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Shadow Riders	By : Imoshen Category: +A through F > Assassin's Creed Views: 2206 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Assassin's Creed nor do I make money by publishing this story.

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"Do you even trust her?"

Malik looked up at him and shook his head.

"Then why did you want me for her to lead us up the mountains?"

The wolf tilted his head to one side. He didn't know either – great. "So if anything goes wrong it's up to me, right?" Malik yawned, revealing his sharp fangs and then nodded. "Fine", Altair growled and turned back just in time, watching Maria closing the door to her small house behind her, wrapped in thick layers of fur and wool, a scarf over her nose and mouth just as Altair wore it.

"We can go", she told him in a muffled voice and he followed her steps. As he looked up to the mountains he could see that tops were swallowed by dark gray clouds indicating that the weather would be even worse up there – but they had no other choice, they were hunting a Shadow and he was hiding there. He wanted to believe that what the villagers said was true. They had been hunting him for so long now, almost a year has passed since that fateful day both their lives changed forever. And not only for them but for all of those living in these lands.

The war has ended the same day he and Malik got cursed. A new king has emerged from the ashes of the old one, the high priest and wielder of the Piece of Eden. Right now he controlled everything and while the war was over -a war which had ripped apart the country- it didn't stop the suffering of the people. Children were still dying of hunger, mothers and fathers dying of the fever and while the people had less and less to eat, the king raised the taxes leaving almost nothing for his nation to survive. The Brotherhood had fallen apart, now that its former leader was poisoned by the Apple's powers and he and Malik were no longer a part of it as they were outcasts, lone riders in the shadows. Their creed was dead.

Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent - and yet their blood stained the earth.

Hide in plain sight – and yet the Brotherhood killed out in the open, now as they've become nothing more but soulless mercenaries.

Do not compromise the Brotherhood – and yet it was exactly what their mentor did by abusing the artifact's power to gain control over the people, over his and Malik's Brothers.

Nothing is true. Yes, that he learned the hard way.

Everything is permitted. And he would do everything to bring the Order back from its grave.

"So what brought you to the Border Lands?", Altair asked as she was walking through the snow in front of him – if she meant him any harm it was better for him to get to know her, to learn about her weak points if she had any and judging by the reactions she showed him as she talked about her homeland he was certain she had them. She glared over her shoulder at him, her eyes narrowed. She turned back then staring into the wilderness ahead of them.

"The war of course", she said quietly and her shoulders went tense for a split second before she managed to control her emotions once more.

"I could get so much money for your skin", Altair muttered, placing his finger into her most obvious emotional wound. She scoffed at him rising one elegant eyebrow. "You could try", she said, and he imagined how her lips settled into a grim smile behind her scarf, "but you would die doing so. You wouldn't be the first one anyway."

"No", Altair said, shaking his head. "The scar on your throat tells me so", he explained and was aiming for his next goal – learning how she got it. When the words slipped over his lips she rose her hand, her fingertips brushing over her throat and she swallowed heavily as if she could still remember the pain. Her sleeve fell back as she did so and he saw yet another mark on her skin, a deep scar as if her wrist had been bound for too long, the rope eating its way into her flesh."You're good at observing, aren't you?", Maria pondered and Altair had to double his footsteps to keep up with her. She was avoiding an answer and he knew that.

"If I wouldn't, I'd be a bad assassin – don't you think?"

Maria cocked her head to one side and eyed him from head to toe, "Probably."

"I would say you've got the scar as you escaped your slaver", he noted casually as if he was talking about the weather and Maria stopped within her tracks, head hanging low in between her shoulders.

"I've got the scar as the soldiers invaded my home village", she hissed at him before she looked straight ahead, not daring to meet his gaze. "They herd us together like cattle. I watched how they slit my father's throat. Then my mother's before they got to me. My whole village died that day. I was the only one who survived."

Altair nodded and maybe it was pity he felt for her but he had his own burdens to bear – pity was something nobody could afford these days as everybody tried to survive. "I see."

"No you don't!" She whirled around, pointing one thin finger at him. "You don't know shit about what my people went through, when your king invaded our land, slaughtering its people. You have no idea what suffering really means."

"If that's what you assume then I let you live in your believes", he said even though his own pain threatened to swallow him in a whole.

"I assume your people weren't invaded by another country, people slaughtered because their skin held the wrong color. Wouldn't that be right?", she challenged him, craning her neck. Yes, her pride was everything she had right now and dear god, she held onto it as if her life would depend on it – which was probably true considering the fact that she managed to life almost freely in a land where she was nothing but a skin.

"I won't pity you, woman", he said at last and his eyes narrowed while Malik was huffing next to his side but he didn't pay him any attention. "It's a luxury for those who're still human."

"And you're not?" She cocked one eyebrow at him as the snow reached her knees when she made her way through it.

"I wouldn't consider myself human anymore", Altair muttered.

"Right, you're an assassin. Born and raised to kill." She scoffed at him and he wondered why it was she helped them if she despised the Order so much, but then again he could feel with her. He despised the Order as much as anybody else, now that their leader was a mad man. "I was raised to protect the innocent", was all he said and it still hurt to speak the words as it reminded him of a life he long lost.

"And now you're an outcast", she noted. "Like your friend. Which reminds me, you still didn't tell me where he is."

"Gone", was Altair's simple reply and to some point it was maybe even true. At least Malik's human form was gone although his spirit remained in the wolf's body. "He will catch up with us, you don't have to worry about his whereabouts. Just lead us up the mountains and we will find our way from there."

Maria nodded and they didn't say anything for a long time. The weather got bad just as he has predicted and the wind was howling as it cut its way through the high stones spreading out in front of them as they walked further into the mountains. Maria was a good leader knowing her way around the stone desert as if she had spent many years up there. In the end Altair just had to break the silence. "So why are you doing this?"

"You and your friend are former members of the Order – he told me that much", she said and her voice grew distant and for a moment it seemed as if she was lost in her own nightmare of memories. "I do remember the old days, Altair. When the Order did what you've just told me, protecting the innocent. You know what people called you, right? Keepers of the Peace. Before the war..." She shook his head. "I'm still standing in his debt. I'm simply repaying the favor by helping you."

"Why would you repay him by helping us? Shouldn't you do something for him instead?"

"I wish I could. But I know what he believed in. By helping you I simply make sure he won't be forgotten and what he stood for. Keeping his memory alive...", her voice trailed off and he knew she wouldn't tell him anything more and he held his questions back, swallowing them. Better not asking her too much – he wouldn't want to get attached to the woman.

They kept walking and the snow got stronger, clinging to their bodies and covering them in a layer of frozen water. In the far distance, Altair could see it now; high rocks were emerging from the deep snow. As he looked closer though he saw that it weren't rocks but two figures – two statues to be exactly, at least thirty meters in height kneeing in the snow – their hands resting on their swords which were rammed into the ground in front of them. Their bowed heads were almost touching making it look like a gate they had to walk through. They wore crowns and he wondered if they resembled past kings of a country long forgotten.

"You can't look at them when you pass the Gate", Maria warned him as they sought shelter behind a large rock the wind ripping at their clothes. "They will kill you", she said, her voice almost swallowed by the howling.

"Who are they?", Altair pondered and peered around the rock, his eyes scanning the two statues.

"The Stone Keepers", she whispered quietly as if she was afraid to speak any louder. "They're guarding the path. Old relicts from Those Who Came Before."

"I though that's only a fairy tale."

"Well you better start believing fairy tales, Altair", Maria said and her lips were set in a grim line as she pressed them tightly together. She pointed at something in front of the Gate, something that looked like just another rock. "He didn't believe either", she noted and the wind became stronger and he could see that it wasn't a rock but a man lying in the snow – dead for who knew how long, his body frozen in the cold, skin all white and eyes wide except that he didn't have them anymore but black holes as if somebody had cut them out. He swallowed again.

"Alright... no looking at them. Anything else we need to know?"

Maria narrowed her eyes and looked thoughtfully at him. "You can teach your wolf to keep his eyes closed?"

Altair followed her gaze and Malik looked back up at them as he sat to their feet, nodding once.

"Did he... understand us just now?", she said in mild disbelieve, her look set on Malik and then slowly looking up at Altair. Snowflakes were clinging to her hair where the scarf didn't reach it. He shrugged with his shoulders. "He's a clever wolf", he simply said to dismiss the matter.

"You trust him. Let's just hope you won't regret it. It would be a pity for such a beautiful creature to die...", she murmured and run her fingers through Malik's fur, scratching him behind one ear. "When you walk through that gate you're leaving the Border Lands and enter-"

"The Holy Land", Altair breathed as he had heard stories about it when he was a child, about Those Who Came Before but he never believed in it. It was a story better be forgotten and yet the people kept it alive.

"I won't go much further. If I still want to make it down the mountains safe I have to go before the day ends. You keep following the path you'll find behind the Gate until you come to a cave. It will lead you to the other side of the mountain and from there you can find your way on your own."

She slowly stood up and snow was raining from the clothes like a waterfall. "It's the only path you can take."

"So I guess this is where we say good bye."

Maria laughed at him, a dry and harsh sound much like the bark of a dog. "It is indeed assassin. I hope you to stay alive. It would be a pity if these lands lose you. It deserves some humanity."

"I simply try to save my own cursed life, Maria. Don't think I'm some kind of savior."

She pulled her scarf down and smiled at him and even though it was a sad one, for the first time he thought it looked honest. "I still have my faith, Altair. Don't make me lose it." She scratched Malik underneath his chin and patted his head before she stepped forward and it caught him off guard when she leaned up, embracing him in a small hug as she pushed his cowl back, pressing her lips to his ear. "I hope you and your friend find your Shadow then – if it only means you find your own peace." And with that she let go, taking a step back and from the corner of his eyes he could see how Malik turned away from her, growling silently at the woman.

"Keep safe, Altair – these mountains are dangerous. And remember what I told you", she said as she walked backwards before turning around, leaving them behind.

He soon could only see her shadow in the whirling snow and a few seconds later, she was gone. Altair looked towards the Gate, eyes settling down as grim determination took a hold of him.

"Come on Malik", he murmured and took a step around the rock. "It's time for some hunting."
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Shadow Riders