Robin Hood: The Assassin's Gift
By: Shadow Chaser
Author's Notes:
Robin Hood and all of its characters do not belong to me. This story is written for fandom and not for profit. This story takes place roughly at the end of July, early August and crosses over with Assassin's Creed. I have two companion stories to this one, Silence, a one-shot, and Solace of Silence, which is in the process of being written and takes place one year prior to Robin's return from the Holy Lands.
Story:
Part 3 – Restraint
The heat of the red-hot poker didn't touch his skin, but it hovered near it enough that he wanted to flinch away, but his body wouldn't cooperate with him. He was still paralyzed from the knife wound to which he knew had been laced with something to make him feel this way. Whereas he should have been mobile long ago, they had forced a liquid concoction of the paralyzing agent down his throat at least an hour ago, or what felt like an hour ago, before strapping him in chains and letting him hang limply from them against his cell's walls.
Robin felt like he was on fire, sweaty, and very dizzy, his body reacting to the paralyzing agent and to the effects of his torture that had felt like a lifetime. Unbidden memories of what had happened to him in the Holy Lands poured over his mind as he recognized all of the symptoms he was having to this type of torture.
"Tell me Crusader, where is the Piece?" it sounded like Hadiya's voice, yet it was also overlapped with the voice of his previous captor…making her tone warped and distinct.
He forced his mouth muscles to at least somewhat cooperate with him and cracked a very lopsided smile as he opened his eyes and stared at her wavering form, occasionally splitting into twos and then back into a single person holding the red-hot poker. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he shot back, hoping his words didn't sound as muddled as he knew that they probably were.
The poker immediately touched his skin through his shirt, sending waves of pain rippling through him as he hissed in pain. A part of him struggled desperately to flinch away but his muscles wouldn't move to his commands. Just as suddenly the pain subsided and he opened his eyes once more to see that the poker had moved away from his skin.
"Beautiful, isn't it? How with just the briefest of touches from this would make your body and mind react as if it had been burned for a lot longer period," Hadiya gave him a feral smile, "now are you willing to cooperate or do you want to feel more pain?"
Robin gave a weak chuckle and let his head rest against the wall. "It doesn't matter what you do to me, you'll never find it," he whispered.
Hadiya's eyes flashed with anger before she suddenly raked the poker across his chest, and flames of pain erupted along the line of cut that she drew there. This time, he couldn't hold back the cry of pain and bit his lip in an effort to stifle it.
"I will find the Piece and in that process you will die, slowly. You will feel your life slipping away inch by inch. The Templars will have that Piece of Eden, Crusader Robin of Locksley," Hadiya slapped the poker against the underside of his left arm, sending fresh waves of pain throughout his body.
He saw her snap her fingers at a servant who brought forth a tray with a couple of cups on it. She took one off of the tray before approaching him and he instinctively tried to shrink away from whatever she had in her hand. Forcing as much of his muscles as he could control to close his mouth, he glared at her.
"No matter what you do, you will drink it," she tipped the cup onto his lips before suddenly punching him where the hot poker had slapped against his arm, making him gasp in pain.
Immediately the liquid poured their fire into his mouth and Robin tried to stop it from rolling down his throat but she immediately dropped the cup and forced her hand across his mouth, forcing him to gulp and swallow the fiery liquid down. She released him and he gasped, coughing from the force of the liquid and from the pain of his wounds.
He could feel the effects of the liquid potion she had forced into him. His muscles began to relax and he found that he could move…but each time he did, every single minute movement sent spasms of agony throughout his whole body. He could feel the coolness of his chains touching his skin, but even the coolness was like a white hot poker of torture. The spikes of pain shooting through him made him want to curl him inside himself and never come out as he gritted his teeth. He wouldn't give her the pleasure of hearing him cry or scream.
No, he would move beyond the pain, beyond everything…he would-
The sudden burst of agonizing pain ripped the scream from his throat, raw and unabated as Hadiya kicked him viciously across the stomach, connecting with both his already tormented body and the wound from the brief touch of the hot poker. He instinctively curled himself as much as he could; sending fresh ripples of pain with each movement of his muscles.
"See how much you cry, Crusader?" Hadiya's voice came from a far long tunnel in the midst of his pain, "I will break you. And you will tell me where the Piece of Eden is."
He blearily opened his eyes, a part of his afraid of what he would see. Black robed assassins surrounding him, cruel smiles, flashes of knives…
No! Only the face of Hadiya, the only one dressed in black robes, the only Saracen in the cell…and beyond him, what seemed like the blurry form of a black-leather garbed man that was vaguely familiar…but somehow he couldn't place the man's name. He knew that man…
Another wave of agony rolled through him as Hadiya once more kicked him across the ribs and he focused all of his attention back on the black-garbed assassin, forgetting about the man for the moment.
"Tell. Me. Where. It. Is," each word was punctuated by a kick and spasms of pain, so much that Robin pulled against his chains and tried to hug the ground, desperate to find some kind of purchase, some kind of reality to ground himself in before losing himself to the world of blindingly white pain. He breathed into the dirty ground, trying to find some relief, but there was none as his head was ripped from the ground, Hadiya holding his hair in a painful grip. Her inky black eyes glittered with maliciousness and in those eyes; he saw the long forgotten, long buried darkness that he had seen in his captors back in the Holy Lands.
Those eyes…
Deep inside of Robin, a dark dragon laid, slumbering until it was called for in the direst of times. This was the dragon that had fueled Robin through some of his most desperate times in the Holy Lands. And when the eye appeared, it saw it as a sign…the sign that he needed to come to his Master's aide and defeat those who threatened to harm him. This was the true Crusader that Robin had so longed to bury…the sickness that plagued almost every soldier who had went to battle for five long years and those who were still in battle…
Hadiya suddenly slammed his head back onto the ground and the last thing Robin felt before he lost consciousness was the awakening of the darkness inside himself…
He would kill anyone who stood in his way.
Guy of Gisborne was, admittedly, disturbed.
Though he felt almost no sympathy watching Hadiya methodically torture Robin of Locksley, he was disturbed by the fashion in which she did it. He had conducted numerous tortures himself, but the way Hadiya conducted hers made it look like a sadistic form of art. During his brief time in the Holy Lands, he was aware of how the assassins conducted their investigations and torture, but never really observed it until now. Even so, he suspected Hadiya took a bit too much pleasure in what she was doing than what was probably normal.
Still…if it was to find the Piece of Eden, then he suspected the Templars used any means to find out where the Pieces were.
But it also looked like Locksley was very resistant to the torture, something he never suspected. He almost reacted as if he had been through this type of torture before…and wondered if Hadiya could see it too.
He watched as Hadiya emerged from the cell, her eyebrows knitted in anger, Locksley unconscious in his cell. She didn't look pleased at all…
"I take it he didn't speak," he asked, watching her carefully.
"He will," she replied a bit tersely before turning to the jail keeper and guard, "make sure he stays drugged."
The two nodded fearfully before giving her a wide berth to pass by them. She marched passed them without another word or glance and Gisborne followed her, wondering what she was up to. "Gisborne, take your men and search Sherwood for Hood's camp."
"It's dark," he raised an eyebrow, "and I doubt the men would be able to see anything at night."
"I don't care what you have to do, I want his camp found. If he won't reveal the location of the Piece, then we will search his camp."
"What about his men?" Gisborne narrowed his eyes, wondering where her current fervor came from. It was almost as if she didn't care for the consequences. He found her behavior alarming. Just days ago she was scheming and now she was a tempest of fury and hunger for the Piece. Is this what the Piece did to people, or at least those searching for it?
"I'm sure overwhelming force will be sufficient," she gave him a look before her eyes narrowed; "you think I am foolish to suggest such things right now, don't you?"
"I don't-"
"I do not care for what your leash-holder has ordered me to do. The Piece is the most important objective here. The Templars' mission takes priority. Your Sheriff's request was just an added bonus to my mission," her eyes flashed angrily before she looked up at him in earnest, a fever light in her dark eyes, "that Piece can win us the war. It can defeat King Richard and his infidel forces, drive all of the Crusaders out of our Holy Lands and enable the Templars to control things. Do you not want that to happen?"
Guy opened his mouth a few times before nodding, "I will begin my search now. However, I must inform the Sheriff."
"Yes, yes," she suddenly waved him away before turning her predatory gaze on the unconscious Robin Hood, "do whatever you must. I must have that Piece."
Guy backed away slowly and softly, noting how she suddenly snapped her fingers at the still scared guards before barking at them to wake Hood up once more for another round of torture. This was a disturbing turn of events…and he knew that Vaysey would want to hear about it.
As he walked out of the dungeons the fresh shouts of pain started up again, but he didn't even care one bit.
Vaysey held a goblet of wine in his fingers, rolling it around, a part of him mesmerized by its swirl. "You know, sometimes I can't even taste the wine, too rich for my palate," he commented lazily to his guest, the French noble Le Celle, "and sometimes, I think it tastes too thick, like blood. Odd, don't you think?"
"Not very," the Frenchman replied. "There is a saying amongst the court nobles that sometimes drunk on wine is like drunk on blood."
He looked at the Frenchman, a bit confused. "What does that mean?"
"The thickness of blood chokes the life out of those who are weak and cannot breathe anymore," the French noble replied, "I have informed my Brothers of what has been transpiring here."
"I do hope it has been a favorable review," Vaysey gave him a quick smile before the door suddenly opened and he narrowed his eyes as his lieutenant stumbled in, a slightly haunted look on his face. "What is it?" he snapped.
Instead of answering him, Gisborne turned to the Frenchman and his haunted looked turned into a full glare. "Your little minion is out of control."
"Torturing the one you call Robin Hood, I suppose," Le Celle replied almost casually, a little too casual for Vaysey's liking, "yes, that is her specialty. We've trained her since she was a young girl at the art. She's almost fanatical about it."
"She is ruining the plan."
"Plan?" Vaysey did not like the sound of that, "what plan?"
"You needn't worry about it, Sir Guy."
"What plan?!" he cut in, standing up and shouting at his second-in-command. How could he not know that Gisborne had second loyalties? Was he so blind?
Gisborne ignored him and instead approached Le Celle, standing almost nose to nose with him. "The Piece will be lost if she continues in this fashion. I've already sent my men out to the outlaws' camp to search for it, but I doubt they will find anything. She keeps torturing Hood and he will snap. All will be lost."
"You sound sympathetic to Hood's cause, Sir Guy," Le Celle's eyes flashed with a dangerous look, "do not tell me that you have grown soft in your time here…"
Vaysey felt like a third-wheel in the whole conversation, yet he didn't approach the two sensing that something was amiss. There was something dangerous about Gisborne, the way he held himself, and he wondered…
"Tell your men to subdue her."
"But he came without-"
"You have grown soft, Guy of Gisborne. Perhaps we will need to purge the softness from you…" Le Celle interrupted whatever Vaysey was going to say.
"Oh really?" a sudden dangerous quality lit Gisborne's voice and Vaysey realized that this was a side he had rarely seen in his second-in-command. Sure, he had thought Guy needed a bit of prodding and hints to bring out the innate ruthlessness inside of him, but he didn't realize that it didn't need prodding…it only needed the right set of circumstances.
A sudden shout of surprise from the courtyard made Vaysey roll his eyes as he realized what had happened. Hood's friends had managed to spring him out of the dungeons and escape. How they overpowered Hadiya was beyond him, but he figured it was probably the resourcefulness of that other assassin that made it possible.
"It seems…Sheriff; your plan to let Altaїr Ibn la-Ahad escape to warn the outlaws was a bit…flawed."
"No, it was the perfect plan," Gisborne was a sudden flurry of movement even so fast that Vaysey barely saw it as a sharp shooting pain lanced through his head. But the results were the same.
One minute the Frenchman was standing upright, the next, blood spurted out of his lips in a messy red fountain while a spray of blood coated Gisborne's face as the noble's neck was sliced wide open from ear to ear. His lieutenant suddenly let go of the grip he had on the noble's jacket and the dead body dropped to the ground in a thump.
Vaysey let the corner of his lips quirk up in a grin as he stepped from his seat, the pain gone and his head feeling as if a burden had been lifted upon it, and walked over to Gisborne who was cleaning his hidden dagger. "Messy, but I like it," he commented in an off-handed manner.
"Here's the Piece," Gisborne unclenched the fist he had on Le Celle's jacket and a small glowing stone the half the size of his palm pulsated like a heartbeat.
"When did you realize the influence had spread?" Vaysey would never admit it to Gisborne, but he had felt so duped into helping Le Celle that when his lieutenant had approached him and literally knocked some sense into him sometime before they let the other assassin escape to Hood's camp, he was somewhat proud of his second-in-command taking at least some initiative.
"The Templars may only think of the war in the Holy Land and eventual conquest of the world, but Le Celle was destined to only use you and then get rid of you."
"Ah, so your loyalties-"
"Are of no concern," Gisborne interrupted him before handing him the Piece, "each Templar carries their own Piece."
"Really…" that was news to him. If Gisborne had a Piece, could he have been influencing him without him noticing it? The consequences of that would be rather disturbing…and maybe that was why Hood escaped so many times. Perhaps Gisborne was convincing him of his plans all the while, setting him up so that Prince John would come and execute him and then Gisborne would be able to take over Nottinghamshire.
But as he stared at Gisborne, he could see no hint of deception or of scheming plans in the man. Perhaps his quarrel was only with Hood and instead was loyal to power and to him.
"My own was destroyed long ago when I failed my mission to kill the King," Gisborne continued.
"I have to ask…why?"
"Because Hadiya's Piece will be mine," he said in a simple tone and Vaysey finally got the message, but was still curious about one thing.
"How do you know where it will be?"
Gisborne suddenly lifted up his sleeve and Vaysey stared at the scarred remnants of the tattoo he had burnt away with the Saracen's acid a few months ago. "The tattoos the Templars receive are attuned to the presence of the Pieces. However scarred, mine will still lead me to the active Piece."
"Which you think Hadiya will have?"
"She wouldn't have parted with it if she was still alive. No, it will be active for a while even if the user is dead," Gisborne replied.
Vaysey stared at the Piece and its glow got a bit brighter, "I think it's a good time for a little night ride, don't you think? Ride with Hadiya's men and make sure you bring back both Pieces."
A couple of hours earlier…
Altaїr slipped quietly along the walls of the now familiar Nottingham Castle. Having been here a second time and with the help of Robin's men, he was now aware of the guard checkpoints and spots to avoid while sneaking in. He had sent the others ahead of him to make sure that they would be able to get Robin out of the dungeons without any problems. With Hadiya's Saracen assassins added into the guards guarding the castle it was time for more elaborate plans than a simple fire at one of the gates to distract them. No, the assassins were trained and it would take a lot of deception to get past them.
Much and Djaq were to infiltrate the kitchens, since some of the servant girls and cooks there knew them and were always willing to help them. They would stand by with a cart of 'refuse' to be taken out of Nottingham castle. Little John and Will were going to be by the north gate, replacing the two guards that normally patrolled the area at night. Allan had the hardest job of all, infiltrating the inner confines of the castle and posing as a guard who would distract the others while he slipped into the dungeons to find Robin.
He had originally wanted Will to be the one to infiltrate the inner confines, due to his skill with carpentry, but after seeing how much the young man worried about Robin's health and well-being, even with Djaq's reassurances, he had decided against choosing him. By the time they found Robin, Altaїr knew that Robin would have probably been tortured by Hadiya and he didn't want to subject them to the initial extent of his injuries.
Surprisingly Allan had volunteered for the hardest part of their mission and when he had asked why the ex-con man and thief had replied that he owed Robin. He had seen something pass between the other members of the gang and while he didn't know the details he figured it was probably something very important to Allan enough for him to risk his own life to save Robin's.
Altaїr suddenly ducked behind a slightly open door as some of the elite guards of the Sheriff's turned a corner in one of the long corridors and marched right past him. He watched them with hooded eyes as they passed by him without a single glance. As soon as they had turned another corner, he slipped out of his hiding place and continued quietly down the corridor the guards came from.
He hid in the shadows a few more times as he slowly made his way towards the dungeons, having memorized the route from where he had been taken from a couple of days ago to be paraded around the courtyard of the castle. There were definitely a lot of patrols and Altaїr wondered if he should have pulled Will from the north gate to help be an extra pair of eyes to infiltrate the guards.
If Robin was in no condition to walk out on his own, then it would be hard for him and Allan to carry him out of the dungeons without arousing suspicion. He finally reached the door to the dungeons and pulled on it…only to find it locked.
He cursed silently, wondering if Allan had been caught. He was supposed to have already gotten the keys from the guard who was stationed near the dungeons and unlocked the door before continuing his patrol as if nothing had happened.
"Oy, you!" a voice called down from the corridor and Altaїr turned to see two guards walking towards him and he tensed, his left hand ready with his hidden blade.
"What are you doing there?!" the same guard asked him as they came closer. He tensed, his whole body prepared to strike-
"Oy, there you are!" Allan's loud and boisterous voice called from behind the two guards and Altaїr frowned, wondering what the man was doing as he raced down the corridor, one hand holding his helmet, the other holding his sword from slapping against his legs.
The guards turned, ready to ask what the hell Allan was doing when he sped past them and skidded to a stop in front of him before placing a heavy hand on his shoulder. Altaїr glared at Allan, wondering what in the name of Allah was he planning, but stayed silent. His body was still tensed and ready to strike at the two guards should anything happen, but sensed that the ex-thief had a plan of sorts.
"I'm glad I found you. Haven't I told you that the Sheriff's quarters are the other way, not this way? I mean, sheesh, you and your buddies do get lost a lot."
"Oy, you," the guard that had been shouting at him now turned his attention on Allan, "do you know him?"
"Yeah!" Allan gave the guard a cocky grin, "he's one of Hadiya's men. Sheriff said he wanted to talk to him about something since he's like second-in-command or something like that, I don't really know how assassin hierarchy works, but anyways, he's wandered off."
"I was going to see my master first before talking to your Sheriff," Altaїr caught on quickly, pitching his voice on a lower register and making his soft accented English harder to understand. "However, this door has been locked."
"Ah, well," the same guard looked a bit guilty, "the lady told us no one was to disturb her. Lord Gisborne had us lock up after he left."
"Open it," he growled out, giving the two guards a steely glower, "or I will break it open."
He could see their faces drain of color at his threat before the other silent one fumbled for his keys and hastily unlocked the dungeon doors.
"Go on, get out of here. I'll make sure he doesn't cause trouble, all right?" Allan turned from him and waved the two thoroughly scared guards away and they nodded before hastily moving down the corridor and disappearing behind a corner.
Altaїr brushed past Allan and pulled the door open before giving a pointed look at Allan. "What took you?" he cleared his throat. He hated faking and throwing his voice into a deeper register even though it got results.
"Little John had some problems with one of the captains at the north gate and Will was in the middle of helping Much and Djaq infiltrate the kitchens. Luckily we took care of the problem," Allan apologized quietly, shrugging.
"Will anyone notice?" he asked as they crept quietly down the stairs.
"Probably not," Allan replied, "Little John's taken the captain's position-"
A hoarse scream of pain shut Allan up and Altaїr perked up slightly. He quickly and quietly moved forward and peered around the corner. All of the other cells were empty save for the one farthest from him at the end of the small hallway. The battered form of a man was crumpled to the ground, one chain barely holding his arm up and a black-dressed figure hovered over said crumpled man.
Altaїr's eyes narrowed dangerously as he assessed the situation just as Hadiya kicked Robin again in the stomach, making him involuntarily curl up and a choked scream escaped his lips. He whimpered and coughed slightly, face twisting up in a grimace before trying to uncurl himself and straighten his body.
"Good God…" Allan whispered behind him, "She's killing him!"
Altaїr suddenly shot out his arm to prevent the outlaw from charging recklessly towards Hadiya, who looked fully occupied with her methodical torture of Robin. He gave him a firm look before gesturing for him to stay back a bit. Drawing out his knives, he aimed the first one at one of the soldiers standing near the cell, a sick expression on his face. "When you see your chance, I want you to take the keys off of the guard on the right and unlock the chains. Then take Robin out of here."
"I don't mean to be funny, but what if Hadiya's got those knives like you do? I'd be a sitting duck."
"I'll deal with her," he replied before he threw his knives with quick accuracy. The three guards and the jail keeper that had been loitering around all suddenly dropped to the ground almost soundlessly, before he readied his fifth knife and threw it at Hadiya.
He wasn't surprised when her hand suddenly flew into the air and caught his knife. Stepping out of the shadows, he let his hands hover loosely by his sides. Assassinating Hadiya was not going to be easy…
"Eagle emblem… Altaїr my dear, is that you?" she looked at the knife before turning her face slightly so that he could clearly see the half predatory smile on her face, "pity…"
He caught his own knife that she suddenly threw back before charging at her, unsheathing his short sword from his back and lunged out with it. It scraped across a blade she brought up from her hand and he immediately twisted around. "Allan, now!" he shouted to the thief before driving her back into another cell wall, hoping to pin her against the bars, giving Allan just enough time to grab the keys and make it towards Robin.
"No!" her shriek of rage pierced his ears before she tried to use her free arm to dig out a knife to throw at Allan. He grunted as he reached out with his own free hand to bat that one down and only half managed to do so.
Still, the knife went flying towards Allan, but the outlaw ducked at the last second, giving him a wide-eyed look before grabbing the keys and dove towards Robin. At the same time, Altaїr crumpled slightly, hunching over as Hadiya kneed him in the stomach. He barely saw her next blow and only managed to grab her hand that was going towards his face and twisted it sharply behind her back before throwing her unceremoniously against the bars that he had been trying to pin her on.
Backing up a half step, he held out his knife in front of him and watched as she turned around, a dazed look on her face, but a cruel smile on her lips before she suddenly launched herself at him. He caught her blade just in front of his face and gritted his teeth at the strength she was putting behind her blow. His left arm came up and he tried to stab at her neck, but she caught his hand in a vise-like grip.
"I know all of your tricks Little Eagle…" she whispered to him, her dark eyes glittering like cold marbles, "stabbing me with your blade will not work."
"I wasn't aiming for you," he retorted before activating the blade with the barest flick of his wrist. The smooth and thin cool metal slid effortlessly out of its hidden sheath, right where his left ring finger used to be and pierced her hand with a soft crunch of bones. She gave a shout of pain and her warm blood poured down his hand, but he didn't stop there and ripped the blade across, where it hitched for a second before jerking free of her hand.
She collapsed to the ground, clutching her badly wounded and mangled hand and he stepped back, gripping the front of her clothes to keep her from falling completely on the ground. Behind him he could hear Allan half successful in dragging Robin out of the cell as evident with the scraping of chains and the loud grunt of exertion in carrying him.
"You Hadiya, known as the Gift of the Assassins, have betrayed our creed and our brothers and sisters. You have joined the Templars in seeking glory and power for your own purpose and not for the greater good. You have sought the escalation of war between Saladin and King Richard-"
"Don't…start on my faults just yet, Little Eagle," she suddenly cut him off and Altaїr narrowed his eyes before blinking suddenly as a white light pierced his gaze.
"Let me go…let me go…let me go…" a soft voice suddenly whispered and somehow, he felt that he had to obey the order. He didn't know where it came from, but it somehow felt right…
"Take your knife…take your…take your knife…your knife…use it… Use it… Use it to kill…
"Kill…kill…kill…the outlaws…outlaws… Take your knife and use it…kill the outlaws…"
Yeah…it was right. He had to kill the outlaws. It was because they ruined everything. They were the ones who didn't provide him with the best intelligence. He walked into a trap when he got here. He had to-
Wait. No…
"Kill…the outlaws…"
No…this wasn't right. Altaїr shook his head, trying to will his vision to see something, anything, anything but the white light in front of him.
"Outlaws…must…die… Die…"
"Stop it," a harsh, guttural voice boomed and the white light suddenly disappeared from his sight, leaving Altaїr gasping for breath and he stumbled slightly from the disorientation before catching himself. Looking up, he blinked in surprise at the sight that greeted him. Hadiya had propped herself up on the bars of the cell next to Robin's and was holding a glowing and pulsating Piece of Eden, her eyes white and unseen.
That was most likely the voice he had been hearing, persuading him to release her and use his weapon against Robin and Allan. But the sight that surprised him was Robin, standing tall as if his grievous wounds weren't bothering him his eyes black as the night, his normal green irises also turned black and in his hand was the pebble-sized Piece of Eden that Altaїr remembered so clearly giving to him before he had left the Holy Land.
"I promise…I will protect the Piece with my life."
"The temptation will be great to use it…"
"But I've seen what happened to your brothers and don't worry friend, I will never use it unless it was the direst of circumstances or if the King orders me to do so."
"If it was any other man, then I wouldn't trust them, but your King Richard seems to know what is at stake. I only hope that he and Saladin will see their folly in this war and come to their senses."
"It is in safe hands, my friend."
"So…you've had the Piece all along, Locksley," Hadiya's soft whispery voice cut through the air. "Give it to me…"
"Go kill yourself," was the harsh, raspy reply.
"Robin…" Allan started to warn his leader and Altaїr held up a hand to stop the outlaw from saying anything else.
"It is a battle of wills right now. Whoever has the stronger influence with the Piece over the other will win… Do not distract him," he warned Allan before stepping almost noiselessly and slowly away from Hadiya, trying not to draw her attention. He had seen how the Pieces of Eden worked and they were very dangerous. On a group of people or even a single individual, it was a dominating force of persuasion and mind control. Against another person who held a Piece, it was a contest of wills. The Piece granted the user at least some unique ability to command those who were of weaker mind and sometimes manifested itself through unusual vocal forms or powers.
When he had first encountered the Piece through his former master Al Mualim and their decisive battle, his former master had the ability to freeze him in his place through sheer force of will and also the ability to replicate real fighter-strength illusions of himself to do battle. He had also massive influence over the villagers of Masyaf and his fellow brothers of the Assassin Bureaus, turning them into mindless puppets to be thrown at him as cannon fodder.
He had never seen neither Hadiya nor Robin use the Piece and could feel the persuasive force that both were using against each other through their vocal powers that the Piece granted them.
"What-"
Altaїr shook his head before motioning for Allan to back away. When the ex-thief started to move he saw Hadiya's eyes suddenly track towards him and Altaїr took his chance and sprung into action. He leapt forward, left arm aimed down towards her neck, when she suddenly turned her head and her white-light filled eyes bore into his-
-A flash of white light-
"Altaїr…where did you go?" a little girl's voice called from the village and he could hear it close to where he was hiding in a basket, the two children in the midst of playing a game of hide and seek.
He was tempted to pop out to stop little Hadiya from searching like she did for the last half-hour, but a grin worked its way up his face. Maybe he should-
"Ah ha! Found you!" light suddenly filled his basket and he glanced up to see her giggling at him, a shawl covering her face, only her glittering and laughing black eyes showing the smile that he could not see on her lips.
But he could feel the cold hard steel of his bracer and metal knife hitting her exposed neck and he instinctively pulled the trigger for the blade to launch from its hiding spot. It dug into her neck and immediately the white flash of light that had him seeing flashes of images from his childhood disappeared and all that was left was her pain filled face before the blade poked its tip out of the other side of her neck.
He could see the faintest of outlines of her pupils and eyes roll back into her head as he retracted the blade and she slumped to the ground, already dead. The glow from her eyes slowly faded, leaving her with sightless black eyes that stared at the ceiling from beyond the grave.
Altaїr stared at Hadiya's lifeless body for a few seconds, barely hearing the thump of Robin collapsing behind him, having release the influence of the Piece from himself, before pulling out a white feather from the folds of his black robes and kneeled down next to the body. He didn't say anything as he drew the feather across her neck, bathing it in her blood and shook it only a couple of times to let the blood dry quickly before placing it back into the folds of his robes.
"What was that?" Allan asked as he turned and walked over to where Robin laid, his hand still gripping the Piece of Eden. It was then that he noticed that a part of Robin's boots looked a bit deformed and realized that was where his friend had kept the Piece after leaving the Holy Land. He couldn't believe it…Robin had kept the Piece with him at all times like he had promised even though a lesser man would have thrown it away or abused its power.
"The Assassins require proof that Hadiya is dead. The feather with her blood will prove her death and provide a warning to the Templars that their agent has failed."
"What about Robin?"
"What about him?" he countered, looking evenly at the outlaw who gulped and shrugged.
"None of my concern," he mumbled before reaching out and touching the inactive Piece.
"Do not touch that," Altaїr warned him sharply before snatching it from under his fingers and stuffed it back into Robin's boot.
"Okay, okay, sheesh," Allan looked hurt, "it's not like I was going to use it and go wonky on you guys."
"You do not know its power," he replied shortly before getting up and going over to Hadiya's body and grabbed the Piece out of her hand, barely noticing that it still pulsated with a glow.
"Well, power or not, we need to get him out of here," Allan started to lift up one of Robin's arms and Altaїr nodded before going to his friend's other side and helping him up to his feet.
Robin groaned from the movement and his eyes fluttered open slightly. "Wha…"
"Shh," he said in a quiet voice, bringing his friend's head around slightly, "you are amongst friends, Robin. We're going to get you out…"
"Can you walk?" Allan spoke up.
Robin made a noise of agreement before he slowly stepped forward, his face flashing with pain each time he put his foot down. Altaїr frowned as he noticed the number of bruises and wounds that were covering his friend. This was not the way he wanted to see Robin after his time in the Holy Land…
"Allan," he called to the outlaw who looked over, "clear us a path. I will help him."
"You sure?"
"I am stronger than I look," he replied.
"All right…" Allan didn't look too convinced, but did as he was ordered and gently leaned Robin onto him before hurrying ahead to make sure that the corridors were clear.
"Hang on my friend. We'll be out of here soon," Altaїr said as they started up the steps to get out of the dungeons. They were almost free…
Much hated waiting and so paced around the kitchens, wondering what was taking Altaїr and Allan so long to get Robin out of the dungeons. Perhaps they ran into Hadiya and she had killed them? No… Altaїr was definitely much more formidable than to let one of his own kind kill him. And Allan…well, Much still didn't trust him as much as he did before, after all, he did try to kill Robin, but he suspected Allan wouldn't go down without a fight.
He peered out into the halls and didn't see any guards rushing around the area so maybe Allan and Altaїr were still alive. Unless of course they were killed by Hadiya…
"Have you no little faith?" Djaq suddenly spoke up; stopping him mid-pace and he realized he had voiced his last thoughts out loud.
"Sorry," he replied, giving her a sideways look, "I just don't do well with waiting…"
"They are strong men, Much," the Saracen woman replied, giving him a faint smile, "if you lose faith in them, then hope will be lost."
"I know, I know," he wrung his hands together and stared out into the dark and dimly lit corridors above the kitchens, hoping to see any sign of them, "I just…you don't understand. None of you do…"
"Understand what?" Djaq stared at him curiously.
"Robin…" he hesitated, wondering if he should tell her one of the darkest secrets he had kept with him during his and Robin's time in the Holy Lands. But he felt like he needed to tell someone, anyone…well, not anyone, after all Marian would be completely horrified and he knew that Robin didn't want his dearest Marian to find out about the secret. Huffing a sigh, he finally made his decision and turned to stare at Djaq, knowing that if there was anyone that could help Robin, hell even help him cope, it was her. "Do you promise not to tell anyone? Not even Marian?"
She stared at him levelly for a few seconds before nodding, "I promise."
"Good, because he's going to kill me if he finds out that I told someone," he muttered mostly to himself, but caught the half-smile on her face and shook his head, "never mind."
"Much…Robin will never find out. I will not tell a soul, except for Allah when I die," Djaq reached out and squeezed his hand in reassurance, "now…what is it?"
"Back in the Holy Lands…when we fought, there were times…" he paused for a second, unsure of how to proceed, "well, there were times when Robin wasn't quite himself."
She nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"You and the others have seen glimpses of it…you know, when we found out Gisborne was the assassin that gave Robin his scar-"
"I'm still not sure that story is true, Much."
"Well, it is," Much knew that her point was very much valid since even he didn't see it, but he had faith that his former Master was telling the truth, even though it ate away at him, "I believe him."
There was an awkward moment of silence following his declaration before he cleared his throat and continued, "And most recently when James of Atherstone set up that elaborate trap for us…"
"You mean when he chased us into the woods. Much, I can see Robin angry over the fact that James gravely wounded Marian with his crossbow."
"No…you remember just as well as I do. You saw the…darkness…in his eyes," Much suddenly felt awkward, hesitant that what he was describing to Djaq was doing it justice.
"Anyways," he stared out into the night, "no one knows him as well as I do. He…carries a darkness inside of him, that's the best I can describe it, and I…hate the way it consumes him."
"Much…does this have to do with Hadiya or even Altaїr?"
"Oh no…not Altaїr," he turned and shook his head vehemently, "never Altaїr. He's the one that managed to save Robin from the darkness when even I thought he had gone over the edge and would never return."
Djaq nodded before a wary look appeared on her face, "Does this have to do with something like Harold?"
"You mean that al-whatever-turned assassin?" at her nod he shrugged, "something like that."
"He was captured and tortured…wasn't he?" Djaq looked at him with a curious gaze, almost sympathetic, yet compassionate at the same time.
"My Master and I met Altaїr about a year before the King sent us home. He helped us on some of the battles that we fought and Robin would repay the favor by helping him on some of his missions-"
"Assassinations you mean…"
"Yeah," Much nodded, "plus he was also searching for the Pieces of Eden after telling us what had happened to the Assassins headquarters at Masyaf when their former leader got too power hungry. I don't know the full details, but in one of those missions, Robin was captured and brutally tortured. Naturally Altaїr and I went to rescue him…but we found him…we…"
He found that he couldn't describe what he had seen the day that they had found Robin. His mouth had gone dry and he swallowed, finding it very painful to do on a dry throat. There were no words that did justice that he could say to Djaq to tell her what had happened that day… It was horrific…
"And you fear that when Altaїr and Allan come out, they will bring Robin out in the same condition as you had found him before?" she asked and he nodded, looking miserable.
"Have faith Much," she reached out and gripped his shoulder firmly; "this is not the Holy Lands. Robin will persevere…"
"I know…" Much sighed forlornly before shaking his head, "I know…"
"Much, Djaq!" Allan's voice suddenly called out from the back entrance to the kitchens and Much perked up before scrambling off the table he had been using as a chair and hurried towards the back.
"Allan!" Djaq called out quietly as they saw him standing, looking nervously around, one had clutching the hilt of his sword.
"He's in real bad shape…" the ex-thief looked torn and guilty.
"How bad-"
Much felt the blood drain out of his face as he saw Altaїr at least half carrying Robin's unconscious form into the kitchens and his hand shot out to the edge of the table to steady himself lest he fall to the ground.
He heard Djaq mumble something in Arabic under her breath before Altaїr looked at her with sharp eyes and snapped at her, making her stare at him for a few seconds, an indescribable expression on her face before the assassin turned his gaze on him. "Much, the cart. We do not have time."
"Is he…"
"Your Master will be fine. He needs a clean bed and medicine to recover," Altaїr replied sharply and Much took the hint before scrambling to the adjoining room where a horse and cart were already bridled up and dragged the horse to the back entrance of the kitchens. He tried hard not to think about what he had seen…his Master, battered, bruised, and unmoving. Almost like the day that they had rescued him from his prison in Jerusalem…
He couldn't quite keep the shudder from wracking his body and had to turn his head away as Altaїr brought Robin out and placed him unceremoniously on to the cart before Djaq climbed in after, and Allan draped a blanket over the two before filling the top layer with some hay.
"Much," Altaїr deep voice startled him and he glanced up and over his shoulder to see the assassin looking at him. "He will be fine. I promise."
He knew that he looked unconvinced, but nodded bravely, praying to God that he was merciful and spared Robin the extent of his injuries. He climbed up onto the seat of the cart, Allan joining him and glanced down at the assassin who nodded and he slapped the horse's reigns.
The exit plan called for Altaїr to walk along side them, though blended with the night with his skills, and then once they were outside the walls of Nottingham, he would then join them on the cart and they would immediately head to Knighton Hall. The original plan had called for them to escape back into the woods, but since Robin was injured now, he needed medical care and supplies that they sorely lacked in the woods. It was very risky since it placed Marian and her father in danger, but asking anyone else in the villages including Locksley would attract too much attention. Plus, the less the villagers knew about Altaїr, the better.
He just hoped that they were too late…and that Robin hadn't lost himself to the darkness once more.
Author's Notes:
I was going not post this part until as a complete chapter 3 was up, but I realized that I was writing a lot and still had a long way to go before everything ended so I've decided to chop up Part 3 into two and post it as Part 3 and 4. Also, the part between Vaysey and Le Celle will be revealed in due time (regarding why the Frenchman was killed and what really happened…heh.) Enjoy this one! Btw, my apologies for not posting in like 5 months. I have no excuses other than laziness, plot stalling, and muses not cooperating. Part 4 should be posted up very soon – within a week I think.