She never bothered undressing; she simply flopped her body onto the bed and gave her frazzled nerves time to settle. Her behaviour tonight had been nothing short of shocking, she had forgotten herself entirely and joined the assassin on a merry jaunt through Acre and she had no idea what to make of it. All she was sure of was she had fun and now she felt guilty for it.
Sluggishly shifting on the bed she cocked her head, was that someone banging on her door? A few more loud raps as she crossed the room to open the door removed any doubt. It was Warwick.
She wanted to be annoyed at his disturbing her sleep but this wasn't an unreasonable hour to appear at someone's door. Without saying a word she turned back inside, letting him follow her and enjoy the view of her scratching her bum. She barely paid him any attention let alone noticed how flustered he was.
"Maria we have to talk, you will never believe what I have found out but first you must promise me that what I say is between us that you will follow what I say and tell no one else the full story of Cyprus."
That got her attention.
She faced him and this time she noticed his worried eyes, shifting around the room, the sweat running down his face. "What's happened Warwick?"
He started talking, excited babble would be more accurate and Maria was only catching the odd word.
"You have to calm down; I can't understand what you're saying." She took his hand and led him to a chair but no sooner was he in it than he bounced back up. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, putting him back on the chair. "Start again from the beginning."
By the time he had finished speaking Maria had joined him in standing, "You are absolutely sure this is what you saw?"
He tilted his head, "Do you think me an idiot? Of course it's what I saw. After what you told me about that apple what-do-you-call-it I made it my business to find out the goings on in the fortress. Do you think they would treat my family any different than the other poor souls they ruined with that evil thing?"
"We don't know that any other poor souls were ruined Warwick, so far that's just gossip. You can't go wandering around searching the place on the strength of that. They would toss you in the dungeon if they caught you."
He sat back down, "There is no smoke with fire you mark my words Maria. That assassin fellow may not be the good sort but it seems he was right about this, sure."
"We will travel to Homs together; if you can't get away then I'll go alone. I'll find out what all the talk was about and we can take it from there but until then you must stop poking around."
"Alright until then I will hold my peace but you stick to your end Maria, my life is as much on the line as yours. We can't afford to trust anyone, and you have to stick what I told you to say about Cyprus."
She nodded her head quickly, too quickly for his liking, "I mean it Maria, not Stephen, Conrad nor anyone else for that matter. Robert and the others were involved so it would be guess work if we tried to choose who to trust or not. So I say sod 'em all, it comes down to you and me."
This time she didn't nod, he was truly frightened and she felt partly to blame for telling him about the apple in the first place. "I give you my word; I'll follow your story to the letter and say nothing about what you found to anyone, not a living soul."
"I have to go I'm expected back at the fortress, young Stephen is back and his Da is causing all sorts of bother already."
She walked him downstairs, "Stephen is back?"
"Yes he is but you must act surprised because I was never here so you can't know he is."
They stood on the street with him making her go over her promises another few times and then once more to settle him. For her part she tried to make him calm down, as she saw it there was no real risk but he wouldn't believe that until they had made the journey to Homs.
"Go back now and I'll work on Stephen, ask him to give you some time off to escort me to visit a sick friend or something, but please just calm down. You are a bag of nerves."
He made a visible effort to do so, taking a deep breathe and shaking out his arms, his antics made her smile. In some ways he was so much like a child although he was a father himself.
About to go back inside she lazily scanned the square, her eyes were drawn back to a bench. There was a young man sitting there, wearing robes like the ones Altair's brothers had worn at the docks. Then again they deliberately covered themselves like scholars to cause this very confusion, it probably wasn't. Then he shifted and she saw the red sash around his waist. No longer in any doubt she went back inside.
She distracted herself by changing into her nightgown, if she was going to sleep the day away she may as well be comfortable. She had peeked out the window when she got back inside but he was already gone, just another thing to think about. This time she slipped under the blankets and let her body sink into the softness of the bed. She was probably close to undertaking an uncomfortable journey and this bed was a luxury she would only dream of by then.
The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs awoke Maria, she rubbed her eyes beginning to stretch then a thought had her bolting from the bed.
'I can't let him see me like this... How the hell did I manage to sleep so long?' Her hair was unbound and she was in her nightgown, long and loose as it was, she was perfectly covered nonetheless it was still a nightgown and she had no desire for the assassin to see her undressed.
Her front door swung open and Maria was stricken with panic. Squinting through the hair now hanging over her face she called out, "How dare you enter unbidden? Stay where you are I shall be with you presently." Her clipped English accent on occasion made her voice sound more cutting than she intended but this time it was just right.
"Oh hogwash Maria, I never thought you a prude. I've seen you in far more intimate circumstances!"
"It's you, I can't believe it!" She leapt from her seat on the bed and ran towards the next room, or would have had she not tripped on the fabric of her gown. "Shit! Stupid bloody thing!" Trying to get up she stumbled again, "Where on earth have you been?"
Then he was there in front of her, picking her up, "Seems we are beginning to establish a new pattern Maria, I am forever lifting you off the floor..." He smiled at her and her insides bubbled with happiness, "Although my unexpected arrival seems to have you rather flustered."
"I missed you so much, come here."
It was then she remembered Warwick's words and was glad her reaction to seeing him had been so lively; she was keeping her word without even trying.
They stood, more accurately he stood as she dangled for several moments just happy to be together. She couldn't let him go and he was in no rush to escape her crushing arms. Eventually he put her on the floor and held her at arm's length to look her over. "You've lost weight Maria; you're nought but skin and bone. I hardly dare believe this is real, you escaped the assassins again!"
"I lost weight and by the looks of things you found it! What happened to you Stephen? The moment my back is turned you become a man!" Poking at muscles on his arms she had never seen before.
She had often thought of him during the events on Cyprus, picturing him with his boyish good looks and now before her stood a man. He had the beginnings of a beard, the same light brown as his hair, his face was more tanned. With so much change it was almost a relief to see the same bright green eyes shining out from his older looking face.
Any other woman looking at him like this would have him blushing but Maria wasn't really a woman, she was just Maria. "I haven't changed a bit, you always see me as a boy Maria, and here's me 25 and all the man I'll ever be."
She placed a hand on his cheek, how was it possible for him to look older in such a short time? What had happened to him? Her concern was obvious and he decided he wanted to see her smile again.
"You are surely a cat Maria Thorpe, how many lives do you have left?"
She grinned proudly, "Seven."
"I think not, surely you have miscalculated. There was Jerusalem and your recent endeavours but let us not forget that incident in Aleppo with the horse trader."
She huffed, her mood light again but playing along now with his mock admonishment, "Ah, six then good Sir."
"It would be foolhardy of us to discount the matter of the Saracen soldier mysteriously stuck down the very second before he embedded his sword in your gentle stomach."
"It was not mysterious; it was your own mace which struck him!"
Stifling a smile he stroked his beard, "It still counts I'm afraid. Upon further consideration, remembering such occurrences as Robert's stallion breaking free and trampling you, the incident in the butts when you were trying to master horseback archery, the time when Franz of"
"Stop now, please stop I beg you! You tempt fate to hear you and for me to choke on my next bite of food, and which such a flippant manner! How can you display so little regard for my well being?"
He dropped on one knee, his hands on his heart. "My lady, dispel such tawdry thoughts with haste. My motives are honourable; my wish is to convey a need for you to take greater care. Surely if such as fate exists it would continue to shield you in the manner it has always done."
Planting a foot on his shoulder she shoved him with enough force for him to fall backwards almost hitting the wall. She dropped to the floor beside him, leaning her back against the wall he almost hit.
"The lady joins me on the floor and with all the grace of a charging bull!" Moving as he spoke to sit beside her.
"You're a fool, Marshall."
"I'm always a fool where the fairer sex is involved" his smile was crooked and utterly charming.
"Why do we still do this? It's not as though it's going to annoy Robert any more. Before it was funny but now we just look like simpletons or worse, gentry!"
He smiled, their exaggerated version of English nobility had provided them with much amusement, mostly at Robert's expense it had to be said, he hated when they did it. He had been almost incapable of having fun and it bothered him when others did, far more so if it involved Maria, which to Stephen made it all the more fun.
"No doubt we will stop one of these days." Taking her hand and putting it on his lap he continued, "Now tell me Maria, what happened to you?"
She recounted her tale, most of it perfectly true. Then she used the amended ending Warwick suggested she had escaped Bouchard and wandered around looking for a way back to Acre and not until she returned and Warwick told her did she learn of his death.
He looked at her eyebrows raised, lips puckered. "You were wandering around Cyprus at the same time Bouchart was killed?"
Maria never flinched, "Yes, I won't pretend to be unhappy about that Stephen but you are correct. The assassin and Bouchart took it in turns to imprison me and eventually I escaped, the latter died and I have no information what so ever about the former."
His pinched lips tugged into a smile, still questioning her with his expression. "Why do I get the feeling you aren't being entirely honest with me Maria?"
"While I am being admittedly Spartan with the details, my account was as expansive as I can cope with right now. Stephen I just spent literally months being dragged around don't make me relive it all again so soon." Her knees cracked as she stood, "I will fill you in soon, I give you my word but you know all the important details. Robert was involved in some outlandish plot as was Bouchart, they were foiled it's over and I am safe."
He stayed on the floor and once again she was taken by who much he had changed, new dark circles under his eyes, his face leaner and his cheeks more defined. "Maria, do you have any idea what you are saying? The Knights Templar is an honourable order, what you are suggesting would destroy us. How could you be so gullible as to believe the word of an Arab, an assassin?"
"How dare you question me?" She leaned over him her face inches from his, "I was willing to die for him Stephen and he was quite prepared to let me." Straightening up, she stood with her back to him, "I never believed the assassin, never would have. My confirmation came from Shahar, Moloch's son, he told me the truth of it and I must say he seemed somewhat proud of their little plot."
Standing now he walked in front of her trying to take the hand she was now using to rub the bridge of her nose, she smacked his hand away; and began pacing in front of her bed, her hands balled into tiny fists.
She opened her mouth to speak and stopped, instead turning away.
"Maria the enormity of what you just told me could shatter the foundations of my entire life; I'm astonished you are reacting to my questioning you in this way. Of course I have questions."
She spun to face him, her voice becoming increasingly higher and unsteady as she spoke, "You have questions... Your life...! It is me who has lost everything Stephen. Me who was taken and moved from one den to another, pulled along behind him. When the Crusader soldiers stormed their den and took me I thought it a rescue." Her short, shrill laugh pierced his ears, "But no, it was another imprisonment. I escaped because Shalim wanted to take advantage of me, how fortune for me eh? Otherwise I would still be rotting in one of our own stinking cells."
He closed the distance between them attempting again to take her hand but she fought him off. Still struggling with her flailing arms he spoke in what he hoped was a soothing tone, "Maria you need to be calm, I'm sorry for what you went through. Please take a few deep breathes and slow down."
Holding her upper arms he could feel the tension in her muscles relax, with one final half hearted stamp of her foot she conceded to his reasoning. "I'm sorry but I don't want to think about it let alone talk about it. How can I convince you of something I have yet to fully accept myself? It means Robert lied to us, used us. What woman wants to admit the man she loved didn't love her back?"
She expected him to sympathise, possibly comfort her but when his hands stayed on her arms and his face remained still she knew this wasn't over. "You have spent the past 2 years refusing to be treated as a woman and for the most part I have acceded to this wish. I shall continue to do so now and demand you think and behave as the soldier you are. You will explain to me what happened and all you have learned."
When she opened her mouth to protest he refused to allow her the chance, "Ah, no Maria, you have no appeal to make. I am being entirely fair and within reason now. You will talk and for my part I will listen with the full understanding that you were an unwilling participant. If as you say any treasonous plots existed in the order I serve it is my business to investigate, not only to understand but to be fully satisfied that all parties are brought to justice."
His voice was calm, his face set with an unreadable expression, it seemed his change wasn't only physical. But then she shouldn't be surprised, he was devoted to his order, to the idea of chivalry and honour.
"What else can I tell you? Other than Shahar nobody else and I include Robert in this ever discussed their plans with me."
Initially she felt awful for being disingenuous with him but by now she was actually enjoying herself. He claimed to have seen through her attempt to play on being a woman but she knew it had hit the mark; he couldn't help himself he was a weakling for a damsel in distress! A couple of well placed sniffs and a hand over her eyes finished her performance, "Why don't you ask Shahar, he was perfectly happy to talk to me."
"He is dead, as is his brother and father."
She judged it would be overkill to fake shock so instead she went with indifference, "Oh well, at least we know what the assassin did when he wasn't locking me up and mentally torturing me."
He lowered his head briefly and reached for her hand, "I'm sorry. You have been through so much and here am I questioning you like a common criminal. You have to understand Maria my order and my oath to that order mean a great deal to me. Sometimes that blinds me to other considerations. You said he mentally tortured you Maria, we have seen cases of men being driven out of their minds by those beasts. Some of them have been found in such a sorry state of confusion that they actually believe these creatures have a just cause."
Maria cast her eyes to the wall, cursing herself for ever saying the words mental torture, "Rest assured nothing like that happened with me, my mind is very much my own."
Unconvinced he continued his warning, "They are not like us Maria, they will sink to any depths to gain the upper hand. The swine use their women to tempt weak men into positions were they can be easily picked off. Anything that man did or said is not to be believed you do know that don't you?"
Her eyes met his dead on, "I know it better than you think."
Although the conversation became a good deal lighter after this Maria felt awkward and ill at ease until he left. What he said about Altair wasn't too far off what she herself would have said about his kind but still it troubled her that she had agreed with him. She had lied about so much but it was that particular lie which bothered her.
If the assassin was having her watched then tonight should prove most interesting. In the space of a few hours she had entertained a Knight and a soldier in her private quarters. If on the other hand it was someone else within his order having her watched that would be even more shocking, you can add an assassin to that list in a few hours. That thought actually made her laugh out loud.
She prepared a wash basin, to dress and await the assassin's arrival all the while wondering what the hell had happened to her nice life!
Warwick had been skulking around the fortress all day, doing his best to look normal and not the least suspicious but he felt as though every pair of eyes in the place were on him. When he returned from Maria's he reported to Stephen who gave him the task of polishing and cleaning his gear. Warwick was glad for the hours of distraction this offered but when it was over his mind once again went back to that damned apple.
He was a God fearing man and while he didn't particularly like the people native to this land he had no real dislike for them either. They seemed somewhat devoted to their God and to him that was no bad thing, it showed they were spiritual and educated even if it wasn't the proper religion they followed.
He had gone over and over all the tales he had ever heard about the Hospitalier doctors torturing his mind with the darkest imaginings. When Maria told him about the apple he could think only of his family back home, they would be exactly the sort of people these men would want to practise on –poor and unimportant- but they were important, to him they were everything and he would do all he could to make sure no harm ever came to them.
Against his better judgement and Maria's advice he decided to look further into the crates, piles almost to the roof in so many rooms. What he had found so far had done nothing to ease his mind but perhaps Maria was wrong, it may yet turn out they would need to know exactly what they were up against and he was the only one in a position to do that.
He walked along the long corridors as nonchalantly as his nervous little body would allow until he came to the one he knew to be housing most of the crates. Going inside he passed the crates he had already been through and went to the back of the room, removing the iron bar he had secreted in his waistband he began to pry open the first of the boxes.
The crate creaked and squeaked as its thick wood resisted the force of the bar and so he never heard the noise of the door swinging open. He never heard the footsteps approaching him either, was in fact completely unaware of any other presence with him in the room and when his heavy sword hilt connected with the little soldiers head he was conscious barely long enough to utter a cry let alone register who was in the room with him.
Wasn't kidding when I said very soon :) It was already written, basically the last part of what was a very long chapter of catch up and meet and greet.