Important A/N: Hey guys. I would like to address an issue that has probably happened on the website before. It hasn't happened to me, yet, and it better not happen either.

People stealing other people's ideas. Copyright infringement.

It is an insult to the original author and the person stealing the idea is pretty much insulting himself because he obviously can't come up with any ideas because his brain is too small and he has a sucky imagination.

That being said, I would like to put a message on here to any kind of person like that.

WARNING:To anybody who thinks they're bold enough to possibly steal from me, if you steal any of my ideas or characters and I mean ANY of them and I find out about it or I read it in your story, I will flame your ass till next Tuesday and I will send you a nice little private message as well. If you don't heed this warning, then Altaïr and I will come and stab you in the face and mercilessly injure your pride. You have been warned, so tread lightly.

Now that that's over with, I thank all the kind reviewers and new followers and such that I have gotten! You guys rock! And a special thanks to Skippie89 who boosted my confidence a lot and just plain made my day. :D

~Read, Review, Don't Copy, and Be Merry!~

~Dora (Doors)~

Chapter 29

Back in his Arms

Damn it, Damn it, Damn it. It really is her. The little girl who was on the streets. I could have sworn she was at least ten or eleven, but thirteen? She looks so young. She is young! Too young to be caught up in this horror and chaos of sex slaves and evil men and rape...

Oh no...

No.

Fate, NO!

She couldn't have been raped! She just couldn't have!

I slowly looked down at the young being clinging to me for dear life. She was dressed in the red garments. Red. Red for blood... Virgin blood. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth in disgust.

Those bastards. Those fucking, disgusting, bastards. I am going to kill them. I will kill them all for the atrocities committed here. I will slit all of their throats.

"Oh... Lady Assassin... Th-They... T-Touched me." She cried into me. This broke my heart which in turn fueled my fire.

"Shh... Shh, Kara... It's alright... Shhh, you must listen to me." I said quickly. She kept crying. I looked up and around and saw the crowd staring at us and the dead man laying on the floor. The guards were surely about to flood this place. "Kara, please. You must listen to me or we will both be dead in a few minutes." This stopped her crying. She looked up at me and nodded slowly. "Listen to me, you are going to leave this place and you and your father are going to leave this city for good." I said to her.

"What about Naji?" she asked. Damn it. I had forgotten all about the boy.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"They caught him when they caught me. I don't know where they took him though." she whimpered. I was going to have to lie to her. This was going to hurt but I couldn't wait around to find the boy as well. I just wanted Kara and her father safe. I closed my eyes and took a breath.

"I'm sure your father will find him. I told him to gather his things up and get ready to escape. My friend, the one who rescued us today? Do you remember him?" I asked. A small smile tugged at her lips.

"How could I forget? You two obviously care for each other a great deal. I can tell. Is he here to help us and rescue us?" she asked, her face slightly lighting up. I nodded.

"Yes-"

"What's happened here?" came a loud, rough voice. I looked up to see several black garbed guards come from the left and the right. I'd guess about five on each side.

"Kara, Run. Get away from this scene or they'll punish you. Run!" I said. She looked towards the guards and then took off behind me. I raised my arms up again and took a firm hold on the chains, ready to use my legs and feet to kick somebody's ass. Suddenly I heard a scream. I craned my neck back as far as I could and saw a snickering guard grab a hold of Kara's shoulders.

"And just where do you think you're going, sweet thing?" The guard walked up beside me and dragged Kara with him. He stood beside the column and all of the guards stopped and looked at the body.

"Who did this?" demanded one.

"Who do you think you stupid bastard? I did!" I yelled at him. He turned his glare on me.

"You did?" he hissed.

"Yes I did." I said with a smile. "And I am proud of it too..." a plan slowly formed in my head as well. I held my head up high and smiled coyly at the guard that stood in front of me. I rubbed my legs together in a sensual fashion. "It's amazing how much lower body strength a woman has, isn't it?" I said in a seductive voice. I heard Kara gasp. I darted my eyes to her and she was giving me a look of pure shock. I winked at her, then looked back at the guard. He smiled and walked closer to me... That's it, just a bit closer.

"Yes, it is indeed. Finally coming to terms with your set fate Desert Rose?" he said in a wicked voice. I smiled and took one step up. The guards behind the one in front moved. The guard looked behind him and held a hand up. He then looked back at me. I bit my lip and licked it.

"The funny thing about fate is that it changes." I gripped my chains and pulled up. I heard the crowd gasp and shout as I wrapped my legs around the guard's neck. His face was that of surprise and shock. "Looks like yours just took a turn for the worse." I squeezed my muscles and jerked my hips, then my legs. Another crispy snap echoed out and I smiled.

"Get that bitch! Restrain her!" yelled someone. Kara screamed and I held onto my chains. Each guard that ran up got rewarded with a kick in the face, but one man ducked and evaded my kick and pulled a sword out. I stopped thrashing. I wasn't worried about another scar, but I didn't want to lose a toe... Or a foot for that matter. The guard slowly rose his blade up to my neck. Everything seemed to slow down. It got quiet and everyone watched. I bit my lip trying to think of something else, one more trick that I could have up my sleeve. I narrowed my eyes and glared at the guard. I looked him dead in the eyes and tried to intimidate him, for his eyes were all I could see. He had that black veil over his nose and mouth.

I stared at him. He dared to take a few steps closer, this time his blade was touching my throat. I stared into this man's eyes.

Wait...

Those eyes.

Green... I narrowed and strained my eyes a little more and... Holy... Oh my... Golden Brown flecks! My eyes widened a little as I stared at him.

"Altaïr?" I mouthed silently and slowly to him. I saw his eyes soften and his head nodded forward slightly.

My heart jumped.

That's it. As soon as we're out of here, no more holding back. I will kiss him. My life is too unpredictable to hesitate on something like this. Even if I just get one kiss, that will be it. I will be satisfied... Well, maybe not... My first goal for right now is just to kiss him though.

My face fell. I had to look defeated, so that was what I was going for. I slowly lowered my body down and touched my feet back down to the ground. I let go of my chains and let my body relax. Two guards came from either side of Altaïr and grabbed me by my arms.

"Punish her, boys." said the guard holding Kara. She cried out and the man slapped her across the face. She screamed.

"Let her g-" I saw a hand rear back to my left. I struggled to get them off of me. The guard with his fist up looked at the guard holding Kara. The guard holding Kara nodded. I closed my eyes and tensed up, waiting for the pain to come...

But that's when I heard it. That unmistakeable sound of a sword burying itself in the flesh of an enemy. I opened my eyes and looked at the guard beside me. Altaïr's sword was delved all the way through the guard and came out shinning blood red on the other side. All was silent at first...

Then everyone screamed. Men screamed and ran, slave girls who had been watching screamed and ran. The serving girls screamed and ran. As usual, all hell had broken loose. I had a major rush of adrenaline shoot through me as I saw everyone run. Altaïr reached behind his black hood and pulled his white one up, then ripped off his black robes to reveal his beautiful white ones underneath. The guards let me go and attacked Altaïr. The guard that held Kara let go as well. She tried to run to me.

"No! Kara stay back! Stay right there against the pillar! I don't want you getting caught on the stray swing of a sword." I said sternly. She obeyed and pressed her back against the pillar. I turned my attention back to Altaïr.

Damn, do I love to watch him fight.

He sliced his sword across the chest of a guard that ran up in front of him. One jumped at him from the side and Altaïr slid under him easily and cut his stomach as he went. The man fell dead, but as soon as he was dead, another took his place. This one came from behind this time. I didn't even have time to scream a warning to Altaïr. He had already drew his short sword, whipped around and buried it in the man's back. I stared at him as he finished the guard off, his body dropping to the floor.

Altaïr then looked up at me. I smiled at him and he shot one back at me. Fast footfalls caught my attention and I looked over to my right. Another guard came running towards me. I grabbed my chains and drop kicked his ass into a knock out. He fell out on the floor unconscious. A few people were still running and screaming, trying to get out as soon as possible. All this confusion was a bit of a relief and a blessing, because it would be easy for us to escape now.

I still gripped my chains in case any other people decided to challenge me, and of course, they did. I held my chains tightly and delivered kick after kick, and a few knees to the groin. I saw Altair struggling with one person, but I had to worry about the guy in front of me. He gave a twisted smile and took a step closer. I swung my legs out, but misjudged the distance and my legs didn't meet their intended target. The man stepped forwards and delivered a crippling blow to my stomach.

"Ahhh! Damn it! You son of a bitch!" I choked out. The air was pushed from me and I bent over as much as my shackles would let me. The guard laughed and I saw Kara run towards him. She stepped on his foot, then punched him groin. I looked up at her, slightly shocked. She looked over at me and smiled. I nodded my thanks and threw my legs up around the guard's neck. Another quick jerk of my hips and legs and he was finished.

Altaïr ran up just in time to watch me deliver the neck snapping move. He watched the man fall to the floor, lifeless. I took a deep breath and lowered myself back down. I looked up at him and saw him smirk at me.

"Well, I hope that won't be my fate if your legs are ever wrapped around my neck." He walked up to me and I bit my lip as I smiled.

"Oh, parish the thought! I'd never kill or choke my savior. I'd rather reward him. Besides, I'd rather my legs be wrapped around your waist than your neck, Altaïr." I said smoothly. I saw a brief look of surprise run over his face, but it was quickly replaced with his smile. He reached out and brushed my bangs over to the side. I smiled and closed my eyes and leaned into his touch. He stepped closer and ran his hand down my neck and brushed his thumb against my lower lip.

"You don't know the half of it, my Rose." he said softly, his voice making my blood warm with desire.

"Then get me out of these god-forsaken chains and lets get the hell out of here so you can show me." I said quickly.

*Every word that came out of Alera's mouth was such a pleasant surprise to Altaïr. "She must have missed me a lot." he thought to himself. He smiled and drew his sword. "And Damn, I know I've missed her too."*

Altaïr drew his sword and aimed.

"Cut the chain off as close as you can." I said.

"I hope this works." he said with anticipation. I nodded and shut my eyes. "It better work damn it." I thought. I heard a clang and a rattle as the chain snapped from my shackle. I opened my eyes and looked up. I pulled my right arm and the chain fell from the loops of the columns and down to the ground.

"Kara, pick the chain up and pull it tight so he can cut the rest of it off for me." She nodded and picked the chain up. She pulled one end and I pulled the other. Altaïr swung and the chain snapped off. Both of my arms were free. Kara looked at me and smiled in victory and so did I. I looked back at Altaïr and nodded.

"Collar next." he nodded and took aim again. I stood still. He brought the sword down on my left, and the piece of the chain still attached to the collar fell limp against my shoulder, then he aimed on the right side and brought his sword down and another piece fell limp. I looked down at my broken shackles and loose chains that hung from my collar. I was free. Altaïr sheathed his sword and I looked up at him.

There was a short pause as we looked at each other...

He took one step forward, but that was all he had time for before I jumped in his arms. His arms wrapped tightly around my waist and back and I wrapped mine around his neck.

*Altaïr gladly and eagerly accepted Alera into his arms. He held her tight, not wanting to let go but knowing that time was of the essence. But he just wanted this one moment. He breathed in her scent and his hands rubbed soothing circles into her back. She was his again.*

The first thing that hit me was his scent. The scent of a man, the scent of my assassin. Blood, sweet, earth... and something that made me smile... Hay. That reminded me of our little hiding session we had earlier today... Damn I have missed him so much. I felt his hands rub circles into my back and I sighed into his robes. I was in his arms again. He loosened up on me and we pulled back, but we stayed so close. He put his forehead on mine and he took a deep breath.

"Can I be honest with you Alera?" he whispered. I smiled.

"You might wanna make it quick." he smiled back and kissed my forehead, then my temple.

"If we were alone," he looked me in the eyes with a soft yet serious expression. "You'd be mine right now." he whispered. I felt my heart race and my heat rise. A slight smile tugged on the corners of his mouth and his eyes held a light in them. I smiled too, and started to lean forward and so did Altaïr. We were so close...

"Ah-hem!" ah. Damn it. I looked to my right and felt Altaïr's lips meet my temple instead of my lips. I looked at Kara. I had kind of forgotten she was there. She had an eyebrow raised, a smile on her face, hands on her hips and one hip cocked to the side. I smiled and let out a short laugh and I heard Altaïr chuckle quietly beside me.

"The girl is right, we should all be moving." he said. I nodded and started to walk to Kara, but felt Altaïr catch my wrist and run his thumb over my Assassin's Scar. I looked at my wrist then up at him. I smiled, then turned to Kara and held my hand out.

"Lets get the hell out of here. Shall we?" I winked at her. She smiled and took my hand. "Come on. I know how to get out of this place." We ran over to the side and back down the path that the guards had lead me. The night air was cold and the moon still shown bright, but right now we just had to figure out how to find Kara's father and leave this place.

For Good.

My apologies for any mistakes. Hope you guys enjoyed! Please remember to Review! :D

If you review... You'll get a virtual cookie and I'll make Altaïr give you guys a hug!

Altaïr- What if I don't want to give them a hug?

Me- Well that's just too damn bad. I'm gonna make you. These awesome people deserve a hug, especially from the world's greatest and hottest assassin.

Altaïr- Well, when you put it like that...

Me- Ha! I knew you'd see it through. Thanks Alty! *Runs to the kitchen to make cookies*

Altaïr- Make me some cookies too! *Runs after Dora*