Spring finally came and Connor was using every bit of information Ellie had given him to create a route to travel. He planned on following the rivers as they headed north. His people would most likely have stayed close to them as they went north. He also made sure to mark every town and settlement along the way. He was determined to find his people, but he was also determined to keep his wife as safe as possible.

He was ecstatic when she so willingly agreed to go through the marriage ceremony of his people…if they find them. Connor shook the doubt from his mind. If he and Ellie could help pull the rug from beneath the Templars with just a handful of people, they could find his tribe with the information his wife found.

His wife…

Connor could not help but feel overwhelmed and lighter than air when he thought of Ellie like that. It was incredible because he never thought he would be able to have this life. He had accepted the fact that he might never find love or anything beyond that early on in his life after he met the Old Man. Ellie, though, did what she normally did and caused the impossible to happen. If he thought what she did for the Brotherhood was incredible, what she did for his heart was even more so.

His itching scalp caused his happy thoughts to leave his mind. He itched right above his ear. Ellie had made him promise to grow his hair back, but Connor was wondering whether to break that promise or not. His scalp itched more and more as his hair grew in. The parts he had shaved were already almost a knuckle length long again.

The door opening and footsteps pulled him out of his thoughts as he looked over his shoulder. Ellie dropped the heavy rucksack she was carrying and she stepped to his side, looking down at the map he created. "Are those all the settlements north of us?" she asked, reaching up and absentmindedly running her hands through the short hair on the back of his head.

Alright, maybe growing his hair back would not be so terrible when she liked doing that. She also helped cut and groom his hair more after they married and Connor also did not find that terrible either.

"And I assume this large circle here is the area Murphy said your tribe might be in?" she asked, tapping the said area.

Connor honestly did not know how she remembered every single one of her contacts' names, but that was just another one of her gifts that he appreciated about her.

"Yes. I am going to assume they either stayed near the river or went toward the nearest lake. It also needs to be heavily wooded and will most likely be a good distance from any settlement," he mused aloud.

Ellie nodded and looked up at him with a determined stare. "Well, do you want to check our packs one more time? I want to make sure I didn't forget anything and I've never traveled very far like this before and—"

Connor eventually zoned out as she began to ramble about her worries. Instead of saying anything, he moved toward the rucksack she dropped nearby and started to look through it. Ellie, thank goodness, was a practical person and she had no illusions about what they would need while traveling through the frontier. Most women he knew from her background (with Myriam and Dobby being the exceptions) would not know what to pack.

The rucksack was full of extra socks and shirts that were neatly rolled and stacked at the bottom and she even wrapped some of her various medicines in some old socks. Other than those, she just packed a comb and a journal that he knew had a piece of lead closed in it. Another old book caught his eye.

He pulled it out and glanced at Ellie. "Where did you find this?" he asked as his stomach dropped to the floor. He thought he had hidden this certain journal after he read it many months ago.

Ellie's eyes widened and she looked away as she bit her lip. "The floor board you hid it under came up when I stepped on it this morning while I was cleaning. I remember seeing it after you got back from Fort George…" She trailed off, looking a little ashamed and Connor instantly felt horrible. He was not meaning to accuse her of anything. He had hid the book because he did not want to be reminded of the mistake he had made when it came to his father.

Ellie's words brought him back to the present. "Why did you hide it?"

Connor sighed and stood, holding the worn, battered journal in his hands. "I was wrong about him. I did not want to be constantly reminded why."

He huffed out a laugh with no humor. "Did you know that he was the one who saved me when Clippers shot did not cut the rope at my trial? Clipper and Duncan told me they saw a knife come from the crowd and they assumed it was one of your contacts or one of Achilles' men."

Ellie, to his confusion, did not look surprised in the least. She looked…guilty?

Connor tossed the book on the desk beside the map and he stepped closer. "What is it, Norónhkhwa?"

He began to panic when her eyes started to glaze over and she stepped away. "I should have told you long ago," she said shakily, wringing her hands in front of her.

Connor furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

Ellie took an uneven breath and looked him in the eyes. "I was in the crowd at your trial. I saw him throw the knife and I recognized him."

Wait, so that meant she knew Kenway saved him when he was trying to create an alliance. She knew and she spoke out against his father anyway. Connor clenched his fists. "You knew? You knew when I was trying to create peace with him?! And you did not want me to do it anyway?"

Ellie shook her head and her gaze turned cold. "You forget, Ratonhnhaké:ton, that he did many horrible things before and after he did that. I was more confused than anything when I saw him save your life and he did not know why he did it either when we spoke of it," she snapped.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"He followed me through New York days before you attacked Fort George! He cornered me and just wanted to talk! I asked him why he saved you and he couldn't give me an answer."

Connor stared at her, dumbfounded. His father followed her? Spoke to her? Why would he do such a thing? It was not even mentioned in the man's journal. "Why did you keep this from me?" he asked.

Did she simply did not trust him with that information? A small, angry voice in the back of his mind told him something else. No, she wanted to make sure you would not reach out to Kenway more than you were. She never forgave him, you know that.

Ellie sighed and plopped down into a chair. "I just…I didn't want you to get your hopes up. I also just did not know what to make of it. It kept me up at night sometimes because it distorted the view I had toward him."

She looked up at him, her eyes searching his as they glazed over with tears again. "Please believe me when I say that I was not trying to manipulate you in any way, shape, or form. I just did not want you to get hurt again." She let out a snort. "Not that it mattered to anyone in the long run."

Connor needed to get away. He believed her; but this was just something too big to have been kept secret for so long. Without saying anything, he walked out the room and closed the door behind him.

He did not know where he was going, and he did not pay attention to where his feet led him. His thoughts were too erratic to focus at the moment.

He did not stop for what seemed like an eternity.

Ellie waited for exactly two hours before going out to find Connor. She knew he needed space after what she just told him. Ellie knew this argument was going to eventually show it's ugly head. She honestly felt horrible about it all.

Seeing how his whole body stiffened and the pain and confusion in his eyes was enough to make her almost break down. She now realized her mistake. She should have told him long ago instead of fearing what could happen.

It was too late for regret, though, and Ellie was never one to sit by and just accept anything.

For some reason, she knew where he would be without even thinking. There was a cliff that was exactly across the bay from the Aquila and she knew Connor frequently went out there to think. She knew he thought she didn't know, but she saw him up there too many times for it to be a secret.

The sight at the cliff was heart breaking to her.

Connor was sitting on the large boulder near the edge of the cliff. He had his elbows rested on his knees and he had his clasped hands in front of his mouth as he stared out at the bay.

Stars were starting to dapple the sky and the crisp, spring breeze whispered through the trees. In any other situation, this would have been a beautiful moment.

She knew he heard her; it was almost impossible to sneak up on him. He didn't acknowledge her presence.

Making sure to put at least a few inches between them, she carefully maneuvered her skirts as she sat down on the boulder next to him. They sat in a tense silence, just staring out at the bay. Ellie was able to take her mind a little off the tension between them by paying attention to how the waves crashing against the cliffs sounded.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. His now short hair was lightly catching in the breeze and Ellie had to resist the urge to reach up and touch it. It was killing her to not be sure that her touch would be comforting or not to him now. Surely this wouldn't ruin their whole relationship?

Deciding to find out for herself, she opened her mouth, but Connor beat her to it. "I am not angry at you," he said softly.

"But I—"

"I do not know what I would have chosen to do if I was in your situation. I cannot blame you for trying to do what you thought would be best. There was too much on the line and you were thinking about our goals."

Ellie sighed in exasperation, tightening her fingers in the fabric of her skirts. "Did you not hear me earlier? I was trying to protect you, not the damn brotherhood. I thought that if you let Kenway get too close after knowing how he helped you…"

"And by doing so you protected the brotherhood."

"But I told you I would help in any way possible and I—"

Connor quickly turned and held her hands in his, forcing her to face him a little. "And this was almost six years ago. I realized how foolish it would be to be angry about something that happened so long ago when so many things have changed since then." His brow furrowed, despite his words. "What I do not understand is why you did not tell me that my father sought you out and cornered you. Why did you not tell me? Were you afraid that I would seek him out again?"

Ellie stared at him with wide eyes. He was upset about her not telling him about her and Kenway's conversation? "It…it did not seem important at the time and I honestly forgot about it after Fort George," she mumbled.

It was true. Shortly after Kenway spoke to her, she tried to forget the conversation and threw herself into work again. It re-opened too many wounds and she preferred to not focus on the past. Connor's injuries and finding Lee after what happened at the Fort was enough to help her forget about it almost entirely.

Connor stared at her with an unreadable expression, holding her hands in a tight grip. Right as she started to worry again, his grip became gentle and he pulled her towards him in a tight embrace. "I am sorry I walked out…I needed to think."

"I know," Ellie mumbled, holding back her sigh of relief.

They watched as the sun drowned in the water of the bay and stayed out until the stars took its place.