Translations:
Divano - Sofa/couch
Arresto - Stop/halt
Merda - Sh*t
Dio caro - Dear God
Cazzo - F*ck
Puttana - B*tch
Fottiti - F*ck you
Something Missing
Aria lay splayed across the divano in Leonardo's workshop, dozing with one arm resting over her eyes and the other dangling off the side. Every inch of her body was sore from the training that Ezio had put her through, but it was nothing in comparison to the pain she had felt the first few days.
At first her hands had been rubbed raw by the coarse brick walls, but they had become tough and calloused since then. There were scores of soft purple bruises scattered across her arms and legs from Ezio hacking at her with the wooden practice sword, though each day there were fewer and fewer to count. Her left hand was crisscrossed with small, healing cuts from wielding Ezio's hidden blade, but she sported no new bandages from the day before. Even the ache in her muscles seemed almost pleasant, a reminder of the progress she had made.
Ezio had decided that today they would take a break, and Aria had grudgingly agreed. She could not argue that her body needed break, but she wasn't thrilled about it. There were no new codex pages to scribe, and with only a few pages remaining, they were more difficult to track down, or so Ezio claimed. The stronzo seemed content to sleep away the afternoon, and Leonardo was busy tinkering with his inventions that she wasn't allowed to touch, which left Aria completely and utterly bored.
Ultimately, Aria couldn't take it anymore. She had to get out and do something – anything - to keep her mind from running in self-consuming little circles. She was still so uncertain about joining the Assassins, but she had come so far already and there was nothing left for her to turn back to.
Leonardo had wandered off to his storage room, so the coast was clear for escape. Pulling herself off the soft chair, Aria slid her weapon belt over her shoulder before raising the hood of her black tunic and quietly exiting the workshop.
The day was overcast and the sound of the churning sea could be heard throughout the city. People moved from her path as she walked, gawking at the bow and quiver on her back that she made no effort to hide. The wind was chilly from the north, but the sun managed to peek through the clouds every once in a while, and the bright rays were warm on Aria's dark attire.
She spotted a lonely tree growing out of a small patch of dirt where it had been placed for decoration. Ignoring the curious stares, Aria gracefully swung up and into the thick tangled branches before finding a comfortable limb to perch on.
The smell of the sea was heavy and moist, the fierce wind blowing the spray across the city in a fine mist. She had grown accustomed to the stench, but that did not mean she liked it. Aria found that she often missed the countryside, where trees could grow where they pleased and she could ride for miles and miles. She wondered if her family's Villa still stood, or if it had been torn down to make room for the vineyards. Had it been sold to another family, or did it still sit empty, waiting for her return? Aria decided that she would return one day to see what had become of it.
Aria turned her head at the sound of commotion from below. Quickly climbing to the end of a branch, she poked her head out far enough to see a short nobleman directing a group of mercenaries. One carried a small ornate chest, which he placed somewhere inside a lavish Palazzo before returning to form rank with the others.
"You had better guard that page with your life!" the nobleman demanded, "It's worth more than the four of you put together!"
He continued to ramble on but Aria wasn't paying attention, all she could think about was the codex page that was almost within her reach. The nobleman plodded off, leaving the four mercenaries to guard the door. Aria frowned as she inspected their weaponry. Two were armed with regular longswords, and another with a bow, but the fourth was heavily armoured with a large axe resting in his palms.
Aria decided that fighting them would not be the wisest choice since she didn't have Ezio's hidden blade to aid her. She would need a distraction to be sure. Scanning the crowd below, she spotted her ticket in, and smiled.
A few well placed punches later, the unfortunate merchant lay slumped against a wall, unconscious. Aria snatched his hat from his head and fastened his thick cloak around her shoulders. Picking up his crate, she made her way towards the mercenaries.
"Arresto" the guard in heavy armour commanded, "What is your business here?"
"I've got a shipment for the signore," Aria explained in a fake voice. "I'll just put this inside," she mumbled hastily as she tried to push through the guards.
"I said get back!" the mercenary yelled before giving her a rough shove. The box fell from her arms and broke open on the cobble stone road releasing a dozen pigeons, all flapping about in a panicked clamour. Aria dropped to the ground and crawled beneath the legs of the stunned guards and into the room.
"Where did she go?" the one of them yelled, once the feathered commotion outside had settled.
Aria quickly found a dark corner and hid behind a potted plant. The mercenary stepped into the doorway, holding his axe threateningly as he glared around the room through dark, beady eyes.
Holding a hand over her mouth, Aria tried desperately to slow her breathing, but her heart was beating so loudly she was sure he could hear it too.
With a final scan around the room, the mercenary declared: "She's not here, must've run off." The footfalls of his heavy armour seemed to shake the entire room as he exited, but soon Aria was alone.
She released her breath unsteadily. That was too close. Tossing off the stolen hat and cloak, Aria moved silently across the room to the chest that was perched on a small pedestal. She was surprised to find that the chest was not even locked. With a triumphant smirk, Aria opened the lid to reveal her prize.
Removing the time worn page from the chest, Aria laid it on the desk, examining the contents. The encryption was more complicated than any that she had previously attempted, and that was a small list. She glared down at the page for a long while, demanding an answer. It wasn`t until she heard the shuffling of armour and the drone of voices that Aria looked up.
A small group of finely dressed spectators halted in the doorway, eyeing her uncertainly. Somewhere in the back of her head, Aria seemed to remember the man mentioning a group of historians coming to see the page. Merda.
"What is going on? Why is no one moving?" A voice called from behind the crowd. The stout man, who had hired the mercenaries, shouldered his way through the gawking people to see Aria standing over the page.
"What are you doing!" he yelled, his bewilderment quickly melting into a furious glare, "Guards!"
The people blocking the door screamed and swarmed, trying to get out while the guards tried to get in. There was no escape from that door so Aria snatched the page from the desk and tucked it into her pouch before leaping through the window behind her.
Glass shattered and wood splintered, but Aria did not stop. Rolling as she hit the ground, Aria sprinted forward, running directly at a brick wall. She leapt and grabbed on to the nearest window sill, pulling herself up the wall. Aria heard the guards behind her and climbed faster. The familiar sound of an arrow being drawn had her panicking, but she was over the edge of the roof before it could be released.
As Aria raced across the rooftops, she became acutely aware of the cuts and splinters scattered about her body, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins blocked out any sensation of pain.
Aria heard the footsteps of pursuing guards, and before she leaped across a gap, she looked back to confirm her suspicions. The mercenaries were nowhere in sight, but it seemed that the city guard had been rallied to the cause.
When she felt she had a significant lead on them, she turned and drew her bow. She quickly knocked an arrow and let it fly into the chest of a pursuer. The man stumbled and fell face first, driving the arrow through his torso.
Aria kept sprinting, but she soon came to the end of her rope. She skidded to a halt at the edge of the roof, a few shingles slipping off to shatter on the ground below. The gap was too wide to clear, even at a run. She scanned along the wall, looking for a fast way down, and spotted a wagon full of leaves. Dio caro.
Taking a look behind her, Aria discovered that her situation had definitely not improved. The guards had taken flanking positions and were closing in fast. She glared down at the pitiful pile of leaves. The height was not nearly as foreboding as her first leap of faith had been, but she was not eager to try it again.
An arrow whistled past her head and Aria made up her mind. Quickly shouldering her bow, she took a deep breath and then leapt from the rooftop. Her heart stopped as the ground rushed up to meet her, but she landed successfully in the pile.
It was now, as she lay still in the jumble of leaves, that Aria began to feel each cut and splinter in her flesh. None were life threatening, but they were an inconvenience nonetheless. Aria could hear the voices of outrage and confusion from beyond her sanctuary of damp leaves, but once the commotion faded, she that decided it was safe to exit her hiding spot.
Aria pulled herself stealthily from the pile before quickly crossing the busy street and disappearing down a narrow side road. She walked further into the alley, but turned on her heels the second that she heard footsteps coming from around the corner at the end. Unfortunately, when she turned the entrance was also blocked. The mercenaries boxed her in and Aria quickly drew her knife.
The man with the axe laughed. "Why don't you put that down before you hurt yourself," he smirked, "Just handover the page and maybe we'll let you live."
Aria bared her teeth in a vicious grin, beckoning to him threateningly. "Why don't you come and get it bastardo," she sneered back.
The man roared as he lifted his axe into the air and charged. The axe looked extremely intimidating but the weight made it a challenging weapon to wield, and Aria knew he would be unable to correct his swing once in motion. The mercenary made a powerful slash downwards and Aria quickly sidestepped, hugging the wall. The axe smashed into the ground, cracking an unfortunate cobblestone in the road.
Aria lunged at the archer who was watching idly, too afraid to get in the way of the axe. His eyes widened and he tried to pull his dagger, but he was much too late. Aria made a sweeping cut and opened the man's throat. One. The blood sprayed everywhere, including into the face of the man with the axe.
His axe was raised when he brought it downward in a blind slash. Unfortunately it cleaved his other comrade near in half when he rushed forward to help. Two. When the axe man looked down at the carnage that he had created, bewildered, Aria took the opportunity to cut the straps of his armour. His chest plate clattered to the ground and he turned with a wild strike that nearly sliced open Aria's midsection. Before he could recover from his swing, she took her knife by the blade, still slick with blood, and flung it at the guard's unprotected chest.
The dagger sank into his abdomen and the momentum of his swing sent him tumbling into a pile on the ground. He clutched uselessly at the dagger as his blood pooled on the ground. Three.
Aria quickly ran forward to retrieve her knife, but the last mercenary leapt the bodies of his fallen comrades to block her. He pointed his sword at her threateningly, his face twisted in a hateful glare. He made a quick slash, then another, and Aria successfully dodged them both. When he made a straight jab at her chest, Aria sidestepped before grabbing onto his forearm. Stomping on his foot and twisting his wrist, she disarmed him, the way that Ezio had taught her.
His angry scowl quickly disappeared and his eyes grew wide with fear instead. Aria tossed his sword aside before she lunged at him, knocking them both to the ground. She landed on top of his chest and flicked her left wrist before slamming it into the guard's chest. Aria stared down at her hand for a few moments, confused by the lack of blood and death, before she remembered that she wasn't equipped with the hidden blade. Cazzo.
The mercenary's gloved fist unexpectedly collided with Aria's jaw and she tumbled off of him like a ragdoll. Her mouth filled with the taste of blood, but luckily she hadn't lost any teeth. When the mercenary's shadow fell over her, Aria felt much less fortuitous.
She heard the sound of steel on stone as he retrieved his sword, moving to stand over her. Pulling off her hood, the man grabbed fistful of Aria's hair a yanked her head back.
He sneered down at her and his eyes sparked maliciously. "Any last words puttana?" he asked, as he pressed the edge of his sword to her throat.
Aria glared back, cracking a smirk of her own. "Fottiti," she spat.
Closing her eyes tightly, Aria prepared to feel the bite of steel in her flesh, but it never came. She heard his footsteps, so familiar in rhythm, and she opened her eyes in time to see a hooded man appear behind the mercenary.
"Didn't your mother tell you it was wrong to strike a lady?" Ezio asked darkly. The guard answered with a gurgled screech as Ezio dragged his blade across the man's throat, blood spilling down the front of his armour.
The man released his hold on the sword and on Aria's hair. The sword clattered to the ground and Aria fell to her hands, releasing the breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The body of the mercenary fell to her left, and she watched from the corner of her eye as he choked on his own blood.
()()()()()
Once Ezio had realized that Aria was gone, it had not taken him long to track her down. The boisterous commotion could have been heard from half a district away and Ezio had climbed up a roof just in time to see Aria jump off another.
He had been rather impressed that she'd made her own leap of faith without a nudge from him, but when he'd seen her enter the alley, followed by two other men, he had known that she wasn't out of trouble yet.
He had made his own way down, walking to the mouth of the alley in time to see her disarm her opponent, the other three lying in a bloody heap. But when she had leapt at the man with her left arm raised, Ezio had cringed. He knew the movement well and he had also known that there was a piece missing.
Aria had come to the same realization when the mercenary had knocked her off him with a fist to the face. Ezio had felt his rage ignite, and had stormed down the alley to put an end to the bastardo. After delivering an excellently placed one liner, he had quickly terminated the mercenary, letting his body fall to the ground.
Ezio moved to where Aria was hunched over, spitting up mouthfuls of blood. She slowly pulled herself to her feet and Ezio heaved a worried sigh as he scrutinized her state.
Her clothes were slashed all over and it was impossible to distinguish the mercenaries' blood from her own. A bright purple bruise was forming along her jaw, and there was blood leaking from the corners of her mouth. Over all, she was a grand mess.
Ezio walked over to the body of the largest mercenary and pulled Aria's dagger from his chest. "Requiescat in pace," he whispered before wiping the blood off and returning the knife to Aria. "How is it that you managed to anger so many armed men?" Ezio asked as she took the knife from him.
Much to his surprise, Aria returned a weak smile. Digging into her pouch, she pulled out a battered codex page to show him.
Ezio guffawed. "All that for one page?" he asked incredulously.
Aria scowled defensively. "I had everything under control," she snapped.
He raised an eyebrow in scepticism. "Yes, I could see that," he joked, "Come on, I promised Leonardo I'd bring you back in one piece."
Ezio handed Aria his handkerchief to wipe the blood that was spattered across her face. She drew her hood and Ezio placed his cape around her shoulders to keep from attracting too much attention. They had walked silently through the streets for a while when he suddenly directed her towards a blacksmith's stall.
"What are we doing here stronzo?" she grumbled angrily, her wounds beginning to irritate her.
"Finding you some armour," he said firmly, "So that perhaps next time I can avoid bringing you back to Leonardo riddled with holes?"
Aria scowled at him. "It only slows me down," she insisted, "I fight better without it."
Ezio stared pointedly at her tattered state and she huffed in annoyance. Turning to the vendor, he purchased some light leather armour. The material was flexible but durable, and would offer much more protection than a cotton tunic.
He carried the small bundle of armour under his arm as they made their way to Leonardo's workshop. "So are you going to tell me how all this happened?" he asked, gesturing at the tears and cuts scattered over Aria's clothes.
She glared at her feet as she walked. "I jumped through a window," she said in a small voice.
Ezio couldn't hold in his laughter. "Have you not heard of doors bella?" he asked mockingly.
She turned her glare on him. "It was the only way out, stronzo!" she snapped, "What else could possess me to jump out a window?" she shot back angrily.
"Dramatic effect?" Ezio grinned.
Aria narrowed her eyes and punched him sharply in the arm. Ezio only laughed. "Oh, Leonardo is going to love this," he smirked as they entered the workshop.
So many Italian curses! I didn't realize how many there were until I wrote up the translations. My bad.
Today I discovered that you can see the total editing time on a document on MS word. Curiosity got the best of me so I decided to check out how much time went into my writing... Dio caro, I was not expecting such a large number. About 12 hours on this chapter alone and cumulatively for all 11 chapters: 7 and a half days.
Holy balls! Well no wonder my grades are going down the drain. Oh well. I regret nothing. I'm having way too much fun!
One more thing! I know I'm posting this chapter a little later than usual and I just wanted to warn you about future lateness. As some of you may know, Mass Effect 3 comes out Tuesday next week, so this time in 7 days, I'll be in line at EB games waiting to get my hands on the glorious game. I don't know how many of you are night owls like me, but I thought I'd give you a heads up just in case.
Whew, what a rant. I hope you all have a fantabulous week and I'll see you next Tuesday... eventually. ;)
