Embracing The Light (Arno Dorian x OC), an Assassin's Creed Fanfiction

Chapter 20 : Two Thieves in Paris

"She truly thought she wasn't going to make it." Arno remarked.
"Maybe she didn't." Trenet finally broke her silence.
Both Arno and Rosalie looked at her. The young woman started. "That's impossible, I'm the one who...."
But Trenet cut her off right away. "Do you have any proof that the woman you've eliminated two months ago was indeed who she claimed she was ?"
The young woman thought for a second and realized that the Mentor was probably right.
"This letter is the last trace of Anne de Marbeuf that we have." Trenet continued. "If the Patriots have indeed arrested her, it certainly happened shortly after she wrote this, and that would mean that the real Anne de Marbeuf actually died during February 1794, so, almost a year ago."
"And what if she did not die ?" Rosalie asked.
"Then that Templar you've killed could be the Marquise de Marbeuf. But I am not optimistic about it. First of all, because it would be a miracle for her to manage to hide from the Patriots, especially when she was wanted for corruption. And second of all, because we did not find anything related to the Templars at her estate. No correspondences, no leads, nothing."
"So let's presume that she has been executed a year ago. How do we prove it ?" Arno said.
"If she has been condemned to the death penalty for conspiring against the revolution, the Revolutionary Tribunal at the Parliament must have taken care of this trial." Quémar spoke for the first time. "They are in charge of every trial implying anti-revolutionary acts. The verdict of each one of them is written down by the court clerk and then added to the archives. If Anne de Marbeuf's name is not in those archives, then she has not been guillotined for sure. But, if it is..."
"...then that Templar was an imposter." Rosalie nodded. "Where can we find those archives ?"
To these words, Quémar pulled in front of everyone the wooden board next to him on which there was a map of the Palais de la Cité, where the Parliament was, as viewed from above.
The master started. "At the south of the Palais de la Cité, there's the Sainte-Chapelle and its court. At the north, you'll have the main building with the Conciergerie, also called the antechamber of death, which is the prison where those who've been condemned to be guillotined stay until the day of their execution. The Conciergerie occupies the entire ground floor and the two towers. The floor above is where the Parliament is, so where the Revolutionary Tribunal takes place. And at the last floor, you will find the archives' room."
Quémar paused and glanced at everyone and, as he noticed that they were all still listening carefully, he continued. "Now, if I remember well, the court clerk is the only one who has access to that room so he can progressively add the new verdicts. You'll have to steal the keys from him, or find another way in."
"We will." Arno affirmed and Rosalie agreed with a slight nod.
"Very well Assassins." Trenet said. "But I will first send a few agents to the Palais de la Cité before you go inside so they can inform you of the situation there. There have been some riots there lately so you might need to be very cautious when you'll infiltrate. The guards will show no mercy if they catch you."
The young woman's heart started to beat faster when she heard this last sentence, but still kept a straight face. After Arno nodded one last time, he and Rosalie silently left the room. It was only once they went down the stairs that the man decided to break the silence.
"So this will be our first real mission together." he remarked with the light of a smile on his face. He then stopped walking and faced Rosalie who imitated him. "Are you nervous ?"
"No..." the woman shook her head. "No, I'm fine." she then looked away.
Arno was quite amused by how Rosalie failed at lying, but the young woman still did not look like she wanted to laugh and seemed perturbed.
"There is something that I have to give to you." Arno then added. "Come with me."
Rosalie followed him inside the armory. She did not care to ask him what it was, she knew he was not going to answer anyway. The man approached a table on which there was a brown little box. Once he opened it, he took out a very thin blade and gently grabbed the woman's wrist to put it under her hidden blade.
"This is a tranquilizing blade." he explained. "With this, you'll be able to shoot an enemy from a distance and make them instantly fall asleep." Rosalie seemed surprised by her new tool. She analyzed the mechanism to understand how it worked as Arno specified. "So this is not made to kill, the effect lasts about half an hour at best, but it depends on the dose inside of it."
Rosalie was actually quite happy to have such an item with her, as she did not enjoy to kill. She thought it would be a great way to get rid of some of her enemies without fighting them and remaining discreet.
"I also have a phantom blade, which is fatal but also more complex to use. You have to target the head or the heart of the enemy with that blade if you want it to be efficient." Arno explained as he handed it to Rosalie who declined it.
"I don't think I want to use the phantom blade, to be fair." she said. "The tranquilizing blade suits me well."
"I understand." the man sighed calmly. "But I still want you to use it later."
The young woman stared at him and frowned. "Why ?"
"For your own safety." he replied. "In case there's an extreme situation where you end up on your own, I'd like you to be able to defend yourself and eliminate easily those who threaten you."
Rosalie's face softened to these words. Even though she only wanted to kill her main targets, she could not deny that Arno had a point : killing other people was going to be inevitable. So she had to learn all the techniques that Arno could teach her, including the dirty ones, to improve her skills.
"Alright." she finally murmured as she looked down. "I will."
Arno's face enlightened with a warm little smile as he softly held her shoulder and whispered. "Merci."
Rosalie raised her gaze towards him and, when their eyes met, she could not help but smile back. She was not quite sure  what the young man was thanking her for, but seeing him glad warmed her heart.