Assassin's Creed II characters and references © Ubisoft
Kiara and all other OCs © me

Now I know the last chapter was a bit dry, so I hope this one is more entertaining.
Credit for the correct Italian goes to La Bella Figura

When Paola said 'bright and early', she meant bright and early. The sun was just peaking over the horizon when a knock on the door woke me up the next morning. I had managed to wiggle out of doing a second Leap of Faith the night before and had crashed as soon as we returned to the brothel.

We met Paola outside after a quick breakfast and she explained what we would be working on during our stay here in Florence.

"Discretion is paramount in my profession, and in yours as well. We must walk the streets freely, seen but unseen. You three must learn to blend like us and become one with the city's crowds. My girls will show you how."

With that, she sent each of us out with a separate group of courtesans. Our instructions were to follow the group for a few hours, but remain completely incognito the whole time.

For the next few hours, I wandered the less popular ends of Florence with my group. When we got back to the brothel, their report was less than flattering. 'Followed like a lost puppy' I believe was the gist of it. After a lecture from Paola about blending, I was sent out again with a different group until nightfall. This was how it went, day in and day out. Ezio liked to poke fun at my lack of blending talent, but I always countered with the fact that he wasn't much better. Federico on the other hand, was doing very well, much to our aggravation.

However, after a few frustrating days went by, I started to notice the subtleties in the way the courtesans interacted with their environment. They moved with the crowds, neither too slow nor too fast, using the groups of people as moving hiding spots. The shorter women had an even bigger advantage because they could literally disappear behind taller people.

I put this newfound knowledge to use and after that, blending was a piece of cake. I enjoyed the fact that I could mingle with the biggest of Florence's crowds, but still remain anonymous and undetected. As a type of reward for improving, Paola sent me out on my own for a few hours. Now that I wasn't focused on following someone, I could pay more attention to my surroundings and I found myself doing the same thing Giovanni had asked me to do before this whole mess began: eavesdropping. It wasn't until I returned to the brothel with a bunch of information that I realized that this had been my second lesson. When I mentioned it, Paola just smiled and said that I was learning fast.

Once all three of us had the blending skill down, Paola started us on phase two, which was learning to pickpocket. I was a little put off at the thought of stealing from other people, and the chance of getting caught worried me. However, Paola had a plan for that, and had us practice on each other. Every morning, she would give one of us a small pouch of florins and the other two would try to 'steal' the pouch. The goal was to be in possession of the pouch at the end of the day, which meant it could change hands several times. It became a highly competitive game between the three of us to see who had the pouch at sundown. Ezio was sneaky, Federico was fast, and I was small enough to sneak up behind either of them without being detected.

I did have one memorable victory, though, by plucking the pouch off of Ezio's belt the evening before last, just as we were walking into the brothel. When he went to give the pouch back to Paola, his smug expression turned to shock when he discovered it was missing, and then to indignation when I produced it. Ezio had always been a bit of a sore loser, and griped about it until we went to bed.

The dark Florentine streets were empty, save for a lone, hooded figure that slipped rapidly in and out of the shadows. He made his way into the richer part of town, where the finely-built palazzos boasted the crests of the noble families housed there. There was only one crest, however, that the solitary man was looking for.

This particular street was very familiar to him, but this was the first time he had ever used the cover of night to mask his presence. Finally, he reached his destination, but the particular room he was ultimately aiming for was on the uppermost level. Without hesitation, the man quickly began to scale the wall with ease. The lattice shutters were shut and locked from the inside, but that wasn't about to deter the late-night visitor.

He pulled a slim knife from his belt and carefully slipped it in between the shutters, the point lifting the inside latch from its locked position. Now that the lock was taken care of, the knife was returned to its sheath and the man gingerly eased the shutters open. One creaked and he froze, but there was no noise from inside. After another few seconds, the shutters were opened completely without further incident.

Doing his best not to breathe too heavily, the young man cautiously heaved himself up and onto the windowsill and into the dark room. This was dangerous, extremely dangerous. If his father knew what he was doing, he would probably skin him alive. Federico pushed back his hood and very cautiously ventured a few steps farther into the bedroom. Amelia was sound asleep, like he knew she would be, her long dark hair down and splayed over the pillow.

He didn't dare wake her; she wouldn't recognize him in the dark and would no doubt scream. Federico pulled out a letter from his pocket and just stared at it for a moment. He had been writing and rewriting this letter ever since he found out that he would be returning to Florence. She deserved to know why he had suddenly vanished without so much as a trace or word to her, and she deserved so much more than just a letter. But it was the best he could do.

With a heavy heart, Federico pressed the letter to his lips and then placed it on the nightstand. With one last look at his love, he turned and slipped back out the window, closing the shutters behind him.

When Paola summoned us back to the brothel the next afternoon, we were expecting the same old thing, but she had something different in mind.

"Now that you have learned to approach the enemy, it's time to give you a suitable weapon."

"What would you have us use?" Ezio asked.

"Ah, but you already have the answer." Paola pulled Giovanni's bracer out from behind her back, much to our surprise.

"How did you get that?" Federico asked.

Paola chuckled, "By using the same skills I've taught you. I assume your father told you to see Leonardo da Vinci?"

We all nodded.

"I still don't see how he factors into all of this," Ezio commented.

There was a knowing smile on Paola's face, "Bring him the pieces, you'll see,"

Federico took the bracer and Codex page from Paola with a grateful nod and we started out. I followed the Auditore brothers, nearly dancing with excitement; I had looked forward to meeting Leonardo the whole time we had been here. I hadn't been much of a good history student in school, but even I could appreciate getting to know such an influential figure. Images of the Mona Lisa flashed through my brain as we wove in and out of the crowds easily.

Finally, we reached what was apparently Leonardo's workshop and Ezio stepped forward to knock on the door. There was a muffled "Come in" from inside and Ezio opened the door. Federico followed with me nearly walking on his heels. We entered a large room with a high ceiling and a man wearing a red hat and cape turned to us.

"Oh! Ezio Auditore! And Federico! I…I didn't expect to see you again. What with all that's happened…ah! Where are my manners? Welcome back!" Ezio was taken by surprise as the man threw a friendly hug on him. "Now, how can I be of service?"

"We were hoping you could repair something of our father's, Leonardo." Federico said.

Wait, this was Leonardo da Vinci? All the pictures I had seen of him had shown an old man with a long, gray beard. This guy couldn't have been a whole lot older than Federico with shoulder-length dirty blond hair and a very short beard. He was well dressed and had a thick leather belt tied around his waist with brushes and other tools tucked into the pockets and pouches. His eyes were bluer than mine and…were those freckles on his nose? I had to admit, I hadn't expected him to look so…well, cute.

Leonardo perked up at the prospect of helping us out, his eyes taking on an excited twinkle. "Of course! But first, who, may I ask, is this?"

It took me a moment to realize that he was talking about me and I quickly removed my hood. Leonardo's eyes widened as he realized I was a girl.

"My goodness! Forgive me; I thought you were a boy."

Ezio, Federico, and I laughed.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of Leonardo," Ezio said kindly, "that is the purpose of her outfit. This is Kiara, our good friend and adopted sister."

I bowed slightly. "A pleasure to meet you, Messer da Vinci."

Leonardo had recovered from his shock and smiled brightly. "No need for such formalities, my dear. Call me Leonardo, or Leo if you wish, and it is my pleasure, I assure you. Now, let's take a look at this thing."

He motioned for us to follow him over to a cluttered table.

"Ah, che pasticcio…" Leonardo muttered to himself, "tutto il santo giorno che cerco…let me clear a space."

He shoved an assortment of tools and knick-knacks to the center of the table and then turned to Federico.

"Alright, let's see it."

Federico handed Leonardo the broken bracer and Codex page, which were promptly deposited on the table.

"Fascinating," Leonardo mused as he inspected the blade's mechanisms, "I don't know. Despite its age, the construction is rather advanced. I've never seen anything quite like it. I'm afraid, there's not much I can do without the original plans. Mi dispiace."

Ezio was about to point out the Codex page when Leonardo suddenly thought of it as well.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

He quickly unrolled the page and peered at it intently.

"What are you doing?" Federico asked, a little startled at the handling of Giovanni's page. Leonardo turned to us, his eyes bright with excitement.

"The contents of this page are encrypted! But if my theory is correct…" he grabbed a quill and started scribbling notes on another sheet of paper, "based on these sketches, it may very well be…"

He was apparently on a totally different page than we were and it didn't help that he left us hanging.

"It may very well what?" Ezio asked in exasperation.

"Please, sit," Was Leonardo's only reply.

"Leonardo?" Ezio tried again, but was interrupted as the painter held up his hand and shushed him.

We looked at each other and shrugged, apparently Leonardo could not be disturbed when in the middle of a break-through. He was still talking to himself as we meandered off.

"Remarkable! If we transpose the letters and then select every third…"

I wandered around the workshop for a little bit, careful not to disturb anything. The place was pretty cluttered with sketches, half done paintings, partially built contraptions, books, and oodles of notes. I couldn't help but wonder if this guy ever slept because it looked as if he had a dozen different projects he was working on at once.

I must have messed around for about a half hour, and when I looked back over my shoulder to check on Ezio and Federico, I saw that they hadn't gotten very far. Ezio had sat down in a chair, arms folded across his chest and he was starting to nod off. Federico had the luck of finding an unoccupied couch to sprawl out on and crash. I guess it had been a long day and, come to think of it, I could use a nap myself.

All the available seats were either taken or occupied with stuff – thanks a lot guys – but the raised front of the fireplace was long and wide enough for me to stretch out on. Once I found a comfortable position, I pulled my cape over myself and almost immediately started to drift off. I was almost asleep when a hand on my shoulder shook me back into full wakefulness.

"Wha…Leonardo?"

The painter looked remorseful, "If you needed a place to rest, you should have said something; I cannot allow a guest to sleep in front of the fireplace. How rude of me not to have offered before! Here, let me clear off this seat for you,"

As he hurried over to the afore mentioned seat, I sat up and winced at the stiffness in my shoulder from resting on the brick. Leonardo scooped up two armfuls of paper and dumped them in a corner.

"I apologize for the mess," he said sheepishly, "there are days that I forget to clean."

I smiled at him. "Don't worry about it Leonardo. I've seen worse."

The man looked a little more at ease, and he spoke up again as he brushed off the cushions.

"I must ask, how did you become a part of the Auditore family? I can tell by your accent that you are not from here."

"It's a long story, but essentially my father died a few years ago and I had no other family that really wanted me. Giovanni and Maria were kind enough to take me in when I had no home."

Leonardo looked surprised, "How tragic, I am sorry about your father. Did he know Giovanni?"

"We had our…connections even though we weren't from Italy, but the Auditores have been the family I never really had." I glanced over at my sleeping companions, "Even if some of them tend to hog all the free space,"

Leonardo laughed quietly, "I see. Well then, you could not have happened across a better family, I know they have been very kind to me." He motioned to the couch. "It's not luxurious by any means, but it's certainly better than sleeping next to the fire. I would like to continue our conversation, but you need the rest first."

I smiled at him, "Grazie, Leonardo. You are very kind."

I don't know how much later it was, but it was getting dark outside when an excited Leonardo shook me awake again. Ezio and Federico were slowly starting to wake up themselves, but not by much. I yawned, stretched, and got to my feet, shuffling over to the table. Leonardo held up Giovanni's bracer with a triumphant grin.

"There! It's finished!"

"What's finished?" Ezio mumbled, rubbing at his eyes.

"The blade. I managed to decode that parchment of yours. It showed me exactly what to do."

Ezio reached for the bracer, but Leonardo wouldn't let him have it and pulled out a cleaver from behind his back. "Now all that's left to do is remove your ring finger."

Now we were wide awake. Ezio eyed the cleaver nervously since he was the closest to Leonardo.

"Really?"

"I'm sorry, but this is how it must be done. The blade is designed to ensure the commitment of whoever wields it."

Federico and I looked at each other in nothing short of horror. Chop off our fingers? Since when had that been part of the deal? The guys back home had failed to mention that little detail.

Ezio looked pale, but he put his hand on the table, his ring finger outstretched. "Bene. Do it quickly."

Before either Federico or I could object, Leonardo swung with the cleaver. All three of us jumped as the blade hit the wood, but there was no bloodcurdling scream of pain from Ezio. I looked and saw that Leonardo had missed Ezio's hand all together, and as my brain was processing that information, I realized that the painter was laughing.

"I was only having fun, Ezio. Though the blade once required a sacrifice, it's been modified. You can keep your finger."

All three of us nearly died with relief and Federico ran a hand over his face.

"Leonardo, don't do that again, per favore,"

The man was still chuckling as he picked up Giovanni's bracer, "It's not my fault you three believed me. Here."

Ezio took the bracer and slipped it on his forearm, tightening the buckles until it was snug. With a flick of his wrist, the blade shot out with a soft shink, the double edges gleaming in the candlelight.

"Incredible!" Ezio said in amazement as the blade vanished back into the metal compartment on the underside of his arm.

"Yes it is." Leonardo agreed, picking up the now-translated Codex page. "Tell me, do you have other pages like this?"

Federico shook his head as tried to convince Ezio to let him try out the hidden blade.

"No, just the one. Ezio let me see!"

Leonardo chuckled at the brothers' antics, "Listen, if you ever do happen to come across another one of these, please, bring it to me."

Seeing as how Federico and Ezio were still quietly arguing over who got to wear the bracer, I took the page from Leonardo.

"We will, Leonardo. Thank you for all your help."

The painter just beamed at me. "It was my pleasure, and please, call me Leo."

Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door that made us all freeze.

"By order of the Florentine guard: open this door!"

"Merda!" Ezio hissed, but Leonardo called as cheerfully as he could.

"Eh, just a moment!"

He ushered us into a back corner and motioned for us to keep quiet. "Wait here,"

My heart was pounding in my chest as we watched Leonardo hurry back to the door and open it. From the angle we were at, we couldn't be seen by the guard. Ezio and Federico put themselves in front of me so in the slim case the guard stuck his head in, I wouldn't be seen. I was really wishing I had my bow and arrows with me.

"Are you Leonardo da Vinci?" The man demanded.

"Sí, how may I be of service?"

"I need to ask you some questions,"

Oh man, oh man…

"Certainly,"

The three of us exchanged worried glances as Leonardo and the guard stepped outside.

"Do you think someone saw us?" I asked in a whisper.

"I don't know, but the guard will be suspicious regardless. Leonardo was close with us before this whole mess." Federico whispered back.

"We have to do something," Ezio said, his eyes hardening as he glanced down at the bracer on his arm, "and I think I know exactly what to do."

"We can't risk being seen!" Federico protested.

"And we can't stay here!" Ezio replied, "Who knows what that man will do to him! What if he comes looking for us?"

Federico hesitated, and I knew what was going on in his head. He didn't want Leonardo to get into trouble, but at the same time he didn't want us jeopardizing ourselves.

"We can't let Leo get hurt for helping us, Federico." I said, "Besides, that guard might tell others what he knows."

The older brother sighed heavily. "Bene. You stay here, Kiara, we'll handle this."

"Actually, I have a better idea," Ezio interjected, pulling his hood over his face and quickly heading for the door.

"Per l'amore di Dio, Ezio, don't get yourself killed!" Federico hissed.

Ezio just shot us his infuriating grin before slipping outside. The sound of voices caught our attention, and it didn't sound good.

"What seems to be the trouble?" Leonardo asked.

"A witness claims to have seen you consorting with an enemy of the city."

Federico cursed under his breath.

"What? Me? Consorting? Preposterous!"

"When was the last time you saw or spoke with Ezio or Federico Auditore?"

"Who?"

There was a grunt from Leonardo, as if he had been shoved.

"Non fario il finto tonto! We know you were close with the family. Perhaps this will clear your head!"

The next sounds were so muffled that we really couldn't tell what was going on, but it sounded like Leonardo was being beaten, and then, all of a sudden, the noises stopped. Federico and I held our breath, but there were no screams or cries of 'Assassin'. Just when we couldn't take the suspense any more, the door opened again and Leonardo zipped inside, quickly followed by Ezio, who had the body of the guard slung over his shoulder.

"That was close," Ezio grunted as he shifted the dead weight on his shoulder, "where should I do with him? He's getting heavy."

"You can put him with the others in the back," Leonardo replied, wincing as he brushed himself off.

Ezio's eyes widened, "Others?"

"Yes, the city gives them to me for research."

Oh, I had forgotten that Leonardo was famous for his findings on the human anatomy. Still, it wasn't the most pleasant thought.

Federico helped Ezio carry the dead guard into the back room. I stayed with Leonardo, and for two reasons; one, I wanted to be able to eat later without images of dead bodies in my head, and two, I wanted to make sure Leonardo was alright.

"Did he hurt you, Leonardo?" I asked worriedly.

The painter gave me a reassuring smile as he brushed his red beret off and put it back on his head. "Just a few kicks to the ribs, nothing serious. I've grown accustomed to their abuses."

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

"My dear, I've known Giovanni and Maria for too long to believe the traitorous accusations against them and the rest of the family. Helping friends is never a burden."

Federico and Ezio returned and it was a unanimous decision that we should be getting back to Paola's. We were just about to leave when Leonardo spoke up again.

"Oh! I almost forgot. I took the liberty of assuming that the three of you will want more than one blade. I did not have the materials to build a second bracer, but I included explicit instructions with that page on how to construct one. Kiara, even though your arm is smaller, it should be possible to build a bracer for you without having to sacrifice the size of the blade or mechanisms."

"We'll keep that in mind, Leonardo," Federico said, "and thank you for all your help."

"Any time, my friends. Give Paola my regards."

We took our time sneaking back to Paola's, during which Federico finally convinced Ezio to let him wear the bracer. Just like his younger brother, he flicked the blade in and out several times.

"I can see why padre wanted this fixed so badly. This is an amazing weapon."

"Indeed," Ezio agreed, "I wonder how long it would take the blacksmith to make another?"

I was feeling left out because the bracer was too big for me even with the straps tightened all the way. I wanted to try it out really bad.

"Do you think Giovanni and Mario will let us train with those?" I asked.

"Perhaps." Federico answered, "Kiara, why do you still call father by name? By all rights he is your father too,"

"I...it's kind of personal."

"You can tell us," Ezio put in.

I took a deep breath, "Well, it's not that I don't think of Giovanni as a parent, I certainly do. But I loved my father very dearly, it doesn't seem quite right to me to call someone else padre, at least not yet."

"That is understandable. I hadn't thought of that before." Federico mused. "But you do think of us as family?"

I smiled at him, "Of course, Federico, you've been the family I never had. I'll never be able to thank you guys enough."

There was a chuckle to my left and Ezio's arm snaked around my shoulders in a brief hug. "No need for thanks, piccola, you've done more than your share to keep this family intact."

The two weeks flew by and before we knew it, it was time for us to go back to Monteriggioni, but there was one more thing Ezio, Federico, and I needed to do before we left. There were a few things in the Palazzo Auditore that Giovanni had requested us to retrieve for him; important papers and all that jazz. It was risky, but deep down I think we each wanted to go back 'home' one more time.

We waited until it was dark and then used the now-familiar back streets to make our way to the Palazzo. We each were armed this time around, just as a precautionary measure. None of us had any intention of getting into trouble.

Giovanni had told us of a secret entrance into the Palazzo, one that he designed himself when the place was built. We would use this to get inside, avoiding any prying eyes that might be around. Giovanni had also instructed Ezio to use his Eagle Vision to find the entrance. I was a bit intrigued, still a little fuzzy on how exactly this 'gift' worked.

We didn't go straight to the Palazzo, but instead reached a tight back alley some distance away.

"Alright," Federico whispered, "this is the place. Ezio,"

The younger brother nodded, and I caught the faintest glint of gold in his eyes as he looked around.

"What do you see?" I asked softly.

"Our way in," Ezio replied back, a grin evident in his voice.

He reached out and pushed on an obscure-looking brick in the wall behind me, and it gave under his fingers. There was a sound of stone scraping stone, and a portion of the wall swiveled inward, revealing a dark passage way.

"To think he managed to keep this hidden for all these years." Federico mused, "Let's go."

We all ducked into the tunnel and were plunged into pitch black darkness. After fumbling around for a minute, Ezio found a lantern and some flint to light it with. Once the small flame was burning, we walked single file down the narrow passage, which emptied out into a room.

"So this is where padre kept it all," Ezio said, holding the lantern a little higher so we all could see.

Even though the place had long since been deserted, evidence of Giovanni's presence was still very evident. A few weapons coated with dust hung on the walls, there was a small table that was strewn with maps to our left, and near the other end of the room was a cabinet lined with medical supplies and other knick knacks.

"Are we in the house?" I asked.

"Almost," Federico answered as he approached a portion of the far wall that looked movable, "father said there was a lever right….here,"

A yank of his hand, and the slab started to rise. Once it stopped moving, we ducked through the opening and found ourselves in Giovanni's study. Now it all made sense; this was how he escaped the night Father Maffie and the guards came for him.

The place was so quiet, and the fact that it had once been full of activity made the silence unnatural, maybe even a bit eerie. The three of us didn't say a word as we split up; Federico moved over to Giovanni's desk, Ezio and I headed to different sections of the house, my destination being Giovanni and Maria's room.

My feet barely made a sound as I walked on the woven rugs. Dust, dead flowers, and the lack of warmth added to the already present gloom that hung over the entire house. It was just wrong to see the place left in such disarray. I finally reached the master bedroom and almost timidly pushed the door open. Even if Giovanni and Maria didn't live here anymore, I still felt like I was invading their privacy. The box Maria wanted was in the drawer of her desk, it was a dark oak with an intricate M engraved into the lid. For a moment I was tempted to open it, but it was Maria's special things and it was best to leave it alone.

I tucked the box under my arm and made my way back down the hall, but paused when I reached my old room. For a moment I was tempted to go inside, but there was nothing there for me anymore. I felt like a stranger all over again, like a ghost haunting the empty halls with the rest of the memories. I shook my head and continued on my way, returning to Giovanni's study.

Ezio was already back and Federico had found the documents that Giovanni wanted. We looked at each other, and I suddenly felt bad for them. This was the only home they had ever known, this was the place they had been born and raised in. I was used to being moved from one place to another, they weren't. Ezio in particular looked sad, and I touched his arm in a silent question. He looked at me gratefully and nodded to let me know he was fine.

We took one last look around and then retreated back into the hidden room, leaving the Palazzo Auditore for the last time.

Che pasticcio - What a mess
Tutto il santo giorno che cerco - I've spent the whole day looking for…
Mi dispiace – I'm sorry
Bene – Fine
Per favore - Please
Merda! – Sh*t!
Per l'amore di Dio – For the love of God
Non fario il finto tonto! - Don't play dumb with me!
Piccola – Little one (feminine)

A/N – If this chapter seems a bit off, I apologize. The last couple weeks of school have been absolutely awful. I pulled more all-nighters in the two weeks before spring break than I have all school year because that was the only way to get everything done. I was ready to drop when I got home for spring break.

Anyway, on a positive note…10,000 VIEWS! WHOO! To everyone who's read, reviewed, favorited, and/or put this on some kind of watch, thank you! I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for you guys. :)

*Edit* If some of you got a bunch of alert emails, I'm really sorry. I managed to screw the order of my chapters up and I had to delete and then resubmit just about everything

Reviews:
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Until next time,

~TKD Dragon