An Assassin's Trust
Summary: Achilles adopted daughter, Beth, is one of the best Assassin he's trained, but her past is dark, so dark neither of them will talk about it. Now, Connor, Achilles' new Assassin – in – training works with Beth but in order to trust her, he wants to know her past. Will she be willing to reveal her past so easily to him? Can he prove to Beth that he can be trusted? Eventually Connor X OC.
Rating: T
Chapter Eleven: His Village And His People
~ LadyRavenOfTheNight
Ratonhnhaké:ton sat nervously in the kitchen the next morning as he waited for Beth to re-enter the Manor. He decided he couldn't wait and exited the Manor and met Beth in the stables as she fed the horses. "Good Morning, Ké:ton" greeted Beth. "To you as well" replied Ratonhnhaké:ton, shifting nervously on his feet. "Is everything okay?" asked Beth, noticing Ratonhnhaké:ton actions. "You did not answer me yesterday" said Ratonhnhaké:ton, looking at Beth. "About what?" asked Beth, finishing with the horses. "I asked you to go to my village with me" said Ratonhnhaké:ton. Beth looked at her feet and picked at her fingernail. "Do you….. do you really want me to go with you?" she asked timidly. "Yes" replied Ratonhnhaké:ton, giving Beth a smile. "Okay, just give me a few minutes to get ready" smiled Beth, heading off towards the Manor.
Beth met Ratonhnhaké:ton at the front door not long after and set off for Ratonhnhaké:ton's village. As they neared the village wall, a few native children came running at Ratonhnhaké:ton. "Ratonhnhaké:ton! Ratonhnhaké:ton!" they said as they gathered around him. Ratonhnhaké:ton spoke to them in his native tongue. One girl around the age of ten turned to Beth before saying something to Ratonhnhaké:ton in their language. Beth figured he was introducing her because she heard her name in the sentence. The girl turned to Beth and smile, saying something in her own language. Beth flushed deeply with embarrassment and looked to Ratonhnhaké:ton to be saved. Ratonhnhaké:ton said something to the girl quickly, then she turned back to Beth. "Oh! It's very nice to meet you Bethany! My name is Kahn-tineta" the girl said quickly in English, smiling at Beth. "It's very nice to meet you too" replied Beth, smiling at the girl. Ratonhnhaké:ton said something to the children and they took off running towards the village.
"They are going to tell the Clan Mother we are here" said Ratonhnhaké:ton and he started to walk again but stopped when Beth didn't walk. "Is something wrong Beth?" asked Ratonhnhaké:ton. "Is it…. Is it okay for me to be here? What if they don't like me?" asked Beth quietly. "Of course. They will like you because you are my friend" smiled Ratonhnhaké:ton. Beth smiled in return and surprising Beth, and himself, Ratonhnhaké:ton took Beth's small hand in his own and they walked to the village together. Their hands slipped from each others as they entered the village and they were greeted with a man around Ratonhnhaké:ton's age jogged towards him calling his name. "Kanen'tó:kon!" said Ratonhnhaké:ton, pulling him into a hug. They exchanged a few words in their native tongue when Ratonhnhaké:ton turned to Beth and spoke in English. "Kanen'tó:kon, this is my friend Bethany. She lives in the Manor which I am staying. Beth this is Kanen'tó:kon, he is my childhood best friend. We grew up like brothers" explained Ratonhnhaké:ton to Beth and Kanen'tó:kon. "It is nice to meet you Bethany. Please call me Kanen if it is easier for you" said Kanen'tó:kon. "It's nice to meet you too Kanen, thank you" said Beth. The children from outside the village walls now circled Ratonhnhaké:ton and Beth again, wanting Ratonhnhaké:ton and Beth to play games with them. Others in the village had come to greet them as well. She flushed with embarrassment from the attention the villagers were giving her and held onto Ratonhnhaké:ton's wrist, moving closer to him. The village grew quiet as an elderly women came from one of the longhouses and Beth, guessing this was the Clan Mother, looked at her feet feeling awkward. "Oiá:ner" Ratonhnhaké:ton said as she approached them. Ratonhnhaké:ton introduced Beth to the Clan Mother in his native language. The Clan Mother then turned to Beth. "It's nice to meet you, Bethany. I am the Clan Mother of the Kanien'kehá:ka village. I welcome you" said the Clan Mother in English, smiling at Beth. "Thank you for having me" said Beth.
"Ratonhnhaké:ton, come speak with me a while" the Clan Mother said, walking towards a longhouse. "Of course, Oiá:ner" said Ratonhnhaké:ton said, not really wanting Beth to leave go of him. "I will be back in a short while. Kanen'tó:kon, I leave Beth in your care" said Ratonhnhaké:ton, following the Clan Mother. "Of course, Ratonhnhaké:ton" said Kanen'tó:kon. "Bethany! Bethany!" called a girls voice and Beth turned to see the young girl from earlier, Kahn-tineta, running towards her followed by a few younger girls. "Hi!" said Beth, smiling at the girl. "Can we braid your hair? It's so long. Please!" Kahn-tineta said, emphasizing the word 'so'. She continued to beg and the other girl followed suit. "Okay!" said Beth, laugh gently. The girls caught her by the hand and dragged her over to a seating area and sat her down. Kanen'tó:kon sat opposite. "Why are you here, Kanen'tó:kon?" Kahn-tineta asked. "Ratonhnhaké:ton left Bethany in my care" explained Kanen'tó:kon. "Fine, but do not bother us while we work" said Kahn-tineta, causing Beth to laugh.
"What was Ké:ton like when he was younger?" Beth asked. "Full of energy. Always wanted to hunt, to fight, to just move in general" explained Kanen'tó:kon, smiling at Beth. "Not much has changed so" laughed Beth. "No, it has not" Kanen'tó:kon laughed too. "How close were you?" asked Beth, Kahn-tineta still braiding her hair. "Like Ratonhnhaké:ton said, we were like brothers. He taught me how to hunt, how to fight. I suppose it was his way of making it up to me when he got us in trouble" explained Kanen'tó:kon. "Did he get you in trouble a lot?" smiled Beth. "Yes, unfortunately I could not talk him out of everything. Once, when we were eight, he talked me into climbing a tree with him at night outside the walls" said Kanen'tó:kon. "What happened?" asked Beth. "I fell and broke my arm. If I talked him out of it, we would not have gone outside that night and I would not have broken my arm. But I do not hold it against him, of course. He is my best friend for a reason, and he helped me back to the village that night and took the full blame for leaving the village walls that night" said Kanen'tó:kon, smiling with nostalgia.
"What is going on over here?" asked Ratonhnhaké:ton, walking up to them. "All done!" called Kahn-tineta and Beth stood up. Kahn-tineta had braided Beth's hair into one braided that fell down the right side of her chest and it was tied with a black hair tie with a small feather hanging from it. Falling down the left side of her face was a short length of hair that had beads braided into it. "You look beautiful" said Ratonhnhaké:ton before he could stop himself. "Thank you" replied Beth blushing. She cleared her throat and turned to Kanen'tó:kon. "Kanen was telling me stories of when you were younger" said Beth, smiling at Ratonhnhaké:ton. He cringed. "All good I hope" said Ratonhnhaké:ton, laughing along with Beth.
"Ratonhnhaké:ton! Ratonhnhaké:ton!" a few boys had joined the girls that were braiding Beth's hair and now called for Ratonhnhaké:ton attention. "Will you and Beth play Hide and Seek with us before you go?" one of the boys asked. Ratonhnhaké:ton sighed and looked between Beth and Kanen'tó:kon. The others in the village could only laugh as a group of kids stood outside the village walls drawing straws. Along with Ratonhnhaké:ton , Kanen'tó:kon and Beth. "Just like when we were children, Kanen'tó:kon. Will you stomach slow you down this time?" Ratonhnhaké:ton joked, playfully tapping Kanen'tó:kon's stomach. Kanen'tó:kon laughed, along with the children, and Beth playfully hit Ratonhnhaké:ton arm.
As a young boy drew the shortest straw, he leaned against the tree and started to count as the others ran off to hide. "What do I do?" asked Beth. "You do not know how to play Hide and Seek?" asked Ratonhnhaké:ton. Beth looked at her feet but said nothing. "Come on" he smiled, grabbing her hand. Ratonhnhaké:ton led Beth to a large tree and sat at the base, knees pulled to their chests. They heard the boy starting to find the others and giggled silently to themselves. Who knew that they were going to spend the evening acting like children! They still held hands and Ratonhnhaké:ton turned to face Beth. Their faces were close, too close, just like yesterday, and they knew it. It felt like yesterday. They were getting closer and closer until Ratonhnhaké:ton's hot breath ghosted Beth's lips, their foreheads touching. Beth gave Ratonhnhaké:ton's hand a squeeze. "Found you!" they heard the boy say as he ran to them. And again it was narrowly missed. And again they would not talk about what almost happened. They continued to play Hide and Seek until the sun set over the Valley.
"Thank you so much for having me" said Beth, as they said good bye to the village. "Bethany!" called Kahn-tineta, running to her. "Yes?" said Beth, kneeling to the girl's height. "I want you to have these" Kahn-tineta said, thrusting something into Beth's hand. Beth looked and saw a handmade, woven bracelet and a necklace with, as best as Beth could see, wolf teeth. "Did you make these?" asked Beth and Kahn-tineta nodded. "Thank you" smiled Beth and the young girl threw her arms around Beth's neck. Beth hugged her back before standing up and Ratonhnhaké:ton helped her with her new bracelet and necklace. They waved good bye to the village and set off for the homestead.
It was late when they arrived back at the Manor and they both went to bed. "Good night Beth" said Ratonhnhaké:ton, stopping at his bedroom door. "Hey, Ké:ton?" said Beth, stopping beside him. "Yes?" he turned to her. "I just want to say thank you for taking me to your village. I had so much fun" she said, standing awkwardly. It was silent for a moment before Beth threw her arms around Ratonhnhaké:ton's neck. "Thank you" she said once more into his shoulder. She then let go and went to her room, leaving a dazed Ratonhnhaké:ton standing in the hall.
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