Never Knew I Needed: An Assassins Creed Odyssey Story

Chapter Nineteen: Friends On the Other Side

"Pater," she whispered.

            And before she could rationalize the situation, she threw herself into his arms. She allowed the tears to flow freely as joy bubbled up inside her. In that moment she didn't care about anything, only that her pater was here, and she was holding him again. Hesitantly, he held her back.

            And then realization struck her. She pulled away from him quickly. Nysa took a shaky step back, putting distance between her and her pater. 

            "Y-You're working for the Cult?" she gasped.

            "It's complicated, Nysa," he whispered, reaching out for her. Nysa backed away, out of his reach.

            "Is that where you've been all these years?" her voice now trembled with rage. Guilt crossed her father's features.

            "I needed to. I would not expect you to understand."

            "I understand just fine. I understand that you abandoned us, leaving me to work myself to the bone just to provide for the family!"

             "I am doing important work with the Cult."

            "We mourned you! I mourned you! You let us believe you had died!"

"I'm doing this for you. For our family."

"No, you are not. Only cowards abandon their family like you've done," she spat, stepping right into his face.

"Enough!" he shouted, angrily. He pushed Nysa backwards. Just as she was about to fall on her back, Alexios caught her and propped her up. He watched what he had done with momentary horror before steeling himself.  "You don't need to understand what I'm doing. All you need to know is that if you cross my path again, I will be forced to take action. I've risked too much to save you as many times as I already have."

Nysa lowered her voice, "Then you better kill me now because I swear I will not stop until I've made you pay for what you've done."

            Her father looked at her with sad desperation. He turned to Alexios instead. "If you know what's best for her you'll bring her home." Alexios didn't say anything. Her father regarded her sadly one last time before bending down to retrieve his mask and walking out the front door with the staff.

            "You still have things to answer for!" Nysa shouted, chasing after him. Though her speed was greatly hindered as she struggled against the pain that still shot through her body.

            It wasn't long before her pater had lost her. She couldn't find a trace of him. She fell to the ground, exploding in tears. All the pain she had felt when her pater had died suddenly turned into boiling rage. The stress of the past years unraveled in her as she sobbed freely and loudly into the night.

            A pair of footsteps walked up. She didn't need to look up to know it was Alexios. He sat down near her, while still allowing her to feel as though she had space. She glanced up at him.

            "I don't want to talk," she scowled at him.

            "I know," he said softly, "If you want me to go, all you have to do is say the word. Otherwise, I'll be enjoying the view." Alexios leaned up against the hill and watched the sunrise. He shot her a knowing grin.

            Nysa chuckled in between the tears. She moved over to sit by him and watched the sunrise with him. And they sat there in silence, or mostly silence, as Nysa continued to cry. And then when she figured she had no more tears left, she wiped her face. She rolled over to her side to face him.