Yeah, I've been playing a lot of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood recently, which spawned this idea in my mind. Will I continue this? I have no idea.
The dark-haired woman watched the hooded man with interest from the shadows. His white robes looked rich, if slightly old, and he carried himself like a nobleman. She was vaguely fearful of the various weapons he carried – a sword, a dagger, numerous small knives, and a crossbow on his back – but her fingers were nimble, and she could be off with his purse before he ever noticed her.
Her thoughts stopped when she remembered that someone was waiting for her.
Silently, without any of the red-liveried guards noticing her, she climbed skilfully up a stone wall and onto the rooftops. Like a cat, she leaped from rooftop to rooftop, no-one ever even registering her presence.
When she reached a fairly run-down building, she stopped and fell down from the roof, walking in. She whistled two tones. It sounded vaguely like the call of a bird.
Mere moments later, a man dressed in dark rags dropped from the rooftop. His face was both handsome and plain at the same time, and he sported a small scar on his cheek. He was grinning tightly. "Mia sorella (my sister)," he remarked, his arms wide.
Scoffing lightly, the woman opened her arms and accepted the hug. "Where were you, fratello (brother)?"
"Do you mean to say you did not notice me on the roof? It appears my stealth skills have improved."
She pushed him lightly. "Giorgio…"
"Si (yes),Marianna?" he asked mockingly.
"You are beyond painful."
Giorgio made a face. "You wound me."
Now she laughed. "I've found us an ottimo bersaglio (excellent target), brother."
The man became serious almost instantly. "Where?"
"Just across the bridge from Isola Tiberina (Tiber Island). He seemed rich."
"Was he Borgia?"
Marianna shook her head. "He wore red, but his attire was mostly white."
"Even so, he may be of the Borgia, which makes him perfect." Giorgio grinned. "Then we get him. Now."
"Now? But the guards will be looking for thieves in the middle of the day."
"Which is exactly why we should strike. They will not expect it."
She scoffed. "Idiota (idiot)! That makes no sense!"
Giorgio rolled his eyes. "My plans never make sense to you."
"Because they are ridiculous."
"Calmati, sorella (calm yourself, sister). This time we cannot fail."
How wrong he was.
Giorgio stood behind a chimney on a tiled rooftop, looking beyond his cover for his sister. He'd learned the hard way that the Borgia guards did not take kindly to people on the roofs other than themselves. He touched the scar on his cheek bitterly.
Down below, blending with the crowd, Marianna was watching the hooded man converse with someone in black livery. She could have sworn she had recognised him from somewhere… She gasped. Niccoló Machiavelli. Papal Ambassador and rival to Cesare Borgia.
It was at this point, now less sure of herself, she noticed that Machiavelli and the hooded man appeared to be arguing about something. Her mark kept saying something about 'unity'.
Once the two men had parted ways, Marianna continued to watch the hooded man, waiting for her chance to strike. She found it quickly, moving through the crowd and nimbly taking the man's purse.
Shockingly, as Marianna started to run away, she heard the man call, "Hey! Ridammi i miei soldi (Give me back my money)!"
Gasping, she ran faster, taking to the rooftops. As she ran, she suddenly realised that the man was following her, running faster than her. How… How was this possible? She was the fastest person in Roma!
Seeing she couldn't outrun him on the rooftops, she decided to take to the ground and blend with the crowds. That plan backfired, as when she landed, she was immediately surrounded by guards shouting, "Ladro (thief)!" Dismayed, she pulled out a dagger and held it in a defensive pose.
Nearby, she noticed her brother dropping to the street and drawing a rusty sword, attacking a guard fiercely.
A gurgle sounded behind her and she turned. The hooded man, instead of joining the Borgia guards in surrounding her, had attacked two guards with what appeared to be a pair of blades secreted in steel bracers on his wrists. Once the guards had been felled, he drew a Sicilian rapier from his belt and attacked another guard. Shaking off her shock, she slid below a Borgia's guard and stabbed him in the stomach.
Giorgio knocked a guard's sword away and cut his throat with his own blade, before being assaulted by an armoured guard wielding a heavy longsword.
Nearby, the hooded man had felled three more guards and was now fiddling with one of his bracers. "Duck!" he said suddenly, aiming the word at both Marianna and Giorgio.
Confused, the brother and sister complied, and the hooded man raised his arm. The guard rushed him, and there was a sudden titanic explosion. The man's arm flew backwards, and smoke came from it. Had he…he had a gun?!
With the guards dead, the two thieves stood up and faced the hooded man. Giorgio's eyes were cold, albeit confused, while Marianna's seemed to shine with some form of adoration. "Grazie, messere (Thank you, sir)," she told him, bowing slightly. "How can we repay you?"
The bearded face behind the white hood appeared amused as he held out one hand. "You can start by returning my purse."
Guiltily, she took the purse from her pocket and handed it to him.
"Now then," the man said then, "perhaps you would care to explain why the guards attacked you? You are humble thieves, are you not?"
"I do not see how that is any concern of yours!" Giorgio retorted hotly.
Marianna hit him lightly. "We have eluded them before. More often than not we target only Borgia guards."
The man chuckled. "I suppose there is a valid reason for this."
"Of course there is, dannato idiota (damned idiot)!" Giorgio spat. "The Borgia have bled Italia and Roma dry with their lust for power. The Pope is supposed to be a saintly man, but almost daily he throws chestnuts to puttane nude (naked whores) to slake his lusts!"
The hooded man titled his head. "You despise the Borgia, then?"
"Why would we not?" Marianna asked simply.
There was a pause. "True. I feel that people in my line of work would desire people as devoted as you."
Giorgio's hostile manner fell. "Your line of work? Who are you?"
The man turned and smiled. "My name is Ezio Auditore da Firenze. I am an Assassin."