A/N - I did some concepts of the dress Eden is wearing in this chapter. Direct link is in my profile.
Aside from that- OMG, Brotherhood trailers look epic! I never got this excited over... well, anything before! Damn you, November, why are you so far away?...
~We called it the Blood Season, a private joke among the gang. Once a year at any point, the list of people meant to die increased without any sort of reason. Blood all but streamed alongside garbage in the gutters, the police sirens could be heard all day long sometimes, houses were searched, murders investigated.
It was a good week. Or a horrible one. The stash of money I hid under the loose floorboard grew. Blood money, but money nonetheless. After all, what do those store clerks care how I paid for food? They were just happy I didn't take out a gun and rob or shot them.
I tried to call my sister one day. When it felt like my mind was going under the pressure of the foreign blood. I heard her voice on the other end, cracked, older, more mature than I last heard it screaming at me. I opened my mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Closing my eyes, I pushed the red button and listened to the disapproving beep.
She didn't want to talk or see me, much less comfort me for the murders I committed. She didn't want to hear my voice, or remember me at all. And I wouldn't make her.
I missed her... even after everything...
Noble dresses differed greatly from those that were affordable to commoners. Mostly in the fact that they were made of far finer material, embedded with jewels, and/or gold and silver threaded brocade, and the designs were more elaborate. Sewn by many working hands, each individual piece of clothing was lent its own uniqueness. Expensive as hell, too, but money was no problem.
I stood in front of the mirror, afraid to so much as twitch in case the entire cake we built up would come crashing down. Because that's just what my reflection reminded me of - a cake. The dress was multicolored. Crimson, gold, silver, blue and fiery orange, and frilly in a lot of parts, the waistline was high enough to make me feel slightly uncomfortable, as it sat just below my bustline. I'll admit, though, it was very beautiful, with long sleeves that went fell past fingertips, silver threads embroidered along the edges, and the rich, lush touch velvet and silk. My hair was done in a tight braid that was encased in silk ribbons and a couple of pearls, only a few loose curls escaping at the front. The overall composition reminded me of Paola for some reason.
"So? How do you feel?" Leonardo asked, laughing slightly at my discomfort.
"Ridiculous," I dropped bluntly. "The dress I was pushed into for the Carnevale season in Venezia, I can understand. But this is just..."
"Uncomfortable?" he helped me out in the struggle for words. I scrunched my face slightly.
"No, I mean yes, a little. But I think the words I'm going for would be overpriced, poofy, and busy. Not to mention, it also makes me look like a parrot."
"All the other women will look the exactly same, and you would stand out too much if you dressed any simpler." His words didn't bring much comfort.
"I don't care what those fluffed peacocks think, I just don't get how I'm supposed to do my job in this!"
I loved the uniform that I had custom made for me during the sixteen months of peace in Venice. It was subtly like Ezio's, but with personal adjustments that made it more practical. The hood and cloak were black for easier blending, my legs unrestrained by pants but instead with short material over my knees so I wouldn't scrape or burn as easily on the free running. And I'd added a few secured belts with throwing knives that were more carefully concealed. That outfit was comfortable, practical, and I felt times more dangerous than in a dress like this. But on the other hand, conditions were rarely ideal, and I had to adapt to it.
"Well, you managed just fine with the Carnevale."
"Because I was allowed to mutilate the dress until I could actually walk without tripping over something." I grumbled again, automatically trying to flatten down the skirt at least a little bit so I wouldn't feel like an immobile hourglass.
Leonardo continued to laugh at me, masking it with a cough fit. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore, and snapped, "Well, if you ever tried something like this on, you'd see my point." To my shock, he stopped laughing, blushed, and cleared his throat. I narrowed my eyes slightly, a grin forming on my painted lips. "Have you ever tried it?"
"When I was younger - on a dare!" he quickly explained. "I was friends with the son of a rich merchant, he really wanted to see if I'd fit into his mother's dress."
"And did you?"
He blushed harder, and Adel was already gasping from laughter. "That is really beside the point…we should get going or we'll be late."
"If you say so," I let myself giggle, and took one last look in the mirror. Words with words, but discounting the entire impracticality of the outfit, I was pleased with the effect. No one could really tell real jewels from fakes from far away, anyway.
When Leonardo finally got over his embarrassment, he asked, "Do you need me to go over the etiquette?"
"No, that's fine. Teodora was forcing it into me for at least a month last year." I shuddered at the memory.
Adel, opposed to me, loved my outfit, however. She was staring at me in awe, as if trying to figure out how the hell her teacher, who never wore anything other than male clothing could make a transformation into a cake - I mean, a noble woman.
"I think you look lovely," Leonardo offered as some comfort, and I smiled.
"Will I be as pretty as you when I'm older?" Adel suddenly asked me, and I blinked in surprise.
"No." When I saw her face fall, I laughed, and patted her on the head, "You'll be a lot prettier." Her expression cleared immediately, and she smiled broadly.
I picked up my fan, and quickly instructed Adel right before leaving with the artist. "If something happens, leave through the upstairs window, stay quiet, and find the nearest courtesan, thief or mercenary. As far as I can tell, all of them without exceptions are allies. Just drop Madonna Leona's name or Mario's, and they should take you to a safe spot."
"I know, Eden," she smiled, rolling her eyes, "We have been over this."
"Yes, well, sometimes I feel like you're not listening to me," I stuck my tongue out at her, catching up with Leonardo, who was watching us with amusement.
"I can see that smirk, and I'd get rid of it if I were you because I have instructions for you as well," I straightened my posture, evening out my step to match the elegant walks of noblewomen. Somewhere at the back of my head I thought that Eve would fit into this role a whole lot better than me, as she always loved dresses and skirts and tea parties. Though perhaps not so much lately...
He sighed dramatically. "Oh, alright, lay it on me."
I was serious, however. "There's a good chance of something happening tonight."
"Define 'something,'" his voice was slightly alarmed.
"I'm not even sure, it all depends on how confident the other side is tonight. But in any case, I might be exposed, and a surprising amount of people might remember just when and how I got inside, and who I talked with. I don't want you involved in this."
He blinked. "So-" I think he remembered the little incident that happened years ago, involving a guard who was trying to get Ezio's whereabouts out of him.
"So at the first sign of trouble, get the hell out of there. We have people to protect you, as well as the other informants, but it's best not to take chances. And I wouldn't want to risk your career, either."
"Eden," he replied, amazingly content and unsurprised by anything I just said, "I've read the codex pages, as it's a little hard not to catch their drift while I translate. My career is hardly important compared to this... war."
"You'd be surprised."
We walked the already darkening streets of Milan, towards the Castle of Sforzas. Thankfully it wasn't too far, but far enough that I was growing irritated with the glances I received. Soon I decided to focus on more important matters, though, and recounted the five suspected traitors in the court. In the two days I was given before the party, I worked with Leona to find out as much as I could about their situations. There wasn't too much to go on, but I didn't need much. Just a name and appearance, and after that, intuition and common sense would do the rest.
The five consisted of Federico and Gruello Ragia, two brothers that didn't hold each other in much regard, but still worked together in their dirty little deeds, an old noble banker by the name of Luzio Enamente, an unimportant but so far unnamed French ambassador, who we suspected was Borgia's personal spy in the court, and another man that we knew almost nothing of, except that he was important in one way or another.
But those five men didn't have to die. Assassins were not completely off their rockets as some would think- Mario explained that we would act only on solid evidence, or if they made the first move.
"You know, it's really strange that our targets are never women anymore," I muttered thoughtfully.
"Nothing strange about that. No offense, but women don't usually hold any positions of importance. Why? Have you ever got a contract for-"
"A few," there was a little spasm in my cheek at the memories - they seemed closer than ever without Ezio to distract me. My nightmares had prevented me from having a good night's sleep for at least a week already, and I was truly thankful for the makeup I was forced to wear to cover the signs of fatigue. "Nothing I'd like to remember."
~Like the way they screamed when the saw the knife or gun in my hand, or the way they pleaded for me to let them go... the way I convinced myself that their whines were pathetic and weak so I wouldn't cringe at their pain...~
Leonardo glanced at me with a strange look. I quickly wiped the manic and possibly twisted expression off my face, and went back to the cool state of blank, like Teodora taught me. The entire act was a little painful, as my back seemed unnaturally straight, and the fact that I was afraid to even twitch my face because of all the make up. Anything less than perfect in those parties would summon suspicion, something that I really did not need. But I still I hated acting perfect.
Especially when I was so far from it.
The party was huge. And I mean, absolutely colossal. Not one of those noble parties for close friends, but the full blown celebration, with nearly every rich family in Milan invited. I was extremely lucky that Ludovico held Leonardo in high enough standing to allow him to come, or I'd have a lot more trouble getting inside. Guards were posted on all the walls, standing around the giant ball room, and lined up in the corridors. It was crowded, and reeked of expensive perfumes and powder. The food summoned some suspicion from me, so I stayed away from the exotic caviar, pastries, meats and fruits. It seemed like no expense was spared.
I underestimated the amount of people slightl y- finding one person within the brightly colored nobles that seemed to be in competition of who was the most decorated and wore the most ridiculous costume would prove nearly impossible. Yet somehow, everyone seemed to know each other. The women banded together, whispering among themselves, or yelling, or giggling, the men politely talking to each other. Even the servants seemed to remember everyone's names as they carried around the drinks and appetizers.
It took me five minutes after I accidentally separated from Leonardo to realize that I was a little confused as to where I even was in relation to the front doors. Colors and lights flashed before my eyes, and I finally just made my way to the stairs, where the air was easier to breathe. Stopping there, I closed my senses to the noise around me. For one moment, it felt as if I went blind and deaf, giving me a few precious minutes of blissful silence. And then I heard and saw again, but everything was filtered, selective, and organized.
All around me were grays. I didn't hear or register them.
"Who is she?"
"Never seen her before... probably some mistress or something." The women on the opposite end of the room were pink, showing their slight distaste at my presence, but not missing the chance to gossip about the new arrival. I could hear them clearly over the slight buzz in my ears. Out of entertainment, I continued to eavesdrop.
"I saw her come in with the painter."
"So he's taken? Now there's a shame..." one of the widows spoke, and I heard a longing sigh. I resisted a smirk - I really doubt that the ladies would have stood a chance, even though he was available. Leonardo was a very handsome man, with his sandy brown hair, charming, innocent blue eyes and absentminded behavior that I guess you could call intriguing. But somehow, the idea of him with a woman, especially with one of the widows that roamed these parties, was almost make believe. And laughable.
Speaking of Leonardo, I finally found him by the shiny blue light he was omitting. He stood by one of the walls, not too far from me, almost thoughtfully eating a cracker. At least I think that was a cracker. The host himself, Ludovico Sforza, glowed a very, very pale blue, somewhere between an ally and the whitish, neutral gray of an informant. A few of Leona's girls could also be seen scattered around the room, a healthy, unmistakable blue.
My eyes were drawn to the contrasting, almost painfully bright yellow of five men, all standing away from each other. I resisted the urge to squint, hurrying to hide my face in my fan.
Information... I needed...
Eagle Vision has got to be the most useful thing that Ezio ever taught me,I thought to myself as I searched through all the conversations of the room, probing for the names I needed. Soon, I found them.
Plastering what I hoped passed as a pleasant smile over my lips, I walked slowly across the room, blinking off the glow effect as I aimed for just past the group of men. My ear twitched slightly by itself as I listened to the conversation.
"-and then he said that wouldn't give it to me for a florin under the selling price. The nerve..."
"Did you hear about Francesco?-"
"That woman over there has some big-"
Disappointing. Absolutely useless small talk, though I shouldn't have expected anything less. One of the men, however, caught my eye as I walked past. I could feel his gaze turn interested as it slipped over my face and down to my chest. I felt like gagging at the thought of what I just reduced myself to in the eyes of others, but nonetheless, I fluttered my eyelashes, flirtatiously smiling at the man without any sort of feeling, just to give him an ego boost, and perhaps make him move on.
Ezio would've had a stroke. And Jake would've died of laughter.
I continued to look around until the man who made eyes at me earlier detached himself from the group and followed me into the crowd.
"Such a beautiful woman like you shouldn't be left all by yourself," he smiled sweetly as we stopped at the tables. "Would you mind if I keep you company?"
"Not at all, Messer...?" I bluffed - I cared very little for the name of one of the marks' servant, bodyguard, gay lover, or whoever the hell he was. I shifted my eyes through the crowd carefully,
"Frone, but please, call me Augusto. And who might you be?"
"Celia Nevieli," I told him my fake name. I had at least five for this occasion, but that one was my favorite.
"It's very crowded in here, don't you find?" The hint was so obvious I was severely tempted to just kill him in front of the entire party. But as that would be a very stupid idea... "Who would you like to-
"Oh, sweet daughter of mine, are you playing your games again?" a booming voice called me, coming up just behind the man. I raised my eyebrow at Mario with fake surprise, but kept up.
"Not at all, Father. Simply having a conversation," I smiled angelically, and the mercenary turned to Augusto, who was slowly becoming more and more pale at the sight of a man who was a head taller than him, his face scarred and scary even with the friendly smile on it. Even dressed in slightly more rich clothes than his usual armor, he was a menacing sight to behold.
"You must forgive my daughter, she likes to give men trouble."
"It's-it's not a problem- I'll just go-" the man stuttered, and hurried to make his exit, scurrying away. I grinned widely. Mario was definitely someone I wouldn't mind being related to.
"I didn't think of that. Thanks."
He shrugged, watching Frone with amusement before turning to me. "Had your fun now? There's work to do!"
"I thought Niccolo was handling the politics?" I raised an eyebrow.
"That's not what I meant. Keep your eyes on the prize, one of them disappeared from the party," he grumbled lowly, overlooking the crowd. "I think whatever they planned will begin soon. Go warn Ludovico of the conspiracy, he seems to be in a more... receptive mood now."
"After three goblets of wine, obviously he'd be open-minded. I'll snap to it."
I left the man's side, and made my way once again through the stifling crowd. The host was standing in a large group of people, beginning to already show signs of boredom, though we were barely an hour into the festivities. I made eye contact with the man, bowed my head politely, and gestured with my eyes to the side. He eagerly took the opportunity to get away from the nobles, and met me in a more secluded corner that was blocked from view by curtains and musicians.
"To who do I owe the chance to get away from the arrogant prattle of the nobles?" His opening took me slightly off guard, as I wasn't expecting such a blunt statement. "And before you make up some story, let me tell you that I know who you are."
"Pardon?" a little alarm went off in my head.
He laughed quietly, deep voice gravelly and low, but full of practiced authority. "I was not born yesterday. But don't worry, I know that if you wanted me dead, you wouldn't waste time with talk. And to tell the truth, since Galeazzo's assassination, your presence is welcome. Now, what is it you wanted to tell me, signorina?"
I decided I liked the man. He was not showing any of the arrogance I expected from him, and he seemed reasonable enough. Not to mention, he didn't make any gesture to show that he expected any sort of acting on my end. Much like his niece, Caterina Sforza, with whom he shared the same bright blue eyes, strong features and curling, auburn hair, it seemed he had no patience for games. So I told him exactly what was happening. "There's a conspiracy, five men in this room are traitors. It would save us all a lot of trouble if their target is safe-"
"And then how will we ever catch them?" He didn't seem surprised by the news in the slightest. "Let them come. Hiding now would just alarm them that something is wrong, and they you'll be chasing smoke."
I chewed over what he said quickly, and adjusted the plan in my head until in clicked into a whole piece. "If you say so."
"I trust that you will be there to stop this before it's blown out of proportion, however. The last Duke's incident showed that guards are not the safest measures of security."
"Honored by the trust," I murmured, "I'll inform the others."
"You do that. And I'll just go back to my slow and painful torture that is this party. Really, I don't like them that much..." I grinned at his back, more than satisfied by the turn of events.
When I got back to the ballroom and attuned back into Eagle Vision, I realized that all the yellow markers were gone from the room. I shifted my eyebrows together, and scanned the crowd in search of Ludovico. Thankfully, he was still present, and seemingly happy and satisfied. I approached Leonardo, touching his elbow. When he looked at me, he seemed confused at first, and then recognition sparked.
"How's everything going?" he asked quietly.
"Surprisingly smooth. Listen, Leonardo, things are probably going to get ugly from here on out. You should get ready to hide yourself."
He sighed, though he didn't look as if he was enjoying the party all that much. "Of course. By the way, a charming young lady came up to me with a message."
"What message?" I looked around at him, alarmed.
"Some woman by the name Leona is waiting for you upstairs in the last room of the hall. And she also said not to make noise."
My eyes sifted through the room quickly. Was there another change of plans? Or did they find out something? "Strange..."
I forced myself to calmly walk away from Leonardo through the crowds, pretending I didn't feel the calls and glances. At the stairs, I didn't look back as I continued to walk. The two levels were open to the guests, though not many people wandered this way, just as they didn't go into the gardens due to the chilly night. The corridors were nearly deserted. I finally allowed myself to go as fast as I could without tripping on the hem of the dress through the decorated, cold, marble hallways of the castle. When I was at the door, I stopped, listened for a moment for the patrolling guards, and walked inside.
The room was a spare bedroom, by the looks of it. It seemed smaller in comparison to the master bedrooms that sometimes included three different rooms in them, but was still large enough to see that Milan was kind to its guests. The large windows were blocked by the heavy curtains, and a single candle was lit, though it provided very little light.
Leona was pacing in front of the bed like a ghost, somehow managing to be completely quiet with the many layers to her dress. When I walked inside, her head jerked to me.
"What is going on?" I whispered lowly, shutting the door behind me.
"There's been some developments," she was serious for once, small wrinkles of worry forming. "They know the Brotherhood is at the party."
"What?"
"We got this too late," she waved an envelope in her hand. "They are planning a sweep...this was a trap."
"Wait, what? What do you mean a sweep?" I actually got a little worried. "Leona, step by step, what is going on?"
She stared at me for a long moment, and then let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine! One of my girls snatched the letter off one Rigera brothers, right before he disappeared from the party along with the rest of the conspirators."
"What did the letter say?"
"It-it informed them of the Assassin presence. So far, no names, but if this goes on...they're expecting us to act, to give ourselves away somehow."
"And is either the Duke or his uncle involved?" I asked fast, finally catching up with the situation.
"Ludovico is not likely in danger - if something does happen, the Templars have nothing to win from the situation."
"Did you find the documents you were looking for?" I was snapping the calculations in my head at the speed of lightning.
"Yes and no, for they didn't yield anything of value. Likely it was just bait."
"Then we should get out of here before things take a bad turn." Most of the guards were on the Sforza side, but if a coup happened, they would stab first, ask questions later. Not to mention, there would be panic, and more people were bound to show up. And there was no telling how the Duke would react to either of our presences revealed so openly...
"We can't."
"What? Why?"
"The coup will go through even without us, and then, there will be no one left to protect the innocents," she bit her lip.
"So what the hell do you want me to do?"
"Niccolo said to draw them out of the party. We'd have no problem facing them then," she finally got to the point. I immediately calmed down - so there was a plan.
"How do we do that?"
Now, she actually cracked a smile. "Theatrics, Eden. We're going to give them exactly what they are expecting."
Say all you want about how my mental health is going and how I should be tucked into an asylum and never shown to humanity again, but I was having fun.
I marched through the entire ballroom with a knife out up to the man who we knew for sure was one of the Templars. Before he even realized what I was doing, I stabbed him in the gut with unnecessarily large and jerky movements, just so no one would have a doubt what I was doing. The man choked on his own blood, and then let out a strangled, but still very loud scream as I threw him to the ground. Unpleasantly warm blood sprayed over me, and I didn't back away from it, letting it gain its' effect.
And to tell the truth, I had slight trouble keeping off the gleeful look off my face as I stared back into the horrified faces of the people around me, and mentally counting down.
Three... two...
"ASSASSIN!"
It was like the gunshot at a race to my ears. I picked up the skirt which I previously cut through to allow a quick getaway, and with my knife still out to scare away the screaming nobles, I carved my way past. Guards began to move, but were slowed considerably by the same crowds I was tearing through. When I felt someone try to grab some part of my dress, I allowed it to rip, even helping it with my dagger.
One of them suddenly appeared in front of me, but instead of wasting the precious time I had left to make my exit, I just sent a throwing knife into his throat and shoved under his arm on my way. Familiar adrenaline pumped in my ears as I made it outside. I didn't pause for even a second, running just as fast as I could through the raised gates, leaving the watchmen staring at my back with amazement. The bells began to toll behind me, and I smiled on my way - the bait was laid and taken.
In the first alley I got to, I finally slowed, getting rid of a good half of the fabric in the skirt and reaching to my back to loosen the lacing even further. Breathing fast, I listened for my pursuers, and I heard them. I dropped the scatters of my skirt inside the full barrel meant for rainwater, and continued down through the winding alleys. I didn't run too far, though, but hid in the shadows, waiting.
And of course, they came.
"Come out, Assassin!"
Like hell.
The Templars outnumbered me, which made them cocky. They knew I was in the area - I didn't bother hiding my trail.
"That was pathetic - Gruello is still bleeding out on the floor of the castle, and the entire city is aware of your presence now. Is that how your gang works?" The man didn't seem too sad about his brother's death, I noted. I glanced at the group out of the alley - four richly dressed men with swords and daggers, flanked by five guardsmen.
I caught the glimmer in the shadow of the alley across the plaza. My mouth twitched into a twisted smile, and I straightened out, letting out a cackle worthy of a hag, and coming into the street torch lights slowly. Their eyes darted to me. To my satisfaction, I could tell at least half of them were thinking of just making a run in the opposite direction of the insane woman with a sharp object.
"What do you know, the food comes to me now!" I continued the comedy, showing my lipstick stained teeth. I most likely looked like a freak show. Oh well, rather that then the groomed, perfect lady I was just an hour previous. "Who shall I eat first? The fat one? No... I like my figure...the skinny ones are all bone though!"
That was enough for the two very young, likely newbie guards to decide it just wasn't worth it, and book it. But the Templars remained unimpressed, if somewhat disgusted by my behavior. All of them seemed in their mid thirties. They'd probably seen worse, considering a lot of them had the reputation of torture and cruelty.
"Stop with your insanity, whore. Put you weapon down, you're outnumbered."
"Hm, I don't think that's quite right, though." My voice became normal again. Both my wrists flickered, and two of the throwing knives I'd hidden in the folds of my skirts felled two more men on either side of my targets. The bells were becoming annoying..."Count again."
The men watched two guards fall without any emotion, but they did twist in anger when another one of their side kicks turned and ran, screaming something about a witch.
"You're only one girl," the older man of the four spoke, threatening me with his sword, "Don't think your tricks will work on us."
"Well, perhaps then we should change the tune," I smiled at a familiar voice. Two more men joined us in the light of the street, coming from behind me.
"Mario, your timing is perfect, as always," I grinned widely, remembering the first time I met him; he and his mercenaries came seemingly out of nowhere just as Vieri de'Pazzi made the decision to end our lives two years ago. Mario greeted me with the same smile, and threw me a light sword, which I caught and immediately readied for battle.
"That was some display," Machiavelli drew his sword on the step, his face somewhat disapproving. "The entire city is on the look out by now. We have five minutes to get to the safe house."
"More than enough, I'd say!" I laughed. The Templars' faces grew longer at the sight of the two men, one of them sporting a good number of battle scars and impressive size, the other seemingly completely confident in his abilities. There was no doubt left - outnumbered or not, we had the major advantage. And seeing as they knew just as well that they couldn't get away, they made the first move.
I was given an amazingly large amount of attention, making me feel as if I offended the Templars with my temporarily display of insanity. But soon, after I continued to slip from underneath their blades and the few openings were easily taken advantage of by the two other Assassins, they learned better. Mario, I was happy to see, still had all of his fire and ability, and Niccolo was masterfully finding weak spots in the enemy's defenses. They worked in silence, all the threats already exchanged, all the taunts proven wrong. But us...
"You've got better in sword play!"
"Thank your nephew for that one," I called out to Mario, "He wouldn't rest until my hands were ready to fall off."
"Look at them dance...you think you can get the better of us?" one of the Templars nearly screamed in frustration. "You probably don't even know our names!"
"Muwahaha, fear me!"
The battle froze for one moment, everyone present staring at me with shock. A few eyes twitched, I shrugged, and took the moment to strike down another conspirator.
The old noble was the next to fall with Mario's sword in between his shoulder blades. One after the other, they died, but with due respect, they fought to their very end. The civilians had surely heard the sounds of battle, but no one came rushing to see what was going on, even guards seeming to avoid the place carefully. After all, they had wives and children, and no doubt they wanted to survive the night.
The three of us and one unconscious Templar were all that was left of the battle.
"Were they the suspects?" I asked, looking down into the faces of the dead enemy one last time before hurrying after the men. Mario finally noticed my mutilated and cut dress that exposed a lot of my legs and arms, coughed, and handed me his cloak. I smiled briefly before I wrapped myself in it. Then he busied himself in throwing one of the Ragia brothers, who was beaten and unconscious, over his shoulder.
"Yes, though that one was not on our charts. I think he was some German banker. I'm not sure what he was doing in Milano, though. But hopefully, he one will provide some answers..."
"Where is this safe house, anyway?"
"Leona's brothel," Niccolo replied, and I immediately shook my head.
"Too far. Leonardo's workshop is just around here, and they've likely already searched it. Adel is holding down the fort inside-"
"Is it safe?"
"Safer than certain places."
"True enough. Lead the way, then."
The panic was still going strong on the streets other than the one we fought on, so we kept as much as possible to the back alleys, out of sight. That way, we only had to knock one overly curious guard out, and made it to the workshop quickly and quietly.
"Dio mio, Eden, can't you stay out of trouble for one day?" the artist slapped his forehead, but nonetheless allowed us to come inside. "I thought it was Ezio's influence at first, but..."
"Nope, I think it goes the other way," I tried to smile, but it felt strained. "Besides, I warned you."
"No one ever suspects me. And no one recognized you during the - ah, come on inside, into the room upstairs."
"Adel!" I called, and immediately heard the girl approach, unfazed by the blood. I made sure to get the squeamish instincts out of her as soon as possible, as I sometimes brought in corpses for some of our lessons, showing her the different parts. "Consider this another practical lesson."
"Is he dead?" she asked almost business-like, walking behind Mario and staring into the man's face. "Male of about thirty five years, then."
"Actually, he's not-"
At that moment, he shifted and groaned, making the girl flinch away violently and let out a small yelp. By then we managed to get up the stairs and into the spare room that Adel and I occupied, and dumped him in the nearest chair.
"There will be consequences," Niccolo said grimly, seemingly mentally calculating the outcome of my somewhat foolish display. I left him to that, focusing on the more important matters.
"Did everyone get away?" I asked quickly, and he nodded.
"Leona and her girls, as well as a few from the Thieves Guild got lost in the crowds as soon as the panic started. If they had anymore followers, they won't find them."
"Then it's all worth it. We can deal with Sforza some other time," Mario grumbled as he slapped the man that was slumped in the chair.
"Adel, you-" I was about to say something, but she shushed me, showing no signs of leaving. I rolled my eyes and caved, turning my attention back to the waking man.
"What's your name?" Mario asked loudly.
"Fed- Federico," the Templar's eyes rolled, and he stuttered through the blood in his mouth. For someone who was cockily shouting threats and insults to me barely twenty minutes ago, he turned into an obedient coward rather quickly.
"Why were you at the Sforza castle?"
"I-" he hesitated, but when Mario lifted his hand for another hit, he hurriedly began to speak. "No! I'll tell you everything! We were ordered…we knew you Assassins would try something-"
"Us?" I asked skeptically, "We were calmly enjoying the party until you ruined our evening."
"We planned a sweep...take you out quickly, get rid of the threat..."
I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. I took a stride to Mario's side, and he let me take over for a moment. "Who ordered you?"
Hesitation. My hit was slightly less powerful than the mercenary's would have been, but it still sent the man to the floor, whimpering. I felt disgust at the grueling and pleading that came from him. "I'll ask again. Who ordered you?"
"Borgia."
"Why?"
"Distract the Assassins." Finally, some truth was shed. "It was important for you to be here…that boy, Ezio Auditore, he was supposed to be with you-"
"What is he talking about?" Leonardo asked somewhere behind me.
I tried to connect the dots inside my head. Realization came quickly, making my eyes widen. "The-the expedition from Cyprus is coming back soon! I can't believe I nearly forgot! But why is it so important for-"
"I don't know! I swear the god, I told you everything!"
As much as I hated it, he was telling the truth. He was hardly important enough to know why his Master went through all that trouble to send his men to Cyprus.
"Then one last question," I turned back to the writhing man on the floor. He stared at me with the pathetic eyes of a prisoner looking at his executor. "There was a girl that died more than a year ago by the name of Eden Cleare. Why did your master want her captured so much?"
"Girl-? I heard something, with the edge of my ear...promise you'll spare me-"
"You're in no position to be making demands." Mario snarled, "Answer the question and I'll think of letting you go!"
"She was a piece...a piece of something...The master wanted her... that's all I know, I swear! Now let me-"
My blade cut through his throat so cleanly it could have been just a pleasant surprise to the wounded, dying man.
There was a slightly stunned silence in the room in which I straightened out, and shook the blood off my knife. "What? No volunteers? Then I'll start. First of all, let me express the thing that's going through all of our heads right now." I took a deep breath, "What the-" I glanced at Adel, and finished with a term a lot weaker than the one I intended. "-hell."
"Sounds about right..." Niccolo was staring at the corpse behind me with shock.
"Those guys are nutcases," I growled, walking past the men out of the room and down the stairs. "They think I'm a Piece of Eden? What kind of waffle is that? Can humans even be Pieces?"
"Well, actually..." Mario caught up with me. "There was a woman at around Altair's time, she's mentioned in the codex."
"Alright, but I am absolutely positive on the fact that I am not a piece of anything mystical or weird!" I flapped my hands like a giant, insane bird. "Wouldn't I know? Wouldn't someone else know?"
"Calm down, Eden," Leonardo spoke softly. "You are right, it's just a misconception. Borgia heard of a woman that can take down small battalions (and you should hear the rumors going around about you, by the way), and considering your gender, he decided on the one explanation that seemed logical to him."
"Besides, this explains why they wanted to capture you, instead of killing you," Mario made himself comfortable at the table. I took a deep, calming breath. "And perhaps he was going to use you to lead Ezio right into a trap."
"You're right. But we still have major problems to deal with. The Black Galley will come to port in Venice in just more than a week. That means they probably have the Apple."
"And Rodrigo Borgia will be there to collect. That's why he wanted the Assassins distracted or killed here." Machiavelli narrowed his eyes, and I nodded.
"Wait!" We all looked around as Leonardo outburst suddenly. "The codex - I remember! If I just..." He began to dash around the room without further explanation, leaving us to stare at him with confusion.
"Does he do this often?" Mario asked, and I nodded slowly.
"Leo, what are you doing?"
"Aha!" he suddenly made a sound of triumph as he extracted a rolled up piece of parchment from somewhere. "I can't believe I've never noticed before!" He spread it out on the table, and many more notes fell out.
"Are those-?"
"The codex pages! I've kept track of the translations, just in case I wanted to study it further! But look, here, on the back. There are words that are cut off, but..."
"It's some sort of prophecy, we haven't been able to make sense of it for a long time." Mario leaned over the notes as well.
"But with the one that Eden brought me, I think we can finally...look!" he traced the writing with his finger. "The Prophet will appear when the second piece is brought to the floating city!"
"The Prophet?" I asked lowly, my memory ringing a persistent bell in my head.
"Protect the Prophet with your life, if you have to, Signora!" The insane beggar on the streets of Florence was lost to my memory up to that point, but sudden realization of the meaning floated up right in my face.
"Ezio," I whispered.
"What?"
"I mean, Rosa will likely tell him when the ship is coming back, and he will go in for the kill."
"We will be there to back him up." Mario said firmly. "I will send out word to La Volpe and Paola in Florence, and you have to gather Antonio, Sister Teodora and Bartolomeo in Venice. We will have to make sure to give Borgia the warmest welcome." He suddenly looked at me for a long moment, causing me to arch a brow of question as he continued, "But before that, I think there's a few things we should take care off..."