"Maria!" Luciano sang, his voice elated from the past few days, "Wife, why do you hide from me?"
"I am in the garden, husband!" she laughed, her slender body wrapped in a beautiful summer dress made from soft linen. She swept the porch, and giggled to herself as she waited for Luciano to appear.
"Ah, there you are, my little dove," he whispered in her ear as he embraced her from behind. His chestnut hair smelled sweet and his skin pressed on her cheek.
"Go back to your craft, I am busy," she turned away, but did not leave his arms.
"But I love you," he pleaded, and he turned her around to face him. Kneeling down, he found her hand and caressed it gently.
"Oh, Luciano," she sighed, and let go of her broom, letting it fall to the ground. He saw his chance and seized her, gathering her dress in his arms and lifting her. They laughed, and he took her away into the house.
As the night crept forward, the body would be discovered, so she had to act quickly. Gracefully descending from the window, she leapt away to a joined building. And as her scarf whipped in the wind behind her, her trail was marked by yet another corpse.
"Do not forget the letter." Ezio warned.
She knew he would head to the docks, so she would need to hurry. Her light body enabled her to attain speed and precision like that of a hummingbird, and she darted along the rooftops, peering down into the grimy alleys for Bartolomeo.
Finally, as she crouched near the edge of a rooftop she saw a cloaked man, followed by two guards. They walked with caution, their helmets swinging from side to side, scouring the streets. However, they did not think to look up.
She held back, pursuing them to observe their movements. It was a sporadic route, with random twists and sudden back tracks. They were taking no risks. However, they traded brute force for stealth by having only two guards. She would use this to her advantage. By drawing behind and catching the guards by surprise, she would be able to eliminate them easily and then deal with Marcello.
Her eyes became cold. This was her chance.
As they took another sudden turn, she dropped to the alley. By jumping down onto a pile of rubbish she was able to break her fall, and then slide up against the wall behind them. This was the moment, if they noticed her presence, she would have to flee, and the mission would be compromised.
But the guards continued to take the turn, and soon she was hidden by the wall. She followed behind, light on her toes and behind their steps.
She prepared her blade, and grasped a short blade in the other. Her hand gripped the hilt, and then she jumped from behind the wall.
The blades landed true to their target, sinking into the flesh of the neck just under the guards' helms. They sputtered as their throats filled with blood, and Marcello turned around. His face was not that of shock or horror, but a calculated grimace. He drew his sword, and prepared to face her.
"You," he sneered.
She let the bodies drop and steadied her arms in front of her, weapons ready, "Give me the letter,"
He lunged forward, his sword coming down hard on her arm. The armour blocked the cut, but the force of the attack caused her to fall back slightly. He pushed forward again, instinctively heading for her shoulders. She darted away, and swiped her blade as his thigh. He wore armor as well, but the cut fell between the pads and blood gushed from his leg. He roared with anger, and threw his sword at her legs, then her chest and arms. She managed to avoid any great harm, but his offensive manoeuvres prevented her from landing any hindering blows.
"Come to avenge that filthy husband, have you?" he mocked.
He continued to push forward, but he became predictable with his movements. Jumping away, from one of his attacks, she slashed at his eyes and caught one. Blood swelled in the eye socket, and the eye itself seemed to on the brink of bursting.
He howled with pain and brought one hand up to his eye. Yet, his sword remained in his other hand and he flew at her with a new rage. However, this made him clumsy, and she was able to slip behind him and slash at his hand, causing it to buckle and the sword to fall. She gripped his arm and threw him to the ground, and straddling over him, she forced her blade up against the skin of his neck.
"Tell me who killed Luciano." She commanded. He spat at her. She brought the blade up to his other eye.
"Tell me or I will make you suffer a thousand deaths, so help me God." Her tone was cold and rigid, and he seemed to freeze under her. She pushed the blade forward, and he cried out in defence.
"Riccardo! It was Riccardo!"
"Where will I find him?"
"I don't know!" She raised her arm to strike. "Rome! Rome! He's in Rome!"
"Why did he kill him? Tell me!"
"Luciano knew about the letter!"
"What letter, this letter?"
"What's inside it..."
"What do you mean?" She waited for him to respond, but the loss of blood had caused him to breathe less, and he was slipping away. She shook her head, and she whispered, "Rest in peace."
She dealt the final blow.
As she searched his satchel, she could hear someone approaching. She looked inside, and there it was. The letter.
She slipped it into her own satchel, and then scaled the building. Only a few moments later, a shout rose from the alley as a patrol found the bloody corpses. Their eyes flew up, but there was nothing their but the shadows created by the moon.
One of the guards swore he saw something red.