Part 13
Katy gave up on any attempt at sleep, instead she stared at the ceiling and listened to the sound of Altair's breathing, soft, shallow and even. She tried not to think about the strange dreams she was having, or the conversations going on in her head, but with nothing else to do while she waited morning to come, the thoughts rolled through her mind followed by questions that she couldn't work out the answers to.
The thing that frustrated Katy the most was how helpless she felt about the whole situation. There didn't seem to be anything she could do to get out of this place. Not that you've tried. Katy let out an angry sigh. No, she hadn't really tried, being locked in a cage for the majority of her time here and then being stabbed by the supposed hero of the story didn't help.
Lost in thought, Katy didn't notice the sky was beginning to lighten, when she heard some movement in the next room she snapped out of her daydreaming and looked around. Jabal entered the room, he carried a cup and some food along with a clean bandage for her.
"Did you sleep at all?" He asked Katy, he put everything he was holding on the floor and helped her sit up. She nodded but Jabal obviously didn't believe her. "Do not lie, child." He said with a small smile, then handed Katy the cup.
As she took a sip, she was relieved to find out it was just water. Katy set the cup back down and picked at the food. It was some kind of pastry, it was quite tasty, and very sweet. It tasted more like a dessert than a breakfast food, she didn't complain, compared to anything else she had been offered it was absolutely delicious. "This is really good." She said to Jabal. For the first time since she had been here, Katy managed to eat the whole thing.
"It is good to see you eat something," Jabal smiled again. "You are so thin you would not survive a hard winter." He went to pull down the blanket that covered Katy, but paused before he touched it. "May I?" He asked, Katy nodded, shocked that he would even ask.
As Jabal inspected the wound, Altair woke, without a word, he rose from his pile of cushions and went to the next room to dress and get himself some food, he then sat and silently watched the Rafik rebind Katy's stomach. "There is no infection," Jabal informed her, "And it is not deep, it should heal well enough if it is kept clean."
"Thank you."
Katy winced as Jabal pulled the bandage tight and tied it off. The Rafik stood back from her and sighed, he glanced at Altair then back to Katy. "I suppose the sooner this is done, the better." Jabal said to no one in particular, he gave Altair a pointed look as he went back to the main room to give them some privacy. "Be nice."
"When am I not?" The Assassin called after him, a little smirk on his face.
"You are impossible." Jabal shouted back, a smile evident by the way he spoke.
A knot of fear manifested itself in the pit of Katy's stomach, on one hand it seemed irrational, there was no reason to be afraid, on the other, it was perfectly reasonable whilst in close proximity to a trained killer. Katy tried to push it down and away as the Assassin made his way across the room and sat opposite her.
It was strange to see him like this, if she didn't know who and what Altair was, he could have passed for any ordinary person on the street. He wasn't wearing his robes, instead he wore loose fitting trousers and a tunic, the only weapon he had was his hidden blade. With no hood he looked almost vulnerable, but Katy knew, just from the way he held himself, that was as far from the truth as it was possible to get. He didn't need a weapon to kill her.
"You do not need to be afraid," Altair said softly, "I am not going to hurt you." He fidgeted a bit while he spoke, as if she was as uncomfortable about the whole situation as she was. "I apologise for the way I was last night."
If I want to get out, I have to start somewhere, I need him on my side. "It's fine," Katy replied, then scoffed slightly before she went on, "If you think this is weird for you, you have no idea." Altair's eyes narrowed, a silent question she was willing to answer. "I wasn't lying."
"What is your name?"
Katy was a bit taken aback by how blunt he was. Did you expect anything less? ((Shut up.)) She let out a frustrated sigh before answering: "Katy."
"Okay, Katy, You honestly expect me to believe that you are from the future?" The Assassin asked, the tone of his voice indicated that he didn't. "Or that I am some character in a game you play?" He sat back and waited for an answer.
Katy weighed her options, the few she had anyway. "You want me to prove it?" Altair nodded in response to the question. "Fine." Katy pursed her lips before she went on. "Your name is Altair Inb-La'Ahad, you are an Assassin from Masyaf, a Master Assassin until very recently." Altair's eyes had widened, there was no other reaction from him, so Katy continued. "You were demoted because you broke all three tenets of your Creed when you were sent to retrieve the Apple of Eden from Robert de Sable for your Master, Al Mualim."
"An ordinary girl would not know these things." Altair interrupted her, he had tensed slightly as Katy spoke, "But this does not prove anything, you could be a spy."
"Fine!" Katy searched her mind for a bit of information about the Assassin that no one would know. Then something sprung to mind, not from the game, but the book. The only other person that believed the truth was Al Mualim. "Abbas' father, Ahmad, he committed suicide because of the guilt he felt for your father's death."
That's done it! Altair's face paled and he went completely still, he even seemed to have stopped breathing for a little while. "No one knows.." He stared at Katy, lost for words "How?"
"I've been asking myself the same question." Katy said to him.
Altair stumbled to his feet, it was bizarre to see him so shaken, caught off guard, "This is impossible." He ran a hand through his short hair and leaned back against the wall. Katy tried to stand as well, it was difficult, but she managed to get upright.
She just stood for a little while, to catch her breath and let Altair try and process the information. "It's weird, I know." Katy eventually agreed. "I shouldn't be here, all I want is to go home, leave you to your world and me to mine."
"Wait." Altair's head shot up and he looked directly at her, as if he was trying to figure something out."You say you have played this 'game', or are from the future, and you know about my past." Katy nodded, a bit worried about where this was going. "Do you know what will happen in my future?"
A/N: Would have posted this earlier but it's been a super busy weekend, but here it is. Superfun Altair times.
Thank you all for reading this far, please review if you like :) x
Quick additional note: I now have a dedicated writing blog on Tumblr (andalusafics) where I''ll be posting a few behind the scenes things as well as new chapters, concepts for future fics and some original short stories!