Fleeting

For the next few days, things were tense between Altaïr and Azurelle. The morning after their fight, Nazeera took the girl home with her to explain to Gyani their absence, Gyani was angry that they’d both gone missing and confined them to the inn until the next day when it was time for them to practise with the Troupe. Azurelle was preparing to run up a wall and land on Nikeel’s shoulders when she felt the sharp sensation of being watched, her eyes swept the roof tops before landing on the imposing, crouched, figure of Altaïr; had he become her stalker now? He was being ridiculous! Just to spite him, Azurelle sped towards the stonewall and nearly ran half way up it before back flipping gracefully into the air – the other acrobat faltered slightly when he caught her but that wasn’t enough to cause any concern. Turning her head to glance at the Assassin with a smug smile on her lips, his looming shadow soon disappeared. She hadn’t seen him after that until they accidentally met in the street two days later. They stood in awkward silence, people bumped them as they passed the couple, most were annoyed that they were in the way. Altaïr broke the silence first, “How are you?”

Azurelle blinked dumbly, not used to such a greeting from him. Usually he’d pull her to himself and rob her of her breath as he kissed her, somehow they’d become strangers. “Better…it was nice to not wake up wishing to empty my stomach.” He nodded slowly and then they fell silent again. “Oh, this is silly!” she exclaimed, “What are we even fighting about?” Azurelle pulled his sleeve as she led them both out of the middle of the street, if one more person walked into her she’d murder them, she wasn’t invisible!

“If I remember rightly.” Altaïr began, “you refuse to stop risking my baby’s life and then I called you a child.”

“Your baby?” she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in amusement, “will you give birth too?”

“I meant our baby…”

She smiled at him genuinely, it was rather sweet that he seemed so possessive but annoying at the same time. “How about a compromise, Altaïr?” he cocked his head to the side; he was willing to listen if it meant he could have her back in his grasp. “Let me perform tomorrow without interfering. No glaring at me from the roofs and no locking me in the bureau.” He had the decency to look guilty, he had toyed with the idea, “Then I’ll stop…no jumping, running up walls, back flipping, twirling, tight rope walking, being thrown from a three man tower and no silk dancing.”

“You will come to Masyaf?” she pouted slightly at him, that wasn’t part of her deal and he knew it, trust the Assassin to look gift horse in the mouth and count its teeth! “Do not look at me like that. I have to return and I refuse to leave you here unprotected!”

Giving a frustrated growl Azurelle snapped at him, “Why are you being so difficult?!”

“Why are you?!” he countered, “What is so important about this damn festival?”

“It’s not the festival! Gyani said that after this last performance I could do whatever I pleased; I’d have paid my debt to him and if I wished, he’d allow me to work in the Troupe and keep whatever I made! I won’t need you or anyone else to provide for me!” She watched his face carefully, his hood did nothing to help decipher his thoughts for her; wasn’t it better that she wouldn’t be a burden to him? She enjoyed being in the Troupe and being able to decide when she trained and performed was better than the gruelling schedule she was currently on. It had surprised her greatly when the Indian man pulled her aside and told her she owed him nothing more – all her years of working hard to pay the man back for providing for her was over, it also meant that Nazeera would be free to do as she pleased soon also.

“That is it then? You do not need me at all?” Altaïr reached out and pulled her into his arms, “so after long hours and sleepless nights of tending to a baby, you will not need me? You will be content raising the child alone, moving from country to country, organising travel, food, juggling your needs, the Troupe’s needs and the child’s? What about his education? Who is going to take care of him when you are entertaining the crowds?” he asked, “Who is going to take care of you?” Azurelle tried to pull away, how was she meant to know any of this? And why did he keep referring to the baby as male – it could be a girl! In fact she hoped it was just to spite him! He bent down to her ear, “I would take care of you, whether it be organising these things or something more intimate.” She shivered lightly at the sound of dark promise in his voice. “Just because you happen to carry my child does not make you any less attractive to me. Being this close to you still causes my body to ache painfully and I want nothing more than to take you here.”

Azurelle gasped, her face heated as he continued to whisper lowly in her ear, his hands rubbed up and down along her hips and waist. “If it were not for the fact that we are surrounded by people, I would fuck you until you screamed for me to stop.” She gripped his belt as her knees nearly buckled, he couldn’t do this to her in the middle of a street! “I have never been this frustrated in my life,” he hissed, “I want nothing more than to bend you over one of these stalls and bury myself so deeply inside that you would feel me days after!”

“Altaïr, please! I…I need you!” Altaïr chuckled at her admission; her leggings were probably damp by this point.

“But you do not need me, you said so yourself.” He loosened her fingers from his belt and took a step back, the smuggest look Azurelle had ever seen on his face. She gaped at him, her face flushed brilliantly with the disbelief that he would tease her like this!

“You bastard! Don’t you dare leave me like this!” he gave a short wave before quickly blending into the crowd, she lost sight of him and swore venomously under her breath, he was a dead man! She was so busy muttering under her breath that she didn’t notice when someone tapped her on the shoulder, she squealed girlishly, and whipped around to see who it was. A tall man, lanky and weedy looking was smiling at her in a way that made her skin creep, his dull brown eyes looked her over carefully. It was obvious from his leer that he liked how flushed she looked.

“You’re Gyani’s girl! I was at your private show a few days ago. I’m Qiblatayn.” He took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles, Azurelle suppressed a grimace with a false smile before trying to pull her hand away. Qiblatayn ignored her blatant attempt to free herself by holding tightly to her wrist and ran the fingers of his other hand along her shoulder, “I must say, red is a good colour on you.” He leaned closer, “and I don’t mean your tunic.” Azurelle didn’t like the way he looked at her and tugged on his grip again, she stopped when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the white of an Assassin’s robes. Thankfully it was not Altaïr, as he would have surely torn this letch to pieces. It was Nakim; he was the only one in Jerusalem she knew who covered the bottom half of his face. He was Abdul’s master, teaching the younger boy the finer points of killing and stealth, with his presence nearby Azurelle's panic subsided a little.

“What are you doing, worm?” at this voice, Qiblatayn was the one who jumped in surprise, large gloved hands beat the weedy man’s hands away from the brunette but rested on her shoulders once the other had taken a step away from her, “I did not send you ahead to scout out women.” The man’s words seemed to have Qiblatayn quivering in fear and she could not hold her curiosity any longer from turning her head; who had hold of her? This tall man was made of muscle, his skin tanned from years in the hot sun, sun he did not get in his own country it seemed. His head was bald, he had a full auburn beard that he was obviously very proud of, it was well kept and neatly trimmed. He looked down at her with glittering, blue eyes, he didn’t look like he meant to harm her but she soon noticed the abundance of crosses about his person – Templer crosses. This must have been the man she’d overheard Qiblatayn talking about.

“Forgive me, Master Bosque!” he suddenly gave Azurelle a dirty look, “I was weak against this wanton girl.”

“Wanton? There are many reasons women glow, you disgusting leech, not all of them caused by desire.” He slid a gloved hand down her shoulder, intent on putting it against her stomach. A streak of panic rushed through her veins and Azurelle slapped the appendage away, she launched herself from the Templer so she could run as far away from him as possible – once again she found her wrist caught, “No, no!” Bosque exclaimed, “I did not mean to frighten you or harm the babe.” He turned her palm upwards and frowned, she’d managed to cut herself on his armour trying to get away, “perhaps you should return to your husband,” he suggested while pulling a white cloth from his pouch and tying it around the small cut.

Azurelle had practically run away from the Templer, Nakim chased after her before she ran into more trouble, he’d made her sit down until her thundering heart slowed and returned to normal. “How much would I have to pay you to give Altaïr a slow death?” Nakim laughed, he’d known Altaïr from a teenager and knew the Assassin would make short work of him. “Was that really a Templer? He seemed so nice…”

“Don’t always trust your eyes.” He said firmly, “Come, Malik will want to hear of this and I would prefer to see you safely to your home.”


00


The inn was quiet for once, usually there was someone running around or yelling at someone else but this time it was peaceful. Azurelle had the room to herself; her sister had gone with the others to the market. She had tried to sleep while she had the opportunity but found herself too tense, she fidgeted constantly thanks to Altaïr’s earlier actions, her run in with Qiblatayn and Bosque overshadowed by the burning ache between her legs – why would he do that to her?!
She sighed in defeat; she had to do something about the dull throbbing! Her shoes and leggings had been abandoned beside the small bed hours ago, only her long tunic remained. Sitting up carefully, Azurelle listened for the noise of other people in the building but it remained silent, she’d never done this to herself before and she’d be damned if she got caught by anyone!

With a cautious look around, the brunette worried her bottom lip with her teeth as she parted her legs shyly, she felt silly for being shy, there was no one there! Her hand hovered as she hesitated, “What are you doing?” Azurelle swore, pulled her hand away from herself and closed her legs.

“You! Get out!” she ordered Altaïr angrily. He ignored her and entered through the window, he pulled his gloves, bracers and hidden blade off, dropping them by her clothing. “What do you want?”

“You.” Altaïr answered simply as he sat himself on the end of the bed by her feet, “Though it looks like you were busy, I can wait for you to finish what I started.” She looked at him awkwardly; did he really expect her to continue while he was watching? Her hesitation made him act for her; he placed his hands on her knees and slowly pulled them apart, she thought about resisting but right now she found she couldn’t. “What is wrong?”

“Altaïr…I can’t!”

“We’ve done much more than this before, why are you suddenly so shy?” he watched her lower her eyes and she just sat there red and embarrassed, it was then it hit him, “have you never touched yourself before?” her eyes widened when she heard him, how did he know these things?! “Give me your hand.”

“What? Why?” he shook his head impatiently and held out his hand for hers, she shakily placed her palm on his, Altaïr pulled her hand down to her body, her eyes widened, “you’re a pervert!” he smiled faintly at her before parting her legs further.

“Since you are already so wet, we can skip the first part. This” he said pressing her fingertips against her clitoris, she inhaled sharply as her fingertips brushed the sensitive spot, “is the most important place to pay attention to. This is where you get the most pleasure.” He moved her hand down further over her entrance, getting both their fingers covered in her arousal before he stroked back up to her clit, “it is better when you are well lubricated, it feels better, yes?” he moved her fingers in small circles around the bud and she nodded quickly, her mouth clamped shut so she could stay silent. “If you simply want to release some tension, this is all you really need to know; if, however, you want to draw it out.” he pulled her hand down again, forcing one of her fingers and one of his own to slip inside, Azurelle whined in the back of her throat, was he trying to drive her mad!

Azurelle pulled her hand from his impatiently, “just take me already!” he didn’t need telling twice, he let his fingers sink into her as they were already there, why not use them? She helped him remove his upper clothing and when it came to untying his pants she simply pushed them down his hips enough to release him, he leant over her body, careful not to put any weight on her and kissed the brunette teasingly. It seemed so long since he’d been given access to her mouth, he forced his tongue inside to engage hers in a heated battle, when she felt the blunt head of him against her, Azurelle quickly tensed and Altaïr released her lips to find out what was wrong. “Won’t this – is it safe?”

“I have already studied some texts on this matter.” He said in a strained voice, the tip of his manhood was pressed against her and he struggled to hold himself still, “it is safe…as long as we are not rough.” She hesitated another second before giving him permission, Altaïr moaned into her neck as he was allowed to push inside, he’d missed this! It had driven him nearly insane with want being near her but not touching her! He had meant what he’d said earlier, he wanted nothing more than to throw her down and pillage her tight heat over and over but he knew it was too dangerous for her right now; his control was being stretched considerably as he tried not to use her body selfishly. Altaïr could see a hint of worry in her eyes and reached between them to tease her pearl again, her eyes closed and she moaned prettily for him, “I forgot to mention…this – ” he pressed hard with his thumb and she arched up, “is a distraction also.”


000


So, yes, not a lot of plot, I think on my next day off from work I will go through the chapters and correct typos and the like…I’m so tired! Toodle pip!