A/N: Well. After watching Ezio act like nothing happened after half of his family was brutally executed, I decided to write this... thing. It's sort of dark and depressing (at least, it is to me), but I guess I was just trying to convey the pain that Ezio might have been feeling even though he showed no real sorrow in the game other than in his dialogue. At least, that's how I perceived it. Anyway, here is this little slice of doom and gloom, and Ezio discovering who he is.
Note: I don't own any of the characters, nor claim to own anything about Assassin's Creed. Although I wish I could say that I own it all...
As I leap from the tower—suspended… weightless—I feel whole. The wind is calm. There are no clouds to be seen. The sun is bright. I feel and hear the wind rush by me. In a moment, it is over. The feeling is gone, but the adrenalin remains.
I can do this.
I walk calmly through the streets of Firenze; my birthplace. My home. It is not as beautiful as it once was. Not as innocent as I once believed it to be. I feel detached, as if I had spent my childhood somewhere else. Somewhere bright and warm. It is still the same city, but it is forever changed in my eyes.
For my family.
There is nothing left here. I move through the streets, unnoticed by all. I have no reason to stay. I am nearing my target. My senses lock on to him. I can smell the cheap perfume he uses to mask his greasy scent. His voice grates on my sensitive ears like stone. I listen to the dull thud of his heartbeat, taking pleasure in the fact that soon, it would beat no more. I am focused.
You killed them.
I know what I must do. Purpose rings in every fiber of my body. The weight of my father's blade and bracer is both a comfort and a curse. I step forth from the shadows, and our eyes meet. His widen in fear; mine narrow in anger. Before he can run, I am there, my blade in his gut. Cold, lifeless, his body falls to the ground. Stunned silence greets me.
"I am still here," I find myself saying. Someone screams. The guards arrive, but it is already too late.
They will never catch me.
"I am still here," I repeat. I am still alive. Mother and Claudia are still alive. For that, I am happy. But that small happiness cannot overcome the anguish that has taken over me.
They are gone.
I find myself staring up t the familiar palazzo, but not remembering why I came. There is nothing left here for me. Just memories of a life that is over. I turn and leave. Paola greets me at the bordello as if nothing happened. I hear myself talking, saying that I must take my family elsewhere. She warns me of the guards patrolling the streets, looking for me. I am given a task, and I set out to complete it.
I see a poster and tear it down. 'Wanted,' it reads. 'Dead or Alive.' A picture of me and my name, along with a reward, is written below. The poster falls from my grip.
Dead or Alive.
Is this what I had become? A wanted man? I was to be hung for the death of one, who had in turn killed two men and a child? Perhaps more? The world is a strange place, I think. So who am I now? A wanted man or a lost boy? Or both? Is that who I want to be? Of course on.
How I longed for my father's advice and for my brother's gentle teasing. For Pettrucio's warm smile and unwavering faith.
But I had to keep moving. I had a mother and a sister to care for. I needed to be strong, to lead them out of this darkness. Claudia's persistent questions continue, even as we trudge away from Firenze. I had few answers.
"Were they given a proper burial?" she asked tearfully.
"Yes," I replied slowly. Anger flashed through my veins. Why had this happened to us? My uncle had to have answers. At least something. And so I searched. I read my uncle's books, deciphering riddles that old men wrote long ago. And I learned. I learned how to fight, and I learned of my ancestry. Of my heritage as an Assassin. Suddenly, I knew who I was. I knew what must be done. I must kill the bastards that did this to my family.
I am Ezio Auditore, and I will have my revenge.