Wow! An update already! Yeah, no Ezio yet, though the stats did say Ezio was in this story. Don't worry; I promise he'll be in the next chapter ;) now, this chapter is rated T as there are blood and injuries. Not much of course, but if you don't like that kind of thing, avoid this.

Disclaimer: Do not own Assassin's Creed. Ya?

Italics: Italian

"Alberta! Come back inside, it is time for the celebrazione!"

"No, mamma! I saw a kitten!"

"Listen to me, signora Alberta, get inside now or you will be punished!"

A small girl hid in a wet and dirty alley, her black hair held back by a small hat and facing the wall. She was stroking a small grey kitten, which was meowing piteously with a mouth devoid of teeth. Alberta bit her lip and creased her face with a frown. Being only five years old, she already knew what death was, and the sight of the poor kitten made her worry that it could die.

Her mother was half-hanging from a window, trying to see where her child was playing. It was her daughter's name-day, where they celebrated St. Albert's birthday, which Alberta was named after. Her family was not rich enough to get enough for friends to visit, but they had managed to get a cake this year for the family to share.

This was all well and good, but the little girl still hadn't come back inside, which was worrying for her mother. The guards had been worryingly angry recently due to their leader being murdered in his sleep, and the mother knew they would not hesitate to either hurt or terrify her child.

"Alberta?" she called out, irritated that there had been no answer to her earlier statement. When there was still no response, she sighed and pulled herself back inside; shutting the window once she stood up. Her husband was waiting at the table with their bakery-bought cake, and the three other children were starting to fidget, being faced with food their young eyes had hardly seen before.

"Luigi, she still has not come. She says that there is a kitten," the lady grumbled, and Luigi shook his head. "I will go and speak to her. Do not worry mia bella, she does love animals, after all," he said comfortingly, hugging his wife before heading down the wooden steps.

The minute he stepped outside, his foot landed in a puddle of the family water. "Cazzo!" he muttered, stepping from the puddle and striding along the alley just outside their home.

"Alberta? Where are you?" the man called, pausing to check a large haystack for any sign of his wayward daughter. "Please daughter, where have you hidden from me? Is this a new game?" he asked after a moment, feeling a stir of unease in his midsection. There was still no sight of their raven-headed Alberta, and a foul stench in the air made his nose wrinkle.

Finally Luigi began to jog, and then run, flying down each alley that Alberta knew of with a sense of growing fear. There was absolutely no sign of the girl, and soon he had to come to a stop, panting hard. As he leant against the wall of the pathway beside the one he had first checked, something dribbled onto his head. Luigi shook his head half-heartedly from irritation, but more of whatever it was then dripped onto his ear.

Finally he could stand straight once more, and the father glanced up to see what had fallen onto his head. After a quick look, he turned away to continue the search. Once he had taken a few steps, Luigi suddenly realized just what he had seen.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" echoed his anguished scream, causing the nearby pigeons to fly from their perches in shock.

His little girl's eyes stared emptily into the distance, as if seeing some far-away land and the smile on her face belied the terrible wounds all over her body. Her hand and arm were flung out over the edge of the roof, a cut somewhere under her bloodied clothing making blood drip from her fingers.

"No, my darling, my daughter, you can't be…," he cried, running to the wall and reaching up desperately. His Alberta did not respond, and Luigi fell against the bricks and mortar of the building upon which her body lay. The distant thought of the cake and celebrations back at the house caused greater grief than before, and he bowed his head, allowing his tears to strike the ground like a small rain shower.

In the depths of his misery, the distraught man did not hear a deep, rumbling growl behind him. Nor did he notice a new smell of refuse and decay. Something slunk past at the end of the narrow walkway, and it paused at the sight of a human. Sinking lower to the ground, it slowly made its way towards him, staring first at the man and then at its previous victim atop a house.

With the sound of a rabid and infuriated cat, the monster struck with bright white teeth and large black claws.

Celebrazione: celebration

Signora: lady

Mia bella: My Beautiful

Cazzo: F***