Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. All characters belong to Ubisoft unless otherwise stated.

Thank you The-Stupidest-Author-Ever for beta-ing and partially co-writing this with me.

A/N: from the manor onward Connor is wearing an outfit similar to his attire in the Ben Church mission

A/N 2: I am posting this around the same time as, or at least on the same day as, The-Stupidest-Author-Ever is posting her new chapter for Fallen Eagle, sequel to Crossed Eagle. It is an awesome story and I highly recommend searching for it and reading it before you read my story. Go on, this chapter is not a limited time offer. You can come back... you done? Good! Let's get started then. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Sequence 1: Boston 1769

We walked down the hill to Boston. Shay was on his guard constantly, as if he expected somebody to drop from the sky. The sky was starting to darken as we made it to the city, the sun hiding behind the buildings. There were very few people in the streets. A direct opposite of what it had been the previous day. I looked around at the people and saw them avoiding me, some running away at the sight of me. I wondered why that was before I considered that I had just been in heavy battle, my clothes were probably coated with blood. An unpleasant sight even in if I was in my village.

"Wait here, lad," Shay said as we neared the edge of the buildings. "They might still be after us."

I wondered if he meant the mercenaries from the fort. Regardless I scanned the tops of the buildings, looking for anything that might warn me of attackers. I felt myself shifting into a combat stance that would allow me to react to most things that I might encounter with soldiers. Shay's eyes glazed over slightly and he started acting like he was listening to something that I couldn't hear.

"We're safe for now," Shay said after a few seconds of this. "Come on, lad. The others should be waiting for us."

I nodded and we walked down the wide street with Shay glancing down alleys and at tops of buildings. Occasionally Shay would tell me to stop and disappear off of the main road for a second. He would always return from a different direction than the one he left the road from. At one of these times my curiosity got the better of me.

"Where do you go when you leave the main road?" I asked as Shay returned from a side alley.

"I go looking for bandits, lad," he replied. "That reminds me-have you thought of a good name for yourself?"

"No, I have not," I replied. "My thoughts have been on other things recently." Shay chuckled at that. "Shay, at the fort, there were two men that seemed responsible for my capture,"

"Oh, and who would that be?"

"One was a tall man who robes robes and wielded many weapons. I believe his name was Richard," I said. "The other was much older. His skin was dark, like the slaves in the market. He limped, though, as if it was difficult to walk."

Immediately Shay looked uncomfortable, his shoulders tensing. He rounded on me, a furious look in his eyes.

"Are you sure, lad? Not a trick of the light or anything like that?"

"I'm certain," I replied, shaking my head. "He leaned heavily on a cane and walked slowly because of it."

Shay shook his head. "Achilles…"

"Who?" I asked.

"My… My former teacher. He-he was good man, but we didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things."

I thought of Richard, who was obviously the man's pupil, only to have a reckless and arrogant demeanor. I also remembered he argued with Achilles. Was Shay saying he was once the same? And why would he stay with such a man?

"What made you leave him?" I asked.

"I rather not discuss it," Shay said, looking away with a shake of his head. Suddenly he looked back at me, but his eyes were distant. "He had a son, Connor. He died at young from a fever. You're… much like him."

"What do you mean?" I asked

"Connor was… headstrong, stubborn to a fault. He was the pride and joy of Achilles," Shay said, rubbing his chin uncomfortably. "It hit Achilles hard when he died."

"It sounds like he was a formidable warrior," I said watching the side alleys for movement.

"Aye, he would have been," Shay, said nodding sadly.

"That's what I'll be called then," I said. "Connor."

"You're certain?" Shay asked, a dark look in his eyes.

"Very," I confirmed, nodding.

After this we walked down the street, remaining cautious of any attackers. After several minutes of this Shay stopped glancing and walked normally, that is until he was tackled to the ground by a dirty white and black blur that fell from the roof of a nearby building.

"Too slow, old man," a voice said as the blur fell. Shay collapsed before shoving his assailant over, rolling with her and bringing up his left arm so as to strike her with his wrist blade. He stopped when he realized that it was Selah, who was chuckling.

"Goodness, Selah," he exclaimed as he rolled off of her. "Don't do that, I could have killed you." Selah stood up, brushed herself off, and wiped some of her long hair out of her eyes.

"Relax, old man," she said as she checked to make sure that all of her gear was still in place. "You haven't killed me yet."

She turned to me and hugged me forcefully. Catching me unprepared, she very nearly knocked both of us over. She hugged me for a few seconds before she stepped back with a stern look on her face.

"I thought I said do not engage the target and report his location to me," she scolded.

"I did not mean to stray from the plan, Selah," I said, bowing my head slightly. "When I found your target he was walking through the streets of the city, nowhere near his goal." Selah considered my words before nodding.

"A reasonable response, but you're not off the hook just yet," she said before turning and walking through the near empty streets. "Come on, let's get to Haytham."

We followed her through the streets until we came to a large brazier that was sitting in the middle of a small fort-like structure. It was entirely made of wood. It had several rooms built into the sides of the walls. I noticed one that had a small wooden box with a few coins scattered around it, several maps and a sheet of paper with a long list on it. Shay seemed very comfortable here, like we were back at the manor. He walked into the room and leaned over the charts, talking to one of the red suited soldiers that patrolled the area.

I found an unoccupied room and sat on the floor, thinking of what had happened during my absence from my father and his colleagues.

"We should burn that hovel to the ground," Richard had said. "Why didn't it work before?"

The only thing that I knew of that could be considered a hovel to any of the colonials that had been burned recently was my village. But that couldn't be right. It had burned years ago. There would be no point in waiting so long to force my people's hand once more, if that was what it had been.

I sat with my back resting against the wooden wall for a while. Nobody disturbed me, until Selah came and found me. She sat next to me, watching me out of the corner of her eye.

"So… your big day got spoiled. But it was interesting," she said

"Yes. It was, but I cannot stop thinking," I said. "The man who questioned me, he talked about burning a hovel. I have wondering if he meant my village. But the more I think about it the less likely it seems." Selah looked away from me and seemed to be considering my words.

"Well, Haytham is here. We should probably talk to him and see what he thinks," she said getting up from her spot. "If we can determine if what you heard is correct then we can act on it."

I nodded and got up. We walked out of the small room and I followed her to the courtyard of the structure. Haytham was standing by the brazier watching the coals burn. As we walked behind him he turned to us. Without warning he marched forward, a fire in his eyes.

"Follow Selah and do as you're told! Was that too hard for you to follow?" he snarled. "Do you realize that you could have undone years of work or worse been killed?"

"Father, when I found the target he was nowhere near where he would have been staying," I explained, trying to remain calm. "I thought I might follow him and then report his location to Selah."

"Oh, I expected naiveté, but this…" he sighed angrily. "We do not go in halfcocked and hope for the best."

"What would you have me do?" I yelled in his face. "Report back saying that I saw him in the street then left to go tell Selah? Or perhaps you would have liked me to have killed him then and there? With no weapons of any kind and going against what Selah told me to do."

"Grandmaster, you wanted to see me," Shay said, stopping me from doing something that I would have regretted.

"Ah, Shay," Haytham said turning away from me. "Apparently Selah has something that might interest us." She stepped forward, flicking her eyes to me as she passed me.

"I saw two Assassins walking through the town. One looked like Achilles and the other I didn't recognize. They were making their way through town just before Shay and Ratoontahaygon came through," she reported. "On another note, Ratoontahaygon said that the person who questioned him in the fort talked about burning something. He thinks that it might be his village but he is unsure."

Shay looked thoughtful but Haytham was smirking slightly. He shook his head and pulled out a small envelope.

"The order was already given," he said. "But rest assured I took the liberty of stopping the messenger. Your village is safe, for the present, at least. Now what really concerns me is that the Assassins have been able to regroup in such a small amount of time."

"This is irrelevant right now, Grandmaster," Shay said shaking his head. "What is relevant is that we get the lad here back to the manor. I think his initiation has been put off long enough." Selah nodded in agreement almost without hesitation.

"Very well. Let's proceed back to the manor," Haytham said, appearing to be in a much better mood.

We waited by the brazier while Shay walked to the chart room, saying that he needed to get something. Once he returned we waited for the carriage that Haytham said would be arriving soon.

It was a great relief to finally be back at the manor. I walked to the house and went to my room. I changed out of the now tattered yellow suit and put on a comfortable brown outfit that would normally be accompanied by a tricorn hat. I very nearly went to sleep after that but instead sat on my bed, thinking. Last morning I was so excited for this moment, the moment I was to start my official training for Haytham's order. Now I was in the same predicament the only thing that had changed was the worry I felt for my village. Richard did not seem like person who would give up so easily. But maybe he would, it appeared that only the Spirits knew the answers to my questions.

"Connor, come on down, we have something for you," Shay called from the bottom of the stairs.

I got up and walked down the stairs and followed Shay into the dining room. Only to find that it had been transformed. The blinds had been closed to where next to no light in the room except for several candles that had been set up on the table and lit. All of Haytham's associates were present, even John Pitcairn and the new recruit Nicholas Biddle, grouped around the table in a blockish semi-circle. On the end of the table sat a bunch of papers with writing or maps on them.

"Take a look, son," Haytham said from the other head of the table. I looked at the papers and saw charts showing the movement of troops around my village. "It was a man named Washington, and his soldiers, who burned your village, at the behest of the Assassins. They came to your village and burned it for nothing more than information about something that your people hold sacred."

I looked at the papers. The troop movement matched everything Haytham had just said. They were not hostile, more to just surround the area than anything else. Some of the papers told of how my tribe had conversed with Washington and his soldiers, but had refused to talk about the Atonhnhetshera Ó:kwire*. The reports were rather short but they had enough information for me to determine the general idea of what the soldiers had gathered.

"You have been training so that you could protect your village from outside threats." Hytham spoke up once more. "Our organization seeks peace and justice all throughout the world. Our enemies, the Assassins, seek to send the world hurtling into chaos. They started with your village and now are looking to start a war between the British and the Colonists."

I looked at him curiously. Richard meant to burn my village to the ground, only to gain access to our sacred land. How much more chaos would the Assassins cause just to start a war?

"I do not understand," I said. "Why burn our village? We had no part in the war between the British and the French."

"Because the Assassins were allied with the French during the war and they saw all of the native people as hostile, except for the Maliseet who allied with them," Shay explained. "They feared that the tribes might join this fight so they broke their spirit long beforehand." I nodded. It made sense, in a way.

"We want you to join our order and put a stop to the Assassins before this conflict gets out of hand," Haytham said. "And prevent the loss of more innocent lives in the process."

Several others nodded from their spots around the long table. My mind was already made up however.

"I accept," I said solemnly.

"Excellent!" Haytham said as he drew a ring out of his pocket and walked around the table to me. He slid it onto my ring finger. It was a simple design, silver with a red cross occupying the top. "Connor, do you swear to uphold the principles of our order and all that for which we stand?" I understood the question. Do you understand what you're signing up for?

"I do," I said. Haytham nodded then continued.

"And to never reveal our secrets nor divulge the true nature of our work?" Can we trust you?

"I do," I repeated

"And to do so from now until death, whatever the cost." Are you committed?

"I do," I said for the final time that day.

"You are a Templar," Haytham said. "Or, an apprentice Templar. Shay will still train you but now we can begin to work in earnest. May the father of understanding guide us."

"May the father of understanding guide us," the others repeated.

With permission from Haytham, I left the room. I walked down into the secret room, hoping no one would find me. They didn't, but Selah did.

I was sitting in the back corner of the room, looking at the desk where I had talked with Selah the day before. The biggest questions of my life were finally answered but now they were replaced by even bigger ones. Am I capable of killing cold heartedly? Would my village survive my actions? Would I?

Selah casually walked down the stairs, her eyes scanning the room like she did whenever she entered a new environment. She quickly spotted me and walked over to me. She crouched down to where she was eye level with me.

"So, you're an apprentice. What now?" she asked.

"I do not know, Selah," I replied, leaning my head back against the wall. "If I returned to my village now, they would not recognize me. They would say I had become one of the colonists." I gestured to the suit that I wore as I said this, to illustrate my point. "I wish to protect them from the wrath of outsiders but I fear that in my time here I may have become one myself."

Selah sat next to me for the second time that day and mimicked my pose. Her weapons clinked as she sat down.

"Well, I wouldn't know," she sighed. "What I do know is that if you want to protect your people the best way to do that is to stop the colonists. Not the Assassins so much, just the colonists. Because it's them that will want to get rid of your people. When the walls of the city constrict, when there're crops that need soil. That's when the colonists will turn on your people."

"So I must kill all of them?" I asked. "Why not just cripple them to where they couldn't harm my people any longer?"

"Because no matter how badly you cripple them they will always get up again to fight us," Selah sighed. "We've learned that the hard way." I sighed, not liking the duty that had been tasked to me.

"They all must die then, even Achilles?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Especially Achilles, he's probably the one holding the whole thing together." Selah replied sadly as if she were sad about the old man's future passing.

Six months Later.

So I trained, in the philosophy of the Templars, in advanced combat techniques, in faster climbing, in falling gracefully. And for every lesson that I was taught, there were two from my village I perfected. Hunting, tracking, archery. Shay taught me in much the same way as before my induction but the lessons were longer, more combat oriented. By then end of the first month I was able to take on three combatants at once and be victorious. I was progressing in leaps and bounds. But for all my work and progress, Shay said I still had much to learn before I was ready. And I knew he was right.

It was by the end of the sixth month as a Templar before anything interesting happened. I walked out of the house on that cold winter morning and saw Shay sitting at the reins of a carriage that sat in front of the house.

"Good morning." I greeted. "Are you going on a trip?" Shay chuckled.

"Not quiet," He replied. "The Grandmaster has decided for me to do something about your weaponry, or lack of it more aptly, and you're coming. Get in," he pointed over his shoulder at the carriage with his thumb. I climbed into the cart and Shay pulled us out towards the city.

When we arrived I jumped out and waited for Shay to do the same. I looked around at the city. It had changed since I was last there, with snow lightly covering the buildings and ground. Shay walked up behind me and prodded my arm to let me know he was ready.

"Come on," he said walking down the road, much like he had six months ago. "There's a store close to here. The owner is a confident and knows of our cause. He should be able to help you get what you need. Tell him where the carriage is and he'll see that it's loaded. Understand?" I nodded.

"Where are you going?" I asked as Shay walked in the opposite direction of where I was facing. "And what am I to barter with?"

At that Shay paused. He pulled out a bulging purple cloth sack and threw it to me.

"And Connor," he said, "your skin is light enough to be considered Spanish or Italian. So don't act like a native and you should be treated fairly."

I caught the bag and nodded. I pocketed it and walked down the street to the only store that occupied the street. When I entered the building I looked around. It was fairly warm and I saw many items that would have been useful to somebody repairing a house.

"You lost, chief?" asked the man behind the counter. It appeared that Shay was wrong about my skin.

"Um… I… I was told that you might have weapons," I said uncertainly.

"That depends. Are you paying in coin or trade?" the man asked. I pulled the purple pouch out of my pocket and set it down, showing the silver ring that adorned my finger. The man nodded upon seeing the ring and gestured to a back room.

"They're back there. Just tell me what you want and I'll take what you need." He gestured at the bag under my hand. "Where do you want them delivered?"

"Our carriage is just down the street by the statehouse," I said pointing down towards the general direction that I had come from. The man grunted and I walked into the room he had indicated. On shelves that looked like they had been carefully arranged were several blades and knives of all shapes and sizes. I picked out a hangman's sword and a small steel knife. I placed the weapons on the counter and the shopkeeper nodded, sliding some of the coins from the pouch and handing the rest back to me.

"Give me half an hour to finish some things and I'll have your purchases delivered straight away," he said formally.

"Thank you," I replied and walked out into the street.

When I exited the store I was immediately shoved out of the way by a civilian who was running towards the square.

"There's a fire at the Customs House!" the man cried as he rushed past me. "Everyone, hurry! We must not let it spread!"

I followed them, wondering why they would care-and why they were heading towards the danger. But I noticed something was amiss. I smelled no smoke in the air or saw the glow of a fire, things I would never forget. I came to a square, only to find it filled with people, not flames. I looked around in confusion, only to see citizens screaming at the top of their lungs and throwing angry fists in the air. They surrounded a group of about ten British soldiers, who looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there. I saw Haytham standing near the building looking rather pleased with himself for some reason. Before I could near him, I saw Shay in the middle of the square, watching the events.

"What happened here?" I asked Shay. He chuckled.

"A colonist confronted the single guard about some slight, and it quickly turned violent. Haytham saw it and sent for reinforcements as a crowd started to form around the poor sod who was called out," he replied, watching carefully. "Best keep an eye out though, this could turn ugly very quickly."

"I beg of you, return to your homes," the commander of the soldiers pleaded. "Congregating in this manner is forbidden."

"The hell with you, bug!" one man yelled.

"Yeah, why don't you just go back to England and preach to somebody who cares," another shouted.

"No good will come of this chaos. Please return to your homes," the commander repeated.

"Never!" a person yelled.

"Not until you dogs have answered for your crimes!" yet another person yelled.

"This is madness," I muttered to Shay. "Can they not see that the soldiers are so scared of something happening that they might accidentally start something?"

"Aye, lad, but they don't care. They are angry with the laws the king has placed on them so they're taking it out on his soldiers. This is the way of the world," Shay replied before narrowing his eyes. "Look there. See that?" He pointed at a spot in the crowd. I looked and saw a slightly familiar white hood.

"Richard," I said venomously before starting forward, only to be stopped by Shay grabbing my arm.

"If you confront him now you'll just get in over your head. But if he's here then that means that he's here for a reason," Shay said as Richard turned away from the crowd and started to walked down the street, into a back alley. "I want you to follow him. You're better at stealth now. Make sure he stays out of trouble. If he does try something, stop him."

I nodded and slipped away into the alley that Richard had gone into. As I passed a soldier that was standing a ways away from the action, I slipped his small axe off of his belt without him noticing. Now armed, I slid behind a fence and watched Richard climb a ladder up onto a roof that was across the street from the riot. I ran up to the ladder and hurriedly climbed after him. When I got up he was pointing a musket at where Haytham stood by the Customs House. If the gunshot didn't set off the crowd nothing would. Not to mention the Templars would be down a Grandmaster and I would lose the last parent I had. I quickly rushed at Richard, raising the stolen axe as I did so, and slammed it into the side of his chest. He yelled in pain and surprise as I pulled backwards to where he stumbled. The Assassin fell on his back, facing me.

"Your plot had ended. You've failed," I snarled, gripping the bloodied axe tightly.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, savage," he hissed before putting his thumb and his forefinger into his mouth and given off a high-pitched whistle that sounded like an eagle's cry.

I turned to look at the crowd. Three people who had stood in the back now picked up stones and all threw at the same person, knocking him to the ground. The soldier dropped his musket and tumbled to the ground, but he was still conscious. Face contorted by rage, the man grabbed his musket and got to his feet.

"Damn you all! Fire!" he shouted before shooting into the crowd himself. The rest of the soldiers must have thought that his shout had come from the commander, as they too fired onto the crowd.

"See? The day is ours, Templar!" Richard sneered. "The war cannot be stopped now. The Crown will release these Colonies and the people will finally be free and at peace."

"If peace is what you truly want then why did you burn my village and start a war?" I asked, kneeling next to him. "Why cause such chaos?" Richard laughed.

"It's all about perspective. The chaos you claim exists is freedom. It gives us opportunity. An opportunity to be unrestrained by your principles and control. Our Creed allows us to do what is necessary for the good of mankind. Something you Templars will never understand," he said tightly, holding onto his bleeding chest. "As for your people, they have information that we needed. But they refused to give it to us." He spat out that last part, a little bit of blood flying out of his mouth.

"Because that is our sacred land! We would not give you the opportunity to defile it. We are just trying to avoid war. That is all we want," I said furiously.

"Do you truly think that? Do you truly think that your village is devoid of blame? You should know better! Dedicated as you are to your master and killing his enemies. Who themselves think their work to be right and just. Ngh!" He coughed again, wheezing and spitting blood. He panted before glaring back at me. "There are no paths through life that lead to peace in this world. Try as you might, there will alway be war. There will always be suffering. And you? You're just the hand that caused it. Think on that. Think on that the next time you kill heedlessly, for no other reason than because your master told you so. Think on that and see how just your actions are and how much chaos you sow." Richard laid back his head and sighed. I checked his neck for a pulse and felt none.

"You may have spoken true but that does not lessen your own crimes." I said in Kanien'kéha as I stood up.

I felt around in his pouches before finding two things that were of value. A clear orb wrapped in cloth and a list of names. I stowed both in my pockets before I stripped him of his robes. If Haytham knew something useful we could infiltrate the Assassins and disrupt their plans.

*translation: the Spirit Tree.

Richard is an OC. He never existed, he's just a figment of your, and mine, imagination