Hi everyone! This is Deeny and this is my first fic. I'll keep this short so you can get on with reading.
Please be kind. Comment, review, be lovely, it's up to you! Enjoy. :) xx
DISCLAIMER: Assassin's Creed and its characters are owned by Ubisoft. Original Characters are of my own creation.
'Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!'
The second week of Grace Harvey's "vacation" had now taken a turn for the worst.
Sure the first week was fun and all what with it being Milan Fashion Week which she went to every year; but the second week found her in Florence attempting to relax with absolutely no avail. She had been casually walking around doing the whole tourist thing with her obnoxious looking camera with its huge lens; snapping pictures of anything of interest. Florence's gorgeous architecture, random people who walked passed her who she thought looked pretty fashionable, anything to get her creative juices flowing when she returned home to London at the end of the week. But of course, Grace being devoted to another cause as well as her work; also found herself taking pictures of every building that had some age to it. She thought it would be easy using her rather expensive camera's zoom function and humongous lens but was she wrong. Very wrong. Most of the buildings in Florence were old who was she kidding. Every year she ended up in Florence after Milan Fashion Week it was never spent relaxing or finding inspiration but prowling around taking pictures of things that when they were shown to the people at the London and Italian bureaus, meant absolutely nothing. She just wanted anything. A cryptic symbol on the side of a building that only she had found and could mean something, a sign of an ancient mechanism inside a church that would lead to some massive underground crypt that nobody had discovered, a hooded man slouched over in the corner of some dark dingy alleyway she had never seen anyone walk in to or out of.
Wait a minute. Grace thought to herself. She blinked a few times before she focused her camera in to the alleyway she glided her lens past not ten seconds prior. She increased the zoom function a little bit more in the direction of the alleyway and scowled slightly at the LCD screen on her camera.
'Oh bugger it.' Grace mumbled to herself. Curiosity had got the better of her. She gently pressed the off button on her camera and let it hang around her neck from the lanyard she had attached to it. Keeping her senses alert, Grace slowly walked over to the alleyway that had caught her attention; being careful not to bump in to any locals or the odd tourist who was loitering about trying to decipher a map or a phrase to pronounce in their guidebook. Grace could only be happy at the fact that it wasn't all that busy today as it was still pretty early in the morning. Though in a few hours' time the square she was in would be filled with people. Glad at the surrounding calmness and the fact it meant nobody would really be watching her; she crept even closer to the dark alleyway. Taking a final quick glance around her to make sure she also had a clear escape route back to her hotel on the other side of the square; she made her way in to the darkness. The shade was providing instant relief from the growing heat of the sun out in the square.
Grace carefully stepped closer to the hooded man who was slouched against one of the alleyway walls. His arms were limp at his sides and his head was drooping slightly. The thought occurred to her that he could be one of many things. He could either be sleeping off a drunken night out, he could've been homeless and sought cover in the alleyway or the worst thought; he was dead. She noticed no blood pooling around him or seeping out through his clothing but she did not dismiss the final thought. So, ever cautiously she crept toward the man to take a closer look. Grace couldn't make much out of him in the darkness of the alleyway, but she instantly recognised the symbol on his rather old fashioned looking belt. Only after she realised that was then when she also realised that the man's clothing was also rather old fashioned. Now knowing he was one of her own order, Grace got even closer still and knelt down beside the slumping body. She steadied her right hand and reached out two fingers toward his neck to check for a pulse. Grace looked around quickly again to see if anyone was coming her way till suddenly she felt a sign of life. The man did have a pulse. Keeping her hand steady, Grace carefully moved her hand towards the man's hood which was obscuring most of his face. She gently pushed the fabric back to reveal a barely visible face because of the darkness. Frustrated from the lack of lighting she edged even closer still to try and figure out the man's features. He had a very strong, defined nose as well as a rather noticeable cupid's bow and a large prominent scar running down both his top and bottom lip on the right side. It was the scar that did it. Grace knew who he was as soon as she noticed the scar, which sent her in a slight panic. She fell backwards on to her backside and slowly edged away using her hands and feet as propulsion. Words were not coming out of her mouth but a series of stifled mumblings and stutters did instead. Grace clumsily staggered to her feet and looked around the alleyway and back in to the square slightly flustered. 'Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!' She mumbled to herself. Exasperated; Grace scrunched her eyes in sheer frustration and rubbed her face vigorously with both her hands trying to get herself in to a more Zen state of mind which was currently in overdrive.
Okay okay, composure. Calm. Tranquil forest. Whale music. I haven't panicked like this in a long time just, ride it Grace you can do it. Grace thought to herself. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before she put her serious head on. She needed to get this man to safety as quickly as possible especially if he really was who she thought he was. Other questioned filled her head trying to distract her from the matter at hand but she brushed those aside as they could wait till later. The problem at hand now was how she could get him back to her hotel. Sure enough it wasn't that far away but Grace could hardly call the emergency services for assistance. She furrowed her brows together as she started muttering obscenities again to herself. She crouched down next to the man and tried her best to bolster his weight on to her shoulders. She struggled slightly but managed to get him moderately upright. Grace's on the spot plan was to wander back out in to the square and ask some strong looking chap to help her. She'd make something else up as to why she had a strangely dressed, passed out man hung round her shoulders like a scarf. As Grace began staggering her way out to the square with the man hanging off her, she noticed he was stirring slightly. Her spirits had lifted slightly as he seemed to have regained some control in his legs as she had shuffled along. Grace launched him up a bit more on to her shoulders using her arms to keep him upright. She was stronger than most women but attempting to carry this man alone made her seriously reconsider that extra a few hours of weight training she did every week. She rolled her eyes at the thought as she soon found herself edging toward the square. She glanced around checking to see if it was safe and she set her pace evenly back toward the hotel she was staying at. One or two people she passed had stared at her with the man wrapped around her shoulders but it wasn't until a young coupled quickly shuffled over to her obviously noticing her slight distress.
'Please do you speak English?' Grace asked the couple. They both nodded at her.
'Can we help you at all?' The young man said as Grace nodded. He hurried round to the free side of the man taking some of his weight off Grace. She sighed heavily as he took some of the strain.
'Names Simon and that's my wife Jess. Can I ask what happened?" asked Grace's saviour. Grace looked over to Jess who had taken her husband's bag and had also kindly taken Grace's bag off her shoulder which was slipping down. Grace mouthed thanks to her. It was time for some more on the spot thinking.
'I was walking back with my man here from a re-enactment. We're almost back to our hotel and he goes and passes out on me!' Grace exclaimed. 'He has Narcolepsy he can black out at any moment.' Grace hoped she got that right. Simon and Jess nodded at her. 'I'm Grace by the way and this is…' She trailed off taking a second to think of a random Italian name to call "her man" so as not to give his real name away, just in case. Not many people would help total stranger but Grace couldn't help in being slightly cautious of everyone. She shook "her man" with her hand slightly.
'Hmm as you can see he's not exactly with us right now.' She faked a slight grin. 'This is Antonio.' She hoped they bought it. The couple smiled at her so she took that as a yes.
'Well let's get you where you need to be." Simon smiled. Grace nodded at him in reply. With the two of them it took no time at all in getting "Antonio" back to the hotel which was only five minutes' walk at the most. Grace directed Simon down the side of the hotel where there was another smaller entranceway which brought you right up to the elevators. Grace was thankful in having a hotel so close by.
"I should be able to take it from here." Grace said, conveniently as "Antonio" was now burbling on a bit, a tiny amount of drool escaping his lips. "See he'll be coming to shortly."
'Are you sure?' Jess asked. "It's no trouble at all.'
'I'm sure, but thanks for the offer you've done so much to help already.' Grace looked at Simon and Jess who both smiled at her.
'Well if you're ever near the Strozzi Palace hotel pop in and see us, just ask for Simon and Jess Cooper we could go get lunch sometime." Jess suggested. Grace heard the sincerity in her words, they weren't out for her or "Antonio." They were just a normal young couple on holiday. Grace smiled again.
"Yeah that sounds nice. Lunch is on me though I owe you for helping me." Grace said. 'I insist.'
The group soon parted after their goodbyes and after Jess had placed Grace's back on to her spare shoulder. Grace put her serious face back on as soon as they were out of sight. She reached in to her pocket to grab her room keycard as she shuffled in to the closest elevator and slammed her hand on the number nine button. A few seconds later the elevator made it's distinct pinging sound when it got to floor nine. Thankfully Grace's room was just a few doors away but she still kept her wits about her as she left the elevator in case anyone was around. Struggling with the partially comatose Assassin slumped over her shoulders she eventually made it to her room and slid the keycard through the lock; taking a few more glimpses down the hallway before the shuffled through the door. Grace threw the keycard on the floor as she glanced round her room. She had booked the only room left in the hotel that week which contained two queen sized beds, one of which however was full of clothes laid out neatly on the quilt; some where her own clothes some where her latest designs. Housekeeping had been in whilst she was out so her own bed was made perfectly. Grace lurched over to the bed free of clothes and tipped the Assassin on to it; the bouncy mattress taking his weight off her shoulders. Grace rubbed her eyes slightly out of exhaustion and groaned as she focussed on the white clothed body lying on her bed. She started fidgeting about with his clothing, taking of his boots, weapon belt, his hidden blade bracer then finally she managed to wrestle his white robe of him. Grace laid everything neatly on a chair opposite from the bed; she glanced back to the Assassin without his entire garb on him. Then it dawned on her, she was going to have to contact the London Bureau. That is if anyone was about and the chance of that happening was slim. Grace's back was on the floor near to her so she began to rummage through it for her phone. Eventually finding it she hammered in what seemed to be a bunch of random number before hitting dial and holding the phone to her ear. She paced up and down the room a bit smelling something strange. She made a face at the odour before lifting up her arm and sniffing. It was her, she stunk. Then her phone burst in to life.
'Frankie, yeah it's me. I need a secure line to London please.' Grace spoke in to the phone. 'Yeah, thanks man.' A minute later and Grace was about to throw her phone at the wall. She was developing a mammoth headache and what she was listening to on the phone was not exactly helping.
'A fucking answer machine? Seriously?' She asked herself as she listened to the voice asking her to leave a message for the people of the London Bureau. The beep sounded. Grace gave the answer machine a mouthful.
"It's Grace. Would someone please get back to me A.S.A.P. as I have a very important matter I wish to discuss? Something very weird has happened, I have an enormous headache because of it and now I'm going to take a quick shower because I smell like an arsehole. With haste please."
Grace angrily pressed the hang up button and threw her phone on the nearest surface. She went back to her bag, found some random painkillers she had in there and took a few of them; swilling them down with a gulp of water from the decanter that was on the table she threw her phone on. Grace just wanted the painkillers to kick in as soon as possible and have a shower to help calm her down a bit. She took one last look at the comatose Assassin on her bed and stormed in to the en-suite bathroom yanking the door shut behind her.