Yoooo guyz!

Back again with a quickie. Still busy and all.

MrJaffaJack: Hahaha, well it certainly is odd she hadn't. But that's because she doesn't have control over that situation. It is all taken care of etc. It happens so fast, she isn't really thinking straight when it comes to burying her father y'know. =]

The Forgotten Reader: Sorry... And yaaas. And- now I updated again. Damn.

calwitch: Because Alvar hates everyone hahaha. No, but he grew up in that mansion, he's not really used to changes like that lolz. butidontwanttogivetoomuchaway.

kykyxstandler: Yes. Ion is the best. =D

So with that said, have a good one and enjoy!


Vitoria couldn't sleep the night after Arastoo had visited her, so instead she dressed herself in a simple dress, grabbed her cloak after breakfast and went outside – the backyard, that was. It was her home and she wanted to explore it some more before she visited Sophia.

She walked quietly past the training grounds. None of the Assassins were training – it was too early for their physical training. Some of them were presumably already up.

The huge backyard was sheltered by trees from the city and, most importantly, people. No one knew what was happening in here and that was what the Assassins liked about the place.

Vitoria walked past a well with clean water in it – that was where the water came from. Most of the water was already stacked in barrels in the spare room in the kitchen though.

The smell of horses tickled her nose and her eyes darted towards another building that had to be the stables. She was surprised for no reason – it was only logical that the Assassins had horses, some of them operated in other cities.

The woman opened the wooden door of the square-like building and was amazed when she stepped into the stables. There were a lot of stalls, some were empty. In the middle of the building there was a room that contained saddles and food for the horses. Some horses had a name (the names were carved into a piece of wood and hanged on the doors of the stalls), some didn't. Vitoria was amazed by the animals and walked past every stall, looking at the horse, reading the names.

The last horse was the most beautiful horse she had ever seen (she hadn't seen many horses in her life but still). It was a white stallion with dark eyes. The stall next to the stallion was empty.

Vitoria leaned on the stallion's stall door and waited patiently until the horse walked towards her and pressed his nose against her arm. She smiled and carefully stroked his neck.

"You are one of the oldest horses here, aren't you," she mumbled and took a step back to look for a name.

Brion, was carved with difficulty in the piece of wood. She frowned when her eyes followed the scratches in the wood.

X

"What are you doing?" A voice asked from out of nowhere.

The little girl looked up. "I am carving his name in this piece of wood." The girl was about to grab the knife again to continue her work when the man rushed over and grabbed the girl's hand.

"Careful now, you will hurt yourself."

The girl glanced back towards the man with a sad expression. "But papá, he needs a name."

The man sighed with a smile and lifted the little girl in his arms. "I will proceed this mission. How do you wish to name him?"

The little girl laughed. "Brion is his name."

"Brion. A strong name for a strong horse. A fine choice. Would you like to see him?"

The girl nodded her head elated. "Yes!"

The man holding the little girl entered the building and stopped at the last stall. Carefully he placed her on the stall door – still holding her tightly.

A white mare lovingly pressed her nose against the little girl's leg, which made the girl giggle. Then the mare stepped aside, showing them a shaking, little foal hiding behind his mother.

"It is going to be alright, Brion," the little girl mumbled after she noticed the fear in the foal's eyes.

"Certainly. We will take good care of you."

X

Vitoria blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out what she just had witnessed and how. She had stopped stroking Brion and he was now bumping his nose every now and then against her arm, trying to get her attention.

She glanced back towards the stallion, slowly stroking his nose again. The man had looked like her father in a way (just younger), but that was impossible. That would mean she and her father (and maybe even her mother) had been here in this stable. And she surely wouldn't forget something like that, right?

"Are you crazy?!" A voice echoed through the stables and Vitoria looked sideways towards the spot where the voice was coming from. It was Ion.

"Excuse me?" she muttered, finally noticing that the sun was already making the daily climb towards the heavens.

Ion had a incredulous expression written across his face. "That horse is pure evil. You do not come near that horse or even touch it. Brion hates everyone around him, except for Adonai. He is the only one who can ride this animal."

Vitoria glanced back at Brion who didn't seem to mind her company at all. "He doesn't seem to hate me." She gave Ion a questioning look. "What are you doing here?"

Ion sighed. "It is my turn to muck out the stalls, unfortunately."

"As much as I would love to help you with your chores, I have to go."

He chuckled lightly. "Ah, leaving at the right moment, are we. I would do the same."

She stepped back and quirked a brow at him. "Well, in matter of fact, I do have to go somewhere."

He raised his hands innocently. "I believe you. I see you around then."

Vitoria said her goodbye and then exited the stables, walking over the landscaped path back towards the mansion. This time, when she passed the training grounds, there were Assassins training. Some of them gave her a look, others didn't seem to notice she was there. No one disturbed her and she didn't disturb them, so that was fine.

She hurried through the mansion towards the front doors, locking them behind her (even though that wasn't necessary). Then, she made her way towards the Great Plaza and from there on towards Sophia's house. She promised Sophia to visit her again rather sooner than later. She had to tell her friend a couple of things she forgot to mention the last time she saw her.

Vitoria made her way through the crowded streets of Athens and, at last, knocked on the front door when she was finally standing in front of her friend's house.

It took Sophia a couple of seconds to open the door. Her stunning smile immediately graced her face when her eyes fell on her friend.

"Finally, you decided to visit me." Sophia pulled her friend inside and closed the door.

"Where are your mother and brother?" Vitoria asked first. It seemed that they were never around when Sophia was home...

"Out," Sophia said with a humming tone as if it didn't bother her. Vitoria watched her keenly while taking off her cloak. The two women sat down on the cushions after Sophia gave her friend something to drink.

Sophia was watching her friend, her eyes gained a mischievously spark while she waited until Vitoria decided to speak.

"What?" Vitoria had noticed her expression and quirked a brow. Sophia shrugged.

"Oh, nothing. You are just living with a lot of men in your mansion, I was just wondering what you've been up to." Her eyes narrowed as a playful smile spread across her face.

Vitoria rolled her eyes. "Please, Sophia. I am not like that."

Sophia chuckled. "I know that. So, what did you want to tell me?"

"Well, I forgot to tell you that my father left me a lot of money. And that I am not particularly loved in my own home." Vitoria took a sip from her cup and watched her friend intently.

At first, Sophia seemed to think about it and then she smiled. "So, Nicon had a secret pile of money somewhere."

"Yes, but I do not understand why we lived like we were poor when we were actually rich." Vitoria looked down at the water in her cup and moved it around.

Sophia pondered about her friend's words and chose hers carefully. "I am sure your father had a good reason for that. Hadn't he always?"

Vitoria stayed with Sophia until she had to leave for work. When the young woman was steadily walking over the cobblestone streets, her cloak billowing behind her, she got the chance to think about the thing she had seen in the morning. What if it hadn't been just some vision? What if it had been a memory? In her head, it sounded absolutely ridiculous. Moreover, she had no memory of that piece of wood, Brion or the stable. Maybe she should ask Adonai about it when she was back. She hadn't told Sophia about it – she wouldn't tell her until she first figured it out herself.

While she was on the route towards the Great Plaza, her ears caught the sound of voices. It were all male voices. When her eyes finally found the source of the voices, she saw three men of the City Watch standing over a young boy, kicking him, harassing him, cursing at him. The young boy was on the verge of tears, hunched, trying to cover his head from the three men.

Vitoria glanced around the street where people were walking by, not daring to even glance in the direction. No one seemed to even care about this boy. If Sam had been here, he would probably have stabbed one of the men's eye out. But Sam wasn't here and she wasn't him. So she just tried to solve it with words.

"Excuse me but what on earth do you think you're doing?" She stepped in, standing in front of the three men and blocking the way towards the young boy. This caused the men to take a step back, giving her some space – their glances told her they weren't happy with her interfering.

"We are punishing a thief, missy. Step away now or you'll hurt yourself," the one on the right said sternly. Vitoria just raised an eyebrow in response.

"A thief?" she questioned as if the word was not familiar to her. "You are abusing a young boy! Tell me now, do you have any proof of this?"

The man on the left replied this time: "I saw him grabbing that apple with my own eyes."

Her eyes were still showing something akin to scepticism while stepping away and giving a questioning look towards the boy that had been listening to the conversation with great interest. "Well? Is this true?"

The boy looked from Vitoria towards the three men and then back at Vitoria again. He slowly shook his head.

"You filthy little liar," the man on the left said and tried to grab the boy by the throat, but the man in the middle stopped him and mumbled bitterly:

"Let it go. Come on." He pulled the two men with him as he walked away from Vitoria – the three of them giving her an angry look.

Vitoria watched them go and vanish in the crowds. When she at last turned around to face the young boy, she faced nothing more than an empty spot. In the young boy's place a shiny red apple had appeared.


"Look who decided to show up."

Alvar was squatting down, his hood covering his eyes. He gave Ion a quasi-surprised look as the man lifted himself on the same roof.

"Oh ha-ha, Alvar," he retorted slightly annoyed and sat down next to his friend.

"I still do not know why you challenged me." Alvar glanced sideways at Ion. It had started out as a game for the two when they were young. They would run up and down roofs, training themselves in the process, and the one who finished first at the Great Plaza, won. The first time they challenged each other, none of them actually made it to Great Plaza.

"I felt like beating you today, that is why." Ion gave his friend a challenging look while Alvar's eyes twinkled in amusement.

"You did a poor job then."

Alvar rose to his feet and offered his friend a hand to help him stand – which Ion took – and the both of them started to walk back towards the mansion, jumping from roof to roof. It was Ion who noticed Vitoria walking among the citizens on the ground. He said this to Alvar, who snorted in response.

"She is actually quite nice. Even Brion likes her."

Alvar gave his friend the dumbest look he could give. "Are you talking about the Mentor's horse?"

"I am."

Alvar just shook his head. His eyes however looked down on Vitoria, the streets, the people.

Ion, however, was looking at his friend. "I know you hate everyone at the beginning, that is in your nature," Ion ignored the cold look he got from Alvar, "but you should give her a chance. I mean, we gave the sister of Dryas, Elene, a chance and she is a prostitute. Not that that has anything to do with anything..."

"Ion."

"What?"

Alvar darted his eyes towards his friend and then back at the crowds. "She's being followed. Damn it. Not nearly a week has passed and she is already endangering our identity." He shook his head in annoyance while jumping down from the roof, leaving a frowning Ion standing on it.


Vitoria had just left the Great Plaza when she suddenly felt a strong hand grabbing her upper arm and dragging her into the nearest ally. Everything happened so fast that when she was pressed against a wall, behind a pile of crates, her body started working again. Her eyes fell on a familiar hooded face whose lips were pressed in a firm line.

Alvar.

"The third time," Vitoria reminded him. It was the third time he dragged her with him.

"Why are there men following you?" he asked, well, demanded.

Vitoria was utterly surprised at his words. "What? Men are following me?!" Before she could say anything else, Alvar pulled both of them to the ground. They hid behind the crates.

Vitoria turned to Alvar and hissed albeit a little panicked: "And you think hiding in the nearest ally is not the most cliché spot one could pick?"

"Do you know these men?" he just retorted, ignoring her questions.

The woman studied him for a moment, then turned around and peeked around the crates. It took her a little while before she finally found (and recognized) the men who were following her. "They just abused a boy on the streets."

"And you stepped in?"

Vitoria turned back towards Alvar and nodded her head.

Alvar thought for a moment, his eyes studying her for a long time. Then, he glanced at the beginning of the alley, noticing that the three men of the City Watch weren't as stupid as he had thought. They were coming.

"I will distract them. You run towards the mansion."

Vitoria was about to ask something about the plan (the plan didn't really sound like a well-made plan) but she didn't get a chance for it. Alvar had already vanished behind her. He had already set his plan in motion. So she stuck with the crappy plan and ran out of the alley, towards the mansion.

Alvar had killed two of them with his hidden blades without being detected by anyone. Ion took care of the last one with a clean air assassination.

The Assassin crossed his arms while he watched Alvar. He had raised an eyebrow, looking expectant.

Alvar just said: "This is me giving her a chance."