Underlined - Only two lines, but means that the text belongs to the game, and not yours truly.

Isa had been growing restless for the last leg of our journey to Orvieto. She was in deep thought, and nothing that I said would snap her out of it. She was in her own world. And I could guess what it was about- after all, she had killed for the first known time today. In her world, that thing wasn't okay...and I remembered the way I had responded for my first kill. But the circumstances were different, and I had only ever been told that killing was bad if there was no reason. She had been told it was bad altogether, and that to kill was to be less then evil. The fact that she had killed had taken time to be realised- between the sleep, and the journey, and the pure shock of what had happened. But I knew she would realise eventually. Her eyes were blank, and she looked autonomous as she followed right after me and Leale. It was terrifying to see her face so empty, so blank, so inhuman. I glance over to her every so often, but she shows no response. Fortunately Orvieto and its stone walls of solitude were going to show up soon, where I could hopefully get some words through to her, but also try and get her to talk to me. Bottling it up would do no good.. and I didn't want to know what she was thinking in her head.

"Isa?" I query, after I hastily explained our arrival to the Guards, who had shown up in a reassuring blue hue. It was rare to meet honest guards in current times, but it seems like the Templar's hadn't been able to clench the city in their hands. That makes one place. I guide Leale and Argento, and hand their reigns to the stable master.

"We're here, Isa"

She doesn't seem to hear me, so I went to repeat it once more, before she swung herself off Argento, and landed with a small bump. Her robes were covered in blood, even though she hadn't been wearing it when she was fighting. I knew she had a flash wound along her chest, but she had told me it was only a light wound. She refused to let me see it, but I would try and see it tonight while we were resting. If she would let me that is.

"Seguimi... Isabella"

She nods, and robotically follows me as I look for the Assassin's Bureau. Mario had told me that it would be near the town centre, and that an Assassin would be waiting for me. Whom, I didn't know. So after asking for directions from the guard at the front gate, we followed the roads and houses to find the town centre. It was quite late, so the stands that surrounded it, were empty, and all you could hear was the hustle and bustle of the taverns, and the sound of drunkards picking fights. It was comforting in all honesty. The area surrounding us seemed empty, but a quick scan using eagle vision showed two people crouched on a nearby roof, glowing a reassuring blue hue. I looked up to them, and recalled the sign language of Assassin's from deep within my mind. We don't use it very often, but when unsure of whether someone is an ally or not (not all people have eagle vision that just tells them) it comes in handy. And I'm fairly sure they could see me and Isa. I make sure I am looking at them while I am gesturing, so that they can see them. I make a circle shape with one hand, before clasping it over my heart. I then repeat the action another time, making it plural. 'Allies'. One simple action could mean many different things. I interlock my hands, and point my fingers up, making a sort of prayer shape. I move it side to side, before clenching a singular fist. 'Minor Injuries' I then put both my hands together again, and touch my head against them gently. 'Rest' I squint my eyes in eagle vision, which brightens the surroundings enough to allow me to see the Assassin's return gestures. Their middle finger and ring finger are the only two fingers bent down, before they straighten out their hand. They make a gesture symbolising two, before making a small circle with his hands. Then, they put a palm out, fingers spread out, before they both disappear to the other side of the roof.

'Leap of Faith. Two Guides. Near by. Stay'

Doing like they say, I stand near Isa, as she pulls her hood up. Since mine is already up, I tug at it to make sure it is up firmly. I test my hidden blades out of reflex, and make sure my pouch is full of smoke bombs. Just in case. Her robes fit nicely on her, like they were made for her, and they bring out her body perfectly. The light blue of her robes contrasts nicely with her hazel eyes, and the blue is a nice aqua colour. Just a short while later, the two apprentices approached us from the side, and I turned, Isa seemingly copying me.

"Ciao Messer Ezio, Dama Isabella."

"Ciao, Apprentice."

I greet. One of them gestures to follow him, and I glance quickly back at Isa. She still hadn't said a word, alarming me. We follow in tandem the Apprentice, with Isa following meekly behind. The sun set in the background, creating a beautiful sight, but all I cared about was the condition of my young charge.

As I collapsed on the bed provided, eager to sleep after a long day of travelling, I look towards Isa, who is just sitting on her own bed. She was out of it still, and my worry extended. All tiredness was forgotten the minute I saw the state my Apprentice was in. Stretching out, I walk over to her, and tap her on the shoulder, causing her to snap back to attention, her hidden blade reaching towards my neck out of instinct. But I anticipated this, and leapt backwards, my own hidden blade activating in anxiety of protecting my jugular.

"Isa?.."

I asked her cautiously. My hands were up in a peaceful gesture, and her eyes blinked before she lowered her wrist slowly. She had let her hair cascade down her back, and had spent a while brushing it robitically.

"Sì?"

She replies. Even her voice was monotonous, and I tried not to wince. I think she needed to get out..maybe go sit on the rooftops somewhere. I don't know.

"We should work on our free-running."

She gives me a look, before hiding it quickly. She nods, and we climb out the window (as you do.) Hopefully I can get her to relax enough so that she can tell me what's on her mind..but the thing is I think I can guess. I had heard of this problem from experience, but Mario had also warned me about it. Those who have a fragile heart, and a sense of caring, suffer the most from what we do. He had told me it would take time for her to get back to normal, and probably much longer for her to come to terms with what she had done.

The wind batters against my face as I sprint from the inn to the central square, Isa lagging behind slowly. She needed to practise, but she is far from slow. And she has improved much since she arrived- unable to jump across the smallest of gaps. Much natural potential lies within her, dormant and underlying. All it took was for it to be harnessed. She may even have the second sight, but that remained to be seen, and would also be something we would cover at a later date. I scramble up a tall building, my hands finding handholds and securely holding on. My feet bounced up, and I gained altitude, Isa followed behind me carefully. She still had reservations when it came to climbing, but could climb at a decent pace. As I arrive at the top, I move away from the edge, and lower my hood. The sun was setting over the distant sky, and was a beautiful dusky colour. Calm and peaceful- unlike Monteriggioni, which was always hustling and bustling at all times of day. With a small noise, Isa sat next to me, as we swung our legs over the edge, ignorant of everything that was happening around us.

"It reminds me of home you know"

Isa startles me by speaking for the first time in which seems like an age. I turn to look at her, and see her eyes twinkling softly in the fading sunlight. She is playing with her hair in her hands, intertwining each piece within each other.

"How so?"

I query, glad that she is speaking. At least she is doing something, and with emotion. It is a surprising, and welcome, change from what she was saying before.

"Every night..before my father died, he would read me stories about what was beyond the stars. And that it was an eternal living ground, and each constellation represented the different beings that were there. I always believed, when I first played the games, that Altair- the constellation not the Master Assassin/Grandmaster- was always the domain of the Assassins who have fallen."

It's certainly a very creative idea of what happens after we die. And it oviously meant a lot to both her and her father. Who would I be to critiscise their beliefs?

"Your Father sounds like a very wise man"

Wistfully, she nods, smiling softly to herself. I say the question out in my head, before repeating it back to Isa. After all, I don't wish to cause her any more distress then she is already in.

"How are you?.."

She shakes her head as her eyes water up, just from thinking about it.

"I'm..I could be better. I killed people Ezio. And I didn't even care until after they were all dead!"

She begins to shake and I grab her trembling form with all my strength. I run my hands through her hair, in an attempt to sooth her, and I whisper various calmas into her ear. Her head buries deep into the crook of my shoulder, gasping and crying deeply. I hate seeing her like this..it destroys my heart.

"Isa..you are not evil. You only killed to save yourself and I, which is a valid reason to kill. You know the creed we adhere to. Nothing is true, everything is permitted. So, while we must retain responsibility for those we..kill, we do not need to see the truth. You are an Assassin, not a murderer- you kill only to save those you care about, and to defend those who cannot."

She nods into my neck, and one of her hands searches for mine. Placing it in hers, she grasps hard. She looks up into me her eyes watering, as her gaze searches mine.

"Ezio..I..-"

I look at her, as she tries to gather the words she's searching for. She opens her mouth, before coughing, and abandons whatever she was going to say. She stretches, wiping her eyes, before tying her hair up.

"Can we have a spar?"

Swords clash, noise scrambling out over the grey town of Orvieto. The fast fluid instincts of battle flow through me, hardwired by training. I dive and roll under a sword blade which was aimed for my neck, before I swing my sword at her ribs in a returned gesture. She parries effortlessly, as the sound of steel on steel rings out once more. The swords push against each other before they repel. The light is becoming dim, and it is becoming difficult to see where she is attacking from. She is light on her feet- easy to over power- but hard to detect when your sense of sight is diminished. She doesn't disturb the elements around her as she moves- rather she works with them. She is deadly in the right circumstances. Sensing where she is coming from, I jump as she swings a low blow at my feet. I bring my sword to strike downwards, but she steps back quickly, and we circle each other menacingly, our dance of death just beginning. I switch my sight to eagle vision, and her position became clear in a blaze of...purple? What the hell? She shouldn't be purple- purple isn't a colour in the 'eagle vision colour list'. I blink, and look at her again as she swings her sword at me. I parry with the underside of my blade, and wonder if I'm going nuts or something. I prepare to lunge for her stomach, muscles tensing in preparation. But she pauses, her eyes shifting quickly. She stands stiff and still, and that in itself gains my attention. And I stop immediately, she isn't a dirty fighter, so I know it isn't a trick. They glow a weird colour..silver. But why? Does she have the vision?

"Ezio?.." She whispers softly. "I..think something is happening with my eyesight. I can.."

She pauses, like she's trying to figure out how to phrase it.

"..I can see figures moving around..they look like..guards? Patrolling around it seems like? They are in a dark blue colour..it's weird. But then I see you. And you're glowing purple..and I can see you thrusting towards my stomach, before rolling out of the way of something."

Wait what? That doesn't sound like eagle vision- it certainly doesn't predict people's moves. And that's exactly what she did- she predicted the move I had yet to do. And I have no idea what it is. Is it a distant cousin of eagle vision? A sister sight?

"I know it's not eagle vision" she continues "it looks and acts a lot different then this."

She says that so casually, it's difficult to remember that she came from the future. That she had seen my entire life from birth to death. But she refuses to tell me certain things in fear of repercussions. She blinks a couple of time, and her eyes fade to their normal brown. A beautiful colour for a beautiful person.

"I..honestly do not know."

I reply to her, as we both tense our muscles for another spar. My sword is poised infront of me, and Isa's soon follows.

"Perhaps the scroll will tell us more information. If it doesn't, we can ask Mario when we go back"

She nods, and I allow her the first move. It's only courtesy after all. She takes it, and lunges, and I dive to the side, rolling. I try to whack her in the ribs, but she parries with her sword, before I attempt to sweep her legs.

"I hope so Ezio..there is too much things we don't know."

I nod in agreement as I try to alleviate her fears. We continue sparring for a short while, before it simply became to dark and too dangerous to even attempt continuing. We descend down the building, and head back to the inn, the tiredness from earlier catching me up and making itself known once more. We had to leave Orvieto tomorrow- and we needed to rest, lest we be an easy target on the road. And that would not end up good for either me or Isa- should we end up in trouble we may need both of us to fight them off.

1 Day Later.

Grazie Dio that Roma was due to appear soon. Perhaps ten or so more minutes from now. Me and Isa were getting ridiculously bored of travelling, and the miles yearned on and on. I am glad we will be in Roma soon- mysteries shall be solved, and we will get the chance to perhaps take on a few contracts. I glance at Isa as my thoughts centre on that point. She still hadn't come to terms with the lives she has taken, but she isn't in her nearly comatose state anymore. Which is a positive I suppose. Her eyes were currently focused on the horizon, her hood hiding her figures underneath the shadows. Once more, the sun is setting, but the sky is a hazy black rather than it's characteristic purple dusk. She has adapted to Argento amazingly, and considering that she had ridden very little before, she looked like a natural.

"Ezio!"

She shouts gathering my attention. My neck swivels harshly as I concentrate on her, trying to ignore the- ah- inappropriate thoughts my mind was sending me. I blink as I stare at her, her head turned around to face me. Her eyes were lit up in joy, and she looked so happy.

"What?"

"I see Roma!"

My face breaks out into a grin as I grabbed Leale's reigns harder. Sure enough, as I squint out into the scene before us, I could clearly see buildings littering the view. I kick Leale softly in the ribs, and crack the reigns sharply.

"Race you!"

I shout as Leale snorts with contempt and pulls ahead of Argento. She hates to lose, and will do everything she can to win. Here I go again, I think, personifying a horse. Isa laughs, a beautiful sound, before she spurs her own horse on, trying to keep pace with Leale.

"Ezio! You cheat!"

I laugh and retort

"It's not cheating- it's called gaining an advantage!"

And that was how Roma was introduced to us. Two Assassins, racing each other to the stables, the sound of their laughs echoing over the harsh valleys.

It is a good life we lead.

The best. May it never change.

Truer words have never been spoken.

Translations

Pace, Amore e Sentimenti Imbarazzanti - Peace, Love, and Awkward Feelings

Seguimi...Isabella- Follow me Isabella

Roma - Rome

Grazie Dio - Thank God

Calmas - Calms

Author's Note

Only own Isabella- blah blah blah- rights to Ubisoft- blah blah blah.

I love writing this story, even if a lot of the chapters are one's that I deem 'bad'. But either way, people must enjoy reading, especially according to all the emails I get about 'insert name here' has followed your story. I really appreciate it, you guys! Thanks!

I feel ridiculously guilty about the length of time you all waited for this chapter- and it isn't really even that good of a chapter. But at least next chapter will be in Rome, and I aim for them to spend a little while there, and for Ezio to finally finish the events of Assassin's Creed 2. I won't leave excuses for why this chapter was so long in coming- just know that I've been working through some issues, and that August was a crappy month for me in general.

-Also, couldn't actually fit the entire chapter name in the title, because of character limits, but the actual name is the one in the translations.

Thanks for reading!

~Cait