I do have to give props to SchmEthan for his beta'ing. DESPITE hating Assassin's Creed/XBOX/Anything that isn't Nintendo/Star Fox - he beta'd this. Even though metaphorical tea was in order. :3 Short and sweet, but enjoy!

Its not enough, it never is, I tell myself - I can take this.
I Fight Drgaons - Welcome To The Breakdown

March 16th, 1500. Rome

La Volpe Addomentata was suffering from a hangover. Its customers groaned as they woke up in their own drool, limbs feeling heavy and their heads pounding. Some lugged themselves to their feet and limped from the inn – while others simply groaned and called for more beer.

Except for one strangely dressed lump at the back. He hadn't had anything to drink the previous night, but slumped at his bench, placed his head on his arms and fallen into a very deep sleep – almost a coma.

The strangely dressed lump was named Ezio Auditore da Firenze. And he had the perfectly sensible idea of sleeping in a place where a sleeping man would not go amiss. In a tavern. He was no different to the snoring man across from him, who was giggling in his sleep, other than the fact he was wearing elaborate robes that marked him as the Maestro of the Assassin Brotherhood.

There wasn't an awful lot of sleep to be had for an Assassin. So little, in fact, that any opportunity to sleep without the risk without waking up to a knife in the back was welcomed without question. Well, with La Volpe Addomentata doubling as the thief hideout, a knife would most probably end up in a back, but as long as it wasn't his, Ezio couldn't care less.

He'd been chasing the Borgia for too long now. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't getting any younger. Rest was a necessity now, not an option.

And so, he slept on amongst the drunkards and thieves.

A man appeared in the doorway leading upstairs, leant there, and watched Ezio sleep. His garb was similar to Ezio's – except orange, but he also favoured the hood for the means of concealing his identity.

If you're going to be the head of the thieves, you may as well do it with style.

La Volpe moved forward and, laying a hand on the Assassin's shoulder, gently nudged him awake.

'Ezio. Ezio, come on.'

Ezio sat bolt upright, far too in tune to his surroundings already, remembered where he was, and then groaned, covering his eyes with his hand.

'Forgive me,' he murmured, in the gravelly voice of a man who had just had nine hours sleep and still needed ten more.

'There is nothing to forgive,' La Volpe said, waving the apology away. 'We all understand how tired you are. You need the rest.'

'I never needed it, back in Venezia,' Ezio said, pushing his fingers into his eyes. 'Tell me, is old age a thing that happens to everyone?'

La Volpe smiled sadly. 'I'm afraid so.'

'Merda,' Ezio summarised. 'Yesterday, I didn't spot a guard until a crossbow bolt went past my ear. I'm going to get myself killed before I get my hands on the Apple.'

'We are closer than ever before to getting it,' La Volpe encouraged. 'Soon, it'll be over.'

'When this is all done, I plan to rebuild the Villa,' Ezio said, smiling quietly. 'And chase girls well into my nineties.'

La Volpe laughed. 'Sounds like a plan.'

Ezio got to his feet, and winced as his limbs remembered the night he had spent sleeping awkwardly. 'I have to leave now. Leonardo wishes to meet me – he has a new Codex weapon for me.' He looked sombrely to the single brace on his wrist. 'It's been a hard while without them.'

La Volpe reached out and grasped his arm. 'Buona fortuna, Ezio.'

Ezio returned the gesture. 'And to you, La Volpe.' And, ensuring his dagger, sword and single blade were in his possession, he opened the door and went out into Roma. The smell of fresh air hit him first, and he took a deep breath. He then suddenly felt as though something was wrong. Quite wrong. He could feel it – it was almost as if every particle of his being was either trembling or fighting another. He shuddered, and looked up at the sky.

Maybe a storm was on the way. The sky did look a little grey.

Putting it out of his mind, Ezio found his horse and stroked its muzzle absently before seizing the reins and hauling himself on. It pawed the ground anxiously and, with a nudge of Ezio's knees, took off into Roma.

OH FIRST EVER TIME WRITING ANYONE ANCESTORY! D: Hopefully I got Ezio and La Volpe right, but I'll leave it up to you guys D: Review! *Heart with hands*