Disclaimer: I do not own Assassin's Creed.

Chapter IX

For the following few months things fell on some sort of a routine. Caroline and Rose would sneak out of her house as often as they could in order to inform Edward about any of her father's suspicious activities, which were not much, while Edward had started keeping note of everything in a journal. At the same time, Edward was practicing in secret with the Sword and the dagger, struggling to get a hang of those peculiar weapons.

However that was not all. Edward and Caroline had started getting closer and closer to each other over the months, and they had finally admitted that there were feelings for each other.

Edward believed Caroline to be the most amazing woman he had ever met. She had wit and courage as much as beauty, and she also had a canny side in her that did not suit to a lady of class. Her speech and her tastes were refined but not overly so, something that Edward enjoyed and often liked to tease. She did not consider herself to be better than the others and that was something truly refreshing.

But there was more to Caroline than that. She was honorable; she was a person Edward could open his heart to. Every small idea, every strange opinion, every unusual notion, every peculiar habit, everything that made Edward stand out from the others, she could accept it. She would laugh, she would argue, she would give him a few strange looks, she would state her own mind, point out one or two things that not even Edward himself had noticed, and then she would state her own opinion. Even when she could not understand – and Edward could not really blame her for that – she would still trust him and put her faith in him. And Edward loved how she always had her own opinion, how she was her own person.

Like, right now.

"I really don't understand why we have to wear the Corset so tight. I feel like I can't breathe! I swear, there were some Times when my Family and I had gone to some Visits at Friends' Houses for Dinner, and I could not shallow the Food. And my Skin had even changed its Colour!".

Edward winced at that. "Sounds like being taken Prisoner and then they got you tied with a Rope!".

"And tortured right afterwards!", laughed Caroline. "Those Discussions at the Table were so boring… Always the same Gossip and the new Fashion Statements. Like Anything ever changes. Only the Skirts are getting wider and the Corsets tighter.".

Edward laughed as well. "Can't say I know much about Women's Fashion around this Century.".

She gave him a weird look but decided to go with it. "So how was Women's Fashion in some other Century?", she asked teasingly.

"Well, they certainly did not tie their Corsets so tight,", he started with a sly smile "and they preferred to put on some Colour instead of pretending to be living Rocks,", Caroline chuckled at the bad but accurate metaphor "they didn't mummify themselves", Caroline looked stunned he even knew what the word, "and they didn't decorate themselves like Christmas Trees.".

"I'm pretty sure that Christmas Trees have less Jewels than them on.", replied Caroline amused. "Do I look like an over decorated Rock?".

"Nope. You're perfect.", he replied with a wide grin.

"Oh, come on!". She mock-slapped him and Edward took a false hurt look that looked more like an imitation of a puppy.

Edward was always like that. He was a great man who was always treating Caroline as a person. He liked listening to her talking and their playful banter. Caroline knew that she could always count on Edward, she could feel it. He always trusted her and he was always willing to listen to her. He was never overly polite with her, like all the other young men were, nor was he restrictive like her father was. He never judged her. With him Caroline felt free to be herself, and she loved that.

She really liked Edward. Something in his goofy and confident grin and his carefree attitude made her wanting to get closer to him – the teenager was almost glowing! But there was more than care freeness in him. Caroline was mesmerized by his eyes, a blue colour that almost seemed to be unnatural, filled with maturity and intelligence and something that Caroline could only guess it was experience. He was such a mysterious man, Edward. She would oftenly hear people saying that Edward looked older than he was but Caroline had not realized how true that was until she had gotten to know him better. Every once in a while Edward would make some strange comment or reference, like to some mythology or history stuff. His imagination was always running wild, he was able to conceive things that Caroline could not even imagine, and she knew that he was dreaming of even more.

Edward's perception was something to marvel at, like he had a way of seeing the world that no other man did. Like he was looking into the matter instead of the image. It was the only way Caroline could describe the strange gift he seemed to have for always seeing through people. At times it was even as if he could see through walls. She could not even understand what he was saying from time to time. Like he spoke in riddles.

But all that mystery mattered little to her. It was a part of Edward that Caroline had accepted. She could handle a bit of mystery. It only made things more… interesting. Yes, that was the right word. Interesting. And exciting.

Of course, if there was one thing Caroline and Edward were trying to avoid at all costs, that was starting a rumor mill. They knew that a lady of class dating a man who was practically a peasant was bound to attract attention; especially if said lady of class was the almost too old to be married daughter of the richest man in the area and said peasant was the strange weapon—loving son of the almost equally strange Bernard Kenway.

Still, Caroline and Edward could not stop all rumors so they had sort of recruited Rose to keep a track on them; and somehow, the young and energetic maidservant managed to make the rumors completely disperse. The young couple had no idea how she had managed it, but they were not complaining.

Caroline's only complaint was that she and Edward had not kissed each other yet.

It was yet another one of Edward's oddities: the fact that he was not quite eager to kiss Caroline for the first time, not because it was Caroline but because… it would not be his first kiss. Or something like that. Caroline could not figure. It was like Edward already knew what kissing was like even though he had never kissed a girl in his life. Another mystery about Edward that Caroline could not understand. And while Edward mysteries normally did not bother her much, this one irritated her to no end.

The one thing that held Caroline from snapping at Edward about that was the fact that he seemed to be trying to get over something. What that "something" was, Caroline did not know; but Edward had given her that general impression. Maybe it had something to do with him knowing what kissing was like.

So Caroline waited. She waited until Edward was able to figure himself out. Because whatever – or whoever – he was trying to get over was covered in ice – no; it was a deeply frozen subject and raw, like a shard of ice that had been stuck in a wound and could not melt. There was nothing Caroline could help. So she waited. And hoped.

Where am I? Where is Sofia? No, he's not- Christina? Why is she- no, wait, there is Mar- that is wrong too.

EVA!

He got up. He could not register his environment. It was night time. He was sleeping inside a room he had never seen before. He was wearing something. Fabric, like them but unlike theirs at the same time. This one was… rougher. And it was coloured. That confused him. Why would anyone bother to colour their clothes? [1]

"Where am I?", he muttered to himself.

Someone next to him stirred. A woman. She mumbled a single word that he could not understand, but it sounded like a confused question. And he panicked as soon as he saw her. That was not Eva.

"Who are you? Where are we? What's going on? Did something happen to the others?". He asked all those questions the one after the other in panic, the worst case scenario flying through his mind: his brothers and his sister having been caught and led towards execution or even worse, yet another enslavement. And Eva…

Caroline was in panic. Something huge was happening right now – she just had no idea what. The one moment Edward and herself had fallen asleep together inside Edward's living room, as they always did when it had gotten too cold for Caroline to return home. And the next thing she knew, he was up and panicked, asking questions in an impossible language she had never heard before nor she could place.

Everything about him was different. The way he held himself, his mannerisms, his accent, even his voice was different, like it was dual. Caroline could not understand what was going on, but somehow, deep inside, she realized a single truth; something that was very, very wrong.

"You're not Edward.".

He heard the woman say something else, but this one was a statement. Taken aback by the sudden change in tone, he turned to look at her. Partially to study her. Because he had confirmed by now that she spoke what he could only assume it was a different language – which was impossible because there were no other languages than theirs. [2]

He checked the environment with their sense. The "Knowledge", as they called it. No enemies around. Only the woman. And she was glowing blue. She was a sister.

"I do not understand.", he stated in a matter-of-fact tone. Different language or not, she ought to know theirs [3], right?

Wrong, because Caroline could not understand either. This other person – because there was simply no way the man in front of her was Edward no matter how illogical that sounded – not only he did not know English – which was an awful inconvenience – but he also seemed to have some more major issues of a different kind. He was panicked, looking around the room like he had never seen one before, and Caroline realized with a surprising measure of relief that the man was just as clueless as she was, if not even more.

But now he had relaxed somewhat. The initial what-is-going-on panic had washed off and only cautiousness had remained. However, he meant no ill. His approach was less guarded now and he was much more open than he was before.

She guessed it was safe to move now. "Caroline.", she introduced herself with the usual gesture added for good measure.

The man looked at her. He had certainly picked up the introduction. "Adam.", he replied. And after that he decided to search the house for something. He then scanned the field outside. And apparently he did not find what he was looking for because he turned to Caroline with a curious and concerned expression. "Eva?".

And that was when Caroline's brain stopped working.

Caroline could only stare frozen. Adam? Eva? There was simply no way. Her mind was flying, thinking about all the different things that made this statement completely impossible. But everything about this whole situation was impossible. The fact alone that the man in front of her was not Edward even though he was in Edward's body spoke volumes. But how…

The man – she wholeheartedly refused to believe it was Adam even though she somehow knew that it was true – was staring at her as if he was waiting for an answer to his question. She briefly wondered how to explain to the man that Eva was not even alive but she settled for a more diplomatic shrug: the universal I-don't-know gesture. The man disappointed bit back a curse and returned to the window.

Eva was not here.

What in the world was going on? It was the first time he had been separated from Eva. Ever. He was so worried about her. Anything could have happened to her. How could he have been separated from her? How had he ended up here in the first place? They could not possibly have taken control of them; he and Eva were immune to the effects of the Apple. So how…

What had he been doing in the first place? He could not remember. Trying to do so alone brought him a terrible headache. He shook his head and decided to determine where he was first. He looked out of the window at the sky. It was beautiful, as usual. But there was something off. Too many things were off, in fact.

The stars were not in their usual positions. It took him a while to realize that but it was obvious. The old shapes were gone, and replaced with new ones. [4] Adam just stared. Honestly, what was going on!?

He decided to activate his sixth sense. It would provide all the answers. Through the map of the sky it would compare the position of the stars in this area with the position of the stars in the area where their hideout was and would provide him with all the information needed to go back.

He was greeted by a nasty surprise. As soon as he tried to activate his other sense his head split in two. Every fibre in his body felt like it being split apart. You dug too deep. [5] But that was not possible. Normally those things came to him as natural as breathing…

Pain was all he knew, and he felt something akin to relief when the world turned black and he lost all his senses.

Since Adam had decided to study the skies, Caroline could take her time and really think about the implications. Was that really Adam, the first human that God created? The few hints she had – basically his name, the foreign language and the fact that he knew someone named Eva – pointed to "yes". However there were some things that were off, and Caroline had to think more carefully about. According to the Bible, Adam and Eva were the first and only humans to be directly created by God. In other words, the only other humans they ever got to meet were their own children. So why did not Adam show any surprise at seeing another human?

The only possible explanation was that the Bible was mistaken.

If that was not something that sounded insane, she did not know what it was.

She looked at him – well, Edward actually. He was in Edward's body. She briefly wondered how he really looked like. Or why he has not realized that there is something wrong with himself.

And then he bent in pain.

Something in Caroline pushed her to his side immediately. She did not know why; but it was obvious that the man was in intense pain, cradling his head like someone was ripping it apart. And then he lost his senses.

Caroline did not know what to do. Somewhere inside, she was terrified. Who would wake up? Would it be Adam or Edward? She carefully tried to move him to the couch – a much harder task than she had first thought.

This was beyond her understanding. This was beyond anyone's understanding. It was not just a huge mystery laid out before her; this was all logic being defied. Suddenly, many of Edward's oddities made awfully a lot of sense. How could he not be so strange when he… he what? She did not know. Nothing made sense any longer.

And suddenly, he started moving. With a groan he tried to sit up. And then he opened his eyes and looked straight at her. Caroline gulped. Or she would, if she remembered how to do it.

His eyes were gold. They were glowing in an unnatural golden light, as if the precious metal had been turned into a blazing liquid and had replaced his blue eyes. She had thought that it was the blue colour that was almost unnatural, but now these eyes made the blue ones look perfectly normal.

"Caroline…?", he mumbled. "God, my Head's killing me…". English. It was Edward. But the eyes… "What happened?", he asked. And then he noticed the way she was looking at him.

A few random images came to his mind. But one stuck. The image of a horrified and bewildered Caroline while he was asking questions about Eva's whereabouts and received no answer.

Edward froze. He knew that feeling. It had happened to him many times before, when he was a boy. He would sleep deeper and deeper until his mind started searching into the consciousness of others instead of his own. And then he woke up he would be… someone else. Ezio, most of the times. Or Altair, more rarely. But when something like that happened, he was quick to snap out of it. He was just a bit older than a toddler when that used to happen and two full grown men would never confuse their bodies for a toddler's.

But this "identity change" had not happened in years. And the last person Edward ever expected to wake up as was the agile naked thief from the white tower in the forest, Adam. And as if that was not enough, the "change" had happened in front of Caroline. She had spoken to Adam.

"I'm sorry.", he said, massaging his temples while she looked at him with an expression that was a mix of terror and relief. "I really am…".

Caroline was hesitant, unable to comprehend. "Does this…", she started "happen… often?".

"It had stopped Years ago…", replied Edward, too tired to lie or hide the truth somehow. "And never with him.". Caroline did not ask him what he meant. Edward was grateful. She nudged her way next to him and Edward embraced her with one arm. They stayed like that for a while, silent. They did not know what to say.

It was Caroline who broke the silence. "Was it him?". Edward looked at her somewhat confused. "Was it really him?", she continued pressing. "Adam? From the Bible?".

Edward seemed to ponder on it for a moment. He gave his answer eventually. "The only one of his Memories I can recall is him and Eva breaking into a huge white Tower, stealing Something and then running away as fast as they could. There were countless People in that Tower, working on Metal, I think. He thought of them as Brothers and Sisters. And all that Time Adam was thinking about how they controlled Everything.".

"They?", demanded Caroline. "Who are they?".

Edward chuckled nervously. "That's a very long Story.".

"We have Time.", countered Caroline.

"I think you had your fair Share of World-shaking Events for Tonight.", said Edward with an attempt for humor.

The ghost of Adam himself accidently possessing Edward and proving the Bible wrong. "Yes, you're right.".

That night the two of them kissed.

Edward was trying to be gentle with her, but Caroline would not have it. She pushed him until he let the desire take over, and it was more than Caroline would ever ask. That moment she decided that it did not matter. It did not matter that Edward was a peasant. It did not matter that he was involved in ancient wars. It did not matter if he was a freak of nature.

All that mattered was that he loved her. And she loved him. And if Edward was to lose himself, she would be his anchor to reality. To his own reality. A reality in which Caroline and Edward were together.

Author notes: the world-shaking chapter, as promised!

[1] I do not know if you have noticed, by the precursors were always wearing white or grey clothing (there was a guy with a red colar at some point, but it does not really count). Humans from the other hand, did not wear any clothes at all, anly that weird, see-through, plastic jumpsuit. It makes sense that Adam would not pay any praticular attention to clothes, and seeing colourfull fabric would certainly leave an impression on him.

[2] Hence the reason why he does not bother to name them. Why give a name to the language if there is only ONE of them? What I am trying to say is, Adam in this fic does not give much of a value to names and titles, because that is a thing they precursors do. That makes Adam a hard characted to write, because names and titles hold a lot of power in the human history.

[3] Yet another example of Adam not giving any value to names. It was humans vs precursors during his era; no need to name the two sides when they were seperated by species.

[4] Simple science. I had once seen in a book how some of the most well-known constelations looked like ten thousand years in the past, and how they would look like ten thousand years in the future - and I'm telling you, they were hardly recognisable. In the 75.000 that seperate Adam from Edward, the differences in the night sky must have been HUGE.

[5] Adam has at least 50% precursor DNA. Edward of course is nowhere close to that number. Of course Adam's Eagle Vision would be stronger.

My itention at first was to write Edward and Caroline romance, but I have never written romance before. Adam just wrote himself into this chapter, and be certain that he will appear in the future as well; especially after the Sage comes in the game.