Chapter 5:

"Practiced Smiles and Roses"

The walk back to the castle was unpleasant, to say the least.

Uri clung onto Katia's hand, and though she did not mind that he found comfort in her, she found the feeling of the boy's sweat and dirt that coated his palm quite distasteful. He was a tall lad, the top of his head almost reaching her brows, and as she looked at him, she started to second-guess his age. At first glance, he looked about 9 or 10, but now that Katia drunk in his boyish features, she was forced to consider the age 13 or 14. And from the way he spoke—so quiet, yet his vocabulary was quite advanced for a boy that had been living in the streets—she found herself wondering when exactly he had been cast away. Did he grow up from a mere pup as an orphan, or was he thrown onto the streets just recently?

What ever the reason, it must have been a long time for him to forget his own name.

Altair, on the other hand, was deathly silent. He had pulled his hood up and concealed his features, but Katia knew he was furious simply by the setting of his shoulders and his clenched fists. Okay, so perhaps throwing and ordering him around in front of Uri was a hard blow on the man's pride, but come on! He didn't need to become all moody and angry just because of that!

During the walk, however, when she saw that he was in no mood for talking, Katia simply sighed and left the Master Assassin to his moping. Instead, she had turned to Uri and struck up a conversation.

"Uri," she said, and the boy in question looked at her, "before I arrived at your...er...sleeping place, did you hear any music?" Katia idly recalled the whole reason she had stumbled upon Uri in the first place. The question had slipped from her mind until now.

Uri smiled that same smile he had smiled before—a little broken, as if it hadn't been there for a while—the dirt around the corner of his mouth cracking. "That was me, Miss," Uri said quietly, shyly. Katia raised a startled eyebrow at the boy.

"You were the one playing that beautiful music?" she asked, partly in disbelief. She pushed her red hair behind her ear as it slipped in front of her face. Uri only shrugged.

"I play the flute, Miss," he said, and reached into his shirt and retrieved a small thin object. He held it tightly, as if afraid Katia would take it from him. She was willing to wager that this was the only thing he had.

"Where did you learn to play such beautiful notes?" she questioned in wonder.

"I...My sister taught me," he simply said after a flat moment. Katia raised her eyebrows, about to inquire further, when she noticed the boy's face become stony and guarded. She decided not to press the matter, because he obviously did not want to talk about his sister, and Katia wouldn't want to upset him and pry into something that wasn't her business.

She was about to change the subject completely, in fact, but the Master Assassin beat her to it. He didn't look at the two behind him as he walked ahead, but he spoke loud enough so that they heard him without a struggle.

"When we get to the Citadel, boy, you are to stay close to me and not wander," he said coldly, and Katia felt the urge to snap at him for sounding so rude. She didn't, however, fearing that it would push the Master Assassin into an even fouler mood. "Do not speak unless you are spoken to, especially if you are in the presence of the Mentor. You are to be respectful to whomever addresses you."

"Of course, Sir," Uri replied simply, keeping his head high but his eyes low. Katia sighed, absently pitying the boy, and caught the attention of Altair.

"And as for you, I want you to remain inside the citadel," he said, turning his head slightly to Katia. She was about to open her mouth for a sharp retort before he simply held up his hand. "This is not up for discussion. You have proved to me that you need more watching than even this boy when you ran off. I cannot bring him to the Mentor and watch you at the same time, so while I am busy, you will stay inside the castle where you are less likely to cause trouble."

Katia huffed in annoyance, turning her nose up at the man who had slowed down his stride and was now beside her. She hated him talking to her as if she were but a child. She may be young, but its wasn't like Altair wasn't young either. Just because he was a Master Assassin didn't mean that he could boss her around as if he were her superior.

Then again, a small voice inside Katia's head muttered, he is a man. A man who can kill you in probably a thousand different ways if tempted.

"I thought I had proven that I did not need watching when I overpowered you and held a blade to your throat..." Katia found herself boldly muttering nonetheless, loud enough for Altair to hear. Uri seemed to not be paying attention at all; he was looking out towards the distance as the citadel's huge, strong gates came into view.

Altair turned and shot Katia a glare under his hood, to which she struggled to shrugg off. "I can assure you that that will never happen again," he growled. The young redhead fought off a shiver at his cold, almost deadly tone, and kept her chin high. They were almost at the gates now; she could see two Assassin's standing guard at the foot of the gate, as well as an archer above it, his bow perched over his chest dangerously.

Katia noticed, with a start, that the archer was none other than Abbas Sofian, the arrogant, rude man who had helped escort Katia and William to Masyaf.

Katia moved back to stand behind Altair as they reached the gate, pulling Uri to stand beside her. The two Assassins standing guard took one look at Altair and opened the gate wordlessly. As they passed through, Katia could almost feel Abbas' eyes on her. Despite the cold feeling creeping up her bare arms, she refused to look up at him and forced herself to keep a calm and composed face. The last thing she wanted was Abbas thinking—or rather, knowing—he scared her. There was just something about him...

They walked through the front courtyard of the citadel in silence. Uri was looking all about him curiously, although he kept his head low and averted his gaze respectfully when someone—even a mere maid, in one instance—walked by. Obviously, Altair's previous words had done a number on the boy. He seemed much more careful and sure-footed, as if he was afraid that one slip-up may be his doom.

Katia would be lying if she said she wasn't scared of the same thing in his case.

"I trust you know your way to your chambers."

Altair had stopped when they had made it through the entrance of the citadel, and finally turned to acknowledge Katia. Surprisingly, Katia found that the entrance was almost deserted of any other people but them. The cool, marble floor beneath them was littered with strewn books and random papers, and the high walls were situated with bookshelves and statues and weapons. Before her, two staircases stretched upwards in a spiral; one leading left, and the other leading right. Katia knew that the left one would take her to her room, for she had taken those same steps with William the day before, and she wasn't one to forget things easily. She knew the exact route to her chambers in the Ladies' Quarters, but found herself pouting when she looked at Altair.

"And what am I supposed to do in my chambers, may I ask?" she huffed. "Just sit and stare at the wall? Count the floorboards? I would rather drown myself in the bathtub."

Altair stared at her in annoyance. Uri, coughing, moved to stand behind the Master Assassin. His eyes stayed to the floor. "Do what ever it is that girls do in their chambers," snapped Altair. "Fix your hair, knit a scarf—you should have some supplies for that in the chest under your bed."

Katia threw her hands up in the air. "Knit a scarf!" she repeated, sighing. Altair stared at her a moment longer (Katia suspected he was contemplating killing her right then and there, it wasn't as if there were any witnesses besides Uri) before simply turning on his heel and stalking away. She watched him go in clear annoyance, Uri trailing a respectful distance behind him before they both walked up the stairs on the right hand side. Within a blink of her eye, they were gone.

Right, Katia thought, standing grumpily in the middle of the entrance with her arms crossed, staring at the staircase. I'll knit a scarf, or just play with my hair the rest of the day. Oh! And, seeing as I will be staying here for another few months, I'll just continue that every single day of the week! How fun would that be!

To say the least, Katia did not spend the remainder of the day knitting or braiding her hair. Nor did she spend it counting the floorboards or drowning herself in the bath in her chambers. In fact, the girl did not visit her chamber even once.

Instead, she wandered the halls and nooks and crannies of the citadel. She had nowhere in particular to go, and it's not like Altair had given her orders to specifically go to her chamber anyway. Hell, even if he did, it's not like she would have listened to him in the first place. Katia strolled through the corridors quietly, thoughtfully, and curiously. She walked passed rows upon rows of huge tapestries that hung from the walls, many pictures depicting many different things. Most of them were of men, dressed in the Assassin white, leaping off impossible heights and into the fray of their enemies. They were beautiful things, these tapestries, and each of them reminded Katia of the lone tapestry she had back home, hanging in her mother's secret office, along with many other priceless Assassin treasures.

As Katia wandered, she not only took note of the many tapestries, but also the different rooms and people scurrying around them. Mostly just maids and Assassin Brothers, but the rooms that she passed baffled her. She passed a greenhouse on the south end of the citadel that, she was told by a passing Brother, housed not only a wild range of flowers and plants, but incredible and lethal insects that the Assassins used to produce their poisons. She passed a blacksmith shop that made the weapons and gear, and right next to that was an infirmary. She decided against peeking into that room; from the horrendous groaning and cursing coming from within, she guessed that she wouldn't want to know what was going on in there.

After about a half hour, Katia—finally—found her way to the garden. It had taken a while because one had to walk all the way up three flights of stairs to the roof of the citadel to find it. It was quiet she noticed when she pushed through the glass doors. Save for the soft sounds of the grasshoppers and other insects hiding within the beautiful flowers and bushes, nothing else could be heard. She deemed this the best place within the citadel she had visited so far. Huge wasn't even the correct word to describe it; it was massive. And beautiful.

Because Masyaf was constructed along the mountainside, it merged in with the rock and Earth that it sat upon. The castle itself blended into the steep cliffs and mountain rock, almost invisible, as impossible as that sounded, and the town below looked like a simple merchant village. From afar, the town was nothing significant—in fact, from the dull stone-and-clay houses, the quiet people, and the lack of colour from the outside, it didn't even seem like one worth stopping at. The castle was pretty much invisible to the eye unless the sun reflected off one of its windows and caused a spark, or one already knew it was there.

Hide in plain sight.

It was genius, really. Using a part of the Assassin's Creed to build their stronghold, their sanctuary and birthplace. It had always been a mystery to the young girl how so many Assassins—her mother included—could hide so easily within nothing. It was a skill, she supposed. A skill that she would never understand.

Katia moved along the roof, feeling her hair lift as the slightest breeze whispered through her. The garden floor was covered in a fine, thick layer green of grass, with small pink and yellow flowers sprouting out everywhere she looked. Her feet hovered over four-leafed-clovers, her nose smelt the sweet aroma of jasmine and roses, her ears picked up the sound of a soft waterfall nearby. In the middle of the garden, within the flowers, was a tall white pavilion. She made her way toward it. They must have a gardener of some sort, thought Katia as she bent over the ledge of the pavilion to gently touch the petal of a blood-red rose, her fingers careful of the thorns. Things as beautiful as these don't just sprout and take care of themselves.

The pavilion was empty on the floor, but she could hear birds chirping in the corners of the roof high above her head. Katia smiled slightly—she guessed there was a nest somewhere up there, filled with little eggs and two parents to protect them. She craned her neck upwards and saw that her assumption was right. There, lodged cozily between two wood planks, she could see the tail of a small bird along with sticks sticking out. Katia grinned again, and focused her attention back on the rose bush. She reached out and ran her fingers gently over the crimson petals, carefully stroking the stem of one that particularly jutted out—

"Are you quite done yet?"

Jumping out of her skin, Katia yelped and spun around toward the flat voice. Her hand fluttered to her chest, her long hair whipping herself in the face with the force of her spin. Standing within the once-empty entryway of the pavilion, his hood up to conceal his features, was the Master Assassin.

"You scared me!" she yelped, though it came out as a strangled whisper due to her shock. She could almost feel the man frowning.

"I thought I told you to go to your chambers," Altair muttered back, his voice matching her own annoyance. His hands were at his sides, his shoulders slumped. Katia wondered how long he had been standing there.

"Actually, you suggested I go to my chambers," she replied evenly, resting a hand on her hip. Her heart still thrummed in her chest, though she had managed to calm it some. "You didn't technically tell me to go there."

"You wouldn't have listened even if I had."

The girl gave a small smile. That's exactly what she had thought.

Altair was silent for a moment, causing the girl to feel uncomfortable. It was moments like these that Katia hated, and it seemed that Altair was always having these quiet, still moments with her. Inwardly gulping, Karia opened her mouth to talk before he beat her to it.

"You're bleeding."

Startled at his strange choice of words, Katia peered at the man in confusion before looking down at her body. "No I'm not—"

Altair walked forward until his feet were planted in front of hers, though he kept a modest distance in between them. He reached out and grabbed Katia's hand, the one that had been touching the rose, and held it eye-level with him. Raising a brow, she was surprised to see that she was bleeding. A thin, yet deep slice of red adorned the length of her index finger, the blood slowly making its way downwards. She stared at it with a strange mix of confusion and fascination.

"I didn't even feel..." Katia trailed off as Altair took a water skin from the inside of his robes, uncapping it and tipping the liquid on top of Katia's finger. Letting go of her arm with his other hand, he protruded a small, white cloth from his sleeve and gently stroked it over her wound. Immediately, the cloth bloomed red like a flower, but Katia was too busy staring at Altair to really notice. What was he doing? Why was he helping her? Tending to her wound like so? Katia would've expected the Master Assassin to simply scoff and walk away, or at least throw her the cloth and make her clean the blood herself, or perhaps even leave it be altogether. It was just a scratch, after all—not even that; a prick. But no; Altair was washing the cut for her, he gave up his own water to cleanse her of the blood. It was a small thing, yes, but for Altair to do it?

He was almost being... What was that thing that Katia had never seen him be? Oh, yes. Nice.

"I must have cut it on the rose," she whispered, more so to herself than Altair. He simply nodded and they fell into a few moments of complete silence, the only sound coming from the restless birds above their heads.

"I suppose you would like to know the outcome with the boy," Altair said eventually as the silence grew, his voice void of any feeling or warmth. She blinked up at him once before his words finally registered into her brain, and her heart leaped.

"I would," Katia replied, her gaze hopeful. From this angle, she could see under his hood, and though his face was somewhat shadowed, Altair's strong, prominent features were clear to her eyes. His face was blank, absolutely no emotion in it whatsoever. A chill ran down Katia's spine and she quickly looked back toward her hand.

It's a shame he is so emotionless and stoic most of the time, she thought, not for the first time that day. He is quite handsome, and would look even more charming with a smile. She almost sighed. He must have a nice smile.

But then again, maybe it is a good thing that Altair was so cold and moody, another voice in her head stated. It would be hard to mess with him and tease his sourness if he wasn't so bitter. It would most likely cause me to turn into a foolish, giggly girl.

"Because of the state the boy is in," Altair continued quietly, snapping the girl out of her strange thoughts, "the Master said that it would be wise for him to spend a couple of weeks in the infirmary, just to get his health up and to make sure he isn't carrying diseases." He paused when he caught Katia's mild glare at this, and his voice grew somewhat softer, though Katia could have just imagined that. "It is very possible, Katia, what with him living in the streets."

"But...he is staying, yes?" She looked up at him as he finished dabbing her finger—she didn't realise that he had been applying some sort of ointment to it. He put the tiny bottle in a secret pocket in his robes before letting go of her hand, stepping away in the process.

"Al Mualim wouldn't just...abandon him, would he?" she continued as she looked up at him, running her fingernails through the ends of her hair. "The boy is barely a teen yet. Barely out of childhood."

"Al Mualim is a strict man, I will not lie. If the boy doesn't show promise when he recovers—if he proves to be useless, or disrespects Al Mualim's rules in any way—he will be thrown back out onto the street." Katia flinched at the harsh words, and she sent out a silent prayer to Uri. She really hoped that it wouldn't come to that for him.

"But...he is a child..." she whispered in a quiet sort of sadness. She looked away from the man and down at her finger. It shined from the newly-applied ointment, and the slice was visible, but it no longer leaked crimson or stung.

Altair was silent. Katia could feel his eyes on her but she didn't want to look at him. It wasn't that she was mad or upset with him in particular. No, she didn't hold any ill feelings toward the Master Assassin regarding Uri's conditions at all. After all, it was Altair who gave him a chance and brought the boy to the Grand Master. He could have just said no to bringing the boy to the citadel and dragged Katia away, but he didn't.

A cool breeze blew by Katia, and she wordlessly turned around and stared at the rose bed growing next to the pavilion. Altair watched her, ever silent, as she leaned down and picked a rose. She held it between her two hands, her fingers placed along the spaces between the thorns.

"Are you okay?" Altair said, a strange tone she did not recognise hidden in his voice.

She was surprised that Altair would ask such a thing. She didn't think that he cared.

"You needn't worry yourself over me," answered Katia, peering down at the rose. "I am fine. I just hope that Uri shows promise. If he ends up being thrown out..." she trailed off quietly.

"Would you like to see him?"

At that, Katia turned around and looked up at the Master Assassin, surprise clear on her face. Why was he showing her such kindness? Why now? Just a few hours ago, Altair was nothing but a cold, moody man who obviously thought himself higher than everyone. But now, out of nowhere, he is kind?

"Yes, I would," she answered nonetheless. Altair nodded once silently before turning, gesturing with a jut of his chin for her to follow.

Katia twisted the red rose between her fingers anxiously as they walked through the candle-lit halls of the citadel. She kept her head down, her eyes staying on Altair's boots so as not to lose him. She didn't know why her mood changed so quickly, or why she felt so small and quiet all of a sudden. Especially in the gardens. Katia supposed that Altair wasn't the only one with mood swings; she was just as worse.

They finally came to a halt in front of the infirmary, a room that Katia had seen a few hours ago. Altair opened the door and—surprising her yet again—held it open for her to step in first.

Who knew he could be a gentleman, Katia thought as she passed him, giving Altair a smile along the way.

The room wasn't as large as she thought it would be, but it was long, in a sense. Cots were stationed next to each other along the far wall, across from the entryway. A table was set up next to each cot, some occupied and but most not. Only a few people were on the cots while doctors flew from patient to patient. No wailing was heard, nor were there any curses being spewed from the injured men. In fact, it was very quiet. Almost eerily.

Katia lined her sight along each cot before her eyes came to a stop at one. Uri lay on it, looking somewhat scared, as a man leaned over him and held a vial over his face. They seemed to be arguing. Uri's face was upturned in a scowl while the doctor's only looked frustrated.

"...boy, you must drink it," the man was saying as Katia and Altair drew nearer. "It will help with the stomach pains so you are able to eat better without feeling like knives are being stabbed into your gut."

"From the way it tastes, I would rather the knives," retorted Uri, his face a look of disgust as he quickly closed his lips to avoid the vial being tipped in. Katia chuckled and the doctor and boy looked up as they approached.

"Miss!" Uri smiled a full-blown smile and he jumped out of the bed—almost knocking over the doctor in the process— and slammed into Katia. She gasped, more out of surprise rather than the impact itself, as he wrapped his thin arms around her waist and hugged her. After a shocked moment, she giggled and gently placed her arms around the young boy, returning the embrace. She was careful to not let the thorns of the flower touch him.

"Uri, I do hope you are not being bothersome for the doctor," she said softly, smiling at said man over Uri's head. "He is only trying to help you."

Uri looked up at the girl, his arms still wrapped around her. "He is trying to poison me!" he exclaimed. The doctor huffed at the boy, but Katia only chuckled and, finally, they let go of each other. Uri looked to her left and bowed to Altair.

"Sir," he said quietly, eyes downcast. Altair didn't respond, causing Katia to sigh inwardly.

"Uri, please take what the doctor is giving you," she tried, but the boy shook his head defiantly.

"It is horrid! The first time he gave it to me, I threw up!"

"That is because you held it in your mouth and refused to swallow," chided the doctor, standing and nodding to Altair in respect. "Altair."

"Mohammad, I thank you for putting up with this boy," Altair said, speaking for the first time. He gave a look of disapproval to Uri. "As ungrateful as he can be."

Uri flushed. Katia sighed looking at the Master Assassin, and then got an idea. She turned to the doctor and held out the rose, a soft, practiced smile on her face.

"Please accept this as my thanks," she said extra-sweetly, and this time, the man flushed. He slowly lifted his hand and grabbed the rose as his cheeks tinted red.

"I—Oh, it was nothing," he stuttered under her sweet gaze. She chuckled.

"To me, it wasn't," Katia told him genuinely, before she shifted her gaze to the vile in the hand that didn't hold the rose. "May I take it from here? I do not wish to offend, kind sir, but I think it would be much quicker and easier if I had Uri take the medicine."

As expected, the man wilted under her innocent gaze. He murmured incoherently and hastily handed the vile over, his ears glowing red, and muttered something about tending to the other patients before scurrying off. Katia smiled at herself, pleased with herself for pulling the trick off flawlessly. Her mother would have been proud, had she witnessed it herself. It was a trick she had learned from her mother, after all, considering Katia refused to learn how to fight unless it was self-defence. Elizabeth deemed it fit to teach Katia, her only daughter, how to use her charm and innocence to make a man bow down to her without having to lift a finger.

"In a world such as this, where a woman is only considered useful when she is in the kitchen, bedroom, or tending to the children, we ladies must learn to fight without weapons or knowledge of war," Elizabeth had told Katia, once a long time ago. "We must learn to fight without fighting. We must learn to fight not in the way that men do, but in a completely different, unique way. A lady's way. A man fights with his fists, a woman fights with her eyes. It is a lesson seldom taught to girls, but it is a skill that will bring any man to his knees. Once you perfect it, daughter, you won't need to learn how to fight, because you will already have a thousand men behind you willing to lay down their lives just for you."

Smiling to herself at the memory, Katia turned to Uri, and found him along with Altair staring. She blinked at Altair. "What?"

She thought she could almost see a shadowed smile underneath the hood. "How did you do that?"

She feigned ignorance. "Do what?"

The Master Assassin seemed to frown. "You know what."

"Just a little trick," Katia shrugged before turning to Uri. "Come on, hop back up on the bed." He did as he was told and sat at the head of the cot cross legged. Katia sat in front of him as Altair leaned against the foot of the cot.

"Now, open your mouth," she ordered, and as she expected, the boy clamped his mouth shut stubbornly. Squaring her shoulders, Katia looked Uri straight in the eye. "You can either open your mouth and drink this, or I will get Altair to pry your lips open himself while I force it in. He will hold your lips shut until you swallow every last drop, and if that means swallowing your own throw-up as well, then so be it."

Uri stared at her, a mixture of defiance and mortification in his dark eyes. He looked down at the vile, and then slowly to the Master Assassin standing at the foot of the cot. He seemed to be weighing his options out.

"Is there a...third option?" he asked weakly. Katia sighed—and then another idea made its way into her devious red head.

"As a matter of fact, there is." She turned and threw Altair a quick, cheeky smile before making her face stony once more. She said, "How about this: I will count to five, and I will tip only a little bit of the medicine into your mouth. You then swallow, and we repeat. Before you know it, the vile will be finished, and then we can finally move on."

She waited patiently for his answer. In truth, either answer would be amusing for her, and she didn't mind making Uri the "butt" of her joke, as her father used to say.

Katia felt the air pressure change from behind her and then she was suddenly aware of someone standing directly behind her. "I imagine there is a devious reason behind these options," whispered Altair, his voice very close to her ear. Katia fought back a shiver and turned her head slightly to the side, towards his face.

"Specifically the last one," she murmured before turning back to Uri. After a few more moments of him contemplating, he finally looked over to her and sighed.

"I guess I will go with the last option." He sounded unsure, and Katia almost rolled her eyes at the boy's pettiness. How bad could the medicine possibly be?

She uncapped the vile and moved closer to the boy. He stared at her, wide-eyed, and she couldn't help the cheeky smirk she gave him. Katia played the smirk off as a simple scoff so as not to make the boy suspicious.

"Are you ready?"

Uri nodded and closed his eyes, parting his lips slightly as he waited for Katia's count to five.

"One..." She threw Altair a look and whispered, "Get ready," before looking back to the unsuspecting Uri.

"Two..." Altair silently moved around to Uri's side, waiting for Katia's signal.

"Three..." She reached over and tipped the entire contents of the vile into Uri's mouth, holding his chin still as he flinched, his eyes shot open, and he tried to move backwards. A few drops dripped down his lips but Altair held his chin firmly upwards to make sure the liquid spilled down his throat and not down his chin.

"Swallow it," Altair ordered and after a few moments, Katia heard the boy gulp. Altair slowly let him free, and immediately Uri looked to Katia, a shocked fire in his eyes.

"You said you would count to five!" he said, his face twisting in disgust as the taste of the medicine still lingered in his throat. Katia giggled, not feeling in the least bit guilty as she probably should. The look on his face was too funny for her to feel sorry. She looked over and saw that even Altair had turned away as his shoulders moved up and down slightly. She couldn't believe it; was Altair laughing?

"But it's over now," Katia said, still secretly looking at Altair from the corner of her eye, "so it doesn't really matter what I said—"

"It was disgusting! It tasted like horse shite!"

"But did you die?" Katia muttered sweetly. "How do you know what horse shit tastes like? Have you had it before?" Katia laughed at both male's expressions in her saying 'shit,' and was about to say something more before a sharp, stony voice sounded from behind her.

"The Master has requested your presence immediately," it said coldly, and both Katia and Uri turned to the figure behind them. It was an Assassin, tall and lean as most were, but he was looking at Altair. Or perhaps "looking" was the weakest way to describe it; he was glaring daggers.

Katia was shocked at the sudden change of mood—from happy and funny to tense and cold in one second flat. But she was even more shocked at the fact that the new Assassin standing before them only had one arm. His sleeve was bunched and tied up at his elbow, where the stump was.

"Malik. I wasn't aware that you had returned from Jerusalem so early," Altair replied evenly, seemingly unaffected by the other man's sharpness. No longer was Altair the kind, silently-laughing man. He was now back to the previous, emotionless Altair.

"And I wasn't aware that you cared so much of my whereabouts," retorted the man named Malik tightly. "But then, I must be mistaking your 'care' for nosiness, considering you care not for anyone but yourself."

Woah. Is he for real? Katia's eyes widened at the man before she looked back to Altair, and found that he was staring back at Malik. Something must have happened between them personally for them to be so tense, she observed privately.

Without a nod, or any indication at all, really, Altair moved forward and shoved his way past the one-armed man. Malik glared daggers at his back as he departed, and Katia was almost going to stay quiet, but something in her drew her toward Altair as he flew through the doors.

Katia bit her lip—once, twice, then grazed her tongue over her bottom lip—before her chest sighed and she rose from the bed, racing after the departing man. She caught Altair in the hallway, his white robes billowing behind him as he strode passed the candles lighting the hallway.

"Wait!" Altair stopped walking and turned around as Katia raced to catch up to him. She halted right in front of him, her red hair falling across her forehead due to her rush.

"What is it?" Altair huffed impatiently, his voice almost sharp. Katia faltered.

"I...I just wanted to say...uh..." Her cheeks flushed red as she stuttered and stumbled over her words. God, what was her excuse again?

"You wanted to say 'uh'?" snapped the Master Assassin, amusement lacing his tone. "I should be surprised. But then again, it's not like that would be the stupidest thing you have said today."

Katia rolled her eyes and glared at the man before her. "No, I didn't want to say—" She sighed in annoyance before starting again. "I wanted to thank you, actually. You know, for doing what you did with Uri."

Altair reached up and pulled his hood down. Even though Katia could see his face perfectly, the moment his hood was no longer shadowing it, it was as if seeing it again for the first time. His straight nose, the slight stubble on his jaw, the silver scar that ran up his lip. His face was tanned, though she guessed that it was a natural tan that had nothing to do with the sun. His full lips were pulled upwards in a smirk, reminding her again how handsome he was. His eyes alone was enough to have a woman weaken, but to have his the rest of his face—his dark eyebrows, the sharp jaw, even the somewhat charming scar on his lip—was just unfair.

It was strange—almost scary—to Katia how taken she was by just his looks. It wasn't as if she hadn't seen a handsome face before—many had tried to court her back in England, and she did have William, too. But Altair was for some reason...different. Whether it was because his Arabian features were so different from her English features, or because he was so cold and distant that Katia may have pitied him, or if it were because of an entire different reason all together—she wasn't sure. And she wasn't sure she liked it, either.

"You didn't exactly give me much choice in the matter," Altair spoke, unconsciously snapping Katia out of her thoughts. His golden eyes were narrowed, but he didn't look angry. Only...mildly confused.

"You could very well have denied me and dragged me back to the citadel without him, though. But you didn't. And I am very thankful."

"I could have," he agreed, raising a brow, "but then I would have had to deal with the whining and squealing from you the whole way back. You talking is enough to drive any man halfway to insanity, I could only imagine you squealing."

Katia knew that he was teasing, and she knew that she did deserve a little teasing from the way she teased him on her 'tour.' She rolled her eyes at the man before waving off his jests, placing a hand on her hip.

"For your information, I do not squeal," she told him. "I shout. Or, if the occasion is especially scary, I may even scream. But I do not squeal as if I am but a child throwing a tantrum." She shook her head and inwardly groaned. Thrown off track again, she thought.

"Anyway, I just wanted to thank you and then let you go." Katia gave the man a one-shouldered shrug and turned around, flicking her red hair over her shoulder and jutting her chin up in the process. As she walked, she heard Altair mutter something behind her, so she stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Say something, Altair?"

The man in question just shook his head and pull the corner of his lips slightly to the side. It wasn't a smile exactly, more of a smirk than anything, as if something about the whole exchange amused him.

Katia exhaled sharply and, with nothing left to say, continued walking.

[A\N: Ooooookaaaaaaayy, and thats a wrap! I'm sorry about the delayed update, I really have no excuse for it other than the fact that I had a huge writer's block and could not think of a way to end this chapter. However the fact that I do have a path in which I want this story to go, it doesn't mean that I have the exact details of each chapter down. I mean, some chapters I do, but somehow I still end up changing my decision half-way through the chapter and end up writing something completely different!

Anyway, enough rambling from me, and let us get down to the important stuff.

Thank you soooooooo much for the reviews you have given me, as well as the lovely and kind PMs! It honestly brings me so much joy when I hear that people are liking my story, because at the end of the day, this story is pretty much my own thoughts and ideas. So it is refreshing and flattering when I hear that people enjoy reading them!

Anywhoooooo, please try to ignore any spelling errors in this chapter and just kindly PM me about them, because I really tried my best with them but it is kind of hard to spot out all of them when there are, like, 6000+ words! Also, if you don't understand anything about my story—if I failed to describe something properly or whatnot—just simply comment or PM me about it! I would be happy to explain it to you personally through your PM.]