El Tango De Roxanne
A/N: Well, it took me a while but here it is, enjoy!
"Never fall in love with a woman who sells herself, it always ends bad…bad!"
-Narcoleptic Argentinian, Moulin Rouge
A distant violin cried a mournful tune, the sound flooding the now empty streets. The notes echoed off of the stone walls and found their way into an assassin's luxurious darkened room. His blank brown eyes stared at the ceiling wearily, he couldn't sleep with the constant crying of the instrument outside.
The light that had been present in his chocolate gaze had died a long time ago; he no longer saw the need to greet life with a smile. He was too tired now a days to put up a façade for others to view, not that it mattered, he cared little for them anyway. The only ones he would attempt to compose himself for would be Altair, Adrine, Maria, and Anna.
Ah yes, Anna.
She was something completely separate from the others.
Ezio sat up on the bed, the black silk sheets pooling around his waist as he brought a hand up to cover his face. He couldn't deal with the headaches that plagued him constantly. His lip curled into a sneer as he looked out the window nearby and fought the urge to kill the lone musician who kept disturbing his sleep.
He wasn't in the mood for listening to music, much less a violin in the middle of the night. He sighed softly, he couldn't afford to make much noise less he wake the sleeping figure next to him. He dropped his hand in defeat and rolled his shoulders trying to get them back from the numb state that loomed over them.
His bones cracked as soon as he moved and turned his back slightly, he tensed and looked at the figure next to him. A few seconds went by, no movement. Satisfied with the fact that he hadn't woken the light sleeper next to him he rose from the bed careful not to stir the body next to him.
He held the black sheet around his waist as he walked over to the large window and looked up at the star filled sky. The full moon illuminated the vast array of scars that littered his chest, all of them much too recent for Altair's liking. Ezio couldn't blame him though; he had grown more careless with defending himself and countering the blades that were often thrust towards him. What was the point in fighting the inevitable? He was bound to die, whether it came late in life or sooner than he expected, the latter seemed more reasonable given his profession.
He uttered a soft laugh, profession. He didn't think it could be called that anymore, he had lost sight of the purpose of the creed. He no longer paused to hear his victim's pleas before he slit their throats. He no longer hesitated when he ran across a guard; he no longer cared if he had to execute a woman. His body had grown cold, his mind had obtained an apathetic view towards the world.
He knew it was wrong; hell everything was wrong in his life now. He didn't know who he was anymore, and the thing that terrified him the most was the fact that he didn't seem bothered by that. His mind had run that through a couple of times before the realization hit him, he suddenly understood Altair.
Losing yourself was horrifying; he had followed in his mentor's footsteps. He had become what he had dreaded from day one, an unforgiving assassin. He hadn't wanted that, but there was no way he could go back now. Not after everything he had done, all the blood he had spilt, all the lives he had ruined.
The one light he had in his life had been torn away from him; he didn't even have a chance to fix things. There was nothing to be fixed with an empty shell, an unmoving body, a still heart. He snorted at the thought and pushed it away immediately, he would not remember the very thing that had caused his decadence.
A soft sigh startled him as a pale arm ghosted over the spot where he had just been followed by a soft downward dip in the delicate lips of the woman upon finding it empty. She picked her head up and cracked open one eye revealing a startling deep blue iris searching blindly in the darkness for him.
"Ezio, amore mio, come to bed," she whispered to him patting the spot next to her with a small boney hand. The assassin's eyes flickered towards her for a brief moment and outside once more. The stars have not ceased to amaze him, the flicker still despite everything that's happened over the last five years.
He turned away from the window but not before hurling a flowerpot at the lone musician who in turn scampered away as the flower came flying towards him. Ezio smiled despite himself after catching a glimpse of his past through the act.
Her turned away and settled down next to the woman once more, her pale arm wrapping around his waist as a habit by now. She settled against his chest and sighed softly tracing the muscles on his arm to keep herself occupied as Ezio stared straight ahead.
Lavender.
The scent hit him and sent his mind reeling back five years once more. He struggled with the memories, tried to suppress them but failed miserably as it all came rushing back.
Blond hair, just like Anna's…pale skin, just like Anna's…hazel eyes, unlike Anna's.
Ezio shifted away from the woman resting against him earning himself a glance from her as her brow furrowed.
"Ezio, I sometimes wonder what goes through that head of yours," she commented recovering from his rejection and resuming her place next to him. He didn't push her away; his mind was somewhere else by now. She had stirred too many memories; moments came rushing back at him.
He wished he hadn't remembered her.
"Ezio, I sometimes wonder what goes through that head of yours," she said laughing before biting into an apple he had handed to her moments before. She enjoyed the fruit while it lasted knowing it was hard to come by during the long trip. She couldn't thank Ezio enough; she was sick of eating rabbit and other unnamable things.
The scent lingered on her, bitter but sweet at the same time.
Apple.
He would never forget it, come what may he would never forget her.
She sat in front of him poking the fire with a twig she had found nearby, her eyes bright with amusement. He sat there looking at her in amazement; he wondered what god had decided to send her his way. There was no denying she had been meant for him since the moment he first laid eyes on her.
"So what do you plan on doing when you guys finish this job?" she asked as she continued to assault the fire with the small wooden twig. He glanced up at her and smiled briefly before it dropped just as quickly as it came.
He hadn't thought about that. He shrugged as she nodded in understanding.
There was a part of him that refused to let her out of his sight, seeing her in another man's arms was out of the question. She was his, he didn't care how many men he had to kill or jump over, she belonged with him.
He thought about her for a brief moment, since her arrival he hadn't been involved with any other women, several had called on him and several had even shown up looking for him back in Jerusalem according to periodic reports from Malik.
He dropped his gaze upon the sudden realization, how could he have let something like that slip his mind?
Perhaps it was different now, perhaps she was different.
"Hey! Hello, are you there?" she asked waving her arms over her head to catch his attention. His eyes shot over to look at her, he didn't know how to explain it, how to explain her.
"You are peculiar," he murmured, she glanced up at him unsure of whether he had said something. She shrugged upon seeing his gaze locked on the fire. He glanced up at her and locked eyes with her, she offered him a smile as he motioned over to her.
She obeyed reluctantly and walked over to him taking a seat next to him as he turned to look at her with his trademark grin.
"What?" she asked confused as he continued to stare, he shook his head and laughed slightly. She would never cease to amaze him; her eyes reflected the stars above her.
He knew why he kept her close, why he protected her, why he never tired of her presence.
"You are an amazing woman," he whispered into her ear as she looked at him seriously. Was he merely messing with her or had he actually meant it?
"Ezio, don't mess with me," she told him a slight frown on her lips as his own met hers briefly. Her breath hitched at the unexpected contact. Her lips barely touched his but she enjoyed it nevertheless.
"I meant every word, amore mio," he told her as she blushed deeply upon hearing the endearment. She pulled away and rested her head on his shoulder; he welcomed the contact and pulled her closer.
Her eyelids grew heavy, she was fighting off the urge to sleep. She didn't want to close her eyes for fear of messing up the moment; Ezio on the other hand was having none of that.
"Sleep, bella," he murmured caressing her dirty blond hair. She smiled against him and huddled closer to avoid the cold air that fell over them. He welcomed the warmth of her body and made a mental note to remember that night.
"Go to sleep, Ezio."
Anna's voice broke his thoughts.
He stared at her, her blond hair shone brightly despite the darkness of the room; her tired blue eyes looked at him with adoration. He stared back at her trying his hardest to restrain from looking at her too much, whenever he did he started to remember her.
"I am trying," he commented looking away slightly. She pulled his attention back to her by cupping his cheek. She gave him a look that told him he wouldn't enjoy whatever came next.
"Ezio, I have to go tomorrow night, the customer has requested a meeting with me," she told him as his eyes shot over to see her. She stared back trying her hardest to stop herself from dropping her smile as his own lips dropped.
"No," he replied almost immediately as she closed her eyes and tried to recollect her thoughts.
"We cannot keep this up," she told him backing away slightly, "you know what I am Ezio, I cannot hide like this forever, I haven't reported back to the house in over three days," she continued. "If I keep this up I will no longer be welcome," she finalized as he sighed.
"You don't have to go back," he added as she shook her head at him and smiled despite herself.
"Tigers don't change their stripes, amore," she laughed as she pulled away from him. He knew that but what they had was something outside of her normal routine. While she would leave after getting paid with other men she stayed the night with him and left as late as she possibly could.
She loved him dearly but her job restrained her. She would have quit long ago, the man in charge of her however had other plans. He had his way with taking care of his pets; especially if he found out they ran away or didn't report to a customer.
She was a courtesan, there was no denying that. A courtesan unable to escape the life she had gotten into. She wouldn't have gone into the 'business' had she met Ezio sooner, it was impossible to get out of now. She would have to bid her time and distance herself slowly.
She turned away from Ezio who was sulking by now upon realizing that she would leave tomorrow.
"I am sorry, amore," she whispered into his ear as he turned towards her, in that brief moment he could almost swear that he was seeing her.
He couldn't save her but he would get Anna out of the life she was trying to escape from.
He loved her.
He resisted the urge to laugh at himself; he fell in love with a whore…who would have thought he would have ended that way?
But as he turned away and started to drift off into sleep, he couldn't help but wonder…had he done the right thing?
His mind immediately answered his own question for him.
Of course not, this was wrong.
What had the world turned him into?
Review, let me know what you think! Any requests or things you want to see happen? Let me know :D
