UPDATED.

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"Aden, you heard what I said. She's gone- either taken by Templars as a hostage, burned from the fire, or she ran away."

Aden didn't know what to think to think. He was angry, distraught, upset—he wanted to punch Olivia with all his strength for telling him such news, even though it'd probably crack the woman's skull in half. First Maria's stupidity by being emotionless, and now Hildegard being missing and possibly dead.

"Olivia... you're... you're sure about what you say?" He sighed and placed his head in his hands and began rubbing furiously at his forehead with his index finger and thumb. All the members of the Rose, save for Hildegard, were present at the dining room of the chapel.

They all had a grim look on their faces, particularly Aden himself. He had not even told her his feelings recently. Of course, he wasn't the type of man who would chase the woman he loved for hours on end just to say that she had captured his heart, but he dropped her little hints of how he felt.

One time, it was when they were still part of Robert de Sable's army of Templar's. They were stationed at Acre, awaiting orders. This was three, four years ago. Maria and Hildegard were supposedly taking their rounds around Acre castle, keeping their eyes open for any suspicious activity. The two were caught by Aden when he found them leaning against the brickwork of a building conversing over how they thought the Templar's were ridiculous.

Not only did Aden scold them for not keeping their posts, but he also looked down upon how Hildegard thought such ill things of the Templar's. Of course, it was all an act on his behalf just to save his head. He thought the exact things they did about the Templar's.

After all, he was Majd Addin's 'little helper', as the man himself had put it. He had watched execution after execution. It sickened him to the grave, yet there was nothing he could do. One, Majd Addin held Zaina captive, using her as a way to keep Aden on his side, knowing that the burly Arab was not a man to mess with.

Two, he had to wait for the opportune moment before he could prove that he hated Templar's to the very core of his being. If he acted on his emotions only, well, there wouldn't be an Aden present in the chapel.

Although Aden had caught Maria and Hildegard slacking, Maria had caught the affectionate look in his eye that he was giving Hildegard. With a sly smile on her face, she excused herself and left the two alone.

"My Lady Hildegard." He gave a small bow and held her gaze with his own. She was the definition of beautiful. More over, to his eyes, she was the definition of 'woman'; she had a finely crafted figure.

She gave a curt smile at him and nodded her head. "Master Aden, if you'll excuse me." Hildegard ducked her head and walked out of his line of sight when she turned around to face him again as he spoke softly to her.

"It is amazing how deadly a rose is." He had not turned to look at her, but he knew she was facing him. "So beautiful... It is the one flower that even men are attracted to." He closed his eyes and waited for her reply. A normal person would have not noticed that Hildegard was startled beyond words.

However, Aden was not a normal person.

She gulped and nodded. Before she replied, she composed herself. She straightened her back and held her head slightly high. "As beautiful as it may be, it has thorns to protect itself, dear Brother. Do not forget that." Smiling, she walked away from Aden with purpose in her stride. She left him eating his own words.

Olivia nodded solemnly and looked over to Zaina. The girl's attention was drawn to the floor— apparently there was something very interesting about it to the thief. "I'm sorry, Aden. We are all grieved from this news."

Aden brought his arms to his sides and clenched and released his fists several moments. His nostrils flared and his jaws quivered as he tried to contain his rage. The others looked at him, then exchanged glances among themselves. They knew what was coming next.

"I'm going after her." He pushed his way past Olivia and lightly brushed past Zaina as he made his way to the door. His sister gawked and ran in front of him, arms held out.

"Please, brother, it's dangerous out there! Believe Olivia on what she says!" She held her breath and looked down at the floor. Mumbling, she added in, "Believe me..."

He sighed and rested his hands on his sister's shoulders. "Zaina, habibti, I—I can't just leave her like this. If she was taken by them, then I—"

Damiel squirmed and groaned out, "What makes you think you can do anything! You think your efforts will be more productive than ours?" Damiel held his fist out and slammed it into his palm. All this talk over Hildegard had caused the entire Rose to worry, and now—"You think you're the only one worried about her? Look at us, Aden! Look at Maria! Dios, Maria's her most trusted friend, a position you will never be able to domin—"

He whipped around and glared viciously at Damiel, the Devil's stare in his eyes. "What would you know about her, Damiel? You know nothing of Hildegard!"

"Neither do you, Dummkopf!" Olivia shoved Aden on the shoulder. "We do not know if she was killed, taken, or ran away! So, Arschloch, I suppose you contain testosterone and think with right head!" Her German accent made the petite woman seem even more ferocious than she already was, even though her English was broken. She looked over to Benjamin for support. He nodded and looked grimly at Aden, disapproval showing through his eyes.

Damiel smirked at the sight of Aden. He was defeated, and he knew it. He could not argue with Olivia when her blue eyes pierced him like that. It was strange what a pretty face could do to men.

"Aden," Zaina hugged her brother from his back, wrapping her arms around him until her hands rested on his rib cage. "Don't worry, big brother, we'll find her. Just.. please... don't leave.." She sniffed and put great effort into holding the tears gathering at the surface of her eyes. She knew crying would only upset him further. However, this sudden display of helplessness from her set Damiel off.

"Now look what you did, tonto. You just had to play 'hero' again, didn't you?" The boy's smirk grew when he saw how ashamed Aden looked. He pressed on, "Not only have you made us discipline you, but you made your sister upset! How much more grief do you think we need in one day? Were you dropped as a child?"

There was no response from Aden.

Thus, Damiel continued throwing insults at him. His words ranged from calling his mother the rear of a donkey, declaring that he was better off dead, and that he was meant to be a woman from the way he worried over everything.

Benjamin tuned Damiel out as he pondered the recent events. 'Hildegard's estate burned down. Oh, I do hope Richard made it out alright. That poor servant... He had no idea what kind of mess he'd get himself into by agreeing to be part of that household.' He shook his head and furrowed his brow. 'But, something isn't fitting quite right in this.'

It was a habit for him to stare at the person nearest to him while he thought. He knew that it would sometimes—no, always—make the person feel uneasy, but that always seemed to help him think things through. The person closest to him at the time was Maria. He stared long and hard at her face. His eyes were on her, but his thoughts elsewhere.

'Why so sudden? And how did the Templar lackeys know that Hildegard was a Rose? No doubt the superiors in their Order know, but for them to leak the information out so bravely? This old man doesn't like this.'

Maria returned his isolated stare and tilted her head to the side. She, too, was wondering over Hildegard's disappearance.

"—Your mother was better off bedding—"

"ENOUGH!" Benjamin averted his gaze to Damiel. He immediately shrank away from the veteran's glare. Although he only had one eye, he still could stop an army in its tracks with one brief look.

"Benjamin?" Maria idly spun her hair through her index finger as she carefully chose her words. The others looked at her and nodded for her to continue. It had been months since she had spoken so calmly. "Suppose the Templar's did capture her."

"Aye, go on."

"...Would it be safe to say that they may... they may use her as an advantage to reach us?"

He scratched his chin while he thought his words over. He rubbed his stubble up and down and sighed. "It is very safe to say that, my dear. Which leads me to believe.." His voice trailed off and he looked at the wall distantly.

"Benjamin? What does it lead you to believe?" Olivia cocked her head to the side and stared quizzically at him. Though, his next words startled all of them.

"ORDER!" Benjamin snapped his head up, and, with a cat-like grin, he shouted, "Damiel, Aden, ready your weapons! Sharpen Riva, Damiel! Make sure your short swords and knives have the tongue of a serpent, Aden!"

Then, with a gentler tone, he said, "Zaina, my dear, please go to my room and bring me my map of London. Make sure your arses are back down in this room in fifteen minutes!" He looked at them while they stood still as statues.

"Was I not speaking English?" Damiel and Aden exchanged brief hopeful looks as they bustled into yet another one of the church's basements where the armory was. Zaina smiled at Benjamin and ran out of the room and toward the staircase.

Maria and Olivia sighed once it was just the three of them left in the room.

"Olivia," Benjamin walked over to his comrade and placed an arm on her shoulder, "why don't you tell us the full story?"

She bowed her head and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she cleared her throat and began, "You both know fully well that it is my job to keep an eye on our beloved Templar Dummköpfe." The two nodded in recognition. "Well, it began when I was running to and fro rooftops. I spotted one of the Dummköpfe—Clarence, to be exact.

"He seemed... excited about something. I was curious. I followed him to a church: Saint Joseph's. I could not follow him in, my Brother and Sister, for I would have been compromised easily. Thus, I had to satisfy curiosity by spying from window. I could make out bits and pieces of what he was saying, and I did my best to read his lips and actions.

"He was very animated, seeing as how he would occasionally throw his arms into the air and speak as if he was the Lord Himself. I know it is my place to relay information to Hildegard, and that it is her place to give this information to Aden, and for him to tell you, Benjamin. So, I returned swiftly to her estate with the news. However, when I reached her door, it was locked. Verdammt, it was locked." She ground her teeth together and shook her head.

"She dismissed me, telling me that whatever it was, it could wait, and that she did not wish to speak to anyone. So strange of her, Benjamin! Zaina was at the estate at the time, so I told her that we had to go directly to Saint Mary. Upon telling her this, Benjamin, I disregarded your orders." Olivia hung her head low and refused to look at either of her allies.

"I told Zaina what I had learned and not Hildegard." She raised her head to resume her story. "I wrote her an encrypted letter. If, by any chance, she were to come out of her room, she would find the letter. She's quite good at decoding, so I'm sure that she would learn of knowledge very quickly. Zaina and I made our way here, then. We were hounded by Templar Abschaum!

"You know the rest from there," she concluded sadly. "That Clarence bastard—he got away, and Hildegard's missing."

It took several minutes for Maria and Benjamin to absorb this information. It was Maria who finally broke the silence.

"Olivia," she looked at her friend and gave her hand a quick squeeze to let her know that there wasn't anything she could have done to save Hildegard. Continuing, "What was it Clarence was planning?"

"You're not going to like it, Maria. In fact, I don't think anyone is going to like it." She frowned and stuck her nose in the air, as if she was smelling rotten meat. "I believe he wishes to have your hand, Sister."

"As in... marriage?" She took a recoiling step back from Olivia as if she was the rotten meat.

Olivia nodded and continued. "I have also researched that this Friday, the Templar's are hosting a fabulous feast to 'celebrate' their 'victory' over the land. Maria, this feast... This feast is actually a wedding!"

"You mean to say we only have a day and a half to smuggle Maria out of London and across the other side of the ocean?" Benjamin balled his hand into a fist and soon his knuckles were as white as Maria's skin. "This sickens me...!"

However, it was not entirely sickening to Maria. Her heart was torn from her by a killer of a man. Her own child rested underneath dirt in an eternal slumber. She had an empty ache in her heart that cried out to be filled.

'Maybe marriage wouldn't be so terrible. If Clarence doesn't care for me properly, then I'm sure I can put an end to him.' She chewed on the inside of her lip while she pondered over the new information.

Benjamin relaxed his hand and heavily placed it upon Maria's shoulder and shook his head sadly. He knew what she was thinking. After years of being by her side in the Crusades, he knew how this woman thought inside and out. And, being her deceased uncle's best friend, he knew how her family most likely responded to certain things. He knew that she wanted love, but Clarence was not the right path to choose.

She looked at the floor with the same disappointment Benjamin had just shown her. "Foolish woman..." Her voice was so low that Olivia and Benjamin looked at each other to know what she had just said. "Foolish..." her voice rose slightly, "Foolish..." it continued to rise after each word she said.

"Foolish, foolish, foolish, FOOLISH woman!" She slammed her fist into the wall of the church and did not regret the painful throbbing and bleeding she received from it. "You've been fooled, Maria Thorpe. Oh, Maria, you've been fooled." She had her back to the other two members of the Rose. Olivia looked horrified, but Benjamin's face was smothered in a smile.

She slowly let her balled hand slide down the stone wall of the church, a smeared trail of blood following it. She closed her eyes and smiled to no one in particular. "You will never see him again, Maria Thorpe. Never, ever will you see him again. I need to walk away from this with my head held high. Benjamin," she turned around and smiled at her close friend, "I can't believe I've worried you so much. I am sorry." She gulped. "I am sorry for making myself seem so fragile—I am sorry for making myself so weak as to needing someone else to give me love. I've been too blinded by a lustful wound to realize how much love you've been giving me." She embraced Benjamin and kissed him on the cheek.

"You have said no words, but yet you have said so much to me. I thank you." He briefly held her, his smile growing wider. If he had ever had a daughter, he would want her to be a Maria Thorpe.

She turned to Olivia next. She smiled at the German woman. She gave a small grin and was surprised when Maria awkwardly squeezed her shoulder. The sign of trust ended as quickly as it came. Both women knew each other, yet they barely knew the first thing about the other. Olivia only knew that Maria used to be Robert's second in command, and Maria only knew that Olivia used to be Abu'l Nuqoud's bodyguard.

The former only remembered thinking Maria was Robert's spoiled. sex appealing servant when she and the Grandmaster had visited Damascus to say a polite 'hello' to Abu'l. However, Robert quickly saw how the rather large and damaged man had swept his gaze to Maria's chest. Thus, Abu'l went to sleep that night with a new scar added to his face for eying Maria's breasts, imagining what they looked like without armor encasing them, even though he had particular interest in more masculine anatomies.

"I am glad to have you back, méchant." Benjamin shook his head and wrapped his arms around his daughter.

"Je suis heureux d'être de retour, père."

(Damiel's Journal: #1)

Dios, Dios, Dios!

I knew it was wrong of me to say those things to Aden, and I know I can sometimes get carried away with my thoughts, and I know that I'm still an immature boy. It pains me to admit that to myself, but it's the grim truth. But, you know what? That big lug deserved it. After all, he left me in the street to have my package kicked in by a guard. I thought it was time for some payback, and what better way to embarrass him in front of everyone?

Well, not everyone, since Hildegard's gone, but close enough. And besides, he made Zaina almost break down in tears. I fancy that girl more than a man fancies meat! I wouldn't say she's beautiful, but she's just very cute. She's so small that she reminds you of a doll almost—almost. Okay, so I carry feelings for my mortal enemy's little sister. I'm beginning to make this sound like a romantic novel. Ew.

I'm in the basement, sharpening my spear, Riva, with Aden a good ten meters away from me sharpening his Snakes. He's probably the biggest man that's ever walked the Earth, and yet he only uses two shortswords. Yes, everything makes sense now: there is a God!

No, wait, I forgot, lo siento. Aden is an Arab. That explains everything about him. Stupid Arab...

Perdóneme for seeming inconsiderate of my allies. Aden and I have been rivals since day one, and we tend to keep it that way. I absolutely enjoy making him angry, but it was harsh of me to insult Hildegard. Ahh, Hildegard. So beautiful, so curvy, so clever. I remember when I first met Hildegard. Oh, Dios, it was as if you sent me an angel.

Of course, she thought I was a grubby little nuisance. Maldito.

Moving on to Maria, now. Maria and Hildegard are best friends. They've been best friends since they met each other. You see, Thorpey (one of her pseudonyms, along with others) thought she was the only female in that camelshit of an army, also known as the Crusades. I won't deny it, I was severely insulted and shocked when I found out she was a woman.

I swear, she was a man! A man, I tell you! No breasts, and she had a bulge in her pants! But, that bulge turned out to be rolled up cloth that was knotted together so precisely that it looked like a—you know. Anyways, that story's for another time, back to Hildy and Thorpey. I remember how they met, too.

They were in Acre, Maria following closely behind Robert like a lost dog. Sibrand was walking toward them from the other direction, and the two men clasped their hands together and gave a brotherly pat on the back (keep in mind, I was here as well seeing as how I was Maria's faithful squire, so I was behind her while she was behind Robert with Benjamin to the right of me). They exchanged words, blah blah blah, it all seemed so boring, but then Sibrand moved slightly to the side and presented Hildegard. You'd think he was presenting a thousand pounds of gold! He extravagantly showed Hildegard off to Robert, as if he was trying to make him jealous or something. And Robert showed Maria off as well, but not nearly as well.

Maria is beautiful. She's got this dark hair that's... Oh, God, her hair is gorgeous. And she's got these eyes that are piercing and fierce but yet still so lovely—now I'm fawning over her. Hush yourself, Damiel. They're both gorgeous, but Hildegard's curves beat Maria's a million to negative one, alright? Sibrand and Robert left, instructing Maria, Benjamin, me, and Hildegard to become 'friends'.

Benjamin nods politely to Hildegard, he's obviously met her before. Me? I'm too busy staring at her in her armor. It wasn't chainmail, it wasn't heavy ugly stuff either. It was leather armor that flattered more than one area of her, I'll say that. It all looked for show, but she's proven time and again that she knows how to move in it.

So, Hildegard's circling around Maria with this smirk on her face. Her eyes are roaming up and down Thorpey, as if she was evaluating something. Hildegard explained to me later that she was slightly jealous of Maria's body, but going back to the two cats at play. Ria (yet another one of Thorpey's names) was scowling and staring at Hildegard with this awful expression.

Oh, it was really bad. I thought that they would take each other's eyes out any minute. Hildy was still circling around Ria, making her feel like a rat while Hildy was the snake. Finally, the more gorgeous one (that would be Hildegard), broke the silence. Benjamin and I were both surprised at what she said. She sneered and claimed Maria a virgin. A virgin! A VIRGIN!

Who does this woman think she is, insulting my Maria like that! Obviously, she doesn't think herself a virgin, and even though my mind is slightly corrupted, it is not corrupted enough to imagine my friend having fun in bed.

So, I'm guessing you're wondering what Maria did, right? She scoffed and looked away from Hildegard, but then that temper that Thorpey's famous for appeared in a heartbeat afterward. She held her chin up just as high as Hildy's and-

Okay, I always get embarrassed remembering this part, because I can't help but to think of an imagine coming to mind. Please, forgive this boy's imagination-

-and claimed that she liked her vagina tight, instead of loose. I think Benjamin was trying not to laugh because he was choking by that time. Maybe he was disgusted? I don't know, and I never bothered asking.

So that's how Ria and Hildy became friends. Best friends. Ridiculous, I know, I feel your pain.

I guess it's time to talk about me. No, I don't like talking about me, satirico, in case you haven't figured that out yet. My friends barely know anything about me, save for where I came from. And for the record, I don't plan on revealing that any time soon. But, I'll explain how I became a slave (I think I sharpened Riva's head too much... oops).

I'm not from the 'Holy Land'. Me? I think it's way damn too hot. And Holy Land? With that much heat, it is so apparent that the devil himself uses the land as his summer resort when the fiery pits of Hell do not appeal to his temperature tastes. I was born in a relatively hot place, but not nearly as hot, I'll tell you.

But, it was spring time, right after winter that it happened. I was a little boy, and I wanted to get away from the fortress. I'd just gotten in a fight with my brother, as we usually did, and I was upset. So, I was walking. It was beautiful outside. It was hot, a refreshing breeze being blown across the land, and even though the flowers were not yet in bloom, they were still breathtaking. I knew that I shouldn't have been out at the time, madre was sure to worry about me.

But it never crossed my mind that I'd be taken hostage. I didn't know that thieves that stole people rode around during beautiful weather to make a profit off of the living by selling their 'earnings' were existing at the time. Sure, I'd heard rumors around my... neighborhood... but, seriously? I was only a child, did I really care?

And that's what happened. I remember the horses surrounding me, men climbing off of them. They shouted to one another in this funny language I never heard before. Their accent, quite like Maria's and Robert's now that I think about it, was so strange to me.

And then they grabbed me. Okay, I was always the little boy that hated bath time and would punch, kick, and bite at my brother for trying to set me in the tub so that he could tend to me. So, imagine me struggling against these men. I actually think I screamed, 'NO! NOT BATH TIME!' at them too. Or, maybe I'm making that part up, I have no idea.

But, anyways. I wasn't cooperating with them, and they weren't cooperating to the screaming wild child, so they resorted to violence. VI-O-LENCE. Do you believe that? About seven men couldn't handle a single child (I'm smug thinking about this at the moment- I think I'm blushing from self-pride). But, then they hit me on the head, and it's nap time for baby Damiel. Only, when I woke up...

Talal. That's what they called him. That's what I had to call him, though I had to call him Master Talal. You know, I have to meet the Assassin that killed the man and shake his hand for about three years straight to thank him for ridding the world of that slave trader. I felt bad for the female slaves, though. Not only did they have to satisfy his needs for the house, they also had to satisfy those needs.

The males? Yes, that's how bad it was. We weren't called men or women, boys or girls. Males and females. As if we were cattle! Well, we males had it pretty rough. Well, I did at least, because I was sold to a very, VERY needy and unhappy wealthy man.

Wealthy. Meaning big houses. Lots of windows. Lots of floors. Lots of rugs. One Damiel to clean all that up in the time span of... oh, well.. fourteen hours? Fifteen hours? I wasn't even given a full day to clean. I was sold after that, too, because the man's daughter fell in love with me.

Hah! By then, I was eight years old, and I was not interested in girls at the time (believe me, I liked girls, but with Master watching your every move, you want to make sure you get all the dirt off the tile instead of wondering what his daughter's mouth felt like). The next man I was sold to was wealthier. More windows. More floors. More rugs. One Damiel.

He was nicer, though, but not kind. No, he was anything but kind. I have the whip marks to prove it. I was almost twelve years years old when I was sold for the last time. But, I wasn't sold as a slave. I was sold as a soldier. I was to be part of the Crusades, if they deemed me worthy meat. So, my wrists are tied together and I'm being led to the camp that the soldiers are stationed.

I'm being led in nothing but loin cloth. I was embarrassed. I had never felt more humiliated in my life. When they saw me, those 'soldiers' laughed. They pointed at me. I will never forget their sneering faces. I always thought that there was someone in the world that could understand me, and when I saw all those men insulting me, that dream melted faster than hummus left out in the sun in Devil Land- I mean, Holy Land.

But, there was one soldier that wasn't sneering or jeering or snarling at me. He was wearing this thing on his head that was metal and had a lot of rings on it (at the time I did not know what chainmail was), but it didn't cover his face. He strode up to me, inspecting me.

For once, I didn't feel like cattle. I felt so important and I was trying to show him that I could be a soldier. When he came closer, I noticed how feminine (I didn't know Thorpey was a woman then!) his face was, but I dismissed it. One of my previous owners was supposed to be the woman. They had the face- all they needed were the other requirements.

So, this soldier just stared at me. Then another soldier came and stood next to them. By the way he jested with him, I guessed they were friends. The other man was bald and held a helmet in his hand while with his freehand he pointed disgustingly at me. He had a scar on the right side of his face, and he had this odd accent. It almost sounded like he had phlegm in the back of his throat while he spoke.

His voice had this 'hhiiuggghhh' sound to every syllable. I'll give an example, if I'm not clear enough. The word 'describe', mm? De-scribe. For him: De -hiiiuuggghhhh- scriiii (insert more mucous here) be. What in the world? Did he have some sort of throat issue or something?

Anyways, phlegmmy here walked away from me and shook his head. Obviously, he found nothing special about me. That made me angry, and when I'm angry, it shows clear as day. My eyes lit up and my lips became pursed. I knew that I was skinny and underweight and had very poor nutrition, but was it my fault? Was I to blame for this?

No; I was not.

The girly soldier seemed to be thinking the same exact thing as me. She saw that fire in my eyes. She saw that look of determination as I stood up straighter and held my chin higher. God, I didn't even know that you could hold your chin high.

Then the soldier smiled at me. They took out a knife. I am going to die, I am going to die, I am going to die. That's all I was thinking. But, then they cut the rope around my hands and patted me on the arm like we knew each other since we were babies. "Fall in, soldier, and welcome to Hell."

Hell?

Well, the heat, no doubt.

Other than that? It was paradise.

You can see how I've grown close to Maria over the years. She's always been there for me, and I've always tried to be there for her. You can imagine how furious I am with her lover for throwing her out like rotten food. The nerve of men and how they think they own everything—I hope with all my heart that I never become like that.

If I keep thinking about him, I think my insides will burn off.

Maria also crafted my spear, Riva. One day, while I was training in Acre with Benjamin, she was watching from the sidelines. She was upset by how short my swing was and how awkward I handled a sword. I remember her jogging off, not telling anyone where she was going.

Benjamin found her in the armory, smelting ores and following this guide that looked like it had been torn from an old beaten book.

Now, Riva... she's quite unlike anything else. Her length is only a bit shorter than me, and I'm pretty tall. I'm an inch or two below six feet.

I like to consider my weapon a modified and special spear. First off, the metal Maria used, and she still won't disclose this information to me, is blue. Not all of Riva is blue, but some parts are. I think it's pretty.

She also has some spikes along the length of her: very helpful for a swing that isn't intended to kill. I think Maria went overboard with the designs and the construction of her, but I couldn't be more grateful than a weapon like Riva. I wouldn't say she's the best weapon in the world, as Maria's Ebony and Ivory, and Benjamin's Dynamo, are very vicious themselves, but she still has a one-of-a-kind bite to her.

My type of girl, I'd say.

Everyone had arrived in the dining hall of Saint Mary.

Although each Rose was equal, Benjamin was the leader when it came to strategies. Maria was usually his second brain when it came to this, but this was something he had to plan on his own- much to her dismay, since it was her own forced wedding, after all.

Olivia cleared her throat and politely asked Benjamin if she could brief Aden and Damiel in on the wedding taking place soon, seeing as how the two had no idea what was going on. Without looking up from the map, he merely nodded and gave her permission. The German woman turned to the two and gave them the gist of the story. Aden barely looked unnerved, but Damiel was entirely the opposite.

He stormed right over to Maria and shook her shoulders. "Are you loca? You can't marry Clarence! What the Hell has gone through your head, Ria?"

She placed Ebony and Ivory on the table and gave Damiel a sad look. He gasped in disbelief of her motives. She gently pat him on the head and he looked down at the floor embarrassed. He never saw it coming. That is, he never saw the wicked smirk cross her face and the mischief in her eyes as she punched him square in the shoulder.

"Idiot. You really think I'd marry that filth?" She huffed and returned to Ebony and Ivory, leaving Damiel groping his shoulder and looking rather sheepish. "Stupid boy..."

He grinned and shook his head. "Always so fickle, Maria. You scared me half to death, you know that? I thought you were really going to marry him. Eugh." He stuck his tongue out and vigorously turned his head left and right, much how a four year old would do at a plate of vegetables.

"AHA! IT IS GENIUS!"

The others jumped in shock at Benjamin's sudden proclamation, and they hastily huddled around him, looking at the notes he drew on the map, trying to make sense of it all. He held the paper to himself, his face practically buried in it, and began speaking, only the others couldn't make out much.

"If we... decoy... Maria... Zaina... escapes... AHA!" He looked at Zaina and Maria, a sly smile spreading across his lips.

The thief cleared her throat and spoke nervously. "Benny? I don't really like the way you're looking at me. It's very unnerving and it's making me dizzy." She rubbed her arm nervously as she became more and more uneasy when Benjamin had also squinted and his smile was very broad. Maria thought silently to herself that it was unnerving.

He stood up slowly from his seat at the table and gave a small chuckle. "Here's what we'll do..."

He fumed over what he had recently learned in his head, cursing under his breath over how stupid and careless he had been. Of course he had gotten her letters! But, a certain someone had been hiding them from him.

Altair made his way across the fortress of Masyaf and up the many stairs leading to the observatory where they kept the delivery birds. 'If Malik damaged even one of those letters...' His mind was being raided by hatred, and it was as if his attire even knew how he felt: his robes billowed furiously behind him as he marched his way over to Malik.

'To think! My closest friend, my most trusted ally... What does he have against Maria that is so terrible? She stepped down from being a Templar almost three years ago, and he still can't let the fact go that she used to be one of them. Is it truly such a sin to open your eyes to the truth? That she opened her eyes to the truth of the Templar's? If anything, I salute the woman.'

He had finally made his way to the observatory, but hesitated opening the door as he heard a conversation taking place. He dipped into the shadows and decided to do what every Assassin had to do in order to learn information: eavesdrop.

But, yet, he felt almost guilty for eavesdropping on his own men. They were his men, and he trusted them. 'And look where that trust has gotten you..' He snorted inwardly and remained concealed in the darkness as he focused on the words coming from the two men in the observatory.

"...But, Master Malik! Isn't it... wrong...? I mean, they did-"

"Hush, boy, hush. It is not your place to question, only listen. You know what to do with the letters."

The novice nodded and kept his eyes down. He always felt bad for hiding the letters, but now Malik had ordered him to burn them. He gulped. The boy could only imagine how his Master, Altair, was feeling. He loved this woman that the letters had come from, and yet Malik refused to let him see them, let alone even know about their existence. True, these were all old letters that he was going to burn, but no matter how old they were, they'd still be news to Altair.

"Now, off with you!" Malik dismissed him with a wave of his hand and the boy rushed out of the observatory, not even noticing Altair looming in the shadows. Novices.

Once the boy's footsteps were no longer heard from the long passageway, Altair submerged from the silhouettes and presented himself in front of his friend with a blank look on his face. "Hello, Malik."

Malik's back was to him at the time, and he spun around, shocked. However, the surprise soon faded as he recognized Altair. "Ahh, Altair! What brings you up here?"

"Betrayal." He took a step closer to Malik. "Arrogance." Another step. "Why do you think I am here, Brother?"

Malik shrugged his shoulder and blinked blankly at the other. "Perhaps you wish to speak to someone? Or maybe you're concerned about replacing your horse? Or-"

"-Or, maybe, someone could tell me why they've been hiding letters from Maria from me." He had now closed the distance between them and the fury escaping his eyes was almost tangible as he slightly towered over his friend. Malik sighed and slouched away from him, leaning back on the observatory wall.

"Brother, I did not mean for it to offend you. You should know by now the difference between helping and hindering."

"Help me?" He repeated the words in his head and orally. They felt disgusting over his tongue, as if they were poisonous. "How did you plan on helping me when you have only torn my heart from my flesh over and over again? Malik! You... You really thought this would help me?"

He once again sighed and shook his head. "Altair, have you looked at yourself lately? Have you?" He waited for a response from his friend. Reluctantly, Altair shook his head slowly. "Exactly. You have been brooding over her, mourning her absence for a year now. You make it seem as if she was dead! Meanwhile, have you thought of yourself?"

"No, you haven't," he smirked. "You only hold thought for this... woman, as you claim her to be." He paused and took another breath. "You refuse meals. The maids tell me that you do not even relieve yourself daily anymore. You haven't shaved in about two months- at least, I believe that is human hair, and not some animal infesting your face! And yet you bathe regularly, but yet you do not look at yourself. Have you noticed how drained you've become? Do you not feel your energy depleting?"

"If anything, I feel my energy kicking in now," Altair growled and clenched his fists in tight balls.

"Adrenaline, my friend. Once your fury calms down, you'll be a mess, I assure you. True, you stay true to the Brotherhood and you are a great leader, but you do not know how to lead yourself! Instead of having pride, and a sensible amount at that, you slouch around, heartbroken! Heartbroken! You amaze me, truly."

He waved his arm in the air again and continued, "You can take countless beatings. You can have your ring finger removed. You can be slashed nearly to death. You can die and come back, but you can't let a woman out of your life! I dare say this is worse than Adha when she disappeared, Altair. I will not lie: I do not like this 'Maria Thorpe'. I know what she used to be, and what she is no longer, but the fact remains. The fact remains that she still has traces of Templar in her, and she will not hesitate to turn back to them for comfort or for aid!"

He was silent. He had denied that he was indeed a mess in need of a cleaning. He had denied that for a year, hoping that one day she would return to him. "Malik.."

Malik sighed and looked at his friend lazily before replying. "Yes?"

"The letters. Let me read them."

"Ohhhh! Do you not listen to anything I say to you, Altair!" He grabbed hold of his hair and yanked it so that it bobbled his head side to side. "No, of course you don't, because you have such arrogance! There are millions of women out there- pick one that will stay with you and one that is not a Templar!"

"I have already chosen one!" He swatted his hand away from his face and stared daggers at him. "I have already chosen Maria Thorpe, Brother, and I intend to stay with her!"

"How can you stay with her if, hmm, I don't know," he scratched his chin, feigning thoughtfulness, "if she left you a year ago to return to England!"

"And I intend to find out why she left me! Brother. The letters. Now."

"They're being burned."

"Then I expect you to stop that burning process no matter what the cost is."

He motioned Altair over to him, and the two looked down from the balcony into the courtyard of Masyaf where the training ring was. Instead of the usually novices sparring, there was a small burning pile of-

"The letters! Malik! Why?"

"The answer is simple, Altair. Move. On."

"I needed to know-

"No, you did not." He rested his chin in his arm and looked absolutely bored. "You had an intimate moment with her, she left you, end of story. No more, bye bye, good riddance."

He growled and raged out of the observatory. "Mark my words, Malik." He treated his name as if it was a sin to say, "I will find her, and I will get to the bottom of this." Gracelessly, he left his friend.

Malik shook his head. "Brother... why can you not understand women? If she wanted you, she'd have come back to you."

But this opened up a new perspective for the Assassin: a view on the matter that he had never considered before. What if she was afraid?

What if she did love Altair but didn't want to give up her freedom? After all, women's jobs are to provide sons for the husband.

He turned to the burning of papers and watched as the smoke curled into the air from the flames eating away at the letters. He shook his head and sighed, fearing that perhaps Altair was right after all. Chuckling, he whispered to himself, "But what, exactly, is he right about?"

Dummkopf: fool

Arschloch: asshole

Tonto: idiot

Verdammt: damn

Mechant: vicious

Je suis heureux d'etre de retour, pere: It's good to be back, Father

Dios: God

lo siento: I'm sorry

loca: crazy (female)

madre: mother

satirico: smart ass (rough translation)