Élise de la Serre

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This article is about the Templar. You may be looking for the French smuggler.

Élise de la Serre (1768 – 1794) was a French noblewoman and Templar, as well as the adoptive sister and lover of the Assassin Arno Dorian.

Biography

Early life

Élise was born the daughter of François, the Grand Master of the French Templars, and Julie de la Serre in 1768. Due to their Templar connections, the family possessed a lot of influence, leading Élise to have a very privileged childhood. However, her adventurous nature kept her from being idle, with the young girl preferring the company of servants to attending a ball.

As a small child, Élise was oblivious to her family's Order and never wondered why she learned history, not etiquette, manners, and poise unlike the other noble children. She didn't question her parents why they were different from other families. Her mother told her not to be like the other women at court who only knew about looks and status. This made Élise intrigued and started to spy on other women behind her mother's skirts.

At age five, she entered the convent led by Mother Superior, who hated her happiness and laughter. The old lady caned Élise's palms; the scars which Julie had taken notice of and threatened Mother Superior. Since then, her parents hired tutors to teach her schoolwork. The incident left questions in young Élise's mind and knew that other ladies did not behave the way her mother did.

A year later, the de la Serre family attended their neighbor's birthday party. Élise found other girls her age stupid by playing dolls and tea parties; instead, she joined the boys who were playing toy soldiers. Her behavior shocked the majority of the crowd, and her nursemaid, Ruth, dragged her away and told her to play with dolls, which she pretended to enjoy. As she watched other ladies gossip and her mother alone, Élise realized that she wanted to be like Julie and not the self-centered women of court.

Élise met her combat mentor and an English Templar, Freddie Weatherall, on February 1774. Her mother led her across their château's grounds with their Irish wolfhound named Scratch. Unaware of their company, Julie taught her to study and observe her surroundings to find Weatherall. She failed to do so, and Weatherall eventually showed himself and gave them an exaggerated bow. The young girl admired the man and immediately took a liking to him.

At first, Élise was confused and questioned her mother about her father and Weatherall but Julie convinced her that he was a confidant and protector and that her father would be busy. A growl from Scratch interrupted their conversation and Élise witnessed her mother and Weatherall arm themselves against a wolf. Julie convinced Weatherall to let the wolf go and the pair hid their weapons as if nothing had happened. This made Élise's mind wonder how different her family was to other nobles. Her meeting with Weatherall and her sword lessons became Élise and Julie's vérité cachée, secrets.

By the spring of 1774, the Carrolls, an English family of Templars, visited their household. Élise and her mother entertained Madame Carroll and their daughter, May with a walk across their gardens. May mocked her occasionally on their walk and kept reminding Élise that she was only six when May was ten. Irritated, Élise decided to listen on the ladies' conversation about the Templar Order and caught snippets of it, which added more to her confusion. May asked her if she knew about her "destiny" which she replied to as no. Pretending to be shocked, May told Élise that she would soon know when she turns ten, like her.

When Élise turned eight, she and her mother visited Christian's shoe shop in Paris. After arranging their payment and delivery, they found no sign of their carriage and coachman. Élise saw Julie stiffen and watched the street around them. Julie assured Christian and Élise that their coachman was merely negligent but he warned her about the people and that it was getting dark. Julie led her scared daughter towards the square where carriages could be hired and warned her that someone was following them. Telling her to be calm, they passed another shop window and discovered that their stalker disappeared.

The pair took an alley lit only by lanterns at each end. They found themselves blocked by their stalker and a lamplighter who doused the lanterns' flames. Their attackers were armed by blades but Julie took her advantage and attacked the stalker, which happens to be an Assassin, much to Élise's amazement. However, the lamplighter grabbed Élise and threatened to kill her but was stopped by Julie's footblade. The Assassin fled and the pair arrived home, composed but bloodied. Élise discovered that her mother told different stories, even to her father and his Templar associates, which she called Crows.

Training for Grand Master

Due to the incident, Élise's parents were forced to tell the eight year-old child her "destiny" to become the French Grand Master and the ongoing Assassin-Templar war. Relieved that her questions were finally answered, Élise found the idea of leading the country to order and peace a principled idea. Since then, the young girl spent her time with Julie and Weatherall in combat training and tactics and with her father and governor for the Templar principles and belief.

Later that year, her father adopted Arno Dorian and raised him after the boy's biological father died under suspicious circumstances. As a result, she and Arno grew up together, with the energetic Élise often getting her adoptive brother into trouble; once she convinced him to jump a fence into an orchard, which happened to be patrolled by guard dogs. They became great friends and took her role as older sister with great gusto. The two children often played skipping, hopscotch, shuttlecock and sword fighting which they were evenly matched, with the exception of sword fighting where Élise always win. She spent her mornings tutored as a responsible adult-in-waiting and her afternoons with Arno as a child.

Soon after, Élise was called by her parents and revealed Arno's descent as an Assassin, but the boy was oblivious to it. François asked her to guide him to their Order, an idea against Élise's and her mother's beliefs. They managed to convince her father to delay his indoctrination, for which the young girl was grateful.

Following her mother's illness, Élise no longer spent her afternoons with Arno, instead, she spent them on her mother's bedside. She found François levitating towards Arno which left her sad and grief-stricken. Élise also discovered Weatherall's love for her mother when she spied on him visiting and sobbing for Julie. Before dying, her mother told her to stay strong to lead his father and the Order and that she loved them very much. Her mother's death brought emptiness in the young girl's life as her routines continued as always. Weatherall gave her a box from Julie that contained a short sword with an inscription in the hilt with the Templar motto, but Élise felt nothing. Later that day, she was summoned by her father to his study, where Élise finally let her grief and sadness go.

Élise was sent to the Maison Royale de Saint-Louis school at Saint-Cyr to complete her education as a proper lady and Templar knight, during which she was separated from Arno.

Élise was reunited with Arno when her father was murdered as a result of a coup d'etat in the Templar Order, occasioned by a shift in power and core ideologies.

In spite of their opposing allegiances, Élise and Arno shared the goal of finding the killer of Élise's father. However, while Arno sought to redeem himself, Élise was driven by vengeance, wanting justice for her father's murder. As a member of the "old guard", Élise also desired to safeguard her Order against corruption, clashing with the new Templars in power with Arno.

Personality and characteristics

A free spirit, Élise was rarely idle and would often go to seek out trouble in her youth. She was very similar to her mother, as she was never keen on joining any of the other noble womens' daughters, instead taking an interest in more masculine activities - such as playing war with the boys. Growing up, she developed a set of values which she loyally lived by and was willing to go to any lengths to see her goals fulfilled. Due to extensive training throughout her life, she was both well-educated and physically fit; her skill at wielding a sword outclassed even Arno. In battle she would rely on strategy, planning counters for her opponent's moves ahead of time.

Although they were technically family, Élise and Arno saw each other not as siblings, but as friends during their youth. Growing up, their feelings developed and the pair eventually fell in love.

Trivia

• The name Élise is a diminutive form of the French name Élisabeth, meaning "God's promise". Meanwhile, Élise's family name comes from the French Serre, meaning "talon" or "greenhouse", while de la, "from the", indicates nobility.
• The pendant that Élise wears in the theatrical trailer originally belonged to Jennifer Scott, who received it from her brother, Haytham Kenway.
• In Unity's ending cutscene, Arno is shown visiting Élise's grave in the Cimetière des Innocents; when visiting said location in-game however, Élise's grave is not there, with her instead having been buried next to her parents in the garden of de la Serre's residence in Versailles.

Gallery

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  Concept art of Élise
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  Promotional art of Élise and Arno