Leonardo distinctly remembered the name of Auditore da Firenze, for he had heard it before during an evening he had most gladly witnessed. A young woman of remarkable beauty was being harassed by Vieri de' Pazzi. No one cared enough to intervene. No one but one remarkable young man.
He must have been around 19 years of age and was well built, slightly toned but nothing too much -his muscles seemed to have been trained for a specific purpose without caring about the sheer volume of them. He had dark brown hair, slightly longer than was the fashionable custom at the time -a bit like Leonardo's, only much better groomed- which was nicely bound into a tail. His skin was tanned from the countless hours he must have spent in the sun -frolicking, for his face was still young and too similar to a peach's skin. He truly was a pleasure to behold, without a single worry in the whole world, only seeing the sky as the limit.
Leonardo feared this ridiculous optimism would come to an end soon, as the man he had confronted was a man that was rising in power during the time in Firenze and had been known to be truly ruthless in his actions. Boy, was he wrong. "I'm not sure you're getting the message," Ezio had said. "Ah, the little Auditore whelp. Cane rognoso! What the hell do you have to do with this? To the devil with you," was Vieri's answer. Quick-wittedly, the young man striked back: "And buon' giorno to you too, Vieri. I'm so sorry to intrude, but I have the distinct impression that you're spoiling this young lady's day." It isn't hard to imagine that Vieri soon lost his temper and was about to settle this gentle disagreement in his usual manner: through his fists.
The young Auditore had soon received a few blows but was still on the winning end, enough for Vieri to make up his mind to further dirty his hands. He took a dagger out of his pocket, to not much avail. Vieri could not overpower the handsome fellow. While they both were trying to get some air into their lungs, Ezio landed his next and final blow: "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see you trying to force yourself on a nice girl who clearly thinks you're a complete ball of dung -given the way your pappa tries to force his banking interests on Florence!" Vieri saw no chance of winning this fistfight and threw one last threat at his opponent before retreating, tail between his legs.
The surrounding people that had gathered just like Leonardo, applauded the bravery and loyal cause this young Auditore had shown. The young signorina seemed more than relieved and the man clumsily received her gratitude. Leonardo lingered a bit longer, unable to take his eyes off the young gentleman, until another apprentice of Verrocchio's interrupted him and pulled him away -on to the market.
Leonardo had seen the young Auditore passing by through the streets of Firenze several times but was never quite able to muster up the courage to join him or start a friendly conversation. He was certain his new acquaintance would change that and, preparing his most friendly smile, opened the door "Signora Auditore da Firenze, you are most welcome."