Assassin's Creed 1. Chapter 1

-1-

Rome, Italy – April 1501

The sound of a thrown knife's blade sticking into a wooden support beam of a scaffold echoed throughout the air and pierced the midnight silence. A woman dressed in a slightly tattered dark ruby gown dashed on the cold cobblestones while holding her dress up, breathing heavily as her dark brown wavy locks of hair waved in front of her face, the other remaining hair in a side braid. While keeping her face straight in the direction she was running towards, her glassy gray-green eyes darted to the side as much as she could go without having to move her head. She could tell the man was still running after her with haste even though he was about fifteen meters away, and her gut lurched.

"Gabriela!" shouted the man, running without difficulties. His pearl white tunic swayed over his dark brown chaps while he pursued her in the candlelit night on the streets of Rome, with his leather boots pitter-pattering on the cobblestones. He looked similar to Gabriela, in comparison to his dark brown curly hair that reached down halfway to his ear, and his eye shape that rather leaned towards a glossy gray iris. Strapped to his back, he had a blade the length of his entire arm, secured in a sheath as it swung back and forth.

The streets of Rome were nearly empty with the exception of the candlelight. Gabriela knew that she had nowhere to run at this point, and he was gradually catching up to her. The buildings towered over her and her pursuer, not leaving her much room to throw him off. She had to stick with the streets at this point.

_Not yet,_ she told herself, _this cannot be just yet…_

As soon as she spotted an alley, she sharply turned left around a corner to enter it. Gabriela looked for another alley she could use for another diversion. Two alleys on her right appeared. Skipping the first one, she bolted towards the second alley and continued running for a good fifty steps or so. She slowed her pace down and decided to look back behind her this time. He was nowhere to be found. A sigh of relief came from her chest as she slowed even more down while trying to attempt to muffle her panting.

_It should be safe for the time being,_ thought Gabriela, leaning her back against the wall as she was attempting to catch her breath.

"Gotcha, sis." The hiss came from around the corner as a knife emerged from the shadows to her left, thrusting downwards towards her left shoulderblade. The sound of her agonizing cry of pain echoed throughout the alley as the knife was pulled out from her shoulder, leaving a two-inch deep stab wound and blood splattering everywhere from her shoulder.

The maiden fell forward to her knees; the pain was unbearable. She glanced behind her while clenching her left shoulder. He walked around her to face Gabriela, with the bloodied dagger still in his left hand. A slightly quiet whistle came out of his mouth, causing the guards on the rooftops nearby to jump down and to join their summoner.

"O…Orazio," she gritted her teeth, "why…?"

"Dearest sister, you know too much." The serrated knife was twirled in his left hand a couple of times like a child's toy. He shook off the excess blood from his knife and sheathed it in his belt sheath. "Guards! Secure the entrance and exit to the alley. No one should be getting in…or out…this is strictly family business."

All four of the guards nodded. Half of them split towards the direction Gabriela came from, whereas the other half secured the direction that she should have continued in. Orazio withdrew his blade from his back and quickly examined it. "I was going to give you a chance, but you snapped back and thus made me retract the chances you would have had."

Her almond-like eyes stared at the top of the blade. The blood from her wound was soaking through the entire shoulder area of her dress, and the pain was nowhere near subsiding. But she wanted to stand strong. And so she did, with difficulty from her position. "And…and yet I don't see why you chose this path of corruption and betrayal."

Orazio frowned. "Gabriela, you clearly do not understand what joining the Templars mean. Joining sides with them signifies that the Merlo family would finally gain power and even more money. All of those years we spent with a barely decent amount of money as children…compare it to when I began working once mother and father died. How do you think I was able to get everything for us without trouble? I did not work any jobs like what you may have thought of. But…I envisioned that we would not be laughed at and ridiculed for being dirty Merlo's any longer after siding with the Templars."

"And yet Orazio…even if it meant killing our parents? Even…Valerio?" This blurted statement pained her to say, both physically and mentally.

"They knew too much and refused it all." He spat on the path to his right. "And you do as well, sister." He pointed his blade at her face, and with a quick stroke, he slashed at her right side of her body. The cut was clean, but not as severely deep as her shoulder wound; more blood spurted out of her side and the pain seared through her entire body. She fell back onto her knees again and her back hit the building's wall behind her. Her breathing became more labored, and it seemed like everything was fading away from her vision. "Thus, you share the same fate as them all."

_I spoke too soon...this seems to be the end of me. Please welcome me back, mother…father…Valerio. _Gabriela slowly closed her eyes and braced for the worst pain and even death, not even flinching or wincing one bit.

Before Orazio could raise his blade up all the way for momentum, a mysterious man in a white robe leapt from the rooftop of the building behind him, revealing a hidden blade at the peak of his jump. As the momentum took him downwards, he forcefully shoved the blade into his spine upon contact and knocked the wind out of Orazio, instantly killing him. Gabriela managed to open her eyes for a bit and saw the man giving her older brother his final rites.

"Requiescat in pace," murmured the Italian.

As he stood up, Gabriela made a sound as if she was gasping for air. _Wait…! _If he saved her and if he was truly who she believed he was, then she did not want to die yet…at least not without a proper token of gratitude.

The man turned around and faced the dying maiden. Her eyes were slightly glazed over, and her shoulder still oozed with some dark blood. There was a small pool of blood near the cut on her body on the ground as well.

"M…Messere…please…" she groaned with every last ounce of her strength.

He immediately picked her up and cradled Gabriela in his arms. After briefly examining her condition, he knew that the timeframe to save her life was shortening by each second that passed. Perhaps…perhaps if he were to take her back to his place, she would survive…

"Grazie…Assassino…"

Everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

-2-

The man in white robes looked at the two potential paths he could take to get to the hideout. Both of them were still guarded by the four guards, who were having some deep conversations with each other that made them ignorant to what had happened between the two siblings. He did not have any time to spare to debate between the two possible paths; time was running out for Gabriela.

Knowing that his hideout was in the direction that she had initially ran from, he fast walked towards the direction where Gabriela would have gone if she had not taken the time to catch her breath. With his free hand, he raised his arm and clenched his fist. And in moments, another man garbed in white robes with a hood concealing his head jumped off of the nearby rooftop in the same manner the savior had done. He used his hidden blade to deliver the final blow to one guard, and without hesitation or a moment to spare, the same blade punctured the other guard's abdomen, killing him swiftly and pulling the blade out.

"Grazie, Guido," said the man carrying the wounded Gabriela. He slightly bowed in return as the carrier had started picking up the pace and began to slightly jog towards the two corpses of the guards.

"Ezio, what has happened here?" asked Guido, beginning to slightly jog in unison. "I thought that the mission was to assassinate Orazio Merlo only while he was alone."

He sighed, continuing to lightly jog. "This signorina has somehow gotten herself involved in Orazio's mess. It seems that they are both siblings. If I had not done anything before…" Ezio examined her facial features. Her face was paler in comparison to earlier when he had found her.

"What makes you believe that she has gotten herself involved against Orazio? For all we know, she could be a Templar," replied Guido, his face expressing concern.

"As I was climbing across the rooftops," began Ezio, jogging up the stairs, "I heard a bit of their conversation through the alley. It seems that…she may be against the Templars."

...

_Rome, Italy – September 1484_

_"Orazio! Come climb this tree with me!" a young girl around the age of six bellowed from the thick trunk of a large tree. Her brown hair was wavy and slightly unkempt; she wore an orchid Renaissance gown and was barefooted. The pair of gray-green almond eyes gave off a warm glow towards the young boy, roughly the age of eleven, with thick, curly brown hair._

_"Coming, Gabriela!" replied Orazio in return. As he ran towards Gabriela, his exposed bare feet from his black chaps crunched against the soft grass, causing it to rustle. The sandy-colored tunic he wore hugged his body as the slightest breeze and the act of running itself caused it to hug against his body. Gabriela giggled and began to climb up the tree as soon as Orazio was in proximity._

_A woman carrying a basket of apples nearby observed them briefly with her almond gray eyes. "Careful, i miei figli!" she shouted, her long, light brown wavy hair softly flowing in the breeze. She walked towards the closest bench in her emerald gown, wrapped in a golden outer corset and set her apples down on it, just before sitting down._

_"We'll be fine, mother!" assured her son. A faint smile emerged from her lips. While sitting on the bench, she examined the pale orange sky. The sun was going to set in a few hours off in the distance; she had taken her children to the open space about a few blocks away from their home to enjoy the newly autumnal sunset._

_"Ciao, bella."_

_The siblings' mother flinched. She looked over her shoulder to find a man with straight dark brown hair tied in a ponytail and a scruffy, thick brown mustache. A heavy sigh of relief came from her chest._

_"Ah, mio dio, Giuliano!" she gasped, the two sharing a quick inverted kiss. "How has the plowing and sowing of the wheat seeds been, mio amore?"_

_He shook in head in sorrow and frowned. "It seems that our surplus of seeds have been very low compared to other seasons." Giuliano stroked his mustache. The navy in his farming clothing was slightly wearing off, and the belt around his clothing was tattered as well. His light brown chaps hugged his legs and were accompanied by the dark brown leather boots covering his feet. _

_He glanced over at the children, his frown slightly changing to a smile as he watched his daughter and son in happiness. But Giuliano's expression changed to the same frown as he looked back at his wife. "I fear that we may have a shortage and it may not be enough to provide for all of us until the next season. How many apples were you able to harvest, Amalia?"_

_"The apples we have harvested this season have not been as high as it normally is." She shifted her head and stared back at her two children as well, watching them play. A pause. "Perhaps…perhaps it may be time for—"_

_"You mustn't, Amalia!" barked Giuliano. "You mustn't go down the route of a low-life…a…a _whore_."_

_She sighed. "But…I do not want to see our children suffer, Giuliano. If our goods will not bring enough florins this season, then it must be done, to support not only our children, but us as well."_

_"I do not approve of this at all."_

_"Nor do I. But it will benefit our family in the long-term."_

_...  
_

Ezio and Guido continued to hurry down the cobblestone path to the hideout. Gabriela's wound had not only stained his hand with a blood-red imprint, but her side cut had also stained his assassin robes. They were so close to shelter, he did not want to see another innocent woman die in his arms…

_Please, hang in there,_ the thought echoed in Ezio's mind.

They had crossed the bridge over the river in the Centro district. There were only a few more blocks to go to reach the brotherhood safe area. Immediately, the master and the apprentice bolted off around a corner, and found one of the shops to be open. A large wooden sign with the word "DOTTORE" and a cross next to it hung from above the opening. Within the opening, a man dressed in a wax-covered black robe, accompanied with a black hat and a bird-like mask, stood on standby.

"Dottore! Dottore!" shouted Guido from the corner.

"Si, si, what can I do for—"

"This signora needs medical attention, ora!" interrupted Ezio. The doctor eyed the injured woman and immediately grabbed his medical supplies, blowing out the lit candle in the shop before jumping out of it.

"We must hurry to the hideout then," stated the doctor, following the two assassins to the entrance.


	3. Chapter 3

-3-

Upon approaching the hideout's door at the ground level, Guido ran up towards it and opened it, letting the master enter first along with the doctor. He then followed suit, closing the door shortly afterwards. Ezio walked down the stairs and into the large main room, quickly setting the wounded woman on the tiled floor next to the crimson velvet chair.

"Grazie Guido," said Ezio, as the doctor leaned down on Gabriela's left side to examine her wounds further. He pulled off the hood over his head. "You may retire for the night."

"Are you sure my services are no longer required, Ezio?" asked Guido. He nodded in reply.

"Do not fret about the situation." Ezio watched the doctor carefully, who pulled out some herbs and vials from his medicinal pouch. He joined him by sitting on the ground next to her head. "Please be sure to get some rest for tomorrow. I will send you out for a local mission as soon as possible. Adele will join you as well."

"Very well, then." Guido bowed a little before returning to his chambers to rest.

"Ezio," began the doctor, pulling out two small syringes from his medicinal bag after a good amount of rustling was heard, "I will need your assistance. The upper half of her gown needs to be cut. If it is left as it is, I may be unable to treat her properly."

"…Va bene," he replied with a very slight hesitation. The very thought of taking clothing off of a woman while she was not aware or awake seemed wrong, even if it was just not her entire clothing. But if he wanted to save her, it had to be done. "Perdonami, signora," mumbled Ezio. He summoned the hidden blade from his left vambrace, and using his right hand to guide and pick at the fabric, he carefully cut off a significant part of the velvet gown over Gabriela's left shoulder. The area from her left collar bone down to where Gabriela's corset began was completely exposed. He tossed the bloodied cloth off to the side for the time being and withdrew his hidden blade.

Ezio's eyes glanced over at her face. Her facial expression looked as though she was at peace or resting peacefully, but with the turn of events that had happened to her overnight, he thought otherwise. With this thought in mind, Ezio continued to cut away at the rest of the top of her gown, gradually exposing the wolf gray corset she wore underneath. He did not realize how slender she was for a woman of her stature, 5'1", until he removed the top half of her ruby dress. The fabric itself seemed to be a little thick, and hid her actual figure by fattening the perimeter of her entire body.

Attempting to not get distracted by her body, he shifted his focus back to exposing the second wound for the doctor. The slash wound on her right side was right below the corset, on her hip. The now-skirt was a little loose and easier to grab; within an instance, he unsheathed his left hidden blade once more and quickly cut a baseball-sized portion of fabric off, chucking it near the other sections of cut cloth.

"Bene," replied the doctor, uncapping a large vial of what seemed to be water. With the wounds exposed, he poured the majority of the contents into the stab wound, causing a flow of diluted blood to drain out from the wound. Using his other hand, he grabbed a clean white cloth from the medicinal bag and mopped up the drainage. As he poured the remaining clear liquid into the side wound, the wiping of the fluid was repeated.

He then injected the first syringe in one of the liquid vials he withdrew. With the syringe's plunger tip pushed all the way down in the barrel, he slowly pulled the plunger back up, gradually filling up the barrel with a clear ivory liquid. Setting the filled syringe down on the floor carefully, he repeated the process with the other empty syringe and the same vial of liquid. "This injection should help stop the bleeding from both wounds."

With the current syringe in the doctor's hand, he stuck the syringe in the shoulder wound directly, and slowly injected the treatment. After the first syringe was completely empty, the doctor pulled it out of her shoulder cleanly, and continued the process with the second syringe in the side cut.

…

_Rome, Italy – February 1491_

_Three candles forming a triangle bordered the center of the wooden table, accompanied by the crackling warm fire from the fireplace. Outside, the sky gave off an icy light sky blue glow, with a hint of sunset orange. There was no snow on the ground, but the air was frigid. The father and the daughter sat together, eating their meals quietly in the gradually dimming light. The two chairs, which were reserved for Gabriela's brother and mother, were empty._

_"Your mother should be home any minute from the Rosa in Fiore," stated Giuliano, after swallowing his bite and gulping down a large sip of milk._

_"Va bene," she replied, taking a small bite out of her beef. "But father, you don't know what Orazio has been doing lately, nor when he will return home?"_

_Her father shook his head. "Not at all. For the past couple of months, it has been the same routine over and over again. He just tells tua madre and I that he is going to the streets of Roma and will be out until late in the evenings—"_

_The door opened behind her father and the conversation came to a quick halt. A woman in a velvet sapphire hooded cloak entered the home, holding a purse-sized crimson velvet bag that rattled with what seemed to be change in her hand as she closed the door._

_"Welcome home, mother," said Gabriela, smiling._

_"Grazie, mia figlia," Amalia replied, putting her hood down and setting the bag of florins down on the table. She gave her husband a quick kiss on the forehead, and then proceeded to kiss her daughter in the same manner afterwards._

_Her father eyed the change sack that had shifted to its side on the dinner table. "Mia cara, how was your day and the money you were able to make?"_

_"25 florins," replied Amalia. "With the upcoming season and what seems to be a much larger surplus of seeds, for the season, I do not believe that I need to return to the Rosa in Fiore anymore soon." A soft grin wiped the weary expression on her face. Her husband and daughter's faces were beaming. Gabriela's thoughts stirred in her mind. She would not be teased by the other neighbors or anyone else she knew anymore for having a "_puttana_ of a mother"—the slang term that was used to describe her mother had a sense of sharpness to it, as if razorblades had rolled off the speaker's tongue and cut up at Gabriela's reputation._

_Her mother sat down at one of the empty chairs seated at the table. "That is more than good news to hear, mio amore," told her father. Nodding in response, Amalia glanced over at the fire in the fireplace. The crackling of the fire was beginning to die down, surrounded by black ashes of charred wood. Fuel for the fire in the fireplace began to run dry and could not keep up with its hunger for more._

_"The fire's about to die down," murmured her mother._

_"I suppose I could head into the market to purchase some firewood," suggested Gabriela, swallowing another bite. Her plate was nearly devoid of any food. "I also need to check up on the horses. Please mother, you need to eat dinner." Taking a final bite with the remaining amount of food on her plate, the fork dropped a couple of inches from her hand and onto the plate, clattering. She hastily stood up from her chair. With the cold night approaching, she grabbed her charcoal hooded cloak off from the cushioned bench in front of the fireplace._

_"Do not be out for too long, Gabriela," his father warned her sternly. "Please take the knife with you just in case. I do not want you to go out without any sort of defense with the night approaching."_

_A sear of pain in her side blocked the continuation of the memory. And then a flash occurred. A quick image of two corpses—one male and one female—appeared in a dimly candlelit room, soaking in a large dark puddle of blood with some blood splatters on their corpses. _

_…_

Ezio examined Gabriela's face for any sudden reactions. Her closed eyes winced a little from the last injection. His facial expression responded with a grimace, knowing that he could not do anything about the pain. The lock of her wavy hair was brushed away from her face with his finger. Watching the doctor finish the injection and pulling the second syringe out, a serene sigh of relief was exhaled from the assassin's chest. The color in Gabriela's face was coming back to what _seemed_ to be normal.

The doctor had put his two syringes to the side. He picked up the needle that sat on the floor near his bag. "Please bring me that candle from the desk over there," requested the doctor. Without hesitation, Ezio fetched the candle with the dancing flame and set it next to the doctor. Sitting back down, he watched the professional stick the needle in the flame for a few seconds, sterilizing it as the tip glowed bright orange within an instant.

The first thought that came to mind was the shoulder wound…it needed to be closed first. With the thread that sat on the floor, the doctor inserted the thread into the loophole of the needle with no problems, and immediately began stitching away at the shoulder.

"Will she feel the pain during the stitching of the wounds, dottore?" asked Ezio immediately. His faint golden-hazel eyes shifted to her face for any sudden expressions. "I saw her eyes faintly flinch with the injections."

The doctor continued his work without a say for a moment, a little too focused in his work. "The injection should have numbed her up a bit. She will not be able to feel a thing for a couple of hours."

Another sigh of relief came from Ezio. Being in any more pain was what she definitely needed. He watched him finish up the stitching of the shoulder and tying the thread up, securing the stitch. Breaking the excess thread off, the doctor grabbed it and secured it through the needle's loop again, starting to stitch up the second wound.

Moments passed, and the doctor had covered the wounds with honey for sterilization and herbs before bandaging Gabriela up once the stitchings were done. He began to pack up his belongings into his medicinal bag and stood up, not without handing Ezio some pearly-white strips.

"What's this?" he asked, completely ignorant as to what the doctor had supplied him.

"Extra bandages," he claimed in response. "Those bandages will need to be changed twice a day."

Ezio chuckled a little at his obliviousness. He placed the bandages on the luxurious-looking chair next to Gabriela. A wave of seriousness flushed throughout his entire body with this single, simple thought:

"Will she be okay, dottore?"

"Only time will tell, my friend," insisted the doctor, standing up and packing his belongings into his bag. "If she is strong-willed, she will pull through. This is what I sense in her." He paused for a moment, catching a glimpse over his shoulder at her. "Should you need anything, I will always be available at the shop."

"Grazie…dottore." Ezio replied, following him up the stairs. He escorted the doctor out of the hideout. And within an instance of the doctor leaving, the assassin immediately put his index and middle fingers from both of his hands onto his temples, massaging them firmly.

He just "met", or found Gabriela…on an assassination mission out of all instances—the assassination of her _brother_. Why was he concerned more than usual about a wounded woman?

Ezio shook his head in disbelief. Walking down the stairs back to the main room, he glanced over at Gabriela one more time. And yet, a faded smile had escaped from his lips as he stared at her. He walked over and approached her, disrobing his assassin robes, and gently placing them on top of her body for warmth. Moving her body to one of the empty chambers or even his _own_ chambers for his watch was not an option; she already had been moved enough as it is. Ezio believed that she was comfortable in her state, perhaps he should get cozy as well. He eyed the chair and placed the bandages on the floor before sitting in it with his body slouching partially, assuring himself that Gabriela would be fine one more time before closing his eyes.

And in a heartbeat, he fell asleep soundly in the chair.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I am SO sorry guys! I had just realized at this point that the math for Gabriela's age was not done right. The years in the italic sections have been changed in previous chapters, and that should be it. (For clarification, Gabriela is 23 in 1501.)**

-4-

_Darkness filled the room. The only thing that Gabriela was able to see was her body, robed in her intact ruby Renaissance gown. She took a few steps forward, with the entire place echoing the taps of her flats. Utter silence proceeded afterwards. All she could hear was hear breathing._

_"Brother?" called out Gabriela, wandering around as her desperate cry resonated. No answer._

_Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes slowly for a few seconds, recollecting her thoughts. _It's just a dream,_ she thought, reopening them in the same manner._

_And then she was back in her home. She stood in the kitchen area next to the fireplace, where she had always eaten her meals with the family—as a whole. As if nothing happened, even. The plates were still on the table just as she had seen them sit there before leaving for more firewood. In a panic, she groped around her body to see if she had her cloak on. No cloak, meaning no concealed dagger._

_With hesitation, she quietly tip-toed to the candlelit room. Gabriela leaned against the wall next to the door frame. And slowly, she craned her head to catch a glimpse of the room._

_A blood-curdling scream escaped her mouth as her eyes widened like no other, with her hands scrambling to cover her eyes and mouth all at the same time. She shook violently, falling to her knees in shock at the sight. Her parents were murdered and had been lying in a pool of their own blood, sprawled out all over the hardwood floor. An eerie stare from her father's dead eyes pierced Gabriela's soul as she sobbed and shook uncontrollably._

_She cupped her face in her hands, attempting to catch her breathing. A couple of minutes had passed and she had calmed down. _A dream,_ she assured herself again. Gabriela struggled to pry her hands and fingers off of her face, but she knew she had to continue progressing through the dream…she may as well get it over with now._

_Her face was now open and free after much struggling. A sunset off in the distance gave the meadow a citrus-like warm glow. An average-build man was sitting in the grass a couple of meters away from a thick tree, at the top of the hill. His back was facing towards her, but all she was able to make out was his clothing and his build. His brown-blonde hair went to what seemed to be the bottom of his chin, with some layers. A navy blue coat had covered his entire abdomen, and his right hand was positioned either to keep himself up, or what Gabriela had initially thought, as if he was waiting for someone to sit next to him…_

_"Valerio?" she choked. Was it really him?_

_He turned his head around over his shoulder to gaze over at his caller. The tenderness his soft hazel eyes had complimented his facial hair stubble on his chin. He stared at her for a moment, and that was when she knew it._

_It _was_ him._

_And within a moment, he faded away. The environment did as well, too. Gabriela exhaled in frustration and sadness. She closed her eyes once more for a brief moment, hoping to wake up from the dream. But as soon as she opened her eyes, she found herself back on the streets of Roma at night._

_A knife whizzed past her right shoulder and pierced the scaffold that stood only meters away from her. Looking over at her shoulder, she caught sight of her pursuer throwing his last throwing knife at her…her own brother._

_Time lapse. She found herself in the alley, catching her breath once more as she leaned against the building. A whisper stealthily came from the shadows behind her, holding up a dagger in an icepick grip. Stab._

_Time lapse. Cut. Now Gabriela was on the ground, still trying to catch her breath. Her brother stood in front of her and firmly gripped the metal blade in his hand, smirking as he stared into his little sister's eyes._

_"They knew too much and refused it all. And you do as well, sister. Thus, you share the same fate as them all."_

…

Gabriela's eyes flickered open as her body lurched up from the flat surface with a few heavy gasps of air. Her breathing slowed down to a regular pace as she continued to tell herself it was all a dream and nothing else of it. Both her head and her heart were pounding though, and her abdomen seemed to feel a little drafty. She struggled to sit up to examine where she was and to try and recall what had happened; the pain from her stitched wounds had made it difficult for her to move around. But her will allowed her to push through the pain and to sit up.

The thick topaz-colored blanket that had been covering her slipped down. Ezio's robes were no longer concealing and keeping her body warm. As soon as the realization that her gown was not a gown anymore, but a skirt, hit her, she pulled the sheet up to hide her close-to-naked body. Her corset was still on, thank goodness, but with the realization that she did not know where she was made her a little frightened. She was no longer in the main room of the hideout as well, but rather, in what seemed to be a bedroom. A bookshelf with a desk, accompanied by a chair at the desk in opposition of the room, took up most of the open space. Her body was cushioned by a queen-sized bed underneath her.

But then she remembered it all. What had happened between her and Orazio in her dream was not a dream. He had pursued after her through Rome in the Centro district. Gabriela could not accept the fact that he had turned into a corrupt Templar, and because she knew too much, he had to kill her.

Nonetheless, her brother was now dead—assassinated by one of the most wanted assassins in Rome, Ezio.

She then took the moment to look over at her left shoulder. It luckily did not hurt as she sat still on the bed. Her right hand trembled as Gabriela wanted to use her fingers to grope around the area to see what had been done. As her hand got closer to her shoulder, she pushed through and lightly touched the covered stab wound with a touch of her palm. Through the thin layers of linen wrapped around her shoulder, she felt around the bumps and what seemed to be similar to dashed lines and x's. _Stitches_, she thought. _The same has probably been done for my side wound…_

"Oh, you're awake, signora?" An all too familiar voice had broken the silence.

Gabriela shifted her attention to the man at the doorway. She did not realize that Ezio had opened the door quietly to check up on her. His hood was pulled down, revealing his worn-out face.

"Um…yes," blurted Gabriela, raising the covers above her shoulders in a nervous response. Ezio gently closed the door behind him. He slowly approached the bed and sat on the other end, making direct eye contact with her.

"Bene," answered Ezio. "How are you feeling? You have been asleep for the past few days."

"I-I'm still in some pain, but I feel o-okay…" she responded timidly.

"I am glad to hear that. I was a little afraid you would not be able to make it after what had happened," he admitted. "Madame, would you please tell me your name? I do not want to address you improperly."

"My n-name…is Gabriela Merlo."

The assassin chuckled, causing the bed to shake a bit. "There is no need to be nervous, Gabriela. I just want to know a few things." He shifted from his slouching, sitting position on the bed to a more straight posture, resulting in him inching closer to Gabriela. "What happened on that night? It seems that you are Orazio's sister, and you two had gotten into conflict."

A sigh came from her chest. "That night…I had found out that he was a Templar, secretly working under Cesare Borgia. I had trusted him for ten years…I _lived_ alone with him for ten years. He was the one responsible for my parents' deaths…and…more deaths that I was aware of, but could not make the connection. And he was right under my nose. I have never felt betrayed like this for my entire life. And it hurts." She choked as she had spoken the last few words. Ezio slowly reached out as if he wanted to comfort her. With no negative reaction provoking him from doing so, he placed his hand on her uninjured shoulder. The past few days with her being around, in just a corset and a ripped skirt, teased him; a simple touch of her shoulder stirred up those second thoughts.

"Mi dispiace, Gabriela," consoled Ezio. He got up from the bed and walked over to the door. "Once your wounds have recovered, I will be more than happy to escort you back to—"

"I want to become a part of the assassin brotherhood."

A pause of what seemed to be uncomfortable silence for Ezio stirred the air. He did not expect any response like that coming from an injured woman, let alone someone who was somewhat _affiliated_ with a Templar in their family. Specifically, he did not even want her to join the brotherhood because of the risks.

"Please," she urged, "I am capable of fighting when I can fully recover from these injuries. You have not been able to see my potential when I'm equipped with a dagger. I can dig up more information with my brother's notes that may benefit you and the brotherhood."

Another pause of silence had occurred. The assassin did not say anything for a brief moment but the following words as he turned around with a more positive look on his face:

"Let me see your potential once your wounds recover."

Gabriela's eyes locked onto Ezio's as a chortle escaped. He approached her very closely, and with no hesitation from both parties, he cupped her chin using his index finger. "You may stay in the hideout until then. But you will have your own chambers, as you are in mine."

Her face reddened immediately. Had they been technically sleeping together? Or rather, where was he sleeping while she took his bed for a few days?

Ezio grinned. "Do not worry about it, Gabriela. You may even move to the new chambers if you wish, starting tonight." The assassin pulled away from her with alacrity and walked towards the door.

"Grazie for everything, Ezio Auditore," she murmured from behind, while he swung the door open. A smirk escaped from his lips, closing it on his way out.


	5. Chapter 5

-5-

Rome, Italy – May 1501

"Ezio?"

The somewhat scruffy-looking assassin turned his head to the right from the bookcase in the main room, looking at his caller. Closing the book in his hand, he turned to Gabriela, who had looked rather…different. She had worn pale gray-ultramarine form-fitting clothing that had revealed more of her body, much to his surprise. It made her appear as if she was a peasant in some way, but the way her face appeared to him had stated otherwise.

"Are you feeling better and ready, Gabriela?" he asked. "I do not want to push you into doing this."

"Si," she replied, nodding. "I'm still feeling a little stiff because of my wounds, but I think I will be okay. If I may ask, what is the plan for today?"

Ezio placed the chocolate-bounded book back in its original location in the bookshelf. He then reached for his belt and groping around, he removed a blade from the belt along with its sheath, and handed it to Gabriela. As she took the dagger from his hands, the sheath was removed for examination of the blade; it was thin with a skinny triangular shape to it. With Gabriela's hand size, the grip of the dagger was perfect, and the dagger as a whole was a little longer than half of the length of her entire forearm.

"You will need that," stated Ezio, smiling, "considering how you have said you are proficient with daggers."

Gabriela's bowed her head slightly in respect, and inserted the dagger in her belt. As she looked back up, the two made eye contact. His eyes were rough but soft, and yet hers were overly soft.

"We are going to the northern part of the Centro District, near the docks. I have a target that needs to be assassinated, guarded by a couple of guards."

"A member of the Borgia order, I take it, Ezio?" she asked in curiosity, placing a hand on the dagger.

"Si, a Templar," he assured her.

_Perfect_, thought Gabriela. _This is exactly what I needed. With all of these emotions built up, I have a source to vent them all out._ As a few locks of her hair fell onto her face, she brushed them away and followed Ezio as he walked down the hallway.

"We will be using these underground tunnels to reach Piazza del Popolo with no detection," advised Ezio. "I have been gradually hiring architectures to renovate them for our use in missions." Reaching the entrance of the tunnel, he opened the gate and with a simple gestured, he allowed Gabriela to enter first.

"Grazie," she said, hopping in and climbing down the ladder. With a few steps left on the ladder, she hopped down, and the moment she had set foot into the tunnel, she could not believe her eyes. The architecture of the tunnels was delicately masked with bricks, and a flame from a lantern at the entrance had awaited them, next to a trough of sand and a pile of wooden sticks. The entire length of the tunnel was dark, but Gabriela truly knew that there were little branches that led to different exits that were hidden in the shadows.

Ezio grabbed a stick from the pile and held it up to the flame, waiting a few seconds before pulling away to create a large enough flame. "Seguire, per favore," he instructed.

"Ezio, these tunnels…they're astounding," blurted Gabriela in awe. A smirk from the corner of his lips emerged as the two began to walk together.

"Si, and I have yet to discover a handful more of them. There is room for expansion all over Roma."

A few minutes had passed, and not another word was spoken. The silence seemed to be a little awkward for Gabriela, although Ezio was used to it because of his duty for the past couple of centuries. They had taken two branches along the path down, with the flame in Ezio's torch burning brightly still. She followed closely behind him, not knowing what else to say or to ask him.

"Gabriela, how have you learned to defend yourself with a dagger?" probed Ezio out of the blue. An indistinct smile came from her lips, and yet a sense of surprise made her jump a bit. She did not expect a question like this.

"My father partook in fight clubs as a young teenager," began Gabriela. "He told me that he used to get bullied by some of the city's bullies because he was orphaned and was always caught stealing food or florins. Over time, he had learned how to spar and defend himself from the pursuers. Eventually, he taught himself how to use blades around the time he met my mother. Time passed, and when I was about ten and my brother was fifteen, he gave us some lessons to defend ourselves with our fists. He taught me how to wield a dagger while he taught Orazio how to wield a sword."

Another brief moment of silence occurred as her voice cracked when she had mentioned her older sibling's name. It had still hurt knowing that he had betrayed her and planned on killing her, and it was still a little difficult to realize that he was dead.

"Perdonami if I had prodded too much into your personal life," he apologized in return. "I did not mean to poke my head in sensitive subjects."

"No harm has been done Ezio," she said in a semi-cheery voice, trying to lighten the mood.

And yet another quick moment of silence had passed. But as soon as the silence ended, they could both see a ladder going up to the exit of the tunnel. Ezio approached the sand trough and stuck the torch into it, extinguishing the flame. This time, he had gone up the ladder first and opened the gate, with Gabriela following behind closely.

The gate was shut behind her. The two had examined the area. Piazza del Popolo was lively as many of the people had been strolling by or standing around with others. The sky was also bright blue, with a couple of large clouds in sight but nowhere near the luminous sun. The heat was also not too unbearable, but it was rather warm.

"This way," he murmured to Gabriela, his head craning slightly to his left. Nodding, she quickly followed him as they passed by a few buildings.

They were closely approaching the Tiber River, which had been bordering the Centro District. The sound of three men chattering near the edge of the water had caught Gabriela's attention as she tuned out, attempting to listen to what they had to say while she continued walking towards them. Ezio had hid behind the building, and as soon as he noticed that she was on the verge of blatantly exposing herself to the targets without realizing it, he grabbed her left wrist and pulled her back towards him. Being tossed around like a rag doll in shock, he placed his hand over her mouth to silence her while his body embraced hers from behind and a _shh_ crept from his mouth.

Two guards were arguing with another man, who was dressed in what seemed to be a belted black coat. A long sword was dangling from one of the belts, and a small blade had protruded out a little from his coat. His light brown hair was unkempt and his face looked somewhat worn out.

"What do you mean you were unable to track those two assassins down?!" shouted the man. The two guards looked at each other with worried looks on their faces.

"Raffaele, we—"

"But nothing!" interrupted Raffaele, his voice rising. "Tracking those two assassin apprentices of Ezio Auditore would have meant finding the assassino himself, and putting an end to this ordeal!"

Gabriela looked up and over her shoulder towards Ezio. He continued to stare at the three under the House of Borgia. "Kill the two guards and Raffaele," he muttered. "And if it starts to look bad, do not worry."

Nodding, she walked cautiously towards the direction of the trio. The two guards' backs were facing towards her while Raffaele was facing slightly away from her. Gabriela strolled by at a slow and careful pace as if she was going to go towards the docks. As soon as she realized they were not paying attention to her, she removed the dagger from her sheath in a grip as if she was holding an actual sword, and approached the guard closest to the river, jabbing the short blade through his back and puncturing it severely. Blood had spilled from his back, and with the guard's eyes widening and alerting the guards, she pulled it out of the dying guard, who had slumped to the ground with no cry whatsoever as his blood gushed out of his body.

"Omicida!" shouted the guard, as both he and Raffaele withdrew his sword in defense.

A surprised look mixed in with disgust was seen through Gabriela's facial expression. _Omicida? I was actually expecting assassina,_ she thought to herself, swinging the dagger in her hand like a pendulum and switching to an ice pick grip. As she stood in a stance to easily respond to any sudden movements, she gripped the blade close to her head and body for protection.

The first guard quickly drew his blade up to the height of his head, and immediately swung down for momentum at the damsel. In response, she immediately got down low and side stepped around his swinging area, leading her to his exposed backside. And without hesitation, she violently struck the blade into the guard's back twice, pulling it out the second time and letting the guard fall to the ground to join the now-dead guard. Blood splattered all over the cobblestones.

Right after, Gabriela shifted back into her defensive stance, with only one target remaining. Raffaele sneered as she gazed into her eyes, seeing that she had the potential to be blinded with rage.

"Well, if it isn't Gabriela Merlo," scorned the Templar, "the daughter of a puttana, and the baby sister of Orazio Merlo, our deceased Templar comrade."

She did not flinch or hesitate at all, still keeping her defense up as the two were locked walking around in a slow circle and keeping her lips sealed shut. Quickly eyeing to her right towards Ezio's direction, she noticed that there was no white silhouette lurking around the corner of the building. Did he escape the scene or hide somewhere else? Gabriela focused her attention back to Raffaele.

"Orazio wanted you to join the Templars," continued Raffaele. "He believed that you would have been a very valuable asset to the House of Borgia. And you would've been provided so much in return…unlike your past that he's told us about."

Silence. The two continued dancing.

"You would have even had a better nobleman waiting for your hand in marriage, rather than that low-life you were engaged to."

"Damn _cordardo_!" she yelled out, gritting her teeth and thrusting her body towards him, ready to stab him in the neck.

And of course, she fell for the taunt. With her dagger plunging towards his body, Raffaele parried the attack, leaving Gabriela exposed. A forceful kick from his left foot sent her flying a couple of meters away, parallel to the building. The amount of power in that kick had caught her off-guard and she had let go of her dagger, leaving her unarmed. She curled up a bit trying to handle the pain, but managed to hold her head up to keep her eyes on her target.

"Cordardo, you say?" he mimicked her, walking towards the unarmed Gabriela slowly. "These fights are nothing about going by the rules, mia cara. There are no rules in war that we have to abide by." Raffaele held his blade in front of her face, inches away from her nose as she eyed it. "I was debating on sparing your life and giving you to Cesare to determine what your fate should be, but…you've made me reconsider—"

A silhouette had been cast over Raffaele. The sounds of a hidden blade being unsheathed and lunging into the target's heart were then heard, and then the clattering of his blade as it dropped onto the ground joined the short symphony. As the white-cloaked assassin pulled himself up to a crouching position from the successful air assassination, Gabriela exhaled deeply; she did not realize that Ezio was on the rooftop the entire time, watching her every move. She walked over towards the two, watching what he was doing.

Raffaele was barely conscious and alive as he looked at the assassin, and then the damsel. With his last breath, he said, "So…this is what you've…decided?...Joining the assassins?...Pity…"

Ezio closed his eyes for a quick few seconds. As he reopened them, his right hand gently pulled the eyelids of the Templar target down, closing Raffaele's eyes. "Requiescat in pace."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Chapters 5 and 6 were meant to be combined into one chapter. However, I felt that it would've been better to split it into two; plus, both combined seemed to be really lengthy.**

-6-

"Bastardo," muttered Gabriela. "What a cordardo, too." She glared at the dead Templar's body and folded her arms across her chest, only to look away afterwards. Only a coward who wanted to toy with another's emotions and past would do such a thing, or so she thought.

"Please, Gabriela," insisted Ezio, "let it all out. But do not disrespect the dead. What has happened in the past has happened. You cannot let these emotions focused on your past get to you."

A deep inhale followed by an exhale was heard behind him. He stood up from his crouching position over Raffaele's body. Looking over towards Gabriela, he noticed that the dagger that was parried off was isolated to the side. Ezio walked over and reached out to grab it, shaking off the blood from the blade before offering it to her.

"I believe I have seen my potential in you however, Gabriela," said Ezio, smiling. "I can feel your hatred towards the Templars as well. The brotherhood of assassins will liberate Roma."

She eyed the dagger with little hesitation. But within seconds, she took the dagger from his hands and sheathed it. "I told you that I wanted to be part of the brotherhood, and I will keep my promise. I want to stand with you to liberate Roma. These emotions of mine will be the death of me, I can feel it…but I will channel them towards our goal, rather than living in the past and blaming the dead…like my brother."

"Bene," he replied, with his smile growing. "We shall go back to the hideout with Niccolo Machiavelli on Isola Tiberina then. My thoughts about you keeping your promise did not falter, and thus I have had a tailor create your new robes."

Chuckling, she did not expect Ezio to immediately accept her as an assassin recruit. "Va bene. I will follow you back."

"We should get out of here, before the guards question—"

"Assassini! Assassini!" The shout of a Roman guard who had noticed the three corpses near them had cried out from a couple of buildings behind Gabriela. The two of them had looked behind to see the guard accompanied by three others, who appeared to be on duty and patrolling the area. They began to charge towards them as fast as they could.

"Cazzo," murmured Ezio, grabbing Gabriela's right hand as he took off around the corner. "I hope you are able to climb these buildings for a quicker escape!"

"S-si," she panted, trying to keep up with him, "but only if I was in different, looser, and less-restraining attire."

"Merda," he swore again. "I will take to the rooftops and meet you back at the hideout on Isola Tiberina. Blend in with the crowd or hide in a location whenever you can!" Ezio's grip on her hand loosened, as she nodded and continued running down the nearest alley. He immediately grabbed the closest climbable decoration on the building and began to ascend as quickly as he could. The guards eyed both Ezio and Gabriela, unsure which path should be taken.

"Split up!" commanded the guard who had alerted the duo earlier. Two of the guards behind him had gone down the alley, while him and the other guard found a ladder nearby against a building and began to climb.

Gabriela continued running, hoping to lose her pursuers. Looking over her shoulder for a brief second, she saw two guards instead of four tailing her. Her head turned back as she ended up going back to the main walkway, shoving some of the civilians out of her way hurriedly. Her hope was that she could reach the hideout without causing any casualties, but she knew it was going to be difficult because her notoriety was spreading rapidly throughout Rome, thanks to the pursuit.

Eyeing another wide-opened pathway, she sharply turned to her left in attempt to throw the two guards off. Her eyes locked onto the nearby hay bale next to a group of citizens gossiping over their own drama. Gabriela immediately dove into the bale, and using her hands, she dug in as far as she could in attempt to hide herself. The clique continued to speak as if nothing had happened next to them.

The two guards bolted around the corner, and looked to see if there was any sign of the woman. They cautiously slowed their pace down and briefly checked to see if the woman was hiding within the circle. With no signs of her nearby, the guards continued their slow pace past the group.

A minute passed, and Gabriela believed that it was safe to go. She popped out of the bale like a clown springing out of a jack-in-a-box, with hay flying everywhere. The group next to her flinched in surprise as the straws rained over them. With the excess strands of hay everywhere on her body, she used her hands to quickly brush it all off, in combination with shaking her head like a wet dog.

"Scusi," she apologized, then bolting off down the alley in the direction where the guards were going.

A good ten minutes had passed since the assassin and his new apprentice had fled the scene. The sun was creeping down towards the western half of the sky, with the heat at its peak. Gabriela had arrived safely at the entrance of the hideout, panting. She was careful enough to avoid any contact with the guards in broad daylight, hiding behind corners and waiting when necessary.

She opened the door to the hideout calmly and closed it gently as well. The hideout itself was left just as it was before in the morning, quiet with a peaceful atmosphere. In the main room, a man that had looked a little bit younger than Ezio sat at the desk next to the two bookshelves. His medium brown hair was minimal; it was significantly shorter than most men's hair she had seen, but it was kempt. The red tunic covering his arms and the charcoal baroque-like vest glowed in the warm candlelight in the multiple rooms. He appeared to be busy scribbling something down on parchment paper.

"…Niccolo?" beckoned Gabriela from the bottom of the staircase.

The man looked up. "Gabriela Merlo," he responded, looking back at his parchment and scribbling some last-minute things down onto it. Once that deed had been finished, Niccolo stood up from his seat and eyed her with his icy, yet somewhat friendly beady eyes. "I thought you had left with Ezio this morning?"

"I did, but…we were pursued by guards and had split our paths," she stated. "He...he told me to see you."

"Is that so?" questioned Niccolo, squatting down under his desk for an instant. And within the next few seconds, he stood back up, holding some white folded clothing with a vambrace, a pair of leather boots, a crimson sash, and gloves, all on top in his hands. Walking around the desk, he handed her the equipment. "Recluta numero tre; here is your equipment and hidden blade. Since you have remained with us for the past month, I assume you know what to do as an assassin recruit."

Gabriela immediately nodded and took the clothing and vambrace. "Si, grazie mille," she answered in return, bowing her head slightly. "I will be in my chambers for the time being."

The sound of her footsteps from her flats as she crept back up the stairs to where she had entered echoed throughout the stairway. She exited back outside to the district and immediately headed down another set of stairs, opening the very first door that was near both the Tiber River. The entire building itself was a safe haven for the assassin recruits and for Ezio himself, providing a secure shelter for all. Inside the very first room was a simple wooden table with six chairs seated around it, with a small basket of fresh fruit at its center. Only one window was seen from what seemed to be the kitchen area, which was positioned right next to the countertop. Upon entrance, there was one doorway on the right, and a staircase going up on the left; the room on the other side of the doorway appeared to be Ezio's chamber, as it was the largest. The door to his room was left halfway closed. The entire interior of the retreat was decorated in the same manner as the hideout.

With the equipment still in her hands, she climbed up the stairs to the second floor. Six small rooms took up the entire floor, including the narrow hallway down the stairs. Gabriela went down to the very end of the hallway and entered the room on her left. The room itself looked emptier compared to Ezio's chamber. The only things accompanying the small room aside from the two beds were a small, narrow bookshelf and a miniature night stand with a candelabrum made for three candles. A little window, the size of a large dinner plate, allowed some light into the room.

Closing the door behind her, she set her clothing on the right-most bed and took a deep breath. _I am now a part of the assassin order as an apprentice_, Gabriela thought. Her pale jade-like eyes stared at the "gifts" from Niccolo and Ezio. And after a moment of staring, she separated everything apart from each other and unfolded her assassin robes. She then stripped herself from her "peasant" clothing, being somewhat careful and slow as her former wounds had still made her stiff. The stitches were not there anymore as well, but there was some scarring along her shoulder and her hip. Standing in only her corset and undergarments, she slipped on the outer dark gray layer over her body, and stepped into the new pair of leather boots. They had gone up to right below her knees, and not only did they fit snugly, but they were comfortable to walk and even run in. Her hands then grabbed onto the top of the robes, putting the top over her head and tugging down for a slim fit. It was like a t-shirt with a cowl, which she had not touched and had left it hanging down her back. There were some black stripes going down her body that had curved outwards, hugging the seam of the top.

All that were left now were the sash, belts, vambrace, and gloves. Gabriela hastily wrapped the crimson sash around her waist, tying the knot on the right side of her back. She then picked up the belt and wrapped it over her shoulder and waist, realizing that there was no weapon to put in the belt. After hurriedly searching through and under her clothes, she found the dagger that Ezio had given to her in the other loop, and securely placed it within her current belt.

"Gabriela?" interrupted the familiar voice at the door, knocking a couple of times. She quickly turned her head towards the direction of the door. Approaching the room's door, she grabbed the door knob and slowly turned it. As soon as the door cracked open, Gabriela's eyes beamed—he had returned safely.

"Ezio," she said, with a friendly smile. She opened the door all the way. "I did not think that you—"

And in an instant, he was embracing her tightly. Her eyes widened in response; the assassin's body was much warmer than she had anticipated, and she could feel her heart beating quickly out of her chest. It even felt like it had skipped a beat.

"I was afraid something had happened to you while I took to the rooftops," he admittedly murmured. "The only thing on my mind while I was trying to shake off the guards was your safety, and yet I knew if we had split up in your condition, it would have been safer for you. I am glad you are safe."

Not another word escaped from the apprentice's mouth. He had released his hold on her, taking a step back to look at the new robes that she had been given to by Niccolo. They had looked better on her form compared to the peasant-like clothing, and the colors had complimented her pale skin much better. Her form was more shaped with the assassin garments, which had teased Ezio all too much.

"Madonna," he breathed, as she backed up a couple of steps in slight hesitation. She felt that he was too close to her for comfort. He followed in return, taking a couple of steps forward towards her. Before she knew it, Gabriela was backed up against the room's wall. A slight smirk cracked from Ezio's mouth as he reached for her jawline with his right hand, gently placing his thumb on her cheek and caressing it softly. He took one more step towards her and placed his other hand on her hip—they were now inches away, face-to-face. His warm breath on the exposed area of her neck was comforting, but she simultaneously trembled a bit.

"E-Ezio?" she questioned, with a little bit of anxiousness in her voice. He inched the thumb on her cheek towards her bottom lip, brushing it delicately.

"Don't say a word," he growled quietly. She tried to relax, reducing the shakiness in her body. Her eyes softened as well, and as she was going to close her eyes, his face got closer to her own, with his hands still fixed in their positions.

"Ezio? Guido and I—"

Another female voice had broken the brief moment of affection between the assassin and the apprentice. Ezio broke away from Gabriela and turned around, noticing that another female assassin had stood in the doorway. Gabriela's eyes widened as she turned beet red in embarrassment, unlike the master assassin's expression, which seemed to be rather calm about the entire situation.

"S-scusi, Ezio!" stammered the blonde female assassin, looking away. "I-I did not mean to interrupt this moment between y-you and Gabriela! I-I will be in the hideout with Guido!" She ran off down the stairs and slammed the door behind her.

Ezio turned back to Gabriela, who was still flushed and looking away from him. He chuckled a bit and this time, cupped her chin with his right hand to lift it up for direct eye contact with her. "I suppose I shall get back to the hideout and see what is the commotion with the other two reclutas. You are more than welcome to join back at the hideout. I will assign you to a simple mission later tonight." He removed his hand from her chin. Her eyes were now locked with his, and most of the color from her face had been faded away.

"I…I'll be at the hideout momentarily," she said, looking over at the bed, which also had the vambrace and the unequipped gloves. "I want to get some sleep before doing so."

"Va bene," he replied, smiling. "I will see you then." Ezio walked out of the room and down the stairs.

A heavy sigh came from Gabriela's chest as the door shut down the stairs. Her heart was still pounding out of her chest from Ezio's little flirt. She flopped onto her bed and kicked the gloves and vambrace off, sprawled out onto the bed like a starfish. Her eyes stared straight towards the ceiling, and the only things that came to her mind were the brief snippets of Ezio's seduction. What had just happened?

_Valerio, please forgive me,_ she thought, closing her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

-7-

The night was still, with a pale, thick crescent moon on the right side looming above the western horizon. A few clouds crept around in the dark sky, avoiding the moon and yet covering some of the twinkling stars. Some night time chattering and medleys from the few bards that were in the area filled up the empty soundless void of the night, accompanied by many civilians dressed in vibrant attire and lit lanterns in one of the city squares in the Centro District. A handful of guards in their metal-plated armor were scattered in duos, trios, and quads all around the area.

Gabriela sat at the edge of a two-seated bench, with a drunken citizen sitting nearby flirting with a courtesan. Rather than sitting straight, her body arched forward as she leaned forward and pressed her elbows against her thighs, keeping her balance. Her hands were laced and cupped together, pulled close to her face as if she was deep in thought.

Or so she was…

…

_A couple of hours had passed since Gabriela had lain in her bed at the assassin shelter. It was difficult for her to fall asleep with what had happened between her and the master assassin. Was Ezio falling for her, or were his flirtatious tendencies coming back to him? A blend of mixed emotions had flooded her mind, leaving her restless. She didn't know what to think of the relationship between the two, whether he was serious or not._

Why is all of this happening to me? _she thought, opening her eyes. _Is it destiny?

_She sat up, with a rush of blood blocking her vision temporarily. But all she could see was the same man she saw in her dream a couple of months ago, sitting near the tree and waiting for Gabriela to sit down with him—all to enjoy the Rome sunset._

_Valerio._

_Her fiancée was dead; it had been a couple of years since his death, but it was still difficult for her to accept the fact that Orazio had killed him. He had killed all of her loved ones, even innocent people she had known, yet didn't know on a more personal basis. She even believed that he was killing himself with the route he had gone down._

_Her picture of Valerio was beginning to fade away as the rushing slowed down. As she was regaining her sight, the flashblack between her and Ezio played through her mind—the touch of his calloused hands brushing against her face and her hip, the initial embrace, and his lips reaching in for hers._

_Gabriela blinked several times. She stood up and bent down to grab her gloves and vambrace she had knocked off for her nap. The vambrace was braced around her tiny left wrist, which thankfully was the perfect size. The mechanism of the hidden blade was nothing like she had seen or played with before. She flicked her left wrist, which immediately unsheathed the blade to her surprise. As soon as she relaxed her wrist, the blade slithered back into its sheath._

Interesting_, she thought, re-examining the vambrace as she twirled her wrist slowly. It was a clever design to assassinate any contracts or targets stealthily, probably better than the dagger, but it would require some time to get used to it._

_She slipped the gloves onto her hands, which had fit snugly. Gabriela was well-equipped and ready to meet Ezio with Niccolo, and perhaps even the other recruits, back at the hideout. But her heart pounded faster than usual. She couldn't tell if it was because she was nervous to confront Ezio again, or whether she was excited to begin her first mission for the assassins—for a good cause._

_Hurrying down the hallway and down the stairs, she quickly grabbed a pale green apple from the basket centered on the wooden table and took a large bite out of it. She walked out of the door and while walking towards the hideout, Gabriela continued to snack on the rest of the apple._

_The streets were looking emptier than when she had last strolled by. It was approaching sunset, and it seemed that everyone was going home or out to eat. And while her boots clacked somewhat quietly against the cobblestone as she walked quickly, a few civilians had looked up and stared at Gabriela as she walked by them. A slight chill tingled down her spine._

So, this is what it feels like to be an assassin among the streets? _questioned Gabriela._ Or is it because I'm drawing too much attention by fast walking?

_Slowing her pace down as she approached the door to the hideout, Gabriela gently opened the door and walked in, closing it carefully behind her as she tried to make a minimal amount of noise. She calmly walked down the steps, but heard some light arguing between Niccolo and Ezio._

_"But we are not making progress to bring the Borgias down!" claimed Niccolo, his voice raised a little higher than usual. He was standing from the desk and his icy eyes tried to pierce into Ezio._

_"We do not have enough reclutas to focus on the other missions yet, Machiavelli," he replied. Ezio turned around and faced the room with the paintings. "For now, the missions are to strengthen both the reclutas and our bond between the factions before we plan anything." A brief moment of silence occurred afterwards._

_"…Scusi?" interrupted Gabriela. The two turned their heads towards the stairs, eyeing the apprentice completely garbed in the proper equipment. A smile crept from Ezio's lips, as Niccolo walked towards her from the desk._

_"Gabriela," greeted Ezio, bowing his head very subtly._

_"E-Ezio," she replied in return, bowing her head at a larger angle than Ezio had done. As soon as she glanced at his face, all she could think about was what had happened earlier again, making her a little flustered. Niccolo raised an eyebrow in suspicion._

_"Buonasera, signorina Merlo," said Niccolo, taking a few steps towards her with his arms behind his back. "The night approaches. Ezio has been requested to rescue a thief's family member from the thief gang called Cento Occhi. We require your assistance."_

_She nodded once in response. "Va bene. What do you request of me exactly?"_

_"Aldo, the captive, is set for execution by the gang when the clock strikes 9," stated Ezio. "He is located near a building in the middle of the Campagna District. We must assassinate the crossbowmen that hold him." He walked towards Gabriela slowly._

_"Understood," she answered. Niccolo turned away and faced his desk as Ezio approached Gabriela more closely. As soon as they were face to face, her heart started to pound out of her chest once again. He was a little too close for comfort for her, once again. As she expected him to kiss her, he cupped her chin delicately in his right hand and lifted her head to make direct eye contact with him instead. She did not look away, but her body trembled a little._

_"We shall meet at 7 at the Blacksmith shop at the edge of the Centro District, near a pigeon coop. I will have to take care of a few things here first." He uncapped her chin and removed his hand from her face. She nodded without saying a word, as Niccolo glanced back towards the two. The clock in the corner of the main room rang its bell five times. Only four hours remained._

…

Gabriela glanced at the moon from her position. It had inched subtly towards the western horizon compared to when she had last looked at the moon. Her gut feeling had told her that it was approaching 7 and Ezio was nowhere to be found.

She sat up a little straighter as both her arms and elbows held her up instead, keeping her back arched still. Her hands were cupped against her knees. And yet, her mind rushed back to when Ezio and she were back at the hideout earlier. She had expected him to kiss her after what he had done back in her room. But he had only cupped Gabriela's chin…just like what he had done when she woke up in his room for the first time and he had questioned her, nothing more.

A deep inhale and exhale came from her chest. By the time she had exhaled all the way, gallops on the cobblestone had echoed throughout the edge of the district and sounded as though they were coming towards her. She looked up and sat up completely straight, watching the hooded assassin dash towards Gabriela on his reddish-brown stallion. He tugged on his horse's reins as he was about several meters away from his apprentice, causing it to slow down and come to a complete stop about a few meters away.

"Ezio," she greeted, putting one of her arms behind her back, and using the other to pet his stallion.

"Gabriela," he responded, smiling. "Are you ready? You will need a horse if we are to rescue Aldo in time."

"I…I cannot whistle to save my life," admitted Gabriela, looking shameful as her eyes locked to the ground off to the side. As she looked back up to the master assassin's face, she couldn't tell whether he was smirking with her response.

"Va bene," he replied, shifting forward in his saddle. "You will ride with me." Ezio offered a hand out for her. With little hesitation, she took his hand as he pulled her up, barely able to throw her left leg over the horse so she could sit properly.

"Hang on tight," he murmured. Gabriela hesitated a little more, as she did not know what to hold onto exactly. The saddle wasn't exactly like a seat belt, and there was nothing to hold onto but Ezio. Her hands shook a bit as she placed them onto his sides, holding onto him tight. As soon as he felt her touch him, he hid his mischievous smile from her and whipped the reins of the horse. They bolted off over the fence and onto the plains of the Campagna District.

Her hands still gripping onto Ezio, the two strode off towards the center of the district. A house was seen from a distance, in which Ezio could hear men's shouts. There were no men visible to him, and the only thing Gabriela could see was his back draped in the white assassin robes; he was proportionally larger than her.

"We are close," stated Ezio, tugging slightly on the reins of the horse. It slowed down to a walking pace towards the direction of the home. And within a handful of steps, he tugged on the reins once more to bring it to a complete stop. He slid off the horse and landed on his feet, holding out his hand again once he was stable enough to stand.

"Qui, mia cara," he offered. Instead of taking his hand, she hopped off of the horse, but with no grace. Gabriela stumbled as she tried to maintain her balance in the grass. Lowering his hand, he chuckled a little. "Seguire."

Ezio ran in the grass towards the house, with each step making a crunch. Gabriela followed closely, her boots also making crunching noises but not as loudly as his had made. As soon as they got close to the house, their paces slowed down to a cautious approach, with their backs against the wall. Aldo and some of the crossbowmen were on the other side of the building; the captive's cries echoed throughout the field.

"Let me go! I do not understand why you are all holding me captive here!" he shouted.

"Shut up," said one of the crossbowmen, hitting him in the head with the weapon.

Ezio looked up for a second, and then edged towards the edge of the wall to peek over and check to see if it was safe. Realizing that there were two guards around the side of the building, he pointed his left arm at the closest guard, lifting his hand up slightly. A poison dart quietly fired from his vambrace and hit the guard. Seconds had passed and once the guard had begun to flail, the other guard had backed away from the side of the building, leaving himself exposed. Ezio leaned back against the wall to hide and quickly reloaded the dart; once the reloading was done, he hastily fired the second dart into the second guard. A good couple of minutes had passed, and as they finally died from their floundering spasms, he shimmied around the corner and pressed his back against the wall again, inching over with Gabriela following afterwards.

"Are you able to climb this building?" muttered Ezio to Gabriela, looking up slightly. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms, nodding.

"This attire is much more suited, so I feel like I should be able to," she responded in a whisper. "I am not the fastest free runner, though." He nodded.

"Bene. Climb up onto the roof, and carefully position yourself. When I give the signal, you will need to perform an air assassination with the hidden blade on one of the crossbowmen. I will join you afterwards and kill the remaining men."

"Si."

Gabriela took a couple of steps away from the wall, and ran up. Her hands grabbed the edge of the rooftop as she hung about a foot off of the ground. Although her arms were a little weak, she was able to pull herself up. She got on her knees after pulling herself up, and managed to stand up, creeping on the tiles of the rooftop and looking over the crossbowmen and Aldo. There were five men guarding Aldo, who looked to be somewhat beat up as he slumped down against the pillar. One of the men held a crossbow, while the other four had sheathed blades on their left side.

She squatted down and looked over, calming herself by closing her eyes and readying for the kill upon Ezio's signal.

And as soon as she heard a whistle seconds later, she jumped off of the roof and flicked her wrist back at the peak of her height, unsheathing the hidden blade. She forcefully landed on the guard with the crossbow, thrusting the blade forcefully into his spine and killing him with no hassle. Gabriela stood up and sheathed her hidden blade, glancing over at the other four remaining gang members.

"Assassina!" cried one of them, as they all unsheathed their weapons. She quickly withdrew her dagger from the scabbard and twirled it in her hand to hold it in an ice pick grip. Gabriela stood in the same stance she was in earlier that day, surrounded by the four gang members, whereas Aldo remained against the beam, watching in awe. She held her ground and eyed each member for a quick few seconds before glancing over at the next, keeping herself on her toes for any sudden movements.

Blood-curdling cries of death came from the left. They all turned their head to see the source of the cries; two guards had been impaled through the heart by Ezio's double hidden blades. As soon as he pulled the hidden blades out of their chests chest, the remaining two members looked at each other, and they had both split between the two assassins.

Ezio withdrew his Captain's Sword and stood in a firm stance with the blade up, keeping his eyes locked onto the Cento Occhi member. The gang member had held a similar blade in his hands, and had lunged at the master assassin. He easily deflected it with his sword, and using that moment, his eyes darted towards Gabriela, who was also deflecting as many blows as she could.

_The smoke bombs!_ he thought, keeping his blade up in right hand. His free left hand quickly groped for the bombs in his pocket, in which Ezio immediately pulled one out.

"Gabriela!" he called out, throwing the bomb onto the ground as it shattered. Thick gray smoke had filled the air, causing the two gang members to choke as they inhaled. Luckily, as soon as Gabriela heard the bomb break, she held her breath in as much as she could, making sure not to breathe the smoke in. She and Ezio were finally at an advantage; the two simultaneously stabbed their targets through the chest cavity. Unlike Ezio however, she stabbed her target twice for good measure, and threw him onto the ground as he laid there dying.

Ezio turned to Aldo once the smoke had vanished. He was on the ground and his entire body, including his face, was slightly bruised. The master assassin offered his hand out, in which the captive took advantage of and pulled himself up to his feet.

"You are free to go," told Ezio, with a subtle grin on his face.

"Grazie a Dio! Grazie a Dio!" cried Aldo, walking off from the scene happily.

…

The horse ride back to the hideout from the Campagna District had been quiet between the two. Ezio's only words to Gabriela were three simple words: "Buon lavoro, Gabriela", or "good work, Gabriela", with a simple pat on her shoulder, and nothing more. She felt somewhat awkward while riding with him, as she had expected more from him once again. But she didn't know what else to say, other than the simple words she had blurted once they had passed by the blacksmith's at the edge of the district:

"Ezio…?"

Her face changed to a light shade of deep pink after she had realized she uttered his name.

"Si?" he asked in response. Gabriela took a second to think about her word choice before speaking this time.

"I…I just feel like I don't know you," she confessed. "The day we met, you treated me like…una dama. And then…" Her voice trailed off at that point, as she did not think past that point. Ezio paused for a moment as well, while continuing to direct the horse back to the retreat.

"There is nothing wrong with me," he had finally stated. "This is the real Ezio."

Another moment of awkward silence between the two occurred. In her mind, she knew that something was up. He _had_ treated her like a lady with respect when he met her in her condition and when she finally woke up. Throughout the few weeks, he had also helped her recover from her wounds. But with what had happened earlier that afternoon and then the sudden transition back, she found it difficult to believe that everything was okay.

They had arrived at the hideout moments later with no other word spoken. As soon as he had got off of the horse, he immediately helped Gabriela down as well. The two entered the hideout and walked down the steps, to find Niccolo at the desk again.

"We have returned, Machiavelli," said Ezio as he took the last couple of steps down. Niccolo lifted his head from reading one of the books off of the bookshelves.

"And the mission was a success?" he questioned. Gabriela nodded in answer. "Eccellente. In that case, it is getting late. Gabriela, you may retire for the night. Ezio, there is something I need to show you in regards to the House of Borgia."

"I will need a moment, Niccolo," he replied. "I will escort Gabriela back to the housing."

Machiavelli eyed the two and slightly raised an eyebrow in suspicion once again. "Va bene, I suppose."

Gabriela turned around and walked back up the steps to the entrance with Ezio following her behind closely. She craned her neck over her shoulder and looked over at the master assassin. "The housing is nearby, Ezio. I can go back on my own."

As the two stopped at the door, he sighed. "I wanted to escort you to the exit, at least." Taking a few more steps up to get onto the same level as her, his hand reached for the doorknob. He opened the door, motioning his hand for the opening.

"Buonanotte, Ezio," she said, walking out.

"Buonanotte, Gabriela," he replied, very faintly smiling. Ezio closed the door very gently.

And nothing else happened.

…What _were_ his ulterior motives?

**A/N: I read reading through the Assassin's Creed Wiki article on the hidden blade. It seems that it has no "flick" mechanism like it did back in the first game. However, since no one knows how it works exactly, I resorted to using the obsolete flick mechanism for this fanfic. :(**


	8. Brief Update (NOT a chapter!)

**A/N: Hey all! I'm sorry for not being able to update the fanfic recently. Finals and the end of the semester was kicking my ass in December, and right after the semester ended, I had to go out of the country for a vacation with my family (which I am still doing as I am typing this). I haven't forgotten about the story, but since I've been busy lately and I'm pretty sure some of you guys are dying to know what happens in the next update, here's a little sneak peek of what I have for the chapter. Kudos to anyone who recognizes what exactly this chapter is revolved around.**

...

"Salve, amore," seduced the courtesan, advancing towards the ambassador. He raised an eyebrow and a smirk as she walked closer.

"This is inappropriate," he replied sheepishly. A small smirk escaped from her lips as well.

"Not compared to what I plan to do to you," she murmured, motioning him to follow her. Without any hesitation, the target walked away from the two guards and trailed the courtesan, hoping for any frivolous activity with her.

Adele had noticed that her eyes were locked onto a shadowy-looking alley gated with arches nearby. She hopped down a level and stood above the metal platform covered in vines looking down in the alley. And as soon as the courtesan led the ambassador through the arched entrance, she jumped down and pounced on the target like a cat, revealing her hidden blade at the very last second as soon as her hand struck his chest. The killing blow she had dealt was swift; and as she stood up, she pulled her hand away from the corpse's chest and relaxed her wrist, sheathing the weapon. Turning around to face where she had come from, she locked eyes with Gabriela, who stood on the rooftop looking over the courtesan and the other female assassin. Only one more ambassador remained.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Here is the 8****th**** chapter, as promised! Note that the passage that I provided as a sneak preview has been slightly modified.**

-8-

Rome, Italy – October 1501

Months had passed since Gabriela had been officially recruited into the assassin brotherhood by Ezio. Throughout time, she had been traveling with him and the other two assassin recruits, Guido and Adele, and had been helping the master assassin with his assassinations and missions. All three of them had gotten stronger and more agile over time with the help of Ezio.

The three of them had gathered in the hideout, awaiting their summoning. Gabriela leaned against the corner across from the desk in the main room, examining the dagger Ezio had given to her from before. The blade was still sharp and was not close to dulling out anytime soon; she twirled it around in her hand in the same manner Orazio had done without realizing it until a brief moment later. Chills had tingled down her spine as she slowed the spiraling of the dagger in her hand, recalling that fateful day between her and her brother. She eventually inserted the blade back into its sheath, folding her arms.

Guido was a clean-shaven 33-year old man, the complete opposite of Ezio. He stood in the room where the spare weapons were kept on racks, and slouched in the seat next to the fireplace. His eyes were closed, as if he was meditating. According to Ezio, he had been the first recruit back in March, and told Gabriela about his expertise in heavy weapons. She had seen his axe skills firsthand, and actually became a little frightened with what he could do.

Adele had been looking at the bookshelf curiously, determining which book she should have pulled out to read for the time being. She was taller than Gabriela by a few inches and even older by a few years as well; she was comfortable with long swords in combat, as a sword dangled from her belt. Both Adele and Gabriela shared the room in the housing since she had been taken in by Ezio. The relationship between the two female assassins had not been faltered since the incident occurred at the end of May; Guido believed the two were like sisters that were reincarnated.

In fact, nothing else had happened between Ezio and her since. It was as if that little mishap between the two hadn't happened. With the side missions he had gone on, she was frequently together with the other two recruits with Ezio as well; it was not certain if any more actions had been refrained because they were not alone anymore. Gabriela had not thought about it since May, and had been focusing on training. Her relationship between the master assassin and her had also not been waned, although she did feel like something was wrong at first…

The wooden door at the top of the steps in the main room had opened. The three recruits turned their head and to their expectation, Ezio and Niccolo were coming down the stairs. They all stood up, with Guido walking into the main room.

"Buon giorno," greeted Ezio.

"Buon giorno, Ezio," replied all three of the recruits in exchange. While smiling, Niccolo took a few steps around the room.

"As you may all know," began Niccolo, "Ezio's sister, Claudia Auditore, is the madame of the courtesans of the Rosa in Fiore. She has reported that one of the courtesans has some new information regarding the House of Borgia. You will accompany Ezio to meet with the courtesan."

"She is waiting for us on a bench in the northern section of the Centro District," added Ezio. "Seguire."

The three followed Ezio as he led them to the fast travel tunnel. Opening the gate, he gestured his hand and allowed Guido to enter first, then Adele, and finally, Gabriela. He followed shortly afterwards, approaching behind Gabriela closely down the ladder. Although she did notice this, she simply ignored it and jumped down from a few steps above.

Guido grabbed a wooden stick from the sand trough and held it into the flame of a nearby torch. It immediately caught fire and he pulled away, lighting the path for the assassin and his recruits. Holding it up, he looked over his shoulder and glanced at Ezio. As he nodded in reply, Guido turned his head back towards the path and led the four to the northern Centro District exit.

"Guido," began Ezio, "how are your two children? I have not seen them since your daughter has caught that fever."

"Camilla's fever broke and she is doing well now," he replied in return, cheerfully. "Mauro is also well, but having young children can be a handful, especially since mia moglie has enough on her hands with the tailoring requests."

Adele chuckled. "Back when I had Elda before the incident a couple of years back, she used to be a handful when she turned six. Her feet just never remained on the ground for more than a few seconds, and she was always running around like her mother." Her voice trailed off with the last few words, and she attempted to stay emotionally strong.

"Adele, you are one of the strongest women I have ever known," replied Ezio. "Losing your own child and being able to reminisce about the happy memories is tough."

Gabriela glanced over her right and looked at Adele. Her facial expression had a tinged feel of sorrow and happiness mixed in, just like a handful of months back.

…

_Rome, Italy – May 1501_

_The candelabrum with three candleholders had three little flames dancing on the tops of the wicks. Gabriela, draped in her peach-colored nightgown, stood facing the window and gazed outside to look at the stars. A full pale moon was looming above the eastern horizon, lighting up the entire sky. She looked up to try and observe the stars, but the brightness of the moon had blocked the majority of them out of the view._

_The door to the room on her right had swung open. Glancing over her shoulder, she spotted the blonde assassin recruit with her hood pulled down, looking exhausted._

_"Ciao, Adele," she greeted. "Did the mission fare well?"_

_"Salve, Gabriela," replied Adele in return. "There were a handful of guards around, but we were able to handle them and remove some of the Borgia flags in the area." She closed the door behind her and stretched, walking over to her own bed afterwards. A lavender nightgown similar to Gabriela's rested on her bed, folded neatly. Approaching the bed, she dropped her bottom down onto the bed and fell backwards, letting the bedding catch her fall. Gabriela turned back to the window and continued to look up into the sky._

_"Have you been stargazing the entire time you've returned?" asked Adele. Without turning her head around, Gabriela nodded._

_"Si," she said. "Since I was young, my mother told me that the stars can affect our well-being. I do not necessarily believe what she has said, but something about the stars just draws me to them."_

_A chuckle was heard behind her. "I am glad to hear that you're passionate about the stars and the sky," she responded. "It's always nice to have something that you're interested in." Adele sat straight up on the bed and began to remove her gloves._

_Gabriela nodded again. Turning away from the window, she looked back at her bed, and then to Adele. "I think my stargazing will stop for tonight. It seems like Ezio has something planned for me tomorrow morning."_

_"Bene. I will be hitting the hay as well."_

_Adele loosened up her belt and sash around her waist, placing them on the ground next to her bed and the removed gloves. She then took off the white sleeveless assassin hood covering her torso, leaving only the dark gray sleeved garments left. Carefully folding the white robe in her lap, she placed it onto the ground on top of the equipment she had recently placed on the ground. And within a moment, her top outer garment covering her arms was lifted high above her body, revealing a rosy pink jagged patch of skin trailing down beneath her bark-colored corset, starting from the edge of her right shoulder on her back. Gabriela, who had just gotten into her bed and underneath the covers, eyed the discolored skin as Adele's back faced her._

_"Adele…that…your…your back," murmured Gabriela with concern. "Did that happen from a previous mission?"_

_Looking over her shoulder for a brief second, Adele crossed her left arm across her chest and massaged the end of the jagged patch. "I…no," she hesitated, taking a deep breath. "I got this scar in a fire. I went to the market for a little while, and when I came back to my home, it was set on fire. I don't know what happened…but my nine-year old daughter, Elda, was trapped in the home. I rushed inside to try and find her…but…her body…" Her voice became hoarse as she began to choke back her tears. Gabriela immediately got up from her bed and approached Adele, hugging her snugly for a moment before letting her grip go._

_"I understand, Adele," expressed Gabriela. "You do not need to say anything else. I am sorry for protruding into your personal life, but losing loved ones due to tragedies is something I know all too well, too."_

_A couple of tears dripped from her pale blue-gray eyes. She immediately mopped them with the sleeve of the top she had just removed. "Do not worry about it Gabriela," she replied, looking over her shoulder and cracking a somewhat forced smile. "It's just tough getting over my loss."_

_"I know Adele, I know."_

_A few hours had passed through the night. Gabriela woke up to the sound of Adele's muffled sobs from her sleep in her own bed, which had continued for a good half hour before she could fall back asleep again._

_…_

"Gabriela?" questioned Guido.

Her head drooped down as she was deep in thought while walking. Her head jerked up as she looked at the other three. They were all approaching the end of the tunnel.

"I am sorry," she apologized. "I was just remembering something from quite some time ago."

"It is no trouble," he said. "I was asking if you were acquainted with the courtesans because of your history."

She hesitated for a moment. "Si, but I only know a couple through my mother before she had passed away," replied Gabriela. "I have not really spoken with them too often like I did about ten years ago, so I don't know if they are still at the Rosa in Fiore."

"Regardless, remember that Claudia has been running the brothel," stated Ezio, much to his dismay every time he had thought of it, even though it was the truth. "Having connections with the courtesans should never be a problem."

Guido dipped the torch in the sand trough. The light of the tunnels was much dimmer now with having just one flame from the exit flickering. With Ezio behind the three, Guido climbed up the ladder first, with Adele following and Gabriela afterwards. Exiting through the little gate guarding the tunnel, they had let Ezio lead the way.

After walking a couple of blocks along the edge of the river, a woman in a skimpy dark emerald gown with two crimson pigtail-like buns and a large pendant around her neck was found to be sitting on a bench. She eyed the four assassins as they approached her cautiously.

"Salute, madonna," greeted Ezio.

"Salute," she replied back, acknowledging the other three assassins as well as they nodded their heads very slightly. "Ezio, I will lead you to three ambassadors. They are here to meet the Pope, but will answer to God much sooner than they expect. Allow me to lure them out before you strike."

"Va bene," he replied, turning to his apprentices. "The three of you will follow via the rooftops. Be sure that you are unseen by the guards."

The three immediately took off to find any ladder against the buildings near them. Gabriela, on the other hand, waited for the courtesan to stand up from the bench. As soon as she did, she ran towards the bench and stepped off of the bench, pushing herself upwards as her other foot pushed off the wall in an upward motion as well, allowing her to grab the ledge on the building. Though her upper body strength was not the greatest, Gabriela was able to pull herself up and grab the next ledge that was up slightly higher. And in a smooth, fluid motion, her arms pulled her body up just enough for her feet to support her entire body against the wall. She continued to climb up the building's window, and within an instant, she found herself on top of the building. Her eyes looked around towards the other buildings in proximity. While there were no guards around on the rooftops, the other two managed to climb up onto their rooftops as well.

"Lead the way," motioned the master assassin. As the courtesan strolled through the alleys of the Centro District and walked by the handful of residents, the three recruits ran across the rooftops, climbing, jumping across, and falling down a level if needed, following the two.

A couple of minutes had passed. The triad of assassins found the courtesan and Ezio approaching a building, with a man standing at the top right next to the railing. They positioned themselves to remain hidden from any guards or the target.

"Hans! You asked me if I had any friends you could play with! I have invited one!" wooed the courtesan from down below. Ezio immediately looked around. Spotting a group of people talking to each other nearby, he stepped in and blended in, avoiding the need to arouse any suspicions.

"Who? Where is she?" replied the man friskily, adjusting his slate blue vest around his olive tunic as he looked at her with curiosity and eagerness.

"Wait right there!" she called out. The courtesan craned her head slightly to the side as to where Ezio was, nodding slightly as a signal. In response, he lifted his left arm and clenched his fist, signaling one of the recruits to assassinate the target.

The two women on the rooftops eyed Guido, as he was the closest. Remaining on the rooftop of the building of the target's right side, he sprung off the edge of the rooftop and caught his fall by grabbing onto the edge of the window frame. He launched himself towards his right side, clinging onto a sign that was dangling from the corner of the building. With minimal effort, Guido moved himself in his hanging position onto the other side of the sign, in which he then grabbed the top of the railing to hold himself up—all of this happening without the target realizing that his doom was about to approach. Guido's two feet were planted on the building for support, waiting for the right moment to strike. And when the target was looking away, the recruit pulled himself up with his right hand and flicked his hidden blade out of its sheath in his left, jabbing the target in the chest as he grabbed his clothing. He threw the ambassador downwards over his shoulder, throwing him onto the crates down below as he laid there bleeding to his death.

Ezio moved out of his blending group and approached the courtesan, who eyed Guido and then the master assassin. She began to walk again towards their next ambassador as Guido climbed back onto the top of the rooftop. The three recruits followed the courtesan and Ezio again.

In less than a minute, they found a man with long dark hair in a white tunic and a red vest talking to two armored guards. She gazed his eyes onto the target, who immediately locked eye contact with her. Ezio made his way towards another blend group and listened to the conversation between the two.

"Salve, amore," seduced the courtesan, advancing towards the ambassador. He raised an eyebrow and a smirk as she walked closer.

"This is inappropriate," he replied sheepishly. A small smirk escaped from her lips as well.

"Not compared to what I plan to do to you," she murmured, motioning him to follow her. Without any hesitation, the target walked away from the two guards and trailed the courtesan, hoping for any frivolous activity with her. And once again, Ezio used his signature recruit signal to notify one of the two female assassins to get themselves ready.

Adele had noticed that her eyes were locked onto a shadowy-looking alley gated with arches nearby. She hopped down a level and stood above the metal platform covered in vines looking down in the alley. And as soon as the courtesan led the ambassador through the arched entrance, she jumped down and pounced on the target like a cat, revealing her hidden blade at the very last second as soon as her hand struck his chest. The killing blow she had dealt was swift; and as she stood up, she pulled her hand away from the corpse's chest and relaxed her wrist, sheathing the weapon. Turning around to face where she had come from, she locked eyes with Gabriela, who stood on the rooftop looking over the courtesan and the other female assassin. Only one more ambassador remained.

As Adele was climbing back up onto the rooftops, the courtesan walked out of the alley with no suspicion being aroused by the guards nearby. Ezio followed suit closely, not drawing the attention of the guards as well, and began to walk in the direction of the final target. Guido, Adele, and Gabriela continued to trail the two via the rooftops.

In a nearby alley, the courtesan eyed an isolated man standing near two heavy-armored guards. Not following too closely, Ezio slowly approached the bench and sat down with his back arched forward, attempting to blend in and listen in on the conversation. Gabriela sprinted across the nearby rooftop, but as soon as she spotted a guard on top of the other side, she slid down to the edge and hung there.

_Cazzo,_ she thought. _Such good timing, too._ Gabriela was the last recruit left to assassinate the final ambassador; it all rested in her hands now.

Down below, the courtesan walked towards the ambassador as he eyed her curiously. "Follow me," she stated, motioning him to follow. "I have something to show you."

The two guards looked at each other, and then back to the courtesan. "If he won't go, I will," replied the leftmost one.

"No," interrupted the ambassador, glancing at the duo. "I will take care of this." They both nodded afterwards, and he began to follow the courtesan.

Gabriela looked down below from her hanging position. As soon as the ambassador and the courtesan passed her, she glanced over to see if there was a good area to continue free-running without being caught. A lowered wall at the end of the rooftop had been positioned right next to the building. Perfect. She made her way to the end of the rooftop through a series of side climbs, and jumped onto the top of the wall, continuing to follow the two.

_Seems like he's far away enough from those two guards_, thought Gabriela. Her eyes immediately locked onto the ambassador, who was walking towards the pier, and as she sprang up from the top of the wall, her wrist flicked back, revealing the hidden blade for the kill. Her body lunged towards him as she landed, striking him straight in the heart from behind and killing him. The deed was done.

Ezio stood up from the bench and walked towards the courtesan, who was standing next to Gabriela. Guido and Adele climbed down from the buildings nearby and joined them.

"Addio Ezio," she murmured with a grin. "Stay safe."

"Of course madonna," he replied. "You too." The assassins and the courtesan walked off in separate directions, as to not draw any attention from the guards or any passerbys in the area.

Moments had passed since the mission was competed. The bottom of Gabriela's left palm was stained with faded, dried blood from the ambassador; initially, it was something that she was not used to at first, but as time passed, she glanced at it like a temporary memento from the mission.

They all stood in front of the hideout. Ezio smiled as he took a good look at his recruits.

"Buon lavoro," he complimented. "I was afraid that at least one of you would have been detected in the slightest. But I am glad this mission went smoothly." Ezio turned to his left and faced Adele. "Please see me this evening in the hideout, Adele. I will need your assistance with a mission. You may go back to your chambers for a rest."

Adele nodded enthusiastically. "Si Ezio, grazie." She went down the pathway towards the shelter as the three assassins watched. In seconds, the master assassin turned to Guido, who was formerly standing between the two females.

"Guido, you may retire for the rest of the day. Please see me in the morning tomorrow."

"Si, grazie," he bowed slightly. "I must return to my family in the meantime. Addio." Guido ran off in the direction they had come from and climbed a couple of buildings to quickly reach his family's home in the city. And of course, Ezio turned to Gabriela, the last assassin recruit remaining.

"Gabriela, I will also require your assistance this evening. Please meet with Adele and I in the hideout later."

"I will see you in the evening then, Ezio." Gabriela bowed her head at the slightest angle and turned around, away from the master assassin to head back to the shelter.

And before she was able to take her first step, Ezio grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back towards him and twirling herself around a full 180 degrees before pressing his lips against hers firmly, with his fingers cupping her chin and tilting her lips for a perfect position.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews all! The end of the chapter may seem to be a little rushed (and slightly cheesy even) though, but I did want to get this one uploaded as soon as possible for you all to read.**

-9-

"It has been a long four, perhaps even five months, that I have been able to go resisting you," murmured Ezio in a low, but soft tone seconds after he pulled away from the kiss and put his hand down back at his side. "But I cannot do so anymore."

Gabriela's cheeks turned bright rosy red as she looked into his eyes. Was she seducing the master assassin without realizing it? Had Ezio _really_ fallen in love with her, or was it just pure lust? For what reason was he unable to resist her?

Her mind flashed back to nearly six months back. She recalled the time he laid her battered body on his bed from when he had found Gabriela, out of all places…and then when she woke up, Ezio cupped her chin as a more-than-friendly gesture as he spoke to her in regards to her joining the brotherhood. Weeks later, he strongly held her in his arms in the alley for one of the "missions" they were on. And later that day, he hugged her tightly, nearly kissing before Adele had interrupted them. Within the same night, it seemed like he was a little hesitant to do anything since they were interrupted, albeit there was the time it seemed like he was going to try to go in for the kiss right as the mission was being assigned. That was the last relevant recollection; the trip down to memory lane was very scattered and had abruptly ended there…but the fact that he had seemed rather flirty with Gabriela since possibly the first day made her wonder—_was it love at first sight, or lust at first sight?_

"E-Ezio, I am…confused," she admitted, taking a second to look away shyly, and then looking back. "Why—"

"Machiavelli," uttered Ezio. "The night of your first mission in May, Machiavelli had raised a brow and warned me to not get involved with any of the reclutas once you had left the hideout. It was particularly difficult to not do anything. These four or five months have been tough, considering how I have not stopped thinking about you since I had first spoken with you when you regained consciousness. Machiavelli does not need to know about this or have any concern with our own lives."

She was dumbfounded. It _was_ leaning towards love at first sight…or love at first "speech". A flood of emotions overwhelmed her and her heart began to beat a little faster.

"Gabriela," he called her name calmly, slowly bringing his hand up again but to her cheek this time. He caressed the smooth skin as it curved along her cheek bone. "Please get some rest for this evening. You may need it."

The female recruit hesitated as her mind was flabbergasted with his somewhat calloused thumb stroking her face gently. She nodded slowly in reply, faintly smiling. "Si, Ezio."

He removed his hand from her face and smiled as well. "Bene. I will see you later then." The master assassin walked towards the hideout as she watched him do so in the same spot. "Addio, Gabriela."

"Addio, Ezio."

The door in front of Ezio opened, and as he entered the hideout, she turned away and headed towards the shelter. While walking, she brushed her bottom lip with her fingers. Though his kiss surprised her, it wasn't forceful, but rather gentle and warm.

It was their first kiss, the kiss between an apprentice and the master assassin.

Gabriela opened the door to the shelter and found Adele snacking on a handful of grapes, seated at the table. Her eyes watched her as she quietly closed the door behind her; Gabriela's face still had a hint of red, but it was more of a soft pink rather than the bright shade that covered her cheeks earlier.

"You look flushed, Gabriela," observed Adele, popping another green grape in her mouth. "Is something wrong?"

She turned to Adele and shook her head. "Nothing happened, nothing at all," fibbed Gabriela. "I just feel a little warm, nothing else."

Chewing, the other female assassin slightly raised her brow. "Alright. Well, I hope you are not getting sick, since the cold weather is starting to pick up."

"I…I think I will go skip the snacks and head upstairs for a quick nap. I will see you tonight since Ezio has requested me to tag along for the mission tonight as well."

"Suit yourself. Have a nice nap."

Gabriela walked out of the room and up the stairs, eventually facing the door to their room. With the door shut, she pressed her head against its wooden surface, closing her eyes for a second and trying to clear her thoughts, listening to the ambience of the streets.

_…I am not doing anything flirtatious or trying to seduce Ezio intentionally or by accident, am I?_ she thought moments later. A sigh escaped from her chest as Gabriela pulled her head away from the door and opened her eyes as she had pushed the door open. The first thing that she had done as soon as she walked in was flop down onto the bed, stomach first. She rolled over to lie down on her back and held her left wrist high up in the air, removing the hidden blade and setting it on the ground while still in bed. Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling as she folded her hands over her body.

_Maybe I should get some rest like Ezio suggested_, said Gabriela to herself. _The mission and all of this thinking have worn me out quite a bit._ She closed her eyes slowly, and easily drifted off to sleep.

…

_The sky was slowly fading to orange from its soft blue skies. Gabriela stood on top of a roof, overlooking the area. It didn't look familiar to her at all; after all, she was born and raised in Rome and had not traveled anywhere outside of the city and the countryside surrounding it. She was dressed in her assassin garb, with what seemed to be more equipment as the weight seemed to be weighing her body down._

_Her eyes spotted a group of three people on a podium, two of which wore similar assassin robes and were unrecognizable to her; the last one appeared to look like an ordinary citizen. They stood with what seemed to be loosened nooses around their necks and arms tied behind their backs. Two ordinary guards stood on the stage on opposite sides, with one right next to a contraption that loosened up the floorboards below the three. An official stood at the front of the podium with a scroll in their hands, reading something inaudible out loud to the audience down below, which had a handful of guards standing in the crowd._

_Her hands groped for what seemed to be a crossbow strapped to her back. As she pulled it out of its holster, her left hand scurried to find bolts in one of her belt pouches to load the weapon. Gabriela placed a bolt in as quickly as possible, and aimed the bow at the guard next to the device. The trigger was pressed and the bolt flew in the air, nailing the bolt straight into the target's neck and killing them. The guard on the podium pointed his finger at the female assassin on the rooftop, whereas the official's eyes widened in horror._

_"Assassina! Assassina!" exclaimed the official, scrunching the scroll up._

_Gabriela quickly reloaded the crossbow with another dart that she held in her freehand. She aimed the crossbow at the frantic guard who had previously pointed at her and pulled the trigger again, just as the guards from the crowd were beginning to emerge onto the stage. The bolt went through his body this time, knocking him down to the ground and rendering the guard useless as he lay dying._

_"Gabriela!" bellowed one of the voices from the assassin clothing from down below. _

_"I'm coming!" she shouted, reloading her crossbow again. And as she completed placing a new bolt into her crossbow, a sharp pain in her back caused her to stop her in her tracks._

_And suddenly, a bright flash of light emerged._

_…_

Gabriela's back arched upwards from the bed as her eyes opened wide. She took in two deep breaths before realizing that she was back in the assassin shelter and what had happened was just a mere dream. Her body relaxed, and she looked over to her left to see what time of the day it was. Though the buildings blocked the view, she realized that the sun was barely above the horizon. About another half an hour remained.

She then turned over to her right. Adele was sleeping away in her bed as well, but under the covers instead of sleeping on top of the covers as Gabriela had lazily done. The faint snoring made her chuckle as she got off of the bed, picking up the vambrace and slipping it back onto her wrist. She could feel her stomach was on the verge of grumbling; maybe it was time for a quick snack before heading off to the hideout.

Upon exiting the room, Gabriela walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Adele was eating her grapes. She spotted a loaf of bread with its slices laid out almost perfectly on the countertop. It wasn't stale, but it wasn't warm anymore either. She grabbed two large slices and nibbled on it at the table.

Her mind drifted off to the dream she had as she continued to eat. Where was she, and who were the two assassins? In fact, who was the other person scheduled for execution and the official up on the podium too? Her dream wasn't a lucid dream, and yet it seemed like she had known the assassins. She was also equipped with new weapons and gear, much to her surprise.

_If only the dream was longer_, she pondered, finishing up the slice of bread before moving onto the next.

And then as she began to eat the next piece of bread, Gabriela's mind wandered off to the kiss earlier once again. She realized that she didn't resist him considering how long it had lasted, or so she assumed it had lasted longer than a "normal" kiss in her perspective. But her feelings were jumbled around; she didn't know what to think of Ezio or what he thought of her, his pupil, exactly. There was much more that she wanted to find out.

But as she finished the second slice, she sighed. There was no time left to think about the overall situation. Ezio was expecting Adele and Gabriela back at the hideout for their next evening mission soon. She headed up the stairs and found Adele still sleeping in her bed. She shook her sleeping body gently a couple of times.

"Wake up Adele, it's almost time to meet up with Ezio," murmured Gabriela.

Adele groaned a little bit before opening her eyes and sitting up. She rubbed her eyes and part of her face to wake herself up quicker. "I had a dream that something had happened between you and Ezio," blurted Adele, who was still half-awake.

Gabriela's face blanched a little. "What exactly happened?" she asked in a somewhat quiet tone, trying to keep her poker face and expression stable.

"I cannot remember, honestly," she admitted, stretching her arms out for a second. "How was your nap though?"

"Alright, I suppose."

Adele stood up and stretched once more. "Well, shall we get going to the hideout then?" Without a vocal response, Gabriela nodded as they headed down the steps together.

The walk to the hideout was a somewhat quiet one, especially as the sun was setting and people were beginning to go back to their homes. Gabriela began to think about what Adele had said, even. Though she knew that she was beginning to overthink the situation, she couldn't help but wonder—what did _she_ think if she knew what the entire situation between the two was like? Gabriela didn't even know what was happening exactly between her and Ezio.

As the two headed down the stairs of the hideout, they found Ezio sitting in the chair next to the fireplace, reading out of a book. Machiavelli wasn't around either, surprisingly. He spotted their approaches and closed it, setting it down on the ground next to the chair as he stood up.

"Buonasera, donne," greeted Ezio with a friendly grin.

_Merda_, thought Gabriela, _his grin is too much for me. I need to act normal._

"Buonasera," greeted Adele in return.

"Buonasera, Ezio," mimicked Gabriela, croaking very slightly as she pronounced his name and hoping that no one had caught it.

"It is the perfect night to burn a Borgia tower in the Centro District. You two will assist me with handling the guards and keeping an eye out for the Captain, Domenico da Padova, as he will need to be assassinated. Once that is done, I will burn the tower and we will begin to rebuild it tomorrow. When the tower is burnt, meet me at the haystack closest to it. Inteso?"

Both of the female recruits nodded.

"Bene. Follow me via the rooftops and try not to set foot on the ground unless it is absolutely necessary. The tower is not too far from here, and it lingers northeast from the hideout, right next to the border to the Campagna Distrct."

Moments of walking and trailing behind Ezio on the rooftops to the area where the Borgia had their influence passed. The two recruits were following him closely behind, distancing themselves from each other to avoid getting caught altogether. Domenico da Padova was a paranoid captain, and would constantly patrol the Borgia tower to keep it protected. If they were spotted, the captain would flee and the mission would have been a complete waste of effort.

The sun was beginning to set. They were all positioned slightly southeast of the tower. Looking forward, Ezio spotted a ladder against a building and began to climb it, joining the other two. As soon as he got to the top, he turned around to face the building nearest to him, where they were standing.

"Quicker," he mouthed widely while pointing down at his rooftop.

They continued to shadow the master assassin as he led the way to tower's area, climbing over and on various walls. He approached a rooftop garden right beside the tower and stood next to the garden, peering out from the side to see if any guards were past it. Only one guard was on patrol near him, and they seemed preoccupied with examining their own armor.

Ezio pulled out the crossbow strapped onto his back. The other two recruits were too far away for the kill, and a crossbow bolt would do the job quickly. As his weapon was already loaded, he took a peek from the side of the rooftop garden, quickly aiming his weapon and pulling the trigger. The dart hit the guard straight on in the back, silently killing him. He quickly took a bolt from his pouch and reloaded it right before sheathing the crossbow.

With the guard dead, he ran safely towards the tower and began to climb it, gripping the edges of the bricks and features of the tower to position himself onto the other side of the rooftop, with the occasional drop and grab. Adele and Gabriela followed suit respectively, mimicking his every movement. Once his hands grasped onto the rooftop of the other side, Ezio waited patiently in his hanging position as the footsteps of another guard caused the tiles to vibrate a little.

He was going to kill the guard with a grab and throwing him over his shoulder, but the guard had decided to patrol the opposite side of the roof. As Ezio looked over his right shoulder to see who was behind him, he nodded his head in the direction of the guard. Both Adele and Gabriela had seen his signal; since Gabriela was still on the other end of the roof where Ezio was previously, she began to climb onto the tower, but going around the other side this time. Dropping a bit and catching herself onto the ledge below, she made her way onto the same rooftop the master assassin was at, but just on the opposite side. As the guard walked close to the edge of the roof and made his way closer to Gabriela without realizing it, she pulled herself up slightly and revealed her hidden blade, stabbing the guard in his chest while in the process of grabbing his clothes, and throwing him over.

"Ben fatto," he whispered, nodding his head once as Adele made her way onto the same rooftop and Gabriela pulled herself up all the way. A small smile crept from her lips.

_Do not stray your mind away from the mission_, said Gabriela to herself. _Focus._

Ezio made his way on top of what seemed to be the top of a church. He stood next to the cross and looked around, immediately spotting a guard on top of a building next to it. The guard eyed him and shouted something incomprehensible, alerting the three.

"Cazzo," muttered Ezio. He ran in the opposite direction as the two females hung onto the church's roof, with the guard jumping from his roof to their roof. Though the assassins were spread out, Ezio got into his hanging position and joined the three as the guard slowly approached the edge above Adele.

"Perdonami," she whispered, performing another similar grab kill on the guard. As his body hit the ground, the three of them got back onto the rooftop and looked around for a man cloaked in heavy armor with a cape.

"Ezio," uttered Gabriela, who was looking straight down from the top of what seemed to be the entrance of the church. Adele and Ezio gathered around and peered over, spotting Domenico da Padova standing in front of the entrance, looking around for any suspicious activities or people various times.

"Assassinating him will attract attention," murmured Ezio. "I will take care of him. However, once the guards begin to come over here, you two will fend off the guards while I head to the tower and ignite it."

The two nodded. He squatted on the frame of the roof, and in a second, he jumped down onto the guard with his left hidden blade unsheathed, killing the captain on impact as he landed. The cries of the captain echoed throughout the square, attracting the attention of eight guards.

"Assassino! Assassino!" cried out one of the guards as they ran towards him. Gabriela and Adele got into similar positions as Ezio on the frame, and pounced on two of the eight guards, killing them.

"No! Assassini!" exclaimed another guard. Ezio immediately reached for a smoke bomb in his pocket and threw it onto the ground, shrouding a good range of the area for a diversion. Adele and Gabriela held their breath and exhaled as the Borgia militia began to choke on the smoke. Adele withdrew her long sword while Gabriela unsheathed her dagger; the two began to hack away at the distracted enemies.

In the period of the smoke bomb, they had both eliminated four guards total, with only two remaining. As the smoke began to disperse into the air, the two realized that only the heavily-armored guards—the Brutes—were left standing, gripping onto their spears firmly.

Gabriela stood in her defensive stance with the dagger in an icepick grip. The guard took a thrust at her with his spear, causing her to leap back to avoid getting stabbed in the stomach. She immediately took this as an opening; she bolted towards her target, slashing through the opening in between the armor at their neck and then their legs, causing them to fall down and die. As she turned around to see how Adele was doing with her Brute, she noticed that they were the only ones left standing.

"Easy enough," stated Adele. Gabriela nodded.

"I thought the Brutes would have been more of a challenge to take down," began Gabriela, shaking her head in disbelief. "But I suppose that we were too fast to experience their strength. Is Ezio at the tower already?"

Adele pointed at the tower and Gabriela turned around. She watched carefully as the master assassin slowly climbed to the very top, where a small torch was lit and waiting to consume the tower. He was only about halfway up, and constantly looked around for anything to grab onto for climbing.

"We're next to the haystack," stated Adele. "He should take a leap of faith into this one after igniting the tower, so we do not have to travel far." Gabriela's attention shifted. She eyed the haystack that the other female assassin was pointing to, which was right below the tower.

A couple of minutes had passed and Ezio was already at the top of the tower. He looked down from the balcony, discovering that Gabriela and Adele were standing around and waiting right next to the bodies of the guards they had killed. A smirk escaped from his lips as he grabbed the a wooden stick on the floor, taking the torch out of the holster and lighting the stick up in his other hand. He crept out onto the narrow ledge and tossed one of them onto the floor, causing the wooden boards to ignite. After waiting for a brief moment, it seemed as the entire tower was beginning to catch fire. Ezio tossed his last torch into the flames, allowing the barrels of gunpowder to light up. He immediately sprang off from the ledge and aimed for the haystack, mimicking a swan dive before rotating so he would land in a slightly laid back position.

Adele and Gabriela went over to the haystack as soon as Ezio landed safely. He hopped out and brushed a few strands of hay off of his clothing. "Back to the hideout," he stated. His recruits followed him closely as a handful of citizens were fleeing the area in terror, blending into the crowd.

They had all reached the entrance hideout moments later. The sky was already a gradient from pale orange, to a thin strip of sky blue, and a large patch of navy blue, with a couple of bright stars twinkling overhead. The three stood approached the entrance of the hideout as the temperature began to drop a little.

"Grazie," he thanked the two assassins with a friendly smile. "We are one step closer to liberating Roma. Adele, I will see you in the morning for another small mission. Please get some sleep in the meantime."

Adele bowed her head slightly in gratitude. "Of course, Ezio. I will see you tomorrow. Buonanotte." She bolted off towards the assassin shelter, but not before eyeing both Ezio and Gabriela for a quick second.

Gabriela began to shiver a little while the orange strip of light began to fade from the horizon. As soon as Adele had vanished into the home, Ezio glanced over at his recruit and placed his arms over her from behind, holding her tightly around his body.

"I will not assign you for any missions tomorrow morning. But has gotten a little freddo, has it not Gabriela?" he asked in a low tone. She nodded without saying a word, her body starting to warm up a little more from his body heat as she began to shiver less. But on the other hand, her heart began to beat a little faster. "I worry about you shivering in this temperature, _caro_. If you need to warm up, I have just the idea to do so quickly."

"H-how so?" she asked in response, with a subtle hint of nervousness in her shuddering voice.

"Come back to my chambers with me."


	11. Chapter 10

-10-

Gabriela found herself whisked away onto Ezio's back as he carried her to the shelter from the hideout. All it took was a simple response:

"I might as well, Ezio."

The tone of her voice and the way she had said "yes" made him a little nervous, but nevertheless happy, or so she had thought when she saw the somewhat hidden smirk on his face. Her hands were wrapped around his neck and they were beginning to get a little cold. She also noticed he had no difficulties carrying her—it made her wonder whether it was because she was petite, or if he was used to carrying her limp body from before…

Using one hand to hold one of her legs up, he used his free hand to open the door. The shelter was quiet; Guido had probably gone back to his family's home for the night, and Adele was most likely getting ready to go to bed. Only a couple of flickering lights from the candles that were meant to guide someone up the stairs were lit. The two eyed the door in front of them, which had enclosed Ezio's chambers. He hobbled over to the door as quietly as he could and used the same hand to open it.

Ezio set her down on the bed as he turned to the door and closed it. Gabriela quickly examined the room. _His room looks the same as when I was last here months ago,_ she thought, examining the same topaz-colored blanket covering his bed. The sound of the door closing shut alerted her; she turned her head towards Ezio, who was already removing his armor and weapons. Mimicking the master assassin, she began to remove her vambrace, along with her gloves, sash, and belts.

He went over to his desk after he removed most of his equipment, and using a match, he quickly scraped it against the wall to start a little flame. Ezio carefully lit the candelabra on his desk for some dim light between the two. Pulling his hood down, he looked over at Gabriela; it was hard to tell with how dark the room was, but her hands were shaking a little bit as she was removing the last accessory—her crimson belt.

"Gabriela," he said, reaching out and putting a hand over her hands which were over the sash. In surprise, she jerked a bit and looked at his face. As always, Ezio's face was warm and inviting, and though her trembling had mostly stopped, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"I…I am sorry, Ezio," she said, letting out a sigh.

"Do not be," replied Ezio, leaning in towards her. Though she was well-aware of the fact that he was leaning in for a kiss, her body did not move. In fact, out of instinct, she closed her eyes and leaned her head forward and slightly tilting it at an angle as well, breaking the awkward barrier between the two as the pressed their lips together. And before Gabriela knew it, they had continued to swap saliva for what seemed to be forever. Her body began to melt on the bed as the kissing continued.

He eventually broke away from the kiss and she looked up in both surprise and slight disappointment, as if she had wanted more of his signature kisses—his gentle, warm kisses. He pulled his white assassin robe, along with his boots, off, and then slithered onto the bed while hovering over Gabriela, giving her one more kiss while he was still clothed in his tunic and trousers.

"You still have your sash and your robe on, signora," he muttered in a low, seductive tone. And for once, she smirked.

"Mi dispiace, signore, who is still in his clothing as well," she joked in response. While he was still hovering over Gabriela, she began to slowly remove the sash as Ezio carefully watched. But the pace she was going at was like a tease for him. In the dim light, she could barely tell he was nibbling at the corner of his lower lip.

As soon as she loosened up the sash, Ezio leaned his head down over to her left cheek, brushing his lips against her skin and placing his mouth over her left ear. "Perhaps you could progress a little faster, as I do not like to be teased," whispered Ezio, also smirking.

Gabriela chuckled as she completely removed the sash and tossed it off of his bed along with the other clothing. "Si, si," she replied. "Let me get up and remove my robe."

Ezio pulled himself away from the bed to give Gabriela her space. And as soon as she could see again after pulling her robe off of her body, she realized she was facing a topless Ezio who was loosening up his trousers. Her face turned red as she dropped her robe onto the floor. Her eyes gazed at his chiseled body and his arms; there were scars everywhere, which did not bother her. But the fact that his toned body and arms were hidden because of his attire was very misleading.

_You cannot expect much from a master assassin who has done this for more than half of his life though,_ argued Gabriela in her mind. And out of instinct once again, she removed the upper half of her dark gray outer layer, revealing her corset without realizing it until she felt the slightly cold air touching her bare skin.

"Bene," murmured Ezio with a sheepish grin, as he hovered over Gabriela once more. "We can crawl under the covers."

"…You do not expect me to undress myself more?" she questioned him in confusion.

He looked at her in surprise. "I did not expect a woman like you to get so...comfortable, so fast."

"…Va bene. I am just starting to get colder."

She immediately pulled the blanket and the comforter from the top of the bed to loosen them up, providing the couple their loose space underneath it. As soon as Gabriela slipped underneath, she found Ezio sliding in right behind her and wrapping an arm around her body once they had gotten comfortable and pulled the covers up over their shoulders. Before she knew it, the two of them were face to face, side by side beneath the warm covers. With each exhale Ezio gave, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her body, giving her slight goosebumps.

"Gabriela…" he stated her name, placing a hand on her cheek and stroking her smooth skin with his thumb. He pulled her in closer to his body as they continued to lay side by side.

"Ezio," she whispered his name in response. She placed a hand on the top his chest and grazed her fingertips down, feeling every crease from the muscles and scars from previous battles on his body. He pulled her face closer to his as she removed her hand, and she inched her head forward to eliminate the distance between the two, with their lips interlocking. Gabriela's mind had drifted off with each kiss—each warm, passionate kiss. She could feel her body melt again in his warmth as her heart began to pound faster, and her hands fumbled around from his back to his head. Ezio's own hands were gently moving from her cheek and to her left shoulderblade, brushing the scar delicately; he pulled away from her lips and left a trail of soft pecks from his lips, starting from her jawline down to the side of her neck. Ecstasy overcame Gabriela as her head craned to the side, involuntarily gasping.

The two rolled over, with Gabriela on the bottom and Ezio on top, holding his weight up to prevent himself from crushing her frail, tiny body. He continued to plant kisses away at her neck as one of her hands reached for his own, signaling them to lock their hands together. His other free hand trailed from her shoulderblade to her left breast clothed by her corset, where he gave it a firm squeeze and began to knead it in his hand gently.

"Ezio, please, no," breathed Gabriela quickly in surprise, who jolted a bit and stopped Ezio from continuing his kisses. A look of disappointment flushed all emotion from Ezio's face.

"Va bene, whatever pleases you," he murmured, pulling his hand away from her mound and pecked her neck once more. "You are not shivering or trembling anymore. Are you feeling warmer now?"

A tiny chuckle resonated from Gabriela. "I was when you were planting all of those baci on my neck," she said. "Thank you, Ezio."

"Mmm? Shall I continue then?" purred Ezio, stroking the skin slightly below her neck.

"Perhaps in a little bit." She gently pulled Ezio's head down closer to her face as she tilted her head. Gabriela parted her lips, and both his and hers had met. Their eyes had closed once again to take the moment in; a few kisses in, the brushing of his tongue against her lower lip signaled Gabriela to part her lips more without any hesitation. Each kiss from that point on was fiercely passionate as their tongues had touched, yet there was a subtle hint of gentleness in every one of them. And before she knew it, they were both getting lost in kisses.

As time had passed, Gabriela found herself cuddling up against Ezio's chest as they slept the night away, with his arms wrapped against her petite body.

_…_

_"Do you need help with something, signora?"_

_Gabriela turned around around from the stall of weapons and armor, and found herself gazing at a young man, about 5'7", eyeing her with his soft hazel eyes. She examined his layered brown-blonde hair that reached his chin and his facial stubble, which were kempt. The navy blue coat over his slightly broad shoulders covered his ivory tunic underneath, and part of his black slacks, which were partially tucked into his black leather boots.  
_

_"Si, I was wondering if you could repair my family—I mean, brother's, dagger," she said, lifting the cloak over her shoulders and removing a sheathed dagger. She handed it to him carefully. "It seems that the blade has snapped into two."  
_

_He cautiously unsheathed the dagger and eyed the end with the handle. The entire blade had been broken off of the handle, and rested within the sheath. He placed the handle back on top of the sheath._

_"The damage is not as bad as I thought it would have been, and it can be fixed," he said, holding tightly onto the sheath and the handle to prevent it from falling apart as his hands rested beside his hips. "It should be repaired within a few days. Please come back to this stall on Wednesday, and request to see me."_

_"Mi dispiace, but what is your name?"_

_"Valerio. Valerio Bianchi. I look forward to seeing you return on Wednesday…er…it seems that I do not know your name, either__—_"

_"Gabriela. My name is Gabriela Merlo."_

_Valerio grinned. "Va bene Gabriela. Addio and take care."_

_"Addio, Valerio." She turned around and walked away, in the direction of the dark sky. The sun was beginning to set and she could see the gradient of the sunlight and the starry sky. There wasn't much time to waste; Gabriela wanted to get back to her home before the entire sky was dark, and because she did not want to bring the family horse with her into the city, she regretted leaving it at the edge between the city and the plains of the Campagna District. There was quite some distance for her to cover between the stall in Centro District and her horse._

_She walked as fast as her legs could take her, silently cursing at the length of her legs with each and every step she took. Out of instinct, she pulled the charcoal hood of her cloak over her head, and looked slightly down as she fast-walked on the cobblestones._

I wonder how Orazio broke the family dagger anyway,_ she thought. _He is normally cooped in his room, doing who knows what, although I suppose he could have gotten in a crazy fight, or something silly_…_

_Gabriela immediately felt a slight tug at her cloak, accompanied by a bump, and looked up. She eyed what had seemed to be an orphan boy chasing the other orphan boy that had bumped into her, both of whom were going in the opposite direction as her. Turning around, she looked at the two orphans as they continued to run in disapproval._

_"Watch where you are running!" she hollered out to them, cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify the shout. Shaking her head, Gabriela continued to walk back to the border, continuing to think about her brother and what he could have done that broke the dagger, without actually telling his sister._

_And then it hit her. She remembered the feeling of her cloak pulled in one direction as the two orphans passed by. Groping her outside pockets quickly after stopping in her tracks, she began to search to see if the crimson pouch of florins still remained with her. With no luck from those pockets, she began to search her inside pockets as well. Nothing._

Her pouch of florins was missing.

_Her heart began to race in panic. Too much time may have passed for her to run back to the innermost part of the city to try and find those orphans, especially with the sky beginning to get dark. But most of the money she had kept was in that pouch, and she knew she had to get it back at any cost._

_There was no other choice at this point. She turned around and began to bolt towards the heart of Rome; Gabriela kept her eyes open to see if anyone was carrying or holding her pouch of florins, or if there was any sign of the two orphans._

_After running through the city for a few minutes and scouting for her pouch and the two orphans, she stopped a couple of blocks away from the stall. She took a few breaths and hunched over, feeling a cramp in her side as she winced in pain. They weren't found to be anywhere in sight, and Gabriela began to lose hope. The center of the gradient between the two skies was moving towards the western horizon. At this rate, she would be home by the time it was completely dark, much to her dismay._

_Gabriela took a couple of deep breaths before standing up straight again. As soon as she stood up straight and stretched her back out a bit, a couple of young child-like cries were heard around the corner. Out of curiosity, she tiptoed closer to it and leaned her ear closer, trying to get a sense of what was happening._

_"Lasciarmi andare!" cried one boy._

_"Per favore, signore!" pleaded another. "We were not doing anything!"_

_"Not doing anything?" questioned a familiar voice. Gabriela immediately recognized the owner of the voice____—Valerio. She popped out from behind the building and watched the events unfold in front of her. Valerio was holding one of the orphans at the back collar of his tunic, whereas the other orphan was on his knees, begging Valerio to set the boy down. "I see a crimson pouch of florins in your pocket, and overheard you two admitting to pickpocketing from a young lady outside of my stall."_

_____"We're sorry!" said the orphan still hanging in the air, who looked like he was on the verge of tearing up. "We just need florins for food!"_

_____Valerio sighed. Before setting the orphan down, he nabbed Gabriela's pouch of florins from his pocket and grasped it firmly in his right hand. "Stealing others' florins is not right." He reached into his coat pocket and grabbed two coins, handing one each to the two boys. "One florin for both of you. If you ask for money instead, perhaps someone will have the cuore to provide you some money."_

_____"Mi dispiace," recited both of the orphans in unison._

_____He shook his head. "I believe that should be said to the young lady over there." Valerio pointed to Gabriela, who stood dumbfoundedly._

_____The two boys looked at Gabriela with sorrow. "Mi dispiace, signora," corrected the orphans._

_____"Lo ti perdono," said Gabriela calmly._

_____"Now, shoo, shoo, go purchase your food before it gets dark," motioned Valerio. They bolted off into the shadows. Gabriela's eyes gazed into Valerio's with compassion as he walked closer to her, holding her pouch up._

_____"Grazie, Valerio," she smiled. "But how did you know that was mine?"_

_____He rotated the pouch to show her the small golden embroidery at the bottom. The text was tiny, but it had the inscription_ G. Merlo_ in unique lettering. "I noticed the embroidery as soon as I grabbed your florins from the boys. You are the only person with the family name of Merlo that I am aware of. I assumed the G stood for Gabriela as well, unless if it stood for Gabriele or Gerardo or anything similar." Valerio handed her money pouch back to Gabriela. "When I met with you earlier, I saw your pouch sticking out of your cloak pocket as well. I was afraid of it falling out or that something similar to this incident would have happened."____  
_

_She chuckled. "Very observant, aren't we? Regardless, I do appreciate what you have done, Valerio. I really do. However, it is getting dark now, and I must be taking off. I will see you on Wednesday."_

_"Aspetta," he called out as she turned around, causing her to do a double-take. "Won't you let me walk back with you, to accompany you?"_

_Without hesitation, she replied, "Si," and they began to walk back to the border together._

_…_

**A/N: Surprise, surprise, I ****_actually_**** made Ezio a gentleman and just had them cuddle for the first night together. :P Also, I'm not a huge romance-writer, so writing this scene out did make me feel a little awkward at times and so I feel like this entire scene might have been awkward. Any feedback would be appreciated!**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: I apologize, but my schedule has gotten hectic. Updates MAY be slow for the next few months, until the end of the semester. In the meantime, here is a lengthy chapter to keep you all occupied.**

-11-

Gabriela stirred slightly in her sleep for a while, groping for the comforter as her skin was exposed to what seemed to be slightly cold air for her. Silence embraced her and Ezio's chambers as she curled up and clenched onto the blanket. The candlelight from the night had vanished as the wax had completely melted and the wick of the candle was completely burnt. There was some natural light coming in through a small window facing the desk; the lighting was dim as the skies were dark and gray, as if it was about to rain.

After tossing and turning for a little longer while being mostly asleep, Gabriela rubbed her eyes open. She found herself alone in Ezio's room after their little session from the previous night, and she felt rather alone after realizing he was gone for the morning. Only her clothes remained in his room, which were all neatly folded and arranged on the seat of the desk chair, rather than leaving them sprawled all over the floor.

_Grazie Ezio,_ she thought as a small smile stretched across her lips. _He must have taken care of them right before he left to meet Guido and Adele._

Once she sat up, she raised her arms way above her body as far as she could, stretching. Her eyes then darted towards the clock that had sat at his bookshelf. 9:30 am.

_I must have slept like a rock._

It was difficult to tell how many hours had passed last night while she and Ezio were together. Regardless, she a couple of hours left to kill until Ezio came back for a potential mission assigned for her and who knows who.

Flipping the covers off of her body, she hopped off of his bed and stretched her body and limbs once more. She quickly wobbled over to the chair and grabbed her clothing, unfolding them and putting them on her body slowly.

_I wonder what mission Ezio is doing now,_ she thought as she put her robe over her body and pulling the hood over her head. _I would assume that it would be a difficult mission if he has Adele and Guido traveling with him. Though that does make me wonder what he will assign me to do today, with him...perhaps we will be assisting more courtesans or La Volpe's thief guild, or maybe even perhaps Pantasilea has some assassination contracts for us..._

Gabriela began to wonder what the next mission would be like as she wrapped the her belt with the dagger around her waist, leaving only her vambrace and leather boots left. Two hours of pondering aimlessly was more than enough time for her; she hadn't been this anxious for a mission for quite some time. Spending the night with the master assassin had kept her spirits up. Not only did she want to help with the brotherhood, but now she had wanted to spend time with Ezio by her side.

She strapped into her leather boots and headed out of his room, clutching onto the unequipped vambrace as she opened the door. As she gently closed the door behind her, she faced the kitchen and found Adele's back facing towards her from the table, a few feet away. Gabriela's heart jumped out of her chest in surprise. Adele was quietly reading a book, not making any noise or sudden movements.

"Buongiorno Gabriela," murmured Adele. Her eyes were locked onto her book and there was a tinge of negativity in her voice.

"Buongiorno Adele," greeted Gabriela, attempting to keep her composure. "How has your morning been so far? I thought you were summoned for a mission with Ezio."

"It has been good I suppose," she replied, still keeping her eyes onto the book as she continued to read. "Ezio only required me to remove the posters around the area, and to help a little with reconstructing a couple of shops. I do not know what he is doing with Guido though, since he did not ask him to leave."

"Perhaps he knows how tired you are from the previous missions," suggested Gabriela.

"That may be the case." Adele turned a page in her book. "And before I forget, I have some leftover pesce soup for you to my right." Her eyes were still glued, but she motioned her head to the macaroni-colored bowl sitting at the seat to her right. Gabriela walked over to the seat, leaving the vambrace on the ground next to her chair and smiled.

"Grazie, Adele." She sat down and could immediately smell the aroma of the onions, fish, and the potatoes. She did not eat much the night before, and her stomach began to growl before her hand reached for the spoon.

After taking a few bites of the soup, Adele closed her book and set it on the table. She finally made eye contact with Gabriela, who was busy savoring her breakfast and regaining her energy and did not notice.

"You slept with Ezio last night, didn't you?"

Gabriela nearly choked upon hearing Adele blurting those words, caught off-guard. She coughed a couple of times and finished chewing her spoonful of the potato, swallowing the mush afterwards.

"I—no, I didn't. I do not know why you are asking this personal question at a time like this, Adele." It was difficult to not raise her voice in concern.

She sighed, rubbing her temples with the index finger and middle finger from both hands. "I don't know what you and Ezio have been up to, nor should I have asked and I do apologize. But I am afraid of this…relationship of yours will cause problems for our missions, one way or the other. It is a bad feeling that I have had since I noticed that you did not return to your bed upstairs last night."

"It will not affect our missions or strain the relationship of the brotherhood, I can promise you that," replied Gabriela, taking another spoonful of the soup.

"Va bene. In any case, please be cautious of yours and Ezio's actions." Adele pushed her chair out and stood up from the table, grabbing her book in one hand. She turned towards the stairs and took a few steps. "Also, it seems that Machiavelli requires you back at the hideout for a mission."

Gabriela stopped in her soup-eating, taking a second to think about it. "Grazie once again, Adele. I guess I will head over and see him shortly." Adele nodded and headed back up the stairs, leaving the other female assassin to eat and think in peace.

She took a bite of the small chunk of fish and began to chew. She thought Ezio would assign her the mission today, rather than Niccolo Machiavelli—would this mean that she would be doing the mission on her own today, or without Ezio even? It was difficult to know what to expect out of the mission he had for her. It was also concerning to hear Adele scrutinize Gabriela and Ezio's current relationship. Granted, Gabriela understood why she was concerned, but her own approach was very alarming.

In any case, she had to forget worrying over the entire situation. Gabriela slurped the remainder of the soup, and hurriedly went out the door as she equipped her vambrace onto her left arm. She found herself in front of the door to the hideout a moment later, inhaling and exhaling deeply before she opened the door. Once she entered, she found herself cautiously walking down the steps to the main room, expecting to see Niccolo sitting at the desk as he was scribbling notes down. But as she took her step on the last stair, he was found to be walking into the main room from the fast travel area, all proper.

"Salve, Niccolo," addressed Gabriela. He nodded his head slightly in return and approval, standing in front of her at the end of the steps.

"Salute, Gabriela. I assume that Adele has told you of my request?" he asked.

"She has only told me that you request my assistance this morning."

"Va bene, that was all I had told her." Niccolo began to pace back and forth slowly. "By any chance, do you recall telling Ezio months ago, before joining as a recluta, that you could provide him your deceased brother's notes in regards to the Borgia?"

She paused for a moment as her eyes shifted away, trying to recall the moment. "I actually do, si. Would those be needed now?"

"Si. I am afraid I am running out of leads for the identities of those that are associated with terrorizing Roma and affiliated with the Borgia. Without any leads, I cannot progress any further."

Gabriela paused again and gritted her teeth. "The only problem is...I have not gone back to the home in the Campagna District since before the incident with Orazio. I am hoping his notes are still there...but my other concern is that a member of the Borgia order may be residing in the home or they are using it for other purposes since he has been deceased; they know that I cannot return to the home as an actual home because it is unsafe there."

Niccolo frowned in disapproval. "Understandable, signora Merlo. However, this is all I ask of you as you did mention this beforehand. But if you cannot obtain the notes, then you cannot obtain the notes. Since you had a direct relationship with a member of the Borgia order, I had assumed it would have been easy for you to obtain some of the related information."

A somewhat audible exhale was heard from Gabriela. "It is not easy as you may know with how mio fratello chased me down the streets of Roma that night, but I will do whatever I can then, and I will leave shortly." She flicked her wrist and examined the sharpness of the hidden blade as it slid out quickly from the hidden sheath from the vambrace. She looked back at the philosopher. "Does Ezio know about this, Machiavelli?"

He stopped pacing back and forth, standing still as his eyes made contact with Gabriela's. "No, but I am hoping he will understand why I have requested you to do so."

"Allora, I will be heading out and I should be back as soon as possible. Arrivederci, Niccolo." She relaxed her wrist as the blade snapped back into its sheath quickly and faintly smiled at him.

"Addio, Gabriela. Good luck." He gave her another slight nod as a farewell.

Gabriela headed up the stairs and exhaled deeply once again. As she aimlessly began to wander towards a horse stable after leaving the shelter, she painted her previous home in her mind. It had been about six months since she had been at the house she had spent almost all her life in. And it took one painful memory—one life-changing event—to disrupt her sense of peace and trust; her home was not a save haven since before then. And returning back to her home was going to be difficult, both emotionally and potentially, physically.

She pulled a pearl-white mare from the stable, and although she struggled to pull herself up, her body encompassed the horse's saddle. With a flick of the reins, the horse bolted out of the stable and headed towards the Campagna District, avoiding as many citizens and guards as possible.

As soon as her horse took a few steps out onto the wide, open field, she could feel a couple of raindrops trickle down from the sky. Her hope was that it would only sprinkle for the remainder of the mission, but knowing how the wet weather was in October, it would not be the case. More raindrops came down from the clouds and they slowly began to soak through her robes.

Tugging on the reins again, the mare stopped near a tree, yards away from what appeared to be a somewhat beaten up home. Gabriela jumped off of the horse's saddle and took a moment to examine the home from where she was standing. Compared to what it was like weeks before the siblings had turned on each other, nothing much had changed, other than the fact that weeds were growing everywhere and there were now a couple of guards patrolling the area.

_If there are guards here, then there must be a reason why they are watching this area carefully,_ thought Gabriela. She craned her head around from the tree to see if she could get a glimpse in one of the windows to the dining area. While she could not see anything through the window, there was probably a good chance that there was something occurring in her older brother's former room.

More raindrops continued to fall from the sky. She sighed and took a few steps forward towards her former home, with her boots crunching in the soft wet grass in every step. The two guards walking around the perimeter of her former home appeared to be on the other side of the house. Gabriela took this opportunity and bolted closer to her former home, pressing herself against the wall to avoid being seen through the windows. The door was on the other side, where the guards were at. She crept close to the wall and went in the direction the guards were patrolling. But as soon as she got close to the corner closest to the door, she stopped in her tracks as the two guards stopped.

"Bruno, why don't you take a little break? I can cover your shift while you rest, and you have said you haven't been feeling too well today."

"Perhaps I will, Antonio...I have not been feeling any better since this morning."

"Va bene, guarisci presto."

The guard saluted the other and walked away in the direction of the city while the other guard took his position in front of the door. Gabriela waited patiently behind the corner for a few moments to see if he would budge, hoping to _not_ spill any blood. But the guard stood there with his back pressed against the wall with nothing to do but patrol.

She heavily exhaled, trying to silence it as much as possible. There wasn't much of a choice now if she wanted to get in. Gabriela scaled the walls with moderate effort, pulling herself up onto the roof. Her feet crept on the rooftop tiles as she approached the unaware guard from top and behind. The rain made it somewhat slippery, and she was watching every step carefully. Her eyes locked onto him once she was close enough, and in an instant, she sprang from the roof and pounced onto the guard, using her hidden blade to pierce through his body and killing him silently.

"Perdonami," she mouthed, with her breath making the words barely audible to her own ears. She stood up straight after landing on her legs and using her hand for support once she landed, with the corpse underneath her. "Requiescat in pace." The blade retracted and Gabriela carefully stepped over the guard's body. One guard was down, but who knows how many were inside and stood in her way...

Gabriela's hands groped for the moist doorknob, and once she had a firm grip, she slowly twisted it to open the door. There was no creaking or sound made, much to her pleasure. She peeked inside with the crack she had made, actively searching for any guards walking around. The main room, which consisted of the kitchen and fireplace area, was empty. The table and chairs still remained, along with the cushioned bench. She turned her head to place her ear against the crack of the door for any sound, or any human voices that she could pick up.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN ORAZIO DID NOT HAVE THE DOCUMENTS?!"

Her heart jumped out of her chest as she heard the booming male voice. She leapt back from the door naturally, and continued to hear more of the conversation in her crab-walking position on the grass. With the size of the crack at the door, she was barely able to peek in from her spot.

"Cesare, there is no need to shout. However, before his death earlier this year, Orazio told me he—"

"If they're not here, then the documents _aren't_ here."

Gabriela immediately recognized the voice and the way the word "aren't" was hissed. She didn't have to look into the crack to see who it was; Cesare Borgia was at her former home, presumably looking for documents that would lead the House of Borgia a step further into Rome's declination.

"I am just saying, when he murdered Salomone Bernardino the banker, he told me managed to get a hold of the documents immediately."

"Figlio di puttana!" Cesare growled and sharply turned around to the guard. "I want you and another guard to continue searching for the documents at this house again. Do _not _disappoint me." He turned back around and summoned three other guards who were in the house to follow him out of the door.

_Cazzo_.

She sprang up to her feet and headed towards the wall, pushing her feet up and against it to give herself some height. Gabriela frantically climbed up the stones, slipping once from the slickness of the rain. As soon as she was safely on the top of the roof, her body naturally curled up to reduce the visibility of her body. She peered over from the edge, looking down at the corpse once the door opened with Cesare looking down at the corpse.

_Cazzo,_ she thought again.

He turned around with a look of uneasiness written all over his face, immediately pointing at one of the guards following him. "You! I want you to keep an eye out from the inside. There must be someone around here looking for trouble."

The guard nodded and headed back inside, closing it behind him. Cesare and his two remaining guards began to walk back towards the castle, looking around cautiously with every few steps they took. Once they vanished across the horizon, Gabriela sighed deeply. There were more guards to take care of, and it would be more difficult to avoid killing them now.

She slid down the rooftop tiles and dangled in front of the door, avoiding being seen by anyone inside. Her grip loosened up and she landed quietly on her feet, squatting down. Gabriela reached for the doorknob again and turned it. She slowly opened the door to provide herself a small-enough crack to peer in. The guard from before was walking around the main room. She continued watching for a good minute, hoping that he would change his patrolling pattern or path. But he didn't budge; he continued to stroll around the perimeter of the main room and there wasn't much that she could do about it.

As soon as his back was turned against the door, she swiftly opened it and immediately pounced on the guard with her hidden blade. A muffled cry escaped from his mouth as Gabriela killed him, breaking what had seemed to be silence throughout the home.

The two guards that were searching through the same room rushed out with their swords in their hands. They spotted Gabriela with her hidden blade still unsheathed and covered in the dead guard's blood, standing next to the corpse.

"Assassina," scowled one guard.

The other guard shook his head. "It is not just any assassina...it is Orazio's sister, Gabriela Merlo. And look where she's finally returned to."

She gritted her teeth and withdrew the dagger from its sheath. "I am tired of being identified as Orazio's little sister by you bastardos," she muttered under her breath, holding it in an icepick grip in her right hand and positioned in a stance.

"Oh ho, should I be afraid?" taunted the guard, giving a hearty laugh. Gabriela took this opportunity as he was thrown off-guard by his own amusement and tackled him, puncturing his body with her hidden blade with her left arm. She quickly stood up as the other guard trembled in horror.

"You...p-puttana!" shouted the remaining guard, thrusting his blade at Gabriela. She hopped back to avoid getting cut by his sword, standing in her stance once again with her dagger in her hand. He lunged at her this time, going as far as he could go. Swiftly moving to the side to avoid the hit, she found an opening and stabbed him through the back as deep as the blade could go. A blood-curdling cry emanated from the dying guard as she quickly pulled it out of his back, with his limp body dropping to the ground.

"Perdonami," she apologized again, squatting down to get closer to the guard's face. Her cold eyes pierced into his dying soul. "But no one calls me a puttana, either, nor 'the figlia of a puttana.'"

The guard took a few gasps of air without saying anything. Her blow to his body did not end him swiftly, and she could feel his suffering with each breath. Sighing, she raised her dagger in the air and struck him in the chest through the heart, hastily pulling the dagger out as it began to drip with blood. No more gasps were heard from the guard.

"Requiescat in pace."

Gabriela closed his eyelids and stood up. She looked around and saw the three corpses of the guards sprawled around. Blood pooled from their bodies and their skin began to blanch. She then looked at her dagger in her hand; the blood from her dagger was beginning to drip slowly. The entire scene was a sight that she did not want to see again in her former home...it had all hurt too much.

...

_Rome, Italy – February 1491_

_Gabriela pulled her hood down from her cloak as she entered her home. Darkness filled up the skies outside, with not a single cloud in sight blocking the glimmering of the stars. Her cheeks were rosy pink from the chilly air outside, and the fire from the fireplace was dead. The home was eerily silent; it seemed like the dinner table was left as it was when she had gone out for the firewood. Only a small handful of candles in the home were lit, with three of them being from the center of the table from the candelabra._

_She crept in, taking a few steps in further as the floorboard creaked. Her eyes shifted around in the dim light, expecting one of her parents to pop out from the darkness as if they were searching for something that dropped onto the floor._

_"Madre? Padre?" she squeaked, taking another couple of steps forward. "Where is everyone?"_

_No response. __Maybe they are just in another room and can't hear me,__ pondered Gabriela. Her heart began to flutter a bit in her chest; it wasn't normal for them to vanish with no response in the house. Her mother's sapphire cloak rested on the cushioned bench, meaning that even her mother must have been home for sure._

_Her instincts guided Gabriela to the closest room that was still lit—Orazio's room. __Perhaps he just returned home, and mother and father are just talking very quietly with him__. And even though she continued to tell herself this, the pounding in her chest would not go away or slow down._

_She tip-toed to his room, leaning against the wall as she shimmied to his door frame. Not a single breath escaped from her chest as she tried to quiet her body down, listening for anything. There was pure silence as she listened. Gabriela took this time to slowly peek her head around the corner into Orazio's room._

_The first thing she caught glimpse of was her father and mother, lying in a pool of their own blood with their eyes glazed over, staring lifelessly into space._

_Gabriela fell to her knees in front of the doorway and began to tremble violently, gasping for air as her eyes widened at the sight of her parents. Though her right hand was quivering, she fumbled around with her cloak to reach for her dagger. Her hands shakily unsheathed the blade and she began to crawl on all fours towards the closest body, her mother's._

_"M-mother?" she silently cried out, reaching to touch her mother's face with her free hand. She did not budge or flinch one bit in response; a tear began to stream down from Gabriela's eyes._

_She immediately crawled hastily towards her father's body and grabbed his hand, ignorant to the fact that his hand was covered in blood as well. Her two warm hands embraced his cold, blood-stained hand and squeezed it, hoping for a response._

_"F-father," she cried out again, raising her voice. Utter silence. Gabriela began to chew shakily on her bottom lip, scrunching her eyes a bit._

_"You and mother cannot leave me!" The intensity of her cries escalated to a shout, eventually breaking into muffled sobs. She released her father's hand and placed it carefully onto his chest, right above his fatal stab wound. Her dagger was clenched tightly and closer to her body as she crouched up and tried to calmly creep around. Whoever had done this to her parents was possibly still around._

_As Gabriela turned the corner from Orazio's room, her heart and even her body leapt as soon as she saw a figure around the corner. Orazio jolted back in surprise with his hands up, seeing his sister armed with a dagger in close proximity to him.  
_

_"It's okay Gabriela," he calmly said, motioning his hands and arms down. "Put the dagger down. I am here now."  
_

_Her fingers fumbled around in shock, trying to release her grip on the blade's handle. As soon as she was able to let go, Gabriela ran up to her brother and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing intensely and shaking. His arms softly wrapped around her body, patting her back.  
_

_"I saw their bodies," she whispered into his ear, gasping for sobs. Orazio continued to pat her to try and soothe his little sister.  
_

_"I did too just a minute ago," he replied. "I cannot believe someone would _do_ such a thing. May their souls rest in peace. But do not worry, sorella...I will take care of you now."_

_..._

That was ten years ago. Ten years of solid, emotional pain and false trust.

Chills crept down her spine and she shuddered from the recollection of the memory. But a memory was a memory, and there was no point looking at the past now; her mission had to be completed.

Gabriela stepped over the bodies of the guards in the direction of the kitchen, eyeing a clean cloth resting at the top of the counter. She grabbed the cloth and began to carefully polish the wet blood off of the dagger. And with each stroke of the cloth, she couldn't help but remember the puddle of blood from her parents' bodies and the way she had held the dagger in her hand.

She eventually stopped wiping the blood off and left the rag on the counter, sheathing her dagger without any hesitation. As Gabriela turned around, her eyes gazed upon the door of her old room for quite some time. Curiosity was getting to her; she was beginning to ponder what had been done to her room by the Borgia, and if any of her old possessions remained...

She might as well while she was in her home. After calmly walking to her room, Gabriela pushed the door open without any hesitation. She struggled to push it a bit in the process, as if something was blocking its way. But as it opened all the way, she was shocked to find her belongings were thrown everywhere—her old clothing, books, accessories—even her bedding was a complete mess.

Exhaling deeply, Gabriela carefully walked around and over the various possessions on the floor. Her heart told her to leave the room and to go into Orazio's to find his notes as soon as possible, but her brain stated otherwise. Her interest, and something in her room kept calling for her, gluing her to her former room and she couldn't help but remain. Perhaps there was something that would be of use for the brotherhood, either something that she could vaguely recall or something that the House of Borgia had left behind while scouring around.

Taking a brief look at her empty bed, she began to grab some of the clothing on the floor and tossed them freely, using her mattress like a laundry basket. Time was ticking away as she continued her maid-like duties. And at the same time, it felt a little calming yet depressing for her to reminisce while picking up each item off of her floor.

Minutes passed and Gabriela realized she was getting nowhere trying to find something useful for Machiavelli. _Maybe I will just pick up o__ne more item_, she thought. One of her old, soft nightgowns that she had worn a few years ago was sprawled out on the floor. Squatting down, she swiftly picked it up; underneath it, a small crimson pouch covered in velvet mischievously hid underneath it. Her eyes immediately widened as soon as she saw her pouch.

And then she remembered her dream; it hit her like a bullet.


	13. Chapter 12

-12-

Gabriela could completely recall the dream from the night before upon seeing the pouch. In fact, it was a spitting memory of how she and her deceased fiancée first met about five years back. The memory itself was still fresh in her mind; she could still picture the entire scene as if she was there again.

But it was odd, she thought. She hadn't had a dream about Valerio since the incident between her and her brother, let alone a dream of an entire memory between the two. Why now, especially after her little night with Ezio? Was it just a coincidence?

She shook her head in disbelief. Maybe her dream was just a dream and nothing else, and maybe she was just over-analyzing it. Or maybe it was just her subconscious trying to tell her to remember some other positive moments of her life as well. Regardless, she had to keep the focus away from Valerio and the dream.

Looking around the floor of her room, Gabriela began to pick up more of her belongings off of the floor. She tossed the remaining items from the ground onto her bed—the pouch, her old coat, a satchel, two books she read as a teenager, an old corset, and some shoes. There was nothing else that seemed to be of value for both her and the brotherhood of assassins. She shook her head in disappointment, expecting to find something other than her own possessions.

Keeping her hopes up high, she walked out of her room and headed to Orazio's room. Gabriela did not want to go back to Machiavelli and disappoint everyone, including herself, by telling him that she was not able to find anything in her old home. She leaned her back against the door frame to his room for a moment and closed her eyes, recalling something very vaguely...

...

_Rome, Italy – April 1501_

_It was sunset and very close to nightfall; Gabriela entered her home through the door and shut it behind her with her open arm. Her other arm was holding a basket of laundry. Since the homicide of her parents, the farmland had not been touched. Her parents did not teach her and Orazio anything related to farming, as they were planning to do so in a few years until their death. The land was beginning to become barren, and thus held little value. But since he was supporting the two of them with his job, which was oblivious to his sister, she felt that there was no need to worry._

_She set the basket down on the floor next to the door and approached the main table. Eyeing the single match that conveniently sat next to the candelabra, Gabriela grabbed both of them and walked over to the wall. In a fluid motion, she struck the match against the rough surface of the wall and quickly lit the half-melted candles and their wicks, hastily blowing out the flame from the match in her hand. The dim lighting now accompanied her as she set the candle holder back onto the dining table. Her eyes examined the entire scope of the room, as there was an eerie aura to it. She couldn't place her finger on it, but something was giving her the chills._

It's probably nothing_, pondered Gabriela, trying to settle herself down. To keep herself occupied, she remembered that the cloth napkins for the table were washed and prepped for their dinner. She walked back over to the basket and picked it up, carrying it over to the table. But something had caught the corner of her eye on the floor; with the dim candle lighting, she could make out that there were some drops of liquid trailing into her older brother's room._

It cannot be blood...can it? _Why would there be blood going into his room? Or rather,_ whose_ blood was it?__ Her heart began to pick up its pace, and Gabriela wanted to know for sure what it was exactly. In an attempt to get closer to examine the droplets, she placed the basket down next to her and got on all fours, being careful not to get them onto her clothes. Her face crept close to the stains on the hardwood floor. She glanced at it for a good moment, examining it..._

_It was blood. There was a tinge of crimson in it, and it did not smell like wine at all, which was her second assumption._

_"Orazio?" she called out from the main room, pulling herself up. There was no response. Orazio was normally not home for another hour at most; regardless if he was home or not, t__he trail of blood droplets on the wooden floor was startling, and the questions that lingered in her mind were left unanswered._

_And she had wanted answers to her uneasiness. Gabriela made the decision and began to creep towards her brother's room, being careful to not step on the blood stains. As she got closer, she craned her head into the doorway, wondering if she could catch a glimpse of her brother, or anyone for that matter. But with every step, she realized that there was no one, or no body literally, in his room._

_She took a deep breath in and stopped in her tracks. Oddly enough, it appeared that the blood trailed from the entrance of their home and ended at the end of Orazio's desk, next to his chair. Nothing else was around the end of the trail._

_Her curiosity piqued as she naturally began to walk in. She stood in the middle of the room, with his bed, desk and the accompanying chair, and a small wardrobe on the opposite side of his desk. The wardrobe had caught Gabriela's attention, as she wondered if there was anything that was hidden inside of it. Tiptoeing to the furniture, her hands slowly reached for the two handles and she gripped onto them tightly. They were cold metal handles, and she could not help but shudder as the chill tingled down her spine. Disregarding the coldness, she forcefully pried the doors of Orazio's wardrobe open and her arms swung around her body._

_Nothing. _Almost_ nothing. The only thing that was stored in the wardrobe was a clean pair of slacks._

_Gabriela quietly closed the wardrobe as she became more alert and cautious. There was still a sense of uneasiness and an ominous aura that lingered around her, and she couldn't rest without figuring out what was spooking her out_ and_ where the blood stains had originated from_._ She turned around and stood as she examined his room again, eyeing every little thing in sight...even the little plain navy-bound notebook that sat at the corner of his desk. Her eyes locked onto it for a moment, wondering what it was. The odd thing, she thought, was that Orazio's desk was normally clean and void of anything _but_ the candelabra. Perhaps he had forgotten to put it away?_

_She couldn't help but wonder what the contents of the book had kept inside. If it was a regular book for reading, there should have been a title embossed on the front. And Gabriela was beginning to speculate that it was a journal or diary or some sort. If that was the case, it would be a sin if she looked inside..._

_No. One little peek wouldn't hurt at all. _

_She approached the desk slowly, feeling the need to be cautious as she took a step closer. And as she stood behind the desk, her hand trembled slightly as she eased her right hand for the book. But as Gabriela's hand reached close proximity to the book, she immediately snapped her hand back to her chest and clenched it into a fist.  
_

_"No," she muttered to herself, sighing deeply. Immediately, her hand reached out for the book and using the ribbon that dangled in between two pages, she carefully opened it up and peered into the contents inside, carefully written in black ink._

_"Felice Corvi_  
_For the surplus of weaponry_  
_Eliminated by Raffaele Donati - April 16th, 1501"_

_Nothing had stood out as Gabriela pondered about the small, final section she had read. It was all written in Orazio's handwriting though, so clearly it had meaning to him. She flipped back a page and began to read a few of the passages on the previous page:_

_"Imelda Leoni  
Suspected betrayal to the order and House  
Eliminated by Raffaele Donati - April 7th, 1501  
_

_Carlo Vigo  
Failure to comply for questioning  
Eliminated by Ciro Tosetti - April 4th, 1501_

_Male civilian  
Beginning an uprising  
Eliminated by Cesare Borgia - April 2nd, 1501"_

_Her index and middle finger ran over the grooves in the page of the eliminator's name in the last section._ Cesare Borgia._ His entry was vague, and the fact that a male civilian was eliminated due to an uprising was startling. In fact, why was Orazio holding onto a book that presumably contained a record of murders, victims, and the reasoning of their deaths, let alone writing about it?  
_

_She decided to jump to a random page in the book, about eight pages in. Gabriela read the first two entries that appeared on the page, attempting to understand the purpose of the book more:  
_

_"Giuliano Merlo  
__– _  
Eliminated by Orazio Merlo - February 19th, 1491

_Amalia Merlo  
__– _  
Eliminated by Orazio Merlo - February 19th, 1491"

_"What?" gasped Gabriela loudly to herself, her hand trembling as she touched the writing in utter surprise. Their parents' names were written as entries, with the killer for both being her own brother...the recorder of the book. And yet there were no reasons listed for why they were killed.  
_

_Her eyes widened as she had a moment of realization. Frantically, her fingers shuffled through numerous pages, glancing over the dates in each section for each page she passed through. There was a moment of silence from the page-turning seconds later, as Gabriela skimmed down the page and found the following passage:_

_"Valerio Bianchi  
__–  
Eliminated by Orazio Merlo - August 28th, 1498"  
_

___Her brother had murdered not only their parents, but he was the one responsible for her __fiancée's death, too. All three were eliminated by him for no reason._

_____She hesitantly took a step back in disbelief. All this time, the murderer for her loved ones was right under her nose the whole time and she never realized it. Gabriela felt betrayed, toyed with, and knew that she was lied to. It was too much for her heart to handle. There was a strong indication that he was a part of the House of Borgia, and had been since a couple of months before their parents' deaths.  
_

_____She instantly remembered the trail of blood leading to her sibling's room. Her eyes darted down at the floor and Gabriela squinted a little. The blood trail was either due to her brother's last murder, or he was injured. _

_____"...What are you doing in my room, Gabriela?"_

_____Her head craned from the trail to the doorway. Orazio was standing with his arms folded across his chest in slight discontent, and he had even asked with a tone of concern. There was no blood on him as far as she could tell, but she had to keep_ that _concern aside.____  
_

_"And what are you doing with that libro of mine?"_

_"You...are a murderer." That was all she could blurt out as her finger shakily pointed to his book._

_Orazio kept his posture and stared his sister down with his gray-green eyes. "Please listen to me, sorella. You do not understand__—"_  


___"_I_ do not understand? _You_ murdered madre e il padre...and _you_ were the one who killed Valerio, all without reason! Was this all part of that job you took up from ten years ago? I even saw Cesare Borgia's name listed in your book! If you are associated with the House of the Borgia, the corrupt rulers of Rome, then I cannot be associated with you...a murderer, a lying, deceit being working alongside the Bor__—"_

___"Va bene Gabriela...if you cannot be associated with me, then..." Without any hesitation, Orazio reached for what seemed to be a dagger strapped to the back of his belt and unsheathed it. The sound of cold metal being scraped along its sheath very quickly echoed through the air._

Run and get the hell out_, Gabriela immediately thought._

_..._

_And this is where I am now._

Her eyes fluttered open. She was back in her home to the present day. Enough time was spent daydreaming, and her mission had to be completed, or attempted rather, in the worst-case scenario.

Gabriela sprung from the door frame and headed into Orazio's room. His room looked like a somewhat tidier version of Gabriela's room, with minimal messes. The wardrobe was open and it appeared that it was left as it was when she had last entered his room about half a year ago, to her surprise. His bed sheets were also furled up into a mess; the floor still had the trail of blood stained on the wooden floorboards, although it was dried up. The desk also had papers scattered around its surface everywhere.

She immediately went for the desk and began to push the papers to the sides of the desk, attempting to reveal any books and anything that appeared to be out of the ordinary. After a minute of constant shuffling and looking at every area of the table, there was no trace of the book or anything else.

"Where could it be?" she muttered to herself. Gabriela looked away from the desk and examined around her brother's room, quickly scanning for anything that would have hinted at something hidden. She took a few steps towards the center of the room, and on the final step, the floor creaked audibly. It wasn't too quiet, but it wasn't too loud. Somewhat startled, her eyes gazed upon her foot and the floor below her foot.

_A loose floorboard_, she thought, pressing her foot down against the floorboard repeatedly as it squeaked in response each time. With each press, she could feel the looseness of the board. _I do not think that was there months ago...and it does seem to be quite suspicious for being this loose and squeaky._

Gabriela squatted down to get a closer look. When she had pressed down on the board, the wooden tip budged a little bit, but not enough for her to grab the board. She reached over and forcibly pressed down on the board with one hand, creating another squeak as she examined the tip again. It dislodged itself a bit more, but it was still not enough for her to pry it. Keeping her hand pressed against the floorboard, she whipped out her hidden blade and placed it in crack. She motioned her wrist several times to pry the board loose. Eventually, the floorboard snapped up from the floor, and Gabriela was able to move it out of the way.

She peered into the hole. Inside the hole contained the familiar navy book that she had been searching for, along with crimson and charcoal books with pages that had golden edges. Gabriela heaved a sigh of relief. Why were the books hidden under the floor and by who had done so, she'll never know. But whatever the case, the mission was done. All she had to do now was to bring them back safely to Machiavelli.

Carrying the books back to the hideout by hand would be an issue; the size of all three books were the same, and one alone was almost the size of the Gutenberg Bible, not to mention that she would be riding on the horse back to Tiberina Island. Gabriela immediately remembered the satchel she had found in her trashed room; she quickly headed into her former room and grabbed the brown leather satchel, carrying it into Orazio's room. Gabriela squatted down again and reached into the hole, pulling the three books out. They were a little dusty from sitting there for who knew how long, but she blew off as much dust as she could in one single breath. The remainder of the dust was wiped off using one of the corners of the bed sheets, and she placed the three books into her satchel, strapping it over her shoulder.

It was finally time to leave the hell hole of her former home and to go back to her _real_ home.

Gabriela hurriedly left her brother's room and the entire house. As soon as she opened the door, the booming sound of thunder was heard miles away, accompanied by the downpour of the rain. She quickly closed the door behind her and ran back towards her horse, being careful not to slip in the drenched grass. The tree had protected the horse from some of the rain, but not all of it. The mare whinnied in excitement and restlessness when she approached her.

"Shh, mi dispiace," she whispered to the horse, approaching her slowly. "I know I took too long, but now we can go home together." As soon as it calmed down after hearing her voice and speech soothe its restlessness, Gabriela pulled herself up onto the slightly damp saddle. It immediately bolted off back towards the city of Rome, streaking through the rain as the clouds began to lighten up a bit.

Gabriela arrived at Tiber Island shortly afterwards and returned the mare to stable. The rain was letting up slightly within the few hours she was gone for; her entire robes were damp and she was beginning to shiver a little. Only a couple of blocks to go until she was at the hideout.

She did not look at the other two books and had not recognized them at all, but only took them upon instinct. The navy book was the only one she had recognized, and yet a sense of uneasiness was slowly beginning to overwhelm her. At the same time, Gabriela wanted to pull the book out and skim through the pages again, recognizing the names of the murderers and the victims, and understanding what they had died for, _if _there was a clear reason. The crimson and charcoal books did not interest her as much, but she was also beginning to wonder what was inside both. It was unclear who exactly had placed the three books under the floorboard, although she did not eliminate the possibility of Orazio hiding them quickly before he had chased her down the streets. But it was also unclear why they were there, other than the simple purpose of hiding them...but from who were they hidden from exactly?

Before she knew it, Gabriela was already at the entrance to the assassin hideout. Her hand, somewhat wet from the humid air and the rain, slipped a little as she grasped the door handle, and she fumbled a little as she opened the door. She closed the door behind her and began to head down the stairs, leaving tiny puddles behind her with every step down. When she got to the bottom , she had expected to be greeted by Machiavelli at desk. But no one was around in the hideout, not even Adele. It was quiet for once.

She pulled her hood down and shook her head a bit as little water droplets splattered all over the floor. Some of the rain had made her wavy locks wet. The hideout was warmer and didn't make her shiver as much as it did outside. Gabriela peered over her shoulder and eyed at the fireplace. There was no fire, but there was wood. Walking over to it and squatting down, she immediately began to kindle a fire for warmth. And within a moment, a flame burst and spread around the firewood.

"Bene," murmured Gabriela, rubbing her damp robes. She pulled up the crimson velvet chair closer to the fire and sat in it, pulling the satchel over her lap and sighing for a moment. She closed her eyes for a second and began to enjoy the warmth of the fire as she relaxed in the chair.

_No one's around._

Her eyes flickered open. No one _was_ around. On impulse, she immediately opened the flap of her bag and pulled out the dry navy book first. As she placed it on her lap on top of the bag, the tips of her fingertips ran across the cover. It felt the same as before, six months ago. Gabriela hesitated for a moment, but followed through and opened the book, flipping through pages to see if she could encounter the old entries again. After flipping through a handful of pages, she found herself staring at one of the pages she had seen before. Her eyes skimmed down, and she encountered the following section:

_"Giuliano Merlo  
__– _  
Eliminated by Orazio Merlo - February 19th, 1491

_Amalia Merlo  
__– _  
Eliminated by Orazio Merlo - February 19th, 1491"

It had remained unchanged. Her eyes stared at the two entries as she went off into space. She snapped back to reality and began to wonder the same for Valerio; she quickly progressed through numerous pages and found herself staring at another familiar page with the following entry:

_"Valerio Bianchi  
__–  
Eliminated by Orazio Merlo - August 28th, 1498"_

Gabriela heaved a heavy sigh. Why was she hoping that these three entries, which were seemingly set in stone, would change within the six months she was away for? She began to traverse to the last entry of the book in curiosity. As she stumbled upon the last written page, she eyed the written portion quickly:

_"Livia Accorso  
____–_  
_Eliminated by Il Carnefice - January 26th, 1500"_

The last entry was written after Orazio's death, but it had been almost two years since it was last written. Who was keeping track of these records after his death, and why was there a gap? Regardless, she had the book and it had listed the potential members associated with the Borgia. Gabriela then suddenly remembered the other two books, and had wondered if there was a correlation between the three. As she began to fumble with her satchel, she heard a voice echoing from the fast travel hallway and was coming towards her direction:

"Another one?" The voice sounded like Machiavelli.

"Si, it seemed like they were struggling to defend themselves from the city guards. He should be coming to the hideout soon." Gabriela immediately recognized this voice as Ezio's. She immediately shuffled her belongings and put the navy book back into the satchel, sitting on the chair casually as she waited for them to come into the main room.

"Va bene. If that is the case, then_—_" Machiavelli and Ezio were standing next to Gabriela and he stopped in his tracks in astonishment, trying to keep his composure up. "...If that is the case, Ezio, then I believe we should only recruit about eight more at most. Bentornato, Gabriela."

"Grazie, Niccolo. Buon pomeriggio, Ezio." She stood up and did a curtsy, without holding the loose fabric of her robes up. Ezio smirked.

"Salve, Gabriela," he greeted in exchange.

Niccolo scratched his chin for a second, and then placed his arms behind his back. "I see that you have returned from your morning mission, along with a new bag," he said. "Did you happen to retrieve the notes?"

The master assassin frowned as he looked over to him. "You had sent Gabriela on a mission without notifying me?"

"Ezio, it's okay," said Gabriela as she tried to get in between their conversation. She pulled the satchel's strap off of her shoulder and offered the bag to Machiavelli. "I have found a book that consisted of what seemed to be murders noted by the Borgia, including my deceased brother. I have not looked at the other two that were hidden with it, however."

Niccolo took the bag from her, and for once, he showed some emotion with a small smile upon realization that they were close to having the upper hand. "Ottimo lavoro," he complimented, taking the satchel to the desk as Ezio and Gabriela tagged along. He immediately opened up the satchel's flap and placed all three books on the desk, opening the navy one first and quickly flipping through the pages, skimming to see if the information was beneficial. Then he reached for the charcoal book and opened it, eyeing each page briefly again. The writing was different compared to the navy book and a slight grin could have been seen on his face.

"...I saw Cesare Borgia." She broke the silence with her blurting. Niccolo and Ezio immediately looked up and turned to her.

"He was at your home?" asked Ezio with concern. "I thought he was supposed to be in Romagna at this point."

Gabriela shook her head. "No...but while I did not get into any conflict with him, I did manage to...take care of numerous guards that had detected me."

"What was he searching for?" questioned Niccolo. "I am concerned that there were guards at your home. This is a clear indication that they are guarding or looking for something."

"Before Cesare left, he was shouting something about documents. Another guard mentioned Salomone Bernardino, a banker, who had documents which my brother had seized upon the banker's death." Her voice began to become a little shaky as Ezio and Niccolo kept mentioning _home_.

Niccolo flipped a few more pages in the book and found a couple of loose-leaf documents. He pulled them out from the crease and examined them carefully. "It must be these documents," he said after a moment which Ezio and Gabriela had observed. "Whatever they are for, I am sure that we will be one step ahead of the Borgia with these."

"These books as well, Machiavelli," stated Ezio, pulling the crimson book out from underneath the charcoal book. He opened it and began to read out of it for a little. Both of the men were occupied with Gabriela's findings, and although she was proud that she had made them both happy, a wave of dizziness and queasiness came over her as the room began to spin a little. Although she was standing still, she stumbled a little and rubbed the temples of her head. Ezio and Niccolo had observed this with concern, and the master assassin approached Gabriela, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Gabriela?" he questioned. She nodded.

"I...I am fine," she stated with slight hesitation. "I have just gone through a copious amount of emotional stress wearing me down today, that is all."

"Perhaps you should take the remainder of the day off to rest. After all, it is approaching the late afternoon, and there is not much to do tonight, especially with the weather."

"Perhaps I will—"

The door at the top of the stairs creaked open. The three of them turned their heads to the direction of the door. A man who looked a few years older than Gabriela calmly walked down the stairs, examining and scanning the place with each step that he took. His skin was slightly darker and had more color than hers, and he was about half a foot taller than her. His hair was dark as well, close to Ezio's shade but slightly lighter; it was straight and had gone slightly past his earlobes, with a few locks dangling around his forehead. He also had a little soul patch that was not too thick, and he was in civilian clothes that looked like they were newly cut in a couple of areas with no blood or wounds visible.

"Mi dispiace," he apologized as soon as he reached the bottom of the steps as he gave a slight nod towards Ezio, acknowledging him. "But it appears that I have made it to Isola Tiberina."

Ezio smiled. "Gabriela, before you leave for the remainder of the day, I want you to meet our newest recluta."

"I am Dante Gatti," he introduced himself, smiling and bowing. Gabriela nodded her head and bowed slightly in return.

"Gabriela Merlo," she responded. "I am sorry as well for cutting this short, but I have not been feeling well, and I must be heading back to my chambers." Gabriela went up the stairs as quickly as she could.

"Ci vediamo domani...bella." Ezio murmured the last word as he had waved her off.

As soon as she got outside, it was still showering quite a bit. Gabriela hurried back to the shelter, quickly opening the door and heading up the stairs to her room. Adele was not around, and she immediately flopped herself onto the bed. She had just wanted to crawl in her bed and sleep to regain her energy for the next day.

...

Hours had passed and she found herself awake at night. The sky was dark and clear with no moon. She found herself going out in her robes, fetching another horse from the stable, and riding over to her former home. The next thing she knew was that she held a stick with a flame at the end of it, and threw it into the home, setting it ablaze. Gabriela stared at it for a moment, then proceeded to hop back onto her horse.

_All of the documents are gone. No more memories, no more secret hideouts for the Borgias and the Templars,_ she reflected, riding the horse away as the blaze continued.


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry for getting this chapter out so late! The last semester at my university has been kicking my ass, and I've been dealing with some emotional strains lately. I'm also going on a graduation trip to Italy, so this will most likely be my last chapter until June/July (and hopefully I'll get some inspiration there to continue writing this up). Thanks for being patient with me. :D**

-13-

Rome, Italy – January 1502

"Gabriela." A familiar female voice murmured, almost like a snap, from across the room.

"Mmmm...si?" she sleepily replied, grumbling a little as she shifted under the covers. "What...time is it Adele?" Gabriela snuggled up against her pillow and pulled the blanket over her exposed shoulder, half-awake.

"It is almost 9 am, and Ezio has summoned all four of us to the entrance of the hideout. Apparently this mission is very urgent."

Gabriela slowly sat up on her bed and groaned a little as Adele was putting her equipment on. She rubbed her eyes a little and blinked, catching a glimpse of the outside world. It appeared to be a little chilly outside, and sunlight was beginning to creep in through the cracks of the semi-sheer curtains. 9 am is still too early, at least for her. Of course, the night before, she had been with Ezio for quite some time...

...

_"Ezio, I have obtained the new armor as you have requested for me," stated Gabriela. It was just her and the master assassin in the hideout at night; he turned to her and gave a light smirk, pulling his hood down. Prior to her arrival, he was observing the paintings of the assassinated targets and various artworks for quite some time._

_"Va bene," he answered. "I feel more at ease if you are protected during our missions. That is why I had the fabbro craft stronger armor for you." Ezio took a few steps towards his apprentice slowly.  
_

_"Understandable. I will be wearing it tomorrow as it is now sitting in my chambers back at the shelter. What have you been doing in the painting gallery?" She eyed the painting of a sleeping knight with two women, holding a book, sword, and flower which was facing in her direction._

_"It is nothing, Gabriela. Do not worry about it." He took one more step towards Gabriela; she did not realize how much he had advanced, but they were now face-to-face. "Now, about tonight..." Ezio gently pulled the cowl covering her head down and longingly gazed into her eyes, placing his hand on her hip as his face inched closer to hers. Slightly, his lips parted and he leaned in, their lips touching as he pulled her body a little closer to his. Her own lips felt stiff and she barely parted them, leaving him to do all the work.  
_

_A frown in dissatisfaction masked Ezio's face as he pulled away from Gabriela. "I can feel that there is some distance happening from that kiss. Is something the matter?"_

_She shook her head and looked down in shame. "Nothing at all, Ezio. I...I just..."_

_"I have noticed since we had spent that very first night together in October, you have been growing distant."_

_Her head jerked up in surprise, immediately making eye contact with the master assassin. It was the truth; the most that had happened between the two since then were light pecks and plain, unpassionate kisses. "I am sorry Ezio, but I do not mean to be distant from you. It is just...I feel it is difficult to juggle between handling a relationship such as this and focusing on these missions."_

_And Gabriela's heart sank when she had heard a heavy sigh release from his chest. "Si. That is alright." He moved away from her and turned his back towards her, taking a few steps forward in thought. "Perhaps we should—"_

_"Ezio," interrupted Gabriela sternly, "...I...I still want to remain with you. You can count on that." She walked up to him and somewhat hesitantly embraced him from behind, resting her head against his back. "This is still a little difficult for me to handle."_

_"Ottimamente," he replied softly. "I am just...skeptical with our relationship. I am afraid of losses." Ezio pried her arms apart and turned around to face his recruit once again. He wrapped her arms around his neck, allowing her head to rest on his chest as they caressed in the middle of the gallery._

_"We have both gone through enough losses in our life, Ezio. I can understand your pain." Gabriela's head craned up from her resting position as she went in for his lips. He complied, tilting his head and leaning in. Both of their eyes closed as their lips touched tenderly, and she could feel her body melting away as their kissing continued and she struggled to keep herself up. Ezio used his arms to support and arch her back; he went in for another passionate kiss before breaking it with a smirk wiped across his face, keeping her arched over his arms._

_"It appears that someone is enjoying this, no?"_

_"...You know how to push my buttons."_

_In his arms, he could feel that Gabriela was starting to tremble a bit from the strain. Gently, Ezio placed her body down on the stone floor and hovered over her, slowly combing his fingers through her wavy hair as her side braid was undone upon arrival, without her noticing or even caring. He leaned in for another kiss as his lips opened more, immediately brushing his tongue against her supple lips for a calling. Responding with a larger parting, the apprentice's and master's tongues touched and gradually twirled. As their kisses deepened, she could feel Ezio rummaging his fingers along the sides of her bare neck, eventually grazing across the area near her collarbones._

_"How I longed and still long to feel your skin again, Gabriela," he breathed on her neck, shortly after breaking away from the kissing as she gasped for a breath._

_"It has been a while since we had spent some time like this...haven't we?"_

_"Too long, I would say."_

_"Mi dispiace, Ezio...mi dispiace."_

_Ezio stood up from being on all fours hovering over Gabriela. He offered an arm out, and she took it, pulling her up with no trouble at all. The blood rushed to her head and she wobbled a bit, eventually maintaining her balance within a moment. Her eyes curiously gazed into Ezio's._

_"It is okay. It is getting late though, and I think we should both rest for tomorrow."_

_"Si. And I am sorry, once again."_

_"Gabriela," he answered sternly with a chuckle, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You have apologized enough, mia cara. I forgive you."_

_She couldn't apologize enough. The truth was, Valerio still lingered in her mind and occasional dreams ever since she had the dream after their first night and since she had come across Orazio's records, and she couldn't help but feel guilty..._

_..._

Gabriela found herself heading out the door in sunlight. Her hard-leather armor was now reinforced with some metal, weighing her body down a little but offering her more protection in return. Knowing that she was the last one out of the shelter, she immediately sprinted towards the hideout where the other three assassin recruits and Ezio waited. Ezio had his arms folded across his chest, looking to be a little impatient. Guido was leaning against the wall and also had his arms behind his back, exposing his new, light longsword that rested in its sheath hanging from his belt. Adele was also equipped with an axe as well, a new weapon that the master assassin had presumably permitted her to use. And Dante, the most recent recruit, was only equipped with hard-leather armor covering his body and a hidden blade, accompanied by a longsword as well.

"Salute, Gabriela," greeted Ezio somewhat gruffly and impatiently, causing Gabriela to do a double-take at his manner of greeting.

"S-salute everyone, I apologize for taking so much time to get ready," she apologized, looking down in shame.

"Regardless," began Ezio, leaving her unsure if he had actually forgiven her or not, "there is not much time remaining as we speak. We will walk together towards the stable, and I will debrief you all on what I have discovered. Seguire, per favore." He motioned his hand as he led the way down the cobblestone path. The assassin recruits followed him closely as they could feel that he was about to lower his voice. "I have been notified that Cesare has called one of his chief tacticians to return to Roma. He will be escorted back to the city via horseback and with an escort. Because he is a valuable asset, the tactician must be eliminated immediately. I have called all of you with me to get the job done as soon as possible, without any trouble."

By the time they had arrived at the stalls, only three horses remained, much to Ezio's dismay. He immediately took the nearest horse and climbed onto its back. "It seems that there is a shortage of horses today. I want you four to pair up and follow me closely behind."

Gabriela eyed the darkest brown horse at the stable. As she quickly walked over to it, she had realized that Guido dashed towards the horse and immediately hopped on. He turned the horse around and offered his hand. "Here," he quietly spoke. Without any hesitation, she took his hand as he helped pull her up onto the horse, embracing her body around him as they both occupied the saddle. She looked over her shoulder and had noticed that Adele was controlling the other gray horse, with Dante situated close behind on the same saddle.

"Yah!" cried Ezio loudly, whipping the horse's reins with haste. The horse whinnied and immediately bolted towards the east outskirts of the city. Adele and Guido immediately followed suit as their horses began to briskly gallop behind the master assassin, with Gabriela and Dante holding onto the two for stability.

"The chief tactician should be making his way towards Roma from the east," he called from the front, with his head slightly over his shoulder. "I have a feeling that he is on the path near the Colosseo. Keep an eye out for anyone that may look like a military official with a guard or two."

"Ezio, are they on foot, or are they on a horse?" questioned Guido.

"It is confirmed that the chief tactician is on a horse, but I cannot be so sure about the escort."

They had continued their way through the streets of Rome, snaking through the civilians as quickly as possible and attempting to not attract any attention to the guards on standby. As soon as they had spotted the grassy plains outside of the city, all three horses began to pick up their pace when their riders had snapped the reins of their horses once more. All five were now following a path near the Colosseum, with Dante and Gabriela keeping an extra sharp eye out. And as soon as they had arrived, Ezio tugged slightly on his horse's reins as a command to go much slower—faster than walking, but slower than running, and similar to a jogging pace. The other two copied him.

"No sign of him here," declared Dante, looking around the area. Gabriela only saw civilians, and no signs of any guards or any suspicious-looking beings.

"Let us keep moving," replied Ezio, commanding his horse to go down the path at a running pace as his apprentices mimicked him.

As they continued down the road going northeast from the Colosseum, Gabriela found it difficult to keep herself aware of her surroundings as the amount of broken pillars kept growing. But eventually, as the numbers began to diminish, she spotted an armored man on a horse, with four guards following him closely behind on the path. She quickly rubbed her eyes to ensure that her eyesight wasn't deceiving her and blinked. Their targets were in sight.

"Ezio, I believe that our chief tactician is over there," stated Gabriela, motioning her head in the direction where she saw the crowd of guards.

"Va bene," he quickly responded as soon as he caught a glimpse of the band in silver and crimson. "As soon as I strike, the others will begin to attack. All four of you will take them all down with me in assistance." Ezio whipped the reins on his horse again, dashing towards the five. The recruits on their two horses followed suit, crouching down for less resistance.

As soon as the Borgia guards came in sight and proximity, Ezio whipped the crossbow strapped onto his back quickly and aimed it at the chief tactician on the horse. Taking a quick second to aim, he pulled the trigger and launched the bolt straight into his body, knocking him off of the horse and piercing through the metal armor. As his dying body hit the ground, the guards began to uproar in shock and rage, drawing their weapons out. "Assassini!"

Ezio immediately commanded his horse to take him away from the scene of the crime, allowing the remainder of the guards to pick up their speed and chase after him. The assassin recruits chased their targets, quickly catching up to speed with them, with Gabriela and Guido on one side, while Adele and Dante were on the other. As Gabriela spotted this moment as the perfect opportunity to strike, she pulled her legs up and squatted on top of the horse, maintaining her balance. Guido had felt something odd behind him, as if something had shifted around. He quickly glanced over his shoulder with a concerned look.

"Gabriela, what are you___—"_

Before Guido could finish his sentence, he eyed Gabriela leaping off of the end of his horse, using her feet to push herself off. And with the weight of her body, she used it to bring down a guard and to immediately assassinate him with the use of her hidden blade through his spinal cord. The guards had stopped themselves in their tracks and looked back to see a female assassin standing over the body of their comrade, completely oblivious of the other assassin recruits on their horses. As they were only a few meters away, they began to surround Gabriela with their weapons.

"Looks like we have a bella here," mocked the left-most guard, giving Gabriela a sinister stare. She immediately withdrew her dagger and held it up, looking all around her cautiously.

"Did you forget about the rest of us?" called out Dante from behind, holding the sword in his hand as he was still on Adele's horse. She dashed towards the remaining guards and once they were in proximity, he immediately slashed at the guard. The guard fell onto the ground and began to bleed as the blade had cut through his armor, but not enough to kill him. He sprang off from Adele's horse and landed without stumbling over, keeping himself poised with the longsword gripped tightly.

Wounded, the fallen guard managed to pull himself up and picked up his falchion, while one guard lunged towards Gabriela with his blade. She quickly predicted his movements and used her dagger to deflect the blow away, although the parry itself wasn't strong or long enough to counterattack. As she realized this, her first instinct was to take a couple of quick steps back to increase the distance between her and the guard. Meanwhile, the fallen guard eyed Dante and immediately raised his dominant arm up in the air with his weapon, intending to strike the less-experienced recruit. As soon as Dante realized what he was trying to do, he took a step to the side, leaving the guard wide open for a hit. In one smooth motion, the recruit punctured his sword into the injured guard's torso and immediately pulled it out with a twist of the wrist afterwards, letting the body hit the ground. Dante got back into his defensive posture with the remaining two guards.

Adele immediately rushed in while still riding on her horse, and withdrew the axe from her side. As soon as the horse came into close range with one of the guards, she swung the head of the axe into one of their bodies, sending them flying across the grass with a large gash pooling blood out. The last guard quickly peered around, glancing at his comrade's dead bodies.

"Bastardos!" snarled the remaining guard, who immediately took a risk and thrusted towards Gabriela. Caught off-guard, she barely managed to parry his attack, but it had left her wide open as she fell to the ground. It gave him enough time for him to deal a possible successful blow, one that could possibly end her life. After realizing that she wouldn't have a chance to do anything to prevent him from dealing a blow, her eyes followed the movement of his arm and his weapon as if it was in slow-motion...

The sound of a bolt flying through the air at what sounded like lightning speed, followed by the dart piercing armor and flesh, caused Gabriela to gasp in surprise. She backed up in a crabwalk-like position and watched as the guard fell to the ground, dead. Her eyes immediately darted over to the direction where the crossbow dart originated from. Ezio was still holding his crossbow in his hand, with a very serious look. As he was still on his horse, he began to walk towards the three recruits; Guido was beginning to gallop towards the entire group.

"Grazie mille, Ezio," she sighed with relief, sheathing her weapon from the grass. He hopped off of his horse and walked towards Gabriela, looking displeased. The other three apprentices eyed him without saying a word and had backed off.

"Gabriela, what the _hell_ were you doing?" grumbled Ezio under a low tone. Before she realized it, she was face-to-face with the master assassin in what was probably the worst situation she could have been in.

"I...was doing only what I was instructed," blurted Gabriela in response, feeling a little intimidated and agitated all at the same time. "You wanted us to kill the guards as well as the chief tactician, is that not correct?"

He gritted his teeth and looked deeply into his apprentice's eyes, piercing her confidence even more. "I did not want you to risk your life like that at all."

"Ezio, I do not understand what I did wrong." She could feel her voice cracking and rising, and tried to hold herself back. "Both you and I know that I have fought multiple guards by myself in the past, in similar situations such as this. I could have taken them on."

"Could you, Gabriela? At that last moment, I thought that I was going to have to find a new recluta!" With the last sentence, Ezio's voice had risen enough to make her shake slightly. He paused for a second to inhale and exhale deeply, trying not to lose his patience. "Reclute are replaceable, but uniquely, you all are not replaceable." He turned around with his back towards Gabriela, walking towards his horse and clutching its reins. "We will all convene at the hideout. Gabriela, I want you to ride with me on the way back. I would like to have a word with you."

The three recruits looked over at Gabriela with curiosity. She could still feel her body tremble a bit in anxiety and tried her best to hide it. "...Va bene." As she slowly walked towards Ezio and his horse, the sheathing of Dante's sword had broken the awkward silence. He hopped back onto Adele's horse and the three began to stroll away from the master and recruit, leaving them some time alone.

Ezio offered a hand out to Gabriela from his horse as she watched her fellow comrades ride towards the horizon. Sighing, she took his hand and he helped pull her up to the open spot closely behind him. With some slight hesitation as she shifted her bottom around on the horse, her hands gripped a little loosely around his sides. He snapped the horse's reins, allowing the couple to go at a moderate gallop in the direction the recruits were headed towards.

They had passed the Colosseum and entered the outskirts of Rome without a sound passing through both of their lips. It was eerily quiet for Gabriela; all she could hear was their breathing, the horse's hooves clip-clopping against the stones, and the ambient sounds of Rome and its citizens. If he had wanted to speak with her, then why was he so tight-lipped?

"I thought you wanted to talk to me," she murmured, shifting her gaze towards the open fields behind them.

Ezio did not respond vocally or physically. Gabriela uttered a low, single chuckle in disbelief, biting her bottom lip in regret. He tugged on the horse's reins as a signal for the horse to slow down. It cried out with a whinny and she clutched onto Ezio's sides tightly in fear of falling backwards. As it began to walk at a slow pace, she relaxed her grip.

"I am sorry for earlier," replied Ezio, cocking his head over his shoulder to get a glimpse at Gabriela. He could tell that she looked anxious and annoyed at the same time. He sighed and looked forward again, keeping a firm grasp on the reins of the horse. "I have had a nightmare over the past couple of days which have repeated over and over again. I do not know what this means exactly, but the nightmare has consisted of you losing your life."

Another period of silence passed over the two. She did not know what to say, and did not budge one bit after hearing his response. "How, exactly?"

"By someone killing you." He continued to look straight ahead but closed his eyes for a moment. "I have been feeling much more wary of your life since those nightmares have been occurring. This is why I had the armor made for you." As he opened his eyes, they began to walk through an alley of what had seemed to be broken or unfinished buildings in the district.

"...So you were just being overprotective of me, si? That is understandable."

"Perdonami, mia cara." He stopped the horse and dropped off of it.

"For what, Ezio?" she questioned him with a puzzled look, hopping off of the horse as well in confusion. "And why are we here?"

"For everything...and this, especially."

Ezio vigorously grabbed her by the wrist to pull her in, and held her closely to his body, allowing their faces to barely touch. Her eyes widened in surprise as it was very sudden, and quickly but gently, his lips pressed against hers. Gabriela did not break away from the kiss nor did she receive it lifelessly, but she slowly began to part her own lips and closed her eyes, accepting him and his apology.

In response, because she was so frail and light, his hands trailed over her hips, and as his fingertips brushed over her bottom, she twitched a little—not enough for her to break the kiss. His hands continued to grope down along the outside of her thighs, which triggered a signal in her mind. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she decided to break the kiss away from Ezio, while he lifted her off the ground. Her legs wrapped around his body and he pinned her back to the nearest wall.

"Gabriela...ti amo." He looked into her eyes, with their noses touching and their warm breaths intertwining in the cool weather. She gazed upon his for a brief instant, but not without noticing a long, wide trail of blood behind him.

"...S-sangue," she blurted out, diverting her gaze at it.

"...Che cosa?"

"Sangue...there is a trail of blood near us." Although she was still recovering from the rush of euphoria, she slowly managed to raise her arm and pointed at the streak of blood. Her legs released Ezio and he turned around, scrutinizing the path of blood. He squatted down and examined it, realizing that the blood was still fresh as it shimmered in the sunlight.

"I do not like the look of this," he murmured. "I want you to come along with me, Gabriela."

"Sicuramente, Ezio."


End file.
