CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE:
The Great Fire
DATE: OCTOBER 2011
LOCATION: NEW YORK CITY
My brow furrowed as I looked at the monitor that was next to the computer I used to login. Isabella Lavertue was definitely Casey's ancestor, there was no questioning it. But my eyes lingered on the woman with copper-colored hair. It felt as though I knew her, or recognized her at the very least.
It was painfully obvious the woman with the copper-colored hair was an Assassin. When she removed the coat and exposed the white vest that had the beaked hood... that's when Casey's ancestor obtained her free-running from an Assassin.
I watched as the memory ended and a little message popped up on my screen:
MEMORY SEQUENCE END. WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTINUE?
"All right, Case," I said into the headset I was wearing, "I'm gonna take you out so you can stretch your legs for a bit." I made sure to type in the correct code to decline the offer for Casey to continue the session. She'd been in the Animus for well over two hours.
"Sounds good."
I entered in a few more codes. When I finished, another message popped up:
SUCCESSFUL REMOVAL FROM ANIMUS 2.0.
Casey opened her eyes, so I got up from my chair and removed the heart and brain monitors that I had attached to Casey during the session (having forgotten to when the session began).
"How're you feeling?" I asked as I looked at her closely. "And it was the Great Fire of 1904. You said 1903."
"So what? I was off by a few months from the looks of things." Casey rolled her shoulders a few times. "I feel fine. A little freaked out that I could relive my great-great grandma's memories, but other than that I'm peachy." She rubbed the back of her head. "That woman that Isabella was with... something about her seemed familiar." Casey looked at me. "When I saw her face, something in my own mind told me that it was someone I knew—or know, actually."
I nodded once. "I know. I was watching the memory as you progressed through it." I reached into my back pocket and grabbed my phone. "Something about 'Emily Prince' is familiar to me, too." I dialled my home phone, waiting only a bit before Heather picked up.
"Hey Emma, what's up? Is Casey okay?" she asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, she's fine. I have her out and taking a breather." I sighed. "Can you tell me who my great-great grandmother was on my mom's side of the family?"
Heather must've been sitting in the living room or outside because I heard a door open and close. "Let me check…" I tapped my fingers impatiently on the table while Casey was walking around, trying to get used to being in 2011 New York City after reliving memories that happened in 1903 Toronto. "Okay Em, my great-grandmother was Emily Prince. She lived in New York State."
I swallowed as Casey looked at me. "A-Anything about, perhaps, Canada?" I asked weakly.
Heather must've been flipping through a journal and looking online. "Yeah. She helped an 'Isabella Lavertue' escape her shop when the Great Toronto Fire of 1904 happened." My hand (that was holding the phone) was shaking. Casey was staring at me."Why do you want to know this?"
"B-Because."
"Emma, why do you want to know this?"
It finally clicked. The copper-colored hair, the dark eyes, the demeanor… Emily Prince was my ancestor. My ancestor interfered with Casey's ancestor. "No reason," I replied calmly. "Thanks for the information."
Heather hung up without another word. I rubbed my eyes. "You wanted to say something?" I asked as I looked at Casey.
"Yeah," she said. "Emily Prince. What's with her? She's an Assassin—that was blatantly clear when she removed her coat—but something else about her seemed familiar to me."
I nodded slowly as I crossed my arms and leaned back in the chair. "Emily Prince was my ancestor, Casey. She was my aunt's and my mom's great-grandmother." Casey's jaw was on the ground.
"S-So, lemme get this straight: your family and my family knew each other a hundred years ago?!" I nodded slowly as Casey's eyes widened.. "Wow… I wondered what happened that caused our families to drift apart."
I shrugged. "Isabella probably met someone and Emily probably did the same—unless Emily already has a fiancé or boyfriend by this point in history." I sat back down and clicked on Emily's file. "Yep," I said as I tapped the screen with my finger. "Says right here that she was engaged to a man named…" I trailed off as I scrolled down the screen. "Ah! Garret Ross! He must've been affiliated with the Assassins. He has his own file."
I felt my brow furrow. "What's wrong Emma?" I looked at Casey.
"Says here that Isabella was affiliated with the Assassins too. But…?" I silenced myself, unsure of how to word it. Isabella provided countless aliases for the Canadian and American Branches of the Assassin Order. "There's little-to-no information on her." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
"Perhaps her records were in Toronto, and during the fire they were destroyed. So, the only record of her was with Emily?"
My eyes widened. "Any record of her affiliations with the Assassin Order was left with Emily." I looked at Casey, confirming her thoughts. "Emily and Isabella must've gone their own ways after the Great Fire of 1904, or Emily told her it'd be safer if they split up."
"What about this 'Sara Taylor' woman? Isabella mentioned that Sara was a frequent customer for her 'talents'." She crossed her arms.
I typed in Sara Taylor's name, but it came up blank. However, there were ancestors that lined up all the way back to Syria. "Looks like another Assassin," I said plainly. "Isabella did say that Sara was a 'special' client."
"Yeah."
I exhaled sharply. "So, you wanna head back in? Looks like the next memory is going to be where you get the free-running skills we've been hoping for."
Casey nodded. "All right, sounds good." Casey hopped back into the Animus and I entered the codes for her to relive Isabella's memories.
DATE: APRIL 18TH, 1904
LOCATION: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
ANCESTOR: ISABELLA LAVERTUE
It was a beautiful day. The sun was out, there was little-to-no wind, and the shop was rather busy. But now... now it was a quiet moment, which allowed me to see what I sold. I closed my book just as the bell over the door chimed, and I looked up to see Emily standing in front of me.
"Hello." She smiled and I smiled back (I'd gotten used to her rather wolfish smile over the months). "I hope you don't mind, I'm early—." Emily stopped, turned her head, put her fedora back on and vanished as another customer walked in.
I watched her gravitate towards some clothes, and a few seconds later I turned my head and smiled at the man that had entered. "Hello, John," I greeted as the man with brown hair and moustache smiled at me. "What can I do for you today?"
John Croft was a frequent customer, mostly because he bought dresses for his wife and new shirts for his child. "I'm doing well, Miss Lavertue. Just looking for the wife again. She adores your work."
I blushed at the compliment. I glanced Emily standing over to the side, her hand over her mouth as she listened in to the conversation. "Thank you. Is there anything in particular that you want to get her?" I asked.
He nodded. "Yes. In October of last year, my wife was lucky enough attend the Premier's party." I nodded slowly as Emily tensed. "She saw a young woman wearing a beautiful gown, and my wife knew instantly that you had designed it." Emily's shoulders were shaking in silent laughter.
"C-Can you tell me what this woman looked like? Perhaps I'll remember her." John smiled in silent agreement.
"My wife said she was tall, with a slender in frame, lean face, had this odd mix of blonde and brown hair..." I swallowed. That's what I made Emily look like in order for her to get into the party. I looked at Emily for a moment, and then back to John.
"I-I'll see if I have another in stock. I'll need your wife to come in about two days so I can properly fit the dress for her."
John smiled. "May I pay now, if you have one?"
"Let me go check in the back." John nodded and I walked into the back room.
After going through all the dresses, I was relieved that I still had one in stock and I removed it from the hanger. Walking back out, I saw that Emily was chatting with John as if they knew each other for years. "I have one more," I announced as I showed him the dress. He smiled. "Twenty dollars." Emily shot a glare at me. I had charged her ten dollars more for her dress, mostly because I knew her type of cliental normally destroy my clothing.
John had paid me in full and smiled at Emily. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ross." My brow furrowed, and Emily winked at me as John left the building.
"Ross?" I repeated as I walked over to my store's sign and flipped it to "CLOSED". "I thought your last name was Prince?"
Emily laughed quietly and removed her hat again. "Yes, my last name is Prince, but my fiancé's last name is Ross. I plan to keep my maiden name after my marriage for my… Well, you know." I nodded. I didn't know exactly what Emily and Sara did for a living, but I always found it easier to agree without knowing the extent of what they did. "I'm sorry that I'm early, Isabella."
I shook my head. "No worries, Emily." Emily smiled and I looked at the clock. "Give me ten more minutes and I'll meet you in the back?" I still needed to sweep and clean the windows.
"Very well." She replaced her hat on her head and looked at me. "The disguise you gave me worked wonders, Miss Lavertue." I shuddered involuntarily, multiple ideas running through my mind. "No one recognized me—well, they recognized the dress, obviously." I could see in her dark eyes that she was rather amused that a woman that I knew recognized the dress so easily. "And it is still in perfect condition."
Emily left the shop and, fifteen minutes later, I was walking out the back door. Again (rather, as usual) Emily appeared out of thin air. "How do you do that?!" I exclaimed.
Emily grinned. "In my line of work, you need to be silent." I pulled a jacket on and rubbed my hands together. "Are you ready for a little race?" Emily asked playfully. "I want to see if you have gotten any faster."
I smiled. "Of course I am!"
We took off running at a wall. I effortlessly gripped the edge and started climbing as if it were second nature to me. My first month attempting free-running was a disaster and Emily had ended up staying with me for the first two months of my training (she had to help me run the shop for half of those two months because I could barely walk without crying in pain).
I leapt over the gap between buildings and nearly laughed as I watched Emily skating over the ice covered roofs. "That's amazing!" I shouted as Emily skated for a bit then jumped the next gap. She waited for me on the other roof and grinned when I joined her.
"You have to be really skilled in free-running if you want to skate on the rooftops," she said as she clapped me on the back. "Now, we aren't nearly done yet. I want to see how you do in conditions that you're unfamiliar with."
I frowned. "Huh?" I tilted my head as Emily took off, with me following closely behind her. I nearly slid over the side of the building and watched with wide eyes as Emily jumped and easily gripped the pipe that was hanging out from the side of one of the taller buildings in downtown Toronto, swinging to the next rooftop.
"Come on!" she called. I looked at the pipe, then Emily. She'd taught me how to leap for a pipe, but we were close to the ground then. "Don't look down!" I rolled my eyes and took a few steps back.
After I calmed myself down, I sprinted forward and jumped. I easily caught hold of the pipe my momentum swinging me forward as I released the bar and landed on the rooftop. "Very well done, Miss Lavertue." I turned and saw a second woman with Emily.
"Uh…?" was the only thing I was able to say.
The woman smiled. "It's me, Sara Taylor. I heard all the noise and I thought that Emily here—." She gestured with her thumb to Emily. "—was causing some trouble, as usual." I closed my mouth and blushed.
"My apologies, Miss Taylor. I didn't recognize you with the hood up." Emily snickered and Sara shot her a glare.
Sara returned hidden her eyes to me. "No worries. I assume that this was the reason why you were staying in Toronto for the longest time?" Sara smirked at Emily.
Emily shrugged. "I couldn't afford her dress for that party you had told me about, so I offered her my skills in free-running. The Templars are still clueless, don't worry." Emily grinned her wolfish smile and Sara returned it. "The Premier is safe."
"'Templars'?" I repeated. Sara and Emily nodded, but didn't say anything on it. Another thing that I will never know about.
After chatting for a few minutes, Sara excused herself and ran off. When she vanished over the side of a building, Emily looked at me again. "You're cold?" She looked perfectly warm in the coat and vest she wore, not to mention the cotton and wool she probably had on helped with the weather as well.
I nodded. "Very much so. I didn't think I'd be cold while free-running!" I shivered. Normally, I was very warm and, on the first few occasions, sweating.
Emily smiled. "All right, we can head back. I need to get ready to return to the states tomorrow anyway." I gripped her arm. "What?" Her tone was half-concerned, half-amused.
"Y-You're leaving?!" I nearly screeched.
Emily nodded. "I miss my fiancé and family. I need to go back to my job in the states." I let her arm go and frowned. I was embarrassed that I'd forgotten that she wasn't from Canada. "My end of the bargain was kept. The dress is paid off and you can run along roofs as well as me—well, you're still a beginner, but you know enough to make it up a wall and over the gaps."
I nodded. "Thank you, Emily." She smiled and vanished over the roof, landing on the rooftop on the opposite side. "For everything."
FAST FORWARDING MEMORY TO A MORE RECENT ONE…
DATE: APRIL 19TH, 1904 9:15PM
LOCATION: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
ANCESTOR: ISABELLA LAVERTUE
I woke up to the smell of smoke. I must've only been asleep for fifteen minutes! Swiftly, I grabbed my robe and pulled it over my body. I opened the door, only to scream as a burning beam fell inches from me. "Oh God!" I heard someone wheeze as they made their way down the hall.
"IN HERE!" I shouted. Within a few minutes I saw someone with amber eyes (which made me freeze on the spot), a rag that was drenched in water, and a soot-covered hood staring at me. "HELP!"
They nodded. "Find a window!" they instructed. As I looked around my room the figure vanished, and my lungs and eyes burned from the smoke. My skin prickled from the heat as I made it to my window and breathed in the cool air. Sweat was starting to pour off of me from the intense heat.
The roof above me groaned and I jumped back just as the portion of the roof collapsed down to where I had been standing seconds before, and it continued to fall to the shop below.
I barely registered hearing a grunt as someone bashed through the weakening walls of my room. I screamed when they looked at me, their eyes still sharp amber. "Come with me!" they instructed. I recognized the voice.
"Emily?!" I screeched. "What happened to your eyes?! What are you doing here?!"
Emily didn't say a thing, but she grabbed my wrist and yanked me through the hole that she had created. "We need to get out of here! The fire has already destroyed the building next to this one!" She ducked as a flaming beam nearly hit her. "Where is the nearest window?!" She swore vehemently as she touched a wall and it singed her hand. "Christ!"
I coughed violently as she led me through the burning building. "The… back!" I gasped. Before I could protest, I was on Emily's back as she carried me out of the burning hallway. We reached the back window (which was in the spare room) and, using all her strength, Emily shoved it open, set me on my feet, and jumped out to land on the snow.
"ISABELLA!" she shouted. I followed without hesitation. I landed in the snow at the same time the roof collapsed. But a moment's rest would have to wait. "We have to move! The fire is moving too quickly!" Emily grabbed my wrist again and dragged me through the snow flurries. "Dammit!" I looked at Emily as she cursed and she removed her coat, handing it to me. I wrapped it tightly around myself and we ran from the blaze.
"W-What caused the fire?!" I shouted as we ran through the snow. "We have to find John!" I remembered that his building was nearby.
Emily removed the wet cloth from her face. "I don't know!" She looked at me, and I noticed her eyes were darker again. "Look, we need to get away from here!" She turned down an alley and I followed her up the wall. We took a moment to catch our breaths and then we continued running along the rooftops for a good while.
We had to have gone at least a mile or two before Emily stopped me and leaned down, resting her hands on her knees. "John's dead. I was able to rescue his wife and child, but not him. I'm sorry."
"W-What happened to... your eyes?" I panted as I gulped in the air. "They were gold!"
Emily didn't answer me. Instead, she pointed to the lit horizon. I placed my hand over my mouth as I looked at the fire. My shop was engulfed in flames. I looked at Emily again. "I was just about to head out when I smelt the smoke. I followed it and I saw that it was spreading." She lowered her ash covered hood and I saw that the entire lower half of her face was covered in ash, despite wearing that strange mask. "I'm glad I got you out of there."
I nodded and looked at the blaze. "Where will I live now? I'm not going back to Quebec."
"I wouldn't let you. The Canadian—... It's just not safe." Emily wiped some of the ash from her face. "Would you like to live in the states? New York State and New York City have plenty of room. You'd like it there. It's similar to Toronto." She rubbed the back of her head. "I can refer most my comrades to you that way."
I crossed my arms and looked at the blaze. "I have nowhere else to go; I guess I have no choice—."
"You always have a choice, Isabella," Emily chided.
I looked down. "I'll go to the states with you. At least I'll know one person in the country, eh?"
Emily, nodding, crossed her arms. "But," she said hesitantly, "my enemies in the states are going to be looking for anyone close to me. We'll have to split up when we reach New York—for your own safety."
I nodded, and then Emily led me to a carriage. She had me get into the carriage while she took the reigns and had the horses going at a fast gallop. I turned my head and looked back at the city that I had called home for my entire life one last time.