"Go, you must go."
The dream was as clear as being awake. A familiar young girl stood in front of her, tears streaming down her cheeks. Fear overflowed in her chest. The wind was in a frenzy, her hair flying into her face.
"But mother!" the girl cried, "I won't leave him!"
Alessa. Is that you?
"I know, darling, but you must. I will not, I swear," she whispered, holding the girl close to her. "I will not leave him. For now, you must."
The dream collapsed with a large bang. Atronia woke with a start, sitting up in her bed. She was breathing heavily, heart thudding in her chest. A drop of sweat trickled down her temple.
"Dio Mio," she muttered, rubbing her face with her hands. It took her a few moments to start to hear yelling from outside. She glanced at the window, confusion flickering on her face. Removing the covers, she slowly made her way over. Removing the thin shade only caused her more panic than her dream. Before her was horror. Flames spread throughout the city of Monteriggioni. An army sat along the wall, closing in on the small city. The wave of panic woke her up fully as she saw a cannonball flying straight for her room. She dove out of the way as the ammunition destroyed the wall and the floor. Terrified, she managed to escape the room, grabbing her robes and putting them on the best she could.
In her rush, a piece of hair got stuck to her tongue. She grabbed it and put it behind her ear. Feeling her hair reminded her to stay in character. Even though she hated the thought, she was no longer Atronia Auditore, and she had to remember that. The concept seemed stupid to her but it was necessary. Shaking her head, she put her hood up and ran down into the foyer of the villa. As she walked out she buckled her belt then sheathed her sword. Her eyes caught Ezio, who was busy staring hopelessly at the mess.
"Master Auditore!" she shouted, running up to him. "What's going on?"
"Borgia," he replied, glaring into the city. He looked disappointed. He knew they didn't have an ounce of a chance.
Well, Machiavelli was right. she thought to herself, feeling her hair again. Good thing he made it out in time. Her decision was final, she was glad she had taken the advice of her friends.
"What do we do?"
"Go into the city and find any remaining citizens. I have other plans," he ordered, starting towards the stairs.
"Yes, Mentor." she nodded her head and ran down the opposite set of stairs and unsheathed her sword, keeping an eye out for Borgia's men. After rounding one corner, Atronia was immediately met by a group of three. Using her quick reflexes, she ducked as the first one absent-mindedly swung a sword at her. Atronia plunged her sword forward, impaling the man in the stomach. She twirled around on her knees and found the second's ribcage with her hidden blade. Standing up, she blocked the last soldier's sword with her second and finished him off as well.
She moved on, keeping her search steady. Every once and a while she'd find a citizen, crying and terrified.
"Someone! Help!" a voice echoed from the main street. Atronia ran back to see two of Borgia's men struggling with a young man. Atronia ran up and kicked one of them in the head, lunging at the other one with hidden blades unsheathed. She looked back at the boy, who was huddling next to a door a couple feet away.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," she soothed, "I'll bring you to safety." She held out her hand and he took it gratefully.
"Grazie, miss," he said quietly.
"Of course." she replied, "What is your name?"
"Rico," he replied.
"Ciao, Rico. My name is-"
"Soldati!" a mercenary ran up to her, "They are about to break through the walls!" Atronia immediately looked to the front gate.
"Bring this boy to the tunnels, I will handle that. Get anyone you can out of the city." she gave the boy one last wink, then she hurried away. She ran across the pavement in a desperate rush. It was necessary that she sought out Ezio and Mario in order to get out of Monteriggioni. She quickly scanned the street, then she ran went to the front gave in hopes to hold it in.
"They've gotten in!" someone shouted from outside the gate. Before she could react, Atronia was thrown backward and landed hard on the ground. After making sure all parts of her were intact, she sat up. Her head throbbed and her vision blurred. She moved her hand to her head and when she took it down, her hand had blood stained on it. It took her a couple minutes, but she finally stood up as the dust cleared out.
All of a sudden, a dazed Mario walked through the smoke. Atronia's heart skipped a beat. He was wounded.
"Mario!" Atronia stumbled over to catch him before he hit the ground, "Mario, what happened?" She lowered him to a sitting position on the ground. She struggled to keep him upright and questioned him about what had happened outside. What she didn't even notice is that there was a new figure coming through the smoke. Once she noticed him it was far too late to do anything. He was looming over her, an amused smirk making him look like a prick. She had never seen this man before, but his stature was cocky. His short dark hair swayed in the breeze. Expensive golden-hilted weapons sat on his waist.
Atronia fell still as Caterina was dragged forward and another woman walked up to the man. Caterina looked terrified and turned her gaze hopefully towards her.
"Caterina!" Atronia exclaimed and began to run forward. This new character grabbed her by her arm and shoved her to the ground. She stood up quickly and tried to punch him as hard as she could. He stopped her arm and kicked the back of her knee. When she looked up, he managed to sock her in the eye. His hand still gripped her arm and gave it to one of the guards who seized her and pulled her away.
This new figure's name was Cesare Borgia, and Atronia hated him with every ounce of her being.
"Let me go, idioti!" she cried, pulling against the guards. Cesare chuckled at her efforts and went on with his business. Cesare Borgia called out for Ezio, urging him to come forward. He explained how the Pope had told him everything he needed to know.
"...and about this!" he pulled out a familiar object. The Apple of Eden.
No. she thought to herself, the skin around her eye beginning to bruise. He can't have it. She looked at her hands. She couldn't use her powers, not in front of the Borgia. He then went on to speak of bloodshed, how there had been too much of it.
"Right, as if you care at all about the lives of your enemies. You do not!" she snapped. One of the guards holding her back kicked her in the knee, forcing her down. Cesare smirked, quickly taking a gun from one of his henchmen.
"Let me consider this an invitation from my family," he hesitated, Atronia wriggled against her captors as the Borgia raised his gun to the sky, "to yours!" He aimed towards Mario. Atronia's heart nearly lept out of her chest. She struggled harder against the guards. Cesare hesitated a moment and fired.
"NO!" she screamed. No. Not again.
Her legs suddenly became useless underneath her, she fell to her knees. Rage swelled up inside her. She knew she couldn't use her powers, but nothing could stop her. Her intuition was depleted, painted over by a red layer of anger. The two guards holding her watched her as she sobbed.
They suddenly became afraid. Atronia could hear them begin to mutter between each other. Her hands were glowing gold. The gold made its way up their arms too, curving and swirling in different directions. It went into any space possible, eyes, ears, mouth. She yelled in grief again as she let go the power inside them. A moment later, they fell to the ground, pale and dead, as if they'd been that way more months.
Cesare stared wide-eyed. He was envious, Atronia could see it in his eyes.
"Leave her to wallow in her grief. Then kill her." his voice wavered, turned and began to walk away, leaving two heavily armored guards at her side. She crawled towards Mario. Her shaky hand pressed against his shoulder and shook him slightly.
"Mario?" she shook him harder, "Father! Please!" His glazed eyes stared up into space, the normal gleam of joy or sarcasm had faded into nothing. She let out a sob, resting her head on her father's chest. "Why did it have to be so soon? I only just found out!" Tears spilled down her face, landing on his chest.
Atronia looked up out of the gate. The dust had finally settled and the Borgia armies began to come forward to take siege of the city. She mildly contained herself, wiping the tears from her eyes. Kneeling down, she took the time to close Mario's glossy eyes.
"Requiescat in pace, Father." she sighed, new tears beginning to fall. She stood up, looking towards the gate, "This isn't the last time you will see me, Borgia." Atronia stood up, turned, and immediately killed the two guards waiting for her to be done. She then began to walk away from her father's body, attempting not to let more tears slip out of her already wet eyes.
She found herself walking slowly down an empty street, realizing she should probably find a safer place to be. The assassin then spotted two thieves dragging a body across the road, Ezio's body.
"No, no, no!" she panicked, sprinting over to them, "What… who… what happened?" The two thieves glanced at each other, then explained that he had gotten shot. All of a sudden, Ezio rushed to his feet, surprising both the thieves and Atronia.
"You're not dead?" one of them asked. Ezio said nothing, only stared at him momentarily then began making his way down the street.
"Ezio!" Atronia raced after him, "You do realize you are badly wounded, right?" He immediately turned to face her.
"Who do I need telling me? Certainly not the assassin who let my uncle die at the hands of Cesare Borgia!" he snapped. Atronia's heart was torn. Was it her fault? Did she let Mario die? Ezio sighed, "Forgive me." He turned away and started towards the villa. The two thieves and Atronia followed, making sure he didn't pass out. They found themselves confronted with Borgia's men. Atronia pulled out a sword and handed it to her brother.
"I assume you will need this?" she said. He grabbed it from her, nodding in thanks, then getting to work. They took out the guards in seconds, then rushed to find Claudia and Maria. Upon finding them, they immediately took towards the tunnels underneath the city.
"Wait, Ezio…" Claudia spoke up just as they were entering the tunnel, "Where is Atronia?" Atronia winced slightly, hating that her disguise actually worked with her own family.
"Do not worry, sister. She has gone to Firenze to help form a guild there." Ezio explained, "Just like you two. That is where you should go." They began to make their way through the tunnels. They went left and right until the family came into a clearing on the other side of the city, away from danger. A man immediately brought a horse to Ezio and herself, knowing they were going to Rome. Claudia and Maria knew it too.
"I ride to Roma. Go to Firenze, Claudia, take care of our mother." he told them, mounting his horse, "If you can, find Atti." Atronia looked up at him, surprised. She then realized that she could've given up her cover and immediately acted as if she had seen a bird. The two other Auditores glanced at her. Claudia was oblivious, but Maria would know her own daughter. She immediately knew that they wouldn't find Atronia in Florence.
The ride to Rome was as quiet as any ride Atronia had been on with her brother. There were rare to no words spoken between the two. Atronia occasionally popped out an 'Are you okay?' only to get a slight head nod as a response. She watched desperately as blood leaked out of his wound. She insisted they stop and wrap it as best as she could, but Ezio steadfastly refused. They had gone a day and half a night when Atronia couldn't take it anymore.
"Ezio, I do not care how idiotic you are, we are stopping here!" she drew her horse to a stop and Ezio cast an annoyed glance back at her.
"We have to make it to Rome." his voice was cracked, his throat sounded as dry as a desert.
"We will, idiota! In time we will get to Roma, just be patient." she urged, catching up to him and stopping her horse in front of his. He glared at her, fire in his gaze.
"Please move, Soldati, I do not want to waste any more time." he snapped. She grimaced at the name, but she continued to urge him to stop, his shirt stained with red made her extremely worried.
"Look, Ezio, I do not want to stop either, but we need to because blood is pouring from a hole in your shoulder! So if you want to live…" his eyes glazed over, "Ezio?" He didn't reply and slumped onto his horse's neck and began to slip off of the steed's saddle. "Ezio!" She jumped off of her horse. She landed wrong on her ankle. Pain flared up her leg but she ignored it. Atronia hobbled over to Ezio before he fell and caught him, falling to the ground at his surprising weight. She adjusted herself to a more comfortable position. She examined her ankle, which hurt every time she touched it. In one particular place, it hurt so bad she nearly screamed, only letting out a gasp. It began to swell up inside her boot, only causing it to hurt more.
She tried to ignore it and helped Ezio the best she could. Atronia moved them to the side of the road in hopes that no Borgia would pass. She carefully removed her boot after tending to Ezio's wounds the best she could. It was blue-colored, like her eye, and swollen, looking as if it would burst. She laid back, acknowledging they might die there. Dwelling on that thought, she slowly fell into a deep yet disturbing sleep.
There was the dream again. Wind, fire, a young girl. Then came the dreams of remembrance of her father's death. Over and over it tormented her as she slept She only was awoken when she felt a hand on her shoulder, gently wiggling her.
"Atronia! Wake up!" a familiar voice ventured its way into her ears. Her eyes slowly opened. It was dark on the path, night had fallen.
"Machiavelli? What… what are you doing here?" she wondered.
"More importantly, what are you doing here?" he replied. He helped her up into a sitting position. The swelling in her ankle had gone down, not much, but enough for it not to look horrible.
"It is…" her head began to throb at any sudden movements. She took a deep breath and continued, "It is hard to say. We could have made it further if he had not been such a stubborn idiot." He looked concernedly at his friend, she looked as if she'd gone through an ordeal. Her swollen black eye didn't help all that much.
"Atronia, what has happened?" Machiavelli persisted.
"Monteriggioni has been lost," she struggled through the phrase, "and so has Mario." She tried hard to contain her tears as they were on the brim of falling. He was silent for a moment, thinking through what she had just said. Suddenly, Machiavelli took her shaking hand.
"Atronia…" he started, "I am so sorry." She looked up at him and smiled slightly, letting the tears fall.
"And… I only just found out." she sobbed. Machiavelli pulled her into a hug. She'd never been so grateful to have him around. She only wished everything could be back to normal when everyone she loved was still alive.
"Atti," he said, "we need to get to Rome, very quickly." Ezio still lay unconscious beside them, losing time. They lifted him onto a horse and rode through the rest of the night until they reached Rome.
Atronia watched as the sun rose over the city, causing it to glow a bright white. Her hood protected her face from the blinding light. She watched as citizens began their daily walks into the city to run their errands. A small child skipped behind his mother. A man riding a horse attempted to keep his stallion on the main path.
She smiled at all the hustle and bustle of Rome. It reminded her of Florence when she was young. She would see certain people on their daily route to the florist or the bookseller.
So beautiful. she thought to herself, smiling. However, she frowned again, Yet so corrupted.
"Ms. Soldati," a voice came from behind her, breaking her out of her thoughts, "he's awake." She jumped off of the wooden railing she was sitting on and rushed into the house. Ezio was sitting up in bed, looking slightly confused.
"Ezio!" she rushed over and paused. Her intent was to hug him, but she changed her mind and switched to an Assassin solute. She placed her fist on her chest and nodded, "I'm glad to see you awake, Mentor." Ezio nodded in reply. He seemed confused. She gladly filled him in, "We are in Roma, Ezio. We gained some aid overnight."
"Grazie, Demetra," he replied, "you helped me get this far. You are a true assassin." He slowly let his legs dangle off of the bed, his feet planted on the floor. Atronia grimaced slightly. She knew what kind of assassin she was, as did Ezio, but she had gotten that praise long before he had just given it to her.
"The man gave me these clothes." the woman hosting them came up and handed Ezio some assassin's robes. Atronia helped in getting them on. "I advise you go to a doctor. I stopped the bleeding, but he will heal your wounds completely. There is one just down the hill."
"Grazie, madonna." Ezio staggered his way out of the house, Atronia following close behind. As he left, she turned back to the woman.
"Your payment will be here shortly, madonna. Grazie. We cannot thank you enough." she smiled, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. She nodded to Atronia in reply and the assassin followed her cousin out of the house.
They made their way to the doctor and as he was working on Ezio's wounds and prescribing medicine, Atronia explained their current mission.
"We must meet Machiavelli at the Mausoleo. He wished for us to make it there as soon as you were healed," she explained, standing with her arms folded across her chest. She constantly glanced around at the formations of Borgia guards, keeping a wary lookout for stray eyes.
Ezio was given his medicine and they moved off towards the Mausoleo. On their walk, Ezio noticed the gallows they passed. A man lay sobbing at the sight of a hanging woman, presumably his wife. There was a small group of guards close by, occasionally casting glances at him.
"We should see if he needs help…" Ezio trailed off as they passed.
"Ezio, we need to get to-"
"The best way to start ridding Roma of the Borgia can start with the citizens, Demetra. That's your first lesson from me."
"But Machiavelli said…" but he was already walking towards the man. "There he goes again," she muttered, "He's always off to save the day."
Announcement: 1) Sorry! I know I just posted this but I'm reposting! I had an idea and I wanted to see how it landed and I like it so yeah.
AH! AH! AH! I'M SO SORRY! AH! AH! Please, don't lose faith. I AM STILL HERE. Stupid school. I BLAME SCHOOL (and myself). Okay, well, I hope you liked the chapter (no matter how late it was). I will try to be more punctual in the future, a.k.a be less of an idiot. I really hope you guys didn't leave, crap. Alright, well, That's literally all I have to say… I hope you liked. Oh yeah! Don't forget to leave reviews and/or writing advice. I'd really appreciate it! Oh my gosh, I'm a fool. So sorry again, friends. Anyway, a very ashamed Melvick out.