Rain poured heavily outside as Élise sat on her bed, brooding. No matter how many times she thought it through, she ended up in the same place: she was a member of the Templar cause, and a loyal Templar would report the information to her superior.
She tired to find a way around this truth, again and again, but all she had against it was emotion.
She could not let her emotions stand in the way of righteousness.
She had delayed enough, she would walk through this fire.
Élise rose from the bed. There was a small hope he could see the wisdom in peace.
She opened her bedroom door and walked out. The floor boards creaked under her step. It was fateful and somber journey like walking to her own execution.
Down the stairs she walked. The Chobat patriarch might have already noticed her presence.
At the floor was Timothee.
He looked at her expectantly.
She broke the long silence.
"Monsieur...yesterday...while, while I was out. I...I spotted two of those I grew up with from a distance. Assassins."
The last word felt absolutely electric. Fate was sealed.
His eyes were wide, his mouth agape. She continued.
"I...I'm sorry I did not tell you sooner. I just...I eavesdropped. They seem to hiding in the Café Théâtre."
Café Théâtre. Those damning words. He knew where they were now,where they might all die by her confession. "And...and targeting Robespierre."
She hoped the last sentence would soften his mind to peace.
"Mon Dieu. Élise I...I...thank you for bringing this to my attention!"
He did not reprimand her for the delay. That was slightly reassuring. But now the fate of her former compatriots hung in the air.
"Sir, I...I think we should...I think we should sue for peace. A truce, while we have a common enemy in the Illuminati." She tried to read his face. She could not. "It would be foolish to fight a war on two fronts, and we can double our strength if..."
She tried to read his face, again, but she was at a loss. So much hinged on this moment. "A truce?" He stared in silence, before looking to the side in thought.
The rain pattered. He still did not speak.
He was actually considering it. Her spirits started to rise.
He looked back up.
"And they don't know where we are, where you are?"
"I don't believe so, Monsieur Chobat."
Light was creeping its way into the darkness.
She added. "I'm...a symbol to them. I think I...maybe could..."
"Oui...oui, a truce would be...logical."
That last word hit her like a bullet, but it was anything but injurious!
He continued, "We have the upper hand, if we know where to find them and not them us..."
He was actually seeing things her way! All that dread, and this was what she had been avoiding!
He continued, "We...we'd have nothing to lose from attempting such an arrangement! We might even be able to leverage the knowledge of their hideout to be more persuasive."
She was in awe. Her spirits were rising.
"As long as we don't compromise any of our secrets in pursuit of this alliance...I...Élise! I can't think of a good reason why not!"
Unbelievable. All that dread, and this was an outcome. She ran over and gave him an uncharacteristic embrace!
It caught him by surprise. And her. She collected herself and realized her faux pas, before she parted, stepped back, and then sheepishly looked down.
"Uh...thank you, Monsieur. I..." She shifted her right foot uneasily against the floor.
"I can't make any promises, Élise. I am in charge of operations here in Paris, but there are men above me who could veto my decisions. And I can't promise your former compatriots in the Assassin Order will be as peaceably minded either."
"I understand," she said, still not looking up.
"I will compile a letter of...a peace offering, with a list of Illuminati targets, tout de suite. You go rest! I can tell this has been weighing on you!"
That was an understatement.
As she turned back to the stairs, her excitement blossomed. All that burden, those weeks of anguish, lifted! She felt lighter than air. She grinned a tremendous, unlady like grin as she ascended the steps, then walked through the hall.
She opened the door into her bedroom, and collapsed onto her bed. She thought back to her father and sister in Normandy. She had forged an alliance! She had saved good people's lives! All the heaviness in her mind was out. All the dread and guilt and conflict was over.
She began to weep.