AC3 belongs to Ubisoft.
The rest is mine. Enjoy! :)
"Connor."
The young man moaned on his sleep, turning his head to the side to snuggle the pillow. The quiet voice echoed on his mind, sending chills all over his spine as it repeated his name.
"Connor, wake up...I need you." that voice..." Connor...help me..." Arlette. It was Arlette's voice! Suddenly snapping his eyes open and sitting up in a jolt, Connor panted silently as the voice continued calling his name. Leaping out of the bed at full speed, he was relieved he had fallen asleep with his robes and weapons on. Achilles was snoozing on a chair by the living room when Connor ran past him, startling him awake, "Where are you going,boy?!" Achilles screamed, grabbing his cane as he walked towards the front door, noticing that the young man had disappeared in the darkness.
Arlette's voice got louder inside his brain, echoing against his eardrums as he ran towards the Cunningham's Household. He was silently begging to himself that nothing of bad happened and that he was just being overly paranoid.
Connor finally stopped in a halt as figures could be seen from the inside the house, but they seemed way too bulky to be Arlette's father or one of the maids. The Assassin's brown eyes narrowed suspiciously as one of the figures peeked through the curtains, moving the eyeball around before turning to the other figure that disappeared as it walked towards the opposite wall. Hiding behind the large bushes, Connor watched as a slimmer man's silhouette showed up, a hard slap landing against the tall figure's nape followed by swearing and harsh words Connor could not understand clearly.
But he knew who that slim man was.
"James." he sneered, he could recognize that stupid grasshopper's frame from miles and miles away. If James was there, he knew Arlette wasn't safe. Connor could not see James any longer, he had just disappeared. The Assassin's brown eyes narrowed as he quickly ran towards the back door, his back on the wall as he carefully managed the steps. Connor, however wasn't surprised to see Adrik waiting for him on the bench swing, the yellow eyes shining under the faint moon light.
"I'm not surprised to find you here." Connor whispered,an amused smile forming on his features but he was quick enough to hide, "Is the door locked?" the Assassin didn't knew WHY he was actually asking a cat that, but Adrik was smart enough to make up an understandable reply to him. The cat meowed, leaping out of the bench swing to scratch the door over and over, signaling that yes, it was indeed locked. Connor moved his brown irises to Arlette's window, maybe she could let him in, "Are the windows locked too?"
Adrik looked up towards the said window and mewled silently in a positive sign. Connor frowned deeply, he was running out of options, plus he was getting angry because Arlette was all alone with James in there, heaven's know what that pig was planning on doing to her. When the door suddenly opened, Connor disappeared by rolling towards one of the bushes, peeking through the leaves as a huge bulky man looked down at Adrik.
"There you are kitty." Mitch cooed, leaning down to look at the cat while holding a small plate filled with cream, "Look what I got you!" the huge man looked ridiculous by doing that stupid baby voice towards Adrik, and the said cat was slowly losing his temper with that buffoon. Of all the things that could happen, the black cat wasn't expecting that one of Arlette's kidnappers would so fond of him," Here kitty, I know you are hungry."
With his ears flat on his skull, Adrik narrowed his yellow eyes letting out a dangerous silent hiss go past his feline lips as a warning. If that THING dared to pet his head, the cat would claw his eyeballs out without any second thoughts, "Come on kitty." Mitch called, patting his thighs to call Adrik closer to himself, but nothing happened, the large cat hissed again, now baring his thin yet sharp fangs. Connor watched the scene from his spot, eyes narrowing as he analyzed what he could do.
That man was big enough to block the open door, however, he seemed childish and not so smart. But the Assassin knew that just because he wasn't as smart as he seemed, didn't meant he would just let Connor step inside. He was starting to overthink his actions once again, not being sure of how he could act next without calling attention, but he decided to follow his instincts.
When Mitch turned around to go back inside the house, Connor silently approached him while narrowing his eyes. Mitch's breath was caught on his throat as a large hand clamped over his mouth and a cold blade was pressed against the column of his throat, "Quiet." the Assassin's voice warned, pressing the blade closer against Mitch's throat, "Where is Arlette?"
"So, have you made your decision?"
Arlette rose her blue eyes from her lap to James, her eyebrows knitted in anger as she breathed through her nostrils, "Yes." she whispered, "But promise you won't hurt my father if I help you." Arlette hesitated when James' hand came into her view, a charming yet sly smile on his face. The girl bit her lower lip, taking James' hand so he could help her up.
"Now." he was by her side now, one hand firmly grabbing her bicep to tug her along as they walked, Bubba following close behind, "Tell me where the money is at." James said, squeezing the flesh of her arm until Arlette whimpered quietly, scrunching her eyes in pain. The girl pointed to the ceiling, a small white door almost invisible for their eyes if Arlette hadn't pointed it out to them. James nodded towards Bubba and the huge man rose his hand to open the door, giving a step back as a ladder darted down, slamming against the floor.
James smirked, pushing Arlette ahead as they approached the ladder. Arlette carefully climbed up, wincing as James' hand suddenly grabbed her bicep once more, squeezing it before he spoke in a very slow pace, "Show where the money is at." Arlette was shaking in pure fear, nodding to the blond man as she lead the way towards the darkest area of the attic.
It was all covered in dust, they couldn't see a thing if it wasn't for the moonlight that dared to peek inside from a small round window right above their heads. Arlette was breathing slowly, feeling James' hand gripping her flesh even tighter, "Where is it?" he asked through his teeth, the gray irises locking with the girl's blue ones in a heated glance. Arlette licked her lips, moving her slim finger to a corner, "T-There." she whispered, squeaking when James pushed her, the poor girl almost fell face first on the floor if there wasn't a wall on her left.
"Show me." James's voice lowered dangerously, Arlette panted, nodding in silence as she walked towards a huge block like figure covered in a yellowed sheet. Pulling the sheet down, a enormous trunk appeared into their view, it was a blackish green with curly details in gold and silver. The Cunningham's clan symbol, the fighting hare, was encraved on the center, "Oh my God..." James apprached the safe, his hands running over the sleek surface, a smirk slowly forming on his features, "This is marvelous!"
The trunk indeed was a work of art. It seemed really, valuable... If the amount of money wasn't enough for James, he could sell the safe easily for some British merchant by the port. "It's quite a beauty, really..." he whispered, looking down at the three locks keeping the trunk shut. James frowned, raising his upper lip in annoyance before turning at Arlette, "Where's the key?"
"Um..." the girl jumped a bit a Bubba's large hand clamped over her shoulder, a sly smirk on his face, "I-I think it's on my father's office."
James had his hands on his back and a sweet smile on his face, 'Well" he drawled out, "Then why aren't you there already?" his menacing gaze came back, making Arlette gulp in fear. The young man nodded to Bubba, "Scort the girl there and make sure she'll find the key." he said before turning his back to them. Bubba chuckled, tugging Arlette with him as the two walked down the steps; the girl was still struggling to get free from the huge man's grasp.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you." he sneered, tugging him closer to himself and burying his nose on her neck. Arlette squeaked out a whimper, trying to push his head away, "Ah,I can't wait to make your little body all numb."
Arlette felt like she was going to vomit right now, tears formed on the corner of her eyes as she was pushed into her father's office. Bubba crossed his arms while leaning on the doorway, a smirk on his face while his eyes followed Arlette around the room. The red head took a shaky breath, closed her eyes and opened a small drawer on the mahogany desk. She pulled out a small wooden box, carefully opening it to retrieve the key, "H-Here." she whispered, turning around to face the man.
"Ah, good." Bubba stepped out of the doorway, one eyebrow rising to his forehead when he heard the girl gasp quietly, "What is it? Gimme the key!" he snarled, but Arlette's wide eyes were locked on a shady figure standing a few meters from the doorway. The huge man slowly turned his head around, widening his eyes when a sharp pain spread all over his neck.
Falling on his knees, Bubba held his bleeding throat, blood gurgling out of his mouth and staining the beautiful cream colored carpet inside the office, "B-Boss..." he wheezed out, finally losing all of his senses and falling into death's embrace. Arlette had her small hands covering her eyes in the minute she saw Connor move swiftly behind the huge gorilla like man, she was shaking and her stomach was churning as the foul smell of blood entered her nostrils. She gasped when calloused fingers slowly touched her knuckles, gently sliding towards her palms as the hands were lowered from her clenched eyes, "Connor?"
The girl carefully peeked one eye open, the blurry image soon turning on the man she cared the most. Arlette blinked her eyes quickly, tears falling down onto her dress as she hugged the Assassin close, sobbing onto his shoulder in pure happiness. Connor did not ignored her hug this time, instead, his strong arms wrapped around her fragile frame back,"I am sorry." he whispered on her shoulder, clenching the fabric of her dress with his hands, "I am sorry I did not arrived sooner."
"It's alright." she said silently, a smile forming on her face as the sobbing slowly started to fade, "You are here now." she whispered, rising her head from his robes, a small hand wiping the tears on her eyes while the other held the key, "Did Adrik brought you here?" the girl asked in a whisper. Connor nodded, his hand touching Arlette's as he sighed, "Did he hurt you?" her eyes moved to his face when his calloused fingers touched her cheek, where he could see a very faint bruise on her pale skin. The Assassin narrowed his eyes when the girl flinched by the moment he touched it, "Where is he now?"
Arlette took a deep breath, holding Connor's hand as she whispered the location. His brown eyes locked onto her blue ones, she was not letting him go! "Connor...w-wait..." she licked her lips, "My father...he's severely hurt. A-And James locked the maids as well. We need to take them out of here." she whispered, holding the Assassin's arm, "We can deal with James later, now that you are here,-"
"No." came his voice, "I will deal with James. I want you out of here...go help your father and the maids." Arlette furrowed her eyebrows when Connor turned to face her, "Then I want you to go to the Homestead and stay there until I arrive."
Arlette opened her mouth to speak, but Connor prevented her talking by suddenly pressing his lips against hers. She squeaked a bit because of the sudden force being pressed on her lips, but her eyes fluttered closed while her hands were pressed against his chest. It was not the right time to kiss, she had to admit, but Connor wanted her to feel safe with him. "Now go." he ordered as their lips broke apart, "I'll deal with James...take your everyone out of here."
"But..." Arlette measured her words, placing a hand on his shoulder, "What if James hurt you?" she asked quietly, her eyeballs moving to the top of the staircase, fearing that the blond man would soon appear, wondering why she was taking so long. Connor understood her concern, after all, James did killed Nathaniel and hurt her father badly enough to make the poor man hallucinate due to blood loss, "He won't." he whispered, taking her smaller hand in his. Their eyes locked, but her blue irises held concern in them, "Trust me." he finished his phrase, squeezing her hand a bit to reassure the poor girl.
With her eyebrows curved downwards, Arlette gave a curt nod, "I...I trust you. But please be careful." she said softly, kissing his cheek lovingly. Connor blushed a light red, his eyes following the girl as she ran towards the back rooms where the maids were locked at. The Assassin tightened his fists when he heard James calling this 'Bubba' person twice, he assumed it was the name of the man with blood pooling mercilessly out of his jugular vein and then asking why were they taking so long. Connor did not moved until he heard an aggravated sigh coming from the attic, he could hear James' footsteps as he walked down towards the hallway.
"Honest to God, Bubba!" the blond man said, throwing his hands on the air before rubbing his face, "That key is not so hard to find, the girl is just messing with you!" with his hands on his hips, James furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when none of the twins were in sight, "Mitch? Bubba?" he called again, slowly walking down the steps while looking around with a worried glance. Something wans't right, James felt it on his gut...where was Arlette? And the twins?
Gulping silently and loosening his burgundy colored tie, the blond young man moved his eyeballs around once more, but it was pitch dark. His eyes squinted to have a better view of his surroundings, but of course it did not helped at all, "Damn it..." he hissed, his body stop it's movements when he heard the floor creak behind him. James clenched his eyes shut, gulping as another creak was heard. Connor was looking at James' back, a smile was desperately trying to form on his face as he watched the man's grasshopper form twitch at the most common sounds.
As much as Connor wanted to stab his neck several times for all the things that monster did to Arlette...he was waiting. For what, he did not know, not yet. Perhaps for a face to face confrontation, waiting to see if James would be enough of a man to fight him or if he'd just scream for help from any of his 'associates', expecting they'd save his poor little frail body from Connor's blinding rage.
But what surprised him the most was that James had not noticed his presence behind him yet. Connor was pratically following the man like a shadow and he was just gulping nervously and acting like a coward. The male Assassin wondered what would be the best way to kill him: swift and silent or brutal and noisy? Normally, Connor would choose the first option because it was how he was trained to do, however, knowing what James did to Arlette and her family...Connor started to wonder what would happen if he chose the second one.
No...No that would be something his father would do. Connor had to calm his senses, focus on Arlette's safety and leave the manor as soon as he could. His brown eyes focused on James's trembling frame, that would be easy, easier than he thought, "W-Who's there?Bubba?" the blond asked again, clenching his hands together as he finally felt the looming presence behind him.
Now everything moved slowly.
Connor's hidden blade slid out with a quiet 'swish'. His hand moved upwards as he approached James, eyes narrowing when the blond's nape almost touched his nose, he could smell the disgusting sweet smell of his french cologne;burning his nostrils as he took a slow controlling breath. Licking his lips as anact of nervousism, the Assassin finally clamped his hand over James' mouth, the blond young man wriggled on his grasp before freezing completely.
"Do not dare to move." Connor hissed, the blade pressing against James' skin, "This will be quick..." his thoughts were betraying his words. Connor just wanted to make that coward suffer for all he did to Arlette and her family, but that wouldn't be the right thing. With his gray eyes wide as saucers, the Quatton firstborn whimpered, feeling the blade penetrating his veins, blood seeping out of the wound as everything went dark forever.
Connor let James fall on the floor like an old ragdoll, his brown eyes rose from the corpse to the redhead a few steps away from him,holding her father's arm over her shoulder. He saw Arthur Cunningham for the very first time, he was surprised at how tall and muscled he actually was. Maybe Arlette got her small figure from Mrs. Cunningham's side. Blue eyes widened in horror and disgust, her head turning to the side to prevent the vomiting that was about to come, "I-Is he dead?" she asked quietly, holding her father's heavy form on her shoulder.
"Yes." he said softly, approaching Arlette to take a hold of her father's other arm, "Let's take him to the wagon." Arlette nodded mutely, the two carefully walking out of the house with Adrik right behind them. As they were outside, Connor was surprised to see the three maids worriedly looking over them, the plump one who was holding a white rosary finally let out a breath, 'Miss Arlette!" she said, rushing to the red head girl's side, "Are you alright?"
Arlette smiled weakly, nodding towards the maid before looking towards Connor, "Where are we going ot take him?" she asked the Assassin, eyebrows curved downwards as her gaze moved towards her bruised father. Connor licked his lips before replying, "To the Homestead, we cannot help him inside the house." he whispered, carefully sliding Arthur inside the wagon. The tall man coughed a bit, resulting on droplets of blood falling upon his already bloodied shirt, his daughter peeking over the Assassin's shoulder in her tip toes since Connor was way too tall. "Will he be alright?"
"I don't know, as soon we get into the homestead we'll see." the young man looked over to Arlette. The poor girl looked terrible, bags under her eyes, her skin was a sickly shade of pale green and the poor thing was shaking like a leaf. Connor hated to see that, but he was somewhat relieved that the problem was finally over.
He managed to consider the idea of Arlette actually living in the Homestead. With the fact that he murdered three men inside her house in less of two hours, he thought it'd be a better idea if the girl stayed close to him.
He could protect her that way.
When Achilles opened the door, he was not expecting Connor dragging a bloody man inside the house, he also didn't expected Arlette rushing in with three maids following her. But the cat? Yes, Achilles expected the cat. "What just happened?" he asked, closing the door to prevent the chilling winds outside. Arlette turned towards him, eyebrows curved downwards as she explained everything that occured that night, "Please let us stay here Mr. Davenport! I promise we'll only stay one night!"
Achille's gaze softened, he gently patted the girl's shoulder while nodding, "Stay as long as you need." he whispered. Arlette smiled, bowing her head in thanks before rushing towards the room her father was staying. The girl stopped on the doorway, looking worriedly at Connor as he helped Arthur lie on the large bed, "Is he awake?"
"Somewhat." the Assassin whispered, adjusting the pillows below Mr. Cunningham's head, "He keeps waking up every now and then, but I think he'll be alright." his gaze moved to Arlette as she approached the bed, "You should rest as well."
Arlette shook her head in silence, holding her arms close to herself as she held her gaze upon her father's bruised body, "I don't think I'll be able to." she whispered, moving a strand of brown hair of her father's forehead, "I want him to be alright." she whispered, looking up at Connor with a small smile, "Thank you for bringing us here...I don't know what I'd do if,-"
Connor rose his hand as a signal for her to stop, "Do not thank me, I did what I felt it was right." he sighed, carefully moving closer towards her, engulfing her small frame in a hug. Arlette gasped in surprise, a deep crimson blush took over her pale cheeks as Connor warmed up her little body with his strong arms, "I would never forgive myself if something happened to you." he whispered on her hair, clenching his eyes shut as the thoughts of what would've happened to her flashed on his mind.
The girl lowered her gaze towards his robes, a small smile forming upon her lips, "I am alright now, nothing happened to me..." she said softly, her eyes moving towards her sleeping father. He seemed better now, the wounds were still there,but they seemed superficial now that she looked closer. Arthur was breathing slowly, his hands resting his his sides as his eyeballs moved below the eyelids rapidly. Arlette gently touched her father's forehead, kissing it soon after, "You'll be alright daddy." she said softly, covering his body with a blanket.
"I'll find a doctor for him." Connor said by the door, "But now you need to eat something, then rest." he said firmly, only softening his gaze when Arlette walked towards him, "Please." the Assassin whispered, sighing in relief when she nodded slowly. Connor was about to walk out, when he suddenly felt her small hand wrapping around his own, her fingers curling against his while her head rested upon his shoulder. He blushed a light red because of the contact, but squeezed her hand in reassurance, a flutter inside his chest as he did so. And in silence, the two of them wandered to the kitchen, holding hands much to Achilles' amusement.
I can't feel my fingers. Oh God.
The scene between Connor and James was supposed to be longer, but then I remembered that James was a coward and he'd never fight without back up.
So yeah! Reviews are love!
Also, the longest chapter so far, more then 4,000 words!