Okay, I'm really trying hard not to be that person that takes a month to update a chapter, but life happens. Especially this weekend, Saturday through Monday I'm going on a vacation with my family. You know, a last big thing before the school year starts. So, to keep up with my chapters I'mgonna be typing them on my Ipod and uploading it from there but I don't know if I'm gonna have Wifi so forgive me for the three day disappearance. I'll make it up to you guys with multiple chapter updates again!

Onward!

Chapter 9: The Aftermath

I blearily blinked open my eyes and stared at the pattern on the pillow I was resting on. I looked around and tried to shake off my exhaustion. I was in my room with the afternoon sun shining through the window. I forced my very sore body to uncurl itself and fan out my convulsing wings. Looking around in the light of day I saw there was still no blood anywhere besides on my robes from the battle.

I fingered the scar on my chest and replayed the day through my sluggish mind. I healed Altair, I thought. But how? I just pulled a feather and said "Heal". How could that save Altair's life? Then, I remembered that foreign feeling when the gold had floated through the air. It felt like something I hadnever used before had come forward and opened up like a flower, giving me power. The power to heal Altair.

I looked down at the red irritated scar and sighed, No. I took his injury away and brought it upon myself. But I won't die from a wound I heal. I thought back to how the gold had brought me out of the 'water of death'. The gold that came from me won't let me die from healing.

I closed my eyes and laid a hand in the warm sun. I wonder if I've always been able to do that. It could be useful in the future. I take on the pain and injury as the price of helping someone. Not too bad of a thing really, seeing how I live and heal form whatever I take. It's just very inconvenient.

I opened my eyes with a sigh and sat up, feeling a bit more a wake. I looked up at the sun through my window. It was midday. Wasn't it midday when the battle ended? Does that mean I slept through an entire day? I couldn't bring myself to be concerned that I missed training or anything. I had been so tired yesterday.

I picked myself up and went about getting dressed. I put my bloody clothes in a pile to take down to the laundry ladies. I buckled on my hidden blade and made a mental note of things to do. First, I'll find out what happened after I left and news on Altair. Next, I'll drop off my robes to be washed. Then, I go to the blacksmith and replace my knives. After that, I'll visit Altair wherever they have him. If he was still asleep like yesterday then I'll clean my weapons while waiting for him to wake up. If he was awake I'd track him down and see how he was doing. Following that, I'd go see the harem women and waste some time. Finally, I'd pick up my robes from the laundry ladies and head to dinner.

I double check my appearance before unlocking my door and striding out into the hall with my dirty robes in arm. I took a quite a few turns to reach the laundry ladies big washing room on the other side of the castle. I dropped them off and told the lady who had appeared that I'll be back at the end of the day. Like expected they were absolutely swamped with clothes to wash from most of the castle's inhabitants.

I left the noisy room behind and made my way through the hall ways and out through the courtyard. Business was going on as usual: Novices in the rink, scholars walking around with thoughtful looks, and Assassins chatting and talking from places all over the courtyard. I walked to the right after leaving the door way to the blacksmiths' building. Upon entering I was blasted with a beautiful heat and the acidic smell of heated metal being worked. Apprentices were running this way and that and working over the anvil with a hammer or working on the fire. I approached the blacksmith and tapped him on the shoulder.

The big man turned to me with a scowl, "What do you want? I'm busy." His voice was deep and gruff but could be heard over the sound of metal work easily.

"I need 15 throwing knives," I answered, motioning to my empty sheathes on my shoulder and sides.

The blacksmith pointed to three boxes on a shelf. "Those are the throwing knives I have ready right now. Take what you need and get out. I have work to do!" With that he turned and began bellowing at a very frightened apprentice. I went to the boxes and took each knife out one at a time, testing their balance and shape to make sure they were made correctly and to my satisfaction.

After exiting the blacksmith's building I began to walk aimlessly and slowly around the courtyard, tuning my ears to information on Altair's whereabouts and condition. There was talk about the damage to the village, which wasn't as bad as it had been in the past, men who had fallen in battle, the Templars, Altair's punishment, and finally, what had happened to him. I sat down against a wall and tuned my ears to the faint words between two Journeymen.

"You mean he's still alive?" one demanded in shock. "I heard the Master had stabbed him!"

The other nodded. "And the Master did do so. But he was brought back to life by this golden light. It healed him!"

"You lie, Brother," the first one scoffed. "Golden light?Really? Could you not have come up with something better than that?"

The second Journeymen stiffened, "But it's true. I saw—Never mind. What matters is that he's still alive and in the infirmary. I hear he still sleeps even though a day has passed."

The first Journeymen who had spoken growled, "He should be killed again for what he has done. This time for good. I lost a friend in the battle!"

I sighed as I stood up and made my way to the medical wing of the castle. Altair is going to have more hostility directed at him than ever before. But at least he is alive to experience it. I came upon the big wooden door and pushed it open. Inside every single bed was taken up by a wounded Brother and the healers moved around to try and make them more comfortable while they recuperated. I walked down the room and looked at all the beds, trying to find Altair. I finally located him at the very end of the room. He was still in his bloody robes and weapons. I caught the arm of a passing healer's apprentice. "Please send someone to Altair's room to get spare robes and shirts," I ordered once he looked up. The boy of 12 years nodded and went up to another boy, telling him to do as I said.

I pulled up a chair and sat by Altair's side. His chest rose and sank with each deep breath and I felt relief and happiness. I really had healed him. He was going to be alright. Given that he woke up soon. I waited patiently for the boy to come back with Altair's clothes and took them from him with a thank you when he came back a few minutes later.

I set them aside and began to unbuckle his weapons, setting them next to my chair. I would clean them along with my weapons. I then pulled Altair's unconscious body up into a sitting position and begun to awkwardly pull his robes up and over his head, which is much easier said than done. Afterstruggling for a while I finally had his robes and all his shirts off.

My face heated as I stared done at his bare, very muscled chest dusted lightly with brown chest hair. His body looked like armor itself, hard enough to take a blow and come away unscathed. There were plenty of scars dotting his chest. I found myself staring a bit too long at his 8-pack—an 8-pack!—and chest before biting my cheek, hard, and focusing on dressing the man.

I stopped when I saw the scar under his breast bone. It was exactly like mine, right down to each jagged edge. I traced it with a gloved finger before I realized what was doing and snatched my hand back. I picked up a shirt and hurriedly dressed Altair. I did so with a blush on my cheeks and only relaxed a bit when I put him in his clean robes. I observed his peaceful sleeping face. He looked so relaxed right now: not hiding his emotions or thoughts. He just looked like he was…content.

I shook my head and sat back, pulling out my cloth and oil to clean mine and Altair's weapons. My mind slowly went blank as I went about the tedious task, going from blade to blade without thinking as I cleaned them to perfection. After a while my thoughts came back and went to my reaction to seeing Altair without his shirts or robes. It was so strange. I'd seen a lot of boys and men without their shirts on and I'd never felt this way. When I'd taken off Altair's last shirt I'd felt the almost irresistible urge to run my bare hands over his skin to feel the taunt muscles underneath. I wanted to trace each scar and ask him how he'd gotten them. I wanted to run my bare hands through his chest hair to see if it was as soft as it looked.

That blush returned. I was ashamed of myself. I shouldn't being feeling these things towards Altair. We were companions at most, just beginning to trust each other and here I was, wanting to invade his personal space and touch his body without his consent. It was just wrong. Wrong wrong wrong.

I put aside the last blade and arrange Altair's weapons neatly by his bed so he could find them when he woke up. It felt a lot better to have clean weapons again and it was a weight off my mind. I picked up Altair's bloody robes and looked at the cut Al Mualim's dagger had made. There were similar cuts in all of his tunics so I took out a thread and needle form my many pouches and began sewing. It was a good thing I was wearing leather gloves or else my fingers would be bleeding horribly when I was done. I wasn't good at sewing. Women were supposed to be but I only learned the basics so I could patch up my clothes. I sighed with satisfaction once the last tunic was done and motion another apprentice over to me. I gave him the newly patched up clothes, "Take these down to the laundry ladies and pick them up later to take to Altair's room." He took them and went off to obey me.

I stood up from my chair and stretched my sore back. Looking down at Altair's sleeping face I could resist drawing a finger along his strong square jaw. "Wake up soon," I murmured before turning and leaving the infirmary.

It was getting close to the evening by now. There was maybe an hour before dinner was served. I made my way from the infirmary to the gardens. My eyes hadn't even adjusted to the light when I was literally tackled to the ground. So many bodies hit me that I didn't have a chance of staying up right. I grunted as I hit the ground and the air left my lungs. My ears rang with shrieks of joy.

"Shahin!"

"You came back!"

"You're alright!"

"We're so happy to see you!"

I looked down to see five women hugging me tightly and blushed. So many women and absolutely no boundaries. "I'm happy to see you all to, but I can hardly breathe. So can you get up?" I wheezed, trying to get my lungs to remember how to take in air.

Aneesa shook her head from her customary spot latched on my arm. The other four shook their head as well. "No!" they chorused.

I looked up at the overjoyed faces of the women standing around me. "What's this about?" I asked in a slightly stronger voice.

I finally took in a lungful of air as Ablaa answered with teary eyes, "We thought you were dead!"

Even calm and collected Saabira had tears in her eyes as she explained, "When we heard there was a battle yesterday and you didn't come to us after words or this morning we assumed that you'd… you had…" She stopped and held a delicate hand up to her mouth to stop a sob.

My heart went out for them as I finally understood. I rubbed the back of a crying Aneesa and another woman who had tackled me. "Well it's obvious that I'm not. I just couldn't come before now. I had to take care of my equipment and a companion of mine. I was out there fighting Templars when they first came in and I was tired once the battle was over."

Lateefa dropped to her knees and laid a hand on my shoulder as a tear escaped, "Next time just come by for a second and tell us you're alright. We were so worried."

I frowned, "I'm sorry. I would've told you I was alright if I thought you all would react like this."

Ablaa frowned too and demanded, "You didn't think be worried about you dying?" I shook my head and she huffed. "Well we are worried!"

"I'm sorry," I murmured. I thought back to after I healed Altair and accepted death, thinking no one would miss me or want me around. Apparently I was wrong. These women did want me around. That thought brought the warmth in my chest back and I hummed softly, unable to stop for a moment.

We were interrupted when a voice called out, "Shahin!" I had a moment of déjà vu of when Altair had called out to get me away from the women. I twisted my head and felt my heart jump in anticipation of seeing Altair awake, but I was disappointed to only see Rauf waiting for me in the doorway from the castle to the gardens, raising an eyebrow at my situation.

I felt my blush creep up to my ears as I called back, "Yes,Rauf?"

"The Master wishes to see you," he announced looking from the teary women hugging me to the ground and circling me. "He said as soon as you can go and see him."

I felt my stomach drop. I didn't want to see the old man. I was still angry about him stabbing Altair. I was alsoapprehensive of how he was slowly turning red in my Eagle Vision dreading why he suddenly wanted to see me. "Thank you for telling me." Rauf nodded and disappeared into the castle. I tapped the shoulders of the women and said, "Looks like the old man has chosen me instead of you women this time, huh?"

They burst out laughing as I had intended. Aneesa and the other women got off of me and I got to my feet. Ablaa wiped away any remaining tears, grinning, "You saved us from a very enduring night then."

Aneesa hugged my arm briefly before letting go, "We can give you advice if you like."

I shook my head and walked towards the castle, "No thank you. I promise to come back tomorrow." They called their goodbyes and I went through the door way to the right and up the stairs to the upper floor of the library where Al Mualimkeeps his desk and notes. I approached the old man, who was looking out the big window and down into the courtyard below. "You summoned me, Master?" I called softly, bowing with my right fist over my heart like I should.

He turned a little and saw me. "Ah. Shahin. Thank you for coming. Please step forward." I came forward and stood on the little circle that had the Assassins symbol on it. I waited for him to turn to me and tell me why I was here. "I've been told of what you did in yesterday's battle," he murmured.

I felt a little relief. Good. I wasn't in trouble.

"And I must day that I'm impressed. Looks like you have kept Templars from invading yet again." He leafed through the notes on his enormous desk.

I shook my head and replied, "I had help this time, Master. And I did not stop them: merely held some of the back."

He nodded and looked at me with his one good eye under his black hood. "Yes. From what I'm told you took command of the ten guards, most of them Journeymen, at the gate and led them into holding back most of the Templars army. And not a single one of your men died. Only one suffered an injury. Those men told me that without you they would've been dead. They say of how your knives would come at the moment they needed help while you were fighting your own Templars." He paused before saying, "If you were not already a Master Assassin I would have made you one after yesterday."

I bowed my head, "You are very generous, Grand Master."

He waved his hand in dismissal, "No I am not. You would've earned it. I called you here to congratulate you on a job very well done, and I wished to reward you in some way, though I have no idea of what to give you. Do you wish for anything? Better quarters? Better weapons?"

The idea came to mind and I shook my head, "I only wish to know what you plan to do with Altair."

"Altair?" he repeated quickly and a bit angrily. He snapped his head towards me, "Why do you care about him after his failure?"

I hesitated before saying, "Altair and I have gotten close recently and I am worried about his fate since he did not die." I bowed my head submissively and listened to the pause, feeling the old man examining me critically.

After a silence several moments long he finally answered, "I plan on giving him a chance to redeem himself."

"How would he do this?"

Another pause. "I will strip him of his rank so that he will be a Novice again and send him out to kill 9 men who are a plague to the Holy Land. With each mission he will gather his own information on each target like a Novice would and then strike them down. With each target successfully eliminated Iwill restore a rank and a piece of equipment. I do this in the hope that it will remind him of what it is to be an Assassin and to respect the creed."

"Nine lives for his own," I mused. "That is very generous, Grand Master. But what should happen if Altair cannot properly defend himself without his equipment while out on his missions? What if he falls by an enemy blade?" I didn't like the idea at all of Altair with only a limited amount of weapons. I wanted him to be able to defend himself properly. I wanted to be there to protect him.

Al Mualim 'hmm'ed and turned back to the window again, "I had planned on trusting him to remain alive, but, now that I think about it again, may be I should send someone along with him." A pause before he said, "I will think on it. You may go."

I had taken a few glad steps away from the old man when I stopped and faced him again. "Grand Master?" I called for a second time.

"What is it, my child?" he asked, not turning away from his thoughts or the window.

"I thought you might want to know that someone inside the village opened the gates to let the Templar army in."

He turned and looked at me. Nodding, he answered, "Thank you for telling me this. I will get someone on this right away."

I bowed my right fist over my heart again. "Thank you, Master. This eases my worries." Then, I turned and quickly strode out. Nothing could get me away from the old man fast enough.

Another chapter and this is more of a filler chapter. I didn't think it would be right if I jumped right to where Altair wakes up so I came up with this. It actually came out better and longer than I thought it would. But I need your guys help. I'm stuck on thinking up an ability for Altair that would be unique to him like healing will be unique toShahin. I'm looking for an offensive ability that Altair could use in battle but I don't want anything too superhero-y. PM me your ideas please!

Safety and Peace, Brothers and Sisters! :-P.

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