[Current Balance: 11,888,530,000 R]
---November 7, Pennsbury Manor, Morning---
The early morning sun cast long shadows across the manicured lawns of Pennsbury Manor. Two months of intensive training, settling in, and quiet planning had passed.
Alaric stood in William Penn's office, the scent of old books and beeswax familiar now. He'd just finished his accounting with the Quaker.
[Money Withdrawal: 460,000 R](Payment to Penn for six months' upkeep and expenses for the entire Kenway contingent)
Next, he'd turned his attention to restocking the manor's pantries and personal supplies, not for sale this time, but for the comfort and use of everyone residing there.
He'd already instructed Penn to ensure a generous portion of these goods, particularly the teas and salves, were gifted to the Kenway household staff and the former slaves under their protection.
[Premium Cigar (1000x)]
[Sage's Herbal Infusion Tea Bags (1000x)]
[Ichiraku Ramen Instant Noodle Cups (1000x)]
[Uchiha Fire & Spice Hot Sauce (600x)]
[Kunoichi Beauty Mask (600x)]
[Hyuga Clan Secret Ointment (400x)]
[Total Deduction: 18,860 R]
[Current Balance: 11,888,051,140 R]
With those practical matters settled, the time for departure had arrived. The Kenway family, William Penn and his own family, Reuben, Flavia, Thulani, Aveline, Elizabeth, Jonathan, and Sebastian were all gathered in the manor's grand foyer. The mood was somber, yet tinged with a hopeful anticipation.
Alaric, his crimson coat draped over his shoulders, a fresh cigar already lit despite the early hour, addressed them all, his was voice calm but carrying a weight of unspoken emotion.
"Well, everyone," he began, his gaze sweeping over their faces, lingering for a moment on his parents, then on Kassandra who stood slightly apart, watching him with an unreadable expression. "It seems my time here, for now, is up. Caroline… Jenny needs her mother. And I intend to find her, to bring her home, or at least ensure she's safe, wherever that Apple has taken her."
Bernard and Leonard clapped him on the shoulder, their expressions were a mixture of pride and worry.
"Be careful out there, son," Leonard said, his voice gruff with emotion.
"Aye, lad," Bernard added. "Don't go doing anything too reckless without us to back you up, eh?"
"Sure…" Alaric chuckled. "I'll try my best, Unc."
Penn stepped forward, his revitalized face serious. "Godspeed, Alaric. May thee find what thee seeks. Pennsylvania will always be a home for thee and thine."
Reuben and Thulani offered firm handshakes and nods of understanding. Flavia and Aveline gave him warm, sisterly hugs, while Elizabeth Scott offered a tearful thanks for his determination to find her daughter. Jonathan and Sebastian, ever the composed butlers, gave deep, respectful bows.
"I'll be back," Alaric turned to Kassandra. He walked towards her, taking her hands in his… his blue eyes locking with her ancient amber ones. "A month. Two at the absolute most. I promise."
Kassandra nodded, a small, brave smile on her lips, though her eyes glistened. "I know you will, Alaric. Be safe, my love."
They walked out of the manor together, hand in hand, the others watching from the doorway. Once they were a short distance away, under the shade of a large oak tree, out of direct sight from the manor windows, Alaric stopped.
He turned to Kassandra, a playful, almost boyish grin suddenly lighting up his face. "Before I go… fancy experiencing something a little… romantic?"
Kassandra raised a curious eyebrow, her earlier sadness momentarily forgotten, replaced by intrigue. "Romantic? What are you plotting now, Kenway?"
"Nothing nefarious, I swear," Alaric chuckled. "Just… come closer. Step onto my boots."
She looked at him, then down at his sturdy leather boots, then back up at his grinning face. With a shrug and a returning smirk, she did as he asked, carefully placing her feet atop his, her hands instinctively finding his shoulders for balance. She was nearly his height, and the position felt… intimate, slightly precarious.
"Alright," she said, her eyes sparkling. "I'm here. Now what, you madman?"
Alaric's grin widened. He wrapped his arms securely around her waist, pulling her flush against him. "Hold on tight…"
And then, with a subtle flex of chakra, they began to float. Slowly, smoothly, they lifted off the ground, rising effortlessly into the crisp morning air.
Kassandra gasped, her eyes widening in genuine shock as the ground receded beneath them. She clutched his shoulders tighter, a laugh bubbling up, a mixture of disbelief and exhilaration.
"You… you can fly!?" she exclaimed silently, her voice a breathless whisper against his ear. "Maláka! You truly have no limits, do you?"
Alaric just smirked, guiding their ascent until they were a hundred meters above Pennsbury Manor, the entire estate, the Delaware River, and the distant city of Philadelphia spread out below them like a miniature map. The morning sun painted the landscape in hues of gold and amber. It was breathtaking.
He looked down at Kassandra, her face was alight with wonder, her hair whipping around her in the gentle breeze. The sight stole his breath away more effectively than any battle.
"I love you, Kassandra," he said, his voice soft but clear above the whisper of the wind.
Tears welled in her eyes, but this time, they were tears of pure, unadulterated happiness. She reached up, her fingers tangling in his platinum hair, pulling his face down to hers. "And I love you, Alaric Kenway."
And there, suspended between heaven and earth, with the New World sprawling beneath them and a vast, uncertain journey ahead, they kissed, a deep, passionate affirmation of a love that defied time, defied logic.
---Edo, Japan---
The night in Edo was a tapestry of hushed sounds and soft, flickering lights.
Paper lanterns cast a warm, inviting glow along the narrow, packed-earth streets, illuminating the dark wooden facades of shops and houses.
The air, cool and crisp with the late autumn chill, carried the faint scent of woodsmoke from countless hearths, the distant murmur of the Sumida River, and occasionally, the delicate fragrance of incense drifting from a hidden temple.
Inside the imposing stone walls of Edo Castle, within his private chambers, Arai Hakuseki sat in the formal seiza position, a low, lacquered desk before him. A single oil lamp cast a steady light on the scrolls and reports spread across its surface.
It had been an hour since his simple dinner, and he sought solace and focus on his scholarly pursuits. As a statesman, philosopher, and prolific writer, his mind was a constant whirl of activity, grappling with the complexities of governance, history, and the subtle currents of power within the Tokugawa shogunate.
He was a man of considerable influence, having served as a trusted tutor to the late sixth Shogun, Tokugawa Ienobu.
Now, he advised the seventh, Tokugawa Ietsugu, a mere boy of five who had ascended to the shogunate the previous year, in 1713. The weight of responsibility for guiding the young ruler, for maintaining stability in a realm still finding its footing after centuries of turmoil, often lay heavy on Arai's shoulders.
'The Ejima-Ikushima affair…' Arai sighed internally, his gaze drifting from the scroll he was studying. The scandal, which had erupted months ago involving a high-ranking lady of the Shogun's mother's court and a popular kabuki actor, still sent ripples of unease through the corridors of power. It spoke of a moral laxity, a potential for corruption, that worried him deeply. 'Such decadence can erode the foundations of even the strongest shogunate.'
(This is historically true)
His attention returned to the report he held in his hand, a more recent, and in its own way, more perplexing concern. It spoke of a gaijin, a western woman, who had recently appeared in Edo.
The reports were vague, filled with superstitious awe rather than concrete facts, but they all agreed on one thing: she possessed an unnatural ability to… charm people.
Merchants were reportedly giving her goods for free, guards were letting her pass-through restricted areas without question, and even stern-faced samurai seemed to become unusually… agreeable in her presence.
'A charmer? A spy, perhaps? Or something more… unusual?' Arai frowned. Japan's policy of sakoku, strict isolation, was designed to prevent such foreign influences from destabilizing the realm. How had this woman even entered Edo? And what was her purpose? 'Who could she be? And what does she want?'
"Arai-sama," a muffled voice respectfully called from behind the fusuma, the paper sliding door of his chamber, "someone is requesting an audience with you..."
Arai, startled from his thoughts, raised an eyebrow. "Nani? This late at night?" It was highly unusual for anyone to seek him out at this hour without prior arrangement.
Before the guard outside could reply, the fusuma slid open silently, revealing a figure silhouetted against the dim light of the corridor.
A woman stepped into the room. She was undeniably a westerner as her features were sharp and unfamiliar. Her hair was a light reddish-brunette, and her eyes, even in the lamplight, were a startling shade of blue. She wore western-style clothing, a practical but well-made dress that seemed out of place within the austere confines of Edo Castle.
"Konbanwa, Arai-dono..." the woman said, her Japanese surprisingly fluent, though accented.
What was truly odd, Arai noted with a sudden, disquieting lurch in his own usually disciplined mind, was the almost immediate sense of… pleasantness, of compliance, that her presence evoked.
He found himself analyzing her, not with suspicion, but with a strange, unbidden curiosity. She held a dark, spherical object in her hands, something smooth and metallic that seemed to absorb the lamplight. He had never seen anything like it.
"It feels… unfair that you know of my name, and I do not know yours, tabibitoyo," Arai said, his voice sounding calmer than he felt.
The woman offered a sly, almost predatory smile. She walked gracefully towards him, her movements fluid and confident, stopping just a meter from his low desk. Then, with a surprising ease that belied her western attire, she sank down into a perfect seiza position, mirroring his own.
"My name is Caroline Scott Kenway..." she said, her blue eyes locking onto his. "And I believe, Arai-dono, that you are going to help me with something very important..."
"Hm?" Before Arai Hakuseki could even begin to formulate a response, a wave of profound… enchantment washed over him. It wasn't a crude charm, not a simple beguilement. It was deeper, more fundamental, as if her very presence, her proximity to the strange sphere she held, was rewriting his will.
His eyes, usually so sharp and analytical, dulled, his expression becoming vacant, almost robotic. The complex thoughts, the worries about the shogunate, the mystery of the western woman… they all vanished, replaced by a single, overwhelming imperative.
He nodded his head slowly, his movements stiff, unnatural. "Hai..." he heard himself say, his own voice sounding distant, unfamiliar. "Anything you require, Lady Kenway..."
He was now a puppet, his strings held by the woman with the strange blue eyes and the dark, humming sphere.
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