Chapter 17 of the Dreaming.

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Canto XVII

The cool April winds flew over the desolated vineyard. No sheep were out for pasture, and no farmer was out in the field. At times like this, the townspeople were down and morose. There was not much of work to be done, and the bite of the ending winter was harsh, even on the children. Serafina had very little experience in medication, but she insisted on helping the doctor treat his patients. Five children were seriously ill, they were experiencing high fevers, and they claimed that their throats were sore. One of them was Cirino.

"Am I going to be fine Signorina?" the little boy asked. Serafina smiled at him, wiping the heavy sweat off his brow, and stroke his cheek to keep him fortified. "Yes, you will be Cirino, stay strong, and you will be alright," she said. "I will, thank you very much Signorina." The boy coughed a bit, and she could see his struggle as he tried to breathe properly. She advised the boy and the others as well, to rest. The mothers tucked their children into bed, muttering a quiet good night before leaving the small clinic. Serafina picked up the basin next to Cirino's bed, and silently prayed for their well-being. She feared the illness would escalate into something dangerous, and the doctor could not even do anything with incomplete medicinal supplies. The town's funds were running low, and the well was nearly empty, they were doomed.

She closed the door behind her, settling the basin on top of the table near her, and inquired the doctor if there was anything else to be done. He waved his hand, saying there was nothing more. Serafina curtsied formally, and returned to the Auditore villa. She had not spoken one word to Ezio ever since their argument, and none had the initiative to speak. Mario greeted her at the top of the stairs, and asked her to follow him to his office.

"How are the children?" he inquired. "They are resting for now, but without the proper treatment, we might not be able to help them in time," said Serafina. The condottiero nodded promptly, he sauntered over to his tall glass window to gaze at the houses below. These people were the basic foundation of his grandfather's plans, they were the ones who kept this place whole, and in turn, he protects them from numerous invasions.

"There is only one person I know of who is capable of doing this in order to evict us from our walls." Vieri, of course, he knew Ezio was still alive, and he knew his little sister was residing with his greatest enemy. He will do whatever it takes to take them both out, even if it means shedding innocent blood.

"To think that my brother has the authority to do this, do you know where he is hiding?" Mario turned to his map of Tuscany, and pointed out one location, just North West of Monteriggioni.

"My men have informed me that the treacherous snake is lurking in San Gimignano. He is armed, and well-protected by his father's minions. They've been pestering us for the past months, forcing us to give up, and if you may recall your incident, but we will never surrender!" exclaimed Mario. All the while, Serafina thought of what she would do instead. Vieri had cut off their provisions; there was no way of repossessing them unless they put on a bargain. As she pondered, Ezio entered the office. He took a quick glance at Serafina, and then faced his uncle. Mario smiled, somewhat jauntily, and patted his nephew's shoulder.

"I have good news for you, nipote," he said "You have finally completed your training, and you are ready to stand by our side, to defeat those idiot Templars!" Ezio smiled hesitantly, Serafina noted, she knew he was not going to stay and assist his family. It was wrong in many ways, for someone to train you in order to protect yourself from your enemies, and only to run away in the end, that was not the kind of hero Serafina had thought of Ezio. He was a scared boy still, dependent on others to help him out of his trouble. When the young lad expressed his apologies, and his plans for travelling to Spain, his uncle was outraged, and mentioned how his late brother would have scolded him for giving up easily. "That is it! Good luck to you!" Mario spat, and left his workplace. Ezio turned, and looked at Serafina. She merely averted her gaze from him, following Mario out of the high-ceilinged room. But then she felt a strong hand grasp hers.

"Serafina wait—"

"Your uncle is right Ezio, what gave you the reason to run away? Do you not want to avenge your family's death? Is it not strange that your father died without much cause, without proper judgment?" she said. Ezio gradually loosened his grasp, and Serafina retracted her hand. She stared at him for long, and waited for him to respond, but all she ever received was silence. "Your uncle wishes to avenge his brother's death, why not the same for you?" She turned away, and did not know where to go; she stopped near the west gates, and gazed at the countryside. Vieri wanted something out of them, not only Ezio.

She saw Mario's army disappearing into the hills, confidently heading towards their opponent's territory. Serafina clenched her fists forcefully, thinking about the children's safety, and of Ezio's. She had no intention of declining his offer, she even wanted to leap for joy when he mentioned about marriage. In exchange for everything that he has done for her, she decided to take his place. Serafina rushed back into the stables, hoping to find an available horse for her quick travel. The horse groom was nowhere to be seen; yet one stallion had been prepared for someone.

Quietly, she took the white steed by the reins, and led it out into the open, once there, Serafina mounted its back, and swiftly galloped towards San Gimignano. "Serafina? Serafina!" Ezio searched the entire commune, but could not find the girl anywhere. He raced back to Claudia, asking her if she had seen the gray-eyed maiden. His sister shook her head, unfortunately, till Constantina came up to them quietly. "Excuse me, Signore Ezio, if you are looking for Signorina Serafina, then you are too late," she explained. "What do you mean by that?" said Ezio, heatedly. "She has stolen one of the horses, and trailed after your uncle to San Gimignano."

Serafina slowed her horse down after seeing the tall towers of the commune, the stallion screamed a bit, after galloping for at least an hour and a half, it must be extremely tired. She decided to leave the poor animal near a small farm, and walked the rest of the way. Her cheeks burned as she ambled in a steady pace. 'What are you doing Serafina?' she asked herself 'You will get killed if you face Vieri again' her sense of right and wrong was battling inside her mind.

She imagined her life without Ezio in it, she realized it would have remained the same: cold and solitary, not a bit of hope sparked, and no freedom at all. When she walked past the gates of the town, she thanked Ezio for bringing the warmth she had always wanted, and thanked God for letting her experience the liberation, and the truth. Serafina looked at her new surroundings. She was not at all familiar with this sort of place, nonetheless she must hurry. The small narrow streets were crowded with people and merchants alike, she tried to search without having to ask anybody, till she came across a group of Pazzi servants disturbing a man's fruit stall.

"Hey! You over there!" one of them shouted, he pointed at Serafina, and she told herself not to move at all. They harshly seized her, and led her someplace, far from the eyes of the spectators. The servants led her to a small house just near one of the towers, Serafina silently prayed to God, asking for His guidance and protection. They entered through the front entrance, and waited near the courtyard. One of them went to call for their master, while the others held Serafina securely in her place.

The house reminded her of home, though it was small, it felt like everything was the same to her, including the small tunnel they had walked through. The servant returned, and Serafina slowly stared up at the approaching figure. Vieri smiled excitedly, he thanked his loyal servants for their job well done, and inquired them how on earth they were able to capture the missing Pazzi sibling.

"Uhh," said one servant "We do not know, she merely appeared in the crowd, and so we thought, why not bring her here?" Vieri replied with a curt nod, and told them to leave. The guard that held Serafina's hands was reluctant to release his grip, at that moment he leaned down, and took a whiff of her perfume. Serafina shuddered, and moved away from him.

"Come, my dear Serafina, I am sure you are famished after your long journey coming here," said Vieri. He placed an arm around the young lady, and directed her to the dining hall where he told her to sit on the chair beside him. Serafina obeyed his order, and watched his every movement. Her fingers were shaking on her lap, and she did her best not to perspire. Vieri noticed, nevertheless, and gently held her hands in his.

"Do not be afraid of me, do you think I will hurt you after what you've done?" Serafina did not dare look, she could feel the anger burning from his hold alone, and she felt one trickle of sweat roll past her cheek. Her foster brother chuckled, and moved away to choose which wine should go best with their meal.

"Father and I were very furious when we found out that you ran off, dear Serafina, he interrogated our sister Fiorella, but she wouldn't say a word. She's currently at a monastery not far from here, bestowing all of her time to the Lord." He turned to see if there was a slight bit of a reaction, there was none; the little French bastard was harder to threat. The maidservants placed an array of food pleasing to anyone's eye, while Vieri poured the dark red wine into Serafina's glass.

"Where is father?" she asked, finally. "He is currently meeting our benefactor, they will arrive soon, and they might even join us for dinner," said Vieri. Serafina could barely touch her food, she could not gather her appetite, and she feared every minute spent with a ma associated with the Auditore slaying. Her spoon slipped from her fingers, and she mentally cursed herself.

"No, I will get it myself." Vieri suggested, and he bent down to pick up the silverware. Another servant came to replace the one she dropped, and returned dutifully to the side with the others. She noticed the aspect of fear in their faces, as well as the quivering of their brows.

"You know Serafina, I still do not know your intention of coming here, alone at that. Did your pretty little lover leave you to rot? Is that why you've come crawling back to me?" Serafina paused in mid-chew, and unexpectedly swallowed. She sipped her wine to down her food. "If you think Ezio is stupid enough to leave me in your clutches, he is not, and to crawl back to you? That is the lowliest thing I would ever do." She said, confidently.

Vieri cleared his throat forcefully, and she waited for his comeback. He wiped his mouth clean with the table napkin, and suddenly, he slapped Serafina across the face. It was not harsh, but a mere warning not to speak so rudely again. He grasped her auburn hair tightly in his fist that it brought out the pained look on her face. He stood up, taking her with him, and dragged her across the room towards the courtyard. Vieri threw her to the ground abusively, and Serafina tried to get up quickly, however, the Pazzi had kicked her back down.

"Why, isn't this nostalgic? Remember this scene Serafina? Remember how you quivered behind that column, too afraid to even help me stand? Well, no one is here to pity you now. No one, but God maybe, pities you greatly. Bring me my father's cane! Now!" Vieri shouted. A frantic servant hurried to his side with the cane in his quaking hands. Serafina stared up at him, quietly weeping for what was about to come. "Mother, please forgive your son," she whispered to the skies above, and closed her eyes when Vieri raised the cane above his head.

"STOP!"

Vieri stopped instantaneously, and every ounce of courage in his body left him at the sound of his father's voice. Serafina steadily opened her eyes, and saw Francesco de' Pazzi along with Jacopo. The old man quickly ran over to her in tears, and enveloped her in a warm embrace. 'Dear God, thank you! Thank you' he said to himself over and over. Serafina returned her great uncle's hug, and hoped that for the best, everything will turn out fine.