Chapter 3: A Little Faith
The next morning I woke to the sound of people yelling. I crept out of my room and down the hall. As I made my way from the west wing to the main section of the villa, the yelling seemed to get louder and louder. Soon I came to Mario's office, where the yelling seemed to be coming from. The door was cracked a bit so I decided to eavesdrop. "You're insane, Ezio! There are too many other young assassins in need of your guidance and you're thinking about giving your full attention to a hopeless novice like Lia?" Lorenzo yelled at Ezio in his shrilly voice. I made a mental note to punch Lorenzo in the face later. I mean who the hell was he calling hopeless!? "Look, I know Lia may not seem that skillful but looks can be deceiving. Who knows; maybe if pushed hard enough she could reach her full potential." Ezio responded, confidence in his voice. Ezio always believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. "Well Ezio if you're sure she's got what it takes then you may take her under your wing. Just be sure not to neglect Diego and his training. Understand?" Mario told him. "Yes uncle. I promise she won't disappoint us." Ezio reassured them.
Back in my room as I got dressed, I couldn't help but smile widely to myself. Ezio was taking me on as his pupil. Me, not only a novice but a girl at that, and he had one hundred percent confidence in me. There was no way I was going to let him down. I was gonna train extra hard and give it my all...maybe even more. I heard a knock on my door. "Lia it's me, may I come in?" It was Ezio. "Just a minute." I said, quickly pulling my shirt over my bare chest and pulling my hair out of the horribly messy bun it was in and let it flow down my back. Once I thought I looked decent enough; I called Ezio in.
When he walked in he stopped dead in his tracks. He stared at me for a few moments. "What?" I asked. My question seemed to bring him back to reality. "Oh, nothing, it's just...you look very pretty with your hair down like that." I could feel myself blushing at the compliment. "Uh, grazie." I replied. "Anyway I have great news. I'm going to be training you from now on." Ezio told me happily. I tried to sound extra excited; even though I already knew this. "Ezio, thank you so much! I promise, I will make you very proud." I said, maybe too cheerfully. Ezio had a very serious expression as he explained to me. "But understand Lia, I won't be going easy on you just because you're a novice or a woman. I'm going to treat you the same as all my other pupils. The training will be hard work but I'm sure you'll be able to handle it." I nodded in response.
We talked for a while longer, and then it was time for him to go train Diego. He opened the door and stepped out, but before he closed it; I called to him. "Ezio, thanks for having faith in me." I said smiling. "You're welcome." He replied and walked back out. I was so overjoyed, because for once in a long time; I felt full of hope and pride, and I was going to make Ezio even more proud. I closed my hand around the small locket around my neck, closed my eyes and said a small prayer. I thought of my mother and father, and knew I was going to make them proud too.