Charles’ suggestion isn’t that amazing, sorry anons. This chapter addresses just why Washington didn’t choose the most obvious and easiest solution of them all. I’m sorry for any mistakes I missed and I hope you all enjoy! Thank you for the reviews!
***
When Lee had opened his mouth Connor could have killed them right there. His suggestion, if one could even call the idiotic idea that, was to leave the terms of agreement as is, which meant Connor for Haytham. He really should’ve of known Lee wouldn’t let Washington take away his father, after all that bond between the two of them ran extremely deep, however as of late he was still surprised the man would do so even after the knowledge of just what happened during Connor’s imprisonment. That is until Charles suggested turning their trade into a bet. The Aquila would face off against Washington’s fleet, who ever was defeated would hand over the spoils to the victor. Normally he would’ve jumped at the chance to lead the Aquila into battle to destroy the tyrant’s fleet, however Washington jumped in before Connor had even a chance to find his voice.
“Connor will not be Captain. He will stay ashore with Haytham under my guards watch, those are my conditions.” He had stated simply and before Connor could snap in protest Achilles had quietly agreed. He silently sputtered, trying to think of something he could say to combat the situation even as Achilles said Faulkner would captain the ship and that Kanen'tó:kon would accompany him. No, no, no! This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, this wasn’t how everything was going to go, he wasn’t going to let his crew get slaughtered by Washington’s fleet without him being there to help defend it. He growled in fury when he watched the tyrant smirk in pleasure before he got up and grabbed his arm. The whole room froze as Washington pulled him against his chest making him lock eyes with terrifying blues ones, stiffening further when a hand came up to cup his chin.
“I’ve been terribly lonely.” Washington grinned lightly as his hand reached up to tangle in his hair. He glanced to the side when he realized he heard nothing, no one had moved from their spots to help him, to get Washington away from him. Their eyes were locked onto him however just like the blank eyes of the soldiers had, burning into his back as a hand tightened it’s hold on his arm making him look back at the horrible face before him.
“It isn’t polite to get distracted when someone speaks to you.” Washington tutted as he leaned in, placing his lips to Connor’s ear before whispering softly. “I’ll have you back before the sun has fallen, today. We can make up for all that time we missed.” A hand trailed down his back, lingering on his hip for a moment before he moved away. Then he was gone, the nightmare had pushed out the door leaving the members of the house still frozen to their spots. Connor was the first one to move, pulling his hood up and over his head, to hide his fright-filled eyes from the rest of the group.
“Connor-” Achilles had started quietly before he cut him off with a hand.
“I am fine.” He caught a glimpse of the soldiers Washington had left behind as they lowered their muskets. So that’s why they didn’t move to aid him. He realizes that their purpose for being left behind was probably to make sure Haytham and he remained at the manor so the winner could claim their prize once the battle had concluded.
He nearly was sick in disgust.
A low snarl nearly made him jump with a start, looking over to the place of the sound seeing that it was Kanen'tó:kon who had uttered it. His eyes flashed with understanding, so he knew now. It wasn’t like he could keep the truth from him forever, but still Connor wished he had some naivety left that would have helped him remained ignorant.
“I will kill him.” He promised nearly making Connor laugh.
“No promises.” He spat out as he moved to turn away until the harsh command of one of the soldiers told him to stop.
“You shall remain here in our custody until the King has stated otherwise. The rest of you get out.” One moved from Haytham’s side before coming to him, forcing him to sit down in the remaining chair. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see the sad face of Achilles.
“Don’t worry, Connor we will make sure that you are kept safe.” He quietly murmured a thank you, even though what Achilles said was more than likely a lie he was comforted by it before he turned and left, following the others. No sooner that he had heard the front door open and shut did Haytham begin to bark with laughter, making him glare at the man angrily.
“I can’t believe that actually worked.” Haytham was grinning like a madman as he leaned back in his seat. Now that he was able to get a good look at the man he realized that the man’s face was incredibly swollen, red with dried blood and purple with bruises.
“What happened-” He began in confusion at the sight of his father’s face, sighing--which looked incredibly strange on him looking the way he did--he explained.
“Well the man’s temper was extinguished upon my face obviously. My face’s awkwardness shouldn’t be the topic of our discussion right now.” Haytham grumbled as he leaned back in his seat. “What I should be discussing is the plan that hopefully Charles understood, or even Achilles.” Connor tilted his head, since when did Haytham explain a plan to them? Surely not in front of Washington or his guards or else they would have known.
“I did it with motions, Connor.” He started as he glanced down to his bound hands, making him follow with his eyes. “I tried mouthing at first, but the swollen portion on my cheeks prevented an accurate telling of information. So I made the shape of an L with my fingers,” He point his thumb and pointer fingers outwards while the others remained in a tight fist, creating the L, “Before I counted out a number.” He formed his hands back in a fist before slowly putting each one out. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. “ Which they hopefully realized I was telling them just which ship is Washington’s. The fifth down starting from the left side of the bay.”
“What are they going to do with-” Connor paused as he glanced at the eyes of the mindless men around him, if they started speaking one of them could tell Washington.
“They can’t do anything about it.” Haytham interjected as he caught onto Connor’s worry. “All they can do is stand guard. Washington can’t read their minds to know of what I set in motion.”
“. . . . . .What are our allies going to do with the information you gave them then? Just because they know what ship Washington is on does not erase the fact that they have an entire fleet to face.” Connor admits that while he had won dire naval battles before didn’t mean it he nearly lost as well. Faulkner was an incredible sailor, but Connor doubted that even his first mate could get out of a situation such as this. He slumped back in his seat as he awaited his father’s response.
“Hopefully they’ll think of something, or perhaps get incredibly lucky. However I think they’ll manage because Washington’s scared.” The smirk that spread across his lips was malicious, his eyes were full of cunning and twisting ploys, it did little to comfort.
“Why is he scared? Does it not mean that he will be extra careful in this battle? Giving us less of a chance?” He questioned lightly as he frowned when his father chuckled.
“He is not scared that he will lose, in that area of his mind he is already throwing a celebration at the defeat of your allies. That arrogance will more than likely be the end of him and hopefully put a stop to him during the battle. No, he is terrified because he believes the Apple’s power is dying.” Connor blinked in shock.
“Is the Apple losing power?” He asked lightly, a tad worried that it might actually not be the case, letting his hopes of Washington losing his kingdom, his army, his darkness get crushed by the actual truth.
“No, as far as I can tell the Apple has an infinite supply of energy. Well, so we think. But tell me this if Washington wasn’t worried about the artifact wouldn’t he just possess everyone on the homestead and have you brought to him?” Haytham looked genuinely surprised that Connor might actually believe Washington had truly wanted to be diplomatic, or at least give them a shot at fighting him off.
“Well I did not think really anything of it.” He answered truthfully, feeling his heart sink at his father’s scoff.
“The reason Washington hasn’t turned the homestead residents into his personal monkeys was because he had first used the Apple on us.”
“Us?” Connor asked once again perplexed by Haytham’s explanation. Was he talking about all those years ago when Washington had kept him under control? How was that supposed to scare him? The Apple had worked, subjecting him to Washington’s command for all those years, if anything that helped him.
“Yes. When we were on the ship he tried to use the Apple on me, so I could infiltrate the homestead as a ‘friend’ before stealing you back. However when he used it on me I merely remained frozen in place is all, the Apple could not effect my mind as it did the others in his army. I suppose that is because of certain ancestors in my family heritage who had such capabilities as well. Washington gave up on me and then tried to do it on you, I’m guessing you were either asleep when it happened or you didn’t really pay it much mind at the time.” He paused looking at him closely, the experience Haytham was speaking about easily poked itself out at him. He had been cooking dinner at the time, helping Achilles prepare the meat for that night’s stew when he had suddenly seized up, barely able to breath. He had first blown the feeling off when he had felt his body return to normal, simply summing up the experience as a flashback to his captivity. He glanced up as Haytham continued speaking. “When you didn’t come running Washington gave up and put the Apple away before happily beating in my face, taking out his nervousness on me. We are incredibly lucky that he only tried to use the Apple on us for if he tried it on anyone else not only would we be in a more, complicated situation, everyone else would probably be dead already.”
Although his father’s answer should have cleared up any confusion he felt it left him with more questions than answers. “But Washington used the Apple on me before while I was in his custody, why wouldn’t it work now?”
“I was wondering if you ask me that. Our body’s can be manipulated by the Apple in the way that they freeze up, but never our minds. When Washington began raving about the Apple and you it sounded as if he tried to use the Apple to control your mind however you were unconscious at the time, so in response the Apple just kept you unconscious through out the duration he used its ‘influence’ upon you. He had believed it to be mind control, which inevitably worked to our advantage with him believing the Apple to be losing power. I don’t know what he plans on doing now, but perhaps his paranoia will get the best of him, believing that at any moment the soldiers under his command could turn against him. It will be much easier for him to slip up now.” Haytham finished as he leaned back in his chair, a lazy smirk spreading across his lips. “All we must do now is wait.”
Connor slumped back in his seat feeling no more positive than he had before. So he was never really under the command of the Apple the entire time, he had just been, in essence, truly asleep. He supposes that’s better than being turned into one of Washington’s brainless puppets after all however that didn’t mean he was completely free of the artifact. The idea of his body being turned into something completely helpless and vulnerable frightened him, the thought of being bound without chains. He heard himself scoff, he was already bound now, his body completely useless to his whims, no longer able to do anything he could before. This is the worse fate.
“Son.” He glanced up when Haytham spoke softly, concern in his eyes. “While I realize we are still and will probably remain enemies for the rest of time I want you to know that I’m sorry. It was stupid of me to decide to leave you, a mere foolish child, in such conditions for as long as I did. I will not apologize for my course of action by trying to steal the Apple first, as was my original intent, instead of you because that would have made sure all of what is happening now avoided. However I will admit that not even my worst enemy deserved such a cruel fate that was given to you behind Washington’s palace walls. No fully grown man could handle what you went through, and you, barely a boy and far from being a young man, pulled through very strongly. It is incredible, and while I’m disappointed that you will more than likely never become a Templar once you recover I have no doubt that you will become a great Assassin. Just make sure that you don’t get it my way, because I’ll still kill you.” He fell quiet for a moment, seeming to be considering how to put into words what he wanted to say. “I do not expect to be forgiven for my actions, nor do I care to be. I just wanted you to know that if there was anything I had planned to do to be rid of you it was certainly and never would be this.”
Connor let out a laugh as Haytham finished his confession, wiping away the tears from his eyes as he fell into quiet chuckling. Although his father had just admitted that it was extremely possible that he would be killing him in the future and had been planning to for sometime, he was grateful for his honesty. In fact he was thankful that his father wasn’t trying to manipulate him with kindness like before and sway him over to the Templar cause through deception. He was just being cranky, old Haytham Kenway who acted like a bratty child when things didn’t go his way and boasted so smugly when he did. It was a man that he knew just what to expect from, a man he could trust.
Welcome to the New Age - Part 19/???
***
When Lee had opened his mouth Connor could have killed them right there. His suggestion, if one could even call the idiotic idea that, was to leave the terms of agreement as is, which meant Connor for Haytham. He really should’ve of known Lee wouldn’t let Washington take away his father, after all that bond between the two of them ran extremely deep, however as of late he was still surprised the man would do so even after the knowledge of just what happened during Connor’s imprisonment. That is until Charles suggested turning their trade into a bet. The Aquila would face off against Washington’s fleet, who ever was defeated would hand over the spoils to the victor. Normally he would’ve jumped at the chance to lead the Aquila into battle to destroy the tyrant’s fleet, however Washington jumped in before Connor had even a chance to find his voice.
“Connor will not be Captain. He will stay ashore with Haytham under my guards watch, those are my conditions.” He had stated simply and before Connor could snap in protest Achilles had quietly agreed. He silently sputtered, trying to think of something he could say to combat the situation even as Achilles said Faulkner would captain the ship and that Kanen'tó:kon would accompany him. No, no, no! This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, this wasn’t how everything was going to go, he wasn’t going to let his crew get slaughtered by Washington’s fleet without him being there to help defend it. He growled in fury when he watched the tyrant smirk in pleasure before he got up and grabbed his arm. The whole room froze as Washington pulled him against his chest making him lock eyes with terrifying blues ones, stiffening further when a hand came up to cup his chin.
“I’ve been terribly lonely.” Washington grinned lightly as his hand reached up to tangle in his hair. He glanced to the side when he realized he heard nothing, no one had moved from their spots to help him, to get Washington away from him. Their eyes were locked onto him however just like the blank eyes of the soldiers had, burning into his back as a hand tightened it’s hold on his arm making him look back at the horrible face before him.
“It isn’t polite to get distracted when someone speaks to you.” Washington tutted as he leaned in, placing his lips to Connor’s ear before whispering softly. “I’ll have you back before the sun has fallen, today. We can make up for all that time we missed.” A hand trailed down his back, lingering on his hip for a moment before he moved away. Then he was gone, the nightmare had pushed out the door leaving the members of the house still frozen to their spots. Connor was the first one to move, pulling his hood up and over his head, to hide his fright-filled eyes from the rest of the group.
“Connor-” Achilles had started quietly before he cut him off with a hand.
“I am fine.” He caught a glimpse of the soldiers Washington had left behind as they lowered their muskets. So that’s why they didn’t move to aid him. He realizes that their purpose for being left behind was probably to make sure Haytham and he remained at the manor so the winner could claim their prize once the battle had concluded.
He nearly was sick in disgust.
A low snarl nearly made him jump with a start, looking over to the place of the sound seeing that it was Kanen'tó:kon who had uttered it. His eyes flashed with understanding, so he knew now. It wasn’t like he could keep the truth from him forever, but still Connor wished he had some naivety left that would have helped him remained ignorant.
“I will kill him.” He promised nearly making Connor laugh.
“No promises.” He spat out as he moved to turn away until the harsh command of one of the soldiers told him to stop.
“You shall remain here in our custody until the King has stated otherwise. The rest of you get out.” One moved from Haytham’s side before coming to him, forcing him to sit down in the remaining chair. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see the sad face of Achilles.
“Don’t worry, Connor we will make sure that you are kept safe.” He quietly murmured a thank you, even though what Achilles said was more than likely a lie he was comforted by it before he turned and left, following the others. No sooner that he had heard the front door open and shut did Haytham begin to bark with laughter, making him glare at the man angrily.
“I can’t believe that actually worked.” Haytham was grinning like a madman as he leaned back in his seat. Now that he was able to get a good look at the man he realized that the man’s face was incredibly swollen, red with dried blood and purple with bruises.
“What happened-” He began in confusion at the sight of his father’s face, sighing--which looked incredibly strange on him looking the way he did--he explained.
“Well the man’s temper was extinguished upon my face obviously. My face’s awkwardness shouldn’t be the topic of our discussion right now.” Haytham grumbled as he leaned back in his seat. “What I should be discussing is the plan that hopefully Charles understood, or even Achilles.” Connor tilted his head, since when did Haytham explain a plan to them? Surely not in front of Washington or his guards or else they would have known.
“I did it with motions, Connor.” He started as he glanced down to his bound hands, making him follow with his eyes. “I tried mouthing at first, but the swollen portion on my cheeks prevented an accurate telling of information. So I made the shape of an L with my fingers,” He point his thumb and pointer fingers outwards while the others remained in a tight fist, creating the L, “Before I counted out a number.” He formed his hands back in a fist before slowly putting each one out. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. “ Which they hopefully realized I was telling them just which ship is Washington’s. The fifth down starting from the left side of the bay.”
“What are they going to do with-” Connor paused as he glanced at the eyes of the mindless men around him, if they started speaking one of them could tell Washington.
“They can’t do anything about it.” Haytham interjected as he caught onto Connor’s worry. “All they can do is stand guard. Washington can’t read their minds to know of what I set in motion.”
“. . . . . .What are our allies going to do with the information you gave them then? Just because they know what ship Washington is on does not erase the fact that they have an entire fleet to face.” Connor admits that while he had won dire naval battles before didn’t mean it he nearly lost as well. Faulkner was an incredible sailor, but Connor doubted that even his first mate could get out of a situation such as this. He slumped back in his seat as he awaited his father’s response.
“Hopefully they’ll think of something, or perhaps get incredibly lucky. However I think they’ll manage because Washington’s scared.” The smirk that spread across his lips was malicious, his eyes were full of cunning and twisting ploys, it did little to comfort.
“Why is he scared? Does it not mean that he will be extra careful in this battle? Giving us less of a chance?” He questioned lightly as he frowned when his father chuckled.
“He is not scared that he will lose, in that area of his mind he is already throwing a celebration at the defeat of your allies. That arrogance will more than likely be the end of him and hopefully put a stop to him during the battle. No, he is terrified because he believes the Apple’s power is dying.” Connor blinked in shock.
“Is the Apple losing power?” He asked lightly, a tad worried that it might actually not be the case, letting his hopes of Washington losing his kingdom, his army, his darkness get crushed by the actual truth.
“No, as far as I can tell the Apple has an infinite supply of energy. Well, so we think. But tell me this if Washington wasn’t worried about the artifact wouldn’t he just possess everyone on the homestead and have you brought to him?” Haytham looked genuinely surprised that Connor might actually believe Washington had truly wanted to be diplomatic, or at least give them a shot at fighting him off.
“Well I did not think really anything of it.” He answered truthfully, feeling his heart sink at his father’s scoff.
“The reason Washington hasn’t turned the homestead residents into his personal monkeys was because he had first used the Apple on us.”
“Us?” Connor asked once again perplexed by Haytham’s explanation. Was he talking about all those years ago when Washington had kept him under control? How was that supposed to scare him? The Apple had worked, subjecting him to Washington’s command for all those years, if anything that helped him.
“Yes. When we were on the ship he tried to use the Apple on me, so I could infiltrate the homestead as a ‘friend’ before stealing you back. However when he used it on me I merely remained frozen in place is all, the Apple could not effect my mind as it did the others in his army. I suppose that is because of certain ancestors in my family heritage who had such capabilities as well. Washington gave up on me and then tried to do it on you, I’m guessing you were either asleep when it happened or you didn’t really pay it much mind at the time.” He paused looking at him closely, the experience Haytham was speaking about easily poked itself out at him. He had been cooking dinner at the time, helping Achilles prepare the meat for that night’s stew when he had suddenly seized up, barely able to breath. He had first blown the feeling off when he had felt his body return to normal, simply summing up the experience as a flashback to his captivity. He glanced up as Haytham continued speaking. “When you didn’t come running Washington gave up and put the Apple away before happily beating in my face, taking out his nervousness on me. We are incredibly lucky that he only tried to use the Apple on us for if he tried it on anyone else not only would we be in a more, complicated situation, everyone else would probably be dead already.”
Although his father’s answer should have cleared up any confusion he felt it left him with more questions than answers. “But Washington used the Apple on me before while I was in his custody, why wouldn’t it work now?”
“I was wondering if you ask me that. Our body’s can be manipulated by the Apple in the way that they freeze up, but never our minds. When Washington began raving about the Apple and you it sounded as if he tried to use the Apple to control your mind however you were unconscious at the time, so in response the Apple just kept you unconscious through out the duration he used its ‘influence’ upon you. He had believed it to be mind control, which inevitably worked to our advantage with him believing the Apple to be losing power. I don’t know what he plans on doing now, but perhaps his paranoia will get the best of him, believing that at any moment the soldiers under his command could turn against him. It will be much easier for him to slip up now.” Haytham finished as he leaned back in his chair, a lazy smirk spreading across his lips. “All we must do now is wait.”
Connor slumped back in his seat feeling no more positive than he had before. So he was never really under the command of the Apple the entire time, he had just been, in essence, truly asleep. He supposes that’s better than being turned into one of Washington’s brainless puppets after all however that didn’t mean he was completely free of the artifact. The idea of his body being turned into something completely helpless and vulnerable frightened him, the thought of being bound without chains. He heard himself scoff, he was already bound now, his body completely useless to his whims, no longer able to do anything he could before. This is the worse fate.
“Son.” He glanced up when Haytham spoke softly, concern in his eyes. “While I realize we are still and will probably remain enemies for the rest of time I want you to know that I’m sorry. It was stupid of me to decide to leave you, a mere foolish child, in such conditions for as long as I did. I will not apologize for my course of action by trying to steal the Apple first, as was my original intent, instead of you because that would have made sure all of what is happening now avoided. However I will admit that not even my worst enemy deserved such a cruel fate that was given to you behind Washington’s palace walls. No fully grown man could handle what you went through, and you, barely a boy and far from being a young man, pulled through very strongly. It is incredible, and while I’m disappointed that you will more than likely never become a Templar once you recover I have no doubt that you will become a great Assassin. Just make sure that you don’t get it my way, because I’ll still kill you.” He fell quiet for a moment, seeming to be considering how to put into words what he wanted to say. “I do not expect to be forgiven for my actions, nor do I care to be. I just wanted you to know that if there was anything I had planned to do to be rid of you it was certainly and never would be this.”
Connor let out a laugh as Haytham finished his confession, wiping away the tears from his eyes as he fell into quiet chuckling. Although his father had just admitted that it was extremely possible that he would be killing him in the future and had been planning to for sometime, he was grateful for his honesty. In fact he was thankful that his father wasn’t trying to manipulate him with kindness like before and sway him over to the Templar cause through deception. He was just being cranky, old Haytham Kenway who acted like a bratty child when things didn’t go his way and boasted so smugly when he did. It was a man that he knew just what to expect from, a man he could trust.
“I forgive you.”