What? Two chapters in 24 hours? Yeah, I know. I must be incredibly bored. Actually, I had to break up this big chapter into two so the second part to this one will be up soon. It's a little shorter than what I would like, but again, I felt it needed to end where it did. No worries. I just want to point out again that this chapter is going to be as historically accurate as possible, so I had to change some things from the game. In the game the sequence of events takes place outside of the Cathedral and historically it happens inside.

Also, I hope everyone is still doing well and ya'll are staying healthy.

Contessina did not sleep during the night. Her mind would not let her rest, so she began to pack the most important of her possessions, starting with the jewels she had collected over the years. She was leaving Firenze one way or another. Even if she had to follow Ezio to Monteriggioni, she was determined not to be in the place that had been hell for most of her life. She wrote letters to everyone after packing her belongings into a large satchel that could be tied to a saddle.

Sighing she waited for the day to begin and then dressed herself in the blue dress she had made for such an occasion. Contessina figured she may as well wear it once before leaving it to gather dust forever in Firenze. She did not care what her mother would think about her leaving at this point, she belonged to Ezio, not the Medici. There was no time to be sitting in a place where she was only taking up space with little to no growth.

She did not stop when she heard a knock at her door and the sound of Lorenzo's voice on the other side. He was asking to come in and speak with her, but she was not sure if she wanted to hear what he had to say. However, Contessina sighed knowing that she may need her cousin's help in the future. So, she went to the door and opened it, letting Lorenzo come into her room. He saw the bag that she had packed on her bed and looked at her with a sympathetic glint in his eyes.

"You are leaving?" Lorenzo asked, but she did not reply as she continued to ready herself for church. "I had guessed the reason for your behavior last night had something to do with your husband."

"Lorenzo, I make my own decisions. Yes, Ezio is my husband, but he has never tried to control me or even tried to make me be something I am not. All of Firenze love the Medici because of what they see on the outside, but they don't know what goes on within the walls of this Palazzo." She told her cousin as Giuliano appeared in the doorway. "All of this tradition and reliance on the glory of God to pursue your endeavors is a façade. I believed that Grandfather had done something wonderful for the glory of God, but in all honesty, he was doing it for his own glory. You are doing the same, but you also keep the people in mind and for that I cannot give you any grievances." She was speaking the truth. Contessina found it liberating because now she only had one goal in mind and that was to go home with the man she loved.

"Is this how you see your family then?" Lorenzo asked her with a calm demeanor. He was so calm she expected him to explode on her, but all he did was sit on the edge of her bed. "Is this truly how you see us?" She sat next to him knowing that he had a hard time seeing the truth like she did.

"I have spent most of my life in the shadow of Lorenzo de'Medici and when I finally got a taste of freedom, it was ripped out from under my feet. You are not to blame for that, but since I have lived here, I have been a prisoner. If it isn't you, it's my mother, or your wife. I know you meant well by it, but you know as well as I do that I was never meant to belong here." Contessina said looking down at her feet.

"No, you belong with the Auditore. I am sorry, Contessina. I should've treated you better." He put his forehead to hers and then kissed it. "You have my blessing to go."

"But first, you must let me escort you to the Duomo for church." Giuliano pipped up from where he leaned on the doorframe. Contessina stood up with a smile on her face as Lorenzo followed her.

"Of course, Giuliano." She gave him a bigger smile as she grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "How could I forget the most boring of all Medici?" Her mood had greatly improved, almost as if she were a child again.

Ezio had made his way into the crowd gathering in front of the Santa Maria del Fiore. Most of the people in the crowd were of the lower class in Firenze, but they were more than welcome to proceed with the service that would be held inside the cathedral. He watched from his position as Francesco de'Pazzi and his uncle stood on the steps of the church waiting for Lorenzo and his family to arrive. Ezio could see the Medici family making their way down the street to the Piazza with happy faces. If only they knew what was going to happen within the hour.

Ezio could barely make out what Lorenzo was saying to his wife, but he was sure it had something to do with the Pazzi because of his face. It seemed distrusting of whatever Francesco had in store for their greeting. As soon as Lorenzo passed, he saw Giuliano following close beside him with Contessina on his arm and Ezio had to suppress the urge to run to her and warn her of what was going to happen. Her wide smile did not go unnoticed by him though, she looked happy for once, but when she looked through the crowd her smile widened even more. She saw him and he had to move fast, or Francesco would notice too.

"Ezio?" Contessina whispered wondering why her husband would be standing in a crowed outside the Duomo and how he quickly disappeared from her sight.

"What was that Contessina?" Giuliano asked her as they made their way up the steps to stand behind Lorenzo.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She gave him a convincing smile feeling something come over her akin to dread.

"Francesco, I would say it is good to see you, but I can't deny that it isn't." Lorenzo said as he greeted his foe, who seemed to be in a good mood. Contessina felt a little wary at the exchange between the Pazzi man and her cousin.

"Lorenzo, it is Easter Sunday. For the sake of Firenze, I am offering an olive branch so that there will be no bad blood between us today." Francesco said with a convincing smile on his face and Lorenzo seemed to take that into consideration. There were no weapons allowed inside a consecrated cathedral and peace was to be made between enemies at the door, to which Contessina was grateful for. "For old times' sake, my friend?" Francesco said putting a hand on the eldest son of Piero the Gouty.

"Alright then, let there be peace between us today and hopefully in the future." Lorenzo said agreeing with a smile to his onetime friend turned enemy. He then decided to escort his wife into the cathedral with Francesco remaining at the door.

"And Giuliano, I am sure I can extend the same curtesy to you, being as we were once friends as well." The Pazzi man said with a hand to his chest then looking over to Contessina. "Signora Contessina, I apologize for what my son did to you." Now it seemed too unreal to her with the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. "It was disgraceful."

"I accept your apology and I offer my condolences to you Signore Pazzi for his death." The blond did her best to make her smile look sincere before Giuliano pulled her away and into the cathedral.

Once Contessina disappeared with Giuliano, Bernardo walked up the steps to greet Francesco along with one of the priests. It seemed that Ezio was right when he read their lips. They were going to wait until the middle of prayer before making a move. The assassin knew how to get inside the Duomo without being seen thanks to the secret entrance he discovered the night before, but he had to hurry.

Contessina stood next to Giuliano as they waited for most of the noblemen and women to settle into the great cathedral. They stood to the right of the alter where they normally stood every Sunday. Across from the Medici family stood Bernardo Machiavelli and his wife with their children who seemed to be more worried about picking on each other. Little Niccolò stood quietly as his mother fussed at his two older brothers and when he saw Contessina, he gave her a little nod.

"That has got to be the most well-behaved boy in Firenze." Giuliano said quietly as he saw Niccolò pull on his mother's skirts. "Who would have thought?"

"Niccolò is certainly different." She replied with a smile and gave the boy across from her a small wave as the church filled to its brim.

"He seems to be in love with you Contessina, too bad you are already taken." The blond man said with a chuckle as Contessina elbowed him in the ribs. "Alright, I'm sorry."

"Hush, before I send you outside." Clarice said sternly and Giuliano smirked. "I mean it Giuliano, if I have to treat you like my children when they are being senseless then so be it."

"Giuliano, please behave before we cause too much trouble." The younger woman said putting a hand on her cousin's forearm to get her point across. "Look, the procession is coming so keep it down." She said when she saw the altar boy coming down the aisle holding up the staff with the cross upon it. Behind him was a priest swinging the incense burner back and forth in a cleansing ritual while behind him was the bishop. Several more clergy followed behind and then the doors closed blocking out the rest of Firenze. "Why are they closing the doors?" She looked at Giuliano with a questioning gaze.

"I don't know. They've never closed the doors for Easter before." The service was for everyone, nobleman and peasant alike, however this did not feel right. Something was off about all of this.

Contessina thought it best to keep quiet as the service began. First the bishop began with the blessing of the alter and then a short prayer before he began to give his sermon. The congregation remained quiet and Contessina was able to get a look around to see where everyone was. Francesco de'Pazzi stood into her right near the center isle and then Jacopo seemed to be standing there with an impatient look upon his face. This was typical for the old man as he never had any patience to begin with when it came to church. Contessina looked back down at her hands as she pulled out her tiny bible and rosary.

When Contessina looked up again, Francesco had seemingly disappeared and in his place was a monk in black robes. She decided to go back to paying attention to the sermon being given even though she did not care much for religion. She kept up appearances for her family, but in her heart, she did not feel that God was in a building or that a man spoke for him. She decided it was best not to question all the current circumstances since the bishop was sent by Sixtus himself, but that did not keep the nasty feeling in her stomach away.

As the service dragged on, she could feel her legs and feet starting to hurt from the shoes she wore. If she had worn her boots, she would have been more comfortable, but she did not want to hear Clarice complain. If there was one thing Contessina did not like about church service, it was the length of time it took to recite any prayer. The Bishop asked for everyone to bow their heads for the prayer he was about to recite, but just before she did so, she could see someone moving towards her out of the corner of her eye. She tried to ignore the person, but the flash of light reflecting off a blade caught her attention, but it was too late.

"Giuliano!" The sound of blade piercing flesh filled Contessina's ears before Giuliano's sharp intake of breath. She watched as Francesco de'Pazzi stabbed her cousin.

"Giuliano! No!" Lorenzo's voice shouted before a monk came up behind him with a dagger and was able to cut him on the neck. "You cowards!" Everyone in the cathedral started to panic as Giuliano tried to wrestle with Francesco but was quickly overpowered as the wound, he sustained had weakened him. Contessina began to shake uncontrollably as she witnessed her beloved cousin being stabbed multiple times.

"Die! Die! Die! Die!" The Pazzi man said as he pierced Giuliano's chest multiple times before Ezio came out of nowhere and kicked the man in the face before moving in front of Lorenzo to defend him. The dagger that Francesco held was knocked from his hands and thrown towards where Contessina stood looking on in shock.

"Contessina! Go!" She heard Ezio yelled, but she stood there staring at the dagger at her feet. Something dark and hateful came over her before she bent down to pick up the dagger as Francesco got up and pulled another from his belt. "Contessina!"

There was no stopping her as she held the dagger in her hand and let her rage take over. Contessina ran over to Francesco in an attempt to kill the man herself, but she was barely able to block his swing before he elbowed her in the face. The pain made her realize she had put herself in danger and it was not until she felt Francesco grab her that she understood. By that point Lorenzo's guards had come running in followed by mercenaries hired by the Pazzi.

"Don't move Assassin, or I will slit her throat." Francesco held Contessina tight with his dagger at her throat in a threatening position. "My associates and I are going to walk out of here unharmed and if you even take a step closer, she dies." Contessina looked at Ezio with tears in her eyes knowing she had put herself in danger. The look he gave her was calculating rather than upset. He was thinking about his next move before he could make it possible and his next move was getting to her.

"Let him go." Lorenzo's voice said from behind Ezio as the Pazzi and their conspirators left with the one thing he did not want to lose in this. "I need to get home." Ezio turned towards Lorenzo as the cathedral emptied of the panicking people. "To people I trust." The Medici man had his hand to his neck as he looked on his brother's body.

"They have Contessina!" Ezio said in frustration but Lorenzo looked at him.

"Help me and I will help you get her back." The older man said before Ezio unwillingly gave into Lorenzo's demands to get home. Ezio swore that if anything happened to Contessina, nothing was going to stop him from destroying every Pazzi on the face of the Earth. "Had I known you were back in Firenze; I would have known about this."

"I told Contessina to keep quiet about my arrival to Firenze." Ezio answer back as he escorted Lorenzo out into the streets filled with panicked people and mercenaries. War had broken out in Firenze and this not only angered Ezio, but it made him find focus.

"The Pazzi are going to pay for what they have done!" The Medici said upon seeing the chaos in his city. "I swear I am going to kill every last one of them!"

Francesco de'Pazzi was going to pay with his life and Ezio was going to do it himself. The assassin was able to avoid fighting with any mercenaries in the main streets by taking the back alleys, to which Lorenzo seemed to be glad of. However, the Medici man was still wounded, and he was losing blood with every step he took. Luckily, the Palazzo Medici was not much further. As soon as the two men made it to the gates, Ezio started to bang on them fiercely.

"Lorenzo's been wounded! Open the door!" The younger man yelled out as the guards came to the gate and looked through the peep hole.

"What's the password?" One of them asked and Ezio saw the look on Lorenzo's face go from annoyed to furious.

"It's me you Idiot! Open the goddamn door!" Ezio was not sure he had ever seen Lorenzo so angry before, but Contessina told him more than once that Lorenzo had a temper like a volcano. It took a lot to get him angry, but when he did, it was explosive. The gate opened and the two guards inside pulled Lorenzo in with Ezio following. The older man sat down against the wall as Ezio examined the wound. "Get the doctor." He said taking his hand away from the wound on his neck to see it covered in blood. "Those bastards killed my brother and they took Contessina."

"I'm afraid they took Contessina because of me, Signore." Ezio said telling Lorenzo the truth. "You and Giuliano were the intended targets, but Contessina was also a target."

"You knew about this?" Lorenzo said with a glare.

"There was no way to warn any of you in such a short time and I had only found out about the plot last night." Ezio confessed knowing that this could bring on a whole new set of problems for him, but Lorenzo only nodded in defeat.

"Ezio, your father was an honorable man and to see you follow in his footsteps give me hope that Firenze can be saved." Lorenzo said putting a hand on the younger man's forearm.

"Signore Lorenzo!" One of the Medici guards came running into the building. "Francesco de' Pazzi has led a battalion to the Palazzo de la Signoria. He sits up there waiting for you and he has Signora Contessina."

"I must go." Lorenzo said trying to stand up, but he quickly found himself unable to gain his balance before Ezio grabbed on to him and set him back down. "Damn this wound!"

"You cannot go face him with that wound, leave this to me. I have some unfinished business with the Pazzi." The assassin said before turning away but Lorenzo grabbed the young man's arm.

"Find the Pazzi scum and save our city, Auditore." Ezio did not hesitate to leave with a critical plan forming in his mind. Lorenzo's words were solely for him and as soon as he said them, Ezio was given permission to end the lives of several men without consequence.