With the sun at his back his body was encircled by a corona of ethereal light but Maria never for a second stopped to consider the beauty of that light. Squinting up at him she smirked "I'm sure you like all men were raised to believe the sun shines out of your arse and in the last few seconds of your life it might comfort you to know that from here it actually looks to be true."

His body was blackened out by the strong light at his back hiding his expression of pure disgust but his voice managed to convey his feelings for the woman. "Uncouth, vile wench I fail to see what the noble Lord of Anjou saw in you."

Flattered rather than offended that such a limp man was offended by her Maria chose to enlighten him, "Robert had his faults but he was a strong man, not a delicate soft cock like you."

Pulling her leg out from beneath the dead soldier she drew it back towards her body wincing at the bolt of pain this sent through her side. She knew he would think she was trying to gain her feet but Maria had no such intentions, with her blade stuck fast in the other man's chest she needed to reach her boot. The cell had been pitch black when Maria's fingers had scrambled along the instruments of pain on the wall and when she first felt the rod her hand had drawn back from it almost as though it held echoes of its past deeds. It was about 6 inches long and not more than half an inch at its widest point as it tapered to a thin deadly point at its edge. Her mind had been unable or more likely unwilling to conceive what its purpose had been but it was the perfect size to hide beneath the soft leather of her boot and it was this very thing she needed to reach now.

Shifting her rump along the ground she carried on with her masquerade of attempting to gain her feet exaggerating the pain the movements caused and taking short agonised breathes -anything to make her seem weaker than she was. He was of course closing any distance she put between them with one step forward but her left leg was now beneath her buttocks and her hand was able to work the weapon free unseen. "You know you're dead don't you?"

He made no reply to her question but the truth of her statement was undeniable, even after he killed her the men he could hear approaching would end him with ease. "Perhaps so Maria but then I'm forced to wonder how much truth you spoke. Were you his prisoner or are you more to him. Would he be willing to spare me to save you?"

This time his words did hit a nerve. Despite the fact she had killed four of his men he still refused to see her as a threat, still felt she was waiting for a rescue. With her fingers curling around the cold rusty steel she waited for him to make his move but it seemed waiting was not to be an option. As the first flash of Altaïr's white robes caught the Englishman's eye he lunged at her and painfully grabbed the soft flesh of her upper arm. She saw Stephen race around the corner directly behind Altaïr and she wanted to scream at them to go away, that she had this under control but it was out of her hands. Yanking her up to her feet his voice was almost maniacal as he screamed at the men approaching. "Come any closer and she dies."

She let him hoist her fully to her feet before she swung the hand bearing the rod at his face. There was a dreadful sound as steel met bone and the rod cut an easy path through the thick frontal skull between his eyes. She was almost shocked at the speed and ease with which the metal forced its unforgiving route to his brain. The brutal nature of the injury had her stepping away from him sure he was finished but when he started to speak her steps were fuelled by confusion and fear.

"I have... power... men... homes." A thick stream of blood spilled down the centre of his face reaching his mouth which was still offering his defiant refusal to accept death. "No-something-butter..."

Morbid fascination had stilled her feet as she watched the man try to speak to them and she began to wonder if he really was going to die. Holding her body back from him she reached cautiously for the sword hanging impotently from his right arm and took it from his grasp.

He staggered forward for the first time showing any real sign of discomfort as his words became an incoherent collection of sounds. "Ashum neh fah-"

"In the name of God Maria finish him." It was Stephen who spoke but his words were futile. She saw the left arm of her lover swipe across the small Englishman's neck and she knew that his end had come.

With the threat now over the adrenaline which had kept her moving dissipated giving way to exhaustion and pain. Burying the tip of Thomas' sword into the dusty earth she tried to balance on the hilt to bear some of her weight but she stumbled and fell to her knee. Altaïr moved quickly to her side and attempted to lay her flat on the ground but she resisted. "I simply want to examine your wound Maria."

He heard her strangled sob and watched as anger battled with fatigue, "You left me." She was close to tears now but was it frustration or pain?

"I made a mistake but it won't happen again and we will discuss it later for now lie back and let me see how bad this is." His hand was clutching at her blood soaked tunic trying to lift it enough to see what damage she had suffered.

Another agonised cry from her as she let her upper body flop to the ground and lay still waiting to hear what she already knew. "It's not deep but we do need to close it up before you lose anymore blood."

Stephen joined them on the ground and began making his own checks on his friend. "We have a lot to talk about Maria, I met with my father and I believe we can come to a peaceful solution."

She groaned and closed her eyes wishing she could pass out. Her brain felt like it was pounding in her skull and she knew any movement at all would likely end with her vomiting over the men tending to her wound. She kept her eyes and her mouth shut as she felt the sharp point of the needle pierce her skin over and over. Altaïr had produced it from one of his pouches and Maria remembered a time on a boat when she had considered rummaging through those pouches of his to see what they contained.

Stephen was chattering away to her believing he was distracting her from the unpleasant pull of the thread but he was for the most part unsuccessful, it hurt like hell and every second that passed only increased her discomfort. She used the time instead to gather her thoughts and try to fashion some sort of plan of action.

"There now that wasn't so bad." Once again it had been Stephen who spoke; Altaïr had not uttered a word since her head hit the ground.

Then, the deep soothing voice of the man she loved. "Do you feel able to stand?" She felt his hand slide behind her back as he gently raised her from the ground. His other hand took her arm and lifted her to her feet all the while staying behind ready to catch her should she fall. She turned slowly to face him still unsure of her aching body and smiled, "Thank you."

His expression was still full of concern as he took in the dull pallor of her skin and knew she had lost enough blood to weaken her greatly. Her clothes were filthy and most of her hair had come free from its usual prison and hung in loose messy waves around her face. She looked more fragile than he would ever have thought possible and his heart hurt to see her so but the small upturn at the corner of her mouth reassured him slightly. She leaned in close and delicately caressed his cheek with her mouth. "I would have struggled to get back off this hill, thank you for finding me."

He kept his face close to hers as he whispered his reply, "I'll always find you Maria."

Tahir and Uilleam had kept themselves out of the way when they men were sewing Maria back together but now she was on her the feet the novice moved toward her determined to make amends for his earlier error. "Maria, I-"

The Master of the assassin had turned his attention to his novice and missed the sight which stopped the boy's words mid sentence, he may have missed the sight but he felt the full impact of Maria Thorpe's fist connecting with his temple. "What the hell...?" Swaying slightly he spun around in time to catch her left arm before that fist could deliver another blow. "What are you doing?"

With both of his hands engaged in keeping her knuckles from his bones he had to resort to using his leg to block the kicks she aimed at his genitals. "You left me you dog! Who the hell do you think you are and more to the point who the hell do you think I am that I would tolerate such treatment?"

Stephen initially stood back from the spectacle but after a few more wild swings from her legs he moved to her and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her back. Laughing he tried to soothe the wild woman, "Steady on old girl you will only harm yourself if you keep this up."

She threw her head back and slammed it against his face, "You are no fucking better you tosspot!"

The arms which had hoisted her into the air immediately let go leaving her to land in a heap on the ground.

"You're a god-damned lunatic! You broke my bloody nose."

Spitting and snarling she made to lunge again but sudden weight on her back pinned her to the ground. Altaïr dropped in front of her and took hold of her hands pulling her arms out to their fullest and holding them still. She had completely expected it to be him she would have to wrestle with to get from the ground but with his presence in front of her confusion reigned albeit briefly.

'If not him on my back then who...?'

Then she knew... "Tahir you back stabbing sneaky little bucket of piss, get off me! You have until the count of ten to remove yourself from my being. If I reach ten and you are still on me I will kill you."

"He left me in the woods too Maria. Believe me when I tell you that I'm only holding you down to protect you from yourself, you have lost a great deal of blood and this pointless exertion will only worsen your condition." He waited until her struggles ceased and continued, "When this is over and you are safe and well you can kill me but until then you will just have to suffer me."

Altaïr watched as she assimilated his words sure that she would spring to life any second and make straight for the young man's throat but instead he felt the tension in her arms lessen and saw her shoulders drop in submission. If this surprised him her words all but startled him.

"You're right Tahir I cannot possibly hope to exact suitable revenge from these cretins in my current condition, you can let me up now I won't try anything else for now..."

Without further consideration the novice lifted himself from her back and held out his hand to assist her from the ground. "I'm sorry if I hurt you Maria."

Her face was still pallid and her flesh was covered in a light sheen of sweat when she stood at her full height and looked him dead in the eye. "You couldn't hurt me if you tried my boy." Lifting her head to the giant boy standing a few feet away from them she grinned; "Now between you and this useless lump of a boy over there we need to get me off this damn hill."

Malik watched the boys as they trudged wearily towards the fortress. Rauf had put them through a gruelling training session and the boys looked like they would pay someone to carry them to their beds. 'Shame I have other plans for them.'

Moving from the wall overlooking the training ring he walked towards them. "Rashid, Farim I have a task for you." He stopped walking and waited for them to reach him, "Go to the home of the blacksmith in the village and ask him to meet me at the fort at his earliest convenience."

Both boys looked at the steep hill behind them before facing him again but neither dared object. Qasir the youngest of the three boys who had bullied Tazim had already fallen by the wayside and left the fortress over a week ago. Malik knew Rashid would not break in fact he was beginning to believe they couldn't punish him any more than he punished himself but Farim was another matter entirely. Malik had never been able to take to the boy but had never been able to pin point what is was he didn't like about him until recently when he watched his grovelling attempts to endear himself to the still recovering Abbas. Rushing back and forth playing fetch and carry was hardly going to bring redemption but a fully fledged assassin to protect him from the harsh words of the other brothers was clearly more important to the slippery boy.

"We will leave at once Dai." Rashid bowed and turned to leave but Malik wasn't finished speaking.

"Not so fast Rashid I have further instructions." He watched as the boy's face reddened and smiled, "Tomorrow you are to resume your normal training with the other novices all rank has been restored."

Rashid looked from his friend to the master assassin not sure how to react and like Farim he waited to see if Malik had any words for the other novice who had been demoted but Malik simply turned and began walking back to the fortress. Rashid looked sympathetically at his brother and shrugged his shoulders but Farim simply scowled and turned on his heels towards the village. Rashid's step was considerably lighter than it had been moments before even if he did feel some pity for Farim he couldn't hide his joy at his own good fortune. Then Malik's voice calling after them had them both turning once more to him, Farim with a real look of hope in his eyes.

"Oh and Rashid feel free to visit Tazim's graveside but do not let it interfere with your other duties."

He put his foot on the first of the steps which led to the entrance of the fortress and smirked. Farim had far from proved himself and Malik would now wait to see how the boy handled this latest setback after all the true measure of any man is how he handles setbacks.

Short I know but I have to submit this chapter and move on this was such a pain in the arse to write, I hated it!