Chapter Thirty-Seven:
Past Our Present Future
1255
"Rami!"
I planted my hands on my knees, completely out of breath as I reached him. He stopped in his tracks, kicking up dust as he did, and then turned to face me as I looked up at him.
"It's my decision, Aunt," he stated firmly, but with a smile as if to reassure me. "You've stopped me from joining the Assassins, but I'm still going to become a warrior that my father would have been proud of!"
I squeezed my eyes shut. Rami had just announced in Altair's study that he was leaving Masyaf to go to Alexandria and... and what? He was leaving. He wanted to become stronger, and he believed that, because I hadn't allowed him into the Assassins, he was becoming unable to reach his full potential.
But Rami was just a young man! A boy!
I felt Rami's hand on my shoulder. His bag was slung onto his spear, which was in a special sheathe on his back, and he was wearing the cloth boots I'd given him for one of his birthdays.
"Aunt," he said, "it isn't right that I stay here if I am to be of no use to Altair. I can help people this way. I can do it."
"I-I know you can." I raised my arms and wrapped them tightly around his torso. He returned the gesture. "It's just that it's hard to say farewell so soon..."
Rami pulled away and held me at arm's length, grinning. "I'll return for holidays when I can. You know that. So don't be upset."
I clenched my hands into fists, and then relaxed them as I reached into one of my larger pouches on my wide belt. "I made this for you," I told him. "I... I had a feeling that you would want to leave, so I thought I'd give you a gift..." I slowly handed him a steel dagger with a gold hilt, an emerald at the top of it, and leather wrappings around the grip. I'd spent nearly a year on it for him. "This will grant you luck on your journey. And... If you truly want to be a warrior, no man would leave without a back-up plan."
Rami traced the jewel, his eyes widening, and then gripped it. It fit to his hand well. He smiled, placed it on his belt, and then wrapped me in a hug.
"Thank-you, Aunt," he whispered. "I will take great care of it. We will see each other soon."
I nodded, burying my head into his shoulder. "I hope so."
1776
"Sara!" Ratonhnhaké:ton rushed over to me as we reached the docks. He was already in his captain's uniform, tricorne hat and all. When he reached the Assassin and I, I waved, but Ratonhnhaké:ton enveloped his arms around me and lifted me up. I was literally frozen in place. He put me down a few seconds later and began to hastily examine me. "Are you all right? What happened back at the warehouse? Why did you not follow me out? Are you wounded anywhere—?"
"Ratonhnhaké:ton!" He stopped and smiled sheepishly. "I'm all right. Just a bit of bruising on my side, but it's minor and will heal with time."
Ratonhnhaké:ton nodded, and then looked to the Assassin standing beside me. "Thank-you for seeking Sara out. I would have been lost without her."
The Assassin smirked. "Pleasure was all mine, Connor."
"You will accompany us on our journey back to the Homestead?"
The woman nodded. "Of course. I need those blueprints for the Aquila, but seeing how she sails will help immensely in the final stages of building."
We boarded the Aquila, and as we did, Ratonhnhaké:ton and Faulkner were shouting orders to the sailors. We were ready to leave.
I immediately went to the captain's quarters and slumped into Ratonhnhaké:ton's seat at his desk. I had precious few moments to myself in order to think. Haytham would surely remember me if we happened upon each other again. Maybe he'd try to kill me... No, I thought. I still owe him a debt, and I'd prefer to get that out of the way as soon as possible.
I threw my hood off my head and took a deep breath, letting out a long sigh. Had it still been only a few months since Walter's death? Now that I thought about it, the pain in my heart hadn't dimmed like it had for the others I'd gotten close to. It still ached beyond anything I'd felt before.
Wetness fell from my eyes, and I hastily rubbed away the tears. Damn. Can't believe I just... I sighed again, forcing those thoughts and feelings away. There were other issues to attend to. Walter was dead, and that was that. He wasn't ever coming back, and I'd never meet another like him. Even so, I hoped he wouldn't come back. What would I do if he died in front of me twice? It had been hard enough to walk away from him the first time, and hold his body in my arms as the life ebbed from his body...
"Sara!" Ratonhnhaké:ton barged into the quarters. I jumped, startled, but calmed when I realized that we weren't under attack or anything. "I realized that you two had not been properly introduced." The Assassin woman walked in and came to stand at one end of the desk while Ratonhnhaké:ton stood at the other. "Sara Taylor, this is Shay Johnson. She is an Assassin from Philadelphia, come to explore the idea of having an Assassin fleet modelled after the Aquila."
I grasped her hand and shook it. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Johnson."
"You as well, Miss Taylor." She nodded curtly, and then removed her hand. "Please, just call me Shay."
"And please, just call me Sara."
Shay grinned. "Well, if that's all you need of me, I'm headed above deck. I enjoy watching the sea."
I nodded as Shay left the room. Ratonhnhaké:ton had his arms tucked behind his back, much like his father. I wondered if he really knew any of the similarities he had with the man.
"We should arrive at the Homestead soon," Ratonhnhaké:ton said as he removed his hat from his head and fidgeted with it. "Are you certain that you are well?"
I stood up and walked over to the window, nodding. "Of course I'm fine. It'll take more than a few green mercenaries to get the best of me. The Templars were just cherries on the cake."
"I wonder if you would want to examine the contents of the box with me? I want to ensure that all is well." I followed Ratonhnhaké:ton to a secret compartment in his desk. The box laid inside. He removed it and placed it on top of his desk, and then placed his hat beside it. "I remember seeing what was inside. It was the reason I sought the Assassins."
Ratonhnhaké:ton slowly lifted the lid. Only the outside of the box was ornate, but a small, clear sphere rested in the box's centre. Ratonhnhaké:ton picked it up and examined it. I thought I spotted designs on it, but I wasn't sure...
"It glowed for me when I touched it before," Ratonhnhaké:ton said. "It sounds strange to someone like you, but I believe the spirit that sent me to you had some connection with this. The Clan Mother guards it well. It must have been sold or stolen by one of my people in an attempt to involve my people into this conflict."
Ratonhnhaké:ton handed it to me. I balanced it carefully, and then shook my head. "What do you mean? That it glows," I reiterated.
"I touched it and it glowed. Like the sun when it reached its apex in the sky."
I began to examine it more closely. "Wait... I recognize this..."
Suddenly, as if it were an explosion of flame, the sphere glowed brightly. I tore my eyes away from it and dropped it on the ground as Ratonhnhaké:ton recoiled from its sudden burst of light.
"The key is near! Help Desmond! Find Eve! Do what must be done—!"
I kicked the sphere, smashing it against the wall on the other side of the room, but only the wood was dented. The sphere fell silent, though a pounding in my skull found its way to me.
"What just happened—?!"
"Keep that thing away from me!" I hissed at the young man, clutching my head. "I never want to see it again!"
I stormed from the room and went below deck as the headache got increasingly worse with each passing second. I collapsed into my cot, grabbed the blanket near it, and hid under it. I had thought my encounters with the artefacts had ended.
I obviously thought wrong.