Hello everyone! This was quite a long chapter-the longest in fact! I liked this one a lot. The beginning is sappy, I KNOW...but the second part is actually quite comical. I like it. I hope you enjoy loves!

Chapter Four: The Family

It was a chilly spring night, and Haytham and Ziio sat around the fire in the village, warming themselves. Ziio had draped herself over Haytham, and was discussing with him the day's previous events.

"Sorry Chitraksh was so intimating for you," Ziio said, playing with a lone flower petal she found. "He gets it mostly from our Raké:ni." The foreign word spilled effortlessly from her mouth.

Haytham raised an eyebrow. "Chitraksh," He knew that he had butchered the word badly, and he winced along with Ziio. "Is your brother?" he asked. Ziio smiled, her eyes distant. "Yes; my sweet 'kenha." She was silent for a moment. "Clan mother is my biological ista but my raké:ni is unfortunately not with us anymore." She ran a hand down her face and sniffed. "I miss him very much."

The fire crackled menacingly. "What-" Haytham sighed, frustrated. "What happened to him?" he asked. Ziio looked at the ground sadly. "He was killed and eaten by a black bear while out hunting when I was 18 years of age. The bear's pelt is now my bedding." She pointed to her bed. "My brother killed it." She paused. "I think…I think it changed him-the death of my father."

Ziio looked at her brother, who was outside guarding the village. He was talking with the other guard. "Death can change anyone." She looked up at Haytham. "Tell me your story-did you have a family?"

A pang greeted Haytham and his eyes stung as his heartstrings were tugged dangerously. "I had a nice family." He lied, blinking quickly to avoid tears spilling. "It was nice." Ziio looked up at Haytham, her eyes sad. "That's not true my love." She reached up and touched his face. "Tell me the truth; I will not judge."

He nodded as tears flowed down his face. Haytham talked about Jennifer, his sister who was kidnapped that night at the theater; his mother, whom he still misses to this day; his father and how he betrayed him by becoming a Templar; the men in his house that night; the death of his father-everything. Everything that Haytham had kept to himself was spilled to Ziio. She listened, squeezing his hand encouragingly with every word. She knew how hard it was, loosing someone that mattered to you. Her Raké:ni was precious to her: her heart still ached whenever she spoke of him.

Ziio sat up and kissed Haytham on the forehead, and he leaned into her bosom, letting out cries of sorrow. She stroked his soft hair as tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I know my love, I know."

. . . .

The following morning, Ziio exited the longhouse and spotted her brother by the entrance, bow in hand. His wolf skin cover was lazily draped atop him

"Aksi:'a! Good morning." He greeted in their native language as he spotted her. "Is your white man still sleeping?" He spat venomously, glancing towards the longhouse.

His face had previously contorted in disgust at the mention of Haytham, and Ziio shot him a disapproving eye. "Yes. Haytham," She put emphasis on Haytham as a warning and Chitraksh ducked his head in shame. "Is still sleeping." Ziio saw that he was ashamed, and changed the subject quickly. Her eyes moved down to his bow. "Are you going hunting 'kenha?"

Chitraksh looked up at Ziio's remark. "I'm bigger now-less of a 'kenha." Ziio rolled her eyes and stood on her tip toes, planting a kiss on Chitraksh's cheek. "Yes, but you will always be my 'kenha. Now go off and hunt! My little one in my stomach is hungry." Chitraksh nodded and placed his hand on his sister's swollen belly. "Be safe, little one."

"Chitraksh," Abhijat yelled. "Time to go!"

Nodding, Chitraksh turned around and planted a kiss on Ziio's forehead. "I love you, aksi:'a!" He waved as he ran off to rejoin the hunting group. Smiling, Ziio turned away and saw Haytham standing in the doorway of the longhouse, his hair pulled back with his usual red ribbon. He grinned at her, and Ziio rushed over.

"Hello Haytham. I see that you're up." She greeted, pecking him on the lips.

Haytham smiled and jerked his head towards the village exit. "I saw you were talking with your brother. He seems pleasant-more than yesterday."

The native girl laughed. "He is pleasant! It's just he's not used to men like you; men who have blades hidden up their sleeves." She nervously glanced at Haytham's sleeve. "Plus, you did try to sneak in unnoticed." He grimaced. "Indeed." The two fell silent, but it was broken by a little girl running towards them. Her hair was in plaits, and she looked very nervous.

She glanced at Ziio, then Haytham, and quickly whispered something into Ziio's ear, who nodded and turned to Haytham. "The Clan mother wants to see you sometime" Ziio paused for a moment. "That's nice." She smiled warmly, but Haytham felt anything but warm and nice.

Haytham felt anxious at the thought. The Clan mother! He thought. Why would she want to see me? Is it because I'm the man who impregnated her daughter? Maybe she wants to kill me…or maybe she wants to send me off the edge of a cliff!

A hand was swiped in front of his face, breaking his thoughts. "Haytham!" Ziio said worriedly. "Are you scared about meeting my mother?"

Nervous? I'm absolutely terrified! "No." he voiced, leaning against the timber post.

Ziio raised her thin eyebrow, obviously seeing through his lies. "No, huh? Tell me the truth, Haytham. I can help you." Haytham groaned and revealed his true thoughts. "I'm sort of terrified of meeting her. What if she's mad that I…wellIimpregnatedyou," he said quickly. Ziio chuckled slightly, rubbing her belly unconsciously. "She's not mad at you-she is happy that she's going to be a grandma!"

Haytham breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, well." He stared at Ziio. "I'll be looking forward to meeting her." And with a final nod of his head, Haytham turned around and walked into the longhouse.

"Well then," Ziio said, slightly frustrated. "That man can murder millions, jump off 50-foot buildings and into haystacks, infiltrate a whole camp, and leave the Templar's without a fight but-" She kicked a stone. "He's afraid of a superstitious old lady that wants to meet him."

She shrugged. "As well he should be afraid-she's terrifying."

Welll...I liked that. The ending sentence was probably my favorite. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. and please review! I will probably update a lot, since I feel really bad about not writing for DAYS! I love you so much loves, and I'll see you all later!