Here is the first chapter! It took me quite a while to write, since I didn't know exactly what to make of the plot. But now that that's dealt with, here it is! This is based in a modern AU Monteriggioni (as seen in the game).

Disclaimer: I don't own Assassins Creed or any of its characters. Ubisoft does.

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"If the town were a black hole, I was the helpless star being sucked into oblivion. It was an oblivion I craved." – TJ.D. Stroube, Caged in Darkness

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Those that remember the day that Elisabeth Miles died will swear that a purple flash crossed the sky, painting a trail of burning ashes that got lost in the horizon; a flash that would bewitch my dreams for years to come, despite the fact that I had never seen it. It had happened during an abnormally cold October day, the coldest in the last century. I could remember it as if it was yesterday. Guilt flooded my entire being every time that I remembered it, impossible to remove. It was a guilt that I wouldn't be able to forget easily, and that I probably never would. Bad things happen to good people. This was the only way to describe the tragedy that had befallen on my family.

Dead trees were left behind as the car that I was currently in moved forwards, warning me of what laid ahead. We hadn't crossed a single living being during the whole time we had been travelling, and the closer we got to our destination the less living things that I saw. The sun was hidden by thick grey clouds that would turn black in a matter of seconds. The old and worn away road was surrounded by the greenest grass that I had ever seen and tall weeds that were gradually taking over what was left of the road, if it could even be called that. Today it was the 21st of December, almost the day that would mark two full months since the death of my mother, and almost Christmas too. Thick fog surrounded the car, making it impossible to see a few meters ahead. I opened the window and breathed in deeply, taking in the heavy humidity of the ambience and the lingering smell of death that was around it, reminding me of that, reminding me of her.

"Desmond, close the window. You know your sister is sick" my father spat at me.

I grumbled and closed the window; I didn't have much else to do. I stared at the dead landscape, which got slowly left behind, along with so many other things. There were many reasons for us moving to a small town in another country. One of them was the emptiness that my mother's death had left in our apartment of New York. Another one was my sister's sickness. I had been forced to leave anything behind, without a single possibility of getting it back. My friends had promised to come over in summer, but that was very far away, too far away, for it to make the new life that awaited me more bearable. I tapped quicker the buttons of my mobile phone, wanting travel back to three months ago.

The chosen town was one that my mother had told us that her ancestors had lived in centuries ago: Monteriggioni, in Italy. Why my father had decided to move I could understand, but to move so far away…

"We'll be there very soon! Aren't you all excited? This place is so pretty!" my sister, Lilian Miles, called by everyone 'Lily' instead, said with an excited tone of voice.

I grumbled something, not bothering even to give one of my usual jokes. I continued tapping furiously the buttons of my mobile phone, suddenly realising that I would never manage to get a signal at all in this place.

"Desmond, you're going to run down the battery if you continue like that" My father said.

"There isn't a signal in this place anyways" I said harshly, looking out the window with curiosity as we entered the village.

All the houses seemed to be made of stone, and were completely different to what I had grown used to at New York. The inhabitants of the village looked at us as our car crossed the streets, some with shock written all over their faces, and others with plain curiosity. The town was surrounded by forests, and while the thick fog that we had encountered on our way here seemed to disappear inside it, the chill in the air still remained. I shivered inside the car despite the fact that the window was closed. Just how cold was this place?

As the streets became narrower and narrower, my father had to decrease the speed. The gps had been working all the time he had been driving towards here, but now it seemed to be suffering from the same signal problems that my mobile phone had been suffering from earlier.

"Desmond, get a map and help me find where the house is" My father told me.

"Dad, we're lost anyways. We're not going to be able to find the house even with a map" I quickly snapped back. "We're better off asking a local" I then added.

My father sighed, thinking of a way to reply, but soon he gave up and decided to ask a local instead. It would be the easiest thing after all. He looked around and pulled the car to a side, close to a person that was walking down a street.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you know this street is?" he asked the man as he pointed to a street on a map.

The local stared into his eyes with a strange expression in his face. "Why do you want to go there? It'll be better for you to stay away" He just said.

My father look at him, confused. "We're moving there" He stated.

The man stared at him for several moments, before giving him the directions. My father thanked him and was about to start driving again when the local said something else.

"Get out of there as soon as you can if you value your life" He said, before he started walking again.

As my father's car drove away and got closer and closer to what would be our new home I couldn't help but to stare back at the man that had kindly given us directions. Just what did he mean by that? Several minutes passed until I decided to ask my father.

"Dad, just what did that man mean by us being better off staying away from the house?" I asked him, doubt evident in my voice.

"Nothing Desmond, you know how many stories and legends circulate around these places. It's nothing more than something that is said to scare away new people away" He quickly answered with a grumble.

I sighed and started looking at the town through the window again, deciding that forgetting what that man had said was the best thing that I could do. It was true; the stories that circulated in these places could be ridiculous at times.

The streets of the town seemed to be decorated with a lot of trees, although most of them didn't have any leaves due to the season. People strolled by casually, covered with thick layers of clothing. I could see the forests that surrounded the city's walls, although they didn't look like what I had seen in other places. They looked cold, almost dead. Like those trees that we had seen while coming here. It didn't look like something where you could have a nice and relaxing stroll, and somehow I doubted that many things could be found there. When we passed through the main square I saw for the very first time the clock of the town hall. It stood high, as if it was watching the entire town. I stared at it closely. There was something wrong with it. It took me several moments to notice what it was. Its handles didn't move.

There was a big fountain right in the middle of the main square, and I could see just a few small children around it. In fact, there were very few people at the square or walking through the streets, and yet it was just the afternoon. It was almost as if they wanted to avoid being at the streets.

Soon we were going through another road. At the very end of it was an enormous mansion constructed in stone, quite close to one of the medieval walls that surrounded the town. It was a beautiful sight, but it had a strange and eerie aura around it that made me shiver once more. The man's words came to me again, and I shook my head, trying to get rid of it. Old stupid stores, that was all. My father parked his car directly in front of the house.

"We're finally here!" My sister said with a cheer, as she immediately got off the car. "Look at how pretty it is dad! Are we really going to live here?" She asked with a smile. "All of our things are already here, right?" She then asked.

My father just smiled and nodded before getting off the car. I quickly did the same thing, and started walking towards the main entrance, which was constructed beautifully. Directly outside it was the man that I knew that had sold the house to my father, who had promised that would be waiting for us.

"You must be the Miles, right?" he asked us with a thick Italian accent.

My father nodded. "Yes, I'm William Miles. I suppose that you're Mr Batelli?"

The man immediately shook his hand, and then smiled at us. "Follow me, I'll show you around the house" he said, just before unlocking the main entrance and entering the room.

The room that I found upon entering was huge, constructed in what seemed to be marble. It was truly a beautiful sight, and I wondered for a moment just how much this house must have cost. The entrance hall was filled with boxes that contained all kinds of objects and furniture, the one that we had decided to bring with us despite the fact that we had been assured that the house already had furniture of its own.

"As you know this house is as old as the town itself" The man started saying. "There was a fire here fifteen years ago, but as you can see the house has been perfectly restored by the owners that bought it then. It is plainly visible how much they loved this house" the man said. I looked around and at the beautiful paintings that hanged from the walls. It was all so classical, which contrasted deeply with the apartment that we had lived at in New York.

An hour passed quickly, and when the man had finally finished taking us around the house he led us back to the main entrance and handed my dad the keys of the house.

"Don't hesitate in calling me if you have any problems" He said.

My father nodded "Thank you for your help, Mr Batelli".

The man nodded and left, and the three of us were left staring at the boxes that were filled with objects.

"Can we chose our rooms now daddy? Can we?" My sister asked with excitement.

"Of course Lily" he quickly replied which immediately sent my sister running to the second floor.

"I'm going to get the best one brother!" She shouted with a grin on her face.

My father looked at me, telling me to play along with her. I nodded with a scowl and quickly ran after her. "No you're not Lily!" I shouted back.

An hour later, quite a long time after my sister had chosen her room, one that was beautifully decorated with old furniture, I found myself in what seemed to be the attic of the house. I looked around with admiration, realising that I wanted to make this my room. The walls were made of wood, but they were covered with black wallpaper. A huge ebony clock stared at me from the other side of the room, and painted blue birds on a tree painted with the same colour prepared themselves to fly away. It was beautiful, and the sights were even better. The furniture matched perfectly the wallpaper and the ebony clock, that didn't seem to be working.

"Desmond, have you chosen your room?" My father asked as he went up the stairs.

"Yes dad" I said. "It's open and cool, the sights are wonderful, its spacious…" I stared saying.

"Don't you think that it is a bit… dark?" My father asked.

"No, I really like it this way" I just answered.

My father stared at me for several moments, as if he was evaluating my answer and deciding if I had said the truth. "Very well" He said as he turned around. "Do you need any help bringing up your things here?" He asked.

"No dad, I'm fine" I answered.

He smiled at me and gently put his hand on my shoulder, the biggest sign of affection that he had done in weeks, no, months. "We'll be fine here, you'll see Desmond. This will be a perfect place to start our new life in" He then added

I nodded absentmindedly as he said this, and soon I was left alone. I sat on a classically designed sofa, looking outside the window. The room had a calming aura that had relaxed me, almost as if it was some kind of sanctuary. I hadn't felt as calm as I was now since my mother's death. On a desk that already was in the room there was an old fountain pen, covered in dust. I picked it up and quickly cleaned it. It was made with the same wood that had been use for the gigantic clock that was in the room, and it was richly decorated.

I suddenly got up, deciding that I should start bringing my things upstairs. I walked towards the stairs, and suddenly I heard a whisper behind me. One that I knew that was there but that I hadn't been able to understand. I turned around, suddenly feeling a shiver go down my spine. I saw no one, to my surprise, and I decided that I had imagined it all. I turned around again. I had to bring my things up.