I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)
The little girl had her father's eyes, beautifully paired with her mother's hair. She was their little dream, their princess. Aaliyah had managed to make beautiful little dresses with flowery headbands to match. Altaïr had no qualms about this at all despite her standing out so much from the rest of the children in the village. Rather, he loved seeing his little girl waddling around in pretty outfits with tiny gardens on her head.
She was fascinated by everything and everyone, not hesitant to meet new people. She was much too small to know of any form of potential danger and, as much as they loved her innocence, they couldn't allow her to grow up with such a vulnerable instinct. Then again, these were her people. The only person they knew of that couldn't be trusted was Abbas. She was still so small, so they made a habit of always keeping an eye on the little, adventurous one.
Altaïr tried to stay with his daughter as much as he could, but that didn't change the fact that he was still an Assassin, one of the best, and had duties that needed to be taken care of—his heart being left with his family. He always brought back little souvenirs from the various cities he was tasked to for his wife and daughter, eventually having a display made for said items for everyone who entered their home to see them.
He despised being so far away, for even brief periods of time. To him, it was missing a large part of the crucial moments of his daughter's life and he wasn't pleased with Kamilah growing up so fast, either. He wanted time to slow down, stop if possible. He would rather his moments with family to stay as it were and his little girl stay the small, beautiful, innocent baby girl she was. Of course, time stood still for no soul and he loathed having to accept that Kamilah wouldn't always be so small and fragile.
Upon every return, he would get a scolding paired with the same lecture from Aaliyah for not being as careful as he should be—as he was trained to be, even for the smallest of scratches. That didn't stop him from making love to his beautiful wife to make up for all the lonely nights he'd spent in his travels. She advised her husband of getting some rest first but that, of course, changed rather quickly from the slightest loving and lustful touch from Altaïr.
As she grew older, Kamilah stuck around her father all day when he returned home from his errands. Whether he was going for a walk or going to speak with Al Mualim of important matters, she was following him as quickly as her little legs could to take her. He enjoyed seeing her try so hard to be in his company, often picking her up to hold her and give her kisses, taking her with him to ease her little legs from her struggle.
Both Altaïr and Aaliyah were amazed at how quickly the little girl adapted her schedule to suit her father's. It was still adorable to see how determined she was to spend time with her father, seemingly forgetting her mother upon the sight of Altaïr. Aaliyah had no problem with that, of course. She often stood away slightly, capturing the moment to keep a clear memory of when everything settled for her and Altaïr. When everything was perfect.
Kamilah was Altaïr's world. So much so, that he'd completely forgotten that he wanted a son. His wants and desires only flooded with his wife and daughter. They meant everything to him and he made it his obligation that his wife and child would come to no harm. Nobody would ever be able to say the wrong thing about his wife or child without having the man getting in their face and sternly informing them it would be in their best interest to keep his wife's name out of their tongue's reach.
Seeing Altaïr with a little girl, who might as well have been stuck in a flower pot with how her mother dressed her, in his arms and hearing him call his wife 'Habibi' was still odd to the couples friends. Then again, it was much more odd for them to see him without Kamilah, as she was constantly in his presence. The only time she wasn't with him was when he was tasked to training students in the court—when he was not given a mission to another city, of course. She did wander over sometimes when Aaliyah was going into or leaving the castle, being picked up by her mother so she didn't get hurt and to let Altaïr concentrate on teaching the students. The way she singled out Altaïr amongst a crowd led the parents to believe that she did, in fact, have Eagle Vision like her father. Perhaps the Creed would begin accepting women and, if she had the same passion as her parents, would be one of the greatest Assassins, just like her father.
Perhaps she did have the passion her parents shared...
"No! Fayez, you are not gripping the blade properly! And you are not balancing yourself, Haydar! Have you learnt nothing from what I have spoken of?" Altaïr scolded his students, circling around them, "I have said this to you before, but for your sake, I will repeat it: keeping your body balanced determines how much movement and control you have in combat, and it determines if you will fall or counter and enemy's strike." he lectured, positioning himself to show them, "One foot forward, but not too much. Bend the knee slightly an—" he stopped his sentence, eyes seeming to be locked on to something.
"Ustadh (Teacher)?" Haydar called out.
He straightened himself without answering his student, walking past them and exited the training ring. The students turned around to see what he was so intrigued by only to see a toddler staring up at him.
"Kamilah, what are you doing away from your mother?" their teacher asked the little girl in a loving tone, picking her up, "She will be worried should she find you gone."
They looked at one another, surprised to see him smiling and laughing with the little girl in his arms. He was just scolding them for their training, and now he was laughing with a toddler in his arms.
"Ustadh?" Fayez spoke up.
"Yes?" he asked, looking over at them before his eyes returned to Kamilah.
They left the ring to join the man and the little girl, "Who is this?" Haydar inquired about the toddler.
"This beautiful little girl here is my daughter, Kamilah." he answered casually.
"You have a daughter?" Fayez asked, the words not seeming to penetrate him the first time, "We did not know you had a child."
"I do not infuse my personal life with the Creed." he informed them, "I must return her to her mother at once. No doubt my wife will have my head should I keep Kamilah here and leave her to worry."
"We have never seen your wife, Ustadh." Haydar informed his teacher.
"You have indeed seen her before. You were just unaware that she is my wife." he corrected them, "Come, you will meet her this day." he ordered his students to follow him.
They entered the castle and walked up the grand staircase that adorned the center of the foyer, and through the immediate doorway that lead into the beautiful gardens.
"Look what I have found, Aaliyah." Altaïr called out, putting his daughter down to which she immediately waddled off.
A beautiful woman looked up, her eyes widening upon seeing the toddler walk around, "I had not known she left the gardens!" she explained, standing up and scooping Kamilah into her arms.
"It is alright, Habibi." her husband brought her to ease, "She is indeed an Assassin at heart with such stealth already," he entertained her with his thoughts, "I see you are enjoying the book I have suggested." he commented, a finger pointing to the cover.
"Yes, it is quite interesting. Thank you." she smiled. The students froze when her eyes fell onto them, "You must be the two young novices Altaïr is training." she acknowledged.
"Yes, ma'am." Haydar spoke up, forcing the other student to bow before the woman in respect.
She laughed at this, not to ridicule them, but out of entertainment. She eased them with a smile, "You must be Haydar." she said to the boy, surprised at how she knew which one of them he was, "And you are Fayez?" she asked the other, who confirmed his name for her. "I hope my husband is not being too harsh with your training." she said as she put Kamilah down to sit on the benches despite knowing that the little girl wouldn't stay still.
"It is necessary for us to be at our absolute best to represent the Creed, ma'am." Haydar explained.
"A beautiful answer," she agreed, turning to her husband, "I see what you have been speaking of, Altaïr. Haydar is indeed like yourself in your youth."
"I am still in my youth." her husband defended with a wide smile, reminding her that he was only twenty-two.
"Yet you teach and scold them like an old man." she came back with a mischievous smile upon her own lips.
"I must return them to their training, Habibi." Altaïr informed her.
She gave a nod, "I shall see you this evening," she replied, sounding more of an order than a question.
"Yes." he confirmed, squeezing her hand before letting go, his focus turning to his daughter as he bent down, "and I shall see you this evening as well, little one." he said, tickling her sides before giving her a kiss on her forehead and standing back up.
"Peace be upon you, boys." Aaliyah told the students.
"To you as well." they returned and bowed in respect once more. She shook her head, an entertained smile appearing once more as they stumbled to follow their teacher back to the training grounds before her attention turned to her daughter.
"Had you seen her before?" Haydar asked Fayez quietly as they walked behind Altaïr.
"I had. I did not know she was Ustadh's wife. She is beautiful!"
"She is like a rose." Haydar agreed.
"A rose that blossoms for one man alone and like every rose, she has her thorn." Altaïr said without looking back at his students, lifting his hand up slightly and unsheathing the hidden blade before placing it back in hiding with another flick of the wrist. He continued walking, not hearing a peep out of them any further. A smirk came across his lips freely as his students couldn't see his expression from behind. He knew that Aaliyah was stunning and men will always find her so. He also knew that she would forever be his and his alone.
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