ALRIGHT! Another update. Hope everyone enjoys this. I hope to start updating at least once a week. ^_^

Chapter 4

Road to Jerusalem

Riding horse back in the countryside heading to Jerusalem, Din had adjusted to the feeling of riding a horse. Even though her legs and butt had gotten sore, she enjoyed observing the scenery. She even enjoyed talking with Altair, as crazy as it sounded. He didn't seem too bad. When it was just them, Din could somewhat stand to be around him. "So, you've been in the brotherhood your entire life?" Din asked.

Altair gave a slight nod. "Yes, my parents were also apart of the brotherhood. I trained most of my life to become an assassin."

"I see. One of the things that gave you away, were your hands." Din explained.

Altair listened carefully. This girl was pretty observant of her surroundings. "The skin on your hands are unusually rough, which shows that you use a sword quite often."

Altair bobbed his head in response. Ushering Namir, he turned the horse to a small creek bed. "We'll stop to let Namir drink."

Getting off the horse, Altair held his hand out for Din. She shook her head. "No thanks." She said, and jumped off the horse with ease.

Din was light enough that Namir hardly felt her jump. Altair sighed at how unwomanly she was. It was strange. Altair had never seen a woman like Din ever before, and it wasn't just her appearance. Din reminded him of some of the novice assassins. The way she acted, mirrored theirs'. She was arrogant, and rash. Yet, she was cautious and sharp-eyed.

A thought popped into his head. Watching Din stroke Namir's side as he drank, Altair walked towards her. He focused on her, wanting to know the answer to his question.

Din smiled, as Namir twitched at her touch. She had never been around a horse before, Din liked Namir. Suddenly, a killing urge swept past her. Turning around, Din crashed into a hard wall. She looked up, realizing it was Altair. They stared at each other for a moment, and then Altair began to speak. "Are you training to be an Assassin?"

Din stared at him, and muttered. "No."

He frowned, and grabbed her shoulders. "Speak truthfully woman." He spat out.

Din's eyes widened and she stared at him. Her heart was pounding in her throat. She didn't know what would happen if she said 'yes'. Would he kill her?

Altair squeezed Din's shoulders, making her flinch.

"Hey! You two! State your business!" A man shouted.

Altair looked over at the man, but Din continued to stare at him. Releasing his grip on her, Altair turned to face him.

The man was an Arabian scout for Jerusalem. He was dressed in colorful flowing clothes, with metal shoulder plates. He held the grip of his sheathed sword, and walked towards them.

Altair began to reach for his sword, when Din came up with an idea. "Big brother my head hurts." She complained.

Her voice matched that of a child's, and Altair looked at her. He got what she was doing. "I'm taking my younger sister to a doctor in Jerusalem." He answered.

The scout stared at the two, and frowned. "Alright, but be more careful. There are thieves and murderers around in these rural areas."

Moving back, he walked back to his scouting tower.

Din sighed loudly, and rubbed her arm. "What a stupid man." She whispered, trying to relax.

She was still frightened at what Altair had said. She was terrified at what he might do. Din had never feared anyone before, which is funny since she lives with a murderer.

Altair continued to stare into the direction the scout headed towards. His murderous intent had vanished, and he realized what he had done. Remembering how hard he had squeezed, Altair knew he had cause Din pain. "I'm sorry if I harmed you." He whispered.

Din placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked away from him. Cursed with a fragile body, she knew bruises would form on her shoulders. "I'm not some weak child."

Namir nudged Din with his snout, and she turned to stroke his face. "Should we continue moving on before dark?" She asked.

Altair walked to Namir's side, and sighed. "Normally the trip to Jerusalem would only take a day."

Din grumbled, knowing where he was going. "It's going to take more than a day, since I'm a pathetic little child."

She crossed her arms, as Altair watched her through the corner of his eye. "If you're in such a hurry, lets just get going already." She added.

Sighing, Altair sat himself on Namir, and helped Din up to sit right behind him. "If you wish." He answered, "Just don't complain if you are tired."

Din rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around his waist to stay on the horse. The sun was slowly making its way towards the western horizon, and touched the western mountains. The sky was now a fire orange color, and the clouds bright shapes of pink. Din watched the clouds, and admired their beauty. Besides the sound of Namir galloping, everything was strangely silent and peaceful. The feeling of rocking up and down, and moving along with Namir's movement, made Din feel so relaxed. She could allow her mind to wonder, and think of the experiences she went through the past few days. I've been gone for three days. I wonder if Edward misses me?

Thinking about the fact she went back in time, Din pandered whether or not Edward would even know she was gone. She had seen movies where people go back in time, and when they returned to their original time, they had only been gone for a second. Did Edward even know she had been transported back in time?

Pulling on the reins, Altair halted Namir. "Whoa." He muttered.

Din looked past Altair to see a spiked wooden fence blocking their way. The fence was about twenty meters away, but Din could see the guards patrolling it. "It seems the templars have set up a checkpoint." Altair said aloud.

"Should we find another way?" Din suggested.

Shaking his head, Altair looked around. "No, there's no path around for miles."

Steering Namir, Namir walked to the left rock wall of the valley way. They hid behind a huge boulder, and Altair got off Namir. "How many guards?" He asked.

Din looked around the corner, and counted. "There are eight guards; two standing at the entrance of the fence, two on the left side, two on the right and two walking the other side."

Gripping his sword, Altair breathed in. "Alright, I'll take care of them."

As he began to walk, Din grabbed his arm. "Wait. I have a better idea."

Altair sighed heavily. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He remembered Din's plan. Instead of just walking up and killing them all, I'll pretend I'm a lost child and distract them, while I do this, climb the cliff and make your way to the other side. Once I have them distracted, attack from behind.

It had been pretty easy to climb the cliff and make his way to the other side only thing was the fact that he had to trust Din. He didn't really like it, but it could help him determine whether he could trust her.

Hiding behind a few large rocks, Altair waited for the distraction. Suddenly, he could hear a distant cry.

Din straightened up, and prepared herself. Being quite the actor, Din remembered once that Edward had said 'Play the part of someone that isn't suspicious, and once your enemy has dropped their guard then attack'.

Rubbing her eyes, Din prepared to create false tears. She walked towards the guards, sobbing.

One of the guards spotted her. "Who are you?" He shouted.

The guard sounded angry, but suddenly he realized that a small crying child was walking towards him. He walked towards her. "Why are you out here all alone little one?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Din looked up at him, here eyes filled with tears. "I-I can't find m-my brother." She stuttered.

The guard wore a thick plate of chest armor, and had a red cross decorated on it. He knelt down to her level. "Do you know where your brother might be?" He asked.

Din shook her head. "N-No." Her voice sounded just like a child's.

Because of their boredom, most of the other guards watched the scene. Only one kept watching ahead.

Altair decided this would be the best chance he could get, so moving swiftly and silently. He made his way to the fence. Hiding behind it, Altair stuck his hidden blade into the one of the guard's throat. He went down without a sound, and moved on to the next one. He managed to kill a second guard, before he was noticed. "Assassin!" one of the guards shouted.

Unsheathing his sword, Altair sliced one of the guard's shoulders. Five of the remaining guards charged at him, while the one stayed beside Din.

Din watched, and a strange feeling took over her. She watched in terror, as Altair cut down his enemies, spilling their blood. To Din, Altair seemed to be dancing. His graceful and effortless movements, easily faster then the templar guards could ever be. He cut them down one by one, and didn't even break a sweat. Din felt another feeling, strange warmth in her chest, yet something was also gnawing at her heart.

The templar guard in front of her trembled and shook in his boots. "D-Damn." He muttered.

Altair began to walk towards them, defeating all of those around him. Din could feel the sheer intense killing intent coming from him; it was utterly horrifying. She felt as if nothing around her existed, and only his intent existed. It wasn't rage, or anger. Altair didn't express those feelings at this moment; instead it was somewhat a feeling of sorrow, guilt and hope. Sadness for those who had to die, guilt against his conscious whether it was right or wrong, and a hope that enemies would run so he would not need to kill them.

Din couldn't take it anymore, the look in Altair's eyes; she was going insane! Acting quickly, Din placed her hand on the front of the guard's shoulder and turned him around. The templar slightly gasped at her sudden show of strength. Not pausing, Din punched his jugular hard, making his go down. The guard moaned for a few moments, but fainted.

Din stared at him, and didn't want to look at Altair. She could smell the fresh scent of blood coming from him.

He stopped a few feet away, and made a clicking sound. Namir appeared from his hiding spot, and obediently walked to Altair's side. A strange moment of silence passed, and Altair pulled a piece of cloth from the brown bag tied to Namir's saddle. He wiped the blood off his blade and sheathed his sword.

It's been so long since I've seen someone die. I almost forgot the scent of fresh blood, and the sound of someone screaming as you kill them.

"Come, we must move before more templars come." Altair said interrupting her thoughts.

Din moved towards him, and got on Namir without saying a word. Altair got on, and took the reins. Slightly tapping Namir's side with his foot, Namir began to gallop up the road to Jerusalem.