French Master Assassin François Charles Dorian and his wife, fellow Master Assassin Marie Albertine, arrived at the Goff Mansion in Crawley in the afternoon hours of November 8th, to prepare for a meeting between representatives of the French and British Brotherhoods. Upon initial examination, François noticed that the exterior of the building was in pristine condition, only to see that the inside was quite run down. Alongside the couple was their nine year old son named Michel, who was easily distinguishable due to his red hair, which was almost the same color as his father's, but a little lighter. François approached the door, and grasped the latch. He knocked on the door and waited for a few moments. Answering the door was a man with brown hair with the sides of his head shaven. He had his hair in a small ponytail, along with a bushy beard. François smiled politely.
"You must be François!" The man exclaimed. Francois could easily hear a German accent. "The name is Samuel Marshall, but you can call me Sam. Come on in, Juliette is about to give birth to our child!"
François and Marie entered, with Michel standing behind his mother. Francois held out his arms.
"Giving birth?" Francois asked confusingly. "You said in your letter that we were to have a meeting..."
Sam pointed at Francois, and wagged his finger at him.
"Now my friend, that is what I like to call a a deception tactic."
"Deception tactic?"
"Yup." Sam replied, smiling. "Juliette informed me of her little quarrel with Sophie Trenet, and Juliette did not want her to find out that you were coming to visit, so she suggested that you two were visiting us for a meeting, just in case she got her hands on the letter."
Francois cocked a half smile before Sam began to escort Francois and his family down the stairs.
"So you're the Sam Juliette keeps talking about." Francois inquired, as they made their way down the rickety stairs.
"Indeed I am, brother." Sam replied, as they hit the bottom of the stairs. "I am her husband after all."
François and Sam shared in a laugh, which was abruptly cut off by the sound of a woman's scream. Sam's ears perked up as soon as he heard the scream.
"Sounds like she is already starting to give birth! Hurry, to her quarters!"
Sam darted ahead with François in tow. Marie had to stop with Michel, as he had come across Luna, Juliette's pet cat, and began to pet her. François entered the room behind Sam, and saw his sister, clad in all black lying flat on her back with her ankles on the bed rest. A brown cloth was covering her from the waist down. Fellow Assassins surrounded the bed as well. François recognized some of the Assassins, but couldn't put a name to a face. The only thing Francois could remember from Juliette's letters was that the female Assassin with black hair in front of him had the nickname of Timaeus. From what he heard about her, she was also a pretty good artist. At the bed rest was a nurse, assisting Juliette with the birthing process. The nurse looked up at Sam and François.
"Would you two gentlemen be able to support her, one on either side please?"
Sam darted over to Juliette's left side, while Francois circled around the nurse, who handed François a white cloth soaked in cold water as he passed by. He crouched, and supported Juliette's right shoulder. Juliette turned her head over, and smiled at Francois, before using all of her might to push the child out.
"You got this, Juliette." François said encouragingly.
"You're almost there, my love." Sam stated, as François placed the folded cloth on Juliette's forehead to cool her off. The nurse peeked her head above the bed rest.
"I can see the baby's head! One more strong push Juliette and it will be out!"
François and Sam exchanged looks of gratitude, and tightened their grips on Juliette's hands. François quickly glanced over to see his wife watching the proceedings while Michel sat beside her, continuing to pet Luna. François looked down towards his sister. Before he could say anything, Juliette returned a half smirk towards her brother. She returned her focus towards the nurse, who was encouraging her to push. Juliette took a deep breath, and screamed as she pushed. The scream was loud enough to scare Luna and make Michel jump. The room got louder all of a sudden as the sound of a baby crying flooded the room. Juliette let out a deep breath, and fell back onto the bed. The nurse beckoned one of the Assassins to hand her a couple of large white cloths. She used the cloth to clean off the baby, and the second cloth to wrap up the newborn. Francois and Sam assisted Juliette in sitting up at the back of the bed. The nurse walked over to Sam and Juliette, as Marie met up with Francois and stood behind the couple.
"Its a girl!" The nurse exclaimed, handing the infant to Juliette. "I will let you spend time with your child. I'll be over in the main room if you need anything."
The nurse bowed her head, and exited the room, with the rest of the Assassins following her out, leaving the couple with well wishes. Francois peered over Sam's head, to see a baby girl who resembled her mother when she was a baby.
"She's adorable, Juliette." Sam said with joy. Juliette looked down at the newborn child, and kissed her on the forehead.
"What should we name her, my love?"
Sam paused to think for a few moments, and nodded his head in disappointment when he couldn't come up with any names.
"I'm not sure, love. Do you have any in mind?"
This time, it was Juliette's turn to think of names for her baby girl. She paused for a few moments, closed her eyes, and began to think. It wasn't long before Juliette came up with a name.
"Her name will be Alana Rose Dorian." Juliette announced. Sam was confused at hearing the name Dorian at the end of Alana's name, but smiled approvingly of the name Juliette had chosen for their daughter. François was confused at first, but then he remembered that it was British Brotherhood tradition to have the children bear the mother's last name.
"That's a beautiful name, Juliette." Sam replied, rubbing his daughter's brown hair. "She's got your eyes, love."
Sam scooped up Alana, and handed her to Francois. A large smile came across Francois' face as he rocked his niece gently back and forth. Marie was smiling from over Francois' shoulders. As Francois looked down at Alana, he was greeted by a smile.
"I think it's safe to say that she likes her uncle!" Francois exclaimed, as he handed Alana back to Juliette. Juliette smiled, and laid down, resting her daughter's head on her breasts. Sam kissed his wife on the forehead as she shut her eyes to rest. François got up and pat the new father on his shoulders.
"If you need anything my friend, I will be in the main hall."
Sam nodded his head, and turned his focus back to Juliette. Marie was standing at the door with Michel, waiting for him. Just as François joined up with them, he turned around to ask Sam another question.
"Hey Sam. Would you mind if we stuck around for a few days to help you look after Alana?"
Sam paused for a few moments before he responded.
"Sure my friend. That would be fantastic!" Sam replied happily. "It would help a lot since Mentor Leonard is dealing with correspondence in Farnborough with his son Ethan."
François nodded his head, smiling as he joined his wife and son. Approaching the main hall, François sat down at the table, grabbing a piece of parchment and a pen. Before he began to write, he caught wind of Michel looking at Juliette's Assassin Gauntlet and Obsidian Kukri.
"Papa, would I be able to use these in the future?"
François smiled at his son, who was pointing at Juliette's Assassin Gauntlet.
"I'm sure you will sometime, young man." François reassured his son, as he darted over to his mother, eager to play. Marie obliged and sat on the ground, enjoying some quality time with her son. François smiled before returning his focus to the parchment before him. Dipping his pen into the case of ink, François began to write.
Dear Mother and Father,
I write this letter with some incredibly wonderful news. The invite I had received from Crawley was from Juliette's husband, Sam Marshall, was no ordinary invitation. I thought it was going to be an invitation to discuss business amongst Brotherhoods, but I was completely wrong. Now onto the news. I'm glad to tell you this:
I'm an uncle now.
Juliette gave birth to a healthy baby girl, and named her Alana Rose Dorian. Juliette is well and is resting with Sam. She takes Juliette's last name due to naming traditions in the British Brotherhood. Pass the news on to all who are interested, such as Bettina and Alexandre. Keep the news away from Trenet, as she is still incredibly hostile towards Juliette and anything that happens to her.
I just thought I would pass along the news. We are staying for a couple days to help them with looking after Alana.
Much love,
François C. Dorian.
Francois folded the letter, and placed it in an envelope beside the vial of ink. He sealed the letter with a stamp which bore the British Assassin insignia on it. Francois spied a female Assassin apprentice examining her Hidden Blade. Perhaps she could deliver my letter to the mail.
"Excuse me, Miss?"
The young girl looked up at Francois. "Me?"
"Yes." Francois replied, picking up the letter. "I need someone to deliver this letter to the post office. Would you be able to do so?"
She walked up to him, where Francois handed her the letter. The young girl nodded her head.
"Thank you, Miss..."
"Cecily Alexander." Cecily finished Francois' sentence, smiling politely before darting up the stairs.
"Thank you, Cecily!" Francois shouted, as Cecily was already halfway up the stairs. Francois nodded his head, and got up from his chair to open the door to Juliette's quarters to see that Sam had joined Juliette in the bed, sleeping together. Francois smiled and quietly shut the door, allowing the couple to earn their well deserved rest.