Despite calming down after her small outburst, and Ido's attempts to distract her with tales and conversation - Isabella had awoken the next day feeling thoroughly miserable.

She struggled to pull herself from the bed and wrestled several times with the idea of just attempting to sleep the day away before reminding herself that she had responsibilities to take care of and therefore couldn't. After slowly getting dressed, she slumped down in the chair next to her vanity chest and picked up her comb, tugging it through her hair as she attempted to go over the positives for the day in the hope that it would cheer her up somewhat.

A knock on the door made her jump.

"Are you decent?" Ido sounded breezy and well-rested, how she envied him.

"I am," she replied, trying to imitate his tone - there was no need to keep worrying him.

He opened the door and popped his head inside the room.

"I'm headed out to deliver this message," he said. He had told her the night previous that he had elected himself to deliver a message to La Volpe from the Thieves Guild in Venice. It was top secret, and therefore not put to letter.

"I'll be back later, I just wanted to say good morning."

"Good morning," Isabella replied, her spirits lifted a tiny bit at this affectionate gesture. "Be careful, that inn can be rather dangerous I've been told."

"I am the model of safety," Ido grinned.

This sentence made Isabella giggle despite herself.

"Of course you are."

After he left she heaved a sigh, trying to hold onto the happiness her brother's company usually brought. She could not help but wish he could stay with her here in Rome permanently, at the very least the constant distraction of his company would mean she would barely have any time to feel miserable.

Alas, she knew this was not a possibility given that his life and their family home was back in Venice. If anything she would have to return to her home city should she want her brother as her housemate once more, and that was something she could not handle.

She was rather later than usual leaving her house that morning, and yet could not help herself from dawdling towards the fishing docks just outside her door - drawn by the calming sound of the rush of the water.

She had picked this house for the view of the river that ran through the city - being Venetian, she found huge bodies of water to be exceedingly soothing.

However as she stared at it for a few moments, she felt an ache in her chest as it brought up old memories.

"Paulo, for god's sake please be careful. If you fall in I'm not coming to save you."

Despite the strict-tone of her words she could not help but laugh as he wobbled precariously on the very edge of the dock.

"Do not fret, I am a master of balance." He replied, wobbling once more before becoming rather steady.

"You're a fool," Isabella replied with a light-hearted tone, shaking her head at him. "Now please come away from there, you're making me nervous."

He gave her a jovial wink.

"Now why on earth would this make you nervous?" He asked, stretching out his arms to balance before lifting up one leg.

"Stop it!" Isabella couldn't help but laugh, but still consciously stepped closer to him, her arms lifted somewhat.

"I love that you care," he replied cheekily. Grinning like a child, he steadied himself again before hopping from one leg to the other.

A crack sounded loudly around them and everything seemed to happen in slow-motion. Paulo's jovial expression changed to shock as the wooden beam underneath him shuddered jerkily. He began to stumble properly.

Without hesitation, Isabella rushed forward, grabbed onto his hand which was still outstretched, and yanked him towards her and away from danger.

He bumped into her and together the pair fell to the ground, he atop of her, as the wooden dock dropped into the water below.

For a moment they both stared dumbstruck at the water, still both laying on the floor, before erupting into laughter.

"You idiot!" Isabella choked, pressing her face to his shoulder to muffle her mirth somewhat. "I told you!"

His laughter was infectious.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked somewhat breathlessly.

She laid her head back again to look at him, still giggling.

"No, I'm alright. Are you?"

He continued to chuckle.

"Yes, thanks to you," he grinned, his hand moving to stroke her face gently. "My saviour."

Isabella reached up to brush back his messy hair lovingly. She knew they should probably move from where they had fallen, but couldn't quite bring herself to. It wasn't often they got to be close like this, and it was worth the risk of being caught by passers-by who might walk onto the secluded dock.

Paulo's gaze stayed on her, and as their laughter subsided, his expression turned uncharacteristically serious.

"Is everything alright?" Isabella questioned, still rather breathless from all the laughter.

"Bella, do you ever think about the future?" He asked, still strangely stern.

This random and rather heavy question surprised Isabella, and she gave another short laugh.

"What?"

"I mean, do you ever think about where you and I will be later in life?" He continued, his hand still gently stroking her face.

Though the question was unexpected and strange, she gave it some thought before replying.

"Sometimes."

"What do you imagine?" He asked, his expression was soft and made her heart thump heavily.

"I..." she could feel her face heating up, and prayed that her honest answer would not seem too forward. "Well I imagine we'll still be together...and...and happy...and..."

"Married?" He tacked on to her sentence, a shadow of his usual grin playing on his lips.

Isabella could feel her cheek heat underneath his cool touch, the idea of his words making her heart race even faster.

"Well..."

"Would you marry me, then?" Paulo continued, his words quiet and intense-sounding.

Isabella could barely breathe now.

"Are you asking?" She whispered, her fingers clasping at the front of his waistcoat.

Gently, he leaned down and kissed her with exceeding tenderness. Isabella felt giddy, her head felt light and her body responded to the close-proximity of his with an almost inappropriate amount of pleasure.

When he lifted his head to look at her again, he smiled and she thought her heart would take off.

"Will you marry me, Isabella?"

Her response was involuntary, wrapping her arms around his neck she pulled him in for another kiss. She could feel the curve of a smile on his lips and he gave a small laugh.

It took a while for them to break this time and when they did, he looked rather dishevelled.

"Is that a yes?" He asked breathlessly.

"Yes!" Isabella responded a little louder than she meant to, she gave into another bought of laughter before pulling him closer again.

"Yes," she said on his lips. "A million times yes."

They were laughing between kisses, and Paulo rolled to pull her on top of him, squeezing her strongly around the waist.

Unconsciously, she freed the chain around her neck from the constraints of her clothing and looked down at Paulo's ring that hung from it. What wouldn't she give to have one more day, one more hour with him.

She could feel the tears stinging her eyes and chided herself inwardly for letting herself think too much before the day had even started.

Sighing deeply, she lifted her head to the hot sun above her and closed her eyes, hoping that the heat would catch any stray tears that might escape. She needed to collect herself before she went to the Rosa, and she was already running late.

"Isabella?" A voice behind her made her jump, and she quickly turned on the spot - hoping a little too late that she didn't look as if she'd been crying.

"Ezio!" Isabella was rather shocked to see the Assassin, but also felt a strange surge of gratitude for being there when she so needed a distraction.

He gave her a curious look for a moment, and she quickly brushed her hands at her face in case there might be any tears there which thankfully there wasn't.

"Is everything alright?" She asked quickly, trying to distract him from her face.

He nodded his head at her words.

"Everything's fine, do not worry. Claudia just thought that you'd been coming back and forth to the Rosa so much, it might be kind for me to come to you."

"Are you and her talking now?" Isabella felt her spirits lift at this idea.

He nodded with a smile. "Yes, much thanks to you. Your advice was greatly appreciated."

"Oh no, I didn't do much," Isabella responded with a wave of her hand. She couldn't help but smile. "I'm so glad things are better."

"As am I," the Assassin replied with a small laugh that Isabella found herself joining in on, much to her own surprise.

"Would you like to come in?" She asked, gesturing towards her home. "I can look at your arm inside."

The Assassin complied and she followed him through the door.

"Where is Ido this morning?" He asked conversationally as Isabella placed her bag down on the chest in the foyer and rootled through it for any medical items she might need.

"He is delivering a message to La Volpe and won't be returning until the evening," Isabella replied.

"Oh yes, you mentioned he was a thief before." Ezio looked rather surprised as he thought about this fact. "If you hadn't have told me, I wouldn't have guessed."

Isabella grinned. "Hard to believe isn't it? But yes, he can be rather elusive when he wants to be."

"If you say so," the Assassin replied jokingly with a small chuckle which Isabella found herself joining in on once again. Her mood seemed to have lifted considerably, and she was grateful for it.

"Now," she said, her tone much more breezy now. "How is your arm feeling?"

"Much better," Ezio replied, moving it back and forth as if to prove his point. "Still a little painful, but nowhere near as bad as it was before."

"And you've been avoiding anything too rigorous?" Isabella asked him, sure that he had and yet wanting to make sure.

He nodded with a shrewd smile. "I know better now than to go against your wishes, Doctor."

She couldn't help but giggle at his words, shaking her head at him light-heartedly.

"Good."

Despite his convincing words of it feeling much better, Isabella still felt an element of relief when she saw how much healthier the wound looked when she'd removed the bandages.

"It does look much better," she voiced her thoughts aloud as she worked. "Though you may have a permanent scar there now I look at it. I'm sorry, there was nothing I could do about that."

Ezio looked at the wound briefly and gave a causal shrug.

"It's nothing unusual in my line of work, do not worry."

"Well I suppose that's it really," Isabella said as he pulled his sleeve back down over the newly bandaged scar. "Just keep it clean and be careful to not do anything too strenuous until it's healed a little more."

"Thank you Isabella," he responded with a fond smile. "I appreciate all your help."

Her stomach gave a strange jolt and she returned his smile.

"I'm happy to help. And as much as I will miss your company, I'll ask you to try your best to not get into any trouble for the time being."

She hadn't meant to be so honest, and she quickly busied herself with the roll of fresh bandage in her hands as an excuse to turn away from him - her cheeks heating up considerably.

"I'll do my best," the Assassin replied. His tone was soft but humoured, and oddly it made her feel even more like blushing. "And I'm sure we'll see each other when you're at the Rosa. I intend on being around much more nowadays."

"Good," Isabella replied with that irritating honesty.

"Claudia and your Mother are so happy to have you around, so it's good you'll be there more." She tacked on, hoping that she did not sound so needy.

She hadn't quite realised how attached she had become to the Assassin over the past week. She supposed that saving his life twice had some part to play in it, and he was also a good distraction.

But even more than that, he was a good person and she enjoyed spending time with him.

She just hadn't expected to become so fond of him so quickly.

After a moment's pause, Ezio's gaze lowered somewhat and his expression became curious.

"What is that?" He asked inquisitively, pointing to the object hanging from the chain around her neck.

Isabella felt her stomach jolt unpleasantly as she remembered that she had forgotten to tuck Paulo's ring away again earlier. She reached up, her hand clasping the object as if to shield it from view.

"I...it's..." she knew she only needed to tell him it was a ring, and that it was silly to want to hide it; but it was dangerous territory, one that she was not ready to talk about with such a new acquaintance.

Ezio's expression became concerned.

"Are you alright?" He asked concernedly, reaching out momentarily towards her before seeming to think better of it.

Isabella felt tears pricking in her eyes again. She had been so happy just a few moments ago, why couldn't she just hold on to that feeling?

"I'm fine," she lied, her voice shaking slightly.

Ezio surveyed her for a moment before speaking, his tone somewhat guarded.

"Is this...about the nightmares you told me about?"

Isabella felt a jolt of shock at his deduction. She had quite forgotten their small exchange before her brother had interrupted them the day before.

"How...?" She stammered, did he know more than he let on?

"You reacted the same way when you told me about them," he said knowledgeably.

"I...um," she was struggling to speak; a vast array of emotions working through her - though even in this state she had to admire the Assassin's skill in deduction.

"You don't have to talk about it," he replied kindly. "I can see it upsets you, I'm sorry to have brought it up."

"No," Isabella shook her head, trying to steel herself somewhat. "No I'm sorry...I'm just..."

She gave a shaky laugh at herself, trying to not seem as socially inept as she felt. "I must seem like a mess."

"Not at all," Ezio replied, his tone incredibly genuine. "I've been through hardships, I know what it's like."

Tentatively, he reached out and clasped her arm consolingly as if to help steady her. Inexplicably, she felt the strangest urge to walk forward and embrace him - though she repressed it with a slight shudder of embarrassment and confusion at the idea.

"Thank you," she said simply, giving the Assassin a weak smile. "I'm sorry."

"You needn't apologise," he replied. "It's fine honestly."

"Still," Isabella reiterated with slightly stronger tone. "Thank you. I appreciate your understanding, it's very kind."

"That's what friends are for." He said with a slightly lighter tone, clearly trying to cheer her up.

She gave a small laugh. "Good to know you consider me a friend."

"Well, I like to think saving my life twice constitutes some sort of bond between us, don't you think?" He grinned, and she was unable to help herself returning the gesture despite her emotional state.

"Indeed, good to know it wasn't for naught."

Ezio chuckled at the joke and let go of her arm, seeming to be comforted by her re-lightened mood.

"I think I may head back to the Rosa now," he said with a more bright tone. "Care to join me?"

Isabella shook her head.

"I would love to, but I fear I've shirked my other duties for a little too long today. Could you tell Claudia I'll be there tonight, though?"

"Of course." He paused for a moment, seeming to carefully pick his words. "Will you be alright?"

She smiled at his concern.

"I think I will, I'm feeling much better now."

And truthfully, though it was not usually so, she did feel a lot better. Usually a morning so steeped in memories would be a cause for the misery she had felt earlier to last all day, and yet she felt a little lighter.

"Alright," Ezio replied. "Thank you again for your help, and I hope to see you later."

"Yes, until later." She replied with a smile.

As he left the house she stared after him for a few moments. She felt a little drained after all the emotional ups and downs, but Isabella found herself not feeling as awful as she had earlier that morning. It was odd, she felt almost content.

Picking up her bag once more she made her way out of the house, her mind trying to dissect just what had kept her out of misery.

She couldn't make sense of it.