Hey, guys, I'm back... For those of you who are surprised that I made my own character mute, trust me, I DO have a plan... (I hope) and her being mute is a very essential part of it. That's about it... thank you, all of you people who reviewed, even the anonymous one... oh right in response to your question, so far in my agenda, no, they do not have any sexual intercourse as you probably want. Or don't want. Whatever. However, I am still tweaking my plan, so I might change it. There IS a sex scene, however, that's why this is rated M. Um, I will put a warning in the chapter that it appears in so that if you don't want to read it, you don't have to. It's very mild though. Anyways, next chapter up, R&R as usual.

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, I don't own anything... except everything that I've created. Ubisoft! THAT'S who made AC! Lol I'm stupid.

Ezio dashed through the crowd, pushing people out of the way, a blur of white as he ran. I had no idea where he was going, and frankly, I didn't care. I was still in shock. I rubbed my throat, feeling the burn as I traced the wavy lines of a scar. I was now scarred. Marked. I could never be myself again. Not just because I had lost my voice, but because I had witnessed what happened to those who were innocent. Me and Giovanni were innocent. So were his children. Why were people so cruel as to try and kill us? What had they ever done? What had I ever done? I realized how cruel people actually were. I realized that the only person who you could only trust, was yourself.

Ezio suddenly stopped, clutching me by the waist. He set me down and said gently, "are you all right?"

I snorted. Then shook my head as a no.

He frowned, then lifted my chin. He stared at my scar for a while, then let me go. He turned away, but not before I had seen his face. He looked as though he were about to cry. Looking up, I could see that we had stopped at a brothel of some sort. I touched Ezio on his shoulder and looked at him questioningly. I finally noticed his outfit. White robes, white hood, it looked like something I would want to wear. The hood, especially.

He had gained control of himself again. He smiled, without any trace of his old joyfulness, and said, "This is La Rosa Colta. My mother and sister are here, under the care of Paola. She can help us."

I didn't know who Paola was, but if she could help me, then I would be grateful. I nodded, and Ezio knocked on the door twice, then opened it.

The inside was beautiful. Twining stairways, pretty pictures and flowers, everything seemed to be a dream. My parent's house always had a stale smell to it, like something that was way overdue. This house smelled clean and fresh, like someone had just washed the entire place from head to toe. A woman, who looked like a courtesan, walked over to us and said, "Ezio. Your family is expecting you. And who is this?"

I caught Ezio staring at her breasts, and I gave him a little slap on the shoulder. He seemed to wake up then, and said, "ah, um, this is Alba."

I gave Paola a little courtesy, and she gave me back one in return. She seemed like a nice woman, and I couldn't help trusting her. She seemed to be one of those people that could just smile and make the whole world better. "Alba? Dawn? A strange name."

I looked around for something to write with, and found a chalkboard. On it, I wrote, My name isn't really Alba. It's Adelina. I just prefer Alba.

Paola frowned, then turned to Ezio. "She's mute?"

Ezio frowned as well. He turned to me.

I sighed, picking up the chalk again and writing I was just hanged for a false conviction. I was saved in time, but I fear I've lost my ability to speak.

I was actually glad, now, that my parents had forced me to take lessons at school. I would most certainly need them now. Paola nodded, her eyes filled with sympathy. "You'll have to tell me your story sometime. For now, Ezio must meet his family."

Ezio nodded, then looked at me. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but eventually he just left with Paola. They walked upstairs, and I sighed. Some of the courtesans looked at me curiously, but didn't say anything. I leaned against a wall, wondering what my fate was going to be now.

"I'm going to teach you how to survive."

I blinked. It had been nearly a day or two since Ezio had left, heading towards Monteriggioni. I had asked Paola if it was okay for me to stay with her, and she had agreed. She told me about the Order, how Giovanni had been an assassin. She had even told me that after enough practice and if I wanted to, I could become an assassin myself. I said yes to the practice, no to the assassin. I was done with killing. Everyone who died had a family, someone who had loved who was now alone. I couldn't believe Ezio would be following the same path after what had happened to his family.

Paola had tried several medicines to allow me to speak, but none of them had worked. I was still mute. And probably would be for the rest of my life. I was surprised, though, by how much more you actually think when you don't have to respond to other people's questions. Paola had bought me a sketchpad and a pen, which I kept with me in a satchel always. Although it sometimes got annoying to carry, I knew I would need it.

Paola continued. "I will teach you how to steal, how to run, and how to fight. Is there any other topic you wish to study? Since you have turned down my offer as an assassin, what would you like to become? I've seen the looks you give my girls: I know you have no desire to be a courtesan. What, then, do you wish to be?"

I considered my options for a moment. I already knew my answer. Taking out my sketchpad, I wrote, a healer.

Paola nodded, then said, "Very well. I will teach you the basics of alchemy and healing, but in order to become a true healer you will have to find a real mentor. I am an assassin, trained to kill, not to save."

I nodded. I knew that the path I had now chosen was hard, but there was no going back now. Too far down the path. Too far down the road.

I groaned. I was back in my own personal room at La Rosa Colta. It had been nearly two years since Ezio had left, and each day was spent working tirelessly. Running, fighting, mixing, stealing. I became an expert with a dagger, but I only carried one around for self-defense. My satchel was typically full, as I always carried large amounts of herbs with me. I had even learned cooking, on Paola's whim that a woman who couldn't cook was a woman doomed at birth. It turns out, even, that I had a knack for it. Soon I was cooking the entire brothel's dinner daily.

When I first came here, I didn't have any muscles. I probably couldn't have even lifted a small stone. Now, I was much stronger, much faster, and much, much more capable of fending for myself. I preferred speed over strength, but Paola still insisted on giving me endurance lessons.

About a year ago, she had shown me a hidden weaponry inside the brothel and asked me which weapon I had wanted. I didn't want anything that could kill, so I didn't chose anything. She warned me, though, that I had to pick one or she would chose one for me. That night I went outside the city and carved a sling from pieces of leather I had stolen. I worked all night and by the morning, I had a weapon. Paola was proud.

She insisted that I work on it for at least two hours every day, and soon I was able to hit a bull's eye target with only one or two swings. I had gotten so good, I had once knocked out a guard who was about to molest a helpless woman. I had laughed my head off at the surprised look on his face as had crumpled to the ground.

My healing skills had gotten better too. While exploring the city one day, I had met a young man, an alchemist, who claimed he could help me. I paid for my own lessons by making medicines to sell in the city. By now I could heal anything short of a mortal wound.

Paola was talking about sending me on a road trip soon. As I sat on my bed, nursing my battered muscles from today's exercise, (running across all of Firenze while more than fifteen guards chased after me on the promise of being able to take advantage of me if they caught me) I wondered where she would send me too. I had always wanted to explore the world, see beyond the small town of Firenze. Here was my chance. Hopefully, I wouldn't make the worst of it or the-

wham!

Something crashed through my window, creating a perfect hole, and landed on my carpet. It was a bird, a falcon by the looks of it. I picked it up. It was still breathing, but it looked badly hurt. There was blood everywhere but I couldn't find where. I checked it's back, it's head, it's one leg, it's-

Wait.

One leg?

One of it's legs had been cut or ripped off, leaving an ugly stump. I gasped, grabbed a shirt, and pressed it against the wound. Being a healer, I pulled certain herbs from my satchel and rubbed it against the shirt. I contemplated what to do. Grabbing it by the chest and the back, I made sure that it was still breathing, then rushed to Paola's room. Some courtesans looked at me funny, but by now they had known not to question me. They knew that Paola trust me, and that was enough for them.

A few hours later, when me and Paola had managed to heal the falcon, we got a bird trainer, who identified this one as a Peregrine falcon, one of the most fastest animals in the world. He said, "Young lady, you are very lucky you found him. These animals are priceless."

I looked at Paola. She smiled, and nodded. "The doctor is right, Alba. These falcons are so precious, some will kill for them. It is your choice as to what to do with it, however. Whether you wish to free or to keep it, it is your decision. I will not hinder you."

With that, she left.

I sat with it all day, wondering what to do. When it woke up, I finally realized what color it's feathers were like. A brownish-red, it looked like fire when it moved. I named it. Fuoco. Fire. A reminder of my old life, and a reminder of my new one.

The horse I was riding was tired, and I knew I had to stop soon. Paola had finally sent me, almost tearfully, to Monteriggioni. I was surprised at her choice, but she was firm. She wanted me to meet with Ezio and help him with his quest to avenge his family. Surprisingly, even the courtesans had been in tears. They gave me plenty of money and told me they'd miss my cooking. Of course. They wouldn't miss me, just my cooking. I hadn't said anything of course: I couldn't. I just smiled and thanked them as well as I could without words.

Fuoco cawed ahead of me, siting that he had found shelter. Perhaps a cave. After he had recovered, he decided that I was his new master. He would not leave. I decided to make the best of things and trained him, even put my satchel on him. I hated wearing it. Although I couldn't speak, I found, through trial and error mainly, that I could whistle. I put this to use and soon had Fuoco trained for nearly every command. But then he cawed again. It was a deeper, lower caw. I frowned. If I had trained him right, he had just said that a large army was coming my way.

Ummmph... perhaps a bit too much information at a time. And a bad ending. Oh well. Hoped you liked it, please review with helpful comments, and long chapter this time. Yay!