The Target of His Heart (An Assassin's Creed Fanfic)

Ch. 10: We Were Never Enemies

Later That Night...



Cynthia's POV



"Oh! I cannot find a way through this city," I groaned with frustration, glaring at a map of Jerusalem that I had stolen from Abel's quarters while he was away. Altaïr simply sat next to me, staring at the map from over my should rather intently, as if he were searching for something. "This map is not telling me anything at all!"

Night time had, once again, arrived rather quickly to me, and just like every other night, I was on the rooftop with Altaïr. This time, though, we had much more important things to figure out instead of our usual night time reminiscing as we had done in the past. Tonight, we had to make sure the whole escape was thoroughly planned out and ready to go before the wedding arrived. There had to be no flaws within the plan, and if there was we would solve it and keep pressing forward. As of now, Altaïr and I needed to find a route that would be the shortest and quickest way to the main gate of Jerusalem, but without being seen by any of the guards who may have been patrolling. I was able to sneak the map from Abel's study while he was away, and no one seemed to notice me at all. Unfortunately, I just so happened to be a horrible map reader and was greatly frustrated over what I was looking at. I had never been one to look over maps and immediately tell which way was which, since the streets that were drawn were rather small – a little too small for me to tell which was which when put to scale. I was always one to know places by sights, not by tiny pictures and maps. I felt I was just looking over a bunch of small lines drawn onto one piece of paper – all in a successful attempt at confusing and frustrating me further than I should have.

I sighed and handed the map over to Altaïr, much too frustrated to look at the piece of parchment any longer.

"You read it over and find the quickest way," I said, placing a hand on my temple and rubbing it a bit to ease the growing headache. "Those streets are much too small for my eyes to see clearly."

He chuckled lightly, causing me to give him an annoyed glare all while a small blush crept up the back of my neck.

"I do not see the problem at all," he said while looking over the map. “The map appears to be fine.”

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"It is not like I am not the greatest map reader in the world, you know," I stated. "I hope you realized that. Besides, I am not one to sit down reading maps all of the time like you."

"Of course," he said, "but I am not saying that <i>I</i>am the greatest at map reading, either."

I sighed and looked up at the sky, staring at the few stars that had come out.

"At least you could read the stupid thing. My head is hurting just thinking of it."

"Found one," he immediately spoke while pointing to a trail.

My head shot over to him within seconds, green eyes widening slightly.

"What?" I exclaimed in a low tone of voice, sounding a bit shocked to know how quickly he was able to find a good enough path for me to follow. And to think, I thought, he only had for a few seconds...

"Right here, just along the city walls." He looked at me "Not many people are around there to begin with. On the day of the wedding, it should be clear of guards, since many of them will be at your wedding. It will be enough for you to make your way out of the city safely and unnoticed."

I quickly looked at the spot in which he was pointing at for a few more seconds, observing it closely, before looking back at him.

"That...that was fast!" I commented. "It would probably take me another hour or so just to figure that out!"

He chuckled.

"I guess I am the greatest map reader in the world after all."

I nudged him lightly.

"Now you are just making me jealous, Altaïr." I said, crossing my arms over my chest again and pursing my lips. He chuckled at my actions, while an embarrassed hint of pink formed against my cheeks. "It is not funny…"

"I am not laughing because you could not read it as well as I could," he said. "I am laughing because of the way you reacted. It was..." He paused, as if he were trying to come up with the right words to say. "...rather adorable, in my opinion."

I smiled a little, glad it was a little darker than the days before in order to hide my darkening cheeks from him.

"That is very reassuring to know, Altaïr…" I said, looking away and up at the sky. "I will try to remember that when you laugh at my misfortune simply because you find my reactions adorable..."

It soon became quiet after that as Altaïr placed the map next to him, also looking up at the sky as I was. It was more of a calming, tranquil, and comfortable moment of silence, one that I cherished greatly. Green eyes reveled at the sight of white specks of light shining down on us like lanterns in a darkened village. However, a thought I did not wish to think of began to plague my mind. My smile quickly disappeared at the sudden thoughts, a surge of fear forming in the pit of my stomach.

What would happen if the plan were to fail? What would happen if Ada, Alexandra, Diana, and I were discovered running away a second time from the wedding? What would Abel do if he found out what I had planned to do once again? What would happen to Altaïr if he was discovered helping me escape from the city? My eyes narrowed slightly. No, I thought to myself, that was not going to happen. With Altaïr by our side, there was no way the plan would be able to fail as it had in the past, since we had looked over every single flaw just in case. However, another unwanted thought crossed my mind. If the plan did work as I wanted – as everyone wanted – would I ever see Altaïr again afterwards? During the plan, he was going to help keep the guards distracted while we made our escape. I knew that much, but what would happen when we made it out of the city safe and sound? That was the question that worried me most of all.

My eyebrows furrowed with a hint of worry. If I never saw him again, I would not know what to do with myself. He was the whole reason as to why everything was happening right now. He was the reason behind my perfectly planned escape from the wedding. Best of all, he was the reason why I had become much more free than ever before, more alive and wanting to live. If he were to just disappear all of a sudden, I would not know what to do. I needed some way of thanking him for everything that he had done, and staying around was something I wanted. Yes, it may have been only a short time ago that we had met, but meeting him was the greatest thing to ever happen. He gave my life purpose, a meaning to keep on living. Losing someone like him would hurt. I could not risk losing someone so great, so life changing, so wonderful as he was.

"Are you alright, Cynthia?" I jumped at the sound of Altaïr's voice. "You seem tense.”

I slowly turned my head to look at him, worry filling my face.

"Altaïr," I started, looking away from him and out at the city before returning my gaze back to him. "What if...what if the plan does not work?"

"Why do you seem so discouraged?" He inquired. "You have not sounded that way before."

I shrugged.

"I do not mean to sound that way at all, really. But after what happened the first time, I guess I am feeling a little uneasy of the outcome." I looked back toward the city. "But to be honest, what will happen to us if we were to be caught by the guards? What would happen to you if you were captured?"

Altaïr stared at me from under his hood for a long moment, studying my expression, before taking my hand in his own. I glanced at him, feeling my heart skip at his comforting touch.

"Nothing like that is going to happen, Cynthia," he reassured me. "The plan will work. I promise you it will. There are no flaws to it from what I can see, and it will go smoothly. Soon, you will be as far away from Abel as you wish."

I wanted to smile at his words, to let him know that they were at least working in order for me to feel better, but I could not do it. I could not give him any signs of reassurance to him, although I greatly wished to show it right now. I wanted to let him know that he had nothing to worry about.

"But...if it does work – which I am praying it will – what will happen to you once the others and I make it out of the city?" I questioned. "Will you...will you allow yourself to be caught by the guards?"

"Of course not," he said, his voice remaining calm and reassuring. "I will leave the city and find you, wherever you may be. I will make sure they will not find you and bring you back here." A pause as he placed his other hand on top of the one he held onto, looking down at them. "No matter what happens, I promise I will look for you, and I will find you again. Abel, Robert, even your father will never be able to find you nor would they bring you back here again while I am still breathing." He looked deeply into my eyes; they were serious to the very point, leaving me speechless. "I will protect you, Cynthia, from anyone who will bring you harm and anyone who will make the attempt to take you away from your freedom."

I continued to stare into his dark eyes, observing them as if I would never see them again and looking at them now would give me the reassurance I wanted. His words struck even the lightest of heartstrings that had been sewn into me. Even though we were on separate sides of this never ending war between Assassins and Templars, he still made sure that someone like me – a woman who only wanted to bring her people security – was safe. He meant every word he spoke, and his eyes were more serious than any that I had ever seen before in my life. He wanted to make sure that I was safe, especially if it meant returning to the Templars again. He wanted to do everything in his power to prevent the freedom that I wanted, that we all wanted, from being tampered. It was something he wanted to prevent; it was something that I wanted to prevent.

Smiling lightly, I placed my own hand on top of his, finally able to put on the genuine smile that I had been trying to put on for some time. A feeling in the pit of my stomach drew me closer to him, making me that much more comfortable with his presence. Who cared if we were on two separate sides? What mattered was that we shared one common goal; peace in all things.

"Thank you, Altaïr, for everything," I spoke. "Even if we are enemies, I greatly appreciate the risk you are taking, all so you can help my friends and I be free."

He continued to look into my eyes before I slowly and unconsciously moved closer to him, placing my head on his shoulder and sighing contently. He did not tense up at the contact, but rather accepted it.

"We were never enemies, Cynthia, not since I realized that, in a way, you and I are the same," he told me, releasing my hand and slowly wrapping his arms around me, pulling me even closer to him than before. "And for that reason, we never will be…"



Altaïr's POV



I silently slipped into Cynthia's room, carrying with the sleeping woman in my arms, since she had once again fallen asleep in my arms just like the many nights before. She appeared peaceful, almost angelic if only the moon were out. Without a sound, I walked over and placed her on her bed without waking her up. She still clung to my robes and nuzzled against my shoulder, as if she did not want to let me go. That was what it was like every night. She had become so afraid of losing me that she would cling to me as if her life depended on it, as if I would disappear from her life forever. Placing a hand against hers, I mentally reassured her that I was not going anywhere, for there was no where else I would rather be than with her. Unfortunately, with the circumstances as they were, being by her side every day was going to be a challenge. However, with every passing day, I knew that was slowly coming closer to me and away from the life she no longer wished to live with, the life her father had planned for her, the life she was to have with Abel, the life of a Templar.

As soon as I placed my hand against hers, she slowly released my robes and allowed it to fall to the side of her face, moving to place her head against her own pillow. She had gotten the message of reassurance that I had silently given to her and released me, knowing I would return to her the next day and the day after that just as I had previously promised to her. After placing the blankets over her body, I quietly stood up and slowly walked back toward the balcony, leaving her just as silently as I had come to take her. However, I was stopped by someone I did not expect to see until much later.

"It took you long enough to return."

I quickly turned my head in the direction of the voice, only to see Malik appear from the shadows. His expression remained blank as he watched me.

"Malik?" I spoke in a silent tone of voice. "How did you get in here?"

"The same way you did," he responded. "Just because I am missing an arm does not make me a useless man. And besides," He looked off toward Cynthia's sleeping form, "you left the balcony doors wide open. Anyone could have slipped right in and you would not have noticed."

"I have a keen sense of hearing," I said. "I would have noticed anyone come inside."

He rolled his eyes at my comment as he walked towards Cynthia's bed.

"If that is the case, then why is it that you could not hear me come in?" He questioned. I remained silent to his question, knowing that I had no rebuttal to his comment.

"What are you doing here, Malik?" I asked, deciding to change the subject to something of more importance. "It is not like you to leave the Bureau without good reason."

"I was waiting for you to return," he told me as he stopped in front of Cynthia. "I actually followed you here, but chose to wait for you while you were away, knowing you would return with her eventually."

"So it involves Cynthia," I stated.

I heard him chuckle lightly as I approached him, remaining calm as I wondered as to what he was up to at the moment.he took a strand of her hair lightly.

"Do not worry," he said, taking a small strand of Cynthia's hair, watching her sleeping form as I had moments ago. "I am not here to kill her, if that is what you are thinking." He paused for thought. "I already told you that I was waiting for you to return and I am sticking to that."

"Then what is it?" I asked as I stopped next to him. "Out with it."

He allowed the piece of hair to fall onto her peaceful face once again before looking at me.

"I have been...thinking long and hard about what you told me for some time now," he said. "I will not lie to you. You were right in your defense of this girl, although she is the enemy to our Order. Cynthia, from what I have heard, does appear and act as an innocent should, despite knowing less about her unlike you. You tell me she has done nothing wrong that would bring in the Order.” He closed his eyes. “As much as I do not like the situation as it is, I feel I am starting to believe you as well. As much as I would rather not, seeing as you are still defying orders, it is true." He opened his eyes and looked back at her, examining her for a moment. "Still, it was the Master's orders to have her killed, yet I am still not fully sure why Al Mualim would want her dead in the first place. He should have sent word out to me of her wanted death, but no word has come."

"I will deal with the Master's orders later," I told him, glancing at Cynthia for a brief moment before turning around and walking back toward the balcony. "I have more important things to worry about right now."

"Like Cynthia's escape from her wedding?" Malik asked. I stopped walking and turned to look at him, navigating my eyes a bit, before slowly nodding. "I overheard you speaking of it when I arrived here, so do not be alarmed by my knowledge of it." He turned to look at me now. "Do you already know what you are doing when the time arises?"

"Yes," I told him. "We simply had to find the fastest route to the main gate and that was it. Now, all we have to do is wait for Abel's guards to arrive."

"I see…" he said. "It appears you have everything planned out by now, and without my help no less."

"Cynthia is not stupid, as you have made her out to be in such a short amount of time. She is smarter than you think."

"I am not surprised," he glanced at her before turning to walk toward me. I watched as he approached me, only to stop next to me, staring out at the city quietly for a long moment, before glancing at me. "As much as it goes against everything that we have learned to follow, I will keep this a secret from everyone, including Al Mualim. I can tell from the way you speak and the way you look at her that you are slowly growing more and more attached the girl, Templar or not, and I have to learn to accept that fact."

"I do not look at it in way that involves who we are in this war, Malik," I spoke. "Who we are has not kept us apart from the things we want for everyone."

He chuckled.

"Nothing will change your mind about this, not even the girl herself?"

"She would not say anything that would ever persuade me otherwise," I told him. "I know her all too well by now, and she does not wish for me to leave her. Not with how far we have come."

"I can see that," he said as he walked passed me and out toward the balcony. Before he did, however, he stopped at the railing of the balcony and turned back to me. For once in a very long time, a smirk formed on his face. "But you should know this, Altaïr. Love can make a person do the craziest things in life." I glanced back at Cynthia, watching her for a long moment, before looking back at Malik.

"And you should know this," I spoke, a smirk also appearing on my face. "Falling for her now, with the circumstances as they are, should be crazy enough to consider me a madman."

"To me, you have lost it the moment you spared her life," he spoke. "Just try not to do anything that will cost you your life."

With those words spoken, he turned back around before leaping off the balcony's edge, leaving me behind in the darkness of the bedroom. I stared at the spot that he stood at for a long moment, replaying his words in my head. His words spoke the truth. Love could make people do the craziest things. Although it had been a long time since I had felt the way I did for Cynthia, I would be considered mad for deciding to help someone of the opposite side of the war. I had to be careful with what I did, knowing full well the consequences of what could happen to both her and myself. I hoped that, if things went in our favor, it would not be too insane. My gaze fell to the ground in thought. Then again, I thought, I would do anything for Cynthia, whether it would make me mad or rich. It did not matter how insane it was or how mad it made me appear, I would do it. Still, I had to be careful with what I did, knowing well what could happen to me, what could happen to Cynthia. It could get the both of us in danger, or worse, killed.

My eyes narrowed slightly with thought as I looked at Cynthia, overlooking her sleeping form one last time before taking my leave. No, I thought as I shut the doors of the balcony behind me. There was no I way I was going to leave Cynthia behind, especially through death, and vice versa. Everything was slowly falling into place, just as she wanted, just as I wanted. With that in mind, I could not fail her, not when she was so close to freedom. For now, though, all I had to do was wait for the right time to strike.