I presented and explained our new rules for the creed this afternoon. The changes had surprised them all and some had liked it, some had not.
After, the members of the council and my guest had diner together. I explained the plan, so we could review everything and close all the loose ends.
The grandiosity of our fortress amazed Maria. During diner, I saw her looking at the stained glass the room had at the ceiling. I smiled. She turned to look at me and I saw the pale skin of her face become reddish.
Then Malik interrupted us, after he received news from one of the men he sent to another city.
"Altaïr…" He said in my ear. "Simas is in Hamah…"
"It's better not to waste time, then…" I said. "We leave after diner…"
He nodded.
So, I announced "There is a change of plans… we have to leave tonight…"
"Tonight?" Maria asked.
I nodded.
"But I didn't learn much of your culture…" She said.
I looked at Malik.
"Take Aisha with you…" He said,
I nodded.
"Don't worry, we'll take Aisha..." I said to her. "Now I want Raouf, Abbas, Rashid, Amin and Hassam… you will be with us…"
They got up and all of us went to pick some things for the trip.
X ~ X ~ X
An hour later or so, we were on the stable of the fortress, ready to leave. All of us dressed like normal people. Maria was beautiful in the clothes Aisha had borrowed her…
She noticed I was staring.
"You don't look bad yourself, Assassin…" She said.
"Raed…" I said and she smiled. "You can't make mistakes, Maria…"
"I know… I won't…" She said.
I nodded.
We stocked the cart with provisions and all of were ready to go: Rauf and Abbas will be on the horses in front of us… Raouf had his falcon with him. I went up in the cart and picked up the rein, as Maria and Aisha sat each one beside me and Rashid, Amin and Hassam were behind us…
I looked at Malik and nodded. He nodded back.
The gates opened and we went our way…
X ~ X ~ X
It was late at night when we resolved to stop. We mounted some tents… well, they mounted because I couldn't help with my broken ribs.
After a few moments, I saw Maria and Aisha sitting on a rock, talking with each other. I took a deep breath and went over there.
Aisha saw me approach and saying something, walked away. Maria looked at me and I smiled.
"What?" She asked.
"Nothing…" I said as I sat down at the rock beside her. "What were you talking about?"
"Nothing serious…" she said. "We were just looking at the men…"
"Do I need to be jealous?" I asked, don't paying attention on what I was saying. However, her face made me kick myself.
"No…" She simply said.
We were quiet for a while, until she asked:
"Are you?"
"What?" I asked "Jealous?"
"Yes, Altaïr…." She said. "I mean, Raed…"
I raised an eyebrow.
"As a matter of fact yes, I am…" I said seconds later.
She looked at me, surprised.
"Maria, like I said today before we left… I intend to change some things in the order and to love is one of these things…" I said.
"Are you saying that you love me?" She asked surprised.
I nodded.
"But like I said, I have to concentrate on Simas and the Templars now…" I explained. "Don't be up late…"
She didn't said anything, so I decided it was time to walk to the tents.
X ~ X ~ X
Raed: I found the meaning "Thunder"