Secrets in History.
By Kaimaler.
Oh noes, I am sooo sorry guys but it's about time updates started slowing down. This is what I call a "Directory Chapter" where all that happens is that we move our characters from one place to another. Back in Monteriggioni, things will start right back up again, but now that I have to refocus on chapters of my other two stories; less frequent updates for this one.
Awww, I know! I know! I suck, I really do! But since this is a relaxing story for me to write, chapters will be published faster then those of my other stories.
Much faster, like, days faster or something. :)
Disclaimer: In another universe? Maybe. Here? Now? No, nope, no way no how, dreams don't come true.
However, Vanessa, Daniel, and Count are my works. So is Rodrigo's journal, but hey, who knows, maybe he did have a journal?
"Leonardo!" Ezio came in the door abruptly, Vanessa being supported by his arm around her back and another holding up her forearm. "She needs help."
"Goodness Ezio, what happened?" Leonardo was surprised by the suddenness, but ignored it all to help Vanessa into his workshop.
Leading her to a chair in front of his fireplace, Ezio shook his head. "Nothing, she tells me she was wounded before she even arrived in Firenze, before she met me or uncle." Leonardo was kneeling in front of her, seeing where her hands held her torso. "It's nothing really, I've been shot before."
"Shot?" Leonardo gasped, "What have you done to protect the wounds, should I get bandages to replace old ones?" He asked quickly, taking her hands away from sore spots and applying pressure on various areas of her torso, attempting to judge the damage based on reaction. "Nothing! Guys, I'll live, it's just bruises; I've been shot dozens of times, it comes with high crime rate."
"Bruises? The wounds have already closed and yet they still ail you?" He seemed not to get the idea, "No I mean, in the future, there's a vest made to counter bullets; to stop them before they penetrate the skin. It's called kevlar; I was wearing one at the time but... Jeez, you never get used to being shot even with it on, that's for sure. I was lucky Count was there, he stopped the guy before he got away." Vanessa smiled to Count who instantly began wagging his tail and panting.
Leonardo paused a moment, his mind alight with new knowledge. "Then what has you in such distress?" He asked more calmly knowing she wasn't actually mortally wounded relaxed him somewhat.
"Like I said, it doesn't completely stop the bullet; it just makes sure you don't die." Vanessa lifted her upper body using her hands on the armrests of the chair to fix herself in a better position. Immediately Ezio and Leonardo jumped to steady her, "I'm fine guys, really, don't worry. Ezio just started yanking me through alleys so it started to hurt."
"Well, you're in my hands now; I'll take care of you until you leave." Leonardo rose from Vanessa and took off for supplies from around his workshop. "Actually Leonardo, I was wondering if you could watch over her while I conclude some business I have within Firenze, it must be done before I leave. I understand if you say no since it is on such short notice."
"No Ezio, I do not mind." Leonardo smiled to Ezio, "When should I expect your return?"
"Late I fear. Though I do intend to return before it becomes too late, I wouldn't want her presence to keep you up Leonardo." Said man came right up, supplies nearly dropping onto the floor as he rushed to Vanessa's side. "Think nothing of it Ezio; I'm sure she won't be a problem in the slightest."
Ezio wanted to see the extent of the damage before he left her with Leonardo.
"Signorina, I must see what is harming you so I may make it more tolerable until it heals." Leonardo set the supplies one right after another on the table nearby.
Vanessa shrugged and unbuttoned her over shirt, carefully pulling it off her arms and setting it over the armrests of the chair. "It's not bad Leonardo, I promise, just something I have to work with until it goes away."
"I know what you mean; I simply want to make sure you suffer as little as possible." Leonardo took two items with him, bandages and a cloth he packed with ice and tied the ends closed. Leonardo caught sight of discoloration on her shoulder and squinted, as if trying to get a better look.
Sighing, Vanessa leaned forward and slowly started to pull off her tank top, getting aid from Leonardo who took the shirt from her and set it aside.
"Mio dio!" Leonardo saw the extent of damage, the multicolored bruises staining her skin. "This vest mustn't be very good." Leonardo tried to identify the sources, the very area the bullets hit and caused so much damage.
"Where does it hurt the most piccino?" He was ready to apply a cloth with ice to sooth the inflamed areas, Vanessa pointed to three spots on her torso and Leonardo acted quickly, having the ice calm the irritated spots actually helped her relaxed considerably. "Heh, that actually feels kinda' nice."
Ezio saw the massive bruises, she looked as bad as he did when he missed a ledge and tumbled down five storeys. He was lucky he didn't injure himself worse, but due to a soft landing he survived. After that, he never took a chance on a ledge again; he always made sure he could do to no matter what before jumping from one building to the next.
Whoever did this caused the same injuries Ezio hated to remember, mistakes made in his early years. Or guards when they cause his balance to falter.
He'd be back tonight, and then he'll take Vanessa back to Monteriggioni where he wouldn't let her take five steps unless he deemed it safe. Ezio left quickly, now rushing to get his affairs through with.
Leonardo tended to the last area he could, hoping she'd feel better. He unraveled the bandages and gestured her to sit up; she complied and Leonardo began wrapping the stiff bands around her waist. "This should prevent movement and help support, do not take it off until ready," He closed the band around her waist, "One last."
He wrapped the final band around her chest, insisting she pull it down around her front and checking how tight it is before finishing. Leonardo stood back, as if he was judging his latest work. "There, all better." He smiled, putting a few supplies up.
"Thanks Leo," She had to give him a nickname, judging by her earlier failure into finding the book; she'll be there for some time. In that time, staying in the presence of Leonardo would be a great deal safer then just walking through the streets. At least he and Ezio would be a familiar in the city, until Leonardo left for Venice to work.
"What were those... scrolls that Ezio gave you?" Better now then never to start integrating into society.Leonardo picked one up; he was just about to begin where he left off when Ezio pulled Vanessa in.
"They're old texts; we believe there is some kind of hidden meaning to all of them. Unfortunately, we only have a few, yet we have already earned some invaluable data for Ezio's... work." He chuckled to himself, "I must get these done before Ezio returns."
"Yeah, sure." Vanessa mindlessly petted Count's head resting her head on her other hand. She stared into the fire; she needed a way to get by, money, she that's her goal.
How was she going to get a job when no one knows she exists? What positions could she acquire in this time? Merchant perhaps? Then she'd need connections and a boss, unfortunately for her, no one hires female workers. She could try a life in politics; she knew a lot about history and from a certain stand point being in politics could actually work. She knew all the most notable people, as long as she knew them and who to be friends with, then it would be successful.
However, no one wanted a female politician and there was no way on Earth, Vanessa was going to degrade herself to being a prostitute. It was illegal for one thing, at least, at her home it was. Getting paid for taking men behind closed doors? No, not a chance.
But what else could she do? She needed to live, but in this sexist society, it wasn't accepted for women to work, as in actual paid by the hour hard labor.
Hmm, Vanessa looked to the bandages around her waist and across her chest. It doesn't hurt as bad...She grinned to herself. She was in the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci, she should take advantage of the moment; learning more about Leonardo could be beneficial. If only to her.
"Leo?" She called, she had been sitting there staring at the fire for quite some time, her voice was raspy, she cleared her throat. "Yes Vanessa?"
She looked around, "Can you... show me what you're working on?" He looked a little surprised at the sudden interest, but he waved her over. "If you feel you can stand, then yes, I can."
Smiling, Vanessa slowly lifted herself free of the chair. She was stiff; it had been an hour since Leonardo tended to her injuries. Stretching her stiff legs, Vanessa could walk just fine; it wasn't those that hurt.
"I'm currently working on deciphering this codex," He pointed out some progress he made so far. "I've finished one, but this one is a bit different." He rubbed his chin, clearly thinking to himself. "I suppose you've tried the basics; skipping letters, reading backwards, skipping letters backwards, various anagrams."
He nodded, "I've tried many ways, those included. My problem doesn't stem from deciphering the words but more these sketches." Vanessa looked closer to the sketching. "What about folding the page?"
Leonardo pointed to indentions. "Done once, nothing matches though. I was seeing about rearranging the sketches, putting them in a certain order then changing the actions, but that will take some time, I want to eliminate all other options before doing that."
Looking closer, Vanessa saw what he was talking about. The sketches were not just scribbling on a page, but certain figures looked displaced; as if meaning to be in a different move or action. "I think you're right about that one, I see what you're saying and it makes the most sense. Like, see his arm?" Leonardo looked to the figure she pointed at, "It's clearly cut off, but another figure here has an arm on the second figure that has no owner."
Rising, he pulled some empty parchment, ink and pen. "Here, let us see." Leonardo started sketching the man, scribbling down a rough copy of the two separate figures together, completing an action previously unseen.
Vanessa watched Leonardo work with great interest, he wasn't doing anything serious, no masterpiece, but it was something, which considering no one has ever seen him work in the modern era and only had his paintings and drawings to go by. This was a moment Vanessa wouldn't soon forget, not mentioning any time in the future where she may witness him painting his famous artwork.
As soon as he finished, he took a second to compare. Seeing the figures together, completing one fluid motion kept Leonardo piecing other incomplete characters together.
She flashed a large smile, it was the answer, but she just felt more helpful then she had in quite some time.
Ezio knocked, opening the door; upon entering he heard laughter emitting from the usually quiet workshop. He grinned once he saw Leonardo and Vanessa sitting in front of the fire, laughing about something Vanessa was saying Ezio was sure Leonardo couldn't understand anymore. She was laughing too hard to form a coherent sentence, but then again, so was Leonardo.
With tears streaming down each others faces, Ezio had to join. He couldn't let his friend enjoy another woman's company without him.
"What is going on here?" He chuckled, the two conversationalists were startled, and they hadn't heard him enter. "Oh, Ezio!" Leonardo greeted first, "Vanessa was just telling me a bit about her home. Some interesting advances they have made in the future."
"And no matter how hard I try, there's no way in hell I'd ever be able to tell you how that God-forsaken blender worked!" Vanessa choked out between barks of laughter, forcing a knowing smile and bubbling laughter from the artist across from her. "Blender of hell, I swear."
"What?" Ezio put his hands up, "No, wait, I already know not to try and understand you." He sighed happily, watching two friends talk as if they knew each other for years.
"Well, one time, me and Daniel were making this shake. We've always wanted to have a go at it, so one day he comes over to my house with all the ingredients and we start." Vanessa couldn't contain her laughs; Leonardo wasn't even trying beyond this point. "So we're putting everything in the blender and we're about to turn it on when Daniel plugs it in and it starts up without us even doing anything!"
Leonardo hadn't a clue what she was going on about at first; it took her a while to explain the machine and what it did before he joined in her laughter. Right now, it was Leonardo gasping for air while she recounted the story to Ezio.
"The blender sends all the ingredients flying all over my kitchen! It was on the walls, the counters, the ceiling even! Daniel and I were left covered in slushies!" She laughed again, earning a bark from Count who ate eagerly at food left for him. "His shirt had pink spots after that, he didn't throw it away either, he still wears it!"
Ezio shook his head, odd, these things she spoke about though he wasn't going to ask what they were. He strolled over to Leonardo's desk, looking at various scribbling of people, some articulate copies of characters he saw on the codex page; others crude drawings of two people dancing, he thought, and a few others of random actions he knew must have been Vanessa's work.
"You like my art?" Vanessa called to Ezio. His head snapped up, seeing her looking at him expectantly. "Er," He glanced back at the poorly drawn people, "Yes. They're very..." Vanessa giggled, "They suck!" She and Leonardo burst into another fit of laughter. Ezio agreed, those oddly shaped people on parchment compared to Leonardo's expertly done figures.
"Well Leo, looks like this is our goodbye." Vanessa shoved herself up off the couch, stopping after to calm her angry bruises. "Ow, that hurt." Leonardo rose with her, following Ezio and Vanessa to the door after Ezio picked up the codex pages.
"Not quite." Leonardo said matter-of-factly. "Those sketches aren't just random images Ezio; they're assassination techniques, it's not too late to try them out. I'll have my assistant set up a few dummies for you to practice on."
Ezio nodded, "This'll only take a little while." He turned to leave, Leonardo's assistant rushing out the door first. "Good, that'll give me enough time to finish the last codex." Leonardo spread the scroll on the table.
Shaking his head, Ezio followed the assistant out the door.
"I thought you did them already." Vanessa giggled, standing beside Leonardo. "Heh, almost finished the last codex." He continued his work, searching for the answer to the codex page.
Scoffing, Vanessa took the last sip of the glass of water Leonardo had given her earlier when she remarked about how famished she was after time traveling. He caught the joke but brought back food and water.
Not a moment too soon either, Vanessa nearly devoured every bit of food he brought back, including a jug of water Leonardo may have had one glass of.
She excused herself, mentioning that famished was an understatement after not eating a single bit of food for two days. He understood and backed away; lest he loose a finger while Vanessa was on her binge.
It hadn't taken long for Ezio to return, hay sticking to his robes. "Here you are Ezio." Leonardo passed the last codex page to him, "Arrivederchi, Vanessa. I look forward to your next visit."
Vanessa shrugged on her over shirt, "Thanks for everything Leo; I'll have to get Ezio to bring me back real soon." Ezio raised a brow at Vanessa and decided to ignore the comment. "Goodbye Leonardo."
The duo left the workshop, waving their final goodbyes before Ezio began to lead them out of the city. "So, back to Monteriggioni?" Vanessa asked, Ezio regarded her with a curt nod.
Now that she was staying, seeing Florence was probably going to become a regular thing, she couldn't stand the thought of dealing with fifteenth-century sexist men parading down the streets like they owned everything. Women weren't respected here, generally in the twenty-first century it became mandatory to have a woman in your business; or be sued for wrongful discrimination. Which happened a lot.
On top of being a woman, being a foreigner with a skin tone previously unseen by fifteenth-century Italy. This wasn't going to get her far, at all.
She had Ezio and Leonardo as friends, perhaps not Ezio, but Leonardo would help her fit into the society, maybe even help her begin her own life in Florence. She'd need Ezio's hand in all this as well, yet bothering the assassin seemed less like and idea and more like a death wish.
Cringing, Vanessa didn't speak to Ezio for the rest of the trip to Monteriggioni. She had a feeling she was going be delivering her goodbye to the Villa in only a day or so, after preparing herself for the challenge.
Review Replies:
flyingcrispi:How do you manage to be the first reviewer on ALL chapters? :D I love you teh mostest!
"-and there it was, the long awaited (not that long, but still) story alert! Oh the joy! The glee! The squee!" OMFG You're so awesome! I'm sorry for the shortness on this chapter, but it was time I restarted on pusblishing chapters of my other stories. "The Next Life" and "Stunning Encounters" both have a list of readers who'll probably find my and kill me in my sleep if I don't update. :O
crystalfeathers: Vanessa would be amazing by their standards. Of course, the fact that she's Native American in a time were spite towards other races was still the norm. (and accepted! The gall of these people!) It would be something of a problem for Vanessa to seek out work with dark red skin and an accent that wasn't ever heard of before this era.
Heh heh. Yeahhh... Not for Vanessa.
Remember, she's an ally to an assassin, a woman who fell from the future. Doing things like "that" would be so personally destructive a person might as well starve themselves.
Vanessa's a cop, she's not going to have any of that "men first, women suck" sexism going on around her. Oh hellz no.
You'll see what she's going to do, it makes more sense then her working as a pros- excuse me - courtesan or marrying some unfortunate man who'd probably find himself without "man parts" on the first day of marriage.
Vanessa's not a normal woman in the fifteenth-century; she'd rash, hardheaded, pissed off, and won't take no for an answer. That was unacceptable in those times. Woman + Free will = NO.
I'm going to give her a role that's more suiting and a few assassin-related side quests... Err, I mean, no, I didn't mean that. I mean... Ezio-related errands! Yeah, that's totally what I meant. :)