Author's Note: It's been so long since I've been MIA. I'm going through some stuff but I haven't forgotten about this. I could never forget such a passion.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)
Davenport Homestead...
Upon entering the manor, Connor hastily stomped to the back door, turning to move into the dining room.
"Welcome back!" Violette heard Achilles greet Connor and she rushed over immediately as he approached the old man.
"You left us in Boston!" the young Native sneered.
"Connor..." Violette tried to keep her partner calm. She wasn't pleased with what Achilles had done either, but she knew that their mentor had only the best intentions for them and he wouldn't do such a thing if he thought them incapable of helping themselves.
"The training we've done here is all well and good, but experience is a better teacher by far." Achilles explained his decision.
"What of my father?" Connor asked the old man, agitation still distinct in his tone.
"Into the wind, I'm afraid." the old man frowned at the thought.
"We have to find him!" the boy demanded.
"And we will." the old man agreed, "After the house has been repaired."
"But he's out there plotting who knows what!" Connor informed their mentor, his hand lifting to point in no particular direction for emphasis.
"And what would you do when you found him? If you found him?" Achilles asked the teen, "You're a boy with a few months of training. He's a man, full grown, who's spent decades honing his skills."
"Il Mentore (the Mentor) is right, Connor. Be reasonable, per favore (please)." Violette tried to get through to him once more, stepping forward to grab hold on his shoulder this time.
He glanced at her and stayed silent, but she could feel his muscles relax and that was good enough for her to be at ease as well.
"If you're going to stand a chance against the Templars," Achilles spoke up, moving to grab one of the polished boxes from the covered dining table, "You're going to need these." he finished, picking the box up and offering it to Connor.
Connor stopped his pacing, taking the box decorated with the Insignia of the Assassins on the top of it with a frown still upon his lips.
Achilles picked the other box up, calling the young girl over and she took it with a nod of gratitude. Looking to her friend, they both opened the boxes to see a pair of gauntlets sitting within.
Simultaneously looking to their Mentor with wide smiles on their faces, he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of them, "Go on, before I change my mind."
They put their gauntlets on either side of their forearms, showing them to their Mentor when done, who gave a nod of approval in return. Violette twisted her wrist about to break the new material in, being met with a blade popping out of place upon her wrist being flicked back.
"Magnifico..." she mumbled at the beautiful weapon.
"Hey!" the three heard, Violette being startled by the banging on the window, "Help!"
Connor and Violette stepped outside, the man banging on the window stopping and running up to them, "You, Sir, please! Help! He's going to die!" he exclaimed anxiously, running off.
The two looked at each other before they followed suit until the man stopped at the riverside, "Down there!" he showed them, pointing out to a man clinging on to a long desperately, "He's just passed under the bridge!"
Connor took route through a series of trees and branches, using rocks in the river to aid him in catching up to the drifting man while Violette ran alongside the river, being halted by a wolf that suddenly lunged at her. It took all the strength it had in her to keep the beast's teeth from her neck while she utilized her new weapon, thrusting it into the side of the animal's neck; a whimper escaping as it took its last breath.
"There is a waterfall at the end of this river, Connor!" she reminded him, seeing him pick up pace and doing the same. He'd finally caught a point where he could jump in and save the man and did so, swimming him to the safely of the land where the two were met and aided by his counterpart.
The man lied on the cold ground, coughing and spitting up water as the man who asked of their help finally approached them, bending over to catch his own breath.
"What this knob-end is trying to say is: he's forever in your debt, Sir." he spoke to Connor, helping the Native to his feet.
Connor was met with Violette's arms wrapping around his neck, pulling him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her, returning the gesture.
"Who you callin' a knob-end?" the rescued man said as he continued to regain his bearings.
"You." the other explained, leaning over him, "Because you are one." he finished, smacking him on the arm lightly before grabbing it to help his friend up.
"What were you doing on those logs?" Violette asked the man as he was being helped up.
"One of the dangers of lumberin'." he started, "We've got the camp set up a few roads off of here, as we're cuttin' timber. We're hoping to open a mill in the area." he explained.
"There is a good place not far from the manor on the hill where we are staying." Connor offered.
Violette looked at him, windering if it was a good idea for her partner to just offer them such a thing without speaking to their Mentor first.
"Ha!" the man gave out a brief chuckle, "I like you already." he told Connor, giving him a light smack on the arm, "We'll have a look."
Connor and Violette proceeded to return to the manor, convincing Achilles to come with them to meet the two men, Godfrey and Terry along with their wives, to speak of them setting up a sawmill on the Homestead. Reluctantly, the old man agreed, commenting that he would miss the peace and quiet, but having the lumber to their disposal was certainly a benefit of having a mill so close by. Violette reminded their Mentor that the manor was in dire need of repairs and wood was a huge part of it. It was then that Achilles asked them to meet him by a small shack by the shoreline of the lake behind the manor, stated that there was something they needed to see. When they asked what it was, the only thing the old man told them was that it was an asset before wobbling his way back to the comforts of him home.
Connor turned to Violette, "We should train." he suggested, "Perhaps archery."
She nodded her head in agreement, "Would you like to make a small game out of it?" she smiled mischievously.
"Every time you say that and I accept your offer, we get scolded or worse." he informed her, hesitant to even listen to her idea.
"Mia amico (my friend), what could possibly go wrong?"
Perhaps setting the targets to face the manor was not the greatest of ideas. Indeed, they did get punished when one rogue arrow went right through the kitchen window, shattering one of the center panes and almost killing Annabelle. Achilles was furious that they would put their own friends' lives at risk and ordered them to clean the training room, stating that he didn't want to see 'a single speck of dust'. Fortunately, he was not the type of man to let his children starve, but it was off to bed immediately after supper. Their meeting by the old shack would have to wait until the following day.
Connor was prompted to wake Violette up during the course of the night, being woken up by her screams and cries. She often had the recurring nightmare of the night her mother died and was always woken up by Connor cradling her, reassuring her that she was safe in his arms, promising that she would never be hurt by anyone again.
As Connor and Violette were making their way to the shack Achilles requested them by, Violette decided to wander off in another direction, not caring to be near water. Connor made his way over to the shack on his own, not caring to fall into any more punishment by Achilles for his partner's sake.
Passing by a man who appeared out of sorts and babbling on about some sacred treasure, Connor approached his mentor without a word of Violette's whereabouts—though Achilles wasn't very surprised. That girl seemed to be more trouble than she was worth at times, but she was genuine about following the path of her ancestor; which was much better than following the path that her father had taken.
Achilles gestured for his student to knock on the door of the shack, the young Native doing just that and promptly being told to 'go 'way' in return. He turned to his Mentor, who urged him to go inside.
Opening the door, he was greeted by the man within, "Said 'go 'way', boy. O'ya not speak the King's English?"
Violette wouldn't have liked him. He reeked of alcohol and lived on the shore of a lake, and seemed unkempt. Connor covered his nose for a few seconds from the stench of him, furrowing his brows and staying away from him as much as possible.
Connor stepped in, moving to the side so that Achilles could come in as well.
"Oh, I didn't see you there, old man. I'd of set my home in order if I'd known you'd be callin'."
"The boy's name is Connor," Achilles began, "and there's a girl named Violette—but she has some business to attend to. They're here to restore the property."
"Restore?" the man repeated, his expression going from one of confusion to realization, "Restore!" he said again, motioning to get up, if he even could, "Pardon my manners!" He stood up, walking outside and stretching out his arm across the lake to a half-sunken ship, "She's still the fastest in the Atlantic. Sure, she needs some attention...minor things, mostly, but with a little affection, she'll fly again." he said with his sudden burst of enthusiasm.
"Who is 'she'?" Connor asked the man, who immediately turned to him.
"Who is she? Why, the Aquila, boy!" he explained, looking out once more, "The Ghost of the North Seas!"
"The boat." Connor stated.
"B-B...a boat?! She's a ship, boy, and make no mistake about it!" the man said, moving closer to Connor, who immediately backed away with his hand to his nose. He turned to Achilles, "I thought you brought him here to restore order! I reckon he's the greenest thing on the frontier!" he gave his opinion of the Native to his associate.
Achilles tilted his lowered head in his student's direction—a gesture both of them were used to long ago, "Connor, meet me back at the manor when you're finished here." he ordered, turning to make his way back, "And find that girl before she gets into more trouble."
The young Native pointed out to the ship, eyes adverting to the old man, "You said it requires repairs. You able?" he asked.
"She does need work—a ship is a she, boy" the man voiced once more, tapping his finger on the boy's chest, "and yes, I can refit her, but I'm lacking in the proper supplies. Some...some quality timber would help me get started." he informed the teen.
"I can see to that. How long before it—she—is able to sail again?" Connor asked.
The man turned to him as he corrected himself, leaning against the shack, "Just get me the lumber, boy," he said, suddenly sliding down to the floor, "and I'll raise a crew..." he finished, his burst of energy dissipated.
"Now to find Violette..."
She wasn't expecting anybody to be up on this hill when she began her hike to the top, but there was a group of five men. She crouched within the bushes, observing them. What were they up to?
There was a struggle with one man against a couple others and suddenly, he was pushed over the edge. He was attached to a rope wrapped around his feet and his scream didn't carry on to the bottom, but it ceased shortly after. Perhaps he'd hit his head against the rocks and fell unconscious.
Violette wasted no time in saving the man if she was able to. She ran up behind one of the men, ejecting her hidden blade and driving it into his spine and pushing him over, bending down to plummet the blade into the back of his neck. The other men reacted with brief shock before drawing their own weapons and taking their stance to fight against her.
She moved to attack the next man, but was met with the back of his hand across her face while the other men shouted about the 'dirty things' they'd do to her after this. The man moved to make his attack after stunning her, but she maneuvered under the swing of his axe, grabbing another man's leg and pulling him off of his feet, slitting his throat with her blade.
Standing up and now standing opposed to the other two men, she continued moving sideways while they watched her, buying her time to sheath her hidden blade and pull out her sword; prompting the axeman to make a move. She once again rolled out of his line of attack, only to have the last gunman hold her down with his rifle.
The axeman approached, readying his weapon to make a forceful attack on her. Her heart was racing. She'd never been in a position like this, but this was no time to idly think of what she could do, only to act. With that, she unsheathed her hidden blade, driving it into his thigh. The man cried out in agony only to be silenced quickly by his own ally's axe, the power behind the swing too much for the man to stop his own weapon.
The man stood in shock for a moment and that was his mistake. Violette drove her sword through his chest, pulling it out only to slice him across the chest a couple more times before slicing his throat and driving her hidden blade into the side of his neck, standing still as he fell over with his last breath.
She wiped her brow, chest heaving in adrenaline and a hint of excitement that she'd managed to take down a small group of bad-doers on her own.
"Violette?!" her name drawing her attention to see her partner, his expression being one of surprise.
"Connor! Help me pull this man up." she requested, leaning by the edge of the cliff.
He looked over to see the man, who was now awake, screaming for help, "How did he end up like this?" he asked as he took hold of the rope, her following suit.
"The men I fought had thrown him over." she explained as Connor grabbed his legs, pulling him back onto the ground.
The man held on to the edge of the cliff, giving his thanks to whoever saved his life.
"Are you alright, signore?" Violette asked, kneeling by his side.
"I think so," he said as he lifted himself up a bit, "Didn't do much to me aside from a good scare. Blaggards."
"What did they want with you?" Connor asked the man.
"My purse, which was meager and they decided they'd punish me for their trouble." he explained as he turned himself around. Connor worked to untie the knots around his feet, "Silly really, my tools and equipment were worth a king's share to the right man." he continued, giving Connor a pat on his shoulder after both of them stood up, "In any case, I best get on my way. It's a long walk to the nearest inn. I thank you both, again, for your kindness." he gave his gratitude once more, shaking Connor's hand and holding Violette's for a couple seconds.
"Have you no home, signore?" she asked the man.
"Ah, well," he began with a chuckle, "I was a proud resident of Boston until recently, but I'm not a supporter of his majesty and, well, I was forced out of my wood shop and home by Loyalists." he answered.
"There are plenty around here who could use the services of a skilled craftsman, if you were looking for somewhere to settle." Connor offered the man.
"Is that right?" the man asked with a smile, "I might look into that." he accepted the offer.
"We will show you the way, signore." Violette offered and they began walking out to the homestead, "Achilles will have your head for turning his peace and quiet into a village." she whispered to Connor, a small chuckle erupting from her throat.
"We're getting a ship." he stated in response, ceasing her entertainment of him being in trouble instantly.
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