Part 14

A couple days went by, Altair watched as Tamar improved greatly. He quickly got over the fact that her clothing was a different color, for she made up for it. Another thing noticed with her clothing was she kept her hood up. She looked like a true Assassin, but the Council of Assassins were outraged of who he was teaching. He had explained many times, in the Council, why he was training her. Even though they approved of the reason, they still did not like the fact that the student was a female and believed she was still weaker than the other students, and would be killed anyway. It was true that physical strength wasn't her strong point, but she was stronger that Altair expected, Tamar's speed gave her a great advantage. She made her moves unpredictable.

Altair wasn't there to train Tamar all the time though. He was busy constructing a new hidden blade, one that won't allow a sacrifice to be made. At these hours, Malik would take over her training. There was only one problem: Abbas and his student, Borak. Both didn't accept Tamar as a student, and both insulted Altair and his student. That was when he realized Tamar didn't care if she was insulted, but was enraged if he or Malik were. One day, he decided to ask her about it. They were in his office.

"Tamar," Altair began to ask from behind his desk. "Why do you keep protecting me when we are both insulted?" Tamar thought about this for a while.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "To me, it's instinct to me; I can't change it." Altair gave her a questioning look.

"Instinct?"

"That is the only way I can explain it." Tamar gave him a half smile. "After Matthew died, I was very attached to everyone that meant something to me. I couldn't bare to see anyone get hurt." There was a small pause. "Um, Altair, you have been teaching me to stay protecting the kids, right?" Altair nodded, not sure where this was going. "Wh-What if Philip got a hold off them? How should I fight for if he has them? Do I go on revenge?" She gave him a look that told him she was scared. Sighing, he gave his best possible answer.

"Use that instinct of yours." He looked at her. "Instincts are usually the best thing to follow."

Tamar was at the bottom of the garden, looking over the railing, having the day off. She felt somewhat sore, but she ignored it. Her right hand was healing up well. Her shoulder was doing incredibly well, especially with the training. She had taken out her necklace, but it just laid against her chest. After the first training day, she kept her hood up, as she noticed Altair and the other Assassins did. That day, she gave them respect, and it was also to put Borak on edge. Tamar also noticed how Altair was pressured by the other Assassins for training her, and he was also their leader, for they called him "Master".

"So, the little bitch thinks she an Assassin?" Tamar whipped around as soon as she heard those familiar word, rage filling her. But, as she turned, her arms were pinned against the railing. Her green eyes looked into fierce dark ones. "Your presence is not welcomed here!" Borak growled the whisper in her ear. This caused her to shutter as she tried to break free, but he had firm grips on her arms. Tamar had a bad feeling about this: Not only were his hands keeping her arms captive, but his body was pressed against hers. "There is only one good place for woman like you!" Turning her around, Borak tried throw Tamar to the ground, but she dug her feet into the ground, stopping her from falling. Quickly, she elbowed him in the throat. Then, she kicked him in the gut, making him step back.

"I am not submissive!" She roared at him. Regaining his footing, he charged at her. Something seemed wrong or different, but, Borak was throwing punch after punch and missing her completely. Tamar ducked twice before throwing a punch at him in the jaw. Now, he was enraged. He then lept at her, pinning her to the ground. He wrapped his arms around her throat, choking her. Tamar's mind began to panic and before she knew what was happening, she put her feet under his torso and flipped him, making him let go of her throat. She gasped as air returned into her body. They both got up at the same time and charged.

Out of no where, someone had hit Tamar's side and threw her to the ground. She was too dazed to see who hit her, but tried to get up.

"And you call yourself an Assassin?" Boomed an older man's voice. She looked up, blinking. When her vision came back, the grabbed the front of her shirt and lifted her so her feet were in the air. Suddenly, someone snatched his arm. Then, the person swung a punch with their free arm, knocking the man to the ground. Tamar was released and stumbled as she landed, only to grabbed by the arm to balance her.

"How dare you attack my student!" Altair roared. He brought Tamar behind him, releasing her. She watched the man and Altair glared at each other. Then, she recognized the man as Abbas.

"Your student?" Abbas began to laugh. "A female cannot be an Assassin! It has never happened before, why should it happen now?" Even though Tamar was outraged by these questions, she looked up to see Altair's response. He stood with rage in his eyes, but he was quite calm.

"Why should skill be determined by gender?" He answered. "From the look of things, she can defend herself quite well." He nodded to Borak's injuries. Tamar couldn't help but smirk at this, "But, if you need more proof, I - no - she will prove it tomorrow. My student versus your student. That seems quite fair." He put a hand on her shoulder. Everyone was shocked at this. There was silence for no one knew what to say. Abbas was the first to recover.

"What is the meaning of this?" He questioned. "What will this prove?"

"If Tamar wins, it will prove that it doesn't matter if a person is male or female, and you and your student must leave her alone." He sighed before continuing. "And if Borak wins, Tamar will leave and never come back. And it will prove you were right." Abbas thought about this for a while. Tamar's heart began to beat fast. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea.

"Deal, but, it will be out on the training field, where everyone can see." He answered with a sneer.

"Fine." Altair walked over to Abbas and shook his hand making the deal official. "We meet tomorrow, at midday."

"No! This is not fine!" Malik scolded. Altair was sitting in his chair at his desk. The sun was just setting. "Are you that arrogant? Tamar is a child compared to Borak! She's not invincible! Borak will kill her within seconds!" The Grandmaster rose from his seat, enraged.

"How can you have such doubt in her?" Altair roared. "You have trained herself, you've seen her improve faster than anyone! Not to mention, Tamar has two advantages over him: One is her speed, and the other is something Borak possesses: His anger. He is blinded by that when he fights. If she uses these two to her advantage, she could win!" He said with pride. Malik shook his head.

"True, there are those advantages, but," he sighed. "Tamar has some weaknesses as well. Her major one is her overdeveloped loyalty. He doesn't have to insult her to make her angry." Altair looked down. He knew that was the weakness of Tamar. She would rather defend her friends than herself. Sitting back down, he looked at Malik.

"What should I do then?" His friend thought about this for a while.

"Teach her to get a hold of her emotions."

In her room, Tamar began to pace. She wasn't sure if she was mad at Altair or happy. Angry because he brought her into a different and difficult situation. Glad because he was proving to everyone that she was just as good as everyone else and she had a chance to face Borak without being interrupted. She wasn't tired; she was anxious. Suddenly, there was knock at her door. Opening it, she saw it was Altair. The first thing she did even shocked both of them. She smacked him across the face. But, as she felt relief, she started to punch him in the chest.

"How could you do that?" She shouted at him, stepping away. "Do-Do you possibly believe I am ready for this?" She felt warm tears form in her eyes, but forced them back. Altair grabbed Tamar's wrists before she could hit him again. Gently, he guided her to the bed where she sat and he knelt before her. He then moved his hands to her upper arms.

"You are ready and strong." Altair looked at her in away she thought she would never see again: The way her parents and Matthew had looked at her. Suddenly, she began to shudder. "But, you have one more lesson to learn. We don't have time now, but tomorrow, I will teach you how to keep calm. Now, get some rest." Leaning forward, he kissed her on the forehead, then left the room, leaving Tamar in tears. Why did Altair have to be so much like the ones Tamar lost?