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Chapter Eight: Training
The Auditores and Trinity walked through Monterriggioni without so much as a word from anyone. Mario led them up the steps towards the villa.
Ezio gazed at the large house, remembering it looking a little grander as a child. Now, it was run down with wood planks nailed over the windows. He caught Claudia's apprehensive look before they went inside.
Luckily, the interior was still well taken care of, the white marble still sparkled clean. They all stopped in the foyer and Trinity finally lowered her hood. Mario had a servant bring Claudia and Maria to a room for them to rest, seeing that they were not needed to discuss what happened in Florence. Once they heard the door close somewhere upstairs, Mario turned to the two teenaged assassins.
"So, tell me everything."
It took a small moment for Ezio to reply.
"They executed father for treason," he relayed, sounding angry. "Federico and Petruccio too."
"They came after Ezio as well," said Trinity, folding her arms. "It took us a while to get out of the city. Ezio had some…things to attend to."
She cast a dark glance at him, which he ignored.
"I don't understand," sighed Mario, running a hand over his battle-scarred face. "Do you know why?"
Ezio shook his head slowly. "I have no answers, uncle…" he replied. "Only a list of names from a man who wished me dead."
Trinity snapped her gaze back to Ezio again. "What?" she asked, sounding surprised and angry. "From Uberto?"
"Yes," said Ezio, confused with her tone.
She eyed him, having not been aware that Ezio had even searched the Gonfaloniere's body when he had killed him. Trinity didn't see him take anything…but then again, she had been distracted with watching for guards.
"I still can't believe they are gone," said Ezio, breaking her through her thinking of earlier that day.
"Do not worry, Ezio," said Mario consolingly, putting a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "We will make sense of this."
"I wish I shared your optimism," admitted Ezio.
Mario smiled as reassuringly as he could manage; after all, he had just lost his brother and two nephews. "Your rooms are prepared for you. Sleep well tonight and tomorrow morning, Ezio, go to the market. My men will have some gear for you to outfit yourself with," he explained.
Ezio looked confused. "For what?" he asked.
"Tomorrow morning we begin your training, so you'll need your armor and weapons," replied Mario, looking as if Ezio should already know this.
There was an awkward silence between them.
"Ezio doesn't know anything, Mario," offered Trinity. "Giovanni told him nothing."
Mario looked somewhat astonished at this. "You're not here to train?" was all he managed to say.
"No, uncle," said Ezio, just as confused as Mario. "I came here to escape Firenze…and I intend to take my family further still."
Trinity could sense the slightest amount of anger coming from Mario. She understood how he felt though…Trinity's life now revolved around finishing what her father started and yet Ezio was going to leave his father's work to the wayside.
Giovanni should have told him from the beginning, she thought, strangely irritated. It would have saved a lot of trouble on my part.
"We should sleep," she suggested finally. "We can discuss everything in the morning."
The two men agreed and Mario explained where their rooms were before he turned to go upstairs to sleep.
Trinity, however, did not turn to go upstairs as well, but to leave the villa. Ezio quickly reached out and caught her by her upper arm. She involuntarily gasped in pain since he grabbed her injured left arm.
"Sorry," he said automatically, releasing her.
She half-heartedly glared at him. "What?" she snapped.
"You promised you would tell me why you came to Firenze," he said to her back. "You refused to explain anything to me until we arrived in Monterriggioni…and now we're here. So, you need to start talking."
Trinity didn't reply, only standing in front of the entryway with her back facing him. After a moment, she started to walk again.
"Just go to bed, Ezio," she said, leaving through the doorway. "Everything will be explained to you tomorrow morning."
He ground his teeth together, having no patience anymore for her stubbornness.
"Fine," Ezio growled, turning on his heel and leaving.
No one slept well that night, despite the fact that the Auditore family was finally safe from harm, at least for now.
Ezio thought he heard sobbing the majority of the night. He could tell it was female but he couldn't be sure if it was his mother or sister, or if it was Trinity. It was far too faint for him to be able to discern it…though what he did hear, it sounded like a heart-wrenching cry, one where a dam had been released and there was no stopping the flow of pain.
He fell asleep to the sounds of the sobbing.
"Your eyes are red."
Trinity threw her signature death glare in Ezio's direction.
He had just come back from outfitting himself with the gear that his uncle had gotten for him. He had on simple leather armor, his assassin's robes, and his weapons, including his hidden blade.
Trinity, however, did not don her assassin robes, seeing that they were being repaired and cleaned at the local tailor from her brush with the guards yesterday. Thinking on it, she realized she had been in three separate fights with guards within a half a day's time…which was a first. She hoped it would never repeat itself.
She blamed Ezio for that and did so without shame.
In place of her robes, she was wearing only dark brown breeches that tucked into her brown, leather boots, and a loose fitting shirt. As far as weapons went, she only had her hidden blade and her two daggers attached to her belt, seeing that she gave her sword to Ezio the night before.
The pair was waiting for Mario in his study, both standing at near opposite sides of the room in a somewhat awkward silence.
"Master of the obvious, aren't you?" she snapped, leaning against the wall with her arms folded.
Ezio rolled his eyes but dropped the subject. He didn't feel like fighting with her so early in the morning.
A moment later, and as if on cue, Mario strolled in. "Ah!" he said, surprised they were there waiting. "I wasn't aware that you had received your gear yet, Ezio. That was quick."
"Thank you uncle," said Ezio gratefully. "You did not have to go through the trouble-"
"You are family," interjected Mario dismissively. "Now…let us teach you how to fight, eh?"
"No," said Ezio immediately. He realized it sounded harsh and rude so he calmed himself for a second. "As I said last night, I'm leaving with my mother and sister."
Trinity scoffed from her corner of the study. She lifted up her blood shot eyes and sort of smirked darkly at him.
"You barely held your own against Vieri's men last night, Ezio," she said, pushing herself off the wall to stand straighter. "By the time I had killed ten guards, you had only killed one. If you remember, I saved you and your sister as well."
Ezio scowled at her and opened his mouth to speak.
"You wouldn't survive a week on the road," she continued scathingly before he could say a word. "I don't care if you want to leave or not; it's none of my business. But I will not allow you to put your mother and sister in danger when I did everything I could to ensure their safety."
"You need to be armed with skills and knowledge necessary to defend yourself, nipote (nephew)," added Mario. "If you won't do it for me…do it for your mother and sister."
Ezio hated when he was tag-teamed by Trinity and someone else. She did it with Paola too.
"Fine," he relented angrily. "But before I start any training…I need answers."
He turned to Trinity, who raised an eyebrow at him.
"You've avoided the question long enough," Ezio said. "Why did you turn up in Firenze? You said you were there to see my father."
Trinity glanced at Mario, who nodded slightly behind Ezio, as if giving her permission to speak.
She sighed, annoyed. "Well, I guess there is no use dancing around it," she said, turning to Mario's desk and leaning against it in half a sitting position. "You father was an Assassin."
Ezio did not look convinced. "My father was a paper pusher," he practically snarled.
"No, Ezio," said Mario as gently as he could. "Your father was born and bred to kill."
The young Auditore held a blank expression for a moment.
"Look," huffed Trinity, "your family, the Auditore family, has had a long line of assassins for centuries. My family is no different.
"Our fathers were assassin confidents, which is why they were always in contact with each other and why our families were always on good terms," she explained. "My brothers were trained to become assassins, to follow my father's footsteps and work."
Ezio did not reply for a moment. "And he trained you, I assume," he said, already knowing the answer.
"Yes," she answered. "My mother was against it in the beginning…but I still managed to convince my father to train me as well, though it wasn't entirely expected of me to follow the life of an assassin."
"You and Federico were supposed to be under your father's training by now," said Mario. "Federico might have already been under training and you did not even realize it."
"This still doesn't explain what you were doing in Firenze."
Trinity exhaled heavily again.
"Four days prior to your father's execution, my family was murdered," she said bluntly. "My father…I think he was on his way to Firenze when they caught us by surprise."
She paused, trying to formulate her thoughts.
"My father knew about something…something that involved your family and some sort of conspiracy," she continued, pacing the room. "He didn't have enough time to explain to me what he was talking about, or who the conspiracy involved…he only told me to get to you as fast as possible. That's it. I have no other reason for being there."
It fell silent.
Trinity could see that Ezio's mind was turning furiously at the information that he had just gained. It was obvious that a certain amount of denial was still prevalent but she didn't comment on it, hoping he wouldn't be adamant about his father being a banker, not an assassin.
"All right," he said, unfolding his arms finally. Ezio turned to his uncle. "Let's start the training then."
And so they trained.
For weeks…
Ezio, originally had no intention of staying for this long to train, having only thought it would take a few days…but he realized that his uncle had so much more information about his father's work than he could have imagined. That aside, Ezio realized just how poorly his combat skills were so out of sheer pride, he wanted to prove to anyone and everyone that he could learn to fight, even this far into his life.
Claudia was angry at Ezio's decision to stay for longer than planned…but with a little reasoning, she let the situation stand. She knew that Ezio wouldn't be able to protect her and their mother unless he was trained properly.
Mario knew of the Codex page that Ezio had had without having been told. Mario also took the time to explain everything in detail as best he could about his brother being an assassin. With all the new information, Ezio started picking apart his uncle's library, wondering why his father had kept his true nature secret for so long. He never really got answers.
Trinity was never present for any of Ezio's training sessions…not once. In fact, in the last month, he very rarely saw her. Usually, she was hiding in the study at the top of the villa, pouring over documents and maps. When he did see her, it was at dinner, and she took that time as an opportunity to chide Ezio about his training performance.
"I've seen you on occasion," she said airily just to goad him. "Your stance needs correcting and you rely far too heavily on sight and strength."
And then they would continue bickering for the rest of dinner.
That was their routine. They never stopped arguing or picking on the other, even if they only saw each other for three minutes. Mario always found it amusing, as if they were two small children fighting over a toy or a parent's attention.
As time wore on, training was becoming more intense. Ezio was always sore, using muscles he never knew existed until he would wake up and find himself stiff as a board. Trinity made an appearance to one of his sessions…challenging him to a duel. Ezio, as stubborn as he was, accepted without thinking. Needless to say, he lost humiliatingly to her, where he was on the floor on his back, weaponless, and she was standing over him with a sword point at his throat…all within a six minute span.
She had seemed almost disgusted with his performance as she turned her back on him and Ezio had resolved to work harder just so he could be ready for another arbitrary duel with her.
He worked hard and Mario noticed. His uncle was beginning to wonder if he was only working this hard because he wanted to protect his family…or if it inadvertently became a pride issue where he wanted to prove Trinity wrong. At the end of every day, he sometimes couldn't even move because he was so exhausted.
Today however, he had the day off.
Mario cut him some slack, seeing his performance dropping due the lack of mobility in his arms.
Ezio didn't have much to account for his day, though he slept in late, spent some quality time with some of the courtesans at the brothel, and now was standing on Monterriggioni's outer wall, over looking the soon to be setting sun and landscape. There was a slight breeze, which was cooling and the air was fresh.
"Thank you, Mario," said a familiar voice distantly. "For everything."
Confused, Ezio cast his gaze downwards where the only entrance to the city was beneath him. He saw two figures exiting the city. One was easily recognizable as his uncle, and the other was dressed in all white.
At the recognition of Trinity and Mario, Ezio straightened up from his leaning position and listened intently.
"Of course," said his uncle, waving for the stable boy to bring a horse over. "Are you sure there is nothing else that I can do for you?"
Trinity took the reins of the black stallion. "No," she replied, stroking the nose of the horse while the stable boy put on the tackle for her. "I have everything I need. I'll return as soon as I am finished with the business I must attend to."
Mario lowered his head in understanding as she mounted her horse. She reined the horse around to face Ezio's uncle and stared down at him.
"Buona fortuna, Trinity," he said to her.
"Grazie…I suspect the idiota will be a worthy opponent upon my return?" she asked, the slightest amount teasing prevalent. Ezio snorted quietly with irritation at the name-calling, going unnoticed from below.
Mario sort of laughed. "Ezio is in good hands."
"I know," said Trinity sincerely, turning her horse back around towards the fork in the road that lead either to Florence or through Tuscany. "Don't go easy because he is your nephew, eh?"
With that, she kicked her horse into a gallop, taking the left hand path that led through the Tuscan countryside.
Ezio quickly turned on his heel, sliding quickly down the ladder to the top of a roof. He leapt onto a pile of sturdy crates, and then onto the street floor, causing minor alarm from a group of courtesans and mercenaries.
He wondered why she was leaving Monterriggioni without an explanation, or even a good-bye. It was all very sudden and it confused Ezio. She had made no indication for the last month that she had intentions of leaving.
Mario was strolling into the city when Ezio met him. Mario raised an eyebrow, seeing the darkened expression his nephew had on.
"Where is Trinity going?" Ezio asked.
His uncle eyed him curiously. "I'm not sure," he admitted with a small shrug. "She wouldn't say but she was insistent upon leaving. I have my suspicions though."
Mario started to walk back towards the villa, Ezio following him like a dog to his master. "And that is…?" pressed Ezio when Mario didn't elaborate.
His uncle chuckled. "Trinity is probably going to search for her family's murderer," Mario said. "Well, search for and kill him, of course. Unlike you, she had not been able to exact revenge for the death of her family. I don't know the level of her skill and depending on the murderer himself, it could take years for her to find him."
Mario glanced over at his nephew, seeing a slightly angered and troubled expression on his face, whether Ezio knew he had it or not.
At this, Mario had to laugh outright. "I wouldn't have said good-bye to you either, nipote, if I was her…" he said, patting Ezio on the shoulder consolingly. "But I suspect you'll see her again soon enough."
Ezio immediately, and furiously, stated that he did not care about the fact that Trinity had not bid him farewell and that he also didn't care if he ever saw her again because he couldn't stand her. Mario saw this as an opportunity to continue teasing him all the way back to the villa, only angering his nephew more.