Chapter 7:1

1776, June 28th

I got to the plaza much too late.

People were leaving the place with renewed hopes in their faces and even occasional cheering and I quickly understood that something miraculous had happened. My rapidly beating heart calmed down and I could finally take a break. Something great must have happened, I thought and wiped the rainwater and sweat off my forehead. Is there maybe a God?

"I'm so happy he got help in time!"

I raised my gaze from the muddied ground and tried to find the speaker. It was a woman walking with her husband, her cheeks flushed with excitement and joy. I listened intently to each and every word she said.

"It was doomed to fail eventually," replied the man dryly. He wasn't at all as frantic as his wife but still seemed content with the course of events. "Those Regulars; their tyranny was bound to nothing else but this."

The woman nodded in agreement. "I have always sided with the rebels in all secrecy, Mr Reed, but now I think it's even safe to scream loudly for the Sons of Liberty!"

She raised a fist to the sky, drenching her woolen coat sleeve and her husband pulled it back under the safety of the umbrella while laughing in amusement. "Stop it, my dear, you are drawing everybody else's attention."

"So what if I do, they all agree with me," said the woman ferociously and reminded me so much of my aunt that I for a second thought it was her. "We are finally free."

They then started to walk faster and scurried through an alley to my right. I didn't bother following them for more information; the short bit of their conversation I had intercepted was enough for me to understand the most vital. Connor had survived after all.

He's alive.

I was cold everywhere but I refused to return back to my home even though I had the answer for my question. There was a fear that slowly consumed me as I stiffly walked towards the scene where the execution had been to occur, curious to what I was soon about to see. Whenever the Assassin collided with the Templars or the Redcoats, it resulted in a heavy loss for the latter, since – at least what I had seen thus far – Connor was practically invincible.

I instinctively grimaced. The word "invincible" was abject for me to use but nothing else could fit the description of him. He could mislead, stealth, fight, shoot, hide and most of all believe that he fought for justice. Something I just couldn't; I questioned everything. Had he been born in a different way, perhaps he would've ended up as a Templar. What an irony, after all.

"Clean this mess up! Someone bring a wagon to carry away this corpse!"

A guard was standing on a wooden crate and shouted orders above my head. I ignored him and continued forward, until I finally found what I had been looking for.

The dead body of Thomas Hickey.

I knew you would die soon, I thought without sadness and examined his face. He looked to have died slowly, his jaw twisted in a demonic grin of pain, and without the calmness that his precursors had possessed after being killed by Connor. Mr. Hickey had been a brute of a man, taking and talking whatever he wanted, and it had been of no secrecy that I had disliked him at start.

The rain had stopped. I knelt next to his dead body and scrutinized his injuries. Blood lay spread across his chest and I guessed that he had either been shot or hit in the chest by a weapon too blunt to cut but enough sharpened to cause great damage at impact. After a moment of hesitation, I closed his opened eyelids and held his cold, dead hands in mine.

"May God bless you and your legacy for having been faithful to the Cause," I whispered and closed my eyes as well. "You've served us well, now rest forever in peace."

"A man like him would prefer a less sentimental speech at his death."

I dropped Mr. Hickey's lifeless limbs and hurried to stand. My teacher stood in front of me and looked at me with the tiniest glint of humor sparkling his dark eyes. He eyed me up and down – making me realize how horrible I must look – and offered me his coat. I tried to deny him but he stubbornly hung the heavy garment over my shoulders and tucked my arms into the sleeves.

"Thank you, sir," I mumbled. My fingers were almost numb with cold and I understood just then how much I actually was freezing. "But I'm completely soaked and dirty, this coat-"

"-Can be washed and replaced," he replied as a matter of fact. "Nothing to worry about." Master Kenway placed his hand on my shoulder and his features turned concerned. "Is everything alright? Do you feel nauseous?"

I shook my head and gave him a grateful smile. "Sir, nothing, I feel normal," I replied quickly. "It was my fault that I brought no jacket with me."

"Not that." He paused and seemed troubled. "Thomas is lying here dead in front of us and you don't seem bothered at all. You touched his dead body and even prayed for him."

I furrowed my brows, not understanding what he wanted to have said. "Excuse me, but I can't really seem to follow your thought, sir."

He sighed and took off his hat in honor of the fallen Templar. My teacher crouched down to the corpse of Mr. Hickey and pulled off a muddied ring from the corpse's finger, then put it in the safety of his pocket.

"I fear you're growing too cold," he admitted and then rose up. His eyes were grave as they met mine. "There's of course nothing wrong with being so abundant with faith for the Templars, but stay vigilant and learn about life from other perspectives as well, Melissa. I'm not claiming that you are doing wrong when acknowledging such a sacrificing obligation you carry with such... unquestionable loyalty, but I fear sometimes that I made the wrong choice when I accepted such a young heart and mind like yours into the Brotherhood." Mr. Kenway put on his hat again and then gave me a reassuring pat on my head. "I have come to appreciate your company too well and have during these years of your service thought it to be obvious to have you around, but it's really up to you if you want to continue being part of the Templars."

It took me a while to answer to this since his words shook my very being of mind. I had never thought it in that way, that I was just so used to obeying and serving him that I had forgotten that life offered me other options. It was almost scary when I realized how blindly my loyalty went – almost crossing into madness – and I pondered for a long time. Mr. Kenway waited silently for my answer and gestured for me to follow him as a group of soldiers came to carry away Mr. Hickey's body.

I sighed and walked behind him until we reached an empty alleyway. Warmth was slowly spreading all over my body and I could finally move my fingers again. A streak of sun suddenly appeared from behind a heavy cloud and broke through the haziness of the city. I squinted with my eyes and instinctively held up a hand to shady my vision.

"Now... Melissa, this is very important for you to answer in all honesty."

Mr. Kenway finally terminated the awkward silence between the two of us and looked at me. His hazelnut-colored eyes were concerned and he continued in seriousness. "I don't want you to be dragged into all of this," he gestured towards the market-place behind us, "and feel forced. This is a war and you are more than aware of the horrible situation that can occur and are occurring all over the country."

He paused when two sailors passed us. They eyed him suspiciously but as they looked at me, their expressions grew calm and they proceeded to walk without bothering with us any more. As soon as they had disappeared out of earshot, Mr. Kenway spoke again.

"You see what happened?" he asked and I shook my head. "They thought I would be trouble, but when they realized that we were in company, they changed their minds and immediately saw me as your father." My teacher smiled ever so slightly. "Not that I would mind that; you've made me very proud."

I opened my mouth to reply but he held up a finger to silence me. "You've been an excellent ally, Melissa, and you deserve to choose for yourself. Will you follow me or not?"

"S-sir," I stammered. "Could I have a moment to think, please?"

He nodded and I turned away from him, my gaze immediately fixating on the ground. My body had regained its usual strength and I clenched my fists.

How should I do? I bit my lower lip. I would never have been this strong without Mr. Kenway's help, but is my will really my own? I can't know for sure. He mended me into who I am today and pushed me beyond limits of what a child should endure. I've seen horrible things and done even more horrible things and all because of him.

But I've also grown and matured as someone my age will never understand, I thought, feeling oddly enlightened. He helped me see the world in another perspective and made me feel powerful. He's given me everything I have today and still wants to give me more: my independence. There is nothing wrong with serving honorable men and to die for them; that's what war has taught me. Mr. Kenway is probably the closest to honorable as one could get, if not the embodiment of the Templar's epitome of justice and freedom, and it would be most disrespectful to deny him of my loyalty. It would be terribly shameful to back down now.

But then again, I would feel that I belonged to myself and not to a secret society.

"Sir," I said with a steady voice and turned around to face him.

He had been gazing off into the all bluer sky with much observance and lowered his gaze to meet mine. "Have you made your decision?"

I nodded and took off his heavy coat, giving it to him with gentle hands. Mr. Kenway received it and watched me in anticipation as I finally answered.

"I'll always stay you loyal, sir."