After four hours, according Waqar, Maria woke Altaïr, both to see if he was okay, as to eat and drink something.
"The wound still hurt?" She asked, later.
Altaïr was tempt to as yes, which was true, but instead he denied:
"Not so much..." He said.
Maria knew he was lying, but let it be...
"Ali went to get help in Masyaf..." Said Maria, after a while. "Zahira must know more than I about medicine…"
Altaïr nodded.
"Zahira is our best doctor..." He said. "Because of wounds, in training and in missions we need to have doctors…"
Maria nodded.
"Just rest, my love..." she said.
Altaïr smiled.
"You know, it is the first time you say something to me, after my confession..." He said.
Maria smiled and looked at him.
"I love you, Altaïr… I really do... but you need to get better, so I can show you..." She said.
Altaïr nodded, lying down again. After, he reached out for her to lay beside him.
"Now, rest.." She said.
"Yes, ma'am..." He said.
Maria smiled and kissed his cheek.
X ~ X ~ X
Masyaf:
Ali galloped towards the city. Arriving at the front gate, said to the guards:
"It's Ali... is Malik on the fortress?"
"Yes..." said the guard.
"I need to talk to him"... said Ali. "Also, I need someone to prepare a horse-drawn caravan for me and catch Zahira with her things…"
"Why?" Asked the guard. "Who is sick?"
"The master..." Said Ali, entering the city.
X ~ X ~ X
"Malik..." Said Ali, finally stopping running, inside the tower.
Malik looked at Ali.
"What's wrong, Ali?"
"It's the master..." said the Assassin, trying to catch his breath. "He hurt himself in Acre and now has had some complications..."
"Where is he?" Asked Malik.
"We mounted a camp about 20 miles from here..." Said Ali. "I need to take Zahira, clothes and a caravan wagon..."
"Very well, take Raouf with you too..." Said Malik, not knowing the real state of his friend.
Ali nodded and exit, leaving a worried Malik.
X ~ X ~ X
Camp:
Waqar prepared something for them. Without making noise, he went to wakes up Maria, who sat scared.
"Sorry, Maria... I did something for us to eat..." Said Waqar.
He gave some plate for her. It was some freshwater fishes and bread. Maria didn't want, but knew she had to eat.
"Thank you, Waqar..." she ela.
He nodded.
"How is he?" He asked.
"Weak, but ate and drank a little…" Said Maria.
She looked at Altaïr... he was asleep again, but knew he was alert too...
"Waqar, how is Masyaf?" She asked.
"Masyaf is a fortress, in a mountain..." Said Waqar after eating some bread. "There is a city too around it..."
It's like a feudal camp in Europe... she thought. Without the mountain, that's it...
They went quiet for a while.
"We defend the city and it provides us what we need…" finished the Assassin.
Maria nodded.
"And in the fortress?" She asked, eating a piece of fish, after taking of the thorns. "What you do there?"
"We train..." Said Waqar. "And study... and the men who have families take care of them when they aren't in missions... but this is only happening after the change in our stance…"
"It wasn't this way before?" Asked Maria.
Waqar denied...
"Al Mualim was a… hard line about it..." said the Assassin. "He believe that feelings towards family made us weak..."
How could someone be against it? She thought. She thought this kind of life was boring… to stay home, taking care of children, wasn't for her, but she wasn't against it….
"It was one of the first things the grand master changed…" Sid Waqar.
Sighing, she looked back at Altaïr.
He must had had a very sad childhood to do changes so differents…
Maria and Waqar finished eating, each one with their thoughts...
X ~ X ~ X
Maria yawned, tired of not having much to do. She sighed and looked at the sky...
I was already getting dark... Ali must be arriving soon... she thought.
"I can hear you thinking..." Said Altaïr.
Maria looked at him and smiled.
"About what I was thinking?" She asked.
Altaïr opened his eyes.
"I don't know... maybe it was about me?" He asked.
"How modest of you..." Said Maria, rolling her eyes. "No... I was thinking about Ali…"
Altaïr lifted an eyebrow.
"He should already have arrived..." She said.
"And here are we..." Said Ali, arriving.
Maria looked at the Assassin. With him were a woman and another Assassin.
"Altaïr, what have you done this time?" asked Zahira, kneeling beside him.
"Only a small wound that I arranged in Acre..." He said..
"Small?' Asked Maria. "I think the rafiq must have given twenty or something stitches in your ribs..."
"You must be Maria?" Said Zahira, looking at her. Maria nodded. Then Zahira turned back at "Okay, master... where is it?"
Altaïr raised the shirt and Zahira saw a rag there.
"But..." tried Zahira. "It's looking good…"
"I have to redo the stitches because he opened them..." Said Maria.
"I was defending you..." Altaïr tried to say.
Maria ignored him.
"Besides, he is weak because the loss of blood..." she finished.
Zahira nodded, taking off the rag there was on him...
"It's inflamed...".
"I know..." said Altaïr. "I just want to know if I can go home..."
"Yeah, we can take you…" said Zahira. "While they dismount the tents, we can go to the caravan wagon"
Altaïr nodded.
"Altaïr, before we go…" said Zahira with a small vial. "Take this… it will keep your strength..."
Altaïr knew the taste was horrible, but also that Zahira's medicine were good to cure and drank it at once…"
"Okay, now we go..." Altaïr said, getting up slowly.