A/N: Nearly half a year between updates and you still want to follow this story. You guys are awesome.

The clouds hung heavy and dark in the sky on the day Elena ventured towards the eastern district. The cobblestone streets were slick and wet from rain that had fallen during the night, and the air was thick and damp with the promise of future downpours. The canals were flat, grey veins running calmly through the city, embellished here and there by the occasional whirlpool. Most of the gondolas sat empty and cold, slowly filling with rainwater as the day lagged on. Even the steadfast pigeons seemed to have abandoned their posts for the day.

Yet even on days when the sun seemed to have completely deserted its throne in the sky, the peddlers and tailors never failed to appear under the wooden roofs of their wagons, keeping vigilant eyes on any potential customers, of which there were very few.

"Grazie."

Elena traded a few coin with an older gentleman, who in turn handed her a beautiful red apple without so much as a single scrape or bruise. She smiled prettily at him and he fumbled the coins into a nearby puddle. When she offered to gather them for him, he hurriedly brushed her away, obviously embarrassed. Still smiling, Elena shrugged and wandered off towards the docks.

Not far from the dilapidated piers, she found a small patch of land that was little more than a square sandbank that barely rose above the grey waters of the canal. Stonewalls as tall as she bordered the small, green square that housed a lone, sturdy tree. Still holding her apple, Elena knelt by the water's edge and watched as sporadic raindrops triggered ripples on the tranquil surface. Somewhere in the distance, cathedral bells tolled the hour.

Thud.

Grinning, she slowly stood and turned around to face her stalker. For a brief moment, she felt somewhat privileged to gaze upon the white hood that usually bode the promise of death to those who saw it. Beneath the hood, she could just make out very serious, unsmiling lips surrounded by a well-trimmed beard.

"Buongiorno, Ezio," she said smoothly, unable to stop grinning. "How are your fingers?"

"Better, now that they have something to strangle."

He wrapped his gauntleted hands around her neck, but never tightened his grip. Elena didn't move.

"You couldn't. Even if you wanted to."
"Oh trust me, signorina. I want to."

But his smile said otherwise and he released her.

"I'm sorry," she said, watching as he walked past to look out upon the grey canals. "But there was no other way to get rid of you in time. Trust me; I did you a favor."

"A favor, was it?" He turned back around with that impish grin twisting the scar on his lips. "Well, as far as favors go, I've had rougher."

Elena rolled her eyes and sighed. "Ezio…" She crossed her arms and leaned close against the tree trunk, away from the drizzle that was beginning to turn into a steady rain. "So…here we are. As requested. Exactly what is it that's brought you all the way from Roma?"

The assassin slowly walked towards Elena and she couldn't' help but admire the intimidating array of lethal blades and ornamental, silvery armor that bedecked his tall, robust figure. And the way he walked…as if nothing could touch him. "I take it you've talked with Serafina."

"Talked, argued, scolded…whatever you wish to call it." Elena bit into her apple. "Don't tempt her like that again, Ezio. If I find you near her house again, I promise I'll drown you in the canal myself."

"Whoa, whoa, signorina. Perhaps your sister was the one who tempted me. Why am I always the one getting blamed?"

Elena grinned into that dark hood. "Because I know you, Ezio. And I know my sister."

That wicked grin resurfaced and he turned away. "Not as well as you may think." Elena frowned. "She tells me you still live with your mother and father in Firenze."

She said nothing and bit into her apple, but when he turned around and gave her an expectant look, she acknowledged him with a curt,

"Sì."

"You…are not engaged?"

Elena let her shoulders slump as her eyes rolled to the heavens once more. "Ezio, tell me what it is you've come here for. I have better things I could be doing with my time instead of making trifle conversation."

It wasn't until after the words had left her mouth that she realized what he'd asked and her mind was suddenly flying at the speed of light. Engaged? What did he care? Could he…could he really be serious about a proposal? Ridiculous. This was Ezio Auditore, Italy's most infamous whoring assassin who enjoyed nothing more than a good goblet of wine and several women by his side. How could she even consider being bound to such a name? Not that she had anything to lose, but—

"I'll take that as a no," he murmured.

She took a nervous bite of her apple and quickly changed the subject. "What are you doing in Roma, anyway? I thought you were living in the countryside…in Monteriggioni."

His dark eyes, hidden from Elena by the hood, grew distant. "Not anymore. The villa was destroyed by the Borgia."

Elena nearly choked. "The Borgia? When? Why?"

Ever since the hanging of the Auditore family many years ago, she had come to learn to expect outlandish and dramatic stories from Ezio; the man dealt in blood and death as an assassin, after all. But his lengthy explanation consisted of conspiracies, Assassins, murder, corruption, Templars, betrayal, and some sacred artifact that he (and apparently the entire bloodline of assassins) insisted needed to be reclaimed from the Borgia. Overwhelmed by the sheer extravagance and magnitude of his tale, Elena did her best to listen and not laugh.

"The Borgia have taken everything from the people, Elena," he said. By this point, both of them were sitting comfortably in the wet grass beneath the tree. "Their money, their homes, their lives…the people of Roma are driven by fear and left to rot in the streets. But it's not just Roma they wish to conquer…all of Italia will fall to them if they are allowed to continue this madness. The apple cannot be left in their hands."

Elena tried to wrap her thoughts around what he was saying. "This apple…what does it do?"

Ezio plucked the half-eaten fruit from her hands and twirled it in his grasp. "It is an object of great power. The pope would use it to destroy his enemies and control the people of Italia. Even Uncle Mario wasn't sure of all that it is capable of, but I'm certain the Templars will use it as a weapon and enslave whoever they can to aid their conquests."

She chuckled despite herself and Ezio frowned at her.

"So you mean to kill the pope? Brilliant, Ezio," she said incredulously, making her laugh even more. Ezio didn't seem to find it as funny.

"I intend to take back the Apple of Eden and liberate the people of Roma."

Elena wrenched the red apple back from him and took another bite into its core. "Oh? And how exactly do you plan to take on the papacy?"

"Well…it certainly can't be done by one assassin."

He left his sentence hanging in the air. Elena peered into the white hood and saw what looked like black eagle eyes piercing through her, making her skin crawl. All at once, her heart flipped inside her chest, her stomach plummeted to her ankles, and nervous laughter bubbled forth.

"Oh, so you want me to help you murder the pope! It gets even better!"

Elena stood and tossed the core of her apple into the canal. Distant thunder rolled through the sky as a new wave of deep blue-gray clouds billowed into the sky. "You're ridiculous, Ezio."

The assassin stood and brushed off his robes. "I come to you for help and you ridicule me. I should've known better."

"I don't mean to disappoint you," she said. "But you're going to need more than just one or two friends to help you. You'll need an army at the very least."

"Sì." The calmness in his voice made her turn around. Ezio couldn't keep from grinning at her large, brown eyes and pouting lower lip. Belle. (Beautiful)

"Elena." He took a step forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. "If you come with me, I will show you how to fight. I can show you how to become an assassino."

"Me." Her mouth had gone dry. "Why me?"

"Because I know you could do it. My memories of you are much fonder than yours are of me, apparently. And because you're a friend. A friend that I can trust."

"You trust me?"

Ezio stood back, his voice dropping several tones. "Should I not?"

"I don't think you should be trusting anyone with such secrets."

He nodded, as if pleased. "Spoken like a true assassino."

Fear suddenly took hold of her heart and she turned her eyes upon the ground.

"Is this what became of Gabriele?"

Ezio frowned. "Gabriele?"

"Sì, Gabriele. My elder brother. He ran off with you some years ago after you persuaded him to leave us."

"I didn't persuade him to leave you. Gabriele followed me of his own accord. As a matter of fact, he spent much of his time on his own, away from me at all."

"Where is he now, Ezio?" Elena bit back a fearful tear.

The assassin seemed reluctant to say anything. Just when she was ready to grab him by his cape and pummel him into the ground until he told her everything he knew of Gabriele, he said,

"He is in Roma."

"Grazie a Dio! (Thank God) Is he well?"

"Sì."

She was grateful for the pouring rain that was beginning to seep through the tree leaves and onto her face; it hid the few tears that were beginning to run down her cheeks.

"Bene. (Good) I'm glad."

"He has proven to be a good friend over the years," Ezio said. Maybe it was the callous life of an assassin, or that everything paled in comparison to her joy, but he sounded apathetic to her ears. "And a fine soldier."

"An assassino?"

"A spy. He's employed as one of the Borgia guards, but in truth, he serves the assassins."

Elena's breath caught in her throat. Gabriele? A spy? The brother she remembered was compassionate, patient, artistic, and had a great sense of rhythm. To imagine him clad in metal armor, patrolling the streets of Roma with a sword at his hip was something she could hardly fathom.

Ezio waited patiently in the drenching rain as Elena took time to sort her thoughts. He was afraid to say more, since he couldn't tell whether she was about to burst into laughter or tears.

"Gabriele." Elena let her brother's name pass her lips once more. Turning her alighted eyes back on the assassin, she said, "When you see him again, would you give him a message for me?"

"Why don't you come with me to Roma and give it to him yourself?" he replied with a lopsided grin.

"Ezio, I can't."

"Why not?"

"I can't just leave Mama and Papa. I have no money, no provisions."

"No obligation to stay." Elena blinked. "Elena, what's keeping you here? You have no husband, no children."

"Senza futuro? (No future?) Is that what you're trying to say?"

The word blurted out before he could take it back. "Forse." (Maybe.)

Elena threw up her hands. "Ugh! Stronzo!" (Asshole!)

Spinning on her heel, she climbed up over the rock wall and strode into the sparse crowds, snubbing Ezio's attempts to keep up with her as she sped along the slick cobblestone roads.

"Elena…Elena, wait!"

"I thought that finding you in my sister's bed was a big enough slap in the face, but no! You want to scorn my way of life!"

"That's not what I meant!"

"I don't care. It's what you said." She roughly brushed past a man carrying a wooden crate full of sopping, forlorn-looking chickens. Trying not to loose sight of her—the woman was more agile than many of his targets—Ezio nearly toppled the man, making him drop his crate on the rock road. It splintered easily and the fowl noisily flapped their way to freedom. Before the man could employ a cunning string of curse words, Ezio threw him a rich handful of Florins.

"Dispiace, messere." (Sorry, sir.)

"Why don't you just leave?" Elena spat. "Go back to Roma and try to save the world and your precious apple!"

"I thought you would want to see Roma! Or your brother, at the very least. When we first left, he told me how disappointed you would be that we weren't taking you with us."

Elena let out a bark of laughter. "So glad you remembered that…six years later! When it's of convenience to you! You only find me now because you need help, not because you want me there."

Ezio became entangled in a slow-moving herd of people. With his patience wearing thin, he elbowed his way through them. "That's not true," he growled. "If all I wanted was another notch on my belt, I could've picked the beggar on the street! But of all the people in Italia, I came to find you, Elena! And traveling from Roma to Venezia is not exactly convenient! Elena! Are you even listening to me?"

As he entered a small square, up ahead he saw her slender figure trotting away through the crowds. Her pretty face flashed back at him as she glanced over her shoulder. Then, she had the gall to smile.

Ezio shook his head. "Maledica quella donna." (Damn that woman.)

A/N: So I realize that there are some time discrepancies, but let's overlook those, shall we? (for those hardcore AC fans, don't try to make sense of the timeline here. It doesn't work lol) ^_^

I'm also curious as to what you guys think of Elena at this point; intriguing? annoying? boring? Not enough Ezio? haha...though, if you're like me, that always seems to be the case =P Let me know what you think! Thanks so much you guys! =D