Chapter 37
The two assassins set off for Jerusalem that very next morning. Hana was a little saddened that she did not get to spend the time at home with Rasil as she had wished, and the father figure was upset at this too.
But he was busy at the blacksmiths, so time spent with Hana would have been little anyway.
"We shall stop here for the night." Altair stated, halting his mare and swiftly dismounting.
Hana looked around them and frowned, "Aren't we going to the inn?"
"Word reached Masyaf yesterday," He began. "That the innkeeper compromised an assassin, resulting in our brothers death." He looked at her then, "We cannot stay there anymore. Get off the horse."
She was taken back slightly by his tone, but did as he said without any questions. She set to work at untacking the horses as the Master Assassin silently began making a small fire for the two of them to camp around.
Hana had no idea if he had a bee in his bonnet or not, but their evening was spent mostly silent. The copper haired female passed the awkwardness by studying the map that Malik had drawn for her of Kingdom, eating, and plaiting and unplaiting her hair.
They set off the next morning with Altair in the same mood as that night and previous day. Hana tried to eat quietly, hoping that her piggyness wasn't going to turn into an issue with him. They rode for several hours, (with a small break for the horses to rest), before finally, the gates leading into Jerusalem came into view.
As Hana hitched her horse to a post, she turned to face the Master Assassin…but found that he had already gone and entered the city without her. Taking the Scholars with him.
The female grumbled to herself, knowing that she was now going to have to make the effort on a full stomach and climb over the gate. She did so quickly and carefully, setting herself down on a bench beside a water fountain to pull her map out from her pack.
But for some reason, the map had gotten wet. And she couldn't make out where she was supposed to go. Not properly anyways. She turned left where she was supposed to turn right, and right where she was supposed to turn left, and when she ended up standing in front of the gates leading into the Rich District, she knew that she merely needed to run around and look for white robes and hope that they were an assassin (who would be willing to help her out).
Hana knew she should've stayed on the rooftops a split second after she had run headfirst into a patrol of guards.
"Assassin!" They roared, drawing their blades.
The copper haired females eyes widened, and she turned on her heel and sped off without warning. She sprinted up a stack of crates and leapt up to grasp at the edge of a building, catching it oddly but still managing to hoist herself up.
But a couple of archers stood in her way so the roof garden was no option for cover. The female ran, and leapt across the alley and onto a second rooftop before crossing a beam and descending into the throng of villagers below her.
Hana feared that the villagers would point her out, shut their doors and leave her to fend for herself. But thankfully none did. As soon as the line of sight between her and her chainmail fanclub had been broken, Hana ran into the first open doorway that she could see.
Her lungs burned and she took in greedy, copious amounts of oxygen and…what was that smell? The red, foggy hue in the room had the female squinting to try and get a clearer view of the situation around her. She was not in a brothel, no.
She edged further into the room, and past people laying in beds. This was not a hospital, no.
It was incredibly smoky now, and the female had to wave her hand in front of her face to try and clear the air. She had no idea what she was inhaling, but she had to breathe! She frowned when there were strange looking purple shapes floating in the fog, to which she clumsily reached up a hand to grab at one. It moved just out of her reach, and she laughed at it.
She turned around when blue shapes arrived to greet her next, and the female kept spinning so that she could see all of them. She fell backwards onto one of the unoccupied beds when she could no longer keep her balance, and she released a long, relaxed sigh, before she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Hana had no idea how long she had been laying there, but she felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She didn't want to leave this place, she loved it!
But after a while, she began to feel awful. Relaxed and peaceful, but incredibly nauseous.
Through the grey fog in the room, a white figure appeared and she raised a hand to wave at her assassin friend.
"Hana."
She released a peaceful sigh, and mumbled something completely incoherent as her body closed her eyes once more as another wave of euphoria washed over her.
"Hana." Altair spoke in a tone that was not one to be messed with.
"Hana, Hana…" She whispered her name, frowning when she felt a hand on her arm – shaking her awake and out of her dreamlike state.
"You never came to the Bureau…it's been two days." Altair informed her, slipping an arm behind her shoulders and easing her into a sitting position. "You're in an opium den."
"Oh…"
"Oh? Is that all you have to say for yourself?"
She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her, "You're angry with me." She then coughed, her body unused to being so vocal after an apparent two day drug binge. She groaned in refusal as she felt the bed disappear from beneath her.
"You have yet to build up a tolerance, I see."
"I..." She felt her head spinning, and she clutched onto the Master Assassin as he carried her out of the drug den. "I think that might be a good idea." She pinched the bridge of her nose, "No, no, it won't do. I can't. It felt too good. Take me back."
"Under no circumstances."
She realised that it was dark outside, and the prospect of sleep had her head lulling around on the Master Assassin's shoulder for a moment. But sleep did not grace her. If anything, she believed to have just passed out for a second or two.
"My, my." Malik's voice suddenly appeared, and she guessed that they had finally arrived to the Bureau.
"Sorry I'm late." She managed a grumble as Altair knelt down to place her onto a pile of pillows in the corner of the room.
The Dai raised an eyebrow, "That's all you have to say for yourself? Is she drunk?" He turned to the Master Assassin then.
"No, she's high." He responded, "I found her in an Opium den in the middle District."
Her muscles refused to move for her to shift herself into a more comfortable position, or even to wipe the cold sweat from her brow. She was so relaxed that she could sleep, yet she was wide awake. She was then vaguely aware of the two men, discussing or arguing, she wasn't entirely sure although it was probably the latter.
"Don't look at me like that, Malik." Altair said, "It's going to take hours to get this out of her system, and we're leaving for Masyaf in the morning." Silence. "This isn't funny."
"Well, I certainly think it is." The Dai responded.
Hana had started to feel awful. She had started to shake a little now, having broken out into a light, cold sweat. She wanted more of the stuff, but at the same time she felt so nauseous and dead that she was decidedly against the idea. But she did like the euphoric effect of the drug, "Can I feel like this forever?"
"That forever will be two hours, tops." Altair commented, coming to her side and aiding her into a sitting position as Malik pushed a cup of water to her lips.
"Drink up." The Dai ordered, "You may not notice, but you will be seriously dehydrated."
She was thirsty, yes, but she felt immensely green. After they had helped her drink, they lay her back down on her side and left her alone. They obviously knew what was going to happen next, for the female was violently ill about ten minutes into her nap.
"Two hours?" She heard Malik question then. "Two days in an opium den would be enough to knock out a mule."
A/N: I couldn't resist doing this. I thought Hana needed to chill out, seeing as she has been working very hard, and what better way to do that than by finding some opium?!
Don't do drugs, stay in school.
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