On the next day, when Altair woke up, he didn't see Maria by his side. She was up, getting dressed for the day. He knew he had to apologize for yesterday…
Getting up slowly, he walked to her, hugging her from behind.
"Can you forgive me for yesterday?" He asked. "I don't like it when we fight before sleeping…"
Maria looked at him through the mirror but didn't say anything. She just nodded.
Altair turned her with his hands on her waist and put his fingers under her chin, raising it, so she was looking at him.
"Maria, I'm sorry for mistreating you yesterday…" He said. "I know that you'll be my wife and I thank you for that… I promise not to treat you like that again… ever…"
She sighed and nodded.
"Yes…" She said.
They kissed for a few seconds and then hugged each other.
"Why don't you stay in for today? I'll talk to Connor and he will conduct the training today…" He said.
"I'd like that…" Maria said.
"Deal…" Altair said, kissing her again. "Go to bed then... I'll be right back…"
He was walking to the door when Maria stopped him.
"Just let him know he owes me… a lot…" Maria said.
"I will…" Altair reassured, closing the door.
Maria nodded and returned to bed.
She and Altair rarely fought… but when they did, it wasn't easy… - she thought -…and generally, it was him who apologize… she did it too, sometimes… but it was always good when they made peace the next day…
Sighing, Maria laid down on the bed to rest…
X ~ X ~ X
Outside, Altair didn't take long to find Connor. He walked to him. Connor saw him and asked an approaching Altair
"How was the talking?"
"Very tense…" he said. "But we made up a few minutes ago…"
Connor nodded.
"But you are in trouble, my friend…" Altair said, pointing at him, then crossing his arms over his chest.
"How much trouble am I in?" Connor asked.
"I wouldn't want to be in your skin…" Altair said.
Connor made a face and nodded.
"I'll apologize to her…" Connor said.
"I don't know if this will help in you…" Altair said.
Connor nodded and said:
"Before I forget, our comrades returned from New York…"
"How are they?" Altair asked.
"Some are wounded, but most of the people are unhurt…" Connor said.
"Casualties?" Altair asked.
"We had two, but they weren't my people…" Connor said. "It was in the other tribe"
Altair nodded.
"We've also brought my informant, Kendall Richards…" Connor said again. "He was one of the hurt, but I'll bring him to you…"
"He needs to be examined…" Altair said. "I'll talk to him later…"
Connor nodded.
Altair turned to enter the house but remembered what he was going to say:
"Another thing, Maria will rest today, so the training is with you…"
"That's fine…" Connor said.
With this, Altair returned to the house…
X ~ X ~ X
When Altair returned to their room, he saw Maria lying on the bed, waiting for him. She smiled when she saw him.
"Why aren't you sleeping?" He asked.
"I wanted to, but I was thinking…" She said as she held out her hand for him.
Altair approached and picking up her hand, sat slowly on the bed. He rested his back on the pillows.
"What were you thinking?" He asked.
"I was thinking…" She started while sitting next to him. " We already rescued George Washington…"
Altair nodded and said:
"We can get married…"
"Yes…" Maria said. "But I would like to have a few more days, only to think about what I want for the ceremony since we aren't in Masyaf anymore…"
Altair nodded again.
"Ok… how many days?" He asked a few seconds later.
"Three, four days…" She said.
"Fine…" Altair said.
"Thank you…" Maria said, kissing him on the cheek.
"What will you want?" He asked.
"I have to think about what you and I will wear… where it will be the right location… these things…" She said.
Altair nodded. Maria straightened herself on the bed, turning to him.
"And do you know what else I missed yesterday? She asked.
"What?" He asked.
"This…" Maria said, kissing him at the same time she was passing her hand on his thigh.
"I like the way you think…" Altair said, kissing her back.
X ~ X ~ X
Maria got up slowly from the bed. She would let Altair rest a little. She got dressed and left the room, closing the door slowly. She decided to talk with Anne and walked to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Anne…" Maria said when she entered the kitchen.
"Good morning, Maria…" Anne said. "Is Altair still sleeping?"
"Yes…" Maria said, sitting on the chair.
Anne nodded and said:
"I made orange juice… and there is bread from yesterday…"
Maria nodded.
When Anne put the food in front of her, she asked:
"Do you have some clothes to lend me?"
"Yes…." Anne said. "Something in particular?"
"Altair and I decided to get married here…" Maria said.
Anne smiled and said:
"Congratulations…"
"Thank you…" Maria said.
"You need something special…" Anne said. "A dress…"
"I don't wear dresses…" Maria said. "I was thinking about light clothes…"
"You need to talk to Alene, Godfrey's wife, then….she knows how to make clothes…I'll take you to her house later…"
"Thank you, Anne…." Maria said.
At this moment, Altair entered the kitchen. Walking toward Maria, he kissed her head.
"Good morning, Anne…" He said.
Anne greeted him.
Altair turned to Maria then and asked:
"What were you talking about?"
"About our wedding…" Maria said. "Anne will take me to Alene's house… she is the wife of one of the men that work here…"
Altair nodded, sitting next to his beloved.
"You can see with Connor something to dress…" Maria said.
"I'll see it later…" he said.
Maria nodded.
"And when will be the ceremony?" Anne asked.
"Three, four days from now…" Maria said, looking at her.
"We can't lose time then…" Anne said. "And I need to see what we'll eat…"
"We don't want much…" Maria said.
"Foolishness…" Anne said. "Altair, you're our leader… we have to do something… besides, we don't have much to celebrate…"
"All right…" He said seconds later. "We'll do your way…"
Anne nodded, and Maria turned to him.
"Are you sure?" Sue asked.
"Sure…" Altair answered. "I don't want to let anyone down this time…"
Maria smiled and kissed him.
X ~X ~X
When Altair and Maria left the kitchen, they met Achilles and George Washington in the hallway, ready to go out. They looked at them.
"Where are you going?" Altair asked.
"I want to show George our settlement on the farm…" Achilles said.
Altair nodded and said:
"We're going with you.."
Achilles nodded.
"Before we go…" Maria said. "I want to apologize for yesterday… I know I was very bold, but it won't happen again…"
Achilles and George nodded and the four of them left the house.
"We train here every day…" Altair said. "Usually, Maria is who gives the training, but…"
"I have the day off…" She completed.
"And how about you?" George asked.
"I broke my ribs and my hand, so…" Altair explained.
George nodded.
They started walking again while Achilles explained everything to George Washington. The tour latest a few minutes.
"As you can see, we are trying to structure ourselves…" Achilles said. "And these people have nowhere to go because of the templars…"
George Washington nodded and said:
"I saw many atrocities while I was with them… but as I said yesterday, I'll help you in the fight against the Templars… even more after what I saw and heard here…"
"Thank you…" Altair said.
They shook hands, making a deal. After, they returned the same way they had come.
X ~ X ~ X
The training section had already finished when they arrived. Marias was waiting for this moment.
"Excuse – me…" She said.
Altair picked her hand, calling her attention.
"Don't be so hard with Connor…" He said.
"I don't promise anything…" Maria said.
"When you finish, bring him to the office…" He said again.
Maria nodded and Altair let her go. She walked into the training area and walked to Connor.
"What will she do?" George asked.
"Probably skin him alive…" Altair answered. "Come, you don't need to see it…"
They turned and walked toward the house. As they walked, they heard Maria giving Connor the biggest scolding of all, besides some cries of pain…
X ~ X ~ X
Altair, George Washington and Achilles went to the office.
"We have to discuss a few things…" Altair started. "Firstly, we have to decide what we will do to hide you when our enemies come…"
"Do you think we'll have a few more days before they find me?" George asked, even if he knew the chances were minimal.
"They should know by now we rescued you…" Altair said.
"I agree…" Achilles said.
George nodded but asked, curious:
"And do you have means to do that? I ask this not because of your abilities but because of the settlement…" George Washington said. "If the Templars come now, as you say, it will be a massacre…"
"Yes…" Altair said. "But to some extent…"
George raised an eyebrow and Achilles explained:
"We don't have weapons enough… and although we have persons willing to help us, they aren't Assassins… even with the training we are giving…"
George turned to Altair and asked:
"But you have a plan, don't you?"
"Yes…" Altair said. "I…"
At this moment, Maria and Connor entered the office.
"Sorry…" She said to Altair.
He nodded and said to her:
"Connor is unhurt… did you give up killing him?"
"No, I'll just postpone my little revenge…" She said, walking to him and sitting next to him.
Altair nodded again and looked back at George Washington.
"As I was saying, I have a plan…" He said, without mentioning the apple of Eden. "First, right after this meeting, I'm choosing some people to secure the perimeter… they will warn us if and when we'll be attacked …"
George nodded.
"Second, we'll need you to change your appearance…" Altair continued. "The women can help…"
Maria nodded and said:
"I'll talk with them…"
"And lastly… as you saw earlier, we have a ship being built…only last details are missing…" Altair said.
George nodded
"We'll pick more weapons for it and if it's needed, we'll use it to go away…" Altair completed.
Connor and Achilles were surprised.
"What do you mean by that?" Achilles asked.
"You can't evacuate everyone on that ship…" Connor said.
"I know… we won't take all at once…" Altair said, looking at him. "We need to make plans of evacuation… by that, I mean how many people we can put safely on the ship, where we're going and prepare to the conflict…"
The four of them nodded.
"Achilles, maybe your friends from the cities can help us…" Altair said, looking at the older man.
Achilles nodded and said:
"That way, we can know quickly when the Templars are going to strike…"
Altair nodded.
George Washington could see how Altair was decided and strategic.
"There's something else too…" Altair said a few seconds later. "Maria and I decided to get married here…"
"Congratulations…" Connor said, greeting them. George and Achilles did the same.
"And when the marriage is going to happen?" Achilles asked.
"If everything goes well, in three or four days…" Maria said.
"The people will be happy for you…" Connor said.
Altair and Maria smiled.
"Let's hope we don't need to do anything we discussed so far, but we need to be prepared for anything…" Altair finished.
Maria, Achilles, Connor and George nodded.
X ~ X ~ X
In the afternoon, Anne took Maria to Alene and Godfrey's house, as Connor took Altair to meet Kendall Richards.
"His name is Kendall Richards…" Connor said. "One more ally that knows about the Templars plans…"
Altair nodded. He looked at Connor and noticed he was hiding something.
"What else happened in New York?" He asked, stopping.
Connor sighed.
"He was… looking at Maria with… other eyes…" Connor said finally.
Altair became pissed.
"And why did you bring him here?" He asked.
"Because he knows much about the templars… he will be an ace up our sleeve…" Connor said.
Altair could see Connor was telling the truth.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" He asked again.
"I know I should have told you this yesterday…" Connor said. "I'm sorry for that…"
Altair closed his eyes and sighed.
"Maria is a beautiful woman… " said Altair. "I know she calls a lot of attention…"
Connor nodded.
"Should I be worried?" Altair asked seconds later.
"No, I'll keep him at short leash …" Connor promised.
Altair nodded before walking again.
"I just hope not to regret this…" he said.
Connor followed him, hoping it too…
X ~ X ~ X
After talking about the wedding with Alene, Maria and Anne were returning to the house. They met Altair and Connor on the way.
"Where are you going?" Maria asked.
"We're going to meet the folks…" Connor said, turning his head to the people reunited around a fire.
Altair holds out his hand to her. Maria thanked Anne before taking her fiance's hand.
They resumed their walk and soon arrived where their colleagues were.
"Hi, guys…" Connor said.
Everyone greeted them.
"Sit…" said Connor sitting down on a fallen trunk.
"Thank you…" Maria said sitting down next to Altair.
Turning to Connor, Altair asked:
"Do you always meet like this?"
"Sometimes…" Connor said, next to him. "We tell stories and talk…"
Altair nodded and turned to Maria, asking quietly:
"Are you going to tell them?"
She nodded and turned to their friends.
"I have something to tell you… we decided to get married here…"
Everyone cheered and greeted them.
Seconds later, Connor asked:
"About what were you talking about?"
"I was telling them that one of the men who arrived recently swore he saw a werewolf in the woods…" Duncan said.
"A what?" Altair asked, surprised. Next to him, Maria was surprised too.
"It's a legend about a creature half man half wolf…" Connor explained.
Altair nodded and turned to Maria. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Are you joking, right?" She asked Connor.
"No…" Connor said, denying it.
"Why, are you afraid?" Altair asked.
Maria looked at him.
"No, I just don't believe this story…" She said.
Altair nodded.
"I don't believe it either…" Dobby said.
"I guess nobody believes…" Connor said. "Although my people have some scary legends…"
"I didn't know you're afraid, lad…" Dobby said.
"It's not fear… " Connor said. "I respect what my people believe…"
Dobby nodded.
"Maria, do you have some scary story to tell us?" Duncan asked.
Maria thought a little and said:
"My brothers told my sister and me there was a witch with metal nails that ate small children…"
Next to her, Altair asked:
"You weren't afraid, right?"
"This story scared my sister, but not me…" She said.
"Are you sure?" He asked again, approaching his face from hers.
"Yes, I'm sure…" Maria said.
"Very sure?" He asked again.
"Yes, you silly…" She said, laughing softly and moving his face away with her hand. Then, she asked: "What's wrong with you today?"
Altair smiled and shrugged but didn't say anything.
"And you, Altair ?" Clipper asked. "Do you have any story?"
Altair nodded.
"My brother always said that ghosts haunted the ruins of the castle near where we grew up…" He said. "It scared my sisters, but not me…"
Maria resolved to enter his playfulness.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
Altair looked at her and kissed her quickly. Then he continued:
"So much, we passed some nights there when I was a child…"
"I didn't know this…" Maria said.
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Maria…" He said, looking at her.
Maria raised an eyebrow.
"I'll tell you later…" He promised.
She nodded
The conversation after that lasted a few more hours.
X ~ X ~ X
Later:
When they entered the room, Maria sat on the bed and looked at Altair.
"So…" She started to say. " Do you have something to tell me?"
"Maria, you know everything about me…" He started to say.
"Oh no… you won't escape this time, Altair…" Maria said. "You can tell me everything…"
Altair sighed e asked:
"You won't let it go, do you?"
Maria shook her head.
Altair picked up a chair and sat near her. Then, he started to tell her what she didn't know about him…
X ~ X ~ X
When Altair finished telling her the stories about him, Maria and he was already sitting on the bed.
"And that is it…" He finished, looking down at her.
"And who would say that the great Altair would have these kinds of stories about himself…" Maria said, looking up at him.
Altair smiled.
"Happy now?" He asked.
"Almost…" She said. "There is one more thing, but…"
"But?" Altair asked.
Maria left his arms and straightened herself. Looking at him, she said:
"If you don't want to answer, It's ok…"
"What?" He asked.
"I want to know how your parents died…" She said quietly.
Altair was quiet, surprised.
"I'm sorry…" Maria said when she saw his expression.
"No, it's okay…" He said. "You would know it anyway…"
Maria nodded.
Looking away, Altair started:
"I never knew my mom… I was raised by another woman since day one… but my father stayed with me whenever he could… one day, he told me my mother gave me my name and held me until she passed away…
Maria didn't expect this and could feel her eyes getting wet. But she didn't say anything because she knew there was more to come.
"When I was ten, Saladin surrounded Masyaf and after a mission went wrong, my father surrendered himself to die…" Altair stopped a little, clearing his throat before continuing. "I ran after him, but Abbas' father was at the gate and stopped me…but even so, I could see my father being decapitated…"
Maria closed her eyes, regretting asking him to tell her about his parents...
"I'm so sorry…" She said, opening her eyes seconds later.
Altair nodded and looked at her drying her tears away…
"No child should see his or her father died, even more like that…" She said.
Altair picked her hand squeezed softly. Maria kissed him on the cheek and turned to nestle her head in his chest again.
They became quiet for a few minutes until Altair asked:
"Can I ask you something?"
Maria looked at him.
"Yes…" She said.
"When you get pregnant, please don't die…" He said.
Maria knew she couldn't promise this, but with what she had finished hearing, she couldn't hurt him anymore…
Instead, she smiled a little and looking at him, said:
"When?"
Altair looked at her.
"You still don't believe this is going to happen?"
"Yes, but… I just don't think about it… even more with all that is happening…." Maria said.
He nodded.
"But I promise you…" She said, stroking his chest.
They stayed quiet for a while until Maria asked
"How do you think our friends will set up our wedding?"
When Altair didn't answer, Maria looked at him and saw he was sleeping. Smiling, she let him rest and nestled again on his chest. Soon, she was asleep too…
X ~ X ~ X