Test of Faith

Chapter 28

"Who let people like you on board?!" Mirabella closed her eyes, breathing in deeply as she tried to enjoy the sunlight. "Oy, I'm talkin' to ya!" Gianni sighed in annoyance from where he sat beside her. The angry crewmate marched over, and she spotted two other people following.

"Who do ya think you are?!" he demanded, his friends cheering him on. Mirabella turned to face them, a fake smile on her face. "Just travelling, messere, nothing more than that," she replied as calmly as possible.

The crewmate scoffed. "Foreigners on an American ship?! The captain surely must have gone insane!" he gasped incredulously. Finally, Gianni had had enough, and he stood up, slowly drawing to his full height.

"Is there going to be a problem, messere?" he asked, deepening his voice even more than it already was. The crewmate's eyes widened in fear, and his companions slowly backed away as they all stared up at him.

Mirabella snickered quietly but proudly smiled, holding her head high; in silence, the three crewmates turned and briskly walked away. She then voiced her amusement, chuckling softly. "This is going to be an interesting voyage."

~~~~

Two weeks had gone by agonizingly slowly, and Mirabella dreaded the next four to come. Gianni seemed rather pleased with the sailing, finding the same comfort in the voyage that Mirabella had on her first night.

"At least the travelling is enjoyable," he had told her optimistically. Currently, Mirabella was up with the helmsman once again while Gianni remained in their shared quarters.

"How are we doing today, madame?" he asked her. She smiled at him. "I can't quite complain, Ser Williamson. The days are marvelous, the destination exciting, and the sailing as smooth as ever, thanks to you," she replied.

He sent her a smile. "You are too kind, madame," he said. She rolled her eyes. "It has been two weeks, you may call me Mirabella," she told him. He chuckled. "I was brought up to be respectable in a lady's presence," he said.

She laughed almost humourlessly, shaking her head. "I can assure you, messere - I am no lady." Footsteps caught their attention, and Gianni appeared up the stairs. "Ciao, fratello," Mirabella greeted with a nod.

He returned the nod, glancing at the helmsman, who shamelessly expressed his frightened gaze at the large Assassin. He merely chuckled. "No need to be alarmed, messere, I mean you no harm," he reassured, then whisked his sister away.

"How are you, sister?" he asked, standing close at her side. She took a deep breath, staring out at the sea; "I could be better...but today, I cannot deny I feel slightly better," she replied honestly.

Gianni nodded, breathing out a quiet sigh. "Do you have a plan once we reach France?" he asked her. She thought for a moment, thinking back to the details of the letter.

"Well...our first target, the writer of the letter, has already been dealt with," she drawled, then added, "Perhaps we can begin with this 'Digweed' character, what an odd name."

Gianni nodded; "It is a better start than any," he said, cracking his knuckles. He eyed his sister closely, suddenly seeing the unreadable expression on her face.

"What is the matter, Mira?" he asked softly, placing a hand on her back. She didn't look at him, or acknowledge his words, but she flinched at his touch.

"You have become...reserved since you returned from your time with the Templars. What happened?" He felt her tense under his touch, her pupils narrowing but her eyes unmoving, and she kept her head facing forward.

"I...compromised myself," she said softly. Gianni remained silent, anxious to hear her words. "I allowed my judgement to be clouded by emotion, and in the end I paid for my mistake." Gianni's shoulders slumped, but he did not feel disappointment towards her.

"It was the Grand Master, was it?" he whispered. It was slight, almost unnoticeable, but Mirabella nodded once. "At first...it was a front. My self-appointed mission was to discover information on their plans and prepare our Brotherhood. But after some time...things changed. Perspectives...feelings...and everything became genuine," she continued, her jaw clenched.

Gianni wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling his sister into his side. "I am sorry, sister...truly," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. She remained silent, her hands staying linked at her waist as she stared out, but her eyes became glass.

"It was foolish of me, really...I just had to focus on the mission and nothing else. But I couldn't do that...and I was punished for it." The two stood there in silence, staring out at the great blue sky, and a single, silent tear slipped down her cheek.