I was in heaven.
No, seriously. Pure, white, fluffy heaven. It didn't really matter that in reality, we were sitting on the rooftops of the houses lined up on the edges of the Rialto Bridge, and the heavens were far, far away.
"This is amazing," I stated, saluting Ezio with the cake in my hand which I'd just bought off a baker's stand below us. Even the constant smell of fish did not affect the quality of his products. The assassin glared at me before mournfully staring at the cake yet again. Hey, it wasn't my fault I'd bought the last one. Leaning back on the chimney, Ezio crossed his arms and pouted. I stuck my tongue out at him, and bit further into the cake. Mockingly letting out little sounds of blissful pleasure as the honey and lemon danced along my tongue, I daintily dabbed at my lip.
He couldn't help but laugh. And I couldn't help the rush of contentment that washed over me.
It was bliss, living in Venice these days. No one to go hunt down immediately. No one hunting us down after the epic failure before and after the Carnival. And almost nothing to do but sit on the roofs like this all day, hanging out and people watching. So far, the Rialto Bridge was our favorite spot, as we saw all the people coming through the docks and all the merchants in the market. Something was always happening, the area constantly bustling with activity.
For example, a week ago, two sailors got into a fight, crashing into and nearly destroying two stalls around them, stirring enough commotion that the guards came down to figure out what was going on. In the end, funnily enough, both of the sailors, the two merchants, three slightly ruffled citizens, and the guards went to the nearest tavern all together, giggling like little school girls and proclaiming their undying love for one another. How that happened? I can honestly say I did not have the faintest idea.
Not to mention that the sunshine chased away all the clouds that used to hang in the air. The rain always threatening to spill out at any given moment, the return of the sun ended the constant flooding. In turn, Venice regained the cheerful, colorful atmosphere the Mediterranean was known for. Or maybe it was just the angels singing in my soul...
Well, what? Was that too much? It was a good cake.
But, like I should have expected, before I could finish the last piece of the sweetcake, it was rudely plucked out of my hands. Biting into thin air, I whipped around to look at Ezio. Chewing on it soundly and grinning, he smirked even more as I whined pathetically. He just chuckled in reply, swallowing the last of my heaven.
"You're right! It is good cake!"
I growled at him, but it was too late. The wonder of baking was already chewed through and swallowed. "Auditore, I don't think you realize what you just did," I crossed my arms, my expression becoming slightly manic, "I loved that cake!"
"There are other cakes, you know. And you didn't share with me at all," he grinned, licking the last of the honey off his fingers as he shrugged, "Hence your punishment."
"I loved that cake more than you," I narrowed my eyes, causing his to widen slightly. "Yes, that's right. Let it sink in. You were outdone. By a cake."
"But I come a close second, right?" he fluttered his eyelashes, and I rolled my eyes.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
"That's not exactly what helps me sleep at night, you know..."
"That's all I'm giving you, though," I humphed. "I can understand eating my apples, though I still hate you for that. But not my cake."
"Seriously, Eden, there are other cakes-"
"There are other assassins, too," I reminded him slyly. It was his turn to glare.
"So what are you saying, exactly?"
"That I'll cheat on you with your uncle," I smiled at him brightly.
The expression of complete and utter horror on his face made me laugh so hard I nearly fell of the rooftop. Luckily, his reflexes were still good, and he caught me when I started to sway dangerously towards the edge. I held my sides as they began to hurt, and dropped my forehead on his chest, shaking violently.
"You and your jokes," he snorted, even as he absentmindedly intertwined his fingers with mine.
"You – should have seen - the - look on your face!" I choked out, gasping for breath, "Totally worth it..."
"I wish to thank you for that mental image, Eden," he gagged, "Really, it made my life complete."
"I can have Leonardo paint it for you, make sure it sticks?"
"If you do, I'll have to gouge my eyes out."
"You poor thing," I sympathized, finally calming down, "But that's what you get for eating my cake."
"Still on that?" he sighed exasperatedly. "What do you want me to do, grovel at your feet and beg for forgiveness?"
"It's a start. But, I guess as much fun as if would be to crush your ego and mental health further, I'll settle for this." I pulled myself up to meet his lips, to which he responded by pulling me closer to him by my waist.
Each moment of our days, we spent together. I wouldn't say that's exactly a healthy lifestyle, but our obsession with each other hadn't gone away just yet, and we really didn't mind. The only time I was alone was those rare occasions when we both had contracts.
Diana, when I talked to her, just widened her eyes and muttered jumbled apologies, which I just waved off. The misunderstanding did not cause any sort of trouble except for freaking Ezio out. Perhaps it even played a part in pushing us together. When she realized I was not mad at her, she became her usual, bubbly self, immediately going back to questioning me on him. And his, ahem, performance.
Now there were twenty awkward minutes of my life I'd never get back.
As much I would have loved the moment on the rooftop to last the entire day (hell, the month), it was rudely interrupted by a thief that coughed somewhere beside us. At first, we didn't really mind, and I even went as far as holding up one finger to tell him to wait. That's when his cough became a seizure, and we, in fear for his health, finally broke apart, turning our attention to him. For a moment, he recoiled from our irritated glares, but then remembered that he was actually on a very important mission, and cleared his throat.
"Ser Antonio is waiting for you at the Seta. He said it was urgent."
"Thank you, friend," Ezio ground out. I let out a disappointed sigh. And there went my day…
As the thief left, the assassin caught my eye, smiled, and reached up to ruffle my hair. "I know."
"I didn't say anything-"
"You were thinking very loudly, then."
"If that was true, I think I would have been burned at the stake by now."
"You almost were, once, remember?" He came to the edge of the roof, and hopped down, landing so lightly that people around him barely even noticed.
"Yep, good times..." I followed him down. "I think I'll pass on the meeting - unless it's actual planning, it's all just dry talk."
"What will you do meanwhile, then?"
I was about to reply, but then I was interrupted by the arrival of something small, and very energetic. Adel all but crashed into Ezio, but hit on the breaks at the last moment, harmlessly taking a step away from him.
"And there's my answer," I beamed at the girl, who smiled back, hurriedly apologizing to Ezio. "I'll just hang with Adel."
"... sure." By the long pause at the beginning, I assumed that he was going to bring out a long string of swears, but stopped himself. He kissed my forehead, shot a somewhat reproachful glare at Adel (who simply cocked her head to the side, crossed her arms, and returned it for a moment before turning to me and completely ignoring him), and walked off, effortlessly blending with the crowds.
"Adel, what are you doing here, anyway?" I asked after a moment, "Did Leonardo tell you to get out again? You know when he's busy, you can't go bugging him for days straight."
"Leo is leaving," she informed me. I shifted my eyebrows together.
"Where?"
"He said Milan."
"But he was just there...is he leaving today?"
"No, in two days - they're all packing up now," she shrugged. She was in constant motion, turning her head in every direction, sometimes hopping in the spot, and bouncing around like one of those really bouncy balls they sold at the dollar store back home. She was overflowing with energy - it was only a week ago that we allowed her to wander the streets freely, though either Ezio or I would always be tuned into her, sort of like supervising from a distance. Strangely, I also got the feeling she did not like that fact at all, though she never commented on it.
"Adel, do you want to play a game?" I suddenly asked, an idea coming to mind. She looked at me curiously.
"What type of game?"
"Hide and seek? I don't think your parents ever played with you."
She shook her head, her curls bouncing around. Thankfully, the fire hadn't left permanent damage to her scalp. Her hair had grown out over the last few months, though it barely brushed her neck. "They did when I was really, really little, but I don't remember."
"Alright. Do you want to seek, or hide?" I grinned, happy to get her interested.
"You're big, I'll find you no problem!" she exclaimed, and I laughed.
"We'll see about that!"
The point of playing the game with her was a thought that came to Ezio's head. Instead of teaching her to be an assassin or sending her to the nunnery, we concluded a compromise - we'd teach her survival. Discretion, hiding, blending, even as far as manipulation through speech. As I was sick of constantly worrying whether or not we could protect her, I easily agreed. Or, more like bounced up and down in joy, and then hung around Ezio's neck, wondering how the idea didn't come to me first. Antonio was fairly enthusiastic about the plan too, promising to help in any way he could. I already noticed he was very decent to children in terms of teaching and training, if Rosa was any indication.
We didn't tell her of the arrangement, running secret exercises that could seem like games, subtly working it in. Testing the waters, I suppose. Ezio sometimes asked her to race him and rewarded her with sweets when she got particularly close to winning (well, by her standards, that is). I got her to help me out with "research" with one of the Hell Hounds, as we called them. Not a very original name, but very fitting, I thought. Adel quickly became accustomed to the sight of the dog, soon poking it in the eyes to see what would happen, as she later explained to me. But the gory details did not bother her quite as much.
And with Hide and Seek, the point of the game was extremely simple. To teach her how to hide, and how to look for others. Considering I was her opponent, she was in for a challenge, which she eagerly took up.
Adel huffed slightly as she looked around the tiny little alley that ran between the houses, where I led her, flashing my cloak just within her eyesight. I waited a few breaths. She did not move, still twisting her head around back and forth, as if trying to catch my cloak again. I slowly felt the blood going to my head as I hung upside down from one of the ledges, waiting patiently for her to either give up, or look up...
To my great surprise, it was the latter. She threw her head back, and let out a small yelp, which quickly became triumphant.
"I found you!"
"Yes, you did," I nodded, tensing slightly so I could get myself the right side up, and nimbly jumping down. "Congrats, you just accomplished something that many policemen and city guards have failed to do when looking for me."
"Do you do that a lot?" she asked curiously, looking back to the pipes thoughtfully.
"Whenever I have to," I declared, "In the meantime, it's your turn to hide, then. Go on."
"Okay…wait a minute!" she suddenly paused, looking at me suspiciously, "You can find me easily." Considering I have tracked down men with power, money, and the motivation to hide with ease, an amateur little girl would hardly actually pose a challenge. Add to that the developing, uncanny tracking instinct that I had, thanks to Ezio...
"Adel, I don't think you understand how it works. If you hide well enough, I won't be able to sense you anymore, and I might actually have a hard time finding you. So go on, I'll give you five minutes to hide anywhere in this district. Then we'll see if it's good enough or not."
She looked slightly uncertain, but ran off immediately, her competitive side easily falling into the challenge. I waited the said five minutes, while slowly walking to the mouth of the alley. Of course, I could still tell where she was by just concentrating on the string of her scent (so far, the best of my senses). She ran through the street, and was quickly moving away.
Adel showed potential. Not the best I've ever seen; that position belonged to Ezio and his astonishing ability to disappear within a crowd and strike at whim. But she was very clever for her age, as well as having the noble manners on her side. Combine that with her father's residual lessons in blackmail and manipulation, I figured if she continued this, I'd have no choice but to officially agree to her training. No one wanted it to go to waste.
I paused for a moment after the five minutes ran out, and looked around, only to shiver. A sudden feeling of wrongness coming over me, and it struck me that something was not right.
It was too quiet, which was strange, considering that just a few blocks back, life was still boiling along in its usual ways along the Venetian streets. But here, it was empty, the rare people walking through looking around nervously, as if afraid something was going to jump at them any moment. As I walked in the direction Adel went, I continued to observe the situation closely. There were abandoned weapons pushed to the sides, a lot of them bloodied. Random sprays of the red stuff also colored the walls and tile, their paint freshly scraped and battered. I ducked down slightly, staring into the footprints in the faint dust that'd begun to settle.
It was all scattered, hard to read. But I still easily got the main message from it - there'd been a battle. Or battles, rather. Lots of them, stretched throughout the street, perhaps spilling out into the entire district.
I found Adel standing in the middle of a small square with a well in the middle of it, staring at the scene with slight horror. I licked my lips nervously, swallowing at the sight before her. This place was not yet cleaned up, bodies still littering the square, cries of shock and gasps of horror coming from the crowds that cut a large swath around it all. As I put a hand on her shoulder, she flinched but didn't move or make a sound. Just looked up at me with huge, shocked eyes. I brought my finger to my lips, turning her around and ordering her to sit on a bench opposite the scene. Specifically, with her back turned to it so that she overlooked the canal.
The guards were nowhere to be found, allowing me to fully take everything in. The bodies had different crests on them. One I recognized off the bat as Barbarigo's, while the other was unfamiliar. It was a bloodbath...from the number of bodies, I concluded that Silvio's men won the battle, and dragged off the survivors...
As I was crouching beside one of the men, a hand landed on my shoulder. I automatically swept the feet from under the newcomer, making him fall forward, over my shoulder. My knife stopped at his neck, and I suddenly realized it was Ezio.
"Eden, how many time does this have to go down?" He didn't even look shocked, staring up at me with slight annoyance. I sighed with relief, putting away my dagger, and helping him up.
"Your fault for sneaking up on me. Are you here because of this?"
"Not exactly...I've got a new task, directly from the soon-to-be doge."
"Impressive," I arched a brow, "What's up?"
"I'm looking for Bartolomeo. These are, or were, his barracks," he waved a hand to a huge building nearby that I confused at first with a stable. Which it probably was before.
"I doubt he is here. You search, I'll drop Adel off at Leonardo's. Try to figure out what happened here, and find this Bartolomeo."
"And you?"
"I'll catch up as soon as I can."
I pulled Adel up beside me tightly, steering her away from the scene. He caught my hand before we could leave though, looking at me for a long moment before he nodded. "It seems that Silvio is taking over the district as well, now. It's only a matter of time before they spread further. Just be careful, they outnumber us."
"We're always outnumbered," I reminded him with a grin, though I did not feel anywhere near as confident as I made my voice sound, "Though I guess never in these proportions..."
Finding Bartolomeo was easy. Actually, Ezio only had to guess the direction for half the way before he saw a large number of archers concentrated in one area. Then again, of course heard the extremely loud swearing.
"-I can take all of you on with one, no! Both arms tied behind my back!! You're probably wondering how that's even possible! Well, let me out of this cage, and I will gladly demonstrate!!!"
His voice was very loud, commanding, threatening, intimidating...and a little insane. When they came into sight, Ezio was not surprised to find the men that guarded his cage looking slightly nervous, as if they were actually watching over a starved, raging bear. The mercenary commander himself actually did remind him of a large bear, all grizzled and scarred, his hands itching for a weapon. He didn't stop his hollering for one moment, even as Ezio dropped down on the guards and swiftly took them out with his duel blades, dispatching the other two with his throwing knives before they could alert anyone else. In fact, he continued bellowing on, going so far as shouting instructions at him.
By the end of the short battle, Ezio had half a mind of leaving the cage locked, just in case. But the man's sanity was not his business, so he picked up the spear that fell out of one of the guard's hands.
"How are you planning on getting me out?!" Bartolomeo demanded as the assassin jammed the thin blade into the lock. Eden, along with Antonio taught him how to open just about any lock with most anything lying around. He twisted it, searching for the triggers. Finally, there came the tell-tale a click, and Ezio jerked on it.
"About time! I don't know if I should kiss you, or slap you! Better do both, just in case."
Ezio put his hands up, while taking a horrified step away. "That's quite alright," he snorted, "I'm Ezio Auditore, I'm here to rescue you."
"Ha! We'll see who will be rescuing who!"
"What do you mean?"
The man jerked his head in the direction of the alley that led into the courtyard, where a group of determined guards were closing in. His hand reached for the first thing that he could find, which was unfortunately, a broom. Which incidentally, still managed to look like a dangerous weapon in his hands. Ezio drew his own sword, getting into defensive stance, seeing as Bartolomeo was not likely to choose flight over fight, considering the loud threats that he already began to hurl.
Suddenly, there was a blur in the air, and someone landed right in between the groups.
"What's this? Unfriendly tin cans resisting the daring rescue?" Eden asked cheerfully, her daggers flashing in her hands. Silvio's men paused, surprised to see a woman stand in between them and the assassin and mercenary leader.
"Eden, your timing is perfect." Ezio said, slightly relieved to have her within eyesight again.
"It always was! Oh, by the way, bear-dude, next time I hear you make suggestions to my man, I'll make you regret it," she called out with a laugh, taking a long step backwards to make space.
"What-?! Wench! Out of the way!!" Bartolomeo roared, not amused with her mockery, unimpressed by her small (well, compared to either of the men), almost completely unarmored form. Ezio sighed, already dreading what was to come next.
"Pfft, this wench can kill more of these thugs than you!"
"A little puny thing like you, signorina?" Bartolomeo cackled, "Oh, I'd love to see that!!"
"You're about to!"
The bewildered guards finally decided they had enough, and charged.
Strangely enough, this time Ezio didn't even get to join into the fray. While Eden became a whirlwind of blades, threatening to slice off the limb of the first one stupid enough to come near, Bartolomeo heavily wielded the broom, which became bloody in the matter of seconds. The mercenary, not discouraged by the somewhat unorthodox weapon, was yelling battle cries the entire time, probably improvising on the spot.
"I'll sweep the floor with you, you tit-sucking, mother-fucking bastards!!!"
"Say what?" one of the guards retorted with surprise. It was all the opening Eden needed to bury her dagger in his chest. That didn't seem to detract the other guard behind him.
"My mother was a saint!" one of the more slow guards yelled, only to be repaid with a broom the head. That was certainly…crunchy.
"Wait, does that mean he agrees, or not?" Eden looked at the gasping man on the ground curiously. She already straightened out and even cleaned her dagger, having finished off the two guards with sudden ease. Perhaps the cautious sneaking at the Carnivale has done her some good. "Damn it, now I'm curious! Ezio! Get off your butt, we have work to do!"
"Oh, I'm truly sorry, mia cara, that I could not participate in the battle," he bowed demonstratively. "I really doubt you needed my help, between the two of you."
"Oh, right. Bart, or whatever your name is, that was not a fair victory!" she seemed to be in a lot more jovial mood than before, going back to her usual self with ease. The mercenary glared at her, and Ezio made a small step towards her, just in case. "There were not enough people for the two of us!"
"It's rarely fair in the battlefield, girl, so why don't you act like a normal woman and get off of it?!"
"No, you sexist old man-" she heatedly argued in return.
"Eden! Bartolomeo! Basta!" Ezio finally raised his voice above their arguing, and they both turned around to him. "I think we should get going."
"That's right! There's more heads to be bashed!" Bartolomeo easily forgot about the cocky girl, threatening thin air with the bloody broom.
"Actually, I think we should avoid conflict," Ezio hurried to add.
"Why? Are you scared?"
"No, just practical! They outnumber us a hundred to one!" he said somewhat defensively, and Eden snorted.
"They always outnumber us a hundred to one. When has that ever stopped your suicidal plans?"
"My suicidal plans? As far as I remember you were always in on them!"
"I'm not right in the head, and that's my excuse. What's yours?"
He opened his mouth to reply, but realized that this would not go anywhere, as Eden was clearly enjoying the arguing. Ezio shook his head, struggling not to grin. No need to give her any more ammo and waste more time. "I'm not playing this game, piccola-"
"Really?"
"Well, not now, at least. Let's just get out of here."
"As you wish, bella mia," Bartolomeo muttered mockingly, finally following the man. Ezio ignored the jab, leading the way as Eden snickered quietly, meeting Ezio's glare with a bright smile.
"What?" she giggled, though quietly enough for only Ezio to hear, "He's telling the truth…you are rather pretty-"
"Eden!" he hissed, which caused her to laugh even more. Especially as his cheeks flushed a bit.
"No sense of humor, I swear…hey!" she strangled as his hand surreptitiously connected with her bottom with a sound smack! Thankfully, by now, Bartolomeo now led them from his former prison, stalking ahead of them.
"Any more of that and you'll get another one," Ezio sniffed, though his eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Oh, really now?!" she huffed, easily sidestepping his second attempt. "Any more of that and you'll get another one-"
"Hmm, I knew you liked to keep things interesting in the bedroom. But really, is this the appropriate place to discuss this, tesorina?"
"Why you insufferable-!"
"Eden?" he cut her off.
"What?!"
"You're blushing."
Hand flying to her heated cheek, she vainly tried to sound annoyed. "You son of a bit-" After a moment, her eyes narrowed further. "Well, I guess we shall see how you fare tonight, then. Alone."
"Now see? That's just cruel," he immediately backtracked.
Somewhere nearby, bells began to ring, signaling that they were noticed and Silvio's men were put on guard. Mind speedily focusing on the present, they moved swiftly through the district, keeping to the dark alleys and staying out of sight. Bartolomeo never slowed down, and even stayed quiet when needed, only letting through hissed curses when it was all clear.
The stable-turned-barracks were not actually that far, but due to all the caution, it took them nearly twice as much time to get there. To none of their surprise, they were greeted by two of Silvio's men who came outside the gate at the first sight of them.
"Really, now. I should have just killed them when their backs were turned," Eden, grumbled, already pulling out a dagger.
"They would have just sent more men," Ezio shrugged.
"True that, I guess. Gentlemen, can you go to hell or something?" How she was continuously amused by the situation, Ezio would never know.
"Stand down, or die!"
Eden quietly groaned and hit her forehead with her palm, leaving a trace of blood on it. Ezio shared the emotion - sometimes he wondered if there was one short list on the threats to yell at people running on rooftops and assassins, as they all seemed to use the exact same ones.
"No! What's a man's life if it's not lived free?" Bartolomeo shouted with determination, shaking his Bloody Broom of Death at them threateningly. "I will not go back into that cage!"
"Then you will go into the ground!"
"Bianca! Bastardi! God-dammit, if they hurt her...figlio di puttana!...Bianca!!!"
I looked around at Ezio in shock, and he stared back for a moment, shrugging. "His wife?" he whispered. Considering the way the mercenary reacted to me, I doubted the suggestion very much.
"Hardly," I sniffed.
We followed him into the house, curiously moving around the broken boxes and littered clutter. Bartolomeo frantically searched around the main room of the barracks for something, continuing to yell and call for Bianca. At one point or another, he looked under a pot, completely assuring me that he was not looking for a human. Turning around, his face suddenly lit up as he lifted his arms in greeting. "Aha! There you are, my darling!"
From the depth of the mess, he withdrew a very heavy looking great sword, caressing it exactly as one would a lover. It would have been a slightly disturbing thing to watch…if I hadn't done just the same…on more that one occasion. Trust me, I completely got his relief.
"Bianca, meet - What's your name again?" he asked Ezio, ignoring me.
"Ezio Auditore," he reminded him.
"Bianca? Meet Ezio!" he easily swung the tip towards Ezio's throat, freezing inches away, "Ezio? Bianca!"
"Charmed," he doubtfully replied, flinching ever-so-slightly and pushing the blade away. It took all my willpower to stifle a giggle.
"And who's your little nuisance?" I felt my hands itch for a heavy object to break over the commander's head.
"Eden Cleare. And so far, I'm completely my own," I humphed, crossing my arms. He waved his free hand in the air dismissively. I was put out by the complete disregard that the man had for me, considering I'd spotted a circular burn mark on his left ring finger while we were moving through the district. With Teodora, Paola, and Antonio in the order, one would think he'd have a bit more respect.
"Why did you come here, anyway?"
"Silvio has overstayed his welcome, and we need your help." I smiled at Ezio discretely for including me in this.
"After what you did, I owe you my life, let alone my help!"
"But let's think practically. What can the three-" he raised an eyebrow, twitching his sword, which he didn't let out of his hands for a moment ever since he got it back. I was not sure whether he didn't like the fact that his weapon was not included, or that I was. "-four of us do? They've got an entire army!"
"A few of my men scattered and hid," the mercenary's voice became more business like, and the sanest I've heard so far. "They will get back here as soon as they hear I've survived. Unfortunately, the rest were captured by Silvio. I want you to go and free them - I cannot leave them behind in good faith."
"Va bene,." Ezio nodded. "Eden-"
"I'll find the hideouts," I said quickly, before he could try to convince me to stay behind again. "It will be a lot faster than waiting for them to just show up, considering Silvio has control over this place. They won't hear anything any time soon."
"Good thinking. Bartolomeo, can you tell her where-"
"I'll supervise that myself," the man stated, already turning his back on me, "And she can sit in a corner if she so wishes, as long as she is out of the way."
Ezio must have foreseen what I was going to do before I even made up my mind. Before I could begin to gather breath for a long winded, loud, sarcastic, and insulting speech, he clamped a hand over my mouth gently. "On second thought, you should come with me," he hurried to reassure me. I narrowed my eyes further, and pushed his arm away, ripping myself out of his grip before proudly walking out of the door with my chin turned up.
"She's a feisty one," I heard Bartolomeo mutter, though his muttering was nearly as loud as his normal speech. So basically, still very loud.
Asshat.
"Yes, she is," Ezio ground out, and followed me outside. As we turned onto the street again, he grasped my arm, stopping me. "Eden..."
Damn it, when he said my name like that, I not only felt like I'd kicked a puppy, but also gouged its eyes out and threw pepper in its nose. "What?"
"I realize that he was not the most polite gentleman, but could you at least not yell at him?"
"Sure. As long as he stops making sexist comments," I crossed my arms, pouting. He stared at me for a long moment, and then began to laugh loudly, not minding my glaring one bit. I even got a little offended, as I hit his shoulder lightly. "Hey! What the hell is so funny?! This is serious business!"
"I'm sorry... mia cara," he continued to laugh at me as he said that, "But you are just... so adorable when you do that!"
"What?!" I looked him over, bewildered, and seriously questioning his sanity, "Me? Adorable? HA! Go to hell!"
I did another dramatic, proud exit. Or, I would have, but Ezio called after me quickly, "You're going the wrong way!" Without pausing, I turned around and went back towards and past him with a stony face that made him laugh even harder, until he was bent in half, gasping for air. Paused on the corner of the street, and hiding my own giggling, I waited for him to catch up to me.
"Now, can we talk seriously?" he asked when he caught up with me. I sighed, and agreed to return down to earth with a wave. "We have to find a way to get inside the Arsenal, and then somehow get nearly a hundred men out of there-"
"Considering the fortress is one of the most guarded places in Venice, and all the military power is concentrated there?" I raised a thoughtful eyebrow, then sighed. "How the hell do we get pulled into these suicidal missions?"
"Oh, you know. I have a feeling that everyone knows what we're trying to do, and is trying to make as much use of us as possible."
"Ugh, this is such bullshit," I muttered. Ezio only laughed again, and I slapped him upside the back of his head before tossing him a smile of agreement, leading the way to the Arsenal.
"Two on each side, four at the entrance, three archers along the roofs," I whispered in Ezio's ear quietly. He nodded along with me, while fixing the change of poison on his hidden blade.
I leaned out again, scanning over the area again. This time, I paid more attention to our targets - the mercenaries that were locked up in three cages, which were filled to capacity, leaving little room to move. Never a fan of close quarters, it made me wince. Like Bartolomeo's cage, they were hung about a meter off the ground, and below them, the aqueducts that connected to the canals. I licked my lips nervously.
"What is it?" Ezio asked quietly.
"I'm not sure...listen." I put my finger to my lips, beginning to pay attention to the talking of the guards.
"...probably wants to turn them to our cause."
"They're mercenari, like us. Shouldn't be this hard. I say just drown them all now, lower the cage into the water, and be done with this."
My blood ran cold for a moment.
"Silvio is going to give the order any moment," the other one said, "A waste - a hundred trained men-"
"We need to work fast," Ezio muttered with determination. "I'll take care of the guards. Can you find the control panel?"
"Yes, it's just over-"
"Can you work it?"
"I think so."
Honestly, I was not sure. The combination of cogs, gears and leavers looked like something out of Leonardo's workshop. Hell, perhaps it was actually his design. I couldn't see anything properly from the narrow alley, so it would take me a moment to actually figure out how to work it.
"Then what we need, is a distraction," Ezio continued thoughtfully, glancing around. He looked up, and seemed to get an idea. I followed his gaze, but there was nothing there except for an old crane that hovered over the men. Then I suddenly smirked, following his train of thought. "Think you can hit the rope from here?"
I mentally calculated the distance, my hand already falling onto one of my throwing knives. "Only one way to find out..."
I straightened out, and waited for the moment that all the guards' backs were turned to take a step out of cover. Flinging the knife up towards the rope that held the large platform did the job beautifully. While it didn't slice the rope clean through, the weight of the load did the rest. The last strings popped, and it came crashing down of three of the guards, who didn't even realize what was going on.
We began immediately. As soon as the four guards at the entrance turned and rushed inside, Ezio quietly positioned himself so he cut them off from the rest of the Arsenal. I, on the other hand, rushed to the control panel, wasting only one more throwing knife on them. One more man fell, and I fluttered up over the rails, braking sharply at the panel. The set up only took one moment. The next, the men realized what was going on, I heard swords being drawn and clashing, and the men began to shout. I doubted anyone would hear them from here, and even if they did, they'd think it were the captured mercenaries.
The panel was completely foreign to me, with three levers that obviously did not have any labels on them. I ducked down below it and tried to trace the paths each would create.
"Eden! Behind you!" I rolled out of the way quickly, just in time to dodge a blade, and kicked out. By the sound and muffled howl of pain, I realized I hit his kneecap, likely dislocating it. I finished the man off quickly with my dagger, kicking him into the canal.
"Screw it," I hissed, and pulled on the first lever. The cogs were set in motion, and I heard the cracking of the strained ropes. The mercenaries let out a howl of retort, and I realized that that was the lever that submerged the cage into the water. It began to lower slowly, the water climbing up their feet. Ezio finally finished with the guards, coming up beside me as I was trying to figure out what to do next; one of the two remaining levers could just let the cage go completely. I was beginning to panic slightly.
"Che cazzo! What are you doing?!"
"Trying to stop it!" I frantically replied.
"I can see that..."
"Do you have a better idea?!"
"Yes!"
His hand shot out, and he stabbed his wide dagger in between the gears, deeply piercing the wood. They creaked, clanked over the metal, and stopped. The cage froze, and we both let out a breath of relief. As well as all the mercenaries that were locked up in the said cage.
"I knew there was a reason I love you!" I stated, now having the time to properly examine the machine. After a minute, I finally realized that the second lever let the cage go, the first one needed to be pulled back up to stop the movements, and the last one opened the cage door.
"Eden, you think you can take care of another location by yourself?" Ezio called out in front of me, ushering the mercenaries out the cage as they quickly thanked him. I was admittedly surprised as they made their way over to me and did the same.
"Knowing how this thing works? No problem. I'm also going to twist Leonardo's head off the next time I see him, just so you know." I growled.
"We'll secure the gates, signorina," one of the mercenaries stated - he was in a better shape than a lot of his men, and looked eager to repay Silvio's men in kind. "We won't be able to hold them for long, so you'll have to move fast to get everyone out."
"Will do," I shrugged, gathering up my weapons. "Does anyone need medical attention?" Nearly all hands raised in the air, and I rephrased, "Does anyone need any immediate treatment?" This time, a lot of the hands dropped, but there was still quite a few. I could not fix the broken limbs, but I tended to several infected cuts and wounds as quickly as possible. Ezio and I soon ran out of bandages, as well as disinfectants and that weird sniffing powder that the doctors sold. But what I loved about the mercenaries was that none of them whined in pain or made the injuries bigger than they actually were, just wrinkling their noses at the sting.
As soon as most of the men were back in battle shape (or...close enough), Ezio quickly organized them, and began to lead them away from the ship yard. Soon, I followed the direction he pointed me in.
"Come on, this way," I gestured the newly freed mercenaries to follow. I didn't have the supplies to treat the injuries, but I figured they could seek out a doctor immediately after we got out of the Arsenal walls. They allowed me to take the lead without any cocky remarks or questions, thankfully, somewhat impressed by my quick execution of their guards. As soon as we mentioned Bartolomeo, they had no problem. As far as I understood their philosophy, they didn't care if their leader sent a woman or not, as long as it was an order for them.
The strange part was when we were almost at the gates, and the guards on the gates became visible. Ezio was just returning with the other group from the opposite end of the Arsenal. I was going to rush to him, but I suddenly gasped. My hand shot out to the nearest support, which was a warrior by the name Ludo, my other hand clutching at my stomach. It felt as if my breath was knocked out of my lungs, and I bent down, nearly pitching forward headfirst to the ground. Breaths coming in shallow gasps, the pain hit me like a punch, the noise around us a crescendo of a dull roar in my ears. Blinking, my vision swam, like I'd just emerged from being under water, nearly drowning. The world began to spin...
Wrong...something is so…WRONG...
I was always connected to two people - Ezio, and Adel. I tuned into them automatically now, without even thinking, their presence tugging at me constantly. Whenever something out of the ordinary or violent happened to either of them, the strings that I held seemed to bind us all together, at least, in theory...
"Signorina, are you alright?" I could hear Ludo ask nearby, supporting me as if afraid I was going to kneel over any moment. I sure felt like it...
"Eden!" That was Ezio - his touch made reality come crashing back into the world, finally returning its pillars the right way up. I blinked, shook my head, and took a deep breath as I regained my balance. Ezio looked concerned, almost scared. But he was unharmed, no? That left...
"Adel!" I gasped out.
"I know," he winced, bringing a hand to his chest and blinking rapidly, as though in pain. "I felt it," he confirmed, and I sensed the world dropping out from under me once again. "Let's get these men to Bartolomeo, and we'll look for her at once."