"Mentor!" Atronia caught up to Ezio after speaking to Machiavelli. Ezio looked annoyed, but he didn't say anything. "I do not think you have to worry. There will be another chance to kill the Borgias, I guarantee it."
"Sí, but now Machiavelli is angry as always," he replied, sounding more grumpy than usual. Atronia chuckled.
"Do not worry about Machiavelli, Ezio. He is stressed with the work it takes to run the Brotherhood, even more now that… Mario is gone." she attempted not to choke on her words, but it seemed to happen every time Mario entered a conversation.
Ezio stopped mid-stride. She paused, regretting what she said.
"Are you trying to stress me out?" he growled.
"I apologize. I realize it is a sensitive subject, even with myself," she noticed that as she was speaking that Ezio became distracted, gazing around with a confused look on his face. She ignored him, "and I do realize I have made a mistake." All of a sudden she had to keep tears from leaking out of her eyes. Unsure of the reason why, she coughed then cleared her throat.
"Demetra, do be quiet for one moment." he held up a finger, motioning for her silence. She closed her mouth, helping Ezio in his intent listening mode. She noticed what he was hearing as soon as it was quiet.
"Ezio! Over here! Quickly!" a small voice was heard through the bustle of bystanders.
"I think it is coming from that way," Atronia whispered, pointing down a small staircase leading towards a courtyard. They blinked at each other, wary it might be a trap. "I will go first," she said, keeping one hand on the hilt of her sword. Upon reaching the courtyard, she felt her shoulders becoming more and more tense. A small box drew her attention, Ezio stood right behind her.
"Ezio!" the voice came from behind them this time. Atronia drew her sword and held it up to their adversary's throat in one fluid motion.
Oh… no. I thought. This is going to be interesting.
To Atronia's surprise, a panic-stricken Leonardo da Vinci stood cowering under her blade. She thought of lowering her blade, but she tried her hardest not to break character in her shock. After the initial surprise, her stomach began to become unsettled.
Does he know? He cannot know.
"Demetra, he is a friend. Stay your blade." she inched away, sheathing her sword and taking a few steps back. Leonardo straightened, staring warily at her.
"Ezio! I am sorry to startle your friend. Demetra was it?" Leo said, glancing at her. She only nodded, afraid to reveal herself.
After a moment of silence, Atronia found a way to cover herself even more, "Ezio, are you sure we can trust this man? I heard a herald say he was working for the Borgia." Ezio glanced at Leonardo, whose face went red with embarrassment.
"Leonardo, please tell me that is not true," Ezio said, putting his hands on his hips.
"Trust me, Ezio, when I say that I had no choice. They would have done terrible things to me had I refused," he hesitated, standing more upright and becoming more determined, "and I could not let that happen, Ezio. I…" he stopped himself, becoming troubled again. He slumped his shoulders and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Leonardo, what is wrong?" her brother wondered, placing a hand on the engineer's shoulder. Leonardo looked at Atronia as if neglecting to say something in front of her.
"I have a family to look after now, Ezio. There is a child." he sighed. Ezio froze, his shoulders becoming immediately stiff. He knew Atronia had had a child, but he had no idea she had neglected to tell Leonardo.
"With?" Ezio acted cluelessly. Leonardo glared at him.
"Who do you think 'with', you idiota?" he muttered, slapping Ezio on the chest. He rubbed his tired eyes with his hands, letting out another stressed sigh.
"How, uh, how do you know that this child is in fact yours?" Ezio chuckled.
"She has Atronia's hair and my eyes." Ezio acted unconvinced, "Her name is Alessa, a name Atronia and I had talked about a lot." The two continued their conversation, whirring back and forth about how this child probably wasn't Leonardo's. Atronia slipped up the stairs as the two were distracted. Not distracted enough, however.
"Demetra!" she stopped, trying to hide the tears running down her face. "Where are you going? We still have work to do." Ezio called, taking a couple steps to her. She cleared her throat before speaking.
"I have other matters to attend to rather than meeting up with old friends. Forgive me messere da Vinci, but I must be going," she replied, half turning so that they could see her wave them away. She continued walking away, later having it transition into a run. After making sure she wasn't followed by either of them, she fell against a wall and slumped down onto the ground. She let the tears flow their quiet route down her cheeks and buried her face into her sleeve.
How had he ever seen her? Why did he have to had found out? So many questions flew through her head and emotions flooded her heart. Regret, pain, confusion. A few minutes passed of her quiet sobs echoing across the pavement when she stood up, cleaning her stained face of tears. She decided she would seek out Alessa and find out how she'd gotten to Rome. Atronia made her way to the Tiber Island hideout.
Upon her arrival, Machiavelli entered the foyer.
"Atronia! Welcome back!"
"Where is she?" Atronia said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Mi dispiace?"
"My daughter! Where in Roma is she, Machiavelli? And why is she here?" Atronia continued.
"How did you find out about this?"
"It does not matter, Niccoló! Where is she?" she snapped. He sighed, dropping his shoulders.
"Aye, Atronia. You were not supposed to know," he hesitated but broke under Atronia's glare, "she was being trained by Volpe today. She will be about in the city. Volpe told me that they would be near here. Atronia, I am sorry we-"
"Enough," she growled, "it does not matter now." She turned to leave but Machiavelli grabbed her arm.
"Atronia, please listen, it was for your own good. We did not want you to become distracted. We are so close to getting the Borgia!" Machiavelli urged, pulling her closer. She neglected to meet his gaze and an uneasy rock landed in her stomach. She fought the urge to get closer and wrenched her arm from his grip.
"Atronia…"
She turned and exited the hideout, letting the uneasy rock dissolve. Too many emotions were flying through her head, this wasn't a good time to talk with Machiavelli, someone who she had grown close to. She climbed the building to find Volpe, distracting herself so that a new set of tears wouldn't begin to fall down her face.
Finding Volpe wasn't hard considering he was standing on top of the hideout as if waiting for her.
"Ah…" he said, forgetting her pseudonym, "Deta?" She chuckled.
"Demetra, messere." she smiled. He nodded back, then whistled for his students to return.
"How is the mission with the Borgia going?" Volpe initiated conversation while three students climbed up around them.
"About as slow as I would suspect it to go," she replied irritatedly.
"Unfortunate." he replied, turning to the apprentices, "Students, meet Demetra Soldati de Siena. She is here to help Master Auditore with the elimination of the Borgia." The three placed their fists on their chests in salute. She repeated the act back to them.
"Grazie, Volpe. It is good to meet all of you," butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She immediately recognized which one was Alessa but decided not to acknowledge it, "What are your names?"
"Ilario Pecora, madonna. A pleasure to meet you." the first student piped up as soon as she had asked.
"Alessa Auditore, madonna…" as soon as she had affirmed her name, anything the third student intended to say was blurred into the back of her mind. Everything seemed to fade around her and all focus was on her daughter.
"Demetra?" Volpe's voice interrupted her deep thoughts. She noticed that Alessa was giving her a strange look. Clearing her throat, she apologized.
"Forgive me, students. I shall let you return to your training. A pleasure to meet you all." she began walking away.
"Go back to what you were doing, I am going to speak with Demetra for a moment." Volpe ordered then turned and grabbed Atronia's wrist, "Where do you think you are going so fast?"
"Forgive me, Volpe, I just needed confirmation. I know what I must do now," she said, hanging her head.
"Atronia, do not be mad at us. Do you understand why we did not tell you Alessa was in Roma?" Volpe said, releasing his grip on her wrist and placing a hand gently on her shoulder. She nodded.
"Yes, I believe I understand. I do not blame you, mi amico. Thank you for letting me see her. Keep a close eye, please."
Volpe nodded and let her walk away and leap into a haystack at the base of the building.
Atronia stood rigid in front of the doorway, her shaking fist hovering only a couple of inches from the wood. She stared at the chipping fibers, waiting for them to jump off and poke her in the eyes. His footsteps echoed from inside the workshop, just as she remembered in Venice.
With all the courage she could muster, she laid a soft tap on the door, just enough for the engineer to hear. The footsteps fell to a stop and started again, but with a lot more haste than previously. Something fell to the floor, causing a slight grin to show on her face. He always seemed to be dropping something.
The door opened with a flurry. The first thing Atronia noticed was that Leo had grown a beard, something she hadn't paid any mind to at the courtyard. He seemed surprised to see her.
"Oh, Demetra! You are not the person I was expected to see." he grinned a sheepish smile, letting her inside.
"I am sorry I came uninvited," she replied, examining the workshop around her. It was clean besides the shattered jar on the floor. This was quite unlike Leonardo, to keep a neat workshop. She walked to the jar, kicking a shard lightly with her foot.
"Is there something I can help you with, Demetra? I did not expect you to visit here. You seemed to have other things on your mind earlier today when we met. It seems like you do now too. Did I say anything to offend you?" he said, walking behind her. Atronia turned to face him, keeping her head ducked so that he couldn't fully see her face. He continued to ask questions. She watched his lips move, his beard sway as his jaw shifted up and down.
"Since when did you have such a beard, Leonardo?" she interrupted his questions, removing her hood. They stood a moment in silence, Leonardo gaping in awe at Demetra, who suddenly appeared as his lost wife. She had expected immediate excitement from Leo. He only stood staring, unable to speak a word to her. The silence became awkward and Leo cleared his throat to speak.
"It has been too long," he muttered. She could see tears in his eyes. She could see some joy, but he covered it up with disappointment and tears.
"I cannot imagine what you must think of me," she played with her hands. She neglected to make eye contact with him, only glancing around his face. It was silent again. The quiet ate away at Atronia's patience, "Please, Leonardo, say something!" He looked up at her, his eyes narrowing.
"What do you want me to say, Atronia?" his voice became harsh, "You leave my life every other year!" Atronia was shocked, looking up at his fiery eyes.
"Le-Leonardo…"
"And then, you do not tell me about my own daughter?" he shouted this time. She took a step back. All of his arguments were valid, but this was different compared to the reaction she had expected.
"Please, just listen, I intended to tell you-"
"When? When you were to tell me you were alive? When you became Atronia Auditore again and not some fake assassin? When were you to tell me, Atronia, once you had been forced to reveal yourself to me?"
"Leonardo… I chose to tell you now!" she cried.
"Only because you found out I knew about Alessa because you were Demetra!" he accused, stepping away. She'd never seen Leonardo this angry, it scared her.
"I would have come back to you, Leonardo, I love you!"
He leaned over a table across the room. He chuckled at her comment.
"If you loved me, you would have stayed around to help me raise our child." Atronia could feel tears welling in her eyes, her heart skipped a beat in her chest.
"I am sorry? To help raise our child?" Atronia snapped. "Where were you when I was giving birth to our child? Where were you while Alessa experienced her childhood? Where? Working for the Borgia! That is where you were!" Angry tears rolled down her cheeks and onto her cloth uniform. He had turned to look at her.
"Do you think I had a choice to work with the Borgia? Do you think I could just say no to the murderers? When I agreed to help them, the only thing I could think about was how disappointed I knew you would be, but then I met Alessa. At least we have something on each other now."
"At least I had the guts to accept that it was selfish of me not to tell you! At least I knew I had to reveal myself to you! You were the selfish one by not telling me how you agreed to join them." she heard herself scream those works and immediately regretted it. He stared at her and she stared back, the only thing in between them was anger. Once again the room fell into silence.
"Leave," he growled. She was startled.
"What?"
"Leave," he repeated, looking up at her. His eyes pleaded with her to stay. There was something in his gaze that determined that he didn't want her to and that he didn't mean anything he said. At that point, Atronia didn't believe it anyway.
"Fine." she muttered, "Perhaps we can speak again."
"I would not count on it."
Atronia walked through the streets of Rome, angry tears quietly dripping down her face. She shoved everyone in her path, shoulders hunched. The chirp of a pigeon drew her attention from the street to a coop on the nearest roof. She climbed up and grabbed one of the birds from the cage. A small piece of parchment was tied to its foot.
Demetra and Ezio,
As I have heard, Leonardo da Vinci has built machinery for the Borgia. I am assigning you both to destroy the machines he has made. The first contraption is in Colli Albani and it is being managed by an inside man. Destroy the machine and kill the Borgia associate within the next few days and be quick about it, we have other things to worry about. If you get word of where another of these weapons may be, let me know as soon as possible.
N.M.
Atronia tucked the note into her pocket and made her way for the southern gate of Rome. Upon arrival, she saw Ezio leaning against a wall playing with a dagger.
"Where have you been?" he smirked, standing up and sheathing his knife. When she didn't reply, his smile faded, "I am sorry I asked." She let out an irritated sigh.
"It has just been a rough day, Ezio, that is all," she muttered. He nodded, prodding hesitantly at a conversation topic.
"Shall we get going?" he suggested. She nodded and took the reigns of one of the horses sitting around the corner. Ezio took the other and they walked out of the gate to Colli Albani.
Ezio and Atronia looked over the edge of a small drop into the small village of Colli Albani. They had produced a plan on the short day ride there. Ezio would find and burn the plans, Atronia would take out the middleman.
"Ready, Demetra?" he looked intently at her. She met his gaze and nodded, holding out an arm for him to grab. He did so and nodded in return. She ran forward, leaping into the haystack below, Ezio following a few seconds later.
From there they split, moving in two directions to find their targets. Atronia jumped on the rooftops, gazing into the streets below to find her victim. Using her senses, she found a man wearing a dark red cloak hovering over a table. She climbed down the building next to where he was, hiding behind a stack of boxes.
Atronia peered up and down the streets, keeping an eye out for curious guards.
"Sir, these are the messages that the Borgia have sent today." a guard had appeared, standing next to the hooded figure.
"Mmm, thank you." the man replied, fondling the envelopes. Atronia furrowed her brow in confusion. This man's voice sounded too familiar.
"What is our next course of action then, messere?" the guard replied, walking with the hooded man as he stepped away from the table. She followed while hiding behind posts or in hay bales.
"I shall return to Rome. The assassins will not know what hit them when we pull out this contraption. I am glad I have gotten this deep into their ranks. I know their every next move." the man snickered then walked away. Atronia unsheathed her hidden blade and ran out, sticking the guard next to him straight in the side. The man jumped back in surprise, nearly dropping his letters. Upon straightening herself, Atronia stood and walked towards him, preparing to strike. He seemed shocked to see her.
"Ah, Atronia Auditore." he breathed. She stopped in her tracks.
"How do you-"
"Do not bother, dearest." he growled, "You will not live to see me again. Guards!" As he ran away, she pointed her hidden pistol at him but didn't shoot in fear it was someone she knew.
She ran after him, dodging fire from rooftop guards. This man was fast, too fast for her to catch. She swore silently to herself, watching him turn a corner. Deciding that she wouldn't be able to catch him, she became anonymous to the guards, then proceeded to find Ezio who was busy burning the plans.
"Ezio!" she exclaimed in a hushed voice, "Are you almost done?"
"Sí, did you kill the accomplice?" he asked. When she hesitated, his eyes narrowed, "You let him get away?!" Atronia was ready to make some kind of excuse. She hesitated, she didn't have a valid excuse.
"I…" she was interrupted by an alerted guard. "I think we should go." She turned to see a guard preparing to fire at them. He was aiming straight for Ezio's head. "Look out!" she yelped, leaping at him and sending the both of them toppling over. The bullet flew past them and hit the wall, creating a small hole where Ezio's head would've been. Atronia leaped up, lending a hand to Ezio.
They were running down the street when something caught Atronia's eye.
"Ezio! Is that the gun?" it was sitting on a carriage a couple of yards away from them. Ezio looked back at her, giving her a mischievous grin. They jumped onto the carriage, Ezio taking the reigns and Atronia manning the gun. A group of guards began running after them while repeating unsavory curses. Atronia fired a warning shot at their feet. The group came to a sudden halt. She gave them a couple of words of her own.
They raced out of the city and assumed they were clear. For a couple of minutes that was true. Atronia sat rigid in the back, watching for any signs of enemies. A flash of red drew her attention. Through the trees, she could see an armed horseman gaining on them.
"Prepare yourself, Ezio. Things are about to get a lot more complicated." Using a majority of her strength, she moved the gun to where the horseman was riding. Along with his on and off flash of red, more began to join. Horror struck as they breached the forest, a whole squadron was exposed in front of her. As soon as they were open, she fired on them. The gun was surprisingly effective. She was rather enjoying using it. To interrupt her moment of joy, Ezio spoke up,
"Atronia, you are going to want to turn that thing the other direction." a hailstorm of bullets passed them. As quick as she could, she turned the gun and began firing at a new group of guards. She cleared out all but three, who kept persisting and shooting.
"How much longer till I do not have to hold off these idiotas anymore, Ezio?"
"Not too long!" he called back. A bullet whizzed past her head. She noticed a guard aiming for Ezio.
"Ezio! Look out!" she scrambled forward, pulling her brother down. The bullet she blocked blasted through her thigh. She yelped but moved back to shoot down the last three.
"Demetra!" Ezio shouted, "What happened?"
She didn't reply and was biting her shirt to hold back a scream. She remained ready to fire even when Ezio stopped the carriage. He crawled back to examine her wound. She was breathing heavy and didn't even dare to look at it. Her gaze was trained on the path behind them.
"Demetra," he started.
"Be quiet," she held up a hand to silence him, "we're not alone yet." A rustle came from the trees to their right, she moved the gun left and fired once, hearing a thump. She quickly turned to the right and found the other sniper, bringing him down. "We should get out of here while we still can and destroy this." Ezio nodded and moved back to the reigns, urging the horses forward. A new group of horsemen escaped the trees. This time they advanced quicker than she could shoot. One of them jumped from his horse to the carriage and aimed his rifle at her head. Using her good leg, she kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying off. Another from behind grabbed her arms and attempted to throw her off.
"Ezio! Keep going!" she yelled, grabbed the man behind her and jumped off of the carriage, landing on top of her opponent. The chaos echoed away down the path, Ezio gazed back at her in fear as the group disappeared behind a clump of trees. She rolled off of the guard, who was incapacitated. Moaning, she held her head as she sat up, waiting for the nausea of an upcoming concussion to settle down.
"Dio Mio…" her vision faded in and out, her consciousness slipping. Before she passed out, she did all she could to move out of the middle of the road then collapsed.
The soft clop of a horse's hooves on the gravel road caused her to finally open her eyes. She felt a strange heat on her back, but even without opening her eyes she could tell it was nighttime. Flickering her eyes open, she noticed Rome was only a couple of miles away.
How did I get to Rome? she wondered, thinking through the past few events. She had passed out on the side of the road. Ezio had been getting chased away…
"Ezio!" she exclaimed. The heat on her back adjusted. The clop of the horse stopped. She noticed two arms wrapped around her waist.
"Good morning, Atronia." Ezio murmured into her ear, careful not to speak too loud. She smiled at knowing he was safe.
"Thank goodness," she let out a sigh, then immediately stiffened. Her arm reached for where her hood should've been. "Oh no."
"Oh no indeed, sister." she could tell he was smirking. He leaped off of his horse, offering her a hand down. He tied the horse to a post and walked back to Atronia, who stood hanging her head. He grabbed her arm and wrapped it over his shoulder for aid in walking. Her head started spinning and her thigh burned with every step, but she made it to a soft grassy hill where Ezio helped her sit down.
"You know, Atti… you really do not tell me anything. Ever." he chuckled. The two gazed up at the stars, both finding constellations but never pointing them out.
"I know," she replied, "but this time, I did it for my family's safety, not my own. I have a power that I do not understand, the Borgia think they can harness it. If they were to get a hold of my family… Ezio, I do not know what I would do." Her brother was quiet for a moment, allowing the silence of the night to envelope the two.
"I am not angry, Atti. I just miss you when you are gone… or at least, kind of gone." he said, grabbing her shoulder.
She gave him a smile and a nod, "I know brother. I do too."
Announcements: Obviously, I have no excuses… Besides school! Don't forget school! This year has been busier than ever. Still, instead of playing video games, maybe I should write more. Hehehe. I'm really excited about this chapter and it ended up being very long, I mean, at least longer than they usually are. I hope a lot of you stayed… It's been way too long, but I've been developing a plot for a possible Black Flag fanfic, and it's been getting me inspired! I hope to be continuing this and Manhunt as soon as possible. Thanks for everything guys! Melvick out. Peace!