Fleeting

((this is a sort of a nothing chapter, some things needed to happen to give this story a push in a forward direction, Altaïr’s speech at the end (in italics…unless this is AFF, then I don’t know how to make an italic!) is direct quotation from his codex. As I said, not a lot happens and the next chapter will be, ‘the big move’))

“Welcome back, Azurelle.” Said Nakim as he helped her down from the roof.

“Nakim! Your eye!” he let her go and laughed as she examined his blackened and swollen eye, “What happened?” Altaïr landed behind her and set about collecting every pillow he could find, including a few blankets and making her a nest, Azurelle looked at it with a sour look, it was a little overboard! “…what are you? A pigeon?” he rolled his eyes at the question.

“Humour me and pretend you are a hen and nest.” She did as she was told, throwing a few of the pillows out of the way when he was not looking. Altaïr glanced at Nakim’s face, “I am glad you are alive, I was worried you were too old for this job.”

“A few soldiers had nothing on me! It was just unfortunate I ran into one of their fists.” They shared a laugh before Nakim got back to business, “Malik has asked to see you as soon as you returned.”

“Of course,” he checked on Azurelle, she stared out at the afternoon sky with a saddened look as she tried to appear normal. “Watch her for me?”

“You don’t even have to ask.”

Malik was found bent over a map, the door to his room open but quiet. “She is safe I assume.” Altaïr nodded when he looked up at him, “I have sent Abdul on an information gathering mission and I received a letter from Acre this morning, I regret not reading it sooner but I have been busy.” he pulled out a note from beneath the map, “it pertains to the arrival of a ‘huge, bald man with an obnoxious ginger beard’. He will be arriving in Jerusalem very shortly and will likely seek us out, was the general message. He is a spy…but by the look on your face you know this and you seem…disappointed?”

“I had hoped he was lying so I could tear him limb from limb when Azurelle was not around to throw herself to his defence.” So the Templer was telling the truth, it did not mean Altaïr had to trust him though.

“She did what?”

“He told her his story and she seems to believe him. Saying that though, he would be dead now if it were not for her stopping me.” He hadn’t really been thinking at the time, his vision was red with rage when he’d thought she was hurt and all he wanted was for the man to be dead and bleeding out on the stone floor of the church. “I was livid.”
Malik rolled the map up and put it away, “because he had taken her?”

“Because I thought she had been stabbed.” Malik looked up at him with concern deep set in his eyes; he pulled his bedroom door closed quietly, “is she awake?” Altaïr asked.

“Coherent enough to understand what goes on, whatever it was Imran sent to give her it has worked, her fever has fallen and she is not hallucinating anymore. Now what do you mean, ‘stabbed’?” Malik listened patiently as Altaïr described how he had found her, which explained why the younger Assassin had returned briefly for clothes, he relayed what Imran had said and how Azurelle hadn’t told any of them about her pain before hand and that now all they could do is wait. “Has the bleeding stopped?"

“Yes, it seemed so much at the time but it stopped soon after it started…but it is enough to endanger my baby’s life.”
They fell silent, Malik seemed as if he was holding his tongue, it was unusual for him not to blurt out what he was thinking and it disturbed Altaïr more than he liked, “say it.”

“You did not yell at her, did you? About not listening to you and running off.”

He smiled, usually Malik would not be far off in his assumption but Altaïr had reigned in every ounce of his control to not instinctively blame it on her for not doing as he said, “no, Malik, I didn’t. It is not her fault…Imran told me as much. He says it can happen to any woman in the first few months, it is rarer for it to happen so far in but it still happens and there is nothing that can stop or help this from happening.”

“So far along?” his eyes widened in surprise, he had thought she was only a few months.

“She is a ‘late shower’, according to our dear doctor, first time mothers take longer to show their condition and then suddenly there is a bump. Not usually as big as she is but Azurelle is small.” He thought of how quickly Azurelle’s stomach had swelled, “I also did a little math earlier.”

Malik raised his eyebrows and enthusiastically congratulated the Assassin, “you did math?! Oh, Altaïr, I am so proud of you!” he dodged the knife thrown in his general direction, “your aim could use some work though.”

“You are a riot.” He continued his previous train of conservation, “Do you remember when I was last in Jerusalem?”

“…you had just come back from Masyaf…something about a slaver brought you here. Four months ago, you were here for about two days and then left for Acre. Is that when you think she conceived?” Malik thought for a moment, “hmm, must have been because you did not stay here a single night.” The far off look in the other man’s hazel eyes made Malik shake his head fondly, “do not reminisce in my study, Altaïr, especially about how you impregnated her.” He became serious again, he was in a better mood now that Nazeera was healing but he still had a job to do, “this Templer, what will you do?”

“I do not know, for now I am only concerned with Azurelle.”

“What will you do if the baby is dead?”

Altaïr visibly flinched; he wished the man weren’t so blunt, “…my offer will still stand to take her to Masyaf, she will want to stay with Nazeera or maybe she will go to India with her Troupe.” He took a breath, “either way I will let her do as she pleases.” He no longer wanted to talk about the possibility of losing the child, “please, Malik, I can not talk about this right now.”

“Of course – go to her.” Altaïr had been slowly edging out of the room during their talk, he seemed eager to get back to her; he was probably more worried than he was letting on. Altaïr was gone before the Dai could finish his sentence.

0

Azurelle was listening to Nakim regaling her with his earlier fight, he was explaining in great detail, his arms waving about, on how exactly he came to have a black eye that was nearly swollen shut. She looked genuinely interested in the story, from experience Altaïr knew she loved hearing stories, he watched her from the doorway, her small hands rubbed her stomach gently the entire time. “And then I killed him…I know a little anti climatic but that’s how a fight is!”

“I think maybe you should get your head looked at, it has gotten worse since you started that story.”

“A visit to Imran may not hurt and here is Altaïr!” he cocked his head to the side and her grey eyes followed, “would you like anything bringing back while I go have my eye scored?”

“Something sweet?” he nodded and then called through to Malik who said the same thing. She beckoned for Altaïr and shifted forward in her little nest for him to slip in behind her. Azurelle leant back against his chest and sighed contently when he placed his hands on her stomach and stroked the bump gently, “…I’m sorry.” She murmured for what seemed the hundredth time.

“It is not your fault!” how many times did he have to tell her before she’d believe him? “Do not think about it…” he tried to think of something to distract her with, “Nazeera’s fever is breaking and she knows who we all are again.” At this she turned her head to look at him.

“Really? Can I see her?”

“No.” came her answer from the other room, “she would kill us all if we saw her in such a state.” Malik then went back to his writing, he smirked when he heard the girl mutter about him having big ears – it wasn’t true, she was just loud.

00

Azurelle bit her lip as she tried not to scream, it felt like years since she’d last been with the Assassin and he was relentless in his actions. His tongue plunged into her expertly, before he replaced the muscle with his fingers, his thumb rubbing circles on her swollen bud as he gazed up at her with half lidded eyes. Her head was thrashing from side to side and her back seemed to be stuck in an arch as her fingers clawed into the blankets beneath her – he was going to kill her! Her chest heaved and she thought her lip would rip with the pressure of her teeth, his free hand travelled leisurely up her body and paused at her mouth where Altaïr forced her lips to part, his fingers pulling her bottom lip gently so she could breathe. “You will pass out at this rate.”

“b-but!” she tried to bite down a moan but he wouldn’t let her, “they’ll – people will – they’ll hear!” she watched his smug smile form as he curled the two fingers inside her and caused her to keen loudly before he continued the simple push and pull rhythm. He didn’t care who heard them, no one would want to investigate who was having sex on their roof, “ah! Altaïr! I-I –please! Please!” he smiled lazily as he watched her, this was only their third coupling and she was still so responsive to him, she begged him so prettily with swollen pink lips and flushed skin. He’d been teasing her for a while now, drawing her to the brink of orgasm and then denying her had proved quite entertaining but she was exhausting fast and his own swollen member throbbed painfully.

The Assassin coaxed her into turning onto all fours for him; she trembled all over and was barely able to hold herself up, perhaps he should take it easier on her next time and not tease her so ruthlessly. Altaïr stroked her hips gently, his right hand drifted down over her back in a soothing motion, “remember to breathe,” he muttered before swiftly pushing himself into her. Azurelle cried out loudly as her body tensed at the invasion, he was deeper than she’d ever felt him in this new position. Altaïr gave her a moment to adjust before pulling on her hips and beginning a quick and merciless pace, she moaned and keened and clawed at the blanket beneath her fingers as he sunk into her tight, hot body over and over. “breathe.” Her breath hitched as her lungs burned painfully, “breathe damn it!”

0

“Azurelle!” grey eyes shot open and blearily tried to focus on the blob floating in front of her vision, “breathe for me!” She knew that voice or she thought she did through the pounding of her heart thudding in her ears, she vaguely realised she was panting hard and there was a hand on her chest trying to slow down the rise and fall. What had happened? Hadn’t she just been having the most amazing sex on a roof with Altaïr? Why was he now hovering over her and why did he have his clothes on?!

“Where are we?” Altaïr heaved out a sigh of relief, they’d fallen asleep with the afternoon sun falling on them through the roof of the bureau and he’d awoken to her body thrashing against him, her breath coming in short gasps as she struggled in her sleep. He’d laid her down and tried to wake her but she had been deep in her dream.

“The bureau,” he answered her when she continued to look at him with the most beguiled expression, “what happened?”

“A dream…or a memory…I think it was a memory?” she said quietly and sat up now that her breathing had calmed, “it was so real…and I was trying not to yell so loudly.”

Altaïr’s brows furrowed in thought, “so you nearly choked yourself?” he rubbed his temples in frustration, she would never cease to cause him problems…even her sleep was a threat! “Was this dream so bad?” Azurelle’s cheeks bloomed red and she averted her eyes from him, it was hardly a bad dream! It was amazing and she would have liked to have seen it through to the end – instead she was left wanting and unsatisfied.

“I was dreaming about the third time we were together…when I came so hard I passed out and was so limp and brainless that you had to sneak me back into my room at the inn.” Reaching her arms around his neck Azurelle pulled the Assassin to her lips and kissed his teasingly, her tongue playing along his bottom lip, “I woke up before we could finish though!” Altaïr growled deep in his chest and covered her mouth forcefully. He hadn’t had any bodily contact with her for days and with her hungry eyes and soft little mouth on his, Altaïr couldn’t help but bury his fingers into her wavy hair and pull her head further back so he could deepen the kiss.

She pulled him closer and they both stopped when he brushed against her stomach, the Assassin groaned silently and pulled back from her, “this would not be wise…”

“I know…I forgot,” Azurelle said breathlessly, they couldn’t do this now, it had only been a few hours since she’d felt horrible pain and the risk to her baby was too high no matter how much she wanted the man, “I shouldn’t have started that.” Now they were both hot and bothered with no real way to satisfy themselves – well Altaïr could still find release. The brunette ghosted her hand across his belt but was stopped there.

“no.” he said firmly, “I am fine.” Altaïr stood to give himself some distance. “How do you feel?”

“Wanting.”

He suppressed a shiver, she looked ready to eat him and it was more than he could take, “I…” he cleared his throat before continuing, “I meant, other than having a dream that has left you in such a state, do you feel better? Is the discomfort gone?” he distracted himself by glaring at the two men peering through the doorway at them, Malik had a grin splitting his face as he went back to his work, Nakim’s eyes twinkled merrily and Altaïr knew the man had a smile under his mask as well – it wasn’t everyday they caught him being accosted by a woman.

“oh…no.” she seemed to sober a bit, the harsh reality of her situation thrust upon her, her dream was becoming hazy and her feeling of arousal was dampened with the rest of the memory, “I don’t feel anything…” she pursed her lips in concentration, her mind asking her body for answers that didn’t involve the Assassin. “I’m hungry.”

Malik decided this was the best time to interrupt as he hadn’t wanted to wake them earlier and he certainly wasn’t getting involved with her sudden friskiness, he still adorned his amused look as he spoke, “a pigeon flew in with a message not long ago, the Templer wants to meet with you. Something has happened and he must speak to you immediately, he has arranged a time and place and I am sending Abdul and Nakim with you – do not argue, Altaïr!” the Dai said before the other had even thought to open his mouth, “I am going to the Troupe’s inn to collect some of Nazeera’s things and tell them that she won’t be coming back.”

“And who will stay here with our burdens?” he was of course referring to the women they were keeping; surely they weren’t being left alone? One was bed ridden and the other was…delicate. “This Templer wants me to meet him in an hour from now at the most obscure location! Can the inn not wait?”

“No, it can not.”

00

Bosque stood from his perch when he saw the three Assassin’s appear, his right arm was in a sling and he had a slight limp from earlier, he was alone, as far as anyone else knew he was in bed asleep – weary from his fight with the great Assassin. Altaïr regarded him coolly, distrust was evident in his eyes but he would listen and hopefully he would step into his role tonight. “Thank you for coming. I trust you believe me now?”

“I believe you, but I would not say I trust you.” Was his reply, they stood across from each other in the darkness, “you wanted me.”

“I did…can I ask how Azurelle is faring?”

“You can not.” He wasn’t here for a friendly chat, all three Assassin’s were edgy, they expected an ambush at any moment – though, Altaïr highly doubted that Malik would lead them into a trap, “speak then, let us hear what you have to say.”

Bosque nodded, “I have already told you why the Templers sent me here…today I found out why.” He relaxed back on his perch, “there are serious plans for another war over Jerusalem and which religious group will dominate this abused city. The Brotherhood is the only thing that seriously threatens the Templers mission…as far as my masters are concerned – I failed to kill you, I am not able to apparently. As such, they are going ahead with their other method of… ‘Cleansing’ which is to send as many men as possible and flush you out of Jerusalem.” He regarded them all quite seriously, “four of you are not going to stand a chance; you’d have to bring in an army to have any real hope of stopping them.”

So Jerusalem was going to be infested and the Assassin’s would lose their eyes and ears to the city, “why do they want this city?”

“Jerusalem is in the middle of everything it seems, it has strategic advantages, information is rife and the culture is vast and impressionable. The Templers have been shrinking further and further into the shadows since your victories in Cyprus and soon they will vanish from under your nose…they think you will not expect such an offensive move from them. Any Assassin left in this city by this Friday will be eliminated.” He watched them tense; the youngest gave a fearful look to his master at the unwelcome news, “many Templers are already here, they were disguised by the festival. The question is, Grand Master, what will you do?”

“I feared they were shrinking from our sight, I have been asking myself what I will do for years and I have come to some form of defence” Altaïr stared at the man head on, “What follows are the three great ironies of the Assassin Order: One. Here we seek to promote peace, but murder is our means. Two. Here we seek to open the minds of men, but require obedience to a master and set of rules. Three. Here we seek to reveal the danger of blind faith, yet we are practitioners ourselves” Bosque nodded his understanding, “we are perhaps a bigger threat to ourselves right now than any other enemy. Robert de Sable may be dead, but his Brotherhood survives. Though less conspicuous in appearance, I fear they remain a threat. Where once they proudly walked the streets - making for easier targets - now they retreat into the shadows. It grows difficult to track them. What wicked things will they weave in the darkness? Our work will be all the more complicated for it.”
Behind him Nakim nodded solemnly, he remembered when killing Templers used to be a sport of sorts, he and his brothers would compete to see who killed the most in one day – now they were scarce. The younger Abdul had never experienced a life with the bastards of that order dogging every corner of the holy land and it sounded as if he would never even know if there were! “My travels to Cyprus and beyond… made me realize that our tactics, too, must change. It means an end to our fortresses. To our penchant for spectacular displays of public Assassinations. We must weave our webs quietly. And we must do so differently than we have in the past”

The Templer straightened up, was Altaïr suggesting a change? Would he be hearing the first real decisions of this somewhat wayward leader? “What will you do to combat this coming threat?”

“we will withdraw from Jerusalem, wipe away any trace that we were here…myself and Malik had planned to return to Masyaf shortly, we will just be forced to leave sooner than expected – let the Templers have this city…we will watch them from their own shadows.” He turned to look at his comrades; this was better for them to hear face to face, “Though I ask my brothers now to abandon their rituals, I do not ask that they abandon the creed. THIS is what makes us Assassins. Not the removal of a finger. Not a false promise of paradise. Not the prohibition of poison. Our duty is to the people, not to custom. If we must sneak, we shall sneak. If we must use poison, we shall use poison. If our blades can be used without removing fingers, we shall not demand they be taken. And we shall not manipulate our initiates with lies and parlor tricks. We shall speak plainly and honestly. We shall be made anew..”

Abdul looked at Nakim, he wasn’t against this new way, he rather liked having ten fingers but the other man had been with the ‘old’ creed for far longer than any of them – would he be so willing to change? Altaïr waited for his approval, Nakim would be the first test to see if his plans would be realised. “…this will certainly cause unrest, Altaïr…but I will follow you.” He accented, “I’ve always wanted to use poison…perhaps find a way to incorporate it with my blade.”

“You are so very disturbed, my friend.” Altaïr felt a little weight leave his shoulders, this was a good start. Even Malik had been doubtful of his big ideas but the Dai had seen the benefits, if the brothers would not follow him they would follow Malik, “perhaps our Dai, soon to be second in command, will find a way to realise your dream.” The Dai was good with problems.

The bald head man liked what he had heard, this sounded like a fresh start, one that might actually ruffle a lot of feathers of certain fat bottomed leaders, “I wish you luck, Altaïr…I promise you I will continue to send all I know of movement against you until there is such a time you have no need of me or I die.” He held out his arm, Altaïr looked at it, seeming to dissect it carefully before he hesitantly gripped the Templer in a firm handshake. “Safety and peace.”

It would take a long time, possibly a lifetime before he would trust this man but an ally was an ally, “…safety and peace.”

00

Nazeera was lonely; she’d been stuck in this bed for who knows how long, tossing, turning and sweating! She’d had Malik with her of course but he had to work and she would have murdered him if he was a continuous presence beside her, especially as she felt so dirty! She’d managed to get herself into a sitting position, her breathing was heavy and her head swam dizzily from the lack of blood in her body and her skin was still heated with a fever caused by a small infection in her wound. It hurt as well…but there was nothing to be done now. Slowly, she inched herself forward off the bed, out of the little room and stopped woozily against a wall as she found her sister staring idly out of the roof, it would be dark soon and the men had only just left. Azurelle must have heard her because she looked up suddenly with a jolt. “Nazeera!”

The girl got up as quickly as her condition allowed her, a dull cramp shot through her body at the movement; she ignored it and went to her sister. “You’re huge!” Nazeera gaped at her little sister’s belly, how had she gotten so big in such a short time?! “Are you having a camel?” Azurelle giggled, how she had missed this woman! “Don’t get any closer! I’m dirty, I smell and oh, I’m just plain disgusting!”

“You’re still my beautiful big sister to me!” she hugged the woman gently, avoiding the injured area completely, “I will help you wash if you like…wash your hair for a start.” She regarded the tangled, greasy mess of black that dangled limply around her sister’s pale and thin face, “And you must eat something!” she helped Nazeera over to the fountain and set her down, “this is the perfect time to clean you up now that all of our watch dogs are gone!” she padded off to find some things to clean her with, there was her favourite scented oil with her belongings in Malik’s room. While she was in there she pulled the bedding off and quickly threw on clean sheets – her sister wouldn’t want to wash only to get into a dirty bed!

Nazeera watched in fascination as her baby sister ran around after her, she returned after a long moment with a few things and demanded that the older woman strip. Azurelle worried that the water would be too cold but Nazeera seemed to lean in to the damp cloth, “you don’t know how good this feels! I could die now and I’d be content!” the girl laughed and got to work on the mass of black hair. The sisters fell into a comfortable quiet as they continued to scrub away at least a week’s worth of sweat and grime until Nazeera asked what she had missed, Azurelle hesitated before explaining everything.

She listened to the events she had missed, she grew furious at how Altaïr had been treating her sister, she was sure it was his fault that Azurelle had been suffering – his overbearing behaviour had stressed the poor girl so much that her body wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do! A thought in the back of her head niggled annoyingly, it said that it was impossible for it to be Altaïr’s fault and that she was just finding reasons to hate the man on principle. “I should be looking after you…not the other way around.”

“No way! You look like death, you shouldn’t even be out of that bed and when Malik finds out he will be so angry at us both!” she knew it would be best to make Nazeera go back to bed, something as simple as washing her own body was exhausting her little by little, “I need something to keep me busy…I do not like being idle right now. When I sleep I have the worst – or best – wet dreams I’ve ever had and when I’m awake I’m scared for my baby”

“…I did not need to know your dream…that’s…disturbing, little sister.” The woman tugged Azurelle to her, she winced at the movement causing her pain but she needed to comfort the girl, “I m sorry I haven’t been able to help you and left you to stupid men, I will take better care of you, I promise!” Azurelle huddled closer; she’d needed her sister so much! Speaking to the woman let her get her thoughts in order and she didn’t have to hide anything from her.

“I haven’t felt anything for hours now…the occasional cramp but I can’t feel him anymore, I don’t even feel pregnant anymore!” Nazeera held her, “…I want to be wrong…maybe he’s…sleeping?”

“Maybe…”

000

So yes, long, not much happening but now I can move on...on to Masyaf!