Every Assassin Has Their Secrets *Completed

Chapter 22: Taker

"Harees, la3. I will not do that. I cannot take your clothes."

"They are ruined. They will not be much use to me unless they are wrapped around my wounds. Now, help me out of these clothes." 

  He looked at me for a bit and then helped me out of my clothes. I was left with my boots, tunic and pants. It was enough for me to live off of. Malik started to rip the tattered robes. Some pieces where too small and others where too big. I bent down to try to get to my boot but groaned and leaned back against the wall. Malik looked at me and then to my boot. He reached down to my boot and undone the buckle and opened the pouch. He pulled out the knife and smiled at me. He shook his head and started to use the knife to rip the clothes. 

"Just like Altaïr. If I did not know you were his daughter, I would say you are his daughter."

  I smiled at his comment as he ripped the last of the tattered clothes. I leaned by head against the wall and swallowed hard. Malik looked out the cell door. He got up and hid the knife and walked to the cell door. He tapped the cell bars and a guard came over. He was not in heavy armor nor was he in good armor either. The guard kept his hand on his sword as he stopped at the cell door. 

"What do you want?" The guard asked 

"Can I get water?"

  The guard walked away from the cell for a moment and then walked back with a cup full of water. He passed it to Malik and Malik took it. He walked over to me and set the cup down. The guard looked at us. He looked over to me and gave me an apologetic look and then walked away. So some of them know the line between good and evil but why did they choose the evil side and not the good side? Malik dipped a piece of cloth in the water and started to wrap it around my wounds. He rolled up my sleeve to reveal my scars and my secret. He gently ran his fingers up my arm. He looked over to me. I did not look at him giving him the impression I was not ready to tell him about it. He looked down to my wounds and tended to them.

  He dipped a cloth in the water and went to my face to clean the dried blood and wipe away the dirt. The last cut he cleaned was the one on my lip. As soon as the cloth hit the cut, I flinched and groaned in pain. He moved the cloth away and then tried again. I did the same thing the second time. Was the cut really that bad? Malik shook his head and dipped the cloth back in the water. I tried not to flinch again. It was hard but I managed somehow. He set the cloth in the water and sat down beside me.

"What happened?" Malik asked 

  I sighed and I knew I would have to tell him sooner or later. It is just, what story does he want to hear first? 

"What do you mean?"

"When you got taken away and on your arm."

"When I was dix ans [ten] I started to get depression really bad because I missed my parents. I wanted them by my side. I wanted them there with me. I could not and because Altaïr was like a father figure to me, I started to miss my parents even more. It got so bad that the only way to get out my emotions was to cut myself."

  There was silence before I spoke up. 

"I started out slow and only a few cuts but as I got older, it got worse and worse and before I knew it, my arm was covered in scars. When I was quartorze ans [fourteen] the day before I became an Assassin, Altaïr showed me that he could be the father I never had. I had stopped for him."

  I smiled a bit before continuing.

"Now that I know the truth, I realize now that the depression was not worth it because the entire time, my parents where right in front of me."