Hidden in the Shadows(Ezio Auditore )

The Ball

   *Ezio POV*

         News of Nuremberg' victory had spread quickly, making this town buzz with news. Currently Madeleine, Milo, Marcus, and a few other guards, as well as myself and Adelina had been in one of the inns not to far from the castle we needed to be at. We only stopped for Adelina to change seeing as we were walking in through the front door. Currently I was dressed in a red tunic, black leather trousers, and a silk red doublet that had thin gold lines down it, the gold embroidery making the red pop, as the thin strings held the neck part shut a bit all the while a red and gold shoulder cape hung around my left arm. The clothes were comfortable and a bit of it reminded me of home when I was younger. It was slightly weird to be out of my robes but Madeleine was holding onto both Adelina and I's robes though we kept our hidden blades on. Nobody would notice a thing.

      "Can women take any longer to get ready?" Milo asked, slightly annoyed, as he leaned up against the wall with a tired look on his face. After our little talk we had seemed a bit closer then we had before when we were younger and I was glad.

     "Women are obsessed with Image, I'd imagine she's doing the same" Marcus answered. I shook my head.

      "Not with Adelina. The only time I've seen her in a dress was the engagement party and the wedding, she doesn't like to dress up" I said.

    "He's right. Adelina is not a person to dress up which is why it is unusual that this is taking so long. You'd think that she'd want this done and over with"

    "I've noticed that she is not like most women" Marcus said softly, almost as if he were in deep thought. Milo snorted.

     "What gave that away?" Milo said sarcastically "fact she dressed like a man? The fact that she can fight and put a grown man to shame? The fact that she is fiercely intelligent and isn't afraid to put anyone in their place noble or not? That she tells the truth above all else and isn't afraid to voice her thoughts and opinions? She's a warrior through and through, she's far from ordinary"

      "That I can agree with. She uses her gender to easily get what she wants or slip away unseen, nobody notices a woman or thinks they're intelligent. It's one of the things I love about her" I admitted "she provides much more of a challenge, we can understand one another, and something about her independence is just something that pulls me in, she's very strong willed. It's hard to explain."

     "It suits her better then domesticity" Marcus pointed out. I hummed in agreement.

     "I don't know what I'd do with myself if she were a regular noble woman. I'd still love her, but I don't know if I'd appreciate her as much as I do now. With how she is she's already my rock, she's the only one holding me down"

      "I'll tell you what, if she wasn't the way she was now our rite wouldn't be as strong as it is now" Milo admitted. I found myself nodding along. He wasn't wrong about that. Just before anybody could speak we all heard a door open and shut softly, followed by footsteps immediately all of us looked up and when I did my mouth dropped and eyes widened as both Marcus, Milo, and the guards who were to accompany us took in a breath. Adelina descended the staircase and she was an absolute goddess: her hair still had its traditional braids and feathers but it was a bit gentler and wavier, around her eyes it seemed a bit darker and her lips a bit more red, but her dress oh mio Dio I was in trouble. The bodice hadn't quite been a corset but it was still tight at the top, pushing up her breasts and resting just slightly on the edge of her shoulders as the neckline dipped a bit lower then usual, a thick gold embroidery along the edge until it crossed in the front to make an x down to the waist line. The skirt was long and simple, not poofy at all but big enough to splay out when necessary as the long sleeves were a sheek see through material as a gold band separated the two along the elbow, her bracers holding the end of the sleeve to her wrist and blending in perfect. The dress had been black and though it wasn't silk the fabric had still been beautiful. Her necklace rested proudly around her neck as the skirt seemed to flow around her. Her eyes were sharp and almost glittering as the flames from the candles cast a mysterious shadow along her face.