Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Assassin's Creed.

Warning: I think you guys will like this chapter. And we're so close to the end of this book. Only 23 chapters - then the sequel! Are you ready because after this chapter, the plot enters the homestretch! Important note at the end of this chapter?

First – I'm sorry I didn't update sooner. My family was in town and I spent time with them.

Second – Happy holidays! To whatever you celebrate or whomever (and however) you worship, I hope all goes well.

Third – Check out the A/N down below *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*

Well it's on my mind
I'm heading back in time
And when I think of all the songs we used to play and then I
Think of you and it's alright,
I think of you and it's alright.

Well it's this sort of thing that gets me to lose my mind

And it's the flash flashy eyes that make it worthwhile
And it's every time when we, we get together
We just fall in love again...

All in all it's the perfect scene

And there's not anywhere that I would rather be
And it's now, now or never when we're chasing our dreams
And oh we're getting close now, don't turn away.

"Mercy Mercedes" by: The Perfect Scene

Chapter Seventeen: Cat and Mouse

I sat on the bank of the shallow part of the river where I told Altaïr we'd meet up for swimming lessons, a strange sense of déjà vu washing over me. He told me he'd be here just after noon, but I had gotten there early from excitement and now was paranoid that he wasn't going to show up even though I was still early.

Instead I ended up kicking the water absentmindedly and rubbing my arm. Even with Altaïr's constant treatments and Malik's 'easy' training sessions, it still hurt. The muscles starting having spasms randomly and it was hard to open and close my hand still. I was just hoping that it was getting worse before getting better because The Mentor caught wind of my wrist and had me on a short leash and an even shorter temper.

Al Mualim seemed as indifferent as ever.

A strange feeling washed over me and I used my peripherals to scan the area discretely. Altaïr was making his way towards me stealthily. I worked on keeping myself relaxed and distracted-looking. When Altaïr got about 10 feet away from me on the bridge's ledge, he jumped silently. Right before he landed near me, I launched myself backward and flipped him with a grunt. He rolled and sprang towards me with his sword. I countered easily with the dagger he had given me on the mission where I assassinated Afzal and hadn't given back yet. We squared off and walked in circles around each other. I made the first move with an easy swipe at his chest. He caught it with his sword and I fought to gain leverage against him.

"You ready to get in the water?" I taunted him; an emotion that looked eerily like fear flickered in his eyes before they became indifferent again. A wicked grim spread across my face; I quickly sidestepped so my back was to the river; I knew I wasn't strong enough to push Altaïr into the river, but I could definitely pull him in. He narrowed his eyes and smirked slightly. We remained squared off and I lunged again. This time when Altaïr swung his sword, I met it and 'stumbled' closer to the river. We exchanged a few more heavy blows before I let go over my dagger, grabbed his robes, and threw him with all of my might into the shallow banks.

I turned around to see Altaïr spluttering and lashing around wildly in the three foot water.

"Altaïr!" I screamed at his panic. He shot me a frantic look. "Stand up, you dumbass!" It took a moment for him to register my request before he relaxed slightly in the water and put his feet under him.

He shot me an evil glare and I started laughing my ass off. "Very graceful, Assassin." I clapped my hands in sarcastic applause.

Faster than I could blink, he pulled me into the water with him. A shrieked as water covered my face before I was pulled up quickly. I coughed and raised my eyebrows at him. "Go ahead, try it again. Just remember one thing: I can swim. You, however, can't." He let out a snort and let me go, I scrambled in the shallows; slipping on the mud.

"Okay, first thing is first: You need to undress." It was silent for a moment before I realized what I said. "Um, I mean out of your robes and armor. They're heavy… and stuff. You can keep your shirt and pants on. You might want to take your shoes off too." I stumbled over my words, blushing.

He nodded slowly and I could sense the smirk on his face. I turned away in modesty and preserve my sanity. Altaïr grabbed my shoulders and turned me all the way back to him before throwing his armor on the bank. Piece. By. Piece. Then off came his robes, next were his shoes. He kept his hood on, however and stood in the most civilian clothes I had ever seen him: brown pants and a loose white shirt… plus the hood.

I sniffled at the fact that his hood was on.

I didn't bother wearing armor that day and instead took my robe and hood off, standing in men's clothes much like Altaïr. I retrieved a hair tie from my pocket and put my hair up before letting out a deep breath.

"First we're gonna have to work on floating." I kneeled down deliberately and Altaïr followed suit. The water came to just below my breasts, but only went to the middle of his stomach. "So, what you want to do is take a deep breath, put your shoulders back into the water, and kick up your feet like your sleeping in a cot, okay? You might have to use your hands to tread water – which we'll get to later, but for right now I'll help you, okay? Here, I'll show you first." I slowly let myself relax into the water, enjoying the sun and occasionally Slowly, I righted myself before turning to him.

"You'll rest your head on my shoulder to begin with until you get used to it."

Unsurprisingly, Altaïr learnt quickly. We got through floating to basic swimming techniques with ease in the shallows. Everything was going great until I decided to push Altaïr a little bit farther out of his comfort zone.

"Okay. Next we're going to tread water, which means that we'll have to go into deeper water where your feet don't reach the bottom."

Altaïr froze and I noticed his jaw twitching. I put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed slightly.

"Do you trust me? I've already saved your ass in deeper, I will do it again if need be." I attempted to comfort him. "We'll be done after this."

He nodded with a swift jerk before heading deeper into the river, me following. Finally, it got to where he was on his tippy-toes and I was treading.

"What you want to do is take a breath and use your legs and arms methodically to keep you up. This is supposed to help you stay in deep water for a long amount of time, though it won't save you from hypothermia. It takes practice to be able to do this with armor and for a long time, so don't be discouraged if you don't get it immediately. And remember: I got your back." I shot him a smile.

I suppressed a groan on annoyance as we started to tread again. My bad wrist was starting to go numb from the dirty water, but I didn't dare say it; part of me was pissed that Altaïr, who was so adamant on taking care of me before, had forgotten about this little factor. Slowly, I felt my temper slipping. We had now slipped from learning into a treading competition that Altaïr was very content on winning with his newfound skills. I shot him a glare and kept afloat though.

After a half an hour more of treading, him smirking at me for half of it and sending me glare of challenges for the other, I finally let out a groan and started swimming to shore with a scowl.

"Dammit, Altaïr! You have to be the best at everything, don't you?" I yelled over my shoulder at him before attempting to wring out my clothes without taking them off. I threw on my robes and used them to dry off slightly. I didn't even bother putting my hood on. Instead I slung my armor over my shoulder and stormed off. It was simple, stupid things that he did that made me so pissed. Plus my wrist really fucking hurt.

A grip on my shoulder held me back. I whipped around.

"What?" I hissed.

And then Altaïr kissed me.

Straight and hard on the lips.

My eyes automatically snapped shut and I leaned in slightly. Then I came to my senses, jolting back. I looked up at Altaïr with a purely confused expression. He gazed back at me with an expectant expression. I let out a deep breath and clung to his robes before giving a delayed gasp and touching my lips.

And then I ran like a coward.

That evening I got called into the Mentor's office and I was paranoid; jumping at my own shadow. I shuffled in slowly, only to face practically every Assassin in the order, plus my close friends staring back at me expectantly; each blinking owlishly from different places in the room. Each and every one of them seemed confused.

I didn't say anything because my eyes were locked with Altaïr's. His face betrayed no emotion. I gave him my best kicked puppy look, but he remained indifferent.

"Anima, do you know why we called you here today?" The Mentor asked solemnly. I gulped and shook my head 'no'. He gazed at me for a moment and I felt very much like a piece of meat under a predator's stare, "It has come to my attention, via Malik, that you are more than prepared to move up a rank." I opened my mouth to thank him, but he cut me off. "Since we moved you back to Novice, far below your skill level, I find it only fair to move you back up to your former position as a rank seven Mercenary. You still will work with Malik until you are a full Assassin, where you will get your hidden blades."

I bowed formally. "Thank you, Mentor." After that, I turned to Malik, "Thank you, master Malik."

They both dipped their heads back before Malik handed me back my old gear. I refrained from squealing in delight and jumping up and down, but instead hugged them tightly to my chest with a white-knuckled grip.

After the ceremony, I rushed up to my room and changed back into my old armor. I took off my old belt with Altaïr's dagger and paused: I should give it back. I thought.

A deep pang of sadness rested in my heart. Not only was the dagger lucky for me and carried positive memories, but it was truly beautiful:

The hilt was a smooth ivory with a feather design crafted stunningly into it alongside some Arabic writing I couldn't quite understand. Dark red rubies were inlayed at the base of the hilt; bringing out the subtle red tones in the silver colored metal blade. The edge itself was about two and a half fingers thick and about as long as my forearm with a slight curve to it. In the limited light it seemed to glow.

Then I realized that I was avoiding Altaïr and falling in love with his dagger instead… and that was decidedly wrong. So, I stood up and headed outside to look for him. I found myself heading determinedly towards the bridge. Sure enough, Altaïr was leaning against the railing, staring into the water. If he heard me approach, he didn't show it. I learned on the railing next to him.

"Still rivers run deep." I started casually. Altaïr jumped slightly, which had me worried.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Your people always have the strangest analogies."

I smiled slightly. "Here" I handed him his dagger. "I don't need this now that I have my own back."

He glanced down at it, black robes blending into the night. "Keep it."

I ducked down. "I'm sorry for running away earlier today."

"Virgins tend to do that." He chuckled.

I laughed along with him until I realized what he said. "Hey!" I shrieked before pushing him slightly.

"It's true." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't see you attempting to catch up."

"It would've been too easy of a chase." He laughed slowly.

"That or you knew you couldn't catch me." I challenged.

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow in question.

"Really." I laughed before sprinting off.

I kept running throughout the night, but Altaïr never got closer than five feet away from me. There were times that he almost caught me, but I dodged out of the way last minute.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that! I'm not a Novice anymore!" I called out behind me.

Finally I stopped; partly because my wrist was hurting and partly because I wanted to give poor Altaïr a break. I turned to him slowly.

"Well," I sauntered over to him, "I guess you lose this time."

And then I kissed him.

Important note:

1) It's not very often that a writer will do this on fanfiction, but I like sharing ideas. So, whoever likes this story enough may use my characters to create their own story. Just be sure to give credit where credit is due. (Ubisoft = Altaïr and Malik, etc… Me = Anima, Raan, and anybody else you don't recognize from AC1). So, I just wanted to get that out there, because most authors don't like it when you steal their AU, but I'm saying go ahead.

2) I'm thinking of hosting a one-shot contest, anybody down for that?

3) Anybody willing to do some fanart of Anima? PM me if you're interested! Thank you!

4) Do yourself a favor and read the Night Angel Trilogy by: Brent Weeks… and then praise me forever because the series is completely BAMF! Then, tell me if you want me to attempt (key word: attempt) to make a fanfiction out of it.