She could hear her own dainty and very feminine cries for help echoing through the cool night air of Acre. Dim light from the stars glinting off the metal parts of three town guards' armor as they cornered her by a well. There was no moon to speak of that night, there was just enough cloud coverage to hide it from sight, casting eerie shadows over the faces of her assailants, adorned with feral grins, detailing their immense pleasure at her predicament.

Running away had only seemed to entertain them, she was no athlete, had they not been toying with her she wouldn't have even made it five feet. Instead they had allowed her to run for a good eight minutes, letting her tire herself out she presumed, before they grew impatient with the chase. Still, despite knowing that, she had run all the same.

Had she done anything wrong? She couldn't remember having commit any crimes recen… well… she had… borrowed… a few coins from her father to buy herself a new ribbon for her hair. Without telling him… and no way to pay him back. At least not yet. She would get there. One day. But she doubted anyone other than her parents would be concerned about such an act.

Ah, there she went again, even in mortal peril she was allowing her thoughts to wonder. Perhaps she should work on honing her mind a bit lat- 'Stop it already! You're about to be violated or murdered or both, for who knows what! Take your life seriously for once!'. Now she was mentally referring to herself in second person again. Another issue she needed to work on.

There were few people on the streets at this time of night. Those that were still wondering about turned a blind eye to the scene before them. Not that she blamed any of them. Had someone attempted to help they would likely have been wounded at best, killed at worst. These guards were beyond rational thought, she hadn't gotten close enough to smell it on them, but she assumed there was alcohol or drug use worsening their behavior

The distance between her and the guards was swiftly being reduced. She could back up no farther, lest she topple backwards straight into the well. Her calves were already brushing the short wall. So, it was over, she was at the mercy of seemingly merciless men. She had never had any real aspirations in life, no dreams she needed to accomplish, though she had always wanted to have a pet bird. But she simply could not believe it would end like this, used, beaten and tossed aside by a group of ruffians. She had only just celebrated her 18th day of birth a couple of months prior. Her grandmother always said early deaths were such a shame.

'Will grandma also say that about me? Shake her head and morn another young soul lost?'

All this time she had been tuning out the banter they had been exchanging. Comparing themselves. Placing bets on who could make her scream the loudest was their current topic. The one on the left came forward suddenly. "Well we won't get anywhere just talking about it! I go first then!"." He had his hand on her arm, his grip harsh, it was too warm, she felt like her skin would melt off at the contact.

He was reaching his other hand forward, the other men cheering him on, like some perverse audience. She tried to pull away, but all she got in return was a backhand to the cheek. His gauntlet had broken the skin. Cuts and a bruise. Wonderful. Her cries grew louder, maybe, just maybe, somewhere nearby was some kind, heavily armed hero. However, she knew such hopes were futi- "If you wish to leave here with all of your limbs intact, I suggest you release her"

That deep sultry growl… for the rest of her life, the sound of that man's voice would be ingrained in her memory. Never would she allow it to fade. He sounded so calm, confident, but the anger was unmistakable. The three guards were frantically searching for the source of the voice, just as she was, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, the clouds parted, and in that very moment, a tall, imposing figure jumped from a low rooftop, landing behind the guards, directly in a beam of moonlight. So gallant, so daring, his skin was practically glowing, one might even say he was sparkling. How many heroics did someone have to preform before they achieved this heavenly, glittering aura?

Staring at this mysterious knight in his pristine white robes and armor was all she could muster. What little of his face she could see was absolute perfection. Such a finely chiseled jaw with firmly set lips. She could have stood there for hours, just watching him stand there, but he had other plans. The fight was over in only a few moments. His precisely calculated movements easily cutting off any form of resistance from his opponents. She could barely follow the movements with her eyes; everything was happening too fast.

"Are you alright?" he was standing before her now, still shining brighter than any of the stars the sky had to offer, his foes lying on the hard ground. She wasn't sure if they were still alive, but she couldn't bring herself to care much. All she could see was that man, his robes had some blood splattered on them now, staining the pure white a deep crimson and… a dark reddish brown? Surely the blood couldn't have dried that quickly… no matter. He was here, with her, protecting her. That was all that mattered.

She couldn't speak, his presence was too overwhelming, she only barely managed to nod her head in reply. "Good" oh wow. Even his sigh was a thing of beauty. "You should get out of here before someone shows up. Go home. Stay inside for the time being." With those words he turned his back, vanishing into the night just as suddenly as he had appeared. But she thought she had seen one corner of his lips turn upwards at the last moment. A parting smile? She wanted him to smile at her again…

"wait… don't go…"

We won't be going anywhere if you don't get up already!" One of the stewards, he was always so serious. Unlike many of the others, he had not been so happy about escorting Amali, with her destination being so far out of their way.

The exclamation was enough to have her jolting up from her place on the floor of the caravan. Her favorite napping spot. The swaying of the carriage achieved the perfect rhythm to lull her into peaceful slumber. But they weren't swaying anymore. Had they arrived? How very fitting, to wake from her recurring dream, a dream of the night she fell in love, to find herself in the very city where she might find her hero once more. She had waited quite some time for this, one year three months and twenty-seven days, to be exact. Counting the days had not been intentional, but she hadn't been able to stop herself.

Amali had traveled from her hometown of Acre for one thing and one thing only: to find the man who had saved her life and to make him return her feelings. well… technically that was two things, but she wouldn't debate semantics with herself now. If there was any way to win his affections, she would do it, anything at all. Nothing could stop her.

"sorry miss, but we have a schedule to keep, I'd love to help you more but… we've already done all we can afford. You have a place to stay in town, don't you?" Kind man that he was, Seran was still so worried about her. Unable to find anyone to escort her to Masyaf, she had tried bribing merchants and travelers, but she simply did not have coin enough to entice any of them. Eventually, she had broken down in tears and spilt her romantic tale to Seran, a stranger at the time. Thoroughly moved by her intentions, he had completely changed his trade route for the month. He wasn't even charging her! She was sure he had shed a few tears himself during part of her story.

"Thank you so much. Are you sure you won't take any form of payment?" of course, she didn't particularly want to pay him, but she already knew he would refuse.

"No no, you need that money to find a place to stay. You don't know how long it might take to find him"

There was a limit to how long she could chase her dreams though, and he had reminded her of just that. Her father had given her this chance, but should she be unable to find him or convince him to ask for her hand within a year, she would have to go home and accept an arranged marriage. In order for her father to agree to even this single year, she's had to threaten to chase away all potential suitors with abhorrent actions.

That old man had been pushing her to get married for two years already, but he was reluctant enough at the thought of losing his precious daughter that he had not yet forced the issue. Unfortunately, he was right, she was getting older, finding a spouse would only become more difficult as the years passed. But she couldn't give up on him, her valiant knight, not without at least trying to find him.

She had spent the past year researching who he could possibly be. After months she had finally found a clue. The symbol on his belt, she had seen others with that same symbol, running about in white robes, though not nearly as gracefully as he had. More arduous research, and quite a bit of googly eyed guilt tripping of strangers bearing that symbol on their own clothes, and she had finally gotten something concrete. Masyaf, the assassin's base of operations. If he was a part if the assassin's, then he would come here. Surely, he would be here for at least a short time during her time limit. Just enough time for her to meet him and utterly dazzle him with her feminine charms, that was all she needed.

Such a small village. Not at all like the crowded atmosphere in acre. Though, it was refreshing, not being shrouded by a cloud of gray. Everything here was so foreign to her, despite being normal things she had seen every day of her life. Houses, hay bales, benches… but the things, the people, here seemed so vibrant, full of life… The people here looked so happy, well-fed, secure. It must be the feeling of adventure, this was her first time outside of Acre, after all. Surely the only difference between Masyaf and Acre was the size of the city, not some storybook joyfulness.

Spotting a friendly looking man walking past, in no hurry to get anywhere, she determined him to be as good a person to ask as any. If she was to get any closer to her goal she needed to get started. "Excuse me, sir, maybe you can help me with something". Seeing his open expression and his willing nod she continued "You see, I'm looking for someone, I don't know his name. I believe he's a member of the assassin brotherhood, he has a very grim looking face, kind of brooding, short, dark hair, tall, muscular… umm… broad shouldered… Do you know anyone like that?"

His expression had, over the course of her description, fallen flat, his eyes achieving a dull stare. "Ah, you do know where you are… right?"

"Of course, the city of Masyaf, home of the assassins." Head tilting of its own accord, she couldn't help feeling a little confused. Was there some sort of problem? Her description was as detailed as she could manage, she had only seen him once and it had been over a year previous.

The man glanced casually around the streets before speaking. "Alright, fine, someone like that. Do you mean the man walking behind you now?" Rapidly spinning around to see a man dressed in white robes pass her, she felt sharp disappointment at seeing it wasn't her true love. Though he did match the description she had given perfectly. Raising his arm, pointing to a tall, muscular, hooded man in front of a merchant stall, her guide continued. "or perhaps you meant the man over there, buying that melon? Maybe that one, feeding the cat?" Another swift jerk of his arm brought her attention to the next man. The cat was adorable, certainly, but the man was obviously not her knight. Hood lowered; he was showing off his much too tanned skin.

"oh, or maybe you were referring to that one on the rooftops?" Yet another man, fitting her exact description, just as the others had, could be seen hopping unsteadily from rooftop to rooftop, just a little way off from their position. "He should be more careful. He's going to hurt himself moving about like that"

A passing stranger also noticed the eccentric assassin up above and was only too ready to make his opinion known. "And when he does, I won't help him" There he went… he had missed his jump and fallen from the edge of a two-story building.

Her original conversation partner spoke up once more. "That's no good… they moved the cart of hay out of that alley the other day if I remember correctly… ah well. He's likely fine. Sturdy bunch and all." He had apparently lost interest in Amali, for her consultant wondered off, making his way to his original destination. Not even bothering to bid Amali goodbye.

Seeing all of these similarly built men, dressed all the same… Amali knew now just how trying her task would be. Minor setbacks like this wouldn't sway her though. She had a mission, and all the beggars in Acre wouldn't be able to keep her from finding him. She just needed a plan…

Before she could think any farther on her situation, her stomach let out a fierce noise of protest. She had forgone lunch that afternoon, choosing instead, to continue her nap. First: she would find herself dinner, then she would find an inn. She had a long wait ahead of her. Toying with the end of her light brown braid, she set off in search of food.

Acre, one year three months and twenty-seven days prior

After the assassination was always the second hardest part. The hardest was waiting for the right moment to strike. Altair just got so impatient. Alas, this was about running away. Perhaps if he wouldn't stand there listening to their dying words for so long, he could more easily slip away. Still he remained.

As usual, he was being chased by the guards, bells ringing in the distance, he had managed to cross to the opposite end of the city, yet they continued the chase. He had spent some time sprinting through the streets, but they had managed to keep up. The guards were beginning to employ some rather swift runners. So, he had taken to the rooftops, yet they still managed to keep track of him.

Coated in a film of sweat, despite the cool night air, he finally managed to duck into a rooftop garden without being spotted. Though they grew suspicious enough to look when he had suddenly vanished, only just missing him as he fled from the other side and jumped into a cart full of hay in the alley below. He would wait there, just until they had left. Minutes later, he could hear the man in charge shout orders to search elsewhere.

On his way back to the bureau, as he steadily made his way across the rooftops, Altair could hear the sounds of a disturbance. Another civilian being harassed by guards, no doubt. The distressed cries of a woman confirming his theory. Unfortunately, even he was not cruel enough to leave her at the mercy of the guards, though in his exhausted state he was severely tempted to.

Watching the men corner her against a well from his rooftop vantage point, he could clearly identify that the three men were quite drunk. It was no wonder they had chosen this woman, even from such a distance he could tell, she was quite attractive. Though he would not have been able to clearly define her facial features, both at night and from afar.

His position, while good for spying, was not so conductive to a sneak attack, as he was to the side of the guards and they would no doubt see him, should he jump. Altair spotted a building right behind the guards, it was taller than the one he was currently crouched on, but it should suffice. All he needed to do was jump off after all.

Maneuvering to his chosen spot was no issue, though listening to the guards as they stumbled over challenging each other to various methods of harming the girl was a struggle. The waiting. Always with the waiting. But he could wait no longer, one of the men had grabbed the girl and even gone so far as to slap her. Just as Altair leapt from the building, the clouds shifted, allowing the moon to light up the dark streets. Better to aim his first strike.

"Urgh" That building must have been taller than he initially judged. Hitting the ground hard, with a bit too much weight on his right foot, he couldn't resist grunting in slight pain. There went his surprise attack. All the men had turned to see him now, coated in sweat, still breathing a little heavily from his recent run, and splattered with the blood of his previous target. What a hero.

Altair wasted no time drawing his sword and striking the nearest opponent down, grabbing his head and forcing him to turn before slashing across his neck. He didn't want to give them a chance to fight back, he was far too tired. The second man, the one who had grabbed the girl, still stunned and rather slow from his drinking, didn't even register what Altair had done before his own stomach had been stabbed clean through. Turning to the final enemy, the poor fool had gotten so far as grasping the handle of his own weapon and drawing it by just a couple of inches before the assassin's blade had placed a gaping hole were the man's heart should have been.

Watching as his enemies fell, Altair lamented the further dirtying of his clothing for a moment. Even more stains to remove. Of course, none of the blood would kindly splatter in the same places. It was always a new spot. Perhaps he should have worn the black robes of the mentor instead…

He needed to get back to the bureau before his pursuers caught up to him, he had tarried here long enough. Sparring the young woman he had paused to assist a quick glance, he remained only long enough to mumble "You should leave" before sprinting off toward his hideout.