Interview with an Assassin - A Character Discussion with the Cast of The Resurrection Plot

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*This interview with the characters of Assassin’s Creed The Resurrection Plot is not to be considered canonical. This is solely used as a recap of the previous book and a refresher of the two main characters Pierrette Arnaud and Simeon Price.

This is Mike with The Ones Who Came Before, and I want to welcome our readers to what has to be the most unique Assassin's Creed interview that I have ever done. Today I am speaking not with the author of the new AC novel The Resurrection Plot, Kate Heartfield, (who we interviewed for her last book The Magus Conspiracy), but with her co-lead characters Pierrette Arnaud and Simeon Price!

Welcome Pierrette and Simeon, how are you doing today?

Pierrette: Ready for anything.

Simeon: The leg’s acting up, and I’ve been travelling recently, so I’m glad to have this chance to sit and talk a bit.

Without going into the end of your last adventure, how are you feeling traveling to 1869 Cairo?

Simeon: Honestly, I’m just hoping to find out what the Templars are up to out in the desert – and perhaps, run into Pierrette while I’m in the area. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen each other, with one thing and another.

Pierrette: I’ve made good friends in Cairo, and there’s so much energy and excitement among the Assassins here. It’s been good for me to leave England for a while, and France, well, things are looking uncertain in France at the moment. People say there could be war with Prussia.

You both came to find each other through your mutual friend, Ada Lovelace. Can you tell us a bit about her and did you two find a friendship through knowing her mutually?

Pierrette: I rescued her from ruffians one night, and she became my friend. She introduced me to many people: artists, writers, people I never would have met otherwise. And she gave me a purpose. I promised that after her death, I’d find the man who could help me make sure that her clever inventions did no harm. That man was Simeon. And while we haven’t always seen eye to eye –

Simeon – you mean you haven’t always had things your way.

Pierrette: I am grateful to Simeon for teaching me and introducing me to the Brotherhood of Assassins.

Simeon: And I am grateful to Ada for the same reasons, although her notebook was the bane of our lives for years. We’ve finally put her legacy to rest now.

You both came from unique backgrounds, Pierrette being an acrobat with the Aurora Equestrian Troupe, and you Simeon a former Lance-Corporal with the British Army. How would you compare your time with each to that with the Assassins Brotherhood?

Simeon: I joined the army because I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself, something with purpose. But I soon found it impossible to be a soldier in that particular army and a man of conscience at the same time. As an Assassin, I am always answerable to myself, so long as I don’t harm innocents or the Brotherhood.

Pierrette: In a way, it’s not so different from being a performer. We are all trying to achieve our best as individuals, when we’re riding a horse around an arena or swinging from a trapeze, but we rely on each other, and we teach each other. 

What are your views on the Brotherhood at the start of this new book? Do you feel like it has improved since you first joined?

Pierrette: I’ll admit to some frustrations, but I’m so pleased about what some of our fellow Assassins have done lately in London.

Simeon: There’s a real opportunity for the Brotherhood to find young people who are frustrated by the state of the world and teach them how to change it, in ways that won’t result in even more tyranny. I know the Brotherhood could help so many of them, and they could make us stronger, but it’s difficult to reach them, to get through. Everyone has to walk their own path. Mine is a lonely one these days, I admit, and I fail to reach these young people more often than I succeed.

Coming back to your skill sets, Pierrette if I may, what is it about horses that made them such a focus for your troupe? Do you find that working with them is easier than working with people?

Pierrette: A horse will always let you know where you stand. People are less honest.

Simeon, I know you have gone through some difficult times since leaving the Army, are you finding the structure of the Brotherhood to be similar to your time with the military?

Simeon: Perhaps it’s the bad memories from my time in the army that has caused me to strike out on my own a fair bit, even within the Brotherhood. But I do try my best to do my duty, to uphold the principles I’ve sworn to serve, and in that, it’s the same.

It's been nearly two decades since we were first introduced to you both, how do you feel now as seasoned Assassins compared to then?

Simeon: Sore.

Pierrette: I’ve greatly enjoyed being able to work with more weapons. But I suppose I have a collection of ghosts, to go with my weapons. Regrets, I mean.

Simeon: I never thought I’d hear you speak about regrets.

Pierrette: Well, I’m not saying I have long lists of them. Perhaps … four.

Simeon: Four regrets.

Pierrette: Yes. Why, how many do you have?

Simeon: I haven’t counted. More than four.

Who would be the political figure that you feel you have the best relationship with?

Pierrette: I’m looking forward to meeting Ismail Pasha, who’s the ruler of Egypt these days. He’s done something remarkable in creating the Suez Canal, and he seems to want to stand up to the imperial powers. 

Simeon: Speaking of standing up to power, I have some friends in Paris, writers and thinkers, who are trying to find better ways to live. For me, a smoky tavern with people like that in it is more exciting than a meeting with an emperor.

Who’s the better fighter between the two of you?

Simeon: Pierrette.

Pierrette: Me. [laughs] In all seriousness, that’s very kind of you to say, Simeon, but I think it depends, wouldn’t you say? I’m better at the big picture: how to get from A to B most efficiently.

Simeon: Even spectacularly, sometimes.

Pierrette: Which has always been my weakness, as you’ve pointed out many times. You’re better at making sure it gets done quickly and quietly.

Simeon, you were trained with a large amount of reading to help educate you better by your mentor Oscar Kane, which would you say was your favorite to read? Pierrette, you can answer as well if you like as we know Simeon trained you?

Simeon: The book from Kane’s library that has stayed with me over the years is London Labour and the London Poor by Richard Mayhew. It’s a book that shows the world as it is, and treats every human being in it as worthy.

Pierrette: I loved seeing the old combat manuals – Simeon will laugh, but I liked the illustrations, because they make the people of centuries ago seem just like us. Worried about where to put their feet and struggling to keep their guard up.

Speaking of, how is Simeon as a mentor? And Pierrette as a mentee?

Pierrette: He’s a better mentor than he realizes, but I don’t want it to go to his head.

Simeon: Pierrette’s taught me more than I’ve taught her, I think, by being such a challenging student. 

Pierrette: Challenging? I beg your pardon?

Simeon: Independent and unpredictable.

Pierrette: Well, nobody wants a predictable Assassin.

What do you want readers to know going into this new book? Are there any things you want to tease?

Simeon: I think we’re all in for some surprises, but I’m looking forward to fighting side by side with Pierrette again.

Pierrette: And I’m looking forward to being very inconvenient to the Templar Order.

We thank you both for joining us today and we are looking forward to what is going to be a great entry and sequel for Assassin’s Creed fans to read.

Assassin’s Creed The Resurrection Plot by Kate Heartfield, and published by Aconyte Books will release on July 4, 2023 on Global e-book and physically in the US. The UK can pick up the paperback on September 28, 2023. You can read our light spoiler review here and preorder the book here.