The water was so cold! Crenepo's muscles tensed as she entered the river. She wore only a strap and sewn leather pants to keep prying eyes from seeing too much. Trying to ease up to the cold, Crenepo dove underneath the river. There was a current, but it was not as strong. However, it was freezing. Crenepo stood again and held her arms close to her body, shivering. It did not help that her hair clung to her skin, dripping with water. She ran back to shore, trying not to lose her balance, and sat down at the edge of the water. Her robes were neatly folded and hidden in a bush to keep others from stealing them. Crenepo pulled them closer to her and leaned back, burying her elbows in the pebbles.

The training session was long and tedious. Connor had told Achilles of what she had done. He advised him to train her in hand to hand combat. It was a long lesson indeed. In the middle of the courtyard, as the sun was beginning to rise above the trees, Connor had woken Crenepo up to train. She groaned and put on her clothes, a sleeveless vest, blue trousers, red sash and boots. She put on her Assassin robes after she realized how cold it was. She followed Connor to the Homestead's courtyard. She helped him put out the training dummies. Achilles said that they have been gathering dust in the basement. Now they see the light of day again because of both Crenepo and Connor. He watched them closely as they trained.

At first, it was basic punches. Connor taught her how to throw her punches and where. He showed her when to use her palms and when not to. He then taught her about kicking. Since she was smaller, Connor and Achilles told her to aim lower than the torso to take out her enemies. She went a few rounds against the dummies that were standing around. She raised her arms to keep balance against her more powerful kicks and nearly broke a few dummies. Connor warned her about doing so.

"Using too much of your energy could leave you tired." He said. "When you fight, keep it short and quick. Use your size to get around your enemy faster. If you don't get caught…"

Was that him making fun of my size? I'll trounce him! Sure enough, it was time to train with a real person. Connor left Crenepo to practice some more with the mannequins. She noticed his disappearance and sighed a bit in relief. Hopefully I will not have to…

Connor had come back out of the Homestead wearing only his necklace, red sash, Assassin belt, trousers, leggings and boots. Crenepo saw him and looked away. Her face felt a bit hot, but she turned back to face him. She took off her robes and set them aside. Connor wrapped his hands in cloth and showed Crenepo how to do the same.

Fight him…

Soon they were at it. Connor was on one side of the courtyard while Crenepo was on the other. They got into their fighting stances, sizing each other up. Both of them circled the courtyard, not taking their eyes off each other. Crenepo's heart began to race. She felt her stomach flip and churn. Hopefully he would be much easier on me than my mother's-

THOCK!

A strong punch to the side got her going. Crenepo squeaked in pain and sent a fist towards Connor, hoping to hit something. She had missed and he grabbed her wrist and yanked her to him. Connor uppercutted Crenepo's stomach and set her on her back. Crenepo coughed and sputtered, curling herself up in pain. No…! Stop this! Why are you hurting me?!

You won't get any better if you keep curling yourself up like an animal, coward! Get up you worthless child!

That voice of my mother's again. Why does it keep haunting me?! Crenepo felt tears streaming down her face. She quickly wiped them away and got back to her feet to face Connor again.

"Is there something wrong, Crenepo?" Connor asked. He slightly lowered his fists, concerned. Crenepo wiped her nose and glared at the bigger Assassin.

"No. Let's keep going!" Crenepo insisted.

You can not do anything right!

Shut up!

Crenepo saw Connor hesitantly raise his fists again. She ran at him and sent both her fists to his stomach. Swiftly, she opened her hands and pushed Connor back. Crenepo kicked the back of his leg, sending him down on one knee, but before she could throw her final punch, Connor jabbed her in the ribs. She staggered back and yelped when Connor slammed her to the ground. He stood over her, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Come on, Crenepo!" Connor urged. "You can do better than that! I know you can."

No you can't!

Yes I can! Crenepo gritted her teeth. She brought her legs up to her chest and kicked Connor straight to his gut. She rolled back onto her feet. The Taino leapt forward, sending a flying punch to Connor's jaw. He stumbled back, holding his jaw. Crenepo backhanded his chest and roundhouse kicked his knees. She bopped him on the forehead with the palm of her hand which sent him on his back. Crenepo stood frozen, panting heavily. She kept her arm out, smiling to herself. Suddenly, her blood went cold as Connor sat up, rubbing his forehead. Is he going to yell at me? Is he going to hit me harder? What is he going to do now?! Crenepo backed away quickly as Connor stood up. He moved his hand from his mouth, revealing a smirk.

"Much better." He congratulated. "Now do it again."

Crenepo shook herself out of her thoughts. She touched her skin and clothes, making sure she was dry. Then she stood up and took her clothes behind a bush to change. She put on the clothes she used to train in, her totem and her Assassin robes. The Taino ambled back to her hut and placed her weapons, a tomahawk, sword and hidden blade, on her belt and arm. Before that guy, Jeptha, disappeared, Crenepo had to catch him. He must know something important that she does not and Crenepo had to find out what it was.

"Crenepo?" The Taino lurched and spun around, hidden blade unsheathed. It was Connor. He was leaning against the door frame, hands cupped together. Crenepo let out a sigh of relief and sheathed the blade.

"It's only you."

"You seem to be on edge." Connor pointed out. "When I was talking to you earlier, you looked ready to run."

Does he notice everything? Crenepo sighed softly. She picked at the scabs on her knuckles and looked up at Connor. He had a concerned frown on his face. His eyes bore onto hers making Crenepo look away. He is not like them… Why do you keep doing that?

"I had… something to do." Crenepo lied. She tried to plaster on a confident smirk, but she did not feel it. Connor tilted his head, gazing at her. "What?"

"You are bad at lying."

"Not like you are any better."

"I at least try."

Hissing, Crenepo pulled her hood over her head and pushed past Connor. She was not lying to him, technically, but she really did not want to tell Connor what she was doing. He followed her, easily keeping up. They were silent until they arrived at the stables.

"Going somewhere so soon after training?" Connor inquired. "That is almost unlike you, Crenepo." "I am heading to New York. I have to… talk to someone there." The Taino got on her horse and steadied herself. Crenepo fixed her hood and brushed away her bangs. "It has something to do with why I came to train with you."

"You never really told me much about that. Will you ever tell me of your mission? I may be of some help to you."

"Con- Ratonhnhake;ton…" Crenepo whispered. "Thank you for your offer. I will tell you of my objective when I feel ready, I promise you. But for now, I have to go."

"I will not keep you, then." Connor stepped out of the horse's way as Crenepo urged him forward. "Do you remember where to go?

"I do. And if I don't, then it'll be an unexpected adventure."

Connor shifted his weight.

"Safe travels… Karahkwa."

Crenepo stopped her horse. She twisted her body to face Connor, a confused look on her face.

"Pardon?"

"I said, 'safe travels,' Karahkwa." Connor repeated.

"Karahkwa? That's not my name, Connor." The Taino turned the horse to make it easier for her to face him. "Not that I even had a good one to begin with."

"You told me to find you a name that was meaningful. In my tongue, 'Karahkwa' means sun. I thought because your people put importance in the sun, as you told me, maybe you… Connor trailed off. Crenepo looked down at her hands, which were still gripping the reigns of the horse. She pondered for a moment before shifting her gaze back to Connor. A small smile formed on her lips.

"I'll think about it." Crenepo said. Connor smiled and nodded his head. Crenepo turned her horse back onto the path and galloped away. She felt her face grow hot and softly giggled to herself. A small crush…

After almost getting lost along the way, Crenepo made it to New York. She got off of her horse and led him to the post before setting off into town. She retraced her steps, following the same path to the tavern and to the alleyway. The bodies of the men were gone, but Crenepo could still recognize the bloodstains on the ground. Still fresh… Crenepo looked for clues as to where Jeptha may have gone. She searched for a while, not finding much of anything except for a few muddy footprints. Frustrated, Crenepo left the alleyway. She leaned against the side of a building and began to think about where the man could have gone. He could not have gone far.

"Are you looking for the man that was here?" A voice interrupted Crenepo's thoughts. She looked up. A man, pale wrinkled skin, wearing trousers, boots and a pale blue overcoat stood in front of her.

"Yes… I was." Crenepo shyly replied. "Do you know where he went?"

"Last I saw him was here. He said something about going to the harbor." The man informed the Assassin. Crenepo smiled and nodded her head.

"Thank you, kind sir." The Taino pushed herself off the building and tried to find her way to the harbor. She asked a few people for directions; some met with laughter, others with sneers. One person did tell her, however, that once she smelled the strong scent of fish and saltwater, she was getting close. Crenepo did heed that instruction. She walked for a while, keeping herself hidden and from looking suspicious to the guards.

Sure enough, Crenepo found the harbor. She was bedazzled by the vast sea. The sun flickered on the water only disturbed by the ships that passed by. Focusing back on the task at hand, Crenepo searched for her target. He was not going to get far this time. The Assassin searched up the harbor, looking for the familiar set of clothes and dark skin. She peered in every alley, finding them empty. She looked behind the stacks of crates and market stands. She carefully searched the faces of the people passing by her, almost rousing some bit of distrust. The Taino was ready to give up when…

"It's you!" A voice screamed. Crenepo spun around on her heels. She nearly let out a yelp when she recognized Jeptha. He turned and ran from her, screaming. Though not knowing why he was screaming, Crenepo took off after him. He was almost as fast as she was. Crenepo dodged and weaved through the crowds, keeping her eyes on Jeptha. He threw down a few smoke bombs, nearly blinding Crenepo. She covered her mouth and nose and tried to move through the smoke. Once cleared of the smoke, Crenepo spotted Jeptha running through the crowds. He was several feet ahead of her. Despite her eyes watering, Crenepo followed suite.

"Get back here!" Crenepo yelled as she leapt over a barrel that Jeptha had pushed over to slow her down. He shoved past people carrying crates and toppled them over. Jeptha turned into a backstreet with the Assassin following close behind him. She reached out her hand and grabbed him by the collar of both his coat and his shirt. Crenepo pulled him back and shoved him to the ground. She panted heavily as Jeptha writhed around, trying to get back on his feet. The Assassin helped him. She grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and slammed him against the wall.

"W-what do you w-want?!" Jeptha squealed. "D-didn't you-"

Crenepo slammed Jeptha against the wall again, shutting him up. She pressed her arm onto his shoulders, pinning him.

"You are going to answer my every question." Crenepo whispered menacingly. Her blue eyes pierced into Jeptha's brown ones. He struggled against Crenepo's grasp, but she pressed harder.

"Ack! W-what do you-"

"You know what I want." Crenepo hissed. "You seemed awfully friendly when I saved you. I know you know something about me."

"Like what?!" Cried Jeptha. "L-let me go. Don't make me call the-ACK!"

"Make a sound…" Crenepo muttered in his ear. "…And you die."

Jeptha struggled for a bit while Crenepo glowered at him. She unsheathed her hidden blade and pushed it against Jeptha's neck. Jeptha froze as the sharp tip scraped his skin.

"Call my bluff."

"I-I won't-"

"Tell me what I need to know."

"What do you want to know?"

"What do you know of a man named Severino Merlo?"

"I do not know who that is."

Crenepo was getting angrier and angrier. She summoned her strength and lifted up the man and smacked him down hard on the pavement. She pinned down his arms, one with her knee and the other by stabbing her knife into his sleeve. She made sure to nick a bit of his skin.

"Do not take me for a fool."

"Okay okay!" Jeptha whimpered. "I do know him and I know him well. I don't work for him anymore, so please spare me!"

"You are doing good. Keep going." Crenepo smirked.

"Merlo is a man known for his cruel ways. I've seen the way he treats his slaves and his own men. His own wife." Jeptha mewled. "Yet it is not just him. He has other people do most of his dirty work."

"Other people?"

"Yes! To get to him, you must get through them." Jeptha said.

"I take it that you know who these men are."

"No… I only know the one who sells the slaves! He is Severino's merchant, Manuel Salway. He usually comes to the harbor to sell his slaves. I only protected him."

"Is he here today?"

"No. He is not."

"When will he be back?"

"In a few days, what with the war going on here, the trade is too dangerous."

Crenepo sneered in disgust. She released Jeptha and began to leave the alley.

"Wait?! Am I free?!" He called after her. Crenepo stopped and turned around. She unsheathed her hidden blade and stalked towards him.

"A man who sells his own children is no man at all." Crenepo said.

"No! WAIT!? I can still help you!"

"You've helped me enough." Crenepo raised her arm and brought it down, stabbing Jeptha in the neck with her hidden blade. He gargled before falling backwards and laying still. Crenepo dug through his corpse and found a piece of paper. She opened it to find that it was a letter to her father. She read it, closed it and placed it in her pouch.

"May the Faceless Maboya take your soul." Crenepo prayed as she left Depth's corpse. She walked away and disappeared into the crowd.

I completely avoided talking to anybody else that day. When I got back, Connor was gone. It was fine. I had to align my thoughts after what had happened today.

The letter had names. Names of the men that worked for my father. Jeptha knew and lied to me. He is dead now. If he were to remain alive, he probably would have warned my father of my arrival. He does not know who I am however. The last I saw him was when he was with that man that I saw hanging on the wall in the basement. I asked Connor about him and he said that was his father.

I laughed…

It was not in disbelief over Connor's father being a Templar. I could see the similarities between the two of them by their faces.

My father had contact with his. I remember that day when I first saw him. How I was almost beaten to death… Tortured to the point where only my instincts told me to kill. I leave Connor's father to him. He is not my target. I do not think I would ever be strong enough to fight a man like him. He looks particularly dangerous.

Now I know who to get to so that I can topple my father's little empire. I will find his trader and eliminate him. Then I will go for the rest of them. They will be running scared when I finish them off.