Chapter 4 Where did that checca learn Latin anyway?

My euphoria continued the entire way to Monteriggioni, and upon arriving at the gate I contently petted my stallions neck, for he had not rested for one moment. His muscled chest was heaving, and white foam dripped from his mouth. The white of his eyes were red with small veins, but his pupils stood calm and proud.

I dismounted my horse right in front of the gate and did not bother to bring him to the stables. Either someone else would take him on a next journey, or one of the stable boys would take him away. I whistled a merry tune while I petted the stallion again, when he flicked his ears curiously and whinnied softly.

He followed me after that moment, and refused to be blown off by harsh words. I whistled again, this time low and long, and the coal stallion then refused to make another step. After trying a few more times, it seemed as if we both got the trick, and every time the horse obeyed my whistled order.

'Well, well, well.. Seems like I found myself a new amico..' I muttered softly, an adoring grin appearing on my face. 'I shall call you Ombra for the time being, for I haven't seen one as dark as you.'

Signaling Ombra to stay where he was, I went into Monteriggioni, and threw a small silver coin to the first boy I encountered. As I crouched down beside him, I started to speak softly.

'You, caro, can you tell me where I can find ser Auditore?'

'Grazie signorita! Both of the Auditore sirs are going to San Gimignano, to take it back from the Pazzi!' The boy cried out, his eyes shining with unstoppable joy.

Grinning, I inclined my head. 'Grazie..' Then rose from my crouch and turned back to the gate again. Whistling for Ombra, I waited for a moment, doubting the horse would even listen to my plea. My doubts were countered, however, when he arrived galloping, refreshed by his incredible short break.

Night fell when we arrived finally at San Gimignano. Stars were popping up in the clear sky, and the moon made her nightly appearance. Her adoring silver light seemed to lighten the entire atmosphere around us, but underneath was lurking a darker shadow. I grumbled as I remembered what the boy had said. The Pazzi were a very trouble-making family, and put too much effort in maintaining their violent nature. Before I had gotten in all the trouble with Ezio, I had had several encounters with Vieri de Pazzi, who was a very good example of the proud and ill-natured family.

I steered Ombra towards the walled city, and eyed the high watchtowers curiously. I had heard of them and their height, but I had not imagined them reaching so far into the sky.

We approached the wall with the utmost caution, but there were large gaps in between the patrolling guards, and it wasn't hard to make our way towards the shadow of the high wall. Clashing metal arose from one of the main gates: Someone was fighting for entrance into the city. I grinned to myself. I would be glad to of service to those opposing the Pazzi.

Scanning the looming wall above me, I motioned Ombra closer to it. Bringing the snickering stallion to a halt, I shot a silent prayer to the skies above, and hoped intensely that Ombra would prove to be more than just a brainless mule. Taking my feet out of the stirrups, and pulled up my knees, so that I was kneeling upon the saddle. Petting Ombra's neck for soothing, I pulled up my legs even more and placed both of my feet sideways on the saddle. Then I straightened myself, hoping Ombra would remain motionless, and used the wall as support.

Ombra snickered softly, but it sounded more like a stifled laughter, as if he was happily offended by my doubts in him. He made a teasing step forward, which threw me slightly out of balance, but then remained motionless again. Chuckling softly, I reached upwards with my arms, and I could just reach the edge of the wall. From there on, it was easy just to pull myself up and place myself on the wall.

Whistling low and long, I told Ombra to stay in place, smiled when he let out a reassuring whinny and then started to follow the wall's path. The clashing of metal against metal became louder, but I had to hide in a small watch house on top of the reinforced wall when a patrolling guard came closer. It was necessary to take him down, however, when he would not pass by.

Paola had asked Leonardo da Vinci to replicate Ezio's hidden blade. He had refused at first, claiming that he would not be able to, for the craftsmanship had been brilliant. When Paola offered him a certain amount of rare metals however, he changed his mind, and provided with the necessary means, he was able to finish the weapon in over a week.

Now said weapon had punctured the patrolling guard's neck as easily as it would have with butter. It had taken much effort, but my effectiveness with the weapon had greatly improved.

I continued my way towards the gate, from where still clanging sounds appeared, and soon I saw the gate coming in sight.

Something to my right, however, down the wall, claimed my attention. A shadow made his way along the wall, in the direction I had come from. Upon entering a small moonlit area, I recognized the posture of a hooded male, who was clad in hues of white and red.

There was something fairly familiar about the man.. the way he moved and the way he made use of the shadows. While I was digging into my memory, the man looked up, and one side of his face was lit by the moon above. Most of his face was still hidden in the shadows of his hood, but a nicely carved jawline stood out. Stubble covered the man's lower face, but it did not quite make his way all around his mouth. A small line, a scar, I realized, on the side of his lips stood out from the rest of his face. It triggered something in my mind. Two brown eyes appeared before my mind's eye, shining gold in a certain light.

I snorted. Ezio had learned how to sneak. I eyed Ezio make his way further down the wall, and a simple, but mischievous plot formed in my head. A playful grin spread across my face, and I slowly followed Ezio on my beams, high and safely on the wall. I moved slightly faster than him, and soon, I was adjacent to him, but higher.

I softly clacked with my tongue, and as Ezio's head whipped up, I leaped of the wall. When I collided with Ezio, I brought him straight to the ground, and ended up sitting on his chest. He struggled in his surprise against my weight, but I kept him firmly pressed against the ground.

'Well, well, you just can't resist from catching me every time I fall, can you now?' I grinned.

Peering through narrowed eyes, Ezio tried to define my features, which where hidden by my own black hood. 'Cecilia?' He muttered hesitantly.

Bursting out in chuckles, I swept down my hood, and revealed my smirking face, brown curls escaping from their place.

'Cecilia! It's been too long!' Ezio uttered, while surprise appeared on his face. 'How..? W-What are you doing here?'

'Let's just say that I thought you could use some help.. The Pazzi aren't easy enemies.'

'They sure aren't. I'm frantic to hear your story, amica, but I'm afraid that must wait. I am to open the gate for my uncle and his mercenaries.'

'Well, then. Let's not keep them waiting, shall we?' I replied merrily.

A silent grin formed on Ezio's visage. His eyes wavered slightly towards me still sitting on his chest, and his grin widened.

'I see you have not changed one bit.' I sneered, but smiled anyway, while I smacked Ezio softly on his head. Getting of him, I straightened myself and eyed up again towards the looming wall above us.

'I tried.' Ezio spoke, following my gaze. 'But it seems it is nowhere low enough to scale the wall.'

I grinned knowingly, and Ezio saw it. 'Wait a moment. How did you get up there in the first place?'

'Simple, I brought my own little step.' Grinning at Ezio's puzzled face, I whistled sharply, and kept my eyes fixed on Ezio's. He kept his face turned to mine, but his eyes switched from side to side, trying to determine the source of my confidence. He turned around and was nearly trampled by Ombra, who whinnied happily upon seeing us both.

Ezio jumped backwards, startled by Ombra's sudden appearance, but he recovered swiftly. He approached the stallion with outstretched arms, and a wide grin got plastered to his face. 'He is a gorgeous animal..' He spoke, admiring the horse's black derma. Ombra snorted softly, and nearly pushed Ezio aside when he made his way to me. Pushing his nose into my hand, he snickered contently. Smirking at Ezio concerning the stallion's preference, I took his reigns, and secured him into place.

'Up you go, before he despises you even more.' I joked, and Ezio shot me a indignant look, but mounted Ombra, and rose from the saddle. He reached for the wall, was able to pull himself up, and disappeared over the edge of the wall.

I whistled softly at Ombra, released the reigns and climbed on his back. Right about then, Ombra had had enough with the climbing up and down, and took a run for it. I had only just reached up to the edge of the wall, but my grip was about to slip. Pulling myself halfway up, my hand seemed to slide from its grasp on the edge, but someone grabbed my shoulder before I could fall down.

Ezio pulled me over the edge and even further, until I was just standing next to him. I raised my eyebrows at him, when I noticed his hand still placed upon my hip. Ezio smirked back at me, but did not move his hand.

'What is it with you and falling?'

I frowned and punched his shoulder lightly with my fist. I grumbled softly. 'Arrogant cretino.. sei fuori di testa.. What's it with you and saving women who are perfectly capable of taking care of their own?'

Ezio laughed out loud, and I noticed that his laugh had become somewhat more carefree. Two years ago it had been a forced smile, one that didn't quite make it to his eyes.

I punched his shoulder again, this time forcing him to back off and retreat a few steps. 'Lets just get you to open that gate, shall we?'

Ezio and I followed the wall back towards the gate, where a large group of mercenaries were already waiting. Impatience showed on their faces, and some were dully picking the grass apart with their weapons. While Ezio opened the gate, I waited just a small distance away from the gate, and watched as the mercenaries streamed into the small plaza.

I picked out Ezio's uncle, Mario Auditore, and smiled. He wasn't very hard to distinguish him from other men, his booming laugh and large scar on his face not common among others.

Ezio rejoined me the moment Mario made his way to me. He grinned when he saw the Order's symbol on my belt. 'Well, well, I send my nipote out to open the gate, and he returns with a beautiful lady at his side..'

His grin widened and he let out a booming laugh. Then he bowed deeply. 'An honor, signorita.'

I smiled and inclined my head at him, while Ezio continued with new impatience.

'Uncle, allow me and Cecilia to leave you here and go after Vieri before he escapes.'

Mario pondered for a while before replying. 'Fine, go catch him, but do be careful. Me and my mercenaries will create some disturbances throughout the city, but don't count on us fully.. We might not be able to help you when trouble arises.'

'Si, we shall get to him before we ever feel the need for your assistance.' Ezio replied, pleased with the outcome of his pleads.

I grinned. Mario showed very much similarities to Giulio, who had a similar booming voice and who pulled the same face when pondering about something. My grin was still plastered to my face when Ezio and I had already explored most of San Gimignano. Guided by the advice of local citizens, we made our way towards the western gate. The most western gate was also the biggest, and was also the most defensible. Vieri was seen there not too long ago, and so we hastened over there as fast as we could.

Soon, the gate came in sight, accompanied by the noises of metal clashing against metal. Small groups of fighting men came into sight, and I recognized guards wearing the Pazzi coat of arms on their armor. They seemed to be fighting with local mercenaries, who had probably heard of Mario Auditore's attempt to free the town again.

We reached the wall and it's large gate and our arrival wasn't left unnoticed.

Vieri, flanked by several guards, stood high on a tower on the left side of the gate, his hands leaning on tower's balustrade. Vieri wasn't a very tall guy, so he had to make up for that in his personality. His hair was sleek and greasy, and almost stuck to his filthy face. A beret-like hat sat on top of his head, and his clothes were clearly of a noble family. I shivered when I remembered my encounters with him back in Firenze. I had never been a target of his hormones, and he never made plans to 'spread my legs'. At one point he had picked out Katharina, one of the girls who was actually nice to me, as a new conquest, and I had snapped. I had openly yelled at him, and had called him every nasty name that resided in my vocabulary.

Let's just say he had not quite liked that, and he too had then taken every opportunity to embarrass me in public. He had made quite a team with Theola, one of the girls that had made it her life's mission to annoy the hell out of me.

I pulled down my hood to get a better view on Vieri, who still stood high on the tower above.

Vieri snickered loudly upon seeing my face. 'Aah! Cecilia! And Ezio too! What a nice surprise!'

Just hearing that checca speak my name was enough to boil my blood. 'Mannaggia! Come down you codardo, and I'll give you a surprise!'

'I must say, tesoro, you grew up very nicely! Much better than all those years ago.'

I tightened my fists and rushed forward, only to be stopped by Ezio's hand on my shoulder. 'I'll have his head!' I muttered darkly.

'But I see that you have not lost that big mouth of yours. Too bad, if you weren't a filia neminis I would have certainly picked you out as an exploit for my victory today!'

I gritted my teeth and my fists literally itched. Calling me a filia neminis was worse for me than being called a whore. It made things very, very personal.

'Frocio! Go save your balls before I tear them off!'

Ezio had to pressure his hand on my shoulder again to stop me from charging off. We were both startled however, when a large group of guards rushed into the small plaza, swords drawn. Before we were able to run to safety, Mario ran past us, followed by his mercenaries. He winked happily at us, before dodging an attack and taking down his target.

Ezio nudged my shoulder again and I turned my gaze to him. 'Let me finish Vieri. Let me avenge my family's loss.' His eyes stood pleading, but determined. I doubted that if I wouldn't say yes it would stop him.

'Cecilia, please!'

'Fine. But you make sure he gets his well deserved end.' I gave in, grumbling. 'I'll climb the right wall and make sure he doesn't get any assistance.'

Ezio nodded, kept my gaze for a while, then turned to the wall, left of the tower. He swiftly scaled upwards, and soon started on the ascend of the watchtower. I sprinted off, too, and climbed the other wall. When I reached the balustrade, I checked the guards there, reached up to one and pulled him backwards, throwing him off the wall.

His yell alarmed the others, and soon I was surrounded by drawn swords. They weren't very bright though, and dispatching them was easy. A well placed blown of my sword made one of them stumble into another, giving me the opportunity to run the first through with my blade. His body fell down the wall, and smacked on the ground with a sickening thud.

I sparred with the other two for a while, while I silently tried to hear the fight between Vieri and Ezio. They were out of my line of sight, so I leaped forward, and forced the two guards to readjust their position. I had now a good sight on the tower, and saw Ezio fighting Vieri with renewed vigor. Vieri was good with the sword, but hadn't received the intense training Ezio had.

'When I finish you, checca, I'll make sure that the lady receives proper.. handling.' Vieri yelled through his blows, trying to force Ezio into making a mistake.

'Oh trust me, she'll crush you before you can lay a hand on her.' Ezio replied, while he gritted his teeth.

This went on for a while, and the desire to join them grew bigger. The two guards, however, with whom I was sparring, thought differently, and did not provide any opportunity to slip away.

Vieri then suddenly faltered, and stumbled backwards. He fell to the ground, sword rolling away from him. I couldn't see him anymore, and also missed the fact that he gathered a handful of dirt when on the ground. Ezio rose above him, sword raised, and ready to strike.

'This is the last time you opposed me, Auditore.' Vieri sneered hatefully.

'You forget your position, Vieri, I'll run you through before you can say more.'

'You are more wrong than you can imagine..' Vieri muttered again, a sadistic glint taking over his eyes.

I did not see him throw the dirt in Ezio's face, but I did hear a loud cry of pain. I growled softly, struck out to one of my opposing guards, and pushed the other one off the wall, then sprinted towards the tower. After ascending it, I swiftly climbed over the balustrade, and found Ezio cringing on the floor. He was rubbing his eyes, trying to get out the dust, while he wildly tried to watch his environment.

Hasty footsteps made their way away from us, and I saw Vieri sprint off to the stables. Grunting, I realized he would be long gone before I would be able to chase him.

'Where did he go? Where did that bastardo flee to?' Ezio yelled, still unable to see.

'Be silent, Ezio. He's long gone. We won't be able to overtake him.'

'We don't know until we try!' He rose from the ground, but I worked him down again.

'Sit still! It's of no use. Now, stop rubbing your eyes, you're only making it worse.' I spoke sternly, and crouched down beside him. Softly, I started to remove the blobs of mud from his eyes and face, while he groaned occasionally.

'It's over. We failed.' Ezio muttered softly, shaking his head slightly.

'Don't be silly. This isn't over before Vieri lies dead before us.' I grimly said, and felt a certain determination coming over me, and I realized that I indeed wouldn't rest until Vieri's death.

A.N.

Vieri is alive! Didn't expect that did you now? :D
We'll see what his role will be further on in the story.

Funny note: filia neminis means 'daughter of none' in Latin. So Vieri knows that Cecilia was adopted by her old patroness. Let's just say that it's a personal flaw in Cecilia for taking such value in her origin and parents. I do not blame her though, I would also be pretty pissed off when I was left with a grumpy, gossipy old lady by my parents :3

Read&Review please C: