"Assassina!"
"Stop her!"
The shouts rang out behind me as I ran through the Venetian streets. I had traced back over the actions I had taken that evening, and then mentally hit myself for running along the wet roofs in the first place, then I realized, I was still in the roofs, not very high up, but still on the wet tiled roofs. I jumped over the gap between the roof I was on and the next one over, my foot just barely touching the titles of the low roof before slipping off. My gloved hands grasped at the tiles, unable to grip the terracotta. I fell, landing in a cart full of flower petals, hitting my head on the side.
- (Because FF is stupid and doesn't let me have 2 blank lines here.)-
"Arille, wake up," a voice called through the darkness.
I opened my eyes to the relieved face of Aquila.
He smiled widely, but something was missing, "Grazie Dio, you're awake!"
"What happened?" I asked, "And where are your scars?"
His relieved look turned to one of confusion, "My what? Ah, never mind. La Tigre needs us to entertain the guests. Where's your mask?" He sighed at my confused look, "Should have figured you lost it again."
He took me by the hand and pulled me close until our sides were flushed together as we began walking down the streets, my face taking on a red color. I wasn't embarrassed, just surprised. He never did things like this. Yes, we were together, but we were always too nervous to do such things. I couldn't help but stare at his face. I had never seen him without his scars and his eyes as their natural color. It didn't look right. It left me with a very uneasy feeling.
"We've been searching all day for you, mi amore," he said, smiling at me, "I was afraid you had been taken captive by those Templars...or worse...those Assassins."
"What?" I almost shouted in surprise, "I am an Assassin, Aquila, you know that! And you are of Assassin blood, so why would it be bad?"
He gave me a curious look, before laughing, "You almost had me convinced that time. Save your acting for this evening."
"What? What am I doing?" I pulled away from him and stared, completely confused now.
He mirrored my expression, "You must have hit your head...You should have remembered, though - Carnival is tonight. We've been preparing for months!"
I decided it was better to just go along with what he was saying and not question it anymore, thinking that maybe if I listened close enough I'd figure out what was going on. Aquila pulled me close to him again and we continued into the mansion. Everything was as it should be according to the last time I had been here. We walked into one of the rooms that appeared to be a guest room and no sooner had Aquila shut the door, he had me pinned to the soft mattress and was straddling me.
"What are you doing?" I asked, staring blankly at him as my face turned a dark shade of crimson.
He looked confused again, "What do you mean? I though you liked this."
Now something really didn't feel right. This really was unlike Aquila. Yes, he was fond of me and I was fond of him, I know for a fact that neither of us would do this - least, not yet. I swallowed thickly, unable to speak as I looked up at him.
"I-I think we have a problem," I whispered.
He sat up onto his knees, "How do you mean?"
I sat up as well, taking his hands in mine, "Have you heard of the Pieces of Eden?"
"Of course. Who hasn't?" he gave me an uneasy glare, "Nobody except the leaders have access to them."
"Is one of them a silver ring with a ruby and engraved dragon on it?" I asked eagerly.
He shook his head, "Not that I am aware of. There's the apple, staff, and sword. But that sounds like the ring you always wear."
My eyes widened when those words hit my ears. Mother had given me that ring and if I remembered right, I had put it on before I found myself here. This had to be what brought me here.
"Aquila, I think you have the wrong Arille," I said softly.
"No," he said shaking his head again, "You look just like my Arille. Only thing missing is your ring. Yes. You are Arille de Matzi, the best actress we have here."
I looked at him, astonished, "Now I know you're wrong. My name is Arille de Gallo. I am an Assassin con-artist."
He chuckled again, "Good one. Now, seriously, save it, love. We have some time before we are needed, so let's have some fun." he pushed down my left sleeve and stopped, his jaw hanging slightly open, "Dio mio. What happened? I know this scar wasn't there last time."
Aquila's fingers began to trace over the pale line as I stayed silent, watching him. I could see that it was all beginning to sink in. He would silently mouth 'no' or shake his head, not wanting the information to be true. His forehead rested on my shoulder, his frame shaking slightly. I wasn't sure what to do, and gently hugged him, shhing slightly, trying to comfort him. He moved my arms away and stood, backing away from me. His expression turned to one of anger and hate, his fists clenched tightly together.
"Aquila, I-" I began and was cut off.
"What did you do with her? Bring her back now, daemon!" he shouted.
I nodded my head, "I'll try. I promise."
"That's not an option! You WILL bring her back!"
I looked down at my left hand where the ring should be. My worried expression turned to one of shock. The ring...my family ring as my mother had called it, really was gone. If this really was the key to getting home, then I needed to find it. There was only one person I was certain I could ask to help me, not knowing if Fran was here or not. And that person was calling me a daemon. It was too much to ask of him, I was sure. But what other choice was there?
"Aquila, I must ask something of you," I whispered, "If you could help me find that ring I described to you, then I think I can bring your Arille back."
HAHA! A cliff hanger. Don't worry. The next chapter will be up soon. R&R please!
