Jerusalem – 1191

Altair watched as Malik pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed irritably. The man had another thing coming if he thought he was annoyed. Altair's level of pure irritation was bordering on rage. What was the fool thinking sending Sibylla after him? How could Malik sink so low? Altair felt like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. This was not the way he'd pictured seeing the girl again. He chanced a glance at her and was almost surprised to see how stoic she'd become. It was clear to him that the years had hardened her. And yet, it was no surprise at all. She had been banished from her home, taken from him, forcefully given to another man and then had that taken from her too. He could easily imagine the rage that bubbled beneath surface of her fair exterior. She hid it well, except for in her lovely eyes. Those eyes that had held him such high regard at one time and had shimmered with her love.

No matter. The past was past and he held no feelings for her now. Nor, he suspected, did she much care for him either. For a fleeting second, he felt guilty for the bruise on her face and her cut lip. The guilt was erased when he tongued the inside of his own scarred lips and he remembered how she had marked him. What goes around comes around.

His eyes slid back to Malik, who was glaring at Sibylla and she was glaring back. The rafiq shook his head and sighed again, muttering something under his breath. Altair cleared his throat impatiently. He had a mission to attend to.

"You could not follow simple instructions," growled Malik. "Always rebellious. Always getting yourself into trouble. The two of you were really a match made by the gods."

"Stay your tongue, brother," Sibylla hissed, catching Altair off his guard.

"Or you'll what? Cut it out in my sleep? Idle threats, sister, do not scare me."

"They should."

"What possessed you to send her after me," Altair snapped, interrupting the squabble. "If Al Mualim knew…"

"And when have you ever had any regard for what the Master says," Malik cut Altair off.

The two men stood glaring at each other fiercely. Altair was severely tempted to hit Malik until that damned smirk was no longer on his face. His fist shook with the effort to stay at his side until Sibylla, once again, surprised him.

"And when have you ever had any disregard for what he says?"

Altair shivered as Malik's eyes slid back to Sibylla. Her voice was cold and venomous, completely opposite of gentle coo he remembered. The fact that she was arguing with Malik of all people was also rather unsettling to him. The two had always been closer than siblings and not once could he ever think of a time that the two argued. Sibylla and Kadar were always squabbling, but never Sibylla and Malik. This was far too much change for his tastes and he turned to leave.

"Where are you going," snapped Malik.

"Back to my mission," Altair snapped.

"Take her with you."

Altair spun around and glared at Malik. There was no way in hell he was taking the girl with him. She would get in the way. It had been far too long since she had been on a mission and she had probably forgotten everything she had learned. Plus, the last thing he needed was for Al Mualim to find out. He did not need any more trouble. Malik, however, was not going to relent. Altair fixed his icy eyes on the girl, who was regarding him with an equal amount of hatred. He sighed, rolled his eyes and motioned for her to lead. He watched her go to the courtyard before shooting Malik a look of contempt and then followed her. She waited by the wall.

"Start climbing," he growled. He had no intention to brief her on his mission. He'd leave her somewhere or find a way to make her go back.

His eyes slid over her one last time as she readied to scale the wall. She was beautiful. And as he had once predicted, she did hold the power to bring a man to his knees. He knew that he must be careful and guard himself against such a skill. He could not afford to let her seize his heart again. No, he would not be weak. Though, part of him could not help but be impressed with her, as she scaled the inner wall of the bureau and pulled herself onto the roof. She had been training and Malik hadn't stopped her. Perhaps he would not have to ditch her, so long as she could follow orders without argument. He knew her to be defiant and rebellious, but hopefully she still knew to respect her Master. He prodded the scar on his lip with his tongue again as he watched and then scaled the wall himself.

Notes:

I gave Altair's scar a backstory with help from my friend Jason. Basically, Sibylla slashed his mouth for what she thought was him insulting her when they were younger and it was also her who stitched him back up again. There will be a thing on it in an upcoming chapter.

Author's Notes:

I know this is a long time coming and I'm sorry. My damn computer refused to work and I finally got it working tonight. So dont kill me. Here it is. Chapter 5