Okay, okay. So, my last chapter kinda sucked. I'm sorry! But I hope that you enjoy this one a little more because it tells of Aria and her past. With Ezio making an appearance or two, of course. :3 Thanks for all the favorites and story alerts. It was being stubborn when I uploaded this chapter and if you spot any mistakes that are really, really horrendous then please let me know and I will change it ASAP.
I am thinking of uping the rating on this because of this chapter (and the chapters to come) because of the language and implied rape. Should I?
R&R!
Disclaimer: I don't own Assassin's Creed.
If I Surrender
Chapter 5: Dreaming of a Different Life
"Awaken."
I sat up immediately. My hand went to my side and I was surprised to find that I was not injured anymore. How is this possible? I thought as I started to notice my surrounding. I was in a small, circular room that appeared to only have a long hallway attached to it. I pushed myself to my feet and kneeled over in pain. I could barely even breathe; every gasp I took didn't make the ache go away. I felt like my side was on fire, but I couldn't see any injury to the area.
"Greetings, Aria." A feminine voice rang out. I stood straight almost instantly and was reaching for my sword only to find that it was gone.
The women had a lighter skin tone than I and there was something different about her. I just couldn't put my finger on it. She wore a strange headdress and a long white dress. She was very beautiful… but also very scary; and for an assassin that's saying something. Rising her hands I saw my sword balanced carefully on them and she was smiling at me.
"Where am I?" I asked warily. "How do you know me?"
"You are somewhere safe, lets leave it at that." She laughed cheerfully as I glared at her and gestured for her to continue. "And I have known you all of your life."
I was dumbfounded. Someone that knew… me? This means that she must know who I am or at least who I was. I stared at her and she just smiled at me before gesturing for me to follow her down the long hallway. I followed but only because it seemed to be the only way out of the hellhole; plus, perhaps I could ask her some questions.
"Do I know you?" I asked her and she didn't even glance over at me.
"No." She said. "Not yet, anyways."
"But, I thought you knew me since I was born?" I asked, feeling extremely confused. She eyed me strangely and I felt like turning and going back to the room I started in. Pursing her lips; she appeared to be thinking.
"I have." was all she said.
"But -" She held up a hand to silence me and I frowned. Then I realized we had finally came out of the hallway… and into another circular room. Great. This room was a little different though; it had two doors adjacent to one another. The strange woman stood in the middle of the room and held her arms out.
"You must choose a door." I looked at both of the doors suspiciously, wondering what the catch was. She must have noticed the look on my face because she continued, "One holds your future. The other, your past."
I'm pretty sure that my mouth was hanging open now and she laughed, lowering her arms down. She walked over to the door with my "future" and turned back to look at me.
"Through this door you will be shown what will happen with your own life as well as the lives of your friends and family. It will also show you the outcome of this war between the Assassins and the Templars."
I could know everything; every move our enemy makes I will know! I could even see my future family, if I had one, that is. I started to feel really excited and I stared at the door as she made her way across the room to the other.
"Through this door, you will be shown what happened in your past. Why you lost your memory, how you ended up in Monteriggioni and even your parents." She became quiet as I fought with myself about which door to choose. The ever-changing future or my unknown past. I didn't know what to do; how can one person just choose something like that.
"You are running out of time, Aria d'Este." My head shot up and stared her down; she didn't even flinch. My last name was d'Este? It sounded really, really familiar but I couldn't place it.
"I can't…" I said and she tilted her head to the side a little. "I need more time to choose!"
She nodded. "So be it." She turned and started to walk back down the hallway we came from. I didn't know what to do. Would I have another chance to see my past or my future?
"How can I get back here?" I asked and she paused in her steps; turning to look at me.
"Do not worry. I will return to you in your dreams when you have made a decision." She waved her hand and everything went black.
"Wait!" I yelled as I sat up. My sight was a little blurry at first but I noticed that I was in my bed at the villa. I started to get up but a deep pain went through me. I lifted up my shirt to right below my breasts and saw that I was all bandaged up. I touched my side cautiously; I really didn't want that thing hurting me.
"Ah, so the principessa awakes!" I looked up to see Ezio leaning against my door frame, smiling at me. I almost smiled back until I saw his eyes travel and linger on my exposed abdomen. I pulled my shirt back down and glared at him; trying hard not to blush.
He ignored my glare and went on, "You know, all those stories say that to awaken a sleeping beauty; you have to kiss her."
I looked at him darkly and growled, "You didn't."
He smiled and crossed his arms in front of him and did a little shrug. "I believe that is for me to know and for you to never find out!"
I chucked my pillow at him but he stepped aside and let it hit the wall. Ezio crossed the room and sat on the side of my bed. He was quiet and was looking down at his hands. I let my fingertips touch his arm briefly causing him to look up and smile at me.
"I was worried that you had lost too much blood… That you would have never woken up." He said as he took my hand and placed a small kiss on my knuckles. I was shocked; Ezio was charming and he tried to charm me out of my pants daily but he was never so caring. I squeezed his hand a little before taking my own away. He looked a little disappointed but I know better than to get Ezio excited while he was sitting on my bed. That could lead to some very awkward situations.
"Why would it matter to you?" I asked, not trying to be mean or cold to him; simply curious.
He laughed, "Well, I couldn't let you get out of our bet that easily!"
We sat in silence for a moment and I felt a little disappointed at his answer. Although, I wasn't really sure what answer I had wanted in the first place. How confusing… He stood up and offered to help me up as well. I accepted but told him to keep his hands in appropriate areas. He just winked at me in response making me feel a little nervous. After I was finally on my feet I stretched out carefully, trying to not upset my injury.
"How long have I been asleep?" I asked.
"A day or so, bella." He replied with a small smirk on his face. I stuck out my tongue at him as I disappeared behind my changing screen. I changed as quickly as possible and checked my wound behind the bandage. I grimaced at the sight of the long slice along my side; it was definitely going to scar.
"Is everything okay?" I heard Ezio ask from the other side of my screen.
"Si." I answered shortly and stepped out. I saw Ezio smile at my chosen outfit; a pair of baggy pants and a loose, white shirt. He noticed the look on my face though and gestured towards the door before holding out his arm for me. I ignored it and left my room; walking towards the kitchen. Ezio caught up to me quickly and was chatting about the news he had heard while I was asleep. I was quiet throughout the conversation but nodded whenever he directly looked at me. I was thinking of the strange woman from my dream and the choice I had to decide by tonight. I must of started ignoring Ezio because he waved his hand in front of my face causing me to forget about my dream momentarily.
"What's on your mind, Aria?"
"Have you ever heard of the d'Este family?"
"Of course I have." He answered as he threw me an apple before taking a bite out of his own. I caught my apple easily and rolled it around in my hands.
"Will you tell me about them?" I asked. Ezio nodded and pulled out a chair for me to sit in.
"The current Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio is Ercole I d'Este. I believe he became the Duke only 5 years ago when his half-brother, Borso d'Este, died."
"Did Borso not have any heirs of his own?" I asked, thinking that maybe the dream had not been real. Maybe it was all just my imagination after all. I leaned back in my seat and waited for the answer. He just shrugged; I heard a sigh and saw Claudia walk into the room.
"Did you not listen to our tutor at all, Ezio?" She asked and he glared at her; retorting that he had. Claudia sat down beside me and glared back at Ezio before turning back to look at me.
"He used to have a family." She said simply before turning towards some fruit and plucking out a peach. "Slavers killed the mother and took the daughter while the Duke was away on business. No one ever saw her again."
I stared at my half-eaten apple, not feeling very hungry anymore. I stood and fled the room; leaving a very confused Ezio and Claudia behind. I ran all the way to my room before closing the door and locking the latch. Resting my back against the door, I slid down to the floor placing my head in my hands. A heard a small knock on the door and I groaned; telling Ezio to leave me alone.
"Ah, it is only I, little one." Mario's voice sounded from the other side of the door. I stood and unlocked the door and let him into my room.
"I heard you finally awoke." He said, once he was inside my room. "How are you feeling?"
I shrugged. "I've been better."
"Of course." He said as he ran a finger over the books in my bookcase. "Has Ezio informed you of the next assignment yet?" I shook my head and he continued, "You will be accompanying him to Firenze in a few days."
I must have looked really pissed because he held up his hands quickly. "Don't look at me like that! You know that he still needs help."
I sighed and went to look out of my window. Ezio and Claudia were sitting on one of the benches; talking about something. Ezio looked up and saw me looking out the window and winked before turning back to Claudia. Admitting defeat, I nodded.
"Bene." Mario said before walking out of my room.
I sat down on my bed, wondering if I went to sleep now if I would have the same dream. Perhaps I would have a chance to see what really happened in my past. Laying down, I stared at my ceiling thinking about what Claudia had said. 'No one ever saw her again.' Soon I drifted off into a surprisingly deep sleep.
I stood in the middle of the circular room again. The woman had her hands clasped in front of her and was smiling at me, knowingly. She seemed so real that I began to doubt that this was a real dream. How could this even be possible? I wondered to myself as the two of us stared at one another.
"Welcome back."
"Buongiorno." I replied.
"Have you made your choice?" She asked as she looked between the two doors.
"I hope so." I said and she smiled once again. She gestured for me to choose and I made my way over to the door of the past. I looked over my shoulder at the door to my future and wondered if I was making the right choice.
"The future is ever-changing, Aria. Nothing about it is set in stone." The woman said, startling me because I had not noticed that she was beside me. She rested a hand on the door to the past. "The past will always remain the same."My hand was resting on the knob and I nodded; understanding that she also thought I should remember my past. Pushing the door open I entered a room that had a few people running in and out.
I looked back at the woman in the circular room and she shook her head and said, "This is not my journey."
I turned back to the scene and I saw a woman laying on the only bed with her legs spread and a midwife in between them. The woman was beautiful. Her dark hair was plastered against her forehead from the sweat and she had her face all scrunched up as she pushed. I heard the midwife telling her to breathe and the woman took in a deep breath before letting out a shriek. I stared in shock as I saw the woman's eyes. A deep, familiar green was there and I realized that this must be my birth.
"Here we are, dear." The midwife held up a bundle of wailing cloth and passed it to the mother. "It's a girl."
My mother took me and held me close; whispering things to me that I could not hear now. I noticed a man enter the room and come to the side of my mothers bed. He looked down at me and reach out his hands. My mother carefully placed me there and he held me closer to him and stroked my head.
"What do you wish to call her, Penelope?" The man asked and glanced at the women with love in his eyes.
"Aria." My mother answered with the same amount of love in her own eyes. He smiled at the name and chuckled as I placed my small hand onto his finger. He placed me back into my mothers arms and kissed her forehead.
"I will go announce that Aria d'Este has been born healthy!" He announced and left the room. It seemed as if everything froze and I looked around, wondering if that was it. I heard a small voice inside my head that was telling me to go through the door in the room to the next memory. I looked at my mother in her frozen beauty one last time before I exited the room.
I came out to a what appeared to be a small courtyard. I saw a little boy run by and then followed by a little girl. I followed them and struggled to keep up with their youthful energy.
The little girl stopped and yelled, "Dante! Wait for me!" The boy stopped and grinned at her before jetting off again.
"Come and get me, Aria!"
I turned back to the girl as I heard my name. I studied the younger me as she ran after the boy. She was small; I assume about five years old. Her hair was light brown and was in ringlets. She also wore a very expensive looking dress that she just picked up as she ran. You could hear her laugh throughout the courtyard and a few of the guards were chuckling as she ran by.
I wondered who the boy was. A brother? No, Claudia said there was only a daughter. Besides, he seemed to be at least seven or eight. He was a cute child though; his light blonde hair was a little messy but it was charming. The hair color was not seen very often around these parts and it was accompanied by a pair of startling blue eyes.
I saw the boy, Dante, start to go around a corner but he froze and flew back against the wall and into the shadows. Aria started to question him but he put his hand over her mouth and told her to be quiet. They both peaked around the corner and I did as well. There was a group of men that looked like mercenaries; they had many weapons and they were talking to my father. I strained to hear their urgent whispers.
"You have four years, Borso." The man who appeared to be the leader of the mercenaries said with a threatening tone. I tried to get a better look at him but he had his back turned to me. "I better have that money by then or you will regret it."
The man turned to leave and I finally got a glimpse of his face. I gasped as I realized that it was the man from my dreams. The one that killed my mother and took me away. It was like a memory overload as I fell to the floor. I gripped my head as I started remembering little things about my life. My favorite dress, dinner with my parents, my different tutors, the big parties my father had, playing with Dante when I was younger and even my feeling for Dante turning into a small crush.
I felt a arm grab mine and I jerked it away before looking up and seeing the woman. She helped me to my feet and I realized that I was back in the circular room.
"You must continue the journey." She said as she pushed me back towards the door but I resisted; shaking my head. I didn't want to know what this man did to me. She was stronger than she looked as she pushed me through the doorway.
I closed my eyes and opened them to see the next scene.
I saw a young me standing into front of a door that was cracked. I made my way closer and looked over my younger self and into the room beyond. My father, in a very regal looking suit with his hair pushed back and my mother in a formal gown were standing side by side; discussing something.
"Penelope, I must leave after the dinner tonight." My father was fidgeting nervously and kept glancing around.
"It's your daughters ninth birthday, Borso!" My mother exclaimed. "Can't you stay a little longer?"
My father shook his head and turned to my mother explaining that he had important business to attend to and to be thankful that he was at least coming to the dinner. My mother sighed and disappeared to another side of the room.
I felt a hand go through my body and I gasped, turning quickly to see what was happening. The mercenary man was standing there and he had placed a hand on my younger self, through my body which felt really, really weird, causing her to whip around suddenly. Her eyes were the size of small plates and he chuckled.
"Spying isn't very polite." He said lowly and the younger me ran off as he entered the room my father and mother were in.
A bright light filled the air and I found myself standing in the dining hall from my dream. Everything seemed the same; mountains of food sat upon the table and the younger me was sitting there with her hand on her cheek looking really bored. I saw the boy Dante nudge her side, something that didn't happen in my dream, and whisper in her ear. The younger me blushed and giggled and he looked smug.
I smiled as I looked at the people at the table. My mother and father were sitting a little bit away, with the older guests discussing politics. I let my gaze fall on each person until I came to the one I was looking for.
The mercenary was dressed pretty well considering his profession and was eating slowly. I noticed that my father kept glancing at him and he would smile at him with that creepy smile. I looked back to my younger self to see that she was watching the man suspiciously. He seemed to notice this and smiled at her; but it wasn't a nice smile. It sent chills up my spine. She looked away immediately and frowned at her food.
"You are traveling to Roma tonight, Borso?" asked one of the party goers and my fathers face paled and he looked at the evil man, who just smirked down at his food before looking at my father and then at my mother and I. My father replied to the man saying that he indeed was and I clenched my fists. He knew what was going to happen! And he just left… The room froze again. I sighed as I turned around and exited the dining room.
The next scene was in what appeared to be my room. It was definitely a room built for a princess; it had a large bed and an even larger closet. Everything was a light pink and I almost felt like gagging at the brightness of the color. I saw that I was at my window; looking out over the land. I could see my father step into a carriage and leave. I don't know what was going through my mind but I appeared to be thinking very hard. Suddenly, my door swung open and my mother rushed in. She grabbed my arm and started to pull me out of the room.
"What's going on, mama?" I asked as she pulled me down the halls. She looked back at me and I could see the fear and tears in her eyes. She pulled me into a small corner and kneeled down until we were face to face.
"That man at the dinner. You saw him, yes?" She asked and I nodded. "He is a slaver. Your father has abandoned us to him and we must leave!"
With that, she pulled me on down the halls and the look on the face of my younger self was pure shock. After taking many twists and turns, I started to hear the sound of armored feet running from somewhere behind us. We finally reach a room and my mother pushed the younger me into the room and I slid in before she slammed the door shut and locked it. My mother grabbed my younger self by the arm and pushed a chair away and I could see a small hole there.
"Aria, my daughter. Take this and you will always remember; no matter how long it takes!" My mother spoke and held out my necklace. I raised my hand to the same necklace hanging around my neck. My younger self grabbed it and hastily put it in her pocket and then threw her arms around my mother. The woman pushed younger me toward the hole telling her to hide. Once inside the hole, the woman placed a chair in front of it to hide it again but even I could see that it was hiding something. The mother pulled out a dagger from behind a table and hid it behind her back. She then faced the door, where a loud banging was coming from. Finally, the door broke open and pushed my mother aside, looking around.
"You will never have her!" My mother yelled before clumsily stabbing one of the men in the back. The man howled before turning and striking her down. The scary man entered the room quietly and was looking around before his eyes rested on the chair. His men leered and groped at my mothers lifeless body before the leader threw the chair flew from in front of the hole, causing the younger me to yelp in surprise. He reach inside and dragged me out; although, I was kicking and screaming. He grimaced and hit me on top of the head with the pommel of his dagger, knocking me out, before throwing me over his shoulder and signaling for the men to leave.
"I want out of this!" I yelled, expecting the strange woman to appear again but she did not. I turned towards the door and opened it. Stepping out, I noticed that I was outside. I could see the young me being dragged on a chain by that evil man. When I resisted to move one of his men slashed a whip across my back a couple times; causing me to yell out and fall to the ground. The leader reprimanded the man.
"She will fetch a wonderful price; being the Dukes daughter. Try to not leave scars on her." The man nodded and murmured an insincere apology before dragging the younger me to my feet by my long hair. I was crying very hard and he told me to shut up before pushing me forward. We walked for miles and my surroundings were becoming more and more familiar. I realized that we were in Toscana. In fact, I thought I could see Monteriggioni in the distance. I also saw my younger self eyeing the city and then studying the men.
The men all started setting up the camp for the night. The leader came over to the younger me and rose her chin so she would meet his eyes.
"What's wrong?" There was the smell of alcohol on his breath and I looked away, coughing because it had been so strong. He pulled my head back towards him. "Don't look away when I'm talking to you, girl."
My younger self looked him dead in the eye and replied, "Vaffanculo!"
The man slapped her across the face and I could see the tears start in her eyes again. He grabbed her by the neck, causing her to scream and kick out at him. He didn't seem to notice as he dragged her over to a tent murmuring,
"I'll teach you some manners yet, puttana."
He threw her into the tent and then went in himself. I followed in after them only to run out with my hand over my mouth. I felt like I was going to be physically sick. I tried to contain it but it was no use; I was completely disgusted at what I just saw. I was horrified that I finally knew what had happened before I came to Mario; I wish I would have never figured out now. I could hear the younger me screaming in pain and I fell to my knees in tears. How could someone do that to a child! How could he do that to me!
The man emerged a little bit later; looking extremely pissed. His men questioned him about the girl and he said she was dead and they were going to leave her body here. I gasped and went into the tent to see my lifeless, body. My dress was torn and it looked like he had hit me very hard on the head. I knew I wasn't really dead but it was strange seeing myself so lifeless. The men took down their tents and left the girl behind on the ground. I sat beside her for a time before she started to stir. She groaned as she sat up. She looked around and wondered aloud,
"Where am I?"
She noticed the city and started her way towards it.
I felt someone shaking my arms and I opened my eyes to see a very worried Ezio. He sighed in relief after seeing that I had woke up and sat back onto the floor. He stared at me with a anxious look in his eyes and then said,
"You were screaming in your sleep, Aria."
I looked away and thought of my dream. I could remember everything now and I started crying. Ezio jumped up, looking surprised and sat beside me on the bed. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into his chest. For the first time, I didn't fight back and I wrapped my arms around his waist and cried. He made soothing sounds and rubbed circles on my bad until my crying had subsided. He pushed me back a little to get a better look at me. I looked away, feeling ashamed of my tears but he lifted my face back to him.
"Why are you crying, mia cara?" He asked carefully.
I clenched my fists, something he noticed and he tensed up, probably preparing for a punch to the face. I let my hands relax and Ezio relaxed after realizing that I wasn't going to hit him for calling me that.
"I remember everything." I said quietly.
Ezio looked really surprised and took my hand into his own. He stroked the tips of my fingers and waited for me to continue. I felt bad, at that moment, of how I had treated him before. He was nothing but a overly friendly person and I had pushed him away, too. It made me briefly think of Dante and I wondered what had happened to him. I let go of Ezio's hand and got out of my bed. He looked like he was about to protest but I held up my hand and he was quiet.
"I'm going to see my father." I said before turning and preparing to march out my door. Ezio grabbed my hand again and I turned and looked back at him questioningly.
"It's late; can you wait until morning?" He asked. I went back to my bed and sat on the edge of it and nodded. "Bene!" He gave me a curious look before saying, "I should probably get back to my room."
He started to get up but something possessed me to grab his arm. He looked at me with a raised brow and I blushed. I can't believe that I'm doing this right now. Ezio will probably get the wrong idea, anyway.
"Stay here… I don't want to be alone." A small smirk started to cover Ezios face but I shook my head quickly. "I don't mean it like that!"
"Whatever you say." He said cheekily as he laid back on my bed; pulling me with him. I had my head laying against his shoulder and he laid his head on the top of mine. I could feel his breath on my forehead as I draped my arm over his torso. He was playing with a strand of my hair when I finally drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to review!
:D
Principessa - Princess.
Buongiorno - Hello.
Vaffanculo - Fuck you.
Puttana - Bitch.