Part 16
(There are vague mentions of drug use in this chapter.)

Katy couldn't be bothered to sit up and look around at her new surroundings, there was no motivation, no reason to try and figure out where she was. Instead she lay on her back and stared at the grey stone ceiling above her. She just couldn't decide what she was feeling, if she was feeling. Katy's mind felt empty and full to bursting at the same time. She wanted to scream and cry, to break something, to find a dark corner and be left to rot, to somehow not be.

It was strange, because she knew she should feel alarmed at those thoughts. There was some sort of detachment, as if something had slipped and was no longer in sync. This sensation abruptly reminded her of the times she spent visiting a friend that had gone to university, the delicious haze and freeing numbness fuelled by alcohol and a couple of joints before heading to a club. That was what it felt like: a drug induced high.

Maybe that's it. Katy thought. Maybe this is just some elaborate hallucination. A small surge of hope flowed through her, she threw a quick glance around the room, and then it was gone. Katy couldn't find it within herself to care. She exhaled sharply through her nose and went back to glaring at the ceiling.

Some time later, there was a soft tapping noise coming from somewhere, it took longer than it should have for Katy to realise it was someone knocking on the door. She pushed herself up and rested her weight on one forearm and twisted to look at the door with a small frown on her face. "Yes?" She called. The voice didn't sound like it belonged to her, like everything around her, it seemed distant.

"May I come in?" Altair's almost familiar voice came from the other side.

"Yeah." Katy replied and pushed herself up fully so she was sat cross legged on the bed facing the door.

It opened slowly, tentatively, and Altair entered the room. He gently pushed the door to, but didn't fully close it. The Assassin didn't move any further into the room, he watched Katy carefully from a distance. "Would you like any food?" He asked quietly.

Katy looked over Altair as she pondered the question, he was in his robes, but the hood was down. It was still strange to be able to see his face without it being hidden in shadows. There's something else that's a bit off, then Katy realised he's not fully armed. He's wearing his hidden blade, but apart from that, the only other visible weapons are the throwing knives tucked into his belt.

"Katy?"

"Huh?" Katy blinked and tried to focus. Not that there's anything to focus on.

"Would you like anything to eat?" Altair asked again. Katy shook her head and looked away from him. "You have not had any food in three days, you need to eat." He insisted.

"I'm not hungry." Katy stated, picking her nails. The amount of dirt stuck under them was disgusting. There was silence for a short while as Katy attempted to gouge the dirt from under her nails. Then Altair sighed. "Al Mualim has requested you meet with him today."

Katy froze. Her entire body suddenly tense. "When?"

"As soon as is convenient."

Katy sighed and bowed her head. ((This is it.)) "May as well get it over with." She muttered and stood up off the bed.

A momentary look of shock flashed on Altair's face, he was clearly thrown by her decision, but he quickly recovered, nodded, opened the door and stood back to let Katy through.

As they walked through the castle of Masyaf, there seemed to be a constant whispering sound in the air, as if the echoes that followed when anyone spoke never quite died out. It was unnerving and sent shivers down Katy's spine, it had an almost suffocating, overbearing feel. She would understand the eerie atmosphere if the walls that surrounded her were dank and dark, closed off from the rest of the world, but the internal structure was open, light and warm.

Whilst playing the game, there were only limited parts of the fortress that could be explored, Katy always knew there was more to it, she just didn't realise how much more there actually was. There were stairs and hallways, so many doors and even more open archways, the views of the surround valley and mountains through the windows were breathtaking. She just couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

You're in a building full of trained assassins... Katy tutted and rolled her eyes at that obvious thought. The intrusive presence at the back of her mind seemed to have become a permanent fixture since the episode with Altair on the road. It never said anything significant, just scathing retorts to any thought Katy had.

Katy was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice they had reached their destination. A sharp coughing sound brought Katy out of her reverie and she looked up. In that instant, she tried to remember why she had been so scared to meet Al Mualim. Here he was, stood in front of her and all Katy could really think was how deeply unimpressive he was.

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A/N: Thank you all again for your support, please do review. I thrive on your feedback.

I do apologise if this one has a slightly weird feeling about it.. I ended up changing (read: re-writing) a lot (read: all of) this chapter and the ones to follow. Mostly because I changed how I wanted to end it. Which is probably the worst thing to in the middle of the whole process and some of it has already been delivered to the public.
Anyway, thanks again and please, please, please review! x