Disclaimer in chapter 1
On a cold, dark night of the Italian winter, a lone man rode his horse silently down the path to his town. Occasionally, he gazed up at the stars above his head, wishing for his happiness and freedom back, wishing that he didn't have to do what he did.
He was a monster that took lives, and when he couldn't, he'd make them hell- in the name of what? Peace? Freedom? Prosperity? Despite how many times someone had tried to drill it into him, he could never make sense of why they did what they did- why either parties thought they could play god. If anyone asked him his true opinion on the matter, he would tell them they were sick and twisted; no one should have more power than what they are born with, no one should be better than anyone else- yet it seemed that in the world they lived in, all that mattered was power.
As his mind rambled on, he didn't notice the way his horse had drifted to the side of the road, into a clearing and stopped. Only when it whined did he look around him.
It was extremely dark- he could barely see a thing- but he did notice the small figure curled up on the ground.
He climbed off his horse and crept over to it. Slowly, he pulled out a dagger to defend himself if the need arose, but found that there was no need at all.
The figure was completely unconscious.
He turned and walked back to his horse. He didn't care what happened to the figure- it was nearly dawn and it would live. However, he found that when reaching his horse, the beast nudged him back over to the figure and backed away when he tried to reach out for it. The man couldn't work out why the horse wouldn't let him near it, so being too tired to even think about it, he turned back to the figure and stared.
It was weird to say the least.
Well, it probably was a she.
The more he squinted, the more he could see the long hair tatted on the floor. She was wearing a shirt with no buttons which confused him endlessly and strange pants with shoes. He nearly laughed at how stupid he thought the woman (girl?) was- she'd collapsed in the middle of a clearing, with no coat on in the middle of winter? Yes, very stupid. Though, he supposed that she couldn't have figured out where she would have fallen.
He watched her as the shivers continued to rack her body, almost making him feel sympathetic towards her. He turned back to his horse.
"Are you going to let me back on you?"
The horse just whined.
"So, no?"
He received the same answer. He turned back to the person.
"So, I'm guessing you won't let me leave without her, is that it?"
The horse took a step closer to him.
"Wait, you're actually serious? Dio mio… why am I even talking to a horse?"
He pulled a face as he bent down to pick the figure up, careful not to jostle her too much. Slinging her over the back of the horse, he climbed on and directed it back onto the road.
"Ragazza, you best consider yourself lucky," He grumbled, "I've just let my life be dictated by a horse for you."
And the horse continued on its merry way with one peaceful passenger and one very tired and agitated one.
It was light when she came around. It was also warm. And she was comfortable.
Where am I? She wondered as she looked around. She was in a room she did not recognise- the bed she was in was massive with numerous blankets and throws piled on top of her. There was a roaring fire in front of the bed with a large portrait on top. It was a family who she, surprise surprise, didn't recognise.
She tried to sit up- key word being tried - but found that she couldn't. Just as she was about to try again, a young girl walked in.
"Oh, you're awake? We weren't expecting you to wake this early." She looked confused before smiling, "Well I suppose you'll want something to eat then? We have soup if you want."
She couldn't even protest before a quite large bowl was shoved in front of her.
"There, eat up, you'll be wanting your strength if you want to go home."
Home? But wasn't that where she was?
"I don't know how much of it you remember but apparently my idiotic older brother found you in a clearing- why he brought you back, he won't tell me- wait, scusa, don't think you're not welcome because you are it's just that he won't tell me anything and he's being really touchy about the whole thing for some reason and- hang on, he didn't sleep with you did he?"
And the girl promptly half spat, half choked on her soup.
"I'll take that as a no then." She dead panned, sitting on the edge of the bed. For whatever reason, she started giggling, "Sorry about that, I sometimes ramble on when I'm nervous or whatever and we kind of don't know who you are so…"
She smiled. She stared.
"…You are?"
Ah.
Now that the girl thought about it, who was she? Then the realisation hit her. Who. Was. I?
"I-I don't know" she panicked. Who the hell was she? She now knew she wasn't at home, the poor girl didn't even know her own name and apparently she'd be 'rescued' by some idiotic man who could have slept with her then done something to her to make her forget and- wait! No.
That can't be right.
Something about stars or wishes or something… nothing.
"You don't know?" The other girl asked calmly.
"N-no."
"Ah, well, this changes thing's doesn't it?" She smiled warmly.
She got up to leave and walked towards the door before turning to face the girl.
"I'll be back in a little bit, just finish off your soup and rest a bit more, okay?"
And she left. Left the girl. In a room she did not recognise, in a place she did not know.
Oh what did I do to deserve this?
True to her word, the girl did come back a little later, this time with a man.
"Did you get much more rest? I understand that this may be a bit, well, difficult for you."
She just smiled back.
"I'm Claudia by the way, and this man is my uncle, Mario."
Both of them continued to smile at her, expecting her to say something. It was weird how much they smiled though- the younger girl certainly wasn't used to it.
"It's, uh, nice to meet you," she said quietly, "But I was wondering if you could tell me where I am?"
"You're in Monteriggioni. Tell me girl, do you have a name?" The man asked her.
"I think? But I can't remember it."
"Can you remember anything?"
"No, signore."
Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't the blooming laugh that came from the man.
"Signore? I like this girl!" he continued to laugh, "Ha! If only Ezio was that respectable. But no, there is no need for that, it's just Mario."
"Okay Mario." His grin never lessened.
"So, if you do not remember anything, I wonder how we can help you…" Claudia wondered out loud, "Perhaps uncle, Ezio could take her back to where he found her? That may trigger some memories."
"Very true Nipote, I'll ask him when he wakes."
"I'd rather you then I Zio."
"Give him time Claudia; he'll come 'round. As for you, I'll leave you two to it." He gave a slight wave a left leaving the girl and Claudia alone.
"So, do you think you could manage a walk?" She looked at her critically.
"Probably not, but if I got a change of clothes or something, I might be able to motivate myself enough." she smiled cheekily.
"Alright, but I'm afraid I've got some bad news about your old clothes- they're a bit, well, weird. But by the looks of you, you should be able to fit into something of mine, how old are you?"
Again she didn't have a clue.
By the time she'd got changed and up and felt strong enough to walk on her own, it must have been late evening. They'd only walked to the back of the town (they lived in a villa, it was great!) and stopped to look at the view.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Claudia asked her.
The young girl looked at her. She had a sad smile on her face, like she longed for something she didn't have. She looked at the vast countryside in front of her.
"Si, very much. But for some reason, I feel like I'd prefer a city life than this. As lovely as it is, I don't think I could deal with the quietness of it all."
She turned back to Claudia but was shocked at the look on her face. If it was possible for her jaw to touch the floor, then it would have.
"It's like you've just read my mind!" She laughed, "We never used to live here, we did live in Firenze but something happened and now we're here."
"What happened?"
"Ah, something I'd rather not talk about right now."
She must have looked disappointed because Claudia gave her another sad smile.
"Sorry, it's just very personal and there's a few other things going on right now and I feel like if I spoke about it, I'd never stop."
"It's okay," she smiled. It was the only thing she could do.
They stayed out until the sun set and only came back in they were called by Mario.
It seems he had something to tell them.
Falling. Rope. Death. Men? No, boys. A boy. Falling. Rope. Death.
"No."
Falling. Rope. Death.
"Please, no."
Men? No, boys. A boy.
"Not them."
Falling. Rope. A girl?
Death.
Ezio shot up panting. He groaned, putting his head in his hands. This dream.
It was all he got, every night without fail. He tried not to sleep on most but he couldn't help it. Exhaustion was a horrid thing.
"Ezio?" He looked up and spotted Mario in his doorway, "Are you okay?"
He just shook his head.
"Here, drink this." Mario came closer to him and handed him a glass of water. He slowly drank the drink as Mario sat at the end of the bed, "Better?"
"Si, grazie uncle." Ezio muttered.
"Still having the same dream?" He nodded, "It'll pass in time."
"Mario, you've said that every night since I first started having it and yet, it's still here."
"Ezio, these things take time. You know they do."
"Well, it doesn't feel like it." Ezio whispered before lying back down, rubbing his head. Mario just sighed.
"Ezio, I need to ask a favour of you."
"What is it?" He snapped.
"To take the girl back to where you found her. See if she remembers anything."
"Why me?"
"Because you know where it was." Mario sighed again but this time got up.
"Yes but I can tell someone and they can take her."
"Ezio-"
"Uncle.
"Boy." Mario whispered dangerously low, "Stop being so petty about things. I asked you a simple favour and yet here you are, complaining about it like a child. Get up and get ready, you can take her in the morning for that."
Ezio sat back up as he left. Why did he have to go? He was sure there were plenty of other people who could take her. He had places to go, people to see. More lives to ruin, he thought darkly.
He got up and dressed and made his way downstairs, making sure to check on his mother. There was no difference, nor did he think there ever would be. Here he was acting like a sulking child when his mother had gone completely mute. Perhaps I am being awkward about this.
He walked into Mario's study and noticed it was already dark. He nodded a greeting at Mario and continued to the books on the shelves behind him. It wasn't long before he heard his sister and the girl enter.
"Uncle, Ezio." Claudia huffed. So, she was still annoyed.
"Ah, girls. As Claudia mentioned earlier, perhaps it would be best for Ezio to take our guest to where he found her, it could bring some memories back for you, could it not?"
"It might." The girl sounded hopeful. Ezio turned and watched the girl through the interaction. She was unusual looking but in a strangely intriguing way, almost beautiful he thought. Personality wise however, he wasn't expecting what he got. He must have been staring for too long because she turned to him.
"Like what you see?" She said bluntly.
"Perhaps."
"Well, from what I've heard about you, I think I could do better."
Yep. Definitely not expecting that.
"Is that a challenge?" He smirked.
"Apparently so."
"Well, this should be easy."
"And why is that?"
"Well, for a girl who doesn't know who she is, how could she possibly know who she likes?"
And if there was a line, he'd definitely crossed it. The small smile on her face was wiped and she looked… worried?
"We leave at dawn tomorrow. Meet me at the gates and we'll go."
Hello again! I hope you enjoyed that chapter and if there are any confusing point of view changes throughout it, please tell me- I may have kept switching whilst writing it… Anyways, you have met Ezio, Claudia and Mario and I hope you're not too confused. You'll find out more about the situation a little later on but if anyone has any questions, feel free to pm me. Also! Reviews are welcome as per but please do not write a review for the sake of being nasty, again, it's not nice. Thanks for reading and hopefully the next chapter shall be up soon!