His hand rapped against the wood of her and door and immediately there was an incoherent response from inside. He scratched his elbow and wondered what she had said.

The door swung open and there she stood, smiling through a mouthful of her sword belt.

"Dum in, nnn ummot yeady."

Her hands were busy finishing whatever it was she did to tie her hair up, and she seemed to be trying to tell him something with head gestures then sliding a stool along the floor with her foot. He couldn't comprehend what sort of mind would attempt to do all these things at once, surely one thing at a time would be faster?

When he remained standing she attempted to verbally convey the "Sit down" message but she gagged on the leather and her tongue ejected the offending item from her mouth.

"Take a seat, I'm almost ready." As she spoke she moved around the room, fastening her belt, putting on her boots. "So where is this place you want to take me?"

Still standing –he felt remarkably ill at ease in her home- he looked around the trying not to watch her finish dressing.

"We will discuss it on the way." The decor was entirely European, all big solid looking pieces of oak but there was a rug on the floor similar to one they had in the bureau.

She saw him noticing and remarked, "We put our rugs on the ground since walls are for paintings and tapestries. We also keep our sand at the shore line, you have no idea how much I wish you did the same"

When he tilted his head at her she knew he hadn't seen the funny side, "I was joking, trying to relax you. You're standing there as though you're guarding the place."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not accustomed to being present when a woman is dressing."

"I was dressed before you got here; putting on my boots is hardly dressing. I'll wager you don't object to being there when women are undressing!" Although she had her hands on her hips when she faced him her challenging stance was somewhat spoiled by the twinkle in her eye.

He raised an eyebrow, "That is not a fitting topic of conversation."

She rolled her eyes, grabbing her cloak from the back of the chair she had slung it over. "Ready when you are."

"I arrived ready,"

"Then why are we still standing here and when will you tell me where we are going?" She paused as she passed him holding the door for her, "It better not involve fish!"

They had been walking for a while, mostly in silence since he moved at a far faster pace than she did and she refused to hurry to keep up with him, forcing him to pause every now and then for her to catch up. They passed close to the hospital and she wondered if Garnier crossed his mind at all. Not far past the hospital he stopped to look around.

"The Gate, you plan on taking me outside the walls?"

When all he did was bob his head in reply she attempted to gain more. "So what are we this time, scholar and consort, merchant and courtesan?" The last word brought a flicker of reaction to his stony face; she huffed, "I'm sorry I never kept the outfit."

"As am I, Maria."

"I was being sarcastic. Why are you sorry exactly?"

His face remained still, "It may have proved useful."

"The day I need to be dressed like a whore to get the better of a few Frenchman will be the day I hang up my sword." She brushed past him, glancing back over her shoulder she smiled, "Watch and learn."

She stood beside the small fountain in front of gate and began to look around, calling out "Thomas, where are you?" She moved around the area, repeating her call, seemingly becoming more agitated as she went along.

He smiled as he watched her routine but when one of the guards left the gate and approached her, his body tensed in readiness.

He spoke to her, shaking his head and looking around. The other guards joined them and Maria motioned for the assassin to pass. He walked through the gate but was hesitant to leave her on that side alone.

"He is so small he may have gotten past unseen, I'll check the fields outside he would spend his whole day out there if he could." She spoke loud enough for Altair to hear, then her voice dipped again as she appeared to be thanking the men for assisting her.

Joining him on the outside she grinned, "There now you see you don't have to kill everyone."

He blinked at her, "I had planned on taking my wife for a pleasant evening stroll and killing men to achieve that could be viewed as excessive Maria."

She scoffed, "They would never have believed us married since you're clearly not wealthy enough to have an English wife!"

"You have a very low opinion of Arabs Maria," he spoke as he scanned the stables choosing which horse to "borrow".

"Altair my people were until very recently at war with your people, so please stop suggesting my attitude is improper. Its human nature to see only the bad in people you have to fight, it makes killing them easier."

"Killing should never be easy Maria. You will learn that in time, as I did."

He sat astride his chosen mount and waited for her to decide what she wanted to do. She considered her options... share a horse with a pompous arse or become a horse thief.

Her face perfectly reflected the storm currently brewing inside her. There was only one other horse saddled, a scraggy blue roan mare with a full white face and when she moved to saddle another horse he told her they didn't have time.

They headed up the hills on the edge of the city, Altair considered they still had another 2 hours of usable daylight, when he suggested this to his companion she grunted a word he was unfamiliar with, probably another curse, she had an endless supply of those.

"Perhaps your mood will lighten when we arrive at our destination." He offered, in what was for him at least a cheerful tone.

"Tell me why my mood should be anything but bad?" Turning in her saddle to face him she sneered, "You won't tell me where we are going and I'm currently on the back of the scabbiest horse I have ever encountered in my entire life and I include beasts who no longer had a pulse in that statement! I have a beautiful stallion, he has served me well for many years but if he saw me on this rancid bag of meat he would make me scrub thoroughly before he would permit me to so much as groom him!"

She faced forward again and pulled up her hood, if he could do it then so could she!

It took all his self control not to laugh, and for Altair that alone was something of a rarity. "Come now, you exaggerate, it's a fine animal."

She noticed his lips twitch and something unbelievable happened... she smiled. "If it's a fine animal why are you not riding it?"

"I chose the nearest horse, it's a short trip it was a matter of convenience not quality."

"Bollocks!"

He laughed! Well he grunted but the smile which lingered on his face afterwards was enough to convince her she had just witnessed the first audible sign of amusement from this man, perhaps ever and she was utterly delighted by it.

"Steady on assassin, such unfettered hilarity could lead to accidents of a wet nature!"

He continued smiling, "At the top of this hill we shall have to dismount and continue on foot."

She patted the horse's mane, "Can't say I'll be sorry to see you go old girl. I tell you what though I would love to see the woman who was traded for this beauty!"

He licked his lips and she knew his eyebrows were raised.

"Don't give me that look, you know it happens. Women are sometimes considered less valuable than a bloody horse."

"I can't deny such deals have been known."

"What of your grand sensibilities are they not offended by such behaviour? Surely you would never condone such dealings?"

He was in the process of dismounting but he paused to consider her question, "That would depend entirely on the woman and the horse. A well bred horse is a thing to be treasured."

She laughed a full hearty sound. "Quite right too, I'd choose a good horse over a husband any day. Hell I'd even think twice about this 4 legged lovely over a husband!" She ran her hand up the horses face, "You're not so bad are you? You just need some care."

The mare whinnied happily and nuzzled her head with its huge mouth and Altair watched while Maria's heart melted, "You would make a fine mount for any soldier, look at you already wearing your war bonnet. I've decided I'm keeping her, I'll find her owner tomorrow and buy her."

He joined her beside the horse in question, rubbing his hand along her muscled back, judging her quality. "What do you plan to offer for her? You have no daughters."

She chuckled, "I'll steal her then, I've already done the hard part and anyone who would leave an animal in this condition deserves to lose it."

Leaving the horses to graze, he led her up the last part of the hill. Helping her over the rockiest parts and always surprised when she accepted.

"Will we have enough light to get there and back down again?"

He nodded, "You will see where we are going at the top of this hill."

She stopped and took in her surroundings; the hills they had climbed were mostly rock and dust, like most of this country grass seemed to struggle to gain an inch. He had reached the top and was waiting for her to reach him but she continued scanning the countryside.

"We will have enough time to get back down if you ever decide to take the last few steps."

Rolling her eyes she replied, "I'm enjoying the view; it's all part of the experience."

She would have continued remonstrating with the man had she not reached the summit of the hill and looked past the assassin, "Oh..."

Geoffroy de Donjon walked along the wide corridors of the Crac de l'Ospital; he was making his way from the dining hall to his bed chamber glad to be nearing the end of another exhausting day. Seeing one of the youngest members of their order approach brought a warm smile to his face. The boy had only recently joined their order but he had already impressed the old man with his generous spirit and devotion. For the son of a French nobleman to possess any such qualities was truly a rare thing.

"Good evening Roland, we missed you at dinner."

He bowed, "My duties kept me longer than expected; I shall go to the kitchens now to beg for scraps."

The old man chuckled knowing full well the serving ladies all adored the young man from Caen and he could have a feast laid out for him if he so desired. "I'm sure the Mademoiselles will find something better than scraps for you. I am retiring early tonight but I had wanted to speak to you about our charges, perhaps tomorrow you can take a break from your duties to come to my study?"

The old man referring to his children as charges told Roland he was not in the best of spirits and he thought he knew the reason for this. He had been sullen and withdrawn since the meeting of a few days before. Why it should be a man such as Pere Donjon would associate with a man like Gerhard was beyond him, men such as he could only have a detrimental effect on a man's soul.

"Of course Pere, I will present myself after lunch if that is acceptable."

"Perfectly my son, now you best run along. The staff may not be so welcoming if you keep them waiting much longer."

They parted and the old man made his way into his room. His room was basic, the decor rather more suited to the cell of the lowliest monk than the Grandmaster of the entire order but it was how he wanted it to be. There was a small bed against one wall and facing it was a cross, the last and first thing he saw with the coming and going of the days. Other than a small writing desk and stool the remainder of the room was cold, bare stone.

A small solitary window overlooked the largest of the outbuildings and that was the reason he had chosen this room. He wanted to be able to hear them, be there whenever they needed him and living in the luxurious Masters suite on the second floor may as well have been worlds away for all he would be able to hear or see of them from there.

He stood before the cross and closed his eyes, this was the moment he both dreaded and yearned for with equal force. He could kneel here, enveloped by perfect peace and solitude, and commune with his soul, his innermost thoughts. He once believed he was speaking to God in those moments but Robert's artefact had proven that to be false.

His loss of faith left a void within him he knew nothing would ever fill, but he wasn't without hope. And it was this fragile thing which kept him coming back night after night exploring the depths of his mind trying to find a reason, he needed to find one. Life had to have meaning, he could conceive of nothing more terrifying than the idea that death was simply the end and so his nightly struggles would go on.

He had decided he was going to tell the boy as much of the story as he could while leaving his faith intact; he would never steal that from anyone. He needed him to be as committed to his children as he was; there was no other he trusted to care for them once he was gone. He would tell him of the apple, but leave its origins vague perhaps even lead him to believe that careless men had abused a powerful religious artefact before it was destroyed. He had to move his children soon; the Templar needed the building for his precious cargo. Keeping them inside the castle walls was far from ideal but needs must when the devil calls.

He slowly got to his knees, his body was old and stiff but he was well used to the discomfort, it would be many hours before he would move again.

"What is that?"

He walked on towards the ruins, "It's a gymnasium, built by the Roman Emperor Herod over 1000 years ago."

She walked down the small slope that was the other side of the huge hill they had just climbed and towards it. "How could I have missed this? It's beautiful."

It was already in ruins but the grandeur of the place was still evident, pillars surrounded the field were the athletes trained and competed. She was walking down stone steps cut into the hillside that once would have served as seating.

She crossed the field to one of the better preserved statues looking at it with an awed expression, "Someone made that all those years ago and I'm looking at it now." There were no surviving features to identify who had been celebrated but she didn't care. She reached out slowly and ran her fingertips along the figures spine, still so smooth and warm from the day's sun.

He watched her from a distance, not wanting to encroach on her thoughts. He had been concerned that she would not appreciate the place but she clearly did. He saw her touch one of the statues and the sight of it sent a thrilling sensation through his own body, he had to close his eyes to steady himself.

"Akka has had many masters over the years Maria, each leaving their own mark on the people and the place."

She nodded absent-mindedly, "Yes you can see that more in the ruins around the city. I suppose they all want to reshape it in a form more pleasing to them."

She turned to look around and he was standing behind her, his unexpected proximity made her feel flushed all the way to her face, she tried to look away before he noticed it.

He noticed.

There was a large open fronted building at the rear end of the field; she decided to draw their attention there. "I would guess that is where the better class of spectator would wait to be entertained. Did you know the men performed naked?"

"Does that offend you?"

She gawped, "Of course it does! What civilised person wants to watch naked men running around?"

"The Greeks and the Romans were civilised Maria, they had poets and scholars, philosophers and musicians. You are speaking of morals; those are particular to specific people and times. We are not separated by time, yet our morals can differ vastly does this mean one if more civilised than the other?"

She wanted to say yes, that was exactly what she had been raised to believe but she knew it wasn't true. "We are taught certain things Altair and we believe them. Only today a friend told me your kind, and by that I mean assassins, can't be trusted and use all manner of evils to turn a man's mind against his own kind."

His chest heaved as he omitted a tired sounding sigh, "Do you trust me Maria?"

Her eyes widened and she stammered, "I uh, well I as I said our people..."

He moved closer to her, "Do you trust me?"

She felt eyes that she couldn't see piercing her skin, her mouth and gone dry. She was nervous but with no real reason to be. "I want to but I don't think I can. It would be unwise."

He took her hand in his and when he met her eyes again her stomach fluttered, "There are outside influences on both sides who would take a negative view of our friendship. Assassin and Templar, Arab and European they could find many reasons for us to remain distant but I don't think either of us really wants that Maria."

She closed her hand around his and squeezed. He pulled his hand free and set them on either side of her face, sliding them below the fabric of her hood and pushing it back. He took his own hood down.

"You were right about these things, they conceal a great deal and we need to be open with each other."

She frantically scanned her brain, searching for something witty to say to spoil the mood, to stop what she feared was going to happen but nothing came. He was so close she could feel the heat from his body and she wanted to feel it, wanted to pull him closer. She couldn't tear her eyes from his gaze; he had her locked in place.

He lowered his head and saw fear flash in her eyes but he smiled, she had no need to worry. He continued on his intended path, placing a kiss on her shoulder. Hoping she would understand.

Even through the material of her cloak she felt his lips make contact with the exact spot on her shoulder his blade had penetrated.

He heard her sigh –perhaps it was relief- and felt her body relax. She let her head rest against his shoulder and when he felt her arms coil around his waist he wrapped his own around her. Holding her like this felt so natural, he would never accept it was wrong.

He brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered, "You thought I was going to steal a kiss."

Her body jerked and he heard her nervous laugh, she nodded against his shoulder.

"You would face my sword but not my affection?"

"I wasn't prepared for this."

A small, sad smile graced his features, "We have no reason to rush Maria, and nothing will happen that you don't want to happen. We will take our time."

She drew her head back and he raised his to meet her eyes. "Even if we tip toe for a year I don't know that I will ever be ready for anything to happen between us. You being an Arab is the least of it, you killed him Altair even if I could forgive you it will never be forgotten."

"You have your own opinions about Robert and I have mine, we knew different sides of the man. If I am to have any hope of you ever forgiving me you need to see what I saw. Anything I say could be seen as self serving and so with that in mind I brought this..."

He reached behind him to retrieve the book he had put there earlier. Her face lit up with instant recognition.

"Where did you get that?"

"Malik retrieved it from Solomon's Temple after our conflict in Jerusalem. He brought it with him to Akka hoping it would shed some light on the current situation. I haven't read it Maria; I believe you deserve to read it. You more than anyone need to know what is contained within these pages."

Their bodies separated allowing the cool night air to chill them both.

She took it from him and when her hand closed around the hard binding of the journal she felt a heaviness invade her body. She was suddenly weary and it showed. He wanted to embrace her again but he couldn't. The appearance of the book had brought back the old tension and he knew for now at least Maria had closed herself off from him.

"We should go back now; we will run out of daylight half way down."

She was of course right but he was slow in following her when she walked away. Giving her Robert's journal was a gamble but one he felt he had to take. His jaw tightened when he thought of her earlier words, they had considerable obstacles to overcome and her friend adding more idiotic ideas into the mix didn't help at all.

They rode in silence, even when they reached the horses she had mounted up without comment; he had hoped her horse might be the source of some banter. He wasn't fond of small talk but he wanted to speak to her, wanted them to part on good terms.

They got back into the city with no effort since the guards were too busy watching the whores trying to lure lonely men to the brothel, they paid no attention to a man and woman walking quietly past.

Maria held the book against her stomach. She wasn't exactly happy to be holding it at all hadn't she spent the past months trying to ignore the emotional impact of Robert's actions. Now here she was carrying the very thing which would answer some of her questions and good or bad she would have to accept it.

Now close to her home she tried to think of a way to break the ice with the assassin, he hadn't done anything wrong, neither of them had. Not even the kiss had been wrong; she found it sweet that he had mimicked what she had done to him the previous night. If she had been a tiny bit braver they would probably still be up there now and she had to admit a certain amount of regret that it didn't happen that way. There was no denying it now, she was attracted to him. Not a real problem if they avoided each other for a while surely it would pass?

Finally at her door she knew he would bid her a polite good night and leave but he deserved better than that, they had passed a pleasant evening.

Then she remembered something she had planned to mention much sooner...

"Tell your man I like to sleep late, so it would be pointless of him to arrive before noon."

His hood had been back in place long before they left the hills but she could see the confusion on his face. Then the understanding... "Maria his being here was a coincidence, he mentioned in his report having seen a woman dressed as a man and I knew it was you."

She pulled him closer to the torch the landlord left burning and pretended to scrutinise his face. He was about to say more but she stopped him. "Relax I believe you, you might well be the only assassin in the world who knows I mean nothing to the Templars now."

He wanted to start this night over, and live the first few hours again.

"I should go up now, it's getting late." He nodded but stayed where he was, as did she. "Thank you for showing me the ruins, I had a nice time and I made a new friend."

He was about to ask but figured it out, "You actually intend to purchase the horse?"

She smiled but didn't reply, yet didn't leave.

"Maria, you said tip toe, I am unfamiliar with this term."

"It literally means to walk on your toes but it can mean tread carefully, take small steps."

Understanding he nodded, "Ah like darim?"

She had no idea what darim meant but she liked the sound of it.

A/N So I took liberties with Darim but it felt okay to me to abuse it just this once.

There really is a Roman gymnasium on Acre but I couldn't find out where the ruins are so I made it up, and moved it outside the walls so it could be a surprise for Maria