Home Chapter 8
Chapter 8: The Escape
During the time that she was unconscious, many things things happened. So many memories shot through her head and reformed those vital connections lost in her brain. Most were too quick to really note bar some little snapshots and alterations.
The streets of modern, tourist-filled Roma morphing into the renaissance, colour filled streets of Firenze as the sun set beautifully in both.
Walking up the narrow carpeted stairs of her childhood home replaced with grand and polished wooden stairs from the Villa Auditore.
Nadia saw that all happen within the space of a few seconds in her purgatory of unconsciousness. So many things changing and connections being changed and created.
However there was one memory that stood out for her. One entirely repressed memory resurfacing from its cage.
...
"Thank you papa." She had said with a bright smile and a sing song tone as her father handed her the small leather pouch that contained the perfect number of ducats. She had kissed his cheek before being dismissed to find her chaperone in the form of Ezio.
Today was the day that she had been able to persuade her father to let her buy the dress from their preferred tailor. She had spent weeks walking past the shop with her friends and eyeing it's radiant beauty from the street.
It was primarily made of deep burgundy velvet separated with brief glimpses of gold and a lighter crimson red. The skirt and bodice was intricately embroidered with a detailed flower and vine pattern and the skirt was hemmed with a delicate white lace. This lace was also used to create the sleeves which joined onto the bold emphasis on the slightly enhanced shoulders and almost-undershirt that protected her modesty and covered her chest just above her bosom, and ended with a loose collar around her lower neck. It was finished off completely by an embroidered velvet strip which acted almost like a belt and which draw attention to her slim waist in a subtle way.
Her friends often had to drag her past the shop as she would gaze on it for minutes. She had asked her father immediately after seeing it for the first time if she could buy it, but he had protested that she had only recently bought her newest dress and that she did not need another. She had been a little upset, and her older brothers had teased her to no end about it, but she knew that she could eventually have her way if she persisted.
It had finally been worth the effort.
Ezio had grumbled and complained to both mother and herself that he found clothes shopping very boring and tedious but mother would have none of it - much to Claudia's glee.
They went out immediately and if it weren't for her arm being looped through his, she would have been running to that tailors she was so excited. When papa had told her that she could get it in a week or so, Claudia had immediately gone to the tailor and told him to hold back that dress for her to collect. Since there was no risk of someone else having it, practically could have skipped she was so happy.
After agonising minutes of walking through crowds, Claudia finally got to the tailors and tried on the dress so he could adjust it to her frame. She couldn't stop smiling as Ezio sat and tried not to fall asleep with boredom. She gasped, it was so beautiful that she wanted to wear it all day everyday. In fact, she even wore it out of the shop and carried her other dress over her arm as she dragged a sleepy Ezio out of the shop an hour later.
"You look beautiful Claudia." Ezio had said with no interest and only half paying attention to her as a group of girls walked but and blushed as he winked at them.
"You do not mean that." She had said with a sad sigh, he always teased her efforts on dressing well and so today was no different. "But you might as well chase those poor women for all of the attention you have yet to put into talking to me." she grumbled but knew he wouldn't be paying enough attention to care. She looked up a moment later and he was indeed strolling up to them with his large smirk.
Now Claudia was very hurt, he hadn't even listened but had still done what she had expected.
"If he expects me to wait for him then he has thought wrong." She said angrily to herself as she crossed her arms and stormed back to the direction of the house.
"My apologies, sir." she said as she crashed into a man on her closed-minded rampage. She didn't look at his face as she was too embarrassed to and was not in the mood for an angry lecture from a stranger. Thankfully the man said nothing and let her go on her way as he walked in the opposite direction.
But only a few moments later she began to feel really sick and queasy and then the memory faded with the strong feeling of falling.
...
"Morning." Nadia mumbled sleepily as she rubbed her eyes. She'd literally just woken up and already she just wanted to go back to sleep and fade back into those warm dreams. She could just barely remember the feeling of rubbing that textured fabric of her dress between her fingers even as most of those subtle moments slipped away from her grasp back into the recesses of her head.
She still remembered passing out and a dull ache was now stubbornly pounding her head but it was manageable at least. Looking around as she stood up and rubbed her sore back, she saw Declan staring at her hopefully. "Is starin' at me seriously becoming your favourite hobby or somethin'?" she said at him as she ran a hand through her hair. Just happening to glance at the right moment, she saw his hopeful look deflate but still had no idea what she had done. Instead of asking though she decided to confront those people, thank them but get the hell out of this creepy place.
"Morning guys." She called as she entered the main room where, unsurprisingly, all six of the strangers were gathered. They all turned to her immediately and smiled at her all at once.
That is seriously creepy...
"Good morning Nadia!" Nicole said and handed her a cup of coffee. Nadia smiled back fakely but refused the cup of coffee. Taking a cup of coffee from some very suspicious individuals was a big no-no in any place or time.
"How is your head?" Asked the other man Nadia wasn't very familiar with, she had forgotten his name anyway.
"It's fine." She said bluntly, why did it even matter to them? Why was she so important?
"Do you remember anything?" Dean said, cutting any semi-friendly small talk off there. She could feel Declan's eyes burning into her particularly but she knew everyone else was looking at her as well.
"Well yeah, I remember everything from the day before now and a reasonable time before that." Nadia said even though she was pretty sure they meant something else.
"Anything else?" Nicole pushed and Nadia really wanted to snap at her but took a breath and didn't.
"Well no, I can't remember things very well from years ago!"
"Do you remember your childhood?"
"Aren't your questions getting a little personal?" she eventually almost snapped. This was going way too far since she didn't know them (besides Andrew who she obviously didn't know well enough) and couldn't trust them and didn't even know if they were even law-abiding people!
"Just answer the question." Dean said with an almost scary calmness but Nadia wasn't having any of it.
"No! I have no reason to and especially since I have no idea who the fuck you are or if in fact you aren't criminals since you hide in a pretty dodgy place!" She said and threw her hands up in the air with exasperation.
"Let us explain Na -" Andrew started but Nadia didn't even give him time to finish.
"I honestly don't care about what you have to say, I don't want to be involved in this and I am leaving right now." she said and turned to go.
Apart from Declan, everyone in the room moved to stop her but she burst into running (if Declan wanted to stay with them then it was his choice) as running footsteps came after her. She managed to get to the door and tried to get it open but it was completely smooth and had no handle. She was beginning to panic for a few seconds when the door came down and someone pulled her through before slamming the button and sending the door up in the peoples' faces. Nadia could have laughed at Andrew's disappointed expression before the door closed.
She looked forward and saw Declan pulling her into a fast run down the suspiciously squishy corridors and past hundreds of very, very, creepy skeletons of the long-since-deceased. Surprisingly it seemed like Declan actually knew where they were going.
"You know the way out?" She panted as she was dragged along, her lungs and legs burning as a sharp pain started up in her side. A stitch, just what she needed as she heard the stone door's sound reverberate behind them somewhere with the sound of their pounding feet. When he didn't say anything she decided that running was probably a better idea than talking since there were people running after them now.
In less than a few minutes he was pushing her up a ladder up to the surface. Nadia climbed as fast as she could and gave the cover over the ladder a harsh shove before moving it to the side and climbing out, helping Declan out.
"Seriously how did you know?!" Nadia exclaimed, wiping her really disgusting hands on her trousers as he moved the cover quietly back over the ladder quickly before pulling her away by the wrist.
"I just did."
"You still insisting on speaking Italian huh?" Nadia mumbled which caused Declan to give her a confused look. For some reason, his condition seemed like it affected his knowledge of English. "Care to share anymore details?" she said as they hurried in the direction of the hotel.
"No." He said with an unusual, frustrated snap as they walked.
"Are you okay?" She asked, actually concerned now.
"We can speak later when you are out of danger." He replied before not replying to anything else she said or asked.
Once back at the hotel, they hurried up the stairs to Nadia's room so she could pack her stuff up and then he could pack his; however, there was someone waiting there for them.
