The story of Mallory
She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric
It's not good to be loitering where people can see you
She wrapped the fur coat tighter around her frail body as she tracked up the mountain. Her make shift camp was behind her but it was not as if anyone could track her down with it. There only laid a pile of twigs all different sizes, the bones of the wolf and the grave of the poor animal. It wasn't possible to track her down with those bare necessities. Plus, who would even go and discover the base so deep placed in the woods?
The snowstorm was blowing on her, whipping her harshly like she had just committed a crime. Well, she did steal from the people of New York but she had to fend for herself in the world. That was how she chooses to live her life, she had one and half years to adjust and this was how she turned out. It wasn't a very different lifestyle than others- just erase away happiness, laughter and smiles.
Finally, after a good distance away from her camp, she collapsed on the ground. Her legs were aching after all the walking she had done. The fur was starting to slowly slip of her frame because of her negligence. Though, she now lacked the mind to care about the cold wind blowing pass her. Her only focus was on her hunger and how she felt her legs aching and forcing her to slouch. At any given moment, she could pass out or possibly die.
And that one and a half year of surviving alone would be for nothing. Mallory shook her head, ridding her head from those thoughts. This is what she had claimed brought her joy, happiness. Her independence was something she treasured dearly, wasn't it? Another lone tear slid down her check. Yes, her parents never cared about her anyways, why would she bother anymore?
How pathetic of her for thinking about something that has happened more than a year ago, something she chooses; a choice she made. And regrets. Her knees went weak and her fell limp onto the floor. The cold embrace of the snow greeted her and she smiled. Well, she never did meet her parents, but it's not like she will ever. Mallory gladly let the cold arms of the snow hug her and bring her to her end with joy. She closed her eyes and smiled gently.
The cold calmed her and she turned, only to find a person's legs near her face. Good, kick me if you want, she thought. Just don't try to save me…
Her wishes weren't granted and the person kneeled down to her eye-level, chocolate eyes meeting red-brown ones. A thin arm snaked its way to Mallory's side that was in contact with the snow, and picked her up slowly. Another hand went to Mallory's own one and tugged on it softly, causing Mallory to look up at the woman in question. She sat up and a wave of warmth washed over her and the woman hugged her out of the blue.
With desperate pushes, Mallory tried to push the unknown woman off of her but to no avail. The energy in the younger girl's palms was failing very quickly and she decided to give up, but still did not hug back. The woman sensed this and released her hold of Mallory, smiling at her all the while.
"Who are you?" Mallory rasped out. Her eyes narrowed at the mysterious woman that seemed to appear out of nowhere to help her and her lips puckered slightly. She crossed her arms underneath her chest and tapped her foot impatiently on the snowy ground, waiting for the woman to reply. The woman, instead, laughed wholeheartedly and placed an arm on Mallory's shoulder. The native girl ripped herself away from the woman quickly, once again feeling uncomfortable.
"Casse-toi," the words came out without her knowledge. She turned her head and started walking the other way- away from the woman. An arm griped her right arm tightly. In defence, Mallory unsheathed her hidden blade and made haste to attack the woman. Just like the day before with Connor, the woman blocked her would be attack with her sword. Mallory widened her eyes before pulling herself away.
"I'd hoped that you would be more cooperative," the woman muttered. Mallory furrowed her eyebrows before stepping away from the older female in front of her. Soft steps were made by the woman in an attempt to comfort the younger one. Her gloved hand reached out, a trusting gesture. The woman stepped closer to Mallory, a light smile grazing her lips.
"I'm Aveline if you want to know." Mallory shook her head. Why would she want to find out this woman's name when she was so forceful just a moment ago? She could not believe that the woman- Aveline as she had said previously- was this kind woman she now saw. A soft bitter chuckle escaped as an unbelieving laugh. Her hidden blade had been sheathed since Aveline introduced herself. Something about her just made Mallory want to believe that she had seen this woman before.
"I-I'm Mallory," she murmured in reply. Her throat tightened as if it was forcing the words out- which she probably was. She had just introduced herself to this strange woman who might or might not be a slaver trader.
She was brought out of her thought when the same arm gripped her own in a death grip and pulled her along the snow. In a mixture of shock and tiredness from thinking too much, she allowed herself to be dragged towards wherever Aveline was taking her. Although her body was feeling cold from all the snow against it, she still allowed herself to be dragged towards the area.
Along the way, Aveline struggled to make conversation with Mallory. However, with everything she'd been through, it was a shock to them both that the younger girl could even muster up a reply- even if they were simplistic. Mallory yawned a little after being dragged around like a rag doll for about ten minutes, "Are we there yet?" The complaint made Aveline giggle just the slightest because it reminded her when she was travelling with someone else.
"Just a little more."
"Can the 'little more' hurry up?"
"Sadly, no."
Mallory sighed as she stared at the trees passing by. Their branches were covered in a thick layer of snow, some of it falling off the brown limb of the trees. The younger girl honestly found nothing interesting nor anything worth taking interest in when she passed by the plants but she had nothing better to do while waiting for Aveline to finish the journey.
"And we're here!" Aveline said to Mallory while smiling. Mallory looked up from her position and was slightly shocked- of course, she didn't show it. The place they were at was made of wood with trees covering it everywhere. Although it looked quite small from her position, Mallory knew that it was bigger on the inside. The thought of seeing the inside of the magnificent house made her smile gently. Aveline snuck a peek at her and grinned at her expression. Her hand made a gesture to the front door of the house to say 'come inside' without using words. Mallory gladly took the invitation and stepped onto the porch. Her hand took hold of the door handle gently before pushing it in. What she saw inside made her smile more.
The walls were white, almost like they were made of marble. The light from the candles radiated off the walls, floors and ceilings, also creating the smell of pine in the process. Mallory touched the cool stone that was the wall and quickly retracted her hand, like the wall was about to bite her hand off. Never in her life had she felt such smooth yet cool walls before.
Aveline had gone ahead to leave Mallory to her staring and walked towards the bathroom located upstairs. She stepped into the room, picked out a few herbs and filled the bathtub up with steaming hot water. Then, she went out to take a few items of cloth that would provide Mallory clothing for now. It was only normal to do this for someone who had almost frozen to death.
"What are you doing, Miss Aveline?" Mallory poked her head out from the doorway. Her hands were gently placed on the wooden frame, almost afraid that she would somehow break it without meaning to. Her fingers danced on the cold surface of the wood, relaxing her tense body.
"Just preparing a bath for you," Aveline replied. Mallory nodded, not quite understanding why Aveline would take that long to prepare something as simple as a bath for her. The familiar smell of medical herbs flooded her nose and she took a small step into the room. A wave of warmth greeted her and she closed her eyes to focus on something she has not had for quite some time.
"Come here," Aveline told her. Mallory walked cautiously over to the bed where Aveline was and stood before her. Aveline gestured for her to seat in front of her and Mallory did so, her brows furrowing. With a gently hand, Aveline began moving the long fringe of Mallory and tucked it behind her ear. The younger lowered her eyes as Aveline gasped. She probably thinks I'm ugly, she thought with disgust. A soft and careful hand brushed against the scar right below her left eye where the fringe was hiding.
Aveline rushed towards the bathroom and left Mallory there. She un-tucked her own hair from behind her ear to let it cover the left side of her face again. Her breathing became harsh as she thought about how she had gotten that scar. She was a naturally wide girl with no sense of rationality what so ever. That almost caused Mallory her life once, but she paid it no mind. She would have died if her village elder had not saved her in time.
Footsteps interrupted her train of thoughts and she looked up. A pail of warm water that smelled like medicine rested beside her. At the foot of the bed was Aveline with a towel in her hands, drenched in water. The older woman held onto Mallory's arm tightly when she saw that the younger girl was about to pull back roughly to avoid any sort of contact with her.
With gentle motions, she pushed the long cloth back until it reached her shoulders and pinned them back with a few safety pins to prevent them from dropping back down. A tear formed in her eye when she saw the many scars Mallory possessed on her forearm. Some of them looked quite recent; some of them had scabbed over. Either way, it was a terrible sight to see.
The African woman tenderly pressed the wet wash cloth against her arm, but winced when she saw Mallory flinch. With slow movements, she gradually worked her way up the younger's arm. When she was done with one arm, she moved onto the other arm. There were move scabs and scars there; some covered with gauze that looked like it was done by a child. Aveline chuckled at the attempts before repeating the delicate motions on the arm.
When she was done, she pulled away from Mallory. Mallory gave her a questioning look when Aveline started working on her single braid that she had always kept in her hair. When the small section of her hair was freed, Aveline combed through it like it was the most precious thing in the world. When Aveline was too busy with her hair, Mallory self-consciously fidgeted with the bracer that contained her hidden blade.
On the inside, she hoped that Aveline would not ask her to remove her bracer; it was the only thing she had left from her parents other than that constant braid in her hair. However, she felt her bracer coming off by her own hands as the buckles were being undone by herself.
A/N: So, Aveline finally makes an appearance! I guess that this had nothing to do with revealing anything about Mallory but where her scar is located and how she looks like. I feel like Mallory is talking a little too much to Aveline and might have been a little too polite to her but oh well! I spend almost three days on this so it might not be as well as the others. I feel like it could have been better but I have another plotline for the next chapter, so signing off now!
~Snowy
Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed does not belong to me, it belongs to Ubisoft. Only Mallory belongs to me.