"And they finally appear!"

If Adel ever became a full assassin, or at least an adult, she would be quite terrifying with her stance. "Angry-Mother-run-lecture-is-coming," her fists were planted firmly on her waist, her legs a shoulder-width apart. Combined with a stern glare that would scare the living daylights out of the most rebellious troublemakers, she was ready to deliver a sound tongue lashing. Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect on either Ezio or me. We were simply too exhausted to care.

Behind her, Antonio stood with crossed arms, barely hiding a smirk at the scene. I nearly choked on my apple at the sight of him, a bizarre thought of, "I thought I killed you!" running through my head. However, I quickly calmed down, breathing properly again and reminding myself of reality. It was a real shame that his future genetic pool would swing to the psychotic side; for unlike his apparent his progeny in Larry, Antonio was a true Assassin. How else could I explain the uncanny resemblance between the two?

Momentarily frowning, I forced a smile to my face, though it quickly became genuine at the sight of Adel. "Adelaide, nice to see you too. Don't I at least qualify for a welcome back hug?" I raised my eyebrows as I caught a yawn into my hand. It was around midday, judging by the bright rays of the sun spilling through the stain glass windows of Antonio's study on the lower floor of the Seta.

Strange, at first I thought that a year here was about a week in the twenty first century. But considering that we were there for a few days, which should've equaled about a half-year here, there didn't appear to be any major changes in the time shift. Adel was still dressed for traveling, with her golden hair tied back into a tight braid. So I guessed it was the still the same day as when the Apple decided to once again have some fun with the space-time continuum. Which was just as well - I really didn't want to come back months later than intended. The results of that would be rather unpredictable, likely in a negative way. Not to mention, it would be easier to not be forced to lie about our disappearance.

"Where were you?" she snapped her fingers in irritation. "We were supposed to leave five hours ago, and neither of you was anywhere to be found!" she demanded angrily, "The boat already left!"

I exchanged looks with Ezio, who shrugged as if time travel was the most mundane thing in the world. "It's a rather long story, piccola" he replied, flashing her a warm grin. But she wasn't having any of his usual charm, narrowing her eyes at him and gritting her teeth as she crossed her arms.

"That's all you have to say for yourselves?" she snorted. "Of all the sorry excuses-"

"I'm sure we're all eager to hear it," Antonio cut in gently. "Along with the part as to why you are all dressed in such a manner," his eyes widened, sweeping over us with curiosity. "And also as to why Franco claims that you, uh, appeared out of thin air."

I almost forgot the fact that both of us were still dressed in modern jeans, shirts and jackets. Poor Franco, one of the younger thieves' apprentices, was likely still making wild crosses in the air somewhere upstairs. Especially after we gave him the scare of a lifetime when we popped back into one of the hallways. Something told me he would not be talking to us again...at least, not without trembling like a leaf and praying for the demons to spare his soul. Poor chap.

"We will answer all questions," Ezio promised wearily, though I don't think he really meant that, "But later. First-"

"Sleep," I muttered, already beginning to climb the stairs.

Adel could only continue her façade of pouting until her curiosity got the better of her, even as we completely ignored her questions for the moment. Antonio just shook his head, muttering how he really didn't want to know before walking away to his office, only stopping to call over his shoulder to make sure the Apple was safe.

As for us...well, we sort of just crashed down onto our bed as soon as we got to it. Neither of us awoke until the sky began to lighten early the next morning...

"So, to sum up," I mused, wrapping the towel tightly around my chest before I began to dry my hair with a second one, "Before the Apple sent us to the future..."

"We took the said Apple from Rodrigo Borgia, so now we need to protect it from him," Ezio finished my train of thought as he pulled on his pants and his usual double layer of tunics. I was beginning to regret not taking a picture earlier, as Ezio in modern jeans and an untucked button-up shirt with an open collar was quite a sight to behold. Modern clothes that used to belong to Alex really suited him, somehow. Hell, in my time-period, he could've found easy work as some model on the runway…and I would've probably found myself laughing at his ridiculous Blue Steel expression in the pages of a glassy fashion magazine. "Antonio said there was been an attack on one of his thieves by men with the Borgia coat of arms just a few hours ago," he continued, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Did he get away?" I raised an eyebrow, putting on my own clothes with some pleasure. Who would have thought I'd miss the silk tunic and slightly scratchy cotton of my robes?

"Fortunately, yes. But that shows that Rodrigo has recovered and is already trying to get the Apple back."

"But that also means he doesn't know we're moving to Forli just yet."

"Si, but he might know that Caterina is our ally." He frowned for a moment before muttering, "Then again, even I didn't know she was...did you?"

"No, she never came up in my discussions with the other assassins before you were initiated into the order," I shook my head. "Don't worry, though."

"I'm not worried," he smirked, strapping on his sash before buckling his swordbelt over it. Hands instinctually wandering down to the sheathes for his throwing knives, he nodded with satisfaction to find he was no need of resupply. "Niccolo is right," he declared, "Forli is a fortress. It was obvious the last time we passed through, on the way to Venice. Those towers were pretty heavily fortified, and the city is surrounded by a rather deep and wide moat."

I braided my hair tightly, tying it off with a ribbon as I thought. "Sad that most of it is sunken, but you're right. Though it won't stop them from trying. If only because Borgia seems desperate enough. But we've smothered him all over the wall once, and we can do it again."

"What about the Talisman, then?"

I touched the Piece of Eden that now hung around my neck. It did not react to me in any way, aside from almost live warmth radiating from it. Thankfully, there was none of the voices my sister described. She was likely right in the end; without having proper knowledge as to how it worked, I wouldn't be able to use it. Nor did I particularly want to, keeping in mind how the artifacts and I did not mix well together.

"I'll keep it on me until we figure out where to store it."

"That's not a good idea," he quickly shook his head in disagreement. "Perhaps I should hold onto it, seeing how you react to the artifacts?" Ezio suggested quite reasonably, which made me, of course, want to rebel.

I snorted. "The Apple charmed me because I wanted to figure things out at home. Now that everything there is all sorted out, I have no unfinished business, and it has nothing on me. Considering Eve, I think I might even have the ability to control the artifacts like you."

"Really now?" he slowly said. Even as I bristled and furrowed my eyebrows, my hand flying to the Piece around my neck, I could tell he wasn't attempting to pick a fight… though that conclusion took a few moments for my mind to accept. "What do you think it is in us that allows that?" he quickly changed the subject, gaze raking over me in distant observation. It paused at my neck before he met my eyes again. "I don't think anyone else would have the same level of control without being used by the artifact…." Ezio picked up the velvet pouch that carried Apple, pinning it to his belt. "Could it be something in our blood? Perhaps even the same thing that gives us Eagle Vision?"

"If that's true, then another mystery solved," I stated. "If it's something to do with blood, mine is likely a lot more diluted than yours, considering the time difference. Which may be why I have a harder time controlling it?" I moved my lips for a bit, thinking about it. It was a good theory to settle on, for the time being. But on the other hand, we didn't know any of it for sure, like where the hell this "thing" in our blood came from.

"It could have something to do with eye color, too," I breathed. He stared at me incredulously for a moment. I shrugged, and explained, "Eve has Dad's eyes. I have Mom's. Dad was the hereditary assassin, and Eve is the one that could control the artifact."

"Yes, that explains oh so much!" he explained with sarcastic enthusiasm, "It's all in the eye color! Genius!"

"Hey, I'm nowhere near Leonardo's level," I laughed, "But I'm just saying!"

He became serious once again. "Let's just leave the theory him and zio Mario. Our job is to protect it."

"And protect the Vault," I reminded him of the goal that we often overlooked.

"We don't know where this vault is. It could be anywhere in the world..."

"Oh, right, and to add to our already long list of things to protect, you are on mine," I tilted my chin up. He glanced at me skeptically.

"Do you really think I need protecting?"

"No. Yet so far I have met a man that correctly predicted that you are the Prophet, that I have to die for you if need be, and to keep you alive, no matter the cost." I chewed on my lip. "But do try not to get me killed, okay? It would put a damper on both of our moods."

He just shook his head, sighing.

"Besides," I chewed on my lip as I walked over to the window. Without warning, excitement took over me when I once again saw the familiar rooftops and towers of Venice, and greeted the towering Palazzo Ducale and L'Arsenale. It was such a pleasure to see again after New York that my breath caught for a moment, as if fully catching up to the reality of the situation. We were back where we belonged... "You are one of the only people I have to protect now."

"We're Assassins," he reminded me softly. Silently stepping behind me, he slid his arms around my waist, holding me tightly to him. His stubble grazed my ear as he bent down to it, affectionately nuzzling my hair. "We have the entire world to protect. Don't worry, even without your sister and Jake, you still have plenty of things to care about. Like Templars taking over the world with artifacts wrought from apparent witchcraft to destroy all the weak minds of humanity..."

I let out a quiet chuckle, shaking my head in agreement. "But you know, no pressure."

We spent the rest of day following up on any leads to Borgia's plans. Nothing much popped up, but it was always good to be especially cautious. I didn't like it however- if he has recovered this fast and made one attempt, it was surprising that he did not make more. Perhaps he was distracted by something else, or maybe he wasn't even around, but simply gave out the orders and left immediately back to Roma. In light of the recent events, I could tell things were getting more serious somehow. As if the war moved to an even larger scale than before, or at least the fog lifted, allowing me to see the rest of the battlefield.

I caught myself thinking once- would this become an actual war? Not one from the shadows, but a straightforward gathering of forces to throw at each other? There was no mention of such things in history, of that I was sure as I actually payed attention to that part of history class. But what if...? I chased the though away quickly, however- it was not the Assassin style to come into direct conflicts. We were not soldiers. Our specialties are stealth, whether it was crawling through shadows or manipulating...

Night descended and the sky blackened completely, showing off the bright stars and the grin of the moon. We decided to board of one of the Doge's galleys to Forli, just to be safe, considering the latest developments. It was perfectly within Borgia's power and character to bribe a pirate ship or two to intersect us if we attempted to leave Venice by normal passenger ship. However, not many people were suicidal enough to go up against Venetian navy ships. I vaguely remembered from high school history that it was right around this period that they were the most feared in the Mediterranean. Even the more powerful kingdoms on the continent mostly refused to tangle with them. Funny thing how the territoriesall of them were like their own nations despite being part of Italia and they treated each other just the same way as the countries of Europe do.

I really thought that such precautions were unnecessary. Then again, after all that'd happened to us, I felt like I could take on all the Templars of the world on at once and walk away in good health, though that was likely a bad idea. Overconfidence never got us anywhere. For the sake of Adel and the Apple, we wanted to get to Forli with as little conflict as humanely possible.

Adel totally and completely refused to be left behind for any reason, proclaiming loudly that there was no way in hell that she'd let us go without her. Why she wanted to go to a city that would likely be held under attack as soon as we entered, I really had no idea. Then I decided that it would only be beneficial for her to actually be in an dangerous situation. That way, she'd either change her mind about the supposed glories of being an Assassin completely, or work even more diligently. Since she would be with three assassins inside a fortified fortress, it was almost as safe as taking a walk down to the market place in the middle of the day.

To say that we relaxed as we came on board would be a lie - we weren't tense in the first place. Both Ezio and I were completely at ease, and Adel already learned to trust us without question. So we simply strolled in and settled comfortably on the deck.

I looked back on Venezia, saying goodbye to it for the second time with a light smile. I knew we'd come back here many times, either for work or pleasure, or when it had more tyrants to clean up and peace to reestablish. For now, I was content with the knowledge that the sleeping city was out of Templar reach. Something so beautiful should be a sin to corrupt with their greedy, blood-stained hands.

After a moment, I turned around, leaning against the rails of the boat, looking over to my companions. Ezio was staringat the horizon thoughtfully, his hood pushed backand seemingly obvious to the fact that Adel was attempting to sneak up on him, probably trying to pull on his pony tail. He caught her at the last second, lightly grabbing her wrist out of midair. Within seconds, her shrieks of disappointment disappeared into their loud laughter as he began to tickle her. He really looked like he missed the girl just as much as me. The adorable, stubborn, determined and proud ten year-old that decided to take the same path as us...

I must have dozed off to the sounds of the sea and the calling of the sailors, because the boat's swaying was really nothing like a carriage. But for some reason I was reminded of one…

The cheery trot of the horses, the sounds of the wheels creaking on the stone street. My curtains were drawn for a reason- I didn't want anyone remembering my face, but I can't say I missed much of the view. England was never my place. 'Tis why I preferred to travel through countries, not staying anywhere for too long, but always coming back. Not that my child minded too much; she would follow me on the other side of the world if need be. And aside from that, who did I have? Just her and that stupid, unpredictable, useless, but oh-so charming and wonderful lover of mine...

I blinked, the strange sensation swirling in my mind for a few moments. Yet before I could fully recall it, I found myself letting sleep overtake me again.

Forli had not changed since the last time we rode through. It was still the same half-sunken fortress with most of the houses somehow left outside the walls. People didn't seem to mind, however, building make-shift trails of crates to walk across, or simply staying on the dry paths. The smell was only a bit worse than Venezia's docks, the permanent gray fog obscuring the horizon.

"Don't you just love swamps?" I asked cheerfully as I finally stepped onto the dock, carrying only my bag on my person, and swept the location with my eyes. "Now. Adel, remember what we talked about?" She rolled her eyes, nodding. "Repeat."

"Why do I have to do this every-"

"Because you forget it each and every time. So until you can either properly stay out of trouble or at least take care of yourself, repeat."

"Don't run off, don't take candy from strangers…what is it with that one, anyway?"

"Repeat, Adelaide!" I ignored Ezio behind us as his laugh quickly turned into a cough at a poor attempt to hide his amusement.

Rolling her eyes, she continued counting off on her fingers. "And don't get into trouble. If I do, mention your or Ezio's name to one of the thieves, mercenaries or courtesans. Um, will that one work here...? But I'll ask directions from them, anyway," she recited obediently.

"And?" I pressed on. She sighed.

"Don't question your instructions and don't get myself captured again." That last lesson she learned very well when we had to rescue her from Silvio. I think my corpse was enough to convince her.

"Good. And don't look so sour," I patted her on the shoulder, "Caterina Sforza has quite a few children, so you won't be left completely bored," I hoped that sounded encouraging, though I knew she didn't like other kids too much. By the slight frown on her face, I could tell that nothing changed.

"Hmm. Speaking of which, is that the welcoming committee?" Ezio muttered, and I threw my head up to look at the trail. Walking towards us was a small group made up of Caterina Sforza, who rode on a rather pretty white mare, Niccolo on a pitch black one, and few heavily armed guards, dressed in the dark green colors of Forli. We sent out a pigeon right before we left, so the appearance was not unexpected.

Okay, I admit that I couldn't say I was very pleased to see the beautiful ruler of the city. Money, power, looks…and she was a good ride, too, judging by her confident handling of her mount. So, all in all, what wasn't there to be annoyed by?

"Nice. They likely alerted everyone they possibly could of the meeting with the noise those tin cans are creating," I grumbled. "Well, at least they thought to bring horses for us," I kicked at the muddy trail, "This ground doesn't look as if it's meant for walking..."

"Hey, Eden?" Adel asked with curiosity as we stood there, waiting for the group, "How long would it take you to kill all of them?"

Now see, if any other child asked that sort of question, she'd have many, many years of expensive therapy ahead of her. But things were different in this time. Violence was a natural part of life, witnessed up close and personal. So for her, it was not a strange question. For some reason she never got tired of my musings, whether they were on strategy, or the random other skills of our profession. Like predicting how long it would take me to kill an entire squad of guards. I think she was somehow learning from it, too, storing all the little tidbits in her brain until she had further need of them. And with her lack of disgust or horror towards such topics, I think she would one day really become something... dangerous. If she lived to see the day, of course, which was never certain when you have friends like us.

Maybe it was a good thing she was with us.

"Well," I began, eyeing the group and quickly taking stock of them. Ezio shot us both a look from the corner of his eye, though he didn't say anything. I didn't quite know what to make of that, especially as he crossed his arms. So I plunged onward. "The ones with the funny hats wouldn't take that long," I pointed at the three foot soldiers in less heavy armor, "About…five seconds each? Their captains in the metal helmets are a bit trickier since they dodge rather well. They're better trained too, so they block some of the counters."

"Six second each?" she suggested helpfully.

"You give her too much credit," Ezio laughed, previous expression replaced by amusement. "I'd say about ten to fifteen."

"Thanks for that, Ezio," I glanced at him with an "I'm not amused" stare, continuing. "The brutes are the hardest," I worried my lip, "They swing those giant axe things around like a farmer would while trying to decapitate a chicken. And not the type that misses all the time or allows the chickens to jump up and run around without a head on. More the sorts that wouldn't bat an eye if the axe slips and gets stuck it the head of the neighbor behind them who innocently wanted to ask for some sugar..."

"Poor neighbor."

"Yes, it's quite tragic. But my point was that those guys deserve full fifteen seconds to take care of."

"Or about twenty to thirty seconds, if you're tired and fight them last," Ezio replied, crouching down to her level and holding her interested gaze. "Which is why," he smirked, "You always take out the biggest ones first. Take out two or more in quick succession terrifies the rest of the group, usually causing them to flee... which is a nice bonus, and saves you the trouble of having to fight them."

"Precisely," I said with a small smile, "Now you do the math."

"Hmm. So all in all, just under a minute," she hummed, "Less if take out the big ones…what if you sneaked up on them?"

"Come now, that's just not giving them a chance," Ezio chuckled, standing back up.

"But," I said, "If you time it correctly, you can get rid of them all in under twenty seconds without even one of them realizing something is wrong."

"At least one would notice," Adel argued skeptically, "I mean, wouldn't the pain give it away?"

"That really depends on how sharp the blade is-"

"And whether you care more for pure silence or damage," Ezio thoughtfully said.

"Is that really a proper conversation to have with a child, signore?" a passing sailor snorted with disapproval, carrying a heap of ropes for some ship's rigging slung over his shoulder.. Huh, I think this was the first time I'd actually seen a sober sailor. Until this day I thought those were mythological creatures.

I was about to open my mouth to say something, but Adel beat me to it. "I'm not a child," she snidely snapped, "I can decide for myself what I want to talk about." The man was taken aback from the blunt reply, muttering something under his breath and waving his arm before he speedily walked away.

I sighed - it was really his mistake. Adel hated to be treated her age, claiming that she was old and smart enough to be treated with at least some respect. I'm not sure if that was the noble blood in her talking, or if it was just a tick of her personality. Or perhaps she just spent too much time with independent women like Rosa and me, and other motivated adults.

However, there were other things to focus on as Ezio pulled my hand in the direction of the group. Niccolo greeted us with a smile and a short bow, which we replied to without hesitation. Meanwhile, Caterina began to positively glow at the sight of Ezio. I automatically felt my teeth clench.

"My, look who it is!" her sparkling blue eyes lit up. "I thought that when we met your were a bit special. But an Assassin? Mmm!" she addressed Ezio in the low, even, and very attractive voice, almost purring the words. I rolled my eyes, smiling in greeting to Niccolo and taking the reigns of the gray horse from him. Lightly climbing into the saddle, I pulled Adel up in front of me. Ezio (after the courtesies, of course) followed suit, climbing a swift-looking, sandy brown horse provided by one of the guards.

Soon, I found that rather liked this horse I was on. He had none of Honey's character; he was calm, not minding the strangers on his back and letting me pick up the reigns without arguing and generally acted well trained and properly ridden. By the way he barely swayed or slid on the mud, I concluded that he was used to this terrain, which was just as well.

"You're going to love Forli!" Caterina chirped proudly, as we turned back towards the city, "Heavily fortified with cannons, I'm sure the Apple will be quite safe there."

"I'm sorry, but I have never heard of a woman ruling her own city," Ezio nodded, "It is most impressive."

I forced myself to swallow down the slight jealousy beginning to bubble inside my stomach. After all, Caterina was much more beautiful than I was ever meant to be, and she belonged to the sort of class of women men had a lot of trouble saying no to. And I well knew that Ezio was a natural flirt, no matter what. A symptom of his natural charm, it helped put the minds of ladies (and admittedly, quite a few men) at ease. Considering all we'd been through, I'd come to make peace with his habit.

Caterina was no slouch either. From what I could tell, she was independent, smart, resourceful and completely at ease with death. Where others might put up a front at its requirements to maintain order over her dominion, especially as the supposedly "weaker sex,"at least she didn't bother with appearing supposedly innocent or above it all. I could like her for that. At least you know where you stood with her.

"It was my husband's before, of course," the woman continued to explain of Forli. "He died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I had him killed."

"Oh."

Ezio coughed and glanced at me, and I smiled triumphantly. I did remember telling him that Caterina was one of those women that changed lovers and husbands in almost record times, and since divorce isn't exactly an option...

"We discovered Girlamo Riario was working for the Templars. He made a map of the location of the remaining Codex pages." My ears perked up at Niccolo's brief explanation. In the three years we barely managed to collect and translate half of the pages, we had little clue as to where the rest were. So a map like that would come in very useful.

"Do you have the map now, then?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, we found it amongst his possessions. Locked away, of course, but getting to it was hardly a challenge."

Adel made no sound through the conversation, but was looking up at one of the Brute guards with curiosity, likely beginning to make the man nervous under the armor. She had never been very close to any of the fully armed guards before, and she was very inquisitive and curious by nature. Right now, she was likely trying to figure out how all the armor stayed on, how he walked in the seemingly solid plates, and how he managed to carry an axe around like that all the time.

"Eden, how can he see properly through that helmet?" she asked me loudly enough for the guard to hear. "And all that metal...isn't it really heavy?"

"Why don't you ask him?" I smiled encouragingly. "Hey, you wouldn't mind serving for educational purposes, do you?" I called at to him, where he rode beside us, "All the other guards tend to be rather rude, trying to kill us and all."I must have put him into a small state of shock with the blunt question, though I couldn't see his face. The guard beside him, who carried a spear, a fluffy, green feather on his helmet, actually smiled at that. Strange, I'd never seen a guard with an actual sense of humor and no annoying air of superiority in front of citizens, women and children. Forli was pleasantly surprising me thus far.

"It must be really hard to wave that thing around, right?" Adel sounded completely serious, not waiting for an answer, "That's why you wear all that armor, so that it's hard to hit you while you're swinging, right?"

The guard likely wasn't sure what to do, and just nodded. I hid a grin. "Adel, I'll take you to an armory some time, and you can question them all you like when they're off duty. Better yet, you should ask the mercenaries at Monteriggioni."

"I did, but they don't wear things like that," she pouted. "And they don't have very large weapons, just maces and stuff."

"I think I see where you're coming from." Blunt weapons were not my favorite, either.

"Such a charming daughter you have."

That was the first time Caterina spoke to me, and I looked at her with a slightly surprised look. She didn't sound sarcastic, and generally looked well-disposed. Ezio turned to speak to Niccolo, so she likely just wanted to figure out who the hell I was.

"I'm not her daughter," Adel shook her head, smiling angelically. "But I sort of wish I was."

That warmed my heart, I won't lie. I ruffled her hair, and finally introduced myself. Remembering that the last time we were here, I only saw her from afar and never got to speak to her. "I'm Eden."

"I know," Caterina continued to smile, though there was something almost distantly vicious in it. I quickly noticed that most nobles put on that same sort of routine smile, rarely actually meaning it. Then again, what do you have to smile about when everyone you meet might have intentions of stabbing you in the back? Openly colluding with assassins made that even more likely by some standards "I've heard quite a bit about you."

"Then we can skip all the explanations, and cut to the chase." She raised her eyebrows in surprise and alarm. "Would you give Adel here permission to talk to the guards off shift? She seems really curious as to their armor."

After a moment she let out a musical chuckle, "Do as you wish," she nodded, "The barracks are at your command for the duration of your stay."

"I presume we'll need it," I suddenly sighed.

"What do you-"

The noise level which was usually dulled by the heavy fog was growing steadily. With little warning, the stream of people who usually headed towards the city suddenly turned back on itself, fleeing from Forli like a stampede of spooked antelopes.

"Oh no-" Caterina was the very first to break out of her haze, sending her horse into a gallop immediately. Ezio, Niccolo and me followed her instantly, and behind us I could hear the guards adding to the noise with their armor. "Aspetta!" Caterina called to a random passing woman making her break sharply, smearing the mud with her shoes. "What's happening?"

The girl was seriously out of breath, her face red, and her eyes dancing with fear. She looked up at Caterina as though she was God's personal bodyguard that'd come down to deliver justice. I actually almost laughed at the image in my head, but held it back in time. This situation was hardly funny.

"They came as soon as you left the city walls, Signora! The city is under attack!"

"We didn't even get a chance to arrive," I mused. Adel laughed shortly, seemingly unfazed by the situation. Ezio frowned, looking up to Forli in evaluation. This was definitely not part of our plans.

"What?" Caterina's eyes widened, "By who-?"

"The Orsi brothers, Signora!"

The Lady of Forli's reaction was immediate and simple - she became utterly furious. "God damn it!"

"Who are the Orsi?" Ezio asked, though he kept his eyes trained on the wall. I could almost see the wheels spinning in his head, adapting to our new challenge with various, shifting plans. Likely, he had a minimum of a handful he was currently musing.

"The same rascals I hired to kill my husband!"

Adel pulled my sleeve, and I turned my attention to her. She didn't look scared or in any way disturbed by the situation, just completely focused on something. When I looked at her, she pointed in the direction of the city, not far from the closed gates. I followed the gesture with my eyes, and furrowed my eyebrows immediately.

"It's the Spaniard, of course. The Orsi have no world view bigger than their purse," Niccolo noted. Some feet in front of him, a group of Forli soldiers already engaged with Borgia's men. Despite Borgia's force outnumbering them by nearly two to one, the Forli guards did not back down. Continuing to fight with efficient determination, they quickly pressed the Borgia faction to the moat. But the Spaniard's numbers still came at them, just as dogged in their fresh wave of violence. I highly doubted their master would take failure in stride. It was better they die here than return unsuccessful. Unfortunately for us, their desperation seemed to be winning so far.

"But how could he know where we were taking the Apple?" Ezio asked, wheeling his horse around to join Niccolo, "Before we even knew?"

I licked my lips, slightly uncertain of what to do. They were just standing there, chatting about it like a rock in the middle of the river of people who were rushing to get the hell out of the city. I looked to the guards that were with us, who seemed to be just as frustrated as they waited for orders.

"They're not here for the Apple - they're here for Riario's map-"

"Basta with your map, Niccolo!" Caterina lost patience, her voice lacing with panic as she flipped him a rude gesture. Interesting, the middle finger was a lot older than I thought… "My children are inside! Oh, fucking hell-!"

The situation?

Crappy.

Well, better than some. We could have all been dead and skewered outside of the walls. But aside from that? Pretty horrible.

So what did we have?

We had a taken over, heavily fortified town who's owner was locked outside like a lady who forgot her keys. We had extremely loud swearing coming from the aforementioned woman. The same woman who refused to take cover, even if the enemy on the wall looked ready to shoot at any moment.

Oh, yeah, and did I mention the fucking town was under siege, Borgia's men taking over and opening roaming the streets?

"Adel, stay here! And better yet, find a haystack to hide in!" I commanded, nearly jumping from my horse as I dismounted. She didn't even think of disobeying this time, thankfully.

"Niccolo-" Ezio began, hitting the ground, already beginning to move in the direction of the water.

"I've got them," he confirmed, withdrawing his sword and quickly ending a Borgia guard. Running him through, he swung down from his mount. I set off after Ezio immediately. Any other time I would have asked Caterina to shut down her creative swearing for a bit. But Adel heard worse before, and the woman obviously needed to get the steam out.

I caught up with him just as he found a small boat at the banks of the moat. I swiftly stepped down into it, and he took up the rowing, heading around the walls. To our luck, the men at the walls were still Caterna's guards, so we had no problems moving along the perimeter. "They really put a damper on our day, didn't they?" I muttered, and Ezio made a vague noise. "What's the plan?"

"I'll get up on the walls since the mechanism to open the gates is up there."

"Alright. Where are you going to head with Caterina and Niccolo?"

"The Castle."

I thought about it for a moment. The map we studied before our departure swam up in my head. "I'll meet you there. I can create a distraction for the guards, clean the way a bit for you."

"I think this is the place." Ezio stopped rowing, and the boat floated a bit further and came to a stop.

Well, Caterina lied. It was not a tunnel, but rather, the sewer gate for the water. The bars broke its surface, hopefully giving enough space to slip through. Without hesitating, I stepped out into the murky water. It greeted me with freezing wetness, eager to swallow me whole, but I kept my head above the surface.

"How's the water?" Ezio asked with a smirk.

"L-lovely," I gritted out, taking my bag from the boat and keeping it above my head, swimming closer to the gates.

Grasping the bars with my hands, I took a deep breath, and submerged. To my relief, the bars did stop not far below the surface, giving my space to slip through underneath it. When I re-emerged from the water, I was on the other side, facing the city. I let out a small thanks to the gods that my bag was waterproof, though I couldn't say the same for my clothes. Ezio joined me quickly, shaking his head and letting out splatters of water.

I doubt anyone noticed up from the city - all the citizens that didn't manage to get out before the gates closed were in a state of panic that the presence of the enemy only encouraged. The air was still filled with occasional screams, sobs, and whines. Somewhere in the distance, a child was crying loudly, and then choked.

We managed to get up to the street level in a secluded little spot. I immediately let my braid out, twisting the water out of it.

Our clothes were, thankfully, were brushed with a very fine layer of wax to avoid all the potential wear and tear from climbing all over the jagged finishes of buildings and rooftop tiles. Leonardo conceived of the idea a couple of years ago, at seeing how quickly we tore through various sets of trousers and tunics. Considering the lack of mass manufacturing, and that everything was handmade, clothes were bloody fortune in this time. Anyway, the wax caused the beads of water to slide off the material instead of soaking into it. All we had to do was get the water out of our boots and sheathes, and we were good to go.

"The Castle is just south," he reminded me, and I nodded, "I'll go let Caterina and Niccolo inside."

"Wait," I suddenly called him, surprising even myself. He stopped in his step, and looked back to me with a raised eyebrow. I nearly ran him down, and pulled his face down to mine. After a quick spell of shock at my sudden action, he kissed me back. Rather thoroughly too. Not that I was complaining.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked against my lips.

"I really have no idea," I smiled, a thought flashing through my head- Reminding you. "Just in case. Good luck."

"Likewise." He pressed a hand to my cheek and then was gone.

I stayed to the shadows, keeping out of the panic and chaos's way, mentally accessing the damage made in the city. The results were actually not quite as bad as they appeared. There were Borgia soldiers everywhere, densely located throughout the streets, and blood was splattered over the stones from the battle. But aside from that, we were lucky they didn't bring siege machines to break inside, or things would have been much messier. Though there were a few smashed roofs, I noted. Perhaps the city guards used the cannons to fire inside the city, desperate to at least do something.

I didn't stay out of sight for long, as I needed to get their attention to me.

"Hey, that's one of them! How did she get inside the city?"

I smirked. Playing with guards was always fun, however dangerous. Those men could very well put a few holes in me if I ever gave them the chance. But I would have to stand motionlessly for them to do that, and that was just not in my character. There was certain pleasure in letting them chase you, knowing perfectly well that you could outrun them with ease, and if you let them catch up... well, it's their death sentence.

It's funny how they don't get bored of the game, either, while acting the part of vigilant heroes to the best of their ability. But really, did they seriously not notice that I was circling around the same block...?

"You did it, Ezio!" Caterina called as she and her guards entered the city. Ezio joined them down below to help deal with the remaining guards that hadn't been drawn away by Eden.

"We'll have to fight our way through to the Castle," Niccolo called through the clash of the swords. Caterina surprised Ezio by drawing out a decent looking dagger from the many folds of her dress and immediately backstabbing one of the enemy guards. Ezio caught a man who was swinging his sword at one of her bodyguards, almost crushing his throat with his arm and driving one of his hidden blades into his chest. Niccolo held up his own beautifully, easily sheathing the sword up to the hilt in one of the enemy's stomach.

"Wait -where's that little girl? She was just behind us a moment ago!" It was Caterina that noticed the absence as soon as they dealt with the guards by the gates. Ezio furrowed his eyebrows, glancing around. Adel was nowhere in sight. But he knew she was not in trouble, either.

"I think she's with Eden, and we don't have time to look," he decided quickly. "Let's move."

"Adel, what did we talk about?" I sighed, kicking down the last of the tin cans. He grunted, and slid off my sword, joining three others on the ground, "You don't wander off until you can properly defend yourself, or at least run away."

"I did run away, though, from the gates where Ezio was!" she argued, looking at the dead men with some distaste. There was not a hint of disgust or nausea thanks to the frequent dissections she was present at in Leonardo's workshop. And it wasn't her first time watching someone die, either. She has already managed to develop almost scientific fascination to death, like a doctor would examine a new type of infection.

I often wondered if it was the right thing to teach her...

"They were swinging those swords around so much I had to get out of there."

"Yes, and you thought of nothing better than to follow me when I had half of the attackers on my tail?"

"So? It's you," she opened her blue eyes wide, fluttering her thick eyelashes charmingly. It would have worked wonders on anyone else, but I remained stern.

"I'm flattered, but seriously, you shouldn't risk your life like that, considering that a child in a traveling cloak in the middle of a city under siege attracts very unwanted attention. Keep that in mind the next time you run off," I ordered.

She pouted adorably, crossing her arms. "You wouldn't mind so much if you taught me how to use a weapon properly, instead of making me read old books."

"In your position it's good to know about politics and history."

"And why is that?"

"Because if you do change your mind, you still have a rather decent shot at returning to nobility."

That stumped her for a moment, and then she showed outright disgust at the very idea of ever doing that. "I don't-"

She didn't get to finish, as at that moment, I decided that the argument in the middle of a battlefield would not yield good results. Gesturing for her to follow me, I made my way up roofs. She was still too weak to climb at length, but one story buildings were little trouble, especially if there were stacked crates nearby that went up half way.

There were no archers on the buildings today, all the men called down to the streets to help out with the defense. So we lightly ran through the roofs without trouble. The citadel was in sight, even through the fog, and we were soon on the roofs of the buildings opposite of the fort.

"They shut the gates," I muttered with approval. At least Ezio wasn't making any stupid mistakes, like waiting for me to show up. Adel huffed beside me, trying to catch her breath, but she did not complain. I only felt slightly winded, as I was more than used to long runs.

"I think they're in trouble," Adel observed, and I nodded. I could see that the Orsi reinforcements came from the other side of the city. What was worse is that they brought ladders. Who the hell were these people, the MacGyvers of the 15th century? Who brings a ladder with them into battle?

They planned thoroughly, it seems...

"Can we help them somehow?" Adel replied.

"Shush. You've done enough for today," I growled, swiftly pulling out a crossbow from underneath my cloak, loading quickly. I picked the light weapon only a few months previous, taking the time to learn how to shoot it properly aside from making a few adjustments to its construction. Not as effective as a gun, but it could still cover decent distances. "I swear, if I have to rescue you one more time-"

"You'll send me to a nunnery?" she rolled her eyes. I sighed, knowing the point was null. She knew perfectly well that if I haven't done so already, all my threats were empty. Also, I highly doubted such things could actually hold her.

"I'm regretting letting you come with us," I just muttered, quickly judging the distance. It was far, but thankfully, not far enough. One of the closest enemies fell from the roof, likely confusing the hell out of Niccolo, who was fighting with the persistent bastard for almost two minutes now. Then he must have noticed me, as he saluted shortly with his sword, getting back to the fighting on the roofs.

"And then we go after these Orsi brothers?" Adel asked, watching the fight with curiosity. Another bolt, another corpse...

"You were listening...And Ezio and me will go after the Orsi brothers. You will stay behind in the fortress, where I don't have to worry about your safety."

She looked reluctant but nodded. Suddenly, she looked down with suddenly eager curiosity again, and I had to grab the back of her cloak to keep her from falling by accident. "Who is that?"

I followed her gaze to two men that were walking confidently towards the drawbridge of the fortress. Both were dressed in rich purple clothes, wielding rather nice blades that made me feel a kleptomaniac pang. Even from here I could see pouches on their belts and the daggers in their sheathes. It was easy to tell they were not amateurs in the killing business. They were surrounded by guards, but still close enough for me to easily snipe both of them down before they could even realize what was happening. I aimed, but then stilled my finger on the trigger, instinct flaring. After all, they would not be walking in here so casually if they didn't have something to hold over Caterina's head...

"Caterina! Caterina Sforza! I know you're in there!" one of the brothers folded his hands around his mouth, amplifying the sound slightly. I looked up to the parapets, where the charming owner of the city stepped into sight. My, that glare could melt an iceberg...shame she wasn't around to save the Titanic. "And I have something you may want back!" the brother laughed.

I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering exactly what they had that Caterina wouldn't be willing to order her archers to shoot them down for. Ezio appeared at her side, blood splattered all over him, but I was sure he was okay. However, he didn't look in the best of moods, understandably. Flexing his fingers on one hand, his other palmed a throwing knife. I could feel his eyes flicker up to mine, but he made no sign of recognition.

"Are you missing any children, perhaps?"

I barely managed to hold back a low whistle. Yep, things were most certainly not good.

"And, Ezio Auditore! What a pleasant surprise!" the other Orsi mockingly added as he caught sight of the Assassin. I narrowed my eyes, my hands itching to release the trigger, though I don't think that any of the people in the citadel would thank me for it. They likely already gave the order to kill the kids if they did not come back, or even arranged a replacement. I ground my teeth, and took my finger off the trigger completely, just to avoid further temptation.

"I take it you are the Orsi brothers?"

No shit, Ezio...

"Ludovico..." One gave a bow, and the other finished, "And Checco. At your service." Ironic statement, considering they were hired by the side opposing to us.

"Basta! Where are my children? Let them go!" Caterina screamed down at them in panic and fury.

"Of course, Signora. We'll happily give them back- for something of yours. A certain map?" Ludovico yelled back with absolute cheerfulness, despite the dire situation.

"And a certain Apple, brother," Checco reminded him. I cursed under my breath, clenching my jaw. Fucking hell on highwater…

"Si, a certain Apple indeed! Or shall I slice your babies' necks ear to ear?" The gesture the bastard made left nothing to imagination. Adel was watching the scene with horror, and I felt disgust at their behavior. I could understand holding hostages or interrogating for information. But threatening to kill children for a piece of parchment and an artifact they couldn't even use? Sickening.

Something drew my eye and tugged on my intuition. While the entire square was completely deserted, aside from the Orsi brothers and their men, there was someone else. A man in the black, gold-lined robes of a monk walked behind them, unnoticed by all. I frowned. What was he thinking? Did he not hear the news of the attack? I shook my head - another insane person in the picture made no difference, only serving as a distraction to the task at hand.

Speaking of insane people...

"Bastardi! You think you can threaten me? I'll give you NOTHING! You want my children? Take them! I have the instrument to make more!"And with those words, Caterina did something that I don't think anyone in the whole wide world would have expected. She stood at the edge and flashed open her skirts to reveal her... "instrument."

If the situation was different, I would have been choking on laughter by now. Sadly, the situation was still the same, and the two brothers got over their shock within moments. Even worse, they seemed to call out her bluff.

"When you change your mind, they'll be in the village outside the city. You have one hour!" With those parting words, they walked away with their heads held high, as though they have won something.

"Eden," Adel looked pale as she tugged on my sleeve, "Will they actually kill them?"

"Considering the type of people the are?" I absently ran a calming hand through her hair, nervously biting on my lips, "Yes, they will. But Ezio won't agree to this. Come on now, we can slip inside now."

The doors opened slightly to let Ezio out, and I knew that my guess was correct. He could not in good conscience let this happen. I didn't pause in my step, walking right into his arms. He held me tightly, heaving a long breath of relief. "Dio mio, Eden. I thought your timing was better than that."

"I got held back," I explained quickly. "I did arrive in time for the play, though...Adel, get inside, and stay there! Wait..." I scanned Ezio, making sure he was truly alright, and stopped at his belt. "Where's the Apple?"

"I left it behind with Caterina. It will be safer there. Come on, we have to get going. We only have an hour-"

"Oh, right. Caterina...you know, this might be a bad time, but do you think she can give me her autograph?"

"Not funny," he sighed, gesturing for me to follow.

"Mi dispiace, I'm just in shock."

"Si, I don't think anyone expected…that," Ezio grinned slightly, climbing back up onto the roofs.

"Epic. Wonder if Wikipedia had that on her," I followed him up lightly. He didn't bother asking what the hell Wikipedia was. "How many children do they have hostage?" I asked on the way.

"Two - Bianca and Ottaviano, I believe."

"That's not good. If they only had one, we wouldn't have to worry so much since they wouldn't get rid of the only leverage they have on us..."

"Then we have to hurry, now don't we?"

"Two moves should be enough," Ezio stated, rubbing his chin in thought and looking up at the tower one last time as he quickly formulated his plan. "We'll come from both sides, si? I'll distract them and you keep them away from Bianca, in case they decide to threaten us."

"Good plan," I nodded.

The village that was on the outskirts of Forli, not far from a small chapel, was empty. All the civilians had either fled or were hiding deep within their houses, afraid to even peek out the windows. The only sounds were the footsteps of soldiers, muffled by the fog, the surprisingly loud crickets and frogs, and the loud cursing of a young girl.

Bianca, it seemed, refused to take the entire hostage thing lying down. The Orsi likely expected her to be scared out of her wits, but the girl was Caterina Sforza's daughter, after all. No doubt, she wouldn't go down without a struggle. Despite the laughter and taunts of her guards, she continued to threaten them, her vicious snarl unwavering.

Like mother, like daughter.

"Don't you dare think I'm scared of you, you half-witted oafs!"

"You should save that pretty throat of yours!" one threw at her.

"Not like anyone can hear you, anyway," another guard added, "Then again, you'll be dead soon-"

"If you harm a hair on me or my brother's head, my mama will hunt you down force you eat your own balls!"

"Words! You can't do anything! Look-" one of the men took a confident step towards her, but couldn't even finish it.

You should have seen the look on his face when a menacing figure in a black cloak and low hood dropped out of the sky from nowhere in between him and the hostage...

"Manly," I noted from behind him as he let out a small shriek of surprise. It soon gargled and died in his throat, and he fell to his knees in front of me. At the same moment, two of the dumb-struck men joined him as Ezio appeared behind them, the last dropping his weapon and clutching at the throwing knife in his throat. It was over in moments. Honestly, did the Orsi really expect these men to be able to hold off Ezio? Of course they couldn't account for me, but my partner was infamous enough.

Yet something didn't feel quite right about the situation…

As soon as I was sure that no one else but Ezio was in sight, I turned to the girl. She actually stopped talking for a few short moments in surprise, but then smiled. Glancing around at the fresh corpses now scattered on the ground around her, she shrugged, showing no hint of distress. Apparently death and destruction weren't a foreign concept to this Sforza as well.

"Grazie, Signora, Signore!" her voice immediately melted, as we untied her. She got to her feet and stretched. Suddenly, she spun around, racing back towards the road. "They took Ottaviano to the lighthouse - there!" she waved her hand somewhere south, where I could indeed see a tall lighthouse. The fire licking up from it outlined passing guards.

"Can you lead the way?" Ezio asked, likely just not wanting to let the girl run home all by herself. She nodded, instantly picking her skirt up out of the mud before furiously gesturing for us to follow her.

Ludovico was quickly becoming annoyed. The whole hostage situation somehow became more trouble than he felt was worth. And by his standards, that said a hell of a lot.

"But I need to pee!" the brat whined again.

How was he supposed to reply to that for the thousandth time? Well, with very little patience. The Orsi settled on a less-than-original, snarled, "Shut up!"

"But signore! I really have to GO!"

He growled under his breath, eye twitching as his hand clenched. "That's it, you little brat! You are going to shut that loud, ugly mouth of yours right now, or I'll break your jaw, God as my witness!"

It did not impress the boy one bit. He continued his complaining, as if Ludovico was nothing more than a stern tutor. At the drawn out, high-pitched "I have to pee-e-e-e-", the man finally snapped, beginning to raise his arm to strike the boy.

But before he could follow through on the creature, someone caught his hand.

"Geez, the boy has to pee and you hit him for it? What kind of idiot are you?" a female voice asked mockingly. When he tried to snatch out of her grasp, his free hand flying to his swordbelt, his arm was jerked up behind him with force. The flare of pain shot up, arcing along his shoulder blade. His breath caught in his throat with a painful, shocked gasp, and he almost howled in reply as something dislocated.

Wildly looking around, he realized too late that he was so distracted by the brat that he didn't even notice the approach of two assassins that he was expecting.

Kicking out a leg out from other him, the woman kneed him in the back, shoving him to the floor with surprising strength. Letting go of his wrist and losing all interest, she moved over to the Sforza kid. Ludovico was about to grab his weapon through the pain, but someone beat him to it. Without warning, he felt a heavy boot pressed to middle of his back with little mercy, forcing him to stay on the ground.

"Was it worth it?" It was Ezio Auditore who spoke now, his voice laced with disgust. Gritting his teeth, Ludovico suddenly had no doubt that all his men down below were dead, and he was about to join them in hell... "You life for a handful of coppers?"

"Heh," Ludovico suddenly couldn't help but smirk, even though all he wanted to do was whine like a wounded dog. His arm felt as though it was on fire, each pulse shoving it deeper into his body. At least he was not dying. Well, not yet. But there was no doubt in the assassins' power over him at that moment. "Fools! You have been played...the Master gets his prize now, because of me."

"They all say that," the woman said, smoothly cutting through the child's bindings. "Each and every time."

That was the last thing he has ever heard before the foreign cold steel pierced his throat, registering only the flash of pain and then the victorious feeling at the same time as a clear realization of what he had just done...