Sorry if i took long to update.. my classes just began on university, so... now the story:
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On the road:
After lunch, Altaïr and Maria finally left the city of Tartus behind. Hassam had arranged two horses, besides some food, blankets and a road map.
"Thank you Hassam..." Altaïr said, getting up on his horse as Maria did the same.
"Safety and peace be upon you two..." Hassam said.
They decided to go south, then east on this first part of the trip. Going home was temptation to Altaïr, since Masyaf was only two days from where they were, but he knew that Maria wouldn't be at easy there.
On the road, both were quiet. Altaïr noticed that Maria was thoughtfully and he let her be for a while, since he was enjoying her presence, but now was uncomfortable… so he tried:
"Do you want to rest a little, Maria?"
Maria looked at him.
"We just left, Altaïr..." She said.
"Ah, you finally noticed that I am here?" he asked.
Maria looked confused at him, but then looked in front of her and said:
"Sorry, Altaïr... I was thinking..."
He nodded.
"About what?" He asked, not sure he wanted to know. As Maria didn't answer, he saw he had crossed the line. "Sorry…"
Maria shook her head and seconds later, said:
"About Robert..."
Altaïr remained quiet and looked in front of him, biting inside of his cheek. He didn't expect that, but he didn't expect either what she said next:
"You know? Besides my feelings for him, you were right in killing him..."
"Why?" He asked, now curious.
"I didn't want to see or I just ignored it, I don't know... but I knew he was a bad man…" Maria said.
"Bad how?" Altaïr asked.
"When he had prisoners, he sometimes just tortured them because he liked to see the pain on their faces... he didn't care about the lives of innocents and sometimes, he command us to the point of exhaustion when something just got out of his control…" Maria explained. "He had his qualities, I can't deny it, but that was it…"
"He punished you?" Altaïr asked, surprised.
Maria nodded.
"Me and the men under my command..." She said. "Sometimes, he just give me reprimands, so the men became usually angry, but other times…"She trailed off and Altaïr became stiff just thinking on what Robert de Sable did to her…
"What? What did he do to you?" He asked.
Maria was quiet and seconds later, shook her head negatively...
"Nothing..." She said.
"Ma..." Altaïr tried, but she cut him off.
"Can we change the subject?" She asked.
Altaïr didn't push her anymore and nodded.
"Sure..." He said.
"So, where are we going?" She asked.
"To Safita..." Altaïr said. "I decided it while you were in the bathroom..."
Maria nodded.
X ~ X ~ X
It was night when they were arriving at Safita. As soon as the city was insight both Altaïr as Maria saw it was full of Saracens guards.
"Wait..." Altaïr said, stopping his horse and making Maria stop hers too.
Maria looked at him, then at the guards.
"Why?" She asked. "We are two; we can finish them off..."
"We can't attract attention to us..." Altaïr explained.
Maria sighed.
"What do you suggest then?" She asked.
"Let's choose a place out of sight and camp here..." he said.
"Here? Are you joking, right?" Maria asked.
"No, I'm not..." He said. "Why? Are you scared that I might attack you?"
Maria was outraged.
"You can try, but I'm more worried about saving your ass..." She said.
"Or me saving yours..." Altaïr, with a half malicious smile.
Maria's face went red.
"I'll kill you for that!"
"Come, you can try and kill me later..." He said.
X ~ X ~ X
It didn't take long for Altaïr to choose a place well hidden from the main road. It was near some trees.
"Here..." he said, getting off his horse.
Maria didn't say anything, but also get off her horse.
They tied the horses to the trees and made a small fire…
Maria picked the blanket that Hassam gave to her and made a pillow, laying down later.
"You're getting cold..." Altaïr said. "Outside, at night, near winter..."
She had noticed the temperature had dropped, but still… she had to keep her cool…
"I'm fine..." She said simply.
Altaïr raised an eyebrow. Was she still angry with what he had said?
"You decide..." He said.
She saw him laying down too, covering himself with his blanket and putting his arms behind his head.
Maria just sighed and looked to the night, in front of her.