Authors notes: Again, I own nothing. This was done simply for the fun of it. Feel free to leave feedback (and if I make any mistakes, please tell me so that I may correct them as soon as possible). Chapter 1 has been edited slightly for more dialogue. Enjoy the story and enjoy the fluff at the beginning!
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Chapter 2: A Plan Set In Stone
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Excerpt from Leonardo's Journal
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…
Decoding …
"Sometimes the most incredible things happen in my life. I've met so many great and interesting people. Clients have become friends; however, I still seek refuge and peace in my workshop. I cannot help it; my mind wanders so often on new ideas, new discoveries! Still, no one will hold a closer place in my heart than him. To have someone do so much just to say thank you is beyond words. Even writing this in a journal … no amount of script can convey how grateful I am for this."
Decoding …
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…
Lightly scrawled underneath, just faintly out of view …
Decoding …
"I do understand; I only hope I can show you further how much I care. Thank you for taking care of me all these years."
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After a few hours of rest, Ezio awoke to a quiet workshop. Leonardo left a small note on the table.
Ezio,
I had to take a completed painting to someone in San Marco. You looked too tired to wake up and I had already received plenty of rest earlier after the tour. Feel free to help yourself. If you're not there when I return, travel safely, amico mio.
Leonardo.
"Hm. I guess this is my chance." Ezio murmured to himself while holding the letter. He glanced around, looking again at the many unfinished pieces. Now that Leonardo was gone, perhaps he could get a better idea of what to surprise his friend with.
It was difficult. Despite being his closest friend, the assassin's visits were rare, so opportunities to catch up with one another were few. Everything revolves around the next assassination, the next mission, or the next job I have to do. Though Leonardo had been far more than understanding to the situation, Ezio felt as if he was beginning to take advantage of the situation a bit too often. Perhaps someday I can get a fraction of my old life back … that would allow me to visit him more.
He searched; an obvious method to his madness began to show. At least, that's what he convinced himself to believe. As he combed the sketches with his eyes, he noticed a pattern; flight! Ezio almost rolled his eyes at how obvious the find was.
Leonardo had many sketches of wings and birds. Among those, the concept art of the Flying Machine was even greater in quantity. One page of sketches caught his eye especially. Ezio picked it up and grinned. This one looks like a smaller version with a loose outline of a person riding it. The sides of the paper showed various angles of the machine in flight.
Content with the image that he found, he smiled and wasted no time in leaving. Soon he was dashing along the rooftops, giddy with the sense that this would be the perfect gift. It certainly matched the painter's eclectic personality.
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When Leonardo returned that night, it looked as if Ezio had been browsing through his artwork. That came as no surprise to the artist because the assassin had made it quite clear that he enjoyed the art regardless of its state of completion. What surprised him a missing sketch that he had been using as a point of reference for a much larger flying machine.
It is gone!
Leonardo looked all over for the piece, and came up empty handed. Surely I must have lost it. He reasoned. Or perhaps it slipped somewhere unreachable during Ezio's browsing. Either way, I cannot possibly blame him.
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A few weeks later…
It was the evening. Everything in the city had dragged to a standstill. People were closing their shops for the night and heading home. For Leonardo, it was the perfect time to set forth on a stroll. Dusk in Venice always revealed a splendor of color to the often restless painter. He began down the road, listening to nothing but the sounds of water and his own feet hitting the ground.
He would later find himself bitten by concern over Ezio's whereabouts. The assassin had only stopped by one more time to introduce Leonardo to Rosa and Antonio of the Thieves Guild. Strangely enough, their conversation was limited to very brief notes via carrier pigeon.
Stranger still, he had not received a Codex page since he had arrived in Venice.
He paused and looked to the rooftops, as if expecting Ezio to rush by. Still, nothing. Leonardo shook his head and continued on his relatively quiet walk. I suppose he has quite a few missions to tend to.
The peaceful walk lost its tranquility when someone ran right into him. The painter stumbled forward and, with a light yelp, he turned and faced the person just as he regained his balance. A very sheepish Rosa looked back at him. Her innocent stare was quickly replaced by a bold and amused one.
"Buon giorno, Rosa. I see you are in quite a hurry!" Leonardo laughed. This made Rosa's confidant look diminish briefly.
"Ah. Buon giorno, Leonardo... Si! I am! Or I was." Rosa thought that idea over for a moment, "I was trying to see how fast I could run. I did not count on running into someone in this area at this time of the day."
The way she spoke seemed … off to Leonardo. It was as if she were keeping some interesting little idea to herself. Still, it was Rosa. No doubt she had many ideas she kept relatively hidden. He ignored the feeling for the time being.
"Would it not be better to be running up there?" Leonardo asked, nodding his chin towards the rooftops. This question put Rosa off her rhetorical footing.
"What?" She blinked, then turned her eyes up in the direction the painter had indicated and quickly formulated an excuse which she hoped the painter would buy, "Oh! Well, wouldn't you think it more challenging to run through the streets instead of the rooftops? There are many more obstacles here." She spread one arm out to indicate the still cluttered streets.
Leonardo rubbed his chin, "No doubt..." He did notice he had put her off, however. A sign in her body language that indicated she was ready to curse, either at him or herself, when he asked the question. That suggested he had definitely caught her doing something or she did not expect to run into him of all people on this night. He probed further, "But I might argue that it would be a greater challenge to practice during the day, when the streets are filled!"
That statement was one which Rosa could easily turn aside, "Practice turns to trade when I get the attention of the guards, Leonardo." She grimaced at the memory of some wound healed long ago but whose pain she could not forget.
Leonardo had a taunt lined up for her reply but he was struck by a pang of regret when he noticed the anguish on her face – it was one he had seen on Ezio's many times when he would stumble into his workshop, each time wounded somewhere new. "I... understand. Mi diapiace, Rosa."
She waved her hand, "No need to forgive, such hazards are not always obvious. If you do not mind, I should like to continue my exercise?"
Leonardo bowed respectfully, "Buona notte, signorina."
"To you too, Leonardo." Rosa only spoke formalities with friends – that caught Leonardo off guard. He watched her as she dashed away and was left alone once more.
He stowed away his initial suspicion and decided that her reasons for being out were genuine.
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Translations (I try my best to not use Google Translator, albeit I am rusty with the language):
Si (Yes)
Amico Mio (My friend)
Buon Giorno (Greeting, Hello)
Mi diapiace (I'm sorry)
Buona notte (Goodbye, Goodnight)
