Hey guys! I took forever to update, I know I did, sorry... ah, here's chapter 17, I think. Please enjoy it, and yeah, you may want to kill me because of the lack of interaction between the main characters, but I needed this in order to do something, uh... bigger about it later. Well, see you soon hopefully, I'm about to finish the bloody semester, FINALLY!

Is not a goodbye

"You are leaving." It was a statement, one he did not bother to deny, merely because he was, indeed, leaving.

"Yes." Connor, who was with his back turned to you, decided to remain still. He had meant to tell you, but he had not found the proper way nor the proper time.

You had gone to his room to get him; breakfast was warm and ready to eat. To your surprise, once you opened the door you saw that the Assassin was packing his few belongings.

It hurt you that he did not trust you with something as big as that. He had changed towards you. He was not the hostile Native American boy; he was not the deadly Assassin. He was Connor – Ratonhnhaké:ton. You didn't know when or how things went the wrong way.

Maybe it was because of the constant arguments he and Achilles had, there was not one single day in which they would not argue. If it was not one thing, it was the other.

"Why?" The words came out strangled.

He finally stood up and turned around. "I'm an Assassin; I won't just sit and wait. That's not what…" he paused, "that's not who I am."

That was clear for you. He had always sacrificed his human side for the sake of others. He had that strange tendency of putting others before him. He was not only 'The Assassin', at least for you. He was more than that, far more than that. He was the hero.

He took his package and walked out of the room, enough to bring you out of your thoughts. "Wait, Connor!"

He continued downstairs, standing longer would only make it more difficult for him.

"Connor!" You called again, this time following him downstairs. "Please, listen to me!"

He stopped at the doorway, again giving you his back. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"I can't stay, if that is what you are going to ask."

You shook your head. If he was determined to do something, he was not going to rest until he accomplished it. You were not one to stop him, but you were not going to let him go that easily either. "Then let me go with you."

His eyes widened millimeters. "No." He would be damned if something happened to you. He would risk his life, his honor, his values and beliefs, but not your safety.

"But-"

He shoved the door opened. There was no need to say anything else.

"Don't do this Connor." Achilles had arrived just in time.

Connor turned around and regarded his mentor, his voice calm and collected despite the hundred emotions exploding inside of him. "Then what would you propose we do?" he asked, "Sit and wait while the Templars take control? We are sworn to stop them. Or have you forgotten?"

Achilles sighed. Experience won against bravery. "Assassins are meant to be quiet... precise." He said. "We do not go announcing conspiracies from the rooftops to all who pass by."

Not again.

Connor had already set for glaring the old man, all the calm from moments before forgotten. "Who are you to lecture anyone?"

"Connor," You tried to interrupt, but it was not enough to stop the Native American.

"You locked yourself away in this crumbling heap and gave up on the Brotherhood entirely."

At Connor's words, you felt a sting across your chest. How could he talk about his home like that? Your right hand flew to grip your fast beating heart.

Oh, but the Assassin wasn't finished. He needed to let it out, all of it. "Since the day I arrived you've done nothing, but discourage me." He snapped at the old man. "And on the rare occasions you've chosen to help, you've done so little, you may as well have done nothing at all."

"How dare you!" Achilles yelled back. He was not one to be insulted and let it go that easily. He had given both, Connor and you, a roof. He had trained the Assassin; taught him everything there is to know.

Connor's glare hardened, "Then tell me: On whose watch did the Brotherhood falter?" He was angry, annoyed and exasperated. "Whose inaction allowed the Templar Order to grow so large that it now controls an entire nation!"

You covered your mouth with your left hand. Never, NEVER had Connor crossed the line before, but he had played his cards against the old man very well. Achilles always blamed himself for what happened with the Brotherhood. His wounds had healed, but had yet to close. Connor's harsh words just re-opened them.

Achilles approached Connor as he loaded his horse with his belongings. "If I sought to dissuade you, it was because you knew nothing!" He continued, "If I was reluctant to contribute, it was because you were naïve. A thousand times you would have died and take God knows how many with you." The old man words hit a nerve, you could see. "Let me tell you something, Connor… life is not a fairy tale, and there are no-"

"Happy endings." You had found your voice, and two pairs of hazel eyes locked with your own [e/c].

Connor looked away from you, he had finally regained his composure, and even though he could relate with what Achilles said, he had experienced it after all, he was not going to be stopped. His next words were cold, like salt added to an open cut. "No. Not when men like you are left in charge." With that, he mounted the horse, ready to go.

Achilles gave up – Connor was the most stubborn child he had ever met. "In your haste to save the world, boy – take care you don't destroy it!"

That was the end of the conversation. No goodbyes, no farewells, nothing.

You looked at his retreating form. You were not going to allow yourself to cry. He was going to come back. He was going to come back.

It was his duty – he was an Assassin, but still…

It hurt.

"[Name]," Achilles' voice brought you back to reality.

You looked at him. His head was down, and he was debating whether he should just say what was on his mind or not.

You walked towards where he was standing, putting a supportive hand over his right shoulder. He needed to know that you were there for him.

Achilles had become like a father to you. He had took you in, given you a home, a job, a family.

He was no different from you. You had lost your biological family, he had lost his too, but both of you had found comfort in each other, had found comfort in Connor, in all the habitants of the Davenport territory.

"Achilles," You spoke, voice as gentle as possible. "I am here for you."

He lifted his head, finally regarding you. "I know, kid."

A small smile made its way to your lips. He was wise, more than he let on. There was no doubt.

"If you want to go, I'm not going to stop you."

You nodded, though you were not going to run behind Connor and beg him to come back and stay. But as you had said before, he is not alone, not now, not never.

Still, you knew there had to be something you could do, and you knew the perfect man for that: George Washington.

Paying a visit to him never seemed so accurate.