Chapter 3: Footsteps and Missteps

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nothing! No Ezio. No Altair. I own nothing. This is purely for amusement, nothing else.

Thank you for the reviews, Hawklan, pretzel-logic, larry the pumpkin king, and isobel. And thanks for all the story alerts and support. You guys make me write! :D

AND SPECIAL THANKS TO HAWKLAN! He beta'd the story and found errors and other things to make the chapter better, so thank you Hawklan. It's very much appreciated. :D

ANSWERS: Hawklan, thanks for pointing out the errors in ch.2 and ch. 3, so they could be fixed. Pretzel-logic, thanks for pointing that out. I messed up a few times on calling her him when they thought she was a guy. Larry, thePumpkinKing, her friends might. Isobel, thanks!

Finally we get to see some AC characters. This will tie into AC: Lineage since this is two years before the game but Livvy will finally get into AC storyline. :D

Edited: 1/22/2018

Updated: 1/26/2018


Chapter Three

'Footsteps and Missteps'

San Gimignano, Tuscany

1474

There was a saying. It went: If things were too good to be true, they probably were. Olivia had known this for it was a cruel lesson very early on in life. She wanted to scold herself heatedly for forgetting it now. Everything had been going so well—too well—with Valentino's rescue, their hasty get away, and they had made it all way to San Gimignano without issue. But then life, as per usual, decided to throw a curve ball that sent everything spiraling into chaos. As if the being stuck in the past hadn't been frightening enough, Olivia now found herself being chased down like a wanted criminal along the rooftops. An ill attempt at refuge for running about the streets from the cursing guards seemed to have gotten her nowhere. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her lungs burned with the need for air, so she saw latter and went upward.

It was a desperate choice. She also came to the realization that free running was a lot more fun when the immanent possibility of death was not just ten feet behind her. No amount of playing AC, or training, or anything could prepare her for this. Nope, real life is a lot scarier. Every sound, every movement, all of it pressed in on her and it was too much. She could barely stand the sensory overload; her eyes flickered all over the place like she couldn't control them. Was this better than being lost in the woods? Perhaps, only marginally so.

"Stop, bastardo!"

That is if she doesn't die. She would really like not dying.

"Where did he go?"

'They still think I'm a guy?' Livvy thought with a grimace. It was starting to give her a complex. She was not that boyish, and how she was mistaken for one was beyond her. Though she supposed certain stigmas around this time could have lead the guards to such a conclusion. Women wearing pants was not exactly encourage, and considered shameful—sinful even. It was either that or they had some feminine men. And if the guards were any example—all burly, big, and rough looking—it was the former.

And that the end of the roof! Olivia bit out a gasp as her legs slid out from under her as she tried to stop, suddenly her backside slammed against the shingles and she found herself sitting on the edge of the roof looking down at her dangling feet. Her throat bobbed, unsteadily. The twenty feet drop looked like it was miles down and an icy, damp sweat broke out along her forehead. "Oh…shit," she croaked out, her voice rough with fear. She felt like her heart had dropped out of her chest, and had fallen down somewhere she couldn't reach it. Olivia had a certain feeling that overwhelmed her when she was confronted with heights.

Heights made her feel dizzy and her ankles weak. It was a mind wrenching kind of fear that froze a person to the spot. It's why she had only stuck to free running, and had foregone most of the climbing parts of parkour. Leo had dared her to climb a building and she did because she hated backing down from a challenge. Climbing was the easy part, but the getting down? It was downright terrifying. Olivia had gotten to the top of the building only to see the ground below, and she vomited. Leo had asked her if she need a bale of hay and she cursed his very existence, very loudly. Thankfully the fire department had shown up a half an hour later, Olivia had never been more grateful to be on solid ground.

To this day it was something that Leo had never let her live down.

"I've got him! There! There!" She heard a guard yell.

Shit! A jolt of panic rushed through her drawing her sharply back into the present. She gripped the adrenaline coursing through her veins, stood up and bolted in a new direction. But there is this funny thing about roof tops…They all eventually end. Livvy realized this as she once again came to a screeching halt. Her eyes moved around at the people chatting below unaware and then her gaze landed on a really random and quite convenient cart of hay. Those were real? It wasn't just for the game? Maybe… just maybe if I could just manage to get enough courage and take the leap, she thought and then as if sensing her thoughts, vertigo slammed into her and she quickly took a step back feeling panic gnawed at her insides like greedy fingers of a hungry man grasping the like morsel of bread.

"Stronzo!" She heard from behind her.

Olivia turned and saw the guard about ten paces behind her. She quickly dropped off the side, scrambling down the wall as fast as possible and as soon as her feet hit the ground she wished she could say she was off, but her legs wobbled. The wound on her arm, burning like an inferno, was bleeding again and her head felt light. 'Oh, shouldn't have slowed down,' she cursed herself, her vision was going black and her hands started shaking. All the energy that she had seemed to be slipping away and fast. Swallowing down bile that burned in the back of her throat, she tried to cling to the adrenaline still humming through her veins.

"Got you!" The voice of the guard said.

A shadow fell over her and she burst into a run like a terrified, clumsy rabbit. It felt like running was futile, but what choice did she really have? 'Where to go? Where to go? How did this happen?' She cursed inwards, her eyes darting everywhere as the events that put her here in this position all came flooding back.

"The guards…"

True fear shined in Rona's eyes as she pulled her son to her side tightly while Livvy glanced over her shoulder at the guards. All the blood drain from the woman's face, and Olivia could easily understand why. She could feel the terror building up inside of her as well. Her fingers curled into fists so tight that her fingernails bit into her palms, and her heart felt jammed up against her throat. She clenched her eyes so tight, and prayed that she would wake up. It didn't work.

"Hey, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" One of the guards said, thoughtful with a finger pointed in Livvy's direction.

Olivia swallowed a frightened, hysterical laugh that welled up in the back of her throat as her eyes darted to the mother and son. Rona was trembling from head to toe, and Livvy could see the cogs turning inside of her mind. "You need to move. If they notice that you are with me…they will know Valentino is the boy from the forest," Olivia murmured, underneath her breath.

Understanding shined in Rona's eyes as well as indecision. Livvy thought for a moment the woman was worried about her safety and when she went to reassure the mother, Rona began. "That…won't be…I thank you for saving my son," she said and then pulled off her coin purse shoving it into Livvy's hand without preamble. Rona pulled Valentino back as she took a couple of steps away from Olivia, the poor boy looked confused. "…but I cannot let us be put into danger. Please understand."

"Understand?" Olivia suddenly felt like there was something about the situation that she was not grasping here. A piece to the puzzle that she was missing. It all became too clear in the next moment when Rona's face twisted up with disgust, and she pointed an accusing finger in Olivia's direction. "Thief! Thief! Stop him!"

Olivia's heart jumped in her chest, as if struck by lightning and she had only a split second to stare at the woman with an aghast look before she had to run as the guard rushed her.

Most people once burnt, twice shy. For Olivia, it seemed twice stupid. Olivia cursed herself underneath her breath for trusting a stranger she knew all of thirty minutes. She held her arm tightly blood oozing through her fingers and her head was pounding, pressure building through her eyes. She leaned against the alleyway for support. It wasn't loss of blood, she knew enough about the human body to know that. So there was something else wrong that was causing this sudden turn to illness, and she needed to get help. She had to go get help, right now.

But she could barely move. How much farther could she go before she collapsed?

"I lost sight of him!" Someone shouted.

"Again? Come poteva lei manda a monte di nuovo, lei l'idiota!(1)" Was the reply to that.

Olivia held back a cry of panic by biting her bottom lip harshly. She had ducked into the alleyway after rushing headlong into a large crowd hoping to use them to lose the guards. Surprisingly, it worked. She didn't bother turning around to see if they saw her, or if they were still following her. She had kept moving until black spots danced before her vision, and her legs could not move another inch. Exhaustion came crashing down upon her swiftly, and she closed her eyes taking in a long labored breath. Oh, heavens, she felt like she was about to thro… and then she did. She threw up.

Her face scrunch up as the bitter taste of bile coated her tongue, and a shudder ran down her spine as she stared down at the yellow puddle in front of her feet with more than little self-disgust. "Lovely," she croaked out, with a faint edge of sarcasm.

"Is that him…there—?" A guard asked a bit confused.

"Run!" A crowd of people came running from the other side drawing the guards' attention. "Run! There's a murderer on the loose!" the crowd shouted.

Olivia felt her head bob up though it took much effort, and she could make out shadows rushing past her towards the guards. There were so many of them that she could feel the ground tremble beneath her from as if they were a stampede. One was screaming, it was a woman or that was Olivia assuming by her high pitched scream, "The Lord is my Shepard! The Lord is my Shepard!"

Olivia stood there several seconds, just breathing in and out as the group of people went by. Then slowly, she craned her neck over her shoulder to peer dazedly at the end of the alleyway uncertain if that had just really happened. The guards had shouted in alarm before they aborted their mission in finding her to reign in the apparent chaos. As soon as all they were gone, Olivia let out a breath of relief before her legs gave out from underneath her.

Exhaustion was an enemy that she could no longer fight, and the world around her went completely black as her eyes fell closed. She never noticed the white cloaked figure standing on the roof above, staring down at her with a bemused frown upon his face.


Livvy liked this. It was weightless feeling, one where no worries or responsibilities weighed upon her chest. Like she was a cloud drifting aimlessly across the sky, completely free. Then a sharp, painful smell reminiscent of salt brought her back to the world of the living so abruptly that she leapt forward a cry, "Son of a biscuit eater!" She pinched her nose involuntarily making a face, vaguely aware of someone laughing next to her. "What the hell, Leo?" She cursed, certain that only he would doing something this foul.

"Such language," a male voice that was not Leo's chided her gently, "is unbecoming of a young woman."

Olivia's eyes snapped open as alarm prickled along her skin, and found herself looking straight into the face of man wearing a white mask that vaguely reminded her of a bird and dressed in black robes stood staring down at her hands on his hips. It took her a moment to process it all, and when she did all she could do was wave awkwardly. "Uh, hi?"

"Hello," the doctor said, with an amused tone in his voice. His eyes crinkled behind his mask as he clasped his hands in front of him. "Feeling better?"

Olivia paused a moment. She was still a bit sore, and woozy, but it was leaps and bounds ahead of what she had been feeling when everything had went dark. Her brows pinched, and she wondered how she got here. It was a tiny room with multiple cots set up, some of them stained with blood. What an encouraging sight, she thought a bit idly. The doctor cleared his throat and Olivia realized that she had yet to answer. "Yes," she said, hastily. "Yes, I am. Thank you for the concern."

"Good," he stated, with a nod. "I feared that your fever wouldn't break. But it has," he pointed at the sweat pouring down from her forehead(2), "but you still may feel ill for a few more days. But with this medicine, the infection and illness will pass," he stated, pushing a bottle into the palm of her hand.

Olivia took the bottle, staring at it as if she had not seen anything like it before. She then swallowed thickly, and raised her gaze to meet the doctor's. "Um…thanks?" She said, feeling very confused. She sat there in silence, letting the second tick by as she was deep in thought. "Why…why are you helping me?" She had to ask, because from her experience no one helped without a reason.

"A man brought you here after finding you hurt," the doctor explained, picking up some bloody bandages from the counter. "He paid me to help you." The doctor cocked his head at her, curiously. "…you don't remember?"

Olivia squinted her eyes, trying to summon up some sort of memory, but all she could remember was the flash of white. She could also faintly recall a voice, but the words were lost to her entirely as well as the rest of the memory. She let out a heavy sigh, and shook her head side to side. "No, not really."

"Hmm. The fever did have quite a hold on you. Some memory loss is to be expected give the state of delirium you were in." The doctor nodded as if this made sense and was nothing to be too concerned about. "But off you go, I have other patients to attend to and only so many beds."

Livvy looked over at the man who sat waiting with his wife, who coughed so violently that her body shook like a leaf in the fall. Olivia pushed herself off of the bed, a sheepish expression on her face. "Sorry," she felt the need to apologize.

"It is no problem," the woman waved off weakly as the doctor walked over to them. Livvy just nodded, before turned towards the door. She twisted the door knob, and she stumbled across the threshold and found herself once again facing in 15th century Tuscany. Her heart stopped in her chest, and she swallowed thickly when her mouth suddenly went very dry. Oh, how could she have forgotten? Especially when faced with a doctor wearing a freaking carnival mask? Olivia almost face palmed, and just barely refrained from doing so. Closing her eyes, with a mournful sigh. "I am never going to get used to this," she hissed out underneath her breath, and she peeled her eyes open by sheer will along because she really did not want to face what was before her. She stared at the people as they walked by in groups some holding lanterns, the horse drawn carriages, the smell…she grimaced. Yep, things back here were very, very unsanitary.

Let's tally the good things, shall we? Olivia thought to herself, with a hint of self-deprecation. You're alive, thanks to a mysterious stranger. If you ever find out his identity, send him a fruit basket. Everyone loves a fruit basket. That's all the good things I can think of. The rest of this whole time travel bullshit is just bad or insanely absurd to the point that I can't even try to think about it. Honestly, I am nearly six hundred years in the past. What am I supposed to do? Her feet mechanically drew her down the street. As much as she wanted to believe in the kinder and more open people who would be willing to let a stranger in…she was a modern girl. And the thought of staying with a complete stranger made her uneasy, unless it was in a hotel. They had inns back in this time. Maybe I can find one? Olivia thought with a sense of unease. This wasn't good. Livvy wasn't a people person, preferring her own company and solitude. Being in a group of people made her feel uneasy, and closed in. It stirred up not so good memories, and she rather not have to deal with those on top of all of this.

"Are you lost, dearie?" An elderly woman jarred Olivia from her thoughts. It was then that Livvy realized she had been standing in the middle of the street, unmoving and she released the breath that she hadn't even realized she was holding.

Olivia turned and blinked at the woman. "What?"

The older lady chuckled, not in the least bit offended. "Are you lost, dearie?" The woman repeated, with an indulgent smile on her face.

Livvy stood there for a long moment filled with hesitation before she felt her head nod. "Am I that obvious?" She tried to play her nerves off as a joke, but her chuckle came out more than a little fake.

"San Gimignano is rather small and easy to remember to us who live here. Well, the city is easy to remember. Put me out in the countryside, I wouldn't know up from down. But yes, you were a bit obvious, standing in the middle of the street gawking," the old woman, chuckled lightly.

Livvy only allowed herself to smile weakly. Trusting Rona earlier still burnt, and while this old lady seemed nice, she knew her history and knew this time period despite its entire splendor was harsh. "I…" A frown tugged at her lips, and her brows furrowed as a sigh fell from her lips. "I don't suppose you know where the inn is?" Olivia asked, cautiously.

The old lady laughed. "Oh, yes, just down there—that way. Called the Briar Rose," the old lady told her, gently patting her on the arm. "You can't miss it."

"Thank you," Livvy replied, gratefully.

"You are welcome, dear," the old lady said, walking away.

Olivia followed the directions given to her by the old lady, while she found herself awash in a sea of thoughts once more. Everything about her situation was difficult to process. The world around her was strange yet familiar as well. The way the people acted and spoke so different from the mannerisms of the twenty-first century yet she could see some things that reminded her of her everyday life. And the biggest question: How does someone get thrown into the past? It was not like she had a time machine readily available like Doctor Who. Nor did she think any aliens were going to be decimating the earth, though don't quote her on that. Given her current circumstances, she was about to believe that anything was possible.

She wrung her hands nervously in front of her, trying hard to appear as if she knew what she was doing as she passed a group of questionable looking men. 'Great. I'm starting to look for monsters in every shadow now,' she thought, warily. But who could really blame her? This time period was almost lawless compared to her time, and a lot more cutthroat, too.

The Briar Rose wasn't hard to find. While it wasn't far apart in design from other buildings, it had lavish red curtain and a large tapestry on the outside with a golden rose surrounded by thorns. Livvy didn't know why they would have it on the outside after all it would not withstand the weather, would it not? Olivia shoot such idly thoughts from her mind and looked up at the sign. The sign was painted with briars and roses upon it with words that looked like 'Briar Rose' though why it would be written in English puzzled her. Or was she seeing it in English? Such thoughts made her head hurt, and after today…she just wanted to sleep. She would think of things tomorrow. She made her way to the door and opened it.

The smell that hit her wasn't pleasant. It was stale kind of odor mixed with sweat and alcohol and burnt food that caused her stomach to turn. Her entire body seized as she battled with the urge to gag and throw up. It took everything in her not to run out the door, and drawing in a deep breath, she took another step forward. She needed a place to sleep, and she would just have to stomach the smell. She pushed her way into the loud establishment, where men were laughing, a few woman—courtesans, judging by their attire—were groped by some very, very drunk gentlemen. Livvy moved her eyes away and made her way to the bar, hoping the man behind it could help her. "Excuse me?" She asked.

"Yes, miss?" He turned to her.

Livvy couldn't help but grin a little bit. 'Finally someone realizes that I'm a woman!' She thought and then spoke when she realized she had been silent too long, "I need a room."

"It will be 30 florins," he told her.

She pulled out the bag and found she had 30 florins, she nearly snorted. The only reason she knew what florins were was because she had desperately wished to come to Italy, even before AC came out. As a child she had been enamored with the magic of Italy, studying it on maps as well as travel guides. There was an undeniable beauty of the country that had claimed her heart so long ago. She learned everything she could, its past, the currency, past and present and foods. This isn't how I imagined coming here. I imagined running a successful little gallery filled with art of all kinds and being able to celebrate my one day success with a vacation here, Olivia thought, sadly. She looked down at the lonely six florins left in the bag and knew unless she did something then tomorrow night she would be sleeping on the street. I guess I have to be a little thankful to Rona. She also felt guilty, too. Rona and her son didn't look like they had much, but then she shook her head. She understood why Rona sent the guards after her, but it had almost gotten her killed so she wouldn't allow herself to feel guilt. She tried to smash the guilt down when she handed over the money and the man had another show her to the room she was staying in.

It was a small room with a bed and a fireplace, nothing more and nothing less. She also got a bowl of soup, and bread, apparently that came with renting the room. Nibbling on the much too hard bread, she thought, 'Beggars can't be choosers.' Eyeing the questionable contents of the soup, she finally ate it when the hunger stabbing at her stomach became too much. She ate it as fast as she could without actually tasting it.

The ache in her stomach was gone as she put the empty bowl and plate on the little table beside the bed. She glanced at the bed with a worrisome expression and then she slowly sat on it. She didn't bother getting under the covers. She knew what hotels were like in her time, she didn't need to know what lied under the sheets in this time. She laid down on the bed, the wariness of the day sinking into her and she felt older and younger than she had ever before. She felt older because it seemed life had thrown too much at her at once, and younger because she never wished to be a child more than now.

The only florins I have left won't buy another night. Might be able to afford some food if I am lucky, she thought and looked up at the ceiling watching a spider scurry and she was prayed it wouldn't fall on her. Her day had already been bad, she did not need it to get worse. Pinching the bridge of her brow, she let out a harsh breath. Why…why am I here? she asked herself. I'd like to believe I'm here, not in a coma and this being a weird dream…I'd like to think I haven't gone insane… But even those options could be true, the question is still there. Why am I here?

Because you are needed.

Sweet Baby Jesus! She jumped up off the bed, looking around wildly. Did she…no, it must have been her imagination. She was going to say it was her imagination, she glanced around the entire room to find nothing but the flickering flames of the fireplace, and she slowly lay back down. Tension coiled in her limbs, half afraid that something would jump out at her. She didn't remember when her eyelids fell shut. They just did. But with the unfamiliar noises, and heaviness that weighed on her mind, the sleep wasn't restful. In fact in the very corner of her mind, she doubted she'd ever sleep restful again.


Several days later, Giovanni Auditore sat in his office, contemplating. He stared over his intertwined fingers, with a deep frown on his face. His dark eyes were filled with worry and very much troubled. He knew he should focus on the more important things, but it plagued him. It was an unknown and not knowing something unsettled him, he thought as his memory of San Gimignano filled his mind.

Giovanni had just finished assassinating Agapito Bangi, a man profiting from the farmer's suffering as well as working with Templar agents. He went over the information the man had given him quite a bit before he had died. It was not staggering, but worrying nonetheless.

"Cazzo!"

Immediately, he went on alert, tensing when he realized he was not the one the guards were after. It appeared to be a young man running away from them, and he wasn't doing a good job. In fact, the effort the young man put into running was clumsily and quite labored. Giovanni moved slowly across the rooftops, not to draw unwanted attention. He narrowed his dark eyes and they flared gold.

The world instantly changed. Becoming a dark, grey place except the two guards lit up a bright ominous red and the young man glowed…Giovanni reared back with a hard blink, the world melting back into its nature colors as he tried to comprehend what he had just seen. He inched his way cautiously closer, and watched as the young man contemplating jumping into the bale of hay before scaling down quickly as the guards got too close for comfort. He followed for his curiosity had gotten the better of him, and his eyes lingered on the young man dashing about, clearly confused what to do before he threw himself into a large crowd, breaking the line of sight. Giovanni watched as the young man then ducked into the alleyway, leaning on the wall for support.

His body was shook and trembled like a leaf, and then he promptly threw up. Giovanni felt pity for him, remembering some of his first times running from guards. "Is that him…there?" One of the guards had paused, seeing the young man standing there in the alleyway. Giovanni tensed, knowing he might have to intervene when a crowd of people came running past the guards. "Run! Run! There's a murderer on the loose!"

A woman's voice echoing through the alleyway past the young man was not even bothered to stop as she yelled, "The Lord is my Shepard! The Lord is my Shepard!"

They must have finally found Agapito's body, he thought as he watched the guards abandon their current goal and rush away to contain the chaos before anyone got hurt. The young man realizing that he was safe slid to the ground with labored breath. Then he stopped moving.

Giovanni hadn't hesitated when he leapt down from the rooftops and landed right in front of the young man. It was then he realized why he had such trouble shaking off the guards. On his arm was a red angry wound, quickly swelling with infection and pouring blood. Kneeling down, he inspected him, and narrowed his eyes triggering his eagle vision again.

The young man's body flared a bright, rich emerald. So he wasn't imagining it. Emerald. It was a color that he never encountered before using his Eagle Vision. His eyes went back to dark brown and the young man groaned, turning towards Giovanni and shock ran through the assassin. It wasn't a young man. It was a young woman, about the same age as his oldest son, he guessed. He reached out, placing a hand on her forehead. It burned, just like Petuccio's when he was sick. It became clear why her movements were so clumsy and disorganized. She had taken ill; the wound most likely had some kind of poison in it. Judging by the lack of pallor in her face, he knew he had to get her to a doctor and fast. Giovanni stood there for a minute, contemplating before picking her up. She no doubt had a family that would be worried about her, he reasoned with himself, but he didn't deny he wished to know what the color emerald meant. Friend? Foe? What?

It didn't take long for him to find a doctor. The city part of San Gimignano compared to the city of Florence, though it countryside was immense and vast; like all the cities he went to on missions, he knew it like the back of his hand.

The doctor looked up and said, "What do we have here?"

"She is sick with fever," Giovanni stated, laying her on the cart and the doctor leaned closer to take a look. "She also has many wounds. She has been cut on her arm and also some bruising on her face, as for other wounds, I cannot say."

"Hmm, a little foreign, isn't she?" The doctor muttered, checking her cheek before focusing on her arm. "Perhaps slave trade?"

Giovanni glanced at her. No, it wasn't that. She was dressed far too nicely to have been brought here by slave traders, though she was indeed foreign looking. Her skin was pale, not pale sickness either and it was far from the olive tones shared by most Italians. He refocused on the doctor, and inquired, "Will she make it?"

"Undoubtedly yes," the doctor stated. "Though she will be quite sick for the next few days and the cut I will have to stitch up, it will leave a scar."

Giovanni reached for his purse, "How much will this be?"

"250 florins," the doctor informed him, while getting a needle and string.

Giovanni paid the money when the young woman groaned, "Leo…? Carl…where am I? What's…going on?" Her eyes slid open, glazed and clearly out of it. They were a shocking swirl of blue and grey like dark thunderheads. "Who…are you?" Giovanni raised an eyebrow though he doubted the woman could see that. Her eyes however looked towards him, a moment of recognition before she slammed unceremoniously hard back on the cart, out cold.

The doctor stared for a moment before shrugging, "It's the fever."

The assassin merely frowned, pondering over the recognition he had seen as clear as day in her eyes meant before he nodded his head accepting the excuse for now. "I will have someone come fetch her when you are done."

"Places to be?" The doctor asked.

"Indeed," Giovanni stated turning around.

He had sent a thief, one of La Volpe's men, to get the woman, but the doctor had let her go. Apparently, there was an epidemic brewing and the doctor said he couldn't let her stay when others needed the bed more sorely than she. Giovanni glared at the candle flame, with a thoughtful frown. His more curious side wished to return to Tuscany to find this woman, and question her, but the logical side knew there were more important things to be done. He stared down at the letter. An important person to the Templar was in Florence and would be leaving under the cover of night. Giovanni was determined not to let that happen. Then inspiration struck as he had an idea.

"Federico," he called for his eldest son.


End of chapter

AN: I didn't want to have to make Rona like that, but I thought of it this way. If I had to choose between my family's life over a stranger, I'd most likely chose family. But Rona did give her money, so she wasn't completely heartless.

LANGUAGES AND REFERENCES:

1.) Come poteva lei manda a monte di nuovo, lei l'idiota! (Italian) How could you mess up again, you idiot!

2.) Funny little note. You know where in movies people with fevers are always sweating, the truth is: When you have a fever you can't sweat. Your body is trapping all the heat inside, so when you fever finally breaks that's when you start sweating.

Reviews are appreciated! :D