Winter Winds and it's characters belong to me

AC franchise belongs to Ubisoft

Enjoy!

Adrik was quietly sitting on the window sill, tail flicking from side to side as he watched the snow flakes fall from the sky, disappearing on the cold,thick blanket of snow down below. He has been sitting there for quite a while now, yellow eyes focused on the view, not moving a single muscle. Arlette was busy drawing, Connor had left the house a few minutes ago, mentioning to Arlette he'd come back soon.

The cat watched as a young man, around his 20's, approached the front door. The two made a slight eye contact, but the boy quickly adverted his gaze in fear. If Adrik could laugh he would, he just loved when he scared people, Sophie being his best victim yet. The boy seemed to be talking to someone, by the heavy accent and the squeaky female voice it was none else but Sophie. Adrik decided to figure out what was going to happen, so he stretched his body like a bow, yawned and leaped out of the window, walking towards the hallway.

Sophie had the bad habit to read other people's letters, surely to glue them closed with wax soon after reading. It surprised the cat that the Cunningham's had kept her for so long, perhaps it was because they liked her or it was because she had nowhere else to go...after all, Auvergne was way too far. Sophie,surprisingly, did not opened this particular letter, for one it had no address. She lifted her skirt, hurrying up towards the library, where she knew Arthur was.

"Mr. Cunningham?" she called quietly, knocking on the wooden door with her knuckles, "There is a letter addressed to you." the plump maid gently handed him the letter, nodding her head before excusing herself, not before yelping as Adrik was by the door. With Sophie out of his view, Adrik wandered inside the library, leaping on Arthur's lap as the man unfolded the paper, "My brother replied quite quickly."

Incredibly so, considering he had sent the letter on the day before.

'Dearest Brother,

It has been quite a long time since I have news from you, our father had sent me a letter mentioning that your son was in Ireland. My condolences upon your wife's death as well. May she rest in peace.

But that's not the only reason why I am writing you. Brother, I have discovered things. Things that will change our view of the world! Things that will make everything crumble. You see, my many years of searching upon books and ancient ruins have led me to this strange globe. I have been dreaming of it, it has haunted me ever since I've discovered certain papers on an antique chapel in Aberdeen.

Brother,oh dear brother, if you only knew what this means. I can not say much about this on a letter, for so I am being hunted. You see, my discoveries are dangerous to important individuals,individuals that are capable of killing me if I continue with my research.

This is why, Arthur, that my letter has no address whatsoever. I've tricked them, but I do not know for how long.

I am living close by Inverness, dearest brother. I am only saying this because if I die, you'll be the only one who'll know where my research is at.

Until then, I shall send you more letters. If I stop, you know what was my fate.

Farewell brother,

Seamus'

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows, re-reading his brothers hurry writing with confusion. He assumed that his letter had not arrived yet, but Seamus felt he needed to tell him about the discoveries...his eyes focused on the place where his brother was hiding at.

Inverness...Inverness...he had to write it down somewhere. Adrik quickly followed the tall man to a table, sitting on the wooden surface as Arthur grabbed one of his favorite books and wrote it down with black ink, "Now I won't forget it." he said softly, "But...what is it so dangerous that my brother is being hunted for?"

"What does this all means,daddy?" Arlette questioned, reading the letter while sitting on the stool in front of a green and blue painted canvas, "And...uncle Seamus, will he be alright?"

Arthur was supporting his chin upon a fist, eyes focused on the floor as his eyebrows furrowed together in thought, "I do not know." he said silently, "I honestly am thinking on sending your brother a letter, to stay with Seamus for a while." Arthur rubbed his eyes with the tips of his rough fingers, "Seamus is not a good fighter, for God's sake. He could swat a fly away but the fly would make him fall off a chair and break his arm."

Arlette frowned, "So, what should we do?" she asked, "Do you think Robert would stay with uncle Seamus?" she had brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them while supporting her chin on top. She was waiting for Arthur's answer, but her father seemed to be somewhere else, "Father?"

'Hm?" Arthur rose his head quickly upon called, before shaking his head with a sigh, "I need time to think. I will send Robert a letter, mentioning what had happened on the past weeks...which was quite a lot." he said, grunting as he stood up, slowly walking to the door frame. Her father was healing, but she could see it still hurt a lot when he walked, as much as Arthur tried to hide it.

He sent her a smile before leaving, which she replied in the same way. As soon he was out of sight, Arlette's smile turned into a worried frown. Something wasn't right, for once, why was she dreaming with that strange globe and why would her uncle Seamus know anything about it? Had he seen it too? She unconsciously started to bite her nails, an extremely unladylike act that was caused by her anxiety, she hissed as the corner of her thumb started to bleed thanks to the constant biting.

Arlette sucked her thumb, furrowing her eyebrows before standing up from her stool. Walking towards the chest with the drawing supplies, where the many drawings of that golden globe were. According to her Uncle Seamus letter, he had been dreaming with a globe as well, Arlette couldn't help but think that this was too much of a coincidence, why would she dream about that globe? What does it has to do with her? She could somehow understand the connection between her uncle and the globe but why her?

"I don't understand." she whispered, looking at all the drawings, "This is so confusing..." Adrik was by Arlette's side, his yellow eyes locked on her face before he meowed, calling the girl's attention. Adrik was such a strange cat, it seemed like he always knew something. His pupils were dilated and the look on his face was almost of mischief mixed with pride...was he...happy that she was talking about the globe again?

"You are one strange cat,Adrik." she whispered, letting the black cat cuddle her lap as she looked to the drawings, " Sometimes I wonder what you are thinking about...would it be better if I kept imagining?" Arlette's smile widened as Adrik meowed, moving his paw to touch the paper, trying to yank it from her hand.

Arlette was unsure of how to feel, a part of her wanted to discover why her uncle was being hunted and why both of them knew about the strange globe...the other part,however, was being paranoid and thinking it'd be better if she stayed at home, drinking tea and painting on her canvas, leaving the things as it were. Amazingly, she only started to dare more after meeting Connor...God only knows that if he hadn't entered on her life, she'd be dead on her house now and James would still be alive, spending all of the Cunningham's money.

She was thankful for it. For knowing she had a brave side, it was small and very timid, almost impossible to see...but she had it, deep inside her heart and soul. "I don't think I thank him enough." she mumbled, leaning on her palm as she looked to the wall, "I don't think he knows how important he is to me." Adrik rose his gaze towards her, flicking his ears in interest as she spoke, "He doesn't know how wonderful he is,Adrik...he's been through...so much." Arlette sighed deeply, letting the air leave through her nostrils before standing up.

Adrik was a bit miffed that Arlette decided to stand up and prevent him from having a lovely slumber, but he knew she was thinking. But why did she needed to think while walking?

Connor was glaring at the door, glaring at the wall, at the floor, at the ceiling. He was angry. Angry because tonight his father was going to meet Arlette.

He wasn't going to hide his worry nor his anger. It was too much to handle, his father would ask questions to her, he'd make her confused, Connor would get even more angry, Haytham would tease him, Arlette would cry and both of the males would get into a verbal fight. The Assassin wondered if Arlette would mind if they stayed in that night...he was tired as well, all he wanted was to hold his lover close as the two slept.

"Connor?" he rose his gaze to Achilles, who was leaning on his cane, "Rough morning?" the amusement on Achilles' voice made the young man huff in annoyance, simply waving his hand on the air before letting it dangle by his side. Achilles chuckled, "Well, I think I know why you are like that..." he paused, "It's about your father isn't it?"

He knew he didn't even had to answer, Achilles knew. Hell what didn't he knew? "I don't have a good feeling about this." the Assassin said quietly, "I don't want to put Arlette into danger." those words were sincere, he cared too much for her. Achilles sighed, carefully walking towards his pupil and patting his shoulder, Connor looked down at the old man with a confused glance, his fists clenched by his sides unconsciously.

"I can't say that meeting your father is a good idea, nor taking Arlette with you. I can only hope you two manage to look deeply into your father's words, you know he likes to hide his methods in long speeches,Connor." Achilles said firmly, now leaning back on his cane, "Do not let him use his thoughts on you two, he will try, you know he will."

"I know." the young man said quietly, "If it starts getting out of control, we'll leave. I promise." Achilles seemed satisfied with that answer, but his eyes held a skeptical glance. He said nothing as Connor walked up the staircase, his pupil was surprised he hadn't said anything yet but decided to leave it at that, maybe Achilles had already said enough for the afternoon.

Lowering his hood with a sigh, Connor leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, he could hear every single sound on the Homestead. Miryam was talking to Norris, Prudence was laughing with Sophie while the two drank tea, Arthur and Achilles were on the living room playing chess- he could hear Achilles' annoyed grunts as Arthur won- and he could hear Arlette's quiet humming from her room. He decided he could rest on his bedroom later. Connor carefully walked to Arlette's bedroom, watching her form from the door frame. She had one of her knees up her chest, the other leg dangled from the tall stool as the red haired girl painted on a canvas.

A small smile formed on his face as he watched her. It was quite a new habit he had developed, and watching her was just one of the few things he liked to do. Her hair was in a high bun, but dark red tresses fell down her neck and rested between the small shoulder blades. She had grown fond of wearing male clothes while at home and for Connor she continued beautiful. Carefully to not to make any sound, he approached Arlette, wrapping his arms around her waist as he stood behind her. The girl jumped in surprise, almost dropping the paintbrush towards the wooden floor, but smiled in relief as she saw whose arms belonged to, "You scared me." she whispered, receiving a quiet hum in response and a kiss on the neck, "Are you feeling well?" Arlette asked, tilting her head slightly to take a better look at him. Connor sighed against her skin, "Tired." he mumbled "And not so excited upon having you meeting my father." surprisingly that came out easier than he had planned, "I know you want to meet him, but I am afraid of what he might try."

Arlette placed her painting supplies on the canvas, wiping her dirty hands on the old cloth resting on her left thigh, "I know." she said softly, folding the dirt cloth on her hand, " And you have all the right to be like that, Connor. From what you told me about your father, he seems a very..." she had paused, licking her lips to measure her words , "A very interesting man." Arlette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "If you wish, we can meet him some other day. I do not mind that, you know I don't. I'd never do something that'd make you feel uncomfortable."

He felt her small hands covering his as a chaste kiss was pressed on his temple, "But you said you wanted to meet him." he whispered, making the girl smile softly, "I do. But only if you are comfortable upon the meeting." Arlette said, rubbing her thumb on the back of his hand as he looked towards the floor. He pondered her words, placing his chin on her shoulder. Thinking again, his father hadn't said anything on where to meet him or even if he'd come...he had said 'If I'm finished with my errands I'll go. Do not wait for me.'

Well.

"Thank you,Arlette." Connor said, kissing her jaw and making the girl giggle at the touch. He was ready to change the subject, so he moved his gaze to the canvas and furrowed his eyebrows a bit, "What are you painting?" The canvas was a mix of blues and greens, he could see a faint charcoal line forming figures but he could not see what they were, although it looked like a person. It has been so long since he had seen Arlette paint or draw, she had told him that the inspiration had left her for a small amount of time.

"Oh it's...it's just something I've wanted to do for a long time." she said, blushing a light shade of red as she spoke. Connor arched one eyebrow, looking back at the canvas "And, what is it?" he asked, giving a few steps forward to take a closer look, he could see a strong jawline and hair. Well now he knew it was a person, but the sketch was too faint for him to recognize it, "I...I don't know what it is but it'll look amazing." he said softly, "Just like everything you do."

Arlette blushed, moving her gaze to her dirty hands, "Thank you." she said bashfully, looking up at the Assassin, "How was your mission?" she asked, walking towards her bed and sitting down on the mattress. Her small hand patted the spot next to her and Connor sighed, "You know I'll end up falling asleep." he said softly, already walking towards her.

"Yes."

Connor had placed his head on her lap, the smell of oil paint entered his nostrils while mixing with her own scent. Her fingers daintily combed his hair as he closed his eyes, placing his hands atop of his chest, "It was very tiring." he whispered, "We had to meet up with a man named Lionel Oliver. He was going to tell us about the 'traitors' among the Templar order and what plans they had with the British Crown."

"Oh? And did you two got the answers?"

Connor frowned, "No, he was dead when we got there and we were ambushed. There were about...8 men inside the house and 5 more outside. We managed to kill most of the ones inside before we fled. It was almost 30 miles away from here, my legs feel boneless." he said, sighing when Arlette pressed a kiss on his forehead, then on his nose. Connor opened his eyes only to be greeted with her smiling face and beautiful blue eyes, "You should take a bath and rest." she said, "You had a long day...do you need to go on another mission tomorrow?"

The Assassin furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember. He already went to Boston and New York...the Frontier...he couldn't remember anything to do until next week, which was a mission on the high seas, "No...why?"

"Because tomorrow,we'll have the day all for ourselves then." she said, kissing his lips and tapping his shoulder,"Now go take a bath,I'll make us some tea." she said, gently sitting him up on the bed before darting out of the door. Connor smiled fondly, rubbing his neck as he looked at the door. He was very lucky on finding someone like Arlette, and he thanked every single day about meeting her that night. Arlette came back running into the room, quickly putting on shoes and wrapping a shawl around herself, "Too cold!" she announced before going back to the kitchen.

Connor only smiled, standing up to his feet and walking to the bathing area, he surely needed a bath right now.

Arlette rose her head as Connor appeared on the kitchen, a relaxed little smile- almost invisible- was on his face, "Hello." she whispered, walking towards him and handing him the tea, "You look very relaxed."

Connor smiled, grabbing the small teacup delicately, he noticed how tiny it was on his hand just now... "I am relaxed. Thank you for drawing me a bath." he whispered, which Arlette only shrugged her small shoulders with a cute lopsided smile. He then drank his tea as fast as he could and engulfed the girl on his arms, the movement made Arlette squeak in surprise before laughing on his shoulder, "You are too nice to me,Arlette. I don't deserve any of this."

Arlette frowned, running her small fingers on his hair as her lips were close to his ear, "Don't say that." she whispered, letting him place his head on her shoulder, "You blame yourself too much, you do not know how important you are to me...to everyone here. You went through a rough path, Connor...and you managed to survive it." she placed her hands on his cheeks, pressing their noses together, "I love you, more than anything on this world. And I'll always stay here for you."

Connor's eyes glinted at her words and a smile formed on his face, " Konnorónhkwa." he whispered, noticing her confused look and her eyebrows furrowing, "It means 'I love you'." he said, tucking a strand of her dark red hair behind her ear. Arlette blushed, a small gasp leaving her lips as she looked at him, eyes glinting in amazement as he said that, "That's...that's...beautiful..."

"Oh?"

"Can you teach me?" she asked cutely, standing on her tip toes, "It's such a beautiful language, please Connor!" she said, hugging his neck while pouting her lower lip. The Assassin smiled yet again, pressing his lips on hers as she continued to hold him, "If you teach me that language I heard you sing once, I think it's a fair trade." he said, chuckling when realization hit her hard and her face was buried on his chest, her small hands clenching his shirt and her muffled words could be hardly translated as 'you heard me sing?'

"Yes, on your room." he whispered, "What language was that?" Connor questioned with curiosity, making the redhead girl slowly look up at him and smile shyly, playfully tugging at the strings of his shirt. He awaited until she whispered very quietly, "Celtic. My mum taught me." Arlette said, looking up at him as he yawned softly, covering his mouth with the back of his rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm, sighing deeply through his nose as he blinked heavily, shaking his head to prevent the blurs on his vision thanks for his lack of sleep,"Sorry." he whispered, his voice also getting thick with sleep as he spoke in a small slur.

Arlette smiled,"Come." she held his hand and tugged him to the bedroom. She told him to stay on the door frame as she made up his bed, smiling when he nodded very slowly, before pulling his head back up and clean his throat, "I am awake." he announced softly. The Irish girl smiled, noticing the sun setting on the horizon as she made the bed, he sure was going to sleep early that day...she did not minded, she preferred it like that. Connor at home than at a dangerous mission on God knows where, facing God knows who in the middle of a winter night. "All done." she said, looking at her love and smiling sympathetically at his snoozing form against the door frame, she almost felt bad on waking him up.

But she wouldn't allow him to sleep standing up. So she gently woke him up, taking his hand and placing him on the bed and giggling as he practically fell down on the mattress, moaning slightly while hugging his pillow, "Do you want anything,Connor?" she asked as the placed the covers over him, his only response was a mumble she could not understand and his eyes opening a tiny bit, "It's alright, love. I will stay here if you want."

That made him smile softly,which was a hard task considering how sleepy he was, and he mumbled a quiet, "Good." before pulling Arlette down with him. She smiled, snuggling close to his body as he wrapped his large arms around her small frame, placed his chin atop of her head and instantly fell asleep. His snores went from quiet to loud in a matter of minutes, that showed how tired he actually was right now,Arlette gently touched the scar on his cheek hoping that he wouldn't wake up because of the said movement...thankfully he didn't.

She frowned a bit, looking at her small hand. Her small, frail, pale hand in contrast with his strong, tanned features...sometimes she wished she was stronger...Connor deserved someone better, someone faster, braver. What was she anyway? Just a tiny woman from Ireland, with so many fears it made her brain hurt. She slowly removed her hand from his cheek, hiding below the covers as she frowned. A soft sigh left her lips, as the tears threatened to fall...she was pathetic.

And she did not deserved him.

I AM SO SORRY

BUT HEY GUESS WHAT I FINISHED COLLEGE SO WOOOOOOOO

So more time to write unless i get a job...and yes,not meeting Haytham in this chapter, sorry. WW Playlist is on my profile!Go take a look!

Reviews are loooove!