"M-mercy!" The man cried and fell to the floor on his knees, the vase he held smashing into a million pieces on the floor. It was absolutely shameless.

"Mercy? Seeing as I'm an uneducated fool, I'm afraid that's not in my vocabulary." Altair replied coldly and poised himself for the kill.

"No! You – don't und- Coralia! You owe me Coralia!" The man shouted, and he scrabbled away furiously across the broken china pieces, his hands and knees cut deeply in his effort. Altair froze rigid for a second as the man spoke, every hair on his body tingled, with a mixture of emotions, his heart wept inside of him slowly, the aching surreal pain encasing his body. As if a hand inside him was twisting at the most private part in his mind, twisting and manipulating this vulnerable area which he had struggled for so long to lock away.

"Shut up!" Altair spat viciously and span to meet the man who was hurriedly rising to his feet. "ANSWER ME!" He roared as the heavy man finally righted himself, his back was to Leah now who hurriedly shrank into the shadows keeping her view of the scene clear. "Wow...talk about striking a nerve...Altair looks ready to butcher the man right now...who knew his face could pull off something so angry...Coralia...that's the name Altair was chattin' about when he was pissed." Her forehead frowned as she thought about possibilities linking the Assassin to the name. "Lover" came to mind more than a few times. But the look on Altair's face was absolutely livid.

The large man chuckled and put his bloody hand son his broad girth staring evenly at Altair who bristled at his target's cockiness, "That's right Altair, I've caught you by the jugular now." He seethed.

"You haven't caught a thing but a whiff of death's breath that's coming your way!" Altair snarled and made a sudden move only to halt as the man clucked disapprovingly and wagged a finger at him most annoyingly.

"Always so reckless...deary me, is there a time when you actually behave Altair? Such a psychopath sometimes."

"A psychopath?" Altair hissed ferociously baring his fangs at him,

"It's the moon, I know it, and the heat of the day...the smell of blood sends you wild doesn't it?" The man chuckled deeply as Altair's face darkened even more, the anger emanating from him was almost tangible to Leah standing behind the victim.

"The smell of your blood in the air is the only thing I'm thirsty for. I was born a killing machine, designed to perfection. The smell of blood is really something." Altair seethed proudly at him,

"Is that why you killed my daughter?" Sir Castomun asked slyly, it was in a tone that sparked a blaze in Altair's eyes the smooth, nonchalant manner of voice lent wings to the assassin's feet as he leapt towards the man flattening him against the wall, his hidden blade was drove deep into the man's girth as he snarled at his face,

"DON'T YOU DARE. DON'T YOU DARE SAY I KILLED HER."Altair roared into his ears and grabbed the man's locks of hair tightly pulling his neck back so that his throat was exposed. Sir Castomun managed a guttural chuckle and swallowed, the Adam's apple just visible above the layers of fat, looking like a grotesque growth of a lump. Leah shied away slightly from Altair's expression, it was fearsome and ruthless..."I really want to know about this "supposed ex-girlfriend" now...why's Sir Castomun saying Altair killed her? It's a bit..drastic.." She thought to herself with baited breath.

"So defensive. Makes me...suspect you Altair...even more." He muttered with a smile, and Altair threw him to the floor where the body hit it violently with a sickening thud, Leah could even feel the vibration hit her feet.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Altair shouted again and stamped viciously on the man's bleeding abdomen,

"Of-of course you didn't(!) That's why when I next seen her she was a dying woman! My-my precious daughter...my lovely princess..." Then man cried, tears flowed from his eyes as he grunted with pain as Altair continued his assault.

"She didn't deserve a bastard of a father like you – she was PERFECTLY fine with me! I LOVED HER – I LOVED HER MORE THAN YOU EVER DID!" Altair snarled fiercely and leapt onto the man digging his elbow deep into his chest, loud ugly snapping of bones followed, ending with a hacking cough.

"Violence...must be the only way Altair can speak out." Leah thought with a little pang of pain for him. His anguish touched her but his rage and anger was frightful. "He loved her...I always knew he'd have children and continued the assassins line...seeing as how plans for Assassin's Creed 2 were already being made...assuming that this is the gaming world."

"You should have learnt not to speak out to me like that." Altair snapped getting to his feet, his chest heaving more from anger and resentment than from effort, "She got the best of everything. I gave her the world and you gave her nothing but pain – YOU DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE. She caught that illness on her own!"

"Heh...heh...heh..." Sir Castomun grunted, "Still...I still...am her...father...and she is still your bride to...be...I am your father to...be."

"Bride to be." It felt as if Leah had just been shot, her breath caught fiercely in her lungs and she dared not to breathe.

"I have no father. And I will not accept dirt for a father." Altair spat venomously and stepped away from him slowly,

"Kill me...murder me...slice my heart out..." The dying man said in wheezy gasps.

"No...I wouldn't sink so low." He replied coldly and walked away, he picked up a chair that had not broken and sat down upon it facing the door, he rested his head on hand and stared blankly at him.

"Do it...do it..." The man wheezed aloud and lay on the floor, his chest rising slowly up and down.

"No, your daughter wouldn't like it, she asked me to spare you and I did, I have for a long time, so tell me where are these parchments you hid from us?" Altair growled tiredly pushing his down back, the man chuckled agonisingly slow and smiled through cracked lips,

"Coralia always had you wrapped around her finger didn't she? On beck and call to her...so what is it about her that has made you forget my little girl?"

Was this man asking for a death sentence?

"What her?" Altair asked carefully and rose to his feet,

"You know...that revolting woman who follows you everywhere with dogged determination. The girl with the dark hair." He laughed and spat out a gush of blood to the floor,

"Leah?" Altair breathed almost absent mindedly and crouched beside the man,

"Yes...yes...her... don't think it's because she looks like Coralia that she can replace her." The Assassin froze rigidly in his motions, his dark eyes focusing on nothing but the target. "You're chasing nothing but a whisper of the past."

"I know she's not Coralia." He replied coldly and the man made a disbelieving noise "Coralia is always with me, everywhere I go-" he began defensively,

"Ah...but so is she Lee-ah...the woman...are you not using her as substitute for your dead bride?" The man interrupted shrewdly and his smile waned as Altair grabbed the scruff of his clothes roughly, dragging the limp body to a somewhat standing position.

"Coralia is Coralia, Leah is Leah. That's how it is." Altair snarled looking into his eyes,

"You've began to lose sight of her...lost sight of my daughter...lost sight of how she used to smile and laugh...blending the reality with the past...Altair don't take me for a dying fool, I can see that you can't tell them apart any more can you?" Altair's mouth dried as he thought of a response, but none came to mind "Her laugh is now replaced with the laugh of Lee-ah...Her smile you see it as Coralia's...Assassin's training has failed you me boy...Lee-ah is all that is dominating you right now, and so you have forgotten Coralia." Sir Castomun wheezed with a smug expression growing as the anguish spread through Altair causing his hands to tremble slightly. It was unnerving to see how easy words could worm their way into his mind.

"Shut up...SHUT UP!" Altair roared with increasing anger, he threw the body down with disgust and spat on the floor, "I'll never forget who Leah is!" He cried aloud his voice cracking with grief, "She's just a coincidence! I didn't plan on keeping her, didn't plan on meeting her, didn't plan to look at her that way! She doesn't belong here! She isn't supposed to be anywhere near me – I'll leave her eventually!" – SHE'LL NEVER REPLACE CORALIA!" He shouted and gripped his head with both hands tightly bowing it down as his mind pulsed.

"Heh...heh...that's what...I like to hear. The great Assassin in pieces, so kill her...kill Lee-ah...and save your delusions...preserve the memories..." The man's voice said gutturally as his spat out more blood. Leah stood in the dark, unmoving, unspeaking her mind in a numb awe over Altair's devotion to his fiancée (in theory) until she realized her involvement. "You've treated her like just like you would Coralia, you don't like her as a person – just her looks! I'm right aren't I?"

She never heard his answer if he even did reply, as adrenaline seared through her veins as the familiar fear rose into her mind, would he kill her? She realized now, if she hadn't already, that that question was always tugging at her lips and dancing at the back of her mind. At that point in time she shifted her elbow and a resounding click of her joints was made, her eyes widened as Altair's head snapped in her direction much like a dog, though his expression was pained with emotions his eyes and mind had twisted to alertness.

He wouldn't hesitate to murder an eavesdropper.

She took a hasty step back and her foot connected with a small stone that clattered away, glancing down she cursed and saw Altair reaching his hand forward slowly ready to rip open the door. "Oooh damn." She held her breath and hoped he would mistake the noises for something else...maybe a rat. His eyes peered directly at her as she pressed herself against the cold stone wall deep in the shadows. He was manipulating her all along for his own perverse reasons and she couldn't even run for fear of being hunted.

He opened the door cautiously his heart was sheeted with frost as he saw the figure against the wall, the unmistakable figure wound in purple fabric, he took a step into the tunnel and she froze rigidly, "L-Leah?" He began and his throat dried up as she stepped forwards into the light, her face deathly pale her eyes looking down at the floor, locks of her hair out of place and she brushed them aside quickly, "Leah I-"

"No Altair, just...just...just don't say anything. I – we...I gotta go." She told him with a steely tone, as she glanced at him with piercing eyes, she could tell he deeply regretted everything. Even so...she couldn't forgive him, he'd used her, kept her, cared for her, because she resembled his lost lover. It was like replacing your dead pet the day it'd died, no loyalty or sentimentality. Or in his case, selfishly replacing a lover who'd died with someone else who was identical. Her heart plummeted to her stomach as she took a few steps, her legs stiff with reluctance but she broke into a pelting run into the gloom, instinctively fleeing from the face that had betrayed her friendship. She felt the urge to cry and bit her lip tightly. Behind her Altair stood stock still his desire willing him to chase, but his guilt stapled him to the ground.

"I-I let her go...I've lost her..." He mumbled to himself and hit the stone wall moodily, his knuckles bled profusely as he looked at the gloom half hoping, half wishing Leah would walk back to him, or was it that he hoped he could see Coralia's face again? He couldn't tell.

"She's the exact image of my daughter isn't she?" Sir Castomun chuckled looking at the tense shoulders of Altair, "Such a shame you really shouldn't confuse yourself...but maybe...just maybe...what if that really was Coralia? And she never...never died." The man wheezed and grinned maliciously. The games and guilt had wrecked Altair's judgement and grip of reality.

"That's right...!" Altair muttered to himself letting the lies wash into his ears befuddling his mind. He'd wanted someone to say it for so long so he could believe it... someone besides himself.

"...I'll let you in...on a secret...I poisoned her..." Altair froze in his tracks, every hair on his skin tensed and froze, his very skin prickled at his innards,

"What...did you say?" Altair seethed, his body shaking with rage,

"That's right...she defied me by wanting to wed a man like you. So I got rid of that worthless bitch." Altair took a step towards him but Maness' voice barked out loud and commanding,

"DON'T TAKE ANOTHER STEP ALTAIR." He turned around and the Head Assassin was stood by the window where he'd presumably swung in, he looked at him with a stern expression, "The man is telling you the truth, it's enough! You've let this gone for far too long man – let it go- let – let HER go!" He snarled grabbing Altair by his robes and pulling him threateningly close, "We need to complete the mission!"

"I won't – I won't let her go!" Altair replied fiercely, "HE NEEDS TO GO TO HELL!" and pulled Maness' hands off him,

"Don't be an idiot!" Maness hissed shouldering Altair back, "Who's her!" He demanded pushing him roughly again, "Answer me already bastard, ignore the scum – the real problem here is in your head! - Who is it that's truly gone? Coralia or Leah!" Maness roared challengingly, shoving him away as he approached. Altair opened his mouth a few times soundlessly and Maness sighed sympathetically, "I knew it as soon as I saw her, that you'd become like this – inconsolable! I'll tell you shall I- Coralia is gone, Leah was just a coincidence in life you should be respecting her for who she is! Not twisting your mind into lying to yourself, get it straight this is Leah who is alive and in the present!" And just for good measure he slapped Altair's face smartly.

"I do not care – I do not fucking care! I want her back!" Altair roared his passion blinding all other sensible courses of actions and he dashed away into the dark tunnel before Maness could utter another treacherous syllable or land another resounding slap.

"Dear me...Altair what will it take to stave off this maddening grief this time? How many will you slay to feed it..." Maness muttered and promptly stabbed the dying man who was laughing darkly on the floor, his laugh ended with a grating sound in his chest as blood rushed into his lungs, slowly saturating the empty space.

"That's right...kill and sate the demon inside of you..."

"I can't I won't let her go, whether it's Leah or Coralia they're the same I know it, it's even possible Coralia may still live and taken on a new name..." Even as the ludicrous thought ran through his mind, his memories crept in. The image of him kneeling on the ground, his hand clutching her cold hand, the sickly smell of sweet jasmine flowers hung in the air much like a plague. Her eyelids tightly closed, the dark thick eyelashes in contrast to the now pale skin that was cold to touch. Her blood red lips the only splash of colour on her thin frame, draped in purest silk sheets and dressed in her finest clothes Altair put his forehead to hers. Knowing she'd never awaken. The smell of death hung in his nostrils like a bad stench. There was no pleasure in this death, no carnage, no blood or glory to be felt in him.

Without another word, he tore away from Maness. The Head Assassin looked down at the dying man and smirked, "The parchments please."

"LEAH!" Altair roared and slammed into her back unexpectedly, the pair tussling roughly fell to the ground with a smack. They'd ventured into the corridors of the mansion once again and Leah kicked him violently in the stomach, once she'd found the assailant.

"What the feck was that for! Wow my back kills..." She asked him irritated and glared at him as they both rose to their feet, instantly he clamped his hands on her arms and gripped tightly,

"Tell me – tell me now-"

"Tell you what?" She retorted angrily and twisted quickly in an attempt to free herself.

"Tell me are you Coralia?" He roared at her and his fingers dug painfully into her arms as he shook her wildly,

"Coralia?" Leah exclaimed her eyes widening in surprise, "Coralia?" She repeated her voice deafeningly high pitched and her mouth hung openly agape.

"Yes- yes is it you – are you her?" Altair blurted his rugged expression displaying beams of desperation, Leah blinked twice and shouted at him clearly,

"I AM NOT CORALIA!" And she gritted her teach in anger, "You crazy fool!"

"No- no! You are - I know you!" He babbled desperately and she wrenched an arm from him, swinging her palm across his face in a sharp slap that echoed the corridors, reverting off the walls.

"I AM LEAH – AND YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!" She tore away from him, leaving a shred of her shirt's sleeve in his hand where he had refused to let go, he gingerly lifted the scrap of cloth to his nose and inhaled the scent of her skin on it, closing his eyes he muttered,

"I deserved that one."

Leah ran all the way through the mansion meeting no resistance and leapt through the grand doors, where she squinted in the harsh light as she stood in the street as a ragged lone figure. Surrounding her were men and women of high status, she noticed that their noses pointed delicately in the air and wrinkled slightly as they brushed past her. Leah padded down the streets, looking an odd figure with her tattered, slightly blood stained clothing, her slightly wavy locks fell almost to the beginning of her waist. As she took point heading for the gates of the city, trudging past a group of thugs she shuffled into shadows as a band of scholars moved past, they looked far too much like Assassins to feel safe. Cat calls and wolf whistles followed her as she snuck away, her ears deaf to the noise. Unknowingly she'd picked up the basics of avoiding attention and it was proving rather useful.

"How could he...how could he do that to me? So what if his fiancée had died it's practically against the rules of using someone else as a replacement – that's just a...a rebound! Is he messing! What part of me looks Corlia-ish?" She thought angrily as she stopped beside a "mirror" shop consisting of shining bronze metal beaten to the thickness of a plate. Looking at her majorly distorted image she stamped her foot in anger and scowled, "I can't even look at my reflection properly!" She snapped to the shop owner whos moustache bristled indignantly.

Soon Leah found a still pool set in a quiet courtyard and she sat on its paved stone edge, dipping her hands in she washed away the grime on her hands and face. Feeling more and more like a beggar with every passing minute. Her purple outfit was speckled with blood that wouldn't wash away and it'd be pointless tearing chunks of the fabric out. "Maybe I do look like this Coralia, she could be like some ancient relative of mine..." She thought looking at her face, it'd been a while since she'd actually seen her reflection. It surprised her how un-ragged she looked. Her skin shone healthily in the sun and she could swear her face had become a tad sharper round the cheeks and chin. She chewed her lip and remembered what she should have never have forgotten, she was a young adult surely hitting the seventeen years old milestone, if not the eighteen, and she'd been in this world for more than a few months, so where was her period? Mother nature's gift had never appeared and all sorts of explanations grew from her imagination. She wasn't pregnant, that point was made very clear to herself by constant repetition. "Still...no point in worrying about it...Seeing as it's been easier without it. Maybe I'm just locked in some sort of stasis in the game world...where people don't age...but they do get murdered." With a heavy sigh she picked up her feet and walked to the gates as she reached the gates the guards lowered their spears vertically forming a barrier. Aware of how alone she was.

"Peasant, state your business and name." One barked at her, Leah gave him an innocent state and a small bow,

"My name is Coralia...de la Sable.", "Well...I may as well make good use of the name..." She thought inwardly with a cringe, "It's not as I even know Altair's second name..."

"De Sable?" The other guard exclaimed the eyes almost popping out of their sockets and he stared at Leah, already his spear was slipping down from his hands,

"Don't be a fool Bur!" His partner snapped with a steely expression, "She's just a girl – don't look like no part of a Templar association!" And he pointed his spear tip at her neck, and she stared evenly at the man,

"What? Don't you believe me?" She told him incredulously, trying to pass off with an air of authority. "Even spies come in handy."

"Just...just because you're covered in blood do not mean you're a Templar!" Bur cried aloud bravely gripping his spear, his hands shook violently as he stared at Leah's petite figure,

"I didn't plan to get covered in blood you know...but you know how Templars work, always slash and kill this or that..." She sighed and shook her head disapprovingly,

"You're not wearing the Templar uniform!" Bur roared, and Leah gave a heavy sigh as she looked at the purple material wrapped around her. It was soft material soiled by blood and it entwined her arms and torso closely, draping into a long skirt.

"If you aren't a Templar we could spear you through right now! Let's see what you have to say about that!" The suspicious guard snarled tightening his grip on his weapon, he carefully took a few steps closer to her.

"NO! Don't do that Dag! The Templars will be after us then – also what if she was the one that killed whoever's blood that is?" Bur whimpered, his spear knocking clumsily into his partners.

"Why you ever you became a guard I don't know why!" His friend muttered turning the attention to him as Leah stood in the centre growing increasingly impatient, "She clearly did not kill them – look at her! She's got no meat on her bones!"

"Pair of idiots." Leah thought witheringly.

"If you two gentlemen have finished I'll be taking my leave. I don't have to wear a uniform to be called the leader's daughter." She sighed keeping the false impression up and ducked under the spears quickly, Dag and Bur looked dumbly at each other for a minute. They exchanged confused glances before simultaneously swinging their spears above her head to bar the space where she was about to step. Clearly routine behaviour dominated common sense. Her body was mere centimetres away from the weapons and a cold sweat trickled down her spine as her mind whirred away furiously with the next lie she could spin aloud.

"We can't let you leave." Dag snarled, a crafty smile grew on his face as he registered the fleeting concerning flashing across her face,

"Why ever not?" Leah demanded and crossed her arms huffily, "I honestly don't think there's a prob...lem." And the word trickled away as a large flag came into view, the significant sign of the Templar splashed across it, her hands weakened as the leader came into view upon a brilliant jet black steed, the face of Robert De Sable.

"Just my luck...The one time I pretend to be French and the entire French army is marching towards me!" Leah gave an inward groan.

"Templars...that's right little girl." Bur chuckled darkly and puffed out his chest proudly, "You may have tricked me – but you can't trick my good friend Dag! Nothing get's by him – Coralia De Sable! Who'd you think you are?"

"I...think I am Robert De Sable's daughter..." The blood on Dag's face paled as it streamed away, "That's right... mon pear is my papa. My lovely daddy." Leah said smugly with the snottiest look she could throw on and rested her hand on her hips as she flicked her hair. Distinctly aware that all the French she'd ever learnt was probably pronounced horrifically wrong...