Seconds later, Brian entered the house where Altaïr and some assassins were.

"Maria ran away!" He said.

Altaïr looked at him.

"What happened?" Hassam asked.

"We were talking about the things that happened after she went away and how it affected our family…" Brian explained. "And I told her our family has died during an attack on the city we live…"

Altaïr nodded.

"Ok, you stay here and I'll bring her back…" Altaïr said, as he turned to Hassam.

"But…" Brian started to say.

"Hassam, you're in charge till I get back…" Altaïr said. "Try to make him talk, but he doesn't get hurt…"

"Ok, master…" Hassam said.

Altaïr then exited the house and picked a horse. Brian followed him with his eyes.

"Des he knows where to look?" Brian asked.

"Tracking down a person is one of the things we do best and Altaïr is like a dog with it's bone…" Rashid said. "Don't worry… if anyone can bring back your sister is him…"

"Now, let's talk…" Hassam said.

X ~ X ~ X

Altaïr got down the horse and entered the cave. He could feel Maria was there.

"Maria?" He called.

But everything was quiet. Altaïr sighed tiredly and entered where the hideout was.

Once there, he saw Maria lying in one of the beds and walked to her.

"Maria…" He called, sitting behind her.

She didn't turn, just keep crying. Because of that, Altaïr laid behind her and hugged her. Maria didn't fight… she was so sad and tired…

They just staid like that for a long time…

X ~ X ~ X

"I'm sorry…" Maria said, after a couple of hours.

"About what?" Altaïr asked.

"About everything…" She said.

Maria finally moved, so she was looking at him. Altaïr could see her eyes and face were red from crying.

"Everything?" He asked.

"Minus knowing and loving you…" She said at him.

Altaïr just gave her a small peck on her lips. Maria sighed and looked down.

"You know… I lied to you about my age and I'm sorry for that…" She said. "I just assumed… you wouldn't want to be near me if you knew my real age…"

He didn't know what to say…

"Why?" He asked after a few moments. "How old are you?"

"Actually, I'm thirty…" She said, looking back at him.

Maria didn't know what he was thinking, just that his eyes changed to a darker color.

After a while, Altaïr breathed hard.

"It doesn't matter your age..." He said. "For me, you're still young …"

Maria smiled.

"I'm really sorry…" She said again.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" He asked.

"Brian told me my… our family… died last year…" She explained. "My father, mother and sisters… he was the only one to escape, with some other people of the city…"

Altaïr nodded and Maria just sighed, sad and looked down.

"I didn't have time to tell them I was sorry…" She said. "For running away and become a Templar…"

Altaïr was a little confused.

"But you said…" He tried to ask.

"I would eventually come here, to The Holy Land…" she explained. "I just wanted to have another change of meeting you…"

He nodded.

"But I think that I paid the price for what I did to my family by suffering a lot in their hands, before I could prove my worth…" She said, giving a painful breath.

"Why their hands?" He asked.

Maria was just tired of hiding everything, but she didn't know if Altaïr was going to believe her or not…

"I was raped by Robert and some others gran – masters from the order almost eight years ago… Robert then saved me and I was so thankful to him that I decided to do anything for him… what I fool I was…" She explained. "I didn't say it to Aisha because it is still too painful…"

After a few seconds, Altaïr put his hand on her chin and made her look at him.

"Maria, you didn't deserve to suffer…" He said. "No woman deserve to be taken against their will and certainly not you, ok?"

She nodded. Altaïr kissed her, lovingly. Maria just kissed him back.

"Do you want to stay here or go back with me?" He asked after they separated.

"I'll go…" She said. "Brian must be worried…"

Altaïr nodded and they started to get up.

"Let's go, then…"

X ~ X ~ X

When they finally get back, Aisha and some of the Assassins received Altaïr and Maria. Then, they entered inside Kahlil's house, where the others were.

Brian got up and walked to Maria and the hugged each other.

"I was so worried, Maria…" Brian said.

"I'm sorry…" Maria said. "For not being there for you…"

"I'm glad you weren't…" Brian said. "It wasn't pretty…"

One of the men cleaned his throat and said:

"Brian, tell Altaïr what have you said to us…" Rashid said.

"Ok…" Brian said. "Let's sit down because the story is very long…"

Altaïr nodded and he and Maria sat down at the table.

Brian started.

"Well… after the attack on Leicester, we… the ones who escaped the attack were reunited inside the Cathedral… some were hurt, some weren't…" Brian started." I knew you were with the Templars, so I persuade the Bishop to take me to London, so I could try to locate you…"

Maria nodded.

"So, I went to London and went to headquarters of the Templar order… once there, I looked for you and I discovered you was here, in the Holy Land…" Brian said.

"Just say what you did…" Abbas said.

"Ok… well, I came here and went to the fortress of Mosul... they discovered me and they arrested me for trespassing…" Brian said. "One of the nights, I heard the leader, one Sir Thomas Johnston, told their plans to wait for Simas or something, knowing very well you must be behind him and then arrest in Maraqah and kill you when they get back in Mosul..."

Altaïr looked at Maria, then at his brothers.

"How did you escape?" He asked Brian.

"Well, after two months in their jail, I already knew my sister wasn't among them anymore, so I started to look for an exit… after a week, I knew all the places there, so to escape was easy…" Brian said. "I just didn't expect them to be there…"

"What do we do now, master?" Rashid asked.

Altaïr breathed hard, trying to think on what to do.

"Someone must serve as a bait..." Altaïr said after a while.

"Let me…" Maria said, putting her hand on his arm.

Both Altaïr and Brian looked at her.

"What? No…" He said.

" Altaïr , they will expect you, not me… they won't hurt me…" Maria said, turning to him. "And you can surprise them after…"

Altaïr denied.

"But almost two months ago, you killed a Captain, remember? For what I know the penalty for this is death…" Altaïr said looking at her. "Besides, I saw they don't accept women, so they are more than angry at you…"

Maria put a hand on his face.

"Altaïr, I need to do this… not only to save you, but I'm angry at them too… I lost my family because of them…" She said. "I promise they won't do anything with me…"

"I don't like this…" He said.

"I know… I can do this…" Maria said. "Please?"

Altaïr sighed and nodded.

"Wait…" Brian tried to say.

Maria smiled and tried to kiss him.

"Maria… He said.

She understood when she saw his expression and sat back on her chair. Then quickly kissed his face. She smiled when she noticed his face was a little red bellow the hood.

"Ok…" Altaïr said, trying to concentrate. "Now…"

X ~ X ~ X

PS: Searching on the Assassins Creed Wikia, I discovered something:

Maria is actually older then Altaïr:

M (1161)

A (1165)