Alright. I know it's been a while but I had to make sure this came out right, for a variety of reasons. I however do have a large disclaimer, there will be the (slightly graphic) depictions of childbirth. I tried not to make it to graphic or anything, but just putting that out there, as it is from Altair's POV. I have very specific reasons for him being with Desmond during it, and they'll explained next chapter. Anyway, off we go!
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Desmond POV
Unsurprisingly, Nadia knew a good bit about both him and the men with him. He's traveling in a group of twenty men, and was currently making his way through Damascus and headed on to Jerusalem. He would only be here for three more days, and were to meet up with another group in Acre.
"If you stay here till dawn, I'll have the girl he kept with him tonight speak to you. She's a sweet girl, and has the lighter hair color that he seems to favor. His name was Sador, at least that's what he told Ophelia to moan. So that either his name or he finds another name on her lips appealing." She says as she carefully sips at the cup of wine in her hand, the two of us sitting in the far back of the house.
Nadia gently pet the hair of Rayhana beside her as she slept. Gilead had done quite a bit of damage to her, and the bruises would take weeks to heal. I sigh heavily as I nod and say "I guess I can stay for the time being, however I will have to leave not long after that. I do have a reason for being in this city."
She hums softly as one of the women who had been cooking steps away from the stove and sits down heavily upon the pillows nearby, rubbing a worried hand over her belly. "Jasmine, whats wrong? Are you alright?" Nadia worriedly asks, setting her cup down as her hand freezes in the girls hair.
Jasmine's face pinches in slight pain before she says "I think so… I just need a moment… Just a small cramp I think…" I watch her carefully, thinking back as far as I can to the medical class I took on the farm. It's been so many years but I do remember the two week course that they made us take on Birth, along with a few things my ancestors learned throughout their lives. She carefully arranges herself so she's leaning back more before she relaxes a bit.
After she relaxes I ask her "Has this happened before?" She nods and states "Yes, about thirty minutes ago. And again around thirty minutes before that. It's… Odd. It's only briefly painful before it vanishes, but this one is just lasting longer than the last one…" I hum as I think that over, watching her carefully as I turn to Nadia and softly speculate "There's a small chance she may be about to go into labor. So you may want to watch her carefully."
She nods in acknowledgement and replied "I've been worried about that for a week now… Unfortunately our midwife isn't nearby, so if she does it'll be at least two hours before anyone can come look at her… I've lost girls and their babies before due to the Midwife not getting here fast enough, I don't want to lose her too…"
I quietly stand and walk over to Jasmine, sitting to her right. She gives me a tiny smile as I gently question "Is this your first?" She shakes her head, hand tensing as she murmurs "No… This will be my second… I lost my first to sickness. She didn't even make it to her first birthday, but I have a good feeling about this one." She brightens slightly and softly coos out "I could feel them kicking earlier, and they kick harder than my little Suha did. And I've taken care to eat better also. Nadia has helped as well, taking me in after my family threw me out."
I nod and smile slightly at her, the girl looked barely eighteen, yet she already had a child before. I notice she has a small red ribbon braided into her dark brown hair, which goes well with the white and red dress she wears. Nadia gently steps over as well, smiling softly and saying "She showed up on our doorstep, shivering in the night and crying her eyes out. Scared the daylights out of the guards, which lead to me taking her in."
I nod with a tiny smile, knowing it had to hurt like hell for her family to reject her like that. Another thing I don't like about these times… but at least I won't have to see Juno again for a long fucking time. Nadia and Jasmine speak back and forth for a time as the time steadily passes, the sun slowly peeking out from behind the clouds as some girls begin to filter back here, or exit to a wash room to clean up and change.
Before long Nadia had seen Ophelia and waved the chestnut brown haired girl over and patted the cushions beside her. Ophelia sat down and stretched delicately, the green dress she wore shifting as she rubbed one of her legs carefully. "Tell him what you can about Sador." Nadia says, passing her the cup of wine she still has. Ophelia looks at me and gives me a appraising look, eyes rapidly taking in my form.
"He was bigger than you, and heavier. Even without most of his armor on he was heavy with muscle. His hair was dark, like Nadia's, and he spoke with a thick French accent. I couldn't half understand him sometimes. He never let his sword be far away, always within arms reach, and he complained about the captain he was to meet in Acre. Apparently he's been promoted recently in his group and more than one soldier is angry about it, saying that maybe he got the promotion by being on his knees. Which I've seen happen before, but rarely with men." She admitted, taking a sip from her cup.
I hum in acceptance and press "Anything else? Even the littlest thing could be a great help." Her brow furrows with thoughtfulness as she takes another sip, thinking a moment before adding "He and his men are all staying in the rich district, but he takes a walk around lunch every day to the poor district to meet someone. Then he returned to his men before he comes here after the sun sets." I nod and thank her, earning a smile before she excuses herself and I bid both Nadia and Jasmine a farewell.
I quietly exit through the front door just before the guards switch shifts. Most of the girls are only awake in the evening and night, but there are a few who work during the daytime, meaning that this place never really closes. Something I know more than a few people are very thankful for. As I walk out of the door I see the shiny reflection of metal on a nearby roof. I'm being watched… I calmly walk down the streets and see that vendors are setting up their wares and people are steadily waking up, making food and other things.
I go ahead and take a run, sprinting down the streets and climbing over things until I was panting from exertion. Once I was happy with the amount I'd done and sure that I outran anyone who may have been following me I made my way over to the Bureau and hopped down into the main room. I see Altair and the three other apprentices talking quietly as they eat. Altair brightens considerably when he sees me, handing his food to the largest boy and rushing over to me. "Where were you? Did you find anything? What happened? Why were you gone so long? Why-"
I laugh softly and say "Slow down Altair, one question at a time. I took a walk last night to find something out about our resident Templar. I did find something but it took a while to collect because-" I stop talking as I hear someone scoff. I half turn, glaring coldly at Ophir as he grins at me. He's wearing his normal attire for that of a courier, but his attire looks dusty and a little scuffed.
"You were in a whore house for the last five hours, why would you even lie to the poor boy?" He says confidently, and I notice that Altair looks at me with confusion. I hum softly and question "Since you know where I was, why don't you tell me why you were watching me? I thought you were hunting for information on the Templar?" He stiffens softly as I speak and I continue with "Since you are apparently trying to prove that I don't know what I'm doing, please tell us what you learned."
He grinds his teeth and mutters out "My informants are usually more… Enthusiastic with the information they have. I found little on the Templar." I hum in acceptance and reply "That is why I always strive to have my own contacts," I ruffle Altair's hair and add, "That way you can always tell if the information is true. It also makes you more independent, with more freedoms than a normal Assassin." Altair looks up at me with an almost excited expression.
He has always loved freedom. He's loved making his own choices and deciding where he goes. If I'm lucky, this will start to show him that the couriers don't always know everything, but to listen to them nonetheless. He nods at me, Ophir looking a little angry as I continue speaking to him by adding "I found out quite a bit while you were watching me. Would any of you care to hear it? Or shall we wait for you?"
I see him grimace in distaste as Tramir nods and affirmed "If you wouldn't mind Desmond, it would be a good thing to have your information, not even my contact could gather much, other than there are quite a few of them." I nod at him and responded with "His name is Sador, he's here with a group of twenty men headed to Jerusalem, and will stop in Acre on the way to group up with more Templars. Apparently more than one of them dislike the man there meeting up with."
The others nod along as Altair asks "Why don't they like him?" I hum and answer "Well, they think he got the position by doing some rather unsavory things." He nods while the others digest this information, after a few minutes Tramir finally commented "I think we should keep the Apprentices within our walls unless accompanied by an Assassin. I don't want to think about what would happen if one were to be caught."
Ophir and I agree with nods as I add "Altair and I have to go on a run, and do a few things outside of here. Despite the obvious danger, I can't have him slip any further on his training." Tramir placatingly states "Then my apprentices and I shall accompany you. I hear your free running courses are nothing to be trifled with." I chuckle out "I see Hasib has yet to let it rest that he fell into a mud pit while trying the course I set up for him and his apprentice at the end of their training."
The others chuckle softly, even Ophir as the children around us giggle and I add "He looked like a slug as he crawled out of the mud, not a single inch of his uniform spared! I almost didn't recognize him as he walked back to the castle, he made the guards think that mud monsters existed for a month from how he growled and marched by them!" I smile at the sounds of laughter I get from them all. Now that's a sound I could live in.
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Altair POV
I hold my stomach as I laugh, the others in the same situation. Every time I got even close to stopping I think of someone like Aslam marching back to through the gates of Masyaf, dripping in mud and began laughing again. It's at least two minutes before I've stopped laughing, yet the Rafiq had walked in, smiling and asking "What on earth caused all this ruckus?" I snicker at the thought as Desmond tells the story again, causing more laughter.
He laughed deeply and shook his head, shoulders shaking from his laugh. Eventually he laughed out "That's something you should tell again tonight. Speaking of tonight, we'll have the families of two couriers making there way through Damascus. They shall be rejoining their husbands within Masyaf, but need a night's rest within our walls. So be ready for a few children to make an appearance today."
I get more then a bit excited at the thought of meeting more people, especially if they were gonna be kids. "I'll be happy to tell a story or two tonight. Everyone loves a good story, especially tired kids." Desmond answers before adding "Now let's get going! We've got a run to do." Turning on his heel in a spin of fabric and scales the wall within seconds. I grin and race after him, hearing the others do the same. I happily pull myself to the top first, Caspian and Thamir chose behind.
Tramir isn't far behind, easily pulling his body up onto the roof. Desmond nodded at us and announced "Because there are five of us, and quite a few Templar affiliated soldiers, were gonna do things a bit differently. I'm going to go first, like we did in Masyaf, and you'll follow me. Tramir would you mind taking the rear and watching our backs?" Tramir nods and answers "It would be a pleasure."
Desmond hums in acceptance before ordering "Stretch, you'll regret it if you don't later." I nod and begin going through the stretches he showed me, Caspian and Thamir following and we get into a contest for who can stretch the farthest. Tramir gets in on it and, while standing, bends over and touches his toes without any trouble, beating all of us as we could barely brush them still. Desmond chuckled and got our attention before doing the same move as Tramir, only he put both palms on the ground between his feet.
We stare in shock as he adds "Practice. I've been working on that for the last few years of my life. You'll be surprised how much flexibility can help you. Now." he pivots once more on his heel, turning in such away it made the tail of his robes flare out and brush against my leg before adding "Let's go!" He began to run off. I scramble up and rush after him, watching as he races across a beam.
I watch as he crouched down just enough for fix his balance, while still keeping up with a faster pace. I copy his move, crouching down and racing across, grinning when I don't fall. He scaled a wall, pulling himself up over the edge before looking back down at us. I brace my foot on the barrel I notice nearby and jump as high as I can, barely managing to grab onto the ledge. I add my other hand and pull myself up to the top, kicking with my feet as I do so. I pant as I reach the top, that having cost more energy than I expected.
Desmond gives an approving nod as the other two climb up with less effort than I did, Tramir on our tail as he turns and races off again, leaping across beams and landing on the first one lightly, turning to watch us. I grit my teeth and practically skid to a stop, looking over the space. I can't quite make that, Desmond had to leap and caught it on his toes practically… I'll have to go around. I see the other two are thinking it over as Tramir looks worried. I turn to the side, seeing that both buildings go up one more floor before going back down in one building block.
I can climb that and jump down! I smile race over to that as I see one of the others put some space between them and the beams. I guess they're trying to get a running start. I ignore them and scramble up the wall, thankful for the rings for lanterns they had placed there. I make it to the roof and run across, jumping off and tumbling to break my fall. I run by the beams as I think Caspian tried to jump it, missing by an inch and falling, barely catching with his fingers.
Desmond snatched him up, holding him carefully before jumping back to the roof and handing Tramir the shaking boy. Tramir looks at Desmond and angrily asks "You had to have known he wouldn't make that. Why didn't you stop him?" Desmond answers with "It was supposed to make them think around it. Altair realized he couldn't make it, and climbed the building beside it, see?" He motions toward me, Tramir finally seeing me across the gap.
He blinked in shock as Desmond adds "I tried to show them both that there is never only one path. I never would have let him come to harm, I thought he would have seen that he couldn't. I apologize for that. Would you like to return?" Caspian pulled out of the hold and shakily stood, shaking his head and snapped "I'm fine! Let's keep on." He looks around before moving over to another building and leaving my sight.
Desmond leaps across the beams, Tramir following and commenting "I doubt he will forget your lesson for many years. If ever. I apologize for acting rashly, you were smart to show them that." Desmond nods and walks over to me, ruffling my hair and approvingly started "I'm happy you thought your way around it. And it's fine Tramir, you care deeply for the both of them, that's all." I can't keep the happy grin off my face as he starts running again, the others tumbling down and following.
I run at his heels, a little proud at his comment as I try and keep up. He easily stayed ahead of us, but the other two were easily faster than I was, so I was starting to strain to keep up. We climbed, jumped, tumbled and sprinted for the next ten minutes, meaning I was panting and trying not to clutch at the stitch developing in my side. Finally we stopped, landing down on the ground in an alley, only Desmond and Tramir not panting and clutching at various pains.
My feet hurt, my shoulders hurt from tumbling as I landed, my legs hurt from running for so long, even my chest hurt from breathing so deeply. I wanted to dip into the salt pools in Masyaf, but as he let us rest everything steadily dulled down into a small but ever present ache. After a few moments more my chest stopped hurting as Desmond chuckled out "Ready to run again? Or would you like to walk a little?" Tramir instead answered for us by stating "I think a few minutes on the ground would do them good. Come, were almost out of the poor district."
We nod and follow them as they exit, Desmond taking the rear this time. We stick to the markets, which are filled with people, since it was almost midday at this point. My feet still ache, but the rest of me is thankful for the slower pace. Before long though I see a girl running headlong down the street, her soft green dress billowing out around her, her black hair braided behind her. Desmond bolted after her, noting how panicked she looks. He catches her easily, the rest of us following him. "What's happened? Is Nadia okay?" Desmond quickly asks.
The girl pants a moment before panting out "Jasmine went into labor! Nadia is with her, she sent me to get the midwife." Desmond nods sharply and states "Alright. I'll head to her and so what I can do. Altair, you're with me. Tramir, I'll see you back at the Bureau later." Tramir nods and quickly leads his two apprentices off, Desmond letting her go so she can keep running at a breakneck pace.
"Come on, we've got to make sure she's okay. That midwife will take time, and that's something we may not have." He rushed before half running through the crowd with me at his heels. What's so worrying? A baby can't be this worrying, can it? We rush through the streets, suddenly stopping at a small bar. (AN: Distilled Alcohol didn't come around until the 1200's. I'm gonna fudge the time a touch and have it appear sooner for Antiseptic reasons.)
Desmond steps up to the Merchant running it and asks "Give me your strongest, purest alcohol. Now." The man, noticing how Desmond half growled out the last word snatched out a large bottle from under his bar. He set it on the top of the heavy wooden bar and stated "One gold. It's my last bottle, and my next shipment isn't for a week." Desmond grabbed it and passed the gold coin and turned, rushing from the area, making me nearly sprint to keep up.
Before long were at a large building, which had a few people within. The most surprising was the scent, it had the faint scent of wine and a stronger one of incense and candles. However, it had another scent underneath that, one I couldn't place but decided wasn't very pleasant. The place was however beautifully decorated, lush rugs and curtains adorning the walls. There were areas with pillows that were sectioned off with delicately patterned screens. Desmond ignored all of this and marched back toward the curtained wall.
Desmond passed the guard, who nodded like he knew him and pulled the curtain back. As he did, it removed whatever barrier was between us and the rest of the building as I hear soft whimpers from within. Desmond hurries forward as I follow him closely, not sure of what to do. We walk by a kitchen like area before into a larger area with pillows, rugs, and blankets. It looks lush and comfortable, before I notice what has everyone worried.
A woman in a red and white dress leans back against a pillow to the right of the room, facing the left wall with her legs propped up with sweat dripping down her brow. She has another woman to her side, this one in red with black hair, clasping her left hand as she squeezes it tightly. She whimpers again, obviously in pain as Desmond rushed over, a woman in blue looks up at him. She moves from her place between the womans propped up legs.
"Desmond!" She breathes out in curiosity as she stands. "What on earth are you doing here?" He sighs and explained "I'm here to help Nadia. This isn't the first birth I've had to help in, and I doubt it'll be the last. If you want me to, I can get her through this while we wait for the midwife. If not I'll leave and wait for you to tell me when it's okay." I move closer and stand beside him as I nod, a little afraid of what's happening and why she's in so much pain, but wanting to help her nonetheless. Nadia blinks at him a moment before turning to the woman on the floor and asking "Jasmine? It's up to you, do you want him to help?"
Jasmine pants in pain as she grips the hand she's holding tightly a moment while taking tiny breaths before growling out "Let him help if he can… God it hurts…" Desmond drops down immediately and positions himself where Nadia was and states "Okay, I'm going to have to touch you, is that alright?" She nods sharply before hissing in pain. "Altair, run over and grab me a cup of water. Get her to drink it alright?" He suddenly orders me.
I jump and nod, rushing to do as told. It was slightly scary to see all this, and hear how much pain she was in. There were other women in the room, but many of them simply waited to be told to help. "Nadia, I need at least one of them to start boiling water. Were going to need it, and soon. Tell them to wash the bandages in it before hanging them on something to dry." He orders again, adjusting himself so that he's looking at her belly. She nods and rushed to do as told.
I grab and fill a cup with water from a small pitcher nearby, walking over to her and offering the cup. She cries out in pain suddenly, making me jump. She whimpers for a few seconds more before relaxing back to heavy panting. I quietly offer the cup to her, watching her take it and sip at it, draining it after a minute and handing it back. "Altair, come here a moment." I do so, standing to his right.
He unclasped the two bracers on his arms, and I know at least one of them is a hidden blade. But looking at them I couldn't tell which. He pulls a small square of fabric from his belt and ties them up in it, forming a small bag and softly saying "Tie this to your belt. I don't want anyone messing with them." I nod and so as I'm told, watching him tuck his gloves into his belt before pushing up both his sleeves to the elbow.
On his left arm was a beautiful amount of black markings that wrapped around his arm. I couldn't see the full extent of it but I did see the Assassin's symbol mixed within it. I'd never seen anything like it, the marks swirling beautifully across his skin. I'll have to ask later. He looks up again and asks "Grab me a bowl, a large one." I turn back to the kitchen, Nadia grabbing a bowl from a cupboard and passing it down to me. I bring it over and he uncorks the bottle he brought and pours some of it into his hand.
He wiped his hands down in alcohol, much to my confusion. The strong scent making me wrinkle my nose as the excess splashed into the bowl. He takes it then and adds "Sit beside her, she'll need help and comfort. This is only going to get more painful and messy, so I need you to keep a level head and hand me the things I need. I'll have Nadia here as well, but I can't have you panicking. You'll only worry her." I nod shakily, more than slightly afraid of this getting worse.
He gives me a hidden smile before turning back to his task, looking at her belly before asking "Do you know what these are called?" She shakes her head before whimpering again, the pain picking up. "Alright, that pain you're feeling is called contractions. It mean's your body is getting ready to give birth to the little one in your belly. Now I need you to take deeper, but sharper breaths. Like this," He demonstrated the breathing pattern, "It'll make it easier. Try and count how long between the beginning of one contraction and the start of the next okay?"
She nods slowly, sweating profusely as someone walks over and places a tray of towels down on the rug beside us. Desmond gently touches her stomach, feeling for something I guess. He hummed approvingly and asked "The last time your baby kicked, you felt like they were kicking your ribs right?" She nodded again and panted out "Yes, it was an odd one, and painful." I blink and suddenly blurt out "Wait, babies kick!?"
Desmond snorts softly, Jasmine laughing lightly and saying "Yes little one. Babies kick, though each is different. Here," She gently took my hand and placed it on the top left of her belly, "Feel." I wait a moment, nothing happening before a bump suddenly comes from inside her belly. I let out a very surprised, but very manly, squeak. Desmond chuckled as Jasmine smiled, grimacing in pain again before softly added "This one is a very active little one, I'm happy you'll be able to meet them."
I nod with a tiny smile, still worried about how it's going to get from in her belly to out here, but having faith that Desmond can help until a midwife gets here. I remember the first time my dad explained where the babies I saw came from, most he said I'd learn when I was older, however he did explain that the woman would grow them in her belly until they were ready to see the world. He didn't go into exactly how that happened but I guess I was about to find out.
The next hour passed in a blur of her whimpering and crying out, sometimes screaming, with Desmond asking questions, occasionally I helped her get her breathing back on track. Mostly I sat there and tried to help, but mostly felt useless. Desmond stayed calm through all of it, not even blinking an eye to any of the pain and sudden amounts of fluid that came from somewhere and coated his hands.
Before long the girl I had seen earlier came rushing back, panting as she held onto a counter and clung to her side. "Faiza! Where is the midwife?" Nadia hurriedly asks from the place she had taken beside Desmond. She shook her head heavily, hair having come down partially to hang in her face.
"She can't come, a noble women went into labor before Jasmine, so she was called away before we got there. We're on our own…" She panted out after a minute, causing quite a bit of panic. I see Jasmine's breathing start to pick up and hurriedly say "But we have Desmond! He's done this before, so I'm sure we'll be fine. Right Nadia?" I throw her a glare to make sure she agreed with me, watching her nod with a smile and add "I agree. We'll be fine without her, just keep breathing Jasmine, you're in good hands."
She nods slowly, tensing again with a contraction. "Altair, can you hand me the bottle there?" Desmond asks after a few moments. I grab the bottle and remove the cork before passing it to him. He smiled at me as I hand it to him. He poured some on his hands again, using it to wash them before applying it to a bandage he had me hand him. Somehow I feel like this is about to get a lot worse.
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Altair POV - Eight Hours Later
(AN1: Depictions of Birth, and a lot that entails.)
(AN2: Human birth! If you don't wanna hear about it just skip to the last two sentences. Human birth can take up to 3 days with really bad complications that generally result in hospitalization and other problems, generally fetal and parental death. Statistically, a woman's first child can take over twelve hours to deliver, which is why they ask how many children you have. Thus this one doesn't take as long due to it being her second child. Also, childbirth is one of the messiest experiences for any person, remember this.)
She let's out another scream, clasping Nadia's and Safiyya's hands tightly as she arched slightly. I helped Desmond as he worked between her legs, taking the bowl full of soiled bandages to the kitchen, where they were removed and new ones were given to me on the tray. I rushed back to Desmond and Jasmine, hearing her scream again as a contraction hit. It was nearly dark now, and her strength was starting to fade.
This had been terrifying at first, the screaming and orders. However I kinda just shut some of it out after the first hour. All that mattered now was helping her and getting the baby here hopefully without problems. Desmond hadn't moved from his spot between her legs, keeping a constant chorus of positive words as she pushed and struggled with this. However, some things I couldn't completely shut out.
I wince as I don't know how to help anymore than I am, Desmond seems to be perfectly calm. He didn't even blink any more when she screamed, letting her work through the pain. Nadia carefully wiped down her forehead, Safiyya shakily holding her hand. "Okay, on the next one Jasmine, I need you to push as hard as you can alright?" Desmond suddenly asks, watching her carefully. She nods rapidly, panting in both pain and exertion.
It's not even a minute before she's crying out again, but this time Desmond encouraged her. "Good, keep that up, just like that. Once more when you can, we're almost there." On her next contraction she screams, voice echoing around the room. "Hey there little one! I've got their head, just wait a second." Desmond happily beams, grabbing a rag and wiping something, his hands oddly placed close to her. "Okay, one more and we should have it." She nods, and tries when the next contraction hits, but something goes wrong.
I see Desmond's smile fade slightly and Jasmine picks up on it. "What's wrong!" She worriedly asks, trying to look but unable. He blinks a second before stating "There shoulder is stuck on your pelvis… Safiyya, grab her leg and bend it back, Altair you do the same." I grab her leg and Desmond helps us push them back until they're nearly parallel with her chest. "Okay, try again." Desmond adds now that she's altered her position. With this I can also barely see that he's holding something.
She screams again, pushing as hard as she could before a second screaming joins with hers, far higher pitched than hers had been. Desmond chuckles as he's suddenly holding an infant in his arms, cradling it gently. It's coated in something slimy and pinkish, as the little one's pink and squirming. And loud. Jasmine laughs and smiles in joy, letting go of both her friends and reaching out toward her baby. Desmond grabbed a large cloth and wrapped them up before handing them over.
She laughed with an awed joy, cradling the little one close as Desmond busied himself a moment before he moves closer with two strips of fabric. He tied off the weird, slimy cord between the both of them in two spots, leaving space between before coating a small knife from his belt in the alcohol he got earlier, suddenly reaching over and slicing the cord between the two ties. Safiyya and I gently let her legs go as she relaxed slightly, Desmond laughing and beamed out "Congratulations, you have a healthy baby boy. What would you like to name him? Or have you decided yet?"
She hummed, holding the tiny dark haired baby in her arms. "I quite like Desmond." She suddenly mused, giving the larger Desmond a smile. He chuckles and replies "I would be honored." I try to peer closer, seeing that is looks really squishy and pink. She adjusts suddenly, moving enough so I can get a better look as she smiles and asks "What do you think of his name?"
The infant is still coated in whatever is was that Desmond had on him, but the wrapping around it was helping it dry off slightly. Tiny Desmond was crying loudly, but I could see that he had the same shaped nose as Jasmine, yet his hair was darker then hers. I throw her and baby Desmond a warm smile and answer "I like it."
I get more then one smile in return as Desmond slowly works on whatever is left to do. After a few minutes I notice he's scraping something into the bowel I got him so many hours ago. "Why don't you try feeding him if you can, that may help his crying." Desmond gently proposes as he hands the bowel to another woman. He gently places bandages between her legs before covering her up completely and urging Nadia over. "Can you rub her stomach like this? It'll help with the last of the bleeding, as will her feeding him." He gently asks, showing her a circular motion.
She nods with a warm smile and does as asked, watching Jasmine and her new little one. Desmond leaves for a few minutes, giving me time to marvel over the tiny thing that took so many hours to appear. As time passed he lost some of the brightness, and his skin went from an almost angry reddish pink to a softer pink. Jasmine looked at her baby with something close to awe, but filled with love.
It made my heart ache a little, wondering if my mother looked at me like that before she died. Or if she even got a chance to hold me before she died. Did she love me? Did she look at me with the same love and awe as she is? Did my father happily help her choose my name? Or was my name choosing sad as he mourned my mother… Desmond walks back into the room, looking a bit cleaner than he had before.
He smiled slightly before softly laughing out "Come on Altair, let's get back home. We'll be back tomorrow okay?" I nod slowly as Jasmine beams at him, smiling and cuddling her baby closer as the others start making there way over. Desmond grabbed the bottle and wrapped it in one of the few bandages left.
Desmond and I quietly leave after a few goodbyes, the exhaustion of all that emotional stress comes bearing down upon me. I let out a heavy sigh as we walk out into the cooler air. Desmond quickly pulls his sleeves back down, covering the markings on his arm. We walk in relative silence through the rapidly quieting streets, the sun nearly completely gone by this point. Desmond sighs happily as he stretched his arms over his head, adjusting on of the straps on his robes.
"Do you think my mother looked at me like that?" I suddenly ask him, quietly picking at my gloves. Desmond hums a moment and confesses "Your father spoke to me about your birth once. We were both very drunk admittingly, but he always said that she very nearly hissed at him when he tried to hold you. She held you for nearly six hours, cuddling and cooing to you, even naming you Altair. Your father believed it was because she had a feeling that she wouldn't make it, so she held you till she couldn't anymore. She loved you very dearly Altair, even if she only knew you for a few hours."
I blink up at him, surprised that I actually got an answer. I smile softly and look back down at my hands. So she did want me… My smile brightens at the thought, adding a bounce to my step and making me pick up the pace. "Werent they bringing new people today?" I ask him, remembering what the Rafiq said earlier. He nods and I say "Then let's run!" He laughs happily, moving in front on me before running off, letting me easily fall in step behind him.
It's far too soon when we make it back to the Bureau, climbing down the fountain into the room below. Desmond just jumps down, rolling to his feet in one smooth move. I laugh as I dart forward, rushing into the other room and seeing Tramir and his apprentices. "She had a boy!" I excitedly half shouted, hearing Desmond follow me into the room and chuckled before adding "He was born about an hour ago. He's a healthy little guy with a strong set of lungs, she's decided to name him Desmond."
Tramir laughs at the name before nodding. "I bet she's excited, a healthy boy is always a good sign." He praised lightly before continuing with "In other news, our friends are already here. They just got settled, they'll join us to eat soon." Desmond nods and stretches, letting out a soft yawn. I yawn myself a few seconds later, Caspian right behind me. We laugh as everyone systematically yawned, one right after the other. Desmond excuses himself for a minute, saying he needed to change.
Tramir ushered us all into the main room with the fountain, urging us to take a seat amongst the pillows. After a few minutes our guests came in, two boys and three girls. Everyone happily introduced themselves before food was brought to us. I was starving, and I ate like it, causing me to gain a sneer from the eldest girl, who I think was named Nerissa. I ignored her and kept eating, finishing before anyone else.
Desmond joined us after a bit, in a new far cleaner robe. I sip at the small cup of tea in my hands, careful not to burn my tongue on the scalding brew. I grimaced in obvious distaste. "Why do I need to keep drinking this?" I ask Desmond, peering up at my mentor. He chuckles good naturedly and explains "Because that is something that will make sure you don't get sick again. Besides, the doctor told you you'll have to keep drinking it every night for four more days."
I quietly pout as I sip at the drink, making a face at the sharply bitter taste. Desmond chuckles again but let's me be. "Desmond my friend! It has been some time." One of the guards exclaims as he sits to my mentors left, grinning happily as he adds "You should entertain us with a tale! Your stories always brought a chill to my bones and a shiver to my spine!" I perk up instantly upon hearing this. "Please Desmond!?" I ask quickly, looking at my mentor with a hopeful expression.
"Oh please! That would be fun! Tell us of princesses!" A smaller girl with dark black hair named Raisa adds, clapping her hands in excitement. She had on a soft brown dress like the one the woman behind her wore, tied with a black sash. Her hair was darker than I'm guessing her mother's, as they had the same shade of light brown eyes. She looked about six, her hair kept back in a slightly unkempt braid.
"No, monsters! Dragons and beasts slain by heroes!" I guess her brother interjects, sitting excitedly beside her, I think his name was Ittia. His outfit was brown, like the girl. But his hair was a dark brown like the woman behind them, yet his eyes were a far darker brown than either of them had. He looked older as well, almost seven by the looks of him. His hair was cut shorter, almost like mine was done. His did however have a small scar on his face, over his right eye on his forehead. Like something had scratched him.
"What of romance and love? I don't want a silly story with nothing but men swinging swords." The Nerissa states, braiding her brown hair while looking to Desmond. Both she and her mother wore brown and white dresses, the white in the sash that was tied tightly around her waist. Her eyes were nearly black, like her mother's, and the small boy beside her. The littlest girl was carefully held by the woman, cradled gently in her lap as she ate. Respectively, they looked about ten, five and two.
Desmond hums softly, thinking a moment as he tries to find us a story. "Perhaps this one shall work." He muses, adjusting in his spot. (AN: He's gonna tell them a version of How To Train Your Dragon, which I do not own. Just a tiny kinda obvious Disclaimer.) "Out across the ocean, far from here, a few days north of hopeless, and a little south of freezing to death, Lies an island called Berk. One would almost say, it was located on a meridian of misery." He began, taking a sip of his tea after a moment as we all settle in our places.
He gave us a small smile as he continued with "The men and women upon it were called Vikings, a strong and proud. They had a very different religion than the ones around here. They had Gods, plural. They were famous for their raiding parties, and savage fighting style. They had lived for seven generations on that island, yet every building was new. Because every night, flying from the misty ocean, came Dragons."
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Altair POV - (AN: Yeah we're skipping some of the story.)
"So Hiccup adjusted his helmet, and stepped into the arena, hearing everyone cheering and waiting for him… I think we can leave it there for tonight." He ends with, humor tinging his voice. "What?" I hiss out, wanting to know how it ends. The guard snickered beside him as Desmond shakes his head with a knowing smile. "Look to my other listeners Altair." He gently urges, making me turn to look at the others.
Tramir was nodding off beside Caspian and Thamir, who were using each other as pillows as they started falling asleep. The others were in varying positions, all looking rather tired. After a moment of looking I realize how tired I was myself, letting out a soft yawn, one Desmond copies after a moment. "Come on, off to bed. Tramir, you do the same with those two." Desmond quietly coaxed, standing from his place as everyone began to do the same, urging children toward bed, or stretching out across the cushions like the two guards.
"I prefer to see the stars, safety and peace brother." The largest guard said, laying down under the open section of the bureau roof. The other guards either did the same or went to a room farther within the building. I yawned once more as I made my way back to my room, stretching my arms over my head as I did so. "Make sure you stretch again before you sleep, if not you'll regret it later." Desmond reminds me before he tiredly went into his own room, shutting the door softly behind him.
I walk into my own room, shutting the door and whining softly in annoyance. I didn't want to stretch again, my arms and legs hurt enough as it is! I groan again and stop a moment. He won't know if I just… Don't do them. He won't even notice! I grin at my plan, pulling off my gloves and beginning to move toward my trunk before stopping. If I change right now then he'll know… So instead I count up to two hundred, making sure I waited long enough before changing into my nightclothes. I happily crawled under the blankets, snuggling into the warmth they provided as I quickly fell asleep.
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Altair POV - Dawn
I groan softly in pain as I wake up, my legs cramping as my shoulders and back ached in pain. Oh god I regret it. So much, so very very much. I whimper as I stretch out my legs, climbing from bed and painfully going through the stretches Desmond had showed me. Each move hurt, my muscles cramping and complaining loudly at the movement. I hear Desmond's door open, but he doesn't knock on my door and I thank my luck that he's letting me be for a little bit.
I sit on the floor, feeling my body twitch in pain as I try and stop from making to much noise. If he finds out then I'll get in so much trouble for not doing as he said. I jump when someone knocks on my door, the jump having caused pain to ripple down my body and making me whimper. "May I come in?" Desmond suddenly asks from the other side of the door. "Yeah... " I reply, hearing and seeing him open the door. He walks in, carrying two cups and sits down across from me.
"You're not going to forget to stretch again, are you?" He commented, raising an eyebrow at me. I flinch and shake my head, trying to make myself look smaller. Desmond hummed in acceptance before handing me one of the cups. "It'll help with the pain and cramps. It's hot, so sip slowly." I nod, sipping at the hot drink. It was vaguely sweet, but had hints of lemon and something else.
"Now, while that helps I'm going to teach you a few things that I learned from a rather distant relative of mine. This, is called Lemon Ginger Tea. It's very good for muscle pain and body aches, as well as taste. I tend to put to little honey in it actually, so I don't know if it's up to your standards." He added as he sipped at his own cup. "I'm not in trouble?..." I softly ask, a little afraid of him being angry at me.
He shakes his head and replies "I think the pain you're feeling is enough of a punishment on it's own. So instead, you get a lesson on medicine." I sigh in relief as he adds "You will run later though, it'll hurt more if you don't." I groan as he chuckles. "Now, let's get started. What do you know about ginger root?" I blink in confusion and say "Um… It tastes great in food?" He shakes his head with a small laugh. "I guess I have my work cut out for me."
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A cookie to whoever can guess which 'Distant Relative' Desmond was talking about. Comment! Review! Tell me what you think!