A/N: This is a pretty long chapter but i didn't know where to cut it so... enjoy.

What guides me? Some sort of vengeance? Anger? Disgust? I still can't really understand my feelings in this period.

My idea, at the beginning, is to stay within the Templars and, in the meantime, transmitting information to the Assassins. A thought Achilles discards.

-You can't just double-cross them, Haytham. You can't stand something like that. –

And he's right. I suppose. No matter how much I could hate them, I still find myself thinking about the years we passed together, working for a better future.

Since I can't return to the Templars, I decide to fake my death.

I told them that I was going to search for Achilles but before I left, I changed the information I found about him, so they can't reach us here.

I delivered my Templar ring to Connor, telling him where to put it, hoping he wouldn't kill everyone on the way. Achilles, who had the same idea, told him to simply leave the ring with a letter in which he explained how he killed me. There weren't a lot of people to wear it, so they would have believed the story.

I think about their reaction.

Could Charles understand this too? I still admire the fact that he helped me, asking myself if things could have been different if he talked with me earlier. What if I opened myself to him? Probably it would have changed nothing. I needed a different point of view, someone who wasn't filled with the Templar order.

I feel somewhat guilty. Charles was one of the few I could call friend, even if he worshipped me, sometimes. And it isn't always a bad attitude. It was this that kept him from exposing the entire story, after all.

I built a modest home in the neighborhood. It is not far from Achilles' house, I can see the Aquila and the sea from the windows and it is rather isolated from the others. The only critical part was that there were a lot of wolves in the area. I managed to kill all of them and while heading to Achilles' house to change my clothes, Connor saw me.

-Fancy yourself with a little hunting, eh?- He smirked.

-There were a lot of wolves back there. – I spat. The way he was looking at me made me nervous.

-You know, I thought the Master of the Templar could handle a couple of wild beasts.- He smiled.

-And, you know, wild beasts aren't the first concern of the Templars. –

My relationship with my son is quite strange. I can't say he hates me. No more, at least. He respects me, in some way.

Hearing someone knocking the door, I raise my eyes from my father's diary. I asked Connor to go to my house and take his grandfather goods. I just couldn't live without them.

Not so many people would come visit me. Connor is in Boston, trying to find some information about John Pitcairn. It would probably be Achilles.

I open the door and I find the old man standing in front of me.

-Good morning, Haytham.-

-Good morning to you. – I reciprocate the greeting. After all the talks we had in these past weeks, I feel there's some kind of bond between us. From the way he answers at all my questions about the Assassins, I can see he admires me or, at least, my decisions.

-I just thought that you could enjoy a little walk. For a man of action like yourself, it must be a pain to stay all day at home.-

Not that I am simply sitting in front of the fire without doing anything. I borrowed some books from him and was deepening my knowledge on the Assassin's way of thinking. Watching the same events from two different points of view has proven to be an enlightening experience.

-Of course, I'll follow you.-

That place is really a heaven with the forest, friendly people, all seem to be perfect. In the last weeks I managed to get acquainted with the residents.

-I wish I could do something more to help your cause. - I interrupt the silence.

-It should be also your cause now, Haytham. - He smiles. – Besides, you helped us a great deal, even if you don't seem to feel that. You told us almost anything we needed to know. Moreover, if you managed to actually do everything we need, Connor could have been a bit upset right now.-

I smile.

-Yet he is, anyway.-

I see he watches me, without understanding.

-I don't know how to explain it. He lived hating me and now I suddenly come in his life and he is just troubled anytime he is around me. And I feel embarrassed whenever I look into those eyes that remind me of someone else. - I sense the sadness in my voice.

-I can understand. Just give him some time and things will sort out. – He stops for a minute. – He has a difficult nature, the boy. He is also a bit naïve, from time to time.-

We reach the edge of the cliff and the view, as always, left me breathless. The limitless sea, the sound of the waves breaking on the rocks below us, in the distance the majestic outline of the Aquila.

-You can analyze the situation around you quite well. It's no surprise they chosen you to be the Grand Master here.-

-They taught me to do so. I think the way of the Assassins is quite similar to that of the Templars.-

-I suppose it is. Anyway, you are right. He still sees you as an enemy, even if I tried to talk to him. –

-Probably I should be the one talking to him. – I sigh. – I thought he understood I was sincere. - He will understand that, I hope. Or he could simply kill me so he wouldn't think whether I was honest or not. The more I think about it, the less it seems to be an unlikely thing.

-He will understand. Moreover I taught him not to trust the Templars. But he listened to your story that night. What you lived… I was impressed, I have to say. He must have been too.-

We started to walk again, towards the forest.

-I was thinking… I find impossible to believe that no one knew your story or what was happening to you.-

I watch him, trying not to show any emotions. Should I tell him about Charles?

-Truth be told, there is. – He stops and watches me, intrigued and worried at the same time. – But he… understood the situation. – I think about the last words Charles said me. – We shouldn't have problems with him. –

Achilles starts to walk again.

-If you're sure about this, then there's no problem. –

I watch him, shocked. I expected him to start doing some questions, trying to understand who that person was. Instead, he just started walking.

I find myself admiring that man. I don't know what I would have done if I found myself with the Grand Master of an Order I hated in front of my door, after he killed everyone I knew and ruined my life. Surely I would have questioned every single word. I sigh. Maybe that was what I missed. Just some certainty.

We find ourselves in front of my house. I invite him inside to take a tea.

While I prepare it, I see him watching my diary recklessly left open on a table in the living room.

-I see you write quite a lot. – He notices.

I bring him the tea, nodding.

-It helps me thinking about the things I have done. Help me remember something. And I have also the arrogance to think that one day someone will read that and learn something new. – I watch him in the eyes. – Just to make sure he doesn't make my same mistakes.-

I start drinking my tea, watching outside the window.

-I would like to do something more functional while I am here. – That's something that has bothered me for a while. – I know that I can't go to town without being noticed, but I could go in other places, maybe recruiting someone new. Train them. Help in some way.-

-So you can go around spreading the Templars ideas? - Connor just came back and greets me.

-Of course not, son. You know I have a rather unique point of view.-

-I was just talking about that.-

He watches me with a challenging gaze. I sigh. Can't he really understand?

- Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine.-

I say almost without thinking. From the astonished gaze he gives me I can understand he doesn't catch a single word.

I smile and that infuriates him even more.

-Nothing is true, everything is permitted. I suppose you know that, at least. –

I watch him. He is just angry. Good, I think. He would listen to what I say.

-You know, I didn't understand the deep meaning of those words in a first moment. Another sentence, on the other hand, is much clearer. We work in the dark to serve the light. That is the exact opposite of what the Templars do. But given the resources they have, it is utterly unthinkable for them to work in the dark.-

-I don't need a history lesson. – Connor interrupts me. – I already have one that bores me with those details. –

I watch him smiling.

-To consider yourself part of an Order, you need to at least understand their main ideas. And to fight your opponents, you need to know them better. "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."–

I pause for a minute. I am ready to start again when Connor stops me.

-What is it the Templars want?-

I watch him, pleased.

-Order. Purpose. Direction. No more than that. They're the Assassins that mean to confound with this nonsense talk of freedom. Time was, they professed a far more sensible goal. That of peace.-

-Freedom is peace.-

I watch Achilles who is just listening the dialogue. I ask myself what he thought of all that.

-Not really. It's an invitation to chaos. You know, the people never have the power, only the illusion of it. And here is the real secret: they don't want it. The responsibility is too great to bear. It's why they are so quick to fall in line as soon as someone else takes charge. They want to be told what to do. They yearn for it. Little wonder that, since all mankind was built to serve.-

-Here is the Templar to speak. –

-Just leave for a moment the Templars and Assassins thing. Analyze the simple concepts and you can see there's some truth in them.-

- So because we are inclined by nature to be controlled, who better than the Templars? It's a poor offer. And besides, they have made their choice. And it was Washington.-

-People chose nothing. It was done by a privileged group of cowards only seeking to enrich themselves. They convened in private and made a decision that would benefit them. Oh, they might have dressed it up with pretty words, but that does not make it true.-

-But…- He started.

-The only difference, Connor. – I decide to ignore him. – The only difference between me and those you aid is that I do not feign affection. –

I hear Achilles moving awkwardly in his chair but my whole attention is toward my son.

Who is angrier than I ever saw him.

-Then why you left you Templars friends? Seems you like them more than us.-

-Didn't you listen that night I was here? They killed my father!-

-I still can't understand that. –

I watch him in the eyes.

-Says the boy that started a revolution to kill those who murdered his mother.-

I prepare myself to take a punch. Just it never arrived. I can see I have broken his perfect ideas.

-Remember, I saw things from both point of views. I know what I am talking about.-

I pause for a minute, gathering my thoughts.

-I know I am not completely in line with the Assassins point of view, but I know what the Templars are capable of, with their need to put order even in situations that don't concern themselves directly. And I will fight with all of myself to ensure they will never reach the power they so desperately seek.-

After that I feel like I can finally breathe after being submerged my entire life. I let it out, at last.

He watches me with those eyes that make me sad every time I look him for too long. For a moment I see again those eyes full of love when Ziio watched me. I sigh.

-Anyway, I came here just to tell you that Pitcairn is dead. –

That news doesn't hit me. In a flash I remember his face, that day we took him from Edward.

-And to tell you that I found this letter in his body. The Templars are going to kill Washington.-

-That makes sense.- I lose myself in my thoughts.

After seeing the gaze my son gives me, I continue.

-I know you worship this man, but you have to admit he is incompetent. He lost more battles than those he won. The world would be better without him.-

-And who should take his place?-

I think about that for a moment.

-If I recall correctly, Charles was pretty upset the day they chose Washington instead of him. If they kill him, Charles would certainly take his place.-

-That man…- Again hate. I wonder if I could ever see something different in his eyes.

I sigh.

-We need more information.-

I almost forgot about Achilles. He is watching me.

-You know that we have a network of informers quite important. – He quickly watches Connor.- Considering that Connor is always out, there is the need of someone that is willing to take care of the communications. And I am simply too old to do something and my mind is not the same it was before. - That isn't absolutely true, I can see that in his eyes. But he is trying to help me and I thank him silently. I hope Connor doesn't catch that.

The next words told me he doesn't.

-You want him to control everything?-

-You know he is the right man, Connor.-

He knows. He watches me angrily and left the house, closing the door with violence.

Achilles watches me, trying to console me.

-He will get through this. – He doesn't seem sure about that himself.

-No, I don't think so.-

A/N: While writing this i thought about the amazing dialogues they share in the game. I just couldn't avoid to put them here.