Chapter 24

"Excellent move my friend." Leonardo peered at the plainly painted chess board. "You certainly have a knack for this game!"

"It is quite simple once you understand your opponent. Learn how his mind works... then you can determine his every move." Alcina rolled her eyes at Ezio's overly confident statement. She never learned to play chess, nor did she care to, but there wasn't much else to occupy their time on the slow paced ship bound for Forli. She watched on in boredom as Leonardo and Ezio hunched over a wooden barrel topped with a chess board, faded by sun and salty air. Just from watching the two of them play for hours she gathered the basics, but found the game dull and pointless all the same. Ezio adjusted a piece across the board with a calculating gaze, then smiled at his decision.

"Hmmm..." Leonardo held his chin in his fingers. "Ah-ha!... wait... yes-no... isn't that... no-" Both Alcina and Ezio held in a chuckle at Leonardo's incoherent chatter. "Yes! That is my move! That means I have won... does it not?"

Leonardo's adversary sized up the pawns then slumped back in his seat. "It appears I have misjudged you amico. Shall we play again?"

"Another time perhaps, why not let the lady have a chance."

"Come vuoi allora, but I see no lady." Ezio smiled to his friend.

"Che cazzo," Alcina huffed, followed by a humored laugh from the chess table.

"What did I tell you Leonardo, not a lady in sight," he winked.

Leonardo patted Alcina on the shoulder affectionately and smiled, "His eyes differ from mine."

"Grazie Leonardo." He nodded respectfully before retreating below deck. "He has such a noble and kind heart," Alcina gleamed as the door closed behind him.

"Indeed he does," Ezio leisurely reset the black and white pieces across the board. "Who would have thought such a kind man would be gifted in the gruesome ways of designing weapons." He placed the remaining pieces over the empty spaces, organizing the trivial makeshift trinkets used to replace missing pawns; a thimble, a bronze coin, a pebble, and an old rusty bullet. "Care to join me?" he gestured to the vacant stool across from him.

"As long as you do not mind my masculine company."

He laughed, "It was all in fun bella." She rolled her eyes again, excusing his joke and positioned herself on the other side of the board. He eyed the familiar black riding pants and oversized silk shirt. "Why are you not wearing the dress from Paola?" She scoffed aloud as if he should already know the answer. "Too... extravagant I'm guessing?" he teased.

"Immensely," she said plainly. He picked up the swiveling thimble and moved it forward across the board. She stared at the faded paint of the black and white checkers, loosing herself in the design of the greenish wood as the rocking of the ship lulled her away into daydreams.

"Something wrong?" His voice startled her from her thoughts, not realizing her silence had given her away.

"What happens now Ezio?"

"Now? Now it is your turn. I moved the pawn, now you move."

"You know what I meant coglione!"

He grinned at her frustration, "Make your move."

"No. I'm tired of this game."

"You haven't even played for five minutes."

"I have been watching you all day." Ezio raised a brow at her comment and smirked at her growing blush. "I meant the game," she groaned.

"Of course," he flashed a handsome grin. "Am I irritating you cara?"

"I would think it quite obvious." she huffed.

"I only ask because I could not read your expression."

She scoffed, "You who can read your adversaries so easily?"

"Not you," his tone suddenly serious, his intense eyes making her swallow her words.

"What happened to your theory then?"

"Theory?"

Alcina folded her arms, impersonating him, "It is simple once you understand your opponent... learn how their mind works... then you can determine their every move."

Ezio chuckled, "I did say that didn't I?" she cocked a proud eyebrow in response. A whisper of salty wind stirred the sails and whipped her hair from her shoulders, snatching him in a quick moment of captivation, mesmerized by her beauty. She flattened the knotted mess at her shoulders, pulling him back to reality. "It's still your turn..." he muttered.

"What did you mean by 'not you'?"

"Another time," he waved the conversation away. "I can't play this game by myself now can I?" A stubborn moment of silence passed before he sighed in surrender. "I do not know what happens next Alcina. Whether it peace or war, we need to be prepared. I doubt the Templars are too pleased that they have lost the apple. The assassins made their move... now it is Rodrigo's turn," his eyes flared at the blanch pieces rising and falling to the rhythm of the ship, comparing them the war surrounding him, a war he appeared destined to partake in. She slid a pawn forward from her side of the board, humoring him with her cooperation. He smiled at his victory before thumbing one of his pieces forward. "Now it is my turn to ask the questions." She waited anxiously as he pondered, "Do you like flowers ragazza?" he smiled thoughtfully.

She burst into laughter before seeing he had been serious, "Of all the things you could ask me you wonder if I like flowers?"

"If you say no it only proves you are not a lady," he teased. She sighed and prepared to leave before he spoke again, "I'm sorry, no more jokes... I do not like upsetting you."

"On the contrary, you seem to enjoy it."

"Sometimes... but the moment has passed. I promise, no more jokes. Only truth."

She relaxed herself back onto the stool with a new found intrigue, "So is that truly your question?"

He shrugged one shoulder and smiled, "It is something I do not know about you, so yes."

She again gazed into the flowing pattern of stained wood and pondered an answer. "I never thought about it until now. The only flowers I know anything about are roses." When she looked up from the board she was surprised to see he was listening intently and appeared genuinely curious. After establishing that she wasn't boring him she continued, "My father would bring my mother white roses... she adored them. Sometimes he would wrap them in a ribbon and leave them for her to find around our home. It always made her happy," she clenched her jaw at the memory and shrugged away the emotion. "Those are the things I will always remember." She met his gaze again as his tender expression comforted her.

"It is your turn again," he smiled warmly, thankful for her honesty. She tightened her lips with humor as she mulled over ideas.

"Have you ever thought about going back to Firenze?" she slid another piece forward.

"Have you?" he replied.

"It is not your turn to ask." She waited for a response but she already knew the answer. The prolonged silence and somber look on his face was all the explanation she needed. If asked the same question, she would have responded in similar silence or with an immediate 'no'. As much as she missed the simple life of Florence, it's warmth, it's beautiful towering buildings, the city streets... there was no point in returning. Life would never be the same there as it had been in their memories... the moment had passed, and the roses were gone.

Ezio picked up another black piece and began to close the distance to the rusted bullet in her possession. "How did you escape from the dungeon you spoke of? I thought they would have at least been smart enough to disarm you."

"They did, those stronzos still have all my things," she snapped bitterly.

"I'm sure Leonardo would not mind making you another hidden blade. There is also a blacksmith and a tailor in my uncle's villa. I will see to it the man gives you a fair price."

"Va bene."

Ezio leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs and resting one boot over the other as he breathed in the salty air, "you're welcome." They looked at one another for a few moments, both appreciating the calming moments of relaxation. It was hard to believe all that had transpired during the past few years, how the crucial events seemed to keep piling up. "It couldn't all be chance." were the only words that passed through his mind.

"I want to show you something," she whispered. He raised a brow in curiosity as she wedged two fingers into her boot and slipped out the hidden dagger from it's leather confines. She carefully balanced it on the chess board between the pathetic opposing pawns. "It was my father's. He left it for me before he- before the soldiers came..."

"A handsome blade," he eyed the metal weapon reflecting brightly with a golden hue. The unique curved handle riddled with engraved linier details unlike any weapon he had seen. "Is it what you used before you left his study?"

She understood his meaning as she dwelled on the dagger's last victim. A searing migraine erupted at the thought of Rodolfo Salvatore gagging and bleeding on the wooden floor as his gory flesh glowed in the firelight. Every blood vessel in her body felt as if it were exploding as her mind swam in loops. "Yes," was all she could whisper.

"You should put it away, there may be thieves on board interested in such a treasure," he pushed it in her direction as he peered over his shoulder at the lounging crew. She nodded and tucked it away into her boot as the humming migraine dispersed.

They continued their friendly match, enjoying one another's company as they parried one another's movements across the board, trading competitive smirks. "You seem to have picked up the game rather well," he complimented, "but not well enough cara." He countered one of her knights and snatched it cleverly. She only became all the more determined as she pushed another piece forward. "So stubborn," he smiled. Although she had no real strategy, she was bent on putting her arrogant opponent in his place. "Is it my turn to interrogate yet?" he sighed.

"I should get another question, you didn't even answer my last one," she stated eagerly.

"Infatti, ask away belladonna."

She grazed her teeth over her lip before speaking, "What did you mean before when you said 'not you'?"

"I was wondering if you'd ask that," he mused. "It seems I have forgotten."

"Only truth," she accused.

He laughed even louder, "Why now do you choose to listen to me?" She sat patiently through the silence as he watched her behind mysterious eyes, slouching in his chair with his fingers against his temple. "You are different Alcina. There is something about you I cannot read. And I must say..." a mischievous half smile upturned his lips as he slowly leaned across the table dividing the two of them, his suave smile lingering and giving her chills, "...it entices me." Her cheeks suddenly began to burn with heat as her heart pounded wildly in her chest as he inched closer to her. She breathed in the smell of leather, metal, even a hint of gunpowder as well as her favorite masculine aroma of his inviting skin, all erupting her senses. "Even now, I am left guessing," he muttered. For a moment she was thankful he couldn't tell what she was thinking as he leaned back in his chair, leaving her almost dizzy in bewilderment. "And that bella is the only truth I know." A clever grin molded the contours of his face as she breathlessly followed his eyes to his open hand. The feverish heat flooded her face again, only not as a result of nerves, but of temper. She snatched the conquered queen from his possession and hurled it into the sea, refusing to let him have his victory. In a dizzy and humiliated huff she stormed below deck almost stumbling down the stairs as his laughter was still audible from her cabin.

...

translations:

amico- friend

Come vuoi allora- have it your way

Che cazzo- jerk

coglione- idiot

Infatti- indeed