Chapter 27
I woke the next morning to the feeling of scruff rubbing against my stomach, I sighed lightly as I looked down to see Ezio kissing my body in various places before he met my eyes. Kissing back up to my neck, where he sucked lightly before moving to my mouth, we met in a fiery kiss and I slowly sat up and reversed our positions. Ezio relaxed back onto the bed, enjoying the dominate side of me as I met his mouth roughly. I didn't hold back with him anymore - I knew what I wanted and I wasn't afraid to go for it. Ezio was mine, I thought to myself possessively as I lavished kisses onto his warm skin. I nipped his shoulder hard and without warning, causing him to jump ever so slightly as he rubbed my bare thighs. He smiled up at me as I sat up on his body and studied my handiwork. A patchwork of fresh bruises covered his body in a mixture of places and I grinned at the sight of him being marked by me.
Looking down at my own body, I saw that it was similar in the way of bruising. The love bites were trailing up my thighs and along my abdomen before settling on the swell of my breasts and the sides of my neck. I reminisced on the night before as I ran my fingers over his bruises and sighed contentedly as he brushed his own hands across my bare skin. It was much different than it had been six years ago. Ezio had been so careful and gentle my first time - so very thoughtful of my comfort and enjoyment but last night he was uninhibited and passion-driven. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced and suddenly, I knew why all these women were charmed and constantly after Ezio. He truly was amazing at what he did. I blushed lightly at the thought and Ezio smirked from beneath me before pulling me toward him for a kiss. I cherished the moment, truly happy and satisfied with my lover.
We made love again that morning. Though it was at a much slower and gentler pace than last night, it did not lack the passion that fueled us both. Later, when Ezio and I were laying side by side, eating fruit from a basket that Ezio had already had in his boat, I smiled at Ezio lovingly. He smiled back as he passed me a grape that I took with my tongue, laughing quietly as Ezio watched my tongue with intrigue.
"So, when do you think we should tell our family?" I asked Ezio and he pondered my question while taking a bite of fruit. He chewed and watched me closely and I stared back into his eyes, patiently awaiting his answer. Honestly, I didn't know if I could hide this kind of thing from Mario at all. I was already bursting to tell someone of my legitimate engagement.
"I see no reason not to tell them as soon as we see them." Ezio replied after swallowing his food. I smiled widely and Ezio copied the expression and reach over to hold my hand. Looking into his eyes, I could see that he was excited about this as I was. It made me deliriously happy to think that. His eye color changed for a moment and I knew that he was using his special vision to see me. I tilted my head at him and smiled, waiting for him to tell me what he saw. When his vision changed back, he moved the basket of fruit and hugged me to him tightly. "The coloring has changed a bit. The blue and pink have fused together to make a majestic purple and the gold brightened significantly."
"What does it mean?" I asked him, wondering what the colors truly meant and signified but he shook his head.
"I have no idea, to be honest. I told you; you're the only person I've ever seen with colors such as that. I wish there was someone I could ask about this."
"What about Epirus?" I suggested, thinking about what the bow told me about different dimensions and nonsense such as that. It still unnerved me to think about things like that but I was growing to the idea the more I learned about it. I was sure that Epirus would have a good answer for us.
Ezio smiled and kissed me on the forehead. "This is why you're here, E intelligente, bella donna! I would be so lost without you."
"I know," I replied with a grin as I stood up and stretched my sore muscles. I smirked when I looked back to see Ezio looking at my body. I looked at the courtesan outfit laying on the floor and grimaced. I had no desire to wear such an outfit again but I didn't bring any change of clothes with me. Ezio followed my disgruntled gaze before laughing and getting up from the bed and walking over to a small screen. He pulled it aside, revealing a small closet that had a few changes of robes in it. He shuffled through the clothes before picking one out and bringing it over to me. I noticed that they were my size but they looked as if they had never been worn before. I looked up at Ezio questioningly and he shrugged as he pushed his long hair out of his face.
"I may have went to a tailor to get you some new robes."
"That was quite thoughtful of you, Ezio." I answered before standing on my tip-toes to kiss his lips ever so slightly before changing into my robes. He grinned as he went to the closet and grabbed himself a change of robes as well. As I changed, I watched Ezio pull on his own clothes and admired the way his muscles flexed while he pulled on his shirt. I was too lucky, I thought happily as I grabbed my gauntlets and pulled them onto my wrists before flexing my wrist and making sure they were both working properly. As I went over my hidden blades, a sudden burst of smoke and a loud pop sounded from beside me. Eyes wide, I whipped around to face Ezio, who looked just as surprised as I did. I looked above him and saw a small hole in his ceiling and I bust out laughing as I realized what happened. Ezio's face turned red but he couldn't help but joining in with my laughter. "At least you didn't shoot yourself in the leg or something." I managed to laugh out as I wiped tears of mirth from my eyes.
"I had forgotten about it." Ezio admitted, looking sheepish and studying the hole in his ceiling as he rubbed the back of his neck. He cursed after a moment. "I hope it doesn't rain. I should probably find something to cover the hole." He looked to me for a reply but I couldn't help but laughing loudly again and he rolled his eyes before going up the cabins stairs, leaving me to laugh by myself. After I collected myself, I went up the stairs to find Ezio covering the hole with a heavy bucket. He met my eyes when I appeared at the top of the steps and I almost lost my cool and begun to laugh but managed not to, somehow. Ezio could tell I was struggling not to laugh and chucked himself as he came to my side.
He held out an arm like a gentlemen and helped me climb up the short distance to the dock. Once he was up himself, he smiled and asked, "Where does the bella donna wish to go today?"
"Well, we really shouldn't stay out too long. I would say that the guards will be looking for the one that killed the Doge. Would you like to go get a bottle of Veneto and some food before we head back here?"
"Sounds like a plan." Ezio answered and we headed toward the Mercato together, dodging streets that we knew the guards frequented the most. We were talking quietly as we passed over the Rialto Bridge when we heard a familiar voice call out our names. Turning to the source of the voice, we found Ugo jogging towards us while dodging a few people. I thought I saw him cut a woman's purse free as he passed her but it was so quick that I couldn't be sure.
"Salute, Ugo. How are you doing?" I said once Ugo made it to us and caught his breath. I leaned against the side of the bridge and waited for a reply and Ezio wrapped an arm around my waist and copied my stance.
"I'm quite well, Aria. I hope you both are as well. Excuse me for cutting this conversation short but Antonio has been looking for you both all morning." Ugo said, causing Ezio and I to exchange an amused glance. Ugo continued, "He has something important to speak with you about. I believe your father is already there with him."
I nodded at this information. If my father was there then it was probably of great importance. I looked over at Ezio and smiled before saying, "Well, there goes our plans for the evening."
"Don't worry, we can finish our plans tonight or tomorrow." Ezio replied with a wink as we followed Ugo to the Thieves Guild. We chatted with Ugo on the trip over to the guild but he left us once we made it there, claiming to have important business of his own. More thieving, most likely. We said goodbye before heading into Antonio's private office. When we entered, Antonio and my father stood to greet us as well as another man that I had not anticipated. Though it didn't surprise me considering the words he said to me so long ago, I didn't expect Agostino Barbarigo in the company of Thieves and Assassins. Ezio seemed fairly alarmed at the sight of a Barbarigo but calmed after Antonio introduced and explained that he was a good, fair man and was not aligned with the Templars.
"It is an honor to meet you, sir. I am sorry for the loss of your brother." Ezio said to Agostino politely and sincerely. Agostino smiled at Ezio before saying,
"I appreciate the sympathy but to be frank, my brother was a fool and completely under the control of the Borgia faction in Rome - something I would not wish on Venezia, ever. Luckily, this young lady here averted the danger to Venezia by assassinating him. In a very original way, might I add." I blushed, feeling awkward that he saw the way I had killed his brother. He held out his hand and I offered my own, letting him kiss it politely. It wasn't how I expected him to react knowing that I "It's an honor to see you again, Maria - I mean, Aria. Sorry, I'm still getting used to you being what you are."
I grinned back at the old man as he released my hand. I remembered his useful words to me and there was a strong likeable air about him. Despite the fact that he was a Barbarigo, he was a good person. I replied, "It has been quite some time since we last met, Agostino."
"It has, it has." The older man answered back with a smile.
"Messer Agostino is to be elected for Doge of Venezia." My father said to Ezio and I. We nodded, congratulating him on his success,
"It's a good sign for Venezia." Antonio put in and we all agreed, complimenting Agostino who took the words in stride and humbly accepted them.
"The Council of Forty-One has worked fast this time," Ezio commented drily and Agostino chuckled along with his words before answering him.
"I think they have learnt the error of their ways. But I do not wish to be Doge in name only, as my brother was. Which brings us to the business in hand. Our ghastly cousin Silvio has occupied the Arsenal - the military quarter of town - and garrisoned it with two hundred mercenaries!"
"But when you are Doge, can't you command them to stand down?" asked Mario and Ezio nodded, wondering the same thing himself.
Antonio, Agostino and I all shook our heads at the same time. I answered my father and Ezio, "If only it were so easy but Silvio won't go without a fight - considering the amount of men he has garrisoned there; it seems that is exactly what he wants."
"I knew I raised a smart girl." Mario said with a booming laugh after thinking on my words and he reach over to ruffle my hair under the hood. I grinned when he did it; I normally would have been annoyed but I had missed him so much when I was away from him that I really would put up with anything from Mario.
Agostino and the others smiled at our exchange before Agostino went straight back to business. "I wish that being Doge would enable me to remove him but my brother's extravagances have depleted the city's resources, and we will be hard put to withstand a determined force who have control of the Arsenal. And without the Arsenal, I have no real control of Venezia! Doge or no Doge!"
"We must raise a force of our own." Ezio said, looking out the window in pensive thought. He had a look of determination on his face and I was proud at how quickly he came to the same thought I had.
Well said!" Antonio beamed at Ezio. Antonio had become something of a mentor to him and I could tell that he was excited and proud that Ezio was flourishing so well. "And I think I have just the man for the job. Have you heard of Bartolomeo d'Alviano?!"
I'm sure my face lit up at the name and I laughed and looked to my father for confirmation of this man being in Venezia. When Mario nodded back at me with a grin, I clapped my hands together and laughed again. I explained when I noticed that all of the room, excluding Mario, was looking at me a little strangely. "Have I heard of him? He was my mentor for a year or so when I was younger! What is the foul mouthed bastard doing here?"
Antonio smirked at my words. He obviously knew Bartolomeo well. "He's based here now. Just arrived not too long ago." Antonio said before turning to Ezio to address him. "Have you met him as well, amigo?"
"No, but I have heard of him." Ezio replied to the thief. "The condottiero who used to serve the Papal States, si? Aria had mentioned that he turned against them some time ago."
Antonio nodded as Agostino spoke up from his side. "Well, he holds little love for Silvio."
"I'd say so." I said with a smile touching my lips as I thought of my old brazen mentor.
Mario chucked and patted my back, breaking me out of my memories. "He's based on San Pietro, just east of the Arsenal. He's been keeping a keen eye on them for some time."
"I cannot wait to see the old man again." I commented with a smirk and the men chuckled at my words. Mario mentioned that I probably shouldn't say that to his face but I knew that I would. Just to see what he says. Old Bart always did have a colorful vocabulary. I was anxious to go and I almost jetted out of the guild before Antonio had a chance to stop me.
"I know you're excited, Aria but Agostino has something important to give you both." I grinned, feeling a little foolish for my excited behavior. I was not a young girl anymore and I did not need to keep acting so impulsively. I apologized to Agostino but he only asked and waved my apology away. He drew out a long, rolled scroll and presented it to us. It had a heavy black seal, broken apart, hanging from a tattered red ribbon. Ezio took the scroll and passed it to me before shaking Agostinos hand and thanking him gratefully. My father and I opened the scroll and looked over it.
"It looks like one we have had before but incomplete." I said and Mario nodded, agreeing with me.
"Perhaps you should go visit your artist friend for a confirmation." Mario suggested and I nodded, excited to head out so we could see Bartolomeo sooner. Ezio and I said our goodbyes to Antonio and Agostino before I began to walk out of the room.
"Wait a moment, zio." Ezio called out from behind me to Mario, yet again detaining me from leaving. "I would like to speak to you." Mario appraised him and nodded before gesturing for us to follow him out of Antonio's office. Once in the main room, I excused myself to go upstairs and grab my swords, just in case something happened. You never knew. As I came back to the stairs, I could hear Ezio's voice floating up to me. "I know I should have come to you first, Mario but Aria and I are going to be married once we return to Monteriggioni." I froze to hear what my fathers reaction would be when he did not know I was listening. It was silent for a time and I started to head down the stairs when my father spoke.
"You are serious about this?"
"Of course." Ezio replied instantly. He sounded confident and I smiled to myself.
"You love my little Aria?"
"You know me, zio. I wouldn't be asking you this if I did not." Ezio said and Mario was silent again. Ezio sighed and said so softly that I had to strain to hear him, "I love her more than I love my own life. I would do anything for her. She is as beautiful and diverse as the sun and the moon. She shines like the stars and I cannot be drawn away from her. Like a moth to a flame, I am unable to look away."
I was stunned at his admission to my father. Ezio was a romantic but he had never spoken so sweetly before. It made my heart soar in happiness at his words and I bounded down the stairs with a large grin on my face. Ezio and Mario looked up at me as I came down and I walked past my father to throw my arms around Ezio's neck. I planted a kiss on his lips before hugging him close to me. I looked at my father while I was hugging Ezio to me and I could feel Ezio looking toward him, too. We were both silently asking his permission and I drew myself away from Ezio and stepped toward my father. I gathered his worn, scarred hands in my own and smiled at him. He looked at me closely with his one good eye, obviously trying to see if this was what I really wanted.
"Padre, I always thought that you would be the only man in my life that I would love unconditionally. I've learned a lot while I've been away from home. When I was taken by Borgia, I wondered if I would ever speak to any of you again. Although it pains me to admit this, while I did think of you, my thoughts mostly rested with Ezio and how I wished I would have given into my feelings and told him how much I cared. I won't let this chance get by me again. I love him - more than I ever thought possible." I looked at Ezio over my shoulder and saw that he was beaming at me happily. I looked back at my father with a hopeful smile.
After studying Ezio and I for a moment, his serious expression suddenly breaking out into a happy grin. "Well, you are both adults. Who am I to stop you?" I laughed and hugged him to me, squeezing him as he hugged me back. He gestured for Ezio to join and we all had a group hug. "When are you telling your mother and sister?" Mario asked after we separated. Ezio rubbed the back of his neck nervously and smiled before shrugging. Mario let out a booming laugh and clapped him on the back. "Go and see Bartolomeo and then you can think of telling them, si?"
Ezio gave him a relieved smile as he nodded and I got a renewed burst of enthusiasm at remembering that we were going to see my old mentor. I laced my fingers with Ezio's and tugged him toward the doorway. As much as I enjoyed spending time with Leonardo, I had a very old friend that I wanted to see and I wanted to get through our visit with him quickly. Once outside, I unlaced my fingers from his and took off at a run - looking back to challenge him to a race to Leonardo's. Ezio smirked before cutting down another path as I sprinted toward the artists home. I was feeling pretty confident and was sure that Ezio would arrive after me, considering the path he took cut down would take a little longer than the shortcut I knew.
Turning a corner, I grinned victoriously as I spied Leonaro's doorstep to be empty. I knocked on the door twice before walking in. I threw off my hood once I was fully in and gaped to see Ezio standing near Leonardo already. "How did you get here so fast?" I questioned as I came to his side and he smirked at me.
"I have my secrets, cara."
Looking around the cluttered room, I noticed that Leonardo was packing things away into various chests and boxes. "Where are you headed now, Leo?" I asked, zigzagging my way through the packed boxes. I picked up a book Leonardo was reaching for and handed it to him, smiling back at him as he grinned at me.
"Back to Milan!" Leonardo exclaimed as he closed up the full box. He leaned on it towards me. "I'm quite excited to return. I enjoyed the place immensely." Ezio asked why he did not inform us sooner and Leonardo smiled as he flitted to another side of the room, gathering more things. "I sent my assistant with a message for you both but you were mysteriously missing from the guild." Leonardo looked back at us both with a knowing grin and his light blue eyes twinkled, giving away that he knew exactly where we were. I blushed and Ezio grinned. Leonardo put a hand on his hip and leveled his laughing gaze on us. "I assume that you have both patched things up, si?" Leonardo's eyes zeroed on a stack of papers and he groaned before picking them up and shuffling through them.
"You could say that." Ezio replied with a grin, winking over at me.
"What he means to say, Leonardo," I said, nudging Ezio with my elbow playfully, "Is that he and I are going to be married." Leonardo jerked his head up to us and dropped the papers to the ground. Clearly, the genius man did not see this one coming. He let out a very unmanly squeal and rushed over to us both, wrapping us in a joyful hug.
"How wonderful!" Leonardo exclaimed as he squeezed the life out of both of us. After releasing us from his death grip, he started bouncing excitedly on his heels and began speaking so fast that I had trouble understanding him. "Non pensavo che avrei mai visto il giorno! Perhaps I should cancel my trip to Milan. When is the wedding? Where are you going to have it? What kind of dress will you be wearing, Aria? Or will you wear your robes. I think that would be fitting, considering everything. Maybe I could bring you some of those fabulous shoes from Milan. I -"
"Leonardo!" I interrupted and grabbed his shoulders. I wanted to shake him but I resisted the urge. He paused from his rampant question and beamed at me happily. I think he was more excited about this than Ezio and I combined. "The wedding will not be held until we are back home in Monteriggioni so you have plenty of time for your trip. We both decided that it would be best to wait, taking into consideration how busy we both are."
I removed my hands from his shoulders as he nodded his head hard. Ezio wrapped an arm around my shoulder and smiled down at me as Leonardo replied, "Though I do wish it could be sooner, I am quite relieved to hear that. I will need to get you both presents. Plus, I would really hate to miss my two dearest friends wedding to each other!"
"I would hate for you to miss it, as well." Ezio replied and Leonardo smiled boyishly at him. Ezio hastened to continue so Leonardo wouldn't go off on another rant about our good news, "I am glad I caught you before you left. Look, I have another Codex page!"
Leonardo lit up for the second time that day and carefully took the rolled up page from Ezio. "Excellent. I am always so interested in seeing these pages." He moved away from his chests of possessions and called for his assistant to continue packing on his own. We all stood there and watched the young man pack some things before Leonardo burst into movement and went to his work table. For the first time I had ever seen, the table was clear and Leonardo laid the Codex page down gently.
"So, amigo. What are you going to do in Milan this time?" Ezio asked as Leonardo began to unroll the scroll slowly, taking great care so it would not rip.
"Lodovico Sforza made me an offer I couldn't refuse." Leonardo replied vaguely as he fully opened the scroll and began to scan over it.
"I thought you had a contract with the Venetian Navy." I said and Leonardo looked up at me. He nodded and said,
"I did but sadly enough, the Navy had to cancel their orders. They simply did not have enough money to support the new projects. Apparently the last Doge ran through most of it on fireworks from China." Leonardo shook his head at the thought; it obviously annoyed him. "I could have done fireworks for him, no need to have gone to all the expense of sending off to China for them. Never mind that. Venezia is still at peace with the Turks and they've told me I'm welcome to come back - in fact, I think they'd like me to. Meanwhile I'm leaving my assistants behind with a few basic designs to get them started. As for the Conte, he's happy with his family portraits - though, personally, I think they would do with more work." Leonardo grinned sheepishly as he realized that he had let his thoughts wonder too far. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes. The Codex."
"Promise you'll let me know when you return here." Ezio said as Leonardo's eyes flickered over the page quickly. He smiled at the page but I knew it was toward Ezio's words.
"I promise, my friend. And you - keep me posted on your movements if you can."
"I will."
"I thought it was an earlier draft of the other page but I wanted you to check over it to be sure." I said and Leonardo nodded, acknowledging my words.
"I agree, Aria. It does appear to be an early draft of the double-bladed knife that went with your metal guard bracer. I assume that the rest can only be significant in connection with the other pages - look, there are more map-like markings and some kind of picture that puts me in mind of those complex knot-patterns I used to doodle when I had any time to think for myself." Leonardo carefully rolled the scroll back up and passed it back to Ezio, who tucked it away in a safe spot in his robes. "I would put it in a safe place, with the other pages I looked over." Ezio and I nodded and Ezio withdrew the scroll again and asked Leonardo if he would mind sending it over to the guild; to my father since we had somewhere we needed to be.
I gave Leonardo a long hug as we began to leave. I wasn't sure if I was going to see him before he left for Milan so I wished him a safe trip. Ezio shook his hand before pulling the smaller man into a bear hug. "Thank you for everything. You are a good friend, Leo."
"I certainly hope so, Ezio." Leonardo replied with a smile after stepping away from him. "I used to think that you could do with someone truly looking out for you. I'm glad you and Aria have decided to come together. Took you both long enough." We each laughed and joked a little longer before Leonardo grew serious. "I wish you both well in your work. I hope one day you will be able to bring it to a conclusion, and find rest."
"So do I, Leo. So do I." Ezio replied as he left Leonardo standing on his doorstep.
The fastest way to reach San Pietro from Leonaro's workshop was by taking a ferry or hiring a boat from the Fondamenta Nuova and sailing east from the north shores of the city. Ezio and I considered taking his own boat but after asking around, we found that horrible fighting had been taking place on the island all afternoon and we decided that we didn't want his new boat to be in the line of fire. Every ship swore off going to the island today, in the same fear that we had but we convinced a sailor with a hefty amount of ducats to take us over and drop us off. We'd have to find another way to get back later. I had to admit, I was nervous for my old mentor after hearing some of the dockhands speaking of the horrors on the island. I was standing at the railing of the ship, looking over towards San Pietro as we finally cast off. Ezio approached me and squeezed my hand, reassuring me that Bartolomeo was all right. I had to agree; the man was tougher than steel. I wasn't sure why I was so worried about him.
As we drew closer to the San Pietro, Ezio pointed out the plumes of smoke rising from a burning tower. Looking beyond that, I saw more towers of smoke rising from a group of low brick buildings some distance south-east of the church. I recalled my fathers brief instructions of the location of his barracks and explained them to Ezio and we discussed how to get there while avoiding conflict. I doubted we could but Ezio was more optimistic. The boat docked at a extremely old dock and Ezio and I departed after giving the helpful sailor a little extra for the trouble. Not wasting any time, we ran toward the barracks.
As we grew closer to the plumes of smoke, we started to come across all sorts of dead bodies. Most wore a blazon of Silvio Barbarigo while others had one that I instantly recognized as Bartolomeo's. As we looked around, a soft groan came from beside me and I jumped away, turning to find that a sergeant, wearing a blazon of my old mentors, propped up against the wall. I kneeled by his side and looked over his wounds. I was more than positive that they were life threatening and to be honest, I wasn't quite sure how this man was still living. He must be in unbearable pain. Looking over, I saw a well and went to it and drew some water; checking to see if it had been tainted. Once I was satisfied, I called Ezio over to us while helping the man drink some water.
"Thank you." The man coughed out, sounding choked up but I didn't think it was from the water. I nodded and cleared some of the blood from his face and away from his mouth with a spare handkerchief I had had in my pocket
"What happened here?" Ezio gently asked the injured man. The man jumped at the sound of his voice and turned his head toward Ezio quickly before relaxing again. I assumed that he thought I was alone.
"It was a surprise attack," the sergeant confirmed weakly, looking around at all the dead bodies with a dull look. He looked down at his chest and saw the gaping wound and sighed with some effort. He seemed to know that he was heading to the same place as his friends. Looking back at us, he continued, "Some whore of Bartolomeo's betrayed us." I shook my head. I had once told Bartolomeo that his fascination with whores would be the death of him one day. I guess I was right.
"Where have they gone now?" I urged. I could tell from the paleness of the mans skin that he did not have much time left to speak with us. I drew my dagger from my belt, ready to give him peace after he finished speaking. He watched the dagger and closed his eyes, accepting his fate.
"The Inquisitors men went back to the aresenal… They've… established a base there, just before the new Doge could take control." He coughed and blood seeped from his lips. "Took our captain prisoner… Carried him off with them. Funny… really, we were just planning to attack them the following day. Bartolomeo was waiting for… messengers from the city." Ezio and I looked at one another and I grimaced at the sergeants' words. Bartolomeo had been waiting for us before they had gotten attacked. I bit my lip and wished that we had found out sooner. Maybe we could have prevented this destruction from happening.
"Where are the rest of your men now?" Ezio asked since silence had struck me suddenly. The sergeant tried to look around but was too pained to do so.
"Those that were not killed or taken scattered… tried to save themselves. They'll be lying low in Venezia and on the islands in the lagoon. They'll need… someone to unite behind. The captain."
"And they've taken him prisoner?" I asked, hoping that Bartolomeo wasn't dead yet and there was a chance to save him. The sergeants eyes darted toward me and he nodded slowly before his eyes rolled up in his head as he began to cough. He opened his mouth as if to speak and I pushed Ezio away, hard. I closed my eyes and turned my head as I pushed Ezio away and I felt a warm liquid spray across my skin that was uncovered. I groaned as I opened my eyes to see Ezio laying on the ground a few inches away from me with an expression of disgust. Looking around, I saw that the ground around me was drenched in blood and I was covered. I looked at the sergeant and saw that the man's eyes were staring sightlessly in the direction of the lagoon. I reach forward and closed his eyes. Ezio gave the man his last rites.
I stood and ran to the well, using the bucket I had already brought up to rinse myself face before I ripped off my robe and used the unsoiled inside to clean the blood from my body and face before I let it fall to the ground. I grabbed the bucket as I bent over and poured the water all through my hair and rubbed out the blood. When I flipped my hair back and straightened up, I saw Ezio leaning on the side of the well.
"You know," He began as he looked over the sparse clothes I wore under my robes. He had bought me a very tight, white shirt that went between my breasts in a v shape as a undershirt. My bruises from him were very visible. I hadn't care before since I didn't think I would be taking off my robes in public. Where the water had hit, it was see through and his eyes were barely able to look away. I was glad I decided to wrap my breasts today. Sometimes I choose not to because it was vaguely uncomfortable. "If you weren't covered in blood, that would have been so sexy."
I smiled at his attempt for lighting the mood and nudged the ruined robes with my boot. "Sorry about the robes."
Ezio smirked and replied, "I don't know… I think I prefer this."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course you would." I looked back toward the direction of the arsenal. "We should get going. Who knows how long Bartolomeo has left." I grabbed my belt that held my swords and refastened it around my waist. Looking down at myself. I realized how silly I must have looked with my sword belt riding low on my hips and a sleeveless shirt but guard bracers on my forearms.
I smirked at Ezio, who didn't notice before taking off at a run toward the arsenal. I stopped when I came to a wooden bridge that connected San Pietro to Castello. With the way I was dressed and Ezio following me at a quick pace, people were giving me strange looks but otherwise did not get in our way. They went about their normal business as if a local war had not just occurred. I supposed business had to continue no matter what. I stopped once we had arrived at the Arsenal and Ezio stopped by my side and we looked up at the fortress. The Arsenal was surrounded by high brick fortified walls and I could see men patrolling the walls. Ezio and I passed the main gate, looking for another entrance. We came to a heavy door with a wicker gate built into it and we waited to see if anyone was around and observed that this entrance was used by guards changing shifts.
Ezio and I were annoyed but we waited another four hours for the next shift change. It was sweltering in the heat of late afternoon. I could tell Ezio was sweating and I smirked at him, feeling quite cool without the heaviness of my robes. We both watched as the relief soldiers marched out of the gates, leaving only one to guard the gate. Ezio sprinted forward then and slit the mans throat when he wasn't looking and we slipped inside easily. Once inside, it was extremely easy to move throughout the Arsenal between the buildings and the shadows of the late afternoon. We found a group of guards around a hanging iron cage. I nudged Ezio and pointed as I noticed the cages inhabitant. Bartolomeo stood there with a sneer on his scarred face and he was as huge as I remembered him. A bear of a man at six foot eight and ten years my senior. It was good to see that he was still with us. Bartolomeo was shaking the cages bars and causing a ruckus, as expected from him.
"Luridi codardi!" He shouted at one of the guards as the man dipped a sponge in a small tub of vinegar and pushed it up to Bartolomeo in hopes that he would think it was water. Bartolomeo spat on the men below him and bellowed, "I'll take you all on! At the same time! With one arm - no, both arms - tied behind my back! I'll fucking eat you alive!" He began laughing manically and I smiled over at Ezio, who was watching with a grin.
"That's our man."
"He is certainly… spirited."
I laughed quietly, agreeing with Ezio, "Oh, yes. He is definitely that. We need to move soon. The on-duty patrol will be passing through this way soon." I whispered to Ezio and he nodded, listening to Bartolomeo curse the guards intently.
"That's right, you fuckers!" Bartolomeo yelled, his voice thick with rage. "I swear, once I'm free of this cage I'm going to make it my mission to sever each and every one of your fucking heads and shove them up your fucking girlie arses! And I'll mix and match the heads too, because you little tykes clearly don't know your heads from your arses anyway!" I laughed at that one and signaled Ezio forward and watched as he sprinted to the cage, covering the distance in a matter of seconds. He hit five men with his poison dagger before drawing his sword and began to fight the last five. Bartolomeo watched, surprised and his mouth wide open. I watched one of the guards creep around behind Ezio as he fought another off. I sprinted from my hiding place and jumped on the mans back and twisted his neck until he collapsed beneath me. Ezio, who had just finished off the other guard, turned to me and helped me to my feet - thanking me with a kiss.
I looked up to Bartolomeo, who was beaming down at me. "And just what the fuck do we have here?" He said, laughing loudly. "Is that little Aria I see?"
"Fuck you, Bartolomeo. You know it's me." I replied with a grin as I grabbed a pike and jammed it into the padlock on the cage, hard. I twisted and the padlock fell off and I asked, "Can you jump from there?"
"Are you kidding me? I can jump like a fucking flea!" Bartolomeo said though he looked nervous despite his words and braced himself against the open cage door before he threw himself forward. He landed with a thud but rolled to keep the breath from being knocked out of him. Ezio tried to help him up - I didn't bother to, knowing how Bartolomeo was. The big man shook Ezio off proudly.
"I'm all right, boy. I'm just not used to doing fucking circus tricks." I laughed and he grinned and stretched out, loosening his muscles from being in that cage for so long.
"No bones broken, then?" Ezio teased and Bartolomeo snorted but he looked amused as well. I knew from right there that they would get along just fine.
"Fuck you, whoever you are." Bartolomeo replied, though it was in good humor.
"Bart, this is my fidanzato Ezio Auditore da Firenze." I said, introducing the two men formally.
"Damn, Aria - I knew you were fucked up, but your own blood. That's messed up.
"Shut the hell up, old man. You know I'm not Auditore by blood. In fact, I am a d'Este." I said and looked away from the two men haughtily. I was trying to fight the smile off my face but failed miserably.
"Hot damn. I didn't know I was in the presence of a Duchess." Bartolomeo laughed. "Makes sense - seeing how you always seem like you got a stick up your ass."
I punched him in the arm and we all laughed but were abruptly cut off when the alarms began to blare around us. Ezio groaned and readied his sword but I put a hand on it and winked at him. As the other patrols emerged, Bartolomeo let out a war cry and barreled toward them, unarmed. Ezio chortled and raised his sword and I copied his stance and we joined Bartolomeo in fighting our way out. We were outside the gate quickly and the guards rushed past our hiding spot in pursuit of us. Once they were out of earshot, we all took a deep breath and started heading towards Bartolomeo's headquarters on San Pietro. "I hope my little Bianca is safe." Bart said, hastening his steps, causing Ezio and I to jog just to keep up with his long strides.
"You still have her after all this time?" I asked, laughing and thinking of the large greatsword. I couldn't even lift the thing.
"Of course I do! The most reliable of her sex." I stared at him with a semi-serious expression and he chuckled, patting me on the back. "Other than you, Duchess."
"Damn right, Bart." I answered, smiling over at Ezio, who looked a little bewildered at our conversation. He would get used to Bartolomeo after a little while around him. I found him to be quite hilarious now but in the beginning I was appalled by his manners, or lack thereof.
We made two diversions to Riva San Basio and the Corte Nuova to alert Bartolomeo's agents and to send for his scattered forces. Afterwards, we headed back to Bart's encampment to find that some of his soldiers had arrived and were beginning to bury the dead. All of them cheered at the sight of their leader but Bartolomeo hardly noticed and ran throughout the encampment, mournfully yelling, "Bianca!"
"Whoever this Bianca is; she must be very important to him." Ezio said to me as we watched Bartolomeo run all over the camp.
"Oh, she certainly is." I replied, laughing and I could tell Ezio was confused as to why I was laughing. I couldn't wait to see what Ezio's reaction was when he saw that Bianca was a sword. I remembered when I first found out it was a sword - I had been so surprised because he spoke of this Bianca so reverently that I was sure it was a woman. Suddenly, a cry of triumph came from a corner of the camp and we both made our way to it, seeing Bartolomeo cradling a sword in his arms.
"You're serious?" Ezio murmured quietly as Bartolomeo spoke to Bianca and I nodded, grinning at the sight.
Bartolomeo noticed us there and smiled up at us happily. "Bianca! You remember Aria? Also, meet… Er, what's your name again?"
"Ezio."
"Of course." Bartolomeo still cradling Bianca, smiled at us both before leading us to his tent. Once inside, he began to polish his beloved sword to perfection. Ezio and I grabbed the overturned wood chairs, put them upright and sat down in front of Bart.
"I just got word of you being here today. I'm sorry we did not arrive sooner. If only -"
"Bah." Bartolomeo interrupted with a snort. He pointed Bianca at me. "I don't want to hear it, girl. You came when you came. No changing that." He called for his new sergeant and the man entered in a hurry. "How many survivors?"
"Thirteen, sir. That's including you, me and our two guests here."
Bartolomeo waved Bianca at him, "You mean fourteen!"
"Of course, sir." The sergeant replied with a wary smile. The man looked exhausted but night was just beginning to fall and we had much more to do.
"We're up against two hundred men. How many of yours were taken prisoner?" Ezio asked Bartolomeo.
"Pretty much all of them that weren't killed or the ten that escaped."
"Merda…" I mumbled and thought of what we could do. I looked to Ezio, who appeared to be deep in thought as well. "Ezio," I said and he turned toward me expectantly. "I'd like for you to go and release the others while Bartolomeo and I finish the burials and start planning our next move. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course." He replied and stood, leaning down to kiss me lightly before spinning on his heel and walking out of the tent.
"Are you sure he can do it?" Bartolomeo asked, looking skeptical. "I mean, he was pretty awe-inspiring taking out those nine men around my cage by himself but can he handle this?"
"I wouldn't have sent him if I didn't think he could do it." I answered, looking deep into Bartolomeo's dark brown eyes. "I love him and I would never put him into a position where he could fail."
"Well, I will not argue with you." Bartolomeo said, sitting back and pulling a pipe out of his desk. He stuffed tobacco into it and lit it before puffing on it and smiling at me. He blew the smoke out towards my face as he said, "I already know how fucking impossible it is to win."
"Good choice." I said with a laugh as he passed the pipe to me. I puffed on it and coughed the smoke out, having not smoked since I had saw him last. He called me a pussy but I ignored it, knowing that he was just teasing me. My head buzzed from the smokes effect and I smiled at Bartolomeo from across the tent. "Come on, old man. Let's catch up. I would say I missed you but I didn't."
"Little bitch." Bartolomeo replied good-naturedly and smirked over at me.
Bartolomeo and I were filling up the last grave and teasing one another when Ezio reappeared in a large group of mercenaries. Bartolomeo and his men reunited joyously and cheered to one another, clapping each other on the back and greeting their leader. I approached Ezio and hugged him, glad he was back with me. I was beginning to speak but Bartolomeo interrupted me.
"Welcome back, you son of a bitch. I should have never doubted you, especially when Aria thinks so highly of you." He took Ezio's hands in his own, shook them furiously and continued, "You are indeed the mightiest of allies. Because of you my army is restored and we will make Silvio see how massive of a mistake he has made!" His army cheered behind him and Ezio smiled at the positive comments.
"So, what do we do next? A direct assault on the Arsenal?" asked Ezio after the small army grew a little more quiet and talked amongst themselves.
I shook my head. Bartolomeo had that thought earlier but I immediately discounted it. Men always tried to take things head on but this required a little more secrecy and finesse, considering the amount of our troops verses the amount of soldiers in the Arsenal. I said, "No, a head-on assault would mean we would be massacred at the gates. Bartolomeo thinks we should plant his men throughout the district and get them to cause enough trouble to draw most of Silvio's troops out of the fortress."
Ezio caught on to my train of thought instantly, "So, if the Arsenal is empty -"
"Then we can take it with a small team of men." Bartolomeo answered, beaming at Ezio, obviously impressed that he caught on so quickly when he, himself, did not. I was also quite proud and impressed that Ezio had understood. He really was growing up to be a fine Assassin.
"You think he will take the bait?" Ezio asked and Bartolomeo laughed loudly at that. Some of his men laughed with him even though they hadn't been listening; they were simply happy to be free of the Arsenal. The men that were already here had gathered enough food and ale for the men before we headed back to the Arsenal to take it back and the mercenaries flocked to the food quickly.
"He's an Inquisitor. He knows how to bully people who are already at his mercy. He's not a soldier - not a commander. He will react how we expect." Bartolomeo said as his men dispersed and headed to the food.
"Bartolomeo, after they finish eating, go send out the groups of men to start stirring up trouble and then us and five of your best men will head to the Arsenal." I said and Bartolomeo snorted at me with a raised brow.
"I thought I was the damn commander around here."
"Just fucking do it." I answered with a smirk and we all laughed together before Bartolomeo left to prepare his men. Ezio and I checked our weapons and he whined about the large tunic I had borrowed from Bartolomeo, saying that I was much too covered now.
Ezio grew serious after I asked him how freeing them men from the Arsenal had went, "I saw Dante Moro at the Arsenal. He allowed me to leave without a fight."
I nodded, surprised at that. It didn't seem like something that a Templar would do. "I wonder what his motives were for that."
He shrugged and we walked over to get a snack for ourselves before it was all gone. He continued on as we passed through the mercenaries and secured a meal, "Not sure but he said if I came back that he would not give up without a fight."
"As expected." I answered. I grabbed Ezio's shoulder and squeezed it gently. He looked down at me with a loaf of bread sticking out of his mouth and I smiled. "Don't worry about him. If worse comes to worse, one of us will hold him off while we finish off Silvio." He nodded and I explained the plan to him as Bartolomeo began to send out groups of his men to begin tormenting the town surrounding the Arsenal.
The camp was deserted, except for the five men, Bartolomeo, Ezio and I. Bartolomeo's elite men were dressed in a pitch black leather and held climbing gear in their hands. They were to scale the walls of the fortress while Ezio, Bartolomeo and I entered through the gate we had used to escape after freeing the prisoners. We entered once our men had made it to the top and contained the small force of enemies that had been left behind in the wake of all the trouble happening in the town outside the gates. With all the guards within the Arsenal distracted, we made it to Silvio and Dante quickly. The latter was wearing iron knuckles and swinging a massive chain-mace around to keep us at a distance. Bartolomeo and I held him off and kept him as far from Ezio as we could. Ezio, himself, was aiming his small pistol toward the rampant - toward Silvio but his shot went wide and ricocheted off the brick walls, causing sparks to fly everywhere. The chain mace hit my side and knocked me off my feet, causing me to hit my head on the cold, stone ground before Bartolomeo got a hold of it and pulled it from Dante's grasp. Dante retreated and I got to my feet and limped after him, ignoring Bartolomeo's orders for me to fall back. I couldn't do that now - not with Silvio so close. I could see that this annoyed Bartolomeo by the way he was cussing me but I ignored him and he let it be, seeing that I could not be dissuaded from coming.
Dante Moro grabbed a iron cub with bent nails protruding from the top and begun to swing it at us both - mostly Bartolomeo because he was standing in front of me now. Unable to dodge quick enough, one of the nails tore into Bartolomeo's shoulder, causing the large man to howl out and curse the other man profusely. I struggled to listen to Silvio's words to Ezio but there was a ringing in my ears that I could not hear over. I fought back against Silvio's guards that had arrived with Bartolomeo's commandos on their heels and watched as Ezio fired again and Silvio staggered back but did not fall. Dante hit Bartolomeo with the iron club again and thumped him in the ribs hard with his iron knuckles. I knocked the large man away from Bartolomeo before he could take a fatal blow and the man scurried to the rampants and disappeared over the rampants walls with Silvio to the docks below. I left Bartolomeo behind after making sure he was not fatally wounded and sprinted after Ezio and the men we were after. As I made it to the top of the rampants, I saw Ezio leap from the shadows onto a boat docked and slice open Silvio's stomach with a quick, precise slash. I slid down the ladder, burning my hands through my gloves and falling towards the ground at the end. I hit the ground with a thud and groaned but pushed myself up to go to Ezio. As I drew near, I heard Dante say to him,
"I'm going to kill you anyway. You filthy assassin. You make me tired." Dante drew his sword and stepped toward Ezio menacingly but I was ready and had my pistol loaded and aimed on his head. He snarled and jumped toward Ezio but I fired and hit him on the neck, knocking him to the ground. Ezio stared at him and looked a me with a grateful smile before turning back to Silvio, speaking with the dying man.
I walked to Dante, who held a hand to his neck, trying unsuccessfully to stop the blood flow. As I leaned over him, his dark eyes met my own and he appeared confused. "You.." He croaked and I nodded solemnly. He laughed morbidly and blood bubbled from his lips. "I should have known… Assassin, Cyprus is their destination. Perhaps I can redeem my soul by telling you the truth. They want… They want…" But choking on his own blood, the large man passed on and I closed his eyes and gave him the last rights.
"What did he say?" I asked Ezio, nodding towards Silvio's dead body.
"Just that we were too late." Ezio answered, looking annoyed and he looked toward Dante and asked, "What about him?"
"He wanted to redeem his soul by telling us that their destination was Cyprus. But why there, I wonder?" There must have been something there of great importance. Perhaps it was a Piece of Eden. I shook my head - it was definitely a question for the Epirus bow when we returned to the main island of Venezia.
Ezio began to answer me when Bartolomeo's booming voice called out to us from the dock, "See you both didn't need my help, as usual."
"Naturally." I replied and Bartolomeo grinned, jumping over the gap from the dock to the boat with ease.
"We've taken the Arsenal back, amigos. Fucking Venezia is ours again."
"Agostino can rule it without further fear from Templars, I hope." I said and the other two nodded and our eyes were drawn to the black galley on the horizon. I pointed to it. "See that, Bart?" He nodded and I continued, "Dante said, with his dying breath, that it is going to Cyprus."
"To what end?"
"Questa e la domanda…" I replied quietly as the wind ripped through my hair, covering the horizon from my vision.
A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! I'm sorry for the delay on gettings this chapter out. I just started back at college and I've been writing little by little each week so I could get this out for you all! It's a pretty long chapter but I liked it and now I'm going to start working on the next but it may be a few weeks or more but it comes out. I'll try my best for you all! Also, Bartolomeo has to be my favorite character. He's just too hilarious, lol. Hope you all liked the newest chapter - leave me a review and let me know what you think! I love hearing from you all; it really makes my day to see an email title saying NEW REVIEW; lol. See you all next time.
Translations for this chapter:
E intelligente, bella donna! - You smart, beautiful woman!
Non pensavo che avrei mai visto il giorno - I did not think I would ever see the day.
Luridi codardi! - Filthy cowards!
Fidanzato - fiancé.
Questa e la domanda... - That's the question...
Thanks to everyone who followed, favorited and a special thanks to the FOURTEEN that reviewed last chapter. You guys are just too awesome.
Anne Elric - lol :P Yeah, it should be pretty obvious who the mystery assassin is. I hope xD
SabakuNoGaara426 - LOL, I love that part. Best show ever.
kaytianna - Aww, I'm glad you like it so far! Yeah, my AU isn't as AU as most are but it's going to be much more obvious as the story progresses.
SmileForMeNow0 - Haha, my big fat Italian wedding. That's a great movie and I do see the wedding going something like that xD we shall see.
CatsGoMoo - You may or may not be correct about a big storm coming to crash on their happiness. I tend to be a dramatic writer... who knows what will happen :3
t-t mira - Awwwww :D glad you thought it was awesome. Hope you like this one as well!
KiriKatana - I was mad about it, too and I was the one writing it! D:
Nerdman3000 - I've actually been thinking about this a lot... See there is going to be a lapse in time before Ezio and Aria make it back to Monteriggioni and I am planning a special insert and I will probably add Fiora Cavazza in around that time. Also Machiavelli and Lucrezia will be in this story but they will but in PART 2 aka brotherhood (Mach probably actually at the end of part 1.) Thanks for the ideas, I love them!
ibleedpink - :) thanks for reviewing!
Panthour - I wanted Aria to be more than just some girl in Ezio's life, watching as he does all these awesome things. I wanted her to have a profound affect on everything that Ezio does. :) I'm glad to see that you think I executed it well! Thanks for reviewing!
DonnieF - Thanks for the review! It made me super happy and I hope you like this chapter as well!
babeelove - I'm glad you like it! Thanks for the review, enjoy! :D
Seiraa - Awww, well I hope you like the newest chapter since it may be a little bit before the next one! Enjoy and thank you so much for the review!