Afterlife

part six

by Go-Go Spiders

"Ezio. Little brother, it's time to wake up."

The sunshine was shining directly into Ezio's eyes, but it still felt too early for his older brother to be dragging him out of his warm, comfortable bed. He was still exhausted even after a night of sleep - a deep, bone-weary soreness ran through every muscle, and he couldn't remember why. Half-asleep, his memories of the past few days were just out of reach.

Ezio groaned and rolled over onto his side, away from his brother. "Go away, Federico. Let me rest."

"Annetta has breakfast ready for you, Claudia, and Mother," said Federico. "You shouldn't keep them waiting."

"Then tell them to start without me," Ezio mumbled into his pillow.

There was an awkward pause from his older brother, and Ezio had almost contentedly drifted back to sleep when he heard Federico sigh. Instead of teasing his younger brother about his laziness, Federico only said, "Ezio, you need to get up."

Ezio began to feel a vague feeling of unease. It wasn't like Federico to pass up an opportunity to poke fun at him. Grumbling, he sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Something was wrong. He was in a strange room he didn't recognize, not his familiar bedroom at the Palazzo Auditore.

And when he looked at his brother, he could see through Federico to the dark blue curtains behind him.

Federico gave Ezio an almost sheepish smile. "I suppose I could try to tell them you want to sleep in, but I'm not sure what good it'd do, considering they can't see or hear me."

Ezio's memories came flooding back in a maelstrom of emotions – his father and brothers in prison, Uberto Alberti's betrayal, the hangings, Christina, Federico's ghost, seeking refuge at La Rosa Colta, Paola's lessons.

His father and brothers were dead because of Uberto Alberti.

As he pulled the bedcovers off, he wished he could forget again.

Paola let Ezio and Federico into Claudia and Maria's room, Ezio carrying a tray with three large cherry tarts, a small bottle of wine, and three empty glasses on it. With a sympathetic look, she quietly shut the door, leaving the Auditores alone.

While Ezio had walked up from the kitchen to the third floor, Federico told him of his visit to their sister's and mother's room last night and the conversation he'd had with Paola afterwards. As the three of them approached the unmarked door at the end of the hall, Ezio's stomach was yanking itself into knots – he wanted to see his mother and sister again, but knowing he would have to be the one to tell them what had happened to Giovanni, Federico and Petruccio made his feet feel like lead.

He would be taking that last spark of hope Claudia and his mother had that things could go back to the way they'd been before and grinding it into dust.

Claudia looked up from their mother's bed when she heard the door open. She had been carefully brushing out Maria's greying hair and her face brightened when she saw him. "Ezio!" She put the brush down and dashed to Ezio, who put the tray down on the desk just before Claudia threw her arms around her brother's neck tightly. "It's so good to see you!"

Ezio grinned at her, although the smile felt half-hearted to him. "Good morning, Claudia."

When Claudia let go of him, Ezio was surprised to see their mother standing behind his sister, her eyes and expression still flat. She embraced him demurely, not seeming to notice he was wearing his father's robes.

"Where have you been? I was worried," huffed Claudia. "And where are Father, Federico and Petruccio?"

Ezio and Federico shared a despondent look.

"You can't keep it from them forever," said Federico after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

Curious, Claudia glanced at where Ezio had looked, a crease appearing between her eyebrows when she saw nothing there. "A-are they all right? Annetta and her sister wouldn't let us leave this place, and nobody has told us anything about them since we got here." She made an effort to sound calm, but there was an edge of quavering nervousness running through her words as she spoke.

Her unanswered questions seemed to hang in the air between them.

Ezio's shoulders sagged. When he spoke, his voice was thick. "I'm sorry, Claudia. Something's...happened."

"What are you talking about?" Claudia's eyes widened in horror as the terrible realization began to dawn. She took a step back, away from Ezio. "No. No, you're not..."

Ezio looked down at her with sorrowful eyes. "Claudia..."

Claudia shook her head, pointedly not looking at Ezio. "No, they cannot be dead! I-I refuse to believe it," she said, even as tears began to fall. She covered her face with her hands and let out a choking sob.

Maria stood still, her face betraying no emotion, as if she had been turned to stone.

Ezio opened his arms and Claudia ran into his embrace, clutching at his doublet. Ezio held out one hand towards his mother and Federico. His brother took his hand and Ezio pulled him into the embrace as well. Federico looped his arms around Claudia and Ezio, squeezing them tightly.

Maria hadn't moved at all. The tears running silently down her face were the only signs she'd heard him.

"I'm so sorry, little one," Ezio said gently, rubbing Claudia's back soothingly.

"What happened to them, Ezio?" said Claudia through her tears. "How could they be dead?"

Ezio hesitated before answering her. "They were betrayed by a man Father thought he could trust."

"And this man is still alive?"

"Not for much longer," said Ezio, his voice low and dark.

"You still need a weapon you know how to use before you can take revenge on Alberti, little brother," said Federico.

Ezio glanced at Federico and rolled his eyes.

Claudia followed Ezio's eyes again and frowned. "Why do you keep looking in that spot, Ezio?" she asked, gesturing at where Federico was standing. Her hand waved through her oldest brother's chest. "There's nothing there."

"That feels strange," said Federico with a grimace, shifting away from Claudia's hand.

Ezio's eyes flicked over to Federico. "Um - " he began, then stopped. What could he say?

Federico gave him an odd half-smile. "Claudia's very observant."

"There! You did it again, just now!" said Claudia to Ezio accusingly. "What on Earth are you looking at?"

Ezio chewed his bottom lip for a moment and sighed. He couldn't keep Federico's ghost a secret from her, even if he had no way to prove to her he was telling the truth. "Claudia, do you remember my second sight? How I can see things most other people can't?"

Claudia's eyebrows furrowed together. "Yes," she said, clearly confused. "Mostly I remember Father being ecstatic you had such a 'rare gift.' Why?"

"I didn't know this until a few days ago, but my second sight lets me see the dead as well," said Ezio uneasily. "I'm looking at Federico."

For a moment, Claudia's face was frozen in surprise, until her mouth drooped into a doubtful scowl. "That is not at all funny, Ezio. How could you think of joking at a time like this?"

Ezio shifted on his feet self-consciously, aware of their mother's eyes staring at him. "It, ah, wasn't supposed to be a joke, little one."

"He's not lying, I'm right here," said Federico to Claudia. "Just slightly more...transparent than the last time you saw me."

"She doesn't have the sight," Ezio said. "She can't see you at all."

"Stop talking to people who aren't there!" Claudia said to Ezio, balling her hands into fists. She let out a noise of pure frustration. "Am I the only one in this family who hasn't lost their mind?"

An idea struck Federico as he looked at the vase of flowers on the desk. "Hold on, I'll prove it." He reached out for one of the white roses in the vase. Sliding his fingers underneath the petals, he let out a small huff of air and concentrated as hard as he could on the flower.

'Solid, it's solid, I can touch it...'

Federico's translucent fingers caught the white rose and he carefully lifted it out of the vase. The flower was much lighter and less dense than the apple he'd practiced on with Paola. He heard Claudia give a soft gasp – to her it must look like the rose was floating by itself in the air – as he turned around and offered her the rose. "For you, little sister," he said.

Claudia cautiously took the rose in trembling fingers. "What..." she said quietly. She stared at the rose, dumbfounded, and then at the spot in front of her. "Federico?" she said in a quiet voice.

Federico smiled down at his sister, even if she couldn't see it. Her eyes didn't quite meet his, but it felt surprisingly good to have Claudia finally aware of his presence. "Hello there, Claudia."

"Now that is a very good trick," asked Ezio, almost as surprised as his sister. "How did you learn to do that?"

Federico grinned. "Paola."

"Ah, I should've guessed."

Claudia glanced down at the rose. "So perhaps I might - might - be willing to believe your mysterious second sight allows you to see Federico's spirit," she said haltingly to Ezio. "Are Father and Petruccio here too?"

Ezio shook his head. "No, little one," he said gently, watching her face fall.

"But, how?" she asked.

"We're not sure either," said Ezio. He gestured towards the desk and the tray of food he'd brought up from the kitchen. "But I can tell you what we've been up to over breakfast."

And we're back. Hope everyone who celebrated it had a good Easter.