Cearbhail:

Well, I hope you have fun with this.

Enjoy ^^ ...

[Zorro]

Captain's Log, Astrology date: Sagittarius 16th December, 1189

Someone corrected my knowledge of Astrology. I accidentally used Scorpio instead of Sagittarius. What to say about the day? The day's been pretty normal. The witches have returned from their little adventure to the docks, and now the reconstruction of the port town is completed ahead of schedule. The King wishes to send some sort of condolences to the coven for their efforts to improve relations, so we will put together some sort of thank you basket together and deliver it to their home, wherever that may be. So, today, Ashley, Jack, and I are all out on patrol. Our objective is to find out where the witches live and offer them our thanks. Our side objectives are to find the newly freed slaves and welcome them to our town and help them settle into their new roles. Sounds like a nice day, actually. I know Ashley is looking forward to it. Jack just wants something fun to do.

I informed the King that I had previous knowledge of the witches thanks to my little misadventure with them on Wolfe's sinking ship. I did not know exactly where they lived, but I knew the sector they lived in. I only hope that we find them. I asked to go alone, since being in the company of more knights might make them defensive. So, I will head into the lower quarter myself while Jack and Ashley wait for me in the marketplace.

Captain Vega.

…

The downtown was lively today. I don't think I've seen it feel so nice before. And I'm the guy that is always being fawned over. I would walk into the town and ladies would just fall into my lap. And that has not changed. It's actually kind of embarrassing now. I would be walking with Jack and Ashley and then… some woman would just come out of nowhere, snatch me by my collar and pull me in for a kiss. Then my shirt would be ripped off. Then six or more women would appear and start surrounding me, all saying things like they love me and whatnot. I do my best to humor them, I honestly do.

It's the reactions of Jack and Ashley that embarrass me. Jack will just stand there and watch me with his arms crossed and a confused/annoyed look on his face. Ashley will look away and huff as women start to claw at me. All I'm able to do is shrug at the inability to keep these things from happening. So far, that has not happened yet today. I've been spared from being embarrassed in front of my two squadmates.

"Sure is nice today." I said to Jack and Ash.

Ash nodded. "Lot of people out enjoying their afternoon." She looked around for a few seconds. "I don't see any of the witches out here though. We can't contact their coven leader if we don't know where they are."

Jack shrugged. "Give me two minutes. I'll go find a witch."

"NO!" Ash and I screamed at the same time. Last time we let him go off to find someone on his own, he returned with four corpses. Claimed they threatened him. And he didn't even find the person he set out to find. We later found him lying in a gutter with his throat slit. And yet… Jack was not punished for it. Turns out the person we were looking for was some sort of spy from a bandit village plotting to attack us. I did not see that coming. There are now preparations to attack this village, but first we need to solidify our troop positions in some village near it. Wolfe is supposed to be handling it as we speak.

As I looked around the marketplace, I tried to see if I could spot any of the witches, whether it was Red or Vicky. When I didn't see anyone, I thought to try the bakery where Red worked. "Hey, Ash. Do you want a French horn or something?"

She smiled. "Do I?! Heck yeah!" She started leading me to the bakery.

I looked over at Jack. "Do not move!"

He nodded. "I promise not to move."

"And no killing anyone that crosses your path." Ash added, turning around to glare at him.

He shook his head. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"And lastly…" Ash asked as she stepped towards Jack. "do you want anything from the bakery?"

That threw Jack off a bit. I could see that he was actually stunned by the question. "Well… a devil's claw?"

"You mean a bear claw?" She arched an eyebrow.

He waved it off, saying, "Same thing really."

Ash and I walked away from Jack. When we got out of earshot range, I looked over at her. "What was that? You and Jack, playing nice?"

She shrugged, shaking her head. "We're supposed to be a team. Jack's…well… we both know what Jack is. If we can do something to make him less of what he is… maybe we'll be able to change him more into a person and less of an animal."

I nodded and continued to follow beside her as we entered the bakery. I doubted Jack had any motivation to become more civil than he already was. And there was something about the way he glared at me. It was like he wasn't sure if he wanted to kill me or experiment on me. Upon entering the bakery, the first thing I noticed was that Red wasn't here. The old man that sponsored her apprenticeship was though. I nodded to the guy. "Where's Isabella?"

Ash rolled her eyes. "Oh, your little fangirl isn't here to swoon over you?"

I looked back at Ash. "Not my fangirl. More like kid sister." I looked back at the old man. "So, where is she? Isn't she working today?"

The old man shrugged. "She said something about helping her master out." So, she was out with Malik then. That means that I would have to actually go to our little hideout and ask them in person. As long as Locksley isn't in his white robes and Laila is out doing her thing, we should be just fine not jeopardizing the Brotherhood.

Ash stepped in front of me. "Ok, I need the following items: ten cupcakes with buttermilk frosting in the forms of little snowmen. Six bear claws, twenty creampuffs, a baker's dozen of…"

The two of us were suddenly interrupted by two stampeding horses. You could hear them like thunder outside the shop door. The horses were approaching the shop quickly, and people were screaming in fear as they rushed away from the approaching thunder. By the time we turned around, we could see two white-clad figures galloping past the doorway. I caught a small glance at who I believe was Red's boyfriend. I forgot his name, but I swore that's who it was. Great… just great. So much for our normal day.

Ash was immediately ready for action. "Assassins!" She cried as she reached for her sword. She turned around to nod to the baker. "Just get my things ready. I'll be back for them in an hour or so." The baker nodded and started readying her order. Ash looked over at me. "We need some horses, and we need them now." And now, I had no choice but to follow. I really hope this doesn't end with me betraying someone.

"Do we really have to go after them?" I turned to look at her.

She growled at me. "Of course we do! They're going way over the speed limit!"

…

[Brian]

Flying through the streets of Nottingham on the back of a horse without a saddle is pretty scary. I'm barely able to keep my one good arm wrapped around the thing's neck, and I keep bouncing off the back of the horse in a way that reinforces my fear of falling off the thing, let alone get trampled by it as I fell. And let's not go into the immense pain my groin is feeling every time I end up slamming back into the horses spine with every gallop. It's almost blinding. Everything is blurry, but even still… Boy, this sure beat lying down on some mat in the attic, being beaten up by some evil cute girl. Thundering clomps from the horse as well as the wind rushing my face underneath me reminded me that I was really moving. My heart was frantically beating as I felt my hand slip from the horse's mane. My other arm screamed in pain when I jerked it hard out of reflex to catch myself.

So, this was where I started to panic. Luckily, I was able grab some of the horse's mane. That didn't really stop me from tumbling over the side. That didn't stop me from yanking too hard on the horse, which probably really pissed it off. And that didn't stop the horse from speeding up when I yanked on his mane.

I felt a hand firmly grab my shoulder. "Just relax! Your horse can sense your anxiety and it's scaring her!" Olin, Red's boyfriend, screamed to me from his horse.

"Easy for you to say!" I screamed back. He helped push me back onto the horse's back while still balancing on his. My feet were still trembling with the fear of falling off this galloping monstrosity, but at least I was still on top of this thing.

"The trick is to feel the horse, every step she takes, and match it to your own beat. You two must become one. When she lowers into her step, you must lower into that step as well. When she jumps, you must jump with her. Don't fight her." Olin called from beside me. I looked over to him. He was hiding with his horse; I could see it in his stance. He had no problems riding bareback on his horse.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I tried my best to feel the rhythm of the horse. I forced myself to dig my knees into the sides of the horse to stabilize myself. I pushed myself up enough that I could get into rhythm. As soon as the horse slumped, I let myself slump with the horse. When she rose, I tried to bounce with her. And within a few seconds, I was starting to get what Olin was trying to tell me. I could feel how the horse would step and I was able to shift myself accordingly. Wow… this felt amazing. I almost felt like I was one with the horse.

"I'm naming you Buttercup!" I said to the horse. The horse snorted in reply.

"Pull over!" A voice screamed behind us.

I risked looking behind me, at the risk of losing my balance and falling off Buttercup, to see who was galloping behind me. There were armored knights riding behind us, and running to catch up. Even further down the line of riding knights, I could see Zorro riding with his new friend. I guess it was only a matter of time before we somehow got him involved in our hijinks. I just hoped we were able to get away.

"Should we stop?" Olin screamed from my right.

I looked over at him, shaking my head. "No! The knights want nothing more than to kill us! We just have to outrun them."

"How?"

I had to think about it. "We have the advantage on foot. Their heavy armor can't keep up with our light robes. If we climb up a few buildings, they'll never catch up with us!"

"You have a broken arm!"

"An injured arm, thank you. And I can still climb up a simple building!" I didn't want to mention to him the amulet hanging around my neck. It was a simple amulet my mother made for me. It was supposed to protect me, keep me safe. My mother was a genius when it came to creating magical items and charms. This amulet would let me safely climb the building, I could tell. My arm was already feeling better just having the thing near my chest. "Yeah, I'll be fine." I mumbled as I looked back to the front. "If we can get the knights off their horses, we can slow them down even more. If we go into an alley, I think I have something that can help." Another one of Mom's old tricks.

I gestured Olin to head into the next alley and let him pass in front of me. Olin took off like an arrow straight for the alleyway. I patted the horse's neck, whispering comforting words to her, urging her to follow Olin's horse. She grunted but took off in a sprint to follow. I had to dig my hand deeper into my mane to keep myself from falling off. Using my nearly broken arm, I reached into my pocket. I pulled out an old charm Mom gave to me. It was supposed to save my life if I ever needed to get away quickly. I was too stubborn to use this when I met up with John in the alleyway when he jumped me. I couldn't be stubborn this time. My friends were probably in trouble. They might need my help.

I pulled out an old ring my mother gave me. There was a circle of diamond around a citrine around a silver band. I slipped the ring on and tried to focus on it. I tried my best to remember what my mom tried to teach me about activating this thing. I just had to mutter an activation key or something. I just had to remember it. "In darkest day… in blackest night…" I started shaking my head, trying my best to remember the full activation mantra. "No demon shall evade my sight. When evil threatens to wrap my world in the thickest of blights. When all hope is gone, I shall bear the brightest light!"

I stuck my ring finger out behind me, half closing my eyes as a bright flash of light blasted out of my finger. I could hear the results. Horses were whinnying in fear of the bright light, and knights were blinded, screaming in minor surprise. Then, crashing, horses falling over, and people screaming in more surprise as they fell over each other. I turned myself around, smirking at the thought that I actually did something. Perhaps being a son of a witch might not be such a bad thing after all.

"You've got to be kidding me!" I heard a woman scream from behind me. "Get your butts up and give chase!"

"It's no use; by the time we even get our horses up and running, they'll be long out of our sight." Zorro screamed in reply, just loud enough for me to hear him. That was my cue to get out of here before he had a chance to follow me.

"Olin!" I screamed to him. He turned to look back at me. "We should take the next corner and jump our horses."

"How are we going to get to the others?" He screamed back.

"We'll just have the horses meet up with us outside."

"How will they know?"

I looked down at Buttercup. She glanced up at me with knowing eyes. I felt like she could feel me, my thoughts at the very least. Did… did I just make her my familiar animal companion? I could feel a connection with her, like I could understand her just like she understood me. I smiled as I looked over to Olin. "Buttercup will make sure both our horses make it to the other side of the wall." Buttercup snorted in reply. "Oh, come on. It's not that big a deal." If Buttercup could roll her eyes, she just did.

"Should we stop here? It's a low roof. We could get away up here." Olin pointed over to a single story house actually near the wall. That looked like a good place to get off at.

I nodded and Olin started coming to a stop. Buttercup stopped as well, bending a little to let myself slip off her. I reached for the amulet hanging around my neck, pulling it off. I loosened the cord enough that I could slip it around Buttercup's neck. "Here, you're my familiar now so you should be linked to my magick." She nodded in reply, snorting at the idea. "This amulet should protect you and make sure you get past the knights. Just try to outrun them and get them into as much problems as possible."

Buttercup snorted and turned to leave. She whinnied before taking off in a mad dash towards the marketplace, but happily away from the knights' prying eyes. If she went back without me, they'd know we got off just around the corner of the alley. Olin's horse followed behind Buttercup, looking at Olin for a second before taking off after her.

"Safe journeys, Fonn!" Olin waved to his horse as she took off. He nodded and looked back at me. "I'm glad we stole those horses." He started to climb up the house's window up to the roof.

I shrugged. "Wasn't stealing. The King took them from our sector of town anyway. We just took them back."

"Oh, so now you're stealing from the King?" Oh no… not him. I was slow to turn around, but I knew it was him. That sounded just like Jon. And when I turned around, I could see him leaning against a wall corner. His friends were behind him. His friends were already holding makeshift weapons made up of wooden beams and nails. Jon was just leaning against the wall, glaring at me like I was Satan or something. "You went on and on about your precious honor, your father was a knight, blah, blah, blah. And you've gone and stolen from the King, and you've now you're dressing up in white like those crazy killers running around town. I knew it; you're a fecking menace to this town. We can't trust anyone related to those Satan worshipers, let alone a traitorous son of a knight. You dishonor your whole family by living. I should do this town a favor and put you underground before you do something like blow it up."

Olin looked down at us from the roof. "Brian? Do you need any help?" He looked from me over to Jon.

Jon smirked. "You going to run and hide behind your slave?"

Olin scoffed at the comment. "I'll do you the favor of ignoring you." He looked down at me. "Need a hand getting up?"

I looked from Olin over to Jon. His friends were already beginning to surround me. I could run for it, but I doubt I could turn around and run up the roof before I could get caught. I could use the ring again, but I'd have to mutter that activation key again. And by the time I could say it willfully and correctly, I would already be a bleeding mess on the floor. I thought I saw a flash of white and red above me, so I took a second to look up at the roof overlooking us from the other side of the alleyway. I didn't see Malik or Laila, or anyone else for that matter. I guess I was just hoping for an easy out. I realized I wouldn't be getting one this time.

I looked back up at Olin. "Head for the horses. I will catch up when I'm able."

Olin sighed and shook his head. "Can't do that. If you insist on doing this on your own, I will stand by and watch. That is the least I will do if it looks back for you, mind you."

I nodded. "Just stay out of this, ok? I think… I think I need to finally let myself do this." I tried many times to turn the other cheek with Jon, hoping that we could end this stupid little thing we had going on with each other. I knew now that it wasn't going to be like that. He was always going to hassle me, push me around, and claim I'm the villain while he does it. It was time I fought back. I had knives strapped to my body; I had a hidden knife attached to my left arm. I had a sword hanging on my belt. I doubted I would be using any of it. I wished I had my amulet now. I wish I had anything other than these weapons. I did have something. I did have the moments when Master would show me some of his fighting moves. I did have those moments when I would watch him spar with his sister, and train with Red and Locksley. I was sure I picked something up. I just hoped Mother was still watching over me now, giving me protection.

Jon nodded to his gang and they all rushed me at once; not one-on-one like other stupid people might have done. I didn't have much time to react, but my body did it for me. I rushed back, jumped against the wall and pushing over the first few whackers. I managed to snag someone by their throat and pull them to the ground with me. As soon as we hit the ground, I snaked around him and began choking him, just like Master showed me one day on Red. He gurgled, and his friends all started to rush us, so I didn't have time to worry about him. I kicked his knee hard enough that I heard it snap, then I shoved him into the whackers turning to fight me. I reached for my sword, hoping I could avoid using it.

When I saw those boards with nails in them, I decided it might be worth the effort of using my sword. I unsheathed it and it sang as it slid out of its sheath. I never thought I'd actually be using a real sword. Holding the sword in my hand as I looked at the people trying to surround me, I had to wonder if this was what Dad felt every time he entered a battle in the sand lands. The knowledge that his life was placed in the tip of a sword, guided by my own hands and the will of God. I stepped forward, bringing the sword to both of my hands. I screamed a challenge at Jon and his gang.

"Ma'am, do you honestly think they're still in this part of town?" I heard someone call from down the alleyway we raced out of.

"No, I suspect they are long gone, but we will not know until we check." That sounded like that woman from before.

Jon smirked. "You hear that? They're coming. And… I think I'll the knights know who you really are." I gripped my sword tighter. "When the knights know, your father will be forced to come home, a dishonored drunk with no title, no future… nothing. And it will be all your fault."

I screamed as I charged into his friends. They all swung their boards and everything at me. I had armor for that. Light leather armor, but it could at least take as much of a beating as I could. There was this feeling of invincibility welling up inside of me and I used it as my advantage. I charged forward, moving faster than I've ever moved before. Every board slammed into me, but with one swing of my sword, I was able to cut through them. The boards all snapped, falling down and clanking against the stone floor.

"Men, that sounds like fighting! They must be ahead." I had to hurry up.

I quickly ran through Jon's friends, not even using my sword. The very air around me shoved them against a wall. And before I knew it, I was up in the air, my injured left arm raised up with the knife extended. I came down on top of the startled Jon, bringing the knife down to his neck. He looked scared to death, but that was what I planned on giving him. He couldn't tell anyone if he was dead. My father deserved to come home a hero, and I would not let someone like Jon ruin that for me. Before my hand could fall around his neck, I felt someone tackle me. It was a big heavy person. I didn't hear the armored boots clanking; I did not see the knights surrounding me. All I knew was that the woman from earlier was picking me up from Jon and slamming me into a wall.

"You foul beast! You will not lay a hand on this child!" She paused as she looked at me. "Wait… you're a child."

"Yeah!" Jon screamed. "He's the son of a knight, and he's fighting for those freaks!"

The woman's eyes arched. Her grip of my shoulder tightened. "You dare dishonor your family with such disgrace. Fighting on the side of your father's enemies? You… you sicken me."

"In darkest day…" I started to mumble the activation mantra. I let the words flow right out of me, and no one seemed to figure out what I was doing. Before anyone could figure it out, I stuck out my ring and blasted everyone with the same bright flash as I did earlier. The grip on my shoulder loosened and I took that as my cue to run.

"Brian!" Olin screamed. "Take my hand!" I could see Olin leaning over the building. I ran for the wall and sprinted right up it, taking his hand. There was a second where he started to pull me up, and another second where we were falling into a patch of grass. It was so sudden. I didn't hear anything other than birds chirping. I looked around frantically for any sign of what had just happened. We were clearly out in the middle of a field on the outskirts of some woods. I could hear distant screaming, but other than that, it was very quiet.

"What? Where are we?" I looked around, finally looking at Olin.

Olin looked just as confused. "I…I…" He looked from me over to his pocket. He reached into it and pulled out a round orb. It was glowing and pulsing with energy. "It did this before… it saved me from a falling building, transporting me to a safe place." He looked around. "I guess the orb knew we needed to get out of there and it took us… here."

That thing could do that? I knew Vicky had an obsession over it, but she never told me it was magical. I guess I just had to accept it for what it was. I mean… I communicated emotionally to a horse, blinded people with a ring, and moved like a blur. A teleporting orb should seem like nothing special after all that. So, I tried to act like nothing important had just happened. "But where is here?" There, completely reasonable question, and not at all frantic. Hearing the screaming up ahead, I think I had a good idea of where that was. I stood up and rushed for the hilltop.

When I rounded the hill, I could see the huge battle unfolding. There were hundreds of knights all fighting each other, a bunch of villagers fighting back. I could see all the witches flying up in the air on broomsticks, firing down on the knights that shot up at them. And in the middle of it all was Master Malik and his sister. We made it. We made it to the battle.

I looked back at Olin. "I think we've arrived to the battlefield." I tried to smile at the thought that I wasn't being left out of this, but I couldn't hide the fact that everyone knew about my connections to the Assassins now. If they told my father… I would never be his son. I have just become disowned in almost every possible way imaginable. My father would never forgive me for becoming what I represent. Maybe if I explained it to him, but I doubt he'd listen to me. I could try. My dad is a pretty reasonable guy, of course he would understand. I wanted to help people, like what he does. The guards in town don't really help, but Master Malik sure does. And I'm training with him to become the greatest knight I can become. Dad will understand, I know he will.

"What's the plan?" Olin said as he walked over to me. When I looked at him, he looked like a giant compared to me. I'm skinny, and I'm younger than him by a couple years. I only came up to his neck. Why was he asking me?

"Don't you have one?" I looked back at the battlefield, looking up at Olin for a second while he contemplated his own plan.

Olin sighed. "My plan ended up with me dying in burning building. You've been with this family the longest; you know how they think and how they would act. Knowing this… how can we compliment their plan?"

I had to think about that. Master's plan… I don't know, but I doubt he had anything planned. From the looks of it, he was making his way to the command tent. There was a thick mist rolling over the knights, and they were screaming in horror as they started carving out their friends. Master's plan must be to take out the commander and destroy the effectiveness of the army, or at least their morale. I looked to the village. He had to be protecting that village. And there was no one currently defending it. I looked over at Olin. "We're going to that village and keeping the enemy away from it."

Olin nodded. "Sounds better than my plan. Let's go."

I sure hope I came up with the right plan. I really wanted to go find Vicky and help her out, but she would have to wait. She's a big girl, stronger than anyone else I know. She could take care of herself. I had to protect those who couldn't. I had to bring some amount of honor back to my family name, even if no one will ever believe I have.

Cearbhail:

And that's Brian's side of the story. I might not do Olin's now. It was originally going to be: he grabs Brian and then runs off. his pocket burned with the Apple and then he reached into his pocket, needing to escape. And then... flash. And Brian was knocked out and Olin was in the middle of the war zone, surrounded by raving knights affected by the fear potion. Olin, of course, is not affected because of his Apple's influence on him, and he has to drag an unconscious Brian out of the hellzone while trying to keep himself alive. Damn... I really like that! I might have to do that next chapter!