Assassin's Creed Unity: When All Seems Hopeless... |editing|

Epilogue~And So I Had an Unexpected Family Reunion

Epilogue~And So I Had an Unexpected Family Reunion

~Years Later~

The rising sunlight and the delicious scent of fresh baked bread that wafted from the bakery below told me it was morning. I rose from my bed, automatically rubbing the soreness from my back and the sleep from my eyes. Even after a few years, the impact from my last battle with Germain still left me a bit scarred and slightly broken.

I opened my closet, my eyes immediately flitting to my old assassin robes. Ignoring the pang remorse and the rush of memories, I dressed up, slipping on an easy to blend in black dress and a corset. I pulled and twisted my hair up into a bun and pinned it into place, tying a black ribbon around it. Running through my day's schedule, I timed myself accordingly into leaving my small apartment with a small woven basket in my clutches. The streets were quiet without a soul in sight. It didn't bother me though. The quiet helps.

Downstairs at the bakery, I bought a loaf of bread as my breakfast and made my way towards the cemetery, picking at the loaf and eating. On the way, I stopped to pick up four roses from the florist, gingerly placing them in my basket. Little droplets of water decorated the fresh red petals that reflected the early morning's light.

I arrived at the cemetery, the deafening silence greeting me with memories and guilt. I made my way to Elise's grave, passing Jacques' grave. I briefly paused over Jacques.

"I'm truly sorry for what I have done to you," I said, taking in a shaky breath. I picked a rose from my basket and placed it next to the other old and withered roses and flowers that I had placed in earlier years. I sat at his grave for a few minutes, staring at the stone that had his name etched and the year he was born to the year he died. The memories were relentless. "Take care, Monsieur Jacques." I stood up, brushing off specks of dirt from my skirt, and lethargically made my way towards Pierre's grave.

A thorn pricked my finger when I picked up my rose for Pierre. A small drop of blood gathered on the pad of my thump. I wordlessly stroked the dirt, picking at weeds here and there, and gently laid the flower down. I wiped my blood on the flower's petals and crumbled up the withered remains of the flowers from a few months ago. A small tug of wind pulled the crumbled remains away. I stood back up and walked away, only stopping when I reached Elise.

Elise De Laserre

1768-1794

"It has been years, Elise." I was blinded by my tears that had flooded so suddenly. "Some nights, I wake up thinking that my entire life was a dream...a nightmare. And it wouldn't end." I choked, covering my mouth with my hands, my basket swinging from the crook of my elbow as I shook. My voice broke. "I could have stopped you but I was too late. Why would you do something so arrogant and so like you? I think Arno was going to marry you." I wiped my tears away with my thumb and sniffed. "After you died, Arno and I were too miserable to keep in touch, you know?"

My third rose was laid on the grave of her father who rested next to her. "I know you've never quite really visited your father after so many years of trying to avenge him, but I put this on his grave for you. Hopefully you've had a chance to say hello to him from where you are now."

I avoided the thorns as I picked my last rose and placed it on her grave. The once disturbed earth from where the coffin was six feet under was now growing weeds everywhere. I got down on my hands and knees, picking at the weeds. A flower caught my eye. A white one. It was freshly picked without a single speck of dirt to warp the color.

Someone was here before me...

I felt a presence behind me and I didn't quite like what my gut feeling was telling me at all. I slowly unsheathed my hidden blade. "Get any closer to me and I'll have you hanging by your entrails at the nearest butcher house."