So, I exceeded the word limit. This will be in two parts.
Poisoned Apple 14 part 1
The day of the so-called funeral, Charles sat in his office, alert and nervous. He had canceled court so as to devote his entire energies to their plan with Franklin.
His brothers had protested, pointing to the necessity of him dealing with the discontent that ran through their land, but Charles waved it all off.
What was a single day compared to the chance to end the Brotherhood and have his bride once more? Deep inside, he could feel it. If he did not do this now, then he might wait another 10 years.
(And he would be old then and aging still, unable to personally eradicate the Brotherhood or bring back his bride.)
And so he waited in his office, eyes fixed on the door, awaiting for just one bit of news...
Master Kenway's plan did not disappoint, and soon he heard tell of a woman who had seen Franklin leaving the area directly east of the south bay. And then of a man, who had spied Franklin ambling in the city center...and another, of Franklin heading east!
So.
Based on the reports, it was clear that Franklin's Boston residence was close to the shores of the bay, towards the south, northwest of where the British Crown's old fort used to be. It was not as densely populated as the harbor side, but there were a few neighborhood sprawls in that general area.
Charles breathed a sigh of relief.
Boston was small, and that area smaller still. He had undercover men aplenty for the task of ferreting out Franklin's abode. And, when they did so...
His hands stroked the pouch perpetually on his waist.
Even if Franklin were not directly connected to the Assassins, if the Assassins were truly watching over Franklin as Charles suspected they would be, then it would be an opportunity to capture a few of them if Franklin proved useless.
All they needed to do was not to let a single observer escape to warn the Brotherhood.
----
Charles stared at the flat that was Franklin's. He watched as the elderly Alpha sat in his plush chair by the window and drew his curtains closed. The light from inside the house illuminated the man's silhouette against the window, and Charles grinned humorlessly.
It was only early in the day that they had discovered Franklin's exact location as the Alpha returned from Jefferson's funeral, and they had decided to wait until night fell, since the day was short due to the impending arrival of winter and they could make use of the cover of darkness.
Charles drew his cloak ever tighter around him even has he tugged the brim of his hat closer to his face. Underneath the cloak, he withdrew the Apple from its encasing and stood caressing its marked surface for a short while.
Proximity was key. He would need to be within a few hundred feet of the man to use it on him. And it would be difficult to use it on the man from even that distance, as Charles couldn't fully see him.
But it would work.
Charles had ample practice by this time.
And so he sidled closer to the home and concentrated, imagining the golden threads weaving about that silhouette in the window. Sweat formed on his brow, and he gritted his teeth at the effort. His hands clawed at the Apple, sending its energy to sway the Alpha inside.
Naturally, he willed. It had to be natural. The man himself could not suspect his sudden predilection to help Charles and wouldn't realize it until he delivered himself onto Charles' hands.
Let him alert neither recruit nor Assassin nor Brotherhood leaders as to Charles' plan, and let them not spirit away his lovely Connor before he beheld him again in his full glory.
His body grew heated, and he felt suffused by the wild energy of the Apple.
Oh, it was taxing, but if it did succeed even through such barriers...
That would be invaluable indeed.
So focused was he that he did not realize it when one of his men crumpled from around him. It wasn't until the second gurgle that he realized something was amiss.
Assassins!
Quickly, he whirled about and spied that young recruit with the hook engaging his personal guard.
A crossbow bolt bloomed in the chest of another one of his men near him before Charles could just make out the figure of a woman perched in one of the neighborhood's trees. She was hurriedly fiddling with her crossbow, and Charles' heart seized as he realized she was preparing another bolt.
It would surely have his name on it.
No.
He had come too far and gotten too close. He wasn't about to let them ruin it all. He would return Haytham's mother to him, and none of these...Assassins...would stop him.
With an energy lent from desperation and fury he redirected the web he had been so carefully constructing around Franklin and hurtled it towards the woman ensconced in the trees. She went still, but before Charles could rejoice, he noticed that she did not drop down and greet him as she should have.
Strong-willed then. Like Master Kenway and Connor.
Why did all his most dangerous enemies have to be men and women of such character?
Charles muttered a silent oath before sending another wave of power at the woman, willing her to come down and bend knee to him, willing her stop this foolishness and set aside her weapons.
His men kept the young Alpha man at bay next to him, and Charles focused on the bigger threat.
Come down, he crooned silently. Come down...
Long moments later, there was the sound of rustling fabric before the woman climbed off the tree and walked towards him.
Charles signaled to a few of his men to be at the ready, in case of treachery, and he himself gripped the Apple tightly.
"And who are you?" he asked as she neared.
He could just make out blond hair and fair skin and...huh, an Omega.
To his relief, she dropped to one knee and pressed her fist over her heart.
"My king," she whispered quietly, "I am Emily, one of the more seasoned friends of Master Assassin Connor and Caleb."
Charles sucked in his breath then. Not an Assassin, but a worthy piece, nonetheless. He had done well.
He turned and, spying the young Alpha boy standing looking at the woman with betrayed eyes, sent another spike of energy towards him. He also resisted for a new moments but relaxed much faster than the woman had.
"And you?" Charles asked of him.
"Fillian, my king. I am a newer recruit."
"Emily, Fillian," Charles began. "Are there any more of you in this area that I need to know about?"
Secrecy was vital to their operations, and they needed to contain any Assassin who might have seen what happened.
"We were stationed to watch over Franklin and Master Assassin Connor in this time of our mentor's vulnerability. Besides us three, the rest are watching over Caleb as he heals."
Charles, who had been about to shout orders to contain the third 'Master Assassin' in the area, suddenly choked upon his own breath at the mention of the name.
Connor.
Here?
"He is here?" Charles asked incredulously.
"Yes," the Omega woman replied. "He did not wish to be around so many young Alphas during his time of heat, and so Mister Franklin offered him sanctuary in his guestroom, and he has been resting since. We were trying to be as silent as possible so as not to alert your troops as to our presence for his sake."
Charles' thoughts ground to a halt.
In heat.
He imagined slick thighs and that desperately clenching hole, hungry for cock, hungry for seed. The Omega would be wild, his body thrashing for sensation and sex, his belly eager to create a child with another.
And he swallowed thickly.
Inside, he felt like laughing.
What a jest! What marvelous news!
His Connor was not even 300 feet away and in heat!
Heaven must adore him at this point for everything was coming perfectly, fantastically together.
"Emily," he said thickly, "go back to your normal position and do all that you can to stave off the suspicion of your Assassin friends. Be on the lookout for more Assassins. If you see them, call out immediately."
She nodded perfunctorily and swiftly made her way back to her tree.
Charles turned to the Alpha youth.
"Fillian, was it?" he murmured. "Any relation to Gillian?"
"She was my sister," came the soft voice.
Ah. Charles stared critically at the young man. He might prove of use as well.
"Fillian, have you visited your mentor while he has been here?"
"Yes, many times. He is training me to speak French for when we are to leave for Paris and join the Brotherhood there."
Paris.
Charles clenched his hands.
How dare his Connor try to escape from his grasp? How dare he?
It was good that Charles had caught him in time.
"Fillian, I want you to go and knock on Benjamin Franklin's door and ask for admittance for you and your friend. I will be standing behind you," he said, forestalling any questions, "and I will ensnare the old man then."
"Very good sir."
"And then," Charles continued, "I have a task for you. I want you to make your way to my court and seek Master Kenway. Tell the servants that you were sent by me, but, for God's sake, do not be seen in your journey. Tell Master Kenway everything you know of the Brotherhood's locations and where this Caleb and the ones looking after him are hiding."
Charles paused.
"Do you understand?"
The young man nodded.
"Good," Charles waved. "Let us go."
They made their way to the door, and Charles waited, Apple at the ready, as the young man knocked.
The viewing panel slid open and one eye peeked out, quickly spying Fillian, and opening the door.
Perfect.
Before the aged Alpha even had time to step out, Charles had stepped forward, Apple in front of the man's face.
Obey, he willed.
A few tense seconds, the man quailed and fought against him, but soon, the tension left his body, and he stood staring at Charles with kindly eyes.
"I suppose," the elderly Alpha said to Charles, "you are here for Connor."
"Indeed," Charles brushed past the man and into the home even as his enthralled Assassin recruit raced off to perform his task.
He waited as the old man closed the door behind them, giving them all the privacy they needed.
"And how is my Omega," Charles asked.
Franklin chuckled.
"As stubborn and glorious as always. Though, he has been in feverish heat for most of the evening by now, and I do believe he is finally sleeping."
Good.
Charles turned to the aged Alpha.
"You will sit in your chair, near the only window, and you will play some music to pass the time. Play it loudly enough to prevent the escape of any sound that might escape from my Omega when I take him."
"Certainly." And the Alpha made his way over to his viola de gamba sitting in the corner and began to tune it.
Companion Piece to Apple of Eden (14)
Poisoned Apple 14 part 1
The day of the so-called funeral, Charles sat in his office, alert and nervous. He had canceled court so as to devote his entire energies to their plan with Franklin.
His brothers had protested, pointing to the necessity of him dealing with the discontent that ran through their land, but Charles waved it all off.
What was a single day compared to the chance to end the Brotherhood and have his bride once more? Deep inside, he could feel it. If he did not do this now, then he might wait another 10 years.
(And he would be old then and aging still, unable to personally eradicate the Brotherhood or bring back his bride.)
And so he waited in his office, eyes fixed on the door, awaiting for just one bit of news...
Master Kenway's plan did not disappoint, and soon he heard tell of a woman who had seen Franklin leaving the area directly east of the south bay. And then of a man, who had spied Franklin ambling in the city center...and another, of Franklin heading east!
So.
Based on the reports, it was clear that Franklin's Boston residence was close to the shores of the bay, towards the south, northwest of where the British Crown's old fort used to be. It was not as densely populated as the harbor side, but there were a few neighborhood sprawls in that general area.
Charles breathed a sigh of relief.
Boston was small, and that area smaller still. He had undercover men aplenty for the task of ferreting out Franklin's abode. And, when they did so...
His hands stroked the pouch perpetually on his waist.
Even if Franklin were not directly connected to the Assassins, if the Assassins were truly watching over Franklin as Charles suspected they would be, then it would be an opportunity to capture a few of them if Franklin proved useless.
All they needed to do was not to let a single observer escape to warn the Brotherhood.
----
Charles stared at the flat that was Franklin's. He watched as the elderly Alpha sat in his plush chair by the window and drew his curtains closed. The light from inside the house illuminated the man's silhouette against the window, and Charles grinned humorlessly.
It was only early in the day that they had discovered Franklin's exact location as the Alpha returned from Jefferson's funeral, and they had decided to wait until night fell, since the day was short due to the impending arrival of winter and they could make use of the cover of darkness.
Charles drew his cloak ever tighter around him even has he tugged the brim of his hat closer to his face. Underneath the cloak, he withdrew the Apple from its encasing and stood caressing its marked surface for a short while.
Proximity was key. He would need to be within a few hundred feet of the man to use it on him. And it would be difficult to use it on the man from even that distance, as Charles couldn't fully see him.
But it would work.
Charles had ample practice by this time.
And so he sidled closer to the home and concentrated, imagining the golden threads weaving about that silhouette in the window. Sweat formed on his brow, and he gritted his teeth at the effort. His hands clawed at the Apple, sending its energy to sway the Alpha inside.
Naturally, he willed. It had to be natural. The man himself could not suspect his sudden predilection to help Charles and wouldn't realize it until he delivered himself onto Charles' hands.
Let him alert neither recruit nor Assassin nor Brotherhood leaders as to Charles' plan, and let them not spirit away his lovely Connor before he beheld him again in his full glory.
His body grew heated, and he felt suffused by the wild energy of the Apple.
Oh, it was taxing, but if it did succeed even through such barriers...
That would be invaluable indeed.
So focused was he that he did not realize it when one of his men crumpled from around him. It wasn't until the second gurgle that he realized something was amiss.
Assassins!
Quickly, he whirled about and spied that young recruit with the hook engaging his personal guard.
A crossbow bolt bloomed in the chest of another one of his men near him before Charles could just make out the figure of a woman perched in one of the neighborhood's trees. She was hurriedly fiddling with her crossbow, and Charles' heart seized as he realized she was preparing another bolt.
It would surely have his name on it.
No.
He had come too far and gotten too close. He wasn't about to let them ruin it all. He would return Haytham's mother to him, and none of these...Assassins...would stop him.
With an energy lent from desperation and fury he redirected the web he had been so carefully constructing around Franklin and hurtled it towards the woman ensconced in the trees. She went still, but before Charles could rejoice, he noticed that she did not drop down and greet him as she should have.
Strong-willed then. Like Master Kenway and Connor.
Why did all his most dangerous enemies have to be men and women of such character?
Charles muttered a silent oath before sending another wave of power at the woman, willing her to come down and bend knee to him, willing her stop this foolishness and set aside her weapons.
His men kept the young Alpha man at bay next to him, and Charles focused on the bigger threat.
Come down, he crooned silently. Come down...
Long moments later, there was the sound of rustling fabric before the woman climbed off the tree and walked towards him.
Charles signaled to a few of his men to be at the ready, in case of treachery, and he himself gripped the Apple tightly.
"And who are you?" he asked as she neared.
He could just make out blond hair and fair skin and...huh, an Omega.
To his relief, she dropped to one knee and pressed her fist over her heart.
"My king," she whispered quietly, "I am Emily, one of the more seasoned friends of Master Assassin Connor and Caleb."
Charles sucked in his breath then. Not an Assassin, but a worthy piece, nonetheless. He had done well.
He turned and, spying the young Alpha boy standing looking at the woman with betrayed eyes, sent another spike of energy towards him. He also resisted for a new moments but relaxed much faster than the woman had.
"And you?" Charles asked of him.
"Fillian, my king. I am a newer recruit."
"Emily, Fillian," Charles began. "Are there any more of you in this area that I need to know about?"
Secrecy was vital to their operations, and they needed to contain any Assassin who might have seen what happened.
"We were stationed to watch over Franklin and Master Assassin Connor in this time of our mentor's vulnerability. Besides us three, the rest are watching over Caleb as he heals."
Charles, who had been about to shout orders to contain the third 'Master Assassin' in the area, suddenly choked upon his own breath at the mention of the name.
Connor.
Here?
"He is here?" Charles asked incredulously.
"Yes," the Omega woman replied. "He did not wish to be around so many young Alphas during his time of heat, and so Mister Franklin offered him sanctuary in his guestroom, and he has been resting since. We were trying to be as silent as possible so as not to alert your troops as to our presence for his sake."
Charles' thoughts ground to a halt.
In heat.
He imagined slick thighs and that desperately clenching hole, hungry for cock, hungry for seed. The Omega would be wild, his body thrashing for sensation and sex, his belly eager to create a child with another.
And he swallowed thickly.
Inside, he felt like laughing.
What a jest! What marvelous news!
His Connor was not even 300 feet away and in heat!
Heaven must adore him at this point for everything was coming perfectly, fantastically together.
"Emily," he said thickly, "go back to your normal position and do all that you can to stave off the suspicion of your Assassin friends. Be on the lookout for more Assassins. If you see them, call out immediately."
She nodded perfunctorily and swiftly made her way back to her tree.
Charles turned to the Alpha youth.
"Fillian, was it?" he murmured. "Any relation to Gillian?"
"She was my sister," came the soft voice.
Ah. Charles stared critically at the young man. He might prove of use as well.
"Fillian, have you visited your mentor while he has been here?"
"Yes, many times. He is training me to speak French for when we are to leave for Paris and join the Brotherhood there."
Paris.
Charles clenched his hands.
How dare his Connor try to escape from his grasp? How dare he?
It was good that Charles had caught him in time.
"Fillian, I want you to go and knock on Benjamin Franklin's door and ask for admittance for you and your friend. I will be standing behind you," he said, forestalling any questions, "and I will ensnare the old man then."
"Very good sir."
"And then," Charles continued, "I have a task for you. I want you to make your way to my court and seek Master Kenway. Tell the servants that you were sent by me, but, for God's sake, do not be seen in your journey. Tell Master Kenway everything you know of the Brotherhood's locations and where this Caleb and the ones looking after him are hiding."
Charles paused.
"Do you understand?"
The young man nodded.
"Good," Charles waved. "Let us go."
They made their way to the door, and Charles waited, Apple at the ready, as the young man knocked.
The viewing panel slid open and one eye peeked out, quickly spying Fillian, and opening the door.
Perfect.
Before the aged Alpha even had time to step out, Charles had stepped forward, Apple in front of the man's face.
Obey, he willed.
A few tense seconds, the man quailed and fought against him, but soon, the tension left his body, and he stood staring at Charles with kindly eyes.
"I suppose," the elderly Alpha said to Charles, "you are here for Connor."
"Indeed," Charles brushed past the man and into the home even as his enthralled Assassin recruit raced off to perform his task.
He waited as the old man closed the door behind them, giving them all the privacy they needed.
"And how is my Omega," Charles asked.
Franklin chuckled.
"As stubborn and glorious as always. Though, he has been in feverish heat for most of the evening by now, and I do believe he is finally sleeping."
Good.
Charles turned to the aged Alpha.
"You will sit in your chair, near the only window, and you will play some music to pass the time. Play it loudly enough to prevent the escape of any sound that might escape from my Omega when I take him."
"Certainly." And the Alpha made his way over to his viola de gamba sitting in the corner and began to tune it.
Perfect.