All credits given to its rightful owners, such as Ubisoft.
Hai guys...haha sorry it took forever, but here is the next installment. It's a tad longer than the last chapters. Sorry. But yeaaah! Please enjoy it! Review it and I don't care if you flame or critisize. ITS ALL WELCOME! Last thing is...I didn't really re-edit this chapter too much so there are probably quite a few of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. I'm sorry!
Chapter Six: The First of Many
"You two were gone for quite a while…" Paola noted as Ezio and Trinity entered the courtesan building. Paola had been waiting for them to return, but she had not expected it to take as long as it did.
Trinity and Ezio had been gone the majority of the day before, after Ezio was taught how to blend, and they were gone the entire night. It was early morning now and Paola had been worried that Ezio and Trinity weren't getting enough sleep or that they had been captured.
"Leonardo likes to talk," Ezio replied, pulling down his hood and smiling at her. Trinity quickly smacked him upside the head and snorted indignantly.
"Like you would know," she said shortly, lowering her hood as well. "You were sleeping the whole time."
Ezio made to snap something back at her but Paola cut in before he could.
"Leonardo does like to talk," she agreed, approaching them. "But I trust you did more than just talk…?"
Both Trinity and Ezio flicked their wrists to let their hidden blades spring forth from the bracer. Paola's eyes widened slightly at the sight; she was more surprised that Trinity had been given a weapon as well.
Trinity noticed this and elaborated. "Leonardo was kind enough to offer to make me one as well," she explained. "That is partially why were gone for so long…we also had a hard time hiding from guards. They're searching quite actively for us."
"Yes, they have been rather forceful with some of my girls," said Paola. "You'll have to keep yourselves hidden well. A few guards saw you enter here yesterday and they questioned me personally. However, we were able to keep them away from your mother and sister, Ezio."
Trinity's face fell, not wanting to put unnecessary pressure or danger on Paola. "Mi dispaice (I'm sorry)," she said. "That is the last thing we wanted."
Paola waved her off dismissively, smiling wryly as well. "The girls were able to distract them from their original quest so there was really no issue," she replied. Trinity and Ezio understood what she meant by that and didn't question her further.
"But the blades are impressive," Paola admitted, stepping closer to Ezio.
Trinity couldn't help but eye the pair; she had noticed from the very beginning that Paola was quiet taken with Ezio, maybe not in a romantic way but Trinity noticed it nonetheless. If it was romantically…or sexually…she had quite a few years on her than he did, though Trinity hardly thought that this would matter to Ezio if the opportunity arose to bed with Paola.
Trinity couldn't help but gag silently to herself. Having been a visual person since she was a child, she inadvertently imagined Paola and Ezio engaging in sexual activities.
Maybe Trinity would always be perplexed by what women saw in him…because all she could see was a womanizing pervert with an enormous ego.
"Trinity and I have given you the skills," said Paola, gazing up at Ezio with almost sly eyes. She took his hand into hers and held it at his heart. "Leonardo's given you the blade…."
"All that remains is the deed," finished Trinity from beside them. She more so spoke up to make sure they remembered she was even there, since they were practically staring at each other at the moment.
Ezio nodded. "The Gonfaloniere will die by my hand and my hand only. I do not require your assistance," he said to Trinity. She laughed humorlessly and gave him a wry look.
"You think I am just going to let you run around Firenze alone?" she scoffed. "You can barely hold your own against a couple of guards, let alone several of them. I won't kill the Gonfaloniere but I am not about to let you run off without cover."
Having some sort of back up or partner would make it easier for him to escape, he realized. He begrudgingly agreed, seeing that he didn't think he was going to have much say. He knew Trinity was too stubborn to argue with about it anyways.
"Where can I find Uberto?" he asked Paola, who still had not yet released his hand.
"According to my girls, he'll be attending an unveiling tonight of Verrocchio's latest work," she replied informatively. "It will be held at the Santa Croce cloister."
She lowered Ezio's hand slowly as he put his other one at Paola's shoulder.
"Grazie, Paola," he said sincerely.
Before Ezio could turn to leave, Trinity spoke again. "I know you're eager to leave…but the unveiling isn't for another several hours," she said in a serious tone. "Unlike you, who slept at Leonardo's workshop, I haven't had much sleep within the last few days…or eaten for that matter."
"Do as you wish," growled Ezio, making towards the exit, "I'm leaving now."
She was blocking the door before he could blink. "And do what?" she shot darkly, her blue eyes shaded with irritation. "Make yourself an easy target? Without sleep or food, the possibility of losing consciousness is high."
Ezio had had enough of her stubbornness, though she made a very valid point.
"Look-" he started, finger raised.
"Trinity is right," interrupted Paola from behind him. At this statement, Ezio saw Trinity smirk triumphantly. "It would be prudent for you both to at least get a few hours rest…or at the very least, a good meal."
With both women tag teaming on him, Ezio had no choice. Some fifteen minutes later, he found himself sitting at a table with a nice display of food in front of him. He hadn't realized quite how hungry he was until the smells got to him. Needless to say, once the first bite was swallowed, he practically inhaled his meal.
Trinity refused to sit at the same table as him and took her plate elsewhere in the courtesan building. She had spent far too much time with him as it was already, and none of it was voluntary. Her frustration with him was clear; Ezio understandably was going through a rough time right now having just lost his family, but Trinity was in a near identical situation as well…and his appreciation was slim to none for saving his life at the execution. This bothered her greatly, as well as wasting time when she should be getting the remaining Auditores back to Monterriggioni.
Ezio had previously asked that his mother and sister were not informed that he was in the building; he still had not told them that neither his father nor two brothers made it out alive from the trial two days ago. He was unsure of how he was going to tell them, knowing the news would obviously not be taken well. So for now, he was putting it off until he had killed Uberto Alberti…though, he was sure that Claudia would be intuitive enough to know that her family was dead.
"What's wrong, my dear?" said a voice as Trinity sat down at the opposite side of the room on a red couch. "You look aggravated."
She looked up from her nearly empty plate of fruit, chicken, and bread to find Paola gazing at her with a concerned face. She turned her gaze away again, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
Paola had been a somewhat close friend with her father and Trinity had met her several times before now. She wouldn't say that she was close to Paola but she knew that Paola was taking it upon herself to become a little more motherly towards Trinity.
She sighed quietly, having no inclination to reply just yet. She could not help but roll her eyes as she watched some of the courtesans approach Ezio and start flirting with him.
"Out of all the people I could have been stuck with, I get that idiota over there," she replied angrily. "He is brash, arrogant, and stupid. And he'll chase after any skirt that gives him the slightest bit of attention, despite having a 'love' already. He's despicable…and he does not listen to advice, especially if it's in his favor or for his benefit. He constantly is picking fights with me…Ezio has not changed since we were children."
Paola chuckled at the young girl's fiery spirit as she watched Ezio easily flirt back with one of her girls. She decided to omit her comment about Trinity still being somewhat of a child, not wanting to goad the teenager. "If you want a man to listen to you, Trinity," Paola said in a smooth voice, "sometimes you have to-"
"Absolutely not," Trinity interrupted flatly. She already knew that Paola was going to say something about using sexuality as a means for control. Trinity never wanted to resort to something like that, not when she knew that she could find other ways to get Ezio to listen to her.
"-approach them at their level of intellect," Paola finished with a smile. Trinity blinked, now feeling awkward for her previous assumption.
The two women watched as Ezio stood up, excusing himself from the five or so courtesans that surrounded him. He approached Trinity and Paola with a determined expression. Trinity immediately interpreted this as, "I don't care what they say, I will do what I want."
She stood up after setting her cleared plate aside just as Ezio stopped. "Thank you for providing the meal. It wasn't necessary," he said before glancing at Trinity. "And I'm leaving now for the Santa Croce cloister. Are you joining me?"
Trinity outwardly was unfazed, but inside she was seething instantly.
"Ezio," said Paola gently while taking a step towards him so she would somewhat block the two of them, sensing Trinity's anger. "As we said before, you need to get some sleep. You will not perform well if you are not at least somewhat rested."
"I am fine."
"Stai zitto (shut up)," said Trinity in a callous tone, now at her wit's end with him. "There is no reason to leave now when the unveiling is hours away. Scouting out the area will be pointless until perhaps an hour to two hours beforehand because guards won't be posted until then. They wouldn't stand watch of the cloister all day long for an unveiling of art."
Ezio glowered at her. "Your superiority attitude is truly infuriating."
Trinity's eyes widened at the jab. "My superiority attitude?" she exclaimed, thoroughly offended. "Coming from the man who is an arrogant, chauvinistic pig that refuses to listen to anything I say."
He sort of smirked, though he was not entirely amused.
"I don't tell you these things because I want to hear myself speak, Ezio Auditore, but I tell you them because of experience and what makes sense."
Ezio scoffed, letting out an unconvinced laugh. "Do as you wish," he repeated dismissively as he turned on his heel. Trinity clenched her fists, beginning to despise this statement from him.
He walked away from the two women towards the door, the majority of the courtesans watching curiously at what was transpiring. Some started to whisper to one another, all either gazing at Ezio walking away, or looking at Trinity with doubtful expressions of her behavior. Trinity however, did not feel she was in the wrong, and therefore was aggravated with the woman all wordlessly accusing her of impropriety. She figured that they felt that she was behaving so rebelliously because she was still young.
This was one of the reasons why she hated women…and why she never was able to relate to her mother or sisters.
The courtesans were no different, in Trinity's eyes. Women saw everything at face value, and for them, Ezio was attractive. Therefore, having no sense of courtesy or general submission to him, since Trinity was female and Ezio was male, made Trinity look like the Devil in human form. Not even that, because she walked around in breeches, she was already seen as evil for indecency.
The thought was amusing, in a way. She would never be submissive to a man, especially Ezio. She was an assassin…passivity would get her nowhere in this world.
Women of this era did not question men, did not oppose men…basically did nothing against them. Trinity had always had every belief that she could generally do anything a man could, possibly even better, other than obvious things like tests of strength. She knew that women physically were not built as strong as her male counterparts so she wouldn't be naïve about that. Still, she could attest that she was stronger than the average woman due to her extensive training.
For the most part, Trinity surpassed her older brothers when it came to combat and stealth. She was far more agile than them, quicker too. Where she lacked in pure force and power, she made up for speed and dexterity.
That was something her father had always been proud of; the fact that she was female did not hinder her and out of sheer determination, she was able to overshadow her older brothers.
With all this in mind, as well as having to shadow Ezio on his ridiculous endeavors for the last few days, and adding her general lack of sleep and the loss of her family, Trinity, in all her pent up rage, quickly followed after Ezio as he made for the door. Without much thought because of her anger, she pulled out one of her twin daggers, causing quite a bit of alarm from those who were present in the building.
At the collective gasp, Ezio turned around to see what was wrong. In a flash of a moment, the last thing he saw was Trinity's impassive face somewhat close to his, though her eyes were dark with fury…just before she hit him across the head with the hilt of her dagger.
Ezio's dark eyes momentarily rolled back before he collapsed to the floor, unconscious but still breathing evenly. At this, all the courtesans went into a state of alarm.
"Trinity!" cried Paola, rushing over to Ezio's lifeless body that was blocking the front door. "What on earth was that for?"
She sheathed her dagger, ignoring the stares of disbelief or anger from the women of the room. "Men are brutes. Every single one of them," Trinity replied, unconcerned. "They only respond to food, sex, and violence…and generally in that order. Granted, some respond to reason…but not this one."
"That does not warrant an attack on him," snapped Paola, checking the site of where Trinity had hit him. "You could have killed him!"
"You said approach him at his level of intellect," Trinity said somewhat innocently. "Clearly, he is not highly intelligent, as it would have been prudent to take the advice I give him so freely to heart, so violence was the only way he would understand."
Paola did not say anything to Trinity but told one of her girls to get some cool water and had other girls help move Ezio to the nearest couch, seeing that he would be too heavy to carry to a bed upstairs.
Trinity sighed, not feeling at all remorseful as Paola threw her a stern look. "I didn't hit him that hard," she said defensively. "It's not like he can get any more stupid anyway."
"You're lucky he is not bleeding," huffed Paola once she and three other girls set Ezio's deadweight body on the couch. Trinity shrugged.
"He'll be fine," she assured Paola, turning towards the stairs. "This was the only way to get him to sleep…. Anyways, would you have someone wake me up in a few hours or if he wakes up?"
Though Paola was a little angry with the teenager, she didn't blame Trinity for the course of action she took. Ezio was obviously a handful…but so was Trinity. Both of them were without family now, so Paola felt a little more inclined to cut Trinity some slack. That aside, both of them were still very young…and now without parental guidance.
Paola sighed. "Of course, my dear," she replied, shaking her head as Trinity climbed the stairs. "Sleep well."
Trinity smiled wryly at her before disappearing upstairs.
Trinity's eye twitched slightly, disturbed at the sight of Ezio still sleeping on the couch with several courtesans all giggling and whispering over him. Trinity didn't hear much of what they were saying but she did catch bits and pieces of them thinking Ezio was "cute" and "handsome."
"He is too young for you," she snapped at them as she approached them.
The courtesans all jumped in surprise at her voice. They all quickly left Ezio's side, not wanting to be in Trinity's way and receive her wrath, despite the fact that Trinity was much younger than the majority of the women.
She was surprised how easily she was able to command authority over them, knowing full well that her age normally would not merit such fear or respect.
Trinity had a small vase of water in her hand and once she was near him, she immediately doused Ezio's face with it, causing him to wake up with a start.
He sputtered in his surprise. "Get up," said Trinity in a dark tone with an equally dark expression before she turned to walk away. "We have an hour before the unveiling, possibly less…"
Ezio looked around, angry confusion ensuing him. Of course, he was irritated that she had just dumped water on him but he didn't remember falling asleep, much less on the couch.
He sat up and a massive wave of pain came to the right side of his head. Ezio steadied himself and blinked, trying to shake off the haze that engulfed his brain and fogged his vision. He watched as what he thought was Trinity and Paola speaking quietly in a corner across the room while the other women all attended to some various customers or stood around talking amongst themselves.
Ezio tried to stand up but he found that to be difficult so he collapsed heavily back in the chair. He tried to remember what he did to his head for him to feel like this. As he touched the right side of his head, behind his temple, he felt a relatively large swollen bump that was painful to the touch.
"Are you alright?" said Trinity in a monotone, suddenly next to him. Ezio glanced at her but didn't want to admit to the fact that he was having trouble so he waved her off dismissively. She didn't look too concerned, despite her asking if he was feeling well.
"Sto bene (I'm fine)," he replied just as emotionlessly. "Just give me a few minutes."
"A few minutes is all we can afford," she said coldly, turning her back on him again. He glared at the back of her head, luckily his vision clearing now.
Again, he thought back to what he may have done to hurt himself. It took him a moment…but a flash of memory caught him.
"You hit me!" he exclaimed angrily, causing Trinity to pause in her walking.
She turned and he found her smiling, almost deviously, at him. Her blue eyes held a glint of mischief…and despite himself, he found this look incredibly attractive.
"It was for your own benefit," she replied simply though her lips formed into a wider smirk. Trinity pulled up her hood, shadowing her face before she turned away from him. "Hurry up."
Ezio eyed her before he stood up, feeling somewhat better. He really wanted to strangle that girl but he felt like couldn't do much about the fact that she hit him. Painful as it was to admit, she would put too much of a fight if he were to do something violent back.
He slowly approached Paola, who was waiting for him by the door that Trinity just exited. "Please watch over my mother and sister while I'm away," he said firmly to her
She smiled gently. "Of course, Ezio," she said, placing her hand at her heart to signify a promise. "As if they were my own."
He nodded, returning the smile before he also lifted up his hood.
Ezio found Trinity waiting at the opposite end of the relatively small street for him when he exited the courtesan building. Trinity had her arms folded across her chest, impatient and ready to scale the building to the roofs.
"You can lead the way…since I know not of where the Santa Croce cloister is," Trinity said once Ezio was within speaking distance. He nodded with understanding. "And watch for archers. They're posted everywhere because of us."
Ezio figured as much, though now it was going to cause a problem for them to move about the city, be it streets or roofs. Their notoriety was climbing steadily; more posters were hanging of them, more heralds were speaking out against their crimes (though some of the crimes the heralds spoke of were fabricated to make Ezio and Trinity appear more dangerous), and now, according to Paola, there were politicians…who were bearing false witness to them, as if they had seen Trinity or Ezio commit some of these crimes.
Because of all this, the guards, as if they weren't already, were continuously searching for them, if not more so because they've been warned that the assassins may strike at Verrocchios's unveiling because Uberto would be there.
Well, at least they're smart, sighed Trinity as she tailed Ezio across the roofs. They managed to slip past two, outrun four, and kill another three guards before they were at the perimeter of Santa Croce.
Ezio and Trinity stood over the large courtyard. On the left, a church of intricate design stood and the square was crawling with civilians, most of them wearing monks robes. There were plenty of guards circling the place, which was going to make this a little difficult.
Trinity pointed. "Two archers are posted on the building across the way," she noted for Ezio. "However, the unveiling is going to be within that walled off courtyard down there beside the church."
"So those archers won't be able to get to us in time or be able to reach us," concluded Ezio, understanding her point. Trinity half-heartedly agreed, because technically they could, if something went wrong.
"Don't doubt their aim," she warned him, watching the people below. "We should check the perimeter of the area of the unveiling. Perhaps there would be a weak point in their defenses…and to see how many guards they have stationed along the roof and entryways."
He did not have anything to say but only agreed.
"Knowing how city guards work," she continued thoughtfully, "they'll keep archers along the roofs and they'll either have two brute guards or a combination of four guards posted at the entry ways."
"Combination?" he asked before he could stop himself. Trinity exhaled sharply out of annoyance of having to explain herself. She understood that he had not been trained…at all…by his father in missions involving assassinations though. Well, he obviously wasn't given instruction on anything.
Trinity, grudgingly, put herself in check before speaking. "I can only assume that Firenze guards are similar to Venezia guards," she replied, turning to look at him directly. She didn't realize she would be giving him a teaching lesson right before an assassination. "There are seven types of guards that I know of. There are the brute guards, the ones with all the heavy armor and weaponry. They're strong so you must watch out for them once they start swinging. Blocking them will do no good; their battleaxes and claymores will break through your defenses and send you flying. I have yet to ever see a Brute back down from a fight, so they only way to deal with them is to kill them or run. But, their weakness is that they're slow and generally unintelligent, at least in my past experience. Obviously the armor is heavy so they can't chase after you if you decide to flee…and there is no cowardice in running if you are outnumbered, Ezio. Don't be an idiot and think you can take on twenty guards at once, especially since you have very little to no skill at combat."
He gave her a dark look under his hood, though she didn't see it. She had somewhat of a point though, so he didn't argue. That aside, Trinity was providing insight freely and for once, he felt it would be good to listen to her.
"On the opposite end are the militia guards," she pressed on. "I'm fairly positive that these men only took on the occupation of being a guard to bring in money. They have very little skill in combat, and I've noticed that they are easily frightened. They tend to be the first ones to flee a fight. You can tell them apart because they wear little armor. Here in Firenze, I don't think they have armor. They're really quite useless, in my opinion, seeing that they aren't fast or skilled, and their morale is incredibly low if they're in a losing battle.
"And then you have the elite guards. It's easy to tell which is an elite because he wears more armor and uses a wider variety of weapons. I've been able to outrun them and they're not especially agile…though quite a few of them have chased me up to the rooftops in Venezia. However, like I said, they can be easily outrun. They're a little more courageous than the Militias but I've seen a few of them retreat.
"Then there are the Leaders. They where more armor than their Elite counterparts and they are stronger too. They can put up a good fight, Ezio, so be careful. They are Leaders for a reason; they're skilled in combat and don't give up on battles. Disarming them is a little difficult, like the Brutes. However, they're not very fast either, so outrunning them is not an issue. The Militia, Elite, and the Leader types make up the Standard guards. They're going to be the guards you see the most around any city, be it Firenze, Venezia, or Roma."
"You've been to Roma?" asked Ezio, surprised.
"Focus, Ezio!" Trinity snapped impatiently. She wanted to get this small training session done with so they could scout the unveiling perimeter since their time was drawing to a close. "Now, there are four types of special guards, the Brute being one of them. There is the Seeker guard…and right now, they're everywhere. I've only seen them a few times in Venezia, but here in Firenze, there isn't a street where I don't see at least two."
"They're the guards with the polearms, right?" asked Ezio, trying to sound a little more knowledgeable. Trinity nodded.
"Yes, and they use it to stab it into haystacks or wells to get us to come out of hiding. I swear, they're all paranoid because as their name implies, they are always seeking criminals out…and in this case, it's us. I've seen them look in any place we can hide, such as a haystack. They where a little more armor than a Leader guard but not as much as Brute…and they don't back off from fights very easily, I've noticed.
"Then you have the Agile guard. These bastardos are fast, sometimes even faster than me," Trinity growled, sounding angry with this. "They also will have no problem following you up buildings and tailing you across rooftops. Best way to handle them is to just kill them."
"But you said they're fast," cut in Ezio, confused. "Wouldn't that make dealing with them directly a problem?"
"Shut up," she replied with a hard tone. "Just listen to me, don't open up your mouth and talk."
Again, he threw her an unnoticed glare.
"They don't wear any armor…that's a reason why they're so fast. And they only carry small weapons like daggers or shortswords. Yes, because they are agile, they dodge attacks pretty well but…if you can counter-attack them, that's it, they're dead. They're weaker than even Militia guards, Ezio. They may be fast, but they're easy to kill if you deal with them right.
"And finally, the archers. Obviously, they have a long-ranged bow and short-ranged weapon, usually a sword. I've noticed that many of them have poor marksmanship skills though because they're arrows are usually slow. It's not hard to dodge their arrows. They don't wear much armor and they're probably the easiest to kill."
"Just push them off?"
He saw her smile slightly. "Exactly," she said. "And that is all you need to know about guards."
Ezio returned his gaze back to the large plaza below, wondering how she knew so much of this sort of thing. She still had explained nothing to him about her arbitrary appearance in Florence, though he deduced it had something to with his family. He had stopped asking her about it, however, since she kept refusing to tell him until they were in Monterriggioni. He would make sure to ask her when there because he was tired of being continuously overshadowed by her skills.
Still, Trinity's vast knowledge of combat, stealth, enemy strategies, profiling, and basic and advanced tactics, as well as her general athleticism, was astounding. All of that aside, he was curious as to how many people that she killed already, since her explanations of guards implied that she has fought enough to know…and since she was still alive to tell the tale, she must have killed at least one of them.
"Anyways, we should get moving," Trinity said after a moment. "We don't have much time until the unveiling. The Gonfaloniere could show up at any moment."
"We'll be too easy to spot together," replied Ezio, wondering if their attire would give them away too quickly. Trinity glanced at him.
She sighed, more out of annoyance than helplessness. "You're right," she admitted. "We'll have to split up…"
Trinity trailed off, thinking quickly.
"Ezio, you head straight up this street, between the courtyard and the building with the two archers, and then make a left around the courtyard," she explained, pointing across the plaza. "I'll go around the back end of the church and see if there is any entryways and look for guards. We'll meet up around the back of the courtyard."
She turned to him and Ezio wondered if she was giving him a serious look from beneath the shadows of her hood. "Remember to blend with the crowd, Ezio," Trinity said with emphasis. "You will be surprised by how oblivious people are to you as long as you lay low and don't do anything to stand out. Keep a low profile…and don't run if a guard thinks he recognizes you. That's just going to confirm his beliefs. Understand?"
Ezio really did not like being told what to do like this from someone he could not stand, but he could not go against what she was saying when it made sense…especially if he were to do this on his own, he would have done everything from the top of his head.
"Yes."
"Also, something that Paola did not teach you," Trinity said, speaking a little more quickly. "Sitting down on a bench with other civilians is also blending. Guards rarely notice you because you're in such a low profile position. Which isn't to say that none of them won't notice…because they do, but it's not common."
He nodded, taking in all the information with out argument or attitude, which was surprising to Trinity. She hoped it was because he knew that she was only trying to help him exact vengeance and that he was now somewhat indebted to her.
"Let's move," he said, glancing at the positioning of the sun. "We're losing time."
Ezio peered below him to see if there was a wagon of leaves or a haystack…and conveniently, there was. Wordlessly, he leapt off the building, practically swan diving into the haystack.
Trinity rolled her eyes, not impressed…though she was pleased that she wouldn't have to teach him what her father had called the Leap of Faith. Ezio seemed to have mastered that already, thankfully.
Ezio climbed out of the haystack, unnoticed by anyone as he immediately placed himself into a group of six civilians that were walking past him. He glanced up at where he had been moments before, seeing Trinity's figure run across the roofs and away from him. As she ran, she dislodged some of the shingles from the roof. She was out of his line of sight rather quickly, so he returned his attention to where this group of people were walking too.
Guards were crawling throughout the plaza, most of them in groups of four or five. He would never admit to it, but without Trinity, and this being his first assassination, he was somewhat nervous of getting caught.
Ezio refocused himself. He wouldn't get caught…because he had to kill Uberto Alberti for the sake of his family.
He passed by a marble bench, a young woman and elder man sitting on the opposite ends of it. Ezio quickly broke away from the group he was following, since it was not going the direction he wanted, and dashed a few steps to the bench. He sat down as quick as he could, noticing a group of guards coming down the walkway to the church.
Ezio lowered his head, keeping his elbows at his knees. He wanted to look as relaxed as possible as they passed, hoping none of the guards would be smart enough to notice who he was.
The group of guards passed by slowly, one of them sharing a story about how his wife refuses to sleep with him so he usually forces her. The whole time, Ezio's heart pounded in his chest in anticipation…but once they were gone, he breathed easy again.
After about five or six minutes, he stood up and took his place between a small group of monks that were heading towards the courtyard. He didn't think he would have had to sit there for that long but no other group of civilians passed by him. He was a little worried that he would stand out though, because they were all wearing brown cloaks and he clearly was not.
Upon approaching the courtyard, he immediately noticed two archers posted on the roof above a small entryway into the unveiling and two Brute guards were blocking said entry. One of the Brutes was carrying a warhammer, and the other a large axe. Ezio tried not to stare for too long, though they didn't seem to detect his presence at all, despite that he was literally only four feet away from them.
Now he understood what Trinity meant by unintelligent.
As he had passed them, Ezio had a quick glance into the courtyard. There were pieces of art that he saw, as well as plenty of nobility already in there. He did not see Uberto, however.
The group of monks rounded the corner and Ezio noticed that there were no guards in sight. He saw Trinity leaning up against the outside wall halfway down the courtyard, her arms crossed, head down, and foot against the wall. She looked as if she had been waiting for quite some time.
Ezio pulled away from the group and made towards her, keeping an eye, despite her relaxed attitude, for any guards that weren't aware of.
"Well, you took your sweet time," Trinity jabbed while raising her head, but in a slightly more playful tone than in irritation. Ezio sort of chuckled.
"Sorry, there were a lot of guards to avoid."
She scoffed, mostly because he didn't sound very apologetic at all. "There is an entrance at the very end of this wall at the corner but is secured by two Militia guards. Easily dispatched…though it'll cause a scene," Trinity reported. "There are no entries along the walls in the back, as well as no guards or archers at the back end."
"There is an entryway in front around this corner," Ezio replied, pointing behind him. "Two archers on the roof, two Brute guards blocking the entry."
Trinity's face fell a little. "Unfortunately, we can't scale the courtyard wall and just drop in. It'll draw too much attention," she said, showing him. Ezio gazed down the entire length of the wall, not seeing any crevices or crates to climb. "So, the only way in is through the front."
"Or up…" said Ezio. Trinity turned around, her back having been facing him, and noticed his gaze was upward. She looked up to see what he was looking at.
She half-laughed. How could I have missed that…?
"Or up," she agreed.
There was a building that was across the way from the side of the courtyard that had a hoist on it and hanging over the street was a sturdy wooden platform. By means of the platform, they could easily jump the small gap to the roof of the courtyard.
"I'll kill the archers," she concluded.
Ezio turned to her, surprised. "What?"
"Civilians know not to go on the roofs," she explained quickly, making her way towards the rundown building with the hoist. "It's illegal…you should already know this, Ezio. No one ever pays attention to what is happening on the roofs."
Now that he thought of it, he was on the roofs quite often…and he never noticed anyone ever being aware of him up there.
He was starting to see that people were generally quite oblivious.
"Like I was saying before you cut me off," she continued, "I'll kill the archers on the roof to give you an easy escape. From the roof, I can keep an eye on all the guards within the area while you get into position to kill Uberto as well as cover you when you make your getaway."
"And how am I getting in?" Ezio asked, confused. Trinity smirked from beneath her hood. She turned her gaze to a group of courtesans off a little ways down the street trying to attract attention from anyone who would like their company.
"Use them," she said. "Tell them to distract the two Militia guards in the back entrance…. Once inside, you can make your move on Uberto. Remember, I'll be watching from the roof."
They went over the plan one more time through in slightly more detail before they broke off. Ezio went back around the front to wait for a sign of Uberto, blending in with a group of seven civilians standing around and chatting idly near the front entrance.
Meanwhile, Trinity scaled the building with the hoist and leapt lithely to the wooden platform. Once she was on the roof, she saw the open area of the courtyard for the unveiling of Verroccio's art. There was a large pile of crates that Ezio could easily climb up for his escape once he assassinated the Gonfaloniere.
Trinity turned her attention to the two archers who were at the front of the courtyard, backs facing her and watching the street below for anything suspicious.
She quickly hurried up behind the guard to the left, who was closest to her, clapping her hand over the guard's mouth as she stabbed her hidden blade into his neck. Warm blood gushed forth over her hand but it went unnoticed and he let out a muffled scream.
The other archer, having heard the noise, turned to see what was wrong, but Trinity was already lunging for him, quickly thrusting her blade into the man's neck as well so he would not be able to cry out.
She arranged the two bodies accordingly so that they wouldn't slide off the roof and into the courtyard or the street and attract attention. Trinity hoped that the blood they bled would not drip too far and cause alarm before Ezio would be able to make his kill.
Trinity stood up, holding one of the archer's bow and arrows to make it seem like she was an archer. She scanned the courtyard to check to see if anyone witnessed her killing two guards…but all the nobility seemed far too wrapped up in their idiotic affairs to notice anything of importance.
She turned to plaza and saw Ezio standing in the shadows, waiting. She only noticed him because she was looking for him…but she had to admit, she almost missed him.
Not that long of waiting, she saw their target. He was easy to discern in his teal robes and beret and he was with someone else, who was wearing intricate white robes. Trinity could only guess that this person was of high ranking in Florence. She glanced over at Ezio, who looked like he had every intention of running after Uberto on the spot but a group of guards tarried him as they passed by.
Trinity strained to hear Uberto and his partner's conversation as they approached the building, though it was hard with all the din from city noise.
"Again with this?" she heard Uberto say with heavy irritation.
"You have overstepped your bounds, Uberto," said the man in white, sounding angry as well.
The Gonfaloniere scoffed. "Who are you to speak of bounds?" he growled, casting a glare at his company. "You, who have crowned yourself Lorenzo de' Medici, Principe (Prince) of Firenze."
Trinity's eyes widened slightly. Lorenzo de' Medici…?
She had heard her father and Giovanni mention Lorenzo plenty of times in the past, seeing that Lorenzo was an ally of theirs and has been for some time. She just had never met the man before.
"I have done no such thing!" defended Lorenzo.
"Of course not," Uberto said, unconvinced. "Ever innocent. How convenient…. At least now we see how far your reach extends, which is to say, nowhere at all! It has proved a valuable lesson for me and my allies."
"Yes," said Lorenzo as they moved closer to the front entry, sounding almost sinister "Your allies the Pazzi. Is that what this is about?"
"Be careful with your words, Lorenzo," snapped Uberto as they moved into the courtyard. "You might attract the wrong sort of attention."
With that, the two parted, greeting different groups of people within the unveiling. Trinity turned to Ezio, making a motion for him to start executing their plan. Ezio quickly made his way back to the side of the courtyard where the group of courtesans were.
After a minute of conversing with the four ladies and handing one of them a small pouch, they followed him to the back entrance of the unveiling. The two Militia guards were easily distracted with the courtesans, enamored with their seduction. The courtesans led them away from the unveiling and Ezio slipped inside inconspicuously.
It was ridiculous how easy it was to infiltrate the courtyard.
Trinity saw Ezio begin to weave his way between groups of people, though largely unnoticed by anyone…but he never took his gaze off of the Gonfaloniere.
"Good evening, Gonfaloniere," said a man with presumably his wife that Uberto had just approached.
"To you as well," Trinity heard Uberto reply pleasantly. "I trust you're enjoying yourselves?"
Trinity glanced at Ezio's progress. He had stopped in the shadows of the overhang and behind the crates, which was not far from Uberto's current position. She noted that there was only two guards within the courtyard, not including the four that were "supposedly" standing watch at the entrances.
"Indeed. It's a nice distraction from that nasty business with the Auditore family," said the man.
Uberto sighed. "And to think I once thought of Giovanni as…as a brother," he said, in mock sadness. Trinity snorted quietly to herself as she settled down into a crouch.
The man he was conversing with put a hand to Uberto's shoulder, looking sympathetic. "Don't blame yourself," said the man gently. "How could you have known what evils he planned?"
Trinity could see, even from this distance, that Ezio was growing furious but he refused to move.
What the hell is he waiting for? He has a perfect opportunity to kill him, she thought, watching him. She was confused…but this was his assassination…he could do what he wanted.
To a certain extent.
The man's wife spoke up. "I say we strike that traitor's name from the record books," she said scathingly. "Let history forget that he ever even existed."
Uberto's interest piqued at this. "Yes, I should look into that," he replied thoughtfully. "If you'll excuse me for a moment…"
And with that, Uberto walked away from the couple…but within two steps, someone else was after his attention.
"Uberto!" a woman's sweet voice called. She was somewhat closer to Trinity. "A moment of your time."
"Anything for you, Beatrice," said Uberto said kindly, going over to her and two other lady friends. The woman, Beatrice, giggled a little at Uberto's near flirtatious tone and Trinity was fairly certain the woman even snorted somewhere in the midst of that giggle, which inadvertently caused Trinity to suppress her own laugh of shock.
She knew she shouldn't be laughing at the moment but Trinity was just surprised the woman Beatrice snort-laughed.
To refocus herself, Trinity glanced at Ezio again…and he hadn't moved from his spot of hiding.
"So, tell us!" said Beatrice, clutching Uberto's sleeve. "How does it feel to be a hero?"
Trinity rolled her eyes.
"Please, I am no such thing," replied Uberto modestly and smiling. "As Gonfaloniere, it is my duty to insure that the city of Firenze remains a shining beacon of justice."
At that point, Trinity concluded that Uberto Alberti was just spewing out fancy words and phrases but held no meaning to what he was saying.
A true politician, she mused.
"Corruption and its ilk shall find no purchase here so long as I am in control," Uberto finished. Again, Trinity scoffed quietly to herself, amused by this man's brazen lies and indirect praises to himself.
"You are a treasure, Uberto," said Beatrice, smiling at him coyly. "I hope Lorenzo recognizes that."
Trinity saw his face darken. "Yes," he said with a tone of irritation. "Our great leader…Lorenzo. I'll see you ladies later."
It was clear the ladies were surprised by his abrupt mood change and leave but that didn't stop Uberto from parting from them. Trinity watched as he walked away and a pair of men caught him after he moved away.
"Ah! Uberto, there you are!" said one of them, as if surprised that he was there. "I was just telling the others about the execution."
"I mean no offense," said the other man apologetically, "but what if they did not act alone?"
Uberto laughed dryly. "You can rest easy, friends," he assured them. "I am confident that this treachery began and ended with the Auditore family."
"And…what of the other son?" asked the first man. "Ezio, was it?"
"The child poses no danger," said Uberto firmly. At this, Trinity truly wished she could laugh aloud without giving herself away. "Soft hands, and an even softer head. He'll be caught and executed before the week is out."
Trinity shook her head and checked on Ezio. He had moved to another shaded position where he was closer to Uberto but still hidden. She could see that the last conversation Uberto had was riling Ezio up.
She only assumed he was waiting to kill him to see if there was any information he could gather from Uberto on his family's wrongful execution…that seemed to be the only explanation as to why he was still waiting.
Though the longer he waited, the more likely his chance would slip away and he would get caught.
She returned her attention to Uberto and noticed the two men had left him but another couple was approaching him. She figured he was a popular man tonight, seeing that everyone thought he was some sort of savior.
"Evening to you, Gonfaloniere," said the woman.
"Is everything to your satisfaction?" Uberto asked once he half bowed.
The woman chuckled. "Do you even need to ask?" she replied. "Of course."
"Accept our thanks," said her husband with a grateful expression, "for this evening, and for helping to keep Firenze safe. I always had my doubts about the Auditore…. Where did the family even come from? To gain such wealth and…and prestige in just a single generation?"
"And the children…with the odd names," added the wife. "They're always making trouble."
"No surprise, given the company their father kept," continued the husband, rolling his eyes. "Whores and thieves, I swear it."
Uberto looked bored of the conversation but nodded. "Indeed," he replied. "It is clear now that he sought to undermine the city…to overturn all we've worked so hard to build!"
"But thanks to you, that's over," exclaimed the man, grinning at the Gonfaloniere.
Trinity sighed, growing bored.
She turned her gaze again to Ezio and was surprised to find him coming out from hiding now. She could only guess that he had had enough of what he was hearing and wanted to kill Uberto for all the lies he was spreading.
Uberto turned abruptly, having seen Ezio from the corner of his eye.
"You!" he cried, backing away as Ezio advanced with a threatening stride. At this, the nobility collectively gasped at the sight of Ezio, backing away with fear.
Trinity couldn't help but smile slightly; he did seem quite intimidating as he advanced on Uberto like a wild animal to his prey.
Ezio flicked his wrist, his hidden blade springing forth before he quickly reached out and stabbed the Gonfaloniere viciously.
That was Trinity's cue to rise to a stand and get ready to protect Ezio for his escape. Out of anger, Ezio had stabbed Uberto multiple times with an enormous amount of force. Uberto collapsed to the ground, Ezio kneeling beside the Gonfaloniere because it looked like he was about to speak.
"You would have done the same…" said Uberto, struggling to breathe, "to save the ones you love."
"Yes, I would," said Ezio, pure hatred dripping in his tone. "And I have…"
He rose up to a stand, the crowd of people hovering around him and the now dead Gonfaloniere. They were beginning to whisper and some women were wailing.
"The Auditore are not dead!" Ezio shouted, turning to glare at everyone. "I'm still here. ME! Ezio! Ezio Auditore!"
Idiot! thought Trinity, her eyes frantically searching the mass of people for guards. How could you give yourself away!
"Assassino!" cried a woman from the crowd, which led to many more voices shouting the same statement.
The two Brute guards that had been standing watch were already pushing their way through the throng of nobility to get to Ezio and Trinity could see at least another five standard guards rushing into the courtyard.
She had no idea where they even came from but she had to get Ezio out of there; he was already surrounded by guards. Even from this height, she could see the adrenaline that was pumping through his veins, thinking he was ready for a fight.
Trinity knew he wouldn't be able to hold his own…not with two Brute guards in the mix.
She flicked her hidden blade out and leapt off the roof, landing on the shoulders of one of the standard guards. Trinity slammed her blade into the top of his head as the guard collapsed at her weight and wrenched it out as they hit the ground.
Trinity rolled to a stand beside Ezio, quickly withdrawing her sword.
"Run, Ezio!" she commanded. "Go!"
He had already taken out his sword, ready to fight the guards. "No, I'm-!"
"Go!" she shouted, pushing him towards the crates. "Don't stop running! Get out of here!"
Without thinking, he quickly climbed the crates she had shoved him to. When he pulled himself on the roof, he turned to see Trinity blocking the crates from the guards so they couldn't pursue him.
"Trinity, andiamo (let's go)!" he shouted to her, thinking she was going to follow him.
She glanced up and saw Ezio hesitating on whether or not he should flee or fight. "Scappa! (Run!)" Trinity yelled, parrying an attack from her right. "I'll keep them at bay! Just go!"
Ezio turned on his heel and sprinted across the roof, away from the courtyard. He wasn't so sure about leaving her behind…but she seemed to know what she was doing.
He hoped she would make it back alive.
Just wanted to say that I hope my OC doesn't come off as Mary Sue-ish. That's the LAST thing I want...the reason i say this is because Trinity is a skilled assassin, making her seem perfect. She's not! I can assure you all that Trinity and Deja aren't perfect humans. comparing them at the moment to Ezio/Desmond makes her seem too... "invincible" because of what she can do but they are just trained assassins when Ezio/Desmond aren't. I shouldn't HAVE to explain that but the problem with fanfics is that people assume quickly that these characters are mary sues... anyways. hope you liked the chapter! xoxo