"So, how many people have you killed? Do you ever feel nervous when you kill someone?" A young boy, still in his early teenage years, questioned the assassin across the desk. Eyes glimmering with admiration for the man, he bounced up and down on his heels, eagerly awaiting his reply.
On the other hand, the grown assassin could barely contain his frustration. Altair gives one demonstration in the morning and suddenly he had four boys, who couldn't have been older than twelve, coming into the study at every opportunity to pester him. Not even bothering to hold back his sigh or keep his eyes from rolling, he answered dully. "I have long since stopped counting. And no, I try to keep my emotions out of my work. Though perhaps my first kill left me feeling… uncomfortable." Unintentionally adding the last part, his mind wandered back to his younger days.
Altair could remember it like it was yesterday. No kill had stuck with him quite like that one. While he, a mere child, had completed his mission that day, the moment his blade had pierced his victim's heart, the young Altair had felt incredibly nauseous and, almost instantly, had evacuated his stomach onto the floor next to the fresh corpse. He had nearly passed out many times after as he stumbled back to the base in a daze, holding onto anything he could to stay upright. No amount of training could prepare a person for murder.
Breaking Altair from his musings, another boy, the shy one of the group, chimed in. Clearly trying to hold back his excitement, unlike the others. "Then… Then how long ha-." But before he could ask his question, the assassin responsible for their training came jogging up the stairs behind them.
"Now boys, I thought I told you already, Altair is a busy man. He doesn't have time to be entertaining you. Come on, five laps around the castle perimeter, all of you." Giving Altair a look of apology and a short bow, the teacher followed behind the children, watching to make sure they did as instructed.
There was something unpleasant about children. They were noisy and always bouncing around, wasting energy trying to look cool to their peers. And of course, it fell to him to oversee their education. He supposed he could understand. Many of the children they trained were orphans who had come to them out of desperation, and they would look to someone of authority as a father figure… he had been that way once, when he had first joined the brotherhood. Now, he was the mentor, and as much as he didn't feel like he could be responsible for growing children, it was still another of his duties as a leader to give them someone to look up to. However uncomfortable their pestering made him.
Hearing faint voices coming from the library on the first floor, Altair paused in his work, thinking he recognized the woman talking. "This is amazing. Honestly this place is just really cool, and I'm so glad you're letting me work here. I promise I'll do my very best!" Just as he leaned over the railing to peer over the edge, he could see two women walking together, assumedly touring the grounds, as the head maid was pointing out locations to a girl with braided hair and a new, stain free apron.
An all too familiar face, the face of someone he'd hoped to avoid, gazed around the library, taking everything in. Just two days prior this young woman had dragged him into her home and effectively drugged him. Altair still felt the strange embarrassment at his interactions with Nasira from that day. And now this menace was working as a maid? From the way she had been talking that day he could only assume this woman was obsessed with him, now she was showing up here, was she stalking him?
As he wondered if she were here because of him, the head maid pointed to the stairs leading to his study, mentioning to the girl where it led. "Really? Can we go up now and look around? I really want to see where he wo- um… I want to see what the boss is like." She was definitely stalking him. Thankfully the head maid shook her head, saying something about him being busy.
He thought having a group of children following him around was bad enough, but now he'd have to avoid a maid, someone who had every reason to be just about anywhere in the castle outside of personal rooms. It was decided then. He had been feeling restless for a while, but he knew now that it was time he go on a mission. He desperately needed to get out of town for a few days.
Wandering the halls for a few minutes, stretching her legs during her short afternoon break, Nasira simply enjoyed the quiet. Most of the assassins were outside. Apparently, Altair had given a demonstration that morning, and many of the assassins were practicing with new motivation. Nasira could only giggle, as her thoughts turned to his drunken state. She imagined him stumbling around the training grounds, flailing his arms around as he… No no, Nasira was sure he had delivered a flawless performance and was not at all intoxicated at the time.
However, since seeing him the other night she couldn't get it out of her head. After seeing him in such a state he didn't seem nearly as intimidating. Especially when she remembered his flailing arms as he fell out of the chair. She felt confident enough she might even be able to speak to him now. After all, she felt he still deserved a better apology for what Amali had done.
Just as she was thinking of him, the man himself rounded a corner, looking a bit paranoid, checking over his shoulder and looking every which way as he walked. In his hurry, he barely even noticed Nasira standing there, despite his frantic scanning of his surroundings. He was watching for one person in particular, and his mind blocked out anything else as unimportant.
Nasira was just about to deliver her apology when Malik appeared next to Altair, almost as if he had materialized there out of thin air. Where…. Had he come from? She hadn't thought there were secret passageways in the castle, but just then, she seriously considered the possibility. "What do you mean you're leaving? You can just send someone else to do that job. I saw that mountain of papers piling up. You're just going to let those sit?"
Altair gave a cheeky little grin, knowing exactly what he was doing as he pat Malik on the shoulder. "Of course not my friend, I'm leaving you in charge while I'm gone." Even from the other end of the hall, Nasira could hear the sharp intake of breath as Malik held back whatever he might have wanted to say in response.
From around the corner Altair had come from earlier, a high-pitched voice could be heard, interrupting the men as they spoke. "wow! So, you four are in training?" four children's voices responded to Amali, before their conversation almost immediately turned towards the assassin mentor standing just around the corner. It seemed Altair had earned himself a small fanclub.
His distress at hearing their voices was obvious, Nasira couldn't help but feel a bad for him as he ruffled his short hair. "I have to get out of this place" mumbled and faint, but still audible as he passed her, barely managing not to run. Was Altair… afraid of Amali? Glancing up, her eyes locked with Malik's and they shared a brief moment of shock before, simultaneously, she let out a short, breathy chuckle and Malik's lips curled into a smirk.
Altair had immediately started preparations for his departure, gathering and packing supplies, and alerting all those who needed to know. Mainly Malik, as he would be taking over for him temporarily. Feeling only the slightest bit cowardly for running away, he once again heard the young woman's voice, Amali… she seemed to be around every corner, no matter where he went. She'd only started working a few hours prior and she was already causing him such strife.
How she seemed to know exactly where he was at all times, he couldn't guess. All he knew was that he couldn't get any work done under these conditions. Early the next morning, before the maids even arrived, Altair would set out for Acre.
Waking before dawn, and throwing on his robes, Altair headed towards the kitchens for a quick breakfast before he would leave for the stables. He didn't expect anyone to be there at this time, but there should have at least been some bread left over from dinner the night before. Unexpectedly, as he approached the kitchen door, he found it slightly ajar, and he heard the sounds of someone working.
It couldn't be… Amali hadn't somhow heard he would be leaving and expected him to go to the kitchens first, had she? As he peered through the crack of the door, he nearly stumbled back in shock seeing a light brown braid, thinking it could have been Amali after all. However, when she turned around, carrying a skillet over to the fire, it was only Nasira. Why was she there? The cooks shouldn't have been in for another hour or so.
Still, he could feel the growing hunger and entered, intending to ask her what she was doing as he gathered his morning meal. As he opened the door, Nasira turned to face him, not seeming particularly surprised to see him, and, he noticed, much less flustered than she normally seemed. "Good morning." The polite greeting leaving his lips, he realized this was the first they'd spoken since that morning he woke up in her home. Suddenly, he felt a bit nervous himself.
"Ah, good…" her voice broke slightly, so she took a moment to clear her throat. "Good morning. Malik mentioned that you'd be leaving today…" Looking down at her hands, a bit unsure of herself, she paused. Altair could hear something sizzling in the pan during her silence. Whatever it was, it smelled fantastic, further reminding him of his empty stomach. "Right… um, I was making breakfast for you. It won't be much longer."
"This is unexpected…" chuckling a little as he tried to make a joke. "Did you do something I should be worried about?" As he said it, Nasira's hand slipped, nearly, but not quite, dropping the plate she had just grabbed.
Nasira's eyes narrowed as she seemed to consider her next words quite seriously. "Well… to be entirely honest, It's an apology for the other day." Sliding the food onto the dish, she continued. "I've already spoken to Amali, though I guess she's still bothering you."
So, others had noticed his discomfort over the young girl's presence. Hopefully not too many people were aware of it. She handed him a plate full of food and utensils, then set a medium sized bag on the counter next to him as well. "I also readied some provisions for you, make sure you eat enough while you're traveling."
Nasira could hardly believe how easily she was speaking to him, as if it were a normal occurrence. Somehow, after the last couple of days, he seemed so much more human. Before, he had appeared as if he were some invincible demon, capable of mowing down entire armies on his own. Yet he was running away from a children's fanclub. Plus, even if he did turn evil one day, she now knew he could easily be stopped with merely a few sips of strong liquor.
Turning away to hide her smile, she reached for the dirty pan, intending to wash it before she left to find a corner to nap in briefly. She wasn't supposed to be here for a couple hours yet, and she had lost precious sleep getting here so early. "You made quite a lot. Would you… care to eat with me?" she didn't want to turn him down, not if he asked as if he'd never invited someone to join him in a meal before.
Altair's chest felt strangely light, he wasn't entirely sure why, but he was certain it had to do with Nasira being there. He didn't want that feeling to go away, so he asked without thinking much of it, hoping she would stay even a little longer. Not really expecting her to agree, he was already preparing himself for a refusal. But much to his surprise, she nodded before going to get another set of dishes for herself.
The two split the meal onto their separate plates, Nasira insisted she didn't need as much, leaving his portion larger. Breaking off a chunk of leftover bread for each of them, while Nasira split the plates up, Altair wasn't entirely sure how to act. He hadn't shared a meal with someone simply for their company in… he wasn't even sure. If he ate with others, it was always to discuss plans and strategies efficiently, not wasting time even as he ate.
Breakfast passed quietly, neither knowing what to say to the other, though shockingly, it wasn't an awkward silence. For Altair, it was comfortable, just being there, no one asking questions he'd rather not answer, or looking for advice he often didn't feel qualified to give. It felt nice simply to be in someone's presence. Was this how normal people felt? How people not responsible for hundreds upon thousands of lives got to enjoy every day? If he could only hold on to this feeling, he wanted to cherish it, so he didn't dare break the peace and silence.
Even to imagine she'd be eating dinner with Altair seemed ridiculous to Nasira. However, despite whatever she might have previously thought, she wasn't uncomfortable. Unsure of what the leader of an assassin's guild would normally talk about, she kept quiet. What did he usually speak of with his friends? Surely, he had friends. He seemed quite close with Malik at least. Nasira began to imagine the two men speaking of everyday things together, the kind of things she and Zaina would talk about when they were alone. No, she couldn't picture Altair and Malik discussing food and clothing prices or the flavor of the new tea leaves they'd just bought.
Once they were finished, Altair stayed only a moment to watch as she began clearing the plates, wishing to extend their time, but not knowing how to do so. Before he could leave however, Nasira spoke, almost desperately, keeping him from turning away. "Actually… I do have a request… if you wouldn't mind."