The stress from the night before did nothing to ease Isabella's already sparse sleeping schedule, and she awoke rather early with tired eyes and a slight headache.
Thankfully, she had not had any nightmares during the night, but the dream she had had in front of the fire the night before had stayed in her mind and made her miserable and wistful. If only the happy memories were enough, but they only aided in helping her remember what she had lost.
Getting out of bed she gave a slight groan at her own reflection in the mirror at the end of the room.
Once upon a time, she had been something of a beauty - fair skin and hair matched with dark eyes had once gained her much favour with men and boys alike. Now however, her dark eyes were constantly framed with dark circles that came from nights of little to no sleep. Her hair and skin whilst still fair had suffered from a lack of care over the past two years, and where she had once been blessed with a curved figure, she now felt herself too-thin and somewhat haggard.
Throwing on a dress and dragging a comb through her hair, she tried to focus her mind on something positive. She remembered the conversation she had had with Ezio the night previous, and felt a small moment of happiness when she remembered that she no longer needed to avoid the Rosa in Fiore as fervently as she had before.
Vaguely, she wondered how he was fairing after his excursions the night before, and she began to speed up the process of getting ready so as to make sure he was doing fine - though she supposed that no news was good news.
It was still rather early when she left her house, and the streets were only just beginning to bustle with the usual crowds of people.
Reaching the Rosa, she noticed that it was not yet open and hoped that she was not too early - though usually Claudia did not mind if she was. She also noticed that any commotion that had spilled out into the courtyard the night before had been completely eradicated and felt a moment of admiration for her best friend's professional prowess.
Her thought process was interrupted however when the door opened and Ezio stepped out into the courtyard. He was, to Isabella's surprise and somewhat annoyance, dressed in his usual robes and armour. Had she not told him to rest?
Speeding up, she adopted a breezy tone as she addressed the Assassin who had not yet seen her approaching.
"Good morning, Ezio."
He jumped slightly and looked up, his expression immediately becoming somewhat sheepish as their gaze met.
"Hello Isabella, I had not expected you to be here so early."
"I'll bet you didn't," Isabella thought rather irritably. Being sure to look noticeably annoyed, she folded her arms.
"Ezio, I do believe I told you that you needed rest after an injury like yours. I did not imagine that, did I?"
He raised his eyebrows at her somewhat cold tone and she felt a moment's trepidation before dismissing it, knowing she was in the right.
Ezio cleared his throat in a dismissive manner. "Well I feel much better this morning, and in any case I have much to do today."
"There may still be poison in your system," Isabella countered. "And you suffered quite heavy blood loss. A few days rest would be the best option for you."
"I said I feel fine," Ezio responded firmly, a little more cold in his tone. He side-stepped her gracefully and made his way towards his horse which was tethered in front of the brothel.
Isabella followed him diligently.
"Ezio, please-"
"Please do not worry, Isabella. I am a fast healer, and I will be fine." He climbed up onto his horse quickly, but Isabella did not miss the grimace of pain he made after using his injured arm to steady himself.
"Could you please let Claudia know that I have gone to Tiber Island? She was not yet awake last time I checked."
"I-" Isabella went to protest at being used as a buffer to hide his actions from his sister, but he had already begun to ride away from her.
"Pig-headed coward," she muttered without taking much care to be quiet - though she was sure he was too far away already to hear her. "I'll be sure to say I told you so when you come back feeling terrible."
Inside the Rosa, things were bustling and Isabella found Claudia, awake and ready for the day ahead, standing at the top of the foyer staircase. Not yet awake indeed, Isabella felt another stab of irritation, more like he hadn't bothered to check.
"Isabella!" Claudia beamed as the other approached. Her tone was so optimistic that Isabella cursed Ezio once more for making her the bearer of bad news.
"Good morning, Claudia."
"Are you here to see Ezio?" Claudia asked conversationally. "I think he is still in his rooms."
"Actually," Isabella gave an angry sigh. "I saw him outside, he's ridden to the Tiber Island despite my advice not to."
Claudia's expression immediately became stricken.
"You don't think he'll...?" She trailed off, a slight panic in her tone.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Isabella responded quickly, wishing to console her friend though she knew deep down that she could not be sure of such things. "I am not pleased that he's not resting, but surely he is not so stupid as to danger himself on-purpose."
Claudia's expression did nothing to suggest the opposite of Isabella's words and she felt her stomach squirm unpleasantly. What if he got into trouble and really hurt himself?
"Come," she said with a poor attempt at being breezy, taking Claudia's hands in her own. "Let's go see your mother. Don't worry about Ezio, I promise he'll be fine."
Isabella stayed at the Rosa for the entire day to take care of Maria whom had taken to her bed with flu. Throughout the day, she wrestled with her worries of Ezio and his injuries, knowing that should the worst happen, Maria would not be able to handle it. She shuddered at the idea of Claudia losing her brother and mother at the same time and prayed that such a thing would never happen.
Ezio did not return throughout the day, and no news arrived of him which Claudia and Isabella both agreed was a good thing. If something happened, it was a certainty that the Assassin's family would be the first to be informed.
Still, they were both rather stricken with worry, and the day was a somewhat tense one as it progressed.
It was not until the evening when Ezio returned, and Isabella felt herself give an audible sigh of relief when she heard the sound of hooves and glanced out to see the familiar figure in white robes atop his horse riding into the brothel courtyard.
"Is that Ezio?" Maria asked from her bed, her voice hoarse from sickness.
"I believe it is," Isabella replied calmly, as if she were not particularly interested in the subject. She and Claudia had not shared his injuries with his ailing mother.
"Oh good," Maria replied gently, her eyes drooped slightly before she nodded off into relatively peaceful sleep.
Isabella felt a rush of affection for the poor woman and gently tucked the blankets around her, glad that her worries for her and her son were unfounded.
A sudden thump of footsteps echoed outside the room and before Isabella could stand up to tell them to be quiet, Carmen burst through the door.
"Miss Isabella-"
"Sssh!" Isabella whispered furiously, ushering the girl out of the room as best she could whilst checking on her charge. Thankfully, Maria slept on.
Carmen's face was full of worry, but she lowered her voice, glancing at the woman in the bed before speaking again in a hushed tone.
"I'm sorry. Madame Claudia needs you immediately, Sir Ezio is very ill!"
Isabella felt her stomach drop horribly. "But I just saw him ride in."
"He's barely conscious," Carmen replied. "We think he got into some trouble on the way and it has reopened his wound."
Isabella resisted the urge to groan and quickly fetched her medical bag before following Carmen to Ezio's rooms as she had the night previous.
Ezio was laid haphazardly on the bed, and Isabella noticed that a large stain of blood had seeped through his robes on his wounded arm.
Claudia was leaned over her brother and looked up when Isabella entered the room.
"He's delirious," she said with a quiet tone, her voice barely concealing her fear.
Isabella rushed towards him and checked his temperature. His forehead was cold, as was his neck; quickly pulling off the glove on his wounded arm she felt his hand, it too was freezing cold.
"I don't think there's any poison left in his system," Isabella said knowledgeably. "He's just lost a lot of blood. I'll need to cauterise the wound."
"Will he be alright?" Claudia's voice was a tiny squeak.
Before addressing her friend, Isabella looked to the few courtesans who were standing in the doorway. "I require an iron rod to be heated over a fire until it's red hot, then bring it to me as quickly as possible and be careful."
When her orders were responded to, she quickly checked Ezio's pulse before moving around the bed to Claudia.
"I promise I'll take care of him, Claudia. I'm doing everything I can."
Wordlessly, and with fear etched into every part of her face, Claudia reached out to hold Isabella's hands for support. Isabella squeezed them comfortingly, and moved back to the Assassin on the bed.
"Ezio?" She spoke softly. "Ezio can you hear me?"
She was vaguely glad that he did not respond, it was best that he stayed unconscious for this next part - it was going to be painful.
It was dark outside by the time Isabella had finished treating the wound which was now closed on Ezio's arm, but was covered with angry burns which had fused the skin together. He had stayed unconscious the entire time which had been a mercy at first, but became more and more worrisome as time progressed.
Claudia had stayed with Isabella as she took care of the Assassin, and sometime in the long hours of nothing happening, she had dozed off in her chair and Isabella had not had the heart or felt the need to wake her.
She sat in silence on Ezio's bedside, adjusting the many blankets she had wrapped around him before lifting herself slightly to check his temperature. He had warmed considerably, and she took this for a good sign.
His eyes opened so suddenly that she jumped back despite herself.
Immediately, he tried to lift himself up and let out a sharp exclamation of pain as he attempted to put pressure on his arm.
Gently, Isabella took a hold of his shoulders and pushed him back down onto the bed.
"Please stay still," she said softly and calmly. "You're not well."
"Where am I?" He asked, and Isabella felt a moment of worry that he did not remember.
"The Rosa," she said. "You fainted due to blood loss. I'm afraid I had to cauterise the wound. How do you feel?"
"I...I feel better than I did." He blinked a few times, seemingly confused, before turning his head to look at her properly. "You healed me?"
"Well you left me no choice," Isabella said somewhat chidingly, though she couldn't help giving him a small smile to lessen the severity. "Seeing as you would not follow my advice."
He grimaced for a moment, his eyes closed.
"I'm sorry," he said, and he sounded genuine. "I thought I would be fine. And I was until some guards caused trouble for me on my way back here."
"Well I'm just glad that you got here," Isabella replied honestly, her tone still somewhat strict. "It could've been fatal if you hadn't had medical attention when you did."
He gave her a somewhat sheepish look.
"I know, I should've stayed." He lifted his head momentarily to look at Claudia asleep in her chair, seemingly aware of her presence. "And I imagine I have caused much stress."
"A little," Isabella replied honestly. "But it'll be fine now that you're safe."
"Thank you, Isabella," his voice was a little stronger and he turned his head to look at her. "It sounds like I would have perished without you."
Strangely, Isabella felt her heart give a strong thump at this and despite herself, she smiled at the assassin.
"Anytime, though perhaps not as frequently as this."
He gave a weak chuckle. "Damn, I do feel rather foolish."
Isabella laughed softly.
"I'm not going to say I told you so." Her tone was light. It felt strange to be kind to him considering the stress he had put her through, but she found that she could not help if.
"But you were right," he responded, his gaze moving to the arm that was now heavily bandaged. "I should've listened."
She had been rather prepared to be righteous about being right, but he was making it difficult with his penitence.
"You should've," she replied. "But I appreciate that you admit it."
He gave another laugh, turning his gaze back to her with a slight cheeky grin.
"Perhaps I am not so pig-headed after all, then?"
Isabella felt a hot blush rise onto her cheeks. So he had heard her angry muttering after all.
"I...I'm so sorry," she said, turning her gaze away from him with utter embarrassment. "I didn't mean what I said, I was just...just-"
"Angry? Understandably," Ezio interrupted with a good-natured tone. Very slowly, he began to lift himself into a sitting position in the bed. "I was very much a coward this morning."
Isabella kept her mouth shut, suppressing a strange urge to giggle.
Any choice of a response was interrupted by Claudia who shifted in her chair with a small groan before opening her eyes.
"Ezio?" She said before she could really focus on the room.
"I'm here, Claudia. I'm alright." Ezio responded kindly. "No need to worry."
Claudia sat up in her chair, silent for a moment. Suddenly, her expression changed from vague to steely so quickly that it was shocking.
"There would have been no need to worry at all had you not left in the first place."
"I know," Ezio replied with a tone of understanding. "I've already apologised to Isabella, and I'll apologise to you too."
"We were out of our minds with worry!" Claudia did not raise her voice, but the fierceness of her tone made up for it. "Isabella had to tell me that you'd left because you didn't bother to tell me yourself! What if you hadn't seen her? You could've died and I wouldn't have even known you'd left!"
"I'm sorry, Claudia." Ezio was rather imploring now. "I didn't mean to worry you."
"I'm just thankful we didn't tell mother, goodness knows what the stress would've done to her if we did." She stood up quickly. "If you don't mind, I think I'll go to bed now I know you're fine. I expect for you to stay for as long as Isabella deems fit, and not a moment out."
"Claudia-"
"Goodnight." She turned to look at Isabella and her expression softened, once again with such speed that it was startling. "Isabella, please stay for as long as you need to. And let Carmen know if you need to stay for the night."
And with that she left, leaving a somewhat awkward silence behind her.
"She's just angry," Isabella said after a moment, unsure of what to do next. "I'm sure she'll be fine by tomorrow."
"You needn't lie for my benefit," Ezio responded rather seriously. When Isabella turned to look at him, he gave her a grim smile. "I know my sister too well."
Isabella gave him a sympathetic smile in return.
"Try not to stress yourself too much, you've suffered enough."
"I'm glad someone thinks so," Ezio muttered somewhat under his breath, his gaze flitting to the door his sister had just left through before turning back to Isabella. "I'm sorry, this is all terribly rude."
"It's fine," Isabella replied with good-humour. "I have a brother. I know what it's like sometimes."
The Assassin smiled good-naturedly and once again, Isabella felt the urge to smile back.
"I should probably head to bed myself," she said, standing up. "I'll go home, but please send for me immediately if you feel any discomfort and please," she gave him a mock-stern look. "Do not try to leave in the early hours of the morning."
He laughed appreciatively at her playful tone. "I promise I shall not, I've learnt my lesson."
"Good," Isabella replied with a small nod. "Well then, goodnight Ezio."
"Goodnight, Isabella."