Fleeting

The crates were taken away by a trader by mid morning, the man often took goods as far as Masyaf and so his route would not be questioned, the Brotherhood was also paying him a lot of coin to get the contents to the fortress safely and quickly. Every book was coded, and they were mixed in with food items, jewellery, pots and other miscellaneous items that would not look suspicious, there was not a lot to transport but every item was of great value – especially Malik’s maps, he was not doing them again! Their horses were waiting for them, packed and ready for the long journey ahead, Nakim and Abdul had already left, they would let the fortress know what had gone on. Nazeera had been looked at by Imran and as long as she did nothing, would be fine to travel as the only worry was the jostling of a horse would aggravate her wound; she suggested a different way of wrapping it and it ceased to be a problem. Azurelle…was another matter entirely.

She wouldn’t speak to Altaïr, she wouldn’t let him touch her and she wouldn’t look at him either. She seemed to have woken up and become increasingly uncomfortable with his presence! He’d had to tell Nazeera to tell her that the Troupe had already left for India and there was no chance of catching up with them, at first Azurelle didn’t believe the tale, which is when Malik confirmed the story they’d come up with in the night – she would have to go with them. She didn’t take that particularly well and then there was the fact that there were two horses…she was going to have to share with Altaïr as Nazeera was with Malik. How could someone who had so desperately wanted him yesterday now seem disgusted by the idea of his touch?! Imran had overheard this little conversation and come up with an answer – she didn’t want anything around her that would remind her of the missing presence of the baby. That included the father.

He had said that suffering from a miscarriage could be very traumatic for any woman, not only was it taxing on them physically, but emotionally as well. Her body would heal and recover relatively quickly from the miscarriage but emotionally, the healing process could take much longer. This was her way of dealing with the loss and it would be best to leave her to it. Unfortunately it wasn’t an option right now, they had to be out of Jerusalem as soon as possible and the only thing stopping them now was her reluctance to come out of her self induced isolation. Malik had suggested to Nazeera that she ride with Altaïr but had been shot down in record time – she was not sharing a horse with that man! “Then what do we do? I can not force her onto a horse!” Altaïr was at a loose end, he couldn’t leave her in the city alone!

Nazeera frowned, they’d been arguing over what to do for an hour now and she had a terrible headache, “I don’t know! She’s grieving, she’s lost her baby and she doesn’t know how to cope!”

“Do you not think I am not grieving as well!” he was fed up with this woman attacking him relentlessly, he was hurting as well! Why was she so desperate to mark him out as an enemy and make it seem like he couldn’t care less about Azurelle’s feelings?! His outburst seemed to have stunned her momentarily and she looked ashamed of herself. She had not thought about his feelings at all and now that she had - she seemed to have enough sympathy in her to leave him be for now. “I do not know what to say to make this better…this is not a wound I can bandage up and hope she gets better! Our baby is dead and I can not do anything about it!”

“…I know…I know this can’t be mended and there is no one to blame for it.” Nazeera leant against the side of a building while they waited for Malik to return with the last of their supplies, the girl they were arguing about was no where to be seen so they assumed she had wandered off with the Dai, it was easier to be with him for her, he didn’t yell about what she should do all the time, Malik would let her be and wait for her if she had anything to say. “You were really looking forward to the whole fatherhood thing, weren’t you? I saw the way you looked once she’d warmed to the idea, you read every text on child rearing you could find and I know for a fact you went out and bought those tiny little socks from that old lady…and it is unfair that I am blaming you for Azurelle’s sadness.” It was the closest to an apology he would get and he could only stay silent in response.

Malik chose that moment to reappear, “we are all set, I have chosen the route and we should be at the lake within five days if we leave now and keep a steady pace.” He seemed pleased with himself, he’d moved the entire bureau with surprising ease and he was gloating, “That is assuming you are ready to go.” The question was directed at the girl who had appeared from seemingly nowhere beside Altaïr, she nodded silently and reached to hold onto the arm of Altaïr’s sleeve.

She gave him the tiniest of smiles and they made their way to the gates of the city. As promised to them the guards chosen for the gate were lazy or inexperienced, Bosque had made it easy for them to leave unhindered and the horses were given to them by the stable boy. Nazeera was grateful for the help she received from the younger Assassin to mount the large brown horse but Altaïr walked away before she could even thank him, she hugged Malik around the middle and rested her dizzy head against his back, “how did you convince Azurelle to come?”

“I did not…I thought you had?” they both sent a confused look over to the other couple, Altaïr had lifted her onto the black horse and placed himself behind her, the bump she sported made it difficult for her to ride behind, she shifted forward so she wouldn’t be lent against him and sat silently. “She must have decided herself, she is a big girl, Nazeera, she will always make the right decisions in the end – if you let her.” They departed then and Malik gave the city a backward glance. That had been his city for nearly five years and he felt as if he would miss it – he hated giving it to the Templers without a fight.

“You’ll return there one day…maybe we’ll bring our own children here.”

“Children?” he asked incredulously, it had taken him years to get her to accept his proposal and she wanted children already?! “How many do you want? Actually, no…let us not discuss this!”

00

It was painfully quiet for the first few hours, Nazeera had fallen asleep against the Dai’s back and things were too tense between the other man and woman that Malik didn’t want to start a conversation. Altaïr’s arms ached horribly, he’d been holding them away from the girl so as not to upset her but he would give anything to be able to drop them, she was suffering as well, she’d held her body so rigid and she’d leant slightly forward to stay away from him that now her lower back felt as if it would snap. She saw his hands shake with the effort of respecting her space and she sighed in defeat, this wasn’t doing either of them any good, Azurelle placed her hands on his wrists and pushed them down to rest on her thighs, “it’s going to be a long trip…and I can’t sit like this forever.” She slouched with relief as the tension was released in her back, she was leant against him now but it wasn’t so awful she thought. Altaïr leant his head towards hers but she turned away, “don’t…please don’t touch me right now.”

“Why?”

“Because…I don’t know, I just don’t want to be touched.” She whispered, he was such a pain with his questions!

“No, I meant, ‘why did you change your mind?’” he had wondered that for some time, she was obviously uncomfortable with him yet she had gotten on the horse willingly.

“because I have no where else to go…and it’s not your fault that I’m being awkward…I know you’re upset as well, you’re just better at dealing with it.” He deserved an explanation didn’t he? “Every time we touch…or if I think about you touching me, I want nothing more than your mouth on mine and…well, you know.” She blushed under the scarf she wore over her head to protect her from the sun and hide her stomach from her eyes, “but then that’s how I got pregnant…and it hurts to think about it.”

“I will not touch you unless you want me to.” He promised quietly and after that they fell into silence again, this one more peaceful and it dispelled the atmosphere around them enough for Malik to discuss how they were going to tell the rest of the Brotherhood of the changes that would be made without causing a riot.

0

The days were hot and the nights were bitterly cold, Altaïr and Malik took it in turns to keep watch over the fire and the girls would be wrapped around each other usually sleeping soundly, for the first night Azurelle had slept like the dead but the next few nights had her tossing and turning as she continued to dream about random encounters she and the Assassin had shared. Everyone assumed she was having bad dreams and left her to herself, one night she’d woken up so suddenly she’d alerted Altaïr’s attention and woken Malik from his light slumber, her gaze collided with hazel and she looked at him with such hunger that the Assassin had to make an excuse to leave to stop himself from going to her – he was no longer under the impression that she was having nightmares.

It frustrated her to no end, how could her body betray her like this!? Surely she wasn’t so addicted to the man that she couldn’t be near him without wanting him! Perhaps it was because their entire relationship had been based on sex and that’s all her body craved…she tried to ignore it and blame everything on her torn and frayed emotions…maybe she could sneak away for a little while and relieve her tension a little – no, last time she had ended up needing the Assassin to show her what to do! It didn’t help that she was so close to him on the horse for long hours at a time, she’d found herself unconsciously rubbing her body against his during one particularly hot day and been forced to stop by his hands on her hips and his barely suppressed groan, he was stopping her before she really caused him a problem. Altaïr was becoming increasingly frustrated also, she didn’t want him to touch her but she rubbed against his body with delicious friction and gave him seductive half lidded gazes when she though he couldn’t see – he was being understanding and he was doing his best to ignore her but he was a man and he hadn’t had sex in weeks!

He slowed his horse and gave Malik some excuse about the animal needing a moment to recover. He followed behind the other horse at a slower pace and as soon as there was enough distance hissed in the brunette’s ear, “You are slowly driving me insane, woman! Make up your mind before I do something decidedly foolish.” She turned her head and regarded him with a pout on her lips and a dark look in her grey eyes.

“You mean to say…that’s not your sword hilt in my back?” he saw the flicker of a smirk on her lips and annoyance flared within him. Without thinking he dove forward and claimed her mouth in a hard, domineering kiss, she twisted her body as much as possible to try and gain some sort of control but as his hands left the reigns to take hold of her face to deepen the kiss she could only give in and moan quietly as she let him lead.

“What is going on back there?” Malik asked Nazeera who was peering backwards to find out what was wrong.

“I think Altaïr’s trying to see just how far he can stick his tongue down my sister’s throat and she seems to be helping him.” It was a little disturbing to see and she hoped they didn’t attempt to do anything more on the poor horse. “…should I feel horny for witnessing this?”

“Perving on your little sister…I do not think that is a good thing.”

“Maybe I was looking at Altaïr.” She was joking of course but she enjoyed the way Malik grew taut in her arms, there was nothing she liked more than to make him jealous as it always ended well for her.

“As soon as you are well enough, I will make you regret that comment, habiba.” She grinned into his back – he was so easy! There was a sudden noise from the horse behind and they heard unsteady hooves scuff the ground before Altaïr’s voice was heard trying to calm the animal. Nazeera looked behind her and laughed at them. Azurelle was a bright shade of pink, he r head was lowered and her hands were firmly clamped onto her knees. Behind her Altaïr was looking extremely annoyed with the animal and he was doing his best not to let out a string of curses. “Did you kick your horse, Novice?”

“Fuck you, Malik!”

0

Somehow they’d arrived at the lake Malik had spoke of before they’d left Jerusalem, this meant they’d been travelling for a week and none of them could grasp that, it seemed to have flown by, perhaps it was because the road that had been chosen was quiet and disused or perhaps they’d filled the time with easy banter. “I can wash!” was Nazeera’s happy cry as she was helped from the tired horse; she went straight to the waters edge and examined the clean, fresh water, “I won’t smell anymore!”

“You do not smell now.” She glared at the one armed man and he took the hint to be quiet, “fine, fine…pain in the arse.”

“Finally! Somewhere to wash!” Azurelle rushed to her sister’s side and they both chatted happily at the chance of some real hygiene. They left the men stood by the horses to stare in disbelief, they could be attacked at any moment and all they wanted was a bath.

“ We should set up camp before it gets darker.” They’d arrived a few hours late and it was now twilight, if they were quick they could get a fire going before it became night, “at least there are a few more hours before it becomes too cold to wash.”

“Not you as well!” Malik shook his head, yes he would enjoy getting clean but he wasn’t going on about it like the women, “why are you so desperate to – ” Nazeera called him from the waters edge, she was slowly undoing the ties on her dress and crooked a finger for him to follow her, she had found a small pool within the walls of the cliff face that would give her privacy as she washed. “Actually, I think I could do with a tidy up and she might need...help.”

Altaïr was left to set up all by himself, it wasn’t that he needed help but it irritated him to no end, maybe it was because he knew what the two would get up to and he was being deprived, it had been a day since his episode with Azurelle. He threw the rolled up blankets to the ground as he unloaded the tired horses, he’d have to collect more items to make a fire later, they had enough for tonight and then that would be it. “Altaïr?” the Assassin looked at the girl sat on the rolls of material; she had a strange look on her face, a mixture of apprehension and indecision. “I don’t think I can go three more weeks with this horribly throbbing need in my body.”

“…and?” she wasn’t exactly telling him what she wanted, she was telling him a fact and he wasn’t sure how to reply to. “What are you going to do about it?”

“I was thinking we could both satisfy ourselves and then…call that it.” It sounded foolish and she nearly regretted saying it, “I adore you, Altaïr, but I think we got too deep and we nearly ended up wanting to murder one another…when we get to Masyaf I don’t want to go through this again and as incredible as it is being with you I don’t want to continue.”

“Then why not just call it quits now?”

“Because we’re so frustrated that it would only be a matter of time before I end up in your bed again! Once more…tonight! Once more and we call that it.” They could go their separate ways in peace, no animosity or electric tension between them. She watched him mill it over in his mind, he had to know what she said made sense!

Nodding slowly, Altaïr agreed, “once more.”

000

Double upload! Two in one night! To make up for falling asleep and not writing the other night!