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Chapter 77

A sudden stillness had fallen over the courtyard as the three of them walked in. Ezio could tell that Rosa was searching for her voice, but it was Machiavelli who broke the silence first.

"Who is this?" he asked rather bluntly. His tone was not angry, but it was clear he was eager to get past the interruption.

"Rosa, what are you doing here?" Antonio asked. "Is everything alright?"

"N-NO!" she finally managed to reply to him. "What the hell is going on here? Where have you been? What have you been doing? Why is Ezio-"

"Please Rosa, one question at a time," Antonio told her, then turned to Ezio. "I take it you both have spoken about some of this already," he said to the latter.

Ezio nodded apprehensively.

"I suspected that would happen," Antonio said. "You should take care to be more discreet in the future, Ezio."

"I trust Rosa," Ezio asserted, trying to conceal his distaste for the thief's comment.

Antonio nodded. "As do I," he reminded Ezio, "and I don't blame you, but we must be wary of revealing our secrets even to our closest friends." He sighed. "Still, Rosa is an obvious exception to that rule. I just wish she and I could have had this conversation under different circumstances. Frankly, I was hoping we wouldn't have it at all. It is not an easy thing to explain."

"Antonio, if I may…" Mario started.

"Of course," Antonio bowed to him.

"Discretion is crucial to our work, I know, but little good has ever come of keeping this secret from those closest to us. It may put our loved ones in grave danger. You remember what happened to my brother Giovanni."

"That is an extreme circumstance," Antonio countered sternly. "How could any of us have known that was going to happen?"

"Precisely my point. Giovanni and his family were ill equipped for the danger when it did come. I don't expect anything like it to happen again soon, but keeping Rosa in the dark about this won't do either of you any good."

"She's not ready for all of this yet," Antonio insisted, taking a seat and placing his head in his hands to think.

"Were any of us?" Teodora chimed in. "Do you think Ezio has even come to terms with it yet?"

Ezio was a bit relieved to know that at least one of the Assassins sympathized with his misgivings, but Rosa was still irate.

'What the hell are you talking about?" she demanded, looking around the room before fixing her gaze on Antonio. "What are you not telling me? Stop talking about me as if I'm not here. I AM here!"

Antonio looked down as she yelled at him, and continued to look away from her as he replied.

"So you are," he said, letting out a deep breath before choosing his next words. "Rosa, it…it was my intention to someday invite you to join our order as well."

"To join…to WHAT?" Rosa was incredulous.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any to extend that invitation," Antonio looked up at her again.

Rosa stood silently in place for a moment. Ezio watched her eyes bounce from one Assassin to the next. Quite suddenly, her hands clenched into fists, and her face turned red with rage.

"Go to hell, figlio di puttana!" she hissed at him, then stormed off.

"Rosa!" Ezio reached out to stop her, but she pushed him aside and was out of sight in the next moment.

"Let her go," Antonio told Ezio, looking down once again. "Knowing Rosa, she will need some time to sort this out on her own."

"Knowing Rosa," Ezio retorted (no longer bothering to conceal his distaste), "you owe her a better explanation than that."

The thief nodded solemnly in agreement.