Location Unknown – Date Unknown

"Jan Adler?" questioned the hooded figure standing above him. Her voice was sharp, sharper than any other voice he had ever heard in his life that just hearing it sent a shiver down his spine.

"Y-yes…?" stuttered Jan.

In response, she pulled back her hood to reveal her shoulder-length ashen blonde hair. Her striking blue eyes stared right into his soul, soft yet firm. Her lips were well-formed above her sharp chin. The first words that came to Jan's mind were beautiful, and deadly.

"We're here to rescue you."

"We? Who sent you?"

"Will somebody please tell me what in the bloody hell is going on?" Jan's eyes darted back to where Charles was still kneeling on the ground with his hands behind his head. They had spoken in German, and Jan had completely forgotten that he was here. With a single deft movement, she pulled out a handgun and aimed it directly at his head.

"Who is this?" she asked Jan in German.

"He's a friend of mine. An English soldier sent here to find out what the Nazis are doing in the region. He got captured, along with his team."

"Does he know?" Without even mentioning it, Jan knew what she meant. Does he know about us?

"No, I've been careful. I gave him vague and sometimes fake information." If he had answered otherwise, Jan had a feeling that there'd be a bullet in Charles' head by now. She lowered her gun and turned her attention to Jan.

"Let's go. Can you walk?"

"A bit. My leg's wounded."

"You, Englishman."

"Uh, yeah?"

"Help Jan up."

"Gotcha." Charles went over to Jan and lifted him up, giving his own shoulder for support. "Wait, why am I taking orders from her?"

Meanwhile, she had moved past them and stood before the bleeding guard. His hands were coated thick in blood, trying to stop the flow from his stomach. His face turned to fear as he looked up. He brought up his hands in front of him and pleaded.

"Please, no, I beg–"

Before he could finish his plea, his brains had been splattered onto the wall. Lowering her smoking gun, she knelt and took out his handgun before throwing it to Charles. For herself, she took the rifle before leading them out of the hallway.

"Your friend sure is something," Charles whispered as he helped Jan move along.

They moved through a maze of corridors, turning left and right into narrow passages with old, unforgiving walls. The woman led them with little hesitation. At intersections, she'd only look in each direction once before wordlessly making a decision. She moved at a lightning pace, leaving Charles and Jan struggling to keep up.

"We're nearly out of here," she announced without turning back, going around the corner.

When the struggling pair turned the corner, the woman was standing flat against the wall, trying to make her figure the least visible. They tentatively followed in her footsteps. She turned to them and brought a finger to her mouth, telling them to be quiet.

"The room's full of guards," she whispered as she glanced into the room. "None of them are looking this way, so let's get past this quick."

As silent and quick as a fox, she leapt across and was already standing against the wall on the other side. She glanced inside and gestured for the two of them to go after her. As they limped past, Charles looked into the room and stopped for a moment before hurrying to the woman's side.

"I've got to get in there," he said as he let Jan down onto the floor.

"Huh? What for?" Jan asked, perplexed.

"Turns out my squad's here." He checked the gun's magazine and put it back in. "They're in there, prisoners of the krauts. I've got to get them out of there."

"Don't be crazy, lieutenant. There's four of them in there, and they're armed with rifles."

"I can't just leave them there!"

Jan turned to the woman. "Let's help him."

But she shook her head. "They didn't send me here to rescue a bunch of soldiers. I'm here to get you out and you only. This soldier is already one more person than I wanted."

"We can't just leave them there."

"We've got a more important war to fight. Saving a couple of soldiers isn't going to solve our problems."

Desperate, Jan turned back to Charles once more who was by now kneeling by the doorway. "It's too risky, lieutenant. You're not going to help anybody by dying here."

"You two just go. I'll handle this."

"You heard him," she said, her voice ice cold. "Let's go."

She hurried down the corridor towards the exit but turned around when she noticed Jan was not following her. She went back and knelt by Jan.

"What's the problem? You can't walk?"

Clenching his fist and full of determination, he looked her straight in her sharp, clear eyes.

"I'm not going. I'm going to help Charles."

"What? That's ridiculous. You're injured. We need to get out of here."

"I'll do what I can, but I am not leaving him."

"Look, my orders were to get you out. Have you forgotten what we're fighting? Every day you're in here means one less Assassin out there bringing the fight to the Templars."

"I'm not going to leave them."

They stared at each other for a while. They said nothing, but there was a silent tug of war between them. Each tried to keep up their hard look, hoping the other side would surrender. But Jan didn't. Finally, the woman sighed.

"Fine," she said as she moved next to Charles. "When I take one down, cover me."

"Got it."

With the same agility and speed she had used before, she rushed into her room. Her light steps made no sound as she approached the back of the closest guard. Before he even knew what was happening to him, she had jammed her wrist blade into his neck. Not wasting a single second, she pulled out his gun, used his dying body as a shield, and released two shots. One smoking guard fell flat onto the ground behind him as the bullet entered his eye. The other was luckier, the shot hitting his arm. The three other guards realised what was happening, grabbed their weapons, and took cover. Before the battle could commence, Charles had shot one more.

The gunfight commenced as the two remaining guards opened fire with their rifles. As one finished shooting, the other would shoot, keeping up a barrage of gunfire on the trio. Behind the cover of the now-dead guard, she retreated towards the doorway. Safe behind the cover of the wall, she took out her rifle and started shooting. She shot dead the guard who had been hit in the arm before turning her attention to the remaining two.

"We need to end this quickly. The longer we shoot, the more likely the guards outside will hear." She lowered her rifle and threw it to Jan. "Give me covering fire. Make sure not to hit me."

Jan picked up the rifle. It felt much heavier in his hands than it did back in Warsaw. But it wasn't the rifle. His hands were thin, and he had lost much of his strength. Gathering what was left of it, he dragged himself to the edge of the doorway and propped himself on the wall. They were being shot at. Jan and Charles looked at each other, waiting for their moment. When a lull appeared, in unison they brought their guns into the room and started shooting in the general direction of the guards. The guards took cover as they reloaded, and that's when the woman swiftly ran in and leapt onto them. In their last moments, they looked like prey realising that their predator had caught them. She landed between them, her blades digging deep into the back of their necks. She pulled them out, and Jan saw the thick coat of red, hot blood on them. Charles ran in and went to the cells. Shouting and chatter immediately came from them.

"It's the lieutenant!"

"Sir, you're okay!"

"Let's get you all out of here," he said as he searched a corpse for the keys.

"Here," she said, throwing the keys in front of him before leaving the room and guarding the corridor.

All in all, there were nine men released. Jan made sure to stay outside as well. It'd do no good for them to be too acquainted with the Assassins. Charles was another matter. He trusted him to understand what to keep to himself. Once they were all free, Charles brought them out. Some of them were armed with the weapons they took from the dead guards.

"We're ready, let's get the hell out of here."

Without a word, she started speeding down the corridor again. Charles helped Jan like before, as he deflected questions from his men. After more turns and intersections, they finally reached the outside. The bodies of several dead guards were strewn in front of them, some with gunshots and some with stab marks. In the distance, several shots rang out, sending a flock of birds flying into the air.

Jan looked up behind him to see where he had been imprisoned all along: an old, medieval castle in the middle of a dense forest of pine trees. The sun was setting in the distant west, and the air was becoming colder.

"Where in the bloody world are we, sir?" one of the soldiers asked.

"I don't have a clue."

"Kynsburg Castle, Silesia. We're near to the village of Kynau." She pointed west. "Around 11 kilometers that way is the city of Valdrich."

Suddenly, someone appeared from the forest. The soldiers quickly raised their guns, only to find another Assassin standing in front of the trees.

"Can we move?"

He nodded. His movements were familiar, and his clothes too…

"Kevin?" Jan asked out loud.

Kevin pulled back his hood to reveal his friendly face and curly brown hair. He smiled at Jan and the two shared a hug. They weren't together long in Poland, but the constant danger and pressure had made them close. Jan was glad that there was such a friendly face to him amongst all these strangers.

"Let's move," she said to Jan, raising her rifle. "We need to split. They can't come with us."

Jan went to Charles and spoke to him.

"Looks like this is where we split up."

Charles looked over Jan's shoulder and saw Kevin and the woman. Understanding, he nodded and clasped Jan's shoulder.

"Alright, I'm glad to have met you, Jan. I don't know who or what the bloody hell you people are, but as long as you're fighting against the Nazis you're a friend in my book."

"Will you be alright?"

"We'll find our way out. Let's keep up the fight, eh?"

"Until Hitler goes to hell.

"I like that. I hope we'll meet again, Jan. Hopefully, under far better circumstances." He smirked. "Godspeed."

With that, the two groups split up. The soldiers headed west, while the three Assassins made their way east. Kevin helped Jan as they silently crept through the forest. It was growing dark, and they needed to make their way to wherever it was they were going quickly.

They made their way through the trees and reached a river. They kept walking along the river until they found a bridge which they then crossed. A few hundred metres from the bridge, they reached a road and on one side a car hidden behind a couple trees and bushes. The woman took the driver's seat, while Kevin brought Jan into the back. She started the engine, and they were on their way.

Seeing her in the driver's seat and Kevin by his side reminded me of Angelina. Like an unwelcome lightning, the image flashed before his eyes again. Her shouting, shooting, and then her lifeless body falling onto the ground, her blood splattered all over the wall behind her. Jan held his breath. He wanted to breathe but couldn't. He was too deep in. But when he saw Kevin, he was pulled back to reality and the air started flowing through him again. And that's when a thought occurred to him.

"I haven't learnt your name yet," he said to the woman. She looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror.

"Elisabeth."

Fifteen minutes later, the sun was no longer in the now blue sky. They arrived at a grand, pastel-coloured 19th century manor. They pulled up in front of the stairway leading to the front doors. Elisabeth turned off the engine and left the car, knocking on the grand, wooden front doors. Jan could not see who opened it, but after a brief conversation Elisabeth returned to the car and told Kevin to bring him out. As Kevin helped Jan up the stairs, Elisabeth and the car disappeared into the darkening forest.

At the top of the stairs, a servant was waiting along with a well-dressed woman. She was clearly not expecting visitors. She was wearing a robe over her nightgown, and her hair was let down. There was no trace of make up on her face. Kevin and a servant brought Jan up to a second-floor room and laid him on the bed. They took his clothes off and made him comfortable before leaving him alone.

Bare pastel yellow walls, white ceiling, and white curtains. Besides the bed and the nightstands, there was chair next to the window. Jan was under the covers, but still he felt cold. The fatigue of the day began to catch up to him, and soon he was drifting into sleep. He felt like he was sinking into the bed. He wondered if this were how clouds felt like? Nonsense, of course. He knew what clouds were made of. But for the first time in almost a year, Jan could sleep soundly on a soft, comfortable bed.