Okay, so here I am again. Gosh I hate myself for saving over the original, well, second original chapter 11. I think I'm cursed with it. See, the first time I wrote Ch 11 I password protected and, of course, forgot the password. So then I started over again, hoping I put everything in it that I had earlier. It was awesome and I was so ready to post it, but I couldn't at the times. So I started on Chapter 12. As I said, work called me and I panicked and saved Ch12 over Ch11. And so here we are. I pray to the good Lord that this is alright and good and all that, considering I've left you all hanging for…a while. Which I'm very sorry about. I made the mistake of telling my boss(es) that I could work more over the summer, so that's most of what I've been doing. That and working on our pool and hanging with demanding friends.
So here we are, with the next installment of If Life Was Fair. :)
Disclaimer: I have it! I know how to get Altaïr!! I will lure him to me with a fake contract to assassinate someone, and when he gets near enough…BAM! Mine in a cage!! Bwahahahaha!! …Yeah right, I wish.
Slap in the Face
When I woke I was extremely disoriented. My brain felt fuzzy and nothing was familiar. The dark stone walls and floor seemed foreboding and the hard bed was not what I was used to. There weren't enough covers on me to keep me warm, even with the heat of the arm around my waist and body pressed against my bare back.
Hold it.
Arm? Body? I'm naked? I quickly rolled over and grimaced as pain washed over most of my lower body. When my vision straightened out, I was looking at the slumbering face of Altaïr. The occurrences of the previous night flooded my mind and I gasped audibly.
"You asshole!" I cried out, shoving the assassin away from me with as much strength as possible. He sat up immediately, the sheets pooling dangerously low around his lap.
"What?" he asked with lazy, yet alert eyes.
"You made me…argh!" I rolled over to the edge of the bed, doing my best to ignore the pain, and stood.
At least that's what I told my body to do. In reality I swayed upward and then fell to the ground with a cry of agony. My legs wouldn't even work correctly because of the pain and discomfort. Altaïr's feet suddenly appeared in my line of vision. "Nadra," he sighed, "What are you doing?"
"I can't stand, you…" I glared up at him and trailed off as my eyes fell upon his 'manhood'. I looked away quickly and curled up in a little ball, embarrassed. No wonder I hurt so much. I heard the assassin sigh again before moving away. When I next looked up he was over by the table, pulling on his clothes. I scowled and looked around, finding my own clothes in a chaotic pile in the corner.
I had just started pulling my way over to them when I felt something crusty on the inside of my thighs. I looked down and gasped. Blood.
"Don't worry Nadra, that happens the first time a woman lays with a man." I stared up at Altaïr with wide eyes. He was holding a thick blanket for some reason.
"Oh my…what if I'm pregnant?" I whispered.
"You won't be. Stop worrying," he sighed angrily before bending over and wrapping the blanket around me, pulling me up into his arms.
"What are you doing?" I asked hastily, wincing at the movement as he walked us down the halls, "And what do you mean stop worrying?"
He ignored me, however, so I just closed my eyes for a few seconds. I couldn't let my anger get the best of me. When I opened my eyes I noticed that, of course, we weren't the only people in the fortress. My heart almost stopped as several people passed us, nodding a greeting before moving on.
"OhmyGod Altaïr," I gripped the front of his robe.
"What is it now?"
"These people…" I closed my eyes again and forced myself to slow my breathing. Hyperventilation would not be good. When I was a bit more calm I opened my eyes and tried again, "They will assume the worst when they see us."
"They don't have to assume," he replied dryly, kicking open a door and setting me down on a cushioned chair.
"…W-what?" I watched him turn a switch by a large tub, causing steaming water to pour out of a spout. Despite the heat in the room, I felt my entire body go icy numb. Altaïr smirked at me.
"You were loud enough last night that the entire fortress knows what happened."
"Please tell me you're lying," I groaned. He shook his head and moved toward me, grabbing for the blanket. I clutched it close to me and glared at him, "What do you think you're doing?"
Dark eyebrows rose in surprise, "Well I thought it was obvious," he said blandly, "seeing as you can't function properly right now."
"No, I…" Not sure what to say, I frowned at him. With a sigh he leaned in to whisper in my ear.
"Come, Nadra," he murmured, sending chills down my spine as his lips brushed against my sensitive skin, "I've already seen you unclothed."
When he leaned back with a wicked grin I shook my head to rid myself of the sudden memories of the previous night. Then a realization came to me.
"That's it, I'm going to hell."
"So am I," Altaïr said with a chuckle, pulling me out of the chair and removing the blanket, "But why do you think you are?"
I sighed and let him start to clean me, seeing as it would probably be the only nice thing the selfish assassin would ever do or offer. "Because," I groaned, "I had unmarried sex. AND I technically committed adultery."
"Well," he said slowly, helping me out of the tub when I was all clean, "You were forced into that marriage."
I tested my legs and found I could stand alright, though I swayed a lot. Wrapping the large towel around me I looked up at him seriously, "That's not all I've been forced into doing."
"Oh hush, Nadra, you know you wanted it," he said after a few silent moments, turning to a table behind him that I hadn't noticed earlier. On it was a tiny plate of leaves and a pile of clothes. He handed me the leaves without looking at me, "Eat these. They'll keep you from becoming pregnant."
I chewed on the bitter leaves and kept my gaze downcast, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "Get dressed in these clothes," I heard him say. I looked up to reply but he was already leaving, not even sparing a glance in my direction. I frowned and swallowed before shuffling over to the clothes, finding undergarments, pants and a shirt. I sighed.
"No shoes for me today…"
After five minutes of struggling I finally was dressed and, since I didn't know where to go exactly, I hobbled down random hallways and flights of stairs, assuming I'd run into someone who could tell me what to do. Soon enough I came across a short, muscular man with light brown hair and black eyes.
"You must be Lamya!" he cried out, rushing across the hall to shake my hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you! My name is Ta'ilam. How are you?"
"I'm great," I lied, smiling down on the strange man. He had to be no more than five feet tall. "What about you?"
"Where are your shoes?" he asked suddenly, ignoring my question. I laughed nervously.
"I don't know."
"Well, I'll get you some and then you can start your training. Follow me!" Without waiting for a reply or even looking to see if I followed, Ta'ilam bounded down the hall with the energy of a five year old. All I could do was wonder.
What training?
"No way. I can't do this," I said stubbornly, refusing to move from my comfortable sitting position on the hard ground. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared up at the lean, dark haired man standing before me.
"Lamya," he said sternly, dark green eyes flashing. He crossed his arms over his own chest, mocking me.
"Mular," I mocked back, cocking my head to the side.
"Come now, we've all heard what a wonderful archer you are," he grinned, "prove it."
"I can hardly stand, let a lone fire an arrow accurately," I snapped, waving my hand at the targets lined up neatly several yards away.
"A rough night in bed isn't an excuse." He said seriously. My face paled and he laughed, "Yes, I know what happened."
"That jerk! He didn't even listen to me!" I growled, slowly getting to my feet, not meeting his eyes so I wouldn't feel like I was lying about the next part, "I didn't even want to."
"That doesn't matter," Mular said offhandedly. I blinked up at him, swaying on my unsteady feet.
"What do you mean?" I asked in shock.
"Altaïr always gets what he wants," he shook his head with a smile and picked up a long bow. I stared at him in horror.
"Take it as a compliment, Lamya," Mular said almost sadly, "Altaïr doesn't want women very often. It's rare that he's attracted to someone. Take the bow."
I frowned and took the nicely made weapon, hobbling over to the marker, "But Altaïr hates me. Do I have to do this?"
"So? You're beautiful, but that doesn't mean he likes you," he shrugged as if it were so simple. I was too angry and confused to notice the compliment. He grinned, handing me an arrow, "And yes you do. Enemies will not go easy if you yourself are injured."
I muttered oaths under my breath and lined up the best I could, aiming and firing recklessly, missing the target by a few feet. "See!" I cried, already frustrated, "I can't do this!"
Mular handed me another arrow, "You'd better learn how to."
"Or what?" I looked at him incredulously.
"You sleep out here tonight." I waited for him to laugh at his own joke, but when he didn't I sighed and took the arrow, already knowing it would take me forever.
Indeed, two and a half hours later I finally got a break and wasn't too much better, though the pain from the night before was fading.
"Why do I have to do this?" I panted after draining almost an entire pitcher of water. It was way too hot for any of this.
"Look where you are, Lamya," Mular said in a lazy voice from his reclined position against a nearby boulder. "You're with a league of assassins. Not the safest place to be. You must be prepared for an attack at any time."
I sighed and laid back in the shade of the small tree, staring up at the blue sky through the still leaves. Just one breeze is all I ask for…I rolled on my side and looked at him, still frowning. Why does it seem like I've been doing that so much lately? "But I've never had problems standing or balancing before," I pointed out, "And it's not going to happen again, so why can't we just wait till tomorrow when I'll feel better."
"Because you never know what will happen," he smiled, getting to his feet and stretching, "Break's over, let's go."
"Yes, O Great Archery Master," I muttered with great sarcasm, pushing myself to my feet and wincing. When would the surprises and pain end?
A/N: Wow, so I know I ended the first one completely different and I think it was longer, but oh well. I think this was pretty good. My wording and descriptions certainly got a bit better after writing this chapter THREE TIMES. Heh. But yeah, I also wanted to point out that the one guy in Don't Mess with the Zohan looks like Desmond/Altaïr. The one who works at the electronics store and then plays Hackie Cat with Zohan at the nerd's house. I just thought that was kinda cool. Was like, Duuuuude…Desy/Alty…weird…lol.
ANYWAY, hope you like this, chapter twelve will be up next week. Hopefully. XD Love ya guys! You readers make me!