Assassin’s Creed: Misthaven (17/18)
Summary: For hundreds of years, the Brotherhood of Assassins and the Templar Order have waged war. For Princess Emma of Misthaven, that war has become personal. After a mission gone wrong, the Templar Grandmaster, placed a curse on Emma’s son that is slowly killing him. Emma will stop at nothing to save Henry, even if it means going rogue from the Brotherhood and consorting with pirates.
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Violence, Sex, Adult Language.
AN: A special thank you to @preciouscucumber for being an ever patient and diligent beta. To @cocohook38 and @utopiozphere for the awesome artwork they have created. And to @icecubelotr44 for her encouragement every step of the way.
AO3
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Art for Chapter 17 by @cocohook38
Emma sat on the high branch of a tree, her eyes on the Royal Castle of Misthaven. She had been there for hours, contemplating the best means of retaking her longtime home without getting killed in the process.
Her parents had taken the castle by turning the locals against King George and driving him out; Queen Regina through a combination of surprise, magic, and military might. Emma didn’t have time for the first, nor the manpower for the second.
Her best bet would be to take the castle from the inside. As a child, Emma had explored every inch of the Royal Castle of Misthaven. She knew every nook and cranny of the old stone fortress. She’d been twelve years old when she discovered the hidden passageway behind the kitchen’s fireplace that lead to the library. Fifteen when she had first used it to sneak out for a rendezvous with one of the grooms who worked in the stables.
Regrettably, there were no secret passages that led off the island on which it was built. The only way on or off the grounds was by the long bridge that connected it to the mainland.
“Just like Camelot,” Emma muttered to herself. Except this time, there was no ball to use as cover, or sexy pirate captain watching her back. She had twenty of the most highly trained Assassins in all the realms but she would feel more confident on her chances of success if Killian was there with her.
Emma grasped the mermaid shell she wore. Two days had passed since the events at the cove and she hadn’t heard from Killian. She had tried to use the shell to communicate with Captain Nemo, to ask if he had located The Aquila, but she had received no response. Emma theorized that her shell could only communicate with the one Killian wore.
Romantic, in a way, but inconvenient.
When night began to fall and Emma could no longer see the movement of the guards on the bridge, she climbed down from the tree and headed back toward the camp her group had set up. She joined Aziz at the fire and absorbed its heat.
She’d left Misthaven nearly three months ago, at the beginning of autumn, and had returned to find it in the grips of an early winter. The trees of the forest protected them from the worst of the snow and wind, but they still had to contend with the blistering cold of the season. The frozen ground made for an uncomfortable bed as well. Once again, she wished Killian was with her. He always seemed to be warm, no matter the weather.
Emma shook her head to clear her mind. She had a mission to plan and thoughts of Killian would only distract her.
She picked up a stick and sketched a quick drawing of the castle and the surrounding area in the dirt. She was making notations about guard movements when Aziz handed her a bowl of rabbit stew.
“Thank you,” she said through a mouthful of food. The stew was surprisingly good. Some of her group must have found some herbs to make the dish more flavorful. It was a huge improvement over the bland, roasted boar they had the night before.
Aziz sat down next to her. “Work anything out yet?” He asked as he studied what Emma had drawn.
“Not one I like,” Emma admitted, “but that seems to be the trend with every situation I’ve found myself in lately.”
Her fellow Assassin chuckled. “Never imagined you would have to sneak into your own castle?”
Emma shook her head. “The only way I see we are all going to get in is by using the bridge,” she said as she tapped her drawing with the stick. “We’re going to go under it.”
---
Every member of the Brotherhood of Assassins undergoes extensive physical training. Not just so that their bodies are as much of weapons as the blades they wore, but also so they can access places most think impossible. Her home was that impossible place and the only way she and her group of Assassins were going to gain access to it was going to be by climbing their way across the underside of its bridge.
Emma’s plan, when she proposed it to her fellow Assassins, was not met with enthusiasm. None, however, had any other ideas, so they all agreed it was their only option. Just before dawn the next morning, Emma led her team to the base of the bridge. As the genius behind this plan, she climbed up the inside of the archway first.
When she reach the midway point, she curled her legs up and, with her feet flat on the stone, pushed off, launching herself across the gap to the other side. She could feel her nails bending as she grasped at the stone before the metal hooks of her climbing gloves found purchase and halted her downward fall. Her heavy breathing was visible in the cold morning hair as she carefully positioned herself near the edge of the archway.
There, Emma waited.
A whistle sounded through the air, telling Emma the coast was clear. She scrambled out of the first archway and across the pillar to the next. Once there, she repeated the leap from one wall to the next. Then she waited again.
A whistle and Emma swung her body out onto the side of the pillar. This one was larger than the last and took more time to cross. Emma’s heart beat in her chest the entire way, afraid one of the guards on patrol would look down and see her. However, no cries of alarm rose and within a minute, Emma was safe in the curse of the third and final archway.
One more leap and Emma was across the final gap. After, she climbed down the wall until she was able to grasp of sturdy branch of a nearby tree and pull herself onto it. From her perch, Emma watched as, one by one, the twenty Assassins she had recruited had their climbing skills put to the test.
The fall would be deadly for anyone who lost his or her grip on the stone or was unable to find one after a jump.
There were a few near misses, but after what felt like hours, every one of the Assassins had made it safely across the bridge. After that, they traversed the trees that surrounded the walls of the castle until they were at its back.
“Onward and upward,” Aziz murmured as they prepared to climb the exterior wall.
Emma chuckled at him as she brushed moss off the stones, looking for good hand or footholds. Once she had found a few, she began her accent. It was slow going. The stones had been worn almost smooth by years of wind blowing water from lake upon them. More than once, Emma had to dig in with the claws of her climbing gloves and make a hold where there were none to be found.
Emma’s muscles were shaking by the time she reached the battlements at the top of the wall. She had no time to rest, however, when she heard the boots of a guard on patrol. With nowhere to go, Emma crouched and waited for the guard to come closer. When he was finally within reach, she grasped both his ankles and gave a sharp pull.
The guard went down with a thunk and Emma jumped across his body to plunge her blade into his neck. He jerked under her when she pulled it free and blood gushed from the wound. A moment later, he lay still.
Aziz joined her on the battlements as she was cleaning the guard’s blood off her blade. After they stripped him of his armor so that one of the Assassins could use it as a disguise, they dropped his body off the wall.
Emma itched to get moving but she forced herself to wait until all twenty of her fellow Assassins had successfully climbed the wall. After that, though, they split up. The plan was for most of the Assassins to take out the black guards patrolling the castle. She, Aziz, and two others, Olivia and Jacob, would deal with Regina.
Knowing Regina’s love of opulence, Emma guided her group toward the finest living quarters in the castle: the royal apartments. They killed a dozen guards as they navigated the halls of the castle. They stashed the bodies in empty rooms or behind decorations so that their brethren would be unlikely to stumble upon them and raise the alarm. Emma tried not to think about doing this with Killian in Camelot as they did so.
A pair of guards were outside the door that lead to the suite of rooms Emma shared with her parents and Henry. They were quickly dispatched and their bodies dragged away as Emma reached out with a little of her magic to check for protective wards placed on the room.
Finding none, Emma decided that it was unlikely Regina had taken-up residence in those. Regardless of that, Emma wanted to be completely sure so she used her key and slowly crept into the sitting room beyond. She had to keep herself from sneezing when her movements disturbed the fine layer of dust that had settled in the room. No one had been in them for some time.
Contrary to the undisturbed sitting room, Emma found her own quarters in disarray. Her armoire hung open, her books were tossed about the room, and every single one of her gowns lay in shreds.
“Was she searching for something? Or just taking out her frustrations?” Aziz asked as they took in the sight.
“From what I know about Regina, it could easily be either,” Emma replied. She lifted her mattress and pulled a small box out from underneath it. Inside were the other ingredients Emma would need to lift the spell on Henry. None were particularly rare or hard to come by, so even if Regina had found them it wouldn’t have been too much of an issue to find replacements, but Emma was glad she wouldn’t have too.
Just as Emma and her group were about to leave the royal apartments they heard footsteps in the hall. The steps stopped outside the door to the sitting room, and Emma signaled her team to conceal themselves. In a matter of seconds, all four of them were hidden behind various pieces of furniture and would not be seen by anyone entering through the door. Emma released her hidden blades in preparation as a key clicked in the lock.
The door opened and her son walked into the room.
Emma forced herself to assess the situation, barely resisting the urge to jump from her hiding spot and wrap her son in her arms. She wouldn’t put it past Regina to use Henry as bait. However, it was her mother who entered next, then her father. Emma tensed when she saw a black guard enter the room after the three of them. She relaxed, though, when the guard removed his helmet and she saw that it as Graham. Since her family did not appear to be in distress, she figured he was acting on his own and not following Regina’s orders. That was enough to convince Emma that it was safe to reveal herself. She rushed from her hiding spot and wrapped her arms around Henry.
“Mom!”
“Emma!”
“Sweetie!”
Emma fell to her knees and pulled her son as close to her as possible. A couple of tears fell as she buried her face in his shoulder.
Her mother and father kneeled on either side of her and wrapped her in their arms. For just a moment, Emma allowed herself to relax. After so many months away, she was finally reunited with her family.
“Emma, sweetie, what are you doing here?” Snow White whispered against her daughter.
“Me?” Emma said through a laugh. “What about you? I thought Regina would have you locked in the dungeon!”
“She did,” Graham said from behind Emma. “When I saw Assassins sneaking about, I released them.”
Emma lifted her head and smiled at her friend. “Thank you,” she choked out.
Graham returned her smile. “I was hoping they would be safe from any fighting here.”
Emma studied her longtime friend and fellow Assassin. Regina must have treated him well in the time he had been her captive; he showed no signs of having been starved or physically abused. He looked tired and his beard was a bit shaggy, but that was all.
“Is it true that Regina has your heart?” she asked.
Graham’s shoulders slumped and he nodded.
Emma detangled herself from her Mother’s arms and approached Graham. “Is it here in the castle?”
“I believe so. She has used it to influence my actions a couple of times since the takeover,” Graham answered.
Emma frowned as she contemplated the implications of Regina having control of her ally. Longtime friend that he was, at any moment, Graham could turn on her and her family.
She laid a hand on Graham’s arm. “I’m sorry, Graham,” she said to him, “Having you with any of us is too much of a risk.”
Graham sighed. “I understand,” he said.
Emma reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a sleeping potion tipped dart. She knew Graham saw her action but he made no move to stop her. If anything, he tilted his head to give her a better target. Emma jabbed the dart into the curve of his neck. He gave her a wild grin before the potion took effect and his body began to collapse. She and Aziz, who had been standing behind him, help lower his body to the floor and position him comfortably.
Emma ignored her Mother’s disapproving look as she took a moment to study her family. Captivity had not been easy on them. Her father had dark bruises under his eyes and more wrinkles than she remembered him having. He also had a beard, which was not a look he usually favored, and even though its color was as light as the blonde hair on his head, she could see the grey hairs mixed in.
Her mother looked a little better, but not by much. She was far too pale, even for a woman known for her light complexion. Her lips were dry and nearly bloodless except for a vivid red streak where one had been recently split.
Only Henry looked no worse for wear, once Emma got past the dirty clothing he wore. All three were in desperate need of a bath and fresh clothing.
“Was there anyone else being kept in the dungeons with you? Red? Or Belle?” Emma asked her parents. Though she had been predominantly worried about her parents, she had also been concerned with the fate of her friends and the other inhabitants of the castle.
“Everyone loyal to your Mother and I was kept in the dungeons,” her father told her. “Belle ran off to the library the instant Graham released us.”
“The library?” Emma interrupted, incredulous.
Snow White gave a soft smile. “You know Belle. She values her books more than she does her own life. Red and Dorothy went with her to keep her safe. Granny, the dwarves, and some of our guards said they were going to head to the armory.”
Widow Lucas, or Granny as the inhabitants of the castle knew her, was Ruby’s grandmother and a Master Assassin. She had been the one to assist Snow when she had been on the run from Regina and later establishing the Brotherhood’s foothold in Misthaven. Though elderly, she was still a force to be reckoned with, especially if she got her hands on a crossbow. Emma was pleased that her mentor, even after weeks in the dungeon, was willing to take up arms to retake the castle.
“There are sixteen Assassin’s in the castle working their way through Regina’s troops,” Emma explained to her parents. “I plan on confronting Regina. It is long past time we dealt with her head on.”
Snow White stood and brushed her hands down the ratty dress she wore. “I’m coming with you.”
“No!”
Emma wasn’t sure who yelled louder, her or her father. Regardless, Snow White only crossed her arms and glared at her husband and daughter.
“I started this, long before you were born, Emma. It is only fitting that I help end it,” Snow White stated.
“This has moved far beyond that, Mom. If Regina was after you, or your heart, she could have ended it as soon as she took the castle,” Emma argued. Her father nodded in agreement. “I believe the only reason she has kept you alive is so she can use you against me.”
Her mother’s lips drew together in a tight line, but she didn’t argue.
“Olivia, Jacob,” Emma called to the other two Assassins that had accompanied her besides Aziz. “You two are going to take my parents and Henry to the stable and get them out of the castle.”
Her father frowned at her. “We should all escape while we still can,” he said.
Snow White nodded solemnly in agreement.
Emma thought, for one instant, about leaving, but her mind flashed back to the sight of the Morrigan burning in the cove. Had all the men aboard died? They may have been Templars, or in the service of the Templars, but had they deserved the deaths they had gotten? And what about those on the Aquila? Killian and his team?
“I can’t leave with you,” Emma told her parents. “Men died so that I could get here today. If we don’t succeed in retaking the castle, the Kingdom, their deaths would have been in vain.” Emma fought tears as she spoke.
Snow White grabbed Emma’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Her father continued to frown, but he softly nodded his understanding.
Emma took a deep breath to compose herself before she turned back toward Olivia and Jacob. “Hide in the forest and only return after another Assassin comes to bring you back. If no one comes within a day, find a way to take them to Arandelle.”
Olivia and Jacob nodded their acceptance of their orders.
Emma kneeled down so that she was face to face with Henry. “I need you to go where you’ll be safe, okay?”
Henry nodded and Emma pulled him into her arms again. Emma hated herself for being unable to protect him from Regina’s retribution. He was too young to have dealt with all he had in his ten years.
“Please don’t do anything rash,” Emma whispered as she hugged her mother, who chuckled in response. Emma had grown up hearing stories about the adventures of young Snow White from her father. She knew exactly what her mother capable of.
“I would never,” her mother admonished, though she wore a mischievous grin.
Her father rolled his eyes. “I promise to try and keep her out of trouble,” he said as he pulled Emma close. His hand cradled the back of her head, as it had always done, and Emma relaxed into his embrace.
After allowing herself one final minute of familial comfort, Emma pulled back. At her nod, Olivia and Jacob guided her family from the royal suites.
“May the Gods protect you,” Emma whispered to herself as she watched them go.
With a sigh, Emma turned to Aziz. “We’re going to the library. Despite what my mother said, Belle wont risk her life over a couple of books. It is likely there is something there she thinks can help with the situation.”
“I hope so,” Aziz breathed as they made their way toward the library. “I wasn’t keen on the idea of taking on Queen Regina with just our wits and blades.”
Emma let out a light chuckle. Though she wouldn’t admit it, neither was she.
They encountered only a couple of black guards, they easily dispatched, before Emma lead Aziz through one of the lesser-known entrances to the castle library. They entered cautiously, in case there were any of Regina’s men lurking within. They followed the low murmur of voices until they came across Belle, Red, and Dorothy. The three woman had taken a moment to change from their dungeon-grime covered rags. They all wore a mix of various Assassin uniform items, many in Red’s preferred colors of black and red, plus an assortment of weapons. Even Belle had a dagger tucked into her belt.
Red was glaring at the white crystal she held in her hand. “What do you mean you aren’t sure if this will even work?”
Dorothy was holding another crystal in front of a lantern and it glowed in the light. “Is this fairy dust?”
“Of a sort,” Emma said as she stepped from behind the shelf she had been concealed behind. Both Belle and Dorothy startled at her sudden appearance, but Red only smiled. She’d evidently known Emma and Aziz had arrived.
Emma gestured to the two crystals that Belle had in front of her. “These were developed by the Brotherhood as a way to incapacitate magic users. When all four are crushed, the shield spell they hold will release and form between the four points. No magic can be used within it.”
“Except, the shield only lasts a couple of minutes,” Belle interjected. “Less when used against powerful sorcerers or those who practice dark magic.”
“So on Regina…” Dorothy’s voice trailed off.
“A minute, maybe less,” Belle confirmed.
The hidden blade on Aziz’s wrist snapped free with a soft click.
“A minute is all we need.”
---
According to the information Red had overheard from the guards, Regina spent most of her time in the in the east wing of the castle, so that is where Emma decided the group would resume their search. As the group of three Assassins, a librarian, and adventurer slowly traversed the corridors toward the east wing, Emma recalled the conversations she had had with Belle before they had left the library.
She had cut straight to the point with her friend and had asked, “If I die, how long will Henry have to live?”
Belle’s brow had wrinkled. “The spell we cast that bound Henry to your magic halted the progression of the curse Regina placed on him. It has been draining your magical energy instead of his life force. Essentially, your death would be the same as if you ran out of magical energy to give. The curse would start acting on Henry again.”
“How long, Belle?” As much as she usually enjoyed Belle’s very thorough explanations, she wasn’t in the mood for a magic lesson.
“There is now way to be sure,” Belle eventually said. “Based on what I was able to learn of the curse, I believe Henry will have only a couple of weeks.”
This, in Emma’s mind, was good news. She had been extremely worried that Henry would die the instant her magical reserves could no longer sustain the spell that bound them, or if she were to die.
“Robert Gold is in Arandelle,” Emma told Belle, whose eye’s had widened in surprise. “I already told my parents to go to Arandelle if they do not hear from me by tomorrow. I need you to promise me, that if the battle with Regina appears to not be going in our favor, that you will join them.”
“I can’t just abandon you!” Belle argued.
Emma shook her head. “You know the spell that will save Henry. The ingredients we gathered are in my chambers. Take them, and save my son.”
It had taken some persuasion, but Belle had ultimately agreed to the request, which put Emma’s mind at ease. Even if she failed to free her castle and kingdom from Regina’s grasp, Henry would be free of the curse and be able to live a long, happy life.
Emma was still wrapped up in these thoughts when Red raised her hand, signaling them all to stop. Her friend crept forward, crouched low to the floor, and looked around the corner into the next corridor. After a moment, she darted forward. A surprised yell sounded before it was abruptly cut off.
Emma rushed forward, Aziz and Dorothy at her heals. One black guard lay dead, his throat slashed and a large pool of blood forming below his body. Red had the other pinned against the wall, his arm twisted behind his back.
“Where is Regina hiding?” Red hissed near guard’s ear.
The guard’s body bucked in attempt to dislodge Red, so Red twisted his arm further up his back. Emma flinched when she heard a small pop and guard let out a grunt of pain.
“Red…” Emma cautioned.
Her friend ignored her. “Where is Regina hiding?”
The guard muttered something Emma couldn’t hear, but whatever it was only made Red twist his arm harder. Another pop sounded and the guard screamed.
“The council room!” He yelled through sobs of pain. Red released him and he dropped to his knees. He gently cradled his arm against his body. From the awkward angle, Emma knew that both his wrist and shoulder were dislocated.
“Was that really necessary?” Belle said reproachfully.
Red shrugged. “Would you rather we wander the halls like lost children?”
“No, but…” Belle stuttered.
Emma ignored the two of them as she knelt next to the guard. She laid a hand on his shoulder but he jerked away from her touch with a whimper of pain. His shoulder, and from the look of it, his wrist, were both dislocated. With a sigh, Emma pressed the tip of a sleeping dark into the guard’s neck. The drugged slumber would, for a time, spare him some pain.
“The council room is one floor above,” Emma said as she stood. Her movement interrupted the glaring match that had begun between Red and Belle.
“We should take the old servant’s stairwell,” Belle suggested. “Very few people know of it, so I doubt Regina knows of its existence.”
“And once we’re there?” Dorothy inquired.
“The four of us with crystals will need to surround Regina as best we can before we crush them.”
Aziz tapped his lips. “There are columns in the council room, aren’t there? One between each window?”
Belle nodded.
“Enough space between the column and the wall for a person to hide?” He inquired.
Belle’s nose scrunched up. “It’ll be a tight fit, but, yes.”
Emma nodded in agreement. She and Red used to hide behind the columns in the council room when they were younger, so they could spy on her parent’s meetings. She’d still fit behind the columns, however, when Granny had used the room to train she and Red in moving silently between hiding spots after she had joined the Brotherhood.
The plan set, Emma lead the group toward the rarely used servant staircase. Queen Snow did not conform to the belief that servants were not to be seen by the people they served, so few people made use of the small, confining staircase that connected the lower and higher levels of the castle.
The interior of the stairwell was covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs and Emma had to suppress a shudder when her lantern revealed a spider skittering along the wall. She remembered Killian’s disbelieving laugh when he had discovered her dislike of the eight-legged creatures one evening after the Jolly Roger had left Camelot. She’d let out a rather shrill shriek when she had come across one in the hold, one afternoon after her shift watching Rumpelstiltskin. Killian and Starkey had come running into the hold, thinking that the sorcerer had attacked her, only to discover her grinding the offending spider under her boot.
The memory brought a smile to Emma’s face as she picked the lock on the door that led to the council room. Even after hearing the final click of the lock releasing, Emma didn’t open the door immediately. Instead, she grasped the collection of necklaces she wore and brought them to her lips.
She laid a kiss on the golden rose that represented the magical connection she had to her son. It was a relief to know that Henry would survive, at least for a time, even if she died fighting Regina.
The silver ring pressed against her lips as Emma whispered into the mermaid shell, “I love you, Killian Jones. I don’t know where you are, if you can hear me, or if you are even alive, but know that I love you.”
AN: Surprise!
Chapter 18 (end)