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Kink Meme - Assassin's Creed pt. 5

Assassin's Creed Kink Meme pt.5
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Charles Lee is paranoid. And possibly reads fanfic.

Master of the House

Chapter 7 - the First Battle

“Master Lee,” the maid bowed to the man respectfully.

Charles Lee stared at Clipper, a dark, suspicious look in his eyes. Carefully, he gestured a dismissal to the maid.

“Mary, please see to the cook. James has left a list of foods that our guest is allergic to, and it would be unfortunate if any of them appear at our dinner.” His eyes never left Clipper’s form as he spoke.

Mary curtsied gracefully, “At once, Master Lee,” and then swiftly exited.

Clipper was left alone with the man he abhorred.

For a moment, neither man said anything, merely stared at each other in mutual suspicion and dislike.

Finally, Lee broke the silence.

“You are my guest here, and James seems to trust you to some degree. However,” he paused. “However, it would be unwise to conduct any affairs against me or mine while you stay in this house.”

Clipper felt a rush of anger at the words, but wisely swallowed the words that came to mind. Connor was locked behind the walls of this house somewhere, and Charles Lee held the key. For his dear, dear mentor, he could ignore his disgust for Lee.

“I want to see him now.” Then, grudgingly, “please.”

Lee almost looked disappointed that he had not baited Clipper into an argument.

“Very well. I will take you to him—”

Clipper interrupted him. “I want to see him alone.”

Lee glanced sharply at him, temper clearly rising at his words.

“No! Absolutely not! Do you think me a fool that I will allow you access to him unsupervised? That you may spirit him off and—“

“With all due respect,” Clipper omitted the ‘sir’, “there is nowhere for me to go, nowhere for him to disappear. Not with your current popularity amongst the people.”

Lee ground his teeth, unclearly uncomfortable with the prospect but recognizing the truth behind the words.

“There is still no reason for you to visit Connor unsupervised. You may not make off with him as you say, but I’ve seen the way you looked at him at our wedding. You and those blasted brothers of yours.”

Clipped blinked and, for a moment, was stunned into shock by the wild accusation. He found his voice scant seconds later.

“We are friends! Colleagues, comrades, brothers-in-arms, friends, mentor and students!” he cried.

“Really?” Lee sounded doubtful. “You have never dreamt about him? About his smooth tan skin, about his fine features and long limbs. About holding him down as you enter his tight heat...”

“No!” Clipper was scandalized. Lee was—Lee was crazy! No wonder Mary the maid was so worried.

“No,” he repeated. “We never—he’s our respected mentor!. And I am an Omega.”

Lee snorted. “Mentorship is not a barrier,” (and did Clipper hear a vague bitter quality to his voice?). “And Omegas have been known to pair off with Omegas in the past, provided an offspring is viable.”

Crazy...

“I am not interested in him in that way. I am bonded to James,” he stressed his mate’s name, hoping that this, at least, would lend some logic to the man in front of him.

“Ah, but you are away from James right now.”

The attempt had clearly failed. And Clipper was out of arguments.

“Then have one of your servants supervise, if you cannot trust the chasteness of the feelings I have for my friend.”

Lee shook his head. “There is no need to waste my servants time on this task when they have many chores to perform.”

Clipper felt himself shake at the description.

“Is that all he is to you? A waste?

Lee stayed silent, eyes bitter and mouth curled into a sneer.

Poor Connor, Clipper thought. He had known that Lee was a vile, vile man, but that he would tear Clipper’s mentor away from his loved one, force a marriage on him and then declare it all a ‘waste’...

“One wonders why you went to so much trouble to acquire him, then, if he is a waste. One wonders why you desire help in treating him, in helping him, if he is a waste.”

Lee looked away at that. Clipper had the sense that he was seeing something that wasn’t there.

Clipper gritted his teeth. He would not let Connor’s first sight of him again be of him and Lee, of all people. He would do his utmost to protect his mentor from his tormentor.

“You must not come with me to see to Connor.”

“Out of the question—“

“I cannot do anything if you are there.”

Lee snapped his mouth shut and turned upon Clipper again, glaring at him.

“Do you mean to renege on your promise to me? To James?” Lee’s nostrils flared with anger.

Clipper shook his head.

“I mean that recovery will not be possible.”

“I fail to see how—“

Clipper interrupted him again. “Do you agree that it is you who have caused him to be in such a state?”

Lee looked sullen at this, but did not deny it.

“Then you must see that your presence would be detrimental to Connor. And to the child he carries.”

Lee swallowed thickly, and Clipper began to hope that the man who leave him alone, would allow him to be by Connor in peace.

To see Connor again. To be by his beloved mentor and make the man whole and well again...

“Do you give your word?” Lee began softly. “Do you give your word that you will not try anything to cause him to lose the child? That you will do whatever it is in your power to bring him back, to make him well enough to birth the child?”

Clipper didn’t want to. He would not hurt the child, but if Connor was whole and sound of mind and truly did not want to give birth to his hated enemy’s child, then Clipper did not want to be the one to stop him.

But Clipper wanted to see him again so very, very much. Wanted him healthy and whole and utterly unlike that stunned man who had been forced upon in that church one year ago...

“Yes,” he whispered. Then, when Lee made no move, when he gave no indication of having been heard, he repeated himself with a stronger voice. “Yes. I promise. Please let me see to him.”

Lee looked away. “I will give instructions to my servants that you be allowed to see him for one hour unsupervised every day.”

Then, when Clipper opened his mouth to protest, he added, “You will spend the rest of your time with him accompanied by Mary or Matthew, who has been Connor’s doctor since we discovered his first pregnancy.”

Clipper slowly closed his mouth. It was not a great offer, but it was acceptable.

Mutely, he watched as Lee called for his maids and gave them their new instructions. He doubted that all such struggles against the man would go as smoothly as this one did.

Wow, two updates in one day - I feel spoiled, anon. Heh, you're right - Charles must have read that Clipper/Connor fill on the kinkmeme, cause he's all suspicious of Clipper's motives. I do love paranoid-perverted-bastard!Charles.

Finally Clipper is going to get to see his mentor, but it's hardly going to be a reunion since Connor is out of it. BTW, does Clipper know what became of Stephane, Deborah, or the Homesteaders? Or has he been kept in isolation? Also, was there a reason why Charles gave Clipper to James? Did Connor do something to upset him?

Clipper has a slightly better idea of what happened to Stephane and Deborah than Connor but not by much. It would have proven too dangerous to allow the Assassins to know of each other in case they manage to contact each other or cause difficulties for the Templars again.

James would've told Clipper that Stephane and Deborah are alive, but then begged off on any details. He is very loyal to the Templars.

Clipper actually does know what happened to the homesteaders. They are watched now and then, but the Templars don't really care too much about them. They're mostly harmless, true innocents that just happen to be Connor's friends but have nothing to do with the struggle between the Assassins and the Templars.

Charles gave Clipper to James mostly consolidate the Templar's power. When he captured the three Assassin recruits, there were only a few things he could do to make sure they could not cause future trouble. The first is to kill them. But since Connor would probably fight against him a lot more if he killed them, that was removed from consideration. The second is to leave them imprisoned indefinitely. That seemed like an inefficient method to Charles (you have to feed them, etc).

The second is to have them neutralized. That's effectively what he tried to do. He gave Clipper to James because he thought that James would be able to control Clipper and keep him from interfering with Templar business. He very probably had something done to both Deborah and Stephane so that they are not able to fight anymore, and then let them go.

In a way, I think he thought he was being merciful. His relationship with Connor is complex, full of lust and disgust at Connor's maternal heritage with a great deal of frustration/anger that Connor killed his brothers. But Stephane, Clipper and Deborah are more abstract concepts to him. Dangerous in theory because they're Assassins, but otherwise, he doesn't care too much about them except as Connor's recruits and friends.

Makes sense, I'm glad Charles didn't kill them off. I'm guessing, the other three recruits met their fate simply because they reacted faster to the attack. Well, I'm glad the Homestead residents are okay.

Anyway, can't read the next chapter. I'm nearly finished with part 12, and finally on day 2.

Ooo, can't wait to read part 12. And hurrah for finally being on a second day, lol.

Methinks I may love angst and drama a bit much. Just a bit.

Master of the House

Chapter 8 - Hope and Despair

Despite overhearing James and Davies that one time, despite listening raptly to Lee himself when he cajoled with him for his aid and despite his own, unfortunately vivid, imagination, nothing prepared Clipper for his first sight of his mentor.

Connor, normally so strong, so vibrant and full of life, always moving whether it was running or leaping or climbing walls and trees...He laid there, almost engulfed in the too-large bed. So pale and still that if it were not for the soft rise and fall of his chest, Clipper would have thought him dead.

“Oh, sir,” he whispered in horror.

He knelt by Connor’s bedside and carefully took one of his hands (too thin, far too thin) in his own. Those brown eyes stared vacantly at the window, blank and unseeing.

For a moment, Clipper was worried that he had lost his sight, but recalled that neither Lee nor Davies had said anything about blindness.

He felt inexplicably relieved by that. For a man with such special vision as Connor, the loss of sight would be devastating.

But what had happened to him? What had happened to the man he so admired?

What had Lee done to him?

Clipper swallowed painfully, staring at the man before him. He waited for...for something. For a movement perhaps. Any movement. A twitch of the fingers, a shifting of the eyes, a rustling of bed-sheets, anything. He needed to know that the man he looked up to, the man he had followed—that they had all followed—was still there. He needed to know that Connor was still there.

A minute passed, then five, then ten.

Nothing.

Connor laid there, like a marionette with its strings cut, glassy eyes staring out the window as clouds slowly hid the sun away.

It was as if Clipper were not there at all.

Clipper had thought he had felt true helplessness before. When he had been dragged away from the church, when he had been separated from Stephane and Deborah in their jail cells, when he had first learned of Connor’s miscarriage.

None of those compared to the gaping hole that made its home in his chest and sought to drag him in. Nothing compared to how small and useless he felt at that moment, faced with the impossible task of bringing back a man who may already be dead.

-----

Back in his office, Charles paced relentlessly, driven by manic energy and hounded by demons in his heart. He wanted to burst into the room where Connor and James’s Omega was, he wanted to tear out of the house and drag Matthew back, appointments be damned, he wanted to ride to New York and find Master Kenway and rage that it wasn’t fair to put this on him, and how could he reward his unending loyalty with this, he wanted to fall on his knees in front of Master Kenway and beg forgiveness...

He—he was coming undone. Everything was coming undone. That Clipper would have unsupervised access to his Omega...

(oh God, he was mad, he was going mad, the boy was driving him mad)

...and Master Kenway blamed him for the miscarriage...

(but it wasn’t, he hadn’t thought Washington would die, he hadn’t known that grief would kill the man, he’d been taken by surprise and didn’t see Connor there until one of the maids—was it Mary? Was it Amelia—had screamed and there was Connor and blood, so much blood soaking the seat of his trousers)

...and he was going to be King, but they would all see how crazy he was becoming and that would be taken away too...

Charles collapsed in his leather chair and stared at the portrait of Master Kenway hanging on the wall.

It used to give him comfort. It used to make him feel proud and valued...

(but never loved)

...and useful, but...

A welling of rage rose within him. Swiftly he grabbed one of the inkwells laying about his desk and hurled the bottle against the portrait.

With a sharp tinkling crack, the bottle broke and released inky black fluid against the man Charles so admired and...

(yearned for)

...looked up to.

As the dark ink ran over the dark blues and tans and pale browns of the oil painting, Charles seemed to wake from his anger and despair.

And he was horrified.

“Mary! Ronald!” he called for his head maid and man-servant, hurriedly grabbing spare bits of cloth and dabbing frantically at the portrait.

No. No, no. He wasn’t going to lose this too. They could still save it. Oils were resilient and a bit of cleaning, a bit of maintenance, and it would be fine.

He would not lose this too!

Ronald burst into the office, Mary swift on his heels. They took one look at the ruined painting, at their desperate, frenzied movements of their master and the crazed look in his eyes and moved as one.

Grimly, Ronald grabbed a hold of his master, the old man soothing him, petting him as he had when Charles had been a boy and he newly entered into the Lee’s service. Mary carefully took the painting and handed it off to her helpers to be cleaned and preserved.

Charles grasped after the disappearing painting, unwilling to let it go, unwilling to...

“Sir!”

He turned wild eyes upon Ronald, upon one of the few people who had served him and been by him near his entire life.

“Sir,” Mary repeated and laid a gentle hand upon her master’s.

“It can be restored.”

It? Charles wasn’t sure what she was talking about anymore. The painting? His Omega? His relationship with Haytham? His child?

But Mary was patting his hand, gently, confidently.

“What’s been broken,” Ronald began, “can oftentimes be fixed. Have patience, sir.”

But Charles wasn’t sure he had any more patience.

-----

Back in Connor’s quarters, Clipper came to a decision.

It would do no good to stand petrified by the enormity of the task he had set himself. Altair didn’t retake Masyaf by avoiding Abbas. Ezio didn’t avenge his family by mourning his life away. They both faced their difficulties, their sorrows and their regrets.

As an Assassin, Clipper could do no less.

And so Clipper raised the hand he had been cradling, laid a gentle, chaste kiss on it and set it back on the sheets.

He took a look around the room, paying attention to the double-lock on the door, to the heavy, almost stifling air within, to the light gathering of dust that had gathered on Connor’s shoes, something the servants had missed as no one thinks to dust shoes.

Connor hadn’t been out of the room in a while and, from the sickly pale cast of Connor’s skin, Clipper wasn’t sure he’d ever been let out of the house.

He turned to the admired and beloved form on the bed.

“I’ve missed you, sir. I’m not sure where Deborah and Stephane are, but I’m sure they miss you too. And I just want you to know...I’m not giving up on you.”

He closed his eyes, imagining Connor as he was, with Achilles, Stephane, Deborah, Jamie, Jacob, Duncan...

“I am not ever giving up on you. So please, sir, when you’re ready. Wake for me.”

Wow anon... you really know how to play my heartstrings like an instrument. Poor Clipper. Poor Connor... and Poor Charles - I actually feel for him in this, even though he dug his own grave. As badly as he treated his Omega, he cares for his mate though he's reluctant to admit it... and then there's disappointing Haytham, his unrequited love and idol. I do hope you bring him in the story... maybe even to see Connor in his current state, and let Clipper kick him his in the FEELS to.

Lol, will do. Not sure when (Haytham is...difficult...to write. Only guy worse is Hickey and his...interesting...turns of phrase).

Actually, Charles might confront him at some point, possibly at his coronation...and then the guilt might bring Haytham to actually call upon them...

Ooooh I can't wait to see that confrontation, and maybe see how the new Templar inner circle members interacts with one another (assuming Haytham has replaced Hickey, Pitcairn, and Church)

Yeah, I know what you mean about Hickey. Haytham would be difficult to considering his mix feelings for his son - whom I'm guessing he learned had learned about either from Charles or just put 2 and 2 together. It is pretty obvious in this verse since Connor uses the Kenway name and has eagle vision.

Oh, Matthew Davies is basically Church. :) No one really likes him much, but his medical knowledge makes him invaluable, even if he is a, in Clipper's words, "greedy" and "ambitious."

Not quite fluff, but at least it’s not angst! Yay! And hopefully semi-amusing. And there will be Pomeranians next chapter. :)

Master of the House

Chapter 9 – Dinner Conversation

By the time it was time for dinner, Charles had managed to compose himself again. The ink stains were cleaned, though the servants were still working on recovering the painting (Charles made a mental note to give Mary and her best helpers a bonus come Christmas), and he had much benefited from a splash of cold water against his face and a cup of calming hot tea in his hand.

Upon thinking the matter over, he could even laugh at himself a bit. What an absurdity his passions had led to! What insanity he had wrought!

And it was all due to his Omega, of all things.

Charles sighed and made ready to join the dining room table. Hopefully, one of Mary’s girls will have found James’s Omega and requested his presence at dinner.

Before exiting his office, though, Charles stopped and quickly glanced at the empty wall where Master Kenway’s portrait had been. He raised a hand and caressed the open space.

His temper was too quick. Oh, he had always known that his passions ran high, but he had thought he had them under control.

He snorted. How disgraceful. How inelegant. How ungentleman-like.

He had always resented the name Connor’s village gave him when he sent them word of his nuptials with the boy, but, ruefully, he began wondering if perhaps they hadn’t been on to something.

‘Boiling Water’ wasn’t particularly original, but it seemed those savage Natives had seen what he had not. And now he may have ruined one of the few things he had to remind him of Master Kenway.

Particularly if the man never acknowledged or called on him again.

His heart squeezed painfully at that, but he forced the feeling down and away.

He would not let it be. He would fix this...problem...with Connor and prove himself to Master Kenway again.

He relaxed minutely.

Master Kenway was a reasonable man, dignified in his bearings, cautious in his passions. He would forgive him.

He must forgive him.

Charles pushed open the door to the dining room and waited for his ‘guest’ to arrive.

-----

When one of the maids (not Mary, Clipper noted), arrived to fetch him for dinner, Clipper had already begun to plan his time with Connor.

Sadly, he was no doctor and knew very little about ailments of the body or of the mind. But if he could gain access to Connor’s doctor (though he shuddered at the thought of being anywhere near the greedy, ambitious Davies), then they might potentially puzzle out how to bring Connor back.

And in the meantime, when he was not allowed near Connor, he could study medical books on his own! Surely the Templar Order’s private collection of books must be enviable. All he would need to do would be to convince Lee to lend them to him. Or perhaps he could write to James...

But his first action must be to move Connor to a less...oppressive...room. His quarters felt like decay and death, and Lee really thought Connor could recover in here? Where Connor was, no doubt, forced upon nightly?

Clipper shuddered at the image and once more forced down the anger he felt for Lee. Lee would undoubtedly resist any attempt to move Connor, and his anger would not help him win the odious man over.

And, perhaps, Clipper remembered the way Connor’s eyes fixed on that window, perhaps it would do him good to breathe some fresh air. The window, he had already checked, were bolted tight, but if he could convince Lee to let them spend some time outside, against one of the trees that Connor used to love climbing or perhaps rest his head against a comforting pile of leaves...

The maid pushed open the grand doors before him, and Clipper spied Lee sitting at the head of the table. The man’s face was carefully blank, the insanity Clipper had seen in his eyes before when he had been accused of wanting his mentor gone.

Well good.

Swiftly, Clipper seated himself in the chair the maid pulled out for him. Immediately, man-servants entered bearing food, breads and meat and fresh vegetables and sauces.

Clipper made sure his face was as polite and his manner as non-threatening and relaxed as possible.

It was time for him to do battle.

-----

“I would like to request access to Connor’s doctor.”

Charles paused, a bite of mutton (imported from England, he wasn’t going to touch that lobster business) halfway to his mouth.

“Oh?” Feigned disinterest.

“Yes. I believe that, if we pool our knowledge, we can better help Connor.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable request, and Charles saw no reason not to grant it.

“I shall pen a missive to Matthew requesting his presence tomorrow, if possible.”

The Omega nodded. Then, “does your library contain any medical journals?”

Charles raised an eyebrow, slightly discomfited. He chewed for a moment, thinking and suspicious. Finally he swallowed.

“James seems to have confided a great deal in you,” he prodded, carefully.

The Omega only smiled at this.

“Oh no,” he replied. “James cares for me, and he is wise enough to know that were I to know too much, you or the Grandmaster would have me dealt with.”

Smart man. Accurate, very accurate.

The Omega continued. “Since the Assassins have tales of an exquisite library full of knowledge, it made sense that the Templars would have a similar library. And you yourself seem to be of a background to be able to collect books.”

Again, all true. Charles was fortunate that his father and his father’s father had known the value of books, and Charles himself had expanded the collection immensely...some of them from Connor’s old manor.

He nodded again, not seeing any harm in the request.

“I have no medical ones within my collection, but I will add a request for Matthew to lend you his.”

He returned his attention to the mutton stew. It was quite lovely today, all tender morsels of meat and rich broth. He shall have to ask that it be served more often in this style.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the Omega fidgeting nervously.

He narrowed his eyes and set his spoon aside. He had the feeling he would need his full attention soon.

“You clearly have something you wish to say. Say it,” he ordered.

The man fidgeted for one more minute.

“I want to move Connor to my room.”

Charles saw red.

Trembling in fury, he abruptly stood and shouted, “So you admit you have intentions towards him!”

The man had the gall to shake his head in disagreement!

Briefly, Charles pondered the benefits of stabbing him with the cutlery.

“No, I do not! I only want him to get better and for your child to survive safely.”

Oh, but that was a low blow.

“Explain yourself.”

Clipper nodded.

“He’s stayed in that room for as long as he’s been with you, no?” While that was true, Charles didn’t see what it had to do with anything.

As if reading his mind, the next thing that came out of the Omega’s mouth was, “that means most of the times he’s been upset or—or intimate with you has been in that room.”

Ah, Charles was beginning to see where the Omega was going with this. Still, he would not abide his Omega staying with the man. Not when Clipper’s affection for his mentor was clear for all to see.

He thought for a moment, but could see no way around it.

Damn them both. He needed his Omega to get better and birth him that child too much, and it was forcing his hand.

He didn’t like it one bit.

“Connor will stay in a different room if you believe the change in atmosphere will help. But not yours.” Because he couldn’t give him that. His Omega was his.

James’s Omega looked as if he wanted to argue, but one look at the resolute expression on Charles’s face made him reconsider. Reluctantly, he closed his mouth.

Charles once again turned his attention to his stew, but found that the flavors were not as enticing as they had been. Somehow, it seemed bland on his tongue.

Pity, he had been so looking forward to mutton too.

“I hear,” he heard the Omega begin again.

Blasted! Would the man never leave him to eat in peace? Charles sorely regretted inviting the Omega to table with him. Even Connor knew better than to interrupt his meal!

“I hear you normally spend time with your dogs outside after dinner.”

What an inane statement.

“Yes,” he confirmed, wondering where the Omega was going with this.

“James always spoke admiringly about your dog Spado. He’s very loyal and affectionate and a great companion.”

Well.

Charles felt his cheeks redden. It was true that Spado was his favorite. A better dog had never lived.

“Do you think,” the Omega’s voice was soft, wondering, almost...innocent. “Do you think that being around Spado would help Connor?”

Charles immediately opened his mouth, ready to refute the ridiculous idea but...

He stopped. And he thought about it.

Connor had seemed fond of Spado those few times they had met, one of the few things Charles gave him credit for (it was certainly in better taste than many of the boy’s former companions). He supposed that it couldn’t hurt to see if Spado could help with the situation.

Certainly, his fine Spado was capable of many amazing things. What was one more on the list?

Slowly, he nodded his assent.

The Omega broke into a smile.

“Excellent,” he cried. Then he turned to Mary. “We shall have to make sure that Mr. Kenway,” (Charles twitched at the name), “is appropriately attired for the weather.”

Mary bowed. “I shall have him clothed in a warm cloak.”

The Omega smiled fondly. Then he turned back to him.

“I must find my own cloak. Please excuse me.” He stood, bowed slightly and left.

Charles was left sitting at the table, mostly uneaten mutton stew quickly cooling in front of him, and with the strangest feeling that he’d just been played.

OMG Clipper... you wonderful, wonderful human being. I loved how he was able to manipulate Charles like that (and loving Charles' jealous outbursts) he's going to have to pass these skills onto Connor.

BTW I am loving at how quickly you crank these chapters out, because I cannot get enough of them! //begins mashing the refresh button//

Thanks! :)

Though I may have to warn you that I am expecting a rejection letter... ): So may soon be too depressed to update.

...partly the reason I'm splurging now, I'm afraid.

...but since no one calls or sends work emails out over the weekend, that means a few more chapters before I'm in depressed zone. :)

But yes, I heart Clipper. And more to come on where Clipper learned these skills later on. :D

//HUGS ANON// I know your pain, believe me.

And yes, more Clipper - I love how you write him, he's just adorable. Can't wait to read the cute Pomeranian scene... and any potential flashbacks.

Well good news, I rushed and finished the next chapter.

Forgot to add that I love you mentioned Charles' native given name Ounewaterika "Boiling Water" in this, fits him perfectly.

Thank you hun! //sniffles//

But yes, even in the game, Charles always seemed a bit...unbalanced to me. One moment, he's a polite eager puppy trailing after Haytham (or at least a long-suffering colleague who looks down on the manners of Hickey). The next, he's holding a child to a tree by the throat for basically no provocation. It was...baffling, to say the least, but made sense given the historical man's alleged temper.

...which means Connor is the Mohawk princess Charles wedded. o.O

Re: Master of the House - part 10

(Anonymous) - 2013-02-17 01:34 (UTC) - Expand

Re: Master of the House - part 10

(Anonymous) - 2013-02-17 04:09 (UTC) - Expand

Um…so I lied. Clipper’s flashback took complete control and ran roughshod over this chapter so… Pomeranians will be next chapter.

Master of the House

Chapter 10 – An Understanding

Clipper knew that it wasn’t a nice or proper thing to feel, but he would not lie to himself. He felt just the tiniest bit of smugness at managing to have Lee agree to all his requests. Oh, the first two was a given. They were harmless and could only advance Lee’s goal, but the third?

Clipper had truly not believed that Lee would allow Connor to be moved at his request. Granted, he had not succeeded in convincing Lee that his quarters were best. And Lee seemed oddly and intensely possessive over Clipper’s mentor. But Clipper counted it as a small success that Connor would be moved out of that awful room at all.

Hopefully, once he was somewhere a little bit different, somewhere that did not remind him of the trespasses that had undoubtedly happened against his person, Connor would improve.

Perhaps.

Clipper gnawed his lip worriedly as he hunted through his pack for his light cloak.

He wasn’t a doctor. He knew very little about the ailment that was inflicting his beloved mentor.

All he had to go on was his own experience with James.

He hadn’t always worked well with his husband. When he’d first arrived, he had closed off, certain that his life was over, certain that this Templar would inflict many horrible acts upon him in the name of marriage.

And he was prepared to fight, to do whatever was possible against the man that jailed him and kept him from his friends and his comrades.

He had not expected kindness. To be given space.

James was firm with him. At no time was he allowed his weapons or news about Connor, Deborah or Stephane. He could not contact any of Connor’s old friends in the Continental Army, and his letters to Connor’s crew had been confiscated. He was not confined to James’s apartment, but neither was he allowed to wander about alone. There had been a small bevy of Templars guarding him, trailing him at all times.

Still, it had been much better than he was expecting. And they had lived with an uneasy truce for a few months.

It wasn’t until James had heard him cry out three months in and rushed to his room that they began to thaw to each other.

Clipper had disliked the room he had been locked in since he had arrived. It was small and, locked as it was on the outside, it made him nervous. The window was small and did not open. It had steel bars on the outside to prevent would-be thieves from entering, but, to Clipper, they seemed to be holding him in.

It was altogether too much like his cell, when he had been locked away from Stephane and Deborah. The walls closed in on him, and the door would not open, and he couldn’t get to Stephane as Stephane was dragged away by jeering Templars who made jokes about ‘seeing how much pain a Frenchman can endure’ and one of them slapped Deborah to the ground when she tried to rush out of her cell and grab a hold of Stephane because they couldn’t lose anymore, they just couldn’t.

Stephane’s cries had echoed through the cells all night, and when they dropped him back in his cell, Clipper couldn’t even reach him to give help or comfort...

Lost in his memories, he had cried out, unable to get enough sleep, unable to relax. And then James burst in the room to investigate the cries.

Clipper hadn’t thought a man who associated with a monster like Charles Lee would be capable of kindness. He hadn’t ever thought that a Templar would ever care for his comfort.

He learned differently that night.

Perhaps it was because of James’s lawyer profession. His husband consulted with many individuals who had been hurt in some shape or fashion, some of them Omegas seeking shelter from their Alphas husbands who beat them sorely, past the allowed form and limit. But he understood.

And he had immediately moved Clipper to a different room, to his own room.

It was a slightly larger room that had lattice metalwork to deter thieves outside the window instead of bars. And no lock outside the door. The window opened and allowed the cool night breeze in. And, perhaps most importantly, James trusted him not to slit his throat in the night.

James had led him to the room, sat him on the bed and spoke to him frankly. He had made it clear that it would be detrimental to both their sakes if Clipper were to try to run or harm him while he slept. He had warned of the Templar guards patrolling the area and the Grandmaster’s desire to remove all his son’s old bonds.

As Clipper was still absorbing the information (and rather shocked that he had actually been let out of that unbearable room), James had made his way over to the closet. He dug out an extra set of covers and a pillow and laid them on one half of the bed. He then climbed onto the other half and, turning his back to Clipper, promptly fell asleep.

It took many more months of slowly opening up, talking and learning about each other before Clipper could truly count them husband and wife. But he would always point to that instance where James had trusted him (a guarded trust at first to be sure) as the true beginning of their relationship.

Clipper’s eyes fell upon light brown leather. Ah, his light cloak. Perfect.

He shrugged it on and made ready to meet the servants who would be carrying Connor and Lee, undoubtedly already waiting with his dogs.

Lee was not James, and Connor had clearly suffered much more than he had suffered. But he had his own memories and experiences to draw on. His own determination, his loyalty and his new understanding of their Templar foes.

And he would bring Connor back. Somehow, sometime, he would make it so that the last of the Brotherhood did not wither away.

crap, formatting crisis. Forgot to close one of the italic markers. >.<

Okay, here's the formatting fixed. Derp.

Master of the House

Chapter 10 – An Understanding

Clipper knew that it wasn’t a nice or proper thing to feel, but he would not lie to himself. He felt just the tiniest bit of smugness at managing to have Lee agree to all his requests. Oh, the first two was a given. They were harmless and could only advance Lee’s goal, but the third?

Clipper had truly not believed that Lee would allow Connor to be moved at his request. Granted, he had not succeeded in convincing Lee that his quarters were best. And Lee seemed oddly and intensely possessive over Clipper’s mentor. But Clipper counted it as a small success that Connor would be moved out of that awful room at all.

Hopefully, once he was somewhere a little bit different, somewhere that did not remind him of the trespasses that had undoubtedly happened against his person, Connor would improve.

Perhaps.

Clipper gnawed his lip worriedly as he hunted through his pack for his light cloak.

He wasn’t a doctor. He knew very little about the ailment that was inflicting his beloved mentor.

All he had to go on was his own experience with James.

He hadn’t always worked well with his husband. When he’d first arrived, he had closed off, certain that his life was over, certain that this Templar would inflict many horrible acts upon him in the name of marriage.

And he was prepared to fight, to do whatever was possible against the man that jailed him and kept him from his friends and his comrades.

He had not expected kindness. To be given space.

James was firm with him. At no time was he allowed his weapons or news about Connor, Deborah or Stephane. He could not contact any of Connor’s old friends in the Continental Army, and his letters to Connor’s crew had been confiscated. He was not confined to James’s apartment, but neither was he allowed to wander about alone. There had been a small bevy of Templars guarding him, trailing him at all times.

Still, it had been much better than he was expecting. And they had lived with an uneasy truce for a few months.

It wasn’t until James had heard him cry out three months in and rushed to his room that they began to thaw to each other.

Clipper had disliked the room he had been locked in since he had arrived. It was small and, locked as it was on the outside, it made him nervous. The window was small and did not open. It had steel bars on the outside to prevent would-be thieves from entering, but, to Clipper, they seemed to be holding him in.

It was altogether too much like his cell, when he had been locked away from Stephane and Deborah. The walls closed in on him, and the door would not open, and he couldn’t get to Stephane as Stephane was dragged away by jeering Templars who made jokes about ‘seeing how much pain a Frenchman can endure’ and one of them slapped Deborah to the ground when she tried to rush out of her cell and grab a hold of Stephane because they couldn’t lose anymore, they just couldn’t.

Stephane’s cries had echoed through the cells all night, and when they dropped him back in his cell, Clipper couldn’t even reach him to give help or comfort...

Lost in his memories, he had cried out, unable to get enough sleep, unable to relax. And then James burst in the room to investigate the cries.

Clipper hadn’t thought a man who associated with a monster like Charles Lee would be capable of kindness. He hadn’t ever thought that a Templar would ever care for his comfort.

He learned differently that night.

Perhaps it was because of James’s lawyer profession. His husband consulted with many individuals who had been hurt in some shape or fashion, some of them Omegas seeking shelter from their Alphas husbands who beat them sorely, past the allowed form and limit. But he understood.

And he had immediately moved Clipper to a different room, to his own room.

It was a slightly larger room that had lattice metalwork to deter thieves outside the window instead of bars. And no lock outside the door. The window opened and allowed the cool night breeze in. And, perhaps most importantly, James trusted him not to slit his throat in the night.

James had led him to the room, sat him on the bed and spoke to him frankly. He had made it clear that it would be detrimental to both their sakes if Clipper were to try to run or harm him while he slept. He had warned of the Templar guards patrolling the area and the Grandmaster’s desire to remove all his son’s old bonds.

As Clipper was still absorbing the information (and rather shocked that he had actually been let out of that unbearable room), James had made his way over to the closet. He dug out an extra set of covers and a pillow and laid them on one half of the bed. He then climbed onto the other half and, turning his back to Clipper, promptly fell asleep.

It took many more months of slowly opening up, talking and learning about each other before Clipper could truly count them husband and wife. But he would always point to that instance where James had trusted him (a guarded trust at first to be sure) as the true beginning of their relationship.

Clipper’s eyes fell upon light brown leather. Ah, his light cloak. Perfect.

He shrugged it on and made ready to meet the servants who would be carrying Connor and Lee, undoubtedly already waiting with his dogs.

Lee was not James, and Connor had clearly suffered much more than he had suffered. But he had his own memories and experiences to draw on. His own determination, his loyalty and his new understanding of their Templar foes.

And he would bring Connor back. Somehow, sometime, he would make it so that the last of the Brotherhood did not wither away.

Love this chapter since it filled in a lot of blanks and again, I'm so glad Clipper got a nice Templar Alpha in this. The flashback with Stephane being tortured and Dobby getting slapped down trying to save him - really hurt my heart. I love Stephane and I'm hoping he and Dobby are doing okay somewhere. I'm guessing he was tortured the most because he probably mouthed off a lot.

Back to Clipper, I love how James helped him adjust and deal with his nightmares, then straight out told him that the Grandmaster really wanted to be rid of all of Connor's bonds with the Assassins by killing the last three recruits off; while Charles is keeping them alive to tame Connor ... do I sense conflict there?

Absolutely. :) Haytham wants his son to be "saved from [his] ignorance" and sees the best way of doing so by removing all the 'bad' influences he's surrounded himself with. He figured that with Charles at the reins and tempering Connor, that he would accept the truth of the world, quietly settle down and be a 'good' wife (though if Charles weren't to be the next Grandmaster, he would have had Connor given to someone who hated him less). Bleh at the definition of 'good' wife, but society definitely had some rather annoying ideas at the time.

Charles started with a much more negative view of Connor (it was pretty clear Connor had it in for him) and, as such, has much less cause to look down on Connor's Assassin recruits. Thus, he views them as valuable assets to dangle in front of Connor. He may lie about their well-being and have kept Clipper's being gifted to James secret from Connor, but they're no use to him dead, and he never had quite the dislike of them that Haytham, being Connor's father, would have.

Stephane was tortured because, yeah. He mouths off a lot. :D I still remember that annoying mission where I first met him and he kept getting the attention of the guards while I was trying to get the kill-streak. Gah. Stephane does not know when the better part of valor is to shut up.

But also, Stephane was likely Connor's second-in-command. He was the first recruit and had very close ties with Connor. The Templars figured that he would know more Assassin secrets than the others.

Almost done with next chapter. :) Just wrapping it up at this point.

Pomeranians! :3 And Spado based on the character art (hence a tan/brown Pomeranian rather than historical Spado, a black one).

And this chapter has actual fluff! I was beginning to worry that I wasn’t capable of it!

Master of the House

Chapter 11 - A Seed of Hope

However much James had regaled him with tales of the...unique...bond between master and dog, Clipper was still stunned to see Charles Lee drop down to his knees and start scratching the small brown head of the canine.

The sight transfixed him. The big, bad Templar, second-in-command to the Grandmaster himself, defeated by a small fluffy dog. The man didn’t even seem to notice the stains on the knees of his trousers from the grass he knelt in or the slobber from the dog’s tongue as Spado took to licking him.

Soon, the other dogs joined in, and Lee was buried in a pile of Pomeranians of all colors and sizes, all eagerly yipping and playing with him affectionately.

It was a bizarre and, were it anyone but Lee, a heart-warming sight. However, Clipper had not forgotten what that same man had driven Connor to or what he had ordered done to Stephane, and he resolutely turned away, seeking out his mentor.

Ah. There. A couple of the man-servants came out carrying him.

Out here in the open, Connor looked even worse than he had before. The illuminating sun brought attention to the lackluster quality of his skin, the gauntness of his cheeks, and the shadows under his eyes.

“I hadn’t realized he had become so fragile,” came a voice from behind Clipper.

Clipper stiffened.

Lee.

So he had noticed Connor’s arrival even through the throng of dogs demanding his attention. For some reason, that thought made him think just a little bit better of Lee.

The man strode toward the two man-servants bearing Connor, his dogs following him.

“He loved climbing trees and rolling through grass, didn’t he?”

It took Clipper a moment to realize that Lee was speaking to him. He nodded, then realizing the man was still staring at Connor’s limp body, answered in the affirmative.

“Yes.”

Lee nodded, a pensive, serious expression on his face. He turned to the man-servants.

“Set him there, against the bark” he pointed to a single large oak a short distance away. “On the grass is fine, I’ll have his clothes washed later.”

He turned to Spado and, giving him one fond rub, sent the dog over to Connor as the servants set him down on the grass.

As Spado eagerly licked Connor’s limp fingers, Clipper found himself staring at the dog’s master in surprise.

Spado and the other Pomeranians he could somewhat understand given that Lee was famous amongst Templar circles for his too intense love of the canines. On more than one occasion, Clipper had overheard several lower-ranked Templar grunts complaining to James that Lee treated his dogs better than he treated them (although since they also claimed that Lee had relations with said canines, Clipper never put too much weight on the drunken ramblings).

But this. This was another thread in the weave, another portion that made Lee who he was. The thread may be a single random thread, lost in the myriad of such that comprised Lee, but, given Lee’s reaction to his dogs and the way his servants seemed to adore him, it was probably the start of a pattern that Clipper was just beginning to see.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to see that pattern. He didn’t want to be seeing this in the man who had torn his life apart. Who had torn his friends apart and left his mentor a shadow of the great man he used to be.

He would never forgive Lee, no matter what. He wasn’t sure Stephane or Deborah or, if he were awake, Connor would as well. Too much was between them. Between their respective organizations. Between them personally. Too much had been done. And not enough.

But perhaps.

Lee made no move to join either Connor or his happily playing dogs. Instead, he chose to watch them from a distance, an unreadable look on his face.

Perhaps there was some hope.

-----

Charles watched as James’s Omega hesitated before making his way over to Connor and Spado. The man seated himself gingerly beside his former master, careful around the dogs and the man he professed to admire.

A few of the dogs came back over to him though Spado (loyal Spado who somehow sensed that his master’s wife needed him) stayed where he was. He knelt down to scratch the furry heads, feeling a warmth rush through him at the softly licking tongues and the bright happy eyes.

He reached into his pocket and, pulling out several small balls, sent them flying over the field with a flick of his wrist. Immediately, his wonderful Pomeranians took off after them, fur flying as they hurtled towards the balls.

The sun shone down on them so beautifully, making their coats glimmer and shine. They ran back to him, wagging their fluffy tails, soft balls in their mouths. A couple dropped their balls and began to tussle, yipping joyfully as they rolled in the grass.

Watching them play, innocently, blissfully, Charles felt happy for the first time that day.

Spado and his dogs. They were one of the few beings that would never betray him or disappoint him or be disappointed in him.

As he set the balls loose again, laughing at the antics of his beloved pack, he finally let himself relax.

It was good to be with his family.

-----

On the grass next to his beloved mentor, Clipper leaned against the trunk of the tree and began to speak.

“Spado really likes you, sir.” He stroked the soft fur of the dog. “He has good taste, that dog, despite his master.”

He sighed.

“I don’t know what has become of Stephane or Deborah. I hope they are well. They were being treated for injuries last time I saw them.”

He didn’t mention that the injuries were not the same ones they had sustained at the church.

He shook his head. Now was not the time for such thoughts.

“I know you will be surprised to hear that I am treated well. You never did think much of the Templar Order. But it seems the new inner circle is not as evil as the last one was.”

Except for the Grandmaster and Lee, of course.

“One of them is now my husband. I hope you won’t be angry with me, sir.”

And it hurt his heart to think of that possibility, that his mentor would disapprove of his life.

“He is not bad, my James. He did not force me when I was first given to him. He was kind.”

Clipper smiled fondly in remembrance.

“Sir, you wouldn’t believe what he has done for me. You wouldn’t think him a Templar if you knew. I cannot think him a Templar.”

Clipper hesitated, but the words slipped out of him like water from a broken dam.

“When I was first given to him, I was afraid. But he gave me a separate room and did not force the issue as some Alphas might have. And then...”

So engrossed was Clipper in the telling of his story that he missed the slight twitch of one of Connor’s hands.

Captcha: Thomas' name is?

Even Captcha wants me to bring Hickey back. O.o

Sooo fluffy! The Pomeranians... Clipper and Connor... and Charles... //dies of cuteness//

Really, this was adorable. I love Clipper's reaction to Charles playing with his dogs and going... who the hell is this guy?! OMG Connor's hands were twitching at the end! I really wonder what's going on in his head right now.

BTW Don't know about you, but I'm actually pulling my Connor out of the cinematic trailers RISE and GIVE US LIBERTY OR GIVE US DEATH trailers. Cinematic!Connor is just Omega material... and in-game!Connor is just too Alpha in appearance.

:D Glad you liked the Pomeranians! I was always amused by the accounts of Spado (such a lovable dog).

Haven't seen the trailers so actually drawing my Connor from the prison scene, where we see Connor in prison rags for the first time. He looks a lot younger (and more vulnerable) in that scene than the others, imo.

Interestingly enough, it's clear from that scene that it's only the Assassin clothes that he's wearing one size too small. His Aquila and prison rags and underclothes and the clothes he stole off the redcoat fit him fine. :)

...next chapter may have some insight into Connor... :)

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And finally, Connor’s POV again! Lol. It only took 10 chapters. :D
It's a very brief interlude, but hopefully fills in a few things (like how Connor's been surviving the way he is).

Master of the House

Interlude

He remembered pain and hopelessness and despair. He remembered blood and pressure and something wet inside him that he didn’t want-didn’t need-nonononoNO.

He remembered stretching and an unwanted rippling in his belly and something trailing down his thighs and...

He remembered pain, of his breath leaving his body in one giant burst because he was...was—

This was punishment. This was punishment for the, for losing the—

He hadn’t wanted it in the first place, but he never meant to lose it. It was the only thing that didn’t hate him, that didn’t love to make him miserable and didn’t hurt his friends, his people, his family and...

Everything was gray. He was...so tired. Too tired to protect those he loved. Too tired to protect those he could love.

What was the point anyways? Nothing worked. Everything turned to dust.

Faces swam in front of his gaze and talked at him. That doctor. His husband.

They thought his mind gone, that he was dying. And he wasn’t, but he wished he were.

Better to simply be discarded.

At least if he were discarded, he would finally be free of this bed, these walls, this air.

The servants would not have to come by twice a day to spoon broth into him. The doctor would not have to prod him once a week. And he could sleep.

He hoped his dreams would be peaceful. He hoped he would dream of the forests that he grew up in, the lush grass against the soles of his feet, the brush of bark in his hand as he flew through the trees like the birds he had once adored.

He’d wanted to be an eagle once when he had been young, when his mother was still alive.

And so he waited to sleep, to rest.

But then a new face came. And this one was young, gentle, kind.

Familiar.

So familiar.

He knew him. He knew that man!

A sharpshooter, an eager voice wanting to set young boys free from forced enlistment.

A man who bravely fought beside him.

His recruit. An Omega like him.

Clipper...

He was talking to him, whispering softly, begging him to wake up.

And, for the first time in months, Connor wanted to.

I am awake, he wanted to reply, to shout.

He wanted to throw his arms about the man and hug him, to know that he was real and that he hadn’t lost everything and that there was still something left to fight for.

But he was tired. Too tired.

His arms would not lift, his body would not move and his throat would not work. His body rebelled against his wishes, and all he could was lay there, in the bed where he had been raped, in the room he was a prisoner of, in the house of his jailer and tormentor.

He was so afraid that Clipper would go away, that he’d lose him again, like he’d lost everyone else...

But then the servants came. And...

...and they took him out!

Out of that bed. Out of that maddening room.

And they brought him outside!

For the first time in a year, Connor smelled the scent of fresh grass.

The warm sun against him, the cool breeze upon his face, bark of an oak behind his back, grass underneath his fingers and a warm tongue licking at him.

It was overwhelming.

He wanted to cry.

But there was Clipper, and he was telling him something.

Something about Stephane and Deborah and...James. Who was this James?

His husband? Clipper had wed?

A Templar then, one of them.

Connor felt a brief flare of anger.

But then, he listened. And he heard. And he absorbed.

There was little else that he could do.

But as he lay there, entranced by the tenor of Clipper’s voice, by the softness of the fur against him, he began to feel something else.

It was...it was...

He didn’t know what it was, but for the first time in over a month, he felt himself beginning to rouse.

Poor Connor, you so don't deserve this fate /PETS/ love how you write his thoughts from depressed and angsty (during and after the miscarriage0 to excited when he sees Clipper again, and there's even a spark of him being all protective of his brother at the mention of him being wed to a Templar... however, I wonder if he's going to remain suspicious since all the Templars Connor has known only manipulate and hurt people.

Finally broke my updates streak :( half-way finished with the next Honeymoon chapter but the Washington side-series (yes series, though significantly shorter) sunk its fangs in me... so I wrote that. Will type it up and have the first part (out hopefully 3) up soon.