Bernardo ran for his life in the town of San Gimignano, trailing around the alley ways like a scared rabbit. His guard was most likely already dead, and the assassin tailed him now, catching up quickly. In a frenzied panic, he tried to force himself to run faster, knocking people out of his way and not daring to look back.

It all started with the damned conspiracy. He should have known that signing that contract would be like signing a death sentence…God-damned, stubborn, bastardi Auditores. The wretched son had already killed Uberto. And then that boy, Vieri, his father Francesco going down the same way. He knew that he was coming for him, but the longer he didn't show up, the more paranoid Bernardo became. A month had passed since the attempted murder of the Medici. Bernardo had already been arrested, escaped, and now planed his leave. But by some misfortune, the week when he wanted to plead with the Maestro, the assassin came out of thin air, killing two of his guards before they could even realize what was happening.

His breath was starting to run out, but he pushed himself to run. There's got to be... someone that can... help... a place to hide...!

The figure appeared as if out of nowhere right in front of him. A dark cloak, the hood drawn over its head. And then there was a flash of cold, deadly steel. Bernardo came to a running stop as to not to crash into this person who stood in front of him, denying him passage in the alley way.

As he panted heavily, he gulped - the figure had drawn a long dagger from somewhere beneath the cloak, and in a moment, it was at his throat, frozen. He shook in fear, terrified gaze frantically taking in the light smile that was visible on the lower part of the face.

"Wrong turn," the voice whispered, somewhat mockingly. He turned his head upwards slightly, looking over his victim's head. "Eden?" Bernardo didn't hear the assassin chasing him came to a stop behind him. But he did feel the tip on his blade on his back as he craned his head around to look at him. "You're late."

"Actually, right on time." His jaw nearly fell open as the person that just chased him through half the town threw back her hood with her free hand. Yet her bright and cheerful smile somehow managed to soothe his fear slightly. However, the blades at his throat and back did not even twitch, dead set in the threatening position.

It was a woman that chased him, driving him to the assassin, like a lamb to the slaughter... this was all just a trap, then?

"What kept you?" the assassin asked, his voice a lot more... human than Bernardo expected. He assumed his hunter to be an emotionless killer, if anything. But the man in front of him sounded vaguely irritated, yet mildly amused.

"Oh, you know me. Group of guards started asking questions. I didn't like their tone."

"You didn't kill them, did you?"

"No, just knocked one of them out and made a run for it. I did kill his bodyguards though, just to give us some time. There was a lot of rattle." Her smile never wavered when she talked. "So kill him quickly – the guards will come this way pretty damn soon, and I don't think they want your autograph."

A sharp pain reverberated in Bernardo's chest, near his heart. At the moment, he knew it was all over. He wasn't dead yet, but he already felt the coming doom.

"Now, tell me where I can find Jacopo," the assassin's voice eerily pleasant as he caught his crumpling figure, almost gently laying him out on the ground. The woman, Eden, turned away, looking out for guards, most likely.

"So you can...do to him what you did to... me?" he gasped out.

---

"Ah, it's like our song. By moonlight we meet over a corpse," I sang as I snatched the fat purse off the body. There was no way I'd let the money go to waste. It wasn't like there was a reward for this anyway, so you could say I was compensating. I did have to chase down the fat banker slash Templar all over the town. Cornering him saved us the need to escape the moment people noticed the murder in process. A plan that worked beautifully, may I add, considering we had at least a minute to get away from here, and no witnesses.

"Shush."

"Whenever I see a corpse, I shall think of you," I continued, and Ezio grinned, shaking off the blood on his hidden blade.

"Oh all the things to think about..."

"Because only a corpse can tell how much I miss you..."

"Getting a little creepy." He was laughing now as we cautiously but casually walked away from the body, heading towards the main street. No need to arouse suspicion by acting all twitchy and guilty.

"Shouldn't we climb or something?" I asked, looking up. "I mean, the guards will find the body, and we sort of stand out.

"Alright. After you, Signorina," he gave a magnanimous wave of his hand as he lightly bowed.

"Say that again and I'll hurt you."

"Charming as always," he chuckled as I scaled the wall, ignoring the whispers of the crowd. I ran up the stone house and got a hold of the balcony hanging over our heads. It didn't take us long to reach the roof. That was when the guards found the body, judging by the screams of horror and their angry cries below.

After a somewhat boring month, it was good to finally get out and about. After waiting for any signs of the conspirators for so long, leaving the villa was like a breath of fresh air after being trapped in a cellar. I craved action like never before, reveling in the chase again, and I think Ezio felt the same way.

"There they are! Merda! Don't let them escape!"

"Well, dammit," I cursed under my breath as one of the guards was actually smart enough to look up and notice us. Ezio grabbed my arm and pulled me along the roof. I nearly tripped as we ran, but managed to regain my balance quickly. Behind us, I heard the guards swearing as they climbed after us, arrows whistling behind us and way too close for comfort. We made a sharp turn around a taller building, some monastery spire or something, breaking their line of sight. If we could just-

Without pausing, Ezio yanked me to him face first, forcing me to wrap my arms around his chest and hold on for dear life as he took a flying leap off the roof. Plunging down into the gap between the buildings, I was too shocked to do anything as wind whistled past our falling forms. Without warning, I suddenly felt the familiar prickling of straw around us. Vainly attempting to let out a sharp breath of surprise, I was immediately stopped - this time, the assassin was on top, his hand pressed over my mouth so I wouldn't start screaming. I narrowed my eyes.

"Ouch!" he hissed, his hazel gaze brimming with annoyance as I bit his hand, causing him to yank it away. "Shh! I think I hear them."

I clenched my teeth. My heart beat was still high from the short run and the shock of falling. And we were too freaking close; I was suddenly aware of the way his head was resting on my collar bone, and his arms protectively at my sides. I could hear the guards now, too, their armor clanking together as they ran, searching. For some reason, they didn't even think about checking the hay stack.

"I'll hand it to you, Ezio." I whispered into his ear, "You give the phrase 'Roll in the hay' a whole new meaning."

He snorted quietly, and I felt the tremor of his chest and throat. "We can do it by the book, if you prefer, mia bella."

Okay, dangerous territory!

"Save it, Casanova."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Future thing." He was leaning on his elbows slightly, so he wouldn't crush me, and I appreciated the thought. Not only was he heavy, but there were a lot of weapons involved, too.

The guards were gone by now, but we still lay buried in the hay, waiting just in case they would stop, slap themselves on the foreheads and come back to check. And I have to say, I didn't mind he current position all that much...

"So what do we have?" I decided now was as good as time as any to talk about progress. "Three of Jacopo's hit men are dead. And now we know who Jacobo is, we know where he is, and now we need to find out when he's meeting with the other Templars."

"Hm, yes," he hummed.

"Are you asleep?" I suddenly asked. He sounded a bit too comfortable, throwing of my comfort level, if that made any sense.

"Believe me, sleep is the last thing on my mind right now," he replied, and I narrowed my eyes. I could hear the smirk in his voice. And even though I knew he was simply mocking me, a blush spread on my cheeks.

"Get off me, you pig." I turned my entire body to my side, which made him move away. He chuckled, his smirk still in place. "Anyway, I think it's safe. Let's head out." I hopped out of the cart, brushing the hay off my cloak and out of my hair. "At least warn me when you do that. Another fall like that and I'll die of a heart attack," I grumbled as he picked out a piece of straw from my hair that I didn't get.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you didn't enjoy that!"

"Which part, specifically?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, "Falling down to my death was definitely not pleasant. The hay in my hair and clothes is far from perfection. So which part was I supposed to enjoy, exactly?"

"You have to learn to trust me!" he exclaimed as we walked out of the alley, finally making it onto the street. "You should know I wouldn't jump unless I'm sure it's safe!"

"Well, considering you're a suicidal assassin, there's always a high chance of you pulling me to my death. Or mixing up poison with milk."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It's a cereal crack. Never mind. The point is, you're quite insane, so you never know."

"Wait a moment, you're telling me this?" he asked skeptically as we walked through the crowd, heading towards the gates. The guards seemed to have all but forgotten about the two of us, not even sparing us a second look now. Good Lord, they really didn't know how to do their job about here.

"And what exactly are you implying? That you want to wear your ass for a hat?"

"I don't think that's physically possible, piccola."

"And I'm sure you're just dying to find out if that's true. How about a hands-on demonstration?"

"I like this hands-on part. Would you care to elaborate?"

I hit him lightly on the arm. "How's that for elaboration?"

"Painful."

I laughed, "Now, where are we even going?"

"The Salviati villa, just outside of town," he explained, dodging a man carrying a crate. "The Archbishop is hiding there at the moment."

"Wait, I don't think murdering the Archbishop will go unnoticed. I mean, I'm all for it, but we're sort of killing off pretty important people here."

"What's your point?"

"That soon, prostitutes, thieves and mercenaries will be our only allies."

"Aren't they our only allies at this time, too?"

"You're right," I agreed easily. "But it's like I said though, I'm all for it. I never liked priests, anyway."

"And I'm sure they worship the ground you walk on," he snorted, and I smiled at him cheerfully.

"And why wouldn't they?"

"Arguing with you is like throwing peas at a brick wall. It yields no results," he sighed.

"Except you waste peas, which is horrible. Now let's go, I don't like the way people are staring."

---

"So, you think you can shoot them down?" Ezio asked as Eden thoughtfully stood beside him, looking up at the walls.

"Waste valuable bullets on them?" she snorted, "I won't find any in this place, and I'm already running out. No, I think we'll have to go the old fashioned way."

He scaled the walls, Eden at his heels as the mercenaries shifted behind them, itching to charge into battle. There were two groups of guards outside the walls, a few archers on the walls, and probably a legion inside, along with the Archbishop.

"If we can just distract the guards, I'll be able to climb over the wall to open the gate before anyone realizes what's going on," Ezio concluded, and she nodded.

"I'll take care of the guards patrolling the walls. Arrows can't be pleasant to remove from one's back…or front."

"Then it's a plan. Alright, men," he turned to the group the scout gave him, "If you will."

That was all they needed to charge with deafening battle cries. Eden winced.

"One flaw in the plan it seems. They'll alert the entire villa to our presence in the first minute," he heard her grumble. But she followed him further up the walls. The guards paid them no mind now. For what were two shadows along the walls when there was a stampede of mercenaries attacking you?

Eden pulled herself up beside him, silencing the nearest guard with a throwing knife quickly.

"So far, so good," Ezio muttered. She nodded, looking over the edge into the courtyard.

"There's at least ten there. Be careful," she briefly touched his arm.

"I'm still alive, ain't I?" he smirked reassuringly. Shaking her head, she moved away from him, towards the nearest archer. Taking a deep breath, he leaped off the wall.

The reaction was immediate. All the guards who were watching the fight outside suddenly turned their attention to him. It took them a few moments to realize what was happening though. In that time, two of them fell dead with dual hidden blades in their throats, and Ezio quickly made it to the lever that opened the gate. The mercenaries, who just about finished up with the soldiers outside, rushed in with another battle cry, engaging in another skirmish.

Ezio jumped away from a blade, pulling out his own sword. He was searching around for the Archbishop and at the same time parrying hits. The man was nowhere in sight, though. His guards' morale was dropping quickly - some abandoned their weapons and made a run for it, covering their heads in surrender. The young assassin parried again, and drove his blade through the man's stomach. In the brief moment that he looked up, he saw something that almost made him freeze before he kicked the guard on his sword away from him.

Eden was still up on the walls, and though she left a trail of bodies behind her, the last archer saw her coming. She was fighting him off with a lot more effort than she did with others, but the guard kept swinging his hammer at her. In the moment Ezio looked up, she finally broke through his defense, slitting the man's throat. As he grasped his throat in his death throes, he shoved her away from him.

She lost her balance, falling from high off the wall.

"Cazzo!" Ezio hissed in anger and concern as he dispatched another soldier, "Where's the damn coward, Salviati?!"

"Right here, assassin!" Another voice and weapon joined the fray, close to where Ezio was and yelling orders at his men. "You're very persistent, boy. But tell me, why waste the lives of those scum you call your men?"

"You sound awfully confident for one who already lost most of his own troops!" he shot back, even as he quickly ran through another guard who was stupid enough to attempt to run him through from behind. Ezio didn't even bother flinching.

"Ah, but you are still outnumbered," the Archbishop sneered, taunting as he swung his axe, which looked even bigger than him. Ezio darted to the side, taking a hasty step away as the large weapon fell into the earth where he was just standing. Taking the moment as Salviati was trying to yank it out of the ground, he struck with his own blade, missing the attempted death blow slightly, but leaving a long gash in the man's side. Ezio slashed out again immediately, almost without pause, delivering the final blow before his enemy could even lift his axe for another swing.

"Now, tell me, where's Jacopo?" he asked, leaning down to the man, his voice fast. It wouldn't be long before the Archbishop died.

Eden still hadn't shown up...

Salviati's eyes were already closing, pain wrinkling his features. "He knows you come for him, emerging only- in the cover of darkness..."

"Faith should bring comfort, not pain. Requiescat in Pace," Ezio muttered, stepping away from the dead man. Around him, the guards were fleeting, the fight dissolving quickly with the loss of their leader. The young assassin cleaned and sheathed his blade, and rushed to the spot where he saw Eden fall.

The woman was knocked out from the drop, lying on her side. He knelt down beside her, scanning for any injuries. To his relief, there were none - she was simply unconscious. By that strange instinct of hers, she felt him beside her, and her eyes opened slightly.

"Ezio?" she muttered, confused.

"Are you alright?" he asked with concern. She didn't seem to be in any pain, but she didn't even try to get up.

"Yeah – just... tired," she whispered, "It's been a long day. And…I think I fell." He almost laughed at her statement.

"You did. Don't worry, we're done here."

"Thank God," she blinked several times, and attempted to get up, only to hiss in pain suddenly. "Okay, ow."

"You probably bruised something from that fall."

"My knife...where is it?" she suddenly asked, her eyes darting around. He spotted the bloodied blade lying near them. It must have dropped out of her hand in the fall. He picked it up and handed it to her as she attempted to get up again. It was of little use, and he caught her as she slouched down again.

"Careful there," he slid an arm under her knees and back, lifting her up with almost no effort. "Just stay awake until we get to the town."

"Sure thing." she shrugged, her head resting on his shoulder, struggling to keep her eyes open. Unlike last time he carried her, she didn't protest. As he met up with the mercenaries again, he jerked his head to the gate, gesturing that it was time to get out of here.

Getting her onto the horse was the hardest part. She was already half asleep, her body barely responding and breath shallow. Climbing into the saddle behind her and holding her tightly to his chest, he steered them towards town.

---

The voice that woke him up in the morning was pleasant and cheerful.

"Morning!" He opened one eye, and noted with surprise that he was sleeping on a bed. He barely remembered the last few hours of last night...

Eden was sitting at the small table, wearing a simple tunic and pants. Lifting himself up from the bed and resting back on his elbows, he noticed the smell of eggs and bacon in the air. And sure enough, there were two plates on the table. She was smiling brightly, looking naturally amused in the morning sun.

"Good morning," he greeted, getting up, "How are you?"

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, just a rather large bruise," she shrugged, pointing at the back of her neck and continuing to eat with great enthusiasm. "I already took care of it. Now eat, we have things to talk about. The landlord's wife graciously allowed me to use her kitchen, even though it took a bit of convincing."

"Right, thank you," he sighed, and went to the basin of fresh water sitting next to his bed as she continued rambling.

"You know, cooking is hard enough in my time, even with electricity and stoves and all the things you need in the corner stores. I mean, I know there aren't any microwaves around. Or fridges. Or anything that we use in the twenty first century. But this is so weird! It's like living in a museum or something!"

"What are all those things?" he asked curiously as he washed his face in the basin.

"Kitchen appliances. It's all automated, things that would make Leonardo faint from excitement. Like stoves that don't need a fire, and fridges that keep things cold... I'm still not used to having to light a candle every time it gets dark!"

"You don't use candles in the future?"

"Not really, unless you like candles or something. All I had to do was turn on a switch and I have my own mini sun in the room."

"Things really do change," he muttered thoughtfully.

"Oh, you have no idea. Like, women hold important offices, we don't have knights or orders or anything, and all of this," she proceeded to knock on the table, "Is generally found in antique stores and shows only. This is still really strange for me. I mean, I traveled into the Renaissance period in Italy! I met Leonardo da'Vinci in person! This is the stuff weird crack dreams are made of."

He sat down opposite of her, feeling a lot more refreshed. "And this is just catching up with you now? You've been around for nearly two months."

She shrugged. "It doesn't quite hit until you try cooking in a fireplace, believe me. Never thought I'd be doing that in my life."

"Wait, so Leonardo is famous in your time?" he suddenly asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Uhh... oops," she bit her lip. "Ah, screw it. Too much to hold in, and it's not like it'll change anything if you keep your piehole shut. Let's just say this - even a child can tell you who Leonardo is, and recognize at least one of his paintings."

"After five hundred years? I know he's extremely talented, but-"

"He's one of the key people in this period," she continued. "I can't really tell you anymore, mostly because I don't know much. History is all very boring, and the way my teacher told it..." she shuddered. Then she looked at Ezio with a light smile. "I must sound crazy."

"No more than usual," he sent her a fleeting grin. "And it's interesting. I don't suppose you heard of me?"

She seemed to think about it, looking out the window again. "I haven't. But the name Auditore sounds vaguely familiar... I don't know. And I didn't even know that there was any sort of order of assassins until I met you."

Ezio looked at her in thought. "So... no descendants of mine around, then?" she chuckled.

"No, I don't think so. Then again, if there are, they would be around Europe, right? That's a long way from New York."

"You know, I never heard of a city by that name. It's not around here, is it?"

She seemed to hesitate. "I... dammit, I sort of wish I listened more carefully in school now. How do you picture Earth?" That confused him.

"What do you mean?"

"Is it flat? Like, if you go far enough, you can fall of the edge?"

"Isn't it?"

She grinned again. "Ignorance at it's best."

"Hey! Fine, then, what is it?"

"Do you promise not to tell?" She looked like she was fighting an internal battle, wanting to tell him, though common sense wouldn't let her. He sighed.

"Don't worry. I suppose it's best if I don't know any more than you already told me, right?"

"Yes. But you know, I was reading some of the translations of the codices back at the villa. Altair said that 'The world is not flat, but rather, round, like a ball. Like the Apple.'" she quoted.

"Is he right?"

Eden leaned onto the table, supporting her cheek with one hand. "I don't know how he found out, but yes. The world is round. Falling off it is impossible unless you have rockets."

"Rockets?" he let out a breath, "A lot of things changed in the five hundred years," he repeated his previous statement.

"It's a long time," she made a vague gesture with her free hand as she briefly looked out the window. "But how about we talk about the present? Or the past, for some of us. The Templar meeting. The church, I believe Bernardo said, right?"

"Yep. And the Archbishop said they only come out after dark. We can probably find them there tonight, then."

"That's the thing, though." Eden crossed her arms and looked out the window. "How are we going to find them? There will probably be plenty of other people around the church."

"Don't worry about that. I can single them out," he said after he swallowed some bacon. "This is good."

"Thanks. It's about the only meal I can cook," she shrugged, sending him a grin. "But I don't get how you can do that."

"It's a talent of mine. My father called it Eagle Vision," he explained. "It's like people suddenly start to glow. You, for example, are blue, since you're my ally. The guards shine red, since they're technically my enemies."

"That's so weird," she looked at him with disbelief, "Is that even possible?"

"Is time travel possible?" he countered. "This is more like... intuition."

"I think my father could do that," she suddenly said. "Whenever there was anyone dangerous in sight, he managed to hide us. One time, it was a child of about eight, and I couldn't understand why he was so afraid of him. Then Larry told me the kid was a spy for some other gang."

"You come from a very cheerful place."

"I thought we already established that. Everyone was against each other. If you lived anywhere in my neighborhood, that is. Anyway, I think my father could do something like that," she came back to the original point. "Do you think all assassin lines have this vision?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. It was a curious thought. "You never talk about your father."

"There's almost nothing to talk about," she shrugged, looking back at him. "He was a good dad, always managing to protect us somehow. Sometimes he'd disappear for days, but he always came back. Until one day, when he didn't. I don't know what happened, my mom never talked about it."

"Do you think he was killed?"

"Yes," she nodded, and he was surprised by how easily she said that. "I didn't at first, but if he was an assassin, then... I guess that's a likely option. Considering there was no sign of him after he left. It was like he never existed," she continued thoughtfully. "I've gotten over it once everything settled. I barely remember him now, for some reason."

"And the tattoo?" he glanced at the black mark on her arm.

"My sister claimed he gave it to me, but why, I don't know. She didn't have one, so why just me?" She looked at it as well, worrying her lip slightly. "Maybe he wanted me to be an assassin. Not the way I became one, but...what about you? Did your father ever hint on it in any way?" she asked suddenly, and he was taken aback for a moment.

"I - looking back, maybe he did," Ezio started slowly. "I always thought he was just a banker. Though he did leave in the middle of the night often. But I never really thought about him being an assassin, of all things."

"Right," she looked back out the window. She was still smiling gently, as usual, but she seemed a bit more distracted now.

"Is everything alright?"

"Am I that transparent?" The corner of her lips pulled up higher. "Yeah. The letter you took off one of the men. It mentioned Rodrigo Borgia. He's from Rome, right?"

"Yeah. Are you worried about the dogs again?" she sighed.

"Yes. The dogs must be his. I'm a little afraid they might be around here. We don't want any more massacres like the last one." She frowned at the mention of it, as did he. "And we don't know how to fight them off if it comes to that."

"I think cutting off their heads should kill them."

"But that's the thing, isn't it? It can't be that simple, or at least one of them would have died back then. Those were heavily armed men, they must have recovered fast and at least tried to fight back."

"Listen, if it comes to that, then we'll improvise. Maybe they aren't even around. Borgia could have left them in Rome after they were tested."

"Not unless they know we're coming."

"Are you actually worried? Basta! Come on, it'll be fine. They probably won't even realize we're there until the last moment, if at all."

She looked at him seriously. "Don't underestimate them, or this might end faster than it begins."

"Ah, but they constantly underestimate me, too," he smirked cockily, and her smile returned.

"And they don't take me seriously, either. If they know about me at all, that is. So, what's the plan then? Swoop in and kick ass as usual?"

"We should follow Jacobo first. Maybe he can lead us to the others."

"Whoopie. And once we get there?"

"We swoop in and kick ass."

She laughed, "Alright, sounds like a plan. So what do we do for the rest of the day?"

"Well, there is something," he leaned over the table, resting his elbows on the wood and clasping his hands together. "That priest that barricaded himself in the monastery. He said that they meet in the shadow of the Roman Gods. What is that supposed to mean?"

"What little I know of mythology," she drummed her fingers on the table, thinking, "Is that the Roman and Greek gods are fairly similar, right? A whole bunch of guys up there, all have a specific area in which they rule. So far so good?" He nodded, and she continued, "Well, in the shadows of gods...are there any statues of them around? I think that's the closest we can get to it."

"Well, I'm not sure about statues, but there are ruins of a roman amphitheater not far from town," he thoughtfully replied, thinking hard on the surrounding lands of San Gimignano. He used to visit this place as a boy sometimes, since it wasn't far from Florence or Monteriggioni and the villa. "That's about all I can offer."

"Then let's go," she stood up, grabbing her cloak off the edge of the bed.

"Go where?" he raised a curious eyebrow, and she smirked.

"Scouting. Maybe you want to waltz into a Templar meeting blind, but I rather like living. If this is where they meet up, I want to know how to get in and out of there."

---

I looked around, somewhat disappointed by the sight. The ruins were just that – ruins and circular piles of rocks that barely retained their shape after the being built most likely centuries ago. A few columns still stood at the front of it, most of them missing the top halves. But aside from all that, a random passerby wouldn't be able to see the meeting from the road, so it was as good a spot as any.

"Well," I crossed my arms, "This is not the most ideal location, but I suppose it's not our choice."

"What do you think?" Ezio asked thoughtfully, and I pursed my lips.

"I guess they'll have guards patrolling the place, too. So if we avoid them, they won't be able to see us here."

"And those columns are wide enough to hide us," he added, and I nodded. "So we can sneak around the front, and hide, and then..."

"We'll improvise." I looked up at the midday sun. "Let's head back. It doesn't seem like there's anything else around here until nightfall." He nodded, and we turned back the way we came from, up the narrow pass between the stone walls. We were almost out of the ruins when Ezio suddenly froze, his step faltering. I looked back at him in surprise.

"You alri-" The last few letters were cut off as he snatched my elbow and moved me along with him to the side of the exit. Out of shock, I followed willingly as we turned a corner in the small maze. That's when I heard the voices behind us. Silently rushing to stand behind me, Ezio pressed me into the wall, covering my mouth with his gloved hand, though it was not necessary.

"-what are we doing here, anyway? There's nothing but a few old rocks."

"The Maestro wants to be safe, just in case." There were two voices, slightly echoing. "You never know what surprises there are. And with the assassin on the loose..."

Both of us stayed silent as we heard the two men come closer. I bit my lip, trying to calm my pulse down. This was bad. Very bad...

I leaned to Ezio's ear, my voice barely rising. "We have to get out of here."

"How do you propose we do that?" he asked just as quietly, his breath warm on my cheek and neck.

"Anyway, we're getting paid a decent sum for this, so don't complain. The assassin probably won't show up anyway." The footsteps stopped not less than twenty feet from us.

"He killed all of the Pazzi's allies, though. One of them might have talked."

"Well, what would the assassin do here now? It's still a long time before nightfall."

"I don't know. Let's just finish this up quickly and get out of here." I closed my eyes and let out a quiet breath of relief as they began moving the opposite direction. As soon as it fell silent again, I pushed Ezio off of me.

"I'm getting tired of these situation. Way too close for comfort," I grumbled.

"They're not that bad," he muttered as we climbed the wall to get out of the ruins. Going back to the entrance was not an option with two of Borgia's men around.

"Well, considering that they could have found us at any moment, and since we couldn't kill them without tipping the Templars off...yeah, way, wa-a-ay too close for comfort. We almost dug ourselves a hole there."

As we left, I didn't miss the look of fleeting disappointment on his face.

---

Translations

Bastardi – Bastards

Signorina – Equivalent to "Mademoiselle" or "Miss"

Merda! – S**t!

Mia Bella - My pretty/beautiful one

Piccola – Sweetheart

Cazzo! – F**k!

Basta! – "Stop" or "Enough"