Part 8

Katy fought, she shouted and punched and kicked and bit at the people that tried to get her out of the cage and into a pair of manacles. She writhed and squirmed, even tried to run once, but the faceless men overpowered her, they bound her hands tightly with a rough bit of rope, locked the manacles around her ankles and unceremoniously dumped her in the supply wagon of the caravan.

Everything surrounding that event was a bit of a blur to Katy, she was panicking, all of the fears she had tried to quash during the night boiled over when two large men came into the room that morning. The voice in the back of her mind told her to remain calm, of course Katy had ignored it. It wasn't the right time for rational thought, despite the lethargic feeling that had hovered over her since she arrived in this world, Katy used every ounce of energy she muster, but it wasn't enough. So, laying on her side in wagon, completely spent, Katy let sleep take her.

It took a few days to reach Acre, Katy was ignored for most of the journey. The first night, one of the men had a lot of wine and tried to grope her. She yelled and stumbled away from him, Garnier threatened to have his hands removed, the rest of the party stayed away from Katy after that, only speaking to offer her food or water, most of which she turned down. They moved at a leisurely pace, only travelling in the morning and late afternoon to avoid the scorching midday sun.

When they finally reached the war-savaged city they paused briefly outside the walls to remove the shackles from the men Garnier had taken from Talal and sell the remains of their travel supplies. The rest was stored in one of the few warehouses still intact. Once that was all done Garnier led them past the guards at the gate and into the labyrinth of city streets. The party got bigger as they ventured further, guards in black tunics joined them, uninvited but not turned away. Garnier's men, Hospitaliers.
After what felt like a life time of walking they approached a rather imposing looking building. Large, square and grey, vast wings enclosed a courtyard with a well at the centre, the sun was high in the sky, but it seemed to be casting an ominous shadow. Katy knew this place, she looked around taking it all in. It was exactly the same as the game, everything was in the same place, everyone dressed the same. She stared hatefully at the back of Garnier's head. I killed you here, I killed you because you were torturing these people.

Almost like clockwork, like it had been done a hundred times before, the guards that had joined them in the city separated the group, leading people away through various doors, leaving Katy with Garnier and one other guard. She shivered when Garnier turned to look at her. Don't buy anything he says. I know, he's the bad guy! Katy blinked. Huh, that was weird. The doctor didn't say anything, he just looked, he circled her and looked. When he eventually spoke, it was chilling.

"A shame I could not keep you with me," Garnier said while shaking his head. He stopped in front of Katy and smiled, "You are far more broken than anyone I have had before." He tutted a couple of times and shook is head. "You do not even realise it, do you, girl?" The old man sighed and began to walk away, "Come, I will show you where you are staying tonight."

Katy stayed in the small room Garnier had led her to for the rest of the day, food was brought to her, but it looked unappetising, despite being painfully hungry, she just couldn't bring herself to eat. Instead, Katy alternated between sobbing her heart out and gouging at the scabs on her thighs. She was slumped against the wall opposite the large, square window when she heard a strange scuffing sound, it seemed to be coming from outside the building. Katy glanced at the window, Nothing, it's nothing, then looked down at her hands, a thin layer of dried blood covered the tips of her fingers, they felt sticky when she clenched them into fists.

The night seemed no different to the many Katy had spent in Jerusalem. It was dark, lonely and cold, the only improvements were that she had an actual bed and it lacked the smell of a cesspit. If she could mute the sounds of shouting coming from the hospital, it could almost pass for peaceful. She crawled over to the small bed in the corner of the room, despite how tired she felt, Katy couldn't get to sleep, she tossed and turned for most of the night. Katy eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep just as the sky began to get light.

Katy was rudely awoken a few hours later by the sound of a blood curdling scream. Breathing hard, she bolted to the door, mercifully, it was unlocked. She pulled it open and, for some reason, ran towards the sound. There was a loud crack, like someone snapping a large tree branch, immediately followed by another pain filled screech. Katy stopped as she reached the walkway that overlooked the courtyard. A man was being supported by two Hospitalier guards, his legs were quite obviously broken. They were dangling limply, scraping the ground. Garnier stood over him, berating the poor man then ordered that he be taken away.

It was then Katy realised what happening. Or what was about to happen. She looked over at the entrance of the courtyard and yes there! saw a group of scholars, there was one that wasn't quite like the others. His robes not as white, the way he stood wasn't as relaxed, a sword at his hip. Altair. Katy watched him watch Garnier. Her grip on the railing tightened, it was fascinating. She had done this, it was like she was playing the game again. The assassin must have felt her eyes on him, just as he broke away from the group scholars to follow Garnier on his rounds, he looked up at her, his eyes narrowed slightly. Just a split second, but then he was back to the task at hand, stalking his prey.

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A/N: As I was reading over this before posting I was debating whether or not I should rewrite this chapter, it just doesn't feel like a very strong one. It bounces around a bit, but I didn't want to draw out the "intro" part of the story more than I have.. I dunno. Ah, well, it's done now. I still might adjust it a bit at some point in the future, but it sits well enough for now.

Thank you all again for reading, and to my followers and those who have reviewed! x
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