Downtime || Alyssa & Ashley
"I donāt," Ashley lied, in response to Alyssaās question, shaking her head vehemently at the same time. "I donāt want to know⦠donāt need to know because I trust him. Iāve known him all my life, and he wouldnāt.. he just couldnāt be the sort of person who would do anything like that." The eye contact with Alyssa was starting to prove too much for Ashley to stomach and she was forced to look away for a brief moment. The girl sounded like she was trying too hard, as if she were trying to convince herself. She knew that there were reasons to be suspicious of course, and if it were anyone other than Bradley she would have been asking the mentor why they werenāt looking into them. But this was her brother, and she knew him.
After all theyād been through together, the girl believed that her brother knew how much the freedom of choice meant, especially to her. If she werenāt given that, Ashley knew the chances were she wouldnāt even be standing here today; sheād probably have taken the easy way out a long time ago. Bearing that in mind, it seemed inconceivable to the girl that Bradley would join an organization hell bent on controlling everyone and everything around them, even if their ultimate goal was noble, at least a long time ago. Power corrupts, and Ashley had no doubt in her mind that the people pulling the strings of the Templars had nothing but their own selfish desires in mind.
The girl took in a deep breath before letting out a long, tired sigh. This was a path she seemed to be treading a lot lately and Ashley had started to grow a little sick of it. Each time she had this discussion, the more she began to question her own convictions regarding Bradley, and Ashley absolutely hated herself for even doubting her sibling. āLook, Alyssa..ā the blonde began quietly, raising a hand to rub the bridge of her nose at the same time. āI know why you and Robert are concerned alright? Believe me, as much as I donāt want to, I can see why you guys would think that way. But youāve just got to trust me on this one, alright?ā Ashley crossed her arms in front of herself as soon as she was done, indicating that she had nothing more to say on the matter.
Even though it was quite hard to tell, Alyssa got the feeling that maybe Ashley wasn't being completely truthful - but that it wasn't because she intentionally wanted to lie, but that she just wanted to believe her own words so badly. Alyssa would never hold her commitment to her family against her, not even if it later turned out that Bradley was in fact a Templar, but she was worried nonetheless because she had no idea what exactly it would mean for Ashley.Ā
"Alright, alright, you trust him." She said, repeating Ashley's words and allowing the blonde to look away, knowing it wasn't an easy conversation for her. Having to defend her brother to not only Robert but Alyssa now too had to be exhausting. She nodded twice, sighing under her breath and then wiping her palms down her face. It was a tough conversation indeed, even for Alyssa. "We don't have to talk about it anymore. I know you want me to trust you on this matter, Ashley, andĀ believe me - I wish I could. I want to believe you, but you know me, until I'm completely certain, I won't and can't wrap my head around just one answer." She turned her head and looked at Ashley with an apologetic look on her face, clearly sorry for not being able to say what she wanted to hear. Lying to her had never been an option, she would never do that. Omitting certain things however, well that was necessary once in awhile. This was definitely not the time to mention the Templar archer. In fact, this wasn't the time to talk about the Templars at all, not anymore.Ā
The sudden sound of the door bell pulled Alyssa out of her little bubble, making her stand immediately. "Must be the pizzas." She mumbled and gave Ashley's knee a reassuring squeeze as she walked around the coffee table, stepping over Shadow carefully, and towards the door. She glanced into the desk of drawers next to the door to make sure the gun she kept there was in place before looking through the spyhole and then finally opening the door. "Two pizzas?" The man said, eyeing Alyssa. "Yup, thank you." She replied shortly and fished out a couple of bills from her pocket, handing them over and taking the pizzas. "Keep the change." She mumbled and closed the door again, bringing back the pizzas to the coffee table. "I'll get us something to drink and some napkins. You're not one of those fancy people who wants plates and cutlery, right?" She laughed lightly and disappeared into the kitchen, returning with two bottles of water. "Sorry, water is sort of all I have. Not counting the really old orange juice."Ā
"So..." She said, sitting down on the couch again. "-fight with Bradley aside, how are you? How have you been?"










