They had been following the royal family for most of the day now, both Élise and Arno on a single horse. It reminded her of the emblem of the Templar Order, though this time it was not poverty which rendered them to a single horse, but rather it was a way to keep the Assassin on a leash. That ironically meant Arno had to be at the reigns, so his back would to be to her, rather than leaving her vulnerable to a literal knife in the back. Arno had been aloof for most of the ride. His disdain for her was obvious, but she wondered if any fiery thoughts were going through his head with her hands on his waist this entire journey. She had heard conflicting things about male lechery.

They agreed about one thing: the royal family was stupid. King Louis, his wife, his children, and his wife's sister, made their journey in a large conspicuous carriage drawn by six horses. They chatted liberally with locals during their stops. The queen even gave sliver plates to a helpful peasant. And they had not shown any sign of suspicion towards Élise and Arno, even as they followed behind by about thirty paces the entire way.

Marie was playing a governess from Russia. The king's sister played a nurse. The king himself played a valet, which Élise found strangely amusing. His little boys were dressed as girls.

As the day went on, it had become humid and overcast. But this could not last much longer. She could see the town of Varennes only about a mile ahead. The Illuminati ambush had to be coming soon. The nearest land mark was a stone bridge, crossing a river. Forests flanked it. A perfect spot to finally shatter these hours of peace.

She was well armed in preparation. She carried two pistols instead of her usual one and wore the special addition to her bracer the Templars had crafted just a few days ago.

She tried to look for signs of human life ahead. There were plenty of cattails to hide amongst in the river. There were plenty of trees and bushes in the nearby forest. But straining her eyes as she might she could not-

Thunder and smoke! Two royal horses whinnied and fell, and the stallion recoiled as she gripped tightly with her thighs. Several high-pitched screams rang from within the coach. Six shots fired, two in the forest and four on the river bank!

The ambush had begun! The horse's front legs returned to the ground. Two good warriors against six. Arno jostled the reigns and accelerated towards their enemies. She unholstered her pistol as the equine pounded forward. They passed the royal wagon. One of the men had discarded his rifle and was pointing a pistol directly at their ride.

"Jump!" she said. And no sooner had she launched herself from the beast than the enemy's gun roared, and the creature cried. She landed with a roll. She avenged her stallion with a smoke and a bang, her enemy keeling over and splashing in the water. The swift retribution amazed even her. She heard Arno's gun discharge too. Élise tossed her first pistol and took out her second. Her eyes caught another enemy. She aimed roughly and fired. But the bang meant nothing, she missed. She had probably pushed her luck, over confident from her first kill.

Their gazes locked as the smoke faded into the air. His face was gaunt and mustached, chiseled with a few decades of age. He had not dropped his rifle. For a second, they stared, stalemated. Then his face contorted and he raised his bayoneted gun, charging towards her. But he was ignorant; Her pistol was expended but she was better armed than he thought. She raised her wrist.

Once he made it out of the water he began pounding his wet legs at a respectable pace. When missing was nearly impossible, she fired her bracer augmentation.

The small metallic dart hit his sternum. He staggered back, looking down at the object in momentary confusion. Élise swiftly ceased the opportunity, running up and pouncing her prey, driving a blade into his neck. Dirty and intimate, it was the classic Assassin way.

She lifted herself from her slain adversary and looked towards Arno. He had disarmed his opponent, and was bayoneting him just the way the other warrior had hoped for Élise. He withdrew the bloody blade and the Illuminatus fell on the grass.

"Retreat! Retreat!" she heard from the forest. Arno dropped the musket, looked to her, as if asking for permission to pursue. She put her hand up, instructing a cessation of hostilities. It felt like the right order to give. She was not sure why.

A thick silence followed in the humid air. Then King Louis voice broke it in the distance. "Madam, Monsieur, thank you! Come here, both of you!"

She and Arno again looked at each other again. She nodded, and they both turned towards the king and his carriage, who had gone slightly off the road.

Three dead horses mixed with three live ones made a bloody, tangled mess. There was a splintering of wood in the top right corner of the wagon as well. Far more than six bullets had been fired.

The remainder of the family was exiting. The royal couple was on one side (closer to Arno and Élise), Marie's sister and the children on the other. A strange twist of fate that a Templar task force had rescued the monarch.

"Three of my steeds may be dead, but my family is safe!" he said as they approached. His family? Was he feeling grateful enough to blow his cover? Or was that a slip of the tongue, mind clouded with joy at serendipity?

He turned to his wife. He said something, and she climbed back into the wagon. She was no doubt searching through their decadent and copious luggage. When she emerged, she handed two things to her husband. They looked like golden candle holders.

"You two!" the grinning monarch said. "I don't know who you are, or where you learned to fight like that, but thank you!"

As they arrived with in conversational distance, he stretched his arms outwards with the gifts.

"Here! One for each of you! The least I could do in return!"

Élise had never been fond of ornate things, but they could certainly fetch a hefty price at -

But something else caught their attention. The clopping of an approaching cavalry. Élise and Arno turned. There was a troop of guards, five in a triangular formation with an officer at its head.

She looked back at King Louis. His grin was starting to melt. His arms began to drop to his side. Then he swallowed, gently set the candle holders down, adjusted his collar, and composed himself.

The soldiers slowed to a stop. The leading one spoke.

"We heard gun shots. What happened here? A highwayman att- Mon Deiu! Rio Louis!"