Once Loved Never Forgotten

Hello, Cookie here and this is the first chapter of my fan fiction story and also mine and Unicorn Princess' account. Yay! Many thanks to Unicorn Princess for helping me by editing and improving this chapter, all reviews and tips are welcome, enjoy!

Summary: Andreina, she was never meant to be. Born with Templar and Assassin blood coursing through her veins, she is left hanging in limbo, confused, with no sense of belonging... alone. Until she finds the agonising truth upon her mother's death, a name, Mario Auditore, the father who had abandoned her.

Prologue

Elnora was the most beautiful woman he had ever set his eyes upon. The first and the very last woman he would ever truly love.

1454

He was walking through the streets of Florence, after riding there with his brother, Giovanni.

'Do not worry brother; I am not returning to Monteriggioni until the morning, I will meet you at the villa but first I want to see the sights Firenze has to offer.' Mario said with cheeky implication, Giovanni chuckling and waving him off as he left to venture out into the city of Florence.

There he saw her, the deep sea green eyes with the dark cascading of curly hair. She was browsing through the market stalls. It didn't take him long to finally take the courage to talk to her and court her with his generosity through purchasing an emerald necklace.

'Thank you, signore may we meet again.' She had said, gazing upon him through her thick enticing lashes as the sun sank into the horizon.

1478

Mario's heart was heavy. He had told her he was but a banker like his brother. He was afraid that she would fear him, if he told her the truth, if he confessed his life as an assassin, but it was too late now. It seems she had a secret of her own.

He was to meet her in the countryside outside the walls of Florence; where they had met in many occasions for

the past few years. He stood a few meters away from the carriage waiting for her to open the door. She jolted it open, exiting hastily; lifting her dress as if in a hurry and ran towards him.

Happiness shone through her smile. But a look of guilt was held in her eyes, 'Oh Mario! I have missed you for the past few weeks, where were you?'

'I'm sorry, business and contracts had occupied me in Venezia,' He had lied, another lie to add to his heavy heart, 'Wait... Elnora... I need to-' Mario stumbled to let the words be spoken, 'I must confess something and you must tell me the truth in return.' He lowered his head. His tongue was caught up, he glanced back up into her seemingly innocent eyes, looking hopeful, yet strangely as if masking a layer of pain. He took a deep breath and finally, 'I have been in Venezia a long time, fulfilling contracts not in relation to banking,' Mario sighed, sadness filling his eyes, 'I am not a mere banker Elnora, I am an assassin, and today I received a contract to assassinate yo-'

'Me. I am a templar.' She exhaled as if a wall of waves came crashing down upon her chest, 'Mario, I have known for two weeks, since you had left. My family has fled the country upon hearing of the assassinations of Templar families in Venezia this past week. I refused. I wanted to stay... I needed to tell you tha-'

'I'm sorry il mio amore,' he interrupted with anguish held in his eyes and pain in his throat holding the weight of a rock, 'our paths should never have crossed.' He kissed her cheek, knowing that tears were streaming down her face. He held her hand in his, thrusting a scrunched up ball of paper into her delicate hands. He braced himself and let her go abruptly, pushing her away. He turned around and mounted his horse only to gallop into the distance without a mere glance back at her, afraid that he would hesitate to leave.

She stood there, watching him as he rode into the distance, a flood of tears running down her cheeks. Her knees suddenly hit the ground, pain striking every bone in her body, she felt herself choke as she opened the piece of paper he had left her, a cancelled contract that inscribed her family name. Kneeling dishevelled in the dirt, she whispered the words she had meant for his ears, 'I- I am pregnant.'

But the words were instead carried away by the gentle breeze and he would never know.