Hey, guys. I'm back with another Assassin's Creed fanfiction. I wrote this during Christmas week, but I lost track and inspiration on what to write. After about five months due to school and all, I managed to write up much on this fanfic. I know it's not Christmas time right now, but it is summer and wherever you are, you may be wishing for the cold and holidays, or maybe you want to read this fic for some Eziosa. I know I'm bringing Eziosa back.

December 25th, 1498

Nobody thought that Italy would be covered by a blanket of snow. It usually snowed in the northern parts, near the mountains. When it snowed, all the children played outside, even some adults. And it was perfect timing, since Christmas arrived. That meant no missions, no assignments, and no work for both the Assassins and Templars.

Claudia Auditore was grateful to have the weekend off from accounting due to Christmas and it would be the first Christmas after twenty-two years with her mom that she stopped becoming mute due to her losing her husband and her sons from the gallows. Maria was in the kitchen with the other maids helping make a perfect Christmas dinner and the sweet aroma of the chicken and pasta made Claudia drool a little. However, she came to her senses and went to see her mom.

"Mother, have you seen Ezio?" Claudia asked her busy mom. "I can't find him anywhere. You see, I got this letter telling me that Rosa is coming over for Christmas and I wanted to tell Ezio about it, but he's nowhere." Rosa was Ezio's longtime girlfriend ever since he had met her in Venice. He told his sister and mom about them, but they never had the chance to meet them due to their situations: Claudia with accounting and Maria in her mute state. Ezio however had hopes that his family would be accepting of her.

"I'm not sure where he is," Maria said. "I haven't seen Ezio since breakfast and I hope he's not out on another assignment. I'll have to speak to Mario about that."

"He's not on any assignment, I can assure you that." Mario Auditore intruded the women through the kitchen hallway. "Maybe he's training outside, like he usually does."

"Training in the snow and during Christmas?" Claudia doubted.

"I don't know. Just go see outside." Mario then turned his attention to some pie that was made. He was about to lick some whipped cream with his fingers, but Maria slapped them away.

"No snacking! It's for tonight's dinner." Mario left and had to see to the other guests that were coming to the villa say, certain Assassin contacts.

Claudia stepped out of the kitchen, went to her uncle's study, then out the room to where the training arena was. The falling snow had covered it and there was no sign of footprints there indicating that no one had gone out to train. Claudia walked around the arena and went down the stairs which met with the village streets inside the fortress. She asked a few of the townspeople if they had seen Ezio, but to no avail. Then she asked some playing children if they saw Ezio and one boy said that he saw Ezio outside the fortress.

She walked outside the fortress, complaining to herself having to walk out in the snow that was almost damaging her dress. Claudia looked around and couldn't see much due to the falling snow. Then suddenly, plomf! Claudia almost shrieked when her back was hit by a snowball. She turned around and saw a familiar silhouette that was near the horse stalls. The silhouette hid quickly but not without giving a small giggle. Claudia gave out a devious smirk and decided to get back at whoever hit her. She cupped snow into her hands making a snowball and sneaked over to the horse stalls without making sound, but she possibly failed.

"Gee, I wonder who's hiding near the horse stalls," the youngest surviving Auditore sarcastically said. "Maybe it's my older brother of mine." Claudia got to the horse stalls and quickly got to the back side of them. "Gotcha!" But there was no one there. Claudia got confused and then, plomf again, but it was on her head. Claudia gasped and looked on top of the stalls to see her older brother Ezio laughing, looking so majestic in the armor of Altair. "I'll get you, Ezio!" She threw her snowball at him, but missed. Ezio jumped down to reach his younger sister.

"Claudia, being an Assassin doesn't mean you boast to your enemy. You have to be silent and then get them."

"One, I'm not an Assassin. And two, I'm making an exception with you since you are my brother."

"Only if you can beat me in a fight." Ezio threw another snowball on his sister's arm and this time, she laughed.

"Oh, now you wanna play, huh?" Claudia ran away and was trying to avoid her brother's snowballs. They ran farther away from the fortress, but still in sight of it. Claudia tried to collect some snowballs, but Ezio was faster than her and threw more balls at her. "Hey, that's not fair! I wasn't ready!"

"The enemy is never ready even when the attacker is closeby." Ezio jumped on Claudia and they both rolled on the snow and down on a few steep hills, laughing and screaming, but for Claudia it was screaming. They rolled until they stopped in front of a tree.

Claudia rolled the snow off her head and clothes while Ezio laughed and moved his hair out of his face. His laugh disappeared and smile faded when he saw a necklace near a few inches from him. It was not his own, but it was Cristina's. Cristina was his ex-girlfriend who had died in Florence from Savonarola's followers seven months ago. Before he met Rosa, his mind was always on Cristina but due to her being married, he had to let her go or couldn't because he still loved her.

Cristina was still upset that her dress was covered in traces of snow. "Great, Ezio! Now you ruined my dress! Enough of this foolishness! I came to tell you that-" Claudia's frowned expression was gone when she saw Ezio staring sadly at the necklace. "Ezio, are you listening?" Claudia crawled forward to see Ezio and expressed sympathy over understanding what he was thinking about. "Oh, Ezio, much time has passed since the death of Cristina. Maybe it's time to put the past behind you."

"I know you are right," Ezio lamented. "But it's just hard to say goodbye." The assassin stood up and began to walk away from his sister before saying, "I just need some time alone. I'll be back in time for dinner."

"Ezio, where are you going?! Wait!" Claudia cried out for his brother, but to deaf ears. Claudia then walked back to the Monteriggioni fortress until she saw a brown horse being ridden by a woman wearing a brown hooded cloak. Claudia approached the woman and she looked down on her.

"Are you Claudia Auditore?" the woman spoke.

"Yes, I am. And you are?"

The woman removed her hood and revealed her short black hair. "I'm Rosa of the Venetian Thieves."