"It is done." I tried to conceal the slight regret in my voice: Braddock had once been a friend to me. Those days were over.
Ziio said nothing: she pressed something round into my palm, turned on her heel and started to walk away. I opened up my fingers to find it was the amulet. I hadn't remembered that she'd kept it. The key to this all-important mission, and I had been distracted by a Mohawk woman. How strange of me.
Well, is that it?
No. Ziio would not behave like this.
"Well," I huffed, "I've upheld my part of the bargain. I expect that you will honour yours?"
Ziio froze mid-step. She turned again to face me, her gaze soft. Perhaps that was what she was going to do, anyway. Blood rushed to my face in embarrassment.
"Follow me," she murmured.
The setting sun spilled across the riverbank as we rode. I had no clue where Ziio was taking me and I was not going to ask. I trusted her now. I always had, really.
We rode in silence. It seemed intense; even when I was thinking to myself.
So, this is the end. This is all I will ever see of Ziio.
No. That is not really true. I am sure we will remain friends and allies.
Friends? You doubt yourself, Haytham. You two are more than that.
One can never be sure...
Precisely.
I stole a glance at Ziio in the sunset. The gleaming rays illumined her face like a candle lights up the dark. I couldn't help thinking how beautiful she was; how enchanting she really was on both the inside and out. I knew that I had sorely missed her in these past few months. I couldn't bear to think what it would be like after the Braddock Expedition. The Templars no longer needed contact with the Natives, so any times I saw her from now on would be extra suspicious. I would have to find a way that we could stay in contact. I'd have to.
The stars had begun to emerge by the time we reached our destination. The moon's gentle gleam peaked through the ever-blackening clouds. I was surprised when Ziio dismounted in front of...
A cavern.
So, this was where the amulet belonged. Rustic, I supposed. But well-disguised.
I jumped off my horse and tied him to a tree nearby. Ziio led on down a dark passage, before we reached...
It took my breath away. I had ever seen anything so supernatural, yet beautiful. On the cave wall inside were lines of cyan light, glowing even brighter than the stars. How was that possible? I shook my head in amazement.
"Wow..."
Ziio nodded to me. I walked up to the wall, and pressed the amulet into a small hollow. I tasted the heavy air, and held my breath.
This is it. This is what I have been working for.
I closed my eyes and imagined what was behind there. An artefact? A hidden room? Or even, something bigger, or better? My heart began racing.
But when I opened my eyes, nothing had happened.
"No...no!" Disappointment's bitter blade had stabbed my heart. My eyes flicked desperately from the amulet to Ziio to the door. This wasn't right. This had to be the key. The markings on the stone matched that of the symbols on the wall! I pressed the amulet further into the hollow, closing my eyes and praying.
Nothing happened. I tried again, and again once more...to no avail.
All this dedication...all this work...all this, this excitement...for nothing. Nothing.
"You seem disappointed," Ziio noted, with just as much despondency in her voice as I felt.
"I thought that I held a key that would open something here." My fists clenched over the wall in anger. If this was not the right place...where was? It would take even longer. More effort, more time, more application. My heart swelled and tightened in my overwhelming emotions. This was incredulous. What was I going to tell the others? If I was any less of a man, I would have tears pricking my eyes.
"This room is all there is." Ziio confirmed what I had feared. She turned away and paced on the spot for a moment, before facing me again.
"I expected more," I sighed after a depressing silence. Immediately I was ashamed of myself; of my gratefulness to Ziio (or lack of it). As the cyan lights rippled across her eyes, I realised that she was...hurt. The bitterness of my own words had stung her. She had gone to all this effort to bring me here; perhaps a special place in her heart...and I had the nerve to be so unruly.
Apologize!
Say thank you!
Change the subject!
What?! Change the subject? Are you insane?
"What do they mean?" Not knowing what to do, I pointed to the symbols on the luminous cave wall. It was the best recovery I could come up with, and it was not a bad escape.
Ziio seemed to look through the opaque rocks for a long time before she spoke. "It tells the story of IottsitÃson, who came into their world..."
She began to sail closer with every word that left her lips.
"And shaped it for what life might come..."
The distant look in her eyes...I was certain there was a hidden message behind it when they sparkled at me. She circled me, slowly, gracefully.
"She had a hard journey..."
Had I ever appreciated her sun-blessed face enough? My heart was tightening like the dense atmosphere.
"Fraught with great loss and peril."
I had never seen her so passionate about anything. Even from the back, she looked lost in the story.
"But she believed in her children, and what they might achieve."
She turned to face me. Never more had her stare melted my stomach to fluid than at that moment. All breath I had become staccato, shuddery.
"And though she is long gone from the physical world..."
She was coming closer. Dangerously close. My insides squirmed with every elegant step Ziio took. Closer to me.
"Her eyes still watch over us..."
She was behind my back now. I could feel her body heat blazing against my own. My heart pounded faster, louder.
"Her ears still hear our words..."
Her delicate fingers caressed my shoulder with the utmost tenderness. The muscles tingled under her touch. What was Ziio doing to me? My mind was racing; confused, enlivened.
"Her hands still guide us..."
Her fingers slipped slowly, seductively down my arm. I struggled to breathe. Adrenaline seared through my entire body. My heart was nearly at bursting point.
"And...her love still gives us strength."
Ziio's hand cradled itself in my own leather glove. Was this real? I gasped at her touch. My head was whirling like a sea storm, throbbing with the effort to keep breathing.
Look at her.
Her gaze was amorous, affectionate, unmoving. I felt like a hot flame was running around inside me, burning up my heart and mind as it did so. I could tell Ziio wanted something: it was clear as crystal; her eyes begged for me. But I couldn't think straight. My heart just kept on pulsing.
No.
This is against the rules.
Against the Templars.
Against nature.
I am English, and she Mohawk.
Do it! Do it now!
Say something.
"You have shown me great kindness, Ziio..." I rasped. "Thank you."
Silence. More charged than the atmosphere; than the fire in my soul; than the lights in Ziio's beautiful brown eyes.
Do it.
"I..." I stammered, shifting uncomfortably, "I should go."
Her tender fingers outstretched; they brushed my cheek. They pulled me closer.
What do I do?
Close your eyes. Let this moment happen.
Sparks flew between us. Our lips were touching. I was melting with every second. I was no longer afraid. This was what had made the journey worthwhile: two intertwined hearts, beating in time. Two different peoples, colliding in an explosion of passion. Two racing minds, thinking along the same lines. Two lost souls, melting under each other's embrace.
It could have been seconds; it could have been minutes before we broke apart. We sighed, an inch apart from one another.
"I'm sorry you did not find what you seek," Ziio whispered.
"No...it's...it's fine..."
"You said you must go..." she whispered.
"No..." I breathed. "I'll stay...I'll stay with you."
She led me into her embrace again.
DADADAAAAAAA!
Phew, this was REALLY hard to write but well worth it! The BIGGIE of the story, and here it is! What do you think?
NOTE: In my story, this is NOT the part where Connor is conceived. But even when I DO write that, it's not going to be detailed, because:
a) I'm only 14, so that would be kinda wrong...
b) A lot of adults that I know in person read this.
c) It's best to leave that kind of thing to the reader's imagination. It's more rewarding.
Please review/follow/favourite, and updates will be soon!