CHAPTER SEVEN.
Slowly but surely the woman attempted to mingle with the people again but the tensed up shoulders indicated that the woman knew that he wasn't fooled by her disguise. The woman ignored the feeling as she pulled her hood down lower, hiding her features from anyone and everyone. The woman grew brave as she glanced around the area in hope of catching a glimpse at who followed her. La Volpe noted that she was no fool as she scanned the area, looking up at the rooftops as her body paused. La Volpe remained still as the female detected him and he couldn't help but grin, pulling out his crossbow. He didn't work like the assassins and killed straight away, he enjoyed chasing his victims until they grew exhausted and, if they still refused to hand over the information, he would kill them. He didn't enjoy killing, no one did, but he enjoyed the thrill of a chase, a challenge. Sometimes he would let them think that they had gotten away, gotten to safety, and then he would pickpocket them without detection but he knew this woman was different, she could feel his eyes. He knew that this one was the type he'd have to chase down and demand for his prize, for the letter. La Volpe pulled out his crossbow, lifting it up in a threatening manner. He had no intention of shooting her but the woman didn't need any further encouragement from La Volpe, she had turned and fled.
La Volpe chased down his victim, his Eagle Vision on as he watched the gold figure dart from alley to alley, ensuring that she didn't run in a straight direction for too long. La Volpe, once again, admired the tactic and knew that she was trying to lose him but his strong gaze burned like a raging fire on her back, he knew that she could feel his eyes. La Volpe jumped from building to building, strapping his crossbow to his back again as he enjoyed the chase. He was glad to see the woman have a change of plan as she took to the rooftops up ahead of him.
"So she plans to outrun me" he murmured to himself, his grin never falling. He swapped back to his normal vision, knowing that the woman would keep in sight He never bothered pulling out his crossbow, he could see that the woman's strides were uneven and her jumps were ungraceful giving La Volpe the chance to catch her up if he wanted to. He knew that the female was injured but she continued on. Without warning she darted to the right, leaping onto a rooftop before shoving a startled guard onto his bum in her haste. La Volpe had seen a similar move before, a way of distraction, and in mid-flight La Volpe shot down the guard with his butcher knife before landing. He regained his knife as he landed, giving an amused grin in the woman's direction as he took chase again. It was now that La Volpe decided to up the game a bit, increasing his speed to catch up with her. The thief's eyes sparkled with life as the woman realised what he was doing and she loudly whistled, leaping from the building onto two wooden poles before landing onto the ground.
La Volpe stopped on the edge of the roof, swinging out his crossbow to take a shot but a loud neigh was heard with the loud beating of horse shoes crashing against the cobbled street. La Volpe was distracted as the sea of surrounding people pushed and shoved, getting out of the way of the coming black pony. The black pony was small and scruffy, much smaller than the usual horses around here, and that's when La Volpe realised that the distraction was intended. He looked in search for the woman, raising his crossbow, but she quickly fell to her knees, crawling between peoples' legs. The thief angrily sighed; he couldn't openly shoot in case of harming an innocent. The woman swung onto her scruffy pony, her body flat as she urged it forward. It was clear that the pony was young as the woman guided the inexperienced pony into small openings, weaving in and out of people before they found an empty alleyway to gallop through. Their speed and constant turning made it difficult for La Volpe to keep up but he did, even when he nearly fell from a two floored building – he was thankful that Niccolò or Ezio wasn't with him to witness it. With his trip he thought that he had lost his target but a loud snort of distress was heard near the docks. La Volpe quickly darted onto the last building before leaping off it, standing in the alleyway. Two boats floated in the river in front of the woman so she sharply turned her pony to flee back from where they came from but after three strides of gallop she pulled her pony to a halt, her pathway blocked.
La Volpe was still and silent, his breathing was regular and even, it was as if he had been standing there for hours. The black scruffy pony nervously shifted from side to side, understanding the situation they were in. The pony looked left to right, back to front for any sign of escape. La Volpe observed the woman once more, wondering what her strengths and weaknesses were. It was clear that a fight was to appear.
"What do you want?" she called out to La Volpe, her voice muffled. He couldn't detect who this woman was but the muffled voice sounded familiar.
"You know what I seek" La Volpe boldly told her, his voice flatter than usual as he made no move to draw his weapon. The woman dangerously snarled at him, her pony rearing to defend her mistress but at the movement the pony's mind was distracted, being still and quiet as he landed, eyeing up the boats. La Volpe took the pony's sudden change of behaviour into consideration, he knew animals were smart.
"Hand over the letter and you will come to no harm" La Volpe ordered in his strong voice, slowly swinging out his crossbow in a menacing way. His grin was slid off his face as a loud twinkle of a laugh was heard, a laugh so familiar. The whole body language of the woman changed; instead of it being stiff and defensive it was now relaxed and certain.
"Never" she shouted with a playful laugh, kicking her pony on. La Volpe couldn't help but let his eyes widen as the pony sharply spun, heading straight to the boats. The woman leant forward as the gelding powerfully jumped to the first boat and then bounced onto the next. La Volpe took chase, jumping straight onto the first boat. The pony snorted, obviously regretting his idea as he realised the final gap was much too big to be jumped by any horse, let alone a pony. La Volpe was about to laugh, knowing that she was truly stuck but before the pony had chance to refuse the final hurdle the woman urged him forward, giving him the confidence he needed to plunge into the freezing cold water. La Volpe gaped in amazement; he had never seen a horse do that before. He leapt onto the second boat, perching himself on it as he held his weapon up. Instead of the woman kicking on the pony as she reached the shore to gallop away she turned, patting the horse with praise. Before he had chance to pull the trigger on his crossbow it was snatched out of his hands, a loud clatter being heard behind him as his crossbow hit the floor. He glanced over, looking at the knife that had wedged itself into the side of the boat.
"You shouldn't have followed me Fox" the muffled voice called out to him over the river and La Volpe quickly flashed his eyes up. Slowly the woman removed her brown hood, the last rays from the falling sun revealing who it was.
"La Lupa!" La Volpe gasped in surprise and a twinkle of a laugh was heard, the laugh clear as she removed the cloth covering her mouth. He couldn't help but frown at how much time the pair had wasted although he did enjoy the 'heat' of the chase.
"Now now Fox, don't go in a strop, I didn't even know it was you. Thought you were some other thief" she teased in honesty, a bright smile on her face as her yellow eyes playfully shined. The thief shook his head, glad that he hadn't chased her into the water – he couldn't stand anymore comments from the assassins.
"Grab yourself a horse, I'll be waiting by the bridge" La Lupa called out to him and she turned her pony, grinning as she sent a wave towards the grumbling thief.
