Part 17 (TW: death threats and wishes right at the end, nothing big, just a heads up)

Al Mualim was old. From what Katy remembered, he was somewhere in his mid-fifties, by modern day standards, that was bordering on the very upper edge of middle age. By the standard of the time she was in, and given his particular occupation, the man was well beyond the age of retirement.

The Master of the Assassins didn't say anything for a long while, he just looked at Katy, examining every part of her with one good eye. The cloudiness of the other made Katy nervous, it reminded her of the Norse myth where Odin gave one of his eyes for great wisdom and knowledge. She wondered if that was the symbolism Ubisoft was going for when they designed this character, or if he was just an old man with a cataract.

Katy almost knew that this silent judgement was a disarming technique, designed to make her uncomfortable, but all she felt was irritation. ((Just get on with it.)) She sighed and shifted her weight, her feet and back were sore, she just wanted to go back to her bed. Altair stood quietly to one side, his posture relaxed but alert to his surroundings.

Finally, Al Mualim spoke. "From what I have been told, it is impossible for you to be here." His voice was quiet. "That you know things you should not." He took slow steps around the table he was stood behind as he talked. "I have also been told that you have travelled her from the future, that your mind is muddled, you are volatile and a potential threat to our order."

He stopped directly in front of Katy, looked her up and again, then turned to face Altair. "Given all of this information, I can not help but wonder why one of my best would insist upon bring such a person here."

Altair straightened, he looked uncertain, but spoke his case. "Forgive me, Master, I merely thought that a threat such as this should be contained."

"Ah, yes." Al Mualim smirked. "You were certainly right to think so, however, such a problem could have been solved in ...other ways."

Katy blinked. Is he suggesting..? "She is an innocent." Altair's voice cut through her thoughts.

Al Mualim's smirk turned into a seemingly genuine smile. "Perhaps there is hope for you yet." He said softly. "You may go, Altair."

Now they were alone, Katy did start to feel some kind of fear creep up on her. She watched Al Mualim like a hawk, every movement he made. I can't trust him, no matter what he says, I will not trust him. The old man leaned against the table and clasped his hands together. His eyes gleamed and the smile fell away from his lips.

"Now," He said, all traces of gentleness and civility gone. "Who are you, really?" Katy said nothing, she crossed her arms and tilted her chin up slightly. "I see." Al Mualim chuckled. "Defiant."

"What exactly do you want from me?" Katy asked. There's no point beating around the bush. "You know I'm not lying."

Al Mualim nodded slightly. "You are right." He stood up straight and walked back behind the table and over to one of the large dark wood bookcases as he spoke. "I know you are telling the truth, and as for what I want from you..." He pulled a small chest from a shelf and placed it on the table. "I want to know how much you know."

"I'm not telling you anything."

"That is where you are wrong, my dear girl." Watching Katy very closely, Al Mualim opened the chest. It emitted a soft golden glow and cast horrible shadows onto his face.

Katy's eyes widened as he reached in and pulled it out. She tried to stop herself from saying anything, but it seemed to reach into her mind. "The apple." The whisper was barely audible, but it ghosted through her lips. You need to focus. What? Katy blinked as she felt herself move. She looked down and saw that she had taken a step forward, then back at Al Mualim. Focus."No." Katy said. Don't you da- "No!"

The shout shocked her out of the trance she was in. Katy screwed her eyes shut and backed away until she felt the handrail that ran around the length of the first floor stop her. She grasped it with one hand as she struggled to get her breathing back under control. Katy felt like she had just run a marathon, her chest heaved as she took deep breaths.

Katy looked rapidly between the apple and the man holding it. Al Mualim's expression became increasingly frustrated. He scoffed and in a flash the apple had vanished and he turned away. Katy couldn't move, she probably could if she tried, but she really didn't want to. Even as her breathing returned to normal, she didn't loosen her grip on the rail behind her.

Al Mualim was speaking, his voice was harsh, the volume undulated. Clearly he was annoyed. When he turned back around to face Katy he had a look on his face. Like the girl was a pile of animal waste left to rot. He approached her, getting far too close. Katy leaned away from him.

"You may stay here for a while." Al Mualim said. "But if you speak of what you saw to anyone, I will make you wish you had never been born."

Katy glared at him and something snapped. God, I fucking hate him. "Is that supposed to be a threat?" She asked as he moved away.

The leader of the Assassin's gave her a questioning look.

"I wish that every fucking night before I go to sleep!" She yelled, not caring any more. "I don't want to be here, believe me, I can't deal with this crazy shit." Katy straightened, some strength coming from somewhere. "All I want is to go home. And I would rather die than tell you anything, so next time, old man, don't make it a threat. Make it a promise."

A/N: Hey, so we're reaching a peak, this is the end of Part 2 of the story. One more Part to go (between 7 and ten chapters depending on how I split them up) and maybe a couple of chapters of Epilogue and were done. The end is in sight.. aggh, scary and a little bit sad.
If you follow my Tumblr, you'll have seen I've sort of fallen into a Hobbit AU and it is the most adorable thing. It's not mine, but I love it so much so I'm going to get it out of my system by writing a few one-shots that I may or may not post on here. Check them out if you're into that kinda thing :)

Thanks so much you little dears, I appreciate all of your support and feedback.

Let me know what you think, reviews etc.