AN – Just as a prerequisite, I highly suggest at least familiarizing yourself with the Aria anime/manga series if you've never heard of it before. It shouldn't take away from the story in any way if you don't but it will certainly help, especially considering I don't like giving character descriptions (there is a picture of our leading lady on my profile page if you don't feel like searching). All I'm doing is taking the characters from Aria and transporting them into renaissance Venice instead of Neo-Venezia. Also, my stories tend get better with every chapter so try to stick with it if you're at least a little bit interested. Sorry for the long AN, onto the story.

Chapter 1 A Venetian Fantasy

Venezia's Carnivale was something that he had never quite grown accustomed to. The way the crowd hummed with a life all its own, moved to a beat that held an entirely unique rhythm, made him feel as if he was standing alone among lions. It never frightened him, this loneliness – this void – quite the contrary in fact. It made him feel alive. The colorful lights, the blazing bonfires – they breathed life into his steps as he slowly waded through wave after wave of masked men and women.

It was during this controlled confusion that he caught sight of her. He had heard talk of this "Snow White" ever since his arrival in Venezia, but at that current time he pushed back such thoughts in favor of the task he had set himself. He had come to the City upon the Waters in order to destroy the men responsible for Italy's unrest. It was his duty as a part of the order as well as to uphold the promises he made to the Brotherhood; he didn't have time to dawdle among pleasures, especially ones that had to be found instead of bought. The trouble hardly seemed worth the effort at the time.

If he remembered correctly, she was part of a popular gondolier business known as Aria Company (He did do a bit of digging after all, it was only natural). Despite being quite the popular attraction to both locals of Venezia and foreigners across Italy, the company was rather small, consisting of only two employees –Snow White herself, along with her apprentice. She was quite young (early twenties, he believed) to be in possession of such a successful company, which gave rise to suspicion, stirring his early investigations. Though, at the time his motivations lied elsewhere.

This was the first time he actually had set eyes on her and for a moment he was disappointed that masks were almost enforced during Carnival but quickly remembered that without his own, he'd have the city guards trailing his every step like the dirt licking dogs they were. As he strolled leisurely towards the canal, he watched her bid farewell to her customers, a content smile lingering on her lips as she helped one particularly old woman from the gondola. Her blue eyes were vivid against the golden mask that concealed the upper part of her face and her blond hair fell in a loose braid down her back.

He watched her silently from the crowd for a moment before a mischievous smile quirked his lips upward. He cleared his throat and casually approached the gondola, grinning inwardly as the metaphorical hunt began.

"Madonna," he began smoothly. At the sound of his voice, her wandering eyes settled upon him and he watched in mild amusement as the fireworks burst behind her. "Would you mind if I accompanied you to your destination?"

"My, my, are you perhaps the Casanova the people of Venezia speak of?" Her light-hearted smile remained on her lips as she looked down upon him from her perch on the gondola. She leaned slightly on the oar, her braid falling over her shoulder as she attempted to see through the darkness of his hood.

"Perhaps," he drawled, "But I'm sure they know me by another name."

"Oh? What might that be?"

Assassin. "Ezio."

The gondola gently rocked upon the waters, her body mimicking the movement of waves. He studied her as a silence passed over the both of them, waiting for any type of inclination that she might have known who he was. Instead, she placed one foot upon the cobblestone and stretched out her bare left hand.

"Well, Signore Ezio, please give me your hand." Even though he doubted he needed the help, he gently grasped her hand and allowed her to guide him to his seat. Her hand was soft but cold, most likely an effect of Venezia's cold February nights, especially when one was out among the air in the Grand Canal. Once he was comfortably seated, arms spread out and one hand hanging precariously over the gondola's edge, she pushed off effortlessly from the stone wall and the gondola floated like a cloud in the air.

The sounds of Carnivale were beginning to slowly fade into the distance, though despite the discreet noises of the remaining nightlife, the festivity was far from over for some. "Is there any place in particular you would like to go?" she asked after a few minutes.

He didn't reply immediately, content as he was listening to the water lap against the sides of the boat. However, after a few moments of quiet contemplation he replied absentmindedly, "The Piazza San Marco."

He could vaguely feel the slight turn in the gondola and how the wind's pressure on his face shifted. It only occurred to him now that fatigue had begun the conquest of his mind. His eyelids were heavy and his body suddenly felt like lead. He struggled to remain alert but his weary mind told him there was no imminent threat to his life and how unlikely it was that someone would want his life so badly they would tread into deep waters to get it.

And so, with his suspicions quelled by his clouded mind, he fell into light sleep.

Time passed, of that he was sure, for by the time they arrived at the docks of the San Marco Square the sun could be seen peeking over the horizon, sending its warm pink and orange hues across the sky, chasing away the glacial blue the moon left behind. Through his haze like stupor somewhere between consciousness and sleep, he could discern the young woman securing the gondola to the pier. Her mask had been discarded, he noticed, for it glittered uncontrollably in the sun beside him. After finishing her task, the Undine roused him from his light slumber by placing a frigid hand on his shoulder and giving a gentle shake. She really needed to invest in some gloves, he thought, or else she wouldn't have any fingers by the time spring rolled around.

"Sir," she urged, "We have arrived."

At her prodding, he briskly wiped away the last vestiges of sleep from his mind and stood. Once again she offered to help him but he quickly exited the gondola before that could occur. Before taking his leave, and in hopes of salvaging his failed hunt, he gathered her right hand in his and brought the icy soft skin to his lips. He couldn't tell whether or not the color upon her cheeks was a result of his actions or the reflection of the morning sun's light on her face.

"You have my many thanks." He said.

She bowed in return, her hair falling over her shoulder. "Thank you very much for patronage. I hope to see you visit Aria Company in the future."

He smiled at her before turning on his heel and started his journey to where ever the wind would take him. This certainly had turned out to be a rather uneventful night. However, he was going to make sure that this would be the last.