Inside Her World
Part 3
"You have to be with me now."
"Why?"
"Because, I said so."
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The sun began setting down in Florence shining its last rays on the burnt maroon rooftops of the buildings. The night began to fall and the people moved more actively, as if the slothfulness from the bright day disappeared like a djinn back to its golden lamp. Leona stood near Piazza San Marco and observed the building with interest; the people passed her without showing any awareness of a lonely assassin standing in the middle a road. She pulled her hood up and gave the surroundings a quick glance with the help of her Eagle Vision. The target popped up in golden glow immediately on one of the rooftops of a tall building. It seemed like the target was hiding in a haystack; tempted to know who that is Leona began to climb the walls and jump on lonely balconies covered in flowers.
She finally reached the haystack that worked as a hiding place for the mysterious person inside. Leona smiled as she stood over it and checked again if the target noticed her or not. They seemed to be asleep with their lack of movement and hands behind their head. The girl did not think twice before jumping in the haystack right on top of the being. She pressed her hidden blades against the target's throat and looked up with a gasp noticing a wide grin on their face.
"Buona sera, Leona." The target looked up at the shocked girl above them.
"M-Mentor," she muttered under her breath with her eyes wide open. "Oh my God, I am so sorry!" She pulled her hands behind shifting the blades back into their original state. "What are you doing here? You showed up as a target when I activated my Eagle Vision." She said looking down at the smiling Ezio; the man seemed to enjoy the position they both were in. The girl blushed and tried to get up from an unsuitable pose she was using to sit on top of her "target," yet the man tightly wrapped his hands around her waist not letting to stand up.
"I need to talk to you." He said softly gazing up at Leona's red face. The girl nodded ready to listen to her teacher without interrupting. "Altair Ibn La-Ahad is in Florence right now." He said with his expression becoming more serious. "He wanted to see you back in Jerusalem, but some odd corruption of time periods kicked you out." He said stroking Leona's side a little as if trying to calm her down from the new shocking news.
"He had to travel into my time period in order to find you, but as it seems he can't get to you yet. " Ezio continued, gazing around the haystack, he already knew that the night has embraced the beloved city. "He spoke to me and told me to give you this." He got out a feather covered in blood from under his robes and held it up. Leona stared at the object for a long moment before taking it with a trembling hand.
"Mentor…" She whispered. "I already received one from Altair, what is the meaning of this?" Her gaze was now on interrupting between the assassin and the feather.
"He told me that you have to find an answer by yourself, using your-"he was cut off by Leona's soft finger suddenly pressed upon his lips.
"My special talent, is that it?" The girl finished Ezio's sentence and received a nod from him. He kissed her finger and took her hand into his giving it a tight squeeze. "I still do not understand what to do… I have so much going on in my world right now." She sighed heavily and hid the feather in her little pouch that was fixed on a leather belt.
"I understand, and so does Altair, he told me that the feathers are representing people." He said placing soft kisses on Leona's shaking hand; the girl seemed to not take much notice of it, she sank deeply into her thoughts.
"Well a feather with blood on it means that the person has already died, but in my world there were no deaths near me, could it mean that the first feather was for Haytham's appearance?…" She asked herself while biting her lower lip nervously. "Then who is the second feather?" She looked back at Ezio but he wasn't there anymore. "Mentor…?" She asked looking around the haystack yet the assassin seemed to vanish in the air; even her Sight could not find a trace of Auditore, it just recognized the common people and some Templars around.
"What is going on here?" She jumped away from the haystack and began running toward the main entrance of the city in order to get on a horse and travel to Villa Monteriggioni in hope to find de Firenze there.
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"Haytham…" Her lips moved but now sound came out.
"Haytham, please, you promised…"
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"Mentor!" Leona ran into the Villa and looked around calling Ezio. "Mentor please, answer me! Mario Auditore, are you home?" She ran into the old uncle's office but did not see him there. "Claudia, dear are you here?" She checked the room where Ezio's beloved sister was always keeping track of income, yet she was not there, neither was Leonardo da Vinci at his little work place in the corner.
"Where is everyone?" She asked herself while making her way out of the Villa; suddenly someone's hand lied on top of Leona's shoulder making the girl jump in surprise. She turned around and found Altair standing near her with his soft eyes pinned to hers. "A-Altair?" She asked gasping. "Did you not get back to your time period?" She tilted her head puzzled when the Master Assassin shook his head with a no.
"I cannot go back, only forward." He said stroking Leona's shoulder. "You have a heavy burden on your fragile shoulders." The assassin looked down on the ground with a deep breath.
"What do you mean?" Leona arched her eyebrow not understanding the question. "And please do not tell me the same words you have said before, they worry me." She said trying to catch Altair's gaze, but it seemed as if he was purposely trying to escape her eyes.
"All is needed from you right now is trust and loyalty to the Creed." He said suddenly looking up and lightly grasping Leona's shoulders. "Your talent is growing, you must find the answer." Altair's voice suddenly became static as if he was a broken machine; the place around them began to fade.
"Altair, what is going on?" The girl exclaimed grabbing the assassin's now transparent shoulders.
"Only forward…" The voice was now heard from different directions.
The big screen into her world did not appear this time.
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The sharp blade pierced the air hitting its target successfully. Leona gasped realizing it was her end now. Haytham's blade was the one to pierce her flesh and leave her body to slowly fade on the floor. Questionably, no pain followed after she heard the blade's sharp noise crossing the air. Is that how death feels, or maybe she is already dead? Leona gulped and found some courage to open her eyes. Haytham was not in front of her anymore; he was somehow lying on the floor now, and by the painful groans Leona could tell there was something wrong. She then saw a throwing knife protruding from his hip; the girl was now in a state of great confusion.
"Leona Crowine?" A velvet voice suddenly called out from somewhere on the right. The girl, still puzzled and shocked of the past events that brought her to a near death, turned her head slightly in the direction of the sound. Oh, did God decide to give her a heart attack on this "fine" day?
Ezio Auditore da Firenze stood near the kitchen table with a soft smile on his lips. He watched Leona with worry on his eyes, his right hand was tightly holding on to another throwing knife.
"Y-yes…" Leona whispered collapsing to the ground with her vision beginning to fade. She felt the assassin's strong arms catch her in midair and wrap around her waist for support. The girl heard another distant hurtful moan from Kenway, and before losing her consciousness once again, she grabbed Ezio's collar and pulled on it. "Do not kill him, he must live." She whispered to Auditore's fuzzy figure that was fading from her gaze now. "Please, do it for me." She said passing out instantly as the last words trailed off.
Ezio glared up at Haytham that was breathing heavily and pressing his hand on top of the wound, the throwing knife that pierced his hip was in his other hand. The Templar glanced back at the assassin with disgust, but as he heard Leona's words, his eyes softened a bit.
"Will you fulfill her request?" He asked weakly with mockery and received a smirk from Ezio.
"No matter how much I want to kill you, I will do as this elegant signorina asked." Auditore quickly put Leona on a soft couch in the living room and covered her with a blanket that he found placed on the cabinet. He then walked over to the Templar and after cursing him with his best Italian "compliments", Kenway's wound was taken care of and bandaged up with utensils found in the little medical kit in a kitchen cabinet. The Templar gloomily thanked the assassin and offered some hot tea after swallowing his pride and sending it to hell. The Italian did not refuse such an offer from his worst enemy, but he still watched the Templar make the tea in case he decided to secretly put any poison in it.
After twenty minutes of silent drinking of the hot beverage, Haytham grew sick of constant slurping noises coming from the assassin that was clearly showing lack of knowledge in proper tea party. Kenway put his cup down and cleared him throat catching Ezio's attention almost instantly. Auditore carelessly put the drink aside and stared at the Grand Master with a puzzled look.
"Do not look at me like that; it is I who should be asking you a question of why the hell you are here?" Haytham leaned back in his chair and glanced at the peacefully sleeping Leona in the back of the living room. The beautiful sight was shortly blocked my Ezio leaning backwards a little so Kenway's eyes would meet his.
"Well, Signore," he started with a smile that many ladies of Italy would find charming; for Haytham is was evil and full of lies. "I came to meet Signorina Leona Crowine personally, but found her in a middle of a death scene, so I helped." He said putting his chin against his hands and pressing his elbows against the table. He leaned forward a bit making the Templar shift nervously in his seat. "And what are you doing here, Templar." Ezio's eyes narrowed at the Grand Master as he waited for his response.
"I am currently living with Leona." He said taking his cup and holding it up to his lips, after taking a short sip he lowered the cup and placed it back on its little plate. The cup made a quite clicking sound, yet the silence that surrounded the two men made it sound like thunder on a sunny day.
"Currently living here?" Auditore's eyebrows went up as his eyes got wider in surprise. "How can you live with an assassin?" He asked frowning afterwards as Haytham smirked while looking at the inside of his cup as if seeing something unreal in it.
"You see, Mr- uh, your name?" He looked up at Ezio with a hope of somehow softening the tension between them.
"Ezio Auditore da Firenze." The Italian snorted out and crossed his arms on his chest.
"Haytham Kenway," the Templar smiled a bit but did not stick his hand out to shake the assassin's, he still had his internal high ego pushing on his pride. "So, as I was saying, you see Mr. Essio, I-"
"Ezio, E-z-i-o, my name is." Auditore shamelessly cut the Templar off spelling every letter out in his name, so the man could get it right. Kenway frowned and let out a heavy sigh; he always had problems with names that were not English.
"Alright, Mr. Ezio, I will not even dare to repeat the rest." Haytham started and made a pause in order for Ezio to make any other remarks on his vivid name, but as it seemed the assassin refrained himself from any other comments.
"I appeared in Leona's house couple of days ago. She told me, I popped up from a video game, and she had no idea of how that happened. She told me that she wasn't an assassin, but was highly in touch with the Creed in her soul, meaning she is very into your beliefs." He gestured toward Ezio as if the man was a representative of all assassins of the world in the past and present. Da Firenze nodded his head and silently asked the Templar to continue with a nod.
"Well, after that, she showed me around her residence; here and there I discovered many interesting things that my time period could not even dream off. Especially that," Kenway pointed at the microwave and smiled. "That is one of the greatest inventions of the world." Ezio looked at the machine Haytham gestured toward and mentally made a note to test the "great" invention later in action. "Then she took me outside to show around the city, oh, what a beautiful place…" Haytham smiled at his thoughts and after hearing Ezio clear his throat, fell back into reality.
"What else happened?" Auditore asked watching Kenway rub his nose as if thinking hard. The Templar waited a bit in a pause and then responded.
"We went out to eat, watched the full moon on a little private boat, and then we-"Haytham trailed off gazing away from the assassin to the side.
"And then you made love, huh?" Ezio drifted into a big smile. "How was it, Haytham?" Assassin asked remembering the Templar's name perfectly letter by letter. Kenway stretched another long pause almost to eternity feeling the assassin's intense stare on his face. He knew that Auditore was still smiling widely for some undefined reason.
"Divine." Kenway finally turned his head toward Auditore and looked at him. "She was indeed a fine virgin, despite the fact that I am not the first man she had a relationship with." He held his hand up and embraced the cup with his fingers.
"So I assume your little relationship ended when she told you about her little "talent"?" Ezio's smile disappeared from his lips as the Templar nodded at his question. "You were about to kill a precious soul, which you would not survive a day without. You are perfect for your title, Templar." Auditore growled clutching his knuckles tightly. The Templar shrugged and gave out a sigh.
"What of it? She showed me enough of this world, I could have survived if I really tried. And our relationship wasn't really a thing; it was more of simple sympathy than love." Kenway was suddenly grabbed my Ezio's strong hand and pulled toward the Italian with force.
"Listen here, Kenway," Auditore glared in the Templar's eyes with hateful flames dancing in his deep gaze. "Leona is not just a person who suddenly inherited Eagle Vision from the assassin bloodlines. You and I both know that it is a very rare gift of ours, and Leona's little godsend is not just a coincidence." Haytham was shocked of Auditore's actions, but decided to let the man finish. "Leona is a very important person in this unpleasant situation. When you appeared in her world, something was triggered in the time period, and now the Masters from the past know about each other no matter how much time passed between their lives." Ezio let go of Kenway and leaned back in his chair staring into the ceiling.
"I saw Altair, talked to him, what a great Master he is." Auditore's eyes were fixed on the Templar again. "I met your son, Connor, all grown up and carrying the Creed's burden." Haytham's heart skipped a beat and he questionably looked at Ezio, the man shook his head. "I cannot tell you anything, there is a risk of mixing everything up till the point of great danger." Da Firenze looked at his hands and sighed heavily, he could have been in Florence now, carelessly drinking red wine and finding warmth in a girl's embrace, but the seriousness of the situation did not let him relax anymore.
"So, you are saying that Leona was an assassin from her birth, but never knew about it, yet when I appeared I awakened her abilities?" Kenway could not believe his own words and the foolishness Auditore spoke of, but somewhere deep inside he strongly wanted to agree. The Italian assassin nodded and put his arms on the table hiding his face in the soft cloth of the sleeves. "Oh dear, what does she have to do with all of this chaos?" Kenway gestured around himself as if the tidy kitchen was the apocalypse Ezio mentioned.
The Italian mumbled the precious answer under his breath and forced Haytham to angrily ask for a repeat. The assassin lifted his head up and was about to make a smart comment about the Templar being worthless in everything, but sudden appearance of Leona in the kitchen shut him up.
"What are you two doing?" Crowine asked as she made her way toward the men tightly embracing herself with the blanket.
"I was having a nice little talk with Signore Kenway here." Ezio smiled widely watching Leona with a relaxed expression as if the tension from the past conversation faded away completely. Leona arched her eyebrow and glanced at Haytham that managed to smile at her. She ignored his smile and stood as far as she could from him.
"Having a nice little conversation between a Templar and an Assassin?" She managed to keep her laughter inside. "I better believe in Ezio saying he slept only with blonds, than this obvious lie." She said crossing her arms. Haytham glanced at Auditore confusedly.
"You slept only with blonds?" He asked and received a skeptical look from the Italian.
"Merda, of course not, I slept with more brunettes than blonds!" Auditore exclaimed proudly pointing his index finger to the ceiling.
"And how old are you?" Haytham asked leaning over the table with a smirk.
"I am 22 of age right now." Ezio glared at the giggling Templar and turned his face away again.
"Having fun with the courtesans while being a bloody killer, what a shame." Haytham smiled after Ezio grabbed him again and started shaking the Templar by his shoulders.
"I'll show you fun." Auditore growled but saw Leona shake her head at him and he shortly let go of the Templar.
"Auditore, you don't want to tell me anything? For example, how the hell did you get here?" Leona exclaimed titling her head to the side.
"Exactly what I wanted to ask, finally someone understands me." Haytham smiled at Leona and nodded his head approvingly.
"Shut up, Templar." Leona cut the man off without even looking at him; her eyes were fixed directly to Firenze. Ezio turned his head a little to the side and smiled at Haytham as if saying that his trustful relationship with the beautiful girl was now over. Kenway snorted and looked away from the assassins showing no desire in participating in the conversation.
"Well, my dear Leona, I came out of a game just like our "friend" Kenway here." He pointed at the Templar with a grin. "Your friend, Chelsea I think her name was, provided me all the information I needed about this world. After a long day of getting used to your time period, which I find fascinating, I asked for your address and caught a taxi here. Is that what you call them right?" Ezio wasn't sure if he pronounced the new word taxi right. Leona nodded her head approvingly, yet was secretly amused by Auditore's Italian accent; it was soft and pleasant to listen to.
"So you came in my dreams?" The girl went over to the assassin's side without any desire to stand by the Templar.
"I never appeared in your dreams, but when I got a chance to talk to Altair, he told me that you will receive signs from the upcoming future in your dreams." He smiled looking at Crowine standing beside him; he reached his hand out and wrapped in around her waist pulling her closer in a hug. "I am very glad I got to meet you, Leona Crowine." He whispered in the girl's ear and forced a blush upon her face.
"I am pleased to meet you too; after all, you are the most favorite character of mine in the Creed games." She giggled as Ezio brightly smiled proud to be in the first place. He then nodded his head toward Haytham whose back was turned to them.
"What about that fella over there?" He asked frowning as the Templar slowly turned around in his seat and gazed over to the girl. Leona looked into the man's deep eyes; she almost could read sorrow under the cold mask Kenway would always wear. Could he be sorry for nearly killing her? No, he is a Templar; they kill their enemies without any mercy and regret.
"He was a great person to talk to, to spend time with, a good character and a man, I thought." Leona looked down on Ezio's warm hands embracing her. "But now I know what a cold-blooded traitor he is…" Leona could feel tears running down her cheeks. She hid her face in her hands and soon was pressed against Auditore's chest where she could weep until she could cry no more. The Italian stroked her hair while glaring at surprised Haytham.
The Templar never thought he could let a lady cry, especially the one he was attracted to so strongly. Of course, Ziio was a wonderful woman and provided lots of help, yet Leona was different. There was something inside of her that made Haytham's heart beat faster as it filled up with warmth. Kenway looked away from the two assassins and stared at the window; evening was slowly falling upon Chicago making the vivid lights appear once more. The Templar gave Leona a quick glance, she was still sobbing with her face hidden in Ezio's chest, and decided to take a long walk outside to clear his mind.
"I will be back late." He said going over and grabbing his hat. He picked his jacket up from the ground and after brushing some dust off, he put it on fixing the cape on his shoulders.
"Where are you going, Templar?" Auditore narrowed his eyes at the man and tightly hugged trembling Leona.
"I need time to think, I promise to be peaceful among the people…" He said and rushed to leave the house as fast as he could. He shut the front door behind him without hearing Leona's quite voice.
"Be careful…you bastard…" She whispered wiping her tears away and pulling away from the Italian. Ezio shook his head and pulled Leona back into a tight hug.
"Try to relax; you had a lot of surprises fall upon you today." Auditore pressed his lips against the girl's forehead. The girl's eyes widened a little but she was very grateful for the assassin's support. "You are very strong, you can get through this. Just don't think of anything right now and tell me the truth." He said pointing out that Haytham was gone now and there was nothing to hide. The girl reached out and grabbed a napkin from a little stand on the table. She wiped her eyes and nose before clutching the fabric in her hands.
"I…I can't stand him, Ezio." She looked up at the assassin but he shook his head.
"You are lying." He said with a smile and stroked her cheek. "Don't be afraid, tell me." Auditore reassuringly squeezed the girl's shoulders.
"God dammit, I am in love with him!" Leona suddenly exclaimed as a new wave of tears hit her. She quickly hid her face back in Ezio's chest feeling safe. "Love is so evil; it takes away the good and pushes the bad on top. Ezio, why is it so complicated, how can one be so strongly attached to their enemy?" She whispered pressing the napkin against her face that slowly grew worthless soaking her tears in. Auditore reach out and grabbed couple of more handing them to Leona and receiving a grateful nod.
"Love is indeed, evil and complicated." He said his expression changing into a sad one as he remembered his tragic love story with Cristina. He quickly shook his memories away, he could not become miserable, Leona needed more support than anyone else at the moment and he had to give it his best. He held Leona's head up looking into her reddened eyes. "There is no need for tears; your beautiful eyes must shine with happiness." He smiled at the girl and continued. "I can see that Kenway is hiding something deep inside, and I am pretty sure he is not cold toward you." Leona slowly nodded at Auditore's words and sighed, she could think of anything Haytham would feel toward her, and sympathy did not even come in her mind.
"I am giving it time; I am not one of those people who would run after their lost love desperately trying to fix everything." She looked into Ezio's golden eyes, she felt safe under his warm smile. "Besides, if you are right about his hidden feelings, he must open them to me on his own."
"Right choice," He smiled wide. "And now allow me to distract you from this madness." Auditore pulled Leona closer and without explaining himself pressed his lips against hers drowning the girl into endless shock and passion.
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Haytham walked down the busy streets of Chicago feeling completely alone in the crowd. The new smell of food and car tires filled his lungs till the point where he strongly desired to vanish and appear on the streets of Boston of his life time. The people were loud and annoyed Kenway with their endless gazes at him. Of course, he was dressed differently, but it seemed that his perfected skill of blending in did not work that much. He moved people away with his hands trying to break through the tight space.
He finally succeeded with his goal and pressed his back against a wall of a building breathing in fresh air. The Grand Master felt so little under the tall constructions that he would not even concur by climbing. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but Leona's teary eyes would break into his mind each time he tried to clear it. Kenway gulped and covered his face with one hand breathing heavily. She was just an assassin, his enemy; he can go back and kill her if he wants to. But does he have that desire?
"No, I do not." Haytham whispered to himself as if answering the questions in his mind. "I simply cannot bring myself to kill her again…" He sighed looking on the ground that reflected the lights above him.
"Grand Master?" A soft voice called the man forcing him to instantly look up. A tall girl stood in front of Kenway with a friendly smile on her lips. "Good evening, Haytham Kenway." She bowed her head a little as if the man was a living king.
"Who are you?" He asked bringing his hand down from his face and looking attentively at the stranger.
"Ah yes, where are my manners?" The girl laughed and held her hand up. "My name is Annette Deborah, and I am a representative of the modern Templar Order." She chuckled as Haytham's eyes widened in surprise. He slowly brought his hand forward and shook the girl's while looking over her. She was dressed in dark blue leather pants and a bright scarlet shirt. She had a black cloak hanging on her shoulders; the empty sleeves dangerously swung in the slight breathe that from time to time appeared in the corner of the building.
"A modern Order, what kind of a joke is that?" Haytham frowned gazing over Annette's dark red hair that barely touched her shoulders. The girl smirked and let go off the Templar's hand.
"Did you think the same thing when you met Leona Crowine?" She asked crossing her arms and putting her weight on one foot.
"How did you-"Haytham raised his voice but was interrupted by Annette.
"The Order and the Creed still exist in the modern world. We may be not as powerful as in the past, but we have that old grudge toward each other. Sometimes we have fights in the middle of the streets, yet we do not kill knowing how strict the law has become and the security." She looked around as if searching for something. "Grand Master, would you give me an honor and walk with me? I am willing to show you our Templar quarters, right there." She pointed at the tall building completely covered with glass windows. "My apartment is on the very top floor; it is big and perfectly works for our group meetings." She said taking Haytham's hand and pulling him away from the wall that seemed to keep him on his feet.
"Surely, but before we go, I must know how you found out about Leona." He narrowed his eyes at the girl as a wide grin brushed across her lips.
"One of my good spies found out that she was slowly awakening her assassin skills and how she used you to train her in the Millennium Park. He used a group to follow him so no one would have any suspicions." She said starting to walk toward the building with Haytham following behind silently. The man suddenly understood that the odd group following behind them that day when Leona passed out after training had the spy with them. He shook his head with a hint of a smile on his face.
"How clever." He said and received a grateful gesture from the girl as they crossed the street. After some time they walked into a wide elevator where Annette pressed the number 20 on a big board of buttons which had other numbers on them leading to the different levels; she then stood back and waited from the doors to shut. The elevator shot upwards bringing the two on the needed floor instantly; Haytham was very interested in exploring a new invention that Leona never told him about, but he decided to leave it for later.
"This way please, Grand Master." Annette gave him a charming smile and led him toward a red door with a white number 489 on it. She then opened the door and walked in inviting the Templar to come in after. As Kenway walked in, he was immediately drowned in the dear atmosphere. Flags with a Templar Cross on them where hanging down from the ceiling, the posters of the Templar Masters where placed on the walls and neatly sat in crimson wooden frames. The walls of the apartment where painted black and perfectly matched with the scarlet furniture. In the middle of the living room five people stood around a table and quietly discussed something among each other.
"Wait here, I will call you." Annette whispered to Kenway with a smile and walked into the light of the living room. "Good evening everyone, I am sorry for being later to out meeting." The crowd turned their head toward her; two of them where wearing long cloaks with hoods covering their faces, the other three chose to dress more like Haytham, with a uniform-like clothing and a cape covering their shoulders. They looked very official compared to the people dressed in wild fabric outside on Chicago's streets.
"I have a very special guest to introduce to you all." Annette's voice finally gave a sign to Haytham and he, with his hand locked behind his back, walked into the living room. His appearance was met with loud gaps and wide eyes; the Templar nodded his head in a greeting and received five deep bows from the strangers. Deborah stood on the side smirking with her hands crossed; she seems to be proud of her sudden "gift" to her friends.
"Grand Master Haytham Kenway, could that really be you?" One of the hooded Templars exclaimed and pulled their hood down. It was another girl with her hair much shorter than Annette's and dyed in bright green. Haytham was quite puzzled by her look but decided to be as polite as possible in order to find out more about those strange people who claim to be Templars. He shook her hand confirming his real existence before receiving her name. She called herself Arial and quickly took a step back letting the other four to join in the same "ritual." The remaining strangers appeared to be men, they called their names and shook Haytham's hand while looking at him fascinated.
"Nice meeting you all." Kenway smiled and glanced at Annette that made her way around the Templar and stood on his right side. She nodded her head and asked for her people to sit down, and so they did, silently watching their precious leaders standing.
"Now, Master Kenway," Annette turned to her head over to the Templar and gestured toward a wide scarlet armchair. "Please sit and let me answer all of the questions you may have for us." Haytham gladly accepted the offer and made his way toward the comfortable sitting spot. As he sat down the five Templars turned their heads following his every move; Kenway marked for himself that the strange individuals had a very scary curiosity.
"Continue." He said bringing his hands forward and placing them on his lap. Annette smiled and nodded her head; she started walking around the room with her hands behind her back as if mocking Haytham's favorite habit.
"After sinking ourselves into the world of the Assassin's Creed games, we discovered how wrong the Creed's way was and joined the Templars' view on everything. We then found followers in our goal of starting a modern world Templar Order. As you can see, Master Kenway, it worked perfectly." She gestured around her apartment; her fellow friends nodded their heads. "We thought that finally we were the only power to yet grow into something bigger, but suddenly the assassin's started popping up here and there." She clutched her teeth together and tried to remain calm. "I am not even talking about those worthless cosplayers, yet some of them did follow the Creed, I was hinting more toward another power silently growing beside us in the shadows." She gazed at the Templar; the man was silently listening with his eyes fixed on her.
"The modern Creed was formed by a man that called himself Altio, obviously remaking Altair Ibn La-Ahad's name into a stupid copy. He came here from New York to search for followers. He brought couple of his men here to help and guard him. One of our followers, Jackson," she motioned toward the man in the hood sitting next to Arial on the couch. "He managed to follow one of the assassin's but that brat led him into a trap where others attacked him." Haytham looked over to Jackson as he pulled his hood down; two big scars where visible on his face. One of them came across his cheek bone and the other above his eyebrow; both scars looked hideous. The man snorted and pulled his hood back up hiding his face in the shadow.
"Judging your words I assume you are the one who created the modern Order here in Chicago, is that right?" The Grand Master looked over to Annett as he broke his gaze from Jackson. The girl nodded and smiled widely as if considering his words a huge compliment.
"I may not be the Grand Master, like you, but I am certainly the leader of this Templar Order. We have followers throughout United States of America, and I can assure you that soon enough the whole world will be following us." She said walking over to Kenway and sitting on the armrest of the chair.
"I am glad to see you are all following our great cause, but what was the purpose of this meeting today?" He asked narrowing his eyes at Annette; the girl gave a short nod toward Arial.
"We were discussing the elimination of Leona Crowine, Master Kenway." Arial said as she stood up holding her hands together in front of her. "The reason why I and Jackson drees this way is now obvious as a clear day; our plan was to pretend to be assassins and kill Leona making it look like an accident." Haytham's face became pale; Annette narrowed her eyes at the Templar and smiled.
"Leona has something that Altio does not own, the Eagle Vision." Annette leaned over and put her head on the Grand Master's shoulder with a sigh. "She is a huge problem since she might become the Master Assassin of this time and screw us all up." She started stroking Haytham's hand; the man pulled his arm away feeling disgusted from her touch. He felt a strong urge to push the girl away from himself and rush to Leona in order to protect her, let her know of the great danger. "Master Kenway?" Annette looked worried now. "Is there something wrong?"
"Do not touch her." Haytham glared at the girl forcing her to voluntarily jump up from the spot next to him. "If you try to kill her, I am afraid I will have to start an Order of my own and close this one." The Templar noticed the followers on the couch shift way in fear, he felt great power flowing from him once again, and it felt victorious. "Do not forget who is the Grand Master here, I can finish you off without worrying about the advanced weapons of this world you might own." Kenway looked over to Annette who was standing away from him and narrowed his eyes. "I remember each one of you, and as the Grand Master I will give out orders from now on. And now I shall leave you with a task of finding out where Altio and his men are, if they are still in the city, I need you to find out their exact location." The Templars nodded at Kenway as if agreeing with his every word; Annette stood in the corner but gave him a deep bow.
"Thank you for joining us, Master Kenway." She said little tears of happiness appearing in the corners of her eyes. Haytham smiled and bowed his head a little.
"May the Father of Understanding guide us." He said turning around and walking out of the door after the rest of the people repeated the same phrase.
He quickly figured out how to operate the elevator and after getting on the ground floor, Haytham walked out of the building. He gave the top floor a last glance before blending into the crowds and hurrying to Leona's home. Now all he wanted is to hold her in his arms with endless pleading for forgiveness.
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Leona pulled away from another long kiss that Ezio insisted after snuggling the girl over to the wall. She was forced to wrap her hands around his neck and pull him closer; the Italian seemed to enjoy every second their lips touched. He embraced the girl by her waist and caressed her increasing his desire for more little by little. Leona's thoughts were covered in thick mist, she was truly fascinated of how good Auditore kissed her; she secretly tried to compare him with Haytham, but thoughts of the Templar tasted bitter in her mind.
Ezio suddenly pulled away from the kiss and froze in place stopping his tenderness completely. Leona opened her hazy eyes and gasped seeing a pistol pressed against the assassin's temple. Haytham stood near them holding the weapon and ready to fire; his eyes where full of rage and gave Ezio the chills.
"Get you dirty paws away from my woman." He said with a rude tone pushing Ezio away with his hand. He put the pistol in his holster and pulled Leona away from the wall snuggling her tightly to his body. Leona was completely shocked by Haytham's actions; she slowly looked up at him with a puzzled look.
"Leona, I am…" Kenway looked away for a moment sending his Templar pride to the damned and turning back to the girl. "A thousand apologies, I made a huge mistake today, nearly killing something very dear to me." He leaned over and kissed Leona on her lips tightly grasping her by the waist. The girl tried to push him away but after realizing that the Templar would not let go, she hugged him before kissing back.
Ezio, surprised by Haytham suddenly appearing from nowhere, was now widely smiling while looking at the couple. He hated the Templar but knowing that he would not hurt Leona anymore made him feel relaxed. He quickly left the living room into the basement in order to give them some space till the very morning.
"Haytham…" Leona pulled away from Kenway and pressed her finger on his lips before he could shut her up again. "What is wrong with you, you are not yourself." She looked at him with concern. Kenway thought about it for a moment; he could not let her know about the Order he met not a long time ago.
"After a while of walking alone in the crowds of grey people, I realized how cherished you are for me." It was now Haytham's turn to have a secret; that way he would keep Leona safe from an unnecessary paranoia of being targeted. He will also get more benefit for himself finishing off the new Creed he found out about today behind her back. "I know you may not forgive me right away, but I plead for you to become softer." He ran his hand up Leona's back tenderly grasping the back of her head and pressing her forehead against his.
"Kenway…" Leona looked into the Templar's eyes, he sounded very sincere in his words. "I cannot forgive you at this moment, you will have to earn my trust again, but I am giving you this chance to fix everything." She whispered bringing her hand to the side of his face and stroking his cheek. "If this is another mistake of mine, I will pay a great price, but I hope Haytham is not lying to me." A quick thought came across her mind as she sighed heavily.
"Thank you very much, Leona." Grand Master smiled a little and threw Leona on another passionate adventure with a kiss. Now he had two important tasks standing hand to hand: protecting Leona without letting her know about the Creed, and being the Master of the modern Templars secretly eliminating Altio and his men. Kenway felt bad for hiding something so important from his beloved, but it was better for everyone. Even Auditore will not find out, he will make sure he doesn't; no one shall know about his Order and followers.
The kissing soon grew boring, the passion turned the desire into something wild and uneasy to fulfill with a soft touching of the lips. Haytham picked Leona up holding her tightly in his hands. The girl kept kissing him with no pause even when she was lightly pushed on the bed. Haytham began to pull her clothes off that she managed to change into from the assassin robes before his arrival from the walk. He dragged her jeans down and unbuttoned a silky blouse that within seconds hit the floor lightly like a feather; the jeans, on the other hand, fell on the floor with a clear heavy noise. Leona interrupted the kissing between them and glanced over to Haytham's cloudy eyes. A craving smile played on his lips as Leona discovered that she was left in only underwear. The girl pouted at the Templar and took his hat off throwing it on the floor.
"You have to help me, you know." She said with a blush on her face as she tried to pull the man's jacket down. "It is a little tough to strip you down when you are wearing your uniform; I think I told you that on our first night." She said her cheeks growing redder when the Templar chuckled and pulled away from the girl starting to take his clothes off by himself. He did not break his eyes from Leona's; he looked at her with a smile playing on his lips.
"Help me out a little here, would you?" Kenway asked as he left his pants on sending everything else on the floor. The girl gulped and sat up placing her hands on the man's shoulders; she kissed Haytham again immediately receiving a hungry response from him. The kiss grew deeper and hotter by seconds as Leona sneaked her hands down the Templar's muscular chest to his pants where she unbuttoned them. The man let out a quiet groan into the kiss once the girl accidentally brushed her hand over his manhood in the process of stripping him down.
"S-sorry…" She whispered as she finally got rid of the pants and sent them to the rest of the clothing on the floor. She was suddenly pushed back on the bed's soft surface with Haytham leaning over her delicate body.
"There is nothing to be sorry for, I am the one who is pleading for forgiveness here." Kenway whispered in Leona's ear and started covering her neck with hot kisses at the same time pushing his hands under her back to undo the lock of her undergarment.
"You devil…" Leona whispered her breath becoming heavy and unsteady. Haytham could easily break her serenity within seconds once he unleashed his passion toward the girl.
Haytham smiled at Leona's words as he tossed the last pieces of lingerie away from the bed. He calmly spread the girl's legs to the sides and comfortably positioned in between. Crowine gulped and tried to calm her racing heart down a little; it was the second time they have done it, but for some reason she felt as if it was the first. She nervously placed her right hand on his ponytail pulling the red ribbon off and sinking her fingers in the silky hair that spread across his shoulders and back. The Templar pulled away a little stroking Leona's thighs and enjoying scarlet blush on her cheeks. He bent down and drew her into another longing kiss; the girl threw her left hand around his neck continuing to stroke his hair with her right.
A gasp suddenly escaped her lips as she felt the Templar enter her with one push. She shut her eyes and murmured something into the kiss the triggered Haytham to start moving his hips forward and back. Leona arched her back and pulled away from the kiss with a quite moan. She leaned her head back on the pillow opening her elegant neck for Kenway to caress. The man caught the hint and started covering her neck with a new wave of kisses while his thrusts began to gain speed. Leona wrapped her legs around the Templar's waist pulling him closer and feeling endless pleasure.
The girl's moans grew louder as the passion increased its power; she bit her lip digging her nails in the Templar's back and forcing him to groan every time he made a new thrust. The endless touching made Leona almost lose her mind; she turned her head away from Haytham ashamed of her loud gasping that filled the room. She was sure that Ezio was hearing their truce very clearly even being down in the basement.
"You have to be with me now." Haytham suddenly spoke with a pleasant sigh. Leona slowly turned her head to look at him.
"Why?" She arched her eyebrow and whispered holding back another moan.
"Because I said so." Haytham leaned over pressing his lips against Leona's with a warm smile. She smirked and answered the kiss with silent thanks.
The grand finale washed over the lovers with a tsunami of satisfaction. Leona grasped Kenway's shoulders tightly as he pressed himself against her body. He groaned in her ear while their hearts collided in one unsteady beat. The girl was panting trying to fill her lungs with air she wasted on her moans.
"And what just happened?" She asked when both of them managed to cool down a little. Haytham smiled as he dropped on his side next to Leona's body. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her into his embrace.
"I call it Perfect Synchronization." He whispered in the girl's ear and kissed it softly. Crowine chuckled and turned to face the Templar wrapping her hands around his neck.
"You are half forgiven." She said pressing her cheek against his warm chest and closing her eyes slowly falling into sleep.
"Why thank you." The Grand Master half smiled and kissed the girl's pate. Shortly, Kenway followed Leona's example and entered the Kingdom of Morpheus.
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"Master Altio, please hurry!" The masked assassin yelled almost falling off the roof; two of his brothers followed close behind trying not to lose their balance on the thin railings. Their leader was far behind them protecting their backs from the annoying Templar that was pursuing them. The enemy managed to get a crossbow with sleep darts from an unknown salesman and now was desperately trying to shoot the assassins in order to force them to fall of the building to their death.
"Master Altio!" Another one yelled suddenly stopping as he saw their chief draw his dagger and attack the Templar. It was obvious that the Order follower was more geared up than their master at the moment. The young assassin was about to jump in the battle but someone's figure blocked his way. "What the hell?" He looked up at the stranger that was wearing familiar assassin robes. A leather belt with a dagger in its scabbard shined in the dim lights of the building. The man got out a throwing knife and tossed it at the Templar; the enemy gasped and fell on the rooftop slowly sliding down.
Altio froze for a second puzzled of why the chaser suddenly fell to their death, but he quickly gained his mind back and grabbed the traitor before he could fall of the roof. He then made sure that the body would not slide down again before retrieving the knife from the flesh.
"What is this?" He looked at the blade that seemed to be very old, almost from a thousand years ago.
"M-Master Altio, please look this way…" A weak voice of one of his brothers called him forcing Altio to stand up and turn toward them. His eyes widened and he dropped the blade which hit the roof with a loud clinking noise.
"Master Altair?" He whispered not believing his eyes. The Master Assassin nodded his head in the greeting and motioned his hand toward the Templar's dead body.
"May you please explain what is going on here?" He said crossing his arms and putting the assassins into a deep shock. They stared at Ibn La-Ahad for the longest moment; one of them managed to speak first before their leader could produce a sound.
"We work in the dark, to serve the light." He said with a shaking voice slowly standing up from his sitting position. Altio nodded his head and looked Altair straight in the eye.
"We are Assassins."
Continued in Chapter 4