Assassin's Creed II characters (c) Ubisoft
Kiara and all other OCs (c) me

As he led Kiara through the house, Giovanni mulled over what he had heard. It was very difficult for him to believe that this young woman had come from the future, but her knowledge of the Apple along with Assassins and Templars made her a target; one he could not risk leaving out in the open. Besides, leaving Kiara on the streets when she had no knowledge of Florence was against his conscience in the worst way.

Giovanni glanced over at his young companion. She couldn't have been older than Ezio, but it was clear that she had not been raised in the cultural norms he was used to. The way she carried herself was different than other women, in fact it was more masculine than feminine. Kiara's stride was long and confident as her arms swayed comfortably at her sides. She held her head high and looked ahead assertively, her quick eyes taking in all she could see.

It occurred to Giovanni that if Kiara were to wear a hat or cut her hair a little shorter and wear slightly baggy clothing, people would assume she was just a rather skinny boy. She did not have the perfect hourglass figure that was so coveted by women, but rather Kiara's shoulders were a little wider than normal, which spoke of good upper-body strength, and her hands looked square and strong. Even her facial features were a little more rounded and sturdy than those of the Italian women he normally saw, but she was still quite pretty.

Yes, it wouldn't take much for Kiara to go masquerading around, and unless someone were to look closely, she would be able to roam the city freely. It was quite the amusing thought.

Giovanni led me through the lavishly decorated hallways to a large room, and then turned to me.

"Please wait here; I will explain the situation to my wife."

I nodded and he stepped inside. As I waited, I examined my surroundings. Even in my time, the place would have been considered extravagant. The doors and beams were made of a dark, hand-carved wood, perhaps oak. Paintings of extended or past family members hung on the walls and there were several vases of bright flowers that gave off pleasant aromas.

As I was gawking, Giovanni and his wife emerged from the room. The woman was very beautiful even though she had to be as old as her husband, and she carried herself with such grace and dignity that I couldn't help but feel like I was in the presence of royalty.

"Oh, my dear girl! You are more than welcome to stay with us."

I was completely caught off guard as the woman strode forward and hugged me. When she stepped back, I found myself looking into the kindest eyes I had ever seen.

"My husband has explained your situation. To think you were lost on the streets by yourself!"

I glanced at Giovanni, just how much had he told his wife? He merely gave me a reassuring smile.

"Thank you, um…"

"Maria," the woman finished for me with a beautiful smile.

Giovanni gently interrupted us, "I apologize, but I must take my leave. There is some work at the bank that requires my attention."

Maria smiled at her husband, "You will be back for dinner then?"

"Sí, mi amore, and not a moment later." He kissed Maria's hand, and then turned to me with a slight bow. "I will see you tonight, Kiara,"

I inclined my head, "Thank you again, Giovanni."

He smiled and then left. Maria's eyes followed him for a moment; full of what was nothing less than adoration before she turned her attention back to me with another bright smile.

"Now, mia cara, let us find you something to wear." (My dear/darling)

Our quest for "proper clothes" took longer than we expected and involved trekking around the large house. I felt kind of bad for making Maria do all of this for me, and I finally spoke up after the fifth room.

"Maria, I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I don't want to put you through all this trouble just for me."

The woman lifted the lid of a heavy trunk. "It's no trouble, Kiara." She looked up at me and paused, "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

There was something…something knowing in her voice and I rubbed my arm awkwardly.

"People usually aren't this nice to me," I mumbled, "the only person who really cared was my…my father."

It was true; I was so used to being stepped on and ignored that kind gestures like these almost felt weird. Maria gave me a gentle, motherly smile.

"Kiara, please understand that you are welcome here. Helping someone in need is never a burden."

"Thank you," I said softly, feeling less awkward. Maria smiled again and went right back to what she had been doing.

Now it turned out that Federico and Ezio had two younger siblings, and it was inevitable that we ran into them. None of the clothes Maria had found so far were small enough to fit me, so she suggested that we see if Claudia had any dresses I could borrow. So, I followed Maria down the hall, again, to what apparently was Claudia's room.

Maria knocked on the door. "Claudia? May I come in?"

"One moment, madre,"

I could hear some rustling sounds and after a moment, the door opened to reveal a pretty young lady a few years younger than me.

"Did you need some—oh! Who…who is this?"

It was clear by Claudia's voice that she didn't quite know what to think of me with my hair down and in clothing men usually wore. I couldn't help a tiny smirk; confusing people always had a strange appeal to me.

"Claudia, dear, this is Kiara."

"Pleased to meet you," I said politely.

Claudia glanced at my clothes critically, but she smiled all the same. "It's my pleasure, Kiara."

Maria filled in the story for me. "Kiara is a distant friend of the family. Her parents have died, and she has no other family to turn to."

"Oh! You poor thing! Does that mean she's staying with us?"

Maria nodded, "Yes."

Claudia's eyes lit up. "Wonderful! It will be so nice to have another woman in this house."

I couldn't help but wonder; was taking in a total stranger common here? Maria continued.

"Unfortunately, Kiara does not have any other clothes. I was hoping that you still had those two dresses that didn't fit."

"I believe so, let me look."

We followed Claudia into her room, and I couldn't help but admire at how neat it was. The girl had delved into her closet, and reemerged a few minutes later with two dresses in hand. One was a dark green with lace trim and the other was a light peach color.

For the next half hour, and with considerable help from Maria and Claudia, I tried on both dresses. It was during this process that I realized that I was still wearing my necklace. Actually, it was a necklace that belonged to dad when he was still alive. It was made up of five black, wooden beads that were interspaced with circular silver beads, and on each end there was a silver, cylinder-shaped bead.

"That's a strange necklace for a woman to wear," Claudia commented.

I touched the familiar necklace and a sudden feeling of warmth flooded over me. It was as if I had a part of dad with me, and I suddenly felt safer.

"It was my father's,"

Maria smiled, "It is good that you have something to remind you of your father. He must have been a good man."

"The best." I almost whispered as I carefully untied the cord. I couldn't wear the necklace with the dresses, but I had it, and that was all that mattered to me.

We returned to the task at hand and I realized that the dresses were going to be hot, but for the moment I thought they looked pretty. I opted to wear the peach-colored dress for the night.

"They'll have to be adjusted," Maria mused, "but the dresses certainly become you, Kiara."

"They're beautiful. Thank you, Claudia."

Claudia was almost beaming. "I'm so glad they fit you. I didn't want to give them away."

Maria had to excuse herself to oversee dinner, and that left Claudia to work on my hair. It didn't take long, and she had my hair pulled back and in a hair net. She didn't approve of my bangs, saying they looked too ragged, and pinned them to one side. With a gleeful grin, Claudia pushed me in front of her full-length mirror.

I didn't recognize myself. It was so weird to see myself so dressed up, since I had always just stuck with jeans and a T-shirt. I felt out of place as well, as if my reflection wasn't really me; it was just a disguise I had to wear to blend in.

Stop it. I mentally told myself, These people have been more than generous. Don't be so picky.

The sound of a bell ringing downstairs broke the silence.

"Dinner is ready." Claudia said, smoothing out the ribbons on her dress, "You can sit next to me."

I smiled in thanks and followed her to the dining area. We walked into a large, open room and it was there that I met the youngest sibling of the Auditore family.

"Oh! You haven't met Petruccio yet, have you?" Claudia asked.

"How many brothers do you have?" I asked in amazement, it seemed like every time I turned around there was someone new.

Claudia laughed lightly. "Just three. Do you have any siblings?"

"No. I was an only child."

"Such a shame. My brothers keep life interesting, even if they love to annoy me."

As I chuckled at the thought, a young boy in yellow clothes approached us shyly, and he couldn't have been any older than twelve or thirteen.

"You are Kiara, right?"

He was so cute. "Yes. Are you Petruccio?"

He perked up a little at the fact I knew his name, and gave a gracious bow. "I am. Madre told me you will be staying with us. Do you like it here?"

"I do. Your family has been so nice to me."

Petruccio smiled brightly. "That's good. Maybe after dinner, I can show you some of my books."

I smiled, "I'd like that."

No longer shy, Petruccio took my hand and eagerly led me over the table. "You can sit here, between me and Claudia."

Did I mention this kid was cute?

All at once Petruccio glanced around and motioned me to come closer.

"Watch out for my brother Ezio," he said seriously, "he likes to flirt with girls, especially pretty ones like you."

I had to work to keep from laughing even though I didn't quite agree with the "pretty" part. "So I've noticed,"

We giggled together for a moment as if it was the funniest inside joke ever. I definitely liked the idea of Petruccio being like a little brother to me; we were going to get along just fine.

Giovanni, Federico, and Ezio showed up not long after that and we all sat down for dinner. I was immensely relieved when I saw the food wasn't going to be some fancy dish I didn't know how to eat. Ezio had made a point to sit directly across the table from me, and he apparently approved of my make-over because I was constantly catching him looking at me.

As the whole family sat together, I found myself quietly observing everyone. I could see that Ezio and Federico had inherited their father's strong build and handsome features. However, Ezio had Maria's hair and Federico's eyes were about the same color as hers. Claudia definitely took after her mother in looks, but she seemed like the type who could be very headstrong and independent, no doubt inheriting that from Giovanni. Petruccio had Maria's softer features and Giovanni's dark eyes. I also noticed that he was kind of pale, as if he didn't get outside much.

The atmosphere around the table was warm and happy, with casual conversation and joking jabs floating around. Initially, I felt awkward and out of place, but as I talked back and forth with Petruccio and Claudia, I began to feel more comfortable. By the time we had finished dinner, I felt better than I had in a long time. The Auditores personified the word family, and it gave me a warm feeling to think that I might become a part of it. I had never known what a whole family felt like, but I was loving it so far.

A/N - I apologize for the abrupt ending, but this chapter's been kicking my butt around for the past week and I'm ready to move on. I'm so happy with the feedback I've been getting, it really motivates me to write more, and a big "thank you" goes out to those who've taken the time to review.

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