Behind the Mask
By GreatAngemon
Panting heavily, Ezio finally reached the end of the race, where a tall man was waiting for him. "Congratulations, messere!" he cried. "You are the first to return from the race!"
He led Ezio to a large gazebo, where a crowd of people had gathered. "Signora e signore! We now have the winner!" He grabbed Ezio's wrist, raising his arm high above his head, and Ezio, who had been speaking softly and amorously to the beautiful woman that had followed him, looked around, surprised. "This good gentleman is the fleetest of foot, the strongest of heart and body in all of Venezia! And he is now one step closer to winning the grand prize!"
At these words, one of the robed men at the base of gazebo raised a golden mask high into the air, and the crowd roared with delight. The woman kissed Ezio's cheek and walked away. Ezio was just following her when he heard a voice that he'd not expected to hear again.
"Ezio?"
He whirled around, sure that he had misheard, but no! "Christina," he breathed. And there she stood, just as beautiful as he remembered with her brown hair and the features of her face, proud like an angels. Without warning, both rushed towards one another and embraced, Ezio lifting her off of her feet and spinning her around.
"Oh, Christina!" he cried, setting her down and holding tight to her. "It has been so long!"
"Ezio," she said quietly. "Ezio, where have you been? I waited for so long, but you never came back."
"I was at my uncle's villa."
"Your mother and your sister, are they alright?"
"Yes, they are fine," Ezio assured her, his voice calm and soothing. "Claudia is managing Mario's estates, and mother…"
Frowning with concern, Christina said, "What is it?"
"She is still in shock. She has not spoken to anyone in months. Not since Pertruccio…" but his voice cracked and trailed off.
Christina pulled him close to her once more and gently rubbed the back of his neck. "Do not worry, amore mio," she whispered. "I am sure that she will snap out of it."
Silence permeated the night, for, despite the festivities, nothing existed for the two besides each other as they gazed into each other's eyes. "It has been so long, Christina," said Ezio. He raised one hand to her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "You are more beautiful than I remember."
"Oh, Ezio," she murmured, closing her eyes and leaning into his touch.
Ezio suddenly pulled away, and her eyes snapped open to face him. "Ezio, where are you going?"
"I have things to do," he said, not looking at her. "I will be back to Firenze as soon as I can, amore mio, but for now I cannot return."
"But Ezio, how can you go? We have only just seen each other." He raised his head and looked into her eyes. Then, without warning, he moved towards her again quicker that she could even see, embracing her and pulling her head in close, gently kissing her.
They stayed like that, their kiss growing more and more passionate with each passing second. The warm night grew fiery around them, and the lights seemed to dim so that they were standing in a pool of darkness, with nothing around them.
And again, Ezio pulled away from her. The night chilled and the lights returned as Christina opened her eyes. But she no longer saw Ezio. Looking around, she saw the tail of a pair of wonderfully vibrant white robes flying over the edge of the roof of a nearby house. "Oh, Ezio…" she said quietly.
"Christina!" called a voice from nearby. "Christina, where have you gone, mia bella!"
A man, tall with thick cropped brown hair came from around a nearby building, a white mask in one hand, and a bouquet of flowers in the other. When he reached Christina, he found her with a tear on her cheek. "What is wrong, my love?" he asked, dropping the objects he was carrying and embracing her. "Are you alright?"
"I'm alright, Manfredo," she said, wiping the tear away with her sleeve. She reached down onto the ground and picked up the mask and flowers, handed him the mask and smelled the flowers. "Are these for me?"
"Of course, mia bella cara," he replied with a smile. "Do you like them?"
"They are beautiful, Manfredo," she replied, putting one arm around his neck and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "Grazie, uomo affasciante."
They began walking, holding each other's hands as they returned their masks to their faces. After a few minutes, Christina's other hand, the one with the flowers, rose up to her chest and began fingering at her dress. A moment later a small pendant emerged, which she gripped tightly. Another tear fell down her cheek.
"Mi dispiace, Ezio," she whispered, so low that even Manfredo didn't hear. "Mi dispiace, amore mio."
Alright, so, what do you think? This is my first Ezio based fic, so… go easy on me.
Ah, yes, right, all the Italian words. Well, as Ezio was Italia, and Assassin's Creed II, which is when this fic is centered, was in Italy, it seemed appropriate. But, I'll let you have the translations, I suppose.
Messere- Messere means mister
Signora e signore- Signora e signore means ladies and gentlemen
Venezia- Venezia is the Italian name of Venice.
Amore mio- Amore mio means my love.
Firenze- Firenze is the Italian name of Florence.
Mia bella- Mia bella means my beautiful.
Mia bella cara- Mia bella cara means my beautiful darling
Grazie- Grazie means thank you.
Uomo affasciante- Uomo affasciante means charmina man
Mi dispiace- Mi dispiace means I'm sorry.