Ezio and I loomed above the courtesans, watching the streets from the rooftops. Ezio was pacing from boredom, and when he did not pace, he muttered his anxieties to me about the situations with his family. I had nothing to offer him besides someone to at least partially listen to him. It was strange to watch him, an Assassin at his very beginning, realize that he was going to travel a road he did not like. He spoke of fleeing the country to keep his mother and sister safe, but at the same time wanted revenge for his father and brothers. It was hard to believe that this anxious and angered teenager would quote philosophical ideals, later to be written in my father's journal, and looked up to by other Assassin's. He had quite the journey ahead of him.
I watched a few shadowed figures move to the courtesans below while Ezio babbled on about going to Spain. The figures were beginning to talk to the ladies, but started to become aggressive. I straightened myself and shushed Ezio so I could listen to the traveling voices of the men.
"Shit," I muttered to myself before switching back to Italian, "You do know how to fight, yes?"
Ezio stammered, caught off guard by my question, "uh…yes?"
"Good. Follow me," I nodded towards the ground.
I scaled down the side of the building with acrobatic skills Mentor De helped me master in my trainings. I jumped from a window ledge and landed between the courtesans and the four aggressors. I extended my hidden blade to the closest throat in front of me.
"Time to go," I said, both to the girls and the men. The courtesans scurried and left for the protection of the brothel.
"And what if we don't?" Replied another man who did not have a blade inches from his jugular.
"Your funeral," I shrugged.
Their only response was muffled laughter.
From my right, the shadowed arms of a man lunged out to grab hold of me. I stepped back, grabbing the man's arms and throwing him to the ground. The man whose neck I had threatened advanced towards me; I sent a hard punch into the man's nose which released a loud crack and gush of blood. He staggered backwards and tripped over the legs of the man I had thrown to the ground, who was trying to regain to his feet. The third man was trying to release his dagger from his holster, but I worked faster than he, sending a throwing knife into the hand reaching for the weapon. He let out a scream, gripping his hand and trying the remove the blade. The fourth man was successful in retrieving his silver short blade dagger, and lunged at me with a loud grunt. I pulled my Sai blades and blocked his blow with my right hook, using the downward motion to disarm the man before using the butt of my left Sai to jab the man's nose. Although the nose cracked like his counterpart, it was not enough pain for this man to surrender.
From behind I sensed danger, and quickly turned to find that my first attacker had regained his feet. He swung at me with balled fists, grunting and yelling as he mustered all of his force. I slammed my Sai blade into his left arm, and used the butt of my right blade to hit against the side of his temple. The man fell to the ground instantly, but his enraged friend had recollected his dagger and was advancing again. I deflected his lunge, but could not get a good hook around his blade to deflect him once again. The man reset himself and came down upon me, causing me to use both Sai blades to hold off his down strike. Before the man could get any more of an upper hand, I took a low blow and sent my knee upwards into his groin. He immediately reacted, backing up just a step, enough for me to step back and muster a round house kick to the side of the man's head. He fell onto the stones unconscious.
I sheathed my Sai blades and panted. The two other men had fled the scene before they could get any worse of a beating. The man who had received a knife through the hand pulled it out and dropped it. I walked over and picked up the throwing knife, wiping the blood off and placing it back to its original place in my arsenal. I glanced up to the shadowed figure of Ezio standing a building away.
"Thanks for the help," I said, rolling my eyes.
"How did you do that?" He asked.
I only shook my head before signally our return to the La Rosa Colta.
The next day was Ezio's first lessons with Paola; I watched from a distance as she taught him the tricks of blending within a crowd and petty theft. After a few hours, she sent him on his way to someone who could fix his hidden blade. I could tell that Ezio's haste for a quick revenge against a man named Uberto Alberti troubled Paola. His eagerness could lead to lack of thought, one simple mistake or overlooked detail could mean an early grave.
"Dakota I must ask something of you," Paola said, pulling me to a sitting room we had convened at my arrival.
"Yes?"
"Ezio has taken it upon himself to assassinate Uberto Alberti. I would like very much if you accompany him when he does."
I sighed heavily; I wished very much to stay out of Ezio's altercations for fear of messing with the balance of history. "I will go, but I cannot participate."
"No, I would not ask that. When the deed is done, ensure Ezio's safe route back to us here."
I nodded, "I will try my best, Paola."
Standing on the rooftops, staring down at the oblivious crowds below, Ezio and I waited for signs of his target. I wasn't sure why Ezio picked this particular place for his spying position; it was open with no blind spots. The only advantage I could see was the position of the sun as it set, causing us to become black silhouettes against the sky. I observed Ezio's reactions to the people down below, wondering if he would be able to pick out his target alone and from such a distance.
He tensed up, keeping a keen eye on two men walking away from our position. "There he is," he mumbled before taking a step closer to the roof's edge.
"Maybe we should keep to the rooftops; stay at a higher vantage point," I suggested.
"No, I must follow him closely."
I rolled my eyes as Ezio made to jump down from the rooftop, "Have it your way then."
I did not follow Ezio's leap, I chose to stay away from the action and keep to the rooftops. This was Ezio's target, not my own, so he may do as he pleased. I kept pace with Ezio, moving along the buildings until I reached an opened courtyard of a palazzo. Uberto Alberti walked into the courtyard, mingling about with the attendees, speaking with a tone perfected by higher class societies. Curious, I looked around for any site of Ezio; he either learned the reasons of stealth or realized I was right and was looking for another way inside the guarded palazzo.
Then, there he was, waltzing inside like he belonged with the crowd. Until, of course, the crowd began to look at him with raised eyebrows and curious glances. He stopped, staring at his target, until Uberto turned and found Ezio alive and angered.
"You!" Uberto shouted.
Ezio bolted for him, practically tackling the man while stabbing him repeatedly.
Oh, good, I rolled my eyes, we're going to fight our way out then. Lovely.
"The Auditore are not dead!" Ezio stood and shouted to the overlooking crowd. "I am still here! Me! Ezio! Ezio Auditore!"
"Great. Expose yourself while you're at it. Awesome. Always keeping a low profile, hm?" I mumbled to myself as I watched Ezio scamper for the exit as oncoming guards fled to the scene.
I ran along the rooftop in the general direction Ezio was leaving. Just as he sprung free from the guards inside, a lone guard was running to catch up, sword at the ready. He was going to slash at Ezio and bring him down successfully. I made a quick decision, leaping from the roof and engaging my hidden blade. I came down on top of the guard, sinking my blade down into the man's neck. Ezio turned and looked at me with a look of confusion. I pulled my blade from the guard's throat and started running.
"What are you doing? Get the hell out of here!" I wasn't sure if I yelled in Italian or English, but I grabbed Ezio's arm and fled through the street.
As we ran, dodging down alleyways trying to shake our advancing hunters, I could hear Ezio's gasps for air as he barely kept up with me. We met a dead end in an alleyway, and I immediately began to scale the buildings. Ezio stalled, catching his breath, but as the heavy footfalls and clinking of weapons drew closer, he started to climb as well. There would be no stopping until we finally shook free of the guards, but I knew our faces would be plastered over every wall in the city.
Entering the La Rosa Colta, I gave Paola a side glace full of disapproval and anger before making my way upstairs. Ezio could have killed us in the process of taking down his target. Then the idiot exposed himself to the crowd, giving the mysterious hooded man a face, voice, and name. He had much more to learn, and for someone with not much more experience than him, it was pathetic.
I did not see the Auditore family off that night as they left for Toscana. I watched them leave from the balcony, using the night to mask their departure from Firenze. There was a sickening feeling in my stomach that evening. I was shivering, and an all over aching feeling left me exhausted. I retired early, covering myself with my blankets and sucking air through my teeth when the aching reached my bones.