Nova Roma – Chapter 1 – The Bonfires of the Vanities – 1498
Isabelle spent much of her time with her growing family at the Auditore Villa. Her husband had made sure his family was safe from Firenze when Savonarola had come into power. She came at times to visit him over the year, but then he stopped allowing her to come and would visit her instead, fearing for her safety. As the daughter of nobles, cousin of nobles, and formally married into a family of bankers, she could easily become a target if discovered.
Though married to a commoner now and having lived among the people for years, Isabelle could still speak like an aristocrat when she was tired or angry this would give her away. The penalty would cause her to be made an example if not killed outright by Savonarola's lieutenants. She was better at Monteriggioni anyway. Claudia and her were still best friends and together they raised their children and watched Belle's grandchildren.
Ezio came to visit at times and he began to think of Monteriggioni as home. He never was close to his family as he used to be. Perhaps it was the price of being an assassin, though Isabelle seemed to manage it well. Perhaps it was because she was a woman.
Ezio returned to Florence with Isabelle in tow. La Volpe had been against this at the start, but after Ezio pointed out Belle's skills with a bow, her ability to charm the people around her, and her knowledge of the network of spies, made her invaluable to Ezio. She traveled with him leaving her children in the care of Claudia in the Auditore Villa at Monteriggioni.
Firenze was different. She looked about and nodded to her former brother-in-law. Ezio felt it too. For a year Savonarola had turned the gem of Tuscany into something sinister and a mockery of God's teachings. The common people rebelled against the nobility, slaughtering them or mocking them for their worldly goods.
The air was heavy with smoke.
They paused listening to some citizens. "If Piero had only a tenth of his father's talent, we'd still have someplace to call home..."
A second man nodded. "...Never should have welcomed that mad monk into the city. Look at all the misery he's wrought..."
A woman spoke. "...Don't understand why'd they'd be so willing to accept his oppression..."
A monk looked about pensively. "...Just threw us out! Said all we owned belonged to the Chiesa di San Marco now..."
A man near him nodded. "Sometimes I wish the Assassino would return to Firenze, that we might be free of this tyranny."
The monk hissed. "He's just a myth, a tale told by parents to their children."
The man shook his head. "No, my father had seen him in San Gimignano, years ago."
The monk shrugged. "Sure, if you say so."
Isabelle looked at Ezio. "Things are bad, brother."
"Yes. Come."
They continued to Oltrarno Bridge where Machiavelli was waiting for them. He greeted them as he turned to face them.
"Salve Ezio. Isabelle. You picked a fine time for a homecoming."
Ezio sighed. "Then it's true? Savonarola has taken control over Firenze as La Volpe reported."
Machiavelli nodded. "Yes." He looked to Isabelle. "No doubt aided by that treacherous artifact."
Isabelle looked at them. "We should get to work on retrieving it." She was older now and more reserved, but her face, though weathered, was still beautiful in its own fashion. Her life had not been easy and her violet eyes told the story.
Machiavelli looked at her. "That may be more complicated than you think."
Ezio chuckled and clapped him on the back. "Hah! When isn't it? Why don't you fill me in on things?"
Machiavelli nodded. "Walk with me."
Ezio and Machiavelli walked with Isabelle between them.
Machiavelli took a breath. "It all started a few months ago as Isabelle well remembers. The man everyone once reviled was suddenly the one they worshiped."
Ezio cocked his head. "Ah, the Apple?"
Machiavelli shook his head. "Only in part. It's not the city he's enthralled, but its leaders: men possessed of influence and power. They, in turn, oppress the citizens and ensure his will is done."
Ezio blinked. "The people act as if they have no say in the matter."
"Perhaps they do not, Ezio." Belle said.
Machiavelli nodded. "Rare is the man who is willing to oppose the status quo. And so it falls to us to help them see the truth."
They came across the bodies of several dead Borgia soldiers. The smell of the decomposing flesh caused Isabelle to gag. Ezio made a face as he drew closer.
Ezio squatted near one of the corpses. "These bodies bear the emblem of the Borgia..."
Machiavelli sighed. "Yes. The Spaniard keeps sending his soldiers into Firenze, and Firenze keeps sending them back – usually in pieces."
"This conflict has grown worse than when I last was here." Isabelle said.
"Of course. The Spaniard is always watchful."
"And he is always looking for me."
Ezio rose to his feet half listening to the pair. "Then he knows the Apple is here as well... An unfortunate complication."
Ezio, Machiavelli, and Isabelle continued on their way to the Palazzo Pitti, however, they soon encountered some opposition. Ezio and Machiavelli dealt with the attackers swiftly, Ezio instinctively guarding his sister-in-law as she stood ready to battle with her own hidden blade and sword.
They continued after cleaning their weapons to Palazzo Pitti.
Ezio looked about. "A direct assault would be dangerous. Especially with the Apple in his possession."
Machiavelli followed his gaze. "True. But what other option is there?"
Ezio looked at Belle. "Aside from the city's leaders, the people's minds are their own, correct?"
Machiavelli folded his arms. "Sì."
Ezio continued. "And they follow Savonarola not by choice, but force and fear?"
Machiavelli's clever eyes flashed. "Sì."
Ezio lifted a hand. "Then I propose we use this to our advantage. If we can silence his lieutenants and stir up discontent, he will be distracted and I will have a chance to strike."\
"How will you manage that?"
"With the help of some of our friends. I am sure the thieves and courtesans will be able to stir up discontent."
Machiavelli stepped forward. "Clever. I'll speak with La Volpe and Paola. They can help to organize the uprising as you free districts."
"And what of me?" Isabelle asked.
"You will stay with me, sister. I need your assistance to find the thieves."
"I doubt that."
"Call it my need to keep you safe. I brought you here to this chaos. I intend to honor my promise to my sister and your children to bring you home to them."
She looked at him. "I can look after myself."
"Of course, but it easies my heart to be part of it."
"Very well, Ezio." She shrugged.
Ezio nodded to Niccoló. "Then it's settled. I'll take care of his abettors." He lifted Isabelle's hands. "Come we must help them with La Volpe's spy network."
They took their leave of Machiavelli and moved to find some food before Isabelle could lead him to her husband's people.
ZzZ
Isabelle first walked into a tavern with Ezio in tow. They looked about and she found a quiet corner. She smiled a little as she pulled her dress front down a little to reveal her cleavage and also lifted her skirts revealing her legs as she walked. Ezio blinked. She looked much like a courtesan, but had enough class to cover everything that she wanted her clients to guess. He could only imagine where she had learned such things. Her husband had clearly been an influence on her blending as she came to a man who pulled her to a corner.
The man leaned close to her neck and whispered to her as she giggled and his hand went to her hip. Ezio was about to come and remove the hand and possibly castrate the man when Isabelle turned to him, her eyes making him freeze in place. Her eyes flicked to a table nearby and back at him. He nodded in understanding and moved there, his cowl up. An ample bar maid came to him and he ordered a beer as he watched the man's hand moved along her back and back to her hips. Those hips were wider from childbearing now. He could not believe this man still had his fingers intact. The last man Ezio had witnessed trying to touch her so had had her boot knife at his throat and two broken fingers. She normally resisted such flirtation like a wall of granite as Ezio knew having tried to woo her himself.
She smiled after a smile to the younger man, and walked to Ezio. She sat down and smiled at him playfully as she shifted offering him a view of her ample cleavage. He swallowed and lifted his golden gaze to her eyes as she pulled her hair into a tight ponytail.
"Well?"
"They are burning countless paintings, books, and other knowledge a few blocks from here in the plaza." She said.
"And you found that from a man who looked ready to have you right there."
"Hardly. He did it to keep appearances. He is a loyal man to my husband and he is well aware that La Volpe would kill him if he tired anything. Assuming I did not first."
Ezio nodded. They rose and walked out, Isabelle on Ezio's arm playing with the edge of her skirt as they walked out. How long had she learned this part and he had never noticed? It was of use, to be sure.
They entered the square where a great bonfire was burning and books, art, and God knew what else was being thrown into the flames by the people. A painter stood before the flames speaking to the crowd around him.
"Reject the base and material! Seek salvation in the flames! The brush, the pen, the sculptor's clay! These are the Devil's tools, and what wretched things they birth! So today I call upon you to cast off these abominations; and consign them to the flames that you may be cleansed, that you may be FREE! Give them up – or my guards will do it for you!"
Ezio and Isabelle was listening. Ezio nodded to Isabelle to stay back as she arranged her clothing to again look like a common woman, not a courtesan. She was not for sale after all and she would not look it unless needed for cover. Ezio moved closer as the painter continued.
"When I first became a painter, I did so as a means to express my devotion to God. Here, there was an opportunity to grow closer to him. For, if divinity was perfection, then surely capturing it would be divine? It seemed a righteous work. A form of prayer – of worship. And if others might gaze upon my creations and see something of the Lord within – well, would they not be also brought closer to Him?And so I thought myself an altruist. A speaker. A preacher. A guide to those who had lost their faith. But in truth, I was deceived. The Devil is a crafty sort, his manipulations, many. I thought my works were windows, but in truth, they were doors. Doors that allowed his corrupting influence to enter into our world. My art did not comfort people – but poisoned them instead! Made them lustful and base and immoral when before they were not. I had been deceived! But now I have a chance to make amends. To undo the damage I have wrought. I pray that you will join me! Free yourselves of deception and corruption! Give up your blasphemous works! Ink and canvas evoke desire, which in turn, births jealousy and rage. Destroy them! Suppress such emotions for they are dangerous! Dedicate yourselves wholly unto our Lord and his prophet, Savonarola!"
Ezio noted Isabelle had been joined by Paola and La Volpe. La Volpe stood beside his wife watching the people as she did. Ezio moved in and leapt into the air. His hidden blade pressed into the painter's chest. His momentum carried them to the ground.
"What have I done... What have I done..." The painter gasped.
Ezio looked at him. "Your actions were not your own."
"But they were! My own self-doubt let him hold me as he did. I am sorry." The painter looked at him, almost in horror as blood leaked from his lips.
Ezio nodded as the man died. He reached up and closed his eyes. "As am I. Non è una scelta che compio a cour leggero. Requiescat in pace."
Ezio walked back to Isabelle who nodded to him.
La Volpe and Paola gathered the crowd speaking to them and turning them against Savonarola. He had made promises and these were yet to be kept. Soon the crowd fell in behind La Volpe and Paola as they walked from the square.
"So far so good." Ezio said.
"Yes." Isabelle said.
ZzZ
The next day, Isabelle and Ezio had been collecting information on other people who had been charmed by Savonarola and the influence of the Apple. They were walking together through the streets when Ezio spotted someone on the earth he knew. There had been mobs that had taken to chasing the wealthy and well off members of the Firenze society, harassing them, and on some occasions, harming them.
The man on the earth was bleeding badly and Ezio dropped beside him.
Ezio gasped, clasping his shoulders. "Manfredo!? What happened!?" He said shaking him a little to gain the man's attention.
Manfredo looked up at him as blood oozed from his lips. "Men... Savonarola's men... They came through, destroying everything."
Ezio took a breath looking around. "Where is Christina!? Manfredo! WHERE IS SHE!" He asked the dying man.
Manfredo looked at him almost pleadingly. "She ran... They went after her!"
Ezio shook as he rose to his feet. "No...!" He looked at Isabelle. "I must…" Manfredo became limp and Isabelle shut his eyes. "Belle! Christina needs us!"
"What of the Lieutenants?"
"If we can save her…"
She looked at the desperation in his face and nodded. "Lead the way."
Ezio reached Christina a square near the Duomo with Isabelle close behind. Christina was being attacked by guards whom Savonarola had charmed.
"Whore! Where are your riches now?" One called.
Christina looked about. "Leave me alone! Get away! I did nothing to you!" She cried.
"Your fancy house, your expensive dress! They are sins against the Lord!" Another guard lifted part of her dress with gold thread.
Christina looked about. "Help me! Someone, help!"
Ezio launched himself at the first two guards. "Christina! RUN!" He cried.
Christina tried to flee and her attackers chased after her. Isabelle caught one and killed him as a fourth cut Christina deeply as Ezio ran after them to try and save his onetime love.
Isabelle ran to her as she collapsed near a house. She looked at the younger woman gently. "Christina." She whispered.
"Isabelle? Isabelle Auditore?" Christina asked seeing her and looking up.
"Yes." Isabelle looked her over. She had been stabbed near her heart and there was a great slash in her back. "Can you move?"
Christina tried, but failed. Ezio came to them and looked at Isabelle who was pressing her hands to the stab wound. She looked at Ezio and shook her head slightly, a sad look on her face.
Christina was dying.
Ezio shook his head at her, in denial, and lifted his love in her arms. "Come!" He barked at Isabelle.
He carried Christina into a courtyard away from the shouts and bustle outside in the town. It was beautiful with a fountain, hanging gardens, and shade. A beautiful place to die if one had to.
Ezio looked at his charge as she coughed. "Christina... Hold on! I'll get you to a doctor... You're going to be all right." He said.
Christina shook her head and spoke weakly. "No... Ezio... I don't think I am..." She whimpered. He set her on the earth and let her rest against his arm as he knelt beside her. Isabelle stood back watching the scene. Christina looked back at her. "So cold. It is very lonely isn't it…to die." She said, blood on her lips.
"It is." Isabelle said looking at her sadly.
Ezio looked at them and then Christina looked at him, blinking. "No! Don't... Don't go... Stay with me, Christina."
Christina looked up at him. "Ezio... Don't you know...? I've always been with you."
Ezio saw the pendant he gave to Christina around her neck. He lifted it and took a breath looking down into her eyes.
Christina spoke again. "I wish we... could have had... a second chance." She said haltingly. She then took a breath, shivered, and went limp in Ezio's arms.
Ezio took a breath and touched her face. "Requiescat in pace my love." He whispered and held her close to him as he then began to weep into her hair.
After a time he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see Isabelle looking down at him. The sun had shifted and he realized he had been holding the corpse for some time. He looked at Isabelle, tears still in his eyes. She had wept also and she touched his face.
"Is it always this…painful?" He asked.
She shook her head. "It becomes less so, but you always remember." She said softly. "The memories turn tender instead of painful." She said.
He nodded.
ZzZ
They paid a priest to bury her. They had found Manfredo and Ezio dug their grave as Isabelle found flowers. They buried them in a small plot in the church's grounds. Ezio did not seem to mind the labor or the fact it took him past dark to dig the hole that would be their resting place for eternity.
Isabelle held a thick beeswax candle with her cowl over her head as he reverently laid the pair in their grave, side by side. At first Isabelle had been surprised that Ezio had brought Manfredo as well, but Ezio had remarked that they had been together in life and Christina deserved company in the next life until he could join her.
Isabelle was starting to wonder about her former brother-in-law's mind as he buried the pair in the grave. It was well past supper time when he was done. Isabelle planted some bulbs in the dirt, bluebells, she had bought as well as putting a bouquet of flowers on the mound.
She stepped back and Ezio wrapped an arm about her shoulder as he stood behind her. His head buried itself in the back of her shoulder as he wept anew. For a man who seemed to never have any emotion except anger and disappointment, to see him weep now did not make him less of a man in her book. In fact it made him more of one.
She turned and held him softly, her hand tangling in his long hair. "She is with Federico. They are no longer in pain, Ezio. Let her go."
He nodded against her shoulder. "It hurts." He whispered. He knelt and pressed the necklace that had fallen from her body back into the dirt. His gift for her always, to remember him. Isabelle well knew that he was burying part of himself with her. Part of him was withered and nothing but dust now. He rose again to his feet.
"I know. Love is painful. But they are with God now. Come. We will avenge her, brother."
He wiped his eyes and then bent to kiss her cheek. "I am grateful you came to my family and I am grateful you are here now."
"You are welcome Ezio." She said touching his cheek.
"I will never forsake you." He said. "Family stays together. Once and Auditore, always and Auditore." He took her shoulders. "Remember that, sister. I love you. Please. Stay with me." He meant more than just here and now and she knew it. He had protected her when she had been a girl of nineteen, alone, pregnant with twins, afraid, and unsure. Now a seasoned woman of forty-one, she was more reflective, more sure, and just as beautiful on the inside as she was then. The years had not been unkind to her, but she had aged, as he had.
"I am not going anywhere." She promised.
ZzZ
Nearby they heard singing in Latin. Isabelle lowered her cowl and looked up at the Duomo nearby. "What is that?"
"A priest." Ezio said taking a breath.
"Omnipotens Deus, Rex regum, et omnium gubernator..."
Ezio looked at Isabelle and then started to climb the Duomo, undetected.
"…cujus potentiae nulla creatura resistere potest, cui proprium est peccatores punire, et eorum misereri qui vere agunt pœnitentiam, serva et libera nos, suppliciter te petimus, a manu inimicorum, reprime eorum superbiam, minue malitiam, dissipa illorum machinationes et astutias, ut nos tuis armis muniti semper servemur ab omnibus periculis, ad glorificandum te, qui es unicus victoriae largitor : propter merita unigeniti filii tui Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Amen. Pater noster qui es in coelis, Sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo, et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem. Sed libera nos e malo. Amen."
Ezio reached up over the bar and pulled him over thus assassinating the priest. The priest survived the falls miraculously, though his wounds and head bleed freely.
"I thought Savonarola preached the word of God." The priest gasped.
Ezio shook his head, cradling his head a moment. "I fear his sermon is a lie."
"I led my flock astray... It's just... I wanted so badly to believe..." The man's eyes rolled back and Ezio let him lay back, shutting his eyes.
"We all do. Vedrò compiuta l'opera di mio padre... Requiescat in pace."
Isabelle had stayed back allowing him to see to the dead man. Ezio made no attempt to hide the corpse and she followed him as he left the square. Behind them several people were milling about.
La Volpe and Paola came to them and spoke and soon they too joined the group that followed them. La Volpe spotted his wife as he walked by and smiled at her.
ZzZ
Ezio left his former sister-in-law to find out information on other lieutenants of the monk Savonarola. Ezio followed the lead to the doctor who stood on the steps of a church near his cart of healing balms, leeches, and herbs.
The doctor was speaking to the crowd. "It's quite simple, amici. If you desire care, you'll submit yourselves fully to our new ruler. The choice is yours to make. Continue to support the Medici - who, as you know, have long since fled Firenze - or accept Savonarola. Why fight it? Why refuse? He is a good man, strong of character and morals. He seeks to save us from ourselves."
Ezio leapt forward and drove his hidden blade into the man's chest.
The doctor looked up at him almost sadly. "You have spilled the blood of a healer."
Ezio shook his head. "No. I have spilled the blood of a tyrant."
"To command such power over the body, between this world and the next. It seems, I grew intoxicated."
"And now you grow still. La tua morte non sarà inutile... Requiescat in pace." Ezio said watching the man die.
The crowd watched him go and then followed La Volpe and Paola, who had been among them from the church area.
ZzZ
It was two more days before Ezio was able to find another. Isabelle had walked with him. Condottiero was a Florentine noble who had fallen for Savonarola's charms. He had completely closed the Ponte Vecchio by placing his Mercenaries on both sides. He declared that the bridge would remain closed until the people of Florence accepted Savonarola as their new leader. Isabelle looked up as did Ezio from the crowd as the man spoke. The people were becoming angrier as the lieutenants fell.
"I hear you moaning and complaining. You say you have things to do. Places to go. Obligations to fulfill. Hah! You have but ONE obligation - TO SUBMIT! Why fight us? Why resist us? The city is ours. Your precious Medici have abandoned you! Fled into the wastes to wallow in self pity! Savonarola wants only the best for you. A city free of vice and temptation. A people united by faith. All men are equal in the eyes of the Lord - and so they shall be in Firenze! This is a chance for us to turn over a new leaf! To leave behind our miserable past - and return to simpler times. I am here to help. To lead you into a new future. Only accept our gift. Continue to refuse, and I fear you'll have to contend with more than just a shattered bridge."
Isabelle watched Ezio move away from her. She felt something at her elbow. She whirled to face the person thinking it a thief stealing her purse. If that was the case she knew the man was an independent. None of her husband's men would dare steal from the wife of La Volpe. Her blade moved from its place. With her hand spread it blocked it from view.
However, the person there was La Volpe. He lifted a hand and she smiled lifting her face for his kiss. He gave it and then looked up as Ezio drove his hidden blade into the man from behind.
"Anywhere else I would feel pity." La Volpe said.
Ezio knelt as he rolled the body to him. Isabelle watched her husband go to Paola and speak to her.
Ezio narrowed his eyes. "You wear a noble's clothes. How is it Savonarola charmed you?"
"Wealth and power do not ensure contentment. I wanted even more..." He died unable to finish his thought.
"And now, instead, you have nothing. Questo non è che un atto dovuto... Requiescat in pace."
Isabelle joined him as the crowd for the most part followed Paola and La Volpe. "Something is being done brother. You are doing good work."
"I feel like an angel of death."
"Perhaps they are one and the same."
He regarded her and then nodded. "Perhaps sister."
ZzZ
Ezio approached the area close to the preacher, as he announced to the crowd gathered before him.
"People of Firenze! Come! Gather round. Listen well to what I say! The end approaches! Now is the time to repent! To beg God's forgiveness."
Ezio began to close in towards the Preacher. Isabelle was standing back with her husband. He watched from under his hood.
"Don't you see?! The SIGNS are all around us: Unrest! Famine! Disease! Corruption! These are the harbingers of DARKNESS! We must stand firm in our devotion lest they CONSUME US ALL! I see you doubt; that you think me mad. Ah... but did the Romans not say the same to Gesù? (Jesus?) Know that I too once shared your uncertainty. Your fear. But that was before Savonarola came to me. He showed me the TRUTH! At last, my eyes were OPENED. And so I stand before you today in the hope that I might open yours as well!"
Ezio deftly opened the man's throat as he came close to him.
"Your mind... I sense it is your own."
"Not all of us required deception to be convinced. I already believe. All I said is true." The man hissed even as blood oozed from his lips. He dropped to his knees and fell backwards.
Ezio regarded the man as his blood stained the cobbles. "Nothing is true. Non è un compito facile il mio... Requiescat in pace."
He turned and saw La Volpe waving to the people who were nearby. Isabelle nodded to him and walked to his side. She was dressed in simple clothing to allow her to blend better among them, but even with her face hidden by the cowl, he knew her well from her distinctive violet eyes.
She took his hand. "Come, brother. The people have assembled."
He nodded smiling at her.
ZzZ
Ezio and Isabelle met with Paola, La Volpe and Machiavelli in the main city square. The people were standing demanding answers.
Paola smiled at Ezio. "You've done well, Ezio."
Ezio looked at the crowd. "What happens now?"
Machiavelli nodded. "Watch."
Savonarola emerged from the Palazzo Pitti and faced the crowd. "Silence! I demand silence! Why are you here?! Why do you disturb me?! You should be cleansing your homes. Cleansing your SELVES! There are bonfires to feed! Prayers to be said! Penance to be done!" Savonarola lifted the Apple from his robes. "You will do as I command! You will SUBMIT!"
"Ezio!" Isabelle barked.
Ezio was already on the move aiming a throwing knife at the monk. Ezio threw a knife, injuring Savonarola's hand and causing the Apple to fall to the ground.
The crowd jeered and went to him, grabbing him and quickly subduing him. He struggled as they overwhelmed him. The crowd began to carry the monk away.
Savonarola cried out. "NO!"
La Volpe galvanized into action. "Find the Apple, Ezio! It can't be far!" He said looking about.
A Borgia agile guard picked the Apple up and fled.
Isabelle moved to intercept him, but Ezio was faster. Isabelle was grabbed by Machiavelli as a butcher shoved her out of the way to prevent her from being trampled as the crowd moved to Palazzo della Signoria chanting for Savonarola's demise.
Ezio chased and killed the guard on the rooftops and retrieved the Apple.
ZzZ
Ezio rejoined the assassin group. His uncle Mario was there with Isabelle. Isabelle was nursing a bruise on her face from being kicked before Niccoló could move her from harm. It was not serious and her husband gently held her.
The crowd carried Savonarola to the stake, to be burned. Many sticks were placed below him.
"God bears witness to this sacrilege! That you would handle his prophet this way! Blasphemers! Heretics! You'll burn for this. DO YOU HEAR ME? You'll BURN!" The doomed man cried.
Savonarola was tied to the stake and the fire was lit below him. "O Lord, show mercy... Deliver me from evil's embrace... Surrounded as I am by sin, I cry out to you for salvation."
The crowd cheered as the flames rose.
Ezio watched and then sighed. "No one deserves to die in such pain."
"Even a man such as he?" La Volpe asked.
"Especially one such as he." Ezio said.
Ezio made his way towards Savonarola.
Savonarola for his part was singing. "Infelix ego, omnium auxillio destitutus, qui coelum ferramque offendi: quo ibo? Quo me vertem? Ad quem confugiam? Ques mei miserebitur? Ad coelum levare oculos non audeo. Quia ei graviter peccavi. In terra refugium non invenio. Quia si scandalum."
Ezio jumped up towards the stake and stabbed Savonorala in the head. The monk cried out, but then he looked up at Ezio as his life drained from his eyes.
"It's you. I knew this day would come. Please, show mercy!"
"I have. Va' ora - che sia il tuo Dio a giudicarti. Requiescat in pace. "
Ezio walked away from Savonarola's lifeless body and stood on the stage as the flames caught the man who thankfully was not screaming in agony. Now he was burning.
Ezio lifted a hand to the crowd. "Silenzio. Silenzio. Twenty-two years ago, I stood where I stand now - and watched my loved ones die, betrayed by those I had called friends. Vengeance clouded my mind. It would have consumed me, were it not for the wisdom of a few strangers, who taught me to look past my instincts. They never preached answers, but guided me to learn from myself. We don't need anyone to tell us what to do; not Savonarola, not the Medici. We are free to follow our own path. There are those who will take that freedom from us, and too many of you gladly give it. But it is our ability to choose - whatever you think is true - that makes us human... There is no book or teacher to give you the answers, to show you the way. Choose your own way! Do not follow me, or anyone else."
The crowd thought about his words as he jumped down.
Mario greeted him with a hand on his shoulder and a nod. Machiavelli dipped his head and Paola smiled.
Isabelle embraced him and kissed his bearded cheek. "Come brother. You have elsewhere that requires your attentions."
"Yes, sister." He agreed. He touched her cheek away from the swelling in affection with the backs of his fingers. "And you have your children."
"Come home to us soon." She said.
He smiled and nodded as he looked at La Volpe and Paola already walking away with Mario. Ezio nodded to Isabelle and they followed. "I will always come back, sister."
"Good, the children miss you."
"It is because you spoil them." La Volpe said looking as his wife and Ezio came to him.
"I am the only uncle they have. I should spoil them."
La Volpe chuckled. "Indeed."
Mario looked at him. "Come nipote. We must find a safe place for that artifact."
"We already know where, uncle. Come we ride."
ZzZ
1499
It had been a year since Ezio had seen Isabelle or the assassins. He had been gathering information. At last, one stormy day in September, the assassins gathered in Mario's study of the Villa Auditore.
Mario smiled "Ezio!"
Ezio nodded. "It is time, uncle. Let us finish what you and my father started all those years ago..."
Mario looked at Isabelle who stood near him. "Indeed. Perhaps now we can finally make sense of this prophecy – and put a stop to whatever it is The Spaniard is plotting."
Ezio looked at the wall before him. "We should start by locating the Vault. The Codex pages will lead us to it. Let's take a look."
Ezio placed the Apple of Eden in front of the Codex pages on the wall assembled the map. I was placed in a cradle of stone in front of them causing the Apple to activate.
Ezio blinked. "It... It is a map of the entire world... But... there are lands shown here that do not exist..." He said pointing. "Can you see this?"
Isabelle shook her head stepping closer, but Mario nodded.
Machiavelli stepped forward squinting at the pages. "Apparently they do exist. I imagine they've yet to be discovered. Or rediscovered..."
Ezio looked at him. "How is this possible?"
Machiavelli shrugged. "Perhaps the Vault will hold the answer."
Paola eyed the papers. "Do you see where it is then?" She asked Ezio.
Ezio stepped forward. "No! It can't be! The Vault... It looks like the Vault is in Roma. Then the Spaniard... This is why he became Pope!"
Mario shook his head as a realization dawned on him. "Now I understand! It's not the Vault alone he's gained access to - but the staff as well!"
Teodora blinked. "What staff?"
Isabelle joined her. "I know not of a staff either. What do you mean Uncle Mario?"
Mario smiled. "The Codex always spoke of two keys... two Pieces of Eden needed to open the Vault. One is the Apple..."
Ezio took a breath as he began to follow. "And the other is the staff... The Papal Staff is the second Piece of Eden."
Mario sighed. "For years... No, decades... We have sought these answers."
Paola smiled as she stepped forward. "And now, at last, we have them..."
Antonio looked at his former lover and then to her husband before looking back at Ezio before them. "But so too could the Spaniard... And if he does... if he finds a way into the Vault... Its contents will make the Apple seem a trifling thing."
Ezio lifted the Apple and it darkened. "I must go to Roma and find the Vault. What of the rest of you?"
Bartolomeo chuckled. "First, I must see the small kits before I leave or my lady Siena will never forgive me."
Isabelle laughed. "Out done by a young thirteen year old." She smiled.
He laughed and swung her into a hug. "Of course. Her looks come from her mother." He laughed.
He sent her down and looked to Ezio. "We'll do what we do best, cause some trouble in the city, giving you the freedom to conduct your search."
Ezio nodded. "Thank you." He turned to Isabelle. "I will return when I can, Belle. Give the children my love."
"I will. Go to see your sister and mother before you go."
"Of course."
Mario chuckled. "Just let me know when you are ready, nipote."
La Volpe drew his wife to a private corner and spoke to her before disappearing after a deep kiss. Isabelle walked to the door and watched him leave on horseback. Siena was speaking to Barto who looked like a giant beside the petite teenager. Barto had always spoiled her and he always made sure the other children had something as well.
The twins were in their twenties now, but they too were always thought of even if it was sweets.
Isabelle waved goodbye to Ezio and Mario as they let. She wrapped her arms about herself.
Alone was becoming a feeling she well knew. She would draw closer to family while they were away and would rejoice at their return.
For now, she was a mother and she went to go break up the fight between Leonardo and Anna that she could hear from where she stood.