Another update! Wooooooow, Brotherhood is seriously taking all my free time away from me. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. XD. Anywayssssssssss, I have gotten soooooooooo many views on the story and I want to let people know to review! It makes me want to update the story quicker :3 Thanks for all of the reviews, story alerts, and favorites! I'm glad you are all enjoying the story so far. If I have made a mistake, please let me know and I will try my best to fix it!

R & R!

Special thanks goes to:

Sweet Candy Rain - I honestly don't think he will :( at least, I haven't seen anything to hint that he will. I don't like Caterina, either. That might be because I get a little selfish when it comes to Ezio, though. LOL. That and I have high expectations for him and she does NOT fit those at all. I wish we could have that choice... but pneumonia got her first... damn it. And thank you so much! :3

UchihaAkia - Thanks for reviewing! You'll be glad to know that Aria's past will be explained in a few chapters (maybe two or three?). I've been working on it and I think that people are going to be pretty surprised! (I hope!).

Shellythesnail - I thought that was a pretty cute scene, too! :3 And I will try my best. Brotherhood is sooo distracting; I start to put down the controller then I'm like just five more minutes! Hahah!

brittany - Thanks again! :D

Disclaimer: Everytime that I have to say that I don't own AC, I get sadder and sadder. But, I still don't own it... Now I'm going to go cry because I don't own anything!

Aria: HEY!

egiaprevolg: YOU'RE NOTHING COMPARED TO EZIO! *runs away*

Ezio: HA! Take that, Aria!

Aria: Ezio... I hate you so much. *leaves*

Ezio: Ah, all the women have left. So, that means I am alone... THE APPLE OF EDEN IS MINE! MUAHAHA!

egiaprevolg: No. Too soon, Ezio.

Ezio: Oh. THE APPLE OF EDEN WILL BE MINE! ...eventually...

LOL, you can ignore that little bit of randomness there. I was feeling a little crazy!

If I Surrender

Chapter 4 - Taking Down Vieri

I found myself in route for San Gimignano early that morning with all of my fathers men following. Mario wanted to stay behind and talk to Ezio before they came here. What for, I cannot say. I made it to the place that father and I picked out on the map. Near the South wall; which had a weakness that I, or even Ezio, could exploit easily enough to get the gate open.

I watched the men sharpening their swords and daggers and listened to their nervous murmuring. Near sundown we were all watching the road we came from for my fathers arrival. I was leaning against a crate, using one of my throwing knives to clean out from under my nails when I heard the telltale sounds of horses coming our way.

Shushing the men, we all stood quietly waiting for whoever it was to come. My father turned the corner and I could tell that the men relaxed. But my father did not look relaxed; his shoulders were hunched and his brow furrowed. I approached his horse; laying a hand on it and looked up at him.

"What's wrong?" I asked and then looked around him. "Where is Ezio?"

"Not coming." Mario answered gruffly as he slid off of his horse. I stared in shock; after all the training we gave him freely and he was choosing not to help us against Vieri? Mario approached his men and relayed the plan: After Aria opens the gate, look for and kill Vieri.

We snuck along the wall until we came to the easy spot my father and I found for me to climb up. My father and his men went on as I creep onto the wall along the city. I could see a few men standing on some rooftops and another on down the walls path. I stood and quietly ran along the wall, jumping on the back of the guard and slicing his throat open with my hidden blade.

Another man was standing on a rooftop just below where I was standing on the walls pathway. I waited until he was turned away before pouncing on him from above. I quickly threw a throwing knife into the skull of the man on the rooftop adjacent to the one I was on. The man collapsed quietly and the other men did not seem to notice it.

I could see my father and his men distracting the guards at the gate. The two men stood side by side, sticking their swords out the holes of the gate; trying to get my father and his men to stand back. I jumped off the rooftop and approached them as quietly as I possibly could. Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind me. Damn, another guard. The two men turned and yelled at me, waving their swords around. I could hear the other guard start to approach me from behind. I turned and threw another knife and heard the dull thud as the knife made impact and then a crash as the man fell.

Drawing my two swords, I lowered my hood and gestured for the two guards to come and fight me. They seemed taken aback after seeing that I was a women; which is no surprise but they slowly recovered and began advancing towards me.

The taller of the two struck out at me and I dodged easily; allowing myself to laugh at the fools. This angered them and the shorter attacked me. I caught his blade between my two and kicked him as hard as I could in the stomach. He flew back against the gate and my father grabbed him and slit his throat.

The taller guard seemed shocked and then he seemed very angry. He yelled and started running towards me and I braced myself for the impact before seeing a knife lodge itself in the mans head. I turned and saw Ezio jumping down from a nearby rooftop.

"You didn't need to do that." I said angrily as he helped me bring up the gate.

"I know." He answered, repeating my words from last night. We locked eyes and he smiled that smile that always makes me nervous. I looked away as my father approached us as his men ran into the city.

"Ezio? What are you doing here?"

"Taking responsibility. Vieri troubles you because of me." Ezio responded and we began a slow trek into the city.

"It's not always about you, Ezio." I retorted; he laughed and pushed me into a wall playfully. I punched him on the shoulder in return and he laughed. Mario, not amused by our antics, turned to Ezio saying,

"Both of you, distract those guards and make sure they do not raise the alarm. Try to buy me some time to find Vieri."

We nodded and pulled out our throwing knives. Ezio glanced at me and laughed, causing me to scowl at him.

"Let us see who has the better arm. The one with the most deaths, wins."

I rose an eyebrow, "Wins what?"

His eyes twinkled mischievously and I got a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach that it was going to be something that I would never agree to. Please god, don't try to bet sex.

"Whatever you want." Ezio said simply. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"Fine." I replied. "If I win, then you aren't allowed to see the Courteasans for two weeks and I don't want to hear complaining."

Ezio scowled only for a moment but then he brightened up considerably. "Fine. If I win, then you will have to spend every day with me for the next two weeks." Then again, maybe he was as bad as I thought. He would probably use the time trying to seduce me!

"No!" I protested immediately, but Ezio was already running to the guards standing ahead of us. Determined not to lose this bet I ran after him.

We dispatched the guardsmen easily and compared the number of deaths. I was ahead by a few, for the moment but Ezio was not far behind so I could not let myself get cocky. We ran like lightning through the streets with our throwing knives flying through the air to take down unsuspecting guards.

After running down the streets for a short time we came across one of my fathers men. He told us that my padre was under attack and to hurry as fast as we could. He and his men had dozens of guardsmen around them and my father waved to us as we approached.

"There you are!" He exclaimed over the noises of the fighting. "It seems my plan has hit something of a snag… We were ambushed and now we've got our hands full. My brothers and I will deal with these guards. I want you both to go on ahead and root out that snake!"

I grabbed Ezio's hand and dragged him through the crowd of men; dodging their attacks. We both decided that the roof would be an ideal spot for us to search for Vieri. We snuck across many rooftops but suddenly I spotted a large group of men coming through a nearby gate. I held out my arm that Ezio, who was looking the other way, ran into and shot me a look of annoyance. He calmed down after seeing me hold a finger to my lips and then point to the group of men.

He nodded at me and took an alternate root around to the other side of the men. He was adjacent to me and we both laid against the rooftops trying to hear what the men were saying.

A man in a ominous hood was speaking, "It's settled. Vieri, you will remain here to coordinate the mercenari. Francesco will organize our forces in the city and send word when it's time to strike. Jacopo, your job is to calm the citizens once the deed is done."

The men stood in a circle and nodded as the hooded man spoke their jobs. Vieri was shuffling his feet, looking very agitated.

"What of that ubriacone, Mario?" I tensed up involuntarily and I saw Ezio shoot me a look of warning. I waved him off and continued listening. "He continues to harass my forces and I fear he'll discover what we intend."

Francesco patted his sons back reassuringly and spoke, "He's always been trouble. Just like that bastardo brother of his."

I glanced up at Ezio and saw that his knuckles were turning white as he gripped a throwing knife. He looked at me and it was troubling to see how much pain he was in. I looked back down to the men, wondering who this cloaked figure was.

"Then let me reunite them, father!" Vieri said with vemon in his voice. I rolled my eyes to myself thinking that there was no way that boy could take down Mario.

"There will be plenty of time to clean up the rifiuti when we're finished." The man in the cloak rested his hand on Vieri's shoulder as if to reassure him. He looked back to the rest of the men. "Now, is there anything else?"

None of the men answered him.

"Muy bien." He said before raising a hand to his chest. "May the Father of Understanding guide you."

The men repeated the same line back to the man and raised their hands to their chests as well. They all began for the door but Vieri was caught by one of his men. They were yelling that Mario Auditore had invaded the city. The men seemed very distressed, much to my delight. Ezio looked over at me and winked and I worked to stifle a small giggle. Vieri ran off to a tower along the edge of the wall. I was a little confused, it had no escape route whatsoever. Did he truly believe he could best us so easily? Eh, oh well.

Soon, we saw Mario and his men charging forward to the guards waiting below. I pointed at myself and down to the guards and my father then pointed at him and then to where Vieri was standing with two guards. He nodded and took off in that direction as I watched the men battle below me.

My father was facing at least three men on his own and I could see another trying to sneak up behind him. I lunged off of the roof and onto the guards back while using my hidden blade against his throat. He fell to the ground and my father shouted a thanks to me as we continued fighting.

A guard struck my side with a blade but I hardly even noticed as I cut off his head with my two swords. Grabbing my last throwing knife, I tossed it at a guard that was running up the stairs towards Vieri and Ezio. It hit his leg, causing him to howl in pain before one of my fathers men ran up and silenced him for good.

Soon all the men were dead and my fathers men gave a cheer. My father and I ran up the stairs to see if Ezio needed any help. As we approached we saw Vieri swing his blade at Ezio but he missed and stumbled forward a bit. It was enough for Ezio to be able to slam his hidden blade right in his chest. Vieri looked down almost shocked that he had been beaten before he fell limply to the ground. Ezio went down to the ground with him and was shaking the front of Vieri's shirt.

"What are you and your allies planning? Is this what my father discovered? Is this why he was killed?" I could hear the desperation in Ezio's voice as he shook Vieri. I started to step forward but Mario stopped me with his arm.

Vieri laughed darkly and I could see a line of blood falling from the corner of his mouth, "I'm sorry, were you hoping for a confession?"

"Pezzo di merda! Vorrei solo che avessi sofferto di più! Hai avuto la fine che meritavi! Spero che bru-" Ezio was screaming but my father pulled him off of Vieri roughly and pushed him away from the body. He told Ezio to be more respectful but Ezio was fuming already and retorted that respect would not have been shown to us. I closed Vieri's eyes and searched his pockets, retrieving a beat up Codex page before whispering,

"Requiescat in Pace." I stood and grabbed Ezio's arm and pulled him toward me. His face was inches from mine and I could see his fury clearly. I whispered, "You are not Vieri. Do not become him."

The fury in his eyes subsided and he looked ashamed of himself. My father thumped him on the back, causing the glare to return and announced that we should return to the villa soon.

The trip back was an uneventful one. The men celebrated as best as they could on the horses backs, passing some type of ale around. My father drank from it heartily and offered some to me but I declined with a shake of my head. I felt very strangely at the moment. Looking around, I noticed that I couldn't see Ezio anywhere. Turning around to look behind me I saw that he was way behind the group and staring at his hands.

I turned my own horse and rode back towards Ezio. I heard snide remarks from the men about my choice of company before my father silenced them. I went around his horse and slowed mine to a walk beside his. He looked at me briefly before looking back ahead.

"Are you okay, Ezio?" I asked tentatively, hoping to not upset him more.

"Sí." He answered shortly.

We rode on in silence for a little while before I blurted out, "twenty-six."

Ezio turned towards me, confusion was not even concealed on his face. I looked towards the group ahead of us and said, "That is the number of men I killed on this night."

He stared at me a little longer before smiling half-heartedly. "Twenty…" He paused and looked at me strangely and I hoped that he had not made more than I had. "Seven. Vieri was the last one."

I groaned before slumping forward onto my horse, cursing slightly. Ezio laughed fully this time and I laughed with him; glad to see that he was feeling a little better. I scowled at him playfully and refused to go through with the bet.

"Bella, it will not be so bad." He grinned at me before winking and saying, "We shall have plenty of fun activities to make the days seem shorter!"

He put an emphasis on activities causing me to throw him a real scowl. He laughed at my facial expression and dodged my fist by making his horse move over a little. I stuck out my tongue before riding back to the others. I noticed that he followed me this time and Mario held up the ale bottle and announced his arrival.

"And here he is! Our campione! Ezio!"

The men cheered and it roared throughout hills and all of the men shouted, somewhat drunkenly, 'All hail, Ezio!' Laughter ensued and we were all clutching our sides from laughing too much.

"I see that you wasted no time starting the celebrations." Ezio said good naturedly to my father.

"Of course we have!" Mario spotted me and thrust the ale into my hands. "Drink, my dear! We couldn't have gotten anywhere without you!"

Feeling a lot better than I was earlier, I smiled and took a long swig of the drink; grimacing as I offered it to Ezio. He laughed and took it as well and the three of us shared a bottle or two and rode a little bit off from the group of men. I could feel that my face was flushed badly but I kept drinking with my father and Ezio. We were laughing as Mario told a horrendous story about my early training days; if I were sober, I probably would have gotten a little angry but I decided to keep my hands on my horse because of all the swaying I was doing.

Mario somehow drifted back to the group of men leaving Ezio and I to drink by ourselves. Our horses were walking very close to one another that when I started drifting to one side, I hit my head against his hard shoulder. I laughed and smiled up at him sheepishly.

"S-sorry!" I slurred and then laughed again. Ezio was studying me and I held my hand in front of his face. "S-stop that! You're making me nervous."

He smiled widely before wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me closer to him. I could feel his breath on my ear and he whispered softly, "I make you nervous, mia cara?"

I nodded but kept my eyes adverted from his; worried what would happen if I did look at him. He chuckled into my ear before nibbling on it. I gasped but found that I was unable to get out of his embrace. I started struggling even more and Ezio released me suddenly, causing me to fall right off of my horse. He was off of his own horse in an instant; apologizing for making me fall and asking me if I was hurt.

I felt very light-headed and my hand moved to my side where a dull pain was flowing from. I groaned as I pulled my hand away and saw blood. Ezio looked at the area and cursed, causing me to glance up at him in shock.

"You are injured, Aria." He spoke softly and I was reminded of the time Mario had found me wondering in the streets. "Mi scusi. It must have opened up more when you fell. You should have told someone!"

I looked up into the deep golden-brown eyes that seemed to go on forever thinking that the pain wasn't so bad before a thick darkness engulfed my mind.

Thanks for reading my story! ::::))))

Mercenari - Mercenaries.

Ubriacone - Drunkard.

Bastardo - Bastard.

Rifiuti - Trash.

Muy bien - very good.

Pezzo di merda! Vorrei solo che avessi sofferto di più! Hai avuto la fine che meritavi! Spero che bru - Piece of shit! I only wished you'd suffered more! You met the fate you deserved! I hope yo

Requiescat in Pace - Rest in Peace.

Campione - Champion.

Mia cara - My darling.