Danielle smiled weakly, but before she could open her mouth the doctor entered the room with his mask removed.
"Are you sure you do not want me to bleed her? A weekly bleeding is good for a person!" he said. Natalie's face grew white.
"No! You are not slicing my sister's arm," Danielle ordered. With a sigh, the doctor examined the now conscious Natalie.
"The wound was very shallow; your attempted murderer did not know what he was doing. This is good for you, of course, for it saved your life. Your voice shall be hoarse, but as long as you change the bandages daily and apply medicine the wound will heal in no time. And you shall be fit to leave now," the doctor suggested.
Danielle took the hint. Paying the doctor for his troubles, and purchasing the medicine, she guided her sister outside. Joshua was waiting for them.
"I have so many questions sister. Where have you been? Who is this? Why are you dressed like that?" Natalie prodded.
"Soon Natalie. I do not think this place is safe enough for answering such questions," Danielle replied. Joshua remained silent.
Outside of the city, there were three horses waiting for them. Despite wondering why she was not returned home, Natalie saddled her horse and followed her two companions on the path to…somewhere.
"Now we are out of the city. First tell me why I am not going home," Natalie ordered. Danielle sighed.
"While you were unconscious, I had Joshua sell father's home. Questo ė Joshua. This is Joshua. Those men that tried to kill you knew where to find you; do you really think it's safe to go back home?" Danielle pointed out. Natalie opened her mouth to protest, but knew her sister had a point.
"Now answer my other questions."
"Molto bene. Very well. Father was living a secret life as an assassin. When I was old enough, he revealed this to me and had me trained as one also. But because of the danger it could bring to the family, I had to leave. So I have been staying at father's second villa. My status is that of master, as is Joshua's. Joshua is a member of my brotherhood, and lives with me in the villa," Danielle explained. It was a lot to take in, but Danielle managed to answer everything in a few sentences.
"Is that why…father was murdered? Because of his assassin life?" Natalie asked. Danielle hesitated, then responded.
"Yes."
"And are we going to your villa now?"
Danielle nodded in reply. The trip took most of the day because they were going at a slow pace, but soon they arrived at a large stone wall. Inside was immense farmland, tended to by several servants. The villa was just past it. The property was spacious, much larger than the house in San Gimignano. They put the horses in the stable, and Natalie followed Danielle inside.
"Have you told her yet?" Joshua asked Danielle quietly. Danielle elbowed Joshua to hush him.
"Venire. Come. We have much to discuss," Danielle told Natalie.
Natalie was led inside a large room with a massive table. Surrounding the table were chairs, so Natalie took a seat. As she looked around the room, her eyes caught a map of Tuscany and Venice.
"Please pay attention," Danielle told her.
"Scusa. Sorry. What do you need to speak to me about?" Natalie inquired.
Danielle folded her hands and rested her chin upon them with a sigh. Sensing her difficulty in starting the conversation, Joshua jumped in.
"Do you have a strange vision? Everything goes dark, except for a few glowing people or objects?" he began. Natalie nodded. Finally, someone understood.
"This is a gift of assassins. We call it Eagle Vision. We use it to point out allies, enemies, targets, and objects that will aide us. No doubt it has been used frivolously with you," Joshua stated. Natalie narrowed her eyes.
"What are you saying?"
"You are destined to be an assassin, Natalie. It is in your blood; it runs in our family. This gift is passed down from assassin to assassin. Father meant to train you, but he died before you were old enough," Danielle explained. Natalie's eyes grew wide.
"I don't think I can deny it…I mean, I have the vision. That should be proof enough. But there's no way I'm cut out to be an assassin," Natalie protested.
Danielle rose, and took Natalie's hand. She guided her upstairs and into a bedroom, then released her as she went to a wardrobe. From it she pulled out a white robe with a wide brown belt and red sash. As she handed it to Natalie, Natalie stroked the simple fabric.
"Father had this made for you, when you were ready. Rest tonight, and then meet me outside wearing it tomorrow. Training begins immediately," Danielle announced; there was no room for argument as she left.
Natalie met her sister outside, who was waiting impatiently. Wearing the outfit proudly, she had the front unfastened which showed much of her chest. Danielle eyed this with one eyebrow raised. Natalie shrugged.
"Ciò che? What? I have a nice chest, I want to show it off. That robe fastened up too high," Natalie defended. Danielle rolled her eyes.
"Now, first thing I need to teach you-"
"Wait. We've just been reunited after two years of being apart, and you don't want to catch up? You just want to get straight to business?" Natalie interrupted.
"We need to find out who attacked you. We don't have time for catch up. Now the first thing I need to teach you is free-running," Danielle said.
To demonstrate, Danielle grasped the top of a window and hoisted herself up. Brick by brick, she climbed up the wall until she grabbed the bottom of the second story window. Once she was holding onto the top of that, she hung there for a bit. With a grunt, she threw herself up and quickly grabbed onto the edge of the roof. This made Natalie gasp; she could have fallen! Danielle pulled herself up onto the roof and looked down upon Natalie triumphantly.
"That was easy; now you try," Danielle said.
Natalie gulped, but approached the wall. She mimicked Danielle's first few movements, but once she grasped the top of the first story window she let out a squeak and dropped back onto the ground.
"I…I can't!" Natalie whined. Danielle put her hands on her hips.
"Why the hell not?"
"I'm afraid…of heights," Natalie said in a lowered voice. Danielle lowered her head, her shoulders shaking in laughter.
"An assassin in training, who is afraid of heights," Danielle stated once she calmed down. Natalie folded her arms, pouting.
"Di non preoccuparsi. Not to worry. We have a special remedy for that. Joshua!" Danielle called out. Joshua came almost from out of nowhere, jumping down from the third story tower onto the second story roof of the house, landing right next to Danielle.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Natalie here is afraid of heights. You know what to do," Danielle told him, before fleeing the site.
"So what exactly do you- HEY! Put me down!" Natalie screamed.
Joshua had jumped down next to her and swung her over his shoulder. Being much stronger than her, she put up little resistance. Joshua began to climb the villa until he was on the roof of the second story. But he didn't stop there. He climbed the tower he was originally on until they were three stories high. He then deposited Natalie on top of the roof, gave her a salute and a grin, and left her there.
"What the fuck! You guys can't just leave me here!" Natalie screamed.
But apparently they could. Natalie curled up into a ball on top of the roof, paralyzed with fear. She only dared to look down once, but it scared her so much that she clung to anything she could grasp; all she could hold on to were shingles. Danielle was soon at her side with a smirk on her face.
"How long are you going to keep me up here?" Natalie whimpered.
"Well I'll bring you food, but if you want to get down then climb down yourself," Danielle told her. "Shall I bring you a bedpan as well?"
Natalie glared, but Danielle left her as she laughed evilly. Natalie could only hope that she got over her fear fast.