I don't think it's necessary for me to put a disclaimer in every chapter. Someone please tell me if I'm wrong.
"Where's my compass? Oh Mary, don't tell me I lost it! It was so expensive!"
Leonardo dove to the floor of his workshop, oblivious to the fact that he was holding his "lost" compass in his left hand. He frantically scanned the ground in a fruitless attempt to find the instrument. After a few minutes, he sat back on his heels, "This is terrible," he groaned, "This is the third compass I've lost this month!"
He smacked his left hand against his forehead.
"Ouch!" he shouted, not expecting his hand to be so hard. He examined his hand to see what was wrong.
"Hey," he picked up the piece of metal sitting on his palm, "My compass!" He held his precious tool close to his heart, "I'll never lose you again! You encompass my heart,"
……………….
The inventor quickly glanced around his studio. It was empty. "Thank God no one heard that," he muttered.
The man walked over to one of his several workbenches and gathered an armful of books and maps. Struggling slightly under the weight of some of the tomes, the inventor placed them in a nearby trunk. He frowned. It looked so messy in there… After a moment's hesitation, he reached down and put the books in alphabetical order. That's better!
Leonardo placed his hands on his hips and double checked the contents of the trunk. Am I missing anything? I feel like I'm forgetting something.
Clothes!
He rushed to his bedroom, tripping over bench legs, tools, and discarded pieces of wood in his haste. His wardrobe doors were hanging open, the result of rushing to get dressed so as not to miss the waning of a mushroom he had found the other day. Leonardo hurriedly grabbed a few articles of clothing, not taking the time to see if they matched or not, and rushed back to the trunk, tripping over the same obstacles as before.
The trunk was now mostly full. Leonardo smirked as his closed the lid. And Ezio says I can't pack by myself.
The inventor couldn't remember a time when he had been this excited. He normally stayed in one place (he hadn't walked out of Venice in five years), too absorbed in his work to do really any traveling. If he had need of something that wasn't in the city, he would hire someone to go get it for him. Ezio called him a hermit but Leonardo didn't see why. Hermits lived in caves their entire lives. He lived in a studio, thank you very much, and quite often went outside to observe nature.
But Ezio would be proud of him now. Leonardo had been invited to a scientific convention in Florence, and he had decided to go. This was so exciting! He was going to be surrounded by people just like him – scholars, scientists, poets, writers, inventors! The very thought of what lay ahead made him giddy with excitement. He would finally be able to converse with people who actually understood science and math.
It was too bad that Ezio had left for Rome before Leonardo had been able to tell him. Leonardo wasn't too upset though. Ezio was with Clara, so he would be happy. The thought made Leo smile. It made him happy to see Ezio happy. Really, the man deserved some joy after what he had been through. All of the murders, betrayals, and depression; Leonardo was glad that Ezio had found someone who could make him laugh again.
At first, Leonardo had thought that Ezio was simply flirting with the girl, but after the party, he knew it was something much more.
The inventor had seen the way his friend's eyes had lit up when the dark haired beauty had walked into the room. Ezio hadn't been awed merely at her beauty; he had been awed by her presence. Looking back, Leo couldn't remember a time when the assassin had looked at anyone that way. There had been several girls before Clara that Ezio had flirted with, but Ezio never constantly talked about them. He had never rushed to Leo's home, ecstatic that she had finally smiled at him; the painter could still remember the delighted look on Ezio's face as he described how beautiful Clara's smile had looked.
In Leonardo's opinion, Ezio was in love with Clara Vitellio. He had no doubt that Ezio would do anything to make her happy. The only question was did she have any feelings for him?
Leonardo didn't know what to think on this matter. Her indifference towards Ezio's flirting suggested not, but her behavior during the dance had made him think hard. The entire time, Leonardo had felt that Clara did in fact have feelings for Ezio. But Ezio had said that nothing had happened between them. The Renaissance genius furrowed his eyebrows and chewed on his fingernail. So maybe Clara did have feelings but was too afraid to admit them? Something was missing; there was something that Clara wasn't telling Ezio. Some secret that was maybe was preventing her from confessing.
Leonardo's eyes wandered to the sundial in the middle of his room. Holy Mary! It was almost 2 o'clock! The carriage that he had hired would be leaving at 2:15!
He hurriedly locked his trunk and dragged it through the room, down the stairs, and into the street. After patting his pockets to make sure that he had his house key, Leonardo took off down the street with his trunk in tow. He had only walked a few feet when he paused, frowning. Where's my compass?
"Excuse me, sir."
Leonardo turned and cam face to face with a clean shaven young man.
"Can I help you?" the inventor asked.
"Yes, actually you can," the young man smiled at him. He glanced at Leonardo's trunk, "It seems you are going on a journey?" he inquired.
Leonardo patted his trunk, "I am heading for a convention in Florence," he announced proudly, "I'm just waiting for my transportation to arrive,"
The man's eyes widened, "Sir, surely you don't mean to travel in a carriage?"
"Actually, yes."
"Sir!" the man seemed shocked, "How much did you pay?"
Leonardo told him the price.
The man's eyes bugged out, "That much for a ride in a dingy carriage!" he protested, "Surely you jest."
"No, I'm serious," Leonardo was starting to feel uncomfortable,
The man shook his head. After a moment's pause, he looked back at Leonardo, "Then allow me to help you," he said, his voice turning soft. He edged closer to Leonardo, "There's a special carriage service just a few streets down," he whispered, "You can get a carriage and a driver there for half of what you paid here."
"Truly?"
The man nodded, "If you would like to go there, I could return your carriage ticket for you, so that you could get there faster."
"You would do that for me?" Leonardo asked, amazed that this stranger would do such a thing.
The man nodded, "Anything to help a needy soul,"
Da Vinci quickly fished out his ticket and handed it to the man, "Thank you friend. I won't soon forget your kindness."
The man took the ticket and examined it, "Head south for three blocks until you see several carriages lining the street," he said, not looking up, "tell them that Pip sent you."
Leonardo nodded, smiling, "I'm off then!"
The man watched as the inventor grabbed his trunk and started down the street. He looked back down at the ticket, a mocking smile curling over his lips, "Fool," he laughed.
"I'm Brute. I'll be your carriage driver."
Leonardo had to crane his neck far back to see the man's face. Brute was six feet tall easily and was covered with muscle. His jet black hair was shaved in a style that would later become standard for men in the military. His face was brutal, covered in scars. An eye patch hid his left eye from view. Brute spat on the ground, "Is that all you're taking?" he kicked Leonardo's trunk.
Leo was too scared to tell the man to be careful, so he simply nodded. Brute grunted and then tossed the trunk into the carriage, handling it as if it weighed no more than a feather. The carriage axels groaned in protest as Brute climbed up to the driver's seat. Leonardo swallowed and climbed into the carriage. There were three people already inside: an extremely obese woman, an old man, and a sleeping teenager with long hair but men's clothing (Leonardo couldn't tell if it was a male or a female). The obese woman eyed him as he squeezed onto the seat next to her, "Do you have any food?" she demanded.
Leonardo shook his head, "I'm afraid not, Madame." Please, God, don't let her fall asleep and roll on top of me.
The lady grunted and looked out the window. Leonardo sank down in his seat. Suddenly, one of the carriage doors opened to reveal Brute. He silently handed each of the passengers a knife, placing the last on the teenagers lap.
Oh Christ…
"What are these for?" Leonardo asked timidly.
"Bandits, obviously," Brute said before slamming the door shut. A few seconds later, Leonardo heard the crack of the whip, and the carriage lurched forward at a terrifying pace.
Leonardo looked at the old man, "What did he mean by bandits?"
The old man glared at him, "Why do you think this ride was so cheap? It's because we go where no one else goes – straight through bandit territory. It's the fastest yet most dangerous way to Rome."
"Wait, I'm supposed to be heading for Florence," Leonardo protested, "We have to stop this thing!"
"The last people who complained to Brute never made it to their destination," the old man said nonchalantly.
Leonardo froze, "What?"
"They just disappeared."
Leonardo felt faint. Mother of God. I'm never traveling again!
It seems that everyone likes Leonardo and wants him to go to Rome. I wrote this chapter for some laughs and to get someone else's viewpoint on Ezio and Clara's relationship.
Now I have some good, bad, and semi good semi bad news. First, the good news: I wrote the next several chapters a few days ago! Bad news: My laptop's motherboard blew out and deleted all of my memory. Semi good semi bad news: I will continue writing this fic, but it will take a while for me to re write the chapters I lost (because I wan to make sure I don't rush them; you guys don't deserved rushed work), but the computer I have to use now is extremely slow and my parents are going to replace it soon. So I don't know how often I will be able to post new chapters… I'm aiming for at least one a week, but I'll have to see about that.
Don't stop reviewing though! Seriously, reviews will make me feel better about the issues I'm experiencing right now.