Work Text:
Unexpected Secret
It has been several years since Arno lost Élise in the temple. Much has changed in France, in fact it is barely recognizable these days. The revolution has officially ended now that the young lieutenant Arno met in the king's office back in 1792 has taken power. The Assassin's order was incredibly suspicious about this move, considering they had no clue who this military man was or what his intentions were. To them the whole coup was a big surprise. They were expecting power to change hands since the directory appeared very weak on multiple occasions but they never could have guessed that this young general was the one to do it.
Arno however reassured his brotherhood that Napoleon Bonaparte and his accomplices were no templars and that they posed no threat to the continued existence of the ancient order. Of course Arno's superiors weren't exactly satisfied with his explanations but they decided to not take any actions against this new installed power. Perhaps there was even a possibility of an alliance between the order and the new government with the help of Arno, an alliance that could prove quite fruitful but a recent event threatened this opportunity.
On the 24th of December during the year 1800, a group of royalists attempted to assassinate the first consul with a cunning plan. They placed a cart full with explosives on the edge of the road that Napoleon was supposed to travel by. Their plan however didn't go exactly according to plan. Arno got wind of the plot and ironically enough tried to stop these would-be assassins. It was indeed strange, even to him, to prevent an assassination. He didn't do it because he was ordered to but somehow he felt the urge to protect this young first consul. Both men cooperated multiple times, Arno helping Napoleon out with his personal problems and in return Napoleon provided information to the order, knowledge of templars hiding throughout Paris and the rest of France. Even though Napoleon wasn't consciously aware that he was assisting an ancient organization of assassins battling the templar order.
Arno's attempt to stop the Machine Infernale didn't exactly go according to plan. The cart did explode, regretfully killing multiple innocent bystanders. But by some miracle, Arno's attempts did save the life of Napoleon and his family. The explosion went off far too late, the targeted carriages already passed the cart but it was a very narrow escape. Napoleon seemed genuinely shocked at this attempt on his life and he could have sworn he saw Arno disappear in the shadows after he got out of a half-wrecked carriage. Now this was all too confusing and Napoleon began to wonder if it was Arno who attempted to assassinate him. The police began to investigate the matter but Napoleon curiously didn't mention Arno as a possible suspect.
The whole matter was gnawing at Napoleon's conscience, it just didn't feel right to turn in a man he considered a friend of his. In fact it was troubling him so much that he started to feel slightly ill. He made excuses to his wife nearly every evening because his head was pounding continuously out of stress. Several days passed until he couldn't stand feeling like this anymore. Napoleon decided upon a dangerous excursion to seek out his mysterious friend and demand some answers.
It wasn't easy to leave the recently occupied palace without being seen but Napoleon managed to do just that the day before new year's eve. Most of his staff seemed too occupied with preparing for the upcoming end-of-year celebration. Napoleon searched for the café, that Arno seemed to be using as his hideout, dressed in an inconspicuous civilian coat and top hat. He knew that Arno had some sort of makeshift layer in the café Théâtre but this was the first time that he personally visited the premise.
Napoleon entered the relatively empty café tentatively and searched for a way to get to the upper level unnoticed. His disguise worked for the most part, the civilians inside the establishment didn't seem to recognize him, they were rather too occupied with drinking themselves into a stupor. His commoner outfit however failed to hide him from the assassins inside. Arno was making himself merry with the bartender until he saw the strange visitor enter his café. He nearly choked on his glass of wine when he recognized the young first consul enter the premise uncertainly.
Arno quickly disappeared into the small crowd and snuck up on the very surprising visitor until he was right behind him. His years of training taught him how to perfectly blend in his surroundings and stalk his prey before the right moment would arrive for the kill.
"What a surprise to see you here mon ami. Especially with all that is going around, I heard you were nearly involved in a terrible accident, you have my sympathies."
Napoleon quickly spun around and was now face to face with the man he searched for. His heart started to beat rapidly and he inwardly cursed himself for possibly walking straight towards his death. What an absolute fool I am, he thought to himself. I barely survive an assassination attempt and here I am seeking out my would-be assassin all on my own! Napoleon's eyes betrayed his regret for walking into the café as he scanned Arno's face, unfortunately his blasted headache seemed to return in full force with each breath that he took.
"If you want to talk, I know a place that is more private upstairs. I don't think it's very wise to be recognized in here."
Napoleon nodded. "Yes that sounds like a good idea Arno. I have an important matter to discuss with you." His voice was calm but his facial expressions displayed a deep-seated anxiety. His headache was now worse than ever, it became increasingly difficult to hide his concerns.
"Are you alright? You don't look very well if I may say so."
"I'm fine Arno, thanks for asking." Napoleon replied hurriedly hoping that Arno would just let the matter pass.
"Well then just follow me."
Arno moved towards the staircase hidden around a corner of the café with Napoleon behind in his trail. The visit of the man who was now effectively leading all of France, surprised Arno greatly, he wondered what matter of discussion was important enough for the man to visit him all alone at this hour.
They followed the steps upstairs and entered a room that appeared to be the personal living quarters of the assassin. Napoleon crossed the threshold of the room cautiously as if expecting several assassins to jump out of the shadows and murder him right on the spot. This however didn't happen so he turned around to face Arno as the assassin closed the door behind him.
"So...Here I am Arno." Napoleon removed the top hat that he was wearing and placed it upon a nearby desk.
"What do you mean general?" Arno replied in confusion. He furrowed his brows as he observed the rather peculiar behavior of the man in front of him.
"You know what I am talking about. I know you were there Arno, when that explosion happened several days ago. I saw you lurking in the shadows." The massive headache that was developing now seemed to almost explode his head. He placed one of his hands on his temple and rubbed it. Arno saw that his hand was shaking slightly and grew increasingly worried about the strange behaviour of his friend.
"Tell me Arno, was it you? Was all of that a..a sick plan of yours to kill me and my family?"
Arno's eyes widened in shock at being accused of such a crime. "What on earth are you talking about Napoleon! I wasn't trying to kill you, I was trying to protect you from those who do wanted to harm you."
"How do I know if you speak the truth, you're an assassin for crying out loud!"
Arno turned away from the man in front of him in anger and began pacing around the room with a stride that betrayed his aggression. How absurd that he dared to come here and accuse me of that terrible incident, Arno thought to himself. Yet if he truly believed it was me who set off that explosion, why is he here all alone? Are the marshals just right outside this door ready to arrest him after a confession?
"Why the hell would you have come here if you are so certain that I'm the one who tried to kill you? If I truly did such a foul deed, then why haven't I already put my blade through your throat right here and now." Arno lifted his right arm and with a click extended the hidden blade from the tiny machinery. He turned to face Napoleon once more, advancing on him with the hidden blade extended.
Napoleon backed off as he saw Arno approach him with a razor sharp blade. His throbbing head was now becoming excruciating painful as his vision started to blur before his eyes. Merde, he thought to himself, this was possibly the worst timing in history for his childhood 'sickness' to resurface. His vision turned completely black as he staggered backwards into the table that held his top hat. He knocked several items to the floor before his own body crashed downwards as well, completely losing consciousness.
Arno's reflexes were incredibly quick. In no time he withdrew his blade and rushed over to the general to prevent a quite painful bang to the head. He managed to catch him as they both sunk to the ground. "Hey, wake up, come on!" Arno tried to slap the man back in consciousness again until he realized that this wasn't merely a faint. The body wasn't limp as you would expect from an unconsciousness man but rigid. It also appeared as if he was struggling to breath which made Arno panic. He quickly unbuttoned the civilian coat and removed it from his body in an attempt to make breathing easier for him. This however appeared to have little to zero effect so he also unbuttoned his waistcoat and removed the collar around his neck.
"Napoleon! Hey come on, what is wrong with you!" Arno placed him carefully on the floor as he moved above him, trying to get him back into reality. It was however at that moment that Arno finally realized what was happening. "Merde! he's having a seizure!" Napoleon's body was convulsing underneath him as Arno quickly grabbed him by his shirt as well as his half unbuttoned vest and turned him over on his side. Fortunately he read a book about medical conditions during his assassin's training, which included a small part on seizures, so he knew exactly what to do.
He held him on his side for as long as the seizure lasted, which luckily seemed to subside after a minute. With one hand he held down his shoulder and with the other he immobilized the general's hands to prevent him from hurting himself.
Napoleon stopped moving and Arno reduced the pressure on his shoulder. "Napoleon, can you hear me?" Arno asked full in concern. He noticed that Napoleon was waking up again but he was still unresponsive. "Do you hear me? Just nod if you can."
The man below him nodded but refrained from providing an answer. He kept himself unmoving on the ground, afraid to make any motions as his vision was still quite blurry, he didn't want to trigger another attack.
Arno carefully guided him up in a sitting position and placed himself behind the general to support his back. This gesture was much appreciated as Napoleon almost instantly slouched backwards against the assassin who held him in what almost looked like an intimate embrace.
Napoleon sighed deeply as he also led his head fall backwards. So many years have passed since his last seizure, so many in fact that he thought he outgrew his mysterious childhood disease but it appeared he was wrong. His heavy breathing slowly returned to normal as Arno rubbed his arms affectionately. His concern for him and the little affections he was giving to him felt extremely good, perhaps a bit too good.
"You scared me there quite badly" Arno joked lightly in an attempt to lighten the mood. "What on earth happened? Do you wish for me to call upon your guard or a doctor?"
"No, don't do that!" Napoleon replied hastily. This whole situation was incredibly confusing but he felt strangely comforted by Arno's attentions. He could feel the warm breath of the assassin in his neck, a strangely soothing sensation. "I..I thought I outgrew all of this but apparently I didn't."
"You have epilepsy." This wasn't so much a question but a statement made by Arno. How interesting, the mightiest man of France turned out to suffer from an affliction most would associate with either madness or demonic possession. Napoleon nodded and closed his eyes, his face was covered in sweat, he still felt quite seriously ill.
"Does anyone know? Your wife..."
Napoleon shook his head slowly. "No, nobody knows except for my mother and siblings. I definitely wouldn't like the rest of the world to know, imagine what a field day the British would have at my expense."
"Is there anything I can do?" Arno asked sympathetically.
"You've done enough for me already this week." Napoleon smiled slightly. He at least now knew that Arno wasn't the assassin trying to kill him but realized that this mysterious friend of his might have saved his life twice now in one week.
"I think you need to get some rest, you still look quite unwell. You are welcome to crash here in my quarters for the time being, none shall disturb us.
Napoleon nodded in agreement. "Very well mon ami, thank you for everything, I'm a very fortunate man for knowing you."
Arno chuckled and carefully hoisted the sickly man on his feet keeping one arm around his side at all time for support. "Well thank you for the compliment, I'm flattered."
He guided him towards his own bed and carefully laid him upon it. Arno wanted to turn away from the bed when Napoleon called out to him. "Arno, please come and stay with me here, I would like you to tell me everything about these mysterious assassins you seem to work for."
Arno complied and got onto the bed next to the general, ignoring the sensation of how inappropriate the entire situation really was. "Are you sure you want me to tell you everything? It's quite a box of Pandora to open and I don't want to drag you into a feud as old as time itself."
"I'm the ruler of France Arno, try me." Napoleon replied with certainty as he moved closer to the assassin. He grabbed Arno's right hand to reveal the hidden machinery on his wrist. "As a start, you could tell me why you have such a strange yet powerful weapon on your wrist." He let his fingers trace over the mechanism, exploring the secret weapon of a deadly order. Arno allowed him to explore the blade as he started to talk. The next following hours was spent talking about the ancient feud, the deaths and wars that it created, the frightening yet powerful precursor objects that still litter the world and Arno's own role within the whole conflict.
Napoleon listened carefully as certain pieces of the puzzle he'd been working upon finally fell into place. "Incroyable, so you are actually suggesting that the templars manipulated the entire revolution for their own gains?" Arno nodded, glad that the man who was almost huddled against him processed all of this information quite well.
"Arno, I'd like for you to become one of my personal advisors." Napoleon continued after a brief moment of pause. Arno was positively surprised at this sudden request and laughed softly.
"What's the matter? Why are you laughing? I'm dead serious about this my friend, if what you say is all true, well....we must do something about it."
"Are you saying you want to become an assassin and hunt down templars?" Arno replied highly amused at the idea of Napoleon stalking in the shadows with a hood and hidden blade.
"No you fool, as ironic as it may sound but killing people like you do, I just can't do that, the thought alone makes me sick but there are other ways of proving to be useful. Arno you forget what position I carry in France. If we can rid ourselves of an ancient and oppressive order in France, why can't we do that in all of Europe?"
Arno lifted himself up on his elbows to take a better look at the first consul. "Are you serious?"
"Yes I am, I think France and all of Europe will benefit greatly if we work together Arno."
"We will see about that my friend but I agree that an alliance between us would be beneficial." Arno replied with a small chuckle. Well at least that is one worry less for the brotherhood Arno thought to himself.
"So you agree then Arno?" Napoleon asked hopefully.
"Yes, I accept your offer." Arno replied before lowering his face and planting a small kiss on his cheek. It was a small but remarkable gesture, one that Napoleon gladly accepted. He closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep, which wasn't very difficult since he felt absolutely exhausted after his fit. The presence of the assassin right next to him felt good and his mind was at peace again, the headache now finally gone.