Assassin's Creed: Chronos (Ezio x OC)

Prologue

(cover art by me! :))

July 5, 2010

Glasgow, Scotland

"Huh."

It wasn't, perhaps, the most appropriate thing to say in light of having a brick wall move aside to reveal a hidden entrance that only opened after finding a secret book switch, but Catherine wasn't particularly worried about that right now. Rather, she was more concerned with the fact that she had found it in a room deep within the confines of her ancestral family's castle. She hadn't really thought much of her father's side of the bloodline; she just assumed they were the usual Scottish kind of people who lived in a bit of nobility, but this was something different. Maybe. Castles generally had secret rooms and entrances, right? It would make sense. Kinda.

So.

There was most likely nothing creepy down there. No torture chambers or dungeons—the family hadn't been kings or queens or rulers or anything—or evil monsters and curses. That would be silly, and pretty fun. Not that she would say it out loud. She also wouldn't say that she was definitely going to go down there and find out what the place was hiding. Definitely not.

Catherine glanced to the wooden door of the room, contemplating whether or not she should get her Mom and the other family here. They would probably find it cool, too, but they were bound to be on the other side of the castle by now and she didn't feel like having to look for them. She'd just show them later. For now, she pulled out of her phone, put on the flashlight app, and looked in to find stone stairs going down. There looked to be stands on the walls for torches, but even if they were fitted with wood or the like, she didn't have a lighter to get them going. Thus, she was quite glad for her phone as she made her way carefully, keeping one hand on the wall.

The stairs curved downward in a spiral, and how far they went she couldn't say. It wasn't terribly long, though, and she found a pristine, wooden door at the end. There was hardly any dust or cobwebs, and she suspected the room was either rarely used or sealed incredibly well. It was probably both. She hoped the door was less so, and grasped its gold-tinted metal handle. It didn't budge at first, but with more effort—a grunt here and there as her knuckles turned white from squeezing—she heard the metal hinges creak and groan. The wood scrapped against the ground slightly, but gave way regardless, revealing a much larger, rectangular room.

"Oh, wow," she breathed, eyes wide as she stepped in and looked around.

Like the rest of the castle, it was made of stones that looked a dark gray when she shined her light on them. Torch bearers lined the walls, three on each side, and two on both short ones. Six beams held the room, and along the walls were tall racks that looked long-since abandoned. She thought maybe something might have gone there—weapons perhaps—but not for many years, if at all. There were two small steps that went up to the outer part of the room beyond the beams, just a few inches higher than where she was at. Red carpet ran along the surface, and as she ventured further in, she found the same carpet beneath her feet, somewhat tattered, running along the center. At the very back—a mantle. It was, well, spectacular. She'd never seen something made of what was either metal or marble and so ornate, nor did she recognize the design. It reminded her of a spear head or an arrow with the center carved out, although some of it had been cracked or broken away. Two lion-like creatures appeared to be on either side, and she could swear they were the same ones on her family's crest. Then, following its leaves, intricate lines, and the lions' tails downward, she found the one thing left remaining in the entire room: a chest.