Apparently I forgot to say this on here but because I missed last week and because i will be missing next week i am posting today to make up for it and i will post again Wednesday night to make up for next week.

Please enjoy the super angst of this chapter!

Chapter 9

The next morning was sunny and bright, though a bit chilly, however the cold did not bother Lovino at all. She took in a long breath of air, savoring the fresh smell last nights rain had left upon the earth. Turning her dark eyes down she fixed them on the figure that stood below her. "Come on up, the air is wonderful!"

"Really, Lovino?" Leonardo called back from the ground. He had been dragged from his bed by the enthusiastic assassin, claiming that she was fully healed and needed to do some exercise, so she was going to teach him to climb up walls. "A necessary skill for any assassin!" she had pronounced as she pulled him down stairs and out his front door. "I do not think this is safe..." he looked up at her with wide eyes.

"It is safe, I have only fallen like nine times!" she called back.

"Keep it down," he hissed up at her. "It is illegal to be in the roofs, not to mention that the sun has barely risen!"

"Come up here and I will have no need to shout," she sat down on the edge of the roof and pushed the hood of her white robes back.

With a sigh Leonardo awkwardly clambered on to the box next to the wall.

"That is it!" the young girl cheered him on, "Now grab on to that ledge with your fingers," she nodded as he did as he was told. "Good, now put your feet against the wall for support,"

The blond shakily placed his feet against the wall, praying to what ever powers there are above that he did not fall to his death.

"Next grab on to the top of the window, one hand at a time. Perfect! Move your feet up and reach up to the next ledge with your hands. Pretty simple. Just repeat that until you get to the top,"

Grumbling under his breath he repeated her instructions, giving a very unmanly squeak when one of his feet slipped. By the time he reached the top he was panting, and his arms where shaking. The artist gladly accepted Lovino's offered hand, sighing with relief as he was pulled over the side of the building. He really needed to get more exercise.

"See," Lovino smiled at him as she let go of his hand. "Not to bad,"

He just nodded in agreement as he tried to get his breath back, sitting on the roof away from the edge.

Breathing slowly he turned his eyes to Lovino and watcher her, as she stared out across the roofs of Venice, towards the slowly rising sun.

It accrued to him as he watched her that most people, when gazing off into the distance appear to be looking into the past, but Lovino's look was different. She was not looking into the past but out to some distant land. A place beyond Venice, beyond, Italy, perhaps a place beyond the earth its self. It was an expression so intense he found that he could not look away. This was what he wished he could paint.

His poetic thoughts where cut short by her voice.

"Rosetta told me that you where wondering why I want to help you with Ezio..." she did not turn toward him as she spoke. "I was in love once,"

"I know," He nodded. "Rosetta told me,"

"Never could trust her to keep a secret," Lovino shook her head looking a bit angry.

Sensing her mood he quickly moved to correct what he had said. "That is all she told me, I do not know your story,"

"Ah," her face relaxed and after a moment she smiled sadly. "I find it hard to believe that I was in love. Lovino, the strong, bold, loud, and egotistical assassin falling in love..." she scoffed.

The artist had to agree, but he kept it to himself.

"His name was Ludwig..."

"You do not need to tell me,"

She turned to him. "I want to."

Taken aback by the emotions in her eyes he nodded.

She turned back to the rising sun and after a moment began speaking, "He was my father's friend's son. They where from the Germanic states, and of course he was an assassin. We met when we where only seven, rather I was seven and he was nine. We where friends from that first meeting, he and Rosetta and I did everything together. We played hide and seek in the woods, and stole pies from the kitchen then giggled as we ate them on the roof. We spied on our fathers, though we never understood what they where talking about, we taught each other our languages. His Italian was terrible when we first met, and I new no Germanic words, now... I am almost fluent." she smiled a little. "He was so handsome, tall with blond hair and his eyes where the colour of a lake covered in ice. When he killed they lacked so much emotion it would make me shiver, but when he smiled they held so much warmth I felt like the sun was shining upon me."

Leonardo tried to imagine this man and found that he must have been quite handsome, he certainly would have made quite the impression with eyes like that. "When we where finally old enough to begin training to be assassins our fathers often trained us together. He was so strong he could pick up Rosetta and I at the same time!" she gave a little laugh. "One day, not sure exactly what day, I realized I was in love with him... I hated to be apart from him. I hoped that he was always thinking of me, for I was always thinking of him. The next time he and his father came to my families home I decided to tell him how I felt, as advised by Rosetta. He told me he loved someone else, a girl in his home land... that day I felt like my heart had been shattered. I never let him know. I acted like everything was fine, like his rejection had hardly scratched me at all. Between us nothing changed. Soon after that visit our fathers began sending the three of us out on missions to various places. We where a good team, I was the leader, calling the shots, Rosetta was the healer and the caution, and he was the strength and the strategy. Around a year ago we where sent to Rome, it was a simple mission, we here to get information from a known ally. However our ally had betrayed us to the Templars. It was a trap," she paused for a moment, taking in a long breath. "We-e became separated from Rosetta. One of the Templars came after me from behind. I would have died had he not protected me. But by protecting me he was stabbed by the sword meant for me. I dragged his injured body into the first safe building I could find and tried to stop the bleeding..." she tilted her head down. "He died right there in my arms... T-here was nothing I could do..."

Leonardo watched silently as tears fell from under her hood and landed on the roof below her.

After a long moment she sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes. "I know what it is to love, but not what it is to be loved,"