"What did you say your name was, again? Clauditore?"
"Auditore, Messere." Ezio mumbled meekly.
"You are fired, Auditore! Fired!" The merchant was furious, his round face flushed redder than the meats he sold, "I have never seen a worse assistant! First, you nearly toss my produce in the canal, and then you hit on my daughter. You've insulted my customers and NOW-" The man paused to inhale, eyes burning with rage "-Now you've fallen asleep on the job!"
Ezio had nothing to say in his defense. He merely lowered his head and looked as ashamed of himself as possible.
"I wash my hands of you," Tournabelli muttered, shaking his head, "I pray you will find work elsewhere! Good day, Signore Auditore!"
With that, the shorter man turned away and walked off, grumbling to himself about the youth these days. Ezio sighed and stood from his stool, leaving the meat stall where it was. It wasn't the first time his employer had made a spectacle of un-employing him. Barely twenty-one and Ezio had already managed to lose more jobs than he could count.
As he slowly made his way back home through the crowded Venetian streets, Ezio wondered what he could possibly try next. As a jack-of-no-trades, finding someone to take him was difficult. Though he was a fast learner, not many had the patience to teach him their craft, and he often became distracted. Being distracted in Venice, he later found, was a fatal move.
He blamed everything on the fire. Five years ago, the Auditore family had been visiting friends in upper Firenze when a maid spilled an oil lamp and started a blaze. The flames from the lamp quickly engulfed the curtains of the room, and from there the walls. Ezio, his little sister, and his mother had fortunately been downstairs at the time, but his father and brothers were not so lucky. They were in the exact room where the fire had started, and had a hard time getting out. Giovanni Auditore sacrificed himself to save his two sons, Federico and Petruccio, by throwing them from the fiery inferno. Unfortunately, by that time the fire had spread to the roof, tearing through the supports. The upper floor of the house collapsed- and while Ezio and his mother and sister escaped, Federico had not. Petruccio had struggled through the charcoal beams that killed his brother, and Ezio remembered every detail of the boy's soot covered face as he embraced his smallest sibling. Petruccio died that night due to ash lodged in his lungs.
Ezio shook the memories away. That was a long time ago. After the fire he'd managed to hold a job in Firenze for at least two years, and it paid enough to support himself and his surviving family. However, a co-worker had been jealous of his success, and arranged his removal. Ezio tried to protest to his employer, but the man had already been bribed. When the last Auditore was finally fired, he left Firenze with his best friend, Leonardo, and came to live in Venice. It was in Venice that he found no luck with work. Ezio was rather close to giving up by the time he'd reached his friend's studio.
The depressed young man knocked twice and entered, not surprised to see Leonardo writing in his notebook, backwards.
"Ehi, Leonardo," He said blandly.
"Fired again, eh?" The genius asked.
Ezio nodded and collapsed onto the bench across from him. "I'm giving up, Leonardo. Nothing works."
"Ezio, I think you just need some inspiration," Leonardo said distantly, still writing, "You need to find something you like. You need an outlet."
"You sound like my mother." Ezio groaned, sinking into the wood and letting his shoulders sag. "I'm good looking. Why won't anyone hire me?"
"You cannot control everything, my friend," Leonardo continued, not looking up, "Some things are just up to fate. Life is like a sailboat- you must go where the wind blows you."
"Sailing…" Ezio mulled, closing his eyes, "Hmm…"
Silence settled on the two men easily. Leonardo had been the one thing in Ezio's life that remained constant. He'd known the man for six years, ever since Donna Auditore had begun investing in the young painter's talent. When his family died and he'd been yanked from his only source of income, Ezio took to Leonardo like a fine wine, visiting him as often as possible, confiding in him when he needed to talk to someone and, eventually, moving in with him when he lacked the money to pay his rent. When Leonardo announced he was moving to Venice, it was naturally assumed that Ezio would come with. Now, the Italians had been roommates ever since, and extremely good friends.
"Hey, Leonardo," Ezio's brown eyes brightened and a smile lit his face, "That's it! Sailing!"
"Cosa?"
"We'll sail! We'll get a boat and explore!" Ezio exclaimed, grinning broadly now.
"I think you have truly lost your mind this time, my friend." Leonardo said blankly, staring at the madness taking place before his eyes.
"Leonardo," Ezio laughed, tapping his fingers on the bench, "We live in a city of water. Il Mare Mediterraneo has been calling out to me all this time, and I never knew it!"
"No," Leonardo corrected, "what has been calling out to you all this time has been the voice of common sense. And you've been purposefully ignoring it."
"Everyone's doing it these days," Ezio continued, leaving Leonardo's remark alone, "Who knows? We could discover something valuable! Or perform a daring feat of wonder out on the high seas!"
"Wait," Leonardo frowned, "Are you suggesting we become pirates, or that we fight pirates?"
"I'm talking about life, Leonardo!" Ezio cried, "Adventure! Romance!"
"Hold on," Leonardo interrupted again, "I think you've had enough romance for a while. That's what got you fired last year, remember?"
The young man shrugged and smiled in that adorable way that made the artist's temperature rise. "It was worth it." He said simply.
"Well, then, you know what?" Leonardo smiled back, taking his friend's hand in his and patting it, "You can go off and explore. I'll be here waiting with a psychiatrist when you get back."
"You're coming with me," Ezio said, freeing his hand and staring at his companion, completely serious, "You know that, right?"
"Ezio, unlike you, I actually have a life," Leonardo sighed, rubbing his temples, "I can't just go off for god-knows-how-long exploring desert islands with you."
"Oh, because the commissioners are just banging down your door?" Ezio asked sarcastically, biting annoyance in his eyes. Leonardo looked away, not wanting to admit he was right. For the past few months, the artist had been unable to find a patron. In fact, he'd been quite idle and had used his time to catch up on some research. Truthfully, Leonardo didn't have a good reason to turn Ezio down. And, he figured, it wouldn't be long before Ezio decided he didn't want to be an adventurer after all. Maybe he could go with him, just this once…
Leonardo took a deep breath, accepting defeat, "Alright, Ezio," He said, "But this is the only time I'll-"
"Va bene!" Ezio cheered, slapping the artist on his shoulder. "Wonderful! You stay here and pack some food and equipment- I'll go get us a boat."
"Now?" Leonardo blinked, "We're leaving right now?"
"Meet me at the San Marco docks in two hours," The younger man replied, grabbing a sack from the nearby counter and stuffing some unexamined objects into it. Leonardo watched dumbly as his best friend slammed the door, skipping into the street.
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Leonardo kept the appointment and arrived at the docks on time, though he hadn't a clue why. As he scanned the sea of faces, he couldn't make out Ezio's tall features anywhere. No Ezio, no boat. Perhaps he'd found a pretty girl halfway down the block and thrown the whole plan out the window? Leonardo sighed and tapped his foot, readjusting the heavy bag over his shoulder.
He turned to his right, noticing a barge there. The captain appeared to be just stepping out of his cabin, the crew preparing to safely dock the large ship. The painter considered asking them for their services when he heard a familiar voice.
"Ehi, Leonardo!"
Ezio's exclamation sounded from the water. The inventor took a few steps forward, shading his eyes with his hand as he searched the port. He gasped- Ezio was piloting a gondola with a couple, a man and a woman, sitting calmly in its passenger seat. Leonardo watched as Ezio docked the small boat and assisted the upper-class citizens onto the pier. The blonde-haired man approached him, raising an eyebrow.
"See?" Ezio said, gesturing to the gondola, "I got us a boat! And look-" he jangled a small pouch of florins in front of Leonardo, "I paid, too."
"Ezio Auditore," Leonardo said flatly, "You cannot possibly expect us to sail the seven seas in THAT."
"Why not?" Ezio wondered, "it's a boat. It goes on water. It has an oar."
"It doesn't even have sails!"
"So? What good are sails," The taller man scoffed, "Always need to be adjusted, always blowing you off course."
"What about a crew?"
"What do we need a crew for when there's two of us?" Ezio reasoned, "We need a mutiny? Someone to steal our treasure?"
"Oh, so we're finding treasure now?" Leonardo hissed through gritted teeth.
Ezio shrugged, "Come on, Leonardo, just get in the boat. I'll steer."
"Ezio Auditore, why do I put up with you?"
"Because you love me?" Ezio offered, smiling adorably.
Leonardo grumbled to himself as he climbed into the boat.
"Brillante! We're off!" The dark-haired man yelled in glee as he dipped his oar into the water and dislodged them from the pier.
"I just know I'm going to regret this…" Leonardo moaned quietly as they set off into the vast unknown…