fortunetellingtemplar-blog

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Mirela did not chase after Giordano, she knew that there was no point to trying to stop him from leaving.  All she found herself doing was sitting there, hiding her face in her hands, a thumb pressed to either temple as she tried to soothe the headache pounding in her skull. 

How could she expect this to have worked out...he would've found out sooner or later.  Why did she even try to be friends with Giordano, or anybody for that matter?  Hadn't she learned long ago to not depend on or get close to others?  She sniffled, trying to calm her stomach with a cup of water but showed little interest in it. 

She'd really messed up her life.

Betrayal and Doubt

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

“Please Giordano!  When I was recruited by them I did not know what I know now.” Mirela swallowed, still looking up at him, “I-If I knew…If I could see my own future and know that they would do the things that they do I would not have pledged my allegiances to them.” She shook her head. 

She could hear her heart in her ears as Giordano delivered a well-deserved verbal lashing to her, she had been idiotic, she had been weak and blinded by greed and revenge.  She did not see. 

Tears slipped down her face as she looked up at Giordano, “Please…I tried so hard to warn you…” she said, tightening her grip on his robes and hiding her face against his leg, “P-Please forgive me for not telling you.  It is my fault.”

The way he’d spoken to her she knew in her heart he could not forgive her.  She understood that.  She wasn’t even able to forgive herself for what she’d done, what she’d become.  What kind of person was she?  She barely knew anymore.  She’d changed so much from her carefree, younger days.  She was no longer that same person, that same, caring person.  She’d been filled with so much grief and rage that it changed the woman.

Betrayal and Doubt

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Her head hung down more, she couldn’t even look at Giordano let alone look at him in the face.  She felt ashamed, guilty…terrible.  “I thought…I thought you would not want to be around me if you knew what I was.” She said, “I’ve been questioning my loyalties to the order though.  They have not come through with the promises they’ve made to me.” She could feel the tension, the hate rolling off of Giordano towards her, towards what she was.  …And she did not blame him for it.

“I tried though, Giordano! I tried to keep it from happening!” she suddenly turned, grabbing at his robes as she looked up at him, “Please, believe me!” the Romani begged the Assassin.  She felt disgusted with herself, to keep such a thing from the man.  To allow her weak, grief stricken mind to be manipulated by coin and promise.  She was the lowest of the low and she not only knew it, but felt it. 

The water from Giordano’s spilled cup ran over the table and spilled onto the floor, getting Mirela’s skirts wet.  She paid it no mind as she stared up at Giordano, her eyes begging for his forgiveness, his understanding, anything to soothe her, but she did not expect any of that to be delivered to a lowly Templar like herself.

Betrayal and Doubt

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

 Mirela could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her gut knotted in nervousness.  Well…it was here now, she couldn’t dance around it anymore and hide her allegances from the man she called her only friend.  With a thick swallow she started, “I am sorry.  I knew what they were going to do…I was in on it but I stopped.  I-I was coming to warn you but one of them attacked me and stopped me.  When I came to it was too late.  That’s why I was running on the rooftops.  I was trying to find you to make sure you were at least alright.” She looked down into her cup, “I am sorry.”

Betrayal and Doubt

The Romani watched the man beside her, pouring herself a drink and refilling his cup when he’d drained it.  She was relieved to hear that there were so far no civilians harmed in the fire but the fact that people who didn’t need to be harmed were harmed…she didn’t know what to think about that.  She was a Templar, all the assassins needed to die in her mind…right?  That was the way she was supposed to think? 

She fell silent for several moments, deep in her own thoughts.  She started to question her own loyalty to the Templars.  What had they promised her? Wealth? Revenge against the people who killed her husband?  Besides her wagon being repaired she had no money to even feed herself.  The wealth promised had not been delivered.  Revenge?  No, she’d calmed her heart about that long ago.  She did get angry from time to time at the reckless assassin who had caused him to die but they themselves were in such a panic they just didn’t see him.  She’d been attacked by those within her own ranks.  Where did her loyalty lie?  She needed to make that decision and soon.  She couldn’t keep living like this.

“Giordano…I…I am sorry.” She finally said quietly.

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

The Romani watched the man beside her, pouring herself a drink and refilling his cup when he’d drained it.  She was relieved to hear that there were so far no civilians harmed in the fire but the fact that people who didn’t need to be harmed were harmed…she didn’t know what to think about that.  She was a Templar, all the assassins needed to die in her mind…right?  That was the way she was supposed to think? 

She fell silent for several moments, deep in her own thoughts.  She started to question her own loyalty to the Templars.  What had they promised her? Wealth? Revenge against the people who killed her husband?  Besides her wagon being repaired she had no money to even feed herself.  The wealth promised had not been delivered.  Revenge?  No, she’d calmed her heart about that long ago.  She did get angry from time to time at the reckless assassin who had caused him to die but they themselves were in such a panic they just didn’t see him.  She’d been attacked by those within her own ranks.  Where did her loyalty lie?  She needed to make that decision and soon.  She couldn’t keep living like this.

“Giordano…I…I am sorry.” She finally said quietly.

Betrayal and Doubt

Mirela swallowed and nodded at his words, reaching a hand up to gently brush some ash from his face and beard.  She visibly started to calm the more she looked him over, “Evet, I am fine. “she nodded, “I had a run in with somebody but I-I am okay.  Please, drink.”.  She poured some of the cold water from the pitcher into a cup for him and put it in front of her Assassin friend.  

After a long moment of silence she asked, “How bad is it in the city?” her brow furrowed as she awaited his answer.  All the suffering that had to have happened in city…if she had just stopped them in time it would have never happened.  She sighed again and put her head in her hands, pushing her hands through her hair. 

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Mirela swallowed and nodded at his words, reaching a hand up to gently brush some ash from his face and beard.  She visibly started to calm the more she looked him over, “Evet, I am fine. “she nodded, “I had a run in with somebody but I-I am okay.  Please, drink.”.  She poured some of the cold water from the pitcher into a cup for him and put it in front of her Assassin friend.  

After a long moment of silence she asked, “How bad is it in the city?” her brow furrowed as she awaited his answer.  All the suffering that had to have happened in city…if she had just stopped them in time it would have never happened.  She sighed again and put her head in her hands, pushing her hands through her hair. 

Betrayal and Doubt

Mirela stayed in her wagon, pacing the short distance it encompassed.  She was too worried, too filled with guilt to be still.  When she would sit, her legs weary, her fingers would tap, her hips would shift as she stared out the window, watching the fires starting to die down, their orange glow starting to dim and allow the stars to shine brightly in the sky again.  This was her fault.  If she had just stopped Vali when he first contacted her…if she had just been stronger willed, none of this would have happened. 

A few of the houses close to the dens had caught fire.  Everything in Constantinople was so closely built…she was surprised that the whole city wasn’t up in flames!  She began to question her own loyalty to an order that would burn innocent people and children in their path.  Oh those poor people. 

She pushed a hand through her hair, unable to sit for long, and stood.  She did was any fortune teller wasn’t supposed to do and tried to read her own fortune.  The spread was the same with each, nervous reading: The Empress, Justice, Strength, The magician, The Lovers, and the Tower.  With a frustrated grunt she tucked the cards back away in their drawer.  She wouldn’t have any of it and to say the least, to get the same cards every time…it was freaking her out.

A deep breath was taken as Mirela tried to calm herself.  She had to be patient, she had to set things right.  She needed to wait, calmly, for Giordano. 

Her heart leapt when she heard the knock on her door.  She hurried to it and flung the piece of wood open wide, smiling and letting out a sigh of relief when she saw the man again.  The Romani grabbed Giordano and pulled him inside and into another tight hug, “I-I was worried about you…again.” She laughed a little, trying to keep herself from crying in relief.  To see him, to give her dearest friend a hug, to know he was safe!  Oh she couldn’t have calmed down any faster.

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Mirela stayed in her wagon, pacing the short distance it encompassed.  She was too worried, too filled with guilt to be still.  When she would sit, her legs weary, her fingers would tap, her hips would shift as she stared out the window, watching the fires starting to die down, their orange glow starting to dim and allow the stars to shine brightly in the sky again.  This was her fault.  If she had just stopped Vali when he first contacted her…if she had just been stronger willed, none of this would have happened. 

A few of the houses close to the dens had caught fire.  Everything in Constantinople was so closely built…she was surprised that the whole city wasn’t up in flames!  She began to question her own loyalty to an order that would burn innocent people and children in their path.  Oh those poor people. 

She pushed a hand through her hair, unable to sit for long, and stood.  She did was any fortune teller wasn’t supposed to do and tried to read her own fortune.  The spread was the same with each, nervous reading: The Empress, Justice, Strength, The magician, The Lovers, and the Tower.  With a frustrated grunt she tucked the cards back away in their drawer.  She wouldn’t have any of it and to say the least, to get the same cards every time…it was freaking her out.

A deep breath was taken as Mirela tried to calm herself.  She had to be patient, she had to set things right.  She needed to wait, calmly, for Giordano. 

Her heart leapt when she heard the knock on her door.  She hurried to it and flung the piece of wood open wide, smiling and letting out a sigh of relief when she saw the man again.  The Romani grabbed Giordano and pulled him inside and into another tight hug, “I-I was worried about you…again.” She laughed a little, trying to keep herself from crying in relief.  To see him, to give her dearest friend a hug, to know he was safe!  Oh she couldn’t have calmed down any faster.

Betrayal and Doubt

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Mirela watched Giordano nod to her.  She wanted to linger in the hug longer because there she knew that he was okay, he was alive, he was safe.  She let him go though, and stepped back, keeping her eyes trained on him as she watched him escape into the chaos below them.  She kept watching until she could see him no longer. 

Working her way back to her own home proved to be a bit of a challenge once rooftops could no longer be utilized. 

She pushed her way once again through hoards of people.  The further she got from the city, the thinner the crowd was, making it much easier for her to travel.  It seemed as if further back everything was completely choked.  The air with smoke and fire, the streets with people, there was no breathing for anything in the city back there.  But the further she moved out, things started to relax. 

The Romani started to run as soon as she could, finally stopping to get in a breath of fresh air and cough some of the smoke from her lungs.  Despite it being summer, the air felt cold in her lungs.  It was rather refreshing compared to being stuck and choked in the heat. 

The fires continued to burn behind her as she continued onward to her wagon.  She kept looking worriedly over her shoulder, hoping to see Giordano running after her.  No, he had his brothers and sisters to tend to, he wouldn’t be coming her way for a long time.  She still felt so worried.  There were few people, assassin or Templar, that she called her friend.  Giordano was one of them.  Her gut was twisted with fret as she kept watching.  She had to stop wasting time just watching and get to her home.

Mirela finally willed herself from the spot she’d been frozen in and made it home to the wagon.  She opened the newly painted door and ducked inside quickly, straightening up the small living space.   She reached for the first aid kit incase Giordano needed it.  Fresh water was brought inside in a basin, bread left on the table.  The final touch was put on the wagon, the lamp she promised to light for Giordano.  She lit the lamp and left it in the window for him as a beacon.

Betrayal and Doubt

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Her heart was still racing in her chest but she'd calmed considerably since she'd first set out.  She listened intently to the Veteran's words and her hands tightened their grip on his robes, "Gio...Gio Please...Please promise me you'll be careful.  I-I'll go and wait for you at my wagon b-but please...be careful!" her voice was laced heavily with worry, her face bore the same expression.  She didn't want to let him go into that hell that stirred under them. 

Mirela's hand slowly started to release their grip on the Assassin's robes.  Her being here slowing him down wasn't helping anything.  The best thing that she could do for him, for herself, for the city, was to get out of the way, to allow those through here were there to help.  There was no way she could help now, to stop it.  The best thing she could do was stay out of the way. 

"Please...Please be careful." she muttered again to him. 

Betrayal and Doubt

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Mirela had no idea that she had already been pointed out as a conspirator of the fires.  She felt like she'd left early enough that nobody would suspect she was a part of it.  If she knew she'd been inwardly berating herself.  She just had to get involved, just had to let that thirst for revenge get it's hooks into her.  She'd even told Giordano long ago that it was an accident...that she didn't blame anybody.  She broke in that moment of weakness. 

A rush of relief rushed over her when she saw it was Giordano.  "Giordano!" she cried happily.  She didn't care if it was inappropriate or not she just grabbed the man and pulled him into a tight hug.  To see that her friend was uninjured...! She praised every god that she could think of.

"I-I was so terrified!" she started after pulling back from him a bit, looking him up and down, "I tried to find you but I got attacked on the way over I-I just...Giordano it's terrible over there!" a few tears ran from her eyes.  If she'd lost Giordano in this she would never forgive herself!

She stayed close to Giordano so she could hear him.  The people milling about, panicking were making it hard for her to hear very well.  It was a mess, an ocean of people ebbing and flowing under their feet.  They were a flood and the rooftop was the only safe sanctuary the two were able to get to. 

There were a few more screams, people trying to put out smaller fires to keep the larger ones from spreading.  The guards were much too busy dealing with the much larger problems on hand to notice anybody on the rooftops, for that she was at least a little grateful.  Her eyes kept scanning him, looking for soot or any sign that he had been caught in a fire.  When she found none she sighed, even more relieved. 

Betrayal and Doubt

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

A cold breeze cut through Mirela.  Her head was throbbing as she opened her eyes and stared up at the night sky that came into focus.  The normally clear sky was clouded by smoke, the stars made dim by the light of the fires.  No! She couldn't be too late! The woman forced herself to her feet and started to run, wobbly legs strengthening as she carried on. 

The side of her neck burned from where the doctor had injected her earlier.  Damn Seraffo!  She cursed him and kept running, looking for anybody that she could get to.  The Romani skirted a burning den, heart dropping...what if Giordano was in one of the dens?!  She had to stop this before all of Constantinople caught and was up in flame!

The streets were choked with people.  They were panicking, coughing, gasping, trying to save what they could and put out the fires before they spread to their homes and businesses.  The Romani tried to push her way through, against the crowd, but found that she could not, people were just too tightly packed together.  "CATTLE!" she cursed them before, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a lift.  It would be much easier to go up and over the crowds versus trying to push through them.  The woman rushed over to the lift and went to cut the rope...only to find she had no blade.  She swore again to herself and kicked the lever, grabbing the free ride to the top. 

Once on the rooftops Mirela ran as fast as she could, trying to dodge ash that was being carried on the wind and a few other people who had panicked and taken to the rooftops.  She pushed them easily aside, running in the opposite direction.  That's when she saw it...a white hood.  A familiar one.  Oh God she hoped it was a friendly familiar and not somebody she had a run in with. 

The woman rushed towards the Assassin, trying to flag him down as she waved her arms.  Her stomach was cramping, a side effect from Seraffo's drug.  Worry twisted in her gut for friends and children left in the dens.  It had to stop. 

Betrayal and Doubt

It had been a rather relaxing evening at the Imperial South Den, which suited Giordano just fine. After roaming the countryside for the past couple of weeks, it was nice to enjoy the comforts of home again. He had missed being able to read into the late hours of the night, and he was taking full advantage of it now.

The sun had long set and Giordano was deep in his book, enjoying a small cup of the tea Yusuf had sent him home with the previous night. A few other Assassins were milling around, some looking over their weapons or conversing in low tones. It had been awhile since any significant Templar activity, and Giordano knew some of them were either getting restless or complacent. He had warned them repeatedly of such dangers, even though he, too, acknowledged there were no signs or threats of Templar attack anytime soon.

Suddenly, the door flew open, startling several of the younger Assassins nearby and causing the others to jump in alarm, looking for a threat. Nesim, the Den Leader, immediately got to her feet and closed the door, guiding the winded novice to a chair to sit him down.

“What’s happened, kardeshim?” she asked. They all knew the signs—something had happened. The Assassins gathered nearby all watched and listened intently, their activities frozen and forgotten as they awaited the news with bated breath.

“A… attack… on the… Galata dens…!” the novice wheezed. Indeed, it looked like he had managed to escape, barely. His robes were covered in dust, soot, and what looked suspiciously like blood, and he was sporting a few nasty-looking burns on his face and neck.

“An attack!?” Nesim asked, barely believing it. “Who!?”

“Th… the… the traitor… Vali…” With that, the novice fainted in his seat. Nesim was on her feet, barking orders in Turkish. The Assassins moved quickly, some retrieving medical supplies, others going to clear out a room, still others going to warn the other dens and strengthen their patrols.

“Giordano!” she called, pointing to him as he rose. “Make haste to the Galata District. Offer what assistance you can!”

Giordano was already on the move, going over to the weapons rack and grabbing his sword. He checked his hidden blade and hookblade, making sure they were in prime working order. Within a minute he had thrown up his hood and was out the door, running through the streets to the Galata District.

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Mirela waved her arms a bit, trying to get Seraffo off of her and the syringe out of her neck.  She was too slow though and took most of the contents into her body.  She pushed against Seraffo before her arms went limp and she passed completely out.

Mirela shouted and grabbed Seraffo’s mask, trying to pull it off of his face, “Let me be!” she growled, trying to keep that syringe away from her as much as possible.

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

The Romani went limp for a moment, dazed by the hit.  She groaned and shook her head a bit, trying to get it to stop swimming.

Mirela shouted and grabbed Seraffo’s mask, trying to pull it off of his face, “Let me be!” she growled, trying to keep that syringe away from her as much as possible.

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Mirela shouted and grabbed Seraffo's mask, trying to pull it off of his face, "Let me be!" she growled, trying to keep that syringe away from her as much as possible.

The woman hit the ground, the air being knocked from her body for a moment.  She gasped loudly, grabbing Seraffo’s hand, trying to push it away from her body, she didn’t want that shot.  “I-I was wondering when you’d get here.” She snarled at the doctor.

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

The woman hit the ground, the air being knocked from her body for a moment.  She gasped loudly, grabbing Seraffo's hand, trying to push it away from her body, she didn't want that shot.  "I-I was wondering when you'd get here." She snarled at the doctor.

Mirela swore again when the blade was grabbed from her hand.  She slipped her barbs between her fingers and started to flail her arms at the bird, trying to punch it.  She screamed as sharp talons scratched at her bare arms but she fought on, trying to get the bird off of her trail.

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Mirela swore again when the blade was grabbed from her hand.  She slipped her barbs between her fingers and started to flail her arms at the bird, trying to punch it.  She screamed as sharp talons scratched at her bare arms but she fought on, trying to get the bird off of her trail.

Mirela wasn’t panicked for the Assassin Order.  She was panicked for the few friends she had made and any children that may have gotten caught in the crossfire of such an attack.  She turned a corner and spotted the bird of Seraffo’s flying above her.  “Shit!” she swore under her breath.  She had to find somebody and make herself disappear at the same time.

[fortunetellingtemplar-blog]

Mirela wasn't panicked for the Assassin Order.  She was panicked for the few friends she had made and any children that may have gotten caught in the crossfire of such an attack.  She turned a corner and spotted the bird of Seraffo's flying above her.  "Shit!" she swore under her breath.  She had to find somebody and make herself disappear at the same time.

Mirela took to the streets, running as quickly as her bare feet would carry her.  She had to warn them…somebody…anybody!  She looked high and low, not finding any assassins.  Any live ones for that matter.  She heard screaming and saw the fires starting to ignite.  She had no time to waste.