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
Wonder what she has installed for me…
Her hand grabbed at the rough piece of wood jutting out from the tree. Small parts were sticking out, making her job all the more easier. The feeling of having the wind blow on her face, the sight she might see when she got to the top was exciting her and urging her to move forward. It was still early, only about six in the morning. Though it didn't bother Mallory, she was sued to early rising; once to run away from when she was camping.
Carefully setting herself down on the tallest limb of the tree she had just scaled, her eyes looked over the horizon. The sun was just rising, the rays peeking out from the ocean, and then ever so slowly, the sun's edge looked over and came up. It teased and tested Mallory's patience, but she didn't mind. This was a sight she could get used to everyday.
She swung her legs back and forth, enjoying the cool morning breeze. She breathed in the fresh smell of pine and smiled lightly, not used to the feeling of her face stretching due to the gentle gesture. Then, her thoughts brought her to the two people she had recently met. They were strangely nice to her, like they wanted information after their little meetings. Though, they also revealed little things about her that she didn't know. Kanatiio from Connor, the house from Aveline…
They all seemed familiar, but so far out of reach.
"Mallory! Get down here; I need to talk to you!" She looked down from her position to see Aveline in the same outfit as yesterday, except that the hat was missing. In her hand was a bow and arrow, on her other hand was a bracer similar to Mallory's own one. Confusion and doubt rose in her for a moment before she shook them away mentally.
With careful and graceful movements, she climbed down the tree and landed with an evident 'thud' on the snow. She looked up to Aveline and raised an eyebrow, asking her what she had wanted. Seemed like Mallory had missed seeing the arm that Aveline hid behind her, holding a faded picture. The age of it had shown with the yellow tint and crusted edges, but Mallory made no comment on it.
"Do you recognize the people in this picture?" Aveline asked, hiding a quiver in her voice. Mallory didn't hear it and continued staring at the picture with blank eyes. Never in her life had she seen the two people in the picture, but she kept in because the adult in her village told her it was her parents when they were in their prime. Mallory didn't doubt them, and kept the picture even when she had run away. It seemed like she had forgotten about it when she reached Boston. For one and a half year, she had not seen it and had almost forgotten about it.
"No, but the elders in my village said it was my parents…" Mallory replied in a soft voice, trying hard to control the quiver. She bit her lip when Aveline didn't reply and kept quiet.
"You believed them?" Aveline asked. Mallory could detect the anger in her voice, but did nothing else. Her eyes were still on the picture, wondering what made Aveline so angry about it. Maybe the woman in the picture was her? There was a possibility that it was her, they looked alike although the yellow tint did wash out the colors that Mallory liked to believe were once vivid.
"Did you?"She asked again for conformation. Aveline was practically trembling, but managed to control her temper in front of Mallory.
"The elders in my village are never wrong," she protested. She could see Aveline and thought it would have been better to had thought about her words before letting them out; maybe staying her tongue was the better choice. Mallory adverted her eyes to avoid looked at Aveline, still in the midst of thinking about how to word that sentence better.
"What if they were lying instead?" Aveline questioned. If was hardly a question anymore, and the tone was just shy of a yell or shout. Mallory flinched visually, but Aveline seemed to not care. The silence between them was suffocating both, but neither made any mention for the other to talk. Mallory could sense tears welling up in her eyes, just like last night. The African woman relaxed her shoulders, regretting the choice she had made. Just as she was about to apologize, Mallory turned away and ran into the forest.
"Attendre!" Aveline yelled after her, her eyes widening. It seemed like Mallory was already too far as she did not even stop for a second. Instead, her pace fastened and she was already out of view for Aveline. Chasing after her would just be a silly decision; she would get herself lost if she did. But when did she ever listen to herself? With a guilty heart, Aveline ran towards the woods in an attempt to catch Mallory.
Mallory somehow found her way out of the woods after climbing tree and scaling hills covered in the snow. Sadly, she landed on her bottom a few times from slipping, but it didn't stop her. She was determined to get out of sight from Aveline, from the house that she once felt comfortable in and get her feet back into familiar territory; the Boston harbor.
She had not come here for a few years; after the incident that had her left ring finger severed. Mallory gulped when she step foot onto the welcoming bustle and hustle of people moving about. The faceless crowd pushed each other, trying to get to their destination as quickly as they possible could. Mallory, however, took her time walking through them, feeling people shove her out of their way a few times. She knocked people down, but the feeling didn't rise- she didn't feel guilty at all.
When her eyes stopped seeing rushing feet, she looked up and sighed. Her destination- the ship- was right in front of her, but she didn't feel like she had the guts to enter. Last she had heard from them was a few months before she had run away. The crew she was so used to was probably replaced with younger men, around the age of seventeen to twenty. But there was a slight chance that she would see friendly faces again though…
Taking that chance, she stepped onto the wooden plank that connected the ship to the deck. The wood creaked under her, showing its old age with every step she took. Her head was bowed as she walked up, swallowing a ball of saliva when she reached the opening of the ship. The boat was about to move, she could feel the ship rock slightly, the captain probably testing out the wheel. Well, no turning back now. She stepped into the boat and tried to calm herself down.
"Well, what do we have here lads?" Mallory turned around and saw a group of men. They looked like they were part of the huge crew on this ship, dressed in the appropriate attire for seafaring. She raised an eyebrow, never seeing these men before, feeling confusion and doubt in that instant. She should have known that the captain had changed the crew, why did she still insist on boarding it?
"Just looking around, I think I'll be going now," she replied in a hurried voice, trying to escape. The blood lust the men were feeling was obviously shown; their eyes glaring and their lips in smirks. Mallory gulped before ducking under a man and trying to reach the opening unharmed.
Then, her back met the wall. A 'thud' sound echoed throughout the empty walls of the hallways as her back had collided with the wooden wall. She puckered her lips in annoyance before getting up and dusting herself off. Looks like she had no choice, it was time to fight…
"No weapons, okay?" she reassured the men. But she was doubting her abilities in taking down a group of full grown men by herself; what if she didn't get out alive?
A/N: Blah! Filter chapters make me cringe. Yes, this is what this is. I wanted Mallory to meet Connor again in this chapter, but found no place to put him. So, instead in his place, she picked a fight with a group of men on the ship. I feel like I'm changing Mallory's personality too much here, but I wanted to show that she wasn't that arrogant; at least, not Altair arrogant. Also, I wanted her to use the hidden blade for the fight, but found it unfair for the men because she has a weapon and they don't- so no weapons at all. Plus, she would most likely cut their throats if she used the hidden blade... (The Author's Notes are always longer than I expected...)
Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed does not belong to me, it belongs to Ubisoft. Only Mallory and the men belong to me.