We rounded a rock and found the sparkling lake. I dismounted my horse, as did Ezio.
"Here, I'll go hitch the horses to that fallen tree, and you set up the picnic," he planned, taking the lead out of my hands.
I laid out the blanket and picnic basket.
"We will swim, then eat after?" Ezio suggested.
"Alright," I agreed quietly.
He went over to the edge of the water and started taking off his shirt and boots. He had shorts on under his jeans. I knew he was looking away, so I took off my shirt, pants, and shoes. I had a two peice on under my riding outfit.
I ran and jumped in before him. When I looked back at him, he had a huge smile on his face.
He was laughing, and getting ready to jump in. I started to swim over to the deep end of the pond when he finally got in.
"You can't catch me!" I screamed at him, giggling.
"Are you sure about that?" he was swimming fast. I wasn't trying to swim fast at all.
I gasped for air and went under as he started to get close. I opened my eyes and saw that he wasn't chasing me. I swam deeper, and looked back to see his figure chasing mine. The pond was clean, so I could open my eyes under water and watch him.
With Ezio now coming after me, I tried to make my escape. He was coming, and he was moving very fast.
Bubbles flowed from his mouth as he released breaths and he started to catch up to me. My lungs were starting to burn from lack of air, so I resurfaced.
I swam back to the shore, still yet to be tagged. He came up as well; his deep brown eyes locked with mine.
Luckily, I am a fast swimmer, and made a smart move to get away. Although, he managed to catch me by the ankle and pull me back. He put his forehead against mine, and looking into my eyes and said
"Your it," and swam away as fast as he could, and I quickly plotted my idea to catch him. Here is the plan: I will pretend to cry, knowing he will come to comfort me. Then, I can tag him back.
So, my act started. As I started 'crying', he looked at me and immediately stopped smiling.
"What's wrong sweetheart?" He asked worriedly, as he came to see what was the matter.
I uncurled and tagged him when he got close enough. He smiled with relief and a hint of disbelief.
"I thought I hurt you when I tagged you," he stated with a quick sigh of relief.
I swam away from him, going back to the deep end.
"Your it!" I yelled, swimming away from him.
"Oh, so that's how it's going to be," he said with a smile, as he starting to swim over to me.
Again I took a deep breath and dove under water, swimming to the bottom of the small lake to kick up dirt so I could get away and blind him. I saw as he resurfaced, and I followed.
"Face it! You'll never catch me alive," I giggled, making a B-line for shore.
I thought for sure he wasn't going to catch me until something came up from under me and pulled me under.
I panicked and started struggling, trying to get free not knowing who or what had an iron grip on me.
We were back to the surface and I was still trying to break free. "Hey! Shhhhh! It's just me," Ezio cooed softly into my ear.
