Secrets in History.
By Kaimaler.
I find myself excited to write this latest chapter and to inform those who don't know about a game on Facebook called "Project Legacy" and it's based around the time of ACII and AC:B.
It's fun, addicting, and I'm still trying to beat it. :)
Vanessa/Daniel/Dog: YES.
Disclaimer: NO.
This was impossible.
People paraded around in large hooped gowns as if heading off to a costume party, men wore tights with capes; perfect for a convention dedicated to superheroes.
Then there were these annoying guards, whose swords and short tempers made Vanessa want to make them her friends, at least for the time being until she found a way to escape them.
Her dog, the young male hound who acted as if nothing was wrong in the slightest, just flicked his sights side to side, once at a fish stand, another at a passing man carrying a crate.
Vanessa needed a way out, she read about how strict the city guardsmen were, they wanted the city they lived in spotless, probably for the insurance that their families were safe too.
But here she was, a twenty-eight year old woman donned in a police uniform, trying to evade guardsmen.
Time to act, they were becoming impatient.
"Woman, where is your home?" The guard growled; with his new charge just standing in the middle of the street they began to attract unwanted attention from local civilians. Something this guard was intent on not letting happen. "Answer me woman or I'll throw you in the-!"
Vanessa turned on her heel, there were three guards, one ahead of her and two to her sides, no one expected a lady to run; even one wearing the most unacceptable fashions.
The guardsman was momentarily stunned by the sudden turn in events. It was safe for a man of his position to assume that this woman traveled here and his threat to throw her in a cell was actually where she belonged.
Most likely, a woman wearing trousers ran on roof tops; this foreigner had to be a thief, which is why she was sprinting away from them now.
"Get her!"
Vanessa heard the order from behind, the guardsmen would probably catch her, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She was thankful for the rush of adrenalin, she was shot by that drug dealer three times, the kevlar saved her each time, but the rainbow bruises that decorated her torso would've stopped her dead in her tracks if she didn't feel the necessity to survive so strongly.
Best bet was to get out of the city, but to escape the city she had to find open gates.
The ones she was running towards now were not open. A massive metal grating hindered any hope of her leaving the city and loosing the guards so soon.
There has to be a way in, so I just have to find it. She thought rather simply while her blood pumped through her body; it was a good thing she was very fit or else the guards behind her would've caught up to her by now.
She broke their line of sight multiple times, but nothing for longer then a few seconds. She wasn't moving fast enough or making enough turns through alleyways to lose them.
The hound at her side seemed to get this message quicker then she did when he ran shortly ahead of her and turned into an alley. Not wanting to be separated from her trusty partner, she followed him into the dark alley, jumping past people, a few dropping their supplies and cursing angrily at her while she ran away.
It wasn't until she saw a carriage that Vanessa knew she must've been near an exit.
As magnificent as escaping the city was, Vanessa also understood that to survive she'd have to stay around the city, for food, water, and possibly a way home.
Leaving the tall walls of Florence was a milestone in her escape plan, but the guards weren't interested in stopping there. She needed a way to hide from them until they ceased searching for her.
Her dog was a dead giveaway to her position; she'd either have to hide him too or hope that the guards got tired and gave up. Her lungs felt like ice, if she had decided to keep running she wouldn't have much more breath left in her to move forward, it was more likely she'd have to surrender before them.
Prison wasn't a preferable hotel; she had been inside a penitentiary before. Not the best experience and she was a police woman seeing to a criminal's security within it. Then thinking about a prison in another country, one over five hundred years in the past? She couldn't be caught; she'd never be free again.
Dodging behind a building, Vanessa looked for a door inside, a box, something to hide in or behind.
Then she saw it, a huge wagon of hay just piled up twice the size of the wagon carrying it. Gulping, Vanessa hoisted her overexcited hound into the hay bale before burying herself within the golden strands.
She pulled her dog down against his wishes; he was trained to listen to her no matter what, so he calmed down in the bottom of the hay bale with her. He looked around for something notable about the chosen hiding spot, but found nothing.
Vanessa held a hand around his body and his muzzle while she covered his body with hers. She willed her breathing to calm while she heard the clanking of the guards' armor and swords.
She screwed her eyes shut and held onto her dog for dear life, willing the guards to just stop looking for her and go away.
Daring herself to look outside the bale for the guards, Vanessa stole a quick glance through the hay; seeing the guards had left, Vanessa left the bale as her dog hopped straight out of it with her, shaking off the hay stuck to his fur.
"Okay, close." She sighed and buttoned up her uniform shirt, her kevlar vest hanging limp around her waist. She looked to her only company, her dog, in hope; "Got any bright ideas, Count?" The dog panted wistfully then barked... and finally ignored her presence completely. "Yeah, me too."
Stretching, Vanessa left from behind the small building just outside Florence.
Now, she had to deal with being transported into fifteen-century Italy. How though? She growled inwardly, taking a seat on a bench at the front of the building.
She remembered... reading a book. The Journal of R. Borgia, she could only assume the 'R' stood for the first Borgia pope on account of what was written on some of the pages; Rodrigo Borgia, he was also known as The Spaniard since Italians were so displeased when he was given the position as pope.
This Borgia would be alive today, she guessed. The Santa Maria Novella was completed in fourteen-seventy, which meant that she could be anywhere between then and the next century or two.
The Santa Maria Novella was still in top condition, telling Vanessa that she must be within its heyday.
Fifteenth-century Italy, but what year? How could she know? How could she ask a random person on the street without sounding like a loon and even getting an answer?
"It's alright, Ness, you can get outta' here." She rested her head in her hands, "Just have to... have to..." I don't even know how to get back. She pulled her hands down her face; she needed an idea, some spark of genius to even start trying to find a solid way home.
She needed a year first, more like wanted one, but she had to ask someone, or find something specifying the date.
Standing up, Vanessa stalked on with a purpose. She either needed some kind of historic newspaper, Yeah, that's genius alright, she huffed, or she'll have to risk scaring the local people.
Grudgingly standing from the comfort of the wooden bench, Vanessa looked skyward, the sun was setting, and telling her it was about time for her to find shelter rather then scrounge Florence for information.
She had to do something soon, the sun was setting and she hadn't a place to sleep. As it turns out, Vanessa found herself wandering back to the hay bale; it was soft and could keep her warm, no one tended to it since she first spotted it. She needed rest, when it was bright out, she could safely resume her search.
While she watched the sun going down, Vanessa took her time to try and learn to love the sight of Florence. If she had a way to get home, she wouldn't mind being in the fifteenth-century, but since she had no money, no shelter, and no way to get food or even clean water; Vanessa felt as though she was on a leash, restricted to only admiring notable sights she passed.
However, she was going to get home and now wasn't the time to run off into the dark, hoping she could navigate her way to the back alley she woke up in.
Of course, Vanessa was certain it wasn't an alley that transported her back in time.
It had to be that book, the journal of Rodrigo Borgia. She came upon the solution earlier, but now she began to wonder if the book was in the alleyway with her and could serve as her way home.
Vanessa remembered when she awoke, she saw the horse, the people, then guards, but she hadn't a chance to closely search her area for the journal. If she recalled correctly, she didn't have much time to think about anything before the guards showed up and dragged her away.
She could clearly see what had happened now that she took her time to think back.
The journal was translating itself, she wasn't doing it but her presence must've triggered something unknown within the pages. Count came up and began sniffing the book; he sensed something she was too enraptured by the contents of the book to notice. How was he dragged into the past with her?
Vanessa looked down to her overjoyed police hound. She could only guess that since she didn't actually do anything to pull them back in time that the book affected the area, yet it only took her and Count with it.
Could items be taken back with them? Or did the book need a life force to cause this massive jump to the past?
What the hell are you thinking Ness?She was ready to hop right back into the pile of hay after dropping her dog inside it once more. "It's just a book; it can't teleport people just because someone read it." Inside the hay bale, Vanessa snuggled up next to her trusty hound. "Something else had to have done this. Books aren't portals to history; they're just paper with ink."
Vanessa woke with a start. She quickly realized she was in a hay bale with Count half-asleep beside her.
How she wished she had just fallen asleep reading the journal in the locker room and she'd wake up to a co-worker and Daniel.
It was dark out, meaning she hadn't slept very long, but something else had woken her. It was bells ringing and people cheering wildly. Lifting herself out of the hay, Count jumping out behind her, she made her way to the gates and peered down the streets.
The noise was tremendous, something about it told Vanessa it wasn't just a festival, but a rare event the way some people joined in and other ran away.
Then, out of no where, a white horse was galloping towards Vanessa. Stunned but not bothered by the fleeing man, she stepped out of the way to let the older man pass without a problem. She stole a fleeting glance to the man, he was sweating profusely, it was clear he was frightened of something; probably whatever people were making so much noise about inside Florence.
Perhaps it wasn't a very enjoyable event after all.
Daring a trip into the city, Vanessa and Count cautiously walked deeper and deeper into the loud city hoping to cross no more guards.
The walk went smoothly until she turned a corner and found multiple bodies strewn across the bloody dirt. Shocked, she looked around quickly for whoever could have done this and found not a single person alive on the street.
Gulping, Vanessa was beginning to feel like it wasn't very safe. Again, she had a gun when they had swords, any fight that burst out she could easily win without trouble.
She left the street alone and took another to reach her destination.
After a few bodies, some people armed to the teeth with swords, arrows, and daggers who obviously slayed the guards, Vanessa managed to evade their murderous desired enough to reach a main square of Florence.
Vanessa never thought about it, she had studied history in school and did rather well. She liked learning the history of ancient civilizations and was glad she didn't live in a society like that; arranged marriages, forced classes, anything less then noble might as well have been dirt to the higher class. While one could lose rank, no one was ever allowed to gain it.
Unfair, cruel, demeaning. History wasn't known for its equality between people of all creeds.
Now Vanessa knew what year she was in, without a doubt. The stories about the Pazzi conspiracy still spread far and wide, it wasn't a secret that they hated Lorenzo de' Medici because he held Florence in his hands while they wallowed in self pity.
It was fourteen seventy-eight and this year marked the end of the Pazzi conspiracy with Francesco de' Pazzi's death by hanging on the edge of the Pallazo della Signoria.
The noise was coming from the many battle worn men who cheered at the death of Francesco atop the Pallazo della Signoria.
She wasn't very easily startled by death; she'd seen it a few times in the city that never sleeps with one of the highest crime rates known. This was butchery for the sake of it. Vanessa understood quite well what would've happened had the Pazzi's plan succeeded, but this form of hate towards even the foulest of men was unacceptable.
Yet she had no control over history, this would play out, the Pazzi name would be destroyed. She was thrilled now more then ever that she wasn't born in this time, that history had no hold over her freedom and she was still a single woman with a dog, an apartment, her own money, and her own job.
Vanessa wanted to get away from such a disgusting sight and turned around to leave the city once again. She was right beforehand, it was best not to even drag herself inside to see what the commotion was about.
At least she knew what year it was now.
Later, outside of the city, Vanessa found herself quite tired. She hadn't slept but a maybe a couple hours as it was dark and showed no signs of light just yet. With the commotion inside the city, she couldn't go back to the hay bale to sleep; it was too... unsettling to say the least.
Vanessa remained mostly unaware of the person exiting the city gates. Only after she heard a horse neigh in reply to sudden weight did she look behind her to see the cream spotted horse begin trotting off on the whim of its new rider.
She looked upward to see the white robed man begin walking past her. She watched as she looked onto him with fascination.
Something was familiar about this man, not him personally, but something on him. She wanted to know; she had to know what pulled her eyes to him.
Certain he could feel her scrutinizing gaze; Vanessa started to walk towards another horse nearby as if to feed it, or to ride it.
She had to know.
It wasn't until he was close enough to her that Vanessa spotted what exactly made her feel like she had seen him before. It wasn't subtle on his robes; in fact, it was printed loud and proud all over his clothing.
A symbol adorned his red and white robes; the very same symbol Vanessa saw in Borgia's journal. It was drawn along side of many names, Giovanni, Ilario, Atlair, Ezio, Fredrico, Mario, and a few others who all seemed to relate to one another. It was that symbol that each one was connected to, though a few names were from completely different origins, she knew they were all entwined with the other.
He noticed her, she could tell. How he stopped, how he looked back at her. That told them both everything they needed to know, almost. It puzzled the man on horseback why such an oddly clothed woman was questioning him just because he was near her.
The two didn't speak, but Vanessa knew hiding her interest of the man would only make her look foolish.
She bit her lip, she wanted to speak up, ask him about Borgia, if he knew the same things Borgia did and if so; would he know of a way to return her? After all, his symbol was mentioned in the journal of a man who made it out that the men with this symbol were very important to him.
Either in spite, or love, Vanessa hadn't a clue. She just wanted to go home.
He was her ticket.
Okay, wow, so many reviewers. I'm so verythrilled that I can't even begin to explain it! This story has already bypassed the ACII story it replaced by four reviews! I'm to excited to continue I can't stop writing more every moment I get the chance.
So here's what I do for anyone who reviews:
Review Replies:
flyingcrispi:Hee hee, Amish. I never really thought about their beliefs a lot, but I actually can understand why they turn technology away. I mean, somethings are great; medical advances, science, how it effects civilization directly is really cool.
Then you have weapons, armed vehicles, nuclear warfare, people fighting over fossel feuls, enviromental pollution, the death of our ecosystem.
Thank you technology.
In the past, we rode horses who only asked for oats, apples, water, and a rest in return for their hard work. Carriages that required no fuel and produced no unhealthy compounds into the air.
We never had to worry about how the enviroment was fairing; we weren't doing anything to harm it, just going through life using what we had.
Of course, now we have global communication, the best medical attention in history, and the ability to see the greatest human acheivements on this planet. We can talk to other people miles away, watch events that happened years ago before our eyes.
It's a double-bladed sword. Useful, nice, but dangerous and deadly when used for greed. I'm not Amish, duh, but it is something to think about in life.
Anyways, thanks for your review. Bet you weren't expecting me to go all serious down on you, huh? :D
I'm a random person, I just love being bipolar. I'm glad you've enjoyed the first chapter! I hope this one is just as good, if not, better!
Mazzax: Count, as I have decided to call him, was not "interacting", so to speak, with the journal. But then again, who said you had to be reading it to be thrown into the past? I wish real books did that, I would be scanning through books right now if that were possible. :P
I'll explain as time goes on, of course, it's more interesting that way, isn't it? I thought so.
I've planned a decent explanation as to why Vanessa's been tossed like a rag doll into 1478. I think it's a very good detailed reason, but some times people don't feel the same.
I'm not going to lie, it'll be a secret to... near the end of this story, but you'll either guess it yourself or wait until Vanessa learns so you can too. In any case, I am very glad you're enjoying the story, it's been so fun to create that I just had to publish it before the idea escaped me.
Mignight Lullabye: Yes, I figure if your a police you have to have a "take no shit" attitude or else a lot of questionable folk will use your good heart to their advantage. Vanessa's a tough gal, but not a feminist who acts like a man. She's just "Vanessa" and no one can talk her out of being a hard woman to talk to.
Oh yeah, she'll be... colorful later on. :)
I look forward to dropping cliffhangers your way, I plan on doing it a lot because I'm an evil author who loves to torture her readers. For now, I'm happy knowing people like my ACII story so much that I have five reviews on the very first chapter.
I was so amazed I had to hurry up and write this one.
Kudomeya: Well then, if there's anything you need to help you understand the story better (characters, assassinations, places, years, etc) then ask away. I know about all there is to know on Assassin's Creed, both the first and it's sequel. Though I'm yet to play Brotherhood, I do know what it entails as to how the story progresses.
I do suppose it'd be best if you know what The Apple, The Staff, and The Vault is seeings how those three control the story and Vanessa. Mostly. :)
I love your reviews! I love that you like my story, in time I hope you like it more and more! :D
crystalfeathers: ;D