Uncertainties

Only the muffled rumble of the crate was to hear, when Connor pulled it closer to sit down in front of the blonde. No one said a word. Stephane and I stayed in the background and watched the scene. Connor said upright on the crate, his back straight, his hands lying on each of his knees. The woman hadn´t pulled away from her comparatively relaxed posture. A self-confident smile was on her lips while her eyes looked the assassin in front of her over. She didn´t paid attention to us others at all. It didn´t appear like she was a prisoner who was supposed to give answers. In the contrary. She seemed to enjoy this situation.
"What is your name?", Connor repeated his first question, the woman´s smile widened again and I expected another rejection. But she just cocked her head and asked in return: "What is yours?"
She was clever. Obviously she didn´t intend to give Connor the feeling that he was in control of this conversation. That she wasn´t equal to him. But the assassin didn´t let himself be swayed bit it, too. After a second of silence he answered shortly with the name he was commonly known with.
"Connor", the young woman repeated and it looked like she was savouring it. "You don´t look like a Connor."
Expectantly she looked at him, the silent question in her eyes was visible even for me. This time Connor hesitated a bit longer, probably because he wanted to guess, if she was intending something with her questions.
"The name I was born with is Ratonhnhaké:ton", he finally answered and the young woman nodded slowly, before she repeated the name to herself several times. I just saw how she moved her lips and remembered when Connor had told me his name for the first time. It had taken long until I had been able to pronounce it correctly and I couldn´t hide my malicious joy when I watched her trying it, too.

"Well then, Ratonhnhaké:ton."
My eyebrows shot up when she said this name without a stumble of her tongue.
"You want to know where Ray Jarvis is, am I right?"
Connor nodded and the woman leaned back on the chair. It became more and more obvious that she was enjoying this situation and it stirred up my distrust. When she really knew what we wanted to know and felt that we wanted this information badly, she could use it to have us in her hands. At least she could think that because I doubted that Connor would get involved in such games. He would rather search Ray on his own.
"The problem is that I never had much to do with the boss. I always had to deal with those who gave me his orders. I just met him once and didn´t talk to him at all." She shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever you are expecting from me, I fear I can´t help you."
Silence, which was based on indignation and bewilderment for my part. I had firmly believed that this self-confident behaviour of hers meant that she really knew something. But now she was sitting in front of Connor and claimed that she didn´t know anything at all?

Stephane seemed to share my thoughts. He moved out of the shadows and stepped beside Connor, his fist raised towards the woman.
"After all your little games you want to make us believe that you know nothing about your boss?"
The blonde smiled at him smugly, while Connor raised a hand and firmly pushed Stephane´s fist down. The men shared a wordless gaze, before Stephane withdrew into his corner again growling.
"I think you misunderstood me. You wanted to know where Ray is and I told you, that I don´t know it."
"But you know something else about him?"
The young woman looked at Connor again and shrugged her shoulders smiling. "Maybe."
Tensed I pressed my lips together. Stephane wasn´t wrong with saying that she was playing games. She was shameless, but in her own way clever and cunning. She kept her cards close to her chest, although she was in a quite hopeless situation. But obviously she relied on Connor´s word that she didn´t have to fear anything and much to my regret, she was right to do so. Connor would stay true to his word, no matter how much he hoped for information from her.

I heard how Connor took a deep breath, before he leaned a bit forward, his elbows propped on his knees and his hands folded. "Please, tell us what you know about him. We have to find him."
"Like so many others." She chuckled and leaned a bit forward, too, looking straight into Connor´s eyes. "I could tell you where he probably is, but for that, you have to do something for me."
"What do you want?", Connor asked directly but with distrust. The young woman laughed again.
"Safe conduct out of the city. Everywhere some armed idiot is searching for me and you´re looking like you´re good in hiding from such people. Promise to me that you will bring me out of Boston in one piece and I will tell you."
Connor leaned back again and seemed to think about her offer. If it were up to me, he should reject it. She had carried out Ray´s orders and so she was guilty of all the crimes most of her comrades where sitting in prison for, too. She also deserved it and strictly speaking she could tell us everything, if she got what she wanted. So I silently shook my head, when Connor gave me a short look over his shoulder, although I wasn´t sure if it had been questioning. But it seemed like my opinion didn´t matter anyway.
"Well then", he started. "I will accompany you into the frontier. But I want you to tell me everything you know about Jarvis' possible whereabouts right now."
"I agree." She answered without hesitation and seemed to be more than pleased with the course of this conversation. I wasn´t. I just didn´t trust her and at the same time I didn´t think that she deserved the freedom Connor had granted to her. She was a criminal and who knew what she was going to do in the frontier to secure her survival? She certainly had enough experiences in attacking other people after all.

Grimly I crossed my arms in front of my chest and watched the young woman sprawling relaxed on the chair and giving Connor a wide smile whose nature I couldn´t judge. It was neither mocking nor ironic, but it was also not friendly. It confirmed my assessment that I didn´t trust her at all and I asked myself, what Connor was thinking when he wanted to help her. He didn´t say a word while we were all waiting for her to fulfil her part of the deal.
"Like I said, I never really talked to him. The only thing I know about him is what I had been told or what I had been able to watch on my own and it isn´t much", she started and to my own surprise, her smile vanished. Suddenly she appeared totally serious. "But we all know that he bought a house in Savannah some time ago. I just saw it once from outside. A real manor, but I really don´t know how he got it. Anyway, he put the spoils, he wanted to keep for himself, there. They say, he said once that he´s preparing it to retire there, when everything is over and he has fulfilled his aims. He spent much time there, so he´s probably there."
"There is no other place?"
She shook her head. "Not as far as I know."
Connor glanced over his shoulder and looked at me. So we had a trace, although I still wasn´t sure, if we could trust it.

"Do you think she spoke the truth?", I asked Connor, who was just harnessing Aldah to the carriage and looked to the young woman, who was leaning in the shadow of a tree some metres away. We were on the property of the Adams again and prepared our journey home. Connor still wanted to keep his word to the woman, so that she was going to accompany us on a part of the way. In Concord our ways would part.
"It did not look like she was lying", Connor answered my question, tightened the last strap and patted the black horse´s neck. "Furthermore I think it is better to have at least some trace instead of none. Even if Jarvis is not in Savannah, I can probably find out where else he could be."
"But do you really think Ray bought a house to settle down there?" I followed him when he went to Cobalt to prepare him, too. "It would be too risky. He could be found and arrested there any time. Especially if he is keeping the stolen goods there."
"He also moved into a fort here in Boston and made no secret of it, when he planned attacks in the city. I doubt that he really cares that he could be caught." Connor put the saddle on Cobalt´s back and looked at me over the horse´s back. "Do not think about it so much. We cannot lose, when we follow this trace. Either it is helpful, or it is not."
"But normally you want to be sure, too."
"Normally I do not have to deal with someone I have to find before the templars at all costs. No matter what they want from him, I want to be the one who makes sure that he cannot harm anybody again."
Maybe he was right. We had to find Ray at all costs, even if it means to eliminate him, although I would want to know what the templars wanted from my brother.

I sighed quietly, turned away and went back to the carriage slowly. My gaze accidentally fell onto the blonde and she looked at me. A meaningless smile curled her lips and suddenly I started to feel uncomfortable under her gaze. For me it was certain that I was going to be glad, as soon as our ways parted again. I wasn´t able to judge her character and her intentions and it was giving me a bad feeling. I was relieved when Maria stepped to me in this moment and made me turning my attention to her.
"Are you ready to leave?", I asked my friend and was surprised when she blushed.
"Well, actually...", she started and really seemed to be embarrassed when her gaze flitted over my shoulder. Confused I turned around and saw the young man, who was standing by the gate and seemed to be waiting for someone. It was the merchant´s journeyman. I smirked and turned to Maria again, whose cheeks were now as red as those of an apple.
"I guess you want to stay a bit longer?"
She nodded slowly and smiled lightly. "I will come home somehow."
"Take your time." I smirked and embraced her shortly, before she went to the gate. Her admirer squared his shoulders immediately and I could see him smile. Obviously they had sought and found each other. Only time would tell when they were going to see that, too.
"Where is Maria going? We wanted to set off."
I turned my eyes away from the two lovebirds, who were just leaving and looked at Connor, who was looking after them with knitted eyebrows.
"She is taking care of her future. She will follow us later", I answered with a wide grin, but Connor was still frowning.
"And who was the man with her?"
This man was a bit slow-witted sometimes.
"With an important part of this future", I answered and when his expression didn´t change, I rolled my eyes. "Well, I had to explain to mine, what a marriage proposal is. I hope hers is going to know it on his own."
Connor looked at me confused, but when I raised an eyebrow, he seemed to understand at last.
"I see", he just said shortly and looked into the direction Maria had disappeared in, before he turned away and went to Cobalt. "So we can leave now."

Shaking my head but smirking, I followed him with my eyes, before I went to Samuel Adams to bid farewell and thank him for his repeated hospitality. When I finally turned to the carriage, I faltered when I saw how the blonde climbed onto the coach box and took Aldah´s reins. Irritated I knitted my eyebrows and went to her with quick steps.
"What do you think you´re doing?"
She turned to me and a mocking expression appeared about her mouth. "Someone has to drive this thing. I thought you´re needing your hands for the brat there." She nodded at Emily I was carrying with me in her sling as always. I glared at her furiously.
"I get along with the carriage as well as with my brat. Thank you", I hissed and in the first moment I was glad when Connor appeared next to me, leading Cobalt by his reins.
"Is there a problem?", he asked, but made no move to expel the woman from the coach box.
"There is", I said shortly, not looking away from her. "I will certainly not drive in this carriage, if she is steering it."
"And I just wanted to help", she unnecessarily added in a sweet tone. Frowning Connor looked back and forth between us and it annoyed me that he didn´t make clear that she had no business on the coach box. Who knew what she could do? Maybe she wanted to run off with the carriage or whatever. To make matters worse, Emily whined quietly in this moment.
"Maybe you should go into the carriage with Emily", Connor said to me and even held the door open for me. I snorted indignantly.
"And let her drive? No way."
"What do you think she can do? I will be right next to you."
I opened my mouth to say something, but unfortunately I couldn´t think of a good argument against the blonde woman. Furthermore Emily started to cry loudly now and so she was more important than this ridiculous conversation. So I just pressed my lips together, before I climbed into the carriage and tore the door out of Connor´s hand to slam it shut behind me. I ignored his acidulous gaze when I sat down on the padded seat and lifted my daughter out of the sling. Shortly afterwards the carriage started to move with a light jolt.

During the whole journey I stubbornly stared out of the opposite window of the side where Connor was accompanying the carriage, if I didn´t have to take care of Emily who had luckily fallen asleep quickly. No matter how childish it was, I really was offended because he had given the reins to the young woman. We didn´t know anything about her. Not even her name. Normally he was rather distrustful. Hopefully he wouldn´t ask her to come to Davenport with us...
Luckily he didn´t. When we reached Concord, she stopped the carriage and leaped off the coach box. I could only hear how she bid farewell to Ratonhnhaké:ton, how she kept calling him and she wished him good luck for his search for Ray. Then I saw her disappearing between the trees by the edge of the street. I really was relieved that she was finally gone and so I was more mildly minded towards Connor, when he appeared at the carriage´s door and looked at me.
"Did you calm down?", he just asked and when I nodded, he appeared more relaxed, too, before he looked at Emily, who was sleeping peacefully in my arms.
"I will drive", he told me and disappeared from my vision. I heard him tying Cobalt to the carriage, before he climbed onto the coach box and the vehicle moved on again.
Finally at home he took care of the two horses, while I went into the house to take care of Emily and put her into her bed. I was glad to be here again. After all this recent seesaw, all these questions I was asking myself, I had the feeling that I needed a certain consistency and especially the homestead, this house and my daily life were offering that. But not least I was relieved that Connor was here again, although I knew that he wasn´t going to stay long. Without needing to talk to me about it, I knew that he wanted to travel to Savannah soon to search for Ray there.

So I was prepared for everything when I was standing on the pier in front of the Aquila two days later and bid farewell to Connor. We didn´t know what he had to expect from this journey. If the blonde hadn´t lied to us, Connor was going to find either Ray or at least something else in this house that could tell us more about him. Or she had lied and there was nothing helpful in Savannah at all. That Connor could run directly into a trap was something I didn´t even want to think about. No matter if he was going to find Ray or not, I just hoped that nothing happened to him. But it was him who leaned his forehead against mine and murmured: "Take care of you."
I didn´t know what he was afraid of. I would stay here in Davenport as always and wait for his return. Unless he thought I would throw myself into some solo attempts again.
"Don´t worry about us. Caleb is here after all." I smiled faintly and watched him bending down to blow a kiss on his daughter´s little head. Suddenly I asked myself if she was going to notice that he wasn´t here. Would she even notice, if something should happen to him and he didn´t return at all? I gulped and pushed this thought back into the last corner of my mind. I didn´t even want to think about something like that.

Connor pulled me against him one last time, before he went to the Aquila and they set sail shortly afterwards. I stayed on the pier until the masts disappeared on the horizon, before I went back to the house slowly. Close to the stable I saw Caleb, who had his bow firmly in his hands and aimed at a tree a few metres away from him. With cords he had tied some small wooden plates to its branches, which were dangling back and forth in the wind and served as targets for him. I stopped and watched Caleb pulling back the bowstring, staying in this position for a moment and finally shooting. The arrow bored into one of the wooden plates and I saw how a satisfied grin flitted across the boy´s face. Over the year since Connor was teaching him archery, he had blossomed out to a good bowman. He had trained doggedly for it and for some time now he disappeared into the frontier from time to time and returned with prey. Sometimes Connor and he went hunting together. Caleb learned much from him and although I hadn´t wanted Connor to teach him how to use this weapon at first, I was proud of his progress. But now that Caleb had mastered the bow reasonably, he had got the ambition to learn the handling of other weapons, too. He spoke about fighting and I didn´t like the thought of it. Caleb had always admired Connor and he already knew much about the templars and assassins. He hated the templars, not least because they had killed his grandfather and he always made a remark about his wish to become an assassin to fight against them. I had always seen it as the wish of an adolescent, created by his admiration for Connor. They shared almost the same fate. But it seemed like this wish was still hidden in Caleb´s mind and although Connor had never said something about it, I sometimes had the feeling that he wasn´t averse to it. I for my part hadn´t a good feeling about it.

Thoughtfully I watched Caleb collecting the shot arrows and putting them back into his quiver, before he turned around and noticed me. Grinning he ran to me and pointed at the targets in the tree.
"Did you see how I hit them?", he asked me excitedly and despite his adult wishes, I saw the child he was. I forced myself to smile.
"You did it well. You´re making progress."
Caleb nodded pleased and hung the bow over his shoulder in great posture. "Now that Connor isn´t here, you can be sure that I will protect you and Emily. Everyone who wants to harm you, gets an arrow."
I could see that he was serious about it, but until now he just had shot animals. He didn´t know how it felt to end a human life and I hoped that he would never learn it. No matter if he did it deliberately or not.