Hey guys, this is an AC fanfic that's been brewing in my mind for some time now. I know it doesn't really correspond with the events of the actual story, but let's just pretend it's an AU and leave it at that, okay? In my version of the story, Ezio has already been formally inducted into the Assassin Order, but he still hasn't gotten ahold of the Apple, nor does he know what it is. My goal is just to go with the flow with this and see where it goes...
There it was again- a flash of red, moving through the crowd just a few feet away from him. Ezio only got a glimpse of the mysterious hooded figure before it disappeared behind the corner of a building, but he was certain that his eyes were telling the truth.
"Abbattetelo!"
"Get him!"
Ezio ignored the cries of the guards racing towards him. He lowered the body of his latest target to the ground and immediately took off in the direction of the figure in red. Of course, the guards gave chase, but he lost them easily by climbing up the side of a building and onto a rooftop. Once he was there, he scanned the area, looking for his strange follower.
There it was again- a person dressed in red robes, running across the rooftop just ahead of him! Making sure not to lose sight of them this time, Ezio chased the figure, climbing and vaulting over any obstacles in his path.
This was the third time he's seen this mysterious figure after an assassination. The first time was when he killed a traitorous thief. After stabbing the Borgia spy in the neck and saying the usual, "Requiescat in pace," he'd looked up and seen the flutter of a scarlet cape moving through a crowd nearby. That time he'd simply dismissed it as a simple trick of the mind. However, when he saw the same figure watching him from a rooftop after the assassination of a corrupt government official, he knew that this was no illusion. That day, he'd been too busy fighting off a horde of guards to pursue the figure, but this time he swore he'd catch this strange spy, whoever he was.
The figure dropped off the rooftop, out of Ezio's line of sight. Judging by the surprised gasps he was hearing from ground-level, he- or perhaps she- had reached the ground. Without a second of hesitation, Ezio performed a leap of faith into a hay bale nearby.
Ezio glimpsed the figure again just as he was clambering out of the hay bale. They were running straight into a narrow, dark alleyway, which Ezio knew to be a dead end. He smiled grimly underneath his hood. Whoever this person was, today was not their lucky day.
When Ezio entered the alleyway, the figure was no longer running, having figured out that their path was blocked. Hearing Ezio's footsteps, they began to turn around- just as Ezio slammed them into the wall. The figure did not scream or cry out, but Ezio could hear the breath leaving their lungs with a loud whoosh. In an instant his hidden blade was out and pressed against the person's exposed neck.
"Who are you? Why have you been following me?"
At first glance, the figure's clothes looked similar to Ezio's, save for the missing Assassins' insignia on the sash and the fact that the hood was connected the cape- which was dyed red on the outside and black on the inside- by means of a cowl, completely separate from the rest of the outfit. Ezio could not see the person's eyes because of the low, loose hood covering them, but he could still see the shape of their rounded, full lips and V-shaped chin. As his eyes traveled further down, he also saw that under their robes, the outline of their breasts was visible. This was enough to confirm their gender, even before the figure spoke.
"I believe you're in no position to be asking questions."
Her voice was low and threatening, with a husky edge. For a second he was mesmerized by its hypnotizing quality- until he felt a sharp blade pressing into the back of his throat.
A few second passed. Rapid calculations were running through Ezio's mind. What were the chances that he could slit this woman's throat before she plunged her blade into his? His neck was covered by his hood, but the woman's was bare; still, the tip of her blade was pointing directly at the center of his neck, meaning that his hood would provide little protection against it.
In short, this was a fight he could not win.
Slowly, Ezio withdrew his blade. As he did so, the woman lower her right arm, which she'd been using to hold her own knife, a thin but deadly stiletto. She slid the weapon back into her sleeve, presumably securing it in some sort of hidden casing.
Ezio stayed on his guard, even as he stepped backwards, away from the woman.
"Who are you?" he asked again. He tensed as the woman started walking towards him, but she did not attack. Instead, she circled around him so that she was no longer trapped in the space between him and the wall.
"I am an assassin, like you," she said. "But I work alone. I am part of no order. I have no master."
"Why have you been following me?"
"Don't flatter yourself. I was after your target, not you. Three times, Assassin, three times you've stolen my rightful prey. You were starting to become a nuisance- which is why I arranged this little meeting today."
"So you could get rid of me?"
"No. We both fight for the same cause. You've already accomplished much- to kill you would be a waste. The reason I wanted to see you today was so that we could work out an agreement to work with, not against each other."
"And what is this common 'cause,' you speak of?"
"To kill Rodrigo Borgia. To tear down his Templar order. To let him watch his world crumbling around him before giving him a slow, miserable death."
Ezio was stunned. Those were not the words he'd expected to come out of this woman's mouth- especially not with such venom and hatred infused into her voice. He recovered quickly and spoke again.
"If you're so keen on teamwork, why do you hide in the shadows? Why have you not revealed yourself to me until today?"
"I have my reasons. Do not question them."
"And if I do...?"
"Then you die."
Ezio doubted that one woman, no matter how skilled, could kill him single-handedly. But the mere certainty behind her words caused him to doubt himself a little. Besides, the thought of fighting and killing a woman unnerved him a little- as he'd been told countless others, he had a soft spot for damsels in distress. Still, he found it difficult to trust a woman who had been holding a blade to the back of his throat less than a minute before.
"How do I know you are telling the truth?"
The woman reached for a pouch attached to her belt, putting Ezio on his guard immediately. However, when her hand emerged from the inside of the bag, it carried a folded piece of paper, not a weapon. She held it out towards him with her right hand. After a moment of hesitation, Ezio stepped forward quickly and took it from her. He did not open it.
"Read it later on, when you have the time. If you wish to take up my offer, meet me at the top of the tower nearest to the Duomo at midnight."
She was about to leave, when Ezio spoke up.
"May I at least have your name, Madonna?" Out of habit, Ezio said the last few words with a teasing edge. He cringed inwardly; why was it that, even in his late twenties, he couldn't control himself in front of beautiful women? Oh well, once a playboy, always a playboy.
The woman hesitated for a moment. Then, she lifted one of her gloved hands and pulled her scarlet hood away from her face.
Her ebony hair had been drawn into a braid at the nape of her neck, so her face was fully visible without the hood. The first thing Ezio noticed was her eyes. They were coal black, almost so dark that her pupil and iris could not be distinguished. However, it seemed that because her eyes were so dark, the light reflecting off of them seemed even brighter; specks of light gleamed in her eyes like stars. Ezio couldn't help but stare at them a fraction of a second longer than was appropriate.
Without the hood, the woman seemed... younger somehow, and more vulnerable. Could it be- was she blushing?
"My name is Bellarosa. Bellarosa Riccelli da Venezia."
Ezio barely registered what she'd said before she flipped the hood back over her head, obscuring her eyes from view once again. There was the slight rustling of fabric and the fluttering of a cape, and then she was gone.
With good timing, too. As soon as Ezio regained his senses, a guard appeared at the entrance to the alleyway.
"There he is! Get him!"
"Merda!" Ezio hissed as stuffed the paper in his pocket and took to the rooftops once again.
Bellarosa's heart pounded as she leapt nimbly from rooftop to rooftop, heading back towards the one place she could call home. Her breathing was ragged as she relived each second of her meeting with the infamous assassino. When he'd been chasing her, she hadn't been too surprised at his speed and skill; after all, she'd already spied on him twice before. Still, her heart had jumped into her throat when he'd slammed her against the wall of the alleyway. He was so strong! She'd only remembered to take out her stiletto at the last moment; if she hadn't, she would've been completely at the assassin's mercy- an idea that, strangely, wasn't too unappealing for her.
She truly hoped that he would show up at the meeting point later on. She was terrified of what would happen if he didn't. What if he didn't believe that the letter was real? For some reason, she'd decided to show him her face, something she hadn't done for anyone within the last ten years- idiota! Now that he knew what she looked like, he'd be able to recognize her in any crowd or street- an idea that was not appealing at all.
After checking to see if there were any guards around, Bellarosa dropped onto the street in front of her home, her cape flying out behind her. She landed almost silently in a low crouch, absorbing the impact instantly. Then, she got up and knocked on the door in front of her. After a few moments, there was the rattling of a lock being opened, and the door swung slowly outwards. Bellarosa squeezed into the narrow gap and entered the building.
After an hour or so of being chased across Firenze by at least a dozen city guards, Ezio finally reached his lodgings. It was a dull, average-looking building, incredibly unlikely to attract the attention of hostile Borgia forces. He climbed up the stairs to his room, where he immediately sat on his bed, under which he kept a chest full of the Codex weapons Leonardo had fashioned for him. His body was screaming for him to lay down and sleep, but first he needed to see the piece of paper that the mysterious woman- Bellarosa, was it?- had given him earlier in the day. He pulled it out of his pocket. It was a little wrinkled, but otherwise unharmed. He scanned it carefully.
To whomever this may concern,
I am writing this on the behalf of my student, Bellarosa Riccelli. I have given her this letter in the hope that it will help secure the trust of those she turns to in times of need. Her story may be difficult to believe at first, but I assure you that she is an ally of the Assassins, and there is nothing to be feared from her. If she ever asks you for anything, I implore you to help her the best you can, for she is like a second daughter to me.
Signed,
After that, the seal of the Assassins, an elaborately decorated upside-down V, had been stamped onto the paper. However, Ezio's attention was arrested by the name that had been written in the space below the seal.
...Giovanni Auditore