Jennifer Scott

"Innocence dies and innocents die—this is what happens in a war... and the conflict between Templars and Assassins is no different."

―Jennifer Scott upon discovering Élise de la Serre's true identity, 1788.^[src]

Jennifer "Jenny" Scott (1713 – 1805) was the daughter of Edward Kenway and Caroline Scott, the half-sister of Haytham Kenway, and the paternal aunt of Ratonhnhaké:ton.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Jennifer was born in Bristol in 1713, not long after her father Edward had left for the West Indies to try and earn a fortune as a privateer.^[2] Prior to Edward's departure, Caroline had chosen to conceal her pregnancy from him and as such he did not learn about his daughter's existence until many years later.^[3]

During her father's travels in the Caribbean, Jennifer was raised by her mother, with whom she lived in the house of her grandparents, Emmett and Elizabeth Scott. However, while the latter was supportive, Emmett frequently mistreated Caroline, having disowned her due to her marriage to Edward.^[4] This caused Jennifer to later recall that her mother had her moments of both happiness and sadness.^[2]

Jennifer meeting her father for the first time

In 1720, Caroline passed away after contracting smallpox from Emmett, and Jennifer was thus left in the care of her grandparents. The young girl later manifested a desire to contact her father and was secretly helped by Elizabeth, who wrote a letter to Edward informing him of Caroline's passing and Jennifer's existence and arranged for a ship to take the latter to Great Inagua in 1722.^[4] There, Jennifer met her father for the first time before the two set sail aboard the Jackdaw,^[3] sharing a conversation over a variety of subjects.^[2]

Returning to England, Jennifer came to live with her father and his second wife Tessa Stephenson-Oakley in a mansion located in Queen Anne's Square in Bloomsbury, London.^[5] Jennifer quickly grew close to Tessa, whom she came to regard as her mother, and, after learning of Edward's past as a pirate, began to greatly admire her father, wishing to become an adventurer like him.^[6]

Journey to Singapore[]

"I should never have argued with mother at the harbor and run off... I was ever so sure I could find father by myself... But not all pirates are adventurers like him, more like seedy criminals. Father... if only you were here now..."

―Jennifer thinking of her father while hiding from the pirates, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

In January 1725, after her father left London and traveled to Southeast Asia in search of Pieces of Eden, Jennifer eavesdropped on a conversation between her step-mother and three Assassins who came to visit her. The Assassins warned Tessa about a plot threatening Edward's life, prompting her to journey to Southeast Asia herself in order to inform her husband of the conspiracy. Jennifer secretly stowed away on Tessa's ship by hiding in a crate, wishing to help her step-mother search for her father.^[7]

After arriving in Singapore, Jennifer got into an argument with Tessa and ran off to find Edward by herself. Heading to a pub, she tried questioning the pirates there for her father's whereabouts, but to her horror, she discovered that these pirates were nothing like Edward. The seedy criminals planned to take advantage of Jennifer and chased her across the city, until the young girl found refuge in a warehouse.^[6]

While hiding, Jennifer expressed regret for arguing with her step-mother and lamented her own naivety, wishing that her father was there to save her. Suddenly, the pirates found Jennifer, but before any harm could be inflicted upon the girl, the samurai Shimazu Saito arrived and eliminated the criminals. Saito then calmed down the terrified Jennifer and revealed that she had been sent by Tessa to find her. When Saito revealed that Edward was also nearby, Jennifer excitedly asked if Saito knew her father, to which the samurai claimed that they were friends.^[6]

Following this, Saito took Jennifer to have lunch, but the girl paid more attention to the samurai than the food. Jennifer expressed her admiration for Saito's skills, telling her that she might be an even deadlier fighter than Edward, but the samurai claimed that her feats were nothing to be proud of and that she had taken her share of lives, both guilty and innocent. Jennifer insisted that, from her point of view, Saito was a hero who had saved her life, and compared her to a "knight in shining armor" from the fairy tales she had read.^[7]

Later, Jennifer was brought by Saito back to Tessa, who immediately embraced her and expressed her relief to see her unharmed. Jennifer apologized to her step-mother and waved happily at Saito, who returned the gesture, before going to see her father. The girl immediately hugged Edward and told him about how Saito had saved her, while Edward in turn remarked how much Jennifer had grown since he had last seen her and held her tightly.^[7]

Before long however, Tessa asked Jennifer to let Edward rest, as her father was feeling unwell. The girl expressed her dismay, wishing to spend more time with her father, but Edward assured her that he would see her again shortly. With that, Jennifer left her parents alone and spent the night in the company of Saito, who regaled her with stories of her past.^[7]

The following day, Jennifer bid farewell to her father and Saito, who boarded the Fenghuang to resume their journey across Southeast Asia. Edward asked Jennifer to listen to Tessa until his return and assured her that he would stay out of harm's way. Before they departed, Jennifer asked Saito to look after her father and waved both of them goodbye. Soon after, Jennifer and Tessa left Singapore themselves, returning to London.^[8]

Life in London[]

"She is a great beauty, or so I'm often told. Although not to me. She was just Jenny, who'd refused to play with me so often I'd long since given up asking her; who whenever I picture her was sitting in a high-backed chair, head bent over her sewing, or embroidery—whatever it was she did with a needle and thread. And scowling. That smoky stare her admirers said she had? I called it scowling."

―Haytham's thoughts on Jennifer.^[src]

On 4 December 1725, Jennifer's younger half-brother, Haytham Kenway, was born. As Edward decided to train Haytham in the ways of the Assassins from a young age and declined Jennifer's own request for training, she gradually came to resent both her father and brother. During Haytham's childhood, Jennifer was often cold towards her brother, refusing to play with him and mocking him with her knowledge of their father's past and true affiliations.^[5]

Jennifer and Edward at the Theatre Royal

During her young adulthood, Jennifer was renowned by the noblemen of London for her great beauty, and for her "smokey" stare, though Haytham thought of it to be more akin to a scowl. She had numerous suitors, including Reginald Birch, one of the Kenways' senior property managers, who was eventually deemed a good match for her by Edward. However, Jennifer disliked Birch intensely and railed against her father's plans to marry her to him.^[5]

Jennifer's frustrations with her father led her to reject the Kenway surname, insisting that she be referred to as Jennifer Scott. She argued that, since she had been raised solely by her mother for most of her youth, she should keep Caroline's maiden name. Edward respected his daughter's choice and, at one point, corrected one of her suitors who mistakenly addressed her as "Miss Jennifer Kenway".^[2]

Kidnapping and rescue[]

Jennifer: "Haytham... you've come for me."

Haytham: "Yes, Jenny, yes."

Jennifer: "I knew you'd come... I knew you'd come."

—Jennifer and Haytham's reunion, 1757.^[src]

In 1735, after discovering that Birch was secretly a Templar and informing her father, Jennifer was kidnapped by mercenaries who attacked the Kenway residence at night, killing Edward and stealing his journal. Birch then had her sold to Turkish slavers, while pinning the crime on Edward's valet Jack Digweed and taking Haytham under his wing to raise him as a Templar.^[5]

Jennifer became a concubine in Topkapı Palace, and by 1757, she was transported to Damascus to serve under the Ottoman governor in charge, As'ad Pasha al-Azm. However, since Jennifer was already in her mid-40s by that point, she was considered too old to be a concubine and instead worked as a servant. Ultimately, Haytham and his loyal friend, Jim Holden, infiltrated the palace and rescued her in September 1757, though Holden was captured by the guards in the process. Haytham later rescued him, but not before he had been forced to undergo an operation to become an eunuch.^[5]

After informing Haytham that Birch was responsible for their family's demise, the siblings, with the assistance of Holden, launched an attack on Birch's chateau near Troyes, France. There, Jennifer fought the Templar Grand Master in his office, and despite him holding a knife to her throat, she managed to throw him onto a sword pinned by Haytham in the door, ending his life.^[5]

With Birch dead, Haytham proceeded to free the prisoners he had been keeping, Lucio and Monica Albertine, only to be impaled by the former with a sword, as Haytham had aided in their capture on Birch's orders. Subsequently, Jennifer and Holden tended to Haytham as he recovered from his injury over the course of several months. Once Haytham had fully recovered in January 1758, Holden committed suicide due to his trauma, and was buried by Haytham and Jennifer.^[5]

Return to London[]

Jennifer later returned to London to take hold of the mansion in Queen Anne's Square, and while she and Haytham stayed in touch, their correspondence was distant since neither of them knew each other very well. Jennifer was also somewhat disappointed that her half-brother opted to remain a Templar after dealing with Birch. She would go on to live a solitary life in London, refusing to speak with people after the ordeal she went through in her youth, and eventually became a spinster.^[5] Nevertheless, she was saddened to learn of her brother's death at the hands of his son in 1781.^[9]

In April 1788, Jennifer met Élise de la Serre, who was using the false identity of Yvonne Albertine, and her maid Hélène, who had been sent to infiltrate the house to steal letters that Haytham had written during his time as Grand Master of the Colonial Rite. Jennifer discovered Élise's true identity, and after a confrontation she agreed to hand over the letters, hoping that Élise would gain wisdom from Haytham's words and see that the Assassins and Templars could unite in their goals.^[9]

She also gifted Élise with a jeweled Templar pendant that Haytham had sent her, but the two women parted on bad terms, as Jennifer refused to take part in the struggle between Assassins and Templars which had already claimed most of her family.^[9]

Later in life, Jennifer would occasionally propose that Assassins and Templars should reconcile,^[10] until her death sometime in 1805.^[11]

Personality and traits[]

Tessa: "I do say, she takes after you more with each passing day..."

Edward: "Haha, like father, like daughter, I suppose."

—Tessa and Edward talking about Jennifer, 1725.^[src]^-[m]

A young Jennifer with her father and step-mother

In her youth, Jennifer was a cheerful, energetic, and easily excited girl. By the age of 12, she already displayed a love for adventure and an unwillingness to conform to the societal norms expected of her. She chose to dress in boys' garms over elegant dresses and wished to accompany her father on his travels, having heard tales of his legendary exploits in the Caribbean.^[6] As the daughter of the "pirate legend Kenway", she believed that she was also destined for greatness and did not fear the possible danger she might find herself in.^[7]

While Jennifer was equally loved and spoiled by both her father and step-mother, she had a tendency to disobey them, frequently running off in search of adventure. It would not be until her run-in with a group of seedy pirates in Singapore that the young girl finally understood her parents' caution and regretted not having taken their warnings more seriously.^[6]

Upon meeting Shimazu Saito, Jennifer was immediately impressed by the samurai's skills, comparing her to a "knight in shining armor" from the fairy tales she had read. She greatly admired Saito for having saved her life, a noble act which, in her opinion, outshined any past wrongdoings Saito might have committed. She also eagerly listened to stories from her past and,^[7] prior to parting ways, trusted her to look after Edward for the rest of their journey together.^[8]

After the birth of her half-brother Haytham, Jennifer gradually came to resent the attention he received from Edward, especially once their father decided to secretly train Haytham as an Assassin. As a result, she was cold towards her younger brother during his youth, and rebelled against many of her father's decisions, like his choice to marry her off to Reginald Birch, whom she disliked.^[5]

Despite this, Jennifer was still devastated by the loss of Edward and later Haytham, which she blamed on the Assassin-Templar War. This caused her to take a strictly neutral stance on the conflict, refusing to support either side as she believed they were both equally responsible for her family's demise. That being said, her correspondence with Haytham did open her eyes to the possibility of a permanent truce between the two factions, and she saw an opportunity to achieve this dream through Élise de la Serre. Even after Élise tried to deceive her, the elderly Jennifer gifted her Haytham's letters, sensing the good in Élise's heart and believing she might be the one to finally unite the Assassins and Templars.^[9]

Trivia[]

The dress Jennifer is seen wearing at the Theatre Royal is nearly identical to the one she wore as a young girl, differing only in color. It also resembled the dress worn by her late mother in the latter's concept art.
In Assassin's Creed: Forsaken, like her father, Jennifer is described as having black hair, though she was later shown to have blonde hair in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.
- Additionally, in Forsaken, Jennifer is referred to exclusively as "Jenny Kenway", despite Black Flag making it clear that she preferred using her mother's maiden name, Scott.
In the Assassin's Creed: Unity novel, Jennifer is categorized as a British Templar. However, it is unknown if this is an error or if Jennifer did join the Templars at some point before leaving them. Given her disdain of both the Assassins and Templars, the former option is more likely.