Cynthia's POV

The bells of the city alarm suddenly began ringing, echoing across the entire city of Jerusalem as a signal of danger. My eyes widened slightly at the sudden sound, shocked to find that they had gone off the moment that I had requested it to do so. My wish had been granted; I assumed, and as of now, the plan had all ready begun its first stages. Altaïr must have stolen the attention of the guards, I thought, and now he should be busy distracting those fools as we speak. Now there was no time to waste standing here reveling in the sound of signal. Now, it was the time to make our escape, the great escape; while the guards were occupied and no one was watching when they were supposed to be keeping me safe from harm from the very beginning. A smile formed on my face. The sense of freedom was slowly but surely coming to me. The only way I could reach it was if I chased after it, sought it out, grasped it in the palms of my own hands. Then, and only then would I know what the true meaning of freedom, of life, of and peace, was.

"What the Hell?" muttered Diana as she approached the balcony doors, "Qu'est-ce qui se passe?"

My smile grew even more at her question.

"That is the signal," I responded, turning my head to her. "Now, we make our escape!"

The young auburn haired woman looked back at me as I slipped on the dark robe with haste; confusion written on her lightly paled face.

"This is the signal?" She asked, earning a nod from me. "Etes-vous hors de votre esprit?" I tossed her another black robe. "What is this for?"

"Go and find Ada. She should be busying patrolling, as is Alexandra," I explained. "I will find Alexandra and give the robe to her. Meet me at the city walls of the Poor District and stay in the shadows." I looked back at her, a serious expression written on my face. "We do not want anyone becoming suspicious of what we are doing...or going to do."

She blinked once.

"But you cannot walk out of this building looking like that!" I quickly put up my hood. "How are you going to get around them?"

I stared at her for a long moment before looking toward my balcony, staring at the rays while listening to the echoing sound of the city bells. At that moment, one thought crossed my mind, a single memory appeared before my eyes. I recalled one night from last, when I was with Altaïr and had assassinated Majd Adin, when I asked him how he was able to hide from or escape the guards so easily. I blinked once as a small smirk crossed my lips, remembering very vividly his response;

"We Assassins always take to the rooftops. Some may follow us, but by the time they reach the top, we are all ready gone."

With those words in mind, I approached the balcony doors hastily and opened the doors, standing there and taking in the breeze that had entered the room. I sensed Diana watching me, wondering what I was up to and why I had approached the balcony so suddenly and abruptly. Inhaling in a deep, shaky breath, I stared at the roof that stood across from my balcony as it basked in the rays of the sunlight. It appeared to be close enough to actually leap onto if I picked up enough speed to do it. Unfortunately, the distance from the doors to the edge of the balcony itself was wide enough to walk around on, but not long enough to give me the speed I need to actually leap onto the next building. However, if I moved back far enough, it may have been a good enough length to give me a chance. I pursed my lips. There was no way I would be able to figure it all out, I thought, until I actually tried.

Taking in another deep breath, I began taking a few steps back, my eyes remaining locked on the building across from me.

"Cynthia, what are you doing?" Diana questioned, watching me with a bit of curiosity and worry.

For a moment, I did not respond to her, but remained focused on what I planned to do. I continued taking steps back until I felt my legs brush against the side of my bed. At that point, I began breathing deeply, as if I were unconsciously trying to calm my nerves.

"I am going to try something..." I finally responded, "...something absolutely crazy."

With those words spoken, my legs suddenly acted as I began sprinting toward the edge of the balcony as fast as I could. Diana attempted to stop me by grabbing my arm, realizing what I had just said, but was unable to grab a hold of me. A surge of excitement began to fill my body as the ledge of the balcony railing began to approach me, as if I were taking leap of faith if my own in order to gain the freedom I had desired for so long. Yes, I thought, a leap of faith, much like what Altaïr did nearly every single day as an Assassin. When I thought about it, doing something like this – leaping between gaps in order to reach the other side – made me feel a lot like Altaïr, a lot like an Assassin. Although I was a Templar, I truly felt like my supposed enemy. With that in mind, questions entered my head. If I were to leave Jerusalem for good and escape the wedding, would I still be considered a Templar, or one of them? If not, would I join the side with whom the Templars had been fighting against for so long? Would I become an enemy of the Templars; the people I used to love and respect?

My eyes narrowed a bit at the thoughts and questions, yet only one answer crossed my mind as my foot leapt onto the balcony's railing: Yes.

I felt my leg push against the railing, moving me forward and toward the building in front of me. My arms stretched out in front of me, praying that they would be long enough to reach and grasp the edge of the rooftop. It felt like time suddenly slowed down and all else fell silent, with the only sound being my shaky breathing. The wind brushed against my face and rustled my hair. It was lmost as if I were flying across the sky, soaring through the air with as much elegance and grace as a dove taking flight for the very first time in its young life; as if it had no idea it could just spread its wings and allow the wind to take it places. Nothing in the world was able to break me from this moment, this leap of faith. It was as if everything in the world no longer existed in my life; nothing but that single moment in time, that single second. However, all things must come to an end eventually. That ending happened to be my hands connecting to the edge of the rooftop, my chest slamming into the side of the building and knocking me out of my thoughts.

The wind was knocked out of my body upon impact, yet I still held on tightly, gripping as if my life depended on it when in reality it did. Taking in a shaky breath, I pulled myself up onto the rooftop and quickly got to my feet. I sat on my knees for a moment, catching my stolen breath from the collision against the building, before slowly returning to my own two feet. I did not feel dizzy at all despite what had happened. In fact, I felt more alive, for lack of a better term. My arms were shaking, but not violently as most others' probably would have been. A smile crept onto my face as I looked down at my hands. So, I thought to myself as I clenched and unclenched my hands, this was the kind of thing Assassins did every single day: leap from building to building, leaps of faith, all of that stuff. If only I had realized that a long time ago, experienced it myself, and understood what it meant to be one of them. According to Altaïr, the Assassins were not supposed to be blood-thirsty killers as we had made them out to be, knowing full well that they did not go around killing all of the Templars at one time, but only the ones that were the most important. It was mainly the Templars who dealt the most damage to people, my people, and did not care much for others (that, or they did but were injuring them more than helping).

I clenched my hands tightly, eyes narrowing. Now was not the time to reminiscence about the past, but look toward the future.

"Cynthia!" I heard a hushed call. Blinking, I turned around and spotted Diana, her face contorted into one of shock and fear. "What the Hell was that? Are you alright?"

I stared at her for a long moment before giving her a smile.

"I already told you," I started in a loud, but hushed tone so no one would hear me, "I was doing something crazy!"

"Crazy? You've gone mad, Cynthia!" She exclaimed in a low tone. "You could have gotten yourself killed doing something like that!"

"You need not worry about me, Diana," I responded. "I feel fine, out of breath but fine."

I watched her sigh and mutter something, but due to the distance, I could not hear what she was saying to me. Then, she looked back.

"Fine, as long as you are all right," she said. I nodded.

"Now go," I told her. "Find Ada, give her the robe I tossed to you, and remember this. Keep your hood on, your head down, and remain within the shadows."

"How do you know all of this?" She questioned, tilting her head to one side. "You sound like...like an Assassin or something."

At that point, my body tensed at the word Assassin. Thankfully, I was at a distance and she would not notice it.

"Diana, it is common sense," I lied. "I understand how noticeable one could be in dark clothing, especially when out in the heat. However, if you remained in the shadows, it would be less difficult for guards to notice you." She stared at me for a long moment, but I realized standing there was only going to get me caught. We were wasting time, and I knew Altaïr would not be able to keep the guards busy for very long. "Look, there's no time to worry about how I know this information. We have to hurry!"

Without a word, she nodded and threw on her hood before walking out onto the balcony. She scanned the streets for a moment before spotting something of interest. Curious, I also looked down to find some guards conversing with one another. I could not hear what they were saying, but after another moment or two, the guards ran down the street, leaving their posts unattended.

"Well," Diana said out loud. "That...seemed coincidental..."

Shrugging absently, she quickly leapt over the side of the building and landed safely on the ground, gripping the robe that was saved for Ada. Without even realizing it; I noticed that many of the civilians that used to wander the streets were no longer around, giving Diana a clear path on both sides. She looked back up at me, and gave me a small nod before turning and running in the direction in which I assumed Ada had headed. Knowing Alexandra was in the opposite direction, I looked over the rooftops of the buildings, and took in a small, but deep breath, before making my way toward the next building.

A Few Minutes Later...

My eyes narrowed as I glared at the crowd in front of me, waiting for Alexandra to pass by during her patrol. I hid in the confines of an alleyway, gripping Alexandra's robe in my hand, and waiting for said woman to pass by. I had spotted her moments ago, knowing she was headed toward me, before losing her within the crowds. At that point, one of the guards had spotted me from a distance, but thankfully did not recognize me in my dark attire. Not wanting to cause any trouble or get caught too soon, I quickly spotted the alleyway I currently stood in and leapt off the building, not even realizing how high it was until I hit the ground. I was unscathed, but I still felt a little sore in the legs from the high drop. Now, I stood in the darkness of the alleyway, waiting for Alexandra to pass by on her patrolling. I prayed she did not get dragged along with the other guards to chase down Altaïr, or the plan would be delayed a bit. However, knowing the dark haired woman, she would do no such thing, as the Assassin was our ally. Unfortunately, there was no way I could spot her through the thickening crowd, possibly due to everyone trying to stay clear of the chase that was going on.

I pursed my lips.

"Damn it..." I muttered, scanning the crowds of people in search of the dark haired Templar. "Alexandra, show yourself already!"

Suddenly, as I said those words, the environment went dark, as if the sunlight had vanished. The buildings turned darker than what I was used to seeing, almost blue. The civilians that wandered the streets turned into a dark grey color, almost blending with the buildings around them. My eyes widened slightly, shocked by the sudden change of scenery. For a long moment, I just stared at everything that I saw in front of me, but at the moment, nothing seemed to come up. It was just a bunch of dark colored civilians wandering by on the street. I assumed whatever was happening must have been caused by some sickness, but view, however, changed in just a few seconds. One particular person, just as they started to walk past the opening of the alley, had turned into a yellow-gold color. My eyes focused on the person for a long moment, wondering who it could have been that they had turned into a gold shade. Just as I began focusing on the person, everything suddenly returned to normal, yet my eyes remained focused on the person who was golden. It did not register to me that everything had returned to normal until I recognized who the person that I was looking at turned out to be.

My eyes widened as I took a few steps to the exit of the alleyway, but not enough to fully revealing myself.

"Alexandra!" I called out, but in a bit of a low tone so as to not alert any civilian who recognized my voice, which I doubted entirely. Oddly enough, the dark haired woman had heard my call, since she stopped walking and turned around, scanning the crowd in order to find out who was calling her. Unfortunately, her brown eyes did not fall upon me and simply looked out in the opposite direction in which she had walked from. "Alexandra!" I called out once more, only this time a bit louder. "In the alleyway!"

Upon reaction, her head turned directly to the closest alleyway she could spot, which happened to be the one I stood in. Eyebrows furrowed as she stared me, unable to make out who it was due to the hood. Nevertheless, I quickly motioned for her to come over to me. She stared at me for a long moment before looking around, possibly making sure there were none of the other guards were watching her. Once the coast was clear, she looked back at me and began walking over to me; her face filled with wonder yet caution. I could not blame her. I would have done the same thing if someone were dressed in a dark robe hiding in an alleyway, calling my name and beckoning me to approach them without giving any specific reasons.

Alexandra approached me as I moved further into the alley in order to keep anyone from seeing the both of us. She still held a look of caution, one hand placed on the hilt of her sword just in case.

"May I ask what it is that you want, madam?" She questioned; her voice disinterested as if she did not want to be here any longer. I smiled warmly as I removed my hood, revealing my brown colored hair and forest green eyes. Brown eyes widened as realization struck Alexandra. "Cynthia?" She exclaimed in a low tone. "How did you get here without getting caught by other guards?"

"I took the rooftops," I told her. Confusion filled her face, but I did not give her time to question as I handed her the black robe that Altaïr had given to me. "I will explain later, but as of now, we are leaving the city."

She took the dark material and smiled, yet her eyes still held confusion in them.

"The city alarm was the signal?"

I nodded as she began putting the robe.

"Yes. As of now, Altaïr must have gotten the guards attention and they are probably chasing him down as we speak." I paused for a brief second as she finished putting the robe on. "We do not have much time before they find out about me."

"Who gave these to you, anyway?" She asked as she looked over herself for a moment.

"Altaïr did," I simply responded as I threw on my hood.

She turned around as her eyes narrowed.

"You must be joking..." She questioned, earning a small nod from me. She sighed, "That poor man. Making him go through all that trouble just to get you a few robes."

"I did not tell him to get them. He got them of his own will. I simply said that we needed some sort of disguise, and the next day he comes back with these," I explained.

"Still, I feel sorry for him," she simply said while I shook my head at her.

"We do not have time to be speaking right now," I told her. "Diana and Ada should be waiting near the route we must take in order to get to the gates safely. Altaïr cannot distract the guards forever, so we must go now!"

Alexandra nodded before putting on her hood, as did I.

"All right," she said. "Lead the way."

With a nod, I turned around and ran to the opposite end of the alleyway, poking my head out to scan the streets. I needed to search for any of the guards just in case they had started looking for me. Suddenly, everything turned dark once again, the streets, the buildings, even the sky. The civilians once again turned into a dark grey color, but I could still make out each and every one of them. I still felt confused as to what was happening, but as I thought that, something strange caught my eye. Three red figures stood at the far end of the street, as if they were speaking to one another. When I tried to make out who they were, the world suddenly returned to normal as it had moments ago when I went searching for Alexandra. When everything cleared up, my eyes widened slightly as I realized just who the red figures turned out to be. It was the people I used to work with, the people I had followed all my life; it was the Templars.

"Cynthia?" Said Alexandra, breaking me from my thoughts.

Blinking, I took a few steps back, my eyes still wide from the shock. What the hell was that? I thought to myself. Why am I suddenly seeing colors on different people? Did it have some sort of meaning? When I saw Alexandra, she was a gold color, but when I looked at the guards, they were a red color instead. Did they have two different meanings; as if they were two different kinds of people that meant two different things?

"Cynthia, are you alright?" Alexandra spoke again, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Once again, my thoughts were broken. My gaze returned to her, yet they held confusion.

"Um..." I muttered, placing a hand on my head for a moment. "Yes...I think so..."

"Are you sure?" She questioned, her voice filled with worry.

I did not want that; I did not want her to worry. Not when we were so close to freedom. I sent her a reassuring smile.

"Yes," I responded. "I saw something...odd." She said nothing more as I looked in the direction in which the Templars were, only to find them gone; possibly going off to see what was going on.

Silently, I motioned for Alexandra to follow me before running out to the street, heading to wherever Diana and Ada were, hopefully, hiding out until we got to them. My mind pondered on the last thing I said to Alexandra for a long moment.

Yes, I wondered. Very odd, indeed...