Chapter Fourteen

"Here he is," Will says as he leads me along slowly, his hand in mine. The gesture still feels wrong to me but I'm working on letting go of Altaïr. I don't know how I'll do it, but with the current circumstances, it needs to be done. I walk behind Will and through a doorway into the prison I was in six months ago, when I'd only just gotten captured.
Earlier, I asked to have one more chance to see Altaïr and to say my final words. James disagreed immediately. So instead, Will is breaking the rules for me to get me here. We haven't talked about the incident where I broke down after his kiss but now he doesn't go further than holding my hand. I don't know what I would say anyway - that I'm still in love with the person who sent me away? Would he understand? For now, I'm just going to keep the comfort of having Will's reassuring hand in mine.
Will steps off to the left to reveal an almost motionless figure sitting on the dusty floor. Altaïr, the reason for my suffering. He slumps forward, weaponless, with a chain attached to the ground that binds his two hands behind his back. It leaves him unable to move much since the chain is so short. Luckily for me, I hadn't been as confined as him when I was captured. Then again, I hadn't been an assassin.
His hood is pushed back, revealing dried blood caked onto his skin. He lifts his head up, his eyes now level with mine. For a moment, it seems like he's looking straight through me, like he can't believe that I'm here. After a few seconds, he begins to focus directly onto me and a strained whisper escapes his lips.
"Khara."
Before he can talk any further, I decide to say what I need to say before I end up as a tearful mess. "This is revenge, Altaïr. It's all you deserve."
I start to turn away and hear a relieved sigh from Will. However, Altaïr is faster, and the sound of his voice cuts off Will's relief.
"I thought you loved me, Khara."
Something in his tone makes me stop and turn back around. I watch as his eyes start to brim with tears. One drop lands on the dusty floor, flowing through the small cracks in the ground and towards my feet. My own emotions are threatening to give in so I talk quickly.
"No, I thought you loved me, Altaïr! You were the one who ordered me to be captured! You! Not me! You!"
Tears are running down my own cheeks now too, but I don't try to wipe them away. I'm too angry at his try to look innocent. What he did to me is all his fault, I had no say in getting taken away. His actions are what led to my emotions to being so messed up like they are now. I watch as Altaïr's expression turns into confusion. Will is tugging harder on my wrist now and saying my name over and over again but I don't move. I want Altaïr to realise how much he hurt me.
"I never ordered you to be captured," Altaïr whispers, his voice strained. "I've been searching for you for the past six months. Khara, I love you."
I look towards Will, and see his frustrated but also slightly confused expression. He's still pulling on my wrist but with some hesitance. What Altaïr is saying to me could mean that not only have I been tricked, but also Will.
I feel like I never truly believed in James. I only trusted James because I trusted Will. But I do feel like I trust Altaïr, no matter what he's supposedly done. I say supposedly only because I'm not even sure whether it's the truth. Maybe Altaïr never sent me here. Maybe Altaïr never betrayed me. Maybe I was the one who betrayed him.
"Khara," Will manages to say. "He must be lying. This is an assassin, one of the deadliest people on earth. Khara, please, we need to leave now."
I shake Will's hand off my wrist and see the hurt in his eyes. It makes me feel guilty, because he obviously wasn't told all of James's elaborate plan either. But I know now that these Templars could have simply manipulated me. I need the truth, I need an answer, and I don't care about my life being at risk. I need to know. I don't love Will enough to completely throw away the idea of being with Altaïr. Will watches me take my first step towards Altaïr and breaks into a hysteria.
"Khara! Please don't do this! Khara!"
His shouts echo in the confined area and my ears are filled with the sound of his desperate cries. Once the sound has faded away, I can hear distinct footsteps coming from the hallway that leads to this prison. I rush over to Altaïr and examine the chain that ruins my chance of being with him again. But once I hear the rusty voice of James, I know that my odds of surviving have declined heavily.
"Will!"
The burly man bursts through the door, his eyes widening in surprise at the scene before him. I watch as he pieces everything together, his expression turning into a cruel smile. My blood runs cold as I wait for the Templar to say something, and to probably execute me. Instead, he confirms my doubts.
"You figured it out, didn't you? You were so easy to manipulate, Khara."
Will looks on the verge of a total breakdown as his worst nightmare is verified. I feel relieved but angry at myself too for giving in to this mess, all for nothing. I have been living on a lie for so long.
"You'll never get out of here alive anyway," James continues. I watch as he draws his sword out of it's sheath. He stands in front of the only doorway, the only escape.
The sound of Will's cries fill the air. "What are you doing?"
James simply pushes him away and he hits the wall, silenced for a few moments. Will sits slumped against the wall as I fiddle with the chain, but my attempts are useless without a key, a key that James probably has.
"I think I will kill you first, Altaïr," James snarls. "So that your poor Khara can see you die and realise that it was all her fault."
James snatches me away, throwing me against the wall opposite Will. I sprawl onto the ground, my head hitting the dusty floor. In the corner of my eye I can see Will's eyes half open, trying to take in the scene before him. I watch as James readies his blade and I realise how much Altaïr means to me, how much I want him back. Tears threaten to cloud my vision, my heart burning at the realisation that it was me who caused this.
Will's cries fill the air again. "Khara!"
I ignore him and push myself off my vulnerable position of lying on the floor, and sit up on my knees. Still a bit dizzy, I watch as Will holds out one of his hands nervously towards me, but I shake my head. The action makes my head spin but I manage to remain conscious. I'm safe, at least for now, and the only person I want to return to is moments from death. James's blade makes its way down, ready to execute. I scramble to my feet and run, beating the sword that's threatening to kill the only thing I want.
A searing pain travels through my body as James's blade slices diagonally along my stomach and I hit the floor gasping.