I loved to play video games. It was one of my favourite hobbies. I had no set genre, I loved games ranging from Super Smash Bros to Red Dead Redemption. But there was one series I've always loved more then most. One I've always come back to. Assassin's Creed. I never played them in chronological order, I started from 2, worked my way up through Brotherhood, Revelations, Black Flag, Syndicate. I borrowed my friends copy of AC 1, and completed it. But, the Ezio trilogy was my favourite out of the series. Ezio was the character I preferred most, although Altaïr's, Connor, and Kenway's stories were also good. Origins was certainly different, and took some time getting used to, but it was still good. And the Twins. I loved their story too. I had recently started playing AC 2 again in my spare time, reminding me of why I loved his story so much. Why I loved him. Is it possible to fall in love with a video game character? A person who doesn't even exist? I cried for Ezio when Petruccio, Federico and Giovanni were hung. I felt so sorry for him, he lost his family, his father figure, and his siblings to that Stronzo. You might all think I'm mad, for crushing on a game character, but Assassin's Creed was my only solace. I had hardly any friends, and I was lonely. Ezio was my cure for that. There was just something about him..his determination to get revenge for his family, his dedication to the Creed. Oh how I wish he was real. Imaginative and crazy I may be, I know that it would never happen. Sighing and kneeling down, I pressed the eject button from my Xbox 1. It made it's little ding noise, and the disk for Red Dead Redemption ejected. I snapped open the box, and placed the disk inside, before putting it back on top of the Xbox. I quickly scanned my game collection, deciding what to play. By chance, I glanced up, and I saw Assassin's Creed 2 sitting on the TV stand. I blinked, I didn't remember leaving it there. Shrugging it off, I opened the box, and treated the disc like it was glass. Gently, I coaxed it into my Xbox, before quickly bouncing down on my sofa. I grasped my controller tightly, as I heard the telltale theme. I mashed the start button, and quickly selected my save game. Last time I had just assassinated Stefano da Bagnone, after gaining the smoke bombs. Although I didn't use them very much, they did come in handy when I needed them. I miss the Rope Darts though, they were one of my favourite things in AC 3, along with the bow and hidden blade combos. Rope em in, then either hang them, shoot them, or beat them with the hidden blades. My tactics, right there. Anyhow I peered at the screen and instantly my head began to pound. Thinking nothing off it, I continued to play on, hoping it would distract me. Ezio parried and blocked, spinning under kicks, and stabbing upwards in short sharp bursts. Then, he took to the rooftops jumping down and across gaps and ledges so small I don't even know where he was putting his feet. Ezio continued running along the rooftops as my headache began to get worse. Grimacing, I tried to focus getting Ezio to a safe place before I saved the game. I think that, if he were real, he would appreciate me not letting him plummet to the ground. I can't imagine it would be particularly nice. As Ezio jumped off gracefully from a vantage point, I paused the game, my eyes beginning to shut involuntarily. The headache began to subside as I fell into a deep sleep.

First thing I noticed, was that I wasn't in my house any-more. The second thing, was that I felt pain. And lots of it. I blinked at my surroundings, which were unrecognisable to me. The sun beat down on me, and I writhed in pain, biting my lip.

"Signorina?" I heard as I looked up. That's Italian..I would know, having spoken the language my entire life. I looked around for the maker of the voice and I faintly saw the outline of a Man on the rooftops. He seemed perfectly balanced, and his face was covered by a hood. Weird. I thought. This must be a dream. I heard another voice and this time a man in a red coat appeared. The man on the roof carefully crouched so that he was behind the man, while Red-Coat approached me.

"Well hi there, Puttana." I hissed, I did NOT appreciate this Asshole calling me a whore. Fucker. Who did he think he is. The man on the roof put his finger to his lips before getting ready to take a leap. Praying that he was here to save me, I snarled back at the Asshole;

"Vai a quel paese!"

The Asshole glared at me, spitting at my face. Little did he know that it was the last thing he would do. He glared, and he approached me, but I soon heard a small snick. The man looked comically down at his chest, and he promptly saw a silver blade through his chest. Blood dribbled round the hole, and he slumped to his knees, before falling onto his face. The hooded man retracted his blades cleanly, disappearing under his sleave. I grimanced as another flash of pain overwhelmed me. The man kneeled, his hands pushing back his hood. He murmurred something that I didn't quite catch. Then he directed his words to me.

"Stai bene?"

I shook my head, glancing at my ribs, where I saw a long red gash. Where had that come from? Cazzo! I thought as I gingerly touched the wound. Finally answering the man, I realised where I had seen his face before. He, my mysterious saviour, was none other then Ezio Auditore da Firenze. Of course, I couldn't let him know I knew his name, that would be creepy, so I replied, formally but truthfully;

"Non sto bene, Signore. Va male."

He nodded at me, his brown eyes scanning over me. He nodded, as he quickly glanced over his shoulder.

"Sì, vedo."

Trying to distract myself, and mainly trying desperately not to embarrass myself, or muck up my Italian, I ask, curiously

"Parla inglese?"

Ezio nodded, and I sighed in relief.

"Grazie Signore."

Ezio crouched down to me, and gently offered his hand. I grabbed it, but I should have realised that I couldn't walk in my condition. As soon as I put weight on my leg, pain flashed through me and I cursed in Italian. Ezio looked amused, and I quickly murmurred a hasty apology. He shook his head, saying it's okay. Ezio bent down and picked me up, murmurring in his thick Italian accent

"I am going to take you to where I am staying. We will fix you up there, Signorina." I nodded my thanks, but my eyes began to droop. Ezio noticed and quickly hurried his pace.

"Signorina? Lei come si chiama?"

He naturally switched back to Italian, and my foggy brain struggled to keep up. Searching my scrambled brain for the correct answer, I only just managed to get the correct answer, despite learning Italian from birth.

"Mi chiamo Isabella. E tu Signore?"

He chuckled, his voice setting off my already hazy mind. He shook his head as if trying to clear his head of memories. I suppose I might of reminded him of something that happened to him, or his family. In which case, I feel incredibly guilty.

"Mi chiamo Ezio. Is Bella your nickname?"

"Sì. One of many" I mumbled half hazardly. In actual truth, I had many nicknames, Isa, Izzy, Belle, Bella, each one from different people. I preferred Belle or Isa to Bella though. My eyesight blurred once more, as I saw Ezio gently place me down on a horse. He jumped up himself, and told me;

"Wrap your hands around my waist."

I did so, my hazy mind not thinking much of it. I'm sure I would have been blushing had I not been slightly out of it with bloodloss. I still didn't know where the wound had come from. Ezio cautiously turned around, and frowned at something. I don't know what.

"Bene" He turned to his horse, and whispered in it's ear "Lentamente, amica mia"

So she's a girl. Otherwise it would be amico mio. The horse slowly started to trot as Ezio patted her head absentmindedly. He did this while twisting around to see me, meaning the horse was driving by herself.

"A Monteriggioni"

The horse snorted, but started trotting valiantly. I am so tired...Surely I can sleep?..My eyes flickered shut, but I soon felt a sharp pinch. My eyes threw open, and Ezio looked somewhat apologetic.

"Sono desolato, Isabella. You cannot sleep just yet, lest we face you going into a coma"

"Grazie" I murmured, my eyes closing shut. Remembering what Ezio had just said, I threw them open again. He looked concerned, before quickly reaching into a pocket. He passed me a small knife, which looked to be a throwing knife. Ezio nodded, before I realised that I had said that aloud. Ezio looked impressed, before he explained his reasoning.

"If you feel yourself falling asleep, store this knife in your sleeves. Then, when you are about to go to sleep, jab one of your fingers against the tip of the blade, not deep enough to draw blood but deep enough to cause pain."

I nodded, and Ezio twisted back to face his horse. He squinted into the distance, seemingly scanning the area. He stretched, before saying, mostly too himself, Bene. He turned back to face me and I was startled to realise his eyes were gently glowing gold. At first I thought I was hallucinating but his expression gave him seemed to realise his mistake, and soon enough his eyes flickered back to their normal colour. I jabbed myself with the knife, to try and keep me awake. But I guess the blood loss finally got to me, because the last thing I remembered was Ezio looking at me worried, and shouting something intelligible in Italian.

I blinked, and grimaced as I felt an acute pain in my ribs. I let out an audible groan and glanced down at my bandages. Wait. Bandages. They weren't there before. Anyway they looked clean, and I looked for any sign that this was a dream. But I slowly started to doubt it more and more. A man strolled into the room, with food on it, some sort of bread and cheese, added with some sort of dark purple drink. Noticing I was awake, He put down the food and strolled over to me. He had his hood down this time, so that I could fully admire his rugged look. He slowly crouched down, and looked at me, scanning my body for what I assume is any signs of bleeding.

"Isa?"

I nodded slowly, my neck aching because of the one movement. He gently pushed me down, and gently sat on the edge of the bed. I looked around, the room seeming small, as I realised I sort of recognised where I was. Racking my head for my (now useful) knowledge of Ezio's trilogy, I tried to remember where he visited after he killed Stefano, but the problem with the trilogy is that he could go literally anywhere, due to how it wasn't linear. I don't think I'm in Firenze, Venice, and I'm definitely not in Roma, because he doesn't head there till Brotherhood, which I'm assuming hasn't happened yet. So, my only guess would be in Monteriggoni, but I won't know until I see Mario. If I don't, then I don't have a clue where I am. I looked up to Ezio, and thanked him for his help, grimacing as my ribs screamed at me.

"The Dottore said that you should be well after a week or so of bed rest. He says you are molta fortunata, to have not been in a long coma."

He looked at me weirdly. I coughed, and he passed me a small glass of water. He gently pushed me into a sitting position, and helped me drink the water. I looked at him with the background fuzzy as my eyes tried to adjust to the harsh light. My throat felt like razorblades and the only thing I had established is that I wasn't dreaming and that I was somehow in the world of Assassin's Creed.

"Signo-" I coughed harshly, and Ezio quickly pushed me back up into my sitting position. He patted my back softly, and passed me the water. Once I'd had another drink he placed it back down, and propped up the pillows so that I could sit up comfortably. He looked at me once more and firmly stated, while pointing to himself;

"Ezio. Not Mr, Sir or any other prefixes. Just Ezio."

I nodded, the pain in my ribs becoming a simply ache. I held out my hand to him, and grabbed his, before stating back;

"Then me. Isa. Or Isabella. No Miss. Just Isa."

He nodded smiling at me. My mind was burning with the desire to ask how long I was out for. Ezio looked at me, before seemingly guessing what I was going to ask. He laid my hand back down so that it was above the covers, before answering my unspoken question.

"You..Hai perso molto sangue." He seemed to find it easier to explain in Italian compared to English. My sluggish brain managed to understand what he said, and he seemed incredibly sombre, and he looked worried.

"Quando siamo arrivati qui ... Monteriggioni ... eri profondamente addormentato. Avevamo paura che non ti saresti svegliato. Mio zio si è assicurato che tu avessi il miglior dottore e le migliori cure disponibili qui. Dopo che non ti sei svegliato per una settimana, il dottore ha detto che le probabilità che tu ti svegliassi stavano diventando più magre ... Al settimo giorno, tutti, a parte me e mio zio, stavano cominciando a mollare. Ma ti ho visto .. e sapevo che eri un combattente."

My brain slowly caught up to what he was saying, and he genuinely seemed worried. But I was confused. In 2018, if what had happened to me now happened then...well not many of them would do anything for me. Maybe take me to a hospital (which don't exist in this day and age) and drop me off there, but I doubt anyone would wait for them to find my family. It's sad how much the world has changed over the years. I decided to speak my mind to Ezio..I know he was always good in the games, but I don't know him, as a real person, compared to a bunch of pixels and AI.

"Grazie Ezio. Non fraintendermi, sono incredibilmente grato per quello che tu e tutti gli altri hanno fatto per me. Ma ho una domanda"

He gestured for me to continue, his eyes constantly scanning me for any sense of fear, or any sign of danger. I made sure to try and make sure my Italian was pronounced correctly to ease understanding for him. I had to think about how to phrase my question.

"Perché salvarmi? Sono un estraneo ... nessuno ... per quanto ne sai io potrei essere un ladro in agguato ... eppure tu mi hai aiutato. Da dove vengo, sarei stato ignorato finché la mia vita non mi avesse lasciato, e poi sarebbe stato portato via come un nessuno. "

He paused as he interpreted my words, looking mildly alarmed. He quickly composed himself before thinking.
"Io sono ... Come diresti questo ..."

"Take your time" I murmured, flapping out my hand which had pins and needles in it. Damn. I hate pins and needles...so irritating. Anyway, as I was flapping out my hand, (like a bit of an idiot, I admit), he seemed to have come up with a way to explain to me. And in English, Even better.

"I.." he started off slowly, as if he needed time to process the words he was going to say. Blinking at me, his eyes slightly startled, he looked like a deer caught in headlights. I mean… I guess headlights don't exist in this time..whatever po-tay-to po-ta-to. And geez, that looks weird spelt out. Although if I just put 'potato potato' I don't think it would be easy to understand.

"I am a member of this group. We have three main..regole. These are for us to up-stand, and keep at all times. 'Nothing is true, everything is permitted' is a saying- a maxim that we abide by. It may seem cynical, but only a true member of the group will be able to understand what we mean by that. Mi dispiace, non posso dirtelo più"

I understood the secrecy, and nodded my assent. He seemed sheepish, and I smiled..It was unusual in the least to see Ezio like this, and considering I controlled him for three games, that was saying something.

"It is okay, Ezio. I shan't push anymore"

"Grazie" He thanked, before looking over to the tray of food he brought in prior. He picked it up and settled it on my rising steadily chest. He held it steady and settled into a chair I hadn't noticed.

"How about you eat some of this, Sì. Then you will get better quicker"

I nodded, and managed to settle myself up enough that I would not choke on my food. Rather embarrassingly, Ezio had to feed me part of the food, although he seemed to take it in his stride and not judge me for it. Grazie Dio. It could've been worse, I mused, I could've ended up in some era where women didn't have rights or something. At least I know the world of Assassin's Creed, and know Italian. Then something hit me, like a pile of bricks- My crush- My nonsensical, unreal, video game character crush..was standing next to me...looking after me. Well any confidence I had went out the window at that moment..I'm fucked.

Translations

Stronzo - Asshole

Signorina – Miss

Puttana - Whore

Vai a quel paese - Go to hell.

Stai bene? – Are you okay?

Cazzo - Fuck

Non sto bene, Signore. Va male. - I'm not well, Mister. Things aren't going well.

Sì, vedo – I see.

Parla inglese? - Do you speak English?

Grazie, Signore – Thanks Mister.

Signorina? Lei come si chiama? - Miss? What's your name?

Mi chiamo Isabella. E tu Signore? - My name is Isabella. And you Mister?

Mi chiamo Ezio – My name is Ezio

Sì - Yes

Bene - Good

Lentamente, Amica Mia – Slowly, My friend.

A Monteriggioni - To Monteriggioni

Sono desolato – I'm sorry

Dottore - Doctor

Molta fortunata – Very Lucky

Hai perso molto sangue – You have lost a lot of blood.

Quando siamo arrivati qui ... Monteriggioni ... eri profondamente addormentato. Avevamo paura che non ti saresti svegliato...Mio zio si è assicurato che tu avessi il miglior dottore e le migliori cure disponibili qui. Dopo che non ti sei svegliato per una settimana, il dottore ha detto che le probabilità che tu ti svegliassi stavano diventando più magre ... Al settimo giorno, tutti, a parte me e mio zio, stavano cominciando a mollare. Ma ti ho visto .. e sapevo che eri un combattente. - When we arrived here ... Monteriggioni ... you were deeply asleep. We were afraid you would not wake up ..My uncle made sure you had the best doctor and the best care available here. After you did not wake up for a week, the doctor said the chances of you waking up were getting thinner ... On the seventh day, everyone, apart from me and my uncle, were starting to give up. But I saw you .. and I knew you were a fighter.

Grazie Ezio. Non fraintendermi, sono incredibilmente grato per quello che tu e tutti gli altri hanno fatto per me. Ma ho una domanda. - Thanks Ezio. Do not get me wrong, I'm incredibly grateful for what you and everyone else did for me. But I have a question.

Perché salvarmi? Sono un estraneo ... nessuno ... per quanto ne sai io potrei essere un ladro in agguato ... eppure tu mi hai aiutato. Da dove vengo, sarei stato ignorato finché la mia vita non mi avesse lasciato, e poi sarebbe stato portato via come un nessuno. - Why save me? I'm a stranger ... no one ... as far as you know I could be a thief lurking ... and yet you helped me. Where I come from, I would have been ignored until my life left me, and then it would have been taken away like a nobody.

Io sono ... Come diresti questo ... - I am ... How would you say this ..

Regole - Rules

Mi dispiace, non posso dirtelo più - I'm sorry, I can not tell you anymore

Grazie Dio - Thank God

Hi, this is my first story. I'd appreciate any criticism you have to offer, and I apologise if the Italian isn't quite correct. I had to rely on the internet as, unlike my character, I don't speak fluent Italian. Just English xD.

Just a reminder, the only thing I own is my character Isabella. I don't own Assassin's Creed, Or Ezio, that honour goes to Ubisoft.

~Cait