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

Kill Me

I had promised Charlotte, Raquel, and Adalicia that I wasn't going to ruin my new dress. It made me shudder to think about the fate of my last dress. Not only the blood, though. The dirt and muddy water from puddles faded my dress until it had an ugly shade even before my bloody debacle.

My new one, however, was new and bright red with golden laces. The color felt ironic. It even came with a pink bonnet--which I had discarded immediately.

I stood in front of a full length mirror and studied my reflection intently. "So?" Adalicia asked hopefully, standing behind me, and clasping her hands under her chin as she examined me.

I glanced at her excited face through the mirror. " 'So', what?" I asked, lifting up my arms to see the flowing sleeves. I swung my arms and the sleeves billowed.

Adalicia glared at me with her hands on her hips. "Charlotte and I went back and forth between this dress and a white one. Though I'm not sure why she would insist on red." She paused for a moment and I could almost see the thought appear in her mind.

I started, "It's almost ironic-"

"That was literally what I was about to say," she said, a faint grin playing at her lips. She rubbed her palm against her forehead. "To be honest with you, I don't think I've ever seen so much blood in my life."

My face went wan and the cold sweat began as the trauma began to resurface. My voice got caught in my throat. Adalicia noticed my silence through her thoughtful daze and glanced at me. "Ah, I apologize, Rache. I can't imagine what kind of horror last night brought to you." I shook my head dismissively and tugged at the lace bodice, focusing on the intricacies of the lacework with my fingers in a bid to ground myself. That wasn't quite as effective and within my growing panic I began counting the number of seams stitched into my sleeves.

"I like it. The dress, it's nice," I said after a few moments. I looked up and Adalicia and I made eye contact.

"Oh good!" She seemed relieved as a soft smile crept onto her face. She puffed out a heavy a sigh. "I had no intentions whatsoever to go back to the seamstress to get another dress."

I matched her smile. "I can't believe you've actually stepped outside."

"Can you believe I actually went outside and touched some grass?" Adalicia said, her smile widening.

There was a scream outside of the door followed by the door suddenly swinging open. Adalicia and I snapped our necks to look at the new presence. It was Raquel with tears streaming down her red face. She stomped into the room and slammed the door shut. The windowpanes rattled from the force. She let out another deafening scream.

"Raquel, what happened!" Adalicia rushed to her distressed sister's aid.

"Rache!" Jacques roared. I jolted at the call for my presence.

Adalicia and glanced at each other over Raquel's shaking form. I raised my eyebrow with a quick pointed look to Raquel. Adalicia gave a slight nod. I stepped out of the room and rushed down the long flights of stairs. Jacques was sitting in the living room on the first floor of the house and reading the newspaper.

"I need you to run down to the docks after dark to pick something up for me." He flipped a page slowly and adjusted his round bifocals on his nose.

After dark? I bit my lip, focusing on the golden seams that swirled within the pattern of rug adorning the floor beneath my feet. Jacques still didn't know what happened the night before, but I knew there was something remiss within his request. My eyes flitted over to him and I waited for him to give me details.

When he heard no response from me, he lowered his papers and peered at me over the frames of his gold rimmed bifocals. I maintained his eye contact with equal intensity. I have been with this family for years. I know Jacques' behaviors like the back of my hand. He was keeping something from me and I knew it. It made no sense why he would do such a thing. While I would cook or clean, he would read his papers and squabble about the politics at play during his meetings or about current events he had read, or even about his inner anger and frustrations about anyone and anything. There was nothing he didn't tell me. I had always been there for him as an ear whether I liked it or not.