A/N: I apologize, but my schedule has gotten hectic. Updates MAY be slow for the next few months, until the end of the semester. In the meantime, here is a lengthy chapter to keep you all occupied.
-11-
Gabriela stirred slightly in her sleep for a while, groping for the comforter as her skin was exposed to what seemed to be slightly cold air for her. Silence embraced her and Ezio's chambers as she curled up and clenched onto the blanket. The candlelight from the night had vanished as the wax had completely melted and the wick of the candle was completely burnt. There was some natural light coming in through a small window facing the desk; the lighting was dim as the skies were dark and gray, as if it was about to rain.
After tossing and turning for a little longer while being mostly asleep, Gabriela rubbed her eyes open. She found herself alone in Ezio's room after their little session from the previous night, and she felt rather alone after realizing he was gone for the morning. Only her clothes remained in his room, which were all neatly folded and arranged on the seat of the desk chair, rather than leaving them sprawled all over the floor.
Grazie Ezio, she thought as a small smile stretched across her lips. He must have taken care of them right before he left to meet Guido and Adele.
Once she sat up, she raised her arms way above her body as far as she could, stretching. Her eyes then darted towards the clock that had sat at his bookshelf. 9:30 am.
I must have slept like a rock.
It was difficult to tell how many hours had passed last night while she and Ezio were together. Regardless, she a couple of hours left to kill until Ezio came back for a potential mission assigned for her and who knows who.
Flipping the covers off of her body, she hopped off of his bed and stretched her body and limbs once more. She quickly wobbled over to the chair and grabbed her clothing, unfolding them and putting them on her body slowly.
I wonder what mission Ezio is doing now, she thought as she put her robe over her body and pulling the hood over her head. I would assume that it would be a difficult mission if he has Adele and Guido traveling with him. Though that does make me wonder what he will assign me to do today, with him...perhaps we will be assisting more courtesans or La Volpe's thief guild, or maybe even perhaps Pantasilea has some assassination contracts for us...
Gabriela began to wonder what the next mission would be like as she wrapped the her belt with the dagger around her waist, leaving only her vambrace and leather boots left. Two hours of pondering aimlessly was more than enough time for her; she hadn't been this anxious for a mission for quite some time. Spending the night with the master assassin had kept her spirits up. Not only did she want to help with the brotherhood, but now she had wanted to spend time with Ezio by her side.
She strapped into her leather boots and headed out of his room, clutching onto the unequipped vambrace as she opened the door. As she gently closed the door behind her, she faced the kitchen and found Adele's back facing towards her from the table, a few feet away. Gabriela's heart jumped out of her chest in surprise. Adele was quietly reading a book, not making any noise or sudden movements.
"Buongiorno Gabriela," murmured Adele. Her eyes were locked onto her book and there was a tinge of negativity in her voice.
"Buongiorno Adele," greeted Gabriela, attempting to keep her composure. "How has your morning been so far? I thought you were summoned for a mission with Ezio."
"It has been good I suppose," she replied, still keeping her eyes onto the book as she continued to read. "Ezio only required me to remove the posters around the area, and to help a little with reconstructing a couple of shops. I do not know what he is doing with Guido though, since he did not ask him to leave."
"Perhaps he knows how tired you are from the previous missions," suggested Gabriela.
"That may be the case." Adele turned a page in her book. "And before I forget, I have some leftover pesce soup for you to my right." Her eyes were still glued, but she motioned her head to the macaroni-colored bowl sitting at the seat to her right. Gabriela walked over to the seat, leaving the vambrace on the ground next to her chair and smiled.
"Grazie, Adele." She sat down and could immediately smell the aroma of the onions, fish, and the potatoes. She did not eat much the night before, and her stomach began to growl before her hand reached for the spoon.
After taking a few bites of the soup, Adele closed her book and set it on the table. She finally made eye contact with Gabriela, who was busy savoring her breakfast and regaining her energy and did not notice.
"You slept with Ezio last night, didn't you?"
Gabriela nearly choked upon hearing Adele blurting those words, caught off-guard. She coughed a couple of times and finished chewing her spoonful of the potato, swallowing the mush afterwards.
"I—no, I didn't. I do not know why you are asking this personal question at a time like this, Adele." It was difficult to not raise her voice in concern.
She sighed, rubbing her temples with the index finger and middle finger from both hands. "I don't know what you and Ezio have been up to, nor should I have asked and I do apologize. But I am afraid of this…relationship of yours will cause problems for our missions, one way or the other. It is a bad feeling that I have had since I noticed that you did not return to your bed upstairs last night."
"It will not affect our missions or strain the relationship of the brotherhood, I can promise you that," replied Gabriela, taking another spoonful of the soup.
"Va bene. In any case, please be cautious of yours and Ezio's actions." Adele pushed her chair out and stood up from the table, grabbing her book in one hand. She turned towards the stairs and took a few steps. "Also, it seems that Machiavelli requires you back at the hideout for a mission."
Gabriela stopped in her soup-eating, taking a second to think about it. "Grazie once again, Adele. I guess I will head over and see him shortly." Adele nodded and headed back up the stairs, leaving the other female assassin to eat and think in peace.
She took a bite of the small chunk of fish and began to chew. She thought Ezio would assign her the mission today, rather than Niccolo Machiavelli—would this mean that she would be doing the mission on her own today, or without Ezio even? It was difficult to know what to expect out of the mission he had for her. It was also concerning to hear Adele scrutinize Gabriela and Ezio's current relationship. Granted, Gabriela understood why she was concerned, but her own approach was very alarming.
In any case, she had to forget worrying over the entire situation. Gabriela slurped the remainder of the soup, and hurriedly went out the door as she equipped her vambrace onto her left arm. She found herself in front of the door to the hideout a moment later, inhaling and exhaling deeply before she opened the door. Once she entered, she found herself cautiously walking down the steps to the main room, expecting to see Niccolo sitting at the desk as he was scribbling notes down. But as she took her step on the last stair, he was found to be walking into the main room from the fast travel area, all proper.
"Salve, Niccolo," addressed Gabriela. He nodded his head slightly in return and approval, standing in front of her at the end of the steps.
"Salute, Gabriela. I assume that Adele has told you of my request?" he asked.
"She has only told me that you request my assistance this morning."
"Va bene, that was all I had told her." Niccolo began to pace back and forth slowly. "By any chance, do you recall telling Ezio months ago, before joining as a recluta, that you could provide him your deceased brother's notes in regards to the Borgia?"
She paused for a moment as her eyes shifted away, trying to recall the moment. "I actually do, si. Would those be needed now?"
"Si. I am afraid I am running out of leads for the identities of those that are associated with terrorizing Roma and affiliated with the Borgia. Without any leads, I cannot progress any further."
Gabriela paused again and gritted her teeth. "The only problem is...I have not gone back to the home in the Campagna District since before the incident with Orazio. I am hoping his notes are still there...but my other concern is that a member of the Borgia order may be residing in the home or they are using it for other purposes since he has been deceased; they know that I cannot return to the home as an actual home because it is unsafe there."
Niccolo frowned in disapproval. "Understandable, signora Merlo. However, this is all I ask of you as you did mention this beforehand. But if you cannot obtain the notes, then you cannot obtain the notes. Since you had a direct relationship with a member of the Borgia order, I had assumed it would have been easy for you to obtain some of the related information."
A somewhat audible exhale was heard from Gabriela. "It is not easy as you may know with how mio fratello chased me down the streets of Roma that night, but I will do whatever I can then, and I will leave shortly." She flicked her wrist and examined the sharpness of the hidden blade as it slid out quickly from the hidden sheath from the vambrace. She looked back at the philosopher. "Does Ezio know about this, Machiavelli?"
He stopped pacing back and forth, standing still as his eyes made contact with Gabriela's. "No, but I am hoping he will understand why I have requested you to do so."
"Allora, I will be heading out and I should be back as soon as possible. Arrivederci, Niccolo." She relaxed her wrist as the blade snapped back into its sheath quickly and faintly smiled at him.
"Addio, Gabriela. Good luck." He gave her another slight nod as a farewell.
Gabriela headed up the stairs and exhaled deeply once again. As she aimlessly began to wander towards a horse stable after leaving the shelter, she painted her previous home in her mind. It had been about six months since she had been at the house she had spent almost all her life in. And it took one painful memory—one life-changing event—to disrupt her sense of peace and trust; her home was not a save haven since before then. And returning back to her home was going to be difficult, both emotionally and potentially, physically.
She pulled a pearl-white mare from the stable, and although she struggled to pull herself up, her body encompassed the horse's saddle. With a flick of the reins, the horse bolted out of the stable and headed towards the Campagna District, avoiding as many citizens and guards as possible.
As soon as her horse took a few steps out onto the wide, open field, she could feel a couple of raindrops trickle down from the sky. Her hope was that it would only sprinkle for the remainder of the mission, but knowing how the wet weather was in October, it would not be the case. More raindrops came down from the clouds and they slowly began to soak through her robes.
Tugging on the reins again, the mare stopped near a tree, yards away from what appeared to be a somewhat beaten up home. Gabriela jumped off of the horse's saddle and took a moment to examine the home from where she was standing. Compared to what it was like weeks before the siblings had turned on each other, nothing much had changed, other than the fact that weeds were growing everywhere and there were now a couple of guards patrolling the area.
If there are guards here, then there must be a reason why they are watching this area carefully, thought Gabriela. She craned her head around from the tree to see if she could get a glimpse in one of the windows to the dining area. While she could not see anything through the window, there was probably a good chance that there was something occurring in her older brother's former room.
More raindrops continued to fall from the sky. She sighed and took a few steps forward towards her former home, with her boots crunching in the soft wet grass in every step. The two guards walking around the perimeter of her former home appeared to be on the other side of the house. Gabriela took this opportunity and bolted closer to her former home, pressing herself against the wall to avoid being seen through the windows. The door was on the other side, where the guards were at. She crept close to the wall and went in the direction the guards were patrolling. But as soon as she got close to the corner closest to the door, she stopped in her tracks as the two guards stopped.
"Bruno, why don't you take a little break? I can cover your shift while you rest, and you have said you haven't been feeling too well today."
"Perhaps I will, Antonio...I have not been feeling any better since this morning."
"Va bene, guarisci presto."
The guard saluted the other and walked away in the direction of the city while the other guard took his position in front of the door. Gabriela waited patiently behind the corner for a few moments to see if he would budge, hoping to not spill any blood. But the guard stood there with his back pressed against the wall with nothing to do but patrol.
She heavily exhaled, trying to silence it as much as possible. There wasn't much of a choice now if she wanted to get in. Gabriela scaled the walls with moderate effort, pulling herself up onto the roof. Her feet crept on the rooftop tiles as she approached the unaware guard from top and behind. The rain made it somewhat slippery, and she was watching every step carefully. Her eyes locked onto him once she was close enough, and in an instant, she sprang from the roof and pounced onto the guard, using her hidden blade to pierce through his body and killing him silently.
"Perdonami," she mouthed, with her breath making the words barely audible to her own ears. She stood up straight after landing on her legs and using her hand for support once she landed, with the corpse underneath her. "Requiescat in pace." The blade retracted and Gabriela carefully stepped over the guard's body. One guard was down, but who knows how many were inside and stood in her way...
Gabriela's hands groped for the moist doorknob, and once she had a firm grip, she slowly twisted it to open the door. There was no creaking or sound made, much to her pleasure. She peeked inside with the crack she had made, actively searching for any guards walking around. The main room, which consisted of the kitchen and fireplace area, was empty. The table and chairs still remained, along with the cushioned bench. She turned her head to place her ear against the crack of the door for any sound, or any human voices that she could pick up.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ORAZIO DID NOT HAVE THE DOCUMENTS?!"
Her heart jumped out of her chest as she heard the booming male voice. She leapt back from the door naturally, and continued to hear more of the conversation in her crab-walking position on the grass. With the size of the crack at the door, she was barely able to peek in from her spot.
"Cesare, there is no need to shout. However, before his death earlier this year, Orazio told me he—"
"If they're not here, then the documents aren't here."
Gabriela immediately recognized the voice and the way the word "aren't" was hissed. She didn't have to look into the crack to see who it was; Cesare Borgia was at her former home, presumably looking for documents that would lead the House of Borgia a step further into Rome's declination.
"I am just saying, when he murdered Salomone Bernardino the banker, he told me managed to get a hold of the documents immediately."
"Figlio di puttana!" Cesare growled and sharply turned around to the guard. "I want you and another guard to continue searching for the documents at this house again. Do not disappoint me." He turned back around and summoned three other guards who were in the house to follow him out of the door.
Cazzo.
She sprang up to her feet and headed towards the wall, pushing her feet up and against it to give herself some height. Gabriela frantically climbed up the stones, slipping once from the slickness of the rain. As soon as she was safely on the top of the roof, her body naturally curled up to reduce the visibility of her body. She peered over from the edge, looking down at the corpse once the door opened with Cesare looking down at the corpse.
Cazzo, she thought again.
He turned around with a look of uneasiness written all over his face, immediately pointing at one of the guards following him. "You! I want you to keep an eye out from the inside. There must be someone around here looking for trouble."
The guard nodded and headed back inside, closing it behind him. Cesare and his two remaining guards began to walk back towards the castle, looking around cautiously with every few steps they took. Once they vanished across the horizon, Gabriela sighed deeply. There were more guards to take care of, and it would be more difficult to avoid killing them now.
She slid down the rooftop tiles and dangled in front of the door, avoiding being seen by anyone inside. Her grip loosened up and she landed quietly on her feet, squatting down. Gabriela reached for the doorknob again and turned it. She slowly opened the door to provide herself a small-enough crack to peer in. The guard from before was walking around the main room. She continued watching for a good minute, hoping that he would change his patrolling pattern or path. But he didn't budge; he continued to stroll around the perimeter of the main room and there wasn't much that she could do about it.
As soon as his back was turned against the door, she swiftly opened it and immediately pounced on the guard with her hidden blade. A muffled cry escaped from his mouth as Gabriela killed him, breaking what had seemed to be silence throughout the home.
The two guards that were searching through the same room rushed out with their swords in their hands. They spotted Gabriela with her hidden blade still unsheathed and covered in the dead guard's blood, standing next to the corpse.
"Assassina," scowled one guard.
The other guard shook his head. "It is not just any assassina...it is Orazio's sister, Gabriela Merlo. And look where she's finally returned to."
She gritted her teeth and withdrew the dagger from its sheath. "I am tired of being identified as Orazio's little sister by you bastardos," she muttered under her breath, holding it in an icepick grip in her right hand and positioned in a stance.
"Oh ho, should I be afraid?" taunted the guard, giving a hearty laugh. Gabriela took this opportunity as he was thrown off-guard by his own amusement and tackled him, puncturing his body with her hidden blade with her left arm. She quickly stood up as the other guard trembled in horror.
"You...p-puttana!" shouted the remaining guard, thrusting his blade at Gabriela. She hopped back to avoid getting cut by his sword, standing in her stance once again with her dagger in her hand. He lunged at her this time, going as far as he could go. Swiftly moving to the side to avoid the hit, she found an opening and stabbed him through the back as deep as the blade could go. A blood-curdling cry emanated from the dying guard as she quickly pulled it out of his back, with his limp body dropping to the ground.
"Perdonami," she apologized again, squatting down to get closer to the guard's face. Her cold eyes pierced into his dying soul. "But no one calls me a puttana, either, nor 'the figlia of a puttana.'"
The guard took a few gasps of air without saying anything. Her blow to his body did not end him swiftly, and she could feel his suffering with each breath. Sighing, she raised her dagger in the air and struck him in the chest through the heart, hastily pulling the dagger out as it began to drip with blood. No more gasps were heard from the guard.
"Requiescat in pace."
Gabriela closed his eyelids and stood up. She looked around and saw the three corpses of the guards sprawled around. Blood pooled from their bodies and their skin began to blanch. She then looked at her dagger in her hand; the blood from her dagger was beginning to drip slowly. The entire scene was a sight that she did not want to see again in her former home...it had all hurt too much.
...
Rome, Italy – February 1491
Gabriela pulled her hood down from her cloak as she entered her home. Darkness filled up the skies outside, with not a single cloud in sight blocking the glimmering of the stars. Her cheeks were rosy pink from the chilly air outside, and the fire from the fireplace was dead. The home was eerily silent; it seemed like the dinner table was left as it was when she had gone out for the firewood. Only a small handful of candles in the home were lit, with three of them being from the center of the table from the candelabra.
She crept in, taking a few steps in further as the floorboard creaked. Her eyes shifted around in the dim light, expecting one of her parents to pop out from the darkness as if they were searching for something that dropped onto the floor.
"Madre? Padre?" she squeaked, taking another couple of steps forward. "Where is everyone?"
No response. Maybe they are just in another room and can't hear me, pondered Gabriela. Her heart began to flutter a bit in her chest; it wasn't normal for them to vanish with no response in the house. Her mother's sapphire cloak rested on the cushioned bench, meaning that even her mother must have been home for sure.
Her instincts guided Gabriela to the closest room that was still lit—Orazio's room. Perhaps he just returned home, and mother and father are just talking very quietly with him. And even though she continued to tell herself this, the pounding in her chest would not go away or slow down.
She tip-toed to his room, leaning against the wall as she shimmied to his door frame. Not a single breath escaped from her chest as she tried to quiet her body down, listening for anything. There was pure silence as she listened. Gabriela took this time to slowly peek her head around the corner into Orazio's room.
The first thing she caught glimpse of was her father and mother, lying in a pool of their own blood with their eyes glazed over, staring lifelessly into space.
Gabriela fell to her knees in front of the doorway and began to tremble violently, gasping for air as her eyes widened at the sight of her parents. Though her right hand was quivering, she fumbled around with her cloak to reach for her dagger. Her hands shakily unsheathed the blade and she began to crawl on all fours towards the closest body, her mother's.
"M-mother?" she silently cried out, reaching to touch her mother's face with her free hand. She did not budge or flinch one bit in response; a tear began to stream down from Gabriela's eyes.
She immediately crawled hastily towards her father's body and grabbed his hand, ignorant to the fact that his hand was covered in blood as well. Her two warm hands embraced his cold, blood-stained hand and squeezed it, hoping for a response.
"F-father," she cried out again, raising her voice. Utter silence. Gabriela began to chew shakily on her bottom lip, scrunching her eyes a bit.
"You and mother cannot leave me!" The intensity of her cries escalated to a shout, eventually breaking into muffled sobs. She released her father's hand and placed it carefully onto his chest, right above his fatal stab wound. Her dagger was clenched tightly and closer to her body as she crouched up and tried to calmly creep around. Whoever had done this to her parents was possibly still around.
As Gabriela turned the corner from Orazio's room, her heart and even her body leapt as soon as she saw a figure around the corner. Orazio jolted back in surprise with his hands up, seeing his sister armed with a dagger in close proximity to him.
"It's okay Gabriela," he calmly said, motioning his hands and arms down. "Put the dagger down. I am here now."
Her fingers fumbled around in shock, trying to release her grip on the blade's handle. As soon as she was able to let go, Gabriela ran up to her brother and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing intensely and shaking. His arms softly wrapped around her body, patting her back.
"I saw their bodies," she whispered into his ear, gasping for sobs. Orazio continued to pat her to try and soothe his little sister.
"I did too just a minute ago," he replied. "I cannot believe someone would do such a thing. May their souls rest in peace. But do not worry, sorella...I will take care of you now."
...
That was ten years ago. Ten years of solid, emotional pain and false trust.
Chills crept down her spine and she shuddered from the recollection of the memory. But a memory was a memory, and there was no point looking at the past now; her mission had to be completed.
Gabriela stepped over the bodies of the guards in the direction of the kitchen, eyeing a clean cloth resting at the top of the counter. She grabbed the cloth and began to carefully polish the wet blood off of the dagger. And with each stroke of the cloth, she couldn't help but remember the puddle of blood from her parents' bodies and the way she had held the dagger in her hand.
She eventually stopped wiping the blood off and left the rag on the counter, sheathing her dagger without any hesitation. As Gabriela turned around, her eyes gazed upon the door of her old room for quite some time. Curiosity was getting to her; she was beginning to ponder what had been done to her room by the Borgia, and if any of her old possessions remained...
She might as well while she was in her home. After calmly walking to her room, Gabriela pushed the door open without any hesitation. She struggled to push it a bit in the process, as if something was blocking its way. But as it opened all the way, she was shocked to find her belongings were thrown everywhere—her old clothing, books, accessories—even her bedding was a complete mess.
Exhaling deeply, Gabriela carefully walked around and over the various possessions on the floor. Her heart told her to leave the room and to go into Orazio's to find his notes as soon as possible, but her brain stated otherwise. Her interest, and something in her room kept calling for her, gluing her to her former room and she couldn't help but remain. Perhaps there was something that would be of use for the brotherhood, either something that she could vaguely recall or something that the House of Borgia had left behind while scouring around.
Taking a brief look at her empty bed, she began to grab some of the clothing on the floor and tossed them freely, using her mattress like a laundry basket. Time was ticking away as she continued her maid-like duties. And at the same time, it felt a little calming yet depressing for her to reminisce while picking up each item off of her floor.
Minutes passed and Gabriela realized she was getting nowhere trying to find something useful for Machiavelli. Maybe I will just pick up one more item, she thought. One of her old, soft nightgowns that she had worn a few years ago was sprawled out on the floor. Squatting down, she swiftly picked it up; underneath it, a small crimson pouch covered in velvet mischievously hid underneath it. Her eyes immediately widened as soon as she saw her pouch.
And then she remembered her dream; it hit her like a bullet.
