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Russian Knight	By : DarkWolves Category: +A through F > Assassin's Creed Views: 3876 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Assassins Creed and make no money by writing this.

Chapter List
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Chapter 2: City in Winter
The crude cart ground to an unsteady halt in the bustling centre of the vast Russian metropolis. It seemed that not even the city could be free from winter’s cold grasp and the streets remained covered with a thick layer of snow despite the best efforts of the workers to clear it.
“Alright” the driver turned back in his seat to face his passengers. “Everybody out”
With silent acceptance the three women stepped down from the cart to finally stand upon the frozen ground of Russia itself. The leader of the group stepped to the front of the cart and wordlessly handed over the purse of gold pieces the driver had been promised for his services. Having collected his payment he was eager to simply move on to his next task, leaving his passengers to their business and quickly slipping his cart into the sea of traffic populating the city centre.
The dim moonlight guided their way towards their final destination within the city. The three figures quickly assimilated themselves into the bustle awash in the darkened streets, their thick cloaks and hoods allowing them to remain faceless to passing onlookers, another anonymous character in a sea of crowds. It was only a brief walk to their target but it gave each of them a chance to contemplate on what lay ahead. Even though they had only known eachother for a relatively short time they had trained together for this assignment for months and believed themselves to be fully prepared for what lay ahead.
Fina Tabani was the youngest of the group at eighteen years old. In her previous life her father had been a talented Blacksmith within the city of Roma, affording her a simple but happy life working with her mother and two younger brothers either in the smithy or delivering orders across the region. When the Borgia had risen to power they swiftly requisitioned all skilled craftsmen into their service. When her father refused to craft armour for Borgia soldiers their entire family had paid with their lives. It had only been a harsh twist of fate that Fina had been delivering orders in Florence when the attack had come, sparing her life only so she could endure a far worse fate as an orphan in a city ruled by those who murdered her family. Upon discovering her families tragic fate upon her return, taking her father’s favourite sword in her hand, she had immediately set out into the city with the full intention of killing the first Borgia patrol she encountered. It soon emerged that, however, revenge would not come to her as easily as she had first anticipated, and it was only the timely intervention of a mysterious stranger that had prevented her from becoming a casualty in a war she had never wished to be a part of, until now.
Alessia Saba, twenty one, had been born the daughter of a noble Florentine merchant with trading links established all across the civilised world. When she had come of age her father had been quick to appoint her a political husband in the form of a Borgia Captain who could secure Borgia support of his entire continental trade routes. When Alessia flatly refused her father threatened to formally disown her, Alessia swiftly embraced exile of her own choosing and began travelling the Italian countryside in search of some form of belonging or sanctuary. Eventually she found her way to Roma where upon the men hired by her father swiftly caught up with her, claiming they had been paid a small fortune to return her home. It was then she first met the man who protected her from any further attempts for her father to find her, the man who had appeared as if from nowhere and cut down the mercenaries with a single swift strike of his hand. Since that day her father had yet to learn of her true whereabouts despite repeated attempts to find her.
Velia Zacria, twenty, on the other hand had been a hunter living in the foothills around the city of Roma with her father, learning his skills and his craft in the hopes of carrying on his trade. She was unique among the initiates in that she had chosen to actively seek out the brotherhood in an effort to hone her skills as both a hunter of animals as well as a hunter of men.
Although they were all apprentices by rank Alessia was technically the leader whilst in the field, now they had been selected for his task. They are Assassins, and they were here in search of the Templars.
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“It’s an interesting place” Alessia remarked, standing across the empty street from the home of a Russian nobleman in the centre of the city.
“It’s far too extravagant” Velia scoffed. “All these decorations and windows and open ledges make the place almost indefensible if it was ever attacked”
“I guess the architects never anticipated a bunch of Italian nutters running and jumping up his walls when he designed the place” Fina remarked. “I’m guessing that the front door is out of the question?”
The swift eyes of the three women scanned across the surface of the building, while the uninitiated may only have seen the extravagant detailing and the wide open windows all they saw was the acrobats’ playground. “Let’s go” Alessia said.
In near prefect synchronisation the three of them reached up to hold the tie of their cloaks between their fingers, tugging on the knot which kept the loose fabric in place the material flowed effortlessly across their shoulders to pool at their feat in an unceremonious heap. Revealed beneath were the Masyaf white robes of the Assassins as well as the vast array of weapons and other deadly implements they had secured to their outfits.
Each had their own preferred choice of weapons which reflected their preferred individual forms. Alessia had a longsword secured at her belt for close range duelling as well as form fitting leather armour to offer protection from blunt strikes. Fina preferred the use of a short blade and throwing knives, allowing her to strike swiftly at her enemies most vulnerable points before they had any opportunity to react, let alone retaliate. Velia continued to use the Crossbow her father had trained her with since childhood and combined with her hidden blades it allowed for silent death at range. Velia also chose to sacrifice armour for mobility and weapons, allowing her freedom to move as she pleased to kill silently at any range.
Without the burden of their heavy cloaks weighing down upon their shoulders the three apprentices suddenly leapt into swift action, charging across the street they quickly clambered up onto their chosen footholds on the side of the building. Alessia had selected the most direct route using the ornaments and detailing as launch points from which to catapult herself up onto the next handhold above. Fina had decided on using the large pile of crates stacked in the ally alongside the house, leaping on top of it to grab the ledge above she hoisted herself up onto the window ledge and began moving across to the next vantage point. Although once again Velia appeared to have been inspired in her choice of movement, using the cargo lift to instantly vault herself up onto the opposite rooftop across the street from the intended target. From the vantage point Velia utilized the heavy cable strung between the buildings to cross the street with ease and begin descending down the face of the target building. It had now become a race, and although their starting positions were very different their objective remained the same, a single open window high on the wall their gateway into the grand building.
The icy ledges proved a far greater challenge to the young apprentices than those they had trained on in Roma, which simply made the experience interesting. The three individuals were swiftly closing in on the open window in the centre of the building. Alessia was the first to reach it, placing her hand onto the ledge, ready to pull herself up inside in a single fluid motion, just as Velia leapt down from her perch above and swung herself through the opening. Alessia dragged herself in through the open window and flopped unceremoniously down onto the floor on the other side. Glancing up she was met with piercing gaze of her companion Velia standing over her, a smile curved across her lips. “I win”
“You know” the last of their retinue emerged into the room in a flurry of snow white robes. “They really shouldn’t leave third story windows open at night, anyone could just walk right in” Fina joked. “Still, it is a nice place he’s got set up here, for a Templar”
Alessia hefted herself onto her feet, brushing her robes clear in a flurry of disturbed ice crystals. “This is actually the home of a contact within the Brotherhood”
It appeared they had emerged into the main living room of a larger estate; having just leapt to here from the frozen wasteland outside made them feel as though they had been teleported to some other world. The three women slowly began to pace their own routes through the room, the entire space was decorated lavishly with silk throws, golden or gem decorated ornaments and the walls lined with artistic masterpieces from across the world.
Fina idly strolled into the centre of the room; turning on her heel she scanned her eyes across the entirety of the room in a single motion. “I like the colour scheme he’s going for, very soothing ” Fina’s spin slowed as she flopped down onto the sofa dominating the entirety of the centre of the living space, feeling herself forming into the seat. “Yeah” Fina threw her booted feet up onto the polished table in front of her, the crude leather of her boots scarring the flawless surface with light scuffs and cosmetic marks. “I could get used to this.
“Just remember that we are not even supposed to be here, this Templar territory” Velia warned. “We must be prepared for anything”
“Come on” Fina brushed the ill omen aside dismissively. “We’ve only just got here; we haven’t even made a move against them yet. There’s no way the Templars could know about us-”
“You can never know” Velia interjected. “Only suspect” to quote the scriptures to another apprentice was a harsh blow to the young woman’s sense of pride. Although they were brothers in arms and close friends the intense training and looming stigma of women as warriors drove them hard. When they clashed there was no force on earth which could separate them. Fina’s hand slowly drifted down to clasp the hilt of one of her throwing knives between her fingers, Velia flicked her forearm in preparation to release her hidden blade concealed in her bracer.
Alessia stepped into the centre of the room, eager to break the engagement before it could begin in earnest. “Can we please deal with the situation at hand and try to kill each other later?”
Fina and Velia turned to face their mutual friend and temporary field leader. “As you wish” each returned their weapons to their sheaths. Velia and Fina silently sat up on the sofa together, Alessia accepting the seat across from them separated by a low table. “Don’t get too comfortable, we’ve got work to do”
Alessia reached down to open a pouch at the belt of her robes, retrieving a folded piece of paper, unfurling it to reveal a detailed map of the city of Moscow herself. “Remember that we are not here as Italian Assassins, but members of the Russian aristocracy” Alessia pointed a finger to the centre of the map. “This is the residence of our target, Count Mikhail Raum” Alessia glanced up, expecting a contribution from her companions. Velia and Fina stared back at her with expressions of serene calmness as though they expected the name should have held some significance to them. Clearly they had both neglected to properly research their target before arriving in the city; Alessia would be responsible for filling them in on the situation. “As a member of the Russian aristocracy he has held sway over the leadership of the city state for the past several decades through bribes, intimidation and murder”
“Another corrupt nobleman” Velia interjected. “They are a florin a dozen in Roma, why bother sending us after him?”
“We are here not because of who he is, but because of what he holds” Alessia responded.
“Suddenly uncovered your cryptic side have you?” Fina laughed.
Alessia resumed her briefing. “Tomorrow night the Count is hosting a party for the cities wealthiest and most influential nobles”
Like a flash from nowhere a dagger emerged in Finas hand and swiftly in flight, striking directly over the marked target on the map, likely splintering the finely crafted wood table top beneath. “So we crash his party, grab the item and maybe have a quick glass of wine at the dinner table before we disappear in a thick cloud of smoke from right under the nose of the Count himself”
“Not exactly” Alessia grabbed the hilt of the dagger and yanked it free of the wood, placing it down on the map alongside the impact point. “Our task is to infiltrate the party undetected, find our way into the Counts office and secure the objective”
“And how exactly do you plan for us to be able to just walk right into a heavily guarded society function as we are?” Velia asked, a wave of her hand indicating their snow white assassin clothes. “I may be a master of natural camouflage but even I do not believe I am capable of concealing myself in the middle of a high class ball dressed in leather armour and carrying a crossbow”
Alessia was quick to respond. “I anticipated that likely pitfall and have already arranged for our contact to provide suitable disguises-”
“You mean clothes?” Fina suddenly perked up upon the mere mention of one of her favourite things.
“Yes” Alessia replied flatly. “Our contact has provided us with several outfits and dresses we may use-”
“Dresses?” Fina asked with barely contained glee. “Where are they?”
“In the bedroom I would assume” Alessia pointed her finger off deeper into the house. “But there are still other aspects of the operation which we need to disc-”
However the young apprentice was already up in leaps and bounds and swiftly ran across the room before darting through the open bedroom door.
Velia glanced back at their leader. “Meeting adjourned?”
“For now” Alessia admitted, rising from her seat to follow Velia into the bedroom they found their companion with her nose buried in the closet bursting with long flowing dresses and gowns like a hound with its snout in a rabbit burrow.
Fine clothing was something which truly resonated with her. Growing up as the daughter of a labourer almost all of her clothes had been rough and ready durable work wear. But even as a girl she had always dreamed of wearing the fine dresses she had seen wore by the wives and daughters of fine Venetian noblemen. Fina removed a long flowing green dress from the closet, holding it to her chest she sized it for fit. To feel the soft material between her fingers was almost unreal, the very thought that she might soon wear it to attend a society event was positively divine. “What do you think?” she turned to her companions for their opinion. “Do you think it goes with my eyes?”
“Its certainly very, long” Alessia noted that even on a reasonably tall girl like Fina the dress pooled at her feet and would likely leave the wearer stumbling over their own dress if they made any attempt to walk at any reasonable pace.
Velia stepped forward; reaching inside of the closet she removed another dress in tranquil blue like the surface of a still pond. “Very impractical design” Velia held the dress in her hands analysing it with the same cold efficiency as she would check her weapons every day. “I think I may need to make a few modifications”
“You can’t!” Finas face was aghast with horror at the mere implication, snatching the garment from her friend and clutching it to her chest as if she wished to harm it. “This one is absolutely divine” Fina plucked another dress from the rail, holding it at arm’s length as if offering a bloody morsel to appease a hungry fiend. “Here, take this one it’s horrid”
Velia passed her eyes over the dress Fina had offered her; it was fiery red with low cut shoulders and frilly black trim. It appeared a rather fine piece, what Fina found distasteful about it Velia was not entirely sure of. Velia accepted the offering with a look which Alessia feared would begin another argument, unless she interjected swiftly. “Since you two are now quite familiar with your disguises may we please return to the task at hand?”
“Very well” Fina admitted. “But I get to try one of the dresses” without waiting for a response Fina quickly disappeared behind the antique screen decorated with fine gold trim and the painted images of deer in the thick forests to change into her newly acquired outfit.
“Now that we have our disguises we are nearly prepared to go out” Alessia continued her interrupted briefing. “The only remaining problem remaining may be you two-”
“Us?” Fina asked from across the divide that separated them. “What about us?”
“Because we weren’t brought up as good little noble girls” Velia interjected, anticipating Alessia’s concerns. “Don’t forget where you are now, slumming it in the shadows with the rest of us”
“I was the daughter of a nobleman growing up in the cultural heart of Florence” Alessia continued. “I learned high class society as a child and chose to leave it; you two never learnt it at all. We are attending a high class occasion of the Russian aristocracy; these affairs carry a certain arcane etiquette, a medium of decorum and established codes of behaviour which governs these events”
“Of course there is, there always is with these pompous snobs” Velia groaned.
“They may be self absorbed but they may also identify any who are not their own without fault. We shall have to seriously prepare if we are to have any hope of deceiving them, naturally if neither of you are capable of carrying off the role of a fine Russian lady the plan isn’t worth pursuing”
Fina finally emerged from behind the screen, draped in the flowing green dress which did indeed reach to her feet and pool across the floor, forcing her to lift the front of her dress as she walked out in front of her companions. “What, you don’t think we can act like ladies?”
Fina turned on her heel and entered into a graceful spin, the flowing ruffle of her dress fluttering in an upwash of fabric. Trailing out of the spin she lowered herself into a graceful bow. “Excuse me, sir” Fina raised her head to face Velia. “May I have the honour of a dance?”
A rare smile curled Velia’s lips as she mimicked Finas formal bow. “My pleasure mi lady”
Velia took Finas offered hand in hers, her free hand clasping Finas slim waist in preparation of the first dancing stance. Velia led Fina in a series of graceful steps across the bedroom floor. Whilst to the untrained eye it appeared an admirable attempt at a complex form to any who had studied the art it remained clear that they were merely parodying the true form.
“A valiant attempt, but that was not what I meant. As the home we inhabit is owned by a nobleman and his wife we were only able to secure two invitations to the Counts event. We do not have time to secure another invitation through proper channels or create an accurate forgery and any report of an influential guest losing their invitation will quickly arouse the suspicion of guards. I am we’ll have to find another way in”
Velia was the first to dare ask the question. “And how exactly do you plan to get in?”
************************************
The evening finally drew in, the night carrying with it the biting cold of a Russian winter which persisted to bite at their exposed cheeks and shoulders, hastening their desire to be inside and quickening their pace as they made their way towards the manor house where the party was to be held.
“Why am I dressed as the maid?” Velia asked through clenched teeth, fighting to avoid shattering her façade in the middle of the crowded street.
“Because you were the one who best fit the outfit” Alessia replied. In stark contrast to Alessia dressed in a flowing blue gown and Fina wearing the same emerald green dress she had already modelled for her partners Velia was clothed in the drab grey rags of a lowly serving girl.
“And you’ve got that poor and downtrodden look completely sold” Fina giggled to herself.
“Putana” Velia cursed beneath her breath.
“That’s no way to address your lady” Fina smirked. “I should quell your insolence with the back of my hand”
“Keep it together you two” Alessia whispered, hoping the disturbance had not been noticed by any of the other guests milling about the courtyard. “We still have to get past the front door”
The three women approached the grand manor house, situated on the very edge of the Moskva River which snaked its way through the centre of the city it offered a beautiful sight to those who lived there. The open courtyard in front of the manor was awash with nobles attending the party and the manors staff attending to their welfare and security. Approaching the main entrance they were swiftly challenged by the guard captain protecting the entrance. “Invitations”
Alessia handed their invitations to the guard, his eyes scanned across the paper with practiced efficiency. Glancing up the guard stared at Alessia with piercing eyes, she began to fear that their cover had already been compromised, the guard suddenly bowed to her. “Your grace” the guard turned to Fina. “Countess Alexia Satine of England I presume?”
“That is correct” Fina replied.
The Russian soldier finally turned his attention to Velia idly lingering in the shadow of her two glamorous companions. “And what of her?” the guard indicated Velia with a wave of his hand.
“She’s our attendant” Fina thought on her feet, delivering a swift reply.
“I am afraid the invitation is for you alone” the guard said.
Alessia, swiftly falling into the role of a distraught noble woman, challenged the guard. “Surely you do not expect me to attend a party without my girl in tow?”
“I can assure you that the manor has a full staff who will attend to your every need”
“But surely-” Alessia prepared to protest.
“I am sorry my lady, no exceptions” the guard said bluntly, clearly resisting the urge to respond in a more forceful manner.
It was clear that this was a fruitless endeavour. “As you wish, please allow me a moment to make arrangements with my maid”
The three women stepped aside, out of earshot of the guard, to discuss their next move. “So what do we do now?” Velia asked.
“Well, we’re still going in through the front door; you’ll just have to find another way”
“Good luck” Alessia placed her lips to Velia’s ear. “We will meet you inside”
With their goodbyes said Alessia and Fina swiftly returned back towards the party.
Velia stood in the middle of the bustling square, her head lowered and her fingers intertwined in silent contemplation, an invisible enigma to the outside world. “Master of Assassins” she whispered beneath her breath. “We work from the shadows to serve the light. May my feet be swift, my hands steady and my mind clear of doubt. Nothing is true, everything is permitted”
When Alessia finally dared to glance back over her shoulder she could not see Velia, no doubt she had already melted seamlessly into the surrounding crowds. “That’s my girl”
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Russian Knight