Rated M for language.
Kiran is my own OC, and Araceli belongs to Dragonlegends, a friend of mine who also has a FF account. This story is based off some stories I did for a deviantArt group.
Chapter 1
Ezio had returned from his last mission and had decided to settle into a calm life with a family of his own. Far above the city a figure sat in a tall stone tower, watching the veteran Assassin walk through the town square with his wife and young daughter. Ezio stood beside his wife as she talked with a stall owner, looking about warily. The figure at the top of the tower followed his gaze to a group of young men who were approaching Ezio and his family. The figure stood up, white coat with golden trim catching the wind as they darted down a board on the other side of the window they had been previously sitting on. They lept off the end and flipped into a large hay pile before jumping out and down an alley way.
Ezio narrowed his eyes as a rowdy group started making their way over. Women either pulled their children out of the way or, if they had no children with them, scattered to their men or to hide. Ezio stood in front of his wife and motioned for his daughter to hide behind the stall with the stall keeper. He took a step forward, "I think you should show these people some respect."
One of the young men, a muscly brunette, waved his hand dismissively at Ezio, "Be gone, old man. You don't run this city. This is our territory now."
"Is that so?" Ezio asked, a smirk tugging at his lips, "I don't think certain groups would like to hear that."
"Groups? You mean those pathetic 'assassins' and the gondoliers? We can handle those so-called warriors, and what do the gondoliers do? They're just glorified gangs." The brunette spat on the ground, "We control this city now. Not them. And I'd like to see anyone try and stop us!" He gestured at the crowd before laughing.
Ezio caught sight of a white and gold cloaked figure darting across the rooftops and smiled, "So be it."
"Good, now, stand aside old man-!" The brunette took a step forward before someone jumped down on top of him. The young man hit the ground hard before attempting to grab the attacker. He got to his knees and stopped as he stared into the face of a young female, her hair hidden under a white with gold trimmed hood. Her eyes were hidden but her frown was visible.
"Little boys should not be trying to control something that is not theirs to hold." The young woman stated.
"Putana...!" The man spat at her, "Go back to your home!"
"This city is my home, and as such I must guard it from people like you." She stated flatly, "You have until the count of five... Une... Deux... Trois... Quatre..." She rolled her eyes as one of the other men rushed at her from behind, "Cinq." She spun around and drove her dagger into his shoulder before kicking him in the stomach. She pulled her dagger free and gestured at the remaining group, "Anyone else?" She smirked and motioned her dagger at the roof tops, where a number of hooded figures had gathered, "Might a silly petite fille recommend you stand down and go back to whatever rocks you crawled out from under?"
The brunette growled before grabbing his injured friend and rushing off with his gang in tow. The young woman looked at Ezio and his wife and nodded before rushing off. Ezio could hear the guards in the distance and watched as the Assassins all vanished.
The young woman lept across the roof tops as she made her way back to the tower. She quickly scaled up the shady side of the tower before slipping into the small window at the top. She pulled her hood off and looked outside to see the guards running about in the streets below. She straighted up and smirked, "Araceli." She turned to look at her fellow Assassin, who's outfit was a mixture of reds, black, and gold.
"Kiran, I see you were bored." Araceli smirked as she stood up from her seat on Kiran's desk, "Ezio could have handled them easily."
"He has more than earned a calm life. Also, his daughter was in danger, I would not stand for her, or any child down there, to be harmed by those... Boys." Kiran glared out the window, her emerald eyes narrowing as she caught sight of the fleeing gang with guards chasing after them, "Those idiots have no right to claim control of this city... Even worse that they claim we control the city, or that the Gondoliers do." She shook her head.
"Idiots are idiots." Araceli shrugged before chuckling, "Just means we have a few more people to use as punching bags if they start trouble." Araceli pulled back her hood, revealing her dark brown hair and olive coloured eyes, "Has it been slow up here?"
"The shop has kept me busy enough." Kiran shrugged, feeling grateful that she had finished the orders the day before, "I've just been doing some paper work and posting news." She nodded at the board on the other side of the room that had a few papers stuck to it, "Nothing new really." She ran a hand through her dark auburn hair and sighed.
"Ezio wants to meet with us tonight." Araceli stated as she looked at the notice board.
"Je sais." Kiran nodded, "I got his letter this morning." She groaned, "Why do I know this has something to do with the guards and their sudden 'down with crime! we will fish out all evil doers' attitude?"
"Because it usually does." Araceli said, "Also, their movements have been... Odd lately."
"Oh, I've seen. They seem to be searching for something... God knows what though." Kiran shrugged. She paused and stared at the ceiling, "I had the dream again."
"Oh?" Araceli turn a curious gaze at her friend.
"It was just flashes of warriors from the past. Strong warriors..." Kiran murmured as her mind wandered, "Then, as their swords fell, they disappeared and the warriors vanished into smoke..." She shook her head, "It was strange..."
Araceli nodded slowly, she had a similar dream, but she was one of the historical figures. Her eyes widened as Kiran murmured something, "Repeat that?"
"Haha... This probably sounds foolish..." Kiran rubbed the back of her neck, "I think I was one of the warriors at one point but... It was just at the end and then I woke up." She caught the looked in Araceli's eyes, "Something's wrong."
"Maybe, maybe not." Araceli said, "We will talk to Ezio about it tonight."
Araceli glanced down at Kiran's desk and nodded at a letter. Kiran looked over and chuckled. It was a letter she was sending home to her family in France. Her father had been from the south of France and her mother from Britain. They met when her father was travelling as a merchant, married, and settled down on the French side of the canal that separated the two nations. She hadn't wrote home in a while and figured it would be a nice thing to do. She had moved to Italy when she was old enough, wanting to see the world and travel. She eventually ran into Ezio who took her under his wing after a Templar attack. After joining his Order she became close friends with Araceli and eventually made her way up the ranks to become a Master Assassin. She had a small sewing shop that was attached to an old watch tower. As far as anyone knew, the tower had been sealed off so no one could get in, but Kiran had managed to create some passages. Kiran smiled fondly as she picked up the letter, "I was going to send this later today. I'm sure my parents have heard about some of the chaos that has been going on, so I should at least tell them I'm safe."
"Good idea, amiga." Araceli nodded. Araceli lived in Spain before coming to Italy to work with Ezio. She did not talk about her past much, aside from Kiran, very few people knew much about her family and origins.
Kiran looked up as a young Assassin boy climbed in through the window, huffing as he caught his breath. He straightened himself and put on a serious face, "I hear you have missions."
"Ah, Marco, correct? Congratulations on making it up here." Kiran chuckled and nodded at the board, "This is the notice board. I post missions and requests here. I keep Ezio up to date on them and who is handling them. Feel free to look, but check with me first. Some missions are better handled by more experienced Assassins, or groups."
The boy nodded and walked over to the mission wall. He was scanning the board when another boy, about Kiran and Araceli's age, burst in through the window. Kiran glanced at Araceli and rolled her eyes before looking at the young man, "Angelo, what might you be doing here."
"Bestowing my glowing presence to you and honouring you by taking a mission from the wall." Angelo said proudly before sauntering over to the wall and pushing Marco to the side, the young boy stumbling, holding a paper from the wall close to his chest.
"Indeed." Kiran sighed as she took the paper from Marco, "... Ah, good. This is perfect for you. I will tell Ezio the next time I see him. Best of luck, Apprentice." She handed him a feather and smiled, "Safety and Peace."
Angelo huffed, "This all there is? Nothing better?"
"Every mission is important." Kiran stated.
Angelo grinned as he walked over and leaned over Kiran's desk, "I'm sure there is something more suited for someone of my caliber."
"Actually, there is." Kiran smiled, "Someone needs to clean out the shit from the stable just outside the city."
Araceli smirked and crossed her arms. Marco stifled a giggle before stepping away from Angelo's glare. Kiran chuckled, "I joke, I joke. I mean, you are Angelo, the big muscly warrior. An ego the size of a mountain and muscles to match, and a brain the size of a acorn. The man with the subtly of a bull in a pottery shop, and a voice of thunder." She smiled, "I'm sure those women are fine sharing you... I mean, I saw two of them talking about you. They were so happy their eyes could cut steel and venom could shoot from their mouths. Oh, what a lucky man you are. I do wish I could be like you. I mean, I'm here, stuck in this tower... Keeping track of missions and helping keep the city safe."
Angelo's face turned bright red as he tried to find a retort. Kiran looked at the wall, "If there are no missions her that suit your taste, might I recommend one of the bureaus? I'm sure they could help you."
Angelo stammered, trying to find words, before storming out of the room and leaping into the hay in the street below. Kiran winked at Marco, "Never let a guy like that push you around. You're better than that."
"You sure told him." Marco laughed as he looked at the window.
"I think I have an ancestor who was extremely cheeky like that and some how it was passed onto me." Kiran smiled, "And if that's the case, I thank my ancestor." She nodded at Marco, "Now, run along."