why would he stab you?"

"A ruse, maybe?" I stated. "He said that his Master had ordered my demise. For what reason, I don't know. Maybe, he stabbed me to make it seem as if I had been killed, in case someone was watching...?"

Alexandra shrugged, twirling a piece of dark colored hair.

"It's possible, but I don't think we will find out unless we asked him in person." She said. "Unfortunately, it will be impossible to find him these days. With the guards patrolling the area constantly, especially after having seen you injured, there would be no way we could go searching for him without being watched."

My face fell as I sighed, feeling a little defeated after hearing those words.

"I suppose you're right," I stated.

"Well, on the bright side of this situation is that you are alive." Ada said with a grin. "Not only that, but we will have to make sure he does not come anywhere near you again, whether those guards are out more often or not. It will be us who protects you more often than them!"

I sighed before sitting on the edge of my bed completely.

"Do not worry," I said with a warm, reassuring smile. "I can take care of myself. I will not allow that Assassin to have a single chance to at killing me. Or try, anyway."

"Which reminds me," spoke up Alexandra, putting on her usual sly smirk. "What is the Assassin's name? You never told us."

I stared at her for a moment before looking up at the ceiling. It took me a moment to respond, since I was busy replaying his name in my head several times to make sure I got it right.

"His name," I started, "is Altaïr. Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad."

"What an exotic name," said Ada, scratching her head lightly as her eyebrows furrowed. She, then, started to mouth his name a few times, trying to figure out how to pronounce it correctly.

Alexandra chuckled lightly as the Swedish woman continued this action a few times.

"Did he tell you himself?" She questioned me teasingly, returning her attention back to me and raising a mischievous eyebrow.

"Of course he did. He told me because...because he wanted me to remember the man who killed me for the rest of eternity."

"Sounds really arrogant," Alexandra stated. Fortunately, she did not see through my lie and realize that it was actually the other way around; I asked him for his name in order to remember him as the man who ended my suffering. "All the more entertaining when I find and kill him. Shove that arrogance in a place where the sun never shines.

I laughed at the Hungarian's expected choice of words. Alexandra was one of the only people that I knew of, one that no man would ever think of bothering. She was an extremely strong individual, able to stand up for herself when men try to put her down. Some would see her as stubborn, only seeing one way or situations and nothing else, but it was not a bad habit. She had been that way for many years of her childhood. According to her, she had been that way ever since she left Hungary – her home land – many years ago. I believed it was all her parents doing, and I wanted to thank them for raising such a inspiring young woman as Alexandra. However, the Hungarian woman said that, although she respected her parents, they would have disowned her for even thinking the thoughts that she had come up these days. Despite the depressing words she had spoken, though, she always put on a smile and changed the subject immediately. I guess that was what I appreciated the most about Alexandra: her ability to pick herself off the ground and stand tall, whether it is the annoying and arrogant men of today or the memories of her long forgotten past that did it.

After a few minutes, a knock sounded from my bedroom door. We all look toward it and stared at it for a few seconds, wondering if the person knew it was open or not. Realizing that the person obviously did not as they had knocked a second time, I sighed, got to my feet, and walked over to the door. Opening the door, I smiled as I found that it was Diana standing at the door. She looked good as new, but still held her bandaged arm just to be sure she would not move it around. She returned the friendly smile with on of her own, both of her dimples showing themselves.

"You look a lot better today," I spoke.

She ran a hand through her auburn hair with her uninjured arm.

"And I feel better, too." She stated, making a fist with her free hand as if she were much stronger. "Though my hand still feels a little numb at the moment, I feel great!"

I chuckled and invited her into my room so the other two girls could see her.

"Hello, Diana," said Ada, waving lightly to the injured auburn haired woman.

"We were just talking about the Assassin that almost killed you the other day," Alexandra told her as I sat down on my bed once more.

Diana growled in anger as she sat down next to me, a pouty expression revealing itself on her face.

"If I ever find that murderer, I swear he is going to know the true meaning of pain," she snapped.

Alexandra chuckled at Diana's ranting words while I sat there smiling.

"I was just saying the same thing just a moment ago," she said. "Odd, is it not? How minds always think the same."

"The both of you have always been smart," I stated, "but you cannot forget the who planned the escape."

"Only for it to fail," Alexandra teased.

I rolled my eyes at the comment, but smiled nonetheless. Diana looked at me.

"Hey, I heard that you were injured by the same Assassin," she said. "How is that wound of yours doing?"

I blinked at her question before looking down toward the wound. Lifting my shirt a bit, I looked at the bandage that wrapped around my abdomen. Fortunately, the wound did not open – again, since it opened at least once – and was healing rather well.

"Well, seeing as I had gotten these bandages just yesterday," I told her, my green hues looking back at the blue eyed French woman, "it seems to be healing well. I'm still surprised Abel did not notice the injury the Assassin inflicted."

"Probably would not care are that much anyway," said the Hungarian woman, blinking her brown eyes as she placed her chin on her hand. "There are a lot of things that pass by that man – the exception being money and attention."

I shrugged and nodded.

"Good point," I pursed my lips.

"That reminds me!" Ada exclaimed, her eyebrows furrowing. We looked at her as she went on, "The wedding is still on. And it's in a month from now!"

Alexandra groaned, suddenly remembering the news, while I rolled my eyes at the thought. How could we have forgotten about that? Despite everything that had happened, after Diana and I came back with injuries, Abel barely noticed at all. Instead, he postponed the wedding until next month, just to be sure everything was in order and in case there was something else he wanted to throw in for "the perfect wedding." When he realized what had happened with Diana and I, he disregarded us. At least he had the mind to send a doctor to aid us, but that was about it. I knew from the look in his eyes, though, that he was thoroughly upset with the fact that I made even the slightest attempt at escaping "the inevitable," or so he claimed. Unfortunately for him, he did not want to say anything to me with other people around watching. From what I saw, I knew he was trying to keep up the façade that everyone seemed to adore so much. He still have enough time to frustrate me, probably as a bit of revenge for trying to escape him. Why am I not surprised...?

"Yes, but we do have a month," Diana pointed out, grinning like a child given a reward for a good deed. "We have plenty of time to do as we please!"

I fell back onto my bed, folded my hands on my stomach, and stared at the ceiling with my forest green eyes.

"That, and it gives us enough time to plan another escape," I smirked mischievously. "There may be some more guards keeping watch in the city, but that does not mean we cannot find a hole to slither through."

Alexandra sighed and shook her head, but smiled nonetheless.

"You have always had a knack for coming up with devious schemes, you know?" She questioned, earning a laugh from me.

"And you have a habit of starting fights with men simply because they look at you the wrong way," I teased, earning a light blush from Alexandra.

"It's because no man looks at what does not belong to them!" She stated, crossing her arms across her chest. "I belong to no man! I am not property! I belong only to myself!"

Ada laughed and said, "Yes, but how long will that be until we find you lying in bed? In the arms of a man?"

Alexandra playfully glared in her direction, earning a laugh from the rest of us, as she blushed profusely. However, it did not take her long to crack a smile and join us in our laughter.

Altaïr's POV

"So you have returned from the dead, I see." Malik glared at me as I silently re-entered the room of the Assassin's Bureau. "I assumed you were killed the other, since you had not returned to the Bureau."

Two long days had passed by since I last saw Cynthia Richard, the woman whom I had left alive. The thought of her being alive for this long still plagued my mind, since I chose to let her live to the fact that she was innocent. The fact that the Master had ordered me to kill her made me wonder if it was true that her innocence was real at all. However, for some reason, I felt as if I had done the right thing keeping her alive the way I did. Judging by her words and the compassion she felt toward her people, she sounded nothing like I had anticipated; corrupted and seeking peace in the wrong ways. Also, it appeared as if she were running away. Was she running away from her wedding which she but she had all ready made plans to run away from her wedding to begin with. No woman would be crazy enough to attempt to run away from her wedding, but it was clear Cynthia was determined to get away from her fiancé.

I shrugged absently.

"When I killed Cynthia, the guards had caught me just as I was making my escape and imprisoned me," I explained. "Fortunately, I was able to escape, but had to remain hiding until the uproar settled." As I spoke, I pulled out the feather stained with Cynthia's blood. "As for Cynthia, she was much like the others – arrogant and selfish – but had befallen the same fate as those before her."

He observed the feather closely before looking back down at his work.

"Very well," he said as I put the feather away. "But I am surprised, Altaïr. A man of your...skill," I sensed the sarcasm in his voice, "was able to be captured by the guards so easily."

I sighed with frustration.

"Let's just say...that I was caught off guard," I told him.

He rolled his eyes before returning to his work once more.

"Still, I am surprised," he commented. "I am surprised by how important this target was, a woman no less, to the Templars." He glanced at me. "Al Mualim surely would not turn a blind eye in the direction of that weakling."

My eyes narrowed slightly at his words slightly.

"Never underestimate women, Malik." I said. He raised an eyebrow at my words, and I continued, "One can never understand the extent of a woman's power in society, whether they are accepted or not."

"So says the man who believes women should never be a part of the Brotherhood," he remarked, causing my glare to harden. "You and the Master are so much alike it's...rather odd."

"I only say that because I do not believe women should put their lives on the line for others, not because I believe they are weak." I told him as I turned and began leaving the room.

"Where are you going?" He questioned.

"Out," I responded without turning back to him.

"Feel the need to explore after your escape, I see." He stated. "You just do not feel the need to stay away from the danger of losing your life."

Instead of retorting with a comeback, I remained silent and simply walked out. Just before I left, I sense his curious and confused gaze watch me for a long moment. Instead of reassuring him that there was nothing wrong at all, I chose to ignored it and quickly leave the room. After climbing out of the Assassin's Bureau in silence, I looked around before jumping across a few more rooftops. I wanted to be sure that I was at a safe distance from the bureau, away from Malik. When I felt that I was safe for the time being, I abruptly stopping in my spot. I slowly glanced over my shoulder, looking in the direction I had departed from. A gust of wind brushed past me Then, after another long moment of silence and looking around, I sighed as I pulled out the bloody feather I had shown to Malik. I stared at it intently, staring at the divide between the white of the feather and the blood that belonged to the daughter of Richard. After another moment, I sighed and looked up at the sky as it slowly changed from twilight to nighttime.

"It's a shame, Malik," I muttered, closing my eyes, "that you were unable to see through my lie."