With her head held high, she walked into the sparsely decorated room and made her way to the table.

"So here is the plan." Antonio said, unrolling a parchment and laying it on the table.

Claudia struggled hard to focus on it, but the words and lines were blurring before her and she blinked back her tears. Laying her hands on the table, she sought control over her emotions even as she was fully aware that the person who had been the cause of her predicament had walked into the room.

She kept her eyes down and pushed away her thoughts that had returned to cause her pain.

At least he wasn't with Marietta!

Claudia took deep breaths and was glad that no one had noticed her struggles in the dimly lit room.

Machiavelli took his position across her and she could feel his eyes on her. She wanted to scream at him and demand to know why he hadn't written to her or come see her when she was in Venezia. The answer was obvious- that he had been visiting brothels instead of staying loyal to his vows.

She couldn't believe that only hours before, she had been telling Leonardo how glad she was that she hadn't married Duccio. And now she had been slapped hard by her destiny as the one man she thought was trustworthy and loyal had acted just like Duccio had.

"The Carnivale is going on." Sister Teodora was saying and Claudia realized that she had missed most of the conversation.

"The timing is perfect." Antonio replied. "The Doge throws his parties then and that is when he comes out of his Palazzo to celebrate."

"But his parties are heavily guarded." Sister Teodora said. "The only guests that are invited are dignitaries and a special guest who is the winner of the Carnivale games."

"It is settled then." Antonio said. "We must win the Golden mask and enter the party."

"Why not make one?" Claudia asked, glad that no one had noticed her strangled tone. "Leonardo is skillful enough to forge one."

"They are numbered unfortunately." Sister Teodora said.

"Then I shall just have to win one." She said determinedly, feeling some of her vigor returning.

"No!" Machiavelli said. "I will participate in the games."

Claudia did look at him then and wished she could just scream at him, but she was in front of her peers and it wouldn't do to create a scene in front of them. "I am perfectly capable of handling this task myself." She said stubbornly.

"It has nothing to do with capability."

"Then it has to do with what exactly?" she asked. "Do not tell me, it's because I'm a woman."

"Actually." Sister Teodora interjected. "It is exactly that."

"What do you mean?" Claudia asked, feeling the blood draining from her face.

"Only the men participate in the games."

"Then I shall go in disguise." Claudia replied, but she knew that she had lost when Antonio shook his head.

"Bene. I shall leave now." Claudia walked out the room with her hands clenched into fists, feeling so angry and sad at the same time, that she wished she could just run away and go as far away from here and Machiavelli as possible.

"Claudia." He said, coming behind her.

She bit her lip hard and wiped away a tear that had rolled down her cheek.

"Let me explain myself." He said desperately. "I was with the courtesan only so that I could obtain all the information she had gathered."

Claudia stood silently, with her back turned towards him, feeling her breath return as well as a glimmer of faint hope. Perhaps he was telling the truth. She wanted so badly to believe that he was.

"I did not break my vows." He told her solemnly.

Claudia felt another tear roll down her face and she wiped that way quickly too. She wanted to ask him where he had been and why he hadn't come for her, but the truth was that he didn't need to even tell her. He had married her out of pity and for the rest of her life; she felt she could never demand to be cared for. And maybe she shouldn't even object to him meeting with the courtesans. He had every right to be happy, did he not?

Her lips trembled and she ran away from him before he saw her tears.

"You look sullen." Leonardo noted.

Claudia sulked in the chair in the corner and didn't answer. After finally getting her tears under control, she had been empowered with a burst of anger that had reminded her that the Doge was her target and that she should have been the one to kill him, not Machiavelli.

"I am fine." She said moodily and pulled up her legs to rest on the chair.

"Tell me." Leonardo said kindly.

"I do not want to burden you anymore. You already do so much for the Assassins and now even my personal problems."

"Machiavelli." Leonardo picked up his paintbrush and stroked with it on his canvas. "He has done something wrong again?"

Claudia made a face and then sighed. "He's here. I found him at the brothel."

"Oh?" Leonardo bent his head sideways and glanced at her.

Claudia told him everything and then leaned her head back on the wall. "I wanted to be the one to kill my target."

Leonardo was trying hard not to laugh, but his face was turning a bright red.

"What is so funny?" she asked in annoyance.

"That both of you are behaving like children. As if killing the Doge is not a mission but a competition."

Claudia pulled up her legs on the chair and hugged her knees. "They disregarded me. As if I wasn't capable of undertaking this mission."

Leonardo tapped the end of his paintbrush on his chin and then dropped it on the small wooden table beside him. "I may have the solution to your problems."

Claudia sat up straight. "What?"

Leonardo went over to his worktable and held up one of the codex pages. "This." He said. "This has a design for a small firearm that would be attached to your wrist. As small as a hummingbird."

Claudia came over to stand by his side and peered at the obscure drawings that apparently could only be understood by Leonardo. "You mean, like a gun?"

"Una pistola molto piccolo." He grinned. "And the best part is…you can aim from a distance."

Claudia grinned back at Leonardo. "Davvero?"

Leonardo winked at her. "It is entirely up to you to devise a little plan for yourself."

Claudia stood up on her toes and kissed Leonardo on his cheek. "Molto grazie." She said and unstrapped her vambraces to give to Leonardo.

"A few hours and you will have your wish."

Claudia sat down on the table with a parchment and started to draw a map for herself.