I must have been exceptionally tired when I finished the last chapter. Because as I was rereading part of it to get my head set in that part of the story instead of in the very distant future (too many plans that can't come into play yet), I didn't recognize half the words as my own. For all I know, one of my cats wrote that for me.
Another minute, gone from her life. Passed in frightened silence, beside a beast straight out of a nightmare. Had she not been counting the seconds in an attempt to calm her racing heart and pounding head, Nasira would have believed it had been two hours. But she couldn't calm down. Not after… that. She couldn't recall having felt more violated in her entire life. Her arm burned, the flesh of her bicep practically writhing in discomfort. Certain that it was, in fact, twitching, she couldn't help but stare in disbelief, eyes as wide as grapefruits, realizing that it looked perfectly normal, the offended skin utterly still.
What was she doing? Had it bothered her that much? Altair had only lightly brushed her arm with his own as he avoided running into her. Yet here she was, eyes glued to her upper arm, as though he had smeared dye all over her skin. She was the one who suddenly stopped in the center of the hall. If not for his quick reflexes he likely would have rammed into her back and sent at least her tumbling to the floor, if not himself as well.
Or perhaps… he had heard of this. Women would get so excited about a casual touch from someone they admired they would simply stare, unable to process what had happened. At least, that's what he had heard from some of the younger assassins. Until that moment, he had always thought it to be severe exaggeration. 'well' he mused 'I suppose it's possible. I am a rather revered figure. But I sincerely hope that is not the case'
Although, he was beginning to worry, ever so slightly. Nasira's breathing had been gradually increasing in volume and she had merely been standing there vacantly for over two minutes. Gentle to the point of sounding hesitant, he began "Nasira? Are you alright?" He hadn't wanted to startle her all of a sudden, but she hadn't responded in the least. Not even a twitch to show she had heard him.
Just as he started to reach out his hand, intending to give her shoulder a slight shake, she jumped back into action, moving further away from him by several inches. "Yes! …I'm alright, perfectly fine." Then why was she watching him with such suspicion in her gaze?
What had she been doing? Something about a necklace… looking for a necklace? Why was she looking for her necklace? She could clearly feel it hanging around her neck… That's right, she was pretending. She had only just come up with a plan to end this silly facade, when… when… it… happened. Now she was, once again, totally clueless as to what to do. Surely, it would come back to her with time, but Nasira didn't want to be in this situation any longer. Near that man any longer…
Right! How could she forget? Come to think of it… why had it not occurred to her much earlier? It was a simple plan, almost childish. But it was the best she could manage. Soon, Nasira would have the opportunity to conclude this charade. If she could just get around the next corner a few seconds before he could follow.
Before Altair could say anything, he was already beginning to open his mouth to press her, gently, on her odd behavior. Nasira cut him off. "well, we should move along then." If she said she was fine, then he would have to believe her. Though she wasn't acting fine. She still looked to be quite flustered. Her cheeks had a slightly pink tinge and her voice had quivered noticeably. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought he was concerned for her. She could have laughed at that. A monster like him, concerned? Impossible.
Without another word, Nasira started forward, and hurried around the corner, hoping to catch him slightly off-guard, to delay him. Just as she moved out of sight, she began pulling the necklace up around her neck and over her head. Noticing Altair's leg preceding the rest of him around the bend, she quickly clenched her fist around the chain, effectively hiding it from view.
He had seen something just then, just a small flash in the corner of his eye. She was acting suspicious, she had suddenly moved out of sight, only to look like she had been caught playing in a mud puddle. Looking her over, he easily noticed what she had done. One of Nasira's hands was clenched into a fist, only the one, Altair could almost see a faint glimmer of metal peeking out. So, he presumed, the necklace was, in fact, real. Maybe she had finally decided to end this.
He would continue to humor her. Better she thinks she's gotten away with it than to awkwardly explain why he allowed her to make a fool of herself. Though, he admitted to himself, it did hurt his pride to let anyone believe they had managed to fool him. As skilled and observant as his reputation would lead people to believe, the audacity required to even attempt to deceive Altair was… unimaginable. Or perhaps she simply hadn't thought it through.
This was it, Nasira was so close to breaking out of his presence, just a few more moments and she would find what she needed. There! a crack in the corner joining the wall and the floor. She couldn't remember either of them checking it on the first trek through the halls. If she merely waited until his head turned, she could show him proof that her necklace had been found, so to speak. Luckily, Altair was already distracting himself, checking the floor by a bookshelf laden with ornaments and candles just a few feet ahead of her. With his attention diverted, she began exacting her scheme.
Walk slowly, don't draw his attention. If he thought anything was suspicious, she would have to stall her plan for a few more precious minutes, if not have it completely ruined. Bending down, supposedly to inspect the crack, she made a point to brighten her facial expression, before reaching her hand towards it. "Here it is! I found it!" she didn't think her cheerful tone sounded very convincing, but it would have to do.
Altair had clearly seen her 'pick up' the article out of the corner of his eye. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Nasira was greatly inexperienced in sleight of hand, or any other kind of deception. But the childish hopefulness he could hear in her voice, begging him to believe her, was… almost endearing. Almost. She seemed so innocent compared to the women he often saw in the streets during his missions: beggars hoping for coin, or prostitutes, probably looking to sell the secrets of their rich clients.
"I looked for it for this long, at least let me see it properly" he really was curious, after the time he had spent on this. She didn't hesitate to nod her head and lift her hand, letting the chain slide down until the pendant was visible. Swinging from the thin copper chain was a small emerald, set into the center of a small copper rose.
Only a few moments later, Nasira was already beginning to walk past him, rushing through her speech "well, I'll be on my way. Thank you for your help." Gone. She certainly hadn't bothered to wait around. Though he had done all he intended, he had interacted with her. For quite some time in fact. Altair actually felt slightly disappointed that she had been so quick to leave. He hadn't felt so relaxed in months. Then he would just have to find a way to spend more time with her. Finding some believable excuse couldn't be too difficult. Perhaps the next time she would even begin to relax a little.
As Nasira walked away from Altair, down the hall, out into the courtyard, past the guards, and toward the market, her plans for the day were overshadowed by a fierce need. The need for comfort. She could have slapped herself if she weren't in public. No, that could wait until she was safely inside, away from prying eyes. At the last moment, she swerved at a side street, startling a passing woman, nearly knocking the water jug from her hands, as she made her way toward Kaaf and Zaina's home. Surely, they wouldn't mind hosting her for a few extra hours before dinner. Though Kaaf was likely still working.
Bursting into the house, Nasira started calling out to her younger friend. "Zaina! Zaina, please help me!" It took only a few moments for the other woman to come charging into the entrance from the kitchen, her tan face scrunched up in concern. Zaina's grey eyes, the only feature she shared with her brother, seemed to pierce Nasira's very soul, searching for the cause of her distress.
"What happened? Are you hurt?" seeing that Nasira was not injured (physically at least) and that she would only be getting some blubbering and delusional muttering from Nasira, Zaina decided instead to focus on enjoying the tea she had only just finished making. It would be a shame to waste such high-quality tea after all. "Come, I'll pour you some tea and you can tell me while we drink."
Sitting down in her usual seat at the table, Nasira waited only a few moments for Zaina to finish pouring out the steaming, green tinted liquid. But it was enough to distract her. Even just smelling the tea had Nasira melting into the comforting familiarity of this scene. How many times had she sat here with Zaina, ceramic mugs in hand, ready to discuss some recent event? Dozens? Hundreds? "This smells different from your usual teas, it is new?" The grassy scent, associated with green tea leaves, hints of citrus fruits, just a touch of mint, and a slight floral note.
"I just got it last night from that friend of mine, I told you about him before, the merchant. He brought back a lot of new teas and offered me some. I'll have to ask him what he called it when I next see him. Now, just what was bothering you so much that you couldn't even speak properly when you came in?"
The tale took longer than it should have to relay, mostly due to Nasira being unable to continue when she was overcome with the memory of her fright. Several times. As well as Zaina interrupting while attempting to keep the amusement out of her expression. While she and Kaaf tried to respect Nasira's peculiar fear, it was, at times, greatly entertaining to listen to this opinion of the mentor Nasira kept. The poor man really did not deserve this sort of reaction, but no one had been able to convince her of that.
Finally, the story reached its conclusion, with Nasira admitting that she should have been able to come up with her solution much earlier. Zaina's expression, having put all the pieces together and recalled the beginning of her friends misfortune, was cold and flat, her large eyes openly showing her disapproval. "Nasira, darling, you do know that none of that would have happened had you simply continued walking past him like a normal human being, right?"