Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, places, themes, etc. If asked by Ubisoft, I will stop. If not I shall continue to the best of my ability. I'd rather if you commented that you didn't just go "Good! Keep it up!" And the like, I'd rather you'd give a piece of advice, for example perhaps I mistook a fact or something, and I like verification of facts. I am also avoiding using dates and thus trying to avoid canon to the best of my ability, however it will end in a canon way. This is my first Fan Fiction and it is about Fiora Cavazza (The Courtesan) and Malfatto (The Doctor). Oh, and I apologize to the Italian Language for any mistakes I have or may make. Enjoy.

Chapter One: Escape

Point of View: Fiora Cavazza

Where am I? It's a room, more like a cell. But I can't be in prison, can I? No. Last I recall I was walking the street near the Mausoleo Di Augusto.

Then… darkness.

The door to my room opens, latches coming undone, and a doctor walks in. Oh grazie a Dio (thank God)! I try to speak, but a cold terror sweeps me.

I know that man. The doctor's mask, it was not the normal length and it looked like a knife. The mask looked as if it conformed to his face and that symbol on his clothing, the caduceus, was a mockery of what he does!

Malfatto, the Predator of the Courtesans, stood before me. This is the third time we met, the first was when I delivered a letter to him by order of Cesare Borgia, and even then the bastardo (bastard) nearly killed me. And the second he tried killing me in my sleep, luckily my skills allowed me to wound the stupid figlio di una cagna (son of a bitch).

And here he was, standing before me chuckling a sordid laugh. I reached for my fan only to discover it was gone.

Well of course it'd be gone, Malfatto's not an amateur.

"Well? What the hell do you want, mostro (monster)?" I asked, finally breaking the silence.

He laughed, a deep bellow like that of a horn and replied, his voice chilling, "Why... il mio piccolo fiore (my little flower), I wish to end your life." Dread swept through me, nauseating me and nearly taking me off my feet.

He walks up to me, as a spider would a hapless fly, and placed his hand on my face. I flinched back and hit the bare wall. "Then why haven't you? You had ample time before I awoke!"

He laughed again and continued, "You see il mio piccolo fiore (my little flower), I want you to suffer! Cesare paid me to hunt you down and kill you. Seemed you killed Il Lupo, Cesare doesn't like that one bit."

Merda (Shit)! How could I have forgotten the Doctor to kill, of all people?

He turned and walked out of the room saying, "Sogni d'oro, un dolce. Domani ti uccido lentamente. (Sweet dreams, sweet one. Tomorrow I shall kill you slowly.)" He closed the door and I heard latches click.

I tried the door anyways, it was as I heard and feared, locked. I sighed and took deep breaths to calm myself, the bastardo (bastard) wants me to be scared.

I won't allow him that satisfaction.

I look through the window, outside it was an alley with another building straight across. By the looks of it, it was either empty or the occupants were out. I look up to the sky to attempt to discern the time. The sun was high, so either I was out only for a few hours.

I think as fast as I can, Malfatto said he would come back tomorrow. I had at least eight hours, I think it is safe to say the bastardo (bastard) won't keep his word about waiting.

The window's glass seemed old, if only I had my fan! Or... my boots? I take off my right boot and examine it. I had it upgraded, so to say, when Cesare first recruited me. The tips were reinforced with iron, and the boots have been used to kill before.

I take the boot in my hand and swing with all my might at the window, cracking the glass. I wait to see if Malfatto had heard.

Either he didn't or he had left. Either way, I smashed the window once more and broke the frame as well. I crawl through the open window, obtaining cuts fromt the broken glass and begin my descent.

Once on the street, I tried to find where I was. I want to say I calmly walked out to the open street and calmly asked for directions or saw a landmark.

I ran as fast as I could, almost running into a crowd of people. I looked and saw The Pantheon across the road and three hooded figures surrounded by guards.

Assassins? Well sure, they were based from here, but I hadn't expected to see them practically in plain sight.

I move through the crowd, over to a building that had obviously been abandoned. I opened the door and watched the battle. I still had Malfatto to hide from, and if the Assassins run this way, I can shelter them.

And they can defend me, a win-win situation.

From what can see, the guards have them on the run. Odd, they all look as if they were full fleged assassins, why were they in such trouble?

The three Assassins run towards the building I was in. What was the pass code the Assassins gave me to use? Ah!

"Nothing is true!" I say as one of them runs by.

"Everything is permitted." The woman, I notice, replies in an automatic fashion. She motions the other two Assassins in and throws a smoke bomb. The guards couldn't see where she was and she ran off, to lead them away from the three of us.

I look at the two Assassins before me, both males. One was fine as far as I could tell, the other was bleeding too much for any help, that much I could see. The bleeding one was an older man, he sat on the table as the other one, a younger man, my age really, tended to his wounds.

"Stop, Salvatore, I am not long for this world." The older man says.

The younger man removes his hood, revealing dark hair and a neatly shaven beard, and says, "No, Luca! I refuse to let you die!"

The older Assassin, Luca, places his hand on Salvatore's shoulder and grins. "Come now, as much as you want me to live, you and this young lady need to escape the area."

"They'll find your body." Salvatore says. "They'll know you're an Assassin."

"Take my clothing, then I'll merely be an old man who looked to be robbed and left for dead." He begins to remove his armor. Salvatore helps him, with little pause. "Ma'am, please keep watch over the door."

The door? Right. I turn from the two Assassins and watch the streets. The search was winding down it seems, from what I could hear of the Borgia Guards, the woman escaped into crowds.

I smell smoke, and I see Luca's robes burn. Luca has his head down, chin on his chest, unmoving. Salvatore has the clothing in the fireplace and the armor and equipment hidden underneath rubble

Laying the old man on the table, Salvatore closes Luca's eyes saying, "Requiescat in pace, amico di vecchia."

Salvatore clasps my shoulder as he passes into the street, and scans the area. Motioning with his hand, he calls me to him. I walk over, scanning at the rooftops for Malfatto as we make our way to a safe house.