Chapter 9
"Then find a husband" he said, continuing their conversation and took the throwing knifes, placing them in their shields on his shoulder. He didn't like the discomfort he felt in the pit of his stomach by the words he just spoke. The idea of another man touching her felt a bit wrong yet he had no idea why, he didn't understand it. He didn't get it. The emotions were unfamiliar and a little frightening. He had learned to control all of them but he had never felt this before.
She stood up and groaned frustrated. "You're just like other men, all thinking a woman should be tamed, a woman isn't wise enough to make her own decisions." She spoke harshly and Altaïr stood up straighter frowning at her. "I've never accused you of anything. You are intelligent enough to make it on your own. Yet you accuse everyone around you of wanting to own you like an animal, but you, Maya, are the only one who places so much importance in a marriage. No one forces you, then why do you feel that you must get married now?" Maya swallowed as the words he spoke were true. And she bit her bottom lip badly wanting to respond, but she had no words to fight what he had said. Perhaps he was right, maybe she did put too much importance in being married.
"How do you see me as a woman that is not married?" she asked him after a short silence filled the room and Altaïr placed his sword to his side. He looked up at her and shrugged. "I hardly care, like I told you before I am not a religious man, and because I am not religious I don't see that much difference in man and woman. I find it rather intriguing that you see the world so differently" this made Maya smile, even though she hid it and turned away from the mysterious man. She had no idea why his opinion mattered, but it did lift her spirit up.
"I have something for you" he suddenly spoke and she looked up in wonder. "I hope they are to your taste but I wanted to thank you for practically saving my life" he said and extended her hand. A small package lay in it. She curiously looked at it, stepping forward and carefully picking it up, every now and then glancing at his face. He showed no emotion, however inside his heart was beating like a mad man, but she would never know.
She opened the soft cloth and a gasp fell from her lips as she looked at the most beautiful brooch she had ever seen. It was beautiful, a flower with lots of different colors, green, purple, yellow, blue, green, she placed her hand over her lips as she suddenly calculated the costs for such a thing. "I can't take this from you, Altaïr, this must have cost you lots of coin" "Do you like it then?" he asked quietly and Maya chuckled as response. Almost sarcastically. "I love it" she claimed touching it with her other index finger, running over the colorful patterns. It would look great, pinned on her veil and her dress, it would decorate it perfectly. "Then I want you to have it" he said. Maya's smile winded; it would be rude to deny a gift. Besides he truly seemed to want to give it to her. She took the brooch from the cloth in her hand and pinned it on her boring brown dress that she had been wearing that day to visit Aisha. She pushed her away from her mind quickly; not wanting to worry about her friend for now as she enjoyed the sight in the mirror.
She turned around then and threw her arms around his broad shoulders, something Altaïr had not expected. And he had to admit that his heart raced a thousand miles per hour while his mind was screaming at it to stop responding so heavily at her. The emotion never before had occurred and maybe that was the reason he had no idea how to ignore it. Yet he knew he had to; he knew that whatever this was it could never get more than this. He refused to drag her into a life that was not her own. With the possibility he would die and leave her alone; even assuming that she returned the feeling which was very unlikely for the short time period they had spent together. Sure, he had seen the men around Masyaf, the assassins with their wives, how they would always be welcomed warmly. He had never experienced that. And he barely saw the importance of having that. Maybe because he had never known his mother as she had died at child birth and he only knew his father as the assassin he was. Altaïr rarely got to play with him or know him as any more than that. It was his father that taught him that he was always an assassin first, even though he died when Altaïr was a very young boy. Al Mualim had been his father figure since then and he had been feeding him the same believes as well. He remembered when another boy had been scolded once when they had been only novices. He had been late after spending time with a woman and Al Mualim had said, no shouted, that in an assassins heart there was no room for love.
Was this what this was? Love? Then maybe he should choose to stay as far away from her as possible. But her scent as she was so close to him alone drove him insane from longing and he had to force himself to let her go, even after he had, unnoticed, held her longer against him than a friend should. Maya blushed as she stepped away from him at that. Though she didn't think she really minded. He had so softly placed his hands on her hips and as she had wanted to let go he had stiffened, holding her tightly and never lifting his head from her shoulder.
She could still feel the touch as he cleared his throat uncomfortably, turning around to put on his hidden blade. "Altaïr?" she suddenly spoke the tension evident as it was cut so roughly. "Hm?" he hummed and activated the knife, running a finger across from it. Maya wondered how many lives he had taken with the thing, how many times he had slammed it into a person's body, and if he did, were they deserving of death? Or was he just simply a cold hearted murderer? She wished she had the guts to ask him, but she never voiced her thoughts.
"For how long will you be in Jerusalem" an unseen smile formed on his lips; did she like having him around? "2 days, probably" he muttered in his mind calculating that tomorrow he would end the life he had failed to take before, and then he would leave the day after, at sunset, to make sure he could climb the city walls unseen. Maya only nodded, she found it rude to ask him if she would see him again. He was a busy man and a busy man had no time for foolish girly dreams. She was just a woman in Jerusalem. She must be so boring comparing to him.
"Maybe I will stop by tomorrow. If you're home" he mentioned the last part quickly glancing over at her as he stepped towards the balcony door. Seeing her in the poor district had shocked him enough that he had been worrying about her presence at the hanging tomorrow. He didn't want her to see him kill, he didn't want her to know what he was. This was the first time he had not been proud of what he was doing with his life. Afraid that she might not understand, her approval seemed important to him, for some reason. "I'll be home" she quickly replied, her hands resting on the brooch as she perhaps looked a little too excited about this news. She was not good at hiding it.
He smirked at her and stepped out the balcony doors, turning around and nodding his head once "Goodnight, Maya" he said then and she felt her heart race and unable to respond as he jumped towards the house across. Like a spider he clung to the wall and climbed up so easily and effortlessly she felt jealous by the sight. And just like that he disappeared.
She released a shaky breath which she was unaware she had been holding. Her hand pounding as it had gripped the brooch so tightly between her fingers.
She took it off and looked down at it; he probably had taken the hint by the many flower patterns in her room and the multiple use of colors in decorations and clothing. But she truly liked it and next to the dress her grandmother made her personally, this must be one of the most precious gifts given to her. She smiled at it; Altaïr became more interesting every day.