Remembering the last time she had ventured out into Venice alone, Ambra made sure to stay in places where there were plenty of people everywhere she went. Of course, this meant that she got a lot of stares, but that was better than being raped. She was rash, and maybe a little lost, but definitely not stupid.
She wished that she had paid more attention when Ezio had brought her home after her last brush with death. There were a few landmarks that seemed familiar to her, but those weren't telling her what direction to go. The only way those worked was if she was already going in the right direction. If she was, it was entirely luck.
"You need to become a little more useful, Ambra …" she trailed off as she stepped on something sharp. Hissing in pain, she looked down to see a piece of broken glass on the street. Well there was something else to think about as she tried to find her way through the city. She cursed herself for not knowing more about the place in which she lived. She could have navigated Monteriggioni with her eyes closed, crawling backwards, but she had barely stepped outside in Venice. She had nowhere to go, and the only places she really wanted to go, Ezio would not let her.
Obviously, leading such a sheltered life was not to her benefit at the moment.
So, keeping her eyes both on the street in front of her as well as the buildings and landmarks around her, Ambra made her way through the Dursoduro district. She felt as if she had been walking in circles, and it was very probable that she had made a few round trips, but somehow, eventually, she managed to reach her destination. After many leers from the men around the district and apprehensive glares from the women, she found what she was looking for.
Unsure of what the protocol was when asking for refuge at a whorehouse, Ambra decided that walking straight in would be the best way to deal with things. Hell, maybe Ezio was already there.
Though she hoped that wasn't the case.
When she entered the familiar parlor, Ambra immediately felt some eyes fall on her. They were mostly female eyes, and she wondered if any of them recognized her. Judging by the wary looks they were giving her, she guessed that they didn't. It obviously wasn't often that a woman who didn't work there walked in barefoot. Probably women who did work there didn't walk in barefoot, either.
The news must have traveled quickly, though, for soon the Madame was standing right in front of her. Ambra knew it was Sister Teodora; she remembered her from the previous visit. She hoped that the good sister recalled her as well.
"Look who it is," she greeted Ambra. "I hope that you haven't gotten yourself into trouble again." She looked down at Ambra's feet, which were filthy from the walk over. Ambra looked down at them as well. "Never mind, it appears that you have. Tell me, Ambra, what could possibly persuade a woman of your station to go walking through the streets of Venezia barefoot," she lifted the cloak, "clothed in little more than underwear."
"I promise you, it is a positively scintillating story," Ambra answered, "but at the moment, I was wondering if you could offer me a place to stay. I can't … I can't go home at the moment."
"Of course you may," Teodora answered. Really, she didn't want to give Ambra a room, but she knew what Ezio would do if he found out that she had turned his pet away.
"Grazie mille," Ambra said gratefully as she followed Sister Teodora up the stairs. "I was also wondering if there was any way to get a message to Ezio that I am here. I know that you two are friends. Of course if you can't that's fine …" Ambra was afraid of sounding too needy, so she didn't finish the sentence. After all, this woman was already offering her a place to stay.
"It is very difficult to pin Ezio down, most of the time," Teodora informed her. "However, I will let all of my girls know that if they see him, they should let him know that you are here and in obvious distress." They came to a room and Teodora opened the door for her. It was simple, with a small but clean bed in the corner. "Now, you are going to tell me what you are doing here." Teodora didn't know much about Ambra, but what she did know led her to believe that whatever had just happened to her, Ezio would be extremely interested to know about it, and not just because of his infatuation with her.
Ambra regarded Sister Teodora carefully. Ezio trusted her, so she was sure that she could as well, but the look on her face was not at all welcoming or comforting. No, Teodora was all business.
"Well … can I give you the short version?"
"I would prefer that, actually," Teodora answered as she closed the door and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"Well, Adamo Grimaldi is suspicious of me. He thinks that I am having an affair with Ezio, so he locked me in a bedroom on the third floor of his house. The objective was to question me and also try and lure Ezio to him. That's why I need to let Ezio know that I am here. It would be awful if he uncovered our secret for no reason."
"Noted," Teodora said with a nod.
"Anyway … Adamo was … questioning me, and he was getting a little rough. There was a struggle and I got lucky. He left the door to the room open, I ran out, locked it behind me, and I came here." Ambra was extremely glad when the look on Teodora's face changed from dour to slightly impressed. So that was where the bruise on her face had come from. "I was barefoot because I vomited all over my own clothes and had to change."
"That I could have done without," Teodora promised her. "I will send up something for you to bathe with. You will not leave this room, do you understand? This isn't a place for you to be wandering around." The last thing she wanted to deal with was Ezio's wrath if he found out that a drunken client had mistaken this girl for a prostitute.
"Yes," Ambra responded as Teodora reopened the door. "Thank you so much."
"Any friend of Ezio's is a friend of mine."
)0()0()0()0()0(
"You want my help in freeing your little trollop?" Rosa asked Ezio as she raised an eyebrow. The two of them were standing in the market. Business was starting to wind down for the day and they could converse easily.
"Yes," Ezio answered. "And she's not a trollop."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Ezio …" Rosa trailed off. "What exactly do you want me to do?"
"I just need you to get in there. Disguise yourself as a servant. It will be easy to get inside, and scout the place out. Figure out where she is. If she seems safe and unharmed, then you can leave her there. If it seems like she's in trouble, get her out. Or come to me and I'll get her out. I'll be waiting outside for your signal."
"And if I get caught?"
"Are you saying that you might get caught?" Ezio inquired. "Since when have you started admitting that there are things that you might not be able to do?" Rosa smirked. He had her there. "But if you do get caught, you are-"
"There to steal from the house," Rosa finished for him. "Got it. I suppose that I can do this for you, but you owe me."
"We'll start a tab," Ezio assured her. "I have a feeling the favors are going to start piling up shortly."
)0()0()0()0()0()0(
Ezio and Rosa were standing in front of Grimaldi's palazzo, staring up at the impressive façade.
"How the hell am I supposed to know where to look?" Rosa asked. She was getting cranky. She wasn't really in the mood for this, not to mention she was wearing a dress and a god-awful cap so that she could blend in more easily with the servants.
"Stop being so difficult, Rosa," Ezio suggested. "You know exactly how this is done. You've done it multiple times. Doubtless, there is a service entrance somewhere on the back or sides of the house. Enter through that way, avoid people who actually work there, and find what you can. This is pretty standard. If you run into trouble, make noise. I'll come in." Ezio anxiety was evident. He was practically shaking with nerves as he spoke to Rosa, wishing that she would just cooperate. There were plenty of times when he had done her favors with no questions asked. Right now he needed her to do the same.
Rosa just shook her head as she started walking away from Ezio. The less time she spent complaining to him, the less time it would take to get this done and the quicker she could get this over with. As she walked in through the servants' entrance undeterred, she wondered if she would actually give Ezio an accurate account of what she observed in the house or if she would just tell him that Ambra wasn't there no matter what.
Admittedly, having her out of the way was preferable. Ezio was completely smitten with her. Not only had he been giving her less attention, but also Antonio was starting to feel the loss of Ezio's constant help, as were the rest of the thieves. Every free moment was spent either in her presence or worried about what mischief she was getting into next. This little incident was only proving her point. Ezio constantly told her that Ambra's position amongst the Templars was too advantageous to give up, but she knew that there was more to it than that.
If Ezio didn't really care about her, he wouldn't be bothering with risking himself or Rosa to get her back. He had feelings for her. Strong ones. When she thought about it, Rosa felt a tightening in her chest. She wasn't sure about what she wanted from Ezio, but she knew that it was something. And now, this stupid girl who couldn't even take care of herself had managed to steal his heart.
It just didn't make any sense! Was Ezio really as susceptible as other man to the pretty face of a delicate damsel in distress? At first she hadn't thought so, but apparently she was capable of being wrong about him.
As she moved through the house, Rosa realized that the outside was definitely not the grandest part of the building. The Grimaldi family was clearly not hurting. Their influence obviously had not suffered too much when Ezio killed Carlo. As she walked around, Rosa picked up any small trinket she thought might be able to fetch a price.
After a few minutes of that, though, Rosa knew that she had to get to work. If she stayed inside too long, Ezio would undoubtedly get worried, and he was not the patient type. He would come in after her if he thought there was any chance that she might need help.
She found the servant stairs and headed for the second story, listening closely for anything that might lead her to what she was looking for. She stood perfectly still on the landing, concentrating. She wasn't sure, but she though that she might be able to hear some loud thumping noises coming from the next story up. As she started for the stairs that would lead her up, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Dove lo pensate state andando?" a dour, older man demanded of her. Rosa froze momentarily, surprised. It took her a moment to process the question.
"I thought that I heard something upstairs," she finally said when she realized that the man had mistaken her for a servant.
"Stupid girl," the man spat as he dragged her away from the stairs. It took all of Rosa's strength to keep herself from drawing her knife and slicing his arrogant throat. She was not here to make a scene; she was there to gather information on Ambra's whereabouts. "Didn't you get the instructions that no one is to go up there no matter what they hear unless directed by the master himself?"
"Oh … silly me," Rosa said meekly. "I came late today so I am a little behind."
"Ragazza stupida," he said again. "Get to the kitchens where you belong." He shoved her towards the stairs leading down, and Rosa went so that she could diffuse the suspicion. Obviously there was something going on on the third story of the house, and she needed to get up there. However, that wasn't going to be easy. No one was allowed up there without explicit instructions from Adamo Grimaldi, something she most likely wasn't going to get … unless she could find him.
Once she hit the first floor, she immediately started looking around for a room that might serve as an office. She assumed that was the best place to start looking for the owner of the house. But, after a rudimentary search, she concluded that he was not around, at least not on the first story. Her eyes rose towards the ceiling.
He was upstairs.
Without thinking, Rosa turned back around and started heading towards the servants' staircase. As she did so, she passed by the room that she gathered, from her first search, was Grimaldi's office. Her practicality would not let her pass this room by without at least taking a look around, so she carefully pushed the door open, walked in, and closed it softly behind her.
The room was cozier than she thought it would be. She had never met Adamo Grimaldi, but she had learned to believe that Templars were soulless scum. This was not the office of a soulless man. It was cluttered with an assortment of objects. Rosa wondered if any of them meant something to him. She refrained from taking anything in this room just in case they did. The small knick-knacks she had grabbed around the house most likely would not be missed, but something gone from this room might.
Her first target was the large desk towards the back of the room. It stood in front of a huge window overlooking a canal. Before doing anything, Rosa drew the curtains closed and then started looking through the drawers. They were filled with papers; letters and correspondence from names that she had heard Ezio mention before. Borgia was the one that stuck out most in her mind. As she read the letter, though, she couldn't really make much sense of the contents. They were in Spanish. Though Rosa could gather a gist of what the letters said, it would take more time to decipher the details, which were undoubtedly the most important parts.
She stashed a few of the most recent letters in a pocket on her apron to give to Ezio, and then moved on to all the different drawers. The rest of the stuff was boring. There were bills, invoices … most of them having to do with a warehouse on the docks. Obviously Grimaldi was some sort of businessman. These were commonplace. There had to be more like the letters from Borgia.
Rosa was just about to open another drawer when she heard footsteps drawing near.
Cursing silently under her breath, Rosa closed the door quietly and quickly looked around for a place to hide. There was a cabinet to her left, and she was sure that she would have been able to fit in there were she wearing her normal clothes. As it was, she doubted she would be able to squeeze in.
Then, she spotted a closet and hastened towards it. Luckily it wasn't locked. She forced herself in amongst all of the jackets that were hanging inside, and then closed the door, but not all the way. Rosa left a small crack so that she could see what was going on in the room.
The door to the office opened and in walked a stunning woman with shiny black hair, dressed in the latest fashion. She was speaking to a man who had followed her into the room.
"I'm sorry that my husband cannot see to you personally," she told him. So this must have been Grimaldi's wife. "Right now he is preoccupied with that little traitorous whore. The noise coming from that room is maddening. She must be difficult to break."
"The assassins are known for their resistance to questioning and torture," the man stated with a shrug. "And I fully understand. There is no need to apologize for your husband, Signora. I'm sure that you can give me what I need just as well as he could."
"Yes, I'm sure that I could," Elettra assured him as she went into a drawer in the desk and pulled out a small, locked box. She withdrew a key from one of the pockets of her dress and opened the box. Rosa assumed that there was money inside, and she was surprised when instead of pulling out bills or coins, she pulled out a sealed letter. "You will deliver this to your master's hand personally. No one else will read it."
"Of course, Signora," the messenger answered with a curt nod. "I know how delicate these matters are." He put the letter into a pocket on the inside of his jacket and patted his chest. "This is safe with me."
"Va bene," Elettra murmured as she gestured towards the door and then followed the messenger out of the room. Once she was sure the coast was clear, Rosa exited the closet quickly. All of her instincts were telling her to follow the messenger. He was carrying information that was probably very important to Ezio.
Rosa didn't even think twice. She left the office and found the servants' door. When she was outside, she hastened towards the front of the house, pleased that when she reached the front door, the messenger was just leaving.
Spotting Ezio, she made her way towards him. He saw her coming and stood up straight, looking like he was ready for action at any moment.
"Is she in there?" he demanded of Rosa.
"Yes, she is," Rosa answered, "but Ezio, something more important is going on right now. Did you see the man who just left the house?"
"Yes," Ezio answered shortly, but other than that he ignored the question. "How do you know she is in there? Is she safe? Is he hurting her? What did you see?"
"I didn't see anything," Rosa answered, frustrated. "I heard Elettra talking about her being upstairs. Said that her husband was busy with 'that traitorous whore'. I mean … I heard some noises, but I couldn't get up to the third floor to investigate. Ezio-"
"What kind of noises?" Ezio pursued.
"I don't know! There was pounding, maybe a little shouting, but it sounded like a man's voice." Her head swiveled on her neck to try and spot the messenger before he was out of sight, and she did. But he was getting farther and farther away by the second, and Ezio seemed too preoccupied with the people who were still inside the house.
"Pounding and shouting?" Ezio repeated. "And you didn't think to try and figure out what for?"
"Well I was trying, but then I-"
"I'm going in there," he cut her off as he started walking towards the house. "Where is the servants' entrance?"
"Ezio, listen to me!" Rosa exclaimed as she grabbed onto his sleeve and anchored herself to the ground and firmly as she could. However, Ezio was much stronger than she was, and he was determined to get into that house as well. All reason was out the window, and Rosa knew that she was going to have to try harder to get him to stop. She put both of her hands on one of his and pulled as hard as she could, unbalancing him and almost taking him down, but he managed to catch himself before falling.
"What are you doing, Rosa?" he demanded as he looked around to see if anyone had seen him struggling against the woman.
"If you would listen to me for a second, I would tell you!" she exclaimed. "I was in Adamo's office, looking around, when his wife came in. She gave a messenger a letter and told him that no one but his master was to read it. The contents were delicate. He just left the house. If you follow me we can still catch him! Maybe we can question him!" Rosa pointed in the direction that she had seen the man disappear, and Ezio raised his eyes to look, but then looked back at Rosa apologetically.
"Rosa," he said slowly. "I appreciate your assistance here, and I can understand your urgency … but if he is hurting her … Rosa I can't let that happen. Do you understand? Any information we might be passing up now, she could get for us easily. Ambra's too important to leave her in his hands for too long. I don't know where her breaking point is. Capisce?"
Rosa groaned exasperatedly. This was just an excuse. She knew why he wanted to go in and get her, and it infuriated her. He would jeopardize everything he worked for because of this stupid girl who got herself caught and couldn't get herself out of trouble now.
"No, Ezio, I don't understand," Rosa informed him. "I don't understand anything that you have done lately. What is so special about this girl that you would risk what you have-" But Ezio did not seem very interested in this particular point. He shook himself free of Rosa and continued walking towards the house.
"Ezio," she said calmly. "If you don't stop walking, I am going to start screaming. I am going to make a scene."
Ezio paused momentarily, but then continued walking. He figured that what he was about to do was going to cause a scene, anyway. Ready for whatever noise was about to come from Rosa, Ezio tensed up, but the next sound he heard was not Rosa's voice.
"Oh, Ezio!" A light, twinkly voice called to him from far away. His curiosity got the best of him and he stopped to turn around. When he saw who it was, he was a little confused. One of Teodora's courtesans was approaching him, a bright smile on her face.
"Mi dispiace, cara. I am busy right now," he told her. Ezio didn't remember her name, otherwise he might have used it.
"Oh, I know that," she answered.
"You do?" Ezio inquired.
"Yes, actually, that is what I'm here about," she told him. "Apparently you think that there is someone of interest to you in this building."
"Actually, I know that there is someone of interest to me in this building," Ezio assured her. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He started to walk away.
"But there isn't." He stopped in his tracks and looked back at the girl. Before he acted, he looked around. He felt that he had been out in the open for far too long, and was looking for a place where they could discuss this option in private. However, in this particular part of the city, there weren't many places to hide. In lieu of a hiding place, he decided to move this process along faster.
"Well are you going to tell me what the hell you're talking about?" Ezio barked. The courtesan flinched, but kept a smile on her face.
"Of course …" she trailed off. "Of course, I don't know much about your personal life, but I do know that the particular girl you are looking for has red hair and the most ridiculous freckles."
"Yes, that's Ambra," Ezio nodded curtly. "I know what she looks like. Thank you."
"I would hope so," the courtesan murmured. "Well, she's not in there." Ezio raised an eyebrow and then turned around to look at Rosa, who just shrugged. She had heard what she heard, and there was nothing she could do about that.
"How do you know that?" Ezio demanded.
"Because she walked into La Rosa della Virtù about an hour ago," she stated. "Sister Teodora dispatched a few of us to find you before you did anything … rash."
"Is she all right?" Ezio demanded.
"She looked a little worse for wear," the courtesan answered with a shrug. Ezio had turned around and started walking in the other direction, now, but he had completely forgotten about the messenger that Rosa had seen. Rosa watched him walk away with her fists balled at her sides.
If he wasn't going to do what he aught to, she was going to have to do it for him. As she turned and walked in the opposite direction, Ezio did not even realize that she was missing.
)0()0()0()0()0(
Having cleaned herself and dressed the wounds on her feet, Ambra was relaxing on the bed that had been supplied for her. She was just about to doze off to sleep when there was a loud, forceful knock on the door. Ambra opened one eye as she looked at the door, considering the wisdom of actually going to answer the knock.
She knew that she was locked in, and she knew that she was locked in for her own safety. Anyone who was supposed to be entering the room would have a key or some other way of getting in. If it were one of the girls, they would have announced themselves.
No, it was best to stay right there on the bed.
The knocking persisted, transforming into pounding. Soon, it was accompanied by shouting. So whoever it was knew that she was in there.
If Ambra hadn't been sure that the option she had chosen was the best, she was sure now. She closed her eye and tried to tune out the noise. As soon as she had done this, she heard a scuffled outside of the door, accompanied by cursing.
"Esca di qui, stronzo," she heard Ezio snarl. Relief flooded over Ambra and she immediately stood from the bed. She went to the door but didn't open it. She could still hear the struggle that was going on in front of the door. Obviously, Ezio was winning, but the drunk was persistent. Finally, Ambra heard a loud crash, and that seemed to be the end of it. Then, there was another knock at the door. This one was much lighter, and it was accompanied by her name.
She unlocked the door and practically ripped it open. Without hesitation, Ezio stepped into the room, closed the door, and locked it behind them.
He turned to her again, his hand rising to her cheek, where an ugly, purple bruise had formed.
"I am so sick of people hitting you," he told her as he kissed the bruise gently.
"I'm not really too fond of it, either," she promised him as she looped her arms around him. "But it wasn't so bad."
"I don't care," Ezio murmured into her hair. "You're mine. I don't like people manhandling my things." Now that he knew she was safe, Ezio's initial anxiety for her well-being was gone. Slowly, his anger started creeping back into him. But, when he looked at her face, it ebbed away.
He couldn't look at her face.
He let go of her and turned around, bracing his hands against the wall. Ambra tilted her head.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"This all could have been avoided if you had only listened to me," he stated, looking at the floor. "You behave as you wish because you think that there won't be any consequences. Maybe in Monteriggioni that was the case, but things are dangerous here, dolcezza. You need to listen to me, or you're going to end up with more than a bruise on your face."
Ambra crossed her arms in front of her chest and narrowed her eyes.
"You think that I didn't listen to you?" Ambra asked.
"It's pretty obvious, Ambra," he reminded her. "If you had done what I had told you to do, you would have made it out of there just fine. But you think you always know what is best. I hope that Elettra told you something good-"
"Hold on," Ambra cut him off. "I'm not sure what story you got, but they didn't lock me up because I went looking for Elettra." Ezio turned back around, surprise evident on his face.
"They had another reason for doing that?" Ezio demanded. "God … I don't know how you do it … perhaps it's your hair. It draws a lot of attention to you."
"I was wearing a bright red dress, as well," she answered with a smirk. Ezio shook his head.
"What happened?"
"I had followed Francesco and Adamo to his office," Ambra began as she sat down on the bed. "I was trying to see if I could catch them talking about anything that could be of interest to you. They caught me."
"Did you?"
"Did I what?"
"Hear anything that might be of interest to me?"
"They mentioned that the box in the warehouse is completely empty. They just wanted to distract you … ring any bells?" Ambra inquired. Ezio raised an eyebrow, signaling that it did, in fact, ring a bell. "What was he talking about?"
"Your husband rented a warehouse on the docks. The ones where you entered the city," Ezio answered. "I've been trying to get in there discreetly since you arrived, but there is only one way in or out. I figured I would just wait to see what you could tell me about it."
"Yes. Well, that is what I have to tell you about it."
"Is that all?" Ezio asked, eager to hear more. This was certainly very interesting. If they were trying to distract him, there was obviously something he needed to be distracted from. He needed to know what that was. However, Ambra's response was an indifferent shrug.
"That's all that they said that you didn't know," she answered. "Francesco admitted to killing my father. That's how they caught me. I lost control of myself and gasped. Then I ran. Adamo found me and decided that I was suspicious and that was how I found my way in the third floor bedroom." Ezio was silent for a moment. That matter-of-factness with which Ambra relayed this story was slightly chilling. She seemed to not even care about it. "Later when Francesco came to talk to me, he swore that he was just lying to impress Adamo. I don't know what to believe."
"If I were you, I would find it pretty easy to decide," Ezio informed her.
"You know nothing about being me," Ambra reminded him. Ezio raised his eyebrows. "Well, you don't."
"How hard can it be?" Ezio inquired.
"Harder than you think," she answered as she went over to the window and leaned against the frame, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. "I'm sure that you don't know what it's like to have absolutely no control over your life? To be thought of as little more than a sexual object or a trophy … to be used as a means to an end. Not to mention the constant threats of rape and general physical violence. It's not as easy as I make it look."
"He tried to rape you?" Ezio demanded sharply as he crossed the room and closed the space between himself and Ambra.
"Who hasn't tried to rape me, these days?" Ambra said, almost laughing. She knew that she was exaggerating. It had been a while since she had been threatened with rape, and Adamo hadn't so much threatened rape as touched her suggestively. However, she couldn't help but get a small thrill from the way Ezio bristled at the word. "Don't worry. I took care of it."
"I'm sorry," Ezio told her. "If I had known that was what was going on, I would have gone in sooner."
Ambra just shrugged. "Anyway. I'm sure you can imagine why I have a hard time believing anything that anyone says, given my current situation."
"Why wouldn't you believe me?" Ezio inquired. Ambra just looked at him sardonically. "Honestly, Ambra. What reason have I given you not to trust me?"
"You haven't given me a specific reason," Ambra assured him. "But you and I both know that if I wasn't so advantageously placed, you wouldn't be bothering with me. Why wouldn't you try to plant the seed of doubt in my mind about my husband?"
"Do we both know that?" Ezio asked sarcastically. "I had not been aware of that particular bit of information. I wish I had. It would have saved me a lot of anxiety." Ambra scowled at him.
"This isn't funny, Ezio."
"I agree. You're insane. Or just stupid."
"Oh, yes. That's exactly the way to make this all better," Ambra scoffed.
"Look," Ezio said, his tone softer now. "Don't you think that it's a bit of a coincidence that I would tell you that Francesco killed your father, and then he admitted to it?" Ambra had nothing to say to that. Ezio sighed as he backed up and leaned against the wall. His hood was still up, which was good, as she couldn't see the scowl on his face. He didn't like that she didn't trust him. He needed her to trust him. "If I had known that you would be so combative when I arrived, I wouldn't have come."
"If I had known that you would automatically assume that I had gone against your orders if I got caught, I would have just looked for Elettra anyway," Ambra snapped in reply. "Why don't you trust me?"
"I think it's quite clear that neither of us trusts the other," Ezio observed. "If we are to have any degree of success, that is going to have to change."
"How do you propose we do that?" Ambra inquired. Once again, she crossed her arms in front of her. Ezio finally removed his hood as he walked towards her. She stepped into his embrace and rested her cheek against his chest.
"I don't have any ideas," he told her, speaking into her hair as he did so.
"I want to trust you, Ezio," she promised him. His arms tightened around her as he thought quickly. He was losing her and he knew it. Something had to be done. "It's just hard when most of the things you do have the potential to put me in a huge amount of danger."
This was his opening, he guessed. "You're right," he agreed. "I've been selfish by asking you to do these things for me. I haven't thought about the repercussions and effects on you. I'm not going to ask you for anything more."
Ambra panicked. She thought that was what she wanted, but the way he said it made it sound like he would no longer have a use for her. If he didn't have a use for her … she didn't even want to think about the consequences of that.
"I don't mind helping you!" Ambra assured him, craning her neck so that she could look up into his eyes. "I just need to know that I'm more than just a tool. I need to know that when we finally take care of all of this nonsense, you're not just going to forget all about me."
"I think that I've given you more than enough evidence of that," Ezio assured her as he cupped her cheek with his hand. The rough calluses felt strong and reassuring against her cheek, like they always did. When he touched her like that, she knew that he would always protect and take care of her. "Now it's all up to you."
Dove lo pensate state andando?: Where do you think you're going?
Esca di qui, stronzo: get out of here, asshole