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Epilogue

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The sun shines brightly in Masyaf. A warm, summer breeze playfully tousles with the young adolescent's dark hair. He hopes his task does not take too long, for he longs to return to sparring with his instructor before they were interrupted. He quickens his pace.

People nod and greet him with fondness as he passes by. He replies with an easy grin, but does not slow his determined strides. They part ways for him, naturally and easy like waning tides. He makes his way through the fields of wildflowers and heads for the sole tree in the meadow. Nothing is really special about that particular tree, but his sharp gaze catches sight of his target at the base of the wizened trunk.

"I knew I will find you here," Nasir says exasperatedly as he ducks under the cool shade of the tree, "Aini why are you not at your lessons? Uncle will not be pleased."

The little girl, who is no bigger than five years of age, glances up at her older brother with her wide, inquisitive eyes.

On the left side, a deep shade of emerald, and the other, a light hazel with tints of gold.

He is perhaps the only one who does not recoil at her abnormal condition. With the exception of a few, most of Masyaf's inhabitants keep their distance from the child who has eyes of different colors. A devilish omen.

It is for this reason Aini has been personally tutored and taken care of by their adopted aunt and uncle. The only family she knows, the only place she has ever called home is nestled within the stony fortress of Masyaf. Even within the Brotherhood, her existence is only whispered and not spoken out loud. And yet, Nasir knows she will not settle for this arrangement when she grows.

Despite her young age, Aini already managers to disappear on her teacher and guardians. Especially when the time comes for lessons or chores. Whenever she pulls one of her notorious vanishing acts, Nasir is always called upon to retrieve her. Their guardian is too busy to be troubled with her antics.

More often than not, Nasir finds her sitting at her favorite napping spot at the lone tree surrounded by a field of luscious green.

"Look, it's Ummi and Abi," she says, and points off at the distance.

Nasir opens his mouth to point out her mistake. They have no parents. Have been since a long time ago. He has tried to explain to her many times before, that her parents are no longer alive, but her childlike mind cannot grasp the idea. She keeps on insisting that she sees them: either in plain daylight, or in the bloody reminiscent of her nightmares.

But today he cannot bear to correct her. Not when the sun is smiling down at them and the air so peacefully serene.

He follows her line of sight, and sees two beautiful butterflies dancing in the wind.

"The yellow and black one is Abi. The white one is Ummi," she whispers to him proudly, as if he will not understand without her help. Truth be told, he does not, but he is still willing to humor her.

"Aini, you need to go back. I am missing out on my training because of you," he admonishes her. But not sternly. No, he can never raise his voice or use force with her. She is the only one of a family he has left.

Aini does not take her captivated gaze off of the butterflies, and instead reaches for his hand.

The hopeless battle already fought and lost, Nasir lets her clutch his hand with her smaller one, and sits down next to her. She cuddles up to him, like the many times before when he gave in to her capricious whims and stayed.

"Do they look happy?" she asks him quietly.

Her brother smoothes the dark locks away from her face as he softly replies, "They are. Because they are together."

Notes: Whoa whoa, is this for realz? I haven't updated for a year and all of a sudden I come out with epilogue and ... a sequel?

So I pretty much backshelved the sequel. Due to many reasons but mainly b/c of lack of inspiration? However, I got to play Revelations and AC3 recently and I enjoyed the story and plot twists there. Out of nowhere an idea came out and grabbed me, and I had to write it down. I've definitely developed a different style of writing since the beginning of this fic, so expect something pretty different~ In the past year, I've completed a NaNoWriMo, I finished a medium length DC fanfic, and is currently looking at self-publishing my own original works. So I've definitely been writing, and I like to think my writing/planning matured a bit. With that said, please enjoy "Serpent's Apple"! (A story that will mostly follow Aini, but also the present day situation after the ending of AC 3.)

- Abi and Ummi means father and mother in Arabic. Hopefully.

- I'm well aware that different eye color is a huge Mary Sue flag. I think for that reason alone, I had to try. Challenge, accepted.

- No spoilers in the reviews please! Thank you everyone who reads and reviews, you guys make my day. If you really want to chat abt the story and what nots, feel free to hit me up on Twitter: Ricecooker2000