Aveline had been gone for a few months, and every day without her being near him was taking its toll on Connor.
In the beginning, the days following her departure back to New Orleans because of an issue dealing with Agate and the Company Man, he had been in a stupor. Though there had been pressing matters for him to attend to, he had neglected nearly all of them. The ones he didn't, he delegated to a few members of the Homestead or asked Achilles to appear in his absence.
Connor didn't really know what to do after Aveline had left. He knew that she would have had to return to New Orleans eventually, but still, he had hoped that she wouldn't be needed. Their relationship, if he could call it that, seemed promising, but now it was nothing. She hadn't sent him a letter or any indication that she was even alive in weeks. The first two letters they had received from her were about her safe arrival back to her home and some information about Templar movements from the South into the North.
He hoped that she would mention missing him as much as he missed her, but she hadn't.
Even now, it was hard for him to go into the study. Whenever he was in the room, his mind would dredge up the memory of Aveline pressed against him. Every little detail of that night, of their passion came into vivid detail, and it all pained him.
Shortly after her letters stopped coming, Connor had thrown himself into his duties. First, it started out as simple chores around the Homestead such as fixing up leaky roofs, constructing stables, and the likes. Then he got word about Lee's movements. The pursuit of the man had been enough distraction from his yearning for Aveline for a couple of months, but when he lost tract of the man, he spiraled right back into his lovesick ways.
Sighing, Connor straightened and went about stretching his muscles out. He had been asked by one of the farmers' wife to help patch up a chicken coop. It had turned out to be more than he bargained for. The wood had rotted in a few places, making the entire structure unstable. Basically, he had to reconstruct the entire thing, but it had been good work. Kept his mind clear for a few more days.
Groaning a bit as he leaned back to ease the kinks out of his back, Connor looked up into the clear sky, wiping sweat from his brow. The hens clucked around him, some pecking at his pants or the ground beneath him, begging for food. The greedy little things.
Connor smiled and bent over, getting out the rest of the kinks in his sides and back and packing up his tools. He didn't have seed for them today.
"Sorry, ladies. I'm done with your home, and now I must be getting back to mine." As he walked from the hens, the kicked up a protest and followed. He had to jump the fence to keep them within their confines. A laugh caught him off guard, and as he turned, he saw Achilles coming his way.
"Is this what you've been doing with your spare time, boy? Playing with chickens?" Achilles chuckled again before pulling Connor into a quick hug. He was glad that Connor had decided to get back into doing work rather than wonder around the house like a lost puppy, but he missed the kid. They hadn't shared much leisure time together since Aveline left.
"Just finished that coop over there. Rotted wood. Had to redo the entire thing." He indicated the structure with a tilt of his head. He watched Achilles eye is work and smiled when the old man gave a grunt of approval.
"Do you need something?" Connor asked, realizing that Achilles only ever actively searched for him when something required his immediate response.
Achilles stood before the Native and studied his face before sighing. His shoulders slumped and his face fell, making him out to be older than he actually was. "I had hoped that when the news came it would be something happier."
Connor perked up, already frowning. Various thoughts raced through his head. All of them horrible. "Does it have anything to do with Washington? Lee? My tribe?" He swallowed down the lump in his throat. "Aveline?"
Achilles had shook his head at the first three names before looking at him with utter sorrow and a hint of distain at the mention of Aveline's name. Connor stepped and turned away from Achilles, hand flying to streak through his hair before rubbing down his face. Emotions he had been determined to bury surfaced.
"...what happened to her?" His voice came out more stricken than me meant to reveal. He had to clear his throat a few times, steeling himself mentally and physically for whatever Achilles might say.
"She... I have received news from a few reliable acquaintances that— " Achilles sighed deeply. "Aveline has joined with the Templars."
Confusion and relief equally ebbed from Connor through a deep exhale that left him slightly dizzy. Aveline, a Templar? He spun on his heel to face Achilles. "Are you believed this? You know firsthand how much she hates Templars! What would she join them? She about killed my father before I got to it." The mention of Haytham brought up more emotions that Connor didn't want to deal with at the moment.
"I know. Do you not think that I wouldn't have researched this myself? I've sent out some very trustworthy men of my own to Louisiana to access the situations. They've been sending me word about her actions. It is official. She has joined the Templars. She is working with the very person she came here to find out about. Do you not think that this news tears me up inside? I know better than you what she has been through. But the fact remains the same. She is now a threat to us. She is our enemy just like any other Templar agent. I wish it wasn't true, but it is." Achilles nearly shouted at Connor but reigned in his temper. He was just as bewildered at the outcome as Connor.
Connor shook his head. "No, you intel is wrong. Aveline wouldn't do that. She hates the Templars... yes, she had her doubts and concerns about the Brotherhood, but... this is ridiculous. I refuse to believe this until I've seen it with my own eyes."
With that, Connor took off, heading in the direction of Achilles' home with Achilles on his heel.
"Connor!" Achilles' tone told him to stop, but Connor ignored it, storming into the house and replacing the thin, sweat soaked shirt he wore for a fresher one and then his coats. He had nearly finished stuffing a few essential items into a sack before Achilles came busting into the room.
"Where do you think you're going? Do you honestly think you should be going to New Orleans? Boy, the people there are no different, even worse, than the people here. Look how they treat my people. What do you think they'll do to you, a Native?"
Connor's jaw clenched, but he didn't respond. He just shoveled past Achilles and down the stairs. Once again, Achilles followed him as they made their way into the kitchen. He continued to try and reason with Connor as the younger filled up his sack with assorted snacks and tools.
The one sided argument continued as they got outside where Connor strapped down his sack to the first horse he came to. Seeing that his words weren't being heeded, Achilles sighed again.
"Alright. Go. Go to New Orleans. I hope what you find there is what you were expecting."
Connor nodded to him, setting off in a flash. Achilles followed again, shouting, "I expect you both back alive!" He caught the flash of a smile cross Connor's lips before the man disappeared out of his sight. Achilles turned on his heels and headed back indoors. He wasn't going to sit on the sidelines.
Aveline sat beside the window in her new room, gazing out at the people idling walking by in the street below. It was still early, nearly noon. She had been up for a while, unable to sleep. Though she had been living in the room for a little more than a month, it still didn't feel like home to her.
Madeline had told her to take the day off since she wouldn't be needed for whatever business the other woman had left to attend to. Though, she had protested, wanting to have as much insight into the Order as she could, Madeline had been stubborn.
Now she was forced to house sit while the woman was away. There wasn't even much for her to do. Though she had joined the Order months ago, Madeline had shown her little about it, just stating that the Templars were a noble and almighty service bestowed upon mankind for their own good and that Aveline would need time to purge herself of her Assassin roots.
It seemed Madeline's idea of purging was leaving her to herself, forbidding her from leaving the house, and occasionally making her attend parties to collect intel and become acquainted with other agents. Her stepmother had been ecstatic when Aveline had decided to throw away her foolish devotion to the Brotherhood to join the Templar Order.
Aveline didn't share in her sentiment. She was still confused about the workings of both organizations. The Templars had corrupted her life, taken away her mother and her mentor, Agate, but the Brotherhood hadn't been all that great either. She'd seen many comrades done away with because their "inability" to follow the Creed. She was the ugly of both worlds, but some of the good as well.
It was nice to see Madeline and her father again, even if Madeline was the Company Man, the person she sought to kill all those months ago. The Brotherhood wasn't a complete waste either. She grew stronger than she thought possible under her mentor's guidance and the friendships she forged while being an Assassin. Plus, there was Connor.
She sighed, resting her forehead against the window glass and fogging up the clear view of the streets below. Whenever she had any amount of time alone to herself, she would often find herself thinking of Connor. Not a day would pass when she missed his embrace. It had been hard to stay this long away from him, knowing what could happen between them and knowing that she wanted that intimacy with him.
Aveline never let on to anyone about what happened back at Achilles' Homestead. She just stated that she had gotten caught up in the tiff between the redcoats and Washington's men. No one questioned her over it since it was common knowledge about Washington's revolution. People talked about it frequently at the events that she had been forced to go to.
A knock sounded at her door, drawing her attention to the fragile African woman, named Marie Louise, who she had befriended the moment she was brought to the house.
"Miss Aveline, Madame Madeline has requested you join her for brunch." Marie Louise walked over to her side, looking out the window to see what Aveline had been looking at. It had taken the better part of a month to the woman to stop addressing her formally. Aveline never treated anyone, slave or not, as nothing less than an equal.
"She still makes you call her 'Madame'?" Aveline lightly chuckled. Madeline didn't care about slavery, but she did adhere to social standards.
"It's not so bad. Now, hurry along. I don't want to have extra chores because I got you dressed and ready late. Come along." Marie Louise turned and headed towards the closet full of the pretty and expensive custom dresses that Madeline had bought Aveline. A lady was suppose to look her best at all times after all according to Madeline.
Aveline frowned at what Marie Louise said. She hated that she couldn't do anything about the predicament her friend was in, but she wouldn't worsen it. Following the woman, Aveline got ready for another party she knew she'd hate.
Once ready, Aveline stood in front of a mirror with Marie Louise behind her. The other woman stopped fussing over the bow on top of Aveline's hat and stepped back, beaming. "Miss Aveline. You're a doll. All the guys are going to be asking you to dance tonight." She laughed and Aveline gave her a small smile.
"I'm not interested in the men here, Marie. The only one I want is miles away, and I fear we'll never meet again."
Marie Louise looked at her in surprise. "And who would this young man be? I must know." The woman beamed at the news, sprouting off all types of questions about the mystery man in Aveline's life. Aveline waved them off, heading out the room with the woman following behind her.
"Enough, Marie. I don't want to talk about."
"Alright, Miss Aveline. I'll bring it up later." Aveline turned a playful glare to Marie Louise, but the woman made a beeline for the kitchen after they made it to the parlor. Madeline was waiting for Aveline and stood upon the entrance of her stepdaughter.
"Well, aren't you a knock out. The men won't know what to do with themselves when they see you." She giggled, and Aveline faked a smile.
"I hear we are going to brunch?" She didn't want to delay this more than necessary.
Madeline nodded before coming closer to Aveline. "Yes, but before that, we have more pressing matters. I think it's time for your first assignment." Madeline smiled like it was something that Aveline should openly jump for joy over.
"I am honored you think I'm ready."
"You are my kin. I've always known you were skilled, but nothing so far has been worthy of your skill. Till now of course. But, we'll discuss this more later. Come along. Our carriage and your future husband awaits you're arrival." Madeline giggled again as they left.
Aveline just sighed and followed her stepmother out the door, absentmindedly rubbing the fabric of her right arm which covered her hidden blade. The emblem engraved on it reminded her of Connor.
Her future husband, hmm?
