Bad Ideas Make the Best Stories
(Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - fanfic)
Fabio wasn't ready for this.
When he decided to steal the young assassin's robes, whom he had knocked down when the boy tried to strike him while he was on rooftop duty, he expected that it's going to be a dangerous manouver. Dressing up as one of the assassins was in itself a risky idea, more like sprinting and jumping around rooftops, but he managed it. So far he had been able to keep up with the other two assassins, who did not notice the change and waved to him to follow them. He quickly hid the half-naked assassin along with some of his clothes in a roofgarden nearby, then covered his face with the piece of cloth the other man used to hide his features. Having adjusted his disguise, he hurried forward to catch up with the other two assassins, already excited about the „big catch", he might pull off from this.
The actions of the assassins have been giving a hard time for the city guards for quite a long time now. Fabio couldn't help but think about the many times they had been ambushed by these figli di Satana and having thought about the many injuries he received from these fights and the memories of the lost comrades Fabio decided, it was about time for a payback.
They kept running for quite a long time, covering a lot of miles before finally stopping at a square. Fabio looked around, panting heavily as he got really tired from all that running; as far as he could tell, they came all the way to the northern part of Rome. From where they stood, he could see all the way to Il Vaticano and as he turned around there was a beautiful view of the Campagna. His - or better say, the young assassin's - companions were a few step ahead already, crouching at the edge of the building and observing the people below.
Fabio walked up to them, looking down the streets; many passerby, townspeople, minstrels and even his fellow guards were there, walking past and tending to their daily business, totally oblivious of the white-hooded assassins above them. Even though it was broad daylight, the assassins could come and go on the rooftops as they pleased (well, their only worries being the archers that patroled the roofs), because nobody on the streets had the idea to look above their heads. Fabio knew they had no reason to, but right now he just wished for someone, anyone to cast their eyes over their viewpoint and alert the patrol troop. He looked around, but there were no archers nearby, and he himself surely would not have been enough to disarm the two of them. If only he could draw attention to their trio somehow...
"Matteo!" One of the assassins called out startling Fabio a little. He looked at the back of his two companions - one of them being broad-shouldered and strong, the other one was rather slim and appeared to be agile - but he had no idea who they could be referring to. It was when, the big guy looked at him that he realised, he probably said the young assassin's name, whose robes were occupied by himself at the moment. Fabio was very grateful for that piece of cloth covering the majority of his face and for the hood so they couldn't see the large drops of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"Are you deaf or what? Come on lad, we need to hurry up."
"Yeah, uhhh sorry, I was just... where are we going exactly?" asked Fabio with a hoarse voice. His throat was running dry as his nervousness grew, but he was determined to see this through to the end... wherever that may be. Fortunately his companions didn't get suspicious; the man sighed resignedly, while the other guy started laughing. This guys voice sounded rather soft for that of a man and as Fabio managed to look under the hood, he was surprised to see a woman's features.
"Give him a break, Octavio, it's his first mission, you know" said the woman to Octavio but she looked at Fabio and smiled cheerfully.
"That is really nice of you, Lucia bello, but the men we are looking for won't be that permissive. And if he won't start paying attention, it's going to be his first and last mission" Octavio retorted, then he turned to Fabio and looked him in the eye sharply, suddenly making the younger man feel very uneasy. The assassin had blue-grey eyes that were framed by thick grey eyebrows; he had a strong jaw and rugged features and by the looks of it, he could be in his late thirties. All in all, he reminded Fabio of a very angry guard-dog.
"Listen here, boy, 'cause I'm gonna explain it only once. We were ordered to track down a couple of Borgia dogswho have been trying to infiltrate the brotherhood. They managed to fool us for some time, but one of the courtesans recognized them and before we could get to them..."
"They managed to escape?" asked Fabio not without any amusement, but Octavio's furious look made him wish he could tie a knot on his tongue.
"Si, they did" the man's voice was as cold as a steel blade "We are to meet a couple of thieves near Terme di Diocleziano. They have information on the spies we are looking for."
"And they won't be happy, if we keep them waiting all day long, so I suggest we get moving" said Lucia, gesturing with her thumb towards the landscape behind her, but Octavio kept staring at the younger man for a couple of seconds. A slight confusion appeared in his eyes, which made Fabio slowly move his hand towards his blade.
"Boy, you don't seem very familiar to me" he said slowly. Fabio gulped.
"I... I'm new to the b-brotherhood..."
"Which part of Roma are you from?"
"I... uh..."
"Come on Octa! We'll have plenty of time for chit-chat, but only after we have finished our misson!" said Lucia impatiently. Octavio shrugged and turned away from the other man, letting him ease up a little.
"I was just wondering. But you're right. Let's go!" he answered and walked to the edge of the roof. Fabio let out a relieved sigh. It was only now that he noticed, that it started to get really hot beneath those robes. He let his hands fall down from the hilt of his sword and followed Octavio, only to stop and freeze in his state, when he saw the man spreading his arms and taking a plunge from the roof. He looked at the woman confused, but she didn't even blink an eye, as if jumping off from rooftops was a usual mean of transport. Octavio landed safely in a bale of hay below and was waiting for them to follow him. Lucia looked at Fabio curiously.
"Care to take a try?" she asked playfully as she bowed down slightly and gestured with her hand towards the edge. Not on your life, sweetheart. spat Fabio mentally, as he tried to come up with an excuse to get away from this situation.
"Ladies first!" he answered quickly and made the same gesture as Lucia did. The woman's smile widened, as she raised her hand and waved with her index finger while shaking her head slowly.
"A-a-a, nice try, ragazzo. Come on, it's not as bad as it looks. Here, let me explain what you need to do" she said and pulled Fabio closer, directing him towards the edge. The young man had only a moment to wonder about the strength, with which Lucia grabbed his arm, then he was already standing on his heels, looking down into the deep beneath him. The building on which they were standing, was situated on the Piazza del Popolo. Next to it and a little lower than the piazza there was a small plain, on which the ruins of an antique building were scattered. The haybale was placed next to the remnants of a huge marble pillar and right now it looked like it was awfully meager...
Fabio whimpered quietly as he saw Octavio's figure standing near the pillar and waving towards them to hurry up. He tried to measure the distance between him and the ground below, which could be like ten or twenty meters, he wasn't entirely sure.
Fabio soon decided, that if there was any moment, when he could regret his brave and totally senseless decision of disguising himself as an assassin, then this definitely was it. He looked back above his shoulder to try and once more beg the woman not to make him jump into his premature death, but she wasn't there anymore.
"Watch your head!" he heard her voice from behind his other shoulder and before he could have done or even think anything, he felt a hand grabbing his belt on his back, then he was sent off the building as if he was someone's unwanted luggage. Fabio felt the world turn upside-down, as he made a front flip, then came the long, unbearable stage of freefalling through the air. Besides of the wind blowing loudly his ears the only sound he could hear was his own voice screaming inarticulately and desperately.
Landing in the hay felt like running with a great speed against a brick wall that was covered with pillows. His head was a little dizzy after the fall, he felt dull pain in his ribs and he could hear his own blood rushing through the veins in his ears, but otherwise he was just fine. Well, physically.
"You little...! I'm gonna... I'm gonna kill you all!" he sweared and cursed loudly as he climbed out from the hay and tried to regain at least a small portion of his lost dignity. That went harder than he expected, as he was still a little dizzy from the fall and couldn't exactly maintain his balance, so he ended up tumbling back and fort like a drunken sailor trying to learn how to dance. Not very far away from him Octavio was leaning against a white marble pedestal trying to catch his breath while laughing hysterically.
"Dio mio, Lucia!" he shouted, wiping off tears from the corner of his eyes "That was genious! Pure fucking genious!"
Fabio decided that he had just enough humilation and adventure for one day. As he was tumbling, he tried to grasp on the hilt of his sword, without considering what he would do if he actually managed to draw it. He figured he would attack the man first - he was mad enough to do so now - then he would finish his partner later.
Probably to his luck, he did not have the opportunity to execute his plan. By the time he managed to get a hold on himself, Lucia had made it to the ground and Octavio had pulled himself together too, although he was still grinning widely. Lucia walked up to the duo and patted Fabio's shoulder, ignoring the furious glare she received in response.
"That's the spirit! Well, it wasn't exactly something out of this world, I know, but at least your head is still on your neck" she said giggling.
"Are you crazy?!" Fabio didn't even try to hide his frustration "What the hell was that?"
"That was a Leap of Faith, my darling. And given the fact, that this was your first leap, this makes you the youngest novice who ever managed to make his first jump without getting a concussion..."
"...or his ribs cracked..." Octavio added.
"...or his legs break..."
"...or his horse killed!"
"Alright, alright, alright!" protested Fabio loudly "I think I had enough of testing my faith for one day. Can we just get moving?"
"Oh look, how he wants to go to work now. See, how quickly a leap can raise the moral, maybe we should do this to all the candidates" Octavio said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Let him be, Octavio, we don't want scare off anyone from joining the brotherhood."
"Shut it Lucia, it was you, who threw him off the roof."
"Yes, but it was your idea..."
"Anyway, the stripling lad's right!" Octavio said, changing the subject suddenly "Enough screwing around for today, let's get down to business!" he said turning around and leaving the two them behind. Lucia walked past Fabio and went after the man without a word. She only stopped once to look back at the younger man, to see whether he's coming or not.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry for the earlier, Octavio really insisted. He always does that to novices, it's his way of saying 'Welcome to the brotherhood'."
"Charming, really. But I'm fine, grazie." Fabio said, still in a bit grumpy mood, while catching up to the duo.
You two are going to fall harder, than I did he added in his mind, as he adjusted his hood to cover his face properly. He was looking forward for the moment, when he could finally dispose of those heavy robes - along with his not-too-funny companions.