A small girl with burning blue eyes sat at a piano, inexperienced fingers moving across the keys, making more noise than actual music. She didn't care. Anything to drown out the noise, the shouting that almost never stopped. She jumped when something hit the wall with an obnoxious thud, but resuming playing a moment later.
"Can you make that infernal noise stop?" Her father bellowed, his voice coming closer. Fear gripped her heart and she moved quickly, hiding behind the curtain against the window, deciding after a quick moment to exit through the window. "Why is she constantly beating against the piano? She can't even play it!"
Maeve leapt over the railing on the wrap around porch and started running, ignoring the the ache that started to burn in her legs. She heard footsteps running after her but it spurred her on. Go faster, a small voice coaxed. "Faster and he'll never catch you."
A car appeared in the road in front of her, the dark shape blocking her escape to freedom. "Maeve!"
"Mom?" The passenger door was open and she leapt in, closing the door behind her and the car sped away. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. "Where are we going?"
Her mother had a leather jacket on, the hood pulled low over her head, the design Maeve had become so familiar with emblazoned on the buttons of the jacket. She took her daughter's hand, tracing the birthmark on the palm gently. "We're going away, darling. You'll be safe there."
"What about you?" Maeve asked, looking out the back window to see if her father was following her.
"I'll follow you soon, dear heart."
"What?" Her eyes widened, and fear gripped her once more.
"Leon's family will take you to Europe. I'll get you when it's safe." Her mother was shoving things into a knapsack, checking passports. "Your name is Sydney, not Maeve."
"Don't send me alone, Momma." Her eight year old voice cracked as her eyes burned with tears. "I'm afraid."
Her mother stopped moving and put her hand on her daughter's face, wiping away tears. "Don't be afraid, sweetheart. You're going to have such wonderful adventures. I'll find you at the end of them, and you can tell me all about it. Take lots of pictures for me. I've packed your camera."
"Please don't send me away. I'll be better. I promise. I'll stop playing the piano." Hasty promises turned into choked sobs. Her mother pulled her close to her chest as they approached the airport.
"Darling, never stop playing. Never stop singing. It is in your blood." She kissed the top of her daughter's head and sniffled, then pulled away to look at her, forcing a smile. "Remember, your name is Sydney Coffman and it will be until I come get you."
"I love you, Mom."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
-0-
"Do you make it a habit to lurk in doorways, Jacob?" Sydney was in her room, staring at a wall of photographs. Mountains, jungles, buildings that could easily be palaces, all of them had her and Leon in them, varying ages but it was clearly them.
"I wanted to apologize for last night. I did not mean to intrude...and again this morning."
"You're forgiven. Is that all?"
"Are you always so formal?" She had yet to look him in the eye.
"Yes."
"Good to know."
"What is?"
"That you're absolutely no fun at all and Leon is a liar." His tone was challenging, teasing her to push back.
"You can't believe everything you hear." There was a hint of a smile on her lips. "What would you suggest?"
He shrugged. "How about a foot race? Winner can decide if you're fun or not."
She scoffed and stood, pulling her hair over one shoulder, giving him a glimpse of her birthmark. The shape tickled at the back of his memory. "It's cute how you think you could keep up."
Laughing loudly, his answer was to start running towards the door, opening it and darting through when he realized she was already outside and several paces ahead of him. Smirking, he pushed his legs to move faster, quickly passing her. He looked back to check the distance and saw concern to flash across her face. He turned to handle whatever laid ahead and promptly smacked his head against a low hanging tree branch. He hit the ground with a thud, seeing stars.
"Jacob!" Sydney was at his side in a flash, checking his head. "We need to put ice on this."
"I'm fine." He tried to sit up, pushing her hands away from his head but fell back into the grass.
"Why would Lee hire such a clumsy body guard?" She teased.
"Oh, shut up." He chuckled, wincing as he managed to sit up. "How did you manage to get out of the house so quickly?"
"Open window." She brushed his hair off his forehead and he grabbed her hand, opening it gently to look at her birthmark. His fingers traced the shape, his brain doing his best to place the shape. "Mom always said it was a music thing. It kind of resembles a tuning fork, like for a piano."
"Hmmm." He mumbled to himself, groaning at the pounding in his head.
"Come on." Sydney helped him up. "Let's get you in the house. You need to lie down."
"Are you trying to get me into bed, Sydney?" He flashed a smile that had gotten him into countless beds before.
She snorted, which only bruised his ego a little. "You couldn't handle me."
"You'd be surprised what I can handle."
"Apparently not trees."
They both laughed and stopped on the porch, when he gestured to the porch swing. Sydney narrowed her eyes for a moment but sat down, pulling her feet up and wrapping her arms around her knees. He went inside to get ice for his head but when he returned, Jacob sat next to her, watching the wind blow her hair around her face. "Have you really been to all those places in the pictures."
"Yes. I traveled with Lee's family."
"What about your family?"
She swallowed hard, staring at the trees for a long time then looked at him. "Why does Leon trust you so much? I know everyone he knows, and I've never met you."
"I'm a very trustworthy person. I'm good at what I do. I know you're in danger."
"How do you know that?" She held his gaze. "Do Assassins know everything?"
His joking tone disappeared, and he decided it was time for honesty. "Because Logan is a Templar and they want you. I don't know why but he fixates on things and he won't stop. How do you know I'm an Assassin?"
"My mother was one. I recognize the skills and the emblem."
"Do you know why the Templars want you?"
"Probably because of my father. He was a Templar Grand Master at one time. I don't know where he is now, but he doesn't like to lose. I remember that much." She tucked her hair behind her ear, and he caught a glimpse of a scar below her ear. He wanted to press a kiss to it, and kiss his way down her neck, nip at her shoulder with his teeth and then-
"Jacob?" She interrupted his thoughts, pulling him back to reality. "What do we do?"
"Does Logan know where this house is?"
"No, it was my mother's. She used it as a safe house. Technically it doesn't exist. We're safe here."
"Then for now, we do nothing. We enjoy our time together-"
"And avoid running into trees-"
He chuckled but continued. "We get to know each other better in the time I have left here."
"When are you leaving?"
"If all goes well, I'll be home in a month's time."
"So you're going to disappear as though you never existed." She knew what would happen. Assassins did not have roots, they did not have homes. Moving closer to him, she pulled his arm around her and snuggled into his side, laying her head on his chest. He opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted. "Don't ruin the moment, Jacob."
A soft chuckle escaped his smiling lips, and they watched the world go past them. She fell asleep on his chest, snoring softly. The ice had frozen his hand, and done nothing for his head so he discarded it, settling for gently moving the swing back and forth. Her spell had faded over night, and now, with the addition of her parentage and her birthmark, he started to wonder exactly what happened and why he was still drawn to her. Well, the last bit wasn't a mystery. The more he learned about her, the stronger the pull. She wasn't the kind of beautiful that men would compare to a flower; she was beautiful like marble, cool and strong, unyielding, and in some moments, had the potential to be terrifying. That kind of strength came from a pain early on in life.
-0-
Logan was cold and calculating as he approached Leon, the latter broken within an inch of his life. Leon had refused to cooperate in giving up Sydney's location, and unfortunately he had to use force. Now the gentleman's eyes were almost swollen shut and every visible inch was covered in blood. "Tell me where she is. I know Mr. Frye and you were close. Is he worth dying over?
"She is." Leon didn't hesitate. "I don't know why you want her,but you won't get her because of me."
Logan raised an eyebrow and without hesitation, fired his pistol into Leon's heart. Without a second look, he left the apartment with his Templar brutes.
A/N: I'm very sorry this took so long to update but I've been working so much. Thank you to the guest who left a review and to everyone who added this to their alerts. You guys are amazing. Please feel free to feed the muse and leave a review on your way out. Love you guys!