Breakfast the next day was a casual affair, as though the argument between Achilles and Connor the night before had never happened. We all grabbed something simple before going our separate ways. Connor had briefly explained he wanted to run some errands around the area, and Achilles was working on the imports and exports of the small settlement. I was free to do as I pleased, so long as I didn't cause trouble.

I poked around the place in the morning, eager to see the area in person rather than through a screen. Certain areas I stayed further away from than others; I wasn't in a rush to get in a scuffle with wolves or a threatened elk if I made a mistake and fell from a branch.

I eventually came upon the area I remembered as Myriam's campsite. Animal skins were hanging up, scraped free of flesh and left to tan, and the woman herself was cutting up slabs of meat.

My drop from a nearby tree was about as quiet as it could be, given the snow. She glanced towards me as I got closer.

"Hey, there. Don't believe we've met." She said as she straightened up.

"No, we haven't. Myriam, right? Connor said something about you." I held out my hand to shake hers.

She took mine with a smile. "Yes, and you are?"

"Name's Courtney. I work with Connor." I looked around the camp. "Nice set up you've got here."

"Thanks, I've done my best to do what I can with the place." A hint of pride was in her voice.

"Connor mentioned you knew a thing or two about herbs. Do you think you could teach me a little something? I'd be happy to help with whatever you need in exchange." Back in my time, I'd had interest in botany - Paganism sometimes called for knowledge in the area. It'd been hard to find anything about medicinal uses, though; there wasn't much need for them when modern medicine had progressed to the extent it had.

She considered my request for a moment. "You know how to gut and skin an animal?"

I nodded. "Deer, rabbits, beavers. I've had a bit of practice."

"Well, I guess I can show you some of what I know, long as you help me in turn." She clapped a hand on my shoulder and led me towards where a small number of dead animals lied, and then I got to work.

I spent the better part of the day helping Myriam around her campsite, preparing the animals one by one, scraping meat off of hide, and cutting meat. A couple hours before dark, we sat around the fire, eating a small meal of fresh, hot meat while she taught me about the different herbs she used. The few that she could collect during winter she showed me, detailing different uses for each. I managed to remember most of what she'd said, even with how much she'd managed to tell me in such little time.

When I noticed the orange of the sun was beginning to fade, I stood up. "Thanks for the meal, Myriam, but I'm afraid I need to be getting back now."

"Not a problem. You're welcome to drop by anytime, so long as you lend a hand." She said, nodding at me.

I waved before I left, taking the snow-covered road this time. I could have stuck with the trees, but I disliked the idea of slipping on an icy branch and breaking my limbs. Besides, it was easier to enjoy the way the fading sunlight glinted off the snow this way.

Slowly, the orange tinting melted into deep blue, and I reached the large building. I shook the snow off myself before I headed inside.

"Connor, I'm back." I called as I shut the door behind me. I walked into the dining room, only to be shoved back into the wall.

"What are you doing here?" It took me all of two seconds to realize it was Charles Dorian, the fucking French Assassin, who was speaking.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Bafflement washed over me. Dorian was supposed to be back in Virginia. Had he just come to investigate what I'd said about the Assassins and Templars?

"Dorian, she is not our enemy. Let her go." Came Connor's voice. I glared at Dorian as he looked at Connor in confusion.

"She's a-"

Connor cut him off. "Templar. Yes. I am aware."

With a final look of utter bamboozlement, Charles released me.

I straightened my clothes with a huff. "Can't even walk in a building without getting attacked these days." I grumbled.

"Would you care to explain why you are working with a Templar?" Dorian asked, frustration evident in his tone.

"We have been cooperating for some time, now. We both wish to see peace between the orders, and she was sent here to assist in rebuilding the colonial Brotherhood." Connor explained.

Dorian squinted at me, clearly still suspicious. "Then what were you doing at Delacroix's ball?"

"As I said before, I was sent there to kill him. He was-" A problem that needed solving, I finished in my head. I paused at my phrasing. Delacroix had been a person, an asshole, but still a person. "He'd caused issues for us both. It was in everyone's best interests to take him out."

Dorian looked like he wanted to ask something else, but was interrupted by Achilles.

"Yes, he attempted to get in the way of some colonial-native negotiations in July. They concluded peacefully, though we still have issues with who the land will go to."

Dorian's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"It was bought by William Johnson, a Templar. Unfortunately, he died in August from some health problems." I answered.

"Now we're forced to trust that her leader will choose someone decent to oversee the property." Achilles added.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "He might not always be the most pleasant person, but Haytham's not going to throw those people to the wolves."

Dorian butted in again, before Achilles and I got into an argument. "When did this alliance start? Why didn't you send word to other branches?"

"We've only just barely begun to rebuild here in the colonies. I didn't want to get my hopes up, should we we fail. The alliance started… roughly a year ago." Achilles said.

Dorian let out a ragged sigh. "You're aware that this is going to cause problems in other rites, correct?"

Achilles snorted. "It's what I tried to tell Connor, at one point. Take it up with the boy, if you think you can convince him."

Connor stepped closer to Dorian. "What happens in the colonies is the business of the colonial Brotherhood."

"Your actions have consequences in other branches." Dorian ground out. "If you start an alliance, that means that either the rest of us will have to deal with the obstacles that entails, or we'll have to follow suit, regardless of our current situations."

"What kind of obstacles would you face?" Connor asked.

"If a French Templar escapes to the colonies, will you hunt them down at our request, or leave them be to avoid jeopardizing the peace between your orders? If we need assistance from you, will you be able to help, or will your hands be tied by the rules you've set?" Dorian stared hard at Connor for a moment. "This 'peace' is going to complicate matters - it might even cause a rift from within."

"Is anything simple with us?" I argued. "We mess with highly unstable tools made thousands of years ago, murder each other in the name of our goals - without ever even reaching them -, orchestrate entire wars just to gain the upper hand for, what, a decade or two?"

Achilles sent me a withering look. "Change this radical is difficult, and it could destroy the very foundations of our orders."

"Then maybe the foundations are shit." I hissed.

"Enough." Connor grabbed hold of my arm and led me out of the room. His voice was low when he spoke to me again, hands firmly set on my shoulders. "We will already have difficulty convincing Charles Dorian to accept the peace here in the colonies. We do not need the task to be even harder because of your words."

I felt my lip curl up in the slightest of sneers. "But I'm just telling the truth-"

"You are interrupting an important conversation between Assassins. We may be allies, but this is not something for you to sort out. Please. Let Achilles and me handle this." Connor said, his tone changing from commanding to pleading as he spoke.

I looked away from him and shrugged his hand off my arm. "Alright." I said. "I'll be upstairs."