Parting Ways

Chapter 16, A Change of Scenery

Assassins Creed 3 fan-fiction

With reluctance my eye lids opened to see the sunlight shine brightly through the window, highlighting how dusty the air was and how much dirt had wedged itself into its cracks and crevices. After rolling out of my bed I straightened my bed covers and headed over to the window. A strong yet chilling breeze washed over my face. I clasped my hands onto my hair when I realized how knotted my hair was. 'I really need to clean this place up and get a good hair brush too! I'll ask Achilles if he has a hair brush and cleaning equipment.' I sighed heavily sensing this was going to be a very long day. I rubbed my blackened feet against my calves to get some of the grime off. I walked along the corridor noticing how every single piece of the floor board creaked.

"But mentor!" I heard from inside Achilles' room. I froze to listen to the angry cries then slid my feet closer and closer to the door. "She's not safe to be around; she can only bring us danger." 'Who?' "She could end up undoing all of our hard work!" 'How?' "I refuse to take her outside or train her!" 'What?!' "Mariam is mentally unstable." 'Not again...' I pulled myself off of the wall and took a heavy step back when the floor boards.

"I believe there is a third person in this conversation Connor." I had no idea why, but I ran straight into my room. I had a horrible twisted feeling in my stomach like I could throw up my digestive system at any given second, I felt like history was going to repeat itself. I pushed my bed in front of the door and headed out of the window with my shoes in my hand, I pulled them on as fast as could and cautiously rushed my way over to Amy's window. I dug my fingernails under the rotting, chipped white wood window frame and pulled up as hard I could. After prying a centimetre of space I wedged my fingers under and forced it open to find Amy was still fast asleep. I walked through her room and to her door. I could hear a strenuous pushing groan. Connor was forcing his way in as predicted. With one final push he had made his way into what was once my room. Quickly I ran down the stairs, skipping a step or two with each stride. I ran so hard that I couldn't fully stop myself when I reached the door causing my right shoulder to collide with the door. I turned the door handle, pulled and ran to the stables, took a horse and galloped down the path that took us to Boston.

I had been travelling for a while now, I knew where I wanted to go, just not how to get there. It was starting to get late; I predicted that if I kept on heading down hill I'd only have an hour's worth of sunlight left. Things seemed only to get from bad to worse when a familiar town by the sea crept into view. I encouraged the horse to get us there as fast as it could 'The sooner I get there, the longer I have to find a place to stay.' I reached there with only half an hour to find some place to sleep for the night. I reached there to find many empty stalls.

I walked around for a long time and I found open troughs of hay outside a brick building I assumed to be pub of some sort. I tied the horse next to one and let it rest. Dusk had already come and all I had managed to do was find a sack to cover myself with. The moon had risen, it was going to be a full moon tonight, I always hated full moons, something about them always gave me a feeling of dread. The wind howled wildly through the streets and through me. Signs swayed loosely around, creaking eerily. The only real reason I had chosen there was because it had a lamp outside and it created an alleyway with what I thought to be tailors shop. I wrapped myself in the sack and hunkered down for the night.

"Get out! Go on! Go home!" a raspy woman called. I woke up startled thinking that, that person was talking to me. To my relief I found her throwing some drunkard out of the building. "Bloody nuisance, well he keeps the business afloat." She turned and laughed amused, it seems that she had done that before many times. I shuffled into the darkness staring at her wide eyes. She leaned over and stared down the hall way, she couldn't see me as her eyes flickered all over the alleyway searching for me. "If you don't come out of there, I'll get my husband the drag you out!" I panicked; I didn't want to be dragged out so I stuck my hand out to signal my presence. I rose to my feet and stepped into the light. She stepped back to see me fully "You're just a child! You shouldn't be staying out here!" I looked at her blankly and my eyes nervously flickered around at other places to go. "Get inside child; you'll catch your death!" she chuckled as she walked away from me. I abruptly dropped the ragged sack and followed her obediently though dumbfounded.

It was amazing; it seemed bigger on the inside and was warm and lively. Chatter and banter drowned my sense of hearing. I had no real idea of what to do with myself. She must have thought I had an IQ of -4. Like a plank I stood stiff and straight against a wall with my left hand clasped around my right wrist. My lower jaw parted with my upper jaw as I gawked to look at the upper floor. I looked around to see not a soul in sight.

"Honestly I see children on the streets getting younger and younger; so where are your parents?"

I rubbed the back of my head with my hand nervously and paced in a small circle.

"It's complicated." She looked at me strangely, I couldn't blame, in any normal situation nothing could possibly be that complicated. She walked behind the bar, pulling the front of her dulled green dress up as she walked. With a cloth she wiped down the surface of the bar and lent on it.

"Well, I don't really care what's going on or if you're gonna' tell me, but it's far too dangerous for any twelve year old to be living out there. Have you not heard of 'The Night Stalker'?" I shook my head and took a seat by the bar and lent on table to hear the tale of this mysterious, yet awesome, sounding person. "I've heard from a good friend that he's a killer with a huge hook, like a butcher's meat hanging hook, and that's how he kills. He sneaks up behind his victims in the dead of night, comes up behind them and pulls the hook into them!" She turned away to clean some glass mugs. "But I should not be telling such gruesome stories to a child." I looked down with embarrassment.

"I'm not twelve ma'am," she turned around with one eyebrow perked. "I'm sixteen." She laid down the mug with a thud and laughed.

"Don't be mocking me! Seems I've invited a trickster into my tavern!"

"Honestly miss, I am, I know I don't look it but I'm not little child." She leaned in close and inspected my face with quick glances across my body.

"Honestly?" I placed my hand on my heart and nodded. "Huh, well then, do you think you could help me with a couple chores then?"

"Of course." I smiled and followed her through into a kitchen.

My forearms were soaked with dirty dish water, but I didn't mind because I could repay her for letting me in and it was a nice vent for my OCD to pile the dishes from largest to smallest. I had finished so I pulled away to notice my shirt had a wet line across my abdomen where I had been leaning on the work bench.

"Mariam, you straighten up the chairs and tables for me please.

"Of course." I was working my way from the back to the front tucking all the chairs away and making sure the tables were parallel with each other, when the bell at the front door rang indicating someone had entered. "Ah, Mariam, these are my regulars, I want you too-" I turned around to see the front of a tri corn hat followed by a cape and three pairs of feet. I must confess I had no idea what I was doing; I charged at him and aimed my right foot at his kidney. Granted I didn't get my target but I did get his hips so it was enough to push him onto his side and then onto his back. I grabbed him roughly by the neck and started shaking as hard as I could.

"You fucking bastard! What the fuck did I do to you?!" He grabbed me by my waist and pushed me over. He pinned me down my wrists.

"It's you!" Charles Lee leaned over and starred at me angrily that I attacked his precious master.

"Master, do you know this deranged girl?"

"Oh shut the fuck up Lee, this has nothing to do with you!" I spat out bitterly. Hickey chuckled with amusement.

"You insolent little bitch, how dare you!" He took a heavy step forward to suggest he was going to hit me.

"Charles!" Haytham barked. He stayed where he was.

"Yeah Charles, God what did I tell you." I said in a sarcastic tone just to piss him off, it worked; he scowled at me while Hickey just laughed even more. He tried to intimidate him into stopping but it didn't work. Haytham looked down angrily at me.

"What do you want?"

"I want you to get off of me!" I said as I gave a mighty push. I managed to get one leg free. He squashed my freakishly tiny wrists together with his huge hands above my head and used his free hand to grab the ankle of me free leg. Lucky I was still wearing Connor's pants.

"Only if you promise to stop attacking me."

"On the condition that you never attack, attempt to kill or kill me ever again."

"Deal." Cautiously he let my wrists go and then my ankle to rise off of me. I sprung to the balls of my feet then rose up. I brushed the dirt and dust off of me when the bar maid rushed over.

"Mariam, what was all that about?!"

"Just settling a score." She told me to go to the backroom. As I walked away I saw her apologising for my behaviour. Haytham, charming as ever, brushed it off with a smile and a joke.

I was forced to explain what happened, though I did not tell it truthfully, to her knowledge we only got into a fight. Later on she gave me a round of short ales on a tray and told me to give it to them and to "be nice". Of course I agreed to be on my best behaviour. Slowly I made my way up the stairs with tray in hand. It felt humbling to have to serve them drinks. One by one I set the drinks in front of each of the men. Hickey, of course, revelled at the sight of his drink. Charles sipped his cautiously and Haytham didn't touch his. I held the tray flat against my hip.

"Do you not want yours? I can take it back and get you something else if you want."

"it's not that."

"I haven't poisoned it, it's safe, look I'll prove it."I went to get his drink when he put his hand out in front of his drink to stop me.

"It's not that, it's just..." He didn't look at me, just stared intensely at his drink. "It's just, how are you alive?" Once again I held my hand to the back of my head.

"Well, honestly, I don't know." He looked at me confused, I didn't blame him. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times like he was trying to say something but couldn't. "You know, you do a very good impression of a goldfish." I said with a smirk.

"Can I see the scare of your neck?"

"Well, technically no, because there is none, see?" He squinted and leaned in to see for himself.

"Did you cover it up with makeup?"

"Nope." I licked my thumb and rubbed it against my throat and showed my clean thumb to Haytham. He looked at it then almost touched my neck, but stopped to ask permission. I let him. His rough hands scoured across my neck, the rough calluses and heavy printing created a very strange sensation. I held his finger and pulled it to the right side of my neck, and dragged it along just over the half way point of my neck. "That's where you cut me." He pulled his hands away from my neck to lay them back down onto the ring marked table.

"I'm sorry about that, I truly am."

"Damn straight, that hurt like a bitch!" I could hear a small laugh coming from Hickey as he emptied the last of his drink into his mouth. "So... do you pin girls down like that often, because you seemed plenty experienced." Hickey sprayed the little drink he had in his mouth back into the glass. Haytham looked at me amused with a sly grim growing on one side of his face. "Aah, you silver fox you!" He didn't say a word, just smiled. As I walked back round the table to the stairs Hickey raised his glass.

"Can you fill this up again?"

"Sure." I said as I took his glass off of him. I walked down the stairs when I overheard Hickey say "I like that one, we should keep 'er" of course Charles disagreed.

"I think she acts like a complete savage."

"Love you too Charles." I called from the stairs. I gave Hickey his drink and went back to the barmaid who showed me to a small pokey room with a bed in it. I suppose beggars can't be choosers.